CHAP. X I . ]
CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS.
227
The stream which supplied Columbus with water was dammed up at the foot of the mountain by the French when in possession of the country, and its water now feeds a number of public fountains. Punta Santa could be no other than the present Point Picolet. Beating up from St. Nicholas Mole along an almost precipitous and ironbound coast, a prospect of unrivaled splendor breaks upon the view on turning this point; the spacious bay, the extensive plains, and the distant cordilleras of the Cibao mountains, impose upon the mind an impression of vastness, fer tility, and beauty. The fort of La Navidad must have been erected near Haut du Cap, as it could be approached in boats by rowing up the river, and there is no other river in the vicinity that admits a passage for boats. The locality of the town of Guacanagari has always been known by the name of Guarico.
The French first settled at Petit Anse ; subsequently they
removed to the opposite side of the bay and founded the town of Cape Fran cois, now Cape Haytien ; but the old Indian name Guarico continues in use among all the Spanish inhabitants of the vicinity.
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