Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1889-07-26
HAYTIsS AMAXONS.
The Ebony Damsels Whom Lesitfme
Has Emitted In His Army.

The Ebony Damsels Whom Leaitfme
Has Emitted In His Army.
[From the New Orleans Pfcayune.l
The war in Hayti where the alleged right
full ruler Legitime Is being driven into his
last ditch by the alleged revolutionary leader
Hippolyts, has developed an interesting feat
ure In the drafting of womeninto the army
OF the sformer. Legitime has been
worsted on every field and driven back un-
til his domain is limited pretty nearly to his
capital city of Port au Primo Q. As his army
has dwindled away largely by desertion to
the other faction, he found himself without
troops to man his Notifications, for his city
was long ago strongly fortified by the Span
iards and French who held It at different
periods.
In this extremity Legitime has hit upon
the plan of filing up his depleted ranks with
women. There being surplus of the softer
sex Ia the capital of the negro republic, 1t
has been possible to enroll quite a number
of these ebony amazons, who are not en-
bodied In exclusive battalions of their own
sex, but are distributed among the men.
These women are dressed in masculine Co.'S
tune, and said to look very much like negro
youths Of the male persuasion.
The Haytian negroes, whore they have
been amalgamated with the native Osribs.
have become almost beardless, particularly
when the men are young, and hence these
Haytian amazons are said to be distinguish.
| able from the males, when all are standing
| in line together, chiefly by the fact that the
| faces of the women are more pleasing and
less hard and brutal than are ethose of the
men. Every person who has seen our own
fair annazons on the stage Or engaged in a
II hyOn \ ~y1 1xrxfht l.
culiar conformation of the sex the superior
| swell at the launches and the lesser breadth
| of shoulders combine to exert special effects
| upon the manual of arms.
When the guns are brought TO "carry,"
l being rested against the hip and upon the
shoulder, they do not stand erect but incline
,,;a. at en- angle towards the head M Of the fair
aligned in "position of the soldier" 1t is
more easy for them to touch hips than el-
bows as required by the code, and should the
time ever come when the armies of the white
nations are to be made up of women, it is to
be hoped, in the interest of grace and sym.
metry, that somebody will design special
arms and a manual for their use suited to
| the conformation Of the beautiful sex. When
the masculine creature takes up the trade of
l q soldier he goes in for show and gets him
self up as gorgeously as possible. If We are
to have hereafter an army Of amazons, they
| should be made up altogether lovely. Fort
unately, the ancient style of excisien of the
breast will not be perpetuated. That was
done to enable the fair warrior to draw the
bow to its utmost reach. Now, the drawing
of the beaux Is done In quite different
manner, as the ancient weapons of bsrba,ism
have all been discarded.
But to return to the Haytians, those sable
Moll Pitchers and maids Of Sarsgossa have
not yet done any fighting; but If they should
be driven to IT they will probably display as
much bravery as women do in an emergency.
It seems brutal outrage to drive the softer
sex into battle, but if we are to credit ancient
traditions, 1t has been often done, and In
view of the fact that the entire civilized
world is aceumulating constantly increasing
deficiency of men and a corresponding OK.
cess in the number of women, It is not out
of the reach of possibility that the myth Of
the Old World amazons may be realized in
fact as time advances. What has been will
he again.
Lustred Pottery-The Possible D1scov.