622 SANTILLANA SANTO DOMINGO market ; the houses in the main part of the town are mostly of stone. Its climate is health- ful, and the surrounding country very produc- tive, botli in minerals and plants. The tohacco of the Vega Real is sent thither for transpor- tation to Puerto Plata. Santiago was found- ed in 1504, and stands in the region called by the natives Cibao. It suffered many reverses from the French and buccaneers, and was de- stroyed by Dessalines, and again by the Span- iards when they evacuated the island in 1865. s V MILL V , Martinis de. See MENDOZA. SANTO DOM I XiO (sometimes improperly called San Domingo), a republic comprising the east- ern and larger portion of the island of Hayti, in the West Indies, otherwise called the Do- minican republic. (For its physical charac- teristics, see HAYTI.) It includes all the ter- ritory E. of the boundary line fixed by treaty between Spain and France in 1777, which ex- tends from the mouth of the river Pedernales on the S. coast to that of the river Massacre, which flows into the bay of Manzanillo on the N. coast. Its greatest length, from Cape En- gafio to the Haytian frontier, is about 260 m., and its greatest breadth, from Cape Isabella to Cape Beata, 165 in. ; area estimated at 18,000 sq. m. The republic is divided into five prov- inces : Santo Domingo, Azua de Compostela, Ooncepcion de la Vega, Santiago de los Cuba- lleros, and Santa Cruz del Seybo, the capitals of which have the same names respectively. The principal harbors are Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, and the bay of Samana. The last, which is formed by the peninsula of Sa- mana on the N. E. end of the island, is about 35 m. long and 10 m. wide. Its entrance is made difficult by extensive banks and a reef. Samana bay proper, or the port of Santa Bar- bara, on the N. side of the large bay, is formed by a line of reefs and islets parallel with the shore. It is in. wide, and, though difficult of access, is deep enough for large vessels. The soil of Santo Domingo is of extraordi- nary fertility. Tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, maize, coffee, cacao, and the plantain are the staple productions. The coffee is left in many places to grow wild ; and the tobacco, from want of cultivation, is inferior, though with proper care it might equal that of Cuba. The cotton is of fine staple and good length, and might be made as good as any in the world. The forests contain great varieties of valua- ble trees, among which are mahogany, lig- num vitse, ebony, fustic, a species of log- wood, and many other cabinet and dye woods. The plains furnish fine pasturage for the cattle of hundreds of owners, who annually collect and count the animals, and brand the young. The horses are in general small, but graceful and well adapted to the indifferent roads. Mules are numerous, as are also the other do- mestic animals ; and swine raising forms an important industry. In the forests are large numbers of coaiti-mundis and agoutis. The rivers are infested with alligators. Various spe- cies of lizards are found, and the iguana, whose flesh is by some regarded as a delicacy, attains a large size. Among the venomous insects are the scorpion, centipede, and tarantula, the stings of which, although causing much pain and inconvenience, are by no means fatal, as is commonly supposed. Gold, silver, iron, and copper are the chief minerals ; the first two are said to be extremely abundant in all parts of the republic. The gold mines of La Vega and Buenaventura alone furnished Ovando with the half million of dollars which he sent home annually to the king of Spain, besides what he expended on improvements in the colony. As many as 240,000 crowns of gold were coined in the mint of La Vega in 1502, when the mines were not worked so thoroughly as in later times, and the city of Santiago de los Caballeros was chiefly inhabited by goldsmiths. No mines are now in operation, but consider- able grain gold is still extracted. Silver was also mined in large quantities in the 16th cen- tury ; but the mines were closed by a royal decree from Spain, and they have not been reopened, nor is their precise situation gen- erally known. Mines of tin, lead, quicksil- ver, sulphur, and rock salt are also mentioned by the Spanish writers ; and considerable salt is still produced. The climate is much more salubrious than that of any of the other West India islands ; and the average health and longevity is said to be equal to that of the United States. In the highlands the tempera- ture is equable and agreeable ; in the lowlands the thermometer ranges from 84 to 91 F. The intensity of the heat is tempered by the sea breeze, which blows nearly all day long, and by the land breeze, which begins two or three hours after sunset and continues until sunrise. From May to October heavy rains fall, frequently accompanied by thunder and lightning. From February to April it is uni- formly dry. Yellow fever and cholera have made considerable ravages on several occa- sions in the island, but have never been epi- demic there. The population, which .is set down by some authorities at 200,000, is" said by the United States commissioners, who vis- ited the republic in 1871, not to exceed 150,- 000. About nine tenths are native Domini- cans, springing for the most part from the union of Spaniards, Indians, and negroes, though some are of pure African blood. The whites, about one tenth of the whole, are Spaniards of unmixed race, mainly descendants of the early settlers, and other Europeans, who re- side mostly in the seaports and larger towns, and have almost exclusively under their con- trol the foreign commerce of the country. The Dominicans are sober, courteous, affable, and hospitable, and in their intercourse with each other make little distinction of class, race, or color. Very little absolute poverty exists, and mendicancy is almost unknown. Cock fighting is the chief amusement, and gaming is largely practised both in public and in private. High
