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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hayti, by Spenser St. John
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Hayti
-       Or the black republic.
-
-Author: Spenser St. John
-
-Release Date: July 23, 2022 [eBook #68592]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: Peter Becker, Thomas Frost and the Online Distributed
-             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-             produced from images generously made available by The
-             Internet Archive)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAYTI ***
-
-
-                            Ballantyne Press
-                       BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
-                          EDINBURGH AND LONDON
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A MAP OF
-  HAYTI
-  1884]
-
-
-
-
-                                 HAYTI
-                                  OR
-                          THE BLACK REPUBLIC.
-
-                                   BY
-                     SIR SPENSER ST. JOHN, K.C.M.G.
-      FORMERLY HER MAJESTY’S MINISTER RESIDENT AND CONSUL-GENERAL
-          IN HAYTI, NOW HER MAJESTY’S SPECIAL ENVOY TO MEXICO.
-
-                   “Haïti, Haïti, pays de barbares.”
-                             NAPOLEON III.
-
-                                LONDON:
-                SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE.
-                                 1884.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-Whilst in Port-au-Prince, a Spanish colleague once remarked to
-me, “_Mon ami_, if we could return to Hayti fifty years hence, we
-should find the negresses cooking their bananas on the site of
-these warehouses.” Although this judgment is severe, yet from what
-we have seen passing under the present Administration, it is more
-than probable--unless in the meantime influenced by some higher
-civilisation--that this prophecy will come true. The negresses are
-in fact already cooking their bananas amid the ruins of the best
-houses of the capital. My own impression, after personally knowing
-the country above twenty years, is, that it is a country in a state
-of rapid decadence. The revolution of 1843 that upset President Boyer
-commenced the era of troubles which have continued to the present day.
-The country has since been steadily falling to the rear in the race of
-civilisation.
-
-The long civil war (1868-1869) under President Salnave destroyed a
-vast amount of property, and rendered living in the country districts
-less secure, so that there has been ever since a tendency for the
-more civilised inhabitants to agglomerate in the towns, and leave the
-rural districts to fetish worship and cannibalism. Fires, most of them
-incendiary, have swept over the cities; in the commercial quarters of
-Port-au-Prince, it would be difficult to find any houses which existed
-in 1863, and the fortunes of all have naturally greatly suffered.
-
-When I reached Hayti in January 1863, the capital possessed several
-respectable public buildings. The palace, without any architectural
-beauty, was large and commodious, and well suited to the climate; the
-Senate, the House of Representatives, the dwellings occupied by several
-of the Ministers, the pretty little theatre, were all features which
-have now entirely disappeared.
-
-The town of Pétionville or La Coupe, the summer and health resort of
-the capital, where the best families sought a little country life
-during the great heats, was almost entirely destroyed during the
-revolution of 1868, and nothing has taken its place. People are still
-too poor to afford to rebuild.
-
-Society also has completely changed. I saw at balls given in the palace
-in 1863 a hundred well-dressed prosperous families of all colours; now
-political dissensions would prevent such gatherings, even if there were
-a building in the city which could receive them, and poverty has laid
-its heavy hand more or less on all. It is the same in a greater or
-lesser degree in every other town of the republic.
-
-Agriculture in the plains is also deteriorating, and the estates
-produce much less than formerly, though their staple produce is rum,
-to stupefy and brutalise the barbarous lower orders.
-
-Foreigners, nearly ruined by their losses during the constant civil
-disturbances, are withdrawing from the republic, and capital is
-following them; and with their withdrawal the country must sink still
-lower. The best of the coloured people are also leaving, as they shun
-the fate reserved for them by those who have already slaughtered the
-most prominent mulattoes.
-
-In fact, the mulatto element, which is the civilising element in Hayti,
-is daily becoming of less importance; internal party strife has injured
-their political standing, and constant intermarriage is causing the
-race to breed back to the more numerous type, and in a few years the
-mulatto element will have made disastrous approaches to the negro.
-The only thing which could have saved the mulatto would have been to
-encourage the whites to settle in their country; yet this step the
-coloured men have blindly resisted.
-
-In spite of all the civilising elements around them, there is a
-distinct tendency to sink into the state of an African tribe. It is
-naturally impossible to foretell the effect of all the influences
-which are now at work in the world, and which seem to foreshadow many
-changes. We appear standing on the threshold of a period of great
-discoveries, which may modify many things, but not man’s nature. The
-mass of the negroes of Hayti live in the country districts, which are
-rarely or ever visited by civilised people; there are few Christian
-priests to give them a notion of true religion; no superior local
-officers to prevent them practising their worst fetish ceremonies.
-
-In treating of the Black and the Mulatto as they appeared to me during
-my residence among them, I fear that I shall be considered by some to
-judge harshly. Such, however, is not my intention. Brought up under Sir
-James Brooke, whose enlarged sympathies could endure no prejudice of
-race or colour, I do not remember ever to have felt any repugnance to
-my fellow-creatures on account of a difference of complexion.
-
-I have dwelt above thirty-five years among coloured people of various
-races, and am sensible of no prejudice against them. For twelve years I
-lived in familiar and kindly intercourse with Haytians of all ranks and
-shades of colour, and the most frequent and not least-honoured guests
-at my table were of the black and coloured races.
-
-All who knew me in Hayti know that I had no prejudice of colour; and
-if I place the Haytian in general in an unenviable light, it is from
-a strong conviction that it is necessary to describe the people as
-they are, and not as one would wish them to be. The band of black
-and coloured friends who gathered round me during my long residence
-in Port-au-Prince were not free from many of the faults which I have
-been obliged to censure in describing these different sections of the
-population, but they had them in a lesser degree, or, as I was really
-attached to them, I perhaps saw them in a dimmer light.
-
-The most difficult chapter to write was that on “Vaudoux Worship
-and Cannibalism.” I have endeavoured to paint it in the least
-sombre colours, and none who know the country will think that I
-have exaggerated; in fact, had I listened to the testimony of many
-experienced residents, I should have described rites at which dozens
-of human victims were sacrificed at a time. Everything I have related
-has been founded on evidence collected in Hayti, from Haytian official
-documents, from trustworthy officers of the Haytian Government, my
-foreign colleagues, and from respectable residents--principally,
-however, from Haytian sources.
-
-It may be suggested that I am referring to the past. On the contrary,
-I am informed that at present cannibalism is more rampant than ever. A
-black Government dares not greatly interfere, as its power is founded
-on the good-will of the masses, ignorant and deeply tainted with
-fetish worship. A Haytian writer recently remarked in print, “On se
-plaisit beaucoup de ce que le Vaudoux a reparu grandiose et sérieux.”
-The fetish dances were forbidden by decree under the Government of
-President Boisrond-Canal. That decree has been since repealed, and high
-officers now attend these meetings, and distribute money and applaud
-the most frantic excesses.
-
-President Salomon, who is now in power, lived for eighteen years in
-Europe, married a white, and knows what civilisation is. He probably,
-on his first advent to the Presidency, possessed sufficient influence
-in the country to have checked the open manifestations of this
-barbarous worship; but the fate of those of his predecessors who
-attempted to grapple with the evil was not encouraging. It was hoped,
-however, that he would make the attempt, and that, grasping the nettle
-with resolution, he might suffer no evil results; but many doubted not
-only his courage to undertake the task, but even the will; and they, I
-fear, have judged correctly. Whenever all the documents which exist on
-this subject are published, my chapter on Cannibalism will be looked
-upon but as a pale reflection of the reality.
-
-With regard to the history of the country, materials abound for writing
-a very full one, but I do not think it would prove interesting to the
-general reader. It is but a series of plots and revolutions, followed
-by barbarous military executions. A destructive and exhausting war
-with Santo Domingo, and civil strife during the Presidency of General
-Salnave, did more to ruin the resources of the country than any amount
-of bad government. The enforced abandonment of work by the people
-called to arms by the contending parties, introduced habits of idleness
-and rapine which have continued to the present day; and the material
-losses, by the destruction of the best estates and the burning of towns
-and villages, have never been fully repaired.
-
-From the overthrow of President Geffrard in 1867 the country has been
-more rapidly going to ruin. The fall was slightly checked during the
-quiet Presidency of Nissage-Saget; but the Government of General
-Domingue amply made up for lost time, and was one of the worst, if not
-the worst, that Hayti has ever seen. With the sectaries of the Vaudoux
-in power, nothing else could have been expected.
-
-I have brought my sketch of the history of Hayti down to the fall
-of President Boisrond-Canal in 1879, and shall not touch on the
-rule of the present President of Hayti, General Salomon. I may say,
-however, that he is the determined enemy of the coloured section of
-the community; is credited with having been the chief adviser of the
-Emperor Soulouque in all his most disastrous measures; and the country
-is said to have sunk into the lowest depths of misery. The civil war,
-which by last accounts was still raging in Hayti, has been marked by
-more savage excesses than any previously known in Haytian history, the
-black authorities, hesitating at no step to gain their object, which is
-utterly to destroy the educated coloured class. They care not for the
-others; as they say, “Mulatte pauvre, li negue.”
-
-A few words as to the origin of this book. In 1867 I was living in
-the country near Port-au-Prince, and having some leisure, I began to
-collect materials and write rough drafts of the principal chapters.
-I was interrupted by the civil war, and did not resume work until
-after I had left the country. It may be the modifying effect of
-time, but on looking over the chapters as I originally wrote them, I
-thought that I had been too severe in my judgments on whole classes,
-and have therefore somewhat softened the opinions I then expressed;
-and the greater experience which a further residence of seven years
-gave me enabled me to study the people more and avoid too sweeping
-condemnations.
-
-I have not attempted to describe the present condition of the republic
-of Santo Domingo, but from all I can hear it is making progress. The
-Dominicans have few prejudices of colour, and eagerly welcome foreign
-capitalists who arrive to develop the resources of their country.
-Already there are numerous sugar estates in operation, as well as
-manufactories of dyes, and efforts are being successfully made to
-rework the old gold-mines. The tobacco cultivation is already large,
-and only requires hands to develop it to meet any demand. I hear of a
-railway having been commenced, to traverse the magnificent plain which
-stretches from the Bay of Samana almost to the frontiers of Hayti.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-After having written the chapter on Vaudoux Worship, my attention was
-called to a communication which appeared in _Vanity Fair_ of August 13,
-1881, by a reply published in a Haytian journal. It is evident that
-the writer in _Vanity Fair_ was a naval officer or a passing traveller
-in the West Indies, and he probably carefully noted the information
-given him. He was, however, too inclined to believe what he heard, as
-he gravely states that a Haytian told him that the kidneys of a child
-were first-rate eating, adding that he had tried them himself; and
-the writer remarks that the Haytian did not seem to think it strange
-or out of the way that he had done so. No Haytian would have ever
-stated seriously that he had eaten human flesh. Probably, amused by
-the eagerness of the inquirer, he told the story to test his powers of
-belief, and must have been diverted when he found his statement was
-credited. Cannibalism is the one thing of which Haytians are thoroughly
-ashamed.
-
-This communication makes mention of the herb-poisonings and their
-antidotes; of the midwives who render new born-babes insensible,
-that are buried, dug up, restored to life, and then eaten. In May
-1879 a midwife and another were caught near Port-au-Prince eating a
-female baby that had been thus treated; he adds that a Haytian of
-good position was discovered with his family eating a child. In the
-former case the criminals were condemned to six weeks’ imprisonment,
-in the latter to one month. (I may notice that I never heard of a
-respectable Haytian being connected with the cannibals.) The light
-punishments inflicted were due to the fear inspired by the Vaudoux
-priests. In January 1881 eight people were fined for disinterring and
-eating corpses. An English medical man purchased and identified the
-neck and shoulders of a human being in the market at Port-au-Prince.
-In February 1881, at St. Marc, a cask of so-called pork was sold to
-a foreign ship. In it were discovered fingers and finger-nails, and
-all the flesh proved to be that of human beings. An English coloured
-clergyman at Cap Haïtien said that the Vaudoux did away with all the
-effect of his ministry; and that his wife was nearly purchasing in the
-market human flesh instead of pork. Four people were fined in that town
-for eating corpses. When the writer arrived at Jacmel he found two men
-in prison for eating corpses, and on the day of his arrival a man was
-caught eating a child. Near the same town nine thousand people met at
-Christmas to celebrate Vaudoux rites. At Les Cayes a child of English
-parents was stolen, and on the thieves being pursued, they threw it
-into a well and killed it.
-
-These are the statements made by the writer in _Vanity Fair_, and
-nearly all are probable. If correct, the open practice of Vaudoux
-worship and cannibalism must have made great strides since I left
-Hayti, and shows how little a black Government can do, or will do,
-to suppress them. The digging up and eating of corpses was not known
-during my residence there.
-
-This communication to _Vanity Fair_ provoked a reply in a journal
-published at Port-au-Prince called _L’Œil_, October 1, 1881. It denies
-everything, even to the serious existence and power of the Vaudoux
-priests, and spends all its energies in abuse. The article is quite
-worthy of the editor,[1] who was one of the most active supporters of
-President Salnave, whose connection with the Vaudoux was notorious. It
-is in this angry spirit that the Haytians generally treat any public
-reference to their peculiar institution.
-
-
- MEXICO, _January 1884_.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAP.      PAGE
-
-     I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF HAYTI              1
-
-    II. HISTORY BEFORE INDEPENDENCE              26
-
-   III. HISTORY SINCE INDEPENDENCE               74
-
-    IV. THE POPULATION OF HAYTI                 127
-
-     V. VAUDOUX WORSHIP AND CANNIBALISM         182
-
-    VI. THE GOVERNMENT                          229
-
-   VII. RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND JUSTICE        247
-
-  VIII. ARMY AND POLICE                         276
-
-    IX. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE                 299
-
-     X. AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE      315
-
-
-
-
-HAYTI;
-
-OR,
-
-THE BLACK REPUBLIC.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF HAYTI.
-
-
-Standing on one of the lofty mountains of Hayti, and looking towards
-the interior, I was struck with the pertinence of the saying of the
-Admiral, who, crumpling a sheet of paper in his hand, threw it on the
-table before George III., saying, “Sire, Hayti looks like that.” The
-country appears a confused agglomeration of mountain, hill, and valley,
-most irregular in form; precipices, deep hollows, vales apparently
-without an outlet; water occasionally glistening far below; cottages
-scattered here and there, with groves of fruit-trees and bananas
-clustering round the rude dwellings. Gradually, however, the eye
-becomes accustomed to the scene; the mountains separate into distinct
-ranges, the hills are but the attendant buttresses, and the valleys
-assume their regular forms as the watersheds of the system, and the
-streams can be traced meandering gradually towards the ocean.
-
-If you then turn towards the sea, you notice that the valleys have
-expanded into plains, and the rushing torrents have become broad though
-shallow rivers, and the mountains that bound the flat, open country
-push their buttresses almost into the sea. This grand variety of
-magnificent scenery can be well observed from a point near Kenskoff,
-about ten miles in the interior from the capital, as well as from
-the great citadel built on the summit of La Ferrière in the northern
-province. Before entering into particulars, however, let me give a
-general idea of the country.
-
-The island of Santo Domingo is situated in the West Indies between
-18° and 20° north latitude and 68° 20’ and 74° 30’ west longitude.
-Its greatest length is four hundred miles, its greatest breadth one
-hundred and thirty-five miles, and is calculated to be about the size
-of Ireland. Hayti occupies about a third of the island--the western
-portion--and, pushing two great promontories into the sea, it has a
-very large extent of coast-line. It is bounded on the north by the
-Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the republic of Santo Domingo, on the
-south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the passage which
-separates it from Cuba and Jamaica.
-
-Its most noted mountain-ranges are La Selle, which lies on the
-south-eastern frontier of Hayti; La Hotte, near Les Cayes; and
-the Black Mountains in the northern province; but throughout the
-whole extent of the republic the open valleys are bounded by lofty
-elevations. In fact, on approaching the island from any direction, it
-appears so mountainous that it is difficult to imagine that so many
-smiling, fertile plains are to be met with in every department. They
-are, however, numerous. The most extensive are the Cul-de-Sac, near
-Port-au-Prince, the plains of Gonaives, the Artibonite, Arcahaye, Port
-Margot, Leogâne, that of Les Cayes, and those that follow the northern
-coast.
-
-Hayti has the advantage of being well watered, though this source of
-riches is greatly neglected. The principal river is the Artibonite,
-which is navigable for small craft for a short distance; the other
-streams have more the character of mountain torrents, full to
-overflowing during the rainy season, whilst during the dry they are but
-rivulets running over broad pebbly beds.
-
-The lakes lying at the head of the plain of Cul-de-Sac are a marked
-feature in the landscape as viewed from the neighbouring hills. They
-are but little visited, as their shores are marshy, very unhealthy, and
-uninhabitable on that account, while the swarms of mosquitoes render
-even a temporary stay highly disagreeable. The waters of one of them
-are brackish, which would appear to indicate more salt deposits in the
-neighbourhood.
-
-There are a few islands attached to Hayti, the principal, La Tortue, on
-the north, Gonaives on the west, and L’Isle-à-Vache on the south coast.
-Some attempts have been made to develop their natural riches, but as
-yet with but slight success. The first two named are famous for their
-mahogany trees.
-
-The principal towns of the republic are Port-au-Prince, the capital,
-Cap Haïtien in the north, and Les Cayes in the south. Jacmel, Jérémie,
-Miragoâne, St. Marc, and Gonaives are also commercial ports.
-
-Port-au-Prince is situated at the bottom of a deep bay, which runs
-so far into the western coast as almost to divide Hayti in two. It
-contains about 20,000 inhabitants, and was carefully laid out by the
-French. It possesses every natural advantage that a capital could
-require. Little use, however, is made of these advantages, and the
-place is one of the most unpleasant residences imaginable. I was one
-day talking to a French naval officer, and he observed, “I was here as
-a midshipman forty years ago.” “Do you notice any change?” I asked.
-“Well, it is perhaps dirtier than before.” Its dirt is its great
-drawback, and appears ever to have been so, as Moreau de St. Méry
-complained of the same thing during the last century. However, there
-are degrees of dirt, and he would probably be astonished to see it at
-the present day. The above paragraph was first written in 1867; since
-that it has become worse, and when I last landed (1877), I found the
-streets heaped up with filth.
-
-The capital is well laid out, with lines of streets running parallel
-to the sea, whilst others cross at right angles, dividing the town
-into numerous islets or blocks. The streets are broad, but utterly
-neglected. Every one throws out his refuse before his door, so that
-heaps of manure, broken bottles, crockery, and every species of
-rubbish encumber the way, and render both riding and walking dangerous.
-Building materials are permitted occasionally to accumulate to so
-great an extent as completely to block up the streets and seriously
-impede the traffic. Mackenzie, in his notes on Hayti, remarks on the
-impassable state of the streets in 1826; torn up by tropical rains,
-they were mended with refuse (generally stable dung to fill up the
-holes, and a thin layer of earth thrown over), only to be again
-destroyed by the first storm. Ask Haytians why they do not mend their
-streets and roads, they answer, “Bon Dieu, gâté li; bon Dieu, paré li”
-(God spoilt them, and God will mend them). Then, as now, the roads were
-in such a state in wet weather that only a waggon with a team of oxen
-could get through the muddy slough.
-
-On first entering the town, you are struck with the utter shabbiness of
-the buildings, mean cottages and grovelling huts by the side of the few
-decent-looking dwellings. Most of the houses are constructed of wood,
-badly built with very perishable materials, imported from the United
-States or our Northern colonies. The idea that originally prevailed
-in the construction of the private houses was admirable; before each
-was a broad verandah, open to all passers, so that from one end of the
-town to the other it was intended that there should be cool, shady
-walks. But the intolerable stupidity of the inhabitants has spoilt
-this plan; in most streets the level of the verandahs of each house
-is of a different height, and frequently separated by a marshy spot,
-the receptacle of every species of filth; so that you must either walk
-in the sun or perform in the shade a series of gymnastic exercises
-exceedingly inconvenient in a tropical climate.
-
-On either side of the street was a paved gutter, but now, instead of
-aiding the drainage, it is another cause of the accumulation of filth.
-The stones which formerly rendered the watercourses even are either
-removed or displaced, and the rains collecting before the houses form
-fetid pools, into which the servants pour all that in other countries
-is carried off by the sewers. In a few of the more commercial streets,
-where foreigners reside, more attention is paid to cleanliness,
-but still Port-au-Prince may bear the palm away of being the most
-foul-smelling, dirty, and consequently fever-stricken city in the world.
-
-The port is well protected, but is gradually filling up, as the rains
-wash into it not only the silt from the mountains, but the refuse of
-the city, and no effort is made to keep it open. As there is but little
-tide, the accumulations of every species of vegetable and animal matter
-render the water fetid, and when the sea-breeze blows gently over these
-turbid waves, an effluvia is borne into the town sickening to all but
-native nostrils.
-
-The most remarkable edifice of Port-au-Prince was the palace, a
-long, low, wooden building of one storey, supported on brick walls:
-it contained several fine rooms, and two halls which might have
-been rendered admirable for receptions; but everything around it
-was shabby--the stables, the guard-houses, the untended garden, the
-courtyard overrun with grass and weeds, and the surrounding walls
-partially in ruins. This spacious presidential residence was burnt down
-during the revolutionary attack on Port-au-Prince in December 1869, and
-no attempt has been made to rebuild it.
-
-The church is a large wooden building, an overgrown shed, disfigured by
-numerous wretched paintings which cover its walls; and, as an unworthy
-concession to local prejudice, our Saviour is occasionally represented
-by an ill-drawn negro.
-
-The senate-house was the building with the most architectural
-pretensions, but its outer walls only remained when I last saw it, fire
-having destroyed the roof and the interior wood-work. There is no other
-edifice worthy of remark; and the private houses, with perhaps a score
-of exceptions, are of the commonest order.
-
-The market-places are large and well situated, but ill-tended and
-dirty, and in the wet season muddy in the extreme. They are fairly
-supplied with provisions. I may notice that in those of Port-au-Prince
-very superior meat is often met with, and good supplies of vegetables,
-including excellent European kinds, brought from the mountain gardens
-near Fort Jaques.
-
-The supply of water is very defective. During the reign of the Emperor
-Soulouque a luminous idea occurred to some one, that instead of
-repairing the old French aqueduct, iron pipes should be laid down. The
-Emperor had the sagacity to see the advantage of the plan, and gave
-orders for the work to be done. As an exception to the general rule,
-the idea was to a certain extent well carried out, and remains the only
-durable monument of a most inglorious reign. Had the iron pipes been
-entirely substituted for the old French work, the inhabitants would
-have enjoyed the benefit of pure water; but when I left in 1877, the
-people in the suburbs were still breaking open the old stone-work to
-obtain a source of supply near their dwellings; and pigs, children, and
-washerwomen congregated round these spots and defiled the stream.
-
-The amount of water introduced into the town is still most inadequate;
-and though numerous springs, and one delightful stream, La Rivière
-Froide, are within easy distance of the port, no effort has been made
-to increase the supply. La Rivière Froide--name redolent of pleasant
-reminiscences in a tropical climate--could easily fill a canal, which
-would not only afford an inexhaustible supply for the wants of the town
-and shipping, but, by creating an outward current, would carry off
-the floating matter which pollutes the port. Since my departure a Mr.
-Stephens commenced some works to afford the town a constant supply of
-water, but these, I understand, have as yet only been partially carried
-out. If ever finished, they will afford to the inhabitants a great boon.
-
-The cemetery is situated outside the town. I never entered it except
-when compelled to attend a funeral, and hastened to leave it as soon
-as possible, on account of an unpleasant odour which pervades it. It
-is not kept in good order, though many families carefully attend to
-the graves of their relatives, and there are several striking tombs.
-People of all religions are buried here; but it is on record that a
-brawling Irish priest once attempted to disinter a Protestant child.
-His brawling subsequently led to his banishment.
-
-I noticed on my first arrival in Port-au-Prince two marble coffins,
-very handsome, lying neglected on the ground outside the palace. I was
-told they had been brought from abroad in order that the remains of
-Pétion and Boyer, two of their best Presidents, should repose in them;
-but for many years I saw them lying empty on the same spot, and I never
-heard what became of them.
-
-The curse of Port-au-Prince is fire. Every few years immense
-conflagrations consume whole quarters of the town. Nothing can stop the
-flames but one of the few brick-houses, against which the quick-burning
-fire is powerless. During my residence in Port-au-Prince five awful
-fires devastated the town. On each occasion from two to five hundred
-houses were destroyed. And yet the inhabitants go on building wretched
-wooden match-boxes, and even elaborate houses of the most inflammable
-materials. Companies should be careful how they insure property in
-Port-au-Prince, as there are some very well-authenticated stories of
-frauds practised on them both by Europeans and natives.
-
-Port-au-Prince, on my first arrival in 1863, was governed by a
-municipality, over which presided a very honest man, a Monsieur
-Rivière, one of those Protestants to whom I have referred in my
-chapter on religion. As a new arrival, I thought the town sufficiently
-neglected, but I had reason to change my opinion. It was a pattern of
-cleanliness to what it subsequently became. The municipality, when one
-exists, has for its principal duties the performance or neglect of the
-registration of all acts relating to the “état civil,” and to divide
-among its members and friends, for work never carried out, whatever
-funds they can collect from the city.
-
-At the back of the capital, at a distance of about five miles, was the
-village of La Coupe, the summer residence of the wealthier families. As
-it was situated about 1200 feet above the level of the sea and was open
-to every breeze, it afforded a delightful change from the hot, damp
-town; but during the civil war of 1868 the best houses were destroyed
-and never reconstructed. There is a natural bath there, the most
-picturesque feature of the place; it is situated under lofty trees,
-that cast a deep shade over the spot, and during the hottest day it is
-charmingly cool.
-
-Cap Haïtien is the most picturesque town in Hayti; it is beautifully
-situated on a most commodious harbour. As you enter it, passing Fort
-Picolet, you are struck by its safe position--a narrow entrance so
-easily defended. My first visit was in H.M.S. “Galatea,” Captain
-Macguire; and as we expected that we might very possibly be received
-by the fire of all the batteries, our own crew were at their guns,
-keeping them steadily trained on Fort Picolet, whose artillery was
-distant about a couple of hundred yards. Having slowly steamed past
-forts and sunken batteries, we found ourselves in front of the town,
-with its ruins overgrown with creepers, and in the background the rich
-vegetation sweeping gracefully up to the summit of the beautiful hill
-which overshadows Cap Haïtien.
-
-Cap Haïtien never recovered from the effects of the fearful earthquake
-of 1842, when several thousands of its inhabitants perished. To this
-day they talk of that awful event, and never forget to relate how the
-country-people rushed in to plunder the place, and how none lent a
-helping-hand to aid their half-buried countrymen. Captain Macguire
-and myself used to wander about the ruins, and we could not but feel
-how little energy remained in a people who could leave their property
-in such a state. It was perhaps cheaper to build a trumpery house
-elsewhere.
-
-One of those who suffered the most during that visitation wrote before
-the earth had ceased trembling, “Against the acts of God Almighty no
-one complains,” and then proceeded to relate how the dread earthquake
-shook down or seriously injured almost every house; how two-thirds
-of the inhabitants were buried beneath the fallen masonry; how the
-bands of blacks rushed in from mountain and plain, not to aid in
-saving their wretched countrymen, whose cries and groans could be
-heard for two or three days, but to plunder the stores replete with
-goods; and--what he did complain of--how the officers and men of the
-garrison, instead of attempting to keep order, joined in plundering the
-small remnants of what the rest of the inhabitants could save from the
-tottering ruins. What a people!
-
-The most striking objects near Cap Haïtien are the remains of
-the palace of Sans Souci, and of the citadel constructed by King
-Christophe, called La Ferrière. It requires a visit to induce one to
-believe that so elaborate, and, I may add, so handsome a structure,
-could exist in such a place as Hayti, or that a fortification such
-as the citadel could ever have been constructed on the summit of a
-lofty mountain, five thousand feet, I believe, above the level of the
-sea. Some of the walls are eighty feet in height, and sixteen feet in
-thickness, where the heavy batteries of English guns still remain in
-position. All is of the most solid masonry, and covering the whole peak
-of the mountain.
-
-We were really lost in amazement as we threaded gallery after gallery
-where heavy fifty-six and thirty-two pounders guarded every approach to
-what was intended to be the last asylum of Haytian independence. Years
-of the labour of toiling thousands were spent to prepare this citadel,
-which the trembling earth laid in ruins in a few minutes. What energy
-did this black king possess to rear so great a monument? but the
-reverse of the medal states that every stone in that wonderful building
-cost a human life.
-
-It is a popular idea in Hayti that the superiority of the northern
-department, and the greater industry of its inhabitants, date from the
-time of Christophe, and some express a belief that his iron system
-was suitable to the country; but the fact is that Moreau de St. Méry,
-writing in the last century, insists on the superior advantages of the
-northern province, its greater fertility, the abundance of rain, and
-consequently the number of rivers, as well as the superior intelligence
-and industry of the inhabitants, and their greater sociability and
-polish. They are certainly more sociable than in the capital, and
-people still seek northern men to work on their estates. As for
-Christophe’s system, no amount of increase in produce could compensate
-for its brutality.
-
-Gonaives is a poor-looking town, constantly devastated by revolutions
-and fires, with a few broad, unfinished streets, and some good houses
-among the crowds of poor-looking buildings. This neighbourhood is
-famous for what are called white truffles. They are dried and sent to
-the different parts of the republic.
-
-St. Marc, though not so scattered as Gonaives, is a small place. It was
-formerly built of stone; a few specimens of this kind of building still
-remain. Jacmel has a very unsafe harbour, but possesses importance as
-one of the ports at which the royal mail steamers call, and has a large
-export trade in coffee. Les Cayes, Jérémie, and other smaller ports I
-have only seen at a distance, but I hear they are much like the other
-cities and towns of the republic. Mackenzie says that the city and
-environs of Les Cayes are described as “très riante,” and that in his
-time it was kept in better order than the capital. This is said still
-to be the case.
-
-My last long ride in Hayti was from Cap Haïtien to Gonaives, and
-nestling in the hills I found some very pretty villages, planted in
-lovely sites, with fresh, babbling streams, and fruit groves hiding the
-inferior-looking houses. The place I most admired was, I think, called
-Plaisance. There was a freshness, a brightness, a repose about the
-village that made me regret it was situated so far from the capital.
-
-Wherever you may ride in the mountains, you cannot fail to remark that
-there is scarcely a decent-looking house out of the towns. The whole
-of the country is abandoned to the small cultivators, whose inferior
-cottages are met with at every turn, and, as might be expected from
-such a population, very dirty and devoid of every comfort, rarely any
-furniture beyond an old chair, a rickety table, a few sleeping-mats,
-and some cooking utensils. There is no rule, however, without an
-exception, and I remember being much struck by seeing at Kenskoff, a
-small hamlet about ten or twelve miles direct from Port-au-Prince, a
-good house, where there were some chairs, tables, and bedsteads, and
-around this dwelling several huts, in which the wives of our host lived
-separately.
-
-Now and then a peasant will build a larger house than usual; we met
-with one, the last we slept in on our ride to the mountain, La Selle,
-whose proprietor had really some ideas of comfort, and before whose
-dwelling coffee-plants were growing, trimmed to the height of six feet,
-planted separate from one another, perfectly clean, and covered with
-indications of an abundant crop. They had been planted there in former
-days by an intelligent proprietor, and the peasant had the merit of not
-neglecting them.
-
-The plain of Cul-de-Sac, adjoining the north side of Port-au-Prince,
-was one of the richest and most cultivated during the time of the
-French; and as all regular cultivation depends on the amount of water,
-their engineers had constructed the most careful system for the storage
-and distribution of the supplies. Properly managed, all the large
-estates could receive the quantity necessary for their lands, but
-for many years the stone-work was neglected, and the grand barrage
-was becoming useless, when President Geffrard placed the affair in
-the hands of an able French engineer, Mons. Ricard, who efficiently
-restored the main work, but had not funds to complete the canals for
-distributing the waters. As usual in all enterprises in that country,
-the money voted had to pass through so many hands, that before it
-reached the engineer it had diminished to less than half.
-
-The soil of the plain is most fertile, and only appears to require
-water to give the most promising crops of sugar-cane. There are some
-very extensive estates that could afford work for a large population,
-but the ever-increasing disturbances in the country render Capital shy
-of venturing there.
-
-As might readily be supposed, the roads are greatly neglected, and
-during the rainy season are almost impassable. They are composed simply
-of the surrounding soil, with a few branches thrown into the most
-dangerous holes. The bridges are generally avoided; it is a saying in
-Hayti, that you should go round a bridge, but never cross it, and the
-advice is generally to be followed. For the main streams there are
-fords. An attempt was once made to bridge over La Grande Rivière du Cul
-de Sac, but the first freshet washed away all the preliminary work.
-
-In the mountains there are only bridle-paths, though occasionally I
-came across the remains of old French roads and good paths. On the
-way to Kenskoff there is a place called L’Escalier, to escalade the
-steepest side of the mountain. The horses that are used to it manage
-well, but those from the plains find the steps awkward. On the road
-from Gonaives to the northern province there is a very remarkable
-paved way, the work so well done that it has resisted the rain during
-a hundred years of neglect. Some of the bridle-paths in the north are
-exceedingly good, and are admirably carried up the sides of hills, so
-as to avoid the most difficult spots.
-
-In the range above Tourjeau I came across a very pretty grassy
-bridle-path, and near I found the remains of a large French
-country-house, evidently the residence of some great proprietor. The
-tradition in the neighbourhood is that there was an indigo factory
-adjoining, but I could scarcely imagine the site suitable. Wherever you
-may go in Hayti you come across signs of decadence, not only from the
-exceptional prosperity of the French period, but even of comparatively
-recent years. After the plundering and destruction of 1868 and 1869,
-few care to keep up or restore their devastated houses, and it is now a
-hand-to-mouth system.
-
-Cul-de-Sac is a glorious plain, and in good hands would be a fountain
-of riches; and the same may be said of the other splendid plains that
-abound throughout the island. Every tropical production grows freely,
-so that there would be no limit to production should the country
-ever abandon revolutions to turn its attention to industry. About
-three-fourths of the surface of the plains are occupied by wood or
-prickly acacia, that invades every uncultivated spot.
-
-The mountains that bound these plains and extend to the far interior
-present magnificent sites for pleasant residences; but no civilised
-being could occupy them on account of the difficulty of communication
-and the doubtful character of the population. Up to the time of the
-fall of President Geffrard it was possible; now it would be highly
-imprudent. In one of the most smiling valleys that I have ever seen,
-lying to the left whilst riding to the east of Kenskoff, a friend of
-mine possessed a very extensive property. The place looked so beautiful
-that I proposed to him a lengthened visit, to which he acceded. Delay
-after delay occurred, and then the civil war of 1865 prevented our
-leaving Port-au-Prince. In 1869 there were arrested in that valley
-a dozen of the worst cannibals of the Vaudoux sect, and the police
-declared that the whole population of that lovely garden of the country
-was given up to fetish worship. It was probably a knowledge of this
-that made my friend so long defer our proposed visit, as the residence
-of a white man among them might have been looked upon with an evil eye.
-
-I have travelled in almost every quarter of the globe, and I may
-say that, taken as a whole, there is not a finer island than that
-of Santo Domingo. No country possesses greater capabilities, or a
-better geographical position, or more variety of soil, of climate,
-or of production; with magnificent scenery of every description,
-and hill-sides where the pleasantest of health-resorts might be
-established. And yet it is now the country to be most avoided, ruined
-as it has been by a succession of self-seeking politicians, without
-honesty or patriotism, content to let the people sink to the condition
-of an African tribe, that their own selfish passions may be gratified.
-
-The climate of Hayti is of the ordinary tropical character, and
-the temperature naturally varies according to the position of the
-towns. Cap Haïtien, being exposed to the cooling influence of the
-breezes from the north, is much more agreeable as a residence than
-Port-au-Prince, which is situated at the bottom of a deep bay.
-
-In summer, that is, during the months of June, July, August, and
-September, the heat is very oppressive. The registered degrees give
-one an idea of the disagreeableness of the climate. In my house at
-Tourjeau, near Port-au-Prince, 600 feet above the level of the sea, I
-have noted a registering thermometer marking 97° in the drawing-room
-at 2 P.M. in July, and 95° in the dining-room on the ground-floor; and
-in a room off a court in the town I have heard of 103°--no doubt from
-refraction.[2] At the Petit Séminaire the priests keep a register, and
-I notice that rarely is the heat marked as 95°, generally 93.2° is the
-maximum; but the thermometer must be kept in the coolest part of the
-college, and is no criterion of what is felt in ordinary rooms. The
-nights also are oppressively warm, and for days I have noticed the
-thermometer seldom marking less than 80° during the night. In August
-the heat is even greater than in July, rising to 97° at the Petit
-Séminaire, whilst in September the maximum is registered as 91.5°; and
-this heat continues well on into November, the maximum being the same.
-I have not the complete returns, but generally the heats of September
-are nearly equal to those of August. In what may be called winter,
-the thermometer rarely marks over 84°, and the nights are cool and
-pleasant. In fact, I have been assured of the thermometer having fallen
-as low as 58° during the night, but I never saw it myself below 60°. It
-is a curious fact that foreigners generally suffer from the heat, and
-get ill in consequence, whilst the natives complain of the bitter cold
-of the winter, and have their season of illness then.
-
-Port-au-Prince is essentially unhealthy, and yellow fever too often
-decimates the crews of the ships of war that visit its harbour. In
-1869, on account of the civil convulsion, French and English ships
-remained months in harbour. The former suffered dreadfully; the
-“Limier,” out of a crew of 106 men and eight officers, lost fifty-four
-men and four officers, whilst the “D’Estrés” and another had to
-mourn their captains and many of their crew. Who that ever knew him
-can forget and not cherish the memory of Captain De Varannes of the
-“D’Estrés,” one of the most sympathetic of men, a brilliant officer,
-and a steady upholder of the French and English alliance? De Varannes
-was an Imperialist, an aide-de-camp of the Empress, and thoroughly
-devoted to the family that had made his fortune. When the medical men
-announced to him that he had not above two hours to live, he asked the
-French agent if he had any portraits of the Imperial family; they were
-brought and placed at the foot of the bed where he could see them. He
-asked then to be left alone, and an hour after, when a friend crept
-in, he found poor De Varannes dead, with his eyes open, and apparently
-fixed on the portraits before him. I should add that both these vessels
-brought the fever to Port-au-Prince from Havana and Martinique.
-
-The English ships suffered less, as our officers are not bound by the
-rigid rules that regulate the French commanders, who would not leave
-the harbour without express orders from their Admiral, though their men
-were dying by dozens. Captain Hunter of the “Vestal” and Captain Salmon
-of the “Defence” knew their duty to their crews too well to keep them
-in the pestilential harbour, and as soon as yellow fever appeared on
-board, steamed away; and the latter went five hundred miles due north
-till he fell in with cool weather, and thus only lost three men. A
-French officer told me that when the sailors on board the “Limier” saw
-the “Defence” steam out of harbour, they were depressed even to tears,
-and said, “See how the English officers are mindful of the health of
-their men, whilst ours let us die like flies.” Captain Hunter of the
-“Vestal” never had due credit given him for his devotion to his crew
-whilst suffering from yellow fever. He made a hospital of his cabin,
-and knew no rest till he had reached the cool harbours of the north.
-
-Merchant seamen in certain years have suffered dreadfully from this
-scourge, both in Port-au-Prince and in the neighbouring port of
-Miragoâne. Two-thirds of the crews have often died, and every now and
-then there is a season in which few ships escape without loss.
-
-Yellow fever rarely appears on shore, as the natives do not take it,
-and the foreign population is small and mostly acclimatised. The
-other diseases from which people suffer are ordinary tropical fevers,
-agues, small-pox, and the other ills to which humanity is subject; but
-although Port-au-Prince is the filthiest town I have ever seen, it has
-not yet been visited by cholera. In the spring of 1882 small-pox broke
-out in so virulent a form that the deaths rose to a hundred a day. This
-dreadful visitation continued several months, and it is calculated
-carried off above 5000 people in the city and its neighbourhood.
-
-If Hayti ever becomes civilised, and if ever roads are made, there
-are near Port-au-Prince summer health-resorts which are perfectly
-European in their climate. Even La Coupe, or, as it is officially
-called, Pétionville, about five miles from the capital, at an altitude
-of 1200 feet, is from ten to twelve degrees cooler during the day, and
-the nights are delicious; and if you advance to Kenskoff or Furcy, you
-have the thermometer marking during the greatest heat of the day 75°
-to 77°, whilst the mornings and evenings are delightfully fresh, with
-the thermometer at from 57° to 68°, and the nights cold. On several
-occasions I passed some months at Pétionville, and found the climate
-most refreshing after the burning heats of the sea-coast.
-
-The regular rainy season commences about Port-au-Prince during the
-month of April, and continues to the month of September, with rain
-again in November under the name of “les pluies de la Toussaint.”
-After several months of dry weather one breathes again as the easterly
-wind brings the welcome rain, which comes with a rush and a force that
-bends the tallest palm-tree till its branches almost sweep the ground.
-Sometimes, whilst dried up in the town, we could see for weeks the
-rain-clouds gathering on the Morne de l’Hôpital within a few miles, and
-yet not a drop would come to refresh our parched-up gardens.
-
-During the great heats the rain is not only welcome as cooling the
-atmosphere, but as it comes in torrents, it rushes down the streets and
-sweeps clean all those that lead to the harbour, and carries before it
-the accumulated filth of the dry season. In very heavy rains the cross
-streets are flooded; and one year the water came down so heavily and
-suddenly that the brooks became rushing rivers. The flood surprised a
-priest whilst bathing, swept him down to the Champs de Mars, and threw
-his mangled body by the side of a house I was at that moment visiting.
-
-That evening, as I was already wet, I rode home during the tempest,
-and never did I see more vivid lightning, hear louder thunder, or feel
-heavier rain. As we headed the hill, the water rushing down the path
-appeared almost knee-deep; and to add to the terror of my animal,
-a white horse, maddened by fear, came rushing down the hill with
-flowing mane and tail, and swept past us. Seen only during a flash of
-lightning, it was a most picturesque sight, and I had much difficulty
-in preventing my frightened horse joining in his wild career.
-
-The rainy season varies in different parts of the island, particularly
-in the north. I am surprised to observe that the priests have found
-the annual fall of rain to be only 117 inches. I had thought it more.
-Perhaps, however, that was during an exceptionally dry year.
-
-The great plain of Cul-de-Sac is considered healthy, although
-occasionally intensely warm. It is, however, freely exposed not only
-to the refreshing sea-breezes, but to the cooling land-winds that come
-down from the mountains that surround it. There is but little marsh,
-except near La Rivière Blanche, which runs near the mountains to the
-north and is lost in the sands.
-
-On the sugar-cane plantations, where much irrigation takes place, the
-negro workmen suffer somewhat from fever and ague, but probably more
-from the copious libations of new rum, which they assert are rendered
-necessary by the thirsty nature of the climate.
-
-I had often read of a clap of thunder in a clear sky, but never heard
-anything like the one that shook our house near Port-au-Prince. We
-were sitting, a large party, in our broad verandah, about eight in the
-evening, with a beautiful starlight night,--the stars, in fact, shining
-so brightly that you could almost read by their light,--when a clap of
-thunder, which appeared to burst just over our roof, took our breath
-away. It was awful in its suddenness and in its strength. No one spoke
-for a minute or two, when, by a common impulse, we left the house and
-looked up into a perfectly clear sky. At a distance, however, on the
-summits of the mountains, was a gathering of black clouds, which warned
-my friends to mount their horses, and they could scarcely have reached
-the town when one of the heaviest storms I have known commenced, with
-thunder worthy of the clap that had startled us. Though all of us were
-seasoned to the tropics, we had never been so impressed before.
-
-In the wet season the rain, as a rule, comes on at regular hours and
-lasts a given time, though occasionally it will continue through a
-night and longer, though rarely does it last above twenty-four hours
-without a gleam of sunshine intervening.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-HISTORY BEFORE INDEPENDENCE.
-
-
-I do not doubt but the discovery of America by Columbus was good in
-its results to mankind; but when we read the history of early Spanish
-colonisation, the predominant feeling is disgust at the barbarities and
-fanaticism recorded in almost every page. We generally overlook much of
-this, being dazzled by pictures of heroic deeds, as set forth in the
-works of Prescott and Robertson--heroic deeds of steel-clad warriors
-massacring crowds of gentle, almost unresisting natives, until despair,
-lending energy to their timid natures, forced them occasionally to turn
-on their savage persecutors.
-
-In no country were the Spaniards more notorious for their cruelty
-than in the first land in America on which Columbus established a
-settlement. The population was then variously estimated, the numbers
-given varying between 800,000 and 2,000,000, the former calculation
-being the more probable. They were indeed a primitive people, the men
-moving about entirely naked, the women wearing a short petticoat. They
-are said to have been good-looking, which, if true, would mark them as
-a people distinct from any other in America, as the Indians, who still
-remain by millions in South America and Mexico, are as a race the most
-ill-favoured natives I have seen in any portion of the globe. That was
-my impression when I travelled among them, though I have seen among
-the young women who followed the Indian regiments to Lima a few who
-might almost be considered handsome, but these by their appearance were
-probably of mixed breed.
-
-Columbus only stayed two months in Santo Domingo, but left behind him
-forty of his companions in an entrenched position. They now began to
-commit excesses; and hearing that a cacique in the interior had a
-large store of gold, they penetrated to his town and robbed him of his
-riches. This roused the population against them; they were pursued and
-killed in detail.
-
-In the meantime Columbus had revisited Spain, been received with
-honour, and seventeen vessels, laden with every kind of store and
-domestic animal, as well as a large force, were placed at his disposal.
-On his arrival his first thoughts were for gold, and he marched in
-search of the mines, which, being pointed out to him, were soon in full
-work, the Indians by force being compelled to this task. The conduct
-of these white men appears to have been so wantonly cruel, that the
-population rose _en masse_, and a hundred thousand Indians are said
-to have marched to attack the Spaniards, two hundred and twenty of
-whom put this crowd to flight without the loss of a single man. These
-are the heroic deeds we are called upon to admire. It has often been
-declared impossible that such, on one side, bloodless encounters
-could take place; but I am well assured that two hundred well-armed
-Englishmen could in the present day march through any number of the
-Land Dyaks of Borneo, and defeat them without loss.
-
-It is not necessary to trace in detail the history of the island; but I
-may notice that in 1507 the population was estimated at 60,000, which
-shows that the original reckoning must have been greatly exaggerated,
-as not even these early apostles of the religion of charity could
-have thus wiped out the population by millions. The story of what one
-called the early exploits of the Spaniards in Santo Domingo has been
-so often related that it is useless to tell it over again, especially
-as it would present but a sequence of sickening events, of murders,
-executions, robbery, and lust, with but few traits of generosity and
-virtue to record.
-
-These foreign settlers soon saw that the island would be useless to
-them without population, so they early began to introduce negroes from
-Africa, as well as families from the neighbouring isles. The Coral
-Indians were not spared, and the Spanish historians themselves are the
-chroniclers of this record of infamy. Now not a descendant of an Indian
-remains.
-
-Santo Domingo, deprived of population, with its mineral wealth, for
-want of hands, no longer available, and agriculture neglected, rapidly
-degenerated, and little was left but the city of Santo Domingo and
-in the interior a population of herdsmen. Then the famous buccaneers
-appeared to inflict on the Spaniards some of the misery they had
-worked on the Indians. Notwithstanding every effort to prevent them,
-the French adventurers gradually spread through the western end of the
-island, and began to form towns and settlements.
-
-In 1640 Levasseur was sent from France as Governor of these
-irregularly-acquired possessions, and from that time the French may
-be said to have established themselves firmly in the western part of
-Santo Domingo--which hereafter I may call by its present name, Hayti,
-to simplify the narrative--but their rule was not recognised by Spain
-until the year 1697.
-
-From this date to the breaking out of the French Revolution the colony
-increased in prosperity, until it became, for its extent, probably the
-richest in the world. Negroes were imported by thousands from the coast
-of Africa, and were subjected to as harsh a slavery as ever disgraced
-the worst system of servitude.
-
-Two events occurred during this period of prosperity which were
-worthy of being noted: First, the fearful earthquake which destroyed
-Port-au-Prince in 1770, when for fifteen days the earth trembled under
-repeated shocks, and left the city a heap of ruins.[3] The second was
-the war in which France engaged to aid our colonists to acquire their
-independence. To increase their forces the French commanders permitted
-the free blacks and mulattoes to enlist, and they did good service; and
-when they returned to their country, they spread widely a spirit of
-disaffection, which no ordinances could destroy.
-
-When England in 1785 was forced to acknowledge the independence of the
-United States, how despotic France and Spain rejoiced over the downfall
-of the only country where liberty was known! The results were, for
-France, the Revolution, which, with all its crimes, did unspeakable
-good, and deprived her of the finest colony that any country ever
-possessed. To Spain it brought the loss of world-wide possessions, and
-a fall in power and prestige which to this day she shows but few signs
-of recovering.
-
-On the eve of the great Revolution, France possessed, as I have said,
-the finest colony in the world. Her historians are never weary of
-enumerating the amount of its products, the great trade, the warehouses
-full of sugar, cotton, coffee, indigo, and cocoa; its plains covered
-with splendid estates, its hill-sides dotted with noble houses; a white
-population, rich, refined, enjoying life as only a luxurious colonial
-society can enjoy it; the only dark spot, then scarcely noticed, the
-ignorant, discontented mass of black slavery, and the more enlightened
-disaffection of the free mulattoes and negroes.
-
-It has often been a subject of inquiry how it was that the Spaniards,
-who were the cruellest of the cruel towards the Indians, should have
-established negro slavery in a form which robbed it of half its
-terrors, whilst the French, usually less severe than their southern
-neighbours, should have founded a system of servitude unsurpassed for
-severity, cruelty, nay, ferocity.
-
-To this day the barbarous conduct of the Marquis of Caradeux is
-cited as a justification for the savage retaliation of the insurgent
-negroes. I think that the explanation of the different conduct of the
-Spanish and French slave-owner may be, that the former is indolent and
-satisfied with less, whilst the latter, in his fierce struggle to be
-rich, cared not how he became so, and worked his negroes beyond human
-endurance, and then, to keep down the inevitable discontent, sought to
-terrorise his slaves by barbarous punishments.
-
-The true history of Hayti commences with the French Revolution,
-when, amid the flood of impracticable and practicable schemes, a few
-statesmen turned their generous thoughts towards the down-trodden
-African, and firing assembled France with their enthusiasm, passed laws
-and issued decrees granting freedom to the black; but before these had
-any practical effect, Hayti had to pass through scenes which have left
-blood-stains that nothing can wash away.
-
-When reading the different accounts which have been written of the
-state of Hayti when France was upsetting the accumulated wrongs of
-ages, I have often desired to disbelieve them, and place to exaggerated
-feelings of sympathy the descriptions of the prejudices of the planters
-and the atrocities committed under their influence. But I have lived
-long in the West Indies, and know that there are many whites born
-in our colonies, who not only look upon the negro as of an inferior
-species--which he may be--but as fit only for servitude, and quite
-unworthy of freedom, and on an alliance with a coloured person as a
-disgrace which affects a whole family. They speak of a mulatto as they
-would of one affected with leprosy. If in these days such sentiments
-exist, we can readily believe that they existed even in a greater
-degree before, awakened to a feeling of justice, most European nations
-formally abolished slavery, and let the black and the coloured man have
-an equal chance in the struggle of life.
-
-For some years before the meeting of the States-General,
-philanthropists who had inquired into the condition of the slave had
-had their compassion aroused, and to give direction to their efforts to
-ameliorate it, had founded in Paris a society called “The Friends of
-the Blacks.”
-
-The summoning of the States-General in France created much enthusiasm
-throughout Hayti; the planters now reckoned that justice would be
-done, and that a share would be accorded them in the government of
-the colony; the lower class of whites had a vague idea that their
-position must be improved, and hailed the movement as the promise of
-better times--though in truth these two classes had little of which
-to complain; the former were rolling in wealth, and the latter were
-never in want of high-paid employment. Another class felt even greater
-interest--that of the free black and coloured men; they thought that
-no change could occur which would not better their condition, which
-was one of simple toleration; they might work and get rich, have their
-children educated in France, but they had no political rights, and the
-meanest white considered himself, and was treated, as their superior.
-The slaves, although discontented, were only formidable from their
-numbers.
-
-Exaggerated expectations were naturally followed by disappointment.
-The planters, finding that the French Government had no intention
-of employing them to administer the colony, began to think of
-independence; whilst the lower whites, passionately attached to
-the dream of equality, thought that that should commence by an
-apportionment among them of the estates of the rich. A third party
-consisted of the Government employés, whose chiefs were Royalists under
-the leadership of Penier, the Governor-General, and Mauduit, colonel of
-the regiment of Port-au-Prince.
-
-The Colonial party, or rather that of the planters, in order to
-increase their power, which had hitherto been disseminated in local
-assemblies, determined to have the law carried out which authorised
-a General Assembly. This was elected, and held its first meetings in
-St. Marc in March 1790. The leaders soon commenced to quarrel with the
-Government authorities, and dissensions rose to such a height that both
-parties began to arm; and on the Assembly decreeing the substitution
-of another Governor for Penier, he was roused to resistance, and in a
-brief struggle he forced the General Assembly to dissolve, a portion of
-the members seeking refuge on board of a ship of war, whose crew they
-had induced to mutiny and sail with them to France.
-
-The white population thus set the example of internal strife, and in
-their struggle for mastery called in the aid of the freedmen, and
-then after victory insulted them. These, however, began gradually to
-understand the advantages they possessed in being able to support the
-climate, and the persecutions and cruelties of the French made them
-feel that those who would be free themselves must strike the blow.
-
-Among the educated and intelligent mulattoes who had gone to France
-to urge on the National Assembly the rights of their colour was
-Ogé. He naturally thought that the time had arrived for justice to
-be done, when the President of the “Constituant” had declared that
-“aucune partie de la nation ne réclamera vainement ses droits auprès
-de l’assemblée des représentants du peuple français.” He visited the
-Club Massiac, where the planters held supreme sway, and endeavoured to
-enlist their sympathy, but he was coldly received. He then determined
-to return to Hayti to support the rights of his caste, which, though
-ambiguously, had been recognised by the legislature; but unexpected
-obstacles were thrown in his way by the Colonial party, and an order
-to arrest him was issued should he venture to embark for his native
-land. By passing through England and the United States he eluded these
-precautions, and landed privately at Cap Haïtien. When the news of
-his arrival on his property at Dondon reached the authorities, they
-endeavoured to capture him; then he, with a few hundreds of his colour,
-rose in arms, but after a few skirmishes they dispersed, and Ogé was
-forced to seek refuge in the Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo. There
-he was arrested, and, on the demand of the Governor of the French
-colony, handed over to his enemies. He was tried as a rebel and broken
-on the wheel, together with three companions; others were hung, the
-rest sent to the galleys.
-
-Ogé’s armed resistance had encouraged the men of colour in the south
-to demand their rights; but they were easily dispersed, and their
-chief, Rigaud, taken prisoner. These isolated and irresolute outbreaks
-rendered the division between the coloured and the white population
-more marked than ever; the latter despised the former for their
-wretched resistance, while the coloured men were indignant at the
-cruel and unsparing executions which marked the close of Ogé’s career.
