The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-08-02
FIERCE 0 N SOLDIERS.

FIERCE WOMEN SOLDIERS.
The Army of Amnzons Of the King OF Da
homey..How AGainh Turned tho Tables
on his Foes--The Aulazonians Routed.
The kingdom of Dahomey is in some
respects one of the most curious and in
teresting of all the African principali-
ties. The military strength is net to be
estimated by deducting women and chill.
dren from the whole population. The
Amazons of this corner of the world
play a very important part in its mill
tary affairs, and if unfortunately We
should be compelled to 60 and fetch the
powder and shot which this audacious
potentate has pledged himself to provide
for us, King Gelele's female regiments
will form q very interesting subject Of
study for the strong minded representa-
tives of the sex in England and else
where.
The precise period when ladies first
took to soldering In Dahomey appears
to be involved in some %obscurity. The
present monarch is the ninth since the
founding of the kingdom in 1925. 1t
appears to have been Agajah, the fourth
king, who raised from the women of his
palace the first female army of which we
have any knowledge. Skertchley says
that in 1928 this monarch received q de:
feat at tho hands of the Eyeos, the i'm
placable enemies of his race, and he Or
ganized an army Of Amazons, and by
their assistance completely turnsd the
tables on his foes; though whether the
ladies were such ~vixens, or the gentle
men too gallant to offer a serious re-
s~istance, does not appear. Whether
Agaiah really originated this peculiar
service we cannot say; but the merit of
bringing it to its highest degree of per-
lection undoubtedly belongs to Gezu,
the father of the monarch who now
seems to defy British power.
The number of the Amazons is some
what dubious. Duncan speaks of a re-
view at Aboine, in which 8, 900 of these
female warriors passed in procession be-
fore him. Skertchley, writing later,
says their number may possibly bed 900.
"rhey ore divided into three brigades,"
says the same traveller, "known as the
kings company, the right and left
wings. Each of these has a peculiar
headdress by which it may be known.
The kings brigade wear the head
shaved a la tsT6an, and bound with
narrow fllets, with aligators Of. colored
cloth sewn on them. The right wing
have their heads shaven, leaving only a
solitary tuft or two, while the left wear
the hair al natureNe. Whether these
fair warriors have any choice of regi-
ments we are unable to say. In some
parts Of the world there would perhaps
be some little heartburning among ladies
who were divided into corps, one of
which was permitted to wear the hair al
natureWe, while another was required to
shave tho head. Amazons, however,
whose conquests are supposed to be en-.
TREY of the military order, are perhaps
above the t~rivialities of personal adorn-
ment.
Celibacy is enjeined upon all but q
few who are found to be essential to the
happiness of the king or are given in
marriage to a few of the most deserving
soldiers. Whether Gelele keeps up the
same mode of enlistment as his p~aternal
predecessor we are unable. to say. Gezu
used to require every n OF his subjects
who had daughters above n certain age
to present them at court upon q certain
day, and he personally selected the most
promising of the aristocracy for ANA
ION oficers-or oficeresses, IS some
travellers prefer 1.-THE girls Of the low
er orders being drafted into the rank
and file. The dress of these female
warriors appears to be somewhat after
the Mary Walker"type, with a few tri-
fling notifications. "They wear" says
Duncan "a blue and white striped cot
ton surtout of stout native manufacture
without sleeves, leaving freedom for the
arms. The skirt or tunic reaches as low
as the kilt of the Highlanders. A pair
Of short trousers is worn underneath,
reaching two inches below the Bnee.
BY way of illustrating the accom.
plishments Of these active damsels,
Lieut.. Duncan may again be quoted :
81 was conducted" he says, 'to a
space OF broken grounu, where fourteen
days had been occupied in erecting
three immense prickly piles of green
bush. These three clumps, or piles, of
a sort of strong briar Or thorn, armed
with the most dangerous prickles, were
placed in line, occupying about four
hundred yards, leaving only q marrow
passage between them sufficient merely
to distinguish each clump appointed to
each regiment. These piles were about
seventy feet wide and eight high. Upon
examining them T could not persuade
myself that any human being without
boots or shoes would under any cir
cumstances attempt to pass owe 80 dan
gerous q collection of the most efficient
y armed plants T had ever seen. Be-
hind these piles already mentioned were
large pens ct the distance Of 300 yards,
fenced with piles eve feet high,
thickly matted together with strong
reeds. Inclosed within were several
hundred slaves belonging to the king"
The Amazons appear on the scene, halt
with shouldered arms 200 yards from
the prickly fortress, and then the word
is given. "a rush was made toward
the pile with a speed beyond concep.
ton, and in less than one minute the
whole body had passed over this i'm
mense pile and had taken the supposed
town."
1t places the gallantry Of the traveller
in a very favorable light to be able to
add that when the proud potentate ask
ed whether he thought the same mum
Der OF English woman could do the
same, he replied that the ladies of Eng
land were not soldiers, but that many
Of them had Individually and volun-
tarily done things quite as great.
Politics In New Mexico.
In 1916, when the war growing out OF
the annexation of Texas was in pro-
prase Gnnera1 Kaarney took possassion