7 . . 1^ 
 
 >^ PRINCETON. N.J. 
 
 Purchased by the Mary Cheves Dulles Fund. 
 
 Division Jj i -^ ^1 
 
 Section ■» 
 
 3.97 
 
I 
 
A \ JUl- '■'4. J914 
 MISSION TO GELELEr 
 
 KING OF DAHOME. 
 
 AVITH NOTICES OF 
 
 THE SO CALLED ''AMAZONS," THE GRAND CUSTOMS, THE 
 YEARLY CUSTOMS, THE HUMAN SACRIFICES, THE 
 PRESENT STATE OF THE SLAVE TRADE, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE NEGRO'S PLACE IN NATURE. 
 
 RICHARD F. BURTON, 
 
 (late commissioner to DAHOME,) 
 AUTHOR OF " A PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH." 
 
 If a man be ambitious to improve in knowledge and wisdom, he should travel into 
 foreign countries "— Philostratds in Apoll. 
 
 ' Every kingdom, every province, should have its ovm monographer." 
 
 Gilbert White. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 LONDON: 
 
 TINSLEY BEOTHERS, 18, CATHEEINE STEEET, STEAND. 
 
 1864. 
 
 \^The Rigid of Translation and Reproduction reserred.'^ 
 
BRADBL'IU- AND EVANS, PRINTKRS, WUITEKRIARS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER -XTV,— {Continued.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The King's " So -sin Custom" 1 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of the so-called Amazon^s and the Dahoman ARiiY . . 63 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 Addo-kpon, the Bush Klng's So- sin Customs ... 86 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Of the Dahomax Religion 133 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Sin-kvain, op. Water- sprinkling Custom . , .167 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Of "The Negro's Place in Nature" 177 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Day of Triumph 216 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dahome and her Capital 230 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Firing to Wiiydah, and Conclusion of the Customs 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Delivery of the Message 270 
 
 CHAPTER XXiy. 
 Return to the Seaboard 290 
 
 CONCLUSION . . 307 
 
 APPENDICES 321 
 
# 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE, 
 
 KING OF DAHOME. 
 
 CHAPTER XIY.— {Continued), 
 
 SECTION C. 
 
 The Bomi-gan nun Kpon 'gbe die,^ or Third Day of 
 the Kings Customs. 
 
 At half-past 3 p.m., on the last day of 1863, we 
 haramocked to our former place before the south-eastern 
 or Komasi Gate, and found the seance much as it was 
 before. On this occasion, however, besides the standing 
 dish of three royal skulls, there were on the King's 
 proper left, eleven " neptunes,'' or broad shallow brass 
 pans of Abeokutan crania, nine or ten to each.f A 
 dozen men were capering before royalty ; when they 
 
 * Bonu-gan (civilian captains, or ministers), nun (thing), kpon 
 (look), 'gbe (to-day), die (this), 
 
 t The calabashes full of skulls are called mea-ta-doka-men. 
 
 VOL. II. B 
 
 \ 
 
2 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 had ceased, knelt, and shovelled, eight others performed 
 the " Ganchya dance, in which the hands are washed 
 in imperceptible water, or rubbed like a draper's 
 assistant. 
 
 Within the bamboos women passed before the throne 
 from left to right, bowed to Gezo's ghost, and after 
 prostrating to the King presented arms. First came a 
 procession of eighteen Tahsi-no, or fetish women, who 
 have charge of the last monarch's grave,'"' — slow and 
 solemn old gipsies, in gold-trimmed broad-brim felts or 
 white nightcaps. They were preceded by bundles of 
 matting, eight large stools, calabashes, pipes, baskets of 
 water, grog, and meat, with segments of gourd above 
 and below, tobacco bags, and similar commissariat 
 articles ; and they were followed by a band of horns 
 
 * The Dahomans, like other Yorubans, and the people of the Gold 
 Coast, bury in the house, choosing a room which is afterwards kept 
 locked. So Alexander ab Alexandro informs us that, before the Laws 
 of the Twelve Tables, the Romans interred corpses in their habitations, 
 using as coffins large casks and other vessels — whence arose the laresy 
 or ancestral ghosts. 
 
 Gezo, I am told, is inhumed at the Komasi Palace in a small room 
 under a temporary thatch and matting shed, which will be replaced with 
 swish when there is blood enough to make it. 
 
 According to some authorities, the Tansi-no are all women, and de- 
 scendants of kings, who attend upon the royal graves, whilst these 
 broad-brimmed personages are called Bassaji, great fetish women 
 representing the ghosts of former monarchs. 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 3 
 
 and rattles. Eight stools, or chiefs with their attendant 
 "Amazons," and young female slaves of the palace, made 
 obeisance, whilst armed women sang dirges in the minor 
 key, clapped hands, and presented arms. Followed a 
 dance of six Amazons to a very weak band. 
 
 Presently two messenger- women came from the right 
 end of the square, ushering twenty-one umbrellas — 
 of which two were coloured, and the rest white- — divided 
 into three parties, accompanied by the usual band and 
 canteen. The chief was the she-Min-gan, whose back 
 was all pig-tails depending from the score of coral and 
 metal necklaces with which she had been decorated. 
 Joined by the Adanejan's " mother," a middle-aged offi- 
 ceress, stout as the most " bulbous " Englishwoman, 
 and round in every part where curves should be, she 
 performed a knife dance. The pair then took muskets 
 and skirmished, whilst the others formed up and pranced 
 before the King. Finally, the Min-ganess disposed her- 
 self opposite the throne, upon the knobs of two war 
 sticks stuck in the ground — it was Britannia sitting as 
 she does in pence on the edge of her shield. 
 
 The King then rose and walked forward to throw 
 cowries, the local money, amongst his subjects. All 
 removed their ornaments and girt their loins ; it is a 
 
 D 2 
 
4 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 IDoint of honour to fight for the royal bakhshish, and 
 nob and snob join in the melee. No notice is taken 
 if a man be killed or maimed in the affair ; he has 
 fallen honourably fighting for his sovereign. Some lose 
 eyes and noses ; the Dahomans gouge like Lancashire 
 purrers " or Scestudalian peasants, bite like hyenas — 
 I have seen a hand through which teeth met — and 
 scratch like fisherwomen or cat-o'-mountains. We 
 speedily withdrew our chairs. The King, habited in a 
 toga of tender green, came forward to the bamboos, and 
 stood as agonistarch under his umbrellas and parasol, 
 which were upheld by nine women and two very small 
 girls. He took from baskets, which were brought up 
 in turn to him, heads of strung cowries, and tossed them 
 high up to the crowd, who fought for them as if they 
 were gold. The bundles were torn to pieces in a 
 moment, so were the strings, and at times there was a 
 scramble, a bite, and a scream about a single shell.* 
 
 The King, surrounded by his guard, then perambu- 
 lated the square by west and south, still throwing 
 strings of cowries ; from where we stood the dust- 
 
 * A head of cowries (=2 shillings) keeps a poor man for about four 
 days, or 9?. 2s. 6 J. per annum. An officer expends about 75/. per annum, 
 which is the rate of living of a Moslem gentleman and his house- 
 hold in Syria. 
 
THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 
 
 5 
 
 blurred mass of fighting negrohood looked like the 
 daemons of some mediaeval picture, or the dreams of 
 Father Pinamonti. When royalty had returned to the 
 bamboo, we were summoned to " fight for cowries," and 
 not being in uniform we scrambled like school-boys, 
 omitting however the Dahoman adjuncts. "When our 
 attendants and the Moslem deputation had received 
 their share, w^e regained our old places. The palace 
 gate was thrown open, and through it w^e saw the 
 women all hustling one another as the men had done. 
 
 The chief of the hunchbacks,* Lizi-dogo-bo-je'gbwo- 
 to-men,t wielding, with arms hke Eob Eoy's, a circinal- 
 edged hide-whip, and assisted by his attendants, soon 
 cut a way through the crowd. After " Lizzy's " per- 
 formance appeared a body of fetishers in three parties, 
 headed by Boro and Zenhwe, their captains. The first 
 seven carried on their heads each an ugly " wee wudden 
 goddity," supposed to walk by itself after nightfall. 
 
 * The Gobbo" is here an institution. These deformities, which are 
 very common, contrary to the case of Africa generally, are of both sexes 
 and of all ages. We repeatedly saw troops of little she hunchbacks. 
 
 t Lizi is his proper name. Dogo (the " languti" of India, which we 
 generally translate T-bandage), bo (and), je (falls into), Agbwe-to (a 
 certain sea-fetish, here used for **the sea,") men (in). The meaning is, 
 *'Inhis indispensables he falls into the sea," that is to say, " He is 
 brave and fears nothing." 
 
6 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 These " Bo are dwarfish attempts at humanity, male 
 and female — the sexes made very distinct — lamp black 
 and red, -with white caps and pagnes."' The second 
 party, consisting of ten men, bore in their hands as 
 many iron fetish sticks, from 4 feet to 6 feet long, 
 capped mostly with a barred cone Hke a modern Mos- 
 lem cresset, apex downwards, and topped with rude 
 iron imitations of land tortoises. The third party, also 
 ten in number, was the band. 
 
 Having danced with much effusion and paraded their 
 godhngs, the fetishers defiled to the right and vanished 
 from the crowd. The King then walked up to the 
 victim shed, and paced down its length within the 
 railino;. To the score of wretches there sittino; 
 pilloried he threw with two hands as many heads of 
 cowries, and these were placed by the attendants upon 
 the caps of the recipients. He conversed freely with 
 
 * The first was a blue dwarf, in a grey pagne, with hat on head ; 
 the second, a blue woman, with protuberant breasts ; the third, a red 
 dwarf with white eyes, clad cap-a-pie, in red and brown; the fourth 
 was a small black mother and child in a blue loin-cloth, with a basket 
 or calabash on the former's head ; the fifth, ditto, but lesser ; the sixth, 
 was a pigmy baboon-like thing, with red face under a white skull cap, 
 a war club in the right hand and a gun in the left; and the seventh 
 much resembled the latter, but was lamp black, with a white apron 
 behind. They were carved much as the face cut on the top of a stick, 
 by the country bumpkin in England. 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 
 
 several of them. The others, though I could see no 
 sign, were probably gagged, for the reason before 
 stated. He then came up and snapped fingers with 
 me, when a hint was given that at my intercession 
 several victims would be pardoned. This also is a 
 Dahoman formula. I pleaded for them, saying that 
 mercy is the great prerogative of kings, when nearly 
 half of them were brought up before Gelele, were 
 untied, and were placed by their keepers on all fours 
 to hear the royal clemency. 
 
 An " Ago ! " and a ting ! tang ! caused a deep hush, 
 and the Min-gan, whose beard and hair were brick-red 
 with dust, uttered a long, dreary, drowsy speech, much 
 reminding me of a certain " Great Eltchi." The sub- 
 stance was, that the chief of a tributary town, 
 Izatakuno, having sent instead of cowries palm kernels 
 to the King, he, the Min-gan, ashamed to report such 
 an outrage, had captured the prisoners exposed at the 
 palace shed. The high officer again powdered his hair 
 and reclined on one arm, whilst the King informed him 
 that the proceeding was duly approved of, and that the 
 pardoned rebels must be speedily removed from his 
 sight. His right royal speech was followed by an 
 uproar of cymbals, the usual two decanters of rum 
 
8 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 were sent to us, and thus we got " pass," or permission 
 to leave " the presence/' 
 
 That night was our watch night," which the ham- 
 mock men kept for us with potations pottle deep of 
 trade spirits. 
 
 SECTION D. 
 
 The So-nan-wen-Mn 'gbe^"^^ or Fourth Day of the Kings 
 
 Customs. 
 
 The first day of the new year (1864) was chosen 
 for the ceremony of loosing horses, which is not usually 
 performed till a fortnight after the opening of the 
 Customs. Mr. Cruikshank was feverish : the labour of 
 pleasure in Dahome is somewhat hard ; I therefore 
 went alone to the usual place, and found there a new 
 hat. It belonged to a dark youth, M. Joaquim de 
 Cirqueira Lima. He had been brought up at Berlin, 
 and there had attracted considerable notice. Presently 
 returning to Africa, he became head clerk to the 
 
 * So (horse), nan-wen (will break), kan (rope), 'gbe (to-day). As I 
 have said, the horses had been returned, but this is probably the old 
 name of the fete-day. 
 
THB KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 9 
 
 Hamburg factory at Lagos ; and at the death of his 
 father, the headman of Brazihan emigrants, who had 
 received an umbrella from the King, he had gravitated 
 to the quahty of " Whydah gentleman." All the chief 
 caboceers were sitting in poor clothes under old 
 blackened and war-soiled umbrellas, which will be laid 
 aside to-morrow. There was a suspicious gathering of 
 vultures on the tree under which our chairs were 
 disposed. Can their sagacity extend to guessing that 
 death is near ? 
 
 Seven men were prancing before the King, whose 
 brother Anlinwanun substituted for them an untired 
 troop. After their obeisances and salutations, the 
 bamboo barrier was enlarged for the Amazon dances. 
 A peloton of fifty wives and fighteresses, several of 
 them " half-heads " and others with a haircrest along 
 the poll-ridge, stood up : then, turning towards the tent 
 where Gezo's ghost was, they capered and they sang in 
 chorus and in solo to the Amazon band on the left of 
 the throne, lauds of the old king. After that perform- 
 ance fourteen of the tallest and most swaggering, not 
 including a small girl, formed line, and two mistresses 
 of the ceremonies, armed with horsetail chauris, chanted 
 and sometimes pranced to give time in rear. The 
 
10 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 toilette was the pink of propriety, — a vest, a pagne, 
 a shorter undergarb and Ffon chokoto or "pantilettes," 
 longer than the male article, and extending to the 
 knees : it is a provision which might be naturalised in 
 all countries where calegons are not de riguem\ When 
 the time was to be changed, one or both of the Blue 
 Companies advanced towards the band with pin toes 
 straight in front, ungracefully throwing out first one arm 
 then the other, with one or two fingers extended, and 
 clapping palms on the thighs or on something fleshier. 
 Thus the measure was taken up by a single cymbal, and 
 finally by the full band. The dancers stamped, 
 wriggled, kicked the dust with one foot, sang, shuffled, 
 and wTung their hands — there is ever a suspicion of 
 beheading in these performances — bending almost 
 double, ducking heads, moving sideways to right and 
 left, fronting and facing everywhere, especially 
 presenting the back, converting forefingers into strigils, 
 working the arms as in Mediterranean swimming, and 
 ending in a 'prestissimo and very violent movement of 
 the shoulders, hips, and loins. Then whilst the rest 
 reposed on short stools there was a grand pas de deuos. 
 The whole merits of the ballet were time and unison : 
 nothing could be less graceful or more deficient in the 
 
THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." It 
 
 poetry of motion. All ended with , kneeling, bending 
 heads to the ground, and rubbing palms. 
 
 Thereupon Adan-men-nun-kon of the guard, sup- 
 ported by a three-deep column of fifty men, stood up, 
 and, in the bawling barking tone affected by the real 
 brave, declared that as the Fanti Company had sung 
 about breaking Abeokuta, so the Blue had sworn to 
 destroy it. The sentiment was seconded by the Gau 
 and the Matro with such jumping and breast beating 
 that a stranger would suppose them to be in a violent 
 rage. The general uproar of captains, the dance, and 
 presenting arms, sticks and knives, testified their 
 general joy, and they chanted to the effect that they 
 would not only knock down the walls of Abeokuta, but 
 they would also carry away the bits for Gelele their 
 king. It reminded me of the Southern heroes who 
 carried Mr. President Lincoln's coffin, and were 
 " bound to bring him back in it, and have not done so. 
 
 The women having re-formed a single peloton five 
 deep, Ji-bi-whe-ton, their coloneless, issued from the 
 midst of them ; her scalp was clean shaven and 
 shining, a single little lock held a silver knob like the 
 finial of a tea-pot, and her chief ornament was the 
 common fleur-de-lis of silver attached by a chain to 
 
12 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 her neck. Slie wore a vest, pink before and wliite 
 behind, with a drooping slovenly collar : a black leather 
 cartridge-belt kept in position her long blue striped 
 waist-cloth and confined on her left hip an ammunition 
 bag, whilst her right hand grasped the muzzle of a 
 short musket, to which w^ere hung many charms. In 
 hoarse manly tones she called out severally her best 
 women, each of w^liom sharply responded " Tamule ! 0 
 Brave ! presented them to the King, handed to them 
 their cowries, placed the bundles upon their heads, and 
 dismissed them. Some of the more forward made 
 short speeches with a pert air, and struck their bosoms 
 as to say " I am the woman to do it, — 1.'' At times a 
 dozen or so stood up, sang and raised one or both arms, 
 the forefinger as usual being extended, thus swearing 
 to brave deeds before the King. 
 
 Similarly Adan-men-nun-kon presented his chosen 
 w^arriors, who, unlike the w^omen, prostrated themselves. 
 At one name, Mocho,* the captainesses laughed 
 satirically, showing the rivalry ever existing between 
 the two sexes. The w^omen, naturally somewhat in- 
 
 * If a man*' get Afa" (Chapter XII), before the births of his 
 children, the first boy is called Amoso, and the girl Alugba ; the next 
 are named Mocho and Alugba-hwe, and so on. 
 
THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 13 
 
 continent of tongue, also supply all omissions and 
 explanations of the men's speeches, whilst these 
 dare not interrupt their sister soldiers. On the other 
 hand the full private, the jester, the bush-man, 
 in fact every one, addresses his sovereign without 
 interruption, demanding and receiving audience and 
 justice. So far the despotism is quite €7i rlgle ; it is 
 the progressive democratic, not the barbarous aristocra- 
 tic. Lastly, there was a general " Tamule ! " the 
 women sang and clapped hands, whilst the elite danced. 
 This example was duly followed by the men. 
 
 Silence having been once more proclaimed, the King 
 spoke fiercely about the capture of Abeokuta, and he 
 was seconded by Adan-men-nun-kon the Brave. 
 The women fired, the men blew their horns, and both 
 companies, masculine and feminine, sang to this purport : 
 " We refused to let our king furnish his father^s grave 
 with any skulls and bones save those of the Egbas. 
 These we swear now to procure for him. If the foe 
 soar in the air we will fly, if he dive we will follow 
 him, if he sink in earth we will descend after him." 
 The King excitedly informed them that he would see 
 the oath kept. The Blues rushed tumultuously afar, 
 skirmishing and firing : presently they returned at a 
 
14 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 pas de charge, and clustered before the King, whilst 
 the women chanted Nago songs, in which they are 
 said to excel. 
 
 After the heralds had cried " 0 jez ! " the King 
 ordered them to sing again, when they recited the past 
 prowess of the two principal companies. Once more 
 Gelele, with violent gestures and wildly tossing his arms, 
 declared that he must go and break Abeokuta. Two 
 baskets of cowries were brought out, the Amazons 
 carried off their share, and an old messenger woman 
 bore the other to the men, who after prostration loaded 
 it upon their shoulders. 
 
 The King made a third warlike speech, to the effect 
 that dirty cloth must be washed, and that his honour 
 must be redeemed by destroying Abeokuta. The 
 women sang, both sexes presented arms, and jesters 
 blew loud blasts with their tusk-horns. Again the 
 Amazons chanted to the funereal tinkle of a single 
 cymbal, succeeded by a full band. After sundry 
 dances, all sat down, touched with their foreheads 
 the ground opposite the old King's tent, and then 
 saluted, with the usual three batta-palmas, his royal 
 son. Wearing many silver studs in a Turkish cap- 
 like mop of hair, fifteen princesses, mostly daughters of 
 
THE KING'S ''SO-SIN CUSTOM." 15 
 
 Oelele, and wives of the Adanejan and other officers, 
 issued from the palace, and knelt in two lines close 
 to the throne. On the Men's side appeared the 
 seven Bo images mentioned yesterday, preceded by 
 two fetisheers in peculiar dress. A So * was brought up 
 to us, a bull-face mask, of natural size, painted black, 
 with glaring eyes and peep-holes, the horns were hung 
 with red and white rag strips, and beneath was a 
 dress of bamboo fibre covering the feet and ruddy 
 at the ends. It danced with head on one side, and 
 swayed itself about to the great amusement of the 
 people. 
 
 Presently our chairs were hastily removed, and we 
 retired to the eastern shed, whilst the natives, flying 
 in confusion, occupied the southern side of the square. 
 Women dressed in every shade of colour came stream- 
 ing from the palace, and turned to the right ; so that, 
 on passing the King, they presented as usual the dexter 
 shoulder. They were preceded by the To-no-nun and 
 a single bell : after the first turn he and his twenty 
 eunuchs took post at the eastern corner of the palace 
 
 * This is probably the Soh Soh of Commander Forbes (vol. ii. p. 120), 
 who considers it to be a representative of the thunder god. I could not 
 tind in this buffoonery any mystic meaning : the attendants only begged 
 Irom us. 
 
16 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 wall, and in bird-like voices, cried out to the public to 
 admire what was passing. 
 
 First, came thirteen old mothers of the chief captains, 
 followed by eighty women, some with their sticks of 
 office, each carrying in a calabash two heads of 
 cowries. After them trooped forty women and girls 
 with ten strings per head in plates and platters. Then, 
 preceded by small girls, walked the fifteen married 
 princesses in fine raiment. The rest of the procession 
 consisted of nineteen women, bearing on their pates 
 bottles of rum ; forty women, each with two heads 
 of cowries ; twenty women and young girls, known by 
 their nude bosoms, with ten strings each ; and, lastly, 
 the she Men and Min-gan with thirteen attendants. 
 They circumambulated the square thrice, singing, in 
 peculiar tones, the exploits of the late and the present 
 King, and enumerating their victims.* The presents 
 are for distribution amongst the lieges during the 
 coming night. They have much diminished : in 
 Gezo's time there were 1000 carriers. After the third 
 round some huddled into the palace, and the rest, 
 
 * All is repeated *'by heart," and a tenacious memory is required. 
 But the practice is hard : I rarely passed a palace, when the King was 
 out, without hearing a loud singing lesson within. 
 
THE KIXG'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 17 
 
 after again forming up before the King and reciting 
 his titles, followed. It was the usual African incon- 
 sequence— £100,000 to carry £20. 
 
 Shortly after 6 p.m. we returned to our old sitting- 
 places. The woman Men, standing amongst twenty 
 chief captainesses, habited in Hausa tobes, addressed 
 her male colleague, who, like the others, was lying 
 elbow-propped on the ground. She informed him that 
 the King, who w^as worthily making the Customs of his 
 sire, had brought out rum and cowries for his singers — 
 the bards who, in Dahome, preserve all history.* Then 
 the she-Min-gan addressed the men, to the effect that 
 Dahome expects every man to do his duty. Ten 
 bottles of rum and 120 heads of cowries were finallj' 
 given to the women, and w^e were graciously dismissed. 
 
 * The bards are of both sexes, and the 'W'omen dwell in the palace. 
 These chroniclers and narrators of native tradition are here called " AVe- 
 Tiukhodoto," in Eujba, " Owgbo." The King keeps a whole troop of these 
 laureates, very difierent from him of Bonny, who could afford only " Poet 
 Close." On the other hand, the latter could plead the well-known to 
 Anglo-Indians But, I's English." 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 G 
 
ISr 
 
 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 SECTION E. 
 
 The Zan Nyanyana, or Evil Night. 
 
 As ^Ye wended our way homewards from the palace 
 to the city gate, we found both sides of the road Hned 
 with bamboo raihng, to keep the thoroughfare clear for 
 the King : it serves its purpose effectually as police- 
 men and Life Guards in England. To-night Gelele will 
 walk in procession with his wives, and attended by the 
 high officials, from the Komasi House to the Uhun-jro 
 market-place, where the Min-gan will perform sundry 
 executions with his own hand. 
 
 As sometimes happens, the subject of Men-huwu " or 
 human sacrifice in Dahome has been thoroughly mis- 
 nnderstood by the press and the public at home. It 
 is by no means done to " keep up the good old customs 
 of the country." The object is not to " offer a valuable 
 and acceptable present to Heaven ; " nor is it penance 
 or self-deprivation done because the thing parted with 
 is precious or coveted. The King takes no pleasure in 
 
 * Men (man), huwu (killing). There is no euphuism, as in Yoruba, 
 -where such murder is called the "basket sacrifice." Koklo-huwu is the 
 sacrifice of poultry. 
 
THE laXG'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 19 
 
 the tortures and death, or in the sight of blood — as will 
 presently appear. The 2000 killed in one day, the 
 canoe paddled in a pool of gore, and other grisly 
 nursery tales, must be derived from Whydah, where 
 the slave-traders invented them, probably to deter 
 Englishmen from visiting the King. 
 
 It is useless to go over the ground of human sacrifice 
 from the days of the mild Hindu's Naramedha* to the 
 burnings of the Druids, and to the awful massacres of 
 Peru and Mexico. In Europe the extinction of the 
 custom began from the time of polite Augustus. Any 
 Encyclopaedia will show that human sacrifice, like 
 slavery, is almost universally a concomitant of a certain 
 stage of civiHsation, and that with the increase of 
 knowdedge it disappears for ever. 
 
 Human sacrifice in Dahome is founded upon a purely 
 rehgious basis, which not only strengthens but per- 
 petuates the custom. It is a touching instance of the 
 King's filial piety, deplorably mistaken, but perfectly 
 sincere. The Dahoman sovereign must, I have said, 
 enter Deadlandf with royal state, accompanied by a 
 
 * Or killing a man. So Indra became a god, by the Aswa-medha, or 
 horse sacrifice. 
 
 + In the History (p. 204) we read that the moment the death of the 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 ghostly court of leopard wives, head wives, birth-day" 
 wives, Afa wives, eunuchs — especially the chief eunuch 
 — singers and drummers. King's Joto'si " and " King's 
 Devils," bards, and soldiers. This is the object of what 
 we have called the " Grand Customs/ when the victims 
 may amount to a maximum of 500. We find the same 
 process extending through the continent to the south- 
 eastern country of the Cazembe, who shows an equal 
 veneration for his Muzimos '' or ancestral ghosts. 
 Every year, moreover, decorum exacts that the first 
 fruits of war and that all criminals should be sent as 
 recruits to swell the King's retinue. Hence the ordi- 
 nary annual customs. We can hardly find fault with 
 putting criminals to death, f when, in the Year of Grace 
 
 king was heard in the palace, the women began to kill themselves and 
 one another: when Sinmenkpen departed life, 595 perished. G\zo 
 ended this abomination by extorting a solemn fetish oath from all his 
 chiefs, men and women. Yet it must be unpleasant to find oneself at 
 Agbome when the king dies : I should imagine that a foreigner would 
 not be safe there at such a time. 
 
 * Birthday wives are those married on the King's birthday. The 
 Joto 'si are half-heads, male and female, who correspond with the *' 'Kra," 
 or " 'Kla" of the Gold Coast, and rank in Dahome next to the eunuchs. 
 Joto is the ancestor, whom Afa, or the Book of Fate, declares to have sent 
 the child into the world, and the child calls him Joto-che — my Joto. 
 The King's Devils are those who have charge of his Legba or priapus 
 (History, p. 204). 
 
 ]' Commodore Wilmot (Appendix III.) should have inserted " crimi- 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 21 
 
 1864 we hung four murderers upon the same gibbet 
 before 100,000 gaping souls at Liverpool, when we 
 strung up five pirates in front of Newgate, when, 
 during the late age of " hanging Mondays," the 
 Latinist exclaimed. 
 
 Scarce can our fields, such crowds at Tjburn die, 
 With hemp the gallows and the fleet supply ; 
 
 and when our last Christian king but one killed a 
 starving mother of seventeen, with an infant at her 
 breast, for lifting a yard of linen from a shop counter. 
 A Dahoman visiting England but a few years ago would 
 have witnessed customs almost quite as curious as those 
 which raise our bile now. With respect to slaying 
 captives, it must be remembered that this severity 
 depends upon the nature of African wars ; with these 
 people, lex talionis is the highest experience of law, and 
 after defeat quarter is given only to those who are 
 reserved for slavery or for sacrifice. There is, there- 
 fore, a shade of excuse for it. The executions are, I 
 believe, performed without cruelty ; these negroes have 
 not invented breaking on the wheel or tearing to pieces 
 their victims, as happened to Eavaillac and the half- 
 
 nal" when asserting that the King of Dahome sacrificed his own 
 countrymen. 
 
22 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 witted Damiens. Finall}^ it must be remembered that 
 throughout the year Customs' time is the only period 
 of punishment — that the sacrifice is done openly, 
 enabling all to witness the consequences of crime, 
 and that it seems to wither away all minor offences of 
 violence. 
 
 There are always at least two Evil Nights during the 
 annual customs, and there may be more. Commander 
 Forbes, I have said, owns that King Gezo had reduced 
 the number of his victims to thirty-six. The present 
 King has increased them to thirty-nine or forty. But 
 this number must be doubled, to include the female 
 victims killed by the Amazons in the palace, and not 
 permitted to be seen by man.* The presumed total of 
 the "butchery bill " will therefore be seventy-eight or 
 eighty.f 
 
 As all who leave the house during the evil night are 
 beheaded, it is not easy to learn what is then enacted. 
 Our bearers, however, afterwards sang a song, how the 
 King had asked a man of the Min-gan, which officer 
 
 * The missionaries were at paias to hoodwink my eyes upon this 
 subject, which however, like all things at Agbome, could not be kept 
 secret. AVhen setting up the King's tent in the palace-yard, I saw 
 poles being planted for a scafibld. 
 
 •j- Dr. Lankester calculates six deaths per mensem, as the loss caused 
 by crinoline in Loudon. 
 
THE KING'S ''SO-SIN CUSTOM." 23 
 
 liad presented the gift, how the man was charged with 
 a message to Gezo, saying that the Customs were being 
 properly performed, and how he and his fellows are 
 clubbed with knob-sticks/'' I could not find out 
 whether, like the Meriah victims of the Khonds, who 
 hardly thanked General Campbell for saving their 
 lives, the doomed are intoxicated : it is probable, the 
 object being to send them to the other world in the 
 best of tempers. Although the missionaries deny the 
 fact, I believe that the King f begins by using a broad 
 sharp blade upon the neck of a kneeling criminal, after 
 Avhich the same is done to others by the Min-gan, the 
 MeUjJ and their assistants. 
 
 Dahome, it will be seen, shows to advantage by the 
 side of Abeokuta, Ashanti, and Benin. When I visited, 
 in 1860, what Mr. Duncan calls that "saintly place of 
 
 * This agrees with the History. Others say that, like the Khond 
 viotims, they are suffocated by the assistants, who hold their noses and 
 mouths. Decapitation, it will be observed, is the favourite mode of 
 execution at Dahome, 
 
 t Dr. M'Leod (p. 65) declares it was known when ''his majesty" 
 condescends to become the executioner, and relates that on one occasion a 
 poor fellow objecting to it, and declaring that he was unacquainted with 
 the way, the King cried " I'll show it you ; " and with one blow, being 
 very expert, made his head fly many yards from his body, highly indig- 
 nant that there should have been the least expression of reluctance. 
 
 X Others say that the Meu executes only Addo-kpon the bush-king's 
 •criminals. 
 
24 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 SO many converts," one " basket sacrifice/' as the Egbas 
 delicatel}^ call it, had just been performed; one occurred 
 during our week's residence in the town; and a third 
 immediately after we had left. At Komasi, one man 
 is slain per diem, except on the Wednesdays, which 
 are the King's birthdays ; moreover, the death of every 
 caboceer demands a number of victims, whereas in 
 Dahome only a single slave accompanies the Min-gan 
 and the Meu, such honour not being permitted since 
 the early part of Gezo's reign to any other caboceer. 
 Finally, when I visited the city of Great Benin, in 
 1862, I saw three violent deaths in three days, though 
 the yearly ceremonies had ended, and the large open 
 space before the palace was strew^ed with human skulls 
 and bones. j 
 
 But although the Dahoman Customs have been 
 greatly exaggerated and admit some little palliation, 
 the annual destruction of human life is terribly great. 
 However trivial an action is done by the King, such as 
 inventing a new drum, being visited by a white man, 
 or even removing from one palace to another, it must 
 be dutifully reported by some male or female messenger 
 to the paternal ghost.'"* I can hardly rate the slaughter 
 
 * AH the victims, liowever, are not killed. On January 31st, 1864, 
 
 I 
 
i 
 
 THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 25 
 
 at less than 500, in average years of the annual Cus- 
 toms, and at less than 1000 during the year of the 
 Grand Customs. At exceptional occasions, especially 
 of the King s illness, many are slain on the suspicion of 
 witchcraft;' which here, as everywhere in Africa, is a 
 capital offence. During the earthquake which pro- 
 strated Accra in 1862, Gelele was informed that his 
 father's ghost had been seen bathing in the sea, and 
 was returning to Agbome. According to Mr. Bernasko 
 he slew two slaves, — others say the unfortunate captives 
 from Ishagga,t — and was surprised to hear that the 
 earthquake had been felt where his father's name was 
 
 two, a youth and a maiden, were offered up (officially), and kept alive to 
 sweep lung Gezo's grave. The sporadic sacrifice mentioned in the text 
 was known to former travellers. " The immolation of victims is not 
 confined to a particular period, for at any time, should it be necessar}' 
 to send an account to his forefathers of any remarkable event, the 
 king despatches a courier to the shades, by delivering his message to 
 whoever may happen to be near him, and then ordering his head to 
 be chopped off immediately ; and it has not unfrequently happened 
 during the present reign, that, as something new has occurred to the 
 King's mind, another messenger (as Mr. C — nn — g very justly observed, 
 like the postscript of a letter) has instantly followed on the same errand, 
 perhaps in itself of the most trivial kind." — Dr. M'Leod, p. 64. 
 
 * It must not be forgotten, that even in the days of the Religio 
 Medici, all are denounced as infidels and atheists who deny the reality of 
 witches. 
 
 + Joseph Madarikan, an Egban boy recaptured from the Dahomans in 
 March, 1864, asserts that a man named Moses Oshoko, an Ishagga con- 
 vert, was crucified by the Dahomans, and that William Doherty, an 
 
26 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 unknown. The History mentions part of the palace wall 
 at Agbome being -overthrown in the days of Sinmen- 
 kpen (Adahoonzou IL, 1774 — 1789), when the Euro- 
 peans, improving the occasion, tried to reform the 
 royal manners. "It does not, however, appear that 
 this representation produced any alteration in the 
 King's behaviour." 
 
 It is evident, that to abolish human sacrifice here is 
 to aboHsli Dahome. The practice originates from filial 
 piety, it is sanctioned by long use and custom, and it is 
 strenuously upheld by a powerful and interested priest- 
 hood. That, as our efforts to abolish the slave export 
 trade are successful, these horrors will greatly increase, 
 there is no room to doubt. Finally, the present King 
 is for the present committed to them ; he rose to power 
 by the goodwill of the reactionary party, and upon it he 
 depends. There is a report that his grandsire Agon- 
 goro (Wheenoohew) was poisoned because he showed 
 a propensity to Christianity, and the greatest despots 
 are in Yoruba easily told to " go to sleep,'' or are pre- 
 sented with the parrot's eggs. Gelele, I am persuaded, 
 
 English subject, was not killed : that he has been put under one of the 
 chief captains, who was charged to be ready to produce him, if demanded 
 even after twenty years. 
 
THE KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 27 
 
 could not abolish human sacrifice if he would ; and he 
 would not if he could. The interference of strangers 
 will cause more secresj, and more decorum in the 
 practice ; but the remedy must come from the people 
 themselves. 
 
 During the last reign, the victims, gagged and carry- 
 ing rum and cowries for the people, were marched 
 about, led with cords, and the visitors were compelled 
 to witness the executions.* In 1862-63, the wretches 
 were put to death within hearing, if not within sight, 
 of the white visitors. In 1863-64, the King so fkr 
 regarded the explicit instructions which I had received, 
 that no life was publicly taken during daytime. This 
 is, let us hope, the small end of the wedge. 
 
 SECTION F. 
 
 The Minai Afunfun 'khi Uhun-jro men Dadda Gezo ; f 
 07' Fifth and last Daij of the Kings " So-sin Custom!' 
 
 During the night, at times, the deep sound of the 
 
 * M. Brandao, a Portuguese merchant, was so terrified by the execu- 
 tions, that he Hed to Whydah, and fell sick there. 
 
 f Minai (we go to), afunfun (the small mat tent under which the King 
 sits), 'khi (for akhi, a bazaar or market), Uhun-jro men (in the Uhun-jro 
 space, or on the Uhun-jro day), Dadda Gezo (for Grandfather Gezo). 
 
28 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 deatli-drum and the loud report of a musket informed 
 us that som.e mortal spirit had fled. The 2nd of 
 January, 1864, opened with a preliminary "palaver," 
 brought by the Buko-no. Some years ago, during the 
 reign of Gezo, ^\hen all were employed at the palace, 
 a fire nearly destroyed the city ; consequently came 
 forth a royal ordinance, directing every hearth to be 
 kept cold on that day, except within the royal precincts. 
 But, though this restriction does not apply to white 
 visitors, our vexatious host could not help trying his 
 hand at an avanie, by which he gained little but 
 contempt. 
 
 I was debating whether to decline attending at the 
 palace, as desired to do on the " glad day," when, as if 
 the King had divined my intention, the Prince Chyu- 
 daton called upon me at an early hour and explained 
 that all those slain during the last evil night w^ere 
 criminals and captives. At 11 a.m. we proceeded, 
 armed with all our patience, to the Komasi House, 
 wdiere w^as to take place the ceremony called by 
 strangers " The Procession of the King's Wealth,"'"* — it 
 should be rather " Of the Royal Poverty." 
 
 * There is, or used to be, the same annual ceremony in the city of 
 Great Benin, called the *' Coral Feast." 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 29 
 
 The approach to tlie Palace was not pleasant. The 
 north-eastern or market-shed was empty ; out of its 
 tenants, nine had peiished. Four corpses, attired in 
 their criminals' shirts and nightcaps, were sitting in 
 pairs upon Gold Coast •stools, supported by a double- 
 storied scaffold, about forty feet high, of rough beams, 
 two perpendiculars and as many connecting horizontals. 
 At a little distance, on a similar erection, but made 
 for half the number, were two victims, one above the 
 other. Between these substantial affairs was a gal- 
 lows of thin posts, some thirty feet^ tall, with a single 
 victim hanging by his heels, head downwards. Lastly, 
 planted close to the path was a patihulum for two, 
 dangling side by side. Fine cords, passed in several 
 coils round the ankles and above the knees, attached 
 them to the cross-bar of the gallows, and the limpness 
 of their limbs showed that the " dear breath " had 
 lately been beaten out of them. There were no 
 signs of violence upon the bodies, which were wholly 
 nude ; they had been mutilated after death, in respect 
 to the royal wives, and very little blood appeared upon 
 the ground below.'"' 
 
 * M. Jules Gerard (Appendix III.) seems to imagine that the mutila- 
 tion preceded the execution, which I believe is not the case. The same 
 
30 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 We then passed to tlie south-eastern gate of the 
 Komasi House, where the palace shed was also unte- 
 nanted. In front of sundry little black dolls, stuck in 
 the ground at both sides of the entrance, lay a dozen 
 heads. They were in two batches of six each, disposed 
 in double lines of three ; their faces were downwards, 
 and the cleanly severed necks caught the observer's eye. 
 Around each heap was a raised rim of white ashes. 
 These victims had probably been slaughtered directly in 
 front of the gate, as there were traces of blood there : 
 the bodies had been removed, so as not to offend the 
 King. AVithin the palace entrance were two more, 
 making a total of fourteen. Thus, during Gelele's 
 *'Evil Night,'' twenty-three human beings had lost 
 their lives. 
 
 We sat under the thin shade of the tree garnished 
 with queer fruit and white flags, enjoying the Har- 
 mattanish weather, and were greeted by sundry nobles, 
 who politely thanked us for honouring the day with 
 
 error has been noticed in Mr. Duncan (vol. i. p. 220). Mr. K'orris, in 
 1772, exactly describes the gibbets, with the naked and mutilated 
 victims hanging by the ankles, and he says that they had been clubbed 
 on the head, as by the old Roman Ammazzatore." A few days after- 
 wards I saw, in the market-place, a dog similarly suspended, as a. 
 Yo-sisa, or fetish to prevent disease. 
 
THE KING'S *'SO-SIN CUSTOM." 31 
 
 uniform. After a long seance we entered the Podoji, 
 or palace-}'ard5 in which we had pitched the tent. It 
 was crammed with dignitaries, male and female, all 
 habited in their gaudiest attire. The time of royal 
 mourning had now passed by, and merriment was once 
 more restored to the nation. 
 
 In the centre of the court, which was divided into 
 two by a fence-work of matting, rose a sugar-loaf- 
 sliaped pavilion of native make, called the Tokpon. It 
 was supported by a strong central pole, on the top of 
 which, pedestalled upon a little oval, was a small white- 
 capped fetish figure holding a hatchet in the right 
 hand : above it hung a flag, also white, with a chocolate- 
 hued spread-eagle in the centre. Posts of strong scant- 
 ling, disposed in an inner circle, propped up the heavy 
 flaps, and the outer edge was kept extended by iron rods, 
 some four feet long, planted in the ground and passed 
 through eyelet-holes. Thus was generated a draught 
 which, despite crowding, kept the interior cool. The 
 cloth was of the coarsest material, gaudj^ but rain-^ 
 washed ; red and yellow were the predominant tints, 
 varied with patches and rags of check. The grotesque 
 ornaments, of different coloured cloths, sewn on to the 
 outside, were lions devouring men and beasts, turkey- 
 
32 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 buzzards ^Yith wings abased, blue snakes, four-legged birds 
 holding swords, and other symptoms of the " ridiculous 
 trade," heraldry. The entrance ^Yas garnished with 
 the usual galleries for Yo-sisa, little flags, and Bo-so or 
 fetish stick-bundles : on its proper right squatted the 
 band of women, on the left were ranged calabashes of 
 food and drink. A white calico curtain, passed round 
 the iron bars, prevented our seeing the women and 
 children that crowded the interior, and the mat wall 
 that divided the Podoji showed us only the standards 
 and the umbrellas of the female troops.'''* Conspicuous 
 objects on the left of the pavihon, were two Ajalela or 
 fetish pots, made by the present King.f Both are lamp- 
 black, shaped liked amphorae, about four feet high, and 
 planted on tripods. The larger was solid, the smaller 
 was cullendered with many small holes, and both were 
 decorated with brass and silver crescents, stars, and 
 
 * This Tokpon is accurately described by Mr. Norris, but the illustra- 
 tion in. the History (opposite p. 135) has been drawn by the artist 
 upon his imagination. The same may be said about all the plates in 
 that book. Commander Forbes (vol. ii. p. 33) is but little more correct. 
 Mr. Cruikshank measured, at the King's request, his largest Tokpon, 
 and found it to be 54 feet in diameter, by about the same height, 
 supported by twenty-four posts, besides the central pole, and raised at 
 the flap by eighty-five iron rods. 
 
 t As Gezo sat under the Adanzan shed, so Gelele performs the Ajalela 
 fetish. The pot reminded me of that given to the old Janissaries. 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 33 
 
 similar ornaments. The second, when filled with water 
 and medicine, allows none to escape, so great is its 
 fetish power; an army guarded by it can never be 
 defeated, and it will lead the way to Abeokuta. 
 Towards the end of the procession the smaller vase 
 was carried off by the men, after they had made obeis- 
 ance to the King. The women, with similar ceremony, 
 presently removed the other. 
 
 We were seated but a short time under the thin 
 tamarind tree when a fall of matting on the proper left of 
 the pavilion and almost in front of us, was raised, and the 
 royal leopard wives and Amazons, copiously besilvered, 
 ushered in the King. He was more dressed than 
 usual, in a skull-cap of puce- coloured satin and a toga 
 of violet silk ; a rapier, the gift of Captain Wilmot, was 
 swung to his shoulder by a crimson silk sash, and an 
 ignoble necklace of imitation jewellery lay upon his 
 broad breast : he walked under a red parasol, with the 
 usual plated spittoon by his side. To the music of a 
 full band he crossed the court, waitino' to return our 
 salutes as we advanced towards him, and entered the 
 Tokpon, when its white curtain was removed. We then 
 betook ourselves to our chairs, which were placed near 
 the royal fetishers, who sat grouped under a black 
 
 VOL. n. D 
 
34 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 and tattered umbrella, fronted by about twenty iron 
 sticks planted in the ground, some cresset shaped and 
 quaintly capped with the tortoise, others crescents and 
 demi-lunes, and mostly decorated with pendents of 
 cowries. Immediately by our side squatted a little 
 knot, the King's sons, the ^^oungest of whom might be 
 twelve years old. Dako, the eldest, who had just been 
 made a caboceer, was a plain youth about twent}^ with 
 an unpleasant countenance. He is, I believe, the heir 
 apparent. Presently we were joined by the Hun-to-ji, 
 or king's silversmith, a high official, whose long cahco 
 gown, white pantaloons, straw hat, slippers and 
 European chain, proved his Brazilian descent. Under 
 him are workmen who will convert dollars — gold has no 
 value here — into chains, rings and crucifixes : all are 
 of the rudest make, and when tested with nitrate of 
 silver they become lead coloured. 
 
 This was to be, as is the present King's practice, a 
 mixed Custom. It began with a general salutation on 
 the part of the singers and drummers, who in silver 
 horns and bracelets danced before the throne, and 
 waved their horse-tail fly-flappers. They were fol- 
 lowed by the chief ministers, splendid in silk robes of 
 Hausa cut, resembUng the Arab's " aba," short sleeved 
 
THE KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 35 
 
 and hano'ino; to the ankles : as there must be somethino- 
 ill sorted about the African, their multitudinous neck- 
 laces and silver charms reposed upon common, and by 
 no means cleanly, trade shirts. A troop of "guiriots/"' or 
 jesters, knelt before the throne, pushed and shoved one 
 another, contorted their countenances, and exchanged 
 all manner of buffooneries to amuse the King. The 
 Kpo-fen-'su," captain of blunderbusses, headsman, and 
 headman of jesters, a living old skeleton, wore a long 
 red cap hanging on his shoulder, with broad white 
 circles of chalk round his eyes and mouth, that made 
 his countenance look at a distance like a leather-covered 
 skull. This pipe-claying, and here and there a streak 
 'of black made with gunpowder, are the only remains of 
 the " uncouth devices painted on the face and body, 
 and giving a very fiend-like appearance." The coadju- 
 tress in the inside is similarly goggled. The jesters 
 were followed by a dozen pursuivants armed with gong- 
 gongs, who advanced bending towards the throne, and 
 shouted the " strong names," or titles. Conspicuous 
 amongst them was an oldster in a crimson sleeveless 
 
 * The Poh-veh-soo of Commander Forbes. The name means Kpo 
 (leopard), fen (claw), 'su (grown) ; viz., " He can prey on all beasts," 
 and is a title originally given by Tegbwesuu. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 A MISSION" T.0 GELELE. 
 
 tunic and ^^ellow shorts : his head was red with dust, 
 he carried a large bill-hook, and he went about attended 
 by four drums and one cymbal. 
 
 After this preliminary, the processions began to pass 
 round the yard. The line, which affected a funereal 
 slowness, marching to the sound of one cymbal and a 
 chorus of women, was composed of eighty-five men ; 
 first the ministers, then the governors, and lastly the 
 minor chiefs. They were led by the new Ajyaho, who 
 was bareheaded ; his right hand rested upon a long cane, 
 and his left held a bill-hook ; a brass-hilted sword and 
 a little dirk were stuck in both sides of his belt. Next 
 came the Min-gan, who had a deer's head of thin brass 
 hanging from his girdle ; and wdio, in quality of king's 
 Calcraft-in-Chief, carried a long, straight, anji sheathed 
 blade. Then bent the old Meu, supporting himself 
 upon a beadle's silver-headed cane ; attached by a 
 narrow fillet or bandeau of velvet to the left side of his 
 head w^as a small silver-mounted dirk or dagger, w^orn 
 point downwards. The Yevo-gan, like all the rest, 
 carried a cane ; he was armed with a bill-hook, and 
 from his girdle depended a brass-scabbarded blade. 
 The Adanejan wore silver horns and bracelets, and 
 displayed his finery over an old trade shirt. He w^as 
 
THE KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 
 
 37 
 
 followed by his father, the Alo-lokpo-nun-gaii,* a 
 brother of the late king, who wore four knives, in pairs, 
 attached to both temples by a hoop stiff with silver. 
 Of the rest, some went bareheaded, others had caps ; 
 one wore a tin crown, a circlet and four branches meet- 
 ing at the poll ; and several had flat silver plates three 
 to four inches in diameter, fixed tightly on the scalp by 
 a concealed lock of hair. There was a profusion of 
 necklaces and bracelets ; not a few displayed themselves 
 in the dignity of cast-off merino coats and ancient 
 capes hardly extending to the waist ; all wore long 
 sashes hanging down their left sides, and besides carry- 
 ing long staves they were well armed. Here was an 
 old cavalry sabre with open guard, there a straight 
 blade with silver hilt, there a broad-headed Dahoman 
 bill-hook. Sizing was not the rule ; in places a quasi- 
 dwarf was followed by a tall fellow who could eat from 
 off his neighbour's head. As these Guys passed the 
 entrance of the royal pavilion they did obeisance, and 
 after the third turn they formed line opposite the tent, 
 knelt, bending low, and, at a given signal of a fugleman 
 on the right, touched the ground with their foreheads 
 and arose. This was the invariable conclusion of each 
 
 * Alo (hand), lokpo (one), nun (mouth), gan (captain.) 
 
38 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 act, and the ^Yhole v^as about as sensible as those Tem- 
 perance and other gatherings Avith flags and banners, 
 which make men wonder what satisfaction rational 
 Beings can derive from them. Each procession lasted 
 from eight to twenty minutes. 
 
 The ministers were followed at some interval bj 
 another Indian file of fifty men, the chief captains, 
 body-servants, and headmen of singers and drummers. 
 They were conducted by a " Lali," or half-head, with 
 the right side of his pericranium clean shaven, and the 
 left in a casing of silver, that looked like a cast, or a 
 half melon. This unique cap was sohd below, barred 
 above, and disclosing the black hair beneath; it was 
 fastened to the head by a tight string. Each man had 
 his musket. Two were under Ta-blaf — huge broad- 
 brims, stiff with tin plates nailed on a surface of red 
 cloth, and edged with frames of trade looking-glasses 
 flapping in the air. I much wondered who could have 
 been the hatter. Adan-men-nun-kon, the Capitano 
 
 * Any "half head" is called a Lali. 
 
 ■j- The Ta-bla is so called because tied to the head. Some fetisheers, 
 especially women, ■wear, perched upon the tops of their polls, and lashed 
 on, the cranium not being able to get into the coiffure, ridiculous little 
 steeple hats of straw, with the broadest brims, and the thinnest 
 possible steeples. 
 
THE KING'S ''SO-SIN CUSTOM." 39 
 
 Sparafucile, was there, fierce as ever, with reel scarf 
 and cartridge-box, a war axe on his left slioiilder, and 
 a carbine on his right. The To-no-nun carried a 
 bunch of keys. There were the two tall casque men 
 with their very long guns, habited in black frock coats, 
 over which hung their coral necklaces, and with com- 
 mon pagnes, knotted on the left sides under the Euro- 
 pean garb, so as to make them appear deformed. The 
 Buko-no, our host, joined them, having previously ex- 
 tracted from a large calabash a dozen necklaces, a pair 
 of mushroom-shaped silver horns, and a watch that 
 wanted only glass and main-spring. In the rear were 
 two blunderbusses, and the last was a melancholy-look- 
 ing Grimaldi, smoking a bone by w^ay of pipe, whose 
 ashes he occasionally halted to remove. 
 
 At the end of the third circuit, a chosen few received 
 presents of rum and bracelets ; all kissed the ground, 
 and presented arms, a knife in the right and a gun in 
 the left hand ; whilst bells tinkled and snake-bone and 
 watchmen's rattles were sprung. Again the fall of 
 matting was raised, and issued from the harem a cor- 
 responding procession of she ministers. Before these 
 noble dames began marching round, sundry old mes- 
 sengeresses, slaves of the palace, knelt in line upon the 
 
40 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 open space in front of us, forming the demarcation 
 between the sexes. In the pride of that utterly gra- 
 tuitous virtue, cehbacj, they passed demurely round, 
 reserved as nuns, and for the same reason : they rarely 
 allowed a glance to fall upon us males, pitying, I pre- 
 sume, our poor hearts. First came the five great 
 honours of the empire, — the Ajyaho, the Min-gan, the 
 Meu, the Yevogan, and the Adanejan. The Min-gan 
 had a bill-hook in her left hand, as executioneress of 
 the inside ; the others used staves or sticks, and all 
 carried swords at their left sides. These five vrere 
 habited in long Hausa tobes of red silk, the upper garb 
 light and the skirt heavy, and tvv'o w^ore tin crowns over 
 red cahco. They were followed by the lesser dignities 
 in blue strij)ed togas of similar cut, and some had their 
 heads bound wdth white calico, like the male singers and 
 fetisheers. This file walked somewdiat faster than the 
 men, to the music of a band playing in the tent. After 
 the third circumambulation, they formed up in line 
 before the King, w^aved both hands four times, and 
 quickly retired behind the matting. 
 
 Then came the captainesses, forty-two in number, 
 corresponding with the men. First stalked two " silver 
 half-heads,'' with pouches on their right sides, cartridge 
 
THE iaXG"S " SO-SIN CUSTOM.^^ 41 
 
 boxes round their waists, and bill-hooks whose handles 
 were swathed in cloth. Then came the Khe-tun-gan 
 and the Akpadurae, the she-Gau and the Meu, elderly 
 women, far too stout for active service. Behind them 
 were two heroines, decorated with beards of monkey 
 skin, and men's nightgear of white calico. A pair of 
 bayonet women followed, with silver sharks on their red 
 " Liberty Caps.'^ Number nine was a very bulky old 
 figure, in the cook's bonnet of the 'Mman, or Madcap 
 company described at Kana : she is one of the cap- 
 tainesses of the right, or Min-gan's side. There were 
 also steeple-crowned broad-brims, as amongst the males. 
 Some had shaggy skull-caps, like pepper-corn hair, 
 stained a deep indigo, and others had applied to their 
 locks the dye which contrasted well with the silver 
 ornaments. Others had big fool's caps of stuffs striped 
 white, blue, and red, and hanging over their shoulders. 
 All wore sashes with the ends depending in front ; and 
 carried, at half-cock, muskets or blunderbusses, with the 
 muzzle cap off. Some were decorated with a human 
 skull, or with a lower jaw, fixed to a thin brass plate 
 danghng from the waist. At the end of the per- 
 formance they formed line before the King, saluted, 
 firstly, with the right hand ; secondly, with presented 
 
42 - A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 guns and knives, and again disappeared within the 
 harem. 
 
 After the drummers and heralds had played some 
 antics before the royal tent, dancing, springing rattles, 
 and powdering themselves with dust, a very ridiculous 
 procession was formed. The male ministers had 
 changed their ck*esses for motley, and staft-propped, 
 with left shoulders covered, and pipes alight — both 
 showing them to be privileged persons — they again 
 promenaded before the King. The Ajyaho wore, 
 like Prince Chyudaton, a straw hat with a broad black 
 ribbon ; the meagre face of the black Min-gan was 
 buried in a vast old felt, and a cockaded cocked hat of 
 the last century, very dingy and frayed, and worn on 
 the wrong side, w^ell suited the age-bleared eyes, the 
 hollow cheeks, and the fallen-in lips of the fox-like 
 Meu. The latter also had fastened on his silver 
 armlets over a trade shirt. The best man of the party 
 was the Yevo-gan, who, residing at Whydah, had 
 achieved a chimney-pot hat, whilst the others were 
 fain to be content with caps, straw hats, billycocks, 
 cotton extinguishers, sailors' waterproofs, crocodile caps, 
 calico fillets, and even bare scalps. Adanejan smoked a 
 German student s pipe, the others being reduced to long 
 
THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 4$ 
 
 and short white clays — mostly French, with monkey and 
 skull bowls — to native manufacture, or to none. Each 
 time the procession passed the royal tent, the old and 
 tattered garments were changed for others just as 
 bad. At the end they bowed with their hats before 
 the King, bared their bodies to the waist, knelt, made 
 obeisance, and retired. 
 
 Then was the turn for the men captains, who also,, 
 like the ministers, appeared before the King with, 
 wrapped-up shoulders, smoking pipes : all were armed 
 with muskets as before. One old officer of the ^Mman 
 Guards carried a double sword, like huge scissors. 
 The To-no-nun and another official wore the robes of 
 an Egyptian fellah. The Buko-no was habited in an 
 ancient Turkish rug, which he held magnificent, and 
 he smoked with an air a pestilent Bahia cigar. After 
 the third tour, all tucked up their clothes, knelt 
 down, and saluted the King ceremoniously by kissing 
 the ground, palm-clapping in three sets, again kissing 
 the ground, clapping palms, and finally by rising and 
 upraising weapons. 
 
 This necessitated two other processions from the in- 
 side, namely, of she ministers and captainesses, who were 
 muffled up, and who smoked like the men. At the close 
 
44 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 of the circumambulation the members of both bodies sat 
 on their heels before the King, alternately kissed the 
 ground four, and clapped palms three times, and then 
 rising presented arms. A few of the warrioresses sang 
 in the presence " with the forefinger emphatically cut- 
 ting the air. This brought on a male chant touching 
 Abeokuta, which also concluded with raised weapons. 
 The rum, which had been copiously sent from the King's 
 pavihon, now began to take effect upon the African 
 brain. Our table was soon spread with liquor, baskets 
 of oranges, and boiled manioc, whilst the chiefs were sup- 
 plied by their wives and slave girls with food and drink 
 brought in large calabashes.* It is the habit to dine 
 before the King at Agbome. The Buko-no's '"Prin- 
 cess" came, attended by twenty of her women. She 
 was a brown girl, about eighteen, with the comeliness of 
 that age, and much resembling the King : her coralled 
 arms were rounded, and her hands well made ; a num- 
 ber of necklaces hung upon a high and ample bosom, 
 modestly covered with a fine white cloth, and a double 
 row^ of brass and silver circlets, like new sixpences,! 
 
 * These in Ffon are called "Kago," amongst the Egbas " Panshuku." 
 f These, I suppose, are the coronets of silver mentioned by Mr.. Duncan 
 (vol. i. p. 254). 
 
THE KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 45 
 
 studded her cauliflower coiffure. Whilst the slave 
 girls behind, after spreading a table-cloth upon dried 
 reeds, she retired to the rear, and kneeling,'^' bent to 
 the earth. She then served her husband with her own 
 hands, touched the ground with her forehead, and bent 
 before him with averted head during the whole meal, 
 never raising her face, as it would be deemed " bold ^' to 
 stare at him ; but using, Lesbia-like, a roving eye. The 
 old Harpagon having washed his hands, ate with a claw 
 like that of a prey-bird, and seemed to enjoy the sen- 
 sation caused by the buxom wife's presence. 
 
 The misery of the display moved my compassion. 
 In the whole assembly there was hardly a redeeming 
 point of picturesqueness or appropriateness except the 
 " Porto Novo " Moslems. As they stood at the other 
 end of the court, their swart faces were set off by 
 snowy turbans encircling tall red caps, and hanging- 
 down somewhat in the " Taylasan " style, whilst their 
 showy shawls, thrown over the left shoulder, their neat 
 sandals, their full dark pajammas or drawers, and their 
 ample white shirts, made them appear different and 
 
 * So Dr. M'Leod says, " By thus constantly practising genuflexion 
 upon the hard ground, their knees in time become almost as hard 
 as their heels." 
 
46 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 superior beings. The wretcliecl pagans, however, had 
 imitated them : amongst the occupants of the harem I 
 . saw two poor copies of " El Islam." 
 
 A troop of " Joto-si,'' drummers, and half heads, of 
 all ages, made obeisance before and presented arms to 
 the King. Then the Min-gan arose, and addressed his 
 men, to the cries of " Tamule ! from the women, 
 upon the subject of Abeokuta. He said that Gezo's 
 son had just made a custom, and had killed criminals 
 for his father, who must desire the destruction of 
 Egba-land, and he called upon me bj name to testify 
 to the same. Thrice, as he spoke, the Men stood up, 
 and with outstretched right hand, vociferated " Yate ! 
 meaning, in Fanti, "we understand." The King 
 responded briefly, that wdiereas ashes never smoke, 
 the cinders in that palace would burn down many a 
 house. 
 
 In these slow proceedings, 3*40 p.m. had already 
 sped before business began. Presently an occasional 
 rattle, the vagitus of women calling out, in bird-like 
 tones, the King's titles, and the long firing of heavily 
 loaded muskets by the male soldiery behind us and on 
 our right, announced the beginning of the end. The 
 first motley group that passed us w^as composed of 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 47 
 
 drums, duck-guns, muskets, small infernal machines 
 on wheels, blue-clad bayonet women, blunderbusses of 
 brass and iron, soldieresses in grass-cloth skirts, and 
 their band of loud braying horns, one duck-gun, one 
 huo'e blunderbuss, small metal whistles and lonp* 
 flageolets, two dozen razor women, with as many knife 
 women, and fina%, a captainess of Gezo^s force. 
 They halted before the throne, danced, played, fired 
 guns, cheered, presented arms, and having received 
 largesse in rum and cowries, passed out of the palace- 
 yard through the main gate by which we had entered 
 it. Followed a Mau-no* fetish woman under her 
 umbrella, with a troop call Lisa-'si,t waving peculiar 
 iron rods, serpent-shaped, like the classical Jove's 
 thunderbolts, as expressed by poets and painters ; some 
 wore white turbans, others were bareheaded, and all 
 were hung about with long strings of white and 
 black beads. The party was brought up by slave 
 girls carrying baskets and calabashes. Then, pre- 
 ceded by six bellowing horns, stalked in slowly, and 
 with measured gait, the eight Tansi-no, who serve and 
 pray for the ghosts of dead kings. In front went their 
 
 * From mau (fetish of moon), and no (a mother), 
 t From Lisa (fetish of sun), and 'si (a wife). 
 
