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GJoraell Httt08tBitg iGihrarg 
 
 3tt)aca, Nero fork 
 
 
THE 
 
 ASHANTEE CAMPAIGN 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 A.SHANTEE CAMPAIGN 
 
 BY 
 
 WINWOOD READE 
 
 The ' Times' Special Correspondent 
 
 LONDON 
 SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE 
 
 1874 
 
 vJ 
 
 [A II rights reserved] 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 As five other books on the Ashantee War 
 have been announced or have already ap- 
 peared, the preface to a work on that subject 
 ought to be apologetic ; and my apology for 
 writing on an over- written subject is this, that 
 it was my fortune to see more fighting than 
 any one else in the Expedition, excepting a 
 few officers in the native regiments. More- 
 over no other writer, military or civil, witnessed 
 either of these three events — the storming of 
 Amoaful by the Black Watch ; the storming 
 of Ordahsu by the Rifle Brigade ; or the taking 
 of Coomassie by Sir Archibald Alison and 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 Col. McLeod. I witnessed all three events, 
 and therefore venture to believe that my 
 personal experiences ought to be recorded 
 as a contribution to the history of the 
 Campaign. 
 
London: SmjUi. KI.Iit & Co:. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PACE 
 
 I. The Gold Coast r 
 
 II. The Ashantees . . . . . . 16 
 
 III. The First Ashantee War . . . .49 
 
 IV. The Protectorate . . . . . . 62 
 
 V. The Dutch- • ■ . -70 
 
 VI. The European Captives .... 84 
 
 VII. The Invasion 104 
 
 VIII. The Departure 117 
 
 IX. The Arrival 145 
 
 X. Wolseley's Reconnaissance . . .156 
 
 XI. Essaman 16S 
 
 XII. Concerted Movements . . . .184 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XIII. Abrakrampa '9 1 
 
 XIV. The Transport 229 
 
 XV. The Prah -245 
 
 XVI. Negotiations 275 
 
 XVII. Amoaful 3°° 
 
 XVIII. Becqua 3'7 
 
 XIX. Ordahsu 33° 
 
 XX. COOMASSIE 342 
 
 XXI. Captain Glover 374 
 
 XXII. The End of the Campaign ... 391 
 
 XXIII. The Future of the Gold Coast . . 404 
 Appendix 423 
 
THE 
 
 ASHANTEE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 In 1870 I was staying at Odumassie, near 
 the Volta, with one of the Basle missionaries. 
 My host belonged to a type not uncommon, 
 perhaps, in Germany, but rarely to be met 
 with elsewhere. Before he was inspired by 
 that impulse of religion and romance which 
 decided his career, he had exercised the call- 
 ing of a baker : yet not only was he a Greek and 
 Hebrew scholar, but he had also the manners 
 of a man of the world, and took an ardent 
 interest in the problems of the day. I often 
 look back to that visit with pleasure. In the 
 
2 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 morning we breakfasted early, somewhat in 
 the country fashion, to which, as an old 
 African traveller, I was thoroughly accus- 
 tomed. Our beverage was a kind of coffee, 
 prepared from the pods of a seed-bearing 
 plant, the virtues of which my excellent host 
 had discovered. We then went to our books. 
 After dark we used to chat over a bottle of 
 red Rhine wine on such subjects as the future 
 union of Germany, the conversion of Africa, 
 or the Darwinian theory. 
 
 On the manners and customs of the 
 natives, my friend possessed rich stores of 
 information, which he poured forth in clear 
 and eloquent English an hour at a time. 
 Sometimes he spoke of his brethren who had 
 been taken captive to Coomassie. 
 
 One morning he brought me a stone 
 which had evidently been shaped by human 
 hands into the image of an axe. It was so 
 small as rather to resemble a toy or model 
 than a real implement of work ; yet such in 
 past ages it had been. With these miserable 
 tools the ancestors of the white men, the 
 yellow men, the red men, and the black men, 
 had hewed down the oaks of Europe, the 
 
THE GOLD COAST. 3 
 
 cedars of Asia, the pines of America, and 
 the huge silk-cotton trees of Negroland. 
 Not only are these stone implements dug 
 up all over the world, but all over the world 
 they are supposed by the common people to 
 be thunderbolts. As regards West Africa 
 this belief is easily explained. The Stone 
 Age is there comparatively recent, and many 
 axes are merely covered by the upper soil. 
 After heavy storms of rain, which are usually 
 accompanied by thunder and lightning, this 
 upper soil being washed away, the stone im- 
 plements are found lying on the ground, and 
 so seem to have fallen from the sky. How- 
 ever, the ' stone which Mr. Zimmermann 
 showed me had been dug up in his yard at 
 some little depth below the surface. He in- 
 formed me that he had sent specimens to the 
 missionary museum at Basle, and I after- 
 wards discovered that two specimens from 
 Christiansborg (while that fort was under the 
 Danes) had been sent to the Copenhagen 
 collection, which is unrivalled in the world 
 for its relics of the Age of Stone. But I 
 was the first to bring stone implements from 
 Western Africa to England ; and being thus 
 
4 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 put upon the scent, obtained large numbers 
 at two other missionary stations — Akropong 
 and Abure. 
 
 The next time I saw a stone implement 
 was in the tent of Mr. Kiihne, at Prahsu. He 
 had found it on an Ashantee altar, or shrine, 
 as he was on his way from Coomassie to the 
 camp. I asked my interpreter if he' had ever 
 seen one before ; he replied they were ' found 
 everywhere,' and I made a small collection 
 during the march through Ashantee. When 
 the troops took a village, I always hunted for 
 this kind of plunder. Sometimes I found the 
 stone hanging before doorways at the end of 
 a string, like a plummet, and often it would 
 be daubed over with chalk. The natives re- 
 gard these stones with superstitious reverence, 
 call them God-axes, and believing that all 
 things sacred are medicinal, grind from them 
 a powder which they use for rheumatism and 
 other complaints. 
 
 It may be assumed that the. Africans 
 of the Stone Age were of a low order in 
 the human scale. Perhaps they lived on 
 nests or platforms in the trees, dressed their 
 bodies with dirt in the daytime, slept in 
 
THE GOLD COAST. 5 
 
 a night-gown of warm ashes, hunted and 
 fought with stakes, the points of which were 
 hardened in the fire, and dined on roots, shell- 
 fish, snails, caterpillars, grasshoppers, white 
 ants and prisoners of war. Even a know- 
 ledge of iron, and skill in its manufacture, is 
 not incompatible with the still extant practices 
 mentioned above. Mohammed-el-Tounsy, an 
 intelligent Arab traveller (whose works, 
 translated into French, should be carefully 
 studied by ethnologists), gives some descrip- 
 tion of those forest-tribes of the equator which 
 are hunted every year by the slave-catchers 
 of Waday, and, as he justly observes, it is a 
 most singular fact that these people, so savage 
 and debased, nevertheless produce beautiful 
 iron weapons and tools, which can only be 
 compared with those that are made by the 
 English. The finest specimens of native 
 cutlery that I have seen myself, came from 
 some low bush-tribe behind Monrovia ; the 
 knife-blades were engraved with tasteful 
 designs, and were purchased at a heavy price 
 by the other native tribes as works of art. 
 The cannibal Fans of the Gaboon, who are 
 primitive enough in their habits, wearing only 
 
6 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 small aprons of goat-skin or bark, are ex- 
 ceedingly skilful as blacksmiths, and have 
 even an iron currency. It is impossible to 
 say where and how this art originated. The 
 African bellows are different from the Asiatic 
 kind, and are found all over, the continent; it 
 is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that 
 the. Africans discovered for themselves the art 
 of smelting iron ore, and that the art was 
 conveyed, by means of tribal migrations and 
 wandering guilds of blacksmiths, from one 
 part of Negroland to another. Certain it is 
 that wherever iron exists in Africa it is 
 worked ; and so abundant is it on the Gold 
 Coast, that the slugs used by the Ashantees 
 were chiefly bits of iron stone. Now, the dis- 
 covery of iron would soon be followed by the 
 discovery of gold in countries where that 
 metal might exist, and in such countries gold- 
 dust, instead of iron, would become the cur- 
 rency. Gold-dust on the Gold Coast is the 
 money of the land : a periguin is 46 dollars, 
 nearly 10/.: an ounce is 3/. 12^.: an ackie is 
 half-a-crown. But the natives are so well 
 acquainted with the precious metal, that I 
 have seen them buy plantains with less than a 
 
THE GOLD COAST. 7 
 
 farthing's worth of gold, putting one or two 
 grains on the tip of a knife. 
 
 I have shown that the knowledge of iron 
 does not do much by itself to raise the con- 
 dition and culture of the savage : but it is very 
 different with gold. From Cape Palmas to 
 Accra it is all one great forest ; the physical 
 features are everywhere identical ; and there 
 is no reason to doubt that the natives of this 
 forest tract had the same origin. Yet the 
 natives to the west of Assinie (where the gold 
 ceases) are ages behind the natives of the 
 Gold Coast. The villages of the seaboard con- 
 tribute the Kroos, a useful class of labourers, 
 to the ships and factories. Everybody knows 
 what uncouth savages they are when they 
 first go to sea ; but these villagers of the 
 beach, savage as they are, look with contempt 
 on their brethren of the bush. I have tra- 
 velled among these people (they would not 
 let me go very far), and found them no better 
 than the bush-tribes of Gaboon. Every 
 village was a kingdom ; at every thirty miles 
 another dialect was spoken — that surest sign 
 of barbarism : prisoners of war were eaten, 
 but not women, ' because they were tough ; ' 
 
8 THE GOLD COAST, 
 
 it was forbidden by the fetish to kill the" 
 chimpanzee, because he was ' too near ; ' con- 
 sidered in fact as a man and a brother. I 
 found that warfare was chronic, that no man 
 travelled more than a day's journey from his 
 village, that commerce, except within such 
 limits, did not exist, and that exploration was 
 impossible. Even the Moslem traders who 
 inhabit the open country beyond the forest- 
 belt, have never penetrated into that poor 
 and inhospitable land. But on the Gold 
 Coast the natives are not uncivilised ; it is 
 scarcely correct to call them savages ; one 
 language, the Oji, is spoken over a vast area ; 
 organised kingdoms exist. In the forest of 
 the Kroos iron is in use, but gold is unknown ; 
 and it is doubtless the knowledge of gold 
 which by means of commerce has raised the 
 people of the Gold Coast from that early and 
 rude condition in which their neighbours still 
 remain. 
 
 We have a strange but sure proof that 
 even in very ancient times the Gold Coast 
 was indirectly connected with the civilised 
 world. It is the custom in Western Africa 
 f o bury articles of value with the dead ; and 
 
THE GOLD COAST. 9 
 
 certain beads or bugles are often disinterred 
 upon the Gold Coast. 
 
 These aggry beads are of Egyptian or 
 Phoenician manufacture, and are probably 
 glass mosaics. The artists of Birmingham 
 cannot imitate them with success, an attempt 
 which has been frequently made, for they are 
 the precious stones of the country, and sell 
 for their weight in gold. It is a law of 
 Ashantee that if an aggry bead is broken in 
 a scuffle, seven slaves must be paid to the 
 owner. 1 As these beads are usually found at 
 some distance from the sea, it may be in- 
 ferred that they were brought by the over- 
 land route ; and in fact it never could have 
 paid the Carthaginians to traffic with Guinea 
 by sea, though undoubtedly they had sailed 
 along its shores. With a land trade it was 
 very different : the Egyptians and Phoenicians 
 themselves had no occasion to cross the con- 
 tinent ; they sold their goods to the Berbers, 
 who sold them to the blacks south of the 
 Sahara, and so they were passed on from 
 tribe to tribe. Just as English calicoes pene- 
 trate into parts of Africa which are quite in- 
 
 1 Bowdich. 
 
io THE GOLD COAST, 
 
 accessible to English travellers ; so the linen 
 of Egypt, the scarlet cloth of Carthage, and 
 the beads manufactured in both countries, 
 found their way to the Gold Coast ; and as a 
 tusk of ivory obtained in the unknown land 
 to the west of Lake Tanganyika, or behind 
 the Fans of the Gaboon, finally arrives at 
 Liverpool or Hamburg, so the gold of 
 Guinea was transported across the regions 
 watered by the Niger and the Nile, across 
 the fiery desert, and at last, worked up into 
 ornaments, flashed' upon the brow of a 
 Sophonisba or Rhodopis. 
 
 The aggry beads, though only to be found 
 by accident, are yet very plentiful, which 
 proves that in those days the trade of the 
 Gold Coast was flourishing and active. Such 
 a trade would destroy the spirit of non-inter- 
 course prevailing to the present day among 
 the bush-tribes on the west. There would be 
 a tendency to centralise : the clans would 
 gather into tribes, the tribes into nations : the 
 market-places would grow into cities colonised 
 from different regions : the language of trade 
 would become dominant Then again, the 
 access of wealth from commerce would pro- 
 
THE GOLD COAST. n 
 
 duce an important revolution. The owners 
 of the gold-land would purchase slaves in large 
 numbers ; thus a Patrician order # would be 
 formed, and the descendants of the slaves, 
 becoming freedmen, would constitute the 
 People. The wives of the former class being 
 no longer compelled to work in the planta- 
 tions, would become more refined in feature 
 and in form, while slaves who displayed an 
 aptitude for art would be encouraged by their 
 masters to cultivate the talents they possessed. 
 Those mural arabesques and crimson base- 
 ments which we found in the best houses 
 at Fomana and Coomassie, do not exist in 
 the semi-oriental cities — Timbuctoo, Kano, 
 Sokoto, and Kukawa. They seem to be 
 original, and were possibly prior to that 
 civilising movement, which must now be 
 described. 
 
 The Egyptians did not travel beyond the 
 limits of their valley ; the world came to , 
 them. The Greeks of Alexandria penetrated 
 into Abyssinia, but never reached Central 
 Africa, and Ptolemy must have obtained his 
 materials from negro traders and captured 
 slaves. The Carthaginians merely occupied 
 
12 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 Algeria ; the Romans and their successors* 
 the Byzantine Greeks, did not invade the 
 lands beyond the Desert. But when the 
 Arabs conquered Egypt and Northern Africa, 
 they not only occupied those countries and 
 converted its natives to the Faith, they also 
 navigated the great Dry Ocean on their 
 camels, discovered the Niger and settled in 
 Timbuctoo. At first they were merely mis- 
 sionaries : they preached the Koran, and 
 worked miracles, 1 but chiefly spread their 
 religion by means of the school. After a 
 time, in all the great negro cities, a Moslem 
 quarter was established under its own Sheik ; 
 and when the converts were numerous enough 
 the Sheik proclaimed a Holy War. In the 
 same manner negroes went forth to other 
 negro lands wearing the turban and the tobe, 
 Arabs in all but their colour and their name. 
 In a few centuries the vast prairie plateau 
 of the Niger was conquered or converted to 
 the Moslem creed, and, what was of far more 
 consequence, adopted the manners and cus- 
 toms of the East. The negro nations of the 
 Niger lands dwell in walled towns, cultivate 
 
 1 Notices et Exlraits de la Bibliothique du Roi, torn. xii. 
 
THE GOLD COAST. 13 
 
 and manufacture cotton, ride on horseback, 
 read and write their own languages, using the 
 Arab character, and also study Arabic, which 
 is to them what Latin was to Europe in the 
 Middle Ages ; partly a sacred language, partly 
 a means of intercourse between nations far 
 apart. Thousands of negroes make every 
 year the pilgrimage to Mecca ; negro pro- 
 phets have often arisen and founded military 
 empires. The conversion of Soudan, it is 
 needless to say, has greatly facilitated com- 
 merce ; intercourse became more frequent and 
 familiar among nations who worshipped the 
 same God, and were governed by the same 
 code of laws. 
 
 Now it is to be remarked that the Mos- 
 lems have never been able to conquer except 
 where cavalry can be used. They have 
 scarcely entered the country lying west of the 
 Niger (in its lower course), for there begins 
 that vast and unknown forest which probably 
 extends without an oasis of open land to the 
 Great Lakes of the equator. In the same 
 manner the marshy delta of the Niger and 
 the bush-regions of the Guinea Coast' are 
 still in the hands of pagan chiefs. 
 
14 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 The natives of the Gold Coast, secure in 
 their, stronghold, the Forest, preserved their 
 independence and their barbarism. But still 
 they were not uninfluenced by the great re- 
 volution of Central Africa. The increase of 
 trade augmented their wealth, and the art of 
 cotton-weaving was introduced among them. 
 Henceforth they discarded the apron and 
 assumed the robe. 
 
 I apply the term Gold Coast to that forest 
 belt which extends inland from the sea rather 
 more than two hundred miles. Formerly 
 those tribes which dwelt on the border of the 
 Plain possessed a commercial advantage and 
 were probably more civilised than the people 
 of the seaboard. Moreover the gold mines 
 were also situated at some days' journey from 
 the shore. But the sea had also its wealth. 
 Salt is an ingredient of life : people who eat 
 no salt sicken and die. The 'beachmen' 
 enjoyed the monopoly of this precious mineral 
 and boiled it in large quantities for the inland 
 trade. They also had smoked fish to sell, 
 and certain shells prized as ornaments. But 
 a time was at hand when those salt-boilers 
 
THE QOLD COAST. 15 
 
 and fishermen would become the merchant 
 princes of the land. 
 
 We now reach the European period of 
 Gold Coast history ; and here its true history 
 begins. The pagan nations have no written 
 chronicles, and savage traditions are fabu- 
 lous or modern. As yet my only guides 
 have been analogy and inference ; but now 
 we step forth into the light. We open a 
 book, composed in the fifteenth century— 
 ' Azurara, Chronica da Guine.' We see be- 
 fore us a native village, afterwards called 
 Elmina ; we see the caravels at anchor in the 
 roadstead, and a boat passing through the 
 surf, and knights in armour landing, followed 
 by men with harquebusses on their shoulders, 
 and natives covered with gold ornaments 
 coming down to meet them on the sandy 
 beach. 
 
i6 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 Take up Strabo and Diodorus of Sicily, 
 Pliny, Ptolemy, Pomponius Mela, read what 
 they say about Africa, and it will clearly be 
 perceived that they knew very little about 
 the countries south of the Sahara. At the 
 best they had a vague notion that there was 
 an inhabited region beyond the Great Desert, 
 and that it was watered by a river called the 
 Niger, which some supposed to be a tributary 
 of the Nile. It was almost universally be- 
 lieved that the equator was a torrid zone, or 
 fiery belt girdling the earth, and dividing by 
 an impassable barrier the people of the north 
 from the people of the south. The negroes 
 dwelt on the borders of this burning land ; 
 and it could plainly be seen how their skin 
 was blackened and their hair frizzled by the 
 
THE ASHANTEES. J17 
 
 heat. This theory of a torrid zone was in- 
 herited by mediaeval Europe, and in the 
 fifteenth century everyone supposed that the 
 inhabited world came to an end at the Sahara. 
 Yet Arabs and Spanish Moors, some of them 
 men of culture and learning, had crossed the 
 Sahara, and had found great negro kingdoms 
 existing, on the banks of the Niger. Ibn 
 Batuta, one of the greatest travellers who 
 ever lived, had given some chapters of his 
 book to Negroland. But such authorities were 
 not accessible to the Christians of Portugal 
 and Spain ; the Peninsular Crusade had 
 opened a gulf between the learned men of 
 the East and of the West, and by war alone 
 the existence of Guinea was finally revealed. 
 In 141 5 the Portuguese took Ceuta, and a 
 young prince who was present at the siege 
 questioned some of the prisoners about the 
 geography of Africa. He then learnt to his 
 astonishment that beyond the Sahara to the 
 south was a fertile and well-populated country, 
 rich in ivory and gold. It was called the 
 Land of the Blacks, and could be reached 
 either by sea or land. 
 
 The Portuguese dwelling on the shores 
 c 
 
1 8 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 of the Atlantic were excluded from that 
 Indian trade which the merchants of Pisa, 
 Genoa, Florence, Barcelona, Marseilles, and 
 above all, Venice, carried on with Egypt and 
 the Black Sea. Finding is keeping was the 
 proverb of the day, applied to continents and 
 oceans ; and though it was not till some time 
 afterwards that the prince had the idea of 
 seeking a sea-route to the Indies along the 
 coast of Africa, he at once saw the advantage 
 of finding a golden land which Portugal might 
 monopolise. He was also a man of piety and 
 zeal, by profession a military monk, Grand 
 Master of the Order of Christ ; he believed 
 in the dogma (since then abandoned by the 
 Church) that no heathen could be saved ; and 
 his heart yearned towards that unknown 
 multitude of nations doomed to eternal tor- 
 ments unless they were baptised. He deter- 
 mined to devote his life to the discovery of 
 Guinea. 
 
 Those who sail in the P. and O. steamers 
 to Gibraltar may observe, if they pass it by 
 daylight, a cape called Sagres, with a light- 
 house and telegraph station. There the 
 prince, in a lonely castle, took up his abode. 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 19 
 
 No spot could be more bleak and desolate. 
 The sea dashing furiously against the base 
 of the cliff flung spray across the land and 
 withered up all vegetation. Only a few 
 junipers with rusted foliage grew upon the 
 cape. But there the prince lived in seclu- 
 sion and peace ; there ' the sight of the ocean 
 continually inflamed his thoughts.' In his 
 castle was formed a strange kind of court : 
 Italian cosmographers, German mathemati- 
 cians, knights seeking peril and adventure, 
 weatherbeaten pilots, were those by whom he 
 was surrounded. He built an observatory and 
 laid the foundations of nautical science : from 
 Lagos, the neighbouring port, he sent forth 
 vessels with the cross of the order painted on 
 their sails. But the priests and people pro- 
 tested against his enterprise ; they declared 
 that the revenues of the order were being 
 wasted on the dreams of a madman, and 
 that his expeditions were fit for nothing 
 except to make widows and orphans. The 
 king, however, supported the views of his 
 brother, and the discovery of Madeira was 
 followed by that of the River Senegal, which 
 divides the brown men of the desert from the 
 c 2 
 
20 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 black men of Soudan. Before the prince 
 died his vessels had reached Sierra Leone ; 
 a regular' trade with Guinea was established ', 
 every year new regions were added to the 
 Ci'own ; a Bull had been obtained granting to 
 the Portuguese all lands they might discover 
 to the Indies, inclusive; and the prince had 
 received the gratitude of his country, with 
 the illustrious title of Henry the Navigator. 
 
