Cannibalism In Hayti

Sonic moiitlis agoan Englislimanof mnk mul fortune, after thoroughly explorlng HiwVVVut liulics mul visitiuir part of the bpanish umin in his yacht, carne tlns country om his way home. While lere hc subraitted certain ontries in tlie veiel's log anti certain passages in Miown iliary to the Inspectlon of American frirtids, who earnestly advised him to pursos the hints tlierein given with au eyeto caicentiatini; public attention on the prognssive relaps into barbarism of society in che vast ant beaatlfbl and once splendidiy productiva islam! ot' Hayti. The advicc hè seems to have taken, tor we tind ín Vanity Fair ot' August 13th, the follonnL resume oí his paiuful, but very important observations. The religión of Hayd is ostensibly Roman Catholic. An rchbishop, f'our bish ops, and nearly one liundred priests aie established in the country, but they an really powerless in the face of a secret religión cal led " Voudou," or serpent worship. The professors of " Voudon," who liav the "serpent house" in each village (a? muy also be seen on the west coast of África), orlginally: came from the Congo coast, and were of thetribe called JlandiaBOes, eelebrated for their skill as Rorcertrs and secret poisoners, and for being scrii!it worshipers, child slayers, and cannibals They appearto have brougbt their art wtti tl.. ,., ir..,,, África, lint wliile HaUi was onder French rule they were obliipd to practlce them in secret. Jt wm, however, mainly owliur to ba power ot" Voudott," that Haytiwaaloatto theFrench. Manyofthe preaklenUhive belonged to it the present president eH ter dannol orwill not supjn-ess it, and it fliurishes openly. It would be Improper forme togive upmyauthorltlea. H IssufBolemto saythat they are of the liigliest, and tuat the facts are indisputable, being vouched -m!!?,n"ie,by eye witnesses. Out ofoTcr iiww '"li.'bitantsof Hayti there are onlv ¦30,000 who do not openly belong to The priests of this religión lmve got absolute power, owing to their knowlede OÍ herb-poisoning aiul of tlie antidotes Owing to this knowledge, which nothine will induce tliem to divulge, tliey can poison eitlier slowly or quickl y, painfully or the reverse, and can procure adeath-likesleep. ilieyareconsequeiitlyresortedtohvpeople who wish to get rid of others either tor Kaïn, from jealousy or the like. l'lie secret poisoningis cariïed on to an enormousextent. Itgoeson, indeed, under the name of " Obi," wherever negroes are round In Hayti, while the Frencli luid the Wand, Itwai sternly repressed- more so than eitlier in Jamaica or Cuba- but n ?e-i 'm" iC has illcreasl to such an extent I liegreat teasro ..i - Vuuuuii " are ut 1SBMIer, Whitsuntide and at Cliristmas. The drum is beuten at niidnight and the people assemble. The ceremonv commences by tlie most terrible oat.hs oi' secrecy. Then dancing begins, and the excitemcnt is kept up bycopious libations of rum till one or more of the performers fall down in a fit, wlien the spirit of "Voudou" is suposedto have entered tliem. These orgies last generally thiec nights, and sometimes louger. On the first night a cock is offered up at tlie altar, nnd its blood is drunk wurm. n the second ïughtagoatis treated In the same way. ut on the third night rhildreu are broughtin; their throatg are cut by the priest; tüeir blood is handed round and drunk warm, and their bodies are then cut up and eaten. Beforethesacritice takes place the priest orders as many children as he requires. They must be of pure Atrican descent, and not over ten years of age. These children are invariubly fortheoming, either by being voluntarily given up or obtained by being stolen by women wlio make a profession of ït. They are expert at their trade. Entering a house at night, naked and oiled, they stenl the nhild, and by adminlstcring u narcotic poison, render it insensible. It is then conveyed to a secret place till reqoltari ftthe saerifice, when an antidote briiigs itto; i.. .. ii,ro„t i cm. i muiren are often voluntarily given up by their mothers for the saerifice. In order to be initiated into "Voudou" it is necessary to have killed some human being; a child is preferred. Another horrible custom in Hayti is the devouring of corpses. So strong is the taste for human flesli that midwives have been known to devour thechildren they have fust brougtit into the world. The part. preferred are the knuckles and hands. Lest it. shonld be magined that these are not facts, I wil] give oneor two instances : In Ma}-, 1879, two women were caiiL'M eating a témale child. It was proved that iluiliild had been drugged and rendered insensible. The párente supposing it to be dead, buried it. These women immediately disinterrud it, restored it to its senses by antidotes, and then inserted reeds through its side and sucked the blood from the heart. This happened at Port-auPrince. A Haytian of good position was also eatight with his familv eating a small boy. Anoiher was found tied to a tree close by. The man was pointed out to me. These olfenses were punübed in one case by a month's, in the other by slx weeks' iinpri.sonment, the fear of Voudou not allowing a greater punishment In January, 1881, eight people were lined for disinterrinf,' and eating corpses. In the sume nionth the neck and shouldersof a man were exposed for sale iu the market at l'ort-au-Prinoe, and were purchased and identih'ed by an English medical man. I ii February, 1881 , at St. Mark1, a cask of so-called "pork" was sold to a ship. In it were dUcovered the fingers and dnger nails of a human being. This "pork" was identifled as human ilesh. A Haytian assured me that the kidneys of a child weru ürst-elass eating. On my RSkins him bow he knew, he infonned me that he bad eaten them. Hedid notseem to think it Btrange or at all out of the way. At Cupe Haytien a coloredclergyinan oí the Chureh of lingland complalned that a ¦ oiidou" ncutralized all the good he mi doing, and declared that he had had human ílesh offered him for sale, and that his wil'e nearly bought it, believing that it was pork. In February, 1881, four people were fined for devouring corpses. At Jacmel two cori)ges were recently disinterred and partly eaten. Two men were in prison for this, not being able to pay the line. A man caught eating a child was arrested theday ofmyarrival. AtChristmas time 9,000 people a'ssembled at the house of a noted "Voudou" priestess (pointed out to me) living in the country, and carried on Voudou rites in the woods close by during the week. At Aux Cayes the child of an EgIIsb man was stoleu from its eradle on the Itli of Harch, 1879. The thieves being hunted, tbev tbrew the child down a well, killing t. and 'seaped. These fuctó sieak for themsilvrs. The San Francisco Chronicle says there is a tract of country in utte county, (Jal., about Slteen miles long by half a mile in wiillh, where lightning strikes trees nearly every time a storm passes over. Outside of tliis strip there i no dañara Tl"1 üne can be plainly traced by dead tlmber. As many as three fires have been caused by üghlning in this tract in one single storm.