The History of Cuba Volume V Part 11

Aside from difficult transportation facilities in some districts, one of the chief obstacles in the way of a large yield of ore from the mines has resulted from an inability to hold a sufficient number of miners at certain mines, owing to an inadequate supply of foodstuffs. Many workmen preferred to work in the sugar mills where good food was more readily obtained and living conditions were easier. Lack of explosives also handicapped mining in some districts. The building of narrow gauge railroads in which the Cuban Federal Government will probably a.s.sist will greatly contribute to the successful or profitable mining of manganese in the Province of Oriente. The fact that most of the ore is removed during the dry season, when the Cuba Company's roads are taxed to the limit in conveying sugar cane to the mills, also renders transportation by rail rather uncertain.

Despite the handicaps outlined above, operators of manganese mines are striving to increase their output, and there is a strong interest taken everywhere in Cuba in developing manganese prospects. If railway cars and s.h.i.+ps are provided for transporting the ore, food for the mine laborers, and explosives for blasting, the outlook for a steadily increasing production is good. The output for 1918 was estimated at between 110,000 and 125,000 tons, more than 90% of which runs from 36% to 45% manganese, the remainder being of a higher grade. The reserves of manganese ore in the mines above referred to in Oriente Province are estimated at from 700,000 to 800,000 tons, 85% of which is located in the district northeast of Santiago.

CHAPTER XII

ASPHALT AND PETROLEUM

The presence of bituminous products in Cuba has been a matter of record since the days of the early Spanish conquerors. Sebastian Ocampo, that adventurous follower of Columbus, in the year 1508 dropped into one of the sheltered harbors of the north coast, not previously reported, in order to make repairs on some of his battered caravels. Much to his surprise and delight, while careening a boat to sc.r.a.pe the bottom some of his men ran across a stream of soft asphalt or mineral pitch, oozing from the sh.o.r.e near by. Nothing could have been more convenient for Ocampo, and according to the early historians he made a very favorable report on the advantages of Cuba for s.h.i.+p building. First she had well protected harbors in plenty, with an abundance of cedar and sabicu from which to cut planking; there were majagua, oak and other woods from which to hew the timbers. Tall straight pines grew near the harbor of Nipe that would do for masts. From the majagua bark and textile plants, tough fibre could be obtained with which to make the rigging. Both iron and copper were at hand for nails and bolts. All that was lacking seemed to be the material for the sails, and even this could have been found had he known where to look.

So convenient did this harbor prove to the needs of Ocampo that he called it Puerto Carenas, by which name it was known until 1519, when the 50 odd citizens left by Velasco a few years before on the south coast, where they had tried to found a city, moved up from the Almandares to Puerto Carenas and straightway changed its name to the Bay of Havana, by which it has since been known.

The same little stream of semi-liquid asphalt can today be seen, issuing from the rocky sh.o.r.e along the east side of the bay. This deposit was mentioned by Oviedo in 1535, who referred also to other asphalt deposits found along the north coast of what was then known as Puerto Principe.

These asphalt deposits, so close to the sh.o.r.e, were undoubtedly utilized by the navigators of the 16th and following centuries in making repairs to the numerous fleets that were kept busy plying between Spain and the New World.

Alexander Von Humboldt, who in the year 1800 came across from Venezuela to Cuba to study the flora, fauna and natural resources of the Island, mentioned what he called the petroleum wells of the Guanabacoa Ridge, located not far from Havana, at a point once known as the mineral springs of Santa Rita. Richard Cowling Taylor and Thomas C. Clemson, in a book published in 1837, mentioned "the petroleum wells of Guanabacoa"

which had been known for three centuries and that were undoubtedly the wells to which Baron Von Humboldt had previously referred. La Sagra, too, in 1828, described petroleum fields located near Havana, and in 1829, Joaquin Navarro described several deposits of bituminous material in a report which he made to the "Real Sociedad Patriotica."

The bituminous deposits referred to by Taylor and Clemson proved to be a solid form of asphalt. It was afterward used in large quant.i.ties as a subst.i.tute for coal. They speak of finding crude petroleum also, filling the cavities in ma.s.ses of chalcedony, only a few yards distant from the asphalt. The place referred to was afterwards ceded to the mining companies of Huatey and San Carlos, located twelve miles from Havana, where may still be seen the original wells.

