The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-01-12
Wonderful Development Is Shown
/ by Gendarmesie After Two
Years Coaching.
FOUGHT FOE WITH Wild YELLS
Natives First Had to Be Taught How
to Wink-Officer Is Eager to Bring
His Marksmen to Compete In
United States.

Port au Prince, Haiti.-Haiti's first
national rifle match, held recently on
the rife range on the capitals out
skirts. not only settled the individual
and team championships of the Gen
darmcrie dHaiti. but brought out
shooting Of an order that amazed those
who, two years ago, saw the first ef-
forts to make a straight-shooting SOL
dier cut of the most unpromising ma
terial To add piquancy to the matches,
they we're shot over field that, when
revolgtlons were the favorite outdoor
sport of Haiti, served as the scene for
the many executions of political pris-
oners who had gambled on the wrong
turn Of the c,in.
Two years az it is doubtful If there
was gendarm- in Haiti who could
have hit the pre'erbial barn at 100
yards with q rifle. When the gendarmes
took the field under American leader
ship IN 1917, and came into contact with
q bard of Cacos, the procedure was sim
plicity itself. The two or three marines
with the column or patrol got down to
BUSINESS with their rifles or n machine
gun. The accompanying gendarmes
shot wildly from the hip, usually aim
Ing AT the sky, but well content with
the xound of their shots and their yells
of cefiance to the Cacos. The Cacos
fought back In the same happy-go-
Mcly fashion so far as the rifle was
concerned. 1t was Maj James j.
Meade, now assistant chief of the
gen 1armerie, who first made serious
effort to develop the gendarmes Of his
department of the north into riflemen
two years ago.
Would Bring Shots to U. s.
When the last shot Of the recent
team match had been marked, two
mafine officers who have captained
teams In the big national matches at
home were seriously championing the
idea of entering the Haitian gendarm-
erie In the international matches in
the United States in 1923. That Is an
Indication of how far along the road
Of Workmanship the untutored men
who fought their foes with wild yells
have Travelled In the last two years.
All the more remarkable is this prog
ress, for, outside of the isolated effort
of Meade, nothing of an organized ma
ture was attempted until less than a
year ago.
When Lieut.. Col. Douglas G, Mac
Dougal took over the Gendarmerie
d'Haiti little more than year ago,
with the rank of major general In
Haiti's nucleus Of an army, he failed
10 see the logic of giving man in uni
fo.m rifle and not making shot Of
him. MacDougal captained the win
Ming marine corps rifle team in the ma
ticnal match In 1911, shot on at least
three others and Is a rifle shot Of ma
ticnai reputation. At the time he be-
\ gan his campaign, there was, and for
four years had been, strong belief
that the development Of good rifle
shots In the Haitian ranks was not
only inadvisable but impossible. He
indoctrinated his command. however,
with his aims. and then the handicaps
doomed large and unique.
In the first place the Haitian soldier
had been the most atrocious Of shots.
The machete had always been his fight
ing weapon. Soldiers appeared on pa
rade at the Champ de Mars not so
many years ago with a man In. the
front rank the proud possessor Of a
rife stock, while his rear rank file was
content to grasp barrel minus the
~tork The Haitian aryofoa fhaf fouUhf