Topographical sketch.—State of the roads.—Mode of repair by criminals.—How criminals are treated.—Description of inns.—Accommodations at them.—Mode of travelling.—Value of land in several districts, and in towns.

Whoever has read the history of St. Domingo, and has been impressed with an idea of its richness, of its varied scenery, and of its fertile condition previously to its feeling the ravages of the revolution, and now contemplates the desolate appearance of Hayti, will be astonished that such a contrast could ensue; that a period of twenty-two years having elapsed since the declaration of independence, there should not appear some symptoms of improvement on the face of the country; and that the people should not have been anxious to restore the plantations to their wonted state of productiveness. In my peregrinations through the island, I was at times struck with the extraordinary difference between what the country was represented to be by the people themselves, and its actual appearance in the different districts through which I had an occasion to pass; and a comparison of its once fertile state with its now sterile aspect only excites a greater astonishment, and confirms my opinion of the indolence and apathy of the inhabitants.

The original French part of the island was always, as I have before observed, the most productive, because a greater degree of industry prevailed among the people. The eastern part of the island was never much celebrated for aught but its pastures, and its mineral productions, its mahogany and dye woods, and its cattle of all descriptions. I shall present a slight view of the present appearance of the country, from my own observations, and from the notes of others who have favoured me with a description, on which every reliance may be placed, because I have had their notes particularly scrutinized by persons who are conversant with the whole of the country, and on whose veracity I can safely rely. I may differ in my detail from others who have gone before me, but I have some hope that the account which I shall give will command the assent even of these persons. I shall commence with the capital, noticing the country and the several places on the coast, inland, and conclude with a few observations on different parts of the interior.

The city of Port au Prince, which constitutes the capital of the republic, is situate immediately at the extremity of the bay of Port au Prince, and in the centre of the department of the west. On its north are the plains of Cul de Sac, environed by a chain of mountains extending from the eastward to the channel of St. Marc’s in the vicinity of L’Arcahaye. To the east are the mountains of La Coupe, the ascent to which commences immediately without the walls of the city. And on the south it is bounded by the plains and the bight of Leogane. It is about a mile from the northern to the southern gate, and from the sea to the eastern boundary about twelve hundred yards. It was formerly encompassed by a wall, and by several forts of great strength; but the wall has fallen to decay, and the forts are partly demolished, and are now so much gone to ruin that they are quite incapable of defence. At present there are forts Petion, in which the bowels of President Petion are deposited, Bazilles, La Croix, Le Marre, Islet, Hospital, Leogane, Government, and one or two of minor note, but they are all in such a state of dilapidation that a salute adds greatly to their weakness. Fort Islet is at the entrance of the harbour, and the weakness of the President leads him to think that its few guns, not more than six, would stop the approach of an invading force; and with this idea he has had it put into a proper condition of defence; but it stands so low, that the guns of a frigate brought to bear upon it would at once make it quite untenable. In fact I am sure that a British officer at the head of fifty men would desire no better amusement than to storm it, particularly when defended by such soldiers as the Haytians. With regard to the others, I do not see that in their present condition they can be defensible, for their batteries are demolished, and not an embrasure is left.

The streets are straight, running from north to south, and from east to west, and are sufficiently wide and commodious; but the roads are in such a state as to be quite impassable for carriages; and although the government levies a heavy tax for repairing them, and the criminals sentenced to work on them are numerous, yet but little is accomplished towards putting them into a state of repair at all suited for vehicles of any description, and after a heavy rain they are totally impassable for people on foot. The members of government are quite unconcerned about any thing tending to improve the appearance of their city, towns, or country; they seem, from the President to the lowest individual, absorbed in vice, living in sloth and sensuality, careless of every thing, so long as they may be permitted to indulge in the indolence and excesses so predominant in the habits of the Haytian people. The houses are merely the remains of such as stood the ravages of the revolution, and those wooden edifices, which were built since the two destructive fires in 1820 and 1822, which consumed one third of the city, containing all the most valuable buildings, with property in them to a large amount. The city therefore, to a stranger approaching it from the sea, has an odd appearance, exhibiting nothing but dilapidation and decay, or as if it had just suffered from the effects of some violent convulsion; and there seems no disposition to repair or improve it. In the time of the French the whole of the streets were paved, but the pavement since then has been mostly destroyed and never repaired. The houses on each side had verandas and trees in front of them, whose foliage, impervious to the solar rays, afforded the inhabitants a promenade, without being exposed to the influence of the sun; but the trees have been all destroyed, and only an occasional veranda is to be seen. The public buildings consist only of the government-house, the arsenal, senate, and communes’ house, and it is no difficult matter to describe them. The first was the residence of the governor during the French rÉgime, and at that period must have been a splendid edifice. It is low, as are all the houses in the West Indies, built so on account of the frequency of earthquakes, but it is commodious, and commands a fine view of the sea. The gardens are represented to have been splendid, and in the front was a fountain (jet d’eau), which had a supply of water sufficient for all the purposes of the governor’s establishment; but they are now a mere waste, the fountain destroyed, and the house externally exhibits more the appearance of a barrack than the seat of government. The arsenal is contiguous to the sea, and might be destroyed by a gun-boat, for it has nothing to defend it but a battery, mounting two or three guns. It contains all the arms, artillery, and ammunition of the government, and shews the folly of the president who established it immediately within the range of an enemy’s guns. The senate-house is a low irregular building, and was formerly used as a dwelling-house, and since that period it has never received either repair or ornament, for it is tumbling to pieces, and has a filthy appearance, for the want of a little attention. The communes’ house has more the appearance of a receptacle for lunatics; and really if one were only to visit it during the sittings of the chamber, it would not be surprising if an impression were made that the lunatics of the republic had congregated in it, instead of reasonable men to deliberate upon the affairs of their country. The cathedral has nothing in its external appearance to point it out as a place appropriated for divine worship; it is a square building, with a single roof, without any steeple, with an ascent to it of about three or four steps on the western extremity. There is but little to attract in the interior decorations and ornaments; the altar is constructed of gew-gaws and tinsel; above it is a painting by a modern artist, representing the union of the blacks and people of colour. The figures are two officers embracing; one is in the uniform of a general of hussars, and the other in that of a general of infantry, one black and the other a mulatto. The back ground represents a field of battle in which the Haytians have just gained a victory over the enemies of the republic. There is an organ, but a small one, and not at all remarkable for either its tones or its structure. There is nothing else in the cathedral, and it is in fact a libel on the name to call it one.

