Haiti: Its dawn of progress after years in a night of revolutionKuser, John Dryden
History
Haiti: Its dawn of progress after years in a night of revolution
Kuser, John Dryden
Haiti -- Description and travel
There are two chief Haitian clubs--the Cercle Bellevue and the
Port-au-Prince. The latter is a young men's club and is located on
the Champ de Mars next to Brigade Headquarters. The Cercle Bellevue
is the more representative and has a beautiful building in the
upper part of town. Its members number as well as the Haitians,
certain Americans who have been invited to join. Frequent dances are
given by the Cercle Bellevue and they are, like all Latin American
parties, far gayer and more elaborate than the American ones. Rarely
does a party break up before 5 a.m.
Nowhere in the world could more elaborate and yet correct
entertainments be given than the Haitians have. During my visit the
Argentine warship "Nuevo de Julio" came into Port-au-Prince and
was the occasion for many entertainments, among them a luncheon to
the American officers which was held on board and to which I was
invited. It was one of the most delightful luncheons to which I have
ever been. That night a state dinner was given by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, M. Barau, to the Argentine Officers, and to which
the American Commanding Officer and the Officer of the Gendarmerie
were also asked. Mme. Barau is French while her husband is of course
a Haitian. No dinner anywhere, I was told, could have been given
which would have been more appropriate or more delightful.
The national standard coin of Haiti is a gourde, which is worth 20
cents in American money. It is made in the form of our American
dollar, and means to the Haitian about what a dollar means to an
American. About two years ago there was a scarcity of gourdes. An
attempt was made to have others printed, but as the printing is
done in Washington and at that time the printers' strike was in
full swing, it was impossible to get the gourdes for a long time.
This led to great hoarding of the gourdes, which resulted in their
becoming even scarcer and finally in their depreciation to below 4
for a dollar. New gourdes were being given out when I arrived and
they were back at their normal value of 5.
The shops in Port-au-Prince are mostly Haitian. The West Indies
Trading Company, an American concern, it is true, has two large
stores at which much that is in American department stores can be
purchased. But the rest are mostly native-owned. Simon Vieux is
the leading grocery, and knick-knacks and odds-and-ends of every
description can be gotten at "Le Paradis des Dames," "Aux Cents
Mille Artiles," and "L'Ange Gardien."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Haiti: Its dawn of progress after years in a night of revolution — 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