gave up the search for the time being. The majority,
however, found their land with no more difficulty than was inevitable in
a long tramp through the rough and muddy paths of a jungle. The
mosquitoes kept us company, and the parrots scolded us from overhead,
but there were no wild beasts or venomous snakes to be dreaded. Probably
there are no tropical forests in the world so safe as those of Cuba;
one may sleep in them night after night without fear of death or
disease. This is true, at least, of the country within a radius of forty
miles from La Gloria, as I can testify from personal experience and
observation.

In most cases the colonists were pleased with their land when they found
it, and the changes were comparatively few. A little of the lowest land
was more or less under water, but even this was rarely given up, the
holders discovering that it was very rich, and realizing that it would
be all right in the dry season, and that it could be drained for the
wet. Some experienced men from Florida showed a decided preference for
this land, and later it developed that their judgment was good. This
lowest land was of black soil; that slightly higher was apt to be
yellow, and the highest red or chocolate. All these different colored
soils were embraced in the allotment which had been made, and they all
represented good land. The colonists could never agree as to which was
the best. Undoubtedly some were superior for certain purposes to others,
but all appeared to be fertile and gave promise of being very
productive. The black and yellow soils were almost entirely free from
stone, while the red and chocolate had some, but seldom enough to do any
harm. The colonists set to work with energy clearing their town lots,
and a few began work at once on their plantations. The colony was soon a
busy hive of industry.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VI.

THE SUGAR RIOT.

After the middle of January and the beginning of the allotment of the
land, the population of La Gloria began to "pick up" somewhat. Colonists
who had been lingering at Nuevitas, and some new ones who had come down
from the States by the Munson line, would straggle in from time to time.
People were coming and going almost every day, but the balance was in
favor of the colony and the population slowly but surely increased.
Among the new arrivals were quite a number of women and children. About
January 20 the advance guard of the colonists who had come on the