Upon the whole nothing can be said in favour of the city of Port au Prince; and if it stood unrivalled in point of elegance and splendour in the time of the French, in the days and under the government of President Boyer it is only remarkable for ruins and every species of filth and uncleanliness. It contains about thirty-five thousand inhabitants of all classes.

The plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of the city, were celebrated in former times for their extreme productiveness, but they are now very little cultivated; and passing through them from one extremity to the other, from the sea on the west to the lakes on the east, from the mountains of La Coupe on the south, to those of Mirebalais on the north, I could only discover now and then a patch that had the least appearance of being tilled. On ascending the mountains, and looking into the valley below, the mind is at once struck with the inertness and indolence of the people, and with the devastation that must have been committed during the revolt of the slaves. Remains of houses and plantation works are to be seen in every direction, scattered implements for manufacturing sugar are spread around you, and walls, which were erected for dividing properties, as well as for the internal division of the lands in cultivation, are thrown down and mouldering, or overrun with the creepers and convolvulus, and various other shrubs, so as in places to become perfectly imperceptible. There is nothing to be seen in these once delightful plains like cultivation; all looks a barren waste, as though the inhabitants had been driven out, or cut off by some scourge, and the whole country had since been a place of refuge only for beasts of prey. The mountains remain untouched for the purposes of cultivation, except now and then a small patch for the production of vegetables, and on which is erected a miserable hut, in no respect superior, in point of accommodation and comfort, to the wig-wam of the North American Indians, but in which the sluggish Haytian will dwindle away his days in laziness, sloth, and in every species of lust and sensuality. He seeks for nothing but what supplies his immediate wants; and so long as he can produce enough for the calls of to-day, he is careless of what may follow on the morrow. Sleep and his women occupy the remainder of his time, with the exception of a brief interval, which he generally devotes to playing drafts or cards with a neighbour, generally as indolent and as unconcerned as himself. The plains are finely watered; for independently of La Grande RiviÈre there are innumerable smaller streams that water the different parts, and in the event of any extraordinary drought, irrigation could be easily resorted to for the purpose of supporting vegetation. But this is not often the case, as the seasons appear very regular, and the country in general is well supplied with rain from the great attraction of the surrounding mountainous districts, which are covered with almost impenetrable underwoods, and the showers descend into the valleys, and fertilize the soil in an extraordinary degree.

To the northward of the plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of L’Arcahaye, there is nothing to be seen that in the least indicates a country in that state of productiveness which is pleasing to the traveller; every thing exhibits a degree of negligence that is truly astonishing, particularly when the fertility of the soil is so well known.

The whole of the extensive and fertile plain of the Artibanite is in a similar condition; and although it receives all the beneficial influence derived from the overflowings of the river of the same name which washes an extent of fifty leagues, emptying itself into the bay of St. Marc, still the people do not evince any disposition to cultivate the land. Scarcely a sugar plantation is to be seen until you approach Gonaives or its vicinity, and those established in that quarter are not worthy of the designation; they are mere patches visible on an extended surface, and from the elevations around them have only the appearance of detached spots cultivated as gardens. There is nothing like an extensive scene of cultivation, nor can such be found throughout the whole of the republic. In this plain on the coast are situated St. Marc and Gonaives, which at one period were both places of considerable trade, and the inhabitants wealthy, living in great splendour and magnificence; but like other places inhabited by the blacks and people of colour, they are neglected, the houses gone to decay, and allowed to moulder into ruins. Nothing is left to remind the traveller of what they were. Contrasting what they are with what they are represented to have been, he at once infers, that the present inhabitants are a race devoid of all desire of improvement, and only raised a very small degree above the brute creation, from whom in their natures and habits they differ but little.

The north, taking the whole of the point westward from Port de Paix to Cape Nicolas Mole, abounds in fertile plains, and in rich and productive lands, well watered, and capable of great improvement, where agriculture might be carried on with great advantage, and where even an European, in a climate almost approaching to the temperature of his native country, might undergo manual labour without any more inconvenience from it than what is experienced by a labourer in Europe in the months of July and August. This is evident from the circumstance of a colony of Germans and Dutch in the neighbourhood of Cape Nicolas Mole having cultivated their lands unaided by the negroes, which, in proportion to their extent, are as productive now as they were at any period of the history of the country. They do not, it is true, produce sugar; but in the culture of coffee and cotton they are exceedingly successful, and are in a fine thriving condition. These Germans and their ancestors seem to have resided in this part unmolested during the whole of the troubles of the revolution and rebellion; and by the leading chiefs, subsequent to those events, they have been respected and protected.

In this district of the island there were several places of considerable notoriety in the time of the French, but they are now sunk into disrepute, and in fact mere villages. These are, the Platform, the town of Cape Nicolas Mole, Jean Rabel, and Port de Paix. The Platform was noted in the time of the revolutionary war with France for being a place from which a great many privateers were fitted out for the purpose of menacing our trade from Jamaica, being within sight of ships passing to the northward from that island. It is now, however, of no consideration, as it contains only a few houses inhabited by fishermen, who, it is said, occasionally turn pirates, whenever they find a vessel close enough in shore upon which they can pounce, without running the risk of being seen by the crew until they are alongside. The harbour of Cape Nicolas Mole was the principal place for the safe anchorage of shipping in the western world, but it has gone to neglect. The town consists now only of a few scattered houses of no consideration, and the whole of the fine fortifications which secured the harbour against an enemy are now nearly demolished and tumbling into ruins. The harbour is capable of holding an immense fleet, and ships of the largest size may safely ride at anchor, sheltered from the wind from every quarter. The mountains secure them against it from the east, north and south, and the wind from the south-west is greatly shut out by the high land running westerly.

