are found.

But this region is not a paradise. Snakes and other horrid things
crawl among the beautiful trees and foliage, and poisonous insects
swarm in every place. Earthquake shocks are often felt, and fearful
hurricanes sweep over the islands nearly every year, doing much
damage.

A gentle race of Indians dwelt in these islands at the time of their
discovery, but the Spanish settlers treated the natives so cruelly
that after a few years they had ceased to exist. Many of the Indians
were sent to Spain and other countries and sold as slaves; the rest
were made to work in the mines, and as the Indians had never been used
to such work, they died from the hard labor. In later times some of
the islands were bought from Spain, others were captured, others were
gained by treaty, by the nations to whom they now belong.

At the beginning of the war between the United States and Spain, in
1898, Cuba, as I have already said, belonged to Spain. Spain owned
another large island, Puerto Rico, which we call Porto Rico, a name
meaning "rich port." But I need not say anything more about Porto Rico
at present.

[Illustration: King Alfonso.]

Cuba is the largest and most valuable of the West India Islands. It
was discovered by Columbus about two weeks after his first landing at
San Salvador. According to his custom, he gave it a Spanish name, but
somehow the old name clung to it, and to-day the whole world knows the
island by its native Indian name, Cuba. On account of its position, it