Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future Part 6

Several small bays indent this portion of the sh.o.r.e, the one most favorable for shipping being Las Aguilas Bay, also known as Bahia sin Fondo, or Bottomless Bay. This part of the country, the Baboruco peninsula, is very spa.r.s.ely inhabited. In the beginning of the nineteenth century it was the abode of maroons, half-savage fugitive slaves and their descendants.

Four miles to the southwest of Cape Beata lies Beata Island, sloping down from an elevation in the south to a long point in the north. Its greatest length is about 7 miles, its maximum breadth 3 miles, and access is difficult as the only anchorage is on the eastern side almost two miles from land. The island is covered with dense forests in which wild cattle abound. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the island was a convenient resort for the pirates that infested the Spanish main; at one time it is said to have contained fine plantations, but at present it is only occasionally visited by Dominican or Haitian fishermen.

Rising precipitously from the sea, at a distance of about ten miles southwest of Beata Island, is a huge bell-shaped ma.s.s of rock, 500 feet in height, almost two miles in length and a mile in width. It reminded Columbus of a giant ship under full sail, wherefore he named it Alta Vela, or High Sail, sometimes corrupted to Alto Velo. The valuable deposits of guano on the rock induced a party of Americans in 1860 to take possession of it in the name of the United States as an ownerless guano island, but upon protest by the Dominican authorities the American government promptly recognized the superior rights of Santo Domingo. Visible from far out at sea, with a lighthouse on its summit, the great granite peak stands like a sentinel guarding the southern sh.o.r.e of the Republic.

On the land side the vague boundary has varied constantly, influenced by the conflicting Haitian and Dominican claims, the greater or less energy of the border authorities on each side, and the tendency of the rapidly increasing Haitian population to establish homes in the uninhabited frontier region of Santo Domingo. The absolute lack of correct maps and the rugged character of the country make it difficult, even on the spot, to determine where the boundary line should be considered to run. In riding through the region about Lake Azuei, I noticed some bad dents in the frontier and came to the conclusion that not all the boundary pushing has been done by Haitians.

On the frontier as provisionally fixed by the American government in 1912, the Dajabon, Capotillo or Ma.s.sacre River const.i.tutes the northern end of the boundary. The lower course of this river is the only part of the boundary line where Haitian and Dominican claimants are able to agree. In the mountains to the west of Restauracion the line jumps over to the headwaters of the Libon River, which it follows to the upper Artibonite, continuing along this river as far as Banica.

From here it runs across high mountains between Comendador and Hondo Valle on the Dominican side and Belladere and Savanette on the Haitian side, to the north sh.o.r.e of Lake Azuei, thence across the lake to the headwaters of the Pedernales River--with an indentation to give Haiti the post of Bois Tombe--and along that river to the sea. For the greater part of its extent the line traverses a wild mountainous country, rarely visited on the Dominican side, except by smugglers or an occasional frontier guard.

CHAPTER VIII

TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Mountains.--Valleys and plains.--Rivers.--Lakes.--Temperature and rainfall.--Hurricanes.--Health conditions.

It is related that an English admiral, in endeavoring to ill.u.s.trate to George III the topography of one of the West India Islands crumpled up a piece of paper in his hand and laid it on the table before the monarch, saying: "That, sir, is the island." The traveler touring the West Indies finds the story following him from place to place. Among the islands which claim to have given origin to the anecdote is Haiti, and however that may be, such description seems to apply admirably.

Rugged irregular mountain ranges interspersed with valleys form the greater part of the surface, while in the southeast a great plain extends from the mountains to the coast.

The mountains of the Dominican Republic may be grouped in five princ.i.p.al ranges, two along the northern coast, one in the center of the island, and two in the southwest. They all extend from east to west and present numerous offshoots, especially the central range which is the most important one and comprises the highest peaks.

One of the northern ranges is the short Samana Range, beginning at Cape Samana, extending the length of the Samana Peninsula, over thirty miles, and ending near the Gran Estero. The greatest alt.i.tude is attained by Mt. Pilon de Azucar and Mt. Diablo which are 1900 and 1300 feet in height, respectively. This group at first sight appears to be an extension of the second chain, the Monte Cristi Range, but its geological formation proves it rather to belong to the great central range. It was probably at a remote period an island lying off from the mainland.

