New commentary thread. The topic is the travelogue ''Where Black Rules White: A Journey Across and About Hayti'' by Hesketh Prichard. It was published in 1900. He was sent to Haiti in 1899 to gather reports for the newly launched Daily Express newspaper in the United Kingdom. 🧵
New commentary thread. The topic is the travelogue ''Where Black Rules White: A Journey Across and About Hayti'' by Hesketh Prichard. It was published in 1900. He was sent to Haiti in 1899 to gather reports for the newly launched Daily Express newspaper in the United Kingdom.
New commentary thread. The topic is the travelogue ''Where Black Rules White: A Journey Across and About Hayti'' by Hesketh Prichard. It was published in 1900. He was sent to Haiti in 1899 to gather reports for the newly launched Daily Express newspaper in the United Kingdom.
There will be photographs from the period too. The first one is simply labeled as a Haitian scene. The author is grateful to one Dr. Rauch of Port-au-Prince, Haiti for providing them.
The book has 15 chapters overall. Each chapter has a descriptive title.
Chapter I - First impressions of the black republic

It's nighttime but dawn is approaching. The author is on a ship off the coast of Haiti. The place looks desolate from a distance. There's hardly anything resembling so much as a hut.
The author's second visit to Haiti was in November 1899. His first visit was 18 months earlier. After Haiti declared independence in 1804, general Dessalines ordered a wholesale slaughter of white residents (read genocide) and the country became reclusive.
Some white men did live in Haiti's coastal towns at the time of the author's visit but they didn't know much about Haiti's interior. Some shipmates were residents from neighboring islands but even they didn't know much. They told him the place was unhealthy and abnormally dirty.
The ship he was on would regularly deliver mail to Haiti's port city of Jacmel. You were more likely to catch some tropical disease than anywhere else in the Caribbean region. Haiti is also described as more unhealthy than Colon, Panama. A picture of banana pickers in Jacmel.
With so much unknown about Haiti, rumours swirled about snake worship, poisonings, human sacrifice and cannibalism. The author had read only two books tops about Haiti, one by Sir Spencer St. John who was British minister to Haiti (read ambassador) but it was an old book.
With so much unknown about Haiti, rumours swirled about snake worship, poisonings, human sacrifice and cannibalism. The author had read only two books tops about Haiti, one by Sir Spencer St. John who was British minister to Haiti (read ambassador) but it was an old book.
With so much unknown about Haiti, rumours swirled about snake worship, poisonings, human sacrifice and cannibalism. The author had read only two books tops about Haiti, one by Sir Spencer St. John who was British minister to Haiti (read ambassador) but it was an old book.
He describes Haiti as mysterious and very picturesque but civilization disappears very quickly once you reach land. The author's ship reaches the port city of Jacmel.
Jacmel looks like towns in Colombia or on the Pacific coast. It has white houses and lots of foliage that give you the impression of coolness but it's very hot there.
The landing stage was dilapidated. There's a crowd of blacks in all sorts of shades of black. Some wore simple cloth and trousers while others wore gold lace. Most of them carried heavy jointed clubs.
The author has landed. He's not even sure what he expected but reality defied expectations, whatever they were. In front of him was a narrow street with irregular buildings, similar to something you'd see in pictures of old London.
The main street is dirty and it's a hot day. The place is packed with Africans and their donkeys. He also notes dogs enjoying the sun in alleys and open shops. There were no pavements of footpaths.
He notes the awkward quality of housing. Wooden pillars are used for support, sometimes with brick thresholds leading to the supports. A lot of houses were empty, burned or had smashes shutters. Whenever there's a revolution in Haiti, they set the town on fire.
He observers the blacks in their habitat. Most of them drop their business to glare at him. Black women carry baskets of mangoes and bananas. People scream and shout at each other and make gesticulations in the streets. One guy plays a tin trumpet obnoxiously.
Some women carry stuff on their heads. One was seen balancing a bottle on a yellow bandana while walking quickly. Most women dress in white to the knees and wear a turban handkerchief.
Some men have coats but others wear just trousers. Policemen wear kepis (a French type of cap) with red bands.
He didn't see a single carriage, not even a broken down West Indian buggy. He summarizes his first impressions: the people are obnoxious as they elbow each other and scream at one another, it smells, it's dirty, the houses are ungainly and it's very hot, hard to cool oneself.
He didn't see a single carriage, not even a broken down West Indian buggy. He summarizes his first impressions: the people are obnoxious as they elbow each other and scream at one another, it smells, it's dirty, the houses are ungainly and it's very hot, hard to cool oneself.
He didn't see a single carriage, not even a broken down West Indian buggy. He summarizes his first impressions: the people are obnoxious as they elbow each other and scream at one another, it smells, it's dirty, the houses are ungainly and it's very hot, hard to cool oneself.
He introduces himself to the British consular agent with a letter of introduction and gladly accepts an offer to spend the night at his place. Jacmel doesn't boast hotels or resthouses despite being a port city. He'd have to sleep in a tent otherwise.
Half an hour later, as the author is resting at the consular office, a fight breaks outside in the city center. A policeman is struggling with some big-headed black. The captive managed to seize the policeman's club.
Police reinforcements arrive and the thug is bonked in the head with blood gushing out now. The crowd is ecstatic. Talk about police brutality! BLM Haiti. He manages to escape though.
Police reinforcements arrive and the thug is bonked in the head with blood gushing out now. The crowd is ecstatic. Talk about police brutality! BLM Haiti. He manages to escape though.
Police reinforcements arrive and the thug is bonked in the head with blood gushing out now. The crowd is ecstatic. Talk about police brutality! BLM Haiti. He manages to escape though.
The author soon learns that these scenes aren't uncommon and sympathizes a bit with the frantic resistance of prisoners. Seriously?
Almost all business in Jacmel is at the hands of a small minority of foreigners, usually whites. The government doesn't trust them and dislikes them but can't manage without them. Whites who get government contracts and permits are regularly shafted with bad bargains.
Foreigners can't legally own land on the island but the law has been circumvented numerous times as witnessed by private houses in the coast towns. He met some whites there if you recall.
A picture of a funeral in Haiti.
The town has c. 500 soldiers but also c. 200 generals. General is spelled with a capital G, just like B in Black more than a century later. The commanding General is one Johannis Merisier. He's from a lower social caste and is illiterate but he's a hero from the last revolution.
The town has c. 500 soldiers but also c. 200 generals. General is spelled with a capital G, just like B in Black more than a century later. The commanding General is one Johannis Merisier. He's from a lower social caste and is illiterate but he's a hero from the last revolution.
The town has c. 500 soldiers but also c. 200 generals. General is spelled with a capital G, just like B in Black more than a century later. The commanding General is one Johannis Merisier. He's from a lower social caste and is illiterate but he's a hero from the last revolution.
He signs his documents with a signet ring. He has one man write the document and another read it to prevent deception. He's described as an ultra-negro type, a master of life and death.
Near the evening he goes for a ride to explore the surrounding country. He notices some pretty villas partially concealed by vegetation on the outskirts of the town. Haitian suburbia and capital flight huh?
On his return, he passes by the arsenal. Executions are carried out under its walls. He describes one execution. A man and a 14-year-old were sentenced to death by firing squad for murder. The boy split open his father's skull with a hatchet.
Before the execution, a Roman Catholic priest approached the boy and asked him if he repents. The boy said ''No'' and that he'd do it again if he could. The priest told him he'd be reprieved if he repented but the boy refused again.
The priest withdrew and twenty marksmen shot the convicts. The boy was still alive even after the third round of shots. The man would have been dead by the second round.
A General was losing patience and hit some soldiers with a stick for bungling the job and threatened to have them shot should they miss again. The boy was killed with the next round of shots.
It was said that the soldiers had pity for the boy and purposely missed, hoping some other soldier's bullet would do the deed. He describes it as a cruel mercy.
Darkness falls by the time the author returns to the marketplace. He sees some flames among wooden booths, hears an ''indescribable screeching babble of negro voices'' and sees various gesticulations in what is Haiti's nightlife. Chapter I concludes.
Chapter II - The high road of Haiti
On the 22nd of November 1899, his passport was stamped to let him go to Port-au-Prince and he was assigned a guide. The 70-ish miles long high road of Haiti connects Jacmel to the capital and has a sinister reputation outside Haiti.
Mail couriers regularly use the road though. Here's a photograph of the author's guide for the trip. Apparently, his name is Petit Sans-Nom which means ''Little Nameless''.
A letter from a neighboring island warned of great dangers on the road. The whole countryside is known for superstition and danger really.
We get a description of the guide but you've seen a photograph already. He was puny and meek. His job was to clean the custom house and work as a courier. He had an unusually small head and face and he sported a goatee beard.
He wore a soiled white coat and ragged trousers. He was warned to treat the author nicely or he'd end up in prison.
They hit the road the next day. The guide is equipped with a cutlass. They mount a mule, baggage included. The poor thing.
They hit the road the next day. The guide is equipped with a cutlass. They mount a mule, baggage included. The poor thing.
They hit the road the next day. The guide is equipped with a cutlass. They mount a mule, baggage included. The poor thing.
He was informed they'd have to cross two rivers, the Great River (Grande Riviere) and the Gosseleine. However, he finds out that much of this ''road'' meant following the river-bed and it wasn't a nice experience, becoming progressively worse especially after a rainy day.
It started getting darker. Fireflies, crickets, and frogs are the creatures of this time of day. They settled to spend the night at the foot of the mountains. They hoped to arrive there before nightfall.
Night caught them after all and their destination was far away. They struggled in the dark but started seeing villages that looked straight out of West Africa. Fires illuminated the villages with scantily clad and nude people dancing around.