 The Portuguese had purchased some 
 gold-dust from the Moors on the coast of the 
 Sahara, probably brought from the mines of 
 Bambouk, Upper Senegal. But they found 
 no gold on the Guinea coast till they came to 
 a village called Chamah. At another village 
 twelve miles eastward of Chamah, the natives 
 had so much gold that the Portuguese gave it 
 the name of El Mina or The Mine. There 
 they established their first settlement, and 
 built a noble fort which yet remains. It has' 
 been consecrated by the footsteps of Colum- 
 bus, who once sailed in the Portuguese service 
 to Elmina : it was taken from the Portuguese 
 by the famous Admiral De Ruyter ; and its 
 recent cession to Great Britain by the Dutch 
 was a cardinal cause of the Ashantee war. 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 21 
 
 The Portuguese bought gold, with vel- 
 vets, hawks' bells, knives, and woollen cloths. 
 They also bought slaves in the Bight of Benin 
 and sold them at a profit to the wealthy na- 
 tives of Elmina. But the discovery of India 
 was fatal to Guinea ; and no attempt was made 
 to conquer or colonise the country. On the 
 other hand, the discovery of America created 
 a demand for slave labour, and this demand 
 was enormously increased when the northern 
 nations invaded the monopoly of Portugal 
 and Spain. In the semi-piratical wars of the 
 tropics the Portuguese were driven from the 
 Gold Coast, which then was divided between 
 the Dutch, the English, the Danes, and the 
 French. Even the Electorate of Branden- 
 burgh had its African Company and Coast 
 settlements. Between Assinie and the Volta 
 the seaboard was lined with factory forts under 
 the flags of these Powers, which thus supplied 
 with slaves their respective American planta- 
 tions. The slaves were brought down to the 
 seaboard in coffles or chained companies : they 
 were stored in the dungeons of the fort until 
 a vessel arrived ; they were then brought forth 
 and carefully examined by the surgeon of the 
 
22 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 ship : the sound men were marked with a red- 
 hot iron which stamped the Company's arms 
 upon their skin ; and they were then shipped 
 for the New World. 
 
 There was also an active commerce in 
 gold-dust; and the word guinea is derived 
 from that part of Africa. As time went on, 
 the natives became completely dependent on 
 Europe for all luxuries, and even some neces- 
 saries of life, for the rum which they drank, 
 the tobacco they smoked, the clothes they 
 wore, and the weapons they used in the battle 
 and the chase. Two hundred years ago the 
 bow and arrow had gone out of vogue, and 
 flintlocks alone were in use ; they also cele- 
 brated their funerals, their weddings, and all 
 important ceremonies and events with the 
 firing of muskets, sometimes continued for 
 days without intermission. Gunpowder be- 
 came necessary to them. 
 
 The slaves that were sold to the Euro- 
 pean forts were prisoners of war, and it will 
 therefore be understood that a commerce so 
 gigantic as that of the West Indies was fa- 
 vourable to the growth of war-making tribes. 
 Dahomey was created by the slave-trade, and 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 23 
 
 now that the slave-trade is over is rapidly 
 falling to decay. The Elminas, Fantees, 
 and Accras were merely middle-men ; the 
 slaves were hunted, as the gold was mined, 
 in the interior. Two great inland empires 
 arose, Denkera and Akim. The first ob- 
 tained Elmina as its port ; the second obtained 
 Accra, and each took from its port the Note 
 or ' custom ' which the Europeans had origi- 
 nally paid to the owners of the soil for 
 permission to settle and trade. But at an 
 early date in Gold Coast history both these 
 Powers were conquered by another military 
 kingdom which has since gained by its ambi- 
 tion and audacity a European reputation. 
 
 At the close of the seventeenth century 
 Ashantee was already a powerful state and 
 enjoyed access to the coast. At that time the 
 King of Denkera, according to Bosman, ' sent 
 some of his wives to compliment Zay the 
 King of Asiante, who not only received and 
 entertained them very civilly, but sent them 
 back, charged with very considerable presents, 
 to express his obliging resentment of the 
 grateful embassy.' Soon afterwards the King 
 Zay (probably the Sai Tootoo of Bowdich) 
 
24 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 sent some of his wives in the same manner to 
 compliment the King of Denkera, who fell in 
 love with one of them and gratified his pas- 
 sion. On the Gold Coast women are often 
 employed by their virtuous husbands to allure 
 rich men into intrigues for the sake of 
 damages, and Bowdich relates that in his time 
 the King of Ashantee had a handsome wife 
 whose sole conjugal duty was to inveigle the 
 chiefs her lord desired to ruin ; it is, there- 
 fore, just possible that the lady ambassa- 
 dor had received her ' instructions ' from the 
 king. Be that as it may, she reported the 
 matter on her return, and Zay at once declared 
 war. The King of Denkera offered a large 
 indemnity ; but Zay only waited to bring up 
 large quantities of powder from the coast. 
 The Dehkeras obtained the alliance of Akim, 
 and the Dutch lent them two or three pieces 
 of cannon. But the two armies were routed, 
 Denkera completely laid waste, and the can- 
 non carried off to Coomassie, where Bowdich 
 afterwards saw them adorning one of the 
 streets of the town. A Dutch officer was 
 sent to the Ashantee camp and was there 
 when Bosman was writing his letter ; he there- 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 25 
 
 fore could not mention the result ; but we 
 learn from Ashantee sources that Denkera 
 became tributary, and gave to Ashantee the 
 pay-note of Elmina. From that time to the 
 present day the Dutch and the natives of 
 Elmina remained faithful allies of Ashantee. 
 
 Colonel Festing's interpreter at Dunquah, 
 a most intelligent native, afterwards attached 
 to Sir Garnet's staff, informed me that the 
 Ashantees were originally vassals of Denkera, 
 and that being badly treated they rebelled 
 and won their independence. As this legend 
 is not mentioned by Bowdich, it will no doubt 
 be disputed. It is not, however, in itself im- 
 probable, for at that time Denkera was a 
 powerful kingdom, ' the object of common 
 hatred,' and ruling three other states, one of 
 which was Wassaw. There is also a passage 
 in Bosman which seems to support my in- 
 formant : ' Thus you see the towering pride 
 of Dinkira in ashes, they being forced to fly 
 before those whom they not long before 
 thought no better than their slaves, and them- 
 selves being now sold for slaves.' Bowdich 
 derived his history of Ashantee from the 
 Ashantees themselves, and they perhaps were 
 
26 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 too proud to acknowledge that they had once 
 been a tributary state. 
 
 The Ashantees, supplied with powder and 
 arms from Elmina, pursued their conquests 
 for a hundred years : war became the pro- 
 fession of the country : and it was made a 
 law that no king should receive the full 
 honours of a royal burial unless he had him- 
 self conducted a campaign. At the begin- 
 ning of the present century their power had 
 reached its culminating point. The open 
 country to the north had been invaded ; 
 Gaman was subdued ; the golden stool of 
 Buntookoo had been surrendered by the 
 king ; Dutch, Danish, and British flags were 
 displayed at Coomassie ; the Notes of all the 
 forts were paid to Ashantee. From Assinie 
 to the Volta the whole coast was in their 
 hands. They had besieged the fort of 
 Annamaboe, ' fighting up to the muzzles of 
 the guns ; M the English Governor, Colonel 
 Torrane, had basely purchased peace by sur- 
 rendering Cheboo, a rebel chief. At a later 
 date Cape Coast Castle had been blockaded, 
 and the Governor, ' to avert imminent danger,' 
 1 Meredith's Account of the Gold Coast. 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 27 
 
 had paid a heavy sum of gold. This last 
 event was in 18 r 6. At that time the forts 
 on the Gold Coast belonged to the Royal 
 African Company, and were governed by a 
 committee in London. It was thought ad- 
 visable to send an embassy to Coomassie ' to 
 deprecate these repeated calamities, and to 
 conciliate so powerful a monarch, and to pro- 
 pitiate an extension of commerce.' On the 
 22nd of April, 18 1 7, the mission left Cape 
 Coast Castle. Mr. Bowdich, one of its 
 junior, members, a clerk or writer in the 
 Company's service, wrote a work on his 
 return, which excited much attention in 
 England : it was reviewed by Sydney Smith 
 in the ' Edinburgh,' bitterly attacked in the 
 ' Quarterly,' and still remains the chief autho- 
 rity upon the manners and customs of the 
 land. We in the late campaign saw nothing 
 of the Ashantees except in battle, and we 
 saw very little of them there. 
 
 Bowdich started from Annamaboe, but soon 
 struck into that road which has now become 
 historical. Everywhere the villages had been 
 destroyed, and almost every night he had to 
 bivouac. At Mansu, the great slave-market 
 
28 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 of Fantee, only a few sheds were standing. 
 But when he had crossed the Prah, the beau- 
 ties of which he painted with a gorgeous 
 hand, he entered the country of Ashantee- 
 Assin, and slept every night in a neatly built 
 village, surrounded by plantations. He as- 
 cended the Moinsey or Adansi Hills, and 
 so entered Ashantee Proper. He passed 
 through Quisah and Fomana, the chief of 
 which town, guilty of some misdemeanour, 
 was calmly waiting his death-warrant from 
 the king. ' He conversed cheerfully with us, 
 congratulated himself on seeing white men 
 before he died, and spread his cloth over the 
 log with an emotion of dignity rather than 
 shame; his head arrived at Coomassie the 
 day after we had.' He then passed through 
 Doompassee and Datiasoo and Dadawissa, 
 Dadawassie, and Amafou (Amoaful), crossed 
 the Dah (Ordah) river and ' the marsh 
 which insulates Coomassie.' At two o'clock 
 on May 15 he entered that famous town, 
 passing under a fetish or sacrifice of a dead 
 sheep wrapped up in red silk and suspended 
 between two lofty poles. The description 
 which follows was compared by Sydney Smith 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 29 
 
 to a chapter of the Arabian Nights, and it is 
 worth giving as it stands, for probably no 
 Englishman will see the like again. The 
 42nd regiment when it entered Coomassie 
 was not honoured with a pageant, and gold 
 ornaments instead of being displayed with 
 ostentation were carefully concealed. Bow- 
 dich writes as follows : — 
 
 ' Upwards of 5,000 people, the greater 
 part warriors, met us with awful bursts of 
 martial music, discordant only in its mixture ; 
 for horns, drums, rattles, and gong-gongs were 
 all exerted with a zeal bordering on frenzy 
 to subdue us by the first impression. The 
 smoke which encircled us, from the incessant 
 discharges of musketry, confined our glimpses 
 to the foreground ; and Ave were halted whilst 
 the captains performed their Pyrrhic dance, 
 in the centre of a circle formed by their war- 
 riors, where a confusion of flags, English, 
 Dutch, and Danish, were waved and flourished 
 in all directions ; the bearers plunging and 
 springing from side to side, with a passion of 
 enthusiasm only equalled by the captains, 
 who followed them, discharging their shining 
 blunderbusses so close that the flags now and 
 
30 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 then were in a blaze ; and emerging from the 
 smoke with all the gesture and distortion of 
 maniacs. Their followers kept up the firing 
 around us in the rear. 
 
 ' The dress of the captains was a war-cap, 
 with gilded rams' horns projecting in front, 
 the sides extended beyond all proportion by 
 immense plumes of eagles' feathers, and fas- 
 tened under the chin with bands of cowries. 
 Their vest was of red cloth covered with 
 fetishes and saphies 1 in gold and silver, and 
 embroidered cases of almost every colour, 
 which flapped against their bodies as they 
 moved, intermixed with small brass bells, the 
 horns and tails of animals, shells, and knives ; 
 long leopards' tails hung down their backs 
 over a small bow covered with fetishes. They 
 wore loose cotton trousers, with immense 
 boots of a dull red leather, coming half-way 
 up the thigh, and fastened by small chains to 
 their cartouch or waist-belt ; these were also 
 ornamented with bells, horses' tails, strings of 
 amulets, and innumerable shreds of leather ; 
 a small quiver of poisoned arrows hung from 
 their right wrist, and they held a long iron 
 
 1 Scraps of Moorish writing, as charms against evil. 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 31 
 
 chain between their teeth, with a scrap of 
 Moorish writing affixed to the end of it. A 
 small spear was in their left hands, covered 
 with red cloth and silk tassels ; their black 
 countenances heightened the effect of this 
 attire, and completed a figure scarcely human. 
 ' This exhibition continued about half an 
 hour, when we were allowed to proceed, en- 
 circled by the warriors, whose numbers, with 
 the crowds of people, made our movement as 
 gradual as if it had taken place in Cheapside ; 
 the several streets branching off to the right 
 presented long vistas crammed with people, 
 and those on the left hand being on an ac- 
 clivity, innumerable rows of heads rose one 
 above another : the large open porches of 
 the houses, like the fronts of stages in small 
 theatres, were filled with the better sort of 
 females and children, all impatient to behold 
 white men for the first time ; their exclama- 
 tions were drowned in the firing and music, 
 but their gestures were in character with the 
 scene. When we reached the palace, about 
 half a mile from the place where we entered, 
 we were again halted, and an open file was 
 made, through which the bearers were passed, 
 
32 THE . ASHANTEES. 
 
 to deposit the presents and baggage in the 
 house assigned to us. Here we were gra- 
 tified by observing several of the caboceers 
 pass by with their trains, the novel splendour 
 of which astonished us. The bands, princi- 
 pally composed of horns and flutes, trained 
 to play in concert, seemed to soothe our hear- 
 ing into its natural tone again by their wild 
 melodies ; whilst the immense umbrellas, 
 made to sink and rise from the jerkings of 
 the bearers, and the large fans waving around, 
 refreshed us with small currents of air, under 
 a burning sun, clouds of dust, and a density 
 of atmosphere almost suffocating. We were 
 then squeezed, at the same funereal pace, up a 
 long street, to an open-fronted house, where 
 we were desired by a royal messenger to wait 
 a further invitation from the king. 
 
 ' Here our attention was forced from the 
 astonishment of the crowd to a most inhuman 
 spectacle, which was paraded before us for 
 some minutes ; it was a man whom they were 
 tormenting previous to sacrifice ; his hands 
 were pinioned behind him ; a knife was passed 
 through bis cheeks, to which his lips were 
 noosed like the figure of 8 ; one ear was cut 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 33 
 
 off and carried before him, the other hung to 
 his head by a small bit of skin ; there were 
 several gashes in his back, and a knife was 
 thrust under each shoulder-blade ; he was led 
 with a cord passed through his nose, by men 
 disfigured with immense caps of shaggy black 
 skins, and drums beat before him ; the feeling 
 this horrid barbarity excited must be ima- 
 gined. We were soon released by permission 
 to proceed to the king, and passed through 
 a very broad street, about a quarter of a mile 
 long, to the market-place. 
 
 ' Our observations en passant had taught 
 us to conceive a spectacle far exceeding our 
 original expectations ; but they had not pre- 
 pared us for the extent and display of the 
 scene which here burst upon us : an area of 
 nearly a mile in circumference was crowded 
 with magnificence and novelty. The king, 
 his tributaries, and captains, were resplendent 
 in the distance, surrounded by attendants 
 of every description, fronted by a mass of 
 warriors which seemed to make our approach 
 impervious. The sun was reflected, with a 
 glare scarcely more supportable than the heat, 
 from the massive gold ornaments which 
 
 D 
 
34 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 glistened in every direction. More than a 
 hundred bands burst at once on our arrival, 
 with the peculiar airs of their- several chiefs; 
 the horns flourished their defiances, with the 
 beating of innumerable drums and metal in- 
 struments, and then yielded for awhile to the 
 soft breathings of their long flutes, which 
 were truly harmonious ; and a pleasing in- 
 strument, like a bagpipe without the drone, 
 was happily blended. At least a hundred 
 large umbrellas, or canopies, which could 
 shelter thirty persons, were sprung up and 
 down by the bearers with brilliant effect, 
 being made of scarlet, yellow, and the most 
 showy cloths and silks, and crowned on the 
 top with crescents, pelicans, elephants, barrels, 
 and arms and swords of gold ; they were of 
 various shapes, but mostly dome ; and the 
 valances (in some of which small looking- 
 glasses were inserted) fantastically scalloped 
 and fringed ; from the fronts of some, the 
 proboscis and small teeth of elephants pro- 
 jected, and a few were roofed with leopards' 
 skins, and crowned with various animals natu- 
 rally stuffed. The state hammocks, like long 
 cradles, were raised in the rear, the poles on 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 35 
 
 the heads of the bearers ; the cushions and 
 pillows were covered with crimson taffeta, and 
 the richest cloths hung over the sides. Innu- 
 merable small umbrellas, of various coloured 
 stripes, were crowded in the intervals, whilst 
 several large trees heightened the glare by 
 contrasting the sober colouring of nature. 
 
 ' Discolor unde auri per ramos aura refulsit. 
 
 ' The king's messengers, with gold breast- 
 plates, made way for us, and we commenced 
 our round, preceded by the canes and the 
 English flag. We stopped to take the hand 
 of every caboceer, which, as their household 
 suites occupied several spaces in advance, 
 delayed us long enough to distinguish some 
 of the ornaments in the general blaze of 
 splendour and ostentation. 
 
 ' The caboceers, as did their superior cap- 
 tains and attendants, wore Ashantee cloths 
 of extravagant price, from the costly foreign 
 silks which had been unravelled to weave 
 them in all the varieties of colour as well as 
 pattern ; they were of an incredible size and 
 weight, and thrown over the shoulder exactly 
 
 like the Roman toga : a small silk fillet gene- 
 02 
 
36 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 rally encircled their temples, and massy gold 
 necklaces, intricately wrought, suspended 
 Moorish charms, dearly purchased, and en- 
 closed in small square cases of gold, silver, 
 and curious embroidery. Some wore neck- 
 laces reaching to the waist entirely of aggry 
 beads ; a band of gold and beads encircled 
 the knee, from which several strings of the 
 same depended ; small circles of gold, like 
 guineas, rings, and casts of animals, were 
 strung round their ankles ; their sandals were 
 of green, red, and delicate white leather ; ma- 
 nillas, and rude lumps of rock gold, hung 
 from their left wrists, which were so heavily 
 laden as to be supported on the head of one 
 of their handsomest boys. Gold and silver 
 pipes and canes dazzled the eye in every 
 direction. Wolves' and rams' heads as large 
 as life, cast in gold, were suspended from 
 their gold-handled swords, which were held 
 around them in great numbers ; the blades 
 were shaped like round bills, and rusted in 
 blood; the sheaths were of leopard-skin, or 
 the shell of a fish like shagreen. The large 
 drums supported on the head of one man, and 
 beaten by two others, were braced around 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 37 
 
 with the thigh-bones of their enemies, and 
 ornamented with their skulls. The kettle- 
 drums resting on the ground were scraped 
 with wet fingers, and covered with leopard's 
 skin. The wrists of the drummers were 
 hung with bells and curiously-shaped pieces 
 of iron, which jingled loudly as they were 
 beating. The smaller drums were suspended 
 from the neck by scarves of red cloth ; the 
 horns (the teeth of young elephants) were 
 ornamented at the mouth-piece with gold and 
 the jaw-bones of human victims. The war- 
 caps of eagles' feathers nodded in the rear, 
 and large fans of the wing feathers of the 
 ostrich played around the dignitaries. Imme- 
 diately behind their chairs (which were of a 
 black wood, almost covered by inlays of ivory 
 and gold embossment) stood their handsomest 
 youths, with corselets of leopard's skin co- 
 vered with gold cockle-shells, and stuck full 
 of small knives, sheathed in gold and silver, 
 and the handles of blue agate ; cartouch 
 boxes of elephant's hide hung below, orna- 
 mented in the same manner; a large gold- 
 handled sword was fixed behind the left 
 shoulder, and silk scarves and horses' tails 
 
3 8 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 (generally white) streamed from the arms 
 and waist-cloth : their long Danish muskets 
 had rims of gold at small distances, and the 
 stocks were ornamented with shells. 
 
 Finely-grown girls stood behind the chairs 
 of some, with silver basins. Their stools (of 
 the most laborious carved work, and generally 
 with two large bells attached to them) were 
 conspicuously placed on the heads of favour- 
 ites ; and crowds of small boys were seated 
 around, flourishing elephants' tails curiously 
 mounted. The warriors sat on the ground 
 close to these, and so thickly as not to admit 
 of our passing without treading on their feet, 
 to which they were perfectly indifferent ; their 
 caps were of the skin of the pangolin and 
 leopard, the tails hanging down behind ; their 
 cartouch belts (composed of small gourds 
 which hold the charges, and covered with 
 leopard or pig's skin) were embossed with red 
 shells, and small brass bells thickly hung to 
 them ; on their hips and shoulders was a cluster 
 of knives ; iron chains and collars dignified the 
 most daring, who were prouder of them than 
 of gold ; their muskets had rests affixed of 
 leopard's skin, and the locks a covering of the 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 39 
 
 same ; the sides of their faces were curiously 
 painted in long white streaks, and their arms 
 also striped, having the appearance of armour. 
 
 ' We were suddenly surprised by the sight 
 of Moors, who afforded the first general di- 
 versity of dress ; there were seventeen supe- 
 riors, arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, 
 richly trimmed with spangled embroidery ; 
 their shirts and trousers' were of silk, and a 
 very large turban of white muslin was studded 
 with a border of different-coloured stories : 
 their attendants wore red caps and turbans, 
 and long white shirts which hung over their 
 trousers ; those of the inferiors were of dark 
 blue cloth : they slowly raised their eyes from 
 the ground as we passed, and with a most 
 malignant scowl. 
 