The water in the harbour and close to the town is said to be from five to fifteen fathoms deep. In his negotiations with the Haytian government, the King of France was exceedingly anxious to have this port delivered up to him, for the purpose of a place of security for his fleets, or rather for a footing in the island, with a view of menacing the Haytians whenever he felt disposed to threaten them with his displeasure. But they had sense enough to resist this demand, and the king was wise enough not to contend for it, knowing that, in the event of Boyer not fulfilling his engagements, it would fall an easy prey to a very small force that might be sent against it. The British homeward-bound ships, during the war with France, were greatly annoyed by privateers from this port, as they passed within sight of the Mole, and so near at times, beating to windward, that it might easily be distinguished whether they were merchantmen or men-of-war. It was therefore between the Platform and this port that most of the captures took place, and lately this space has been the hiding-place for many piratical vessels, which run in under the land at daylight, strike their sails and top-masts, and consequently lie unperceived during the day, whence they again sail at night to commit further depredations. This became so glaring at last, that Boyer was obliged to send one of his vessels to intercept them; but I do not hear that he succeeded.

Jean Rabel is an inconsiderable port, with only a few houses saved during the revolution. The plains of the same name in its vicinity used to be exceedingly fertile, but there is now but little done in the culture of them, and in fact the whole of this part of the island exhibits a picture of indolence too shameful for any government to tolerate.

Port de Paix is opposite to the island of Tortuga at the mouth of the Three Rivers; it is of no magnitude, not being a port of entry for shipping as it was formerly; nor is it required, for there is little or no traffic, there being but little produce in its neighbourhood. It was celebrated in the time of the Buccaneers for being the place of their frequent resort, after their plundering and marauding voyages in the adjacent seas. It was here that the celebrated Morgan, who was afterwards knighted by Charles the Second, and became lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, first joined the “Brethren of the Coast”, the term usually given to the Buccaneers, of whom he finally became the daring and most famous leader. In the vicinity of Port de Paix there is a medicinal spring, the waters of which are strongly sulphuretted, and are much used and esteemed in cutaneous diseases.

The plains of the north, formerly celebrated for their sugar plantations, and extending from the Three Rivers to the old Spanish lines of demarcation, are in a similar state with every other part of the country, only partially cultivated in the elevated parts, with coffee and some cotton. It is impossible to view these celebrated plains without regret, and to reflect on the impolitic measures of the present ruler, which preclude the European all chance of adventuring with his capital, and trying what might be accomplished by investing it in the soil. The most beneficial offer was once made to him by an American company to colonize a district, by sending from that country five thousand blacks, to be emancipated in the event of their being shipped off from the United States. But he refused to accede to the proposal; and what is more, he told the parties making the application that the American negroes were too much enlightened to be allowed to colonize in Hayti, as they might intrigue with the Haytians to undermine the state. There is no finer soil in the island for the production of sugar than is to be found in these plains; it is composed of a strong black mould, of great depth and exceedingly rich and nutritive for the cane, and is highly valuable also for pasturage; but even on this no care or attention is bestowed, nor are there any pains taken in the breeding of cattle, for which the whole country presents the greatest facilities, from the luxuriance of its grass, and from the whole district being so well watered by rivers meandering through every part of it, and by those springs and smaller streams with which the whole island abounds. No country affords such retreats from the heat of the solar rays as this. Nature seems to have dispensed its blessings for man and beast with a liberal hand; but man here seems to be but little sensible of the beneficence of his Creator. All those elegant structures which once gave the face of these plains and the mountains around them such an air of grandeur, and excited the admiration of the traveller, are demolished, and scarcely a vestige of their original site can be discovered. Sometimes a dilapidated stonewall, and the remains of a windmill may point out to the passer-by that near them once stood an extensive range of buildings, and perhaps a mansion of some magnificence. The highly productive and very extensive estates once to be seen in the vicinity of La Petite Ance, St. Acul, Limonde, La Grande RiviÈre, Le Dondon, Marmalade, LimbÉ, and Plaisance, are now neglected wastes, with little to be seen but the spreading guava, the wild indigo, and a thousand other weeds and shrubs, raising themselves unmolested on the very spots which once displayed all the luxuriance of vegetation, aided and matured by the skill and industry of the husbandman.

Christophe certainly made strong efforts to revive the cultivation of his country, and he made some progress; but at the period when he was about to carry into effect a more rigid system for the culture of the soil, he was cut off, his plans were laid aside by Boyer, and now, as in every other part of the country, nothing is seen in that district but desolate wastes.

The city of Cape Haytien, which is the capital of the north, retains no vestige of its primitive splendour. It is, however, a much more pleasant and more elegant place than Port au Prince, and the inhabitants are always kind and courteous to strangers, as they all are in that part of the country which was under Christophe; a thing which the stranger must not expect at the seat of government, where the people are quite the reverse, and all spies. It is situate at the extremity of a bay, having the sea to the north, and mountains of considerable elevation on the south. It is strongly fortified, the old batteries of the French having been greatly improved by Christophe, who left nothing undone that could be accomplished in the way of strengthening his capital. Towards the sea the ramparts are very commanding, and an enemy’s vessel would find considerable difficulty on entering the harbour, as she could only do so within range of the whole forts, which are well mounted with guns of large calibre. The only requisite in the event of war would be men possessing sufficient skill and courage to man these works and to defend them. The city is well supplied with pure water, which descends from the mountains, over a gravelled surface, and receiving in its course no stream that can in the least injure its qualities.

A military force of about five thousand men is kept up in this district, under the command of General Magny. Part of this force garrisons the city, in which there are barracks for their residence; the other part is at different stations on the plains.

The trade to the cape is somewhat circumscribed, the country round it being not so thickly inhabited as the south, but what little there is seems to be carried on with much more regularity, and a great deal more certainty as to the result, than at Port au Prince. I have heard it generally remarked that the people of the north have a greater sense of honour and rectitude in their commercial dealings with foreigners, than the inhabitants of the south. Certain it is that Christophe in his time exacted from his people a strict adherence to their word in matters of commerce, and in the event of a disputed claim a foreigner had a chance of redress. Not so in Port au Prince, where, if a foreigner have a demand against a Haytian, it is ten to one against his getting any redress, and fifty to one against his getting paid.

