Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
* * * * *
[Illustration: ONE OF THE MAIN STREETS OF PORT-AU-PRINCE]
HAITI
ITS DAWN OF PROGRESS AFTER
YEARS IN A NIGHT OF REVOLUTION
J. DRYDEN KUSER
BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY J. DRYDEN KUSER
All Rights Reserved
Made in the United States of America
The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.
TO MY WIFE
BROOKE RUSSELL KUSER
THE SOURCE OF MY ORIGINAL INTEREST IN HAITI
AND A NEVER-TIRING AID IN THE PRESENT WORK.
INTRODUCTION
Haiti is a country of rapidly changing conditions. Like others,
emerging from revolution and disorder to peace and the pursuits of
peace, it finds its possibilities unlimited. Furthermore, under
the Haitian-American treaty, part of the government is being run
by the Haitians themselves in the three departments: executive,
legislative and judicial; and a portion is controlled by the United
States, including the military. In such a two-party control,
there is naturally friction and this causes frequent and changing
disagreements.
Whereas in January, 1920, the bandit trouble was serious, I have
just found, during a brief November trip, that this has ceased
to be an active danger. In its place there has arisen, not a
military worry, but a political one. Haitian agitators, supported
by ill-advised Americans, have spread propaganda favoring the
withdrawal of the United States from Haiti. Included in this
propaganda have been the absurd accusations against the marines of
cruelty toward the natives.
The question of any cruelty or unnecessary killings has been
conclusively disproven by the findings of a Court of Inquiry sent
to Haiti, and which has recently published its findings. As to the
withdrawal of the United States from Haiti--such a course would be a
menace to the world and a sad neglect of duty by the United States.
Any American acquainted with Haitian conditions will agree that
the marines would scarcely have boarded the American ships before
the entire country would be in a state of civil war, the lives and
property of foreigners endangered, and the possibility of Haiti
paying off her foreign debt would be lost.
As opposed to this prospect of revolution, we have a bright future
for Haiti, if the United States remains. The country is naturally
rich in its products and its soil, and labor is able to work for
cheaper wages than elsewhere. This is a great incentive for American
business to invest its capital, which means that the country will
rapidly become rich again--as it once was in the French days. But
unlike conditions in those days, the Haitian himself will share in
the future development and wealth.
J. DRYDEN KUSER.
BERNARDSVILLE, NEW JERSEY.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I SARGASSO AND FLYING FISH 11
II CACOS 20
III EVERY MAN'S LAND--A BIT OF HISTORY 38
IV VAUDOUX 52
V PUBLIC EDUCATION AND NORMIL CHARLES 63
VI THE PRESIDENT 74
VII A MORNING HUNT 77
VIII PINE NEEDLES 87
IX COTTON 93
X Gourdes 101
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ONE OF THE MAIN STREETS OF PORT-AU-PRINCE
_Frontispiece_
FACING
PAGE
SIFTING COFFEE ALONG A PRINCIPAL STREET 13
DESSALINES _Following_ 20
THE "OPEN" MARKET JUST BELOW THE CATHEDRAL _Following_ 20
ENTRANCE TO THE "CLOSED" MARKET 28
MARINE PATROL _Following_ 36
HILLS NEAR MIREBALAIS _Following_ 36
CIVIL PRISONERS OF PORT-AU-PRINCE MAKING CHAIRS 45
WOMEN CARRYING IN TO MARKET BASKETS WHICH
THEY HAVE MADE _Following_ 52
THE CATHEDRAL _Following_ 52
A SOURCE OF THE GREATEST GOOD--THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC SISTERS AT ONE OF THE MANY CONVENTS
ON THE ISLAND 60
THE HEAD NURSE AT THE PUBLIC HOSPITAL WITH
HER CORPS OF HAITIAN NURSES 61
MAGISTRAR'S STAND OF WHICH THERE IS ONE IN
EVERY TOWN _Following_ 68
THE NEW PRESIDENT'S PALACE _Following_ 68
"WHITE WINGS" OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 76
MARKET WOMEN LEAVING TOWN ON THEIR
"BURROS" 77
TYPICAL "CAILLE" NEAR FURCY _Following_ 84
RAILWAY TO LEOGANE _Following_ 84
ON THE ST. MARC ROAD AFTER THE HEAVY RAINS 92
HAITIAN WOMEN WASHING THEIR CLOTHES IN A
DITCH _Following_ 100
THE AMERICAN CLUB _Following_ 100
HAITI
HAITI
I
SARGASSO AND FLYING FISH
For the first two days out of New York harbor flocks of Herring
Gulls followed us and occasionally an odd Robin and a pair of
Goldfinches appeared. But after Hatteras was passed and the sea was
calmer the gulls left us and flying fish took their place. Stationed
at the bow I watched them dart out of the foam and skim, sometimes
a few feet, often many yards. At night I took the same post and
the phosphorescent "stars of the sea" shone very green against the
yellow constellations above.