 ' The prolonged flourishes of the horns, a 
 deafening tumult of drums, and the fuller 
 concert of the intervals, announced that we 
 were approaching the king : we were already 
 passing the principal officers of his household ; 
 the chamberlain, the gold horn-blower, the 
 captain of the messengers, the captain for 
 royal executions, the captain of the market, 
 the keeper of the royal burial-ground, and 
 
4 o THE ASHANTEES 
 
 the master of the bands, sat surrounded by a 
 retinue and splendour which bespoke the dig- 
 nity and importance of their offices. The 
 cook had a number of small services covered 
 with leopard's skin held behind him, 
 and a large quantity of massy silver plate 
 was displayed before him — punch-bowls, 
 waiters, coffee-pots, tankards, and a very 
 large vessel with heavy handles and clawed 
 feet, which seemed to have been made to hold 
 incense. I observed a Portuguese inscription 
 on one piece, and they seemed generally of 
 that manufacture. The executioner, a man of 
 an immense size, wore a massy gold hatchet 
 on his breast ; and the execution stool was 
 held before him, clotted in blood, and partly 
 covered with a caul of fat. The king's four 
 linguists were encircled by a splendour in- 
 ferior to none, and their peculiar insignia, 
 gold canes, were elevated in all directions, 
 tied in bundles like fasces. The keeper of 
 the treasury added to his own magnificence by 
 the ostentatious display of his service ; the 
 blow-pan, boxes, scales, and weights were of 
 solid gold. 
 
 ' A delay of some minutes, whilst we 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 41 
 
 severally approached to receive the king's 
 hand, afforded us a thorough view of him. 
 His deportment first excited my attention. 
 Native dignity in princes we are pleased to 
 call barbarous was a curious spectacle. His 
 manners were majestic, yet courteous ; and he 
 did not allow his surprise to beguile him for 
 a moment. of the composure of the monarch. 
 He appeared to be about thirty-eight years of 
 age, inclined to corpulence, and of a benevo- 
 lent countenance ; he wore a fillet of aggry 
 beads round his temples, a necklace of gold 
 cockspur-shells strung by their largest ends, 
 and over his right shoulder a red silk cord, 
 suspending three saphies cased in gold; his 
 bracelets were the richest mixtures of beads 
 and gold, and his fingers covered with rings ; 
 his cloth was of a dark green silk ; a pointed 
 diadem was elegantly painted in white on his 
 forehead ; also a pattern resembling an epau- 
 lette on each shoulder, and an ornament like 
 a full-blown rose, one leaf rising above another 
 until it covered his whole breast ; his knee- 
 bands were of aggry beads, and his ankle- 
 strings of gold ornaments of the most delicate 
 workmanship, small drums, stools, swords, 
 
42 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 guns, and birds, clustered together ; his san- 
 dals, of a soft white leather, were embossed 
 across the instep-band with small gold and 
 silver cases of saphies ; he was seated in a 
 low chair, richly ornamented with gold ; he 
 wore a pair of gold castanets on his finger 
 and thumb, which he clapped to enforce 
 silence. The belts of the guards behind his 
 chair were cased in gold, and covered with 
 small 'jaw-bones of the same metal ; the ele- 
 phants' tails, waving like a small cloud before 
 him, were spangled with gold, and large 
 plumes of feathers were flourished amid them. 
 His eunuch presided over these attendants, 
 wearing only orte massy piece of gold about 
 his neck : the royal stool, entirely cased in 
 gold, was displayed under a splendid umbrella, 
 with drums, sankos, horns, and various musi- 
 cal instruments, Cased in gold, about the 
 thickness of cartridge paper : large circles of 
 gold hung by scarlet cloth from the swords of 
 state, the sheaths as well as the handles of 
 which were also cased ; hatchets of the same 
 were intermixed with them : the breasts of the 
 Ocrahs and various attendants were adorned 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 43 
 
 with large stars, stools, crescents, and gossa- 
 mer wings of solid gold. 
 
 'We pursued our course through this 
 blazing circle, which afforded to the last a 
 variety exceeding description and memory; 
 so many splendid novelties diverting the 
 fatigue, heat, and pressure we were labouring 
 under. We were almost exhausted, however, 
 by the time we reached the end; when, instead 
 of being conducted to our residence, we were 
 desired to seat ourselves under a tree at some 
 distance, to receive the compliments of the 
 whole in our turn. 
 
 'The swell of their bands gradually 
 strengthened on our ears, the peals of the 
 warlike instruments bursting upon the short 
 but sweet responses of the flutes ; the gaudy 
 canopies seemed to dance in the distant view, 
 and floated broadly as they were springing 
 up and down in the foreground ; flags and 
 banners waved in the interval, and the chiefs 
 were eminent in their crimson hammocks, 
 amidst crowds of musketry. They dis- 
 mounted as they arrived within thirty yards 
 of us ; their principal captains preceded' them 
 with the gold-handled swords, a body of 
 
44 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 soldiers followed with their arms reversed, 
 then their bands and gold canes, pipes, and 
 elephants' tails. The chief, with a small 
 body-guard under his umbrella, was generally 
 supported around the waist by the hands of 
 his favourite slave, whilst captains holla'd, 
 close in his ear, his warlike deeds and (strong) 
 names, which were reiterated with the voices 
 of Stentors by those before and behind ; the 
 larger party of warriors brought up the rear. 
 Old captains of secondary rank were carried 
 on the shoulders of a strong slave ; but a 
 more interesting sight was presented in the 
 minors, or young caboceers, many not more 
 than five or six years of age, who, over- 
 weighed by ornaments, were carried in the 
 same manner (under their canopies), encircled 
 by all the pomp and parade of their prede- 
 cessors. Amongst others, the grandson of 
 Cheboo was pointed out, whom the king had 
 generously placed on the stool of his per- 
 fidious enemy. A band of Fetish men, or 
 priests, wheeled round and round as they 
 passed with surprising velocity. Manner was 
 as various as ornament ; some danced by with 
 irresistible buffoonery, some with a gesture 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 45 
 
 and carriage of defiance; one distinguished 
 caboceer performed the war dance before us 
 for some minutes, with a large spear, which 
 grazed us at every bound he made; but the 
 greater number passed us with order and 
 dignity, some slipping one sandal, some both, 
 some turning round after having taken each 
 of us by the hand ; the attendants of others 
 knelt before them, throwing dust upon their 
 heads ; and the Moors, apparently, vouch- 
 safed us a blessing. The king's messengers 
 who were posted near us, with their long hair 
 hanging in twists like a thrum mop, used 
 little ceremony in hurrying by this transient 
 procession ; yet it was nearly eight o'clock 
 before the king approached. 
 
 ' It was a beautiful starlight night, and the 
 torches which preceded him displayed the 
 splendour of his regalia with a chastened 
 lustre, and made the human trophies of the 
 soldiers more awfully imposing. The skulls 
 of three Banda caboceers, who had been his 
 most obstinate enemies, adorned the largest 
 drum : the vessels in which the boys dipped 
 their torches were of gold. He stopped to 
 enquire our names a second time and to wish 
 
46 . THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 us good-night; his address was mild and 
 deliberate : he was followed by his aunts, 
 sisters, and others of his family, with rows of 
 fine gold chains around their necks. Nume- 
 rous chiefs succeeded, and it was long before 
 we were at liberty to retire. We agreed in 
 estimating the number of warriors at 30,000. 
 
 ' We were conducted to a range of spacious 
 but ruinous buildings, which had belonged to 
 the son of one of the former kings, and who 
 had recently destroyed himself at a very 
 advanced age, unable to endure the severity 
 of disgrace. Their forlorn and dreary aspect 
 bespoke the fortune of their master, and they 
 required much repair to defend us from the 
 wind and rain, which frequently ushered in 
 the nights.' 
 
 Bowdich remained some months at Coo- 
 massie, and, though politely treated by the 
 king, was evidently regarded with suspicion, 
 and at first was not allowed to take walks in 
 the forest for the purpose of making botanical 
 collections. His return was also delayed and 
 postponed in the usual manner of the Africans, 
 and an attempt to leave the town brought on 
 
THE ASHANTEES. 47 
 
 a scuffle with the mob. However, at last he 
 obtained license to depart, and took with him 
 a treaty which the king had signed, but which 
 was not ratified by the local government ; and 
 another treaty was made by a Mr. Dupuis, 
 who shortly afterwards visited Coomassie 
 with the appointment of Resident or Consul. 
 These two treaties contained little or nothing 
 in the way of concession from the king ; he 
 consented to encourage trade, but that was to 
 his own advantage : he promised also to let 
 his subjects of Gaman come down to the 
 coast to trade, but that promise he did not 
 keep. The king could scarcely have esteemed 
 the English after all that had occurred, and 
 there is a subtle irony in the remark he made 
 to Dupuis : ' From the time Torrane delivered 
 up Cheboo I took the English for my friends 
 because I saw their object was trade only, and 
 they did not care for the people.' 
 
 However, even at that early date the 
 English had begun to regard Fantee Land as 
 their Protectorate. It was arranged that in 
 case of rebellion or outrage the king should 
 not resort to arms untithe had first applied 
 for redress to the English Governor. This 
 
48 THE ASHANTEES. 
 
 suited the king very well : he supposed that 
 the English would govern for him his newly- 
 conquered lands, give up all fugitives, mal- 
 contents and rebels, and collect whatever fines 
 he thought fit to impose. But he had soon to 
 discover that all Englishmen did not resemble 
 that 'man of sense' as he called him, the 
 Governor-in-Chief, Colonel Torrane. 
 
49 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 What Volney says of the Arabs is true of 
 the Ashantees : ' They could conquer, but 
 they could not govern.' They were pro- 
 ficient in all the arts of war ; their ' flanking 
 tactics ' in the field, their feigned retreats, 
 their ambuscades, were supported by similar 
 movements of diplomacy. When the King 
 of Ashantee- invaded a tribe he sent envoys 
 with rich presents to the neighbouring 
 powers, justifying his aggression, represent- 
 ing the wrongs he had sustained, and assuring 
 them of his friendship and affection. Yet 
 often he attacked those same tribes in the 
 course of the campaign, and so took them 
 completely unawares. The ideal Prince of 
 Machiavelli has never been more nearly 
 
50 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 realised than in the humble palace at Coo- 
 massie. Moreover, the craft of the council 
 was rivalled by the courage of the people. 
 There was no standing army ; the nation 
 itself was the army, and the king its com- 
 mander-in-chief. As soon as war was pro- 
 claimed every man took up his firelock, tied 
 his cartouch-belt round his waist, put some 
 corn-meal and kola-nuts into his bag, and 
 joined his company under the chief or captain 
 to whom he belonged. As soon as the army 
 had marched, the women, stripping them- 
 selves naked, or wearing the clothes of their 
 husbands, daubed their bodies with white 
 clay, marched in procession through the 
 streets beating a drum and any man who 
 had ventured to remain behind. The army 
 was accompanied by corps of carpenters, 
 blacksmiths, and other artisans ; by sutlers 
 selling provisions ; by money-lenders ad- 
 vancing gold-dust at 10 per cent, a month ; 
 by women who carried pots, calabashes, and 
 other cooking utensils. In battle these 
 women stood behind their husbands, supply- 
 ing them with powder, and animating , them 
 with songs. The advance skirmishers were 
 
THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 51 
 
 slaves ; the secondary captains fought in the 
 front ; the king and his generals remained 
 in the rear seated on their stools beneath red 
 umbrellas. They were surrounded by their 
 young men, who cut down those that attempted 
 to retreat. It was the fashion for the com- 
 mander-in-chief to play at some kind of game 
 during the battle, as if to show that he was 
 confident of victory ; and in case of defeat it 
 was the custom for the chiefs and captains to 
 commit suicide. Seated on barrels of powder 
 they blew themselves up into the air, accord- 
 ing to the Ashantee proverb, ' It is shame 
 which causes the chief to die.' 
 
 It is true that in Akim and Dertkera the 
 kings were also absolute, that women, parad- 
 ing the streets, forced all able-bodied men to 
 the war, and that the" penalty for cowardice 
 was death. The Ashantees belong to that 
 family of nations called the Oji, which in- 
 cludes the Akims> Dertkeras, Wassaws, 
 Assins, Fantees, and many other" tribes. 
 There is but a slight difference of dialect 
 between the Asharttees' and Fantees-'; there 
 is no difference whatever between the' Ashan- 
 tees and the neighbouring bush-people — 
 E 2 
 
52 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 Akims, Denkeras, Assins ; their Ianguage : 
 even to its accent, is the same. 
 
 It was not the form but the spirit which 
 distinguished the Ashantees from the other 
 tribes of the Oji. The genius of' two or 
 three men who reigned one after the other at 
 Coomassie had established a perfect despot- 
 ism. It may be that the king was controlled 
 by his council of chiefs ; it may be that the 
 despotism was that of an Aristocracy, if one 
 looked behind the scenes ; but for the mass 
 of the people One Man commanded and had 
 to be obeyed. It is needless to say that 
 despotism is greedy of war and also favour- 
 able to military discipline. The Ashantees, 
 being constantly at war, resembled trained 
 soldiers ; discipline in the field and despotism 
 at home acted and reacted on each other. 
 The army became as perfect as a savage 
 army could be made ; the men marched to 
 battle singing a verse of their favourite song : 
 'If I go on, I shall die ; if I stay behind I 
 shall be killed ; it is better to go on.' Finally, 
 they acquired the habit of victory. The 
 Fantees and other tribes declared it was use- 
 less to resist them, and the very name of 
 
THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 53 
 
 Ashantees was almost sufficient to make 
 them run away. 
 
 But the Ashantees could not retain the 
 lands which they had conquered. The great 
 feudatory chiefs of Becqua, Mampon, Koko- 
 foo, and others, who had once been kings/ 
 dwelt so near Coomassie that they did not 
 dare to rebel. They were required to visit 
 the capital at certain seasons of festivity, and 
 were strictly supervised. Besides, they en- 
 joyed some share of power. One chief, the 
 ruler of Duabin, still retained, at that time, 
 the title and honours of a king. As regards 
 the lands beyond the Prah it was a different 
 affair. The Ashantees were not numerous ; 
 at the most they were able to put 50,000 
 men into the field ; they could not occupy 
 foreign territory, which, therefore, soon 
 slipped from their hands. It was one thing 
 to overrun a country and burn its villages, 
 and another to rule the people of the country 
 and draw tribute from them when the army 
 of invasion had retired. Much might have 
 been done by moderation ; but that is not 
 one of the virtues which the Ashantees 
 possess. They belong to that order of 
 
54 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 people who cut down trees to get at the 
 fruit, and slaughter geese with golden eggs. 
 The king ruled his conquered provinces by- 
 means of proconsuls, who ■■ extorted large 
 sums of money, sometimes for their master, 
 sometimes for themselves. Arrogance and 
 injustice permeated the people to its lowest 
 ranks. Whenever an Ashantee passed a 
 Fantee stall by the wayside, or met a woman 
 with a load upon her head, he helped him- 
 self to a plantain or a fish. In course of 
 time the Fan tees (a generic term for the 
 subject tribes) forgot the horrors of war in 
 the vexations of daily despotism, withheld 
 the tribute, and sometimes murdered the 
 envoys who were sent to remonstrate by the 
 king. . Then came another Ashantee in- 
 vasion, and the country was conquered over 
 again. 
 
 In 1 82 1 the African Company was dis- 
 solved by Act of Parliament, and Govern- 
 ment took over the forts upon the Gold Coast. 
 Sir Charles Macarthy, the Governor-in-Chief, 
 resided at Sierra Leone. He was a man of 
 superior ability, and at first gave his attention 
 to the exploration of Inner Africa. He sent 
 
THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 55 
 
 Major Laing of the 2nd West India Regi- 
 ment to a kingdom called Falaba, inland from 
 Sierra Leone. There Laing was detained, 
 though only fifty miles from the Niger and 
 but little farther from its source. Compelled 
 to return without reaching that river, he was 
 making preparations for another expedition 
 when the state of affairs on the Gold Coast 
 made it necessary that he should join his 
 regiment, and that Sir Charles should proceed 
 there himself. 
 
 It was the old story again of the Fantees 
 being presumptuous in peace and timid in 
 war ; refusing to pay tribute and then flying 
 like sheep from the army of vengeance and 
 invasion. Sir Charles, it seems, did not hold 
 himself bound by the treaty of Dupuis ; he 
 took the side of the coast natives and deter- 
 mined to fight the Ashantees. He had at 
 his command the Royal African Colonial 
 Corps, a regiment of good troops, part white 
 and part coloured men, commanded by British 
 officers ; a detachment of the 2nd West, oddly 
 enough the same regiment which Sir Garnet 
 found at Cape Coast on his arrival; and the 
 Cape Coast militia, a corps of Cape Coast 
 
56 THE FIRST, ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 natives, resembling the rifle volunteers re- 
 cently raised in that town. He had also a 
 mob of native -allies. 
 
 Instead of attacking the enemy with all 
 the forces he could muster Sir Charles played 
 at strategy. In the eastern districts Captain 
 Blencarne, with Accra for his base, like Glover, 
 had orders to operate with the view of making 
 a diversion ; and so his troops were thrown 
 away. In the same manner Laing was sent 
 to Assin, as Butler was sent to Akim ; he was 
 victorious in all his skirmishes ; but these did 
 not influence the issue of the war. Major 
 Chisholm's contingent, 2,000 strong, was also 
 separated from Sir Charles, who at the head 
 of a puny force gave battle to the army of 
 the Ashantees. The -Denkeras were on the 
 right and the Wassaws on the left, the re- 
 gulars and militia in the centre. The Was- 
 saws soon ran away, and carried with them 
 in their flight the ammunition carriers whom 
 they met upon their way. The regulars 
 fought with success till their ammunition was 
 exhausted, and then defended themselves to 
 the death with their bayonets. Sir Charles 
 Macarthy and three other Englishmen were 
 
THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 57 
 
 surrounded by the enemy. Mr. Williams, 
 the Colonial Secretary, received a wound in 
 the thigh which rendered him senseless, and 
 on recovering he found some Ashantees at- 
 tempting to cut off his head. They had 
 already inflicted one gash on the back of his 
 neck when an Ashantee of authority came 
 up, and recognising Mr. Williams, from whom 
 he had received some kindness in the African 
 Company's time, withheld the hands of the . 
 savages. The rescued man saw at his feet 
 the headless trunks of Sir Charles, Mr. Buckle, 
 and Ensign Wetherell. He was taken to the 
 Ashantee camp, and locked up every night 
 in a hut with the heads of the white men, 
 which, owing to some peculiar process, were 
 in a perfect state of preservation. His daily 
 food was as much snail soup, morning and 
 evening, as he could hold in the hollow of his 
 hand. Whenever the Ashantees beheaded 
 any of their prisoners they obliged him to sit 
 on one side of their great war drum while 
 they decapitated the unfortunate captive on 
 the other. He was not taken to Coomassie, 
 but released through the good offices of the 
 Dutch Governor at Elmina. The head of 
 
58 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 Sir Charles Macarthy was taken to Goomassie, 
 placed in the Bantama, and, covered with a 
 white cloth, is paraded through the streets 
 once a year at the Festival of Yams. The 
 natives say that the Ashantees ate his heart 
 to inspire them with courage. They also 
 have a legend that the last three kegs which 
 were opened in the battle contained vermi- 
 celli instead of gunpowder, and that then 
 Sir Charles committed suicide. The Fantees 
 preserve a tender regard for the memory 
 of the gallant General ; they call their 
 children after his name, they celebrate him 
 in their songs, and their most sacred oath 
 is ' By Wednesday and Macarthy? 
 
 The King of Ashantee, who commanded 
 his army in person, encamped close to Cape 
 Coast Castle, and sent a fetish or sanctified 
 boy to tell the Governor that the walls of the 
 castle were not high enough and should be 
 made higher, and that all the guns from the 
 men-of-war should be landed, as he meant to 
 throw every stone of the castle into the sea. 
 But soon dysentery and small-pox raged in 
 the camp, as well as in the town, and no 
 doubt the Ashantee's feared the big guns. 
 
1 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 59 
 
 They deserted by hundreds under cover of 
 the night, and at length the king, having 
 heard that the Queen of Akim was marching 
 against his capital, broke up his camp and 
 returned. 
 
 Two years afterwards he invaded the 
 eastern districts of the Gold Coast, and passed 
 through the forest of Akim to the open plain 
 behind Accra. A great and decisive battle 
 was fought near the village Dodowah. The 
 Queen of Akim commanded her troops in 
 person, wearing a necklace of leaden bullets, 
 and bearing a gold-enamelled sword in her 
 hand. The Ashantees fought well. Some 
 of the native allies as usual ran away, and the 
 centre was beginning to be pressed, when. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Purdon advanced with his 
 reserve and some rockets, which the Ashan- 
 tees supposed to be real thunder and light- 
 ning. These missiles caused havoc and con- 
 fusion : the enemy retreated : the Ashantee 
 captains blew themselves up : the king was 
 wounded in his flight : about five thousand of 
 the enemy were killed, and twenty-four of 
 their leading chiefs. There was no pursuit, 
 the allies preferring to plunder the camp, and 
 
60 THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 
 
 the prisoners taken were sold to slave-vessels 
 bound for Accra. 1 
 
 This put an end to Ashantee wars for 
 many a long day to come ; but five years 
 passed before a treaty of peace was concluded, 
 which was partly owing to the machinations of 
 a certain Fantee party, who thought it to their 
 interest that the English and the Ashantees 
 should not be on good terms with one another. 
 The Ashantee envoys who came down to the 
 coast did not entirely discard their former 
 haughtiness of gesture and tone, while the 
 coast chiefs were exulting and prone to give 
 provocation. However, at last a treaty was 
 signed — the famous Tripartite Treaty of 1 83 1 . 
 The king abandoned all claims to the king- 
 doms of Denkera, Assin, &c; on the other 
 hand, it was stipulated that the Ashantees 
 should have free access to the coast. ' The 
 paths shall be perfectly open and free to all 
 persons engaged in lawful traffic, and persons 
 molesting them in any way whatever, or 
 forcing them to purchase at any particular 
 
 1 The authority on this war is the work of Major Ricketts, 
 a survivor. I have closely followed an excellent summary of 
 that work in the Times, October 13, 1873. 
 
THE FIRST ASHANTEE WAR. 61 
 
 market, or influencing them by any unfair 
 means, shall be deemed guilty of infringing 
 this treaty, and be liable to the severest 
 punishment.' 
 
62 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PROTECTORATE. 
 
