CAB7-4 — Page 605

Page 605

577

Page 605

305

SAN DOMINGO.

with valleys, covered with trees and vegetation; the shores are indented with coves and occasional Appendix No. 9. small harbours. The western end is closed by extensive marshes and the delta of the River Yuna, As late as the commencement of the present century a navigable channel, called the Gran Estero, ran from the River Yuna into Escoscesa Bay, on the north side of the peninsula, but it is now silted up; the peninsula is, in fact, marked as an island on some early maps. The peninsula is well watered, and has abundant timber; it is from 6 to 10 miles wide.

The north shore of the gulf slopes gently to the water's edge, and has a fine level beach, mostly steep-to, affording numerous anchorages.

The south shore is more rough and irregular, and in parts has high cliffs.

The actual entrance to the gulf lies some 3 miles to the west of Balandra Head, and is quite

narrow.

A continuous and impassable line of reefs and shoals, with dangerous breakers, extends from Point Ticaco, a few miles to west of Point Rafael, on south shore of the gulf, in a north-westerly direction to the clump of rocks and islands known as Levantados Cays; while between these cays and the north shore, a distance of little more than a mile, there is a depth of 11 to 15 fathoms, which forms a passage, admitting vessels of the largest size, and is the only ship-channel into the gulf.

From the Levantados Cays the shoals sweep round again to the south to Point Capitan, a point on the south shore some 18 miles west of Point Ticaca; the interior or west side of this shoal is said to be a secure and sheltered anchorage for large class ships.

Banister Cay is the largest of the Levantados, is 150 feet high, half a mile long from east to west, and a quarter of a mile broad, and thickly wooded; 200 yards to the east of it is Chinchillini Cay, a small low rock; to the north, and 400 yards distant, is Pascal Cay, a small round islet, steep-to on the north side; these three cays are joined by a reef, on which there is 3 to 7 feet of water.

About a quarter of a mile north-west of Pascal Cay is the Jean-Bart [Reef, a small ledge coeverd by 22 feet of water. North of the Jean-Bart Reef is the ship channel, about half a mile wide, with a depth of 12 fathoms. South of the same reef is a narrower passage, called the Half Moon Passage.

On the opposite north shore of the gulf there are two projecting points, about 1 miles apart, called Bonhomme and Cocos Points. On the latter, the outermost, of which bluffs are the ruins of a five gun Spanish battery. The channel is about 1 mile long, and opens directly into the gulf to the

west.

Once inside the harbour, besides the anchorage already referred to on the lee-side of the great entrance reef, there are numerous indentations along the north shore, affording more or less excellent anchorages. Coral islands and reefs, however, occur in some of the bays. The most desirable position. for a port is said to be at a place called Point Martinquois, or Corozo, about 10 miles west of the existing small town of Santa Barbara, and this has been selected by some as the site of the famous city of the future. This point is said to be in a good situation, to have healthy air, plenty of stone and wood, and abundance of pure water, while the gently sloping hills behind are capable of the highest cultivation.

The southern shore of the gulf is in many places inaccessible by land or sea, and composed of sterile rock, with islets of the same scattered at intervals along it; but there is good anchorage in the Bay of San Lorenzo, at the mouth of the river of the same name, for vessels of the largest size. A little to the east of this is the village of Savana la Mar, which is only approachable in boats.

The rise of the tide in the gulf is 3 feet, and the tide runs from 1 to 3 miles per hour. The bottom or western extremity of the gulf is an extensive march, and a bar of mud prevents the navigation of the River Yuna, except by boats of 2 feet draught. Were the mouth of the river cleared, the river would afford a navigable means of access to the rich valley of the Vega Real. The right to control this navigation, as also to construct a railroad and line of telegraph to Santiago, has been conceded lately to a private Company on most liberal terms.

The districts bordering on the gulf are very healthy, and usually free from epidemics, but a mild form of low fever occurs in the lowlands. The thermometer ranges from 90 degrees in the shade to 70 degrees at night, but the heat is tempered by constant breezes.

There are reports of the existence of abundance of coal in the peninsula, which have, however, not been verified by investigation. The specimens discovered are common lignite, of comparatively little value, and are said to have been tried in steamers' furnaces to no purpose.

"Owing to the difficulty of working out of the Gulf of Samaná, with the prevailing east to north-east trade winds, it was not a desirable port in the days of sailing-ships, but since the introduction of steam, the disadvantage of having to beat out through a narrow channel, among coral islands and reefs, partly disappears. The very narrowness of the opening renders it more capable of being easily and com- pletely defended, by forts upon the cays already described, in conjunction with works on the headlands of the peninsula, while the vast landlocked bay offers no serious dangers to steamers or vessels being towed in or out; its great natural advantages, both strategical and commercial, under the new con- ditions, have attracted the attention of Maritime Powers."

Louis Philippe, in 1846, on the recommendation of naval officers, intended to establish a great naval arsenal here; but this was prevented by the English alliance.

England was at one time anxious to secure the gulf, "being, as it undoubtedly is, the key to the southern passages of the Gulf of Mexico."

It has also been said that Samaná Gulf "is one of those maritime positions encountered but in one or two places in the world, it is not only the military key, but the commercial key to this part of the world."

""

In "Lloyd's Confidential Book of Agencies the following passage occurs :-" Samaná Gulf forms one of the finest harbours of the world, and may be regarded as the most important maritime position in reference to the trade of the Gulf of Mexico and the interoceanic routes across Central America, both in a military and a commercial point of view."

The gulf, with surrounding country, was ceded to the United States' Trading Company by a

[1103]

7 H

Page 605

Page 605

Page 605Page 606