Forbes’s Reception by the King of Dahomey.PART VII.SAVAGE KINGS AND COURTS.
Forbes’s Reception by the King of Dahomey.
Forbes’s Reception by the King of Dahomey.
The Savage considered as a child of nature—A saltatory welcome—Gezo, King of Kings—Items of Dahoman royal treasure—Distribution of the presents—Kings and Ambassadors joining in the scramble—The human sacrifices—A “Grand Custom” of the year 1862—The King of Abó—The terrible Neam Nam—Browowdi, King of Issapoo—A King of Old Kalabar—King Eyo Honesty—The order of Egbo—The Mambo of Lunda—The Jaga.
The Savage considered as a child of nature—A saltatory welcome—Gezo, King of Kings—Items of Dahoman royal treasure—Distribution of the presents—Kings and Ambassadors joining in the scramble—The human sacrifices—A “Grand Custom” of the year 1862—The King of Abó—The terrible Neam Nam—Browowdi, King of Issapoo—A King of Old Kalabar—King Eyo Honesty—The order of Egbo—The Mambo of Lunda—The Jaga.
At first sight it would seem hard to show a greater anomaly than an unthinking instinct-obeying nation of savages consenting to be controlled and governed by a fellow barbarian, equally unthinking, and morally powerless; and the saidanomaly is the more striking when the savage is viewed as the vulgar view him,—as a free-born “child of nature,” intolerant of rule, and guided in all his behaviour by certain instinctive high-souled sentiments, and vast powers of mind, that require only cultivation to fit their possessor for the achievement of all that ever was yet successfully attempted by man. This, however, is very far from the fact. Without doubt, and as we have only to refer back to our own ancient barbarism to be convinced, the germ of perfect manhood lies in every savage, but like the ore of gold and iron, the true metal lies deep, and to free it from dross and make its lustre apparent is a process neither easy nor rapid. Again, like golden ore, in which the precious deposit shows here and there with a sheen that undoubtedly reveals its presence, does the savage’s mind manifest its existence in fitful flashes and glimmerings, that, alas! only reveal to him what a helpless wretch he is, and what a terribly responsible thing is life, with children and wife, and all its other precious belongings, and which, in an instant, may be spilt and vanish like a capsized gourd of water.
This—the end of life—is the end of everything with our brother the savage; life to him is only good according to the ease it enables him to get in the land he lives in. The first business of his life is to make himself comfortable; the second is how to hold such appurtenances to his comfort as he has gained. If he is a little man, any man a trifle bigger coming his way may strip him, seize his wife and children as slaves, knock him on the head, and appropriate his hut; if he is a big man any two big men who choose to conspire may serve him in the same cruel way: what then remains to be done, but to combine for the good of the common weal? which may be aptly likened to a commonwheel—the chief being thestock, the variousheadmen, or councillors, thespokes, or spokesmen, and thefellowes, just as many savage fellows as the tribe, or band, ortireembraces.
Still, who is to be “king,” or “chief,” or “Jaga,” or “Mambo,” or whatever else you please, as representing the stock or common centre of the said wheel? About this question, however, we need not trouble ourselves, and simply because, just as the queen bee is born in a hive, so are men born commanders of men; that is, originally; the fact of their descendants degenerating, and being totally unfit to wield a sceptre is nothing to the purpose. Custom and Fashion then step in, and these two of themselves are monarchs potent enough to settle the gravest questionthat could possibly arise, even in the most civilized countries in the world. Wherever a leader is wanted, a leader will be found; he may be a wrong-headed leader, or conceited, or cruel, or arbitrary; but so sure as he remains at the helm, for the short space only of a year, you may depend that he is no make-believe; and the very worst you can say of such an one is, that it is a pity that a king should possess so many bad qualities; that he deserves to die for them, if you please; nay, go as far as killing him, and how different are your feelings than though you had killed a merely contemptible upstart.
Of course I talk of “killing” as a figure of speech, in its extremest sense. There, however, is one king now existing whom, if with his life would end the hideous work of blood and carnage prevailing in his nation, might well be wished dead. I allude to the King of Dahomey, who, as a trafficker in human beings, dead and alive, is an ulcer on the face of the world; a man whose guilt is so black that it may never be washed away, though they laved him in rivers of water as deep as those of tears and blood that he has caused to flow.
We hear very little of this potentate. Now and then an adventurous European will penetrate his awful domains, and give to the world some account of the horrors he sees and hears; once in a while we read in the African News that “the King of Dahomey threatens a massacre on such or such a place,” or that the barbarous “annual custom” is about to commence, with an enumeration of the victims already secured, and whose blood is required to “water the late king’s grave.” Of all Englishmen who have witnessed the abominations of Dahomey, none have recorded them more graphically than Commander Forbes, and it is from his account chiefly that what is here related of Dahomey is derived.
Commander Forbes’s first introduction to the King of Dahomey was, to say the least, calculated to make a lasting impression on his memory. Within a short distance of the royal residence Mr. Forbes and his party halted at the house of a friend, and attired themselves in full uniforms, and then moved forward to some shady trees to await the arrival of the carbooceers who were to conduct them to the royal presence. After the adventurous Europeans came a crowd of hammock-men and other Dahoman followers. About a quarter of a mile from the halting place stood a vast assembly of carbooceers and soldiers with umbrellas of state, flat-topped and ornamented like those of the Chinese, and banners of every hue and most varied devices. Beside the Dahoman standards, each ofwhich was ornamented by a human skull, floated the national flags of France, England, Portugal, and Brazil, whilst every carbooceer had his own particular pennon.
The first chief who advanced towards Commander Forbes’s party from this gay crowd of carbooceers was Boh-peh, the governor of the capital, dressed in a country cloth wrapped round his body, a slouched hat, necklaces of coral and other beads, and armed with a handsome sword. Behind him came a retinue of soldiers, his standard, his umbrella of state, and his stool of rank; and, lastly, a band of most discordant music. Arriving in front of Forbes’s party, he bowed, and then marched from right to left round their seats three times, completing each circuit with a low obeisance. On his third round he discharged three muskets, and danced a short measure, then advanced and shook hands, and seated himself on his stool of office, which its bearer had placed on the Englishman’s right hand.
Ah-hoh-peh, the king’s brother, and Gaseh-doh, the chief of the carbooceers of Dahomey, followed, with similar attendants and ceremonies. When the whole party were seated, a body of the royal household, having half their heads shaved, took position in front, and sang a hymn of welcome to the Englishmen. The Dahoman guard were showily dressed in scarlet, trimmed with beads and other ornaments, with their heads covered by silver caps, some of which were distinguished by a pair of small silver horns. In his right hand, each carried a horse-tail whip, with which he beat time to the air of the chant. Next advanced Poh-neh-soo (at once a military officer, court-fool, and headsman) and his party of blunderbuss men, who likewise fired a salute, and then drank healths with the Europeans; after which, the latter entered their hammocks, and the entire party proceeded towards the palace, amid the firing of muskets and short brass guns.
The travellers found the palace of Dange-lah-cordeh surrounded at a distance of twenty feet with human skulls, many of which had crumbled with time, or had blown down. The square of the palace was filled with armed people sitting on their hams, the polished barrels of their muskets standing up like a forest. Under a thatched gateway sat the king surrounded by his immediate wives; while on each side sat the amazons all in uniform, armed and accoutred; and in the centre of the square squatted the males. Hundreds of banners and umbrellas enlivened the scene, and a constant firing from great guns and small arms increased the excitement.
When near the king’s seat, the European party came to a halt, while the carbooceers bowed down and kissed the dust. Passing before the throne, they bowed and made the circuit of the square three times, the carbooceers prostrating themselves each time. Then the Englishmen stept from their hammocks and approached the king, who had been reclining, but now rose, and several discordant bands struck up a quick step, whilst guns were fired, and all shouted, except the ministers and carbooceers, who prostrated and threw dust over their heads, as Mr. Forbes advanced and shook hands with the king.
King Gézo, of Dahomey, was about forty-eight years of age, good looking, with nothing of the negro feature, and his face wanting several shades of being black; his appearance was commanding, and his countenance intellectual, though stern in the extreme. Indeed, he is described as being short of positively handsome only by a slight squint. He was plainly dressed in a loose robe of yellow silk, slashed with satin stars, and half moons, Mandingo sandals, and a Spanish hat trimmed with gold lace.
