Topographical sketch.—State of the roads.—Mode of repair
by criminals.—How criminals are treated.—Description of
inns.—Accommodations at them.—Mode of travelling.—Value of land in
several districts, and in towns.
WHOEVER has read the history of St. Domingo, and has been impressed
with an idea of its richness, of its varied scenery, and of its fertile
condition previously to its feeling the ravages of the revolution, and
now contemplates the desolate appearance of Hayti, will be astonished
that such a contrast could ensue; that a period of twenty-two years
having elapsed since the declaration of independence, there should not
appear some symptoms of improvement on the face of the country; and
that the people should not have been anxious to restore the plantations
to their wonted state of productiveness. In my peregrinations through
the island, I was at times struck with the extraordinary difference
between what the country was represented to be by the people
themselves, and its actual appearance in the different districts
through which I had an occasion to pass; and a comparison of its once
fertile state with its now sterile aspect only excites a greater
astonishment, and confirms my opinion of the indolence and apathy of
the inhabitants.
The original French part of the island was always, as I have before
observed, the most productive, because a greater degree of industry
prevailed among the people. The eastern part of the island was
never much celebrated for aught but its pastures, and its mineral
productions, its mahogany and dye woods, and its cattle of all
descriptions. I shall present a slight view of the present appearance
of the country, from my own observations, and from the notes of others
who have favoured me with a description, on which every reliance may
be placed, because I have had their notes particularly scrutinized by
persons who are conversant with the whole of the country, and on whose
veracity I can safely rely. I may differ in my detail from others
who have gone before me, but I have some hope that the account which
I shall give will command the assent even of these persons. I shall
commence with the capital, noticing the country and the several places
on the coast, inland, and conclude with a few observations on different
parts of the interior.
The city of Port au Prince, which constitutes the capital of the
republic, is situate immediately at the extremity of the bay of Port
au Prince, and in the centre of the department of the west. On its
north are the plains of Cul de Sac, environed by a chain of mountains
extending from the eastward to the channel of St. Marc’s in the
vicinity of L’Arcahaye. To the east are the mountains of La Coupe, the
ascent to which commences immediately without the walls of the city.
And on the south it is bounded by the plains and the bight of Leogane.
It is about a mile from the northern to the southern gate, and from the
sea to the eastern boundary about twelve hundred yards. It was formerly
encompassed by a wall, and by several forts of great strength; but the
wall has fallen to decay, and the forts are partly demolished, and are
now so much gone to ruin that they are quite incapable of defence. At
present there are forts Petion, in which the bowels of President Petion
are deposited, Bazilles, La Croix, Le Marre, Islet, Hospital, Leogane,
Government, and one or two of minor note, but they are all in such a
state of dilapidation that a salute adds greatly to their weakness.
Fort Islet is at the entrance of the harbour, and the weakness of the
President leads him to think that its few guns, not more than six,
would stop the approach of an invading force; and with this idea he
has had it put into a proper condition of defence; but it stands so
low, that the guns of a frigate brought to bear upon it would at once
make it quite untenable. In fact I am sure that a British officer at
the head of fifty men would desire no better amusement than to storm
it, particularly when defended by such soldiers as the Haytians. With
regard to the others, I do not see that in their present condition
they can be defensible, for their batteries are demolished, and not an
embrasure is left.
The streets are straight, running from north to south, and from east
to west, and are sufficiently wide and commodious; but the roads are
in such a state as to be quite impassable for carriages; and although
the government levies a heavy tax for repairing them, and the criminals
sentenced to work on them are numerous, yet but little is accomplished
towards putting them into a state of repair at all suited for vehicles
of any description, and after a heavy rain they are totally impassable
for people on foot. The members of government are quite unconcerned
about any thing tending to improve the appearance of their city, towns,
or country; they seem, from the President to the lowest individual,
absorbed in vice, living in sloth and sensuality, careless of every
thing, so long as they may be permitted to indulge in the indolence and
excesses so predominant in the habits of the Haytian people. The houses
are merely the remains of such as stood the ravages of the revolution,
and those wooden edifices, which were built since the two destructive
fires in 1820 and 1822, which consumed one third of the city,
containing all the most valuable buildings, with property in them to a
large amount. The city therefore, to a stranger approaching it from
the sea, has an odd appearance, exhibiting nothing but dilapidation and
decay, or as if it had just suffered from the effects of some violent
convulsion; and there seems no disposition to repair or improve it. In
the time of the French the whole of the streets were paved, but the
pavement since then has been mostly destroyed and never repaired. The
houses on each side had verandas and trees in front of them, whose
foliage, impervious to the solar rays, afforded the inhabitants a
promenade, without being exposed to the influence of the sun; but the
trees have been all destroyed, and only an occasional veranda is to
be seen. The public buildings consist only of the government-house,
the arsenal, senate, and communes’ house, and it is no difficult
matter to describe them. The first was the residence of the governor
during the French régime, and at that period must have been a splendid
edifice. It is low, as are all the houses in the West Indies, built so
on account of the frequency of earthquakes, but it is commodious, and
commands a fine view of the sea. The gardens are represented to have
been splendid, and in the front was a fountain (jet d’eau), which had
a supply of water sufficient for all the purposes of the governor’s
establishment; but they are now a mere waste, the fountain destroyed,
and the house externally exhibits more the appearance of a barrack
than the seat of government. The arsenal is contiguous to the sea,
and might be destroyed by a gun-boat, for it has nothing to defend it
but a battery, mounting two or three guns. It contains all the arms,
artillery, and ammunition of the government, and shews the folly of
the president who established it immediately within the range of an
enemy’s guns. The senate-house is a low irregular building, and was
formerly used as a dwelling-house, and since that period it has never
received either repair or ornament, for it is tumbling to pieces,
and has a filthy appearance, for the want of a little attention. The
communes’ house has more the appearance of a receptacle for lunatics;
and really if one were only to visit it during the sittings of the
chamber, it would not be surprising if an impression were made that the
lunatics of the republic had congregated in it, instead of reasonable
men to deliberate upon the affairs of their country. The cathedral
has nothing in its external appearance to point it out as a place
appropriated for divine worship; it is a square building, with a single
roof, without any steeple, with an ascent to it of about three or
four steps on the western extremity. There is but little to attract
in the interior decorations and ornaments; the altar is constructed
of gew-gaws and tinsel; above it is a painting by a modern artist,
representing the union of the blacks and people of colour. The figures
are two officers embracing; one is in the uniform of a general of
hussars, and the other in that of a general of infantry, one black and
the other a mulatto. The back ground represents a field of battle in
which the Haytians have just gained a victory over the enemies of the
republic. There is an organ, but a small one, and not at all remarkable
for either its tones or its structure. There is nothing else in the
cathedral, and it is in fact a libel on the name to call it one.
