Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-29
THE KING OF NHYDAH.
4 Savage Potentate Who Main
tanned Thousand Wives
How \ Bold Native Thwarted the Power
full Authority OF the Royal HareIn-A
Chief Whose Family Consisted of
Thousands of Members

Thousands of Members.
The King Of Wnydah's wives were OBJ
ieccs Of special care 10 himself and Of
enforced vcneraIion to his people. The
favorite ones lived in the palace with
him: the Others were accommodated in
adjoining buildings. No men were en-
ployed N the. royal household, and the
King was served solely BY his wives.
When visitors came 10 see the King he
received them alone. taking good care
that his wives were out of sight. Twas.
indeed. held d sacrilere to SO much as
look al any OF these royal spouses
When repairs, which could not be done
by them. were needed in the palace.
they migrated from the affected portion.
and the plumbers and GLACIERS coming
IN had 10 keep on shouting out the
whole time they We're at work II case
any OF the wives, not acq TAINTED with
the fact Of their presence, should hap
pen 10 pass that way. When the Kings
wives set out TO work in the plantations,
which they did every morning n
patches Of three TO four hundred a q
time. they used TO cry stand clear" as
they went. and any men who We're
ii their path Frustrated themselves, and
did not dare to raise their eyes till they
had passed. On account Of the awe in
which his wives were held. the King
found them Z very useful and speedy
executive to carry out his commands.
If any person was found guilty Of a
crime the King sent a detachment Of his
wives round To the mans house in order
70 strip il OF its goods and pull it down
This was usually very soon effected. Tor
on the approach Of the Kings wives the
man was unable TO remain and defend
his property. One instance. however. IS
related by Bosnian, in which d native
vas clever and bold enough 70 thwart
this powerful authority. Hearing that
he had been accused before the King.
and that 4 company Of the Kings wives
had been sent 10 wreck his house, he
collected al the guEpoWdec he pos
sesscd, and. placing ii IN . heap just be-
meath his doorway, he awaited the ar
rival Of his spoilers, fre-brand IN hand.
When they approached and cried IN the
usual formula, Make way for the
Kings wives" ne replied that he would
not stir from the spot on which he
stood. and if they attempted to cross his
threshold ne would blow himself and
brought the good women to I halt, and
after consultation among themselves
they determined 10 return 10 the King
and inform him Of the reception
they had met. But their in
tended victim was too quick for
them Slipping round another way.
he reached the King first, and
cleared himself Of the accusation SO
was ou1ternanded. This attempt,
BOSNIAN remarks was 4 very bold one,
requiring great nerve TO carry II through
success sfully. considering that if II had
failed : painful death would have been
the punishment, The Kings supply Of
wives was kept up to the full number by
three Of his chief captains. who had
very ittIc else to do than select and
procure for him the most beautiful yIr-
gins 4 fresh wife. after presentation,
lived with the King three OF four days,
after which She was relegated TO the
quarters occupied by the other wives,
and became. acticaly. nun for the
rest Of her life, with the inevitable priv
ileEe OF working like Z slave on the
Kings estate. Under these circu1n-
stances il is not matter Of surprise
that tho honor Of q royal alliance was
little coveted among naidens, some Of
whom had even been known TO prefer
speedy death 70 the distinction. BOSNIAN
mentions the story Of 4 young girl who,
having been selected for this purpose
by the captains, ran away, and. on being
closely pursued. il her despair jumped
down i vcIl and was killed. i leave her
case" remarks thc sage historian. TO Re
determined by the ladies' When each
man was 50 well provided il respect Of
wives, II vas but natural that his
children should be proportionately
uu-lcrous. Bosnian has heard, IN several
cases. incredible numbers ascrlbed TO
one man; Int, doubling the truth Of the
statements. he one day took aside i
chief. on whose word he could rely. and
asked him to tell him candidly how
many children he himself possessed
This WAS evidently tender point with
the chief, for he seemed panied, and at
length with Z sigh. apparently Of re-
CrCt. he said: i must confess that !
have only seventy children now living,
but ! have had as many more who are
dead" \ hundred and forty was evident
y d small number in his estimation.
and quite unworthy OF Z captain Of his
rank. most Of his conpeers possessing
IL Least two hundred. Indeed. he as
sured Bosnian that there was one man
who. with MS sons and gra1dsons alone,
rose up and defeated Z powerful enemy
who was coming against the King. This
family numbered three thousand men,
women and children