ks were floating about, and
nobody knew to whom they belonged, and dead bodies of men and women lay
scattered along the beach. It was the worst hurricane ever known at Key
West; before it came, we used to have a hurricane regularly once in two
years, but we have had none since."

A bell was rung about this time, and we asked the reason. "It is to
signify that the negroes must be at their homes," answered the man. We
inquired if there were many blacks in the place. "Till lately," he
replied, "there were about eighty, but since the United States government
has begun to build the fort yonder, their number has increased. Several
broken-down planters, who have no employment for their slaves, have sent
them to Key West to be employed by the government. We do not want them
here, and wish that the government would leave them on the hands of their
masters."

On the fourth morning when we went on deck, the coast of Cuba, a ridge of
dim hills, was in sight, and our vessel was rolling in the unsteady waves
of the gulf stream, which here beat against the northern shore of the
island. It was a hot morning, as the mornings in this climate always are
till the periodical breeze springs up, about ten o'clock, and refreshes
all the islands that lie in the embrace of the gulf. In a short time, the
cream-colored walls of the Moro, the strong castle which guards the
entrance to the harbor of Havana, appeared rising from the waters. We
passed close to the cliffs on which it is built, were hailed in English, a
gun was fired, our steamer darted through a narrow entrance into the
harbor, and anchored in the midst of what appeared a still inland lake.

The city of Havana has a cheerful appearance seen from the harbor. Its
massive houses, built for the most part of the porous rock of the island,
are covered with stucco, generally of a white or cream color, but often
stained sky-blue or bright yellow. Above these rise the dark towers and
domes of the churches, apparently built of a more durable material, and
looking more venerable for the gay color of the dwellings amidst which
they stand. The extensive fortifications of Cabanas crown the heights on
that side of the harbor which lies opposite to the town; and south of the
city a green, fertile valley, in which stand scattered palm-trees,
stretches towards the pleasant village of Cerro.

We lay idly in the stream for two hours, till the authorities of the port
could find time to visit us. They ar