The mule is exhausted at this point. She shakes off the passengers and baggage. They manage to get her to carry baggage, which she'd shake off occasionally, but the two of them had to resume on foot.
The mule is exhausted at this point. She shakes off the passengers and baggage. They manage to get her to carry baggage, which she'd shake off occasionally, but the two of them had to resume on foot.
The mule is exhausted at this point. She shakes off the passengers and baggage. They manage to get her to carry baggage, which she'd shake off occasionally, but the two of them had to resume on foot.
They're getting hungry and sleepy. Apparently, there's another horse with the author? An omission on my or his part but doesn't matter. They find a village willing to welcome them. The guide says something in Creole and they're invited to join. The villagers have a festival.
They spend the night in some hut. They are provided with food and a mattress. The author describes the hut but doesn't remember much else, perhaps due to exhaustion. They wake him up in the morning.
The next day of the road trip is even worse than the previous one. They follow a mountainous path with narrow passages, and the weather is even more unbearable.
They reach a bridge and the guide warns him to go around it because it has a 6-foot hole in the center. The warning about the bridge is practically a national proverb. The roads get better as they get closer to the capital, an actual road for once.
The sun is still torturous but they reach Port-au-Prince where the author finds a hotel.
The Englishman muses on different colonization approaches by European powers. The Spanish build a church first, the English build a bank and the French build a cafe. He appreciates the French approach at the moment as it caters to primary human necessities.
France evacuated its people from Port-au-Prince a century ago but the cafes survived in a degenerate form. He calls Haitian life negro life grafted upon French life and blacks strongly conservative.
He says the French have an urge to imitate Paris in their colonies and describes Port-au-Prince as an imitation of Paris made a century ago by men who had seen the original but the city was later revised by blacks who hadn't seen Paris.
His hotel was an oblong-shaped building and a strong smell of coffee would greet visitors. The bar was filled with Haitians drinking rum. They wore black frock-coats and straw hats and were courteous.
His hotel was an oblong-shaped building and a strong smell of coffee would greet visitors. The bar was filled with Haitians drinking rum. They wore black frock-coats and straw hats and were courteous.
His hotel was an oblong-shaped building and a strong smell of coffee would greet visitors. The bar was filled with Haitians drinking rum. They wore black frock-coats and straw hats and were courteous.
We explore the hotel. It has some bizarre features like a basement ''crowded with dogs and negroes''. The place had clearly seen better days. The room left much to be desired, but the waiter was proud of it. The white man's suite. The price was 2-4 dollars depending on amenities.
We explore the hotel. It has some bizarre features like a basement ''crowded with dogs and negroes''. The place had clearly seen better days. The room left much to be desired, but the waiter was proud of it. The white man's suite. The price was 2-4 dollars depending on amenities.
We explore the hotel. It has some bizarre features like a basement ''crowded with dogs and negroes''. The place had clearly seen better days. The room left much to be desired, but the waiter was proud of it. The white man's suite. The price was 2-4 dollars depending on amenities.
Here's the view from the room: indescribable refuse of all sorts in the streets, tall masts of ships, green islands in Port-au-Prince bay, the blue tropical sea, yelling negroes, barking dogs and scavenging pigs. A mixed bag really.
A photograph of a marketplace in Port-au-Prince.
He gets a bath and something to eat but hoo boy, sleeping in that room is compared to ''living at the bottom of a well of vapour''. It was hot, he could hear roosters all night and poker being played in a room nearby. He did not have a good sleep.
He meets an American in the morning who teases him for mosquito bites. The author endures in the hotel for 4 more days but gets sick of mosquitos and leaves it. He regrets leaving it because the staff was so nice and Spanish-speaking America has plenty of hotels just as shitty.
He meets an American in the morning who teases him for mosquito bites. The author endures in the hotel for 4 more days but gets sick of mosquitos and leaves it. He regrets leaving it because the staff was so nice and Spanish-speaking America has plenty of hotels just as shitty.
He meets an American in the morning who teases him for mosquito bites. The author endures in the hotel for 4 more days but gets sick of mosquitos and leaves it. He regrets leaving it because the staff was so nice and Spanish-speaking America has plenty of hotels just as shitty.
He went to the only other hotel in the city which was near the presidential palace. This hotel had better arrangements, like cooler air at night. He found it baffling that a country of a million and three-quarters people had only three hotels.
He'd occasionally have lunch at his original hotel when he felt low.
He spends a few weeks in Port-au-Prince to research the city. He describes it as a white skeleton of a stranded whale on a beach, with the rib-bones serving as houses. It looked heavenly from a distance but get closer and it looks like a man inflicted scar.
He spends a few weeks in Port-au-Prince to research the city. He describes it as a white skeleton of a stranded whale on a beach, with the rib-bones serving as houses. It looked heavenly from a distance but get closer and it looks like a man inflicted scar.
He spends a few weeks in Port-au-Prince to research the city. He describes it as a white skeleton of a stranded whale on a beach, with the rib-bones serving as houses. It looked heavenly from a distance but get closer and it looks like a man inflicted scar.
A photograph of a trumpet call (Reveille) in Port-au-Prince.
He found it nice to leave the city, its garbage, and residents on quiet evenings and some cloudy dawns to enjoy nature. You could observe the blue bay and Gonave Island.
He describes the city as worth traveling 5000 miles to see but at first sight only, and you'll want to travel the same mileage to leave it once you enter it. He thinks of it as a grotesque caricature of Paris fused with savagery. The people idolize fashion and militarism.
Whites have no rights here and the city is constantly under martial law due to frequent unrests. You'll find soldiers watching your moves at all times.
The main boulevard in the city is called the Street of Miracles, a broad street with some trees along the road but no footways. The surface is rough and road mending appears as a lost art. They have a steam tram that goes up and down every half hour to reach the Field of Mars.
You'll find a guard post every 50 to 100 yards but it's more comparable to seeing tents in a forest rather than a scene you'd expect in a capital city. Some of them play dice, others lounge in hammocks while some cook their own food as the state won't fund their lunches.
He describes the city as having no architectural pretensions. Most houses are built of wood and fires are frequent but they haven't had a serious one in a while. The nicest buildings are the cathedral and presidential palace.
He once saw the president on the balcony of the presidential palace. He's described as a full-blooded negro and superlative specimen of his race. He had a heavy face with a huge negro mouth, with a gray beard and hair. The blacks differentiate themselves from mulattoes.
Quick detour. The president looked like this.
He describes the presidential palace and cathedral. The town has a unique picturesqueness to it but you must walk with suspicion as you'll find yourself surrounded by trash to your ankles in some places.
Even the area with shops and consulates is riddled with trash. They have some sort of cab, laughingly called a ''bus'', that has to avoid trash, dunghills, and a drain along the road. And this is the cleanest street in the city.
Even the area with shops and consulates is riddled with trash. They have some sort of cab, laughingly called a ''bus'', that has to avoid trash, dunghills, and a drain along the road. And this is the cleanest street in the city.
Even the area with shops and consulates is riddled with trash. They have some sort of cab, laughingly called a ''bus'', that has to avoid trash, dunghills, and a drain along the road. And this is the cleanest street in the city.
He finds it appalling to imagine what the place would look like in an epidemic. The city is filled with decay but diseases strangely rarely happen.
He meets a visibly disgusted white man dressed in blue on the corner of People's Street. The man asks for directions to the quay. He's been in the city for less than two hours and is sure he has a museum of microbes inside him by now and envies the author's constitution.
The author calls it the filthiest place in the world. Mountains prevent northern winds from cooling the place so it's hot all the time. There are no sanitation efforts. Rains wash the contaminated streets and fill the harbor. No one really knows why it hasn't attracted diseases.
Malaria isn't exactly uncommon but more severe diseases are fortunately absent. The author thinks the place could have an economic boom as a health resort if the government got serious and did away with the horrific trash in the streets.
Black ladies are nicely dressed in Parisian fashion and carefully avoid the trash in the streets. Policemen in the streets are worthy of a full chapter in the author's view. They're a zealous and bizarre phenomenon.
Black ladies are nicely dressed in Parisian fashion and carefully avoid the trash in the streets. Policemen in the streets are worthy of a full chapter in the author's view. They're a zealous and bizarre phenomenon.
Black ladies are nicely dressed in Parisian fashion and carefully avoid the trash in the streets. Policemen in the streets are worthy of a full chapter in the author's view. They're a zealous and bizarre phenomenon.
A picture of some palms along a road.
He passes underneath an arch bearing the name of the late president Hippolyte and enters the chief market on market day. He finds the smell appalling but discovers they're well supplied with meat. Women sell vegetables and fruit.
In Haitians, he sees politeness mixed with brutality, raucousness with a strange grace of demeanour, picturesque but nasty.
In Haitians, he sees politeness mixed with brutality, raucousness with a strange grace of demeanour, picturesque but nasty.
In Haitians, he sees politeness mixed with brutality, raucousness with a strange grace of demeanour, picturesque but nasty.
The three most vivid impressions of Port-au-Prince are:
a) beasts of burden accompanied by women
b) pervasive soldiers
c) pervasive dirt
Just outside the town, in the direction of president Hippolyte's triumphal arch, he finds a voodoo temple with an iron roof. There's hardly any furniture there. A painting of a snake, some soiled flags, and several prints of some illustrated papers. Chapter II concludes.
Chapter III - The Haitian General
Generals are a ubiquitous sight in Haiti. It's a mystery how many there are. It almost feels like a shame not to be a General. Even the author was called General many times by citizens. You can encounter about ten Generals at any moment.
They give this title to anyone really.
They give this title to anyone really.
They give this title to anyone really.
