The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-01
SANTO DOMINGO
THE OLDEST CITY ON THE
 WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
acasa de CoIon," Where Diego colum- bus Lived In spIendor-The Street Scenes.

bus Lived In spIendOr-The Street Scenes.
 Special Correspondence or the 'ouA I-''
 and Courier)
 Santo Domingo, June 2lth' -SVz'
 Travellers who are familiar with the Iberian peninsula find this old Waiieu city of the West Indies almost couli- terpart of some of the oldest III the lii- tarior of spain. Santo Domingo was laid out and completely built' so Tar as it's area and principal edlfices are coil- carned, about four hundred years ago. and within the walls and among tAe r,,ins of the past it still retains all tue neculiarities of that remote perloo' No sooner has your steamer turlleu into the little bay formed by the JuiiI- tion of the Ozama river with the sea- than every moment brings into VIC" something new, strange ana interest Theouays are almost deserted ol SAlp hing. except a few schooners loaollls up with sugar. which is hauled down 10 tIle docks in enormous carts, whose creah- inc may be heard away out in the mar hor The carts are drawn by ouliocks, not hitched from yoke as we are used +o seaine oxen driven, but by thronss ,,,ssed around the base of their horns. Those great vehicles somehow call to mind the ''ponderous wains' or 1raila- Pre-. in Arcadia, which-so says !he poet-"all day long came laOo'1lls down from the village" Directly aeoVe the wharf at which steamers lana thelr ,asseneers. is the "Casa de Colon" or Columbus Palace, which you recognize at a glance from pictures seen ana oe- scriptions read. The now dilapidated, ime-blackened pile of gray stone, with it's crumphns nillars and small, arched WlndoWS' was strongly fortified in it's day and pal ace of extraordinary magnificence. Don nyaido. one of the early historians or Santo Domingo, wrote about IL as Lol- lows. with the quaint phraseology anu nrofusion of capitals then In vogue: stAs touching the Buildings there IS no rity in Spain, not even in Barcelona, so rn,Ich to be preferred as Santo Domin- po The Houses for the Moste Parte ara of Stone In the midst of the city is the Fortress and Castle, together with Palaces, so Faire and Large that +hav might well receive any Lord or Noble of Spaine, with his Traine ana Familie; and especially is this True or the Palace of Don Colon"
 But alas, to what base uses! Whlle In some protected corners of the upper story, bits of tiling that have been trod- den by the flower and beauty ot the Spanish nobility may still be seen, and traces of beautiful fresco painting snow diroly through the dust of centuries; the lower rooms are occupied as stables for horses, goats and donkeys, and fill ed with filth indescribable. The rool has long since fallen in, the pillared cor riders are mostly destroyed, anc apainst the outer walls are leaned lot of saualid, straw-thatched huts, ten anted by the off-scourings of the city This "casa," it should be remembered has no connection with Christopher O. 1umbus. except through his son, Dlego who, from all accounts seems to nave been spoiled by the successes Of ms H. 11,strious sire and to have flown undulI high. as other great mems sons have been known to do. Most of the powers and titles granted by the Spanish soy ereign to the Discoverer fell upon thu latter's son: and Diego achieved furth CT distinction by marrying into the fore most family of spain-the beautiful Dona Maria de Toledo, niece of tn Duke of Ava. He came to Santo DO roingo in the wear 1509, when he be slowed upon himself the title of Vtcero Of the Colonies of America, and bull this palace on the banks of the Ozam river. Then he launched on a career O unparalled magnificence and surround ed himself with all the dignities of
 royal court. But the inevitable ia was not long delayed, Diego carried hi nretensions so much too far that tn Ring became alarmed and recalled hir to Spain to give an account Of himself lAbo11t the same time the colonists re belled against his authority; and to thi S9au YOU can see an old cannon half er1bedded in the sand in front of th naIace which tradition says the cit fathers had mounted and turned upo Diego's stronghold, just as the King messenger arrived.
 From the landing, an unpaved roa winds up the hillside through an arche gateway in the old city wall; and yo almost expect to see some fifteenth cer tury Spaniard, dressed in the quail costume of his time pop out of orc ( the lofty turrets that tower overhea and bringing his arquebuse to ready shout the customary challenge Quie vivei-Who goes there? These ancie halls. with their bastions and fortaleZa and numerous little sentry-boXes bui between, after the fashion of milita1 cities four centuries ago-look as old ; they really are, but are yet strong ar firm. Their circumference is perhal three miles. entirely surrounding u city and running a thousand yards
 so along the Ozama river. They a from nine to twelve feet thick, of sol stone so overgrown with vines tn their stuccoing is hardly visible Th' vary n height from ten to twenty fee excep along the ocean front, whe they dwindle to four feet, being su ficiently protected by the bold, rocl cliff against which surf dashes violer 1y There is no other wall like this our side of the world. and words fail
 convey much idea of it's massive di nity imposing even in decay. There no glasis and the bastions are We small, intended for four gun batteries excepting those at the angles, whe