Hayti; or, The black republic.St. John, Spenser, Sir
History
Hayti; or, The black republic.
St. John, Spenser, Sir
Haiti; Haiti -- History
I have not attempted to describe the present condition of the republic
of Santo Domingo, but from all I can hear it is making progress. The
Dominicans have few prejudices of colour, and eagerly welcome foreign
capitalists who arrive to develop the resources of their country.
Already there are numerous sugar estates in operation, as well as
manufactories of dyes, and efforts are being successfully made to
rework the old gold-mines. The tobacco cultivation is already large,
and only requires hands to develop it to meet any demand. I hear of a
railway having been commenced, to traverse the magnificent plain which
stretches from the Bay of Samana almost to the frontiers of Hayti.
* * * * *
After having written the chapter on Vaudoux Worship, my attention was
called to a communication which appeared in _Vanity Fair_ of August 13,
1881, by a reply published in a Haytian journal. It is evident that
the writer in _Vanity Fair_ was a naval officer or a passing traveller
in the West Indies, and he probably carefully noted the information
given him. He was, however, too inclined to believe what he heard, as
he gravely states that a Haytian told him that the kidneys of a child
were first-rate eating, adding that he had tried them himself; and
the writer remarks that the Haytian did not seem to think it strange
or out of the way that he had done so. No Haytian would have ever
stated seriously that he had eaten human flesh. Probably, amused by
the eagerness of the inquirer, he told the story to test his powers of
belief, and must have been diverted when he found his statement was
credited. Cannibalism is the one thing of which Haytians are thoroughly
ashamed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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