Taking their seats facing the royal mat, the party entered into a complimentary conversation, after which the ministers were introduced by name to our countrymen. His Majesty then enquired if his guests would like to see a review of his amazons, and of course his guests were delighted at the offer. Three regiments were paraded, one being distinguished by a white cap ornamented with the blue alligator, another by a blue cross, and the third by a blue crown. The officers were recognized by their coral necklaces and superior dresses; while each carried a small whip which they freely plied when required. Firing, rushing hither and thither, and advancing to the throne to address the king, were the chief features of the review; at the conclusion of which two amazon heralds, bearing long trumpets, blew a blast and then blazoned forth the numerous names of Gézo, King of Kings.
The king having asked Commander Forbes to drink, rose, and with his glass in hand tapped that of each of his guests; then there thundered forth a salute of guns almost drowned by the shouts of the multitude. The ministers and carbooceers danced, and the ladies held clothes before the king. Men must not see the king eat or drink. On the whole it was Mr. Forbes’ distinct conviction that no king could have been more civil or more condescending.
The same gentleman had the good (?) fortune to be present at theceremony of Ek-bah-tong-ek-bah, or “display of the king’s wealth,” an exhibition of a perfectly unique character and finding no parallel throughout the world. The fundamental principle of the King of Dahomey’s government is profuse generosity to his subjects. His constant aim is to inculcate the notion that his riches are boundless and his good nature none the less so. How hollow and fictitious are both these assumptions was evident enough to Commander Forbes, although for his head’s sake he dare not express such a conviction while in the land of “Grand Customs.”
“It was little more than seven o’clock a.m. when we were informed that a royal messenger had arrived to summon us to witness the custom to be performed on this day—the Ek-bah-tong-ek-bah, or “display of the king’s wealth.” At a little distance from our gate the road was fenced off and a guard set on the temporary gate, so as to prevent any one entering who was not invited to bear a part in the proceedings of the day. They who wished to inspect the royal treasures which were to be shown to the people assembled in the Ahjahee market-place.
“When we arrived at the palace square at the foot of the ladder leading to the palace house, on each side were three human heads recently decapitated, the blood still oozing; on the threshold of the entrance gate was a pool of blood from six human sacrifices over which we had to step. In the square was a huge model of an elephant caparisoned on wheels, on which the king is drawn when going short journeys. The king never walks, nor rides on horseback, but is either carried in a hammock, or drawn on this elephant, or in a carriage or wheeled chair. In the centre of the court-yard stood a crimson tent or pavilion forty feet high, ornamented with emblems of human and bullock’s heads, skulls, and other devices equally barbarous and disgusting. On the top was the figure of a Dahoman standard-bearer (or half-heads, as they are called, having half their heads shaved) bearing a standard, having for a device a skull in a calabash standing on three other skulls. About the yard were many flags of all colours, some having as their devices men cutting off other’s heads, and others tying prisoners, and many national flags, amongst which were several Union Jacks. In and about the pavilion were the female host of ministers, carbooceers, amazons, wives, and virgins. The king had not arrived; all were gaily dressed, and armed, and accoutred.
“On the neutral ground where we stood facing the pavilion (while the mayo and ce-a-boo-gan grovelled in the dust like mandarins kow-towing to the royal chair) roamed an ostrich, an emu, several dwarfs, hunchbacks,and albinoes, besides troops of dogs of almost every country and variety. All the ministers and carbooceers were arrayed in red-striped flowing robes laden with necklaces of coral and other beads. Each wore a scimitar, a short sword, and a club.
“Presently, under a salute fired from musketoons and small brass pieces within the court and cannon outside, the king arrived, dressed in a white silk flowing robe flowered in blue and a gold-laced hat, and took his seat in a sofa under the pavilion. Forthwith the bands struck up and the heralds proclaimed that Gézo, the Leopard and the Hawk, had taken his place; fifty-eight ministers and carbooceers at the same time marched three times in single file, and at the third time all prostrated and kissed the dust. So soon as this ceremony was concluded the business of the day commenced. This is a public display of the monarch’s wealth, carried on the heads of slaves through the town to the market and back again. The procession consisted of between six and seven thousand people.”
To enumerate, however, every item of “wealth” carried by these six or seven thousand individuals would certainly be to weary the reader, even though she were a lady, loving, next to possessing gold and gems, to hear and read about them; besides, there is much among the Dahomey “crown jewels” which the said lady reader could match in point of value in her wash-house or lumber-room. Let us take a few notes of the members of the procession:—
Head bunseh’s mother in scarlet, wearing a Life Guardsman’s helmet and plumes, and attended by a lady in Charles II. hat and plumes, both magnificently dressed.
8 Malam’s wives.
Band of 20.
Guard of 100.
Band of 12.
4 women carrying pans of skulls.
2 carrying jars surmounted with skulls.
1 carrying a large pan of skulls.
1 carrying a banner.
2 carrying umbrellas over the king’s women and attendants, in crimson cloth dresses and slouched hats trimmed with gold.
Band of 20.
Guard of 30.
2 women carrying pans of skulls.
2 carrying jars of skulls.
2 carrying a banner and two umbrellas each.
King’s grandmother, in head-dress of silver, crimson and silver robe and train, held by a maiden bearing a gold-headed stick.
One of the King’s grandfather’s widows in scarlet and gold.
1 man carrying a banner.
1 carrying a tray containing three human skulls.
The King’s washing-tub borne by 30 guards.
2 men carrying a scarlet and gold sedan chair.
300 carrying dishes with a basket in each.
55 carrying blue glass goblets.
50 carrying white glass goblets.
6 carrying a drum trimmed with skulls.
1 carrying umbrella ornamented with eighty human jaw-bones.
Men carrying a native sofa. Etc. etc. etc.
All the possessions of the king, in fact, from his grandmother to his washing-tub, were to be found, and made no doubt as a whole a tremendous display, though it is by no means unreasonable to say that the sum of the “king’s wealth” brought under the hammer of a London auctioneer would realize little more than would the contents of any first-rate villa-residence at Clapham or Richmond.
It should be stated, however, that as well as this household gear, the royal exchequer was brought out and carried in measures. In this again the king was fortunate as regards opportunity for display;cowriesform the currency of Dahomey—and goodness knows the many thousands ofthese it takes to make a single English sovereign—therefore it was easy enough to arrange that, although in form of money the king possessed no more than a little over a thousand pounds, porter after porter should go trooping past, each with such a load of money as made the mouths of the spectators water with envy.
Well, their longing was not to remain entirely ungratified. The king, although a vastly rich, is not a greedy man; and annually he makes presents to one and all of his loyal subjects; not in a hole and corner sort of way, but publicly—with the mob before him, and the riches, the cowries, the bales of cloth, the tobacco, and the kegs of rum in heaps and piles and pyramids at his elbow; and scrambles the astonishing gifts fairly and without favour—or so it seems. Let us, however, see what Mr. Forbes has to say on the subject.
“On the last day of May, commenced the custom of the Ek-que-noo-ah-toh-meh, or throwing the presents from the Ah-toh. It is on this day human sacrifices are offered by the king among his gifts to his people. In the centre of the market-place a platform was erected twelve feet in height, enclosed by a parapet breast high. The whole was covered with cloths of all colours, and surmounted by tents, gaudy umbrellas, and banners of varied hues and devices, among which, as usual, were several Union Jacks. On the west front of the Ah-toh, which must have been at least one hundred feet square, was a barrier of the prickly acacia, and within this were the victims for the day’s sacrifice, lashed in baskets and canoes as on yesterday. A dense naked mob occupied the area, whilst a guard of soldiers prevented them from bearing down the barrier. Beyond, in all directions, were groups of people collected round the banners and umbrellas of the different ministers and cabooceers. The naked mob consisted of the soldiers of the king, his brothers and sons, the ministers and higher cabooceers: each carried a grass-cloth bag round his waist; and the actual business of the day was a public display of the generosity of the king, who scrambles goods of all kinds among these warriors.
“The king had preceded us, and as we took our seats under a canopy to the right of the Ah-toh, His Majesty appeared on the platform under the shade of a handsome umbrella of crimson velvet and gold, dressed in an old black waistcoat, a white nightcap, and a cloth round his loins, and was greeted with loud shouts from the military expectants, who now formed into bands, and carrying their officers on their shoulders, marched past the royal position, the king’s own taking the lead. This they did three times,and then halted immediately under the king’s position, who harangued them on the impropriety of fighting during the scramble, and having thrown a few cowries by way of trial, commanded us to join him.
