The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-12
FRANCE CAPTURES sAMoRY.
Once . slave. Then . Powerful DesPot,
aud Now TO he Exiled.

once y StaSes men y IoWeSs" ~
and Now To he ExiIed.
Two weeks ago a dispatch reached
Paris from the governor of Senegal.
West Africa, telling the good news that
Samory. with his family. chiefs and
Sofas. had been captured by Captain
Gouraud back OF the Ivory coast. The
great pest OF West Africa has been
caught at last and will join illustri-
Gus ~personages like Behanzin. the
queen of Madagascar. and other adver-
saries of France sent into exile.
No enemy of white enterprises In Az
RIGA has made the i've Of colonial Of
ficials so unhappy as Samory has done
i'm the last 20 years. Samory has had
a remarkable career. When a little
boy he was given to a chief In the
West Soudan as a ransom for a captive
woman. As the lad grew up he show
ed intelligence. courage and talent. and
became the chief adviser Of the power
full marabout. whose slave he was. The
young man saw that all around were
many weak states. fragments of the
powerful empire that had fallen 10
pieces upon the death of the great Nah
madu. As time went on and his infiu-
ence increased. he made an alliance
with the ruler OF n of these states.
accumulated a lot of guns. cultivated
friendships with other chiefs. ana
when he succeeded to the rule Of the
country in which he lived. southeast
OF the head waters of the Niger. he
began his conquering career among
the scores OF states around him. This
was about 20 years ago. He coveted
the entire Western Soudan. and his
greed for more territory made him
troublesome to the French, who had
reached the Upper Niger and were ac-
curing the hinterland Of Senegal.
About IL years ago. when Samory
was in the height of his power, he
met his first great reverse at the hands
OF the French. with whom he had
been fighting for years. He would
have swept them from the country IL
II had not been for their superiority
In arms and military discipline. His
empire was composed of 100 OF the for
mer little states of Western Soudan.
No forces brought against him had
ever ~vanquished this dusky potentate
until the French defeated him in 1887.
and then he sued for peace. A French
embassy was sent to his capital. Bis
s%andugu. 10 make a treaty with
Frances greatest enemy in Africa. He
gave the embassy a specimen of his
spirit and his appreciation of his own
Importance, for he was very indignant
because no Frenchman of high official
rank had been sent to him. He told
Captain Peroz that his son had been
received in Paris as an equal by the
president of France and ministers of
state. 1t was a fact that n of Sa-
mory's sons had been permitted to visit
the French capital. where the news
papers made him the lion of the day.
Samory talked as though he was a vic
tor imposing terms upon the v~anquish-
ed.
You. Captain Peroz." said Samory.
land the colonel who sent you here are
merely the %van OF the men in
France who have received my son as
their equal. IL the ministers wish to
make a treaty with me. let them come
themselves. and not treat with the
ruler of "A country that Is much larger
than France through one of their SER
wants"
This bravado did not brighten the
embassy. and. though IL took time and
patience to make terms. a treaty was
finally signed by Samory. in accord
ance with which he surrendered all of
his provinces west of the Niger. and be-
came nominally a vassal of France
He did not live up to his promises.
however. and has kept the French in
hot water in the country east of the
Upper Niger most of the time. They,
however. gradually drove him south,
taking from him district after district.
until they brought hin to bay i'm the
hinterland of the Ivory coast. In the
past few months Samory has greatly
embarrassed by lack of supplies and
hostile tribes. He and the ms of
his adherents were making for Liberia
when they were caught. Everybody
I'm recent years has heard of the Sofas,
and the name has long been associ-
ated with West African fighting. The
word. however. Is not "A tribal or geo.
graphical distinction. but merely sig
miles that those who hold the title are
followers of Samory.
We have undoubtedly heard the last
OF Samory as a factor in the affairs of
West Africa. The once humble slave
was long the absolute ruler of a large
territory. He gained his ascendancy
In large part through the zeal with
which he promulgated the tenets of
Islam. He pretended To be an apostle
specially commissioned by Mohammed
to extend his faith. White men who
nave had an opportunity to study Sa-
mory say that he Is not religious and
that there was no sincerity in his
expressed desire TO convert all the peo-
pie Of his country to Mohammedanism.
He found, however. that religion was
a serviceable tool with which to ad-
vance his interests. and he could be as
p.ous as any one when u served his
purpose to assume that role.-New
York SUM-.