The other northern range has its beginning near Samana Bay and extends all the way to Monte Cristi. It is known as the Monte Cristi Range though the eastern portion is also called the Sierra de Macoris. It sends several branches to the coast, the most important one being that which terminates at Puerto Plata. The highest points of the range are Mt. Diego de Ocampo, with an alt.i.tude of 4000 feet, Nord Peak 3500 feet, and Mt. Murazo 3400 feet. A notable landmark is Mt. Isabel de Torres, 2300 feet in height, which overlooks Puerto Plata. Its head is usually shrouded in a cap of clouds, and small mists frequently hover about its surface. To Columbus, pa.s.sing out at sea on his first voyage, the cloudcap appeared shining like burnished silver in the morning sun. He took it to be snow until closer investigation disclosed its true nature, whereupon he named the mountain Monte Plata, or Silver Mount, and the port at the base was afterwards called Puerto Plata. The mountain is said to have been given its present name, Isabel de Torres, in honor of the wife of a prominent settler, Diego de Ocampo, domiciled in Santiago in the early days, after whom the great mountain near that city was named. According to a local legend, this couple, although blessed with worldly goods, was also mutually possessed of such a nagging spirit and ungovernable temper that a separation became necessary, the husband remaining in Santiago, the wife removing to Puerto Plata. When leagues intervened between them their conduct was so charming that the inhabitants of the two cities gave their names to the high mountains near the respective towns. "If you doubt the story," the legend concludes, "there are the mountains to prove it."

The princ.i.p.al mountain range, the Cordillera Central, begins at the extreme eastern point of the island, traverses the center of the Republic, crosses into Haitian territory and sinks into the sea at Mole St. Nicolas to reappear in Cuba, on the other side of the Windward Pa.s.sage. It const.i.tutes a part of the great ridge which forms the backbone of all the islands bounding the Caribbean Sea on the north. In the eastern part of Santo Domingo the range consists merely of a chain of high hills which rarely reach an alt.i.tude of more than 900 feet, but in the center and west of the Republic it a.s.sumes much greater magnitude, sending out branches which are important mountain chains in themselves, and several of its peaks are over 6000 feet in height. The highest point in the island and in the West Indies is Mt.

Tina, with an alt.i.tude of 10,300 feet, a magnificent outpost of that branch of the central range which traverses the south-central portion of the Republic. The next highest point, is Yaque Peak, 9700 feet high, nearly at the center of the island. The dense jungle covering the rugged slopes of these giants has so far baffled the few attempts at exploration of their summits. To the west of Yaque Peak is Mt.

Cucurucho, 7400 feet high, and to the northwest Mt. Entre los Rios, 8000 feet and Mt. Gallo, 8200 feet in height. It must be remembered that in the absence of any careful measurements, the alt.i.tudes given are mere approximations.

The Cordillera Central is peculiar in its numerous branches which are often more intricate in their ramifications and comprise loftier peaks than the parent range. The most important of these branches are those which extend from Mt. Banilejo to the southern coast, and fill the district between San Cristobal and Azua with a jumble of mountains.

Besides Mt. Tina, already mentioned, their princ.i.p.al peaks are Mt. Rio Grande, 6900 feet, overlooking the beautiful Constanza Valley, and Mt.

Valdesia, 5900 feet high. One of the best defined ranges on the south is the Sierra del Agua, which runs south from the Central Cordillera to the San Juan River. The branches on the north are even more numerous and cover a greater area. Among them special reference may be made to the Sierra Zamba, which runs parallel to the Yaque del Norte River, the Sierra de San Jose de las Matas, the Santiago Range, the Jarabacoa Range and the Cotui Range.

The fourth princ.i.p.al mountain range of the Republic, the Neiba Range, is sometimes cla.s.sed as a part of the Cordillera Central. It rises on the western bank of the Neiba River and runs west parallel with the central chain, into Haitian territory. Among its princ.i.p.al peaks is Mt. Panso, 6200 feet high. The fifth princ.i.p.al range, situated in the extreme southwest of the Republic, is known as the Baboruco Range, and sometimes as Maniel de los Negros. It begins at the Caribbean coast south of Barahona Bay and runs west into Haiti, forming an integral portion of the mountain chain that traverses the great peninsula in the south of the Republic of Haiti.

