3-021-433 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Bay of Samana, St. Domingo, lately purchased by the United States, 1868. The bay is '...an extensive inlet of the sea, forty miles long and twelve broad, at the western extremity of the large island of St. Domingo, or Hayti. It is formed by the peninsula, or rather island, of the same name, divided from the mainland by creeks filled with water at high tide. This shelters the bay on the north side, and it affords a safe and capacious anchorage for any number of ships...it was proposed to place 4000 or 5000 American settlers in the country, the population of which is estimated at only about 200,000, and the obvious intent was to acquire this place, with its valuable coal-mines, which are very important for steam navigation...Subsequently, the temporary reocccupation of San Domingo by Spain and the exigencies of the civil war in America seem to have diverted attention from the subject...The Bay of Samana is a very fine harbour; and the supply of coal for steam purposes is virtually inexhaustible, and so situated that vessels may load alongside of the mines. If the general account of its capabilities be correct, the station will, of course, prove of incalculable importance to the United States for naval and commercial purposes'. From "Illustrated London News", 1868.