New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-22
A SCARE At PORT-A U-PRINCE.
CAPTAIN COMPTON, OF THE JACMEL, TRIES
TO SCARE The PEOPLE.
HE THREATENS TO BOMBARD THE TOWN. BoI
HIS THREATS WERE FINALLY UNHEEDED
RTNORS OF A Rig FIGHT.

-RUMoRS OF A BIG FIGHT
Port-au-Prince. Aug. CSpecal.-Ihe last hVe
DAYS have been full of excitement and more mas
been done during that time to bring this cohho
war to a close than in the six weeks gone oelore'
Last Friday night the Menhaden Doat' ho"
called the Jacmel and constituting the more
powerful half Of HyppOlites navy, uhoer con-
mand Of Captain Compton, formerly "i '!,a
Haytien Republic, came into Portau-frincc' ~
was after midnight, and fairly dark anu sue
showed no lights She steamed Slowly pds1 Cle
stern of the English gunbOat Forward, anu ainloSV
threw the men off into a fit by formally All
nouncing that she was going TO sink the DcSSanhes
and lombard the town. Then Captain Compton
came alongside the KearSarge asked what snip IL
,1.,s o,d x,os told that il WAS Admiral Gherardi's
aocebin The officer on the deck, Lieutenant
Covles and a number of the other officers, were
hanging Oh the poop-rail by that time waiting III
suspense TO find out the motive OF TINS funny
hnsiness, Captain Compton in hoarse, maudhn
yoice' again announced that he was
ooinc TO sink the Dessalsnes ana
lombard the town. Lieutenant Oo"leS
then remarked: Oh, go away; don't come around
| disturbing people at this time OF nghL he
! muttered a reply, :" l amt disturbing nopouy'
| Nust be in favor of Legitimc; and then IN
| commanding tone he gave the order llard aport'
stand by your battery" at which there was
scuttling noise, as if the most OF his men had
fed below. lie kept on at slow speed, the helm
hard aport. and made two turns between the
Keorsarge and the Forward, and then steamed out
in the direction of st. Marc.
The ca aotain Of the Forward was alongside Of
! the Kearsarge almost as soon as Compton, TO con-
sult the Admiral. His idea was that such a
| ha
such schemes, but the Admiral Gained HIM with
the Information that the captain of the Jacmel
was a good bit of a buffer. and at the present
| moment had large red white and blue jag on.
| The news of the JacmerS visit caused great eX-
| cltement on shore, and the Spanish
| Consul. the French Minister and the
English Consul-General met. leaving ont
the United States Minister, and decided
that the Jacmel should be prevented by the
| foreign men-of-war from bombarding the town,
| having persuaded themselves that such action
was contrary TO international law They then
sent the commanders of the English and Spanish
gunboats to consult Admiral Gherardi, who showed
them at once that Hyppolite's navy had perfect
| right to lombard the town ii it chose, and the
last defence of the Spanish captain was: But,
| Admiral, on the score of humanity
At short intervals during Saturday night the
Spanish GunDOat Illuminated the ndfOOf Win nef
electric search-ght for the purpose of exposing
the Jacmel to the fire of the batteries in she
should come in; but they evidently did not believe
what the Kearsarge people told them about Cap
tain Compton, or they would not have wasted
their time. Compton had accomplished his OBJ
ject and was nursing his head up the coast, a
hero for his daring exploit
On Saturday evening the Dessalines was towed
in from Leozane by the small gunboat Grand
Riviere, her machinery evidently badly used up.
story, very much mixed up soon got abroad
of fight that had taken place between the
Carondolet of Hyppolite's navy, and the two YES
sells mentioned above, belonging to Legitime. 1t
was said that they had surrendered to the Caron
dolet, and few minutes later, while she was
| firing at the town. they made their escape, but il
! is not believed here that any fighting took place
| at all.
| Hyppolite has planted two-gun battery 1000
| yards back OF La Coup and higher up. He fires
| directed at the Legitime battery, but
with little effect; yet the people in Port
| au-Prince are much worried by it, and the moral
effect is great
The Legitmist transport Defense arrived to-
| day from Jaclnel, carrying the body of General
Dardinac, who was killed at that place yesterday
! by one OF the LegitimiSts, some OF whose people
| had been thrown into prison by him. The funeral
Will be military, and the fate Of this man, whose
| speciality was shooting prisoners him.
self TO save ammunition, may come 10
| Legitime unless he takes refuge in the Spanish
| gunbOat, which course cannot now be long de-
layed. Port-au-Prince is virtually standing alone
Aux Cages, Jacmel, JeTeme and number OF small
| places in the South have declared for Hyppo-
lite. Provisions very dear; mcab 81 in silver
per pound, and the new ISSUE of paper money will
not circulate, although the proclamation threat
ems death "a all who refuse 10 accept it,