The most recent statistics for the size of Haiti's military he could find dated to 1867. Haiti had 6500 Generals, 7000 regimental officers, and 6500 privates in 1867. That's 1 private and 1 and 1/13 of regimental officer per General. Haitian mathematics and efficiency at work!
A picture of some Generals.
He searched to find some hard data on the size of Haiti's army. Eventually, he found an old man who sold him a book which listed the regiments and some other information. He inquired with an official to verify if the information is true and it generally was.
Hierarchy of Generals:
- President Tiresias Augustin Simon Sam himself
- Generals of Departments
- Generals of Arrondissements and of Communes
- Generals of subdivisions
- Generals of Military Posts etc.

There is a General of the prison and a General of the women's prison.
Generals come from all sorts of professions, including waiters. One of them made himself a General-Emperor once. The author finds the militarism beautiful but it made him decide not to return to Haiti. Seriously? Beautiful?
Generals are so common and every revolution produces a new bunch of Generals.
He relays a story of a president who defeated a man in checkers (or draughts) and was so pleased he made the opponent a General. He's not sure if the story is true but he's sure they'll never make him a General for writing all these things about them.
Lesser titles are described as small potatoes, it's General or nothing (forgive my French, I'm not a speaker and this is guesswork :P). In 1849 Faustin Soulouque declared himself Emperor Faustin I and introduced nobility with titles such as duke or baron.
There was a prince called Bobo during the empire period and some dukes had the titles Marmalade or Lemonade. He also explains that some stories of Haitian aristocracy driving over whites as recently as 1887 likely aren't true. Historian James Anthony Froude wrote about that.
There was a prince called Bobo during the empire period and some dukes had the titles Marmalade or Lemonade. He also explains that some stories of Haitian aristocracy driving over whites as recently as 1887 likely aren't true. Historian James Anthony Froude wrote about that.
There was a prince called Bobo during the empire period and some dukes had the titles Marmalade or Lemonade. He also explains that some stories of Haitian aristocracy driving over whites as recently as 1887 likely aren't true. Historian James Anthony Froude wrote about that.
The Generals have replaced the aristocracy. Everyone aspires to be a General.
Urban generals are mostly just titular generals. Rural generals have a lot of power, like kings. They live in larger and better-looking houses, have good horses, and sometimes several wives. The peasants aren't prosperous but at least they're peaceful and polite.
He explains that blacks can't rule other blacks without tyranny. Without it, it would be like teaching a blind person senses without teaching them how to touch or speak. No appeals to reason are made, they are coerced by solid fear.
He explains that blacks can't rule other blacks without tyranny. Without it, it would be like teaching a blind person senses without teaching them how to touch or speak. No appeals to reason are made, they are coerced by solid fear.
He explains that blacks can't rule other blacks without tyranny. Without it, it would be like teaching a blind person senses without teaching them how to touch or speak. No appeals to reason are made, they are coerced by solid fear.
Some observations on black prayers. They don't beg, they demand from God who is out of sight so they get a little disproportionate esteem. Hmmm. In regular life, they aren't like that because they face the iron hand of Generals.
He tells us of an incident from Thomazeau, a town near the Dominican border. A man stole a cow and was shot dead the next morning because a General ordered so. This summary justice drives fear so people don't dare steal even something like silver dollars or a rum flask.
The Generals haven't seen any actual war since the war with San Domingo (read Santo Domingo or the Dominican Republic), which they lost. Most of their military engagement is limited to an occasional revolution at home.
The Generals haven't seen any actual war since the war with San Domingo (read Santo Domingo or the Dominican Republic), which they lost. Most of their military engagement is limited to an occasional revolution at home.
The Generals haven't seen any actual war since the war with San Domingo (read Santo Domingo or the Dominican Republic), which they lost. Most of their military engagement is limited to an occasional revolution at home.
Should Haiti go to war, they can rely on some 8000 soldiers, most of them being Generals. The state pays only one-tenth of the Generals and they're allowed to wear gold lace. Most Generals are merely nominal Generals who subsist on their own and dream of a better world.
As for soldiers, he tells us an anecdote. He meets one soldier near the presidential palace who asks him for money. He's hungry, his General took his pay and he hasn't received a payment in a long time. He's been a soldier for some three years.
As for soldiers, he tells us an anecdote. He meets one soldier near the presidential palace who asks him for money. He's hungry, his General took his pay and he hasn't received a payment in a long time. He's been a soldier for some three years.
As for soldiers, he tells us an anecdote. He meets one soldier near the presidential palace who asks him for money. He's hungry, his General took his pay and he hasn't received a payment in a long time. He's been a soldier for some three years.
A description of the soldier: chinless, thick lips, a blue cap with a red band, dried grass slippers, shabby tweed trousers, a faded light-blue coat, and a flintlock gun. At 5:30 p.m. drums and bugles summon the soldiers for an evening parade.
A picture of a Haitian General during an evening ride.
Their officer has a rusty sword. For some twenty minutes they're interested in their own concerns. One's chewing a banana and another is doing the same with a sugar cane.
Their officer has a rusty sword. For some twenty minutes they're interested in their own concerns. One's chewing a banana and another is doing the same with a sugar cane.
Their officer has a rusty sword. For some twenty minutes they're interested in their own concerns. One's chewing a banana and another is doing the same with a sugar cane.
Each regiment has a uniform but soldiers mostly wear their own trousers save on the days when there's a military review. They wear red-banded kepis (a cap) and have rifles with bayonets. The rifles are decades old, some more than a century. One has a Remington manufactured gun.
The state isn't good with payments so soldiers beg whites to give them money if they meet one, plunder other blacks for which they have a highly developed instinct, work odd jobs like carrying sacks of coffee. They often sleep hungry. They live like stray cats in England.
Only one-tenth of Generals receive a salary if you recall. Here are military pay grades:
- 140 pounds for a General of Division
- 105 pounds for a Brigadier
- 12 pounds for a Captain
- slightly above 2 pounds for a Private

All of these are their annual salaries I think.
Another aspect of military salaries is how everyone takes an extra cut from lower-ranking titles. Low-level soldiers are happy if they receive 5 centimes, receiving 10 is a stroke of great luck. They also gamble with dice games, losing their salaries.
This sounds grotesque but it happens every pay-day and the authors think it'll continue as long as the black republic exists.
The English have a saying that a little flea feasts upon the back of a bigger flea but in Haiti, it's all upside down. The soldier is like a small flea and a series of bigger fleas are sucking him dry.
A soldier stealing from citizens. One rural woman who sells plantation products at the market hired a soldier to carry them but he stole them and ran away when she stopped to gossip with a friend. He shares the spoils with other soldiers but a Lieutenant catches them.
The Lieutenant informs a General who jails both the thief and Lieutant for not seizing the products immediately. He takes the products for himself but a higher rank General hears of the story and ''informs'' him that the butter, rum and pork would be better off under his care.
The Lieutenant informs a General who jails both the thief and Lieutant for not seizing the products immediately. He takes the products for himself but a higher rank General hears of the story and ''informs'' him that the butter, rum and pork would be better off under his care.
The Lieutenant informs a General who jails both the thief and Lieutant for not seizing the products immediately. He takes the products for himself but a higher rank General hears of the story and ''informs'' him that the butter, rum and pork would be better off under his care.
The woman returned home empty-handed, the soldier had something to eat but ended in prison, the Lieutenant got prison only, the lower ranking General was told his place in the hierarchy and the high-rank General seized all the booty like a big flea.
It's unlikely that the woman would apply for a return of her goods or compensation as she could end up in prison too for losing it. A society where the just and victims are punished for it but the corrupt and evil enrich themselves even more. Which way, black man?
There is no conscription, at least not in a regular way. There are pressure gangs armed with sticks who force you to join the military. They once beat and imprisoned an 18-year old man who was an English subject despite his protestations and his consulate had to intervene.
There is no conscription, at least not in a regular way. There are pressure gangs armed with sticks who force you to join the military. They once beat and imprisoned an 18-year old man who was an English subject despite his protestations and his consulate had to intervene.
There is no conscription, at least not in a regular way. There are pressure gangs armed with sticks who force you to join the military. They once beat and imprisoned an 18-year old man who was an English subject despite his protestations and his consulate had to intervene.
Voodoo priests (Papaloi) have a lot of influence in the army. The author witnessed a uniformed general sacrifice a rooster in one ceremony. The soldiers fear voodoo priests and their unseen powers of darkness more than they fear a General hitting them with a club.
The prevalence of voodoo is astonishing. One priestess bragged that she could bang a drum in downtown Port-au-Prince and even high ranking leaders of the country would arrive to hear her. About a third of spectators in a ceremony are uniformed military figures.
The soldiers are superstitious, sometimes they're bullies and thieves but generally don't drink alcohol. They aren't really effective soldiers but Haitians are optimistic that they could repel an invasion.
A military review is held on the first Sunday of each month on the Field of Mars. The soldiers put on their uniforms on these occasions if you recall. He finds the uniforms to have gorgeous colours but the Generals are even more impressive.
A military review is held on the first Sunday of each month on the Field of Mars. The soldiers put on their uniforms on these occasions if you recall. He finds the uniforms to have gorgeous colours but the Generals are even more impressive.
A military review is held on the first Sunday of each month on the Field of Mars. The soldiers put on their uniforms on these occasions if you recall. He finds the uniforms to have gorgeous colours but the Generals are even more impressive.
A picture of a military march.
Discipline was high for the occasion. The Generals wore gold lace and many colours, including pink, green and blue and they rode on horses. However, the author noticed that footgear and rifles among soldiers were in bad condition. There were some 2000 soldiers and 300 Generals.
General St. Fort Colin is the war minister. The president and his staff of 60 Generals join the group. There's a wonderful palace band, they look great dressed in red, blue and gold, with crested caps, and play well. A picturesque procession. The president looks very soldierly.