 Soon after the battle of Dodowah, and before 
 the signing of this treaty, the British Govern- 
 ment, disgusted with its little war, and having 
 defeated the Ashantees, retired from the Gold 
 Coast. The settlements were governed by a 
 Company, under the supervision of the Crown, 
 and a sum of 4,000/. a year was granted for 
 the expenses of the forts. The first Governor 
 appointed under the new state of affairs was 
 a Mr. Maclean, who arranged the terms of 
 the treaty ; for which reason the Ashantees call 
 it the ' Treaty of Maclean. ' 
 
 The new Governor was a man of great 
 ability, and his rule, though stern, was so just 
 that the natives revere his memory, and often 
 express a wish that the Queen would send 
 them Governors like Macarthy and Maclean. 
 
THE PROTECTORATE. 63 
 
 He exercised almost regal power over the 
 kingdoms of the allies, now known as the 
 Protectorate, doing much to put down wars 
 among them and human sacrifices : if a chief 
 refused to obey his commands, he sent a few 
 soldiers to arrest him, lodged him within the 
 castle, and made him pay an indemnity of 
 gold-dust. The chiefs in return not only 
 feared the Governor, but also esteemed and 
 even loved him for his power. Such is the 
 nature of the Africans. 
 
 Like most men who have lived long upon 
 the coast, Maclean looked with an indulgent 
 eye upon the slave trade ; and rumours reached 
 the philanthropists at home that slavers made 
 use of Cape Coast Castle as a harbour for 
 supplies, and, perhaps, for something more. 
 Circumstances had also occurred to make the 
 name of Maclean detestable in England. A 
 young poetess, L.E.L., had a manuscript lent 
 her by a friend, describing the capture of 
 Apollonia, a town on the Gold Coast, by 
 Mr. Maclean. She was much impressed by 
 his manly narrative, and, predisposed to fall 
 in love with the author, whom she soon after- 
 wards met. The result was that they were 
 
64 THE PROTECTORATE. 
 
 married, and L.E.L. took up her abode in 
 the castle at Cape Coast. They quarrelled, and 
 Maclean grew tired of her : he had a passion 
 for intrigue, which almost amounted to disease: 
 even the natives have told me, shaking their 
 heads, that he was a good Governor, but a 
 bad husband. In fact he spent every night 
 at orgies in the town. Thus neglected and 
 despised, exiled from all society, depressed 
 by the evil nature of the climate, having 
 always at hand a dangerous medicine for some 
 malady to which she was subject, who can 
 wonder that during one of those solitary nights 
 poor L.E.L. should have released herself from 
 life ? The matter was bad enough without 
 exaggeration, but scandal made it ten times 
 worse. Maclean had a ' country wife ' during 
 his stay upon the coast : on sailing for England 
 he paid her off ,and she went to live at Accra. 
 But it was confidently declared that this 
 woman lived in the castle, and some even went 
 so far as to hint that she had forced the poison 
 upon the unfortunate L.E.L. So evil was now 
 the reputation of Maclean, that any accusation 
 against him must have been almost welcome 
 to the Colonial Office, and it was determined 
 
THE PROTECTORATE. 65 
 
 to investigate the charges made against his 
 government A Special Commissioner was 
 sent out to the coast, and in consequence 
 of his report the settlements were resumed 
 by the Crown, another Governor was ap- 
 pointed, and Maclean received the sub- 
 ordinate post of Judicial Assessor. He sat 
 in a court with native chiefs to try cases in 
 which natives were concerned, according to 
 native law, so far as it could be applied in 
 harmony with the principles of justice. 
 
 This definition may seem vague and 
 obscure : if so, it illustrates the character of 
 our Gold Coast government. It has never 
 been settled to the present day whether Cape 
 Coast Castle is an English or a Fantee town. 
 If it is an English town we are patrons of 
 slavery ; if it is a Fantee town we exercise 
 illegal powers. 
 
 The Government took over the Gold 
 Coast on account of the slave trade : and one 
 would suppose that something would have 
 been done to abolish domestic slavery. When 
 Lagos was ceded, all the slaves were set free. 
 There are no slaves in Sierra Leone. 
 Slavery is illegal in the Gambia. But on the 
 
 F 
 
66 THE PROTECTORATE, 
 
 Gold Coast it has not been touched ; not even 
 a scheme of gradual emancipation has ever 
 been prepared. How is it that slavery is 
 tolerated, contrary to English law ? Ask this 
 question at Downing Street and you will be 
 informed that Cape Coast Castle is not 
 British territory ; that we only possess the 
 castle and Government House ; that the town 
 belongs to the Fantees. But the Court of 
 Justice is neither in the Government House 
 nor in the fort ; it is therefore out of British 
 territory, and is not a court of justice at all. 
 Another definition may then possibly be given: 
 ' British territory does not extend beyond the 
 range of the guns in the castle.' That is the 
 strangest of all definitions, for as our artillery 
 improves, our territory must of necessity 
 expand. But at all events the town is within 
 range, and is therefore British territory. Now 
 slavery exists in the town. 
 
 If I chose to answer a quibble by a quibble 
 I might quote an Order of Council (in con- 
 nection with the Foreign Judicature Acts) by 
 which Cape Coast Castle was made a colony, 
 and classed with Sierra Leone. But the truth 
 is, that Cape Coast Castle has long been an 
 
THE PROTECTORATE. 67 
 
 English town, not indeed by purchase or ces- 
 sion, but by usage and sufferance. I f one Fan tee 
 assaults another in the streets, he is taken 
 up by a policeman, precisely as he would 
 be in London, locked up in a cell, after the 
 manner of civilised nations, brought before a 
 magistrate in the morning, and punished 
 with fine or imprisonment. Murderers are 
 tried by English law before a jury, and if 
 found guilty are sentenced to be hanged. But 
 still slaves exist in this English town, and 
 lawsuits in relation to that form of property 
 are brought before the Judicial Assessor. 
 
 Since our position in Cape Coast Castle 
 is so dubious, it may well be imagined that 
 the duties of the Government in respect to 
 the inland provinces are even less clearly 
 defined. At times the Government has 
 exercised sovereign powers over the Protec- 
 torate ; native chiefs have been arrested 
 and punished for treason, and at one time a 
 poll-tax was levied. Of late years it has 
 been the custom to instruct Governors of the 
 Gold Coast that they are not to interfere with 
 the natives of the interior, nor to protect them 
 from invasion. But when obligations have 
 
 F 2 
 
68 THE PROTECTORATE. 
 
 once been assumed, it is not easy to evade 
 them. The treaty of 183 1 having been ratified 
 by Government, it clearly became our duty 
 to keep the road open for trade to Prahsu, 
 and to resist all invasions of the Ashantees. 
 
 The first duty was wholly neglected, and" 
 the Ashantee traders who came to sell us their 
 gold-dust were always troubled on the way.. 
 On the other hand, when the Ashantees in- 
 vaded Assin in 1853, the Governor, Colonel 
 Hill (now Governor of Newfoundland), 
 marched at once towards the Prah. It is not 
 the habit of the Ashantees to make war 
 against an enemy that is prepared, so they 
 retired again into their own territory. But 
 they had not relinquished their designs : they 
 had not forgotten that the English had once 
 been their vassals, the Fantees their slaves. 
 They wanted a port on the coast, as the King 
 of Dahomey had a port at Whydah. Elmina, it 
 was true, supplied them faithfully, but in order 
 to reach Elmina they had to pass through the 
 hostile Denkera. It became a policy and 
 plan of Ashantee to reconquer the lands which 
 had been taken from them, and to reign over 
 the English at Cape Coast Castle and Accra ; 
 
THE PROTECTORATE. 69 
 
 •or, if the English would not submit, to drive 
 them from the coast, and to trade only with 
 the Dutch, whom already they regarded as 
 subjects of the king. 
 
70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUTCH. 
 
 In 1863 two fugitives from Ashantee claimed 
 the protection of the British flag. One of 
 them was an old man who had kept a nugget 
 he had found in his gold pit, and all nuggets 
 belonged to the king. The other, a boy,, 
 was simply a runaway slave. The king- 
 sent messengers to say that if the old man 
 and the boy were not given up he would 
 invade the land of the Fantees. The Go- 
 vernor, Mr. Richard Pine, refused this* 
 modest demand ; the envoys withdrew, hav- 
 ing first made arrangements for the purchase 
 of arms and ammunition from Elmina ; and 
 shortly afterwards the Ashantees crossed the. 
 Prah. 
 
 The Governor then wrote to the Duke of 
 Newcastle this remarkable letter : — 
 
THE DUTCH. 71 
 
 ' It is with the deepest regret that I find 
 myself involved, in spite of all my pre- 
 cautions, in a serious and I fear lingering 
 war ; but such being the case I will not con- 
 ceal from Your Grace the earnest desire that 
 I entertain that a final blow shall be struck 
 at Ashantee power, and the question set to 
 rest for ever as to whether an arbitrary, 
 cruel, and sanguinary monarch shall be for 
 ever permitted to insult the British flag and 
 outrage the laws of civilisation. 
 
 ' This desirable object can be attained 
 only by the possession of such a force as I 
 fear the Governor of these settlements can 
 never hope to command, unless Your Grace 
 should be pleased to urge upon Her Majesty's 
 Government the policy, the economy, and 
 even the mercy of transporting to these 
 shores an army of such strength as would, 
 combined with the allied native forces, enable 
 us to march to Coomassie, and there plant 
 the British flag. 
 
 ' To a stranger the course I point out 
 may appear a visionary one ; but I" am con- 
 vinced that, even with all the disadvantages 
 of climate, the expedition would not be so 
 
7 2 THE DUTCH. 
 
 dangerous, so fatal, or accompanied with 
 such loss of life as have attended other ex- 
 peditions in other and apparently more 
 genial climes ; and with 2,000 disciplined 
 soldiers, followed by upwards of 50,000 
 native forces, who require only to be led 
 and inspired with confidence by the presence 
 of organised troops, I would undertake 
 (driving the hordes of Ashantee before me) 
 to march to Coomassie.' 1 
 
 The Government, however, refused to 
 grant Imperial troops, and Governor Pine 
 resolved to make war against the enemy 
 with the West India negro soldiery. As 
 soon as they were marched into the interior 
 the enemy retired, and a camp was formed 
 at Prahsu. But there seems to have been no 
 plan for the campaign; the Governor and 
 the Colonel commanding were at daggers 
 drawn ; and during five months, partly in 
 the Rains, the unfortunate troops were kept 
 idle in the bush. Dysentery and fever carried 
 them off by scores — both officers and men — 
 and at length it was determined to withdraw. 
 Then, as if an enemy were in hot pursuit, 
 
 1 Quoted in Brackenbury's Fanti and Ashanti. 
 
THE DUTCH. 73 
 
 the guns and stores were thrown into the 
 river. This enterprise gave rise to a legend 
 that ' white men cannot cross the sacred 
 Prah ; ' and the Ashantees say that their 
 priests bewitched the Colonel so that he did 
 not know what he was doing. At home 
 there was much indignation ; the Ministry 
 were all but unseated ; a Commission was 
 appointed to enquire into West African 
 affairs ; and it was resolved that no more 
 countries should be annexed in Western 
 Africa, and that the settlements should be 
 delivered to the natives as soon as they were 
 able to govern themselves. Yet no arrange- 
 ments were made for the education of the 
 natives, without which they will never be 
 able to govern themselves ; and the only 
 practical result of the Commission was one 
 of dubious value. The Governments of 
 Gambia, Lagos, and the Gold Coast were 
 placed under a Governor-in-Chief, who re- 
 sided at Sierra Leone ; the lieutenant- 
 governors were called Administrators, and 
 could only send their despatches through the 
 Governor-in-Chief, who went in . circuit to 
 inspect them once a year. 
 
74 THE DUTCH. 
 
 No treaty of peace was concluded be- 
 tween the Ashantees and the English. The 
 king still persisted in his demand for the 
 surrender of the fugitives, and he also wanted 
 a certain chief named Adjima, who had pre- 
 viously wronged and insulted his father. 
 There was, therefore, no basis for negotia- 
 tions, and soon another casus belli arose. 
 
 Since 1700 the Dutch had always been 
 firmly allied with the Ashantees, and the 
 natives of Elmina, Chamah, Axim, and other 
 Dutch settlements had adopted the alliance. 
 In all wars the Elminas supplied the Ashan- 
 tees with arms and ammunition, and this had 
 given rise to war between the Elminas and 
 Fantees. In the last century there had been 
 such a war. In the treaty which Bowdich 
 drew up it was stipulated that the King of 
 Ashantee should protect the natives of Cape 
 Coast Castle from the natives of Elmina. 
 But now times had changed ; now the 
 Elminas implored the King of Ashantee to 
 protect them from the people of Cape Coast. 
 The two towns are only nine miles apart. 
 
 The immediate cause of the war between 
 two native tribes supposed to be governed by 
 
THE DUTCH. 
 
 75 
 
 two friendly European Powers was that trans- 
 action which is known as The Transfer. In 
 1850 the Danes had sold their forts to the 
 English, and had retired from the coast ; but 
 the Dutch remained. The settlements of the 
 two nations, originally planted not for govern- 
 ment but trade, were confusedly mingled 
 together. On the extreme west of the Gold 
 Coast were Grand Bassam and Assinie, be- 
 longing to the French. Then came Apol- 
 lonia, which was English, and next going 
 eastward Axim, which was Dutch ; next Dix- 
 cove, which was English ; next Boutrie and 
 Taccorady, which were Dutch ; next Secondee 
 composed of two villages, English and Dutch ; 
 next Chamah, which was Dutch ; then Com- 
 menda, which was English ; then Elmina, 
 where the Dutch Governor-General resided ; 
 then Cape Coast Castle and Annamaboe ; then 
 the Dutch forts, Moree and Cormantyne. 
 Accra belonged half to the Dutch and half 
 to the English ; in one town of moderate 
 dimensions were two distinct systems of 
 custom-house duties, and two distinct systems 
 of governing the natives. 
 
 The Dutch ruled the natives more severely 
 
76 THE DUTCH. 
 
 than the English ; for instance, they had a 
 regular tariff for sheep, fowls, carriers, &c, and 
 the market was not allowed to fluctuate. If 
 the natives refused to sell or work, the com- 
 mandant sent out soldiers from the fort, who 
 seized provisions or men, and paid according 
 to appointed price. On the other hand, the 
 Dutch duties were merely nominal, and this 
 affected the English revenue in places where 
 the forts stood side by side. Our Government 
 proposed that these duties should be equalised; 
 but the Dutch suggested that the English 
 should receive all the forts to the eastward of 
 the Sweet River (between Elmina and Cape 
 Coast), and the Dutch all the forts to the west. 
 In 1867 this convention was arranged and 
 ratified. As a mere question of territorial 
 exchange it was most convenient ; but it gave 
 rise to troubles with the natives which finally 
 had the effect of driving the Dutch from the 
 coast. 
 
 Let us take, for instance, the case of the 
 Commendas. In the days of Ashantee rule 
 they had always been turbulent subjects ; they 
 had caused that war in which Sir Charles 
 Macarthy had been killed ; they were bitter 
 
THE DUTCH. 77 
 
 enemies of the Elminas and the Dutch. And 
 now, without a word of explanation, they were 
 suddenly transferred to those very enemies. 
 Suppose that France, in cold blood and 
 mere calculation, had bartered Alsace and 
 Lorraine for some German province on the 
 left of the Rhine ; suppose that the Germans 
 were not a civilised people, but savages who 
 would ill-treat and plunder their ancient 
 enemies. Then you will understand the posi- 
 tion of Commenda, delivered to the power of 
 Elmina and Chamah. 
 
 They pulled down the Dutch flag. A 
 Dutch man-of-war bombarded the town. The 
 Commenda canoes seized a boat passing by, 
 captured several Dutchmen and took them to 
 a village in the bush where they had taken 
 up their abode. The captives were stripped 
 and flogged ; all bore it in silence, except a 
 young lad who cried out piteously ; whereupon 
 the chief said he would take that boy as his 
 part of the plunder, and would not have him 
 flogged any more. 
 
 The women had at first been more cruel 
 even than the men ; but yet they were women ; 
 and after a few days, when they saw the wan 
 
78 THE DUTCH. 
 
 faces of the captives, their hearts relented, and 
 they brought them food. 
 
 The English Administrator sent an officer 
 to negotiate a ransom, and this officer gave 
 me an account of the palaver. The speech of 
 the chief was not without dignity and justice. 
 ' The English,' he said, ' had behaved badly to 
 the Commendas and had given them up to 
 their foes. The Elders would be fully justi- 
 fied in refusing the Governor's request and in 
 giving their captives to the relatives of those 
 whom the Dutch had killed with their cannon, 
 and whose blood cried to them from the ruins 
 of Commenda. But they could never forget 
 that noble gentleman, that gallant General, 
 Sir Charles Macarthy, who had died fighting 
 for them against the Ashantees. For his 
 sake, and his sake alone, they consented to 
 receive a ransom through the English from 
 the Dutch.' 
 
 At Dixcove there was a fort : the natives 
 were sullen and insubordinate, but did not 
 openly rebel. The commandant, however, 
 feared an insurrection : he called upon them 
 to give up their arms ; they refused, and he 
 bombarded the town. 
 
THE DUTCH, 79 
 
 The Fantees now determined to take the 
 matter into their own hands. They called 
 upon the Elminas to join them in an alliance 
 offensive and defensive against the Ashantees ; 
 and, this proposal being rejected, marched 
 against the town. A great battle was fought 
 in the neighbouring plain : the Dutch artil- 
 lery played upon the Fantees from an outlying 
 fort, and the Fantees were defeated with loss. 
 But they blockaded the town and cut off the 
 people from their plantations. The Elminas 
 sent word of these doings to the King of 
 Ashantee, who called upon the Fantees to 
 cease hostilities against Elmina. ' It is there,' 
 he said, ' I eat my salt, it is there I drink my 
 rum. If you do not leave it alone I will 
 descend from my throne with my drawn 
 sword in my hand and drive you all into the 
 sea.' 
 
 However, the blockade continued ; and 
 an Ashantee army under the command of a 
 chief named Atchampong marched down to 
 the coast by the Assinie route, and then along 
 the* beach to Elmina. But he did not suc- 
 ceed in raising the blockade. 
 
 During all this time the Governors of 
 
80 THE DUTCH. 
 
 Elniina and Cape Coast remained on terms 
 of courtesy and friendship ; but the Dutch 
 declared that the English Government, while 
 calling upon the Fantees to lay down their 
 arms, secretly connived at the war ; and on 
 the other hand it was alleged that the Dutch 
 Governor was secretly negotiating with the 
 King of Ashantee. Both reports were pro- 
 bably untrue ; but the English traders began 
 to predict with joy that the Dutch would soon 
 be driven from the coast. 
 
 The Governor-General was recalled, and 
 Colonel Nagtglas sent out from the Hague. 
 This officer had gained during his stay upon 
 the coast a reputation with the natives, simi- 
 lar to that of Macarthy and Maclean. It was 
 hoped that he would adjust the difficulty ; 
 but that was out of his power. The Fantees 
 declared that the Ashantee alliance must be 
 abandoned, and that nothing else would con- 
 tent them. They could never hold their own 
 against the Ashantees, when a neighbouring 
 people supplied the invaders with arms and 
 ammunition. Colonel Nagtglas did not 
 think it consistent with honour to withdraw 
 under compulsion from an old alliance. The 
 
THE DUTCH. 81 
 
 problem remained insoluble. It was therefore 
 resolved that the settlements should be aban- 
 doned, and they were offered to the British 
 Government. Lord Kimberley refused to 
 take Elmina except with the consent of the 
 natives ; and so it was represented to them that 
 the Dutch in any case were going away -; that 
 they could remain independent if they pleased, 
 but in that case no one would protect them 
 against the hostile tribes by whom they were 
 surrounded. If, however, they chose to ac- 
 cept the British flag, their lives and property 
 would be protected by the Government. 
 
 The Elminas consented to receive the 
 flag. But now another difficulty arose. The 
 King of Ashantee protested against the 
 transfer, declaring Elmina belonged to him. 
 The English Government refused to go on 
 until that claim had been investigated. It 
 was soon disposed of in the clearest manner. 
 First, the Dutch disavowed it, and soon after- 
 wards the king disavowed it himself. That, 
 one might suppose, would be sufficient to 
 settle the matter. But let us examine the 
 claim for ourselves. A long time ago the 
 Ashantees conquered Denkera, and by virtue 
 
 G 
 
82 THE DUTCH. 
 
 of that conquest received the pay-note (Kost- 
 brief) of Elmina. In 1831 Ashantee aban- 
 doned all claim to Denkera, and therefore 
 abandoned all claim to the payvnote of El- 
 mina, just as it lost the pay-note of Accra in 
 losing Akim. But it so happened that the 
 Dutch thought fit to continue the payment of 
 the note, stipulating in return that the king 
 should provide so many slaves per annum at 
 such and such a price. These slaves were 
 employed in the Java Battalion and after- 
 wards returned as pensioners to Elmina. It 
 is therefore evident that the pay-note had 
 changed its character ; it had become a sti- 
 pend similar to the stipends which are paid 
 by the Government of Sierra Leone to native 
 chiefs for the furtherance of commerce and 
 preservation of peace. The British Govern- 
 ment offered not only to continue but even to 
 double this stipend, it being of course clearly 
 understood that it was a payment of free will 
 and not a payment of allegiance. 
 
 All preliminaries having been arranged, 
 Mr. Pope Hennessy was sent out to take 
 possession of the forts. On April 6, 1872, 
 Mr. Jan Helenus Ferguson, Knight of the 
 
THE DUTCH. 83 
 
 Order of the Oaken Crown, handed to him 
 the gold and ivory baton which had been left 
 by the famous Admiral De Ruyter as an heir- 
 loom to the castle of St. George. Handsome 
 presents were made to the chiefs and people 
 of the town ; no disturbance took place ; the 
 two flags were hoisted together, and the Dutch 
 quietly withdrew. The next morning the 
 natives awoke and found themselves under 
 the British flag* Atchampong, the Ashantee 
 general, was conducted to the Prah with an 
 •escort ; rich presents and sweet words were 
 sent to the King of Ashantee ; and so fully 
 was Mr. Hennessy persuaded he had gained 
 the heart of that monarch that when the 
 Ashantees crossed the Prah he declared it 
 was merely a border raid. To be sure, as he 
 was at Sierra Leone, he could not know much 
 about the matter ; but he had unbounded 
 faith in his own powers of diplomacy. 
 
