itself is about six miles deep by two wide, and the
c ity lies upon its inmost shore. T he entrance is
guarded by the Morro Castle, a picturesque fortification
on a promontory to the right, built by Governor
Pedro de la Rocca in 1640, and the Zocapa
Castle on a corresponding height opposite. A little
way up the channel is the star-shaped Estrella battery
on the right, and a little farther y e t on the left
the Cayo Smith battery. A t the turning into the
bay there is another defence on the right in the Punta
Gorda battery. These works have been proved to
be, under Spanish command, more formidable in appearance
than in reality, but the harbour might be
made impenetrable; and its commercial value could
be greatly increased by dredging, as it has been
allowed to shoal with silt and foul deposits from
the city.
A lon g the bay front is the Alameda, with shady
palms and other trees, and a botanical garden at its
eastern end, and from this the blue-, yellow-, and
pink-tinted houses, interspersed with gardens, rise
in terraces within an amphitheatre of hills, having
a bold background of mountains in the distance.
On close inspection much that is shabby and dirty
appeared in the city in the lazy Spanish days, and
the atmosphere stagnated in the encircling hills in
most insalubrious fashion in the hot and humid
season. But the old cathedral, built in 1522, was
an attractive structure, and the military barracks
and hospital were objects of languid interest. In
its quiet way Santiago was a centre of commercial
activity, whence was shipped more or less of tobacco,