The History of Cuba Volume V Part 22

ANIMALS

Cuba, like the other West Indian Islands, is strangely poor in its indigenous mammals. The largest wild animal is the deer, a beautiful creature, resembling much the graceful Cervidae of the Virginia mountains. It is in fact a sub-species of the American deer. But these were imported into Cuba from some unknown place, and at a time of which there is no record extant. They are very plentiful throughout nearly all of the thinly settled sections of Cuba, especially in the Province of Pinar del Rio, where, in places not hunted, they exhibit very little fear of man and frequently appear near native huts in the hills, drawn there probably through curiosity, which is one of the weak points of these most beautiful denizens of the forest.

The abundance of food and absence of cold throughout the year, as well as the shelter given by the dense woodland and mountains, has led to their rapid increase. The game laws also protect them from destruction with the exception of a brief period during the late fall and winter.

A peculiar animal known as the Hutia, of which there are three varieties in Cuba, together with the small anteater, known as the Solenoden, represent the entire native mammalian fauna of the Island. Hutia is the name given in Cuba to three species of the Caprimys, which belong to this country. The largest of the three is distributed over the entire Island. It weighs about ten pounds and is frequently seen in the tree tops of the forest, living on leaves and tender bark. The other species are only about half the size of the former. One of these has a long rat-like tail with which it hangs to limbs of trees, as does the American opossum. The third species is confined to the Province of Oriente. Outside of Cuba only two of the Caprimys or Hutias are found, one in the Bahamas, and the other in Jamaica and Swan Island, now almost extinct. The Hutias are arboreal rodents. Those of the mountains rear their little families among the boulders of the tall sierras, where the feeble voices of the young can often be heard by one who listens carefully. Their faint cry is very suggestive of the peep of little chickens. Hutias are sometimes kept as pets in the country.

The large rodents, as a new world product, attained their maximum development a very long while ago, during the middle Tertiary period.

Since that time the group has been steadily diminis.h.i.+ng, and the extensive land areas over which they once thronged have undergone many changes. The Caprimys are a stranded remnant whose ancestral relations are difficult to trace.

The largest bird of the Island is the Cuban sandhill crane (Grus nesiotes). This rather rare representative of the feathered tribe is found occasionally on gra.s.sy plains surrounding the western end of the Organ Mountains of Pinar del Rio. They are also quite plentiful along the foothills, and on the gra.s.s covered plateaus just south of the Cubitas Mountains, in Camaguey, where they were at one time quite tame.

These birds are found also in Mexico and in the United States, and when less than a year old are excellent eating. They stand about four feet in height and are only a trifle smaller than the whooping crane of the western plains of the United States.

The guinea-fowl is one of the most common birds of Cuba and was introduced by the early Spanish conquerors who brought it from the Cape Verde Islands, whence it had been carried from Africa. This bird, which has exceptional ability in taking care of itself, while found on nearly every native farm, soon became wild in Cuba, and is quite plentiful in some of the dense forests of the Island, especially in the Province of Camaguey, where it occasionally furnished food for the insurgents during the War of Independence. The wild guinea is excellent eating, resembling in size and quality the prairie chicken once so common on the western prairies of the United States.

The domestic turkey is, of course, indigenous to almost all parts of North and Central America. Of its introduction into Cuba there is practically no record. The climate of the Island is very congenial to turkeys, hence far less trouble is found in raising them than in the United States.

The Cuban "bob-white" with its cheerful note is common throughout the Island. He is slightly smaller and darker than the American quail, which some time in the remote past migrated to Cuba. The game laws of the Island protect both of these birds quite efficiently, otherwise they would long ago have been extinguished.

The ubiquitous turkey buzzard is also common in Cuba and quite as obnoxious as in the southern states of America.

The little Cuban sparrow hawk, similar to if not identical with that of the United States, is also found in the Island, as is also the king bird, which retains his pugnacious habits, not hesitating to tackle anything that flies. Many varieties of the owl are also found in Cuba, including the large handsome white owl.

The mocking bird of the South, that king of song birds, to which Linnaeus gave the name of Minus Polyglottus Orpheus, is usually in evidence with his beautiful song, if not always in sight. The sweet voiced meadow lark of the United States also is very common in Cuba.

