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.--Concepción 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 Guzmán_, 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 Nuño 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 Peñalva, 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 Doña 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 Española, 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 Cordón," "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 Bayajá 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;
_Boyá_, 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 Doña Mencia are believed to rest; _Mella_, 7 miles, and
_La Victoria_, 12 miles north of the capital; _Yamasá_, 30 miles
northwest of Santo Domingo; and _Sábana Grande_, or _Palenque_, 22
miles west of the city.
PROVINCE OF SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS
_San Pedro de Macorís_, 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 José 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.
_Salvaleón de Higüey_, the easternmost city of the Republic, situated
31 miles southeast of Seibo, was also founded by Juan de Esquivel in
the days of Ovando. Its church contains a picture of Our Lady of
Altagracia, to which miracles are ascribed and which attracts pilgrims
from all parts of Santo Domingo and Haiti.
Other towns are _Hato Mayor_, 18 miles west of Seibo; _Ramón Santana_,
formerly called _Guaza_, 19 miles south-west of Seibo; _La Romana_,
on the coast 25 miles south of Seibo, with rapidly expanding sugar
estates; and _El Jovero_, a hamlet on the coast near the eastern end
of Samana Bay.
PROVINCE OF SAMANÁ
_Santa Bárbara de Samaná_, 78 miles northeast of the capital of the
Republic, is built on a cove on the north side of Samana Bay. The
protected character of the inlet made it a favorite resort for pirates
in the seventeenth century, and beginning with 1673, French buccaneers
made several attempts to settle here but were driven out by the
Spanish authorities. The town was definitely settled in 1756 by
families from the Canary Islands. In the town and neighborhood live
many English-speaking negroes, descendants of those who were brought
from the United States by the Haitian President Boyer about 1825.
A larger town is _Sánchez_ at the western end of Samana Bay,
twenty-five miles from the town of Samana. In 1886 there was here a
tiny hamlet, known as _Las Canitas_, but on becoming the terminus of
the railroad from La Vega, the name of Sanchez, a hero of Dominican
independence, was given it, and the town rapidly grew in size. Its
dwellings are scattered over two ridges of land divided by a deep
valley. On one of the ridges the houses are pretty one-story buildings
with gardens in front. The beautiful grounds surrounding the house of
the general manager of the Samana-Santiago Railroad are situated on a
height overlooking the sparkling expanse of Samana Bay and give a
suggestion of the possibilities of landscape gardening in Santo
Domingo. Colored families from St. Thomas and the British West Indies
and descendants of American negroes make up a considerable proportion
of the population, so that more English is heard here than Spanish.
On the south side of Samana Bay is the small village of _Sábana de la
Mar_, commonly known as _Sábana la Mar_, founded by Canary Islanders
in 1756. There are many stories of pirates' buried gold in
this region.
PROVINCE OF PACIFICADOR
_San Francisco de Macoris_, the capital of the province, is about 85
miles northwest of Santo Domingo City and occupies the site of a fort
established by Ovando in 1504 and known as the fort of La Magdalena.
It was founded in 1774 around a chapel dedicated to St. Ann which
stood on a ranch called San Francisco. Lying in a fertile district
formerly devoted to tobacco and now one of the chief cacao regions of
the island, it is a town of considerable business. It is also called
_Macoris del Norte_, to distinguish it from San Pedro de Macoris,
which is called Macoris del Este.
_Villa Rivas_, on the Samana-Santiago Railroad, 19 miles from Samana
bay, was formerly called Almacén, or Storehouse, because here was
situated, before the railroad was built, a warehouse for the storage
of merchandise imported and exported by way of Samana and the
Yuna river.
The other towns, all of recent foundation, are _Matanzas_, a fishing
village on the edge of a cacao district on the northeast coast, and
three villages named after heroes of the War of Restoration: _Cabrera_
on the coast at Tres Amarras point; _Castillo_, 8 miles west of Rivas;
and _Pimentel_, formerly called _Barbero_, a station on the
Samana-Santiago Railroad and the center of an important cacao zone.
