THE ISLAND OF SANTO DOMINGO -4'.', 



peaks, that of San Jose" de 1"- Mates, is from five to six 

 thousand feel high,cu1 from the naked rocks, which in the 

 adjacent mountains reach an altitude of seveD thousandfeet. 



Elsewhere in places the mountains are clad in forests 

 and other verdure, dp to four thousand feel pines are 

 found ; farther up, as the precipitation increases, are beau- 

 tit'nl leafy woods; while od the summits are dense thickets 

 of ferns. Vines and bushes render these forests impass- 

 able, while the traveler has to slash Ins way through 

 thickets of ferns often bo dens.- thai he musl crawl on 

 hands and knees through a tunnel cui by himself, and 

 blinded by Bpores at every Btep. East of Jimonea the 

 floral character of the mountains suddenly changes: the 

 pine disappears completely, and Bpruce appears in its 

 place. 



Across the ranges of the central system, which divide 

 the republic of San Domingo into a northern and southern 

 district, there are few passes. The most important is that 

 km.wn as the Widow's Saddle, some five thousand feet in 

 height. Across this the road rises laboriously through 

 deep ravines in a thousand windings to the Saddle, where 

 the beautiful spectacle makes amends for the difficult 

 of the ascent. Here, as described by Moreau: 



The enchanted eye is arrested at a thousand points, where the 

 beauty of one glimpse seems to disappear beside a still more 

 beautiful view, each pleasant, picturesque, and majestic in its out- 

 look. Here the shining surface of the sen ;it a greal distance 

 peeps out at intervals, contrasting with the azure tone of the 

 distanl land, which in its turn delights the eve by the contrast 

 with the green of the nearer points. Rivers also mingle the charm 



n\' their tortuOUS way-, with this enchanting picture, while the 



dark-browed front of the near-by chains rises to the sublime. 

 The traveler, as it were, is beside himself-, it is only with grief 

 that he tears himself away from this place to commence the oppo- 

 site descent, constantly turning his face in order t<> continue 



Long as possible the delicious gratification of the senses which the 



scenic beauty affords. 



