Douglass gazed in wonder. The waters of the bay spread out, smooth and unruffled as a great lake. The land on which they stood at the right of the entrance rose sharply. Opposite, a wooded plain extended. At the end of the bay clustered a group of buildings with the clear sheen of water right in the middle of them. “Man could not have designed anything so perfect,” Douglass murmured. The first Haitian spoke again. “They say all the fleets in Europe could lie here secure from every wind. And the largest vessels in fifty fathoms of water could have cables on land.” “It is incredible!” The Haitian turned as if to mount his horse. He spoke carelessly. “A powerful nation holding this harbor might easily control not only the Caribbeans but South America as well.” “But a friendly nation,” Douglass reasoned with great sincerity, “with the means at hand might use this harbor to bring prosperity to all the Caribbean.” “_Ce soit possible!_” Douglass did not know French well enough to catch the slight sarcasm in the Haitian’s words. As they rode down the trail they spoke only of the scenery. * * * * * In November the United States warship _Yantic_ steamed into the Môle, and Douglass reported that frequent references in the American press to alleged desires on the part of his country to obtain bases there were arousing fears among the Haitian people. Strangely enough, Douglass now found himself the point of attack by the press. They said he was not the man for the post. “The fault of my character,” Douglass wrote later, “was that upon it there could be predicated no well-grounded hope that I would allow myself to be used, or allow my office to be used, to further selfish schemes of any sort for the benefit of individuals, either at the expense of Haiti or at the expense of the character of the United States.”[33] Events moved rapidly. Certain facts became apparent to Douglass, and in March, 1890, he wrote to Secretary Blaine that certain American business interests were bringing pressure upon Haiti. Douglass had not at this time seen a report recorded by the Bureau of Navigation, received January 22, 1890, which read: The strategical value of this Island from a naval point of view is invaluable, and this increases in direct proportion to the millions which American citizens are investing in the Nicaragua Canal. The United States cannot afford to allow any doubt to rest in the minds of any Haitian as to our fixed determination to allow no one to gain a foothold on, or establish a protectorate over this Island. Home on leave for a few weeks in August, Douglass spoke on Haiti to a large audience in Baltimore. He noted he had recently been under attack by the press of the country.