“Ascending the ladder the appearance was truly novel: in three separate heaps in different parts of the platform were three thousand heads of cowries, several heaps of cloths, rum in kegs, and rolls of tobacco; one side was occupied by tents for the royal wives; while others were grouped about in different parts of the platform in gaudy dresses. At the upper end stood the king surrounded by his ministers, and at the lower were, under canopies of showy umbrellas, two tables bearing liquors and glasses, one for the cha-cha, the other for ourselves. After taking our seats we were directed to stand under an umbrella facing the mob, and now commenced in real earnest the scramble, the king labouring hard throwing down cowries, cloth, tobacco, etc. The cowries appeared to be the property of the lucky ones who caught them, but the cloths were instantly handed to the officers, and if not, a fight ensued that was terrible to behold.
“The naked multitude emitted an effluvium only to be compared to the fetid atmosphere of a slave ship, and as the mass oscillated, there arose a vapour like the miasma of a swamp, as they were perfectly bathed with perspiration.
“Besides throwing gifts to the soldiers, His Majesty was all smiles and liberality in his donations to the ministers and a number of others; but to no one was any large sum given. At one time he sent us a basket containing ten heads of cowries and two pieces of cloth as a present, and at another a constant supply of cowries and cloths to scramble among the mob.
“Among the recipients of the royal bounty were two kings and several ambassadors, including one from Ashantee called Cocoa Sautee.
“Towards noon the brigantine on wheels put off to discharge her cargo of rum, tobacco, and cowries, which were added to the heaps on the platform. The king’s party of soldiers keeping together, were evidently the principal recipients, and we soon found that something like an equal distribution among them was aimed at. A captain of musquetoon-men, named Poh-veh-soh, at once a military officer, court fool, and headsman, caught my attention, and I threw him three pieces of cloth full of cowries; on receiving the third he was ordered off the ground. Rum was distributed to theéliteon the platform, and a breakfast provided for us, besides food for the ministers and wives.
“By two o’clock one of the heaps of one thousand heads of cowries had been thrown away and part of another given to the higher classes. Some three or four hundred pieces of cloth, a few kegs of rum, and rolls of tobacco, having all disappeared, His Majesty retired to rest awhile.
“Would to God that I could here close the account of this day’s proceedings, simply detailing the barbarous policy of raising the worst passions of man in order to make people believe in the profuse distribution of a pay which if doled out individually would be a mere pittance. The crowd can have no idea of the sum scrambled for; all they know is that a continuous shower is kept up for seven hours, and they consider it must be immense. Even if a man gets none he is content to know that he has been unfortunate, and should he proclaim his ill-luck he would not be believed, each supposing the other to be disguising the real quantity he has gained.
“During the royal absence a dead silence reigned as if by general consent; when by accident it was broken it was reinforced by the eunuchs sounding their metal bells, tolling the knell of eleven human beings. Out of fourteen now brought on the platform, we, the unworthy instruments of the Divine will, succeeded in saving the lives of three. Lashed in their baskets these sturdy men met the gaze of their persecutors with a firmness perfectly astonishing. Not a sigh was breathed. In all my life I never saw such coolness so near death. It did not seem real, yet it soon proved frightfully so. One monster placed his finger to the eyes of a victim who hung down his head, but finding no moisture drew upon himself the ridicule of his fiendish coadjutors. Ten of the human offerings to the bloodthirsty mob, and an alligator, and a cat, were guarded by soldiers, the other four by amazons.
“In the meantime the king returned, and calling us from our seats at the further end of the platform, asked if we should wish to witness the sacrifice. With horror we declined, and begged to be allowed to save a portion of them. After some conversation with his courtiers, seeing him wavering, I offered him a hundred dollars each for the first and last of the ten, while at the same time Mr. Beecroft made a similar offer for the first of the four, which was accepted, and the three were immediately unlashed from their precarious position, but forced to remain spectators of the horrid deed to be done on their less fortunate countrymen. What must have been their thoughts?
“The king insisted on our viewing the place of sacrifice. Immediatelyunder the royal stand within the break of acacia bushes stood seven or eight fell ruffians, some armed with clubs, others with scimetars, grinning horribly. As we approached the mob yelled fearfully and called upon the king ”to feed them—they were hungry.” It was at a similar exhibition that Achardee (President of Jena) while looking into the pit with the king was seized, thrown down, and murdered on the spot. Disgusted beyond the power of description we retired to our seats, where also the cha-cha had retreated; not so his brothers, for I regret to say they remained delighted spectators of the agonies of the death of these innocent victims. As we reached our seats a fearful yell rent the air. The victims were held high above the heads of their bearers, and the naked ruffians thus acknowledged the munificence of their prince. Silence again ruled, and the king made a speech, stating that of his prisoners he gave a portion to his soldiers, as his father and grandfather had done before. Having called their names, the one nearest was divested of his clothes, the foot of the basket placed on the parapet, when the king gave the upper part an impetus and the victim fell at once into the pit beneath. A fall of upwards of twelve feet might have stunned him, and before sense could return the head was cut off and the body thrown to the mob, who, now armed with clubs and branches, brutally mutilated and dragged it to a distant pit, where it was left as food for the beasts and birds of prey. After the third victim had thus been sacrificed the king retired and the chiefs and slave dealers completed the deed which the monarch blushed to finish.”
Again I would remind the reader that this horrible business is not a thing of the past but of the present. True it was in the years 1849–50 that Mr. Forbes witnessed the horrors he describes, but had he been in Dahomey in 1859–60 he would have witnessed as bad, or worse. Here indeed, and taken from theTimesnewspaper, is an account of the very last Dahoman “Grand Custom.”
“The following information from Dahomey has been received at the Church Missionary House, from the commander of Her Majesty’s ship Griffin, at Little Popo, August 6th, 1862:—
“Sir,—I think it my duty to lay before you, with as little delay as possible, the following information concerning Dahomey:
“On the 5th of August, when at anchor off Little Popo, I received a letter from the shore, stating that Mr. Euschart, a Dutch merchant, residing at Popo, had just returned from Dahomey, and that he had newsof great interest for my ear. This Mr. Euschart I have had frequent conversations with, and I have every reason to believe that his information is most accurate, trustworthy, and reliable. I therefore borrowed a surf boat from a Dutch brig in the roads, and, having manned her with ten of my own Kroomen, I with great difficulty effected a landing, two boats out of three that tried the beach that day being capsized, owing to the very heavy surf. I give the substance of Mr. Euschart’s information as closely as possible, having jotted it down in my note-book during our conversation.
“It appears that Mr. Euschart went to Whydah on business in the middle of June, and on the 24th of June, while still at Whydah, received the stick of the King of Dahomey, with an instruction that his presence was required at Abomey. Mr. Euschart tried every method of evading the journey, but without avail, the carbooceers of Whydah plainly telling him that he would be carried to Abomey as a prisoner if he did not at once willingly obey the King’s message.
“Accordingly at one p.m. on June 26th, having provided himself with six hammock men, he left Whydah for Abomey, escorted by an armed party of Dahomians, and reached Alada, the old residence of the King of Dahomey, the same evening; June 27th, one p.m., left Alada, and arrived at Tabour at ten p.m.; June 28th, 5.30 a.m., started for Kamos, through swamp, and easily passed; 9.30 a.m., started, and arrived outside Abomey at 7.30 p.m., the road on the way having been very good. He was at once shown into a very fair house, and told to remain there during the night. June 29th, received a message from the King that he was to be presented the next day. June 30th, entered walled part of town through Royal gate; received there by two head carbooceers, who saluted him, saying: ‘King had never seen a Dutchman; King’s father had never seen a Dutchman; and now they had plenty of people to kill they were very glad to see a Dutchman.’ He was then ordered to drink the King’s health four times, after which the carbooceers danced round him, singing and firing guns. He was then conducted to the King’s palace, and received there by the Prime Minister, who told him the King would receive him next day.
“July 1.—Received by the king, who was seated outside the palace on a raised dais, surrounded by amazons. He saluted the king in European style. The king at once got up and shook hands with him, said he was very glad to see a Dutchman, and continued talking in Portuguese forabout ten minutes. He was then ordered to return to his house and keep inside three days.