Upon the whole nothing can be said in favour of the city of Port au
Prince; and if it stood unrivalled in point of elegance and splendour
in the time of the French, in the days and under the government of
President Boyer it is only remarkable for ruins and every species
of filth and uncleanliness. It contains about thirty-five thousand
inhabitants of all classes.
The plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of the city, were
celebrated in former times for their extreme productiveness, but
they are now very little cultivated; and passing through them from
one extremity to the other, from the sea on the west to the lakes on
the east, from the mountains of La Coupe on the south, to those of
Mirebalais on the north, I could only discover now and then a patch
that had the least appearance of being tilled. On ascending the
mountains, and looking into the valley below, the mind is at once
struck with the inertness and indolence of the people, and with the
devastation that must have been committed during the revolt of the
slaves. Remains of houses and plantation works are to be seen in every
direction, scattered implements for manufacturing sugar are spread
around you, and walls, which were erected for dividing properties,
as well as for the internal division of the lands in cultivation,
are thrown down and mouldering, or overrun with the creepers and
convolvulus, and various other shrubs, so as in places to become
perfectly imperceptible. There is nothing to be seen in these once
delightful plains like cultivation; all looks a barren waste, as though
the inhabitants had been driven out, or cut off by some scourge, and
the whole country had since been a place of refuge only for beasts of
prey. The mountains remain untouched for the purposes of cultivation,
except now and then a small patch for the production of vegetables, and
on which is erected a miserable hut, in no respect superior, in point
of accommodation and comfort, to the wig-wam of the North American
Indians, but in which the sluggish Haytian will dwindle away his days
in laziness, sloth, and in every species of lust and sensuality. He
seeks for nothing but what supplies his immediate wants; and so long as
he can produce enough for the calls of to-day, he is careless of what
may follow on the morrow. Sleep and his women occupy the remainder of
his time, with the exception of a brief interval, which he generally
devotes to playing drafts or cards with a neighbour, generally as
indolent and as unconcerned as himself. The plains are finely watered;
for independently of La Grande Rivière there are innumerable smaller
streams that water the different parts, and in the event of any
extraordinary drought, irrigation could be easily resorted to for the
purpose of supporting vegetation. But this is not often the case,
as the seasons appear very regular, and the country in general is
well supplied with rain from the great attraction of the surrounding
mountainous districts, which are covered with almost impenetrable
underwoods, and the showers descend into the valleys, and fertilize the
soil in an extraordinary degree.
To the northward of the plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of
L’Arcahaye, there is nothing to be seen that in the least indicates
a country in that state of productiveness which is pleasing to the
traveller; every thing exhibits a degree of negligence that is truly
astonishing, particularly when the fertility of the soil is so well
known.
The whole of the extensive and fertile plain of the Artibanite is
in a similar condition; and although it receives all the beneficial
influence derived from the overflowings of the river of the same name
which washes an extent of fifty leagues, emptying itself into the
bay of St. Marc, still the people do not evince any disposition to
cultivate the land. Scarcely a sugar plantation is to be seen until
you approach Gonaives or its vicinity, and those established in that
quarter are not worthy of the designation; they are mere patches
visible on an extended surface, and from the elevations around them
have only the appearance of detached spots cultivated as gardens.
There is nothing like an extensive scene of cultivation, nor can such
be found throughout the whole of the republic. In this plain on the
coast are situated St. Marc and Gonaives, which at one period were both
places of considerable trade, and the inhabitants wealthy, living in
great splendour and magnificence; but like other places inhabited by
the blacks and people of colour, they are neglected, the houses gone to
decay, and allowed to moulder into ruins. Nothing is left to remind the
traveller of what they were. Contrasting what they are with what they
are _represented to have been_, he at once infers, that the present
inhabitants are a race devoid of all desire of improvement, and only
raised a very small degree above the brute creation, from whom in their
natures and habits they differ but little.
The north, taking the whole of the point westward from Port de Paix
to Cape Nicolas Mole, abounds in fertile plains, and in rich and
productive lands, well watered, and capable of great improvement,
where agriculture might be carried on with great advantage, and where
even an European, in a climate almost approaching to the temperature
of his native country, might undergo manual labour without any more
inconvenience from it than what is experienced by a labourer in Europe
in the months of July and August. This is evident from the circumstance
of a colony of Germans and Dutch in the neighbourhood of Cape Nicolas
Mole having cultivated their lands unaided by the negroes, which, in
proportion to their extent, are as productive now as they were at any
period of the history of the country. They do not, it is true, produce
sugar; but in the culture of coffee and cotton they are exceedingly
successful, and are in a fine thriving condition. These Germans and
their ancestors seem to have resided in this part unmolested during
the whole of the troubles of the revolution and rebellion; and by the
leading chiefs, subsequent to those events, they have been respected
and protected.
In this district of the island there were several places of
considerable notoriety in the time of the French, but they are now sunk
into disrepute, and in fact mere villages. These are, the Platform, the
town of Cape Nicolas Mole, Jean Rabel, and Port de Paix. The Platform
was noted in the time of the revolutionary war with France for being
a place from which a great many privateers were fitted out for the
purpose of menacing our trade from Jamaica, being within sight of
ships passing to the northward from that island. It is now, however,
of no consideration, as it contains only a few houses inhabited by
fishermen, who, it is said, occasionally turn pirates, whenever they
find a vessel close enough in shore upon which they can pounce, without
running the risk of being seen by the crew until they are alongside.
The harbour of Cape Nicolas Mole was the principal place for the
safe anchorage of shipping in the western world, but it has gone to
neglect. The town consists now only of a few scattered houses of no
consideration, and the whole of the fine fortifications which secured
the harbour against an enemy are now nearly demolished and tumbling
into ruins. The harbour is capable of holding an immense fleet, and
ships of the largest size may safely ride at anchor, sheltered from the
wind from every quarter. The mountains secure them against it from the
east, north and south, and the wind from the south-west is greatly shut
out by the high land running westerly.
