Hayti; or, The black republic.

THE POPULATION OF HAYTI.

The amount of the population in Hayti is not accurately known, as no census has been taken since the country became independent. At the close of the last century the population was found to consist of—

In giving these figures, Mr. Madion adds (“Histoire d’Haïti,” vol. i. p. 29) that the planters, in order not to have to pay the full capitation-tax, omitted from their return of slaves all the children, as well as those over forty-five years of age, so that at least 200,000 should be added to those in servitude, among whom were 15,000 coloured of both sexes. Up to 1847 Mr. Madion considered that the population had neither increased nor decreased. Deducting the whites, there would remain about 750,000.

Mr. Mackenzie, in his “Notes on Hayti,” vol. ii., discusses the question of population, but the tables he inserts in his work vary so greatly that no reliance can be placed on them. In one, the population in 1824 of the French portion of the island is stated to be 351,716; in another, given in full detail as to each district, it is put at 873,867, whilst he adds that Placide Justin had previously estimated the population at 700,000, and General Borgella, a good authority, stated it at a million. It is evident that no one had very precise data on which to found an estimate.

During the struggle between the French and the coloured races, the whole of the whites were either driven out of the country or killed, and some slaves were exported to Cuba and the United States. What remained, therefore, of the two other sections constituted the population of the empire of Dessalines.

During the Presidency of General Geffrard (1863), I heard him remark, that from the best official information he could get, the population had increased to over 900,000. This estimate must be largely founded on conjecture. The negro race is undoubtedly prolific, and in a hundred years ought to have more than doubled—nay, in so fertile a country, with unlimited supplies of food, more than quadrupled its population. The losses during the war of independence were considerable, as there was no mercy shown by either side, and the sanguinary strife lasted many years. The long civil war between Pétion and Christophe was kept up during the whole reign of the latter, but probably did not cost the country so many lives as the building of the great mountain-fortress of La Ferrière and the handsome palace of Sans Souci. During the Presidency of Boyer, lasting twenty-five years, there was peace, and ample time was given, for the population to make up for all previous losses; but after his departure came the wars with Santo Domingo and civil strife.

All these causes, however, would only have slightly checked population. If you ask a Haytian how it is that his country remains comparatively so thinly peopled, he will answer that the negresses take but little care of their children, and that at least two-thirds die in infancy. After reading the chapter on Vaudoux worship and cannibalism, I fear some of my readers may come to another conclusion. I cannot, however, think that these fearful excesses can be carried to the extent of greatly checking the increase of population. That the negresses are careless mothers is highly possible, and in the interior there are few, if any, medical men to whom they can apply in case of need.

After carefully examining every document on the subject which came before me, and noting the state of those portions of the country through which I have passed, and comparing all the information I received during my twelve years’ stay, I have come to the conclusion that the population has greatly increased, probably doubled, since 1825. All the old residents appear to be of the opinion that the Haytian is lazier than ever, and many intelligent natives decidedly hold that view; and yet we find that the exports and imports have doubled in quantity during this period, which can only be accounted for by a very great increase in the population. It is possible, however, that the augmentation is much less than it should have been.

Either on account of losses from warlike operations, or more probably by diseases produced from the greater excesses of the men, the female population is much larger than that of the male. Some go so far as to say there are three women to one man; others, two-thirds females. I am myself inclined to fix it at about three-fifths. The great disproportion in the amount of the women has often been observed among the negro tribes on the coast of Guinea. In Hayti there is no emigration to account for the disproportion; in fact, the movement of population has been the other way, and many recruits arrive from the United States and the European colonies in the West Indies.

The population is generally supposed to consist of at least nine-tenths black to one-tenth coloured, and that the coloured is decidedly more and more approaching the black type. It is natural that, continually breeding in and in, they should gradually assimilate to the more numerous race. As a rule, the coloured population may be said to reside chiefly in the towns and villages.

Mackenzie speaks of some Maroon negroes who lived in the mountains near La Selle in the north-eastern district of Hayti, and held no intercourse with the other inhabitants, but fled at their approach. They were doubtless the descendants of fugitive slaves. When we paid a visit to the mountain above referred to, we heard the peasantry speaking of these people, but it appeared more of a tradition than an ascertained fact. They call them the Vien-viennent, from their cry on seeing strangers. From what is told of their being seen in the deep woods at midnight dancing and going through certain ceremonies, it is probable that these strange people were only sectaries of the Vaudoux worship practising their African rites.

