The choice usually falls on the eldest son of the late sovereign"s greatest favourite, provided there exists no particular reason for setting him aside. There seem to be no rank nor privileges annexed to any branches of the royal family; the king, in his own person, absorbing the undivided respect of the people. Those of his relations whom his majesty may deign to patronise, will, of course, be more noticed by their fellow-slaves; but are all alike the slaves of the king.
His palace at Abomey is walled round, and consists, according to the report of Lander and others, who had an opportunity of visiting its interior, of numerous courts connected with each other, occupying, in the whole, a s.p.a.ce full as large as St. James" Park.
The first minister is called the _tamegan,_ and he is the only man in the country whose head the king cannot cut off at pleasure. By some ancient regulation, he who attains this rank has that very essential part of his person secured to him, perhaps that he may honestly speak his mind to the king, without fear of consequences. The second, or mahou, is the master of the ceremonies, whose office it is to receive and introduce all strangers, whether black or white, and also to take care of them during their stay at court, and to see that they are well fed and lodged, with all their attendants. The third officer in the state is the yavougah of Whidah; and the fourth is the jahou, or master of the horse, who is likewise the chief executioner, and has the duty of superintending the numerous decapitations, which occur in various ways.
There are entertained about the court a number of king"s messengers, called half-heads, because one side of their head is always shaved, whilst the hair on the other is allowed to grow to its full length.
They are men, who have distinguished themselves in battle, and wear, as the badge of their office, strings of the teeth of those enemies they have actually killed with their own hands, slung round their necks, like the collar of an order.
These extraordinary-looking couriers, when sent on any mission, are never permitted to walk, but run at full speed, and are relieved at certain distances on the road by relays of others, who push on in the same manner, on receiving their orders, which they transfer from one to the other with the greatest exactness. The general officers in the Dahomian army are distinguished by large umbrellas, and when any of that cla.s.s are killed in action, they say figuratively, that, on such an occasion, we lost so many umbrellas.
In delivering what is termed the king"s word, the messenger, as well as all those around him, fall prostrate on the ground, and cover their heads with dust, or with mud, if it rains; so that they often display very hideous figures, with their black bodies and the wool of their heads thus bedaubed with red puddle.
The ministers of state, in communicating with the king, approach within a certain distance of him, crawling on their hands and knees, at last they prostrate themselves, kiss the ground, cover their heads with dust, then make their speech, and receive his reply. His majesty usually sits on public occasions, as he is represented in our engraving, under a rich canopy, on a finely carved stool or throne, surrounded by his women, some with whisks driving away the flies, one with a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and another on her knees, holding a gold cup to spit in, as he smokes.
Their marriages, like those of most barbarous nations, are settled by the bridegroom paying a certain sum for the woman, which is calculated at the rate of one or more slaves, or moveable property in sh.e.l.ls, cloth, or other articles, to the amount of the specified number of slaves. Polygamy is allowed to any extent, and it is generally carried as far as the means of the gentlemen will admit, as, after a short period, or honeymoon, the women are employee in the fields and plantations, and usually are no better situated than the common servants of their husbands.
Adultery is punished by slavery, or the value of a slave, by the offender, and the lady likewise subjects herself to be sold, but it is remarked that this measure is seldom resorted to, and it sometimes happens that a handsome wife is repeatedly turned to advantage by her husband, in alluring the unwary into heavy damages.
The state of women is upon the whole very abject in Dahomy. Wives approach their husbands with every mark of the humblest submission.
In presenting him even with a calabash containing his food, after she has cooked it, she kneels and offers it with an averted look, it being deemed too bold to stare him full in the face. By their constantly practising genuflexion upon the bare ground, their knees become in time almost as hard as their heels.
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 Dahomy--that n.o.ble spirit, which animates the happier dames in lands of liberty, being here, alas! extinguished and destroyed.
