DAIInMKY 



y ;i revolution broke out there, and IV- 

 returned to his capital to deal with his 



enemies, chief among whom wen- his uncle and 

 elder brother. Tho-e adverse to the King were 

 cHllcil the Party of the Nobles, which was nearly 

 MS numerous, hut not so powerful and influen- 

 tial, as the Fetichmen, who were the Kind's sup- 

 porter-. The revolt was quickly quelled, and 



the leaders fled. A mad was made 1'r Ke- 



MIIIU to Dogba by the native allies, but the cav- 



iiail to be transported in specially con- 

 st riicted barges on account of the sudden rise of 

 the streams. The expedition was accompanied 

 by l.i uo porters and 100 large pirogues, some of 

 them large enough to carry 100 soldiers with 

 their baggauv. When the French, marching in 

 three column-, set out from Dogba, they were 

 surprised and attacked on unfavorable ground, 

 on Sept. 1!), by 4,000 Dahomeyans skillfully ma- 

 im-nvred by Gobbo, a brother of Behanzin, Col. 

 Dodds kept his men well together, and the Sene- 

 gal tirailleurs, who composed the first column, 

 withstood an impetuous attack with admirable 

 coolness. The marines and Legionaries, as soon 

 as daylight came, broke the first impetuous as- 

 sault with a rain of Lebel bullets. The Daho- 

 meyans made repeated and desperate onsets, and 

 left about 1,300 corpses on the field. Their loss 



heavy because, in attempting to carry off 

 their dead, they exposed themselves recklessly to 

 the fire of the French. The battle lasted from 5 

 till 9 o'clock in the morning. Terrible execution 

 was done with the 19 field guns of the Foreign 



ii. A large number of modern rifles were 

 picked up on the battle-field. On the French 

 side 4 were killed and 15 wounded. The killed 

 included Lieut. Badair and a sergeant. Major 

 Fa u rax died afterward from the effects of his 

 wounds. The expeditionary force after the bat- 

 tle continued the march up the river to Oboa. 

 The boats were attacked from'both banks of the 

 river on Sept. 28, but the Dahomeyans soon fled 

 from the murderous fire of the Legionaries and 

 the mitrailleuses on the gunboats. On Sept. 30 

 the French gunboat " Opale," which was return- 

 ing to Porto Novo, was suddenly attacked by 

 600 Dahomeyans, who killed 3 soldiers and 

 wounded several. For this the inhabitants were 

 punished by having their villages shelled, and 

 ','Ou riflemen landed and routed the Dahomeyans 

 at Donkolc. and there left the river and pressed 

 on steadily toward Cana, where Behanzin was 

 intrenched. Within 10 miles of Cana, between 

 Uebomedi and Katapu, Col. Dodds halted and 

 intrenched himself sufficiently to let his column 

 re-t safely. From the river to this point a road 

 had been cut for the entire distance, the horses 

 and guns were got through with the greatest 

 difficulty, and great skill and vigilance were re- 

 quired to keep the host of porters from stran- 

 gling otT with their burdens, and to protect 

 them and the artillery from the incessant at- 

 tacks that the I>ahoi-,ieyans made on them in the 

 bush. The savages, when repelled, were not 

 beaten, but returned to the attack as soon as 

 they could form again. When the French cr 

 to the right bank of the Uemi, the Dahomey- 

 ans contested their progress at the beginning 

 of the march through the forest from Oboa in a 

 desperate battle that was fought on Oct. 4. The 

 enemy occupied a strong position, but the French 



nabled by means of a road cut through tilt- 

 wood to execute a flank movement, and under 

 the protection of a thick bush that surrounded 

 the Dahomeyan camp to deploy their forces be- 

 fore they were attacked. The battle lasted three 

 hours, at the end of which the Dahomeyans fled 

 in disorder, leaving 200 dead on the plain, in- 

 cluding 20 Amazons who fell within 10 yard- of 

 tin French line. On the French side 5 Legion- 

 aries and :i Senegalese were killed, and 23 Kun.- 

 peans an;l 13 natives wounded. On the field 

 were picked up 200 repeating rife-. |i w; ,~ 

 thought such rifles were still supplied to iVhan- 

 zin through the German colony of Togo after 

 the blockade had stopped importations by way 

 of Whydah. On the battle-field at Oboa shell's 

 marked with Krupp's name were found, and tw. 

 German ships that arrived at Little. Popo were 

 supposed to have unloaded ammunition, which 

 was conveyed along the French frontier to Tado. 

 and thence to Abomey. The Dahomeyans had 

 6 breech-loading guns at Oboa. They were com- 

 manded by Behanzin in person, and 6.000 war- 

 riors were engaged. The blacks on both sides 

 fought bravely, the Amazons with fury and as- 

 tonishing contempt of death. Undismayed by 

 the punishment they had received on the 4th, 

 the Dahomeyans sharply attacked a scouting 

 party on Oct. 6. In a skirmish that took place 

 on Oct. 15, Capt. Marmet, Col. Dodds's orderly 

 officer, fell fighting. 



Many of the French troops fell ill and had to 

 be taken down to the hospital at Porto Novo. 

 To supply their places, re-enforcements were sent 

 on from Senegal. On Oct. 20 the French camp 

 at Akas was attacked by the whole strength of 

 the Dahomeyans, who continued their assaults 

 for two days. After they had been repelled 

 with heavy losses Behanzin proposed to come to 

 terms, but refused the preliminary condition of 

 an evacuation of the fortifications on the river 

 Koto. The French force having been strength- 

 ened meanwhile by re-enforcements, on Oct. 2(5 

 Col. Dodds advanced upon the enemy's fortified 

 positions. Two lines of intrenchments were car- 

 ried between Akas and the Koto, and on Oct. 

 27 the important line of fortifications on the 

 river at Kotopa was taken by assault, and the 

 main body of Behanzin's army was flung back 

 in confusion on Cana, within 2 kilometres of 

 which the French ceased their pursuit and 

 pitched their camp. On the French side 10 were 

 killed and 73 wounded. 



In the different encounters that had taken 

 place till now Behanzin had lost fully one half 

 of his army, and his remaining force was badly 

 demoralized. After resting his men. Col. Dodds. 

 on Nov. 2, attacked the fort at Muaco. near 

 Cana, and took it after a desperate resistance of 

 the natives. On Nov. 3 the Dahomeyan forces 

 attacked the French column before daybreak, 

 and were beaten off after four hours of hard 

 fighting, in which the French lost 1 officer and 

 6 men killed and 4 officers and 56 men wounded. 

 On Nov. 4 Cana was taken after a tierce re>i>t- 

 ance. In the attack 11 were killed and 42. of 

 whom 5 were French officers, were wounded. 

 The Senegalese and Spahis fought with great 

 steadiness. The porters, who had been drilled 

 and armed, proved worthless as combatants, 

 giving their attention chiefly to plunder. The 



