THOUSANDS of years ago, far up the river Nile and near the modern Senaar, flourished the Ethiopian kingdom of Meroe. Many statues and monuments have been unearthed in this region from time to time, and it is from the

These statues were erected to the idols or gods whom the people worshipped because they did not know the true God; the monuments were built with passages and chambers and were used as temples for the worship of their gods; so while no trace is now found of the dwellings of the people their temples covered with pictures show plainly their manner of living and of worship as well as many other things of interest.

The city called Meroe was the seat of government, or as we say in these days the capital, and the rulers were chosen from among the priests. Some very interesting things are told of the manner of choosing a king and the rules by which he was governed. As in most ancient countries, the men who were by nature the cleverest made themselves priests and whenever a new king was selected, they pretended their gods had selected him. As soon as the choice was made known the people fell down before the king and gave him all honor. He was beautifully clothed and given great power but he could not go beyond what the laws of the country allowed, so that Meroe was what is called a limited or constitutional monarchy.

When the priests felt that the king had reigned long enough, they sent to him a messenger with the emblem of death; as soon as the poor king saw this emblem he was compelled to retire at once and kill himself. So you see that even in those days to be a king was not always to be either safe or happy.

The city of Meroe was a lively, bustling place, for its streets were crowded with caravans bringing in from the surrounding regions, gold, silver, copper, salt, iron, frankincense, etc. These articles were sent down to Egypt and along with them went ideas which were even more valuable than the articles of commerce. The Egyptians enlarged upon and continued the civilization which was begun in Ethiopia, especially in the kingdom of Meroe and even the pyramids of Egypt are merely larger and elaborated copies of those whose remains are dug up around the site of Meroe.

Remember that in this old, old kingdom king and court, priests and worshipers, merchants and householders were Negroes.

On both sides of the Nile have been found the ruins of ancient cities, at least twenty on either side, and learned men have taken great pleasure in bringing to light the buried evidences of what was once the busiest and most prosperous part of the world; these ruins stretch from beyond Meroe down to Egypt. We shall be able to take, here, but a glance at Egypt for you may find many books on that country. Many persons have devoted their lives to the study of ancient Egypt, and it has been made so important a branch of human knowledge as to have a name of its own—Egyptology.

Some historians tell us very plainly that the Egyptians were not Africans at all and so Negroes need not be proud of what they did, but it is not reasonable to suppose that the natives had obligingly left that most fertile region uninhabited to await the coming of strangers and as there is so much uncertainty as to whom the Egyptians were and whence they came and as to which were Negroes and which were Egyptians proper in those dim and distant days, it is just as well to believe that we were and are all related though we cannot tell exactly the degree of our cousinship.

Alexandria in Egypt contained the largest and most remarkable library of the ancient world, for that city was the seat of learning and culture. This library, gathered through hundreds of years before the advent of Christ, by the rulers of Egypt was burnt when the fleet of Julius Cæsar caught fire in the harbor. If any books escaped, or were subsequently replaced they must have perished when the whole quarter of the city was burnt by Aurelian.

While the destruction of the library was a tremendous loss to the whole human family, the Negro was by far the heaviest loser; for there can be no doubt that many now disputed points of race origin, relationship, and achievement might have been settled by the facts recorded upon the parchments and scrolls with which the shelves of the Alexandrian Library were filled.

It is very certain that the Egyptians and other peoples of northern Africa were, as has been said, far ahead of the rest of the continent, but nevertheless it is also certain that the neighboring countries of Europe obtained their first instruction in the arts and sciences and received their first ideas of a written language from what has been in modern times called the Dark Continent, but which was in olden days a light which lighted the world. Civilization moved northward into Europe rather than southward into the heart of Africa for the reason that travel in the interior, on account of the jungles, deserts, mountains, swamps and ravines, was unsafe and uncomfortable.

The most ancient rulers of Egypt were called Pharaohs and they governed the country for hundreds of years. A Pharaoh was ruling when Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egypt and another Pharaoh reigned when the Jews, who had been held in bondage many years, were led by Moses out of the country over the Red Sea into the Promised Land in Asia. The Persians conquered the country about 520 B. C.; after them it was ruled by Alexander the Great; next by a line of kings called Ptolmies; then by Rome; next by the Mohammedans and today it is largely under the government of England. Egypt played a wonderful and important part in the world's history for thousands of years. It was to this country that the child Jesus was carried to be saved from wicked King Herod who would have killed him. There is near the site of ancient Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, a sycamore tree about which the legend runs that it once sheltered the Holy Family; here, also, at Heliopolis, it is said that Moses taught and Jeremiah wrote.

