their relative degrees or social position, but wealth has the same charm
here as in every part of Christendom, and the millionaire has the entree
to all classes. The Monteros, or yeomanry of Cuba, inhabit the
less-cultivated portions of the soil, venturing into the cities only to
sell their surplus produce, acting as "market-men" for the cities in the
immediate neighborhood of their homes. When they stir abroad they are
always armed cap-a-pie with sword and pistols,[41] and, indeed, every
one carries arms upon the inland roads of Cuba. Formerly this was a most
indispensable precaution, though weapons are now rarely brought into
use. The arming of the Monteros, however, has always been encouraged by
the authorities, as they thus form a sort of mounted militia at all
times available, and, indeed, not only the most effective, but about the
only available arm of defence against negro insurrections. The Montero
is rarely a slave-owner himself, but frequently is engaged on the
plantations during the busy season as an extra overseer. He is generally
a hard taskmaster to the slave, having an intuitive hatred for the
blacks.

The Monteros[42] form an exceedingly important and interesting class of
the population of the island. They marry very young,--the girls from
thirteen to fifteen, the young men from sixteen to twenty,--and almost
universally rearing large families. Their increase during the last
twenty years has been great, and they seem to be fast approaching to a
degree of importance that will make them, like the American farmers, the
bone and sinew of the land. The great and glaring misfortune of their
present situation, is the want of intelligence and cultivation; books
they have none, nor, of course, schools. It is said that they have been
somewhat aroused, of late, from this condition of lethargy concerning
education, and that efforts are being made among them to a considerable
extent to afford their children opportunity for instruction. Physically
speaking, they are a fine yeomanry, and, if they could be rendered
intelligent, would in time become what nature seems to have designed
them for,--the real masters of the country.

There is one fact highly creditable to the Monteros, and that is their
temperate habits, as it regards indulgence in stimulating drinks. As a
beverage, they do not use ardent spirits, and seem to have no taste for
the article, though at times they join the stranger in a social glass. I
doubt if