“July 5.—He was brought to the market-place, where he was told many people had been killed the night before. He first saw the body of Mr. William Doherty (a Sierra Leone man), late a missionary and church catechist at Ishagga. The body was crucified against a large tree—one nail through the forehead, one through the heart, and one through each hand and foot; the left arm was bent, and a large cotton umbrella in the grasp. He was then taken to the market, where the king was seated on a raised platform, from which he was talking to the people much ‘war palaver,’ and promising them an attack upon Abbeokuta in November. Cowries, cloth, and rum were then distributed. In front of the market-place, rows of human heads, fresh and gory, were ranged, and the whole place was saturated with blood, the heads evidently belonging to some of the Ishagga prisoners who had been killed during the night, after having been tortured in the most frightful manner.
“Until July 10th Mr. Euschart was ordered to remain quiet in his house, and not to move or look out after sundown.
“July 10.—The ground shook violently—evidently, from the date, the effect of the earthquake felt at Accra. Mr. Euschart was at once brought to the market-place, where he found the king again seated on the raised platform, surrounded by Amazons; the king told him that the ground shaking was his father’s spirit, complaining that ‘Customs were not made proper.’ Three Ishagga chiefs were then brought before the king, and told they were to go and tell his father that ‘Customs should be better than ever.’ Each chief was then given a bottle of rum and a head of cowries, and then decapitated. Twenty-four men were then brought out, bound in baskets, with their heads just showing out, and placed on the platform in front of the king; they were then thrown down to the people, who were dancing, singing, and yelling below; as each man was thrown down he was seized and beheaded, the heads being piled in one heap and the bodies in another; every man who caught a victim and cut off the head received one head of cowries (about 2s.). After all were killed Mr. Euschart was conducted home.
“July 11.—Taken to another part of the town, where exactly similar horrors were being perpetrated.
“July 12.—All the platforms were taken down, and the programme appeared to be firing guns, singing, and dancing all day; there were nomore public sacrifices for ten days, but it is supposed many took place during the nights.
“July 22.—Taken to see the ‘Grand Customs’ at the palace of the late king, at the gate of which two platforms had been erected; on each platform sixteen men and four horses were placed; inside the house was placed another platform, on which were placed sixteen women, four horses, and one alligator. The men and women were all Sierra Leone people captured at Ishagga, and were dressed in European clothes; each group of sixteen men seated, or rather bound, in chairs placed round a table, on which glasses of rum were placed for each. The king then ascended the platform, where he adored the Dahomian fetish, and seemed to make obeisance to the prisoners, whose right arms were then loosed to enable them to take up the glass to drink the king’s health. After the king’s health had been drunk, the effects of the late king were paraded and worshipped by the people as they passed; a grand review of the troops then commenced, and as each marched past the king harangued them, and promised the sack of Abbeokuta in November. Nearly the whole of the troops wore fire-arms; a few select corps had rifles, but the greater part were armed with flint-lock muskets. The artillery consisted of about twenty-four guns (twelve-pounders). The number of troops altogether could scarcely be less than 50,000, including 10,000 amazons, all apparently well disciplined troops. After the review was over the prisoners were beheaded, their heads being hacked off with blunt knives; at the same time the horses and alligator were dispatched, particular care being taken that their blood should mingle with that of the human prisoners.
“When all was finished Mr. Euschart was permitted to leave Abomey, which, it is needless to say, he immediately did, having received the magnificentviaticaof eight heads of cowries (16s.), one piece of country cloth, and two flasks of rum.
“Mr. Euschart firmly believes that Abbeokuta will, without doubt, be attacked by the whole Dahoman army towards the end of November.
“T. L. Perry, Commander.
“To the Governor of Lagos.”
It is instructive to turn from this, one of the last reports from this land of human butchery, to another letter written as long ago as November 27, 1724, by one Bullfinch Lamb, a “guest by compulsion” of Trudo Andati, at the time in question King of Dahomey. The epistle appears in “Dahomey and the Dahomans,” and would seem to be the effusion of a gentlemanconnected with the service of the British Crown, and who had got into a mess, rather through his urgent commercial spirit than through any unavoidable exigence of duty or voluntary adventure.
“November 17, 1724.“Sir,—About five days ago the king of this country gave me yours of the 1st instant, and immediately required me to answer it in his presence, which I did, though in a very different manner, so that if I do not recall it, I hope that you will excuse that as well as this. As to the late conference I had with his majesty, on receiving your letter, I think he does not want to make a price to let me go, for when I pressed him much to tell me on what terms he would send me away, his answer was, he did not want to sell me, I was not a black man; but upon my again pressing him he made a sort of jesting demand to the sum of I think 700 slaves, about £10,000, or £14 a-head. Which strange ironical way of talking, as I told him, made my blood run cold in my veins; and, upon recovering myself, I asked him if he thought the king of my country would listen to such an outrageous proposal, and that you and the company would think that both he and I had lost our senses, should I have writ anything like what he said. Upon which he laughed, and told me not to put anything of that in the letter; for that he would order his head captain of trade to treat with you upon that subject, and that if you had not something very fine for him at Whydah you must write to the company. Upon which I told him I feared I must die in his country, and that I would only send for a few clothes and necessaries, which I desired he would let his people bring for me, and he agreed to it, so that I don’t find there is any other way of redeeming me than by the company sending him a present of a crown and sceptre, which must be paid for out of what remains due to the late King of Ardah. I know nothing else but what he will think mean, being stocked with great quantities of plate, wrought gold, and other rich things, and also all sorts of rich gowns, cloths, hats, caps, etc. He has likewise all sorts of common goods beyond measure, and gives away booges like dirt and brandy like water, for he is prodigiously vain and proud; but he is withal, I believe, the richest king and greatest warrior in this part of the world, and you may depend upon it in time will subdue most of the countries round him. He has already set his two chief palaces round with men’s skulls, as thick as they can lie on the walls, one by another, and are such as he has killed in war; each of which palaces are in circumference larger than St. James’s Park, about a mile and a halfround. I hope my royal masters will take my case into consideration, and think of the long and many sufferings I have had in their service, and what a miserable condition I am still in, as it were, banished all the pleasures of this life, not only from my wife, and other friends, but all conversation in general; so that I am like one buried alive from the world, and think nothing can come near my unhappy fate, to lose my time and spend my youth, as it were, for nothing in such a cursed place as this, and not see a likelihood of getting out of it, but that I must end my days here. To prevent all which, I hope that they and you, in their behalf, will use your utmost endeavours, by such means as are requisite, for my deliverance, which I shall very impatiently pray to God to bring to pass. Governor Baldwin promised me in his last, upon his arrival in London, he would lay my case before our royal masters. Therefore, when you, write, I beg you will remind him and them thereof, and note the contents of what I now write. If any letters come from England for me, I believe either them or anything else will come safe to my hands by the king’s people. He is very willing I should have letters come to me, or anything else. Nor will he be guilty of any mean action in keeping anything from me, if it were twenty slaves. Neither do I believe he would detain any white man that should come here, but me whom he deems a captive taken in his wars. He sets a great value upon me, he never having had a white man here before, only an old mulatto Portuguese, which he had bought of the Popoe people, at the rate of about £500, as near as I could compute. And though this white man is his slave, he keeps him like a great carboceer, and has given him two houses, and a heap of wives and servants. It may be that once in two or three months he mends (he being a tailor by trade) some trifle or other for his majesty, but after the devil of a manner. So that if any tailor, carpenter, smith, or any sort of white man that is free, be willing to come here, he will find very good encouragement, and be much caressed, and get money if he can be contented with his life for a time; his majesty paying everybody extravagantly that works for him. And then it might be one means of letting me go with a promise of returning to trade with him; but he now says, if I go, he does not know whether he shall see any more white men, thinking they add to his grandeur; so that if any fellow whatsoever comes up and goes down again, it will possess him with a notion that more white men will come, and so let me go in order to encourage their coming. Or, if my little servant, HenryTench, he at Whydah, and is willing to come to me, it may in time be much for his interest, as now being a boy, the king will be entirely fond of him, for, though I do nothing for him, he has put me into a house and given me half-a-dozen men and women servants, also a constant supply to maintain myself and them. If I loved brandy, I might soon kill myself, having enough of that, also of sugar, flour, and the like. And when he kills oxen, which is often, I am sure of a quarter, and sometimes a live hog, sheep, or goat; so that I shall not starve (but this is nothing, I still want content). And when he comes out in public, the Portuguese and I are called out to sit all day in the sun, only our boys are permitted to hold our kideysols or umbrellas over our heads; but then he pays us pretty well for it, sometimes giving us two, sometimes three or four grand cabess apiece, and a huge flask of brandy to drink there, besides one or two more for each to carry home. Most of the ink you sent me being unfortunately spilt, I beg you will send me a packet of ink powder. His Majesty has likewise got from me the greatest part of the paper, having a notion in his head of a kite, which, though I told him was only fit for boys to play with, yet he says I must make one for him and I to play with, so I beg you will send me two quires of ordinary paper and some twine for that use, and a score of matches, his majesty requiring me sometimes to fire his great guns; and I am much in fear of having my eyes put out with the splinters. He has twenty-five cannon, some of which are upwards of a thousand weight, so that a man would think the devil helped to bring them here, this place being about two hundred miles distant from Whydah, and at least one hundred and sixty from Ardah. His Majesty takes great delight in firing them twice round every market day, only now that his people are making carriages for them. And though he seems to be a man of as great natural parts and sense as any of his colour, yet he takes great delight in trifling toys and whims, so that if you have anything of that kind, I pray you will send them me, or any prints or pictures, he much loving to look in a book, and commonly carries a Latin mass book in his pocket, which he had from the mulatto; and when he has a mind to banter anyone out of their requests, he looks in his book as studiously as if he understood it, and could employ his thoughts on no other subject; and much affects scrawling on paper, often sending me his letters, but then he sends an interpreter with a good flask of brandy and a grand cabess or two.—Your humble servant,“Bullfinch Lamb.”
