Geffrard could not but notice, in his opening speech to the Chambers, that the northern insurrection had created so great an expenditure that all progress was checked; but it had no effect. Another effort at revolution was made at Gonaives, where the mob plundered and burnt about fifty houses, to be followed by further troubles and incendiary fires at Cap Haïtien, Port-au-Prince, and St. Marc. The arsenal in the capital was blown up in September; two hundred houses were overthrown, and the guard killed, besides many of the inhabitants. One little boy whom I knew had his ear taken off by a piece of shell without further injury. During these occurrences, bands of negroes were wandering through the south burning and pillaging, unchecked by the local authorities. It was asked, how could a people exist under such circumstances? But people must eat; the majority do not join in these disorders, and all the women and children work. The following years showed to what a country can submit from the perverse conduct of interested politicians.
It was now evident that Geffrard must give up power, as, rightly or wrongly, people were dissatisfied with him, find wanted a change. In February 1867 there was a hostile movement on the part of some companies of Geffrard’s favourite troops, the tirailleurs, the only disciplined battalions that I ever saw in Hayti; and though this was suppressed by their companions, the Government was irretrievably shaken. The comparatively bad crops of 1865 and 1866 were said to be the fault of the authorities, and no amnesties or changes in the Ministry could satisfy the discontented. Geffrard determined therefore to abdicate, and on March 13, 1867, he embarked for Jamaica. He had convoked the Senate for the 16th in order to give over the reins of power to them, but his timid friends persuaded him to go at once, as the north was in insurrection. The Spanish chargé d’affaires was with him throughout these scenes, and Geffrard’s last words were, “Poor country! what a state of anarchy will follow my departure!”
In my chapter on the Mulattoes, I have given a sketch of Geffrard, and I need not repeat it here. I was not blind to his faults, but of all the rulers of Hayti he was certainly the most enlightened, and the most thoroughly devoted to his country. Had he been as perfect a ruler as the world could produce, he would never have satisfied his countrymen. The blacks wanted a black, the mulattoes wanted any one else, so that there was a change. And yet I believe the mass of the people cared little except for tranquillity.
A committee was formed to revise the constitution, but Salnave had landed in Cap Haïtien, assumed power, and proceeded to exercise it. He arrested some chiefs of the negroes dwelling in the Black Mountains, and instantly shot them; their friends took up arms, and, under the name of the “Cacos,” were a thorn in the side of the new régime. He then marched on Port-au-Prince, seized the Government, and arrested General Montas, who had commanded in the north under Geffrard. Tired of the delays of a Constituent Assembly, he sent a mob to frighten them. They took the hint, voted the constitution the next day, and, l’epée à la gorge, elected Salnave President of Hayti, June 16, 1867. In July a treaty was signed between Hayti and Santo Domingo, thus ending the long war.
The Chambers met in the autumn, and Madame Montas presented a petition on the subject of the imprisonment of her husband. On some deputies insisting on an explanation, Delorme, the Chief Minister of Salnave, sprang on the table and denounced these deputies as enemies of Government. Pistol-shots were fired; Salnave advanced at the head of his guards, and the Assembly dispersed. Riots followed. The Government attempted to arrest five prominent members of the Opposition, but they escaped and returned home to their constituents, and constitutional government ceased to exist.
The movement of the Cacos in the Black Mountains now began to alarm the Government, and Salnave started for the north to put himself at the head of the army operating against the insurgents. There were many skirmishes, that at Mombin Crochu being the most important, where Salnave lost heavily.
I do not think it necessary to do more than briefly notice the events of Salnave’s Presidency of thirty months. It was one long civil war. Disgusted at the treatment of their deputies, the towns began to declare against the Government. The uprising was accelerated by the meeting of the Chambers being postponed and Salnave being declared Dictator. In April 1868, Nissage-Saget took up arms in St. Marc; the south was in movement and the insurgents marching towards the capital, where a crowd of young men armed with swordsticks and pocket-pistols made a feeble attempt at insurrection, but dispersed at the first fire. In the midst of this commotion Salnave came into the harbour with five hundred men, to whom he gave permission to plunder the Rue de Frentfort, where the principal retail dealers live. The phrase of their colonel on this occasion has become a proverb: “Mes enfans, pillez en bon ordre.” Only the vigorous remonstrances of the diplomatic corps prevented further outrages. Delorme, accused by Salnave of having shown weakness whilst in charge of the Government during his absence, retired from office and left the country.
The insurgent armies closed in round Port-au-Prince, but as the town did not capitulate at their martial aspect, they did nothing, whilst the garrison was only waiting for the excuse of an attack in order to disperse. This delay was fatal; the chiefs, instead of confronting the common enemy, were quarrelling as to the choice of the future President, each thinking himself the most worthy, when the negroes of the mountains, encouraged by the Government, rose in arms to attack the towns, and forced the besieging army to retire to protect their own families and property. These bands of negroes, under the name of “Piquets,” were only formidable from their numbers, but the injuries they did in the south have not been repaired to this day. The insurgents raised the siege of the capital in August; and in September, to prevent further dissensions, Nissage-Saget was chosen President for the north at St. Marc, and Domingue at Les Cayes for the south.
The year 1869 was the most disastrous I have known in Haytian history. Fighting was going on in every district. In the north the insurgents were besieging Cap Haïtien; in the south the Government was vainly attacking Jacmel, Jérémie, and Les Cayes. In the beginning of the year President Salnave had the advantage of commanding the seas with his steamers, and surrounding Les Cayes on every side, he vigorously pressed the siege. When it was about to fall, General Monplaisir-Pierre assembled a small army around him, cut his way through the besieging forces, and arrived just in time to save Domingue and his Government, who were preparing to embark for Jamaica. This was one of the few gallant actions of the war.
Another was General Brice’s splendid defence of Jérémie when attacked by superior forces and bombarded by vessels purchased by Salnave in America.