THE DEFEAT OF THE KING OF DAHOMEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 238, 17 August 1864, Page 4

THE DEFEAT OF THE KING OF DAHOMEY.

" An African" ■writes to the Times ns follows: — Tlic long-vaunted expedition of (ho King of Dahomey against Abbeokuta and tlic Egbas lias l)oen undertaken, and lias come to,a disastrous close. Yon i'ceblicct, no doubt, that the King dwelt very stoutly oil the necessity nf the expedition at the time when Commodore Wilmot paid his last, memorable visit to Abnmey ; find that 110 arguments of tlio gallant commodore could dissuade the Royal sava<re from his determination to pour forth the rials of his wrath on Abbeokuta. It would appear that on Monday, the 15th of March, the Dnhoniian army, with the King at its head, encamped ut Owiwi, .which is about twelve miles from Abbeokula. Before six o'clock on Tuesday morning tlic.frequent reports of a gun fired iit. Am, one of tlio five, pates of Abbeokula, gave vrarning to the that the Dahoimans "were in sigln. The Abnsliorim had made every preparation for (lie defence of the town. " Abasliorun*' signifies the principal chief, and, as this word is curious in composition, T may as well explain that its literal mean ing j Sj " A King of Heaven opening out everytiling." 'J'lie enemy approached boldly enough. JTe liad three brass field G-pounder pieces, bearing ilie inscription upon die breecii,of " Mexico. 1515." lie advanced in a column cif 300 sf:ong till within fifty yards of the wall of Abbeokuta, then suddenly displayed his (lags, extended his lines, and marched rapidlv towards the wall. The Egbas immediately opened a tremendous fire oil the serried lilies, and arrested them at once. In tlio advancing column were Amazons, who fought bravclv and desperately. Many of these furies climbed the wall, which is more than fifteen feet high ; but, as soon as they had reached the top, the Egbas dragged them over and slew them. One Amazon, who had one of lier hands cut off* in her elVorts to plumber, over tV.c wall, discharged her musket with lier other hand, and shot an Egba. She received a severe blow from a sabre, and fell backwards into the trench The Dahoniians were utterly defeated. In fact, they have never met with sucli a signal defeat—not even in 1851. They lost upwards of 1,000 in killed ; and the numbers of prisoners is said to exceed 2,000. The whole strength of the King is stated to have been 10.000 men and women. The Dahomians tied in two divisions. In front of the division which took first to (light was the doughty King himself. The Egbas pursued both divisions and slaughtered the fugitives without mercy and without a pause. Seeing the discomfiture of the King, the inhabitants of the neighbouring crooms turned out and joined heartily in the general massacre. Oiil or his three iicid-picces, the King had tiie misfortune to leave two in the good keeping of (ho Egbas. The wall of Abbcokuta is 1"> miles in circumference, and the population is scarcely less than 200,000 souls. Abbeokula means "under-stone." The name was given to the place partly in reference to some 20 hills of primitive formation upon which it is builr, and partly in memory of a huge porphyritic rock called " Olumo," standing in the heart of the town, where bands of robbers used of yore to conceal themselves. In 1825, "Olumo," or "the hiding place," was deserted by the robbers, and it. became in that year the refuge of a few poor wretches who had stolen thither from the clutches of the slavehunters. From such a forlorn knot of wanderers it is that the present, large native city of Abbeokuta has sprung. Other wanderers arrived in terror from all quarters of the country to seek and to find an asvlum there. They settled upon the hills in small but separate townships. Each township has its own laws ; each its own chief, judge, war-captain, and council house; and each fondly assumed the name of the village whence its people had been originally driven. The hills mark the site of the townships. The townships still exist in complete distinctness from one another, but neither natural nor artificial boundary seems to separate them, and the entire community is surrounded by tlic common wall, to which 1 have already alluded.