Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-02

these seemed to be undergoing some kind
of punishment She was on her knees. lean
ing over chair in the back of the room.
while the other was crouched down fat on
the floor the other side of the cot from
where stood. Both were jet black and of
the most pronounced negro type. Their
woolly hair chung close to their scalps in
small kinky curls. they had fat 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 of age. The king was sixty-three
years old at hts death, and the women !
saw with him were, 1 judge, each forty or
fifty years old. No one knows how many
children he had. He has left several little
ones here and some in Martinique, and he
had in his family also several good-sized
girls and the crown prince, whom l have
described. 1 have a photograph which is
said to include the whole outfit, but this
contains only twelve
He Would Return to Dahomey.
One Of my first questions to the king was
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 asserted that he was not
dangerous to. the French; that his army
was long since disbanded; that he would
make no further wars, and that there was
no reason why he should not go home.
1 asked the king to tell me what kind of a
country Dahomey was. He replied that it
was beautiful land, rich in Its 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 saw his thick
lips culver.
1 asked him how the people were getting
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 those girl-soldiers were as
kings lips frightened and methought l could
see the lust of battle come into his bleary
old eyes. He replied that the Amazons were
brave and faithful; but that the French had
outnumbered and overpowered them and
that now he was only a captive in the hands
of his enemies.
1 told him that I was a journalist, and
that would tell the American people that
had spoken with him: and that l could
carry a greeting from him to them IL 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 to the
waist. and shook hands with me as I said
goodbye.
How King Behanzin Was Guarded.
As I went down the steps upon leaving, I
saw the French white guard watching me.
and 1 was told that his majesty was never
alone for moment. If he drove out with
his wives a soldier or policeman went
with them to prevent any possible attempt
at escape. His captivity was. in fact. always
before him. and he was warned again and
again that he would surely be recaptured II
he attempted to run away. and that al
though there were ins Algeria many Sudan
csc negroes as black as himself, there was
none like Behanzin. He was warned that
the news of his loss would put the army,
the police and the spies on the search and
at the same time his guards kept him al
ways in sight.
Outside this surveillance the king was
fairly well treated by his French captors.
He had all his expenses paid by the gov
eminent. His villa was free, his French
cooks cost him nothing and his provisions
and his scanty clothing were supplied with
out charge. He had In addition to all this
an allowance of money of eighteen thou
sand francs a year. which means about
thirty-six hundred dollars of our money. or