 G 2 
 
8 4 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 In the meantime the king was keeping at 
 Coomassie certain Europeans taken in war. 
 The negotiations for their release, conducted 
 by the British Government, were connected 
 with the Ashantee invasion ; their actual 
 release was an event of the Ashantee cam- 
 paign. It will therefore be proper to give 
 some account of their capture and captivity. 
 
 At the time when the Danes still occu- 
 pied the fort and town of Christiansborg, in 
 the eastern districts of the Gold Coast, the 
 Basle missionaries established a station in 
 that settlement, and ever since these worthy 
 men have been steadily working into the in- 
 terior. The Church Missionary Society did 
 great things in the early days of Sierra Leone, 
 -when shiploads of naked negroes, taken on 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 85 
 
 board slave-ships, were disembarked almost 
 ■every month at the Queen's Yard. But, with 
 respect to missionary labours among inde- 
 pendent savage tribes in Western Africa, it 
 is certain that the Basle Mission should 
 receive the palm. The principles on which 
 it is conducted make it resemble those in- 
 dustrious communities of monks who hewed 
 clearings in the German forest and regarded 
 labour as a form of prayer. As regards mis- 
 sionaries trading with the natives (for the 
 benefit of the Society) a difference of opinion 
 may prevail ; but no rational man will deny 
 that it is good for missionaries to teach their 
 •converts useful handicrafts and the discipline 
 of industry. The agents of the Society at 
 Basle preach, and pray, and read the Bible 
 to their parishioners quite as much as other 
 missionaries ; they have also seminaries in 
 which negro candidates for holy orders learn 
 ' Dogmatik ' or scientific theology, Greek and 
 Hebrew — which language the Africans find 
 easier than Greek, as it is difficult for them 
 to grapple with long and involved periods. 
 In addition to this religious education, music 
 is taught, and English, with the usual ele- 
 
86. THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 ments, arithmetic, history, geography, &c; 
 and, furthermore, the lay-brethren of the 
 mission train up carpenters, bootmakers,: 
 blacksmiths, masons, and so forth. The mis- 
 sionaries receive no salary, but only an allow- 
 ance sufficient to feed them and clothe them ; 
 if they do not spend it all, they return the 
 surplus to the mission chest. The Society 
 gives them a pension when they grow old, 
 and also educates their children. 
 
 They have pushed their stations far 
 inland ; and never in my African travels have 
 I had so charming a sensation and surprise 
 as when I came unexpectedly upon one of 
 these pious settlements. In the midst of the 
 dark and savage forest I heard the sounds of 
 an harmonium : it was the music of Mozart. 
 As I went on, the trees opened, and disclosed 
 a clearing ; children with bright cheerful faces, 
 and neat blue frocks met me on the way ; I 
 saw a large stone church, and the missionary 
 buildings arranged like a college, with a 
 quadrangle in the midst ; and then out came 
 the honest warm-hearted Wurtemburghers,. 
 shook me by the hand, laid the table them- 
 selves that there might not be a moment's. 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 87 
 
 delay, and offered me wine and bread and 
 fruit to stay my appetite, they said, till some- 
 thing better could be cooked. . 
 
 I spent . some time in this interesting 
 colony, and became impressed with the belief 
 that the Basle Mission is a true civilising 
 movement. 
 
 In the eastern districts of the Gold Coast 
 the forest comes to an end, and its place is 
 taken by a plain covered with high grass 
 and stunted trees, resembling in its character 
 the open plateau behind Ashantee. This 
 great Plain of Guinea (as it might be termed) 
 shoots in a mere strip or promontory behind 
 Accra, so that if you travel straight inland 
 you come to the forest again ; but if you go 
 east or north-east you find nothing but open 
 land. Through this plain the Volta, the 
 most important river of the Gold Coast, 
 flows down into the sea. The stations of 
 the Basle Mission are partly in the region of 
 the forest, partly in the open plain. 
 
 The vegetation of the Forest and the 
 Plain are quite of a different kind, and these 
 two regions also represent ethnological divi- 
 sions. The forest is inhabited by the Oji 
 
558 - v . THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 * 
 
 family of tribes, while the open country is, 
 for the most part, occupied by tribes allied to 
 the people of Accra, whose language, the Ga, 
 has nothing in common with Oji. The tribes 
 of the forest are uncircumcised even up to 
 Cape Palmas ; the tribes of the plain are cir- 
 cumcised, without however being Moslems. 
 The Basle missionaries, therefore, labour 
 among two nations of negroes, and have had 
 to master two families of language. 
 
 Their farthest station inland was at the 
 town of Anum in the Kreepee country, on 
 the other side of the Volta. The Kreepees 
 are an industrious cotton-growing people ; 
 they profess allegiance to the Gold Coast 
 Government, and are often at war with their 
 neighbours the Aquamoos, to whom they 
 were formerly subject The Kreepees belong 
 to the Ga family, but the Aquamoos are Oji, 
 and on friendly terms with the Ashantees. 
 In 1868 the Aquamoos, wishing to attack 
 Kreepree, sent to Coomassie for assistance, 
 and the king lent them 5,000 men under the 
 command of a famous general, Adoo Buffoo. 
 The Kreepees collected round Domprey, a 
 soldier of fortune, who soon made himself so 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. ■ 89 
 
 famous that the king threatened to kill Adoo 
 BufFoo if he did not kill Domprey. In June 
 1869, the Ashantees approached . Anum. 
 Domprey was encamped about twelve miles 
 from the town ; the women and children 
 were sent away. Domprey advised the mis- 
 sionaries to make their escape, but they did 
 not take his advice for two reasons. In the 
 first place they believed that the Ashantees 
 were a fine people and would not do them 
 any harm ; and, secondly, Domprey had 
 already shown a disposition to plunder, and 
 had forced them to pay a war contribution. 
 In the factory connected with the Mission 
 they had 2,000/. worth of goods ; they be- 
 lieved, and the belief was not unnatural, that 
 Domprey wanted to frighten them away that 
 he might seize upon their property. Soon 
 the Ashantees were reported to be near 
 Anum, and everyone left the town. The 
 missionaries now sent their clerk and cate- 
 chist and servants away, and remained alone 
 in the house. They were three in number : 
 Mr. Kiihne, a German, with Mr. Ramseyer 
 and his wife, who were Swiss. Mrs. Ram- 
 seyer had, also, an infant ten months old. 
 
9<* THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 The Mission-house was situated at a little 
 distance from the town on a high hill which 
 commanded a beautiful view. Thence could 
 be seen the blue Volta flowing through a 
 mountain gorge ; far away to the north a vast 
 plain called the Wilderness extended ; and to 
 the north-west might dimly be descried the 
 misty outline of the forest-covered Quow 
 Mountains, belonging to the same range as 
 the Adansi Hills, and marking the frontier of 
 Ashantee. On the hill there was no water : 
 it used to be fetched every morning from the 
 town, and now the missionaries had to go for 
 it themselves. Anum was quite empty ; not 
 a soul was to be seen, and all day long they 
 could hear no sound but the buzzing and hum- 
 ming of insects, and the hoo ! hoo ! hoo ! of 
 the red-feathered touraco. 
 
 Thus they waited for the Ashantees, and 
 on the morning of the third day they heard 
 voices in the town. It was June 12, 1869: 
 Mrs. Ramseyer was in the gallery spreading 
 out clothes to dry, when she saw the barrels 
 of muskets above the high grass. About 
 twenty armed men appeared and pointed their 
 guns at the house. She wished them good 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 91; 
 
 morning and went inside. The two mission- 
 aries went out, and asked the men if they 
 were Ashantees, and on receiving an affirma- 
 tive reply said they were friends to the Ash- 
 antees as well as to all other people, and had 
 nothing to do with the war. They then 
 shook hands, and the leader of the men said 
 they must all go down to Anum and salute 
 the general. The missionaries replied that 
 they could not all go as they had no servants, 
 and there would be no one to take care of 
 the house. The Ashantees replied that they 
 would put sentinels over the house. The 
 missionaries then went to their rooms and put 
 on their coats and descended the hill, Mrs. 
 Ramseyer carrying the child in her arms. 
 On their way they met about 500 Ashantees 
 who were rushing up the hill with savage 
 yells. Anum consists of three towns sepa- 
 rated by gardens : when the missionaries 
 were brought to the first town they were told 
 that the general was in the second town ; 
 when brought to the second town they were 
 told that he was in the third ; when brought 
 to the third town they were told that he was 
 in a village a little way off. They were made 
 
92 THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 to walk all day long, and on the way they 
 were passed by Ashantees carrying furniture 
 and goods belonging to the Mission. 
 
 In the evening they arrived at a village 
 where they found the King of .Aquamoo. 
 They said to him, 'You know that we are 
 missionaries, and have nothing to do with the 
 war ; why are we treated in this way ? ' He 
 replied that they must go to the Ashantee 
 general, who would certainly send them home. 
 The next day they were made to march off 
 again. Mrs. Ramseyer lost one of her shoes 
 in a swamp, but was not allowed to wait for 
 a moment. Mr. Kiihne lagged and was 
 threatened with the whip. Their umbrellas 
 were taken from them. Presently they heard 
 heavy firing ; a battle was being fought be- 
 tween Domprey and the Ashantees. Several 
 men passed them with blood streaming from 
 their wounds ; these threatened them and 
 said, ' Ah ! it is you who teach people to fight ; 
 but we Ashantees can eat white men up.' 
 They passed the rear of the Ashantee army, 
 where policemen ran to and fro armed with 
 whips of hippopotamus skin and flogged 
 stragglers into action. Thousands of carriers 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 93. 
 
 were there in line ; each of them had a small 
 pillow or porter's knot, and each beat this in 
 a curious manner with his hands, so that it 
 made a noise just like the whistling of bullets, 
 and the missionaries could not help ducking 
 their heads. They passed a village in which 
 were many dead bodies, and women howling 
 with grief packing them up in baskets. It 
 was dark before they reached the Ashantee 
 camp, and as soon as they arrived they were 
 taken before what they at first supposed to 
 be a tent, but it was a huge umbrella beneath 
 which sat a man covered with a white cloth. 
 They were told that this was Adoo Buffoo, 
 and the soldiers of the escort, kneeling 
 down, presented the captives. Some young 
 men at once rushed up to Mrs. Ramseyer 
 and tore off the skirt of her dress ; then 
 came other men with long knives in their 
 hands and separated the prisoners. Mr. 
 Kiihne was taken to a hut where a chief was 
 seated bleeding from five wounds which were 
 being washed with hot water. He ordered 
 Kiihne to sit down, looked at him sternly, and 
 made signs that he intended to cut off his 
 arms. He enquired if Kiihne had been 
 
94 THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 fighting, and Kiihne replied that he was a 
 priest and non-combatant. The chief then 
 made a sign, and he was put into irons. He 
 felt sure that he was to be killed. A little 
 way off were Mr. and Mrs. Ramseyer, also in 
 irons, and he could hear them praying and 
 bidding farewell to each other in heart-thrill- 
 ing words. 
 
 However, their lives were spared, and 
 though kept in irons and robbed they were 
 not otherwise ill-treated. Adoo Buffoo called 
 them before him and informed them with 
 much politeness that he intended to restore 
 them to their brethren, but first they must go 
 to a quiet town where they could eat and 
 rest before they proceeded on their journey. 
 He put them under an old chief and a few 
 soldiers and sent them off. They walked for 
 some distance till they came to a high hill 
 whence they could see the Volta and the di- 
 rection of their route. Then they knew that 
 the quiet town to which they were going was 
 Coomassie. 
 
 They were taken through a part of 
 Kreepee which was allied with the Ashantees, 
 and then, crossing the Volta, entered the 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 95 
 
 Wilderness, an uninhabited province watered 
 by scanty streams. After five days they 
 came to the Quow country where the forest 
 begins, and thence to Coomassie, travelling 
 always in the bush. 
 
 Mrs. Ramseyer had some desiccated milk 
 in a bottle, and with this she kept the child 
 alive for a time. When the milk was finished 
 she made food with eggs and broiled corn 
 obtained by charity; when the missionaries 
 entered a village they went begging from 
 house to house : they were not always suc- 
 cessful, though sometimes the natives were 
 very kind and brought them food of their own 
 accord. But the child became thinner and 
 paler every day, and died before the end of 
 July. It had just been buried when they 
 received a present from the king and a 
 message telling them not to be afraid. They 
 were much cheered by this, and the old chief 
 and his soldiers treated them better ; but they 
 were still put in irons every night. They 
 passed through to Juabin, and on the 9th of 
 August arrived at a village twelve miles from 
 Coomassie, There they met a Frenchman 
 named Bonnat, who had been captured at 
 
96 THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 Ho on the east side of the Volta. When the 
 Ashantees approached he remained in his 
 factory for the purpose of selling them powder 
 and guns, but they took the powder and guns 
 for nothing and himself into the bargain. 
 
 A Wesleyan station had been established 
 at Coomassie by Mr. Freeman, a West Indian 
 mulatto, who was at one time the chief of the 
 mission on the Gold Coast, and had been five 
 times to the Ashantee capital. The Mission 
 agent, a native named Watts, had been de- 
 tained by the king seven years. The king 
 was also keeping prisoner a number of Fantees 
 who had been peaceably trading at Fomana, 
 and Prince Ansah, who was himself an 
 Ashantee, but who at Coomassie was re- 
 garded as an alien. In 183 1 the king had 
 deposited 600 ounces of gold as a security 
 for peace, and had sent two of his sons and 
 princes to receive an English education : one 
 of them had died, the other was Ansah, who 
 became half an Englishman, and had been 
 sent to the capital as an envoy of the Gold 
 Coast Government. 
 
 For a long time the captives were detained 
 in Aminihia, a little village near Coomassie, 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 97 
 
 where the king had a country house, and 
 spent his villegiatura, and where most of the 
 Moslems resided. They were forced to live 
 in small shanties run up for the occasion and 
 were far from being comfortable. At last, 
 after great difficulty, they obtained permission 
 to enter Coomassie and take up their quarters 
 in the Mission-house. Prince Ansah was 
 very kind to them, and gave them all the 
 assistance in his power ; but he and Watts 
 and most of the Fantees were soon afterwards 
 exchanged for Ashantee prisoners. 
 
 The captives were treated well enough 
 according to Ashantee ideas : the king gave 
 them a monthly allowance of gold-dust, that 
 they might buy food, and also made them 
 occasional presents. The Administrator of the 
 Gold Coast, Mr. Usshe'r, and their brethren 
 of the Mission sent them boxes of money, 
 provisions, and clothes, which were not inter- 
 fered with. They bought slaves to wait 
 upon them. Mr. Ussher made strenuous 
 efforts to procure their release, and they them- 
 selves, as may be imagined, did not omit to 
 supplicate the king. He assured them that 
 he would soon let them go ; but, as Adoo 
 
 H 
 
<)8 THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 Buffoo had taken them, they must wait till he 
 returned from the war. When Adoo Buffoo 
 did return, he drove in before him several 
 thousand prisoners of war : but these were 
 from that part of Kreepee which was in 
 alliance with the Ashantees. The war had 
 not been successful, and the general did not 
 like to return empty-handed : so as he could 
 not capture his enemies, he captured his 
 friends. When he saw the missionaries, he 
 said nothing about letting them go, but in- 
 formed them he wanted some money. 
 
 At the beginning of 1872 the Administra- 
 tor send up some messengers to negotiate 
 for their release. On February 17 the king 
 summoned his chiefs and the missionaries to 
 a conference. Just as they were sitting down, 
 the alarm horn was blown, announcing a fire 
 in the town. It is an Ashantee law that the 
 king must attend all fires, possibly that all the 
 young men may work all the better to put it 
 out. When the fire was extinguished, the 
 king returned and said to the chiefs, ' My 
 friends, I have just received a letter from the 
 Governor, asking me to give up the white 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 99 
 
 men. I have no objection to it myself; now 
 what do you say ? ' 
 
 Then Adoo Buffoo rose and said that the 
 white men had taken from them Denkera, and 
 Assin, and Wassaw, and Akim, and now they 
 had better keep these white men at Coomas- 
 sie. The king took the votes of the chiefs, and 
 Adoo Buffoo had the majority. However, at 
 last he agreed to release them on a ransom. 
 In such a case the king would demand a 
 thousand periguins : he was only a chief, and 
 would be content with 800 — i.e. 6,840/. 
 
 The Basle Mission, which is not wealthy, 
 offered a thousand pounds. In the meantime 
 Elmina was transferred to the English, and a 
 native of Elmina, named Plange, was sent up 
 to Coomassie to announce the fact, and to 
 offer a thousand pounds for the captives. At 
 a great council the king said, ' Well, if I 
 don't give up the white men, what will the 
 Governor do ?' Plange replied he thought 
 there would be war. Upon this there was a 
 tumult, like that described by Bowdich on a 
 similar occasion. All rose to their feet. The 
 Queen Mother spoke first, and said that she 
 with her left hand could beat the Fantees. The 
 
 H 2 
 
loo THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 chief of Adansi said he was the smallest of 
 the chiefs, but he could do the same by him- 
 self. Each chief in turn spoke to a similar 
 effect. Plange told them they must let their 
 hearts cool : what he had said was only his 
 private opinion : it was not in the letter. The 
 tumult then ceased and a pacific answer was 
 returned. 
 
 But there was at Coomassie a restless 
 and ambitious chief named Amanquatia. He 
 had learned the art of war under an old chief 
 named Essamanquatia, and had gained some 
 reputation as a general. He envied the 
 fame of Adoo Buffoo, and, possessing great 
 wealth and rank, raised and headed a strong 
 war party. Another advocate for war was 
 the chief Atchampong, whom Mr. Pope 
 Hennessy had so judiciously released. Adoo 
 Buffoo, himself, was at first for peace, as his 
 son had been taken prisoner by the English ; 
 but Mr. Hennessy sent him also to Coo- 
 massie, and then Adoo Buffoo no longer 
 hesitated to join the advocates of war. Coffi 
 Calcalli (or rather Kerrikerri) seems to have 
 been in favour of peace ; but he was a young 
 man, and had only been four years on the 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. ror 
 
 throne ; he could not resist the united will of 
 so many powerful chiefs. 
 
 It was, therefore, determined to renew 
 the war which had been smouldering since 
 1864. Atchampong and Adoo Buffoo were 
 ordered to march with a small army to the 
 -western districts of the Gold Coast. The 
 main army, 40,000 strong, was placed under 
 the command of Amanquatia; and Essa- 
 manquatia had a division. All these war- 
 like preparations were kept secret from 
 the missionaries (as they were at a later 
 period when Sir Garnet invaded the country) ; 
 and when everything was ready in November, 
 1872, the captives were called to the palace 
 and informed that the thousand pounds would 
 be accepted, and that they were free men. 
 They were escorted to Fomana, on the 
 frontier, thirty-seven miles from Coomassie, 
 and royal envoys were sent down to Cape 
 Coast Castle to get the money from the 
 Governor. 
 
 A certain crafty old chief had suggested 
 in council that the missionaries should be 
 really released and sent on across the Prah, 
 .and that the army should follow close upon 
 
ioz THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. 
 
 them. The surrender of the prisoners would 
 so delude the Assins that they would remain 
 in their villages and be taken unawares. 
 However, the chiefs did not like to forego 
 the thousand pounds. It was resolved to 
 obtain it, if possible, from the Governor on 
 trust, then to take back the captives to Coor- 
 massie, and pour the army into the Protecto- 
 rate. However, the Administrator refused 
 to pay over the ransom until the missionaries, 
 were brought to the Prah ; and, despite Prince 
 Ansah's assurances of the good faith of his 
 countrymen, he would not swerve from this 
 resolution. The envoys promised to go back 
 and bring the missionaries to the Prah, and 
 first purchased on credit a large quantity of 
 goods from more than one merchant in the 
 town. It was almost universally believed 
 that there would be peace. 
 
 As soon as the envoys returned to 
 Fomana the mask was taken off. Plange 
 was flogged, the missionaries robbed, and all 
 of them ordered back to Coomassie. On 
 their way they met the Ashantee army in, 
 full march for the Prah. 
 
 The captives heard little news about the 
 
THE EUROPEAN CAPTIVES. " 103 
 
 war ; pqlitics were tabooed by the natives in 
 their conversation. But in May, 1873, the 
 king met them in the street ; he was carried 
 in a basket or cradle, lined with red cloth 
 and leopard-skin, and wore a necklace of silver 
 bullets, the symbol of war. He descended 
 from his basket and danced before them like 
 David, and brandished his sword in their 
 faces, and said that he was at Dunquah, and 
 that if the white men mixed themselves up 
 in the palaver it would be the worse for them. 
 This was the turning-point ; afterwards came 
 to Coomassie rumours of sickness and dis- 
 aster, and the king did not dance any 
 more. 1 
 
 1 I obtained the materials of this chapter from Mr. Kiihne 
 at Prahsu, soon after his release. 
 
104 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE INVASION. 
 
 Amanquatia left Coomassie with his army 
 under the best auspices : two men were tied 
 at the top of trees near the outside of the 
 town, and from their time and manner of 
 dying from starvation the priests deduced a 
 happy issue to the undertaking. He reached 
 the Prah in December, 1872, and it took five 
 days to ferry the troops across. First he 
 ravaged the country of Assin, and sent a 
 message to the Fantees saying he had no 
 quarrel with them. He then marched against 
 Fantee, and defeated the army of allies near 
 Yancoomassie, and afterwards near Dunquah. 
 He declared that he would bring to Coo- 
 massie the stones of the castle at Cape Coast, 
 some sea-water in a bottle, the Governor, and 
 other curiosities. He would drive the white 
 
THE INVASION, xo$ 
 
 men into the sea and make them hide in the 
 belly of the herring. The king sent exultant 
 messages to Cape Coast Castle. He had 
 heard that his forts at Cape Coast and 
 Elmina were very dirty and out of repair, 
 and begged to request that the Governor 
 would have them white-washed and cleaned, 
 as he intended to come and inspect them. 
 
