Notes on Haïti, made during a residence in that republic. T.1

Page 89

ROAD

TO

GRAND

GOAVE.

59

1795, had very handsomely mauled five of our line of battle ships, one of which was com­ manded by the late Sir John Duckworth ; but by the mistake of my guide we got into the main road, which is wide, and for some dis­ tance screened from the burning rays of the sun by a double row of trees of considerable size. W e passed L'Habitation Beauharnois, which formerly belonged to the father of that gallant, high-minded gentleman, Eugene Beau­ harnois. It is now the property of a Haitian, whose name has escaped my memory. On this road there are no inconsiderable marks of cultivation, as compared with the neighbour­ hood of Port-au-Prince ; generally speaking, however, every thing is on a small scale, when one reflects on the magnitude of the establish­ ments of which the " disjecta membra" are profusely scattered on every road that I had previously passed over. On the right, not far from the town, lies the best estate in the district, the property of a black officer, one of the pre­ sident's aides-de-camp. This perfection is as­ cribed by public report (which I believe not to be unfounded) to the use of club-law, which the gallant colonel is said by virtue of his mili­ tary authority to administer with equal libe­ rality and success. Among other stories, it is


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