The love of poetry is by no means confined to persons of higher education, but is general throughout the country. It has been said that if there were one engineer in Santo Domingo for every hundred poets, there would be fewer mudholes in the roads. The productions of some poetasters are characterized by an abundance of rare adjectives, which are introduced as well to give an impression of depth of thought as to advertise the author's erudition. However, there are so many good poets that forgiveness is readily extended to the others.

The national song of Santo Domingo, an ode to liberty, was written by a school teacher, Emilio Prud'homme. The music was composed by Jose Reyes, who died several years ago, and is agreeable and almost majestic. Reyes occupies probably the most prominent place among Dominican composers. Others have also obtained prominence, and their number is constantly increasing; among them special mention may be made of Jose de J. Ravelo, one of the younger men whose work has attracted attention and gives promise of even better things.

In painting and sculpture several Dominicans have attained prominence of late fears. The principal artists are Arturo Grullon, a prominent oculist; Luis Desangles; and Miss Adriana Billini, whose paintings have received prizes in Paris, Porto Rico and Havana respectively. Desangles painted the picture "Caonabo," which hangs in the session hall of the City Council of Puerto Plata and shows the Indian chief in chains. The sculptors are few, and their fame so far is only local, The foremost is Abelardo Rodriguez U., a photographer of the capital, who is something of an artistic genius. His photographs can compete in artistic merit with the best produced anywhere, and he is also a painter of no small merit. His best known sculpture is the figure of a dying guerilla soldier, significantly entitled, "Uno de tantos"—"One of so many."

Powerful assistance has been given to education and artistic development by various clubs and literary associations, especially women's clubs, throughout the country. Though at times eclipsed by revolutionary turmoil, their work has continued undaunted and has had gratifying results. The educational plane attained by Santo Domingo in spite of all obstacles, and the general recognition of the supreme importance of public instruction, justify confident predictions of advance in the future.



CHAPTER XIV

MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION

Railroads.—Samana-Santiago Railroad.—Central Dominican Railway.—Roads.—Mode of Traveling.—Inns.—Principal highways. —Steamer lines.—Postal facilities.—Telegraph and telephone lines.

A potent cause of the undeveloped state of Santo Domingo's agriculture has been the absence of transportation facilities, which has likewise been a cause and an effect of the internal disturbances. There are but two public railroads in the Republic, both in the Cibao region, with an aggregate length of 144 miles. The highways are generally little more than trails, difficult and dangerous even in dry weather, and almost impassable in the rainy season. It is therefore not surprising that the northern and southern sections of the Republic should have developed almost as different countries and that large areas in the interior should be practically uninhabited.

The importance and possibilities of railroad lines have been recognized and numerous concessions for railroad construction have been sought and granted; but the concessionnaires have, as a rule, either been impecunious, entering the field only with speculative intentions, or have been frightened off by the internal disturbances, and in either case the concession has been permitted to lapse.

The oldest of the two railroads now in operation is the road known as the Samana-Santiago Railroad—something of a misnomer, as the road neither reaches Samana, on the one side, nor Santiago on the other, but extends from Sanchez, at the head of Samana Bay, to La Vega, a distance of 62 miles in the interior, with a branch to San Francisco de Macoris, 7 miles, and another branch to Salcedo, 11 miles, and Moca, 7 miles, or a total length of 87 miles. Prior to its construction, the products of the eastern portion of the Royal Plain had been floated on lighters or light draft boats down the Yuna River and across Samana Bay to Samana, where they were transshipped to ocean-going vessels. The value of a railroad in this region early became apparent, and a concession granted in 1881 was acquired by Alexander Baird, a wealthy Scotchman, who constructed the road. Under the concession the Dominican government granted the right to build and operate a railroad from Samana to Santiago, to construct wharves on Samana Bay and collect wharf dues, and to enjoy certain tax exemptions and other privileges.

The Gran Estero, the large swamp just west of Sanchez, proved much more difficult to cross than the engineers had calculated. It swallowed up tons of rock and thousands of pounds sterling. Further disappointment arose when public lands promised by the government failed to materialize. The enthusiasm of the promoters cooled and the construction work on the railroad ceased when La Vega was reached. To the east of Sanchez the road was continued along the Samana peninsula to Point Santa Capuza, but this position was abandoned and the terminus was established at Sanchez. The road from Sanchez to La Vega was opened to traffic in 1886.

The important city of San Francisco de Macoris lay seven miles to the north of the line of the Samana-Santiago railroad and in 1892 a concession was granted to a prominent Dominican for the building of a connecting road. It was constructed with Dominican capital from La Gina to San Francisco de Macoris, and is leased to the Samana-Santiago Road and operated as a branch of this road.

In 1907 the Samana-Santiago Railroad waived its right to the percentage of import duties collected at Sanchez, in consideration of a payment made by the government, and agreed to construct a branch line to Salcedo and later continue it to Moca. A line from Las Cabullas, on the main road, to Salcedo was promptly built and opened to traffic, but the Moca extension was delayed by civil disturbances and not completed until 1917.

The gauge of the Samana-Santiago road is 1.10 meters, about three feet six inches. It rises very gradually from sea-level at Sanchez to the altitude of La Vega and Moca, about 400 feet. The engineering problems attending its construction and preservation have been those connected with the crossing of the Gran Estero swamp, and the bridging of numerous small tributaries of the Yuna River, which from modest brooklets in the dry season swell to turbulent torrents in rainy weather. The bridge across the Camu River near La Vega has been washed away repeatedly and further trouble has been caused by the river changing its course.

The journey from Sanchez to La Vega, including the side trip to San Francisco de Macoris, consumes five and a half hours. After leaving Sanchez the end of the Samana range is soon reached and for miles the train travels across a mangrove swamp, where the bushy vegetation is exceedingly dense and the roadbed is covered with grass. Forests follow, the trees of which are encumbered with great hanging vines. As soon as a higher level is reached, clearings become frequent. At the stations along the route the entire population of the small towns seems to turn out to await the train's arrival. At two larger places, Villa Rivas and Pimentel, the train makes lengthier stops. The houses all along are similar, one story wooden buildings, generally whitewashed and roofed with tiles, corrugated zinc or palm thatch. La Gina is the beginning of the branch line which extends through monotonous woodland to San Francisco de Macoris. On the main line, after passing La Gina, there are numerous cacao plantations, and near La Vega the muddy Cotui road emerges from the woods and follows the railroad. About eight miles from La Vega is the station of Las Cabullas, the starting point of the branch to Salcedo and Moca.

Affording, as it does, the outlet for the products of the eastern portion of the Cibao, the Samana-Santiago railroad transports the greater part of the cacao exported from the country. It has been the most important factor in the development of the Royal Plain, but owing to the country's internal troubles was run at a loss for years. It is well managed and of late years has made handsome profits.

The name of the other Dominican railroad is also misleading, it being called the Central Dominican Railway, though only extending from Puerto Plata, on the north coast, to Santiago de los Caballeros, a distance of 41 miles, with an extension to Moca, 16 miles, a total of 57 miles. Its name is due to the fact, that it was considered the first section of a road which was ultimately to connect Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo City. The need for such a road had been and is still urgently felt, and the construction of no portion was more imperative than that between Santiago and the coast. The mountain roads in this section were indescribably bad; a trip from Santiago to Puerto Plata meant at least two days of dangerous riding; and all merchandise to and from Santiago had to be transported on mule-back. President Heureaux therefore considered himself fortunate when the Dominican government was able, in 1890, in connection with a bond issue, to make contracts with the banking firm of Westendorp & Co., of Amsterdam, for the construction of the section of the railroad from Puerto Plata to Santiago. Belgian money was furnished and Belgian engineers made the plans. The road was given a gauge of only two feet six inches, and the short-sightedness is inconceivable which permitted the adoption on this road of a gauge different from that of the Samana-Santiago Railroad, when the two were expected to join in Santiago. Ultimately the gauge of the Central Dominican Railway will have to be widened, but the change will cost a considerable sum and require a complete renovation of the rolling stock. In view of the steepness of the slopes to be surmounted, the plans contemplated the construction, on several portions of the road, of a rack-line or cremaillere, a third track provided with cogs, between the other two, and the use of special mountain-climbing locomotives having a cogwheel by means of which the ascent was to be accomplished and the descent regulated. The Belgian engineers built the road from Puerto Plata as far as Bajabonico, a distance of about eleven miles.

At this stage the financial difficulties of the Dominican government induced the Belgians to sell their rights to American interests, which formed the San Domingo Improvement Company to take them over. American engineers accordingly finished the road to Santiago. The rack-rail feature being undesirable, plans were made for the construction of the road as an adhesion road. No further rack-rail was built and one of the portions constructed was converted, but two short stretches of rack-rail remained near Puerto Plata, one of one mile and another of three miles. The Central Dominican Railway Company was incorporated for the operation of the road.

During the controversy later carried on between the Dominican government and the San Domingo Improvement Company the Company contended that the road had cost in the neighborhood of $3,000,000, or about $600,000 in excess of the sums realized by the sale of the bonds assigned by the government to defray the cost of construction. The dispute found its settlement in the protocol of January 31, 1903, by which the Dominican government agreed to purchase all the holdings of the Improvement Company. In the negotiations of which this convention was an incident, the value of the railroad was generally estimated at $1,500,000. Upon the delivery by the Dominican government of the cash and bonds agreed upon by the settlement of 1907 as the price of the Improvement Company's interests, the Company, in February, 1908, turned over the railroad to the government. It has since been operated by the Dominican government with satisfactory results, though it has suffered serious injury from revolutions. The insurgents destroyed bridges and the rack-rail; the latter has not been replaced, and the four and ten per cent grades are now laboriously overcome by means of Shay geared engines. Surveys show that the troublesome grades can be avoided by the construction of curves which will increase the length of the road by not more than three or four miles.