-
-Monsieur Blanchelande was then Governor, a weak man at the head of
-the Royalist party, who had not the courage to follow the energetic
-counsels of Colonel Mauduit. By his vacillation all discipline was lost
-both in the army and in the fleet, and the revolutionary party rose
-in arms in Port-au-Prince, murdered Colonel Mauduit, and drove the
-pusillanimous Governor to seek refuge in the plain of Cul-de-Sac. Thus
-the whites were everywhere divided, but were still strong enough to
-disperse any assembly of the freedmen.
-
-The news of the troubles in Hayti produced a great effect in Paris,
-and the Constituent Assembly determined to send three commissioners to
-restore tranquillity; but they prefaced this measure by decreeing (May
-15, 1791) that every man of colour born of free parents should enjoy
-equal political rights with the whites. On the planters declaring that
-this would bring about civil war and the loss of the colony, the famous
-phrase was uttered, “Perish the colonies rather than a principle,”
-which phrase has not been forgotten by those amongst us who would
-sacrifice India to the perverse idea of abandoning our high political
-status in the world.
-
-When the substance of this decree reached Hayti, it roused to fury
-the passions of the whites; all sections united in declaring that
-they would oppose its execution even by force of arms, and a strong
-party was formed either to declare the independence of the colony, or,
-if that were not possible, to invite England to take possession. The
-coloured men, on the other hand, determined to assert their rights, and
-held secret meetings to bring about an accord among all the members
-of their party; and when they heard that Governor Blanchelande had
-declared he would not execute the decree, they summoned their followers
-to meet at Mirebalais in the western department.
-
-The whites in the meantime determined that the second Colonial Assembly
-should be elected before the official text of the dreaded decree of
-the 15th May should arrive; and so rapidly did they act, that on the
-1st August 1791 the Assembly met at Leogâne, and was opened under the
-presidency of the Marquis de Cadusch, a Royalist. They called Governor
-Blanchelande to the bar of the House, and made him swear that he would
-not carry into effect the law giving equal rights to the freedmen. As
-Cap Haïtien had become in reality the capital of the colony, both the
-Governor and the Assembly soon removed there.
-
-The Royalist party, headed by the Governor, found their influence
-gradually declining, and, to strengthen their hands against both the
-Colonial Assembly with its traitorous projects and the violence of the
-lower part of the white population, are accused of having first thought
-of enlisting the blacks to further their schemes and to strengthen
-their party. It is said that they proposed to Toussaint, a slave on
-the Breda estates, to raise the negroes in revolt in the name of the
-King. This account I believe to be a pure invention of the coloured
-historians, and the conduct of the blacks clearly proved that they
-were not moved by French officers. Whoever was the instigator, it is
-certain that the negroes in the northern province rose in insurrection,
-put to death every white that fell into their hands, began to burn
-the factories, and then rushed _en masse_ to pillage the town of Cap
-Haïtien. Here, however, their numbers availed them little against the
-arms and discipline of the French troops, and they were driven back
-with great slaughter, and many then retired to the mountains. It would
-naturally be suspected that the coloured people were the instigators of
-this movement, were it not certain that they were as much opposed to
-the freedom of the blacks as the most impassioned white planter.
-
-The insurgent slaves called themselves “Les Gens du Roi,” declaring
-that he was their friend, and was persecuted for their sake; they
-hoisted the white flag, and placed an ignorant negro, Jean François,
-at their head. The second in command was a Papaloi or priest of the
-Vaudoux, named Biassou. He encouraged his followers to carry on the
-rites of their African religion, and when under its wildest influence,
-he dashed his bands to the attack of their civilised enemies, to meet
-their death in Hayti, but to rise again free in their beloved Africa.
-The ferocity of the negro nature had now full swing, and the whites
-who fell into their hands felt its effects. Prisoners were placed
-between planks and sawn in two, or were skinned alive and slowly
-roasted, the girls violated and then murdered. Unhappily some of these
-blacks had seen their companions thus tortured, though probably in very
-exceptional cases. Descriptions of these horrors fill pages in every
-Haytian history, but it is needless to dwell on them. On either side
-there was but little mercy.
-
-The Governor at length collected 3000 white troops, who, after various
-skirmishes, dispersed these bands with much slaughter; but as this
-success was not followed up, Jean François and Biassou soon rallied
-their followers.
-
-In the meantime the coloured men at Mirebalais, under the leadership
-of Pinchinat, began to arouse their brethren; and having freed nine
-hundred slaves, commenced forming the nucleus of an army, that, under
-the leadership of a very intelligent mulatto named Bauvais, gained some
-successes over the undisciplined forces in Port-au-Prince, commanded
-by an Italian adventurer, Praloto. The Royalists, who had been driven
-from the city by the mob, had assembled at “La Croix des Bouquets” in
-the plains, and to strengthen, their party entered into an alliance
-with the freedmen. This alarmed the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince,
-and they also recognised the existence of Pinchinat and his party by
-entering into a regular treaty with them. The Haytians, as I may call
-the coloured races, began now to understand that their position must
-depend on their own courage and conduct.
-
-When everything had been settled between the chiefs of the two parties,
-the Haytians returned to Port-au-Prince, and were received with every
-demonstration of joy; they then agreed to a plan which showed how
-little they cared for the liberty of others, so that they themselves
-obtained their rights. Among those who had fought valiantly at their
-side were the freed slaves previously referred to. For fear these
-men should incite ideas of liberty among those blacks who were still
-working on the estates, the coloured officers consented that they
-should be deported from the country. In the end they were placed as
-prisoners on board a pontoon in Mole St. Nicolas, and at night were
-for the most part butchered by unknown assassins. And Bauvais and
-Pinchinat, the leaders and the most intelligent of the freedmen, were
-those that agreed to this deportation of their brethren-in-arms who had
-the misfortune to be lately slaves! I doubt if the blacks ever forgot
-this incident.
-
-The coloured men gained little by this breach of faith, as shortly
-after news arrived that the French Assembly had reversed the decree of
-May 15, which gave equal rights to the freedmen; and then dissensions
-broke out, and the coloured men were again driven from Port-au-Prince
-with heavy loss. This was the signal for disorders throughout the whole
-country, and the whites and the freedmen were skirmishing in every
-district. Praloto and the rabble reigned supreme in Port-au-Prince,
-and soon made the rich merchants and shopkeepers feel the effects of
-their internal divisions. They set fire to the town, and during the
-confusion plundered the stores, and exercised their private vengeance
-on their enemies.
-
-The whole country was in the greatest disorder when the three
-commissioners sent by the French Government arrived in Hayti. The
-Colonial Assembly was still sitting at Cap Haïtien, and the insurgent
-negroes were encamped at no great distance. They immediately
-endeavoured to enter into negotiations with them, which had little
-result, on account of the obstinacy of the planters. The three
-commissioners were Mirbeck, St. Leger, and Roume. Finding that their
-influence was as nought, the former two returned to France, whilst
-Roume went ultimately to Santo Domingo.
-
-The state of the colony may be imagined when it is remembered that
-the whites were divided into three distinct sections. The coloured
-men, jealous of each other, did not combine, but were ready to come to
-blows on the least pretext; while the blacks, under Jean François, were
-massacring every white that fell into their hands, and selling to the
-Spaniard every negro or coloured man accused of siding with the French.
-The planters wanted independence or subjection to England; the poorer
-whites anything which would give them the property of others; the
-coloured were still faithful to France; whilst the blacks cared only
-to be free from work; yet among them was Toussaint, who already had
-fermenting in his brain the project of a free black State.
-
-It would interest few to enter into the details of this history
-of horrors, where it is difficult to feel sympathy for any party.
-They were alike steeped in blood, and ready to commit any crime to
-further their ends. Murder, torture, violation, pillage, bad faith,
-and treachery meet you on all sides; and although a few names arise
-occasionally in whom you feel a momentary interest, they are sure soon
-to disgust you by their utter incapacity or besotted personal ambition.
-
-The National Assembly in Paris, finding that their first commissioners
-had accomplished nothing, sent three others, two of whom, Sonthonax and
-Polvérel, are well known in Haytian history. They had full powers, and
-even secret instructions, to do all they could to give freedom to the
-slaves.
-
-These two commissioners were of the very worst kind of revolutionists,
-talked of little but guillotining the aristocrats, and were in every
-way unsuited to their task; they dissolved the Colonial Assembly, and
-substituted for it a commission, consisting of six whites of the stamp
-suited to them, and six freedmen. They decided to crush the respectable
-classes, whom they called Royalists, because they would not join in
-revolutionary excesses, and the massacre commenced at the Cape.
-
-Polvérel appears to have had some idea of the responsibility of his
-position, though both cruel and faithless; but Sonthonax was but a
-blatant babbler, with some talent, but overwhelmed by vanity. He caused
-more bloodshed than any other man, first setting the lower white
-against the rich, then the mulatto against the white, and then the
-black against both. Well might the French orator declare on Sonthonax’s
-return to France that “il puait de sang.” The third commissioner,
-Aillaud, thinking, very justly, that his companions were a couple
-of scoundrels whom he could not control, embarked secretly and left
-for home. Whilst these commissioners were employed in destroying the
-fairest colony in the world, France, in a moment of excited fury,
-declared war against the rest of Europe, and a new era opened for Hayti.
-
-Many of the more influential and respectable inhabitants of all
-colours, utterly disgusted by the conduct of the different parties,
-thought that the war between England and France would give them some
-chance of rest from the excesses of the insurgent blacks; and the
-factious freedmen, supported by that _fou furieux_, Sonthonax, sent to
-Jamaica to invite the Governor to interfere and take possession of the
-colony.
-
-England did interfere, but in her usual way, with small expeditions,
-and thus frittered away her strength; but the resistance made was
-in general so contemptible, that with little effort we succeeded in
-taking Jérémie in the south, and then St. Marc, and subsequently
-Port-au-Prince. Had we sent a large army, it is equally possible that
-we should not have succeeded, as the intention was to reimpose slavery.
-As the garrison of Jamaica could only furnish detachments, the British
-authorities began to enlist all who wished to serve irrespective of
-colour, and being supported by those who were weary of anarchy and
-revolutionary fury, were soon able to present a very respectable force
-in the field. The Spaniards, aided by the bands of revolted negroes,
-overran most of the northern province; in this they were greatly
-aided by Toussaint L’Ouverture, who now began to come to the front.
-Sonthonax, whose idea of energy was simply to massacre and destroy,
-ordered that every place his partisans were forced to evacuate should
-be burnt. At the same time he thought that a little terror might be
-of service, so he erected a guillotine in Port-au-Prince; and having
-at hand a Frenchman accused of being a Royalist, he thought he would
-try the experiment on him. An immense crowd of Haytians assembled to
-witness the execution; but when they saw the bright blade descend and
-the head roll at their feet, they were horror-stricken, and rushing on
-the guillotine, tore it to pieces, and no other has ever again been
-erected in Hayti.
-
-Curious people! they who never hesitated to destroy the whites, guilty
-or innocent, or massacre, simply because they were white, women and
-children, down to the very babe at the breast, who invented every
-species of torture to render death more hideous, were horrified because
-a man’s head was chopped off, instead of his being destroyed in a
-fashion to which they were accustomed, and this at a time when white,
-coloured, and black were vying with each other in arts of bloodthirsty
-cruelty!
-
-The whole country was in terrible confusion; the French had not one man
-who had the talent or influence to dominate their divided factions;
-the coloured were represented by such respectabilities as Pinchinat,
-Bauvais, and Rigaud, but without one of incontestable superiority; the
-blacks were as yet led by such men as Jean François and Biassou, who
-must even make the respectable negroes blush to acknowledge that they
-were of the same race; yet, as I have said, there was one man coming to
-the front who was to dominate all.
-
-Amid the many heroes whose actions the Haytians love to commemorate,
-Toussaint L’Ouverture does not hold a high rank. And yet the conduct of
-this black was so remarkable as almost to confound those who declare
-the negro an inferior creature incapable of rising to genius. History,
-wearied with dwelling on the petty passions of the other founders of
-Haytian independence, may well turn to the one grand figure of this
-cruel war. Toussaint was born on the Breda estate in the northern
-department, and was a slave from birth; it has been doubted whether he
-was of pure negro race. His grandfather was an African prince, but if
-we may judge from the portraits, he was not of the pure negro type.
-Whether pure negro or not, there is no doubt of the intelligence and
-energy of the man. Though but a puny child, by constant exercise and
-a vigorous will he became as wiry and active as any of his companions,
-and, moreover, gave up much of his leisure time to study. He learnt to
-read French, and, it is said, in order to understand the Prayer-Book,
-a little Latin; but he never quite mastered the art of writing. He
-was evidently trusted and kindly treated by his master’s agent, who
-gave him charge of the sugar-mills. There is an accusation constantly
-brought against Toussaint, that of being a religious hypocrite, but
-his early life shows that it is unfounded. Whilst still a slave, his
-principles would not allow him to follow the custom of his companions
-and live in concubinage; he determined to marry, though the woman he
-chose had already an illegitimate son named Placide, whom he adopted.
-It is pleasing to read of the happy domestic life of Toussaint, and it
-is another proof of that affectionate disposition which made those who
-served him devoted to him.
-
-When the insurrection broke out in the northern province, Toussaint
-remained faithful to his master, and prevented any destruction on the
-estate; but finding ultimately that he could not stem the tide, he
-sent his master’s family for safety into Cap Haïtien, and joined the
-insurgents. He was at first appointed surgeon to the army, as among his
-other accomplishments was a knowledge of _simples_, which had given him
-great influence on the estate, and was now to do so in the insurgent
-forces. He liked this employment, as it kept him free from the savage
-excesses of his companions, who were acting with more than ordinary
-barbarity.
-
-The three leaders of the insurgents were then Jean François, a negro,
-about whom opinions differ. St. Remy says he was intellectual, though
-the general idea is more probable, that he was an energetic savage.
-Biassou was sensual and violent, as cruel as man could be and an avowed
-leader of the Vaudoux sect, and apparently a Papaloi; but the vilest
-of the three was Jeannot. He loved to torture his white prisoners, and
-drank their blood mixed with rum; but he was as cowardly as he was
-cruel, and the scene at his execution, when he clung to the priest in
-frantic terror, must have afforded satisfaction to the friends of those
-whom he had pitilessly murdered. Jeannot was also a great proficient
-in Vaudoux practices, and thus gained much influence with the ignorant
-slaves; it was this influence, not his cruelties, which roused the
-anger of Jean François, who seized and summarily shot him.
-
-It is curious to read of the projects of these negro leaders. They had
-no idea of demanding liberty for the slaves; they only wanted liberty
-for themselves. In some abortive negotiations with the French, Jean
-François demanded that 300 of the leaders should be declared free,
-whilst Toussaint would only have bargained for fifty. The mulatto
-leaders, however, were most anxious to preserve their own slaves, and,
-as I have related, gave up to death those blacks who had aided them in
-supporting their position; and a French writer records that up to Le
-Clerc’s expedition, the mulattoes had fought against the blacks with
-all the zeal that the interests of property could inspire.
-
-The blind infatuation of the planters prevented their accepting Jean
-François’ proposition; they even rejected it with insult, and savagely
-persecuted the negroes who were living in Cap Haïtien. Biassou then
-ordered all his white prisoners to be put to death; but Toussaint,
-by his eloquent remonstrances, saved them. Other negotiations having
-failed, Biassou attacked the French lines, and carried them as far
-as the ramparts of the town. The planters had brave words, but not
-brave deeds, with which to meet their revolted bondsmen. All the black
-prisoners taken by the insurgents were sent over the frontiers and sold
-as slaves to the Spaniards. Toussaint remonstrated against this vile
-traffic, but never shared in it. The new Governor, Laveaux, at this
-time nearly stifled the insurrection, dispersing all the insurgent
-forces; but, as usual, not following up his successes, allowed the
-negroes again to concentrate. No strength of position as yet enabled
-the blacks successfully to resist the white troops.
-
-When the negro chiefs heard of the death of Louis XVI., they thought
-they had lost a friend, and openly joined the Spaniards in their war on
-the French Republic.
-
-At this time Sonthonax and Polvérel acted as if they intended to betray
-their own country, by removing the chief white officers from command
-and entrusting these important posts to mulattoes. It was not, however,
-treachery, but jealousy, as such a man as General Galbaud could not be
-made a docile instrument in their hands. Then finding that power was
-slipping from them, they proclaimed (1793) the liberty of all those
-slaves who would fight for the Republic.
-
-In the meantime Toussaint was steadily gaining influence among his
-troops, and gradually freeing himself from the control of Biassou,
-whose proceedings had always shocked him; and some successful
-expeditions, as the taking of Dondon, added to his prestige. Whilst
-fighting was going on throughout the northern provinces, Sonthonax and
-Polvérel were solemnising pompous _fêtes_ to celebrate the anniversary
-of the taking of the Bastile. It is singular what a passion they had
-for these childish amusements.
-
-Rigaud, a mulatto, in future days the rival of Toussaint, now appears
-prominently upon the scene, being appointed by the commissioners as
-chief of the northern department.
-
-Toussaint continued his successes, and finding that nothing could be
-done with the estates without the whites, appeared anxious to induce
-them to return to superintend their cultivation, and he succeeded in
-inducing many hundreds to reside in their devastated homes.
-
-Alarmed by the continued successes of Toussaint, Sonthonax
-proclaimed in August 29, 1793, the liberty of all, which, under
-the circumstances, may be considered the only wise act of his
-administration.
-
-The people of the north-west, however, were weary of the tyranny
-of the commissioners, and, being probably privately informed of
-Toussaint’s intentions, surrendered Gonaives to him, and the rest of
-the neighbouring districts followed. A new enemy, however, now appeared
-in the shape of the English, who took possession of St. Marc with
-seventy-five men,--so like our system! In June 1794 Port-au-Prince
-surrendered to the English after a faint resistance, the commissioners
-retiring to Jacmel, from whence they embarked for France, to answer
-for their conduct. At that time Port-au-Prince was in a fair state for
-defence; but Captain Daniel of the 41st took the famous fort of Bizoton
-by storm with sixty men, and then the English advanced on the town. The
-effect of having replaced the French officers by untrained mulattoes
-was here apparent: though everything had been prepared to blow up
-the forts, nothing was done; the garrison fled, leaving 131 cannon,
-twenty-two laden vessels, with 7000 tons more in ballast, and all their
-stores and ammunition.
-
-At this time Jean François became suspicious of Toussaint and arrested
-him, but he was delivered by Biassou. Toussaint had for some time been
-meditating a bold stroke. The proclamation by Sonthonax of the freedom
-of the blacks probably worked on him, and he determined to abandon the
-party of the king of Spain, which was that of slavery, and join the
-French Republic. He did so, proclaiming at the same time the freedom of
-the slaves. His soldiers sullied the change by massacring two hundred
-white planters, who, confiding in the word of Toussaint, had returned
-to their estates.
-
-The new General of the republic now acted with energy against Jean
-François, drove him from the plains, and forced him to take refuge with
-his followers in the Black Mountains. Success followed success, until
-Toussaint found himself opposite St. Marc; but his attack on that town
-was easily repulsed by its garrison in English pay. His activity was
-incessant, and he kept up constant skirmishes with all his enemies.
-He appeared ever unwearied, whatever might be the fatigue of his
-companions.
-
-Toussaint had naturally observed, that however his men might succeed
-against the undisciplined hordes of Jean François, they could do
-nothing against a disciplined force. He therefore, in 1795, formed
-four regiments of 2000 men each, whom he had daily drilled by French
-soldiers, his former prisoners; and, I may notice here, with such
-success, that English officers were subsequently surprised at their
-proficiency.
-
-Rigaud had, in the meantime, with his usual jactancy, marched on
-Port-au-Prince to expel the English, but was repulsed. Toussaint
-assembled all his army for another attack on St. Marc, and for three
-days, from the 25th to 27th July 1795, tried by repeated assaults
-to capture the town; but English discipline prevailed, and the small
-garrison foiled every attempt.
-
-It is noticed by St. Remy that Toussaint, when once he gave his word,
-never broke it, which was a new experience among these unprincipled
-leaders; and it is added, that he never had any prejudice of colour.
-
-An important event for the French in 1795 was the peace made between
-France and Spain, by which Santo Domingo was ceded to the former.
-
-The year 1796 was ushered in by various English expeditions and
-skirmishes, and their failure to take Leogâne. Some of the Haytian
-accounts are amusing. Pétion defended the fort of Ça-ira against the
-whole English fleet until the fortifications were demolished. Fifteen
-thousand English bullets were showered into the place, and yet only
-seven Haytians were killed. It looks as if the garrison had quietly
-retired and left us to batter away at the earthworks.
-
-One is often surprised, in reading Haytian accounts of the war, at the
-defeats of the English, which make one wonder what could have become
-of the proverbial courage and steadiness of our men; but a little
-closer inquiry shows that in most of these instances there were few
-or no English present, only black and coloured men in our pay, or
-planters who had taken our side in the war, none of whom were more than
-half-hearted in our cause.
-
-The French were also weakened by internal dissensions. General
-Vilatte, a mulatto, incited a revolt in the town of Cap Haïtien,
-arrested the French governor, Laveaux, and threw him into prison. The
-latter called on Toussaint to aid him, and the black general had the
-supreme satisfaction of marching into the town and freeing the white
-governor. With what curious sensations must Toussaint have performed
-this act of authority in a place that had only known him as a slave!
-Laveaux received him with enthusiasm, and promoted him from the grade
-of General of Brigade, in which the French Government had confirmed
-him, to be Lieutenant-General of the Government, April 1, 1796. This
-successful movement confirmed the ascendancy of the blacks in the
-north, and Vilatte had shortly to sail for France, from whence he
-returned with the expedition sent to enslave his countrymen.
-
-Sonthonax and a new commission now arrived at Cap Haïtien, to find
-Rigaud almost independent in the south, and Toussaint master in the
-north. Both Laveaux and Sonthonax are accused of endeavouring to set
-the blacks against the mulattoes. Laveaux having returned to France as
-deputy for the colony, Sonthonax remained at the head of affairs, and
-one of his first acts was to name Toussaint General of Division.
-
-Toussaint was in the meantime organising his army and working hard at
-its drill; he then started to the attack of Mirebalais, a port occupied
-by a French planter in our service, the Count de Bruges, who appears
-to have retired, with numerous forces, without much resistance. He
-probably could scarcely trust his raw levies. Sonthonax was so pleased
-with this important success that he named Toussaint Commander-in-Chief
-of the army in Santo Domingo, which step displeased Rigaud, who was
-thus placed under the orders of a black general.
-
-Toussaint appears to have felt a justifiable distrust of Sonthonax.
-He saw that he desired to set black against coloured, that he was
-even talking of the independence of the island, perhaps only to test
-Toussaint’s fidelity; but he had no difficulty in assuring himself that
-wherever Sonthonax was, mischief was sure to be brewing. He therefore
-had him elected deputy, and sent him to follow Laveaux. Sonthonax did
-not like this step, and made some show of opposition, but Toussaint
-informed him that if he did not embark immediately he would fall on
-Cap Haïtien with 20,000 men. This irresistible argument made Sonthonax
-give way. As he went down to the boat that was to take him on board,
-the streets were lined by crowds of all colours; but not one said, “God
-bless him,” as he had betrayed every party in turn; and his one wise
-act of proclaiming the liberty of the slaves was simply a political
-expedient, wrung from him by the circumstances of the hour. He was a
-boasting, bad man, whose history is written in the blood of thousands
-of every colour.
-
-The Directory, alarmed at the growing influence of Toussaint,
-sent out General Hédouville as pacificator of the island, and, to
-produce harmony, gave him power to defeat Rigaud. On his arrival at
-Cap Haïtien he summoned the rivals to confer with him, and Rigaud
-and Toussaint, meeting at Gonaives, went together to the capital.
-Hédouville, jealous of the power of the latter, gave all his attention
-to the former, whilst the newly-arrived French officers laughed at the
-negro and his surroundings. Toussaint, suspecting a plot to arrest him
-and send him off to France, and probably very jealous of the superior
-treatment of his rival, withdrew from the city and returned to his army.
-
-The English had now become convinced that it was useless to attempt
-to conquer the island; their losses from sickness were enormous,
-and the influence of the planters was of no avail. Their black and
-coloured mercenaries were faithless, and ready to betray them, as
-at St. Marc, where the English governor had to shoot a number of
-traitorous mulattoes who would have betrayed the town into the hands
-of the blacks. They therefore determined to treat with Toussaint, and
-evacuated St. Marc, Port-au-Prince, and L’Arcahaye. He thus gained at
-one stroke what no amount of force could have procured for him.
-
-Toussaint, with a greatness of mind which was really remarkable, agreed
-to allow those French colonists who had sided with us to remain, and
-promised to respect their properties; and as it was known that this
-magnanimous black ever kept his word, no important exodus followed our
-retreat. Admiral Maitland had arranged for the surrender of the mole
-with General Hédouville, but on finding his hostility to the French
-planters, whom he insisted on Toussaint expelling the country, our
-naval chief made a new settlement with the black general and handed the
-mole over to him. Maitland invited Toussaint to visit him, and reviewed
-before him the English army collected from the rest of the country. He
-was exceedingly pleased by the treatment he received from our people,
-and ever after showed a kindly feeling towards them.
-
-One can scarcely understand why the English gave up the mole, which a
-small garrison could have defended, and the importance of the position
-in naval warfare is indisputable. If we wanted to gain Toussaint and
-induce him to declare the island independent, we should have held it
-until that desirable event had happened.[4]
-
-Toussaint treated the old colonists with distinction, and left many
-of them in the commands they had held under the English. Hédouville
-protested against this good treatment of his own countrymen, and
-annoyed Toussaint so much that he began to consider whether it would
-not be prudent to send Hédouville to follow Sonthonax.
-
-Hédouville was not the only one who objected to the good treatment
-of the planters; his opinion was shared by the black general, Moïse,
-then commanding in the northern department. To show his displeasure at
-Toussaint’s humanity, he caused some white colonists to be murdered in
-the plains near Cap Haïtien. Hédouville, frightened by the practical
-result of his teaching, summoned Toussaint to his aid; but doubtful of
-his general, he escaped on board a vessel in harbour. In order to do
-all the mischief he could before leaving, he wrote to Rigaud, saying he
-was no longer to obey Toussaint, but consider himself the governor of
-the southern department, adding that Toussaint was sold to the English
-and the _émigrés_.
-
-It was Hédouville who thus laid the foundation of that civil war which
-degenerated into a struggle of caste. The agents sent by France proved
-each worse than the other. Rigaud, with the true spirit of a mulatto,
-also wrote to Toussaint to drive out the white planters. When his
-teaching had incited his soldiers to murder his white countrymen, all
-Rigaud could say was, “Mon Dieu, qu’est que le peuple en fureur?”
-
-On the departure of Hédouville, Toussaint invited Roume to leave
-Santo Domingo and come and reside at Port-au-Prince, where they met
-in January 1799. Roume appears to have had a profound admiration for
-Toussaint. We find him writing to General Kerverseau as early as
-February 1795, and describing the negro chief as a philosopher, a
-legislator, a general, and a good citizen.
-
-Roume had a difficult part to play. He was most anxious to bring about
-concord among the different generals, and therefore invited Rigaud
-and Bauvais to meet Toussaint on the _fête_ of the 4th of February to
-commemorate the memorable day when the National Convention proclaimed
-full liberty to the slaves. A little outward concord was obtained, but
-soon after, Toussaint, suspecting a plot, arrested some mulattoes. A
-slight disturbance among the negroes taking place at Corail, thirty
-were captured and died in prison, from “the effect of the gas created
-by white-washing the prison.” This remarkable excuse did not satisfy
-Toussaint, who believed the men to have been assassinated by Rigaud’s
-officers.
-
-Toussaint and Roume had in the meantime left for Cap Haïtien, where
-they appear to have negotiated a commercial treaty with the Americans,
-and some arrangement was also, it is said, made with Admiral Maitland.
-
-It was during this year that Captain Rainsford visited Cap Haïtien.
-As we were at war with France, our officer passed as an American, and
-soon after landing was met by Toussaint in the street, who came up to
-him to ask the news. He next saw him at a restaurant where all classes
-dined, and he sat down at a long table with a drummer-boy next him and
-the general not far off. The latter used to say that except on service
-he did not see the necessity of making distinctions. In the evening
-Captain Rainsford played billiards with Toussaint at the public tables.
-
-Rainsford appears to have been as much struck with Toussaint as Roume.
-He says he was constrained to admire him as a man, a governor, and a
-general. He describes him as a perfect black, then about fifty-five
-years of age, of a venerable appearance, and possessed of uncommon
-discernment and great suavity of manners. He enters fully into a
-description of his dress. The general wore as a uniform a kind of blue
-spencer, with a large red cape falling over his shoulders, and red
-cuffs, with eight rows of lace on the arms, and a pair of huge gold
-epaulettes, a scarlet waistcoat, pantaloons and half-boots, a round hat
-with red feather and national cockade, and an extremely large sword
-was suspended from his side. Rainsford adds: “He receives a voluntary
-respect from every description of his countrymen, which is more than
-returned by the affability of his behaviour and the goodness of his
-heart.” The vessel in which Rainsford was a passenger was next driven
-by stress of weather into Fort Liberté. Arrested as a spy, he was
-condemned to death; but Toussaint would not permit the sentence to be
-carried out. He dismissed him with a caution not to return without
-passports.
-
-There is much exaggeration in the account given by Rainsford of what he
-saw and heard at Cap Haïtien. He talks of 62,000 inhabitants leaving
-the city after the great fire, and of Toussaint reviewing his army of
-60,000 men and 2000 officers. He was a better judge probably of their
-manœuvres. He says that the soldiers went through their exercises with
-a degree of expertness he had seldom before witnessed. At the signal of
-a whistle, a whole brigade ran three or four hundred yards, and then
-separating, threw themselves on the ground, keeping up a heavy fire
-from every kind of position. The complete subordination and discipline
-astonished him.
-
-Rigaud having evidently decided to carry out General Hédouville’s
-instructions and defy both Toussaint and Roume, it became necessary to
-subdue him. Ten thousand men were collected at Port-au-Prince, whilst
-Rigaud concentrated his army at Miragoâne, and commenced the war by
-seizing Petit Goave, and there, without the slightest excuse, murdered
-all the white inhabitants. It is singular to contrast the conduct of
-the two generals: Toussaint, without the slightest prejudice of colour,
-and Rigaud, the mulatto, the son of a Frenchman, showing “how he
-hated his father and despised his mother” by murdering the whites and
-refusing to obey a black.
-
-Roume published a proclamation, calling on the north and west to march
-against the south to restore unity of command; but before entering on
-the campaign, Toussaint had to return to the north to repress some
-movements, and on his journey back almost fell into two ambuscades,
-from which he was saved by the fleetness of his horse. Toussaint
-shot those who were concerned in these conspiracies, whether black
-or coloured; but the stories told by St. Remy of his ordering 180
-young mulatto children to be drowned at L’Arcahaye, is so contrary to
-everything we know of his character, that we may set this fable down to
-caste hatred. That he was severe with his enemies is no doubt true.
-
-Then began the wearisome civil war in the south by Dessalines driving
-back Rigaud’s army, and by the siege of Jacmel, which lasted four
-months. Pétion greatly distinguished himself in the defence, and
-conducted the evacuation. It appears unaccountable that while the main
-body of Toussaint’s army was thus engaged, Rigaud remained passive; it
-can only be explained by mean jealousy, which was his characteristic to
-the last year of his life. But his principal fault was jactancy, shown
-by his proclamation, saying, “Let the enemy appear and I’ll slay them,”
-which was answered by another from Toussaint offering pardon and peace.
-
-Toussaint’s army in the south was commanded by Dessalines and
-Christophe, or, in other words, by two ferocious blacks, to whom pity
-was unknown. Dessalines soon forced the strong position near Miragoâne,
-and defeated Rigaud and Pétion, driving them before him towards Les
-Cayes. Rigaud ordered his officers to burn and destroy everything in
-their retreat, which naturally roused the inhabitants against these
-measures of defence, and they became clamorous for peace.
-
-In the meantime the Consular Government at Paris sent out officers
-to Hayti, among whom was Colonel Vincent. Toussaint was confirmed
-in his position as General-in-Chief, but the war in the south was
-disapproved. Colonel Vincent was enabled to tell him of all the changes
-that had taken place in France, but the black chief could readily
-see that he was suspected by the French Government. He, however,
-sent Vincent and other officers to Les Cayes to offer peace. It is
-amusing to read the account given of Rigaud. He went to see the French
-officers, a blunderbuss on his shoulder, pistols in his belt, a sword
-on one side and a dagger on the other. On hearing that his conduct did
-not meet with the support of the French Government, he drew his dagger
-as if to stab himself, but did not do so: he preferred making a truce
-and embarking for France, together with his principal officers.
-
-Toussaint entered Les Cayes on the 1st August 1800, and showed the
-grandeur of his character by implicitly carrying out his original
-proclamation. He again proclaimed union and peace, and pardoned
-all those who had been led into rebellion against him; and, to the
-astonishment of his enemies, he kept his word and behaved with great
-magnanimity. Even his worst opponents were then constrained to allow
-that, when once given, he never broke his word.
-
-If Toussaint was clement, Dessalines was the reverse; and the mulattoes
-declare that he killed upwards of ten thousand of their caste, which is
-probably more of that colour than the southern province ever contained.
-
-Whilst this campaign was at its height, Roume committed the
-indiscretion of trying to raise a revolt in Jamaica. His agents
-were taken and hung; and as a punishment the English captured one of
-Toussaint’s convoys destined for Jacmel. The General, very angry with
-Roume, sent for him; he refused to come, upon which Toussaint went to
-Cap Haïtien, and after reproaching him, insisted on his giving him an
-order to invade the eastern end of the island. He refused at first, but
-ultimately yielded to the menaces of General Moïse.
-
-When the southern campaign was over, Toussaint began to prepare for
-the occupation of Santo Domingo, but finding that Roume was inclined
-to withdraw his permission, he arrested him and sent him back to
-France. Toussaint’s prestige was now so great in the island, that
-little resistance was made, and he occupied the city of Santo Domingo
-almost without a shot being fired, and established his brother Paul as
-governor.
-
-The whole of the island being now under one chief, Toussaint decided
-to put into execution a constitution which he had already promulgated.
-It was certainly a model of liberality. It placed all colours equal
-before the law; employments might be held by black, white, or coloured;
-as much freedom of trade as possible; a governor to be named for five
-years, but on account of the eminent services of Toussaint, he was to
-occupy that post for life, with power to name his successor. He sent
-this constitution to Buonaparte for approval; but evidently it was too
-much or too little. Had he boldly proclaimed the independence of the
-island, he might have saved the country from great misfortunes.
-
-Peace being now re-established over all the island, Toussaint began his
-civil administration. All accounts are unanimous in declaring that he
-himself governed admirably, but the instruments he had to employ were
-too often utterly unworthy. He organised the country into districts,
-and appointed inspectors to see that all returned to their work, and
-decreed that a fifth of the produce should be given to the labourers.
-Dessalines was appointed inspector-in-chief; and if a man without any
-sentiment of humanity was required for that post, surely Dessalines
-was a good choice, as he was ready to beat to death any man, woman,
-or child whom he chose to accuse of idleness. Toussaint, looking to
-difficulties ahead, continued to pay the greatest attention to his
-army, organised it with care, and preserved the strictest discipline.
-The stick appears to have been as popular in that day as it is now.
-
-Toussaint was very friendly to the whites, and was most anxious to
-encourage them to aid in developing the country. This excited the
-jealousy of some of his generals; among others, of Moïse, his nephew,
-who to thwart his uncle’s projects incited a movement in the north
-to massacre the French. Several having fallen victims, Toussaint
-hastened to the spot, and finding that Moïse was the real instigator
-of the murders, sent him before a court-martial. He was sentenced to
-death, and very properly shot on the 26th November 1800. Had Toussaint
-connived at these crimes, he would have upset all confidence in his
-trusted word.
-
-All was now progressing on the island; the government was regularly
-administered, the finances were getting into order, and agriculture
-was beginning to raise its head, when Buonaparte, having secured peace
-in Europe, determined to recover the Queen of the Antilles and restore
-slavery. The story of this attempt may be told in a few words. General
-Leclerc started with 30,000 men to subdue the island, and although the
-evident intention of the French Government was to restore slavery,
-the principal mulatto officers accompanied him, chief among whom were
-Rigaud, Pétion, and Vilatte. It is true the mulattoes had not yet
-frankly accepted the full freedom of the blacks.
-
-General Leclerc did all he could to cause an armed resistance, as a
-peaceful solution would have given him no military glory; therefore,
-instead of sending Toussaint his children and the letter he bore from
-Buonaparte, he tried to surprise Cap Haïtien. But General Christophe,
-before retiring with its garrison, set fire to the town and almost
-destroyed it; and Toussaint sent instructions to his other generals
-to follow this example. Leclerc, mortified by the result of his first
-attempt, now thought of writing to Toussaint, and sent him his two
-boys. Toussaint behaved with great nobility of character, and asked
-naturally, “Why words of peace but acts of war?” Finding that he could
-not circumvent his black opponent, Leclerc published a decree in
-February 1802 placing both Toussaint and Christophe “hors la loi.” This
-was followed by the burning of the towns of St. Marc and Gonaives, and
-a retreat of the black troops towards the interior.
-
-Whenever you see a fortress in Hayti, you are sure to be told that
-it was built by the English; among others thus known was La Crête à
-Pierrot. The French general Debelle, treating with contempt these negro
-troops, attacked this fort with an inefficient force and was beaten;
-then Leclerc made an assault in person, but he also was beaten, and was
-forced to lay siege to it. The attack and defence were conducted with
-singular courage, particularly the latter, considering the quality of
-the men, who had never before been measured with real white troops:
-however, after having repulsed several assaults, the garrison evacuated
-the forts. Pétion commanded a portion of the French artillery in this
-attack on his countrymen struggling for freedom. If he loved France but
-little, he hated Toussaint more.
-
-Even the enemies of the great black general are full of admiration of
-the courage displayed by him during all this important struggle, and
-especially dwell on his devotion to his wounded officers. I may here
-remark that the French general Rochambeau distinguished himself for
-his cruelties, and shot every prisoner that fell into his hands; which
-fully justified the retaliation of the Haytians.
-
-Discouraged by a series of reverses which followed the loss of La Crête
-à Pierrot, where it was amply proved that the negro soldiers, even
-among their mountains, were no match for the disciplined troops of
-France, some of the black generals, as Christophe, began to make terms
-with the French; and Toussaint, finding himself thus abandoned, wrote
-to Leclerc offering submission. As it was accepted, he went to Cap
-Haïtien to meet the commander-in-chief, and was received and treated
-with much distinction. He then returned to the village of Marmalade,
-and there issued orders to all his officers to cease opposition
-and acknowledge the French authorities, and peace was established
-throughout the island.
-
-General Leclerc was but temporising with these black leaders; his
-secret orders were, not only to arrest Toussaint, Dessalines, and
-Christophe, but to re-establish slavery. He found, however, the
-last two so zealous in carrying out his instructions to disarm the
-population, that he preserved them in their commands.
-
-Toussaint himself, having ever kept his word, could not believe that
-the French commander-in-chief would not keep his, and therefore, in
-spite of all warnings that treachery was meditated, stayed quietly on
-his estate at Ennery. He there received a letter from General Brunet,
-asking for an interview at a certain spot; Toussaint went, and was
-immediately arrested under circumstances of the greatest treachery. He
-was bound with ropes and embarked on board the French ship “Creole;”
-then put on board the “Héros” with all his family and sent to France.
-When received on board by Savary, Chef de Division, he said to him, “En
-me renversant on n’a abattu à Saint Domingue que le tronc de l’arbre
-de la liberté des noirs; il repoussera, parceque les racines en sont
-profondes et nombreuses.” When reading this account of the capture of
-Toussaint, we can scarcely credit that we are recording the acts of
-French officers, whose plighted word was thus broken.[5]
-
-On Toussaint’s arrival in France he wrote to the French Chief Consul;
-but he might as well have written to Dessalines as expect either mercy
-or justice from the despot who then ruled France. He was separated
-from his family and hurried off to the Château de Joux in the Alps,
-where his rival Rigaud was already confined. Here he died from cold
-and neglect, under circumstances which raised the suspicion that the
-close of this illustrious life was hastened by unfair means. It is
-some satisfaction to think that his executioner died also a prisoner
-in exile, though surrounded by every comfort that the generous English
-Government could afford him.
-
-We have all heard or read something of Toussaint L’Ouverture, and been
-taught to think well of him: I was therefore the more surprised, on
-my arrival at Port-au-Prince, to hear his memory so depreciated. I
-do not remember any Haytian having voluntarily spoken of him, though
-they never wearied of talking of Dessalines, Christophe, and Rigaud. I
-at first thought that Toussaint never having unnecessarily shed white
-blood, whilst the others may be said to have rejoiced at the sight of
-it, was one of the chief causes; but the real reason why the historians
-and biographers of Hayti would lower Toussaint’s memory is the energy
-with which he acted against the rebellious mulattoes, and his firm
-determination that all colours should be equally respected by the law,
-and that all should have equal rights.
-
-It is impossible not to be struck with almost the unanimous opinion
-favourable to Toussaint which has been recorded by all parties, even by
-his enemies. The Marquis d’Hermonas says that “God in this terrestrial
-globe could not commune with a purer spirit;” the French general
-Pamphile Lacroix records that “Nul n’osait l’aborder sans crainte, et
-nul ne le quittait sans respect.” We have seen the opinion of Roume and
-Rainsford, that Toussaint was “a philosopher, a legislator, a general,
-and a good citizen,” and that the latter was compelled to admire him as
-“a man, a governor, and a general.”
-
-He was personally brave, and being a splendid rider, loving from his
-earliest childhood to be on horseback, he never appeared fatigued
-even after the greatest exertions. As a general he is thought to have
-shown much skill; and, what proves his sense, but does not add to his
-popularity among Haytians, he did not believe that his men were fitted
-to cope with the trained bands of France. He constantly said that they
-must trust to climate and yellow fever as their best allies. As an
-administrator he had much capacity, and his influence being unbounded,
-he would probably have restored its old prosperity to Hayti, had not
-Leclerc’s expedition arrived to throw the whole island into confusion.
-
-Toussaint’s personal qualities appear to have been equal to his
-public: his word was sacred, he was humane on most occasions, yet with
-a firmness and decision which astonished his enemies. In his family
-relations he showed the most tender affection for wife and children;
-his fine nature was apparent on all occasions in his solicitude for his
-wounded officers and soldiers, and the thoughtful care of the prisoners
-that fell into his hands. His affectionate treatment of animals was
-also greatly noticed, and whenever he came upon fugitive women and
-children of any colour, his first thought was for their comfort.
-
-Our Consul-General Mackenzie (1827) often talked to the black officers
-of Toussaint; they described him as stern and unbending, but just,
-and intimately acquainted with the habits of the people and the best
-interests of his country.
-
-The one mistake of his life appears to have been his refusal, when
-urged to do so by England, to declare the independence of Hayti. Had
-he accepted the English proposals and entered into a treaty with us and
-with the Americans, it is not likely that Buonaparte would have ever
-attempted an expedition against him, and the history of Hayti might
-have been happier.
-
-There is one fact which strikes the reader of the histories of
-these times, and that is, the soldiers are described as veritable
-_sans-culottes_, without pay and without proper uniforms, and yet all
-the chiefs, as Toussaint, Dessalines, and Christophe, were living in
-splendid houses in the greatest luxury. Toussaint is recorded to have
-lent the French Treasury 600,000 livres, an enormous sum for a slave to
-possess after a few years of freedom. Gragnon-Lacoste, who published
-a Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture in 1877, founded on family papers,
-says that this general had a marble house in Cap Haïtien, elegantly
-furnished, and that he kept up the same style in all his plantations.
-His descendants in late years claimed about the fourth of Hayti as the
-estates of the black general.[6]
-
-Toussaint was also a fervent Roman Catholic, and was greatly attached
-to the priesthood; he did all he could to repress the Vaudoux, and he
-published a strong proclamation forbidding all fetish rites.[7]
-
-The treachery of Leclerc towards Toussaint had its reward; it could
-not but excite suspicion among the black leaders, as the previous
-deportation of Rigaud had done among the mulattoes. And now the most
-fearful epidemic of yellow fever fell upon the French army, and
-almost annihilated it. Forty thousand are reported to have been lost
-during the years 1802 and 1803: among the victims were Leclerc and
-twenty other French generals. The Haytians saw their opportunity, and
-Dessalines, Christophe, and Pétion abandoned the invaders, and roused
-their countrymen to expel the weak remnants of the French army. War had
-now been declared between France and England, and our fleets were soon
-off the coasts. The French were driven from every point, and forced to
-concentrate in Cap Haïtien. Rochambeau, who had succeeded Leclerc, did
-all that man could do to save his army; but besieged by the blacks to
-the number of 30,000, and blockaded by our fleet, pinched by hunger,
-and seeing no hopes of reinforcements, he surrendered to the English
-and embarked for Europe.
-
-Thus ended one of the most disastrous expeditions ever undertaken by
-France, and ended as it deserved to end. Its history was sullied by
-every species of treachery, cruelty, and crime; but we cannot but
-admire the splendid bravery of the troops under every discouragement,
-in a tropical climate, where the heat is so great that the European
-is unfitted for continued exertion, but where yellow fever and death
-follow constant exposure.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-HISTORY SINCE INDEPENDENCE.
-
-
-“Que deviendra notre pays quand il sera livré à la vanité et à
-l’ignorance,” exclaimed Bauvais, one of the leaders of the mulatto
-party. I am afraid this sketch of the history of Hayti since the war of
-independence will show what are the results to a country when governed
-by vanity and ignorance.
-
-Having driven out the French by deeds of unquestioned valour and
-energy, and with a cruelty which the infamous conduct of Rochambeau
-could palliate, if not justify, the Haytians determined to throw off
-all allegiance to France and establish an independent government.
-
-At Gonaives, on the 1st January 1804, General Dessalines assembled
-all his military chiefs around him and had read to them the Act
-of Independence, which terminated with the words, “for ever to
-renounce France, and to die rather than live under her dominion.” In
-a proclamation, Dessalines was careful to declare that it was not
-their mission to disturb the tranquillity of neighbouring islands,
-but in unmistakable language he called upon them to put to death
-every Frenchman who remained in the island. This was followed by
-a declaration signed by the chief generals choosing Dessalines as
-Governor-General of Hayti for life, with power to name his successor,
-and to make peace or war. He was thus invested with arbitrary power,
-and proceeded to exercise it.
-
-His first act was the one on which his fame rests, and which endears
-his memory to the Haytians. He in fact decreed that all the French
-who were convicted or suspected of having connived at the acts of
-the expelled army, with the exception of certain classes, as priests
-and doctors, should be massacred; and this applied not only to those
-suspected of guilt, but to all their wives and children. Fearing that
-some of his generals, from interest or humanity, might not fully carry
-out his decree, he made a _tournée_ through the different departments,
-and pitilessly massacred every French man, woman, or child that
-fell in his way. One can imagine the saturnalia of these liberated
-slaves enjoying the luxury of shedding the blood of those in whose
-presence they had formerly trembled; and this without danger; for what
-resistance could those helpless men, women, and children offer to their
-savage executioners? Even now one cannot read unmoved the records of
-those days of horror.
-
-Dessalines, like most of those who surrounded him, was in every way
-corrupt; he is said to have spared no man in his anger or woman in his
-lust. He was avaricious, but at the same time he permitted his friends
-to share in the public income by every illicit means. His government
-was indeed so corrupt, that even the native historians allow that the
-administration was distinguished “for plunder, theft, cheating, and
-smuggling.” Dessalines, when he appointed an employé, used to say,
-“Plumez la poule, mais prenez garde qu’elle ne crie,”--the rule by
-which the Government service is still regulated.
-
-The tyranny exercised by Dessalines and his generals on all classes
-made even the former slaves feel that they had changed for the worse.
-There were no courts to mitigate the cruelty of the hard taskmasters,
-who on the slightest pretext would order a man or woman to be beaten to
-death.
-
-In the month of August 1804 news arrived that Buonaparte had raised
-himself to the imperial throne; Dessalines determined not to be
-behindhand, and immediately had himself crowned Emperor. His generals
-were eager that a nobility should be created, but he answered, “I am
-the only noble in Hayti.” As the eastern portion of the island was
-still occupied by the French, he determined to drive them out; but he
-was unable to take the city of Santo Domingo, and retired again to the
-west.
-
-In June 1805 he published a constitution, which was worked out
-without consulting his generals, and created discontent among them. A
-conspiracy was organised; a rising in the south followed a visit from
-Dessalines, where he had given full scope to his brutality, and the
-insurgents marched forward and seized Port-au-Prince. When the Emperor
-heard of this movement, he hastened to the capital, fell into an
-ambuscade, and was shot at Pont Rouge, about half a mile from the city.
-
-The only good quality that Dessalines possessed was a sort of brute
-courage: in all else he was but an African savage, distinguished even
-among his countrymen for his superior ferocity and perfidy. He was
-incapable as an administrator, and treated the public revenue as his
-own private income. He had concubines in every city, who were entitled
-to draw on the treasury to meet their extravagance; in fact, the native
-historians are in truth utterly ashamed of the conduct and civil
-administration of their national hero.
-
-The death of Dessalines proved the signal of a long civil war. A
-National Assembly met at Port-au-Prince, voted a constitution prepared
-by General Pétion, by which the power of the chief of the state was
-reduced to a minimum, and then elected Christophe as first President of
-the republic. He in some respects was another Dessalines, and resented
-this effort to restrain his authority. He marched on the capital of
-the west with twelve thousand men, but after various combats failed
-to capture the city; then retired to Cap Haïtien, and there had a
-constitution voted which proclaimed him President of Hayti.
-
-The Senate again met in Port-au-Prince in 1806 to elect a President,
-and their choice fell on Pétion, who, of all the influential men in
-the west and south, certainly appeared the most deserving. He had
-scarcely been installed, when his generals began to conspire against
-him, and the war with Christophe absorbed most of the resources of the
-country. No event, however, of any great importance occurred till the
-year 1810, when Rigaud, having escaped from France, arrived in Hayti,
-and was received with much enthusiasm. Pétion apparently shared this
-feeling for his old chief, and imprudently gave him the command of the
-southern department. Rigaud was too vain to remain under the authority
-of Pétion, his former subordinate, and therefore separated the south
-from the west. The President would not attempt to prevent this by war,
-and accepted the situation, so that the island was divided into five
-states,--Christophe in the north, the old Spanish colony in the east,
-Pétion in the west, Rigaud in the south, and Goman, a petty African
-chief, in the extreme west of the southern department.
-
-Christophe in 1811 proclaimed himself King and created a nobility.
-Rigaud died, and soon after the south rejoined the west, which was
-menaced by a new invasion from the north. In 1812 Christopher’s
-army advanced to besiege Port-au-Prince; but finding their attacks
-frustrated, the soldiers, weary of the war, began to desert to Pétion,
-and had not the King hastened to raise the siege, it is probable his
-army would have gone over to the enemy.
-
-King Henry I., as he was called, appears then to have abandoned himself
-to his savage temper, and his cruelties might be compared to those of
-Dessalines, and prepared the way for that union of the whole island
-which followed. Pétion, though rather an incapable ruler, was not
-cruel, and attached the people to his government.
-
-In 1814, the fall of Napoleon brought about peace in Europe, and
-the French Government hastened to send agents to Hayti to claim
-submission to the mother country. Pétion refused, whilst offering an
-indemnity to the colonists; but Christophe, having secured the secret
-instructions of the French agent, did not hesitate to execute them.
-These proceedings of the French made the rival chiefs forget their own
-dissensions and prepare to receive another French expedition. Orders
-were given that on its appearance off the coast every town and village
-should be burnt down, and that the inhabitants should retire to the
-mountains. The old planters were urging their Government to destroy all
-the inhabitants of Hayti and repeople it from Africa; but a discovery
-of their projects produced so great an effect in England, that public
-opinion forced the Congress of Vienna to declare that the slave-trade
-was for ever abolished.
-
-In 1816 Pétion named a commission to revise the constitution; the
-principal alterations were to elect a President for life and to add to
-the Senate a Chamber of Deputies. Pétion, however, did not long enjoy
-his new dignity; he died in 1818, at the early age of forty-eight, it
-is said of fever, but the opinion is still prevalent in Hayti that he
-died of weariness of life, brought on by the loss of all his illusions
-and the constant public and private annoyances to which he was subject.
-During his illness he is said to have refused all restoratives, and
-even to have rejected food. Pétion, though not a great man, sincerely
-loved his country, and devoted his energies to govern it well; but he
-was feeble in his measures, and from love of popularity allowed every
-kind of abuse to flourish in the financial administration. M. Robin,
-however, says truly that he was “the most popular and humane chief that
-Hayti ever possessed.”
-
-Boyer, through the energetic intervention of the military, was
-unanimously chosen by the Senate President of the republic, and
-commenced his long career as chief of the state in March 1818. Though
-he committed many faults, he appears to have been the most energetic
-and honest of the series of Haytian rulers. His first care was to
-establish order in the finances; and if his only errors were not to
-have erected a statue to his predecessor or founded an hospital for
-beggars, with which M. Robin appears to reproach him, his friends
-may still be permitted to admire him. Fortune, or rather his energy,
-everywhere favoured him. In 1819 he put down the long-neglected
-insurrection of Goman in the far west, and then prepared to move
-against King Henry, whose savage rule had alienated the affection even
-of his own guards. Struck down by apoplexy, the chief of the northern
-department was deserted by all, and sought refuge from anticipated
-indignities in suicide.
-
-The north almost unanimously determined to rejoin the rest of the
-republic, and Boyer marched on Cap Haïtien, to be received there with
-enthusiasm as the first President of United Hayti.
-
-Christophe was no doubt a very remarkable man, with indomitable energy,
-who saw the necessity of developing his country, but whose despotic
-nature cared not for the means, so that the end were attained. In spite
-of many admitted atrocities, however, there is no doubt he acquired
-a marked ascendancy over the minds of the people, which even to this
-day is not completely lost. Discussions still continue as to the
-rival systems of Pétion and Christophe, but if to secure the greatest
-happiness to the greatest number be the object of government, the
-_laisser-aller_ system of the former was more suited to Haytian nature
-than the severity of the latter. As far as material prosperity was
-concerned, there was no comparison between the two departments, though
-the productiveness of the north was founded on the liberal application
-of the stick. On many of the large estates, a certain number of lashes
-was served out every morning as regularly as the rations.
-
-Boyer’s fortune continued. In 1822 Santo Domingo separated from Spain
-and placed herself under the command of the President of Hayti, who was
-welcomed in the Dominican capital with every demonstration of joy.
-
-In the next important event of his Presidency, Boyer was not so
-fortunate. From the year 1814 France had been continually tormenting
-the Governments of Hayti with the claims of her colonists, and
-negotiations were carried on by the two parties without much success
-till 1825, when Baron de Mackau was sent with a fleet to enforce the
-acceptance of French terms. Though the wording of the royal ordinance
-was mortifying to the Haytians, and the indemnity demanded (£6,000,000)
-out of the power of that little country to pay, yet Boyer and the
-senate thought it better to acquiesce, to avoid the evils of a blockade
-which would have followed refusal. The indemnity was so enormous, that
-although it was subsequently reduced to £3,600,000, it has not yet
-been completely discharged. The terms of the royal ordinance created
-great indignation amongst the people, and the French Government acting
-evasively added to the excitement, and a plot was formed to overthrow
-Boyer. But he showed his usual energy; arrested four conspirators
-and sent them before a court-martial, which, with thorough Haytian
-disregard of justice, allowed no defence, as a pure waste of time, and
-condemned them to death. They were shot under circumstances of even
-unusual barbarity.
