The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1893-12-15
HAYTI'S BIs BUTTONS
They Have Made the Repuplic q
Subject Of Hidicule.
The Pride and Glory of the Great Co.
iumbus Has Become Gigantic
Farce "A Degenerated
Country.

Act the least interesting feature OF
the place is the barracks, where is
quartered a portion of Hippolyte's
valiant army, says a correspondent of
the Providence Journal. The only at
tempt at uniform is a suit of blue over
alls, generally in the last stage of
dilapidation, and cap, ornamented
with red, yellow or blue braid, accord
ingto the fancy of the wearer. Some
fewk have shoes or. straw. slippers SbAt
the majority are barefooteds. Tlfey!are
armed, however. with fairlygood mus
kets and many of them carry ugly
looking knives. saw large numbers
of these soldiers on the plaza, or
public square, some playing at dice or
cards, some talking, Others sleeping,
and sallSlazy, dirty and ragged. This
plaza, which was originally well laid
outs and swhich actually boosted an
ancient. fountaininst the center, was lit
tered with, refuse, rooted up by hogs
and filthy with house offal and dung.
The ancient paved walks which orig
inally traversedgit were badly broken,
andthe'loose stones were widely scat
tered by the hogs. Outside the town,
as far as the eye can reach, extends a
hilly country covered with, forest.
In a long tramp through this coun-
try we saw no cultivated land.
And yet this land is said to be extreme.
ly fertile and to yield largely any
tropical product that.is planted upon
it. From an examination of an out
cropping ledge of rock decided that
the soil was underlaid with limestone,
and such soil is nearly always rich.
But the richness of this island is
wasted. For even the old plantations
which were well set with coffee,
oranges and cocoanuts are grown up to
tropical forest and yield next to moth
ing. Right in the midst of Jungle of
wild trees and bushes found traces of
an old orange and mango grove. indi-
Gated by the remains of straight rows
in which these trees were originally
planted And with the decline and
ruin of the plantation has declined
everything in connection with them.
Even the old carriage roads which
originally traversed the island and
formed channel for conveying the
produce to the ports are now only bri-
die paths, being completely overgrown
with forest and bushes.
And this is Hayti, the Hispaniola of
Columbus, the pride and glory of the
great admiral! For it will be remem-
bered that, after examining the other
large islands of the West Indies, Colum-
bus decided that this one was the
richest and best. And later, when un-
der French rule, it was one of the fair
estand wealthiestsp spots in the civilized
world. The whole republic, in fact, is
a gigantic farce-and a. farce, too,
which may well make all enthusiastic
advocates of the colored race and it's
possibilities pause and consider. For
no nation has ever considered itself
more utterly incapable of self-govern-
ment than the black republic. In some
eighty years Of Haytian independence
there have been more than ninety rev.
olutions; the children, with few ex-
ceptions, grow up in absolute ignor-
,ance, and with deep, inborn hatred
nfsthe y, bite -plan; the rulers are blood
thirsty tyrants, and the country has
degenerated into a atropical wilderness.