Christophe, who always shewed a very great attention and respect for the British merchants and British subjects at the cape, or in any other part of his dominions, erected a very neat house on an elevation near the city, and furnished it somewhat elegantly, in which he had put up billiard tables, expressly as a place of resort for them, and of the whole he made them a present, with his pledge that no person of the country should be permitted to disturb them, nor should the premises be used by his people at any time or for any purposes.

At no great distance from the city of Cape Haytien were those two stupendous works of Christophe, his palace of Sans Souci and the Citadel Henry, or Fort Ferrier, the construction of which shews no little labour and design, and the expense of their erection must have exceeded any thing that can be imagined as the cost of modern works. I cannot describe them better than by quoting the account given of them by a native of Hayti, in his narrative of Christophe’s elevation to the throne. “The Citadel Henry,” he says, “that palladium of liberty, that majestic bulwark of independence, that monument of the greatness, and of the vast combinations of a Henry, is built on the lofty summit of one of the highest mountains in the island, whence you may discover to the left the island of Tortuga, and the reflection of its beautiful canal; in front, the gentle risings, with the city of Cape Henry, its roadstead, and the vast expanse of the ocean; on the right, La Grange, Monte Christi, the city of Fort Royal, Mancheneel Bay, and the surrounding hills. The eye is gratified with the prospect of the beautiful plain, and the magnificent carpet of verdure spread before it. At the back, the extended chain of mountains seems as it were the frame to this enchanting picture. The position fortified by nature, and to which art has added all its science, with casemates and bomb proofs, has secured it from being successfully besieged, while the mouths of cannon overtop the elevation of the high ground, and command the adjacent territory, affording protection to the whole north, and indeed to Hayti itself, this being the most formidable defence it possesses.”[8]

On the subject of this fort, I have before stated that it was built under the directions of an individual said to have been a Scotchman, of the name of Ferrier, from whom it takes the appellation of Fort Ferrier.

Of the magnificence of the palace of Sans Souci, I shall give the description of Saunders, as conveying an idea of what it was. “Sans Souci, a town rising into preference, and likely to become the capital of Hayti, has been established. Ravines have been filled up, mountains levelled, and public roads laid out. This superb royal palace, the glory of Hayti, is carried up to a great elevation. The beauty and durability of its construction, its sumptuous apartments, all with inlaid work, and lined with the most beautiful and rarest tapestry, which was amassed at a great expense, and with particular care in the selection; the furniture and elegant tapestry, selected with good taste; the gardens arranged with a just symmetry, through which meanders a pure stream, having a degree of freshness that particularly characterizes it, the jets d’eau, the fruit trees, and European productions, &c. &c., combine to embellish the retreat of a hero, and to attract the admiration of strangers; whilst a church, whose noble dome agreeably points out the richness of its architecture, and other public establishments, such as arsenals, dock-yards, and barracks, have sprung up around in spite of the ravages of war. To see the astonishing activity diffused in all these works, one would say that the greatest tranquillity had prevailed, and that it was the hand of peace which brought them to perfection! Immense treasures, the fruits of economy in the public administration of finances, fill the spacious coffers of the Citadel Henry.” “I know it”, he says again, “to be one of the intentions of our king to have the rotunda of his palace in the citadel paved and lined with quadruples. He is rich enough to do this.”

The palace of Sans Souci was certainly (from the accounts given of it by many individuals now in Hayti, and who have often been admitted to the levÉes of King Christophe) upon a most magnificent scale; and in elegance of structure, as well as the durability of its materials, but little, if at all inferior to some of the most admired edifices of Europe. Christophe was lavish of his money in the building of this palace as well as the citadel, and whilst they were being erected, he acted with great severity towards his people, whom he compelled to carry the materials to the spot, neither age nor sex, except the decrepit and the very young, being spared.

Christophe was once visited in this palace by an officer of the British navy, and a relative of a right honourable gentleman high in his Majesty’s councils, to whom he shewed great attention and courtesy, and expressed great satisfaction at being honoured with the calls of British subjects who occasionally touched at the cape. In a conversation with this distinguished officer on the subject of this stupendous palace, he said, “that his intentions were to ornament the walls with gold, and that the floors should be laid with silver, that the ambassadors of the world, should any be sent to him, might see how splendidly a western monarch could live.”

Fort Ferrier can be easily seen from the sea, and ships outward-bound for any of the western ports, sailing along the north side of the island, have a good view of it from its amazing elevation, the stone of which it is built being so very white as to make it a most excellent land-mark. The palace however cannot be discerned, and since the death of Christophe, it has been mostly destroyed, nothing but the walls being left. All the beautiful carved-work wainscoting has been taken from it, the mahogany floor torn up, and the whole burnt by the people; and nothing remains except the outworks, which are converted into apartments for the military who are stationed there.

Beyond the Massacre, in the old Spanish territory, and on the banks of the Yague, the country is exceedingly productive, but quite neglected. It is only a few years since that a very considerable trade was carried on between Jamaica and Monte Christi, and Puerto de Plata; the produce of those fine valleys on each bank of the river, as well as of the fertile plains of La Vega Real, always found a ready market in the different ports of that island. Tobacco, rice, Indian corn, beans and peas, peculiar to the West Indies, and in great request as food for the negroes, were exported in large quantities, as were also horned cattle, mahogany, dye-wood, and often poultry. In return, the people took rum, salted provisions, ironmongery, cotton goods of a coarse quality, blue Yorkshire baize, Osnaburgs, and a variety of other articles required for the labourers in wood-cutting and agriculture. The annexation of the Spanish part to the republic stopped this intercourse, and consequently the finest vent for the disposing of the produce of their industry became shut, and having no other intercourse, the demand has entirely ceased. There is no encouragement therefore left for husbandry, and all those lands which were before appropriated exclusively to the raising of the several articles which I have before enumerated, are now uncultivated, with the exception of mere patches where vegetables are raised for the immediate wants of the people.

