Havana

the capital of Cuba. The word is Spanish, meaning the harbor. Havana is the most important city in the West Indies. It is situated on the northern shore of the island at the inner bend of one of the finest harbors in the world. The entrance is narrow, and is defended by strong fortifications. The climate is, of course, tropical. The average temperature for the winter months is not over two degrees cooler than that for the summer. The usual range is from 71 deg. to 82 deg. Frost is never known. The lowest temperature on record is 49.6 deg. the highest, 100.6 deg. The average annual rainfall is 54 inches. Snow was reported in Havana in 1856.

The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1519. They called it, and rightly, the key of the New World. It was taken more than once by pirates, and has been consumed by fire several times. The modern city has excellent wharves and a dry dock in which ships may be repaired. The railroads of the island center here. The city exports an enormous quantity of sugar, tobacco, cigars, and fruits, amounting in all to about $60,000,000 a year. Three-fourths of the business is with the United States. Naturally enough, the imports are chiefly flour, meat products, cotton cloth of various weights, and machinery. There is a street railway system of thirty-six miles. For those who are able to endure a rather warm climate, the city is charming. There are numerous open squares and parks, with attractive seats under the shade of palm trees. There are fifty public fountains. Unlike some cities, the handsome residences are scattered throughout every quarter. There are numerous promenades and well shaded drives. The cafes are celebrated lounging places.

Prior to the independence of the island and the American management of city affairs, Havana was noted for the ravages of yellow fever. A supply of pure water was provided in 1895. It comes into the city from the mountains by means of an aqueduct seven miles long. The streets are now thoroughly clean and the sewerage system of the city is in order. The deaths from yellow fever have been reduced from the former figure of half a thousand a year to three or four cases. This result has not been attained without heroic effort. Squalid quarters have been torn down, cesspools cleaned out, whitewash used freely; in short, the city has been purged from center to circumference and made a decent, attractive place in which to live and do business. The population in 1905 was not far from a quarter of a million.

See Cuba