-
-These negotiations with France continued to unsettle the country
-until 1838. M. Dupetit Thomars had come to Port-au-Prince, and being
-convinced that Hayti was really unable to pay this great indemnity,
-induced his Government to reconsider the matter; and a fresh mission
-was sent, consisting of Baron de Lascases and Captain Baudin. Two
-treaties were negotiated--one political, by which France acknowledged
-the complete independence of the republic; the second financial,
-by which the balance to be paid of the indemnity was reduced to
-£2,400,000. As thirty years were allowed for this payment, in annual
-instalments on an average of £80,000, no doubt Hayti could have paid
-it had the country remained quiet. The acknowledgment of this debt,
-however, was seized on by the political enemies of Boyer to undermine
-his position, and the cry was raised that he had sold the country to
-the whites. The continued necessity of sending French naval expeditions
-to enforce the payment of the arrears of this debt has been injurious
-to the interests of all Europeans, has increased the unpopularity of
-foreigners, and helped to support the policy of those who wish to keep
-the white man out of the country. Among the people, the popular song
-
-    “Blancs français viennent demander l’argent”
-
-implies that they have unfairly made use of their naval power in order
-to extract money which was not due to them from a people incapable of
-effectual resistance. This wretched debt to France has been the cause
-of half the misfortunes of Hayti.
-
-The Government of General Boyer had certainly the merit of preserving
-tranquillity, and if ever population should have increased in Hayti,
-it was during this tranquil epoch, when for above twenty years no
-blood was shed in warlike operations, and very little in repressing
-conspiracies. In 1825 England formally acknowledged the republic of
-Hayti by entering into relations with her, sending Mr. Mackenzie as
-Consul-General. His reports and writings drew considerable attention to
-the country.
-
-In March 1836 Dr. England negotiated a concordat by which the Pope was
-acknowledged head of the Haytian Church, with the power of confirming
-the nomination of bishops. However, this arrangement had little
-practical effect, as the clergy remained without control, and were a
-scandal to every true Catholic.
-
-I am quite unable to reconcile the reports made of the state of affairs
-in Hayti at this time. After a twenty years’ peace, the country is
-described as in a state of ruin, without trade or resources of any
-kind; with peculation and jobbery paramount in all the public offices;
-an army supposed to consist of 45,000 men, according to the budget; in
-reality few soldiers, but many officers, among whom the appropriations
-were divided. I feel as if I were reading of more modern times instead
-of the halcyon days of Haytian history.
-
-Another of the evils which arose from the indemnity question was the
-special position which it gave to French agents, who, even after the
-independence of the republic had been recognised, affected to treat
-Hayti as a dependency until all the debt should have been paid. The
-most pretentious of these agents at this time threw the whole country
-into commotion on account of an article in a newspaper, and continued
-to harass the Government on every possible occasion with his absurd
-pretensions.
-
-The close of Boyer’s career was as unfortunate as its commencement
-had been the reverse. To the humiliations inflicted by the French
-Consul-General was now added the necessity of saluting the Spanish
-flag under threat of bombardment. Throughout Haytian history these
-affairs are continually recurring; no people are more ready to insult
-foreigners, nor more humiliated by the necessary reparation.
-
-The greatest calamity, however, was the earthquake of 1842, which
-injured every city in the northern department, and almost annihilated
-Cap Haïtien. I have referred to this event in a previous chapter, when
-the peasantry from the plains and mountains, and the officers and
-soldiers of the garrison, vied with each other in plundering the city,
-whilst 5000 of their countrymen were buried in the ruins, the cries of
-many of whom could for days be heard imploring that help which could
-readily have been afforded, but whose supplications were unheeded by
-the brutal populace.
-
-This calamity in the north was followed by another in Port-au-Prince,
-where a large portion of the city was burnt down. These extensive fires
-appear to be incendiary, as they almost always occur at moments of
-political disturbance.
-
-The humiliations inflicted on President Boyer by the French and
-Spaniards, and the discontent that followed the great losses in the
-northern department, encouraged the ill-affected, and early in 1843
-an insurrection broke out under Hérard-Rivière, a fair mulatto. After
-a brief show of resistance, Boyer abdicated in March, thus closing a
-Presidency of twenty-five years.
-
-General Boyer showed considerable talent during his administration,
-but he was essentially narrow-minded, and full of prejudice against
-foreigners. During the last ten years of his rule he had conceived the
-project of expelling them from Hayti in a legal manner by refusing
-any fresh licenses to trade; but though he in some measure succeeded,
-he increased the discontent against him, as his countrymen are only
-capable of conducting with success a retail business, and require
-foreigners for the larger operations of commerce. Boyer had the rare
-quality of being honest, and left in the treasury, on his departure,
-the sum of £200,000, the first and last chief who was ever guilty of
-so unaccountable a weakness. His time is still remembered as one of
-repose, and the troubles which followed his departure soon made even
-his enemies regret his fall. Her Majesty’s corvette “Scylla” had the
-honour of conducting General Boyer and his family to Jamaica. It will
-be noticed hereafter that almost every President has died prematurely,
-or claimed the hospitality of a foreign ship of war to bear him into
-exile.
-
-When the popular army entered Port-au-Prince, it was hailed as the
-precursor of better days, but scarcely had a Provisional Government
-been organised than the blacks began to conspire, as they wanted a
-President of their own colour. General Dalzon went so far as to propose
-that they should put to death every mulatto. However, the latter had
-now the upper hand, and the general was taken, and disappeared from the
-scene.
-
-The most serious result of the overthrow of General Boyer was the
-separation of the eastern end of the island and its formation into a
-distinct republic. The brutality of the Haytian officers and soldiers
-who garrisoned that part of the country no doubt hastened this
-secession. I have often listened to President Geffrard when he was
-describing his own conduct and that of others towards the Dominicans,
-and my only wonder is that they did not separate before.
-
-On December 30, 1843, the Constituent Assembly finished their new
-constitution, and then elected General Hérard-Rivière President of
-Hayti; contemporary accounts say “with much enthusiasm.” He soon
-found it was not a bed of roses. M. Barrot arrived with the object of
-obtaining a monopoly of the Haytian trade for France, by relieving
-the Government of the immediate payment of the instalments due on the
-indemnity. But the President was more anxious to subdue the Dominicans
-than to negotiate, and on their proclaiming their independence in
-February 1844, he collected an army, it is said of from 24,000 to
-30,000 men, and marched to attack them. The numbers must be greatly
-exaggerated; but whatever they were, they did nothing, and after many
-skirmishes they only penetrated as far as Azua, and there the President
-halted, complaining that he was harassed by French intrigues in favour
-of the Dominicans.
-
-How Boyer must have smiled when he heard, within a twelvemonth of his
-departure, that the Government of his successor was considered more
-arbitrary and was more unpopular than his own. In April, after four
-short months of power, Hérard-Rivière was deposed, amidst even greater
-enthusiasm than marked his accession, and banished. General Guerrier
-was elected in his place, and died after a twelvemonth of debauchery.
-In his political acts he appears to have managed fairly well, and he
-had to contend against the French agents, who were working for either a
-protectorate, or, if that were not possible, commercial advantages for
-their country. They made themselves so unpopular that their officers
-and men were insulted in the streets, and their almost open support of
-the Dominican revolt rendered them obnoxious to the Government.
-
-As the popular wish for a black President had been unmistakably
-expressed at the election of Guerrier, an incapable black of the name
-of Pierrot was chosen to succeed him; but his Government was upset
-in less than a twelvemonth, and President Riché, another black, was
-chosen by the troops at St. Marc, who did not wish to march against
-the Dominicans (March 1, 1846). In almost every encounter the Haytian
-troops were defeated by a handful of their enemies; they had no heart
-in the war, and the exaggerated stories of the peculiarly objectionable
-mutilations from which their prisoners suffered, and the arrival of
-some of these unfortunates, spread a panic in the Haytian army, and
-they would not march!
-
-Riché has left a very good reputation as a President, which may
-partly be accounted for by his judicious choice of ministers. He
-had Celigny-Ardruin and Dupuy among them, and both these men were
-considered capable administrators, and both will again appear upon the
-scene.
-
-The black mob in the south rose in arms against Riché, but after some
-resistance the movement was suppressed. Unfortunately for the country,
-this Presidency did not last a twelvemonth, as Riché died on the 27th
-February 1847. He was sincerely regretted, as, although an ignorant
-man, he was capable of choosing good advisers. He left the country
-perfectly tranquil, with reduced expenditure, order in the finances,
-and his firm hand had been felt throughout the republic. He protected
-foreigners, without whom he saw there was no prosperity possible.
-During the time of Guerrier and Pierrot there was a perfect mania for
-public employment, and every officer appeared to wish to live in luxury
-at the expense of the state; but Riché’s prudent management checked
-this infatuation. His Government restored the constitution of 1816,
-which, though it included Article 7, directed against foreigners
-acquiring real property, yet assured freedom of worship. He too is said
-to have died at an advanced age from the effects of debauchery.
-
-On March 2 the enlightened Ministers of the late General Riché chose
-as President of the republic a black captain of the guards of the name
-of Soulouque. He was an ignorant, stupid man, completely unfit for any
-public employment, but it is said that he was chosen as an instrument
-that could be easily handled by his Ministers. He was known to be given
-up to fetish worship, and soon after his election he began to fear
-that some _wanga_ or poison might be given him. He put aside Riché’s
-Ministers, to supply their place with nonentities, and advanced to the
-first rank the most ignorant blacks of the army. He excited hatred
-against the men of colour, whom he feared for their intelligence; but,
-alarmed by his growing unpopularity, he dismissed his incapables and
-restored Dupuy and others to power.
-
-Soulouque had placed in command of his guards a general of the name
-of Similien, who was the black the most notorious for his hatred of
-the mulattoes that he could find. During the absence of the President
-in the north, this man refused to obey the orders of the Government,
-seized the palace, and threatened to massacre the mulattoes, but this
-result was deferred for a short time.
-
-A curious affair occurred towards the end of 1847. A senator of the
-name of Courtois had written an article in a newspaper at which the
-President took offence; though Courtois was a scurrilous writer who
-had been previously tried for an insolent article, but who had been
-triumphantly acquitted when it was found he only insulted the foreign
-community, and had on this last occasion written some reasonable
-comments on the attitude assumed by General Similien and his followers.
-The Senate, to please the President, sentenced Courtois to a month’s
-imprisonment. But when Soulouque heard of this, he went into one of his
-ungovernable passions, assembled his generals, called out his troops,
-and condemned Courtois to death, and ordered the immediate execution of
-the culprit. The sentence would certainly have been carried into effect
-had not our agents, Consul Ussher, Vice-Consul Wyke, and the French
-Consul-General Raybaud interfered, and persuaded Soulouque to pardon
-him; he was, however, banished. And Senator Courtois, who owed his life
-to foreigners, had spent his best energies in abusing them!
-
-Throughout the spring of 1848 an uneasy feeling appears to have
-pervaded the country that some calamity was about to take place. On
-the 9th April the rabble assembled round the palace and demanded that
-the respectable Ministry then in power should be dismissed. As this
-movement was evidently encouraged by Soulouque, they resigned; but
-all were assembled at the palace on the 16th April, when suddenly the
-guards, who had been drawn up before it, opened fire upon the crowd
-in the galleries and rooms, and a _sauve qui peut_ followed. General
-Dupuy told me that in a moment he comprehended that a massacre of the
-mulattoes was meant; he sprang on a horse, and dashed for the high iron
-railings that surrounded the palace gardens, jumped down, and although
-closely pursued, managed to get over these high rails, how he knew not,
-and escaped. Celigny-Ardruin, less fortunate, was severely wounded, and
-as he lay on a sofa was reviled by the President, who said he should be
-shot. Consul Ussher was present in the palace during this scene, and
-acted admirably, with his colleague of France, in trying to save those
-who had not been able to put themselves under their direct protection.
-He ran the greatest personal dangers, and narrowly escaped being shot
-by the excited soldiery.
-
-From the palace the massacring passed on to the town, where every
-mulatto who showed himself was shot; many assembled in groups to defend
-themselves, but only hastened their fate, whilst hundreds ran for
-refuge to the Consulates. The news spread to the southern department,
-and murder and plunder followed in every district, and the property
-of the mulattoes was given to the flames. A few black generals who
-tried to preserve order were shot as accomplices of the mulattoes in
-their supposed conspiracy. The President was delighted with the energy
-of his supporters in the south, and went in person to thank them. On
-his return he pardoned six innocent men, and thus gained a little
-popularity among his cowed adversaries. It is pleasant to know how our
-acting Consul Wyke worked to save those menaced with death. But even
-he had little influence over the faithless President, who would grant
-a pardon at his intercession, and then shoot the pardoned prisoner.
-After General Desmaril and Edmond Felix had been executed in 1849 in
-the market-place, and died after receiving twenty discharges, Soulouque
-went with his staff to inspect their mangled bodies and gloat over the
-scene. Naturally Celigny-Ardruin did not escape; he was shot, but Wyke
-was enabled to save many others and send them out of the country. In
-fact, the chiefs of the mulatto party who escaped death had all to go
-into exile.
-
-In January 1849, I may notice, Soulouque had abolished the Ministry
-and named as Secretary-General Dufrène, and as Minister of Finance
-Salomon, the present President of Hayti; and in April, invigorated by
-his massacre of the mulattoes, invaded Santo Domingo with a numerous
-army. He had some success at Azua and St. Jean, but he was surprised
-at Ocoa by General Santana, and the whole Haytian army fled before 500
-Dominicans. And these were the descendants of the men who fought so
-bravely against the French. It was after this defeat that Soulouque
-returned to his capital, and, full of anger at his discomfiture,
-committed the judicial murders previously recorded.
-
-All black chiefs have a hankering after the forms as well as the
-substance of despotic power, and Soulouque was no exception to the
-rule. He therefore decided to follow in the footsteps of Dessalines,
-and was elected Emperor, August 26, 1849. A fresh constitution was
-naturally required, and this was a strange medley of republican and
-aristocratic institutions. Soulouque did not disappoint his generals,
-and created a nobility: four princes and fifty-nine dukes headed the
-list, to be followed by innumerable marquises, counts, and barons. This
-contented the chiefs, and quiet reigned for a short time.
-
-In 1850, England, France, and the United States united to oppose
-diplomatically the war with Santo Domingo; during these long
-negotiations the Haytian Government appeared influenced by the
-conviction that to concede independence to Santo Domingo would
-introduce the foreign element into the island, and, by the development
-of the eastern province, end in robbing Hayti of its independence. A
-year’s truce was obtained, however, in October 1851. The negotiations
-were admirably conducted by our agent, Consul-General Ussher. One of
-the difficulties against which the diplomatists had to contend was
-the personal feelings of the Emperor, which had been outraged by the
-Dominicans calling him a _rey de farsa_, an _opera bouffé_ king. There
-is no doubt but that they really did look for assistance abroad, owing
-to the poverty of the country arising from their eight years’ war
-with Hayti, and the internal dissensions which always follow national
-financial pressure.
-
-On the 18th April 1852 Soulouque was crowned Emperor under the
-title of Faustin I. He had no fear of exciting discontent by lavish
-expenditure. He paid £2000 for his crown, and spent £30,000 for the
-rest of the paraphernalia. He was liberal to his nobility, and had few
-internal troubles after he shot his Grand Judge Francisque and four
-companions for supposed conspiracy, and had condemned Prince Bobo for
-some imprudent words.
-
-Soulouque, it is fair to say, gained the good opinion of many of our
-countrymen on account of the protection which he generally accorded
-to foreigners, and a supposed predilection for the English, which the
-manly and conciliatory conduct of our agents had greatly fostered,
-and which contrasted with that of the French agents, who brought a
-fleet to Port-au-Prince under Admiral Duquesne to threaten to bombard
-the capital (1853). No events occurred worthy of record, except the
-interminable negotiations to induce the Emperor to conclude peace with
-Santo Domingo, which occupied 1853 and 1854.
-
-The year 1855 was enlivened by a very comic quarrel between the Haytian
-Government and the Spanish agent. The Emperor had decided that every
-one that passed the palace should show his respect for his office by
-raising his hat. It appears that a Spanish employé did not observe this
-formality, and was stopped by the guard, who insisted on his complying
-with it. The Emperor, attracted by the altercation, put his head out of
-a window of the palace and cried, “Qui moun-ça sacré f---- blanc qui
-veut pas saluer mon palais, f----?” The Spaniard had a long discussion
-with the Haytian Foreign Office, and would not accept the denial by the
-Emperor of his having used these words--in fact, there was much ado
-about nothing.
-
-In spite of all the efforts of the foreign agents, Soulouque
-in December 1855 marched with all his forces to attack the
-Dominicans--those under his personal command numbering, it is said,
-15,000 men. But in January 1856 he was disgracefully beaten by the
-enemy. His troops fled at the first volley, and losing their way in the
-woods, fell into the hands of their enemies, who did not spare them.
-The Emperor, furious at his defeat, shot several superior officers for
-treachery or cowardice, and then returned with the remains of his army
-to his capital, where he was received in mournful silence, amid the
-scarcely-concealed murmurs of the people; the muttered curses of the
-women at the loss of their relatives being particularly remarked.
-
-This dissatisfaction could not escape the notice of the Emperor, and to
-assuage his outraged feelings he shot sixteen men in Les Cayes, amid
-such circumstances of barbarity that even Haytians of all classes were
-moved by feelings of indignation and disgust. But Soulouque cared not;
-he shot three more and condemned above fifty to his dungeons, where
-little more was heard of them; in fact, they are said to have been
-beaten or starved to death.
-
-After renewed efforts on the part of foreign agents, a truce of two
-years was negotiated with Santo Domingo. The fall of the empire was
-now a mere matter of time. The people were disgusted with the losses
-incurred during the last invasion of the eastern province, which had
-been more disastrous than all the former attacks; the finances were in
-the greatest disorder; peculation and pillage were the order of the
-day; a great incendiary fire in Port-au-Prince occurred in 1857, and
-in 1858 heavy commercial failures followed a wild speculation in bills
-and coffee. Discontent was rife, and all turned their eyes to General
-Geffrard as the only man that could rescue them from this disastrous
-condition of affairs. He had gained great popularity in the army
-during the last invasion, when he commanded the rear-guard, and it was
-acknowledged that his bravery and devotion had saved the remnants of
-the troops from destruction. The Haytians had had four black rulers in
-succession, and thought they could not be less prosperous under the
-rule of an intelligent mulatto.
-
-The Emperor kept a watch on Geffrard, but he behaved with so much
-prudence that there was no excuse to imprison him. At last, in December
-1858, the order for his arrest was given; but warned by a friend, he
-embarked during the night in an open boat with a few followers, and on
-his arrival at the town of Gonaives proclaimed the deposition of the
-Emperor and the re-establishment of the republic. He was received “with
-enthusiasm,” and in a few days all the north and north-west adhered to
-the revolution, and he began his march on Port-au-Prince with an army
-of about 6000 men.
-
-On hearing of this insurrection, the Emperor moved out to meet his
-opponent, but with only 3000 discontented men, who, after a skirmish
-with the insurgents, retreated, and Soulouque re-entered Port-au-Prince
-with his forces reduced by desertion to 1500. Finding that the whole
-country had declared against him, the Emperor abdicated on the 15th
-January 1859, and retired for safety to the French Legation.
-
-On his first arrival on the 10th, Soulouque, furious with his rival,
-ordered Madame Geffrard and her daughters to be put to death, but
-yielded to the intercession of our agents. However, the populace of all
-colours were so united against the ex-Emperor and some of his chiefs,
-that fears were entertained that they would break into the French
-Legation and kill all the refugees. The attitude of the tumultuous
-crowd became so menacing, and the indifference of the Haytian guard so
-marked, that M. Mellines appealed to our acting Consul-General Byron
-for protection.
-
-Hearing of the danger to which all foreigners were exposed in
-Port-au-Prince, the captain of an English transport, the “Melbourne,”
-with the consent of Captain M’Crea, who commanded a detachment of
-artillery on board, steered for the capital and arrived at a critical
-moment. Seeing that the French Legation was about to be invaded, Byron
-took the bold resolution of calling on Captain M’Crea to land his
-artillerymen and protect the refugees. This they did, and, strange
-to say, the mob, instead of resenting this armed interference, were
-delighted at the magnificent appearance of the men and their perfect
-discipline, and cheered them more than ever they cheered one of their
-own regiments. This movement saved the Emperor; he and his followers
-were subsequently embarked on board the “Melbourne,” and followed Boyer
-and Hérard-Rivière to Jamaica.
-
-Too much credit cannot be given to this bold proceeding of Mr. Byron
-and of Captain M’Crea; it had an admirable effect, and for years after,
-the landing of these fine men was a subject of conversation among the
-people. All felt that more had been saved than the French Legation and
-the lives of the refugees, as once pillage had commenced it would have
-been difficult to prevent it spreading through the town.
-
-Thus closed the ignoble reign of Soulouque, one of the most
-contemptible that ever existed even in Hayti. Peculation on the one
-hand, and cruelty and cowardice on the other, marked almost every event
-of these disastrous twelve years of misgovernment.
-
-When ignorance ceased to govern, vanity appeared to follow. Judging
-after the events, it seems clear that General Geffrard might have
-avoided many of the difficulties of his Presidency, had he called good
-men to his councils and listened to their advice. He, however, would do
-all himself, and treated his Ministers as if they were but head clerks.
-He really thought he knew more than any of those who surrounded him,
-and perhaps he did.
-
-The revolution was conducted with exemplary moderation, and the great
-and small plunderers of the preceding reign succeeded in securing their
-ill-gotten wealth; for though the properties of certain persons were
-sequestrated, it had little practical effect. I have seen a trustworthy
-paper of the amounts taken by the Emperor and his followers, and they
-were so enormous as to surpass belief.
-
-Geffrard’s difficulties were great, as he had to conciliate the black
-party and appoint as Ministers certain foremost generals of that
-colour, and their ignorance and stupidity were almost beyond anything
-that can be conceived; and this is the President’s best excuse for
-having tried to govern himself. And yet the extreme section of the
-party was not satisfied, and soon after Geffrard’s advent to power
-began to conspire against him, and to raise the cry that he was about
-to sell the country to the whites. As soon as a coloured chief shows
-the slightest desire to modify any legislation hostile to foreigners,
-this cry is raised, and prevents many improvements.
-
-To show of what a negro conspirator is capable, I must enter into a few
-particulars of what was called the conspiracy of General Prophète. In
-September of 1859, the year of Geffrard’s advent to power, a section
-of the blacks determined to murder him. They knew that he was a most
-affectionate father, and accustomed to visit every evening Madame
-Blanfort, his newly-married daughter; they therefore laid an ambush
-for him behind a ruined wall that skirted the street that led to
-her house. The usual hour having passed for the evening visit, the
-conspirators began to fear that their project might fail that night
-and be discovered, so they moved quietly towards Madame Blanfort’s
-residence, and looking through the window, saw the young bride seated
-reading, evidently awaiting her father’s arrival. The conspirators held
-a hurried consultation, and decided to murder the daughter, in the
-expectation that Geffrard, on hearing what had occurred, would rush
-out. They therefore returned to the window, and a negro named Sarron
-raised his blunderbuss, fired at the girl, and killed her on the spot.
-Geffrard heard the shot, and rushing to the palace door, would have
-fallen into the ambush had not some friends seized and detained him.
-
-Fortunately these conspirators were as stupid as they were brutal, and
-the whole of them were taken. The chief of the political conspiracy
-was allowed to depart, whilst the others, to the number of sixteen,
-were shot. It was stated at the time that too many suffered, but they
-were all equally guilty, for although all had not been consulted as
-to murdering the daughter, all meant to assassinate the father. These
-conspirators were most of them aides-de-camp to the President, and
-belonged to what are called the best families of the capital. What is a
-President to do with such people?
-
-In March 1860 a concordat was signed with the See of Rome, an account
-of which as amended is given in another chapter. In September there was
-a fresh conspiracy to murder Geffrard, in which a man named Florosin
-was implicated, and therefore the plot was called after him. In the
-following year Hayti reaped the fruit of her obstinacy in refusing
-to acknowledge the independence of the eastern province. Discouraged
-by the continual state of tension in their relations with the black
-republic, the Dominicans decided to return to their allegiance to
-Spain, and in March 1861 Santo Domingo was declared a Spanish colony,
-with the Dominican General Santana as first Governor-General. Geffrard
-thus found himself face to face with a new danger, as every question
-remained unsettled, including the important one of boundaries.
-
-The annexation to Spain had been brought about by Santana and his
-party, but was opposed by another faction, who crossed over into
-Hayti, and there being secretly furnished with arms and money by the
-authorities, invaded the Spanish colony and commenced a guerilla
-warfare. They were beaten, and twenty-one being taken, were summarily
-shot by Santana.
-
-Proofs having then been obtained of the complicity of the Haytian
-Government in this movement, Spain determined to punish these
-intermeddlers. A fleet was sent to Port-au-Prince, with orders to
-demand an indemnity of £40,000, to be paid in forty-eight hours, and a
-salute which was not to be returned. The money was not to be had at
-so short a notice, and the discontented blacks threatened to upset the
-Government and massacre the whites if a salute were fired first.
-
-At that time the chief representative of the foreign powers was
-Mr. Byron, our acting Consul-General, and on him fell the sole
-responsibility of effecting an amicable arrangement and preventing
-the threatened bombardment. He saw the Spanish admiral Rubalcava, of
-whom he ever spoke in the highest terms, explained the difficulties of
-Geffrard’s position, and obtained important concessions--first, as to
-the payment of the indemnity, which was ultimately reduced to £5000,
-and, second, that the Haytian salute should be returned. He then went
-to the palace, smiled at the fears of the rabble, and gave the resolute
-advice to brave them and fire the salute. This was done, and all passed
-off as well as he had predicted. Throughout their history, the Haytians
-have been thus beholden to the agents of England and France.
-
-In November 1861, General Legros _père_ conspired to upset the
-Government, but these mild plotters were only banished or imprisoned.
-This abortive movement was followed (1862) by an attempted insurrection
-of the Salomon family in the south. This conspiracy, the third in which
-they were accused of being engaged, was a complete fiasco, but it cost
-the lives of fourteen of their members.
-
-One of the promises made by the new Government was a reform in the
-finances and a reduction of useless expenditure; but Geffrard’s
-incapable or corrupt Ministers had not fulfilled that promise. The
-Chambers were naturally curious as to the disappearance of millions
-of dollars without any explanation being forthcoming, and forced two
-incapables to resign, and General Dupuy, the Minister of Riché, was
-summoned from London to take charge of the finances. He was a very
-intelligent man, quite worthy of the post, and his appointment inspired
-confidence; but the Opposition in the Chambers continued their attacks
-on the Government, and at last Geffrard was forced to dissolve and
-order fresh elections. There can be no doubt that so many abuses were
-protected as to justify much discontent, but the Opposition might have
-been more moderate considering the difficulties of the situation, the
-insurrection in the east against the Spaniards, and the continued
-conspiracies of the blacks.
-
-Geffrard and Dupuy were both anxious to modify Article 7 of the
-constitution, aimed against foreigners, but the proposition was so
-badly received that it was withdrawn.
-
-Another rising (May 1863) of the Legros family followed in Gonaives.
-As they had been the principal instruments of the revolution in favour
-of Geffrard, their defection can only be accounted for by unsatisfied
-ambition and the desire to secure the spoils of office. It failed, and
-eight were shot.
-
-In September 1863 Monseigneur Testard de Cosquer was named Archbishop
-of Port-au-Prince. He was one of the most agreeable men I have ever
-met, remarkably eloquent, and of fine presence; he did not, however,
-arrive at the capital until June of the following year. Disgusted with
-what was passing in his country, General Dupuy resigned his position
-as Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, and was succeeded by M.
-Auguste Elie, than whom a better choice could not have been made.
-
-The year 1864 was distinguished for its conspiracies. In May a Colonel
-Narcisse denounced four coloured men of the best position in the
-capital as being engaged in a plot. The proofs of an active conspiracy
-were wanting. As I have given details of the trial in another chapter,
-I need only say that they were condemned to death, but their sentence
-was commuted at the intercession of the diplomatic corps. In July there
-was a conspiracy at Cap Haïtien by General Longuefosse, but the people
-not joining, he was taken and shot, with three of his companions. This
-was followed by another, in which Salnave, afterwards a revolutionary
-President of Hayti, first made his appearance in rather an interesting
-manner. General Philippeaux, Minister of War, had been sent by Geffrard
-to Cap Haïtien to restore order after Longuefosse’s abortive plot, when
-a conspiracy was formed in an artillery corps to murder Philippeaux,
-and Salnave was chosen to carry it into execution. One evening the
-Minister of War was sitting playing cards in a verandah, when Salnave,
-ensconced behind a neighbouring tree, raised his carbine and fired at
-him; the ball struck Philippeaux above the temple and glanced off. Not
-even the solid skull of a black could have resisted the bullet, had not
-the Minister, at the moment when Salnave fired, slightly turned his
-head.
-
-I may notice that in 1865 Spain abandoned Santo Domingo, and the
-Dominican republic was restored. If ever the true history be written of
-that temporary resuscitation of a colony, Spaniards themselves will be
-astonished at the revelations of iniquity and fraud that brought about
-the revolution against them.
-
-The year 1865 was an unfortunate one for Hayti. First a great fire
-burnt down three hundred and fifty houses in the best part of the
-capital; then there was a movement in the south; then one in the
-north, where Salnave, invading that department from Santo Domingo,
-found all ready to receive him. The regiments joined him or dispersed;
-but the rapid movement of Geffrard’s troops under Generals Morisset
-and Barthélemy, both of whom were killed fighting, disconcerted the
-conspirators, and they were soon driven from the country districts
-and forced to take refuge in Cap Haïtien. Had not many of the chiefs
-of Geffrard’s army been traitors to his cause, the whole affair might
-have been over in a month. A siege commenced, which appeared likely
-to endure long, when an incident occurred which forced on foreign
-intervention.
-
-Salnave was a bold, unscrupulous man, who had been put forward by
-some discontented deputies and others to do their work; but his main
-reliance was on the mob. Those of Geffrard’s friends who could not
-escape from the town took refuge with the Consuls, and the English and
-American naval officers had constantly to interfere, even by landing
-men, to prevent the violation of the Consulates. Captain Heneage, of
-H.M.S. “Lily,” conspicuously distinguished himself. At last Geffrard
-left the capital to command the army, but he found he could do little
-among his intriguing officers: he, however, certainly showed want of
-dash on this occasion.
-
-Then came the “Bulldog” incident. Captain Wake had excited the ire
-of the insurgents by protecting a British vessel; and to show their
-anger, under the direction of Delorme, Salnave’s principal adviser,
-they rushed down to our Consulate, and took by force certain persons
-who were under the protection of our flag. The “Bulldog” steamed into
-harbour to obtain redress, and ran aground. A combat ensued, and
-finding he could not get his vessel off, Captain Wake blew her up, and
-retired with the crew in his boats.
-
-All the persons taken from our Consulate had in the meantime been
-murdered. On hearing of these transactions, I went up in H.M.S.
-“Galatea” with the “Lily,” and being unable to obtain any adequate
-satisfaction, the outer forts were bombarded. Geffrard’s army rushed
-in, and the insurrection was at an end. Salnave and followers escaped
-in the United States ship “Desoto,” after leaving orders to burn down
-the town, which his men only partly effected.
-
-I may notice that the right of asylum under foreign flags is considered
-so sacred in Hayti, that it was once introduced as an article of the
-constitution. All parties are equally interested in its observance, as
-only thus can they hope to escape the first fury of their adversaries,
-and give time for passions to cool.
-
-If 1865 was a disastrous year for Hayti, 1866 was worse. A great fire
-broke out in Port-au-Prince, and eight hundred houses are said to have
-been destroyed. I again noticed the apathy of the negroes, whether
-official or otherwise. They came and looked on, but did nothing either
-to check the flames or arrest the incendiaries. Whilst we were working
-to save our Legation from the fire, which was already scorching its
-walls, my servant called my attention to some negroes that had entered
-with torches ill concealed under their coats. I had to seize a revolver
-and hold it to a man’s head before I could force them to retire. Had
-our brick house taken fire, they knew the rest of the town must go. Few
-except the Europeans cared to exert themselves, and when they brought
-out a fire-engine the mob instantly cut the hose and gave themselves up
-to pillage. The French _chargé d’affaires_ asked a man why he did not
-assist in putting out a fire burning before him? His answer was, “My
-house is already burned: why should I aid others?”
-
-Geffrard could not but notice, in his opening speech to the Chambers,
-that the northern insurrection had created so great an expenditure
-that all progress was checked; but it had no effect. Another effort
-at revolution was made at Gonaives, where the mob plundered and burnt
-about fifty houses, to be followed by further troubles and incendiary
-fires at Cap Haïtien, Port-au-Prince, and St. Marc. The arsenal
-in the capital was blown up in September; two hundred houses were
-overthrown, and the guard killed, besides many of the inhabitants.
-One little boy whom I knew had his ear taken off by a piece of shell
-without further injury. During these occurrences, bands of negroes
-were wandering through the south burning and pillaging, unchecked by
-the local authorities. It was asked, how could a people exist under
-such circumstances? But people must eat; the majority do not join in
-these disorders, and all the women and children work. The following
-years showed to what a country can submit from the perverse conduct of
-interested politicians.
-
-It was now evident that Geffrard must give up power, as, rightly or
-wrongly, people were dissatisfied with him, find wanted a change.
-In February 1867 there was a hostile movement on the part of some
-companies of Geffrard’s favourite troops, the tirailleurs, the only
-disciplined battalions that I ever saw in Hayti; and though this was
-suppressed by their companions, the Government was irretrievably
-shaken. The comparatively bad crops of 1865 and 1866 were said to
-be the fault of the authorities, and no amnesties or changes in the
-Ministry could satisfy the discontented. Geffrard determined therefore
-to abdicate, and on March 13, 1867, he embarked for Jamaica. He had
-convoked the Senate for the 16th in order to give over the reins of
-power to them, but his timid friends persuaded him to go at once, as
-the north was in insurrection. The Spanish _chargé d’affaires_ was with
-him throughout these scenes, and Geffrard’s last words were, “Poor
-country! what a state of anarchy will follow my departure!”
-
-In my chapter on the Mulattoes, I have given a sketch of Geffrard, and
-I need not repeat it here. I was not blind to his faults, but of all
-the rulers of Hayti he was certainly the most enlightened, and the most
-thoroughly devoted to his country. Had he been as perfect a ruler as
-the world could produce, he would never have satisfied his countrymen.
-The blacks wanted a black, the mulattoes wanted any one else, so that
-there was a change. And yet I believe the mass of the people cared
-little except for tranquillity.
-
-A committee was formed to revise the constitution, but Salnave had
-landed in Cap Haïtien, assumed power, and proceeded to exercise it. He
-arrested some chiefs of the negroes dwelling in the Black Mountains,
-and instantly shot them; their friends took up arms, and, under the
-name of the “Cacos,” were a thorn in the side of the new _régime_. He
-then marched on Port-au-Prince, seized the Government, and arrested
-General Montas, who had commanded in the north under Geffrard. Tired of
-the delays of a Constituent Assembly, he sent a mob to frighten them.
-They took the hint, voted the constitution the next day, and, _l’epée à
-la gorge_, elected Salnave President of Hayti, June 16, 1867. In July a
-treaty was signed between Hayti and Santo Domingo, thus ending the long
-war.
-
-The Chambers met in the autumn, and Madame Montas presented a petition
-on the subject of the imprisonment of her husband. On some deputies
-insisting on an explanation, Delorme, the Chief Minister of Salnave,
-sprang on the table and denounced these deputies as enemies of
-Government. Pistol-shots were fired; Salnave advanced at the head of
-his guards, and the Assembly dispersed. Riots followed. The Government
-attempted to arrest five prominent members of the Opposition, but they
-escaped and returned home to their constituents, and constitutional
-government ceased to exist.
-
-The movement of the Cacos in the Black Mountains now began to alarm
-the Government, and Salnave started for the north to put himself at
-the head of the army operating against the insurgents. There were many
-skirmishes, that at Mombin Crochu being the most important, where
-Salnave lost heavily.
-
-I do not think it necessary to do more than briefly notice the events
-of Salnave’s Presidency of thirty months. It was one long civil war.
-Disgusted at the treatment of their deputies, the towns began to
-declare against the Government. The uprising was accelerated by the
-meeting of the Chambers being postponed and Salnave being declared
-Dictator. In April 1868, Nissage-Saget took up arms in St. Marc; the
-south was in movement and the insurgents marching towards the capital,
-where a crowd of young men armed with swordsticks and pocket-pistols
-made a feeble attempt at insurrection, but dispersed at the first fire.
-In the midst of this commotion Salnave came into the harbour with
-five hundred men, to whom he gave permission to plunder the Rue de
-Frentfort, where the principal retail dealers live. The phrase of their
-colonel on this occasion has become a proverb: “Mes enfans, pillez en
-bon ordre.” Only the vigorous remonstrances of the diplomatic corps
-prevented further outrages. Delorme, accused by Salnave of having shown
-weakness whilst in charge of the Government during his absence, retired
-from office and left the country.
-
-The insurgent armies closed in round Port-au-Prince, but as the town
-did not capitulate at their martial aspect, they did nothing, whilst
-the garrison was only waiting for the excuse of an attack in order to
-disperse. This delay was fatal; the chiefs, instead of confronting
-the common enemy, were quarrelling as to the choice of the future
-President, each thinking himself the most worthy, when the negroes
-of the mountains, encouraged by the Government, rose in arms to
-attack the towns, and forced the besieging army to retire to protect
-their own families and property. These bands of negroes, under the
-name of “Piquets,” were only formidable from their numbers, but the
-injuries they did in the south have not been repaired to this day. The
-insurgents raised the siege of the capital in August; and in September,
-to prevent further dissensions, Nissage-Saget was chosen President for
-the north at St. Marc, and Domingue at Les Cayes for the south.
-
-The year 1869 was the most disastrous I have known in Haytian history.
-Fighting was going on in every district. In the north the insurgents
-were besieging Cap Haïtien; in the south the Government was vainly
-attacking Jacmel, Jérémie, and Les Cayes. In the beginning of the
-year President Salnave had the advantage of commanding the seas with
-his steamers, and surrounding Les Cayes on every side, he vigorously
-pressed the siege. When it was about to fall, General Monplaisir-Pierre
-assembled a small army around him, cut his way through the besieging
-forces, and arrived just in time to save Domingue and his Government,
-who were preparing to embark for Jamaica. This was one of the few
-gallant actions of the war.
-
-Another was General Brice’s splendid defence of Jérémie when attacked
-by superior forces and bombarded by vessels purchased by Salnave in
-America.
-
-In July 1869 the insurgents obtained a couple of steamers, and the
-aspect of the war changed. They were enabled thus to relieve the south
-by capturing the vessels that blockaded Les Cayes; and then, returning
-north, excited the fears of the Government partisans. Gonaives
-surrendered to the insurgents under conditions, and General Chevalier
-arrived with the garrison to increase the confusion at the capital. The
-Ministry resigned under his threats, and only the sudden arrival of
-Salnave from the south prevented Chevalier from usurping his place.
-
-From this time forward the fortunes of Salnave paled. Cap Haïtien
-surrendered to the insurgents; the President’s army under Chevalier
-besieging Jacmel went over to the enemy; and suddenly, on the 18th
-December 1870, the insurgents made the most gallant dash of the whole
-war. Before daylight, two vessels laden with troops steamed quietly
-into the harbour, surprised a new gunboat belonging to the Government,
-and then immediately landed about a thousand men. The leaders of this
-expedition were Generals Brice and Boisrond-Canal. It was a splendid
-_coup_, as Salnave’s garrison consisted of over three thousand men.
-Some sharp fighting occurred, and the insurgents could just hold
-their own, when General Turenne-Carrié arrived by land with strong
-reinforcements, and rendered the combat more equal.
-
-Whilst the fighting was going on, a strong appeal was made by chiefs
-of both parties to the diplomatic corps to interfere and try to save
-the town, which was menaced with destruction. The representatives of
-France, England, and the United States therefore went to the palace,
-but could do no more than effect a truce till the next morning.
-
-Salnave, however, hoping to surprise his enemies during this truce,
-made a sudden onslaught on them; but after about two hours’ fighting,
-his men were repulsed with heavy loss. Early in the morning, the
-gunboat that had been surprised in harbour opened fire upon the palace
-under the direction of the insurgents, and its heavy shell falling in
-the courtyard began to disperse the garrison, when another pitched on
-the palace ignited a small powder-magazine, and a severe explosion took
-place. As great stores of powder existed there, every one near fled.
-Salnave and his troops retired to the mountains _viâ_ La Coupe, and
-soon after another terrific explosion took place that shook the town,
-followed by one still more severe. Fortunately the fire did not reach
-the great magazine, or few houses would have resisted the concussion.
-
-Before leaving, Salnave ordered fire to be set to the town to retard
-pursuit. Our men were disembarked from H.M.S. “Defence” under the
-present admiral, Noel Salmon, and greatly contributed to prevent the
-spread of the flames; but it was calculated that at least a thousand
-houses and huts were destroyed.
-
-I have passed rapidly over the events of this year, but it was
-certainly the most trying I have ever known. The diplomatic corps was
-continually forced to interfere to check the arbitrary conduct of the
-authorities, who seized our ships, arrested our subjects, insulted us
-in the streets, and to awe the disaffected employed bands of villanous
-negroes and negresses to parade the town, who murdered those selected
-by their enemies, wantonly killing a young Frenchman and many others.
-
-Nothing was saved from them, neither our mail-bags nor our property.
-Fortunately we were well supported by our naval officers, and we were
-thoroughly well backed by the French marine. Admiral Mequet and Captain
-De Varannes of the “D’Estrés” were conspicuous by their friendly
-feeling; and as Admiral Phillimore was at that time commodore in
-Jamaica, the English were sure of receiving all the support that it was
-in his power to give. I think we owed our lives to the aid we received
-from the presence of our ships, commanded by Captains Kelly, M’Crea,
-Glynn, Murray Aynesley, Carnegie, Lowther, Allington, and many others.
-
-I may conclude my account of Salnave by saying that he attempted to
-reach Santo Domingo city, but was stopped on the frontiers by the
-Dominican insurgent Cabral, who took him and his followers prisoners,
-and sent them to Port-au-Prince. Six chiefs were shot as insurgents
-taken with arms in their hands, whilst Salnave was brought into
-the capital, tried by a military commission under General Lorquet,
-condemned to death for incendiarism and murder, and shot that same
-evening at sunset. He behaved with considerable coolness and calmness,
-and when he heard the sentence pronounced, asked for a quarter of an
-hour’s respite, and then wrote his wishes as to the disposition of his
-property, and a few words to his family.
-
-Salnave was in every respect unfitted to be a ruler; he was ignorant,
-debauched, and cruel; loved to be surrounded by the lowest of the low,
-who turned the palace into a rendezvous where the scum of the negresses
-assembled to dance and drink, so that no respectable person ever
-willingly entered it. He attended the meetings of the Vaudoux, and is
-accused of joining in their greatest excesses. He first brought himself
-prominently forward by attempting to murder General Philippeaux,
-and during his Presidency shot his enemies without mercy. I do not
-think that he had a redeeming quality, except a certain amount of
-determination, and perhaps bravery, though he was never known to expose
-himself to personal danger.
-
-General Nissage-Saget was elected President of Hayti on the 19th March
-1870, and four years of peace followed. The country was so exhausted
-by the long civil war, that although there was some discontent among
-the followers of Salnave and the extreme black party, no movement had
-a chance of success. The Chambers occasionally quarrelled with the
-executive, but their title to esteem rests on their efforts to restore
-the currency. They decided to withdraw the depreciated paper notes
-and introduce silver dollars, and in this they completely succeeded.
-It caused some suffering at first, but on the whole it was a sound
-measure, wisely carried out.
-
-Nissage-Saget, though incapable in many respects, generally adhered
-to the constitution. However, in 1872 he created some commotion by
-pardoning all political prisoners at the demand of the army, though
-legally such a measure required the previous assent of the Chambers.
-But Haytians like their Presidents to show authority.
-
-In 1873 there was a formal quarrel in the Chambers which led to all
-the subsequent disasters. A question arose as to the validity of the
-election of Boyer-Bazelais, deputy for Port-au-Prince. It was decided
-in his favour by forty-four to twenty-one, upon which the minority
-retired, and left the House without a quorum. As the Government sided
-with the minority, no steps were taken to fill vacancies, but a session
-was called for the month of July.
-
-The real question at issue was a serious one. The Opposition wished to
-elect as the next President General Monplaisir-Pierre, a respectable
-black, whilst the Government favoured General Domingue, an ignorant
-and ferocious negro born in Africa, whose party had rendered itself
-notorious by the massacre of all the prisoners confined in the jail in
-Les Cayes in 1869.
-
-The Senate and Chambers met in July, and it was evident that a great
-majority were hostile to the Government. Boyer-Bazelais, rendered
-imprudent by the strong party he led, passed a vote of want of
-confidence in two Ministers, and refused to receive their budgets, upon
-which the President adjourned the session to April 1874. He did this
-to prevent the public discussion of the scandalous jobbery of his
-Ministers and to aid Domingue in his candidature.
-
-When the Congress met in April 1874, there was no doubt as to the
-feeling of the people being hostile to Domingue and his nephew,
-Septimus Rameau, the most grasping and unpopular jobber that the
-country had ever seen. The Government had used all its influence and
-had employed the military to support Domingue candidates, but in spite
-of this pressure his opponents had been returned. But the Government
-persevered, and Nissage retired May 15, handing over power to a Council
-of Ministers that named Domingue commander-in-chief. A Constituent
-Assembly was called for June 10, which was quite unconstitutional, and
-under violent military pressure Government nominees were chosen, who
-unanimously elected General Domingue President of Hayti.
-
-As soon as this Government was in power, it was clearly seen that all
-the constitutional leaders had better go into exile, as their death was
-certain if they remained. Many prudently retired to the neighbouring
-colonies, but the three gallant leaders of the war against Salnave,
-Monplaisir-Pierre, Brice, and Boisrond-Canal, remained, and turned
-their attention to industrial pursuits. I could not but warn Brice that
-I knew for certain that if they remained they would fall victims, but
-they had a better opinion of their rulers than I had.
-
-Naturally a new constitution was voted, by which the President was
-chosen for eight years; the Senate was to be selected from a list sent
-in to Government; the executive had power to dissolve the Chambers and
-to establish a Council of State to aid the Government. Power was also
-given for one year to change the judges and magistrates, thus to fill
-the bench with their own creatures.
-
-The Government was not slow to show its intentions. The first was
-to render the residence of foreigners impossible by passing a law
-of license to trade which would have been prohibitive; but through
-the interference of the diplomatic corps the application of this law
-was postponed. At the head of the Ministry was Domingue’s nephew,
-Septimus Rameau, who considered that “the whites had no rights which
-the blacks were bound to respect.” His own friends had foretold an age
-of peace and enlightenment when Septimus came to power, but of all
-the narrow-minded negroes with vast pretensions to superiority, none
-equalled this man. As a rule, the abler a negro is, the more wicked
-and corrupt he appears. But we could never discover this much-vaunted
-ability, though the wickedness and corruption were manifest to all.
-
-The only wise act by which Domingue’s Government will be known was
-the signing of a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce with Santo
-Domingo; and this was brought about by foreign aid, which smoothed down
-the difficulties raised by the intolerable pretensions of the Haytian
-Ministers.
-
-As usual, when there was political discontent, the year 1875 was
-ushered in by a great fire in Port-au-Prince. On May 1, taking
-advantage of an assembly of troops to celebrate the “_Fête de
-l’Agriculture_,” Rameau ordered an attack to be made on the three
-rivals he most feared. General Brice was sitting writing in his office
-when the soldiers sent to murder him appeared; his bravery, however,
-was so well known, that they dreaded to approach him, but firing at
-a distance, gave him time to seize his arms and defend himself. But
-having only revolvers, he thought it prudent to endeavour to take
-refuge in the English Legation. He was wounded fatally in doing so, and
-died, notwithstanding the care bestowed upon him by the Spanish Consul
-Lopez and his wife, who were then residing there.
-
-Monplaisir-Pierre was also attacked in his own house, but being
-better armed, he made a long defence; he killed seventeen soldiers,
-wounded thirty-two, mostly mortally, and could only be subdued by the
-employment of artillery. Then finding he could do no more, as, severely
-wounded, he could not escape, he put an end to his existence. General
-Lorquet commanded this attack of the garrison of Port-au-Prince on two
-veritable heroes.
-
-The third destined to death by the Government was Boisrond-Canal.
-Whilst defending himself Brice had thought of his friend, and had sent
-his clerk to warn him of his danger. On the approach of the soldiers
-he and his friends readily put them to flight, but then were forced to
-disperse, Canal taking refuge with the American Minister, who, after
-five months of tedious correspondence, was enabled to embark him in
-safety.
-
-Decrees followed banishing forty-three eminent citizens, and later on
-seventeen were condemned to death for a pretended conspiracy. Thus
-Rameau thought to clear the country of his enemies or rivals.
-
-The Government finding that the amount received in taxes would not
-satisfy their cupidity, decided to raise a loan in Paris of about
-£2,500,000. The history of this scandalous transaction is about the
-worst of its kind. A portion of the money was raised and divided among
-the friends of the Government; but the details are not worth recording.
-
-The murder of Brice and Monplaisir-Pierre made a profound impression
-on the country, as it justified all previous apprehensions; and the
-conduct of the Government was such, that it appeared as if it were
-guided by a madman. Decrees against the trade carried on by foreigners,
-hatred of the whites shown by Domingue, Rameau, and Boco, then insults
-in the official journal, in which even foreign agents were not spared,
-followed by the illegal expulsion of Cuban refugees, at length roused
-the country, and a general movement commenced.
-
-Domingue and Rameau were furious: an order was given to murder all the
-political prisoners confined in the jail, but the chief jailer escaped
-with them to a Legation, and leaving the gates open, three hundred
-and fifty malefactors got away at the same time. Then the Government
-tried to rouse the masses, and issued orders to fire the town and
-pillage it, and murder the whites and coloured; but even the lowest
-negroes felt that these were the decrees of a madman. Finding that the
-Government could not hold its own in Port-au-Prince, Rameau determined
-to retire to Les Cayes; but being unwilling to leave behind him the
-money destined to form the capital of a National Bank, he sent it down
-to the wharf to be embarked. This at length roused the population, and
-a tumult ensued. Abandoned by all, Domingue abdicated, and the French
-Minister De Vorges and the Spanish Consul Lopez went to the palace to
-try and save the President and his Chief Minister. The crowd was large
-and threatening, but the two brave diplomats took these despicable
-chiefs under their protection and endeavoured to escort them to the
-French Legation; but the crowd was so excited against these murderers,
-that Rameau was killed in the streets and Domingue was seriously
-wounded.
-
-General Lorquet had been sent at the head of a force to check the
-advance of the northern insurgents; but, as might be expected, he
-joined them and marched at their head to take possession of the
-Government. But no sooner had he entered the town than a murmur arose.
-The friends of those he had murdered, as Monplaisir-Pierre, Brice, and
-Chevalier, began to collect. Lorquet fled to his house, but was pursued
-and attacked, and killed whilst trying to hide in a cupboard.
-
-Thus fell the very worst Government that even Hayti had ever seen.
-Cruel and dishonest, it had not a redeeming quality. Domingue, brutal
-and ignorant, was entirely dominated by his nephew, Septimus Rameau,
-whose conduct has been only excused by his friends on the ground of
-insanity. There was too much method in his madness for that plea to
-be accepted. His hatred of foreigners may be partly accounted for by
-his being a member of the Vaudoux; it is even asserted that he was a
-Papaloi or priest of the sect.
-
-When Domingue fell there was a struggle for the succession between
-Boisrond-Canal and Boyer-Bazelais, but the former was preferred on
-account of his energy and courage. He had a difficult task, as the
-dilapidations of the late Government had ruined the finances, and
-France insisted that the Domingue loan should be recognised before she
-would acknowledge the new President.
-
-Boyer-Bazelais, although, like Boisrond-Canal, a man of colour,
-bitterly resented his rival being chosen President, and created every
-difficulty possible for the new Government. These events, however, are
-too recent for me to dwell on them. I may, however, notice that the
-principal attention of both Government and Opposition was directed to
-the finances, and that in 1879 the French Government forced Hayti to
-acknowledge the Domingue loan.
-
-In July 1879 a disturbance took place in the House of Representatives,
-and it was adjourned amidst much tumult. Boyer-Bazelais and his party
-retired to his house and took up arms, they said, to defend themselves.
-Their opponents attacked them, and a desperate fight ensued. Fire was
-put to the adjoining houses, and amidst this fierce conflict our acting
-Consul-General Byron and the French Chancellor Hullinot intervened,
-and at the greatest personal risk rescued the ladies from the burning
-houses and took them to a place of safety. A _sauve qui peut_ soon
-followed, and Boyer-Bazelais’ party was dispersed with heavy loss, two
-of his brothers being killed in the fight.
-
-The insane ambition of what was called the Liberal party thus ruined
-the most honest Government that Hayti had seen since the days of
-Boyer. These disorders in the capital were followed by others in the
-provinces; and Boisrond-Canal, disgusted with the treatment he had
-received from those who should have supported him, resigned, and left
-the country with his chief Ministers, July 17, 1879. Great sympathy
-was shown him by the people, who cheered him as he left the wharf.
-As usual, he was embarked by a foreign officer, Commander Allington
-of H.M.S. “Boxer.” What would these exiled Presidents do without the
-foreign element?
-
-Boisrond-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler, was thoroughly honest,
-and if he had been supported instead of being opposed by the Liberal
-party, his four years’ Presidency would have been a happy one. His
-coloured opponents used to call him a _putate_ or sweet potato--in
-fact, a King Log. They soon had a chance of comparing his Government
-with that of a King Stork.
-
-Boyer-Bazelais’ party now thought that they would have all their own
-way, but they soon found that the country would have none of them. The
-blacks were again in the ascendant, and after some feeble attempts at
-revolution, the Liberal chiefs had to take the path of exile, and be
-thankful that it was no worse.
-
-The mob of Port-au-Prince, wearied by the long debates, forced the
-Assembly to close its discussions, and General Salomon was elected
-President of Hayti, October 23, 1879, and in December of the same year
-a twelfth constitution was promulgated, by which the chief of the state
-was chosen for seven years.
-
-Illegal military executions, murder, and pillage, encouraged by the
-authorities, have been the principal episodes of the history of the
-last four years.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-THE POPULATION OF HAYTI.
-
-
-The amount of the population in Hayti is not accurately known, as no
-census has been taken since the country became independent. At the
-close of the last century the population was found to consist of--
-
-  Whites                           46,000
-  Freed men, black and coloured    56,666
-  Slaves of both colours          509,642
-                                  -------
-                                  602,308
-
-In giving these figures, Mr. Madion adds (“Histoire d’Haïti,” vol.
-i. p. 29) that the planters, in order not to have to pay the full
-capitation-tax, omitted from their return of slaves all the children,
-as well as those over forty-five years of age, so that at least 200,000
-should be added to those in servitude, among whom were 15,000 coloured
-of both sexes. Up to 1847 Mr. Madion considered that the population
-had neither increased nor decreased. Deducting the whites, there would
-remain about 750,000.