These several ranges and their offshoots divide the country into a number of distinct regions, which, owing to the difficulty of communication, have developed more or less independently of one another. The most important division is that effected by the broad central belt of mountains which, twelve miles wide in its narrowest part, and extending from the sh.o.r.es of the Mona Channel to and beyond the Haitian frontier, const.i.tutes a rugged barrier between the north and the south of the Republic.

The district to the north of the Central Cordillera, comprising the richest portion of the country, still retains its old Indian name "Cibao"--a word which awoke fond hopes in the heart of Columbus who identified it with "c.i.p.ango," the j.a.pan he was so eagerly seeking. The Cibao includes the northern slope of the central range with the fertile valleys enclosed by branches of that range, the Samana peninsula, the Monte Cristi Range with its valleys and coastal plains, and particularly the magnificent valley of the Cibao, which lying between the central chain and the Monte Cristi Range, extends all the way from Samana Bay to Manzanillo Bay. The length of this remarkable valley is about 150 miles, its average breadth is 10 miles in the northwestern and 15 miles in the southeastern part, and it comprises the most fertile lands and the most populous interior towns of the Republic. The highest part of the valley is about 600 feet above sea-level and is situated at its middle point, near the city of Santiago, where a line of low hills dividing the valley into two parts forms a watershed for its rivers. The northwestern of these two sections is known as the Santiago or Yaque valley and forms the greater portion of the basin of the Yaque del Norte, while the southeastern half, through which the Yuna River flows, is the superb Royal Valley or Royal Plain.

One of the most beautiful views in the Cibao Valley, and in the world, is obtained from the historic eminence of Santo Cerro, an outpost hill of the central range, situated about three miles from the city of La Vega. From the foot of this hill the great plain stretches into the distance, meeting the azure sky on the eastern horizon, and far in the north skirting the brown slopes of the lofty Monte Cristi mountains, the more remote peaks of which are but faintly perceptible in their envelope of blue haze. A rich carpet of dark green overspreads the plain, where lighter spots indicate patches of tilled land and silver threads betray the presence of streams. The cities of Moca and La Vega are easily distinguished and on clear days even San Francisco de Macoris can be discerned. Clouds or rainstorms moving over portions of the vast expanse, add animation to the landscape.

Columbus, gazing out upon the enchanting scene, was so impressed by its magnificence that he gave the great vale the name it still bears--La Vega Real, The Royal Plain.

To the south of the central range the number of plains is greater. The largest expanse of level land on the island is the great plain which forms the southeastern part of the Dominican Republic. It includes almost the entire region east of the Jaina River and south of the central range, being about 115 miles long by 30 miles wide. This Eastern Valley or Seibo Plain, as it is sometimes called, is covered with forests and broad savannas, the most notable of which are comprised in the series of prairies known as Los Llanos, the Plains.

Two smaller and irregular plains are the arid Bani coastal plain, lying between the Nizao River and the Ocoa, with a length of 25 miles and a width ranging from 3 to 12 miles, and the Azua Valley, winding from Mt. Numero, near the Ocoa, to the Neiba River, a distance of 33 miles with a breadth of from 3 to 30 miles.

The Neiba Valley, situated in the southwestern portion of the Republic between the Neiba and the Baboruco Mountains is more regular. It is part of the valley which stretches from Neiba Bay, in Santo Domingo, to Port-au-Prince in Haiti. The Dominican portion is 65 miles long by 12 miles wide, and over one-half of its area is covered by the waters of Lake Enriquillo. The peninsula south of the Baboruco Mountains is an uneven plateau.

In the very center of the Republic, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains of the central group, is Constanza Valley, rich but to-day almost inaccessible. No less rich, but many times larger, is the other interior plain, known as the Eastern or Central Valley, a succession of fertile valleys, extending from the Neiba River to St. Raphael, almost 115 miles, with a width of from nine to twenty miles. The entire plain is claimed by the Dominican Republic, but more than half is in possession of Haiti.

All these various valleys and plains enjoy the advantage of being watered by a comprehensive network of rivers of greater or less size.