 The Administrator, Colonel Harley, C.B., 
 did not follow the example of Colonel Hill 
 who had marched in person to meet the 
 Ashantees in the hush. He sent Dr. Rowe 
 to Assin to find out if it was really an invasion : 
 he afterwards despatched to the Fantee camp 
 a detachment of Haussas (irregular troops 
 levied at Lagos), under Lieutenant Hopkins, 
 2nd West India Regiment. Mr. Lbggie, 
 the acting Inspector-General of Police, also 
 went to the front with a rocket-party, and 
 Surgeon M'Kellar R.N., attended the troops. 
 The Administrator supplied the Fantees with 
 ammunition : this they blazed off in the direc- 
 tion of the enemy, whom they outnumbered, 
 but always refused to advance. It was said 
 that they sometimes fought well ; but the 
 battle always ended in their running away. 
 
106 THE INVASION. 
 
 Dunquah is about twenty miles from' 
 Cape Coast Castle. Amanquatia destroyed 
 the village and cut down the great fetish tree 
 to show that he had conquered the gods of the 
 country. He then marched south-west in the 
 direction of Elmina, and took Juquah, the 
 capital of Denkera. The unfortunate natives 
 streamed into Cape Coast Castle for protec- 
 tion : it was a most piteous spectacle. Many 
 were emaciated by famine or disease : some 
 were carrying their aged parents on their 
 backs, or leading the blind ; the wayside was 
 littered with corpses, with the dying, with 
 women bringing forth children. The poor 
 wretches encamped in the streets of Cape 
 Coast Castle, and washed themselves in the 
 puddles and gutters. The rains had now set 
 in, and were unusually severe ; the roofs of 
 houses were battered down, and many people 
 perished in the ruins. Then the survivors, 
 dreading the shelter of their houses more 
 than the wind and rain, also made huts in the 
 streets, or lived under the stormy sky. The 
 Ashantee army came close to the town and 
 burnt a village three miles off, so that the re- 
 flection of the flames could plainly be seen 
 
THE INVASION. to7 
 
 from the town. The natives feared to go to 
 the bush for wood, or to the plantations. 
 Famine raged in the town, and two epidemics 
 broke out — small-pox and dysentery. Night 
 alarms were frequent : the merchants, rightly 
 or wrongly, placed no faith in the Administra- 
 tion, fortified their houses, and, arming their 
 servants, established patrols. Happily the 
 Ashantees were not acquainted with the weak- 
 ness of the town, and they had a dread of 
 artillery. Besides, Elmina was their object of 
 attack, and there the natives of the town would 
 assist them to take the fort and to drive the 
 English into the sea. They therefore moved 
 their camp to the neighbourhood of Elmina. 
 A division marched against the turbulent 
 Commenda, and the village was utterly de- 
 stroyed ; but the inhabitants escaped and were 
 taken off in English vessels to Cape Coast. 
 
 On the other hand the Ashantees also 
 suffered from the heavy rains ; dysentery 
 and small-pox came upon them in their 
 unclean camps, and carried them off by 
 hundreds. But Amanquatia did not intend to 
 return until he had struck at Elmina : ar- 
 rangements were slowly made for an attack ; 
 
108 THE INVASION. 
 
 scaling ladders were prepared; the natives 
 of the town were confident of success, and 
 had a belief that if only the Dutch flag could 
 be once more hoisted on the castle of St. 
 George their old masters would return. 
 
 Such was the' state of affairs when the 
 vigorous measures of an English officer frus- 
 trated Amanquatia's designs, and made him 
 relinquish all hopes of taking Elmina. On June 
 7, 1873, the ' Barracouta,' Captain Fremantle, 
 steamed into the roads at Cape Coast, having 
 on board a body of marines under the com- 
 mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Festing, R.M.A 
 He at once saw that something must be done 
 with Elmina, for Ashantees were in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and even, it was said, in the town. 
 He landed his marines and garrisoned the 
 castle ; then having obtained the permission 
 of the Administrator, he arranged a scheme 
 with Captain Fremantle for ensuring the 
 safety of the castle and the loyal portion of 
 the town. 
 
 A few words must now be given in de- 
 scription of Elmina. This our newest colony 
 is also the oldest we possess outside the 
 Straits of Gibraltar. It was built before 
 
THE INVASION. 
 
 109 
 
 America was discovered, and lost in the fol- 
 lowing manner : — In 1637, there being at that 
 time peace between Portugal and Holland, 
 Prince Maurice, Governor of Dutch Brazil, 
 sent over the famous Admiral De Ruyter to 
 take what he could find in these lawless lati- 
 tudes. De Ruyter anchored off Elmina and 
 implored the assistance of the Governor. A 
 pestilent disease was raging in the fleet, and 
 he was anxious to establish a hospital on 
 shore, but not too far from a settlement. 
 Pointing to a hill at that time covered with 
 bush, just inland of the castle, he said, ' That 
 would answer my purpose, and being to lee- 
 ward would not affect the town.' The Gover- 
 nor assented. The Dutch pitched tents, and 
 carried up numbers of hammocks containing 
 not sick men but pieces of ordnance. The 
 Portuguese, fearing infection, did not examine 
 them closely, and were taken completely by 
 surprise. One fine morning there was a blast 
 of trumpets from the hill, and the tents being 
 struck unmasked a battery which poured such 
 a heavy fire into the castle of St. George that 
 the Portuguese soon capitulated. The place 
 is still shown where the Governor met De 
 
sio THE INVASION. 
 
 Ruyter outside the gates of the castle and 
 delivered up the keys ; and a Latin tablet on 
 the old tower commemorates the event. Bos- 
 man mentions the taking of St. George by 
 cannon on the hill which commanded that 
 fort ; but he did not say how the cannon came 
 there. On that hill the Dutch built a fort 
 which they called St. J ago. 
 
 Elmina is thus situated. The Baya, an 
 arm of the sea, enters near the landing place 
 and runs a little way parallel with the beach. 
 There is a narrow strip of sand with the 
 ocean on one side and the Baya on the other, 
 ending in a rocky promontory. On this pro- 
 montory is the castle ; and the king's town 
 beginning close under the walls was built 
 along the sandy strip ; where the town came 
 to an end was a scrubby growth of prickly 
 pear. 
 
 The Baya is spanned by a stone bridge, 
 and on the other side of the water is the 
 Garden-town, consisting chiefly of a broad 
 street shaded with umbrella trees, and con- 
 taining the houses of the merchants. Beyond 
 it to the north-west is a cluster of native huts 
 and the Governor's Garden — a grove with a 
 
THE INVASION. ji3 
 
 summer house surrounded by a wall, and at 
 no great distance from the sea. The fort of 
 St. J ago is on the other side of the Baya, a 
 little to the west of the Garden-town ; beyond 
 it is another hill and an outlying fort ; beyond 
 that hill and beyond the garden is a wide 
 open grassy plain. 
 
 At daybreak on June 13, 1873, several 
 man-of-war's boats entered the Baya, and lay 
 opposite the town. At the same time a de- 
 tachment of the 2nd West drew up in line 
 behind the prickly pear scrub. Thus the 
 king's town was surrounded by water and 
 men. Then martial law was proclaimed, and 
 the natives were called upon to deliver up all 
 arms and munitions of war at the gate of the 
 castle of St. George between the hours of 
 seven and nine. Warning was given that if 
 they refused, the town would be bombarded 
 by the fort. The arms were not brought in, 
 and another proclamation was issued giving 
 them an hour more to obey the demand. At 
 noon the bombardment commenced, and in 
 twenty minutes the town was destroyed. A 
 number of armed Elminas broke through the 
 line of the 2nd West, and then assembling 
 
 i 
 
114 THE INVASION. 
 
 fired on the boats; at the same time some 
 Ashantees joined them from the north. These 
 were soon put to the rout and chased along 
 the beach; arid the troops returned to the 
 castle at 3 p.m. 
 
 At five o'clock in the afternoon the boats 
 were on their way back to the ship, when a 
 Java pensioner ran breathlessly into the town 
 and told Mr. Von Hamel, the Dutch vice- 
 consul, that a great Ashantee army was 
 marching over the plain in the direction of 
 the town. Von Hamel gave the alarm ; the 
 general assembly was sounded ; the Haussas, 
 Marines, and 2nd West, under Festing, Fre- 
 mantle, Loggie, and Rowe, marched on to the 
 hill overlooking the plain. It was already 
 black with Ashantees ; some of them had 
 entered the garden and had killed a Java 
 pensioner, and it was evidently their intention 
 to burn the loyal quarter of the town. 
 
 The battle began, and the Ashantees 
 passing close to the garden were attempting 
 to turn Festing's right flank, when all of a 
 sudden, to the surprise of both parties en- 
 gaged, a terrific fire was opened from behind 
 the garden wall ; the Ashantees fell in heaps, 
 
THE INVASION. 115 
 
 -wavered to and fro, and then began slowly 
 to retreat 
 
 This is what had occurred : Von Hamel,' 
 Laving alarmed the castle, ran down to • the 
 beach and hailed Lieutenant Wells, who was 
 in command of the boats returning to the 
 Barracouta. Wells landed at once with his 
 small-arm men aftd some marines, and, not 
 knowing which way to go, struck straight 
 inland : this took him into the garden : some 
 Ashantees ran out at the other end as he 
 ■entered, and he found himself on the 
 enemy's flank. Marching up to the wall, he 
 poured in volleys at close range and did great 
 •execution. 
 
 The Ashantees retreated in good order 
 across the plain, keeping in line, loading and 
 reloading, and dropping down on one knee to 
 fire. But, though they were 3,000 strong 
 against a force of 300 men, they could not 
 stand before the Snider ; the bush and the 
 <iusk, alone, put an end to the pursuit. They 
 lost about five hundred men, while the losses 
 on our side were merely nominal. 
 
 The Ashantees remained in their former 
 camp, but made no movement of aggression. 
 
 1 2 
 
,16 THE INVASION. 
 
 Though only a slight engagement, this battle 
 was decisive in its results. From that 
 time the Ashantees abandoned all hope of 
 taking Elmina ; and so their campaign was 
 brought to a close. On the other hand, the 
 spirit of the Imperial Government was roused 
 by this outrage on the British flag, and it was 
 resolved to wage an offensive war against: 
 the Ashantees. Captain Glover was sent to 
 Accra with orders to raise a native army in 
 the eastern districts of the Gold Coast, and if 
 . successful in his levies to invade Ashantee 
 territory. Shortly afterwards Colonel Harley 
 was recalled, and Sir Garnet Wolseley was 
 ordered to take the civil and military com- 
 mand upon the Gold Coast, to organise an 
 army of Fantees, to drive the Ashantees out 
 of the Protectorate, and, if he should deem it 
 necessary, to march upon Coomassie. Two 
 English regiments were held in readiness \, 
 but it was hoped he might be able to defeat 
 the enemy, and establish an enduring peace, 
 with no other forces than those of the native 
 ■allies, and a small body of seamen and 
 marines. 
 
117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 Having been an eye-witness of the principal 
 events which ensued, I shall now write often 
 in the first person, freely describing my own 
 impressions and adventures. This will make 
 my narrative seem egotistical, but may also 
 -make it more interesting. And, in the first 
 place, I shall explain how it was I came to 
 -volunteer for the expedition to the Gold 
 ■Coast. 
 
 In 1 86 1 I happened to meet at a farm- 
 house in Oxfordshire a young surgeon who 
 liad just returned from his first trip on board 
 a mail-steamer to the West Coast of Africa. 
 His descriptions of that wonderful land so 
 fired my foolish young head that I determined 
 to go there forthwith ; and, having bought a 
 battery of elephant guns, sporting rifles, &c, 
 
n8 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 for a country in which was no game, saddles 
 for a country in which were no horses, a magic 
 lantern, a tent, a cast-iron stove, and other 
 trifles of a similar kind, I steamed down the 
 coast to Fernando Po, and took a passage to 
 Gaboon, which was then all the rage (in more 
 senses than one). . I spent five months in that 
 land of controversy, ascended the river higher 
 than anyone before me, discovered its rapids, 
 visited the cannibal Fans, investigated the 
 habits of the gorilla, and demonstrated to the 
 satisfaction of all scientific men that it does 
 not beat its breast like a drum, or scoop out 
 negro heads like a pumpkin, but is a quiet 
 lumbering beast, wary and shy, difficult to 
 approach, never attacking man except when 
 brought to bay, and even then not attacking 
 in a very formidable manner. Next I visited 
 Angola, in South- Western Africa, and, some- 
 times riding on an ox, sometimes carried in a 
 hammock, took a trip into the interior of that 
 colony. Returning northwards, I indulged 
 myself in a trip among the Cape de Verde 
 Islands, and had some good quail-shooting in 
 the island of St. Nicholas : after which I went 
 over to the mainland, ascended the Caseman^ 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 119 
 
 che, Gambia, and Senegal, saw something of 
 Moslem life among the negroes, and also of 
 the wild Tawny Moors, who, riding on their 
 camels, came into St. Louis from the Desert 
 with gum, woollen cloths, and other articles of 
 trade. 
 
 In these travels I at all events learnt my 
 own ignorance. Often alone in the forest, or 
 at sea in a canoe, without books or civilised 
 companions, I had reason to regret that I did 
 not know the alphabet of nature. I looked 
 upon the trees, the water, and the earth, as 
 many in London look at the placards on the 
 walls and the letters over shop-doors. Soon 
 after my return to England I read the ' Origin 
 of Species,' was inflamed with a passion for 
 science, and entered myself as student at a 
 London hospital. When four years had 
 passed I longed to revisit Africa, and to 
 study for myself in savage life the many in- 
 teresting problems with relation to the Pro- 
 gress of Man which were being so actively 
 discussed throughout the scientific world. I • 
 wished, also, to make a genuine exploring 
 journey, so that I might better deserve the 
 title of African explorer which I sometimes 
 
120 - THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 (wrongfully) received. But I could not again 
 afford to travel at my own expense in a 
 country where a white man must always 
 travel en prince; and I should, perhaps, have 
 never realised my hopes had it not been for 
 a merchant connected with the Gold Coast, 
 Mr. Andrew Swanzy, who desired to do 
 something as a patron for the cause of ex- 
 ploration. He suggested that I should open 
 up the Assinie river on the western limits of 
 the Gold Coast ; and I proposed that Coo- 
 massie should be included in the trip. To 
 this he assented, and finally it was arranged 
 that if, on account of political troubles, that 
 journey should prove to be impracticable, I 
 should then select some other region which 
 had not been explored. 
 
 In the autumn of 1868 I landed at 
 Assinie, which at that time was occupied by 
 the French. A commandant and a surgeon 
 dwelt in a ' Poste' surrounded by a stockade, 
 with a park of artillery, and a detachment of 
 .Tirailleurs Senegalais — troops resembling the 
 Haussas, and levied from the warlike tribes 
 of Senegambia. I had previously called at 
 Grand Bassam, which was the superior 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 121 
 
 station, possessing an officers' mess, a larger 
 force of Tirailleurs, and an outpost on the 
 lagoon. These settlements, in common with 
 Gaboon, were governed by the admiral of 
 the station, who used to inspect them once a 
 year. They were both abandoned during 
 the war of 1870 : and the 'Poste' is let to 
 Mr. Swanzy ; but the French still retain these 
 settlements, and a gun-boat visits them now 
 and then to watch over French interests. 
 
 The trade of Grand Bassam is not at 
 ordinary times connected with Ashantee ; in 
 fact Grand Bassam, though included in the 
 French Cote d'Or, does not properly belong 
 to the Gold Coast. The trade is in palm oil 
 with tribes who speak a language distinct 
 from the Oji ; and instead of a gold-dust 
 currency they use copper bracelets called 
 manilhas, a currency also in vogue at Bonny 
 and other places in the Bight of Benin. 
 
 Assinie is the westernmost station on the 
 Gold Coast, and has long been a port of 
 Ashantee. Of the four great roads from 
 Coomassie one leads to that settlement. 1 
 The king lives at Kinjabo, a town situated 
 
 1 Dupuis. 
 
122 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 on the banks of the river, about thirty miles 
 inland ; and as the Assinie territory joins 
 that of Ashantee, the traders of Coomassie 
 can come down without being stopped on 
 the way, which, in troublous times, more than 
 compensates for fifty miles extra journeying. 
 But these Ashantees are only stopped to 
 trade under certain restrictions. They are 
 forced to remain at Kinjabo ; they may not 
 go to the beach and traffic with the ships and 
 factories, but must hand over their nuggets 
 and gold-dust to Amatifoo with an order for 
 the goods they require, and he acts as their 
 broker through his traders on the beach. 
 
 The Commandant informed me that a 
 party of Ashantees, envoys and traders from 
 their king, were just then staying at Kinjabo.. 
 A French trader was going there on busi- 
 ness, and gave me a. passage in his boat. 
 We arrived after dark and invited Amatifoo 
 to dinner. First my companion spoke of his 
 affairs, and Amatifoo ordered 1,000 muskets 
 for the Ashantees. These muskets were the 
 weapons of the French army under the first 
 Napoleon, bought from Government by an 
 enterprising merchant, and sold by him to 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 123 
 
 the African trade. It is therefore not im- 
 possible that some of the guns used by the 
 Ashantees against the Black Watch at Amoa- 
 ful had been previously used by the French 
 against that regiment at Waterloo. 
 
 This business being over, Amatifoo took 
 a glass of tea and claret, half and half, and 
 enquired how he could oblige me. I said 
 that I wanted to go to Coomassie; he replied 
 that I could do so, but must follow the usual 
 etiquette. First, I must send up a letter 
 (with a present) requesting permission to 
 visit the king ; and he, in reply, would send 
 down bearers with a hammock and an 
 escort. Such, I knew, was the usual routine ; 
 and the next day I gave the Ashantee envoys 
 10/. worth of cloth and the letter, which they 
 said would be sent up at once. But no 
 answer came down ; and I am inclined to 
 believe that Amatifoo and the Ashantees 
 divided the present. Having waited three 
 
 . months, I called at Kinjabo again, and 
 asked Amatifoo's permission to go through 
 his territory to the Ashantee frontier ; thence 
 I could send up a message, and there I 
 
 could wait for a reply. This he refused 
 
124 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 to allow ; and so, happily for me, my pro- 
 ject broke through. Had I succeeded in 
 reaching Coomassie, I should certainly have 
 been detained until the British troops had 
 crossed the Prah. 
 
 I found that nothing could be done on 
 the Gold Coast in the way of exploration. 
 In the interior Ashantee formed a cordon of 
 more than 200 miles, separating the tribes of 
 the open land from the tribes of the sea. 
 Even the countries adjoining Ashantee 
 would not venture to let a white man pass 
 through them for fear of incurring the enmity 
 of that jealous and despotic power. I there- 
 fore turned my attention to other parts of 
 Africa : and I met at Cape Coast Castle Sir 
 Arthur Kennedy, the Governor-in-Chief of 
 the West African settlements, who was making 
 his annual tour of inspection. He offered me 
 the command of a Government Expedition to 
 explore the Sherbro' river near Sierra Leone, 
 provided his Council would vote the necessary . 
 funds. I therefore went to Sierra Leone : 
 but the Council would not vote the funds ; 
 and I was about to make a reconnaissance of 
 the Sherbro' at my own or rather Mr. 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 125 
 
 Swanzy's expense, when I came across a book 
 which showed me the route I should take. 
 This was written by Captain Laing, of the 
 2nd West, who in the days of Sir Charles 
 Macarthy fifty years before had opened a 
 road to Falaba. He afterwards served 
 in the Gold Coast campaign and was one 
 of the few who escaped ; on returning to 
 England he obtained his promotion, and 
 was sent by the African Association to 
 discover the mouth of the Niger — at that 
 time the enigma of geography. Major 
 Laing was the first European to reach 
 Timbuctoo, where he was murdered by the 
 Tuaricks, and, had he lived to return, would 
 have won a reputation second only to that of 
 Mungo Park. This gallant officer is still 
 remembered in the three regions where he 
 laboured. At Falaba I was lodged in the 
 hut which he had occupied, and old men 
 spoke of him to me with affection and esteem ; 
 Barth in the same manner heard of him at 
 Timbuctoo ; and Captain Butler in his visit 
 to Akim was shown a place which still bears 
 the name of Laing 's Camp. 
 
 I took Laing's route to Falaba, and, like 
 
126 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 himself, was detained three months and not 
 allowed to pass. Then having returned to 
 Sierra Leone with envoys from the chief, I 
 obtained a promise from them that I should 
 have a free road to the Niger, and succeeded 
 in reaching that river. The source was inac- 
 cessible on account of native wars, so I went 
 on to the gold-mines of Boure, a country never 
 visited by any other European ; and thus 
 added a large region to the map. 
 
 These journeys occupied ten months, all 
 (with a fortnight's interval) spent among sav- 
 ages. However, I wished before going home 
 to ascend the Niger from its mouth in one of 
 the trading steamers which go up that .river 
 in the season of rains. But the firms there 
 trading wished the river kept dark, and, laying 
 their heads together in Liverpool and London, 
 directed their agents to refuse me a passage. 
 However, the time I spent on the coast wait- 
 ing for the rains was not entirely wasted. I 
 made two trips into the back woods of Libe- 
 ria, one from Monrovia and one from Cape 
 Palmas; spent some weeks with the Basle 
 missionaries; and finally witnessed a battle 
 on the Volta which I have described else- 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 127 
 
 where, but which gains new interest from the 
 recent campaign. 
 
 In the spring of 1870 the army of Adoo 
 Buffoo was still in Kreepee ; and on the 
 island of Duffo in the Volta was a town 
 belonging to the Aquamoos. These islanders 
 made raids upon our side of the river, and 
 stopped all navigation by seizing canoes. 
 An Ashantee captain with his company was 
 residing in the town and directing these 
 operations. 
 
 The Accras, who do business as traders 
 on the Volta, determined to attack Duffo, 
 and requested the aid of the Administrator. 
 The Gold Coast Government not pos- 
 sessing a steamer, Mr. Ussher, the Admi- 
 nistrator, applied to Captain Glover, at 
 that time Administrator of Lagos, who placed 
 a small river steamer, the ' Echo,' and his own 
 services at Mr. Ussher's disposal, stipulating 
 that he (Glover) should be allowed to conduct 
 the fighting part of the business. In 1868 
 Sir Arthur Kennedy had visited the Volta 
 with Captain Glover, and had made a treaty 
 with the Aquamoos, which treaty had now 
 
128 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 been broken. Captain Glover was therefore 
 already acquainted with the river. 
 