-
-Mr. Mackenzie, in his “Notes on Hayti,” vol. ii., discusses the
-question of population, but the tables he inserts in his work vary so
-greatly that no reliance can be placed on them. In one, the population
-in 1824 of the French portion of the island is stated to be 351,716;
-in another, given in full detail as to each district, it is put at
-873,867, whilst he adds that Placide Justin had previously estimated
-the population at 700,000, and General Borgella, a good authority,
-stated it at a million. It is evident that no one had very precise data
-on which to found an estimate.
-
-During the struggle between the French and the coloured races, the
-whole of the whites were either driven out of the country or killed,
-and some slaves were exported to Cuba and the United States. What
-remained, therefore, of the two other sections constituted the
-population of the empire of Dessalines.
-
-During the Presidency of General Geffrard (1863), I heard him remark,
-that from the best official information he could get, the population
-had increased to over 900,000. This estimate must be largely founded on
-conjecture. The negro race is undoubtedly prolific, and in a hundred
-years ought to have more than doubled--nay, in so fertile a country,
-with unlimited supplies of food, more than quadrupled its population.
-The losses during the war of independence were considerable, as there
-was no mercy shown by either side, and the sanguinary strife lasted
-many years. The long civil war between Pétion and Christophe was kept
-up during the whole reign of the latter, but probably did not cost the
-country so many lives as the building of the great mountain-fortress
-of La Ferrière and the handsome palace of Sans Souci. During the
-Presidency of Boyer, lasting twenty-five years, there was peace, and
-ample time was given, for the population to make up for all previous
-losses; but after his departure came the wars with Santo Domingo and
-civil strife.
-
-All these causes, however, would only have slightly checked population.
-If you ask a Haytian how it is that his country remains comparatively
-so thinly peopled, he will answer that the negresses take but little
-care of their children, and that at least two-thirds die in infancy.
-After reading the chapter on Vaudoux worship and cannibalism, I fear
-some of my readers may come to another conclusion. I cannot, however,
-think that these fearful excesses can be carried to the extent of
-greatly checking the increase of population. That the negresses are
-careless mothers is highly possible, and in the interior there are few,
-if any, medical men to whom they can apply in case of need.
-
-After carefully examining every document on the subject which came
-before me, and noting the state of those portions of the country
-through which I have passed, and comparing all the information I
-received during my twelve years’ stay, I have come to the conclusion
-that the population has greatly increased, probably doubled, since
-1825. All the old residents appear to be of the opinion that the
-Haytian is lazier than ever, and many intelligent natives decidedly
-hold that view; and yet we find that the exports and imports have
-doubled in quantity during this period, which can only be accounted for
-by a very great increase in the population. It is possible, however,
-that the augmentation is much less than it should have been.
-
-Either on account of losses from warlike operations, or more probably
-by diseases produced from the greater excesses of the men, the female
-population is much larger than that of the male. Some go so far as
-to say there are three women to one man; others, two-thirds females.
-I am myself inclined to fix it at about three-fifths. The great
-disproportion in the amount of the women has often been observed
-among the negro tribes on the coast of Guinea. In Hayti there is no
-emigration to account for the disproportion; in fact, the movement of
-population has been the other way, and many recruits arrive from the
-United States and the European colonies in the West Indies.
-
-The population is generally supposed to consist of at least nine-tenths
-black to one-tenth coloured, and that the coloured is decidedly more
-and more approaching the black type. It is natural that, continually
-breeding in and in, they should gradually assimilate to the more
-numerous race. As a rule, the coloured population may be said to reside
-chiefly in the towns and villages.
-
-Mackenzie speaks of some Maroon negroes who lived in the mountains
-near La Selle in the north-eastern district of Hayti, and held no
-intercourse with the other inhabitants, but fled at their approach.
-They were doubtless the descendants of fugitive slaves. When we paid
-a visit to the mountain above referred to, we heard the peasantry
-speaking of these people, but it appeared more of a tradition than an
-ascertained fact. They call them the _Vien-viennent_, from their cry
-on seeing strangers. From what is told of their being seen in the deep
-woods at midnight dancing and going through certain ceremonies, it is
-probable that these strange people were only sectaries of the Vaudoux
-worship practising their African rites.
-
-The vexed question as to the position held by the negroes in the great
-scheme of nature was continually brought before us whilst I lived
-in Hayti, and I could not but regret to find that the greater my
-experience the less I thought of the capacity of the negro to hold an
-independent position. As long as he is influenced by contact with the
-white man, as in the southern portion of the United States, he gets on
-very well. But place him free from all such influence, as in Hayti,
-and he shows no signs of improvement; on the contrary, he is gradually
-retrograding to the African tribal customs, and without exterior
-pressure will fall into the state of the inhabitants on the Congo.
-If this were only my own opinion, I should hesitate to express it so
-positively, but I have found no dissident voice amongst experienced
-residents since I first went to Hayti in January 1863.
-
-I now agree with those who deny that the negro could ever originate
-a civilisation, and that with the best of educations he remains an
-inferior type of man. He has as yet shown himself totally unfitted
-for self-government, and incapable as a people to make any progress
-whatever. To judge the negroes fairly, one must live a considerable
-time in their midst, and not be led away by the theory that all races
-are capable of equal advance in civilisation.
-
-The mulattoes have no doubt far superior intelligence, and show greater
-capacity for government, but as yet they have had no marked success.
-It is pitiable to read their history, and see how they are almost ever
-swayed by the meanest impulses of personal interest and ambition, and
-how seldom they act from patriotic motives. During the twenty years
-which have elapsed since I first became acquainted with the country,
-what a dreary succession of meaningless conspiracies, from the abortive
-attempt of General Legros in 1863, to the disastrous civil strife
-between two sections of the mulatto party, led by Boisrond-Canal and
-Boyer-Bazelais, when the latter completed the ruin of those of his own
-colour, and let in their worst enemies, the blacks, who had dreamed for
-twenty years of their extermination (1879).
-
-Scarcely one of these plots and insurrections, by which the country has
-been bathed in blood, but was founded on the hope of office and the
-consequent spoils. The thoughts of the conspirators are concentrated on
-the treasury and the division of its contents. “Prendre l’argent de
-l’état ce n’est pas volé,” is the motto of all parties, of every shade
-of colour.
-
-Politically speaking, the Haytians are a hopeless people, and the most
-intelligent and best educated among them are more and more inclined to
-despair of the future of their country when they see the wreck that
-follows each wave of barbarism which every few years passes over their
-republic. President Geffrard, on going into exile in 1867, remarked to
-my Spanish colleague, that, putting aside all personal feelings and
-regrets, he could only foresee for his country a disastrous series of
-convulsions. He spoke prophetically; for Hayti has never recovered from
-the effects of the civil war which followed his expulsion, and he must
-have observed, from his secure retreat in Jamaica, how the leaders of
-every section of his enemies were, one by one, executed, killed in
-battle, or sent into exile.
-
-I will now attempt to examine some characteristic traits of the Haytian
-negro and mulatto.
-
-
-THE NEGRO.
-
-A French admiral once asked me, “Est-ce que vous prenez ces gens au
-sérieux?” And at first sight it is impossible to do so in Hayti; but
-after the eye becomes used to the grotesque, the study of the people is
-both interesting and instructive. To a foreigner accustomed to regard
-the negro as he is depicted by our latest travellers, a half-naked
-savage, brutal and brute-like, it is not possible to contemplate as
-otherwise than incongruous a black general with heavy gold epaulettes
-and gorgeous uniform galloping on a bedizened steed, surrounded by a
-staff as richly apparelled, and followed by an escort of as ragged
-a soldiery as ever Falstaff was ashamed to march with. The awkward
-figure, the heavy face, the bullet head, the uncouth features, the
-cunning bloodshot eyes, seen under the shade of a French officer’s
-cocked hat, raise the hilarity of the newcomer, which is not lessened
-when he discovers that this wretched imitation of a soldier declares
-himself the most warlike of a warlike race. But putting aside the
-absurdities which appear inherent to the blacks, you soon discover that
-there is something sympathetic in that stolid being.
-
-In treating of the Haytians, one must carefully separate the
-lower-class negro as he appears in a large commercial town from the
-black who lives in the plains or mountains. The former, brought into
-constant contact with the roughest of the white race, as represented
-by an inferior class of merchant seamen, is too often insolent and
-dishonest, whilst the countryman, who only sees a select few of the
-whites, appears to have an innate idea of their superiority, and almost
-always treats them with respect and deference, and with a hospitality
-and kindness which is not found in the cities.
-
-Whilst the civilised Haytian is essentially inhospitable towards
-foreigners, the contrary is the case among the country population.
-They have the virtues as well as the vices of wild races; and although
-their long intercourse with their more civilised compatriots has given
-them a species of French varnish, yet they are essentially an African
-people removed from their parent country.
-
-Circumstances, however, have naturally modified their character. After
-the departure of the French, their estates ultimately fell into the
-hands of the coloured freedmen and enfranchised slaves. Many of the
-latter squatted among the coffee plantations, regardless of the nominal
-proprietor, and there gathered and sold the crops without paying much
-attention to the rights of the owner. With the thirst, however, to be
-the real possessor of land, so characteristic of all peasantry, as soon
-as the negro acquired a little capital from savings, his first thought
-was turned to secure the tenure of his household, and in many parts the
-land has been morselled out among them. President Pétion encouraged
-this system by the action of Government.
-
-The popular stories current in Hayti of the difference between the
-races that inhabit it are rather characteristic. It is said that a
-white man, a mulatto, and a negro were once admitted into the presence
-of the Giver of all good gifts, and were asked what they wished to
-possess. The first-named desired to acquire a knowledge of the arts
-and sciences; the second limited his pretensions to fine horses and
-beautiful women; the third, on being asked, shuffled about and said
-that he had been brought there by the mulatto, but being pressed to
-answer, replied he should like a bit of gold lace.
-
-They say again, Mark the difference of the three when arrested and
-thrown into prison: the white man demands paper and ink in order to
-draw up a protest; the second looks about for the means of escape;
-whilst the third lies down and sleeps twenty-four hours at a stretch;
-then waking up, he grumbles a little, but soon turns on the other side
-and sleeps a second twenty-four hours.
-
-Another curious saying among them is:--
-
-   “Nègue riche li mulatte,
-    Mulatte pauvre li nègue.”
-
-These trifles indicate the opinion the different sections of the people
-have of each other, and there is much truth in the estimation.
-
-The politeness of the country negro is very remarkable, and you hear
-one ragged fellow addressing another as monsieur, frère, or confrère;
-and this civility is very pleasing, as it gives promise of better
-things whenever education shall be extended to the country population.
-
-The town negro rarely, however, equals the peasant in manners, though
-among each other there is not much left to be desired. Both classes, at
-the same time, are infinitely superior to our colonial negroes, who are
-in Port-au-Prince proverbial for their insolence.
-
-Every one who mixes in Haytian society is struck by the paucity of
-black gentlemen to be met with at balls, concerts, or the theatre,
-and the almost total absence of black ladies. At some of the largest
-parties given by the late President Geffrard, I have counted but three
-black ladies to perhaps a hundred coloured; and although the gentlemen
-were more numerous, it was evident that their presence arose from their
-official positions, and not from a desire to mix with the society.
-
-There is a marked line drawn between the black and the mulatto, which
-is probably the most disastrous circumstance for the future prosperity
-of the country. A faithful historian, after carefully studying past
-events, can come to no other conclusion than that the low state of
-civilisation which still obtains in the island arises principally
-from this unmeaning quarrel. The black hates the mulatto, the mulatto
-despises the black; proscriptions, judicial murders, massacres have
-arisen, and will continue to arise as long as this deplorable feeling
-prevails. There is no sign of its abatement; on the contrary, never was
-it so marked as at the present day. A black Minister once said to me,
-“We blacks and whites like and respect each other, because we are of
-pure race, but as for those mulattoes”----
-
-I remember, on my arrival in Port-au-Prince in 1863, having a
-conversation with a young mulatto lady, no longer in the freshness of
-youth, on the subject of intermarriage; and having faintly indicated
-that I thought she had been unwise in refusing the hand of one of the
-best-mannered, best-educated, and richest blacks in the country, I
-received a reply which completely surprised me, “Sir, you insult me to
-imagine I would marry a black. No, I will never marry any one but a
-white.” I soothed her as well as I could, but on looking at her faded
-charms, her unhealthy-looking skin, and her heavy under-jaw, I thought
-with reason that she might wait long; and, poor girl, she waited in
-vain till death released her.
-
-This contempt of the black is felt by nearly every coloured girl, and
-is bitterly resented. I have seen young mulatto women refusing to dance
-with blacks at a ball, and the latter, in fury, threatening to call out
-the father or brother of the offending beauty. Yet what can be more
-absurd than such a pretension or prejudice, when, but two generations
-removed, their mothers were African slaves! I have heard coloured women
-talking about their families and their aristocratic connections, when
-I have known that in a back-room, slowly fading away, was some black
-“mamselle,” the grandmother of the proud beauties.
-
-The blacks naturally feel and resent this childish insolence, and when
-they get the upper hand, as in the time of Soulouque and since, they
-unfortunately quench in blood their outraged feelings.
-
-Towards the white man, whatever jealousy he may feel on account of
-former political questions, the black is usually both respectful and
-cordial, and in return is liked by them. I heard a black magistrate
-say, “My father came from Africa. He was apparently a respectable
-man in the kingdom of Congo, because he was not only treated with
-distinction by his countrymen on board the slaver, but on landing was
-taken into confidence by a white planter, who ultimately made him his
-partner. That is the history of my family.” Certainly as respectable as
-any other in Hayti.
-
-Notwithstanding all the interested denials of the mulattoes, there is
-no doubt but that the lower-class negro, in particular, respects the
-white man as a superior being, and therefore respects his religion
-as superior to his own; but, as I shall show in my chapter on the
-Vaudoux, although he follows the white man’s religion to a certain
-extent, he does not in consequence forsake his serpent-worship, which
-appeals to his traditions, to the Africa of his nursery tales, and,
-above all, to his pleasures and his passions. The Vaudoux priest
-encourages lascivious dancing, copious drinking, and the indiscriminate
-intercourse of the sexes, but he at the same time inculcates the
-burning of candles in the Roman Catholic churches. He keeps a serpent
-in a box in his temple, whilst the walls are covered with the pictures
-of the Virgin Mary and the saints. No other brain but that of a negro
-could accept such a juxtaposition of opposing beliefs.
-
-Occasionally a negro will say to a white in an insolent manner, “Nous
-sommes tous égaux içi;” but he does not believe it, and shows he does
-not believe it by soon sneaking away with his invariable oath, “F----.”
-The crowd may grunt acquiescence, and though they may appear amused
-by the fellow’s insolence, they are still more amused by his slinking
-off. Burton, speaking of the people on the coast of Africa, says that a
-negro will obey a white man more readily than a mulatto, and a mulatto
-more so than one of his own colour.
-
-Among the black gentlemen you find some of polished manners and
-cultivated minds, as my friend Alexander Delva and the late M. Paul,
-or a genial companion like Lubin, the son-in-law of the late Emperor
-Soulouque. Yet, notwithstanding these exceptions, and the more
-remarkable ones I have noticed in my historical chapter, there can
-be no doubt that the blacks have not yet arrived at that state of
-civilisation which would enable one to compare them favourably with any
-other civilised race, or to say that they are competent to govern a
-country.
-
-During the reign of Soulouque, Chancellor Delva and General Salomon
-were considered great statesmen, but between them they managed to
-exhaust the country, and no monument remains of their rule. But when an
-example is required of a man who applies his official position to his
-own benefit, it is said, “He will become as rich as Chancellor Delva.”
-
-Another negro who was expected by his own party to show himself a great
-statesman was Septimus Rameau, of Les Cayes. When, however, he obtained
-unlimited power under his doting uncle, President Domingue, he proved
-himself a mere visionary, incapable of a single sensible measure, and
-turning every project into a fresh means of plundering the State.
-Whilst the people were sinking daily into greater poverty, and the
-public service was starved for want of funds, he ordered an expensive
-Pantheon to be constructed, in which should be erected statues to
-Hayti’s famous men; and for fear posterity should be oblivious of his
-own merits, he ordered a statue of himself, which, however, was never
-erected, as before it arrived he had, by a violent death, paid the
-penalty of his crimes.
-
-During my twelve years’ residence in Hayti, no black statesman appeared
-who was capable of managing with credit any important official
-position, with the exception of General Lamothe, a talented and
-agreeable man; but I fear that the charity which begins at home so
-predominated in him, that the interests of his country were sometimes
-forgotten.
-
-Though very unwilling to meet death on the field of battle when a
-loophole to escape is at hand, yet no one faces it more courageously
-than the Haytian, both black and coloured, when on the place of
-execution. He stands dauntless before the trembling soldiers, who,
-shutting their eyes or turning away their heads, fire at random, and
-who too often only wound, and have to charge and recharge their muskets
-before their prisoner dies. The soldiers have a superstitious dread of
-shooting any particular man in cold blood, and fancy that his spirit
-will haunt that individual whose bullet has sent him into the other
-world.
-
-The black in his family relations is in general kindly, though few of
-the lower orders go through any civil or religious marriage ceremony;
-in fact, it was at one time the custom of all classes to be “_placé_,”
-and only since the priests have regained some of their ancient
-influence have those who are considered respectable consented to go to
-church. The first daring innovators were almost stoned by the people,
-and even such men as Presidents Pétion and Boyer were only “placed,”
-the latter succeeding to the authority and “_placée_” of the former.
-Yet the children of these unions are by Haytian law legitimate, as the
-agreement to live together, as in our old common law, was considered
-equivalent to marriage.
-
-In the interior a well-to-do black lives openly with several women as
-wives, and I have seen the patriarch sitting at the door of the central
-house, with huts all around in which his younger wives lived, as they
-could not be made to dwell under the same roof. On Friday evenings he
-descends to market on a horse or mule, perhaps holding in his arms
-the latest born, while following in his train are a dozen women and
-sturdy children either carrying loads or driving beasts of burden. No
-one is mounted but himself. The French priests attempted to alter this
-state of things, but they did not succeed, as the wives, surrounding
-the intruder, asked him what was to be their position if the husband
-selected one among them and abandoned the rest. The priests have for
-the most part wisely decided not to meddle with the present, but
-rather endeavour to act upon the minds of the younger generation. They
-can hardly expect success as long as the numbers of women greatly
-exceed those of the men.
-
-The blacks, though in general kind to their children, neglect them, and
-the mortality is said to be great. They are, however, very passionate,
-and in their anger they use in correction the first thing that comes
-to hand. A Spanish friend with a tender heart was riding one day in
-the country when his attention was drawn by the piercing shrieks of a
-child. He turned his head, and saw a black woman holding a little boy
-by the arm and beating him with the handle of a broom. He rode up,
-and catching the next blow on the handle of his whip, said, “Don’t
-beat the child in that manner.” The woman looked up surprised at the
-interference, and coolly replied in their patois, “Consite, li nègue;
-li pas fait li mal.”--“Consul, it is a negro; it will do him no harm.”
-
-Another day he saw a gigantic black beating with his club an
-interesting-looking young negress, giving blows that only a black could
-stand without being maimed. Again he interfered, but both set upon him,
-first with foul words, and then with such menacing gestures, that he
-was too glad to put spurs to his horse and gallop away. He found he had
-been interfering in a domestic quarrel.
-
-The brutal use of the cocomacaque or club is universal, as I shall
-have to notice when describing the police. Under Toussaint’s
-regulations the use of the whip, as an unpleasant memento of
-slavery, was abolished, but the club was introduced. Dessalines,
-as Inspector-General of Agriculture, brought it into vogue. At Les
-Cayes he one day ordered a woman to be beaten for neglecting some
-agricultural work; she was far advanced in pregnancy, and her child was
-prematurely born whilst the punishment was being inflicted. Whenever
-Dessalines’ name is mentioned, it is associated with some act of
-fiendish cruelty.
-
-As might be expected, few marriages take place between the whites and
-blacks; the only instance of which I heard was a German clerk who
-married the daughter of a Minister in the hope of making his fortune
-through the contracts he expected to obtain from his unscrupulous
-father-in-law; but within a fortnight of the marriage the Minister
-was expelled from office. Contrary to general expectation, the German
-boldly faced his altered prospects, and the marriage appeared to have
-turned out more happily than could have been anticipated from so
-ill-assorted a union.
-
-Whilst travelling in Hayti one is often surprised at the extraordinary
-difference in the appearance of the population, many being tall, fine
-men with open countenances, whilst others are the meanest-looking
-gorillas imaginable. Then their colour: some have shiny skins, that
-look as if blacking and the blacking-brush had been conscientiously
-applied, whilst others have the skin completely without lustre, looking
-almost as if disease were there. Again, others are of the deepest
-black, whilst their next neighbours may be of a reddish tinge.
-
-During my residence in Hayti I only saw one handsome negress, and she
-was a peasant girl of La Coupe near Port-au-Prince: her features were
-almost perfect, and she might well have said--
-
-   “Mislike me not for my complexion,
-    The shadowed livery of the burnished sun,
-    To whom I am a neighbour and nigh bred.”
-
-She was not misliked, but she apparently stood the test of every
-temptation that her white admirers could offer. She had soft pleasant
-ways and a sweet voice, and talked her jargon of a language in so
-pretty a manner as almost to make one inclined to admit the Creole into
-the list of things civilised. But such a girl must be rare indeed,
-for I saw no other. In general they are very ugly, having no point of
-beauty. The marked difference in the appearance of the negroes in Hayti
-doubtless arises from their origin, as they were brought from every
-tribe in Africa, not only from those frequenting the coast, but also as
-prisoners from the interior. From all I have read of the African negro,
-the Haytian must be far advanced from that low type.
-
-It is a curious trait that the negro has a shy dislike of monkeys;
-he has an uneasy feeling that the whites imagine that there is no
-great difference between a very ugly negro (and there are ugly ones)
-and a handsome gorilla. The first evening I went to the theatre in
-Port-au-Prince, I was started by the exclamation of my companion, “Qui
-est ce monstre africain?” I turned, and saw in the President’s box a
-perfect horror; but use reconciled me even to this man. An Italian
-once came to the capital with a dancing-monkey. Crowds followed him
-everywhere. One day he stopped before a German merchant’s, and a
-fair little girl came out. The monkey would not dance, whereon the
-disappointed child said to her father in Creole, “Faut-il batte petit
-nègue là.” The mob were furious at the mistake, and the father was too
-glad to hurry in with his child to escape a shower of stones.
-
-There are still many negroes in Hayti who were born in Africa, being
-principally the remains of certain cargoes of slaves which the English
-cruisers captured and landed among their free brethren. One whom I knew
-had been taken, then freed by an English officer, sent to England, and
-educated at the expense of Government. When of age he was asked what he
-would desire to do. He replied, “I should wish to go to Hayti.” When
-I knew him he was an old man, and had risen to occupy the position of
-Minister of Justice.
-
-The principal trouble to the female negro mind is her unfortunate
-wool. How she envies her more favoured sisters their long tresses! how
-she tries to draw out each fibre, and endeavours to make something of
-it by carefully platting it with false hair! Even the smallest negro
-servant will spend hours in oiling, brushing, and tending this poor
-crop, whose greatest length will only compass three or four inches.
-It is only when women are more than half white that the wool turns
-into hair, and even then it has sometimes a suspicious crispy wave,
-which, however, looks well. Of late years chignons have been a regular
-importation from France, and the little negresses are delighted with
-them.
-
-The negroes have a very curious habit of talking aloud to themselves.
-You will hear them in the streets or in the country roads carrying
-on apparently a long conversation, repeating all they have said or
-intended to say on a certain occasion, and in a very loud voice; every
-other sentence is varied by a grunt or guttural ejaculation. Sometimes
-they are evidently excited, and are enacting a violent quarrel. They
-are apparently oblivious that all their remarks are heard, or may be;
-they are delighted to take so many people into their confidence. It
-is a general observation that in nine cases out of ten the subject of
-which they are treating is money.
-
-It has often been remarked what curious names are affixed to negroes,
-as Cæsar, Lord Byron, Je-crois-en-Dieu. This doubtless arose from a
-rule which existed during the French occupation, that no slave could
-be given a name which was used by their masters, so that the latter
-were driven to very curious expedients to find appellations for their
-bondsmen; this rule applied in a lesser degree to the freedmen.
-
-_Blanc pas trompé nègue_ is the name given by the Haytians to common
-blue shirting.
-
-I may notice another peculiarity of the negresses. They object to
-carrying anything in their hands--they will invariably poise it on
-their heads. I have often seen them carrying a bottle thus, talking,
-laughing, running, without having the slightest fear of its falling.
-
-The negroes have very singular words of insult, and I remember seeing
-a man roused to fury by a little black servant of mine, who, after
-exhausting every offensive word in her vocabulary, suddenly said in
-Creole-negro, “Mangé chien.” The black fellow darted at her, and had
-she not made a precipitate retreat into the house, she would have felt
-his club on her shoulders.
-
-It is an offensive custom among people of all classes in Hayti to
-repeat, as a sort of ejaculatory oath, a rather dirty Creole word.
-Men educated in a former generation cannot get rid of the habit,
-and many of the lower orders appear to use it at the close of every
-sentence. When Soulouque was Emperor he often consulted our Acting
-Consul-General, the present Sir Charles Wyke, now our Minister in
-Lisbon, as to the usages of the Courts of St. James’s and Hanover,
-and it is said that our agent gave him a hint that habitual swearing
-was certainly contrary to courtly usages. Soulouque took this hint in
-good part, and thought that he would try his hand on an old general
-notorious for this habit. So the Emperor watched his opportunity, and
-the first time his victim swore, he called him up and said, “General,
-I have decided that no one who comes to court can be permitted to use
-that offensive word with which you interlard your conversation.” The
-general looked surprised, and answered, “Emperor, f----, of course I
-will obey, f----, your commands, f----.” “There, you see,” replied his
-“Altesse,” “you have used the forbidden word three times.” The poor
-general now completely lost his head, and answered, “F----, Emperor,
-f----, if, f----, I am not allowed, f----, to use the word f----, I
-will cease, f----, from coming to court, f----.” The Emperor could not
-but laugh, and troubled the general no more, for the habit was too
-engrained. I should have treated this story as an exaggeration had not
-I myself heard an old officer equally profuse in his ejaculations.
-
-The Emperor Soulouque was a very ignorant man, and a good story is told
-in illustration. The French Consul-General, Raybaud, I believe, went
-once to plead some cause before his Majesty, and wound up by saying
-that if he did what was required, he would be considered “plus grand
-qu’Annibal.” “Comment, Consite,” replied the startled Emperor, “moué
-cannibal!” And it required all the Frenchman’s tact to explain his
-reference. As Soulouque was known to be affiliated to the Vaudoux sect,
-the illustration was not happy in its sound.
-
-The negroes and mulattoes are very fond of queer expressions, and
-their odd noises in conversation quite disconcert a stranger. Assent,
-dissent, anger, playful acquiescence, are all expressed by the variety
-in which _’ng-’ng_ are sounded, though a modified or even a musical
-grunt can scarcely be expressed on paper. The untravelled ladies in
-Hayti are very proud of thus being able to express their sentiments
-without having recourse to words.
-
-The negroes of the lower orders are, like all other inhabitants of
-hot countries, very fond of bathing, but they are careless as to the
-cleanliness of their clothes. This I also noticed among the Malays and
-Dyaks of Borneo; they would bathe several times a day, and then return
-to their dirty garments. The dress of the peasantry in Hayti is often
-but an imitation of their European neighbours, though the females
-generally keep to a long white chemise, covered over with a blue cotton
-dress that reaches to their bare feet, and is drawn in round the waist.
-They wear a coloured handkerchief on their heads. On feast days and
-other gala occasions the young negresses dress in white, which makes a
-pleasant contrast of colour.
-
-Markets used formerly to be held on Sundays. When this custom was
-abolished the female peasantry began to frequent the churches, and the
-comparison between their blue cotton gowns and the silk dresses of the
-ladies created envy. But when, in 1863, the price of cotton trebled,
-the peasantry had the means placed at their disposal to vie with the
-rich in Gonaives and St. Marc, and many availed themselves of it to go
-to church richly dressed. This fashion, however, lasted but a short
-time, and certainly did not survive the great fall in prices which
-followed the conclusion of the civil war in the United States.
-
-The upper classes dress exactly like European ladies, but they never
-look well in fashionable Parisian hats, while their tignon, or
-handkerchief, tied gracefully round the head, is most becoming. A white
-tignon is a sign of mourning. There is nothing of which a Haytian lady
-is more proud than the amount of her personal and household linen. Her
-_armoires_ are generally full of every kind, and the finer they are in
-quality the more they are esteemed; and the blacks are, if anything,
-more particular than the coloured in securing the most expensive
-underclothing. How they plume themselves on the condition of their best
-bedroom! It is fitted up expensively, in order that people may see it,
-but it is very seldom used, except to receive their lady friends in.
-Then they bring out with great pride the treasures of their _armoires_,
-and show how well supplied they are with what they do not make a
-general use of.
-
-There is one thing for which all Haytians are equally remarkable--their
-love of “_remèdes_.” For everything, from a toothache to yellow fever,
-they have a variety of prescriptions, which are probably well suited
-to the country, but which a foreigner should be wary in taking. I have
-not yet forgotten a _remède_, consisting partly of the juice of the
-sour orange, which a good old lady gave me on my first arrival in the
-country. It was my first and my last experience. The natives like
-being physicked, and apothecary shops appear to thrive in every town
-and village. I remember a Haytian doctor, educated in Paris, telling me
-how he lost his patients when he first commenced practice by not dosing
-them enough.
-
-The lower orders in Hayti have been accused of great incontinence, and
-the higher classes have not escaped the same accusation; but in no
-tropical country are the lower orders continent. People affect to say
-that it is the effect of climate, but I have never thought so. You have
-but to put your hand on the skin of a negro or of any tropical race,
-to find it as cold as that of a fish, and their blood is but little
-warmer. Their food of vegetables would alone prevent their having the
-fiery blood of a well-fed people.
-
-The fact is, that continence is not considered a virtue by the lower
-orders in the tropics, and love-stories are told by mothers before
-their young daughters in all their crudest details, and no effort
-whatever is made to keep the minds or bodies of the young girls chaste.
-The consequence is that in early life, particularly among relatives,
-intercourse is almost promiscuous. As amusements are very scarce, young
-and old give themselves up to gallantry; but it is constant opportunity
-and the want of occupation and amusement which are the causes of
-incontinence, not their warm blood.
-
-There are two things on which both negroes and mulattoes pride
-themselves: their fine ear for music, and their proficiency in
-dancing. A talented French bandmaster told me, that, if taken young, he
-thought he could train his Haytian pupils to be excellent musicians;
-and as they are fond of the study and practice, he had no difficulty
-whatever in keeping them to their classes; and many of the military
-band in Port-au-Prince played fairly well, though, from inefficient
-and irregular instruction under native teachers, much was still to
-be desired. The drum, however, was a very favourite instrument, and
-the noise produced was sometimes startling. The travelled wife of a
-President used to say that she thought no music in Paris equal to the
-Haytian, _especially the drums._
-
-The dancing of the upper classes is much the same in all countries,
-though in Hayti the favourite dance is a special one, called
-“Carabinier.” Among the people, however, are still to be observed the
-old dances they brought from Africa.
-
-Moreau St. Mèry, in his admirable work on Santo Domingo during the
-French colonial days (new edition, p. 52), has described the dances of
-the slaves as he saw them previous to 1790, and his words might be used
-to depict what occurs at the present day.
-
-With the negroes dancing is a passion, and no fatigue stands in the
-way of their indulging in it. The announcement that a dance will take
-place brings people from surprising distances, and the sound of the
-drums acts like a charm, and all fatigue is forgotten. Young and old,
-although they may have walked twenty miles, with heavy burdens for the
-next day’s market, join in it with enthusiasm.
-
-But the most interesting dances are those performed by the
-professionals. Generally they consist of a couple of men to beat the
-drums, a very fat woman as treasurer, and three or four younger woman
-famous for their skill. Soon after President Salnave came into power
-I was a guest at a picnic at a place where some famous dancers had
-invited the young men of the district to come and meet them.
-
-Our hosts had heard of this affair, and invited us to go down to the
-spot, where a large space was covered in with the leaves of the palm
-tree, as even there seasoned performers could not stand the burning
-mid-day sun. The two men with the drums were there, coarse instruments
-made out of a hollowed piece of wood, one end open, the other closed
-with the skin of a goat or sheep, on which the men play with their
-knuckles, one slowly and the other faster; calabashes with pebbles or
-Indian corn in them are shaken or stricken against the hand, and the
-spectators intone a chant. Then the master of the ceremonies and the
-chief of the band calls out a name, and one of the professionals stands
-forth and begins to perform. Any man from the crowd may come and dance
-with her, holding his hand raised over his head with a small sum in
-paper money, worth perhaps a penny. When she wishes a change she takes
-this money in her hand, and one of the impatient lookers-on cuts in
-and supplies the place of the first; other performers arise, until
-the whole shed is full. As the excitement grows, some of the young
-girls of the neighbourhood also join in. I noticed that every note
-collected was religiously handed to the treasurer, to be employed in
-supporting the band and paying for the dresses, which, however, did not
-appear expensive, as the women were clothed in white gowns, coloured
-headdresses, and handkerchiefs always carried in their right hands.
-I noticed, however, that what could be seen of their under-linen was
-remarkably fine.
-
-The dance itself is not striking or interesting, but they keep time
-very exactly. To show how African it is, I may mention that an officer
-from our West Coast squadron was one day passing near these performers,
-when he was suddenly seized with a desire to dance, and struck in
-before the prettiest negress of the band. His dancing was so good that
-gradually all the blacks sat down, and left these two performers in the
-midst of an interested crowd, who by shouting, clapping their hands,
-and singing urged on the pair to renewed exertions; and I have heard
-several who were present say that never had they seen anything equal to
-this dancing in Hayti. Our friend had learnt the art on the coast of
-Africa, and was as strong as a lion and as active as a gazelle; he was
-called “the pocket Hercules.”
-
-To return to our party. After some very insignificant dancing, a new
-tune was struck up, and the performers began to go through something
-more attractive to the crowd. This dance was called _chica_, but
-popularly I have heard it named _bamboula_, from the drum, which often
-consists of a hollow bamboo: so it is said. This lascivious dance is
-difficult to describe. I think I will let Moreau St. Méry do it for
-me:--
-
-“Cette danse a un air qui lui est spécialement consacré et où la
-mesure est fortement marquée. Le talent pour la danseuse est dans
-la perfection avec laquelle elle peut faire mouvoir ses hanches et
-la partie inférieure de ses reins, en conservant tout le reste du
-corps dans une espèce d’immobilité, que ne lui font même pas perdre
-les faibles agitations de ses bras qui balancent les deux extrémités
-d’un mouchoir ou de son jupon. Un danseur s’approche d’elle, s’élance
-tout-à-coup, et tombe en mesure presque à la toucher. Il recule, il
-s’élance encore, et la provoque à la lutte la plus séduisante. La
-danse s’anime, et bientôt elle offre un tableau dont tous les traits
-d’abord voluptueux, deviennent ensuite lascifs. Il serait impossible
-de peindre le chica avec son véritable caractère, et je me bornerai
-à dire que l’impression qu’il cause est si puissante que l’Africain
-ou le Créole de n’importe quelle nuance, qui le verrait danser sans
-émotion, passerait pour avoir perdu jusqu’aux dernières étin celles de
-la sensibilité.”
-
-I watched its effect on the bystanders of all colours, and St. Méry
-has not exaggerated: the flushed faces, the excited eyes, the eager
-expression, the looks of ill-concealed passion, were fully shared by
-all. No modest woman would be present at such a scene; but the young
-females of the neighbourhood were delighted. Drink was flying freely
-about, and all the performers appeared half-intoxicated: the dance grew
-fast and furious; as night came on a few candles were lit, and then all
-are said to give themselves up to the most unreserved debauchery. I
-ought to add that few respectable girls of the peasant class would care
-to be seen at one of these dances, where the professionals, without
-shame, perform regardless of appearances. The _bamboula_, as practised
-among the peasantry, is more quiet, but sufficiently lascivious.
-
-I was once witness of a rather curious scene. A French opera company
-arrived at Port-au-Prince with a couple of ballet-girls. On the opening
-night of the theatre they commenced dancing; the pit, crowded with
-negroes, was at first quiet. The untravelled Haytian could not at first
-understand it; but shortly the applause became uproarious; shouts
-filled the house; the unaccustomed sight of two _white_ girls thus
-exhibiting themselves provoked the sensuality of the negro nature to
-such a degree that it was almost impossible to keep them quiet, and
-their admiration was so warmly expressed as even to frighten the girls,
-who turned pale with astonishment mingled with fear. This kind of
-applause made the foreigners feel uncomfortable, and we were not sorry
-when the ballet ceased.
-
-I have not noticed any particular ceremonies at the birth of children,
-nor at marriages. In the latter some are striving to imitate the upper
-classes, and marry in church, but the mass of the people are still not
-regularly married. I have noticed, however, their great fondness for
-a display of jewellery on these occasions, and if they do not possess
-enough themselves, they borrow among their friends, and every one who
-lends is sure to attend the wedding, as much to keep an eye on their
-cherished property as to join in the amusements inherent to these
-occasions.
-
-Though I have attended many funerals of the upper classes, I have had
-no occasion to be present at one of the peasantry, though I have seen
-the body being carried at night from the town to the house of the
-deceased in the hills. One evening, at about ten, we heard a roar of
-voices in the distance; presently we saw torches flashing in the road,
-and soon after a crowd, perhaps of a hundred people, swept by at a
-running pace, all screaming, yelling, or shrieking at the top of their
-voices. Those who led this awful din were hired mourners, who pass
-the night near the corpse, making it hideous with their professional
-lamentations. There are regular wakes, at which eating and drinking
-are permitted, and drunkenness not prohibited. All classes in Hayti,
-like their brethren on the Guinea coast, love pompous funerals, and it
-is quite a passion among the female portion of the community to attend
-them, as it is only at funerals and at church that the ladies can see
-and be seen in their most careful toilettes.
-
-The most curious wake I ever saw was at Santo Domingo city. I was
-walking about after dark, when my attention was drawn to a house where
-music and dancing were going on. I approached, and looking through a
-window, saw a most singular sight. In a high chair was placed in a
-sitting position the corpse of a child, dressed up in its very best
-clothes, as if a spectator of the scene. The music was playing briskly,
-and a regular ball appeared to be going on, in which the mother of the
-child took the principal part. I inquired of my companion what this
-meant, and he said that the people explained it thus:--The priests had
-taught them not to weep, but rather rejoice, at the death of a child,
-as it passed directly to heaven. They took this teaching literally, and
-danced and made merry.
-
-    “Whom the gods love, die young.”
-
-The negroes, as a rule, live to a good old age, and bear their age
-well; they also keep their magnificent white teeth to the last, which
-they ascribe to diligent cleanliness and the crushing of the sugar-cane
-under their strong grinders: their hair also preserves its colour much
-later than that of the white. In fact, it is difficult to guess the age
-of a negro.
-
-The negro is rarely seriously ill, though he often fancies himself
-so; he suffers most from his indulgences and the indifferent skill
-of those who undertake his cure. He bears pain exceedingly well,
-which may partly arise from his nerves not being highly strung. The
-negro is distinguished for his (for want of a better word I may call)
-_insouciance_. It is a most provoking characteristic, and one of the
-causes of his want of progress.
-
-The general impression is that serious crime is rare in Hayti, except
-that which is connected with the Vaudoux worship. This, however,
-is a mistake; crime is treated with too much indifference, and the
-professional poisoners are well known to the police. Before the civil
-war of 1868 and 1869 crimes of violence were more rare; that civil
-strife, however, demoralised the population. Pilfering is their great
-failing, and it is said a negro never leaves a room without looking
-round to see that he has not forgotten something.
-
-They have much superstition with regard to _zombis_, _revenants_, or
-ghosts, and many will not leave the house after dark; yet the love of
-pleasure often overcomes this, and the negro will pass half the night
-hieing to his lusting-place.
-
-Of their pleasures, smoking is one equally enjoyed by every class,
-and quietly by most women after a certain age. The cheapness of tafia
-or white rum has an evil effect on the male population, who as a rule
-drink to excess.
-
-The black Haytians resent being spoken of by foreigners as negroes,
-though they use the word freely among themselves. They prefer being
-called _gens de couleur_, as both the expressions _nègres_ and
-_mulâtres_ are considered as implying contempt. During the tiresome
-quarter of an hour before dinner, my friend Villevalein (coloured)
-turned round to a Minister of State (black) and said, “What do you
-think the French _chargé d’affaires_ remarked when he first saw
-you?--‘Quel beau nègre!’” The blood rushed to the face of the Haytian,
-and his cheeks became of a deeper black; and we were all thankful that
-at the moment dinner was announced. I doubt whether the Minister ever
-forgave the author or the repeater of the remark.
-
-The negro has the greatest, in fact, an almost superstitious, reverence
-for the flags of foreign nations. A well-known partisan chief, Acaau,
-came once to the English Consulate at Les Cayes, and demanded that
-all the refugees there should be given up to him to be shot. Our
-Acting Vice-Consul, Charles Smith, refused, and as Acaau insisted, the
-Vice-Consul took up the Union Jack, and placing it on the staircase,
-said to the chief, “If any of you dare to tread on that flag, he may go
-upstairs and seize the refugees.” Acaau looked at the flag a moment,
-and then said, “Not I,” and walked away, followed by his men. This was
-not from fear of material consequences, although there were two English
-ships of war in harbour, as, when one of the captains threatened to
-bombard the town if foreigners were troubled, Acaau answered, “Tell me
-which end you will begin with, and I will commence to burn the other
-end.” He was a mountaineer, who would have been delighted to burn and
-destroy the whole place. Many years afterwards, to avoid being shot by
-the Government, he perished by his own hand.
-
-I must add an anecdote to mark the respect shown by the negro to
-the white. In April 1866, on account of a quarrel between an officer
-on board a steamer and some blacks, the mob determined to revenge
-themselves. Watching their opportunity, they seized an English sailor
-belonging to the ship and bound him to a log. Hundreds of excited
-negroes surrounded him with drawn razors and knives, threatening to cut
-him to pieces; when Mr. Savage, an English merchant, happening to be
-passing by, inquired the cause of the disturbance, and hearing what had
-happened to his countryman, forced his way through the mob, and when
-he reached the sailor, drew a penknife from his pocket, and, despising
-the yells and threats of the crowd, cut the cords, freed the man, and
-walked him down to the steamer’s boat. The cool courage shown by Mr.
-Savage perfectly awed the mob. As the Haytian police who were present
-had not interfered to prevent this outrage on the sailor, a hundred
-pounds indemnity was demanded of the Haytian Government, which was
-paid, and subsequently transmitted to the sailor.
-
-I will conclude with noticing that the apathy and listlessness of the
-Haytians, mentioned by Mackenzie in 1826, might apply to the present
-day, as well as his reference to the lean dogs and leaner pigs which
-infest the capital. He heard an Englishman say one day, “D---- these
-Haytians; they can’t even fatten a pig.”
-
-
-THE MULATTOES.
-
-“They hate their fathers and despise their mothers,” is a saying which
-is a key to the character of the mulatto. They hate the whites and
-despise the blacks, hence their false position. That they are looked
-down upon by the whites and hated by the blacks is the converse truth,
-which produces an unfortunate effect upon their character. They have
-many of the defects of the two races, and few of their good qualities.
-Those who have never left their country are too often conceited, and
-presumptuous to a degree which is scarcely credible; whilst many
-who have travelled appear but little influenced by bright examples
-of civilisation, or by their intercourse with civilised nations,
-retaining but the outward polish of a superficial French education.
-Foreigners who casually meet Haytians are often only struck by their
-agreeable manners, but to understand their real character one must live
-among them, hear their talk among themselves, or read the newspapers
-published for local circulation.
-
-Travel, indeed, has little outward effect on the majority; and they
-return to their own country more presumptuous than ever. It has struck
-many attentive observers that this outward parade of conceit is but a
-species of protest against the inferior position they occupy in the
-world’s estimation, and that with their advance in civilisation and
-education they will rise in the opinion of others, and thus lose the
-necessity for so much self-assertion. I believe this to be highly
-probable, but until the mulattoes are convinced of their present
-inferiority, the improvement must be slow indeed.
-
-It may be remarked, however, that those who have been educated in
-Europe from their earliest years show few or none of those defects
-which are implanted in them by their early associations. I have
-known coloured men whose first real knowledge of their own country
-was acquired in manhood, who were in every respect equal to their
-white companions, as manly and as free from absurd pretensions, and
-naturally without that dislike of foreigners which is instilled into
-home-educated mulattoes. These men, knowing the consideration in which
-they were held by all, had no necessity for any self-assertion.
-
-The early training in Hayti is much at fault; their mothers, generally
-uninstructed, have themselves but few principles of delicacy to instil
-into their children’s minds. I will mention a case in illustration.
-A lady was asked to procure some article for a foreign visitor. She
-readily undertook the commission, and sent her son, a boy of ten,
-to seek the article. He returned shortly afterwards and said to his
-mother, “Our neighbour has what you want, but asks twenty-seven paper
-dollars for it.” “Go and tell our friend that you have found it
-for forty, and we will divide the difference between us.” A mutual
-acquaintance heard of this transaction, and subsequently reproached the
-lady for the lesson of deceit and swindling she had taught her child;
-she only laughed, and appeared to think she had done a very clever
-thing. The subsequent career of that boy was indeed a thorn in her side.
-
-Their financial morality is very low indeed. A friend of mine
-expressing his surprise to one of the prettiest and most respectable
-girls in Port-au-Prince that such open robbery of the receipts of the
-custom-house was permitted, received for answer, “Prendre l’argent
-de l’état, ce n’est pas volé.”--“To take Government money is not
-robbery.” With such ideas instilled into the minds of all from their
-earliest youth, it is scarcely to be wondered at that the Haytians
-grow up to be completely without financial honour. Truth is another
-virtue which appears to be rarely inculcated by parents, and this
-perhaps may be accounted for by their origin. Slaves are notoriously
-given to falsehood, and this defect has been inherited by succeeding
-generations, and can scarcely be eradicated until a higher moral
-teaching prevails.
-
-I was struck by an anecdote told me by a French gentleman at
-Port-au-Prince: it is a trifle, but it shows the spirit of the Haytian
-youth. A trader, in very moderate circumstances, sent a half-grown
-son to be educated in Paris, and as the father had no friends there,
-he said to my informant, “Will you ask your family to pay my son a
-little attention?” In consequence, a lady called at the school and
-took the youth for a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens. Approaching the
-basins, she said, “I suppose you have none like these in Hayti?” “Oh,”
-was his reply, “my father has finer ones in his private grounds;” the
-fact being, that he had nothing there but a bath a few feet square.
-This miserable pretence is one of the causes of the slow improvement
-in Hayti; they cannot or they will not see the superiority of foreign
-countries.
-
-A late Secretary of State was present at a review in Paris, when ten
-thousand splendid cavalry charged up towards the Emperors of France and
-Russia. “It is very fine,” he said; “but how much better our Haytian
-soldiers ride!” Another gentleman, long employed as a representative at
-a foreign court, returning home, could find nothing better to say to
-President Geffrard than, “Ah! President, you should send some of our
-officers to Paris, that their superiority of _tenue_ may be known in
-Europe.” I wish I could present some photographic illustrations of a
-Haytian regiment in support of this assertion.
-
-I am, in fact, doubtful whether travel as yet has done much good to the
-general public, as they see their young men returning from Europe and
-America, after having witnessed the best of our modern civilisation,
-who assure them that things are much better managed in Hayti.
-
-Their self-importance may be illustrated by the following anecdote of
-another ex-Secretary of State. He went with a friend to see the races
-at Longchamps. They had their cabriolet drawn up at a good spot,
-when presently an acquaintance of the driver got up on the box-seat
-to have a better view. “I must tell that man to get down,” said the
-ex-Minister. “Leave him alone,” answered his French friend. “It is all
-very well for you, a private individual, to say that; but I, a former
-Secretary of State, what will the people say to my permitting such
-familiarity?” and he looked uneasily around, thinking that the eyes of
-the whole Parisian world were bent on their distinguished visitor. I
-once saw some boxes addressed thus:--“Les demoiselles ----, enfants de
-M. ----, _ex-Secrétaire d’Etat_.”
-
-Of the profound dislike of the genuine coloured Haytian for the whites
-I will give an instance. We were invited to a school examination given
-by the Sisters of Cluny, and naturally the official guests were put
-in the front rank, with the officers of a French gunboat, from which
-position we assisted at a distribution of prizes, and some little
-scenes acted by the pupils. The next day a Haytian gentleman, one
-who was an ornament to his country for his extensive knowledge and
-legal erudition, made this remark--“When I saw those whites put into
-the front row, it reminded me of the time when the ancient colonists
-sat arms akimbo watching the dances of their slaves.” As he said
-this before a party of white gentlemen, we may imagine what were his
-utterances before his own countrymen.
-
-Moreau de St. Méry gives a table of the different combinations of
-colour among the mixed race, amounting to one hundred and twenty,
-which produce thirteen distinct shades between the pure white and the
-pure black. Each has a name, the most common of which are: Quateron,
-white and mulatto; mulatto, white and black; griffe, black and mulatto.
-These were the original combinations, but constant intermarriages have
-produced a great variety of colour, even in the same families, some
-breeding back to their white, others to their black forefathers. It
-appears as if the lighter shades of mulatto would die out, as many of
-this class marry Europeans, and leave the country with their children,
-and the others marry Haytians more or less dark, and the tendency is
-to breeding back to their black ancestors. There are too few whites
-settled in the country to arrest this backward movement. In Santo
-Domingo, however, the stay for a few years (1859-64) of a large Spanish
-army had a very appreciable effect on the population.
-
-The personal appearance of the coloured Haytians is not striking. Being
-in general a mixture of rather a plain race in Europe with the plainest
-in Africa, it is not surprising that the men should be ugly and the
-women far from handsome. Of course there is a marked distinction
-between the men who have more dark blood in their veins and those who
-approach the white; in fact, those who are less than half-European have
-in general the hair frizzled like a negro’s, the forehead low, the eyes
-dark in a yellow setting, the nose flat, the mouth large, the teeth
-perfect, the jaw heavy; whilst as they approach the white type they
-greatly improve in appearance, until they can scarcely be distinguished
-from the foreigner, except by the dead colour of the skin and some
-trifling peculiarities.
-
-Of the women it is more difficult to speak; they are rarely
-good-looking, never beautiful. As they approach the white type, they
-have long, rather coarse hair, beautiful teeth, small fleshless
-hands and feet, delicate forms, and sometimes graceful movements,
-due apparently to the length of the lower limbs. Their principal
-defects are their voices, their noses, their skins, and sometimes the
-inordinate size of the lower jaw. Their voices are harsh, their skins
-blotchy or of a dirty brown, their noses flat or too fleshy, and the
-jaw, as I have said, heavy. Occasionally you see a girl decidedly
-pretty, who would pass in any society, but these are rare. In general
-they are very plain, particularly when you approach the black type,
-when the frizzled hair begins to appear.
-
-There is one subject necessary to mention, though it is a delicate
-one. Like the negroes, the mulattoes have often a decided odour, and
-this is particularly observable after dancing or any violent exercise
-which provokes perspiration, and then no amount of _eau de cologne_ or
-other scents will completely conceal the native perfume. The griffes,
-however, are decidedly the most subject to this inconvenience, and I
-met one well-dressed woman who positively tainted the air.
-
-With the exception of those who have been sent abroad, the Haïtiennes
-have had until lately but few chances of education, and are therefore
-little to be blamed for their ignorance. This want of instruction,
-however, has an ill effect, as the time necessarily hangs heavy on
-their hands, and they can neither give those first teachings to
-their children which are never forgotten, nor amuse themselves with
-literature or good music.
-
-It is the fashion in Hayti to vaunt the goodness and tenderness of
-their women in sickness; but what women are not good and tender under
-similar circumstances? I have received as much kindness in suffering
-from the Malays when wandering in Borneo as any one has perhaps ever
-received elsewhere. The fact is, that these qualities are inherent
-to women in general. Perhaps the greatest praise that can be given
-to the Haytian ladies is, that they do not appear inferior to others
-who reside in the tropics in the care of their children, or in the
-management of their households, or in their conduct towards their
-husbands.
-
-They have their ways in public and their ways in private, but their
-greatest defect is their want of cleanliness, which is observable in
-their houses, their children, and their own clothes. Without going so
-far as to say, with the naval officer, that “their customs are dirty,
-and manners they have none,” I may say that they have habits which are
-simply indescribable; and when not dressed to receive company they
-are veritable slatterns, sauntering about their houses all day in
-dirty dressing-gowns, and too often in unchanged linen. Their bedrooms
-have a close, stuffy smell, the consequence of the above referred
-to indescribable habits, which is highly displeasing to a stranger,
-and induced an American gentleman to remark that their rooms had the
-smell of a stable. They are also very careless in another way, and
-will go into their kitchens even in their silks, and aid in preparing
-sweetmeats; and the stains on their clothes from this cause reminded me
-of a young Malay lady cooking a greasy curry whilst dressed in a rich
-gold brocade, and upsetting half of it over her dress in an endeavour
-to conceal herself or her work.
-
-The conduct of the Haytian ladies who are married to foreigners is much
-to their credit, as rarely a case occurs to draw the attention of the
-public to their private life; and almost the same may be said of their
-married life in general, and this in defiance of the debauchery of
-their Haytian husbands. This virtue was, perhaps, unfairly ascribed by
-a French diplomatist to their sluggish temperaments and their want of
-imagination. But, whatever may be the cause, it appears to exist to a
-considerable extent.
-
-The habit of having no fixed hours for meals appears to prevail in most
-tropical countries; and in Hayti, though there are fixed times for
-the husband and the other males of a family, who can only return from
-business at certain hours, yet the ladies of the family prefer cakes,
-sweetmeats, and dreadful messes at all hours, and only sit down to
-the family meal _pro formâ_. No wonder they are ever complaining of
-indigestion, and taking their wonderful _remèdes_.
-
-From my own observation, and that of many of my friends, I may assert
-with confidence as a general proposition, that the Haytian black or
-mulatto is more given to drink, and to a forgetfulness of his duty to
-his family, than any other people with whom we were acquainted. With
-some marked, and I should add numerous exceptions, after his early
-coffee the Haytian begins the day with a grog or cocktail, and these
-grogs and cocktails continue until at mid-day many of the young men are
-slightly intoxicated, and by night a large minority at least are either
-in an excited, a sullen, or a maudlin state.
-
-It appears also to be a rule among them, that, whether married or not,
-a Haytian must have as many mistresses as his purse will permit him;
-these are principally drawn from the lower classes. This practice is
-not confined to any particular rank; from the Presidents downwards
-all are tainted with the same evil. The mistresses of the first-named
-are always known, as they are visited publicly, often accompanied by
-a staff or a few select officers. I have met them even at dinner in
-respectable houses, and have been asked to trace a resemblance between
-their children and the reputed father. No one seeks to conceal it, and
-the conversation of married ladies continually turns on this subject.
-One excuse for it is that many of the ladies whom you meet in society
-were only married after the birth of their first children. However,
-according to French law, that ceremony renders them all legitimate.
