The Brothers Agreed To Decide The Quarrel By The Sword, And Having Come To A General Engagement, The Partizans Of The Younger Were Completely Routed, And Fled With Their Leader Before The Victorious Arms Of The Opposing Party.

Fearing the result of this contest, Adooley, with a spirit of filial piety, which is not rare amongst savages,

And is truly noble, dug out of the earth, wherein it had been deposited, the skull of his father, and took it along with him in his flight, in order that it might not be dishonoured in his absence, for he loved his father with extraordinary tenderness, and cherished his memory as dearly as his own life. The headless body of the venerable chief, like those of his ancestors, had been sent to Benin, in order that its bones might adorn the sacred temple at that place, agreeably to an ancient and respected custom, which has ever been religiously conformed to, and tenaciously held by the Lagos people. But Adooley displayed at the same time another beautiful trait of piety and filial tenderness. At the period of his defeat, he had an aged and infirm mother living, and her he determined to take with him, let the consequences be what they might. With his accustomed foresight, he had previously made a kind of cage or box, in case there should be a necessity for removing her. His father's skull having been disinterred and secured, he implored his mother to take immediate advantage of this cage, as the only means of escaping with life.

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