The wild pigeons, once so plentiful in the United States, are still found in Cuba. Their roosting places are in the deep forests. The Province of Camaguey seems to be their favorite rendezvous. Other pigeons found in Cuba are the West Indian mourning dove, the Zenaida dove, and the little Cuban ground dove. Another beautiful representative of the dove family is the native white crowned pigeon (Columba Leucocephala) gentle, lovable creatures that make delightful pets for children. Two specimens of these doves are domiciled in the Zoological Park at Was.h.i.+ngton.

Parrots, of course, are indigenous to Cuba. Several varieties are represented, the largest of which, with its brilliant green plumage and red head, can be easily tamed, while its linguistic ability rapidly develops with a little patience. These birds when not mating fly in great flocks, sometimes alighting near homes in the forest, their unmelodious chatter rendering conversation impossible. The squabs are excellent eating and are sometimes used for that purpose. Another Cuban parrot, the Amazona Leucocephala, makes its nest in holes excavated in the upper reaches of the royal palm, 50 or 60 feet above the ground.

A striking bird, peculiar to the coastal regions, is the Cuban oriole; a black bird with bright yellow shoulders, rump and tail coverts, the under side of the wings also yellow. As a general alarmist, he is equal to the cat bird, also found in Cuba. A little sneaking about the thicket will lure the oriole from his hiding place and cause him to scold and revile the intruder. The Cuban green woodp.e.c.k.e.r and the white-eyed vireo are also garrulous birds often met in company with the oriole.

One of the most beautiful birds of Cuba is the little tody, which, with the exception of humming birds that are also very plentiful, is the smallest of the feathered inhabitants of the Island. Its length from tip of bill to tip of tail is only a little over three inches. The entire back of the bird is a brilliant gra.s.s green. On its throat is a large patch of bright scarlet, bordered by a zone of white at the angle of the bill, replaced toward the posterior end of the patch by a bright blue.

The under parts are white and smoky, while the flanks are washed with a pale scarlet. This little jewel of a bird may be found anywhere in Western Cuba, usually in low shrubbery, bordering some path, from which he invites your attention by a song that recalls faintly the note of the kingfisher.

Scattered throughout the island and especially plentiful in the Sierras, is the Cuban lizard-cuckoo, known to the natives as the arriero. He is about twenty inches in length, the long broad tail representing about three-fifths while the bill will add almost two inches. The arriero is one of the most interesting members of Cuban avifauna. His color is a pale greyish brown with a metallic flush. The throat and the anterior part of the under-surfaces are grey, washed with pale brown, while the posterior portion is a pale reddish brown. The large, broad tail feathers are tipped with white and crossed by a broad band of black.

He is a veritable clown, of curious and inquiring turn of mind, and extremely amusing in his antics. Having responded to your call, he will inspect you carefully, moving his tail sidewise, or c.o.c.king it up like a wren. He may slink away like a shadow, or he may spread his wings and tumble over himself, chattering as if he had discovered the most amusing thing in the world, and was bubbling over with mirth.

One of the most strikingly colored birds in Cuba is the trogon. The top of his head is metallic purple, the entire back metallic green, while the under parts are pale grey, a little lighter at the throat. The posterior and under tail coverts are scarlet, while the primaries of the wing, and part of the secondaries, are marked with white bars. The outer tail feathers also are tipped with broad bands of white, the combination giving to the bird a strikingly brilliant appearance. The Trogon is inclined to conceal his beauty in thickets, and rarely displays himself in the open. His call suggests that of the northern cuckoos.

Water birds are very plentiful, especially in the shallow lagoons that for hundreds of miles separate the mainland from the outlying islands.

The largest and most striking of these is probably the flamingo, great flocks of which may be seen in the early morning, spreading out like a line of red-coated soldiers along the sand spits, or restingas, that frequently reach out from sh.o.r.e a mile or more, into the shallow salt waters. The flamingos are very shy, seldom permitting man to approach within 200 yards.

