General Vasquez returned with an army, arriving before Santo Domingo City at the end of March. The ensuing siege was one long battle, during which a portion of the suburban town of San Carlos was destroyed by fire. On April 18, 1903, Generals Alvarez and Cordero, the best generals of the besiegers, made a violent attack on the city and effected an entrance, but fighting continued in the streets and these leaders and most of the storming party were killed. Vasquez thereupon fled to Santiago, resigned his post, and left the country for Cuba. On the triumph of his party a year later, he returned to Santo Domingo and retired to his plantation in Moca.
Woss y Gil, who thus became president of the provisional government, called a session of Congress and by appointments favorable to his interests so intrenched himself that his continuance as president became assured. Jimenez, who arrived shortly after, advanced the claim that he was still president de jure, since the constitutional term of four years for which he had been elected had not expired, and he denominated the Vasquez government a temporary and illegal usurpation of power. In his efforts to regain office he sent his friend Eugenio Deschamps to treat with Gil, but Deschamps, seeing Gil obdurate, made an agreement by which Woss y Gil was to become president and Deschamps vice-president, Jimenez was obliged to yield to the inevitable and returned to Porto Rico in the hope of eventually succeeding Woss y Gil. An election was held in which Woss y Gil and Deschamps were the only candidates and on June 20, 1903, they were inaugurated.
In General Alejandro Woss y Gil the Republic had a very talented man as president. Born in Seibo, he had entered politics in his youth, and became a friend and follower of Heureaux. At times he was governor of a province, later for a long period Dominican consul at New York, and from 1885 to 1887 president of the Republic. He had received a good education and traveled extensively, spoke several modern languages, had some knowledge of the classic languages, and was a poet, musician and writer.
Unfortunately the talents of Woss y Gil did not extend to the securing of an honest and efficient administration. The ministers appointed by him were exceedingly injudicious selections, and a carnival of fraud and dishonesty was soon in progress. Discontent grew general, and by the end of October, 1903, General Carlos F. Morales, governor of Puerto Plata, raised the standard of revolt and his troops marched on the capital. The revolution was supported by both parties, the Jimenistas and Horacistas, and was known as the "war of the union." Morales, the leader of the insurrection, had been a follower of Jimenez and favored the aspirations of the latter to the extent even of sending requests to Jimenez to come to Santo Domingo at once. The siege of Santo Domingo City lasted for about three weeks. On November 24, 1903, Woss y Gil, finding himself vanquished, permitted Morales' troops to enter the city and sought refuge in the British consulate. Three days later a German man-of-war carried him to Porto Rico, and he later continued to Cuba, where he long resided in the city of Santiago.
For a short time a tripartite revolution was in progress, the supporters of Woss y Gil, Horacio Vasquez and Jimenez fighting in different parts of the country. Morales, on entering Santo Domingo, became president of the provisional government. The new governors of the Cibao were Jimenistas, but most of the appointments Morales made in the south were Horacistas, and it began to be suspected among the Jimenez followers that he had designs on the presidency. When Jimenez arrived in Santiago he realized that his ambitions were again endangered and he and his friends grew restless. On December 6, 1903, Jimenez fled from Santiago to Monte Cristi, claiming that Morales had sent a troop of fifty men to assassinate him.
A counter revolution followed at once and swiftly attained large proportions. It became the most serious unsuccessful revolution the Republic had seen. At one time the whole country was in the hands of Jimenez except Santo Domingo City and the small port of Sosua, near Puerto Plata. The government forces were able to retake Puerto Plata, but the siege of the capital continued uninterruptedly from December to February. Attacks and sallies were frequent, every house along the walls and in the suburbs soon showed bullet marks and the town of San Carlos was again partially destroyed by fire. Finally Morales defeated the besiegers, and in March, Macoris was taken by the government forces and the backbone of the revolution was broken. The insurrection had spent itself on account of lack of supplies and efficient leaders. Jimenez, financially ruined by his attempts to reestablish himself in power, again withdrew to Porto Rico. The government forces were unable to retake the Monte Cristi district, but an agreement was reached by which the Jimenista authorities remained in full control and the district became practically independent.
An election was held, as a result of which Carlos F. Morales became president and Ramon Caceres vice-president, and they were inaugurated on June 19, 1904. The new president, Morales, was an unusually clever man, although his conduct sometimes betrayed that he came from a family in which there had been mental derangement. He was born in Puerto Plata, studied for the priesthood, took orders, and held the office of parish priest in various places in the Cibao. After the death of a brother who participated in Jimenez' ill-fated "Fanita" expedition and was killed in the attack on Monte Cristi, Morales took an interest in public affairs and during the administration of Jimenez became a member of Congress. At this time he laid aside his religious habit, married, and devoted himself exclusively to politics. During the Vasquez administration he was an exile in Cuba, but on the ascendancy of Woss y Gil he was made governor of Puerto Plata, and in this capacity initiated the revolt against the Gil government.
Financial difficulties.—Fiscal convention with the United States.—Caceres' administration.-Provisional presidents.—Civil disturbances.—Jimenez' second administration.—American intervention.
The enormous foreign and internal debt left by the Heureaux administration had been constantly increased by ruinous loans to which the succeeding governments were obliged to resort during the years of civil warfare, until the country was in a condition of hopeless bankruptcy. In the beginning of 1904 every item of the debt had been in default for months.
Under pressure from foreign governments, the principal debt items due foreign citizens had been recognized in international protocols and the income from each of the more important custom-houses was specifically pledged for their payment, but in no case was payment made. One of these protocols, signed with the American chargé d'affaires, liquidated the government's accounts with the San Domingo Improvement Company, which had been turned out from the administration of custom-houses by President Jimenez, and provided for a board of arbitration to settle the manner of payment. The arbitrators determined the instalments payable and specified the custom-house of Puerto Plata and certain others as security, which were to be turned over to an American agent in case of failure to pay. No payment being made, the American agent demanded compliance with the arbitral award and on October 20, 1904, was placed in possession of the custom-house at Puerto Plata.
