Haiti: A Degenerating Island 



20J 



blood shed and crime committed, not 

 alone by the ignorant and superstitious, 

 but more- especially by those of intelli- 

 gence and education, and even our own 

 race is not altogether blameless or want- 

 ing in responsibility for this condition of 

 things. 



On Saint Nicholas Day (December 6), 

 1492, Columbus entered a port at the ex- 

 treme west end of the Island of Santo 

 Domingo or, as the whole island was 

 then called by the aborigines, Haiti. The 

 natives themselves called the port Bohio, 

 but Columbus christened it,* in honor of 

 the day he was celebrating, Port Saint 

 Nicholas, the name still existing as Saint 

 Nicholas Mole. This date will ever be 

 memorable in the annals of the Haitiens 

 as marking the beginning of the history 

 of the island. 



Columbus now called the island His- 

 paniola in honor of the country which 

 had sent him forth to discover it, and it 

 is to be regretted that this name given by 

 the immortal discoverer has been lost, 

 for its present two names are conflicting 

 and confusing. 



The small squadron which formed 

 Columbus' expedition to the New World 

 had come the whole distance across the 

 ocean ''intact, but off the coast of Cuba 

 the captain of the ship Pinta deserted 

 with his ship and left him only the flag- 

 ship Santa Maria and the small Nina to 

 continue the voyage. Speeding on as 

 rapidly as the difficult navigation would 

 permit, the two ships came to anchor off 

 a small village now known as Port de 

 Paix, which was so beautiful a spot that 

 he called it the Vale of Paradise. Here 

 Columbus opened communication with 

 the Indian King or Cacique Guacanagari, 

 who ruled one of the five principal 

 divisions of the island and who sent him 

 presents of gold and assured him that 

 more could be found farther to the east- 

 ward. Columbus had no doubt at this 

 time that he had reached the Asiatic con- 

 tinent, and he was anxious to return and 

 report his good fortune to his king and 

 queen. But unfortunately soon after 

 leaving Port de Paix his flag-ship, the 



Santa Maria, drifted upon a shoal and be- 

 came a total wreck. 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE NEW 

 WORLD 



As the better part of his force was em- 

 barked on board this ship, his position 

 was most precarious, and he was forced 

 to at once build a fort on shore and leave 

 in it a large portion of his men for a 

 garrison. 



The wreck occurred near the present 

 port of Cape Haitien, on Christmas eve, 

 1492. The hospitable natives lent willing 

 hands, and Columbus soon had the fort 

 constructed from the salvage of his ship 

 near a village then called Guarico. This 

 he named the Fortress of Navidad ; and 

 this was the first structure built in Amer- 

 ica. Soon after the fort was completed 

 he left it with a garrison of 30 men and, 

 proceeding to the eastward, he was for- 

 tunate to again fall in with the Pinta, 

 which vessel had deserted him in Cuba, 

 and in company with that ship he re- 

 turned to Spain to make his report. 



His grateful sovereigns soon fitted him 

 out again with a force of 17 ships and 

 several hundred men to carry on his ex- 

 plorations from Fort Navidad, and 

 among those who enlisted for the voyage 

 were a large number of his wealthy 

 countrymen, who cast in their lot and 

 their fortunes with him in order to gain 

 a share of the golden prize which the 

 Admiral assured them was within their 

 grasp. But, as is usual where avarice is 

 the ruling spirit, troubles grew faster 

 than riches. His first great misfortune 

 after his return was to find that all of 

 the garrison he had left at Navidad had 

 been slain by the natives of the interior, 

 notwithstanding his good friend Gua- 

 canagari had defended them with such 

 gallantry as to produce the almost entire 

 destruction of his own people. 



Columbus then determined to build a 

 permanent settlement, and after recon- 

 noitering he selected for this purpose a 

 site on an elevated plain near a spacious 

 bay on the north coast of the island. 

 Here was established the first town in 