The town of Monte Christi is a place of little resort, its trade having been ruined by the restrictive laws in force in the West Indies. It stands at the extremity of the promontory on the north branch of the Yague. Occasionally American vessels call in, and barter their provisions for mahogany and dye-woods, and sometimes take tobacco, the quality of which is much finer and milder than that of the United States. Contiguous to the river, and particularly on its southern bank, the country abounds with mahogany and dye-woods, and in the mountains, mines were said to exist, containing gold and silver and other valuable ore. But very recently a company formed in London for the purpose of exploring them, found that the undertaking would be attended with a considerable waste of capital, without the possibility of obtaining returns likely to compensate the outlay of the experiment. There is great reason to doubt the representations that were made by the Haytian government on the subject of these mines, when they appeared so anxious to have them worked; their sanguine assurances of ultimate success were only intended to delude, as they could not seriously expect that any beneficial result would attend these operations.

To the eastward, beyond the town of Santiago, are the plains of La Vega Real, celebrated for their extreme verdure and fertility. They are in a great measure inclosed by the surrounding hills, which form an appearance not unlike an amphitheatre. These plains are capable of producing, were they properly tilled, every description of tropical plants, and in the elevated parts there is every reason to believe that European grain might easily be raised. The temperature of this district makes it a most congenial spot for all sorts of agricultural labour, and the culture of the soil would be rewarded with an ample harvest. The whole of the plains are well watered by innumerable small streams, which, flowing from different parts of the mountains, empty themselves into the Yuna. This river, in its course to the bay of Sumana, is exceedingly convenient for the wood-cutters who float their mahogany and dye-woods down it into the bay, for the purpose of sale and shipping.

Sumana, which appears as if it were detached from the main land, is a peninsula, and may be said to be nearly uninhabited. A few American free persons of colour have emigrated thither from the United States, for the purpose of cultivation; but they have greatly diminished since their arrival, numbers clandestinely leaving it, finding that the assurances held out to them by the Haytian government were only made for the purpose of deluding them to form a settlement. It is a low and swampy situation, and not likely to be an eligible place for colonization, as fevers and agues are exceedingly prevalent. Notwithstanding all these unfavourable consequences, Bonaparte planned a new city about the middle of the peninsula, to be called Napoleon; for this purpose, I am inclined to think that a survey was taken, but the design was finally given up. The bay of Sumana is very capacious, and affords a most delightful anchorage for shipping; and it may be justly denominated the key to the Mona Passage, as all ships passing from the north through the passage must be perceived by the vessels at anchor in the bay.

There is nothing remarkable in the south-east end of the island from the city of Santo Domingo to Higuey, with the exception of the extensive plains of Los Llanos, through which the traveller passes to Scibo, and thence to Higuey. These plains have been well described by Mr. Walton in his history of the Spanish colonies, and at the period of his residence in the island, they were without doubt the most delightful pastures in the western world. That writer says, “these astonishing plains constitute almost a sixth of the island, extending nearly to the east end, a distance of more than ninety miles, on a width of about thirty. On them cattle of more than a hundred owners pasture in herds, and are collected, counted, and the young branded at the season when the calf cannot mistake its mother. The dexterity with which the herdsman on horseback with a lance in his hand separates one of his master’s brand from the rest, is wonderful. In the dry season when the blade is long and rank, it is customary to burn all the grass on the plains, which serves as an annual manure; for in that season the cattle generally take to the forests in search of the herbage which the sun has not had the power to parch. The operation of burning is performed by setting fire to the most eastern part of the tract, whence the wind regularly blows; it spreads in long and succeeding volumes, frequently making the traveller recede, and effacing the path through which he has been accustomed to journey.” Subsequently to the repossession of the eastern part by the Spaniards on the expulsion of the French by General Carmichael, a very extensive trade in cattle was carried on with the island of Jamaica, which continued until the union with the west, when the intercourse was restricted, and, consequently, the breeding of cattle has not been so much attended to as formerly, as they have only their internal consumption to take them off. Many are now killed for the skin and tallow; when the meat is jerked, and the Spaniards from the continent of South America purchase it and ship it to the Havanna, where it is in great request for the slaves, and is called Tassaja.

The town of Higuey was once of some note from the riches and magnificence of its church, which it appears escaped the ravages of the revolution, and was not visited by those sacrilegious wretches, who devoted all edifices to destruction that had once been the resort of the white inhabitants of the island. The people formerly used to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin in this church from all parts of the island; but a few only now undertake it. The Virgin therefore has become poor, and the monks who used to officiate are reduced to great shifts for an existence. I know not if this be a mark of improvement in the Haytians; at all events, there seems to be less superstition and bigotry: a little, however, is still left amongst the females. I knew one instance of a female at Port au Prince who undertook a pilgrimage to the shrine of the virgin. She went by water to the city of Santo Domingo; and on her voyage thither was in great danger of being lost; but far from being alarmed, she considered it as part of the penance she had to perform before she invoked the saint for a remission of her sins, and therefore exulted at her good luck in meeting with such a disaster on her way.

The city of Santo Domingo, being, I believe, the oldest city in the republic, has been described by Walton as having been exceedingly strong, regularly built, and well fortified, and as containing many public edifices of note. Having since his time gone greatly into decay, it has declined in consequence, as well as in its commercial character; and it is remarkable, that in every place in which Haytian influence predominates, commercial enterprise, and every other good quality appertaining to man, is sure to sink to the lowest ebb. This may appear extraordinary, but it is true, and the city of Santo Domingo is an example of what I now write; for at this moment it certainly is in a state of inconceivable misery, and the greatest poverty and wretchedness prevail amongst the people. No place in the republic is better situated for commerce, were the people and the government disposed to encourage it; but no such disposition is manifested by either: and those merchants, who formerly had extensive dealings with the Spanish Main, have thought it adviseable to leave it and take up their abode in a country where they are likely to receive some encouragement, and may be able to invest their capital, with some chance of receiving an equivalent return for their industry.

The city is nearly a mile in circumference, and at this time does not contain above fourteen thousand inhabitants, although in the time of the Spaniards, including its attached district, it contained twenty-two thousand, and yet the population is said by the government to have increased exceedingly.

The harbour of Santo Domingo is a very indifferent one, being too much exposed to the south winds, but the ground is good for holding. It was in this harbour that Admiral Sir John Duckworth defeated a French squadron in the beginning of 1806. They were at anchor nearly under the walls of the city, from the batteries of which they received some protection; but the British were not to be intimidated. Putting every obstacle at defiance, they boldly entered, attacked the French line in succession, and obtained a decisive victory, taking and destroying the greatest part.