The other foreign creditors, principally French, Belgian, and Italian, naturally began to clamor for the payment of their credits and for the delivery of the custom-houses pledged to them. To have done so would have meant absolute ruin, as the government would have been entirely deprived of means of subsistence. In face of the imminent likelihood of foreign intervention the Dominican government applied to the United States for assistance, and in February, 1905, the protocol of an agreement between the Dominican Republic and the United States was approved, providing for the collection of Dominican customs revenues under the direction of the United States, and the segregation of a specified portion toward the ultimate payment of the debt. The treaty was submitted to the United States Senate, but that body adjourned in March, 1905, without final action. The creditors again became importunate and an interim modus vivendi was therefore arranged, under which the Dominican customs were to be collected by a receiver designated by the President of the United States, and the proportion mentioned in the pending treaty was reserved as a creditors' fund. The temporary arrangement went into effect on April 1, 1905, and the effect was immediately apparent. Confidence was restored, the customs receipts rose to higher figures than ever before, and the prospects of peace became brighter as revolutionists could no longer count on captured customhouses to replenish their exchequer.
The position of President Morales was a difficult one. He was an ex-Jimenista at the head of an Horacista government, and there was no sympathy between him and his council. The Horacistas distrusted him and forced him to dismiss his friends from the cabinet and to make distasteful appointments. Seeing that he was being reduced to a figurehead, Morales secretly tried to form a party for himself or make arrangements with the Jimenistas who for months had been conspiring and threatening to rise. The friction became more severe until Morales, fearing that both his office and his life were in danger, on the day before Christmas, 1905, fled from the capital, while the Jimenistas rose in Monte Cristi and marched down to attack Santiago and Puerto Plata.
It was the anomalous spectacle of a president leading an insurrection against his own government. Fortune was against the insurgents from the beginning. Morales, while trying to scale a rocky wall near the Jaina River, in the neighborhood of the capital, fell and sprained his leg, so that he was unable to proceed further but was obliged to remain in hiding in the woods, suffering much pain. In the Cibao, important dispatches of the revolutionists were captured by the government forces, which were thus enabled to make surprise attacks. The insurgents attacked Puerto Plata under their best general, Demetrio Rodriguez, an intelligent mulatto, and would probably have taken the town, had not Rodriguez received a bullet in the temple, whereupon his men became panic-stricken and dispersed. Morales saw that all was lost and returned to the capital, where he went to the American legation for protection. On the following morning, January 12, 1906, with his foot bandaged and tears rolling down his cheeks, he wrote out his resignation. He was immediately conveyed to Porto Rico on an American cruiser. The triumph of the government was complete, its troops overran Monte Cristi, and an Horacista was made governor of the district. Morales fixed his residence in the island of St. Thomas and later in France. He continually conspired for a return to the presidency, and was once tried for filibustering in Porto Rico, but acquitted. A friendly administration made him Dominican minister in Paris, where he died in 1914.
Upon the resignation of Morales the vice-president, General Ramon Caceres, assumed the presidency. Caceres was born in Moca on December 15, 1867, and was a prominent cacao-planter. It was he who killed Heureaux in 1899, after which he entered public life, being governor of Santiago and delegate of the government in the Cibao during the administrations of Jimenez and Vasquez, an exile in Cuba during the administration of Woss y Gil, and vice-president and governmental delegate during the administration of Morales. He had the appearance of an honest country squire, large of body and great of heart.
During the years 1906 and 1907 special attention was given to the settlement of the debts of the republic. A new bond issue of $20,000,000 was made for the purpose of converting the old debts, and an arrangement was effected with the principal creditors, by which the amounts due were reduced by about one-half. Instead of the still pending convention of February, 1905, with the United States, a new fiscal treaty was agreed upon, and approved by the United States Senate and the Dominican Congress, taking effect on August 1, 1907. In similarity with the provisions of the modus vivendi, the customs income of the Republic is collected by a General Receiver of Dominican Customs, appointed by the President of the United States, and a portion of the income is set aside by him for the service of the loan.
For years the various governments had been planning to revise the constitution of 1896, Vasquez even calling a constitutional convention; but the political kaleidoscope turned before such intentions could be realized. Conditions becoming sufficiently stable, a new constitution was promulgated on September 9, 1907. It was found unsatisfactory and a constitutional convention met in Santiago and on February 22, 1908, promulgated the present constitution, by which the presidential term was lengthened to six years and the office of vice-president abolished. An election was held and General Ramon Caceres was chosen president, entering upon his new term on July 1, 1908.
As a result of the Dominican-American fiscal arrangement the old debt was practically all canceled, burdensome concessions were redeemed, and a large portion of the surplus from the new bond issue was set aside for public works, of which several were undertaken. A few uprisings by dissatisfied chiefs remained local and unsuccessful. A border clash with Haiti, which in January, 1911, caused the dispatch of troops to the frontier, was settled by diplomacy. The hope of continued peaceful conditions gave a new impulse to agriculture, industry and commerce, and the exports and imports increased year by year.
At a time when the future seemed brightest, the Republic was suddenly startled by the news of the assassination of President Caceres on Sunday afternoon, November 19, 1911. The president, with a single companion, was returning from a drive along the new road to San Geronimo. At Guibia, a suburb of the capital, a number of conspirators rushed for the carriage, seized the reins of the horse and began to shoot. The president's companion fled, but Caceres, a fearless man and an excellent shot, returned the fire. Almost simultaneously a bullet shattered his right wrist. The coachman lashed the horse in an attempt to escape, but the horse reared and threw the carriage against a hedge. The coachman then dragged Caceres from the carriage and assisted him to the stable of a house on the roadside, adjoining the American legation, but the conspirators meantime continued to fire furiously and several shots struck the president. Seeing their object accomplished, the assassins withdrew, and the president, mortally wounded, was carried to the American legation, where he expired a few minutes later.
The conspirators were a handful of malcontents led by General Luis Tejera, a young man of prominent family, at one time governor of the capital under Caceres, but lately estranged. Caceres had known of Tejera's seditious sentiments but refused to take them seriously. Immediately after the shooting, the conspirators hastened away in a waiting automobile, carrying with them their leader Tejera, who had been wounded in the leg during the affray. At the Jaina ferry the automobile was accidentally precipitated into the river, and the wounded man was fished out half drowned. The other conspirators left him in a hut by the road and escaped. Tejera was found by the pursuers, taken to the fort in Santo Domingo City, and summarily executed.
