1830.] Four Years in the West Indies. 309 



remained a slave he would not have lost his eyes and toes ; or that if he 

 had, he would have been certain of kind usage and support, instead of 

 now being obliged to beg for a wretched subsistence." Descending from 

 the mountainous district, the party, on the fourth day of their journey ,. 

 entered the beautiful plain of Cayes, bounded by the sea, on the verge 

 of which the city stands. The lively appearance of the whole is pecu- 

 liarly striking. The city of Cayes is described as infinitely superior to 

 the capital. It took an active part in the events of the revolution ; and 

 a strong force being sent against it under Dessalines, that sanguinary 

 monster put to death upwards of ten thousand people of colour, attached 

 to the party of Rigaud. " At present, Cayes is one of the most flourish- 

 ing places that I have seen in the republic. There is considerable 

 activity, and there are a few opulent merchants, both natives and 

 foreigners ; but the regulations affecting commerce have of late become 

 so oppressive, that many of the latter had resolved not to renew their 

 patents." 



There is said to be an extensive illicit trade with Jamaica and Cuba ; 

 and what strongly evinces the total destruction of industry, sugar is the 

 principal import from the latter island. " The young part of the people 

 in the outskirts appeared to me to spend the greatest portion of their 

 time in dawdling about without any apparent objects in view ; and the 

 only real work is done by the few surviving Africans, who, contrary to 

 the habits of their progeny who crowd to the plains, retire to the moun- 

 tains, where they cultivate some sequestered spot, unheeding, and 

 unheeded by the world." As an instance of the complete destruction 

 of valuable property which has attended the revolution, and the miser- 

 able condition to which affairs are now reduced, we may state one of a 

 thousand instances : " I rode out every day during my stay at Cayes, 

 and of course inspected L' Habitation Laborde, which I believe originally 

 belonged to Count Alexandre Laborde. It has the reputation of being 

 one of the most splendid properties in the colony. Formerly, accord- 

 ing to Moreau St. Mery, there were on it one thousand four hundred 

 slaves, and 1,200,000 Ibs. of clayed sugar were produced, besides other 

 matters. People of authority in the plain assert that there were two 

 thousand slaves, and the produce 2,000,000 Ibs. of clayed sugar. When 

 I visited it, I found the walls of two of the sugar works standing ; the 

 roof of the other was falling in as fast as possible. The dwelling houses, 

 which had been as elegant as substantial, entirely built of stone, were 

 quite dilapidated. I did not see a cane ; and around a few miserable 

 negro huts there were a dozen or sixteen labourers hanging about ; 

 and I was told they merely cultivated provisions for their own use !" 

 At the estate of Boutilier Mr. Mackenzie found about sixty American 

 negroes, who had been liberated from the southern states by a society of 

 quakers; although every person concurred in representing these peo- 

 ple as orderly, laborious, and well conducted, yet each of them had some 

 matter of personal complaint; and the general grievances were per- 

 fectly overwhelming. The whole party had been better than eight 

 months in Haiti ; they had nearly enclosed the whole plantation, to the 

 proprietor of which, General Marion, they had been bound for a series 

 of years, but had not yet begun the cultivation of canes, one-fourth of 

 the produce of which was to be given them for their labour. They 

 complained of bad lodgings, and want of medical attendance ; but most 

 loud was their denunciations of their Haitian neighbours, whom they 