48 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 ensign, a copper measuring-rod, fifteen feet long, and 
 tapering to a fine end : behind it were two chauris 
 , and seven mysterious pots and calabashes wrapped in 
 white and red checks. The old women seemed to 
 wear about forty cloths each, which may account for 
 their elephantine development d tergo ; they were fol- 
 lowed by three little girls, and they " louted " low as 
 the vulgar herd before the King. 
 
 The Aro company of archers danced in the presence, 
 and recited the royal titles. The valuables now ap- 
 peared, and almost any pawnbroker's shop could boast 
 a collection more costly and less heterogeneous. The 
 only remarkable article was the carrier, who repre- 
 sented — in Cuba — a large sum. Sixteen brilliant 
 banners held horizontally preceded a wheelbarrow with 
 a fancy red and blue flag. Three brass, four copper, 
 and six iron pots, curiosities on account of their great 
 size. Four long horns in calico etuis. Five huge fans, 
 followed by razor women. Eight images, of which 
 three were apparently ship's figure-heads white washed^ 
 and the rest very hideous efforts of native art. Sixty- 
 seven women with brown faces, and bead mittens and 
 gauntlets on their wrists. Twenty-one girls carrying 
 
 * In this part of Africa " carrying," ahvays means on the head. 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 49 
 
 cylinders of red and white beads. Seventeen women 
 with silver plates fastened to the sides of their skulls, 
 habited in red clothes, and handling bead cat-o'-nine- 
 tails. Twelve women, also in red. Seventeen fetish 
 pots, three jars, one silver-plated urn, attended by 
 singing women. Twenty casque-women with red 
 tunics, and plumes, and black horsetails. Eight 
 . helmet girls, with red plumes, dark crests, and coats, 
 and white loin cloths. Six pieces of plate, a tree, a 
 crane, a monkey, and other things which I could not 
 distinguish. Some were four feet high, and all were 
 apparently silver, borne by many women on boards : 
 of these three were double, and the whole were in- 
 tended as jewels to decorate the present King's grave. 
 After singers and dancers, a huge drum, carried b}^ a 
 woman porter, whilst the performer walked behind her 
 mate " leathering it with a will. Three large chairs, 
 preceding about fifty Gbe-to,'"' or elephant huntresses, 
 clad in chocolate and dark blue, and ostentatiously 
 eschewing white. They had huge tufts of hair, affected 
 large heavy guns, and were conspicuous for bussles of 
 talismans behind, and strings of cowries in front, 
 
 * Gbe (a bush, not to be confounded with Gbe, the world), and to 
 (father, or he that does). 
 
 TOL. II. E 
 
50 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 adorning bits of bone, relics of the enemy. Four pots 
 in their cloths. A large silver-mounted ebony box, 
 like a bullock trunk. One big stool, one common trade 
 box, and one calabash. Two iron horns shaped like 
 palm leaves, and a dozen small girls preceding the 
 m^^sterious Zan-ku-ku.* It was a portable screen, 
 work, of blue checked and striped cloths, upheld b}'- 
 women with muskets and sticks, and it contained 
 a gold-topped crimson umbrella. Zan-ku-ku is the 
 "place"' of the old King : no one is supposed to know 
 what is inside. Men turned away their heads, and my 
 questions remained unanswered till we returned home. 
 A large band with twenty muskets, and three women 
 in broad-brimmed felts. Fourteen fetish women, who 
 perform rites for the last sovereign's ghost, in white 
 caps and tunics of bright yellow grass-cloth. Five 
 black girls, dressed in blue, who were saluted with 
 drums and horns as they passed us. Six flags turned 
 towards the right-hand, a caboceeress under an um- 
 brella, a pipe-bearer, and a dozen unarmed girls. Two 
 women carrying water breakers, three with pots from 
 w^hich depended white streamers, and two large glass 
 
 * Zan (night), ku-ku (dead dead), meaning that Gezo, like Q,ueen 
 Anne, has departed this life. 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM." 51 
 
 jars. A line of 703 women and girls with "grey- 
 beards," seltzer jars, country pots of "pitto "* or native 
 beer, and bottles of trade rum and gin, the size of the 
 receptacle becoming small by degrees, and the whole 
 supported by a rear-guard. The liquor will this night 
 be distributed in the market-place to the multitude : and 
 the heralds behind us returned praise by crying out the 
 King's " strong names," trilling out the words by patting 
 their lips, while the women around the monarch uttered 
 the Khe or bird sound. A motley group surrounding 
 two women in big felts. A band and a troop of 
 bardesses, — the first rank with eight singer's staves, 
 distinguished by their triangles of glazed calico, the 
 second being an armed and an unarmed company : 
 they paraded round the court, played and sang on the 
 right of the tent entrance, and received glasses of rum. 
 At this time the King kindly supplied us with cashew 
 fruits (alakazu), tiger-nuts (f'iu), and the red fruit of 
 
 * This is the beer of Dahome. It is either of rice or maize — the 
 former being by far the more delicate — and is made in the usual African 
 way. The grain is soaked, sun-dried upon a mat, and wetted with 
 water, till germination develops the saccharine principle. It is again 
 sun-dried, coarsely ground and boiled with water; after which it is 
 cooled and drunk. The main objection to it, as to palm wine, is that it 
 will not keep. The older travellers seem agreed to hold it an unwhole- 
 some beverage. I have ever found it the reverse. 
 
 £ 2 
 
52 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the Lise tree noticed at Whjdali. It certainly rained 
 meat and drink that day in the palace, but, I suspect, 
 nowhere else. 
 
 Then came two ^2:irls, wavino- round and round small 
 white flags, upon which were horned and rainbow -coloured 
 serpents sw^allowing their own tails. A band in front 
 of the late King's great war-drum, " He-is-able~to-do- 
 anything." Ten smaller drums of the King's, called 
 Addugba, and common instruments. Seven trouba- 
 dour-women, holding horse-tails and twirling flags in 
 their left hands : their heads were wrapped in kerchiefs 
 of red, shawl pattern, and their short scarlet cloaks had 
 yellow hoods showing lions with upturned tails. 
 Assisted by fifty w^omen, they danced long and vio- 
 lently before the King, whilst the band, squatting near 
 the flag of the tent-entrance, regaled us wdth stunning 
 music. A woman carrying a huge battle-axe per- 
 forated like a fish-slicer. Forty-two girls bearing 
 baskets of cowries on wooden platters — sixpence above, 
 and £200 below ! A large flag, two immense native 
 stools of black and white w^ood, covered with cloth ; 
 two articles, like warming-pans, of copper and brass, 
 a drum rudely carved Avith native figures, and an escort 
 of bayonet w^omen. Two black white men," natives of 
 
THE KING'S " SO-SIN CUSTOM.' 
 
 53 
 
 the country, dressed in trowsers and blouses, but shoe- 
 less, walking under ragged parasols.* Another of 
 Gezo's drums, about the size of a bullock, carried by 
 four men, with two poles lashed along its sides. 
 Another European piece of plate on a wheeled car, 
 covered with red calico ; bayonet women, and a large 
 box of skulls. Finally, the Agran-hohwe,t or jaw- 
 umbrella, whose white top and lappets were thickly 
 studded over with these pleasant reliques. 
 
 Then the royal equipages began to pass, the animals 
 being men harnessed with ropes. Most of them are 
 old barouches and other presents given to the kings 
 when slavery was an important branch of English 
 commerce, and when the Home Government sujjported 
 Wilham's Fort. Many of these heirlooms are becoming 
 valuable as antiques. The first were of home, or native 
 manufacture — a blue-green shandridan, with two short 
 flagstaffs attached to the front. Two things, like Palki- 
 garis, or broncards, supporting a light umbrella. The 
 present King*s cab-brougham, with a lion on the panels. 
 
 * The King is said also to have similar white wome^i,''^ but I did not 
 see any. Dr. M'Leod (p. 106), notices these black whites, whom the 
 King would authorise to assume the European dress, carry an English 
 umbrella, and wear shoes. 
 
 t Agran means a jaw-bone (inferior and human). 
 
54 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Two American trotting wagons, wdth leathern lioods. 
 A band of flageolets, followed by a man in a red 
 blanket, with the Bedouin hood. After a space, a male 
 slave carrying a long blue pole, topped with an imitation 
 knife, stained red. Another broken-down vehicle. Two 
 large old canopied hammocks, the one of red velvet, 
 the other of yellow silk, belonging to the late King, 
 and borne by men. The present sovereign's little roan 
 pony, with black points, led also by a man. A peculiar 
 old sedan-chair, dating from the days of Mr. Nash. 
 Another state hammock ; a wheeled platform, with a 
 bench for two, behind a large wooden horned eagle 
 and a bunchy plume of feathers ; a rocking-horse, 
 with housings and bridle, on wheels ; rattles ; a large 
 green chariot, of venerable appearance, belonging to 
 King Gezo ; four hunchbacks ; two flags ; an enormous 
 red-and-green board, for playing " tables," carried on 
 two men's heads ; another antiquated shandridan, fol- 
 lowed by a band of horns and chanting knife women ; 
 a large Gold Coast chair on a small nag ; two big 
 Katake, or war foot-stools ; a Men-ta-'zinkpo,'' or large 
 chair, adorned with four or five human crania, and with 
 
 * Men (man), ta (head), 'zinkpo, for azinkpo (a native chair). 
 Azinkpo yevo is a white man's chair. 
 
THE KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOM." 
 
 -55 
 
 its footstool cut out of one piece ; a Frencli drum and 
 tambourine ; a smaller drum, with twelve skulls ; three 
 boxes ; a platform on wheels, followed by women ; a 
 Bath chair, with a fringed red silk umbrella attached 
 to it ; a fighting man, in wood, with drawn sword — 
 probably the figure-head of some " Ajax ; a large 
 hammock, with bead hangings, and a pole inlaid with 
 brass ; four umbrellas ; a small troop of she-hunch- 
 backs ; bands ; little iron and brass swivel guns, car- 
 ried on women's heads ; a peculiar sedan-chair, with 
 gold and red hangings, held high in the air, with four 
 parasols to show that it is used by the King ; 
 drummers ; a metal soup-tureen ; nine large bottles, 
 covered with red cloth and hung with cowries ; urns, 
 jars, and patercB of vermilion-coloured earthenware, 
 adorned with gingerbread gilding, very large, and 
 decorated with hangings of white and red calico. Such 
 was the fripier's collection which passed in motley con- 
 fusion before the King, whilst the carriers sang, danced, 
 and made obeisance. 
 
 Then defiled a body of armed women preceding 
 seven umbrellas, of which two were very gorgeous, 
 shading nine " leopard wives " in bright clothing, with 
 swords, and a profusion of silver studs in their wool. 
 
A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Like the others they made salutations, drank rum, and 
 received small presents f;:-om their lord. Another 
 string of frippery, consisting of two home-made images 
 with white heads and blue skins, like the Egban 
 Yemaya or Goddess of Books ; a short St. Lawrence 
 and Gridiron ; a Dominican friar and other statuettes ; 
 the skulls of Bakoko and his two companions, carried 
 in honour on young girls' heads ; a tree under a 
 globular glass shade ; red jars before described ; fancy 
 native stools with and without cowries ; umbrellas and 
 parasols also adorned with shells, and many minor 
 items which 1 had not time to note. 
 
 Presently the Yi-de-k'alo * — the Amazon Bi-na-zun, 
 or storekeeper — a portable personage, dressed in a 
 white body cloth and a pink skirt, with a broad- 
 brimmed and gold laced hat, apparently beaver, upon a 
 head swathed in calico, appeared, shaded by a red 
 parasol. She was followed by three long-poled flags, 
 tricolor, and eagles, dating probably from the days of 
 the elder Napoleon ; a troop of girls with jugs, ewers,, 
 jars and " lustre " pottery, seven desks of old shape, 
 basins and pitchers all empty, pipe cases six feet long^ 
 
 * Yi (child), de (any), k'alo (stretching out the arms as when a 
 child wishes to be carried). 
 
THE KING'S "SO-SIN CUSTOM." 5? 
 
 four large stools, two parasols, and a fat sheep with 
 a necklace of cowries and a cloth over its l^inder 
 parts. 
 
 The next party ^vas headed by twenty blunderbuss 
 women in red caps, with silver sharks. Then eight 
 fine umbrellas, denoting as many of the late King's 
 " leopard wives," old and worn out women richly clad 
 in red and yellow silk cloaks, with fillets, bracelets, and 
 sword-hilts of silver ; the most dignified propped 
 themselves with beadle's sticks. A silver half-head 
 woman with four bracelets, emitting from a long brass 
 trumpet lugubrious noises. Twenty-three fetish sticks 
 in cloth bags ; a red velvet cushion with silver lions 
 on it ; glass platters ; heaps of cowries, like mould 
 puddings ; porcelain jars ; a curious China vase, and the 
 two scarlet shields of the harem, l^ext came the Yavedo, 
 female To-no-nun or chief eunuchess, who is also the 
 elder of Mr. Dawson's two mothers, in a black crested 
 casque and red plumes, followed by two fancy and 
 crimson flags ; six kettledrum girls, in scarlet caps and 
 boddices, and blue skirts with figures of red cloth sewn 
 on ; drums and drumlets ; a calabash with a pyramid 
 of four skulls ; two women with long tails, of which 
 they caught hold after dancing and bounding before 
 
58 • A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the King ; ^ a group of fifty Nago or captive Egba 
 womQn in dark indigo dresses, celebrated as dancers, 
 and jingling peculiar rattles thickly covered with cow- 
 ries ; an old cut glass chandelier slung to a wonderful 
 w^hite bird of native build eating a blue snake ; seven 
 parasols, and stools carved and imaged. 
 
 Already, to our joy, those who had passed out of the 
 palace gate before the King, and had thrice walked 
 round the square in single file, began to return. Then 
 appeared the living representatives of the mothers of 
 the Dahoman dynasty. As will be seen the three first 
 queens are not represented, showing that their names 
 have been forgotten. The places of " Zoindi," the pre- 
 sent sovereign's mother, who still survives, and Danh- 
 li-ke," the parent of the " Bush king," were under 
 w^hite umbrellas, followed by baskets, calabashes, chairs, 
 footstools, and a band : the retinue might be composed 
 of a hundred people. The representatives were stout 
 old women, remarkable, like the five others, for breadth 
 of beam and brim. 
 
 A torn flag, nep tunes full of skulls, calabashes, 
 stools, pots, and other articles of furniture, preceded 
 
 * The reader will find this dance described in Chapter XYI. 
 t Danh (the rainbow), li (stand), and ke (the world). 
 
THE KING'S ''SO-SIN CUSTOM.' 
 
 59 
 
 A go time, mother of Gezo, and ^^utobe, the parent of 
 the corresponding " Bush king/' 
 
 Two umbrellas, buff-coloured and fancy, with a band, 
 accompanied a dwarfish dignitary with silver crown, 
 big-topped staff, and red train borne by followers. This 
 was Senunme, mother of Agongoro (Wheenoohew), the 
 grandfather of the present King. 
 
 A pair of umbrellas, buff and fanc}^, with seats, 
 calabashes, and other necessaries, composed the cortege 
 of Hunajile, mother of Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou 11.) . 
 
 An elderly w^oman in a red coat, with a white 
 kerchief under her broad brim, represented Chai, the 
 mother of Tegbwesun (Bcssa Ahadi). 
 
 A similar umbrella, succeeded by skulls and rattles, 
 denoted Addono, the mother of Agaja the conqueror 
 (Guaja Trudo Audati). 
 
 The rear w^as rapidly brought up. It consisted of 
 various other " drums for Ganikbaja ; " women in red 
 nightcaps, with a silver shark on each side fastened by 
 a string ; a band of small girls, four wall pieces, fancy 
 flags, four pikes wdth pink hangings and cross pieces 
 
 * Mr. Duncan (vol. i. p. 254) thinks of these old women as if they 
 were really royal mothers and grandmothers, and he makes one to be 
 a century old, being surprised to see with what agility .they moved, 
 considering their years." 
 
60 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 like our old demi-liine, carried by women in fools' caps 
 slashed blue and rose ; razor women ; a huge scimitar ; 
 an English union-jack ; all kinds of bands ; five plain 
 standards attended by a large troop ; four small girls 
 with red pennons ; a compan}^ of singers, commanded 
 b}^ an old woman in a broad brim, and followed by two 
 chairs ; muskets and blunderbusses. After this party 
 had formed up in line before the King, and had delivered 
 themselves of a song, whose length appeared uncalled 
 for, came eight skull-standards, carried by women in 
 indigo ; the Komasi drum ; two brass shields, segments 
 of circles ; six headwomen with bracelets and armlets 
 above the elbow, with white and spotted body-cloths, 
 silver horns and caps like cook's bonnets ; then two 
 broad blades worked hke fish-shcers, rising from skulls ; 
 sundry black hide shields like tea-trays ; ten women 
 carrying Bo-kpo or forked crutches swathed with red 
 calico. A crowd of thirty umbrellas now defiled 
 through the yard, the headwoman sitting upon her tall 
 stool to watch the retinue marching by. Finally the 
 she Min-gan again passed before us, when we remarked 
 that two of her retinue were habited in the striped 
 nightcaps and shirts of the executed criminals, whose 
 Avardrobes here, as in England they say, become the 
 
THE KING'S -SO-SIN CUSTOM." 61 
 
 perquisite of Jack Ketch. The number talHed Avith the 
 three naked corpses suspended near the city gate, and 
 this satisfied me that we had seen all the males slain 
 on this occasion, and that the women victims, whose 
 spoils had been taken by their hourreaux^ did not 
 exceed in number the men. 
 
 The ceremony was necessarily hurried, because it 
 began late, and was exceedingly complicated ; our 
 jaded old host groaned with misery whenever I pro- 
 posed another question. The more time was wasted, 
 because every little party formed up opposite the royal 
 tent entrance, made obeisance according to the several 
 ranks, and secured cowries and rum before retiring. 
 Women of rank merely touched the spirits, and poured 
 the remainder down the throats of their followers ; 
 and, despite the urgency of messengers, none appeared 
 willing to slur over or to hurry through their honours. 
 
 After a stunning salute of blunderbusses we were called 
 up to meet the King, who came forward to shake hands 
 and snap fingers with us. As he admired my regimental 
 sword, I placed it in his hands : he returned it, saying 
 that we would speak about the matter at another time. 
 He then requested me to take the measure of his big 
 Tokpon tent. As something was said about our attend- 
 
62 A MISSION TO GELELE.. 
 
 ing on the morrow, I put forward a request that we 
 might be allowed to pass the Sunday at home. This 
 he at once conceded with tlie best grace : visitors 
 obtain everything (unimportant) wdiich they ask from 
 him, whilst the " difficulty makers/' his ministers and 
 officials, grant nothing that they can possibly refuse. 
 
 Seven mortal hours of seance had halted by before 
 the elder Yevogan led us out of the palace. Though it 
 was waxing dark we could see the railing still lining 
 the streets. We hurried past the dead bodies, upon 
 which the heat had already taken effect ; and we were 
 right glad to find ourselves once more a table. 
 
 The next day, Sunday, was emphatically one of rest 
 to eyes and ears dazed and fatigued by the confusion 
 of multitudinous objects rapidly passing, and by the 
 terrible din of a Dahoman crowd. The only drawback 
 to our comfort was that the Message had not been 
 given, although w^e had been nearly a fortnight wdth 
 the King. The Buko-no bore the major part of the 
 blame : this Cagliostro was probably awaiting the per- 
 mission of his Afa. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OF THE SO-CALLED AMAZONS AND THE DAHOMAN ARMY. 
 
 A CHRONIC exaggeration touching the mis-called 
 " Amazons " has of late years prevailed in England. 
 Mr. Duncan found it " certainly a surprising sight in an 
 uncivilised country." Commander Forbes, vrho drew, 
 as artists say, " from feeling," was the first to colour 
 the melodramatic picture with a " sensation " and pic- 
 turesqueness, a sentiment and a wild romance, in which 
 
 * The word is probably some barbarian term Grecised. It has three 
 popular derivations — the Scythian, Amm Azzon, which the Greeks 
 interpreted, " without breasts;" &vev iJ.a(ov^ without a breast (the right), 
 mythically believed to have been removed for the better use of the bow ; 
 thirdly, ^,uoC«o-os, or women living together. 
 
 In Dahome the soldieresses have two titles, Akho-'si, also applied ta 
 the eunuchry, means king's (Akhosu) wife ('si). The other and equally 
 popular name is Mi-no, our (mi) mothers (no). The system of motherhood 
 is completely mistaken by Mr. Duncan (Yol. I. p. 228). The commonalty 
 rarely know their ranks and titles, and scarcely even their private 
 names. The doings inside the palace are always spoken of sotto voce. 
 The Anglo-African calls them *' Ama-johns," for which also a derivation 
 might perhaps be found. 
 
64 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the real object is wliollj wanting. He begins his 
 account with the untravelled statement that " there is 
 not a more extraordinary army in the world than that 
 of the military nation of Dahome." 
 
 The origin of the somewhat exceptional organisation 
 is, I have said, the masculine pJit/sique of the women, 
 enabling them to compete with men in enduring toil, 
 hardships, and privations. I have remarked this coi*- 
 poreal equahty of the sexes in the Grand Bonny and 
 the " Oil Rivers of the Biafran Bight, where the 
 feminine harshness of feature and robustness of form 
 rival the masculine ; and writers upon Siam have made 
 the same observation. 
 
 Bosman (1700) allows the kinglet of Whydali 4000 
 to 5000 wives, who, besides labouring in the fields, 
 were used to execute the royal sentences.^ The 
 monarch of Yoruba, according to Clapperton, could 
 boast that his wives, of whom some composed his 
 body-guard, would, linked hand in hand, reach clean 
 
 * Of these women 300 to 400 would be sent to strip the offender's 
 house, and to lay it level with the ground. But the King of Dahome, 
 it must be observed, distinguishes between his wives and his soldieresses. 
 At Court the former are unarmed, the latter carry weapons, and do not 
 commonly expect his particular attentions. The difference has been 
 overlooked by Dr. M'Leod (p. 38), and by almost all subsequent writers. 
 
THE a:mazoxs axd the dahoman ae:my. or, 
 
 across his kingdom. The late King Gezo used to 
 boast that he had organized the Mi-no ; but the 
 History depicts them before he was born. The 
 Europeans who visited Agaja (l708 — 1730), found 
 the Dahoman Court much as it is at the present day. 
 "If the chief officers wished to speak to the King 
 they first kissed the ground, then whispered their 
 pleasure into the ear of an old woman, who com- 
 municated it to the King, and brought his answer." 
 The same volume also informs us that the warlike 
 monarch, when his force had been reduced by the 
 " Eyeos," " armed a great number of women like soldiers, 
 having their proper officers, and furnished like regular 
 troops with drums, colours, and umbrellas, making at a 
 distance a very formidable appearance." With these, in 
 about A.D. 1728, he attacked and defeated the combined 
 host of the Whydahs and Popos, and since that time 
 the Amazons have ever been a power in the empire.'' 
 
 Doubtless Gezo, one of the most successful amongst 
 the Dahoman monarchs, regarded the feminine force 
 with favouring eye. He depended upon it to check 
 
 * Mr. Bulfinch Lamb, present at the capture of Allada by the same 
 king, in 1724, mentions 2000 royal wives, but does not allude to " Ama- 
 zons," which may be explained by the brevity of his communication. 
 
 VOL. II. F 
 
66 
 
 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the turbulence and treachery of his subjects, and ta 
 ensure his own safety, for 
 
 Q,ui terret plus ipse timet ; sors ista tyrannis 
 Convenit." 
 
 He may have also wished to cause rivalry, by the example 
 of what is in most cases illogically termed the " weaker 
 sex/'"*' Perhaps, like the old-school Anglo-Indian 
 
 * Because we make it so. The feminidse, like the females of the 
 equidsD, show little corporeal inferiority to the males, and the best proof 
 is, that amongst tribes living in the so called State of Nature, women are- 
 generally the only labourers. "We may etiolate them, as in New Eng- 
 land, or we may expand them, by beef and beer, to grenadiers, as iii 
 olden England and in the north of Europe. To the present day, the 
 woman of the Scotch fishing islands is the man of ihe family, who does 
 not marry till she can support what she produces; and the times are 
 not long passed since she was, amongst the Southrons, a barber, a mason, 
 and a day labourer. 
 
 It appears to me that in England there is a revival of the feminine 
 industries; and as it is asked, "What shall we do with our old 
 maids?" I would reply, that many might be enlisted. When Mr. 
 Duncan was asked by the King of Dahome if the same number of Eng- 
 lish women would equal the Amazons, he, of course, answered no ; we had 
 no female soldiers in England, but we had women who, individually and 
 voluntarily, had equally distinguished themselves. Such feminine troops- 
 would serve well in garrison, and eventually in the field. The Medea of 
 Euripides preferred the risks of spear and shield amongst men to a single 
 casualty after the manner of women. The warlike instinct, as the 
 annals of the four quarters of the globe prove, is easily bred in the oppo- 
 site sex. A sprinkling of youth and beauty amongst the European 
 Amazons would make campaigning a pleasure to us ; and the measure 
 may be taken into consideration when our new-fangled rage for neu- 
 trality shall be succeeded by more honourable and less "respectable" 
 sentiments; and when the model Englishman shall be something better 
 
THE AMAZONS AND THE DAHOISIAN ARMY. 07 
 
 ]^abob, lie may have preferred the maid to the man- 
 servant. 
 
 Gezo ordered every Dahoman of note in the kingdom 
 to present his daughters, of whom the most promising 
 were chosen, and he kept the corps clear of the servile 
 and the captive. Gelele, his son, causes every girl to be 
 brought to him before marriage, and, if she pleases, 
 he retains her in the palace : the only subjects exempt 
 from this rule are the old English and French slaves at 
 Whydah. These girls, being royal wives, cannot be 
 touched without danger of death, they never leave their 
 quarters unless preceded by a bell to drive men from 
 the road, and all have slaves, who act as spies. The 
 sexes meet on the march and in the field : at parades, 
 as has been shown, they are separated by the typical 
 bamboo. A peculiar fetish, placed by the priests at the 
 Agbo-dewe gate of the royal abode, induces, by reason 
 of the purity of the place, certain pregnancy f in the 
 soldieress that sins. Instances have been known where 
 
 than a warm man of business, with a good ledger, and "the dean's 
 daughter" to wife. 
 
 * Agbo (gate), dewe (search out, viz., your fault). Some say that all 
 the fetishes can discover the crime. 
 
 t Others believe that the fetish, like the bitter water of the Jews, 
 causes bowel disease. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 conscience has made the offender coward enough to 
 sicken, to confess, and to doom her paramour, if not 
 herself, to a cruel death. They have also a " pundonor." 
 Like 
 
 ** That Mary Ambree 
 Who marched so free," 
 
 many an Amazon captured at Abeokuta * has re- 
 fused to become a wife till the captor, weary of 
 opposition, has killed the acerha puella as a useless 
 animal, t 
 
 Of Gelele's Amazons about two-thirds are said to be 
 maidens, a peculiar body in Africa, w^here — though 
 11,000 may have been buried at Cologne — no one 
 expects to find the iniecjra puella, much less the old 
 maid.J The remaining third has been married. That 
 
 * This was written before the latest Dahoman attack, and when last 
 off Lagos (May 9, 1864), I heard the same thing. 
 
 t Though opportunity, which makes the thief, is decidedly deficient, 
 there have been, there are, and there ever will be, occasional scandals. 
 As a rule, these fighting celihataires prefer the morosa volujHas of the 
 schoolmen, and the peculiarities of the Tenth Muse. 
 
 J Dr. M'Leod sadly errs (pp. 51, 53) when saying "A mutinous wife 
 or a vixen, sometimes the treasure and delight of an Englishman, — the 
 enlivener of his fireside, and his safeguard from ennui, — is a phenomenon 
 utterly unknown in Dahoray ; that noble spirit which animates the 
 happier dames in lands of liberty being here, alas! extinguished and 
 destroyed." He is apparently somewhat a farceur^ that doctor. 
 
 According to Mr. Duncan {Vol. I. p. 141), if a man commits adultery 
 
THE AMAZONS AND THE DAHOMAN AEMY. 69 
 
 an element of des}3eration miglit not be wanting, women 
 taken in adultery and liable to death, are dashed to the 
 King and duly enlisted. Besides these criminals, the 
 Xanthippes, who make men's eyes yellow are very 
 properly put into the army, and Africa is well stocked 
 with the noble army of martyrs that begins not 
 with Socrates, and that ends not with Mr. Thomas 
 Sayers.^ 
 
 It is evident that such an organisation presents 
 nought of novelty : the systematic organisation is 
 more logical and less harmful than the volunteer 
 furies who, as Abolitionists, urge men to ruin and 
 death. The soldieress, at least, joins in the danger : 
 this thing does not. David flying from Absalom left 
 ten of his concubines to guard his palace at Jerusalem. 
 The Greeks probably derived their Amazonian myth 
 
 with the wife of another, and the case is laid before the King, the 
 offender is doomed to serve, so long as he is capable, in the capacity of 
 a soldier, and when unfit for that service, he was generally offered as a 
 sacrifice at one of the King's annua] Customs ; but the latter part of this 
 cruel sentence has been abolished by the present King of Dahome (Gezo), 
 who is much more merciful than his predecessors. 
 
 * Commander Forbes, wrongly, I believe, states, that the King gives 
 Amazons in marriage to his warriors ; he dashes" his daughters and 
 the palace slaves, but he keeps the fighteresses for himself. Commodore 
 "Wilmot (Appendix III.) asserts, that the King rarely takes the AmazoLS 
 to wife ; on the contrary, he has several children by them. 
 
70 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 from exaggerated re23orts of the strength and valour 
 of the Caucasian women. With respect to the visit of 
 Thalestris, who desired issue by the conqueror of Asia 
 (which Arrian has exploded), it is no more than what 
 many a Bedawiyah will solicit from the traveller who 
 in fair fight beats off her husband and brother. 
 Amongst the Homerites of South Arabia it was a law for 
 wives to revenge in battle the deaths of their husbands, 
 and mothers their sons. The Suliote women rivalled 
 the men in defending their homes against Osmanli 
 invaders. The Damot or Abyssinian Amazons of Al- 
 varez (1520) would not allow their spouses to fight, as 
 the Jivaro helpmates of Southern America administer 
 caudle to the sex that requires it the least. The native 
 princes of India, especially those of Hyderabad in the 
 Deccan, for centuries maintained a female guard of 
 Urdu-begani,"'*^ whose courage and devotion were re- 
 markable. Bodies of European fighting women are 
 found in the celebrated " Female Crusade," organised 
 in 1147 by order of St. Bernard. Temba-Ndumba, 
 among the Jagas of southern intertropical Africa, ac- 
 cording to old travellers, made her subjects rear and 
 teach their female children w^ar, but she was probably 
 
 * Urdu (a camp), begani (femiuiue of beg, a captain). 
 
THE AMAZOXS AXI) THE DAHOM.VX AEMY. 71 
 
 mad."* The Tawarik Avomen rank with men Hkc the 
 women of Christianity, and transmit nobihty to their 
 children. Denham found the Fellatah wives fighting 
 like males. According to Mr. Thompson (1823), the 
 Mantati host that attacked old " Lattaku " was led by 
 a ferocious giantess with one eye. M. D'Arnaud 
 (1840) informs us that the King of Behr, on the Upper 
 Nile, was guarded by a battalion of spear women, and 
 that his male ministers never enter the palace, except 
 when required to perform the melancholy duty of 
 strangling their master. At present the Tien- Wang 
 or Heavenly King of the Tae-pings, has 1000 she- 
 soldiers. 
 
 Sporadic heroines, like Tomyris and Penthesilea of 
 the Axe, are found in every clime and in all ages, from 
 Semiramis to the artilleryman's wife of Saragossa. Such 
 were Judith and Candace ; Kaulah the sister of Derar, 
 and her friend Oserrah ; the wife of Aban Ibn Saib ; 
 Prefect Gregory's daughter ; Joan of Arc ; Margaret of 
 
 * In Savage Africa," a book which has before been quoted, we 
 read that this amiable Ethiopian pounded in a mortar her own male 
 child to make an invulnerable ointment ; that she resolved to turn 
 the world into a desert, and did her best; and, finally, that waxing 
 worse with years, she took a lover to her arms by night and dined off him 
 next day. Of course this black Scourge of God was poisoned. 
 
72 
 
 A AELSSIOX TO GELELE. 
 
 Anjou ; Black Agnes ; Jeanne Hacliette ; Begum 
 Sombre ; Kara Fatimali ; Panna Maryan, and man}^ 
 
 A bold virago stout and tall, 
 
 As Joan of Arc, or English Moll " 
 
 — charmers far too numerous to specify. Many a fair 
 form was found stark on the field of Waterloo. During 
 the late Indian mutiny the Ranis were, as a rule, more 
 manly than the Rajahs. And at present the Anglo- 
 American States and Poland show women who, despite 
 every discouragement, still prefer the militarj^ pro- 
 fession to all others.* 
 
 The regimen in which these women are compelled to 
 
 * On the other hand, the notorious Queen Zinga, or Jinga of Angola, 
 as she is called by the old travellers, daughter of the king who died in 
 1640, kept, we are told, about her Court, fifty or sixty young men for 
 amatory purposes, dressed and named like women, whilst she assumed 
 the male dress and name ; a touching tribute to the superiority of mas- 
 culine human nature in the mind of the feminine. The Court of Loango 
 ofiered a third anomaly, truly typical of the childish African brain. The 
 Macouda, a female officer of high rank, cohabited with any man of her 
 choice ; the issue was accounted blood royal ; and if her concubators 
 were unfaithful, death was their penalty. A touching tribute to the 
 superiority of the female in those regions. 
 
 In Dahome the woman is officially superior ; but under other con- 
 siderations, she still suffers from male arrogance. The King has repeatedly 
 said to me, that a woman is still a woman. And when the Amazons 
 boast that they are not women but men, they ttand self-convicted of the 
 fact, that however near to equality the sexes are, there is still always a 
 somewhat of preponderance of the active over the passive half of humanity. 
 
THE AMAZONS AND THE DAHOMAX AH^SLY. 73 
 
 live, doubtless increases tlieir ferocity in fight. It is 
 the essence of training every animal, from a game 
 cock to a pugilist, and a married she-soldier would be 
 useful only as a mother of men. Commander Forbes 
 thus explains the action of forced celibacy : " The 
 extreme exercise of one passion ^vill generally oblite- 
 rate the very sense of the others ; the Amazons, whilst 
 indulging in the excitement of the most fearful cruel- 
 ties, forget the other desires of our fallen nature." 
 But all the passions are sisters. I beheve that blood- 
 shed causes these women to remember, not to forget 
 LOVE ; at the same time that it gratifies the less 
 barbarous, but, with barbarians, equally animal feeling. 
 Seeing the host of women who find a morbid pleasure 
 in attending the maimed and dying, I must think that 
 it is a tribute paid to sexuality by those who object to 
 the ordinary means. Of course they are savage as 
 wounded gorillas, more cruel far than their brethren 
 in arms. 
 
 " For men at most differ as heaven aud earth ; 
 But -^-omtn, worst and best, as heaven and hell." 
 
 * Instances of this organisation must occur to every man who has had 
 a somewhat extended experience. I once knew an amateur nurse who 
 was kindness personified to the sick man, and who, after curing him, 
 always conceived to him a chronic aversion. 
 
74 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The existence of the Amazons is the second great 
 evil of the empire. The first is, or rather was, a thirst 
 for conquest, which, unhke the projections of civihsed 
 lands, impoverish and debilitate the country. The 
 object of Dahoman wars and invasions has always 
 been to lay waste and to destroy, not to aggrandise 
 the empire by conquest and annexation. As tlie 
 History puts it, the rulers have ever followed the 
 example of Agaja, the second founder of the kingdom ; 
 aiming at conquest and at striking terror, ratlier than 
 at accretion and consolidation. Hence there has been 
 a decrease of population, with an increase of territory, 
 which is, to nations, the surest road to ruin. In the 
 present days the wars have dwindled to mere slave 
 hunts — a fact which it is well to remember. The 
 women troops, assumed to number 2500, should re- 
 present 7500 children ; the waste of reproduction, 
 and the necessary casualties of " service," in a region 
 so depopulated, are as detrimental to the body politic 
 as a proportional loss of blood would be to the frame 
 jDersonal. Thus the land is desert, and the raw mate- 
 rial of all industry, man, is everywhere wanting. 
 Finally, as regards the Amazons, nothing so out- 
 rageously insults manly pride in the adjoining nations 
 
THE AMAZOXS AXD THE DAIIO:\[AX AR]\IY. 
 
 than to find that the ^YaI'riors ^Yho attacked them so 
 stoutly are women — and some of them old women. 
 
 The dress, the physique, and the personal appear- 
 ance of the Amazons, have repeatedly been described 
 in these pages. I have also alluded to the organisation 
 of the corps, which requires, however, more detail. 
 
 The soldieresses are not divided into regiments, as is 
 supposed by Mr. Duncan. There are, however, in the 
 " Household Brigade," three distinct divisions or com- 
 mands, female as well as male. 
 
 The Fanti Company ^ takes the centre, and re- 
 presents the King's body-guards. These women wear 
 round the hair, which requires scanty confinement, 
 narrow white fillets, with rude crocodiles of blue cloth 
 sewn on to the band.f 
 
 The right wing, under the Gundeme, or she-Min- 
 gan, and the Khe-tun-gan, or female Gau. It is not 
 distinguished by any pecuharity of costume. 
 
 The left wing, in charge of the Yewe or she-Meu 
 
 * The Blue (Blu or Bru) Company corresponds, on the men's side, 
 "with the Fanti. 
 
 t The captainesses of the life-guards are, as has been said. Danh-ji- 
 hun-to and Ji-bi-whe-ton. Those of Gezo were on the right Akutu, 
 on the other side Humbagi. The captain of the present king's male 
 lifeguards is Adan-men-nun-kon, of the late ruler Gulouun, which is 
 said to mean " Tower musket." 
 
76 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 and tlie Akpa-dume, wlio ia the coadjutress of the 
 Po-su. 
 
 The King generally pays " distinguished strangers " 
 the compHment of placing them in command of his 
 body-guard, which honour, however, does not entitle 
 them even to inspect the corps. The " Bush-king has 
 also his captains both on the men's and on the women's 
 sides. There are lifeguards and commanders for all 
 the deceased sovereigns ; moreover, every high official 
 has his head war-man or ^Yar- woman, with a recognised 
 title. The cadre of commissions, in fact, would become 
 a country numbering twenty millions instead of some 
 150,000 souls. 
 
 These three corps * consist of five arms, under their 
 several officers — 
 
 1. The Agbarya or blunderbuss-women, who may 
 be considered the grenadiers. They are the biggest 
 and strongest of the force, and each is accom- 
 panied by an attendant carrying ammunition. With 
 the blunderbuss-women rank the Zo-hu-nun, or carbi- 
 neers, the Gan'u-nlan, or Sure-to-kill Company, and the 
 Achi, or bayoneteers. 
 
 * In the field, however, as has been said in Chapter YIII., the Daho- 
 man army numbers four divisions. 
 
THE AM^S^OXS AND THE DxillOMAN AEMY. 77 
 
 2. The elephant huntresses, who are held to be the 
 bravest. Of these women, twenty have been known to 
 bring down, at one volley, with their rude appliances, 
 seven animals out of a herd. 
 
 3. The Kyekplo-hen-to, or razor women, who seem 
 to be simply an epouvantail. 
 
 4. The infantry, or line's- women, forming the staple 
 of the force, from whom, as in France, the elite is 
 drawn. They are armed with Tower muskets, and 
 are w^ell supplied with bad ammunition ; bamboo 
 fibre, for instance, being the only wadding. They 
 have but little ball practice. They "manoeuvre 
 Avith the precision of a flock of sheep," and they 
 are too light to stand a charge of the poorest 
 troops in Europe. Personally, they are cleanly made, 
 without much muscle ; tliey are hard dancers, inde- 
 fatigable singers, and, though affecting a military 
 swagger, their faces are anything but ferocious — they 
 are rather mild and unassuming in appearance. They 
 fought with fury with Gezo before Abeokuta because 
 there w^as a jealousy between them and their brother 
 soldiers, and because they had been led for many 
 years by that king to small but sure victory. They 
 fled, however, wdth the rest, when * a little perse- 
 
78 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 verance would have retrieved the fortunes of the 
 day. 
 
 5. The Go-hen- to,'*' or archeresses, who in Gezo's 
 time were young girls — the parade corps, the pick 
 of the army, and the pink of dancers. They were 
 armed with the peculiar Dahoman bow,f a quiver 
 of poisoned light cane shafts — mere birdbolts, w^itli 
 hooked heads, spiny as sticklebacks, — and a small knife 
 lashed with a lanyard to the wrist. They w^ere dis- 
 tinguished by scanty attire, by a tattoo extending to 
 the knee, and by an ivory bracelet on the left arm. 
 Their weapon has naturally fallen in public esteem. 
 Under Gezo's son, they are never seen on parade ; and 
 when in the field they are used as scouts and porters ; 
 like our drummers and doolee-bearers, they also carry 
 the wounded to the rear.i 
 
 * Go (quiver), hen (hold), to (one that does). The bow is called 
 Dapo, and the arrow Ga. 
 
 t It is not straight nor a segment of a circle, but partly both, the 
 lower end being much less bulged than the upper horn, which, to protect 
 the strain, is armed with iron rings. The Dahomans ignore the cross- 
 bow, nor have they, like the Nagos and Makhis, an iron guard for the 
 right hand fingers, or a leather on the left wrist. The only efficient 
 poison comes from the Makhi country. Mr. Duncan (Vol. II., chapter 8) 
 found poison in the Dassa mountains north of Dahome, and the arrow 
 heads of superior manufacture. 
 
 X A man killed in battle is carried within the fror.tiers of Dahome 
 
THE AMAZOXS AND THE DAII0:MAX APcMY. Tl)- 
 
 In 18G3, I saw all these women troops marching, on 
 service, out of Kana. The officers, distinguished by 
 their white head-cloths, and by an esquiress-at-arms, 
 generally a small slave girl, carrying the musket, led 
 their commands. They were mostly remarkable for 
 a stupendous stratopyga, and for a development of 
 adipose tissue which suggested anything but ancient 
 virginity — man does not readily believe in fat " old 
 maids.*' I expected to see Penthesileas, Thalestrises, 
 Dianas — lovely names ! I saw old, ugly, and square- 
 built frows, trudging " grumpily along, with the face 
 of " cook after being much " knagg'd by " the 
 missus." The privates carried packs on cradles, like 
 those of the male soldiery, containing their bed-mats, 
 clothes, and food for a week or a fortnight, mostly 
 toasted grains and bean-cake, hot with peppers. Cart- 
 ridge-pouches of two different shapes were girt round 
 their waists, and slung to their sides were water- 
 gourds, fetish-sacks, bullet-wallets, powder-calabashes, 
 fans, little cutlasses, wooden pipe-cases enveloped in 
 
 and buried in his fatherland. The Yoruba custom of ''Etta" prevails 
 here to a certain extent. When a traveller dies at a distance from 
 home, his companions must bring back for sepulture clippings of his 
 hair and nails. 
 
80 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 leather tobacco-bags, flint, steel, and tinder,* and Lilli- 
 putian stools, ^Yitll three or four legs, cut out of single 
 blocks. Their weapons were slung, and behind their backs 
 dangled their hats, scarecrow felts, "extinguishers" 
 of white cotton useful as sacs de 7iiiit, umbrellas of 
 plaited palm-leaf, and low-crowned broad-brimmed 
 home-made straws, covered with baft more or less blue. 
 
 After a careful computation in 1863, I obtained the 
 following results : — Before ten a.m. were counted 1,439, 
 mostly weaponed ; they then marched in knots, in all 
 246 ; making, when we retired to breakfast, a total of 
 1685. The movement was interrupted till our re- 
 turn, when the King set out w^ith a body guard of 353. 
 Thus the grand total was 2038, and at most, allowing 
 for omissions, 2500. But of these one-third were un- 
 armed, or half-armed, leaving the fighting women at 
 a figure of 1700. Mr. Bernasko and others, who ex- 
 aggerate the consequence of the country, asserted that, 
 this being a small campaign, a large corps of Amazons re- 
 mained at Agbome, but I subsequently ascertained that 
 such was not the case.f Mr. Duncan (1845) reckons 
 
 * Called Dekiya, and made of scrapings of palm-trunk mixed with a 
 charcoal, known as Addisin, and sold in every market. 
 
 t When the King sets out upon a campaign, he carries with him even 
 
THE AMAZONS AND THE DAHO^kLlX AEMY. 81 
 
 6000 women soldiers (in Vol. 1. p. 227), and 8000 
 Amazons (Vol. 1. p. 231). Commander Forbes and 
 Mr. Beecroft (1849—1850) give 5000, but the heroines, 
 like the commissariat cattle in Afghanistan, were 
 marched out of one gate and in through another.* 
 M. Wallon (1856 — 1858), besides dreaming of twentj^ 
 to twenty-five howitzers, carronades, and bronze mor- 
 tars on campaigning beds, assumed the number to 
 be 5000 ; but his figures are all seen through a mag- 
 nifying medium. f Mr. Enschott (1862), after in- 
 venting a park of artillery, furnished Dahome with 
 10,000 Amazons, which Commodore Wilmot (1863) 
 reduced to a half. The fact is, these " most illustrious 
 viragos " are now a mere handful. King Gezo lost the 
 flower of his force under the walls of Abeokuta, and the 
 loss has never been made good. 
 
 the hammock-bearers of his European visitors, and the fishermen of 
 Whydah, who are like the butchers and bakers of an English town. 
 Moreover, all the runaways are sent up in irons to the capital. 
 
 * This trick is not beyond the African brain. Captain John Adams 
 (Remarks on the Country from Cape Palmas to the River Congo : 
 London; "Whittaker & Co., 1823,) mentions a French officer who easily 
 detected it when the army of the King of "Hio" (Oyo) was marched 
 past him. It was usually numbered at 100,000, the majority being 
 cavalry ; and for centuries it has been the terror of the southern country. 
 
 t That ofiicer makes the Dahoman kingdom to contain 800,000 to 
 900,000 souls. He gives Whydah, 20,000 to 25,000; Allada, 15,000 to 
 18,000 ; Agbome, 30,000 ; and the Dahoman army, 25,000 to 30,000. 
 VOL. ir. G 
 
82 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 If the feminine force of Daliome is poor, the male is 
 poorer far. The History asserts, that " fear never 
 enters the Dahoman mind but that race has been 
 long extinct, and Nagos, slaves, and mongrels occupy 
 its place.* The women are as brave as, if not braver 
 than, their brethren in arms, who certainly do not shine 
 in that department of manliness. f Except a few 
 guards, the Jiuissiers of the palace, there are absolutely 
 no regulars ; all are military men — even the singers, 
 the hunchbacks, and the eunuchs ; they live in the 
 town, and they are a mere militia, trading and mechani- 
 cal bourgeois and slaves. Dr. M'Leod (1803) describes 
 the 5000 to 6000 men whom he saw bivouacking near 
 Grigwee (Whj^lah) as a " wild-looking group, and armed 
 
 * Commander Forbes rightly stated this in Vol. I. p. 19. "Strange 
 and contradictory as it may sound, this great nation is no nation, but a 
 banditti, and there are few pure Dahomans." Even the local papers 
 remarked the fact during the last attack. 
 
 t I have heard much of the English West India regiments and the 
 negro corps of the Northern Union. But the testimony of white men 
 under fire with them, and, one of the best criterions of the soldier's effi- 
 ciency, the list of officers killed and wounded in the few skirmishes 
 which have taken place during my service on the West African coast 
 (1860-64), convince me that they are worth even less than sepoys. 
 All men "well trained, well treated, well led, and well supported," will 
 of course fight ; but the Jamaicans and the West Africans will behave 
 perhaps the worst. I by no means include with them the Hausas, the 
 Mandengas, and other Moslem races, a material from which tolerable 
 and even good soldiers, as blacks, can be made. 
 
TnE AMAZONS AND THE DAIIOMAX AmiY. 
 
 83 
 
 in the most irregular manner, some with muskets, others 
 ^yith. swords, spears, and clubs." I inspected them 
 when setting out in 1863. Of the soldiers, about one- 
 third was armed with swords and Tower muskets, or 
 more generally with cheap trade guns ; the others were 
 serviles, used for carriage ; some had the artless bow, 
 many carried only a knife or a war-club ; and all were 
 jDrovided with the inevitable rope to secure " chattels." 
 I need hardly repeat that the object of a Dahoman 
 war is to capture, not to kill. It was not easy to form 
 an estimate of their numbers, but, reckoning all hands, 
 15,000 men, and certainly not more, might have passed 
 through Kana."'' This would leave, at the end of a 
 week's march, 8000, and a maximum of 9000, botli 
 sexes and all arms included ; and these are the num- 
 bers that are estimated, by English officers who after- 
 w^ards visited their deserted camps, to have been " out " 
 when attacking the towns of Ishagga (1862), Igbara 
 (1863), and Abeokuta (1864). 
 
 * Mr. T. B. Freeman (1842) set down the number at 65,000. The 
 official figure of King Gezo's army when he attacked Abeokuta (1851) 
 and that which will be adopted in history, is 16,000 Dohamans; \vz, 
 10,000 men, and the rest women, against 8000 Egbas. For the whim 
 of truth the numbers should be inverted ; but this would rob the deU- 
 verance" of its providential " element. 
 
 G 2 
 
S4 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The reader -will see that I differ totally from Mr. 
 Duncan* — " After all I have seen of Africa, I believe 
 the King of Dahomey possesses an army superior to any 
 sovereign west of the Great Desert and from M. 
 Wallon : " L'armee de Dahomy est done suffisamment 
 aguerrie et assez forte pour lutter avec avantage sur son 
 ■terrain meme avec des troupes discipHnees, extenuees 
 par de longues marches, par le climat et depourvues 
 d'artillerie." And when Commodore Wilmot declares 
 that " they (the Amazons) would prove formidable 
 enemies with good weapons, if they possessed disci- 
 pline and real courage," it is equivalent to saying 
 that they would be good soldiers if they were good 
 soldiers. 
 
 The capture of Abeokuta, and the massacre of its 
 population, have ever been, since Commander Forbes' 
 time, the pet theme of Dahoman bard and warrior, and 
 the King's daily thought and nightly dream. To those 
 who know anything of the subject, it is evident that the 
 capital of Egba-land will, like threatened folks, live long. 
 Gelele has twice attempted to retrieve his father's 
 honour, but he and his troops have never dared to cross 
 the Ogun River, in fact to sight the city. This year 
 
 * Vol. I. p. 240. 
 
THE AMAZONS AND THE DAHOMAN AEMY. 85 
 
 will be the third attack, and if it prove a failure he will 
 not try another assault for many a long day. 
 
 Thus Dahome steadily loses prestige. Weakened by 
 traditional policy, by a continual issue of blood, and by 
 the arbitrary measures of her king," and demoralised 
 by an export slave trade, by close connection with Euro- 
 peans, and by frequent failure, this breed of black 
 Spartans is rapidly falling into decay. The Abeoku- 
 tans, far from feeling their old terror of the King, now 
 openly boast that they will "whip" the man w^ho 
 attacked them with w^omen. Had the capital of Egba- 
 land not engaged in a four years' war with Ibadan, the 
 Lord of the Amazons would not have retired in safety 
 from Ishagga and Igbara. At present, the Egbas, shut 
 up within their walls, are afraid to take the initiative ; 
 but some day the King's pet prophet will lead him 
 to measures involving the loss of his army, and possibly 
 of his life.f 
 
 * It is said that Gelele has resolved to grind the faces of his subjects 
 for ten years, of which six are now elapsed. After that time they will 
 be applied to honest labour, and a man shall live on a cowrie a day, so 
 oheap will provisions become. He thus inverts the (Quinquennium 
 Neronis, and however allegiant may be his people, he will probably 
 carry severity too far. But lately forty families have fled in a batch to 
 ^' Porto Novo " as a land of liberty, and they will be followed by others. 
 
 t These remarks were written at Agbome, in January, 1863, six 
 weeks before the King's utter failure at Abeokuta. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ADDO-KPON, THE BUSH KING's SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 
 SECTION A. 
 
 Of Addo-h'pon, the Bush King. 
 
 One of the Dahoman monarch's pecuKarities is, that 
 he is double ; not merely binonymous, nor dual, like 
 the spiritual Mikado and the temporal Tycoon of Japan, 
 but two in one. Gelele, for instance, is King of the 
 cit}^ Addo-kpon"' of the " bush ; " that is to say, of the 
 farmer folk and the country as opposed to the city. 
 So the late Gezo's alter ego was Ga-kpwe.f This 
 country ruler has his official mother, the Danh-li-ke ; 
 his Min-gan, or chief executioner the Wimekho; and 
 his Men, or master of ceremonies, the Aw^esu, father of 
 the Whydah Yevo-gan. His palace is at Akpwe-ho, 
 a Tillage on the road to Aja, about six miles to the 
 
 * Addo (tlie ligtt yellow Popo bead, which does not melt in the fire), 
 kpon (see I). It must not be confounded with Adda-kpun or oyster, 
 t Ga (market-day), kpwe (when it comes, scil.^ it must be full). 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 87 
 
 south-west of Agbome ; as it is still built of matting 
 and will not be made of swish until Abeokuta is taken, I 
 was not permitted to see it. The house is furnished 
 with male and female officers, eunuchs, and wives, be- 
 sides which, criminals and victims ^ are set apart at the 
 Customs. Thus Dahome has two points of interest to 
 the ethnologist — the distinct precedence of women, and 
 the double king. 
 
 Our travellers are wholly silent upon the subject of 
 this strange organisation.f I presume that the du|)li- 
 cate was invented of late years to enable the King to 
 trade Hke that Farmer Monarch — ■ 
 
 Who rams and cows and lambs and bullocks fed." 
 
 Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou II.) first assumed the 
 direct monopoly of commerce which his forefathers 
 had held ignoble, but his successors dropped it. It 
 cannot be now said of the Dahomans — 
 
 " They have a king who buys and sells," 
 
 * Some said that the palace shed was the King's victim depot, the 
 market shed, Addo-kpon's : others confined the King's especial sacrifices 
 to the turret of the market-shed. Many men declared that the King's 
 sacrifices were all captives, Addo-kpon's all criminals ; more denied these 
 distinctions. 
 
 t Mr. Bernasko (Appendix III.) mentions Athopon," which he erro- 
 neously translates " hearth, a place in which a fire is made." All other 
 books ignore the bush king's existence. 
 
88 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 and yet Addo-kpon derives all the advantages of tlie 
 industry of the palace, in which many things, as 
 pottery, pipes, mats, and clothes, are manufactured and 
 monopolized. 
 
 SECTION B. 
 
 The Nun-kpon ^ghe Addo-kpon-ton,'^ or First Day of 
 the Bush King's So-sin Customs. 
 
 On Monday, January 4th, 1864, we resumed the 
 labours of "pleasure,'^ without which, some one has 
 truly said, life would be very endurable. 
 
 At 2 P.M. we passed through the city gate, where we 
 were disgusted by seeing the corpses still sitting and 
 suspended. It was a hideous spectacle, the Turkey 
 
 buzzards picking at but I will spare the reader's 
 
 feelings : suffice it to say, even our hanging in chains 
 was not more barbarous. 
 
 We were somewhat late : as the parasol showed, 
 royalty had already taken its station. Whilst bowing 
 to the King, we were informed that he washed us again 
 to " fight for cowries," and, like himself, to dance before 
 
 * Nun (thing, custom) kpon (we look at) 'gbe (to-day), and Addo- 
 kpon-ton (belonging to Addo-kpon). 
 
ADDO-KPON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 89 
 
 the people. I excused ourselves rather to see how he 
 would treat the matter ; peeled finger-tips and a 
 sprained annularis on a previous occasion had inter- 
 fered with my writing, about which he was most 
 anxious ; moreover, the drivers had again ousted us, 
 thus spoiling another night's rest. The ministers made 
 the usual difficulty about delivering the message, but 
 an answer came back at once. The King knew that 
 white men do not " wrestle for shells,'' but that having 
 admired my " bravery '' and cunning — I had rolled the 
 Reverend over — he was desirous of seeing it again. 
 Under the circumstances, however, I must not fight, 
 but receive cowries from him at once. As regards the 
 dancing, he had promised to show the lieges his white 
 friend's performance, and he hoped that they might not 
 be disappointed. What ansvrer could be made to a 
 reply so amiable '? 
 
 We found a small concourse of people, and about two 
 dozen men were kneeling before an equal number of 
 baskets containing cowries. The subject of the palaver 
 was the eternal Abeokuta. Adan-men-nun-kon came 
 to me, and in a loud tone declared that I had fought 
 well for cowries, and was a strong man, like my 
 company, the Blues. Whereupon the King called me 
 
90 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 lip to the bamboos, and with force complimens presented 
 me with two heads, wdiich I carried off amidst the 
 applause of the people. Mr. Cruikshank and the 
 Eeverend were similarly honoured. A little excitement 
 was caused by two men being severally hustled off to 
 prison, whilst the new Ajyaho stood up and explained 
 their offence. They began life as common soldiers, 
 and had risen to be captains. Receiving on this 
 occasion no cowries, they had sent three impertinent 
 reminders by the chief ministers to say that they were 
 in the presence; wdiereas the King is the King, and 
 does with his own what he wdlls. These men were 
 greedy, and must be punished a,ccordingly. After 
 which Gelele dismissed the speakers for making too 
 much noise. They carried off their cowries, the males 
 " presenting arms " with muskets, the w^omen with 
 sticks and knives. 
 
 Then we had for three hours, without intermission, 
 the usual Amazon dance and song, chorus and solo, 
 with the wdiole corps de ballet, and several pas de deuw^ 
 ending in prestissimo movements, very fatiguing. The 
 King himself tapped a fast measure on a little tom-tom, 
 and when his officers pointed out this to us, w^e rose 
 and bowed, whilst those around presented arms, and 
 
ADDO-KrON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 91 
 
 royalty acknowledged the salutation vfiih. a small 
 crooked stick. Gelele made a speech about Abeokuta, 
 when the Bo-chio figures appeared for a short time, 
 and the normal patrol, a band with skull-flags and 
 drums, passed up the square."^^ The Amazons then 
 sang the song of disgrace for those who would not 
 fight, and a pair of Ursine dances concluded with a 
 ferocious allocution by the Po-su. At the end of this 
 scene the women knelt and clapped hands before 
 Gezo's ghost. 
 
 Presently the caboceers approached the bamboos, 
 and reclined on the ground whilst the King again 
 
 * This patrol begins at dawn and lasts through the day and night. 
 The African never yet invented an hour, but as the bands perform at 
 nearly equal tri-horal periods, he is here seldom at a loss for finding his* 
 time. 
 
 From 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. is the Ahan-'e, mostly of bone rattles, followed 
 till 11 A.M. by the Broh, rattles and drums. From 11 a.m. till noon is 
 the Gan or Panigan, gong-gongs," with heralds recapitulating the 
 titles and exploits of all the Dahoman dynasty ; this was established by 
 the present king ; Gezo ordered it only once a day, before dawn. From 
 noon to 3 p.m. is the time of the Wimehun — cymbals and flutes, followed 
 till sunset by the Goawe — mostly drums. From 6-30 p.m. till 9*30 to 
 10 P.M., the Agbaja, tom-tom, beats : the Kpwen, or horns, sound till 
 midnight, relieved at 3 a.m. by the Akko : finally, the early gun, 
 or "gong-gong," and the heralds' work begin at 3 a.m. and end at 
 sunrise. 
 
 The bands consist generally of a man and four boys. They sit upon 
 mats under a tree, before the palace gate, strike up at times, and accom- 
 pany the soldiers of the patrol. 
 
92 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 addressed them. A favourite captain, tlie Toffa, had 
 lately died, and another was to be promoted to his 
 post. Some of the ministers had proposed one of the 
 royal brothers as heir, but the King had replied, that 
 although " Tanistry may be lawful, it is still the will 
 of Mau (God) that when the sire dies the son should 
 inherit. Another Toffa was then elected, with the 
 usual ceremonies. 
 
 When nearly dark, we were dismissed. The ham- 
 mock men rushed frantically past the place of execution 
 to escape its terrible atmosphere. 
 
 SECTION C. 
 
 The Second Day of Addo-kpon, the Bush King's 
 So-sin Customs. 
 
 We deferred our exit till 3 p.m. of January 5th, for 
 the sun was terribly hot. On reaching the old place, 
 we found three jesters professionally at work before the 
 King : as might be expected, two of them were beating 
 the third, who was pretending to cry. The Meu then 
 gave a pair of bead necklaces to each of the chief 
 ministers, Avho, after acknowledging the present, knelt 
 
ADDO-IvPOX, THE BUSH KIXG'S SO-SIX CUSTOMS. 93 • 
 
 before and solemnly saluted a large basketful of 
 Wo " pudding. 
 
 Presently began the drum-beat, known as " Gblo." 
 At the further end of the square appeared about 
 twenty men, three of whom had tails of some undis- 
 tinguishable material ringed with black and yellow ; 
 these appendages w^ere fastened to small square pads of 
 red cloth, adorned wdth cowries, and the pincushion 
 was girt round the waist oyer the loin-wrapper. They 
 pranced up to us with the left leg forwards, bending 
 shghtly as they touched the ground, and a peculiar 
 movement of the glutei made the tail which out- 
 topped their heads revolve like a Catherine's wheel. 
 They were loudly greeted by the people, and were 
 presently joined by a volunteer with an irregular 
 " fixing " of blue cloth ; he elicited equal applause. 
 After saluting the King, they disappeared. As has 
 been shown, there is a similar female institution within 
 the palace." 
 
 * Mr. Xorris well describes the dancing of the women: *'Each had a 
 long tail fixed to her rump, which seemed to be a slip of leopard skin 
 sewed up and stufi'ed, which, by a dexterous wriggle of her hips, she 
 whirled round like a string with surprising velocity. Mr. Duncan shows 
 disapproval of the practice, but Mr. Duncan belonged to the respectable 
 class, which "approves of" only its own practices. " Four tall men, 
 singularly dressed, and with bullocks' tails tied so as to hang over their 
 
94 
 
 A MISSION TO. GELELE. 
 