The water in the harbour and close to the town is said to be from
five to fifteen fathoms deep. In his negotiations with the Haytian
government, the King of France was exceedingly anxious to have this
port delivered up to him, for the purpose of a place of security for
his fleets, or rather for a footing in the island, with a view of
menacing the Haytians whenever he felt disposed to threaten them with
his displeasure. But they had sense enough to resist this demand, and
the king was wise enough not to contend for it, knowing that, in the
event of Boyer not fulfilling his engagements, it would fall an easy
prey to a very small force that might be sent against it. The British
homeward-bound ships, during the war with France, were greatly annoyed
by privateers from this port, as they passed within sight of the Mole,
and so near at times, beating to windward, that it might easily be
distinguished whether they were merchantmen or men-of-war. It was
therefore between the Platform and this port that most of the captures
took place, and lately this space has been the hiding-place for many
piratical vessels, which run in under the land at daylight, strike
their sails and top-masts, and consequently lie unperceived during the
day, whence they again sail at night to commit further depredations.
This became so glaring at last, that Boyer was obliged to send one of
his vessels to intercept them; but I do not hear that he succeeded.
Jean Rabel is an inconsiderable port, with only a few houses saved
during the revolution. The plains of the same name in its vicinity
used to be exceedingly fertile, but there is now but little done in
the culture of them, and in fact the whole of this part of the island
exhibits a picture of indolence too shameful for any government to
tolerate.
Port de Paix is opposite to the island of Tortuga at the mouth of
the Three Rivers; it is of no magnitude, not being a port of entry
for shipping as it was formerly; nor is it required, for there
is little or no traffic, there being but little produce in its
neighbourhood. It was celebrated in the time of the Buccaneers for
being the place of their frequent resort, after their plundering and
marauding voyages in the adjacent seas. It was here that the celebrated
Morgan, who was afterwards knighted by Charles the Second, and became
lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, first joined the “Brethren of the
Coast”, the term usually given to the Buccaneers, of whom he finally
became the daring and most famous leader. In the vicinity of Port de
Paix there is a medicinal spring, the waters of which are strongly
sulphuretted, and are much used and esteemed in cutaneous diseases.
The plains of the north, formerly celebrated for their sugar
plantations, and extending from the Three Rivers to the old Spanish
lines of demarcation, are in a similar state with every other part of
the country, only partially cultivated in the elevated parts, with
coffee and some cotton. It is impossible to view these celebrated
plains without regret, and to reflect on the impolitic measures of the
present ruler, which preclude the European all chance of adventuring
with his capital, and trying what might be accomplished by investing
it in the soil. The most beneficial offer was once made to him by an
American company to colonize a district, by sending from that country
five thousand blacks, to be emancipated in the event of their being
shipped off from the United States. But he refused to accede to the
proposal; and what is more, he told the parties making the application
that the American negroes were too much enlightened to be allowed
to colonize in Hayti, as they might intrigue with the Haytians to
undermine the state. There is no finer soil in the island for the
production of sugar than is to be found in these plains; it is composed
of a strong black mould, of great depth and exceedingly rich and
nutritive for the cane, and is highly valuable also for pasturage; but
even on this no care or attention is bestowed, nor are there any pains
taken in the breeding of cattle, for which the whole country presents
the greatest facilities, from the luxuriance of its grass, and from the
whole district being so well watered by rivers meandering through every
part of it, and by those springs and smaller streams with which the
whole island abounds. No country affords such retreats from the heat of
the solar rays as this. Nature seems to have dispensed its blessings
for man and beast with a liberal hand; but man here seems to be but
little sensible of the beneficence of his Creator. All those elegant
structures which once gave the face of these plains and the mountains
around them such an air of grandeur, and excited the admiration of the
traveller, are demolished, and scarcely a vestige of their original
site can be discovered. Sometimes a dilapidated stonewall, and the
remains of a windmill may point out to the passer-by that near them
once stood an extensive range of buildings, and perhaps a mansion of
some magnificence. The highly productive and very extensive estates
once to be seen in the vicinity of La Petite Ance, St. Acul, Limonde,
La Grande Rivière, Le Dondon, Marmalade, Limbé, and Plaisance, are now
neglected wastes, with little to be seen but the spreading guava, the
wild indigo, and a thousand other weeds and shrubs, raising themselves
unmolested on the very spots which once displayed all the luxuriance
of vegetation, aided and matured by the skill and industry of the
husbandman.
Christophe certainly made strong efforts to revive the cultivation of
his country, and he made some progress; but at the period when he was
about to carry into effect a more rigid system for the culture of the
soil, he was cut off, his plans were laid aside by Boyer, and now, as
in every other part of the country, nothing is seen in that district
but desolate wastes.
The city of Cape Haytien, which is the capital of the north, retains
no vestige of its primitive splendour. It is, however, a much
more pleasant and more elegant place than Port au Prince, and the
inhabitants are always kind and courteous to strangers, as they all
are in that part of the country which was under Christophe; a thing
which the stranger must not expect at the seat of government, where
the people are quite the reverse, and all spies. It is situate at the
extremity of a bay, having the sea to the north, and mountains of
considerable elevation on the south. It is strongly fortified, the old
batteries of the French having been greatly improved by Christophe,
who left nothing undone that could be accomplished in the way of
strengthening his capital. Towards the sea the ramparts are very
commanding, and an enemy’s vessel would find considerable difficulty
on entering the harbour, as she could only do so within range of the
whole forts, which are well mounted with guns of large calibre. The
only requisite in the event of war would be men possessing sufficient
skill and courage to man these works and to defend them. The city is
well supplied with pure water, which descends from the mountains, over
a gravelled surface, and receiving in its course no stream that can in
the least injure its qualities.
A military force of about five thousand men is kept up in this
district, under the command of General Magny. Part of this force
garrisons the city, in which there are barracks for their residence;
the other part is at different stations on the plains.
The trade to the cape is somewhat circumscribed, the country round it
being not so thickly inhabited as the south, but what little there is
seems to be carried on with much more regularity, and a great deal more
certainty as to the result, than at Port au Prince. I have heard it
generally remarked that the people of the north have a greater sense
of honour and rectitude in their commercial dealings with foreigners,
than the inhabitants of the south. Certain it is that Christophe in
his time exacted from his people a strict adherence to their word in
matters of commerce, and in the event of a disputed claim a foreigner
had a chance of redress. Not so in Port au Prince, where, if a
foreigner have a demand against a Haytian, it is ten to one against his
getting any redress, and fifty to one against his getting paid.
