50 



INTKODUCTORY. 



J. de la Cruz Martinez has also been employed in the same capacity. In 1869 Mr. Charles Ohle was sent to the 

 country by the contracting parties in New York, but independent of the survey, to examine the gold placers more in 

 detail than was consistent with the character of our work. I have availed myself of his results in the Jaina region. 



For the draughtsmen, the map, photo-lithographed from the manuscript, speaks itself. They need no higher 

 praise from me than an exhibition of their work. To the Messrs. Pennell, Messrs. llunnebaum, Bonaczy and Speare, 

 I owe sincere thanks for their hearty cooperation in all of my plans, and for tlie zealous manner in vrhich they pros- 

 ecuted their work, often at the cost of great personal inconvenience and discomfort incidental to out-of-door work 

 in the rainy season of the Tropics. I would be remiss were I to forget to acknowledge our indebtedness to the 

 various officers of the Government with whom we have been brought in contact. From the President, General Baez, 

 and the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Gautier, down to the lowest official, we have experienced, almost without 

 exception, only courtesy and kindness. Their assistance and attention have materially lightened our labors and 

 forwarded the work. To mention a few would be invidious, and to name all of our kind friends would be almost 

 to write a directory of the leading men of the Republic. 



The topographical maxi is based entirely on new surveys over all of that region where our work extended. These 

 sui veys were conducted by triangulations from two carefully measured base lines, one near Bani, the other in the 

 northern valley between Vega and Moca. All of the principal roads on the north side, all of the passes east of tlie 

 Constanza route, and all of the roads on the south side, as far west as Azua, were carefully chained. The coast-line, 

 from ]\Ionte Cristi to Azua was also re-surveyed, as far as practicable, by chaining along the beaches elsewhere by 

 tiiangvilation. These coast and I'oad lines were used also as bases for triangulations ; one system of work thus 

 assisting and at the same time checking the other. We also availed ourselves of the local surveys of the British 

 and American naval officers in Samana and Calderas Bays, as well as of the table of astronomical positions on the 

 coast in the United States sailing directions. Among the latter, however, thei'e are occasional discrepancies which 

 render them a little doubtful. It will be thus seen tliat every precaution in our power was exercised to make the 

 map accurate, so far as the limited force and time at our disposal would permit. At the same time, it must be borne 

 hi mind that it is but a reconnoisance at best, and that it cannot be more than approximately accurate in the details. 

 The whole of the Haytien part, as well as that portion west and northwest of Azua and the Constanza road south of 

 the mountains, is copied from the map of Sir Robert Schomburgk. 



That each member of the party shall receive the full share of credit or discredit to which he is entitled for the 

 degree of accuracy of his work I insert the following list : For myself I do not claim any further credit or resijon- 

 sibility in the topographical work than must necessarily attach to the chief of a party, in that he must answer for 

 the reliability of the employees under his charge. So far the responsibility is mine. Beyond that I take great 

 pleasure in awarding to them all of the credit. 



The Survey of the Province of Santo Domingo was made by Mr. A. Pennell, assisted by Mr. Runnebaum ; that 

 of Vega, by the same party, with the additional assistance of Mr. L. Pennell ; that of the Province of Santiago, 

 north of the Yaqui, by Messrs Runnebaum and L. Pennell ; that of Santiago, south of the river, Samana and all that 

 was done in Azua, by Mr. A. Pennell ; and that of Seybo, by Mr. Runnebaum. Most of the road and coast surveys 

 were made by Mr. Runnebaum and Mr. L. Pennell. 



Heretofore, the Island of Santo Domingo has been practically a perfect term incognita, geologically. In 1853 

 Mr. T. S. Heneken published a short description of the northwestern part of the Republic, principally noteworthy 

 on account of its inaccuracies. I Irave said all that is necessary on this subject in the text and have nothing to add 

 here. The valuable i^apers of J. Carrick Moore, George B. Sowerby, and Dr. Duncan, in the Quarterly Journal of 

 the Geological Society of London, made the fossils well known, but threw but little light on the geology of the 

 countiy. In the early part of 1871 I 23nblished a very short resume of my results to that date in the American 

 .lournal of Science. The short sketches accompanying the report of the United States Commissioners can hardly 

 be said to have contributed much to our knowledge of the geology, and beyond these, nothing has been published. 