In most nations a numerous progeny is considered a blessing, as being likely to prop the declining years of their parents, but in Dahomy, children are taken from their mothers at an early age, and distributed in villages remote from the places of their nativity, where they remain with but little chance of being ever seen, or at least recognized by their parents afterwards. The motive for this is, that there may be no family connexion nor combinations; no a.s.sociations that might prove injurious to the king"s unlimited power. Hence each individual is detached and unconnected, and having no relative for whom he is interested, is solicitous only for his own safety, which he consults by the most abject submission. Paternal affection, and filial love, therefore, can scarcely be said to exist.
Mothers, instead of cherishing, endeavour to suppress those attachments for their offspring, which they know will be violated, as soon as their children are able to undergo the fatigue of being removed from them.
At a particular period of the year, generally in April or May, a grand annual festival is held, which may with much propriety be termed a _carnival._ On this occasion the chief magistrates or caboceers of the different towns and districts, the governors of the English, French, and Portuguese settlements, are expected to attend at the capital, with their respective retinues; and the captains of ships, and factors trading at Whidah, usually take this opportunity of paying their respects to the king. A great part of the population, in fact; repair to Abomey, which resembles some great fair, from the number of booths and tents erected in it for various purposes.
It is at this time also that the revenue is collected; all the people either bringing or sending their respective quotas to the royal treasury. White men are received there with every mark of respect, and even saluted by the discharge of cannon. There appears to be an extraordinary mixture of ferocity and politeness in the character of these people; though terrible and remorseless to their enemies, nothing can exceed their urbanity and kindness to strangers.
Should any white person be taken ill at Abomey, the king sends the mayhou, or some other great officer, to make daily inquiries about the state of his malady, and desiring to know in what way he can a.s.sist or promote his recovery.
Notwithstanding, the king exacts from his own subjects the most humiliating and abject prostrations, on approaching his person, yet he admits Europeans to his presence without the least scruple, requiring only from them those marks of respect which they may think fit to perform, in the style of salutation they have been accustomed to in their own countries. They are allowed to be seated in his company, and he personally pays them great attention. Cooks are procured, who understand the mode of preparing European dishes; even table cloths, with knives and forks, although never used by themselves, are furnished, and in short every thing which can contribute to their comfort, is provided with eastern hospitality.
They are likewise entertained with feasts, music, public dances, processions of the king"s women, and the exhibition of sports and games.
But amidst this general enjoyment of festivity and mirth, deeds are done from which the civilized mind recoils with horror, and which it cannot contemplate without feeling an ardent desire, to see mankind raised from that state of savage ignorance and superst.i.tion, which leads to acts so monstrous and unnatural.
In order to _water_ with their blood the graves of the king"s ancestors, and to supply them with servants of various descriptions in the other world, a number of human victims are annually sacrificed in solemn form, and this carnival is the period at which these shocking rites are publicly performed.
Scaffolds are erected outside the palace wall, and a large s.p.a.ce fenced in round them. On these the king, with the white strangers who think proper to attend, are seated, and the ministers of state are also present in the s.p.a.ce beneath. Into this field of blood the victims are brought in succession, with their arms pinioned, and a fetisheer, laying his hand on the devoted head, p.r.o.nounces a few mystical words, when another man, standing behind, with a large scymitar severs the sufferer"s head from his body, generally at a single blow, and each repet.i.tion of this savage act is proclaimed by loud shouts of applause from the surrounding mult.i.tude, who affect to be highly delighted with the power and magnificence of their sovereign.
His bards, or laureats, join also at this time in bawling out his strong names, (their term for t.i.tles of honour,) and sing songs in his praise. These scenes are likewise enlivened by a number of people engaged in a savage dance round the scaffolds; should the foot of one of these performers slip, it is considered an ill omen; the unfortunate figurante is taken out of the ring, and his head instantly struck off, whilst the dance continues without interruption, as if nothing unusual had occurred.
The people thus sacrificed are generally prisoners of war, whom the king often puts aside for this purpose, several months previously to the celebration of his horrid festival; should there be any lack of these, the number is made up from the most convenient of his own subjects. The number of these victims sometimes amount to several hundred, but about seventy are the average number.
Their bodies are either thrown out into the fields, to be devoured by vultures and wild beasts, or hung by the heels in a mutilated state upon the surrounding trees, a practice exceedingly offensive in so hot a climate. The heads are piled up in a heap for the time, and afterwards disposed of in decorating the walls of the royal _simbonies,_ or palaces, some of which are two miles in circ.u.mference, and often require a renewal and repair of these ornaments.