We see some artillery and some of the cavalry. The author thinks this could be a good force with the right approach to shaping them up. The population is pleased with the procession and chant O-ho in approval.
There's a group of veterans from the war with Santo Domingo but most of the soldiers they actually shot in the war with the Dominicans would have been their own troops after Emperor Faustin I accused some of them of being traitors following the loss to the Dominicans.
There's a group of veterans from the war with Santo Domingo but most of the soldiers they actually shot in the war with the Dominicans would have been their own troops after Emperor Faustin I accused some of them of being traitors following the loss to the Dominicans.
There's a group of veterans from the war with Santo Domingo but most of the soldiers they actually shot in the war with the Dominicans would have been their own troops after Emperor Faustin I accused some of them of being traitors following the loss to the Dominicans.
Haiti's army, like many things, was copied from the French but it's more like a caricature than a copy. The grand review ends the author contemplates the fact that Haiti is likely the most military state in the world.
Haitians love the aesthetics of the military such as uniforms, titles, larping like a soldier, the gold lace especially, military displays and bombast but don't make natural soldiers. They have a cannon on postage stamps.
Haitians love the aesthetics of the military such as uniforms, titles, larping like a soldier, the gold lace especially, military displays and bombast but don't make natural soldiers. They have a cannon on postage stamps.
Haitians love the aesthetics of the military such as uniforms, titles, larping like a soldier, the gold lace especially, military displays and bombast but don't make natural soldiers. They have a cannon on postage stamps.
Haitians brag about their patriotism but their neighbors in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, push the border between the countries westward anyway, practically without objection by the Haitians.
A picture from one military parade in Haiti.
He's about to reconstruct an interview with a trio of generals after the military review. He sets the scene. The generals brag about the state of their military, how they drove out the French and defeated the English. The author just nods along with their vanity.
He's about to reconstruct an interview with a trio of generals after the military review. He sets the scene. The generals brag about the state of their military, how they drove out the French and defeated the English. The author just nods along with their vanity.
He's about to reconstruct an interview with a trio of generals after the military review. He sets the scene. The generals brag about the state of their military, how they drove out the French and defeated the English. The author just nods along with their vanity.
The discussion turns to the Second Boer War. The Boers have recently seized the town of Ladysmith and Haitians root for the Boers and consider them black African brothers. It's awkward that the author is English. He points out that Boers are white but they don't believe him.
The discussion turns to the Second Boer War. The Boers have recently seized the town of Ladysmith and Haitians root for the Boers and consider them black African brothers. It's awkward that the author is English. He points out that Boers are white but they don't believe him.
The discussion turns to the Second Boer War. The Boers have recently seized the town of Ladysmith and Haitians root for the Boers and consider them black African brothers. It's awkward that the author is English. He points out that Boers are white but they don't believe him.
They overstate the size of the army present for the military review as 10,000 troops (1800 at most per author's estimate). They also fantasize about driving the Dominicans into the sea and seizing control of Hispaniola. They think they'll have an army comparable to European ones.
A picture from a military review.
The trio of Generals is fearless, they don't fear a revolution at home.
The trio of Generals is fearless, they don't fear a revolution at home.
The trio of Generals is fearless, they don't fear a revolution at home.
The dialogue turns chaotic as they avoid uncomfortable questions. One high-rank General doesn't even know how many troops he commands. The trio of Generals discusses visiting Paris to see the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The author slowly disengages from the dialogue and leaves the trio of Generals. His horse had a struggle with the horse of the General dressed in pink. Chapter III concludes.
The author slowly disengages from the dialogue and leaves the trio of Generals. His horse had a struggle with the horse of the General dressed in pink. Chapter III concludes.
The author slowly disengages from the dialogue and leaves the trio of Generals. His horse had a struggle with the horse of the General dressed in pink. Chapter III concludes.
Chapter IV - Voodoo worship and sacrifice
Haiti's religion is nominally Roman Catholicism but voodoo has such a pervasive influence in daily life, politics, religion, worldview, social and family relations, prejudices, and other peculiarities.
There's a solid groundwork of superstition from West Africa, serpent-worship and child-sacrifice as incredible as it sounds. Everyone who's lived in Haiti long enough will experience some of it. The government doesn't suppress these practices, they even deny their existence.
Voodoo worship and fear of voodoo are both widespread. The sects operate with impunity and the government is constantly unstable and unable to oppose it.
Voodoo sects are led by priests and priestesses called Papaloi and Mamaloi, names that are corruptions of Papa/Mama le roi, so they are like royal and parental figures. The voodoo priests and priestesses chiefly inhabit the mountains.
A famous priest lives on the road connecting Jacmel and Port-au-Prince, and another famous one lives on the road to the village of Furcy. There's also a renowned priest near the capital.
Some disciples tell him Voodoo is something like a deity represented by a snake so they keep one in a box usually. The services are carried out at night in semi-secrecy and include dancing, sacrifices, feasts, invocations, and priestesses in a delirium.
There are two chief sects of voodoo on the island. One sacrifices only fruits, white roosters, and white goats to the serpent-god. The other cult is more sinister and they sacrifice black goats and human children.
The first cult uses white as a sacred color but the sinister cult uses red. He encountered one ceremony that was something syncretic. They used red and white flags and handkerchiefs and sacrificed both black and white roosters.
There isn't a uniformly agreed-upon order of ceremonies as it's an unwritten ritual practiced by utterly ignorant people. Various writers have described different orders of rituals on the island but they're probably all equally right with this information in mind.
There isn't a uniformly agreed-upon order of ceremonies as it's an unwritten ritual practiced by utterly ignorant people. Various writers have described different orders of rituals on the island but they're probably all equally right with this information in mind.
There isn't a uniformly agreed-upon order of ceremonies as it's an unwritten ritual practiced by utterly ignorant people. Various writers have described different orders of rituals on the island but they're probably all equally right with this information in mind.
The snake they use for the rituals is a boa constrictor. The author met a man in a rural area who had caught one and offered to buy it for 5 dollars but the man refused. That would have been a lot of money for a Haitian peasant so he must have had a good reason to decline.
He quotes Sir Richard Burton who wrote about Haitians using some small green snake believed to be extinct now. He thinks Burton may have been mistaken regarding the snake's extinction. He met an older voodoo worshipping man who showed him a green snake preserved in spirits.
He quotes Sir Richard Burton who wrote about Haitians using some small green snake believed to be extinct now. He thinks Burton may have been mistaken regarding the snake's extinction. He met an older voodoo worshipping man who showed him a green snake preserved in spirits.
He quotes Sir Richard Burton who wrote about Haitians using some small green snake believed to be extinct now. He thinks Burton may have been mistaken regarding the snake's extinction. He met an older voodoo worshipping man who showed him a green snake preserved in spirits.
He describes voodoo, juju, obi and analogous superstitions as something that belongs to the bottom stratum of black nature. It's an old religion that would have flourished in West African when William the Norman came to England for example.
Captured slaves and their descendants brought the religion to Haiti, where it's still rampant. The last president was rumored to have been a worshipper. A large casino outside Port-au-Prince is devoted to voodoo observance.
Voodoo worship is strongest in southern Haiti especially in Jacmel and the road connecting it to Port-au-Prince. It isn't as present in northern Haiti, in places like Cap-Haitien.
Advanced stage voodoo involved cannibalism, from the consumption of human flesh as a symbol of triumph over an enemy to human sacrifice later.
The government has made some attempts to suppress human sacrifices and the numbers have declined in recent years. However, occasionally they do happen and a child is sacrificed, dismembered, cooked, and eaten.
He quotes 2 recent cases. A woman and her daughter were caught killing and eating a child in Jacmel and were beaten with clubs as a punishment. A group of people was imprisoned for the same crime in the north two years ago. The practice is in decline, hopefully going extinct.
One prominent feature of voodoo is drums. They're used to summon worshippers for example. The author examined one that was 4 feet high and made out of some wood like bamboo and black goatskin.
One prominent feature of voodoo is drums. They're used to summon worshippers for example. The author examined one that was 4 feet high and made out of some wood like bamboo and black goatskin.
One prominent feature of voodoo is drums. They're used to summon worshippers for example. The author examined one that was 4 feet high and made out of some wood like bamboo and black goatskin.
It's hard for the author to imagine where blacks learned acoustics but there's something thrilling about the way they use these drums. The people initiated into voodoo practices can pick up the sound from greater distances, something the author tries to do and fails.
He describes Haiti as the only place with a pretense of civilization to be contaminated with such superstition fused with horror. He thinks there must be a racially rooted reason to perpetuate such a degrading cult. However, one can meet kind and hospitable cannibals.
He describes Haiti as the only place with a pretense of civilization to be contaminated with such superstition fused with horror. He thinks there must be a racially rooted reason to perpetuate such a degrading cult. However, one can meet kind and hospitable cannibals.
He describes Haiti as the only place with a pretense of civilization to be contaminated with such superstition fused with horror. He thinks there must be a racially rooted reason to perpetuate such a degrading cult. However, one can meet kind and hospitable cannibals.
He then asks if it's perhaps ignorance at fault and blames the government for it. He believes the government should destroy the priests (Papalois) as the heart of it and the whole edifice of horror should decay and crumble to pieces naturally.
The author made an effort to learn firsthand and experience voodoo as much as possible. He goes to a low part of town around midnight and hears the drums. He bribes a soldier and rummages through unlit and trash-filled streets.
The author made an effort to learn firsthand and experience voodoo as much as possible. He goes to a low part of town around midnight and hears the drums. He bribes a soldier and rummages through unlit and trash-filled streets.
The author made an effort to learn firsthand and experience voodoo as much as possible. He goes to a low part of town around midnight and hears the drums. He bribes a soldier and rummages through unlit and trash-filled streets.