It was when Alexandria was the fountain of the learning of the ancient world that the Christian religion took root in northern Africa, There were men from Africa present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, when hundreds testified to the wonderful works of God, each in his own tongue. These men and others first took the Gospel to Africa, and it flourished there unhindered for nearly three centuries, but while Diocletian was Emperor of Rome, Christians suffered great persecution.

In the Church in Africa, as elsewhere, many died—young girls and women among them—rather than betray their faith. “Among those who thus perished was Leonidas, the father of Origon, Potimicæna, who was put to death by being slowly dipped into burning pitch; Felicitas, a beautiful slave girl, who was torn to pieces by wild beasts; Perpetua, a young woman of high birth, and many others.”

When Constantine became Emperor, these persecutions ceased, but, as you see, African Christians had their share in the glory of martyrdom.

You have all heard of the great pyramids of Egypt built in a time so far distant that no one knows just how old they are. Other structures of interest are the Sphynx, the catacombs and the labyrinth. The labyrinth is built or hewn out of marble, is partly underground and is said to have comprised twelve palaces and 3,000 chambers.

Abyssinia is another African country of great antiquity. It is a very mountainous country and its climate is peculiar, for though so near the equator the earth never becomes warm, but is always damp and chilly while the nights fall suddenly and are very cold. This is because the country is so high above the level of the sea.

The Abyssinians claim that their country is the Sheba whose queen journeyed to the court of King Solomon to behold its glory and to learn of the wisdom of the great king. It is said that she was converted to the Jewish faith and that her people believed in the true God long befor Christ came, and it is known that Christianity was established in Abyssinia before 350 A. D.

Carthage, which flourished near modern Tunis, was one of the richest and most important states of the ancient world. It was founded by Phoenicians and at first these paid a yearly tax to the native Africans who owned the soil, but just as soon as the colonists grew strong enough they waged war against the Africans and finally conquered them. The natives were driven back into the interior where they were cruelly treated, heavily burdened by taxation and forced to till the soil for their conquerers.

Meanwhile the settlers were marrying the native woman and there arose a race known as Afro-Phoenicians or Liby-Phoenicians. They became very numerous and were an important factor in the country, many of them becoming colonists, in their turn, and settling in other countries. Some settled in Spain and at one time 30,000 of the Afro-Phoenicians emigrated from Carthage and settled on the west coast of Africa south of the Straits of Gibraltar.

The Carthagenians were a seafaring people and their trading vessels went to northern Europe, western Africa, and, it is supposed, as far as the Azores. They planted colonies in many countries and are said to have worked the tin mines of Cornwall in Wales. The Carthegenian navy was for long the most powerful in the ancient world, and “the waters of every sea were white with her sails.”

Finally, a great rivalry arose between Carthage and Rome and after a time these two countries went to war. For the space of nearly one hundred and twenty-five years these countries were enemies. There was first war, then peace between them, but in 146 B. C. Rome conquered and many thousands of the Carthagenians were killed by the sword or buried under the burning ruins of their homes; the remainder were sold into slavery, the Romans razed what was left of the city to the ground, plowed up the, earth and sowed salt in the furrows as a sign of utter desolation. Hannibal, the great general, was a Carthagenian who did his part in his country's service. He won many great victories and finally killed himself rather than fall into the hands of the enemy.

All the pomp and pride of these ancient countries, their wealth and power, the things for which they killed themselves or killed each other have melted into nothingness, have become “as a tale that is told.” Yet we learn from their story how important a part Africa played in ancient times.

The interior of Africa has always abounded in those things which civilized men prize and the earliest explorers were seeking for articles of value to commerce. Beside these, the Egyptians sent out many hunters for the elephants so useful in their wars and the Romans paid good prices for lions and other wild beasts for their arenas and circuses. These

Then Arabs, however, as missionaries or as traders, have, for centuries, been familiar with the interior of this great continent. Arabian missionaries converted many tribes to the Mohammedan faith, and even before the rise of Mohammedanism, “Negroes shared in the learning and politics of Arabia.” Travelers in the interior of Africa have often been astonished at the number of natives who could read and write the Arabic language; hundreds of them know many passages of the Koran (the Mohammedan Bible) and can repeat them from memory as well as extracts from other Arabic writings.

The Arab traders early penetrated far into the country seeking for the articles in themselvs so valueless to Africa but worth so much money in other countries. They also hunted the natives whom they kidnapped and sold into slavery. Selfishness, cruelty and treachery were the lessons they taught and the early white traders and later ones, too, did very little better. One writer says of the latter that “a white man to the natives of Africa stood for wrong and cruelty alone. The very word meant separation of wives and husbands, parents and children to be carried to a fate as mysterious as it proved to be horrible. Hence the white man's greed and cruelty was a bar to his curiosity and energy; his love of knowledge and science was defeated by his love of sin and wrong, and the civilized world, instead of wondering at the ignorance and barbarity that kept back for so long a time, all efforts to know and to help should wonder that anyone from the outside world should have been allowed to live for a day where these wronged, outraged savages ruled.”