The river Ozama, which washes the eastern side of the city, is a strong and wide stream, and is of great advantage to it, as it not only carries off a great deal of the decayed animal and vegetable matter that is at times to be found in the vicinity, but offers great facilities for floating down timber and for carrying provisions and produce from the interior of the country.

To the westward of the city of Santo Domingo as far as Jacmel, the whole country is very little inhabited, although it is most beautifully picturesque, and affords every encouragement to the cultivator from the extreme richness of its soil. The bay of Ocoa has several convenient anchorages for shipping, and it is here that the largest quantity of mahogany and dye-woods is shipped for Europe and the United States; and formerly cattle were purchased, of which the supply was extensive and the prices exceedingly cheap. The Neyva, a river which has its source in the mountains of Cibao, and runs through a very rich and delightfully romantic district, emptying itself into a bay of the same name, receives vessels of small draught of water, for the purpose of conveying the products of the country on its banks to Jacmel for a market. In the neighbourhood of the banks of the Neyva are many remains of sugar settlements. This district is well watered, and occasionally shaded from the power of the sun; and as the soil is strong, it must have been highly productive in sugar as well as congenial for the breeding of cattle: nothing can exceed its verdure, and its fertility is generally admitted. The palmetto, or mountain-cabbage, grows in this district in a most flourishing state, demonstrating the richness of the soil, as this vegetable will not arrive at very high perfection except in tracts of country where the soil possesses great nutritive powers as well as a moderate degree of moisture.

From the Neyva to the west of the peninsula at Cape Tiburon the only places now of any trade or of the least note, are Jacmel and Aux Cayes. Jacmel was formerly a place of great trade from its situation, being so immediately convenient for carrying on an intercourse with the Spanish ports of the island, and likewise with the Spanish ports in South America; it had also a communication with Jamaica, which was valuable to it, but the restriction annihilated this branch of its commerce; and as the intercourse with South America subsided when the revolution in that country commenced, it lost its commerce altogether, and it is now a poor inconsiderable place, without trade, and without inhabitants of any respectability or means. The vicinity of Jacmel was never much celebrated for the extent of its cultivation, though in proportion to its means the returns to the cultivator seemed to meet his expectations. Sugar and coffee were the principal articles of growth; some cotton and a small proportion of indigo were also produced. Scarcely any thing is now produced except coffee, and but little of that commodity. The intermediate places to Aux Cayes are now nearly neglected, Aquin being the only one now frequented; and there are only a few inhabitants, such as fishermen, who carry on a kind of contraband trade in coffee to avoid the export duty, which can be done in these quarters easily enough, the officers of the customs being so ill paid by the government, that they are necessitated to make up the deficiency by participating in the profit of defrauding the revenue over which they are placed as guardians.

Aux Cayes is a place of some trade and a port from which is shipped a large portion of the produce of this part of the country. In the neighbourhood of Aux Cayes the soil is exceedingly productive, and to the cultivator used to return as much as any other part of the island, requiring at the same time less labour and less means; but now, however, like its adjoining districts, it has gone into great neglect, and exhibits on the face of it that relaxation in the culture which is so general throughout the republic. Indeed in the whole of this part the sugar cane is but little planted; in fact, with the exception of an instance or two in which English gentlemen happen to hold property in trust, the cane plantations are but little attended to; they are allowed to go on years in succession without cleaning, without manure, or any other requisite to render them productive. There are several British houses in Aux Cayes who used to carry on an extensive trade with the interior, and with the Spanish Main and Jamaica, but they have sustained considerable losses by the Haytians; and the restriction precluding an intercourse with other islands, they have only the chance of adventuring to the South American ports, and this only has been permitted recently by an act of the legislative body; for of late years goods exported received no drawback, but were subjected to the full duties, unless they were exported within six months, when they only paid half duties, or six per cent. But even this permission cannot benefit the merchant here, the trade direct to the Spanish Main supplying that market so abundantly, that the chance of an advantageous speculation is but very doubtful.

The whole of this vicinity and the district southward of the mountains of La Hotte, may be said to present the finest field for agricultural operations. A rich and nutritive soil, a congenial climate, and fine, refreshing, and seasonable rains, with a plentiful supply of water, all cooperating, hold out to the cultivator the greatest encouragement to exert his skill and industry, and to avail himself of those gifts which the hand of Providence has so liberally dispensed. But in the Haytian no such energy must be expected; nothing requiring the least effort of the mind or exertion of the body will rouse the energy of that slothful and inactive being, who idles away his time, careless of the consequences that may spring from his negligence and his irresistible desire for repose and quietude. In fact, I fear that nothing can be done that can prove effectual in stimulating the Haytian; it would be a task of no little labour to lead him; to drive him, would perhaps endanger the state.

From Aux Cayes through the country by Cape Tiburon to Jeremie, cultivation appears generally in a very backward state. The passing traveller sees nothing to attract him, except now and then an object which reminds him that the vicinity was once the scene of great havoc and desolation, and that all that was valuable and useful had been destroyed by some general convulsion. The remains of habitations, remnants of walls, and scattered implements of tropical labour, are to be seen in all directions. Here an iron boiler, half buried in the surface; there an old iron shaft of a mill, or some other part of the apparatus for the manufacture of sugar, and often a dismounted cannon, arrest the attention of the traveller as the wretched memorials of a devastating war.

In the district of Jeremie, which produced at one period large crops of coffee, cocoa, indigo, and cotton, but few symptoms of agricultural industry are visible. The finest plantations of the French are now totally obscured and overspread with the creeper, the windband, and numberless other species of indigenous weeds. In vain does the traveller look for those settlements which wore the gay appearance of culture, and for those plantations that enriched the proprietors, and placed them in that ease and affluence to which their industry and their perseverance so justly entitled them. Instead of such a scene, the whole country, as we approach towards the capital, exhibits nothing but neglect and waste, and their concomitants, poverty and wretchedness.

The plains Leogane, which once excited the admiration of travellers, and formed the scene of so much contention during the heat of the rebellion, are partially cultivated, and on the elevations that surround them a patch is in some places selected by a settler for the raising of vegetables for his own consumption; but I could perceive nothing which indicated a regular scene of cultivation, or which had the appearance of a system of agriculture likely to be beneficial to the proprietor of the soil. This state of things appears however not confined to a particular district; there is a similarity of negligence throughout the whole of the republic, and it would be an invidious distinction to select one part as worse than another.