In a report on bituminous products of the Island by G. C. Moisant, reference is made to a liquid asphalt or petroleum found in Madruga, a small town southeast of Havana. This petroleum product, according to recent investigations, flows from cavities in the serpentine rocks found near Madruga and surrounding towns.

An oil claim was registered in 1867 near Las Minas, 18 kilometers east of Havana, as the result of oil indications in the cavities of rocks that cropped out on the surface. A well was opened that yielded some oil at a depth of 61 meters. This was sunk later to 129 meters but afterwards abandoned. Within the last few years several wells have been drilled in the vicinity of the old Santiago claim and have produced a considerable amount of oil.

The General Inspector of Mines, Pedro Salterain, in 1880 reported the presence of liquid asphalt, or a low grade of crude petroleum, that flowed from a serpentine d.y.k.e, cropping out on the old Tomasita Plantation near Banes, on the north coast some twenty miles west of Havana. The product was used for lighting the estate. All of the wells of this province are located on lands designated by geologists as belonging to the cretaceous period. This is true of those properties where indications of petroleum are found near Sabanilla de la Palma and La Guanillas, in the Province of Matanzas.

During a century or more, hydrocarbon gases have issued from the soil in a district east of Itabo, in the Province of Matanzas. In 1880, Manuel Cueto had a well drilled on the Montembo Farm in this district. He finally discovered at a depth of 95 meters a deposit of remarkably pure naphtha which yielded about 25 gallons a day. It was a colorless, transparent, liquid, very inflammable, and leaving no perceptible residue after combustion. Cueto afterwards opened another well to a depth of 248 meters and there discovered a deposit of naphtha that produced 250 gallons per day. According to T. Wayland Vaughn of the United States Geological Service such gases are plentiful in the surrounding hills.

In June, 1893, commercial agents of the United States Government reported that petroleum had been found near Cardenas of a grade much better than the crude oils imported from the United States. In November, 1894, another commercial agent from Was.h.i.+ngton reported that asphalt deposits near the city of Cardenas could produce from a thousand to five thousand tons of this material a year.

In 1901 Herbert R. Peckham, describing asphalt fields east and south of Cardenas, mentions the drilling of a well by Lucas Alvarez, in search of petroleum, which he found at a depth of 500 feet, and from which he pumped 1000 gallons of petroleum, but this exhausted the supply of the well. As a result of investigations made by Mr. Peckham, seepages of crude oil and liquid asphalt of varying density may be found here over a district measuring about 4,500 square miles.

Near the city of Santa Clara there is a petroleum field known as the Sandalina, samples of which were a.n.a.lyzed by H. M. Stokes in 1890, which he reported to be quite similar to the crude petroleum of Russia. In the neighborhood of Sagua and Caibarien, in the northern part of Santa Clara Province, petroleum fields have recently been discovered, and others in the southern part of the Province of Matanzas.

Large deposits of asphalt, of varying grades and densities, have been found at intervals along the north coast of the Province of Pinar del Rio. From the harbor of Mariel a narrow gauge road has been built back to mines some six miles distant, over which, up to the beginning of the European War, asphalt was brought to the waterside and loaded directly into sailing vessels, bound for the United States and Europe. Other deposits have been found at La Esperanza and Cayo Jabos, a little further west along the same coast, and in the estimation of some well informed engineers this Pinar del Rio coast furnishes the most promising field for petroleum prospecting of all in Cuba.

As a result of the petroleum excitement, brought about by reports of surface indications and of the success of the Union Oil Company's drillings, many claims have been registered for both asphalt and petroleum within recent years. Up to the last day of December, 1917, 215 claims were filed in the Bureau of Mines, covering an area of about 25,000 acres. In the same time 88 claims, scattered throughout the various Provinces, were registered for oil, comprising a total area of about 40,000 acres.

This scramble for oil lands has resulted in the formation of some fifty different companies, most of which have issued large amounts of stock, and many of which will properly come under the head of "wildcat"

adventures. This, however, has happened in other countries under similar circ.u.mstances; notably in the United States.

In the fall of 1918 some 15 companies were drilling for oil, most of which yielded very little results. This was due in some instances to inadequate machinery, and in others to inefficient workmen, together with absolute lack of any definite knowledge of the district in which they were working. In addition to this, nearly all of the wells drilled have either found oil or stopped at a depth of 1000 feet. In only a few instances have wells been sunk to a depth of 3000 feet, and most of these were in a section where almost nothing was known of the geology of the country.