 So it was arranged ; and the ' Echo ' 
 steamed up the Volta, having on board 
 Captain Glover with some Haussas, Mr. 
 Ussher with some soldiers of the 2nd West, 
 and the colonial surgeon of the Gold Coast. 
 The Accra army was encamped on the hostile 
 side of the river opposite a town called Bato, 
 a little way below Duffo ; and it was arranged 
 that on a certain day the Accras should 
 march along the Aquamoo bank of the river, 
 and thence storm the islands in canoes while 
 the ' Echo ' covered the attack. 
 
 Having heard of this I went overland 
 from Accra to Bato, and obtained a passage 
 in the ' Echo.' On the morning of the 
 appointed day she weighed anchor at dawn 
 and steamed slowly up the river. The water 
 was unknown and the lead had to be used. 
 We soon sighted the island with its town 
 built on the end that was towards us. As 
 we approached, a number of armed men came 
 down to the bank and stood close to the 
 water ; presently they fired, and the bullets 
 dropped into the water just under the side of 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 129 
 
 the vessel. The soldiers returned the fire : 
 Captain Glover worked the big gun and the 
 rocket tube, Mr. Ussher the Hale's rocket 
 trough. As the ' Echo ' passed the town 
 Ussher fired a rocket which first struck the 
 water and then making a beautiful curve 
 alighted on the thatched roof of a house. 
 The town was soon in a blaze. 
 
 Ahead of the island the river was black 
 with canoes clustered together. A rocket 
 from the tube soon sent these up stream ; and 
 as some of them paddled along their own side 
 of the river there came puffs of smoke from 
 the banks above ; the canoes stopped, and we 
 could see men running down the bank and 
 jumping into them. They had fallen a prey- 
 to the vanguard of the Accras. 
 
 However, the main body did not arrive 
 till the middle of the day, and so the attack 
 was postponed. The ' Echo ' was anchored 
 beyond the island on the upper side : and the 
 Accras pitched their camp on the banks of 
 the river. The Aquamoos and Ashantees 
 dug rifle-pits in the bush at the north end of 
 the island, and blazed away at the ' Echo ' all 
 the afternoon. They hit the steamer about 
 
 K 
 
i 3 o THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 twenty times, but nobody on board was 
 touched. Some of the enemy had Enfield 
 rifles, as could be told by the sound of the 
 bullets as they sang past our ears. 
 
 All night long the Accras fired off their 
 muskets to show that they were on the alert, 
 and the islanders bawled out to them, asking 
 why they did not come across, calling them 
 cowards, with other terms it would be im- 
 proper to translate. 
 
 The next morning Captain Glover took 
 the steamer close into the island and near the 
 Aquamoo bank. The Accras declared them- 
 selves ready to storm ; and so, to cover their 
 attack, a heavy fire of shell and grape was 
 poured into the bush-covered point which 
 formed the enemy's position. But the Accra 
 canoes, though already filled with men, did not 
 budge from the bank. It seems they were 
 •disputing as to who should go first, as if it 
 were a dinner party. Domprey, who was 
 present, came on board saying he could 
 •do nothing with the Accras, and the whole 
 affair seemed a fiasco, when suddenly the 
 •canoes, with flags waving at their bows, pushed 
 off into the river, and were paddled towards 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 131 
 
 the end of the island. The men got out 
 in shallow water, formed a half moon, ad- 
 vanced steadily, under fire from the point, 
 and on reaching land rushed up into the bush. 
 In the meantime the canoes went back for 
 reinforcements, and the ' Echo ' steaming 
 round the north end of the island went 
 ahead of the Accras and covered their 
 advance. There was, however, but little re- 
 sistance. The Accras forming in three lines 
 swept the island from end to end at a double, 
 firing into the high grass and thickets before 
 them as they ran. Some of the islanders 
 jumped into small canoes and paddled across 
 the river under fire from the ' Echo.' Thus 
 a few succeeded in making their escape. But 
 there was one man on the island who did not 
 wish to escape. In the midst of the fight 
 we heard an explosion and saw a column of 
 white smoke rising in the air. This was the 
 Ashantee captain, who, having, first thrown 
 his stool into the river, seated himself on a 
 barrel Of powder, and died by his own hand. 
 So ended the battle of Duffo, and Dom- 
 prey, who was still on board, went round and 
 
 shook hands with us all in turn. A few 
 
 k 2 
 
132 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 weeks afterwards he was shot in battle with 
 the Ashantees; but I was lately informed 
 by my old interpreter that he was really shot 
 by the Accras out of jealousy for the favour 
 showed him by the English governors. 
 
 Shortly afterwards I returned to England,, 
 and having accomplished the objects which I 
 had in view, namely a study of savages-at- 
 home, and a journey of exploration, I had no- 
 intention of visiting Africa again. However, 
 I volunteered for the Livingstone Relief Ex- 
 pedition, as also did Captain Butler, already 
 well known for his travels in North America. 
 We were both unsuccessful candidates, though, 
 as it afterwards turned out, the Council had 
 more reason than we had to regret that 
 circumstance. Captain Butler returned to 
 America, and sledged over the region he has 
 called ' The Wild North Land.' He had just 
 returned to civilised quarters when he heard 
 of the Ashantee expedition ; he telegraphed 
 across the ocean to his old commander and 
 friend, Remember Butler, and at once took his. 
 passage to England and thence to the Gold 
 Coast. 
 
 I was equally desirous to join the expedi- 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 133 
 
 tion, but could not see how it was to be done. 
 However, as the affair began to attract more 
 and more attention from the public, I thought 
 that perhaps the 'Times' might send out a 
 special correspondent Accordingly I volun- 
 teered, mj' offer was accepted, and I took my 
 passage on board the ' Ambriz,' a West African 
 mail steamer which was to sail on September 
 12, 1873, with Sir G. Wolseley and his Staff, 
 and about forty others, chiefly special service 
 •officers. I was the first correspondent en- 
 gaged, but the ' Standard ' also sent out a 
 ■correspondent in the ' Ambriz.' When the 
 news came of the disaster on the Prah, the 
 "New York Herald ' called Mr. Stanley from 
 Spain and despatched him to Cape Coast 
 Castle ; and shortly afterwards the ' Daily 
 Telegraph ' and the ' Illustrated London 
 News ' were represented. The ' Daily News ' 
 had no special correspondent, but was well 
 supplied with news by two officers, one upon 
 the Staff, the other in a native regiment. 
 Excellent letters also appeared in the ' Scots- 
 man,' the ' Manchester Guardian,' and the 
 "Western Morning News.' The medical 
 papers had their correspondents ; and a 
 
134 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 leading merchant at Cape Coast Castle acted' 
 as Reuters agent. Never perhaps has there 
 been a war so fully reported for the press. 
 
 And never perhaps has there been a war 
 of such a strange character as that in which 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley was engaged. It 
 scarcely belonged to the nineteenth century, 
 but resembled the armed adventures of the 
 Elizabethan age. It united the romance of 
 war with the romance of exploration. Alex- 
 ander had marched through Khiva ; the 
 Romans had an Abyssinian campaign ; but 
 never had a European army landed on the 
 shores of Guinea. The forest of the Gold Coast 
 was an unknown land : five or six travellers 
 had passed along the main path to Coomas- 
 sie : but that was all. In the rural districts, 
 of the Protectorate, few of the natives had 
 ever seen a white man, and some even dis- 
 puted their existence. 
 
 The golden wealth of Ashantee, the enor- 
 mous treasures said to be buried in the 
 Bantama with the bodies of the kings, excited 
 hope and curiosity : but that which especially 
 distinguished this expedition was the danger 
 with which it was attended ; and that not of 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 135 
 
 the kind which a soldier loves, not the danger 
 of battle, but the danger of disease. The 
 old proverb, 
 
 Beware and take care of the Bight of Benin, 
 Where few come out, though many go in, 
 
 applies to the whole West Coast of Africa. 
 Even to accept an appointment on the Coast 
 as an official, even to live in the settlements 
 in a comfortable house, with a good table and 
 all the resources of civilisation, is considered 
 an extraordinary risk ; and many -statesmen 
 have been led by their experience to doubt 
 whether the nation is justified in sending its 
 servants to that Land of Death. But if life 
 upon the Coast under the best conditions was 
 so perilous, what would it be for an army in 
 a campaign ? The dangers of the climate 
 would be aggravated by hardships and expo- 
 sure : the soldiers would be subjected to the 
 influence of night-dews, soil-exhalations, the 
 fatigue of forced marches, and the effects of 
 unwholesome nourishment. Even in the 
 healthiest countries, sickness always scourges 
 an army : congregation is in itself a cause of 
 disease. To all these dangers would be added 
 those of the war itself ; and though the loss 
 
136 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 in action would be but slight compared 
 with the loss in European warfare, yet this 
 war had certain dangers which were unac- 
 customed, and therefore terrible. A wound, 
 however trifling in itself, might in that evil 
 climate be a cause of death, and there was no 
 quarter for the prisoners or wounded : all who 
 were taken by the enemy would be put to 
 death in the most horrible manner. 
 
 It is not therefore surprising that the 
 Imperial Government should have been re- 
 luctant to cast two of its noble regiments into 
 that dark and dismal forest out of which, 
 perhaps, none might live to return ; and it may 
 be readily pardoned for having sent a general 
 without an army to make experiments, and re- 
 port upon them before a plan of campaign 
 should be arranged. Sir Garnet Wolseley 
 (with his own consent) was ordered to attempt 
 the following scheme * he was to raise a native 
 army, and place it under the command of 
 special service officers (volunteers selected 
 by himself), and to lead them against the 
 Ashantees. It was hoped that thus he 
 might rout and destroy the army of Aman- 
 quatia, and obtain a treaty of peace from the 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 137 
 
 king, with a large indemnity of gold-dust, 
 hostages, &c. 
 
 In private conversation and also in a pub- 
 lished letter written before our arrival on the 
 Gold Coast, I protested against this orga- 
 nising experiment as illusory and dangerous. 
 How could it be supposed that the Fan tees 
 would ever be taught to defeat the Ashantees ? 
 What could be done with these miserable 
 tribes who had not the head to combine or 
 the heart to contend for their lands and 
 homes ? What reason was there for sup- 
 posing that Wolseley would be more success- 
 ful than Macarthy ? He was a better general 
 no doubt ; but what is the use of a good 
 general with troops who will not obey the 
 orders they receive ? It was absurd to 
 suppose that by appointing a few subalterns 
 here and there in the midst of a mob the 
 nature of the people could be changed. The 
 young officer would lead his savages, who as 
 soon as they came into action would fire a 
 volley, take to their heels, and leave him in 
 the lurch, fortunate if he escaped with merely 
 a discomfiture. 
 
 I denounced the organising movement, 
 
138 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 and declared that it would fail. This predic- 
 tion has been fully verified, and it would 
 be difficult to say whether Wolseley's or 
 Glover's attempt to raise an army from the 
 tribes of the Protectorate broke down 
 most signally. Captain Glover's success 
 was achieved by means of his disciplined 
 negroes from Lagos and the countries of 
 the Niger : and troops of a similar kind 
 were also serviceable to Sir G. Wolseley's 
 operations. But who will now venture to 
 deny what I alone ventured to declare before 
 the campaign was commenced, that Euro- 
 peans alone could conquer Ashantee P 1 That 
 army we met at Amoaful would have made 
 short work of Glover's Haussas and Yorubas, 
 and also of Wolseley's two native regiments 
 (Wood's and Russell's), excellent troops as 
 they were, and led by as gallant men as ever 
 fought on battle-field. 
 
 1 There is not, I venture to assert, the least prospect of 
 the Commander-in-Chief being able to bring this war to an 
 honourable termination without European troops. They 
 need not exceed 2,000 in number, they need not be em- 
 ployed for more than two months ; but they are essential to 
 the success of this expedition, as Sir G. Wolseley will dis- 
 cover before he has been long upon the Gold Coast. — Letter 
 to the ' Times 'from Sierra Leone, September 27. 
 
THE DEPARTVRE. 139 
 
 I looked forward to the campaign with no 
 little apprehension. Sir G. Wolseley was a 
 good soldier and would therefore obey his 
 orders. He would do his best to create a 
 Fantee army; and though I knew that 
 sooner or later he would find out that it was 
 worthless, still by that time two or three 
 months might have been lost, and many lives 
 sacrificed. But what I feared most of all was 
 Diplomacy. The invasion of Fantee was at 
 an end ; the whole country had been ravaged 
 by the enemy, and they had also been taught 
 that all attacks against the settlements were 
 useless. It was therefore reasonable to sup- 
 pose that the Ashantees, partly victorious 
 and partly discomfited, would soon return 
 across the Prah. Sir G. Wolseley 's instruc- 
 tions were to make peace if he could without 
 an appeal to arms. It was hoped that the 
 threats of Great Britain would terrify the 
 King of Ashantee ; and so Sir Garnet was 
 ordered to send him a kind of manifesto, 
 calling upon him to withdraw his army and to 
 make full compensation for the injuries it had 
 caused. After which the general would be' 
 
i 4 o THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 willing to commence negotiations with a view 
 to making a treaty of peace. 
 
 To us who know the respective power of 
 Ashantee and Great Britain, this manifesto 
 appears a reasonable and moderate demand ; 
 but the King of Ashantee probably supposed 
 that the Governor was drunk when he wrote 
 it. Not only the Ashantees, but the Fantees 
 and other natives of the Gold Coast, were 
 not then aware that England was a military 
 power ; they could not believe in an army 
 of white men ; for, in their eyes, all white 
 men were born aristocrats, riding in ham- 
 mocks, and ruling the blacks. While, there- 
 fore, the King of Ashantee acknowledged 
 the superior intelligence of the white men, 
 and even regarded them with a kind of 
 reverence, looking upon them as ' next to 
 God,' * he utterly despised them as warriors, 
 which is not astonishing after Sir C. Macar- 
 thy's campaign. ' Do white men know how 
 to travel to fight ? ' 2 said Coffee Calcalli to 
 Plange, with a sneer. Besides, at that very 
 time his army was in occupation of Fantee ; 
 it had failed to take a fort, and had been 
 
 1 Bowdich. " Blue Book 
 
THE DEPARTURE. ur 
 
 defeated on an open plain where it fought at 
 disadvantage ; but, on the other hand, there 
 it was, encamped close to the settlements ; 
 and these English who called upon him to 
 surrender had not even dared to march out- 
 side their settlements against him. 
 
 It was, therefore, quite impossible that 
 the King of Ashantee, being in the position 
 of a cdnqueror, and being unconscious of the 
 power which the English possessed in reserve, 
 would make any concession ; but I feared 
 that perhaps he might affect negotiation, and 
 that so a part of the dry season would be lost. 
 Happily the failure attending Sir Garnet's 
 primary instructions was so palpable and 
 complete that those instructions did not do any 
 harm. The Fantee chiefs did not even pretend 
 that they could muster an army to fight the 
 Ashantees; as for the manifesto, it was never 
 answered by the king : but the Ashantee 
 general intercepted the letter and replied 
 with a counter-manifesto saying the king had 
 no quarrel with the white man, and that the 
 white man could have peace by giving up 
 the Kings of Denkera, Wassaw, Akim, and 
 Assin. This letter ended with the phrase, 
 
i 4 2 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 I send my love to you, and was signed Aman- 
 quatia. 
 
 Sir G. Wolseley discovered soon after 
 his arrival on the Gold Coast that the regi- 
 ments were necessary to him, and wrote 
 to have them sent out. Still it was not 
 by any means certain, even then, that he 
 would march upon Coomassie, for the Ashan- 
 tees might still be in the Protectorate, and 
 so their army might be destroyed and a 
 treaty of peace obtained with indemnity and 
 hostages, as after the battle of Dodowa in 
 1826. But even this kind of success I should 
 have regarded as a misfortune. It seemed 
 to me that this Ashantee war was only justi- 
 fied because its effect would be to secure 
 our Protectorate from periodical invasion, to 
 bestow on that widowed and wounded country 
 the blessings of eternal peace.' I was con- 
 vinced that no victory, however signal it might 
 be, against an Ashantee army of invasion 
 would gain for our Protectorate more than a 
 temporary respite. A victory more complete 
 than the battle of Dodowa could scarcely be 
 expected ; but of what use had it been after 
 all ? It was well enough to talk about taking 
 
THE DEPARTURE. 143 
 
 irom the king guarantees of peace ; but what 
 guarantee could be obtained ? A treaty was 
 no guarantee, for that was only a promise 
 which he could break when he pleased ; host- 
 ages were no guarantees, for he knew that they 
 would not be killed ; a fine was jio guarantee, 
 for by war he would hope to regain the money 
 he had lost. History clearly showed that the 
 Ashantees could suffer severe defeats and yet 
 recover their former strength. In Gaman an 
 Ashantee army had once been utterly de- 
 stroyed, yet the Ashantees still make war 
 upon Gaman. I therefore inferred that no 
 victory on this side of the Prah would save us 
 from future trouble with the Ashantees. That 
 could be accomplished only by the capture 
 of Coomassie. Even the occupation of the 
 town would, I believed, do the Ashantee 
 power more harm than the slaying in battle 
 of half the population. For the Ashantee 
 power was based on its prestige ; the sur- 
 rounding tribes far outnumbered the dominant 
 people, but remained in subjection because 
 they believed the Ashantees to be invincible, 
 and because they mistrusted each other. But 
 when the white men appeared at Coomassie 
 
144 THE DEPARTURE. 
 
 it would be everywhere known that the Ash- 
 antees had been conquered by a stronger 
 race ; and everywhere the tribes would throw 
 off the yoke. 
 
 The capture of Coomassie would also. I 
 thought, release the Ashantees themselves 
 from a cruel and bloodthirsty despotism ; the 
 monarchy would fall with its policy of war ; 
 but the people would remain and develope 
 the golden resources of the land. At the 
 same time a barrier to commerce would be re- 
 moved, and the Moslem tribes of the North 
 would throng down to the seaboard with 
 cotton and gold. 
 
HS 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley appeared to be the 
 right man for the Ashantee Expedition. 
 ' Chinese Gordon/ who was the rival candi- 
 date, had more experience in organising the 
 natives of another race, but even he could 
 not have created an army of Fantees, and in 
 the campaign which did ensue the experience 
 of Wolseley was, perhaps, of a more valuable 
 kind than that of his distinguished competitor, 
 who is now confirming and continuing the 
 conquests of Baker in Central Africa. 
 
 Wolseley was young for a Major-General, 
 but was also younger than his years. He 
 possessed a peculiar buoyancy of mind which 
 brightened his eyes and gave to his whole 
 frame an appearance of vivacity. When I 
 first saw him at the War Office I went away 
 
 L 
 
i 4 6 THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 and said, ' That is a man who will stand 
 the climate of the Coast.' A friend of mine 
 at Madeira, who merely saw him pass by, 
 and heard him make a single remark, turned 
 round to me and said ' Smart ! ' In the same 
 manner, those civilians who assembled on the 
 beach at Cape Coast to see him land, were 
 favourably impressed, and though they only 
 judged from his face, spoke of him with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 Wolseley possessed in a strange degree 
 not only the manner, but the qualities of 
 youth. He was sanguine even to credulity, 
 easily impressed, perhaps a little changeable, 
 deficient in foresight, as will be seen, but vivid 
 in imagination, full of resources and ideas, 
 possessing a capacity for work, restless, keen, 
 and energetic. He was most beloved and 
 esteemed by those who knew him best ; and 
 they, perhaps, were led by personal affection 
 to overrate his abilities. He had the talent 
 of giving commands in such a way that they 
 gave a pleasure to those who received them, 
 and his manner to young subalterns was inex- 
 pressibly gracious and kind. I have been 
 told that it was his well-known character 
 
THE ARRIVAL. 147 
 
 -which drew to him for the Staff so many clever 
 and distinguished men, with such a host of 
 regimental volunteers, and this may be the 
 case to some extent. Yet a service of great 
 danger will never fail to attract the best men 
 of our army, when volunteers are in request. 
 
 Already, on board the ' Ambriz,' Sir G. . 
 Wolseley commenced operations. The saloon 
 of the steamer was half a brigade office, half 
 a reading-room, the table being covered with 
 blue-books, despatches, and books of African 
 travel. Captain Brackenbury, Assistant Mili- 
 tary Secretary, and Captain Huyshe, Deputy 
 Assistant Adjutant-General, were directed to 
 prepare and give lectures on the History of 
 the Gold Coast and its Topography, that all 
 the special service officers might have some 
 knowledge of the land which was to be the 
 theatre of war. Before our arrival on the 
 Gold Coast, some officers were despatched to 
 other settlements for the purpose of raising 
 labourers and fighting men. Captain Furse, 
 42nd regiment, and Lieutenant Saunders, 
 R.A., were sent to the Gambia to recruit men 
 among the warlike Mandingo tribes. Lieu- 
 tenant Gordon, 93rd regiment, remained at 
 
 L 2 
 
148 THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 Sierra Leone, with orders to raise a force of 
 negro colonists, and also to recruit among 
 a tribe called the Kossoos. Commissary- 
 O'Connor was landed at Cape Palmas to hire 
 as many Kroomen, for purposes of transport, 
 as he could obtain. A number of these men 
 were also procured at Sierra Leone, where 
 they have formed a colony ; and Major Home, 
 commanding the Royal Engineers, engaged 
 at Freetown a number of skilled artisans. 
 
 At daybreak on the morning of October 
 2, the ' Ambriz ' anchored in the roads off 
 Cape Coast Castle. The aspect of the shore 
 was not of a kind to inspire picturesque enthu- 
 siasm, and differed much from the beautiful 
 bay of Sierra Leone, with its towering hills, 
 mantled in clouds, its town scattered with 
 gardens nestling along the water's edge. 
 Here was to be seen stretching to the right 
 and left a bank of red clay about a hundred 
 feet high, covered with low jungle and scrub. 
 At its base was a strip of white beach on 
 which the sea raged in furious surf, each wave 
 as it broke giving a roar, and bursting into a 
 sheet of foam which rushed up the sand, and 
 then returned with a low hiss into the ocean. 
 