He reaches the area with the ceremony. There's a crowd surrounding one house and the house is guarded by a big black guy armed with a club. He enters the house and there's a singing crowd inside but it's dark as the shutters are closed.
He reaches the area with the ceremony. There's a crowd surrounding one house and the house is guarded by a big black guy armed with a club. He enters the house and there's a singing crowd inside but it's dark as the shutters are closed.
He reaches the area with the ceremony. There's a crowd surrounding one house and the house is guarded by a big black guy armed with a club. He enters the house and there's a singing crowd inside but it's dark as the shutters are closed.
Some black guy lights a candle. There are two small rooms and what feels like 200 people in them. There's a short silence followed by a drumbeat and chanting. An enormous black priestess dressed in white and purple is holding a rooster.
He describes it as an unforgettable, unescapable fever-like experience with the drum blows really drilling it into your brain.
The priestess danced around. She was some 40 years old, small-faced, snub-nosed, and round-eyed. Her white robes were tied with a red sash. She wore gold beads around her neck. Two candles were lit and set in pots with pink flowers.
The feast consisted of coloured intoxicants (I mean intoxicants of colour!), Congo beans, ground rice and red melon. She'd sprinkle the food with water in intervals. The walls, like in most places in Haiti, were decorated with illustrations from French newspapers.
The song becomes louder, a candle flickers and burns out, the priestess keeps on dancing, her eyes are seemingly bigger and it's really hot. He notices a portrait of the German emperor on the wall at this point.
The song becomes louder, a candle flickers and burns out, the priestess keeps on dancing, her eyes are seemingly bigger and it's really hot. He notices a portrait of the German emperor on the wall at this point.
The song becomes louder, a candle flickers and burns out, the priestess keeps on dancing, her eyes are seemingly bigger and it's really hot. He notices a portrait of the German emperor on the wall at this point.
There's a filthy and old voodoo priest crouching in on one side. Another frenzied voodoo priestess grabs the rooster, spins it around, and beheads it.
Her excitement is described as horrible. She stains her teeth with blood. She screams, staggers for a bit, and falls under the feet of the worshippers. After that, they open some boxes filled with old wooden images, stones, and bones that may have originated in Africa.
Her excitement is described as horrible. She stains her teeth with blood. She screams, staggers for a bit, and falls under the feet of the worshippers. After that, they open some boxes filled with old wooden images, stones, and bones that may have originated in Africa.
Her excitement is described as horrible. She stains her teeth with blood. She screams, staggers for a bit, and falls under the feet of the worshippers. After that, they open some boxes filled with old wooden images, stones, and bones that may have originated in Africa.
This order of rites, dances, sacrifices and sprinkling of rites repeats several times. Six roosters are sacrificed in total but one was the chief sacrifice and its blood was put in a special basin. It is monotonous and brutal. The priestesses mark the doors and gates with blood.
When they return, they mark the foreheads of those present with the sign of the Cross. A Judeo-Christian moment on the author's part, seriously? Anyway, the people incorporate the worship of various gods as they only see upsides to it, no harm.
The whole crowd becomes frenzied and starts dancing in excitement.
The whole crowd becomes frenzied and starts dancing in excitement.
The whole crowd becomes frenzied and starts dancing in excitement.
One woman starts hissing and contorting herself in a dark corner. Another woman has an infant with her who starts crying as the mother dances.
The atmosphere is increasingly sickening and suffocating but no one seemed tired. The author gets sick of it and leaves the house and notes that this was only the beginning of a multi-day ritual.
Voodoo is so strong that some mothers have given their children to voodoo priests for sacrifice when ordered. When confronted by the inhumanity of the act, their response would be something like "Who had a better right to eat them than I who brought them forth?"
Voodoo is so strong that some mothers have given their children to voodoo priests for sacrifice when ordered. When confronted by the inhumanity of the act, their response would be something like "Who had a better right to eat them than I who brought them forth?"
Voodoo is so strong that some mothers have given their children to voodoo priests for sacrifice when ordered. When confronted by the inhumanity of the act, their response would be something like "Who had a better right to eat them than I who brought them forth?"
One of the author's most vivid memories of Haiti is a mean old voodoo priest in grass slippers and faded trousers. He had wide-open, far-away eyes, sparse gray hair, and lived in the mountains as a patriarch.
He owned four palm-thatched huts. Bushes, tamarinds, bananas, and mangoes grew in his area. He'd sit in the shade all day and have his four wives, ages 16 to 60, serve him. He supposedly had other wives elsewhere too and he was very famous.
The voodoo priests also serve as consulting physicians. Witch doctors. People travel on foot, donkeys, and ponies to reach them in the mountains and pay money to be cured. They can cure and they can kill, two often curiously allied actions in this practice.
The voodoo priests also serve as consulting physicians. Witch doctors. People travel on foot, donkeys, and ponies to reach them in the mountains and pay money to be cured. They can cure and they can kill, two often curiously allied actions in this practice.
The voodoo priests also serve as consulting physicians. Witch doctors. People travel on foot, donkeys, and ponies to reach them in the mountains and pay money to be cured. They can cure and they can kill, two often curiously allied actions in this practice.
People approach the voodoo priests for all sorts of reasons:
- a desire for revenge
- unrequited love
- sickness etc.
They're also skilled at making poisons. For a fee of 20 dollars, he'd satisfy the vindictiveness of a Corsican. Is this a stereotype or a swipe at Napoleon?
If you're white, don't anger the witch doctors. They won't hesitate to poison you and fleece you for the antidote. Your own doctors would have trouble figuring out the exact poison. To their credit, they usually keep their part of the deal but some will give you piecemeal cures.
The author himself was nearly poisoned once. He carried a water bottle where he'd store rum or water. He once left it in a hut while he bathed in a river. When he later offered a drink to a group they refused and he got suspicious and noticed it had been tampered with.
The author himself was nearly poisoned once. He carried a water bottle where he'd store rum or water. He once left it in a hut while he bathed in a river. When he later offered a drink to a group they refused and he got suspicious and noticed it had been tampered with.
The author himself was nearly poisoned once. He carried a water bottle where he'd store rum or water. He once left it in a hut while he bathed in a river. When he later offered a drink to a group they refused and he got suspicious and noticed it had been tampered with.
At first, he couldn't think of a reason why someone would want to poison him but later found a possible explanation. He had petted a fat black kid at the hut which is considered unlucky or something. Perhaps the poisoner thought the man had the evil eye.
Secret poisonings are pervasive. He tells of an English engineer at Petit Goave who fired a worker for a serious fault. When he left for Port-au-Prince he felt the symptoms of the beriberi disease and realized that he'd been poisoned. He contacted a witch doctor from Petit Goave.
Secret poisonings are pervasive. He tells of an English engineer at Petit Goave who fired a worker for a serious fault. When he left for Port-au-Prince he felt the symptoms of the beriberi disease and realized that he'd been poisoned. He contacted a witch doctor from Petit Goave.
Secret poisonings are pervasive. He tells of an English engineer at Petit Goave who fired a worker for a serious fault. When he left for Port-au-Prince he felt the symptoms of the beriberi disease and realized that he'd been poisoned. He contacted a witch doctor from Petit Goave.
The witch doctor demanded 50 dollars and prepared a thick brown bath filled with leaves. The Englishman recovered after 3 days but the sickness returned. He paid another 50 dollars and was warned that a third sickness would kill him. He took the hint and left the country.
The voodoo priests are descended from African witch doctors. They were something like secret kings when they were slaves in French Haiti and further back, they lived in huts by the Congo river and made Juju. They retain some undoubtedly African superstitions.
The voodoo priests are descended from African witch doctors. They were something like secret kings when they were slaves in French Haiti and further back, they lived in huts by the Congo river and made Juju. They retain some undoubtedly African superstitions.
The voodoo priests are descended from African witch doctors. They were something like secret kings when they were slaves in French Haiti and further back, they lived in huts by the Congo river and made Juju. They retain some undoubtedly African superstitions.
He describes zombies now. The voodoo priests and priestesses produce a drug that induces a sleep described as ''death's twin brother''. After the person is buried, they're dug up on the voodoo priest's order and brought to consciousness. He finds it ghoulish and horrible.
You can find charms against evil everywhere in Haiti. They come in different forms: sticks, stones, rags and bags of leaves. He once witnessed a cab overturn in Port-au-Prince and the driver scrambled to find some charm that calms you when you're upset.
Some methods of putting curses on your enemies. You put a bundle of garbage on someone's doorstep and they should fall ill if they pass over it. The more serious methods including mixing broken glass with rice.
Some methods of putting curses on your enemies. You put a bundle of garbage on someone's doorstep and they should fall ill if they pass over it. The more serious methods including mixing broken glass with rice.
Some methods of putting curses on your enemies. You put a bundle of garbage on someone's doorstep and they should fall ill if they pass over it. The more serious methods including mixing broken glass with rice.
Voodoo priests oversee the most hideous voodoo rites and serve as the dominant intelligence in the country. The author btfos magic dirt theory. A transplanted Africa is still Africa and remains so even after the passage of countless years.
Voodoo priests are African witch-doctors by any other name. They are dirtier than Indian fakirs but without the religious excuses. Oh, some old racial terminology - ''universal laziness of the children of Ham''.
Voodoo priests are African witch-doctors by any other name. They are dirtier than Indian fakirs but without the religious excuses. Oh, some old racial terminology - ''universal laziness of the children of Ham''.
Voodoo priests are African witch-doctors by any other name. They are dirtier than Indian fakirs but without the religious excuses. Oh, some old racial terminology - ''universal laziness of the children of Ham''.
The voodoo priests are no joke. They are the lords paramount and rule with an iron first over a population living in fear. He thinks removing them would lead to a drop in murders and superstition. He mentions other places where voodoo is practiced. American blacks do it secretly.
In Jamaica, the practice of Obeah is punishable by imprisonment and whipping. Obeah isn't as dangerous as voodoo. It consists of harmless practices like charm wearing, tying red rags to a branch near your door, or hanging up a beer bottle filled with nasty concoctions.
In Jamaica, the practice of Obeah is punishable by imprisonment and whipping. Obeah isn't as dangerous as voodoo. It consists of harmless practices like charm wearing, tying red rags to a branch near your door, or hanging up a beer bottle filled with nasty concoctions.
In Jamaica, the practice of Obeah is punishable by imprisonment and whipping. Obeah isn't as dangerous as voodoo. It consists of harmless practices like charm wearing, tying red rags to a branch near your door, or hanging up a beer bottle filled with nasty concoctions.
The Haitian voodoo priests, or Papaloi if you recall, uphold the worst forms of snake worship. They act with impunity and view black men outside the sect with hostility. No one's really free in the land of Liberty and Brotherhood.
Anecdote. They poisoned a black man from the Tiburon peninsula because he was a loyal servant to a white man and wouldn't take bribes. He described his poisoning as ''Having your head filled with boiling blood''. A white doctor couldn't help him. They had to find a witch doctor.
He compares the witch doctors to licensed criminals. Their hand is felt even in the upper strata of society as they are notorious for their killing methods.
They mostly keep up appearances but occasionally admit to a white man that they're a bit of a fraud. They rarely engage in discussions. When they poison a man and the man dies, it is seen as a power of the snake god but if they survive, the survivor's god was more powerful.
The voodoo priest position isn't necessarily hereditary but sons usually inherit it from their father. They closely guard their knowledge of poisons and pass it down through the generations. They also practice hypnosis to an extent. He describes them as leeches on the population.
The voodoo priests look alarming when they're fully dressed in their red vests. They are the ones who incite hysteric fervour in the priestesses and crowds.
The voodoo priests look alarming when they're fully dressed in their red vests. They are the ones who incite hysteric fervour in the priestesses and crowds.
The voodoo priests look alarming when they're fully dressed in their red vests. They are the ones who incite hysteric fervour in the priestesses and crowds.
They are also undoubtedly the ones who instigate the child kidnappings for sacrificial purposes. The kidnappers are usually older women who drug the child and take it to an isolated location like a hut in the town centre or a lonely forest clearing.
He points out three characteristics of the witch doctors:
a) They keep superstition alive
b) They instigate impure and tragical rites
c) They are opposed to all enlightenment
He finds nothing respectable about them and describes them as self-seeking creatures with no clean impulse. They create evil and it flourishes under them like flowers watered by a gardener. They permeate society with their influence. They need to be crushed for Haiti to flourish.
He finds the white minority living in coastal towns as the greatest obstacle to voodoo terrorism. Some blacks are ashamed of it but afraid of it too. The government is unable or unwilling to stamp it out, unlike whites in West Africa who largely stamped out similar practices.
In Haiti however, the government doesn't interfere much or even tacitly agrees with the sect. He believes that without the presence of whites in Haiti, the power of witch doctors would be quadruple. They are at their most powerful in the mountains where whites don't dare go.
In Haiti however, the government doesn't interfere much or even tacitly agrees with the sect. He believes that without the presence of whites in Haiti, the power of witch doctors would be quadruple. They are at their most powerful in the mountains where whites don't dare go.
In Haiti however, the government doesn't interfere much or even tacitly agrees with the sect. He believes that without the presence of whites in Haiti, the power of witch doctors would be quadruple. They are at their most powerful in the mountains where whites don't dare go.
He finds the idea that these people have any supernatural powers preposterous but admits they possess some knowledge whites don't. He compares them to Borgias, actors, quacks and terrorists. Chapter IV concludes.
Chapter V - The Haitian navy
Most countries have a navy to fight their foes, but in Haiti, it's used even for internal unrest. Like Mexico, it's a country where ''all things are possible, and most things come to pass''. A capable man can organize a coup and seize power.
The last 11 years haven't seen any bloody revolutions but there have been 3 coup attempts and some shooting under President Hippolyte. Capturing the capital would be like seizing the entrenchments of a fort. The navy would still answer to the inner bastion.
The last 11 years haven't seen any bloody revolutions but there have been 3 coup attempts and some shooting under President Hippolyte. Capturing the capital would be like seizing the entrenchments of a fort. The navy would still answer to the inner bastion.
The last 11 years haven't seen any bloody revolutions but there have been 3 coup attempts and some shooting under President Hippolyte. Capturing the capital would be like seizing the entrenchments of a fort. The navy would still answer to the inner bastion.
The harbour in Port-au-Prince is host to the navy's 4 ships. The ''Dessalines'' is a ghastly and unsightly ship with tubby white sides smeared with red paint resembling human blood. He believes the navy is out of paint.
The main ship is the ''Crete-a-Pierrot''. It's a fat white vessel with a yellow funnel and gold scrollwork upon the bows and the stern. You can see the blue and red flag of Haiti hoisted on it.
The "Toussaint" is a cargo steamer that served as a fruit boat and a warship. It's in a sorry state because the navy personnel looted anything worth selling. An American mate of a sailing ship calls them thieves and one forbidden word.
The "Toussaint" is a cargo steamer that served as a fruit boat and a warship. It's in a sorry state because the navy personnel looted anything worth selling. An American mate of a sailing ship calls them thieves and one forbidden word.
The "Toussaint" is a cargo steamer that served as a fruit boat and a warship. It's in a sorry state because the navy personnel looted anything worth selling. An American mate of a sailing ship calls them thieves and one forbidden word.
A few boys and rats inhabit the ship.
The ''Crete-a-Pierrot'' is the best ship and it was designed in England and armed in France. He visits it in December. The designer had an argument with Haiti's government over proposed changes to the designed. It was commissioned in Haiti's navy 3 years ago.
The ''Crete-a-Pierrot'' is the best ship and it was designed in England and armed in France. He visits it in December. The designer had an argument with Haiti's government over proposed changes to the designed. It was commissioned in Haiti's navy 3 years ago.
The ''Crete-a-Pierrot'' is the best ship and it was designed in England and armed in France. He visits it in December. The designer had an argument with Haiti's government over proposed changes to the designed. It was commissioned in Haiti's navy 3 years ago.
The ship is commanded by an Englishman, one Captain Gilmour. He turns out to be a Scotsman actually. He served with the Royal Naval Reserve but has a contract with Haiti's government now. He's a sunburnt kindly man who takes his job seriously.
The ship is commanded by an Englishman, one Captain Gilmour. He turns out to be a Scotsman actually. He served with the Royal Naval Reserve but has a contract with Haiti's government now. He's a sunburnt kindly man who takes his job seriously.
The ship is commanded by an Englishman, one Captain Gilmour. He turns out to be a Scotsman actually. He served with the Royal Naval Reserve but has a contract with Haiti's government now. He's a sunburnt kindly man who takes his job seriously.
A photograph of the wharf in Port-au-Prince.
The ship is well armed, in a good condition, and clean but would have looked even better had the author visited a week later. One crewmate showcases what types of guns they have: 16 cm gun, a 12 cm gun, four 10 cm guns and 5 Nordenfeldts (2 five-barrelled, 3 three-barreled).
The crew has 175 people. The chief engineer is a white the captain brought from England, the first lieutenant is a Barbadian ex-merchant and Admiral Killick is a Haitian who formerly commanded a barque. The captain likes his job and his contract covers 3 more years.
The crew has 175 people. The chief engineer is a white the captain brought from England, the first lieutenant is a Barbadian ex-merchant and Admiral Killick is a Haitian who formerly commanded a barque. The captain likes his job and his contract covers 3 more years.
The crew has 175 people. The chief engineer is a white the captain brought from England, the first lieutenant is a Barbadian ex-merchant and Admiral Killick is a Haitian who formerly commanded a barque. The captain likes his job and his contract covers 3 more years.
They don't do much target practice with the big guns but they improvise by tying a rifle on them and shooting from them. It's a cost-saving measure that does the trick teaching the men the essentials.
They don't take the ship on any long cruises. They stick to the Cape and Jacmel. The ship is named after a battle in which Haitians defeated the French and expelled them from the island.
When asked if his men would be up to the task if the occasion arose, the captain is positive. Germany sent 2 warships to Haiti in December 1897 to force Haiti to pay indemnities. The captain was present and saw the Haitians as determined. He thinks they'd put up a good fight.
When asked if his men would be up to the task if the occasion arose, the captain is positive. Germany sent 2 warships to Haiti in December 1897 to force Haiti to pay indemnities. The captain was present and saw the Haitians as determined. He thinks they'd put up a good fight.
When asked if his men would be up to the task if the occasion arose, the captain is positive. Germany sent 2 warships to Haiti in December 1897 to force Haiti to pay indemnities. The captain was present and saw the Haitians as determined. He thinks they'd put up a good fight.
The captain says he receives good men and their pay is good but sometimes it's late because of government problems.
They hardly ever catch a disease like yellow fever or other sicknesses and most of them seem to be immune.
The captain doesn't speak Creole or French but knows enough to give orders. Some of his crewmates know English. Before they part ways, the captain regrets that the Haitians didn't sink the German warship ''Charlotte'' in 1897 as it was right under their guns. Chapter V concludes.
Chapter VI - Across Haiti
The author is tired of the city stench and goes on a trip to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. We'll see some Haitian countryside. The Plain of Cul-de-Sac was home to flourishing plantations when Haiti was a French colony and boasts rich soil.