The commandant of arms of the capital, General Alfredo M. Victoria, who controlled the military forces, permitted his own ambitions to influence him more than the welfare of his country. Being only twenty-six years old, he was not of the constitutional age to be president, but listening to the counsel of scheming politicians, he dominated the situation by force of arms and brought about the selection of his uncle, Eladio Victoria, as provisional president. The latter was a senator from Santiago province, and had at one time been a member of Caceres' cabinet, but he was not regarded as of presidential calibre and his selection provoked general surprise and indignation. General Victoria's army was a potent argument; it withered the ambition of other aspirants to the presidency, and Senator Victoria was elected provisional president and entered upon office December 6, 1911. In the following February the usual form of public election was gone through and on February 27, 1912, he took the oath of office as constitutional president. His nephew occupied important cabinet positions under the new administration.
The general opposition to President Victoria and to the method of electing him found expression in revolutionary uprisings throughout the country, especially in the Cibao and Azua. Ex-President Vasquez, ex-President Morales and several Jimenista generals took the field independently. Morales was captured, but the others continued the fight. Beginning early in December, 1911, the war dragged on for months, both sides sustaining heavy losses and extensive sections of the country being devastated.
It became apparent that there was a deadlock, the government being powerless to subdue the revolutionists, while the revolutionists were unable to carry on an active campaign against the government. The American government eventually extended its good offices with a view to the reestablishment of peace and order. A special commission appointed by the President of the United States and consisting of an official of the War Department and another of the State Department arrived in Santo Domingo in October, 1912, and initiated a series of conferences with government and revolutionary leaders. An agreement was concluded and in accordance therewith the Dominican Congress assembled on November 26, 1912, accepted the resignation of President Victoria, and elected the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Adolfo A. Nouel, as provisional president for a period of two years. He was inducted into office on December 1, 1912.
Archbishop Nouel, a man of great learning, beloved and respected throughout the country, entered upon his duties with the announced purpose of giving an impartial administration and governing with both parties. The difficulties of the plan were soon impressed upon him, particularly as he relied entirely upon moral suasion to carry his policies into effect. Pressure was applied for favors which he could not grant, his appointments were bitterly criticised as savoring of nepotism or as unduly favoring one side or the other, and some of the fiercer military chiefs assumed a menacing attitude. Sick and disgusted, Monsignor Nouel resigned the presidential office on March 31, 1913, and embarked for Europe.
The Dominican Congress immediately considered the choice of a temporary successor and after many ballots elected a compromise candidate, General José Bordas Valdez, an Horacista senator from Monte Cristi, as provisional president for a period of one year. He assumed office April 14, 1913. His designation did not please the Jimenistas, and the Horacistas also became hostile when it appeared that President Bordas contemplated forming a party of his own. His opponents promptly rose in the Cibao and took possession of the ports of Puerto Plata, Sanchez and Samana, which were thereupon blockaded by the government forces. In the latter part of September, 1913, the revolutionists laid down their arms on the promise of the American minister that free elections for presidential electors and members of a constitutional convention would be guaranteed. A municipal election was in fact held, but President Bordas, alleging that conditions were too unsettled for a general presidential election, held on as president de facto beyond the term for which he had been provisionally elected. On the day his term ended, April 13, 1914, another revolution broke out and rapidly spread to all parts of the Republic. Puerto Plata was occupied by the insurgents and blockaded for several months by government vessels, the blockade being accompanied by a siege of the city under the direction of the president himself. On the other hand, the insurgents laid siege to the capital. The government contracted heavy debts to carry on the war and the commerce of the country suffered greatly.
Again the American government lent its good offices for the restoration of order. In August, 1914, a commission of three delegates of the United States arrived in Santo Domingo to present a plan for the resignation of Bordas, the selection of a provisional president by the chiefs of the several political parties, a revision of the election law, and the holding of general elections. The plan was agreed to, President Bordas resigned, and Dr. Ramon Baez, a son of former President Buenaventura Baez, was elected by the Dominican Congress as provisional president on August 27, 1914.
Popular elections were held in October, at which there were four candidates: ex-President Juan Isidro Jimenez, ex-President Horacio Vasquez, ex-Minister of Finance Federico Velazquez, and a fourth of little consequence. The Jimenez and Velazquez forces effected a combination, as a result of which Juan Isidro Jimenez was elected president a second time, and took the oath of office on December 5, 1914.
For a moment it seemed as though the country was at last entering upon an era of peace and prosperity. The government made efforts to solve the financial problems left by the recent civil wars and to resume public improvements. Investments of foreign capital increased, and agriculture and commerce expanded.
The elements of disorganization were present, however, in as strong a degree as ever. Corruption was general in the administration of the public funds, but attempts at reform had no result further than to stimulate violent opposition. The old leaven of sedition was at work, and disgruntled military chiefs found a willing leader in the minister of war, General Desiderio Arias, a chronic revolutionist from Monte Cristi, who had for years used the popularity of Jimenez as a cloak for his own aspirations. The president, aged and infirm, was unable to meet the situation with energy, and disinclined to adopt severe measures.
In the early part of 1916 Arias had his friends in Congress vote to impeach President Jimenez for alleged frauds. The matter was still under discussion, and the president was ill at his country place on the San Cristobal road, near Santo Domingo City, when in April, 1916, General Arias suddenly seized the military control of the capital and issued a proclamation by which he practically deposed Jimenez and assumed the executive power himself.
Another civil war was imminent when deliverance came in an unexpected manner. For many years past in previous disturbances, one or both of the warring factions had looked to the United States government for help in restoring order, and diplomatic assistance had time after time put an end to strife. The endless succession of revolts had at length exhausted the patience of the American government. In the face of another general war with its attendant destruction of life and property, harm to American and other foreign interests, and danger of international complications (a British and a French man-of-war were already solicitously hovering off the capital), the American government took decisive action. With the consent of President Jimenez, it landed marines at old San Geronimo castle, on the Guibia road, near Santo Domingo City.
Though Jimenez approved of this action and recognized that his country could not emerge from the slough of revolution without American assistance, he was depressed at the condition of affairs, and in view of his physical feebleness felt himself unequal to the task of guiding the country through impending difficulties. He therefore on May 6, 1916, resigned the presidency of the Republic, and subsequently returned to Porto Rico to live. The council of ministers temporarily assumed the administration.