“November 17, 1724.
“Sir,—About five days ago the king of this country gave me yours of the 1st instant, and immediately required me to answer it in his presence, which I did, though in a very different manner, so that if I do not recall it, I hope that you will excuse that as well as this. As to the late conference I had with his majesty, on receiving your letter, I think he does not want to make a price to let me go, for when I pressed him much to tell me on what terms he would send me away, his answer was, he did not want to sell me, I was not a black man; but upon my again pressing him he made a sort of jesting demand to the sum of I think 700 slaves, about £10,000, or £14 a-head. Which strange ironical way of talking, as I told him, made my blood run cold in my veins; and, upon recovering myself, I asked him if he thought the king of my country would listen to such an outrageous proposal, and that you and the company would think that both he and I had lost our senses, should I have writ anything like what he said. Upon which he laughed, and told me not to put anything of that in the letter; for that he would order his head captain of trade to treat with you upon that subject, and that if you had not something very fine for him at Whydah you must write to the company. Upon which I told him I feared I must die in his country, and that I would only send for a few clothes and necessaries, which I desired he would let his people bring for me, and he agreed to it, so that I don’t find there is any other way of redeeming me than by the company sending him a present of a crown and sceptre, which must be paid for out of what remains due to the late King of Ardah. I know nothing else but what he will think mean, being stocked with great quantities of plate, wrought gold, and other rich things, and also all sorts of rich gowns, cloths, hats, caps, etc. He has likewise all sorts of common goods beyond measure, and gives away booges like dirt and brandy like water, for he is prodigiously vain and proud; but he is withal, I believe, the richest king and greatest warrior in this part of the world, and you may depend upon it in time will subdue most of the countries round him. He has already set his two chief palaces round with men’s skulls, as thick as they can lie on the walls, one by another, and are such as he has killed in war; each of which palaces are in circumference larger than St. James’s Park, about a mile and a halfround. I hope my royal masters will take my case into consideration, and think of the long and many sufferings I have had in their service, and what a miserable condition I am still in, as it were, banished all the pleasures of this life, not only from my wife, and other friends, but all conversation in general; so that I am like one buried alive from the world, and think nothing can come near my unhappy fate, to lose my time and spend my youth, as it were, for nothing in such a cursed place as this, and not see a likelihood of getting out of it, but that I must end my days here. To prevent all which, I hope that they and you, in their behalf, will use your utmost endeavours, by such means as are requisite, for my deliverance, which I shall very impatiently pray to God to bring to pass. Governor Baldwin promised me in his last, upon his arrival in London, he would lay my case before our royal masters. Therefore, when you, write, I beg you will remind him and them thereof, and note the contents of what I now write. If any letters come from England for me, I believe either them or anything else will come safe to my hands by the king’s people. He is very willing I should have letters come to me, or anything else. Nor will he be guilty of any mean action in keeping anything from me, if it were twenty slaves. Neither do I believe he would detain any white man that should come here, but me whom he deems a captive taken in his wars. He sets a great value upon me, he never having had a white man here before, only an old mulatto Portuguese, which he had bought of the Popoe people, at the rate of about £500, as near as I could compute. And though this white man is his slave, he keeps him like a great carboceer, and has given him two houses, and a heap of wives and servants. It may be that once in two or three months he mends (he being a tailor by trade) some trifle or other for his majesty, but after the devil of a manner. So that if any tailor, carpenter, smith, or any sort of white man that is free, be willing to come here, he will find very good encouragement, and be much caressed, and get money if he can be contented with his life for a time; his majesty paying everybody extravagantly that works for him. And then it might be one means of letting me go with a promise of returning to trade with him; but he now says, if I go, he does not know whether he shall see any more white men, thinking they add to his grandeur; so that if any fellow whatsoever comes up and goes down again, it will possess him with a notion that more white men will come, and so let me go in order to encourage their coming. Or, if my little servant, HenryTench, he at Whydah, and is willing to come to me, it may in time be much for his interest, as now being a boy, the king will be entirely fond of him, for, though I do nothing for him, he has put me into a house and given me half-a-dozen men and women servants, also a constant supply to maintain myself and them. If I loved brandy, I might soon kill myself, having enough of that, also of sugar, flour, and the like. And when he kills oxen, which is often, I am sure of a quarter, and sometimes a live hog, sheep, or goat; so that I shall not starve (but this is nothing, I still want content). And when he comes out in public, the Portuguese and I are called out to sit all day in the sun, only our boys are permitted to hold our kideysols or umbrellas over our heads; but then he pays us pretty well for it, sometimes giving us two, sometimes three or four grand cabess apiece, and a huge flask of brandy to drink there, besides one or two more for each to carry home. Most of the ink you sent me being unfortunately spilt, I beg you will send me a packet of ink powder. His Majesty has likewise got from me the greatest part of the paper, having a notion in his head of a kite, which, though I told him was only fit for boys to play with, yet he says I must make one for him and I to play with, so I beg you will send me two quires of ordinary paper and some twine for that use, and a score of matches, his majesty requiring me sometimes to fire his great guns; and I am much in fear of having my eyes put out with the splinters. He has twenty-five cannon, some of which are upwards of a thousand weight, so that a man would think the devil helped to bring them here, this place being about two hundred miles distant from Whydah, and at least one hundred and sixty from Ardah. His Majesty takes great delight in firing them twice round every market day, only now that his people are making carriages for them. And though he seems to be a man of as great natural parts and sense as any of his colour, yet he takes great delight in trifling toys and whims, so that if you have anything of that kind, I pray you will send them me, or any prints or pictures, he much loving to look in a book, and commonly carries a Latin mass book in his pocket, which he had from the mulatto; and when he has a mind to banter anyone out of their requests, he looks in his book as studiously as if he understood it, and could employ his thoughts on no other subject; and much affects scrawling on paper, often sending me his letters, but then he sends an interpreter with a good flask of brandy and a grand cabess or two.—Your humble servant,
“Bullfinch Lamb.”
So that on the whole one cannot help wondering why it is that Master Bullfinch—who in the course of his letter shows himself such a selfish individual—cannot settle down and make himself comfortable. Whether or no he ever escaped, the chronicle sayeth not; probably not; and no great matter either, perhaps, considering Mr. Lamb’s unscrupulous suggestion that half-a-dozen of his wretched countrymen might be induced to thrust their heads into the mouth of this Dahoman lion, that he, Master Lamb, might be enabled to escape.