Christophe, who always shewed a very great attention and respect for
the British merchants and British subjects at the cape, or in any other
part of his dominions, erected a very neat house on an elevation near
the city, and furnished it somewhat elegantly, in which he had put up
billiard tables, expressly as a place of resort for them, and of the
whole he made them a present, with his pledge that no person of the
country should be permitted to disturb them, nor should the premises be
used by his people at any time or for any purposes.
At no great distance from the city of Cape Haytien were those two
stupendous works of Christophe, his palace of Sans Souci and the
Citadel Henry, or Fort Ferrier, the construction of which shews no
little labour and design, and the expense of their erection must have
exceeded any thing that can be imagined as the cost of modern works. I
cannot describe them better than by quoting the account given of them
by a native of Hayti, in his narrative of Christophe’s elevation to
the throne. “The Citadel Henry,” he says, “that palladium of liberty,
that majestic bulwark of independence, that monument of the greatness,
and of the vast combinations of a Henry, is built on the lofty summit
of one of the highest mountains in the island, whence you may discover
to the left the island of Tortuga, and the reflection of its beautiful
canal; in front, the gentle risings, with the city of Cape Henry,
its roadstead, and the vast expanse of the ocean; on the right, La
Grange, Monte Christi, the city of Fort Royal, Mancheneel Bay, and
the surrounding hills. The eye is gratified with the prospect of the
beautiful plain, and the magnificent carpet of verdure spread before
it. At the back, the extended chain of mountains seems as it were the
frame to this enchanting picture. The position fortified by nature,
and to which art has added all its science, with casemates and bomb
proofs, has secured it from being successfully besieged, while the
mouths of cannon overtop the elevation of the high ground, and command
the adjacent territory, affording protection to the whole north, and
indeed to Hayti itself, this being the most formidable defence it
possesses.”[8]
On the subject of this fort, I have before stated that it was built
under the directions of an individual said to have been a Scotchman,
of the name of Ferrier, from whom it takes the appellation of Fort
Ferrier.
Of the magnificence of the palace of Sans Souci, I shall give the
description of Saunders, as conveying an idea of what it was. “Sans
Souci, a town rising into preference, and likely to become the capital
of Hayti, has been established. Ravines have been filled up, mountains
levelled, and public roads laid out. This superb royal palace, the
glory of Hayti, is carried up to a great elevation. The beauty and
durability of its construction, its sumptuous apartments, all with
inlaid work, and lined with the most beautiful and rarest tapestry,
which was amassed at a great expense, and with particular care in
the selection; the furniture and elegant tapestry, selected with
good taste; the gardens arranged with a just symmetry, through which
meanders a pure stream, having a degree of freshness that particularly
characterizes it, the jets d’eau, the fruit trees, and European
productions, &c. &c., combine to embellish the retreat of a hero, and
to attract the admiration of strangers; whilst a church, whose noble
dome agreeably points out the richness of its architecture, and other
public establishments, such as arsenals, dock-yards, and barracks, have
sprung up around in spite of the ravages of war. To see the astonishing
activity diffused in all these works, one would say that the greatest
tranquillity had prevailed, and that it was the hand of peace which
brought them to perfection! Immense treasures, the fruits of economy
in the public administration of finances, fill the spacious coffers
of the Citadel Henry.” “I know it”, he says again, “to be one of the
intentions of our king to have the rotunda of his palace in the citadel
paved and lined with quadruples. He is rich enough to do this.”
The palace of Sans Souci was certainly (from the accounts given of it
by many individuals now in Hayti, and who have often been admitted to
the levées of King Christophe) upon a most magnificent scale; and in
elegance of structure, as well as the durability of its materials,
but little, if at all inferior to some of the most admired edifices
of Europe. Christophe was lavish of his money in the building of this
palace as well as the citadel, and whilst they were being erected,
he acted with great severity towards his people, whom he compelled
to carry the materials to the spot, neither age nor sex, except the
decrepit and the very young, being spared.
Christophe was once visited in this palace by an officer of the
British navy, and a relative of a right honourable gentleman high
in his Majesty’s councils, to whom he shewed great attention and
courtesy, and expressed great satisfaction at being honoured with the
calls of British subjects who occasionally touched at the cape. In a
conversation with this distinguished officer on the subject of this
stupendous palace, he said, “that his intentions were to ornament the
walls with gold, and that the floors should be laid with silver, that
the ambassadors of the world, should any be sent to him, might see how
splendidly a western monarch could live.”
Fort Ferrier can be easily seen from the sea, and ships outward-bound
for any of the western ports, sailing along the north side of the
island, have a good view of it from its amazing elevation, the stone of
which it is built being so very white as to make it a most excellent
land-mark. The palace however cannot be discerned, and since the death
of Christophe, it has been mostly destroyed, nothing but the walls
being left. All the beautiful carved-work wainscoting has been taken
from it, the mahogany floor torn up, and the whole burnt by the people;
and nothing remains except the outworks, which are converted into
apartments for the military who are stationed there.
Beyond the Massacre, in the old Spanish territory, and on the banks of
the Yague, the country is exceedingly productive, but quite neglected.
It is only a few years since that a very considerable trade was carried
on between Jamaica and Monte Christi, and Puerto de Plata; the produce
of those fine valleys on each bank of the river, as well as of the
fertile plains of La Vega Real, always found a ready market in the
different ports of that island. Tobacco, rice, Indian corn, beans and
peas, peculiar to the West Indies, and in great request as food for
the negroes, were exported in large quantities, as were also horned
cattle, mahogany, dye-wood, and often poultry. In return, the people
took rum, salted provisions, ironmongery, cotton goods of a coarse
quality, blue Yorkshire baize, Osnaburgs, and a variety of other
articles required for the labourers in wood-cutting and agriculture.
The annexation of the Spanish part to the republic stopped this
intercourse, and consequently the finest vent for the disposing of the
produce of their industry became shut, and having no other intercourse,
the demand has entirely ceased. There is no encouragement therefore
left for husbandry, and all those lands which were before appropriated
exclusively to the raising of the several articles which I have before
enumerated, are now uncultivated, with the exception of mere patches
where vegetables are raised for the immediate wants of the people.
The town of Monte Christi is a place of little resort, its trade having
been ruined by the restrictive laws in force in the West Indies. It
stands at the extremity of the promontory on the north branch of
the Yague. Occasionally American vessels call in, and barter their
provisions for mahogany and dye-woods, and sometimes take tobacco,
the quality of which is much finer and milder than that of the United
States. Contiguous to the river, and particularly on its southern bank,
the country abounds with mahogany and dye-woods, and in the mountains,
mines were said to exist, containing gold and silver and other valuable
ore. But very recently a company formed in London for the purpose of
exploring them, found that the undertaking would be attended with a
considerable waste of capital, without the possibility of obtaining
returns likely to compensate the outlay of the experiment. There is
great reason to doubt the representations that were made by the Haytian
government on the subject of these mines, when they appeared so anxious
to have them worked; their sanguine assurances of ultimate success were
only intended to delude, as they could not seriously expect that any
beneficial result would attend these operations.