But with all that Africa has suffered, and, in some places, is still suffering at the hands of so-called civilized men, there have been brave, noble men and women who have devoted the best years of their lives to Africa and some have finally died a martyr's death at the hands of those whom they were trying to help.

One of the first of these was Mungo Park, a native of Scotland. In 1795, when he was only twenty-four years old, he went to West Africa to try to find the source, or beginning of the River Niger. One of the drawbacks to the west coast is its deadly climate, and shortly after arriving at Kano young Park fell ill of fever and remained an invalid for five months. While recovering, he learned the language of the Mandingoes, a native tribe, and this was a great help to him.

He finally started with only six natives on his journey. Had he been older and wiser he would have taken a larger company. At one time they were captured by Moors and a wild boar was turnd loose upon them, but instead of attacking Park the beast turned upon his owners, and this aroused their superstitious fears. The king then ordered him to be put in a hut where the boar was tied while he and his chief officers discussed whether Park should lose his right hand, his eyes or his life. But he escaped from them, and after nearly two years of wandering in search of the Niger's source, during which time he suffered many hardships and made many narrow escapes he returned to Kano, the place where he had been ill.

At one time during his journey Mr. Park arrived in the neighborhood of Sego and as a white man had never been seen in that region before, the natives looked upon him with fear and astonishment. He asked to see the king, but no one would take him across the river, and the king sent word that he would by no means receive the strange traveler until he knew what the latter wanted. Park was tired, hungry and discouraged and was preparing to spend the night in the branches of a tree when a native woman pitied him. She invited him into her hut, and with the hospitality for which the natives are noted, shared with him her food. By signs she made him understand that he might occupy the sleeping mat and as she and her daughters sat spinning they sang their native songs, among them the following which was impromptu and composed in honor of the stranger:

IN MODERN times Africa has been little more than a big, rich grabbag for the great powers of the world. By might not by right have they divided her territory among them, and small indeed is the portion to which the natives may lay claim. Thoughtful people agree that there are two reasons for this state of affairs. First, the lack of unity, or oneness among native Africans, which is the most important reason, and second, inferior knowledge of modern warfare and lack of modern arms. Says one English writer, “No single separate African race or tribe has yet felt anything like unity with the black race in general; otherwise Europe and Asia could not continue to govern Africa.” As it is, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Turkey claim large portions of African soil.

Friends of Africa have often been discouraged by some of the barriers to progress which have been unnecessarily placed in the way. A white American missionary has recently written: “I wonder that the Africans do not shoot with poisoned arrows, every white man that lands on their coast, for he has brought them rum, and is still bringing it; and in a few decades more, if the rum traffic continues, there will be few left in Africa to be saved. The vile rum, in that tropical climate, is depopulating the country more rapidly than famine, pestilence and war. Africa, with the simple gospel of Jesus is saved, but Africa with rum is eternally lost.”

In modern times there have been a few of the native kingdoms which have attracted the attention of the world by their tribal unity and their ability to resist the stealthy advance of civilized nations. The Ashantis first came under European notice in the early part of the eighteenth century. King Osai Tutu, who founded the nation, brought into union several neighboring tribes, by means of warfare or by tactful management. He was slain in 1731. The Ashantis kept up a constant war with the neighboring Fantis, and when the latter sought British protection, the Ashantis fought against them both, with varying fortunes, for many years.

In the war of 1896, the English won and King Prempeh surrendered and was exiled. “Though outwardly submissive, the chiefs of Kumasi, the principal tribe, were far from reconciled to British rule, and in 1900 a serious rebellion broke out in the Kumasi, Adansi, and Kokofu tribes. Rebellion was crushed and Ashanti formally joined to the British dominions and given a separate administration under control of the governor of the Gold Coast. It was reported, in 1905, that the Ashantis were becoming reconciled to the English and that the maintenance of the tribal system, and the support given to the lawful chiefs, did much to win the confidence and respect of a people naturally suspicions, and mindful of their exiled king.”