Besides the King of Dahomey, there are many other monarchs big and little in this quarter of Africa; but though they be ten times more savage—if to be savage is to be remote from civilization and its influences—we find not one as treacherous and thirsty for blood. In the course of his explorations in Western Africa, Mr. Bakie had the honour to meet several kings, among others the monarchs of Abó and Igbo. Let us approach the former royal presence.
“We promised to come on shore the next morning and pay our respects. I accordingly made an early start, and accompanied by Mr. May, Mr. Crowther, and Dr. Hutchinson, proceeded in the gig and pinnace, the crews of which were dressed in flaming red caps and shirts. Abó is situated nearly a mile up a creek, the mouth of which is almost invisible from even a very short distance. On entering it we found it at first so extremely narrow that we had to lay in our oars and use paddles, but, after a time, it opened into a wide expanse, the surface of which was covered with canoes of various sizes. Numbers of inhabitants were to be seen gazing at us, and altogether there was more bustle and activity, and more signs of a trading people than anything we had previously witnessed. Having reached the landing-place, we marched in a kind of procession, headed by a Krú-man carrying the English ensign, and accompanied by a royal messenger bearing a gaudy flag. We had some little difficulty in keeping good order through the narrow lanes, densely crowded as they were by the populace; as natives, both men and women, were constantly coming towards us, and insisting on shaking hands with us, which ceremony is here performed by the two parties taking loose hold of the fingers of each other’s right hands, and then slipping them, making at the some instant a snapping noise with the aid of the thumb. We were not sorry to reach Ishúkuma’s palace, a low dwelling of mud and thatch, with a small court some twenty feet square in the centre. This was surroundedby a kind of verandah, in which we were placed, a chair being brought for me, and mats for the remainder of the company. Near us was a fetish, composed of some old bones and a few trinkets, and close to this, under a canopy of white calico, was a huge mat for his royal highness. Presently he entered, accompanied by several of his wives, and other female relatives, who all sat on his left. He seemed a little oldish-looking man, of easy disposition, and not much intellect. He was attired in a woollen nightcap, a white shirt, and in home-built pantaloons of native cloth, shaped after an extreme Dutch design. The court was by this time completely filled with crowds of natives, whose incessant noise and chattering prevented us from commencing, and at last I had to request him to enforce silence. This he attempted to do, in vain, until at last, assisted by the more energetic of his spouses, and in particular by a strong-minded sister, whose shrill tones, heard high above the din, finally beat down all opposition, and produced a temporary calm. I seized the moment, and, by our interpreter, told Ishúkuma, that we had come to make his acquaintance and his friendship, and to ascertain if the people were willing to trade with us. I expressed our sorrow at hearing of the death of Obi, who had been the white man’s friend; also our regret at the absence of his brother. I said that we were desirous of fulfilling the promise made by the officers in the former expeditions, and that we should try to do good to his country. He replied by declaring his satisfaction at seeing white men here once more, thanking us for our compliments, and offering, if we could wait a few days, to send a special canoe for his brother. I told him that we had a long distance to go, and that we must proceed while there was plenty of water in the river, but that on our return we should again call.”
Impressive, however, as must have been an interview with such awful majesty, Mr. Bakie managed to survive it; indeed, so accustomed was he to the company of kings as to make nothing of meeting two, and even three, within a week. A day or so after his visit to the court of the King of Abó, he brought his ships to anchor off the dominions of King Ajé, and the result of a message to that august person was that he would visit our traveller aboard.
“Presently Ajé was seen to approach in a large canoe, with seventeen paddles of a side, and accompanied by several of his wives and some of his brothers and their wives. Another salute was fired, after which we received our visitors on board, and with some difficulty got them all seatedon the poop. Ajé is a tall, rather stout, young-looking man, very superior in appearance to his brother, and is said in manner and countenance greatly to resemble his father. He appeared dressed in home-made scarlet cloth trousers, a scarlet uniform coat, a pink beaver hat, under which, apparently to make it fit, was a red worsted nightcap; no shoes, beads round his neck, and in his hand a Niger-expedition-sword. After talking of general matters, I spoke of his father, of Captain Trotter (a former explorer), of trade, and of our wishes and intentions; on which he replied that he considered that whatever his father wished or promised was binding on him, adding, however, that we seemed very long in carrying out our part of the agreement. I gave him a double-barrelled gun, a large sabre, a scarlet robe, some cloth and beads, and some scissors, mirrors, and needles for his wives, and also three krus (27,000) of cowries. This last, he said, must be shared by his brother, on which I offered Tishukuma an equal amount and gave him also other presents. With all Ajé seemed dissatisfied, and asked why we did not give as much as Captain Trotter did, on which I mentioned our long voyage, the many presents we had given away, and our stock being exhausted. Still he asked for things I had not, until I was obliged to speak more plainly, telling him how unreasonable his behaviour was, and how unlike what I expected in a son of Obi. He then laughed, showing that he was merely trying to get as much as he could, a daily Abó practice. Ajé next asked for the traders, who were sent for, and showed them a quantity of firewood, yams, palm-oil, and a bullock he had for sale. He proved a very keen hand, and only parted with his articles at a high price; he looked to everything himself, saw things handed on board, and the cowries counted. He gave me his dash, a bullock, and two hundred yams, which latter were here, though very good, very small and rounded. I took him round the ship, fired a swivel off before him, and showed him the engine. I explained to him that as our provisions were nearly expended, I could offer him but little, on which he said he would merely ask for some biscuit, which I gave him. He was much amused with the shower-bath, which he called all his wives to look at, and was much pleased with a German accordion which I gave him.”
Mr. Bakie’s greatest adventure, however, was with the formidable King or Chief of Neam Nam, whose subjects were regarded by surrounding tribes as monsters of the blackest dye, and the chief himself as the Fe-fo-fum of ogres. The natives begged him not to think of visiting this nest of scorpions where he and his party would undoubtedly be slain andeaten, and have to think themselves highly fortunate if they escaped the most cruel tortures into the bargain. Bakie wanted guides, but it was only on the most unheard-of terms that he was able to procure them, as well as porters to carry presents wherewith to propitiate the terrible Neam Nam. At last, however, these difficulties were overcome, and the adventurers, after a considerable march, came in sight of Mundo, a Neam Nam village. “I could not, however, induce them to enter it, and, throwing off their loads, they decamped, leaving only the interpreter in the firm grip of two of my followers. Nothing daunted, my men took up the rejected loads and we proceeded towards the village. On nearing it, the sound of several tom-toms and the shrill whistle of their calls plainly indicated that the Neam Nam were on the alert. A large party bearing their arms and shields issued forth to meet us, and, drawing up in line across our path, seemed determined to impede our progress. Heedless of the impediment, we proceeded on our way, and my khartoumers, in the best spirits, joined lustily in a song. The sight of the savages before us was imposing, each man guarded the greater part of his body with a large shield, holding a lance vertically in his right hand. The party were evidently surprised at the confidence and unoffending manner of our approach, and evinced a greater disposition to run away than to attack. On we went joyfully, and when within two yards of them, their ranks opened, allowing us a passage through them, of which as a matter of course we availed ourselves, and entered the village (apparently deserted by women and children), with the Neam Nam following in the rear, and passing through a street of huts rather distantly situated from one another, we reached a slight eminence commanding a fine view of a highly fertile country. During our march the tom-toms continued their noise, but, regardless of consequences, we took up our position under the shade of a magnificent sycamore tree in the vicinity of a couple of huts; and, disembarrassing ourselves of our baggage, we quietly seated ourselves in a circle round it, exposing our fronts to the natives, who in great numbers soon surrounded us, apparently astonished at the coolness we displayed; they gradually closed, and, the front rank seating themselves, their proximity became disagreeable, as they hemmed us in so closely that several of them actually seated themselves upon our feet, indulging at the same time in laughter and loud conversation which we could not understand. Enjoining patience on my men, and convinced that, in case of necessity, the harmless discharge of a gun or two would scatter ourvisitors, I learnt with some difficulty, through the medium of the Baer and Dor interpreters, that these savages looked upon us in the light of bullocks fit for slaughter, and that they contemplated feasting upon us; but they disputed the propriety of slaying us until the arrival of their chief, who I learnt was not in the village. With this knowledge, a hearty laugh and many jokes as to their condition were indulged in by my brave companions, who, confident in their own arms, behaved admirably. The excessive joy of our would-be butchers ceased at the appearance of an aged grey-headed man, who, after a short intercourse with the Baer interpreter, in a loud voice addressed the mob in words to the following effect: ‘Neam Nam, do not insult these strange men; do you know whence they come?’ ‘No, but we will feast on them,’ was the rejoinder. Then the grey-headed old man, holding up his spear and commanding silence, proceeded thus: ‘Do you know of any tribe that would dare approach our village in so small a number as these men have done?’ ‘No,’ was again vociferated. ‘Very well, you know not whence they came, neither do I who am greatly your senior, and whose voice you ought to respect. Their country must indeed be distant, and to traverse the many tribes between their country and ours ought to be a proof to you of their valour. Look at the things they hold in their hands; they are neither spears, clubs, nor bows and arrows, but inexplicable bits of iron mounted on wood. Neither have they shields to defend their bodies from our weapons; therefore, to have travelled thus far, depend upon it their means of resistance must be so puzzling to us, and far superior to any arms that any tribe—ay, even our own—can oppose to them: therefore, Neam Nam, I, who have led you to many a fight, and whose counsels you have often followed, say, shed not your blood in vain, nor bring disgrace upon your fathers, who never have been vanquished. Touch them not, but prove yourselves worthy the friendship of such a handful of brave men, and do yourselves honour by entertaining them, rather than degrade yourselves by the continuance of your insults.’