The vexed question as to the position held by the negroes in the great scheme of nature was continually brought before us whilst I lived in Hayti, and I could not but regret to find that the greater my experience the less I thought of the capacity of the negro to hold an independent position. As long as he is influenced by contact with the white man, as in the southern portion of the United States, he gets on very well. But place him free from all such influence, as in Hayti, and he shows no signs of improvement; on the contrary, he is gradually retrograding to the African tribal customs, and without exterior pressure will fall into the state of the inhabitants on the Congo. If this were only my own opinion, I should hesitate to express it so positively, but I have found no dissident voice amongst experienced residents since I first went to Hayti in January 1863.

I now agree with those who deny that the negro could ever originate a civilisation, and that with the best of educations he remains an inferior type of man. He has as yet shown himself totally unfitted for self-government, and incapable as a people to make any progress whatever. To judge the negroes fairly, one must live a considerable time in their midst, and not be led away by the theory that all races are capable of equal advance in civilisation.

The mulattoes have no doubt far superior intelligence, and show greater capacity for government, but as yet they have had no marked success. It is pitiable to read their history, and see how they are almost ever swayed by the meanest impulses of personal interest and ambition, and how seldom they act from patriotic motives. During the twenty years which have elapsed since I first became acquainted with the country, what a dreary succession of meaningless conspiracies, from the abortive attempt of General Legros in 1863, to the disastrous civil strife between two sections of the mulatto party, led by Boisrond-Canal and Boyer-Bazelais, when the latter completed the ruin of those of his own colour, and let in their worst enemies, the blacks, who had dreamed for twenty years of their extermination (1879).

Scarcely one of these plots and insurrections, by which the country has been bathed in blood, but was founded on the hope of office and the consequent spoils. The thoughts of the conspirators are concentrated on the treasury and the division of its contents. “Prendre l’argent de l’état ce n’est pas volé,” is the motto of all parties, of every shade of colour.

Politically speaking, the Haytians are a hopeless people, and the most intelligent and best educated among them are more and more inclined to despair of the future of their country when they see the wreck that follows each wave of barbarism which every few years passes over their republic. President Geffrard, on going into exile in 1867, remarked to my Spanish colleague, that, putting aside all personal feelings and regrets, he could only foresee for his country a disastrous series of convulsions. He spoke prophetically; for Hayti has never recovered from the effects of the civil war which followed his expulsion, and he must have observed, from his secure retreat in Jamaica, how the leaders of every section of his enemies were, one by one, executed, killed in battle, or sent into exile.

I will now attempt to examine some characteristic traits of the Haytian negro and mulatto.

The Negro.

A French admiral once asked me, “Est-ce que vous prenez ces gens au sérieux?” And at first sight it is impossible to do so in Hayti; but after the eye becomes used to the grotesque, the study of the people is both interesting and instructive. To a foreigner accustomed to regard the negro as he is depicted by our latest travellers, a half-naked savage, brutal and brute-like, it is not possible to contemplate as otherwise than incongruous a black general with heavy gold epaulettes and gorgeous uniform galloping on a bedizened steed, surrounded by a staff as richly apparelled, and followed by an escort of as ragged a soldiery as ever Falstaff was ashamed to march with. The awkward figure, the heavy face, the bullet head, the uncouth features, the cunning bloodshot eyes, seen under the shade of a French officer’s cocked hat, raise the hilarity of the newcomer, which is not lessened when he discovers that this wretched imitation of a soldier declares himself the most warlike of a warlike race. But putting aside the absurdities which appear inherent to the blacks, you soon discover that there is something sympathetic in that stolid being.

In treating of the Haytians, one must carefully separate the lower-class negro as he appears in a large commercial town from the black who lives in the plains or mountains. The former, brought into constant contact with the roughest of the white race, as represented by an inferior class of merchant seamen, is too often insolent and dishonest, whilst the countryman, who only sees a select few of the whites, appears to have an innate idea of their superiority, and almost always treats them with respect and deference, and with a hospitality and kindness which is not found in the cities.

Whilst the civilised Haytian is essentially inhospitable towards foreigners, the contrary is the case among the country population. They have the virtues as well as the vices of wild races; and although their long intercourse with their more civilised compatriots has given them a species of French varnish, yet they are essentially an African people removed from their parent country.

Circumstances, however, have naturally modified their character. After the departure of the French, their estates ultimately fell into the hands of the coloured freedmen and enfranchised slaves. Many of the latter squatted among the coffee plantations, regardless of the nominal proprietor, and there gathered and sold the crops without paying much attention to the rights of the owner. With the thirst, however, to be the real possessor of land, so characteristic of all peasantry, as soon as the negro acquired a little capital from savings, his first thought was turned to secure the tenure of his household, and in many parts the land has been morselled out among them. President Pétion encouraged this system by the action of Government.

