Between Santiago and Cabo Cruz, one hundred and fifty miles west, is but one harbor worthy of mention, the Bay of Portillo, a rather shallow although well protected indentation of the south coast. On the rich level lands at the base of the mountains back of and around the harbor of Portillo, grow enormous fields of cane, feeding the mill on the western side of the bay. Several other indentations of the south coast furnish landing places from which either timber or agricultural products may be shipped, when southerly winds do not endanger the anchorage. A small harbor known as Media Luna, between Cabo Cruz and Manzanillo, forms the shipping place of the Ingenio Isabel, which produced 175,000 sacks of sugar in 1918. The somewhat shallow harbor of Manzanillo is located at the mouth of a small stream in the Sierra Maestra. Vessels of more than fifteen feet draft, find the Manzanillo channel somewhat difficult. The city itself is comparatively modern, with wide streets regularly planned and laid out. Its population is about 18,000, although the municipal district contains some 35,000 inhabitants. Manzanillo is one of the chief shipping ports and distributing points for the rich valley of the Cauto, the largest valley by far in Cuba. This river during the rainy season is navigable for river boats for some hundred miles to the interior. Bars that have formed near its mouth on the west shore of Guacanabo Gulf prevent the navigation of deeper craft. The City of Bayamo, located on the Bayamo River, a tributary of the Cauto, is connected by the southern branch of the Cuba Company’s Railroad with Manzanillo, twenty-five miles west, and also with Santiago de Cuba. It was one of the original seven cities founded by Diego Velasquez in 1514. In the early days of colonial occupation, Bayamo passed through the same period of trials and tribulations that afflicted nearly all of the early settlements in Cuba. Historically it has never been prominent as the birth-place of struggles in which the natives of Cuba endeavored to throw off the yoke of Spain. It was the home of Cespedes, the first revolutionary President of the Island, who freed his slaves in 1868, and with a small force of men raised the cry known as the “Crita de Baire,” that started the Ten Years’ War. Again, in February, 1895, General Bartolome Maso with his son and a few loyal companions left his home in the city of Bayamo, and at his farm called “Yara” declared war against the armies of the Spanish Monarchy, never surrendering until Independence was eventually secured through the defeat of Spain by American forces in 1898. The city, although boasting only of some 5,000 inhabitants, is located in the fertile plains of the Cauto Valley, known throughout the world as the largest sugar cane basin ever placed under cultivation. The Cuban National Hymn had its origin in this little city and is known as the “Himno de Bayamo.” [Illustration: ON THE CAUTO RIVER