A LITTLE-KNOWN MARVEL OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE 



479 



from Milot or Grande Riviere to the 

 citadel, the grade from the latter being 

 far easier. The trip may be made on 

 horseback when the trails are dry, but 

 from Milot up it is extremely cruel to 

 fide the animals and scarcely calculated 

 to improve their usefulness. From 

 Grande Riviere it is not so bad. A per- 

 son can climb on foot about as fast as 

 the horses make it ; but, even when in 

 the best of condition, a man will be 

 thoroughly exhausted on reaching the 

 top. Yet fairly large parties, including 

 ladies, make picnic trips to the place, 

 sending food and bedding in advance. 

 On such occasions the visitors spend 'the 

 night in these romantic and awe-inspiring 

 surroundings, making a leisurely return 

 the next day. 



There are only two entrances to the 

 citadel. One was used to bring in the 

 reserve cannon balls from the long piles 

 stored by sizes on the sloping terrace to 

 the south ; the other only admits to the 

 prow. Both entrances were closed by 

 massive, bolted and loopholed wooden 

 doors. 



THE- STRUCTURE ONLY PARTLY WRECKED 

 BY EARTHQUAKES 



The entire structure is in an excellent 

 state of preservation, except that the 

 floors in the prow were all shaken down 

 in the earthquake of 1842, which laid the 

 town of Cape Haitien in ruins. 



The top of this prow has three large 

 fissures, a result of the same shock, while 

 its west side is now covered by a growth 

 of bright red lichen that gives it the ap- 

 pearance of having been painted. The 

 structures on the extreme top, resembling 

 a roof garden, were also badly shaken by 

 the earthquake. It is difficult to under- 

 stand, however, how Sir Spenser St. 

 John could have written: ''Years of the 

 labour of toiling thousands were spent to 

 prepare this citadel, which the trembling 

 earth laid in ruins in a few minutes" ; 

 for only a comparatively small interior 

 portion is in ruins even now, and that 

 not to an extent impossible of repair with 

 comparatively little labor. 



On the night of his death Christophe's 

 body was placed in lime in the main tomb 

 of the citadel. The tomb inside a near- 



by room is supposed to contain the re- 

 mains of some of his family. The latter 

 is unmarked. 



STORIES TO HORRIFY THE VISITOS 



The masonry pile at the summit is 

 thought by some to be a cap on the origi- 

 nal peak of the mountain ; but others 

 have excavated a large section of it, hop- 

 ing to find the enormous treasure re- 

 ported to be buried about the place. It 

 seems probable this is only a covering for 

 another tomb. 



Considerable digging has been done in 

 many parts of the citadel with the hope 

 of locating the treasure mentioned — -even 

 in the gun gallery in the walls back of the 

 gun emplacements. However, as the 

 money-chests — badly rusted, completely 

 wrecked, and empty — still remain in and 

 around the dungeons, it would seem that 

 whatever treasure once existed has long 

 since been removed. 



Many stories have been given tongue 

 by the native guides to inspire the horror 

 of the visitors. For instance, on his first 

 visit, the writer was shown a sizable ma- 

 sonry chute in the center of one of the 

 galleries and informed by the Haitian 

 guide that it was a "death slide," through 

 which Christophe hurled his victims from 

 the side of the citadel into the valley far 

 below. Subsequent investigation revealed 

 the fact that the end of the "death slide" 

 was less than twenty feet above a terrace 

 and must have been designed as a chute 

 for refuse ! 



THE BLACK KING'S ORNATE PALACE OF 

 SANS SOUCI 



The ruins of the ornate Sans Souci 

 Palace at Milot, while very elaborate, do 

 not compare with the citadel in interest 

 or as a source of speculation ; yet the re- 

 mains of such grandeur in that location 

 make a profound impression on a visitor, 

 causing many reflections on the earthly 

 ambitions of Christophe and serving as 

 an index to the truly regal state which 

 he must have achieved. 



The French origin of the architecture 

 is apparent at a glance, while the site, 

 with its command of the view down the 

 fertile valley of Milot. is one of rare 

 beautv. 



