The National Intelligencer And Washington Advertiser

New-York, June
MASSACRE
OF ALL THE WHITES AT CAPE
FRANCOIS.

By the Pilot Boat Grey-Hound,
Capt. Sanford, in 16 days from Cape Francois we have a confirmation of the massacre and pillage at that and other places of the Island by Gen. Dessalines' troops, which commenced on the 19th of April, and was continued, without intermission till the 24th of May.— All the French inhabitants, including men, women and children, to the number of between 2000 and 2500, were put to the sword or bayonet at the Cape during the above period. On the 14th inst. after the work of destruction was completed, Dessalines left the Cape on his way to his head quarters by way of Port-de-Paix and Gonaives.—On the 22d of April, Fort Dauphin was pillaged, and all the whites, to the number of about ninety, men, women and children were massacred, and a part of the town destroyed. A few days after, the French inhabitants of St. Jago and other parts of the interior, were escorted to the Cape, and there destroyed in the most wanton manner.

On the 12th of May, Dessalines issued a proclamation (a copy of which follows) calling upon the Spanish inhabitants of the City of Santo Domingo, to declare themselves for or against him, allowing them fifteen days to determine. This proclamation was made in consequence it was said, of his having received dispatches from Port-au-Prince, informing him of the arrival of a reinforcement of French troops at Santo Domingo.

To enter into a full detail of the particulars of the massacre and plunder of Cape, would be a painful task, and afford no pleasure to our readers; but we are assured that from the beginning to the end of the hellish work, the most unparalleled cruelties were inflicted upon the whites in a manner too shocking to relate. Men, women and children were hacked down with swords and plunged with bayonets. Women with children in their arms, were seen flying through the streets to avoid their pursuers; and being overtaken by them, one thrust of a bayonet pierced both mother and child!

After this dreadful massacre the dead lay in the streets for three days, when the inhabitants were ordered to remove those within a certain distance of each dwelling—which were afterwards dragged off and thrown into a ditch at the foot of a mountain.

Previous to the massacre, certain of the blacks in order to obtain the property of the whites, which was secreted, called on them individually, and promised to spare their lives if they would give it up; having obtained it, not one of them was excepted from the general massacre! The property thus perfidiously obtained, (consisting of gold, jewels and plate) was said to be immense Gold was brought to the town in basketfuls by the blacks, and offered in exchange for silver for less than half its value.

We are informed that Dessalines has decreed, that any Frenchman hereafter who shall arrive in St. Domingo shall be put to death.

To show further the vindicative Cruelty of the blacks and their inveteracy against the whites,we shall mention the following act; Just before the massacre took place, a Danish schooner belonging to St. Thomas having on board a number of French passengers after sailing was pursued by armed boats, overtaken & brought back, and the Danish Captain crew and passengers all put to death.

The few Americans that were at the Cape, remained unhurt. With the exception of the printer and a few mechanics at the Cape, whose services were too useful to be spared, not one Frenchman survived the general destruction.

At the date of our advices. Dessalines was erecting Strong fortifications in the mountains. His force consists of 60,000 men.

On the 28th of April, General Dessalines issued a proclamation, explanatory of his motives and of his future conduct, of which the following is a copy:

Translated for the Mercantile Advertiser.

LIBERTY OR DEATH.
PROCLAMATION.

Jean Jacques Dessalines, Governor general, to the inhabitants of Hayti.

Crimes, the most atrocious, such as were until then unheard of, and would cause nature to shudder, have been perpetrated. The measure was over-heaped. At length the hour of vengeance has arrived, and the implacable enemies of the rights of man have suffered the punishment due to their crimes.

My arm, raised over their heads, has too long delayed to strike. At that signal, which the justice of God has urged, your hands righteously armed, have
brought the axe upon the ancient tree of slavery and prejudices. In vain had time, and more especially the infernal politics of Europeans, surrounded it with triple brass; you have stripped it of its armour; you have placed it upon your heart, that you may become (like your natural enemies) cruel and merciless.

Like an overflowing mighty torrent that tears down all opposition, your vengeful fury has carried away every thing in its impetuous course. Thus perish all tyrants over innocence, all oppressors of mankind!

What then? bent for many ages under an iron yoke; the sport of the passions of men, of their injustice, and of the caprices of fortune: mutilated victims of the cupidity of white Frenchmen; after having attained with our toils these infatiate blood suckers, with a patience and resignation unexampled, we should again have seen that Sacrilegious horde make an attempt upon our destruction without any distinction of sex or age; and we, men without energy, of no virtue, of no delicate sensibility, should not we have plunged in their breast the dagger of desperation? Where is that vile Haytian, so unworthy of his regeneration, who thinks he has not accomplished the decrees of the Eternal by exterminating these blood-thirsty tigers? If there is one, let him fly; indignant nature discards him from our bosom; Let him hide his shame far from hence: the air we breathe is not suited to his gross organs; it is the pure air of Liberty, august and triumphant.

Yes, we have rendered to these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage: Yes, I have avenged my Country: and I have avenged America. The avowal I make of it in the face of the earth and heaven constitutes my pride and my glory. Of what consequence to me is the opinion which contemporary and future generations will pronounce upon my conduct? I have performed my duty; I enjoy my own approbation; for me that is sufficient.

But what do I say? The preservation of my unfortunate brothers, the testimony of my own conscience, are not my only recompence: I have seen two classes of men, born to cherish, aid and succour one another—mixed, in a word, and blended together—rising for vengeance, and disputing the honour of the first blow.

