ast. The town of Casilda is its commercial port. This
arrangement was adopted in the early days as a partial protection
against the frequent inroads of the buccaneers, who ceased to be
formidable when separated from their ships. Trinidad was once the
centre of the prosperous coffee trade of Cuba, but is now, and has
been for many years, commercially wrecked. It is very beautifully
located, with Mount Vijia for its background, in what is declared to
be the healthiest district upon the island. But it is an ancient city,
comparatively deserted, its date being nearly contemporary with that
of Santiago. Cienfuegos, its successful business rival, is on the
contrary quite modern, exhibiting many features of thrift and
activity, and is counted the third commercial city of Cuba. Like
Cardenas, it is called an American capital. It has some twenty-five
thousand inhabitants, a large proportion of whom speak English, nine
tenths of its commerce being with the United States. In this immediate
neighborhood Columbus, on his second voyage, saw with astonishment the
mysterious king who spoke to his subjects only by signs, and that
group of men who wore long white tunics like the monks of mercy, while
the rest of the people were entirely naked. The town is low and level,
occupying a broad plane. The streets are of fair width, crossing each
other at right angles, and are kept neat and clean. The harbor is an
excellent and spacious one, admitting of vessels being moored at the
wharves, a commercial convenience unknown at Santiago, Matanzas, or
Havana. The navies of all the world might rendezvous here and not
crowd each other. Three rivers, the Canudo, Saludo, and Danuyi, empty
into the bay, and each is navigable for a considerable distance
inland, a matter of great importance in a country so devoid of good
roads. The parti-colored houses are of the usual Cuban type, mostly of
one story, built with a patio or open courtyard in the centre, well
filled with flowering plants, among which were observed the attractive
coral-tree, which resembles a baby palm, and the universal banana.

The Plaza of Cienfuegos forms a large, well-arranged square, where an
out-door military concert is given twice a week, a universal practice
in all Cuban cities. It is laid out with excellent taste, its broad
paths nicely paved, and the whole lighted at night with numerous
ornamental gas-lamps. The vegetation is both attractive and
characteristic, consisting of palms