Here Your Mother May Dwell In Safety, And Here Shall Your Father's Skull Be Reverenced As It Ought To Be.

Come then, lay aside your fears, and lead us on against your enemies."

These enemies were in the bush, and hovering near Badagry, when Adooley and his generous friends sallied out against them. The fighting or rather skirmishing lasted many days, and many people, it is said, were slain on both sides. But the advantage was decidedly in favour of the Badagrians, whose superior knowledge of the district and secret paths of the wood, was of considerable service to them, enabling them to lie in ambush, and attack their enemies by surprise. The Lagos people at length gave up the unequal contest in despair, and returned to their own country. Adooley was thus left in quiet possession of an important and influential town, which declared itself independent of Lagos for ever. Since then various unsuccessful attempts have been made to compel the Badagrians to return to their allegiance. The latter, however, have bravely defended their rights, and in consequence their independency has been acknowledged by the neighbouring tribes.

In the year 1829, the warlike chief of Lagos died, and Adooley considering it to be a favourable opportunity for his re-assertion of his claims to the vacant "stool," as it is called, determined to do so, and assembled his faithful Badagrians for the purpose of making an attack on his native town. He imagined that as his brother was dead, he should experience little opposition from his countrymen; but he soon discovered that he had formed an erroneous opinion, for almost at his very outset, he met with a stout resistance. His brother had left an infant son, and him the people declared to be his legitimate heir, and unanimously resolved to support him.

The sanguine invaders were repulsed, and entirely defeated, notwithstanding their tried bravery and utter contempt of danger; and were forced to return home in confusion without having accomplished any thing. In this unfortunate expedition Bombanee and all the principal warriors were slain. A similar attempt has been made on Lagos more than once, and with a similar result. On the arrival of the Landers at Badagry, Adooley was but just recovering from the effects of these various mortifications and other disasters; and singular enough, he had the artfulness, as has been previously noticed, of laying the whole blame of them to his having permitted the last African mission to pass through his territories, contrary to the wishes of his neighbours, and those, who were interested in the matter.

Justice is not unfrequently administered at Badagry by means of a large wooden cap, having three corners, which is placed on the head of the culprit at the period of his examination. This fantastic piece of mechanism, no doubt by the structure of internal springs, may be made to move and shake without any visible agent, on the same principle as the enchanted Turk, or any other figure in our puppet shows.

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