The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-12-06


| destruction of interior Dahomeyan
towns by French naval brigades had
an interested reader in Capt. Frank q.
Bonneau, of Charleston, the famous
confederate blOckade-runner of the last
war, who IN 1853. on the Dahomeyan
coast, escaped capture by the merest
accident
: In 1858 Bonneau, having compile ted a
cruise in the United States navy as sec
Rotary to Commodore Irgraham, and
being DESTROYS of some active work, OBJ
tanned the command of handsome
brig, the Jehosse of Charleston, s. C.,
| and under instructions from the briggs
owners made run for the African
coast. Trade was brisk on the African
coast in these days-so brisk, in fact,
that all the principal powers kept war
ships on the station looking out for
Just such craft as Bonneau command
ed Bonneau's account of his expert
ence on the Dahomeyan coast is best
given as told by him to the Times cor
respondent.
ct was in 1858" said BOuneau,
while lying with the Jehosse at Cape
Coast Castle, that l formed the idea of
running down for look at the south
west coast, as that part of Africa
known as Dahomey is styled. l was
worried about approaching Porto Novo,
the place the French have just bonn
barded, because Of the warlike tribes
that infested the whole country in and
around that port. l was told that re-
peated efforts had been made to estab-
fish palm oil station at Porto Novo,
but that Iuaco Dua, the head tribesman
of the country, had prohibited all ma
tions from even making landing. This
Iuaco Qua, was informed, was the
most blcodthirsty savage on the coast
1t had long been his practice annually
to celebrate his Yam Feast" by an
inauguration of the most horrible and
bloody tragedies in honor of the Occa-
sion. His throne was built upon the
skulls of hundreds of prisoners, all muir
dered in his presence and dispatched in
a cruel and fiendish manner known SO
well to the brute.
Despite the stories I heard of the
Dahomevans | determined to run down
their coast, and so one hot morning
about ten o'clock / was standing in on
the starboard tack with Porto Novo
close aboard. The coast in the vicinity
was rough and high, broken here and
there by deep ravines and marked
along its entire stretch by high crags.
in the interior high mountain ranges
could be seen stretching far away to
the southwark and eastward. The
wind at the time l was standing in was
extremely light l made a grave mis-
take in approaching q suspicious coast
under such conditions. 1t would have
been wiser had l waited for strong
sea breeze which regularly sprang up
later in the day, coming always from
the sout Invest
"As l continued to head in on the
starboard tack / shortly made out
ahead three canoes putting out from
the land, each canoe containing twelve
or thirteen men. Fearing nothing
from those few craft, allowed them
to approach the briggs side and began
to question them about the country. l
had an interpreter aboard whom l Sc
cured before making the present cruise.
"While engaged in questioning the
canoes alongside my attention was
called by my people to several larger
! canoes seen to be approaching from
the shore. each one containing no less
than twenty-five men, and in one boat
in particular appeared to be some Ofi-
Ger of rank.
1.-The first boats that had approached
made no signs OF desire to board the
brig, the fellows in the canoes appar-
emily contented to keep close up TO me
| for look only. But now on the APP
| proach of the larger canoes Just OBJ
| served the boats near by pulled right
| alongside, and without any further ado
| every man that could climb over my
ral Jumped on deck. The manner in
which these fellows landed themselves
| looked suspicious. : did not fancy it at
! all. No sooner had they planted their
| feet upon deck than they began asking
| as TO what we had to sell and what we
! wished to buy, and then soon followed
up their inquiries by demands for rum,
and this they did without any attemp;
! al asking for it.
The sudden, suspicious actions OF
these black fellows caused me quietly
to pass word among nav crew, and at
/ the same time | saw to it that each
man had his pistol and cutlass ready al
/ hand / at once ordered the briC's
wheel put down, and passed the word
TO take stations for lacking ship. To
/ nv great relief the former light breez re
was now ireshening. No sooner,
though, had given the order to tack
than there was a peculiar movement
| Giscernible on the part OF those who
! had boarded me, and at the same time
every canoe about the brig commenced
3 pulling in alongside, their inmates
( catching hold Of every available rope
hanging over the side and swinging
themselves up and on board.
The brig 81 this time was under top
gallant sails ] gave the order 70 loose
and set the royals and 10 hoist the
! lowe ? staysail. for / found | had now
no less than sixty blacks on my decks
and nearly every one OF the brutes had
managed to get ca board while tho
brig was in stays.
AS / glanced forward q this as
sem blage my eve suddenly espied oul
bulldog. one OF the most ferocious
brutes Of his species. chained under me