An anecdote is related of king Adahoouza, who, on a successful attack upon Badagry, having a great number of victims to sacrifice, ordered their heads to be applied to the above purpose. The person to whom the management of this business was committed, having neglected to make a proper calculation of his materials, had proceeded too far with his work, when he found that there would not be a sufficient number of skulls to adorn the whole palace; he therefore requested permission to begin the work, as the lawyers would say, _de novo,_ in order that he might, by placing them farther apart, complete the design in a regular manner; but the king would by no means give his consent to this proposal, observing that he would soon find a sufficient number of Badagry heads to render the plan perfectly uniform, and learning that a hundred and twenty seven were required to complete this extraordinary embellishment, he ordered that number of captives to be brought forth and slaughtered in cold blood.
On visiting the bed-chamber of Bossa Ahadee, the pa.s.sage leading to it was found to be paved with human skulls. They were those of his more distinguished adversaries, captured at different times, and placed in that situation that he might nightly enjoy the savage gratification of trampling on the heads of his enemies. The top of the little wall, which surrounded this detached apartment, was adorned likewise with their jaw-bones. In some more civilized minds there is an instinctive dread on viewing the remains of a human being; but it cannot be laid to the charge of these savages, that the fear of ghosts and hobgoblins forms any part of their character.
The immolation of victims is, however, not confined to this particular period; for at any time, should it be necessary to send an account to his forefathers of any remarkable event, the king despatches a courier to the shades, by delivering his message to whomsoever may happen to be near him, and then ordering his head to be chopped off immediately; and it has not unfrequently happened, that as something new has occurred to the king"s mind, another messenger, as Mr. Canning very justly observed of the postscript of a letter, has instantly followed on the same errand, perhaps in itself of the most trivial kind.
It is considered a high honour where his majesty personally condescends to become the executioner in these feats of decapitation, an office in which the king, at the time of the visit of Lander to Abomey, considered himself as a most expert proficient. The Europeans were present on one occasion, when a poor fellow, whose fear of death outweighing the sense of the honour conferred on him, on being desired by the king to carry some message to his father, who was in the shades below, humbly declared on his knees that he was ignorant of the way, on which the tyrant vociferated, "I"ll show you the way,"
and with one blow made his head fly many yards from his body, highly indignant that there should have been the least expression of reluctance.
The performance 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 into his hands.
In ill.u.s.tration of the above, the following narrative is highly characteristic, and serves at once to a clear exposition of the savage and relentless feelings of the uncivilized negro. In a warlike excursion towards the Mahee or Ashantee borders, an enemy"s town was surprised, and a great number of the inhabitants were either killed or made prisoners; but especial care was taken that the head of the prince of that district should be sent to Abomey, and that every branch of his family should, if possible, be exterminated, for it was one which had often given the Dahomian forces a great deal of trouble. A merciless ma.s.sacre, therefore, of these individuals took place, in obedience to strict injunctions to that effect; and it was believed that not one of the breed was left alive.
A youth, however, about seventeen years of age, one of the sons of the obnoxious prince, had managed to conceal his real quality, and not being pointed out, succeeded in pa.s.sing among the crowd of prisoners to the Dahomian capital, where, after selecting that portion thought necessary for the ensuing sacrifices, the captors sent the remainder to Grigwee, to be sold at the factories. This young man happened to be purchased by Mr. M"Leod, and he lived thenceforth in the fort, as a sort of general rendezvous, or trunk, as it is called, for those belonging to that department.
In a short time after this transaction, it some how transpired at Abomey that there yet lived the remnant of the enemy"s family, and in order to trace him out, the king fell upon a scheme, which strongly displays that species of cunning and artifice so often observed among savages.
