COAST SCENERY.                         443
the other would have to yield, else there would ensue still
another of the many revolutions which are periodical on
this island.
The greatest trouble affecting the present Government
is to know how to run its finances, as the paper money
now out has little or no value, and in fact there is nothing
of value in the republic upon which to base credit, unless
the customs are hypothecated. The greatest revenue is
obtained from the export duty on coffee, which amounts
to an enormous sum, but which kills the industry of the
country, making the coffee so high to export to foreign
markets that millions of pounds are left unpicked on the
trees each year.
This I can readily believe, for as we sailed along the
coast we did not see any signs of a thickly-settled country
or of a general agriculture. Only occasionally we saw
clearings on the hill-side that marked the residence of
some settler ; yet the country is beautiful in the extreme,
and, as the Haytians on board told me, splendid coffee
land.
Now we are entering a noble canal or passage formed by
the island of Tortuga and the mainland, and upon the
shore of the latter is spread out before us the little town
of Port de Paix, presenting a pleasing aspect from the sea.
It is a small place, with tolerably well-built houses of stone,
a large church, and a public fountain ; but the site of the
town is unhealthy from the low, marshy nature of the land
in the vicinity ; but the country about it is said to be fertile
in coffee, with forests of many valuable woods.
Its historic interest is centred in the fact that Columbus
landed here on his first voyage, naming the place Valparayso,
or Valley of Delight ; it was also the dwelling-place of one
of the ancient caciques ; and the French, being driven from
the island of Tortuga opposite, settled here, and gave it the
present name of Peaceful Port.
Tortuga (or Turtle) Island, which forms the other shore