Cuba past and present . a the train runs through acountry of charming scenery devoted to cane, to-bacco and cattle and broken by glistening streams,groves of palms and great masses of featherybamboo. Placetas del Sur. Here the road connects withthe branch line to Caibarien and other points onthe north coast. To the south of this town isthe beautiful Manicaragua Valley famed for itstobacco, while the fields on every hand are filledwith sleek cattle grazing on the rich green grassof the broad pastures. Zaza del Medio, 237 miles from Havana, isreached about eight oclock. This town has amost charm
Cuba past and present . a the train runs through acountry of charming scenery devoted to cane, to-bacco and cattle and broken by glistening streams,groves of palms and great masses of featherybamboo. Placetas del Sur. Here the road connects withthe branch line to Caibarien and other points onthe north coast. To the south of this town isthe beautiful Manicaragua Valley famed for itstobacco, while the fields on every hand are filledwith sleek cattle grazing on the rich green grassof the broad pastures. Zaza del Medio, 237 miles from Havana, isreached about eight oclock. This town has amost charming little railway station and the cityitself is beautifully situated in a rich agriculturalsection on the banks of the broad and tranquilZaza River — one of the important water coursesof the Island. The Zaza Valley is wonderfullyrich and entrancingly beautiful with the rollinggreen hills, wide tobacco and cane fields, grass-covered llanuras and innumerable groves of royalpalms and flaming poinciana trees and with the. THROUGH THE INTERIOR 123 shimmering river winding in great, silvery curvesbetween its verdured banks. Sancti Spiritus. From Zaza a branch road leadsto Sancti Spiritus, seven miles to the south; amost interesting town of 18,000 inhabitants whichwas founded in 1514. Sancti Spiritus soon be-came rich enough to attract the attention ofpirates who invaded it in 1667, much to thedetriment of the persons and properties of itsinhabitants, as the historian Pezuela quaintlyremarks. Once more in 1719 the town was sackedby French and English pirates from the Bahamasand frequently thereafter the town suffered thevicissitudes of warfare,— notably during the Warof Liberation and numerous bullet and shell holesmay still be seen in the buildings and walls of thetown. The town possesses an excellent water sys-tem and a trip to the pumping station on theYayabo River is well worth while. The ancientchurch of Sancti Spiritus dates from the sixteenthcentury and is very interesting
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidcubapastpres, bookyear1920
