The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-03

jet black and of the most pronounced ne- gro type. Their wooly hair chung close
 to their scalps in small kin<y curls; they
 had flai noses. white teeth and each wore
 great plugs in her ears. Their black
 necks, arms and shoulders were perfectly
 bare, their white skirts fitting up close
 to the armpits, where they were tied by
 twisted white bands which were knotted
 over the breast The king at his death
 had only four wives, a paltry allowance
 in comparison with the days of his prime,
 when he had three-fourths of the young
 women of his whole nation to choose
 from. All of the Amazons were at his
 command, and thousands of them were young girls of eighteen or more years or age. The king was siXty-three years old at his death, and the women l saw with
 him were, | judge, each forty or fifty
 years old. No one knows how many
 children he had He has left several it-
 tie ones here and several in Martinique,
 and he had in his family also several
 good sized girls and the crown prince, , whom I have described l have a photo-
 graph which is said to include the whole outfit but this contains only twelve.
 Would Return to Dahomey
 One of the first questions to the king
 was as to his health. He replied that he was i'll and that he desired to go back to Dahomey. his own native country. He said Algeria was too cold for him and , that he could not keep warm. He as- serted that he was not dangerous 10 the
 French; that his army was long since dis
 banded: that he would make no further wars and that there was no reason why he should not go home.
 asked the king to tell me what kind
 of q country Dahomey was. He replied
 that it was a beautiful land, rich in it's
 resources and one where the tropical sun
 shone all day long, His eyes lighted up as he spoke of it. and it seemed to me l
 saw his thick lips quiver.
 asked him how the people were get ting on in his absence. He said that he
 did not know that he had been away thirteen years and that his captors gave him no means of communication.
 1 then referred to the stories which
 have been published of his Amazons, and asked him whether these girl soldiers
 were as brave as they had been painted.
 = gthis the kings lips frightened and me thought l could see the lust of battle
 come into his bleary old eyes He replied
 that the Amazons were brave and faith ful; but that the French had outnumbered them and that now he was only a cap , tive in the hands of his enemies
 I told him that l was a journalist. and that l would tell the American people that l had spoken with him. and that could carry a greeting from him to them if he wished. He replied: Ami tous
 amis, Friends. we are all friends" He then reached out from under the cape his naked black arm again exposing his
 skin tn the waist. and shook hands with | me as said goodbye.
 How King Was Guarded.
 As | went down the steps upon leaving. l saw the French white guard watching me- and was told that his majesty was never alone for moment. If he drove out with his wives soldier or police man went with them to prevent any pos | sibly escape. His captivity was, in fact. always before him. and he was warned again and again that he would surely be
 recaptured if he attempted to run away. and that although there were in Algeria many Sudanese negroes as black as hip- {, self. there was none like Behanzin. He was warned that tEe news C; his loss would put the army the police and the spies on the search and a the same time his guards kept him always in sight Outside this surveillance the king was fairly well treated by his French cap tors. He had all his expenses paid by the government. His villa was free his French cooks cost him nothing a.d his provisions and his scanty clothing were