By the third day ever-increasing quantities of sargasso weed
appeared and floated past. Torn from their beds along tropical
coasts, these bits of weed act as the shelter for multifarious forms
of aquatic life which live as long as the weed lives and die when
it finally decays. And so, although no sign of bird or other life
appeared above the water surface, we were surrounded every moment by
thousands of individuals of dozens of species.
Our ship was the "Advance" of the American government-controlled
Panama R. R. Steamship Company, which operates the service between
New York, Haiti and Panama. Two steamers run to Panama via
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, three are exclusively for Haitian ports,
while the others do not stop at Haiti en route to Panama. Beside the
Panama line there is the Dutch line of boats which runs from New
York to Haiti on regular sailings, but aside from these two there
are no other lines which regularly run ships to Haiti. And so the
quickest way of travelling from Haiti to another of the West Indies
is via Panama.
[Illustration: SIFTING COFFEE ALONG A PRINCIPAL STREET]
Coming south, the first land appeared on the fourth day, when
the lighthouse of San Salvador, re-named Watling's Island by the
British, showed the northern point of land long before the rest
of the flat surface was visible. Bird Rock, the Fortune Islands
and Castle Island were passed during the next twelve hours, and
finally the high mountains of eastern Cuba were twenty miles off
our starboard. Before these were out of sight, the peak of Mole St.
Nicholas, Haiti, arose on the port bow. But we were by no means yet
at Port-au-Prince, our destination, for it is a seven-hour sail from
this point to the harbor in the lower part of the bay. The bay
itself is over 100 miles long, and in the center of it is the Island
of Gonave, 10 by 40 miles, to which all convicts were exiled from
Haiti in the French days, and many of whose present inhabitants are
descendents of these exiles.
After we had passed Gonave, the mountain ranges on both sides became
very close and we could see the smoke of many fires high up on their
slopes. These fires, we later found out, were those of the charcoal
burners, who play an important rôle on the island. The charcoal
is obtained by placing the wood which has been gathered under a
covering of earth in such a way as to eliminate the undesired
gases and leave the charcoal. After sufficient time, the earth is
removed and the charcoal carried for miles into town on the backs
of "burros." Charcoal is used entirely in Haiti for kitchen fuel.
Of the fires we saw in the hills, all were probably not those of
charcoal burners, as it is the common thing for the natives to burn
off a section of the land which they desire to use and to ascribe
the fire to spontaneous combustion.
At last the vari-colored lights of Port-au-Prince peeped forth from
among the foothills on the right and we followed the channel in by
alignment with two huge red range lights, one on the top of the
Cathedral and the other on Fort National. The beauty of coming into
Port-au-Prince is by daylight, when, not unlike Serrento, it shows
a background of 2800 foot mountains rising behind, and with the
pellucid green sea stretching out from the town. A Haitian launch
came alongside for the custom officials to board. Our passports
were taken to be kept for overnight and recorded, and we were then
allowed to proceed to the dock which is at the end of a long pier
jutting out from the land.
As we spun along to the house where we were to visit we went over
streets smoother and wider than all but a few in the United States.
These streets, throughout most of the town, were put down under
contract with an American firm in 1914, before American occupation
of Haiti, and are of excellent quality. From the business district
we came out into the Champ de Mars, a laid-out park with a bronze of
Dessalines, the "Founder of Haitian Independence," in the center;
and at the end a grandstand from which to watch the sports or
national festivities. Next to the Champ de Mars is the new palace
of the President of Haiti. It is now at a stage of near-completion,
and one wing is already occupied by the President and his family.
This building is the fourth palace to be built on the same site, one
of the others having been set on fire and destroyed, and the other
two ruined through explosions. In the latter cases the President
had been unable to trust anyone with the keeping of the national
supply of ammunition and was forced to keep it in his own palace,
so that in both cases the Presidents were killed by means of their
own powder. On the lower side of the palace are the marine barracks
and the gendarme caserne, opposite one another, and above the Champ
de Mars is the marine brigade headquarters.
At this point starts the residential section of the town for both
wealthy Haitians and Americans and other foreigners. We rode over
narrow, quaint streets, after passing the marine headquarters, until
we came to Avenue Christophe and our house, of old French style and
with peaked roof, which was at one time used as the Presidential
palace. Most of the houses of Port-au-Prince are of this old French
style and show few traces of the original Spanish. Around all
the better houses there are dense tropical growths with mangoes,
oranges, and guanavena or sour-sap hanging over the porches. Many
of the yards have also one or two royal palms, with their great
white trunks reaching over fifty feet and with leaves clustered at
the top. At the very tip of the tree's trunk is the heart, for which
many trees are cut down, as "heart of palm" is one of the delicacies
of the tropics. In the country districts both the royal and cocoanut
palm are common. The two are somewhat similar but can be easily told
apart by the crooked growth of the latter and also its darker and
rougher trunk.
The first morning after our arrival was cloudy, which was very
unusual, for thruout the year in Port-au-Prince the mornings are
almost invariably clear. So is the remainder of the day for the six
months during the dry season, but in the wet season it regularly
rains a downpour for about two hours late each afternoon. November
is the beginning of the dry season, so for a couple of weeks after
our arrival it would still occasionally rain for a few moments a
day. But we missed having any of the truly tropical rains which
during the summer flood the streets and sweep all before them.
While the winter is for Port-au-Prince and southern Haiti the dry
season, the conditions are exactly reversed in the northern half of
the republic. There the wet season commences in November, to last
for six months until the next summer when all becomes dry again. And
so there is never a time in Haiti when half of the island is not
being well-watered and the fruit and crops in season.
II
CACOS
Although, in the days of the French, Cap Haitien was the capital
of Haiti, to-day Port-au-Prince is the capital as well as the most
important town. It is also the most modern town, being the only one,
for example, to have the paved streets which I have referred to. In
addition it has a good telephone and electric lighting system.
The first morning's tour of the shops in Port-au-Prince made
my former knowledge of fair prices useless. Goods which it was
necessary to import from the United States, such as silks and
American-made cloths, seemed exorbitant; perfumes and French
clothes, imported directly from Paris at a low rate of duty
sold at a considerably reduced rate from the New York price; but
naturally the greatest difference in cost was those of native
goods. Mahogany grows plentifully throughout the interior of Haiti
and hence is easily obtained. Its price is consequently low and I
purchased a solid mahogany small dinner table for $6, which is the
customary price. But compare the price for such a piece in New York!
And then of course the native fruits were either free along the
roads or at a nominal price in the markets. Alligator pears, bought
as a luxury in New York for 75 cents or a dollar apiece, sell in
Port-au-Prince for 5 pears for 2 cents.
[Illustration: DESSALINES
_In the Champs de Mars_]
[Illustration: THE "OPEN" MARKET JUST BELOW THE CATHEDRAL]
In Port-au-Prince there are two markets, the "open" and the
"closed," of which the latter is a roofed and walled structure and
the former held without cover on an open plaza, directly beneath the
wall around the Cathedral. Here, together with alligator pears, are
sold bananas, limes, grapefruit, fish, meats, dry goods and odds and
ends which are found in a department store. Here also "_rapadou_"--a
native candy made from brown sugar and cocoanut--is for sale. This
candy is also peddled along the streets and trays full of it are
carried by the natives on their heads, whilst they continually call
attention to their ware by calling it out at frequent intervals.
Whatever a Haitian has to carry, be it an armchair, a piece of paper
or a trayful of fine glassware, he carries it upon his head. They
have in this way developed the ability to stand great weight and
certainly one beneficial result is the invariably erect carriage of
a Haitian caused through the necessity of always maintaining balance
when he carries his goods.
Up to within a few weeks of our arrival the native shops used to
remain open in the evening. When we arrived, however, they closed
each night at dark. This was because of a scare which they had
recently received when a small band of revolutionary bandits, known
throughout Haiti as "cacos," attempted to make a raid upon the
town. In the old days of unstable government the natives had become
accustomed to the existing government falling every time the cacos
arrived, and they were not easily led to realize last September that
it is no longer possible now that the marines are guarding the town.
And hence for weeks after the attack the shopkeepers regularly shut
themselves up in their houses at dark each night.
For sometime after the Americans occupied Haiti in 1915 there were
no organized uprisings, but within a year various causes have led
the wild tribes of the interior to join together into various bands
and attempt organized raids.
The fighting of these cacos is extremely difficult for three
principal reasons; first, the secret sympathy of some reputable and
prominent Haitians and the consequent impossibility of obtaining
any information from them; second, the nature of the country which
permits the cacos to retreat into the mountainous regions which are
wild and contain many caves and trails unknown to the whites; and
third, the manner in which the bandits fight. Like the Indians they
conduct a warfare of night raids and of sniping, so that only a
sort of guerrilla war can be conducted against them. And then too,
as the cacos are not in uniform, it is impossible to know who is or
who is not a caco, except when they are actually banded together or
carrying their arms.
But results are being slowly accomplished. The towns are protected
and guarded so that when an attack is made it can be repulsed and
patrols sent out to round up as many of the invaders as possible.
In the interior districts where the bandits congregate and make
their rendezvous, expeditions are being continually sent out and
the country honeycombed between the different hill posts. Near
L'Archahai there is a cave which, dating from the earliest records
of Haitian history, has been credited as being a bandit retreat.
Here the cacos are still supposed to meet and go into hiding,
but as the cave is a huge opening on the side of a mountain, and
inaccessible unless a rope ladder be let down from someone already
there, it is quite inaccessible and impossible to attack.
In Haiti there are two different armies, so to speak. The
gendarmerie or national army of Haiti consists of the enlisted men
who are Haitians and of officers in charge of them who are American
marines loaned to the Haitian Government, in accordance with the
provisions of the treaty, to organize and train the Haitian army so
as to make it an efficient fighting police force which is able to
support, and preserve against attack, the existing government.
The gendarmerie have abundantly proven, in many recent cases when
they have been led by American officers, that they are thoroughly
trustworthy and loyal fighters. Nor is there any doubt of their
courage, for they are as brave as any body of troops in the world.
The gendarmerie are used for guarding a town after it has been once
freed from active cacoism, and everywhere in Haiti one sees their
white and red stone headquarters. The gendarmerie are also used,
together with the marines, to go out into the hills on patrols for
routing the cacos and clearing up the country.
The second army is the occupation force of American marines
stationed in Haiti since the intervention of 1915 to preserve order
and protect the nationals and property of Americans and other
foreigners in the country. For those marines who are in search of
real adventure and fighting, even those who were in the world war
might well look with envy upon the men who are doing patrol duty
among the Haitian hills. Alone or in company with the gendarmes,
they have had encounters so filled with adventure that I will tell
of one which occurred shortly before our arrival.
Charlemagne Massena Peralte, a man who came from the Hinche
district, and of natural ability as a leader, was of anti-white
sympathies and early after the American occupation associated
himself with a family named Zamor in the northeast country around
Hinche. One of the Zamor brothers, Oreste Zamor, was formerly a
president of the republic and another was the great leader of the
north and is now in the Port-au-Prince prison as a conspirator.
Charlemagne rose in the caco ranks to the position of chief and
was so successful in his first encounters and attempts as to
make the name of Charlemagne known everywhere as the supreme
caco. Charlemagne was the clever and guiding hand of all the
revolutionary attacks which occurred about this time, so it became
of the greatest importance to capture him. Many attempts to do this
were made by the marines and the gendarmes, but on each occasion his
preparation for scouts and ways of escape made it possible for him
to evade them.
In October, the location of Charlemagne having been reported,
two marines, officers in the gendarmerie, volunteered to capture
Charlemagne. They made very careful preparations to set out
with twenty gendares and disguised themselves by blackened skin
and native clothes. Both of the officers spoke Creole well, but
naturally with some foreign accent and so it was necessary for
them to speak as little as was possible. When near the place where
Charlemagne was reported to be spending the day, they met the first
caco outposts who stopped and questioned them. Claiming they had
an important message to deliver to Charlemagne, giving the password
and claiming such extreme fatigue for the two officers that these
officers could barely answer the questions put to them, the party
succeeded in being passed.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE "CLOSED" MARKET]
A second and a third guard of Charlemagne's were in the same way
fooled and at last the gendarmes came to a clearing. In the center
of the clearing were gathered together a group of bandits around
a fire, and at the side of the fire sat a woman. Behind her there
was a sort of rude throne and here sat the great Charlemagne.
Scarcely had the gendarmes seen the crowd collected here when they
were recognized and a signal given. The woman lept to the fire and
succeeded in brushing and stamping it out. In the darkness which
followed, she and her followers escaped. But hardly had the signal
of detection been given when Charlemagne was the aim for the
gendarme rifles, and when a new fire was lighted he was found to be
dead together with a few of the crowd with him.
The belief in Haiti was a common one that Charlemagne was a
supernatural being who was immune from rifle bullets or the weapons
of his adversaries. In fact, he himself boasted that this was true.
And so, upon his death, pictures of him were taken and these the
marines spread broadcast throughout the republic to prove to all
Haitians that the invulnerable Charlemagne was at last killed.
It is this kind of fighting which the marines and gendarmes have to
continually do in combatting the caco trouble. After the death of
Charlemagne, Benôit Batraville, who was formerly a sullen police
chief in the mountain town of Mirebalais, became the caco leader. He
had joined the caco ranks only shortly before Charlemagne's death,
and although not nearly so clever a brigand as the supreme caco was
perhaps the most intelligent and the best leader when Charlemagne
died. Up to the time of my departure in February, all attempts to
capture Benôit had failed but I have since heard of his killing.
It was during a skirmish with the marines in which the latter
penetrated to the leader's rendezvous and although every other
person in the camp escaped, the officer leading the marines had the
good fortune to kill Benôit.
And so another man of fair intelligence has been eliminated from
the bandit forces. This has practically destroyed the caco power
as an offensive force, for it is the few men whom the cacos have
among them of brains which make them at all a dangerous factor. The
bandits are with a few exceptions utterly ignorant and unable to
lead an attack unless inspired and led by someone who has lived in
the towns and developed some intelligence. To illustrate the almost
unbelievable state of mentality possessed by the cacos, I will tell
of the prisoners taken in one raid. After the raid the prisoners
were taken back to the town to be temporarily held there awaiting
trial. When the men reached the house, they were unable to walk up
the stairs, as stairs were new to them. They had never seen a house
of two stories before and did not know what to make of the second
floor.
I have mentioned a caco attempt to raid Port-au-Prince just before
our arrival, in which some of the bandits reached town. By January,
over a month after we arrived, the town had again assumed its
normal state, and fear of another attack was practically eliminated
from the minds of the natives. This was the condition when, on the
morning of January 15th, the telephone rang at 4 a.m. and we heard
that "3,000 cacos are marching into town by the Hasco Road." The
cacos, advancing into town in column and with flags and conch-horns
blowing, divided, a quarter of a mile from town, one column going
along the water front and reaching town by way of the slaughter
house, the other two columns turning farther inland and advancing
around Belleair hill, by the radio station.
When the troops had nearly reached town our marines opened fire
with Brownings and machine guns, but the natives broke ranks and
fired from around corners, and rushing into the houses, fired upon
the marines from the windows. Gradually they were driven back, but
_en route_ they had fired some of the native "_cailles_," in the
poor section of the town and the light from this lit up the entire
surrounding country.
By daybreak many cacos were lying dead along the entrance to the
city, the attack had been completely repulsed and the cacos driven
far from town. Over 150 were captured or killed and but three of the
marines wounded, only one fatally. A large number of caco had been
pressed so hard on their flanks and front that they were forced to
retreat into a closed valley back of Belleair and were there almost
completely wiped out by a volley of machine guns.
All during the day patrols searched the plains and outlying country.
In this way they captured singly or in groups many of the brigands
who were retreating to the hills. One automobile full of townsmen,
arriving from Gonaïves, told of meeting the caco band, or at least
part of it and only escaping by a miracle. The dents and holes made
by the bullets while the car ran the gauntlet between the crowd,
could be seen covering the body of the car when it came into town.
In the afternoon a house-to-house search was made in the district
where the fighting occurred and, asleep in his own house, the police
found and recognized Solomen Janvier. Janvier is a man who formerly
lived in Port-au-Prince in the house where he was found. But he had
always been a revolutionist and for many months previous to the raid
had been out in the hills with the cacos.
Janvier boasted, after he had been taken to prison, that every
attack which had been made upon Port-Au-Prince during recent years
had been led by him; and that in the present raid there had been
three leaders leading the different sections of the caco force, but
that the other two were cowards and had fled before they reached
town, he alone leading the actual attack.
The number of cacos who reached the town is uncertain. First reports
gave the number as 3,000, which was later reduced to 1,500, as
claimed by the men at Hasco, the sugar plant of the American-Haitian
Sugar Company, by which the cacos passed on their way into town.
But, although there were many camp followers who never entered and
engaged in the fighting, it is probable that the number of actual
fighters was about 300. On the morning after the raid, our cook told
me that she had heard in the market places that morning that there
were 2,000,000 cacos who had entered the town and that 1,000,000 had
been killed. This, I think, was the wildest rumor I heard.
On the second day someone spread the rumor that 2,000 more cacos
were coming into Port-au-Prince, and as it took some time to prove
the report false, there was great excitement throughout the town. I
went down beyond the Champ de Mars, and, rushing in every direction,
were the natives, each returning to his respective home. As soon as
they reached there, the windows and doors were boarded and within a
very short time every house was closed and not a person was to be
seen upon the streets. And so another day was lost to business, for
all of the shops had been closed since the raid because of the
great fear that the cacos were going to make a second attack.
[Illustration: MARINE PATROL]
[Illustration: HILLS NEAR MIREBALAIS]
In October, when the raid was made before our arrival, the cacos
escaped with a loss of only a few men, but in January so many of
their number were killed or captured in town and out in the plains
during their retreat that it will certainly make them wary of again
invading the town for a long time to come.
Benôit, himself, was in part of the fighting during the January
raid, but unfortunately was among the bandits who escaped and was
soon back with his followers in the Mirebalais hills, where he was
eventually captured as I have related.
III
EVERY MAN'S LAND--A BIT OF HISTORY
The Republic of Haiti consists of the western part of the island
of Santo Domingo, while the eastern end constitutes the country
of Santo Domingo. The latter, while it has three times the
territory, claims but one-third the population of Haiti, which is
to-day estimated at 2,500,000. Columbus' estimate of the combined
population of what is now Haiti and Santo Domingo was as high as
2,000,000, but during the four intervening centuries the change in
race has been complete. Scarcely a strain of aboriginal blood is
left; and no ancestor of the present natives then even knew of the
"new world." Ownership of Haiti has changed hands four times in this
period, and revolution, crime and barbarism have left indelible
marks on the pages of her history.
The men left in Haiti by Columbus and those who followed the
pioneers from Spain have scant justification for their brutal
treatment of the Indians whom they met, and among the disgraces
committed by white men in their dealings with the aborigines in
America, the acts of the Spaniards in Haiti and Santo Domingo were
among the most deplorable.
Before long, the Spaniards, having wiped out the native Indians,
were obliged to search for labor to till their soil and to search
for gold. All of the metals possessed by the local redskins had been
stolen by the first-comers. Turning naturally to African slaves to
solve the problem of labor, the Spaniards imported the blacks in
ever-increasing numbers.
The Spaniards had not long been settled in this way before they
were themselves forced to contest rule over the island, for French
adventurers had come into the country and by 1697 the latter were so
successful that most of that portion of land now known as Haiti was
recognized by the Spanish to be under French control.
The French continued the practice, commenced by the Spaniards, of
introducing negro slaves and thousands were each year added to
the number already settled. Rapidly Haiti became France's richest
colony and the stories of the magnificent estates and the luxury
in which wealthy planters and French noblemen lived are pitiful in
contrast with what was so soon to follow. Pauline Bonaparte's estate
near "Mon Repos" on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince lies in ruins
and there remains little trace of luxury about the huge pool where
once she held court and receptions at which much of the nobility
of France was present. It is said that the wealthy Parisians used
to send their clothes to be washed in the waters of the streams
of Port-au-Prince regularly every six months because of the
extraordinary bluing quality which was credited to the water.
While Haiti was thus becoming a treasure island for the French,
this wealth was at the expense of the black slaves, whom the French
forced into overwork by extreme punishments. And thus, while the
nobility in France were holding down their peasants to vaunt their
vanity in the effete displays of the court of Louis XV, and thus
foster the seeds of discontent which bore such frightful fruit in
the days of the Guillotine, the French planters were doing the
self-same thing to a worse extent in their treatment of the blacks
in Haiti. Out of their cruel servitude was to come the succession of
revolutions and the hatred of black and white which to this day has
kept Haiti in the rearguard of civilization.
The era of the French revolution gave an opening for the first
negro rebellion, and led by the example of the white planters who
rebelled against their own government, the mulattoes organized to
some extent and a man named Oge attempted to obtain justice in both
Paris and from the local authorities. Failing, he was sought as a
rebel and after armed resistance by himself and his followers he was
captured and executed.
Critical conditions soon led the French Constituent Assembly to send
three Commissioners from France to restore order and also issued a
decree that "every man of color, born of free parents should enjoy
equal political rights with the whites." However, the feeling in
Haiti was so strong against this act that pressure was brought to
bear upon Governor Blanchelande which prevented his executing the
decree and pitched battles took place between the whites and the
blacks.
The French Government, largely through incapable Commissioners
whom they had sent, was losing her grip on the control of Haitian
affairs, and at the same time there arose two contending forces
to control affairs there. In the north the negros had succeeded
in becoming the stronger factor and a slave, named Toussaint
L'Overture, though at first faithful to his master, soon saw the
inevitable trend of affairs and joined the rebels. He very quickly
proved his ability for leadership and was soon chosen their chief.
In the meanwhile the English had, with a ridiculously small force,
taken St. Marc and afterwards Port-au-Prince. After Toussaint had
firmly established himself in the north, he marched southward to
essay the attacking of the English. Time after time he attempted
to force them to surrender, but each effort was repulsed. Soon,
however, the English realized the impossibility of conquering Haiti,
and decided to evacuate. They treated with Toussaint and left St.
Marc and Port-au-Prince to him and his party of the north.
At this point Toussaint showed his discerning insight into the
entire black versus white situation at that time by allowing
all foreigners who sided with him to remain undisturbed in the
newly-acquired territory. But this action did not meet with favor
from all, and, chiefly through the influence of Hedouville, many
whites were murdered contrary to the order of Toussaint.
Rigoud, in control of the south, now opposed Toussaint but was
forced to make peace with him when the French sent a commission
and supported Toussaint's claim to rule. Among the generals of
Toussaint was Dessalines who commanded his troops in the north while
Toussaint was himself in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince. Dessalines,
like Hedouville, was radically opposed to the equality policy of
Toussaint and while the latter was away he was intolerant of the
mulattos and murdered thousands of them.
[Illustration: CIVIL PRISONERS AT PORT-AU-PRINCE MAKING CHAIRS]
Toussaint, in spite of these disagreements and violations of his
orders, was nevertheless supreme in Haiti. He now aspired to the
throne of Santo Domingo as well. Therefore, all preparations
completed, he set out upon his new march of conquest and, not
meeting a single reverse, Toussaint, upon his return, claimed
possession of the entire island.
But here Toussaint made his fatal step. Instead of declaring the
independence of Haiti he ruled it as a French colony with himself
as the self-appointed governor and with his creed based upon
equality for white, black and mulatto. The result of this policy
was that when France was again at peace, Bonaparte was able to make
an attempt to again bring Haiti back to the condition of slavery.
By false trickery the French General Leclerc captured Toussaint
and exiled him to the Alps, where he soon died. Toussaint, the
conqueror, thus lost his chance of becoming Toussaint, the founder
of the republic.
War was now declared between France and England and opportunity
again arose for the French to be driven from Haiti. Dessalines
with many of Toussaint's former generals accomplished this
task and declared the country independent. Dessalines was made
Governor-General and declared the "Founder of Haitian Independence."
He is known everywhere under this title to-day, and is far more
revered than Toussaint as the great national hero. Inspired by the
crowning of Bonaparte in 1804, Dessalines declared himself the first
emperor of Haiti and from that time on until his death he continued
to rule a one-man power of terrorism and brutality.
Upon the death of Dessalines, rival claims were made by the various
sectional chiefs for the crown of the new Haitian Empire. Out
of these leaders Christophe arose in the north as the strongest
contender and after proclaiming himself King Henry I of Haiti, he
succeeded in practically eliminating all other leaders except Petion
who was very powerful in the south. But these two rivals were forced
to unite their forces and strength in common cause against the
French who made a new but unfruitful effort to regain possession of
the island.
Petion and Christophe were opposite types. Petion was rather
easy-going and it was this which held his followers to him rather
than any show of force. But Christophe, second only to Dessalines
as a national hero, was even more despotic than that emperor in the
treatment of his own people.
It was Christophe who built the great citadel at Cap Haitien and
who, taking his architect up to show him the view from the cliff,
pitched him into eternity lest he might disclose his knowledge of
the secret passages which he had designed. In building the Citadel,
the ascent was so steep as to make almost beyond the limits of
human endurance the carrying up of heavy building materials. It is
said that the 5000 men assigned to do this work refused, and, upon
hearing of this, Christophe had the men lined up and every other man
killed. He then commanded the remaining 2500 to complete the task or
they should receive the same fate as the others.
But this iron rule of Christophe proved to be a boomerang for him
and a man named Boyer, who was by this time the leader in the south,
marched northward and declared Haiti a republic and himself its
first president. The north was tired of Christophe and willingly
joined in with the cause of Boyer. Under Boyer, Santo Domingo
declared herself independent and in allegiance to President Boyer
of Haiti, who thus became chief of the entire island.
The next event was the demand by France for indemnity and Boyer
acceded to this demand on condition that France sign a treaty
acknowledging the independence of Haiti. This was agreed to and two
treaties were signed, but the indemnity always remained practically
unpaid, for revolution after revolution made a collection of the
indemnity through a blockade impossible.
After the death of Boyer, strong rule was lacking for a long time
and the government was ever-changing, being overthrown by each
succeeding revolution. This was largely due to the fact that
there was no ruler who was acceptable to both the blacks and the
mulattoes, who were now the two constantly opposed factors. It is
said that the Haitian flag of red and blue was formed from the
French by eliminating the white even as the white race had been
eliminated from the island, and leaving only the blue for the blacks
and the red for the mullatoes. Nevertheless it is certain that these
two remaining colors could not live in harmony together. No rule
was long stable and frequent and serious uprisings which resulted
in interference with the foreigners in Haiti caused the diplomatic
corps many a critical problem. Law and order were unknown and few
were the presidents of that period who died a natural death.
Finally, in 1915, the climax came. President Sam was driven from his
palace by the mob, and chased by them through the streets. Finally
they followed him when he sought refuge in the French territory of
the legation and he was there massacred and cut to shreds before the
eyes of the wife and children of the French minister. Intervention
by the French was naturally imminent, but in order to preserve
the integrity of the Monroe Doctrine, America took the lead and
forced the existing government of Haiti to accept a treaty which
temporarily allows America a sufficiently free hand in Haiti to
maintain law and order and to help the Haitians build up a civilized
and stable government.
And so it is that we are to-day visiting Haiti and that it is now
possible to travel in a country which was previously in the throes
of continual unrest. Whereas before the Occupation, practically no
administration was able to complete its term of office, foreign
business was unable to hazard investments and personal safety was
uncertain; protection is now afforded to the foreigner who comes to
Haiti, and equality of treatment in public for all colors is the
rule.
IV
VAUDOUX
Haiti is one of the few countries where State and Church still
remain united, and to-day the Catholic clergy are under government
pay. Roman Catholicism first became the Haitian religion when, in
1836, the Pope was declared its head and given the authority to
appoint its bishops. The priests are almost uniformly upright men
who are working along beneficial lines among the natives and are one
of the leading forces for good in the country.
The masses in Haiti, however, do not believe in straight Catholicism
but in Vaudouxism. This creed is of African origin and was
introduced into Haiti when the black slaves were brought over by
the Spanish and French. To these original beliefs they have
slowly accumulated a few Indian superstitions and very many of the
ceremonies and attributes of Christianity, so that Vaudouxism as it
exists in Haiti to-day is a unique religion.
[Illustration: WOMEN CARRYING IN TO MARKET BASKETS WHICH THEY HAVE
MADE. LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE THEY ARE CARRIED ON THEIR HEADS]
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL]
Vaudoux is the deity of the Vaudouxists and is represented as a
venomless serpent. The human leader of the creed is a high priest
selected by the followers of Vaudoux from among themselves and is
known as Papaloi, and he in turn selects a high priestess who is
called Mamanloi (corruptions of the words Papa Roi and Maman Roi).
In these two personages is supposed to be the divine spark. But,
mixed with this pure Vaudouxism, there is much Christian ceremony,
such as the inclusion of the worship of the Virgin Mary and the
observance of Easter Day.
Like all primitive religious cults, the Vaudouxists include in
their rites sacrifices and self-inflicted punishments. Animals of
various kinds are sacrificed at each meeting of Vaudouxists and
the highest offering is the snow-white sacred goat. To the rhythm
of Vaudoux drums or tom-toms, the worshippers dance themselves into
excited passions for hour after hour, until the chief dancers, who
alone remain, finally fall from utter exhaustion. During this dance
the men eat pieces of glass and, dancing upon red-hot coals, they
place burning pieces of charcoal in their mouth. And we read of the
asceticism of the Middle Ages and think of it as a bygone phrase!
Often at the Vaudoux meetings the participants become maddened by
the liquor and revel, and debauchery finally prevails in its lowest
forms, until the meeting breaks up at dawn. But the endurance of the
chief dancers who continue for five, six and seven hours without
ceasing for a moment, is truly marvelous.
So great is the fear of Vaudoux inbred in the Haitian that even
with those who are civilized and cultured, many remain in awe of
Vaudoux or are restrained from exerting their influence against it
through fear of poisoning, for the Haitians are arch-poisoners. And
thus, though many Haitians of the upper classes are nominally good
Catholics, they are still to a more or less extent subservient to
Vaudoux superstitions and avoid openly opposing the demonstrations
of it by their countrymen.
Many of the presidents of Haiti were themselves Vaudoux priests
and but two among them took any active measures toward repressing
it. These two were Geffrard and Boisson-Canal and the act meant
their downfall, for Vaudouxism is habitually aided or winked at by
the Government. Toussaint L'Overture was an out-and-out Catholic
and took definite measures against Vaudouxism, but in his day the
beliefs were not so strong and it was much easier to repress its
practice.
It is now impossible for the Vaudouxists to openly hold their
meetings near the towns and they are forced to find some rendezvous
among the hills. But in the towns the natives still hold their
dances, where they dance the weird "bambeula" to the beat of the
tom-tom very much as they do at the real Vaudoux meetings. The
tom-toms are made out of a hollow log and two skins which are
made taut over each end of the log. The tom-tom beater is skilled
and as particular about his instrument and how it is tuned up (by
tightening or loosening the bindings of the skins) as any violinist.
The tom-tom beater knows many different native tunes.
And so Vaudouxism still prevails the driving religious force of
most Haitians. The most uncivilized are out-and-out worshippers and
regularly attend the Vaudoux rendezvous, but the higher classes are
ashamed to confess their subservience to Vaudouxism to foreigners
and consequently many pose as Catholics although sometimes they are
themselves Papalois. And then there are those Haitians who are truly
Catholics, and these are in most cases those who have been educated
abroad. They are usually of the younger generation. But as I have
shown they dislike intensely to come out openly against the practice
of Vaudouxism by other Haitians.
The elimination of Vaudouxism, in fact, rests almost entirely upon
the shoulders of the Americans. And this elimination is imperative
for Vaudouxism is, not so much a religious evil, but an unmoral
and uncivilizing factor. It is Vaudouxism, too, which makes more
difficult the fighting of the cacos; for Vaudoux priests have,
through their hold upon the religious fear of the Vaudouxists,
tremendous power over all their doings. Upon the sounding of a
Vaudoux drum the priest can very often do about what he wants with
his followers. Probably all of the caco chiefs are Vaudoux priests
and thus hold together bands which, freed from religious scruples,
would abandon their purpose of brigandry. For example, in the
January raid, many of the cacos who had been wounded, admitted that
they had gone into the attack only because of their belief that the
Vaudoux charms which they wore made them invulnerable.
One Sunday while I was waiting at the Gendarme headquarters at
Leogane there was being held there the weekly meeting of the
"Communale" and the Gendarme officer told me that the chief of
this force was one of the natives who had always joined in every
revolution which had reached that part of the country and the third
chief was formerly an ally of the great caco leader, Charlemagne. A
strange band, certainly, to be the guardians of law and order. But
it was, after all, reasonable. These men were the most intelligent
in their neighborhood and then of course it was infinitely better
to have such men in a place where their salaries would keep them
law-abiding than to have them outside the law and inciting trouble
against a less capable government force.
It is very difficult to establish any sort of efficient and just
civil force because of the ignorance of the vast majority of the
Haitian population. The number of intelligent, or partly intelligent
men in a country district is small, and it is the intelligent men
in these sections who are usually in league with the cacos, either
openly or secretly. And with the magistrates there is another
obstacle which prevents the execution of justice. Ever since the
beginnings of Haitian history, graft has been so natural and
accepted a thing with government officials that it is inborn in the
present generation and time alone will ever wipe it out.
At present with a large number of the magistrates impartial judgment
is unknown and the local law verdict goes to the highest bidder.
First one side buys up the judge and then the other until finally
one party is forced to give in through lack of resources. The chief
drawback in attempting to eliminate such graft is the ridiculously
low pay given to a magistrar. It is but natural for a judge to seek
outside gains in order that he may earn a living. When a Haitian
dies, and some of the more prosperous of them have accumulated
fortunes of over a hundred thousand dollars, the heirs or even
outsiders who are on the spot loot his wealth and leave nothing for
any absent members of the family. The latter are unable to obtain
justice later because the first-comers have carefully bought up the
local officials with a portion of their new gains.
This unfair state of local government can be remedied only
slowly and by the gradual elimination of the idea of graft as an
expected right of a government official. But as I have pointed
out the raising of the magistrate's salary is a prerequisite. The
low salary now paid is of course due to the lack of funds which
hinders the development of the country at every turn.
[Illustration: A SOURCE OF THE GREATEST GOOD--THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
SISTERS AT ONE OF THE MANY CONVENTS ON THE ISLAND]
[Illustration: THE HEAD NURSE AT THE PUBLIC HOSPITAL WITH HER CORPS
OF HAITIAN NURSES]