The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-23

work. Their necessary wants are supplied from
the exchequer OF their Lord and master. The
proer and to do al the drudcery oi the
household. Some Of the haifbieed women are
&c 0s Arab
knew what missionary was, and that there were
some good and some had honaorcs among them,
ana could tell snip from schooner and whether
II was SLAYER or not before 1t dropped lis anchor
Altogether she was very 10 Interesting creature.
about Why dab who prIded themselves on being
nalinreeds They were Of all shades and complex.
Ions OF Color RON the nearly white to the ebony
Egyptian features ana others with the thick lips
and nas, broad noses OF the pure Congo. AZ a
teiligent than the men. Whenever they wished 10
snow tneir contempt and adherence OF one oil their
Number n they would Invariably sismatize her as
TINS that their wolhsh propensItes were those OF
cannibal.
THE KINGS COUNCIL.
me presence ofihe King was finally announced
by the chief concn blower and by the firing Of mint
Ws,d rsndo n ns hs instead
us we expected to see him, mad snesked
away from his guard OF honor Immediately
house lor the purpose OF getting his morning bit.
ters. When ne again made his appearance and
chs con 70 MS IN me sS
present Frustrated themselves full length on the
ground, with the exception OF the whites, until His
Woody Majesty had entered the pavilion. Here
VIC had good opportunity OF observing rim. Gobo
Is man OF quite six leet in height, but OF rather
covered with medals, chains, bracelets ana CROSSES
or gold and precious stones. many OF them heir
looms and others presented TO him. He seemed to
ebony BLACK skin OF his arms, which had been
rubbed with some kind OF oil, fairly shone as II
yellow silk robe, richly embroidered with gold
thread; Around his head was q gold band, with
snrmounted with three beautiful pumes OF pure pure
white ostrich feathers, which were In striking con-
trast TO his jet black complexion hs nose, lips
anu forehead. and, indeed, the whole face, had
more oil the Egyptian cast than the pure and I'M
aduterated negro OF the equator. C0bo wore san
his robe, and which were fastened by clasps at his
ankles ana across the teet. In other respects his
body was entirely bare. He has chronic froxn
on his features all the time, and DesOza tells me
that he was never known either to laugh or even
smile. which is sure indication OF the brutal
Gobo Is intensely dlgnl0ed. He barely noticed
our presence even after we had been formally pre-
scented, and refused to extend his hand to DO
shaken. He merely blurted out, "UngOv which
was interpreted BY one CT the whites as Enough;
pass on" So we understood 1t, and retired to q
the ill-leeling nc bears all white strangers who
dare TO approach his sacred person. He refused to
Win any q u.s. t the
After all was quiet again Coco addressed the
people In the market place IN Dahomey lingo, in
"HS Majesty OF the JwentyfOur seasons OF prosper
Gus harvesta had arrived In person to say As woll
to his people, and was prepared now to receive
tnclrl0yalty to him IN the way oil tribute to sup
port his royal state and household" In other
words, ne was on nothing more than big begging
After getting through with his speech His
Majesty squatted on thc ground on q tigers skin
spread 10 the centre OF the pavilion. Then
him with fans made Of ostrich feathers. while ne
listened uoggediy to the paiaver OF number OF
OF the condition OF the Kingdom. His son, the
heir apparent IS quite ~, and II he dies we may
BE- able to see the saorcs Of few hundred Of
wives were present at the council.
SUMMARY WAY or c0LLECrING TRIBUTE.
Danomcy had visited Whydah tor the purpose OF
stealing all ne could lay his hands on under the
q collecting n tnnte IN the way Of taxes
hu's attended by q few plumber carriers. What
ever pleased his fancy that was exposed to view
and transferred to the bags which his followers
had with them. Tho latter required considerable
watching Also ios saw one Big Unlocking savage
good sized ball ana conceai 1t under one OF his
armpits. This was done with all the dexterity Of
OF the party stood measuring the value of an
article Tor an instant which he had usl taken from
the neck OF young native woman.
The natives OF Whydah, when they see the tax
gatherer going the rounds secrcte all their prop
cry MS pGynx sn plead
comes round, If caught In the possession Of any
thing OF value, they are compelled to fork over
This tax collecting RAID takes place semiannualy.
The white traders pay nothing but capita tax Of
small amount lou On eacn hs save they hold;
appeared very GUM and dignifed. He seemed to
be laboring under the impression that s9mehoy ne
people seem to understand the value Of money
quite as we'll as we 90. A Portuguese s'dumpr
heavy essser ccin, worth asout four
for its face value Any such tribe as small bottle
with glass stopper, hatcher, jacKniic, small
90 HT coSa ne es
traded OF Tor q hundred times their real value.
ANY OF these articles we have mentioned will buy
which arc used for mounting ladies' whip handles,
ivory or gold dust itself. NJ, my conapagnon de
soydae; dld quite thriving business In trading OF
open fliGree WORK, made OF such fine gold that he
could easily stretch the bracelets over the wrists
into shape again almost with the same elasticity
as indiaruober.
succeeded in buying very 1ne robe. made ont
matched In color and neatly scwed togetner with
tendons for half dozen red and yellow nandker-
chiefs. which could be bought In chatham street
for fifteen or twenty cents each.
A PRINCESS OFFERED FOR SALE.
Finally produced an empty cut glass bottle.
for choice extracts. 1t would hold about pint
and was rather prettily Ornamented with blue en-
tered on representing some gorgeous female, with
chocolatc-colored dress and fiery auburn hair
Informed his black Majesty that me like IKE
known as holly warden. L was passed iron,
hand 10 hand and examined with great care. The
court OF King Gob0 looked upon 1t wi such avari-
coas eyes that the latter finally offered the Prn-
cess Of Eba Tor It II l would consent to the bar
gain. 1t VAS agreed, moreover, that could take
this Princess away with me and dispose Of ner as
pleased II would only hand over the bottle. Her
Royal Highness was not consulted In the transac-
ton. she nodded her head, however, APPROX
ingly and. ike Barks. was quite willing co accom-
pany me II only said yes. aut my Anna Maria at
home would decidedly object to my making any
such arran gem0nt in her absence. Then, again,
the Princess Of Eba was not handsome or even
fascinating in her manners, so had to f0regO che
opportunity OF buying her Tor glass bottle, but
nevertheess succeeded IN trading of the latter for
handsome bracelet OF pure gold and 1attered
myself that made the best OF the bargain after
all.
SINCE THE EXPORT DEMAND FOR SLAVES
has almost entirely ceased, by reason or the inter-
diction Of the naval forces OF the United states
and Great Britain, most OF the traffic In human
beings Is now carried on BY the people OF Whydah
with the neighbOring and interior tribes with
whom they are at peace. The white traders con-
1ne themselves exclusively to the foreign market.