In Sabanilla de la Palma, the Cuban Oil and Mining Corporation drilled to a depth of 1036 feet. On reaching the 120-foot level, they penetrated a layer of asphalt four feet in thickness, and found petroleum in small quant.i.ties at two other levels. At 1037 feet they met petroleum of a higher grade, and are planning to sink the well to a depth of 4000 feet with the idea of finding still richer deposits.

About two kilometers west of Caimito de Guayabal, near the western boundary of Havana Province, Shaler Williams has drilled several wells, one to a depth of 1800 feet, which produced oil and gas, but in small quant.i.ties. The gas has furnished him light and power on his farm for several years.

Since 1914 the Union Oil Company has been successfully exploiting the Santiago claim near Bacuranao, some 12 miles east of Havana. During 1917 and 1918, this company drilled ten wells with varying results. One of these reached a depth of 700 feet, producing three or four barrels of excellent petroleum per day, but was afterwards abandoned. Wells 2 and 3 were abandoned at a depth of only a few hundred feet on account of striking rock too difficult to penetrate. Well No. 4, at a depth of 560 feet, produced oil at the rate of 10 to 15 barrels per day. No. 5 yielded 400 barrels per day. No. 6 was abandoned at 1912 feet without showing any oil. No. 7 yielded petroleum at 1000 feet, but only in small quant.i.ties. No. 8, at 1009 feet, produces a good supply of oil. No. 9, at the same depth, also produces oil, while No. 10, sunk to a depth of 1012 feet, produced a little oil at 272 and 1000 feet. These ten wells have all been drilled in a restricted area measuring about 300 meters each way.

The crude petroleum of the Union Oil Company's wells is of a superior quality, a.n.a.lysis showing 13% gasoline and 30% of illuminating oil.

Between December, 1916, and June, 1918, these wells produced 1,740,051 gallons of crude. This oil is at present sold to the West Indian Refining Company at the rate of 12 per gallon.

Just north of the Union Oil Company's wells are what are known as the Jorge Wells, where the Cuban Petroleum Company have been drilling for oil since 1917. They sank one well to 840 feet, which at first produced 25 barrels a day, but afterwards dropped to two barrels a day, although producing a great quant.i.ty of gas. Well No. 2 of this company, sunk to 111 feet, was abandoned. Well No. 3 produced 210 barrels the first day, but afterwards dwindled to an average of 100 barrels a day. In the month of June, 1918, 3,385 barrels of oil were produced, together with a large amount of gas, that is consumed for fuel in the two furnaces of the company. All of this petroleum is sold to the West Indian Refining Company, of Havana.

In another section of the Jorge Claim, the Republic Petroleum Company drilled a well to a depth of 2,200 feet, finding petroleum at 995 feet.

East of the Santiago or Union Oil Company's wells, the Bacuranao Company sank a well to a depth of 1009 feet, that produced 12 barrels per hour during several days. This company delivers its oil to market over the Union Oil Company's pipe lines.

The wells drilled on the Union Oil Company's property, together with those of the Jorge claim, are all grouped in an area that does not exceed 20,000 square meters. Nearly all have produced petroleum at a depth of approximately 1000 feet, most of them in small quant.i.ties; but they may nevertheless be considered as producing on a commercial basis, since their product sells at a good price.

The oil wells of Cuba so far have not produced anything like the enormous quant.i.ties that issue from the wells in the United States and Mexico, but the results are encouraging, especially since the explorations so far have been confined to a very moderate depth, seldom exceeding 1500 feet. It is quite probable that wells in this section will be ultimately drilled to a depth of at least 4,000 feet.

Petroleum, as we know, is found in many different kinds of geological formations. In Pennsylvania we meet crude oil in the Devonic and carboniferous strata; in Canada in the Silurian; in the State of Colorado in the cretaceous; in Virginia in the bituminous coal lands; in South Carolina in the Tria.s.sic; in Venezuela it occurs in mica formations; while in the Caucasus again it is in the cretaceous. No fixed rule therefore can be said to designate or control the geological formation that may yield oil.