The popular stories current in Hayti of the difference between the races that inhabit it are rather characteristic. It is said that a white man, a mulatto, and a negro were once admitted into the presence of the Giver of all good gifts, and were asked what they wished to possess. The first-named desired to acquire a knowledge of the arts and sciences; the second limited his pretensions to fine horses and beautiful women; the third, on being asked, shuffled about and said that he had been brought there by the mulatto, but being pressed to answer, replied he should like a bit of gold lace.

They say again, Mark the difference of the three when arrested and thrown into prison: the white man demands paper and ink in order to draw up a protest; the second looks about for the means of escape; whilst the third lies down and sleeps twenty-four hours at a stretch; then waking up, he grumbles a little, but soon turns on the other side and sleeps a second twenty-four hours.

Another curious saying among them is:—

These trifles indicate the opinion the different sections of the people have of each other, and there is much truth in the estimation.

The politeness of the country negro is very remarkable, and you hear one ragged fellow addressing another as monsieur, frère, or confrère; and this civility is very pleasing, as it gives promise of better things whenever education shall be extended to the country population.

The town negro rarely, however, equals the peasant in manners, though among each other there is not much left to be desired. Both classes, at the same time, are infinitely superior to our colonial negroes, who are in Port-au-Prince proverbial for their insolence.

Every one who mixes in Haytian society is struck by the paucity of black gentlemen to be met with at balls, concerts, or the theatre, and the almost total absence of black ladies. At some of the largest parties given by the late President Geffrard, I have counted but three black ladies to perhaps a hundred coloured; and although the gentlemen were more numerous, it was evident that their presence arose from their official positions, and not from a desire to mix with the society.

There is a marked line drawn between the black and the mulatto, which is probably the most disastrous circumstance for the future prosperity of the country. A faithful historian, after carefully studying past events, can come to no other conclusion than that the low state of civilisation which still obtains in the island arises principally from this unmeaning quarrel. The black hates the mulatto, the mulatto despises the black; proscriptions, judicial murders, massacres have arisen, and will continue to arise as long as this deplorable feeling prevails. There is no sign of its abatement; on the contrary, never was it so marked as at the present day. A black Minister once said to me, “We blacks and whites like and respect each other, because we are of pure race, but as for those mulattoes”——

I remember, on my arrival in Port-au-Prince in 1863, having a conversation with a young mulatto lady, no longer in the freshness of youth, on the subject of intermarriage; and having faintly indicated that I thought she had been unwise in refusing the hand of one of the best-mannered, best-educated, and richest blacks in the country, I received a reply which completely surprised me, “Sir, you insult me to imagine I would marry a black. No, I will never marry any one but a white.” I soothed her as well as I could, but on looking at her faded charms, her unhealthy-looking skin, and her heavy under-jaw, I thought with reason that she might wait long; and, poor girl, she waited in vain till death released her.

This contempt of the black is felt by nearly every coloured girl, and is bitterly resented. I have seen young mulatto women refusing to dance with blacks at a ball, and the latter, in fury, threatening to call out the father or brother of the offending beauty. Yet what can be more absurd than such a pretension or prejudice, when, but two generations removed, their mothers were African slaves! I have heard coloured women talking about their families and their aristocratic connections, when I have known that in a back-room, slowly fading away, was some black “mamselle,” the grandmother of the proud beauties.

The blacks naturally feel and resent this childish insolence, and when they get the upper hand, as in the time of Soulouque and since, they unfortunately quench in blood their outraged feelings.

Towards the white man, whatever jealousy he may feel on account of former political questions, the black is usually both respectful and cordial, and in return is liked by them. I heard a black magistrate say, “My father came from Africa. He was apparently a respectable man in the kingdom of Congo, because he was not only treated with distinction by his countrymen on board the slaver, but on landing was taken into confidence by a white planter, who ultimately made him his partner. That is the history of my family.” Certainly as respectable as any other in Hayti.

Notwithstanding all the interested denials of the mulattoes, there is no doubt but that the lower-class negro, in particular, respects the white man as a superior being, and therefore respects his religion as superior to his own; but, as I shall show in my chapter on the Vaudoux, although he follows the white man’s religion to a certain extent, he does not in consequence forsake his serpent-worship, which appeals to his traditions, to the Africa of his nursery tales, and, above all, to his pleasures and his passions. The Vaudoux priest encourages lascivious dancing, copious drinking, and the indiscriminate intercourse of the sexes, but he at the same time inculcates the burning of candles in the Roman Catholic churches. He keeps a serpent in a box in his temple, whilst the walls are covered with the pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints. No other brain but that of a negro could accept such a juxtaposition of opposing beliefs.

