Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-06-05
WOMEN WHO SHED BLOOD.
A Remarkable Race on the West African
Coast At War with Prince.

A Remarkable Race On the West African
Coast At War With FrAnos.
The republic of France Is at war with
the king of Dahomey, and French
newspaper says that battle has been
fought, In which eight combatants were
killed and many wounded. Later on
the Dahomians, who had succeeded in
capturing q number Of Frenchmen and
other Europeans, made another attack,
but were finally repulsed with loss OF
400 killed.
The interesting fact in the dispatch lay
in the last lines: "Among the dead were
found some Of the female warriors Of the
king of Dahomey." Who are these am
azons?
Dahomey, now for the fifth time at
war with an European nation, is king
dom of Western Africa, in Guinea, its
limits being inexactly defined, but with
an estimated area of 1000 square miles.
The Dahomians are pagans, and the tiger
is their principal fetish. They are blood
thirsty, but hospitable and courageous.
Once a year the monarch, whose people
approach him by crawling with their
faces in the dust, sprinkles his ancestors
graves with human blood. There is an
annual festival which takes place about
October and lasts several weeks. Dur
ing the Saturnalia many human victims
are put to death with great barbarity.
At one stage OF these "customs" the un.
fortunate wretches, chiefly captives taken
in war, are dressed in white shirts and
long white nightcaps and tied on baskets.
They are then taken to the top Of high
platform and paraded on the heads of
amazons together with an alligator,
cat and hawk in similar baskets. After
the king has made speech the victims
are hurled down in the midst Of surg
ing crowd Of natives, and meet with a
horrible death. The skulls are used to
adorn the palace walls, and the kings
sleeping chamber is paved with the
heads of his enemies The skulls Of the
conquered kings are converted into royal
drinking cups
About one-fourth of the females are
said to be married to the fetish, many
even before their birth.
The amazons form the flower of the
army. They are marshaled into regi-
ments, each with its distinctive uniform
and badges, and they take the post Of
honor on the flanks of the battle line.
Their number has been variously estim-
ated at from one to six thousand. Their
weapons are blundef busses, flint musk
cts, and bows and arrows. They are in
part recruited in remarkable manner.
If alwoman in Dahomey is found to- be
unfaithful to her husband she is at once
sent to military headquarters and en-
rolled among the amazons. If she has
an. acrid temper, or fails to bear child
rem, or if her husband wants to get rid
Of her, he honors himself by presenting
her to the king, who, If she has the re-
quisite physical qualifications, turns her
over to his army officers to be drilled as
an amazon.
The garrison of Aghome, the kings
capital, is composed almost exclusively
Of amazons. A recent visitor to the
capital says there were only thirty male
soldiers in the garrison. The amazons
are also trained TO fill the peaceful role
Of ballet girls. One of the big sights Of
Dahomey is to see the amazons on gala
days frantically brandishing their weap-
Ons, uttering their war cries and going
through their dances before the king.
1t is said that at the death of the king
horrid scene ensues. The wives, after
the most extravagant demonstrations Of
grief, attack and murder each other, and
remain in an uproar until order is re-
stored by the new sovereign. Paris
Letter.