this plantation has made rich men of three different owners in the short time that the french have been here , engaged in endless battles with the spanish who inhabit the southeast portion of the island , and two of those owners quit it for paris with their earnings , whilst the third died of a fever , and now it is in possession of the fontenays , antoine pere and antoine fils , but all know that it is charlotte who runs this plantation , and she is known far and wide as madame charlotte , and every merchant in this city pays court to her , and the local officials beg for her favor and for her money , of which she has a seemingly endless amount .