 There had been some question amongst us touching 
 the proper signification of " Addo-kpon," which the 
 Buko-no professed inabihty to explain. A message was 
 sent by a Dakro woman to the King, who at once 
 honoured me with a full account of it. I acknow- 
 ledged this philological civility by returning "com'- 
 liments.'' 
 
 We were then summoned before the throne. The 
 old man Meu, who required perpetual prompting, 
 addressed me with his childish treble in the usual loud 
 and would-be startling tone, " Mashna," i.e. Commis- 
 sioner. To this the official response is an equally 
 Tehement "We! — adsum."" He then presented me 
 with a singer's Kpo-ga, or staff, and Mr. Cruikshank 
 with another, somewhat less silvered. We bowed and 
 retired, the weight of new honours pressing heavy on 
 our shoulders. After sitting down, we were again 
 summoned by the old Men, who informed me that the 
 King had been pleased to put me in the place of his 
 
 hips behind, arranged themselves in line in front of his Majesty, and 
 by passing at the side step, lowering and poising the body by the bend 
 of the knee, causing the tail to make a circular motion of a disgusting 
 appearance." Why dis(/usting 
 
 * So E ! or He ! in the Egba tongue, is a respectful acknowledg- 
 ment, like Sir ! or Madam ! The Ffons sometimes say, Mi-se, we 
 hear, i.e., understand. 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 9J 
 
 Mingan, or chief executioner, whilst my companion ^Yas 
 to perform before him as his Men, or master of cere- 
 monies. I was then invested with a Bonu-gan-jei, or 
 "caboceer beads/^ This was a double necklace of 240 
 greenish beads, with eight C3dinders of red coral ; 
 behind it hung a pigtail of sixteen cotton strings, the 
 thread being spun b}'^ a woman on the right of the 
 throne. The coral was sham, and the beads were poor 
 imitation of the Popo article called " Ketu." Mr. Cruik- 
 shank and the Reverend were also presented with 
 similar symbols of high dignity and African parsi- 
 moniousness. 
 
 The King had repeatedly fixed a day for me to 
 dance before him, and had deferred the operation 
 probably with the delicate motive of allowing me time 
 to prepare myself for so great an event. Now, how- 
 ever, the hour had come. I collected my party in 
 front of the semicircle of caboceers, gave time to the 
 band, and performed a Hindostani pas seid, which 
 elicited violent applause, especially from the King. My 
 companion then danced a Dahoman dance with Governor 
 Mark as fugleman, and his disinvoUura charmed the 
 people. It was then the Reverend's turn to perform. 
 He posted himself opposite the throne, placed upon 
 
96 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 another stool his instrument, a large flutina or concer- 
 tina, and having preliminarily explained the "God- 
 palaver," " bravely intoned his favourite hymns. They 
 were, Matthias (words by the excellent Dr. Watts, and 
 singularly out of place in Agbome), Arnold's Job, with 
 a refrain (making more rhyme to endure), and Martin 
 Luther's " Old Hundredth (opening with " All people 
 that on earth do dweir^). How is it that the Wesley an 
 mind cannot forego its fondness for this Ennian 
 literature '? The people stared and chuckled a little, 
 but— 
 
 Omnibus hoc vitiura est cantoribus, inter amicos, 
 Ut nunquam inducant animum cantare rogati, 
 Irjussi nunquam desistant. 
 
 The Eeverend being in his pulpit, so to speak, gave 
 his listeners a good half hour of edification. 
 
 When the instrument was mute, the King pro- 
 posed a modification. The Reverend was to play and 
 sing, whilst Mr. Cruikshank and I must dance as before 
 on both sides.f It was almost too ridiculous, but we 
 
 * So in the History (p. 131), Mr. Norris fixed the barrel of the 
 chamber-organ to the hundred and fourth psalm, at the request, and for 
 the future amusement of his host, " Bossa Ahadi." 
 
 t Mr. Duncan (Yol. I. p. 255) found it rather a difficult task to dance 
 and to play that ancient Israelitish instrument " — the Jew's harp — at 
 the same time. 
 
ADDO-KPON, THE EUSII KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 97 
 
 complied for a short time. My second pas seul, which 
 ended the affair, was greeted with firing guns and 
 presenting arms by all my company, men and women, 
 especially the latter, to whom the salutation had been 
 especially directed. It required some strength of mind 
 to prevent holding oneself a manner of prodigy ; the 
 people evidently thought the power of dancing, of 
 using a sword, of learning enough to understand them 
 in a month, of writing down everything seen so as to 
 recall it to their memories, and of sketching objects so 
 that even they could recognise them, to be an avatar 
 of intellect. 
 
 We then retired to a little distance, and sat aligned 
 fronting the King, whilst all the caboceers, in tumul- 
 tuous throng, danced around us with loud songs and 
 cries of praise and congratulation. The parson then 
 intoned in " quick metre," despite the singing master,^ 
 
 " 0, let us be joyful, joyful, joyful, 
 When we meet to part no more " 
 
 — an injunction involving consequences possibly even 
 more lugubrious than that truly abominable (to the 
 
 * Who informs us that when this air is sung quick throughout, it 
 is converted into an exceedingly vulgar jig-tune." 
 
 VOL. II. H 
 
98 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 African traveller at least) description of future bliss 
 in a land where there is 
 
 " No veiled sun, no clouded sky, 
 But sacred, high, eternal noon." 
 
 Thus the Reverend acquired the title of " Missionary 
 Governor/'* We then ^vithdre^Y our chairs to the 
 south-eastern corner of the square, and sat there till 
 dark watching the circumambulation of the King's 
 women. It was the same scene as on New Year's Day, 
 and it ended our immediate labours in the presence. 
 Again the vultures spotted the large tree before 
 the palace gate. Surely they must have a sense of 
 " time " telling them when to expect a feast. For to- 
 night is a second Zan Nyanyana, a Nox Irae, when 
 Gelele, as Addo-kpon, will slay the remainder of his 
 criminals and victims. 
 
 Our dancing had so excited the multitude, that we 
 had hardly dined before an irruption of friends by the 
 score, all wishing to learn " white man's fashion," 
 crowded the house ; and to increase confusion, arrived 
 the outward-bound mail-bag, bringing its usual amount 
 of care and excitement — such a contrast with the 
 ataraxy and the comme il faiit calm that characterise 
 
 * Yewe (god), nun (side), hun-to (drummer, ship captain, governor). 
 
ADDO-XrON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 99 
 
 the more refined Anglo-Tropical mind. I thanked my 
 star for sending me to Dahome, and did not " endorse " 
 the sentiment — 
 
 Oh ! la belle chose que la poste." 
 SECTION D. 
 
 The Be-du-gbe;' or Third Day of the Bush King's 
 So-sin Customs. 
 
 Operations began at 7 a.m., on January 6th, Tvhen 
 the King sent us four baskets of akkara, or bean-cake 
 yellow with pahn-oil, and four pots of ahan-vof — " red 
 liquor/^ or native beer. His father brewed with maize, 
 but being a Diomedes, holding himself superior to his 
 sire, he employs for the purpose "white man's rice." 
 The produce is rhubarb-coloured, subacid, anything but 
 " bub," weak but wholesome and refreshing. 
 
 Our old host, of whose meddling propensities we 
 
 * Be (joy; others say, live thou!), du (eat), gbe (to-day, the Happy 
 Day, because it ends the deadly part of Addo-kpon's Customs). It is 
 also known as Bekpa-men 'gbe; meaning, Bekpa (mat-fence), men (in), 
 'gbe (to day ; suhaudi, we will go). Commander Forbes, whose names 
 and " customs " are equally unintelligible, writes (Vol. II. p. 33) " Ek- 
 bah-tong-ek-beh," and translates, " Display of the King's wealth." 
 
 t Ahan (any liquor), and vo (red). Ahan yeyo, is "White man's 
 liquor," meaning rum. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 A -MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 had every day to complain, visited us at 8 a.m., when 
 Tve knew that nothing would be done before noon, and 
 authoritatively ordered us breakfastless to the palace, 
 for which he was, of course, ejected. Formerly En- 
 glish strangers were lodged with the jNIeu, whom they 
 found an intolerable stickler for etiquette. Thence 
 they were transferred to the Buko-no, and now the 
 King should be directed to build for them a private 
 house ; mean\Yhile lodging them with the Prince 
 Chyudaton. 
 
 At 10 A.M., in no very placid state of mind, we 
 made for the palace. The nine dead bodies had been 
 removed after the fourth day of exhibition, and in 
 their stead were eight others, whose limp limbs showed 
 that they had lately met their doom. Four were 
 hanging head downwards on single gallows ; a pair, 
 one above the other, was seated, in their rude San 
 Benitos, on a rough scaffolding ; and two were lying 
 prone upon horizontal planks raised on poles twenty 
 feet high, with their heads protruding from salt-bags 
 of the common matting. We were again assured that 
 all were criminals and captives, and that the two last 
 mentioned had been thus grotesquely laid out for 
 stealing the King's salt — which was probable. A little 
 
ADDO-KPON, THE BUSH KENG'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 101 
 
 beyond the bodies, the top of a conical tent of crimson 
 cloth, a smaller Tokpon, intended for the King's nightly 
 lodging, protruded from a mat fence covered with 
 sadly tattered cloths. 
 
 Instead of dismounting at the south-eastern angle 
 of the palace, we rode behind our host — who, by-the- 
 by, had declared that whilst he did not dismount w^e 
 should'''' — to the thin-shadowed tree before the Komasi 
 Gate. Then we were fronted, as usual, by a semicircle 
 of men and boys ; and sundry of the caboceers came 
 to greet us wuth " mawninV' " raawnin'." f One of 
 them, the Gbe-wedo, wanted remedies for a bad 
 Guinea-worm. A medical man visitino; A^'bome has no 
 holiday ; every twenty-four hours he will find a fresh 
 but a feeless case ; and if he wants " practice," he has 
 only to provide himself with wdiat drugs and instru- 
 ments the limited dispensaries of the West African 
 Coast allow. On the ground at each side of the palace 
 entrance were four heads, recently removed ; this time 
 
 * He did not dismount, to show how high he was in the King's 
 esteem, who allows this liberty to he taken hy his subjects on the 
 "Happy Day" only. He wished us to walk on foot, that the people 
 might see that we were the slaves of the King. 
 
 t " Good morning." The people easily pick up a few words of 
 foreign languages, which, however, they can never master. 
 
102 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 they were almost hidden behind httlc fences of grass. 
 Thus the total number of deaths for Addo-kpon, the 
 Bush King, were sixteen, whereas Akhosu Gelele, the 
 City King, slew twenty-three ; and a total of thirty- 
 nine lives were forfeited during the So-sin Customs of 
 Agbome, in 1863—64. 
 
 At 10.45 A.M. we entered the palace, and found the 
 larger Tokpon pitched and surrounded with white 
 cloth. Few spectators had assembled, and the Ken-tin, 
 or chief singer, occupied the centre of the yard, with 
 nineteen men kneeling behind him in two rows. He wore 
 thimble-hoi'ns, a crimson velvet cloak, like a caballero 
 in the days of Gil Bias, and a scarlet loin-cloth ; he 
 held the insignia of his order, a silver-mounted sword, 
 a bard's staff, and a large black horse-tail. As the 
 ceremony, which was almost the same as the Display of 
 the King's Poverty lengthily described on January 
 2nd, began earlier this day, the King entered at 
 11.45 A.M. He was habited in a toga of blue and 
 yellow tartan, and a green velvet toque, with two 
 horizontal stripes of silver lace ; his piincipal ornament 
 was a necklace of cut and stained glass set in Mosaic 
 gold, and w^orth a few shillings. He came up, affably 
 shook hands and snapped fingers with us, and told 
 
ADDO-XrOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 103 
 
 me to write down everything seen on that occasion 
 — which I will not do. The whole affair was mean 
 in the extreme. The ministers and captains, male 
 and female, paraded as before ; but this being the 
 Bush King's fete, they were fewer in number, and 
 not so richly attired as before. Baskets of cassava 
 were as usual distributed to the crowd, and there 
 was no want of pro vaunt in the palace — its only 
 merit. 
 
 Before entering the yard, the King had sent a 
 message to ask me if I had any objection in joining 
 the display. 'Mj reply was, by no means, if he wished 
 it, and w^ould allow us to walk by ourselves under 
 parasols, which are not permitted to the lieges. He 
 freely consented, and with all ceremony we circum- 
 ambulated, in uniform, and with our head-decorations 
 and singer's staves, the palace-yard from left to right, 
 and not regarding the throne as we passed the entrance. 
 The bands of women in the pavilion, and of men out- 
 side, frantically greeted us with cries of Yevo ! — the 
 whites ! After the third round we formed up in line 
 and bowed to the King, who was sitting upon a raised 
 da'is with a clear approach lined with bottles of liquor, 
 calabashes of food, and the women of the palace. He 
 
104 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 took up a fine gold-lacecl Spanish broad-brim,* and 
 sending out six flasks of Cura9oa and other hqueurs, 
 pledged us all in turn. 
 
 The procession was succeeded by terribly lengthy 
 speeches from the Adanejan and the Gan, who com- 
 plimented Gelele upon having so ^Yorthily performed 
 his Customs in the presence of ^Yhite men. The 
 addresses were concluded amidst loud exclamations of 
 Un 'so ! " I answer you/' and Yati ! meaning, in 
 Fanti, " I have heard/'' the haranguers raising arms 
 and forefingers. These people have certainly practised 
 as much as any American politician the art of public 
 speaking ; they can talk for an hour without saying 
 anything. 
 
 At 3.15 P.M. the "wealth'' began to pass, and 
 terribly slow was this part of the proceedings. The 
 King attempted to hghten our labour by sending us 
 liquor, water, fruits, and a Moslem sweetmeat called 
 Du-du-kwia, an African imitation of the Arabian 
 Halwa.t Baskets of provisions and cowries were 
 brought in great numbers from the palace, and most 
 
 * The old prints in the History, though mostly drawn from imagina- 
 tion, all show the King wearing one of these hats, 
 f A confection of sugar, milk, almonds, spices, &c. 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 105 
 
 of the caboceers had complicated dinners carried by 
 their wives and slave girls. The smallest gift from the 
 King was received with cries of " We ! " This was well ; 
 the royal hand is looked to, not the value of what it 
 out-deals. We were not provided with "pass rum" 
 before darkness came on, and as we hurried house- 
 wards, the light railings along the road told us that the 
 indefatigable King's labours had by no means ended. 
 Firing of guns disturbed the night, gin and rum were 
 distributed, and cowries were thrown ; this we learned 
 next morning, when a patient came with a finger badly 
 bitten in the struo;ole. 
 
 SECTION E. 
 
 The E na-nyin Jmn,^ or Fourth Day of the Bush 
 Kinijs So-sin Customs. 
 
 We hstened to Hope's flattering tale about a hoHday, 
 but at 2.15 P.M., on January 7th, we were unexpectedly 
 summoned to the palace. The Tokpon and the human 
 heads had been removed from the entrance sides, nor 
 
 * E (he), na-nyin (will pass, i. e., release from duty of further atten- 
 dance), bun (drum, viz. drummers and singers). 
 
106 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 was there any connecting splotch of blood. Eiglit men 
 danced on the male side, the bamboos were then 
 extended, when seven women, a small girl, and a 
 mistress of ceremonies in the rear, began to perform. 
 As the sun was sinking low, the King left his shed 
 with a pcloton of fifty wives, holding a singer's staff, 
 and shaded by a red-and- green parasol ; after adjusting 
 his toga, he bowed to the tent occupied by his father's 
 ghost. He sang to a male band, whilst the women 
 joined in the chorus, and then he inverted the process. 
 The gist of the chant was, that miserable are the sires 
 of poor men w^ho cannot honour them with offerings of 
 wo-pudding and greens in silver-mounted calabashes, 
 such as Gezo was now receiving. The sentiment was 
 heard with the " khe and the Ububu " on both sides. 
 Six women then joined the King in singing and dancing. 
 After repeated performances to honour Gezo, Gelele 
 presented us with half a loaf of sugar and a basket of 
 salt, for which we returned thanks. The King presently 
 sang in praise of his visitors, and danced repeated 
 solos. When this ended, a general ballet of women 
 tumultuously advanced amid numerous discharges of 
 guns, lasting till darkness came on. Mr. Bernasko was 
 then summoned to play " music " before royalty, but 
 
ADDO-KPON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 107 
 
 his sweet sounds were drowned in negro noise. At 
 last silence was obtained, and the Men, addressing us 
 by our names, informed us that the morrow w^ould be 
 a day of rejoicing, when both Akhosu and Addo-kpon 
 w^ould fire guns to show that the days of mourning and 
 punishment had gone by, and that all who had attended 
 the Customs would be "passed'' with presents. He 
 also conveyed to us the royal wish that we should come 
 early, as all ministers caught napping are heavily fined, 
 and— the crafty oldster had served under three 
 sovereigns — he privily warned his colleagues that the 
 Englishman, being a " King's man," would be before 
 them all, and thus get them into trouble. But they 
 scoffed at him, and said, " These whites, before they 
 can leave the house, must bathe, and dress, and drink 
 tea ; with them ' early ' means after sunrise." 
 
 During the night, the old King's ghostly tent, the 
 corpses, and both the So-sin sheds, w^ere removed. The 
 place looked charming as before : — Nature, serenely fair, 
 wore upon her lovely face an ironical smile at what she 
 had witnessed amongst her sons.'"* 
 
 * As we found from the gathering of the turkey-buzzards for a Vv'eek 
 afterwards, the corpses were thrown into the town moat, near the 
 Komasi Palace; during the " Atto-year" their place is on the north of 
 the enceinte. They are not disposed of, as Mr. Duncan says, " in a large 
 
108 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 SECTION F. 
 
 The So-debwe^' — Fifth and Last Day of the So-sin 
 Customs. 
 
 1 awoke my people at 4 a.m., on January 8 th, and 
 before 5 we were seated in front of the palace. Our 
 old host had not slept that night, lest we should give him 
 the shp, and we found but one minister, the Agbwejekun, 
 waiting to receive us. The early gong-gong men, one 
 with a brass bell, the other with a cymbal, apparently 
 of silver, and both double instruments, were standing 
 at the gate, striking first the long then the short tube, 
 and reciting the " strong names " of the King and his 
 ancestors. As each lingering caboceer appeared, we 
 tolled a large bell, brought up from Whydah by Mr. 
 Bernasko, and gave him a glass of gin, with the solemn 
 promise of reporting him to royalty, who had been 
 made aware by messenger of our arrival. All replied 
 
 pit, at a considerable distance from the town." In all cases their skulls, 
 which here are prized as much as by the Anthropological Society of 
 London, are subsequently removed, and are probably afterwards exhi- 
 bited as the trophies of heroic deeds. 
 
 * Meaning ** thunder to-day," so great will be the noise of musketry. 
 
ADDO-KrON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 109 
 
 that great men do not sleep at night,* and with comical 
 ruefulness resigned themselves to their fate. 
 
 The early morning at Agbome is full of beauty. 
 As the "grandmother and grandchildren"f waxed faint 
 in the south, a lovely roseate blush overspread the pale 
 cheek of the eastern firmament, the earth's ruder forms 
 were enveiled in soft gauzy blue, and the cool refresh- 
 ing zephyr — 
 
 The sweet lirst breathings of the hour of prime." 
 
 — the " respiration of morn,^' as the Persians call it, 
 made distant music amongst the tree-boughs. 
 
 At dawn about 200 male guards issued from the 
 palace. The several companies, under their captains, 
 take this duty by turns ; they pass their nights in the 
 Podoji, or yard, and by day they are relieved by the 
 Amazons. During Customs time they are more nume- 
 rous than usual. Each troop, as it passed us with flags 
 and bands, halted and discharged guns and blunder- 
 busses, which were responded to within the palace. 
 The ministers also fired : they must be careful this day ; 
 if their weapons do not behave well, the King repri- 
 mands them publicly, and perhaps fines them. 
 
 * Great men are supposed to transact business at that time, 
 t The Gold Coast name of the Southern Cross. 
 
.110 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 At 6 A.M. we v;eve conducted by the Men to the 
 palace gate, which was still closed. We were placed 
 in front of all the ministers, whom we had outranked 
 by early rising, and as they made obeisance, we 
 salaamed to the Sublime Porte. AVe then turned to a 
 band of drums and cymbals behind us, and, in com- 
 pany with the Meu and Chyudaton, we performed a 
 little prancing in Dahoman style. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the large umbrellas were disposed 
 under the King's shed, and at 7 a.m. Gelele, with a 
 knot of she-soldiery, stalked under his parasol to his 
 accustomed place. "We w^ere at once summoned, 
 thanked, and complimented for having paid due honour 
 to royalty — in this country punctuality is 7iot the 
 politeness of princes. Behind us the delinquent minis- 
 ters lay on the ground backed by the "Don-pwe 
 people,'^ to whom in such cases all the caboceers are 
 committed for punishment. The sole exceptions are 
 the Min-gan and the Meu, who in case of delinquency 
 are prevented from entering their homes. 
 
 The Buko-no then lengthily and eloquently related 
 our exploit, and reported the Yevo-gan and Prince 
 Chyudaton as in fault. They looked at me with a 
 jocose deprecation, and covered their heads with dust, 
 
ADDO-ICPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. Ill 
 
 whilst the "Don-pwe'' struck up a loud uproarious 
 song, ending in a laughing chorus, to deride the late 
 men. The fat Adanejan, unhappily for himself, joined 
 us, and was added to the list ; all laughed as he 
 stretched out the hand of deprecation towards the 
 
 small young men.'' I then invoked for these 
 offenders the royal pardon, especially mentioning the 
 old Men, whose warning had been neglected. The 
 King, however, replied, that they w^ere in the hands 
 of justice, from which even he could not save them, 
 and that they must sleep abroad and be fined in rum 
 for preferring to his service the bed and the " kicksey- 
 wicksey." Nothing could be said against this slight 
 penalty, and I was pleased with the opportunity of 
 proving to the ministers that in more important matters 
 they might fight a losing battle. 
 
 The tw^o captains wdio had been locked up for shame- 
 less asking now received formal pardon, whicli they 
 acknowledged by a dust-bath. Adanejan was then 
 made chief of the Ganchya drum, whose black head 
 and brown body rendered it conspicuous amongst the 
 w^omen's band ; he also, after removing his necklaces, 
 vigorously shovelled up earth. The King sent to 
 inform us that as it was too late to hear all the songs, 
 
112 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 he would at once " pass " the singers and drummers, 
 and then dismiss us to breakfast. A bard, with official 
 staff, then came forward and sang — 
 
 Gezo was a forest in which wild beasts (viz. his subjects) dwelt 
 securely, 
 
 And now Gezo has left to his son that forest. 
 
 The performer presently retired, and with his brethren 
 danced a round before the King. 
 
 The Blue and Fanti Companies thereupon received 
 each a maiden flag of white croydon, which is to bear 
 their honours when they shall have won them. The 
 King sent to me a message that I must return in time 
 for the next Customs ; my reply was that in such 
 matters everything depended upon orders from home. 
 This elicited many flattering expressions, which ceased 
 only when the Gau arose and swore with violent ges- 
 ticulation that Abeokuta — the word wearies me ! — must 
 be taken this year, with a Kpwe-to,* or, as the Arabs 
 say, with a Katl-am, or general massacre. The Com- 
 mander-in-Chief then called me up, and we performed 
 together a short pas de deiuv, with left shoulders 
 forward, corresponding arm akimbo, and ditto leg in 
 
 * Kpwe (plenty), and to (here, there, and everywhere ; not to be con- 
 founded with to, the world). 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 113 
 
 the air. The Adan-men-nun-kon seconded the pro- 
 phecy, and the Mafro, an old caboceer, declared that 
 when a wound is healed men see the scar, meaning 
 that on my return I should find the Egba capital 
 " broken,'' and her people captives. 
 
 These speeches were mingled and concluded with 
 singing, dancing, drumming, and all manner of interrup- 
 tions. By way of varying the sameness, I gave a 
 wine-glass of water instead of gin to a Klan or jester- 
 soldier, who was making all laugh by counterfeiting, 
 and well too, the dying agonies of a wounded man, by 
 pretending to weep, and by uttering wild cries, with 
 similar savage fjicetise. He carried it in triumph to his 
 chief, without w^hose leave it could not be tasted ; and 
 presently a loud Yep ! yep ! yep ! from the crowd, — so 
 utterly different from the hearty English Ha ! ha I ha ! 
 — proclaimed the success of the trick. The King, when 
 informed of it, was abundantly amused, and the poor 
 fool was told that he must be punished for taking the 
 glass. I repKed that a jester, w^ho could not distin- 
 guish gin from water, deserved a mild xliscipline ; and 
 the fellow exclaimed ruefullv, "Preserve me from 
 drinking with you : you first give me the wrong stuff, 
 and then you get me a wliipping ! " 
 
114 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The women presently danced, sang, and drummed, 
 and the she-Gau sent to inform me that when a weight 
 is too heavy for one, two may hft it ; meaning that the 
 Blue and Fanti Companies were sure of victory. The 
 Ji-bi-whe-ton, or second in command of the latter, came 
 out from the ranks and exclaimed, The Yevo (albus) has 
 now heard us talk, he shall presently see our deeds. A 
 fire for cooking must be made slowly,* not so when one 
 would burn an enemy's town. 
 
 Meanwhile the ministers of both sexes had invested 
 themselves in their long Hausa tobes of ceremony. 
 The Dakros placed in their hands divers bundles of 
 cloths, which were severally unfolded and held out 
 horizontally by the dignitaries. The recipients were 
 called up according to precedence of rank or merit ; 
 ^ach shouted, " We ! " — Adsum ! — and rushed forwards 
 with affected hurry, capering as in childish glee. They 
 knelt down, with one hand on the head, whilst the 
 ministers passed the cloth plaid-fashion over their right 
 shoulders and under their left arms. They then 
 returned and sat in batches. When the largesse was ail 
 distributed, the two Mens of both sexes aoain called 
 
 * Cuisinely considered, I believe this axiom to be distinctly in- 
 correct. 
 
.VDDO-KPON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 115 
 
 out the names of those whom the King had honoured, 
 and told them that they had " got pass." During the 
 whole proceeding the women sang a chorus, and as 
 each fresh cloth made its appearance they greeted it 
 with the Khe-cry, and the men with loud Ububu. 
 Followed dances on both sides of the bamboos. 
 
 Meanwhile the King's smoker stood up before the 
 throne. He was a black 3^outh, in an ochre-stained 
 kilt, with a pigtail of sombre-coloured cotton, and he 
 used a long stem ending in a bowl as big as a cocoa- 
 nut. The office is one of the true African fantasticals, 
 and the favoured man is supplied from the royal 
 pouch. 
 
 It was then our turn. AVhen summoned, I went up 
 humedly, according to " etiquette " : it was past 8 a.m., 
 and the sun was fierce, but the King could not alter 
 the custom and direct me to w^ear a hat. After 
 being addressed by the Men, I was invested with a 
 handsome cloth, of palace manufacture — green, red, and 
 yellow cotton ; by formula it is called a " counterpane," 
 and the King tells the presentee that it is meant for 
 his bed.''' Mr. Cruikshank and the Reverend, the boy 
 
 The custom of presenting a "line striped cotton cloth," is found in 
 the History (p. 146), and the " counterpane" is also named, 
 
 I 2 
 
 I 
 
116 
 
 A mSSIOX TO GELELE. 
 
 Tom, and the Buko-no, Avere similarly honoured. After 
 half-an-hour's candidature for sun-stroke, we bowed our 
 thanks and retreated. 
 
 A small party of archers from the Agoni, or northern 
 country, near Makhi, then knelt before the King and 
 dusted themselves. These bush-men also boasted of 
 the aid they would render to the army when attacking 
 Egba-land. Suddenly, as usual, there was a stir. We 
 hurriedly arose and went to the usual shed, where we 
 sat, whilst the palace-women, carrying cowries and 
 rum-bottles, thrice circumambulated the square. When 
 the precious burdens were deposited before the throne 
 we returned to our umbrellas, and the King dispensed 
 with the ceremony of crying out our names and 
 singing whilst we received his gifts. We were pre- 
 sented with twenty heads* and as many plates of 
 cowries, with ten bottles of rum from Gelele, to which 
 the mysterious Addo-kpon added an equal quantity. 
 I then was paid five heads for dancing — my first fee of 
 
 * Or forty shillings. There are alwaj's fifty strings of two score 
 shells to the vulgar, and ten less to the royal, "head." Moreover, the 
 strings are " shroffed," or " cabbaged," by the palace women, and must 
 be re-counted. According to the History, three to six were deducted 
 as perquisites from a string of thirty-nine. In Captain Phillips' time 
 (1694) the King of Whydah gave out cowries in a smaller, and received 
 ibem in a larger, measure than any of his subjects. 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH laXG'S SO-SIX CUSTOMS. 117 
 
 the kind, — and my companion's salary was similar. 
 Finally, t^YO decanters of rum announced the happy 
 moment of dismissal. It was already 11 a.m., but 
 " indecent haste " was forbidden ; we followed, at a 
 funereal pace, the boys who had been seized by the 
 neck to carry the King's costly gifts, and no short cuts 
 through the town were permitted by our conductor, 
 So-kun, the " English guide."' On the road we were 
 informed that these were not the grand presents — 
 which of course will never come — and consequently 
 that they must be shared with the chief officers. 
 About noon, after a seance of seven hours, we were 
 able to break our fast. 
 
 It was past 3 p.m. when we were summoned to 
 conclude the festivities of the day. We repaired to 
 the Uhun-jro market-place, and we found pitched upon 
 the spot, whence the red victim-shed had been removed, 
 a Do-ho,* or little cloth pavilion, intended for the 
 King. It resembled that under which he sat before the 
 Komasi Gate ; behind, and connecting it with it, was a 
 mat-tent, for privacy ; and in front had been planted a 
 line of five umbrellas to shelter the Amazon officers. 
 
 * Do (a bamboo" mat), and ho (a room). Some called it Kpla- 
 kpla. 
 
118 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Shortly after we had taken our places on the north 
 of the iDavilion, two parties of Moslems, one numbering 
 three, the other four turbans, passed before us. To the 
 left, or southwards, the distance was filled with um- 
 brellas and a dense dark crowd, whilst at times indi- 
 viduals and squads of fetisheers and warriors flitted 
 about the Champ de Mars. The Harmattan wind 
 presently began to blow with violence, raising the red 
 dust from the sun-parched ground, — no pleasant prepa- 
 ration for those about to view a Dahoman advance in 
 heavy marching order. 
 
 First appeared a line of scouts, bayoneteers, and 
 blunderbuss-men, wearing a substitute for rifle- 
 man's green — in Europe an error, but here "no 
 mistake." They were habited in kilts, or cap-a-pie 
 suits of freshly-cut palm-leaf ; some wore it like a 
 gloria round the head, others had only the breast 
 thatched, and the contrast of the verdure with the 
 black skin was peculiar. This is an old custom of the 
 empire. The " eyes of the force " were escorted by 
 about 200 veterans, the remains of the Grande Armce 
 that had found its Moscow at Abeokuta. They marched 
 in open order like our light infantry skirmishers, and 
 at times halted, knelt, and delivered fire, all the 
 
ADDO-KPOX, TILE LUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 119 
 
 muzzles being of course raised too high. Finally they 
 advanced tumuUuously till they reached the northern 
 extremity of the market-place, where they formed line 
 about 500 yards from us. 
 
 Then came the royal escort, the main body of the 
 little army, men and boys, about 500 strong. The 
 King, who was in the centre of the battalia, rode a 
 little nag, smoking his usual pipe. He had drawn 
 with gunpowder* three broad hues upon his face, one 
 straight from hair to nose, and two curved from ears to 
 nostrils. Everything about him w^as in gloomiest war- 
 style, the large umbrella was darkest indigo, the small 
 parasol chocolate-brown. Unlike his war-men, he w^ore 
 over a short white cloth a kilt of cotton stuff, scolloped 
 at the edge, and darkened with goat's clotted blood 
 and various barks ; it was dotted with charms, 
 triangles of darker material, and small feathers pro- 
 truding from bits of cane. A bronze-coloured fillet 
 encircled his head, and its long ends fell upon his 
 right and left shoulders ; from his neck depended a 
 short horsetail fly-flapper, whilst two of larger size, 
 white and black, hung from his sinister side. Through 
 
 * Not with a charcoal-blackened face, as declared by M. Jules 
 Gerard, Appendix III. 
 
120 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Lis belt was stuck a short Dahoman briquet, and over 
 his shoulder was a crooked club, spiked at the top, and 
 armed along the point of percussion with a line of 
 large square-headed nails. He wore sandals, and 
 anklets of cowries and black seeds : altogether he 
 looked like " business/' 
 
 As we arose and mutually bowed, the King de- 
 scended, and fired from the hip five guns and carbines, 
 very lightly loaded. He then remounted, and made 
 the three customary rounds of the market-place, fol- 
 lowed by a few salvagemen " in green, fourteen 
 standards, one pink and six white umbrellas, the show- 
 shields, and the skull-drums. The rear-guard consisted 
 of 100 men, accompanying the shabby umbrellas, which 
 here denote soldiery ; at times they skirmished in 
 European fashion, with a fire pretty well nourri. 
 After the third turn an order, sent to it by means of 
 messengers, who ran bawling along the noisy chattering 
 line, converted the rear into a . van, which retired in 
 turn, fraying out in a line of light troops. The King 
 then marched down to the south side of the market- 
 place, where his parasol showed him to be sitting 
 amongst the women soldiery. 
 
 A fetish company of men and boys presently passed 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 121 
 
 US at a run, carrying implements of their craft, huge 
 cressets, crescents of iron hung ^Yith cowries, and 
 various images, idols, and simidacres, chiefly of the Bo- 
 fetish — a crucified turkey-buzzard of wood "with red 
 dots on a white body, another spotted animal encoiled 
 by a snake, and sundry things undescribable. This 
 party also formed up with the veterans, at the northern 
 end of the Uhun-jro space. 
 
 It w^as now the Amazons' turn to advance, and they 
 came up in better style as regards marching and firing 
 than their brother soldiers. They passed us with a 
 feu d'enfer, and wdien the dust was not flying the smoke 
 hung like a pall upon the ground. Th^ King was 
 followed by unarmed wives, who were fanning their 
 lord and carrying a few weapons for his proper use. 
 The soldiery wore tunics of grey baft, stained brown 
 with blood and barks, covering the bosom and extend- 
 ing to the knees like the men, short drawers, and white 
 sashes hanging to the right. The King dismounted, 
 danced to an " Amazon " band, and again rode thrice 
 round the market-place, followed by his rear-guard 
 singing and firing. After the third turn he walked up 
 to where our umbrella was pitched, and discharging 
 several carbines, he danced a simple morris, called 
 
122 
 
 A JJISSIOX TO GELELE. 
 
 Hun-gan,^'' before a semicircle of armed women, who 
 were chanting and cheering him lustil}^ After this, 
 he took from one of his head fetishmen, a fine tall 
 priest, with Abyssinian features, a crooked club, covered 
 with blue and black cloth, and ringed with Indian 
 cowries, and he performed another saltation. Then, 
 holding my wrist, Gelele led me out, and we danced 
 opposite each other amidst tempestuous applause. On 
 this occasion the King expects strangers not to refuse 
 him ; I therefore had the honour of executing a very 
 notable decapitating movement. Mr. Bernasko, as a 
 "god-man," was excused, and a shght fever had detained 
 Mr. Cruikshank at home ; the performance, therefore, 
 did not last long. The King, after dancing, turned 
 round and drank from a small case-bottle, or decanter, 
 with the usual noise and averting of faces on the part 
 of his subjects. I observed that before putting it to 
 his lips he allowed a few drops to fall upon the ground. 
 This is not an oblation to the gods as in ancient 
 Europe, but the offering to ancestors, especially to the 
 paternal ghost, as made by the Chinese. Gelele showed 
 me all his fetish sticks, requesting that they might be 
 
 * Hun (drum), and gan (big). My ear can detect no difference 
 "between this adnoun and Gan, a captain. 
 
ADDO-XrOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 123 
 
 sketched, and presently retired to liis little pavilion, 
 where the scouts coated in grass danced before him. 
 He continued his attentions by sending food and drink at 
 short intervals, till we were surrounded by bottles and 
 calabashes. One gourd contained pomegranates, poor 
 in the extreme, half ripe, bitter, and preponderant in 
 seed and rind. Another calabash, I was told, showed 
 a specimen of his own war-food, bananas, excellent 
 Akansan, powdered red pepper, in an Achatina shell, 
 and a few pods of Malaguetta pepper," which were 
 greedily seized by the Reverend. 
 
 A massing and scattering of umbrellas far to our 
 left told us that the caboceers were on the move ; it 
 was waxing late, and all w^as hurried. The chiefs were 
 distinguished by the vast variety of charms and 
 amulets hung about their arms, necks, and limbs, and 
 some held a leaf of the Ayyan, or thunder fetish shrub, 
 to prevent their guns bursting. These talismans are 
 intended to create an artificial courage ; all peoples 
 having their own peculiar stimuli. The Englishman 
 nerves himself by a sense of duty and hope of profit. 
 
 * Here called Attakun, whereas Attakm is Cayenne pepper. A present 
 of this Guinea pepper from one soldier to another is considered an insult, 
 hinting that the recipient requires something to heat his blood. 
 
124 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The Frenchman by visions of glory, and of late years 
 by a bargain with Heaven that, if spared, he will 
 beheve in the Immaculate Conception. The German 
 remembers the E-hine and its "ichor divine." The 
 Russian thinks of a kind of visible demi-god ; whilst in 
 southern Europe the true fetish appears in the shape 
 of the cross, the medal, and the relic. The braver 
 Orientals, mostly Moslems, spur themselves by visions 
 of Paradise, and by the prospect of escaping the 
 "Squeeze of the Grave"; and the more cowardly 
 Hindus and Chinese, regarding what is scandalously 
 called Dutch courage, as the spur of heroism, " bhang 
 themselves accordingly. In many, if not in all, 
 parts of Pagan Africa, the Congo for instance, the 
 negro will not think of fighting without fetishes that 
 will bring him safe out of battle ; and even the less 
 timid North American must propitiate imaginary 
 supernatural powers before he sets out to "raise 
 hair." 
 
 The caboceers, like their King, passed round three 
 times.* As a rule, skirmishers, flags, and fetish pre- 
 
 * The following list of chiefs who appeared this day is banished to a 
 foot-note : — 
 
 1. Advance guard representing royalty, 4 umbrellas, 40 men and 
 boys escorting Agugun and Ayohi, custodians of the palace. 2. The 
 
ADDO-KrOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIX CUSTOMS. 125 
 
 ceded the captain of the party, who walked or rode 
 under his umbrella, whilst a full band and stragglers, 
 all firing heavil}^ brought up the rear. Each group 
 
 three great ministers of the crown : a large chair, a parrot or fetish 
 image and stick, 3 flags, fancy umbrella (lappets with knives and heads 
 of many- coloured cloth), and 50 men were "the place" of the Min-gan, 
 who was sick. 3. Seven deviced flags, 2 red and black shields, 2 big 
 chairs, 1 blue striped umbrella accompanied the Meu, riding his white 
 nag. Two large chairs, an English and a French flag, a pony, mats, 
 calabashes, 4 men with boarding-pikes, attitudinizing an attack, a white 
 umbrella, drums and band, with 4 deviced flags accompanying the 
 Yevo-gan, who danced before us. 
 
 Then came Addo-kpon, the Bush King's "place," a heavy line of 
 razor and musket-men preceding an unridden horse, 2 men and 2 um- 
 brellas, with two flags. 
 
 Behind Addo-kpon marched the King's brothers and great dignitaries, 
 1. The new Ajyaho, preceded by fetish sticks of iron, followed by huge 
 stools, 1 flag brown and tattered, 1 deviced, and 1 white and blue, 
 a white umbrella, and an old brown ditto. 2. The Akpulogan, or 
 governor of Ahada, whose escort was very mean, many of his men 
 being absent on service : a head and knife flag, 2 white banners, a 
 horse, and a big stool. 3. The So-gan, with a noisy band, and 1 um- 
 brella, buff" and deviced. 4. The Ganze, with similar escort: he is a 
 young man, having been lately promoted. 5. The To-metti, with 2 
 flags, one white, the other white and blue, and some 50 men ; he also 
 has lately succeeded his father, who was one of Gezo's brothers. 6. 
 The Afarigbe, own brother to Gelele ; in his suite 5 men, with hair 
 tightly bandaged in calico, like Fetishmen. 7. The Anlin-wa-nun, 
 with an English flag, his party passing at the double. 8. The Tokpo, 
 with knife and head umbrella. 9. The Bokovo, captain and brother to 
 the late king. 10. The Adanejan, with a party of 150 men firing lustily, 
 red flag and fancy banner, a horse, and in the rear 2 white umbrellas, 
 1 white pennon and 1 red. He sent compliments to us by one of 
 his slaves, an Ishaggan captive, who looked the personification of 
 mirth. 11. The Bin-wan-ton, with a small party, and umbrella knife 
 and head. 12. The Bi-na-zon under a white umbrella, and a large 
 
126 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 numbered from 10 to 100 men and boys, and was 
 separated bj a short interval from its neighbours. 
 
 The ceremony much resembled that of the Entrance 
 Day, but it was far more military ; it was the march 
 of the Dahoman army, whereas the other was the 
 
 party, amongst whom were sundry of the present king's young sons, 
 who fired before us. 13. The Gwe-be-do, or second eunuch. 14. The 
 Buko-no, or king's magician, attired en militaire — blue drawers, tunic 
 with cowries on black ground, straw cap dyed red and supplied with 
 chin-strap, and a small sword stuck in belt, and tomahawk in right hand. 
 He asked me if I had ever seen such a gun (i.e., firing) at Abeokuta, and 
 took place by my side. 15. The Attirive, brother to the late king, with 
 2 umbrellas, 1 white, and 1 head and knife. 16. The Aho, another 
 of the blood- royal, followed by three of the princes; he had a blue 
 umbrella, and a fancy blue fiag. 17. The Voda, brother to the present 
 king, with a white umbrella. 18. The Xonnovo, who is said to be a 
 woman passing as a man, the eldest daughter of Gezo, and, but for the 
 Salic law of Dahome, his heir to the kingdom. 19. The Tokunon- 
 fisan, captain and subject, with an English Union- Jack. 20. The 
 Gofle, a son of the old Meu, also with British flag. 21. The Chyudaton, 
 with a very small party. 22. The Kwenun, before an akhi-gan, or 
 "king's merchant," now promoted to captaincy of all traders at "Whydah. 
 He is a large fat old man, grotesquely Silenus -like, but not unintelli- 
 gent. 23. The Men-jo-ten, second caboceer of Ahada, with white um- 
 brella and fancy. 24. The Asogba-hosen, brother to the present king, 
 with a bluish umbrella, and a few attendants, chiefly boys. 25. The 
 Awonyon, with a white umbrella, a fancy flag, an iron stick crescent- 
 topped, and 2 fetish images, one of them black, with a long white 
 unieorn-horu. 26. The Toja, a white umbrella, son to a brother of the 
 late king. 27. The Ahopwe, brother of Gezo, with a head and knife 
 umbrella. 28. The Assogba'u, with very few attendants. 29. The 
 Enekpehun, another brother of Gezo, with a blue and white umbrella. 
 30. The Kuage, a brother of the present king. 31. Bosu-sau, on 
 horseback, with white umbrella and bluish flag. 32. The Xuase, a 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 127 
 
 triumphal return from war. As sunset approached, 
 the gale increased. The King sent to say that, at a 
 future and more favourable time, I should see another 
 .review, and then passed, surrounded by his " Amazons," 
 to the north of the Komasi Palace. We w^aited till 
 the ground was clear, and retired — not unwillingly. 
 
 The recreant ministers spent the night under sheds 
 at the Kino-'s o-ate, beino" forbidden to enter their 
 
 knife and head umbrella. 33. Tlie Metokal, a white umbrella. 34. The 
 Yinyi-hun-to. 35. The Ajewanun, a French tri-color. 36. The Ivhwe- 
 chiri, a "Whydah captain. 37. The Nolufren, ditto. 38. The Mecho- 
 nun. 39. The Bokpwe, a white flag. 40. The Ganzu. 41. The 
 Adan-vokun. 42, 43. Two new captains, names imknown. 44. The 
 Jogbwenun. 45. The Honjenun. 46. The Agbado. 
 
 lu the arricre came the high military oflicers, preceded by their 
 escorts, firing hard. 1. The Gau, with an awful flag, a crimson man. 
 sprawling on a white ground, a blue and white flag, and smaller blue 
 pennons, a black stool, and a pair of blackened and tattered umbrellas. 
 2. The Matro, or second Gau, passing at a run, with two white umbrel- 
 las and 1 head and knife. 3. The Po-su, a white flag, with 2 pink and 
 1 buff" umbrella. 4. The Ahwig-bamen, or assistant Po-su, with his 
 band playing and his men firing, 1 white flag with green beasts eating 
 one another, and 2 tattered umbrellas, one of them head and knife. 
 5. The Agbwi, with 2 white and 1 blue flag, and 2 white tattered 
 umbrellas. 6. The Allohan, another tattered umbrella. 7. The Ahwesi, 
 1 plaid umbrella, and 4 white. 8. The Aovi, 1 white umbrella, and 
 8 flags preceding. 10. Yery tattered umbrellas, showing where the 
 servants of the King were. 11. Fetisheers, with Bo-chio images. 12, 
 The royal " place," with 9 flags, 2 huge stools, 2 red and blue shields, 
 1 head and knife umbrella, and another striped, with blue lined 
 valances. 
 
 Thus the total number of parties was 53. 
 
128 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 homes. The punishments of high officials are here 
 very capricious. Dr. M'LeocI mentions a chief magis- 
 trate being ordered by the King " not to shave his 
 beard, pare his nails, or wash himself for a certain 
 number of moons, and in this dirty state to sit daily at 
 the palace-gate several hours for public inspection.^' 
 This exile continued till 5 p.m. of the next day 
 (January 9th), when royalty was induced to relent by 
 a storm of thunder and rain, the latter falling in 
 peculiar spurts like jets of heavy drops. Agbwejekon, 
 however, the only caboceer who did his duty, was 
 temporarily rewarded with precedence, and was pub- 
 licly presented with a fine cloth, a wife, and ten 
 heads of cowries. Next time the chiefs will not 
 be outwitted : they will pass the whole night in the 
 square. 
 
 I will conclude this chapter with an account of the 
 Dahoman campaign. The King marches in the midst 
 of his host, surrounded by his Amazons. At the 
 halt, a mat enclosure is made for him and them. 
 The royal quarters, known by their superior size, 
 are pitched far from the rest, and beyond danger 
 of ambush. The males camp promiscuously in little 
 huts. They move at all hours, generally by night, 
 
ADDO-KPOX, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 129 
 
 guided by captives kidnapped from the place about to 
 be plundered ; these men are disguised, tied up, and 
 led in the rear ; and after returning to the capital, they 
 are released with presents. As may be imagined, not 
 a few of them desert, to the great peril of the invader. 
 A few soldiers, in the garb of traders, with cloth and 
 tobacco, precede and accompany the force to attract 
 stragglers, who are at once kidnapped. The army 
 advances by circuitous ways, cutting its own roads 
 through the bush ; a favourite plan is to spread false 
 reports about the intended direction, and to double 
 round upon a town w^hich has heard that the foe has 
 passed onwards. Great circumspection is ordered when 
 nearing the destination ; no talking is allowed, though 
 the soldiers may snap fingers ; and even smoking 
 is forbidden. The point of attack is secretly recon- 
 noitered by a chosen spy during the day. They 
 surround the fated place so cautiously, that it is often 
 taken unawares ; and they assault, as usual amongst 
 barbarians, before davm, with a rush, uttering hellish 
 cries and yells. The only village defences are prickly 
 plants, and these the troops are trained to despise. 
 Any one appearing is at once decapitated ; * when 
 
 * Mr. Duncan, in more than one place (vol. i. pp. 233, 253, 261), 
 
 VOL. II. K 
 
130 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 weapons are thrown down, the prisoners are tied up ; 
 their arms, however, are not pierced for cords, as 
 asserted by the Egbas. As a rule, their object is to 
 capture, not to kill; only the old, the sick, and the 
 "unmerchantable" lose their heads, which serve as 
 trophies. The chiefs are reserved for public sacrifice. 
 When the town is broken, the conquerors raise in the 
 centre a clay-heap, which is girt with dry palm-leaf ; 
 the wretched fugitives may, after returning to their 
 ruined homes, place some of this material upon their 
 necks, and appear before the King, who then spares 
 their lives. The army, even if victorious, hurries 
 back, after losing for every 100 prisoners some 200 of 
 their own men by famine, fatigue, and privations, many 
 of them self-inflicted. During the whole campaign, 
 even if it last six months, the warriors may not remove 
 their tunics for ablution. The marching-food is scanty 
 and poor enough to cause scurvy, and a single calabash 
 of water must often suffice for three days. We cannot 
 wonder that the host is decimated by disease, especially 
 by small-pox. 
 
 The present ruler has lately made a huge "gong- 
 declares that scalps are taken by the Dahoraans. The custom appears 
 to. be now obsolete ; I did not find a trace of it. 
 
ADDO-KPON, THE BUSH KING'S SO-SIN CUSTOMS. 131 
 
 gong/' a main tube or cone crowned with tliirty-nine 
 small bells, denoting the number of towns which he 
 has broken. But all these towns would doubtless fit 
 into a middling-sized English village. It is amusing to 
 hear the wild boasts of the captains ; one man has 
 40,000 followers, another thinks he has 16,000 — 
 remove the two or three last ciphers, and the remain- 
 der may be correct. On the other hand, it is curious 
 to consider the inconsequence of those attacked, who, 
 as I have said, after deliberately insulting and provok- 
 ing a quarrel with the King, will make no preparations 
 for war ; in fact, will never think of the matter till 
 they hear the death-cry at their doors, and they find 
 themselves hurried to Agbome, where they will grace 
 the next Customs. 
 
 In a previous volume,"' I have described the warfare 
 of the Egbas. It is pitiful enough, but that of the 
 Dahomans is worse. There is nothing more con- 
 temptible than these negro slave-hunts : the " mild 
 Hindu/' as the Field of Paniput and many others 
 may prove, has shown himself by far a better soldier 
 than the West African. Individually, the Dahoman 
 dares not desert upon the march, but he " malingers " 
 
 * A Flying Yisit to Abeokuta, chap. vii. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 readily, and he is so far from being brave that tlie 
 idea of amputation makes him faint with fear. The 
 decay of the old kingdom, and the deterioration of 
 blood, are not to be mistaken. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 
 
 I CAMOT but admire the incuriousness of so many 
 travellers who have visited Dahome and have described 
 its Customs without an attempt to master, or at least 
 to explain, the faith that underlies them. Their 
 excuses must be the difficulty presented by the incor- 
 poration of manifold elements, and the various obstacles 
 to exploring a religion which every man, to a certain 
 extent, makes up for himself. " Perhaps," said a 
 Dahoman officer to Captain Snelgrave, the first Euro- 
 pean who visited his country (1627), "that God 
 may be yours who has communicated so many ex- 
 traordinary things to white men ; but as that God 
 has not been pleased to make himself known to us, 
 we must be satisfied with this we worship " and 
 Captain Phillips truly remarks of the Whydah people, 
 " In truth they have so many things they call 
 
134 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 fetishes that I could never understand the true mean- 
 ing of the word." 
 
 • Fetishism, according to the older opinion, is, like the 
 negro's personal conformation, a fall from the primitive 
 inspired and spiritual belief of mankind. The researches 
 of our modern day tend to establish the fact of a fossil 
 ancestry of immeasurable inferiority to the present 
 Homo sapiens, the effect of a selection ever active 
 throughout a course of ages. Consequently anthro- 
 pologists will substitute, even in the Hamite, a rise 
 above instead of a fall from the philosophic Adam : 
 they will consider his superstitions as the dawnings of 
 belief struggling to attain the brightness of day, equally 
 inferior in the moral or sentimental qualities to the 
 Asiatic, and to the European in the reflectives and the 
 perceptives. 
 
 Africans, as a rule, worship everything except the 
 Creator. Yet there is, even amongst this people, a 
 " sensus numinis " which raises them above the Anda- 
 manian "Minkopi,'' the Australasian races, and the 
 idiots or imperfect brain formations amongst the higher 
 famihes. I will not delay to inquire whether the 
 Yoruban deity, confused and indigested as the idea is, 
 has not been greatly modified by converse with El 
 
I 
 
 OP THE DAHOMAN RELIGION". 135 
 
 Islam, or whether it was not derived from Christians 
 driven southwards during the Vandal persecutions. 
 
 The Ffon name for the deity is Mau.* The Roman 
 Catholic missioners have preferred to call themselves 
 Mau-no or Mau-mother, as opposed to Vodun-no or 
 fetish priest. On the other hand, Mau is the moon,f a 
 distinct trace of Sabseanism ; as the feminine princi- 
 ple, it made man in conjunction with Lisa or Se, — a 
 male, the fetish representative of the sun, of which 
 more hereafter.;]: The Fanti or Wesleyan missionaries, 
 who translate Mau as " all the gods," or the unknown 
 God," prefer Yewhe, or Ji-wule-ye-whe.§ It is evident 
 that, in the Dahoman mind, the numen has not had 
 
 * So the popular saying, Azo ewadelo Mau na dokpwenuwe (If you 
 walk and work, Mau thanks you, i.e., God is of the man who works). 
 
 t Lisa-ji (lisa, or sun-sky) is the east, because the sun comes out of 
 it. Mau-ji is the west, because the moon is supposed to begin there. 
 Gbwe-ji (bush sky — also a fetish, which will be described) is the north, 
 under which lies the interior forest. Hu-mea (in the sea) is the 
 •south, for evident reasons. 
 
 A small oriole, which soars like a sky-lark, and strikes its wing- 
 feathers together with a noise like the locusts' flight, is called Avo-kan 
 'gbe-khe — The bird that weaves cloth (for Mau). 
 
 \ Se, which has been translated God and Spirit, means rather the 
 Ekra of the Gold Coast, also written Okra or Okla, 'Kra or 'Kla — one 
 that has the Umbra, or ghost of another. 
 
 § Meaning Ji (the sky), wule (glittering), ye (a shadow — any shadow), 
 whe (the sun). The mulatto, the " tapoyer " of old travellers, is called 
 in Ffon Ye-whe-vi, or Ye- whe- child, because he has no fetish. He is 
 thus opposed to Yodun-vi, fetish child. 
 
 I 
 
136 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 time to separate itself from material objects, or to vindi- 
 cate its right to Latria as opposed to Dulia. 
 
 This Mau, or Ye-whe, is the Esquimaux Pirksoma 
 — " he who is above" — an entity wholly undeveloped, 
 and, for the same reason, the imperfect intellect of both 
 races. Being incomprehensible, the Supreme is judged 
 too elevated to care for the low estate of man ; and con- 
 sequently is neither feared nor loved. The sentiment al- 
 most universal amongst negro races corresponds with the 
 views of many thinkers in modern or in ancient Europe, 
 who look upon the Deity as the Cause of Causes and the 
 Source of Law, rather than as a local and personal fact. 
 It has, at least, saved the African from anthropomor- 
 phism — a besetting peculiarity of the Aryan race, whose 
 hostility to a pure theism lingers, even at the present 
 time, in that Semitic faith which has become the creed 
 of modern Europe. Thus, so easily do extremes meet, 
 and such is the radical identity of creeds, the negro's 
 Deity, if disassociated from physical objects, would 
 almost represent the idea of the philosopher. 
 
 It has been doubted whether, in the present state of 
 human nature, a behef so abstract as Monotheism, asoma- 
 tous and non-local, is a sufficient proof for the weakness 
 of mankind. As there is in man a besoin dJ aimer, so his 
 
OE THE DAHOMilN RELIGION. 137 
 
 veneration requires, they say, a Creator, whose image 
 he is. The Athanasian looks upon deism as atheism, 
 and holds all but a personal god no god or a useless 
 god. In England the mind of Milton found comfort in 
 a Father, who, unable to forgive the disobedience of his 
 creatures, accepted the agony of a sinless Son ; and he 
 saw nothing irreverent in recording a divine dialogue 
 of Arian and Calvinistic theology. Truly, says the 
 Yoruban proverb, " The wisdom of this year will be as 
 folly in another.'^ 
 
 The African — somewhat like the vulgar Asiatic and 
 European, especially the southron — holds the illogical 
 belief that his dark, silent, eternal Deity can be influ- 
 enced by intercessions animate and inanimate, human 
 and bestial ; that the leopard and the crocodile, like the 
 waH (saint) and the prophet, and that the fetish shrub, 
 Hke the Salagram, the Karbela clay, or the bit of True 
 Cross, may, by some inexplicable process, control the 
 inscrutable course of mundane law^ These articles, 
 however, must not be confounded, as they often are by 
 Europeans, wdth the Platonic inferior deities. In some 
 points they preserve a family resemblance with the old 
 Gebr faith. Thus the latter had, for instance, Izad as 
 angel or fetish for the sun, Mohr for the moon, Awa for 
 
138 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 water, Gowad for air, Amardad for trees, and Baliman 
 for cattle. 
 
 In Africa the list of fetish or worshipped objects 
 is nearly endless. Some powerful and indescribable 
 influence residing in the elements, in beasts (mostly 
 the destructive), and even in man (generally human 
 benefactors), enables them to work present weal and 
 woe, and wins for them propitiation or deprecation. 
 The tendency of humanity to worship Nature and her 
 powers extends from Pliny" to the American savage. It 
 recognises as its temples, caverns, valleys, trees, and 
 forests. The Yorubas, of whom it must be remembered 
 the Dahomans are a family, have advanced from the 
 adoration of the material object towards a personifica- 
 tion of Nature's works, and these we consider idols or 
 simulacres.\ There is another idea which in these lands 
 often makes and breaks gods. A man about to under- 
 take a danger or a difficulty looks about as, according 
 to the same Pliny, the Romans did, for some super- 
 
 * (Lib. ii. cliap. v.) Pliny, however probably believed in the Archeus 
 of Nature, its original and all- pervading principle. 
 
 t Ydoles, according to the old writers, were human or bestial 
 forms. " Symulaares,''^ or simileetes, are defined by Maundeville, as 
 "ymages made of lewed wille of man," as two-headed or four-armed 
 figures. 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 139 
 
 natural aid. He takes the first object, be it bird or 
 beast, stock or stone, seen in the morning when leaving 
 his house, and he makes it his Genius. If it prove 
 useful, worship and sacrifice are not wanting : on the 
 other hand, a stronger " medicine'^ is sought. 
 
 In the days of Bosman (1700) the little kingdom of 
 Whydah adored three orders of gods, each presiding, 
 like the several officers of a prince, over its peculiar 
 province. 
 
 The first is the Danh-gbwe^ whose worship has been 
 described." This earthly serpent is esteemed the 
 supreme bliss and general good : it has 1000 Danh'si 
 or snake wives, married and single votaries, and its 
 influence cannot be meddled with by the two following, 
 which are subject to it. 
 
 The second is represented by lofty and beautiful 
 trees,f " in the formation of which Dame Nature seems to 
 have expressed her greatest art." They are prayed to 
 and presented with offerings in times of sickness, and 
 especially of fever. Those most revered are the Hun- 
 'tin, or acanthaceous silk cotton [Bombaai), whose wives 
 equal those of the snake, and the Loko, the well-known 
 
 * Chapter lY. 
 t Atin, contracted to 'tin in Ffon, is any tree. 
 
140 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Edum, ordeal, or poison tree, of the West African 
 coast. The latter numbers few Loko-'si, or Loko 
 spouses : on the other hand, it has its own fetish pottery, 
 which may be bought in every market. An inverted 
 pipkin full of cullender holes is placed upon the 
 ground at the tree foot, and by its side is a narrow- 
 necked little pot into which the water offering is poured. 
 The two are sometimes separated by a cresset-shaped 
 fetish iron, planted in the earth. The cultus arborum, 
 I need hardly say, is an old and far- spread worship : it 
 may easily be understood, as the expression of man's 
 gratitude and admiration. The sacred trees of the 
 Hindu were the Pippala [Ficus religiosa), the Kushtha 
 (Costus speciosus), the sacred juice of the Soma, which 
 became a personage, and many others. The Jews, and 
 after them the early Christians and the Moslems, had 
 their Tuba or Tree of Paradise. Mr. Palgrave, travers- 
 ing Arabia in 1862-63, found in the kingdom of Shomer 
 or Hail distinct tree worship, the acacia (Talh) being 
 danced round and prayed to for rain. In Egypt and 
 other Moslem lands rags and cloths are suspended 
 to branches, vestiges of ancient Paganism. North 
 European mythology embraced Yggdrasil, or the world 
 tree. We no longer approach the gods with branches 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 141 
 
 of this sacred vegetation in hand ; still the Maypole and 
 Christmas tree, the Yule log and the church decorations 
 of evergreens, holly and palms, and the modern use of 
 the sterility-curing mistletoe, descend directly from the 
 treovve-ordung, or tree worship of ancient England. 
 It is also curious that snake worship is generally con- 
 nected with it : so in the North European system, 
 Nidhoegg, the abyss-worm, lay coiled at the foot of 
 Yggdrasil. 
 
 The youngest brother of the triad is Hu, the ocean 
 or sea. Formerly it was subject to chastisement, like 
 the Hellespont, if idle or useless. The Hu-no, or ocean 
 priest, is now considered the highest of all, a fetish king, 
 at Whydah, where he has 500 wives. At stated times he 
 repairs to the beach, begs " Agbwe," the Samudra-devta 
 or ocean god, not to be boisterous, and throws in rice 
 and corn, oil and beans, cloth, cowries, and other valu- 
 ables. He doubtless knows the rule mentioned by 
 Captain Phillips, that the weather is better during the 
 wane of the moon than at its full and change. At 
 times the King sends as an ocean sacrifice from Agbome 
 a man carried in a hammock, with the dress, the stool, 
 and the umbrella of a caboceer ; a canoe takes him out 
 to sea, where he is thrown to the sharks. The Custom 
 
142 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 for this element is made at Whydah, in a place near 
 the greater market, and called Hu-kpa-men. It is a 
 round hut, with thatch and chalked walls ; outside is a 
 heap of bones, whilst skulls, carapaces of the tortoise, 
 and similar materials, cumber the interior. The priest 
 is a fetish woman, who offers water and Kola nuts to, 
 and expects rum from, white visitors. 
 