PROVINCE OF LA VEGA
_Concepción de la Vega_, capital of the province and one of the most
important cities of the Royal Plain, is 90 miles from Santo Domingo
City. The old town of Concepción de la Vega was founded by Columbus in
1495 at the foot of the eminence known as Santo Cerro and at the place
of residence of the Indian chief Guarionex. It quickly attained such
importance that in 1508 it was declared a city and endowed with a coat
of arms, and in the same year a bishopric was erected there, which
was, however, in 1527 merged with the bishopric of Santo Domingo. An
earthquake overthrew its fine buildings in 1564 and the city was
thereupon relocated at a distance of three miles on the bank of the
Camu. The site of the old city is now private property and is
overgrown with tropical vegetation. Moss-grown foundation walls
protrude from the ground; a mass of brickwork some twenty feet high
and having the form of a blockhouse chimney remains of the old church;
and part of the circular tower erected at the corner of the fort of
Columbus, well provided with loop-holes for muskets, still remains
standing. In desultory excavations made at different times small
objects such as ancient spurs, stirrups and coins have been found.
The new city led a languishing existence until it became the interior
terminus of the Samana-Santiago Railroad which gave it a great
impetus. It is regularly laid out, the streets are fairly wide and a
majority of the houses are built of brick. The city has a pretty plaza
laid out as a garden, a new market building, a theater, and like every
other town of importance in Santo Domingo, a club. At the entrance to
the town is a bronze statue of Gregorio Rivas, a progressive merchant
and philanthropist of this region, who died twenty years ago.
The feature of the city which attracts the traveler's attention
unfavorably is the neglect of the city streets. During the dry season
the lack of pavements does not matter but when the rains come the rich
loam turns to a deep black mud. Along most streets there are narrow
sidewalks, but where there are none, or where it is necessary to cross
to the other side, the mode of progress is by hop, skip and jump from
one dry place to another--the religion of the virtuous pedestrian
being put to a severe test when after a strenuous jump he lands in a
muddy place up to his shoe tops. At some crossings thoughtful
storekeepers lay a plank of salvation for the passer-by. The city is a
great center for cacao, tobacco and coffee, and several sawmills are
kept busy cutting up pine logs from the surrounding hills.
_Cotuí_, about 31 miles southeast of La Vega, was founded by order of
Ovando in 1505, being called _Las Minas_ in the early days because of
the mines of gold, copper and other metals in the neighborhood.
_Bonao_, about 26 miles south of La Vega, was founded by order of
Columbus in 1496 to protect the mines in the nearby mountains and was
the scene of Roldan's revolt against Columbus. Both of these towns
almost disappeared when the colony declined and are now
humble villages.
Other villages are _Jarabacoa_, 18 miles southwest of La Vega;
_Constanza_, 30 miles southwest of La Vega and rarely visited by
strangers because of its isolation among the mountains, near the
beautiful valley of Constanza; _Cevicos_, also hidden in the
mountains, 12 miles southeast of Cotui; and _Santo Cerro_, 3 miles
north of La Vega, on a hill which commands a magnificent view of the
Royal Plain.
PROVINCE OF ESPAILLAT
_Moca_, also called _Espaillat_, 100 miles northwest of Santo Domingo
City, is a thriving city. It was the scene of the "Moca massacre" in
1805, when the Haitian general Christophe, having guaranteed the
safety of the inhabitants, induced them to return from their hiding
places in the mountains and assemble in the church to the number of
five hundred in order to hold a mass of thanksgiving, whereupon they
were massacred by the Haitian soldiers. In more recent history it has
been taken and retaken many times during revolutions and in 1899 was
the scene of the killing of President Heureaux. Its houses are mostly
one story in height and many are built of brick, while picturesque
huts of the poor surround the town. Gutters have been constructed in
the principal streets, but the possibilities of paving have by no
means been exhausted. The town sustains two churches, one on the
outskirts, and another with a peculiar square tower, on the plaza. The
inhabitants take pride in their pretty flower-grown plaza and in the
elaborate portal of their cemetery.
The other town of the province is _Salcedo_, formerly called _Juana
Núñez_, 7 miles east of Moca in a rich cacao district.
PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO
_Santiago de los Caballeros_, Santiago of the Gentlemen, 115 miles
northwest of Santo Domingo, was founded as a military station on a
bluff of the Yaque River about 1497 by order of Bartholomew Columbus,
and settled in 1504 by thirty knights, from which circumstance it
derives its name. It received many settlers from the old town of
Isabela, was given a coat of arms in 1508, reached a flourishing
state, and was destroyed in 1564 by the same earthquake which
overthrew La Vega. Its inhabitants then removed to the present site,
about six miles east of the location of the old city, the ruins of
which are still to be seen. The city was burned three times by the
French buccaneers during their struggles with the Spanish colonial
authorities and later by the Haitian general Christophe on the
occasion of the retreat of the emperor Dessalines in 1805. It had
again attained importance when it was destroyed by an earthquake in
1842. Once more it was reduced to ashes in 1863 at the outbreak of the
War of the Restoration. To-day Santiago is one of the richest and most
flourishing cities of the island and has aspirations to become the
capital of the Republic, so that an intense rivalry exists with Santo
Domingo. The streets are regular and clean and a general repair has
been commenced. There are important business houses and well-stocked
bazaars and the market place is one of the busiest in the country.
The plaza in the center of the city has a handsome garden established
by popular subscription, and gay with flowers and palms. Two churches
are on the plaza, the larger of which has a beautiful altar. The
remains of President Heureaux are buried here, his resting place being
marked by a marble slab with the Dominican coat of arms. The
government palace fronting on the plaza is a substantial affair with
walls dating from Haitian times, and the city hall, also fronting on
the plaza, is a fine structure. In the cemetery there is a street of
beautiful mausoleums, the architecture of several being Egyptian in
style and others bearing medallions or recumbent figures of the
deceased. The volunteer fire corps of Santiago has a special lot and a
pretty monument. _San José de las Matas_, 24 miles southwest of
Santiago, is situated on a high plain in the midst of the mountains
and is surrounded by great pine forests. Its salubrious climate and
picturesque environments make it a favorite summer resort for wealthy
families of Santiago, Puerto Plata and Moca, and a health resort for
persons afflicted with stomach or lung trouble. Nearby are hot and
cold sulphur springs, the beautiful Inoa waterfall, the picturesque
confluence of the Amina and Inoa rivers and the high Rubio Peak, which
commands one of the finest panoramas in the island.
Other towns are _Valverde_, formerly _Mao_, 30 miles northwest of
Santiago; _Jânico_, 14 miles southwest of Santiago, _Esperanza_, 27
miles northwest of Santiago; and _Canton Peña_, also called
_Tamboril_, 7 miles east of Santiago and having such close social
relations with that city as to be regarded as a suburb of the same.
PROVINCE OF PUERTO PLATA
_Puerto Plata_, 150 miles northwest of Santo Domingo, is the most
important port of the north of the Republic. Columbus is said to have
made the plans for the streets of the town; as early as 1499 there
were settlers here; and in 1502 the city was formally founded by order
of Ovando. It enjoyed prosperity during the first years of the colony,
but in 1543 was attacked by pirates and thereafter rapidly went to
decay. The stringent laws which restricted the commerce of the island
to certain ports of the mother country encouraged contraband trade and
the place became the headquarters for smugglers. The government
endeavored to stop smuggling in 1606 by the brilliant expedient of
destroying the town and moving all the inhabitants to Monte Plata, far
in the interior of Santo Domingo province. In 1750 Puerto Plata was
populated anew and shared with Monte Cristi the advantage of the law
permitting free trade for ten years. It rapidly grew in population
until it became the most important commercial point of the Republic,
and the port of the entire Cibao region, part of which now finds an
outlet at Sanchez. It was in a flourishing state and had fine houses
when it was totally destroyed by fire in 1863, during the War of
Restoration, whether by the Spaniards or the Dominicans remains in
doubt. Prosperity again followed, many foreigners were attracted by
its commercial possibilities and to-day it is again one of the most
thriving towns of Santo Domingo.
The first thing to attract the traveler's notice is the excellent
condition of the city streets. Though the macadamized streets and the
sidewalks are narrow, they are clean, well kept and well lighted at
night. In streets, schools and public squares the city is in advance
of most of the other cities of the Republic. This is attributed to a
great extent to the presence of many cultured foreigners as well as to
the progressive natives. The inhabitants of Puerto Plata boast that
what Puerto Plata does the rest of the Republic does. They point as an
example to their plaza. Formerly the plaza of Dominican cities was a
bare, shadeless tract of ground in the center of the city. Puerto
Plata was the first to plant trees, lay out a garden and provide its
plaza with a music stand. This plaza in the center of the town is the
oldest and prettiest of the city's three public squares and is now
shaded by large, leafy trees and embellished with beautiful flowers
and varicolored bushes. On Sunday nights on this plaza and on Thursday
nights on one of the others, band concerts attract crowds of people,
young and old, who promenade to the strains of the music. The belles
of the city are very handsome and owing to the intermarriage of
natives with foreigners from all parts of the world widely different
types of beauty are to be observed at such concerts.
