Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-06-08
VOL. XXXVIII.
Human Sacrifices in Dahomey,

mild in disposition that they find it diff.
cult to account for the horrible crueltes
practlced, except on the theory of the
influence of the fetish priests, who are
interested in having the bloody sacrifices
perpetuated. The number of human
beings annually sacrificed is estimated at
several thousand. The present king is
entirely under the influence of the heather
priests. He is known rs the most power.
ful and ferocious ruler in that whole re-
gion. Most of the time he is making in
cursions in neighboring territories with
his two famous regiments of Amazons.
During ten months of the year, says a
French missionary, he makes incursions on
the neighboring territories, to catch as
large number of slaves rs possible. He
is chiefly assisted in this work by his two
celebrated regiments of Amazons. The
prisoners made in these expeditions are
divided into three classes. One is sold to
the slave merchants of the interior, and
was formerly intended for the European
trader; one portion, chiefly women, is
fattened and sold to butchers, who, revolt
ing as the fact may be even to relate,
openly sell human flesh in their shops
The third portion is reserved for the hu-
man sacrifices, which takes place in the
months of August and September, during
the celebration of the Grand Customs" :"
These ceremonies have u double purpose
that of pacifying Ogun, the god of war,
and other deities, and also that of recall
ing the memory of dead kings and of
sending to them supplies of men and pro-
visions. There exists a belief among the
savages, that man passing into the future
life takes with him all that is placed in his
grave. For this reason. in Dahomey, AS
in other savage countries, provisions are
placed in his grave. When a king dies,
all his women, slaves and ministers must
follow him.
During the past year the king of Porto
Novo died of poison, administered by a
rival for the throne. His funeral lasted
nine days. For the whole of this time
considerable number of human victims
were sacrificed every night in the fetish
forest, destined for the " Grand Customs. :"
The missionaries, from their neighboring
dwelling, could hear the cries of the suf-
lerers, whose mutlated bodies we're seen
every morning in the public squares of
the town, arranged in lines The heads
had been cut off and nailed along the
walls of the royal palace.
At O'Clock on the morning of the ninth
day the new king and his suite, preceded
by the fetish priests, moved to the sacred
wood, where the grave of the late king
had been dug. The sacrifice begun. Seven
slaves were slain. and their blood WAS
mixed with earth to form a kind of plas.
ter with which the grave was lined. The
seven heads of the victims. with provis-
ions of all kinds. were deposited at the
bottom. The BODY of the king was then
lowered, Next was seen a1proachino
nine of his women. in their brightest
garments. purposelv intoxicated before.
hand with copious doses of British tafia.
or rum. They crossed tbrouoh the throno.
casting smiles on each side. believing
themselves the object of an ovation,
When they reached the edge of the open
grave, they were made to kneel down,
stunned with blow on the head. before
they had any suspicious. and thrown still
alive. down upon the body of their roval
spouse. Earth was then flung in, to cover
the whole pile OF dead and living. At a
distance of a few steps "A AXE was
prepared. There the kino's ministers
were to be burnt. But these astute politi-
clans had dressed up some slaves in their
robes of office. who peri,hed in their stead
while thew themselves made GOOD their
escape
-----"-------
The desire of the Chinese to have theil
pictures taken amounts to passion
There is one firm in this city which does d
large business almost exclusively with
| [ ,hIungp (tnnVnrSInU with VpfprpD
photographer, who has looked at more
Chinese LONELINESS through camera than
any other man in the world, perhaps, q
Chronicle reporter learned some facts about
the celestial desire for portraits. " You
see, said he, pointing to row OF photo
graphs in which a lot of ill-looking
MongoIians faced the spectator, with theil
toes turned out and their arms akimbo
"all these are In the same position. 1t il
not once in year that you lind China
man who wants to strike any other atti
tude. HE believes that when he has hl'
heels pointing toward each other and hi
elbows crooked as if they were cast-iron
he is the picture of digntied repose. The
higher the social standing of the China
man, the stitfer he wants to look. White
people want to look as if they were utter
ly unconscious of sitting for their picture
but the Chinese subject wants to have
every line of his face and costume an.
and that he is thinking of it, In the
points that white people ars most particu
lar about, the Chinese are thoroughly
careless. A Chinaman doesn't care
whether you touch up the wrinkles in hi.