Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1891-08-01
SOLDERING IN HAYTL.
HUNGRY PRVATEs SUPPORT Them
SELVES BY BEGGING.

Queer Way the HAytian Authorities Have
of Taking Care OF Their convicts and
warrIors-They Travel in Pairs and
Beg In the Streets Day by Day.
Philip Mcdowell is an old and well
known New Yorker He was a volun-
teer fireman once, and all old New York
ers know what that means. OF late
years Mr.. Mcdowell has travelled extern
sively abroad He visited Hayti. A
day or two ago reporter asked him
what was the most striking thing he
saw in the black republic.
Il saw many strange things in Hayti,
but the strangest of all was the way the
soldiers and prisoners are transformed
into beggars AMI are forced to live on
charity. When prisoner is sentenced
TO do time there he doesn't have a uni
form, he learns no trade and he doesn't
get anything to eat from the govern
ment. He is allowed to beg, though,
for money and grub. and if he won't beg
well, he can starye.
This begging is a funny kind of bust
ness. Take the prison at Jacmel, for in-
stance. Well, every morning they fire
the prisoners out to pick up whatever
they can get, and each fellow has SOL
der along with him TO see that he
doesn't run away. The two beg together
all day and whark mp in the evening.
Then the soldier brings back his prisoner
to Jail and goes up to the fort to show
that he has his musket all right and
hasn't sold it for drinks or a square meal
during the day"
SOLDIERS GET 40 PAY.
"But don't the hi,, rian soldiers get
payy'
mo, they don't. Any money there is
in the army goes to the generals, and of
them there are enough to command the
combined armies of Europe and America
Once in long while the Haytian soldier
gets a dollar, which is worth about
seventy cents in our money. but he and
the prisoners live by begging. They 90 in
twos from house TO house and from store
to store Sometimes they have a good
1 day and make n dollar and sometimes
they don't make fifty cents, but what
ever it is they must live on it.
THE solSier himself is scarecrow.
He has never been drilled, has no uni
form to speak Of. and If he hadn't a
musket to carry around with him you
couldn't tell him from the prisoner he is
taking care of. You recollect the old
Long Toms we had in our army before
the war? Well. that's the kind the Hay
tian soldiers carry. They are all old
cap and ball cerncerns, as like as not to
go off at the wrong end.
Take a soldier, sailor or a fireman
with us, and they all have pride in
keeping all their tools neat and clean;
but military pride isn't in the game that
the Haytian soldier plays When he
gets home after a days begging he
pitches his old musket into corner Just
as a laborer in the street cleaning depart
meut gets nd of his shovel. 1t may be
rusty and honeycombed, but as long as
he can show up with it at the fort and
satisfies the government that it hasn't
gone to the junk shop he's happy"
DEATH OF no ACCOUNT.
1.-THE soldiers and the prisoners must
be pretty good chumsy
well, that's very much as you take
it. It's common sight to see the guard
and the prisoner Keeling home together
if they've made out well.
IL suppose you'd imagine that prison
ers would often get away with these
kind of guardians, but they don't. When
ever the soldier takes it into his head
that the prisoner is going to escape he
just shoots him dead, and that's all there
is to it. No coroner comes around anC
post mortems are unknown. Why,
was walking one day with friend OF
one Of the chief streets of Jacmel.
Right in front of us was drunken
soldier and drunken prisoner. Now,
said my friend. 'you watch that fellow
and see if he doesn't take it into hi
head that his prisoner is going to escape
and if he does he will shoot him. Sur
g enough. minute or two after tn
5 drunken prisoner staggered into the mid
: die Of the street, and the equally drunken
: soldier ups with his Long Tom ant
shoots him dead.
"Things are not quite as bad at Port
: au-Prince as they are at Jacmel and tn
: smaller towns on the island. but the diff
e ference is not worth talking of. Hayt
collects plenty of money in duties, but
Ia all grabbed by few men, while. tn
mass Of the people are left to get on a
best they can, and are forced to supper
out Of their pockets as objects of charit
; soldiers and conyicts. New York Re
! corder.