Owing to the mountainous character of the country traversed, the scenery on this road is splendid. The speed attained by the trains would not alarm a nervous wreck, for though the length of the road is about 41 miles, the ascent from Puerto Plata to Santiago takes almost six hours and the return trip from Santiago five, in which the slow engines, the steep grades, the former rack-road section and the numerous long stops have equal shares of responsibility. The roadbed is very rough and the passengers are considerably shaken up, but the memory of what used to be helps to mitigate the discomfort. On one of my trips over the road, when a fellow-passenger made a remark about the severe jolting that almost shook us off our seats, an elderly Dominican gentleman observed: "My friend, you evidently never took a trip from Santiago to Puerto Plata before the railroad was built. Compared with travel then, this mode of conveyance is like being carried in angels' arms." As on the Samana-Santiago Road, the regular trains are mixed trains, that is, a freight and passenger together, usually looking like a freight train with a small passenger car attached. Except in unusually dull periods there is one daily train each way. The city of Santiago is about 600 feet above the level of the sea; from here the course is over a rich plain among tobacco farms and meadows full of cattle, for a distance of about twelve miles, until the foothills are reached and the ascent of the coast range is begun. Higher and higher along the mountainside, through country wilder and wilder, the train winds its way to the highest point of the road, 1580 feet above sea-level and 20 miles from Santiago, where a short tunnel pierces the mountain. The mountain pass at this point is 1720 feet above sea-level and is the lowest one in twenty miles. At the station on the other side of the mountain a fifteen minute stop is made for lunch. Then begins a rapid descent along a deep valley, on the wooded slopes of which little houses peer out between the trees. The town of Altamira, on a knob in the middle of the valley, is passed, and further down, near Bajabonico, a small sugar plantation. Another ascent, on which is the old rack-road section, is now reached; a powerful mountain engine is placed before the train and slowly works its way up. From the top of the ridge the scene is magnificent. Below, in the far distance, Puerto Plata is seen, a miniature city with tiny bright-colored houses, nestling at the foot of the great verdure-covered cone, Mt. Isabel de Torres; before it lies its almost circular harbor with what look like toy ships riding at anchor; the foam of the breakers on the reefs at the harbor entrance gleams in the sunlight; and beyond, in vast immensity extends the blue expanse of the ocean. On the final descent quicker time is made than anywhere else on the road.

The extension of the Central Dominican Railroad from Santiago to Moca was built and is operated by the Dominican government. In 1894 a franchise was granted the San Domingo Improvement Company for the Moca road, and grading was done for several miles outside of Santiago, but the financial troubles of the Dominican government suspended the work. When better times came, the government in 1906 began to build the road from Santiago to Moca with current revenues, and it was opened to traffic in 1910. At Moca this road is met by the extension of the Samana-Santiago Railroad from Salcedo, so that it is possible to travel by rail through the fertile Cibao from Sanchez to Puerto Plata, though the difference in gauge requires a change of cars at Moca.

A railroad between the Cibao and Santo Domingo City has long been contemplated. Government engineers a few years ago surveyed a route from Santo Domingo City to La Gina, on the Samana-Santiago Railroad, passing through Cotui. The route is 80 miles long, and the estimated cost is about $2,325,000. Such a through railroad would open up great tracts now isolated, afford an easy means of communication between the north and south, and be of inestimable advantage to the Republic. It is the most urgent and important public work under consideration in the country.

Another road which has long been projected and which the Dominican government in 1906 determined to have constructed with current revenues, is one in the east, from Seibo, on the plains in the interior, to the port of La Romana in the southern coast. This region, excellently adapted for cacao raising and sugar planting, has been kept secluded by bad roads. After several thousand dollars had been spent in surveys and a little grading, the work was stopped by lack of funds and the government decided that the expense of construction and the undeveloped character of the country counselled an abandonment of the project for the moment. If the railroad is finally built, it will probably be from Seibo to San Pedro de Macoris and not to La Romana.

Even in the immediate vicinity of Santo Domingo City most roads are in such bad condition that during the rainy season villages only a few miles away cannot be reached except by floundering through the mud for many hours, and even during the dry season, with all conditions favorable, it requires two days hard riding to reach the city of Azua, 80 miles to the west. A railroad from the capital to Azua has therefore been proposed repeatedly, and in 1901 a concession was granted for the first section thereof, from Santo Domingo to San Cristobal, a distance of 16 miles, with the right of extension. The revolution of the spring of 1903 interrupted the construction of this road, but a little work was done in 1906 under a new contract, which has since been declared lapsed.

Private plantation railroads are to be found on several sugar plantations near La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo City and Azua, and on the United Fruit Company's plantation near Puerto Plata. They aggregate about 225 miles in length and are used exclusively for the purposes of the respective estates, except one which carries passengers between the town of Azua and its port on steamer days.

In several of the larger cities carriages and light automobiles can be hired at a reasonable figure, and furnish the principal means of communication within the city and to other places as far as the roads will permit. Between Monte Cristi and La Vega there is a regular automobile service, as also between Santo Domingo City and nearby towns. In only one place is there a car line—in Monte Cristi, where a small car runs—if that term can be applied to its motion—between the town and the harbor, a little more than a mile away. The cars, each drawn by a meek little mule, remind one of matchboxes on wheels; they are open on all sides and contain simply two benches, back to back, which will hold a maximum of three passengers each. In Santo Domingo City there was a horse car line for almost twenty years, running out as far as Fort San Geronimo, about three miles; but in March, 1903, while the city was under siege during a revolution, the car barns were destroyed by fire and with them the entire rolling stock, the car axles being taken for barricades. In 1915 the government granted several franchises for electric car lines, one for Santo Domingo City, with the right to extend as far as Bani; another for Santiago, with the right of extension to Janico; and a third for Macoris, with the right of extension to Seibo, but no work has been done on these projects.

On certain parts of the country roads there is communication by oxcart during the dry season, and in the arid region such communication is possible almost all the year round. On the Samana peninsula and in other mountain districts, merchandise is occasionally transported in Indian fashion, on two poles tied to a horse and trailing on the ground behind. In general, however, recourse must be had for transportation purposes to the faithful horse and the patient donkey. In the northern part of the Republic the ox is often used as a beast of burden and sometimes for riding, furnishing an odd spectacle. The ox is guided by a string tied to a ring in his nose, but neither the configuration of his back nor his gait are to be recommended for comfortable rides.

Most of the roads of Santo Domingo can be called roads only by courtesy. They are generally little more than trails of greater or less width. The larger receipts enjoyed by the government since the customs collections were taken over by Americans in 1905, have caused a little improvement. Thus, a first-class macadam road has been constructed from Santo Domingo City to San Cristobal, a distance of sixteen miles; the old trail from Santo Domingo to San Pedro de Macoris has become available for automobiles; and the royal road in the Cibao from La Vega through Moca and Santiago to Monte Cristi, a distance of about 100 miles, formerly a horror, has been converted into a fair dirt road. The amount of work to be done appears all the more appalling when it is considered that in the small island of Jamaica, less than one-fourth the size of the Dominican Republic, there are 1000 miles of fine roads. The American authorities in the island are giving considerable attention to the improvement of the principal highways around and between the more important cities, and valuable work is being done. By an executive order of November 23, 1917, the military governor appropriated $650,000, to be expended on portions of a trunk road which is ultimately to connect Santo Domingo, La Vega, Moca, Santiago and Monte Cristi.

The majority of the roads and trails have scarcely been touched since their course was fixed, centuries ago. Occasionally the abutting property owners or an energetic communal chief cut away encroaching vegetation or drained an unusually bad bog or threw dirt from the sides of the road to the middle in order to raise it above water level in the wet season, but such instances of civic thoughtfulness have been only too infrequent.

During the rainy season travel becomes troublesome on all roads and impossible on many. On the unimproved highways deep, dangerous bogs form in every depression, containing either liquid mud where the horse is almost forced to swim, or soft tough clay, where the horse's feet are imprisoned and the animal in its desperate efforts to jerk itself free indulges in contortions anything but pleasant for the rider. The horses and cargo animals ever treading in each other's footsteps, cause the earth to wear away in furrows across the road, which fill with water and with mud of all colors and conditions of toughness. With few interruptions the monotonous splash, splash, splash of horses' feet constantly accompanies the traveler. The first ten minutes of such a journey on slippery ground make the trip appear an adventure, the next ten an experience, but after that the expedition becomes exceedingly wearisome. In the dry season all moisture disappears and the ridges between the mud trenches become hard as brick. The efforts of travelers to avoid bad places by going around them has caused the roads to become very wide in places—the width varying from one to over a hundred feet. At times, in grassy or stony stretches, the road disappears entirely, and the traveler's best guide is the telegraph wire, where there is one. Again it passes through thorny woods with overhanging branches which continually threaten to unhorse the rider. Thus it winds along, through forests and plains, over fallen logs and trees, beside precipices, down steep banks, across rapid streams. A trip into the interior in Santo Domingo requires a good horse, a strong constitution and a large supply of patience.