“This address seemed to have a beneficial effect with the majority. The old man motioning two or three of them out of the way, seated himself near me and endeavoured to converse with me, but failing, he called the interpreter. His first wish was to examine my rifle: removing the cap, I handed it to him. Long and silent was his examination, the most inexplicable part seeming the muzzle, which, instead of being pointed, had a hole in it. Placing his finger therein, he looked at me with the greatest astonishment, and to give him a practical explanation, I seized a fowlingpiecefrom the hands of my favourite hunter, and pointing to a vulture hovering over us, I fired: and before it touched the ground, the crowd were prostrate and grovelling in the dust, as if every man of them had been shot. The old man’s head, with his hands on his ears, was at my feet; and when I raised him his appearance was ghastly and his eyes were fixed on me with a meaningless expression. I thought he had lost his senses. After shaking him several times I at length succeeded in attracting his attention to the fallen bird quivering in its last agonies between two of his men. The first signs of returning animation he gave was, putting his hand to his head, and examining himself as if in search of a wound. He gradually recovered; and as soon as he could regain his voice, called to the crowd, who one after the other first raised their heads, and then again dropped them, at the sight of their apparently lifeless comrades. After the repeated call of the old man, they ventured to rise, and a general inspection of imaginary wounds commenced. I attempted to carry on a conversation with the old man, whose name was Murmangae, and learnt that the chief’s name was Dimoo, and that he had but lately succeeded his deceased father in the chieftainship. Gaining confidence, he again reverted to our arms, which, however, he expressed a fear of touching, and requested to know how the noise was produced; and whilst I was endeavouring to explain the gun to him, the chief, accompanied by numerous followers, arrived. To my disappointment, however, he treated us with great mistrust, and drawing up his men seemed inclined to attack us, on which a lengthened conversation between the old man and himself took place. At this stage of the proceedings, a single elephant was seen approaching the village. The chief, who had been standing, advanced towards me, and, pointing to the elephant, abruptly asked if our thunder could kill that. On my replying in the affirmative, ‘Do it,’ he said, ‘and I will respect you.’ The aspect of affairs had now assumed anything but a peaceful appearance; but relying upon my own resources and diplomacy, I resolved on gaining the good will of the chief, and despatched one half of my best shots to endeavour to bring down the elephant, whilst with the other half, in case of emergency, I knew I could defend our property. The brave fellows confidently sallied forth, although a few of them only possessed rifles, much too light for the work expected of them, whilst others had only double-barrelled fowling pieces loaded with ball. They were followed by the whole of the savages to within about three hundred yards of the elephant, when the hunters dispersed, and simultaneouslyfired at the elephant, within a range of twenty yards, from various directions. On the first discharge, the Neam Nam and their chief exhibited every sign of fear, some by falling on the ground, and others by taking to their heels. The elephant, a young male with tusks about a foot long, received shot after shot in quick succession. He merely elevated his trunk and ears, and moved round as if on a pivot, until about two rounds had been discharged at his head and shoulders with double charges of powder; he fell, and our prestige was established. The chief and his followers recovering themselves, approached more in the guise of petitioners than aggressors, and stated that if we would only withhold our thunder, they would be our best friends. Presents of beads to Dimoo and our old friend closed the compact; and on being informed that similar valuables would be given away for provisions, the chief proclaimed aloud the fact to the bystanders, who declared they would furnish us with anything the village contained.”
Still lingering in Western Africa we arrive at the Fernandian town of Issapoo, whose king is named Browowdi. Mr. Hutchinson introduces us to his majesty as well as to his palace.
The monarchy here, as in all Fernandian towns, is hereditary, not from father to son, but from uncle to nephew. His palace was certainly a most extraordinary place for human residence. Yet, on my getting inside, his first exhibition to me was, as the interpreter explained it, his throne and crown, the former consisting of a filthy stool, that looked old enough and dirty enough to have been handed down in his family for several scores of generations; and the latter, an equally filthy old hat of bamboo leaf, with a monkey’s tail pendent from it. Inside the house, the light came in through dozens of crevices in the walls as well as the roof. The wall consists only of boards placed side by side, reaching from the ground to the roof, all of which are moveable, so that the inmate has only to shift one or two at any side, and he lets himself in or out as he pleases. Across the house inside are placed a number of poles, on which are suspended hats, skins, rusty guns, cloth, and calabashes; but no windows, stools, beds, or tables, save the old throne, and a tax-gatherer would find a great scarcity of available chattels in the place. The coronation of a king is a ceremonial that I have not yet had the pleasure of witnessing, but it has been reported to me as one possessing interesting features. It is so bound up with their notions of a spirit or devil, that I deem it necessary to explain the peculiarity of their belief on this latter point. Maaon is thetitle given to the devil, and the botakimaaon (his high priest) is supposed to have influence with him through communication with the cobracapella, the koukarouko. Their faith in God, to whom the name of “Rupe” is given, is a loftier aspiration than that of the devil, but they believe that the Deity’s favour can be only obtained by intercession through the koukaroukos at the bottom, the candidate for regal honours standing alongside, and all his subjectsin futurobeing about. This conference is, I believe, carried on by means of ventriloquism, a faculty with which many of the Fernandians are reported to be endowed. The botakimaaon then delivers to the king the message from the koukarouko for his guidance in his high station, shakes over him a quantity of yellow powder, entitled “isheobo,” which is obtained by collecting a creamy coat that is found on the water at the mouths of some small rivers, evaporating the water, and forming a chalky mass of the residue. From the lightness as well as friability of this article, I believe it to be of a vegetable nature. He has then placed upon his head the hat worn by his uncle, and the crowning is accomplished. After becoming a king, his majesty is forbidden to eat cocoa, deer, or porcupine, which are the ordinary condiments of the people; and the ceremonial is concluded by the latter having some of the yellow powder rubbed over their foreheads by the botakimaaon, with instructions to use the same material in like manner every morning for seven days.
From Issapoo we accompany Mr. Hutchinson to Duketown, and on the road that gentleman tells us of the iron palace that was sent out some years since from Liverpool for the late king Eyamba; and which, though now utterly ruined, may be recollected in its prime, as well as King Eyamba, in the same enviable condition, and still another king, one Archibong, though whether Archibong was Eyamba’s successor, orvice versâ, is not quite clear. However, the reader may judge for himself.