Occasionally a negro will say to a white in an insolent manner, “Nous sommes tous égaux içi;” but he does not believe it, and shows he does not believe it by soon sneaking away with his invariable oath, “F——.” The crowd may grunt acquiescence, and though they may appear amused by the fellow’s insolence, they are still more amused by his slinking off. Burton, speaking of the people on the coast of Africa, says that a negro will obey a white man more readily than a mulatto, and a mulatto more so than one of his own colour.

Among the black gentlemen you find some of polished manners and cultivated minds, as my friend Alexander Delva and the late M. Paul, or a genial companion like Lubin, the son-in-law of the late Emperor Soulouque. Yet, notwithstanding these exceptions, and the more remarkable ones I have noticed in my historical chapter, there can be no doubt that the blacks have not yet arrived at that state of civilisation which would enable one to compare them favourably with any other civilised race, or to say that they are competent to govern a country.

During the reign of Soulouque, Chancellor Delva and General Salomon were considered great statesmen, but between them they managed to exhaust the country, and no monument remains of their rule. But when an example is required of a man who applies his official position to his own benefit, it is said, “He will become as rich as Chancellor Delva.”

Another negro who was expected by his own party to show himself a great statesman was Septimus Rameau, of Les Cayes. When, however, he obtained unlimited power under his doting uncle, President Domingue, he proved himself a mere visionary, incapable of a single sensible measure, and turning every project into a fresh means of plundering the State. Whilst the people were sinking daily into greater poverty, and the public service was starved for want of funds, he ordered an expensive Pantheon to be constructed, in which should be erected statues to Hayti’s famous men; and for fear posterity should be oblivious of his own merits, he ordered a statue of himself, which, however, was never erected, as before it arrived he had, by a violent death, paid the penalty of his crimes.

During my twelve years’ residence in Hayti, no black statesman appeared who was capable of managing with credit any important official position, with the exception of General Lamothe, a talented and agreeable man; but I fear that the charity which begins at home so predominated in him, that the interests of his country were sometimes forgotten.

Though very unwilling to meet death on the field of battle when a loophole to escape is at hand, yet no one faces it more courageously than the Haytian, both black and coloured, when on the place of execution. He stands dauntless before the trembling soldiers, who, shutting their eyes or turning away their heads, fire at random, and who too often only wound, and have to charge and recharge their muskets before their prisoner dies. The soldiers have a superstitious dread of shooting any particular man in cold blood, and fancy that his spirit will haunt that individual whose bullet has sent him into the other world.

The black in his family relations is in general kindly, though few of the lower orders go through any civil or religious marriage ceremony; in fact, it was at one time the custom of all classes to be “placé,” and only since the priests have regained some of their ancient influence have those who are considered respectable consented to go to church. The first daring innovators were almost stoned by the people, and even such men as Presidents Pétion and Boyer were only “placed,” the latter succeeding to the authority and “placée” of the former. Yet the children of these unions are by Haytian law legitimate, as the agreement to live together, as in our old common law, was considered equivalent to marriage.

In the interior a well-to-do black lives openly with several women as wives, and I have seen the patriarch sitting at the door of the central house, with huts all around in which his younger wives lived, as they could not be made to dwell under the same roof. On Friday evenings he descends to market on a horse or mule, perhaps holding in his arms the latest born, while following in his train are a dozen women and sturdy children either carrying loads or driving beasts of burden. No one is mounted but himself. The French priests attempted to alter this state of things, but they did not succeed, as the wives, surrounding the intruder, asked him what was to be their position if the husband selected one among them and abandoned the rest. The priests have for the most part wisely decided not to meddle with the present, but rather endeavour to act upon the minds of the younger generation. They can hardly expect success as long as the numbers of women greatly exceed those of the men.

The blacks, though in general kind to their children, neglect them, and the mortality is said to be great. They are, however, very passionate, and in their anger they use in correction the first thing that comes to hand. A Spanish friend with a tender heart was riding one day in the country when his attention was drawn by the piercing shrieks of a child. He turned his head, and saw a black woman holding a little boy by the arm and beating him with the handle of a broom. He rode up, and catching the next blow on the handle of his whip, said, “Don’t beat the child in that manner.” The woman looked up surprised at the interference, and coolly replied in their patois, “Consite, li nègue; li pas fait li mal.”—“Consul, it is a negro; it will do him no harm.”

