During the War of Independence, Generals Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez led the invading columns of the Revolutionary Army into this Province for the first time, in the fall of 1896. The great beds of dead leaves lying between rows of cane, dried by the November winds, formed useful material for the insurgent armies. The torch once applied to this vast tinder box, with the prevailing easterly winds, all Matanzas was aflame. Under cover of the great canopy of smoke which rose over the land, the invading armies of the Occident swept rapidly on through the Province, fighting only when compelled to, since the object of the invasion was to carry the war into Havana and Pinar del Rio, where Revolution had never before been known. The vast cane fields that today line the railroad tracks on both sides, bear no evidence of the ravages of Revolution, while handsome modern mills, many of which have been erected since the beginning of the great European War of 1914, have helped to feed the world with sugar that could be obtained in sufficient quantities in no other place. CHAPTER VII PROVINCE OF SANTA CLARA Probably in no part of Cuba is the topography more varied or the scenery more beautiful than in the Province of Santa Clara, with its area of 8,250 square miles. Mountain, valley, table land and plain seem to be thrown together in this, the central section of the Island, in reckless yet picturesque confusion. The main system of mountains, extending throughout the entire length of Cuba, disappears and reappears along the northern coast of Santa Clara, thus permitting easy communication between her rich central plains, covered with sugar estates, and her harbors on the coast. In the southwestern center of this province, we have another group of mountains, foot hills and fertile valleys, in which are located some of the old coffee estates of slavery days, established at the close of the 18th century, shortly after the negro uprising in Santo Domingo. These cafetales, in the early half of the following century, made Cuban coffee famous throughout the world. Nestling within this mountain cradle lies the city of Trinidad, founded by Diego Velasquez in January, 1514. The presence of gold, which the Indians panned from the waters of the Arimo River, rendered Trinidad an important center for the early Spanish conquerors during the first years of Cuban history. Sancti Spiritus, lying on the edge of a fertile plateau, some forty-five miles to the northeast, was founded a few months later.