196
SANTO DOMINGO.
Balandra Head is a remarkable red cliff lying at the
foot of Mount Diablo, which, about one and a half miles
back, rises 1300 feet high.    Between the base of Balandra
Head, its continuous line of hills, and the
I ';¦¦*-• -- ¦¦¦.           shore, lies a most attractive sloping levee
{' ,       i j;j        covered with vegetation, and which would
be most charming sites for coffee or sugar
estates, to say nothing of their beauty and
value as places of marine residence for the
inhabitants of the future immense city of
Samana.    But from this point we caught
our first sight of the far-famed bay whose
name is   now so familiar  in the United
States.    Worthy indeed of all  that has
been said about its size and beauty, it
broke upon me as the most superb harbour
« I had ever seen, and before which even
fl                                          J
a those large and lovely bays of the " Ever
Faithful Isle " (Cuba) must pale.
Such is the extent of this noble bay,
that no picture, however large, could do
justice to its appearance ; but a glance
at the accompanying map will give my
readers an idea of the form of this superb
sheet of water, the coveted prize of many
Governments. In imagination clothe the
sides of this bay with bold high hills, vary-
ing from 200 to 2000 feet high, from which
slope gently to the sea charming valleys
covered with trees and vegetation ; indent
the shore with coves, or here and there
small harbours, whose white sandy shores
glisten in the tropic sun, and you have
some idea of this beautiful bay that Columbus himself has
named the " Bay of Arrows," being the place, it is said,
where the blood of the children of the New World was first
o