Some of his half-heads, who may very appropriately be termed his mortal messengers, in contradistinction to the immortals sent to the shades, arrived at the fort, and, with the c.o.ke, a stern and hardhearted villain, who, in the absence of the yavougah, was the next caboceer, demanded admittance in the king"s name, prostrating themselves as usual, and covering their heads with dust. On entering, they proceeded immediately to that quarter where the slaves were, and repeated the ceremony of kissing the ground before they spoke the _king"s word,_ that is to say, delivered his message. The c.o.ke then made a long harangue, the purport of which was to signify the king"s regret that animosity should have so long existed between him and the chief of that country which he had just despoiled, and to express his sorrow for the fate of a family, which had suffered from his displeasure, through false accounts and misrepresentations. For this reason, he was now most anxious to make every reparation in his power to a son yet remaining of that prince, and would readily re-establish him in the rank and possessions of his father, could he only find him out. Completely duped by this wile, the unsuspecting lad exultingly exclaimed, "I am the son of the prince!"--"Then,"
replied the c.o.ke, with a h.e.l.lish joy at having succeeded in his object, "you are just the person we want." Upon which these half-heads seized him, and began to bind his hands. Finding by this time the real state of the case, which at first it was impossible to comprehend, Mr. M"Leod strongly protested against their seizing a slave whom he had regularly purchased, and complained loudly of the insult offered to the company"s fort; but all in vain. He then earnestly entreated them to offer the king his own price, or selection of goods, and to beg as a favour from Mr. M"Leod, that he might be spared, strongly urging the plea also, that, when once embarked, he would be as free from every apprehension, respecting him, as if he had killed him.
The c.o.ke coolly replied, that Mr. M"Leod need not give himself any further trouble to make any proposals, for he dared not repeat one of them to the king; and, after an ineffectual struggle, Mr. M"Leod was at last compelled to witness, with the most painful emotion, this ill-fated youth dragged off in a state of the gloomiest despair, a despair rendered more dismal from the fallacious glimpse of returning happiness, by which he had been so cruelly entrapped.
The party not being able to obtain the slightest information respecting Mr. d.i.c.kson, retraced their steps, and rejoined Captain Clapperton in the river Benin, where they met with an English merchant, of the name of Houston, who advised them by no means to think of proceeding by that river, a circuitous track, and covered with pestilential swamps; and more particularly as the king bore a particular hatred to the English for their exertions in putting an end to the slave-trade, nor did he, Mr. Houston, know how far, or in what direction, that river might lead them. He recommended Badagry as the most convenient point on the coast to start from, and he offered to accompany them across the mountains to Katunga, the capital of Youriba. His offer was accepted, and Lander"s journal commences with their starting from Badagry, on the 7th December. They were also attended by a Houssa black, of the name of Pascoe, who had been sent from one of the king"s ships to accompany the late enterprizing traveller Belzoni, as interpreter, in his last and fatal journey.
It appears, that during their stay at Whidah, every inquiry was made after Bello and his messengers, but without the slightest success, and equally so as to Funda and Raka, names never heard of on that part of the coast. It is now known that these places are nearly two hundred miles inland, and that Raka is not even on the banks of any river, and that neither of them was then under the dominion of Bello.
Badagry, the capital of a small territory, is situated at the mouth of the Lagos river, in lat.i.tude 6 20", and is much frequented by the Portuguese slave-merchants, who have five factories there. Canoes being obtained, the party proceeded slowly up a branch of this river, as far as the mouth of the Gazie creek, which comes from the north-west, running through part of the kingdom of Dahomy, having its rise in the country called Keeto. They ascended this creek for about a mile and a half, and then landed on the western bank, at a place called Bawie, where a market is held for the people of Badagry and the adjacent towns. The very first night, they were guilty of a fatal imprudence. The banks of both these streams are low and covered with reeds; the soil a red clay mixed with sand; and the surrounding country is covered with forests of high trees and jungle. Not a hum of a single mosquito was to be heard. Every circ.u.mstance combined to create an atmosphere fatal to animal life, and the consequence of the unaccountable disregard of all precaution on the part of the travellers was too soon apparent. The seeds of those diseases were here sown, in the very first night of their journey, which speedily proved fatal to two of the party, and had nearly carried off the whole. How an old naval surgeon and two experienced naval officers could commit such an imprudence, in such a climate, is to us most surprising, when most dreadful consequences are well known to have almost invariably resulted from such a practice in tropical climates,
On the 9th of December, they again slept in the open air, in the market-place of Dagmoo, a large town, where they might have had as many houses as they wanted. This reckless indifference to the preservation of their health can only be accounted for on the principle, that on an expedition attended by so many difficulties and privations, it was deemed justifiable to attempt to inure the const.i.tution to the noxious influences of the climate, and to look down with contempt upon any act which had the least tendency to effeminacy, or a scrupulous attention to personal comfort. The const.i.tution of Clapperton was well known to have been of an iron nature; it had already withstood the pestilential climate of some parts of Soudan, in his previous travels, and, with that impression upon his mind, he regarded, perhaps, with indifference, or more likely with inattention, any effect which might arise from the marshy and swampy country through which the party travelled in the commencement of their journey. The disastrous sequel will, however, soon manifest itself.