In rainy weather the traveled roads are even worse than the unfrequented ones, for the ground is rendered more miry, and the bogs are more frequent. On a highroad near La Vega I arrived at a mudhole where an old man was being rescued by a passer-by from drowning in the liquid mud; I snapped a photograph of the scene when he was still knee-deep. Near the city of Moca there is a slope where many a horse has fallen and thrown its rider on the slippery loam. A friend of mine who for safety's sake alighted from his horse to walk to the other side of the gully, had his foot so tightly lodged in the pasty mud that, in his straining to withdraw it, the foot slipped out of the shoe, which remained as firmly imbedded as before. His posture and predicament were naturally a good deal more amusing for his companions than for himself. Yet some of these roads in dry weather are excellent dirt roads. On a road in the Cibao I made a trip of fifteen miles in the rainy season in five hours of hard riding and arrived with an exhausted horse; six months later when the road was dry I made the same journey comfortably in an hour and a half. On the first of these occasions—it was in the course of a vacation trip for the purpose of studying the country—I happened upon two other travelers and together we floundered for many weary miles through black mud varying from the consistency of soup to that of pudding. The road was indescribably bad, and riders and horses were covered with mire and thoroughly fatigued. That evening at the inn, through the open door between our rooms, I heard my traveling companions discussing me. One of them asked: "What is his object in coming here?" The other answered: "He says he is traveling for pleasure." "Then," responded the first solemnly, "he is either lying or he is insane."

The streams must usually be crossed either by fording or by ferry, and not infrequently the horse must swim part of the distance across. Outside the railroad bridges, there are scarcely half a dozen bridges which deserve the name in the Dominican Republic. A good bridge has recently been constructed over the Jaina River on the San Cristobal road, and another was completed in May, 1917, across the Ozama River at Santo Domingo City, in place of one destroyed by a freshet some years ago. Bridges, where there are any, are generally rude logs laid across brooks.

When journeying overland it is advisable to take advantage as much as possible of moonlight nights. It is best to rise at two or three o'clock in the morning, ride until about eleven o'clock, then rest for about three hours while the sun is highest, and then continue till evening. Riding at night, however, exposes one to the danger of making too intimate an acquaintance with some mudhole or some low hanging bough or telegraph wire, but these risks can be avoided by vigilance. The hours of dawn are the coolest of the twenty-four, and more distance can be covered with less fatigue than later in the day.

If the traveler takes the precaution to furnish himself with canned food before starting on a journey inland, he will not regret his foresight. Inns do not exist out in the country. In the larger cities, indeed, there are hotels, but all are modest establishments. Perhaps the most pretentious is the French Hotel in Santo Domingo City. In hotels which are located in important seaports or railroad termini and are frequented by travelers, the meals and accommodations are fair. In other localities the food is almost inedible to an unaccustomed palate, and the sleeping accommodations are primitive cots. Even in important towns like Moca and Azua I found the inns kept by poor mulatto women, widows with families, having one room for travelers, divided from the family apartment by a thin partition, through which all the proceedings on the other side could be followed throughout the night.

The difficulty of land transportation explains why, with the exception of three cities in the Cibao, all important towns are located on the seacoast. It also makes plain why water transportation is preferred to travel by land, and the inhabitants of the north and south await the bi-weekly steamer rather than make the trip overland, which in the most favorable cases will take about three days. The roads and trails are used for travel locally or when boat connections are not convenient or feasible, and for mail transportation. The following are the principal highways:

1. Road from Santo Domingo to the Cibao, by way of Bonao. There are three roads from Santo Domingo City to the Cibao, the most westerly one being the Bonao trail, the most easterly one the Sillon de la Viuda and the middle one the Gallinas trail. The Bonao road leaves Santo Domingo by way of Duar Avenue and San Carlos and ascends gently in a northwesterly direction through slightly rolling land to the Santa Rosa plain, which it traverses. As far as Los Alcarrizos it has been improved, but further on it is merely a dirt road without drainage and becomes one long slough in rainy weather. On the Jobo savanna the road divides; the eastern branch runs along a range of hills and the western branch over to the Jaina River, where it passes the site of the old mining town of Buenaventura, of which only a few vestiges of walls remain. Whichever of the two branches the traveler takes, he will be sorry he did not choose the other, for they are equally bad. The branches meet on the plain of Las Nasas, from where the highway continues through wooded lands and natural meadows, crossing the Jaina River three times and the Guananitos River nine times. The soil is a rich, soft loam, pure vegetable detritus, and the frequent rains and the absence of drainage make this part of the road very difficult at all seasons. After crossing a stretch of beautiful savanna, known as Sabana del Puerto, the ascent of a range of the central mountain system begins. The road makes many windings along the mountain side until the heights of Laguneta are attained. The high hill of Piedra Blanca must be crossed and a number of small streams forded before Bonao is reached. From Bonao to La Vega the road is of the same general character. There are many miry places, many ascents and descents and many difficult river passes, the Yuna River, near Bonao, being crossed by ferry. On some of the steep descents the horses and mules accustomed to the road put their four feet together and slide, while the unaccustomed traveler feels his hair standing on end. The distance from Santo Domingo City to Bonao is about 65 miles; from Bonao to La Vega some 30 miles.

This seems to have been an ancient Indian trail between Santo Domingo and the Cibao. Bartholomew Columbus, under orders from his brother, founded both Buenaventura and Bonao in 1496 as military posts, as part of the chain of forts stretching across the island. The decay of these towns when the mines were abandoned, the miry soil and the many crossings of streams all caused travel to be diverted to the road of the Sillon de la Viuda. The Bonao road, being the most direct route to La Vega, has been designated by the military government for improvement as a trunk road.

2. Road from Santo Domingo to the Cibao by way of the pass of the Sillon de la Viuda, or Widow's Chair. While the Widow's Chair road is about twenty miles longer than the Bonao road, it is preferable since on the whole it lies over firmer ground. It leads due north from Santo Domingo City and after four miles the Isabela River is crossed by ferry near its confluence with the Ozama. A steep ascent follows and the road runs through wooded land until the town of Mella is reached. Small forests and wide savannas follow each other in rapid succession; the Ozama River is forded and a stretch of swampy soil with bad bogs is encountered. A fine piece of prairie land known as the Luisa savanna is crossed, more natural meadows follow and the ascent of the central mountain range begins. The road becomes so steep that the rider can scarcely keep his seat on his horse. From the summit, the Widow's Pass, which is almost 2000 feet above the level of the sea, a sublime view of mountains, valleys and plains is obtained. The pass itself is a narrow rocky defile where a score of men might hold an army at bay. It is said that there are lower passes in the vicinity by utilizing which the steep grade might be avoided, but the fact could be ascertained only by a more thorough exploration than has yet been made. On the north the road descends through heavy timber, with many miry places. Savannas separated by small forests are then crossed and the little town of Cevicos is reached, the halfway place between Santo Domingo and La Vega. Eighteen miles further on, separated from Cevicos by a hard road crossed by numerous deep gullies, sleeps the ancient town of Cotui. The Yuna River near Cotui must be crossed in canoes. Then follows a road thirty-five miles long to La Vega, which in the rainy season is little more than mud and water, but leads through a beautiful wooded country. It is better to take the road from Cotui to La Gina, or that to Pimentel, on the Samana-Santiago Railroad and complete the journey by rail, for though the character of these trails is similar to the La Vega trail, they are only about fifteen miles long.

3. Road from Santo Domingo to the Cibao by way of the Gallinas Pass. This is also an ancient trail which formerly passed through the town of Yamasa, but was diverted to shorten the distance to the Cibao. Leaving Santo Domingo the same route is followed as in going to the Widow's Pass, as far as Mella, where the road branches off to the left. Small grassy plains and rolling wooded lands are traversed, as is also the wide prairie known as the Maricao savanna. Several streams are forded, among them the upper Ozama, and the country continues of the same general character until the huts on the old cattle ranch of la Guazuma, formerly Las Gallinas, are sighted. Here the road slopes upward as far as the foot of the Demajagua mountain, when a long tedious ascent to the pass begins, followed by a rough ride through the mountains. The long descent toward Cotui is broken by numerous water-courses. No less than eleven smaller streams are forded, and there are three crossings of the Chacuey River, before the road leading to Cotui from Cevicos and the Widow's Pass is attained near the former town. By this road it is about 65 miles from Santo Domingo to Cotui.

The three passes described are the only ones suitable, so far as known, for communication between the capital and the Cibao. There are, indeed, lower and more convenient passes farther to the east, but the roads emerge near Samana Bay, too far from the Royal Plain to be available. The middle route of the three, that by way of the Gallinas Pass, is followed by the telegraph line and used by the post. It has been preferred by travelers for it is considered the shortest road to the Cibao and its highest point is reported to be only about 1200 feet above sea-level.

4. Road from Santo Domingo to Sabana la Mar. Since the southeastern part of the Dominican Republic consists of great plains, the roads in this region are all perfectly level and less difficult than those of the mountains, but they are little more than trails and the wide savannas make traveling monotonous. The road which turns northeast from Santo Domingo on the left side of the Ozama passes the sugar estates there situated, continues by a wide path through a lightly wooded country to the town of Guerra and shortly thereafter enters upon the Guabatico prairie, which it crosses in its entire width of over twenty miles. The ascent to the first pass, that of the Castellanos mountain, then begins. The descent is as easy as the ascent, a valley is crossed in which the headwaters of the Macoris River are forded, and then follows a long ascent to the second pass. From the foot of the mountain to El Valle and Sabana la Mar the country is wooded and the road level and wide, but so miry as to be practically impassable during the entire rainy season. The distance from Santo Domingo to Sabana la Mar is something over sixty miles.

5. Road from Santo Domingo to Higuey. This road is the same as the Sabana la Mar road as far as Guerra, then traverses small forests and grassy plains to Seibo, passing through the important towns of Los Llanos and Hato Mayor. The greater part of the last 36 miles of the road, from Seibo to Higuey, runs over the foothills of the central mountain range. The entire length of the road is about 110 miles.