Yorubaland is a large tract in the hinterland of Lagos, West Africa. The Yorubas are said to vary in color from jet black to quite light, and in features, from the heavy, thick cast of countenance to the more delicate and refined. There is among them a tradition that their forefathers were of Oriental origin, and a large number of American Negroes are said to be of Yoruba stock. The nation comprises many tribes and they are both city-dwelling and farming people. It is said that the houses of the chiefs often contain as many as fifty rooms, decorated with carvings representing symbolic devices, fabulous animals, and hunting or warlike scenes. They have an excellent system of government, the power being in the hands of a Council of Elders, presided over by a chief. The chief must always be taken from members of one or two families and owes his position to a combination of the principles of heredity and election. Yoruba is now divided into semi-independent states, placed under British protection by the treaty of 1893. The country extends from Benin on the east to Dahomey on the west, and contains several large cities, some with a population of 40,000.

THE first historical mention of Sierra Leone was by Hanno of Carthage, who is said to have entered its harbor and to have hurriedly left, because of “the fires in the forests, the beating of drums and the strange cries that issued other of the approach of possible enemies, are used in some

The Portuguese claim to have traded with the natives around Sierra Leone as early as the middle of the fifteenth century and English trade began a century later. Trading posts or “factories” were established by these nations on ground leased from the natives, but at first they were used for a fair exchange of the valuable products of the country. It was not until the colonization of America began that the kidnapping of the natives themselves was thought of. For about two hundred years the great nations of the world engaged in one form or another of the slave trade, but toward the end of the eighteenth century the horror of the traffic began to force itself upon the attention of friends of humanity everywhere.

In 1765, Jonathan Strong, a slave who had been brought to England, fell sick and was deserted by his master. He managed to recover and when his master found this out he planned to have him kidnapped and sent back to the West Indies. But the great Granville Sharpe took all interest in the case, interceded for Strong and finally succeeded in sending him out. of his master's reach. Seven years afterward, Sharpe took up the case of James Somerset and plead for him before the High Court at Westminster.

The case aroused wide-spread interest and the judges finally decided that Somerset could not be held, and that from that time forward every slave who set foot on English soil was free. There were a number of slaves in London at the time and these either left their masters or were driven away. The condition of these people, without money, food or shelter, became very pitiable. And meanwhile American Negroes, who had found shelter with the British army, and other Negroes from the West Indies joined their brethren in London, which added to the distress of the situation. Granville Sharpe, William Wilberforce, Dr. Smeathman, Henry Thornton, Joseph Hardcastle, Thomas Clarkson and other good men joined together to assist these freedmen. After a long discussion, it was thought best to send them to Africa where they might not only become independent, but might help to Christianize the natives and break up the slave trade.

The English government was persuaded to purchase from Naimbanna, King of Sierra Leone, about twenty square miles of land and the first colony reached Africa on the 9th of May, 1787. Several of the colonists had died on the voyage, and of the 480 persons who embarked only 64 were living in 1791. But the English friends of the colony were not discouraged; they formed a company which was first called St. George's Bay, and afterward, the Sierra Leone Company. A large sum of money was subscribed and the company sent out more colonists, among them a number of English soldiers who had been granted land as a reward for services. Several hundred Maroons living in Nova Scotia sent a delegate to England to ask that they might be allowed to join the new colony and their request was granted. Some hundreds of Maroons from the West Indies also joined the colony, but the deadly climate caused many to die of fever and destroyed the energy of the survivors. The people became entirely discouraged, and “the whole community smouldered down into chronic mutiny.” At this crisis, Zachary Macauley, father of the famous English historian, was sent as general manager of the colony. He acted as governor, secretary, paymaster, envoy to the natives and clergyman, and it is said that he was peculiarly adapted to the work. Things were moving smoothly, under Mr. Macauley's management, when, in 1794, eight French ships filled with sansculottes came into the harbor. The lawless French men entered the town and conducted themselves in such an outrageous manner that the governor asked to be given an audience with the commander of the vessel. Macauley says “As I passed along the wharf the scene was curious enough. The Frenchmen who had came ashore in filth and rags, were now many of them dressed out with women's gowns and petticoats. Others had quantities of cloth wrapped about their bodies or perhaps six or seven suits of clothes upon them at a time. The scene which presented itself on my getting on board the flag-ship was still more singular. The quarter-deck was crowded by a set of ragamuffins whose appearance beggared every previous description, and among whom I sought in vain for some one who looked like a gentleman.”