“No man was more impressed with an idea of the dignity attachable to the trappings of royalty than Eyamba, and so he must have a carriage. But the horses soon died, after dragging out life for some time. The skeletons of two only were visible about Duketown, perfectanatomies vivantes, at the time of my first visit there. Horses not being native to this part of the country, it puzzled the lexicographers very much to find a name for them in their Etick tongue, the language spoken at Old Kalabar. At length they hit upon the termEuang makara, which signifies “white man’s cow;” and to carry the absurdity further, entitledEyamba’s carriageEfot euang makara, which literally means “white man’s cowhouse.” When I beheld the nature of the streets and roads in and around the town, it was a marvel to me how Eyamba could find a place broad or level enough for four wheels to roll upon. But he did make out a few yards meet for that purpose; and there it was his custom to have the carriage drawn before him by a number of slaves, whilst he walked after it, with his shining brass crown upon his head, and an immense party-coloured parasol held aloft by a strong-armed man. The Irishman who got into a sedan chair, and, finding the bottom out of it, said he might as well be walking, were it not for the grandeur of the thing, had a nearer semblance to state than this gander-brained monarch, who often used to boast of his desire to see Wellington and Napoleon, that he might shew his pre-eminence over them; and who was accustomed to sign all his letters and documents as Eyamba V., king of all black men. Everything in this once magnificent house was, on my visit to it, in a state of perfect ruin and decay, for his majesty died a few years after it had been constructed. This condition of affairs may be explained by the fact that there exists among the people of Old Kalabar, as amongst the majority of the heathen nations in western Africa, a silly superstition, that when a man dies he requires the spirit of all that belonged to him in this world, his wives, slaves, cloths, chattels, and furniture, for use in the unknown world to which he has gone. In proportion to what his competency was, and to the means of his friends to make a corresponding sacrifice for him, so is his anticipated comfort in the next state to be measured. I have been since informed that in a few hours after its fall there was not a single piece of its structure to be found on the site of its former location; for the inhabitants all acted as so many human turkey-buzzards; and the earliest bird of course picked up his choice of the best worms. Coming out of the palace, and not fifty yards from it, although I had a hill to go down, a rut to scramble through, and an eminence to ascend, I find myself in front of the Duketown palaver-house, a species of senatorial forum, where all the legislative matters of the country, the municipal affairs of the town, palavers on matters public or private, are discussed and settled by the king and the Egbos. The palaver-house consists of two walls running parallel for about forty yards, terminated by a transverse wall, about as many feet in length, and thatched with a stout bamboo roof. The end by which it is entered is opened fromside to side; a space of nearly eighteen inches intervene between the tops of the walls running lengthways and the roof; and there is an ascent from the road by half-a-dozen steps to the floor, which is hard and smooth. In the centre of the entrance is a huge hollow brass pillar reaching up to the roof, further in are two more of equally imposing diameter, whilst between them are a large bell and a piece of wood; the latter is drum-like in shape, with a slit longitudinally in it, and fixed to the pillar. This is the Egbo drum, which is beaten to alarm the inhabitants in case of fire, to give notice of the attack of an enemy, or to signify the fact of a leopard having been captured, each occurrence being indicated by a peculiarity of beating the drum, which is known as soon as the sound is heard. In the farthest corner of the house is a private sanctuary, into which none but the privileged are admitted on occasions of Egbo meetings, and outside the front are two flourishing ju-ju trees, with five pillars of stone before them, said to be solidified basaltic lava, brought from Prince’s Island, and erected there to the memory of five sovereigns of Old Kalabar. Not far from this palaver-house was the residence of the late king, Archibong I. There was nothing noticeable in it beyond that of any other gentleman trader’s abode; but the king was one of the most extraordinary specimens of sable humanity I ever met. He could neither read nor write the English language, but spoke it in a very imperfect gabble, and go to his house whenever you would, he was nearly always in the condition in which he might be expected to agree with the sentiment of Sancho Panza: blessings on the man who first invented sleep. On the first day of the week, which consists of eight days, he was accustomed to entertain all the supercargoes and surgeons in the river at dinner, and this was called Chop-day. Duketown Chop-day is entitled Aqua-el-dere, and is equivalent to our Sunday, but it is only as a day of rest—drinking rum and palm wine being their chief devotions. They wash their court-yards with cow-dung and water on that morning, and the largest market in the week is held on Aqua-el-dere. Eyamba, when king, adopted it as his chop-day because it was the most honoured in the week, and he wished to be considered the most consequential man in the country. King Archibong followed in his footsteps with reference to the same practice. A similar custom is adopted on the second day of the week, called Aqua-ibibio. The dishes served up at King Archibong’s were very creditable to his culinary establishment. They consisted of various kindsof soup, containing goat’s flesh, fish, pork, cocoa leaf and root, plantains, bananas, with a variety of other dishes, such as Apicius, Meg Dod, or Alexis Soyer never smiled upon, and which are said to have contained “pepper enough in them to have scalded a silver spoon.” These were followed by roast maize, ground-nuts, and shrimps as a dessert. Mimbo or Mim-efick, the native name for palm wine, was the beverage at these dinners. It is a milky fluid, having sometimes an acid and sometimes a saccharine taste, and is procured from a particular species of the palm tree, by tapping it at the top and allowing the juice to exude into calabashes placed there to receive it. One dish relished very much by the king was a plate of pounded yam, made into the putty-like consistence of ju-ju wood, with a soup entitled palaver sauce. The mode of eating it was by grasping a lump from the dish, rolling it on the palm of the hand into the shape of a racket ball, putting the index finger into the centre, dipping it into the soup, and bolting it. The table was always neatly laid out with silver service, and the viands were brought up in large calabashes; covered with white cloths, on the head of a number of female slaves.
So much for departed Duketown kings and their eccentricities; now let us turn, for it is worth while, to the present ruler of that locality as well as of the neighbouring settlement of Creektown. It is worth while as furnishing one of a hundred instances that might be quoted of the good effected by the teachings of Christianity, as well as an answer to those wondrously wise folk who sneer at missionaries and their doings. “King Eyo Honesty” is the honourable title of the present monarch of Duketown.
“King Eyo is anxious for the civilization of his people and the cultivation of his country, but he has had no one to teach them anything of the latter, and so the fruitful soil of his dominion lies unproductive, save in the one material of palm oil. Those who agree with me in thinking Christianity and civilization to be cause and effect in Africa, as they are all over the world, will rejoice to hear that he has given every countenance and assistance to the body of Presbyterian missionaries settled at Old Kalabar. He speaks, reads, and writes the English language very well, keeps his own accounts, and translates the Rev. Mr. Waddell’s sermons into the Efick tongue for his congregation. The king’s sons are the only members of his family that have made an open confession of their belief in the doctrines of Christianity, but Eyo enjoins the sacred keepingof the Lord’s day, has no dinner for the traders when it comes round in its eighth day rotation, has abolished the market formerly held on Sundays at Creektown, commands the weekly attendance of his people at the missionary service in the galvanised iron church, is most respectful and attentive during worship, and follows the preacher, translating sentence after sentence for the audience. He is a man past forty years of age, about five feet eight inches in height, of a stout muscular frame, with eyes and lips of the usual prominence observable in the Æthiopian face, and grey whiskers. His dress consists of a cloth, generally silk, tied round his loins, a silk handkerchief thrown over his shoulders, a black hat with a gold band and a binding of the same material about the edge. His ornaments are circlets of blue glass or coral beads round his neck, wrist, and ankles, with a massive gold ring on the index finger. He partakes freely of snuff, and this is carried by his slave in a silver box. It is the only luxury in which he indulges, for he never smokes, and from spirituous liquors no man can be more abstemious. When he goes in state to Duketown, as he always does on business occasions, to the trading ships in the river, he is invariably accompanied by a train of large canoes, from one of which a gun is fired to announce his approach as the royal party turns the angle opposite Oldtown. The king is always seated in a six-oared gig belonging to the ship to which he is proceeding, whilst the canoes contain his eldest son, young Eyo, and his three brothers, with an innumerable host of slave attendants. He has a gigantic parti-coloured parasol held over his head on these occasions, as he has whenever walking about his town, or seated in one of his court-yards, overlooking his trade books. The musical band accompanying the king consists of an Egbo drum, placed transversely in the canoe, which is not beaten on the ends as our drums are, but on the top of its longitudinal surface with a pair of sticks; an instrument formed of iron, as of the saucers of two shovels welded face to face, and struck with a piece of the same metal; a cow’s-horn, blown rather discordantly; and clattering-boxes made of bamboo matting, with a string to them held in the hands like Spanish castanets, and shaken vigorously to produce a noise by the agitation of the pebbles or pieces of broken crockery-ware they contain. Yet, with this primitive attempt at music, the banners flying from the canoes, the simultaneous hoisting of flags on all the ships in the river, and the return of a salute from the vessel to which he is proceeding, when the king’s party becomes visible, gives the whole scene a very animated appearance.”