style and others bearing medallions or recumbent figures of the
deceased. The volunteer fire corps of Santiago has a special lot and a
pretty monument. _San Jose de las Matas_, 24 miles southwest of
Santiago, is situated on a high plain in the midst of the mountains
and is surrounded by great pine forests. Its salubrious climate and
picturesque environments make it a favorite summer resort for wealthy
families of Santiago, Puerto Plata and Moca, and a health resort for
persons afflicted with stomach or lung trouble. Nearby are hot and
cold sulphur springs, the beautiful Inoa waterfall, the picturesque
confluence of the Amina and Inoa rivers and the high Rubio Peak, which
commands one of the finest panoramas in the island.

Other towns are _Valverde_, formerly _Mao_, 30 miles northwest of
Santiago; _Janico_, 14 miles southwest of Santiago, _Esperanza_, 27
miles northwest of Santiago; and _Canton Pena_, also called
_Tamboril_, 7 miles east of Santiago and having such close social
relations with that city as to be regarded as a suburb of the same.



PROVINCE OF PUERTO PLATA

_Puerto Plata_, 150 miles northwest of Santo Domingo, is the most
important port of the north of the Republic. Columbus is said to have
made the plans for the streets of the town; as early as 1499 there
were settlers here; and in 1502 the city was formally founded by order
of Ovando. It enjoyed prosperity during the first years of the colony,
but in 1543 was attacked by pirates and thereafter rapidly went to
decay. The stringent laws which restricted the commerce of the island
to certain ports of the mother country encouraged contraband trade and