HISTORY  OF ST.  DOMINGO.
299
and finding means, first to convey away every thing desirable, he chap, y:
then evacuated it, leaving to the self-nominated victorious army, «oa
an empty arsenal, empty coffers, and frequently unsheltered quar-
ters.*—Such was the case with La Crete a Pierrot, and in the
defence of Avhich, and the operations that immediately followed,
the blacks covered themselves with glory, and their enemies Avith
infamy.
The main body of the  French  army Avas put  in motion The siege of
•                                                  r                                                                      ljd Crete a
against this fortress; and its defence, planned by the General Pierrot.
in Chief, Avas committed to General Dessalines. Whether it
Avas from the weakness of General Le Clerc, or the enthusiasm
©f his troops at the expectation of booty at this siege, is un-
known ; but, if the vengeance of disappointed personal ambition,
and an accumulation of every bad passion, had been infused in
the breasts of the soldiers, it could not have been more cruelly
displayed than in the affair of Crete a Pierrot. The scythed
car of the ancient Briton, or the poisoned javelin of the savage
Indian, are instruments of humanity, compared with the fatal
bayonet as used by the French on this day; nor, could the
desperation of the blacks in their first struggle for emancipation,
exceed their bitter vengeance, of which the very recital stains the
page of history.
* A General cannot be too much on his guard how he gratifies the best soldiers under
his command in this way. To brave and exhausted troops, rest and comfort, when they
can be afforded with safety, is a due consideration; but a desire of booty in a dangerous
and doubtful warfare, is like sleep in the frigid zone, always tempting, yet frequently de-
structive.
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