6. Road from Santo Domingo to Azua. On this ancient road more military expeditions have marched and fought than on any other in the island of Santo Domingo. Spanish, British, French, Haitian, Dominican and American forces have tramped on its dusty course. The road runs west from Santo Domingo City parallel with the seashore. Near the city it is a perfectly level boulevard bordered by pretty cottages. About three miles from the town the small fortress of San Geronimo is passed, a romantic structure, built by the early Spaniards as an outpost against piratical invasions. Seven miles further on is the collection of huts constituting the town of Jaina on the river of the same name. A fine new bridge spans the river and the road continues through luxuriant tropical vegetation. The little town of Nigua, with an old chapel perched high on a hill, is reached, and here the road divides, the left branch continuing near the seashore, while the right branch turns inland to San Cristobal. The former pursues its way over land generally level though with occasional steep hills and cut by frequent brooks, skirts the ocean beach for a short distance, crosses the turbulent Nizao River by a long and dangerous ford and enters the arid country. The other branch extends to the grass-grown town of San Cristobal, where the macadam road from Santo Domingo ends. Continuing, the road traverses a fertile country by way of the town of Yaguate, crosses the broad bed of the Nizao River, which changes its channels with dangerous frequency, threads a way through monotonous woods and joins the other road near Paya. But a few miles further on is the clean little town of Bani. From here two roads lead to Azua. The inland road leads through the pass of Las Carreras,—where Santana on April 21, 1849, assured the independence of Santo Domingo by his victory over the Haitian forces—and finally joins the coast road. The road of the seacoast, which, though longer, is preferable by reason of being more level, leaves Bani through a weird country, where giant cactus is the only vegetation produced by the rocky soil. After crossing a stretch of grass-grown tableland it descends to the waters of Ocoa Bay and continues literally through the surf. Several hours of travel through a dreary forest of cactus and thorny brush then follow before Azua is reached.

7. Cibao Valley Road. The road, or combination of roads, from Samana Bay to Monte Cristi, lies in level country. The urgency for the improvement of the eastern portion has been less since the establishment of the railroad from Sanchez to La Vega, and the trail from near the mouth of the Yuna River to San Francisco de Macoris, with the branches from there to Moca and La Vega, is now important only locally. The two roads between La Vega and Santiago, however, in the heart of the Royal Plain, are the most important and most heavily traveled highways in the Republic. They run through the most fertile section of the island, are quite level, and available for carts and automobiles, but in the rainy season they become very muddy. The direct road from La Vega to Santiago is about twenty-seven miles long and lies to the south of the famous Santo Cerro. The other road is about six miles longer and passes through the important city of Moca. After leaving La Vega and crossing the yellow Camu, the latter road skirts the northern slope of the Santo Cerro and the traveler who can, deserts it temporarily to climb the rocky height and regale himself with a view of the most magnificent valley of the West Indies. Upon passing the second brook after leaving the foot of the Santo Cerro the road traverses historic ground, for here stood the important city of La Concepcion, or old La Vega. The distance from La Vega to Moca is about fifteen miles and from here two roads lead on to Santiago, both about eighteen miles long and both lined with fine cacao plantations, but one turning a little to the south while the other approaches the foothills and leads through the smiling town of Tamboril. From Santiago on there are two roads, one to the north and the other to the south of the Yaque River. They lie through a dry country where cactus is the favorite product of the soil. The road along the northern bank of the Yaque is the better of the two, since the roadbed is good and there are few rivers to cross. It is the highway between Santiago and Monte Cristi, a distance of sixty-seven miles, and passes through the inland town of Guayubin. The southern road crosses numerous streams which flow down from the Cordillera to join the Yaque, turns southwesterly at Guayubin and continues to Dajabon and on into the borders of Haiti.

The above are the highways of most traffic. There is further a main road or rather trail westward from Azua along Lake Enriquillo and leading on to Port-au-Prince; another from Azua northwesterly through the fertile valley of San Juan, also leading into Haiti; and two perilous trails branching off from the latter road and running through remote mountain regions to Santiago and La Vega. There is no direct communication in Dominican territory between the northwestern and southwestern portions of the Republic, and it is necessary either to make a long detour or to pass through Haitian territory. Less important local trails, more or less difficult of travel, are to be found in all inhabited portions of the country.

In order to avoid the troubles of land travel, recourse is had, whenever possible, to water transportation. The foreign steamship lines afford considerable relief in this respect, for they generally stop at more than one port of the Republic. In normal times there are four foreign steamer lines with passenger service to Dominican ports, namely:

The Clyde line, with bi-weekly sailings between New York and Santo Domingo, stopping at Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata, Samana, Sanchez, Macoris and Santo Domingo City, and Azua.

The Cuban "Herrera Line," with a tri-weekly steamer service between ports of Cuba and Porto Rico, calling at Santo Domingo City and Macoris.

The "Compagnie Generale Transatlantique," two routes of which touch in the Republic. A monthly steamer between French and Haitian ports calls at Puerto Plata, and returning also at Sanchez, in the Dominican Republic, and then makes calls in Porto Rico and St. Thomas. A smaller steamer plying once a month between Haitian ports and Guadeloupe and Martinique calls at Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo City, Porto Rican ports and St. Thomas. The steamers on these routes, though not uncomfortable, are venerable hulks which have seen long service in different parts of the world.

The Hamburg-American Line, a monthly steamer of which called regularly at Santo Domingo City and also at other points in the Republic when cargo conditions were favorable, and connected with other ports in the Antilles and with vessels from Europe. Other steamers of this line called at the northern ports to take cargo to Europe.

There is further a fruit line between Boston and Puerto Plata and sugar steamers between New York and Macoris during the cane grinding season, but they carry no passengers. How far the interests of Spain and Santo Domingo have diverged is indicated by the fact that not one of the Spanish transatlantic liners which run to Porto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, touches in Santo Domingo.

A steamer of the Bull line runs between ports in Santo Domingo and Porto Rico and there is also a coast line under Dominican registry, which extends to Porto Rico, but the steamers of which do not distinguish themselves for comfort. Thus there is at present frequent steamer service between Santo Domingo and Porto Rico, but little communication with Haiti and Cuba.

Most of the steamer lines touching in the Republic carry mails. Santo Domingo is a member of the International Postal Union and its post offices offer the usual facilities, except that there is no money order system. More than three-quarters of the incoming foreign mail comes from the United States, including Porto Rico, and over one-half the outgoing foreign mail is directed to this country. The American authorities are engaged in a thorough re-organization of the Dominican postal service.

In connection with the post offices the government operates a telegraph and telephone system. The government lines connect all the more important points in the country. Constructed without plan or method and insufficiently cared for, these lines are all in poor condition and badly in need of repair or reconstruction. The charges are high and the service poor. The government also has a wireless telegraph station at Santo Domingo City and another at Macoris.

The French Submarine Telegraph Co. affords Santo Domingo cable connection with the rest of the world. Its cable touches at Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo City, crossing the Republic by means of a land line which is also open to local messages. The interruptions of communication over this land line in the various revolutions have given rise to numerous damage claims on the part of the Company.

There are also telephone lines on the Samana-Santiago Railroad and on the Central Dominican Railroad operated in connection with the respective roads. Local public telephone systems are in operation in Santo Domingo City and San Pedro de Macoris, and there are private telephone lines between the principal cities and plantations in their vicinity.



CHAPTER XV

COMMERCE

Exports and imports.—Foreign trade.—Trade with the United States.— Ports of entry.—Wharf concessions.—Domestic trade.—Business houses.—Banks.—Manufactures.

The fact that Dominican commerce has more than trebled in twelve years demonstrates the epoch-making character of the fiscal convention with the United States. The trade figures since 1905 are as follows:

GROWTH OF DOMINICAN TRADE (All figures are in American currency)

Imports Exports Total

1905 $ 2,736,828 $ 6,896,098 $ 9,632,926 1906 4,065,437 6,536,378 10,601,915 1907 4,948,961 7,628,356 12,577,317 1908 4,767,775 9,396,487 14,164,262 1909 4,425,913 8,113,690 12,539,603 1910 6,257,691 10,849,623 17,107,314 1911 6,949,662 10,995,546 17,945,208 1913 8,217,898 12,385,248 20,603,146 1913 9,272,278 10,469,947 19,742,225 1914 6,729,007 10,588,787 17,317,794 1915 9,118,514 15,209,061 24,327,575 1916 11,664,430 21,527,873 33,192,303

The increase in 1916 over 1915 was almost as much as the entire trade of the country in 1905. The temporary setback of 1909 was caused by the partial failure of the cacao crop and the paralyzation of commerce in anticipation of lower tariff rates. That of 1914 was due to the European war and a domestic revolution. Santo Domingo has, however, repeatedly presented the anomalous spectacle of showing enormous trade figures in the midst of warfare, as for example, in 1912. The advance in commerce has been especially marked since the presence of the American troops assured peaceful conditions.

Not a year has passed since 1904 without a large balance of trade in favor of Santo Domingo. While the greater part of this is represented by huge sugar profits which have gone to foreign investors, a considerable portion remained in the country. The great increase in wealth since 1904 is apparent to anyone who knew the country at that time.