To the eastward, beyond the town of Santiago, are the plains of La
Vega Real, celebrated for their extreme verdure and fertility. They
are in a great measure inclosed by the surrounding hills, which form
an appearance not unlike an amphitheatre. These plains are capable of
producing, were they properly tilled, every description of tropical
plants, and in the elevated parts there is every reason to believe
that European grain might easily be raised. The temperature of this
district makes it a most congenial spot for all sorts of agricultural
labour, and the culture of the soil would be rewarded with an ample
harvest. The whole of the plains are well watered by innumerable small
streams, which, flowing from different parts of the mountains, empty
themselves into the Yuna. This river, in its course to the bay of
Sumana, is exceedingly convenient for the wood-cutters who float their
mahogany and dye-woods down it into the bay, for the purpose of sale
and shipping.
Sumana, which appears as if it were detached from the main land, is a
peninsula, and may be said to be nearly uninhabited. A few American
free persons of colour have emigrated thither from the United States,
for the purpose of cultivation; but they have greatly diminished
since their arrival, numbers clandestinely leaving it, finding that
the assurances held out to them by the Haytian government were only
made for the purpose of deluding them to form a settlement. It is
a low and swampy situation, and not likely to be an eligible place
for colonization, as fevers and agues are exceedingly prevalent.
Notwithstanding all these unfavourable consequences, Bonaparte planned
a new city about the middle of the peninsula, to be called Napoleon;
for this purpose, I am inclined to think that a survey was taken, but
the design was finally given up. The bay of Sumana is very capacious,
and affords a most delightful anchorage for shipping; and it may be
justly denominated the key to the Mona Passage, as all ships passing
from the north through the passage must be perceived by the vessels at
anchor in the bay.
There is nothing remarkable in the south-east end of the island
from the city of Santo Domingo to Higuey, with the exception of the
extensive plains of Los Llanos, through which the traveller passes to
Scibo, and thence to Higuey. These plains have been well described by
Mr. Walton in his history of the Spanish colonies, and at the period
of his residence in the island, they were without doubt the most
delightful pastures in the western world. That writer says, “these
astonishing plains constitute almost a sixth of the island, extending
nearly to the east end, a distance of more than ninety miles, on a
width of about thirty. On them cattle of more than a hundred owners
pasture in herds, and are collected, counted, and the young branded at
the season when the calf cannot mistake its mother. The dexterity with
which the herdsman on horseback with a lance in his hand separates one
of his master’s brand from the rest, is wonderful. In the dry season
when the blade is long and rank, it is customary to burn all the grass
on the plains, which serves as an annual manure; for in that season
the cattle generally take to the forests in search of the herbage
which the sun has not had the power to parch. The operation of burning
is performed by setting fire to the most eastern part of the tract,
whence the wind regularly blows; it spreads in long and succeeding
volumes, frequently making the traveller recede, and effacing the path
through which he has been accustomed to journey.” Subsequently to the
repossession of the eastern part by the Spaniards on the expulsion of
the French by General Carmichael, a very extensive trade in cattle was
carried on with the island of Jamaica, which continued until the union
with the west, when the intercourse was restricted, and, consequently,
the breeding of cattle has not been so much attended to as formerly,
as they have only their internal consumption to take them off. Many
are now killed for the skin and tallow; when the meat is jerked, and
the Spaniards from the continent of South America purchase it and ship
it to the Havanna, where it is in great request for the slaves, and is
called Tassaja.
The town of Higuey was once of some note from the riches and
magnificence of its church, which it appears escaped the ravages of
the revolution, and was not visited by those sacrilegious wretches,
who devoted all edifices to destruction that had once been the resort
of the white inhabitants of the island. The people formerly used to
go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin in this church from
all parts of the island; but a few only now undertake it. The Virgin
therefore has become poor, and the monks who used to officiate are
reduced to great shifts for an existence. I know not if this be a mark
of improvement in the Haytians; at all events, there seems to be less
superstition and bigotry: a little, however, is still left amongst
the females. I knew one instance of a female at Port au Prince who
undertook a pilgrimage to the shrine of the virgin. She went by water
to the city of Santo Domingo; and on her voyage thither was in great
danger of being lost; but far from being alarmed, she considered it as
part of the penance she had to perform before she invoked the saint
for a remission of her sins, and therefore exulted at her good luck in
meeting with such a disaster on her way.
The city of Santo Domingo, being, I believe, the oldest city in the
republic, has been described by Walton as having been exceedingly
strong, regularly built, and well fortified, and as containing many
public edifices of note. Having since his time gone greatly into
decay, it has declined in consequence, as well as in its commercial
character; and it is remarkable, that in every place in which Haytian
influence predominates, commercial enterprise, and every other good
quality appertaining to man, is sure to sink to the lowest ebb. This
may appear extraordinary, but it is true, and the city of Santo Domingo
is an example of what I now write; for at this moment it certainly
is in a state of inconceivable misery, and the greatest poverty and
wretchedness prevail amongst the people. No place in the republic
is better situated for commerce, were the people and the government
disposed to encourage it; but no such disposition is manifested by
either: and those merchants, who formerly had extensive dealings with
the Spanish Main, have thought it adviseable to leave it and take
up their abode in a country where they are likely to receive some
encouragement, and may be able to invest their capital, with some
chance of receiving an equivalent return for their industry.
The city is nearly a mile in circumference, and at this time does not
contain above fourteen thousand inhabitants, although in the time of
the Spaniards, including its attached district, it contained twenty-two
thousand, and yet the population is said by the government to have
increased exceedingly.
The harbour of Santo Domingo is a very indifferent one, being too much
exposed to the south winds, but the ground is good for holding. It
was in this harbour that Admiral Sir John Duckworth defeated a French
squadron in the beginning of 1806. They were at anchor nearly under
the walls of the city, from the batteries of which they received some
protection; but the British were not to be intimidated. Putting every
obstacle at defiance, they boldly entered, attacked the French line in
succession, and obtained a decisive victory, taking and destroying the
greatest part.