-
-Some of those admitted into society are not married at all, but their
-daughters’ being married prevents notice being taken of the false
-position of the mother.
-
-An excuse has been made for the debauchery of the Haytians. It is said
-that there are three women to every two men, which is probably true,
-and that therefore the latter are exposed to every kind of temptation,
-which is also true.
-
-I have already referred to the want of financial honour observable in
-Hayti; but what is equally pernicious is their utter forgetfulness
-of what is due to their military oath. As I shall have to notice in
-my remarks on the army, scarcely a single name can be cited of a
-superior officer who under President Geffrard did not forget his duty,
-and either conspire against him or betray him to the enemy. This was
-particularly observable during the siege of Cap Haïtien in 1865. And
-yet were these officers who were false to their military honour looked
-down upon by their countrymen? On the contrary, their only title to
-consideration was their treachery to their former superior, who in turn
-is said to have betrayed every Government he had served.
-
-A Frenchman once wittily said, that when Geffrard was made President,
-being no longer able to conspire against the Government, he conspired
-against his own Ministers. It is the whole truth in a few words. No
-encouragement is given to those who hold firmly to their duty; and an
-officer who did not desert a tottering Government would be sure to be
-neglected, perhaps even punished, by those who succeeded to power.
-
-One reason for the dislike entertained by the mulatto for the white
-man is the evident partiality of their fair countrywomen for the
-latter. It is well known that the first dream or _beau ideal_ of the
-young Haïtienne is a rich, and if possible a good-looking European,
-who can place her in a respectable position, give her the prospect
-of occasional visits to Europe, with the ultimate expectation of
-entirely residing there. Few young girls lose the hope of securing this
-desirable husband, particularly among those who have received their
-education in Europe, until their charms begin slightly to fade, when
-they content themselves with the least dark among their countrymen.
-It is unfortunate that this should be the case, as those who are
-most enlightened among the Haytian ladies are thus withdrawn from
-the civilising influence they would otherwise naturally exert. This
-preference for the white to the coloured man was also very conspicuous
-during the French occupation; and all things considered, it is not to
-be wondered at, as the whites make much better husbands.
-
-The young mulatto, seeing this evident partiality for the foreigner,
-naturally resents it, but instead of trying to put himself on an
-equality of position with his rival by the exercise of industry and by
-good conduct, expends his energies in furious tirades in the _cafés_ or
-by low debauchery.
-
-The Haytians are distinguished for what the French call _jactance_,
-a better word than boasting. Mackenzie tells the story of a mulatto
-colonel saying to him, “Je vous assure, monsieur, que je suis le plus
-brave de tous les mulâtres de ce pays-ci.” He was lost in admiration
-of his own noble qualities. At the fortress of La Ferrière, during
-Mackenzie’s visit, a Captain Elliot said about some trifle, “N’ayez pas
-peur?” Immediately the officers of the garrison clapped their hands to
-their swords and talked five minutes of inflated nonsense.
-
-I remember a Haytian general once calling upon me, and asking me to get
-inserted in the daily London papers a long account of the battles in
-which he had been engaged, and of his personal exploits. He was anxious
-that the English people should know what a hero they had among them.
-As he was really a brave fellow, and a man whom I liked, I was anxious
-that he should not make himself ridiculous by publishing a pompous
-account of battles which were but skirmishes among the peasantry.
-I therefore gave him a letter of introduction to an editor, who, I
-was sure, would explain to him that the English public would not be
-interested in the affair. I heard no more of it, but my friend was
-persuaded that since Napoleon no greater general than he had arisen.
-
-As an ideal type of the better class of mulatto, I would take the
-late President Geffrard; he had all the qualities and defects of the
-race, and was one whom I had the best opportunity of studying. In a
-report which for some reason I never forwarded, I find myself thus
-sketching his portrait when almost in daily intercourse with him
-(1866):--“I am loth to analyse the character of President Geffrard,
-but as he is the Government itself, it is necessary to know him. In
-manner he is polished and gentle, almost feminine in his gentleness,
-with a most agreeable expression, a winning smile, and much fluency
-in conversation. But the impression soon gains possession of the
-listener that, with all his amiable qualities, the President is vain
-and presumptuous, absorbed in himself and in his own superiority to the
-rest of mankind. He imagines himself a proficient in every science,
-although he is as ignorant as he is untravelled. There is not a subject
-on which he does not pretend to know more even than those whose studies
-have been special, as lawyers, doctors, architects, and engineers.
-He seriously assures you that he discovered the use of steam by
-independent inquiries, and that he is prepared to construct a machine
-which shall solve the problem of perpetual motion; and he who has not
-ridden anything larger than a middle-sized pony imagines he could give
-hints in riding to our Newmarket jockeys.”
-
-Geffrard, like many other coloured men, was much distressed by the
-crispness of his hair and his dark colour, and having a half-brother
-very fair, he persisted in assuring us that he had been born nearly
-white, with straight hair, but that having unfortunately bathed in
-the streams of Sal Tron during many months, the water, being deeply
-impregnated with iron, had curled his hair and darkened his skin. In
-any other man I should have suspected a jest.
-
-One of the things which contributed to the unpopularity of the Emperor
-Soulouque was the waste of the public finances and the extravagance
-of his court. General Geffrard, who lived in penury before becoming
-President, promised to reform this; but instead of doing so, he
-gradually raised his own allowance to £10,000 a year; he also had the
-sole control of £4000 a year for secret service, and another £4000
-a year for the encouragement of the arts and sciences. The grateful
-country had also presented him with two large estates, the expenses
-of which were largely borne by the State, whilst the profits were
-Geffrard’s.
-
-As nearly every one of his countrymen would have acted in the same
-manner if he had had the opportunity, Geffrard’s conduct excited envy
-rather than blame. Even in the smallest details of the household there
-was a mean spirit; the expenses of the meat of the family were put down
-to the _tirailleurs_, whilst some exquisite champagne purchased of a
-colleague was charged to the hospital. Geffrard was certainly one of
-the most distinguished of his race, yet he sullied his good name by
-all these petty meannesses. I once asked a Haytian friend why she and
-others were always running down Geffrard and his family. She answered,
-“Because when I knew them intimately, they were as poor as myself, but
-now Madame Geffrard insults me by calling on me in a carriage. What
-right has she to a carriage more than I?”
-
-Geffrard was personally brave, which quality is not too common among
-his countrymen, who are rather wanting in martial qualities. He had
-no idea of true liberty, nor of freedom of discussion. A son of a
-black Minister wrote a pamphlet in favour of strict protection for
-the manufactures of Hayti, in order to encourage native industry. A
-young mulatto replied, demolishing with ease the absurd idea that
-manufactures could be readily established in a tropical country, which
-could only be made to prosper by encouraging agriculture. The father
-was offended by this liberty, and, to soothe his wounded feelings,
-Geffrard had the young mulatto arrested, put as a common soldier into a
-regiment, and set to work to carry on his head barrels of powder to a
-village five miles in the mountains. The argument was unanswerable, and
-it is no wonder that the pamphleteer became a protectionist, though I
-believe that subsequently, when he was made a senator, he was inclined
-to return to his primitive views.
-
-If I wished to describe a mulatto of the most unscrupulous type, I
-should have selected the late General Lorquet, but I have already
-referred to him.
-
-There are among the mulattoes men eminently agreeable, and perhaps the
-one who best pleased me was Auguste Elie, at one time Minister for
-Foreign Affairs. He had been brought up in France, was highly educated,
-and had an astonishing memory. My Spanish colleague and myself used
-to visit him almost every evening, and pass a pleasant hour in varied
-conversation. One day my friend remarked, “I am often surprised at the
-knowledge shown by Auguste Elie, and the elegance of the language in
-which it is expressed.” I replied, “This evening turn the conversation
-on agriculture in the South of France.” He did so, and he was again
-struck by the minute knowledge shown and the manner in which it was
-conveyed. On our return home, I opened the last number of “La Revue des
-Deux Mondes,” and showed him paragraph after paragraph which Auguste
-Elie had repeated almost word for word. I knew that he read the review
-regularly, and was persuaded he had not missed reading the article on
-the agriculture of that part of France which interested him most, and
-his memory was so exact that he had forgotten nothing. I had often
-remarked his quotations, but he could digest what he read as well as
-remember. A few men like Auguste Elie would have given a better tone to
-Haytian society.
-
-A strong desire to appear what they are not is a defect from which the
-best-known Haytians are not free. A French colleague once called upon
-a Secretary of State, whose _writings have been compared to those of
-Plato_, and found him, book in hand, walking up and down his verandah.
-“Ah! my friend, you see how I employ my leisure hours. I am reading
-Demosthenes in the original.” But the sharp Frenchman kept his eye on
-the volume, and soon found that it was an interlinear translation.
-
-Every Haytian appears fully persuaded that his countrymen never seek
-office except for the purpose of improving their private fortunes, and
-the most precise stories of official robbery were falsely made against
-Auguste Elie and M. Bauce, both Secretaries of State. At Auguste Elie’s
-death there was little left for the family, and Madame Bauce declined
-the succession to her husband’s effects, as the debts were not covered
-by the inheritance. Liaulaud Ethéart and M. Darius Denis, though long
-Secretaries of State, afterwards honourably supported their families,
-the one in retail trade, the other by keeping a school.
-
-Perhaps, as a rule, the accusation is well founded, and nearly all,
-black and coloured, believe in the saying, “Prendre l’argent de l’état,
-ce n’est pas volé.”
-
-When I first arrived in Port-au-Prince a small club was formed among
-the foreigners, and one of the first rules was, “No Haytian to be
-admitted.” I asked why, and was answered, that they introduced politics
-into every place they entered. I soon found, however, that the real
-reason was that their society was disliked; and one day, after
-listening for an hour or two to the criticism on the people--and be it
-remembered that half those present were married to Haytian ladies--I
-could not help remarking, “If I had such an opinion of this race, I
-would not have sought my wife among them.” The married men looked
-foolish, the bachelors laughed, and one of the former observed, “The
-women are so superior to the men.”
-
-The following story shows some delicacy of feeling; it is told by
-Mackenzie, and I have heard it repeated. When the decree was issued
-by Dessalines that mulatto children should inherit the estates of
-their white fathers, two young men met, and one said to the other,
-“You kill my father and I will kill yours;” which they accordingly
-did, and took possession of their estates. On another occasion, the
-Emperor Dessalines said to a young man who claimed to be a mulatto, “I
-don’t believe it, but you can prove it by going and poniarding your
-French friend.” The man did not hesitate, and was accepted as a Haytian
-citizen. A negro general, grandfather of a lady I knew in Hayti, went
-to Dessalines after the appearance of the decree to murder all the
-white French left in the island and said, “Emperor, I have obeyed
-your decree: I have put my white wife to death.” “Excellent Haytian,”
-answered he, “but an infernal scoundrel. If ever again you present
-yourself before me I will have you shot,”--the only saying of his that
-I have seen recorded showing any humane feeling.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-VAUDOUX WORSHIP AND CANNIBALISM.
-
-
-When the news reached Paris of the massacres in Port-au-Prince of the
-mulattoes by orders of the black President Soulouque in April 1849, it
-is said that Louis Napoleon took the opportunity of saying at a public
-reception, in presence of the sable representative of Hayti, “Haïti,
-Haïti! pays de barbares.” Had he known all the particulars relating
-to Vaudoux worship and cannibalism, he would have been still more
-justified in so expressing himself.
-
-There is no subject of which it is more difficult to treat than Vaudoux
-worship and the cannibalism that too often accompanies its rites. Few
-living out of the Black Republic are aware of the extent to which it
-is carried, and if I insist at length upon the subject, it is in order
-to endeavour to fix attention on this frightful blot, and thus induce
-enlightened Haytians to take measures for its extirpation, if that be
-possible.[8]
-
-It is certain that no people are more sensitive to foreign public
-opinion than the Haytians, and they therefore endeavour to conceal by
-every means this evidence of the barbarism of their fellow-countrymen.
-It is, however, but the story of the foolish ostrich over again; every
-foreigner in Hayti knows that cannibalism exists, and that the educated
-classes endeavour to ignore it instead of devising means to eradicate
-it.
-
-The only Governments that endeavoured to grapple with the evil were
-those of President Geffrard and President Boisrond-Canal, and probably
-they in some measure owe their fall to this action on their part.
-
-The first question naturally asked is, “Who is tainted by the Vaudoux
-worship?” I fear the answer must be, “Who is not?” This does not
-necessarily imply that they are tainted with cannibalism, as I shall
-hereafter explain. It is notorious that the Emperor Soulouque was a
-firm believer, and that the mulatto general Therlonge was one of its
-high priests, and in his younger days used to appear in a scarlet robe
-performing antics in the trees. A late Prime Minister, whose bloody
-deeds will be an everlasting reproach to his memory, was said to be a
-chief priest of the sect, and many others whom I will not at present
-indicate.
-
-If persons so high placed can be counted among its votaries, it may
-be readily believed that the masses are given up to this brutalising
-worship. During the reign of Soulouque, a priestess was arrested for
-having performed a sacrifice too openly; when about to be conducted to
-prison, a foreign bystander remarked aloud that probably she would be
-shot. She laughed and said, “If I were to beat the sacred drum, and
-march through the city, not one, from the Emperor downwards, but would
-humbly follow me.” She was sent to jail, but no one ever heard that she
-was punished.
-
-President Salnave (1867), inclined at first to court the support of
-the educated classes, kept clear of the Vaudoux. But when he found his
-advances repulsed, for the gross debauchery at the palace prevented
-any respectable person from ever willingly entering it, and when the
-fortunes of the civil war that then raged began to turn against him
-(1869), he, from some motive or other, whether superstition or the
-desire to conciliate the mass of his ignorant troops, went to consult
-a well-known priest living near Marquissant, in the neighbourhood of
-Port-au-Prince, and there went through all the ceremonies that were
-required. He bathed in the blood of goats, made considerable presents
-to the priests and priestesses, and then feasted with the assembly,
-who all gave themselves up to the lowest debauchery, and kept up these
-festivities so long that even the iron frame of the President gave way,
-and he was confined to his bed for many days after.
-
-The fortunes of war still continuing adverse, he again consulted the
-Papaloi or priest, who insisted that he must now go through the highest
-ceremony; that the “goat without horns” must be slain, and that he
-must be anointed with its blood. If he agreed to this, then the priest
-assured him of certain victory over his enemies.
-
-Whether Salnave gave in or not I cannot say positively. His enemies
-of all classes declared he did; his friends among the lower orders
-confirmed the story; but the few respectable people who adhered to his
-cause naturally denied the truth of the accusation. I think the weight
-of evidence was more against him than for him.
-
-To explain the phrase of “the goat without horns,” I must notice that
-there are two sects which follow the Vaudoux worship--those who only
-delight in the blood and flesh of white cocks and spotless white goats
-at their ceremonies, and those who are not only devoted to these, but
-on great occasions call for the flesh and blood of the “goat without
-horns,” or human victims.
-
-When Hayti was still a French colony Vaudoux worship flourished, but
-there is no distinct mention of human sacrifices in the accounts
-transmitted to us. In Moreau de St. Méry’s excellent description of
-the colony, from whose truthful pages it is a pleasure to seek for
-information, he gives a very graphic account of fetishism as it existed
-in his day, that is, towards the close of the last century.
-
-After describing certain dances, he remarks that the Calinda and
-the Chica are not the only ones brought from Africa to the colony.
-There is another which has been known for a long time, principally
-in the western part of the island (Hayti), and which has the name of
-Vaudoux.[9] But it is not merely as a dance that the Vaudoux merits
-consideration; at least it is accompanied by circumstances that give it
-a rank among those institutions in which superstition and ridiculous
-practices have a principal part.
-
-According to the Arada negroes, who are the true sectaries of the
-Vaudoux in the colony, who maintain its principles and its rules,
-Vaudoux signifies an all-powerful and supernatural being, on whom
-depend all the events which take place in the world. This being is
-the non-venomous serpent, and it is under its auspices that all those
-assemble who profess this doctrine. Acquaintance with the past,
-knowledge of the present, prescience of the future, all appertain to
-this serpent, that only consents, however, to communicate his power
-and prescribe his will through the organ of a grand priest, whom the
-sectaries select, and still more by that of the negress whom the love
-of the latter has raised to the rank of high priestess.
-
-These two delegates, who declare themselves inspired by their god, or
-in whom the gift of inspiration is really manifested in the opinion
-of their followers, bear the pompous names of King and Queen, or the
-despotic ones of Master and Mistress, or the touching titles of Papa
-and Mama. They are during their whole life the chiefs of the great
-family of the Vaudoux, and they have a right to the unlimited respect
-of those that compose it. It is they who decide if the serpent agrees
-to admit a candidate into the society, who prescribe the obligations
-and the duties he is to fulfil; it is they who receive the gifts and
-presents which the god expects as a just homage to him. To disobey
-them, to resist them, is to disobey God himself, and to expose oneself
-to the greatest misfortunes.
-
-This system of domination on the one hand, and of blind obedience on
-the other, being well established, they at fixed dates meet together,
-and the King and Queen of the Vaudoux preside, following the forms
-which they probably brought from Africa, and to which Creole customs
-have added many variations, and some traits which betray European
-ideas; as, for instance, the scarf, or rich belt, which the Queen wears
-at these assemblies, and which she occasionally varies.
-
-The reunion for the true Vaudoux worship, for that which has least
-lost its primitive purity, never takes place except secretly, in
-the dead of night, and in a secure place safe from any profane eye.
-There each initiated puts on a pair of sandals and fastens around
-his body a number, more or less considerable, of red handkerchiefs,
-or of handkerchiefs in which that colour predominates. The King of
-the Vaudoux has finer handkerchiefs and in greater number, and one
-that is entirely red, with which he binds his forehead as a diadem. A
-girdle, generally blue, gives the finishing-stroke to the tokens of his
-resplendent dignity.
-
-The Queen, dressed with simple luxury, also shows her predilection for
-the red colour,[10] which is generally that of her sash or belt.
-
-The King and Queen place themselves at one end of the room, near a kind
-of altar, on which is a box where the serpent is kept, and where each
-adept can see it through the bars of its cage.
-
-When they have verified that no curious stranger has penetrated
-into the place, they commence the ceremony by the adoration of the
-serpent, by protestations of being faithful to its worship and
-entirely submissive to its commands. They renew, holding the hands of
-the King and Queen, the oath of secrecy, which is the foundation of
-the association, and it is accompanied by everything horrible which
-delirium could imagine to render it more imposing.
-
-When the followers of the Vaudoux are thus prepared to receive the
-impressions which the King and Queen desire them to feel, they take the
-affectionate tone of a tender father or mother; vaunt the happiness
-which is the appanage of those who are devoted to the Vaudoux; they
-exhort them to have confidence in him, and to give him the proofs of it
-by taking his counsel in all the most important circumstances of their
-lives.
-
-Then the crowd separates, and each one who may desire it, and according
-to his seniority in the sect, approaches to implore the aid of the
-Vaudoux. Most of them ask for the talent to be able to direct the
-conduct of their masters. But this is not enough: one wants more money;
-another the gift of being able to please an unfeeling one; another
-desires to reattach an unfaithful lover; this one wishes for a prompt
-cure or long life; an elderly female comes to conjure the god to end
-the disdain with which she is treated by the youth whose love she
-would captivate; a young one solicits eternal love, or she repeats the
-maledictions that hate dictates to her against a preferred rival. There
-is not a passion which does not give vent to its vow, and crime itself
-does not always disguise those which have for object its success. At
-each of these invocations the King of the Vaudoux appears absorbed in
-thought. The spirit seizes him; suddenly he takes hold of the box in
-which the serpent is confined, places it on the ground, and commands
-the Queen to get on it. As soon as the sacred ark is beneath her feet,
-the new Pythoness is filled by the spirit of their god; she trembles,
-all her body is in a state of convulsion, and the oracle speaks by her
-mouth. Now she flatters and promises happiness, now she bursts into
-reproaches; and according to her wishes, her interest, or her caprice,
-she dictates as decrees without appeal everything which she is pleased
-to prescribe, in the name of the serpent, to this imbecile crowd, that
-never expresses the slightest doubt of the most monstrous absurdity,
-and that only knows how to obey what is despotically dictated to it.
-
-After all these questions have received some kind of an answer from the
-oracle, many of which are not without ambiguity, they form a circle,
-and the serpent is again placed on the altar. Then his followers bring
-as tribute the objects they think most worthy, and that no jealous
-curiosity shall raise a blush, the offerings are placed in a covered
-hat. The King and Queen then promise that the offerings shall be
-accepted by their god. It is from this collection that the expenses
-of the meetings are paid, that aid is afforded to absent members,
-or to those present who may be in want, or to others from whom the
-society may expect something in favour of its glory or renown. They
-now propose and settle their future plans, they consider what is to be
-done, and all this is declared by the Queen the will of the god; often
-enough these plans have not for object either good order or public
-tranquillity. A fresh oath, as execrable as the first, engages each one
-to be silent as to what has passed, to aid in what has been settled;
-and sometimes a vase, in which there is the blood of a goat, still
-warm, seals on the lips of those present the promise to suffer death
-rather than reveal anything, and even to inflict it on any one who may
-forget that he is thus so solemnly bound to secrecy.
-
-After these ceremonies commences the dance of the Vaudoux.
-
-If there should be a new candidate, it is by his admission that the
-_fête_ commences. The King of the Vaudoux, with some black substance,
-traces a large circle, and in this the novice is placed; and in his
-hand he puts a packet of herbs, horsehair, pieces of horn, and other
-trifling objects. Then lightly touching him on the head with a slight
-wooden wand, he thunders forth an African song, which is repeated in
-chorus by those who stand around the circle; then the new member begins
-to tremble and to dance, which is called to practise Vaudoux. If,
-unhappily, excess of excitement makes him leave the circle, the song
-immediately ceases, the King and Queen turn their backs to avert the
-evil omen. The dancer recollects himself, re-enters the circle, again
-trembles, drinks, and arrives at length at so convulsive a state, that
-the King orders him to stop, by striking him lightly on the head with
-his wand, or, should he think it necessary, with a heavy _kurbash_. He
-is taken to the altar to swear, and from that moment he belongs to the
-sect.
-
-This ceremony over, the King places his hand or his foot on the
-box in which the serpent is confined, and soon becomes agitated.
-This impression he communicates to the Queen, and from her it gains
-the whole circle, and every one commences certain movements, in
-which the upper part of the body, the head and shoulders, appear to
-be dislocated. The Queen above all is a prey to the most violent
-agitation. From time to time she approaches the serpent in order to
-add to her frenzy; she shakes the box, and the hawkbells attached to
-it sound like a fool’s bauble, and the excitement goes on increasing.
-This is augmented by the use of spirituous liquors, which the adepts
-do not spare. With some, fainting fits follow, with others a species of
-fury; but a nervous trembling seizes them all, which they appear unable
-to master. They go on spinning round, and in their excitement some tear
-their clothes, others bite their own flesh; then again many fall to the
-ground utterly deprived of sense, and are dragged into a neighbouring
-dark apartment. Here in the obscurity is too often a scene of the most
-disgusting prostitution.
-
-At length lassitude puts an end to these demoralising scenes, to be
-renewed again at a date which is carefully settled beforehand.
-
-In reading this account, freely given from Moreau de St. Méry, I have
-been struck how little change, except for the worse, has taken place
-during the last century. Though the sect continues to meet in secret,
-they do not appear to object to the presence of their countrymen who
-are not yet initiated. In fact, the necessity of so much mystery is not
-recognised, when there are no longer any French magistrates to send
-these assassins to the stake.
-
-Notwithstanding their efforts to keep strangers far from their
-sacrifices, two Frenchmen succeeded in being present on different
-occasions.
-
-At a dinner at which I was present, I heard the Archbishop of
-Port-au-Prince give the following account of what had occurred the
-preceding week (in 1869). A French priest who had charge of the
-district of Arcahaye, had the curiosity to witness the Vaudoux
-ceremonies, and he persuaded some of his parishioners to take him to
-the forest, where a meeting of the sect was to be held. They were very
-unwilling, saying that, if discovered, he and they would be killed;
-but he promised faithfully that, whatever happened, he would not
-speak a word. They blacked his hands and face, and disguising him as
-a peasant, took him with them. In Salnave’s time the Vaudoux priests
-were so seldom interrupted, that few precautions were taken against
-surprise, and the neighbouring villagers flocked to the ceremony.
-With these the Catholic priest mixed, and saw all that went on. As in
-the previous description, the people came to ask that their wishes
-should be gratified, and the priestess stood on the box containing
-the serpent. At first she went into a violent paroxysm, then, in a
-sort of half-trance, she promised all that they could desire. A white
-cock and then a white goat were killed, and those present were marked
-with their blood. Up to this point, it appeared as if Monseigneur were
-repeating some pages from Moreau de St. Méry, but it soon changed. He
-continued:--Presently an athletic young negro came and knelt before the
-priestess and said, “O Maman, I have a favour to ask.” “What is it, my
-son?” “Give us, to complete the sacrifice, the goat without horns.” She
-gave a sign of assent; the crowd in the shed separated, and there was a
-child sitting with its feet bound. In an instant a rope already passed
-through a block was tightened, the child’s feet flew up towards the
-roof, and the priest approached it with a knife. The loud shriek given
-by the victim aroused the Frenchman to the truth of what was really
-going on. He shouted, “Oh, spare the child!” and would have darted
-forward, but he was seized by his friends around him, and literally
-carried from the spot. There was a short pursuit, but the priest got
-safely back to the town. He tried to rouse the police to hasten to the
-spot, but they would do nothing. In the morning they accompanied him to
-the scene of the sacrifice. They found the remains of the feast, and
-near the shed the boiled skull of the child.
-
-The authorities at Arcahaye were exceedingly incensed with the priest
-for his interference, and, under pretence that they could not answer
-for his safety, shipped him off to Port-au-Prince, where he made his
-report to the Archbishop.
-
-Another Frenchman, who resided in a village in the southern department,
-witnessed the whole ceremony, and, as he remained silent, was
-undiscovered; but on its being rumoured that he had been present, his
-wife’s Haytian family insisted on his leaving the district, as his life
-was in danger.
-
-I have frequently heard similar details from educated Haytians, and a
-proof will presently be given.
-
-I may notice that the Haytians have corrupted the compounds Papa Roi
-and Maman Roi into Papaloi and Mamanloi.
-
-The temples of the Vaudoux, called Humfort, are to be found in every
-district of the country. They are in general small, though one I
-visited in the interior was spacious, and was papered with engravings
-from the _Illustrated London News_, and the walls were hung with the
-pictures of the Virgin Mary and of various saints. I may notice that
-in every one I entered I found similar pictures. In the largest one, a
-Catholic priest had often said mass during his inland tours. Though he
-could not prove it, he shrewdly suspected that the Vaudoux worship was
-carried on there during his frequent absences. He showed me some very
-curious polished stones of various forms, which he had induced some of
-his disciples to give up. One was a stone axe in shape of a crescent;
-and the negroes said that they had been brought from Africa, and formed
-part of the relics they worshipped. I believe my informant obtained
-these stones from a young negress during the absence of her husband,
-who was very indignant on discovering their loss. The French priest
-destroyed them, to prevent their falling again into the hands of his
-congregation.
-
-Beside various Christian emblems, I found in one of the temples a flag
-of red silk, on which was worked the following inscription:--“Société
-des Fleurs za Dahomïan,” whatever that may refer to. This flag was
-said to have been the gift of the Empress, the consort of the Emperor
-Soulouque.
-
-Once whilst strolling with a friend in the mountains at the back of
-La Coupé, about six miles from Port-au-Prince, I was shown another
-small temple. As the guardian was a sort of dependant of the Haytian
-gentleman who was with me, we were allowed to enter, and were shown
-a box under a kind of altar, in which we were told the serpent was
-confined, but we could not induce the man to let us see it, as he
-feared the anger of the Papaloi.
-
-I have remarked that the temples are generally small. To accommodate
-the crowd, however, permanent or temporary sheds are erected near,
-and there is generally the guardian’s house besides, in which to take
-shelter or carry on their debauch.
-
-The Papalois may generally be distinguished by the peculiar knotting of
-their curly wool, which must be a work of considerable labour, and by
-their profusion of ornaments. We noticed the former peculiarity at the
-trial of some sorcerers, whilst the jailers probably had relieved them
-of the latter. I have frequently remarked these knotted-headed negroes,
-and the attention they received from their sable countrymen.
-
-In general, when incidents are spoken of in society in Hayti relating
-to the Vaudoux worship, Haytian gentlemen endeavour to turn the
-conversation, or they say you have been imposed upon, or the events
-have been exaggerated. But the incidents I am about to relate formed
-the subject of a trial before a criminal court, and are to be found
-detailed in the official journal of the period, and I was present
-during the two days that the inquiry lasted.
-
-It occurred during the Presidency of General Geffrard, the most
-enlightened ruler that that unfortunate country possessed since the
-time of President Boyer; it too plainly proved that the fetish worship
-of the negroes of Africa had not been forgotten by their descendants,
-nor to be denied by any one, and the attention of the whole country was
-drawn to the subject of cannibalism. As the case greatly interested
-me, I made the most careful inquiries and followed it in its most
-minute particulars. It is worth while relating the whole story in its
-disgusting details, as it is one of the truth of which there is not a
-shadow of a doubt.
-
-A couple of miles to the west of Port-au-Prince lies the village of
-Bizoton, in which there lived a man named Congo Pellé. He had been a
-labourer, a gentleman’s servant, an idler, who was anxious to improve
-his position without any exertion on his own part. In this dilemma he
-addressed himself to his sister Jeanne, who had long been connected
-with the Vaudoux--was, in fact, the daughter of a priestess, and
-herself a well-known Mamanloi--and it was settled between them that
-about the new year some sacrifice should be offered to propitiate the
-serpent. A more modest man would have been satisfied with a white cock
-or a white goat, but on this solemn occasion it was thought better to
-offer a more important sacrifice. A consultation was held with two
-Papalois, Julien Nicolas and Floréal Apollon, and it was decided that a
-female child should be offered as a sacrifice, and the choice fell on
-Claircine, the niece of Jeanne and Congo.
-
-This was the account given in court; but it appears also to be an
-undoubted fact that human sacrifices are offered at Easter, Christmas
-Eve, New Year’s Eve, and more particularly on Twelfth Night, or _Les
-Fêtes des Rois_.
-
-On the 27th December 1863, Jeanne invited her sister, the mother of
-Claircine, to accompany her to Port-au-Prince, and the child, a girl
-of about twelve years of age, was left at home with Congo. Immediate
-advantage was taken of the mother’s absence, and Claircine was
-conducted to the house of Julien, and from thence to that of Floréal,
-where she was bound, and hidden under the altar in a neighbouring
-temple. In the evening, the mother, returning home, asked for her
-child, when her brother Congo told her it had strayed away; a pretended
-search was made by those in the plot, and another Papaloi was
-consulted. This man told the mother not to be uneasy, as the Maître
-d’Eau, or the spirit of the water, had taken her daughter, but that in
-a short time her child would be restored to her. The woman believed, or
-pretended to believe, this story, and, by the papa’s recommendation,
-burnt candles before the altar of the Virgin Mary for the prompt return
-of her offspring,--another proof of the strange mingling of Catholicism
-and Vaudoux worship.
-
-On the evening of the 31st of December a large party assembled at the
-house of Jeanne to await the arrival of the child, who had remained for
-four days bound under the altar. When the chief members of the plot
-came to the temple to bring her out, she, guessing the fate reserved
-for her, gave two or three piercing shrieks, which were soon stifled,
-and, gagged and bound, she was carried to Jeanne’s house, where
-preparations were made for the human sacrifice. She was thrown on the
-ground, her aunt holding her by the waist, whilst the Papaloi pressed
-her throat, and the others held her legs and arms; her struggles
-soon ceased, as Floréal had succeeded in strangling her. Then Jeanne
-handed him a large knife, with which he cut off Claircine’s head, the
-assistants catching the blood in a jar; then Floréal is said to have
-inserted an instrument under the child’s skin, and detached it from
-the body. Having succeeded in flaying their victim, the flesh was cut
-from the bones, and placed in large wooden dishes; the entrails and
-skin being buried near to the cottage. The whole party then started for
-Floréal’s house, carrying the remains of their victim with them. On
-their arrival Jeanne rang a little bell, and a procession was formed,
-the head borne aloft, and a sacred song sung. Then preparations were
-made for a feast.
-
-Roused by the noise caused by the arrival, a woman and girl sleeping in
-another chamber looked through some chinks in the wall and saw all that
-passed,--Jeanne cooking the flesh with Congo beans, small and rather
-bitter (_pois congo_), whilst Floréal put the head into a pot with yams
-to make some soup. Whilst the others were engaged in the kitchen, one
-of the women present, Roséide Sumera, urged by the fearful appetite of
-a cannibal, cut from the child’s palm a piece of flesh and ate it raw
-(this I heard her avow in open court).
-
-The cooking over, portions of the prepared dish were handed round, of
-which all present partook; and the soup being ready, it was divided
-among the assistants, who deliberately drank it. The night was passed
-in dancing, drinking, and debauchery. In the morning the remains
-of the flesh were warmed up, and the two witnesses who had watched
-the proceedings were invited to join in the repast: the young woman
-confessed that she had accepted the invitation, but the girl did not.
-
-Not satisfied with this taste of human flesh, the priests now put the
-young girl, who had watched their proceedings from a neighbouring room,
-in the place of Claircine, and she was bound in the temple, to be
-sacrificed on Twelfth Night. It came out in evidence that she had been
-decoyed to the house for that purpose, and that the young woman who was
-sleeping in the same room was in reality in charge of her.
-
-Fortunately for her, the inquiries which Claircine’s mother had made
-on her first arrival home and the disappearance of the second girl
-had roused the attention of an officer of police, and a search being
-made, the freshly-boiled skull of the murdered girl was found among the
-bushes near Floréal’s house, where careless impunity had induced the
-assassins to throw it. A further search led to the discovery of the
-girl bound under the altar and the other remains of Claircine.
-
-Fourteen persons were arrested, against eight of whom sufficient
-evidence could be obtained, and these were sent to prison to answer for
-their crime before a criminal court. The trial commenced on the 4th
-of February 1864, and lasted two days. Incidents were related in the
-course of the evidence which showed how the lower classes are sunk in
-ignorance and barbarity, and renewed the proofs, if any fresh proofs
-were required, that the Vaudoux worship is associated by them with the
-ceremonies of the Catholic religion, even the Papalois recommending the
-burning of tapers in the Christian churches, and the having crosses and
-pictures of the Virgin Mary strangely mingled on their altars with the
-objects of their superstition.
-
-In the dock we saw the eight prisoners, four men and four women, with
-faces of the ordinary Haytian type, neither better nor worse. Their
-names were: men--Julian Nicholas, a Papaloi; Floréal Apollon, another
-Papaloi; Guerrier François and Congo Pellé: the women--Jeanne Pellé,
-a Mamanloi, Roséide Sumera, Neréide François, and Beyard Prosper.
-Some had been servants to foreigners, others had been gardeners and
-washerwomen. The French procedure is observed in all trials in Hayti,
-and to an Englishman the procedure, as practised in that republic,
-is contrary to the first principles of justice. The prisoners were
-bullied, cajoled, cross-questioned, in order to force avowals, in fact,
-to make them state in open court what they were said to have confessed
-in their preliminary examinations. I can never forget the manner in
-which the youngest female prisoner turned to the public prosecutor and
-said, “Yes, I did confess what you assert, but remember how cruelly I
-was beaten before I said a word;” and it was well known that all the
-prisoners had at first refused to speak, thinking that the Vaudoux
-would protect them, and it required the frequent application of the
-club to drive this belief out of their heads. That prisoners are
-tortured to make them confess is known to be a common practice in Hayti.
-
-However this may have been in the present case, there, on a table
-before the judge, was the skull of the murdered girl, and in a jar the
-remains of the soup and the calcined bones; and the avowals of the
-prisoners in court and the testimony of the witnesses were too clear
-and circumstantial to leave a doubt as to their criminality.
-
-As I have remarked, I was in court during the two days’ trial, and I
-never was present at one where the judge conducted himself with greater
-dignity. His name was Lallemand, and he was one of the few magistrates
-who had the courage to do justice, even when political passion would
-have condemned victims unheard.
-
-Among those who gave their evidence was the young girl who witnessed
-the ceremonies, and for whom was reserved the fate of Claircine. The
-judge called her up to his side, and gently asked her to tell the court
-what she had seen; but, with a frightened look, she started and burst
-into tears, and the judge, looking up sharply, saw the prisoners making
-the most diabolical grimaces at the poor child. He then turned round
-to the jury and said, in view of the intimidation attempted, he would
-do what was not strictly regular; the child should whisper the story to
-him, and he would repeat it to the court. He placed her with her back
-to the prisoners, and putting his arm round her, drew her gently to
-him, and said in a soft voice, “Tell me, _chère_, what occurred.” The
-girl, in a very low tone, began her testimony, but the silence in court
-was so profound, that not a word she uttered was lost, and, almost
-without faltering, she told her story in all its horrible details; but
-her nerves then gave way so completely, that she had to be taken out
-of court, and could not be again produced to answer some questions the
-jury wished to ask.
-
-Then the young woman, her companion of that night, was called, and
-she confirmed the account, and confessed that in the morning she had
-joined in the feast; the mother’s testimony followed, and that of
-numerous other witnesses. The guilt of the prisoners was thus fully
-established, when one of the female prisoners, Roséide, in the hopes
-perhaps of pardon, entered into every particular of the whole affair,
-to the evident annoyance of the others, who tried in vain to keep her
-silent. Her testimony was the most complete, and left not a doubt of
-the culpability of the whole of the prisoners. I did in consequence
-suggest that her life should be spared, but President Geffrard reminded
-me that it was she who had confessed, in open court, that she had eaten
-the palms of the victim’s hands as a favourite morsel.
-
-Jeanne, the old woman, though she showed the utmost coolness during
-the trial, did at length appeal for mercy, saying she had only been
-practising what had been taught her by her mother as the religion of
-her ancestors. “Why should I be put to death for observing our ancient
-customs?”
-
-They were all found guilty of sorcery, torture, and murder, and
-condemned to death.
-
-I asked the public prosecutor if he thought that the mother had been
-really ignorant of the fate reserved for her child. He replied, “We
-have not thought proper to press the inquiry too closely, for fear
-that we should discover that she partook of the feast; we required her
-testimony at the trial.” After a pause, he added, “If full justice were
-done, there would be fifty on those benches instead of eight.”
-
-The execution took place on Saturday, February 13, 1864, the
-authorities wisely selecting a market-day, in order that the example
-might have the greater effect. The following particulars relating to
-it I received from the American Commissioner, Mr. Whiddon, who was
-present at this last scene. The prisoners, men and women, were all
-clothed in white robes and white headdresses, the garments reserved for
-parricides, and were drawn in carts to the place of execution, and all
-but one had a sullen look of resignation, and neither uttered a word
-nor a complaint, whilst the eighth, the young woman Roséide, kept up a
-continued conversation with the crowd around her.
-
-Every effort was made by the Government to give solemnity to the
-occasion; the troops and National Guard were summoned, for even the
-word “rescue” had been pronounced; the principal authorities attended;
-and thousands of spectators gathered round the spot. The prisoners,
-tied in pairs, were placed in a line, and faced by five soldiers to
-each pair; they fired with such inaccuracy, that only six fell wounded
-on the first discharge. It took these untrained men fully half an
-hour to complete their work, and the incidents were so painful, that
-the horror at the prisoners’ crimes was almost turned into pity at
-witnessing their unnecessary sufferings. As usual, the prisoners
-behaved with great courage, even the women standing up unflinchingly
-before their executioners, and receiving their fire without quailing,
-and when at last they fell wounded, no cry was heard, but they were
-seen beckoning the soldiers to approach, and Roséide held the muzzle of
-a musket to her bosom and called on the man to fire.
-
-The Vaudoux priests gave out, that although the deity would permit the
-execution, he would only do it to prove to his votaries his power by
-raising them all again from the dead. To prevent their bodies being
-carried away during the night (they had been buried near the place
-of execution), picquets of troops were placed round the spot; but in
-the morning three of the graves were found empty, and the bodies of
-the two priests and the priestess had disappeared. Superstitious fear
-had probably prevented the soldiers from staying where they had been
-posted, and as most of the troops belonged to the sect of the Vaudoux,
-they probably connived at, rather than prevented, the exhumation.
-
-Among those who attended the trial were the Spanish _chargé
-d’affaires_, Don Mariano Alvarez, and the Admiral, Mendez Nuñez, but
-they were so horrified by the sight of the child’s remains on the
-judge’s table and the disgusting evidence, that they had precipitately
-to leave the court. For years Congo beans were forbidden at our table.
-
-Mr. Alvarez had a great liking for Haytian society, and lived much with
-certain families, and was very familiar with what was occurring in the
-country. I therefore asked him if he had any objection to give me some
-extracts from his official reports on the subject of the Vaudoux; he
-freely consented, and authorised me to publish the same in any way I
-pleased. I propose to insert some extracts in this chapter, as they
-confirm my own inquiries.
-
-I have elsewhere remarked, but I may repeat it, that all prisoners
-condemned to death in Hayti, whether their crimes be political or
-otherwise, are shot, and as but two or three soldiers are told off to
-each prisoner, the consequence is that almost every execution that
-takes place resembles, instead of a solemn warning, a frightful and
-pitiable butchery.
-
-President Geffrard behaved with great courage on this occasion, for
-though continued appeals were made for pardon, he remained firm. He
-was warned that such an execution would sap the attachment of the
-masses, but he insisted that the condemned should be put to death. The
-example probably deterred others from openly committing such crimes, or
-from committing them near civilised centres; but when Geffrard quitted
-power, the sect again raised its head, and human sacrifices became
-common. We, however, heard little of these dreadful rites after the
-fall of Salnave. It can scarcely be said that civilisation is making
-progress; it is more probable that the authorities, absorbed in their
-petty intrigues to maintain power, did not care to inquire too closely
-into the disappearance of children.
-
-I believe that the latter is the true explanation, and that instead
-of there having been any amelioration, the subject is only ignored,
-as one likely to give trouble. Instead of the country advancing in
-civilisation since the fall of Geffrard, it has retrograded. Civil
-wars and the imbecile Government of Nissage-Saget followed, and then
-again insurrections and civil war. It cannot be supposed that under the
-Government of General Domingue (1874 and 1875) the Vaudoux worship was
-discouraged, when it was openly stated and believed that one of his
-Ministers was a Papaloi, and head of the sect in the southern province.
-His brutal character and love of bloodshed would add to the suspicion.
-Under the next President (1876-78), Boisrond-Canal, a decree was issued
-forbidding any Vaudoux dances, as, under cover of these, other rites
-were carried on; but that decree has, I hear, been since repealed. Who
-is to think of the improvement of the masses whilst struggling to
-maintain a precarious tenure of power?
-
-Mr. Alvarez’s account of the Claircine incident differs only in a few
-trifles from mine, but he had not the opportunities I had fully to
-investigate it. He says:--“I have previously reported on the subject
-of the fetish sect of Vaudoux, imported into Hayti by the slaves
-coming from the tribes on the western coast of Africa, and mentioning
-the crimes of these cannibals. To-day I enclose an extract from the
-official _Moniteur_, in which they have commenced to publish the
-process against four men and four women, who were shot near this
-capital on the 13th instant, convicted on their own confession of
-having eaten, in Bizoton, near Port-au-Prince, on the night of the 10th
-of December last, a young child of six years old, called Claircine,
-whose own aunt delivered her to these anthropophagi, and for having
-another child that they were feeding up to sacrifice and eat on the
-first days of January, in commemoration of the feast of the King of
-Africa. I assisted at the trial, and there appeared to have been no
-doubt that if the public prosecutor had desired to verify the case
-minutely, not only the witnesses, but even the mother of the victim,
-merited the same fate as the cannibals who were proved to have eaten
-her.”
-
-“President Geffrard, who is not afraid of the Vaudoux, although all the
-mountains and plains of the republic are full of these anthropophagi,
-with an energy which does him honour has caused the authorities
-to throw down the altars, collect the drums, timbrels, and other
-ridiculous instruments which the Papalois use in their diabolical
-ceremonies, and in the district of Port-au-Prince has imprisoned many
-individuals of both sexes, who, on being interrogated, confessed what
-had been the fate of other children who had disappeared from their
-homes, and whose whereabouts were unknown.”
-
-As an instance of what occurred in the time of the Emperor Soulouque,
-I may again seek the testimony of Mr. Alvarez. In 1852, in consequence
-of a denunciation, Vil Lubin, governor of Port-au-Prince, arrested in
-the neighbourhood of that city about fifty individuals of both sexes.
-On examining the house in which human sacrifices were offered, packages
-of salted human flesh were found rolled up in leaves. These were thrown
-into the sea. During the examination of the prisoners, they declared
-that among the members of the best families of the city were many
-associates of the society of the Vaudoux, and that if the authorities
-desired to be satisfied of this assertion, let them be permitted to
-beat the little drum. They would present themselves even to the Emperor
-Soulouque himself, for among the Vaudoux worshippers no one under peril
-of his life would be wanting to his engagements. This case was allowed
-to drop.
-
-In part proof of the above statement, Mr. Alvarez tells the following
-story:--One of the principal ladies of Port-au-Prince, rich, and of
-good family, was found late at night by General Vil Lubin stretched
-out at the door of the Catholic cathedral, wearing only the blue dress
-of the country negresses, without shoes, and going through certain
-incantations called _wanga_. The governor accompanied this lady to her
-house. I knew the person to whom Mr. Alvarez alludes, and certainly she
-was one of the last women whom I should have suspected to have belonged
-to the Vaudoux.
-
-I add some further observations of Mr. Alvarez, as they give the view
-held by a Catholic who represented a Catholic power:--“1862.--The
-delegate of his Holiness, Monseigneur Testard du Cocquer, has left,
-much disgusted with this country on account of the corruption of its
-customs, the dearth of religion among the sectaries of the Vaudoux,
-and the opposition and want of confidence with which he met in what is
-called in Hayti civilised society. In order that you may appreciate
-the accuracy of the incidents which pass here, a simple narration of
-some of a very recent epoch will be sufficient to show the powerful
-influence exercised on the inhabitants by the sect or the society of
-the Vaudoux, so spread throughout the country; this, with other causes
-inherent in the race, to which it would be tiresome to refer, prove
-that Hayti is, of all the republics in America, the most backward and
-the most pernicious in every point of view. From the same motive, I
-will not stop to speak of the origin of the fetish religion of the
-Vaudoux, or the worship of the serpent, imported from the tribes of the
-west coast of Africa by the slaves coming from that country, and I now
-pass to facts.
-
-“In the month of August past (1862) there died, in the section called
-Belair, a negro, and his body was taken to the Catholic church.
-The defunct belonged to the society of the Vaudoux. The men and
-women who accompanied the corpse began in the temple to scream like
-those possessed, and they commenced a scene such as might occur in
-Mid-Africa. The Abbé Pascal tried to re-establish order; his requests
-that they should respect the sacred precincts were useless; and
-the Abbé having refused, on account of this scandalous conduct, to
-accompany the body to the cemetery, the mourners fell upon him, seized
-him by the collar, and he had to fly to the sacristy, the interference
-of a foreigner alone saving him from further ill-treatment; but the
-tumult was so great that even the cross which is used at funerals was
-broken to pieces. Two women were taken out fainting, and the rabble
-marched off to the cemetery to bury the body; some arrests were made,
-but it is not known what punishment was inflicted, as the tribunals
-always leave unpunished the misdemeanours of the sectaries of the
-Vaudoux, as I am going to prove.”
-
-Mr. Alvarez then tells a horrible story, to which I shall refer farther
-on, as it belongs to a different section of this chapter.
-
-“In February 1862 a negro was taken prisoner at Ouanaminthe for having
-assassinated his father. He was condemned to death by the tribunals;
-but he defended himself by saying that he had done no more than follow
-the orders of the serpent. In a few months he was set at liberty.
-
-“It is not long since that in one of the streets of Port-au-Prince
-was found at early morn the body of an unknown youth, of about twenty
-years of age, who had a weapon piercing his heart, and attached to
-that a thin hollow cane. It was supposed that he was assassinated in
-order to suck his blood. I might cite many other facts of which I have
-taken note, but what I have related appear sufficient for the object I
-have proposed to myself. The disappearance of children is frequent at
-certain epochs or seasons, and it is supposed that they are eaten by
-the cannibals of this society.
-
-“In the secret ceremonies of the Vaudoux the drink in use is the
-blood of animals mixed with white rum, and the Papaloi, either from
-the immoderate use they make of alcohol mixed with blood, or from the
-handling of the poisons they use in their devil craft, die in general,
-although at an advanced age, covered with leprosy and incurable sores.”
-I myself heard this stated whilst in Hayti, but I fear that a few
-exceptions have in this case made the rule.
-
-“The people endure every possible oppression from the Papaloi, and if
-you ask them why they permit these vexations and the abuses which are
-committed against one another, they answer, ‘We are indeed obliged,
-unhappy that we are: if we denounced our neighbours, certainly we
-should quickly die.’ From which it may be inferred that they tolerate
-this conduct because they fear, and they fear because they know each
-other.” This fear of one another is noticed by all foreign residents
-in Hayti: it extends to the higher classes.
-
-“The society of the Vaudoux, although now (1862, time of Geffrard) not
-so preponderant as in the time of Soulouque, who was one of its most
-believing followers, is very extended in all the republic, but there
-are few initiated into the secrets; they have their signs and symbols,
-and the society meddles in the politics of every Government which has
-existed in Hayti; they sometimes sustain them, as in certain cases they
-will act as a secret police, and the Vaudoux is looked on as one of the
-firmest props of the independence of the country.”
-
-I may notice that the Papaloi lead the most depraved lives. They are
-feared by all, and the fear inspired is so great, that few women among
-the lower orders would resist their advances. It may probably be looked
-upon as an honour. Unlimited drink is the next idea of happiness to a
-negro, and in this the offerings of their followers enable the priests
-to indulge to their hearts’ content.
-
-After studying the history of Hayti, one is not astonished that the
-fetish worship continues to flourish. The negroes imported from the
-west coast of Africa naturally brought their religion with them,
-and the worship of the serpent was one of its most distinguishing
-features. St. Méry speaks of the slaves arriving with a strange
-mixture of Mohammedanism and idolatry, to which they soon added a
-little Catholicism. Of Mohammedanism I have not myself observed
-a trace. When they found the large, almost harmless, serpent in
-Hayti, they welcomed it as their god, and their fetish priests soon
-collected their followers around them. The French authorities tried
-to put down all meetings of the Vaudoux, partly because they looked
-upon them as political, but they did not succeed in their object.
-Many of the tribes in Africa are to this day cannibals, and their
-ancestors imported probably this taste into the French colony. It was
-difficult at that epoch to indulge in it, as all the children of the
-slaves were carefully registered, and their disappearance would have
-been immediately remarked; they may, however, have made use of the
-expedients for producing apparent death, to which I will presently
-refer.
-
-Many persons appear to think that cannibalism is a later importation,
-and came with the Africans freed by our cruisers. If it were so, the
-seed fell on good ground, as the practice has spread to every district
-of the island. This opinion, however, can scarcely be correct, as
-Moreau de St. Méry, in naming the different tribes imported into
-Hayti, says:--“Never had any a disposition more hideous than the last
-(the Mondongues), whose depravity has reached the most execrable of
-excesses, that of eating their fellow-creatures. They bring also to
-Santo Domingo those butchers of human flesh (for in their country there
-are butcheries where they sell slaves as they would calves), and they
-are here, as in Africa, the horror of the other negroes.”
-
-This is a fitting introduction to the second part of this chapter,
-in which I must refer to the great knowledge of herbs as poisons and
-antidotes shown by the Papaloi--which, though possibly exaggerated
-by some inquirers, is no doubt very great--and to cannibalism as not
-connected with religious rites.
-
-In the following passages from Mr. Alvarez’s notes, the first
-impression will be that there must be gross exaggeration. I thought so
-when I first read them, but the more my inquiries extended, the less I
-was inclined to doubt them. If not exactly true, it is the firm belief
-of all classes of society that they are so. During thirteen years,
-I had the best opportunities of hearing the opinion of Presidents,
-intelligent Secretaries of State, the principal members of the medical
-profession, lawyers, merchants, both foreign and native, as well as
-other residents, who had passed a lifetime in the republic, and the
-testimony was more or less unanimous as to the profound knowledge of
-the use of herbs possessed by the Papaloi.
-
-“The human imagination cannot conceive anything more absurd, more
-barbarous, or more ridiculous than the acts committed by these
-ferocious sectaries, who are called Papaloi, Papa Boco, or other names
-as stupid as they are ill-sounding. They produce death--apparent, slow,
-or instantaneous--madness, paralysis, impotence, idiocy, _riches or
-poverty_, according to their will.
-
-“It has happened on occasions that persons have retired to bed in
-the possession of their senses to awaken idiots, and remain in
-that state in spite of the aid of science, and in a few days to be
-completely cured, when the causes which have produced the alienation
-have ceased. One individual struck another; the latter threatened him
-with impotency. At the end of fifteen days he was paralytic in all
-his members.[11] Following the counsels of a friend, he consulted a
-Papaloi, who had the coolness to confess that he had himself sold to
-his enemy the philter that had reduced him to that state, but for the
-sum of about £20 he would cure him. In fact, in a few days, by means
-of the remedies of the Papa, he was completely restored to health.
-And if it be doubted that these individuals, without even common
-sense, can understand so thoroughly the properties of herbs and their
-combinations, so as to be able to apply them to the injury of their
-fellow-creatures, I can only say that tradition is a great book, and
-that they receive these instructions as a sacred deposit from one
-generation to another, with the further advantage that in the hills and
-mountains of this island grow in abundance similar herbs to those which
-in Africa they employ in their incantations.”
-
-One case occurred in 1860, which was really so remarkable, and drew so
-much attention at the time, that there was no possibility of doubting
-it. It was supported by ample testimony. It was first told me by one
-of the most eminent medical men in Port-au-Prince, and confirmed by
-another, who had been an eyewitness of some of the details, and pledged
-his word as to its truth. I one day mentioned the story in the French
-Legation, as I was still somewhat sceptical, when, to my surprise, I
-found that it had been made the subject of an official report. Count
-Mégan, at that time _chargé d’affaires_ (1867), offered to give me an
-extract relating to that crime, with permission to publish it in any
-book I might write.
-
-The following are the particulars:--“The police having been informed
-that some shrieks had been heard at night in the cemetery of
-Port-au-Prince, went there in the morning, and found a grave disturbed,
-and near it an open coffin, and lying at the side the body of a lady
-that had been buried on the previous day. A dagger had been thrust into
-her bosom, and as blood covered her burial clothes, it was evident that
-she had been buried alive. Many arrests took place, but the affair
-was hushed up. It was currently reported, however, that the husband
-had a mistress, whom he neglected after marriage, and that this woman
-applied to a Mamanloi for aid. She received a sleeping potion which she
-contrived to give to the lady during her first confinement, and she
-was hurriedly buried, to be restored to consciousness in the graveyard
-at dead of night, with her rival armed with a dagger before her. Her
-shrieks drew the attention of some Jamaica negroes, who ran towards
-the spot shouting, but whom superstition prevented from entering the
-cemetery. Their shouts, however, caused the murderers to fly, and leave
-the corpse where it was found next morning.” This is the story as told
-me by my medical friends, and it was universally believed to be true,
-and in fact was true, and was never denied by those in authority with
-whom I conversed on the subject.
