The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-09-11

Wsunib.lssns opemiy Prnesseee s'
Hayss ~ serpe~s-w ershiPpeFs'


a
fFrom, he New YoFs woridi
came r,nnshs avo an Epgiishmsn OF rank
90 fe,tnne. after thoroughly expioriag the
xve.s rndIes and visiting parts OF tnc
s.s.,.h MAIN in his yacht. came 70 inis
ra.rsrs an his Wsy home. While acre nc
.s.ssss,ied eertaln ealFies 10 the vessels log
80 certsln passages In his " dissy 10 tDe
(nsr,eetlcn OF American friends, who earnest.
A. AN Iscd him to pursue the bints tnerein
.sison With an eye TO concentrating puOnc
sstentisn on the progressive reispse INFO
asrAarism OF society In the vast a0d Desuu,
ful and once spsendidly. productive isIano
of Hayti. This advice be seems 70 nav
taken, Tor we ind In Vdntty Eou :.
August rs the following resume Oh MS paul
fnl but very important obseryatious;
The religion OF Haytlis ostensioiy homs"
h Am Archbishop. o u Bishops
srd neariv one hundred priests are esIn-
sIshed IN The country, but they are LeS"y
nowerless In tbe face OF a secret fehsfO"
called youden, or serpent-worship.
THE professors Of Voudou, who pave lue
serneni.bouse in each village o las may
saiso ne seen on the west coast OF Ai'es,
crtcinalIy came from the Congo coast, anu
were OF the tribe called M~andingofs, cefe.
brated for their skill as sorcerefs anu 49,
poisoners, add for being rpentwolsn.p
pers, chld.shyers, and canniDals' thsy y.
pear to hare brought their arts WIN W.
from Africa, bat while hayu was ,toa
French rule they were oDhgeo 70 pi'
them in secret. 40 The
power Of Z" youdouD that Haytt was iost 20
The French. Many OF the presidents nave
heIonoed 10 it: the present President elthsi
cannot ar viii not suppress II, ana ~
Ho1,rishes openly. II would be improper
Gar me ~ give ND my authorities. ltlssul-
ScIent 10 say that they are OF the hignesl,
and that the facts are i~BdisputaDie, pelug
vonched for 10 me by eye-witnesses' Out
~ over zoo. 600 inhabitants OF Hayu tnere
are only 20, 200 who do not openly De'oDs
to "VOudou."
THE priests Of this religion have got sDso.
lnte mower. owing TO their knowledge OF
notwithstanding and OF the antidotes. Owlhg
10 this knowledge, which nothing VIII IN
duce them TO diVulge, they can poison
either slowly or quickly, painfully OF Tue
reverse, and can procure o death-like sieeP.
They are consequently resOrted TO by people
who wish TO get rid Of others either Tor
gain, from jealousy. or the IKE.
The secret poisoning Is carried on 70 an
enormous extent. II goes on, lnueeu'
under the name OF "06l" Wherever ne
groes are found. la Hayti, While the
French had the island, II was stormy re-
pr~essed-morc 80 than either IN Jamaica OF
Cuha-but since then 1t has increased to
such an extent that q suppressed terror pre-
walls among all classes in Hayti. .
The gteit feests OF "Noudou" are al
Christmas. at Whltsuutide, and at Easter.
The drum Is beaten at midnight and the
neonIe assemble. The ceremony COM
mences by the most terrible osths OF secrecy
Then dancing begins, and the excitement Is
kent M by eopiOus libations oiirum TIL one
or more of the performers fall down In INT,
when the spirit OF "Voudou" is supposed
10 have entered into them. These orgies
last generally three nights, and sometimes
longer. On the first night a cock Is offered
M al the altar, and Its blood is drunk warm.
on the second night a goat Is treated IN the
zane way. But on the third night children
are brought In their thrOa's are cut by the
priests their blood 10 handed and
drunk warm, and their bodies are then cut
up and eaten.
Before the sacrifice takes place the priest
orders as many children as be requires:
They must be OF pure African descent, ana
not over ten years OF age. These ehiidren
are invariably forthcoming, either by being
XOiU0ltTlN Rlltu up VI OOtoihC0 W pNfHc
stolen by women who make a profession OF
II. They are expert at their trade. Enter
ing a house at night, naked and oiled, they
steal the child, and by administering a mar
cotic poison render il insensible. IL is then
conveyed to secret place till required for
the sacrifice, when an antidote brings 1t TO;
then ks throat is cut. Children are often
voluntarily given up by their mothers for.
the sacrifice. .
La order 10 be Initiated into "Voudou !"
Il Is necessary TO have killed some human
beings child is preferred.
.NAnother horrible custom in Hayti is the
devouring OF corpses.
so strong is the taste for human flesh that
midwives have been known to deYour the
children they have Just brought into the
world. The parts preferred are the
knuckles and hands. Lest 1t should be i'm
agined that these are not facts ! will give
one or two instances.
In Mar. 1879, two women were caught
eating a female child. 1t was proved that
the child had been first drugged and rem
dered in~sensible. The parents, supposing
il to be dead, buried 1t. These women
Immediately .disinterred It, restored 1t to its
senses by %antidotes, and then inserted reeds
through its side and sucked the blood from
the heart. This happened at Port aG
Prince.
a Hsytiau OF good position was also
caught with DIS tamily eating a small boy.
Another was found tied TO a tree close by.
The man was pointed out to me.
These offences were punished-i0 one
case by a months, In the other by six
weeks, imprisonment, the fear Of VoHaou
not allowing 4 greater punishment.
In January, 1881, eight people were 6neG
Tor disinterring and eating corpses.
In the same month the neck and shoulders
OF q man were exposed for sale in the
market at Port au PriBce, and were pur'
chased and Identified By an English medica
snan.
In February, 1851, atst Marks, q caS& OF
so-ealled :" pork" was sold 10 a ship. liz II
were discovered the fingers and tnger-nGsls
OF a human being. This -''spork" was NJ
identified as human flesh.
A Haytian assured me that the kidneys %
a child were 1rst-rate eating. On my ask
ing how he knew, he informed me that be
bad eaten them. He DID not seem to think
IL strange or at all out a. the lwey.
at Cape Hayden a c3lored clergyman Of
the Church OF England complained that Q
"YoudOu" neutralizedAi the good he was
doing, and declared lin be thed human
flesh offered him for sale that his wife
nearly bought IT, believing bst itEas pork,
Ia February, 1881, four people were hned
for ~deyouring corpses.
At Jacmei Two cOrps6s we're tecenily
disinterred and partly eaten. Two men
were imprisoned for this, not being ale 10
pay the tine. A maa caught eH1ng'a child
was arrested the day OF my arrival. AT
Christmas time 1890 people assembled at
"a. aexa ~ . - - nRfacfCEg
ard earFied an Voudost rllao s,x pCOC0g QiQEo