The plain is home to some of the most fertile land in Haiti. Under French colonial rule a century ago, the plantations here would generate a revenue of 20 million francs. We see ruined walls covered with vegetation, a few patches of corn, mangoes, bananas, and tamarinds.
The plain is home to some of the most fertile land in Haiti. Under French colonial rule a century ago, the plantations here would generate a revenue of 20 million francs. We see ruined walls covered with vegetation, a few patches of corn, mangoes, bananas, and tamarinds.
The plain is home to some of the most fertile land in Haiti. Under French colonial rule a century ago, the plantations here would generate a revenue of 20 million francs. We see ruined walls covered with vegetation, a few patches of corn, mangoes, bananas, and tamarinds.
The surroundings grow progressively lonelier and other than the town of Pompadette, it's mostly a forested area. The jungle absorbed the ruins of once splendid country houses from the French period. Wild animals have reclaimed this land from humans.
Photograph of a street in Petit Goave.
The plantations don't generate any revenue now, not a cent. Each year the forest reclaims more land. There are no efforts to keep the ground clear, much less cultivate it. A Haitian proverb: only 3 classes work in Haiti - the white man, the black woman, and the ass (donkey).
It wouldn't cost much to bring a railroad here. If Americans owned Haiti, they'd do it by midsummer. The place is dead and it's getting deader.
It wouldn't cost much to bring a railroad here. If Americans owned Haiti, they'd do it by midsummer. The place is dead and it's getting deader.
It wouldn't cost much to bring a railroad here. If Americans owned Haiti, they'd do it by midsummer. The place is dead and it's getting deader.
The area of the Plain of Cul-de-Sac is roughly 27 x 24. It's close to Port-au-Prince and the ships there but it generates no wealth. A few primitive huts dot the landscape, simple enough to build in half a day. The occupants subsist on what grows in nature.
You can see rusted sugar-boiling pans that were discarded a century ago when slaves were emancipated. They're a relic of bygone prosperity. Lizards dwell there now.
The people here are very poor. They don't cultivate anything but harvest wild fruits. There are some coffee berries that were planted under the French but blacks rarely pick them and when they do, they pick them green. They rarely clean or care for the shrubs.
Blacks here lounge in the sun. Nature provides most things for them, save for clothes but even that is increasingly seen as unnecessary. All that resembles civilization is a legacy of white nations who tried to seize the colony but all of them failed.
Blacks here lounge in the sun. Nature provides most things for them, save for clothes but even that is increasingly seen as unnecessary. All that resembles civilization is a legacy of white nations who tried to seize the colony but all of them failed.
Blacks here lounge in the sun. Nature provides most things for them, save for clothes but even that is increasingly seen as unnecessary. All that resembles civilization is a legacy of white nations who tried to seize the colony but all of them failed.
The road he was traveling on was built by the English. After a century of neglect, it degenerated into a bridlepath but you could still see the great frame. It is some 60 feet wide and even wider in many places. It is severely maimed and damaged.
The huts in the countryside have earth floors, sometimes cobbled floors, and the roofs often have a hole in them. The sole furniture is a mat, a gourd to hold water, cooking pots, and often broken chairs. Many have pigs, hens, and guineafowls. They apparently enjoy cockfights.
Once a week, people barter Guinea grass for tafia at the nearest market. Tafia is a type of rum. You can occasionally hear the noise of drums on the road and encounter dancing individuals. The future was always left to adjust itself.
Plains give way to swamps and he has to cross a river. He reaches the village of Thomazeau, which is just a collection of African huts.
He secures a hut for the night as the occupant has gone to a different village for a day. He's hungry and a woman directs him to a cockfight in the village. The crowd is excited by the fight and he isn't immediately noticed.
He secures a hut for the night as the occupant has gone to a different village for a day. He's hungry and a woman directs him to a cockfight in the village. The crowd is excited by the fight and he isn't immediately noticed.
He secures a hut for the night as the occupant has gone to a different village for a day. He's hungry and a woman directs him to a cockfight in the village. The crowd is excited by the fight and he isn't immediately noticed.
He couldn't procure any meat. All he got were some ''biscuits'', which were actually sour bread, and some brown gluey cakes covered with seeds. What about Haiti's world-renowned and easy to make mud cookies?
A photograph of some Haitian washerwomen.
He meets an older man who turns out to be the village elder. The man lets him stay at his house. He notes how rural people are characterized by hospitality. They're not interested in receiving any money and refuse it. We also meet the elder's wife.
The author is taken to a hut with a mattress on the floor after he finishes his meal. He discusses various topics with his host such as birds that inhabit the lakes and the host brings him some tobacco.
There's a guardhouse just across the road. He bids his host a good night and extinguishes the oil lamp but mosquitos and sandflies annoy him for the night. The last thing he remembers before falling asleep is a firefly lighting up the roof.
There's a guardhouse just across the road. He bids his host a good night and extinguishes the oil lamp but mosquitos and sandflies annoy him for the night. The last thing he remembers before falling asleep is a firefly lighting up the roof.
There's a guardhouse just across the road. He bids his host a good night and extinguishes the oil lamp but mosquitos and sandflies annoy him for the night. The last thing he remembers before falling asleep is a firefly lighting up the roof.
He departs for the mountains in the morning and finds one of the worst roads in Haiti there. The mountains were green and heavily forested with lots of birds inhabiting the area.
Nature is reclaiming manmade structures just about everywhere. Days become monotonous. Successive villages are seemingly poorer and more ignorant, superstitious, and degraded. Everyone was content to live from hand to mouth and rarely left beyond the nearest market.
Nature is reclaiming manmade structures just about everywhere. Days become monotonous. Successive villages are seemingly poorer and more ignorant, superstitious, and degraded. Everyone was content to live from hand to mouth and rarely left beyond the nearest market.
Nature is reclaiming manmade structures just about everywhere. Days become monotonous. Successive villages are seemingly poorer and more ignorant, superstitious, and degraded. Everyone was content to live from hand to mouth and rarely left beyond the nearest market.
''Native life showed few attractions, no new features presented themselves, even individuality appeared to die out in that stagnation of existence.''
He finds an old hut crammed with 11 people that makes Thomazeau look like civilization and compares it to a knot of human beings. The leader was called Old Papa and he slept on a broken bench. Other residents included some children.
He finds an old hut crammed with 11 people that makes Thomazeau look like civilization and compares it to a knot of human beings. The leader was called Old Papa and he slept on a broken bench. Other residents included some children.
He finds an old hut crammed with 11 people that makes Thomazeau look like civilization and compares it to a knot of human beings. The leader was called Old Papa and he slept on a broken bench. Other residents included some children.
Old Papa was really old. He outlived some of his children and grandchildren. His wife was old too. His grandson's grandson lights his pipe. He speaks of president Boyer's presidency in the 1820s, old battles, and decay around them after drinking some rum.
The people here were poor and dirty beyond imagination. It was like they belonged to a lower race. Some were naked. One boy with arms as long as ones a gorilla would have was evidently a halfwit making beastly noises. They also ruined a lot of trees with machetes.
Some people ask the author for help with their sores and he gives them some remedies. He declines to sleep inside the hut because it's overcrowded and sleeps under the stars on a mattress with a waterproof blanket. The night brought no silence, he'd hear people wake up often.
In the morning, the locals resume their usual activities. The author goes to a nearby lake to take a bath in the shallow water. He actually calls that kid from earlier gorilla boy lmao.
When he returns he finds some of the locals naked. The place was bereft of luxuries of life, necessity was the reigning queen. The people here enter the world naked and leave it naked too.
When he returns he finds some of the locals naked. The place was bereft of luxuries of life, necessity was the reigning queen. The people here enter the world naked and leave it naked too.
When he returns he finds some of the locals naked. The place was bereft of luxuries of life, necessity was the reigning queen. The people here enter the world naked and leave it naked too.
The peasants from remote areas have nice hospitality too, they are polite beyond reproach. They are poor in worldly goods but rich in some higher qualities. Natural gentlemen.
It's easy to find places to sleep in rural districts but food is harder to come by. People will gladly give you what they have. They refuse monetary payments but will accept trifles.
The average diet here consists of fruit, rice, sticky seed cakes that make you feel drowsy and sour bread on a good day. They don't cook during the mango season. Sometimes they kill and eat a pig but not the type Europeans are accustomed to eating.
The average diet here consists of fruit, rice, sticky seed cakes that make you feel drowsy and sour bread on a good day. They don't cook during the mango season. Sometimes they kill and eat a pig but not the type Europeans are accustomed to eating.
The average diet here consists of fruit, rice, sticky seed cakes that make you feel drowsy and sour bread on a good day. They don't cook during the mango season. Sometimes they kill and eat a pig but not the type Europeans are accustomed to eating.
Their hobbies included dancing and cockfights. The roosters were prized like plumed warriors and they didn't use the cruel steel spurs. He points out that Old Papa's group isn't representative of rural life because they were more crude and rudimentary in their way of life.
Before we leave this group, the author compares Old Papa to a king whose kingdom is existence and the passage of hours and who'll keep reigning until he goes out of a world that has already passed beyond him. Chapter VI concludes.
Before we leave this group, the author compares Old Papa to a king whose kingdom is existence and the passage of hours and who'll keep reigning until he goes out of a world that has already passed beyond him. Chapter VI concludes.
Before we leave this group, the author compares Old Papa to a king whose kingdom is existence and the passage of hours and who'll keep reigning until he goes out of a world that has already passed beyond him. Chapter VI concludes.
Chapter VII - Into Santo Domingo
The journey to Santo Domingo resumes. Travelling through Haiti is unpleasant as it is due to scorching days, but nights are just as perilous. He remembers one dark night and a place with no roads but lots of thorny bushes.
