Haitian Correspondence--No. V.

FRIENDS DOUGLASS & DELANY:—In my last, I gave you some account of the fetes which, with their gaiety, serve to diversify the current of Haitian existence. The suddenness of the vessel's departure, prevented me from speaking of them as fully as I could have wished, and subsequent events have rendered it unnecessary, since the splendor of all those which I have seen has been surpassed, and their pomp more than equalled, by the festivities of which Port-au-Prince has lately been the theatre.

The 20th of August witnessed the return of His Excellency, Faustin Soulouque, President of the Republic of Haiti, to the capital. This event, which had been for several weeks anticipated, was hailed with every manifestation of public rejoicing. At the portal of Leogane, the Southern entrance into the city, a magnificent Triumphal Arch had been erected, decorated with a portrait of the chief who now controls the destinies of the Queen of the Antilles, and adorned with various devices symbolical of measures, the adoption of which promises her a bright and glorious future. Throughout the entire place, the galleries of all the houses were adorned with branches of the national tree of Haiti, the majestic palm-tree, which, in its very appearance, speaks that language of victory, triumph and rejoicing, which florists have usually accorded to it. At about 8 o'clock on the day above mentioned, the cortege entered the city. First came the soldiery, returning from the campaign, amounting to several thousands, and, in their laureled aspect, reminded one of the times when "Birnam wood approached to Dunsinane." Then came His Excellency, attended by his staff, the members of the cabinet, and the general officers of the army. They were met at the gates by the councils of the city, who, in a brief address, presented the felicitations of the inhabitants to their gallant compatriots on the success which had attended their march. The immense procession then proceeded to the church, where a Te Deum was sung, and thanksgiving offered to the God of Nations for the care which he had extended over the Haitian Republic. That evening, and the two following ones, the city fairly blazed forth its joy in view of the triumph of order, and the restoration of public tranquility. These illuminations, of which the very sight was pleasurable, were rendered still more pleasing by their suggestions. There they gleamed, the emblems of the dawning of a brighter and a better time.

The President had gone forth on his expedition to the South at a moment when the political horizon presented the aspect of a coming storm, the darkest and most fearful that a nation can be called upon to encounter.—Fierce clouds, freighted with the dread elements of civil war, hung lowering over this unhappy country, threatening to deluge its highlands and savannas with fraternal slaughter. His stay in the disaffected region had the happy effect of tranquilizing the public mind; and his return was heralded by the reestablishment of national confidence, and glad promises of an era of prosperity. Heaven grant that they may not be futile, and that the blessed time they predict may be of long continuance!

The illuminations which gladdened the streets of Port-au-Prince on the evening of which I speak, have been renewed on another and yet more joyous occasion. The first of September, in this city, was, by turns, a day of the profoundest grief, and of the loudest exultation. Four persons, who had been tried for political offences, and condemned to death, were carried out to Las Caobas, a place on the frontiers, to be shot. They were accompanied for some distance by a large number of persons, the greater portion of whom were women. The loud shrieks and violent despair of the last mention, rendered the spectacle a very melancholy one, while they contrasted strangely with the dignified bearing and submissive composure of the unfortunate prisoners. For some hours after their departure, a deep gloom brooded over the place, and sadness was depicted upon the countenances of all. About two o'clock in the afternoon, however, it was reported throughout the town that His Excellency had pardoned the condemned, and had sent off messengers to command their return. The news spread like wildfire, and gave birth to a general rejoicing, as loud in its manifestation as was the grief of the morning. Almost the entire population flocked to the Portal of St. Josephs, to congratulate the prisoners on their escape from execution; and as they followed them along the streets, caused the air to ring with shouts of "Vive le President! Vive le President Soulouque!" As before stated, the city was brilliantly illuminated; and on the following morning, a large number of ladies proceeded to the Palace, to present their respects to His Excellency, and return him thanks for having seen proper to render the condemned the subjects of the Executive clemency. Since that time, quite a large number of political prisoners have been liberated, and it is daily anticipated that more will shortly be released.

I regret exceedingly that it was not permitted me to spend the first of August this year in my native land. The unfortunate circumstances in which this country has lately been placed, prevented the voice of philanthropy here from joining in the hallelujah which hailed the anniversary of the birthday of eight hundred thousand freemen—that glorious event which set an example to the nations, in the progress of human liberty. Previous to that time, oppressed humanity had regained its rights by deeds of blood and violence. Stern, indiscriminate war, or expatriation equally fearful, had ordinarily marked the restoration of the God-given gift of freedom. Through the fiece deluge of inflamed and unbridle passion, the ark, bearing the elements destined for the construction of another and a brighter world, had been condemned to float. But the Emancipation of the British West Indies pointed out another mode for the redemption of a people. It told that, henceforth, man was to resume his wrested rights through more pleasing means; and that Liberty, with strength gathered from former conflicts, was to march on, henceforth, with flaunting trophies and through triumphal arches—a bloodless and joyous conqueror.—The emancipation of Martinique and Guadaloupe, of St. Thomas and Santa Cruz, has declared that some of the nations of the earth have profitted by the lesson. It is a sad reflection, that the land of Washington is still associated with Cuba, Porto Rico and the Brazilian Empire, in efforts to annihilate the inborn dignity of man. In the hope that this may not long continue, and that before much time has elapsed, we may be called to join in a jubilee caused by the liberation of three millions of Americans, I subscribe myself,

Truly yours, HAROLDVashon, George Boyer

George Boyer Vashon (1824–78), the son of abolitionist John Bethune Vashon, was an African American attorney and educator. In 1838, upon the family’s move from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh, Vashon became secretary of the first youth-oriented abolition organization, the Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society. At sixteen he entered Oberlin College in Ohio and became the first African American to receive a bachelor of arts degree from that school upon his graduation in 1844. Then, from 1845 to 1847, Vashon studied with Pittsburgh lawyer Walter Forward. When denied admission to the bar in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, because of his race, Vashon moved to New York and became the first African American admitted to that state’s bar. In February 1848 Vashon emigrated to Haiti, where he became a regular correspondent to Douglass’s North Star under the pseudonym "Harold," and taught Latin, Greek, and English at several schools and colleges. He returned to the United States to practice law in the fall of 1850. From 1854 to 1857, Vashon taught belles-lettres and mathematics at New York Central College in McGrawville, New York. Following the Civil War, he was the first African American teacher at Howard University and a solicitor for the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1878, while teaching at Alcorn University in Rodney, Mississippi, Vashon died during a yellow fever epidemic. Washington (D.C.) National Era, 15 April 1847; Catherine M. Hanchett, “George Boyer Vashon, 1824–1878: Black Educator, Poet, Fighter for Equal Rights, Part One,” Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 68:205–10 (1985); DANB, 617; Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:322. .