Haiti: A Degenerating Island 



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SKETCH MAP OF HAITI 



seek the life of a soldier, and as such 

 they quickly transfer their allegiance to 

 the highest bidder or, in fact, to any one 

 offering a change. Owing to the general 

 lack of enterprise among the lower classes 

 of the people and the greed of the few 

 who from time to time control the admin- 

 istration of the revenues, the only hope 

 of the country is to have some strong 

 man, such as Diaz of Mexico, revolu- 

 tionize the methods of the government. 



VOODOOISM STII.L PRACTICED 



No accurate history of Haiti can be 

 written without a reference to the horri- 

 ble sorcery, called the religion of Voodoo, 

 which was introduced into the country 

 with the slaves from Africa. Its creed 

 is that the God Voodoo has the power 

 usually ascribed to the Christian's Lord, 

 and that he shows himself to his good 

 friends, the negroes, under the form of 

 a non-venomous snake, and transmits his 

 power through a chief priest or priestess. 

 These are called either king and queen, 

 master or mistress, or generally as papa- 

 lois and mama-lois. The principal act of 

 worship consists of a wild dance, attended 

 by grotesque gesticulations, which leads 

 up to the most disgraceful orgies. 



A secret oath binds all the voodoos, on 

 the taking of which, the lips of the neo- 

 phyte are usually touched with warm 

 goat's blood, which is intended to inspire 

 terror. He promises to submit to death 

 should he ever reveal the secrets of the 

 fraternity, and to put to death any traitor 

 to the sect. It is affirmed, and no doubt 

 is true, that on special occasions a sacri- 

 fice is made of a living child, or the 

 "goat without horns," as it is called, and 

 then cannibalism in its worst form is 

 indulged in. Under the circumstances 

 of taking the oath of allegiance, it should 

 cause no surprise that the 'Hardens claim 

 that this is not true and defy any white 

 man to produce evidence of guilt. But, 

 notwithstanding, no one can read the hor- 

 rible tales published by Sir Spencer Saint 

 John, one of the British ministers to 

 Haiti, which describes in detail the re- 

 volting practices of the voodoos, together 

 with the proofs he brings to substantiate 

 the truth of the allegations, without com- 

 ing to the reluctant conclusion that canni- 

 balism is resorted to in these meetings. Of 

 course, no white man could long live on 

 the island after having given testimony 

 leading to the conviction of culprits in 

 such cases, and therefore the negroes' 