 These deities, originally of Whydah, have spread 
 throughout Dahome, and men now forget their first 
 habitat. We may add a fourth, " So,'^ or " Khevioso,"* 
 the thunder fetish, whose weapon, as amongst our 
 classics unlearned in brontology, is here still supposed 
 to be Abi, the lightning.f This deity is worshipped at 
 Whydah, in a So Agbajyi, or thunder closet. It has 
 about 1000 wives throughout the country. When a 
 man is killed by the electric fluid,J which renders 
 
 * This word is peculiarly Whydah, ■whence I judge the Dahoman fetish 
 to have first adopted there from the Shango, or Jupiter Tonans of Yoruha. 
 
 t So we still say " thunderholts." According to Barbot, on the Gold 
 Coast (I have heard the same everywhere, from that place to Camaroons), 
 
 when it thunders they say the Deity — with reverence he it spoken — is 
 diverting himself with his wives." The Anglo- African is, ''Man for 
 top, he play for hush." Others again say, '' Great devil he talk angry." 
 A common imprecation in Dahome is, So ye mi, " Thunder fall upon 
 me, if," &c. &c. 
 
 t The corpse of a free man can be ransomed for ten heads, that of a 
 slave never. 
 
OP THE DAnOMAN EELIGION. 143 
 
 sepulture, as amongst the Eomans, unlawful, these 
 women place the body upon a platform, and cut from 
 it lumps, which they chew without eating, crying to 
 passers-by — " We sell you meat ! — fine meat ! Come 
 and buy ! " This is the nearest approach to cannibal- 
 ism shown in Dahome. I saw nothing of the blood- 
 drinker described by Mr. Duncan, who, when offered 
 a draught mixed with rum, " could, with a good heart, 
 have sent a bullet through his head." 
 
 In the following general list I have preserved no 
 other order than that dictated by my interpreters ; the 
 Dii servatores and compitales, sospitatores and viales, 
 are all mixed. 
 
 1. Afa, as has been said,^*' is the messenger of fetishes 
 and of deceased friends. Its fetisheer is here called Bu- 
 ko-no, and by the Egbas, Babbalawo. The people say 
 of him, " The priest who is most cunning takes to Afa," 
 meaning that it pays best; consequently, Buko-nos 
 swarm throughout the land. When Afa predicts evil 
 the votary must perform the catholicon — "Yo-sisa." 
 Ground is cleared near the house or in the bush, a mat 
 is then spread, and a short staff or thick peg is driven 
 through the latter ; the worshipper, with his fetishman, 
 
 * Chapter XITI. 
 
144 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 who taps a small cymbal with an iron rod, pours upon 
 the wood first water and then the blood of a fowl, 
 whose body becomes, of course, the holy man's per- 
 quisite. As has appeared in the previous pages, there 
 are many different forms of vo-sisa. 
 
 2. Bo, a huge Priapus built of clay, and placed in 
 markets, at gates, and in rooms. He is the especial 
 guardian of warriors, defending them from fire and 
 sword ; and in his honour they are hung with cowries 
 and horsetails. The images called Bo-chio, the crutched 
 stick, either planted in the ground at home or carried 
 abroad, when travelling, and the Bo-so, "struppi," or 
 bundles of truncheons painted and speckled, are sacred 
 to this great fetish. 
 
 3. Legba, also a Priapus and a Janus, whose appear- 
 ance and worship have been described.^' 
 
 4. Gun, or Gu, the iron fetish. It is the god Ogun 
 of Abeokuta, where human sacrifices are offered to it. 
 In Dahome it has not that honour. 
 
 5. Hoho, the twin fetish,f that protects those ex- 
 ceptionals. At Allada the birth was infamous, as men 
 
 * Chapter IV. 
 
 t Hoho-no is the mother, Hoho-vi the children. The Dahomans do 
 not kill Albinos (here known as "men-wewe " or white bodies), of whom 
 I saw several in the capital : all were of the normal leucous type. 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGIOX. 145 
 
 would not believe that a woman could have two 
 children by one husband ; at Agbome, where population 
 is wanted, the mother is honoured. So at the mouth 
 of the Benin River the parent and offspring are put to 
 death, and in the city of Great Benin the King makes 
 presents to the progenitrix. Amongst the Fanti, the 
 Attah is also respected, whereas in the Bonny River 
 the twin-mother is called a " she goat,^^ and is slain. 
 The twin fetish has no wives, and its offerings of little 
 pots and irons have been minutely described." 
 
 6. Sapatan, or small pox, the Buku god of Abeo- 
 kuta, and the Sitla Devi (small pox goddess) of the 
 Hindu.f 
 
 7. Takpwonun, the hippopotamus. 
 
 8. Kpo, the leopard — a royal fetish.;j: 
 
 9. Gbwe-ji, the great bush fetish, which helps hunts- 
 men and foresters. It is in the shape of a small snake, 
 marked like a boa. 
 
 * Chapter X. 
 
 t In the Dahoman vocabulary by Commander Forbes our " small- 
 pox" is translated Ahpotin kpe-vi, and explained in a foot-note, A 
 poh tee pell vee ; literally, small a poh tee." But Alcpotin, in tho 
 "Whydah dialect is a box, not a pox — hence the mistake, which is but 
 one in a thousand made in that vocabulary. 
 
 X In Dr. M'Leod's time it was confined to Dahome proper, " but they 
 deem it the safest way of worship to perform their acts of devotion to 
 his skin only, after death, which is stuffed for that purpose." 
 
 VOL. II. L 
 
146 
 
 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 10. Kpate, the first Whydah man who, sighting a 
 ship from his plantation, brought it to anchor by 
 waving a cloth tied to a long pole, and led the captain 
 into the town. Like Triptolemus, he is worshipped as 
 a benefactor to mankind. 
 
 11. Kpase, the man who helped Kpate. 
 
 12. Nate, the storekeeper of the sea, who is wor- 
 shipped by fishermen, and those who w^ork by water. 
 
 13. Avrekete, a fetish which steals the keys from 
 Nate and gives to man — hence he has some 500 wives. 
 
 14. Aizan, one of the many street gods which pro- 
 tect the market and the gate. It is a large or small 
 cone of clay, with a pipkin or a stone on the top or 
 at the base. Upon these are poured the consecrated 
 trash — flour, palm-oil, and boiled beans ; sometimes 
 fowls are killed for it, 
 
 15. Agasun, the old Makhi fetish that ruled Agbome 
 before Dako conquered it. It aided his enterprise, for 
 which reason the Agasun-no, or head fetishman, is at 
 the capital equivalent to the Hu-no of Whydah. Its 
 emblem is not known. The abode of the great fe- 
 tisheer, and the respect paid to him by the King and 
 multitude, have been described."' 
 
 * Chapter X. 
 
OF THE DAnOAIAN EELIGION. 147 
 
 16. Li (pronounced with 35, the peculiar Sanskrit I) 
 was a great fetish at Whydah, in charge of the town 
 before it was conquered by Agaja. The place of 
 worship is a little shed in the bush to the west of 
 Savi. 
 
 17. Lisa, the fetish of Khwezioso, the sun. Its 
 emblem is a red clay pot, with a cover of the same 
 material, striped white ; on the top is a rude chamelion 
 (agaman), that animal being the messenger of Lisa. 
 It is placed upon a swish heap and filled with water. 
 Sometimes meat and other food are offered to it. 
 
 18. Dohen, a Whydah fetish. It calls vessels and 
 strangers to the English fort when that building is 
 empty, consequently it is worshipped there. Goats 
 and fowls are sacrificed to it, and beans are especially 
 offered up. 
 
 19. Nesu, the proper Ffon fetish of Agbome, esta- 
 blished by Agaja the Conqueror. It is worshipped in 
 large sheds called Nesu-hwe, adjoining the various 
 palaces. Its water pot is known as Bagwe, and when 
 the fetish women, guarded by Amazons, pass in strings 
 towards the wells, they are fetching the element for 
 the mysterious rites of Nesu. 
 
 20. Ajaruma, the protecting fetish of white men at 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 A" MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Whydah. He also is represented in the English fort 
 by a tree and a pot inside a room. 
 
 21. Tokpodun, the crocodile, formerly worshipped at 
 Allada and Savi, where Captain Phillips Avas not allowed 
 to shoot it. All are now killed off. 
 
 22. Zo, the fire fetish. A pot is placed in a room 
 and sacrifice is offered to it, that fire may " live " 
 there, and not go forth tjo destroy the house. The Zo- 
 vodun has already been described.* 
 
 23. Aydo-whe-do, — commonly called Danh, the 
 Heavenly Snake, which makes the Popo beads and con- 
 fers wealth upon man, — is the rainbow. Its emblem is, 
 I have said, a coiled and horned snake of clay, in a 
 pot or calabash. This utensil, duly whitewashed, is 
 placed at the foot of a silk-cotton tree, or near hills 
 of white ants, which are called Danh's houses. The 
 Dahomans do not, as the French missionaries suppose, 
 adore insects. 
 
 Abeokuta has her lares.\ Benin boasts a profusion of 
 domestic altars, which are here unknown. The Daho- 
 mans practise, however, like all Yorubans, the worship 
 
 * Chapter lY. 
 
 t The images or teraphim of Laban and Micah (Gen. xxxi. 19, 30 ; 
 Judges xvii. 5). 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIQION. 
 
 149 
 
 of their own heads, in order to obtain good fortune/'''' 
 They do not, however, honour, Kke the Egba traveller, 
 their big toes.f The " head " worshipper, after providing 
 a fowl, kola nuts, rum and w^ater, bathes, dresses in pure 
 white baft, and seats himself on a clean mat. An old 
 woman with her medius finger-tip dipped in w^ater, 
 touches successively his forehead, poll, nape, and mid- 
 breast — sometimes all his joints. She then breaks a 
 kola into its natural divisions, throws them down like 
 dice, chooses a lucky piece, which she causes a b}^- 
 stander to chew, and w^ith his saliva retouches the parts 
 before alluded to. Tlie fowd is then killed by pulling 
 its body, the neck being held between the big and 
 first toe ; the same attoiichemens are performed with 
 its head, and finally with the boiled and shredded flesh, 
 before it is eaten. Meanwhile, rum and water are 
 drunk by those present. A quaint superstition ^ 
 
 The fetisheer is all powerful in Dahome. The last 
 monarch was notably desirous of modifying the horrors 
 and the expenses of the national worship ; his son has 
 been compelled to walk in the old path of blood. As 
 
 * So the Jews swore by their heads. The ceremony is called in Ffon, 
 E (he), wa (makes), ta (or ta-kun, the head), nun (thing). The Egbas 
 call it the Olori li ori," or Good Genius of Head. 
 
 t In Ffon, Afo-su;" in Egba, Ikpori." 
 
150 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 has been said, the King dismounts at the Agasu-no s 
 door, and prostrates to him ; besides which, he is 
 guided in all his movements by his Buko-no. When a 
 grandee passes the house of a common priest, the latter 
 comes to the entrance, pronounces an allocution in 
 the unintelHgible hierarchic tongue, whilst an acolyte 
 shrieks a response to his recitative, and both expect 
 largesse. 
 
 There are writers. Captain Adams for instance, who 
 would treat all the ecclesiastical body in West Africa as 
 mere impostors, which is much as if a Zulu, unable to 
 master the subject of Christianity, were to accuse every 
 European priest and parson of deliberate fraud. Fetish, 
 moreover, is, throughout the dark continent, the 
 strongest engine of government — a moral police — 
 whose sudden removal would break up society.'"' In 
 Dahome it gains strength from the peculiar form of 
 tyranny ; wherever despotism exists it must rest upon 
 a strong and popular faith, and it will find in its 
 ministrants the most persistent and conservative allies, 
 as they are the most interested in repeUing relaxation 
 
 * So it has been popularly said of M. Eenan's views, that an immense 
 revolution, and one which Christians never desire to see, would imme- 
 diately follow their general reception. 
 
OF TIIE DAHOMAN EELIGIOX. 151 
 
 of discipline. A notable case may be seen nearer home. 
 The French RepubHc was satisfied with a latitudina- 
 rianism of the amplest. The Napoleonic empire 
 must conciHate, if it cannot win over, the parti -pretre. 
 But the pohshed despotism tempers the superstition 
 and credulity of the ignorant many by the scepticism 
 and the rationalism of the educated few. The bar- 
 barous tyranny admits only the thaumaturgic extreme. 
 Amongst the turbulent Fanti there is considerable in- 
 fidehty touching fetish and its priests ; the Dahoman 
 must believe and tremble. 
 
 Theological studies are strict in this section of 
 Yoruba. The peculiar fetish is chosen after a fit of 
 ecstasy : abnormal brain action is not uncommon 
 amongst the negro races. During the fit the subject 
 rushes, as one distracted, to the idol, and, after violent 
 exertions, sinks fainting on the ground. When ho 
 recovers, the head-man informs him what fetish — the 
 sea, for instance, or the snake — has come to him ; and 
 that he adopts for life. This ecstasy is the Hal (J^) 
 of Arabia, the demoniacal possession of the Days of 
 Ignorance, the " spirit of prophecy amongst the Cami- 
 sards or Shakers, the " spirit " in Methodism, and the 
 "jerks" and "holy laughs'' of the camp-meeting. 
 
152 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 I have not seen it in Dahome, but old residents have 
 described it to me — all in almost identical terms. In 
 many points it resembles our modern spiritualism, 
 which a late writer {" From Matter to Spirit ") prefers 
 to "fix upon some cause, even if false, than upon 
 none." 
 
 The neophyte is then removed from his friends to 
 the fetish quarter of the town. There he learns the 
 holy fetish jargon, wdiich is unintelligible to the uniniti- 
 ated : the technical phraseology and the professional 
 twang — in fact, what John Foster calls " the vulgar 
 of religious authorship" — are the only traces of this 
 cnhghtened process still lingering in England. The 
 course, which extends through tw^o or three years, ends 
 wdth the songs, the dances, and the multifarious cere- 
 monies of the religious calling. The relatives then ransom 
 the acolyte, by paying sundry heads of cowries and 
 clothes, goats, and fowls to the principal ; and the youth, 
 gaudily dressed, is escorted home, where, for three 
 
 * Though objecting to the name, which involves a theory, it appears 
 to me, after long inquiry, to be the action of an abnormal state of the 
 brain, which renders it, to an unknown and as yet undefinable extent 
 independent of the external senses. It is less powerful in the sanguine 
 or lymphatic Englishman than in the peoples of Continental Europe ; 
 and is most remarkable in the highly nervous temperament of the 
 Anglo-American. 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 
 
 153 
 
 months, he will not make himself understood. At 
 Agbome there is an ordination. The aspirant is taken 
 before the King, who nvests him in a new cloth, 
 changes his name,* and addresses him touching his 
 future duties. 
 
 Many fetisheers retain their secular callings. Those 
 who have the cure of souls receive no regular pay, 
 but live well upon the benevolences of votaries who 
 desire health or wealth, issue, and length of days, to 
 detect a wizard or to destroy a foe. Formerly they 
 had as many fiieros as a Mexican ecclesiastic, and 
 were not liable to capital penalties. It was found 
 advisable to alter the system, and to punish them under 
 a legal fiction : whilst the fetish is " upon " the crimi- 
 nal, he is safe ; when the fit has passed off, he is put to 
 death. 
 
 Still, these fetisheers have many privileges. Both 
 sexes, for instance, may wear dresses forbidden to the 
 commonalty, and personal vanity in Africa emphati- 
 
 * There are in Dahome no hereditary or heraldic surnames and sire- 
 names like those of Europe. All are personal and significant ; they are 
 mostly given by the King, who often renews them. So in 2 Kings 
 xxiii. 34, Pharaoh-nechoh turned the name of Eliakim, son of 
 Josiah, to Jehoiakim. And lately, Napoleon I. made all his vassal 
 brethren assume his first as the dynastic name. 
 
154 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 cally knows no sore. The men shave half their heads 
 or confine the hair in white cahco : many also carry 
 a chauri, or fly-flap, of horse or cow-tail. Their cos- 
 tume is arbitrary, parts of it having been borrowed, 
 apparently, from the Portuguese priests at Whydah. 
 The women, especially the wives of the small-pox god, 
 are also " half-heads : some decorate their hair with 
 bunches of small East Indian cowries, beads, or bright 
 flowers, others with the feathers of little red birds 
 planted upright, so as to make them resemble horned 
 owls ; whilst others wear the Ta-bla, or broad-brimmed 
 steeple-hats, with tall thin crowns, before described. 
 There are many other coiffures — caps adorned, like the 
 hair, with shells and bouquets, fillets, and so forth. 
 They cover the bosom with kerchiefs ; and gaudy- 
 coloured cloths, extending to their feet, are girt round 
 the waist, where the stuff turns over with a fall or 
 narrow flap. Both sexes, especially the Mau or moon 
 fetish-women, prefer, as ornaments, long strings of 
 cowries doubled back to back, with a single black seed * 
 separating the pairs. These are passed, baldric-like, 
 over the shoulder, and hang down by the side. I have 
 
 * It is called Attikun, and is said to be produced by a tall tree grow- 
 ing at a distance from Agbome. 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 
 
 155 
 
 alluded to their other implements in the course of these 
 pages. 
 
 About a quarter of the female population in Dahome 
 
 may be fetisheeresses, and girls are married to the fetish 
 
 before their birth. These Vodun-vi" are trained like 
 
 the men, and though but slaves, are greatly respected 
 « 
 
 by the laity. How the sea-marriages and others are 
 conducted, no one knows ; scandals are, of course, rife, 
 but who can substantiate them '? The husband may 
 not chastise or interfere with his wife whilst the fetish 
 is " upon her, and even at other times the use of the 
 rod might be dangerous. f During the Customs these 
 women pass the forenoon in begging cowries : about 
 4 P.M. they don their clerical habits at the fetish house, 
 march in Indian file to the squares, where the public 
 dances are performed, and so excite themselves by 
 music and violent exercise that ecstatic fits are often 
 induced. When the fete is over, they re-assume the 
 laical garb and return home. 
 
 The most peculiar, and perhaps the least noticed, 
 
 * Vodun (fetish), vi (a child). The name is especially applied to 
 children claimed by a fetish. 
 
 t The old travellers inform us, that in their days these ladies used to 
 lord it over their lords to such an extent, that to espouse a sanctified 
 woman was like marrying an heiress in civilised lands. 
 
156 A ]\nSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 tenet of Dahoman religion is the " continuance theory," 
 Avhich was apparently raised to a doctrine by the sons 
 of Misraim, and which the great Lawgiver of Israel 
 almost expelled from his system. Of the Egyptians 
 it was said that they lived in Hades rather than on the 
 banks of the Nile : the Dahomans call this world their 
 " plantation," and the next their " home." I am unable 
 to decide whether it is a spontaneous idea, or whether it 
 immigrated in olden times, as all Africa's poor arts and 
 arms show a once general intercourse, from that neutral 
 region between the Semite and the Hamite. We 
 trace it throughout pagan Yoruba and the Gold Coast, 
 and it shows no signs of a Christian or a Moslem origin. 
 It is essentially prosaic, as among the vulgar of Europe. 
 Former travellers vaguely allude to a rude notion of 
 futurity in the native mind : perhaps the idea has 
 since grown ; possibly, the observer Med to break 
 through native secretiveness. 
 
 Ku-to-men, or Dead-land,'^ is the place which 
 
 * Ku (dead), to (land), men (in, here pleonastic). It is the " Saman- 
 madi" of the Fanti,andthe ''Ipo-oku" of the Egbas. Mr. Duncan (vol. i. 
 p. 116), mentions a Custom held on April 11, 1845, ''to ensure to the 
 spirits of departed friends a safe and easy passage across the great 
 Avaters westward. They mean the river Votta (Yolta). If this custom 
 were not kept up, they believe the spirits would wander on the banks for 
 the space of 100 years, before they would have performed sufficient 
 
OF THE DAIIOM.VN RELIGION. 157 
 
 receives the " nidou," or ghostly part of man pro- 
 ceeding from him after death. This " next Avorld " 
 offers none of those rewards and punishment by ^Yhich, 
 according to the Semitic animist, the balance of good 
 and evil in this life is to be struck. He who escapes 
 punishment here, is safe hereafter ; there the earthly 
 king is a king, the slave a slave for ever and ever ; the 
 hunter and warrior shall continue their favourite pur- 
 suits, and all will busy themselves with the affairs of 
 the living. When sunshine accompanies rain, the people 
 say that the ghosts are going to market, and w4th 
 us the devil beats his wdfe. It is impossible to deter- 
 mine whether the departed are looked upon in the 
 light of our spirits, souls, ghosts, or pale shades w^ander- 
 ing by the gloomy river : they are probably nothing 
 but the embodiment of the animal horror of death. 
 Consequently, Satan and other Semitic machinery are 
 absolutely unknown. Ku-to-men is, in fact, a Sweden- 
 borgian reproduction of this world, and it is placed 
 under the earth. Of course it has been visited as often 
 as St. Patrick's "purgatory.'' Many men, falling ill, 
 
 penance for their friends' neglect." But this is a mixture of European 
 classical belief and the creed of the Gold Coast, especially of the Ga, 
 or Accra race, \shose ghosts dwell beyond the Volta. 
 
158 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 believe themselves to be summoned by some ancestral 
 ghost : they rejDair to certain priests — mostly those of 
 the small-pox, the iron, the poison-tree, and the rain- 
 bow gods — not those of the snake or the sea — and pay 
 a dollar fee for the holy man to descend and deliver 
 their excuses. The fetisheer covers himself with a 
 cloth, and, after his trance, reports how, down among 
 the dead men, he found the shades eating, drinking, 
 and making merry. He will even bring back from 
 Hades rare beads known to have been buried with a 
 certain corpse ; and sometimes he must pawn his 
 clothes to obtain a specimen or a counterfeit. One of 
 these worthies on the Gold Coast, after returning with 
 a declaration that he had left a marked coin in Dead- 
 land, dropped it from his waist-cloth at the feet of 
 the payer whilst drinking rum. But populus vuU 
 decipi. Some fetisheers, exactly like our mediums, 
 pretend to summon the ghosts. On the other hand, 
 the departed often returns to earth in the body of a 
 child, and 3^et remains in Dead-land — an idea which 
 some travellers have confounded with metempsychosis. 
 Curious to relate, the Dahomans have a morbid fear of 
 losing life : death is never mentioned in the King's 
 presence except by some euphuism, as " the tree has 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION. 
 
 159 
 
 fallen." As a rule, the more precise the knowledge of 
 and the belief in a future world, the less value do 
 the believers attach to present existence. 
 
 With so many priests the people must have nume- 
 rous ceremonies. The child's name is given on the 
 eighth day after the Buko-no has pronounced what 
 ancestor has sent it. The Genesitic precept (xvii. 10), 
 here called Adda-gbwibo, is not confined to the priestly 
 practitioner. At Whydah it is effected between the 
 twelfth and sixteenth year ; at Agbome it is deferred 
 till the twentieth : consequently, many fall ill after it, 
 and some die. The roughly-performed operation is 
 rendered peculiar by a double cut above and below : it 
 is rather in the Moslem than in the Jewish fashion, but 
 it is doubtless indigenous, as amongst many tribes of 
 Central Africa. Hot sand is applied as a styptic to 
 the wound ; the patient is dieted with ginger soup and 
 warm drinks of ginger water, pork being especially 
 forbidden to him. The sister operation, excision, 
 wonderful to say, is entirely unknown ; the reverse being 
 so much the custom, that a woman in the natural state 
 is derided by others. The artiste is some ancient sage 
 femme, and the effect is an exaggeration of that which 
 particularised the Hottentot Venus dissected by Cuvier. 
 
IGO A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The Dalioman marriage is somewhat complicated. 
 The aspirant sends to his intended father-in-law's house 
 a man and a woman with two double flasks of rum. 
 These Mercuries open the affair, after many prelimi- 
 naries, by saying, " Our uncle wishes to wed one of 
 your girls." The parent inquires and learns the 
 suitor s name, after which the proxies retire. If Afa 
 return a favourable reply, the family is informed of 
 the coming event, and the empty flasks are sent back, 
 to signify consent and to grant affiance. This honour 
 is acknowledged by two other and full flasks ; at the 
 same time two heads of cowries and two cottons for his 
 fiancee being forwarded by Coelebs. He then collects as 
 much cloth as he can,^'' and this task may occupy three 
 years, during which he is expected to perform all Cus- 
 toms which the girl may have omitted, such as sacrifice 
 for her grandmother and other relatives. 
 
 On the " happy day — which is always Sunday — 
 three messengers with flasks of rum are sent by the 
 bridegroom at morning, noon, and sunset, to beg their 
 daughter from her parents. A large cortege brings 
 the bride to her future home. The father and mother 
 
 * The price of a wife, young and uncorrupted," in Virginia, about 
 1620^ was 100 lbs. of tobacco, each pound worth three shillings. 
 
OF THE DATIOMAN EELIGION. IGl 
 
 are seated upon chairs, and ensues a general feast and 
 carouse, as many goats and pigs as possible being 
 cooked ; the banquet begins and ends with water and 
 then rum. 
 
 After midnight the bridegroom retires to his sleeping 
 chamber, and sits on his couch. Three or four fetish- 
 women, holding the girl's wrists, lead her in and place 
 her two hands in his, saying, " Take your wife, we give 
 her to you ; flog her if she is bad, and feed and clothe 
 her well if she pleases you/' They then drink water, 
 rum, gin, and liqueurs with the new couple; and at 3 
 or 4 A.M. retire, leaving them to become haron and 
 feme. 
 
 The Dahomans are not behind the people of Europe 
 in attaching an extravagant value to the primitive. 
 According to Mosaic custom, the bridegroom at once 
 bears rejoicing to his people the piece of grey or white 
 baft which covers the nuptial couch. On the bride's 
 side, a young girl, left purposely in the house when the 
 parents and friends have retired, runs off with the 
 discoloured " languti," or T-bandage, here universally 
 worn. Great rejoicings follow the demonstration that 
 the daughter has proved herself an iUihata virgo. 
 Should the other thing happen, some men send 
 
 VOL. II. M 
 
162 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 home tlieir brides^ in wrath,* and demand back their 
 property of the father, who seeks out the author of 
 his family disgrace and compels him to pay substantial 
 damages. 
 
 If all has passed off well, the husband, early on Mon- 
 day morning, carries cowries and rum, as presents, to 
 the parents of his spouse. The bride, after a week's 
 cohabitation, returns to her old home. On the first 
 Saturday she cooks food, and sends it to her master, 
 who on the next morning returns a gift of cloth, and 
 from ten to forty heads of cowries : dollars, however, 
 are not refused. On the same evening the bride re- 
 turns permanently to her abode, and on Monday 
 morning she visits the market and buys liquor and 
 provisions as a final feast for her husband's family. 
 When the short period, corresponding with our honey- 
 moon, has elapsed, she joins the rest of the wives in the 
 field or the plantation, and subsides into a quasi-servile 
 position. The vile trick of alluring the unwary into 
 crim, con., is as well understood at Agbome as at 
 Abeokuta. 
 
 The barren woman is called, in Ffon, " wen-si-no ; 
 the Dahoraan, however, does not, like the Egba, attribute 
 
 * The Jews were more ferocious (Deut. xxii. 21). 
 
OF THE DAHO]MAN EELIGIOX. 163 
 
 her misfortune to bad health, nor is the ^'ord insult- 
 ing, as it generally is in Asia and Africa. As usual, 
 throughout savage Africa, osculation is unknown, even 
 by name, and an offer to " salute " on the part of a 
 white man is attributed to a display of his cannibal 
 propensities. 
 
 Curious to say, there is in barbarous Dahome a 
 coroner's inquest after every death. The kings, who 
 here monopolise murder, hearing that many masters 
 killed their slaves, established in all the towns " Gevi," 
 or oflScers charged with controlling the abuse. When a 
 death is reported they must inspect the body ; and 
 their fee for certif^^ing a natural death is a head and a 
 half of cowries. Then begins the chio-nun, or corpse 
 time or mourning,'^ during which the weeping relatives 
 must fast, and refrain from bathing, but not from sing- 
 ing and dram-drinking. The body is shaved, washed, 
 and habited in its best attire, with bracelets, necklaces, 
 and other ornaments, not forgetting a piece of cloth as 
 a change of raiment when arriving in Dead-land. A 
 coffin is made of bamboo, or of native or foreign wood ; 
 its huge size denotes, as in tlie Congo regions, a 
 caboceer. The body is disposed on one side, as if 
 sleeping. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Except under peculiar circumstances,* the corpse, as 
 usual in Guinea from the Kru country to the south 
 coast, is interred, either in its own house or in the 
 abode of certain ancestors. An oblong grave is dug 
 for the coffin : the paupers, who are buried WTapped 
 up in palm-matting, are placed, as among the Moslems, 
 in a niche offsetting from a circular pit. The body is 
 lowered with ropes, earth is filled in, and the ground 
 is smoothened with water. After mourning nine days, 
 the men and women relatives and friends visit the 
 wives and family of the deceased, join in the myriology, 
 and dash to them cowries and cloths to decorate the 
 last home. 
 
 /' Here bring the last sad gifts — with these 
 The last lament be said ; 
 Let all that pleased, and still may please 
 Be buried with the dead." 
 
 When a human sacrifice is made the head is placed 
 upon the grave, and the body is interred alongside of 
 the corpse so honoured. Usually they plant over the 
 dead an Asen, or short cresset-shaped iron, upon whose 
 flat top water or blood, as a drink for the deceased, is 
 
 * As royal blood must not be shed, Tegbwesun (Bossa Ahadi) threw 
 his brother Zingab into the sea off Whydah. 
 
OF THE DAHOMAN EELIGION". 
 
 165 
 
 poured. When a Daboman is interred abroad, a little 
 earth from his tomb is brought home.* 
 
 At Whydah missionary enterprise is still young ; it 
 is therefore not to be judged as if it had enjoyed a fair 
 trial. But all who know how deeply rooted is fetishism 
 in the negro brain, will despair of the nineteenth suc- 
 ceeding better than the sixteenth century. In our 
 modern day the good work has begun here with the 
 curse of sectarian theology upon it : Catholics and Pro- 
 testants working against one another in the same field. 
 I leave Messrs. Wallon and Dawson to speak each for 
 the success of his own " doxy,'' and for the probable 
 failure of the others : — 
 
 M. Wallox. 
 " Des bannieres, des tableaux 
 pieux, des images, des medailles 
 distribuees comme grisgris, devipn- 
 draient fetiches pour eux et les 
 
 Mk. DAWSOlf. 
 
 "Fetish has been strengthened 
 by the white man, whom the igno- 
 rant blacks would not scruple to 
 call a god if he could avoid death. f 
 
 * Amongst the Egbas and various tribes of the Congo family (Dou- 
 Tille, Yoyage au Congo, vol. i. chap. 13), various small parts of the 
 body are brought home to be reinterred. 
 
 t This is good testimony upon a point which only interest or the 
 veriest ignorance would dispute. Almost every West African tongue 
 testifies that the speakers consider white men supernatural beings on 
 account of their vast superiority, in all the arts of life, to these poor 
 pagans. The Krumen call Europeans Ku-be, or the ghost-tribe ; the 
 Efik tribe of Old Calabar, Mbum Ekpo, or spirit men, and the Mpongwe 
 of the Gaboon River, Mbuiri or ghost, and so on. 
 
1G6 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 disposeraient a connaitre les signes 
 qu'ils doivent respecter. Avec leur 
 tendance h nous considerer comme 
 r^ellement superieurs a eux et leur 
 croyance que cette superiorite 
 nous est acquise par celle de notre 
 Dieu, ils renonceraient bientot aux 
 leurs pour adorer celui que nous 
 leur prions de connaitre ! Les 
 femmes et les vieillards seraient 1^ 
 comme partout les plus difficiles h 
 vaiucre ; mais on s'emparerait aise- 
 ment de I'esprit des enfans dans un 
 pays qui de lui-meme a une veri- 
 table disposition £i la civilisation." 
 
 N.B. All of which is contra- 
 dicted by actual experiment. 
 
 Gezo told me that, hearing the 
 white man's god was at the beach, 
 he was surprised, thinking that 
 he lived above, but ordered the 
 Yevo-gan to bring him on shore. 
 When this was done, the people 
 found ''gods many," like their 
 own, the work of men's hands, 
 only better made, and brought 
 them, with firing and drumming, to 
 a house built for them in the town. 
 The King had now not only his 
 own but the white man's gods, and 
 thus he easily prevailed over the 
 Oyos, whom his father could not 
 drive out. Were not these grounds 
 strong to compel the African's 
 mind to a complete reliance on the 
 ef&cacy of his fetish ? " 
 
 N.B. Much of which has been 
 proved to be true by the "in- 
 exorable logic of facts." 
 
 I cannot better conclude tliis chapter than with the 
 words of an old traveller : It is morally impossible by 
 mere human ministry to convince the people of their 
 errors and gross paganism, as it is to convert all other 
 blacks, unless Providence would effect a prodigious 
 change in their natures by its infinite irresistible grace.' ^ 
 
CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 THE Sm-KWAIN,'^ OR lYATER-SPRINKLING CUSTOM. 
 
 This ceremony follows closely upon the So-sin, or 
 Horse-tie rites. All the Dahoman kings are interred, I 
 have said, in the palace of Agbome, where their graves 
 are in different buildings. The King, how^ever, must 
 repair to the several abodes of his ancestors in the 
 order of their succession, and he usually sleeps five to 
 eight nights in each house. The ghosts of the old 
 kings are induced to lend their aid in present wars by 
 their tombs being sprinkled Avith water ; which in Da- 
 home means, of course, blood, and that blood, human. 
 
 On January 9th, 1863, the King, after " giving water 
 to his father in the Komasi Palace, passed about night- 
 fall with loud singing, drumming, and firing, to the gate 
 
 * Sin (water), kwain (sprinkling). This is generally called Giving 
 water to the spirits of ancestors, and Commander Forbes writes the 
 word, See-que-'ah-hee {passim). 
 
168 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 of Aho, in the Agbome House. This monarch, the 
 Adahoonzou 1. of our histories, is the second of the hst, 
 being the son of Dako (Tacoodonou), the Romulus of 
 Dahome. Yet he is preferred before his sire in all rites 
 and ceremonies, Dako being looked upon as a mere 
 captain, Aho as the founder of the capital, and the 
 originator of the gong-gong beaters, or heralds. There 
 is a legend, that he made during his father's life a 
 public assertion of royal dignity, by committing the 
 offence which Ahitophel prescribed to Absolom.*" 
 
 On the present occasion the King was hurried ; 
 during this moon of the last year he had set out on 
 his campaign ; he therefore passed, after the second 
 day, to the old Dahoman palace, where the same pious 
 rites were performed for Dako (Tacoodonou), and Akaba 
 (Weebaigah), the third king. Wishing to see the cere- 
 mony, which is not usually shown to strangers, I spoke 
 to the Buko-no, who sent a message to summon us at 
 2 P.M. We were accompanied by Mr. Dawson, the 
 ex-missionary. Having once been detained eighty-five 
 days at Agbome by the present King, who is worse 
 than his father, f he had sent so many excuses to the 
 
 * Josephus (lib. 7. chap. 10). 
 
 t The captivity of a visitor at Agbome is complete. Europeans usually 
 
THE SIN-KWAIN, OR WATEE-SPRINKLING CUSTOM. 169 
 
 royal invitations, which here are commands, that all 
 expected to see him brought up by force. Setting out 
 from the north-western corner of the Agbome Palace, 
 along the broad road which surrounds it, we met at 
 that hot hour few of the bell-ringing she-slaves that 
 usually infest the thoroughfare. It led us to the north 
 side of the royal enceinte, which is upwards of a geo- 
 graphical mile in circumference ; here a rough fence of 
 palm mats and a humble entrance denoted the place 
 where a clay wall and a barn gate would be built, and 
 called after Zoindi, the King s mother. After passing 
 another mean entrance, we came to that of Senunme, 
 mother of Agongoro, the usual sloping shed backed by 
 the swish wall, which here became continuous. A few 
 paces beyond it was the Porte of Agontime, mother of 
 Gezo, distinguished by a perpendicular line of ten skulls 
 set in the outer face of the wall, and four horizontally 
 disposed in its depth at right angles to the door, to 
 which a single cranium was nailed. This gate opens to 
 the north-w^est, upon a cleared space, with fine sward, 
 dotted with thick-shaded trees ; on both sides of the 
 entrance are figs, and beyond this " Green Park " rises 
 
 begin to talk of leaving on the day of their arrival at the capital, or the 
 people will be persuaded that the whites desire to remain. 
 
170 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 a clump of dirty mat huts — the Ajyahi market. Here 
 on alternate years, the Human Sacrifices of the Plat- 
 forms are performed by the King, who throws to his 
 subjects cloths and cowries, captives and criminals. 
 Two stages are erected for this tragedy, one, the Akho- 
 su Atto, or King's Platform, due north of the gate ; the 
 other Addo-kpon, or the Bush King's stage, rises a little 
 to the west of where the market sheds now stand, 
 clustering round a gigantic and obscene clay image of 
 the Bo-god. At the north-eastern extremity of the 
 green stands a national trophy, a large heap of granite 
 stones, brought, one by each soldier, from the hill fort of 
 Kenglo,''' when " Ho-ho " — Mr. Duncan — was insulted, 
 and which Gezo, his host, razed to the ground. Further 
 lies Abiji, the Potter's Field of Dahome, where thick 
 smoke may often be seen in the morning. 
 
 Beyond the Ajyahi market, the Green Park, and the 
 Potteries, are two gates, bearing the name of Chai, 
 mother of Tegbvvesun (Bossa Ahadi), and near it 
 a small entrance where pots made in the palace are 
 exposed for sale. Ceramics are here in the same con- 
 dition as Palissy found them three centuries ago 
 
 * Or Kengro, the Koglo of Mr. Duncan (vol. ii. chap. 3). Ho-ho 
 means a tall man. 
 
THE SIN-KWAIN, OR WATER-SPRINKLING CUSTOM. 171 
 
 throughout Europe. The material, clay, glittering with 
 mica, is brought by women from a neighbouring water 
 called Diddo, and is hand-made ; the wheel, as usual 
 in Africa, is unknown to the skilful Zen-men-to,'^ who 
 are not, however, confined to the palace. The smaller 
 fictile wares fetch seven to fifteen strings, the larger 
 water-jars half a head, or one shilling each, and the 
 price rises high at Whydah. They are under-baked, 
 and of unequal thickness, therefore of extreme fragility, 
 and the roads are strewed with their debris. 
 
 Near the palace-potteries houses crowd upon the 
 outside wall, which has another gate; from this the 
 royal women go forth to fetch wood and water : it is 
 also provided with two exterior sheds, under which 
 men shelter themselves when waiting. The seventh 
 entrance has a large barn, called after Ahwanjile, 
 mother of Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou 11.) , and beyond 
 it at the north-eastern corner of the enceinte is that of 
 Addono, mother of Agaja the Conqueror, fronted by a 
 fetish shed, resting upon two mud columns, chequered 
 with whitewash and grey-black. 
 
 Here we turned off to the left,t where a very torn 
 
 * Zen (pot), men (person, or making ?), to (one that does). 
 
 t Passing Addono's Gate to the right we find a deep angle in the 
 
172 
 
 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 and tattered swish wall showed us that we were at the 
 Dahome Palace, the cradle of the royal family. Opposite 
 the entrance was a small open space, and behind us on 
 to the south was the palace of the Min-gan, who, like 
 the Men, has the charge of victims and state prisoners. 
 From where our chairs were placed, little was to be 
 seen, — two humble thatch roofs, and a pair of silver or 
 plated imitations of birds, peering above the old en- 
 ceinte ; sounds were heard inside, and at times we were 
 passed by men beating together solid bars of iron and 
 blowing through the four-holed flageolets, here called 
 Pwete.* After sending in vain sundry messages to the 
 King, we became wearied of the seance, and returned 
 
 palace wall, where water is poured out to King Aho (Adahoouzou I.), at 
 an entrance called Patin sa, near the Patin-tree." Beyond it an avenue 
 of pollarded trees, leading to nothing, encloses a long and large ridge, 
 such as were turned up by the hoe in the good old times : it is still kept 
 as a model. Further eastward, and going under the usual *'Vo" 
 gallows with a central mat, we come to the Han-ho-nukun-ji Gate, 
 where Agaja the Conqueror's palace begins. The next building of any 
 importance in the enceinte is tbe Agrigomen Gate, which, like the whole 
 of the southern and south-western side, has been described in Chap. X. 
 
 * The word is a corruption of the Fanti keti." It is an artless reed, 
 open at both ends, with a little notch in the mouth-piece, which is 
 scraped thin to divide the wind. Mr. Dalzel remarks (Introd., p. xi.) 
 that " the King's women understand and practise the combination of the 
 perfect concords, thirds and fifths," and that their little airs, played 
 upon the flute and other instruments, are not inelegant. Dr. Bowdich 
 describes " the soft breathings of the long flutes" at Ashante as being 
 
THE SIN-KWAIN", OR WATER-SPEINKLINa CUSTOM. 173 
 
 home to make a serious " palaver with the " landlord." 
 His excuse was that the soYereign had been pronounc- 
 ing a long speech, which could not be interrupted. I 
 imagine that Gelele does not wish strangers to see 
 the nakedness of his old palaces, or the thinness of the 
 company in them assembled. Perhaps also the pre- 
 sence of the victims may have something to do with 
 the exclusiveness. 
 
 The following is an account of the " Water-sprink- 
 ling " rites, given to me by an eye-witness. The victims 
 on each occasion are said not to exceed two, and I have 
 heard of the King judging one hundred and sixty, and 
 dismissing all without capital punishment. The tomb 
 is approached with animals of all sorts, from a bullock 
 to a pigeon, w^ith water, rum, kola-nuts, and many 
 minor things. Whilst the ministers and captains are, 
 like the King, on all fours, the Dahoman form of kneel- 
 ing, before the tomb, a Tansi-no priestess, of blood- 
 
 " truly melodious." Dr. M'Leod (p. 96) finds the flageolets of Dahome 
 Tery sweet, and in the next page gives the following sample of an air : — 
 
174 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 royal, offers up to the Ghost a prayer for its Hving 
 descendant's long life and prosperity, and all of the 
 ancestral shades are invoked at each palace. She then 
 pours water and rum upon the grave, which is after- 
 wards sprinkled with the blood of men and beasts, then 
 and there killed. The non-human meat is finally 
 dressed, and a "tavo,"' or table, is spread," the stool 
 of the deceased being placed upon it as an emblem of 
 his presence, and meat and drink are strewed upon the 
 mats around it. This part ends with a general dis- 
 tribution of the provisions — the royal portion being 
 sent inside the palace. Mr. Bernasko described the 
 ceremony, which he was permitted to see, as follows : 
 An enclosure of cloth surrounded the stool, or some 
 similar relic of the departed ; a Tansi-no woman entered 
 within it and prayed ; and lastly, the King, after per- 
 forming his orisons, sprinkled on the ground, to the 
 right of the throne, rum, water, and native beer. Ifc is 
 said by some that the monarch drinks a glass of blood 
 at the Dahome Palace, but this sensational report is 
 highly improbable. 
 
 On January 14th, Gelele proceeded to the Agrin-go- 
 men House, and watered the grave of the great Agaja 
 Dosu, who received a pair of victims. The next day 
 
THE SIN-KWAIX, OE WATEE-SPEIXKLING CUSTOM. 175 
 
 saw liim at the palace of the King Tegbwesun (Bossa 
 Ahadi), outside the western walls of Agbome, in a 
 place called Adan-do-^kpo-ji Daho. " He then removed 
 to the Lisehnnzof or House of Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou 
 IL), which lies north of its neighbour, and separated by 
 fields which abound in partridges. Both are approached 
 by a poor gate in the city enceinte, called Sikpo. 
 During the firing which accompanied these pilgrimages, 
 several accidents occurred. On the evening of the 
 16th, the King returned to Bwe-kon, a kind of village, 
 near the Komasi Palace, where there is a Kwe-gbo, or 
 old and bush-grown enceinte, belonging to Agongoro 
 (Wheenoohew), his grandfather. About midnight a 
 servant of the Matro, whose left hand had been shattered 
 by the bursting of the musket, awoke us with loud and 
 piteous cries of Ye-e-e-ge ! J Dr. Haran had treated 
 an Amazon for the same accident, and Mr. Cruikshank 
 had excised a tumour from the forehead of another sol- 
 dieress; neither of these had uttered a groan. The 
 Kino; showed as much anxietv for the man's hurt as if 
 
 * Meaning Adan (brave), do (live), 'kpo (high place), ji (he stops or 
 lives). Daho is great. Some call it Adan-do-'kpo-ji Khe-sa, from khe 
 (a kind of tree), and sa (under). 
 
 t Lise (a tree befor described), and hun-zo, a kind of fetish. 
 
 t In Fanti, Mewo ! or megva '—"My father ! " 
 
176 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 he had been a caboceer. The wrist bones being 
 shattered, and the thumb hanging by a strip of flesh, 
 Mr. Cruikshank proposed an amputation. Having 
 ascertained that we had no chloroform, and determined 
 that without such medicine so terrible an operation 
 could never be endured by man, the King refused his 
 consent, and the Buko-no removed the thumb and 
 dressed the wound after his own fashion. This piece 
 of conservative surgery was by no means successful, 
 the man dying, probably of suppuration, a few days 
 afterwards. Finally, on January 19th, the King re- 
 turned with great noise and tumult to his father's palace 
 of Komasi ; and so ended the " Water-sprinkling '' cus- 
 tom of 1864. 
 
 At the risk of repetition, I must again refer to a 
 curious fixed idea in England, absonant withal, touch- 
 ing human sacrifice at Dahome. It is no mere lust of 
 blood nor delight in torture and death 'that underlies 
 the rite in these lands. The King has to perform a 
 disagreeable task over his ancestral graves, and he 
 does it; his subjects would deem it impious were he 
 to curtail or to omit the performance, and suddenly to 
 suppress it would be as if a European monarch were 
 forcibly to abolish prayers for the dead. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 OF "THE negro's PLACE IN NATURE." 
 
 " Vices the most notorious seem to be the portion of this unhappy 
 race — idleness, treachery, revenge, crueltj^, impudence, stealing, lying, 
 profanity, debauchery, and intemperance, are said to have extinguished 
 the princij)les of natural law and to have silenced the reproofs of con- 
 science. They are strangers to every sentiment of compassion, and are 
 an awful example of the corruption of man when left to himself." — 
 Encyclopedia Britannica, Art. Negro" (1797). 
 
 TO THE FOUNDER OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
 OF LONDON, 
 
 JAMES HUNT, Esq., Ph.D., F.S.A., etc. etc. etc. 
 
 " My Dear Hunt, 
 
 "I have read with pleasure and profit your 
 able and courageous paper on the 'Negro's Place in 
 Nature.' It shows the reason why, at the last meeting 
 of the British Association, you were received with those 
 encouraging sounds, which suggested a mob of Eve's 
 tempters rather than a scientific assembly of her 
 
 VOL. ir. N 
 
17S 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 descendants. Truth — especially new Truth — will ever 
 meet with some such left-handed compliment, which 
 is, however, the sincerest homage. Those hisses would 
 have sounded in my ears far sweeter than any cheers. 
 In the case of your able supporter, my friend Mr. C. 
 Carter Blake, I can only hope that he shared in your 
 honours. 
 
 " Like other students of anthropology, I am truly 
 grateful to you for having so graphically shown the 
 great gulf, moral and physical, separating the black 
 from the white races of men, and for having placed in so 
 striking a light the physiological cause of the difference 
 — namely, the arrested physical development of the 
 negro. There is hardly a traveller, however unobser- 
 vant, who has not remarked the peculiar and pre- 
 cocious intelligence of the African's childhood, his 
 'turning stupid' as the general phrase is, about the 
 age of puberty, and the rapid declension of his mental 
 powers in old age, — a process reminding us of the 
 simiad. It is pleasant to see anatomically discovered 
 facts harmonising with, and accounting for, the pro- 
 visionary theories of those who register merely what 
 they have observed. M. Gratiolet's Eureka, that in 
 the occipital or lower breeds of mankind, the sutures 
 
OF "THE XEGEO'S PLACE IX XATUEE." 179 
 
 of the cranium close at an earlier age than amongst 
 the frontal races, admirably explains the phenomenon 
 which has struck the herd of men, however incu- 
 rious : it assigns a physical cause for the inferiority 
 of the negro, whose psychical and mental powers 
 become stationary at an age when, in nobler races, 
 the perceptive and reflective principles begin to claim 
 ascendancy. 
 
 " In the letter prefixed to your excellent paper, you 
 have called upon me for my experience of the psycho- 
 logical character of the negro race. My opinions have 
 been formed mostly by comparing, after ten years 
 of travel, ' on and oflf,' the Africans with the Western 
 Asiatics, amongst whom I have Hved eight years, for 
 the most part like one of themselves. This chapter is 
 therefore dedicated to you, with the especial hope that 
 your paper, which is a credit to English anthropology, 
 may, in course of time, be expanded into a volume. The 
 subject naturally parts itself into three : 1. The popu- 
 lar opinion touching the negro in the pre-Abolitionist 
 times ; 2. The general sentiments during that period 
 of violent reaction ; and, 3. The present state of the 
 public mind when it is gradually setthng into a 
 middle and rational course. After being for some 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 years ' paradoxical ' in my conviction of the innate and 
 enduring inferiority of a race which has had so many an 
 opportunity of acquiring civiHsation, but which has ever 
 dehberately rejected improvement, I find that the 
 rising authors are beginning to express opinions far 
 more decided than mine, and I foresee the futurity 
 of hard compulsory labour which the negromaniac wdll 
 have brought upon his African protege. The philan- 
 thropico-criminal movement that began with Howard, 
 has at last reached, we are told, its limit of exaggera- 
 tion, and the pendulum begins slowly to swing back. 
 It is the same with the negro, and as travelling be- 
 comes more common, and the world knows more about 
 him, he will lose prestige every year. In his case, as 
 with the criminal, though there is little danger of our 
 relapsing into cruelties of which we read with shame, 
 yet there is an ill time coming. For sons may avenge 
 the credulity of their sires, by running into the clear 
 contrary extremes, and the unnatural 'man and brother' 
 of the day may relapse into the ' nigger,' the ' savage,' 
 and the ' semi-gorilla ' of the morrow. Already there 
 is a dawn of belief in a specific difference between the 
 races, which, carried out, leads to strange conclusions. 
 Perhaps — permit me to observe — our society could do 
 
OF " THE NEGRO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 181 
 
 nothing more useful than to determine what significa- 
 tion the debated word ' species ' should convey to tlie 
 English anthropologist. But the committee appointed 
 to report on the terminology of that science of which 
 we are the humble students, will probably have done so 
 before these lines are published. 
 
 " The following remarks were written at Agbome 
 long before I had seen your pamphlet, and but little 
 has been added to the original sketch. With you I 
 deprecate any political object being attributed to them. 
 
 * I do confess it is my nature's plague 
 To spy into abuses.' 
 
 But this inclination is not indulged, as some unwar- 
 rantably believe, from any ' spite ^ against, ' anti- 
 pathy ^ to, or ' instinctive aversion ^ from the negro, 
 whom I regard as both useful and valuable in his 
 proper Place in Nature ; nor have I any wish to ' scare 
 or outrage ' any ' class,' by ' rabid flying at any- 
 thing with a natural or artificial black coat.' These be 
 Irishisms. 
 
 " Hoping that your able President-ship will long con- 
 tinue to conduct the affairs of our young society with the 
 unexampled success of the last two years, and beHeving 
 
♦ 
 
 182 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 with you that it is destined to accompHsh the great and 
 important objects for which it was estabhshed, 
 
 " I subscribe myself, 
 " My dear Hunt, 
 
 " Yours very faithfully, 
 "EiCHARD F. Burton." 
 
 When doctors are differing, and the professionally 
 learned are disputing, about the existence or non- 
 existence of a great structural gulf between the black 
 and white races, it behoves the empirical student, in other 
 words the traveller, to record his experience of, and to 
 offer his opinion upon, the workings of the African^s 
 mental machinery. By these means we can obtain an 
 a 'posteriori evidence of difference in mental and' moral, 
 and consequently in material, status ; and it is only 
 by the comparison of many testimonies that the 
 delicate essence of truth can be evoked.'^ Before, 
 
 * I was not a little amused by a reviewer of "The Lake Regions of 
 Central Africa," in a fifth-rate provincial paper, who, after thanking me 
 for my facts, resolutely insisted upon supplanting all my deductions by his 
 own. "Writers in the (London) Times," and the Saturday Review," 
 enjoy a prescriptive right to "do the thinking " for their readers ; but 
 we are apt to recalcitrate when the critical hand of a Methodistico- 
 Missionary print arrogates to itself such claim. 
 
OF ''THE NEGRO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 183 
 
 however, proceeding to the pith and marrow of 
 the matter, a few premisses must be briefly laid 
 down. 
 
 Touching the African,* it may be observed that 
 there are in England at least two distinct creeds : 
 1. That of those who know him ; 2. That of those who 
 do not. This may be predicated of most other moot 
 points : in the negro's case, however, the singularity is, 
 that ignorance not knowledge, sentimentality not sense, 
 sway the practical pubHc mind.f Hence, at every 
 division, non-knowledge has on its side a majority, and 
 a something inherent in the unthinking looks upon this 
 as a test of truth, when the contrary is more often the 
 case. For all things, true, great, and good form an 
 imposing minority. 
 
 Of the two types — the ignorant and the non-ignorant 
 — the former is best exampled by the north of Europe, 
 and pre-eminently so by England, j The southern 
 
 * Used in the sense of negro, concerning which, more pre- 
 sently. 
 
 t The affecting appeal, " Am I not a man and a brother ? " accom- 
 panying on the seal of the Anti-Slavery Committee a kneeling negro, 
 who, properly speaking, should have been on all-fours, has been to 
 Africa what Pope's " Lo, the poor Indian ! " has been to Anglo- America, 
 — a power steadily influencing national policy. 
 
 X The leaders in the ''Times" (1859), as quoted by Mr. M'Henry 
 
184 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 nations, for instance the Spaniard, without even looking 
 upon the negro as his equal, and convinced of his own 
 superiority, endeavours to raise his congener in the 
 scale of creation, and is not irritated by failure because 
 he is prepared for it.* With us the "platform" selected 
 during a rancorous political and property quarrel is still 
 held immutably true. These principles are supported by 
 the actives, the philanthropic few, between whom and 
 Good Sense runs a broad line of demarcation, and by 
 those personally interested in keeping up the delusion ; 
 and wonderful is the effect of English atmosphere upon 
 unpopular ideas imported from abroad. The passives 
 are the many listeners. To this supreme ignorance I 
 must attribute the general failure of English missionary 
 enterprise in Africa, and to a great extent the late 
 lamentable occurrences, in which conversion has ended 
 with " killing no murder.'' It is not a little instructive 
 to see the effect of Africa upon the exceptional philan- 
 thropist — as a rule, he so loves all men, himself in- 
 
 ("The Cotton Trade," pp. 68, 75), ought to bring some knowledge to a 
 " public" : seemingly they have not. 
 
 * " The Spaniards and Portuguese treat their slaves ia every re- 
 spect better than the African slave merchants ; and I know, from 
 personal inquiry, that none of M. de Suza's slaves would accept their 
 liberty from choice." (Mr. Duncan, Vol. I. p. 114). 
 
OF THE NEGKO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 185 
 
 eluded, that he avoids the land as a pestilence. When 
 visiting the " Dark Continent," he finds those living 
 amongst negroes all convinced of the African's absolute 
 inferiority ; he resists the evil influence as long as 
 his nature permits, and he lapses usually into the 
 extreme contrary to that with which he commenced. 
 He begins by treating his blacks as men and 
 brethren, he ends, perhaps, with cruelty to them ; 
 whilst he has secured their contempt by degrading 
 himself to their level in attempting to raise them to 
 his own. 
 
 To the home-bred Englishman, who has no personal 
 experience of the African, I would oppose the Anglo- 
 American. The Northerner and the Canadian see, it is 
 true, the negro in that debased state to which his race 
 is condemned by climate above the Missouri Compro- 
 mise Line.''^ Beginning in Pennsylvania, the Aboli- 
 tionist traded his slaves down south — not liberated 
 them — because they were not worth their hire. But 
 he has ever kept those who Hve under his protec- 
 tion in their proper position, distinct from himself, in 
 
 * la N. Lat. 36'^ 30' — a moral tropic, a boundary between free labour 
 and slave labour, laid down by the hand of Nature herself. 
 
186 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the church as in the omnibus, whilst none but the ex- 
 tremest sectarians would admit them to the family circle, 
 or marry daughters to them. On the other hand, the 
 Southerner knows the African, and is known to him ; 
 hence in Africa he manages the negro better than other 
 white men/'' As a boy he has a black nurse and 
 sable foster brother, and in after years he is con- 
 nected with the " chattels by the tie of a common in- 
 terest. He laments the existence of slavery, but he finds 
 himself fast bound to it by the law of self-preservation. 
 Having wandered through every State of the Anglo- 
 American Eepublic, I can safely assert that in none of 
 the richest, namely, the centres of cotton, tobacco, and 
 sugar, is white labour possible. If this be true, surely 
 the Abolitionist should qualify himself by six months' 
 work in Louisiana and the negrophile by a year of 
 " Wandering in West Africa," before they venture 
 upon their peculiar statements. " The South " is 
 between the horns of the dilemma, slavery or ruin, and 
 she necessarily prefers the former. That emancipated 
 negroes will work willingly in genial tropical climates, 
 
 * Thus the Northerner as an overseer is notably more impatient 
 with, and cruel to, the slaves than a Southerner. 
 
OF THE NEGEO'S TLACE IN NATURE." ISl 
 
 where life is so easily supported, contradicts all our 
 experience of the race ; and after seeing the black in 
 many parts of Africa, under his own rule, and under 
 that of foreigners, French and English, Spanish and 
 Portuguese, I am convinced that the serfs of a 
 Southern plantation would not change lots with their 
 free brethren. 
 
 Returning to public opinion at home touching the 
 negro, we find in its present transitional state four 
 popular errors, which are amply sufficient to confuse 
 the whole subject. 
 
 The first, and the front of offence, is the confusion of 
 the mixed and the mulatto with the full-blooded negro. 
 By the latter word I understand the various tribes of 
 intertropical Africa, unmixed with European or Asiatic 
 blood." In Anglo-America the least African taint 
 
 * In our popular works — treasuries of error — every one born in 
 Africa is "a negro." Thus God's Image in Ebony" (London, Par- 
 tridge and Oakley), offers in two pages (93, 94), as " convincing proofs 
 that the negro is morally and intellectually as well as physically the 
 equal of the white man," the following jumble of instances: Minerva 
 (a negro princess !), Origen and Athanasius (Alexandrian), Tertullian, 
 Augustine (Xumidian), Alexandrinus and Cyril (Moors), Arius (Cyreniac 
 and Semitic speaking), Hannibal (a Phoenician), and Terence (a 
 Roman). Messrs. Adams, Cherson, and Armistead should learn their 
 ethnological alphabet before quoting these as negro representatives of 
 
188 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 makes a man a " negro/' Messrs. Nott and Gliddon — 
 to whom Dr. Waitz lias done scanty justice — were, 
 methinks, justified in asserting that a few drops of the 
 purer ichor produce a decided modification in the 
 moral and physical character of the black. Had the 
 Slave States manumitted and deported their mulattos, 
 the present state of things might not have been. In 
 Southern America, also, the mongrel is the canker of 
 society and of political life. In England, every frothy 
 spouter of hackneyed phrases, though he begins by 
 owning to a mixture of race which, whilst subordi- 
 nating him to his father in intellect, and, not unfre- 
 quently, in 'pliijsique, to his mother,* still enables him 
 to distance his indigenous half-brothers, is hearkened to 
 as a dingy Daniel come to judgment — " a logical bomb 
 falling amongst the Pandits" — a standing and a talking 
 proof that the mulatto's maternal is equal, if not 
 superior, to his paternal family. When I see such 
 a mongrel, who everywhere hates both the purer races 
 
 science, learning, religion, war, and poetry." The Abbe Gregoire's 
 examples are mostly mulattos, as Christophe and Dessalines. The oft- 
 quoted Mr. ex-President Roberts, of Liberia, is an octaroon. 
 
 * The older theory was, that in such mules the mother-blood pre- 
 dominates (Estwick, History of Jamaica). But this is, to say the least, 
 doubtful. 
 
OF " THE XEGEO'S PLACE IN XATUEE." 189 
 
 from which he sprang, stand up, backed, probably, by 
 a philanthropic and fighting Quaker, before a learned 
 society, ere his lips open it is known to me what 
 parrot-talk he will emit. Cicero, writing to Atticus, 
 deemed the ancient Britons (with whom the modern 
 English have little in common) too stupid for slavery 
 {decidedly/ a compliment, according to our ideas). ^ The 
 white man is not looked upon as a superior being in 
 Black -land t {the speaker well knowing that his sole 
 merit at home in Africa is the title of " oibo-dudu,'' or 
 " white black ") ; that there are " full-blooded negroes " 
 who have risen to distinction {quoting a few exceptions, 
 who are not full-blooded, to prove the rule), and that 
 Paul's Epistle to Philemon (^merely recommending, on 
 ground of his conversion, the inanumission of a fugitive) 
 was concerning a " servant " [of SoOAos, / 7ieed hardly 
 say, he had never heard). He will probably "bring 
 
 * To my astonishment I have heard this threadbare fallacy quoted in 
 all simplicity by Mr. Charles Sumner, the Massachusetts Abolitionist. The 
 Britons' inaptitude to learn music and other accomplishments may still 
 be traced in their purest descendants. 
 
 t In Africa, as in India, the aristocracy of the skin, as the French 
 deputy tauntingly called it, or the "prejudice of colour" as the modern 
 phrase runs, is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual 
 difference. One of Mr. Prichard's few good generalisations is, that as 
 a rule the darker and dingier the African tribe, the more degraded is its 
 organisation. 
 
