The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-01
ISABELLA, ANCIENT CITY.
The First City Founded on This
Hemisphere Now Only a
Stone Heap.
No Habitation Now Found Within
q Mile Of It's Former
Site.
But Little Discovered of Sufficient Inter-
est to Remove for Exhibition at
Chicago in 1893.

WASHINGTON, May 31.-While Admira
Gerhardi was in the West Indies the secre-
tary Of the navy instructed him to cause an
examination to be made of tho ruins of the
ancient city of Isabella. in San Domingo,
the first city founded on this hemisphere by
Europeans. The purpose was to ascertain
whether the ruins could be transported to
Chicago for exhibition at the Worlds fair.
The Enterprise was ordered to make the
Journey, and Commander Converse has
transmitted the report of his examination
to the navy departments. Lieut.. Colvo
Ceresses and a detail made the explorations.
The report says that for many years 1sa-
bella has been a port of shipment for ma
hogany and lignum vitae, woods which
grew in abundance in the neighborhood.
"No inhabitants are to be found with
in a mile and a half of the ruins.
but the native woodcutters that we
met verified the statements as to the tradi-
tions about the site of the town. On land
ing, We turned to the right and ascendsd q
gentle slope to a little plain about two
acres in area. Tradition points to the lit
tie plain as the site of the ancient city, and
here were found scattered at intervals va
rious small, ill-defnsd heaps of stones,
remnants of small unhewn stones. evidently
laid in mortar, pieces of old tiles and pots
herds, some of the latter glazed, and frag-
ments of broad, roughly made bricks.
There were a half dozen or more blocks Of
dressed limestone that may have been part
of the walls of buildings somewhat finished
and permanent in character. The trees,
matted roots and trailing vines oyerspread
the ground and rendered progress slightly
difficult. The soil is shallow, covering in
some places only a foot or so a bed of lime
stone rock.
THE application of pick and spade
brought to light nothing of particular in
terest. but enabled US to follow the traces
of walls in some instances. 1t should be
stated that the piles of stones that we saw
conveyed very little idea OF the form of
structures to which they belonged, and gave
no indication of their uses"
The report describes at length the char
aotsr of the debris and ruins found. and
continues: "We overturned all the cut
blocks of stone and examined them care
dates, but without success, and it is our
belief that nothing of the kind exists. OF
the surface-remains at Isabella, it is our
opinion that there is nothing of sufficient
interest to be removed, except, perhaps,
tae few blocks of cut limestone, and there is
Aoeu1Ak sAou WoulA SoAfCy dA luOo u UuS
architecture and workmanship of the build
ing erected by the first settlers. 1t does not
appear to us that any extended excavations
/. would be rewarded with better results. Isa-
bella was occupied for only about two years
by the original settlers, the rough and un-
finished character of the work is manifest
in the ruins, and further research could &C
complish nothing more than, perhaps, to
determine more clearly the ground plan of
the place. Should further exploration be
made, it would be of undoubted scientific
interest to examine the fauna and flora of
this region and there are evidences of in
terestinR fossil remains. The caves in the
probably yield interesting relics of tue
aborigines-the now extinct Caribs. These
cliffs are full of caves and from the de-
scription given by the pilot of stones found
in them, they probably contain metates,
rollers. ETC."