_San Juan de la Maguana_, 48 miles northwest of Azua, was founded in 1504 by Diego Velazquez in the beautiful Maguana valley where the Indian chief Caonabo had his residence, became almost extinct in 1606, but revived in 1764 with the establishment of new cattle ranches in the vicinity. During the Haitian wars it was burned repeatedly. Near the town is a curious relic of Indian times called Anacaona's circus or "el corral de los Indios," consisting of large stones laid in a huge circle, and in the center a strange cylindrical stone, carved with Indian figures, which is supposed to have served as the throne of the Indian queen Anacaona. _Las Matas de Farfan_, 64 miles northwest of Azua, was established in 1780 and suffered greatly during the wars with the Haitians. Like the other villages of the Maguana valley its chief industry is stockraising. _Banica_, 75 miles northwest of Azua, on the Haitian frontier, was one of the towns established by Diego Velazquez in 1504. Though an important town in the early days it decayed, and in the beginning of the nineteenth century was abandoned entirely. During Haitian rule it was reestablished, but upon the declaration of Dominican independence was again abandoned for fear of Haitian vengeance, remaining so until the War of Restoration during which it was settled anew. Other villages are _San Jose de Ocoa_, also known as _Maniel_, 18 miles northeast of Azua, founded in 1844 in a picturesque region; _Tubano_, 34 miles northwest of Azua; _El Cercado_, 12 miles southwest of Las Matas de Farfan; and _Comendador_, near the Haitian frontier, 13 miles west of Las Matas de Farfan, the seat of one of the inland custom-houses. Dominican writers include among the towns pertaining to the Province of Azua those situated in that part of the territory of the former Spanish colony which is now held by Haiti. The principal towns in this territory are _Lares de Guajaba_ or _Hincha_, to-day called _Hinche_, which was founded in 1504 and was the birthplace of General Pedro Santana; _Las Caobas_, founded about the middle of the eighteenth century; _San Miguel de la Atalaya_, to-day called _St. Michel_, founded about the same time; and _San Rafael de la Angostura_, called _St. Raphael_ by the Haitians. PROVINCE OF BARAHONA _Barahona_, 126 miles west of Santo Domingo City, became capital of the Barahona district when a provincial government was established there in 1881. It is a small town, which began to be settled in the beginning of the nineteenth century, and suffered greatly during the Haitian wars and the revolutions following them. At present its fame is its fine coffee.