THE BLACK REPUBLIC.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 321, 12 January 1909, Page 4

THE BLACK REPUBLIC.

AN AMERICAN WOMAN IN HAYT

Tin' litlli' republic of lhi.vLi is entertainingly tK-.-sui'ilx-a by -Mrs. U. 11. Miller ill Leslie's Weekly. The writer was impressed wi!h the 'IH-gku-li'il riches of the country mill the kindness of the peasants, hut wa, continually annoyed wit i tin- Liny tiau olliciiils. She tells of some of her experiences. If I hail mil. Ml absolutely sure that a lliivliun ollicer feared I lie American Lii.v criiincnt as heartily as they hate licr eiii/ens. I might |ievlni|is have been alarmed uhin. in .laciift'l, two ,oldiers; were seal mil lo brill" me liefnre lueir commanding ollicer. As I walked into the ill-smelling room, wliere a tawdrilydressed negro sal, I la' soldiers stacked their guns in the door in order that 1 might nut escape. This ollicial demanded my passport, which lie scrutiniisc<l| carefully, at the siune time eyciiig me suspiciously. Then my camera must lie examined. Finally, after 15 or 21) minutes, 1 was allowed to go, hut ever after that during my stay In tire tow;i I was under the watchful eye of a soldier. The demanding of my passport and being brought before negro ofliciuls became a habit villi inc, and whenever soldiers beckoned I followed, and went through some disagreeable waste of lime.

'l'he patronising nil- of the llaytian ollicials is almost unbearable. The show of authority crops up in many ways, and this was exemplified during my slay at one of the seaside towns when a. Herman ship was in the roadstead. The captain had invited four ladies, members of the ■Herman colony, to come out to dinner one afternoon, and these women, all beautifully gnwned, appeared at the wharf to go'otil in the boat sen! li bring tliem when, lo ! the captain of lire port announced that no resident' might visit the ship. In vai-.i the Indiepleaded, but he was politely obdurate. Word was sent to the captain, who determined not to disappoint his guests had the dinner put into a launch and sent on land. The ollicial of the port, informed the captain that he could no' remain on shore after nine that nig'il. and was on the dock at that hour lc see that his orders Were carried out.

The .soldier is perhaps more lo be pitied than any of the natives, except the women. He is poorly paid. and. if his word is to be relied upon, his pay isonietiincs withheld by his superior otlicer. If (he (,'ovornmeiit changes he fares no lad lev ; and if iie rises in rebellion lie is shot, lie may even have to earrv hags of coffee or help to load cotton in order lo get a meal, for the llaytian private is always ragged and ill-led. The pedantry of llayti arc for the most part ignorant and law, but of a kindly disposition. They are gcucrnllv tmciliii-.'il<>d. ami having no intercourse with the outside world, rarely see a foreign face. They have little knowlcdgi of other countries, and have a deeprooted conviction that llayti would conquer any other lnnd. It was among these people T expecl.-'d U< filial snake-worship, with orgies, ami intense hatred of the white race, but I found only kindness and hospitality, and indeed it 'was with the greatest difficulty that I was able to get thejui .to n<cepf monev for the food and drink which I enjoved in their humble huts. The residents of the rural districts are for the most part honest.

As lo " voodomsm," 1 saw none of it. I had la-en told that the priestess would beat a peculiar kind of drum, and that; Ibis was a sign for people to gather for "orgies lon horrible for description," ami so (mi, evening when 1 heard the peculiar sound of a drum. I at once concluded thai voodoo service was in order. Eager for expectation. 1 followed the sound, and came upon a dance, with the drum and tomtoms as an orchestra. The dancers were yelling and screaming in a wild fashion as they writhed about 1 } within a wooden stockade which surrounded a lint. The scene was weird, and for a moment sent a shiver through my veins.

If child sacrifice exists, I neither heard nor saw any sign of it, and I found the llaytian mother quite as fond of lw child as the mother of (lie Stales. Superstition does exist to a certain extent,but to a foreigner it appears more humorous than dangerous.