The imports cover the wide range to be expected in a nonmanufacturing, agricultural country in the tropics. The principal imports in 1916 were:

Cotton goods $1,721,534 Iron and steel manufactures, including sugar machinery 1,562,367 Rice 1,080,068 Wheat flour 621,900 Provisions, meat and dairy products 530,195 Oils 545,284 Bagging and other manufactures of vegetable fiber 508,644 Vehicles and boats 408,832 Manufactures of leather 385,518 Wood and manufactures of wood 317,421 Codfish and other preserved fish and fish products 309,204 Chemicals, drugs and dyes 293,072 Soap, and ingredients for the manufacture of soap 233,991 Paper and manufactures of paper 171,706 Beer 168,901 Agricultural implements 121,830

The United States furnished practically all the flour and other breadstuffs, oils, lumber, agricultural implements and leather articles and most of the cotton goods, hardware, machinery, fish, meat and dairy products. Before the European war all the rice was bought in Germany, as well as a considerable portion of the fish, beer, meat and dairy products. At present the rice is brought from the United States and England. The other imports from England are almost entirely cotton goods and bagging, with some iron and steel manufactures.

In the chapter on the flora of the country, statistics are given with reference to the exports of the country, which are, as there pointed out, principally: sugar, cacao, tobacco, coffee, bananas, beeswax and honey, hides, cotton, hardwoods and dyewoods.

Owing to its geographical position the United States naturally has the greater part of Dominican trade, but since the European war set the commerce of the world awry that proportion has grown until in 1916 the imports from the United States, including Porto Rico, were 90.4 per cent of the total and the exports to the United States and Porto Rico were 82.8 per cent of the total, though the latter figure varies somewhat from final destination, as much of the sugar and cacao is shipped subject to order. Before the European war something more than one-half of the trade of Santo Domingo was with the United States, one-fifth with Germany, and the remainder with France, England and other countries. The countries of origin of imports and destination of exports of the Dominican Republic in the year 1916, as compared with the list for 1913, the last preceding normal year, are here shown:

DOMINICAN TRADE BY COUNTRIES

IMPORTS 1913 1916

Value Percentage Value Percentage of whole of whole

Cuba $ 7,352 .08 $ 136,587 1.17 France 274,318 2.96 152,358 1.30 Germany 1,677,833 18.10 —— —— Italy 173,105 1.87 63,450 .54 Porto Rico 62,900 .67 378,219 3.24 Spain 210,781 2.27 151,451 1.30 United Kingdom 730,191 7.88 481,305 4.13 United States 5,769,061 62.22 10,162,698 87.13 Other Countries 366,737 3.95 138,362 1.19

Total $ 9,272,278 100.00 $11,664,430 100.00

EXPORTS

Cuba $ 27,536 .26 $ 19,447 .09 France 887,907 8.48 287,799 1.34 Germany 2,068,384 19.76 —— —— Italy 20,430 .19 2,496 .01 Porto Rico 28,994 .28 425,483 1.98 United Kingdom 241,810 2.31 105,107 .49 United States 5,600,768 53.49 17,412,088 80.88 Other Countries 1,594,118 15.23 3,275,543 15.21

Total $10,469,947 100.00 $21,527,873 100.00

Very interesting statistics with reference to all these matters are published annually in the report of the general receiver of Dominican customs. Since the establishment of the receivership full and accurate trade statistics have become available for the first time in the history of the Republic. Before 1891 no statistics at all were kept. During the nineties there was an attempt at compilation, but the corruption in the custom-houses was so notorious that the figures cannot be regarded as reliable. For the disturbed years immediately following the death of Heureaux the data are incomplete and uncertain.

The question of shipping has been a serious problem confronting Dominican commerce since the beginning of the European war. Freight rates are rising to almost prohibitive figures, which have their effect in an enormous increase in the cost of living, Santo Domingo has as much reason as the rest of the world to desire an early cessation of the world calamity.

After the war the old trade rivalry will be revived, but American commerce with the Republic should easily retain its lead, if properly cultivated. The observations so frequently made with reference to the extension of American trade with South America also hold good in the case of Santo Domingo. American merchants should send as representatives cultured men who speak Spanish; they should provide catalogs in good Spanish with accurate descriptions of the articles offered; they should fill orders as received, without substituting other articles; they should pack their shipments very carefully and with a view to local transportation conditions. The success of the Germans in building up their Dominican trade was due in large measure to the polish and fluent Spanish of their representatives, to their thorough study of local conditions, and to their favorable terms of payment.

American commerce with Santo Domingo would be further stimulated and strengthened by a tariff reciprocity agreement similar to the customs convention between the United States and Cuba. The mutual advantages of such an agreement would be enormous and the development of Santo Domingo would be effectively promoted. Closer relations would also be fostered by a postal convention applying the domestic rates of postage to all mail between the two countries, a good beginning having been made by a recent arrangement applying the domestic postage rate to letters between the United States and the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic has twelve ports of entry, but nine-tenths of the foreign commerce goes through the ports of Macoris, Santo Domingo, Sanchez and Puerto Plata. The first two supply the import and export requirements of the southern portion of the Republic, the other two those of the Cibao. The other eight custom-houses exist for local convenience and for the prevention of smuggling. This is especially true of the three along the Haitian frontier. In former years there was considerable smuggling across the border, as the import duties on certain articles in Haiti are much lower than in the Dominican Republic. Although the profitable smuggling business demoralized trade in those regions, the government did not interfere with it owing to the difficulty of policing the wild and sparsely populated border district. The American general receiver determined that the back door should be guarded as well as the front entrance, and formed a frontier guard which stopped contraband traffic, though at a heavy cost, for two brave American officials have been killed and three wounded by smugglers and outlaws, while fourteen Dominican guardsmen and inspectors have been killed and twenty-three wounded. The expense of the three frontier custom-houses is greater than the revenue they produce, but entries in Azua, Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata increased significantly after the frontier guard began its patrolling. Incidentally the guard has helped to keep the boundary line in place.

In the seaports most of the loading and unloading is done by lighters, the wharves generally being small affairs. Only in Puerto Plata (where extensive harbor improvements are now under way), Macoris and Santo Domingo can larger vessels approach the wharves. All the wharves were built under concessions from the government, which, in the impossibility to provide them itself on account of its perpetual lack of funds, was obliged to procure their construction by granting the right to collect a specified wharf tax, more or less onerous, for a period of years. The Santo Domingo City wharf concession provided that everything exported from and imported into this city or any other coast point in the province must pay the tax, whether the wharf was used or not. The Samana wharf concession; as amended, gave the right to collect certain high wharf taxes for fifty years, from 1875 to 1925, in return for the building of a diminutive dock. One of the important objects accomplished through the 1907 bond issue was the redemption by the government of the monopolistic wharf concessions.

A peculiar feature of the country's domestic trade is that almost fifty per cent of it is in the hands of Syrians. These people are found in a number of the West India Islands, but nowhere have they gained such a foothold as in Santo Domingo. They appeared in the nineties, and for a number of years confined their activities to peddling goods about the country, both men and women traveling around with great bundles of merchandise which they spread out wherever they met prospective purchasers. Their next step was to establish retail stores and crowd the native Dominican storekeeper out, and of late years they have opened large business houses. They are not regarded as a desirable element, as they do not amalgamate or mingle with the Dominican population, but seem possessed of the single idea to make a fortune and return with it to their country.

Such part of the retail trade as is not controlled by Syrians, is mostly in the hands of Dominicans. The stores are generally small, with a limited stock of goods; they have no show-windows, but are arranged on the style of bazars. Fixed prices are rare and most sales become negotiations with the polite shopkeeper. In the country it is customary for the storekeeper to make advances of merchandise to the smaller farmers until crop time; they then pay him in cacao, coffee, tobacco or other farm products, which he remits to the seaport to the wholesale merchant with whom he deals.

The larger business houses are in a majority of cases owned by foreigners, principally of Italian, German, Spanish, American and Cuban citizenship, and now also including numerous Syrian firms. A majority of those classed as Americans are natives of Porto Rico. A number of these merchants arrived in Santo Domingo as poor men and by hard work and shrewd investment built up respectable firms. They carefully preserved their foreign nationality as a valuable asset which protected them from undue interference on the part of the government. One of the most prominent and successful merchants of Santo Domingo was the late J.B. Vicini, an Italian who came to the country penniless, but with his energy and sagacity amassed the largest fortune of the island. His business is now managed by his sons.

The larger merchants combine a banking business with their export and import business. The foremost of these private bankers of late years was Santiago Michelena, a Porto Rican. Less than ten years ago there was not a single bank in the Republic, but there are now three well equipped banking institutions, all of them with their local headquarters in the capital. One of these is the International Banking Corporation, which is connected with the National City Bank of New York; it entered the Dominican Republic in April, 1917, by taking over Michelena's banking business. It has a branch in Macoris and Puerto Plata and agencies and correspondents throughout the country. Another bank is the Royal Bank of Canada, which does a flourishing business in a number of the West India Islands; it has branches in five cities of the Dominican Republic. The third bank is the Banco Nacional de Santo Domingo, incorporated by Americans under the Dominican banking law of 1909, with a capital of $500,000. Although it has several branches, its business is not so active as that of the other banks, since it has lent most of its capital to the government. Under the banking law this institution has the right to issue bank notes, but it has not attempted to use the privilege.

Slowly the establishment of small factories has proceeded, for the partial provision of local needs. The principal cities have ice plants, of which some are subject to annoying interruptions. In the Cibao there are several sawmills. Further there are, in the larger cities, small establishments for the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, matches, rum, straw hats, shoes, chocolate, soap and a few other articles. These are financed by Dominican capital and are not able to supply the local demand. In Santo Domingo City are the remains of a costly brewery erected by Americans with a view to supplying the West Indies; it was ruined, so local reports say, by bad management and has been idle for fifteen years. If the amount of soap used by a people is really an index of its degree of civilization, then the Dominicans can claim to be far advanced, for the consumption of soap manufactured in the country and imported, is very considerable. The government has encouraged manufacturing enterprises and repeatedly granted concessions exempting their machinery and raw material from import duties for specified periods. The number of manufacturing plants will doubtless increase, but agriculture is bound to remain the mainstay of the country.



