Omaha daily bee., 1888-12-19
AFFAIRS AT HAYTI.
Lcgitime Losing the Confidence OF the
Pcople-Thc Haytien Republic.


New YoRK, Dec. 1.-THE steamer Sagi-
nav arrived to-day from Hayti, and it is
learned that the steamer Haytien Republic
was still in the harbor of Port au-P Prince
when the Saginaw sailed. Passengers by
the Saginaw state that on the morning of
the 9TH five of Legitime's men-of-war, the
Dessalines, Belize, Toussaint, L'Overture
and one other, bombarded Cape Hayti. The
foreign cousuls in the city, before the be
ginning of the bombardment, sent out a petit
ton TO the commander of the fleet asking
time to get out of the city.
They were given thirty-six hours to evacu-
ate the town. The people fled into the hills,
taking all the possessions they could conven-
iently carry, the supply of pack mules being
limited to fifty or sixty. The animals were
in great demand, and fabulous prices were
paid to convey a single mule load to places of
safety.
Shortly after daybreak on the second day
after the arrival of the fleet the Haytlan
officers trained their guns on the
town and the COMMANDMENT commenced.
In a few minutes the shot began to tear
through the town, demoralizirg the frall
structures. The bampoo huts succumbed
easily, but the stone buildings in the central
and more elevated portion of the town were
not so easily destroyed, the heavy walls
resisting the fire for several hours. Despite
the warning they had received to leave the
fated town, many residents chung to their
habltations. In fact, it was
impossible to remove the sick
in the city within the time allowed.
On the top of all of the houses in which sick
persons were known to be white flags were
placed, but shot and shell were no respecters
of the appealing emblems.
None of the people who arrived to-day
could estimate with any degree of accuracy
the number of killed, but it was thought
that fifteen or twenty ut least succumbed to
the deadly fire. Legitime is by degrees los
ing the confidence of the people, and most
all the sympathy is with the north.
The agents in New York of the steam
ship Haytien republic are much
surprised at the report that their vessel will
sail from Hayti in charge of an American
the Atlas line ship Galena, to be delivered at
an American port subject to the disposal of
this government. Mr.. Austin, one of the
agents, says: 81 don't see what either Hayti
or the Atlas people gain by this, and | doubt
very much whether they can bring the
no fuel, nor anything else on board, and
must be in a bad condition"
The steamer Hayden Republic will leave
P~ort-au-Prince tomorrow morning, flying
the American flag, manned by an
American crew and bound for New
York. Charles w. Brooks, counsel for
the Atlas Steamship company, said: "The
crew which was sent to Haytl to accomplish
this result was forwarded with the full
knowledge, consent and connivance of MIN
lister Preston and General Contreras, nor
has there been any unnecessary conceal
ment in this matter so far as my clients are
concerned. And had the United States naval
authorities been possessed of a full acqualnt-
ance with the maritime laws concerning the
shipment of crews to foreign ports, they
would not have found it necessary to drag
the Galena out of the mud.n