Another beautiful water bird is the Sevilla that reaches, with maturity, about the size of the Muscovy c.o.c.k. Until nearly a year old this beautiful inhabitant of the lagoons is snow white, after which his color changes to a bright carmine red. In the unfrequented lagoons he is still very plentiful. In the same waters are found many varieties of the heron family, including the much sought for little white heron, with its beautiful plumage, from which the aigrettes so popular among women as ornaments are obtained.

One of the most peculiar and conspicuous birds in Cuba is the ani, found everywhere throughout the Island where there are cattle, even approaching the outskirts of large cities. The ani is about the size of a small crow, jet black in color with a metallic sheen, and carries a peculiar crest on the upper mandible. It lives almost entirely on ticks or other parasitic insects that trouble cattle. It will sit perched on the back of an ox, hunting industriously for ticks, which process or favor is apparently enjoyed by the patient beasts.

CHAPTER XXVI

STOCK RAISING

Some of the men who followed Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic at the close of the 15th century were accustomed to stock raising in Spain, and all of them realized the value of the horse to the mounted warrior, armed with long lance or sharp cutla.s.s, with which he could ride down the poor naked Indians of Cuba. They had come from Seville and the southern provinces, and had perhaps acquired their appreciation of the horse from the Arab, who made this n.o.ble animal his companion, and to all intents and purposes a member of his family.

The conquerors brought with them their animals and thus the equine race was introduced for the first time into the Western Hemisphere. All that came from Spain in the early days were of Arabian stock, which, although permitted to deteriorate, has still retained many of the characteristics of the parent stock, among which are endurance and gentleness. A colt that has always run wild over the ranges of Cuba, can be easily broken to the saddle in a few hours.

Owing to the abundance of food throughout the year, and to the absence of sleet, snow or cold rains, that sometimes chill and r.e.t.a.r.d the growth of young colts, this Island is probably quite as well adapted to the breeding and raising of horses as any place in the world. During the first Government of Intervention, a large number of American horses were brought to Cuba by the Army of Occupation, and in spite of this abrupt change of climate and conditions, cavalry officers stated that never before had they found a place where their mounts seemed to thrive so well, and to remain so free from disease. Out of two thousand horses stationed at Camp Columbia, in the year 1901, only three were found in the hospital, two of these suffering from accidents, and the third, from a mild case of imported glanders.

The native horses, although smaller than the American, are hardy, gentle and easily kept, and unless taught to eat corn, invariably prefer the rich gra.s.ses to which they have always been accustomed. This native stock, when crossed with good Kentucky, Missouri or Montana stallions, produces really excellent service animals, especially for the saddle.

Since the accession of General Menocal to the Presidency, and especially since his appointment of General Sanchez Agramonte as Secretary of Agriculture, rapid strides have been made in the introduction of fine thoroughbred stallions, most of them gaited saddle animals that have been imported from Kentucky, and brought to Cuba for breeding purposes.

These animals have been distributed by the Department of Agriculture throughout the different provinces, and improvement in resulting colts is already beginning to be apparent.

Probably one half of the native horses of Cuba in 1895 were killed or rendered useless during the War of Independence, which began in that year. This, of course, was a great loss to the Island, but so rapid is the rate of increase in this balmy climate that horses have again become quite plentiful and consequently cheap.

Registered in the Department of Agriculture, in the year 1918, for the Province of Oriente, were 218,876 horses; in Santa Clara were 212,985; in Camaguey 129,023; in Matanzas, 108,900; in Havana, 94,214, and in Pinar del Rio, 63,021; making a total of 827,019 registered in the Island.

The small, pony-built, light stepping, sure-footed horses, of the original or native stock of the Island, especially in the interior, are quite cheap; mares selling in some places at from $10 to $20, while geldings of the same grade will bring from $20 to $40, and stallions from $25 to $50.

Nevertheless, a well gaited and spirited native saddle horse, in the City of Havana, will find a ready market at anywhere from $75 to $200.

Imported saddle animals, well gaited, and from good stables, bring in Cuba prices varying from $300 to $2,000; the price varying with the merit of the animal and the fancy of the purchaser. With splendid gra.s.ses, balmy climate, and excellent water, there is no reason why the breeding of horses in Cuba, especially those types suited for fancy saddle animals, military remounts and polo ponies, should not be profitable and successful in every sense of the word.

