By
JAMES M. ADAMS
James M. Adams.
Pioneering in Cuba
A NARRATIVE OF THE SETTLEMENT OF LA GLORIA, THE FIRST AMERICAN COLONYIN CUBA, AND THE EARLY EXPERIENCES OF THE PIONEERS
BY
JAMES M. ADAMS
ONE OF THE ORIGINAL COLONISTS
Illustrated
CONCORD, N. H.:
The Rumford Press
1901
Copyright, 1901, by
James M. Adams
TO
My Fellow Colonists
WHOSE COURAGE, CHEERFULNESS, AND KINDLY SPIRIT WON MY ADMIRATION ANDAFFECTION
THIS BOOK IS
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
PREFACE.
My excuse for writing and publishing this book is a threefold one. Forsome time I have strongly felt that the true story of the La Gloriacolony should be told, without bias and with an accurate, first-handknowledge of all the facts. My close relations with the colony and thecolonists, and an actual personal residence in La Gloria for nearly halfa year, have made me entirely familiar with the conditions there, and Ihave endeavored to present them to the reader clearly, correctly, andhonestly. Secondly, I have been imbued with the belief that many of thedaily happenings in the colony, particularly those of the earliermonths, are of sufficient general interest to justify their narration;and if I am wrong in this, I am quite sure that these incidents,anecdotes, and recollections will find an attentive audience among thecolonists and their friends. It is one of the author's chief regretsthat the size and scope of this book does not admit of the mention byname of all of the colonists who were prominent and active in the lifeof the colony. Thirdly, while in La Gloria, in his capacity as a memberof the Pioneer Association, the author had the honor to be the chairmanof the committee on History of the Colony. This committee was notofficially or outwardly active, but in a quiet way its members stored uphistory as fast as it was made. The author does not dignify the presentwork by the name of history, but prefers to call it a narrative of thefirst year of the colony. He believes, however, that it contains manyfacts and incidents which will be found useful material to draw uponwhen in later years a complete history of the first American colony inCuba may be written.
I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. V. K. Van De Venter, aprofessional photographer of Dundee, Michigan, for some of the bestpictures in the book. The other photographs were taken, and in severalcases kindly furnish