He was in a mountainous area near Lake Azuei. The only lights in the sky were the moon in its first quarter and planet Venus. The place was heavily forested, resembling a jungle in South America. He could smell the scent of water and it was mostly a quiet evening.
He was in a mountainous area near Lake Azuei. The only lights in the sky were the moon in its first quarter and planet Venus. The place was heavily forested, resembling a jungle in South America. He could smell the scent of water and it was mostly a quiet evening.
He was in a mountainous area near Lake Azuei. The only lights in the sky were the moon in its first quarter and planet Venus. The place was heavily forested, resembling a jungle in South America. He could smell the scent of water and it was mostly a quiet evening.
You couldn't see more than 4 yards ahead but cigars would provide some light. He had to evade thorny bushes and it was very quiet save for the occasional bird, wind or falling stone. It made you feel ''gigantically alone in the heart of the black republic and the black night.''
They get lost as the forest feels like an impenetrable wall. After hours of wandering, they find a hut and gather materials to make a torch. The torch eventually burns out but they hear the sounds of voodoo drums, follow the lead and find an encampment in the forest.
They get lost as the forest feels like an impenetrable wall. After hours of wandering, they find a hut and gather materials to make a torch. The torch eventually burns out but they hear the sounds of voodoo drums, follow the lead and find an encampment in the forest.
They get lost as the forest feels like an impenetrable wall. After hours of wandering, they find a hut and gather materials to make a torch. The torch eventually burns out but they hear the sounds of voodoo drums, follow the lead and find an encampment in the forest.
A picture of a Haitian highway. It really drives the message home.
It's the last day of a three-day-long voodoo ceremony here. A black goat was sacrificed on the first day. The worshippers are screaming, writhing and swaying in a frenzy. They don't pay attention to the author and his guide.
He compares it to a scene from hell that makes you want to keep your hand near your revolver. After he gets tired of watching, they find the village of these people nearby.
The author turns to the topic of child sacrifice. He is convinced that no European has been present for such an occasion save for one Catholic priest. The cultists exclude outsiders rigorously. Most of the time, the child's dismembered remains are discovered after the ceremony.
They are now in lower and marshier land with towering trees around them. The area somehow manages to be even worse than the road in the mountains. The trees swallow you with their imposing presence. They ponder setting up a tent but reconsider due to the risk of catching malaria.
They are now in lower and marshier land with towering trees around them. The area somehow manages to be even worse than the road in the mountains. The trees swallow you with their imposing presence. They ponder setting up a tent but reconsider due to the risk of catching malaria.
They are now in lower and marshier land with towering trees around them. The area somehow manages to be even worse than the road in the mountains. The trees swallow you with their imposing presence. They ponder setting up a tent but reconsider due to the risk of catching malaria.
A photograph of a hut on the way to Santo Domingo.
After seemingly endless unpleasantries with boulders, branches, etc., they find an abandoned hut that likely serves as a camping ground for local farmers who sell their produce in Santo Domingo or Barahona, Dominican Republic. They eat some soup and rice and spend the night here.
After seemingly endless unpleasantries with boulders, branches, etc., they find an abandoned hut that likely serves as a camping ground for local farmers who sell their produce in Santo Domingo or Barahona, Dominican Republic. They eat some soup and rice and spend the night here.
After seemingly endless unpleasantries with boulders, branches, etc., they find an abandoned hut that likely serves as a camping ground for local farmers who sell their produce in Santo Domingo or Barahona, Dominican Republic. They eat some soup and rice and spend the night here.
They march on after dawn and reach what I believe is Lake Azuei again but under a different name. It's partially in Haitian and partially in Dominican territory. It's deep, still, blue, and charmingly beautiful. It's surrounded by hills and there are turquoise clouds above it.
The area is rich with trees but there is no lumber industry due to an absence of roads and means of communication. An 1898 consular report noted that Haiti's export of mahogany and 6 other times that year was completely negligible to even quote the amount.
The area is rich with trees but there is no lumber industry due to an absence of roads and means of communication. An 1898 consular report noted that Haiti's export of mahogany and 6 other times that year was completely negligible to even quote the amount.
The area is rich with trees but there is no lumber industry due to an absence of roads and means of communication. An 1898 consular report noted that Haiti's export of mahogany and 6 other times that year was completely negligible to even quote the amount.
Herons and alligators inhabit this lake. He describes the whole picture as having vivid tones of blue and green, magnificently tropical and high-colored. The lake has brackish water.
A picture of some Haitians.
French country-houses doted the landscape here once, but all that remains are ruins of walls that reach your knees. Tropical seasons and the encroaching forest have made short work of them. Lizards inhabit these ruins of villas now.
French country-houses doted the landscape here once, but all that remains are ruins of walls that reach your knees. Tropical seasons and the encroaching forest have made short work of them. Lizards inhabit these ruins of villas now.
French country-houses doted the landscape here once, but all that remains are ruins of walls that reach your knees. Tropical seasons and the encroaching forest have made short work of them. Lizards inhabit these ruins of villas now.
He finds Haiti to be the same everywhere. The industrial and civilizational legacy of whites has been obliterated, a wasteland. Haiti's interior has been retroceded to nature. The human element is largely absent and people here prefer thatched huts instead of palaces.
You can find dogs and pigs roaming in the more remote places. Gonave Island has a lot of pigs, probably descended from those once hunted by buccaneers.
They finally reach the border with the Dominican Republic. Haiti's border guards, who occupy a small ramshackle guardhouse, inspect their passports and let them pass.
This whole area used to be Haitian territory but the Dominican Republic has pushed its border and controls half of the lake now. The climate is described as perfect and you can find an area that suits your tastes and needs, better than anything Cuba and Jamaica have to offer.
A windy evening transforms the scene to make the lake look like a menacing eye. Many legends surround the lake.
A windy evening transforms the scene to make the lake look like a menacing eye. Many legends surround the lake.
A windy evening transforms the scene to make the lake look like a menacing eye. Many legends surround the lake.
Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic is a twin lake. Both are about 200 feet above sea-level. In times of heavy rains and floods, they connect. Lake Enquirillo was once connected with the sea by a subterranean river. Sharks and porpoises are rumored to still live in it.
He only stays for a short while in the Dominican Republic and the people don't impress him. They aren't as likeable or hospitable as the Haitians but their government isn't as jealous of foreign influences.
The Dominicans speak Spanish that isn't as adulterated as the French spoken in Haiti. He views Haitian French as a corrupt, degenerated Creole dialect hardly understood by outsiders. He finds race to be the explanation. Dominicans are mostly mixed-race and Haitians are black.
He believes that the racial composition of the Dominican Republics put them on a higher level than Haiti but both are lacking in energy and have vast untapped mineral wealth. He finds the people in both to be inert and their governments to be obstacles to progress.
He believes that the racial composition of the Dominican Republics put them on a higher level than Haiti but both are lacking in energy and have vast untapped mineral wealth. He finds the people in both to be inert and their governments to be obstacles to progress.
He believes that the racial composition of the Dominican Republics put them on a higher level than Haiti but both are lacking in energy and have vast untapped mineral wealth. He finds the people in both to be inert and their governments to be obstacles to progress.
The chief highway connecting Haiti and the Dominican Republic sees little traffic. Some criminals flee across the border occasionally and it's mostly traversed by woodcutters and merchants selling roosters for cockfights.
Dominican President Heureaux was assassinated a few months before the author's trip. Under his presidency, soldiers guarded the border but they were either recalled by President Jimenes or they simply left voluntarily.
He preempts any future flattering biography of Heureaux by calling him a masterful ruler but foul, unscrupulous, pliable, fair-seeming, and immutably vengeful like many presidents in Central America. Chapter VII concludes.
Chapter VIII - Haitian police, prisons and hospitals
A Haitian policeman is described. He's wearing a tattered shirt, tattered sky-blue cotton trousers, a blue cap with a red band, and he is carrying a dirty yellow club. Physically, he's compared to a humanized black goat.
Haitian police are often idle but when they're doing something, they're very brutal. They are prone to use their clubs during arrests and blood is a common sight as a result. They often beat the wrong man or pick out an innocent person to secure their meal.
Haitian police are often idle but when they're doing something, they're very brutal. They are prone to use their clubs during arrests and blood is a common sight as a result. They often beat the wrong man or pick out an innocent person to secure their meal.
Haitian police are often idle but when they're doing something, they're very brutal. They are prone to use their clubs during arrests and blood is a common sight as a result. They often beat the wrong man or pick out an innocent person to secure their meal.
The Haitian police are more comparable to soldiers maintaining public safety. Their salaries are often late and just like in the military, higher-ranking persons steal some of it so policemen receive a reduced salary.
A picture of a military arrondissement in Haiti. Arrondissements are a type of administrative division. France has them too. It roughly translates to ''circuits'' or something along those lines, something that is encircled.
In some towns, they receive a salary of 50 centimes, or some 7 and 1/2 pence for every arrest. If they're short on cash, they often pick a fight with someone in order to arrest them, or even pounce on an unsuspecting victim. Living is cheap in Haiti, and so is life by all means.
In cases of police pursuits, it's a common sight for the suspect (or victim) to struggle and try to yank the club from the policeman but usually, police backup arrives and they subdue the person, very brutally. The suspects are often hit in the head and left in a bad condition.
In cases of police pursuits, it's a common sight for the suspect (or victim) to struggle and try to yank the club from the policeman but usually, police backup arrives and they subdue the person, very brutally. The suspects are often hit in the head and left in a bad condition.
In cases of police pursuits, it's a common sight for the suspect (or victim) to struggle and try to yank the club from the policeman but usually, police backup arrives and they subdue the person, very brutally. The suspects are often hit in the head and left in a bad condition.
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