Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/286

 258 which a third constitutes the Republic of Haiti; the remaining portion forming the Dominican Republic.

Fourteen mountain ranges lie across the country, which is watered by forty-four rivers and streams, thus rendering the soil exceedingly fertile. Among the rivers the most important are the Artibonite, 60 leagues long, which rises in the Cibao Mountain and flows into the Gulf of Gonave, near Grande-Saline; the yearly rising of its waters and its consequent benefit to crops has caused it to be compared with the Nile; it is navigable and greatly facilitates the traffic of the plain which bears its name.

As to the mountains which give to Haiti so picturesque an aspect, they literally ridge the country. The peak of La Hotte in the South is about 2,470 metres and the peak of La Selle in the West 2,950 metres above the sea level.

The adjacent islands belonging to Haiti are:

1st. La Gonave in the bay of Port-au-Prince is 14 leagues long by 3 wide. The air is pure and the climate healthy; there is a lake on this island, and there are many mahogany and other valuable trees for cabinetwork and building purposes.

2nd. La Tortue (Tortuga Island), opposite Port-de-Paix, was the cradle of the French domination in Saint-Domingue, having been occupied by the freebooters in 1630; it is 9 leagues long. The climate of the island is so healthy that in the older times the French were in the habit of going there to escape from or recuperate after yellow fever. Here also are to be found mahogany and building timber, and land crabs much sought after as food.

3rd. L'Ile-à-Vaches, at about three leagues from