CHAPTER XVI

CITIES AND TOWNS

General condition of municipalities.—Santo Domingo City; ruins, churches, streets, popular legends.—Other towns of Santo Domingo Province.—San Pedro de Macoris.—Seibo.—Samana and Sanchez. —Pacificador Province.—Concepcion de La Vega.—Moca.—Santiago de los Caballeros.—Puerto Plata.—Monte Cristi.—Azua.—Barahona.

Compared with cities in the United States a majority of Dominican towns are hoary with age. The capital city and a number of others were founded more than a century before Virginia was settled, and had begun to decline almost a hundred years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Yet such have been the vicissitudes of the country that only one city, the capital, shows signs of its antiquity; the others from their appearance might be taken to be but a few decades old, and with the exception of two or three ancient churches in the interior none of the older buildings of these towns have survived the ravages of time, wars and earthquakes. The modern appearance of most cities is heightened by the fact that frame structures predominate, and outside of Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Vega and Puerto Plata stone houses are infrequent.

The impoverishment of the country by periodic revolutions has had its effect on the municipalities and prevented their proper development. In no city are all municipal needs and services properly attended to, and in most towns they are all badly neglected. Sanitary inspection is nowhere given due attention; sewers are practically unknown; but two cities, Puerto Plata and Santiago, have a general system of waterworks, the others being dependent on water drawn from cisterns or wells, or carried from rivers or springs; in all but five or six little attention is paid to the condition of the streets. Only Santiago, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo have electric light, but that of Santo Domingo is very deficient. Little by little conditions are improving and especially the larger municipalities are endeavoring to improve their streets and provide a water supply.

To the smallness of the urban centers their lack of municipal conveniences is partly to be attributed. The Dominican towns are all built on the same general plan as other Spanish cities, being constructed around a central plaza on which the church and government building are located.

The principal cities are the capitals of the twelve provinces, and the city of Sanchez. A brief description of these cities follows, with a reference to the other more important towns and villages of each province.

PROVINCE OF SANTO DOMINGO

Santo Domingo de Guzman, the capital of the Republic and of the province of the same name, is the oldest city founded by Europeans in the new world, the first city, Isabela, having disappeared a few years after settlement. It was founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496 on the east bank of the Ozama River as the capital of the colony, but the small houses constituting the town having been destroyed by a hurricane in 1502 it was transferred to the west bank of the river by order of Governor Ovando. It grew rapidly in population and wealth until it merited the eulogies of Oviedo who wrote to Charles V in 1525 that he did not hesitate to assure that there was not in Spain a city he would prefer whether on account of advantageous and agreeable location, beauty and arrangement of squares and streets or charms of the surrounding country, adding that "their Highnesses oftentimes lodged in palaces which have neither the conveniences, the ample size nor the wealth of some of those in Santo Domingo." By the middle of the sixteenth century the city had passed the zenith of its glory, and its capture by Drake in 1586 and the destruction of the houses about the main plaza was a severe blow. The decline continued rapidly, although in 1655 the city was still strong enough to repel an invasion by Admiral William Penn. In 1684 and 1691 it was visited by destructive earthquakes and in 1700 it was full of ruins among which grew great trees. The lowest ebb was reached about 1737 when the population had fallen to 500 "and," writes Father Valverde, "more than half the buildings of the capital were entirely ruined, and of those still standing two-thirds were uninhabitable or closed and the other third was more than enough for the population. There were houses and lands whose owners were unknown, and of which people took advantage as belonging to the first one who might occupy them, either because there was entire lack of heirs of the owners or because they had emigrated elsewhere." In a few years, however, the tide of fortune turned and the city's rise was as rapid as its decline had been long, until by about the year 1790 it had quite recovered its ancient glory. Another reverse was quick in coming, for the cession to France in 1795 and the revolt of the negroes in French Saint-Domingue drove away the best inhabitants. In 1801 Toussaint l'Ouverture took possession of the city and in 1805 it was successfully held by the French against the siege of the negro emperor Dessalines. This siege was the beginning of a series lasting for a century. In 1809 after a desperate struggle the city was recaptured for Spain by the Dominicans, but from 1822 to 1844 it was in the hands of the Haitians, and abandoned by all the whites who could flee. Since the declaration of Dominican independence in 1844 almost every revolution has involved a siege of the capital. Within the last twenty-five years the city has made rapid strides forward and spread far beyond the old city walls.

To the stranger Santo Domingo is by far the most interesting city of the Republic, on account of its stirring history and its venerable monuments of the past. Unfortunately the relics of the early days have met with scant respect from later generations, and ruins which would be the pride of other cities have been wantonly demolished. The Haitian governors gloried in this kind of vandalism, using the old churches as quarries and destroying the coats of arms of famous families which were cut in stone on the facades of their former houses and in their chapels in the cathedral. One which they left, on a house on Mercedes street, adjoining the government building, was obliterated in 1907 by the erection of a balcony. Since the declaration of independence ignorance and negligence have been responsible for much damage and the few administrations which took an interest in the old monuments needed all their money for military purposes. Ancient bastions have been needlessly razed, inscriptions effaced and no steps taken for the preservation of such memorials as remained. In 1883 a concession for the improvement of Santo Domingo harbor even provided that the concessionnaire might tear down the ruins belonging to the state and use the material for filling purposes; happily he was able to carry out but little of this part of the contract. The great majority of the brick and stone structures of Santo Domingo are ancient houses and convents preserved or rebuilt with more or less alteration. In some cases behind walls and doorways of great age are little huts of the poor. Though many signs of the past have thus disappeared, many still remain. It is to be hoped that the American authorities in Santo Domingo will be less indifferent to the preservation of ancient monuments than has been the case in other West Indian countries.

The most interesting ancient building is the massive ruin known as the "House of the Admiral" or "House of Columbus," which even now, after centuries of neglect and decay, gives eloquent testimony of former greatness. It was built soon after 1509 by Diego Columbus, the son of the great navigator, on a height overlooking the Ozama River. Here Diego Columbus governed with regal splendor and here most of his children were born. It was the home of his widow, Maria de Toledo, until her death in 1549. Here also their son Louis Columbus lived for many years and embarked on two of his mad marriages. Another son, Cristobal, who was in the government employ in Santo Domingo, also seems to have lived in this house, after Louis went to Spain in 1551. On Cristobal's death in 1571 and that of Louis in 1572, it passed to Cristobal's son Diego. From the date of this Diego's death in 1578, when the direct male line of the Discoverer's descendants became extinct, the history of the house becomes obscure: it was sequestered by court decree in the course of the long inheritance litigation between the members of the Columbus family and appears to have been awarded in 1583 to the Admiral of Aragon, son of a sister of Louis and Cristobal, and in 1605 to Nuno de Portugal, grandson of another sister; the former may have sojourned there temporarily, but it is doubtful whether the latter or any of his descendants ever visited Santo Domingo. There is reason to believe that it was occupied for a time by the family of Luis de Avila, judge of Santo Domingo City, who was married to a daughter of Cristobal and whose children were still living in the colony at the end of the sixteenth century. When in 1790 a descendant of this Avila was at length awarded the last vestiges of the Columbus honors, no attention seems to have been given to this house, which was then as complete a ruin as at present, though it was in better condition and the arcade supporting the front porch was still extant.

The edifice is built of stone blocks; porches supported by graceful arches were once an attractive feature; the windows and principal doorways were embellished with handsome arabesques; and Oviedo and other chroniclers dwell at length on the magnificence of the interior. They especially refer to the beauty and value of a sculpture showing the arms of Castile, located in the great reception hall behind the viceroy's throne. At the present time the building is reduced to a mere shell, roofless and windowless; in a part of its interior there is a little palm thatch shelter for stabling horses; while the court yard and terrace reek with offal from dirty cabins round about.

At the foot of the house of Columbus is part of the old city wall erected in 1537 and of which numerous portions remain intact, though all traces of the moat have disappeared. The old city was in the form of a trapezium occupying an area of a caballeria or about 200 acres, and the wall on the north side, provided with numerous redoubts and watch towers, was much the longest, the western wall being the shortest. Santo Domingo is one of the cities of the Spanish main which lay claim to the story that when the accounts for the city's walls were laid before the king of Spain, he went, to the window and gazed at the horizon, saying he was "looking for the reflection of those walls, for they must be built of gold, they cost so much." Judging by the relative size of the walls, the story should rather be awarded to Cartagena, in Colombia, or possibly to another city, but Santo Domingo's walls are massive enough to have justified the Spanish king in squinting at the horizon, at least. The ancient gates which were formerly closed from sunset to sunrise, still remain, but no longer afford the only means of ingress and egress as breaches have been made in the walls at most street terminations. The most famous of the old gates is the "Puerta del Conde," "Gate of the Count," so called because it was constructed by the Count of Penalva, Governor of Santo Domingo, about 1655, though the bastion through which it leads is as old as the city wall. It was here that the cry of independence was raised on February 27, 1844, and it is therefore regarded as the cradle of Dominican independence and its official name is "Bulwark of the twenty-seventh of February." Another important gate is the "Gate of San Diego," also called "Gate of the Admiral," near the ruins of Diego Columbus' house and affording communication with the wharves on the Ozama River. It is one of the original three gates of the city. Up the river, near the lumber market, is a very old ceiba tree to which it is claimed Columbus once tied up his vessel. Still further up the river is a spring the enclosure about which is said to have been built by Diego Columbus.