On one side of the principal plaza is the church, on another stand
side by side the theater, the government building, where the
provincial offices are located, and the city hall, on the first floor
of which is a well-attended school. The three principal clubs of the
city are also located in commodious quarters fronting on this plaza.
One of these clubs counts among its members most of the merchants and
staid and elderly people, another is the club of the young men and a
third is the ladies' club. The ladies' club is open only in the
afternoon and evening, but in the clubs frequented by gentlemen games
of billiards may be seen going on at almost any hour of the day.
The buildings of the city are all of modern date. Only a few
foundation walls near the ocean shore, and the old fort, remain from
former days. The old fort is situated on the point of land partly
enclosing Puerto Plata harbor and is surrounded on three sides by
buildings of the present fort. It is a large round whitewashed
structure having the appearance of a huge cheesebox; its walls are of
enormous thickness and it is now used as a jail. In former days the
inhabitants had much difficulty in obtaining drinking water, but
Puerto Plata was the first city to be provided with a general system
of water works, having been followed only recently by Santiago. The
water is brought from a stream a little over a mile away. The ride
there is a beautiful one but it goes to prove that the movement for
good thoroughfares has not yet extended to the roads. From all parts
of Puerto Plata Mt. Isabel de Torres is seen towering behind the city.
The view obtained from the slopes of the mountain, over miles of
shoreline and a broad expanse of ocean, is of indescribable grandeur.
The traveler who visits Puerto Plata carries away with him pleasant
memories of the clean city, its comfortable clubs, its hospitable
citizens and its beautiful surroundings.
Other towns of the province are _Altamira_, 18 miles southwest of
Puerto Plata, astride a hill rising in the middle of a valley of the
coast range of mountains; _Blanco_, on the coast 20 miles northwest of
Puerto Plata and 10 miles east of the site of Isabela, the first city
in the new world; and _Bajabonico_, 10 miles southwest of Puerto
Plata, a village called into being by the building of the Central
Dominican Railroad.
PROVINCE OF MONTE CRISTI
_San Fernando de Monte Cristi_, 196 miles northwest of Santo Domingo
City, the capital of Monte Cristi province, was founded during the
government of Ovando by sixty Spanish families, and after giving
promise of prosperity decayed with the rest of the colony. It was
supported for a time by a brisk contraband trade which sprang up with
the Dutch and other nations and to put a stop to which the town was
destroyed in 1606 like Puerto Plata and the inhabitants transferred to
Monte Plata, to the south of the central mountain range. In 1750 a
royal dispensation granted it the right to free trade with all nations
for a period of ten years and it began to attain prominence as a port,
but the wars with the Haitians, the War of Restoration with the
Spaniards and the many civil wars have retarded its progress. Only in
the last few years has it received a new impetus. The town is built
about a mile from the shore, with which it is connected by a tiny
horse car. About thirty houses are connected with a private system of
waterworks which supplies water from the Yaque river. Situated as it
is in the arid region of Santo Domingo the city bears much resemblance
to some of the western towns of the United States.
Other towns are _Guayubín_, 24 miles, _Sabaneta_, 36 miles, and
_Monción_, 46 miles southeast of Monte Cristi; and _Dajabón_, 22
miles, _Restauración_, 40 miles, and _Copey_, 12 miles southwest of
Monte Cristi. They are all small villages. Dajabon, founded towards
the middle of the eighteenth century, is situated on the east bank of
the Massacre river, which constitutes the Haitian boundary, and is one
of the inland ports of entry. Restauración is peopled largely by
French speaking negroes from Haiti.