Arias, dismayed at the action of the United States, made protest, but the American government refused to admit the legality or sincerity of his conduct. Its troops advanced on Santo Domingo City and Rear-Admiral Caperton, the American commander, gave Arias twenty-four hours to evacuate. He promptly obeyed, and on May 15 the Americans occupied the city.
American troops continued to be landed, at Puerto Plata on June 5; at Monte Cristi on June 19; and at other seaports as necessity demanded, until a total of about 1800 marines had been disembarked. They proceeded into the interior, taking over the preservation of public order and disarming the inhabitants. They advanced on foot, in improvised motor trucks, and as real "horse marines," in accordance with a plan to secure thorough pacification by having them appear in all parts of the country. The American marines met with no serious opposition except in the Cibao, in the section between Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata and Santiago, where the following of Arias was strongest. To clear this section two columns were launched from the seacoast with Santiago as the objective, the first of 800 men from Monte Cristi, the second of about 200 men from Puerto Plata, the entire force being under command of Brigadier-General Joseph H. Pendleton. The expeditionary force from Monte Cristi, under Colonel Dunlop, advanced along the highway, which was little more than a muddy trail through a jungle of cactus and thorny brush, and several Americans were shot from ambush. Repeatedly small detachments of rebels made a stand upon some favorable piece of ground, until routed by the marines. The decisive encounter took place on July 1, 1916, at Guayacanes, near Esperanza, where a force of 400 marines after a stubborn fight carried a strongly entrenched position defended by about 300 rebels. The American losses were 1 enlisted man killed and 1 officer and 7 enlisted men wounded; the rebels are estimated to have lost several score between killed and wounded, their leader, Maximito Cabral, being killed fighting in the trenches after all his men were dead or driven off.
The second column, from Puerto Plata, under Major Bearss, opened up the railroad, encountering its principal resistance at the tunnel south of Altamira. The two columns joined forces at Navarrete and then occupied Santiago. All the insurgents eventually dispersed or surrendered, and Arias himself submitted to the American military control, which became absolute throughout the country. The total American losses in occupying the country were 3 officers killed and 3 wounded and 4 enlisted men killed and 12 wounded; the losses of the insurgents are estimated at between 100 and 300 killed and wounded.
The Dominican Congress proceeded on July 25, 1916, to elect a temporary president, and chose Dr. Francisco Henriquez Carvajal, a distinguished physician and highly cultured man. It was understood that he was to hold for six months and was not to seek reelection at the general election to be held within that time. The United States government, however, was loath to extend recognition unless assured that Santo Domingo would enter upon a path of order and progress. The fiscal treaty of 1907 had not secured the peace expected of it; the prohibition against the contracting of further indebtedness had been frequently violated; disorder and corruption had continued; and the American government deemed its task uncompleted if it should surrender the country to the same chaotic conditions. It accordingly required, as a condition of recognizing Henriquez, that a new treaty between the two countries be adopted, similar to the recently approved treaty between the United States and Haiti, where a series of revolutions culminating in a massacre of prisoners had the year before obliged the American government to intervene. The principal features of this treaty were the collection of customs under American auspices, the appointment of an American financial adviser, and the establishment of a constabulary force officered by Americans.
Henriquez, jealous of his country's sovereignty and fearful that the proposed arrangement would make the Dominican government a puppet controlled by all-powerful and not sufficiently responsible American officials, refused to accede to the American demands. The American authorities thereupon declined to pay over any of the Republic's revenues to a government which they did not recognize. Inasmuch as they not only collected the customs and port dues, but had assumed control of the other revenues as well, the Henriquez government was left penniless. Nevertheless, the American demands continued to be rejected. As a result, no salaries were paid in any part of the Republic; the officials who continued in their duties did so with the hope of being compensated at some future date; some services, such as the mail service, were discontinued almost entirely; and the whole machinery of the government was paralyzed.
This tension and anomalous condition lasted for several months. As the term for which Henriquez had been elected drew to a close, it became evident that he had no idea of retiring from the presidency, but, on the contrary, intended to hold general elections, in which he expected to be the successful candidate. The deadlock thus threatened to continue indefinitely, and the American government thereupon determined to cut the Gordian knot.
On November 29, 1916, Captain (later Rear-Admiral) H. S. Knapp, of the United States navy, commander of the American cruiser force in Dominican waters, and of the forces of occupation of the Dominican Republic, issued a proclamation, declaring the Dominican Republic under the military administration of the United States. The proclamation recited that the Dominican Republic had failed to live up to the terms of the treaty of 1907; that the American government had patiently endeavored to aid the Dominican government, but that the latter was not inclined or able to adopt the measures suggested, wherefore the American government believed the time at hand to take steps to assure the execution of said Convention and to maintain domestic tranquillity in the Republic. He therefore declared that the Dominican Republic was placed in a state of military occupation by the forces under his command; that the object of the occupation was not to destroy Dominican sovereignty, but to restore order; that Dominican laws were to continue in effect so far as they did not conflict with the objects of the occupation or the decrees of the military government; that the Dominican courts were to continue in their functions, except that offenses against the military government were to be judged by military courts; and that all the revenues of the Dominican government were to be paid over to the military government, which would administer the same. He called on all inhabitants to cooperate with the forces of the United States.
The military government so established took full possession of the country. The chiefs of the executive departments not having appeared in their offices, their posts were declared vacant and filled with officers of the American navy. In the country at large, there was little open opposition, and such as appeared was suppressed without difficulty. The inhabitants quickly reconciled themselves to the situation, realizing that it was to the best interests of their country. Dr. Henriquez, the ex-president, left for Cuba in the early part of December.
The military government thereupon proceeded to organize the finances, to pay arrears of salaries, to subdue several bandits who refused allegiance, and to confiscate all arms. Absolute order and security, greater than have prevailed in Santo Domingo since colonial days, were soon established. The military government then devoted itself to the construction of public works, especially roads, the organization of a police force, and in general to the improvement of the country.
After the Washington government determined to participate in the European war, the American military governor on April 12, 1917, connected Santo Domingo with the war by canceling the exequaturs of the German consular representatives in the Dominican Republic; there was no formal rupture, as no diplomatic representative of either country was at the time residing in the other. German residents were subjected to surveillance by the American authorities.