Another day he saw a gigantic black beating with his club an interesting-looking young negress, giving blows that only a black could stand without being maimed. Again he interfered, but both set upon him, first with foul words, and then with such menacing gestures, that he was too glad to put spurs to his horse and gallop away. He found he had been interfering in a domestic quarrel.

The brutal use of the cocomacaque or club is universal, as I shall have to notice when describing the police. Under Toussaint’s regulations the use of the whip, as an unpleasant memento of slavery, was abolished, but the club was introduced. Dessalines, as Inspector-General of Agriculture, brought it into vogue. At Les Cayes he one day ordered a woman to be beaten for neglecting some agricultural work; she was far advanced in pregnancy, and her child was prematurely born whilst the punishment was being inflicted. Whenever Dessalines’ name is mentioned, it is associated with some act of fiendish cruelty.

As might be expected, few marriages take place between the whites and blacks; the only instance of which I heard was a German clerk who married the daughter of a Minister in the hope of making his fortune through the contracts he expected to obtain from his unscrupulous father-in-law; but within a fortnight of the marriage the Minister was expelled from office. Contrary to general expectation, the German boldly faced his altered prospects, and the marriage appeared to have turned out more happily than could have been anticipated from so ill-assorted a union.

Whilst travelling in Hayti one is often surprised at the extraordinary difference in the appearance of the population, many being tall, fine men with open countenances, whilst others are the meanest-looking gorillas imaginable. Then their colour: some have shiny skins, that look as if blacking and the blacking-brush had been conscientiously applied, whilst others have the skin completely without lustre, looking almost as if disease were there. Again, others are of the deepest black, whilst their next neighbours may be of a reddish tinge.

During my residence in Hayti I only saw one handsome negress, and she was a peasant girl of La Coupe near Port-au-Prince: her features were almost perfect, and she might well have said—

She was not misliked, but she apparently stood the test of every temptation that her white admirers could offer. She had soft pleasant ways and a sweet voice, and talked her jargon of a language in so pretty a manner as almost to make one inclined to admit the Creole into the list of things civilised. But such a girl must be rare indeed, for I saw no other. In general they are very ugly, having no point of beauty. The marked difference in the appearance of the negroes in Hayti doubtless arises from their origin, as they were brought from every tribe in Africa, not only from those frequenting the coast, but also as prisoners from the interior. From all I have read of the African negro, the Haytian must be far advanced from that low type.

It is a curious trait that the negro has a shy dislike of monkeys; he has an uneasy feeling that the whites imagine that there is no great difference between a very ugly negro (and there are ugly ones) and a handsome gorilla. The first evening I went to the theatre in Port-au-Prince, I was started by the exclamation of my companion, “Qui est ce monstre africain?” I turned, and saw in the President’s box a perfect horror; but use reconciled me even to this man. An Italian once came to the capital with a dancing-monkey. Crowds followed him everywhere. One day he stopped before a German merchant’s, and a fair little girl came out. The monkey would not dance, whereon the disappointed child said to her father in Creole, “Faut-il batte petit nègue là.” The mob were furious at the mistake, and the father was too glad to hurry in with his child to escape a shower of stones.

There are still many negroes in Hayti who were born in Africa, being principally the remains of certain cargoes of slaves which the English cruisers captured and landed among their free brethren. One whom I knew had been taken, then freed by an English officer, sent to England, and educated at the expense of Government. When of age he was asked what he would desire to do. He replied, “I should wish to go to Hayti.” When I knew him he was an old man, and had risen to occupy the position of Minister of Justice.

The principal trouble to the female negro mind is her unfortunate wool. How she envies her more favoured sisters their long tresses! how she tries to draw out each fibre, and endeavours to make something of it by carefully platting it with false hair! Even the smallest negro servant will spend hours in oiling, brushing, and tending this poor crop, whose greatest length will only compass three or four inches. It is only when women are more than half white that the wool turns into hair, and even then it has sometimes a suspicious crispy wave, which, however, looks well. Of late years chignons have been a regular importation from France, and the little negresses are delighted with them.

The negroes have a very curious habit of talking aloud to themselves. You will hear them in the streets or in the country roads carrying on apparently a long conversation, repeating all they have said or intended to say on a certain occasion, and in a very loud voice; every other sentence is varied by a grunt or guttural ejaculation. Sometimes they are evidently excited, and are enacting a violent quarrel. They are apparently oblivious that all their remarks are heard, or may be; they are delighted to take so many people into their confidence. It is a general observation that in nine cases out of ten the subject of which they are treating is money.

It has often been remarked what curious names are affixed to negroes, as Cæsar, Lord Byron, Je-crois-en-Dieu. This doubtless arose from a rule which existed during the French occupation, that no slave could be given a name which was used by their masters, so that the latter were driven to very curious expedients to find appellations for their bondsmen; this rule applied in a lesser degree to the freedmen.