190 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 down the house " with something of Cowper's wishy- 
 washy sentimentahty, as, 
 
 ''Fleecy locks and black complexion,* 
 
 Cannot alter Nature's claim ; 
 Skins may differ, but affection 
 
 Dwells in white and black the same." f 
 
 And the herd at Newcastle — how deep their studies ! 
 how extensive their experience ! — will hiss a counter- 
 statement, and go home convinced that they have been 
 listening to a speech by a highly intellectual negro, 
 when the oft-repeated cant is doled out from memory 
 by a white man with a " dash of the tar-brush ! " 
 
 * The purely melanous complexion is rare in Africa, where, more- 
 over, it is generally admired. The fetor is more conclusive as a test 
 than the colour of the skin. There is no exception to the rule of 
 smell. 
 
 t Which I deny. Affection, like love, is the fruit of animalism 
 refined by sentiment. The old travellers knew better than the poet. 
 *'Here paternal affections and filial love hardly exist," says the History. 
 So Bosman declares of the Gold Coast, " The mother gives the infant 
 suck for two or three years; which over, and they able to go, it is then 
 * Turn out, brutes ! ' " An absorbing egotism is the necessary rule of 
 savage and barbarous humanity, and society must have made great 
 progress before a man can think of his neighbour's interests and live. 
 Hence the old author asserted of the negroes, "They are insensible to 
 grief and want, sing till they die, and dance into their graves." Mr. 
 Duncan (vol. ii. p. 79) says, Not even the appearance of affection exists 
 between husband and wife, or between parents and children. So little do 
 they care for their offspring, that many offered to sell me one of their 
 sons or daughters as slaves. They are, to speak the truth, in point of 
 parental affection, inferior to brutes." But why multiply quotations? 
 
OF ''THE NEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 191 
 
 The second error is the confusion of the negroid, the 
 Semiticised, or the noble African,* with the ignoble 
 pure negro. This is a more venial blunder than the 
 first, because ethnological knowledge is requisite to 
 draw the distinction ; but its effects are even worse. 
 The traveller is ever falling into this pit, and the mass 
 of observers is as yet hardly aware of the distinction. 
 Of the alphabet invented by the Yai or Vahie — a 
 race cognate with the Mandenga and cognisant of the 
 Koran — -Commander Forbes (Vol. 1. p. 200) remarks, 
 " How far we must have mistaken the African's consti- 
 tution!'' Mr. Winwood Reade proposes to apply the 
 term " negro " to the maritime races, and " African " 
 to those of the interior : but in the central continent 
 there are tribes as purely negro as on the coast. 
 Others would assume 10° N. lat., and the same line 
 south of the equator, as the boundaries of the race ; 
 in the interior, however, it crosses both these limits, 
 nor has any frontier been traced by travellers. As I 
 have said, the fetor is the grand discrimen ; thus we dis- 
 tinguish the Somali Semite and free man from his slave 
 neighbour, the Kisawahili, and the Asiatic Malagash 
 from the negro Johanna-man, who will call himself an 
 
 * Arab, Moorish, Abyssinian, Egyptian, Nubian, and Berber. 
 
192 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 offset from the noble Arabian Kuraysh. By not attend- 
 ing to this distinction between nobles and ignobles, the 
 Moor of Venice has been represented as a "nigger." 
 When such men as Touissant FOuverture The 
 Opener") are quoted as "full-blooded blacks," I must 
 discover, before assenting to that proposition, "what was 
 their descent. They might be of Hausa, or other Semi- 
 ticised blood ; and this would be confounding Norman 
 with Saxon. The negroid has taken a long step in 
 the way of progress ; for the Arab and the negro, as 
 might be expected, combine better than the European 
 and the black, f El Islam, by forbidding impure 
 meats and spirituous liquors, J by enjoining ablutions 
 and decent dress, and by discouraging monogamy 
 and polyandry, has improved the African's physique, 
 and through it, by inevitable sequence, his morale, 
 
 * His true race seems to be unknown. 
 
 t The worst melange is perhaps the Anglo-Saxon and the negro. 
 As in India, the French succeed better ; there is a naivete and coquetry 
 in the Gallic half-caste which are unknown to our homel}^ and unattrac- 
 tive Cheechees." 
 
 X Africans, like the lower Asiatics, ever drink to excess : "a glass or 
 two" is a thing unknown to them. Consequently, rum has done more 
 harm for them than the slave ship. As there is a perspective in crime, 
 making the farthest appear the smallest, so, as the world progresses, the 
 present acts of honest men, such as selling spirits, weapons, and 
 ammunition to savages, wiU be looked upon by their grandsons as the 
 
 sum of all villanies." 
 
OF "THE NEGEO'S PLACE IX NATURE." 193 
 
 It is a cognate and a congenial civilisation, not one 
 imported from 1500 miles of latitude, and sitting gro- 
 tesquely upon the black mind, as the accompanying 
 vestments upon the sable body — both being made con- 
 temptible by the contrast of what is and what ought to 
 be. The pure negro does not exist in septentrional or 
 in Southern Africa. North of the Sahara men are more 
 Semitic than Hamitic/" and resemble the peoples of 
 Southern Europe more than they do the typical negro. 
 I have elsewhere given reasons for suspecting in the 
 great Kafir family a considerable mixture of Arab, 
 Persian, and other Asiatic blood. 
 
 The third fallacy is that Europe, and especially 
 England, were the means of introducing slavery into, 
 or, at least, of increasing it in Africa, with a corollary 
 — ever maintained by a missionary interest, crying 
 " Give ! Give ! Give ! " — that the empire must expiate 
 the delicta major um by spending money. f It requires 
 
 * These are poor words for ethnologists, but intelligible. I use 
 llaraitic for pure African or negro, Semitic for the Arab, and Japhetic 
 for the Aryan, or Indo-European race. 
 
 t In 1561 (the date of Sir John Hawkins' first slave voyage), 
 England took the first of three commercial steps that raised her to 
 her present grandeur. A charter was presently granted by Q,ueen Eliza- 
 beth, who became a large shareholder, and the live produce of Africa 
 threw 500 millions sterling into the national purse. In 1756, after 
 
 VOL. II. o 
 
194 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the extremest illiterateness to hold such tenets. Slavery 
 was a rule in the days of Abraham. Ezekiel (xxvii. 13) 
 mentions " trading the persons of men " in the markets 
 of T3TUS ; and of the later classics there is not an 
 author, from Juvenal to (Periplus) Arrian, who does not 
 allude to it. The more we explore the African interior, 
 and discover great races beyond the range of the white 
 man, the more confirmed and complete is the system of 
 serfdom and thraldom. The true African saying con- 
 cerning the servile is, " Once a slave for ever a slave."" 
 And, as has been shown, the races that believe in 
 another world, will not manumit their bondsmen even 
 there. 
 
 The fourth delusion is that the African vends his 
 wife — as does the A7iglais in France — and his family. 
 This is an effect of sensational oratory rather than 
 of authority : all travellers have carefully contra- 
 dieted the assertion. The accurate Bosman (1698) 
 says : " Not a few in our country fondly imagine that 
 parents here sell their children, men their wives, and 
 
 the success of Clive, the profits of India became the " soil and crops of 
 England." In 1800 began that enormous importation of American 
 cotton (the first few pounds were shipped in 1784), which formed the 
 third and culminating commercial speculation. — " The Cotton Trade, 
 by George M'Henry. London : Saunders, Otley & Co., 18G3, 
 
OF ''THE NEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 
 
 195 
 
 one brother the other ; but those who think so deceive 
 themselves, for this never happens on any other 
 account than that of necessity or some great crime ; 
 but most of the slaves that are offered to us are 
 prisoners of war, which are sold by the victors as their 
 booty." The learned Barbot (book iv. chap. 1) declares 
 that whilst the Slavonians traded with their progeny, 
 in Africa the sale of children, wives, and relatives, " if 
 it ever happens, is so seldom that it cannot be justly 
 charged upon a whole nation as a custom and common 
 practice." Commander Forbes (vol. i. p. 146) expressly 
 asserts that "the laws of Dahomey forbid such an 
 unnatural sale of human beings," which he seems to 
 have found on the south-western coast. The few excep- 
 tions would be considered vile by their neighbour tribes, 
 and even they rarely part with their own blood except 
 in dire distress or famine. I have seen the same thing- 
 done in Sindh and in Western India.'"" As it is, the 
 exported are almost invariably of two kinds — criminals 
 
 * ^^ot to mention children sold in England as sweeps. So on Decem- 
 ber 5, 1701, Alexander Steuart, found guilty at Perth of theft, was 
 gifted by the Justiciary, instead of being killed, to Sir John Areskin, of 
 Alva. Cromwell sold 3000 soldiers from Drogheda to the West India 
 planters, much as the Pacha of Egypt has lately sold a regiment or two 
 to France. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 and war captives ; converted into cash when not wanted 
 for the Customs. The absolute prevention of slave 
 export is a very mitigated benefit — if, indeed, it be 
 any — to the African slave; and our humanity has 
 often acted, like sparrow clubs, in strengthening a worse 
 plague. The History informs us that Agaja the Great, 
 after "breaking" Whydah, slew 4000 men. Shortly 
 afterwards, however, having taken 1800 prisoners from 
 a nation that had offended him even more, " he con- 
 tented his priests with 400 of them, ships being then 
 in the road, when he could turn the remainder to 
 profit." And we have this excellent advice : " It is 
 enough to show through our history that avarice can 
 sheathe the knife even of superstition, and that her 
 incitements to slaughter, powerful as they may be, are 
 confined within narrow limits when self-interest waits 
 upon lenity." 
 
 I now proceed to offer the reader the result of my 
 actual experience of the negro character. The convic- 
 tion that others, as competent to judge as myself, will 
 join issue with me, is an inducement to proceed, in the 
 hopes that truth may be elicited : whilst the suspicion 
 that my statements will be far from popular, makes me 
 look forward to the day when they will be. 
 
OF ''THE NEGRO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 197 
 
 The pure negro ranks in the human family below 
 the two great Arab and Aryan races. In Asia he is 
 prized as a slave for hard work ; as a servant he is 
 coarse-handed, pilfering, shameless, and with much of 
 the frowardness of a baboon. No one thinks of him 
 as a freeman ; and he, " hereditary bondsman," never 
 dreams of liberty, because no one suggests to him the 
 idea. 
 
 The unpermanency of the half-breed, and the fre- 
 quency of sterile marriages amongst mulattos, show 
 an approach to specific difference'" between the white 
 and black races furthest removed in climate and civili- 
 sation. 
 
 The negro's brain, in which Burmeister and other 
 
 * Mr. Long (History of Jamaica) has testified to tlie frequent in- 
 fecundity, and the limited prolificacy of the male and female mulatto. 
 Geoftroy and Nott dwelt upon the sterility of mulattos, whilst Serres and 
 others have asserted that the children of a white woman by a negro are 
 rarely viable. Dr. Seemann observed at Panama, and in South America, 
 that the European and the negro were not unlimitedly productive 
 — rarely passing the second cross. Baffbn defined species to be a 
 
 succession constante d'individm semhlahles et qui se reproduiscnt,^'' 
 Hunter's criterion is, that the parents should produce an offspring 
 equally prolific with themselves, whereas hybrids are incapable of per- 
 petuating the breed. This fertility-test was widely recognised. Cuvier, 
 followed by Prichard, defined species to include separate origin (how 
 proved ?) and constant transmission of organic peculiarities. Judged 
 from this view-point, the negro is a sub-species or permanent variety ot 
 the genus homo. 
 
198 A raSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 physiologists found the convolutions less numerous and 
 more massive than in the European, is, to judge from 
 its action, weak — a very little learning addles it. Even 
 the Islamised Somal hold those that read and write to 
 be less than men, because their heads are good for 
 nothing else. 
 
 One of the principal negro characteristics is his truly 
 savage want of veneration for God or man ; — ^lience, 
 the expressions which we should deem blasphemous in 
 his wild state, and the peculiar tone of his prayer, 
 commanding rather than supplicating, which distin- 
 guish him in his semi-civilisation. 
 
 In the negro the propensities and passions are tole- 
 rably well grown, the perceptives and reflectives are of 
 inferior power, and the sentimental or moral regions 
 remain almost undeveloped. This is apparently the 
 rule of savage and barbarous races. His memory is 
 mostly like that of the Australian — powerless, except 
 in matters touching his self-interest. His face is an 
 index to his mind. The circunioral region is prodi- 
 giously developed. The lower brow, where the per- 
 ceptives are placed by phrenologists, denotes culture ; 
 the upper forehead and the vertex of the cranium are 
 weak, retreating, and flattened. 
 
OF "THE NEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEK" 
 
 199 
 
 The extremes of climate and the pitiless fecundity of 
 Kature have bound down the negro to the completely 
 material. In this point he contrasts greatly with the 
 Hindu, in whom imagination, outrunning intellect, de- 
 generates into licence, and whose superabundance of 
 reverence oppresses inquiry. 
 
 The negro is still at the rude dawn of faith — 
 fetishism — and he has barely advanced to idolatry, the 
 effect of deficient constructiveness.'"' He has never 
 grasped the ideas of a personal Deity, a duty in life, a 
 moral code, or a shame of lying. He rarely believes 
 in a future state of rewards and punishments, which, 
 whether true or not, are infallible indices of human 
 progress. 
 
 The negro is, for the most part, a born servile — not 
 a servant, f As has been said, in Dahome and Benin all 
 the subjects are literally the king's property. We 
 
 * The organ, not the bump. 
 
 t So in Anglo-America every stranger lias remarked that whilst the 
 negro invariably chooses personal service, the American Indian, shrink- 
 ing from it with loathing, affords hardly a single instance. In Africa, 
 however, he has a good time of it. The author of " The Niger Expedition" 
 (vol. i. p. 398), justly remarks that " domestic slavery in the negro's 
 native land is not more irksome than servitude in ours " — he might 
 safely have said more. And it must be remembered, as Mungo Park 
 stated in the last century, that paid service is unknown to the negro. 
 Indeed, African languages ignore the word. 
 
200 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 cannot, therefore, apply to liim the Homeric statement 
 that 
 
 The day 
 
 Makes man a fclave takes half his worth away." 
 
 The negro will obey a white man more readily than 
 a mulatto, and a mulatto rather than one of his own 
 colour.'" He never thinks of claiming equality with 
 the Aryan race, except when taught. At Whydah the 
 French missionaries remark that their scholars always 
 translate " white and black " by " master and slave.'' 
 And he readily submits to the iron hand. 
 
 The negro has an instinctive and unreasoning aver- 
 sion to increasing population,! without which there can 
 be no progress. A veritable Malthusian, he has a 
 variety of traditions justifying infanticide, ordeal, and 
 sacrifice, as if, instead of being a polygamist, he were 
 a polyandrian. 
 
 The so-called civilisation of the negro is from with- 
 
 * It is not a little instructive to see the Sonthern slaves of Anglo- 
 America, fighting as lustily for slavery as their Northern brethren are con- 
 tending for liberty, and the more especially so after the dreadful pictures 
 of plunder, rape, and murder drawn upon imagination in Europe, and 
 devoutly expected by the good people of England, until hard facts have 
 forced open their eyes. 
 
 + I speak of the people generally, not individually. Personally, each 
 man desires children, and yet he is of opinion that propagation injures his 
 tribe or nation. 
 
or "TIIE NEGRO'S PLACE IX NATURE." 201 
 
 out ; he cannot find it within, and he has not the latent 
 mental capacities ascribed to him by the philanthrops. 
 As an adult he is the victim of imitation, the surest 
 sign of deference ; he freely accepts foreign customs, 
 manners, and costumes, however incongruous. 
 
 The negro, as a rule, despises agriculture, so highly 
 venerated by the Asiatics, Chaldseans, Chinese, Israel- 
 ites, and Persians, and recognised since the days of 
 Aristotle as the most important of all the sciences. If 
 it flourished amongst the Egyptians, Carthaginians, 
 and Abyssinians, the battle-horses of negromaniacs, 
 these were Semitico-Hamites, the noble blood of Africa. 
 His highest ambition is to be a petty trader, whilst 
 his thick skull, broad bones, and cold porous leathery 
 skin, point him out as a born " hewer of wood and 
 drawer of water." 
 
 The cruelty of the negro is, like that of a schoolboy,'"' 
 the blind impulse of rage combined with want of sym- 
 pathy. Thus he thoughtlessly tortures and slays his 
 prisoners, as the youth of England torment and kill 
 cats. He fails in the domestication of the lower ani- 
 mals, because he is deficient in forbearance with them : 
 
 * A sensible French missioner uses the phrase Les noirs, qui sont a 
 peine aux hlancs ce que sont les enfants aux homtnes.^* 
 
202 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 ill a short time Iiis violence will permanently ruin the 
 temper of a horse ; and he will starve to death the 
 English dog, for which perhaps he has paid a high 
 price. 
 
 The negro has never invented an alphabet, a musical 
 scale, or any other element of knowledge. Music and 
 dancing, his passions, are, as arts, still in embryo. He 
 cultivates oratory ; and so do all barbarians. He is 
 eternally singing, but he has no idea of poetry. f His 
 painting and statuary are, like his person, ungraceful 
 and grotesque ; whilst his art, like his mind, is 
 arrested by the hand of Nature. His year is a rainy 
 season ; his moons have no names ; and of an hour he 
 has not the remotest conception. His technology con- 
 sists of weaving, cutting canoes, making rude weapons, 
 and in some places practising a rough metallurgy. 
 
 * Amongst the traders of the Bight of Biafra there are, I am glad to 
 say, few men so base as to sell an English dog to a negro king or 
 chief; and were a man to do so, he would be loudly blamed by his 
 fellows. 
 
 t In Efon there is a rude kind of assonance, e, g. : — 
 So nun ajila : Agbanji ajodisa. 
 
 Take a thing and show it : on the counter 'twill be sold. 
 Which Commander Forbes (vol. ii. p. 100), writes with a wondrous 
 waste of " r's." 
 
 So wae re jar, 
 
 Jorgee 
 Ah jorgee sar. 
 
OF "THE NEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 
 
 203 
 
 The negro, in mass, will not improve beyond a cer- 
 tain point, and that not respectable ; he mentally re- 
 mains a child, and is never capable of a generalisation. 
 Man's character is everywhere, to some extent, the gift 
 of climate. The tropics engender but few wants, exercise 
 is more painful than pleasant, therefore there is little 
 w^ork. Our transition state in Europe has at least this 
 consolation, that we can look forward to a permanent 
 improvement in type ; to stocking the Avorld with a 
 higher order of man. But in Africa, before progress 
 can be general, it appears that the negro must become 
 extinct by being absorbed into the negroid." 
 
 The negro is nowhere worse than at home, where he 
 is a curious mixture of cowardice and ferocity. With 
 the barbarous dread and horror of death, he delights in 
 the torments and the destruction of others, and with 
 more than the usual savage timidity, his highest boast 
 
 * Auti- slavery writers claim a concession, that if one negro has shown 
 a character identical with that of the white man, the two families must bo 
 specifically the same: and they quote a few "living witnesses," some of 
 whom are so white as hardly to be distinguished from the superior race : 
 others, Mandengas, Jololfs and Hausas. But these may be numbered on a 
 man's fingers out of many a million, and we must not found a law upon 
 exceptions. On the other hand, those who hold the specific difference of 
 the negro, admit of no exceptionary instances. I believe in the inferior 
 genesis of the negro, and in his incapability of improvement, in- 
 dividually and 671 masse. 
 
20-1 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 is that of heroism.* He is nought but self ; he lacks 
 even the rude virtue of hospitality, and ever, as Com- 
 mander Forbes has it, he " baits with a sprat to catch a 
 mackerel/^ 
 
 The negro, in his wild state, makes his wives work ;t 
 he will not, or rather he cannot, labour, except by 
 individual compulsion, as in the Confederate States ; or 
 by necessity, as in the Barbadoes. When so compelled, 
 he labours well, and he becomes civiKsed and humanised 
 to the extent of his small powers. When not com- 
 pelled, as S'a Leone and Jamaica prove, he becomes 
 degraded, debauched, and depraved. J I conclude, 
 therefore, with Franklin the philosopher, that the negro 
 is still, as he has been for the last 4000 years, best 
 when " held to labour" by better and wiser men than 
 himself. 
 
 The removal of the negro from Africa is like sending 
 
 * The learned and acute Dr. Pruner Bey asserts, The negro has no 
 love for war ; he is only driven to it by hunger. War, from passion or 
 destructiveness, is unknown to him." My personal experience has ever 
 found destructiveness liighly developed in the negro's character. 
 
 t Barbot (Book iv. chap. 5) says of Benin : " But the female sex is 
 there, in a most peculiar way, so brisk, jolly, and withal so laborious, 
 that they despatch all their work very fast, and with a seeming pleasure 
 and satisfaction." 
 
 X Of the Sierra Leone people at Whydah, now extinct, see Mr. DuncaE 
 (Vol. 1, p. 139). 
 
OF "THE NEGRO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 205 
 
 a boy to school ; it is his only chance of improvement, 
 of learning that there is something more in life than 
 drumming and dancing, talking and singing, drinking 
 and killing. After a time, colonists returned to Africa 
 may exert upon the continent an effect for which we 
 have as yet vainly looked. 
 
 These last two items state merely bald facts, what- 
 ever be the deductions from them. They by no means 
 involve recognising the abstract lawfulness of slavery, 
 or the right of one human being to possess and sell 
 another. It is quite a different question to " defend 
 the employment of the negroes, as domestic working- 
 animals, by higher organised beings called menJ^ Still 
 less do they affect to justify the horrors of slave driving, 
 and of slave transporting, together with the permanent 
 injury to the African continent, which the modern pro- 
 slavery writers that have of late cropped up, slur over 
 or ignore.'"* 
 
 It must be remembered, however, that almost all 
 races have had, in religion and policy, human sacrifice 
 and servitude ; that the latter is the first step taken 
 
 * I allude more particularly to a pamphlet called " The Slavery- 
 Quarrel, &c.," by a Poor Peacemaker. London : Robert Hardwicke., 
 1863. It is a specimen of what is to come. 
 
206 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 by human society, and that without it no people, from 
 the Jews to the BraziUans, has ever risen above mere 
 savagery. This great principle is not eliminated from 
 the earlier acts of the social drama, till the hereditary 
 bondsman has acquired power to free himself. The 
 stage following slavery is the hecjar, corvee or com- 
 pulsory labour — and this co-exists with the highest 
 known refinement. An Act of Parliament in the reign 
 of Queen Elizabeth, compelled married women till thirty 
 and spinsters till forty, to do service to the country, if 
 they had no other visible means of living. We im- 
 prison, punish, and compel to labour our beggars and 
 vagabonds, even if they fail to prove how they subsist. 
 We force our children to attend schools ; and, until 
 lately, w^e have flogged youths of fourteen and fifteen 
 w^ho are to the full as intellectual as the child-man 
 negro ; and the son of *a king in England is not, until 
 twenty-one years old, as politically free as the Anglo- 
 African of S'a Leone. I see no objection to render 
 liberated labour forcible " until the African race is edu- 
 cated for wages, and such habits are not learned in a 
 day. 
 
 * Even in 1845, Mr. Duncan (Vol. I. p. 115), was bold enough to 
 advocate the " free transportalion of slaves from ihe coast of Africa." 
 
OF "THE XEGEO'S PLACE IX XATUnE." 207 
 
 Nations are poor judges of one another ; each looks 
 upon itself as an exemplar to the world, and vents 
 its philanthropy by forcing its infallible system or 
 systems upon its neighbour. How long is it since 
 popular literature has began to confess that the British 
 Constitution is not quite fit for the whole human race, 
 and that the Anglo-Saxon has much to do at home 
 before he sets out a-colonelling to regenerate mankind ? 
 Not later than 1849, the "inevitable conclusion" went 
 forth that " African commerce and African civihsation 
 must be entrusted exclusively to men of African birth * 
 
 Africa's great present want is an organised system 
 of bond fide emigration. Doubtless the experiment 
 which lately has failed, with a disgrace equaUing the 
 coolie-trade from Assam and Cachar in 1861-2, is full of 
 difficulty. But as time runs on there will be no reason 
 why it should not succeed, and become one of the 
 national regenerators. 
 
 * The Xegro Trade," by Sir George Stephen : the offensive tone of 
 this pamphlet arises from its having been written for a "Review." 
 Long before its day, Messrs. Buxton and MacQueen declared that 
 "it is by African hands and. African exertions, chiefly, that the evil 
 [slave trade] must be destroyed." I know only one part of the outer 
 West African coast which is at present perfectly free from the export^ 
 and that is the Bight of Biafra, which certainly was cleared by English, 
 liands and English exertions. 
 
20S A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The opinions of Dahome touching slave export, are 
 those learned from us in the seventeenth centurv, when 
 England fought for the monopoly. They cannot master 
 the change of sentiments in the nineteenth century, 
 when the prized privilege is denounced as a sin, — a 
 crime, — a causa belli, — the " sum of all villanies." I 
 am induced to quote in its entirety the fourteenth 
 chapter of the History, which may enlighten many upon 
 the true state of things in Dahome.* The King, it 
 will be observed, expresses himself with shrewdness, 
 and even with wisdom ; but in these lands the rulers 
 are mostly a century in advance of their subjects : f 
 
 ■ * Adahoonzou the Second's (Sinmcnkpen) speech upon hearing 
 what had passed in England upon the subject of the slave trade. 
 (See note at the end of this chapter.) The most important part of 
 it is confirmed by Dr. M'Leod (p. 65), who states : " The perform- 
 ance of the annual sacrifice is considered a duty so sacred, that no 
 allurement in the way of gain — no additional price which the white 
 traders can offer for slaves, — will induce the King to spare even a single 
 victim of the established number ; and he is equally inexorable with 
 respect to the chiefs of his enemies, who are never, on any account, 
 permitted to live if they fall iuto his hands." 
 
 f When King Gezo was lectured by Mr. Duncan upon the cruelty of 
 slave exportation, the latter, to illustrate the barbarity of separating 
 children from their parents, "pointed out a she-goat with two kids, and 
 asked him, if one were taken away, whether the young would not show 
 symptoms of regret as well as the mother. At this he laughed heartily, 
 but remarked that the he-goat, the father of the kids referred to, would 
 feel quite indifferent." Mr. Duncan could not help smiling in return, 
 when the King touched his forehead with his fingers, saying, English- 
 
OF "THE XEGEC'S TLACE IX XATUEE." 20y 
 
 nor is there any deficiency of cunning in the words of 
 the present monarch to Commodore Wilmot (Appen- 
 dix III). His pohte expression, " I will aboHsh slave 
 trade, and gladly, but give me another and a better 
 traffic," merely means that Dahome will never cease 
 selling her captives and criminals till she can employ 
 them more profitably. And it must be owned, that 
 her system of dealing with offenders contrasts favour- 
 ably in simplicity and in economy with ours. 
 
 The institution lionnie, however, is one of the causes 
 of Dahoman decline. This negro race cannot, I hav e 
 said, render conquests a source of aggrandisement : 
 they make war to lay waste, capture and destroy, and 
 the present king prefers two slave hunts to his father s 
 one per annum. 
 
 At Whydah, in 1694, we are told that the price of a 
 good " Kanumo" or slave was equal to £3 15.s. in goods ; 
 " Mackrons," or unmerchantable articles, not being 
 accepted. The price is now, iucluding the Custom 
 
 man wonderful and a good man." Probably, the royal cynic meant 
 this compliment much as the "good young man" signifies in the 
 mouth of a fast young "party." Mr. Duncan, however, rightly says of 
 Gezo, as compared with the mob, " The King possesses talent far beyond 
 the generality of Ids subjects ; in fact, his noble miad seems to have 
 been formed to govern." 
 
 VOL. II. p 
 
210 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 House fee, £16 16s., and the chattel is not so sound. 
 The annual number exported from Dahome cannot 
 be higher than 15,000, which represents a paltry sum 
 of £250,000. 
 
 "Were it not for the south \Tard progress of El Islam, 
 the slow and silent, but sure advance of the Perfect 
 Cure, the future of negro Africa would not be bright. 
 The experience of three centuries teaches us, that as a 
 rule the tropical continent cannot be colonised by 
 Europeans. We have also learned that hitherto mari- 
 time intercourse with its aqua mortis and hoiiches a feu 
 has done nothing but degenerate the native, and that 
 until the long day when the Guinea Commanders — of 
 whom bluff old Phillips wrote, " their words and promises 
 are the last to be depended upon of any I know use 
 the sea ; for they would deceive their fathers in their 
 trade if they could " — shall become " virtuous,*' such will 
 continue to be the result. The much talked of " reflux 
 of the AYest upon the East " has yet to begin doing good : 
 hitherto, as a rule, the semi-civihzed negroes, like the 
 S'a Leone people at Abeokuta, when restored to old 
 influences have proved themselves worse than the 
 heathenry. They have almost to a man displayed the 
 blackest and most odious form of ingratitude, that 
 
OF ''THE XEGEO'S PLACE IX XATUEE." 211 
 
 •which does not merel}^ ignore benefits conferred, but 
 -which bitterly hates the benefactor for having conferred 
 them. It is a generation of vipers tliat found its way 
 from the Red Grave to Lagos and Undestone. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 ADAHOONZOTJ'S SPEECH. 
 
 As a proof tLat Adaboonzoii was not at a loss for arguments 
 to defend the conduct of liimself and his predecessors, when 
 iiecessarj', we shall close that priuce's history with the heads of 
 a speech made bj him upon an occasion which is about to be 
 taken notice of, and whicli took up two hours in the delivery, for 
 the Dahomans are extremely verbose." Grovernort Abson having 
 taken an opportunity of communicating to Adahoonzou some of 
 the particulars respecting the slave trade, which had become 
 the subject of conversation and parliamentary inquiry in this 
 country ; and having carried with iiim some of the pamphlets for 
 iiud against the abolition of that. traffic, which he read to him, in 
 
 * If Mr. Abson supposes long speeches are confined to Europe and 
 Africa he is mistaken : the Brazilians were famous for this species of 
 rhetoric long ago. "SVhen they wished to excite their people to war, 
 their Eldermen, from their hammocks, harangued their auditors on the 
 virtues and wrongs of their ancestors for six hours together. — " Purchas 
 Pilgrims," 1036. 
 
 t The present Governor of Williams Fort, who has resided there since 
 1766, and is well acquainted with the language. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 AdaLoonzou's native language, the King listened with great 
 attention, and though business several times broke in upon the 
 narration, still requested Mr. Abson, after every interruption, to 
 proceed. When the whole was finished, the King spoke as 
 follows : — 
 
 "Tadmirethe reasoning of the white men, but with all their sense 
 it does not appear that they have thoroughly studied the nature 
 of the blacks, whose disposition differs as much from that of the 
 whites as their colour. The same great Being formed both ; and 
 since it hath seemed convenient for Him to distinguish mankind 
 by opposite complexions, it is a fair conclusion to presume that 
 there may be as great a disagreement in the qualities of their 
 :ninds. There is likewise a remarkable diiference between the 
 countries which we inhabit. You Englij*hmen, for instance, as I 
 have been informed, are surrounded by the ocean, and, by this 
 situation, seem intended to hold communication with the whole 
 world, which you do by means of your ships ; whilst we Daho- 
 mans, being placed on a large continent, and hemmed in amidst a 
 variety of other people, of the same complexion, but speaking 
 different languages, are obliged, by sharpness of our swords, to 
 defend ourselves from their incursions, and punish the depreda- 
 tions they make on us. Such conduct in them is productive of 
 incessant wars. Your countrymen, therefore, w^ho allege that we 
 go to war for the purpose of supplying your ships with slaves, are 
 grossly mistaken. You think you can work a reformation, as you 
 call it, in the manners of the blacks ; but you ouglit to consider 
 the disproportion between the magnitude of the two countries, 
 and then you would soon be convinced of the difficulties that 
 must be surmounted to change the system of such a vast country 
 as this. AVe know you are a brave people, and that you might 
 bring over a great many of the blacks to your opinions, by the 
 points of your bayonets ; but to effect this, a great many must be 
 put to death, and numerous cruelties must be committed, which 
 we do not find to have been the practice of the whites; besides 
 
OF '*THE XEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEE." 213 
 
 that, tliis \rou]d militate against the very principle wliicli is pro- 
 fessed by those Avho wish to bring about a reformation. 
 
 *' In the name of my ancestors and myself, I aver that no 
 Dahoman man ever embarked in war merely for the sake of pro- 
 curing wherewithal to purchase your commodities. I, who have 
 not been long master of this country, have, without thinking of 
 the market, hilled many thousands, and I shall kill many thousands 
 more. When policy or justice requires that men be put to 
 death, neither silk, nor coral, nor brandy, nor cowries, can be 
 accepted as substitutes for the blood that ought to be spild for 
 example' sake. Besides, if white men choose to remain at home, 
 and no longer visit this country for the same purpose that has 
 usually brought them hither, will black men cease to make war ? 
 I answer, by no means. And if there be no ships to receive 
 their captives, what will become of them ? I answer for you, 
 they will be put to death. Perhaps you may ask, how will the 
 blacks be furnished with guns and powder ? I reply by another 
 question : Had we not clubs, and bows and arrows before we 
 knew white men ? Did you not see me make Custom for 
 Weebaigah, the third King of Dahome ? and did you not 
 observe, on the day such ceremony w^as performing, that I carried 
 a bow in my hand, and a quiver tilled with arrows on my back? 
 These were emblems of the times, when, with such weapons, that 
 brave ancestor fought and conquered all his neighbours. God 
 made war for all the world ; and every kingdom, large or small, 
 has practised it more or less, though perhaps in a manner unlike 
 and upon different principles. Did AVeebaigah sell slaves ? No, 
 his prisoners ivere all killed to a man ! What else could he have 
 done with them ? Was he to let them remain in his country, to 
 cut the throats of his subjects ? This would have been wretched 
 policy, indeed, which, had it been adopted, the Dahoman name 
 would have been long ago extinguished, instead of becoming, as it 
 is at this day, the terror of surrounding nations. AVhat hurts 
 me most is, that some of your people have maliciously represented 
 us in books, which never die, alleging that we sell our wives and 
 
214 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 cliildren for the snke of procuring a few kogs of brandy. No, we- 
 are shamefully belied ; and I hope you will contradict, from niy 
 inouth, the scandalous stories that have been propagated, and tell 
 posterity that we have been abused. "We do, indeed, sell to tlie 
 white men a part of our prisoners, and we have a right so to do. 
 Are not all prisoners at the disposal of their captors ? and are 
 we to blame if we send delinquents to a far country ? I have 
 been told you do the same. If you want no more slaves from Uv^?, 
 why cannot you be ingenuous, and tell the plain truth, saying 
 that the slaves you have already purchased are sufiicient for the 
 country for which you bought them ; or that the artists who used 
 to make fine things are all dead, without having taught anybody 
 to make more ? But for a parcel of men with long heads to sit 
 down in England, and frame laws for us, and pretend to dictate 
 how we are to live, of whom they know nothing — never having 
 been in a black man's country during the whole course of their 
 lives — is to me somewhat extraordinary. No doubt they must 
 have been biassed by the report of some one who has had to do 
 with us ; who, for want of a true knowledge of the treatment of 
 slaves, found that they died on his hands, and that his money was 
 lost ; and seeing others thrive by the traffic, he, envious of their 
 good luck, has vilified both black and white traders. 
 
 " You have seen me kill many men at the Customs, and you, 
 often observed delinquents at Grigwee, and others of ray pro- 
 vinces, tied and sent up to me — I kill them ; but do I ever insist 
 on being paid for them ? Some heads I order to be placed at my 
 door ; others to be strewed about the market-place, that people 
 may stumble on them when they little expect such a sight. This 
 gives a grandeur to my Customs, far beyond the display of fine 
 things which I buy. This makes my enemies fear me, and gives- 
 me such a name in the bush.* Besides, if I should neglect this 
 indispensable duty, would my ancestors sufier me to live ? Would 
 they not trouble me day and night, and say that I sent nobody to- 
 
 * The country expression for the woods. 
 
OP "THE NEGEO'S PLACE IN NATUEE. 
 
 2lo 
 
 serve them ; that I was only solicitous about my own name, and 
 forgetful of my ancestors ? "White men are not acquainted witli 
 these circumstances ; but I now tell you that you may hear, 
 and know and inform your countrymen why Customs are made, 
 and will be made, as long as black men continue to pos>^ess their 
 own country. The few that can be spared from this necessary 
 celebration, we sell to the wliite men. And happy, no doubt, are 
 such, when they find themselves on the path for Grigwee, to be 
 disposed of to the Europeans. ' We shall still drink water,'* say 
 they to themselves ; ' white men will not kill us, and we may even 
 avoid punishment, by serving our new masters with fidelity.' " 
 
 "All this, and much more to the same purpose," adds Mr. 
 Abson, " was said by the Dahoman monarch, in my presence, 
 however incredible it may appear in England ; " and I can see no 
 reason to doubt it, unless we suppose that common sense is 
 confined within narrower limits than experience shows it to be. 
 
 * Meaning We shall still live." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE DAY OF TRIUMPH. 
 
 On Wednesday, January 20, ^Ye were suddenly sum- 
 moned in the hot sun of 2 p.m. to the Komasi Palace. 
 As we sat under the south-eastern corner shade we 
 wefe greeted with El Afiyah by our companions in 
 misfortune, the Moslems, who wore their usual snow^y 
 turbans and long white and blue robes. Men in war 
 tunics and wTappers hurried to the palace, and strings 
 of w^omen were coming out all dust, showing that they 
 had been made over as wives to new captains. 
 
 We entered and sat down as usual beneath the thin 
 tamarind tree, opposite the huge whitewashed store- 
 house. Everything Avas ver}^ mihtary : the King's 
 verandah was a line of poor, sooty, and tattered 
 umbrellas, and before us were four similar, also 
 blackened : one of these was for the fetishmen, whose 
 ten iron sticks were planted in the ground. Opposite 
 
THE DAY OF TRIUMPH. 217 
 
 them, and on our side — the left — \vere seven um- 
 brellas, and within the bamboos stood the Fanti women 
 fresh returned from the campaign. They were in 
 fighting garb, with white fillets round their heads, 
 short drawers, brown war tunics like the men's, and not 
 longer than kilts, girt with white sashes and kept in 
 position by cartridge boxes, with brilliant pouches on 
 their left sides, bright muskets, razors and knives. 
 Their ornaments were necklaces, projecting glorias of 
 brown monkey skins, quantities of fetish beads, talis- 
 mans and other decorations about their breasts, and 
 brass and iron rings on their left arms. They were 
 commanded by Danh-ji-hun-to, a thin, yellow, middle- 
 aged woman, with a hoarse voice and w^earing two 
 diminutive antelope horns on her forehead. 
 
 At 4.25 P.M. a long line of unarmed men ran up, 
 in Indian file, and deposited near the bamboo barrier 
 fifteen little bundles of coarse matting. They were 
 followed by four loads of calabashes, a bit of broken 
 canoe, a sheep and a goat carried in arms, nine old 
 muskets and other equally valuable trophies, which 
 were ranged by the gallant captors in a semi-circle 
 before the King. Silence w^as proclaimed by a knot of 
 some eighty fighteresses and wives, who sat together in 
 
218 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 the O'pen air on the right of the throne, with their 
 " drum," three small rattles, and one cjmbal, on their 
 proper left. The front rank wore silver horns ; each 
 waved a fly-flapper when singing, and the handles of 
 their long knives Avere hung with pink streamers. 
 Behind them were successively silver hair, spangles, 
 white fillets, and red nightcaps, placed loosel}^ on the 
 heads of the blunderbuss women to kee]3 off the sun. 
 One had the true sweep's face, with cherry lips, and 
 glaring white eyes set in deep circles of black. All 
 the troupe squatted on their heels, kneeling up when 
 the emphasis of the song required it. 
 
 The fat Adanejan opened the speeching : the gist of 
 his lengthiness was, that Eddon, chief of Jabatan, a 
 town of Makhi-speaking Nagos in Agoni, about one day 
 beyond Iketu, had ever been a spy and a malignant, 
 sending in reports to the King's enemy, Abeokuta. 
 The place had been taken after six shots ; there were 
 few prisoners, as all the men ran away, consequently 
 the captors had proved themselves poor soldiers. The 
 mat bundles, then opened, disclosed human skulls 
 imperfectly cleaned, some being only smoke-dried. 
 One was much shattered, and another had part of the 
 green scalp adhering to the bone. It was a shabby 
 
THE DAY OF TEIUMPII. 2l» 
 
 display compared with the days when, after an attack 
 on Badagry, Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou 11.) bought of 
 his men 6000 crania. 
 
 The four skulls " with names " were then presented by 
 the Adanejan as Chabi the second chief, a Yodun-no or 
 fetish woman, and Favi and Adibi, two princes. Followed 
 the live male prisoners of distinction. They were naked 
 to the waist, which was wrapped in blue calico, and they 
 knelt, with hands tied before and elbows connected 
 behind by a lanyard, which was held by a soldier, also 
 on his knees. At each presentation a servant of the 
 Adanejan placed both hands upon the captive's 
 shoulders, standing behind him, and called out his name 
 and rank, which were repeated to the King by a high 
 officeress. The following fourteen were presented : First 
 were three boys ; Eddon the chief, a miserably lean 
 scowling man, who will certainly lose his head, and Doicha 
 Vodun-no, his brother; three princes, Legbo,Bwedon, and 
 Yabi ; a hunter and a chief drummer : Chago, a boy, one 
 of the chiefs nephews, three small children, black, 
 yellow, and brown ; and three sons of hunters, Bosu, 
 Akholu, and Bosan. After presentation, they were all 
 led away by the men. 
 
 A violent drumming introduced nine women " with 
 
220 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 names," as follows : Chago, Epwe, Ayinan, and Ede, 
 wives of the chief — the third very old, the last aged 
 about ten ; Meneke and Yabu, hunters' wives ; Loko-si, 
 a hunter's sister ; Nyon, a Tansi-no, or fetish woman for 
 the King ; and Ojohon, the daughter of a chief long ago 
 slain. Behind them stood several others, who were not 
 named. The women captives, including one with a 
 babe at the breast, born on the march — 
 
 0 Lucina ferox, hoc peperisse fuit ? 
 
 — were led away by the women troops. 
 
 After this function, two boys and two girls were 
 brought in from left to right, were placed kneeling 
 before and were presented as gifts to the King. These 
 the first fruits of the capture, are never bound till 
 in the royal presence : they are technically called So-si 
 or Thunder-tail.* After this customary ceremony, the 
 messengeresses took the end of the long tether con- 
 nected with each small left arm, and conducted the 
 tribute into the harem. 
 
 * So (thunder, or heavy firing of guns), si (a tail ; not to be con- 
 founded with 'si for assi, a wife). The anirnal's tail is the hunter's 
 trophy, and he always removes it the first. 
 
THE DAY OF TEIUMPH. 
 
 221 
 
 Five soldier-prisoners were next placed on their 
 knees, and were named like the captives ; one had lost 
 his gun, another had tied up his sword in a bundle, a 
 third had no gunpowder, a fourth no ball, and the last 
 had drawn the royal ammunition without bringing back 
 either head or prisoner. The recreants were huddled 
 away to jail, and their sentence was confirmed by pro- 
 longed " Ububu," from the male, and " Khe " on the part 
 of the feminine soldiery. 
 
 The Addugba drum then struck up. It is played by 
 public women, an organised and royal institution, 
 appointed from the palace, and placed under the Meu 
 for the comfort and refreshment of the lieges.'-^ The 
 present king has appointed a fresh troops of ladies of 
 pleasure, but they have not as yet received permission to 
 practise. At first the honor arium was twenty cowries ; 
 hence the common title " Ko-si," score-wife or quadran- 
 iaria :\ at the representation of the ministers the 
 solatium was increased to two strings, or fourfold. 
 They drum during the day at the royal abode, and late 
 
 * So far Dahome is in advance of us. W^e now begin to see the 
 advantage of Lock Hospitals for the soldier, when every man of sense 
 recognized it years ago. 
 
 t Ko-si is not insulting ; Agaleto, or huona roba, is ; Agaleto-vi — filius 
 meretricis — is a common abusive phrase. 
 
222 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 at night they return to their own quarters, near the 
 Bwekon village and the Agbome Gate. There are 
 peculiarities about the institution which will presently 
 strike the reader. 
 
 The Addugba, " for outside," consisted of four men 
 and two women, the latter standing behind with veiled 
 bosoms, blue pagnes, and white fillets : they used as 
 fans discs of thin brass, pierced with holes and sur- 
 mounting long light handles. Their leader had a 
 leathern apron, after the fashion of the Lake Regions, 
 but lined and streaked with cowries. There were also 
 the Ko-si, or quadrantaricB, " for inside," an amount of 
 cynicism, wdiich I had hardly expected. This internal 
 Addugba stood behind the warrioresses on the left of 
 the throne, and wore red headkerchiefs, and white and 
 scarlet tunics, with lines of yellow cloth, under blue 
 pagnes. The men knelt and performed in presence of 
 the King. The Adanejan now brought forward a sixth 
 prisoner, and explained his offence, deserting to Iketu, 
 and attempting to join Jabatan. This caitiff w^as also 
 led off by his rope. 
 
 Shouts and trills announced that cowries and cloth 
 were being brought from the palace. Each owner of a 
 skull received for it a head of shells (equal to two shil- 
 
THE DAY OF TRIUMPH. 223 
 
 lings),* and the grisly semi-circle broke up. The 
 fetishers sang : — 
 
 £ Bo-hun e degi. 
 
 The Bo-drum (of war), it is verj- good ! 
 
 All the captives "with names" advanced on their- 
 knees up a lane leading towards the King, and formed 
 by ministers on one side and by captains on the other. 
 Their cords were held by their captors, who sold them 
 to the Crown. The minimum price was one head and 
 two fathoms of cloth : an old woman with children 
 in her arms, and presently led off to the harem, fetched 
 the maximum, a large cloth and two heads and a half. 
 All except a small child, that cried a little with fear, 
 showed the utmost stoicism. The captors were then, 
 with the usual ceremonies, invested by the ministers ; 
 and each cloth was acknowledged with cries, to the soft 
 sounds of flageolets and the tinkling of cymbals. The 
 prisoners "without names'^ were then sold. Finally, 
 the chief Eddon and his brother Doicha were placed 
 kneeling before the throne. His lucky captor, " Kiko," 
 
 * In the History, the utmost price of a skull is twenty ackies of 
 cowries, or thirty shillings; of a captive, thirty-two cabess, cabeca, 
 or head of cowries, equal to £16. 
 
224 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 a joung captain, after ample praise from the King as a 
 \Yarman that had brought in three skulls, received, by 
 various instalments, a total of sixteen heads and a long- 
 white cloth. The capturer of the chief's brother received 
 a pink pagne. 
 
 Divers decorated men now came hastily forward with 
 war-axes and " blue knives/' One youth declared that he 
 would slay eighty, others forty of the foe, and others 
 still more moderately : at the end of this boasting all 
 prostrated and shovelled up the dust. " Ago " pro- 
 claimed Silence ! and the Adanejan told the public, 
 to cries of Tamule ! " that they must fight bravely 
 against Abeokuta. They clapped hands, received 
 cowries and liquor, and retired. The Gau and five 
 men then made furious speeches about the Egbas, 
 ending with a sand bath, and the King caused 
 villanous cachinnation by declaring that when " spread- 
 ing a table'' for his father he must place Jabatan upon 
 it. To which the lanky chief listened without moving 
 even an e^^e-lid. 
 
 The Blue and afterwards the Fanti Companies rose, 
 and capered from side to side. Four Ananun-wa-hwisu, 
 or " blue knives,'' were then placed before the King, 
 and a corresponding number of women rushed out 
 
THE DAY OF TRIUMPH. 
 
 225 
 
 grounded muskets, took up the armes blanches^ and 
 danced like furies. As usual, the men imitated them. 
 It being my turn to give " bakhshish," I wrote a pro- 
 missory note of 100 dels, for the women and 50 dels, 
 for the men, who have other means of subsistence. The 
 bamboo fence was thrust out, and Gelele came to the 
 fore, dressed in a white fillet and a Mauve-coloured 
 tobe, one woman fanning and another shading him with 
 a red and yellow parasol. We remained seated as 
 he harangued the lieges about my gift, and wdiilst 
 the heralds shouted his strong names he declared 
 that Abeokuta, being no longer the Englishman's 
 friendy must be broken. After presenting cloth to his 
 new favourite, the Ajyaho, and requesting me to 
 come to-morrow and address my company, he sent 
 to us the usual two flowered-glass caraffes of rum, 
 upon which we soon beat a retreat into the cool 
 moonshine. 
 
 At 1 P.M. on Thursday, January 21, w^e again went 
 to the palace, and found a similar mise en scene. About 
 200 Blues, some with gunpowdered cheeks and fore- 
 head, were squatting in a semicircle before the throne : 
 on its right was a knot of about sixty female singers, 
 on its left the same number of Fanti women. The 
 
 VOL. II. Q 
 
226 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 band, with waved hands and loud hums at the end of 
 each strophe, were singing : — 
 
 A dog fetclies game for its master ; 
 
 So the King brought Ishagga to his father's ghost : 
 
 which sounded much hke bathos or anti-chmax. The 
 ensuing clamour, boasting, presenting arms and fear- 
 fully lengthy songs, were sleepy work as well as absurd. 
 That ancient Pistol, Adan-men-nun-kon, strode up and 
 down before the King, shouting Ye-ge ! and pretending 
 to weep over the doom of the Egbas, who were eating 
 and drinking, laughing and talking, all heedless of the 
 evil which awaited them. He was unconsciously 
 uttering his own death wail. 
 
 Another song, a storm of drums and rattles, and a 
 "blue-knife" dance, summoned the King to perform, 
 w^iich, however, he did not. Two swords and sash-belts 
 sent to the chief^s captors, an old musket and powder 
 pouches or cartridge boxes, each worth perhaps a 
 shilling, distributed amongst the less deserving, caused 
 a renewal of saltation and saluting. Two piles of 200 
 cowrie-heads, surrounded by rum bottles, were heaped 
 up " for w^oman's side," and " for man's side amongst 
 the workwomen we recognised the Yavedo — Mr. 
 Dawson's younger mother — a large black girl, perhaps 
 
THE DAY OF TEIUMPH. 
 
 227 
 
 ten years younger than her son. After more speeches, 
 YOTvs and advice, especially from the Gau, who told the 
 soldiers to prepare provisions so as not to faint on the 
 road, . twenty-five kegs"" of powder were exhibited as 
 the material for the morrow's firing. 
 
 As sunset was approaching, the King summoned me 
 before him to address his guards. I was accompanied 
 by Mr. Cruikshank and by Messrs. Bernasko and 
 Dawson, the " Prince Bah," alias Beecham, interpreting. 
 I began by saying that amongst us the officer is 
 answerable when the soldier is unprepared for fight. 
 Our mode of inspecting and examining arms was then 
 shown. Against this nothing could be advanced. I 
 next proposed to place the left hand under the trigger 
 guard, and inserting a knife handle into the barrel 
 muzzle, imitated our original baj^onet. The King at 
 once objected, firstl}', that it is good for soldiers even in 
 play to run risk, and, secondly, that they were expected 
 to "go in'" and "give a touch'' with their daggers. 
 He evidently is, or would be, a '^general a dij? mille 
 liommes far semainer Of course, nothing remained to 
 
 * The mark was Karnes Mills," probably American sold as English 
 gunpowder, which the King prefers, finding, it is said, too much 
 charcoal in the French. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 say but that every country has its customs; and that 
 amongst us it is, or it ought to be, 
 
 " Hifore honourable far servare 
 Cicem than slay an adversary." 
 
 Being then urged to address the Bhaes, I exhorted them 
 to talk less and to do more, quoting, 
 
 Avun do kho, e do kho, e dume a. 
 
 A dog (who) taiketh palaver, he talketh palaver, he biteth not. 
 
 This the old landlord illustrated by falling on all-fours, 
 and growling like the canidce, which here do not 
 bark."^^' It being a Dahoman fashion to praise the 
 women at the expense of the men, I told the latter that 
 in our country the feminine gender was garrulous, and 
 the masculine silent, ^vhereas at Agbome the phe- 
 nomenon was reversed. As Adan-men-nun-kon again 
 violently addressed his monarch, he was told to keep 
 all that energy for the King of Abeokuta. The w^omen, 
 after deriding him, thanked me, through their com- 
 manding officer, and next morning came a present of 
 provisions from both companies, with the usual compli- 
 
 * In the kingdom of Uganda, north of Unyamwezi, courtiers acknow- 
 ledge the presence by wallowing and whining like dogs. Here they 
 wallow, but do not whine. 
 
THE DAY OF TEIUMPH. 229 
 
 mentary message that they had sat up all night pon- 
 dering over the words of wisdom which had fallen 
 from my lips. 
 
 We were summoned on Friday, January 22nd, but 
 business detained the King till sunset, when he accepted 
 an excuse. Saturday also was a day of rest, our notes 
 requiring to be written out. The time slips easily 
 away at Agbome. Rising with the dawn, we set out 
 as soon as the hammock-men can be collected, and 
 walk till 9 A.M. Refection follows till eleven, and my 
 lesson in Ffon outlasts the noon. If we visit the 
 Komasi Palace, the rest of the day will be a blank ; the 
 brain becomes so weary that work in the evening is 
 impossible. If we avoid it, the afternoon is an inverted 
 copy of the forenoon. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 DAHOME AND HER CAPITAL. 
 
 The extent and population of Danh-ho-men-to (" the 
 Land of Dahome^') have been grossly exaggerated. 
 Dr. M'Leod, who never left Whydah, Commander 
 Forbes, and M. Wallon, have assigned to this incon- 
 siderable province of the Great Oyo or Yoruban 
 empire, the wide region between the so-called Kong 
 Mountains on the north, and the Bight of Benin on the 
 south, a depth of two hundred miles. The rivers and 
 lagoons of Lagos, others say the Niger, are made the 
 eastern, while the Volta River and the Ashantis become 
 the western frontier. This gives a breadth of one 
 hundred and eighty, making a total area of 36,000 
 square miles. 
 
 Such boundaries may have been, although I greatly 
 doubt them : now we must reduce Dahome to nearly 
 one-tenth. Her northern frontier, bordering on the 
 
DAHOME AND HER CxVPITAL. 
 
 231 
 
 Makhis, is a water called Tevi, eighteen hours of ham- 
 mock, equal to forty miles, from Agbome, giving a 
 maximum direct distance of one hundred miles. On 
 the north-eastward, beyond the tributary Agoni tribes, 
 are the Iketu and other Nagos or Yorubans, who have 
 been plundered, but never subjected. To the north- 
 westward are the semi-independent races of Aja,* of 
 Attakpame,t and others. The extreme extent, fifty 
 miles, narrows towards the south, giving the province a 
 pyriform shape. The base between Godome or 
 Jackin, the easternmost settlement, and the frontier 
 between Whydah and the turbulent independent Popos, 
 cannot exceed twenty-five to thirty miles. Assuming, 
 therefore, forty miles as the medium breadth, we obtain 
 a superficies of 4000 square miles. Moreover, as has 
 been shown, this small black Sparta is hedged in by 
 
 * The Aja are known by three short cuts on the cheek; the IN'ago, 
 by three long, with various combinations. There are sundry sub- tribes, 
 as Ajabikome, Ajawachi, and Kpese (the *'Peshie" of the History), 
 whence the trade went to the Popo and Q,uitta countries. They are 
 described as worshipping thunder ; a point of resemblance with Yoruba. 
 The French call them Les Barbares. 
 
 t The Attahpahms of Commander Forbes. They must not be con- 
 founded with the proper Takpas of the powerful Isigerian kingdom 
 Nufe. In Mr. Xorris' map they are made to extend to the north-west 
 of Agbome. I have met amongst the slaves and bush women lower 
 lips pierced to admit a bit of coral, and when asking the tribe, was 
 generally answered Takpas." 
 
232 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 hostile accolents. " Porto Novo " and Badagry, to the 
 eastward, have fallen into European hands, whilst the 
 Popo republics, on the w^est, are safe in their marshes. 
 The people of Agwe came in " last year, and w^ere 
 received by the King,'- but they will add an element of 
 weakness. Dahome will crumble to pieces under the 
 first heavy shock. 
 
 The numbers assigned to the kingdom vary greatly, 
 and are all guess-work. Commander Forbes proposes 
 200,000 ; M. Wallon raises it to 900,000 ; Commo- 
 dore Wilmot reduces it to 180,000, which I would 
 further diminish to 1 50,000, f of whom, perhaps, four- 
 fifths are w^omen and children. The population is 
 thus not a third of w^hat the land could support. The 
 annual withdrawal of both sexes from industry to 
 slave-hunting and the Customs at the capital, the waste 
 of reproduction in Amazons, and the losses by disease 
 and defeat, have made the country in parts a desert. 
 
 * This took place before the Komasi Palace, when Commander Wilmot 
 ■was at the capital. The head men, with their wives, came up and made 
 obeisance, after which the whole deputation received presents of rum, 
 cloth, and cowries. Finally they were dismissed to their homes, with 
 leave to live in peace and quiet till wanted by the King for war. 
 
 •j- I judge this from the numerical force of the armies. The dispro- 
 portion of sexes is caused by polygamy, and the greater risk and 
 exposure of the men. 
 
TnE DAY OF TEIUMPH. 
 
 233 
 
 So contemptible is the African Power which is perhaps 
 the best known throughout Europe ! And so strong is 
 eccentricity to attract notice ! 
 
 Agbome first appears upon the stage of history in 
 1724, and since that time there has been a regular 
 intercourse between England and Dahome, which has 
 now a small literature of her own.''' The enceinte of 
 the capital is perhaps larger than that of any other 
 Ffon town, but the j)opulation certainly does not exceed 
 that of Wh3^dah. It is, of course, floating, and perhaps 
 at times may have reached the figures assigned to it 
 by Commodore Wilmot — 20,000 souls. The site, like 
 that of Allada, is a rolling plain or plateau — these 
 people ever prefer high ground — ending in short bluffs 
 to the north-west, where it is bounded by a long- 
 depression, | suggesting the action of eluvium, grassy, 
 and streaked with lines of trees, where water must 
 lie, if not flow, in the wet season. Scattered over this 
 hollow are the principal pans which scantily supply 
 the city. Beyond the valley the country again rises 
 towards the Makhi Hills, whose jagged blue summits 
 
 • See History of Dahomy" (pp. 20, 28). Forbes, "Dahomey and 
 Dahomans " (vol. i. pp. 4, 5), and preface to those volumes, 
 t ^ot a deep ravine," as Commander Forbes calls it. 
 
234 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 look enticingly mysterious to the traveller. Amongst 
 them, Minefin and Bowule""' are described by the 
 people as high, cold, and abounding in game, especially 
 wild hog : their land wind is cooling and healthy. 
 These hills, which may be considered the threshold of the 
 so-called Kong region, supply the granitic and schistose 
 stones used by the people for grinding grain. A glance 
 at the map shows that between the Benin Gulf and the 
 Niger the land is r)rismoidal, with a long southern slope, 
 and a shorter northern counter-slope to the Great 
 River. 
 
 Let us now circumambulate the enceinte of Agbome, 
 which has already been partially described. Beginning 
 from the southern, or Ako-chyo Gate, which issues 
 upon the Komasi Palace and the adjacent suburb of 
 Bwe-kon, about one mile leads us to the Kana-'gbonun, 
 or eastern gate, by which we first entered the city. 
 The land between them is grassy, dotted with palms, 
 and showing by its ridges that the hoe was once active. 
 Crossing the village of little fetish huts at the Kana 
 Gate, we bend northwards, leaving to the right a path 
 leading to the Kido, or north-eastern water-pits. The 
 
 * Possibly the Boagry " cf the History, which the map places 
 W.N.W. of Agbome. Mr. Duncan (Vol. I. chap. 1) calls it GboowoUey." 
 
DAHOME AND HER CAPITAL. 235 
 
 country continues the same, and amongst the few farm- 
 steads we are shown Dokon, or Addokon, the Yevo- 
 gan's hereditary village. Hugging the " zun/' or 
 acacia bush of the moat, we pass a hole pierced through 
 it where the side is shallowest. Here begins a double 
 line of circumvallation, protecting the settlement from 
 the north-east to the north-west, including the principal 
 waters, especially the King s, and probably intended as 
 a defence against an equestrian enemy.* The extreme 
 distance between the false and the true enceintes is 
 more than a mile, and the interval is overgrown with 
 bush and grass, with here and there a hut or a dwarf 
 field. If we follow the outer line of ditch, the path 
 falls, by a succession of steps, with outcrops of iron- 
 stone, into the valley between Agbome and the Makhi 
 Mountains. On the way, four or five tall trees, which 
 here distinguish the moat entrances, point out the 
 Tohun-'gbonun,t or north-western gate, in the false 
 enceinte. It is a small and poor approach, leading to a 
 water called Nyassa. 
 
 * We read in the History that when the Oyos attacked Agaja the 
 Conqueror at Agbome, and were repulsed by him, they filled the deep 
 moat in the hurry of their flight, and thus made a bridge for the others 
 to escape by. 
 
 t To (stream), and bun (the hole whence it issues). According to 
 some, Tohun " is a proper name. 
 
233 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Crossing, however, the ditch before reaching the 
 Tohun-'gbonun we pursue a goat-track through grass, 
 wikl egg-plants, and neglected plantations, leaving on 
 our right, or northwards, the first slope of the great 
 depression. After ten minutes we reach the Agesi- 
 'gbonun,''' or northern gap, opening upon the direct 
 road to the Diddo or royal water, and upon a path 
 bending ISF.-East to the Nyassa pans. Opposite us the 
 north-western arm of the false enceinte is crossed by 
 the Alo-ma-bli-nen-'gbonun,t built by King Gezo. If 
 we would avoid this, we pass through the Agesi-'gbonun 
 into the enceinte, when a few yards conduct us to a 
 shrubby and apparently unguarded gap, the Tavosa- 
 'gbonun it opens to the N.-West, and the moat is 
 spanned by a clay dyke with a steep sag. Resuming from 
 this point our walk, after ten minutes of peasants' path 
 through neglected fields, we find the Agbo-e-ja-ga,§ 
 which conducts to the palace of Tegbwesun (Bossa 
 Ahadi). Here begins the large exterior suburb, stretch- 
 ing from the N.-West, and spreading over the country to 
 
 * So called from some individual. 
 
 t Alo (hand), ma (don't), bli (roll), nen (virility) — a queer name for a 
 gate. 
 