The Dominican Republic is still (January, 1918) being administered by American naval officers and the work of reorganization continues. Eventually—in all likelihood after the European war—the government is to be turned back to the Dominican people, and it is probable that such devolution will be under conditions that will assure a stable government, peace and progress.
Area of Republics of Haiti and Santo Domingo.—Boundarydisputes.—Harbors on north coast.—Character of shore.—SamanaBay.—Character of east and south coast.—Harbors of Macoris and SantoDomingo.—Ocoa Bay.—Islands.—Haitian frontier.
Of the great chain of islands which extends in a vast semi-circle from the southern coast of Florida to the northeastern coast of Venezuela, the second largest is the Island of Haiti or Santo Domingo, situated midway between Cuba and Porto Rico, and lying between latitude 17°36'40" and 19°58'20" north and longitude 68°18' and 74°51' west of Greenwich. The island is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north, the Mona Channel on the east, the Caribbean Sea on the south, and the Windward Passage on the west. The nearest point of Porto Rico is 54 miles distant, of Cuba 50 miles, of Jamaica 90 miles and of Venezuela, the nearest country on the South American continent, 480 miles. The distance from Puerto Plata, on the north coast of the island, to New York is 1255 miles, to Havana 710 miles, and to Southampton 3925 miles. The distance from Santo Domingo City to San Juan, Porto Rico, is 230 miles, to La Guayra 500 miles, and to Colon 810 miles.
The island is divided between two political entities, the western one, comprising one-third of its surface, being the Republic of Haiti, while the eastern one is popularly known as Santo Domingo or San Domingo, though it is officially termed the Dominican Republic. These two republics present at once interesting resemblances and contrasts. They are separated by no natural bounds; their soil, resources, and political conditions are similar; but while in Haiti the language and historical associations are French and the numerically predominant race stock is black, in Santo Domingo, on the other hand, the language and historical associations are Spanish, and the mulatto rather than the black is most in evidence.
The area of the island is generally stated at 28,249 square miles, of which Haiti is credited with 10,204 square miles and the Dominican Republic with 18,045 square miles. Since no part of the island has ever been carefully surveyed, such figures can be regarded as only approximately correct. The Dominican Republic is therefore about as large as the States of New Hampshire and Vermont together, less than half as large as Cuba and more than five times the size of Porto Rico.
In the above estimate of the area of the two Republics no account is taken of their reciprocal claims to further lands. Each claims about 1500 square miles occupied by the other. The Dominicans affirm they have a right to the plain of Hinche and St. Raphael, comprising some of the finest agricultural lands on the island. They contend that Haiti is entitled only to the territory embraced in the confines of the old French colony of Saint-Domingue. Under the treaty of Aranjuez, of June 3, 1777, the boundaries of the French and Spanish colonies on the Island of Santo Domingo were carefully defined and marked by monuments. In 1795 the Spanish colony was ceded to France; but when in 1804 the Haitians declared the independence of the island, they were able to control little more than the old French portion, most of the old Spanish portion remaining in the possession of France. The boundary line remained unchanged when the old Spanish portion again came under the rule of Spain in 1809. In 1822 Haitian rule was extended over the entire island, but in 1844, when the inhabitants of the eastern portion proclaimed their independence their declaration comprised the whole of the old Spanish part of the island. The Haitian government made strenuous efforts to reconquer the revolting provinces, with the final result that it was able to retain and still retains 1500 square miles more than belonged to the former French colony. This is the portion still claimed by Santo Domingo.
On the other hand, the Haitians, based on alleged boundary conditions and tentative arrangements in 1856 and 1874, claim a strip of land now occupied by Santo Domingo lying along the border and also aggregating about 1500 square miles. Maps published in Haiti always show the boundary line from five to forty miles further east than it is in reality.
Arbitration has repeatedly been suggested to determine the boundary, and efforts were made in 1895 to submit the question to the Pope and in 1911 to resort to The Hague, but without success.
The Haitians have not only peopled and carefully guarded the territory controlled by them, but have attempted to push the frontier further east toward the line they claim. In 1911 and a year later, alleged encroachments by Haiti almost led to war between the two countries. The United States interposed its good offices and in 1912 suggested as provisional boundary, until otherwise determined by mutual agreement between the two countries, the line which was observed as boundary in 1905 when the American receiver general of customs took charge of the frontier custom-houses. Both countries agreeing, the line as suggested has since been regarded as the boundary and bids fair to become, with perhaps a few unimportant modifications, the permanent boundary between Haiti and Santo Domingo. The outlook for arbitration seems to be no better now than heretofore, nor is it probable that any court of arbitration would divest either Haiti or Santo Domingo of any considerable portion of the lands they have so long possessed.
The boundary disputes have not tended to improve the relations between the two countries, which formerly regarded each other with a hatred that has only in the past fifty years softened down to mutual distrust and dislike. It has frequently happened that the authorities of one country abetted insurrections in the other; and it was common practice for insurgents in either country to retreat across the border to recuperate in the other. In the Dominican revolutions of 1912 to 1914 several bands of revolutionists had permanent headquarters on the Haitian side.
The greatest breadth of the Dominican Republic, from the Morro of Monte Cristi to Cape Beata, is about 170 miles, the greatest length, from Cape Engaño to the Haitian frontier, about 260 miles. The Republic has a coast line of about 940 miles, on which there are several good ports and large bays.
One of these is Manzanillo Bay, which lies at the extreme northwestern point of the Republic. Large and well protected, affording excellent anchorage for any class of vessels, it is one of the best harbors and perhaps the most important point strategically, on the north coast of the island. It receives the waters of the Dajabon or Massacre River, which constitutes part of the boundary between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and of the turbulent Yaque del Norte, which here forms a delta of considerable extent. Owing to the proximity of Monte Cristi the various projects for the establishment of a port and custom-house at this point have hitherto failed of realization.
