Evening star., 1902-08-28
ENJOYED TREACHERY
Did Ulysses Heureaux, Presi-
dent of Santo Domingo.
ss Il
THRIVED ON TYRANNY
CAUSED FOUR HUNDRED ExECU-
TIoNs WITHOUT TRIAL.
Methods of Carrying Out His Purposes
Were Endless - A Blood
Stained Career.

| "a June number of The Evening Star con-
| taned a brief sketch of one of the most re-
markable men of this hemisphere, Ulysses
| HeureauX, for seventeen years president of
| Santo Domingo" said a newspaper corre-
| spondent who spent a number of years in
| the West Indies. His biography was never
| written and probably never will be- There
are many reasons for this His own coun-
| try does not honor him in death and for
| egners do not know the facts. During his
| life no one dared to mention his name pub
| licly, favorably or otherwise for to do so
| aroused suspicion Three men standing to-
| gether on the street constituted a conspiracy
in his mind and two talking were afterward
watched. After his death tongues were
loosened and the foreigners gathered inter-
esting information, but the citizens them
selves took little interest
Few of the resident foreigners had Suf-
fcient interest to verify the immense guam
tity of narrative, and much of 1t, such was
his life, is unfit for publication. or this
It may be said that he was the most l1cen-
tious, the most disgraceful in his methods,
of any modern ruler No home was sacred
to him, and his entire power as ruler
was devoted to the destruction of the homes
of the whites, whom he hated. There IS
no limit to the atrocity in this respect, and
the methods resorted to to gain his ends
would startle even an uncivilized world.
His chosen tools were young men, forty
of them, known as his angels whose
identity was unknown, but suspected. These
lived well without any apparent income and
did his bidding, one duty being to destroy
by sander the reputation of young girls
when revenge was desired. HeureauX lived
we'll in a modern palace of his own con-
struction, spent money 1avishly and gave
presents literally, relying on bland1shments
as well as revenge, and, despot that he
was, holding no life sacred, wrought ruin
in many homes. In fact, one family was
entirely destroyed. The angels ruined the
reputation of the daughter by slander and
she committed suicide. The mother, In her
grief, followed her example and the father
killed himself few days later. Establish
ments We're maintained in every province,
that at the capital being of oriental mag
nifcence. A dissolute but beautiful daugh-
ter of Spain presided over it, sent to the
country by some willy schemer to capture
his favor.
Seldom Visited Lawful Wife.
Ulysses Heureaux seldom visited his
lawful wife, though he supported her and
her children well. They lived in plain,
unattractive house very quietly. The Span
ish beauty, to whom he is said to have
given $4,000 at one time. had French
villa almost hid in a garden of tropical
trees and plants. The house stood opposite
the French legation, near the sea. and was
surrounded by high picket fence, and not
the usual Spanish wall. AT his own home
HeureauX kept only a decrepit old woman,
who waited upon him and cooked his food.
He feared poison at all times, and would
allow no one in the house to prepare his
food other than this old woman. When in
the field he had one soldier prepare his
meals and made him eat of the food first
20 assure himself that 1t contained nothing
As.-mful.
''The elegance of the interior of his pal
ace was evidently for his own pleasure for
he ont ri ha6
more than one guest at a time. After his
assassination his property was confiscated
by the new government, and later sale
at auction was made of the contents of this
palace. The sale lasted several weeks, and
no doubt many bargains might have been
picked up, for the local dealers could not
handle such expensive wares, and there
was not much competition among the
wealthier citizens The auction took place
in the palace and furnished an interesting
rendezvous for foreigners temporarily in
the harbor. The total receipts were some
thing over $4,000.
"Other narratives disclose a strong, fear
less character, a man who relied on his
knowledge of mems weaknesses. Make
them fear you, that Is the only way to rule
these people, he once said and he spared
no one in that theory of ruling. The pal
ace, built from street to street and on the
street line, like all Spanish houses, was
magnificently furnished. He never entered
at the front, for some unknown reason, but
always used little gate in the back street.
A month before his assassination a caller
at his apartments was admirng the mag
nifcent bed.
Expected to Die Like Caesar.
"I will not have the comfort of breath
ing my last there Heureaux said; / will
die walking the streets or fighting
"In a reflective mood he asked:
"Do you believe In theosophy? I do. I
believe I have the soul of Alexander, Ma
poIeon or Caesar within me- Like Caesar,
I came, l saw, l conquered 81"
"Take care said his visitor, that you
do not die as did Caesar.
CT expect to die that way he replied.
''Heureaux disliked his official palace and
sought the seclusion of this one of his own
making. He said there were too many Of
ficials and no secrets at the official palace.
He recognized the advantage at all times
of taking men by surprise. When he want
ed to talk with any one, even any Of the
foreign consuls, he sent for him hurriedly
at o'clock in the morning. He retired
early, frequently at dusk, but never slept
over five hours, and presumably at in the
morning was well into his days work; but
when the hurrying guest would arrive he
would find the president In the bath tub,
and the interview naturally would lack
ceremony Heureaux introduced his re-
marks by saying: I feel at my best at
sunrise and in my bath, and 1 want to
talk to you about a very important matter
No explanation of this popularity was ever
given, except that the president, as stated,
wanted to surprise his visitor.
From this palace and the official palace
also, rumor said, an underground passage
extended to the tower, but this was doubt
less incorrect. Heureaux was too fearless
for that Once, when he exied two or
three hundred Of the leading young men
for conspiracy, he walked calmly and I'M
attended to the wharf. passed through the
crowd of weeping relatives and went on
beard to give final instructions. There
were stone steps from the tower to the
waters edge where his man-of-war Ell
Presidente lay, and this would have been
his method of escape II he had ever thought
of flight The Spanish buflt the steps for
the purpose of landing, tEoops under the
cover Of the fort, and Heureaux never
thought of them as q method of avoiding
his enemies. He might haEe died, but run,
never. -
1.-The chiseled-rocks had oanother use un-
der his Neroism. At midnight white
winged sloop, once the entire navy, touched
at the steps and sailed o4t to and a
slash of the waves was tha only dirge over
the graves of political prisoners condemned
without trial, shotted and sheeted in twos
and threes and cast overheard. Only three
weeks before his death Heureaux heard
mentioned the name Of a man he had inn
prisoned six years before and forgotten,