Many of the streams are navigable for miles in the lower part of their course by boats and canoes, affording means of communication to which the wretched condition of the land highways gives added importance.

The largest river of the Republic is the Yaque del Norte, some 240 miles in length, which rises on the slope of Yaque Peak, describes a circuitous northerly course, receiving numerous mountain affluents, until it reaches the vicinity of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, whence, turning northwesterly it flows through the Santiago Valley, being reinforced by scores of tributaries. Its waters are finally discharged partially into Monte Cristi Bay and partly through its many mouthed delta into Manzanillo Bay. Detritus and driftwood brought down by the river, for many years entirely filled the Monte Cristi channel, and still const.i.tute barriers which cause large lagoons to form in the delta and to inundate extensive tracts of rich farmland. Though the bars at its entrance render the river inaccessible for larger boats, it is navigable for canoes over its entire course in the Santiago Valley.

Another large river is the yellow Yuna, which waters the eastern part of the Cibao Valley. Rising in the mountains near the center of the Republic, it directs its course to the Royal Plain where it receives the waters of the rapid Camu, and thence flows eastwardly and enters Samana Bay through a marshy delta, its total length being over 200 miles. Part of its waters find their way through the great swamp, the Gran Estero, into the Atlantic Ocean. Up to its junction with the Camu, a distance of some 30 miles, the Yuna is navigable by boats and barges, and above the junction both the Yuna and the Camu are navigable by canoes for nearly 30 miles more though there are shallow stretches where the streams run rapidly and great care is necessary.

In former days, the Yuna was one of the chief outlets of the Cibao; freight and pa.s.sengers were transported over its course to Samana Bay and on the waters of the Bay to the town of Samana where transshipment to larger vessels took place. With the establishment of the railroad from La Vega to Sanchez, the river has lost much of its old-time importance.

The third largest river is the Neiba or Yaque del Sur, which rises near the sources of the Yaque del Norte and pursues a southerly direction for some 180 miles, emptying into Neiba Bay. The repet.i.tion of geographical means is one of the peculiarities of Santo Domingo.

Thus there are two rivers and a mountain named Yaque, several mountains named Cucurucho, a mountain-range and two cities named Macoris while in a host of minor instances rivers, mountains and districts in different parts of the country have identical names. The repet.i.tion of names seems all the more curious as the Dominicans have not hesitated to change historic names of towns and streets. The Yaque del Sur, or Neiba River, receives several copious affluents, the largest one being the San Juan River. Much of the lumber exported at Barahona is floated down the Yaque and the river is navigable about 20 miles for flat-bottomed boats, though rapids and rocky ledges interpose obstacles.

The other rivers of the southern part of Santo Domingo are much smaller. The princ.i.p.al one is the Ozama, at the mouth of which the capital city is located. This river is about 60 miles in length and carries a surprising amount of water. Being navigable by barges for 9 miles from its mouth and by canoes for 15 miles, it forms an important avenue of supply for Santo Domingo City. In the three miles from its junction with the Isabela to the sea, its depth is about 24 feet, but over the sandbar at its mouth but 15 feet. Two rivers in the southeastern peninsula, the Macoris and the Soco furnish valuable outlets for the products of the sugar estates on their banks. A number of Dominican streams offer peculiarities. In the mountains there are brooks which gush out of the hillside, merrily ripple on for miles and vanish into the ground as mysteriously as they came. A number of coast streams sink into the sand of the beach, just before reaching the ocean. The Brujuelas River, which rises on the edge of the great plains, northwest of Bayaguana, flows south 25 miles through the plains and disappears in the ground a mile from the sea. Most streams ordinarily insignificant and innocent looking, are in a surprisingly short s.p.a.ce of time converted by rains into raging torrents. The most formidable of these torrential rivers is the Nizao which flows into the Caribbean Sea near Point Palenque. In the lower part of this river's course its bed is about a mile wide, of which only a small portion is covered by the several branches of the river, the remainder being taken up with sandbanks, gravel beds, marshy tracts and stagnant bayous; and so frequently and erratically does the river change its channels, and to such sudden rises is it subject, that the local authorities are obliged to keep guides stationed on its banks almost continuously, in order to direct travelers across.

