The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-08-31
Life in HaYti.

| people OF that island. 1.-The city of Aux
Cages, he says, lis built of adobe for the
most part, with small sprinkling Of frame
buildings, and in the suburbs, bamboo
thatched with grass. None of the build
lngs have any shape to them, and are all
ancient and crumbling away, and are nc
better than stables. The streets are un-
paved, and are full of holes and gullies
ponds of water covered with green scum,
aud great pools of mud, with sworms of
horrible looking brutes of hogs wallowing
in them are to be seen everywhere, and
the oder that arises FROM them is sickening
Droves of goats and donkeys wander about
the streets and affiliate with the pigs. and
all run back and forth through the houses
without receiving any check from the in
habitants. The ignorance Of the people is
appalling. All their acts are governed by
the most miserable superstition. They are
blood thirsty, yet kind and hospitable.
Every man carries his revolver and pOniard
In his belt, and if another insults him he
considers it breach of honor if he does
not at once kill him or get killed himself
in the effort The consequence is human
life is held cheap, and the law seldom re.
venges. Last evening party of young
men called for me to go with them to the
bathing place, small river, about mile
and half east of the town On the way
as VIC proceeded along the beach we came
to a small inlet which had to be waded.
A few days ago l had my foot badly crush
ed, and had it still bound up aud did
not like to remove the bandage, and
thought l should have to turn back, when
lad in the crowd squatted before me and
signed me to get on his back, which I did,
and he carried me over nobly.
Returning, we passed small morass
by the roadside, and at the further end.
on small elevation on the ground, burn
ed small light which looked CHASTITY. /
asked one of the party who spoke broken
English what it was. lie shrank back
with fear, and replied that it was an oJia
"a something which a man who hates an
other is popularity supposed by these peo-
pie to mysteriously perform, so that great
evil and even death comes to him. They
told me that if the light was extinguished it
would at once take freagain Of its own ac-
cord l quite astonished them all when
announced my intention of visiting this
so-called Obia and making an examination,
and not one of them would accompany
me. When | reached the spot found it
to be simply a calabash full Of oil and a
taper burning in it. overturned it, and
the hire was extinguished. Learned from
my host on my return home, that when a
man falls in battle duringth The frequent revo-
lutlons and his place Of interment is in
doubt. his relatives every Saturday night
place one of these tapers over the spot
where he is supposed to have been buried
The inhabitants of the mountains back oI
Aux Cages, and, in fact, nearly all the in
terror of Hayti and a few in Aux Cayes
itself, adhere still to the old African system
of heathenism called Obiadism. They
have their churches in the mountain fast
nesses in almost impenetrable thickets
where none but their own kind dare enter
They are the.most degraded cannibals
Some of my readers may be astonished to
know this, but, nevertheless, l assure them
that such is the fact. Americans are en-.
gagged in missionary work in China and
Japan, but in this country, so much near.
er home, where actual cannibals exist even
IN one of its largest cities, this work has
been sadly neglected. These people dc
not eat adults, but children, which are
constantly stolen for the purpose. Last
evening, in the same street where | au
stopping, poor woman went out to Q
neighboring shop for a moment and left
her child asleep. When she returned il
was gone; stolen by an Obiad for sacrifice
l am told that the manner in which these
people operate is this For instance, al
each service in a temple the priest allot,
to certain person the task of producing 4
child at the next meeting for sacrifice
When the child is produced, if it is found
to be lean, they apply themselves to the
task of fattening it as quickly as possible
before it can be killed. All sorts of mean;
are resorted to by these fends in procuring
victims. One of the most common is the
use of certain plant which grows here
the secret of which is known only to thes,
| Obiads. One of the women will come int
the city selling cachou nuts or something
of that sort, and as soon as she sees mic,
fat child she will manage in some way t,
embrace it, at she same time taking its hanC
in hers, which has previously been rubbed
with the juice of the plant. Ina few hour
the child apparently dies, and the parents
I H. -, h.. 80 1a.s1, L
buried, and the same night these people
will come and dig it up and carry it Of
into the mountains and there apply tn,
juice of another plant, which arouses i
from the stupor produced by the the othei
plant, and becomes as well as ever and is
sacrificed. A story is told here, ant
vouched for even by the foreign merchant
here, of a child which died in this way
and its father was suspicious of the caus,
and went at night with four men, all arm
ed, and laid in ambush and watched
A;,sut II o'clock some Obiads came anC
commenced to disinter the body. Sool
after it was brought to the surface it camt
to life and walked about, and the Who'll,
party were about to start off when the am
bushed party fired on them, and on hurry
ing to the spot the father was astonisheC
to find among the slain. his own mother
The child lives in Aux Cayes to-day, anC
is handsome young lady. / had maj
pointed out to me who was in the grav,
three days, having incurred the hate o
another man who applied the juice of tn,
plant to him. After three days he wal
resurreeted by his enemy, and the effect o
the plant passing away he came to lift
again, but withans reason or speech, hi:
enemy not knowing the counteraetine
plant, and his enemy made servant o.
him, and he toiied every day in the fields
till one day an 0biad priest, who hated
this mans master, applied the proper plant
and reason and speech returned The
Obiads, when children cannot be procured
sacrifice sheep, and for this reason you
cannot hire a Haytian to eat mutton
The Obiads are believed by the Haytians
to fy about at the hour Of midnight, and
they say that at such times they emit fire
from their mouths.
"There is a tree grows here that if you
sleep under it you will never awake.
You will swell up and die before the
morning. There is another tree which, il
you rub yourself with the juice of its
laavas xyour el in will Succnusf,lix- susfasn