Blanc pas trompé nègue is the name given by the Haytians to common blue shirting.

I may notice another peculiarity of the negresses. They object to carrying anything in their hands—they will invariably poise it on their heads. I have often seen them carrying a bottle thus, talking, laughing, running, without having the slightest fear of its falling.

The negroes have very singular words of insult, and I remember seeing a man roused to fury by a little black servant of mine, who, after exhausting every offensive word in her vocabulary, suddenly said in Creole-negro, “Mangé chien.” The black fellow darted at her, and had she not made a precipitate retreat into the house, she would have felt his club on her shoulders.

It is an offensive custom among people of all classes in Hayti to repeat, as a sort of ejaculatory oath, a rather dirty Creole word. Men educated in a former generation cannot get rid of the habit, and many of the lower orders appear to use it at the close of every sentence. When Soulouque was Emperor he often consulted our Acting Consul-General, the present Sir Charles Wyke, now our Minister in Lisbon, as to the usages of the Courts of St. James’s and Hanover, and it is said that our agent gave him a hint that habitual swearing was certainly contrary to courtly usages. Soulouque took this hint in good part, and thought that he would try his hand on an old general notorious for this habit. So the Emperor watched his opportunity, and the first time his victim swore, he called him up and said, “General, I have decided that no one who comes to court can be permitted to use that offensive word with which you interlard your conversation.” The general looked surprised, and answered, “Emperor, f——, of course I will obey, f——, your commands, f——.” “There, you see,” replied his “Altesse,” “you have used the forbidden word three times.” The poor general now completely lost his head, and answered, “F——, Emperor, f——, if, f——, I am not allowed, f——, to use the word f——, I will cease, f——, from coming to court, f——.” The Emperor could not but laugh, and troubled the general no more, for the habit was too engrained. I should have treated this story as an exaggeration had not I myself heard an old officer equally profuse in his ejaculations.

The Emperor Soulouque was a very ignorant man, and a good story is told in illustration. The French Consul-General, Raybaud, I believe, went once to plead some cause before his Majesty, and wound up by saying that if he did what was required, he would be considered “plus grand qu’Annibal.” “Comment, Consite,” replied the startled Emperor, “moué cannibal!” And it required all the Frenchman’s tact to explain his reference. As Soulouque was known to be affiliated to the Vaudoux sect, the illustration was not happy in its sound.

The negroes and mulattoes are very fond of queer expressions, and their odd noises in conversation quite disconcert a stranger. Assent, dissent, anger, playful acquiescence, are all expressed by the variety in which ’ng-’ng are sounded, though a modified or even a musical grunt can scarcely be expressed on paper. The untravelled ladies in Hayti are very proud of thus being able to express their sentiments without having recourse to words.

The negroes of the lower orders are, like all other inhabitants of hot countries, very fond of bathing, but they are careless as to the cleanliness of their clothes. This I also noticed among the Malays and Dyaks of Borneo; they would bathe several times a day, and then return to their dirty garments. The dress of the peasantry in Hayti is often but an imitation of their European neighbours, though the females generally keep to a long white chemise, covered over with a blue cotton dress that reaches to their bare feet, and is drawn in round the waist. They wear a coloured handkerchief on their heads. On feast days and other gala occasions the young negresses dress in white, which makes a pleasant contrast of colour.

Markets used formerly to be held on Sundays. When this custom was abolished the female peasantry began to frequent the churches, and the comparison between their blue cotton gowns and the silk dresses of the ladies created envy. But when, in 1863, the price of cotton trebled, the peasantry had the means placed at their disposal to vie with the rich in Gonaives and St. Marc, and many availed themselves of it to go to church richly dressed. This fashion, however, lasted but a short time, and certainly did not survive the great fall in prices which followed the conclusion of the civil war in the United States.

The upper classes dress exactly like European ladies, but they never look well in fashionable Parisian hats, while their tignon, or handkerchief, tied gracefully round the head, is most becoming. A white tignon is a sign of mourning. There is nothing of which a Haytian lady is more proud than the amount of her personal and household linen. Her armoires are generally full of every kind, and the finer they are in quality the more they are esteemed; and the blacks are, if anything, more particular than the coloured in securing the most expensive underclothing. How they plume themselves on the condition of their best bedroom! It is fitted up expensively, in order that people may see it, but it is very seldom used, except to receive their lady friends in. Then they bring out with great pride the treasures of their armoires, and show how well supplied they are with what they do not make a general use of.