"La Fuerza," the fort and barracks, is situated at the southeast corner of the city. According to an inscription over the gate it was built in the year 1783. Within its enclosure on a bluff at the place where the Ozama empties into the sea, rises the ancient citadel, the "Torre del Homenaje," "Tower of Homage" the enormously thick walls of which were erected not later than 1504. There are many who affirm that it was built before 1500, although the town was then situated on the other side of the river, and a cell with a small barred window is pointed out as the cell in which Bobadilla imprisoned Columbus before sending him to Spain in chains. Others claim that recently-discovered old foundation-walls on the east side of the river were the foundations of the building in which Columbus was confined. "In that case," Dominican wags observe, "the Tower of Homage is the place where he would have been confined if it had then been erected." In any event the tower and the terraces below it are the oldest fortifications constructed by white men in America. Cortez and Pizarro, Velazquez, Ponce de Leon, Narvaez and many others passed out of the Ozama River under the shadow of this building, full of hope for the future. Within its somber walls have been immured many an Indian chief in the time of the conquest and many a revolutionist in later days. The tower proper has been for years a political prison, while around the courtyard at its base on the riverside, is the common jail.

The churches form an important connecting link between old and new Santo Domingo. Of these the most beautiful and imposing is the cathedral, built in what may be called Ibero-Romanesque style. As early as 1506 Ferdinand and Isabella ordered its erection, in 1512 a grant of revenue was made and two years later the work of construction was begun. In one of the chapels is a large rough-hewn mahogany cross on which is painted the legend: "This is the first sign planted in the center of this field to mark the beginning of this magnificent temple in the year MDXIV." The work progressed slowly; an inscription in the doorway leading to the plaza states that the church was completed to that point in 1527 and another inscription in the old choir, torn down in 1877, stated that the building was finished in 1540. It is probable that the original plans called for an even loftier building. One of the towers first projected was begun, but it was never concluded and the belfry is still a temporary one. Of late years there have been attempts to provide for the completion of this tower by popular subscription. The building has been damaged repeatedly by earthquakes and the repairs made have changed its original outer appearance on the plaza side. In its roof there is still lodged a cannon-ball fired into the city by a Spanish battery during the siege of 1809.

In the interior, great pillars of a soft dark-red tint support the high groined arches and the effect is severe and impressive. The altar at the head of the nave is beautifully inlaid with wrought silver and is surmounted by the coat of arms of Spain placed there by order of Charles V, a relic of Spanish days which was hidden away while the Haitians were in possession of the city. On the altar platform a marble slab indicates the place where the bones of Columbus were found in 1877, another slab the former location of the remains taken to Cuba in 1795 as the remains of Columbus, and still another the resting place of Louis Columbus, the grandson of the Discoverer. At the end of the nave, near the entrance door, is the airy marble monument beneath which is guarded the casket that contains the remains of the Discoverer of America.

The cathedral like the other churches is made more interesting by the ancient epitaphs on slabs in the pavement and walls, marking the burial places of persons famous in the history of the island. In one of the lateral chapels, which belonged to the Bastidas family, the resting place of Bishop Bastidas, who in the early days was bishop in Venezuela, Porto Rico and Santo Domingo, is marked by a large marble recumbant figure of a bishop and the chapel is therefore known as "the chapel of the stone bishop." Nearby is the tomb of his father, that Rodrigo de Bastidas who was imprisoned by Bobadilla, and an epitaph full of abbreviations which reads:

"Here lies the very magnificent Sir Don Rodrigo de Bastidas, first Adelantado and Governor and Captain-General of Santa Marta, who in the year 1502 discovered Terra-firma by order of the Catholic Sovereigns from Cape Vela to Darien: he died March 28, 1527."

Close by is another epitaph:

"Here lies the virtuous, Christian and religious lady Dona Isabel Rodrigo de Romera, native of the noble town of Carmona, who was wife of the Adelantado Don Rodrigo de Bastidas and mother of the most reverend Bishop of San Juan, Don Rodrigo de Bastidas. She died September 15, 1533. May she rest in peace."

And in Latin:

"I believe that my Redeemer lived and that on the judgment day I shall be resurrected."

In another chapel is a slab ten feet long with an elaborate coat of arms, surmounted by a helmet with flowing plumes, and having an inscription reading:

"Here lies the magnificent knight Diego Caballero, councilor of this Island of Espanola, first secretary of the first Royal Audiencia which the Catholic Sovereigns established in these Indies. He died January 22, 1553." Surrounding this inscription is another:

"Likewise lies here the generous lady Isabel Bacan, his good wife: she died in the year 1551."

Above is a verse stating that he flourished with the strength given him by God, and on an adjoining stone are the words;

"I have ended my cares. Hope and fortune, remain and seek others to mock."

On another tombstone is the inscription:

"This tomb belongs to Don Francisco de Almansa, canon of this holy principal church and commissioner of the Holy Inquisition, and to his heirs."

There are many other interesting inscriptions. In one of the chapels is an artistic gem, a well preserved picture of Our Lady of Antigua, presented by Ferdinand and Isabella who are represented in an attitude of devotion at the foot of the Virgin. It is probably by Antonio del Rincon, their court painter. Other very old and obscure paintings in the church are ascribed to Velazquez or Murillo. Another chapel, adorned with the Dominican coat of arms in marble relief, is the resting place of Dominican celebrities.

The oldest Christian church in the new world was that of San Nicolas, founded by Governor Nicolas de Ovando in 1502. It was suffered to go to ruin, then restored and used as a military hospital and then again abandoned to decay until, overgrown with weeds and almost roofless, it was latterly used by a blacksmith as his workshop. The suggestion was frequently made that it be converted into a museum of Dominican antiquities, but the matter was neglected too long and in 1909 the historic building was condemned and the front portion demolished, but the groined arch over the presbytery remains.

The most picturesque ruin of the city is that of the church of San Francisco, erected by the Franciscan monks about 1504 at the most conspicuous point in the city, and which is now, after the destruction of San Nicolas church, the oldest church ruin in America. It was the largest church in old Santo Domingo. Here were deposited and probably still rest, the remains of Bartholomew Columbus, the brother of the Discoverer. The church and convent, like several other churches of the city, were badly damaged by the earthquake of 1751 but were rebuilt better than before. When the Haitians came the church was abandoned; in 1824 it was assigned to the negro immigrants from the United States as a Methodist church, but it was allowed to go to complete ruin and much of its masonry was utilized by the Haitian rulers. A small part of the monastery has been rebuilt for use as an asylum for the insane. The Franciscan community was one of the wealthiest of the city, and fronting on the city's principal market still stands a large house formerly belonging to it and known as the "Casa del Cordon," "House of the Cord," because of a Franciscan's girdle hewn in stone over the doorway. Tradition says that Diego Columbus resided here while his palace was under construction.

The other larger churches have all been restored and among them may be mentioned the church of St. Dominic or Santo Domingo founded in 1507, with massive walls and arches. It contains numerous tombs belonging to families that flourished in the island in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but most of the inscriptions are rudely carved. A slab in one of the chapels shows a coat of arms with thirteen stars; there is no inscription further than a short Latin quotation from the 26th psalm, but the stone is supposed to date from the latter part of the sixteenth century and to mark the grave of Lope de Bardeci, the founder of the chapel. Other churches are the lofty Mercedes church by the side of the ruined monastery of the friars of Mercy; the church of Regina Angelorum, the spacious building adjoining which, now used by the courts of justice, was formerly a nunnery; that of St. Clara, formerly a nunnery and rebuilt from ruin in 1885 by the sisters of charity; the church of San Lazaro, at the leper asylum; the quaint old church of Santa Barbara; and the chapel of San Miguel, founded about 1520 by Miguel de Pasamonte, the royal treasurer, an inveterate enemy of the Columbus family. The old Jesuit church is used as a theater and the former Jesuit convent is occupied by business houses and private residences.

The main plaza of Santo Domingo is a pretty square planted with flowers and shade trees. In the center stands a bronze statue of Columbus who is represented with the flag of Spain taking possession of Quisqueya for his sovereigns. At the foot of the pedestal is an Indian writing thereon the words found engraved on the box that contained what are believed to be Columbus' remains: "Ill'tre. y Es'do. Varon D'n Cristoval Colon," "Illustrious and noble man Don Cristopher Columbus." On the south side of the plaza is the cathedral, on the west side the old city hall, recently renovated and provided with an ugly tower, and on the east side the government building, erected during the Haitian occupation with bricks from the San Francisco and Santa Clara churches. Popular superstition therefore regards this building as unlucky and points out that one of the Baez brothers was killed in a revolution when the family resided here. The edifice was for years occupied by all the government offices until the renovation of the ancient palace of government. Adjoining is the small building in which the Dominican Congress meets. It occupies a site on which in the olden days stood a prison, the walls of which still remain behind the Congress Hall. The spacious building known as the old palace of government is one of the most ancient edifices in the city. Its cornerstone was laid about 1504 by Ovando and it contained the offices of the Spanish governors-general in colonial times. Through neglect it was permitted to fall to ruin but since 1900 it has gradually been renovated. Nearby is a large sundial, erected in 1753.

The old palace of government is on Colon street, which was in the early days called "Calle de las Damas," "Street of the Ladies," because on it resided the ladies who came from Spain with the wife of Diego Columbus. It is to be regretted that the old street names which were pregnant with memories of the past have been so lightly changed. At present most of the streets are named after events, battles or persons prominent in the more recent history of the country.

