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 ho 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 to the
best possible account (exploiter les hlancs), 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 Kane, 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
were 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 be in a state of ecstasy ; and this, M. le Duc,
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
it
th
me li.usitngbewprore!
the emblem of Christ on his breast.
a few old
sumed that it was the cross of execution that he
meant to imply by this ornament: As regards the
bynsismteedn of
procession of his wealth,
carriages, bath chairs With figures
like Polichinello. One thousand women carried
footbath to receive the blood of the
each a bottle of liquor on her head, a brass basin in.
Itcha'rriite carried
an image of St. Lawrence, as lar e
on the. day. of the Ring's banquet
thhuemsahna shave o
victimsfa
of the Virgin ; various
an image baskets-full of
r d by blacks ; finally the drum of deagth.as
"At another festival the king commanded on foot
humanrsikenli"
life,
his Amazons, who manoeuvred with the precision of
ented by a
a flock of sheep. On the Market-place already men-
tion each step was ornam
blood and fragments
.sofo
the King came and went in the dead
body ; and
human flesh in a state of
midst of pools of
putrefaction.
ceremony terminated by a mad
face with coal. The
dance, in which the occasion he had daubed his
to drunken soldiers
Ring took part, dancing its a-vis
and musicians. Such are, M. le
Duc, 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
thin
am, 111. le Due, your most obedient
servant
" ,
" JULES GERARD.
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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