Show AMAZONS IN WAR the most warlike and powerful of the african states will be a thing of the past before the end of another month this is what col dodds wrote to the home government when reporting the he progress he had made in the campaign against Behan zin king of dahomey the entire civilized world will hail with delight the downfall of this bloodthirsty blood thirsty savage whose entire r reign eran has been marked by the most unheard of cruelties cruel ties both toward his own subjects and the neighboring tribes this war has been brought about by violation of pledges on the part of Behan zin at the close of the war of 1889 france made a treaty with the king ing k by which in consideration of an andua annual pension of francs he recognize rec recognized frances rights along the coast and agreed to stop his raids into the french protectorate of porto novo long the favorite hunting ground ot rulers for slaves and victims to sacrifice in their horrible fetish rites late last fall the king violated his agreement by sending expeditions into porto novo where they surprised several unsuspecting towns and dragged bund hundreds reds of people to aboney when en the lieutenant governor of the french colony protested the king sent an insolent letter declaring that he recognized no treaty that he had a right in porto novo because his fathers for ages had been the suzerains suze rains of that country and that he should continue his forays if he chose because all the region occupied by the french belonged to him and yet ashe as he knew very well his father beleve fourteen years ago gave u up to france all rights to the port of kotoku kotoku and he himself had recognized the claims of france in porto novo the youn 9 bully sent word to the french that if they touched one of his towns in the interior he would at once destroy porto novo and all the french posts he was carried away with the idea of his power and the prowess of his fair failed amazons and undoubtedly believed that he could drive the french into the sea king Behan zin is a most extraordinary mixture of civilization and barbarity the dominant note in his character is unlimited vanity his younger years were spent in paris where he learned to read french he subscribes regu regularly regulars larl for several parisian newspapers whick which are brought from the coast by special messengers when he first saw a notice of himself and his capital in the figaro ro he exhibited almost childish delight and danced around the paper containing the news after which he caused his amazonian guard to be brought up and translated this information to them at the same time giving orders for the preparation pa ration of another raid on the french settlement to show his contempt and fearlessness of the consequences in ordinary times the army of dahomey is is composed of amazons and to men warriors this is the well drilled standing army which is kept near the capital ready to take up arms at a moments notice in the present emergency the king has been compelled to call out all the avail ables reserves which gives him some twenty thousand amazons atna zons and men all a 11 told As the population of dahomey is is estimated at more than any or all of which can be turned into soldiery by the king it can be readily understood that the french will not have such a small affair on their hands as most persons imagine the most unique features of dahomey are its large force of women warriors warriors and its terrible system of religious sacrifices in which hundreds of human vac victims are butchered at the capital every year the sacrificial festivities take place in the autumn and spring and are called customs last may the french report that not less than six hundred people were butchered in the market square at aboney A large shed called the blood house was erected in which athe prisoners are confined and exhibited prior to the butchery they are bound to io poles driven in the ground and black and white goats are tied alternately to each beach victim who is most fantastically arrayed in a peaked cap and short mantle decked bedecked be with ribbons A large patch of scarlet cloth is sewn on his shirt over the region of the heart in addition to the hamam beings publicly sacrificed at the religious ceremonies the amazons are allotted a very large number of victims which they take to their quarters within the palace to torture and kill at their pleasure no man is allowed to be present to inquire too inquisitively into their horrible and peculiar rites baho dahomey me y is is the only country in the world which makes women a part of its military system in the year 1729 the king hard pressed by enemies enemies placed a large number of armed women among his soldiers these women acted with such signal bravery and fought with such abandon and ferocity in the battles which brought victory to dahomey that they were organized into a permanent regiment the flower of the fair sex is likely likel y to get into the army as well as nearly all the strong minded women the viragos giragos and the unfaithful wives now and then the king takes a consort from his woman regiments but no other man may marry them they are known in dahomey by the names of our mothers I 1 tigers of war and the king wives they live in the kings palace and there perform their fetish mysteries the amazon that sworn to perpetual celibacy and at the gate of their dwellings a curious fetish is hung which is supposed to insure certain exposure to any amazon that has broken her vow of of celibacy the very fear of this fetish often causes an amazon n who has gone astray to confess her sin there are occasions ca however when violations of these vows are permitted and the moral code is completely relaxed when the king sends his amazons through the country to enlist men for the army the fair recruiting agents are permitted to offer oner any inducement they please to tempt men into the ranks the women are taught that they are not weak but strong every womanly sentiment is suppressed and they become unsexed and unnaturally ferocious the recruits are subjected to a very severe drill which fortifies them to endurance of all kinds of hardships and physical pain p am they the are compelled to sleep outdoors in alt all kinds of weather and are beaten cuffed and kicked with amazing frequency but everything is submitted to without murmur col dodds declares that in all his experience peri ence he has never met with such ferocious bravery as that exhibited by the amazons he says that the amazons are by far the most formidable of king Behan forces they only fire at close range rang e for a few minutes then throw away their guns and uttering terrific screams and yells charge madly against the ranks of the enemy using their large curiously shaped knives with a fury that death alone will end even when shot down and trampled under foot they will fight to the I 1 last ast gasp asp asdall stabbing blindly at their assailants ants above biting and tearing the legs of those standing over them before going into battle the amazons are given liberal quantities of rum which gives them the frenzied fierceness and daring recklessness which always mark their attacks the uniform of the amazons is a short sleeveless tunic of blue and white native cloth with short half turkish trousers and a curious curious headdress ornamented with horns old and young ugly or handsome they are all alike marvelous to see As full of muscles as the male warriors their attitude is as well dieci elined and correct and the leaders of each regiment are easily recognized by their rich attire and ferocious aspect this is probably their last appearance on the field of battle as france when it annexes the dahomey territory will abolish this army of she devils |