The streets of the capital are not quite so narrow as those of Havana, San Juan and other old Spanish cities. After years of neglect the principal streets have at length been placed in excellent condition and the steam roller has even invaded the side streets. The sidewalks are generally narrow, being only about three feet in width, and as municipal supervision over them has not been carefully exercised, there are differences in grade along the sidewalks of certain streets and in passing along it is necessary to go up and down steps. Along the improved streets, however, new sidewalks and gutters have been constructed. The style of architecture of the houses with their thick walls and iron-barred windows makes the streets resemble those of other Spanish-American cities. Among the finest buildings of the city may be counted the palatial quarters of the young men's club "Casino de la Juventud" and of the Union Club, of which the most prominent men of the city, especially merchants, are members. Leading out of the city are two boulevards along which are fine residences of wealthier Dominicans.

A city of such history naturally abounds with popular legends. Stories are current of a network of ancient subterranean passages which are said to connect the principal churches and the fort, and knowledge of the location of which has been lost because their entrances have either been walled up or become obstructed by debris. Local historians deride such tales, though admitting that underground passages may have existed at isolated points. It is related that not many years ago a woman was digging in her garden on a street which passes the ruins of Mercedes convent, when the earth gave way and an aperture became visible. Her husband investigated and found a subterranean passage which led across the street: and directly under the convent ruins, where it was choked up with stones and earth. Other stories refer to deep, forgotten vaults said to exist under many buildings. Popular rumor, morbid when dealing with President Heureaux, affirms that in vaults under the ancient mansion which was converted into a palace for him, the remains of some of his victims were found. In vaults and dungeons under the barracks of La Fuerza the Spaniards in retiring from the island at the close of the eighteenth century, secreted part of their military supplies. Many years later an old man who had assisted in walling up the stores revealed their existence to President Baez and he, when besieged in Santo Domingo in 1857 brought them out and utilized them against the revolutionists. The old mortars and grenades were found in excellent condition and at first caused a panic among the besiegers who thought the shells had fallen from the sky.

The favorite stories are those relating to buried treasure. During the vicissitudes through which the island has passed and especially during the troublous period at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century many persons who left the country first secreted their valuables in the belief that their absence would be only temporary. They did not return, their property passed into other hands and the treasure was forgotten. Occasionally, too, people buried their money for safe-keeping and died without imparting the secret. There have been authenticated cases of treasure-trove, especially in the first half of the nineteenth century. The finds have almost always been accidental, as when in hanging a hammock a nail gave way and revealed a cavity, or in rebuilding a hidden orifice was disclosed. In many popular stories a foreigner with a map plays a part. According to one of these tales a stranger appeared some years ago near Mercedes church taking measurements, so that the neighbors thought him insane. He finally approached the owner of one of the houses and offered to rent it. When his increased offers were refused he drew from his pocket a paper which he said showed the location of a hidden treasure and offered the houseowner a share if he were permitted to make the search. The cupidity of the other was aroused and he would agree to take nothing less than three-fourths of the whole, whereupon the stranger in a rage lit a match and burnt the paper before the horrified houseowner's eyes, exclaiming: "Now you will never find it." For months afterwards the proprietor delved through the ground below the house and perforated the walls in scores of places, but the prediction of the stranger would probably have been verified had it not been for an accident. Some four years later, after a heavy rain, a woman of the neighborhood came to draw water from the cistern of this particular house. As the rope stuck in the pulley she gave a tug, slipped and fell into the cistern to her waist in water. Her screams brought assistance and as she was drawn out it was noticed that in her descent, she had loosened several bricks in the wall of the cistern. An examination revealed an aperture large enough to hold a man, and filled with plate, jewelry and coins.

In another story the stranger was more fortunate. He rented a small house, also on Mercedes street, paying several months' rent in advance. When after a few days the house was found closed it was thought the stranger had taken a trip to the country, but when two and three months passed and the tenant did not reappear, the proprietress applied to the authorities. The door was forced open and in the middle of the room a deep hole was found, at the bottom of which was an empty strongbox, while smaller boxes and the pick and shovel used in the excavation lay scattered around. On a table in the corner lay a parchment with a map that showed the location of the strongbox. Further investigation revealed that the stranger a week after his disappearance took passage on a schooner for a foreign port.

The fortunate finders of such treasures have generally kept silence in order to avoid the possibility of adverse claimants, and when discovered would minimize the find. Popular rumor still designates several houses as containing hidden treasures. One of them, situated on Billini Plaza, near the cathedral, has all but been torn to pieces by tenants in vain efforts to penetrate the secret. In other cases the rumors are more vague. General Ferrand, the energetic French governor of Santo Domingo, is reported to have buried the state treasure before departing in 1808 on the disastrous expedition in which he lost his life in Palo Hincado, and in more than one place excavations have been made to seek it.

Outside the walls of the city is the cemetery, which is pretty and clean and has many vaults and varicolored plants. The most conspicuous objects are the crosses which surmount the graves and the iron fences surrounding many lots, with a little lantern at each corner. The lanterns are lighted up on All Soul's Day, when people flock to the cemetery and decorate the graves of their departed friends with wreaths and flowers.

An interesting monument of old Santo Domingo is the small fortress of San Geronimo, which stands deserted on the ocean shore about three miles from the city. It was built in the early days of Spanish colonization as a protection against foes who might land up the coast and is a good specimen of medieval military architecture, with its walls of immense thickness, its watch towers, its deep moat and its dark dungeons. In revolutions it was usually garrisoned and has been taken and retaken unnumbered times, and in 1903 it was bombarded by a Dominican cruiser.

In the midst of its monuments of the past Santo Domingo throbs with the life of the present. Being one of the principal ports and the seat of the government it is the busiest city of the Republic. Its docks, markets and business streets are always congested with workers and traders.

San Carlos is a suburb of Santo Domingo City, adjoining the same on the northwest, and since 1910 forming an integral part thereof. It was founded towards the end of the seventeenth century by Canary Islanders. Owing to its proximity to Santo Domingo and as part of the town overlooks the capital, it has in all the sieges of Santo Domingo been held by the besiegers and lost heavily. The fifteen days' siege by the negro emperor Dessalines in 1805 caused serious damage; in the siege of eight months in 1808 by Juan Sanchez Ramirez it was almost entirely ruined; in the fifteen days' siege of 1849 by Santana it was burned; in the nine months' siege of 1857 by Santana it was again partially destroyed and since that time in every siege it has sustained damage. In the two months' siege in the beginning of 1904 the church and other buildings were damaged by shells, and several blocks of dwellings were burned to the ground. Yet the town has always risen, phoenix-like, from its ashes. One of the points of interest is an old public cistern of great size and depth. Near San Carlos is the picturesque grotto of Santa Ana, said to have been an Indian sanctuary.

On the Ozama River opposite the capital is Villa Duarte, formerly called Pajarito. On an adjoining estate is the ruined chapel of Rosario, believed to date from the first city of Santo Domingo and which may have been the church where Bobadilla proclaimed his authority over Columbus. Not far from the town is an interesting cave with three crystal pools called Tres Ojos.

San Cristobal, about 16 miles to the west of the capital, had only a chapel and two or three huts in 1820, but attained more importance when slaves freed by the Haitians on the surrounding sugar estates settled there.

Bani is a pretty little town founded in 1764 and situated about 39 miles west of Santo Domingo, between the foothills and the sea. Its chief pride is that it was the birthplace of Maximo Gomez, the famous warrior for Cuban independence. Gomez became a major in the Spanish army, fought against his countrymen during the War of the Restoration and abandoned Santo Domingo with the Spaniards, but this record has been forgiven by the Dominicans in view of his later services in behalf of Cuba libre.

Bayaguana and Monte Plata, about 30 and 28 miles northeast of Santo Domingo, respectively, were both founded in 1606 for the settlement of residents of coast towns destroyed in order to stop smuggling, the former receiving the inhabitants of Bayaja and Yaguana, the latter those of Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata. The church of Bayaguana is visited by many pilgrims who come to adore an image of Christ to which miracles are attributed.

Other villages of the province are: San Lorenzo de los Minas, 3 miles northeast of Santo Domingo, first settled in 1719 by negroes of the Minas tribe, refugees from French Santo Domingo; San Antonio de Guerra, situated in the plains 19 miles northeast of the capital; Boya, 32 miles northeast of the capital, founded in 1533 by Enriquillo, the last Indian chief and by the last survivors of the Indians of the island: it contains an old church of composite aboriginal Gothic architecture, in which the remains of Enriquillo and of his wife Dona Mencia are believed to rest; Mella, 7 miles, and La Victoria, 12 miles north of the capital; Yamasa, 30 miles northwest of Santo Domingo; and Sabana Grande, or Palenque, 22 miles west of the city.



PROVINCE OF SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS

San Pedro de Macoris, about 45 miles east of Santo Domingo City, is one of the most modern and flourishing cities of the Republic. In 1885 it was merely a small fishing village, about that time sugar plantations began to be established in the surrounding plains and the town commenced to grow. To-day there are pretty houses, the streets are clean and in good repair, the plaza has a handsome park and the whole city wears a prosperous look. There are busy scenes on the modern docks and in the harbor. Around Macoris, as in other parts of the Republic, there are large numbers of beautiful graceful cocoanut palms and royal palms.

The Province of Macoris is small and contains but one other town worthy of mention, namely, San Jose de los Llanos, about 15 miles northeast of Macoris, founded in the plains in the eighteenth century.



PROVINCE OF SEIBO

Santa Cruz del Seibo, 74 miles northeast of Santo Domingo, was originally founded by Juan de Esquivel in 1502, but being destroyed by an earthquake in 1751, was moved to its present location, to the north of its old site. It lies in the center of a region devoted to cacao planting and stockraising. The town has a pretty church, and is celebrated in Dominican history as having instigated the reconquest for Spain in 1808 and as having been the home and bulwark of General Pedro Santana, who was idolized by the Seibanos.