A summer on the borders of the Caribbean sea.Harris, J. Dennis
History
A summer on the borders of the Caribbean sea.
Harris, J. Dennis
Caribbean Area -- Description and travel
“They seized,” says Edwards, “a Mr. Blenan, an officer of the police,
and, having nailed him alive to one of the gates of his plantation,
chopped off his limbs one by one with an axe.”
“A poor man named Robert, a carpenter, by endeavoring to conceal himself
from the notice of the rebels, was discovered in his hiding-place, and
the negroes declared that he _should die in the way of his occupation_;
accordingly they laid him between two boards, and deliberately sawed him
asunder.”
“All the white and even the mulatto children whose fathers had not
joined in the revolt were murdered without exception, frequently before
their eyes, or while clinging to the bosoms of their mothers. Young
women of all ranks were first violated by whole troops of barbarians,
and then, generally, put to death. Some of them, indeed, were reserved
for the gratification of the lust of the leaders, and others had their
eyes scooped out with a knife.”
“In the parish of Timbe, at a place called the Great Ravine, a
venerable planter, the father of two beautiful young ladies, was tied
down by the savage ringleader of a band, who ravished the eldest
daughter in his presence, and delivered over the youngest to one of his
followers. Their passions being satisfied, they slaughtered both the
father and the daughters.”
“M. Cardineau, a planter of Grande Riviere, had two natural sons by a
black woman. He had manumitted them in their infancy, and treated them
with great tenderness. They both joined the revolt; and when their
father endeavored to divert them from their purpose by soothing language
and pecuniary offers, they took his money, and then stabbed him to the
heart.”
Amid the worst of these scenes Mr. Edwards records that solitary and
affecting instance wherein a _soft-hearted_ slave saved the lives of his
master and family by sending them adrift on the river by moonlight.[E]
This is generally admitted to have been the _Washington_ of Hayti,
Toussaint L’Ouverture.
At this time, also, the mulatto chiefs, actuated by different motives,
not only refused to adopt such horrid measures, but particularly
declared their only intention in taking up arms was to support the
decree of the 15th of May, which had acknowledged their rights, of which
the whites had been endeavoring to deprive them, and proposed to lay
down their arms provided the whites acknowledged them as equals.
The white inhabitants gladly availed themselves of an overture which,
though it pressed hard on their ambition, afforded a prospect for
deliverance from impending danger. A truce immediately took place, which
they denominated a _concordat_. An act of oblivion was passed on both
sides over all that had passed, the whites admitting in all its force
the decree giving equality to the mulattoes. The sentence passed upon
Ogé and the execution of it the _concordat_ declared to be infamous, and
to be “held in everlasting execration.” So much for Ogé.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account