-
-The accounts given by my French and Spanish colleagues were more
-complete, and probably more exact, as they were both in Port-au-Prince
-when this tragedy occurred. My previous French colleague (the Marquis
-de Forbin Janson) wrote, 2d August 1860:--
-
-“Deux jours après mon arrivé à Port-au-Prince, une femme endormie au
-moyen d’un narcotique et enterrée le soir au cimetière de la ville, fut
-exhumée dans la nuit; elle respirait encore, on la tua, puis on enleva
-la cervelle, le cœur et la foi de la victime, dont on retrouva de
-débris près de la tombe: le lendemain matin une enquête fut ordonnée,
-on fit plusieurs arrestations, entre autres celle d’une prêtresse du
-Vaudoux (Mamanloi). Cette femme fit des révélations y, offrit même de
-livrer à la justice les auteurs du meurtre et de la profanation en
-les attirant à la prison par une puissance irresistible ou ballant
-de son tambour d’une manière particulière. La justice et la police,
-déjà effrayées du nombre et de l’importance des personnes compromises,
-reculèrent devant cette nouvelle épreuve. On ordonna aux journaux de
-se taire et l’affaire fut étouffée. On croit que la principale mobile
-du crime fut un sentiment de vengeance, mais on tient pour certain
-que les parties mutilées ont été destinées à la célébration de quelque
-mystère Vaudoux du fetichisme africain encore pratiqué, quoiqu’on dise,
-par la grande majorité des Haïtiens.”
-
-I think this case of so much importance, that, at the risk of
-repetition, I will give the report made by Mr. Alvarez:--
-
-“In July of 1860 there was committed in Port-au-Prince a horrible,
-almost an incredible crime. A young woman died suddenly, and was buried
-on the following day. At night several individuals of both sexes went
-to the cemetery, dug up the coffin, and opened it. What they actually
-did is not known, but what is positive is that the unburied began to
-shriek and shout for help. The guard near the cemetery, composed of
-Jamaicans, Louisianians, and Creoles, approached, and saw the woman
-sitting in the coffin, and various persons--a torch in one hand and a
-dagger in the other--vociferating words they could not understand. The
-Creole soldiers of the country fled dismayed, but the Louisianians,
-as soon as they had overcome the first feeling of terror, ran to the
-succour of the unburied; already it was too late, they found her dead
-from the stroke of a dagger, and her heart and lungs torn from her
-bosom. The assassins escaped, but subsequently some prisoners were
-made. In a few days the prisoners were at liberty; and it is related
-that the lungs and the heart had been cooked and eaten in one of the
-country-houses in Bizoton.”
-
-My friend, Auguste Elie, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
-deplored but could not deny the truth of this story; and having no
-Vaudoux prejudices himself, having been born and bred in France,
-conversed freely on the subject, and told us many particulars that had
-come to his knowledge.
-
-Of the truth of the following story I had the testimony of ocular
-witnesses. A lady hearing that a child near her house was ill, went
-down to see it. She found it lying stupefied in the mother’s lap. Her
-suspicions were aroused, and she sharply questioned the mother as to
-what had been done to the child. Her answers were so unsatisfactory,
-yet mournful, that the lady determined to keep a watch on the case. She
-called in the evening, and was told the child was dead. She insisted
-on seeing the corpse, and found that though the heart was still and
-the pulse had ceased to beat, yet that the child did not look dead,
-and made the remark to the bystanders, but they answered, “Yes, it is
-dead.” She told the mother she was not satisfied, and that she would
-return in the morning with her husband, and that in the meantime the
-body must not be buried. Next day she and her husband walked down to
-the house, and asked to see the body. The mother replied that the
-neighbours having insisted, she had allowed them to bury her child,
-and pointed out the grave. The French gentleman called to some of his
-labourers, and had the grave opened. There they found the coffin, but
-the child’s body was absent. Arrests were made, but nothing came of
-it. It is supposed that it was by this means that the Papalois were
-enabled to obtain victims during the French colonial period.
-
-It is useless to multiply instances of these horrors; but that they are
-practised all over the island more or less under every government that
-has existed in Hayti is certain.
-
-You often hear the expression used in Hayti, “Li gagné chagrin,” which,
-though, referring occasionally to a known cause, often applies to a
-sort of anæmia of the mind, when a person appears to care for nothing,
-or for what becomes of him. I have inquired as to what had been done to
-the man, and the answer, if in company, was, “We don’t know;” if you
-asked a person privately, he would probably reply that somebody had
-given him _wanga_, a generic word for poisons, philters, and charms.
-
-The remark I made when I first began to inquire into this subject may
-naturally be repeated by others. If the majority of Haytians be tainted
-by the Vaudoux, who is it that denounces these horrible crimes, and how
-could a remedy be found? The answer is, that there are in Hayti, as I
-have before noticed, two sects of Vaudoux worshippers; one, perhaps
-the least numerous, that indulges in human sacrifices, the other that
-holds such practices in horror, and is content with the blood of the
-white goat and the white cock. At one time the police took no notice
-of the latter, and permitted them to carry on their ceremonies in
-Port-au-Prince in a large courtyard adjoining a house in which a
-friend of mine lived. To preserve as much secrecy as possible, the
-courtyard was hung round with cloth hangings, and watchmen placed to
-keep prying eyes at a distance; but my friend, though not curious,
-occasionally got a glimpse of the proceedings. They were much as those
-described by Moreau de St. Méry. In the country districts the Catholic
-priests say this sect calls themselves, “Les Mystères,” and that they
-mingle Christian and Vaudoux ceremonies in a singular manner. The name
-probably refers to the rites they practise. I have been assured by many
-gentlemen connected with the Haytian police, that if the followers of
-this sect did not secretly denounce to them the crimes committed by the
-others, it would be almost impossible for them to keep the assassin
-sect in check. It is probable that, acting with these comparatively
-harmless savages, the Haytian Government might be able to do much, if
-ever it seriously desires to put an end to the shedding of human blood.
-
-I have been told that, besides the goat and cock, the Vaudoux
-occasionally sacrifice a lamb; this idea they have probably taken from
-the Catholic Church--the paschal lamb; it is carefully washed, combed,
-and ornamented before being sacrificed.
-
-All that I have hitherto related refers more or less to human
-sacrifices as connected with religion; but there is another
-phase--cannibalism as practised for the sake of the food which the
-slaughtering of human beings affords to a vile section of the community.
-
-In Mr. Consul Hutchinson’s paper on the traits of African tribes,
-published in the “Transactions of the Ethnological Society,” New
-Series, vol. i. p. 338, he states: “I have during the last year seen
-it stated in a Sierra Leone newspaper, on the authority of Mr. Priddy,
-a missionary of the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connection in that
-colony, not that _he had heard of_, but _that he had seen_ hampers of
-dried human flesh carried about on men’s backs, to be sold for eating
-purposes, in the progress of a recent civil war between the Soosoo and
-Tisnney tribes.”[12] This is very similar to what was seen by a lady of
-my acquaintance in Hayti.
-
-A lady, the widow of a missionary, was forced to stay in the interior
-of Hayti (north-east of Gonaives), after the death of her husband, on
-account of the civil war in the surrounding districts in the years 1868
-and 1869, and she related some horrible incidents which were of her own
-knowledge. She declared that human sacrifices were constant, that human
-flesh was openly sold in the market. One would willingly have believed
-in exaggeration; but similar incidents, which occurred during the reign
-of Soulouque, related to me by one so intelligent and truthful as
-Auguste Elie, compelled me to accept as veritable the horrible stories
-she told in full detail.
-
-Monsieur Desjardins, an eminent French merchant in Port-au-Prince,
-remarked to me that, walking near Cap Haïtien, he met a party of
-soldiers beating a man with their clubs; he inquired the reason, and
-they told their prisoner to open his basket, and there he saw the body
-of a child cut up into regular joints.
-
-Auguste Elie told me he knew the following incident as a fact,
-which occurred during the reign of Soulouque. A man with whom he
-was acquainted was visiting in the plains with his wife, when she
-complained of feeling unwell, and they mounted their horses to return
-to town. At sunset, a violent storm coming on, they determined to halt
-at a cottage they saw near. They entered, and found two men and a woman
-there; his wife becoming worse, he determined to seek help, but was a
-long time before he could find any one to accompany him. On his return
-to the house, he inquired for his wife, and the people said that,
-becoming uneasy at his long absence, she had followed him. He rode away
-without saying a word, and calling at the next police station, induced
-the men to follow him; they surrounded the cottage, arrested the three
-inmates, and on searching the premises, found the body of the woman,
-already dismembered, in a cask in an outhouse. A thick layer of salt
-had been thrown over the remains. The only punishment these assassins
-received was that administered by the clubs of the police whilst
-conducting them to prison.
-
-The Haytians occasionally publish accounts of these crimes. I read the
-following in one of their local papers. At Jacmel, on the southern
-coast, an old woman, a midwife, was lying on her death-bed surrounded
-by her neighbours, and they were somewhat surprised at her long
-struggles and loud groaning. At last she said, “I cannot die in peace;
-put aside the bed and dig underneath;” and on doing so, great was their
-astonishment to come on numerous small skeletons, which the old fiend
-acknowledged were the remains of children she had eaten. After this
-confession they say she died quietly. One cannot but be reminded of
-the horrible picture in the Wiertz Gallery in Brussels of the woman
-cutting up and cooking the infant. It must have been painted under the
-influence of nightmare.
-
-That the practice of midwives slaying children for the purpose of
-eating them is an old one in Hayti is proved by the following story,
-related by Moreau de St. Méry:--
-
-“On a eu à Saint Domingue (Haïti) des preuves que les Mondongues y
-avait gardé leur odieuse inclination, notamment en 1786, dans une
-negresse accoucheuse et hospitalière sur une habitation aux environs de
-Jérémie. Le propriétaire ayant remarqué que la plupart des negrillons
-périssait dans les huit premiers jours de leur naissance, fit épier la
-matrone; on l’a surpris mangeant un de ces enfans récemment inhumé, et
-elle avoua qu’elle les faisait périr dans ce dessin.”
-
-As late as 1878, the last year of which I propose to treat, two women
-were arrested in a hut near Port-au-Prince. They were caught in the
-act of eating the flesh of a child raw. On further examination it was
-found that all the blood had been sucked from the body, and that
-part of the flesh had been salted for later use. In 1869 the police
-arrested, in that beautiful valley to which I have referred in my first
-chapter, about a dozen cannibals, and brought them bound to La Coupe.
-They had been denounced by the opposing sectaries of the Vaudoux. From
-the time they were taken from their houses they were beaten in the
-most unmerciful manner, and when thrown into prison they were tortured
-by the thumbscrew and by tightened cords round their foreheads, and
-under the influence of these they made some fearful avowals, in which,
-however, little confidence could be placed. A French priest, with whom
-I was on intimate terms, hearing of their arrest, had the curiosity
-to go and see them. At first they would not converse with him, but
-when they found him protesting against the inhumanity with which they
-had been treated, and threatening the jailer that he would officially
-report him should such conduct continue, they placed more confidence
-in him. He visited them nearly every day, and had many conversations
-with them in private. They confessed to him that their avowals under
-torture were true; and when the priest, horrified by the details, said
-to a mother, “How could you eat the flesh of your own children?” she
-answered coolly, “And who had a better right,--est-ce que ce n’est pas
-moi qui les ai fait?”[13]
-
-One of these prisoners died under the torture of the cord tightened
-round his forehead.
-
-Though the Haytians believe in the mythical “_loup garou_,”
-they have also the fullest faith in his counterpart among their
-fellow-countrymen. It is the _loup garou_ who is employed by the
-Papaloi to secure a child for sacrifice in case the neighbourhood does
-not furnish a suitable subject; and they are supposed to hang about
-lonely houses at night to carry off the children. I have often heard
-my young Haytian servants rush into my country-house laughingly saying
-that they had seen a _loup garou_--their laugh, however, tinged with
-a sort of dread. They have often said that these human monsters prowl
-about the house at night, and that nothing but the presence of my dogs
-kept them in respect. I have occasionally seen the object of their fear
-in an ill-looking negro hanging about the gate, but the sight of my
-dogs was enough to induce him to move on. The negroes have fortunately
-an almost superstitious terror of dogs.
-
-There is no doubt that these _loup garous_ do carry off many children,
-not only for the priests, but for cannibals. They generally look only
-for native children, and I have only heard of one instance in which
-they attempted to carry off a white girl. She was snatched from the
-arms of her nurse, whilst walking on the Champs de Mars, by a huge
-negro, who ran off with her towards the woods, but being pursued by two
-mounted gentlemen who accidentally witnessed the occurrence, he dropped
-the child to save himself.
-
-One of my Haytian friends who had studied botany informed me that the
-number of poisonous plants to be found on the island is very great,
-and that it was absolutely certain that the Papalois made use of them
-in their practices. I believe in some French botanical works lists of
-these plants have been published, and their medical value would appear
-to merit further study. It is not more remarkable that the Papalois
-should know the properties of the plants in Hayti than that the Indians
-of Peru and Bolivia should have discovered the properties of the
-cinchona bark and the coca-leaf.
-
-If it be remembered that the republic of Hayti is not a God-forsaken
-region in Central Africa, but an island surrounded by civilised
-communities; that it possesses a Government modelled on that of France,
-with President, Senate, and House of Representatives; with Secretaries
-of State, prefects, judges, and all the paraphernalia of courts of
-justice and of police; with a press more or less free; and, let me add,
-an archbishop, bishops, and clergy, nearly all Frenchmen,--it appears
-incredible that sorcery, poisonings for a fee by recognised poisoners,
-and cannibalism, should continue to pervade the island. The truth is,
-that except during one year of Geffrard’s Presidency, no Government
-has ever cared resolutely to grapple with the evil. If they have not
-encouraged it, they have ignored it, in order not to lose the favour of
-the masses.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-THE GOVERNMENT.
-
-
-The government of Hayti[14] is in form republican, but is in fact
-a military despotism, all power being concentrated in the hands of
-the President, who carries out or ignores the laws according to his
-pleasure. There are Secretaries of State, a Senate, and House of
-Representatives; but in General Geffrard’s time the Ministers had
-no power in their respective departments, but were simply clerks to
-register the will of the chief of the state. The Senate was very
-humble, whilst the House of Representatives, when it showed any signs
-of independence, as in the memorable session of 1863, was summarily
-dismissed, and a packed Chamber substituted.
-
-During the time of the next President, General Salnave, the civil war
-prevented the Congress meeting regularly. The Chambers met once; but
-drawn swords, pistol-shots, and yelling mobs caused the deputies to
-understand that with Salnave as chief of the State constitutional
-government had disappeared. “In revolutionary times, revolutionary
-measures,” said Salnave’s Chief Minister; “we must return to the
-immortal principles of 1793.” He talked much of cutting off heads,
-but, to his credit be it said, whilst Minister he never shed a drop of
-blood. Enough had been done of that during the revolution of 1865.
-
-The presidency of Nissage-Saget followed. Though the shooting of
-General Chevalier showed that he could act as illegally as any of
-his predecessors, yet he was a quiet man, who would have worked with
-the House of Representatives if they had connived at some of his
-peccadilloes, and been blind to those of his Ministers, who were often
-most unhappily chosen. But they were of more than Roman sternness
-with their friends in power. However, both the Senate and the Chamber
-of Deputies certainly influenced the Government; but as the majority
-was generally in opposition, quarrels with the executive followed,
-and Nissage-Saget, in revenge, connived at the illegal appointment of
-General Domingue to the presidentship in the spring of 1874. From this
-time forward Hayti has been going from bad to worse, until revolution
-after revolution has brought the old Finance Minister of Soulouque into
-the Government, and General Salomon is now President of Hayti.
-
-It may be seen from the above sketch that constitutional government
-is not likely to be favourably developed in such a soil as that of
-Hayti. The mass of the population, being ignorant Africans, wish to
-be governed by a despotic chief, and not by what they irreverently
-call a “tas de voleurs.” No constitutional checks are sufficiently
-strong to overcome the popular will, and as yet few Presidents have
-been able to resist the desire of the people for personal government.
-They themselves seldom show any disposition to thwart this national
-predilection.
-
-I have known Hayti for upwards of twenty years, and I must confess that
-one by one my illusions have passed away, and my opinions are very
-changed indeed from what they were during my first year’s residence in
-that country. I then knew a number of enthusiastic young lawyers and
-others, deputies and government employés, who talked admirably of their
-projects of reform, and of their desire to see the country advance in
-civilisation. I believed in this party, and was eager to see it arrive
-at power; but when it did have a chance of having a Government united
-with the Legislature in carrying out judicious reforms, it proved a
-most lamentable failure. Boisrond-Canal was President, a man full of
-good intentions, honest, who had fought gallantly against the savage
-tyranny of Salnave, and whose conduct then had merited the eulogium
-passed on him of a man “sans peur et sans reproche.” No sooner was this
-chief in power, than his former friends, jealous of his advancement,
-fell away from him, raised opposition in the Chambers, thwarted every
-project of Government, and at last, by their plots and an appeal to
-arms, brought on a revolution, which ultimately swept Boisrond-Canal
-and all his mean plotting and scheming opponents out of the country,
-and brought in General Salomon. The question of “What will he do with
-it?” is anxiously watched; and there are many who believe that a
-paternal despotism is the best solution, and may give the country some
-years of comparative peace.
-
-The Government of General Salomon has had its baptism of blood, and
-dozens of those whom I well knew have been shot since its advent.
-The Government accuse these gentlemen of having conspired. Their
-friends declare that General Salomon wished to revenge private wrongs
-of old standing, and imitate General Soulouque in terrifying the
-coloured population by wholesale massacres. Septimus Rameau, under
-President Domingue, followed this policy. He selected three of his
-most formidable adversaries to murder; succeeded with two, and drove
-many of the coloured population into exile. This is what is termed
-energetic action. It appears the starting-point for black Presidents,
-who know that no sooner are they installed in power than the coloured
-population begin to conspire. How far there is any truth in the charge
-of conspiracy against those gentlemen who were then residing in Hayti,
-I will not at this distance of time attempt to determine; but it is
-probable that their deaths may be somewhat laid at the door of those
-who, from their secure retreat in Jamaica, launched their pamphlets
-against the new Government.
-
-Constitution-making is almost the necessary result of any change of
-government in Hayti. In 1805 Dessalines issued the first constitution,
-which was revised next year by President Pétion. In the northern
-province Christophe had his own constitution as President, which he
-also had to revise in 1811 when he became King. In the western and
-northern provinces under Pétion, the constitution was also changed in
-1816, and had a long life, as it lasted till the expulsion of President
-Boyer in 1843, when the successful insurgents determined to have a
-fresh constitution, which, however, did not last long, as President
-Riché returned in 1846 to that of Pétion of 1816, only somewhat
-revised. In 1849 Soulouque, becoming Emperor, had a new constitution
-to suit the occasion, which lasted till his expulsion. Geffrard did
-not attempt to construct a new social pact; but the revolution under
-Salnave voted one in 1867, which was set aside in 1874 by Domingue.
-The last constitution is that which was voted in 1879 under General
-Salomon, and is the one now in force in Hayti.
-
-On the 23d October 1879, General Salomon was elected President for
-seven years, and the constitution is dated 18th December 1879. It
-consists of 205 Articles.
-
-Article 1. “The republic of Hayti is one and indivisible; its territory
-and the dependent islands are inviolable, and cannot be alienated by
-any treaty or convention.” This is a very favourite formula in America,
-and was the pretext for continuing a useless war on the Pacific coast,
-as both Peru and Bolivia declared that their constitutions forbid a
-cession of territory. That its territory should remain inviolable
-depends on its own conduct and the will of others, and is therefore
-rather superfluous.
-
-The articles relating to Haytians and their rights have been somewhat
-modified, and are more liberal than in former constitutions. Article
-4 declares that every African or Indian and their descendants are
-capable of becoming Haytians; and a concession is added, that, on the
-proposition of the President of Hayti, any foreigner fulfilling certain
-conditions may became a citizen.
-
-Article 6 declares that only a Haytian can become the possessor
-of real property. This is less offensive than the form of the old
-article:--“Aucun blanc quelque soit sa nation ne pourra mettre le pied
-sur ce territoire à titre de maître ou de propriétaire.” It would be
-better for their prosperity to allow every one to acquire property
-in their country, but one is not surprised that their fear of the
-interference of foreign Governments should make them exclusive.
-
-Articles 8 to 13 contain the civil and political rights of the
-citizens. Article 8 in the constitution of 1874 is omitted. It declared
-the right of asylum (in legations and consulates) to be sacred and
-inviolable, a curious subject to mention in a constitution.
-
-Articles 14 to 40 are devoted to public right.
-
-Article 14. Haytians are equal before the law, but a naturalised
-foreigner is not admissible to legislative and executive functions.
-
-Article 16. “Individual liberty is guaranteed.” This article has never
-been attended to by any Government. Every petty official thinks he
-has a right to “flanqué en prison” any one he pleases; and the next
-article, Art. 17, that he must be sent before the judge named by the
-constitution is also forgotten, and people have been kept years in
-prison without redress. Art. 18. Every house in Hayti is an inviolable
-asylum.
-
-Article 24 declares “en matière politique elle (la peine de mort) est
-abolie, et remplacée par la détention perpétuelle dans une prison.”
-Nothing could better illustrate the absurdity of Haytian laws and
-Haytian constitutions. The pen was scarcely dry that signed this
-constitution than political proscriptions commenced, and there is
-scarcely a city in Hayti that is not red with the blood of men accused
-or suspected of conspiring against the Government of General Salomon.
-
-Article 25. “Every one has the right to express his opinions on every
-subject, and to write, print, and publish his thoughts,” &c. &c.,--full
-liberty of the press. This is on a par with Article 24.
-
-Article 26. Liberty of worship. This is carried to its full extent, and
-every religion, African and Christian, is free.
-
-Article 30. “Instruction is free. Public instruction is free and
-gratuitous. Primary instruction is obligatory and gratuitous.” This is
-for the future. In Hayti to decree the establishment of anything is
-supposed to be sufficient for its fulfilment.
-
-Article 31. Trial by jury is established in all criminal and political
-cases.
-
-Article 35. “The secrecy of letters is inviolable.” In President
-Salnave’s time, the letters were taken to the Prefect of Police, opened
-and read, and then delivered without any attempt to close them; the
-letters addressed to foreigners were not respected.
-
-Article 40. “Public debts are guaranteed and placed under the safeguard
-of the loyalty of the nation.” When General ---- went to a famous
-banker in Paris to contract a debt for Hayti, the capitalist asked
-him what security he proposed to offer. The Minister replied, “La
-constitution place les dettes publiques sous la sauvegarde de la
-loyauté de la nation.” The banker looked fixedly at him for a moment
-and then coolly said, “I have _business_ to attend to,--good morning.”
-
-Articles 41 to 49 are on the sovereignty and the exercise of the powers
-therefrom derived. Art. 41. The national sovereignty resides in the
-universality of the citizens. Art. 42. The exercise of that sovereignty
-is delegated to three powers. The three powers are the legislative,
-the executive, and the judicial. They form the government of the
-republic, which is essentially democratic and representative. Art. 44.
-The legislative power is exercised by two representative chambers,--a
-chamber of deputies and a senate. Art. 45. These two can be united in a
-National Assembly according to the constitution.
-
-Article 46. The executive power is delegated to a citizen, who takes
-the title of President of the republic.
-
-Article 47. Affairs which exclusively relate to the communes are
-regulated by the communal councils, under the control of the executive
-power.
-
-Article 48. The judicial power is exercised by a court of cassation,
-civil courts, courts of appeal, of commerce and of police.
-
-Article 49. Individual responsibility is distinctly attached to every
-public function.
-
-Articles 50 to 56. Representatives are elected by the primary
-assemblies of each commune. Representatives must be twenty-five years
-of age, and are elected for five years, and are paid £60 a month,
-during the duration of the session.
-
-Articles 57 to 66 treat of the Senate: it consists of thirty members
-elected for six years. The senators are elected by the Chamber of
-Deputies from two lists of candidates, one presented by the electoral
-assemblies, and the other by the executive power. A senator must
-be thirty years of age; the Senate is renewed by thirds every two
-years. The Senate can only meet during the legislative session, save
-in exceptional cases: on adjournment it leaves a standing committee
-composed of five members. The salary of each senator is £360 a year.
-
-Articles 67 to 69 refer to the National Assembly, or union of the
-Senate and House of Representatives in one chamber. The National
-Assembly meets at the opening of every session. The prerogatives of
-the National Assembly are:--To elect a president, to declare war,
-to approve treaties, which will have no effect until so approved,
-to authorise the contraction of loans, the establishment of a
-national bank, to change the capital of the republic, to revise the
-constitution, to give letters of naturalisation.
-
-Articles 70 to 100 refer to the exercise of the legislative power.
-
-Article 71. The Legislature meets by full right on the first Monday in
-April of each year.
-
-Article 73. The President, with the consent of two-thirds of the
-Senate, can dissolve the Chambers.
-
-Article 77. Every member takes an oath to maintain the rights of the
-people, and to be faithful to the constitution.
-
-Article 79. Money bills must originate in the Commons. The rest of the
-articles refer to the duties and the rights of the members.
-
-Articles 101 to 123 refer to the President. He is elected for seven
-years, and not immediately re-eligible--must be forty years of age and
-proprietor of real estate. The President is called upon to swear the
-following oath:--“Je jure devant Dieu, devant la nation, d’observer,
-de faire observer fidèlement la constitution, et les lois du peuple
-Haïtien, de respecter ses droits, de maintenir nationale et l’intégrité
-du territoire.” I wonder whether any President, when he took that oath,
-really intended to observe it. For example--
-
-Article 24. On the non-punishment with death of political offences.
-General Salomon must have suffered greatly on this account.
-
-Articles 110 and 111. The President commands the forces by sea and
-land, and confers rank in the army according to law, and appoints as
-well all civil functionaries.
-
-Article 112. He makes treaties.
-
-Article 114. He has the right of amnesty and pardon.
-
-Article 115. Every measure must be submitted to a council of
-Secretaries of State, and (Art. 116) every act countersigned by one of
-them.
-
-Article 120. The Chamber can impeach the President before the Senate.
-
-Article 122. Salary of President, £5000 a year.
-
-Articles 124 to 131 treat of the Secretaries of State, who must
-be thirty years of age; they form a council presided over by the
-President; they have free entry into both Chambers, to institute
-measures or to oppose others; they can be called before the Chambers
-to answer interpellations, which they must answer in public or in
-secret session; they are responsible for all acts they may sign or
-countersign; their pay is £1200 a year.
-
-Articles 132 to 135 relate to communal institutions. Each commune
-has an elective council, of which the paid head, under the title of
-communal magistrate, is named by the President of the republic.
-
-Articles 136 to 158 refer to the judicial authority.
-
-Article 138 is especially important in Hayti: “No extraordinary
-tribunals can be created under any denomination whatever, particularly
-under the name of courts-martial.” A court of cassation is established
-in the capital; five courts of appeal are established, one for each
-of the departments. Each commune has at least a justice of the peace;
-civil courts are established for one or more arrondissements. All
-judges are appointed by the President; they are immovable, and cannot
-be transferred without their own consent. Tribunals of commerce are
-also established. No political or press offences can be judged in
-secret session. The other articles relate to the usual functions of
-judges.
-
-Articles 159 to 165 treat of primary and electoral assemblies. Every
-citizen over twenty-one has the right to vote, voting being by ballot.
-At one election at Port-au-Prince, the Government were very desirous
-to defeat the popular candidate, and therefore placed soldiers round
-the polling-booth armed with clubs, who demanded from each elector for
-whom he was going to vote. Whenever a known supporter of the candidate
-approached, he was beaten or hustled away by the soldiers; the
-Government finding that, in spite of these precautions, the election
-was going against them, occupied the booth and stopped the voting,
-under the plea of disturbance of the peace.
-
-Articles 166 to 178 refer to the finances. No imports can be levied
-except according to law; taxes are voted yearly; no emissions of money
-without legal sanction; no pensions, gratifications, &c., except
-according to law; no plurality of functions; every minute precaution is
-taken to ensure the most careful management of the finances, including
-audit of accounts; no money can be coined abroad or bear any effigy but
-that of the republic. I understand, however, that all the new dollars
-were coined abroad.
-
-Articles 179 to 188 relate to the armed forces. The army must not
-deliberate; no privileged corps; no one but a soldier can be promoted
-to a military grade. In my time the majority of officers had never been
-soldiers. The National Guard is composed of those citizens who are not
-in the active army.
-
-Articles 189 to 205 refer to miscellaneous subjects. The national
-colours are blue and red, placed horizontally. The white was long ago
-banished from the flag. The arms of the republic are the palm-tree
-surmounted by the cap of liberty and adorned by a trophy of arms, with
-the motto, “L’union fait la force.”
-
-Article 192. “_No Haytian or foreigner can claim damages for losses
-incurred during civil troubles._” A most ridiculous article, to which
-no foreign Government would pay the slightest attention.
-
-Article 194. The national _fêtes_ are those of the independence of
-Hayti and its heroes, the great hero being Dessalines, who decreed
-the massacre of every defenceless man, woman, or child of white
-French parentage to be found in the republic, and who was perhaps,
-without exception, one of the vilest of men. January 1st is given up
-to his memory, and the Haytians glory in his bloodthirsty deeds. The
-second national _fête_ is to agriculture--May 1st, which is one of
-the most ludicrous imaginable in its surroundings. A few cultivators
-are collected with bunches of bananas and other products, and
-prizes are distributed by the President, surrounded by hundreds of
-sneering officers. Even they can but smile at the absurdity called
-“encouragement to agriculture.”
-
-Article 197. No state of siege can be declared except during times of
-civil trouble, and then the decree must be signed by the President and
-all the Secretaries of State.
-
-Article 200. The constitution cannot be suspended, in whole or in part,
-on any excuse whatever. It can, however, be revised under certain
-conditions.
-
-Article 204. This is a very remarkable article. It suspends those
-articles for a year which proclaim the immovability of the judges, in
-order that the President may raise the magistracy to the height of its
-mission.
-
-Although this constitution appears very elaborate and proclaims great
-principles, it leaves all details to be settled by special laws, which
-are seldom passed, and never acted on unless it may suit the pleasure
-of the chief of the State.
-
-With the habits of the country, the framers of this constitution must
-have known that, in making the President of Hayti swear to observe it,
-they were forcing him to commit perjury by anticipation. The President
-swore to it, but has not kept it, and probably never intended to keep
-it. Article 24, which abolishes the punishment of death in political
-cases, has been completely set aside, and dozens of coloured men of
-mark have been sentenced to death and shot.
-
-As the Russian Government is said to be a despotism tempered by
-assassination, so the Haytian Government may be called a despotism
-tempered by revolution and exile, and occasionally by death.
-
-Their first ruler, Dessalines, was shot. Christophe committed suicide
-to escape a worse fate. Pétion died President after twelve years of
-power. Boyer was exiled after a Presidency that lasted for twenty-five
-years. Hérard-Rivière was proclaimed President on December 30, 1843,
-amid much enthusiasm, but on May 7, 1844, following he was deposed
-amid greater enthusiasm, and exiled, and General Guerrier was named
-President. Within less than a year he died, April 15, 1845, and General
-Pierrot was elected by the Council of State, March 1, 1846. The
-troops at St. Marc proclaimed Riché President, and Pierrot abdicated.
-On the 27th February following (1847) Riché died, and on the 2d
-March Soulouque was elected President. He soon tired of this form of
-government, and proclaimed himself Emperor in August 1849, and held
-that position till January 1859, when he was upset by General Geffrard
-and exiled.
-
-Geffrard restored the republic, and held the Presidency till February
-1867, when he also went into exile, to be succeeded by General Salnave
-in April 1867. In January 1870 the latter was overthrown and shot.
-
-The only President who carried through his term of office, and was
-neither exiled nor shot, was Nissage-Saget. At the completion of
-his four years, he retired on a pension to his native city, and I
-believe still lives. After Saget, General Domingue seized the reins
-of government, but was expelled in 1876, and sent wounded into exile.
-Boisrond-Canal followed. In the third year of his Presidency he was
-overthrown and banished, and in October of the same year (1879) General
-Salomon was elected for seven years.
-
-It will thus be seen that two only of all these rulers completed their
-terms of office.
-
-As was natural in an old French colony, the divisions of the country
-are French. It is divided into departments, arrondissements, and
-communes, and the governing machinery is most elaborate. There are no
-lack of candidates for every post. The general of the department and
-the general of the arrondissement are the officers in whom all power is
-really delegated, and they are generally absolute in their districts.
-The Government often, however, trust more to their general of
-arrondissement than to that of the department, as they fear to render
-the latter too powerful. They are veritable despots as a rule, and ride
-roughshod over every law at their pleasure, and are seldom called to
-account by the supreme authority.
-
-The republic of Hayti is divided as follows:--
-
-  Departments.  Chief Cities.  Arrondissements. Communes.
-
-  North         Cap Haïtien           7             18
-  North-West    Port de Paix          2              5
-  Artibonite    Gonaives              3              9
-  West          Port-au-Prince        5             14
-  South         Les Cayes             6             21
-                                     --             --
-                                     23             67
-
-The department of the north is generally the most troublesome, from the
-separatist ideas of the inhabitants. King Christophe carried out that
-idea, and kept them independent for many years; and in 1865 Salnave
-tried the same project, but failed. They are, however, always restless,
-and dislike the other departments of the republic.
-
-The department of the south is, on the whole, the most backward of all,
-and has been generally neglected, but the present holder of power,
-being a native of Les Cayes, may aid its progress.
-
-All the other departments are jealous of that of the west, as in it
-are the capital, the seat of Government, and the Treasury, to which
-contributions flow from the other departments. Their object is always
-to divert to local wants as much of the general revenue as possible,
-and they think that if they could form separate republics, they would
-have their whole income to spend.
-
-To sum up: At the head of the Government is a President chosen for
-seven years. He is supported by four or five Secretaries of State,
-who, when the chief is strong, are but his head clerks. A legislative
-body exists, consisting of a Senate of thirty paid members, generally
-very tractable; of a Chamber of Representatives of sixty members, also
-paid, who, under a chief who has the power of life and death, give
-him but little trouble. His main reliance, however, as also his main
-danger, is the army. General Salomon pays particular attention to that
-institution; has it strongly recruited, and, as long as its chiefs are
-satisfied, may defy the isolated revolutionary attempts of his enemies.
-The army is generally composed of blacks, and they look on a black
-President as their rightful head. They obey a coloured chief, but it is
-not willingly, and murmur at his punishments, whilst a black general
-might have a man beaten to death without exciting any dissatisfaction
-among his comrades.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND JUSTICE.
-
-
-RELIGION.
-
-During the long Presidency of General Geffrard, the concordat with
-Rome was carried out in some of its most essential points. Until then
-the Roman Catholic clergy in Hayti were a byword and a reproach to
-every one who respected religion. There were few priests who were not
-the expelled of other countries, and even adventurers had assumed the
-clerical garb to obtain an easy and lucrative living. There was one
-priest in the south, who was considered a _bon enfant_ and inclined to
-luxurious cheer, who turned his attention to money-making, and every
-week he sallied forth from the town of Les Cayes to forage in the
-country districts. So that he was paid his fees, it was immaterial to
-him what he was called upon to bless; he would indifferently sprinkle
-holy water on a new house or a freshly built temple dedicated to the
-Vaudoux worship. The simple inhabitants would bring out their stone
-implements, imported in former days from Africa and used in their
-fetish rites, and the priest would bless them; then he would return to
-town in a jovial mood and chuckle over his gains. In comparatively a
-few years that man remitted to Europe through an English house the sum
-of twelve thousand pounds sterling.
-
-Another, whom I knew personally, lived in a town not far from the
-capital, and his amours somewhat scandalised the Archbishop. He tried
-in vain to have him removed from his parish. The priest was popular,
-had influence in Government circles, and defied his superior. He might
-have defied him to the end had he not mixed in politics; but having
-embraced the losing side, he was ultimately banished.[15]
-
-In the same neighbourhood there lived another priest whom the
-Archbishop had dismissed for living in the same house with his large
-family, and for engaging in commerce; and Monseigneur also applied
-to the Government to have him expelled from the republic. The curé
-appealed for protection to the French Legation, saying that he should
-be completely ruined if forced suddenly to abandon the country. The
-representative of France, thinking he ought to have time granted him to
-settle his affairs, stated the case to the Haytian Minister of Public
-Worship, who agreeing with him, remarked, “Il est peut-être mauvais
-prêtre, mais bon père de famille.”
-
-There was a priest who formerly lived at La Coupe, the summer resort
-of the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince--a dapper Parisian--who was
-perfectly astonished by the accounts the peasantry gave of one of his
-predecessors; and I could gather from him that, short of being present
-at human sacrifices, the man would join in any feast given by the
-negroes in a district as full of Vaudoux worshippers as any in the
-island, and his immorality equalled his other qualities.[16]
-
-Several of these ignoble priests were Corsicans who had been driven
-from their country on account of crime. For fear, however, any one
-should consider these statements to be exaggerated, I will add to the
-testimony given by the Archbishop an extract from a speech of M. Valmy
-Lizaire, Minister of Public Worship (1863):--
-
-“N’éprouve-t-on pas un sentiment pénible et douloureux en contemplant
-l’état de notre église depuis sa naissance jusqu’à ce jour, en
-voyant la dignité du saint ministère souvent menacée et compromise
-par des inconnus sans qualités, par quelque moines la plus part du
-temps échappés de leur convents et venant offrir jusqu’à chez nous
-le dangereux spectacle de leurs dérèglements? Je ne ferai point
-l’horreur à plaisir en essayant de retracer içi tout ce que nos annales
-religieuses renferment de désordres et d’excès. Il suffit de dire que
-nulle part, peut-être dans la chrétienté, le clergé n’a profané autant
-qu’en Haïti le sacerdoce dont il est revêtu.”
-
-At length the scandal became so intolerable that the Government of
-Hayti determined to negotiate a concordat at Rome, and after many
-difficulties had been overcome, it was signed in 1860, and the Pope
-sent as his delegate Monseigneur Testard de Cosquer to bring it into
-practice. He was one of the most pleasing of men, handsome, eloquent,
-and the romantic but terrible episode related of him as the cause of
-his leaving the army and entering into holy orders rendered him an
-object of great interest to the fair sex. He brought with him a body of
-French clergy, whom he gradually installed in the different parishes of
-the republic, not, however, without a difficult struggle with those who
-formerly held possession and disgraced the Church.
-
-The concordat consisted of seventeen articles and two additions, which
-provided first for the special protection of the Catholic religion;
-the establishment of an archbishopric at Port-au-Prince, and as soon
-as possible other dependent bishoprics, paid by the State; nomination
-by the President of three bishops subject to the approval of the
-Holy See,--the clergy to take an oath of fidelity to the Government;
-establishment of seminaries and chapters; nomination of priests by
-the bishops of persons approved of by the Government, and a few other
-arrangements of lesser importance.
-
-The Roman Catholic Church, however, although the religion of the
-State, has never been popular in Hayti. Amongst the upper classes,
-disbelief, among the lower the influence of the Vaudoux, and the
-fanatical opposition of the Catholic priesthood to Freemasonry, have
-combined to prevent the Church from gaining either the confidence or
-the affection of the nation. Even over the women the priests exercise
-less influence than in other countries.
-
-Although the Roman Catholic religion is that of the State, all others
-are tolerated, and many Haytian Ministers have felt inclined to
-encourage the Protestants, not only to counterbalance any political
-influence of the priests, but with the object of creating a rivalry
-in the performance of their missionary duties. These passing fits of
-enlightenment, however, have been but of short duration, and little has
-been done to encourage any form of religion.
-
-At present Hayti is divided into five dioceses; but at the time of
-the last report I have seen, there were only one archbishop and two
-bishops; these were aided by four vicars-generals.
-
-Port-au-Prince, being the capital, is the seat of the archbishopric,
-where Monseigneur Guilloux still worthily holds sway, and he is aided
-in his duties by a vicar and chapter. He has always had a difficult
-part to play, and during the civil war of 1869 ran many risks, and was
-nearly expelled the country.
-
-The budget makes allowance for one archbishop at £800 a year; two
-bishops at £480 a year; the vicar of Port-au-Prince at £160 a year;
-three other vicars at £120 a year; and sixty-seven parish priests at
-£48 a year.
-
-Besides this regular pay, the Government is bound to furnish the clergy
-with suitable residences. The Archbishop has a very comfortable and
-spacious house, sufficiently furnished for the climate, and situated in
-the healthiest quarter of the town. The clergy receive also many fees,
-the amount for baptisms, marriages, and funerals having been fixed by
-arrangement with the Government. When I was in Port-au-Prince there
-was a very warm discussion as to whether the fees were to be employed
-towards the payment of salary, each party accusing the other of wishing
-to violate the concordat.
-
-After the expulsion of President Geffrard, the revolutionary party
-desired to upset all his arrangements, even to the concordat.
-Monseigneur Guilloux published a strong defence of that treaty, taking
-very high ground, and claiming a great deal for the Church.
-
-This pamphlet called forth the following epigram from General Alibé
-Féry:--
-
-
-LES DEUX ENCLOS.
-
-    César ne doit au Christ rien soustraire à la vigne
-    Dit notre bon prélat plus absolu qu’un czar.
-    D’accord; mais ce gardien d’un végétal insigne
-    Doit-il parfois glaner dans le champ de César?
-
-This was a much-admired specimen of Haytian wit.
-
-As I have previously observed, Hayti has never quite reconciled
-herself to the clergy, and therefore the influence exercised by the
-priest is less than in other Catholic countries. There are two patent
-causes: first, the hold that the Vaudoux worship has on the mass of
-the people, and, second, the pertinacious opposition of the Church to
-Freemasonry.
-
-It is the fashion to extol the intelligence and far-sightedness of the
-Church of Rome, but certainly the opposition shown to Freemasonry, that
-harmless institution in Hayti, has done more to injure the influence
-of the Catholic clergy among the educated classes than any other
-cause. All who know what Freemasonry is, know that its objects are to
-promote good-fellowship, with a modicum of charity and mutual aid. The
-exercise of ancient rites, which, though a mystery, are as harmless,
-and perhaps as childish, as the scenes of a pantomime, never deserved
-the opposition of a serious clergy.
-
-The Haytians are devoted to Freemasonry, and love to surround the
-funerals of their brethren with all the pomp of the order. I was once
-invited to a masonic funeral, and we marched through the town with
-banners displayed, each member wearing the insignia of his rank;
-but I noticed that as soon as the church was reached, everything
-pertaining to the order was removed from the coffin, and the members
-pocketed their insignia. We then entered the sacred building. The
-funeral was one that greatly touched us all, as it was that of a young
-officer who had that morning been killed in a duel, under peculiarly
-unfortunate circumstances. The priests came forward,--suddenly they
-stopped, and with signs of anger retreated up the church. A gentleman
-followed to inquire the cause. The abbé answered that until all signs
-of Freemasonry were removed he would not perform the ceremony. What
-signs? He replied that all the mourners had little sprigs in their
-button-holes, which was a masonic sign. We had all to conceal the
-sprigs until the ceremony was over. It was a trifle, but it excited the
-utmost anger among the mourners present.
-
-My deceased friend, Seguy-Villevalien, wrote me an account of what
-occurred on another occasion. A general and high officer in the
-brotherhood died, and the Freemasons determined to give him a grand
-funeral, and President Domingue signified his intention to be present.
-A great procession was organised, and was preparing to start for the
-cathedral, when a messenger arrived from the vicar to say that he would
-not allow the funeral to enter the church unless the masonic procession
-was given up. The President was furious, and being a very violent man,
-was ready to order a battalion to force a way for the funeral, when a
-prudent adviser said to Domingue, “The Protestants do not object to
-Freemasonry; let us send for Bishop Holly, and ask him to perform the
-service for us.”
-
-Bishop Holly willingly consented, and the procession started for the
-Protestant cathedral, where the funeral service was performed, with
-banners displayed, and every other masonic sign in full view. Nearly
-every man present was a Roman Catholic, and probably for the first
-time in Hayti had a President, his ministers, his aides-de-camp and
-followers been present in a Protestant church.
-
-The strongest feeling, however, against the Church arises from the
-prevalence, not only of the Vaudoux worship, but of its influence.
-There are thousands who would never think of attending one of its
-ceremonies who yet believe in and fear the priests of this fetish
-worship. The Papalois, however, as I have stated in Chapter V., do
-not disdain to direct their followers to mix up with their own the
-ceremonies of the Christians. They will burn candles before the church
-doors; will place on the cathedral steps all the rubbish of hair and
-bone which are religious emblems with them; and will have in their
-temples pictures of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus Christ. In former
-times they would gladly pay heavily to the degenerate priests of the
-ante-concordat days to sprinkle with holy water the altars of the
-temples under which their slimy god was held confined.
-
-When it is remembered how imbued Haytian society has been with this
-degrading worship, it is perhaps not a matter of surprise how small is
-the influence of the clergy among the rural population. The Catholic
-priests are also comparatively few in number, dislike heartily the
-life in the interior, and are paid by the State. There is also little
-enthusiasm awakened by that rivalry which a successful Protestant
-Church would have brought forth.
-
-There is no doubt but that the conduct of the clergy has been very
-much criticised in Hayti, and none, from the Archbishop downwards,
-have escaped the attention of the teller of merry anecdotes; but, as
-far as I could myself observe, their moral conduct, with very few
-exceptions indeed, was all that could be desired. At the same time they
-showed little enthusiasm, cared little for their congregations, were
-inclined to domineer, and preferred the comfort of their town-houses
-to missionary toils in the interior, and were persistently opposed to
-every liberal measure. Whilst I was in Port-au-Prince, a priest slapped
-a lady’s face in church for some error in ceremonial.
-
-The priests of the ante-concordat period no doubt rendered the task
-of the new clergy as difficult as possible, first by their pernicious
-example, and then by their opposition; but Archbishop Guilloux has
-now completely cleared the island of them, and has established a
-respectable clergy in their place. His friends say that their influence
-is daily increasing throughout the republic.
-
-The Protestants have not had much success in Hayti. The Episcopalians
-are represented by a bishop. Mr. Holly, a convert from Romanism and
-a black, was the first representative of that Church whom I met
-with in Port-au-Prince. He had many of the qualities which ensure a
-good reception. He had pleasant manners, was well educated, and was
-thoroughly in earnest; but the pecuniary support he received was so
-slight that he never could carry out his views. I believe that those
-who attend the Anglican services in the whole of Hayti number less than
-a thousand, and the majority of these are probably American and English
-coloured immigrants.
-
-The Wesleyans had for their chief pastor Mr. Bird, who was an
-institution in Hayti. He had a very good school, and was highly
-respected. There are several chapels in different parts of the island,
-and I notice, in a recent consular return, that as many as 1400 attend
-the services. With other denominations combined, the Protestant
-population may be considered to amount to between 3000 and 4000.
-
-When I first arrived in Hayti, and was curious as to the character
-of certain individuals, I was often struck by the reply, “Oh! he is
-an honest man, but then he is a Protestant,”--and this from Roman
-Catholics!
-
-The Protestants are not yet in any way sufficiently numerous or
-influential to be a counterpoise to the Catholic clergy, and do not,
-therefore, incite the latter to exertion. I did suggest that the
-Protestant clergy should all join the Freemasons’ lodges, and be ready
-to perform the religious ceremonies required at funerals. It would have
-greatly increased their popularity and influence in the country; but I
-believe my advice was considered too worldly.
-
-Divorce is another bone of contention between the Catholic clergy and
-the people. By the civil law divorce is recognised, and cases occur
-every year. The clergy denounce those who re-marry civilly as living in
-a state of concubinage, and much ill-feeling is the result.
-
-Although, as I have before remarked, the Catholic clergy have greatly
-improved in conduct since the concordat, yet, in popular estimation,
-there is still something wanting. I have not forgotten the excitement
-caused by a song which a young Haytian (black) wrote on the subject.
-A very good-looking priest had at all events been indiscreet, and the
-Archbishop decided to banish him from the capital to a rural district.
-A deputation of females, early one morning, waited on Monseigneur to
-remonstrate, but he was firm, and then the song declared:--
-
-   “Il fallait voir pleurer les mulâtresses,
-    En beaux peignoirs et les cheveux au vent;
-    Il fallait voir sangloter les négresses
-    Tout ce tableau par un soleil levant.
-                Bon voyage,
-                Cher petit blanc!
-        Tu vas troubler l’église et le ménage.
-                Bon voyage,
-                Saint petit blanc!
-        Que de regrets, O mon sacré galant!”
-
-As there was a certain amount of truth in the scandalous stories
-afloat, Monseigneur was very irritated with the author, and imprudently
-applied to Government to have him arrested. He was arrested, but
-his influential relatives soon procured his release, but under the
-condition of suppressing the song. Of course he was the hero of the
-hour, and his verses had a greater success than ever.
-
-Although “the complete ascendancy of the Church of Rome is incompatible
-with liberty and good government,” yet it is a matter of regret that
-in Hayti the Roman Catholic priests have had so little success. Their
-task is no doubt difficult, and, under present circumstances, almost a
-hopeless one. They cannot cope with so vast a mass of brutal ignorance
-and gross superstition, and one of the best men among them used often
-to complain of the little assistance they received from what might be
-considered the enlightened classes. My friend Alvarez, the Spanish
-_chargé d’affaires_, was very indignant at the idea presented by a
-French author, Monsieur Bonneau, that Catholicism was incapable of
-contending with the Vaudoux worship; but there is no doubt that as yet
-nothing has had much influence in suppressing it.
-
-The Roman Catholic Church, however, has been greatly reinforced since I
-left Hayti in 1877. It now counts as many as seventy priests, and had
-above 64,000 Easter communicants in 1863. How many of these were in
-secret followers of the Vaudoux?
-
-To afford a special supply of priests for Hayti, the Archbishop Testard
-de Cosquer established in 1864 a Haytian seminary in Paris, to the
-support of which the Chambers in Port-au-Prince voted 20,000 francs a
-year. This allowance being irregularly paid, the seminary was closed,
-but was reopened by Monseigneur Guilloux, who obtained a yearly sum of
-10,000 francs from the Haytian Government. It is perhaps needless to
-say that even this small amount is generally greatly in arrear.
-
-There can be no doubt that Monseigneur Guilloux and his clergy are
-fighting a good fight in the cause of civilisation, but with such a
-Government and such a people their progress must be slow.
-
-
-EDUCATION.
-
-The following anecdote aptly illustrates the saying, Who shall teach
-the teachers? It is a custom in Hayti that in all schools, public as
-well as private, there shall be once a year a solemn examination in the
-presence of a commission appointed by Government. M. Seguy-Villevalien
-kept the best private school or college that Port-au-Prince had
-ever seen, and on the appointed day for the public examination the
-official commission arrived, and having been duly installed in the
-seats of honour, teachers and pupils presented themselves, and the
-work commenced. All went well till the exercises in orthography were
-nearly over, when unfortunately M. Villevalien turned to the president
-of the commission, a negro of the deepest dye, but a high Government
-functionary, and said, “Would you like to try the boys yourself?”
-“Certainly;” and various words were given, which were written down
-on the black-board to the satisfaction of all. At last the president
-gave the word “Pantalon,” and a smart boy carefully chalked it up.
-“Stop!” cried the sable chief, “there is a mistake in that spelling.”
-The master, the teachers, and the boys carefully scanned the word, and
-could detect no mistake. The black had a smile of conscious superiority
-on his lips. At length the master said, “I see no mistake, president.”
-“You don’t! Do you not know that it is spelt with an _e_--‘pentalon’?”
-After a severe glance at his pupils to prevent an explosion of
-laughter, my friend, perfectly equal to the occasion, answered, “It
-used to be spelt so, president, but the Academy has lately changed the
-mode, and it is now spelt with an _a_.” The courtesy and gravity of M.
-Villevalien’s manner was such that the president of the commission was
-quite satisfied and pleased with himself. He wrote a favourable report
-on the condition of the school. Had the almost uncontrollable laughter
-of the boys burst forth, what would have been the report? And yet
-this man was a leading spirit in his country, and thought fit for the
-highest offices, though he was as stupid as he was ignorant.
-
-I arrived at the college just too late for this scene, but in time to
-hear the cheerful laughter of the boys, who, after the departure of the
-commission, made the playground ring with their merry jokes.
-
-President Geffrard, whose term of office extended from January 1859 to
-February 1867, did more than any other chief to encourage education,
-and yet, even in his time, not more than one in ten of the children of
-school-age attended the educational establishments.
-
-Major Stuart, in his report on Hayti for the year 1876, gives some
-statistical tables which show the state of these establishments in
-the year 1875, and little has changed since, so that his figures will
-sufficiently serve the purpose required. There were--
-
-  4 lyceums                with    543 pupils.
-  6 superior girl schools   ”      563   ”
-  5 secondary schools       ”      350   ”
-  165 primary schools       ”   11,784   ”
-  200 rural schools         ”    5,939   ”
-  1 school of medicine      ”       25   ”
-  1 school of music         ”       46   ”
-                                ------
-                                19,250   ”
-
-To these may be added the pupils in the private schools and in those of
-the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Cluny.
-
-It is very difficult to test the results attained at the official
-schools, but I think, judging from my own experience in Hayti, that
-they are small indeed. Some of the commissions appointed to examine
-the scholars report favourably, but, after the example of Monsieur
-Pentalon, I put but little faith in these judgments.
-
-In the official report for the year 1878 there is much shortcoming
-confessed, and the feeling after reading it is, that the majority of
-the teachers are incompetent, as all negligently-paid service must
-be. Good teachers will not remain in employment with salaries often
-six months in arrear, and only those who can find nothing else to do
-will carry on the schools. Negligence is the result, and negligence in
-the masters acts on the scholars, and their attendance is irregular;
-and the means of teaching are often wanting, as the money voted for
-the purchase of books goes in this revolutionary country for arms and
-powder. Parents, particularly negro parents, rarely appreciate the
-value of the knowledge to be acquired in schools, and are apt to send
-their children late and take them away early, in order to aid in the
-family’s support.
-
-The best school in the country is the Petit Séminaire, conducted
-by priests--Jesuits, it is said, under another name. The head of
-the college in my time, and, I believe, to the present day, was
-Père Simonet, a very superior man, quite capable of directing the
-institution aright; and I have been informed that the favourable
-results of their system of education have been very marked. In
-September 1883 this establishment was directed by fifteen priests of
-the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, and contained as many as 300
-pupils.
-
-The Sisters of Cluny have also an establishment near Port-au-Prince,
-where the daughters of the chief families of the capital receive
-their education, and their institution is well spoken of. I attended
-one of their examinations and school exhibitions, when recitals and
-acting by the young girls were the amusements afforded us. Some of the
-pupils appeared to be remarkably bright, and they acquitted themselves
-of their tasks in a very pleasing manner. Since I left Hayti, these
-establishments for girls have greatly increased in importance. There
-are now as many as sixty sisters, and twenty others called “Filles de
-la Sagesse,” who have established schools throughout the country, which
-in 1883 were attended by about 3000 pupils.
-
-The Christian Brothers have also many schools dispersed throughout the
-country, principally, however, in the larger towns, which are fairly
-well attended. They are reported to have had also in 1883 as many as
-3000 boys under tuition.