Nothing can be more laborious, nor more inconvenient and unpleasant, than travelling in Hayti, from the state of the roads, from the want of inns for accommodation, and from the innumerable rivers and streams over which the traveller has to pass, and which, at all seasons, he is obliged to ford, often swimming his horse, and exposed to great danger from the rapidity and force of the current (to say nothing of being nearly up to his shoulders in water). There are no bridges in the island; the Haytians being all good swimmers, and much addicted to ablutions, deem them unnecessary. In the time of the French, the roads through the whole of their division were admirable; indeed they were admitted to be the best in the West Indies; the materials being adjacent to them, and the expense of putting them on the required parts so very trifling, they were always kept in the most perfect order, and carriages of all descriptions could pass with the same facility as in any country in Europe, from one extremity of the colony to the other. The accommodations for strangers too were of the first order, and no inconvenience was experienced for the want of those comforts so requisite after a journey under a tropical sun. But the scene is quite changed. It is almost impossible to describe the state of the roads at this moment. It is evident that, notwithstanding the heavy contributions levied for their repair, they have remained untouched since the revolution, and there seems a disposition on the part of the government to efface every vestige of the former roads, leaving the people who travel to beat out their own way in the most easy manner they can. On approaching the capital, they are, it is true, somewhat better than in the interior. Here a little attention is bestowed upon them, whilst in other districts they are unnoticed. All the criminals sentenced to labour on the roads are employed in the vicinity of Port au Prince; and this seems to be a measure suggested from its being economical, as the criminals have an opportunity of supporting themselves by begging.

It may not be amiss to explain in this part how the criminals are treated in the republic, and to shew what nice feelings the government has with regard to their treatment during the hours of labour, and the way in which they are provided for. All criminals who are sentenced to work on the public roads for a stated time, are not chained together, but roped together by pairs, the rope being first attached to the neck, then descending to the body, where it is fastened; the ends of the ropes are joined, so as to leave the space of about three yards between the criminals thus tied together. They labour from daylight until sun-set, being allowed an interval of about an hour and a half for dinner at noon. The government pretends to provide for them; but to save the expense of provisions, two of these criminals, accompanied by two soldiers with their bayonets fixed, are permitted to go about to beg provisions for the subsistence of the whole, and unless they chance to be very successful, they get but a very poor allowance, and often are left to fast until the next day. They are in gangs of about fifteen or twenty, and over every gang nearly as many soldiers, and an officer, all armed, are placed to force them to labour. At night they are incarcerated in the gaol, and their bed is composed simply of boards without any covering; they are allowed no supper. Admitting their criminality to be great, and their punishment just, still such a system has a degree of barbarity in it which can never prevail except among savage nations. What! convicted felons sentenced to hard labour, and directed to beg for their subsistence at the point of the bayonet! It seems incredible. The thing is too revolting to be admitted, many will say; but I declare it to be a fact, and call upon the people of Hayti to contradict it if they can. It is the labour of these criminals which alone renders the roads approaching the city somewhat passable.

From Jacmel to the capital, the road is in the worst state, and it is evident that it has not undergone any repair since the revolution. It is almost impassable in places, and never receives the least attention from one end of the year to the other. If the roads were in a condition to offer the least encouragement to travellers, I cannot imagine a more romantic nor a more enchanting ride. Ascending the lofty mountain of Tavite, the scenery is beautiful. To the southward is seen the Carribean sea, with Jacmel and its plain immediately below; on the other side may be viewed the island of Gonaives, the bay of Port au Prince, with the town of Leogane and its extensive plains. In every direction also are to be seen small cordilleras intersecting, between which are valleys whose verdure is perennial, and having natural pastures of the most luxuriant growth, which are seldom visited by the husbandman, and remain untouched by beast.

From the capital to the extremity of the western peninsula and Aux Cayes, the roads are very bad. To the latter place a chaise may penetrate by way of Leogane, Petit Goane, Morogane, and Aquin; few persons however who are accustomed to travel between the two places would venture to drive, but would rather ride, as the safest mode of travelling. Going to the north from Port au Prince, the old road remains, but in such a state as to be in places almost impassable. When the country was in cultivation, and these roads were in their finest order, a tour through the northern departments of the country must have afforded the traveller much gratification.

From Gonaives to Cape Haytien, the road is somewhat more easy for travellers, and in fact, throughout the whole of Christophe’s country, they are infinitely better than in the south, for he attended to their repairs, and saw that they were kept in good condition. The Escalier, about half way between the two places, deserves the notice of strangers, and perhaps is the most extraordinary road in the western world, with the exception of some that are to be met with in Columbia and in Mexico. No name could be more appropriate, for it certainly has the appearance of a staircase. This road ascends very high, and the precipices on its side are enough to intimidate the boldest rider who attempts to ascend or descend it.

Through the whole of the republic I believe there is not a decent inn for the accommodation of travellers; at all events, I never had the good fortune to find one, nor did I hear of one in any direction. There are huts on the road side, into which those who are travelling sometimes go to obtain lodging for the night; but even in these, a bed would not be easily found, and instead of a pallet, some boards thrown on the floor must suffice to repose on. On the summit of the mountains of Tavite, there is a hut of this description, and on passing that road on one occasion I was benighted, and took up my abode there until morning. A bed I was unable to obtain, there being only one in the house, and that was taken up by a Frenchman who had arrived a little before me. Mine hostess of the mountain, however, being a good-natured sable creature, was kind enough to prepare a place on which I might recline during my stay. Whilst she was engaged in adjusting my apartment, I thought it a measure of necessity to prepare myself for it by a copious libation of brandy, as a somniferous cordial; a great requisite in these Haytian inns, as one is sometimes rather disturbed by an insect that is very common in them, and of which it is not an easy matter for a man to disencumber himself, as they evince an extraordinary pertinacity in adhering to the body, and excite a sensation not at all calculated to invite sleep. Having fortified myself against the offensive operations of my dreaded enemy, I prepared to enter my apartment, but this was attended with some difficulty, its dimensions being only sufficient for a dwarf, and not calculated for a person somewhat beyond the middle size. I was obliged therefore to resort to the plan usually adopted on board of small vessels, by putting my head in first, and then by degrees to get in my body and legs; and this place about four feet square, on boards covered with my cloak, being one of those apartments of the inn usually appropriated for strangers, became my lodging for the night. To sleep was impossible, for the bugs, rats, and croaking lizards, haunted me the whole night, and I rose again before daylight just as fatigued as when I arrived the evening before, and with the additional knowledge of having a dollar to pay for my bed. The houses of the negroes in the British colonies are a palace compared with this inn for travellers; and yet this is one of the most frequented places in the republic.

