October 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



clad in Paris gowns. They were the upper-class Haitians, and 

 would pass for wealthy and cultured French anywhere. But 

 how they manage to exist in their filthy cities, even in suburban 

 villas, and keep clean and well is a mystery. 



We got away that night for Aii.x Cayes, and dropped anchor 

 in the harbor the next morning. A crowd of port officials in a 

 power boat run by kerosene, and adorned with a crooked stove 

 pipe, from which poured clouds of black smoke, came alongside 

 and boarded us. l!y advice of c<iunsel we locked our cabins and 

 kejit them locked until the visitation was over. Thus we re- 



hose. But the gold helmets and the uniform ! That was what 

 the people were proud of ! I'hat was what thex' paid for, or at 

 least owed for. 



We met a traveled Haitian here, a man who had lived about 

 nine vears in France, and he showed us much that was interest- 



TVPIC.VL Haiti.vns. 



tained our extra shoes, bath-robes and toilet articles. When we 

 had taken on some casks of honey, and were all ready to sail 

 word came that passengers w'ere expected, and in the long wait 

 that ensued we explored the city. 



It was different from Jacmel, and cleaner. More than one- 

 half of it had burned down not long before, and that, in spite of 



the fire department, was the clean part. Few Haitian cities 

 have risen to the civilized heights of fire departments. But Aux 

 Cayes had. and it was O. K. Those gold helmets of the firemen ! 

 — a bit battered, to be sure, but how they shone ! And the sen- 

 tinel at the door of the firehouse, what a proud handsome figure 

 he was! The equipment for fire fighting? Well, there was a 

 French hand-engine that properly manned, could throw several 

 gallons nf water a minute fully twenty feet, that is. if they had 



\"lLL.\ OF We.\LTHY H.\ITI.\X. 



ing. A bank in a fine building all its own, and a big department 

 store run by Germans that was a marvel in the completeness of 

 its equipment. 



Hack to the boat late in the afternoon we came, and found 

 it crowded with passengers for Port au Prince. The captain 

 predicted stormy weather, and wanted to get away. But the 

 health officer had not brought our papers. For two hours the 

 big whistle roared at minute intervals, and then gave it up. 

 Finally four hours late they came — and they had been ready all 

 day ! Had we sailed without the papers it would have meant 

 five days' quarantine at the next port, and that was what the 

 officials desired. 



I forgot to say that it was here in the ojiulcnt olden time of 

 ilu- l-Vencb occupation that Alexander Dumas. Sr.. was born. 



I hope that I am not giving the impression that there is nfith- 

 ing good in Haiti, that it is a country of filth, tatters and de- 

 generacy only. That is very far from the fact. The coast cities 

 are awful, and the people — that is the lower class — ignorant and 

 shiftless. But the country itself, as soon as one gets a little 

 way inland, is wonderfully beautiful and of exceeding fertility. 

 t is also healthful. Indeed, the cities themselves do not breed 

 the pestilences that one would expect. With an incomparable 

 climate, a rainfall often of over 100 inches, and manv excellent 





kl . - 



H.MTi.xN Excursionists of the Better Cl.^ss. 



harl)ors. the time is sure to come when schools, churches and 

 industries will have their effect, and the Black Republic under 

 proper leadership will be sanatized. industrialized and saved. 

 (To be continued.) 