Blacks and yellows, whom the refined duplicity of Europeans has for a long time endeavoured to divide; you, who are now consolidated, and make but one family; without doubt it was necessary that our perfect reconciliation should be sealed with the blood of your butchers. Similar calamities have hung over your proscribed heads; a similar ardor to strike your enemies here signalized you: & the like fate is reserved for you: and the like interest must therefore render you for ever one, indivisible, and inseparable. Maintain that precious concord, that happy harmony amongst yourselves: it is the pledge of your happiness, your salvation, and your success: it is the secret of being invincible.

It is necessary, in order to strengthen these ties, to recall to your remembrance the catalogue of atrocities committed against our species: the massacre of the entire population of this island. meditated in the silence and sang froid of the cabinet: the execution of that abominable project, to me unblushingly proposed, and already begun by the French with the calmness and serenity of a countenance accustomed to similar crimes. Guadaloupe, pillaged and destroyed: its ruins still reeking with the blood of the children women and old men put to the sword: Pillage himself the victim of their craftiness after having basely betrayed his country and his brothers: The brave and immortal Delgrée, blown into the air with the fort which he defended, rather than accept their offered chains. Magnanimous warrior! that noble death, far from enfeebling our courage, serves only to rouse within us the determination of avenging or of following thee. Shall I again recall to your memory the plots lately formed at Jeremie? the terrible explosion which was to be the result, notwithstanding the generous pardon granted to these incorrigible beings at the expulsion of the French army? the deplorable fate of our departed brothers in Europe? and [dread harbinger of death] the frightful despotism exercised at Martinique? Unfortunate people of Martinique. could I but fly to your assistance, and break your fetters! Alas! an insurmountable barrier separates us.

Perhaps a spark from the same fire which enflames us, will alight into your bosoms: perhaps at the sound of this commotion, suddenly awakening from your lethargy, with arms in your hands, you will reclaim your sacred and imprescriptable rights.

After the terrible example which I have just given, that sooner or later Divine Justice will unchain on earth some mighty minds, above the weakness of the vulgar, for the destruction and terror of the wicked; tremble, tyrants, usurpers, scourges of the new world! our daggers are sharpened; your punishment is ready! Sixty thousand men, equipped, inured to war, obedient to my orders, burn to over a new sacrifice.
Justice to the manes of their assassinated brothers. Let that nation come who may be mad and daring enough to attack me. Already at its approach, the irritated genius of Hayti, rising out of the bosom of the ocean, appears; his menacing aspect throws the waves into commotion, excites tempests, and with his mighty hand disperses ships, or dashes them to pieces; to his formidable voice the laws of nature pay obedience; diseases, plague, famine, conflagration, poison, are his constant attendants. But why calculate on the assistance of the climate and of the elements? Have I forgot that I command a people of uncommon cast, brought up in adversity, whose audacious daring frowns at obstacles and increases by dangers? Let them come, then, these homicidal Cohorts! I wait for them with firmness and with a steady eye, I abandon to them freely the seashore, and the plains where cities have existed; but woe to those who may approach too near the mountains! It were better for them that the sea received them into its profound abyss, than to be devoured by the anger of the children of Hayti. "War to death to tyrants!" this is my motto; "Liberty, independence!" this is our rallying cry. Generals, officers, soldiers, unlike him who has preceded me, the ex-general Toussaint Louverture, I have been faithful to the promise which I made to you when I took up arms against tyranny, and whilst the last spark of life remains in me I shall keep my oath. Never again shall a colonist or an European set his foot upon this territory with the title of master or proprietor. This resolution shall henceforth form the fundamental basis of our constitution. Should other chiefs, after me, by pursuing a conduct diametrically opposite to mine, dig their own graves and those of their species, you will have to accuse only the law of destiny which shall have taken me away from the happiness and welfare of my fellow citizens. May my successors follow the path I shall have traced out for them! It is the system best adapted for consolidating their power; it is the highest homage they can render to my memory. As it is derogatory to my character and my dignity to punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty, a handful of whites, commendable by the religion they have always professed, and who have besides taken the oath to live with us in the woods, have experienced my clemency. I order that they respect them, and that they be unmolested. I recommend anew and order to all the generals of department, &c. to grant succours, encouragement and protection, to all neutral and friendly nations who may wish to establish commercial relations in this island. Head quarters at the Cape, 28th April, 1804, first year of independence. The governor general, Signed, DESSALINES, A true copy The secretary general, JUSIECHANLATTE.

The quantity of silver plate, jewellery, gold articles, &c, plundered from the dead and brought in by the negroes, was immense, and was frequently offered for sale at half its value. On the 22d April Fort Dauphin was pillaged, a part of the town destroyed, and the whites massacred to the number of from 85 to 90. A few days afterwards the French inhabitants of St. Jago, and other parts of the interior, were escorted to the Cape under a strong guard, and there butchered. A Danish schooner, lying at the Cape, with passengers from St. Thomas, was seized and every sailor and passenger on board massacred. Of the white persons who escaped from the Island almost by miracle, several have arrived at this port in the Greyhound: 9 in the Alma which sailed for New-York six days before the Greyhound, viz. Carne and daughter, H--lin, Wife and Son, d'Albre, Altaix, Gabareau and wife: and in the Nancy, for Charleston, Mess. Oliver and Gromhan.