ST DOMINGO. 



37 





St Domin- tlie water muddy for several miles ; over the bar there 

 v_ r _ s "'- l _v is from 14 to 15 feet depth of water. This river is a 

 great convenience to the city, in conveying down pro- 

 visions and produce from the interior. There is no 

 bridge over it ; but the cattle are swam across, even 

 when the current is very powerful, with wonderful 

 ease raid dexterity. About 3 leagues to the west of the 



Ilaina. city of St Domingo, the Haina flows: it takes its rise 

 at the foot of a beautiful ridge of mountains, which 

 terminate the prospect from the city ; its course is very 

 winding through the valleys ; it falls into a bay of the 

 same name ; it is navigable at some distance up, but 

 not near its exit into the bay, owing to an irregular 



N'i^ia. bar of sand. The river Nigua rises near the Haina; 

 its course is so very serpentine, that in travelling two 

 miles, it is necessary to cross it five times. The length 

 of its whole course is nine leagues ; in its progress it 

 receives several smaller streams ; in the dry season it 

 is very low, and except when greatly swelled by the 

 rains, is easily and safely fordable ; much wood is float- 



Yane. ed down it. The river Yane flows through an extent 



of nearly 200 miles, and waters the rich plains of La 

 Vega Real, Cotuy, &c. : it receives upwards of 40 smal- 

 ler streams, and falls into the great bay of Samana. 

 This bay, in point of situation, extent, and communica- 

 tion with the interior of the country, is one of the 

 most important in the West Indies. From a sugar loaf 

 hill, we have Cape Raphael, which forms the south 

 side of this bay; to the opposite side is a distance of 18 

 miles, protected by rocks and sands, yet leaving a safe 

 and deep channel : it is 60 miles long, and bounded on 

 every side by a fertile country. This most important 

 bay seems to have been much neglected by the Spa- 

 niards, but when the Spanish division was ceded to 

 France, that government ordered it to be surveyed in 

 a very exact and particular manner ; even before the 

 cession of the Spanish division, they attempted to gain 

 possession of a tract of land, cut off by a line drawn 12 

 leagues inland of Degabon to Cape Raphael, which 



Bsy of would have included the bay of Samana. This attempt 



Samana. they made in consequence cf their justly regarding 

 this bay as the key to the Mexican gulf, from its 

 windward and commanding situation ; they also look- 

 ed forward, by obtaining it, to the possession of the ri- 

 itT Yane, the sea ports to the north, the rich mines 

 of Cibao, and the finest tobacco lands in the island : 

 in this project they were defeated, but when the 

 whole of the Spanish divisions were ceded, the French 

 officers used all their endeavours and interest to have 

 land ceded to them near the bay of Samana. There 

 are several other bays, some of which require to be no- 



Neyba bay. ticed : Neyba bay, into which a river of the same name 

 enters, might be made large and commodious for ship- 

 ping, if the various channels, through which the river 

 flows into it, were formed into one ; at present the 

 depth of water is small, and the pilots, from the num- 

 ber and frequent shifting of the channels, are often at 



Ocoa bay. a loss for the proper navigation. The entrance of Ocoa 

 bay, which is denominated from a river of the same 

 name, is two leagues across ; and it increases gradual- 

 ly within nearly to six leagues. Its shape resembles 

 the Greek omega ; its shores are clear, and their eleva- 

 tion makes it a good place for shelter. On the east 

 side of the bay is the harbour of Culdera. Here Spiu 

 nish ships, which draw too much water to cross the bar, 

 lie to complete their loading, moored to- the trees with 

 a rafter ashore. A great part of the coast of the island 

 is rocky and dangerous, affording insecure anchorage 

 or shelter from storms. 



Formerly there appeal- to have been considerable St Duiuiu- 

 mines of gold, silver, copper, and iron ; but the mines S- 

 of the two former metals have long been closed by or- ivf"" Y """" ' 

 der of the Spanish government, probably from a wish 

 not to interfere with the mines of the American conti- 

 nent. About eight leagues from the city of St Do- 

 mingo, the mines, known by the name of Buena Ven- 

 tura, were situated ; from one of these mines, called 

 Cibao, a piece of gold, weighing 200 onnces, was ob- Gold, 

 tained ; when it was assayed, it was ascertained that 

 the metal was so very pure that 20 ounces would not 

 be lost in the melting : it was unfortunately lost in its 

 passage to Europe. Even at this time, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of these mines, the inhabitants, after heavy 

 rains, find among the sands of the rivulet, Santa Rosa, 

 small particles of gold, sometimes to the amount of an 

 ounce a-day. In the centre of the island, are also re- 

 mains and vestiges of extensive gold mines : these were 

 the first that were wrought, and at one time were very 

 productive. In the southern part of the island are the 

 mines of Guaba, Rubia, andBaoruco; gold is still found 

 here in small quantities, with little or no trouble or 

 difficulty, especially by the Maroons, who inhabit this 

 part of the island. On the borders of the small streams 

 called Obispo and Piedras, there is a rich silver mine ; 'silver. 

 and not far from the capital, an excellent vein of this 

 metal has been wrought. On a ridge called Maymon, 

 near the centre of the island, there is a copper mine ; Copper, 

 and within a very few leagues of the city of St Domin- 

 go, there are two valuable mines of iron. In the year i r0 n. 

 1645, quicksilver was found at the source of the river Quicksilver. 

 Yacque ; and it has also been met with near the gold' 

 mines of Cibao. Emeralds have been dug not far from 

 the copper mine already mentioned ; the loadstone is; Minerals. 

 found in several places ; and also jasper, porphyry, ala- 

 baster, and agates. Besides these, Walton me'ntions a 

 mine of antimony, which yields pieces of six and eight 

 pounds, and what he calls mineral copperas. The mi- 

 neral treasures of this island are, however, very imper- 

 fectly known, though, from the accounts given bv 

 Herrera, and other Spanish authors, they seem to 

 deserve scientific and careful investigation ; according- 

 to him, the mines of La Vega ami Buena Ventura 

 alone, formerly exported upwards of 46'0,000 marks of 

 gold. No mineral waters have been discovered in St 

 Domingo, except those which suddenly burst forth 

 from the mountains of Viagama, in consequence of the Remarknblf 

 dreadful shocks of earthquakes, which were felt in this salt lake. 

 part of the island, in the year 1751 : they are strongly 

 impregnated with sulphur. One of the most singular 

 natural curiosities in the island is the lake of Henri- 

 quello, or the Little Henry ; it lies near the south part 

 of the French line of demarkation, forming one side 

 of the beautiful valley of Neyba. This lake is about 

 22 leagues in circumference ; the water is deep, clear, 

 and salt, though its nearest margin is eight leagues dis- 

 tant from the sea, from which it is divided by several 

 considerable mountains ; and what is still more remark-- 

 ab'.e, there are regular tides in it, at the same time that 

 they take place in the neighbouring ocean ; lizards, alli- 

 gators, and even the shark, seal, porpoise, and other 

 sea fish, are found in it. Near the middle is an island 

 about two leagues long, and a league wide, in which is 

 a spring of fresh water, stocked with goats, and thence 

 called Cabrito island. 



The vegetable productions of St Domingo are ex- Vegetable 

 ceedingly numerous, and some of them are very curi- productions. 

 ous and valuable. The mahogany tree, which is at 

 present the staple export commodity of the country, is 