About the middle of October the French left Freetown, having remained about a month. “They never revisited the place; indeed, they had left it in such a condition that it was not worth their while to return. Ten houses had been carefully burned to the ground and the livestock killed. Except the clothes on their backs and a little flour, the Europeans had lost everything they had in the world. * * *” “In the office, every desk and every shelf and every drawer, together with the printing and copying presses, had been completely demolished in the search for money. The floors were strewn with types, and papers and leaves of books, and I had the mortification to see a great part of my own labor and of the labor of others for several years, totally destroyed. At the other end of the house I found telescopes, hydrometers, barometers, thermometers and other articles lying about in fragments. In the town library the volumes were tossed about and defaced with the utmost wantonness, and if they happened to bear the least resemblance to Bibles they were torn in pieces and trampled on. In the collection of natural curiosities, plants, seeds, dried birds, insects and drawings were scattered about in great confusion. The destruction of livestock was immense. In my own yard alone, they killed fourteen dozen fowls, and there were not less than twelve hundred hogs shot in the town. It was unsafe to walk in the streets of Freetown during the forty-eight hours that followed its capture because the French crews were firing at the pigs of the poor freedmen over whom they had gained such a questionable victory.” But as has been said, the French finally left Sierra Leone, and left a very disheartened set of colonists behind them. However, Mr. Macauley rallied them as best he could and when he left the colony in 1799, because his health had been broken by the fever, things were moving on fairly well; but the year 1800 found the Company with very little money left and the colony in a very discouraging condition.

The natives, who had for years been able to obtain as much rum and gunpowder as they wanted at the nearest baccaroon, did not appreciate the colony and gave great annoyance. King Naimbanna, however, recognized the superior progress of the Europeans and believed it to be due to their religion, but he was very much puzzled when he found that there was more than one European religion. After much thought he decided that in order to secure the greatest benefit to his tribe it would be a good plan to send one son to Turkey with orders to become a Mohammedan; another to England to be a Protestant and a third to Portugal to become a Roman Catholic. This he did, but he shortly afterward died and, except that the son who went to England died on the homeward voyage, the result of the King's experiment is not recorded.

In 1807, twenty years after the landing of the colonists, the Company turned Sierra Leone over to the British government. In the same year the slave trade was declared piracy and an English squadron was stationed along the coast to put down the trade and to recapture slaves. Many hundreds were added to the population in this way.

Sierra Leone has passed through many trials before reaching its present state, and there are also a number of very interesting things in the history of this colony. The very first person who actually conducted Negro emigrants from America to Africa was Capt. Paul Cuffee, a wealthy Negro of New Bedford, Mass. Among the colored residents who have risen to prominence may be mentioned Mr. John Carr, Queens Advocate in 1840 and Chief Justice in 1841; Samuel Crowther, a native and the first African admitted to the Church of England (1841) and first Bishop of Niger (1864); Staff Surgeon W. Ferguson, of the Army Medical Department (1813) and Acting Governor (1841.); Mr. Robert Dougan, Queens Advocate (1832), Acting Governor (1858-59); Dr. James W. Blyden, scholar, author and diplomat. Dr. Blyden, who died February, 1912, was, on more than one occasion entrusted with missions to the natives in the interior which required great tact and skill and which were always successful.

On his mission to the King or Alami of Timbo, in 1873, Dr. Blyden was invited to accompany His Majesty to a town fifty miles away where was gathered an army of fifteen or twenty thousands Foulahs. “The town was crowded and preparations for war were being made, but prayers were not neglected. Five times a day immense crowds gathered at the Mosque and soldiers with a musket in one hand and their beads in the other might be seen going through their devotions.”

The chief official in Sierra Leone is a governor appointed by the English Crown, a colonial secretary, and an executive and a legislative council. Freetown, the greatest seaport on the West Coast, is the seat of government; it has an excellent harbor, fortified with several batteries of heavy guns.

There is a government school for the sons of chiefs; there are public, technical and church mission schools, besides Fourah Bay College, established in 1845, and connected with the University of Durham. There is at present a railway of about three hundred miles and others planned.

In size Sierra Leone is about equal to the State of Maine; much of the land has been cleared, and is regularly tilled; the natives come into the cities for employment between the sowing and reaping of their crops; sanitary arrangements and a better understanding of the fever have improved health conditions; many of the citizens are skilled artisans, several are merchants, and Sierra Leone is now a flourishing colony.

ONE of the first persons in America to publicly denounce the slave trade and to act upon his convictions was the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Newport, R. I. He had owned and sold a slave, but afterward became convinced of the sinfulness of his conduct and devoted himself to arousing the consciences

HAITI lies in the Atlantic Ocean a short distance, about 600 miles, to the southeast of Florida. This little island which Christopher Columbus named Hispanola or little Spain and which was afterward called Santo Domingo, has

In formation the country is diversified by mountains and valleys, by majestic plains and swiftly flowing rivers; the landscape is attractive and the climate delightful. When Columbus and his fellow-voyagers came upon the island in December, 1492, the beauty of the country and the kindness of the natives so impressed him that in reporting his discovery to the King and Queen of Spain, he said: “These people love their neighbors as themselves; their discourse is ever sweet and gentle and accompanied with a smile. I swear to your Majesties there is not a better nation or a better land.” You will regret to learn that the example of these natives (who though ignorant of the Christ, yet practiced his precepts) was utterly lost upon the Spaniards, so-called followers of Jesus. The Spaniards had not long been settled upon the island before they had turned the friendly natives into bitter foes and the bitterest foe of all was Caonbo.

