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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1929)
| Sensational Story of France’s Greatest Colonial Fighter And the Negro King Who Sat on a Throne of Beaten Gold 3 f J. A. ROGERS, Paris, France. and certainty of victory. Io 1890 he hud scored a victory TO THE war with over a French expedition and France in 1892, it in hud made France pay him difficult to »ay ju»t tribute for the use of tho what brought it on. port of Cotonou. He wan .Sonin Dahonmyana »ay that stronger now and perhaps ho A 1 rica hud been divided into felt he could repeat the per sphcr< es of influence by tho formance. European power», that Da- It perhaps may have been homey hud been given to France, and that France due to a combination of alt »ought u pretext for conquest. these cause», but whatever it Other sources say it was the was, war began when Behan- desire.of the French to pene /in is »aid to have declared trate into the interior for the treaty he had made with common e, on the one hand, France null and void. Thu ami the determination of treaty, ceding Cotenou to Behanzin on the other, to France, had been made in 1868 by his father, Gli-Gli keep them out and ratified in 1890. France B e ha nx in , H a r d - H e a d e d . agreeing to pay 20.000 franc < Again it may have been gold annually for the use of due t<» the fear and jealousy the port. Bchunzin, it is said, set all of kmg Toffa who had u dif ficult role to play between intervention aside. Diplom the British and the French. acy failed. When the French Perhaps, also, it may hu\u envoys arrived at his palace been due to fear of the of Dioxene with presents French colonies near-by at from M. Etienne, secretary of seeing Behanxin getting so Colonies, it is said that Be powerful. Germany had been hanzin set them aside brusque and said scornfully, supplying him with modern ly, rifles and five Germans held “ We have cases full of that The Dahomeyans, from the tops of palm trees, would shoot down the French or crawl high rank in his army. Then in Dahomey.” through the bushes to throw themselves courageously on the foe. When told of the system of also it may have been due to Behan/.in's hard-headedne»s the French government, it is said that he took his pipe “ France wishes war! Let ready. The black and the from his mouth and laughed her know that I am stronger white men in his force re loud and long, saying that he and more determined than ceived the enemy with shot much preferred his own my father. I have never done and bayonet. The Dahomey, PKINCK CLAIMS TIIRONF which was quicker and more anything to France that she ans, beaten back, returned original. should make war on me, I with incredible eagerness to “ Dahomey,” he asserted, have never gone to France the charge, but the French, “ lias never ceded Cotenou to either to take the wives or bringing their artillery and France, and if the French do daughters of the French. If machine guns into action, not get out at once I will they wish to take the sea- forced them to retreat, leav come and drive them out with coast I will cut down all the ing heaps of dead. my army.” palm trees. I will poison It was evident that it was them. If they have not what going to be a stubborn fight D od ds C hosen. War began shortly after, to eat let them go elsewhere. to get to Abomey, Behanzins and in the first few engage Every other nation, German, capital. A few days later, ments Behanzin was victor English, Portuguese can come stiff fighting took place at ious. France realized that into my kingdom. But the Dogba. Here General Dodds, she had a difficult enemy to French I will drive them who always fought beside his deal with. To march into away. I am the friend of the men, had one of them killed Dahomey with its absence of whites; ready, to receive at his side. D ah om eyan s D ea dly. roads, its thick forests, them when they wish to swamps, burning sun and come to see me, but prompt So far the French had been lack of water was not easy. to make war whenever they meeting only detachments of Behanzins army. The main There was but one man cap wish. able of the task, the veteran On this, Gneral Dodds or portion with the king himself General Dodds. dered a bombardment of the was at Allada. Marching On May 6, 1892, he left Dahomeyan coast, and land thither, General Dodds lost Bordeaux with several com ing a few days later, cap many of his men. The Da panies of white marines, a tured and burned the town homeyans. from the tops of company of artillery and a of Cotenou. palm trees, would shoot down battalion of black sharp Starting into the interior, the French or crawl through shooters. Stopping at Sene he captured the towns of the bushes to throw them gal, he picked up other bat Zobo and Takou. Early in selves courageously on tho talions of Senegalese sharp the morning of September 19, foe. shooters and got five hundred a part of the Dahomeyan At Atchoupa, during a warriors ami thousands of army hurled itself with ter fierce storm, a force esti bearers from King Toffa. rific fury against the French. mated at 7,000 warriors and Arriving off the Dahomey Opening the attack with n 2,000 amazons hurled itself coast, he blockaded it with volley from their repeating at the French. The women his warships and prevented rifles, they rushed in with fought with supreme courage, the landing of a ship filled their swords and knives letting themselves be killed wqth arms and ammunition shouting their battle cry of rather than retreat. Clinging for Behanzin. "Koia! Koia! Dahomey!" to the legs of the French B ehanzin D efies D od ds. B lacks and W h ites T og e th e r. troops they brought them to earth and poignared them. Prince kojo lovulon, claimant to tho throne of Dahomey, This done, he wrote a let But General Dodds well • • • taken in the Argonno Forest, 1915. Ho is a doctor and ;» ter to Behanzin calling on knew that it was the habit of Says an eye-witness ol that ftghti lawyer, as well as being graduated from the University of him to surrender. But the the African warrior to attack "The Dahomeyans allowed a leuacit/ Paris unheard oi. Hut Uiclf latter replied defiantly: early in the morning. He was and bravery ( C on tinnr-d o n p a g e tw o (< r a l l n i i H fio m U »l w eek I