St. Landry democrat., 1888-11-03

Mr.. PAUL., who lived for some timt
in the CAMERON region, West Africa
tells of highly successful Woman
Rights movement while ago in tn
Akona tribe, illustrating the fact tina
when women unanimously asser
themselves in savage lands, as well a.
elsewhere, they are a great power in the
community. In that benighted regio,
women are not supposed to have any
rights. When a girl is thirteen OF
fourteen years old she is sold to any
body who has property enough to pay
the price her father asks for her, anC
thereafter she works like a slave fo1
her board and lodging, and is Subject
to all the caprices of her lord and mas
ter. Even the bondsmen in the com.
munity have more privilege than the
free women, and some of them in
time are able to support rather extern
sive harems of their own.
1t happened that there were some
strong minded women among the
Ahona people, and they lifted up then
voices in public places in favor of some
radical social reforms that would make
the lot of womankind rather more CHI
durable. They were ieefod at, as wo
men reformcrs nave been in some othel
lands, and were advised by the supe,
rior SEX to keep on digging in tie fields
and pounding tnani0c root ana thank
fortune that their LOT was not less toll
cradle. Reform was evidently not to
be secured by any amount Of feminine
protest, and SO these strong-lninded
women put their long heads together
and decided upon radical and far-reach-
ing measures.
The tribe is /; small one Nearly all
the adult females in it enlisted under
the banner Of women's rights. One
day there was an enormous commotion
in that little community. 1t was almost
wholly confined to the male population,
the fact being that there was hardly a
woman there to share the excitement
The mothers aud wives, in d most I'M
expected and heartless manner, had
suddenly dropped their implements of
drudgery, and with their children in
arms and marriageable daughters had
hied them through the forests to the
territory Of another tribe, where, at a
distance ef eight Or ten miles from
their own garden patches, they were
prepared to open negotiations with the
lordly chaps they had left behind them.
They knew beforehand that they
would meet with a hospitable recep-
ton in the tribe with which they took
refuge. 1t happened that this tribe
was larger than the Akona, and did not
like them very well, and . tickled
them half to death 10 see the pickle in
which the Akona men suddenly found
themselves. The women set them
selves to work earning their daily
bread, and waited without bit of i'm
patience for an embassy from home.
1t was not long before the embassy put
in an appearance.
The Akona tribe was of the opinion
that they could not continue in bust
ness without the female members
thereof, and they wanted the women
to come home. The particularly
strong-minded spokesman of the i'efu-
gees said she was glad to learn at last
that the women of their tribe were re-
garded as a desirable element Of the
Akona people. As the women had taken
care of all the men. it was evident they
were able to take care of themselves,
and they hadn't the slightest intention
Of going home, except on certain i'm
oortant conditions, which she specified. |
Then the embassy went home to con-
suit the chief men, who, as their
larems were the largest, were the
greatest sufferers by the flight of the
air sex.
The women stipulated that they
you'd come back if a considerable part
If the agricultural duties of the COM
nunity were in future turned over to
he slaves, If the mothers were per-
nitted to have something to say about
he disposition of their daughters, and
t several other conditions were COM
,lied with. 1t did not take long for
he gentlemen of Akona to decide what |
Q do. A day or two later the women
vent back in high feather, having
,chieved a complete victory, and they
AVE been treated very well ever since.