Haitian insurgents repeatedly baited French soldiers into ambushes using decoys and lures

Evidence

One French officer recalled an “African ruse” that was used again and again and “constantly succeeded.” “An entirely naked negro appeared in front of one of our posts, a short distance away; he approached, clowning around to amuse the soldiers with his grimaces; then he started making fun of us and provoking us with outrageous gestures.” When the French troops, “their patience soon exhausted,” fired at him, he dove out of the way. “Irritated,” the soldiers approached to fire at him, and soon a group of soldiers enticed into pursuing him ran headlong into an ambush. … At one point in 1803, French sentries outside Les Cayes “sighted a magnificent horse, riderless but carrying a saddle and a saber, prancing through the nearby fields.” The “gullible” captain offered a reward to any soldier who would capture the horse; four volunteered, but as they sought to approach the horse, they fell into an ambush and were all captured by a group of insurgents. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 1038

Categorization

• CANDY: The riderless horse bait — a saddled, sabered horse prancing in fields drawing four soldiers into capture — is a vivid, tellable anecdote.