The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-23
w HY p A H..
Herald Special Correspondence from
the Blight Of Benin.
The Great Slave Mart
OF Africa.
REVIVAL OF THE TRAFFIC.
Congo Passengers for
Cuba.
A PRINCESS FOR SALE.
The Portuguese Barracoons
of the Interior.
The Royal Court of Gobo, the
Slave King of Dahomey.
0TUE MEMnRV Or rnRnnY Iv
A PRINCESS FOR SALE.
The Portuguese Barracoons
of the interior.
The Royal Court of Gobo, the
Slave King of Dahomey.
aTHE MEMORY OF GORDON ~

aTHE MEMORY OF GORDON Z"
WHYDAB. BIaHr OF BENIN,
WEST COAST OF AFRICA, Dec. IL. 1873
The winds and currents Of Equatorial Africa have
finally driited sour flag' to the famous roadstcad
OF Whydah, which is the chief seaport town and
great slave mart or the Kingdom of Dahomey.
Tho facilities Afforded for sending letters occur
az such rare intervals on this part OF the coast that
embrace the only opportunity which offers ar
present to forward this correspondence by the way
OF England, which the Captain OF the British
steamer Alert, which sails from here tomorrow,
has promised to despatch for me by way OF Cape
Coast. Our last anchorage was
AT PRINCES ISLAND,
which lies to the westward Of this place, where we
learned for the first time of the terrible ravagcs Of
the fever at Cape Coast Castle, to which point we
were bound. cur skipper then very prudenty
determined to give the Cape very wide berth and
thought best to change his destination to look In
upon Gobo, the slave King of Dahomey, or "Young
Snu1." as he is usually called here by the ancient
mariners who do guard duty around the angles Of
the African coast
wHYDAH
is comparatively FREQ from lever at present, not
withstandtng the rainy season has set IN with its
heavy thunder and lightning and occasional hur-
station OF the whole West Coast OF Africa with the
interior tribes. In tie more palmy days OF this
horrible tra1ic In human beings, when the United
States, Spain, Portugal and Brazil encouraged tho
propagation OF slavery In their respective terri
tories aud the slave pirate claimed protection Of
their laws and saiied dcfantly under the nag OF q
civilized Power, Whydah nourished and prospered
amazingly. Since then, however, its Importance
has somewhat declined. Under the rule OF its
former
~ooLLY.HRADED CHEF AND PoTENTATE, GEO TIE
FIRST,
it deserved the odum and detestatlon 1t so album.
dainty obtained. all the more that he was both
able ana sagaclous For upwards OF twenty-five
years ne supplied all the demands OF the Spanish
ana Portuguese slave dealers VINO infested the
Blight OF Benin, ravagtng and devasta ting the in
terior far and wide by his slave hunts to obtain
victims for his European customers. He organized
and led these internal forays and cructies on the
largest scale Africa has ever known, and annually
sold. without remorss scruplc, his own country
men In tens OF thousands for expectation. His hor.
xihle cruetles arrested the progress Of Africa by
almost
DgPOPULATING THE sEAcoAsT DISTRICTS,
TO the immense material prosperity OF Cuba and
Brazil. GezO became known throughout the civil
lied world by his many innlman sacrifices and for
his name has already been enrolled upon the tab
lets of nfamy among the foremost OF the monsters
OF humanity.
G0bo the Second, the present ruler and
TIE SLAVE KING OF DAHOAEY,
II son OF Geo. and seems to have inherited all
the savage nature and Instincts Of his father, and
has proclaimed hts policy to be the same. King
0obo, however. has been severely punished since
his accession to the throne. His seaboard towns
have been frequently destroyed BY the British
cruisers, his treasures carried on and many OF his
slaves rescued and set Tree as fast as he Captured
any
Oflate years he has been on his good behavior.
He has his court a nobility, an army, composed
partly Of Amazons, and policy. His father made
treaties, concluded alliances and brought himself
within the vortex Of European diplomacy. His
son, however, unable TO control his savage IN.
stncts, Notwithstanding his long intercourse with
the whites, Is fast relapsing again into barbarsm.
The prices Of negroes are too low to admit him
much profit, and so finding his treasury almost
depleted and hts coast watched by men-of.war no
has become very gloomy and taciturn 1t Is only
on rare occasions, however, that G0bo now visits
the death penalty upon any OF his subjects unless
for some helnous offence committed directly under
his own eyes. All the ferocty OF his cruel nature
- then aroused, and, acting upon the Impulse Of
the moment. ne either brains his victim with tho
blow of war club or else Pins hic, to the earth
with spear.
THE FEAR OF RETRIBUTr0s
being constantly In his mind he now usually leaves
Oil such matters as the conviction and punishment
OF criminals who disobeJ his orders and DEGREES to
. council OF chiefs, who tx the penalty without con.
sultinr his black Majesty. For slight OFFENCES,
which are amenable to the Dahomey law, q fine is
imposed; a graver OFFENCE Is followed by conhsca-
ton OF all the prisoners property, and il
the latter Is unfortunate enough not to
have any, then the property OF his
nearest relative Is condemned to pay
tho fine. Sometimes the prisoner is
doomed to slavery and Is got rid OF in the Same
manner rs counterfeit note with some other
people, by passing him Oh on somebody else. II
man murders blood relation, then the next
nearest Of kin to tho murdered man becomes his
executi0ner. This is Dahomcy law.
ruE YoRrUGuEsE BARRACooNs.
Shortly after our arrival at whydah wo were
visited BY q Portuguese millionaire nabob. who
rejoices in the patronymic OF Desoza. Hts wealth
Is estimated a. high several millions sterling,
~ OF which he has accumulated In the slave trade
HIS father wn. =, :. the same line Of business here
before him, and EXERCISED uv. power OYER S S,s
Oczo than all the ,.tner whites living wnntS
cofnmooms THO present na" ,ashsr We'll edu.
Gated now the ci.i slave factor Of the coast;
ne resides IN hts own cas which IS Located xSc
We had an IN the n,s was erected
by Portugal abcnt two cyn, OF 70, when she de-
sHtsnse safn ser, income rom the part
Africa. II h Q, nrctectorate over Irregular
scss "a }of ditch and fosse. 0op
Portugal abolished s saS towers at &c angles n
E0ass 1s castle passed into the hsn1 rem tns
DesSza family, WIN. ,as@ e a1to Tho possession
the same Singy sovereignty 70 ~ great extent
ass zone py whlf "a. the Portuguese dd IN
Desoza, lives In hts ce az. occupant Baron
q and dn s nas Agss pstcs enS
nas his ar r OF with royal magncence amn
0idy equipped and armed to do ills biS gn, spien
plo.ect ms person and property Tho s Sna
there in hammocrs us s snsaosoncn are carried