The river Ozama, which washes the eastern side of the city, is a
strong and wide stream, and is of great advantage to it, as it not
only carries off a great deal of the decayed animal and vegetable
matter that is at times to be found in the vicinity, but offers great
facilities for floating down timber and for carrying provisions and
produce from the interior of the country.
To the westward of the city of Santo Domingo as far as Jacmel, the
whole country is very little inhabited, although it is most beautifully
picturesque, and affords every encouragement to the cultivator from the
extreme richness of its soil. The bay of Ocoa has several convenient
anchorages for shipping, and it is here that the largest quantity of
mahogany and dye-woods is shipped for Europe and the United States;
and formerly cattle were purchased, of which the supply was extensive
and the prices exceedingly cheap. The Neyva, a river which has its
source in the mountains of Cibao, and runs through a very rich and
delightfully romantic district, emptying itself into a bay of the same
name, receives vessels of small draught of water, for the purpose of
conveying the products of the country on its banks to Jacmel for a
market. In the neighbourhood of the banks of the Neyva are many remains
of sugar settlements. This district is well watered, and occasionally
shaded from the power of the sun; and as the soil is strong, it must
have been highly productive in sugar as well as congenial for the
breeding of cattle: nothing can exceed its verdure, and its fertility
is generally admitted. The palmetto, or mountain-cabbage, grows in
this district in a most flourishing state, demonstrating the richness
of the soil, as this vegetable will not arrive at very high perfection
except in tracts of country where the soil possesses great nutritive
powers as well as a moderate degree of moisture.
From the Neyva to the west of the peninsula at Cape Tiburon the only
places now of any trade or of the least note, are Jacmel and Aux
Cayes. Jacmel was formerly a place of great trade from its situation,
being so immediately convenient for carrying on an intercourse with
the Spanish ports of the island, and likewise with the Spanish ports
in South America; it had also a communication with Jamaica, which was
valuable to it, but the restriction annihilated this branch of its
commerce; and as the intercourse with South America subsided when the
revolution in that country commenced, it lost its commerce altogether,
and it is now a poor inconsiderable place, without trade, and without
inhabitants of any respectability or means. The vicinity of Jacmel
was never much celebrated for the extent of its cultivation, though
in proportion to its means the returns to the cultivator seemed to
meet his expectations. Sugar and coffee were the principal articles
of growth; some cotton and a small proportion of indigo were also
produced. Scarcely any thing is now produced except coffee, and but
little of that commodity. The intermediate places to Aux Cayes are now
nearly neglected, Aquin being the only one now frequented; and there
are only a few inhabitants, such as fishermen, who carry on a kind of
contraband trade in coffee to avoid the export duty, which can be done
in these quarters easily enough, the officers of the customs being so
ill paid by the government, that they are necessitated to make up the
deficiency by participating in the profit of defrauding the revenue
over which they are placed as guardians.
Aux Cayes is a place of some trade and a port from which is shipped
a large portion of the produce of this part of the country. In the
neighbourhood of Aux Cayes the soil is exceedingly productive, and
to the cultivator used to return as much as any other part of the
island, requiring at the same time less labour and less means; but now,
however, like its adjoining districts, it has gone into great neglect,
and exhibits on the face of it that relaxation in the culture which is
so general throughout the republic. Indeed in the whole of this part
the sugar cane is but little planted; in fact, with the exception of
an instance or two in which English gentlemen happen to hold property
in trust, the cane plantations are but little attended to; they are
allowed to go on years in succession without cleaning, without manure,
or any other requisite to render them productive. There are several
British houses in Aux Cayes who used to carry on an extensive trade
with the interior, and with the Spanish Main and Jamaica, but they have
sustained considerable losses by the Haytians; and the restriction
precluding an intercourse with other islands, they have only the
chance of adventuring to the South American ports, and this only has
been permitted recently by an act of the legislative body; for of
late years goods exported received no drawback, but were subjected to
the full duties, unless they were exported within six months, when
they only paid half duties, or six per cent. But even this permission
cannot benefit the merchant here, the trade direct to the Spanish Main
supplying that market so abundantly, that the chance of an advantageous
speculation is but very doubtful.
The whole of this vicinity and the district southward of the mountains
of La Hotte, may be said to present the finest field for agricultural
operations. A rich and nutritive soil, a congenial climate, and fine,
refreshing, and seasonable rains, with a plentiful supply of water, all
cooperating, hold out to the cultivator the greatest encouragement to
exert his skill and industry, and to avail himself of those gifts which
the hand of Providence has so liberally dispensed. But in the Haytian
no such energy must be expected; nothing requiring the least effort
of the mind or exertion of the body will rouse the energy of that
slothful and inactive being, who idles away his time, careless of the
consequences that may spring from his negligence and his irresistible
desire for repose and quietude. In fact, I fear that nothing can be
done that can prove effectual in stimulating the Haytian; it would be
a task of no little labour to lead him; to drive him, would perhaps
endanger the state.
From Aux Cayes through the country by Cape Tiburon to Jeremie,
cultivation appears generally in a very backward state. The passing
traveller sees nothing to attract him, except now and then an object
which reminds him that the vicinity was once the scene of great havoc
and desolation, and that all that was valuable and useful had been
destroyed by some general convulsion. The remains of habitations,
remnants of walls, and scattered implements of tropical labour, are
to be seen in all directions. Here an iron boiler, half buried in the
surface; there an old iron shaft of a mill, or some other part of the
apparatus for the manufacture of sugar, and often a dismounted cannon,
arrest the attention of the traveller as the wretched memorials of a
devastating war.
In the district of Jeremie, which produced at one period large crops
of coffee, cocoa, indigo, and cotton, but few symptoms of agricultural
industry are visible. The finest plantations of the French are now
totally obscured and overspread with the creeper, the windband,
and numberless other species of indigenous weeds. In vain does the
traveller look for those settlements which wore the gay appearance
of culture, and for those plantations that enriched the proprietors,
and placed them in that ease and affluence to which their industry and
their perseverance so justly entitled them. Instead of such a scene,
the whole country, as we approach towards the capital, exhibits nothing
but neglect and waste, and their concomitants, poverty and wretchedness.
The plains Leogane, which once excited the admiration of travellers,
and formed the scene of so much contention during the heat of the
rebellion, are partially cultivated, and on the elevations that
surround them a patch is in some places selected by a settler for the
raising of vegetables for his own consumption; but I could perceive
nothing which indicated a regular scene of cultivation, or which had
the appearance of a system of agriculture likely to be beneficial to
the proprietor of the soil. This state of things appears however not
confined to a particular district; there is a similarity of negligence
throughout the whole of the republic, and it would be an invidious
distinction to select one part as worse than another.