He had his stronghold in one of the mountain fastnesses and after the Spaniards began to cruelly treat the natives Caonbo and his followers would descend from the mountains and wreak vengeance upon the whites. For a long time he was a terror to the settlers, but he was finally captured by treachery and placed on board a vessel bound for Spain, though he did not live to reach there.

It is said that when the Spaniards discovered the island, the natives numbered about one million and in fifteen years, through overwork and cruel treatment, only about one-twentieth of them were living and by the year 1600 the last native had died. The childish, trusting natives were taught from the beginning that the Spaniards came from heaven and as the cruelties increased and life became unbearable, they began to ask their oppressors when they would return to heaven and to beg them to hasten their departure.

When it became evident that the natives would finally die out entirely, the wicked plan was formed to capture natives of Africa and bring them over the sea to do the work and suffer the treatment which had killed so many thousands of the native Indians of Hispanola; this, in the early sixteenth century was the beginning of Negro slavery in the Western Hemisphere.

The English and the French had long envied the Spanish their West Indian possessions, and in 1630 French people established a colony at St. Christopher on the island of Santo Domingo, but the Spanish drove them away. The French then took refuge on the tiny island of Tortuga near by and lived quietly there for awhile; but the Spanish went there one day while the men were at sea and killed all the women and children. The Frenchmen, their hearts filled with grief and rage, became pirates; others joined them and for over fifty years war was waged between them and the Spanish. In 1697, the French obtained from Spain a regular cession of the western part of the island of Santo Domingo and began to colonize it, naming their part Haiti.

After that, the two nations lived peacefully on the island; the fertile soil was thoroughly cultivated and prosperity reigned. Meanwhile, there had sprung up three distinct divisions of the population: the whites, of European descent; the blacks, of African descent, and the mulattoes, who were an admixture of the other two races. From time to time the blacks had risen in insurrection because of cruel treatment, many had escaped to the mountains and had there made for themselves homes; but the large majority were slaves. The mulattoes, though free in name, were far from free in reality; they were taken advantage of, imposed upon and the worst indignities heaped upon them; they were allowed to hold no public office, to take no part in public affairs and to practice no profession, it mattered not how well qualified they might have been. So they busied themselves with the buying of land and other property and with the acquirement of education and culture; they were compelled to serve a length of time in the army and became skilled in the tactics of war. Numbers of them grew very wealthy, traveled abroad, educated their children in France and were persons of refined and cultivated tastes.

At the outbreak of the revolution in France, the population of Haiti was about 500,000, of which about 40,000 were whites, 30,000 mulattoes and the remainder, a tremendous majority as you see, were black slaves; the mulattoes at this time owned about one-third of the soil and one-fourth of the slaves. While residing in France, the mulattoes had made friends among the most advanced thinkers of that country and, putting before these friends the state of affairs in Haiti, had received great sympathy.

The whites of Haiti largely sided with the revolutionary party in France (though some were Royalists) and at once responded to the call of the National Convention in Paris by sending delegates and by adopting the motto: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” The mulattoes also demanded representation which was denied them, so they sent a delegation of their own, headed by J. Vincent Ogé, who had been educated in France. This delegation was well received by Lafayette, Abbe Gregoire, Robespierre and other influential Frenchmen, who belonged to a society called the Friends of the Blacks, and who were really trying to put into practice their noble motto; said Robespierre, “Perish the colonies rather than sacrifice one atom of our principles.”

When Ogé and his fellow delegates returned to Haiti they were arrested “for their presumption” and put to death in a horrible manner. This news aroused great indignation in Paris and the Friends of the of the Blacks brought such influence to bear upon the National Assembly that a decree was passed declaring that “all persons of color, born of free parents, were entitled to all the privileges of French citizens.”

During these happenings neither whites nor mulattoes had given a thought to the slaves, but the pulse of Freedom throbbing throughout the world and the blacks were thinking for themselves. They had long been secretly planning a stroke of some kind and on August 23rd, 1791, they arose and swept from plantation to plantation, killing and burning as they went. It is said that fully one thousand plantations were destroyed and twelve hundred families reduced to want and misery. As mulattoes and whites were both slave-holders, this blow drew them together for the time against the blacks; the Spanish of Santo Domingo attacked the Haitians, Royalists fought Revolutionists and the war which resulted was “neither a civil war nor a foreign war, nor a war of races, but a composite of all three.”