-
-It is generally thought that the teaching in all these schools is not
-such as to develop the intellect of the pupils. As might have been
-expected, too much time is given to trifling with religious subjects,
-as teaching the girls an infinity of hymns to Mary, and to the study
-of the lives of the saints. Such, at least, was the complaint made to
-me by the relatives of the girls. Nothing appears to be able to avert
-the evil influence of the immodest surroundings of these schools. A
-gentleman told me that, entering a room where his nieces were sitting
-sewing, he heard them singing a most indecent song in Creole, probably
-quite innocent of the real meaning, and they told him that they had
-learnt it from the native servants at the school; whilst the pupils at
-the Petit Séminaire have often suffered from the utter depravity of
-some of the lower portion of the population.
-
-In one of the official reports on the principal lyceum, the Minister of
-Public Instruction remarks:--“As regards studies, discipline of pupils
-and teachers, the national lyceum has fallen into a shameful state.
-It is to the superior direction that this abasement of the lyceum is
-in part to be attributed. It so far forgets itself, as to give to
-professors and pupils scandalous spectacles, which attest the disregard
-of propriety and of the most ordinary reserve that a teacher ought to
-observe in presence of early age and youth.”
-
-By this account it would appear that the pupils have often but a poor
-example to imitate. I should have set down to political feeling this
-strong censure had I not known the lyceum in my time to have fallen
-very low indeed in public estimation.
-
-Poor, however, as the education is that is given in Hayti, it is
-nevertheless an advance; and if ever revolutions cease and peace be
-kept for a few years, the Government may yet turn its attention to
-founding educational establishments on a solid basis. Of this, however,
-there is very little hope.
-
-There are several private schools in Hayti. The best, as I have
-previously observed, was kept by the late M. Seguy-Villevalien. He had
-a very high opinion of the capacity of Haytian boys to learn, and he
-turned out some excellent scholars. His school, however, deteriorated
-in late years from his inability to secure superior teachers, arising
-first from parents not paying their school-bills, and secondly from
-the Government omitting to settle their accounts with him for the
-bursars. I mention this to show what a people the Haytians are. During
-the civil war in 1868 and 1869, M. Villevalien spent all his capital
-in supporting some dozens of boarders, whose parents were among the
-insurgents, and by his energy saved them from being drafted into the
-army. Yet when the war was over, few, if any, paid him what was due, or
-did it in depreciated paper, which was almost equivalent to not paying
-at all.
-
-Education in Hayti is too often sacrificed to political exigencies, and
-a master of a high school is not chosen for his capacity, but for his
-political leanings.
-
-We all noticed what has often been remarked in Africa, that negro
-boys, up to the age of puberty, were often as sharp as their coloured
-fellow-pupils; and there can be no doubt that the coloured boys of
-Hayti have proved, at least in the case of one of their number, that
-they could hold their ground with the best of the whites. Young Fénélon
-Faubert obtained the “prix d’honneur au grand concours” at Paris
-in rhetoric, “discours latin,” and only missed it the next year by
-unpardonable carelessness.
-
-Some of the Haytian lads have the most extraordinary memories. M.
-Villevalien mentioned one to me who came to his school rather over the
-usual age. My friend took up a book on rhetoric and asked him a few
-questions, which were answered in the words of the author without an
-error; curious as to the extent of his proficiency, the schoolmaster
-kept turning page after page, and found, to his surprise, that the boy
-knew nearly the whole volume by heart. He then began to converse with
-him, and found, that although he could repeat his lesson perfectly, he
-did not really understand the sense of what he was repeating.
-
-Whilst I was at Port-au-Prince the following affecting incident
-occurred:--Many families who have accumulated a certain amount of
-wealth by retail trade are desirous of having their children well
-educated, and therefore send them to France. A Haïtienne of this
-description placed her daughter at the Convent of the Sacré Cœur in
-Paris. After seven years’ residence there, she passed a few months
-with a French family, and saw a little society in the capital. She
-then returned to Port-au-Prince, was received at the wharf by a rather
-coarse-looking fat woman, whom her affectionate heart told her was
-her mother, and accompanied her home. Here she found a shop near the
-market-place, where her mother sold salt pork and rum by retail; the
-place was full of black men and women of the labouring class, who were,
-as usual, using the coarsest language, and who pressed round to greet
-her as an old acquaintance. Traversing the shop, she found herself in a
-small parlour, and here she was destined to live. Her mother was doing
-a thriving trade, and was always in the shop, which was a receptacle
-of every strong-smelling food, whose odours penetrated to the parlour.
-There the young girl sat within earshot of the coarse language of the
-customers. What a contrast to the severe simplicity of the convent,
-the kindness of the nuns, the perfect propriety! and add to this the
-recollection of the society she had seen in Paris! She was but a tender
-plant, and could not stand this rude trial, and sickened and died
-within the first two months. At her funeral many speeches were made,
-and the doctor who had attended her, whilst declaring that she died of
-no special malady, counselled parents not to send their children to
-be educated in Europe, unless, on their return, they could offer them
-a suitable home. No wonder, under these circumstances, that every
-educated Haytian girl desires to marry a foreigner and quit the country.
-
-The well-known lawyer, Deslandes, objected to Haytian children being
-sent to Paris for their education, as likely to introduce into
-the country French ideas and sympathies, and thus imperil their
-independence.
-
-At the present time education must be completely neglected, as the
-whole attention of the country is devoted to mutual destruction.
-
-
-JUSTICE.
-
-My first experience of a court of justice in Hayti was a political
-trial. Four of the most respectable and respected inhabitants of
-Port-au-Prince were to be tried for their lives on a charge of
-conspiracy against the government of President Geffrard. My colleagues
-and I decided to be present. On approaching the courthouse, we saw
-a considerable crowd collected and some military precautions taken.
-Forcing our way through to some reserved seats, we found ourselves in a
-perfectly plain room,--a dock on the left for the prisoners, opposite
-to them the jury seats, behind a table for three judges, and a tribune
-for the public prosecutor.
-
-After a few preliminaries, the trial began with a violent denunciation
-of the accused by the public prosecutor--a stuggy, fierce-looking negro
-with bloodshot eyes, named Bazin, who thought he best performed his
-duty by abuse. As one of the prisoners was a lawyer, all the bar had
-inscribed their names as his defenders, and they showed considerable
-courage in the task they had undertaken. On the least sign of
-independence on their part, one after the other was ordered to prison,
-and the accused remained without a defender.
-
-The principal judge was Lallemand, of whom I have elsewhere spoken
-as combining gentleness with firmness; but he could scarcely make
-his authority respected by Bazin, the military termagant who led the
-prosecution. He browbeat the witnesses, bullied the jury, thundered at
-the lawyers, and insulted the prisoners. He looked like a black Judge
-Jeffreys. At last his language became so violent towards the audience,
-of whom we formed a part, that the diplomatic and consular corps rose
-in a body and left the court. I never witnessed a more disgraceful
-scene.
-
-I may add that the prisoners were condemned to death; but we
-interfered, and had their sentence commuted to imprisonment, which did
-not last long; whilst their black persecutor, seized by some insurgents
-the following year, was summarily shot.[17]
-
-This experience of the working of the trial-by-jury system did not
-encourage frequent visits to the tribunals, and afterwards I rarely
-went, except when some British subject was interested.
-
-In the capital are the court of cassation, the civil and commercial
-courts, and the tribuneaux de paix; and in the chief towns of the
-departments similar ones, minus the court of cassation. In fact, as far
-as possible, the French system has been taken as a model. The form is
-there, but not the spirit.
-
-The statistical tables connected with this subject have been very
-fully worked out in Major Stuart’s very interesting Consular Reports
-for 1876 and 1877. Here I am more concerned in describing how justice
-is administered. I may at once say that few have any faith in the
-decisions of the courts; the judges, with some bright exceptions, are
-too often influenced by pecuniary or political considerations, and
-the white foreigner, unless he pay heavily, has but slight chance of
-justice being done him.
-
-In the police courts they know their fate beforehand. During my stay
-in Port-au-Prince foreigners avoided them, but sometimes they had
-unavoidably to appear. An elderly Frenchman was summoned before a
-_juge de paix_ for an assault upon a black. The evidence was so much
-in favour of the white that even the Haytian magistrate was about to
-acquit him, when shouts arose in different parts of the court, “What!
-are you going to take part with the white?” and the Frenchman was
-condemned. So flagrant an abuse of justice could not be passed over,
-and the authorities, afraid to have the sentence quashed by a superior
-tribunal, allowed the affair to drop without demanding the fine.
-
-An American black came one day to Mr. Byron, our Vice-Consul, and said
-he had been accused of stealing a box of dominoes from his landlady,
-and asked him to accompany him to court to see justice done him. Mr.
-Byron, knowing the man to be respectable, did so. The accuser stated
-that whilst sitting at her door talking to a neighbour, she saw her
-lodger put the box of dominoes into his pocket and walk off with it.
-She made no remark at the time, but next day accused him. The man
-denied having touched the box. The magistrate, however, observed, “She
-says she saw you; you can’t get over that,”--and had not Mr. Byron
-remarked that the prisoner’s word was as good as the accuser’s, being
-at least as respectable a person, he would instantly have been sent to
-prison.
-
-A remarkable trial was that of two brothers, who were accused of having
-murdered a Frenchman, their benefactor. The evidence against them
-appeared overwhelming, and their advocate, a thorough ruffian, was at
-a loss for arguments to sustain the defence. At last he glanced round
-the crowded court, and then turned to the jury with a broad grin and
-said, “Après tout, ce n’est qu’un blanc de moins.” The sally produced a
-roar of laughter, and the prisoners were triumphantly acquitted by the
-tribunal, but not by public opinion; and the people still sing a ditty
-of which the refrain is, I think, “Moué pas tué p’tit blanc-là,”--“I
-did not kill that little white man.”
-
-In 1869, among about fifty political refugees that lived for months
-in the Legation was one of the accused. I was standing watching him
-play draughts with another refugee, who did not know the name of his
-opponent, and he kept humming the song about the murder, and every time
-he made a move he repeated the refrain, “Moué pas tué p’tit blanc-là.”
-I noticed his opponent getting paler and paler. At last he pushed aside
-the board, started to his feet, and said, “Do you wish to insult me?”
-We were all surprised, when a friend called me aside and told me the
-story of the trial.
-
-Though more attention has since been paid to words, the spirit of the
-old saying remains--that the whites possess no rights in Hayti which
-the blacks are bound to respect.
-
-In civil cases bribery of the judges is notorious, and the largest or
-the most liberal purse wins. Most persons carefully avoid a lawsuit,
-and prefer submitting to injustice.
-
-The judges, curiously enough, are rarely selected from among the
-lawyers. The Government can appoint any one it pleases, and as these
-posts are awarded for political services, those selected consider that
-the appointments are given to enable them to make their fortunes as
-rapidly as possible. As the pay is small, their wives often make it an
-excuse to keep shops and carry on a retail trade; but the fact is that
-the Haïtienne is never so happy as when behind a counter.
-
-The active bar of Port-au-Prince is composed of very inferior men.
-I often heard my friend Deslandes address the courts. He was at the
-summit of his profession, and to have him for your advocate was
-popularly supposed to secure the success of your cause. And yet I heard
-this eloquent and able advocate, as he was called, whilst defending an
-Englishman charged with having criminally slain an American negro, drop
-the legitimate argument of self-defence, and weary his audience for a
-couple of hours trying to prove that the Englishman was an instrument
-of Divine Providence to rid the world of a ruffian. Naturally the
-Englishman was condemned.
-
-Whilst in court the lawyers surround themselves with heaps of books,
-and continually read long extracts from the laws of the country,
-or--what they greatly prefer--passages from the speeches of the most
-celebrated French advocates; whether they explain or not the subject
-in hand is immaterial. I have often heard my French colleagues say
-that they have tried in vain to discover what these extracts had to do
-with the case in point. Few of these lawyers bear a high character,
-and they are freely accused of collusion, and of other dishonest
-practices. Unhappy is the widow, the orphan, or the friendless that
-falls into their hands. Many of my Haytian friends have assured me
-that, though they had studied for the bar, they found it impossible to
-practise with any hope of preserving their self-respect. No doubt the
-bar of Hayti contains some honest men, but the majority have an evil
-reputation.
-
-The laws of Hayti are not in fault, as they are as minutely elaborate
-as those of any other country, and the shelves of a library would groan
-beneath their weight. Had M. Linstant Pradine been able to continue the
-useful publication he commenced--a collection of the laws of Hayti--it
-was his design to have united in a regular series all the laws and
-decrees by which his country was supposed to be governed.
-
-Though a few young men of good position have studied for the legal
-profession in France, yet the majority of the members of the bar are
-chosen among the lawyers, clerks, and others who have studied at home.
-A board is appointed to examine young aspirants. It consists of two
-judges and three lawyers; and if the young men pass, they each receive
-a certificate of qualification, countersigned by the Minister of
-Justice. After this simple process they can open an _étude_ on their
-own account.
-
-One of the greatest difficulties of the diplomatic and consular
-officers in all these American republics is to obtain prompt and legal
-justice for their countrymen. Although the _juge d’instruction_ ought
-to finish his work at the utmost in two months, prisoners’ cases drag
-on, and as the law of bail is unknown, they may be, and have been,
-confined for years before being brought to trial.
-
-The President of the republic names the justices of the peace and
-their deputies, the judges of the civil and criminal courts, the
-courts of appeal, and the members of the court of cassation. All but
-the first-named judges are irremovable according to the constitution;
-but revolutionary leaders are not apt to respect constitutions, and
-during President Domingue’s time his Ministers upset all the old
-legal settlements. The last constitution, that of 1879, permitted the
-President to remove judges for the space of one year, in order that the
-friends of the Administration should be appointed to carry out their
-destined work.
-
-It would be perhaps useless to describe in detail the other legal
-arrangements in Hayti, as they are founded on French precedents.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-ARMY AND POLICE.
-
-
-THE ARMY.
-
-A large portion of the revenues is spent in keeping up a nominally
-numerous army, but in reality the most undisciplined rabble that
-ever were assembled under arms. With the exception of a few hundred
-tirailleurs, who were, in the time of President Geffrard, disciplined
-by an intelligent officer, Pétion Faubert, a man who had seen service
-in the French army, the regiments have been always composed of the
-peasantry, without any discipline, and officered by men as ignorant
-as themselves. I have seen a battalion on parade numbering thirteen
-privates, ten officers, and six drummers--the rest of the men thinking
-it unnecessary to present themselves except on pay-day.
-
-A French admiral asked permission to see a Sunday morning’s review.
-On approaching a cavalry regiment equally low in numbers with the
-battalion mentioned above, the President gravely turned to the
-Frenchman and said, “Beaucoup souffert dans la dernière guerre.”
-
-A more motley sight can scarcely be imagined than a full regiment
-marching past. Half the men are in coats wanting an arm, a tail, or
-a collar, with a broken shako, a straw or round hat, a wide-awake, or
-merely a handkerchief tied round the head; officers carrying their
-swords in their right or their left hands according to caprice; the
-men marching in waving lines, holding their muskets in every variety
-of position; whilst a brilliant staff, in all the uniforms known to
-the French army, gallops by. President Geffrard used to look on with a
-smile of satisfaction on his face, and gravely ask you whether there
-were any finer troops in the world. As I have elsewhere related, the
-Treasurer-in-chief, who had passed some time in Paris, assured him
-that although the soldiers there were more numerous, they had not the
-_tenue_ of the Haytian, and suggested that it would be as well for the
-President to send some of his officers to France as models for the
-French army to imitate. This is no exaggeration. I have myself heard
-similar observations. The negro is generally an ill-made shambling
-fellow, who rarely looks well in uniform and detests the service; but
-in order to render the work less fatiguing for the poor fellows, the
-sentries are provided with chairs!
-
-It was after watching such a march-past as I have described above that
-a French naval officer asked me, “Est-ce que vous prenez ces gens au
-serieux?” And yet they look upon themselves as a military nation, and
-constantly boast that they drove the English and French out of the
-island; forgetting the part taken by their most potent allies, climate
-and yellow fever; and until disease had carried off the mass of their
-oppressors, and the renewal of the war in Europe enabled the English to
-lend their aid, they were crushed under the heel of the French.
-
-The Haytian army has greatly varied in numbers. In the early years
-(1825 to 1830) of General Boyer’s Presidency it was calculated at
-30,000 men, with only a fair proportion of officers. Some months after
-the fall of General Geffrard (1867) an account was published stating
-that the army in round numbers consisted as follows:--
-
-  General officers and staff      6500
-  Regimental officers             7000
-  Soldiers                        6500
-                                ------
-                                20,000
-
-It is never possible to say what is the exact force of the army; in a
-late return it is stated at 16,000, and among the non-effectives are
-about 1500 generals of division. However, the old system continues,
-and to most of the battalions the President’s observation, “Beaucoup
-souffert dans la dernière guerre,” could be aptly applied. As Gustave
-d’Alaux somewhere remarks, “Tout Haïtien qui n’était pas général de
-division était au moins soldat.”
-
-The cause of the great superabundance of general officers arises from
-nomination to a superior grade being a form of reward for political
-services which costs little. Every successful revolution brings with
-it a fresh crop of generals and colonels, as a lesser rank would be
-despised. I know a general who kept a small provision shop, and have
-seen him selling candles in full uniform. A counter-revolution made him
-fly the country, and for some time after he was acting as groom in some
-French seaport.[18] A Minister of War wishing to please a courtesan,
-gave her a commission in blank, which she sold for about five pounds.
-
-President Salnave raised a common workman to the rank of general of
-brigade. As he had no money to buy a uniform, he began by stealing a
-pair of gold-laced trousers from a tailor’s shop, but did not do it
-unobserved. Chase was given, and the culprit fled to the palace, and
-took refuge in Salnave’s own room, who, however, handed him over to the
-police. The stolen trousers were then fastened round his neck and a
-rope secured to one ankle, and in this manner the new general was led
-round the town, receiving every now and then blows from the clubs of
-the soldiers. When he was quite exhausted, they mounted him on a donkey
-with his face to the tail, a placard with the word “Thief” fixed on his
-breast, and the gold-laced trousers still tied round his neck.
-
-The great majority of the officers are in reality civilians, without
-any military training whatever, but they have a hankering for wearing a
-uniform, which is partly excusable on account of the respect with which
-the lower classes regard an officer.
-
-The blacks laugh a little at their own love of gold lace. One day,
-whilst entering the cathedral with the diplomatic and consular corps
-in full uniform, I heard a negro say to his companions, “Gardé donc,
-blancs là aimé galon too!” (“Look, the whites also like gold lace!”),
-and a grunt of acquiescence showed that they were not a little pleased
-to find that the whites shared their weakness. “Too,” by the way, is
-almost the only English word which remains to testify to our former
-presence in the island.
-
-Military honour has never been a distinguished feature in the Haytian
-army,--I mean that military honour which implies fidelity to the
-Government that they have sworn to serve. This was most marked in
-the revolution which broke out at Cap Haïtien in 1865 under Salnave
-and Delorme. Nearly every superior officer appeared more or less to
-have betrayed General Geffrard; but as they hated Salnave more, their
-treachery consisted in plots, in preventing successes, but not in
-aiding the enemy. Geffrard knew this, and so put over the army General
-Nissage-Saget, an ex-tailor, I believe, who was utterly incapable and
-as unsuccessful as the rest. Salnave could not have held his position
-a week had the officers done their duty; but they appeared to think
-only of how their personal interests could be best served, and never of
-the honour or dignity of the Government and country. Some entered into
-a conspiracy to murder the President, but being discovered, the most
-compromised fell on his knees before Geffrard and pleaded for mercy,
-which was somewhat contemptuously granted, with the remark, “You are
-not of the stuff of which conspirators should be made.”
-
-There was no want of personal courage shown by the chiefs during the
-long civil war between civilisation and barbarism in 1868 and 1869, and
-some officers showed conspicuous dash and bravery, as Monplaisir-Pierre
-(negro) and Brice (coloured), (who subsequently were foully murdered by
-order of their then ally, Septimus Rameau), and Boisrond (coloured),
-who really merited the epithet of _sans peur et sans reproche_ which
-was given him at a banquet at Port-au-Prince.
-
-Traits of individual courage were constantly occurring, as during the
-defence of the town of Les Cayes, when young Colonel Lys distinguished
-himself. He, as all the bravest and best, has lately fallen a victim
-to the ferocity of the negro authorities; The Haytian, however, is
-not a fighting animal. Roused to fury by the excesses of his French
-masters, the negro of the time of the Revolution fought well, but
-since then many of his military qualities have departed. He is still a
-good marcher, is patient and abstemious; but Soulouque’s ignominious
-campaigns in Santo Domingo showed that the Haytian soldier will not
-fight. There has been little or no real fighting since; overwhelming
-numbers would sometimes endeavour to capture a post, but no battle
-took place during the civil war of 1869. The only really daring act
-performed by numbers was the surprise of Port-au-Prince in December
-of that year, and the chiefs of the expedition were Brice and
-Boisrond-Canal, supported by a land force under General Carrié.
-
-The ignorance of the officers often leads them into ludicrous mistakes.
-A general commanding at Port-au-Prince saw a boat entering the harbour
-with the Spanish flag flying, and he instantly went down to the
-wharf. “Who are you?” said he to the officers. “Spaniards,” was the
-reply. “Paniols!” exclaimed he, “then you are enemies!” and proceeded
-to arrest them, under the mistaken idea that all Spaniards must be
-Dominicans, with whom Hayti was at war. It required the most vigorous
-language, and some emphatic gestures with his foot on the part of the
-French Consul-General, to prevent the Spanish officers being thrust
-into the common jail. The negro had never heard of Spain, although Cuba
-is within sight of Haytian shores.
-
-An English admiral came into the harbour of the capital, and President
-Salnave sent an officer on board to welcome our naval chief. This
-was a black general, who, when he got on board, was so tipsy that he
-commenced making formal bows to the mainmast, under the mistaken idea
-that it was the admiral, who, hearing of his maudlin state, came to
-receive him on deck, and soon dismissed him. I heard that he afterwards
-declared he had seen two admirals on board. I knew this man well, and
-though a tipsy savage, was intrusted with a most important military
-command.
-
-The army is legally recruited by conscription, the term of service
-being seven years, though volunteers serve only four; this, however,
-is purely nominal. During my stay, the invariable practice was for
-a colonel of a regiment to send out parties of soldiers, who seized
-in the streets any man whom they thought would suit. As this only
-occurred in times of danger, or when the President’s body-guard had to
-be completed, these captured volunteers had the greatest difficulty in
-getting free from the clutches of the recruiting sergeant. I have seen
-even deputies and senators walked off to the barracks.
-
-As soon as it is known that the recruiting parties are about, men
-begin to stay at home, and only women come in from the country. This
-brutal system of enlistment was one of the causes of the fall of
-President Geffrard. To punish the inhabitants of Cap Haïtien for their
-unsuccessful insurrection in 1865, the President had recruiting parties
-sent out into that town, and the respectable young men were captured by
-dozens, transferred to Port-au-Prince, and forcibly incorporated into
-the battalions of tirailleurs. It was they who in 1867 gave the signal
-for those revolutionary movements which finally upset the President.
-The brutality shown by these recruiting parties is revolting, as the
-men are armed with clubs, and permitted to use them at discretion.
-
-General Geffrard used to harangue these unhappy volunteers as if they
-were burning with enthusiasm to join the army, whilst, bleeding,
-tattered, and torn, they listened sulkily to his words, all the time
-carefully guarded by their brutal captors. Their chief pretended not to
-see their state.
-
-This reminds me of an incident which occurred during the late war
-between Chili and Peru. Some hundreds of Indians had been lassoed
-in the interior, and brought down to Lima to fill up the regiments.
-President Prado was urged to address them, and they were collected
-under one of the windows of the palace. The general approached with
-his staff, and leaning out of window began--“Noble volunteers,” when
-he perceived that the men were tied together, and that a dozen pairs
-were secured by a long rope. He drew back hastily and said, “Noble
-volunteers indeed. I cannot lend myself to such a farce;” and no
-persuasion would induce him to return to continue his speech. President
-Prado has been deservedly criticised for his conduct during this war;
-but had his countrymen listened to his advice, there would have been no
-war between Chili and Peru.
-
-The pay of the Haytian army is nominally as follows:--
-
-  General of division         £140 a year.
-  General of brigade           105   ”
-  Adjutant-general              75   ”
-  Colonel                       40   ”
-  Commandant or major           20   ”
-  Captain                       12   ”
-  Lieutenant                    10   ”
-  Sub-lieutenant                 7   ”
-  Non-commissioned   from £3 to £5   ”
-  Private                    £2 10   ”
-
-The rations of a foot-soldier on duty are about two shillings a week,
-whilst that of a cavalry-man are three shillings. As the soldiers not
-on duty are allowed to work, they receive no rations. The President’s
-guard, consisting of several battalions, was composed principally of
-the mechanics and respectable labourers of the town and neighbourhood,
-who often paid the colonels so much per week to be exempt from active
-service.
-
-The ordinary battalions are recruited among the country people, and
-these rarely present themselves except on pay-day. Even for this there
-is little encouragement, as if they do not present themselves at the
-appointed time, the officers divide the balance of the pay amongst
-themselves. If any man persistently comes to receive his dues, he is
-detained to do active duty for a month or two, which effectually checks
-his zeal and his love of dollars.
-
-When the pay of officers is so trifling, it is to be supposed that the
-better classes do not enter the army as a profession. The higher grades
-are generally named for political services, whilst the lower are filled
-by men raised from the ranks. Except in a few special cases, it is rare
-for a man to have gone through all the grades of officer.
-
-The generals are a power in the State, and have to be conciliated. The
-most ignorant blacks, as I have mentioned, are given the most important
-commands, from their supposed influence among the lower orders, whom
-they perfectly resemble in everything but uniform. They supplement
-their inadequate pay by every illegitimate means.
-
-President Geffrard had really a desire to form an army, but the
-materials at hand were poor. His lower officers were as usual taken
-from the ranks, and inclined to pilfering. A captain was detected in
-the act of robbing the custom-house. As he had charge of the guard, the
-President determined to make an example. I find the incident recounted
-in my journal written at the time, and as the incidents are very
-characteristic of the people, I will tell the whole story. The danger
-of not knowing the connections of those to whom you are speaking may be
-exemplified by the following:--During the inevitable quarter of an hour
-before dinner, I was sitting next a charming Haytian lady, educated in
-England and married to an Englishman, when she began to tell me the
-news of the day. At the parade that morning the President had ordered
-the epaulettes of an officer to be torn off his coat on account of a
-petty theft he had committed at the custom-house. After he had given
-the order, the President turned away his head, but presently remarked,
-“Is he dead yet?” “Dead! your Excellency,” exclaimed an aide-de-camp.
-“Yes, dead. I thought that an officer of my army so publicly disgraced
-would instantly have put an end to his existence.” The lady’s anecdote
-produced a hearty laugh, first at the acting of the President, and then
-at the idea of any Haytian officer having a notion of such delicate
-honour. I remarked to my companion that the President would have done
-better, instead of only punishing the petty thieves, to lay a heavy
-hand on the great robbers, as for instance Mr. ----. The lady quietly
-turned to me and said, “I am sure you do not know that Mr. ---- is my
-brother.” The start I gave convinced her that I did not; but I felt
-uncomfortable until, during dinner, with a nod and a smile, she asked
-me to take wine with her. Mr. ---- had been engaged with some others
-in a _détournement_, as it was delicately called, of about seventy
-thousand dollars, but when I knew him afterwards, he was Secretary of
-State for Foreign Affairs, and a more unworthy man it would have been
-difficult even for Hayti to produce.
-
-President Salnave had a favourite regiment that he kept up to its full
-strength, and the men were fairly well disciplined. They were the only
-men in his pay who really looked like soldiers, but they were most
-insolent and overbearing. In order to strike terror into the town,
-Salnave ordered their colonel to march them down to the “Rue des Fronts
-Forts,” where the retail shopkeepers live, and there gave them leave
-to plunder. His little speech on this occasion has become a proverb
-in Hayti--“Mes enfans, pillez en bon ordre.” Whenever there were any
-political executions, the shooting squad was chosen from among them,
-and they have the discredit of having been employed to murder all the
-political prisoners confined in the jail at Port-au-Prince in December
-1869.
-
-The only battalions which, in time of peace, are kept up to their full
-strength, are those which are sent from their own districts to garrison
-distant towns, where those not actually on duty are allowed to look for
-work.
-
-
-THE POLICE.
-
-Of all the institutions in Hayti, the police is certainly the
-worst conducted. There are regular commissaries employed under the
-prefects, but ordinary soldiers do the work of constables. In my
-time they went about the streets with a thick stick of heavy wood in
-their hands called a _cocomacaque_, and they used it in such a way
-as to confirm the remark that cruelty is an innate quality with the
-negro. Never did I see a Haytian of the upper classes step forward to
-remonstrate--probably he knew his countrymen too well--whilst the lower
-orders simply laughed and enjoyed the sight of punishment.
-
-Every one arrested accused of a crime is immediately treated as if he
-were guilty, and the _cocomacaque_ is brought to play on his head and
-shoulders. As an observer remarked, “In Hayti no prisoner has any right
-to be considered innocent.” A woman was arrested near my house accused
-of having killed the child of a neighbour from motives of jealousy.
-They said she was a _loup garou_, and as soon as the soldiers seized
-her they began to beat her. Before she reached the prison she was
-covered with wounds, and a relative who endeavoured to interfere shared
-the same fate.
-
-One day, whilst at the American Consulate, I heard a disturbance
-outside. I took no notice at first, but presently looking out, saw
-the police raising a prostrate man. He had been insolent to his
-overseer, and a passing general ordered him to be taken to prison by
-the soldiers who were following him. They fell upon the man, and in a
-few moments he was a mass of bruises, and died before he reached his
-destination. A few weeks after, I saw a body of a negro lying near the
-same spot; this was that of a thief, on whom the police had executed
-summary justice with their clubs.
-
-An English merchant saw two soldiers arrest a man accused of murder.
-As he resisted, they tied his feet together and dragged him along
-the streets, his head bumping against the stones. The Englishman
-remonstrated, but he was threatened with the same treatment. A negro
-arrested for stealing fowls had his arms bound behind him and a rope
-attached to one ankle, which was held by a policeman, while another
-kept close to the prisoner, beating him with his club, and as he
-darted forward to avoid a blow, the other would pull the rope, and the
-unfortunate accused would fall flat on his face. And all this done in
-public before the authorities, both civil and military, and no man
-raising his voice to stop such barbarous work! I have myself seen so
-many of these brutal scenes that I feel convinced that no account can
-be exaggerated.
-
-As detectives these soldier-police are quite useless, and crime, unless
-openly committed, is rarely detected. Robbers have continued in their
-profession for years though perfectly well known, and no attempt has
-been made to capture them. There was one who was notorious for the
-impunity with which he had committed a long series of crimes. When he
-entered a house he intended to rob, he stripped, rubbed his body with
-oil, and crawled in, knife in hand. Unluckily for him, one night, being
-disturbed in his operations, he stabbed his assailant, who proved to be
-a Senator. It was all very well to rob and stab common people, but a
-Senator could not be thus treated with impunity; and the man, fearing
-no pursuit, was quietly captured in bed. The commissary of police,
-thinking that the fellow had had rope enough given him, and being sure
-that he would again escape from prison if sent there, had him taken out
-of town, and he was promptly shot, under pretence of having attempted
-to escape--_la ley de fuga_, as the Spaniards call it.
-
-General Vil Lubin was, during the time of the Emperor Soulouque, in
-command of the arrondissement of Port-au-Prince; he proved efficient
-in his post, but he was a hard man, and one day ordered two soldiers
-to be beaten. Their comrades carried out the order so effectually that
-in a short time two bruised corpses were lying at the barrack door.
-Soulouque heard of it, and, furious at the treatment of two of his own
-guard, bitterly reproached Vil Lubin, and for months could not meet him
-without using the expression, “Rendez-moi mes soldats.” Yet how many
-hundreds met their death by his order! In both the civil and military
-administration brutality is the rule, not the exception.
-
-There has been much talk of establishing a rural police, but nothing
-effective has come of it.
-
-The Government rely for the detection of conspiracies more upon
-informers than on the police, and as they are to be found in all ranks,
-friendship is often used for the purpose of obtaining information.
-President Geffrard sometimes referred to conversations to which members
-of the diplomatic corps had been parties, and perhaps too often, as,
-on comparing notes, they were enabled to fix on their communicative
-friends, and were thus free to let the President hear their real
-opinion about his measures, only so far, however, as it suited their
-purpose. Under Soulouque the system was carried to a greater extent,
-and his suspicious mind made him treat as truth every assertion of a
-spy. One day an old beggar-woman, passing before the palace, asked alms
-of some officers who were conversing together; on being refused, she
-ran under the Emperor’s window and began to shout, “Emperor, they are
-conspiring against you!” and made so great a disturbance that the guard
-turned out. The officers were too happy to get rid of the old woman by
-giving her money; she went off laughing, with her hands full of notes.
-
-Under Salnave and Domingue the spy system was much employed, and it
-appears likely that, under the present Government, it is rampant, if we
-may judge by the series of military executions which have marked this
-Presidency.
-
-The jails, as might be expected in such a country, are filthy places.
-I have often visited that of Port-au-Prince; it is a cluster of low
-buildings, surrounded by a wall perhaps ten feet in height, so insecure
-that no European could be kept there a night except by his own
-good-will. The ordinary negro prisoner, however, has no enterprise,
-and, rather liking the lazy life, lies down to sleep out his sentence.
-
-Prisoners condemned to death, and too often political suspects, are
-confined in cells, and are manacled to a bar running across the room. I
-looked into one, and saw five men fixed to the same bar. As I knew that
-there were only four condemned to death, I asked what was the crime of
-the fifth. “Oh, he is a military defaulter, and we did not know where
-else to put him.”
-
-In President Geffrard’s time a little attention was paid to the
-cleanliness of the jails, but during Soulouque’s reign and after
-Geffrard’s time everything was neglected. A friend once visited the
-prison, to find nine negroes manacled to the same bar, lying naked on
-the floor on account of the stifling heat, and the jailer admitted that
-he had not freed them from the bar for above a week, nor had he thought
-of having the cell cleaned out. The horrible odour issuing from the
-place when the door was opened fully confirmed the latter assertion.
-
-I knew a general, still living, who had been confined from political
-motives in one of these cells, I believe for seven years, and his
-manacles were only occasionally secretly removed by the jailer.
-Murderers serving out their sentences, thieves, unimportant political
-prisoners, imprisoned sailors, are all indiscriminately confined in
-regal rooms opening on a court, and receive their food from friends or
-relatives. Unhappy would be the wretch who had no one to care for him,
-as the pitiful allowance for the prisoners, irregularly paid, rarely if
-ever reaches them.
-
-Female prisoners are confined in the same building, but their rooms
-open on a separate court. The wife of a revolutionary general was
-imprisoned there in 1869. She was for a long time kept in irons, but
-at length heed was given to our remonstrances, and her irons were
-removed. She was a handsome negress, and took the jailer’s fancy,
-who tried to violate her, but the powerful woman thrust him from her
-cell. He threatened vengeance; but a few nights after she escaped
-from prison, and fled to our Legation, where she remained over three
-months, and it required the vigorous remonstrances of Lord Clarendon
-to enable us to embark her for Jamaica. On the day that we did so, as
-we approached the wharf, we noticed a crowd of negroes assembling with
-the object of insulting their countrywoman, but on my giving my arm to
-the black lady, an old negro remarked in their jargon, “Consite specté
-negresse-çi-là” (“The Consul shows respect to that negress”), and
-allowed us to pass without a word. This lady was from Cap Haïtien, and
-I may add that she was the only refugee out of many hundreds that I can
-remember who ever showed any gratitude for the services rendered them.
-
-All the members of the diplomatic corps, since the first acknowledgment
-of the independence of Hayti, have at various times attempted to
-persuade successive Governments to look to their prisons, but never
-with much result. The prisons are indeed thoroughly bad, as might be
-expected among such a people. The worst on the island, however, is
-probably at Puerto Plata, in the Dominican republic.
-
-Murder is sometimes punished with death, but that punishment is
-generally reserved for political opponents. I remember an instance
-which is worth relating, as it displays the Haytian character in the
-form it assumes when excited by political passion. In the autumn
-of 1868, five merchants of the southern province were captured and
-brought to Port-au-Prince. As they were connected with members of the
-revolutionary party then in arms, the mob clamoured for their lives,
-and they were ordered by President Salnave, to be shot. As we knew that
-these men were perfectly innocent, the French, Spanish, and English
-representatives made an effort to save them, and called on the Foreign
-Minister to ask him to accompany us to the palace to see the President.
-We were told that he was ill in bed, and could not accompany us. We
-insisted upon seeing him, and found this functionary covered up and
-trembling, not with ague, but fear. We begged him to get up, but he
-obstinately refused, declaring he was too unwell. We could not waste
-further time, as the execution was to take place within an hour. So we
-left, but I could not refrain from saying to this bedridden gentleman,
-“In such times as these, sir, a Minister has no right to be ill.” He
-never forgave me.
-
-We went to the palace, but were refused admittance, and only got back
-to the French Legation in time to see the five prisoners pass to
-execution. Presently one returned whom the President had pardoned.
-
-When the procession arrived at the place of execution, there was a
-mob collected of several thousand spectators, principally ferocious
-negresses. A shout arose, “We were promised five! where is the fifth?”
-and the crowd closed in on the procession, with knives drawn and
-pistols ready. The cowardly officers replied, “The fifth is coming,”
-and sent word to President Salnave. He, unwilling to disappoint his
-most faithful followers, looked over the list of those in prison, and
-finding that there was a parricide, whom he had pardoned but the day
-before, ordered him to execution. In the meantime, the four others had
-been kept waiting, exposed to the insults of the people--particularly
-one prisoner, whose long white beard and hair and white skin made him
-particularly obnoxious.
-
-The arrival of the fifth prisoner pacified the crowd. The five were
-clumsily shot, and then the spectators rushed in with their knives and
-mangled the bodies under every circumstance of obscenity. Such are the
-negresses when excited by political leaders, and such are evidently the
-most devoted followers of President Salomon, if we can place any faith
-in the accounts of the fearful atrocities perpetrated by them during
-the massacres of September 1883.
-
-The chief of this ferocious band was a young negress who went by
-the name of Roi Petit Chout, to whom President Salnave gave a
-commission as general. She used to come in front of the Legation with
-some of her companions, knife in one hand and pistol in the other,
-and utter ferocious threats, on account of our having received some
-political refugees. These women were used as a high police to keep
-down disaffection, and horrible stories are told of the murders and
-cruelties practised by these wretches. When the revolution triumphed,
-Roi Petit Chout was arrested, but though murder could readily have been
-proved against her, she was soon restored to liberty.
-
-As all the police department is most inefficiently paid, its members
-are generally open to bribes, and are accused of levying black-mail on
-the poorer inhabitants. During the time of Salnave they were unbridled
-in their savage acts, and every man they met in the streets, foreign or
-native, was liable to be seized and sent to the forts as a recruit. As
-regular police commissaries accompanied these groups, these arrestments
-were made in a spirit of wanton mischief; at other times it was to
-obtain a pecuniary recompense for their good-nature in letting a
-foreigner go.
-
-To show how ordinary police affairs are managed in Hayti, I must
-give an account of an incident which occurred to the Spanish _chargé
-d’affaires_ and myself. A dishonest servant forced open the window of
-our wine-cellar and stole eighteen dozen of claret, and then fled.
-We gave notice to the police, who were very energetic in taking up
-the case, and every now and then brought us information of their
-proceedings. At last they recovered some of the wine, and in triumph
-brought us two dozen and seven bottles. A few days passed, and a
-Haytian friend happening to breakfast with us, took up a claret bottle
-and saw the mark, “Château Giscours, De Luze, Bordeaux.” He laughed and
-said, “Now I understand a remark made by the Minister of the Interior,
-when he said what capital wine the English Minister imported.” On
-further inquiry, we found that the police had recovered fourteen dozen
-of our wine (the other four had been bought _knowingly_ by our most
-intimate friend), and that they had divided eleven dozen and five
-bottles among various high officials. The only observation my colleague
-made was, “Quel pays!” but I felt inclined to agree with the people
-when they say of the officials, “Quel tas de voleurs!” The robber was
-afterwards arrested for another offence, and I could not but pity
-him, when I saw him tied, bleeding and stumbling under the blows of a
-policeman’s club.
-
-During the siege of Port-au-Prince in the civil war (1868) my French
-and Spanish colleagues and I were walking through the town, when we
-were startled by the sound of firing in the next street. On arriving
-at the spot, we found that the police had arrested a young Frenchman.
-As he objected that he was a foreigner and not liable to conscription,
-a crowd soon assembled, and a follower of Roi Petit Chout’s band, a
-ferocious negro, raised his carbine and shot the lad through the body,
-and my French colleague had barely time to catch his last words before
-he expired.
-
-Nothing that the French representative could say had any effect on
-the Haytian Government; the murderer was promoted to be a sergeant,
-and sent to the army to get him out of the way; but he soon came back
-to Port-au-Prince, to be more insolent than ever. We had, however,
-the satisfaction of knowing that, when the revolution triumphed, this
-man was condemned to death for his other crimes and shot, my French
-colleague taking care to be present at the final ceremony, to see that
-the sentence was not evaded. For killing a white he would never have
-been executed.
-
-It must not be supposed, because I generally refer to my own
-experiences, that things mended afterwards. Probably during the
-presidencies of Generals Nissage-Saget and Boisrond-Canal the police,
-though as dishonest, were less insufferable; but under Domingue and
-Salomon they were worse than ever, as they always are under the
-government of the black section of the community.
-
-Under the present regime neither the white nor the coloured man has any
-rights which the black is bound to respect.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
-
-
-There are two languages spoken in Hayti, French and Creole. French is
-the language of public life and of literature, whilst Creole is the
-language of home and of the people. President Geffrard, among other
-eccentricities, used to extol the Creole as the softest and most
-expressive of languages, and his countrymen are unanimously of his
-opinion; but no Frenchman can accept as a language this uncouth jargon
-of corrupt French in an African form.
-
-No doubt, African languages, like those of other savages, are very
-simple in their construction, and the negroes imported into Hayti
-learned French words and affixed them to the forms of their own
-dialects. Mr. J. J. Thomas of Trinidad has published a very painstaking
-grammar of the Creole language as spoken in that island. I gather from
-it that this patois is much the same as that spoken in Hayti; but in
-our colony it holds the position of the Saxon in the Norman period, and
-interpreters are required in our law-courts to explain the language of
-the people. It shows also that in the French colonies of Martinique and
-Guadaloupe, as in our French-speaking colonies, wherever the negroes
-attempt to speak French, they do so in the same way that the Creole is
-spoken in Hayti. I may add that the patois of the inhabitants of the
-interior is so corrupt and African, that those who can converse freely
-with the negroes of the coast are often puzzled when they visit the
-mountains, and require an interpreter.
-
-As this Creole language is spoken by about a million and a half
-of people in the different islands of the West Indies, it merits
-the attention which Mr. Thomas has bestowed upon it; and I would
-refer those curious on the subject to this elaborate work, in which
-everything possible is done to raise the status of a patois which
-remains still, in my opinion, but an uncouth jargon.
-
-There is naturally no Creole literature, but there are many songs and
-proverbs, some of which may serve to show the kind of language spoken
-by the Haytians.
-
-The only songs which I can quote are written by persons familiar with
-the French language, and therefore do not sufficiently represent the
-pure Creole. The proverbs, however, are genuine, and are therefore the
-reflex of popular ideas.
-
-Moreau de St. Méry, who lived in Hayti during the latter part of last
-century, quotes a song written about the year 1750, which, though often
-reprinted, I will insert here, with a translation made by a Creole some
-years later. St. Méry has all Geffrard’s admiration for the Creole
-language, and thinks that the inarticulate sounds, which cannot be
-rendered on paper, are the most admirable part of the language of the
-Haytians, and perhaps it may be so:--
-
-           CREOLE.                              FRENCH.
-
-  Lisette quitté la plaine,           Lisette tu fuis la plaine,
-  Mon perdi bonheur à moué,           Mon bonheur s’est envolé,
-  Gié à moin semblé fontaine,         Mes pleurs en doubles fontaines
-  Dipi mon pas miré toué.             Sur tous tes pas out coulé.
-  La jour quand mon coupé canne,      Le jour moissonnant la canne
-  Mon songé zamour à moué,            Je rêve à tes doux appas,
-  La nuit quand mon dans cabane       Un songe dans ma cabane
-  Dans dromi mon quimbé toué.         La nuit te met dans mes bras.
-
-  Si to allé à la ville               Tu trouveras à la ville
-  Ta trouvé geine candio,             Plus d’un jeune freluquet,
-  Qui gagné pour trompé fille         Leur bouche avec art distille
-  Bouche doux passé sirop.            Un miel doux mais plein d’apprêt.
-  To va crér yo bin sincère           Tu croiras leur cœur sincère,
-  Pendant quior yo coquin ho,         Leur cœur ne veut que tromper:
-  C’est serpent qui contrefaire       Le serpent sait contrefaire
-  Crié rat, pour tromper yo.          Le rat qu’il veut dévorer.
-
-  Dipi mon perdi Lisette,             Mes pas loin de ma Lisette
-  Mon pas souchié Calenda,            S’éloignent du Calenda,
-  Mon quitté bram bram sonnette,      Et ma ceinture à sonnette
-  Mon pas batte bamboula.             Languit sur mon bamboula.
-  Quand mon contré lant’ négresse     Mon œil de toute autre belle
-  Mon pas gagné gié pour li,          N’aperçoit plus le souris,
-  Mon pas souchié travail pièce       Le travail en vain m’appelle
-  Tout qui chose à moin mourri.       Mes sens sont anéantis.
-
-  Mon maigre tant com ’guon souche,   Je péris comme la souche,
-  Jambe à moin tant comme roseau,     Ma jambe n’est qu’un roseau,
-  Mangé na pas doux dans bouche,      Nul mets ne plaît à ma bouche,
-  Tafia même c’est comme dyo.         La liqueur se change en eau.
-  Quand mon songé toué Lisette,       Quand je songe à toi, Lisette,
-  Dyo toujours dans gié moin,         Mes yeux s’inondent de pleurs,
-  Magner moin vini trop bête          Ma raison, lente et distraite,
-  A force chagrin magné moin.         Cède en tout à mes douleurs.
-
-  Liset’ mon tardé nouvelle,          Mais est-il bien vrai, ma belle,
-  To compté bintôt tourné,            Dans pen tu dois revenir:
-  Vini donc toujours fidèle,          Ah! reviens toujours fidèle,
-  Miré bon, passé tandé.              Croire est moins doux que sentir.
-  N’a pas tardé davantage,            Ne tarde pas d’avantage,
-  To fair moin assez chagrin,         C’est pour moi trop de chagrin,
-  Mon tant com ’zozo dans cage,       Viens retirer de sa cage
-  Quand yo fair li mouri faim.        L’oiseau consumé de faim.
-
-It will readily be remarked that every word is a corruption of a French
-one, and as no standard of spelling can exist in what may be called an
-unwritten language, every writer has a distinct system of representing
-Creole sounds. The seductive beauty of this language can only be for
-the initiated, as the beauty of the native women is rarely remarked
-except by those who have made a long voyage, and have almost forgotten
-what beauty is. The versified translation of the song does not give an
-exact idea of the construction of the Creole sentence, I may therefore
-insert one verse with an interlined literal translation:--
-
-    Lisette, quitté la plaine,
-   _Lisette, quitta la plaine,_
-    Mon perdi bonheur à moué,
-   _Je perdis mon bonheur,_
-    Gié à moin semblé fontaine
-   _Mes yeux semblaient une fontaine_
-    Dipi mon pas miré toué.
-   _Depuis je ne te vois pas._
-    La jour quand mon coupé canne
-   _Le jour quand je coupe la canne_
-    Mon songé zamour à moué;
-   _Je pense à mes amours;_
-    La nuit quand mon dans cabane
-   _La nuit quand je suis dans ma cabane_
-    Dans dromi mon quimbé toué.
-   _Dans un songe je te tiens._
-
-It is very difficult to find any very definite rules of grammar in this
-song--
-
-  Lisette quitté (Lisette has left or left),  Past.
-  Mon coupé canne (I cut the cane),           Present.
-  Si to allé (if thou shouldst go),           Subjunctive.
-  Ta trouvé (thou wilt find),                 Future.
-  Qui gagné (who possess),                    Present.
-
-Absolutely the same form is preserved in all tenses and moods, and in
-conversation various expedients are adopted to render the meaning clear.
-
-A. M. L’Hérison, a Haytian, has written a song, which is quoted in Mr.
-Thomas’s grammar, and as it represents the _cultivated_ Creole of the
-present day, it is worth while inserting it:--
-
-
-BADINEZ BIEN AVEC MACAQUE.
-
-    Grand ’maman moïn dit: nans Guinée
-    Grand mouché rassemblé youn jour
-    Toute pêpe li contré nan tournée
-    Et pis li parlé sans détour:
-    Quand zôt allez foncer nan raque
-    Connain coûment grand moune agi
-    Badinez bien avec Macaque,
-    Mais na pas magnié queue à li
-    Grand ’maman moïn, dit moïn bon qui chose
-    Lô li prend bon coup malavoume.
-    Li dit moin you ça, “Mourose,”
-    Nan tout ’grand zaffaires faut dit “Houme”
-    Mais peut-on flanqué moin youn claque
-    On pilôt terminer ainsi;
-    Badinez bien avec Macaque
-    Mais na pas magnié queue à li.
-
-To get the true ring of popular Creole it is necessary to examine
-their proverbs. M. J. J. Audain, a well-known Haytian, whose first
-literary efforts brought him into trouble, has published a collection
-which is very complete.[19] As Hayti becomes older as a nation and
-loses its French element, we may have a distinct Creole literature.
-There are many proverbs in M. Audain’s collection that would be quite
-incomprehensible to an untravelled Frenchman:--
-
-   16. Soufflé fatras pou ou bonais d’lo.
-   17. Bonais d’lo, ranne couie.
-  124. Quand digdale vernis piquée, cale basse vide douée pringa corps li.
-
-The following are easy enough to understand:--
-
-  174. Bouré empile pas allé avec piti figu.
-       (Too much hair does not suit a little face.)
-
-   60. Gé ouait, bouche pé.
-       (The eyes see, the mouth speaks.)
-
-   73. Chique pas jaimain respecté pié grand mouché.
-       (Jiggers never respect the feet of the gentry.)
-
-Some are so simple that they do not require translation, as--
-
-  Moune qui rond pas capable vini carré zafaire mouton, pas zafaire
-      cabrite.
-  Calle pouésson, pas l’agent.
-  Toute bois cé bois, main mapon pas cajou.
-  Cé soulier qui connain si chanssons gangnain trou.
-  Quand ravette fait dause li pas janmain invité poule.
-  Pas janmain couri deux chimins à la fois.
-  Toute pouésson mangé moune, cé requin seul qui pôté blâme.
-  La fimée pas janmain lévée sans difé.
-
-M. Audain’s collection contains one thousand and eleven proverbs; they
-are constantly quoted by the people, who interlard their conversations
-with them as much as ever Sancho Panza did. When speaking of a very
-talkative person, they say, “Bouche li pas gagné dimanche” (his mouth
-has no Sunday or day of rest).
-
-It is scarcely necessary to multiply specimens of Creole proverbs or
-translations. The former certainly convey a better idea of the language
-spoken by the negroes than the latter, though, as written, it is much
-more easily understood than when it is spoken. The negroes appear often
-to clip their sentences, and leave it to the intelligence of the hearer
-to divine their meaning.
-
-Official documents are always written in French, more or less correct;
-it is therefore unnecessary to refer particularly to them; but I may
-remark that they have a set stock of phrases which are constantly
-repeated. I will, however, quote a short official letter which amused
-us.
-
-A Haytian had committed, or was supposed to have committed, a crime,
-and instead of being arrested and tried, he was ordered to be banished.
-The letter addressed to him was as follows:--
-
-
-  LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ.
-  RÉPUBLIQUE D’HAÏTI.
-
-  No. 392.                           QUARTIER-GÉNÉRAL DE PORT-AU-PRINCE,
-                                               _Le 30 Avril 1867,
-                                            An 64ᵉ de l’Independance_.
-
- Le Général de Division, Chef d’éxécution de la volonté du peuple
- souvrain, et de ses résolutions, et Vice-Président du Governement
- Provisoire,
-
-  AU CITOYEN JULES C----.
-
-MONSIEUR,--Dès la présente reçue, vous aurez à chercher une occasion
-pour les plages étrangères, afin que vous partiez du pays qui a reconnu
-en vous l’homme qui cherche à pervertir la société haïtienne.--Je vous
-salue.
-
-                                              (Signed)  V. CHEVALIER, G.
-
-
-This Monsieur Chevalier had been educated in France, and was shrewdly
-suspected of having had a hand in drawing up the _Acte de déchéance_
-launched by the revolutionary committee of St. Marc in 1867 against
-President Geffrard. Amongst the different articles are the following:--
-
- “Attendu que le Général F. Geffrard assassine et empoisonne les
- citoyens les plus éminents d’Haïti: attendu qu’il entretient à
- l’étranger un très grand nombre d’espions et d’empoisonneurs _à un
- prix exorbitant_: attendu que toutes les écoles de filles de la
- république, notamment celles de Port-au-Prince, ont pour maîtresses
- des femmes d’une vie dissolue, afin de faire de ces établissements des
- maisons de séduction à son profit,” &c., &c.
-
-A Frenchman inquired, “Etait-il indispensable pour incriminer Geffrard
-sur ce dernier chapître de faire tort à toutes les demoiselles du pays?”
-
-Among the most remarkable works published in Port-au-Prince may be
-noticed the History of Hayti by Thomas Madiou (clear mulatto). As
-it was written in the republic by a Haytian for Haytians, it may be
-judged from that point of view. I have read it with great care and
-with considerable interest, and some of the descriptions have been
-much admired, as the detailed account of the attacks of the French
-on the Crête-à-Pierrot. As an historical production it is a work
-of considerable value and merit, for although full of prejudiced
-statements, and with a strong leaning against foreigners, there is,
-as far as local politics are concerned, an apparent desire to be
-impartial. This, however, is not the general opinion. St. Rémy, in his
-Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture, speaking of Madiou’s history, says, “Du
-reste qu’il soit dit en passant que tout le livre de Monsieur Madiou
-n’est qu’un tissu de faits érronés et de fausses appréciations.” The
-French condemn it as a false account of the war of independence, and
-resent the implied defence of Dessalines’ massacres. His partiality
-may be proved by his asserting that the French Governor Blanchelande
-was the instigator of the black insurrection. Madiou wrote his history
-whilst in Hayti, and after searching for materials among the old
-survivors of the war, whose prejudices were still warm. No doubt he was
-influenced by them, but the industry shown is undoubted. The friends
-and admirers of Toussaint had, however, a right to complain of the
-evident wish to depreciate the qualities of almost the only black
-Haytian who rose above mediocrity.
-
-Occasionally M. Madiou’s style is very extravagant, as in the
-description of a battle (see below[20]) which took place between the
-coloured men of Jacmel and their black antagonists. Never was there
-such desperate fighting since the days when--
-
-    “For Witherington needs must I wayle,
-        As one in doleful dumps,
-    For when his legs were smitten off,
-        He fought upon his stumps.”
-
-M. Madiou is a mulatto, who has played a prominent part in the history
-of his country, and his leanings are evidently in favour of his own
-colour, and, as I have observed, he is severe on Toussaint L’Ouverture
-for his endeavours to crush the attempts at independent command made by
-Rigaud.