One morning, Captain Clapperton walked forward with Mr. Houston to the town of Puka, the first place in the Youriba territory, where they were civilly received, and they were visited by one of the Eyeo war-chiefs, who came in state. He was mounted on a small horse, as were two of his attendants; the rest of the cavalcade were on foot.
His dress was most grotesque, consisting of a ragged red coat, with yellow facings, and a military cap and feather, apparently Portuguese. He came curvetting and leaping his horse, until within the distance of a hundred yards, when he dismounted, and, approaching the travellers, seated himself down on the ground. Captain Clapperton, by the hand of Lander, sent him his umbrella, as a token that he wished him well, on the receipt of which the drums were beaten, and hands were clapped and fingers cracked at a great rate.
It must be observed, that the latter motion is the method of salutation practised by the natives of Dahomy and Eyeo. The chief now came up to them, capering and dancing the whole of the way, and shook them by the hand, a few of his attendants accompanying him. Lander informed us that he was not on this occasion honoured by the salute of the Eyeo chief, and he attributed it to the nigh notion which the chief entertained of his own dignity and importance, and that it would be in him an act of great condescension to notice an individual who was evidently but a subordinate, and an attendant upon his superior. He, however, did not hesitate to steal a handkerchief belonging to Lander, which perhaps he considered to be also an act of condescension in him. Like other great men, who sometimes speak a great deal, without much meaning or sense being discoverable in their oration, the Eyeo chief began his speech by saying that he was very glad that he now saw a white man, and he doubted not that white man was equally glad to see him, and then, pointing to the various parts of his dress, he said, "This cloth is not made in my country; this cap is of white man"s velvet; these trousers are of white man"s nankeen; this is a white man"s shawl; we get all good things from white man, and we must therefore be glad when white man come to visit our country." Although not cheered at the conclusion of his speech, like other great speakers, yet, on the other hand, like them in general, he appeared to be very well satisfied with himself; and Captain Clapperton, by his demeanour, fully gave him to understand that he fully approved of the sentiments which flowed from his lips, and that they were perfectly worthy of a chief of the Eyeo nation.
The two men, who appeared next in authority to himself, were stout good-looking men, natives of Bornou; they were dressed in the fashion of that country, with blue velvet caps on their heads. Being Mahometans, they could not be prevailed on to drink spirits, but the captain and his men drank two drams.
They paid a visit to the caboceer, or chief man of the town, whom they found seated in the midst of his elders and women. He was an ancient, tall, stupid-looking man, dressed in a long silk tobe, or long shirt; on his head was a cap, made of small gla.s.s beads of various colours, surrounded with ta.s.sels of small gold-coloured beads, and three large coral ones in front. The cap was the best part of the man, for it was very neat; in his hand he held a fly-flapper, the handle of which was covered with beads. After a number of compliments, they were presented with goroo nuts and water. They told him of their intention to proceed to Eyeo; that they were servants of the king of England; and that they wanted carriers for themselves and baggage.
