Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/801

Rh DAHOMEY 765 sand, varying in width and height, but sufficient to prevent the incursions of the sea except at a few points, of which the channels of Great Popo and Lagos are well denned. Behind the sand-bank runs a lagoon affording carriage along almost the whole coast. A line drawn from the coast at Appi northwards to Abomey would represent roughly the almost imperceptible water-shed of the country, dividing the two systems of drainage which communicate with the sea at Great Popo and Lagos respectively. Recent charts show two vast lakes, the Avon and the Denham waters, extending many miles inland, and communicating with the lagoon which skirts the coast-line, but it is now certain that the extent of these lakes has been much exaggerated, and that the greater portion of what has been considered as navigable water is really low-lying land, more or less marshy according to the season of the year, and intersected by rivers and streams. The steamer &quot; Eko &quot; from Badagry ascended the Whemi river for a considerable distance in the autumn of 187G, and found plenty of water; while M. Gun- levin, a French naval officer, who some years ago penetrated to the same river at Kassa near Abomey, not many mile s farther up in the month of April, that is during the dry season, reported that there was then little water in the stream, 1 The whole question of the geography of this coast is very fully discussed by the Abbe Borghero in a letter explaining the discrepancies between the English maps and his own. The letter is published in the Bulletin de la Societe de Geographic of July 1866. The subject has considerable interest in connection with recent events on the Slave Coast, and in regard to the possible extension of the British protectorate over the interval of coast-line which now separates the two sections of the Gold Coast Colony. The sketch which illustrates this article is based upon M. Borghero s map, but it differs from it in the important particular of the position of Abomey. The latitude now assigned has been determined by a careful comparison of the itineraries of all the principal travellers, and the length of the route is found to correspond exactly with that given by Commodore Wilmot in 1862. It is a singular fact that the distance of Abomey from the coast, according to the accounts of successive travellers, has been gradually diminishing from 200 miles in 1724 to the present esti mate. The longitude of Abomey is undetermined, but preference has been given to the English accounts which place it slightly more to the west than the French map. Communication. The interior of Dahomey is traversed by road a extending from Whydah to Abomey, the capital, a distance of 65 miles. The road, for the first 40 miles, lies through forest, gradually increasing in density to the edge of the Agrime, or Great Swamp. Round the villages, and here and there in the forest, clearings are met with, cultivated in places, but in others now partially overgrown. The soil is naturally fertile, and there is evidence of former prosperity, but everywhere the process of depopulation is apparent, and the country is described as a luxuriant wilderness. The swarnp which is supposed to connect the marshes at the head of the Avon and Denham waters is seven or eight miles broad. It is covered with stunted trees and its surface is rough and uneven. So far as any movement of its waters has been observed, it drains towards the west. The passage is attended by considerable difficulties during 1 More recently Mr Dumaresq, the late administrator of Lagos, who was on board the &quot; Eko,&quot; when it explored the Whemi after the rains of 1876, has again ascended the river for 20 miles in an open boat for the purpose of ascertaining the depth of water during the dry season. He is reported to have found it to average 2 fathoms, but with a depth cf 34 feet only on the bar at the entrance of the river. The breadth was 150 yards, and the stream was free from swamps. It mxist, however, ^e remarked that the character of the river in the latitude of the Agrime swamp remains still undetermined. the rainy months, but in dry seasons it is scarcely distin guishable from the rest of the route. There are two known tracks across the swamp. The right is the more direct of the two ; it passes through Akpwe&quot; and Agrim6. The left road, said to be slightly longer owing to the obligation imposed upon all travellers to halt at Cana, branches off at Henvi, and enters the marsh at Toffo ; it is used in the rainy season, the passage of the swamp being less difficult at this point. The &quot; koh.&quot; or swamp, once passed, the difficulties of the journey are left behind, and the character of the country undergoes a complete change ; instead of dense forest and dismal swamps, a vast and gently undulating plain, with a gradual ascent towards the Kong Mountains, stretches out as far as the eye can reach. The approach to Cana has been described by several travellers as one of much beauty. Port and Towns. The principal seaport is Wliydah. It is situated on the north bank of the coast lagoon about two miles from the sea. There is no harbour at the beach, and landing is effected in boats made expressly to paws through the surf, which is here particularly heavy. The town is two miles long and half a mile deep, and has about 12,000 inhabitants. There are five quarters, the English, French, Portuguese, Brazilian, and native, and the three first have the remains of once formidable forts. Cana is the country residence of the king ; the town straggles over three miles of ground, but the precincts include more field than habitation, the population being from 4000 to 5000. The distance from Cana to Abomey is eight miles ; the road, apparently level, has an imper ceptible rise the whole vay ; it is 20 yards broad and is kept carefully clear of grass. Abomey. The site of the capital is a rolling plain, nearly surrounded by marsh, and terminating in short bluffs to the north-west, where it is bounded by a long depression. Scattered over this hollow are the principal pans which scantily supply the city with water. For some reason visitors are not permitted to approach this quarter, and it was only by infringing the royal commands that Captain Burton, setting out at 4 o clock one misty morning, was able to explore it. The city is about eight miles in cir cumference. The enceinte consists of a ditch 5 feet deep, filled with a dense growth of prickly acacia, the usual defence of West African strongholds. It is entered by six gates, which are simply clay walls, with two apertures, built across the roads leading into the town. Within the walls are several royal palaces, a market-place, a large square containing the barracks, &c., many cultivated farms and several large wastes ; and outside the gates on the south there is a suburb with three other palaces. Notwithstand ing the great area occupied by the habitations, the popula tion is estimated by Burton at not more than 12,000, or about the same as that of Whydah, which only covers one- sixth of the area. Mahee country. From Abomey a road leads across a marsh northwards into the Mahee country, which is entered about 30 miles from the capital, and extends in a series of gradually rising terraces to the heart of the Kong Moun tains. It is a rugged country of varied surface, and pro duces iron ore, which is smelted and worked up into agricultural and other implements. The mahogany tree and the African oak abound, and the much esteemed shea- butter tree is met with : the cotton plant is indigenous. The towns are built on the level summits of the hills with a view to defence. Productions. The soil of Dahomey proper is naturally fertile, and is capable of being highly cultivated. It con sists of a rich clay of a deep red colour. Finely powdered quartz and yellow mica are met with, denoting the deposit of disintegrated granite from the interior. The principal