The Washington bee., 1910-05-14

Ibloodshed. The Congress was pro-
longed to December u, when Port au
Prince broke away from the three
and demanded Nord Alexis. The
National Assembly at once elected
him. He was the twentieth ruler of
Hayti in 100 years.
Hayti soon found that Alexis had
not forgotten the traditions of his
youth He made himself the head
of a rule of militarism. When a man
displeased him the President sent
around a company of his FaIstaffian
soldiers and they attended to that
man right on the spot. As late as
1908 the German Consul-General
asked his country to send warships to
awe the bloodthirsty old President,
and gave as a reason for the request
the fact that Alexis was rapidly i'm
prisoning or executing all who op-
posed his policies. In an interview
at that time the consul said that
Alexis's soldiers dug grave for those
whom they had shot down, and if the
graves were not long enough they
simply chopped off the corpses legs.
There was no time to dig new graves.
Thirty men were killed in one battle
before breakfast one morning. An
anti-foreign outbreak was threatened
too.
The President lived in barbaric
SPLENDID surrounded by officers who
had all they could do to walk about,
so laden were they with gold lace.
His guards are reported to have been
constantly sleeping in the rooms of
the comic opera palace, the furnish
ingS of which were imported from
abroad at unheard of expense. Alexis
himself wore a uniform of glaring
green and gold. He had polished
manners and spoke excellent French.
Here is a description of his personal
during the last days of
his rule:
His face was black as black could
be. 1t was far more Ethiopian than
than the average Negro in the North.
The profile was almost triangular and
the chin dropped straight off. Be-
hind his gold spectacles his eyes
were sunken, and the whites were
discolored to a dirty brown" ="
There were incessant plots and
uprisings against his rule, but it was
not until December, 1908, that any
kind of effectual resistance was made.
Then the people arose in a body and
thrust him out. A revolutionary
army had possession of about half
the republic At last the people of
Port au Prince suddenly rose one
the administration build
ings were seized and mobs Surged
around the rococo palace calling up
on the old man inside to come out
and be killed. He watched them from
an upper window for day. He was
game and would have fought to the
death, but the foreign Consuls urged
surrender. So with few attend
ants he drove in the carriage of the
French Consul through the streets to
a waiting French schoolship while
the people spat at him and cursed
him. He seemed more overcome by
their 'ingratitude" than by the loss
of his power. Leaving the carriage,
he left a bag of gold in it, said to
amount to $4,000. This the mob
looted. In the course of his exile the
deposed President came to this coun-
try and remained a few months.
There was a very persistant belief
among those who knew Alexis best
that he was a believer in voodooism
and that the cruelty in the mans
nature was religion with him. It
is hardly doubtful that he was an ad-
herent of the savage African rites.
His successor was Gen. Simon, who
is still President of Haiti, despite
periodical conspiracies.