Nothing can be more laborious, nor more inconvenient and unpleasant,
than travelling in Hayti, from the state of the roads, from the want
of inns for accommodation, and from the innumerable rivers and streams
over which the traveller has to pass, and which, at all seasons, he
is obliged to ford, often swimming his horse, and exposed to great
danger from the rapidity and force of the current (to say nothing of
being nearly up to his shoulders in water). There are no bridges in
the island; the Haytians being all good swimmers, and much addicted
to ablutions, deem them unnecessary. In the time of the French, the
roads through the whole of their division were admirable; indeed they
were admitted to be the best in the West Indies; the materials being
adjacent to them, and the expense of putting them on the required parts
so very trifling, they were always kept in the most perfect order,
and carriages of all descriptions could pass with the same facility
as in any country in Europe, from one extremity of the colony to the
other. The accommodations for strangers too were of the first order,
and no inconvenience was experienced for the want of those comforts
so requisite after a journey under a tropical sun. But the scene is
quite changed. It is almost impossible to describe the state of the
roads at this moment. It is evident that, notwithstanding the heavy
contributions levied for their repair, they have remained untouched
since the revolution, and there seems a disposition on the part of the
government to efface every vestige of the former roads, leaving the
people who travel to beat out their own way in the most easy manner
they can. On approaching the capital, they are, it is true, somewhat
better than in the interior. Here a little attention is bestowed upon
them, whilst in other districts they are unnoticed. All the criminals
sentenced to labour on the roads are employed in the vicinity of
Port au Prince; and this seems to be a measure suggested from its
being economical, as the criminals have an opportunity of supporting
themselves by begging.
It may not be amiss to explain in this part how the criminals are
treated in the republic, and to shew what nice feelings the government
has with regard to their treatment during the hours of labour, and the
way in which they are provided for. All criminals who are sentenced to
work on the public roads for a stated time, are not _chained_ together,
but _roped together by pairs_, the rope being first attached to the
neck, then descending to the body, where it is fastened; the ends of
the ropes are joined, so as to leave the space of about three yards
between the criminals thus tied together. They labour from daylight
until sun-set, being allowed an interval of about an hour and a half
for dinner at noon. The government pretends to provide for them; but
to save the expense of provisions, two of these criminals, accompanied
by two soldiers with their bayonets fixed, are permitted to go about
to beg provisions for the subsistence of the whole, and unless they
chance to be very successful, they get but a very poor allowance, and
often are left to fast until the next day. They are in gangs of about
fifteen or twenty, and over every gang nearly as many soldiers, and
an officer, all armed, are placed to force them to labour. At night
they are incarcerated in the gaol, and their bed is composed simply
of boards without any covering; they are allowed no supper. Admitting
their criminality to be great, and their punishment just, still such a
system has a degree of barbarity in it which can never prevail except
among savage nations. What! convicted felons sentenced to hard labour,
and directed to beg for their subsistence at the point of the bayonet!
It seems incredible. The thing is too revolting to be admitted, many
will say; but I declare it to be a fact, and call upon the people of
Hayti to contradict it if they can. It is the labour of these criminals
which alone renders the roads approaching the city somewhat passable.
From Jacmel to the capital, the road is in the worst state, and it is
evident that it has not undergone any repair since the revolution. It
is almost impassable in places, and never receives the least attention
from one end of the year to the other. If the roads were in a condition
to offer the least encouragement to travellers, I cannot imagine a
more romantic nor a more enchanting ride. Ascending the lofty mountain
of Tavite, the scenery is beautiful. To the southward is seen the
Carribean sea, with Jacmel and its plain immediately below; on the
other side may be viewed the island of Gonaives, the bay of Port au
Prince, with the town of Leogane and its extensive plains. In every
direction also are to be seen small cordilleras intersecting, between
which are valleys whose verdure is perennial, and having natural
pastures of the most luxuriant growth, which are seldom visited by the
husbandman, and remain untouched by beast.
From the capital to the extremity of the western peninsula and Aux
Cayes, the roads are very bad. To the latter place a chaise may
penetrate by way of Leogane, Petit Goane, Morogane, and Aquin; few
persons however who are accustomed to travel between the two places
would venture to drive, but would rather ride, as the safest mode
of travelling. Going to the north from Port au Prince, the old road
remains, but in such a state as to be in places almost impassable. When
the country was in cultivation, and these roads were in their finest
order, a tour through the northern departments of the country must have
afforded the traveller much gratification.
From Gonaives to Cape Haytien, the road is somewhat more easy for
travellers, and in fact, throughout the whole of Christophe’s country,
they are infinitely better than in the south, for he attended to
their repairs, and saw that they were kept in good condition. The
Escalier, about half way between the two places, deserves the notice of
strangers, and perhaps is the most extraordinary road in the western
world, with the exception of some that are to be met with in Columbia
and in Mexico. No name could be more appropriate, for it certainly has
the appearance of a staircase. This road ascends very high, and the
precipices on its side are enough to intimidate the boldest rider who
attempts to ascend or descend it.
Through the whole of the republic I believe there is not a decent inn
for the accommodation of travellers; at all events, I never had the
good fortune to find one, nor did I hear of one in any direction.
There are huts on the road side, into which those who are travelling
sometimes go to obtain lodging for the night; but even in these, a
bed would not be easily found, and instead of a pallet, some boards
thrown on the floor must suffice to repose on. On the summit of the
mountains of Tavite, there is a hut of this description, and on
passing that road on one occasion I was benighted, and took up my
abode there until morning. A bed I was unable to obtain, there being
only one in the house, and that was taken up by a Frenchman who had
arrived a little before me. Mine hostess of the mountain, however,
being a good-natured sable creature, was kind enough to prepare a
place on which I might recline during my stay. Whilst she was engaged
in adjusting my apartment, I thought it a measure of necessity to
prepare myself for it by a copious libation of brandy, as a somniferous
cordial; a great requisite in these Haytian inns, as one is sometimes
rather disturbed by an insect that is very common in them, and of
which it is not an easy matter for a man to disencumber himself, as
they evince an extraordinary pertinacity in adhering to the body,
and excite a sensation not at all calculated to invite sleep. Having
fortified myself against the offensive operations of my dreaded enemy,
I prepared to enter my apartment, but this was attended with some
difficulty, its dimensions being only sufficient for a dwarf, and not
calculated for a person somewhat beyond the middle size. I was obliged
therefore to resort to the plan usually adopted on board of small
vessels, by putting my head in first, and then by degrees to get in
my body and legs; and this place about four feet square, on boards
covered with my cloak, being one of those apartments of the inn usually
appropriated for strangers, became my lodging for the night. To sleep
was impossible, for the bugs, rats, and croaking lizards, haunted me
the whole night, and I rose again before daylight just as fatigued as
when I arrived the evening before, and with the additional knowledge of
having a dollar to pay for my _bed_. The houses of the negroes in the
British colonies are a palace compared with this _inn for travellers_;
and yet this is one of the most frequented places in the republic.