PROVINCE OF AZUA
_Azua de Compostela_, about 83 miles west of Santo Domingo City, was
founded by Diego de Velazquez in 1504 at a point four miles southwest
of its present location. It was first called Compostela after a
Galician official who held some property here, but the Indian name of
the region prevailed. Hernando Cortez, later the conqueror of Mexico,
settled here and for some five years was the notary of the town. At
first prosperous, the city soon suffered a serious decline, but was
beginning to revive when on August 18, 1751, it was entirely destroyed
by an earthquake. The inhabitants then transferred the town to its
present location on the western bank of the Via River. The ruins of
the old city are still visible near the hamlet called Pueblo Viejo,
Old Town. Azua was destroyed by fire three times in the Haitian wars:
in 1805, by order of the Haitian emperor Dessalines, in 1844 by
President Herard, and in 1849 by President Soulouque. To-day it is
the most important town in the southwestern part of the Republic.
Situated in an arid region, like Monte Cristi, it is similar to many a
town in New Mexico and Arizona, with hot, sunny, shadeless streets
beginning and ending in space, one story houses, a great plain of dark
green beyond the town and purple mountains in the distance. The houses
here are of wood or stone and with thatched or zinc roofs. There is a
large new church, the images in which seem to be very old and do not
distinguish themselves for beauty. The town is about three miles
inland from the port, but a branch of a narrow gauge plantation
railroad connects the city with the wharf and on steamer days a
passenger car makes several trips. Azua is famous throughout Santo
Domingo for its excellent "dulce de leche," a kind of milk taffy,
which is well made elsewhere in the Republic, but is better in Azua as
it is here prepared from goat's milk.
_San Juan de la Maguana_, 48 miles northwest of Azua, was founded in
1504 by Diego Velazquez in the beautiful Maguana valley where the
Indian chief Caonabo had his residence, became almost extinct in 1606,
but revived in 1764 with the establishment of new cattle ranches in
the vicinity. During the Haitian wars it was burned repeatedly. Near
the town is a curious relic of Indian times called Anacaona's circus
or "el corral de los Indios," consisting of large stones laid in a
huge circle, and in the center a strange cylindrical stone, carved
with Indian figures, which is supposed to have served as the throne of
the Indian queen Anacaona.
_Las Matas de Farfán_, 64 miles northwest of Azua, was established in
1780 and suffered greatly during the wars with the Haitians. Like the
other villages of the Maguana valley its chief industry is
stockraising. _Bánica_, 75 miles northwest of Azua, on the Haitian
frontier, was one of the towns established by Diego Velazquez in 1504.
Though an important town in the early days it decayed, and in the
beginning of the nineteenth century was abandoned entirely. During
Haitian rule it was reestablished, but upon the declaration of
Dominican independence was again abandoned for fear of Haitian
vengeance, remaining so until the War of Restoration during which it
was settled anew.
Other villages are _San José de Ocoa_, also known as _Maniel_, 18
miles northeast of Azua, founded in 1844 in a picturesque region;
_Túbano_, 34 miles northwest of Azua; _El Cercado_, 12 miles southwest
of Las Matas de Farfan; and _Comendador_, near the Haitian frontier,
13 miles west of Las Matas de Farfan, the seat of one of the inland
custom-houses.
Dominican writers include among the towns pertaining to the Province
of Azua those situated in that part of the territory of the former
Spanish colony which is now held by Haiti. The principal towns in this
territory are _Lares de Guajaba_ or _Hincha_, to-day called _Hinche_,
which was founded in 1504 and was the birthplace of General Pedro
Santana; _Las Caobas_, founded about the middle of the eighteenth
century; _San Miguel de la Atalaya_, to-day called _St. Michel_,
founded about the same time; and _San Rafael de la Angostura_, called
_St. Raphael_ by the Haitians.
PROVINCE OF BARAHONA
_Barahona_, 126 miles west of Santo Domingo City, became capital of
the Barahona district when a provincial government was established
there in 1881. It is a small town, which began to be settled in the
beginning of the nineteenth century, and suffered greatly during the
Haitian wars and the revolutions following them. At present its fame
is its fine coffee.
Other towns are _Enriquillo_, formerly called _Petitrú_ (Petit Trou)
on the coast 22 miles south of Barahona; _Neiba_, 32 miles northwest
of Barahona, founded a century ago and prevented from developing by
the damages it sustained first in the Haitian, then in the civil wars;
and _Duvergé_, formerly called _Las Damas_, which commands a fine view
of Lake Enriquillo with Cabras Island in the distance. In the
northwest corner of the province is the small collection of huts
called _Tierra Nueva_, and a few miles beyond, isolated in a wild
region on the frontier, the inland customhouse of _Las Lajas_.