There is one thing for which all Haytians are equally remarkable—their love of “remèdes.” For everything, from a toothache to yellow fever, they have a variety of prescriptions, which are probably well suited to the country, but which a foreigner should be wary in taking. I have not yet forgotten a remède, consisting partly of the juice of the sour orange, which a good old lady gave me on my first arrival in the country. It was my first and my last experience. The natives like being physicked, and apothecary shops appear to thrive in every town and village. I remember a Haytian doctor, educated in Paris, telling me how he lost his patients when he first commenced practice by not dosing them enough.

The lower orders in Hayti have been accused of great incontinence, and the higher classes have not escaped the same accusation; but in no tropical country are the lower orders continent. People affect to say that it is the effect of climate, but I have never thought so. You have but to put your hand on the skin of a negro or of any tropical race, to find it as cold as that of a fish, and their blood is but little warmer. Their food of vegetables would alone prevent their having the fiery blood of a well-fed people.

The fact is, that continence is not considered a virtue by the lower orders in the tropics, and love-stories are told by mothers before their young daughters in all their crudest details, and no effort whatever is made to keep the minds or bodies of the young girls chaste. The consequence is that in early life, particularly among relatives, intercourse is almost promiscuous. As amusements are very scarce, young and old give themselves up to gallantry; but it is constant opportunity and the want of occupation and amusement which are the causes of incontinence, not their warm blood.

There are two things on which both negroes and mulattoes pride themselves: their fine ear for music, and their proficiency in dancing. A talented French bandmaster told me, that, if taken young, he thought he could train his Haytian pupils to be excellent musicians; and as they are fond of the study and practice, he had no difficulty whatever in keeping them to their classes; and many of the military band in Port-au-Prince played fairly well, though, from inefficient and irregular instruction under native teachers, much was still to be desired. The drum, however, was a very favourite instrument, and the noise produced was sometimes startling. The travelled wife of a President used to say that she thought no music in Paris equal to the Haytian, especially the drums.

The dancing of the upper classes is much the same in all countries, though in Hayti the favourite dance is a special one, called “Carabinier.” Among the people, however, are still to be observed the old dances they brought from Africa.

Moreau St. Mèry, in his admirable work on Santo Domingo during the French colonial days (new edition, p. 52), has described the dances of the slaves as he saw them previous to 1790, and his words might be used to depict what occurs at the present day.

With the negroes dancing is a passion, and no fatigue stands in the way of their indulging in it. The announcement that a dance will take place brings people from surprising distances, and the sound of the drums acts like a charm, and all fatigue is forgotten. Young and old, although they may have walked twenty miles, with heavy burdens for the next day’s market, join in it with enthusiasm.

But the most interesting dances are those performed by the professionals. Generally they consist of a couple of men to beat the drums, a very fat woman as treasurer, and three or four younger woman famous for their skill. Soon after President Salnave came into power I was a guest at a picnic at a place where some famous dancers had invited the young men of the district to come and meet them.

Our hosts had heard of this affair, and invited us to go down to the spot, where a large space was covered in with the leaves of the palm tree, as even there seasoned performers could not stand the burning mid-day sun. The two men with the drums were there, coarse instruments made out of a hollowed piece of wood, one end open, the other closed with the skin of a goat or sheep, on which the men play with their knuckles, one slowly and the other faster; calabashes with pebbles or Indian corn in them are shaken or stricken against the hand, and the spectators intone a chant. Then the master of the ceremonies and the chief of the band calls out a name, and one of the professionals stands forth and begins to perform. Any man from the crowd may come and dance with her, holding his hand raised over his head with a small sum in paper money, worth perhaps a penny. When she wishes a change she takes this money in her hand, and one of the impatient lookers-on cuts in and supplies the place of the first; other performers arise, until the whole shed is full. As the excitement grows, some of the young girls of the neighbourhood also join in. I noticed that every note collected was religiously handed to the treasurer, to be employed in supporting the band and paying for the dresses, which, however, did not appear expensive, as the women were clothed in white gowns, coloured headdresses, and handkerchiefs always carried in their right hands. I noticed, however, that what could be seen of their under-linen was remarkably fine.

The dance itself is not striking or interesting, but they keep time very exactly. To show how African it is, I may mention that an officer from our West Coast squadron was one day passing near these performers, when he was suddenly seized with a desire to dance, and struck in before the prettiest negress of the band. His dancing was so good that gradually all the blacks sat down, and left these two performers in the midst of an interested crowd, who by shouting, clapping their hands, and singing urged on the pair to renewed exertions; and I have heard several who were present say that never had they seen anything equal to this dancing in Hayti. Our friend had learnt the art on the coast of Africa, and was as strong as a lion and as active as a gazelle; he was called “the pocket Hercules.”

