The feature of the city which attracts the traveler's attention unfavorably is the neglect of the city streets. During the dry season the lack of pavements does not matter but when the rains come the rich loam turns to a deep black mud. Along most streets there are narrow sidewalks, but where there are none, or where it is necessary to cross to the other side, the mode of progress is by hop, skip and jump from one dry place to another--the religion of the virtuous pedestrian being put to a severe test when after a strenuous jump he lands in a muddy place up to his shoe tops. At some crossings thoughtful storekeepers lay a plank of salvation for the passer-by. The city is a great center for cacao, tobacco and coffee, and several sawmills are kept busy cutting up pine logs from the surrounding hills. _Cotui_, about 31 miles southeast of La Vega, was founded by order of Ovando in 1505, being called _Las Minas_ in the early days because of the mines of gold, copper and other metals in the neighborhood. _Bonao_, about 26 miles south of La Vega, was founded by order of Columbus in 1496 to protect the mines in the nearby mountains and was the scene of Roldan's revolt against Columbus. Both of these towns almost disappeared when the colony declined and are now humble villages. Other villages are _Jarabacoa_, 18 miles southwest of La Vega; _Constanza_, 30 miles southwest of La Vega and rarely visited by strangers because of its isolation among the mountains, near the beautiful valley of Constanza; _Cevicos_, also hidden in the mountains, 12 miles southeast of Cotui; and _Santo Cerro_, 3 miles north of La Vega, on a hill which commands a magnificent view of the Royal Plain. PROVINCE OF ESPAILLAT _Moca_, also called _Espaillat_, 100 miles northwest of Santo Domingo City, is a thriving city. It was the scene of the "Moca massacre" in 1805, when the Haitian general Christophe, having guaranteed the safety of the inhabitants, induced them to return from their hiding places in the mountains and assemble in the church to the number of five hundred in order to hold a mass of thanksgiving, whereupon they were massacred by the Haitian soldiers. In more recent history it has been taken and retaken many times during revolutions and in 1899 was the scene of the killing of President Heureaux. Its houses are mostly one story in height and many are built of brick, while picturesque huts of the poor surround the town. Gutters have been constructed in the principal streets, but the possibilities of paving have by no means been exhausted. The town sustains two churches, one on the outskirts, and another with a peculiar square tower, on the plaza. The inhabitants take pride in their pretty flower-grown plaza and in the elaborate portal of their cemetery. The other town of the province is _Salcedo_, formerly called _Juana Nunez_, 7 miles east of Moca in a rich cacao district. PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO