Kenskoff--a tiny mountain village half-way up the third mountain
slope. We climbed up the winding trails which sometimes consisted
of cuts through the mountains, but generally paths cut in the
mountainside, with the crest high above us and the base far below.
At Kenskoff is a tiny white chapel with the Pope's flag of white and
yellow marking it from a long distance. This outpost of Christianity
is visited perhaps once a month by the priest of the neighborhood
on his rounds.
After watering our horses and having a few eggs and sandwiches, we
left Kenskoff and the mountains became more barren. A red-tailed
hawk soared in the valley below us and from the roadside we flushed
flocks of mourning dove at every curve. And then we reached Furcy,
and around the side of the mountain we suddenly came upon the entire
panorama of each succeeding range rolling up from the distant ones,
which were in Santo Domingo, to drop from 10,000 feet to the valley
below us and rise again to our pathway of about one mile high.
It was a clear night with a new moon, so only a few tiny clouds
floated below us in the valleys and above only the black and gold of
a starlit night.
[Illustration: ON THE ST. MARC ROAD AFTER THE HEAVY RAINS]
IX
COTTON
The week before Christmas we started off on a motor trip as the
guests of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Davis. Mr. Davis is the Vice-President
of the United West Indies Corporation, an American concern which is
engaged in developing the resources of Haiti. Although operating
throughout the Republic, the largest plantation of the company is
near St. Michel in the north-central portion, where for miles the
country is a vast fertile plain and thus peculiarly valuable as
agricultural land. The soil is virgin--untouched and unused except
in the early Spanish days, centuries ago, for cattle grazing. That
part of Haiti near and to the westward of St. Michel was never in
the possession of the French as was the rest of the Republic, but
was held by the Spanish until driven back to the present Dominican
border by the Haitians themselves.
The first day's ride of about seven hours brought us to St. Michel.
The route from Port-au-Prince for two-thirds of the way is along
the bay to Gonaïves. From there the road goes directly inland. The
country through which one passes during these hours contains many
changes, for from the fertile plains outside of Port-au-Prince,
where castor bean and sugar cane are growing, there is suddenly
a cessation of verdant growth beyond St. Marc, and for miles a
near-desert stretches out. The road is merely a clearing of the
cactus growth which closes in on either side and consists of
queer-looking species of cacti. The soil is sandy, the air humid,
and the thorny mass on every side impenetrable. Every now and then
we would pass partly wild mules kicking down the trunk of a cactus
to drink the water it contained; and as we passed, some of the
natives would rush madly into the bushes from fright. It is not so
long since they saw their first motor and they are still filled with
fear when one appears.
From the plains of Dessalines, a few miles south of Gonaïves, there
is an excellent view of the three old Haitian forts in the mountains
back of the plain. Here the Haitiens retreated to wait until the
forces should come across the plains to attack them. It is easy to
see how difficult it was for any force to attempt to attack the
Haitians when once intrenched in their forts, situated on cliffs and
with hidden trails leading to them.
Stopping for a moment in the plains, we saw a woman coming up to
the car. We found out that she wished to sell her baby if she could
get a few gourdes (20-cent pieces of our money but corresponding in
Haiti to a dollar) for it. Again at Gonaïves a small boy begged
us to take him home and keep him, in exchange for which he would
do any work we might wish. This sort of temporary slavery which
many children enter into or are sold into by their parents lasts
generally until they are of age, during which time they do any work
which you may assign them to. It is a common custom.
From Gonaïves the road to St. Michel passes through Ennery and it
was on the outskirts of this town that we stopped for luncheon. The
spot was a clearing in a forest with huge ancient trees and little
coffee bushes surrounding. In the clearing were the stone pillars,
some still erect, some fallen, of what was once the palace of
Toussaint L'Overture.
Beyond Ennery there is a stiff climb for a number of miles until
finally one comes out on the plateau which constitutes the plains of
St. Michel. Passing through the town, which is at the southern end
of the plain of Atalaye, we went a short distance before arriving
at the headquarters of the plantation. Here we spent the night. The
main building is a very attractive structure, all the rooms of which
except the kitchen and office being on the second floor. All around
is a second-story veranda supported by wooden posts from below.
We sat late watching the headlights of the tractors moving about
ceaselessly over the plains.
The next day was spent in looking over the plantation and seeing the
new long staple cotton which they are growing in large quantities.
Also, in the afternoon we had a long ride across the plains and
afterward a guinea and dove shoot.
At 6 on the morning of the second day we started out in our car for
Cap Haitien. After passing Ennery the road begins to climb up and
up, gaining the steep ascent only by curving and recurving along
the side of each mountain slope. The range was the Puilboreaux
Mountains which climatically divide the island into the north and
south. In Port-au-Prince and all of southern Haiti we were in the
middle of the dry season, as I have said. But after we were over the
summit of Puilboreaux all was changed. The foliage, which on the
southern slope was dry, was now verdant and profuse, the road muddy
instead of dusty and everywhere flowers of all kinds flourished.
Each woods had the orchids out in bloom.
Once over the top of Puilboreau, the view is wonderful. Mountains
miles away look very near and just below it seems, though it is
really far, lies the valley of Plaisance with the little white
buildings of the town tucked away in the center.
Before reaching the Cap, as Cap Haitian is called throughout Haiti,
it is necessary to ford the Limbé River. Normally this is very
simple and a motor will cross over without any trouble. Sometimes,
however, in the floods of the rainy season it becomes impassable and
crossing is impossible for days at a time. When we arrived it was
doubtful, but we were informed that with the aid of the prisoners in
the gendarme prison there, it would be possible. We started, pulled
by a rope, pushed by forty black figures with rags to indicate the
prison cloth, out into midstream under the direction of a gendarme.
But half way out we stuck, the car filled with water to the seats
and only after everyone was up to his neck in water beside the car
helping to push it, did we finally arrive on the other side.
Cap Haitien is to-day not a very important town, compared to
Port-au-Prince, but it was the capital in the French days, and the
center of a large amount of commerce. It shows, unlike other towns,
decided traces of the Spanish architecture. The harbor is beautiful
and along the side there runs a drive to the eastward.
The great sight of the north I did not see. It is the Citadel and
Sans Souci, the palace of Christophe. In the mountains far above
the Cap the Citadel lay surrounded by mist except for a few minutes
early the next morning, when the clouds were swept away and we got
one glimpse of the Citadel. But we were unable to take the trail
which winds up to the palace and the Citadel because of the heavy
rains which at that time flooded the region.
[Illustration: HAITIAN WOMEN WASHING THEIR CLOTHES IN A DITCH]
[Illustration: THE AMERICAN CLUB]
X
GOURDES
The blood of the present-day Haitian is largely a mixture of French
and black. The Indian aborigines were totally eliminated from Haiti
by the Spaniard, so that unlike the most of Latin America, the
Indians or their descendants form no part of the population. The
Spaniard, in turn, was driven from Haiti by the French before he
had left much of an imprint and his blood forms a negligible factor
to-day. The English, although in Haiti, were there so short a time
as to leave no strain of British blood. And so the French blood is
predominant.
Also, all the closest connections of Haiti are still with France,
or were up to the time of the American Occupation. Creole is based
more fundamentally upon French than any other language and the
conversation of the higher classes is pure French. Many Haitians
go each year to Paris to study or to visit, and many of the most
prominent are educated there.
When the Americans took the leading rôle in Haiti there naturally
arose with greater force the race question. The feeling between
black and white is so much stronger between most Americans and the
black races than it is in the case of Europeans, that it becomes a
serious problem. It is foolishly intolerant of the American who goes
to Haiti to assume an attitude of mental or social superiority over
the Haitian because he is a black. It would be equally absurd for
the Haitian to attempt to break through the walls of prejudice and
to expect all Americans and Haitians to mix with ease. Although it
is most certainly true that America has an infinitely more thorough
knowledge and is more capable of government than is Haiti, yet the
Haitians have what many Americans of even the upper classes often
lack, a knowledge of culture and excellent manners.
There is only one sane social attitude to take in the dealings of
Haitian and American. The American must remember, as he should when
he travels anywhere, that he is dealing with foreigners. He must
value them according to their own standards and live his own life
according to the standards of America. Let the American in Haiti, if
he does not care to mix with the Haitians, not do so, but when he
meets them treat them as their education and culture entitles them
to be treated.
The Haitians understand well the attitude of the Americans. They saw
the failure of the attempts in the early days to mix freely. They
now are anxious to meet the American men but wait for the Americans
to take any initiative in a social way.
In Port-au-Prince there is the American Club, whose membership
is limited to Americans. It is situated on Tourgeau Street,
one of the main residential streets, and has a most attractive
clubhouse. Beside it there are two excellent clay tennis courts,
where each afternoon the men play and are later joined for bridge
or conversation by the ladies. Opportunity there is, too, for rum
punches and cocktails, for Haiti is one of the "wet islands."
Every other Saturday night and in between time upon the arrival of
a foreign warship or some occasion of this kind, dances are held
at the Club at which either the Gendarmerie band or a small native
string orchestra play.
The foreign personnel in Haiti consists chiefly of the Marine
officers and treaty officials and their families. This is
supplemented by members of the diplomatic corps and business men who
are either engaged in business in Haiti or who are there looking
over the country in view of future investments. And so there is a
good-sized foreign colony, mostly American, in Port-au-Prince, which
has a social life all of its own.
There are two chief Haitian clubs--the Cercle Bellevue and the
Port-au-Prince. The latter is a young men's club and is located on
the Champ de Mars next to Brigade Headquarters. The Cercle Bellevue
is the more representative and has a beautiful building in the
upper part of town. Its members number as well as the Haitians,
certain Americans who have been invited to join. Frequent dances are
given by the Cercle Bellevue and they are, like all Latin American
parties, far gayer and more elaborate than the American ones. Rarely
does a party break up before 5 a.m.
Nowhere in the world could more elaborate and yet correct
entertainments be given than the Haitians have. During my visit the
Argentine warship "Nuevo de Julio" came into Port-au-Prince and
was the occasion for many entertainments, among them a luncheon to
the American officers which was held on board and to which I was
invited. It was one of the most delightful luncheons to which I have
ever been. That night a state dinner was given by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, M. Barau, to the Argentine Officers, and to which
the American Commanding Officer and the Officer of the Gendarmerie
were also asked. Mme. Barau is French while her husband is of course
a Haitian. No dinner anywhere, I was told, could have been given
which would have been more appropriate or more delightful.
The national standard coin of Haiti is a gourde, which is worth 20
cents in American money. It is made in the form of our American
dollar, and means to the Haitian about what a dollar means to an
American. About two years ago there was a scarcity of gourdes. An
attempt was made to have others printed, but as the printing is
done in Washington and at that time the printers' strike was in
full swing, it was impossible to get the gourdes for a long time.
This led to great hoarding of the gourdes, which resulted in their
becoming even scarcer and finally in their depreciation to below 4
for a dollar. New gourdes were being given out when I arrived and
they were back at their normal value of 5.
The shops in Port-au-Prince are mostly Haitian. The West Indies
Trading Company, an American concern, it is true, has two large
stores at which much that is in American department stores can be
purchased. But the rest are mostly native-owned. Simon Vieux is
the leading grocery, and knick-knacks and odds-and-ends of every
description can be gotten at "Le Paradis des Dames," "Aux Cents
Mille Artiles," and "L'Ange Gardien."
It was indeed with tremendous regret that I finally left Haiti the
first week in February. Haiti, as I have shown, has a wonderful
past in the commerce and cultivation of the French days and in the
accomplishments of the heroes who made and kept her independent.
But these records are only a preface to what a marvellous future
she should have. Haiti is essentially a land of the future and of
possibilities of which to-day we see only the barest vision. The
curtain has already begun to rise upon Haiti as an agricultural land
of the first class and more and more it will be opened up and become
again the rich country which it once was. And in the future the
Haitians and foreigners together will reap the benefit and they will
be of great mutual aid to one another.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have
been retained as printed.