All of the petroleum found in Cuba, so far, seems to have its origin in cretaceous formations, corresponding probably to the Secondary. A somewhat significant fact is that petroleum in this Island seems to be invariably a.s.sociated with igneous rocks. So far all of it, or at least all in wells worthy of consideration, seems to come from deposits that lie along the lines of contact between the serpentines and various strata of sedimentary rocks. Up to the present, wells that have been drilled in sedimentary strata, at any considerable distance from the intrusion of serpentine rocks, have produced no results.

E. de Goyler has reached the conclusion that the oils found below the serpentine, or at points of contact between serpentine and sedimentary rocks, had their origin in Jura.s.sic limestone. Rocks of this period form a large part of the Organ Mountains of Pinar del Rio, and the above quoted authority is confident that the asphalt and petroleum fields found in the immediate vicinity of serpentine thrusts during volcanic action are all filtrations from deposits far below the surface. This view seems to agree with results of observation made in the neighborhood of the Bacuranao oil fields, where the drills have usually penetrated a considerable depth of serpentine rock before meeting the petroleum-bearing strata of sand and limestone.

Frederick C. Clapp, in his study of the structural cla.s.sification of fields of petroleum and natural gas, read before the Geological Society of America, stated that in Cuba there are undoubtedly deposits which he designates as coming from a subdivision of sedimentary strata, with ma.s.ses of lacolites, an unusual form of deposit, met in the Furbero Petroleum fields of Mexico, where oil bearing strata lie both above and below the lacolite.

The consensus of opinion among experts who have examined the recent explorations in the neighborhood of Bacuranao seems to be that in spite of the fact that no oil well in Cuba, up to the present, has produced large quant.i.ties of petroleum, there is excellent reason for believing that wells drilled to a depth of three or four thousand feet, in zones that have been carefully studied by competent geologists, may yet rival in amount of production those of the best petroleum fields in other parts of the world.

The deposits of asphalt in Cuba, in view of the extensive road building planned for this Republic, have an undoubted present and future value well worthy of consideration. Asphalt of excellent quality, and of grades varying all the way from a remarkably pure, clean liquid form, up through all degrees of consistency to the hard, dry, vitreous deposits that resemble bituminous coal sufficiently to furnish an excellent fuel, is found in Cuba in large quant.i.ties. Most of it is easily accessible, and of grades that command very good prices for commercial purposes in the world's markets.

CHAPTER XIII

FORESTRY

The virgin forests of Cuba, at the time of the Spanish conquest, were rich in hardwoods, such as mahogany, cedar, rosewood, ebony, lignum-vitae and many others unknown in the markets of the United States. During four centuries these forests have been one of Cuba's most important a.s.sets.

Unfortunately this source of wealth has been drawn upon without forethought or discrimination since the first white settlers began to use the products of the forest in 1515.

The completion of the North Sh.o.r.e Railroad of Camaguey, extending from Caibarien to Nuevitas, will soon open up the great hardwood forests of the Sierra de Cubitas and add greatly to the wealth of that district.

There are 367 varieties of valuable forest trees, described with more or less detail in the Bureau of Forestry connected with the Department of Agriculture of Cuba. More than half of these are susceptible of taking a high polish, and would if known undoubtedly command remunerative prices in the hardwood markets of the world. At the present time, two only, cedar and mahogany, are sought and quoted in the commercial centers of the United States.

While we find in Cuba few forest trees common to the United States, nearly all of the standard woods, such as oak, hickory, ash, maple, beech and walnut, seem to have their equivalents, from the viewpoint of utility at least, in the native woods of this Island. For purposes of manufacture, carriage making, naval uses, house building, cabinet work and fine carving, or general construction, Cuba has many woods of unsurpa.s.sed merit and often of rare beauty.

The following list contains 60 of the most useful woods found in the forests of Cuba. Nearly all of these take a very high polish and are valuable in the arts as well as for construction purposes. Not more than a half dozen, unfortunately, are known to the hardwood trade, even by name, and since most of these names are purely local, they would mean little to the dealers outside of the Island of Cuba, where most of them are in daily use;

ACANA: indigenous to Cuba; grows to height of 50 feet with diameter of two feet; hard, compact, deep wine color; used in general construction work, and is especially valuable for making carpenters' planes and tools. Wears indefinitely. Sp. Gr. 1.28.

ACEITILLO: indigenous; grows to height of 30 feet; common throughout the Island; strong and tough; light yellow color; used for general construction. Sp. Gr. 1.04.