At this moment appeared the mighty leader of the Blacks, Pierre Dominique Toussaint Breda, who, because he could always find a way or make one, was once called by a French General, Toussaint the Opener, Toussaint L'Ouverture and this is the name by which he is known to history. As a child Toussaint possessed unusual intelligence and was taught to read and write by a fellow slave. As he grew he was constantly improving his mind; he gained quite a knowledge of Latin and medicine and was often employed as a horse doctor. He was finally promoted to be coachman by his master and allowed the use of the library in his spare time. This advantage he fully appreciated as you may judge.

When the slave insurrection broke out on an adjoining plantation, Toussaint refused to join the blacks because he thought their plans cruel and useless. He secretly conveyed his master and family to an American vessel which was about to sail sending with them as much produce as he could gather. Then, seeing the aimlessness of the insurrection and the need of leaders, he joined the blacks and immediately was placed in a responsible position. He disciplined and trained his men, who were devoted to him, until they were worthy the name “soldiers.”

Meantime France and England had gone to war and in May, 1794, an English squadron appeared before Port-Au-Prince; the French gave up the city and the English took quiet possession. The blacks and mulattoes had now joined forces and occupied the mountainous part of the island under the command of Toussaint and Regaud, a mulatto. In March, 1797, the French government appointed Toussaint commander-in-chief of all the armies in Haiti. He began a campaign against the English “who found him a powerful opponent, and dreaded exceedingly to fall into his hands.” He also aided in conquering the Spanish who occupied the eastern part of the island and they, by treaty, gave, over the whole island to France. Toussaint next concluded a treaty with General Maitland, head of the English forces, who “in behalf of his government acknowledged Haiti to be an independent, neutral power and agreed to withdraw his forces from the island.”

In connection with the withdrawal of the English a story is told which shows what manner of man Toussaint was. To make final arrangements, General Maitland had agreed to visit General Toussaint at his headquarters, and to do so he was obliged to cross territory filled with hostile Negro soldiers. General Roume, a Frenchman, who had a command some distance away, knowing that Maitland was practically defenceless, sent word to General Toussaint to capture the Englishman. When the latter arrived at headquarters he was compelled to wait quite a while before Toussaint appeared, and, realizing his position began to grow uneasy. When Toussaint finally made his appearance, he gave Maitland two letters to read; the first was the treacherous advice of Ronnie and the other his reply, which read as follows: “What! Have I not passed my word to the English general? How then, can you suppose that I will cover myself with dishonor by breaking it? His reliance on my good faith leads him to put himself into my power; and I should be forever infamous, if I were to act as you advise. I am faithfully devoted to the Republic; but will not serve it at the expense of my conscience and my honor.” It is needless to say that General Maitland was ever after a firm friend of Toussaint L'Ouverture.

When peace was restored, Toussaint who had been appointed governor for life, showed himself as able to lead in the affairs of state as in affairs of war. He caused the adoption of a constitution which acknowledged the authority of France, but allowed no distinction between citizens because of race or color; the whites were protected and their estates restored to them and prosperity returned to Haiti. When Napoleon Bonapart made himself First Consul of France, Toussaint, admiring his genius, sent him a communication addressed “From the First of the Blacks to the First of the Whites.” Napoleon, incapable of valuing such qualities of mind and heart as Toussaint possessed, deeply resented what he considered the presumption of the ex-slave; he could not bear the thought of Haiti, independent and free, and resolved to establish slavery again.

To this end he fitted out an expedition under command of his brother-in-law, Le Clerc, which suddenly appeared off Cape Francois. Le Clerc seized Sanjos, the harbormaster, and threatened to hang him if he refused to lead the squadron into the harbor or to reward him with 2,000 pounds sterling if he consented. Sanjos heroically refused to betray his country, but Le Clerc succeeded in making a landing near by. General Henri Christophe, commander of the forces in the vicinity, upon hearing of the arrival of the French, burned the town to ashes and marched his men to Toussaint's residence about forty miles away.

Le Clerc had brought over with him Toussaint's sons who had been studying in France. He sent them, under guard, to their father to beg him to yield quietly, claiming (the boys really believed it) that Napoleon had only the good of Haiti at heart. Toussaint's wife joined her prayers to those of her children and the great general began to feel that they might be right. But soon his insight taught him that the French meant nothing but evil and once more he took up arms.

When Le Clerc found that he could not subdue the Haitians he made a treaty of peace with them which he had no intention of keeping. Shortly after this the home of Toussaint was surrounded at midnight and he and his family were placed on a vessel and hurried to France. It is said that the noble general did not lose hope, but felt that Napoleon would give him justice. Being himself the soul of honor, capable of justice to his humblest enemy, he judged the First Consul by himself, but he was to find out his sad mistake. Upon arriving at France he was separated from his family; he never saw Napoleon, but was taken from one prison to another and finally unused to the climate and tortured by cold and hunger, on April 27th, 1803, in the gloomy dungeon of Joux, great Toussaint died.