Fifteen miles to the northeast of Manzanillo Bay is the ancient port of Monte Cristi, discovered by Columbus, in his vessel the Niña, on his first voyage. The great explorer landed here to examine the plain near the shore, and departed at dawn on January 6, 1493. The port of Monte Cristi is a large open bay with a fine roadstead, but the shallow water near the shore obliges vessels to anchor over a mile from land. On the eastern side the harbor is sheltered by a high promontory now known as El Morro, to which Columbus gave the name of Monte Cristi, after a remarkable profile, recalling the pictures of Christ, which is visible in the outlines of the mount to vessels entering the harbor. The isolated, treeless mountain under the usually cloudless sky of beautiful blue strongly recalls the buttes of our Western plains.
The range of mountains known as the Monte Cristi Range, forms a background for the entire northern coast of the Republic. From Monte Cristi for fifty miles east, to the bay of Isabela, the shore is bleak and barren, formed of rocks and cliffs with short intervals of sandy beach. Isabela Bay is where the first Spanish settlement in America was laid out by Columbus in 1493. Little remains to mark the site, but the white palm-fringed strand gleams in the sunlight and is caressed by the blue waters just as in Columbus' day. The harbor at the mouth of a stream flowing down from the mountains is small and shallow, but it is occasionally visited by coastwise vessels in search of cargoes of mahogany and other woods from the nearby hills.
Thirty miles east of Isabela lies Puerto Plata. The intervening coast possesses a few small ports of little importance, but sometimes visited by coasting schooners. The most important one is Blanco, which during the War of the Restoration with the Spaniards was the insurgents' port of entry and the base of considerable illicit trade with Turks Island. The harbor of Puerto Plata, the most important city on the north coast, is formed by a small bay, enclosed on the sea side by a reef of coral rock. There is plenty of depth within, but little room, and only three or four large steamers can with safety anchor here at the same time. The harbor is well protected except on the north. During gales from that direction it becomes exceedingly uncomfortable, and the narrow entrance channel quite dangerous. Portions of wrecks rising above the foaming water of the reef—the broken bow of one vessel and ship's engine of another—bear witness to the perils lurking there at such times. Near the shore the harbor is shallow, and though there is little tide, the water recedes some distance. To avoid the difficulty there is a long pier for the use of small boats and it is no longer necessary, as of yore, for passengers to be carried ashore from boats in the arms of the boatmen. A fine public dock for large vessels is also nearing completion.
A broad and fertile coast plain extends from Puerto Plata some twenty-five miles to the small port of La Goleta. On this plain about twelve miles from Puerto Plata, lies the port of Sosua. La Goleta is a distributing point for the lumber cut in this district. A considerable portion thereof proceeds from the headwaters of the nearby river Yásica, being floated down the river and then along the ocean shore. From the Yásica River, the mouth of which is about 100 feet wide, an uneven rocky stretch of coast extends in a southeasterly direction to Cape Frances Viejo, where there is a new lighthouse. Numerous brooks traverse this region and leap down to the sea from the rocks, in beautiful cascades often twenty and thirty feet in height. Near Cape Frances lies the small town formerly called Tres Amarras and now Cabrera. The Monte Cristi Range terminates here, its foothills forming the promontories of Cape Frances and Point Sabaneta. Travel along this rugged part of the coast is difficult; in order to avoid the troublesome gullies of the shore, the trail often runs far inland through dense jungle. The rocks are of a conglomerate formation, and are worn by the waves into the most fantastic shapes. From the appearance of the cliffs it seems that at remote periods two distinct upheavals of the land took place, the first of which formed the peaks which rise about twelve miles in the interior, the second and more recent one giving origin to the great rocks along the coast. The precipices in the interior, which in ages past were washed by the sea, rise to a sheer height of from two hundred to four hundred feet and are crowned with trees. The rocky masses in the coast forests are full of clefts and caverns which furnish habitation to millions of bees.
The shore now curves southward and becomes low and sandy. There are low coast plains covered with trees, especially groves of palm trees, which extend far into the interior. Four rivers are crossed, which carry comparatively little water, and the mouths of which are obstructed by sand bars caused by the prevailing north and east winds. As a result of these bars the streams flood the country and form large stagnant lakes, that have effectively prevented a settlement of the region. Some seven miles before reaching the mouth of the Gran Estero there is a little town called Matanzas, a kind of headquarters for turtle fishermen and which, though the entrance to its bay is almost closed by a sand bank, is often visited by coasting schooners that call for cacao from nearby plantations. What is called the Gran Estero is a network of bayous and channels, some upon the surface, others subterranean, which extends from the Yuna River to the ocean and traverses the marshy plain forming the neck of the Samana peninsula. It is apparent that the Yuna River centuries ago emptied into the ocean and that what is to-day the Samana peninsula was once an island separated by a broad channel from the mainland, to which it became united by the gradual rise of the land and by the alluvium deposited by the river. The great swamp so formed is in one place as much as 18 miles wide, and is covered with stunted mangrove trees and rank weeds and bushes. The decaying vegetation gives the water of the bayous and stagnant ponds a dirty coffee color and taints the air with malarial miasma. The opening of channels and draining of the swamp would remedy the defects, at the same time providing important means of communication and reclaiming large tracts of the richest agricultural land.
From Matanzas the coast extends due east, closely following the mountain range which beginning near Port Jackson forms the backbone of the Samana peninsula. Spurs of the mountains rise precipitously from the sea which foams at their rocky base, and from the summits to the water's edge the country is covered with luxuriant vegetation. The few rocky coves along the shore were a favorite resort for buccaneers in days gone by. One of them is Port Jackson; the entrance is rendered dangerous by a coral reef, but once within, the deep waters are always tranquil and offer good shelter to the little craft of the turtle fishermen. Though the waters of this region are said to teem with the finest fish but little attention is paid to fishing. Another cove, difficult of access because of the jagged rocks near the entrance, is Port Escondido, or Hidden Port, near the most conspicuous feature of this coast, the lofty promontory of Cape Cabron, or Cabo del Enamorado, Lover's Cape. The easternmost point of the peninsula is the rugged double-terraced headland of Cape Samana, reckoned as the beginning of Samana Bay, though strictly speaking the Bay begins at the majestic cliff known as Balandra Point.
