Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-28
NEWS FROM DAHoMEY.
A Traveller Defends the - Peculiar" Gus
toms of that Interesting Country.


Correspondence Neao Yoyh World.
As, perhaps, the only man in this coun-
/ try who has ever been through Dahomey,
/ certainly the only one who has inter
viewed the King of that realm, l should
/ like to comment slightly on the English
news dated from London July u. l say
( English news for the simple reason that
it is purely Of English manufacture and
got up for purpose. This purpose is
that she wants Dahomey, and has wanted
it for fifty years, but DahOmey is defended
by nature, her coast and her
climate, iron British rapacitY and settle
mcpI aud the empire upon which the sun
never sets cannot get IA fO0thOld. The
Ashantee war was an outgTOWth Of this
want and WAS a failure, and all English
accounts and attempts are but part Of the
tact that DahoRey and its adjacent cOun-
try can DO made, and is now, under the
circumstances, one Of the richest gold
bearing localities of the world. / brought
from there, at one time, over 100000 of
the finest gold, all in ornaments that had
been worn by the natives, some showing
very skilltul workmanship, but all Of
wonderful purity. l saw the ornaments
Ofone belle, cOnsisting of bangles, neck
ring, bracelets, earrings, finger and nose
rings, taken of and weighed, turning the
scale at pounds.
In the first place, the DahOmians are
not cannibals, but are as fond of a good
dinner, well cooked rs any Christian
could be. and II they have been attacking
the small French trading posts on the
coast-and mighty small they are-I
warrant the French have done something
to deserve it. ] do not believe that all of
them together would yield 100 prisoners,
nd hp boo
taken them to Abomey, city of $4,000
people, 100 miles in the interior, not 10
eat them up, but to hold them for ransom,
which they viii have to pay or work it
out as slaves.
The present King of Dahomey is Rad
zahing, a son of GeZa, and 10 an educated
man, If knowledge of the world, French,
Arabic, EthiOpic and other languages can
be called education. His army consists
Of 12,00O men and 5000 women, well
armed and drilled in their own tactics. |
do not put them down as a highly civilized
people, but they are a wonderful people.
| passed six weeks at AbOmey and saw
something of them. They have their
schools, their priests and learned men.
their scribes, the FOulahs-I brought from
there a copy of the Koran and a book Of
fables, beautifully written, in pure Arabic
their notions on art and literature and
lUtlI tubbulDes
Part of these "customs," as thew call
them, are what have been 80 Justly de-
nOunced as human slaughters, and are
held at certain seasons, but they are not
slaughterings of DahOmians alone. The
victims are criminals, prisoners OF war
who have been guilty Of offensive parti-
sAnship,1 and rebels. These are dec api-
tatea AZ feasts denominated "Watering
the Kings Graves" Feast Of the TrOub-
adQurs.n Throwing OF the Presents"
ete., and are simply public executions.
They are undoubtedly horrible, but | fail
to see that they are any worse than some
Of our own.
Bhef Dahomians are an agricultural
ctudely so-people, and / have seen fruit
and vegetables there that would stagger
American belief. The wages of an able
bodied man at AbOmey would be about "A
penny Of our money per day, woman
three-quafters that sum, on which they
can live on the fat of the land. So much
fjr Dahomey e