Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-02-26
San Domingo.
From correspondents with the Commits
sion, under date of the 18th inst, we ex-
tract the following:


From correspondents with the Commits
sion, under date of the 14th inst, we ex-
tract the following:
eANTo DOMINGO City, Feb. IA.
The commission met last evening and
exchanged views in regard to the work re-
manning to be done and the propriety of
forwarding a preliminary report.
The investigation, so far as made, and
particularly the result of the past few days,
begins to open a wider field than was ex-
pected at the first of the week, and it was
agreed to name the middle of April as the
time of arrival in Washington. Upon
the question of a brief report by mail, it
was decided not to send it, in view of the
fact that considerable important informa-
ton but just obtained might materially
modify any report made up from what had
been fully considered. The Secretary of
State was addressed in brief letter, giving
i'm outline the work already done and list
of expeditions sent into the interior, to-
gether with the objects of each. The date
named above was also communicated as
the probable time of reaching home.
Parties now out officially are: Prof.
Blake, with geological party, and Prof.
Crane of the commission, were on their
way across the island to Puerto Plata;
Prof Ward is exploring La Vaga; Gen.
Sigel has gone to AZua, and Profs. Mar
vine and Walter have gone in the same di-
rection with view of examining the cop
per region. DR.. Parry is making thor
ough botanical examination and DIR. New
comb is pursuing medical researches in
various directions.
TRANSPeRTATION-PR ICES-SUBSISTENCE
AS there are no roads there are naturally
no wagons, and the only thing approach
ing vehicle, that have seen, is wheel
1,orr 1rrhf fGn nit nA Sfofn
The only mode of land transportation is
on an OK or bull back. The loads of course
are small. They are packed in bags made
of bark and slung across the animals back.
Water transportation is done by means of
clumsy "dug-outs,n or boats, fashioned
from the light and soft trunk of the eeiba
tree. Rude and awkward as they are, the
negroes handle them with great dexterity,
and manage to urge them at considerable
speed.
HOW THE PEOPLE LIVE.
The people generally live on fruits and
vegetables. The staples of their diet are
plantains, which are excellent fried, yams,
sweet potatoes, cocoanuts, pines, bananas,
oranges, tomatoes, egg-plants, and some
times salt fish. Fresh fish is never seem
whether the waters do not supply it, or the
people are too lazy to catch it, / cannot say.
The better classes have meat about twice
week, cattle being raised in small numbers
on the high lands; but beef sells for eight
or ten cents pound-which is far beyond
the means of the poor-and besides it is
hard to keep in this climate. Everybody
keeps poultry, and when there are ships in
port chickens are worth fifty cents piece,
and eggs thirty cents dozen.
TIMBER.
The reports of the value and variety of
timber on the island are probably not ex-
aggerated. The kinds most used for COM
mercial purposes are mahogany, logwood,
lignumvitse, ironwood and satinwood, and
these are said by the botanists of the expe-
dition, as well as intelligent inhabitants
with whom i have talked, to be of great
abundance and large growth.