The rapids and cascades of Dominican streams are pregnant with possibilities, but up to the present time they have remained in their pristine condition, nor is their energy utilized to drive a single piece of machinery. The largest and most beautiful waterfall of the island is doubtless that of the Jimenoa River, in the mountains some ten miles south of the city of La Vega, where the Jimenoa rushes over a precipice one hundred feet in height, producing clouds of spray and a roar that can sometimes be perceived as far as Jarabacoa, six miles away. Another beautiful fall is that of the Dajabon River, on the Haitian frontier, 30 feet in height, and there are notable cascades also on the Comate River, near Bayaguana, on the great plains; on the Nigua and Higuero Rivers, not many miles from Santo Domingo City; on the Inova River, near the town of San Jose de las Matas; and on the Guaranas River, on the Haitian frontier in the commune of Neiba.

The only lakes of any size are two which lie in the Neiba Valley, the larger one, Lake Enriquillo, being comprised entirely within Dominican territory, while of the smaller one, variously called Etang Saumatre, or Lake Azuei, or Laguna del Fondo, through which the frontier line pa.s.ses, less than one-fourth is under Dominican jurisdiction. They are both very picturesque, and with the greenish color of their water and their arid mountain surroundings recall portions of Lake t.i.ticaca in Bolivia. In stormy weather they become as rough as the ocean. Lake Enriquillo derives its name from the last Indian cacique of the Island, the romantic chieftain Enriquillo, who after fiercely resisting the Spaniards finally in 1533 concluded an honorable peace with them on the island of Cabras in the center of this lake. The lake is over 70 miles in circ.u.mference, having a length of about 33 miles and a width ranging from 3 to 9 miles, Cabras Island, 6 miles long by one in width, is the home of herds of goats. Lake Azuei is but 15 miles in length with a width of from 2 to 7 miles.

Though the two lakes are scarcely five miles apart, Lake Enriquillo is 102 feet below and Lake Azuei 56 feet above sea-level. Both lakes receive the waters of several small fresh water creeks, yet they apparently have no outlet and their water is salt, that of Lake Azuei only slightly, but that of Lake Enriquillo more so than the sea. On Cabras Island, however, there is a fresh water spring, and three lagoons to the east and south of Lake Enriquillo also contain fresh water. Lake Azuei often shows the paradox of going down during the rainy season and rising during the dry season; the phenomenon is attributed to the presence of springs at the bottom of the lake, which are unusually copious at the end of the rainy season. Both lakes have at least one variety of ocean fish, though the nearest point of the seacoast is some twenty miles distant; turtles abound in both and there are many alligators in Lake Enriquillo and a few in Lake Azuei.

The climate of Santo Domingo is that of the torrid zone and is characterized by heat and humidity. Yet the heat rarely becomes as intense as it sometimes does in the United States in summer and the nights are always cool and pleasant. The mean annual temperature of Santo Domingo City is between 77 and 78 Fahrenheit, and the variation between the mean temperature of the hottest and coolest month is hardly more than 6. The highest temperature recorded in Santo Domingo City in a period of seven years was 95. The average highest temperature in July and August is between 91 and 92. In the mountainous regions of the interior there is a noticeable difference in temperature; it is necessary to sleep under a blanket every night of the year and the temperature sometimes falls below the freezing point. The pleasantest months of the year are from December to February.

The heat of the climate is tempered and rendered bearable by cooling breezes which are seldom absent. During the day the prevailing breeze is from the east, but shortly after sunset a breeze sets in from the interior, blowing out to the ocean, and continues until after sunrise.

The heavy rains also tend to cool the atmosphere. The island is so cut up by mountain ranges running in different directions that there is no regular rainy season for the whole country. In the south, the west and the interior, the rainy season is generally reckoned as lasting from April to November, while in the eastern section the rainy season is from May to December. These seasons are not absolute, for at times there are heavy rains during what should be the dry season, while occasionally there are many days of drouth during the wet months. The rains are rarely long-continued drizzles, but instead for several hours the floodgates of heaven are opened wide, after which the sky clears and remains serene until the following day. The amount of rainfall varies in different parts of the country, being lightest in the arid districts of Monte Cristi, Azua and Barahona.

