THE [BLAND OF SANTO DOMINGO 245 



per. The summits of these ranges have doI been ascended 

 or measured, and a thousand fables arc told by the super- 

 stitious natives dwelling on their slopes of the viens-vu 

 or wild negroes; of a mysterious lake whose waters con- 

 stantly change color, and of pillars of rock which make 

 resonant aoises. Several difficull passes lead across these 

 ranges from Jaeinel, the principal southern seaporl of 

 Haiti, to Port-au-Prince. 



The .Monte ( Irisl i chain, which follows the northern eoast r 

 Ls so called from the town in whose immediate vicinity its 

 lasi rocks dip into the sea, and is separated from the rest 

 of the island by the Vega Real. The greatest elevation, 

 Loma Diego Campo, 3855 feet in altitude, lies near the 

 center of the range. The summits broaden and flatten 

 perceptibly to the eastward. The western part of the 

 sierra is dry and barren, and from Isabella onward it is 

 marked by dry yellow hills covered by thicket- of cactus 

 and bramble. Owing to their slight altitude they receive 

 bu1 little rainfall. 



Besides the systematic ranges above mentioned there 

 are many solitary mountains upon the island, rising from 

 the plains or bordering islets. Among these independent 

 features is the Morne du Cap, just west of Cape Kaitien. 

 A few miles from the ruins of the old city of La Vega, 

 the Cerro Santo rises 787 feet from the midst of a plain. 

 ( lolumbus climbed this height with his companions on his 

 first visit to the island, in 1493. The view from the sum- 

 mil was so beautiful that he planted a cross and called 

 the plain the Vega Real (" Royal Plain"). 



At Uatillo Mainion Ls a hill of magnetic iron, described 

 by Schomburgk and Gabb. It is 100 feet high, ion feet 



wide, 300 to 400 feet broad. The side toward the river 

 Ls massive limestone, while the southern half is a mass of 

 compact magnetic iron ore, sixty-seven to sixty-eight per 

 cent, of nat ive iron. 



Briefly recapitulating the topography of the island, we 

 find three main ranges, almost all of which run parallel to 