 X Tavosa, also a proper name. 
 
 § Agbo (gate), e (he), ja-ga (goes out), i.e., the outward-leading gate. 
 
DAHOME AND HEU CAPITAL. 237 
 
 the S.-West. Agbome, like other cities, is " going out of 
 town ; " and the newer is decidedly the cleaner and the 
 prettier locality. In this part the faubourg is called 
 Adan-do-kpo-ji. Passing en route the Lise-lmn-zo or 
 palace of Sinmenkpen (Adahoonzou 11.) , lying south 
 of the former, we find under fine trees a Nesu-hwe, or 
 Nesu temple, fronting a clear and cleaned space. A 
 little beyond it lies a large double gate, the Adan-do- 
 kpo-ji, through which the King passes when visiting 
 the manes of his ancestors. The suburb here straggles 
 out, and on all sides appear farms and plantations of 
 palm trees, which, however, grow better inside the 
 enceinte, w^here they are not scorched by bush fires. 
 Near the entrance is another Adan-blon-no-ten, an 
 open space where the King sits and swears : a gate- 
 less passage over the moat, known as the E-Oyo- 
 nagba-'gbonun,* connects it with the southern ex- 
 tremity of the inner town and with the Kpo-go-e-ji,t a 
 broad street near the Komasi Palace, where a few market 
 wives daily assemble to sell canke}'' and other provisions. 
 There is a similar out-door bazaar near the Agbome 
 Palace, called the Kechli-'li, or road of Kechi," a 
 
 * Said to be a proper name, meaning He will break down Ovo. 
 t Interpreted Palm roof-tree corner. 
 
238 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Whjdah caboceer. Continuing our southerly course 
 under a Yo-sisa or Afa cliarm to prevent disease, in the 
 shape of a gallows furnished with a dead dog, hung 
 head downwards, we reach the Uhun-jro market, and 
 the Ako-chyo-'gbonun, where our walk began. Each 
 king builds his own gate at the time when he is 
 allowed to raise a palace of swish. Thus the total 
 number, including the Tohun-'gbonun and the Alo-ma- 
 bli-nen-gbonun, the sister entrances through the false 
 enceinte, and not including the gap, is eight. The cir- 
 cumambulation required two hours, equal to five miles. 
 
 To one walking round the inner enceinte, Agbome 
 appears even to less advantage. The aggerose surface 
 is pitted with the deep holes common in Yoruba 
 towns : these earth diggings are alternately filled 
 with offals, with foul vegetation — especially the un- 
 wholesome croton plant {Croton Tiglium) — and with 
 water, and mud, the latter drying, as in Whydah, to 
 the consistency of common ashlar. The circumference 
 cannot be more than four miles, occupying an hour 
 and a-half ; two-thirds of it is a fine open country, 
 scattered with trees and fields of bean and vetch, 
 
 * Commodore Wilmot says, probably seven miles round," but this 
 was not after actual inspection. 
 
DAHOME AND IIER CAPITAL. 239 
 
 mostly choked by dense grasses veiling the ancient 
 furrows. To the west and south-west, the buildings 
 cluster thickest, and latrince being unknown, the ground 
 about them is very foul, the Mosaic precept being 
 utterly neglected.*"' Agbome is as truly Dahoman as 
 Washington is or was United States, — a typical place. 
 Somewhat like old and despotic Cairo, it is a mass 
 of villages, which under any but the present barbarians 
 would soon grow to be a city. When inspected, however, 
 the composing elements are found to be the palace 
 carcases and a few large establishments belonging to 
 the principal officers and their retainers. The con- 
 spicuous feature in the town is the Agbome House, a 
 rude circle, measuring, if we cut off the various angles, 
 2560 paces in circumference. The gates of the Queens 
 are, as has been seen, in the north and north-western 
 walls : those of the Kings are in the eastern and 
 southern sides. Amongst the most conspicuous of 
 these are the Patin-sa, the Han-ho-nukun-ji,f the Agrin- 
 go-men, the Cowrie House, the Akwaji, the Singbo-men, 
 and the Adan-jro-ko-de, which some writers have 
 
 * Deul. xxiii. 13. 
 
 t The words mean Han (sing), ho (speak), nukun (eyes), ji (top, or 
 upon). 
 
240 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 confused into different palaces ; — they have all been 
 alluded to in previous pages. To the north of the 
 Agbome, as was said, is the venerable but decrepid 
 Dahome House, and around both are the " compounds " 
 of the chiefs, miniature copies of the royal abodes and 
 jealously separated by bush and trees for privacy and 
 in fear of fire. To the south-west of the Agbome palace 
 is a thick clump of houses, extending to the town ditch, 
 and divided only by the Uhun-jro market-place from 
 the Komasi House. The two royal houses in the Adan- 
 do-kpo-ji are also surrounded by compounds, and the 
 same may be said of the Bwe-kon-hwe-gbo and the 
 Jegbe Palaces. 
 
 The great drawback at Agbome during the dry 
 season, is the deficiency and the badness of the w^ater. 
 An Artesian well, or at least a Bletonist, would be a 
 boon. As a rule the supply is white with clay, and 
 must be a fertile source of dysentery. Often it is chaly- 
 beate ; and, at the best, it is stagnant. For some 
 reason, superstitious or despotic, the lieges are not 
 allowed to dig w^ells ; perhaps the gravelly nature of 
 the soil, and the depth of excavation required, would 
 place the operation beyond their powers. Supplies 
 must be fetched, therefore, by the Sin-no, or water 
 
DAHOME AND HER CAPITAL. 241 
 
 T^ ives, from the great depression bounding the town- 
 plateau to the north and north-west, where it is found 
 in shallow pits, pans, and holes cut near the larger 
 pools to filter the element. As the nearest habitations 
 are distant two, and the farthest five, miles from these 
 ahreuvoirs, the path is trodden day and night with 
 heavy monotonous toil. Those who want the water 
 anywhere near the royal supply must begin early, the 
 women of the palace issuing after dawn, and keeping 
 all clear for themselves. Male Dahomans have lately 
 been forbidden the road to Diddo, the King's water ; 
 holding ourselves, however, not included in this prohi- 
 bition, Mr. Cruikshank and I resolved to visit it. 
 
 Setting out at four on a misty morning, with two 
 " Naureo,'' but without interpreter or hammocks, we 
 already found a thin string of carriers on the way. 
 After the Agesi-'gbonun, or northern gate, we skirted 
 the western arc of the false ditch, and presently fell 
 into the slope of the great depression. The ground 
 was disposed in little steps, ridges, and sheets of the- 
 usual reddish and large-pored iron-clay stone, congested 
 
 * Here Krumen are so called from the words signifying " good 
 morning " in their tongue ; we left the hammock-men, whose perpetual 
 fear of punishment after our departure would have laboured hard to 
 mislead us. 
 
 TOL. II, R 
 
242 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 as if fused. Half-an-hour's walk from the city led us 
 to a thick bush, garnished with huge trees, and the 
 tremendous din of women who were bahng water with 
 calabashes into their jars, told us that we had arrived 
 at our destination. Some wretches, wearied out, were 
 sleeping in the cleared places, with pots by their sides, 
 and there had been many breakages. The principal 
 pits are on the left of the arenose path ; they are 
 cleaner than those of Nyassa and Kido, which show an 
 offensive scum, whilst the surrounding swamp savours 
 of decay. After our inspection we followed the north- 
 ern road, till we reached a house built across it, and 
 occupied by Jabwa, warden of the wells. Beyond this 
 point, but turning to the right, before entering the 
 bush, there is another water called Danh-to-men.* 
 
 The " Minister of the Interior " is badly supplied at 
 Agbome, and the provisions are dearer even than at 
 Whydah. Prices have quadrupled during the last 
 six years, the effects of an ultra-mihtary policy ; and 
 very often, as in a famine, no inducement will make 
 men part with their store. We tasted beef once only 
 during our stay; the Tsetse fly abounds, I believe, in 
 
 * Danh (snake, or rainbow), to (water, sea, pool, or stream, opposed 
 to sin, drinking water), and men (in). 
 
DAHOME AND HER CAPITAL. 243 
 
 the bush, but in the towns black cattle are plentiful, a 
 small bullock fetching 10 dols. to 16 dels. The mutton 
 and goat's-flesh are equally lean, stringy, and tasteless, 
 and the whole animal must be bought ; the sheep cost- 
 ing 2 dols., or half the price of its more odoriferous con- 
 gener. Pigs are worth more than goats ; in the palace 
 they are purely fed, elsewdiere they find themselves. I 
 never saw horseflesh, which was eaten of old. Dried fish 
 is sometimes sent up from the sea-board. Turkeys, rare 
 at Kana and Agbome, fetch 1 dol. 50 cents. ; Guinea 
 fowls and Manilla ducks, half-a-crown ; and poor thin 
 pullets, two shillings each. Poultry, however, is seldom 
 to be bought, especially at the present season, Avhen 
 they are being sacrificed by order of Afa. There are 
 also a few pigeons. Eggs are not sold, perhaps under 
 the conviction that they will fetch more as pullets — 
 when obtainable they are w^orth 8 cents, per dozen. 
 Milk is not used,'^' and animals seem to labour under a 
 natural agalaxy. 
 
 There are, as has been said, four large and many 
 smaller markets. At the latter, the principal sale 
 
 * Dr. M'Leod (1803) found milk used as food, a custom not 
 generally practised on any other part of the south-west coast of this 
 continent." In his day, cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry were ex- 
 ceptionally plentiful. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 seems to be of water, grain, vegetables, and a few 
 fruits ; the former is sold in pots, of various sizes, and, 
 according to quality, commands, at this season, from 
 a halfpenny to a penny per gallon. The cankey-ball 
 (Dahome's quartern loaf) fetched, under the old king, 
 three cowries — it is now worth twelve. The principal, if 
 not the only, grains are maize and Guinea-corn, whose 
 manifold preparations have been alluded to. The vege- 
 tables are beans and vetches, of various kinds; yams, 
 tolerable ; groundnuts, common ; sweet potatoes, plen- 
 tiful at Whydah, rare here; manioc, sold boiled as well 
 as raw ; ferine, i.e., farinha, " wood-meal,'^ * much used 
 at Agbome and Whydah ; and many kinds of greens, 
 especially the excellent occro, or esculent Hibiscus, 
 locally called " Fevi," or " Nye'un ; " while chives, or 
 small onions, are sold in every bazaar. The fruits are 
 oranges, mostly bitter, except those in the royal gar- 
 dens ; plantains and papaws in plantations ; limes, 
 somewhat acerb ; cashews and rare cocoas ; mangoes, 
 guavas, and wild pine-apples, which, wanting water, 
 run to leaf. The tamarind is everywhere disregarded, 
 
 * The root is ground as potatoes for starch : it is again sun-dried, and 
 partially ground to the consistence of oatmeal, when it can be eaten dry 
 or with water. 
 
DAHOME AND HEE CAPITAL. 245 
 
 even in the King's house. The ginger is very poor. 
 A Httle sugar and salt can be bought or borrowed, red 
 pepper is abundant, and the black variety is unknown. 
 As has been said, all the liquor is of the vilest, and the 
 traveller should land at Whydah, where even beer is 
 often unprocurable, with all his stores. It may be said 
 of the Dahoman as of " poor Paddy," that he 
 
 On basest food pours down the vilest drink." 
 
 There are small patches of small-boled cotton, in the 
 town, giving false promise of better things to men 
 of strong faith. The wild indigo is sold in cakes, 
 and is the common cloth-dye of the country ; its 
 colour is excellent, but no amount of demand would 
 produce a regular supply here. 
 
 The list of animals in Dahome is not extensive. 
 Elephants have been killed out, lions are known only 
 by name; hysenasr— the local "resurrection men'' — 
 and bush-cats are common. The people are fond of 
 porcupines, hares, and of a large grey and sometimes 
 dark-brown rodent, called by Mr. Norris " Agouti,'' and 
 formerly by the blacks " Cabra do matto." * It is 
 
 * A name formerly applied by the Portuguese to dog's flesh, which is 
 still relished here. 
 
246 
 
 A raSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 killed by a trap falling upon it, split, skewered, and 
 carbonadoed with the skin on. An average specimen 
 brings a head of cowries, and the flesh, as cooked by 
 the natives, is good; I never saw a live specimen. 
 Small antelopes are found in the bush surrounding the 
 capital, and it shelters monkeys, which the people 
 gladly devour. There is a yellow specimen called 
 kra-ve,* which seeing the gun before the latter is fired, 
 causes the barrel to burst — a reason explaining the 
 frequent accidents. Hunters speak of the Gha ( u ), or 
 Inaki of the Egbas, a huge anthropoid ape, formerly 
 found about Gbezumen, a village one day's journey 
 from Whydah, and they make its cry to resemble that of 
 the gorilla. There are also fabulous animals. The Aziza, 
 for instance, is a sylvan beast, erect, manlike, and loud- 
 voiced ; it teaches the hunter fetish, and makes him 
 wondrous brave. f Many birds have legends attached 
 to them. Kites (the Falco CJdlla of India) are eaten, 
 and magic medicines are made from the Afunsoko'u, or 
 white-breasted raven (Corms Senegalensis), also called 
 Aze-khe, or man-eater. It is here supposed to be a 
 
 * Of this animal wonderful tales are rife throughout Yoruba. 
 ■\ The Aja of the Egbas is a dwarf, who carries off men to the bush, 
 and teaches them magic and medicine. 
 
DAHOME AND HEE CAPITAL. 247 
 
 " devil (bad ghost), and to talk ; as with the Egbas, 
 no rain falls when it lays its eggs, and its flocking 
 denotes impending war. The owl, too, is an Aze-khe, 
 or cannibal, a messenger of anthropophagi, who would 
 kill and devour a foe ;] men and boys will often be 
 seen carrying these small grey birds by the legs. The 
 turkey-buzzard is respected for its utility. No one 
 will kill the " King's bird,'' a small motacilla, termed 
 Awaje'khe,. which consequently becomes tame as a wren ; 
 the Nago women are supposed to talk to and to under- 
 stand it. The cuculine " Scotchman " is a " devil-bird," 
 causing the gun to burst. Mr. Cruikshank shot several 
 specimens, but — nHmporte; it is called " Wu-tu-tu" an 
 onomatopoetic word, exactly expressing its note.* 
 There is a muscicapa called Berille, which disregards 
 the burning bush, when attacking the expelled locusts, 
 therefore the soldier is ordered to be " brave as the 
 Berille." Ring-doves, large and small, abound through 
 the country, and were noticed by Phillips. There is a 
 fine spur-fowl known as Koklo-asso, or bush poultry, 
 heavier birds and darker than the English partridge, 
 short winged and good runners. They are best killed 
 
 * This is mucli as if we were to call a crow a " caw," and a sheep a 
 baa" — expressive, but childish. 
 
248 
 
 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 "with No. 3 shot. In the first year they are good eating, 
 and tliey are found in coveys throughout the enceinte, 
 where not built over. A single quail was seen, and the 
 few herons and water birds were very wild. We could 
 not collect many specimens, being compelled to confine 
 our rambles to the vicinity of the town. 
 
 The tenure of land throughout the empire is in " fee- 
 simple," allodium, as amongst us, being unknown. Agri- 
 culture is despised, because slaves are employed in it. 
 The people, however, are not ignorant of husbandry. The 
 women ridge the ground neatly with their little hoes, and 
 some, more industrious, dispose over their crofts the huge 
 heaps of kitchen-midden that have grown about their 
 houses. Were its cultivation enforced, the oil-palm, as has 
 been said, would be a mine of wealth, and the roads to 
 the coast, except in a few places, are good enough for 
 wheeled vehicles. But there is scant inducement to 
 amass riches, of which the owner would assuredly be 
 " squeezed " as often as he could support the operation. 
 
 DahomCj like Yoruba, perhaps I may say like eastern 
 and western intertropical Africa generally, is a red 
 soil,* and prodigiously fertile. This is " dead dries/' 
 
 * Hence, in Senegal, the old French name, "Le terrier rouge," 
 Anglicised by **Red Borough." 
 
DAHOME AND HER CAPITAL. 
 
 249 
 
 when the algid breath of the desert wind blows strongly, 
 making all adust. Yet even the poles planted in our 
 yard put forth green leaves. 
 
 Agbome is higher, drier, and less unhealthy than 
 Whydah. After eight years' weathering, the swish 
 walls show little damage here. The Harmattan * season 
 lasts from December to January, and is followed by the 
 hot months of March and April, when tornadoes usher 
 in tolerably heavy rains. The wet weather begins in 
 May, or sometimes, as in 1863, late in June. About 
 September there is a break, called the harvest-time or 
 the Little Dries. October and November are the later 
 rains, generally accompanied by severe tornadoes, and 
 by tremendous storms of thunder and lightning. The 
 climate, in fact, is that of inner Yoruba.f 
 
 * The Harmattan wind, here called Wuo, is a supernatural being, not 
 unlike the Giant of Egba. This black -^Eolus is shut in a cave, under 
 a guardian called Wuo-hun-to, who, after oiling his own body, which 
 would otherwise be cut up by the wind, opens the gate and lets his 
 charge issue to torment the world. It is curious to find a Cave of the 
 "Winds in Yoruba. 
 
 t Mr. Cooley, the self-styled ''Opener of Inner Africa," has lately 
 (Athenaeum, July 18, 1863) informed the world, that " the rainy season 
 is also the hot season, near the equator." Is this dotage ? Barbot (book 3, 
 chap, xii.) informs us that the Guinea year has two seasons, the summer 
 and winter (of the Portuguese and English), called good and bad by the 
 Dutch ; high and low by the French. *' Summer {i.e., hot dry weather) 
 begins in September, and lasts the five following months, and the 
 
250 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 The modern Daliomans, I have said, are a mongrel 
 breed, and a bad. Thej are Cretan liars, cretins at 
 learning, cowardly and therefore cruel and bloodthirsty ; 
 gamblers, and consequently cheaters ; brutal, noisy, 
 boisterous, unvenerative, and disobedient, dipsas-bitten 
 things, who deem it a " duty to the gods to be drunk 
 a flatulent, self-conceited herd of barbarians,'' who 
 endeavour to humiHate all those with whom they deal ; 
 in fact, a slave race — vermin with a soul apiece. 
 
 Eurca, furax, infamis, iners, furiosa ruina, 
 
 describes the race. They pride themselves on not being, 
 like the Popos, addicted to the " dark and dirty crime 
 of poison ; " the fact is, they have been enabled hitherto 
 to carry everything with a high and violent hand. 
 They are dark in skin, the browns being of xanthous 
 temperament, middle-sized, slight, and very lightly 
 made — my Krumen looked like Englishmen amongst 
 them * — agile, good walkers, and hard dancers, that 
 
 ■winter (i.e., cold wet season) holds the other six months of the year, 
 which are also divided into two rainy, two misty and rainy (or smoky), 
 and two windy and rainy months (our tornadoes)." So of the Great 
 Bandy (or Bonny Eiver, with which he was personally aquainted), he 
 says (book 4, chap, viii.), " We reckon the months of October, November, 
 and December, the worst season, because of the dry scorchuig heat of 
 the sun." 
 
 * In all wrestling bouts, my Krumen threw the hammock-bearers 
 
DAHOME AND HEE CAPITAL. 251 
 
 carry little weight. Their dress is a godo, or T-ban- 
 dage, a nuii-pwe (underdo th), or a Ffon chokoto 
 (pair of short drawers), and an owu-chyon, or body- 
 cloth, twelve feet long by four to six broad, worn like 
 the Roman toga, from which it may possibly be derived. 
 
 The women are of the Hastini or elephant-order, 
 described by the Eeverend Koka Pandit, dark, plain, 
 masculine, and, comparatively speaking, of large, strong, 
 and square build. They are the reapers as well as the 
 sowers of the field, and can claim the merits of laborious- 
 ness, if of no other quality. They tattoo their skins, 
 especially the stomach, with alto-rehevo patterns ; their 
 dress is a zone of beads, supporting a bandage beneath 
 the do'vo, or scanty loin-cloth, which suffices for the poor 
 and for young girls ; the upper classes add an aga-vo, 
 or over-cloth, two fathoms long, passed undgr the arms, 
 and covering all from the bosom to the ancles. The 
 peculiarities of their coiffure and ornaments have been 
 explained. 
 
 Neither sex ever " wears shirt, shoe, or stocking in 
 their lives." Yet, as the old traveller remarks, at least 
 this advantage results from their simplicity of dress, 
 
 on their heads, and on one occasion, during a kind of party fight, six of 
 them, with fist and stick, held their own against twenty Dahomans. 
 
252 A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 that " of both sides they may see their tackle before 
 they go to work, and not, as we are forced to do, take 
 wives at all adventures without knowing their bodily 
 defects and deformities, which are covered and con- 
 cealed b};- their clothes/' And even those who deny 
 that chmate makes the man will not refuse its claim to 
 making the tailor. European attire in Africa is as 
 void of the fitness of things as an African toilette would 
 be in Europe. Here leather perishes, broadcloth loses 
 nap and stiffens, linen and cotton mildew or change 
 colour, gloves feed cockroaches, and flannels shrink to 
 half size. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE FIRll^G TO WHYDAH, AND COKCLUSION OF THE 
 CUSTOMS.'" 
 
 At 9 A.M., of Monda}^ January 25th, we were 
 suddenly summoned to the Jegbe, or southernmost 
 palace, lying about twenty minutes of hammock, on 
 a broad open road, beyond the Komasi House. The 
 first things we remarked were little grass huts, built at 
 intervals of 200 to 300 yards, and the measuring-rope 
 still lay upon the ground ; the first was on the right 
 hand of the Komasi Gate. They had pent roofs, with 
 a terminal tuft at each gable, small verandahs, sup- 
 ported by light poles, and the side walls were patterned 
 with lines and lozenges of light-coloured bamboo and 
 " Soyyan,^' the thunder fetish shrub. Those nearest the 
 
 * This festival in its entirety is known to the natives as Azan'gbe — 
 birthday to-day. The King keeps his birthday once a year, not once 
 per week as his brother of Komasi, and the day is mostly a matter of 
 guess. 
 
254 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 palace ^ycre the most decorated. Before each hut, for 
 the two soldiers lodged in it, were planted on four 
 short forked sticks a pair of muskets, lest one should 
 miss fire. During the present custom no discharge of 
 guns is allowed in the town. These Gu-ho, or " taber- 
 nacles," are the lodgings of the Dahoman army when 
 on the line of march ; as they extend to "Whydah, they 
 must number some 880, and represent a waste of work 
 that would repair all the walls of all the palaces. The 
 bright idea of the " firing play " originated from the 
 Chacha de Souza, who, by stationing men on the road, 
 sent up in an hour or two a cigar from Whydah to 
 King Gezo at Agbome* — a rude and barbarous tele- 
 graph. Gezo worked it out to its present state ; he, 
 however, used to begin his ceremonies at 7 a.m. 
 
 Passing Bwe-kon Hwe 'gbo on the right, we de- 
 bouched upon an open country, with light green 
 fields, to which grazing horses gave a home look. 
 The outskirts of the southern suburb are scattered 
 over with outlying villages of matting, where the prin- 
 cipal officers are expected at times to lodge, and here 
 
 * The forwarding of presents, however, from town to town is common 
 in Yoruba, and the Egbas call it Asingba. It is the " Banghey dawk " 
 of Africa. 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAH. 255 
 
 the oil palm-tree begins to show in force. The sun was 
 hot, and the Harmattan blurred the blue horizon line, 
 the floating imperceptible dust doing away with all 
 idea of nearness beyond a hundred yards. The climate 
 is much that of an Egyptian spring, remarkable for 
 flies, dust, and khamsin, the desert wind, here represented 
 by the Harmattan. " Truly rural was the scene, and 
 the open and healthy site would be far superior for an 
 "English House" to the noise, dulness, and prison- 
 sensation of the town ; the main disadvantage, how- 
 ever, is its distance from water. On the left of the 
 road was the Nesu-hwe, or fetish, in which the King 
 sits when on his way to change palaces ; white flags 
 were planted in a space railed off" with the usual thin 
 bamboo and tie-tie; a heap of speckled pottery lay 
 outside, whilst inside squatted reverend men and 
 women. 
 
 After half-an-hour's march, our chairs were placed 
 beneath a tree opposite, and some 100 yards distant from, 
 a long wall of faded matting. This is Jegbe House, 
 the private abode of the present King when he was 
 heir-apparent ; and here he lived during the last few 
 years of his father's life, cultivating the reactionary 
 party. As Gelele has not yet been confirmed at 
 
256 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Allada, the enceinte walls must not be built of mud, 
 and whilst the King lives under matting, so must his 
 nobles. 
 
 At 11.30 A.M. we were summoned into the palace 
 interior. The Agwaji Gate led into an oblong court of 
 matting, sprinkled with thick-leaved little fig-trees of 
 vivid green, and divided into two by the usual line of 
 bamboos. At the bottom of the southern half was the 
 royal pavilion, somewhat like a Shahmiyana in Bengal, 
 with an open wing on each side. The sloping roof of 
 the central part, intended for the King, was of gold 
 and lake damask, under two broad strips of red and 
 green satin ; the wings, all silk and velvet, were hori- 
 zontally banded with red, white edged green, purple and 
 yellow, red and green, in succession, from the top ; and 
 where the tongue-shaped lappets started, with chrome 
 yellow. The hangings, playing loosely in the wind, 
 were remarkable chiefly for grotesque figures of men 
 and beasts cut out of coloured cloth and sewn to the 
 lining. At the main entrances seven umbrellas, three 
 figured and four plain white, formed a baldachin for 
 the women, and sheltered an equal number of rude and 
 rickety little tables. Here also were disposed many 
 calabashes ; eight pairs of muskets, each with its 
 
THE FIPJXG TO WHYDAII. 257 
 
 Amazon, stood on forks ; and in the shade lay a few 
 ancient officers, old baberj, in bright silk cloaks and 
 tippets, holding acinaciform bill-hooks. On the men's 
 side, fronting the King, were five tattered white 
 umbrellas, covering eleven poor tables, and behind 
 them a score of ministers and captains, attired, like the 
 women, in capes and mantos of red, pink, and 
 flowered silks and satins. Chalk-goggled Kpo-fen-sii, 
 head man and head fool, and an assistant Wamba, 
 hideous in a red velvet tobe of Hausa cut, sat on 
 the proper right of the throne, under a bit of matting 
 near the model of a canoe raised on little poles, with 
 three pennons, red, white, and blue. Dancing and 
 singing went on in different parts of the compound, 
 and presently a small party of Ko-si, or filles de joie, 
 "for man side" and "for woman side," all dark and 
 very plain, sang before the royal tent, and walked 
 about amongst the males. 
 
 Our chairs w^ere placed before a group of miserables, 
 who had been sitting in the palace since dawn — Mr. 
 Dawson, Pierre, the mulatto "landlord," of French- 
 town, Whydah, where he was born, and his attendant, 
 an old Brazilian,"'' together with a M. Cirqueira, before 
 
 * Known as To (father, soil., his father), do (speaks), nun (thing), 
 
 VOL. II. s 
 
258 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 alluded to. They were apparently attending upon a 
 pair of half-castes, Antonio de Souza, brother of the 
 Chacha, and Francisco Zangrony, son of a Spanish 
 merchant at Whydah/''^ The latter two had arrived 
 last night at 10 p.m., and at six this morning they had 
 been summoned to the palace. 
 
 After we had waited about two hours, an increased 
 noise and hubbub, an uprising of male and female 
 dignities, and a raising of the pavilion flaps, announced 
 the King. He was dressed in a yellow silk toga, with 
 small red flowers ; a broad belt of probably false pearls 
 and gold hung from his left shoulder to his right 
 side, and a large crucifix suspended to his neck, were 
 the principal ornaments : in his left hand he held a 
 common hour-glass. After he had deposited himself 
 on the couch acting throne, we saluted him, and he 
 returned the compliment with a large black felt 
 sombrero plentifully braided with gold. He then 
 drank with us all, using a silver mug, which, amongst 
 
 'gbo (true, opposed to Yu, a lie ; e.g., Nun boe ! — it is true ; Nun vue ! 
 — it is false). 
 
 * Years ago Zangrony pere disputed about canoe-men with the Rev. 
 T. B. Freeman, formerly Wesleyan missionary to these parts, and died 
 a few days afterwards. Of course his mishap was attributed to the 
 
 god-man's" wrath. 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAH. 2S» 
 
 silver armlets, a rosary, and sundry pieces of plate, 
 stood before him upon an old-fashioned table with four 
 metal legs and a red velvet cover. Whilst drinking, a 
 piece of white calico was held up before the royal 
 face. 
 
 The ceremonies of the day began with the prostra- 
 tions and the copious sand-drenchings of three cap- 
 tains, who had quarrelled They kissed earth as if 
 they loved it, as the popular exile is supposed to do 
 when restored to " native shore/^ After long compli- 
 ments to the King, a woman rose and cried, "A-de-o,"*'^ 
 and at 1.40 p.m. the two muskets planted before the 
 King were discharged. The firing was taken up by 
 the rest ; it ran round Jegbe, went to and returned 
 from Komasi House in three minutes. Thus Gelele 
 obtained Gezo's permission to " open the Custom," and 
 in honour of the occasion he twice drank our healths. 
 
 At 2 P.M. another cry of "A-de-o" started the guns to 
 Whydah, which they ought to reach in half-an-hour. 
 The Addu-konun and the Sosu-to f walked down a 
 line of cowries placed about six feet outside the 
 
 * For Adios, good-bye, a word everj'where used on the Coast till 
 superseded by English. 
 
 t Addu (tooth, teeth), and konun (laugh). The other name is Sosu 
 {proper name), and to (father),— that is to say, Sosu's father. 
 
 s 2 
 
260 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 dividing bamboo in distinct pairs, enabling the ca- 
 boceers to ascertain by counting when the firing Avould 
 arrive at its destination. On the women's side a 
 weaveress, squatting before the usual artless upright 
 loom of Dahome, made a cloth, and calculated the 
 number of threads — the rudest substitute for a time- 
 piece. Meanwhile the soldier chiefs, Adan-men-nun- 
 kon and Dakua, knelt, looking as usual from the eye- 
 corner to get the cue for time, made obeisance, and, 
 whilst five heralds proclaimed the royal titles with 
 normal blateration, and a jester sprang his kra-kra, or 
 watchman's rattle, they began a speech, which is bound 
 to last till the discharge returns from Whydah. For a 
 time the tongues bore up bravely ; presently the dust 
 and the heat of the sun told upon them ; and lastly, the 
 poor devils could hardly from time to time ejaculate a 
 sentence. The firing was an utter failure ; an hour- 
 and-a-half instead of half-an-hour had elapsed before a 
 blue bag, passed from hand to hand by the women, was 
 placed, fronting the King, as a trophy from Whydah. 
 There will be stick for this. 
 
 Gelele, having again drunk with us, then summoned by 
 name his Gau — who responded " We ! " — and began a 
 stale and dreary allocution touching Abeokuta and his 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAH. 
 
 261 
 
 father's grave, preparation for war, and his resolve that 
 the Min-gan should treat as a captive any soldier dis- 
 gracing herself by hanging back. Eight old women, 
 the ghosts of the kings, presently marched up, solemn 
 and slow, paying their respects to live royalty. 
 
 Ensued a terrible hubbub, drumming, talking, and 
 singing, which told my now practised ears that victual 
 was about to appear. Presently women moved out 
 the bamboo, and spread mats before the King ; w^hilst 
 long lines of slave-girls deposited upon them dishes 
 of cates, plates of food, bottles of liquor, baskets and 
 calabashes marked with the royal brand. There 
 was a great number of barbecued piglets, which were 
 easily lifted with the thumb and two fingers. Amidst 
 a prodigious noise, the provision was parcelled out. 
 We received a share that gladdened the hearts of our 
 hammock-men ; they little recked that the roasted- 
 whole of to-day would right soon diminish to a porker's 
 nose for thirty, their number. 
 
 This ceremony was initiated by Gezo, although the 
 custom of " Spreading a Table " * is common along the 
 
 * That the manes of the dead may eat and be filled. Here it is called 
 by the natives Agban (profit), du (eating), do men (on the ground). 
 Agban also signifies luggage, a ship's cargo, meats of all kinds, and so 
 
262 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 West African coast. At the end of tlie funeral' 
 customs, especially in the Old Calabar River, a small 
 house is built upon the beach, and in it are place<l 
 the valuables possessed by the departed — some whole, 
 and others broken, — statues, clocks, vases, porcelains,, 
 and so forth, together with a bed, that the ghost may 
 not sleep upon the floor, and a quantity of food upon 
 a table. Here, on the fourth day. after the burial,, 
 come all who have assisted in the ceremony ; they 
 wash their faces, and enjoin the departed ghost, by the 
 care with which he has been provided with what he 
 loved in life, not to let or injure them.^ Similarly in 
 Europe, during the last century, when princes lay in 
 state, a well -garnished table was provided for the dead 
 in the chapel. 
 
 On Tuesday, January 26th, we were again called to 
 the palace, where we found little novelty. The King, 
 wishing to " talk Abeokuta,^^ summoned his three senior 
 military officers, and finding all absent, sent for them. 
 I expected a scene ; the " Monster of Daliome," how- 
 
 forth ; whilst Agban-du, or profit-eating, is onr spendthrifting, meanicg 
 that these funeral expenses are ruinous to all but the King. 
 
 * See under the word Nqueme, in the valuable dictionary of the Efik 
 language, published by the Eev. Hugh Goldie. Dunn and Wright,. 
 Glasgow, 1862. 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAH. 
 
 263 
 
 ever, contented himself, after haranguing the defaulters, 
 Avitli ordering the people to greet each with cries of 
 " Agbwere ! * 
 
 Then took place the ceremony of declaring war. 
 The King sent out a small knapsack-shaped leather 
 case, containing rum, to the Min-gan, who, after passing 
 the strap over his head, pirouetted three or four times 
 before the presence,'^ and forwarded the article by a 
 messenger to the Gau. This dignitary received it 
 with an immense show of enthusiasm ; and after a 
 fighting speech, rushed affectedly to the gate, crying to 
 the outsiders that war-rum had been given. The King, 
 summoned by his subjects, came forth in a mauve cloth, 
 and, to their uproarious delight, addressed them in 
 Fanti, " Egya Mak-'yo — Father, good morning ! — 
 meaning, that when such words were spoken, he must 
 attack the Egbas. Then taking a crooked stick, he 
 performed two decapitation dances and retired, after 
 handing the weapon to his followers, who fervently imi- 
 tated him. It was nearly 9 p.m. before we reached 
 our quarters. 
 
 At 8 A.M., Thursday, January 28th, the two wives 
 for the Chacha of Whydah and Jose dos Santos were 
 
 * You are a fool ! or, You have spoiled it ! 
 
2G4 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 despatclied to the coast. This is the principal ceremony 
 of " Firing from Whydah," and the women must not 
 quit their hammocks, which are carried by the Hve 
 telegraph, till, half dead with fatigue, they reach 
 Wliydah. Nothing was to be seen but two plain -faced 
 slave girls, in broad-brimmed straws and country cloths, 
 sitting their hammocks in the old fashioned style of 
 Bowdich and Dupuis, crossw^ays, and holding to the 
 pole instead of lying at full length. 
 
 The ceremonies concluded hastily ; the King was 
 hurried by a curious appearance in the sun, visible only 
 through the opaque Harmattan air wdien about 30 deg. 
 above the horizon. At 4 p.m., January 27th — we first 
 remarked it on that day — a spot, like a black pin's 
 head upon the yellow surface, occupied nearly the 
 centre of the globe ; it gradually shifted upwards 
 and to the right in the morning, the reverse, of 
 course, appearing in the evening. It was not seen 
 after February 3rd, but the dense morning fogs, and 
 the thick evening mists and smokes, may have hid it 
 from us. The Kew Observatory noticed it. 
 
 On Saturday, January 30th, a report reached Ag- 
 bome, that a Mr. Craft,* the mulatto agent for the 
 
 * The " Iwe Irohin," or Abeokuta paper of July, 1863, introduced him 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAII. 
 
 265 
 
 new " Company of African Merchants " (limited), had 
 arrived at Whydah, and forthwith appeared a batch of 
 samples and stuffs which the King had ordered. The 
 Buko-no on the same evening proposed that Mr. Ber- 
 nasko should at once leave us and superintend the 
 landing of the valuables, whilst we, being " great men 
 — " soft sawder," as usual, to dorer la 'pillule, — must wait 
 for a more ceremonious dismissal. These people, who 
 expect much from traders but little from servants of 
 Government, make no secret of preferring those who 
 pay to those who do not.* My reply was, that Mr. 
 Bernasko's departure would be the signal for mine, 
 even if we must walk to Whydah. Wishing to change 
 the system of dismissal, I had fortunately reserved for 
 the hour of need all the small presents which had been 
 brought for the high officials, and which are usually 
 given immediately after arrival. 
 
 Seeing little chance of immediate departure, I re- 
 doubled my efforts to penetrate for a few marches 
 northwards, where the lovely hills of Makhi were a per- 
 petual eyesore to me. The late king relaxed the usual 
 
 as having been " sent to Dahomy with a view to inducing the King to 
 abandon human sacrifices, and to encourage legitimate trade." 
 
 * So Commander Forbes complained of being kept waiting outside the 
 palace when the slave-dealers were in consultation with King Gezo. 
 
266 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Dalioman severity in matters of ingress, giving escorts 
 to Dr. Dickson, the fellow traveller of Clapper ton, and 
 to Mr. Duncan, afterwards H. B. M. Vice-Consul. His 
 son, on the contrary, has shut up all the roads, lest 
 strangers should learn something about the interior, 
 and perhaps assist his enemies ; by thus standing fast 
 and firm against any semblance of innovation, he hopes, 
 perhaps, to hold his own, even in opposition to white 
 men, whose superiority he never questions. He pro- 
 mised that, on my return, I should penetrate into the 
 mountain-land ; pleaded want of time and troops, and 
 consoled me by the suggestion that I was too important 
 a personage to be risked in the bush. This was not 
 wholly " blarney ; any accident to the " King's 
 stranger" would be looked upon as a dire and por- 
 tentous occurrence.'' 
 
 We had now spent nearly six weeks in Agbome with- 
 out being allowed to deliver the message of Her Ma- 
 jesty's Government in person to the King. The latter 
 was therefore informed, that until some respect was paid 
 
 * See Mr. Duncan, vol, ii. p. 263. The King gave him an escort of 
 100 men, and told the Ashanti envoy, who wished to make mischief, 
 that he might take back the royal present, a gold-hilted sword, and 
 inform his father that all the gold in the country would not induce him- 
 self to intercept an Englishman. 
 
THE FIEING TO WHYDAII. 
 
 267 
 
 to my instructions, I sliould not again appear at the 
 palace. An opportunity of proving that my words 
 were spoken in earnest soon presented itself. When 
 sent for on February 6th, to witness the distribution of 
 cloth amongst the soldiers who had been firing to 
 Whydah, I objected to leave the house. Mr. Cruik- 
 shank, however, attended, and saw the presentation of 
 470 cloths, each fourteen yards long, and here worth 
 aboirt two dollars each. Thereupon the Buko-no in- 
 formed the Reverend, that after five days, which here 
 means the fourth (Saturday the 9th) we should be 
 summoned to deliver the Message, and be instantly 
 "passed.'^* We could not, however, rely upon the 
 truth of a word that fell from the holy man's lips. 
 
 On February 8 th an ofiicial letter from Commodore 
 Wilmot informed me that a cruizer was waiting for 
 my conveyance to the Oil Rivers of the Bight of 
 Biafra. This rendered strong measures necessary. The 
 thirty porters for whom I had applied had been for- 
 gotten, and further delay appeared probable. On the 
 morning of February 9th, our boxes and bags were pro- 
 
 * This is an old pustom of the empire ; no visitor can leave the King 
 without his especial permission. In 1772, Mr. Norris was "passed" 
 with a present consisting of a fat sheep, an anker of brandy, and five 
 cabess of cowries. 
 
2G8 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 duced, and were ostentatiously packed in the compound, 
 whilst Messrs. Bernasko and Da^Yson repaired to the 
 palace with a message, that unless faith was kept with 
 me, I must set out on the next day. They witnessed 
 one of the royal houtades. The high ministers, when 
 summoned by the King, did not appear within a satis- 
 factory time : Gelele reproached them violently for not 
 living, according to his am^et, close to the Jegbe, and 
 ordered his Amazons to take up the bamboos, and to 
 drive them with blows and curses from his presence. 
 They went out like beaten hounds, and cowered at the 
 gate, whilst the King sent a message to me apologising 
 for not attending to our affairs, as rage would prevent 
 his sleeping. 
 
 On February 11th, Mr. Dawson was "passed." He 
 swore sacrament that he would never again show face 
 at Agbome ; but being a prudent man, he contented 
 himself with the Fanti proverb, " Cross the river before 
 you speak ill of the crocodile." The ceremony of break- 
 ing glasses to conclude the Customs now took place. I 
 was surprised to hear that it is considered the real 
 European mode of ending a feast ; it must date from 
 old times, when three-bottle men drank onlv in the 
 evening, not throughout the day as do modern sobrie- 
 
THE FIEIXG TO WHYDAII. 2G9 
 
 ties. The missionaries, when sent for to the Jegbe 
 Palace, found, in the central space between the men 
 and the women, a table, with two flasks of rum and 
 liqueur, flanked by plates and glasses. The King, 
 having drank with his visitors to the health of his 
 father's ghost, directed a Portuguese mulatto, a resident 
 at Agbome, to pray in Lusitanian tongue for the de- 
 parted. This done, Gelele spilt a few drops of rum 
 upon the ground, again imbibed, and dashed his glass 
 upon the table. It w^as a signal for all those present to 
 do the same, and the attendants smashed everything, 
 including the tables. 
 
 This terminated the Khwe-ta-nun, or yearly Customs 
 for 1863-64. 
 
CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 THE DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE. 
 
 On Friday, February 12tli, we received two visits 
 from the fat Adanejan. He led me witii great mystery 
 into an inner room, and, tracing lines upon the floor, 
 asked many questions about Abeokuta, carefully cross- 
 examining me, till convinced that he was not deceived. 
 The King's personal courtesy to me demanding some 
 return, I drew the outline of the Egba defences upon 
 a sheet of paper and sent it back, advising him by no 
 means, till his forces were trebled, and even then not 
 without howitzers or field pieces, to cross the Ogun, 
 a river so fatal to his father. "Ah! but,'' said the 
 stout man, " the enemy will run when they see us." 
 I told him that they would not, at least, as long as 
 they were sheltered by walls, and suggested fascines, 
 and simple methods of getting at the enemy, which were 
 received with incredulous smiles, as things worthy of 
 
THE DELIVEEY OE THE MESSAGE. 271 
 
 the crafty white, but incompatible with the dignity of 
 Dahoman heroism.* Presently the Adanejan departed, 
 carrying with him, in token of his having seen me, 
 a favourite bowie-knife, which it w^as impossible to 
 recover. 
 
 At 3 TM. on the next day, February 13th, 
 when, almost in despair, we had resolved to walk to 
 the coast, using our hammock-men as poiters, the 
 Buko-no's messenger hurried us in full dress to the 
 palace. The old man thus deceived me again, and 
 for the last time. He had heard of his rival's success 
 in carrying off a favourite weapon, and he was resolved 
 to "pay me out." Harpagon lay quietly in the cool 
 verandah, with a stool supporting his head, whilst 
 w^e had the pleasure of sitting in a kind of Simum, 
 with glare enough to dazzle an eagle, opposite the 
 ragged palm-leaf fence of the Jegbe House. It was 
 anything but a dignified position, this four hours' 
 seaiice before the barbarous abode of a petty African 
 chief, whose pride has been swollen by mulatto slave- 
 dealers into a manner of mania. I resolved to speak 
 plainly to the King upon the subject of this unworthy 
 treatment. 
 
 * The reader will presently see how important was the advice. 
 
272 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 At 6 P.M., when the few ministers who were to bo 
 present at the conference had entered the palace, we 
 received a summons. Passing through two mat-fenced 
 courts, we found the King sitting under an ordinary 
 shed, verandahed by umbrellas. As usual, there was a 
 ring of white sand before him ; the nearest posts had 
 been covered with calico, and half-a-dozen "ladies" 
 squatted behind their lord. Besides ourselves, the only 
 men present were the Adanejan, the Meu, and the 
 Buko-no, who acted ward. He had ignominiously 
 rated and turned out John Mark, the " governor," Avho 
 attempted to accompany Beecham, the recognised in- 
 terpreter. The prostrations before the King were 
 perfunctory, and there was little of the ceremonious- 
 ness displayed at the public levees. 
 
 After we had made conges, Gelele rose and shook 
 hands with us. Returning to his seat, a bamboo cot, 
 covered with fine cloths and mats, he perceived that 
 there was something wrong, and told me that he had 
 heard of my comiDlaining about him, after we had been 
 the best of friends, dancing and drinking together. 
 I replied that there was no grievance against the King, 
 but that it had not been w^ell to retard the delivery of 
 so important a message for two months. This was 
 
THE DELIYEEY OF THE MESSAGE. • 273 
 
 mot by the plea of occupation, and by reminding 
 me that the substance of the despatches had already 
 been communicated. My next objection was, that his 
 minister had attempted to make us keep the house, 
 like state prisoners, for two moons : that we had been 
 subject to other petty annoyances at the hands of the 
 Buko-no ; that we had not been permitted freely to 
 see and mix with the chiefs ; and that we had been 
 prevented from visiting the Makhi Mountains for sport 
 and recreation, as was allowed to Messrs. Dickson 
 and Duncan. To this he gave the usual reply, that 
 they were small men ; and as this did not satisfy me, 
 he asked me point blank, after a whisper from the Meu, 
 if there was anything upon that subject in my instruc- 
 tions. I replied in the negative, and was thereupon 
 assured that, had my orders been such, I should have 
 been allowed to travel northward, — which, to use the 
 mildest terms, was not the case. I finally asked him if 
 he was aware that we had that very afternoon been 
 kept for hours in the sun before his gate, a custom 
 unknown to all civilised peoples. As we expected, he 
 had never heard of it, and showed a surprise, which 
 appeared natural, at this and others of our tribulations. 
 To change a disagreeable subject, he bantered me 
 
 VOL. II. T 
 
274 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 about keeping the Buko-no's unruly slaves in order 
 with the staff, to which I pleaded a tnolliter imposuit. 
 At length, seeing my brow cleared by the perfect good 
 humour with which he discussed these personal pre- 
 liminaries, he directed me to read the " Message/^ 
 
 I then began, and, after each sentence, the inter- 
 preter translated it. He did so correctly, in fear of 
 conviction. The reasons which prevented Captain 
 Wilmot's return to Agbome were first duly stated ; 
 then came the ticklish subjects of slave export and 
 human sacrifice, forbidden themes at the Court of 
 Dahome. Touching the former, the King was informed 
 that Her Majesty's Government is resolved to arrest 
 the trafiic, and that the United States of America 
 would no longer allow their vessels to carry live cargo. 
 With respect to human sacrifice, that the more its 
 horrors were mitigated, the better. In enlarging upon 
 these two last paragraphs, I felt a sense of hopelessness- 
 with which the reader of these pages will, perhaps, 
 sympathise ; it was like talking to the winds. A& 
 regards the King's offer to repair the English Fort, 
 Whydah, and to permit it to be garrisoned by EngKsh 
 troops,* I thanked him for such mark of confidence, 
 
 * Ashanti was just now shown tlie unadvisabilitj of stationing Euro- 
 
THE DELIYEEY OF THE MESSAGE. 
 
 275 
 
 assuring him that the royal protection was all-sufficient, 
 but that before English merchants would settle at 
 Whydah, there must be the inducement of useful 
 commerce. I assured him that in such case an agent 
 would be appointed to reside at Whydah, both as an 
 organ of communication with the King, and as an aid 
 in carrying out all views of licit trade.* The gifc 
 of a carriage and horses — here came the rub — would 
 entirely depend upon future relations between Her 
 Majesty's Government and the King, who must see 
 the propriety of making some concessions touching his 
 Customs and slave hunts. Finally, that if any of the 
 coloured Christian prisoners taken at Ishagga were 
 ahve, it would be considered an earnest of the King's 
 friendly feeling, and of his desire to perform his pro- 
 mises, if these people were given up to us. 
 
 The message was heard, with few interruptions, from 
 beginning to end. When the reply was given, I per- 
 ceived that the King and his visitors could not, like 
 
 peans on tlie west coast of Africa. Both Gelele and his father have ex- 
 pressed an earnest desire to give up Whydah to the English — but neither 
 meant it. The latter is said to have refused the cession to the Prince de 
 Joinville. 
 
 * I need hardly add, that the commerce never will become licit, ex- 
 cept by force ; and that until that time an agent is simply impossible. 
 
276 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE 
 
 many Africans, '' pick up the words," that is to say, 
 answer sentence by sentence. Gelele repKed in a 
 rambhng style, which requires ordering : That the 
 slave-trade was an ancestral custom, established by white 
 men, to whom he would sell all they wanted : to the 
 English, who, after greatly encouraging the export, had 
 lately turned against it, palm oil and " tree wool ; " to 
 the Portuguese, slaves. That a single article would 
 not defray such expenses as those which I had wit- 
 nessed. Moreover, that the customs of his kingdom 
 compelled him to make war, and that unless he sold 
 he must slay his captives, which England, perhaps, 
 would like even less.* 
 
 The English, he resumed, had ever been the best 
 friends of his family. One of his ancestors had sent a 
 son amongst them, and thus all had learned to love 
 them.f In the days of Tegbwesun (Bossa Ahadi, 
 
 * So the great Central African king, Muata ya Nvo, or Matiamvo, 
 said, in 1847, to the Portuguese traveller, Gra^a : " It is customary for 
 us to sell as slaves those who commit murder or robberj', and those who 
 are guilty of adultery, insubordination, and sorcery ; and having a great 
 number of slaves, what can I do with them but put them to death if I 
 cannot find purchasers for them ? " 
 
 t This is explained by Dr. M'Leod (pp. 102-106). About 1800 one of 
 the kings forwarded two of his brothers for education to England, on board 
 a ship then trading to Whydah. The captain died, and they were sold 
 as slaves at Demarara. After sundry difl&culties, they were redeemed 
 
THE DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE. 277 
 
 1727 — 1774), one Ajan-gaii — Mr. Goodson — had taught 
 Dahome to use field pieces, and thus they had been 
 able to debel the strong Makhi country called " Za." 
 The road of amity had been closed to Gezo, and 
 re-opened to himself by his friend the Rev. Mr. 
 Bernasko. The "King of England" and he were 
 now like one finger. But he directed me to write 
 and to declare that, whereas men-of-war formerly never 
 touched slavers, they now captured them near his beach, 
 which could not be permitted. Some of these prizes 
 had or might have on board orders from him, and 
 this rendered interference with them a personal of- 
 fence, f 
 
 Here, again, was the work of the caboceers, and 
 their master had learned his lesson but too well. A 
 
 by the influence of Mr. Robertson, of Liverpool, and were sent back 
 under charge of a Captain Davidson. They were dressed like English 
 boys, and had scarcely touched their natal soil, than they resumed all 
 their old customs, falling on their knees to the caboceer wlio received 
 them, and next day they disrobed themselves of jacket and trowsers, 
 not having been '* whitewashed," i. e. made white men by their royal 
 brother. Two days afterwards they were conducted to Agbome. They 
 did not complain of being sold at Demarara, and probably they expected 
 nothing else. 
 
 * It is now an unimportant place, distant a day's march N'.E. of 
 Agbome. The ruffian conqueror is said to have cut off" the noses of all his 
 captives. 
 
 t King Gezo made the same request to Mr. Duncan (vol. ii. p. 263). 
 
278 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 counter-demand is the favourite African form of re- 
 fusing a request. I desired the King to hear me 
 before such an outrageous claim was put on paper, and 
 lie consented. He was informed that Great Britain 
 had paid large sums to many nations for the right 
 of searching their ships ; that if he sent his own 
 vessels to sea, he could assert the same title to 
 indemnity, but he could not interfere for those of any 
 European nations ; moreover, that, even in war, a three 
 miles' offing annuls, according to the custom of civi- 
 lised peoples, the protection of a neutral shore. No 
 one had prepared a reply to this explanation ; they 
 contented themselves, by way of rejoinder, with direct- 
 ing me to write down what the King had spoken. I 
 could only express my regret at being compelled to 
 forward a message so unworthy and so disappointing to 
 the government and people of England. 
 
 Upon the second subject, human sacrifice, Gelele 
 declared that he slew only malefactors and war-captives, 
 who, if they could, would do the same to him ; that 
 his own subjects were never victims ; that in the 
 accounts reported by "mutual" enemies there had 
 been, as he had told Captain Wilmot, a gross numerical 
 exaggeration ; in fact, he repeated the statements of a 
 
THE DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE. 279 
 
 liundred years' standing, as tlie History shows, and his 
 assertions were partially true. 
 
 When asked for my reply, I submitted, in Jeremy 
 Bentham's words, that the w^orst use to which he 
 could put a man w^as to kill him ; that Dahome wanted 
 not deaths, but births, and that subjects followed the 
 religion of their prince. It was, therefore, incumbent 
 upon him to reduce the number of his sacrifices, and to 
 spare his visitors the disgusting spectacle of nude 
 and mutilated corpses, hanging for two or three days 
 in the sun ; moreover that, until such barbarity should 
 be changed, I should advise all Englishmen, who dislike 
 tickling of the liver,'^ * to avoid his Court at Customs' 
 time. The King had never heard so much truth before 
 in his life : he did not accept my plain speaking without 
 " stirring of the mind ; " f nor could I expect it. The 
 Rev. Mr. Bernasko thanked me aloud, and all around 
 understood the expression. 
 
 The King passed next to the subject of an English 
 resident at Whydah, and adroitly shifted the case into 
 granting the permission and privilege, instead of re- 
 ceiving it as a favour. He also stipulated that the 
 
 * A native phrase, meaning nausea, 
 t A native phrase, meaning anger. 
 
280 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 ^Yliite must be a good man, who would write profitable 
 things about the country, cause no palavers, and pre- 
 vent the captains of cruisers capturing slaves off his 
 coast. When I asked, somewhat ironically, if such agent 
 would be liable to be summoned at pleasure to attend 
 the capital, compelled to be present at the Customs, con- 
 demned to live in the Buko-no's house, and be subject 
 to be seated for hours in the sun, enjoying the prospect 
 of the palace w^all ? — he carelessly replied " No," in a 
 tone which to me meant emphatically Yes. 
 
 With respect to the Ishagga captives,'" the King 
 had, early after my arrival, sent me word by the 
 Buko-no that he had put all of them to death, not 
 knowing them to be Christians, a marked and emphatic 
 non-fact, which he had also protested to Captain 
 Wilmot. Moreover, for certain physiognomical reasons, 
 I am induced to think that several of the wretches are 
 still alive, and are being reserved for future sacrifice. 
 There was, however, no proof positive, nor would any 
 one, especially of the missionary body, aid me in carry- 
 ing out an investigation.! 
 
 * See Chap. XIV., Section E. 
 
 t When at Agbome, a boy put into my hands some strange papers 
 touching the Ishagga victims: at present it would be indiscreet to 
 reveal the secret. 
 
THE DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE. 281 
 
 Ensued a desultory conversation. The King, ap- 
 parently forgetting the carriage and horses, recalled to 
 mind the Tokpon tent, and adhered to the subject 7?iordi- 
 ciis, frequently asking rae if Mr. Cruikshank had taken 
 the measurements, to which an affirmative reply was 
 given. Thinking this the most proper opportunit}', I 
 requested him that the boys of the English to^Yn, 
 Whydah, might attend the Wesley an Missionary 
 School, reminding him of a half promise which he 
 had made during the Commodore's visit. Now, how- 
 ever, being puffed up, he spoke another language ; he 
 declared that when black men learn to read and v/rite, 
 and to know sense,""'' like Beecham, they could not 
 be taken to war. Upon my objecting to this view, he' 
 directed me to " let it pass in other words, to 
 change the subject. I then complained that the people 
 of Godome, who, last spring, had broken open my 
 boxes, containing presents for the King, had escaped 
 punishment, whereby, emboldened, Posu-kpa, caboceer of 
 that time, aided and abetted by sundry of the pestilent 
 De Souzas, had lately seized, beaten, imprisoned in a 
 nude state, after robbing his watch and seventeen 
 
 * An old Anglo- Africaa term for civilisation, religion, wearing small 
 clothes &c. 
 
■282 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 dollars, Mr. Henry Bannerman, of Cape Coast Castle, 
 an unoffending English subject. The King replied, 
 very naively, that he had never heard of the outrage. 
 The reply was, that had we not been present, he 
 certainly never would have known, but that his officers 
 did know — which was the case,'" He added, that 
 inquiry should be made, meaning that nothing would 
 be done. Although no official directions had reached 
 me, and the coloured man Craft had behaved with 
 notable indecency by leaving his arrival entirely un- 
 announced, I represented to the King that this person 
 was a bonji fide emploi/e, of the Company of African 
 merchants (limited), and that as he was treated so 
 would his employers withdraw from or enlarge their 
 business in Dahome. Gelele was profuse in professions, 
 swearing that every one dealing with " Krafu (Mr. 
 Craft) should pay beforehand. Nothing could be further 
 from his intentions. 
 
 I was disenchanted by this message scene. The 
 personal courtesies of the King compared badly with 
 his stubborn resolve to ignore, even in the smallest 
 matters, the wishes of Her Majesty's Government. 
 Nothing appeared uppermost in his mind but an 
 
 * "We had scarcely returned home before the Buko-no confessed it. 
 
THE DELI\T:RY of the message. 283 
 
 ignoble greecl of presents. Of course, his hands ^vere 
 tied in the case of abohshing slave export and human 
 sacrifice, but he might have offered his minimum. 
 The unexpected civilities of the last ofiBcial visitors 
 to his Court have filled him with an exaggerated idea 
 of his own importance ; whilst the astuteness and 
 suspiciousness of his caboceers cause them to see, 
 in the short interval between the two messages, a 
 further aim, and one affecting their interests. I did 
 not at all join with the Commodore in thinking Gelele's 
 observations " thoroughly just and honest ; they 
 are mere parrot-like repetitions of a lesson learned 
 from the pro-slavery party nearly a century ago. It 
 presently became apparent that, even in the smallest 
 matters, he had as scant a regard for truth as his 
 subjects have. After a long and uninteresting dia- 
 logue, in which I told him that my departure ought to 
 take place that night, he swore, on the word of a King, 
 that I should leave Agbome next morning, and 
 directed me to " drop that," when a little doubt was 
 expressed touching the " morning." I need hardly say 
 that at the time appointed nothing was ready. My last 
 question to the King was respecting the name which 
 
 * See Appendix III. 
 
» 
 
 284 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 he wishes to bear in England. He proposed, through 
 the ministers, who whispered with great awe. 
 " Kini-kini-kini/^ I objected to it, as far too long for 
 the time-saving Briton, and proposed " Gelele ; " which 
 was approved of* 
 
 Eight P.M. had already sped, when the King de- 
 clared the seance over. He told me, that if my mind 
 was no longer stirred, we might drink together. T 
 again denied personal bad feeling towards him, regret- 
 ing that the same could not be said about certain of 
 his entoiirage,\ and that he had not charged me with 
 a more agreeable message for home. We stood up, and 
 drank gin and liqueur. No noise was made on this 
 occasion, the ministers contenting themselves with 
 kissing the ground. The King then arose, to conduct 
 us outside the palace. The inner doorway being too 
 narrow for two abreast, I fell back a little, and he 
 asked the reason, through the interpreter. My answer 
 
 • * For other names, Tenge, &c., see Appendix IV. How secret the 
 King's name is kept may be seen from the "Travels" of Dr. M'Leod 
 and Captain Adams, who, though repeating a variety of tales about the 
 monarch, nowhere reveal his appellation. 
 
 t This kind of plain speaking is always well received by African and 
 often by Asiatic princes. They deem it honourable to defend their 
 ministers before an accuser ; but in private, the former will undergo, as 
 a rule, a searching inquiry. 
 
THE DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE. 285 
 
 was, with us crowned heads always w^alk first ; where- 
 upon he shook hands cordially, told me that I was a 
 good man, but," rolling his head, " too angry."' At 
 the distance of 200 yards, he stood, shook hands, 
 snapped fingers, and bade us adieu, exhorting a speedy 
 return. 
 
 On the morning of the next day — Sunday, February 
 21st — we arose and looked for porters, but in vain. 
 The despairing Reverend visited the houses of the 
 Adanejan, who was bathing, and of the Buko-no, w^ho 
 was breakfasting. These men have at this moment 
 the game in their hands, and know it ; all we can do is 
 to play at patience. 
 
 As sunset approached, the Buko-no and the Adanejan, 
 accompanied by sundry eunuchs and slaves, entered 
 our compound, manifestly bearing the wished-for 
 "pass." They squatted on mats in the open space 
 before our verandah, spread out the presents, and sum- 
 moned us, in ofiicial tones and phrases, to receive 
 them. The speech began with the usual formula, — 
 that the King wished to send us home wealthy, and to 
 supply us with specimens of his fine umbrellas, sticks, 
 and other valuables (!) ; that he had not been made 
 aware of our wish to depart (! !), and had learned it 
 
286 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 only last night, when we spoke of it to him (I ! !) ; con- 
 sequently, that nothing had been prepared, but that on 
 our return to Daliome we should find everything await- 
 ing us (oh !). 
 
 The gifts were then distributed, a curious contrast 
 with the magniloquence that introduced them. The 
 first batch, about which I was ordered to be most 
 careful, were for the Highest Personage in the king- 
 dom. It consisted of a poor " counterpane,'^ green and 
 white, woven by the fat hands of the Adanejan ; a huge 
 leathern pouch for the royal tobacco, and a leathern 
 bag to contain change of loincloth when travelling. 
 Besides which, two miserable boys, hideous and half- 
 starved, were sent as table attendants to the palace of 
 St. James. 
 
