Hayti; or, The black republic.

by Sir Spenser St. John

It is the fashion in Hayti to vaunt the goodness and tenderness of their women in sickness; but what women are not good and tender under similar circumstances? I have received as much kindness in suffering from the Malays when wandering in Borneo as any one has perhaps ever received elsewhere. The fact is, that these qualities are inherent to women in general. Perhaps the greatest praise that can be given to the Haytian ladies is, that they do not appear inferior to others who reside in the tropics in the care of their children, or in the management of their households, or in their conduct towards their husbands.

They have their ways in public and their ways in private, but their greatest defect is their want of cleanliness, which is observable in their houses, their children, and their own clothes. Without going so far as to say, with the naval officer, that “their customs are dirty, and manners they have none,” I may say that they have habits which are simply indescribable; and when not dressed to receive company they are veritable slatterns, sauntering about their houses all day in dirty dressing-gowns, and too often in unchanged linen. Their bedrooms have a close, stuffy smell, the consequence of the above referred to indescribable habits, which is highly displeasing to a stranger, and induced an American gentleman to remark that their rooms had the smell of a stable. They are also very careless in another way, and will go into their kitchens even in their silks, and aid in preparing sweetmeats; and the stains on their clothes from this cause reminded me of a young Malay lady cooking a greasy curry whilst dressed in a rich gold brocade, and upsetting half of it over her dress in an endeavour to conceal herself or her work.

The conduct of the Haytian ladies who are married to foreigners is much to their credit, as rarely a case occurs to draw the attention of the public to their private life; and almost the same may be said of their married life in general, and this in defiance of the debauchery of their Haytian husbands. This virtue was, perhaps, unfairly ascribed by a French diplomatist to their sluggish temperaments and their want of imagination. But, whatever may be the cause, it appears to exist to a considerable extent.

The habit of having no fixed hours for meals appears to prevail in most tropical countries; and in Hayti, though there are fixed times for the husband and the other males of a family, who can only return from business at certain hours, yet the ladies of the family prefer cakes, sweetmeats, and dreadful messes at all hours, and only sit down to the family meal pro formâ. No wonder they are ever complaining of indigestion, and taking their wonderful remèdes.

From my own observation, and that of many of my friends, I may assert with confidence as a general proposition, that the Haytian black or mulatto is more given to drink, and to a forgetfulness of his duty to his family, than any other people with whom we were acquainted. With some marked, and I should add numerous exceptions, after his early coffee the Haytian begins the day with a grog or cocktail, and these grogs and cocktails continue until at mid-day many of the young men are slightly intoxicated, and by night a large minority at least are either in an excited, a sullen, or a maudlin state.

It appears also to be a rule among them, that, whether married or not, a Haytian must have as many mistresses as his purse will permit him; these are principally drawn from the lower classes. This practice is not confined to any particular rank; from the Presidents downwards all are tainted with the same evil. The mistresses of the first-named are always known, as they are visited publicly, often accompanied by a staff or a few select officers. I have met them even at dinner in respectable houses, and have been asked to trace a resemblance between their children and the reputed father. No one seeks to conceal it, and the conversation of married ladies continually turns on this subject. One excuse for it is that many of the ladies whom you meet in society were only married after the birth of their first children. However, according to French law, that ceremony renders them all legitimate.

Some of those admitted into society are not married at all, but their daughters’ being married prevents notice being taken of the false position of the mother.

An excuse has been made for the debauchery of the Haytians. It is said that there are three women to every two men, which is probably true, and that therefore the latter are exposed to every kind of temptation, which is also true.

I have already referred to the want of financial honour observable in Hayti; but what is equally pernicious is their utter forgetfulness of what is due to their military oath. As I shall have to notice in my remarks on the army, scarcely a single name can be cited of a superior officer who under President Geffrard did not forget his duty, and either conspire against him or betray him to the enemy. This was particularly observable during the siege of Cap Haïtien in 1865. And yet were these officers who were false to their military honour looked down upon by their countrymen? On the contrary, their only title to consideration was their treachery to their former superior, who in turn is said to have betrayed every Government he had served.

A Frenchman once wittily said, that when Geffrard was made President, being no longer able to conspire against the Government, he conspired against his own Ministers. It is the whole truth in a few words. No encouragement is given to those who hold firmly to their duty; and an officer who did not desert a tottering Government would be sure to be neglected, perhaps even punished, by those who succeeded to power.