enter the Northern province, which was under his command; thus he was able to maintain the severe discipline which he had established there. Like his former chief, Christophe thought that for the time being absolute power was the only system possible in Haiti. Therefore, he intended to pursue the same plan of action which Dessalines had instituted. In consequence he was distrustful of the new ideas current in the Western and Southern provinces, where they were discussing the advisability of restricting the powers of the ruler of the country and of taking precautions against a possible restoration of tyranny. Fixing his suspicions upon the originators of this movement he cautiously remained with his army at Cap.
Alexandre Pétion was undoubtedly the leading spirit among the generals who were planning to limit the authority of the ruler of Haiti. Great was the contrast between the two men whom coming events were going to set at enmity one against the other.
Pétion's[1] father was a white Frenchman by the name of Sabès; he owed to the accident of his birth the advantage of a cultivated mind. Of a sickly constitution he was phlegmatic and easy-tempered; his tastes were simple and he was known for his kindness and his benevolence.
Christophe,[2] born and raised in slavery, was very little inclined to pity. Of a tall and muscular build, with bright and intelligent eyes as his most striking feature, he seemed the very embodiment of force. One of his defects was the love of ostentation; when he was a French general his home at Cap-Français was celebrated for its luxurious richness, and his mode of entertainment was pompous. He was of a sanguine and
- ↑ Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince on the 2d of April, 1770. A free man by birth, he studied mathematics, and became one of the best artillerymen of his time; he was also a competent silversmith.
- ↑ Christophe was born in the island of San-Christopher in 1769. According to Listant Pradine (Lois et Actes, 1807, p. 199) he was born at Grenada on the 6th of October, 1767. Christophe was still a slave when the events which led to the abolition of slavery took place in Saint-Domingue.
