Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-02-24

SCENE II sAs Do,uxGo.-The correspon-
dents Of the New York papers send interesting
accounts ef the condition Of men and things CT
the Island. We make few extracts
We landed at SANTANA. from the ship's bosts
on wretched wharf which runs out about 100
feet into the shallow water and If the village
looked comical from the frigate, what snail say
Of the nearer view The platform swsrrned
with men, women. and children. Of all shades
OF color, gazing open-eyed and open-mouihed
upon the strange arrival At least half the
children under eight years Of age were as
naked IS when they first came into this wick
ed world The offspring Of this innocent popu-
latIon usually begin TO todile sboat the streets
when they are little above the size Of a large
sweet potato, and il is not customary to clothe
them in SO much as fig-leaf until they are at
least I'VE years old. Clothing, even at inst age
Is lOoke1 upon eupe-1rous ss often as not
and hSve seen come pretty well advanced chill
cren with nothing on worth mentioning Il
seems 10 be one Of the unvritten laws Of fashion
that the young shall never wear more than ona
garment at a time. II mother has given her
child q shirt. that is enough if coat Is more
handy, let coat Eufnce and indeei Il il not
uncommon Tor al the purposes Of convenience
and adornmeni 10 be answered By = nat OF
pair OF shoes Among the lower classss-if
may be psrConed the expression-ecuuurlv N
costume Is not confined 10 the children. There
are men whose whole wardrobe consists Of a pair
Of pzntalOons, and women who boast Of NJ gar
ment whatever but a torn calico gowa--n0t SO
much as q ragged handkerchief One Of the
members Of the Commission assures ne thai. IN
the interior, the full dress Of gentleman some
times consists Of a brOad-brimmed hat and
rusty sword, tied about the IONS vita a belt Of
barr don I wish to be understood as making
TINS Etsiement On my persona responsibility
but evidently we snail have great deal 20 es.
used TO in s4nto Domingo.
There Is nothing OF wheels to be seen here
not even the rudest sort Of ear. Everything is
carried On oxen, asses, ponies or mules, or ty
hand. The most common boast Of burden. O.
for riding On by the people Of line interior uhen
they come to town, IL a smsl bull Inc
rider, who is often woman or cirl. SITS astriie
On a rude wooden saddle, without stirrups. the
naked feet and legs hanging dangling down
nearly to the ground. Ia place Of a bride or
other head gear 70 guide the bull. there is q
ring IN the nose Of the animal, with e Eingle
cord attached 10 Il. Literally these stuntei and
docle little bulls are led BY the nose. one Of
or party was SO amused with the comicli sight
Of a h2I nude young woman sitting astrIde one
Of these animals as she rode through the villzce
that ne declared be mad seen Europa Judging
from the appearance Of the women from fourteen
years Of age and upwards. ard the numerous
children mere, the human family IS as prolific as
the sol As in all tropical countries. female
arrive al puberty ST an esrly age. C0nslie-ln-
the large families women hsye. and al the same
time tue very limited population, T. is evident
Ha# owl. mt nAH g #nn
rapidly What are these Int frequent reyo-
buttons snd intestine wars contribute urdoubt-
eddy % keep the country depopulsteI, but there
must be other causes Inc ignorance u the
people. sld their mode Of living, nay account
for many deaths; Etill the country cannot be Is
healthy IS has been Represented TO rs ST Samanz
y mite people, particularly thote Of the United
States and Northern Europe, could not Labor u
cultiYating the e0l il ever -. Domingo be
made productive, it must be through other la
bore1E The question iz, where sre tEey 10 come
from and now are they O. be controlled 1r IH-
Guced 60 isbo.
SAT-. Domingo CRY a nothing a-- o. ruin.
I have been here uoU Two days, All haze
searched vziu.7 f1- new house, fresh bIics.
3 neFiY ausrrlei stone. CO aiatsiy saTe1 s-aut.-
ing Apparently there 1 nos. in the whole
CITY. a structure tla- is net 2JJ years CID. All
the houses bear the proof Of great age trum5l-
INC stone. concrete falling O. decay. ivy snl
other vines clInZIuE 20 the walls. moss and mold
a1I discoicrlu0u everywhere. Every street is .
but copy Of lis fellows i-s houses are ike
prisons with thick Fa-=. massive doors. and
barred Windows.
The fruits most abundant IRE the grange,
lemon. lime. c0coanu-. caea1. Uauar-- pine.
AlhEstor-9ear, Eusva, and tamarirl Pine
spples are immensely large an r-A- some
MEASURE ! o inches IL dlameter, and che Of me
naval officers was recently presented with 8 P.us
weighing - pounds All these fruits are found
ii practically unlimited quanrues, toe produc- /
,i1u being checked only by the difficulty Of
rrsnsuor-aIiou Apples, pescles blackberries, !
strs wnerriss. am FarGrue-1-s flourish o. the
ludlzu corn grows maElihceu-iJ s.
Three crops are raised cg Tie same land every
wear Two Of these crops are each larEe- than az
average crop IL the States. besides being cf the
best quality AlouutSll rice is s5Gndza-. fo- z
tatoes vans. paLIalns. c2lhaEas- beets, turnlps
cucumBers. lettuce tonstoes. egc-plsn,s, peas, &
beans. and / know not how many o-ne- culinary 3
are rroluced IL perfection The
Sauto Domingo sluEsues are Ine n1sr s1uasne5
10 the word Last March ll-. Bur sent l.5ll
pounds Of THIS noble vegetable % the hew orr s
narket sni got D. cents g pound icy MS cargo, d
md the labor OF cultivation was almost -otLin-- I