Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-08
WILD NEGROES DANCE.
Peculiar Frolic OF Dahomeysns With ror.-
Toms and Bullock HORNS

Peculiar Frolic OF Dahomeysns With rou-
Toms and Bullock Horns.
Fierce looking amazons and fcrcer lookiss
men from Dahomey gave private rehearsal IN
their village in Midway plsisance at the worlds
fair the other afternoon.
A half hundred visitors leaned against tss
green railing of the dancing stage wis,
the savages whom the redoubtable Gen.
Dodds Of France conquered after q crueI
war appeared in all their barbaric trappinss
The men and women were scantily clad az
to substantial raiment, but each Of shom
was iashed with strings Of fetiches. The.s
consisted Of small shells, the glittcriss
bones OF reptiles. and teeth from the IA ~
OF score OF animals. Fastened to the len
arm of nearly every dancer was a leather
pouch filed with stuff from which eoroer,r,
are supposed to fee in terror. The bead
dresses OF the men were of fantastic
pattern. One fellow. whose black LEG. wee
Scared from knife thrusts, wore a sort ~
coronet Of twigs, from the top Of which a DOZEN
shells clattered together whenever he danced.
Another man wore hat fashioned after that
worn by the old-time Ounce in school. IL vas
made Of some sort OF skin and was plastered
with bones and dried reptiles
Abe amazons attracted most attention n
was but natural that they should Each n
them had seen service in the kings army, ana
luhu. VI tutm sun pore tne Illuminating badges
of defeat. These consisted Of mutilation of fse
body and a fantastic shaving OF the head. The
legs of one woman were scarifed to the knees
Another woman had lost an ear Each x.s
dressed in bright colors and each wore close
lifting purple or red trousers TO the knees
MUSIC on eoURDs AND rox-rons.
The musicians squstted ON stools and rudoiv
constructed benches at one end Of the dancins
floor. The leader beat a tom, which had
been made from the trunk Of tree.
He used no sticks, but with his HANDS
be kept up fierce but doleful pouna-
ing on the head Of his instrument. Another
musician shook n gourd filed with pebbles
Back of him was a black fellow who blew q
bullocks horn, the music from which sounded
like the squawk Of a mud hen. Two more men
beat pieces of iron. There were other drurs-
mers in the wild orchestra. and when the
leader gave the signal 70 begin work the
tumult drowned the boiler shop oratorio OF the
Chinese musicians across the street
The dance of the savages is unlike ANYTHING
In Midway The men aud women move forward
and backward, one of their number occasionally
bounding into the center of the stage ana
grimacing fiendishly at the musicians who be-
lsbored their instruments with despernte
zeal The song of she dancers as they aa-
vanced and retreated with swaying bodies aIsd
half-dozen words. Then they would pause ana
yell like our own Indians The rehearsal we
kept up until late in the evening. While 70
was in progress two OF the barbarians
mounted the parapet Of the village
and paraded up and down in fun
view of the crowd in the street One OF then
a queerly constructed harp The
other blew a bullock's horn. Between the
two the noise from the top Of the fence ives
fully as appalling IL not quite great in vol-
ume as the uproar made by the musicians
squatted beneath the canvas Of the dancers
stage.