The baggage, however, had not come up from the coast, and Captain Pearce had to return to the beach and see after it. They remained here for the night, and the old caboceer, their host, sent them a present of a sheep, a basket of yams, and some firewood. But when, the next morning, application was made to him for carriers, not a single man could be obtained. After a great deal of palavering, the Eyeo captain loaded his own people. They could not procure any bearers for the hammocks, but they nevertheless set off, having only one horse, which Captain Clapperton and Mr. Houston agreed to ride alternately. The former, however, who had almost crippled himself the preceding day, with a pair of new boots, and could only wear slippers, became so galled by riding without a saddle, that he was soon reduced to walk bare-foot, and whenever he crossed an ant path, his feet felt as if on fire, these insects drawing blood from them and his ankles.
After a most toilsome and distressing march, part of which wound through thick and dark woods, the morning proved raw, cold and hazy; the travellers had nothing to eat, and when at noon they reached the town of Humba, Captain Clapperton had a slight fit of ague. On the following day, bearers were with some difficulty procured, and he was carried forward in a hammock. At Bedgie, which they reached on the 12th, Dr. Morrison became very unwell with symptoms of fever. This place stands on the banks of a river about a quarter of a mile in width, full of low swampy islands and floating reeds. On the 14th, Captain Pearce and Richard Lander were taken ill.
They had by this, time reached Laboo, a town situated on a rising ground, where the country begins to undulate in hill and dale. Its distance from the coast is not specified, but it can hardly be so much as fifty miles, as Lagos can be reached in one day by a messenger, yet the journey had occupied the travellers no fewer than seven days. The delay seems partly to have been occasioned by the heavy baggage and stores, and by the difficulty of obtaining bearers.
The Eyeo people, as they were afterwards told, are unaccustomed to carry hammocks, and they ought to have proceeded on horseback, in fact, Lander did not hesitate to express himself in rather severe terms, in regard to the manner in which the early part of the expedition was conducted; for, had the plan been adopted of making use of horses for the conveyance of the baggage, and not have allowed themselves to be delayed by the difficulty of procuring human a.s.sistance; had the whole party pressed forward to Laboo, and there attempted to recruit their strength, it is highly probable that they would have altogether escaped the poisonous effects of the miasmata.
The country thus far appears to have been an almost perfect level; in some places swampy, for the most part covered with dense forests, but partially cultivated, and very populous. Towns and villages were numerous, and everywhere on the road they were met by numbers of people, chiefly women, bearing loads of produce on their heads, always cheerful and obliging, and delighted to see white men. At Humba, the inhabitants kept up singing and dancing all night, in the true negro style, round the house allotted to the white men. Their songs were in chorus, and, as Lander expressed himself, "not unlike some church-music that I have heard."
On leaving Laboo, they were attended for some distance by the caboceer of the town, at the head of the whole population, the women singing in chorus, and holding up both hands as they pa.s.sed, while groupes of people were seen kneeling down, and apparently wishing them a good journey. The road now lay over an undulating country, through plantations of millet, yams, and maize, and at three hours from Laboo, led to Jannah, which was once a walled town, but the gate and fosse are all that remain of the fortifications. It is situated on a gentle declivity, commanding an extensive prospect to the westward; to the eastward the view is interrupted by thick woods. The inhabitants may amount to from eight hundred to a thousand souls. The account which Lander gave us of the natives of this district was highly favourable. He had only to complain of the eternal loquacity of the women, by which he was exceedingly annoyed; in addition to which, they appeared sometimes to be highly offended because, as he was ignorant of their language, he very often committed the most extraordinary blunders, in the answers which he gave by signs, and which were wholly opposite to what they had every reason to expect, from the significant language which they made use of. The women here are, however, not much better treated than in more central Africa; not only the domestic duties are performed by them, but in all matters of industry the labour appears to be imposed upon them, whilst their husbands or owners are loitering away their time, telling unaccountable stories to each other, or sleeping under the shade of some of the beautiful trees which adorn this part of the country.
Very differently is it const.i.tuted with the canine species; for here the dog is treated with respect, and made the companion of man; here he has collars round his neck, of various colours, and ornamented with kowries; he sits by his master, and follows him in all his journeys and visits. The great man is never without one; and it appeared to Lander that a boy was appointed to take care of him. In no other country in Africa is this faithful animal treated with common humanity.