This magnificent bay, one of the great harbors of the world and the finest by far of the West Indies, has ever excited the admiration of travelers. Securely sheltered against storms, of an extent sufficient to accommodate the navies of the world, easily fortified and defended, occupying a highly important strategical position, its advantages cannot be overestimated. Samana Bay, a submerged extension of the great valley of the Yuna River, is thirty-five miles in length and from ten to fifteen miles in width. Looking up the Bay from the entrance no land is descried on the horizon. Columbus, when he first entered, believed he was on an ocean channel dividing two islands. The north coast is protected by the low mountain-range of the Samana peninsula, in places resembling the Palisades on the Hudson, and the southern shore is fringed by a chain of hills, so that the emerald green waters of the Bay are perfectly sheltered against all winds except those from the east. Even here the effect of the wind is modified and it is only during eastern gales that choppy waves oblige small boats to seek the coves along the shore. About four miles from Point Balandra, is a group of five islets, known as the Cayos Levantados. The channel between these Keys and the northern shore of the Bay, 2000 yards in width with a maximum depth of 140 and a minimum depth of 50 feet, constitutes the principal entrance to the Bay, the only one which is available for large vessels. The other channel, known as the Half Moon Channel, lies immediately south of the Keys; but being narrow and shallow, is navigable only by vessels of light draft. The great expanse of water, fifteen miles in width, between this channel and the south shore of the Bay is so dotted with shoals as to be absolutely impassable. It will thus be seen that the actual entrance to the great Bay is quite narrow and could easily be defended by mines or by fortifications on the Cayos and the peninsula. The Bay is like a great bottle with a very narrow neck. The Spaniards, in fact, established a small fort on the headland, its ruins being now hidden by dense underbrush.
It seems surprising that no large and flourishing metropolis should have arisen on the shores of this splendid body of water. Apparently the principal reason why it did not appeal to the Spaniards was that owing to the prevailing easterly breezes their clumsy vessels would have encountered difficulty in leaving. Since the days of steam, of course, this trouble is obviated. The value of the Bay as a naval station has been widely advertised, and France, England and the United States have at various times entertained projects of acquiring it. The American government in 1869 even negotiated a treaty for the lease of Samana peninsula and Samana Bay, but the United States Senate failed to act and the treaty was lost by expiration of time. The Bay would constitute a military and commercial key to this part of the world for any power possessing it.
Near Balandra point is the tiny settlement of Las Flechas, located upon the scene of the first encounter marked by bloodshed between the Spaniards and Indians. A number of Columbus' men having landed here in January, 1493. were attacked by Indians and in the ensuing engagement an Indian was wounded. The occurrence induced Columbus to name the Bay Golfo de las Flechas, Gulf of the Arrows. At the end of the main channel of entrance to the Bay the north shore is indented by the large and commodious basin of Clara, and about two miles further to the west is the harbor of the old city of Santa Barbara de Samana, a tranquil sheet of water, separated from the Bay proper by several small islands, but which can be entered only by vessels drawing less than twenty feet. Beyond Samana the coast becomes a little less steep and the verdure-covered mountains recede sufficiently to give room to narrow coast plains, thickly grown with cocoa-nut palms. Along the beach are landscapes of idyllic beauty. Deep water extends up to the shore and there are half a dozen points which excel for landing places. Some twenty miles from Samana the last offshoots from the mountains encompass the town of Sanchez. Beyond in a large semi-circle, the end of the Bay is skirted by the great swamp which comprises the Gran Estero and the delta of the Yuna River.
The town of Sanchez, the terminus of the railroad from La Vega, is an important outlet for the products of the Royal Plain, but though one of the principal ports of the Republic its situation on Samana Bay is unfavorable. Located where the Samana mountains slope into the Gran Estero, the site is ill adapted for the expansion of the settlement; the vicinity of the great marsh is not inviting, though the prevailing eastern breezes serve to drive back its noxious emanations; and the harbor, even now so shallow that vessels are obliged to anchor a mile from shore, is gradually silting up with sediment from the Yuna River. The story goes that the selection of this unpropitious spot for the terminus of the railroad was due to the passion of a moment. A tract of land at Point Santa Capuza, five miles down the bay, where a level coast plain and deep water up to the very shore invited the establishment of a port, had previously been chosen. The railroad had been extended to this spot and the foundations of the shops were being laid when the principal owner of the road, who was directing the construction work, learned that several of his engineers had acquired a controlling interest in a portion of the site of the projected town. The choleric Scotchman immediately removed his headquarters to Las Cañitas, where Sanchez is now located, and though a vast amount of digging and filling was necessary the shops were erected here and the road to Santa Capuza was abandoned. The railroad has since purchased, for a song, almost all the land which caused the trouble, but as it has only recently expended £10,000 in the extension of its wharf at Sanchez from six to ten feet on water, and made other improvements, there is evidently no intention of moving the terminus.
Beginning at Sanchez the entire western shore of Samana Bay is lined by swamp land, interspersed with the sandbanks formed by the various mouths of the Yuna. Turning east, the coast becomes almost inaccessible owing to the reefs and rocks which line it and constitute the beginning of low rocky ridges running into the interior. This region, known as "Los Haitis," continues until the Bay of San Lorenzo is reached. This capacious inlet, the only good harbor on the southern coast of Samana Bay is almost completely landlocked by a peninsula extending across its mouth, and affords good anchorage. The project of establishing a city and free port here was considered in 1883 and a comprehensive concession was granted with this object in view, but nothing was done and the concession lapsed. San Lorenzo Bay is also called Bahia de las Perlas, from the pearls found in its waters in the early-days; it is related that in 1531 five pecks were sent to Spain as the royal fifth. On the western side of the bay are extensive and beautiful stalactitic caves, in pre-Columbian days the abode of Indians, and in the seventeenth century a favorite resort for pirates, who were well acquainted with every nook and inlet along the shores of Samana Bay. Some five miles to the east of the Bay of San Lorenzo lies the village of Sabana la Mar. So shallow is the water here that not even small vessels can approach near to the low and sandy shore. The same condition prevails along the remainder of the southern shore of Samana Bay. Branching from the low hills that skirt the coast is the headland of Cape Rafael at the end of the Bay, forming a fitting counterpart to Cape Samana on the north.
