Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-27

was heavy, for the French mad the best Of
rifles and artillery. The Dahomeyans
fought with the greatest courage, and at
the battle OF Dogba, where the King's
brother led the charge, 80 of the women
warriors were killed almost at the muzzles
OF the cannon. They had q large supply of
ammunition, but wasted the most OF It. Their
guns, contrary to many reports, were OF in
| terior quality and they were slow in load
ing them. In firing they held the butt of
| the weapons under their arms and blazed
away, most OF their shots whizzing above
! the heads of the Faench forces
! All these battles occurred in the timber.
| and on two occasions the natives surprised
the French early in the morning by rushing
unheralded npon the advancing force. This
is their tavorite mode of attack. When pos
sible they always endeavor to swarm in up
on and overwhelh an enemy early in the day
before he has stirred from camp. 1t was
estimated on October 2 hen Colonel Dodds
left the river and began his overland march
to Abomey that Behanzin had already lost
third of his fighting lorce. About 5000
men and women had been killed or
wounded. Behanzin had been compelled to
keep q large force on the road between his
advanced posts and the capital to replenish
his food supplies He had also found it
necessary to return to the capital himself
fora fortnight to quell revolution that
broke out in his absence. His uncle and
elder brother were leaders of the revolt and
their party fled to the North when the King
with all his reserve troops suddenly ap-
peared on the scene.
The young man exhibited the most des-
perate courage. Probably long before Dodds
reached the neighborhood of Abomey, the
King bitterly regretted his toolhardy reck-
lessness in making enemies of the French
1t was too late, however, to retrieve the
blunder
With the Utmost Desperation.
All he could do was to fight with the
utmost desperation for his throne and that
he did. He had no sooner returned to his
force at the front than he sent word to
Colonel Dodds that unless he at once turned
back to the sea he would annihilate him.
He said he had held the flower OF his army
and the best Of his equipment in reserve,
and would not permit the French to ad-
vance another inch into his country This
was pure braggadocio. Colonel Dodds paid
no attention to the empty threat, but as soon
as his force and supplies had been landed at
Tahue, he started west for the sacred town
OF Gamma and the capital
Then Behanzin's frantic efforts to stop
the invaders were redoubled. Fortifca-
tions had been erected every three or four
miles across the road. The entire Dahom-
cyan army was now at the front. Every
day for five days the native army threw it.
self with the utmost desperation upon the
enemy. The French vigorously repulsed
each attack and the natives suffered great
loss As a result of this fighting Behanzin
asked for q parley. Colonel Dodds said
that he would talk with the King provided
he would FIRST evacuate the de lenses whi Oh |
he had erected along the Koto river.
Behanzin refused to give up this |
line of defense and next day the |
column again advanced. 1t had been |
reinforced by fresh arrivals from the coast,
and in two days more it had captured the !
strongest lines of Notifications 1t has vet |
met on the Koto river and had also scaled /
two lines of entertainments beyond Akpa. |
In these later affairs the French lost 81 |
killed and wounded and in the first 20 miles |
OF their march from the Wheme the French |
loss was q killed and 161 wounded
Practically Continuous Battle.
Colonel Dodds' forces were tired out with
almost incessant fighting, and four miles
from Gamma he paused to give his troops a
rest A large number of his carriers were
provided with hammocks and carried the
wounded back over the hard-won road and
down the river to Porto Novo A strong
force of soldiers went with them as an
escort. Dodds did not intend to advance
again until /, 600 porters who were supposed
to be on the road from Porto Novo with
supplies reached him. Three days later the
supplies came and then Colonel Dodds
easily drove the enemy out of the sacred
town where the bones of long line of
Dshomey's Kings are buried
Behanzin now retired to the new lines of
Notifications with which he had surrounded
Abomey eight miles beyond Gamma One
of our pictures shows the plan of the most
important part Of the city. About the
middle of November Colonel Dodds began
the siege of Abomey. He had found that
in the last two or three battles, culmi-
mating with the evacuation of Gamma, the
resistance of the Dahomeyans had become
less and less serious They had time and
again seen their comrades mown down bv
grape shot at the muzzles of the French
guns, and had become greatly dis
heartened. Behanzin had o few Krupp
and canister guns which were badly
served and some of them were disabled by
the French artillery. 1t seemed evident.
however, that the enemy would make q des-
perate attempt to save their cause by pre-
venting the French from entering the cspi-
al Colonel Dodds' plan was to invest this
,own OF Il, 900 people and wait until sddi-
tional forces were sent to him from the
,oast before attempting aggressive measures.
Caution Is one OF his most admirable char
and having carried everything
before him to the gates OF the capital he did
lot intend to risk all in the final battles
Without force adequate to insure his
rictory.
Progress Of the Expedition.
All through the campaign Dodds has
,een able, every week or so, to dispatch
'ouriers to Porto Novo with dispatches for