Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future Part 11

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 impa.s.sable 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 alt.i.tude 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 gra.s.s. Forests follow, the trees of which are enc.u.mbered 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 pa.s.sing 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 a.s.signed 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 pa.s.sengers 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-pa.s.senger 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 pa.s.senger together, usually looking like a freight train with a small pa.s.senger 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 pa.s.s 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 k.n.o.b in the middle of the valley, is pa.s.sed, 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, pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.sengers 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 princ.i.p.al 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 pa.s.sengers 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-cla.s.s 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 princ.i.p.al 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 ab.u.t.ting 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 gra.s.sy or stony stretches, the road disappears entirely, and the traveler's best guide is the telegraph wire, where there is one. Again it pa.s.ses through th.o.r.n.y 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 const.i.tution 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 pa.s.ser-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 part.i.tion, 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 princ.i.p.al 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 pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.ses, 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 pa.s.s 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 Pa.s.s, which is almost 2000 feet above the level of the sea, a sublime view of mountains, valleys and plains is obtained. The pa.s.s itself is a narrow rocky defile where a score of men might hold an army at bay. It is said that there are lower pa.s.ses 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 Pa.s.s.

This is also an ancient trail which formerly pa.s.sed 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 Pa.s.s, as far as Mella, where the road branches off to the left. Small gra.s.sy 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 pa.s.s 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 Pa.s.s is attained near the former town. By this road it is about 65 miles from Santo Domingo to Cotui.

The three pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.ses 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 Pa.s.s, 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 pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.s, 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 pa.s.s.

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 impa.s.sable 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 gra.s.sy plains to Seibo, pa.s.sing 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 seash.o.r.e. 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 pa.s.sed, a romantic structure, built by the early Spaniards as an outpost against piratical invasions. Seven miles further on is the collection of huts const.i.tuting 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 seash.o.r.e, 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 gra.s.s-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 pa.s.s of Las Carreras,--where Santana on April 21, 1849, a.s.sured 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 gra.s.s-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 th.o.r.n.y 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 pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.ses 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.senger 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.