In most parts of the West Indies there are public places to which
people frequently resort for amusement on holidays, but there is no
such thing in Hayti, except when parties occasionally go from Port
au Prince to the lakes of the Cul de Sac, but even this is attended
with great inconvenience, there being no places for the reception of
travellers; and persons are therefore obliged to seek and beg temporary
accommodations of the people in their vicinity, from whom at times you
do not receive much civility, and they exact enormously for every thing
you purchase. Were there any place fit for the reception of people,
a tour to the lakes is worth undertaking, though the roads to them,
like all the rest, are execrable. The largest of these lakes is named
La Laguna de Henriquillo, and is about fifty miles in circumference,
situate to the eastward of the old line of demarcation, and about
thirty miles from the sea at the mouth of the Rio de Pedernales. Its
water is salt, and although at this distance from the coast, there
is the same motion in its waters as in the neighbouring ocean. The
country on its banks is exceedingly attractive and highly picturesque,
and exhibits a scene of natural fertility and beauty scarcely to be
equalled in any other part of the Antilles. The game peculiar to the
country is very abundant in this district, and the inhabitants who
reside near the lakes subsist solely upon it and the fish which they
can obtain in great abundance.
The smaller lake, called Etang du Cul de Sac, contains fresh water, and
the fish in it are very numerous. The soil in the vicinity of these
lakes is the deepest and richest mould, and not having for years been
disturbed for tillage, has become highly nutritive, from the animal and
vegetable matter which decays annually upon its surface.
The value of land throughout the republic is greatly deteriorated, from
the impossibility of making a money value from it within any moderate
time. Labour being so high, and the difficulty of finding labourers
for cultivation so very great, that the lands in the possession of the
government lie in an untilled state, without any person evincing the
slightest disposition to purchase them. Land also in the possession
of individuals is similarly circumstanced; and those who are large
proprietors cannot effect a sale of any produce which they may have
beyond the quantity which they can consume; consequently a proprietor
may have an immense extent of land, and yet be quite unable to derive
any benefit from it by cultivation, or to convert it into money, for
the want of purchasers. Thus, as I have before stated, there is no
individual wealth in the country, because, although a man may have very
large landed possessions, still those possessions are unavailable, for
they produce him nothing, as he can seldom find persons disposed either
to occupy or purchase them. There are some instances of proprietors
leasing their lands to persons who undertake to cultivate them, for
which they receive about one-third of the produce; but this is far from
being general, and I imagine can only be accomplished by military men
who have the command of troops, and who are thereby enabled to till
them by working parties daily sent out for that purpose.
The finest land in the republic would not sell for more than sixty
dollars per acre, although contiguous to a port for shipping, and of a
quality so strong and nutritive, as to be capable of growing any of the
tropical productions. The mountain-lands, and the lighter descriptions
in the plains, suitable for cocoa and cotton, can be obtained for a
price varying between twenty and thirty dollars in any quantity from
ten to five hundred acres. In the plains of the Artibanite, where the
soil is exceedingly rich and fertilized by the overflowings of that
river in the months of May and November, and which has been yearly
improving its condition, from having been upwards of thirty years out
of cultivation, I have known small plots of land, for horticultural
purposes, sold for forty dollars per acre. In those districts where
indigo and cotton were formerly most generally planted, for the growth
of which the soil is suitable, the situation peculiarly adapted, and
the climate and seasons congenial, the price of land seldom exceeds
thirty dollars per acre. I know an instance of a sale of land, once an
old cotton plantation, which only brought twenty dollars per acre for
one part, and about twelve for another.
In the northern department, about Limonde and La Grande Rivière, land
is exceedingly low, and notwithstanding its high repute for all the
purposes of cultivation, it seldom exceeds forty or forty-five dollars
per acre, and even at those prices it is difficult to find purchasers,
except for mere plots to be occupied in raising vegetables. The finest
pasture-lands, having all the advantages of shade and water, and in all
the luxuriance of vegetation, can scarcely find purchasers, and will
not bring above forty dollars per acre. With respect to lands on the
coast they are generally in waste, unless they happen to be immediately
in the vicinity of a town, when some of them are occupied as small
settlements for vegetables and for raising poultry for the markets: but
there are no extensive plantations of sugar or coffee situate very near
the sea, although formerly the whole coast was in cultivation as far as
it was practicable to extend it.
In the plains of Cul de Sac, in the neighbourhood of La Croix des
Bouquets, the land is a little occupied, but in possession of
individuals who have held it since the distribution in the time of
Toussaint and Dessalines; and although in this part of the country the
soil is exceedingly deep and strong, land hardly finds purchasers. Land
again in the mountains varies in price according to its situation. In
those valleys surrounded by the cordilleras that are so numerous in
the country, and in which the verdure is constant, which are finely
watered, and have a delightful temperature through the year, the land
sometimes brings fifty dollars per acre, whilst tracts exposed to the
north and north-easterly winds, and having rapid descents, are seldom
worth purchasing, and few people buy them; they are generally given
by the government to superannuated soldiers, who are allowed to leave
the army and turn cultivators. Land in the towns and cities is sold at
moderate prices, much lower than might be imagined. A lot, containing a
frontage of sixty feet, with a depth of forty or fifty feet, eligibly
situate for the purposes of trade, may be bought in Port au Prince
for about two hundred dollars. This may seem surprising to persons
unacquainted with the country, and who have been led to believe that
Hayti is in a most flourishing state; but it is true, and at once shews
that poverty is generally prevalent, and that there is no security for
property in whatever commodity it may be vested. Houses and land are a
very insecure tenure under such a government as that which at present
exists in Hayti, and whilst such a constitution endures, and such
inefficient persons are permitted to command, but little improvement
can be expected, and the value of property, instead of increasing, will
certainly decline.