In most parts of the West Indies there are public places to which people frequently resort for amusement on holidays, but there is no such thing in Hayti, except when parties occasionally go from Port au Prince to the lakes of the Cul de Sac, but even this is attended with great inconvenience, there being no places for the reception of travellers; and persons are therefore obliged to seek and beg temporary accommodations of the people in their vicinity, from whom at times you do not receive much civility, and they exact enormously for every thing you purchase. Were there any place fit for the reception of people, a tour to the lakes is worth undertaking, though the roads to them, like all the rest, are execrable. The largest of these lakes is named La Laguna de Henriquillo, and is about fifty miles in circumference, situate to the eastward of the old line of demarcation, and about thirty miles from the sea at the mouth of the Rio de Pedernales. Its water is salt, and although at this distance from the coast, there is the same motion in its waters as in the neighbouring ocean. The country on its banks is exceedingly attractive and highly picturesque, and exhibits a scene of natural fertility and beauty scarcely to be equalled in any other part of the Antilles. The game peculiar to the country is very abundant in this district, and the inhabitants who reside near the lakes subsist solely upon it and the fish which they can obtain in great abundance.

The smaller lake, called Etang du Cul de Sac, contains fresh water, and the fish in it are very numerous. The soil in the vicinity of these lakes is the deepest and richest mould, and not having for years been disturbed for tillage, has become highly nutritive, from the animal and vegetable matter which decays annually upon its surface.

The value of land throughout the republic is greatly deteriorated, from the impossibility of making a money value from it within any moderate time. Labour being so high, and the difficulty of finding labourers for cultivation so very great, that the lands in the possession of the government lie in an untilled state, without any person evincing the slightest disposition to purchase them. Land also in the possession of individuals is similarly circumstanced; and those who are large proprietors cannot effect a sale of any produce which they may have beyond the quantity which they can consume; consequently a proprietor may have an immense extent of land, and yet be quite unable to derive any benefit from it by cultivation, or to convert it into money, for the want of purchasers. Thus, as I have before stated, there is no individual wealth in the country, because, although a man may have very large landed possessions, still those possessions are unavailable, for they produce him nothing, as he can seldom find persons disposed either to occupy or purchase them. There are some instances of proprietors leasing their lands to persons who undertake to cultivate them, for which they receive about one-third of the produce; but this is far from being general, and I imagine can only be accomplished by military men who have the command of troops, and who are thereby enabled to till them by working parties daily sent out for that purpose.

The finest land in the republic would not sell for more than sixty dollars per acre, although contiguous to a port for shipping, and of a quality so strong and nutritive, as to be capable of growing any of the tropical productions. The mountain-lands, and the lighter descriptions in the plains, suitable for cocoa and cotton, can be obtained for a price varying between twenty and thirty dollars in any quantity from ten to five hundred acres. In the plains of the Artibanite, where the soil is exceedingly rich and fertilized by the overflowings of that river in the months of May and November, and which has been yearly improving its condition, from having been upwards of thirty years out of cultivation, I have known small plots of land, for horticultural purposes, sold for forty dollars per acre. In those districts where indigo and cotton were formerly most generally planted, for the growth of which the soil is suitable, the situation peculiarly adapted, and the climate and seasons congenial, the price of land seldom exceeds thirty dollars per acre. I know an instance of a sale of land, once an old cotton plantation, which only brought twenty dollars per acre for one part, and about twelve for another.

In the northern department, about Limonde and La Grande RiviÈre, land is exceedingly low, and notwithstanding its high repute for all the purposes of cultivation, it seldom exceeds forty or forty-five dollars per acre, and even at those prices it is difficult to find purchasers, except for mere plots to be occupied in raising vegetables. The finest pasture-lands, having all the advantages of shade and water, and in all the luxuriance of vegetation, can scarcely find purchasers, and will not bring above forty dollars per acre. With respect to lands on the coast they are generally in waste, unless they happen to be immediately in the vicinity of a town, when some of them are occupied as small settlements for vegetables and for raising poultry for the markets: but there are no extensive plantations of sugar or coffee situate very near the sea, although formerly the whole coast was in cultivation as far as it was practicable to extend it.

In the plains of Cul de Sac, in the neighbourhood of La Croix des Bouquets, the land is a little occupied, but in possession of individuals who have held it since the distribution in the time of Toussaint and Dessalines; and although in this part of the country the soil is exceedingly deep and strong, land hardly finds purchasers. Land again in the mountains varies in price according to its situation. In those valleys surrounded by the cordilleras that are so numerous in the country, and in which the verdure is constant, which are finely watered, and have a delightful temperature through the year, the land sometimes brings fifty dollars per acre, whilst tracts exposed to the north and north-easterly winds, and having rapid descents, are seldom worth purchasing, and few people buy them; they are generally given by the government to superannuated soldiers, who are allowed to leave the army and turn cultivators. Land in the towns and cities is sold at moderate prices, much lower than might be imagined. A lot, containing a frontage of sixty feet, with a depth of forty or fifty feet, eligibly situate for the purposes of trade, may be bought in Port au Prince for about two hundred dollars. This may seem surprising to persons unacquainted with the country, and who have been led to believe that Hayti is in a most flourishing state; but it is true, and at once shews that poverty is generally prevalent, and that there is no security for property in whatever commodity it may be vested. Houses and land are a very insecure tenure under such a government as that which at present exists in Hayti, and whilst such a constitution endures, and such inefficient persons are permitted to command, but little improvement can be expected, and the value of property, instead of increasing, will certainly decline.