The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-03-03
SANTA BARBARA, SANTANA BAY,
st. Domingo. Feb. IL. 1879.

nothing EXTRAORDINARY In the approach to Porto
Plata possibly because it was raining to awaken
the emotions that stirred the souls OF previous
narrators but can forgive the enthusiasm that
has but half expended itself on the beautiful Bay
of SANTANA. We rounded Cape Balandra just O.
the sun was rising over sea as gorgeous as ever
Turner painted. It was tropical to a fault, and
the fault was there was too much brilliant color.
But the had not all the glory OF the picture to
ITSELF for sky and shore lent their aid to frame @
sight 80 full Of beauty and splendor, Of tender
tints now Opaline, again all roseate and again
all golden, that the senses were confused with the
teeming effects OF the invisible artist yet the heart
protested that any shadow or sombre change
should for q moment rest upon o scene so emil
nenty bright and captivating. To you folks,
shivering under the gloom OF northern skies, this
may seem the language of exaggeration; but you
should have seen Captain Delaney, the duplication
oprose scepticsm drop his threef0ot glass to feast
his naked eyes upon the grandeur Of the spectacle
Onward we moved, breaking the CLASSY surface Of
the bay into rpples that seemed to lose themselves
like dream In the calm of eternity. The shore to
our right flung at its summit long, green, wav-
Ing pennon to the sky. Afar OF on the other
shore there was deep purple lining to the hort
zon that faded In the perspective into gauzy
glimmer OF the faintest amethyst.
SANTA BARBARA.
or course everybody was on deck save one or
two Pilgrims whose passion for draw poker over
came their natural love for the beauties Of SUNRISE
But then they came to stay, and their chances Of
having such sights freegratis for nothing are we'll
assured for the future. The nose of the Tybee was
directed for the harbor OF Santa Barbara, on the
shores OF which town win soon arise, II prophecy
Ia not at fault where all the graces Of civilization
Will be welded to the most redundant Injuries Of
tropical cline. Islands, like hugo crowns Of
emerald dropped In the calm. swelling sea, were
left to the right OF us, and we bore straight
along to pier, where We moored the
noble Tybee right comfortably for the day.
Santa Barbara, like q chalk line at the
bottom OF lowered drop curtain, stood of to our
right about half mile. It skrted the base Of
high range OF hills, clothed to the top with all those
plants and trees familiar to the readers of tropical
botany. Presently there came on deck Colonel
Joseph Warren Fabens, who owns q handsome
slice Of this territory looked for some display oil
emotion in his address of welcome, for was he NOT
Governor Of the Peninsula and were we not the
pioneer colony destined to make SANTANA the talk
and the envy Of the world He was happy to see
us, and so was Mr.. Price, the Consul whose resi-.
dence on the high jutting promont0ry made every
Pilgrim heart expand with the anticipation
OF having some such elevated station
for life. Fabens set about the work
ofinspectng the discharge Of the vessels freight,
and the voice of Albert the mate, might have been
heard through the early morning echoing among
the hills. keeping the dusky stevedores to theil
duty. One OF the native canoes rowed by darky,
whose Philadelphia parents allowed him to get
hopelessly involved in the Spanish dialect, took
two of Us to Santa Barbara, and through the va.
rous streets, James, alleys and nondescrpt squares
OF that singular village Of eighty -four houses we
wandered in the early forenoon. In the meantime,
OF course, there was great c0mmotfon among the
emigrants on board. All eyes were riveted on the
scene Of the future settlement To be sure,
there were no ready-made plantations to the
eye, but there was general concurrence
that air the material was right there in front of us
out OF which to carve happy homes and fortunes.
There was general anxiety to see the carpenters
from Harlem ut work, to see that hotel erected
which 1t took Us hours to discharge, to see the
workings Of the Kitchen and the billiard room OF
American manufacture that we brought along;
but Delaney was memorable, and our departure
for st. Domingo city should come or in the morn
ing no matter what way the wind blew. The
work Of the Harlem carpenters had, therefore, to
be postponed for inspection till our return. I
hardly think l escaped interviewing every man
within the limits of Santa Barbara village on the
question Of the hour. 1t cost but little time,
though in one instance it involved
the expense OF q dinner, which cost such fabu.
lous sum to the interviewer that he had the inhu-
mainly to hope that the new city OF SANTANA would
utterly ruin the pratical trade Of Santa Barbara
that every adult voter therein might be thrown an
outcast on the face Of the earth. Notwithstanding
this all the visitors from the vessel were happy.
Riding out in the cool of the day, under mauras
and mangos and plantain trees, met with various
representatives Of the country, some speaking
English, others pantomlming In Spanish or
something like 1t, but oil evidently de-
lighted with the approaching millennium. There
were no vctes-in this colony, at least
against renting SANTANA Bay to an American COM
papy, for these shrewa natives know too well what
Is good for them, and they hail American capital
"a The 1sraeItes might have hailed the appearance
=, tbo Promised Land. This Is not confined to this
smp,e village. All Dominicans know IL WILL bring
:, en- something more than the sympathy VIII
.,,. have always had aud the ehariy which ths.
narsr wanted. Yet they are wonderfullv alive 70
tho chin, OF the silver dollar, and, Innocent and
ignorant a. hey are they have as lively an appre-
cs ton az anyb 'dy chat the Colonization Of samana
by American ente, prise will make their iiyej f1ofe
PROSPEROUS and roll. EN-. It Is all nonsense n 5
offer these people syl opathy on the score of r
being plundered by tuS invasion Of the
so-caIied West India Company. The latter confer
On them Al sublime favor az Sv1en consented
With good grace to lay down % In silver for q
Inner which, IN Nassau street, wouldShave been
ieemed outrageous ct fifty cents. In turn OF the
Dad leading out Of the village came In sight ofa
yroup whose faces were familiar, but whose
,asy way OF taking things made me for moment
uppese they were native and TO the manner
,orn. On closer approach discovered the central
igure to be Captain Samuels, leaning composedly
against the hip joint OF coooanut tree
md smoking his cigar with ss easy
as II he were poised at the
,apstan of the Dreadnaught In O Summer
,rmse of Newport. Near him was Mr.. Halsey.
describing with banana stick in an ofr.hand WAY
diagram OF the country Of La Vega and the
course Of the yuma River Mr.. Obey pondered the
diagram drawn on the soft soil OF the road, ana
suggested here and there improvements In tho