The Haitians, furious at the treacherous and inhuman treatment of their leader, took up arms under General Jean Jacques Dessalines. The French army was reduced to a handful, as much by yellow fever as by war and was compelled to capitulate. On January 1st, 1807, Haiti proclaimed her independence and Dessalines was appointed governor for life, shortly after taking upon himself the title of Emperor Jean Jacques I. Unfortunately, he had not experienced and witnessed the inhumanities of the French and Spanish in vain, and after a reign of about two years, marked by the greatest cruelties to the whites, he was assassinated.

The Spanish now took back the eastern part of the island and the western was governed in the north by Henri Christophe and in the south by Petion; Christophe took the title of King Henri I and had his family proclaimed as royal, but Petion remained satisfied with the title of president. Upon the death of these two, Haiti was united under the rule of Boyer. He succeeded in bringing the Spanish part under his government, and the whole island became one republic and was recognized by France in 1825. In 1842, the citizens revolted against Boyer and compelled him to flee, and in 1844 those of the Spanish section formed themselves into an independent republic, taking their old name, Santo Domingo.

The capitol of the Republic of Santo Domingo is the city of the same name which was founded in 1496 by Bartolemeo Colombo, brother of Christopher Columbus. It was destroyed by hurricane in 1547, and rebuilt on right bank of the Ozama. The government is in the hands of a president, a senate, and a chamber of deputies; there is a supreme court and a regular army. The inhabitants are largely of mixed European and African blood and there are many Turks and Syrians; the language is Spanish and the religion Roman Catholic. The people engage in cattle raising, etc., and sugar growing is a flourishing industry.

The Republic of Haiti is governed by a president, a senate and a chamber of commerce. The inhabitants number about 960,000, about nine-tenths of whom are rated Negroes, the remainder mulattoes. There are four hundred national schools, for which one million dollars are annually appropriated; the religion is Roman Catholic, the language French; the people chiefly engage in agricultural pursuits and excellent coffee, cotton and cocoa are grown. There is a light railway and a tramway of about five miles in Port-au-Prince, the capital.

Besides the men already named, the following have ruled over Haiti: Jean Pierre Boyer, from 1818 to 1843; Herard-Riviere, four months; General Pierrot; General Soulouque, who called himself “Faustin I, Emperor of Haiti,” and ruled from 1847 until 1859, organized a terrible massacre of mulattoes. He was succeeded by a mulatto, Fabre Geffrard, 1859-67; then came Sylvain Salnave,1867-9; Nissage-Saget, 1869-74; Michel Domingue, 1874-6; General Boisrond-Canal, 1876-9; General Salomon, 1879-88; Gen. F. D. Legitime, 1888-9; General Hyppolite, 1889-96; Gen. T. A. S. Sam, 1896-1902; Gen. Nord Alexis, 1902-08; Gen. H. E. A. Simon, 1908-1911.

Hon. R. D. Bassett, of Pennsylvania, was the first United States Minister to Haiti, and served from 1869 to 1877. He was succeeded by John M. Langston. Other ministers were Frederick Douglass, John S. Durham, W. F. Powell.

The Rev. Theodore Holly, minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church, made a visit to Haiti in 1855 to consult with the authorities there as to the proposed settling in that country of American Negroes. In 1861, a number of colored people left this country to make their homes in Haiti, and some of their descendants are there at the present time. In 1874, Mr. Holly was consecrated Bishop in Grace Church, New York, and was given charge of the work in Haiti. Bishop Holly gained the affection of the people and did a notable work in the island. He died March 22, 1911.

The history of Haiti is not a peaceful one, for the Haitians are, as we have seen, both by inheritance and training, a warlike people and there have been many uprisings and revolutions. It has been said, however, that the mass of the people have long since tired of war; and, indeed, how could it be otherwise since they are always the ones who suffer most?

There has been and is, however, a set of men who, instead of devoting their time and talents to the arts of peace, are always ready to bring about an upheavel hoping thereby to gain for themselves wealth or position; there are also men of other nations who, hoping for financial gain, are constantly, though secretly, urging the Haitian malcontents to revolution.

How sad that the example of great Toussaint should so often be forgotten; Toussaint to whom Haiti was always first and self last; Toussaint, true patriot, statesman and soldier of whom it has been said: “It is to affirm the scantiest truth that to the names of Cincinnatus and Washington, history has added that of Toussaint L'Ouverture.”