 My fortunate self next received a counterpane," a 
 tobacco bag, and a sharp-looking boy, who, they warned 
 me, and rightly also, would run away. Mr. Cruikshank 
 was " donated " with a cloth and no boy. To Captain 
 Wilmot were given a cloth and a boy, who were depo- 
 sited at the English Fort, Whydah. Mr. Bernasko and 
 Tom were largessed with very inferior "counterpanes," in 
 which they grinned with all the fervour of gratitude. 
 Finally, cowries for the road, barely enough to make us 
 
THE DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE. 287 
 
 set out, and a few bottles of rum, were distributed 
 amongst those heathens of endless bibacitj, our hammals. 
 
 When the King's bounty had run dry, the Buko-no 
 proposed a private " pass/' that is to say, presents from 
 himself To this I strongly objected, but I was silenced 
 by the unanimous assurance that my predecessors had 
 submitted to it. After giving one '-'counterpane'' to all 
 the names above mentioned, the Buko-no and the 
 Adanejan called for a private confabulation. I re- 
 peated, but in even stronger language, all that had 
 been said before the King, pointed out that not a shade 
 of concession had been made to the wishes of Her 
 Majesty's Government, warned both confidants solemnly 
 that by their fault friendship would not endure, and 
 particularly commented upon the puerile demand for 
 the immunity of slaves near the beach of Dahome. A 
 specimen of their argumentation — their style of "piece- 
 ing out the lion's skin with the fox's tail " : " You said 
 yesterday," quoth the Buko-no, " that the English will 
 no longer allow the export of slaves, and that the 
 Americans will send their vessels no more." I as- 
 sented. "Then, why," resumed the old man, "can 
 you not promise that our ships shall not be molested 
 during the very short time which, according to you^ 
 
288 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 they Lave still to run '? " No explanation would 
 account for the impossibility of so doing, in face of 
 the fact that the King had made a great point of this 
 absurd claim. I fear we parted with this subject under 
 a painful sense of one another's stupidity — de part et 
 (Tautre. 
 
 Finally, I was again officially requested to return 
 after about ten moons, when the Atto-ton-kliwe, or 
 Platform Year Sacrifices, will commence, and, above all 
 things, to bring with me, carriage, horses, and pavilion. 
 My reply was, that I should advise all Englishmen to 
 absent themselves from these vile " Customs" until beasts 
 are substituted for captives ; and that as regards my 
 return with or without presents, all must depend upon 
 orders sent out from home. Wishing to do away with 
 any little asperity, I took, during the last interview, 
 a friendly leave of the confidants, and sent them, in the 
 course of the evening, handsome presents of cloth. 
 
 From Commodore Wilmot's report,"* as well as from 
 these pages, it will be evident that the caboceers are 
 perfectly successful in isolating the King from the evil 
 influences of foreigners. We were permitted to see him 
 almost every day, but on no occasion to sit and 
 
 * Appendix III. 
 
THE DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE. 289 
 
 converse with him. After nearly two months, a single 
 private interview was granted to me, and two such 
 visits were the most that could be expected. It is 
 manifestly useless to send Missions to Dahome whilst 
 this state of things endures. The only way to force 
 improvement is to exact from the King a promise of 
 change, which he would readily give ; and, upon the 
 strength of it, to demand hostages, about which he 
 would demur. Finally, as I have before said, the 
 Customs' time must be avoided ; by far the best season 
 for visiting him, is when the King returns from war, in 
 April or May. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 IT 
 
CHAPTER XXiy. 
 
 EETUEN TO THE SEABOARD. 
 
 Monday, February 15, 1864. — We arose at dawn, 
 . ready to depart. Our porters, however, were, as usual, 
 dispersed about the town, or drinking the King's rum, 
 or quarreUing over his cow^ries, w^hilst the Reverend 
 was setthng the last accounts with Harpagon, our land- 
 lord. Vain were threats, the stick was vainer, as the 
 carriers would only have run away. At last we collected 
 a party of three hammock-men, and passed rapidly out 
 of the red mud-walled box, w^here we had been closeted 
 for fifty-six days. We felt some natural elation, 
 although setting out upon what was fated to be the 
 most comfortless march which I had made in Africa. 
 The old Men had been commanded by the King to supply 
 us with bearers ; but, not being bribed, he had found it 
 better to forget the order. Everything, therefore, fell 
 into the wildest confusion. 
 
EETURN TO THE SEABOAED. 291 
 
 This time, bj way of variety, we chose the TofFo, or 
 western road, which anastomoses with the straighter 
 main Hne at Hen-vi, and which, during the rains, is 
 preferred by travellers. 
 
 The path, at first familiar to us, passed through the 
 Uhun-jro market-place, and by the Komasi Palace, 
 where our patience had been so often sorely tried ; 
 thence it struck into the open country. All was sun- 
 burnt, and, in many places, black with the fires whose 
 smoke and glare, rolKng up from the east and south- 
 cast, had not unfrequently, during the last fortnight, 
 rendered my observations unreliable. At 8 a.m. we left 
 on the right hand a bush market-place, under a shady 
 tree, near some mat huts, scattered over the rough 
 palm plantation — hereabouts the normal view. It re- 
 joiced in the high-sounding name of Adanda-hogi- 
 huto-gon,* namely, the place of the man that slew 
 Adanda-hogi. We had no cowries wherewith to buy 
 water ; but the Sin-no in the fields readily gave us a 
 draught in exchange for a cigar. Shortly afterwards 
 we crossed a fiumara-bed, tending northwards : it is 
 
 * Some of these names, ending in -gon, have an East-Indian 
 twang ; but it is an accidental and superficial resemblance between the 
 Hindostani gaon " (a village), and the Ffon gon " (a place). 
 
 v % 
 
292 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 called Hun-to-nun, or canoe-water, and there are tra- 
 ditions that it once floated boats. The bed probably 
 supplies the element in pot-holes at all seasons, and 
 the ground on both sides is exceptionally stony. At 
 10 A.M., after 3h. 40m. (equal to ten miles) of " walking 
 and tieing " our single hammock, we made Ahwansu-gon, 
 the place of Ahwansu, a straggling village in the bush, 
 landmarked from afar by magnificent bombax trees. 
 
 The servants had been sent on, after East-Indian 
 fashion, the night before, to prepare breakfast.'^ Mensa 
 Cook, two hulking school-pupils, Nahum and " Laja 
 (Elijah), with four slave boys, dashed by the King, 
 were under charge of the bibacious Hinton. Uncon- 
 trollable as wild asses, they had walked off with only 
 their own bags and boxes, and, reaching the first 
 village, they had fallen asleep in some distant hut, 
 where we found them with great difficulty, and roused 
 them with greater. When in the anger of hunger we 
 called for food, nothing was forthcoming. The better 
 to abate that nuisance, the rascal Hinton was ordered 
 to carry his effects himself — he preferred to remain 
 three days behind until he could hire a porter. 
 
 * In a previous page I have said that the negro is the best of slaves, 
 and the worst of servants : this will illustrate what I mean. 
 
EETLTvX TO THE SEABOAED. 293 
 
 We had nothing to do but to sit under the fig-trees 
 that formed the market-place, and to watch the domes- 
 ticahties of the scene. There was scant regard for 
 apparently poor travellers. A witty Persian book, the 
 
 El Nameh,'' defines El Hich, or " The Nothing," to 
 be a Mogol walking (not riding) in India. The word is 
 equally applicable to the " mean white " in Africa with- 
 out a hammock, unless he is on fighting errand. Jenny 
 Johnson, however, a Makhi woman, who had been 
 brought up at S'a Leone, but who, having married and 
 settled here, had forgotten nearly all her English, 
 showed us the little civilities of ofiering maize and 
 manioc. The suppl}^ of comestibles was limited to a 
 goat, a few balls of Akansan, palm nuts, and water — 
 the latter apparently the article most in demand. The 
 dogs were almost all neutered, which must be as good 
 a plan as the vow of perpetual celibacy for inducing a 
 modified monomania. 
 
 After 3 p.n. the rest of the party straggled in, 
 many with unshod feet lamed by the sun. Our score of 
 laggard hammock-men came up sneakingly, and were 
 threatened with docking of pay in case of their repeat 
 ing the trick. We could not help again remarking, 
 
 * At Whydah I was obliged, in several cases, out of the two dozen that 
 
294 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 with a cynical pleasure, that every rag, every empty 
 bottle — even the broken drum and the cowrie-board 
 belonging to the blacks who had been so long eating 
 our salt, and to their master, had been brought on, 
 whilst our five bags and boxes, the latter containing all 
 our books and instruments, had been left behind. " It 
 is all right,'' quoth the Reverend, " I have left the 
 things in charge of Yamojia, the eunuch, who will be 
 here with them soon/' " But until every single item 
 appears, 0 Reverend ! we leave not this place." Of 
 course the eunuch joined us at nightfall without a 
 load, and of course I also kept my word. Other- 
 wise, our properties might have been in Agbome to 
 this day. 
 
 At 4 P.M., when the east wind had sunk the mercury 
 to 85 deg. (F.), the market began to disperse, and 
 the drums to appear. With the characteristic negro 
 impudence, which ever pierces through Dahoman polite- 
 ness, we were directed to remove from under our 
 
 accompanied us, to carry out the threat. This is an unpleasant duty, 
 which the traveller owes to those who may come after him. The African 
 even thinks the last day's good conduct enough to wipe away all his pre- 
 vious sins. It is well that he should learn his mistake. On this occasion 
 the badly behaved were sent off campaigning without a present, whilst 
 the others were liberally paid. I venture to say that the next visitor to 
 Agbome will thank me for this severity. 
 
EEIUr.X TO THE SEA130AED. 29o 
 
 favourite tree, and naturally we did not. Presently a 
 wild-goose line of old and ugly jSTesu women, first 
 three and then nine, defiled into the shady space, 
 and danced round the fetish hut. The 'prima donna 
 was a very dark and ancient sybil, in a white night- 
 cap ; the greater number had red, white, or coloured 
 fillets, and two wore broad brims, with coqu.ettish little 
 steeple crowns that contrasted oddly with the vast 
 expanse of sooty cheek and jowl below. Five of the 
 superiors held cow-tails, and their ornaments were 
 armlets of single cowries, divided by black seeds or red 
 beans, and long belts of similar material crossing their 
 ample covered bosoms. Being engaged in a very 
 serious and religious exercise, they averted their heads 
 and ignored us like the younger and more shame-faced 
 sort of nun. The vulgar made " Ububu,"' knelt before 
 them, and rubbed their foreheads against the reverend 
 feet, whose owners, bending low, passed the open right 
 hand over the laical occiput, and thus frictioned a blessing. 
 
 We slept soundly through a fine moonlight night in 
 the lukewarm air, with the satisfactory feelings of men 
 suddenly transported from Newgate to a yacht in the 
 Mediterranean. ' 
 
 * I would willingly have spent another month at Agbome ; but all 
 
296 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Tuesday, February 16. — Having sent back, before 
 midnight, the eunuch and my krumen, I was not sur- 
 prised to see them again at dawn : all were pining for 
 the coast. At 7 a.m. w^e set out and crossed the out- 
 skirts of the Agrime, or Great Swamp, over land here 
 boggy, there cultivated, and rich in pine apples and 
 wild solaneae. High grasses then led us to Gome, the 
 usual bush village scattered on both sides of the path : 
 the next, lying on our left, and distant but a few yards, 
 was Semen ; wdiilst a third, to the right, was named 
 Akiza'-agbamen, the Broom in the Swamp. We then 
 fell into a depression, wdiere cracked mud-flakes shoAved 
 that water had been, and would soon be again there. 
 A few yards of rising ground then introduced us, after 
 a march of an hour, equal to four miles, to the De-nun 
 or Frontier Custom-House, whose " captain " lay on his 
 back in aristocratic repose, his head pressing a soft 
 Palmyra log, and a child playing between his legs as he 
 watched, for want of other work, the ducks, the fowls, 
 the poor devil niggers and ourselves. 
 
 The Harmattan still swept the air clear of cloud, 
 threatening a torrid sun, whilst the thermometer stood 
 
 those around me were wild with impatience to escape, and the emotion 
 is contagious. 
 
EETUEN TO THE SEABOAED. 297 
 
 at 83 deg. (F.), and the aneroid showed a descent of 
 more than 350 feet. We hurried our breakfast, the 
 more energetically as no food was to be bought at the 
 De-nun ; and at 10 a.m. we addressed ourselves to the 
 Swamp. In some places, the burnt grass and trees 
 robbed the road of shade, and in others we were 
 canopied over with verdure. The flooring, everywhere 
 hardened by water, was bad for the bearers' feet, but 
 it was a decided improvement upon the Eastern or 
 Agrime line. After forty minutes (equal to 1*50 
 mile), we made the Chito, a deep gully trending from 
 east to west, with a southerly bend. The black earthy 
 banks of this swamp-drain are steep, and fifteen feet 
 high. Slatey and almost stagnant water stands at the 
 present season in pools at the bottom, whilst the 
 remnants of a bridge show the current to be deep and 
 strong during the rains. The Chito, under a dense 
 avenue of giant trees, was as algid as it was impure, 
 but a dip in Dahome is a rarity and a luxury. 
 
 After the Chito, the path became tortuous, and to 
 the eastward there had been a huge bush-fire, whose 
 effects, in smoke and radiation of heat, still lasted. The 
 sun became fiery — so did the ground, undefended by 
 vegetation, and a gadfly, like the Tsetse, revenged us 
 
29S 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 upon the lazy and laggard bearers. At noon, after 
 111. 40m. (equal to three miles) from the De-nmi, a roar 
 of voices arose from Koje, a well-known market place 
 near the southern edge of the swamp. It was a round 
 hole cut clear in the bush, paved with hard mud and 
 dotted with sheds, and logs for sitting. The aneroid 
 still showed only 350 feet below Agbome, but the 
 thermometer, though the breeze was fine, had risen to 
 94 deg. (F.) in the shade. The business seemed to 
 be brisk, and we bought some tolerable palm wine. 
 
 Leaving Koje at 12'30 p.m., along a similar but a 
 straighter path, hedged in by the tallest grasses, we 
 soon emerged, as tall single trees growing upon sandy 
 ground informed us, from the Great Agrime Swamp. 
 After an hour of gradual up-slope, we saw on our 
 right or westward well wooded ridges and high broken 
 ground rolling away towards the blue distance. The 
 nearer surface was greener, and the palms were thicker 
 than about Agbome. The beauty of the Toffo plateau 
 has not been exaggerated. It is supposed to contain gold, 
 and it is all gold. Unfortunately, it is in the vulture claw 
 of Dahome, and the officials of the capital have mostly 
 houses and grounds where their palm-oil is made. 
 
 According to the History, the " Tuffoes," in the days 
 
RETURN TO TIIE SEABOARD. 299 
 
 of Agaja the Great, attacked, plundered, and murdered 
 a peaceful caravan of Dahomans, passing through their 
 lands. The merciless king justly attacked them, cap- 
 tured 1800 prisoners, and sold or sacrificed them all. 
 In a foot-note we are informed " TufFoe, Tafoe, or 
 Tafu, is an inland country of the Gold Coast, nearly 
 south-west of Abomy, ten to twelve leagues to the 
 northward of Eio Grande, and at about sixty leagues, 
 or six days' journe}^ from Ardra." The tribe that 
 inhabits it is called Aizoh, and is now blended with the 
 Dahoman ; and between them and Agbome I would 
 place the " Croo-too-hoon-too " people of Mr. Dalzel. 
 The last dissyllable is evidently a corruption of the 
 " Hun-to " fiumara, which we crossed yesterday. 
 
 After Ih. 40m. (equal to four miles) we halted at 
 the Tofib market-place, a few tattered sheds to the 
 left of the path. Several of the morning's corvee were 
 women, and they had lagged behind, footsore. Re- 
 solving, therefore, to halt, we walked for about half 
 a mile to the town of TofFo, by a slow incline, on 
 both sides of which rose dark palm trees, rufied and 
 sometimes double ruffed, with bright fern-tufts, and shel- 
 tering gay verdure, spangled with lilies. The settle- 
 
 * R. 34. 
 
300 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 ment is the normal Dahoman, but comparatively clean 
 and well built. The aneroid proved that Ave were but 
 a hundred feet below Agbome, and though the thermo- 
 meter was 99 deg. (F.), the wind was fresh and the 
 air was elastic. I was visited by an old Hausa Moslem, 
 whom the king had made chief of the Tokko village 
 lying to the west. He brought his wife and his books, 
 but, alas ! he turned the latter upside down. The 
 night was charming, and at 6 a.m. the mercury stood 
 at 73 degrees (F.) : it was our last experience of cool 
 and dry skin. Adieu, " Sanitas ! 
 
 Wednesday, February 17. — At 6 a.m. we left the 
 fresh crisp air of TofFo. The bush path took a 
 generally south-eastern direction, over ridgy ground, 
 all ascents and descents. After about three miles, a 
 plantation of palms and bananas led us to the 
 Ajagbwe, a streamlet with sandy and pebbly bed, 
 flowing westward, and not quite so deep as the Chito : 
 it was a poor thing, but a pleasure to see. On the 
 rising ground beyond it lay the settlement of Koli : we 
 observed sundry aged and doubtless pious matrons on 
 their knees at matins, before the fetish hut : unfortu- 
 nately, for sentiment, they were also on their hands. 
 
 Beyond Koli, the bush again became dense, except 
 
EETUEX TO THE SEABOAHD. 301 
 
 where it had been cleared away for cultivation, and 
 cardamoms everywhere appeared. The number of 
 market people had made the path hard and slippery. 
 At last a long descent led us, after two hours (equal to 
 five miles), to the town of Hen-vi — Hold the Child — 
 on the main road. 
 
 We had now returned to the climate of the plains : 
 the thermometer showed, in the shade, 75 deg. 
 (F.), and the aneroid 778 feet below Agbome. At 
 Hen-vi the water w^as, as usual, vile, and two shilhngs 
 were refused for the leanest of chickens. The road 
 was crowded with soldiers hurrying up to the war, and 
 there were many chain-gangs of unwilling men. Some 
 of the passing caboceers attempted, but in vain, to seize 
 our carriers, and even our hammock- bearers. The 
 latter became every day more troublesome, and when- 
 ever they mutinied the Reverend begged a dollar and 
 some rum to smooth their tempers. The huts, built at 
 every hundred to two hundred yards for the late firing 
 to Whydah, had almost all been burned down, and the 
 villages were foul w^ith fetish, dead dogs sacrificed for 
 good luck, and poultry olain by order of Afa. We 
 halted for go short a time at Allada, that we 
 passed without knowing the Prince Chyudaton, 
 
302 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 who was marching northwards. I regretted thus 
 losing the opportunity of having with him a few last 
 words. The evening saw us at Azohwe where not a 
 chicken was to be bought, and where only one old 
 man was left to guard the women and children. 
 What an opportunity to attack Whydah, or even 
 Agbome ! 
 
 Thursday, February 18, 1864. — "We slept in the 
 open, through a fine cool and dewless night. Before 
 dawn, the Reverend, greatly dejected, awoke us with 
 the tidings that all Whydah had been burned down 
 yesterday. Naturally believing about a quarter of 
 what was told us, we mounted hammocks, and in hot 
 haste hurried through Toli and Savi. Arrived at Sogro's 
 House, and just catching the morning sparkles of the 
 sea, we saw at a glance that the damage had been 
 extensive, and that the conflagration had not ceased. 
 We wound south-westwards through the streets, where 
 women were weeping, and carrying off their kit : as 
 we approached the centre of danger we saw, at long 
 intervals, men sitting upon their roofs with green 
 boughs, to extinguish the sparks. Volumes of hot 
 heavy smoke barred our road, and a crowd of natives 
 opposed our passing through the Zobeme market, which 
 
EETUEN TO THE SEABOARD. 303 
 
 was still a-fire. We wound round by the north, avoid- 
 ing as we best could the burning poles lying on the 
 ground, and the lighted straws that filled the air. All 
 circumspection was required : in these places the flames 
 run with a horse's speed. 
 
 We were happy to find the English Fort still standing, 
 the inmates safe, and their property carried into the 
 compound. The mulattoes were patrolhng with drawn 
 swords, to prevent plunder, and they had, we were told, 
 exerted themselves to turn off the fire. But all went 
 " hithering and thithering ; " whenever a servant 
 was ordered to do this, he forthwith did that ; 
 and my opinion was, that with the least change of 
 wind the Fort would have inevitably been burned. The 
 Whydahs afterwards declared that they had no idea 
 why that house should have been the only building 
 saved in the vicinity, and lest they might attempt to 
 correct the exceptional nature of the phenomenon, I 
 employed every wakeful hour at night in looking out 
 with a loaded carbine. 
 
 The conflagration began, no one knows how, on 
 February l7th, near the house of the late M. Jose D. 
 Martinez : it was about noon, and the strong Har- 
 mattan had already lasted two days. The fire swept. 
 
304 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 in a broad straight band, from east to west. Sparing 
 the northern quarter, it gutted the house of the 
 Chacha de Souza, who, when informed of the calamity, 
 nearly died with rage, like his brother chief. Of the 
 French Factory, nothing was left but the slated and 
 lime -washed frontage. The gerant had prudently 
 started all his gunpowder into the well, but the loss in 
 palm oil and stores must have been heavy — men named 
 300,000 dollars. 
 
 Apparently extinguished before sunset on the 1 7th, 
 the fire again broke out at 8 p.m. The worst reports 
 spread through the town, and all looked for some 
 terrible disaster. Again, at 10 on the next morning, 
 about three hours before our arrival, it appeared in the 
 very heart of the settlement, all about the English 
 Fort, sweeping away the Zobeme bazaar, and doing 
 damage to the northwards of the yesterday's line. 
 Even the late Mr. Hutton's quondam house was not 
 spared, and it was " murus proa?imiis ardet with Mr. 
 Bernasko's homestead. These fires are common enough 
 in Yoruba towns — Lagos, for instance, where want of 
 space compels men to build closely — but three fires in 
 three days wore a suspicious appearance. Those 
 whose houses were first seen in flames w^ere imprisoned 
 
EETUEN TO THE SE.VBOAED. 305 
 
 at the Yevo-gan's quarters, but they were not proved to 
 be the real arsonists.'" 
 
 According to the French missionaries, from sixty to 
 eighty people lost their lives. Kegro like, they 
 watched the advancing flames incuriously till their roofs 
 caught fire, when they Avould rush inside the house to 
 carry off a cloth or a pipkin. Some two hundred were 
 wounded, and two-thirds of the town appeared either 
 burnt down or reduced to scorched clay-walls. This 
 does not include the casualties amongst the slaves : 
 many of the wretches were confined in barracoons, and 
 there being no one to release them, they perished 
 miserably. To make the confusion greater, the death 
 of the Yevo-gan was rumoured,t and his successor, the 
 Prince, was, I have said, absent. Though the roads were 
 at once stopped, many will fly from this modern Sodom 
 and Gomorrah. 
 
 •5^ 45- 4C- « * 
 
 I passed at Whydah a few quiet days, chiefly in the 
 society of the French Mission. On February 23, 1864, 
 
 * In former days, according to Captain John Adams, the Dahomans, 
 like the Fantis, always pat to death the man in whose house a destructive 
 lire first broke out. 
 
 t He soon recovered enough to summon me to his house, on the pre- 
 text that the King had appointed me governor of English Town. The 
 invitation was declined— with thanks. 
 
 A-OL. II. X 
 
306 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 tidings reached the fort that the King had set out on 
 his campaign. Three days afterwards, I transferred 
 myself to H.M.S. Jaseur, Commander Grubbe, who had 
 the pleasant prospect of a tour round the Oil Rivers. 
 Mr. Cruickshank shipped on board his own vessel, 
 H.M.S. Philomel, Commander Wildman. After the 
 scenes and chances through which we had passed 
 during the last ten weeks, I parted from him with 
 regret. * * * * 
 
 Enough ! now turn from that polluted shore." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 The reader may not be unwilling to hear something 
 of the catastrophe which concluded the negro Epos of 
 the preceding pages. The following details are, I 
 think, reliable : they are borrowed from the local 
 prints, whose information has been corrected by sub- 
 sequent inquiry. 
 
 Rumours of the intended Dahoman attack had long 
 been rife at Abeokuta.'^ This year, the useless ditches 
 were cleaned out, the wretched walls were raised and 
 repaired, and to avoid the necessity of guarding a long 
 line on the opposite bank of the Ogun river, a new parapet 
 was thrown up on the near side. Stores of shot and pow- 
 der were plentifully laid in, although for many months 
 Lagos had refused to supply ammunition ; the farmers 
 were ordered to remove all their produce from the line 
 
 * When I visited Abeokuta in 1861, the chiefs, as well as the people, 
 showed great fear of Dahome. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 A MISSION TO G]::LELE. 
 
 of Dahoman march, and all the villages between 
 Abeokuta and "the Lagoon" were deserted. The 
 Ibashorun,* or Commander-in-Chief, took up his re- 
 sidence near the walls ; scouts, sent out in all 
 directions, brought in, on March 13, a Dahoman 
 deserter, and on the 20th the public crier was sent round 
 to warn all the inhabitants of the impending danger. 
 
 As has been said, on February 22 f the Dahoman 
 army left Agbome. Their stations were — 1, Chotonun, 
 where they halted four days ; 2, Kurugba ; 3, Aisunun ; 
 4, Wonun ; 5, Zirigbonun ; 6, Aisocho-gon ; and 7, 
 Isume. Between the two latter they crossed the 
 Opara River, the boundary between Dahome and 
 Abeokuta. Ensued, 8, Refurefu, where they crossed 
 the lyewa streamlet, in the land of Okeadon : as it 
 was deep, though narrow, they either repaired or made 
 a bridge over it. The 9th station was Besho, the 10th 
 Jiga, a little district belonging to the chief Akodu, 
 where they sta3^ed four or five days. Thence (11) 
 they encamped near the Owiwi Eiver, about twelve 
 miles distant from their destination, and running 
 
 * Meaning, literally, a king who manages Heaven ; not, as a corre- 
 spondent of the Times has asserted, " A king in Heaven, opening out 
 everything." 
 
 t The local papers say 24th of February, which is a mistake. 
 
CONCLUSION. 309 
 
 between Igbara and Isliagga, scenes of their former 
 triumphs. From the Owiwi River they marched (12) to 
 Aro, by moonhght, intending, Hke wild beasts, to 
 spring upon the enemy unawares, but they were seen 
 by some people bathing in the Ogun river. 
 
 Thus the Dahoman army expended twenty-two days 
 — twelve of work, marching from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 
 and ten of rest — upon the hundred and twenty direct 
 miles between the two capitals. They suffered severely 
 from want of food, living on hard beans, parched rice, 
 onions, and roasted palm-nuts. Many of them ate 
 nothing but a little cassava for twenty-four hours 
 before the attack. They marched in four battalions, 
 under the Min-gan, the Meu, the new Ajyaho, and the 
 Po-su,"'" and each caboceer had his umbrella, his flag, and 
 his stool. Their forces were generally estimated at 
 10,000 to 12,000, including carriers, and the maximum 
 named is 16,000, which we may readily reduce to half. 
 They were accompanied b}^ three brass six -pounders, 
 one of Spanish manufacture, bearing date " Mexico, 
 1815."t There are conflicting reports concerning the 
 
 * The papers give the 4th battalion to the " Topo ; " but the Tokpo 
 (Chapter XIV.) is a common captain, and not of the blood-royal. 
 
 t Others say Seville, 1805." They were mounted on Dahoman 
 carriages, and having been spiked, the touch-holes were greatly enlarged. 
 
310 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 King : some declare that lie was not with the army, 
 which w^as led by his brothers ; others say that he did 
 not cross the Ogun River ; others that he approached 
 the city wall, having left a force behind him at Igbara, 
 lest the Ibashorim should fall upon his rear. 
 
 After their twelve miles' march on the Monday 
 night, the Dahomans refreshed themselves in the Ogun 
 River. A fighting draught of rum and gunpowder w^as 
 then served out to them, and many are said to have 
 betrayed its effects. The morning of Tuesday, March 
 15, 1864, was dull and foggy, and at 6.30 a.m. the 
 attacking party crossed the river, under cover of the 
 mist. They were presently perceived. The Abeokutan 
 cannon at the Aro gate fired repeated signals. In a 
 few minutes the Egbas, who had been all night at the 
 walls, were swarming by thousands at their defences. 
 Inside the town men hustled in all directions to the 
 fight : the missionaries had some trouble in retaining a 
 single servant for the purpose of serving out am- 
 munition to their friends. The Egbas lined the wall 
 from Agbameya to Aro, and only four townships — 
 Ijeun, Ikemta, Itoku, and Oba — numbering one divi- 
 sion, prepared to engage, the other two corps d/armees 
 remaining at their posts, as it w^as reported that the 
 
CONCLUSION. 311 
 
 enemy would make three independent attacks. The 
 men amused themselves with throwing up their muskets 
 and catching them, whilst the women sang and danced. 
 The latter behaved well throughout a trying time, 
 carrying spirits, water, and food to the fighters, and 
 some, arming themselves with swords, kept near the 
 walls in case they were wanted. 
 
 Not much encouraged by this reception, the Daho- 
 mans still advanced steadily, and in a dense body, 
 over the hollow and broken ground, towards the gate 
 where Gezo had met his defeat.* The Egbas had 
 tunnelled their wall in many places, enabling them to 
 sally out and to retire when convenient. A body of 
 400 braves leapt forth to engage the enemy upon the 
 plain, but as he came on without returning their fire, 
 they withdrew, true to their tactics, through their 
 excavations. At this moment, an Abeokutan cannon 
 was fired and dismounted from its carriage, so as to 
 incapacitate it from further use. The effect, however, 
 was to make the attacking party swerve to the right, 
 where the wall was higher, and which therefore was 
 supposed to have no defenders. 
 
 * I have described this Negro Marathon in A Flying Visit to 
 Abeokuta," Chapter III. 
 
312 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 When within two hundred yards of the wall, the 
 Dahomans displayed their banners/' and deployed in 
 three bodies — one opposite the Aro gate, and the other 
 two to its left : as was proved by the casualties, the 
 centre was the best led. The line, about 700 yards 
 long, then advanced within 300 to 400 feet of the 
 defences, and a column, supposed to number 3000, 
 arrived within half that distance. No breach was ever 
 attempted. Did they expect to see the defences fall 
 like the walls of Jericho 1 
 
 The battle began at 7 a.m. with such a fusillade 
 as Abeokuta has seldom heard. A tall stout warrior, 
 dressed in blue, probably the Gau, or Commander-in- 
 Chief, gave the signal to attack. The Dahomans 
 obeyed by the usual impetuous rush, but as they ap- 
 proached the wall, their enemy poured a heavy volley 
 into their serried ranks, and checked the general 
 progress. For half-an-hour the firing was kept up in 
 such quick succession, that it was impossible to dis- 
 tinguish the Dahoman from the Egban musket reports. 
 Under cover of the smoke, many of the attacking party 
 
 * The Iwe Irohin," of Abeokuta (April, 1864), says that the 
 banners had " various distinguishing marks, as letters of the alphabet ; 
 especially J, 0. N. and P. were seen." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 313 
 
 lodged themselves in the moat, hoping to surprise the 
 wall, whilst the defenders, principally men of Ijeun, 
 were prevented by the hot fire outside from taking aim 
 at them. Some of the most desperate, especially the 
 Amazons, threw large stones at the enemy, and 
 snatched away six muskets that were pointed at them ; 
 others furiously scaled the wall, and were dragged over 
 and slain by the Egbas. Some crept through the 
 tunnels, and were instantly decapitated. One woman, 
 who had lost an arm in the escalade, shot an Egba with 
 the other hand, and fell back sabred into the trench. 
 Three other Amazons, who had planted their banners on 
 the defences, were cut down, and their heads and hands 
 were exhibited on poles, with a shout of victory. This 
 fighting at pistol distance lasted for an hour, during 
 which seventy to eighty Dahomans fell in the trench ; 
 and of the Egbas ten to fifteen were killed and forty 
 wounded. It ended, in fact, the attack. 
 
 At 8.30 A.M. the Dahomans, whose ofiicers deserved 
 to be hung, retired about two hundred yards from the 
 walls. Some sat down, and the others kept up a hope- 
 less fire. The Egbas were ordered to keep their places, 
 lest the rush and the retreat might be a feint. Many of 
 the young men, however, could not be restrained from 
 
A mSSION TO GELELE. 
 
 an attack in the open, when the Dahomans again 
 aroused themselves. The Egbas retired, and only small 
 parties were sent out. Gradually, the Dahomans fell 
 back upon the valley of the Ogun. Arrived at Aro, 
 they kept up a sharp fire for some time, repulsing the 
 assailants, and capturing three Egbas, who were, how- 
 ever, soon recovered. As no proper arrangements 
 were made for the attack, so no measures had been 
 taken to secure retreat. 
 
 About 10 A.M. a large reinforcement from the 
 Agbameya Gate, after a circuit of three hours, fell upon 
 the Dahoman rear, when, after two vain attempts to 
 stand, all ''skedaddled" in earnest. Another party 
 from the Ikija Gate also opened fire upon the enemy, 
 after he had crossed the river, and the Egba divisions 
 at the Ishagga and Ibaka entrances marched out to 
 intercept the retreat, which, from the heavy fighting in 
 the Ogun valley, had now become a flight. Finally, 
 the Egbas rushed en masse, shouting victory, outflank- 
 ing the foe right and left, and causing a general " saiwe 
 qui peutr 
 
 One division, in which it is supposed was the doughty 
 King, went off* unopposed, having the start of the 
 enemy. The other two were mixed, and in confusion 
 
CONCLUSION. 315 
 
 — many flying off the roads into the fields. When 
 too hotly pressed by the Egbas, they would turn and 
 fire. Some refused to surrender, and were killed ; 
 others dropped on the way, and were captured ; and 
 others, fatigued by the march and the flight, were 
 left behind in the pursuit, to be recovered on the next 
 day. 
 
 The rout was now complete. The want of water — 
 all the streams being dried up — and the mid-day sun 
 tohi heavily upon the fugitives, who were faint with 
 famine, and footsore by running on the path sides. 
 They no longer kept together in large bodies. At 
 Igbara they were attacked in flank by another party 
 of Egbas, who had taken a short cut across the river. 
 Here they lost many of their carriers, several hundreds 
 of muskets — some quite new — and a brass gun, which 
 had burst at the muzzle. At 3 p.m. the Ibashorun set 
 out in person, and did not return from the pursuit till 
 the next day at noon. 
 
 The Dahomans made another faint stand at their 
 deserted encampment, but they were compelled to fly, 
 losing a second brass field-piece, whose vent wanted 
 bushing, the royal wives, daughters, horse, sandals with 
 crosses of yellow metal, clothes, loads of coral and 
 
316 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 velvet, and sundry carriages : here, too, were picked up 
 decapitating razors, and the stores of the King's house- 
 hold and of his guards. Beyond Ishagga, which they 
 reached at 2 p.m., there was another severe encounter, 
 but the Dahomans had the worst of it. They made a 
 stand at the Owiwi River, vainly thinking to find water, 
 and suffered severely. At Jiga they again met the 
 Egbas before nightfall, and their pursuit continued till 
 the fugitives, many of whom had marched thirty-five 
 miles that day, reached the lyewa Eiver. Here the 
 Okeadon people had broken down the bridge. A 
 party, led by a son of the late chief, Anaba, killed 400 
 or 500 of their survivors, who were so exhausted that 
 they could not be brought back. 
 
 The King's loss has been variously estimated. The 
 Egbas reckoned " two heads, twenty strings, and twenty 
 cowries,^' equal to 6821 men. The " I we Irohin " more 
 moderately declares — " From. Abeokuta to Ishagga, a 
 distance of about fifteen miles, above 1000 were counted, 
 whilst beyond that place it is said that the number of 
 dead was still greater. The prisoners cannot be fewer 
 than 1000 or 1200— some say above 2000.'' In the 
 trench where the first attack was made, seventy to eighty 
 bodies were found in two places, and of those fifty were 
 
COXCLUSIOX. 
 
 317 
 
 lost by the central division. About fifty-five fell on 
 the plain before the walls, and four women within the 
 defences : some say that the latter were brought in 
 captive, and killed. The Egbas cut all the bodies 
 nearly to pieces — every one, even the women, passing 
 a Dahoman corpse, cursed, slashed, or stoned it. The 
 greatest destruction took place, of course, during the rout. 
 It was impossible to number the prisoners who were 
 brought in by various entrances at all times of the day 
 and night, and many conveyed to distant villages. Up 
 to 2 P.M. of the battle-day, Tuesday, more than 200 
 were marched through the Aro Gate : after that hour 
 they were brought in much faster than before, and on 
 the next day at an increased rate. Many surrendered 
 themselves, begging food ; others, picked up in the 
 bush utterly exhausted, were sent in by the people of 
 Jiga and Iketu, Otta and Okeadon. Some of the 
 prisoners, especially the captains, were put to death on 
 account of their violence. It was remarked that the 
 greatest part of the killed and wounded were men, and 
 that of four captives only one was born in Dahome. 
 The total loss of the Egbas was about forty killed 
 and 100 wounded. 
 
 A comparison between Gezo's and Gelele's attacks 
 
318 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 on Abeokuta gives the measure of Daliomaii deca- 
 dence. In 1851, the King assaulted on both banks 
 of the Ogun, and the distance between the two points 
 of the attack was at least a mile. He fought from 
 morning till night, and was driven back but one mile 
 to Aro, where he put to death fifty Egbas, who had 
 been picked up whilst farming. He fought again at 
 Ishagga, preventing further pursuit, and lost a total of 
 1200 soldiers. In 1864, Gelele attacks only on one 
 side of the river, which he crossed at Aro : he takes to 
 flight, in two hours, after losing 150 men. The place 
 of the dead upon the field of battle can be traversed 
 in two or three minutes ; the rout ends in a " same qui 
 peut,^' to the lyewa River ; and finally he hardly kills 
 any of the enemy. Not more than one of ten Egbas 
 fired a shot, and all were surprised to see the Dahoman 
 army so small, and fighting so badly : they had harder 
 work even at Ijaye. 
 
 According to the latest accounts, the incorrigible 
 King at once bought a number of slaves, and returned 
 to his capital a conqueror. After three w^eeks at 
 Agbome, he despatched sundry of his brothers to drive 
 and kidnap the country north of Porto Novo. About 
 mid-February there was a report of his death. On 
 
CONCLUSION. 319 
 
 May 6, 1864, he was living ; but he was so reduced in 
 strength that he avoided all publicity. 
 
 Thus, in utter disgrace, ended the long-expected 
 attack of the " Royal Savage " upon Abeokuta. Many 
 years must elapse before Dahome can recover from the 
 blow, and before that time I hope to see her level 
 with the ground. 
 
APPENDIX L 
 
 ITINEEAEY. 
 FEOM WHYDAH TO AGBOME. 
 
 Corrected by Captain GEORGE, R.N., Royal Geographical Society of 
 London, and EDWIN DUNKIN, Esq., Greenwicli Observatory. 
 
 INSTEIJMENTS. 
 
 1. — Aneroid A (Pocket — Spencer, Browning, & Co., London). 
 On first floor of Fort Whydali, 30*60, temp. 80°. 
 On return, after two months, 30'30, „ 91°. 
 
 2. — Aneroid B (Full size — ^Negretti & Zambra, London). 
 On first floor of Fort Whydali, 30-45, temp. 80°. 
 On return . . . 30*20, „ 91°. 
 
 FIEST DAY— Dece^iber 14, 1833. 
 From Fort Whydah to Toli, 31i. = ll miles. 
 Stage 1. — From Whydah Fort to Savi, 111. 30m. = 5 miles. 
 Started 8*20 a.m. In five minutes, out of town. After 
 
 VOL. ir. Y 
 
1 
 
 322 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 fifteen minutes more, to Agbana water. In twenty minutes, 
 to deep copse. At 9*50 a.m., Savi (Xa^aer of Mr. Norris). 
 
 Aneroid A, at 10 a.m., 30-50, temp. 85°. 
 „ B, „ „ 30*50. „ „ 
 
 Altitude of Savi =44 feet. 
 
 Stage 2.— From Savi to Toli (half way to Allada), lli. 30m. 
 = 6 miles. 
 
 Started 2*30 p.m. Passed tlie Custom-House, crossed the 
 Savi swamp in five minutes. Then Toli water. At 4 p.m., 
 Toli (Toree of Mr. JSTorris). 
 
 Aneroid A, at 2*30 p.m., 30*35, temp. 92°. 
 >> B, ,, „ 30*40, „ ,, 
 
 On return — 
 
 Aneroid A, at 6 a.m., 30*50, temp. 76°. 
 )j ^5 J? 33 30*35, ,, ,, 
 
 Altitude of ToH= 180 feet. 
 
 SECOND DAY — December 15, 1863. 
 
 From Toli to AUada, 3h. = ll miles. 
 (Total from Whydah, 6h. = 22 miles.) 
 Stage 3. — From Toli to Azohwe, Ih. 45m. = 6 miles. 
 
 Started 6*45 a.m. Forest country, few clearings, path nar- 
 rowed. At 8*25 A.M., Azohwe (Azohwee of Commander 
 Forbes). 
 
 Aneroid A, at 9 a.m., 30*55, temp. 78^ 
 B, „ 30*30, „ „ 
 
APPENDIX I. 323 
 
 On return — 
 
 Aneroid A, 30-00, temp. 95° 
 „ B, 30-07, „ „ 
 
 Altitude of Azoliwe = 144 feet. 
 
 Stage 4. — From Azohwe to Allada, Ih. 15m. = 5 miles. 
 
 Started 10 '45 a.m. Land flat and wooded. Then large 
 clearing. Denun, or Custom-House. At 12, Allada (Ardra, 
 or Alladah, of old writers). 
 
 Aneroid A, at noon, 30-30, temp. 85°. 
 „ B, „ 30-20, „ „ 
 
 On return — 
 
 Aneroid A, at 6 a.m., 30-30, temp. 79°. 
 )) B, ,, ,, 30-15, ,, ,, 
 
 Altitude of Allada =284 feet. 
 
 THIRD DAY— December 16, 1863. 
 
 From Allada to Akpwe, 41i. = 13-50 miles. 
 (Total from Whydah, 101i. = 35-50 miles.) 
 Stage 5. — From Allada to Henvi, 21i. = 6-50 miles. 
 
 Started 6-40 a.m. BusIl and clearings ; hot road. After 
 1 hour = 3 miles, Attogon village. 
 
 Aneroid A, at 7'40 a.m., 30-30, temp. 80°. 
 j> B, ,, „ 30*10, ,, ,, 
 
 Altitude of Attogon=316 feet. 
 
 Reached Henvi Asihwe at 8 a.m., 2 50 miles from Attogon. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Aneroid A, at 8-25 a.m., 30-25, temp. 79° 
 )f „ „ 30"10, „ 
 
 Altitude of Henvi Asiliwe = 322 feet. 
 
 Eeaclied Henvi Do-vo (Havee of Mr. Norris) at 8*45 a.m. 
 Total time, 21i. = 6-50 miles. 
 
 Aneroid A, at 9 a.m., 30-30, temp. 80°. 
 „ B, „ 30-15, „ „ 
 
 On return — 
 
 Aneroid A, at 9 a.m., 30*25, temp. 75°. 
 B> j> >j 30-10, ,, „ 
 
 Altitude of Henvi Do-vo=287 feet. 
 
 Stage 6. — From Henvi to Akpwe, 2h.. = 7miles. 
 
 Started 10 a.m. After 50m., AYhe-gbo. Forest land to 
 edge of Agrime swamp. At 2 p.m., Akpwe (Appoy of Norris, 
 
 Apoy of History). 
 
 Aneroid A, at 2 p.m., 30-05, temp. 94°. 
 B, „ „ 30-00, „ 
 
 Next morning — 
 
 Aneroid A, at 5 p.m., 30-25, temp. 71°. 
 „ B, „ „ 30-02, „ „ 
 
 Altitude of Akpwe =417 feet. 
 
 FOUETH DAY— December 17, 1863. 
 
 From Akpwe to Agrime, 31i. = ll miles. 
 (Total from Wliydali, 131i. =46*50 miles.) 
 Stage 7. — From Akpwe to Wondonun, Ik. 15m. = 5 miles. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 325 
 
 Started 5*20 a.m. After 15 minutes = 1 mile, of good path, 
 began the Agrime swamp. Two bad places, but no mud, at 
 6'45 P.M. Wondonun (name not mentioned in History). 
 
 Ajieroid A, at 7-15 a.m., 30-50, temp. 83° 
 „ B, „ „ 30*30, „ „ 
 
 Altitude of Wondonun =134 feet. 
 
 Stage 8. — From Wondonun to Agrime. 
 
 Started 7'45 a.m. After nearly lh. = 2*50 miles, to little 
 village, Aiveji. Country improves, becomes more open, and 
 rises northwards. At 9-25 a.m., Agrime. 
 
 Time, Ih. 40m, = 6 miles. 
 
 Total march, 3h. = ll miles. 
 
 Aneroid A, at 9 a.m., 30*50, temp. 83°. 
 „ B, „ „ 30*30, „ „ 
 
 On the next day — 
 
 Aneroid A, at 4 p.m., 30*25, temp. 84°. 
 )} B, „ „ 30*15, „ ,, 
 
 Altitude of Agrime =232 feet. 
 
 FIFTH DAY— December 18, 1863. 
 
 From Agrime to Kana=lh. 30m. = 6 miles. 
 (Total from Whydah, 14h. 30m. = 52*50 mHes.) 
 
 Stage 9. — Started 5*30 p.m. Eoad, hitherto north with 
 easting, became north with westing. After 50m., at Fetish 
 place, and 10m. more to Zogbodomen village. At 7 p.m. 
 entered Kana (Calmina of History). 
 
 At Kana, in English House, December 19. 
 
326' A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Aneroid A, at 8-30 a.m., 30-30, temp. 81°. 
 ,, B, „ ,, 20*20, „ 
 
 Altitude of E:ana=271 feet. 
 
 SIXTH DAY— December 20, 1863. 
 
 From Kana to Agbonie=21i. = 7J miles. 
 
 (Total from Whydah, 161i. 30m. = 60 miles, and from the 
 roads of WlLydali* = 62 miles). 
 
 Stage 10. — Started 3 p.m. Excellent road. At 3*50 p.m., 
 Adan-we Palace. At 4*45 p.m. reached the Kana Gate of 
 Agbome (Abomey of History). At 6 p.m. (slow walking) 
 reached English House. 
 
 At Agbome, in English House, room facing eastward, mean 
 of 60 observations — 
 
 Aneroid A, 29*65 1 Average temperature (except when 
 „ B, 29*55 J harmattan was blowing) 81°. 
 
 By B. P. Ther. (good observations), 211° 25', temp. 92°. 
 
 Altitude of Agbome = 1065 feet. 
 
 !N".B. — The Aneroids seldom varied more than 0*05 above 
 or below 29*65 and 29*55. 
 
 The difference between dry and wet bulbs was from 4° to 10°. 
 
 The Preface to the History places Agbome in ^N". lat. 
 7° 59'. 
 
 The History places it in lat. 9° 50'. 
 
 * According to Korie, K lat. 6' 19' 0". 
 
 According to Captain Phillips (1694\ N. lat. 6' 10'. 
 According to Norie, E. long. 2^ 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 327 
 
 My observations of Sirius, corrected by Captain George, give 
 a mean of lat. 7°. 
 
 My sketch-map places Agbome four miles to tbe east of 
 Wliydab, i.e., E. long. 2° 4' Mr. Townsend makes 
 
 Abeokuta in lat. 7° 8' 0", and in E. long. 3° 20' 0\ 
 This would give an interval of 1° 15' 0" = 75 geographical 
 miles, between Agbome and Abeokuta, agreeing with the 
 reports of the people that the distance can easily be done 
 in a week. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Bernashds Account Current with Ca'ptain Burton, 
 H. M. S. Commissioner, Dahomey. 
 
 [From December 8th, 1863, to February 26, 1864.] 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Hammocks, from and to beach 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 60 Bags of Cowries, subsistence for hammocks. 
 
 
 
 
 guides, porters, and tents .... 
 
 54 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 7 Cases of Gin ....... 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 0 
 
 9 Pieces of Cloth 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 Presents to the King . . . . . . 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 Presents to the English Mother 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 Presents to the Wife of the English Host . . 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 Selim's ten days' board ..... 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 John's seven months' board and medical at- 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 8 Guides' Presents 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 John Beecham (pay to interpreter) . . . 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 John Mark Lemon (pay to interpreter) . 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 Cook 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 Servants 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 329 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 20 Porters 4 10 0 
 
 Paid to tlie French Factory, Liqueurs for King 
 
 and Chiefs 51 19 6 
 
 Paid to Mr. James Dawson, minor presents . 6 8 0 
 
 Presents to the Blue and Fanti Companies . . 33 15 0 
 
 Presents to the Rev. P. W. Bernasko . . 11 5 0 
 
 Paid to 17 Hammock-men . . . . . 11 9 6 
 
 1 Keg of 1-fifth Powder (salute at mydah) . 12 6 
 
 6 Krumen, with 4 Boys, one week's subsistence 14 6 
 
 £218 10 3 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Peter W. Bernasko, 
 Native Assistant Missionary, dated Whydah, November 
 29th, 18G0. 
 
 [From Wesleyan Missionary Notices, February 25, 1861.] 
 
 I HAVE now returned from Dahomey, and, as you are anxious 
 to receive from me an account of the Grand Custom, I take 
 up my pen to give you the detailed particulars, full and true. 
 
 "Wednesday, the 11th of July, I started from this, for 
 Ahomey, the capital, 'to see the Custom. I met with a man in 
 the way, two days after my departure, nicely dressed as a cah- 
 boceer, coming down here ; he was riding in a hammock, with 
 a large umbrella and a cabboceer-stool, and a number of men 
 accompanied him; and when I arrived at Cannah, a to^n 
 next to Abomey, about eight miles distant, I learnt that the 
 poor man was going to be thrown into the sea, to join the two 
 porters of the sea-gate, to open it for his father to enter in 
 and w^ash himself. Here was His Majesty the King, busy 
 preparing to leave for Abomey to-morrow, because all the 
 visitors have come. 
 
 Sunday, the 15th instant, by four o'clock in the afternoon, 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 331 
 
 we all started, together with the King, for the capital. There 
 were some bamboo mats and pieces of different kinds of cloth 
 spread in the way up to the town, for him to walk on. "When 
 we reached midway, he made a stay for about an. hour, and 
 then ordered us to proceed on to the town to sleep ; but he 
 slept at the place- 
 Monday, the 16th, we all went out to meet him, to accom- 
 pany him to the town ; and when we had met him he bade us 
 sit down. We then took seats. Here a man had his hands 
 tied, and mouth barred, vdth. a fathom of white bast wove 
 about his loins. He pointed liim out to us as a messenger 
 that was going to carry private information to his father. 
 The poor creature was taken up to the town, and was sacrificed 
 on the tomb of his father. Another in the same position sent 
 up to their large market to go and tell the spirits there what 
 he was going to do for his father. About an hour afterwards, 
 there were brought forward again four men in the same 
 position, with one deer, one monkey, and one turkey-buzzard. 
 Here the poor creatures had their heads cut off, save one. 
 One man was to go to all the markets and tell all the spirits 
 what he was about to make for his father ; the second man 
 was to go to all the waters, and tell all the animals there, &c.; 
 the third man was to go to all the roads, and tell the spirit- 
 travellers, &c. ; the fourth and last man was to go up to the 
 firmament, and tell all the hosts there, &c. ; the deer to go to 
 all the forests, and tell the beasts there, &c. ; the monkey to 
 go to all the swamps, to climb up trees, and tell all the animals 
 there ; the turkey-buzzard, fortunate creature, was let loose to 
 fly up to the sky, and tell all the birds there. After this, he 
 got up from his throne, which was carried along with him, and 
 drew up his sword, and said, " As I am now a King for this 
 kingdom, I will bring down all the enemies of my father under 
 my footstool. I will also go down to Abbeokuta, and do to 
 
332 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 them as they once did to my father. I will sweep them up." 
 He was seconded by his two chief Ministers, called Mingah 
 and Mewu, who spoke to the same effect. After the speeches, 
 we accompanied him to the town. 
 
 Tuesday, the 17th, he beat the gong, to fix a fortnight for 
 the commencement of the Custom. The Europeans were quite 
 annoyed at the time fixed, but tried to bear it with patience. 
 
 Sunday, the 29th, the Custom commenced. On the eve of 
 the day the whole town slept at the King's gate, and got up at 
 five o'clock in the morning to weep. And so they hypocriti- 
 cally did. The lamentations did not continue more than ten 
 minutes ; and, before the King came out to fire guns to give 
 notice to all, one hundred souls had already been sacrificed, 
 besides the same number of women killed in the inside of the 
 palace.* Ninety chief Captains, one hundred and twenty 
 Princes and Princesses, — all these carried out separately 
 human beings by four and two to sacrifice for the late King. 
 About two or three of the civilised Portuguese did the same. 
 I believe they gave twenty men to be sacrificed, besides bul- 
 locks, sheep, goats, drakes, cocks, guinea-fowls, pigeons, coral- 
 beads, cowries, silver money, rum, &c. After these three 
 gentlemen, the King thought all the other proper Europeans 
 should do the same for him ; but none performed such wicked 
 actions. 
 
 Wednesday, the 1st of August, the King himself came out 
 to bury his father, with the following things : — sixty men, fifty 
 rams, fifty goats, forty cocks, drakes, cowries, &c. The men 
 and women soldiers, well armed with muskets and blunderbusses 
 for firing ; and when he was gone round about his palace, he 
 came to the gate and fired plenty ; and there he killed fifty of 
 the poor creatures, and saved ten. 
 
 * Mr. Bernasko lias since denied that women are killed in the palace, or 
 elsewhere. — R. F. B. 
 
APPENDIX ni. 
 
 333 
 
 Thursday, the 2iid, he threw out cowries and some pieces of 
 cloth for his people to struggle for. 
 
 The King made himself of two persons, Ahorsu and 
 Athopon.* The first means King, and the second means 
 hearth — a place on which a fire is made.f The following 
 words are his titles : — Ahorsu Glere, which signifies a heavy 
 thing which cannot he lifted up hy any number of men ; so he 
 is called a heavy King, cannot he lifted up by any nation. 
 Ahorsu kini-Idni-Jiini, means a dragon. He is a dragon King, 
 that has strong claws, to tear to pieces all that will come in his 
 way. Ahorsu Taingay, means a hard stone, cannot be pinched 
 with a nail, hard King, that cannot be fought with by any 
 small nations. Ahorsu Yemahu, means a shadow ; he will 
 never be lost in his kingdom ; Shadow King. He said that 
 his father was a King of blacks, and a friend of whites ; but 
 himself is a King of both.} 
 
 During the Custom, the visitors and countrymen made enor- 
 mous and wonderful presents to the King. The Custom con- 
 tinued for three weeks. We all stopped there two months 
 before we got a pass out. I returned to this on the 1st of 
 September, and went up again on the 12th of October, to wit- 
 ness the annual Custom. During my travellings up and down, 
 I am glad to say that the God of Jacob was with me. I 
 conversed with many people about religious concerns, and they 
 were very glad to hear the word of salvation ; only they fear 
 the King. Almost every soul in this kingdom is willing to 
 embrace the Gospel of our Lord ; § but the only hindrance is 
 the Monarch. Many have a desire to send their children to 
 our school ; but they cannot on account of him. 
 
 * Query, Has taken a compound name ? — Eds. Xo ; the former is the 
 King, the latter the Bush-king.— R. F. B. 
 t By no means.— R. F. B. 
 
 + See Appendix IV.— E. F. B. § What an assertion !— R. F. B. 
 
334 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Monday, the 15tli, I arrived at Abomey. 
 
 Tuesday, tlie 16th, we were called to the King's palace, and 
 at the gate saw ninety human heads, cut off that morning, and 
 the poor creatures' blood flowed on the ground like a flood. 
 The heads lay upon swish beds at each side of the gate, for 
 pubHc view. We went in to sit down, and soon after he sent 
 out the property of his fathers, as follows : — two chariots, one 
 glass wheel, seven plain wheels, three solid silver dishes, two 
 silver tea-pots, one silver sugar-pot, one silver butter-pot, one 
 large cushion on a wheel bar* drawn by six Amazons, three 
 well-dressed silk hammocks, with silk awnings. 
 
 Three days after, we went to see the same things. I saw at 
 the same gate, sixty heads laid upon the same place ; and, on 
 three days again, thirty-six heads laid up. He made four 
 platforms in their large market-place, and on which he threw 
 cowries and cloths to his people, and sacrificed there about 
 sixty souls. I dare say he kiUed more than two thousand, 
 because he kiUs men outside, to be seen by aU, and women 
 inside, privately. 0, he destroyed many souls during this 
 wicked Custom. 
 
 Sunday, the 4th of IN'ovember, the whole town, with the 
 King, fired guns from twelve o'clock till eight in the 
 evening. 
 
 Monday, the 5th inst., I was very ill, laid up in bed three 
 days, without a bit of bread or a drop of drink. I forgot to 
 tell you, that ere this the King received a letter from Her 
 Britannic Majesty's Government, about his frequent expedi- 
 tions against Abeokuta, just warning him, that if he make 
 any attempt, aU his places on the coast shall be burnt. He 
 has not yet given an answer to this. I was the reader of the 
 letter. He seems quite frightened ; and I dare say that he 
 
 * Query, WlieelbarroAv ?— Eds. Yes.— E. F. B. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 335 
 
 cannot take a step over. He has already sent out troops to 
 war, but nobody knows where. 
 
 The annual Custom still continues, and the visitors have not 
 returned yet ; and had I not been sick, I could have had no 
 chance of coming down. 
 
 The pit at Abomey, which was reported to have been dug 
 deep enough to* contain human blood sufficient to float a canoe, 
 was false. There were two small pits, of two feet deep and 
 four feet in diameter each, to contain poor human blood, but 
 not to float a canoe. 
 
 I am sorry to report to you, that in our out- stations fightings 
 are still continued. We desire your prayers very much. 
 
 r.ETUEX TO AN ADDRESS OF THE HONOURABLE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 DATED JUNE 16, 1863; FOR 
 
 ^'A COPY OF COMMODOEE WILMOT'S KEPORT OF HIS RECEXT 
 YISIT TO THE KIXG OF DAHOMEY." 
 
 ISV 1. 
 
 Commodore Wilmot to Rear-Admiral Sir B. Wcdker. 
 (Extract.) 
 
 Rattlesnake," off Lagos, January 29, 1863. 
 
 My last communication was dated Lagos, 27th ISTovember 
 of last year, and I informed you that I should return to Sierra 
 Leone from "Whydah. 
 
 Since that period much has transpired that will naturally 
 cause the liveliest interest in all quarters. 
 
336 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 I visited tlie Yavogah of "WTiydah on tlie 20tli November, 
 and having met the Eev. P. W. Bernasko, Wesleyan mis- 
 sionary in the English fort, he informed me that the King of 
 Dahomey was most anxious to see somebody of consideration 
 from England, " a real Englishman,'' with whom he might 
 converse on the affairs of his country. 
 
 The Yavogah had said, " If you will come back again in 
 seven days, I will send to the King, and let you laiow if he 
 will see you." 
 
 I returned at the appointed time, much to his surprise, as 
 he did not believe I should come back, and he told me the 
 King was anxious to see me. 
 
 The Yavogah had sent up and said that I was a " good and 
 proper person " to come out as a messenger from the Queen. 
 
 Before making up my mind to accept the King's invitation 
 to visit him, there were many points to be considered of the 
 very highest importance. 
 
 It had been said, and I believe with some truth, that our 
 late attack on Porto Novo had enraged the King's mind to 
 such an extent that he had expressed a strong desire to lay 
 hands upon an English officer, in order to avenge the destruc- 
 tion of that place. 
 
 Porto Novo belongs to his brother. The European residents 
 at Whydah had spread the most alarming reports of the dis- 
 position of the King towards Englishmen, and his hatred of 
 them. 
 
 It was and is, of course, their interest to do so, and keep us 
 in isfnorance of their evil deeds. 
 
 After mature consideration I resolved to go, and place 
 impHcit trust in the King's good faith. 
 
 The position of affairs in this country seemed favourable for 
 making an impression on the King, and opening the way to the 
 estabhshment of friendly relations. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 337 
 
 Having made my preparations for an absence of fourteen 
 days, I landed at 10 a.m. of Tuesday the 22nd of December of 
 last year, in company witb Captain Luce and Dr. Haran, of 
 the " Brisk,'^ who had volunteered to accompany me. 
 
 The " Rattlesnake " and the Brisk " were sent to cruize, 
 and both vessels were ordered to return on the 14th of the 
 same month. 
 
 We were conveyed in hammocks across the lagoon and 
 through the wet marshy groimd that is almost impassable in 
 the rainy months, to a large tree at the entrance of Whydah, 
 where certain ceremonies were gone through to welcome us to 
 the place. We were received most cordially by the Yavogah 
 and other officials, with drums beating, colours flying, muskets 
 firing, cabooceers as well as soldiers dancing, the latter singing 
 warlike songs. 
 
 We were also treated to the manoeuvres of a slave-hunt. 
 
 As I am writing to save the homeward packet, and have 
 much to occupy my attention, I must ask you to forgive the 
 omission of many interesting details in my \dsit to this country, 
 which shall be furnished to you whenever I can find time to 
 embody them in a letter. 
 
 The Yavogah and Chiefs accompanied us to the English 
 fort, where the King's stick was presented, and the health of 
 the Queen of England and King of Dahomey drank. 
 
 Having secured our hammock-men, carriers for our luggage, 
 &c., and guides, and being furnished with a body of soldiers to 
 protect us on the road, we started the following afternoon, 
 accompanied by the Rev. P. W. Bernasko and his servants, 
 for our accommodation during our stay. 
 
 It was necessary to provide subsistence for all these people, 
 a very large body of men, according to the custom of the 
 country. 
 
 We arrived at Cannah, eight miles from Abomey, on the 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 evening of Tuesday the 9tli, where the King was holding his 
 Court. 
 
 The King was scarcely prepared to receive us, and hence we 
 were detained on the road longer than otherwise would have 
 been the case. 
 