To return to our party. After some very insignificant dancing, a new tune was struck up, and the performers began to go through something more attractive to the crowd. This dance was called chica, but popularly I have heard it named bamboula, from the drum, which often consists of a hollow bamboo: so it is said. This lascivious dance is difficult to describe. I think I will let Moreau St. Méry do it for me:—

“Cette danse a un air qui lui est spécialement consacré et où la mesure est fortement marquée. Le talent pour la danseuse est dans la perfection avec laquelle elle peut faire mouvoir ses hanches et la partie inférieure de ses reins, en conservant tout le reste du corps dans une espèce d’immobilité, que ne lui font même pas perdre les faibles agitations de ses bras qui balancent les deux extrémités d’un mouchoir ou de son jupon. Un danseur s’approche d’elle, s’élance tout-à-coup, et tombe en mesure presque à la toucher. Il recule, il s’élance encore, et la provoque à la lutte la plus séduisante. La danse s’anime, et bientôt elle offre un tableau dont tous les traits d’abord voluptueux, deviennent ensuite lascifs. Il serait impossible de peindre le chica avec son véritable caractère, et je me bornerai à dire que l’impression qu’il cause est si puissante que l’Africain ou le Créole de n’importe quelle nuance, qui le verrait danser sans émotion, passerait pour avoir perdu jusqu’aux dernières étin celles de la sensibilité.”

I watched its effect on the bystanders of all colours, and St. Méry has not exaggerated: the flushed faces, the excited eyes, the eager expression, the looks of ill-concealed passion, were fully shared by all. No modest woman would be present at such a scene; but the young females of the neighbourhood were delighted. Drink was flying freely about, and all the performers appeared half-intoxicated: the dance grew fast and furious; as night came on a few candles were lit, and then all are said to give themselves up to the most unreserved debauchery. I ought to add that few respectable girls of the peasant class would care to be seen at one of these dances, where the professionals, without shame, perform regardless of appearances. The bamboula, as practised among the peasantry, is more quiet, but sufficiently lascivious.

I was once witness of a rather curious scene. A French opera company arrived at Port-au-Prince with a couple of ballet-girls. On the opening night of the theatre they commenced dancing; the pit, crowded with negroes, was at first quiet. The untravelled Haytian could not at first understand it; but shortly the applause became uproarious; shouts filled the house; the unaccustomed sight of two white girls thus exhibiting themselves provoked the sensuality of the negro nature to such a degree that it was almost impossible to keep them quiet, and their admiration was so warmly expressed as even to frighten the girls, who turned pale with astonishment mingled with fear. This kind of applause made the foreigners feel uncomfortable, and we were not sorry when the ballet ceased.

I have not noticed any particular ceremonies at the birth of children, nor at marriages. In the latter some are striving to imitate the upper classes, and marry in church, but the mass of the people are still not regularly married. I have noticed, however, their great fondness for a display of jewellery on these occasions, and if they do not possess enough themselves, they borrow among their friends, and every one who lends is sure to attend the wedding, as much to keep an eye on their cherished property as to join in the amusements inherent to these occasions.

Though I have attended many funerals of the upper classes, I have had no occasion to be present at one of the peasantry, though I have seen the body being carried at night from the town to the house of the deceased in the hills. One evening, at about ten, we heard a roar of voices in the distance; presently we saw torches flashing in the road, and soon after a crowd, perhaps of a hundred people, swept by at a running pace, all screaming, yelling, or shrieking at the top of their voices. Those who led this awful din were hired mourners, who pass the night near the corpse, making it hideous with their professional lamentations. There are regular wakes, at which eating and drinking are permitted, and drunkenness not prohibited. All classes in Hayti, like their brethren on the Guinea coast, love pompous funerals, and it is quite a passion among the female portion of the community to attend them, as it is only at funerals and at church that the ladies can see and be seen in their most careful toilettes.

The most curious wake I ever saw was at Santo Domingo city. I was walking about after dark, when my attention was drawn to a house where music and dancing were going on. I approached, and looking through a window, saw a most singular sight. In a high chair was placed in a sitting position the corpse of a child, dressed up in its very best clothes, as if a spectator of the scene. The music was playing briskly, and a regular ball appeared to be going on, in which the mother of the child took the principal part. I inquired of my companion what this meant, and he said that the people explained it thus:—The priests had taught them not to weep, but rather rejoice, at the death of a child, as it passed directly to heaven. They took this teaching literally, and danced and made merry.