The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-07-10
r HE republic OF fiayti has always
V had, "A perturbcd existence. IT
Z lies In latitudes where The pas
- s3ons are apt to be as hot as

~ lies IN WuSie pas
- sions are apt to be as hot as
VI the sunshine, and. III addition
WI it is peoplcd almost exclusively
! by negroes and half-castes who having
Il hut little education. and knowing 10Th
:ng OF the outside world, believe most
\ firmly that they constitute the SAT- OF
creation. In this opinion they are forti-
6 fled BY tho recollection that, u.ider their
native hero, Toussaint I'Ouverture, and
Ills successor Dessalnes, they succeeded
& III freeing their island from the doinlna-
s $,on OF Franco Mt a time when ! rADce
was at the height of It's powei "a
Europe. Even. when Haytl is internally
& peaceful, tho lot OF the white men there
IL often an uncomfortable one: and when,
ms too frequently happens Hayti Is III
the throes Of a revolution, the rtnublic
Is no suitable residence for a civlil1cu oe-
IA: ing of any color.
For more than twenty years prior to
$40 the wretched country was i'll al
most continuous fernent. In lSle. Sou
lcuuue. an ex-slave, who, not being con-
tent with being president had ,ioclaiin
I'd himself Emperor, was Violently dee
posed by one Fabre Geffrard. Not many
years afterwards a rebellion arose I'M
4 der Sylvester Salnnve who at length
obliged Geffrard to abdicate. and Who
resumed the presidency In 1885, Then
nrose the party OF Massage. Saget; and In,
IG,a70 1t captured and shot SalnaVe, who,
G st must be- admitted. seers richly to
have deserved his fate.
A Glorious Exploit.
II was while salnave and Geffrard were
+ stili fighting for the spoils of Office that
there occurred tho stirring episode which
AZ i am about to narrate. Doubles 1t Is
remembered very wildly in Hayti; but
nm afraid that it is almost forgotten IN
B England. Little heroisms, no matter how
ina gnificent they may be, soon pass out
OF the national memory. Trafalgar we
\ know. and the Nile, for they were as big
y rs they were glorious: but what British
school boy is there who has ever heard
Of the equally glorious exploit of Wake,
Y Of the Bulldog, at Cap Hayden, in 1865?
Nay; how many British fathers are there
who can tell an inquir1ng son anything
about what Wake did onEthe occasion? !.
/ Fabre Geffrald was stillSthe nominal
Y ruler OF the Republic: but Sylyestre Sal
nave had already made consld cradle pro-
II gress, and had rendered himself master.
4 of several Important points, including the
# town and fortified harbor Of Cap Haytien.
g on tho northern shore. Geffrald retained
control Of the greater part Of such miser-
u able navy us the republic possesses; but
4 Salnave had mnaged to acquire a certain
Il number Of vessels, chiefly merchant
il cruisers up and down the coast One of
&; these cruisers was named the Valorogue.}
$5 On October %, 1865, off Acul, the com.
* 1nander OF the Valorogne WAS so 1ll-ad-s
.aa55vised as to fire into a British vessel q
lalket5tra ding to and from Jamat:a. The
4 act was particularly land foolish. for
s It was perpetrated within sight of a Brit
5ishs warship, the padd e-corvette Bulldog.
Captain Charles Wake. Wake was not
tS.,,, 81 Nd ,,nr "a
* as he had approached and made the
necessary inquiries. he bluntly told the
q 1Iayten skipper that IL the Nalorogue
n fired again she should be sunk without
Il further warning: whereupon the colored
81 gentleman put on as good n face as pos
"a sible and steamed back toarercrt to his
Is master at Cap Haytien Salnave was
furious, and ordered the instant and forci-
b Bile arrest#of IA 5number OF fugltives who
lad claimed and received the shelteraof
= the British consulate in the town. The
alorogue had committed an act of
piracy; Salnaye penetrated an Internal
@tional offense Of still more serious ma
&tlre But worse remained behind The
4 fugitives We're promptly shot: theaconsul-
s. ate was wrecked, and the British flag
was subjected to the vilest Insults, On
the following morning, therefore. Wake.
who had been kept Informed of auethese
y outrages as they occurred in rapid sue
Al cession, appeared off the mouth ofEthe
harbor to claim his reckoning.
The Plucky Bulldog"
His corvette was no formidable fighting
craft. She was but Of 1,124 tons and 500
nominal horse power: she mounted only
six guns, and on account Of her construc.
ton she was very vulnerable and inflam
,nable. It Is true that she had In hel
company three Geffrardlst war steamers
but these gave her little assistance. The
larbor. on the other hand. was defended
by several fogrts 7. and batteries. the pres
cnce of one at least OF which was masked
until the moment arrived for the employ
lnent OF its guns to the best possible ad
vantage. Yet as soon as Wake discov
cred that he co ld not obtain satlsfac
tion by peaceful representa- tons he be
gan TO shell Fort Clrolet which replied
warmly within five minutes. Keeping III
steady fire, but not waiting TO silence
the works at the harbor's mouth, tn
gallant Wake pressed steady into til,
4 port. engaging moro and more batterle
Is :is he pushed on. 1t was a most perilou
business. for apart from the immediate
danger to life and limb from, the storm
81 OF Haytian projectiles. there was the risl
s that the corvette--a wooden paddle vessel
be It rernembered-might be disabled
sunk or burnt ere she could Withdraw
chips are very unsuitable opponents 10
forts. especially at close quarters. Wake
however. had no thought at that momen
save for the vindcation OF his country
honor Presently. moreover. he caugh
sight ST the offending Valorosue. III
navigating officer, Acting Master Edwi
Bohemia, was young and new to tho sta
ton. He had never before been in Ca
III lIayticn and probably the charts wer
not as perfect AZ they might have been
Nevertheless Wake ordered his engineer
10 crack on full speed and directed BE
henna to do his best TO ram the Shlo
HIS ONLY WISH
Nothing so touches the heart strings a
the loss OF a favorte child, Anyone VIII
has experienced such a misfortune VII
Hympathize with Mr. n. j. Lewis, o
Newberry, Florida, who writes: u an
d5I 30 THANKFUL that ! have found a cur
IN foy dySenIery, For three wears hay