Good mules are always in demand in Cuba, although not many are bred in the Island, and most of them up to the present have been imported from Missouri, Texas and other sections of the United States. Under normal conditions a pair of good mules in Havana will bring from $250 to $500.

Scattered throughout the country in 1918 were approximately 61,000 mules, and about 3,250 a.s.ses.

When the first Spanish settlers, most of whom were lured to Cuba through the hope of finding gold in quant.i.ties never realized, saw the great, broad and rich gra.s.s covered savannas of Camaguey, dreams of riches from cattle raising with far more promise than the fortunes expected from easily found gold tempered their disappointment, and laid the foundation for future prosperity.

A few cattle were brought over from Spain in the first expeditions and left at Santo Domingo, where they at once began to multiply and thrive.

From this fountain head, Diego Velasquez brought several boatloads to Cuba, that were distributed among his friends in the seven cities of which he was the founder.

The original cattle were of a type peculiar to Spain in the 16th century; rather small, well shaped and handsome animals, of a light brown or dark jersey color, similar to that of the wild deer in shade, and usually carrying a dark streak along the spine, with a rather heavy cross of black at the shoulders. Although almost no care was given to these animals, and no attempt made at selection or improvement of the breed, they continued to multiply and thrive on the rich native gra.s.ses of the savannas throughout the Island.

In 1895, there were approximately 3,000,000 head registered in Cuba by the Spanish colonial authorities. Beef was then plentiful and cheap, and Cuba was supplying the British colonies of the Bahama Islands with nearly all the meat consumed. Most of it was s.h.i.+pped from the harbor of Nuevitas across the banks to Na.s.sau.

With the beginning of the War of Independence, as in all wars, food was a matter of prime necessity; hence the great herds of cattle roaming the fields of the eastern provinces became at once legitimate prey, and since there was no commissary department, and but little effort made on either side to protect beef from unnecessary slaughter, thousands of head of cattle were killed, not alone for food, but by each army, the insurgent and the Spanish, in order to prevent the other side from getting the benefit of the food. With this reckless method of destruction, at the expiration of the struggle in 1898, 85%, perhaps 90%, of the cattle of the Island had been wiped out of existence.

The shortage of beef, of course, was serious, and at the beginning of the first Government of Intervention steps were taken by General Brooke and later by General Wood to encourage the immediate importation of cattle from any locality where they might happen to be available. Hence cattle were imported indiscriminately from Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Venezuela, with the natural result that the breeding animals of succeeding years were composed of a very mixed and ill selected lot.

With the installation of the Republic, measures were taken to remedy this misfortune, and to improve the breed. Many private individuals who had always been interested in the cattle industry imported thoroughbred bulls from the United States. Quite a number of American stock raisers, mostly from Texas and other southern states, attracted by the stories of fine cheap grazing lands, with fresh gra.s.s throughout the year, came to Cuba and settled in Camaguey. Many of these brought with them a stock of better animals.

When General Menocal a.s.sumed the Presidency in 1913 the further importation of good cattle was encouraged, and an Agricultural Exposition or Stock Fair was held at the Quinto de Molinos, or Botanical Gardens in Havana, where stock breeders from all over the world vied with each other in the exhibition of fine, thoroughbred animals of many kinds. An excellent exhibition of Jerseys, imported in 1901 by Joaquin Quilez, then Governor of the Province of Pinar del Rio, represented a fine grade of milch cows.

Cattle came not only from the United States, but crossed the Atlantic from Holland and from France, while a very attractive breed of handsome, dark red cattle, were placed on exhibition by the late Sir William Van Horne, which he had previously imported from the Western coast of Africa. Most interesting, perhaps, of all, were several specimens of the Zebu, a large variety of the sacred cattle of India, that had previously been introduced from abroad, and kept at the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas.

The Zebu, although of somewhat self-willed disposition, and with an inclination to jump any fence under seven feet, is nevertheless proving a very important addition to the breeding stock of Cuba. This largest specimen of the bovine species, standing at the shoulders some six feet in height, when crossed with the ordinary cow of Cuba, produces a much larger and stronger animal, with this very important advantage, that at two years of age, a weight equivalent to or in excess of the ordinary three years old, is attained, while the quality of the meat is in no way impaired.