-
-Another work of inestimable value for the students of Haytian history
-is the one written by M. Beaubrun-Ardouin (fair mulatto). It is
-entitled “Études sur l’Histoire d’Haïti.” M. Ardouin attempted to
-collect in this work all the documents that could illustrate the
-history of his country, and, at the time of his death, ten volumes
-had already been published. He was for many years Haytian Minister
-in Paris, which gave him full opportunities for examining the French
-archives. I only knew him slightly; he was evidently a man of talent
-and industry, but as he was justly credited with a prejudice against
-the whites, he was generally avoided by them.
-
-A Monsieur St. Rémy of Les Cayes wrote a Life of Toussaint, which is
-but a poor production, and is full of prejudice and virulence against
-both black and white.
-
-A Frenchman, M. Edgar la Selve, has published a work called “L’Histoire
-de la Littérature Haïtienne.” It is a volume of some interest,
-containing as it does a collection of poetry written by natives, but it
-is considered to be inferior in point of style and extravagant in its
-appreciations. When you find M. La Selve ranking the crude productions
-of a rude school with the writings of the most distinguished among
-ancient and modern authors, one may readily feel that this work is an
-offering to the vanity of acquaintances.
-
-It is to be regretted that a person like M. La Selve should have
-undertaken this task, as, instead of real criticism, which might have
-proved of value, he puffs up the vanity and presumption of Haytian
-writers by such observations as the following:--“Rapelle l’invotion
-de Pindare”--“La grande éloquence et la magnificence des images”--“Sa
-plume magique”--“La délicatesse de Charles Dovalle combinée avec la
-grâce de Lamartine”--“Le nom modestement glorieux”--“Esprit vraiment
-prodigieux et universel”--“Trois génies supérieurs”--“Cet autre
-Augustin Thierry”--“Comparer aux dialogues de Platon.”
-
-What more could be said of the best classics? No wonder this work was
-unable to command any attention.
-
-In the collection of poetry, it will be noticed that although there are
-some very pretty verses, there are none of any remarkable merit. It is
-not a special literature; there is seldom much local colouring: it is
-rather a reflection of French productions where Lamartine holds the
-place of honour.
-
-It has been remarked by a French critic that the further we recede
-from the time of the Declaration of Independence the worse the poetry.
-The expressions become less exact, the phraseology common, the style
-incorrect, with less cadence in the verses. The versification is seldom
-accurate throughout any of these poems. It is but another proof of what
-I have elsewhere stated, that Hayti is in a state of decay.
-
-I may mention a few pieces that have struck a French friend as being
-among the best. I prefer his judgment to my own, as I am one of those
-who believe that no one can appreciate fully the poetry of another
-nation; but as, in this case, my own opinion agrees with that of my
-friend, I can take the responsibility of the judgment.
-
-Coriolan Ardouin (mulatto) has written a very charming piece called
-“Alaïda,” beginning thus:--
-
-   “Sur la natte de jonc qu’aucun souci ne ronge,
-    Ses petits bras croisés sur un cœur de cinq ans,
-    Alaïda someille, heureuse, et pas un songe
-      Qui tourmente ses jeunes sens.”
-
-There is no local colour in this sonnet beyond, perhaps, the _natte de
-jonc_. Only in the tropics are children to be seen sleeping on mats.
-
-Dupré has written a patriotic hymn which might pass muster among
-many others of the same kind. It closes with the following ferocious
-sentiment:--
-
-   “Si, quelque jour, sur tes rives
-    Osent venir nos tyrans,
-    Que leurs hordes fugitives
-    Servent d’engrais à nos champs.”
-
-Pierre Faubert (mulatto) has written several pieces which might be
-quoted:--
-
-
-LA NEGRESSE.
-
-    Le suis fier de te dire, O négresse, je t’aime,
-    Et la noir couleur me plaît, sais-tu pourquoi?
-    C’est que nobles vertus, chaste cœur, beauté même
-    Sont ce qui charme enfin, le ciel a mis en toi.
-
-These lines might have been addressed to the pretty negress of
-Pétionville of whom I have elsewhere spoken.
-
-Another, “Aux Haïtiens,” is an appeal to union among blacks and
-coloured.
-
-There is a pretty song by Milscent (mulatto), in the style of Béranger,
-commencing:--
-
-   “J’entends en mainte occasion
-    Prêcher contre l’ambition;
-    Mon âme en est ravie--(_bis_.)
-    Mais ceux qui nous parlent si bien
-    Regorgent d’honneurs et de biens
-    Cela me contrarie”--(_bis_.)
-
-Ignace Nau (mulatto) contributes a very attractive piece called “Le
-‘Ttchit’ et l’Orage:”--
-
-   “Voici, voici l’orage,
-    Là bas dans le nuage;
-    Voici le vent, le vent
-    Tourbillonnant au champ,
-    Et disant au feuillage
-    Repliez votre ombrage.
-    Au lac, à ses bambous,
-    ‘Roulez, agitez vous.’
-    Au parfum ses délices
-    ‘Refermez vos calices;’
-    Au palmier haut dans l’air,
-    ‘Gardez-vous de l’éclair.’
-    Pauvre tchit égaré, chétif oiseau des champs!
-    Le mont a disparu sous les rideaux de pluie.
-    Hâte-toi, cher oiseau; viens t’abriter du temps,
-    Déjà l’eau du lac est ternie.”
-
-And many more verses equally good.
-
-Perhaps the most poetic piece in the collection is that written by
-a Haïtienne, Virginie Sampeur, “L’Abandonnée,” which I will quote
-entire:--
-
-   “Ah! si vous étiez mort, de mon âme meurtrie,
-    ferais une tombe, où, retraite chérie,
-    Mes larmes couleraient lentement, sans remords:
-    Que votre image en moi resterait radieuse.
-        Ah! si vous étiez mort.[21]
-
-    Je ferai de mon cœur l’urne mélancolique
-    Conservant du passé la suave rélique,
-    Comme ces coffres d’or qui gardent les parfumes;
-    Je ferais de mon âme une riche chapelle
-    Où toujours brillerait la dernière étincelle
-        De mes espoirs défunts.
-
-    Ah! si vous étiez mort, votre éternel silence
-    Moins âpre qu’en ce jour aurait son éloquence,
-    Car ce ne serait plus le cruel abandon.
-    Je dirais, il est mort, mais il sait bien m’entendre;
-    Et peut-être en mourant n’a-t-il peut se defendre
-        De murmurer:--Pardon.
-
-    Mais vous n’êtes pas mort! Oh! douleur sans mesure,
-    Regret qui fait jaillir le sang de ma blessure:
-    Je ne puis m’empêcher, moi, de me souvenir,
-    Même quand vous restez devant mes larmes vraies
-    Sec et froid, sans donner à mes profondes plaies
-        L’aumône d’un soupir.
-
-    Ingrat! vous vivez donc, quand tout me dit vengeance!
-    Mais je n’écoute pas! à defaut d’espérance
-    Une fantôme d’idole est mon unique port,
-    Illusion, folie, ou vain rêve de femme,
-    Je vous aimerais tant, si vous n’étiez qu’un âme.
-        Ah! que n’êtes vous mort.”
-
-There is something superior in the tone and sentiment of this piece,
-the only one of the author that M. La Selve publishes. I may notice
-that Virginie Sampeur is a lady of colour. As she is still living,
-I will only add that her poem tells her own story. As a rule, these
-Haytian poets express fairly well all tender sentiments, but they are
-wanting in a careful literary education, and they have not a very exact
-appreciation of the genius of the French language.
-
-In miscellaneous literature there are many publications of merit. Emile
-Nau wrote an interesting book called “Histoire de Casiques,” although a
-critic might fail to discover in it “une mine immense d’érudition.” It
-is seldom that a Haytian writer dedicates himself to anything useful,
-so that the efforts of Eugène Nau to bring superior agriculture into
-vogue have a double merit. He is best known for his two productions,
-“L’influence de l’Agriculture sur la Civilisation des Peuples” and
-his “Flore Indienne.” I knew Eugène Nau very well. He was married to
-a very charming woman, a sister of Auguste Elie, and no one who has
-passed a few days at their estate in the plains of Cul-de-Sac will ever
-forget the pleasant gaiety that reigned in that house. Civil war has,
-however, devastated that portion of the country, and I fear that even
-the inexhaustible spirits of Eugène Nau will scarcely be able to bear
-him through such accumulated misfortunes. The small diplomatic corps
-were ever welcome guests at Digneron, and I recall with pleasure the
-evenings spent there with my French and Spanish colleagues. He had
-a fund of intelligence and good sense; and his steady advocacy of a
-metallic currency did honour to his perspicacity.
-
-As might have been anticipated, the black portion of the population has
-shown no literary aptitudes. Occasionally an Edmond Paul has written
-a political essay which has fallen flat, or a Salomon has indited a
-vigorous defence of his policy; but, as a rule, the coloured portion of
-the population has produced the historians and poets of Hayti.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.
-
-
-AGRICULTURE.
-
-M. Eugène Nau, in his pamphlet on the influence of agriculture on
-civilisation, endeavoured to bring his countrymen to look with favour
-on the principal source of prosperity in all tropical countries; but
-the seed he sowed fell on revolutionary soil, and agriculture is more
-neglected than ever.
-
-And yet in all the wide world there is not a country more suited to
-agriculture than Hayti; not one where the returns for labour are more
-magnificent; a rich, well-watered soil, with a sun which actually
-appears to draw vegetation towards itself with such energetic force
-that the growth of plants, though not actually visible to the eye, may
-be almost daily measured.
-
-The system of cultivation varies greatly. In the north an effort was
-made by King Christophe to keep up large estates, whilst in the west
-and south President Pétion encouraged the division of the land among
-peasant proprietors. Large estates still remain, however, in these
-provinces, which are cultivated under different arrangements, to which
-I will hereafter refer. The general rule is that large estates obtain
-mostly in the plains, whilst in the mountains the land is practically
-in the hands of the peasantry, though many large estates exist
-nominally.
-
-In 1877 a law was passed for regulating the management of the State
-domains, for selling them or leasing them for nine years. A longer
-lease would require a special authorisation of the Legislature. This
-last clause is principally aimed at foreigners, whom the Haytians
-desire to keep away from all interest in land.
-
-The national estates lie in different parts of the country, and the
-extent of them in the aggregate is but imperfectly known, owing to
-careless administration. According to an official return published in
-1877, there were under lease 2105 farms of national land, containing
-about 230,000 acres, let on an average at the rate of two shillings per
-acre.
-
-The laws on the tenure of real estate are, with some modifications, the
-same as the agrarian laws that were framed by the French during their
-possession of the country, and are remarkable for that minute accuracy
-and definition of right which characterise French laws in general.
-
-For the better elucidation of the subject a few retrospective notices
-are necessary.
-
-Going back to 1804, the year of independence, one of the first acts
-of Dessalines was to create a national domain out of the following
-elements:--
-
-All the real estate which constituted the State domains during the
-French period.
-
-All the real estates of the whites which had not been legally
-transferred.
-
-All land without owners.
-
-Confiscated lands.
-
-In furtherance of his project to get the best part of the land into
-the hands of Government, Dessalines is accused of resorting to every
-kind of arbitrary and cruel act, and did not even disdain to encourage
-forgery in order to dispossess those proprietors who stood firm to
-their rights. This attack on private property was one of the main
-causes of the successful plot against his life.
-
-Of the national estate thus formed a great part was subsequently
-parcelled out by Pétion in donations to those who had deserved well in
-the war of independence, whilst other lots were sold in fee-simple.
-
-Of the class of large proprietors created under the republic of Pétion,
-but few undertook the cultivation of their own lands. The usage at once
-came into favour of letting them out in small lots to working men on
-the Metayer system, the landlord to receive half the produce, on the
-condition of furnishing, on sugar-cane estates, the mill and the other
-necessary appliances. With regard to produce, there are two classes
-recognised and kept distinct by law, namely, “la grande culture” (large
-farming) and “la petite culture” (small farming). The first consists in
-the cultivation of sugar-cane and similar articles; the second in the
-cultivation of provisions for the market. As in the “grande culture”
-half went to the proprietor, the tendency has been for some years
-to encroach with the “petite culture” on the lands reserved for the
-former. Each peasant is allowed a patch of ground near his portion of
-the cane-field on which to grow vegetables, and it has been found that
-his attention is more directed to this than formerly. As long as the
-sugar-cane is reserved for the manufacture of cheap rum to keep the
-population in a continued state of intoxication, the falling off in
-its culture is not to be regretted. In fact, the “great” and “little”
-culture did very well when anything exportable was cultivated, but now
-are of little practical importance, as they do not so much affect the
-great stay of the country, the coffee crop.[22]
-
-I may repeat that the first thing in point of importance in Haytian
-agriculture is the coffee-tree, which grows almost wild in every
-mountainous part of the country and around the cottages of the
-peasantry at elevations of from 500 to 7000 feet above the level of the
-sea--wild in the sense that the plants appear to spring from the seeds
-that have fallen from the parent trees, though occasionally I have seen
-them carefully planted round the cottages.
-
-There is a notion in Hayti that the coffee crop will come to an end
-by the old trees dying out. I was told this twenty years ago, and
-the story is still repeated; but any one who observantly travels in
-the interior would find the old trees surrounded by younger ones
-that spring from the teeming soil from seeds scattered by the wind or
-rain. The idea, also prevalent among many foreigners in Hayti, that
-the coffee collected now is taken from the original trees planted by
-the French, is untenable. As soon as the civil war caused by King
-Christophe’s assumption of power ceased (1820), a marked progress took
-place in the production of coffee. There is another fact which is also
-forgotten; coffee-plants in wet tropical countries generally bear from
-twenty to twenty-five years; therefore their age may be taken at about
-thirty years. If this statement be correct, the trees must have been
-renewed three times since the old colonial days. Most of the coffee
-plantations I saw in Hayti contained shrubs that have seldom exceeded
-from seven to ten feet in height, though on the way to Kenskoff I
-noticed many from twelve to fifteen feet. At Furcy and at La Selle we
-saw some very good plants, properly cleaned and attended to, and kept
-at a suitable height for picking the berries. Mackenzie noticed, in
-1827, whole sides of mountains covered with coffee-trees of spontaneous
-growth, two-thirds of the produce being lost for want of hands to
-gather it. So prolific, he says, were the bushes, that many which were
-carefully tended produced from five to six lbs. and some were known to
-give nine lbs.
-
-I have never noticed the peasantry use more than the _mauchette_, a
-sort of chopper almost as long as a sword, whilst cleaning their coffee
-plantations. They simply cut down the weeds and creepers, but never
-stir the soil around the roots with a hoe. The use of manure is unknown.
-
-The only preventable cause for any decline in the coffee crop would
-be the neglect following the withdrawal of the peasantry to take part
-in civil wars and revolutions, and the lazy habits engendered by camp
-life. When riding through coffee plantations after the civil wars of
-1868 and 1869, I noticed a marked deterioration from 1864. Creepers
-of every description were suffered to grow over and almost choke
-the plants, and poor crops were sometimes the result. In Geffrard’s
-time, though the cultivation was slovenly, efforts were made to keep
-the plants clean, and during the quiet four years of Nissage-Saget’s
-presidency the peasantry returned to their old habits.
-
-Notwithstanding this occasional neglect, there appears no progressive
-falling off in the crops; they vary as before, but on the whole keep up
-to the average.
-
-The quality of Haytian coffee is excellent, but its price in the market
-is low, from various causes. Sometimes the crop is gathered hastily,
-and ripe and unripe seeds are mixed; and then it is dried on the bare
-ground, regardless of the state of the weather; and when swept up into
-heaps, it is too often intermingled with small stones, leaves, and
-dirt; and fraudulent cultivators or middle-men add other substances to
-increase the weight. I have known carefully-selected parcels sent to
-France marked Mocha, and there realising full prices. Nowhere is coffee
-made better than in Hayti; it is roasted to a rich brown, ground and
-prepared with a sufficient allowance of the material, all on the same
-day, and the result is perfect.
-
-As with other crops in the world, there are good years and bad years;
-but with neglected plants, the bad come oftener than they would if due
-attention were paid to their cultivation.
-
-In 1789, when the French possessed the island, the amount produced
-greatly exceeded anything seen since, with the exceptions of 1863,
-1875, and 1876. In those years above 71,000,000 lbs. passed through
-the custom-house, and it is calculated that about 15,000,000 lbs. were
-smuggled.
-
-The variations have been as follows:--
-
-                 Lbs.
-  1789        88,360,502
-  1818        20,280,589
-  1824        46,000,000
-  1835        48,352,371
-  1845        41,002,571
-  1860        60,514,289
-  1861        45,660,889
-  1863        71,712,345
-  1864        45,168,764
-  1873        64,786,690
-  1874        54,677,854
-  1875        72,637,716
-  1876        72,289,504
-  1877        52,991,861
-  1878        63,255,545
-  1879        47,941,506
-  1880        55,562,897
-
-This striking increase in the amount of coffee produced since the great
-war would appear somewhat to contradict the theory of the degeneracy
-and idleness of the Haytians, but it must be remembered that the women
-and children are very hard-working; that the women are in a majority,
-and that the work is mostly done by Nature; the men, also, are not
-very light-handed taskmasters. If a space be cleared round the bushes
-with a _mauchette_--easy work that a child can do--the increase in a
-plantation will continue, as I have remarked, by the beneficent hand
-of Nature; the heavy rains knock off the ripe berries and scatter them
-down the mountain-sides, and give rise to those matted undergrowths of
-coffee-bushes whose fecundity often surprises the traveller. It is not
-likely that the produce of the coffee-plants will decrease.
-
-During the French colonial days the principal product was sugar,
-and in the year 1789 they exported 54,000,000 lbs. of white sugar
-and 107,000,000 lbs. of brown. As the slaves left the estates, so
-production decreased, and was fast disappearing when Christophe in the
-north forced the people by severe measures to resume its manufacture.
-He gave the great estates of the old colonists to his generals and
-courtiers, with an order that they should produce a certain amount of
-sugar under pain of forfeiture. As they had the population under their
-command, and an unrestrained use of the stick, they succeeded fairly;
-but as soon as this pressure was removed, the manufacture of sugar
-ceased, and it is no longer found in the list of exports, except as a
-fancy article to obtain bounties.
-
-In 1818 the export of sugar had fallen from 161,000,000 to 1,900,000
-lbs., and in 1821 to 600,000 lbs., then to disappear from the
-custom-house lists.
-
-The prejudice against sugar-making is still strong, though, could
-the owners of estates prove to their people that large profits would
-accrue to them from its manufacture, it is very probable that the
-prejudice would die out. A friend of mine tried to persuade one of his
-cultivators to aid him in a sugar-making project, but the man answered
-sulkily, “Moué pas esclave” (“I’m not a slave”), and walked away. The
-negroes do not like a bell to be used to ring them to work, as it
-reminds them of colonial days, but some bold innovators have introduced
-and continued the practice, without producing any other effect than
-occasional grumbling.
-
-Sugar-cane, however, is still very extensively cultivated, and succeeds
-admirably, the soil appearing peculiarly adapted to it. The cane is
-now grown for making tafia or white rum, and for molasses, which
-the people use instead of sugar. Most of the factories built by the
-French were destroyed, and inferior buildings have been erected in
-their stead. Watermills are generally used, as being economical, and
-the never-failing streams from the hills afford abundant power. A few
-proprietors have put up extensive machinery for sugar-making, but their
-success has been so doubtful as not to encourage others. A Haytian
-knows that during a revolution his property would not be respected,
-and, if a defeated partisan, would be either confiscated or destroyed:
-so no encouragement is held out to agricultural enterprise; and, what
-adds to his difficulties, a dangerous spirit of communism has spread
-among the people, and in many districts the peasantry begin to regard
-the estates as their own.
-
-Of cotton 8,400,000 lbs. were exported in 1789. This amount, however,
-soon decreased under independent rule:--
-
-  In 1835 there were exported     1,649,717 lbs.
-  ”  1842      ”       ”            880,517 ”
-  ”  1853      ”       ”            557,480 ”
-  ”  1859      ”       ”            938,056 ”
-  ”  1860      ”       ”            688,735 ”
-
-to rise, on the outbreak of the civil war in the United States, to--
-
-  In 1861                         1,139,439 lbs.
-  ”  1862                         1,473,853 ”
-
-increasing until 1865, when the crop was over 4,000,000 pounds; but
-the fall of prices, occasioned by the collapse of the civil war in
-the States, from 2s. 6d. to 11d. in the course of a few months,
-discouraged the agriculturists, and cotton was again neglected. In the
-last commercial reports the amount of cotton exported from the whole
-republic is not given.
-
-During the Great Exhibition held in London in 1862, the report on the
-cotton exhibited there by Hayti mentioned very favourably the two bales
-which were sent as specimens, and it remarked that England required
-at least 2,000,000 bales of each of the qualities exhibited. It has
-been calculated that there is sufficient suitable land in Hayti to
-furnish half the quantity required. This, however, appears to me an
-over-estimate.
-
-President Geffrard was fully aware of the importance of taking
-advantage of the opportunity offered by the civil war in the United
-States, and supported two measures to encourage cotton cultivation. The
-first was the immigration of free blacks from America, and the next the
-offer of bounties.
-
-The immigration was badly managed, as blacks from the North were sent,
-instead of Southern cultivators. Most of those who arrived, being
-unfitted for field-labour in a tropical climate, added but little to
-the production of cotton. A few kept to the work, but many died, and
-most of the others either migrated to the towns or left the country. As
-might have been expected, the Haytian arrangements were as bad as they
-could be. Settlers were given ground without any water, but were told
-that a canal should some day be cut; food and money were distributed
-irregularly, and malversation added to the other difficulties.
-
-Bounties were scarcely required, as the price rose from 4d. in 1859
-to 1s., 1s. 2d., and 1s. 5d. in 1863, and 2s. 6d. in 1864; and many
-Haytians tried to do something in order to win a portion of this
-harvest. Field-hands, however, were scarce, and in order to get in
-their crops the proprietors had to offer half the amount to those who
-would come and gather it for them. One peasant proprietor, in 1863,
-managed with his family to secure 8000 lbs. of cotton, which he sold
-for £500, a sum to which he was wholly unaccustomed. The comparative
-large amounts to be received would have had a very great effect on the
-prosperity of the country had there been the necessary hands ready to
-take advantage of the opportunity offered. The industrious, however,
-were few, and many proprietors had to leave a portion of their crop to
-rot on the plants.
-
-When the prices rose to three or four times the former value, the
-Government abolished the system of bounties, and imposed a tax of one
-penny a pound, but had to abolish it in 1865 on the sudden fall in
-prices. The cultivation is now again neglected, as Haytian cotton has
-returned to its old level in price, and the land must be more valuable
-for provision crops. With the uncertainty which characterises the
-supply of labour in Hayti, it is not likely that cotton will again
-become an important export.
-
-The French appear to have paid but little attention to the cultivation
-of the cacao-tree, and in 1789 only exported 600,000 lbs. Even this
-small quantity decreased, and the amount that passed through the
-custom-house in 1821 fell to 264,792 lbs. The crops have since much
-varied, but the export rose gradually, until, in 1863, the amount was
-2,217,769 lbs. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no subsequent
-year has produced so abundant a crop.
-
-Cacao is principally grown near the farthest point of the peninsula,
-west of Jérémie, amid a population rarely visited, and reported as
-among the most barbarous of the island.
-
-Tobacco is not mentioned in the list of exports during the French
-period, and only appears in those returns which were published when
-the Dominican end of the island formed part of the Haytian republic.
-A little has been occasionally grown for home consumption, as at the
-Fonds-aux-Nègres.
-
-Logwood is found in all parts of the country, and is a very important
-article of export.
-
-There is nothing else grown in Hayti which can be called an article of
-commerce, but the peasantry cultivate large amounts of garden produce,
-and some rice and Indian-corn, but they do not do so in sufficient
-quantities to supply the market. Bananas for cooking purposes are a
-valuable crop, as they take the place of bread in the daily consumption
-of the people. Fruit-trees abound, particularly mangoes, sour oranges,
-and the avocado (alligator pear). The last fruit comes to great
-perfection, whilst the mango is inferior except in a few localities,
-and is not to be compared to the “number elevens” grown in Jamaica.
-
-The markets of the capital are well supplied with European vegetables,
-which are grown in the mountains at the back of La Coupe, the old
-summer resort of the people of the capital. When staying there, I have
-often walked to the gardens at the foot of Fort Jaques, where not only
-vegetables may be found, but many orchards full of peach-trees--sadly
-neglected, however--with their branches covered with long moss,
-to the exclusion of leaf and fruit. A few apples and chestnuts are
-occasionally brought to market. Fort Jaques is situated about 6000 feet
-above the level of the sea. I may notice that the peaches are usually
-picked before they ripen, on account of the pilfering habits of the
-people.
-
-There is little to be said about the domestic animals. The horses are
-generally small, but strong and full of endurance, and are of Spanish
-breed. Mules and donkeys are plentiful, as no person is satisfied
-unless he possesses some beast of burden. The cattle are supplied from
-the Dominican part of the island, and are much used for traction. Good
-beef may often be found in the markets. Sheep and goats are plentiful,
-but of inferior breeds, whilst pigs wander about untended, and are
-generally so lean that they warrant the reproach that the Haytians
-cannot even fatten a pig. Poultry are thought to be getting scarcer
-than formerly: they are generally of an inferior kind.
-
-
-COMMERCE.
-
-Hayti has for many years carried on a very fair commerce with Europe
-and America, though probably not a quarter of what she might have if
-her inhabitants were industrious. In the colonial days, the exports
-were valued at from £6,000,000 to £8,000,000 a year, and in 1790 had
-reached nearly £11,000,000 with a less numerous population, whilst the
-highest since the independence has probably not exceeded £2,300,000.
-
-Notwithstanding foreign wars, civil wars, insurrections, and those
-continued conspiracies which have almost every year disturbed the
-country, the productive powers of the soil are so great, that nothing
-appears permanently to depress the exports, and therefore the imports.
-
-The export trade of Hayti in 1835, which then included the whole
-island, was as follows:--
-
-                        Lbs.      Value.
-  Coffee            48,352,371  $6,812,849
-  Logwood           13,293,737      86,409
-  Cotton             1,649,717     247,457
-  Mahogany, feet     5,413,316     405,998
-  Tobacco            2,086,606     125,196
-  Cacao                397,321      47,678
-                                ----------
-                                $7,725,587
-
-At the exchange of the day this represented just £1,000,000 sterling.
-The last year in which the statistics refer to the whole island is 1842.
-
-M. Madiou, in his “History of Hayti,” vol. i. p. 31, gives the amount
-of the produce exported in the years 1842 and 1845, but does not affix
-a value to them:--
-
-
-1842.
-
-  Coffee      40,759,064 lbs.
-  Cotton         880,517 ”
-  Logwood     19,563,147 ”
-  Tobacco      2,518,612 ”
-  Cigars         700,000 No.
-  Mahogany     4,096,716 feet
-
-and various small amounts of miscellaneous articles.
-
-It will be remarked that in the returns for 1845 tobacco has ceased
-to appear, as Santo Domingo had by this time separated from Hayti. M.
-Madiou considers that about 5,000,000 lbs. of coffee are consumed in
-the island, which is probably an under-estimate, considering the lavish
-manner in which it is used, and that 20,000,000 lbs. are exported
-as contraband, to avoid the heavy duties. This calculation appears
-too high. Whilst I was in Hayti, the illicit trade was considered to
-represent from 15 to 20 per cent of the acknowledged exports. Much,
-however, depends on the character of the men in power.
-
-
-1845.
-
-                                Lbs.
-  Coffee                     41,002,571
-  Cotton                        557,480
-  Logwood and other woods    68,181,588
-  Mahogany, feet              7,904,285
-
-The other woods consist of lignum vitæ, &c. It is curious that he makes
-no mention of cacao.
-
-In the next returns it will be noticed how mahogany decreased--the
-cuttings near the coast were beginning to be exhausted--whilst the
-exports of logwood were greatly increased. This is work that just
-suits the negro; it can be done by fits and starts, and never requires
-continuous labour. The following tables may appear superfluous, but
-they show the effect of comparatively orderly government. These
-six years were free from any serious civil trouble, and no foreign
-complications prevented all development that was possible. The war in
-the States gave trade considerable impulse.
-
-
-1859.
-
-  Coffee            41,712,106 lbs.
-  Logwood           88,177,600  ”
-  Cotton               938,056  ”
-  Cacao              1,397,364  ”
-  Mahogany           2,690,044 feet
-
-
-1860.
-
-  Coffee            60,514,289 lbs.
-  Logwood          104,321,200  ”
-  Cotton               668,735  ”
-  Cacao              1,581,806  ”
-  Mahogany           2,264,037 feet
-
-
-1861.
-
-  Coffee            45,660,889 lbs.
-  Logwood          105,757,050  ”
-  Cotton             1,139,439  ”
-  Cacao              1,304,561  ”
-  Mahogany           1,659,272 feet
-
-
-1862.
-
-  Coffee            54,579,059 lbs.
-  Logwood          167,005,650  ”
-  Cotton             1,473,853  ”
-  Cacao              1,743,853  ”
-  Mahogany           2,441,887 feet
-
-
-1863.
-
-  Coffee            71,712,345 lbs.
-  Logwood          116,669,400  ”
-  Cotton             2,217,769  ”
-  Cacao              2,338,400  ”
-  Mahogany           2,016,557 feet
-
-
-1864.
-
-  Coffee            45,168,764 lbs.
-  Logwood          153,235,100  ”
-  Cotton             3,237,594  ”
-  Cacao              1,399,941  ”
-  Mahogany           2,369,501 feet
-
-No trustworthy statistics could be obtained for the time of Soulouque,
-on account of the monopolies and the various interferences with
-commerce. In 1865 the siege of Cap Haïtien, and the disturbances which
-followed in 1866, the fall of Geffrard in 1867, and the civil war of
-1868 and 1869, completely disturbed trade, and no reliable statistics
-can be obtained.
-
-The latest trade return which I have seen is of the year 1880:--
-
-                    Lbs.
-  Coffee         55,562,897
-  Logwood       321,729,801
-  Cacao           2,729,853
-  Cotton            957,962
-  Mahogany, feet     71,478
-  Sugar               2,397
-
-Mr. Mackenzie, who was English Consul-General at Port-au-Prince during
-the years 1826 and 1827, gives a table of the commerce of Hayti in
-1825, which includes the whole island.
-
-
-_Imports._
-
-             Vessels.  Tonnage.  Value of cargoes.
-  American     374      39,199      £391,784
-  British       78      11,952       291,456
-  French        65      11,136       152,681
-  German        17       3,185        85,951
-  Others        18       1,328        10,162
-                                    --------
-                                    £932,034
-
-The large amount of American vessels will be noticed, and the
-comparative extent of their trade. In 1864 English-sailing shipping
-rose to 281 vessels (of 41,199 tonnage) and 74 steamers, against those
-under the American flag, 88 sailing vessels (of 16,316 tonnage) and two
-steamers. This, however, was only nominal, the ravages of the _Alabama_
-having induced American shipowners to transfer their vessels to the
-British flag.
-
-In 1877 the tonnage of vessels calling at the three chief ports of
-Hayti (Port-au-Prince, Cap Haïtien, and Les Cayes) was as follows:--
-
-    Flag.             Tonnage.
-  British             184,331
-  French               91,562
-  German               80,561
-  American             22,350
-
-It must be noticed, however, that the English, French, and German
-tonnage consists principally of steamers, which have ports of call
-on the island, whereas the Americans have two-fifths of the sailing
-tonnage.
-
-In 1863 the imports into Hayti amounted to £1,743,052, and in 1864 to
-£2,045,333. The United States then held the first place, having sent
-£762,724 and £994,266, their imports, as usual, being principally
-provisions and lumber. England occupied the second position with
-£503,630 and £626,624; France, £255,747 and £273,778. Both in the years
-1863 and 1864 there was a great decrease in the amount of provisions
-grown in the country, partly on account of the increase of cotton
-cultivation; hence the very heavy imports of provisions from the United
-States.
-
-The exports in 1863 and 1864 were valued at £2,458,000 and £1,895,000,
-the decrease arising from the inferiority of the coffee crop, and the
-fall in the price of goods. The average value of the principal articles
-of export varied as follows:--
-
-       Articles.            1863.          1864.
-  Coffee, per 100 lbs.    £2 9 3½     £2  5  0
-  Logwood, per 1000 lbs.   1 2 9       0 17 10
-  Cotton, per lb.          0 1 4       0  2  0
-  Cacao, per 100 lbs.      1 9 4       1  6  0
-
-
-_Present Prices._
-
-Prices have fallen lately to an unprecedented extent. During the autumn
-of the year 1882, coffee was once quoted as low as 16s. per 100 lbs.,
-but rose afterwards to 24s.; and all other produce was also depreciated
-in value.
-
-In 1876 the total imports into the island were £2,110,000; the total
-exports, £2,200,000.
-
-In 1877 the total imports were £1,594,200; the total exports,
-£1,694,800, which was below the average.
-
-In 1877 the imports into the capital were as follows, which shows a
-marked change in the position of the importing countries:--
-
-  Great Britain         £619,900
-  United States          110,200
-  France                 103,100
-  Germany                 36,880
-
-In some of the smaller ports the position of the trade of the United
-States was relatively better. In Les Cayes, for instance:--
-
-  United States          £119,172
-  Great Britain            23,692
-  France                   22,030
-  Germany                   1,715
-
-A portion of these imports from the United States consisted of
-manufactures in transit from England. We appear to be holding our own
-everywhere as regards piece goods and iron, whilst five-sixths of the
-imports of the United States consist of flour, salt pork, and other
-provisions. The Haytians are French in their tastes, but the cheapness
-of our Manchester goods enables our importers to hold their own.
-The great export, coffee, appears in great part ultimately to reach
-French ports, as it is not appreciated in other countries, whereas
-its cheapness and good quality recommend it strongly to the French
-Government for the use of the army.
-
-When in Port-au-Prince I drew the attention of the Secretary of State
-for Foreign Affairs to the great discrepancy between their published
-returns and those of our Board of Trade. In 1865 our exports are set
-down at £1,163,274, and in 1866 at £1,425,402, for the whole island.
-Santo Domingo takes but a small amount, whilst the Haytian custom-house
-did not acknowledge more than half the amount of our returns. Either we
-overvalue our goods in England, or the smuggling must be large.
-
-The imports from the United States appear to have greatly fallen off
-since 1864, which must imply that the peasantry are planting more food
-and consuming a very much smaller amount of imported provisions.
-
-
-FINANCE.
-
-As in most American republics, the income of the Haytian state depends
-chiefly on the custom-house. It is said the people will not bear direct
-taxation, and that therefore the Government must rely on import and
-export duties. The heavy debt which was imposed on Hayti by France
-nearly sixty years ago has been the principal cause of the financial
-embarrassments of the republic.
-
-The mission of Baron Mackau, sent by Charles X. in 1825, had for object
-the imperfect recognition of the independence of the republic of Hayti,
-on condition of their paying £6,000,000 as an indemnity to the old
-colonists--a sum quite out of the power of the country to raise--and
-only five years were allowed to complete the transaction. One is at
-a loss to understand how President Boyer could have consented to so
-burdensome an arrangement. Subsequently the indemnity was reduced to
-£3,600,000, but although fifty-eight years have passed, a balance
-still remains due. It was not till 1838 that these arrangements were
-concluded, and France definitively recognised the independence of
-Hayti. The republic had effected a loan in Paris in 1825 of £1,200,000
-nominal to pay the first instalment due, and even this debt has not
-been completely settled. The whole transaction proved a cruel burden
-to the country, and, by introducing heavy export duties and the curse
-of paper money, greatly injured agricultural and every other interest.
-
-The import duties average about 30 per cent. on the value, whilst the
-export duties are at so much a quintal on coffee, and have varied
-according to the exigencies of the moment. Major Stuart’s Report for
-1877 enters into many details which may be found interesting. I propose
-to give here only the general results; but I may say that the duties
-embrace almost every article, and are as high as they can bear.
-
-The progress of the revenue collected in Hayti is another proof to me
-that the population has greatly increased.
-
-It is not necessary to examine the budgets of many years. In 1821,
-before the union with Santo Domingo, the income is stated by Mackenzie
-to have been $3,570,691, and the expenditure $3,461,993. In these sums
-must be included some exceptional receipts and expenditure, as the
-revenue of the whole island in 1825 was only $2,421,592. The long and
-quiet Presidency of Boyer, coupled with his honest administration,
-enabled him not only to pay off considerable sums to France, but
-to leave a heavy balance in the treasury. Boyer, however, has the
-demerit of having introduced the paper currency, and of having put
-into circulation $2,500,000 more than he withdrew, thus reducing the
-exchange of the doubloon from 16 to 1 (par) to 40 to 1.
-
-After Boyer came the period of revolutions, and consequent deficits
-and heavy issues of paper money. In four years they had sent down the
-exchange to $60 to one doubloon. But the disastrous period of Haytian
-financial history was the reign of Soulouque, when millions of paper
-dollars were issued every year, sending down the exchange to $289 to
-one doubloon.
-
-In 1849 no less than $4,195,400 were issued to meet the expenses of the
-establishment of the empire.
-
-The budget for 1848, the last year of the republic, is nominally a very
-modest one (exchange $25 to £1):--
-
-  Army                               $3,232,238 = £129,289
-  Interior                              770,395 =   30,815
-  Finance and foreign affairs           668,814 =   26,752
-  Justice, education, public worship    303,393 =   12,135
-                                                  --------
-                                                  £198,993
-
-But as 2,200,000 paper dollars were issued during the year, it is
-probable that this budget was not adhered to.
-
-The budget for the year in which the empire was established is given as
-follows (exchange $40 to £1):--
-
-  Army                      $3,810,216 =  £95,255
-  Interior                     735,937 =   18,398
-  Finance, &c.               2,237,389 =   55,934
-  Justice, &c.                 309,293 =    7,732
-                             ---------   --------
-                            $7,092,835 = £177,319
-
-But these budgets are not to be trusted, and do not represent the real
-expenses.
-
-When the accounts were examined subsequent to the fall of Soulouque,
-it was found that of the coffee monopoly alone £400,000 had been
-abstracted for the use of the Emperor and some of his Ministers and
-favourites. The comparative large sums of £40,000, £20,000, and £12,000
-were taken at a time, without any account being rendered. During
-Soulouque’s reign over $28,000,000 were added to the currency.
-
-In June 1863, General Dupuy, Finance Minister to President Geffrard,
-published a very clear financial statement. The total debt remaining
-due to France was £1,436,000. The custom duties produced:--
-
-  In 1860          £511,666
-  ”  1861           463,333
-  ”  1862           566,000
-    Minor taxes, £26,341.
-
-
-_Deficits._
-
-  In 1859           £30,276
-  ”  1860            35,904
-  ”  1861            81,193
-  ”  1862            81,483
-
-These were calculated on the amount of paper money signed to meet them,
-but at the close of 1862 there was £79,834 in hand.
-
-The budget of 1863-64 was fixed as follows:--
-
-         Expenses.           |      Receipts.
-  Finance            £67,776 | Duties       £564,050
-  Foreign Office     171,828 | Minor taxes    24,725
-  War                138,361 |
-  Interior           171,692 |
-  Public instruction  44,825 |
-  Justice and public}        |
-    worship         } 27,714 |
-                     ------- |              --------
-                    £622,196 |              £588,775
-
-The deficit was met by adding ten per cent. to the duties.
-
-During the Presidency of General Geffrard the finances were better
-administered than under Soulouque, but millions of dollars disappeared,
-without any one being found willing to give an account of what had
-become of them. One coloured and two black generals are supposed to
-have appropriated the principal portion. On the Chamber of Deputies
-venturing to make inquiries on this interesting point, it was summarily
-dismissed, and a packed Chamber substituted.
-
-Civil war ended by General Geffrard resigning and quitting the country.
-I do not believe, however, that he carried with him more than he
-could have fairly saved out of his salary. He, moreover, was the only
-President that I knew who kept up the position of chief of the State
-with any dignity.
-
-No budgets were procurable during Salnave’s time, and the civil war
-that was carried on during three years caused the Government and
-insurgents to issue paper money, so that before Salnave’s fall this
-paper currency was to be obtained at 3000 paper to one silver dollar.
-It was withdrawn by the subsequent Government at 10 to 1 for their own
-paper.
-
-The finances under General Nissage-Saget were, for Hayti, at first
-decently administered; but when the bad black element from the south
-entered into its councils, malversation became the order of the day.
-But during this Presidency a great change was made in the currency:
-all paper money was withdrawn at an exchange of 300 to 1, and American
-silver dollars substituted. This change was much criticised both
-before and since, as unsuited to the circumstances of the country.
-On the whole, the balance of arguments was in favour of a metallic
-currency.
-
-Under President Domingue there were no honest financial measures taken.
-Everything was done to suit the pleasure of Septimus Rameau, and a loan
-was raised in France, and the largest portion distributed among the
-friends of the Minister in a manner which astonished even Haytians. It
-was a disgraceful transaction, that the next Chamber endeavoured to
-ignore; but as it was supported by the French agents, the Government of
-Boisrond-Canal had to yield and acknowledge it.
-
-For the years 1876 and 1877 we have the receipts and expenditure stated
-in detail. The income from duties, &c., was £805,900; the expenditure,
-£804,737; including £202,876 to the sinking fund. The army and navy
-figure for only £167,568, and public instruction was increased to
-£82,245. In Soulouque’s budget of 1849, justice, education, and public
-worship were credited with only £7732.
-
-
-_Budget for 1876-77._
-
-  Finance and commerce        £89,558
-  Foreign relations            46,714
-  War and marine              167,568
-  Interior and agriculture    111,931
-  Justice                      36,095
-  Public instruction           82,245
-  Public worship               12,586
-  District chest (communes)    75,160
-  Sinking fund                202,876
-                             --------
-                             £824,733
-
-The latest budget I have before me is that of 1881. It is as follows:--
-
-  Finance and commerce      £67,610
-  Foreign relations          48,954
-  War                       214,837
-  Interior                  298,913
-  Justice                    54,565
-  Public instruction        115,037
-  Public worship             13,875
-                           --------
-                           £813,791
-
-The amount of the income to meet this expenditure is not stated.
-
-The circulating medium in the early days of Haytian independence
-consisted of foreign gold and silver coins, and then some fabricated
-in the country, of inferior quality and appearance, of both silver and
-copper. In 1826, President Boyer beginning to feel the pressure of
-his engagements with France, issued paper notes of different values.
-Being irredeemable, they soon fell to a heavy discount, 3½ to 1. The
-succeeding Governments, as I have noticed, continued the same course,
-until, on the accession of Soulouque to power, the exchange was about
-4½ to 1. The unchecked emissions after he ascended the imperial throne
-gradually lessened the value of the paper, until, in 1858, it was 18 to
-1.
-
-Some order having been put into the finances by General Dupuy, the
-exchange in 1863 was more favourable, being 12½ to 1; the troubles
-which succeeded in 1865 sent it to 17 to 1; and with the revolutionary
-Government of Salnave and the civil war that followed it went down
-like the assignats during the French Revolution,--in 1857, 30 to 1; in
-1859, 3000 to 1.
-
-The issues of Salnave’s Government were so discredited that they were
-at one time exchanged at 6500 paper dollars for one of silver. Until
-lately the American dollar and its fractions, with a plentiful bronze
-currency, sufficed for all wants. Now, however, a special Haytian
-dollar is being coined, with the object apparently of preventing its
-export--a very futile expedient, as experience proves.
-
-A sort of National Bank, managed principally by Frenchmen, was
-established a few years since, but its operations do not as yet appear
-to have had much influence on the country. As the bank, however, has
-some control over the collection of duties, it may introduce a more
-honest perception of these imports; but I do not think the managers
-will find that their lines have fallen in pleasant places.
-
-
-THE END.
-
-
-                 PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
-                         EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Ever since the reign of Soulouque, professional authors have
-been paid by the Haytian Government to spread rose-tinted accounts
-of the civilisation and progress of Hayti. But twenty-four hours in
-any town of that republic would satisfy the most sceptical that these
-semi-official accounts are unworthy of belief.
-
-[2] Mackenzie states that he noticed the thermometer marking 99° every
-day for considerable periods.
-
-[3] It is a well-known fact that the noise of the approach of an
-earthquake is generally heard; but in Port-au-Prince there is a curious
-phenomenon which I have never known explained. A subterranean noise
-is frequently heard approaching from the plains, and appears to pass
-under the town without any movement of the earth being perceptible. The
-Haytians call it “le gouffre,” or “le bruit du gouffre,” and many fancy
-the whole of that portion of the island to be undermined, and predict a
-fearful fate for the capital.
-
-[4] Our unsuccessful attempt to conquer Hayti does not merit to be
-recorded in detail, but it is humiliating to read of the stupidity
-of our chiefs at Port-au-Prince, who made our soldiers work at
-fortifications during the day and do duty at night. No wonder that
-we find a regiment 600 strong losing 400 in two months, and the 82d
-landing 950 men, to be reduced in six weeks to 350.
-
-[5] St. Remy, speaking of Toussaint’s capture, says, “Embarquement par
-les _blancs_.” How like a mulatto not to say “par les français!”
-
-[6] This biography, as well as the others I have seen, is full of
-absurdities; talks of Toussaint advancing with an imposing army, which
-turns out to be of 950 men. At the battle of Verretes 1500 blacks drive
-3500 English troops from their intrenchments, and then 6000 English are
-defeated and cut to pieces by a few squadrons. As far as I can learn,
-Brisbane had eighty English soldiers and some untrustworthy black and
-coloured allies, mixed with French planters. Even a moderately sensible
-Haytian could not accept so absurd a biography.
-
-[7] I am glad to be able to notice that M. Robin (mulatto), in his
-“Abrégé de l’Histoire d’Haïti,” remarks in relating Toussaint’s sad
-death:--“Ainsi fut récompensé de ses longs et éminents services cet
-illustre enfant d’Haïti, qui pouvait bien se dire le premier des
-noirs,” &c. &c. Dessalines appears to have encouraged Leclerc to arrest
-Toussaint, and then dishonourably betrayed Charles Belair (black),
-nephew to Toussaint, and his wife into the hands of the French, who
-shot Belair and hung his wife.
-
-[8] One thing I wish distinctly to state, that I never heard of any
-mulatto, except Generals Salnave and Therlonge, who was mixed up with
-the cannibalism of the Vaudoux, nor of any black educated in Europe.
-
-[9] On the African coast the word is Vodun. Burton mentions that the
-serpents worshipped at Whydah were so respected that formerly to kill
-one by accident was punished by death. Now a heavy fine is inflicted.
-Bosman states that the serpent is the chief god in Dahomey, to whom
-great presents are made. They are harmless; white, yellow, and brown
-in colour, and the largest was about six feet long, and as thick as a
-man’s arm. Fergusson, in his introductory essay on “Tree and Serpent
-Worship in India,” mentions that at a place called Sheik Haredi,
-in Egypt, serpent-worship still continues, and that the priests
-sacrifice to them sheep and lambs. On the west coast of Africa, women,
-when touched by the serpent, are said to become possessed; they are
-seized with hysteria, and often bereft of reason; they are afterwards
-considered priestesses. The whole essay of Fergusson is exceedingly
-interesting.
-
-[10] Red, the royal colour at Mdra.--_Bosman._
-
-[11] Burton, in his “Mission to the King of Dahomey,” notices that the
-fetish priests are a kind of secret police for the despotic king, and
-exercise the same influence as in Hayti. They are supposed to be able
-to give health, wealth, length of days, and can compass the destruction
-of the applicant’s foes, all for a fee. Bosman, in his account of the
-slave coast of Guinea, says that a negro who offered opposition to the
-priests was poisoned by them, and became speechless and paralysed in
-his limbs; and that if any woman betrays the secrets of the priests,
-she is burnt to death.
-
-[12] Barbot states that the common food of the natives of the kingdom
-of Ansiko (west coast of Africa) is man’s flesh, insomuch that their
-markets are provided with it, as ours in Europe with beef and mutton.
-All prisoners of war, unless they can sell them alive to greater
-advantage, they fatten for slaughter, and at last sell them to butchers
-to supply the markets, and roast them on spits, as we do other meat
-(date 1700).--Churchill’s Collection, vol. v. p. 479. Barbot also
-notices that the people of Jagos, Congo, and Angola were also cannibals.
-
-[13] Barbot, in his account of the Ansiko kingdom, says: “That which is
-most inhuman is, that the father makes no difficulty to eat the son,
-nor the son the father, nor one brother the other; and whosoever dies,
-be the disease ever so contagious, yet they eat the flesh immediately
-as a choice dish.”--Barbot, in Churchill’s Collection, vol. v. p. 479.
-
-[14] I may here notice that the Haytians have chosen the mountain
-cabbage-palm (_Palma nobilis_) as the tree of liberty in the national
-arms. It is in nature a beautiful palm, with its dark-green foliage and
-perfect shape. The cap of liberty stuck on the top of it makes it look
-rather ludicrous, and the arms around its base are not very appropriate
-to so unmilitary a people.
-
-[15] “Nous ne sommes plus aux temps où quelques rares curés, repartis
-dans les principales paroisses de la république faisaient d’énormes
-bénéfices par des moyens souvent hélas reprouvés par la conscience et
-par les lois de l’église.... Qu’ai-je besoin d’évoquer dans le passé
-les lamentables souvenirs de l’église en Haïti. Je suis prêtre, et je
-voudrais pour l’honneur du sacerdoce pouvoir laver son opprobre de mes
-larmes et de les plonger dans un éternel oubli. Mais il ne dépend ni
-de moi ni de personne d’en effacer la triste mémoire.”--Monseigneur A.
-Guilloux, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince.
-
-[16] “Ne suffit-il pas d’ailleurs de parcourir les villes et les
-bourgades de la république pour rencontrer encore les témoins vivants
-d’un libertinage sans exemple.”--Guilloux.
-
-[17] Military trials have always been a disgrace to Hayti. Even under
-their model President Boyer (1827) they were as bad as they were under
-the Emperor Soulouque or the present President Salomon. Mackenzie, in
-his notes on Hayti, states that no defence was allowed, as that would
-have been waste of time. Four officers were tried and condemned to
-death: their arms were tied, and they were led by a police officer
-to the place of execution. They showed great intrepidity, though the
-soldiers fired a hundred shots before they killed them. President
-Geffrard had certainly more respect for the forms of law.
-
-[18] Mackenzie tells a story of a town-adjutant calling on him in
-gorgeous uniform; he next met him cooking the dinner of his host.
-
-[19] Recueil de Proverbes Creoles. Port-au-Prince, 1877.
-
-[20] Vol. ii. p. 24:--“Les légionnaires au nombre de 800 environ furent
-enveloppés de toutes parts; ils se trouvaient sans nul espoir; assurés
-de leur mort, mais résolus de se bien défendre, ils se retranchaient
-sous la mitraille la plus meurtrière, les uns derrière des arbres
-renversés, d’autres derrière d’énormes? pierres; percés de coups de
-baïonettes, criblés de balles, ils combattaient toujours avec une
-intrépidité sans égale: plusieurs ayant le bras coupé se défendaient
-avec celui qui leur restait; ceux qui par la perte de leur sang
-ne pouvaient plus se tenir debout se trouvaient sur leurs génoux,
-combattaient encore avec fureur, se faisaient un rempart des corps
-expirés de ceux qui étaient tombés,” &c., &c.
-
-[21] There is a line wanting in this stanza, which the authoress
-herself has not been able to remember.
-
-[22] I would refer to Major Stuart’s excellent Report for 1877 for
-details on these subjects. I have myself partly founded my observations
-on this Report.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber’s Note
-
-
-In this file, text in _italics_ is indicated by underscores. Text in
-SMALL CAPITALS has been made uppercase.
-
-The following changes were made to the text as printed:
-
-vi “climate; the Senate the House” changed to “climate; the Senate, the
-House”.
-
-ix “goodwill of the masses” changed to “good-will of the masses”.
-
-xv “THE ARMY AND POLICE” changed to “ARMY AND POLICE”.
-
-3 “the Artibonite, Arcahaie, Port Margot” changed to “the Artibonite,
-Arcahaye, Port Margot”.
-
-17 “hand-to-mouth system” changed to “hand-to-mouth system.”
-
-20 “and yellow-fever too often” changed to “and yellow fever too often”.
-
-21 “as yellow-fever appeared” changed to “as yellow fever appeared”.
-
-22 “Yellow-fever rarely appears” changed to “Yellow fever rarely
-appears”.
-
-48 “Biasson then ordered all his white prisoners” changed to “Biassou
-then ordered all his white prisoners”.
-
-77 “effort to restrain is authority” changed to “effort to restrain his
-authority”.
-
-112 “Nissage-Saget took up arms” changed to “Nissage Saget took up
-arms”.
-
-125 “Bosroind-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler” changed to
-“Boisrond-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler”.
-
-143 “coromacaque” changed to “cocomacaque”.
-
-169 “exercise which provokes Perspiration” changed to “exercise which
-provokes perspiration”.
-
-172 “The mistresses of the firstnamed” changed to “The mistresses of
-the first-named”.
-
-194 “The authorities at L’Arcahaie” changed to “The authorities at
-L’Arcahaye”.
-
-209 “associaties of the society” changed to “associates of the society”.
-
-212 “cannibals of this society.”” changed to “cannibals of this
-society.”
-
-238 “de maintenir l’independance nationale” changed to “de maintenir
-l’indépendance nationale”.
-
-243 “Hérard Rivière was proclaimed” changed to “Hérard-Rivière was
-proclaimed”.
-
-245 “head-clerks” changed to “head clerks”.
-
-247 A subheading reading “Religion.” was added, to standardise the
-formatting of the chapter.
-
-The anchor to the footnote on page 248 was missing from the printed
-text; it has been placed by the transcriber in what seemed the most
-probable intended location.
-
-250 “arrangements of lesser importance” changed to “arrangements of
-lesser importance.”
-
-276 a subheading reading “The Army.” was added, to standardise the
-formatting of the chapter.
-
-282 “is purely nominal” changed to “is purely nominal.”
-
-286 “Mr. ---- The lady” changed to “Mr. ----. The lady”.
-
-308 “derrière d’enormes pierres; percès” changed to “derrière d’énormes
-pierres; percés”.
-
-308 “Etudes sur l’Histoire d’Haïti” changed to “Études sur l’Histoire
-d’Haïti”.
-
-309 “la grace de Lamartine” changed to “la grâce de Lamartine”.
-
-311 “noir couleur me plait” changed to “noir couleur me plaît”.
-
-311 “Regnrgent d’honneurs” changed to “Regorgent d’honneurs”.
-
-311 “Gardez-vous de l’éclair” changed to “‘Gardez-vous de l’éclair”.
-
-315 A subheading reading “Agriculture.” was added, to standardise the
-formatting of the chapter.
-
-320 “riding through coffee-plantations” changed to “riding through
-coffee plantations”.
-
-321 “amount produce greatly exceeded” changed to “amount produced
-greatly exceeded”.
-
-335 “Les Cayes, for instance--” changed to “Les Cayes, for instance:--”.
-
-338 “Justice, education, pub li worship” changed to “Justice,
-education, public worship”.
-
-339 “custom duties produced--” changed to “custom duties produced:--”.
-
-Otherwise, as far as possible, original spelling and punctuation were
-retained.
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAYTI ***
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
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