The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-18 00:00:00

THE KING OF DAHOMEY.

The following letter has been received by the
Duke of Wellington from the celebrated lion-
hunter M. Jules Gerard :

" Monsieur le Duc,—Your Grace is well aware
that few men gain by being seen close, unless they
are men of intellect and merit. The King of Da-
homey, despite his cognomen, which signifies the
' Eternal' or the ' Infinite,' fully justifies that rule
to which he is no exception. Physically he is simi-
lar to the other blacks of his country, tall, well
built, a head like a bulldog. The most usual ex-
pression of his countenance is that of cunning and
cruelty. His moral qualities are in perfect keeping
with his physical conformation ; he is more gracious
than the Kings who have preceded him, fanatical
for old traditions and customs. The traditions of
that microscopic court are to turn the whites tu the
best possible account (exploiter les blancs), but espe-
cially to induce them to make presents. It is the cus-
tom to excite the people with sanguinary spectacles,
so as to be able to carry off the neighbouring popula-
tion when a slave-dealer makes an offer to the King
and also at the annual custom of human sacrifices.

" I have just spent 20 days at Kana, where the
King was staying for the celebration of the lesser
ceremonies. On the day of my presentation I was
conducted across the market-place, where 12 corpses
were exposed to view on separate sites. Six were
hung up by the feet, the six others were upright
like men about to walk. Those whom I saw close
ware horribly mutilated and not beheaded. An
enormous pool of blood covered the ground beneath
the scaffold, giving unmistakable-evidence of previ-
ous sacrifices and of the tortures which accompanied
them. Our reception by the King was brilliant,
very cordial for myself as well as for the French
consul ; but we were soon able to convince ourselves
that this was but a comedy always performed by
this poor Paladin to get the presents brought by the
whites. Born and brought up in the midst of these
spectacles, which would be ridiculous if they were
not horrible, the present king is actually more fond
of them than his subjects. I saw him on that day
admiring with the delight of a child, the grotesque
dances and ridiculous pantomime of his Ministers,
and then of the Princes, and then of all present, for
our amusement. A most infernal music, which
nearly deafened us, delighted the King, who seemed
to bo in a state of ecstasy ; and this, 111. le Due,
lasted for six hours. On the following day his
Majesty invited us to witness a procession of the
King's riches. On reaching the square of the Palace
(read huts) an agreeable surprise had been prepared
for us. The entrance gate was flooded by a pool of
blood two yards in width, and on each side a column
of recently decapitated heads formed two immense
chaplets. It is true that on this day the King wore
the emblem of Christ on his breast. It must be pre-
sumed that it was the cross of execution that ho
meant to imply by this ornament. As regards the
procession of his wealth, it consisted of a few old,
carriages, bath chairs carried by men with figures
like Polichinello. One thousand women carried
e blood of the
hnum imago victims
each a bottle of liquor on her head, a brass basin in
the shape of a footbath to receive th
t\h,eirgdiany;baskets-full of
of the
various King's banquet
human skulls ; an image of St. Lawrence, as large as
aiae of
to h n e
life, carried by blacks ; finally the drum of death.
„ At another festival the King commanded on foot
his Amazons, who manoeuvred with the precision of
a flock of sheep. On the Market-place already men-
tion each step was ornamented by a dead body ; and
the King came and went in the midst of pools of
blood and fragments of human flesh in a state of
putrefaction. On this 9ccasion he had daubed his
face with coal. The ceretno.7y terminated by a mad.
dance, in which the King took pa: t, dancing vis a-vis
to drunken soldiers and musicians. Such are, M. lo
Due, the man, the Government, and the people
whom we have hitherto hoped to turn into a path
less contrary to the laws of humanity. I regret that
Capt. Burton should have arrived at Kana just at
the moment of the King's departure, as he might
have been enabled to see and judge of all these
things.—l am, M. le Due, your most obedient
servant, " JULES GEVARD,

"P.S. On the day of his departure the King in.
vited us to a review of his army prepared for war.
It was from 12,000 to 14,000 strong, comprising
12,000 Amazons, 1,000 men of the body-guard, and.
2,000 archers."

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