Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-01-02

LegitIme loses Lace men In n Mar
row Defite.

New York Tribunel
News hss ut last come from the north Of
! Haytl. The movements Of HvpDohte and
his followers have been partly veed in mys-
terry OF late. and the story of bis success or
downfall lett much 10 be supposed. The
papers and letters which arrived by the
Clyde throw needed light upon the subject.
II one may Judge from the introductory
sentence Of La Pafrie. published at CO.
halves, in the middle Of December. "The
revolution marches from success to sue
cess" there is little Encouragement among
the northern soldiers. and the editorials pre-
| diet ultimate triumph On December 10Th
! General Hyppolite was inaugurated Presi-
dent Of Hayd in the lsfge cathedral Of Cape
| Haytien. The soldiers were enthusiastic
over the proclamation. and broke out into
long shouts Of Vive IISppolitel How
ever, during The celebration OF mEsa, follow
| ing the civic celebration, the Touissant,
the southern man-Ot.war, appeared in the
| harbor and taxing position, began firing
upon the town. Fort Picolet replied with a
! heavy tattery and drove the boat ont 10 sea.
| The services in the church then proceeded
| without further interruption. General Hyp-
! rotc named a. his Cabinet the following
men: +. a. FcTnin, Minister Of Finance;
/ General Potter, Minister OF the Interior;
| VI. \. williams. Minister Of Agriculture,
and ". j. Pehissier, Minister Of Public In
/ strucliOn, all OF whom took the oath OF Office.
| About the same time an unsuccessful and
! disastrous attempt was made by the forces OF
/ Legume 10 take 81. Mare. The attempt cost
| them dear. ST. Mare Is the Thermopyla of
| Hayti. Soldiers had flocked 10 It from alt
/ parts Of the island, and the garrison was
| flied with men. The town h surrounded by
/ hills, bIgb and impossible ~ cross. aud can
he entered Gully by small pass in which
only four men can walk abreast Bnt pas
sage through II, with pointed blyonGts and
! bullets ready at the other end, Isnext TO i'm
possible. IL is almost certain death, and 80
] II proved to the troops OF the Southern Presi-
dent. Thirteen hundred were either killed
or wounded ~ tue price OF the army's brave
endeayOr. The sacrifice was IN vain, and
the soldiers withdrew te the south.
The gun-boat TOuissant arrived of the
town Jean Rsbel. on the northwest coast Of
Uayti, on DeceTber 9th. la the harbOr lay
anchored the 5lglish bark Robert Iianrs.
under Captain Robert, and the French
schooner Alfred Art2min, which had inst ar.
rived from Turks Island with cargo Of
provisions. Captain Robert had occasion 10
20 ashore 20 transact some business. The
crew Of his boat lRooert llauna) be-
gan PLAYING games on deck 10 amuse
themselves until the return Of their
commander. The officers Of the TOuis-
SAINT, looking through their glasses from the
point where they had anchored in the outer
hslbor, began firing rifles In the direction Of
the Hanna. Frightened, the men sprang into
the water TO save their lives aud swan for
the shore. Seeing that the Hanna was ahan-
dOned, the Toulssant approached her, placed
prlze crew upon the little boat, and tOwcd
A.
however, to fire upon The town, which they
left, az they thought, In ashes. The French
schooner was not molested. The TOuis-
SAINT L'Overture then steamed on 10
Grande.Saline aud, entering the port
began bombardng that peaceful hamlet. She
Withdrew, however, before any material
damage bad been done, and Joined The Man
cal, the other South Haytien gunbOat, which
had been obliged to give up the siege Of the
seaport town OF GOnalYes, about siXty-6ye
miles northwest OF Port al Prince, which
she had been blockadng during the previous
week. The two vessels then sailed together
to Curdive-Parmentier, another small fishing
village near the Dominican frontier, and
completely devastated the town.
On the following morning the two men-of-
war, still acting IN concert, appeared before
Mole IT. Nicholas, one OF the most Important
places In Hayu and with undoubtedly the
best harbOr on the island. Under flag OF
truce the officers of the vessels, accompanied
by a guard OF twenty-five men, went ashore.
They were received by the authorities u
the town and half of the population with
greatdlstinctiOn under tie liberty pole which
rises in the middle OF tie public square.
The captain OF the EOulssant was the Official
bearer OF two important dlspliches from
General Legitme 10 the commander or presi.
dent OF the reimbursement Of Mole. Upon
opening and readiBg these the northerners
discovered that Legitime had, in their opin-
ion, the audaclty TO propose that they enlist
under the cOlorS aud help carry them TO vic
tory. Their general, Geulet, commandant
Of the town, was insuted by the proposal,
and in terms more forcible than polite in
formed the de'caation that he would have nos
thing TO do with Legitime, and that he did
not wish hlm ms boosted victory, lie tleD
turned his back upon them and departed.
The officers aud guard returned TO their
vessels, which steamed few hours later for
Port-a-PaiX, where they arrived before sun
down Of the same daY. They did not bom-
bard the place. as they bad done with 60.
halves. Grande Saline, and Jean Rabel.
They fired. however, several shots, keeping
81 a good distance. Tney then ran up Two
flags, ore req and the other white. meaning
After hauling these down they steamed
away, evidently Intending 10 return al a later
dsie. Their course took them 10 81. Louis |
du.Nord, some distance from Port.aspAix, |
where the Touissant captured an English |
bark at the mouth Of the River La Csille. |
She was bound for Porta.PaiX with cargo |
for A. NJ. Williams. They fred shots az the |
town, hut receiving an answering volley oi !
some force beat retreat and sailed toward /
Cape Haytien.
ii. Becker q Co.. OF South William street, /
say that letters from their correspondents IN |
dicaIe thai peace is firmly established in the /
South. Trade is even better there owing TO /
the northern blockade. In Port au Prince, |
northern papers are prohibited, 70 keen tue /
people IN ignorance Of the state OF affairs. /
Flour IL selling al Sli barrel at Cape |
Haytien, herrlugs at % cents each, aud BIS
cults At 5 cents each Other provisions are
pleutiful. Ii Is also said that bali OF Port AL
Prince, the supposed stronghold OF Legitime,
is in favor OF HyppOlile. The Dessa!ines is now
aground, according 10 excellent authority,
on a reef near an island of Port al Prince.
Her boilers are dedroyed. and she Is 80
badly damaged that it IS feared she will he
totally useless. There was lille news of im-
portancs TO be found at the other sources,
md the steamers which arrived yesterday
rom the South failed 10 bring any infOrma
tiDn