 It is supposed that, on this occasion, he was anxious to dis- 
 play all his grandeur and all his power, and my landing so 
 quickly at Whydah had rather disconcerted him. 
 
 At all places on the road, the head men turned out with 
 their soldiers, and received us with firing and dancing ; also, 
 the usual presents of water, fowls, goats, &c. 
 
 Speeches were made expressive of their desire to go to war, 
 and cut ofi" heads for their master. The war-dance was per- 
 formed by women and children, and motions made with swords 
 as if in the act of decapitating their enemies. 
 
 Some of their songs were very curious, which shall be 
 described hereafter. 
 
 At all the villages where we slept, comfortable quarters had 
 been provided, and water furnished. 
 
 !N"othing could exceed the civility of every one. 
 
 The water is very bad, and there is great scarcity of it, par- 
 ticularly in the dry season. It must be very unwholesome. 
 
 The King had sent three of his sticks by special messengers 
 to meet us on our way, with inquiries about our health, &c. 
 
 At 10 A.M. on the morning of the 10th, the King sent to 
 say that he would receive us. 
 
 We accordingly went in full dress, and remained under 
 some large trees, in an open space of some extent. 
 
 After a short time, the Chiefs arrived in succession with 
 their followers, according to their rank, and were introduced 
 to us, the same drumming, firing, dancing, and singing, being 
 carried on as at Whydah. 
 
 This occupied a considerable time ; and when finished we 
 
APPENDIX ni. 
 
 339 
 
 got into our hammocks, and went to tlio palace, outside of 
 which, in a large square, were assembled all the Chiefs with 
 their people, as well as large bodies of the King's soldiers. 
 
 The sight was most interesting : the gaudy colours of the 
 large umbrellas, the dresses of the headmen, the firing of the 
 muskets, the songs of the people, the beating of the war-drums, 
 the savage gesture of the soldiers, and their ferocious appear- 
 ance, made us feel indeed that we were amidst an uncivilised 
 nation. 
 
 AII3 however, treated us with marked respect, while, 
 according to custom, we were carried three times round the 
 square. 
 
 After the third time we got down, and entered the palace 
 gates, passing through a row of Chiefs on each side. 
 
 The court-yard of the palace is of great extent, and pre- 
 sented a spectacle not easily forgotten. 
 
 At the further end was a large building, of some pretensions 
 to beauty in this country, being made of thatch, and supported 
 by columns of wood, roughly cut. 
 
 In front of this, and close to it, leaving an open space for 
 admission to the King, was placed a large array of variegated 
 umbrellas, admitted only to be used by himself. 
 
 Under these were congregated his principal Chiefs. On 
 either side of him, under the building, were his wives, to the 
 number of about one hundred, gaily dressed, most of them 
 young, and exceedingly pretty. 
 
 The King was reclining on a raised dais, about three feet 
 high, covered with crimson cloth, smoking his pipe. One of 
 his wives held a glass sugar basin for him to spit in. 
 
 He was dressed very plainly, the upper part of his body 
 being bare, with only a silver chain, holding some fetish charm, 
 round his neck, and an unpretending cloth around his waist. 
 
 The left side of the court-yard was filled with Amazons, 
 
 z 2 
 
340 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 from the walls up to the King's presence, all armed with 
 various weapons, such as muskets, swords, gigantic razors for 
 cutting off heads, bows and arrows, blunderbusses, &c. 
 
 They were seated when we entered. Their large war- drum 
 was conspicuous, being surrounded with human skulls. 
 
 We advanced to where the King was sitting with due form 
 and ceremony, and when close to him all the respect due to a 
 King was paid by bowing, &c., which he gracefully acknow- 
 ledged by bowing himself, and wa^dng his hand. 
 
 We then sat down close to him, in chairs that had accompanied 
 us from Whydah. 
 
 The conversation commenced with the usual compliments. 
 He asked about my health, and how I had got on with my 
 journey. 
 
 He then inquired about the Queen and all her family, 
 asking many questions about the form of government in 
 England. 
 
 I said the Queen sent her compliments to him, and hoped 
 he was quite well, at which he seemed much pleased. 
 
 This being only a visit of introduction, not of delivering 
 messages, therefore nothing political was entered into. 
 
 He then gave orders for his Amazons to perform a variety 
 of movements, and to salute me, which they did most 
 creditably. They loaded and fired quickly, singing songs all 
 the time. 
 
 They are a very fine body of women, and are very active in 
 their movements, being remarkably well-limbed and strong. 
 
 No one is allowed to approach them except the King, who 
 lives amongst them. 
 
 They are first in honour and importance. All messages are 
 carried by them to and from the King and his Chiefs. 
 
 Every one kneels down while delivering a message, and the 
 men touch the ground with their heads and lips before the 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 341 
 
 King. The women do not kiss the ground, nor sprinkle them- 
 selves with dust as the men do. 
 
 When a man appears before the King, he is obliged to 
 perform the ceremony of covering his head and upper part of 
 his body with dust before he rises, as much as to say, " I am 
 nothing but dirt before thee ! 
 
 It is a most degrading spectacle ; but, after all, only the 
 custom of the country. 
 
 After the Amazons had finished their manoeuvres, they 
 came to us, and gave us their compliments, singing songs in 
 praise of their master, and saying they were ready for war, 
 suiting the action to the word by going through the motions of 
 cutting off heads. 
 
 The King then introduced all his Princes, Chiefs, and head 
 warriors, in succession, according to rank ; then the Chiefs 
 and Captains of the Amazons : then the Princesses, daughters 
 of the late king : in fact, he brought before us, and named one 
 by one, everybody of importance in his kingdom. Some 
 appeared in companies, and others separately. The mother of 
 the King and the mothers of his principal Chiefs were also 
 named and presented. 
 
 After each company was introduced, and I had bowed to 
 them, a bottle of rum was given, the usual present after such 
 a ceremony, and a signal that they had permission to retire. 
 
 To the head Chiefs a glass each was presented, which was 
 drunk by themselves, or given to one of their followers. 
 
 When once in the King's presence, or in his capital, no 
 one, European or native, can leave without this customary 
 present. 
 
 We could not go away, on any one occasion that we visited 
 him, without receiving his permission to do so in the shape of 
 one or two bottles of rum for our hammock-men. 
 
 After all the presentations, the King called the Amazons 
 
342 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 again to salute us, and then offered us water and spirits, 
 which he drank "snth us, which finished the visit. 
 
 ISTo one is permitted to see the King drink : all turn their 
 faces away, and a large cloth is held up by his wives while 
 the royal mouth takes in the liquid. 
 
 The King then got up, it being almost dark, and walked 
 side by side with me across the court-yard, through the gates, 
 and nearly half-a-mile on the road towards our house, which 
 was considered a great compliment. The whole Court fol- 
 lowed, with the exception of the Amazons and his wives, who 
 never join in such processions. 
 
 The soldiers shouted, and sang their war-songs, while the 
 Chiefs went before the King to clear the road, and point 
 out any dirt or inequalities of ground, before the royal 
 feet. 
 
 The sight was imposing, and gave us a proper idea of the 
 power of the King amongst his people. He seemed much 
 feared as well as much beloved. 
 
 The King is a very fine-looking man, upwards of six feet 
 high, broad shouldered, and a pleasant countenance when he 
 likes. His eyes are bloodshot, which may arise from want of 
 rest or other causes. He is a great smoker, but does not 
 indulge much in the bottle. His skin is much lighter than 
 most of his people, resembling the copper colour of the American 
 Indians. 
 
 He is very active, and fond of dancing and singing, which 
 he practises in public during the customs. He is much 
 addicted to the fair sex, of whom he possesses as many as he 
 likes. He is about forty-three years old. 
 
 Before leaving the palace the King saluted the Queen with 
 twenty- one guns, from pieces of all sizes, lying on the ground, 
 and firmly fixed in the sand. The largest was, perhaps, a 
 3-pounder : the trunnions supported them in the ground. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 343 
 
 These guns are carried on men's heads, and occasionally 
 placed on the ground, and fired ojff. 
 This was done as I entered the palace. 
 He also saluted me with nine guns. 
 
 The number of guns fired was shown by a corresponding 
 number of musket-balls being produced in an iron pot. 
 
 We were accompanied from Whydah by the Prince who 
 was ordered to attend us on the road, and found him most 
 civil and obliging. 
 
 On arriving at our quarters after this day's ceremony, the 
 Prince asked me to make a present to the soldiers and Ama- 
 zons, in consequence of the manner in which the King had 
 received me. He said he hoped I would not make him 
 ashamed before his people, as he had brought me up, and was 
 ordered to attend upon me. I immediately acquiesced, and 
 made a handsome present, which was thankfully acknowledged. 
 Whenever strangers meet in this country, they either drink 
 with each other on their first arrival, or when they are about 
 to depart. We had always to submit to this, which caused a 
 great drain upon our resources. 
 
 The King's jesters danced before us to-day. One of the 
 Amazons, in firing, had injured her hand very much by the 
 bursting of the musket, and a messenger arrived from the 
 King with a request that the doctor might be allowed to 
 attend her. This was granted, and Dr. Haran saw her twice 
 a day until the wound was healed, and a perfect cure made. 
 
 The wound was a very nasty one, and I think it was for- 
 tunate for the Amazon that the skill of Dr. Haran was 
 called in. 
 
 We remained at Cannah until Sunday morning the 14th, 
 when we went to Abomey, eight miles distant, where the King 
 was to arrive in state and take up his residence in his own 
 capital. 
 
344 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 I 
 
 The custom of this country is delay, delay. No one knows 
 the value of time, nor do they much care about keeping their 
 word. 
 
 I frequently spoke to the Prince about seeing the King, and 
 giving him the presents I had with me, without which no mes- 
 sage can be given, nor private intercourse allowed. 
 
 I was told that the King would receive me in his capital, 
 whither he was going to hold certain customs in honour of his 
 " Father's spirit," that he wished me to see everything, how 
 he went through the " custom," and what he did to his 
 people. The Prince said, also, that he wished to salute me, 
 and pass his people before me in review. 
 
 I found all remonstrances in vain, and that it would be 
 useless to get up and walk away without seeing everything that 
 was interesting in the country. My object was to witness the 
 manners and customs of the King and his people, and as the 
 King appeared so friendly disposed, and had got up so many 
 things solely for my sake, I was determined to bear with 
 patience and see what the end would be. 
 
 My policy was to be friendly with every one, and endeavour 
 to show the character and disposition of an Englishman towards 
 the nations of this country — that we could treat them with 
 forbearance, and have some sympathy with a black man ! 
 
 If I had lost my temper, and shown a disposition to be 
 angry at the King's delay, I might have been received at 
 once ; but I should most assuredly have been sent back to 
 Whydah without the opportunity of making a good impression 
 on the King, or of witnessing any of those scenes which were 
 afterwards displayed before us, and have made such a deep 
 impression on our minds. 
 
 I have reason to believe that my line of conduct was rewarded 
 by the whole country being laid open before us, and the whole 
 people, King, Chiefs, and all, being our friends. The greater 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 345 
 
 part of what we saw I firmly believe was entirely got up for 
 my sake, and certainly no white man ever saw what we did, or 
 was treated with such marked consideration. 
 
 Whenever strangers visit the capital, the same delay occurs, 
 which causes general complaints. The more the King is pleased 
 with his visitor, the longer the time he wishes to keep him. 
 
 While at Cannah the King invited us on the afternoon of 
 two days to witness the firing of his Amazons and soldiers with 
 ball at a mark. 
 
 I had asked him, upon jpay first interview, whether he ever 
 practised his people in this way ; he said " Yes," and I heard 
 that he was then at Cannah for this purpose. . 
 
 We found him about two miles outside the town in a very 
 large open space, which had been cleared away, surrounded by 
 his Chiefs and people, to the number of several thousand, pre- 
 paring to practise at a number of goats, which were tied to 
 stakes driven in the ground at intervals of about fifteen yards, 
 under a mud wall of considerable length, and about ten feet 
 high. They were placed on mats. 
 
 The King received us very cordially, and told the Prince to 
 place us under his own umbrellas in a convenient place for 
 seeing everything. 
 
 The firing commenced, and the King's body-guard of Ama- 
 zons distinguished themselves by their good shots. The King 
 fired several times himself. 
 
 Every shot would have struck a man. 
 
 The soldiers fired also exceedingly well, and taking into con- 
 sideration the quality of the flint musket and the iron ball, 
 which is jagged and fits loosely in the barrel, it is really 
 astonishing at the display they made. 
 
 They would prove formidable enemies with good weapons, 
 and if they possessed discipline and real courage. 
 
 Several goats were killed, and on the second day four of 
 
346 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 those despatclied were sent to me as a present. These had 
 been selected by the Amazons as a particular present to me, 
 and until they were killed no other goat was fired at. 
 
 The firing was very rapid, and I certainly was astonished at 
 the manner in which they handled their weapons. 
 
 On Sunday the 14th, in the afternoon, the King made his 
 public entry into Abomey. First came the soldiers by com- 
 panies, headed by their particular Chief under his umbrella, 
 firing, dancing, and singing. 
 
 These went three times round th^ square in which we were, 
 outside the palace. An excellent fire was kept up. Next 
 came the Amazons in the same manner, dancing their dances, 
 firing and singing, each company headed by a Captain of 
 Amazons. 
 
 They marched better than the men, and looked far more 
 warlike in every way : their activity is astonishing. Lastly, 
 came the Xing in a carriage, surrounded by his body-guard 
 of women, and drawn by them. He passed where we were, 
 and we mutually bowed. I said to the Prince it was a pity 
 he had no horses, which was reported to the King, who 
 afterwards asked me if I would mention his wish to the Queen 
 for some to be sent him as a present, which I said I would do. 
 
 I laughingly said to the Prince, " He ought to go full 
 gallop round the square,'' which being told the King, he made 
 the Amazons run round two or three times as fast as they 
 could, much to the delight of his people ; he then got out of 
 his carriage, and was carried round in a very handsome 
 hammock. 
 
 The whole afternoon was occupied in firing, dancing, and 
 singing ; when all was concluded the King came up and shook 
 hands most cordially. We then went home. 
 
 The red sand here is a great nuisance, and finds its way 
 into every part of one's body and clothes. Each day we found 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 347 
 
 ourselves caked over vritli a crust, wliicli required a good 
 washing to get oflP; in five minutes a pocket handkerchief 
 assumed a yellow colour. 
 
 I believe that some heads were cut off, during the night, 
 on this occasion of the King's entry, and that it is the custom 
 to do so whenever he returns. "\Ye could not find out how 
 many, but eight heads were in the doorway when we passed 
 the palace on the following morning, and it is probable that 
 more of these trophies were inside. 
 
 We remained in Abomey five weeks from this time, and 
 daily witnessed scenes of a very extraordinary character, such 
 as the dancing of the Amazons, their warlike songs, the 
 dancing and songs of the soldiers, the distribution of presents 
 to the Princes, Chiefs, Captains, and headmen of the troops, 
 the " passing of the King's drummers, of the captains of the 
 Amazons, of the King's jesters, and a variety of other people 
 which appear before the King during the " customs." 
 
 A number of soldiers from the neighbourhood of Aghwey, 
 hearing that it was the intention of the King to attack their 
 country, had come up to Abomey to give themselves up to 
 him, rather than take the chances of being taken, sold, or 
 beheaded. They swore fealty to him, and it was curious to 
 observe the ceremony on this occasion ; after kissing the dust 
 and covering themselves with sand, the King made a speech 
 to them, and then the Prime Minister, in which was pointed 
 out the power of the King and the greatness of his name ; 
 each Chief was called by name and presented with cowries 
 and cloth, the two principal ones with a wife each. The 
 whole company were then " passed " to their own country, by 
 strings of cowiies being given to them. 
 
 It is certainly very extraordinary to see what influence the 
 King of Dahomey possesses, not only in his own country but 
 amongst the neighbouring tribes and nations. 
 
348 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 He is feared by all ; but still he is a true friend to tliose 
 wbo seek bis alliance, and is always ready to assist tbem. 
 
 We bad an opportunity of observing tbis during tbe last 
 five days of our stay in bis capital. 
 
 Upon tbe last day but one of tbe " customs," late in tbe 
 afternoon, a large body of soldiers, witb tbeir attendants 
 carrpng tbeir camp equipage, made tbeir appearance from a 
 place about tbree days in tbe interior, belonging to tbe King. 
 Tbese men bad been sent to tbe assistance of a small town 
 belonging to a Cbief on friendly terms witb tbe King, wbo 
 liad been tbreatened by tbe Abbeokutans, and wbo bad applied 
 to Abomey for assistance. 
 
 Tbe King bad granted tbe assistance required, and despatcbed 
 two of bis bead warriors witb about 600 men for tbis purpose. 
 
 When tbese men arrived at tbe town tbey found tbat tbe 
 Abbeokutans, bearing of tbeir approach, bad run away, and 
 bence tbeir return to Abomey. 
 
 It was a very pretty sigbt to see tbese men return and 
 present themselves before tbe King, wbo made tbem a long 
 speech, and gave them presents. 
 
 On tbe Saturday, six days after our arrival at Abomey, the 
 King saw us privately in bis own palace, and I made him the 
 presents brought up for tliis occasion and which will be men- 
 tioned hereafter. 
 
 He was attended by six of his Privy Council, his most 
 trusted friends, all well known to me ; also by five of his 
 principal wives. 
 
 He would only receive the presents from my own hands, 
 which is unusual. I gave him first the picture of the Queen, 
 and said that Her Majesty had sent tbis out to him as a 
 mark of her friendship, and her wish to be on good terms 
 with him. He took it in his hands, and admired it very much. 
 
 The Queen is represented in her coronation robes, with 
 
APPENDIX ni. 
 
 349 
 
 crown on her head and sceptre in her hand. The frame is 
 very handsome, and the picture is a large one. 
 
 After looking at it attentively, he asked many questions 
 concerning the dress, and then said, " From henceforth the 
 Queen of England and the King of Dahomey are one. The 
 Queen is the greatest Sovereign in Europe, and I am King of 
 the Blacks. I will hold the head of the Kingdom of Dahomey, 
 and you shall hold the tail." I then gave him a few small 
 presents from myself, with which he was very much deHghted 
 and grasped me warmly by the hand. His council partici- 
 pated in these feelings, and said " At last good friends have 
 met.'' 
 
 ISTow commenced the delivery of the message which I thought 
 it my duty to lay before the King. 
 
 The first subject was the Slave Trade, and I said, " England 
 has, for a long period of years, been doing her utmost to stop 
 the Slave Trade in this country. Much money has been spent, 
 and many lives have been sacrificed to attain this desirable end, 
 but hitherto without success. I have come to ask you to put a 
 stop to this traffic, and to enter into some treaty with me to 
 this effect. I am ready to listen to any terms which you may 
 reasonably propose, and to report to my Government what you 
 have to say on the subject." I then reasoned with him on the 
 iniquity of selling his fellow-creatures, and the benefits he 
 would derive, even in a pecuniary way, by keeping these 
 slaves in his country, and emplopng them in cultivating the 
 soil. I tried to prove to him that the value of a slave thus 
 employed would be far more valuable to him in the long 
 run than if he sold him at once, and sent him out of the 
 country. 
 
 I reasoned on the richness of the soil, and how easy it would 
 be to introduce the silk- worm, cotton, coffee, and all the pro- 
 ductions of a similar character. I tried to convince him that 
 
350 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 he was depopulating ^Vfrica, and making its inhabitants low 
 and miserable. 
 
 I argued that if the Slave Trade were suddenly stopped, he 
 would become a pauper, and that every man's hand would 
 necessarily be turned against his neighbour's for daily sub- 
 sistence, because all his supplies came from the " white man " 
 from across the sea, and that these could only be purchased by 
 the money obtained from selling slaves. 
 
 Stop the selling of slaves, and how could he possibly get the 
 means of living, as the produce of the soil was comparatively 
 nothing ? 
 
 The people were entirely dependent on him, and his annual 
 customs, for being fed and clothed ; arms, powder, rum, 
 tobacco, cloths and cowries, were all distributed on these occa- 
 sions. And how were they produced ? They were bought 
 from the " white man,'' and paid for out of the money he 
 received for selling his slaves. 
 
 I implored him to think over these things, and turn his 
 attention to the cultivation of his soil, and the profits of legiti- 
 mate trade. 
 
 I asked him how many slaves he shipped during the year, 
 and how much he would take to enter into a treaty with us to 
 stop it. 
 
 The next subject was the " human sacrifices." I said that 
 not only England, but all Europe, deplored the sad spectacle 
 of human beings, his own countrymen, being ofiered up on the 
 occasion of his annual customs, in company with fowls, bulls, 
 and goats. Could he not put a stop to this, and let it pass 
 away from the customs of the country ? I said that I knew 
 all sudden measures were not only dangerous, but impossible, 
 but that I hoped he would turn over in his mind the cruelty of 
 these proceedings, and their utter uselessness to propitiate his 
 gods, and that in time they would cease altogether. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 351 
 
 The third subject was Abbeokuta. I said that the Queen 
 and the English Government hoped he would not send his 
 army to Abbeokuta ; that peace was better than war, and that 
 his people might be far better employed in cultivating the soil, 
 than in destroying one another. 
 
 If he had made up his mind to go there, I hoped he would 
 be merciful to his prisoners, and particularly that he would 
 spare all Christians. 
 
 I next asked him if he was disposed to send a Chief of 
 rank, and one that was in his confidence, to England, that he 
 might see with his own eyes the wonders that civilization 
 wrought in that country. 
 
 I said that he would be well received, and that his visit 
 would no doubt have its influence on the King. 
 
 The opening of legitimate trade at Whydah was the next 
 subject of conversation, and the reception of the English at 
 that place. 
 
 Lastly, I spoke about the Missionary schools, and asked him 
 to allow those who wished to do so, to send their children to be 
 educated. 
 
 The King listened attentively to all my questions, and made 
 several remarks during their deHvery. 
 
 After they were finished, the usual ceremony of drinking 
 vras gone through, and he accompanied me through the gates 
 of the palace far on the road to our quarters, amidst the cheers 
 of the soldiers and people. 
 
 We remained a month in Abomey after the delivery of this 
 message, in consequence of the " customs " going on, but 
 nothing could persuade the King to let us go until this was 
 over, as he was most anxious that we should see ever}i:hing 
 and report it. 
 
 Daily we witnessed liis Amazons and soldiers, dancing and 
 singing. 
 
352 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 We saw liis treasures pass round in the interior of the pa- 
 lace, preceded by all tlie principal Ministers, Princes, and 
 Chiefs, in their Court costume. 
 
 The Captains of the Amazons passed round in the same 
 way, and it was a very pretty sight. 
 
 The costume worn, the different colours displayed according 
 to etiquette, the ornaments of silver round the necks, with an 
 occasional skull at the waist belt of the Aanazons, and the 
 half savage appearance of all, notwithstanding their good 
 manners and modest behaviour, was peculiarly interesting. 
 
 It was during the procession of the King's treasures, which 
 will be more fully described in another letter, that the "human 
 sacrifices " came round, after the cowiies, cloths, tobacco, rum, 
 &c., had passed, which were to be thrown to the people. A 
 long string of live fowls on poles appeared, followed by goats 
 in baskets, then by a bull, and lastly half-a-dozen men with 
 hands and feet tied, and a cloth fastened in a peculiar way 
 round the head, and carried in a basket by one man on the top 
 of his head, furnished this part of the procession. 
 
 The men were carried three times round the square, the 
 first time stopping opposite to where the King was sitting, where 
 the bearers received a glass of rum each, from an Amazon in 
 attendance. They then passed through the gates to the plat- 
 form half a mile off. 
 
 The procession lasted two days, and " human sacrifices " 
 passed round both days ; on the first day eight went round, 
 and. on the second day six : half of these were killed, and half 
 spared, so we were told. Probably they are only spared until 
 the next " customs." The unfortunate men looked at us as 
 they passed; but it was not in our power to help them in any 
 way. 
 
 The King said they were criminals, who had broken the 
 laws of their country, such as murderers, thieves, &c. ; but I 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 353 
 
 have every reason to know they were captives, mostly taken at 
 Ishagga, from the peculiar marks on their face. 
 
 A day or two after these processions, the lung appeared on 
 the first platform : there were four of these, two large and two 
 small. 
 
 His father never had more than two, but he is determined 
 to excel him in everything, and to do as much again as he did. 
 If his father gave one sheep as a present, he gives two ; which 
 he did when he sent me a present of cows, sheep, &c., accord- 
 ing to custom. 
 
 The sides of all these platforms are covered with crimson 
 and other coloured cloths, with curious devices, such as alHga- 
 tors, elephants, snakes, &c., from twelve to fifteen feet high ; 
 and the large ones are in the form of a square, with a neat 
 building of considerable size, also covered over, running along 
 the whole extent of one side. 
 
 You ascend by a rough ladder covered over, and enter the 
 platform, which is neatly floored with dry grass, and perfectly 
 level. 
 
 Dispersed all over this were Chiefs under the King's um- 
 brellas, sitting down, and at the farther end from the entrance 
 the King stands surrounded by a chosen few of his Amazons. 
 
 In the centre of this side of the platform is a round tower, 
 about thirty feet high, covered with cloths, bearing similar 
 devices as the other parts. This is a new idea of the King's, 
 and from the top of this tower the victims are thrown to the 
 people below. 
 
 When the King is ready, he commences by throwing cowries 
 to the people in bundles, as well as separately. The scramble 
 begins, and the noise occasioned by the men fighting to catch 
 these is tremendous. 
 
 Thousands are assembled with nothing on but a waist clout, 
 and a small bag for the cowries. Sometimes they fight by 
 
 VOL. ir. A A 
 
354 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 companies, one company against the otlier, according to the 
 King's fancy ; and the leaders are mounted on the shoulders 
 of their people. After the cowries, cloths are thrown, which 
 occasions the greatest excitement. 
 
 While this lasts the King gives them to understand that if 
 any man is killed, nothing will he done to the man who is the 
 cause of it, as all is supposed to be fair fighting with hands ; 
 no arms are allowed. 
 
 After this the Chiefs are called, and cowries, cloths, &c., 
 given to them. The King begins by throwing away every- 
 thing himself ; then his Amazons take it up for a short time, 
 when the King renews the game, and finishes the sport. He 
 changes his position from one place to another along the front 
 part of the platform. 
 
 When all that the King intends throwing away for the day 
 is expended, a short pause ensues, and, by-and-by, is seen 
 inside the platform, the poles mentioned before, with live 
 fowls (all cocks) at the end of them, in procession towards the 
 round tower. 
 
 Three men mount to the top, and receive, one by one, all 
 these poles, which are precipitated on the people beneath. A 
 large hole has been prepared, and a rough block of wood ready, 
 upon which the necks of the victims are laid, and theii' heads 
 chopped ofi", the blood from the body being allowed to fall into 
 the hole. 
 
 ALfter the fowls came the goats, then the bull, and lastly the 
 men, who were tumbled down in the same way. 
 
 All the blood is mixed together in the hole, and remains 
 exposed with the block till night. 
 
 The bodies of the men are dragged along by the feet, and 
 maltreated on the way, by being beaten with sticks, hands in 
 some cases cut ofi", and large pieces cut out of their bodies, 
 which are held up. They are then taken to a deep pit and 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 355 
 
 throTHi in. The heads are alone preserved by being boiled, so 
 that the skull may be seen in a state of great perfection. The 
 heads of the human victims killed are first placed in baskets 
 and exposed for a short time. 
 
 This was carried on for two days. I would not witness the 
 slaying of these men on the first day, as we were very close to 
 them, and I did not think it right to sanction by my presence 
 such inhuman sacrifices. I therefore got up and went into a 
 tent, and when all was over returned to my seat. 
 
 It was upon this occasion that a circumstance took place 
 which redounds highly to the credit of the King, and should 
 be made known everj-^^here. While sitting in the tent a 
 messenger arrived, sajdng, ''The King calls you." I went 
 and stood under the platform where he was. Tens of thou- 
 sands of people were assembled; not a word, not a whisper 
 was heard. I saw one of the victims ready for slaughter on 
 the platform, held by a narrow strip of white cloth under his 
 arms. His face was expressive of the deepest alarm, and 
 much of its blackness had disappeared ; there was a whiteness 
 about it most extraordinary. 
 
 Tlie King said, " You have come here as my friend, have 
 witnessed all my customs, and shared good-naturedly in the 
 distribution of my cowries and cloths ; I love you as my friend, 
 and you have shown that an Englishman, like you, can bear 
 patience, and have S}'mpathy with the black man. I now give 
 you your share of the victims, and present you Avith this man, 
 who from henceforth belongs to you, to do as you like with him, 
 to educate him, take him to England, or anything else you 
 choose." The poor fellow was then lowered down, and the 
 white band placed in my hands. 
 
 The expression of joy in his countenance cannot be 
 described : it said, " The bitterness of death, and such a death, 
 is passed, and I cannot comprehend my position." 'Not a 
 
 A a2 
 
356 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 sound escaped from his lips, but the eye told what the heart 
 felt, and even the King himself participated in his joy. The 
 Chiefs and people cheered me as I passed through them with 
 the late intended victim behind me. 
 
 I will not enter into my own feelings on this occasion ; they 
 can be easily understood : but the saving of even this one 
 man's Hfe was a sufficient recompense for all the delays and for 
 aU our detention. I felt that another \dctim would have been 
 added to the sanguinary list of Dahomian sacrifices if I had 
 not carried out that line of forbearance which I had deter- 
 mined to adopt. 
 
 The Chiefs all congratulated me, and shook me by the hand. 
 Another victim was given to a Chief, a particular friend of 
 mine, and he said it was on my account. 
 
 The " customs " were concluded by a day of firing, when all 
 the soldiers, under their different leaders, marched past the 
 King, and in review order before us. The King danced with 
 his Amazons, and invited us to join. The firing was excellent, 
 and did them great credit. The King must have expended an 
 immense quantity of powder during our visit. 
 
 While the "customs" last the King does not transact any 
 public business, and he told us that he had hurried them over 
 on purpose that we might get away. 
 
 On the afternoon of Friday, the 16th January, the King 
 asked me to review his Life Guardsmen and women, which I 
 did, and he then made me Colonel or King over the whole of 
 them, about 1000 strong each — an honour for which I had to 
 pay dearly, according to the custom of the country. 
 
 Speeches were made by the captains of each, who were 
 introduced separately, the whole tenor of which was what they 
 would do at Abbeokuta, and the number of lieads that would 
 fall to my share, as I was now their Chief, and consequently 
 had a right to a part of everything they took. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 357 
 
 The following day, Saturday the 17th, the King saw us in 
 private, as before, and said he was ready to give me his answer 
 to the message I had brought. 
 
 He commenced by paying me many compliments, and said 
 how glad he was that such a messenger had been sent, who by 
 his patience and forbearance had shown himself a friend to the 
 black man. 
 
 He then entered into a long history of his country in the 
 time of his ancestors, and how anxious his father was to be 
 friends with the English ; that for many years past (he did not 
 know the reason why) the English seemed to be hostile to 
 him, and endeavoured to make all nations in Africa fight 
 against him. 
 
 He said that the Slave Trade had been carried on in his 
 country for centuries, and that it was his great means of living 
 and paying his people. He did not send slaves away in his 
 own ships, but " white men came to him for them, and was 
 there any harm in his selling ? We ought to prevent the 
 " white men " from coming to him : if they did not come he 
 would not sell. 
 
 We had seen what a great deal he had to give away every 
 year to his people, who were dependent on him : that this 
 could not be done by selling palm oil alone. If people came 
 for palm oil he would sell it to them ; he could not carry on 
 his government upon trade alone. If he gave up the Slave 
 Trade, where was he to get money from ? It was not his 
 fault that he sold slaves, but those who made his fathers do it, 
 and hence it became an institution of his country. 
 
 He said, " I cannot stop it all at once : what will my people 
 do ? And besides this, I should be in danger of losing my 
 life." I asked him how much money he would take to give it 
 up. He replied, " No money will induce me to do so ; I am 
 not like the Kings of Lagos, Porto Novo, Benin, &c. There 
 
358 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 are only two Kings in Africa, Asliantee and Dahomey : I am 
 the King of all the blacks. Nothing will recompense me for 
 the Slave Trade.'' I argued that it must be stopped in time ; 
 that even now very few ships came for them : and what would he 
 do when it was all done ? I found it useless to go on any further 
 on this subject. He said there were plenty of blacks to sell, 
 and plenty to remain ; that the price of a slave was 80 dollarS;, 
 with 4 dollars custom on each. On most occasions he is paid 
 before the slaves are taken away, but sometimes he risks them 
 on trust, and then he feels the capture of the slave-ship. 
 
 He said, " I must go to Abbeokuta : we are enemies ; 
 they insulted my brother, and I must punish them. Let us 
 alone ; why interfere in black man's wars ? We do not want 
 * white men ' to fight against us ; let every one go out of 
 Abbeokuta, and see who will win. Let the * white man ^ 
 stand by and see Avhich are the brave men ! " 
 
 He spoke strongly of Porto' Novo, and said, " If my friends 
 the English had sent to me, I would have broke Porto Novo 
 for them." He does not want the white man " to interfere 
 in any way with the black man's quarrels. He promised 
 faithfully, for my sake, to spare all the Christians, and send 
 them to Whydah, and that his General should have strict 
 orders to this effect. I asked him about the Christians at 
 Ishagga. He said, " Who knew they were Christians ? 
 The black man says he is a white man, calls himself a Chris- 
 tian, and dresses himself in clothes : it is an insult to the 
 white man. I respect the white man, but these people are 
 impostors, and no better than my own people. Why do they 
 remain in a place when they know that I am coming? If 
 they do so, I suppose they are taking up arms against me, and 
 I am bound to treat them as enemies. If a musket-ball 
 touches the white man at Abbeokuta, am I to blame, if they 
 will not go away when they know I am coming ? " I reasoned 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 359 
 
 witli him no longer on this subject, because I thought his 
 observations so thoroughly just and honest. 
 
 The next subject was the "human sacrifices." He said, 
 " You have seen that only a few are sacrificed, and not the 
 thousands that wicked men have told the world. If I were to 
 give up this custom at once, my head would be taken off to- 
 morrow. These institutions cannot be stopped in the way you 
 propose. By-and-by, little by little, much may be done — 
 softly, softly, not by threats. You see how I am placed, and 
 the difiiculties in the way : by-and-by, by-and-by." 
 
 "We then came to a Prince being sent to England, which he 
 said he would do if I came again to renew the friendship and 
 give him the Queen's answer to what he had said. 
 
 With regard to the schools at Whydah, the King said, 
 " Any of the mulattoes may send their children and I have 
 no doubt, if he sees we are in earnest, that in a very short 
 time he will allow his own people to do the same thing if they 
 choose. 
 
 After the interview, which lasted some time, was over, the 
 King made several presents, namely, for the Queen, a large 
 umbrella made of different coloured velvets, with the devices 
 emblematic of their customs ; a large carved stool, which no 
 one but Kings are allowed to possess ; a pipe- stick and bag ; a 
 bag made from the leather of the country, with a lion worked 
 upon it ; a very handsome country cloth, and a long stick orna- 
 mented with silver, which can only be carried by the King. 
 Also two girls, one about twelve, the other sixteen, very pretty 
 and intelligent. I have left these last at Wliydah, in charge 
 of the coloured missionary's wife there, until I can learn the 
 wishes of Her Majesty on the subject. The girls were taken 
 at Ishagga, and I should think would be very interesting to 
 the Queen. 
 
 In my next letter I hope to give an account of the resources 
 
360 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 of Dahomey, its form of government, tlie number of soldiers 
 and Amazons, as well as a description of the country, and 
 everything else that will be both valuable and interesting to 
 know ; also many sayings of the King, which I have not time 
 to mention now. 
 
 We left Abomey the same evening, and were conducted 
 with great honours to "Whydah, where we arrived on Thursday 
 afternoon, the 22nd instant, after an absence of fifty-one days. 
 
 I went on board the following morning. 
 
 Such a lengthened stay in the country of the King, and at 
 his capital, could not have been effected without some expense ; 
 many presents of different kinds had to be given away, as well 
 as money. The reception given me by the King demanded 
 this, and I hope I maintained with becoming dignity the 
 honour of the country. Trusting my proceedings will meet 
 with approval, as I have only acted for the good of the public 
 service, I have, &c. 
 
 >s^o. 2. 
 
 * 
 
 Commodore Wilmot to Bear-Admiral Sir B. Walker. 
 (Extract?) 
 
 " Battlesnahe" at Sea, Lat. 3° 88' iY., 
 
 Long. 6° 7' E., February 10, 1863. 
 
 In continuation of my former letter of proceedings, dated 
 Lagos, 29th January, 1863, I have to add the following addi- 
 tional observations on various subjects connected with my 
 late visit to Abomey. 
 
APPENDIX ni. 
 
 361 
 
 I have already remarked on the friendly disposition evinced 
 by the King towards the English, as manifested in his man- 
 ner to me on all occasions. " From henceforth," he said, 
 "the King of Dahomey and the Queen of England are one; 
 you shall hold the tail of the kingdom, and I will take the 
 head meaning that we should have possession of Whydah 
 for trading purposes, and supply him with eyerything. 
 
 He is most anxious for trade at Whydah, and if we can 
 only prove to him that we are really sincere in our wishes 
 to be friendly mth him, I am quite certain that he 'will 
 think very seriously of our proposals to him for giving up 
 the Slave Trade, as well as the "human sacrifices." 
 
 Both of these are " institutions " of the country ; the first, 
 established and encouraged by the "white man" himself; the 
 second, handed down from father to son as a principal part of 
 their religious ceremonies, still enforced and fostered by the 
 ignorance and superstition of the " fetish " priests. 
 
 Every house has its " fetish " hanging up, and every man 
 has a " fetish " charm about his person. There is a devil 
 fetish for driving away evil spirits, and another for bringing 
 good luck. These consist of small mounds of earth with a 
 calabash on the top, surrounded by cowries, or a repulsive- 
 looking face carved out of wood. There are all kinds of 
 images, such as lions, tigers, dogs, and other animals without 
 a name, cut out in the rudest manner,, and carried about in all 
 great processions. 
 
 The roads, villages, and houses, are filled with " fetish " 
 images, and sacrifices to the "fetish." The latter consist of 
 goats, fowls, fruits, &c., being laid under a small mat shed, 
 around the idol whom it is intended to propitiate, — dead, of 
 course. 
 
 Men, women, and children, consult the "fetish" as to the 
 food they ought to eat. Some are allowed to eat beef, others 
 
362 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 only mutton ; many are prohibited to touch the flesh of goats. 
 Poultry is permitted to some, eggs to others. This nonsense 
 is carried on all over the kingdom, and strictly enforced ; but 
 I have never heard any one, man or woman, say that the 
 " fetish " forbade them to drink wine or spirits. 
 
 We lived at Abomey, in the house of the King's chief 
 diviner, a man of high rank and consequence, one of the Privy 
 Council, and the King's adviser on all great occasions. The 
 King never does anything without the diviner first consulting 
 the "fetish," to find out whether it will be favourable or 
 unfavourable. His house is full of " fetish " of every 
 description. 
 
 I mention these things concerning the religion and super- 
 stition of the country, to show how impossible it will be for the 
 King to give up at once the human sacrifices." He himself 
 says, " Softly, softly ; it shall be done in time, but not yet ; 
 my head would be cut off to-morrow if I stopped it sud- 
 denly!" 
 
 A few have an idea of a Supreme Being, but still a very 
 imperfect one. The King knows more of these important 
 truths than any of his subjects, and we shall see the good 
 effects of this knowledge by-and-by. 
 
 I will now enter upon a description of the country and its 
 resources, its capabilities for legitimate trade, its present means 
 of subsisting an hostile force, as well as of resisting an attack, 
 the number and description of its soldiers, the dangers that 
 would attend the landing of a force for the occupation of 
 "VYhydah, and the dif&culties to be encountered in retaining it 
 when once in our possession. 
 
 Description of the country and its resources, 8fc. — The 
 distance from Whydah to Abomey is sixty-five miles. It is 
 extraordinary what mistakes former writers have made in 
 giving the distance fi:om Whydah to Abomey. Mr. JN'orris, in 
 
APPENDIX ni. 
 
 363 
 
 1774, states it to be 150 miles ; others more or less, according 
 to exaggerated reports, or tlieir own im^ination. 
 
 '^Yliydali is three miles from the sea. From the beach to 
 Whydah the country is flat, and three pieces of water have 
 to be passed over ; the first is a lagoon that extends eastward 
 to Lagos, with the exception of a portion of the mainland, 
 three miles broad, and westward to Aghwey and Little Popoo. 
 This lagoon is navigable for canoes all the year round. 
 
 The second and third pieces of water are through marshy 
 ground, roads being cut through them, about ten feet wide, for 
 the purposes of traffic, &c. These are almost impassable in 
 the rainy season, and in the dry season contain about two feet 
 of water, black and muddy, with a very bad smell. 
 
 In 1851 I caught the fever badly fi'om passing through this 
 very swamp. 
 
 Whydah is a large straggHng place, containing some decent 
 houses. There are three forts or factories, English, French, 
 and Portuguese. The French is in excellent repair, and does 
 great credit to the French gentleman who carries on his 
 business there. The Portuguese is at present inhabited by 
 missionaries of that nation, and the English fort is the resi- 
 dence of the Wesleyan Missionary, the Rev. P. W. Bernasko, 
 a native of Cape Coast. 
 
 No one has any territorial rights in this place. The King 
 of Dahomey reigns supreme, and could turn any "white 
 man " away if he pleases. 
 
 There are a great number of guns, all spiked, 9-pounders 
 and 12-pounders, in and around the English fort, which have 
 been there for ages. There is a curious history attached to 
 these guns, which I will relate, as it shows that the English 
 are actually the hereditary friends of the Dahomian Kings. 
 
 During the long period that England acknowledged the 
 Slave Trade as legitimate, and the stowage of slave-ships was 
 
361 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 regulated by Act of Parliament, tlie fort of Whydah was in a 
 high state of preservation, and Englishmen were appointed as 
 Governors, under the authority of the Crown. 
 
 They w^ere always on good terms with the Kings of 
 Dahomey, and in those days great presents of carriages and 
 horses, &c., were made ; some of the carriages I saw the other 
 day at Abomey in a very ricketty state. They are kept as 
 " heir-looms " in the capital, and pass round with the King's 
 treasures. 
 
 These Governors had great power over every one, and com- 
 municated directly with the King, who obtained his supplies 
 entirely from the fort. We had soldiers then to protect the 
 place, and guns were mounted in all commanding positions. 
 
 A deep ditch surrounded the fort, which remains to this day. 
 Whydah was a flourishing kingdom early in the last century, 
 when it was conquered by Dahomey, who committed the most 
 horrible outrages, and the country was reduced to desolation. 
 
 It must have been about the year 1750 that the people of 
 Whydah, tired of the Dahomian yoke, rose against the King, 
 and, no doubt, they would have been successful had not the 
 English Governor shut his gates and turned the guns of the 
 fort upon the rebels. 
 
 The Dahomian army came in from Savi, a considerable 
 town in those days, four miles from Whydah, and the rebels 
 were completely defeated, thanks to the English guns. 
 
 The King was very grateful to the Governor for his 
 assistance on this occasion, and enlarged his pri\dleges con- 
 siderably ; but at the same time he said, " This won't do ; 
 these English with their guns are formidable enemies, they 
 may turn me out some day : " so he spiked all the guns in the 
 fort before he went away, in which state they are to be seen to 
 this day. 
 
 Erom henceforth, until a few years ago, the Kings of 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 365 
 
 Dahomey had a strong friendship for the English, and the 
 King mentioned one man in particular in the time of his 
 grandfather, Mr. James, who was Governor of the fort, and 
 his " best friend." 
 
 The population of Whydah is large in comparison to other 
 towns in the kingdom, with the exception of Abomey ; it con- 
 tains, probably, about 12,000 inhabitants, including the 
 soldiers belonging to the Yavogah and Prince Chedathon. 
 
 I observed a great falling off in this place ; twelve years ago 
 it was in a flourishing condition, with many capital houses and 
 merchants residing there ; now, most of these houses are in 
 ruins, and the trade is small. It Avill be well to consider the 
 cause of this decline hereafter. 
 
 The great families of " De Souza " are either dead or dis- 
 persed ; those that remain are of small importance to what 
 their fathers were. 
 
 Stock used to be plentiful and very good ; at present it may 
 be obtained, but not in such abundance ; it is also dear to 
 what it was formerly. Water is plentiful both from the 
 lagoon and by wells, which are to be found in all large houses : 
 it is very good. Fruit, such as oranges, pine apples, and 
 bananas, is cheap and abundant. 
 
 From Whydah to Abomey the whole country is a flat level, 
 and there are regular villages which are considered as esta- 
 blished " halting places " for the traveller. 
 
 The want of water begins after you leave Whydah. There 
 is a dark deep swamp about three miles distant, over which 
 (that is, the road through it) large pieces of timber have been 
 placed so as to form a bridge, the crossing of which is a 
 dangerous operation. The water is black and muddy. 
 
 The country through which we passed varied much, from 
 open plain to thick forest. There is no other road than the 
 one by which we travelled. A great part of the country is 
 
366 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 well adapted for cultivation, and would produce cotton, silk, 
 coffee, indigo, sugar, and everything else that grows in similar 
 cKmates. 
 
 Around the villages the ground is cultivated, and produces 
 Indian corn, cassada, beans, &c., just sufficient to maintain life. 
 As we approached Abomey, more extensive tracts of ground 
 were under the hands of the farmer, chiefly belonging to the 
 King, who has to distribute largely to all his people. 
 
 People have no time for peaceful pursuits : war, war, war is 
 alone thought of, and the King gives them no rest. Many of 
 the Chiefs complain of this, and seem heartily tired of it. I 
 am sure they would gladly turn to a better state of things if 
 they dared. They have no time to themselves ; there is 
 always some " custom " going on, and hence the country is in 
 a state of desolation, and the population is gradually decreasing. 
 
 There are some noble trees in the jungle through which we 
 passed. One measured nearly 100 feet round its base, and the 
 stem went up to 70 or 80 feet, without a knot or branch to 
 rob it of its beauty. This was the ^' cotton silk tree," of no 
 use whatever, either in its fruit or timber. The branches 
 were magnificent, and I counted thirty some 50 or 60 feet in 
 length, of enormous size, and covering a great extent of 
 ground. As far as we could see and learn, the trees of this 
 country produce no timber fit for any purposes of building. 
 
 I never saw such a scarcity of the necessaries of life. 
 Cattle, sheep, and goats, are few in number : these are only 
 kept by the King and Chiefs, who do not seem to understand 
 that their wealth would be increased by breeding largely and 
 keeping up a good supply. The use of milk is unknown. 
 Fowls are not plentiful ; we paid 2s. each for them. 
 
 The Chiefs rarely eat meat, the people never. They live 
 upon " cankey," which is made from Indian corn, and mixed 
 with palm oil. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 367 
 
 They are ardently fond of spirits — the common mm that is 
 imported by nearly all traders : it is very strong, and they 
 prefer it to wine or good brandy. 
 
 I was astonished at the scantiness of the population. As 
 we passed through the \411ages, nearly everybody turned out to 
 see us. 
 
 After we had left, every soldier in the place went on to 
 Abomey to swell the numbers there. There was not a man to 
 be seen on our return — none but women and children. There, 
 may be other villages out of the direct route to Abomey, and 
 no doubt there are many, because the kingdom is a large one ; 
 but still the great question of the population of Dahomey has 
 been unquestionably decided by my \asit. 
 
 We everywhere expressed astonishment at meeting so few 
 people, which accounts for the small portion of land under 
 cultivation. There are far more women than men — I should 
 say three to one, which may be the reason why the Kings of 
 Dahomey, who are always at war, are obliged to raise and 
 keep up the Amazons, or women soldiers,'' to the extent that 
 they do. 
 
 As war is made one of the necessities of the State, a con- 
 stant drain upon the male population is required, and it 
 naturally follows that the supply is never equal to the demand ; 
 hence the remarkable circumstance of nearly " 5000 " women 
 being found in the Dahomian army. 
 
 There is, probably, another reason for thus brutalising the 
 minds and feelings of the '^'^fter sex in this country, which is, 
 that the King may think it a good stroke of policy to encourage 
 and patronise these Amazons to the extent that he does, for 
 the purpose of creating a rivalry amongst the men, which 
 will incite them to prove their courage and their strength 
 beyond that displayed by the other sex. 
 
 The Amazons are everything in this country. The King 
 
3CS A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 lives with them and amongst them ; they are only to be found 
 in the Eoyal palaces. When they go out to fetch water, 
 which is every day and nearly all day, the one in the front 
 (for they all follow in single line) has a bell round her neck 
 much like a sheep-bell in England, which she strikes herself 
 whenever any person is seen approaching. Immediately the 
 men run away in all directions, and clear the road by which 
 the Amazons are coming. They then wait till all have passed. 
 The reason for this is, that if an accident were to happen to 
 any one of these women, either by her falling down and 
 breaking the water-jar on her head, or if the water-jar fell off 
 her head, the unfortunate man who happened to be near at 
 the time would be immediately seized, and either imprisoned 
 for life, or have his head taken off, as it would be supposed 
 that he was the cause of the accident. 
 
 JN'o wonder, then, that they get out of the way as quickly 
 as possible. We were always obliged to foUow this custom ; 
 women are not expected to avoid them in this manner. It is 
 one of the most absurd laws that even a savage nation can 
 pass, because it stops business, and delays everybody on the 
 road. All day long the sound of this bell is heard, and people 
 are seen flying away. The Amazons seem to enjoy it, and 
 laughed heartily when we stepped aside to avoid them. 
 
 Whatever may be the object in thus keeping up such a 
 large body of " women soldiers," there is no doubt that they 
 are the mainstay of the kingdom. I put down the number at 
 5000 ; besides these there are numerous women to attend upon 
 them as servants, cooks, &c. We certainly saw 4000 under 
 arms at Abomey, and there are more in other parts of the 
 kingdom residing in the Eoyal palaces. 
 
 They are far superior to the men in everything — in appear- 
 ance, in dress, in figure, in activity, in their performances as 
 soldiers, and in bravery. Their numbers are kept up by 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 369 
 
 young girls of 13 or 14 years of age being attached to eacli 
 company, who learn their duties from them ; they dance with 
 them, sing with them, and live with them, but do not go to 
 war with them until they have arrived at a certain age, and 
 can handle a musket. 
 
 These women seem to be fully aware of the authority they 
 possess, which is seen in their bold and free manner, as well as 
 by a certain swagger in their walk. Most of them are young, 
 well-looking, and have not that ferocity in their expression 
 of countenance which might be expected from their peculiar 
 vocation ; but many have passed that time of life when all 
 passions have ceased to animate, and make their mode of life 
 at least worth retaining. 
 
 They are supposed to lead a life of chastity, and there is no 
 doubt that they do so, because it is impossible for them to do 
 anything wrong without being discovered, and such discovery 
 would lead to certain death. The King alone has the pri- 
 vilege of selecting any of these women for his wives, which 
 is rarely the case. 
 
 As soldiers in an African kingdom, and engaged solely in 
 African warfare, they are very formidable enemies. They 
 fully understand the use of the musket, and load and fire with 
 remarkable rapidity. Their activity is surprising ; they would 
 run with some of our best performers in England. The 
 " Captains " carry the skulls of their enemies in their girdles, 
 and an occasional jaw is also seen. 
 
 During the mornings and evenings large parties of these 
 women are sent to fetch water for the use of the King and his 
 household, a distance of many miles. It is a very pretty sight 
 to see long strings of women, with water-jars on their heads, 
 wending their way silently and quietly across the country to 
 where the wells are ; the only sound to be heard is when the 
 leader rings her bell for the road to be kept clear. 
 
 VOL. ir. B B 
 
370 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 Water at Abomey is the great drawback of tbe place. 
 There is none in the town : it all comes from the swamps, 
 three or four miles in the country. Women are the principal 
 water-carriers, although men are employed also. At this 
 season of the year it is very scarce and very bad. The process 
 of getting it is this. An embankment is formed round the 
 large pools, which are filled from the draining of the marshy 
 ground, very dirty of course. Around this large holes or wells 
 are cut, into which the water filtrates from the pool. Smaller 
 holes are again cut next to these, into which the water perco- 
 lates, being this time tolerably clear. Into these small holes 
 the women dip their calabashes, and in process of time the 
 water-jar is filled : it is a long operation. 
 
 This clear water is only, however, for the higher classes, and 
 for those that can afford to purchase it. The poor people 
 drink from the muddy pool, and are thankful for what they 
 get. 
 
 The ground is not favourable for boring, being a mixture of 
 iron-stone, granite, and sand. It sounds hollow as you walk 
 over it. 
 
 We visited all the wells, and it is certainly surprising how 
 such a large population can live upon such a limited supply 
 of water. 
 
 The "men soldiers'' are more numerous than the "Ama- 
 zons," and are armed in the same way. They are also very 
 active and expert with their weapons. I should say that the 
 King could not bring into the field more than 6000 fighting 
 men. This number, with the " Amazons," will amount to 
 10,000 altogether. I am quite certain that this is the full 
 extent of his powder. 
 
 All these are armed with a musket and short sword, and 
 against their own countrymen would be formidable. Their 
 fighting is not like ours, but a system of strategy, cunning, and 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 371 
 
 surprise ; their object being to arrive at the intended point 
 without being heard or seen. Should they succeed, so much 
 the better for themselves ; if not, they fight for an hour or 
 two in a desultory sort of manner, without order and without 
 discipline ; after which, if they cannot carry their point, the 
 whole army runs away, and makes the best of its way back to 
 the capital. 
 
 It is in the pursuit, as well as in the capture of a place, 
 that the great sacrifice of life is made. Heads are chopped ofiP 
 without mercy, and brought in to show the prowess of the 
 captors. It was in the pursuit of the Dahomian army by the 
 Abbeokutans in 1851 that the Amazons were so dreadfully cut 
 up. We were told at Abomey that they lost thousands. 
 Many die also from hunger and exposure, and it is in conse- 
 quence of these continual wars that the population of Dahomey 
 is decreasing every year. 
 
 The population of Abomey varies very much according as 
 the King is residing there or not. It is a very large and 
 stragghng place, nearly surrounded by a deep ditch, with 
 gates in different parts. This ditch is now filled up with 
 trees and bushes, and must have cost much time and labour to 
 make. Abomey is probably seven miles round, but it must 
 not be inferred from this that the inhabitants are in propor- 
 tion. I should say 20,000 is the maximum. The want of 
 population is seen everywhere. If a census were taken of all 
 the Dahomian territory, 180,000 would, I am confident, take 
 in every man, woman, and child. Even this number seems to 
 me, on reconsideration, to be too much. "Women and children 
 form three-fourths of the whole. 
 
 Large tracts are passed through without a living creature 
 being seen. If the forests were cleared, the brushwood cut 
 down, and the inhabitants were allowed to make use of their 
 time in peaceful pursuits, there is no doubt that the country 
 
 B B 2 
 
 1 
 
372 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 would produce everything that is valuahlc. It would support 
 a population of many millions, providing some means were 
 found of obtaining water, which might be done by Artesian 
 wells. 
 
 There are no regular roads, but merely a footpath all the 
 way, which, for many miles in some places, passes through a 
 dense forest, while at others it is across an open plain, with 
 long grass, bushes, and weeds on either side. 
 
 The chiefs and head men ride upon small ponies, which 
 originally came from Abbeokuta. These perform the journey 
 from Whydah to Abomey, and there is no reason why larger 
 animals should not do the same, as the road is good, with the 
 exception of the swamps and water which have to be crossed. 
 There is a swamp with a very bad road through it, nine miles 
 long, about eighteen miles from Abomey, which is impassable 
 during the rainy season. Even the natives have great 
 di£B.culty in finding their way. It was dry when we walked 
 across, and therefore in its best condition, but we were very 
 glad to get to the end of it. It is full of deep ruts and holes, 
 and very narrow. The bottom is of a dark, clayish character, 
 and very slippery when the least v/et. 
 
 From Cannah to Abomey, a distance of eight miles, the 
 road is broad enough for a dozen carriages to drive abreast, 
 and in Abomey, and around it, horses might be galloped in all 
 directions. 
 
 The country at this time of the year, namely, from the 
 middle of IS'oveniber to the end of April, is remarkabl}^ 
 healthy, at least we found it so ; for a period of fifty-one days 
 we never had an hour's sickness. It is much cooler on shore 
 at this season than at sea, although the temperature is high ; 
 stiU the atmosphere is not oppressive, and during the harmat- 
 tan winds it is positively cold : we experienced this on two 
 occasions, the water becoming in one night almost too cold to 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 373 
 
 drink. It afiects the natives very much, drying up their skin 
 and lips, and preventing them from washing, as they cannot 
 stand the change. We, of course, enjoyed it. 
 
 The natives are lightly clothed, and are very active on their 
 legs. One of the principal Chiefs at Abomey told me that he 
 suffered very much from being obliged to find his way through 
 the bush when he last went to Abbeokuta. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 c. 
 
 DAHOMEY, ITS PEOPLE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 The following letter lias been received by the Duke of Wel- 
 lington from the celebrated lion-hunter, M. Jules Grerard : — 
 
 [Times, August 18, 1864.] 
 
 " Monsieur le Due, — Your Grace is well aware tbat few men 
 gain by being seen close, unless they are men of intellect and 
 merit. The Xing of Dahomey, despite his cognomen, which 
 signifies the * Eternal' or the ^Infinite,'* fully justifies that 
 rule to which he is no exception. Physically he is similar to 
 the other blacks of his country — tall, well built, a head like a 
 bull dog. The most usual expression of his countenance is that 
 of cunning and cruelty, f His moral qualities are in perfect 
 keeping with his physical conformation ; he is more gracious 
 than the Kings who have preceded him, fanatical for old tra- 
 ditions and customs. The traditions of that microscopic court 
 are to turn the whites to the best possible account {exioloitev 
 les hlancs), but especially to induce them to make presents. 
 
 * This is pure fancy.— R. F. B. 
 + I did not remark it. — R. F. B. 
 
APPENDIX in. 
 
 375 
 
 It is the custom to excite the people with sanguinary spectacles, 
 so as to be able to carry off the neighbouring population when 
 a slave-dealer makes an offer to the Ejng and also at the 
 annual custom of human sacrifices. 
 
 " I have just spent twent}^ days at Kana, where the King 
 was stajdng for the celebration of the lesser ceremonies. On 
 the day of my presentation I was conducted across the Market- 
 place, where twelve corpses were exposed to view on separate 
 sites. Six were hung up by the feet, the six others were up- 
 right, like men about to walk. Those whom I saw close were 
 horribly mutilated and not beheaded.* An enormous pool of 
 blood covered the ground beneath the scaffold, giving unmis- 
 takeable evidence of previous sacrifices and of the tortures 
 which accompanied them.f Our reception by the King was 
 brilliant, very cordial for myself as well as for the French 
 Consul ;X but we were soon able to convince ourselves that this 
 was but a comedy always performed by this poor Paladin to 
 get the presents brought by the whites. Born and brought up 
 in the midst of these spectacles, which would be ridiculous if 
 they were not horrible, the present King is actually more fond 
 of them than his subjects. I saw him on that day admiring 
 with the dehght of a child the grotesque dances and ridiculous 
 pantomime of his ministers, and then of the princes, and then 
 of all present, for our amusement. A most infernal music, 
 which nearly deafened us, deHghted the King, who seemed to 
 
 * The mutilation took place after death. — R. F. B. 
 
 t There had been no previous sacrifices, and no tortures. — E. F. B. 
 
 i Others represented the contrary. — R. F. B. 
 
376 
 
 A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
 be in a state of ecstacy ; and this, M. le Due, lasted for six 
 hours. On the following day his Majesty invited us to witness 
 a procession of the King's riches. On reaching the square of the 
 Palace (read huts) an agreeable surprise had been prepared for us. 
 The entrance gate was flooded by a pool of blood two yards 
 in width, and on each side a column of recently decapitated 
 heads formed two immense chaplets. It is true that on this 
 day the King wore the emblem of Christ on his breast. It 
 must be presumed that it was the cross of execution that he 
 meant to imply by this ornament. As regards the procession 
 of his wealth, it consisted of a few old carriages, bath chairs 
 carried by men with figures like PoHchinello. One thousand 
 women carried each a bottle of liquor on her head, a brass basin 
 in the shape of a footbath to receive the blood of the human 
 victims on the day of the King's banquet ; an image of the 
 Virgin ; various baskets-full of human skulls ; an image of St. 
 Lawrence, as large as life, carried by blacks ; finally the drum 
 of death. 
 
 At another festival the King commanded on foot his 
 Amazons, who manoeuvred with the precision of a flock of 
 sheep. On the Market-place already mentioned each step was 
 ornamented by a dead body ; and the King came and went in 
 the midst of pools of blood and fragments of human flesh in a 
 state of putrefaction. On this occasion he had daubed his face 
 with coal.* The ceremony terminated by a mad dance, in 
 which the King took part, dancing vis-a-vis to drunken soldiers 
 and musicians. Such are, M. le Due, the man, the Government, 
 * Read, mth three streaks of gunpowder." — R. F. B. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 and the people whom ^ye have hitherto hoped to turn into a 
 path less contrary to the laws of humanit}\ I regret that 
 Captain Burton should have arrived at Kana just at the moment 
 of the King's departure, as he might have hcen enabled to 
 see and judge of all these things. 
 
 " I am, M. le Due, your most obedient servant, 
 
 JULES GERAED. 
 
 " P.S. — On the day of his departure the King invited us to 
 a review of his army prepared for war. It was from 12,000 
 to 14,000 strong, comprising 12,000 Amazons, 1000 men of 
 the body-guard, and 2000 archers."* 
 
 B. — The letter is interesting, as giving the darkest view of things 
 Dahoman.— R. F. B. 
 
 * These are all numerical errors. IsL Gerard probably means 1200 
 Amazons. — E. F. B. 
 
A MISSION TO GELELE. 
 
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 383 
 
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 391 
 
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 393 
 
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 395 
 
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APPENDIX IV. 
 
 407 
 
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 Pnnc. 
 
 ton Theologpcil Semiri 
 
 ry-Speer Library 
 
 
 
 1 1012 01101 4133 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Demco, Inc. 38-293 
 
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