The United States Weather Bureau maintained a station at Santo Domingo City for a number of years and from the observations made the following data are compiled:

OBSERVATIONS FOR SANTO DOMINGO CITY

Highest Lowest Mean Average Mean temperature temperature relative Average number temperature recorded recorded humidity rainfall of days F F F per cl. inches with rain

January 74 86 61 85 2.01 11 February 74 88 60 82 .96 8 March 75 87 59 79 2.15 9 April 76 91 59 80 6.86 14 May 78 88 67 83 6.29 13 June 78 90 67 86 7.42 18 July 79 92 67 86 8.34 18 August 80 95 68 84 6.77 17 September 79 93 69 85 7.63 16 October 79 92 67 86 9.63 15 November 78 91 64 85 2.76 11 December 76 89 61 87 2.09 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual 77 95 59 84 62.91 161

Santo Domingo has at intervals felt the violence of the destructive hurricanes which occasionally ravage the West Indies. They often combine the features of a tornado and a cloudburst, and while the furious whirlwind wrecks houses, uproots trees and strips forests bare of leaves, the accompanying severe rains swell the streams to abnormal height and cause extensive inundations. The hurricane season is reckoned as beginning in July and ending in October and when during this period a sudden fall of the barometer announces the proximity of unusual atmospheric disturbances all shipping keeps to the harbors and the dwellers on sh.o.r.e take measures to guard against the devastating rage of the wind.

The first West Indian hurricane of which we have any record was that of 1502 which destroyed the first city of Santo Domingo and sank a Spanish fleet. More recent storms felt in Santo Domingo were those of 1834, 1865, 1876 and 1883. That of September 6, 1883, desolated the southwestern provinces of the Republic, and the rise of the Ozama River swept away the bridge connecting the capital with the opposite sh.o.r.e. The hurricane of 1899 which laid waste the nearby island of Porto Rico was scarcely felt in Santo Domingo. The latest unusually heavy storm was that which swept over the Republic during the first week of November, 1909, and caused much damage, especially in the Cibao. A sudden storm in the afternoon of August 29, 1916, accompanied by a kind of tidal wave, surprised the American 14,500 ton armored cruiser "Memphis" at anchor in the roadstead of Santo Domingo City and wrecked it against the rocky sh.o.r.e.

With regard to health conditions, the Dominican Republic has been maligned because of the fevers that decimated the English and French armies in the Haitian wars of a century ago. It must be remembered, however, that the French part of the island being shut out from the eastern breezes by high mountain ranges is hotter than the Spanish part, and that the European troops, improperly clad and fed, underwent great hardships and were ignorant of sanitary precautions. Among travelers it is the concensus of opinion that climatic conditions in the Dominican Republic are as favorable as in any other tropical country. Far from presenting dangers to health there are few districts in the Republic which with proper hotel accommodations would not offer delightful refuge to invalids seeking to escape the rigors of the northern winter. The salubrity of the climate is reflected in the st.u.r.dy character of the peasantry, and exemplified by numerous cases of unusual longevity. In the towns the death-rate is somewhat higher than in the country regions; but the very fact that in spite of uncleaned streets, reeking garbage heaps, and defiance of sanitary precepts by the majority of the inhabitants, there has been so comparatively little sickness, bears strong witness to the healthfulness of the country. By a law of 1912 boards of health were established, and under American impulse more attention is now being given to sanitation.

As no census of the Republic has ever been taken and data relative to births and deaths have not been collected regularly, it is not possible to compile statistics as to the death rate in the various provinces. The data so far available seem to indicate that the healthiest province is Puerto Plata, followed by Santiago, Azua and Monte Cristi, after which come Santo Domingo, La Vega, Espaillat, Pacificador, Samana and Barahona. The mortality rate is highest in the province of Macoris where the annual number of deaths is reported to average about thirty per thousand.

The most frequent endemic diseases are malaria which is to be feared near marshes and stagnant waters, pulmonary consumption, which, however, is not more common than in the United States, and diseases of the digestive organs. Yellow fever is unknown and the sporadic cases which have occurred were due to the importation of the disease from other countries. The only epidemic in recent years occurred in Puerto Plata in 1901 when ten deaths were recorded.