TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: 1) Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. 2) A few chapter sub-headings do not end with a period. For consistency, obvious errors have been corrected by ending these with a period. 3) A few obvious misprints where sentences did not end with a period have been corrected. 4) The words "manoeuvres" and "manoeuvre" use oe ligature in the original. 5) The following misprints have been corrected: "which we pet in our" corrected to "which we put in our" (page 243) "Britian" corrected to "Britain" (page 271) 6) Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and ligature usage have been retained. DUE SOUTH OR CUBA PAST AND PRESENT BY MATURIN M. BALLOU AUTHOR OF "DUE WEST; OR ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS" BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riverside Press, Cambridge Copyright, 1885, By MATURIN M. BALLOU. _All rights reserved._ ELEVENTH IMPRESSION _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._ Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company. PREFACE. The public favor accorded to a late volume by the author of these pages, entitled "Due West; or Round the World in Ten Months," has suggested both the publication and the title of the volume in hand, which consists of notes of a voyage to the tropics, and a sojourn in Cuba during the last winter. The endeavor has been to present a comprehensive view of the island, past and present, and to depict the political and moral darkness which have so long enshrouded it. A view of its interesting inhabitants, with a glance at its beautiful flora and vegetation generally, has been a source of such hearty enjoyment to the author that he desires to share the pleasure with the appreciative reader. The great importance of the geographical position of the island, its present critical condition, and the proposed treaty of commerce with this country, together render it at present of unusual interest in the eyes of the world. If possible, Cuba is more Castilian than peninsular Spain, and both are so Moorish as to present a fascinating study of national characteristics. M. M. B. CONTENTS.