Turning southeasterly along the coast Point Nisibon is reached, where a calcareous rock formation and soil suitable for sugar planting begins. Forty miles of rocky shore intervene between this point and Cape Engaño, the easternmost cape of the island, with a new lighthouse, the light of which is visible twenty miles away. The coast now leads southwesterly to Point Espada, shaped like a sword, and but twenty-five miles distant from the Island of Mona, a dependency of Porto Rico. Southwest from Point Espada lies the largest island of the Dominican Republic, the Island of Saona, fifteen miles long by four miles wide, the low hills of which are covered with abundant vegetation. At the time of the conquest it was the home of a numerous Indian population; later when owned by the Jesuits it had well-kept plantations; to-day it is almost uninhabited. Not far away are the smaller islands of Catalina and Catalinita, which possess valuable timber but like Saona are uninhabited. From Point Palmilla opposite Saona Island, the shore-line, fringed with coral rocks, turns northwest and then due west. It bounds the great flat region of Santo Domingo, and to the traveler on passing ships is the most monotonous part of the coast, for in the absence of mountains to break the sky-line, there is nothing to be seen but a low palm-crowned rocky wall with surf beating at its base. The harbors are estuaries of rivers; those of La Romana, Soco and San Pedro de Macoris are of this description.
San Pedro de Macoris is the principal port for the exportation of sugar. Its harbor is commodious, but access thereto is rendered difficult by a bar traversed only by a narrow and tortuous channel. Extensive harbor improvements were here undertaken under a concession which caused considerable litigation and discussion until it was redeemed by the government by means of the 1907 bond issue.
In the forty miles intervening between San Pedro de Macoris and Santo Domingo City, about the only place of interest is the Bay of Andres, midway between the two cities, which is the home of innumerable wild ducks. The City of Santo Domingo is situated on the west bank of the Ozama River, the mouth of which constitutes the city's harbor. Since the town was founded four centuries ago the width of the river here seems to have diminished by fully one-fourth owing to accretion along the shores. A bar across the entrance renders access impracticable for vessels drawing more than fifteen feet of water. This bar has given considerable trouble, for at times it has grown in such manner as to leave a depth of but five feet. It is now kept open by means of jetties and dredging. Within the bar the river is perfectly smooth and vessels can without trouble draw up to the dock, but the roadstead outside is generally very rough and the embarking and disembarking of passengers is attended with experiences more exciting than pleasant. At this place more than one passenger has had an involuntary bath and many a piece of luggage lies at the bottom of the sea. On two occasions on which I disembarked here in stormy weather it seemed an even wager that the boat would be swamped before reaching the river mouth.
The wall of coral rock girding the coast continues as far as Point Palenque, when it is succeeded by sandy beach. This inhospitable shore has been the witness of stirring episodes, for it was near Fort San Geronimo where the American troops came ashore in 1916; at the mouth of the Jaina that Drake disembarked in 1586 to accomplish his bold reduction of Santo Domingo City; at the cove of Najayo where Penn and Venables landed in 1655 in their unsuccessful descent upon the colony; and near Port Palenque where a British force under Carmichael landed in 1809 to assist the Dominicans in retaking Santo Domingo City from the French. Off Point Palenque, too, in 1806 a British squadron under Vice-Admiral Duckworth defeated a French squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Lessiegues, forcing two French ships-of-the-line ashore and capturing several other vessels. The ports are all shallow and unsheltered, but are occasionally visited by coasting sloops in quest of timber and other products of the country.
The lofty mountains which in Santo Domingo City can be discerned on the distant horizon have at Palenque become more distinct and approached nearer to the shore. On the green plain which slopes from their base to the sea, white specks, glittering in the sun, betray the presence of the town of Bani. But little further on, the mountains rise from the very shore, their spurs in the surf, their peaks capped by clouds. The triangular bay of Ocoa, the second largest of the Republic, is now reached. Almost 25 miles in width at its mouth with a length of some 13 miles, its extent earned for it, in olden days, the name of Puerto Hermoso de los Españoles, the beautiful port of the Spaniards. It has plenty of water and is well protected by high hills on both sides, but on account of its wide entrance becomes very rough in a south wind. There are several good anchorages along its shore, and inlets which are used as harbors by various plantations. At its southeastern entrance is the landlocked body of water known as Caldera or Kettle Bay, claimed to be the best harbor on the southern coast of the Republic. It is separated from the ocean by a long narrow tongue of land, and being securely sheltered from all winds, its surface is always as placid as a lake. Caldera Bay is presumed to be the harbor in which Columbus on his fourth voyage rode out the great hurricane of 1502 which demolished the infant city of Santo Domingo and sunk the gold fleet that had just set sail for Spain. This harbor was a rendezvous for the Spanish war vessels and transports in 1861 when Spain resumed control of Santo Domingo and again in 1865 when she relinquished possession. The extent and depth of Caldera Bay are claimed to be sufficient to accommodate the largest ships, but vessels seldom venture into it, as the charts of this part of the coast are deficient.
At the upper end of Ocoa Bay is Port Tortuguero, the harbor of the city of Azua, affording good anchorage, but very rough in south winds. It. was the scene of one of the few naval engagements in the history of Santo Domingo, for here on April 15, 1844, two Dominican schooners sustained a drawn battle with three Haitian vessels. The surrounding hills appear almost bare of vegetation owing to the aridity of the climate. The only buildings at the port are a small custom-house and several sheds, the city of Azua lying about three miles inland. The former harbor of Azua, Puerto Viejo or Escondido, Old or Hidden Port, is a sheltered inlet on the western side of Ocoa Bay, but is available only for vessels of light draft.
Point Martin Garcia where the western side of Ocoa Bay is regarded as terminating also marks the beginning of another large bay, Neiba Bay, which has the form of a cul-de-sac, with a length of eighteen miles and an average breadth of seven miles. It is open to the southeast, but in all other directions is well protected by high mountains. The water is of ample depth and there are several good anchorages, the best being the port of the small city of Barahona.
From Neiba Bay to Cape Beata the coast waters are shallow and are only visited by small vessels which come to take away lumber or coffee from the neighboring heights. At Cape Beata, the southernmost cape of the Republic, the coast turns northwest, to the Pedernales River, which forms part of the boundary between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Several small bays indent this portion of the shore, 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 sparsely 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 mass 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 shore 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 Massacre River constitutes 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 shore of Lake Azuei, thence across the lake to the headwaters of the Pedernales River—with an indentation to give Haiti the post of Bois Tombé—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.