• THE ARRIVAL. * 49 
 
 In a gorge or chasm of the bank lay the 
 town with three hills behind it, on which were 
 perched three small forts, one of which served 
 also as a lighthouse and a signal station. The 
 great castle was built on a slope close to the 
 water's edge, and like an old church in a rural 
 village gave an air of dignity to the town. 
 At its foot was a cluster of rocks on which 
 the sea played, and from behind these rocks, 
 which formed the landing place (such as it 
 was), several canoes were seen coming forth- 
 At the same time a boat pushed off from one 
 -of the men-of-war lying in the roads, and in 
 a few minutes Lieutenant Wells, of Elmina 
 fame, came on board for the naval mail 
 bag, and to tell us the news. He said that, 
 according to popular report, the Ashantees 
 were in retreat. 
 
 The canoes that came alongside were of 
 two kinds : first, the fish-canoes of the natives, 
 which were merely wooden troughs hollowed, 
 out of a tree; and secondly, strong English 
 surf-boats of canoe build. In both, the method 
 •of propulsion was the same: the canoe-men dug 
 the water with their paddles and spaded it 
 away, keeping good time and singing in tune. 
 
ISO THE ARRIVAL. • 
 
 In the rains, the landing at Cape Coast: 
 is often dangerous, but in the dry season 
 it is merely attended with discomfort Being 
 put down on the beach, feeling very damp and 
 with sand in my shoes, I walked up the main 
 street towards the house of Mr. Swanzy's 
 agent, where I hoped to get board and lodging 
 for a time, hotels being almost unknown on 
 the West Coast of Africa. I observed many 
 houses which had fallen into ruins from the 
 rains ; and some tents on Connor's Hill de- 
 noted a state of war ; but otherwise the town 
 had resumed its ordinary aspect, the refugees 
 from Denkera and other parts of the interior 
 having moved off to villages along the 
 coast. 
 
 In the afternoon, the General came on 
 shore. He was received by a guard of honour 
 (2nd West India regiment), a salute was 
 fired from the Spur Battery, and the natives 
 collected in a crowd to welcome him, accord- 
 ing to custom, the chief or mayor of the town 
 walking underneath a red umbrella. There 
 was not, however, much excitement, for at 
 Cape Coast Castle governors are changed very 
 often, and the natives were not yet aware that 
 
THE ARRIVAL. 151 
 
 Sir Garnet differed from other governors. 
 He then went up to Government House, 
 where the judge, in barrister's wig and gown, 
 swore him in, as Administrator of the Gold 
 Coast. At ordinary times the Administrator 
 is subject to the Governor-in-Chief at Sierra 
 Leone, but during Sir Garnet's, tenure of the 
 civil command, the Gold Coast was made 
 independent. 
 
 At the time of our arrival, the situation 
 on the Gold Coast was as follows. Since 
 their repulse at Elmina, the Ashantees had 
 made no aggressive movement ; to use the 
 words of a merchant, ' they had done nothing 
 but mourn.' Yet panics were frequent in 
 Cape Coast Castle, and more than once after 
 Sir Garnet's arrival, natives rushed through 
 the streets at midnight crying out that the 
 Ashantees were upon them. The camp was 
 at Mampon, about fifteen, miles off ; but it was 
 said that the army was on foot. I believed 
 that already Amanquatia had received from 
 the king that circle of aggry beads which is 
 the symbol of recall, and that the homeward 
 movement had begun. Still, that is by no 
 means certain, and it would be correct to say 
 
152 THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 that the Ashantee army at this time (the 
 beginning of October) was menacing Cape 
 Coast Castle and Elmina. 
 
 The war was not confined to the environs 
 of these two towns, for the army commanded 
 by Atchampong and Adoo Buffoo was busy 
 in the west. . The Dutch had ceded to Great 
 Britain not only the town and territory of 
 Elmina, but also a tract of coast more than a 
 hundred miles in length, with many settle- 
 ments. Dixcove, which had been English 
 until 1868, resisted the Ashantees, and a chief 
 named Blay of eastern Apollonia, also fought 
 on our side ; but the other villages had the 
 same politics as the people of Elmina, and 
 welcomed the Ashantees. However, with 
 one exception, they did not show hostility 
 against the English, but remained neutral, so 
 far as they were able. 
 
 That one exception was Chamah, the 
 natives of which town, situated at the mouth 
 of the Prah, were a bitter and turbulent people. 
 Placed between the two Ashantee armies, they 
 supplied them both with powder and guns ; 
 for unhappily when Chamah was ceded, the 
 fort was not garrisoned, and the natives could 
 
THE ARRIVAL. 153 
 
 ■do as they pleased. It therefore became an 
 Ashantee town. 
 
 Now there had been some talk of invad- 
 ing Ashantee by the Prah, and so to this town 
 •of Chamah, unsuspicious of evil, and rather 
 disbelieving in the Ashantees, 1 came Captain 
 Commerell, V.C. and Commodore of the West 
 African squadron. He had an interview with 
 the chief and elders, and said he intended to 
 go up the Prah. The chief and elders kindly 
 advised him to beware of Ashantees (a very 
 bad people), and to keep close to the right- 
 hand bank or Chamah side of the river. He 
 took their advice, and fell into their ambus- 
 cade. He had gone about a mile and a half 
 up the river, when a voice was heard from the 
 "bush giving orders, and then a volley was 
 fired into the boats, at about fifteen yards' 
 range. The Commodore himself was wounded, 
 and for many months his life was in danger : 
 Captain Luxmoore, who sat by his side, was 
 also hit and fainted away from loss of blood ; 
 and so many of the seamen were disabled, that 
 it was a hard matter for them to get the 
 ioats back to the sea. In the meantime 
 1 See his letters published in the Blue-books. 
 
154 - THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 another disaster had taken place on the beach 
 near the town. An attempt having been 
 made to land some Fantee police (to garrison 
 the fort) the natives attacked the boat, killed 
 a seaman, and carried off his head in triumph 
 to the Ashantee camp. Soon afterwards, a 
 similar event occurred at Tacorady, where the 
 natives, lying in ambush near the beach, fired 
 into the boats of the ' Argus ' with effect, and 
 wounded the officer commanding. 
 
 However, that was the last advantage 
 gained by the army of the west and their 
 allies. Dixcove and King Blay continued to 
 hold their own ; Chamah, Axim and the other 
 hostile villages were thoroughly bombarded; 
 Atchampong himself was killed by the frag- 
 ment of a shell ; a steam launch ran up and 
 down the coast catching the fishermen in their 
 canoes, and at last not a native dared show 
 himself either on the sea or on the beach. 
 That the enemy might not obtain supplies, a 
 naval blockade was proclaimed as far as 
 Assinie, but that port being French could not 
 be interfered with, and the Ashantees still 
 continued to buy powder and guns through 
 King Amatifoo. 
 
THE ARRIVAL. 155. 
 
 We heard of the disaster on the Prah at. 
 Madeira, and most of us declared it was 
 the reverse of a disaster for the expedition. 
 Hitherto the British people had looked upon 
 the war with languor and actual distrust : it 
 was a war, said the world, which could bring us 
 neither glory nor gain ; it would cost money : 
 many fine young men would perish ignobly 
 from the climate, and victories gained over 
 naked savages could not be viewed with satis- 
 faction. We like to hit men of our own size. 
 Then as to the causes of the war, no one knew 
 what they were, yet most people had their 
 misgivings. It was a common impression 
 that somehow or other we, the strong 
 people, were in the wrong, and that the blun- 
 ders of civil officials had brought this trouble 
 upon us. But the disaster on the Prah was a 
 blow in the face before Europe, and it stirred 
 the spirit of the Nation. 
 
i 5 6 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 wolseley's reconnaissance. 
 
 Th£ visit of Wolseley to the Gold Coast may 
 fairly be termed a Reconnaissance. First he 
 had to discover whether he was to fight the 
 Ashantees at all ; secondly he had to discover 
 whether he was to fight them only with the 
 natives, or with European troops as well : 
 thirdly he had to discover what means and 
 appliances would be required for the cam- 
 paign. 
 
 He sent his manifesto to the king, but had 
 no need to wait for an answer ; it was quite 
 certain that the Ashantees would not give 
 in before they had been defeated. 
 
 Sir G. Wolseley then called a Durbar of 
 kings and chiefs of Fantee. He informed 
 them that the Queen of England having heard 
 with much concern of their sufferings had 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE, 157 
 
 sent him out to assist them. At the same 
 time Her Majesty would not assist those 
 who did, not assist themselves. It was not 
 an English war, but a Fantee war, and the 
 forts were so strong that the English them- 
 selves had nothing to fear from the Ashantees, 
 But the Queen wished to help the "Fantees, 
 The only interest she had in the Gold Coast 
 was the promotion of their welfare by spread- 
 ing among them the arts and blessings of 
 civilization (sic). Sir Garnet then proceeded 
 to business, and explained that each king or 
 chief would be required to return to his own 
 country accompanied by a special service 
 officer for the purpose of raising men. The 
 chiefs would receive a bounty of 10/. a month 
 for all fighting men brought into the field, 
 and they would be supplied with food, am- 
 munition and a small payment of money per 
 diem. Dunquah was appointed as the 
 rendezvous, and as soon as a large camp 
 was formed Sir Garnet would go out there 
 himself. 
 
 Sir Garnet's flowers of rhetoric were 
 rather thrown away, for the Fantees knew 
 very well that we keep up these settlements 
 
iS8 WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 for purposes of trade, and they also knew 
 it was scarcely correct to say it was not an 
 English war. However, they replied in the 
 same style, declaring that, ' if they had been 
 dead the Governor's speech would have 
 made them alive,' and that it was clear to 
 them he would walk in the footsteps of 
 Macarthy. (Sir Garnet did not much relish 
 this comparison, but it is the highest praise 
 Fantees can bestow.) They reserved their 
 reply for a second interview, but it was already 
 evident that they had no taste for the war. 
 They discussed the matters of bounty and 
 pay precisely as if they were foreign merce- 
 naries, and had nothing to do with the inva- 
 sion of their country. The truth was that 
 the Ashantee invasion was at an end ; all the 
 mischief had been done ; their villages were 
 burnt and their plantations destroyed. Soon 
 the Ashantees would go home, and then 
 they would have peace for ten years or so, 
 that being the usual period. The new 
 Governor had' said in his speech, 'If you 
 will cordially unite in fighting your hereditary 
 foes, I will inflict upon them such a punish- 
 ment that you will never be troubled by 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 159 
 
 them for all time to come. I shall first drive 
 them out of protected territory, and then, if 
 necessary, I shall be prepared to follow them 
 into their own country.' 
 
 Now they knew well enough that, even if 
 they did unite under the new Governor, he 
 ■would not be able to do anything of the kind. 
 For Sir Garnet did not allude to other forces 
 which he might employ ; he promised that 
 he would defeat the Ashantees with an army 
 of Fantees, and they, the Fantees, knew 
 better. 
 
 A number of special service officers were 
 sent off to the bush with the various kings and 
 chiefs, but it was generally understood that 
 the native levies would come to nought. There 
 was still gome hope that a large force might 
 be brought in from the other settlements ; 
 however, this hope soon came to an end. 
 In the Gambia not a single man could be 
 raised ; it will be some day yet an excellent 
 recruiting-ground, but the Africans require 
 time when asked to adopt an innovation. 
 From Sierra Leone came some colonists, and 
 a small but useful force of Kossoos. About 
 a hundred Haussas were sent up from Lagos. 
 
160 WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 Lieutenant Bolton, ist West India regiment, 
 was sent to Winnebah, and enlisted a fine 
 company. Captain Nicol, of the Hampshire 
 Militia, a special service officer, went to the 
 rivers Bonny and Opobo, and brought up 
 two companies. From these recruits two 
 native regiments were formed under the 
 command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, V.C., 
 90th regiment, and Major Russell, 13th 
 Hussars. As will hereafter be seen, these 
 two regiments did most excellent service in 
 the war. But they were few in number, and 
 it was some time before they were drilled 
 into soldiers. 
 
 Before Sir Garnet had been appointed, a 
 few officers had already come out to the 
 coast for the purpose of organizing native 
 troops. Most of these had accepted civil 
 appointments ; but there was one man who, 
 even in those early days, was always spoken 
 of with admiration, and who went through 
 the whole campaign to the taking of Coo- 
 massie. This was Lieutenant Gordon, 
 98th regiment. He was first appointed 
 to command the Haussas vice Captain 
 Hopkins, 2nd West India regiment, deceased.; 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. i6r 
 
 Under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Festing he had raised two redoubts, Na- 
 poleon and Abbaye, covering Cape Coast 
 Castle and Elmina, distant about six miles 
 from each respectively. The use of these 
 redoubts at once became apparent, for as 
 soon as they were occupied the Fantees 
 began to till the plantations lying between 
 the earthworks and the coast. Pioneer 
 Gordon (as he deserves to be named) then 
 set to work with Fantee labourers, and began 
 the road to Coomassie, widening the bush- 
 path as far as Mansu, about half-way to the 
 Pfah. That was a most daring enterprise, 
 for the Ashantees might at any time have 
 cut him off from the coast; happily, as we 
 now have ascertained, they do not indulge in 
 cutting-out expeditions, and seldom know 
 what is going on at any distance from their 
 camp. 
 
 Sir Garnet at once placed Gordon on 
 his list of special service officers, and Major 
 Home, R.E., took up the work of road- 
 making. This brave and talented officer 
 pushed on to Mansu, and erected a fort, ' in- 
 trenching himself up to the eyes.' At one 
 
 M 
 
i63 WQLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 time his position was dangerous, and he was 
 ordered to evacuate his post ; he disobeyed 
 orders and remained. Various officers were 
 employed in making military surveys of the 
 roads to Abbaye, Napoleon, Dunquah, &c. ; 
 an Intelligence Department was formed, and 
 spies engaged, though with little success. A 
 detachment of the 2nd West was sent to 
 occupy Accroful, a village about fourteen 
 miles from Cape Coast, on the road to Coo- 
 massie. The defences of Elmina and Cape 
 Coast were improved, sanitary measures 
 were discussed, information was gathered in 
 a general way, and then — nothing more could 
 be done. 
 
 It had been hoped by the Government that 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley would be able to inflict 
 defeat upon the Ashantees soon after his 
 arrival, and that then they would make peace, 
 and the affair would be done with. But one 
 slight omission had been made ; the Govern- 
 ment did not give him any men. It could not 
 be supposed that the 140 marines on board the 
 * Simoom ' and a small body of seamen would 
 be sufficient for the purpose : no, it was hoped 
 that he and his forty officers would be able to 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 163 
 
 turn wood into iron, or, in other words, Fantees 
 into soldiers. What was the consequence? The 
 •ludicrous spectacle was offered -to the world of 
 a Major-General and his staff, without any 
 army, and without any hope of getting an 
 army for months to come ; while the enemy 
 lay only fifteen miles off, in such a position and 
 at such a distance from its base that, with a 
 sufficient force of disciplined troops, it might 
 have been utterly destroyed. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley cannot be absolved 
 entirely from blame. He knew when he left 
 England that the Ashantee army was close 
 to the sea-board, and surely he might have 
 anticipated what would be the result. He 
 told me himself on board the ' Ambriz,' when 
 I talked (as I often did) about the necessity 
 for regiments, that he was sure Coomassie 
 could not be taken without them, and he was 
 even then inclined to believe that in any case 
 they would be required. Still I think he had 
 a hope lurking in his breast that he would be 
 able to organise an army of Fantees. Nor 
 is that astonishing; for I presume, that in 
 common with most Englishmen, he scarcely 
 knew where the Gold Coast was before the 
 
 M 3 
 
164 WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 summer of 1873. But the great men of the 
 Colonial Office are intimately acquainted with 
 the history of Gold Coast affairs, and of the 
 various wars between Fantee and Ashantee.. 
 What right had they, judging from past 
 experience, to believe in an army of ' Fantees'?' 
 The most hopeful of men would be only justified 
 in supposing that, if white troops were em- 
 ployed in sufficient numbers to defeat the 
 Ashantees, our native allies might be useful 
 as cavalry to harass in pursuit ; or to serve as 
 escorts to baggage; to garrison posts ; and in 
 the enemy's country to plunder plantations, 
 and burn villages upon the flanks. The fate 
 of Sir Charles Macarthy was alone sufficient 
 to prove that a few Europeans, whatever their 
 talents might be, could do nothing with a mob 
 of native allies. 
 
 There were two ways in which the war 
 might have been waged by the British Go- 
 vernment against the Ashantees. If it were 
 judged that public opinion would not support 
 a definite campaign, such as that of Abyssinia, 
 then the war should have been left to the 
 C6lonial Office. Festing should have been 
 supplied with special service officers, and 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 165 
 
 money, and stores, and commissioned to 
 •operate against the enemy in the central 
 region of the Gold Coast, on the same princi- 
 ples as those by which Glover was guided in 
 the district of the Volta. A war of that kind 
 •could not, with all the luck in the world, have 
 been a genuine success, but it might have 
 attained the appearance of success, and with 
 good management a treaty of peace might 
 have been concluded. On the other hand, 
 these native expeditions might have ended 
 in a catastrophe. In any case the war would 
 bave been conducted on consistent, though 
 ill-judged, principles. 
 
 But if the Home Government had deter- 
 mined from the first to do what they after- 
 wards did — to wage war in the Abyssinian 
 style — then they should have employed 
 officers of secondary rank to do the pre- 
 liminary work in the way of transport, road- 
 making, the organisation of native regiments, 
 and so forth, and the Major-General should 
 have come out with his regiments. If the 
 Ashantee army was close to the shore the 
 regiments might have been landed at once : 
 if the Ashantees had returned home, and long 
 
166 WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 preparations were necessary for the march 
 upon Coomassie, the regiments might have 
 been sent out to sea in their troop-ships for a 
 cruise. In no case would it have been neces- 
 sary to land them until they were required. 
 
 But the Government could not make up 
 their minds as to which course should be 
 pursued, and so compromised the matter by 
 sending out the Commander-in-Chief, and 
 leaving him to decide after his arrival on the 
 coast whether he would like to have an army 
 or not. Sir Garnet very soon asked for an 
 army ; but more than two months would of 
 necessity elapse before the army could arrive. 
 This time was spent in harassing the enemy 
 and in making preparations for the march 
 upon Coomassie. 
 
 While Festing was in command of Her 
 Majesty's forces on the Gold Coast, he had 
 planned an attack on the Ashantee camp at 
 Mampon. The marines who had come out 
 with him on board the ' Himalaya,' and who 
 fought at Elmina, had quite melted away ? 
 only one man remained at Elmina, and 
 was nicknamed ' The Fossil.' But a second 
 force of marines had been sent in the 
 
WOLSELEY'S RECONNAISSANCE. 167 
 
 hospital ship ' Simoom ; ' these had not been 
 landed, and were in an efficient condition. 
 Captain Fremantle, the senior naval officer 
 upon the station, placed at Festing's disposal 
 about two hundred bluejackets ; he had also - 
 a small force of Haussas and 2nd West. 
 
 A most distinguished officer, Deputy Sur- 
 geon-General Home, V.C., C.B., intended to 
 accompany the troops, and had made his 
 arrangements for medical transport. All was 
 ready for the enterprise, when the news came 
 that Sir G. Wolseley was on his way to the 
 Gold Coast; the attack was therefore post- 
 poned until his arrival, and he judged it 
 over-hazardous. The Ashantees were many 
 thousand strong, and Mampon was a strong, 
 bush-covered position. However, Sir Garnet 
 abhorred inactivity, and he wished to do 
 something which might gain him the faith of 
 the native allies. So he looked round about 
 for the means of gaining a small but certain 
 success against the enemy; and soon he 
 found his opportunity. 
 
i68 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ESSAMAN. 
 
 On October u, about the middle of the day, 
 I heard that the West India soldiers were 
 being marched down from Connor's Hill, and 
 embarked on board the ' Decoy.' It was 
 clear that something important was about to 
 be done, for these men garrisoned the town. 
 I ran over to Government House for per- 
 mission to join the expedition, whatever it 
 might be, and was told that Glover was in a 
 mess, being hemmed in at Addah by a tribe 
 called the Awoonas. The Major-General 
 was going down there with troops to his 
 assistance, and if I would be on the 
 beach at 9 p.m., I could have a passage on 
 board the ' Barracouta.' No baggage allowed. 
 Now it so happened that I knew some- 
 thing about the Awoonas and Addah. That 
 
\ 
 
 \ ESSAMAN. 169 
 
 . town is situated near the mouth of the 
 Volta, on the right bank. The Awoonas, a 
 tribe friendly to the Ashantees, lived on the 
 other side. How then could Captain Glover, 
 who had a strong body of Haussas, be hemmed 
 in with a river in his front, the sea and Accra 
 territory at his back ? It also seemed to me 
 strange that the General was not going till 
 9 p.m., for Addah was a long way off; and 
 why should no baggage be allowed, since, if 
 a battle had to be fought, we should be absent 
 at least three days ? At all events, I was 
 not going without my cork bed and my rug, 
 which I rolled up together, putting inside a 
 shirt, a pair of socks, and some tins of pre- 
 served meat, chocolate, &c. It did not make 
 a large bundle, and I thought I could smuggle 
 it on board. 
 
 A little before nine I went down to the 
 beach and found Festing, wrapped in a mili- 
 tary cloak, leaning against some timber. 
 After a little conversation I said, ' I don't 
 understand how Glover can be in a mess.' 
 ' Glover is not in a mess,' said he. ' Then 
 why are we going to Addah ? ' asked I. 
 * You will find out when you get on board,' 
 
170 ESS AM AN. 
 
 he replied. 'Don't say anything about it 
 here ; I ought not to have given you even a 
 hint.' 
 
 This redoubled my curiosity, and I longed 
 to get on board. At that moment we heard 
 the song of Fantee canoe-men ; then two 
 dark objects passed through the white flashing 
 waters, and two large surf-boats grounded on 
 the beach. A number of sailors sprang out. 
 Festing told me that these were to garrison 
 the Castle during the absence of the West 
 India soldiery, and that he was left in com- 
 mand. 
 
 At nine o'clock to a moment the General, 
 followed by his Staff, came down to the 
 water-side, and soon the surf-boats were 
 filled. On arriving aboard the ' Barracouta ' 
 I found all quiet ; there were no preparations 
 for departure, and so it was certain we were 
 not going very far. Soon the truth came 
 out ; our destination was Elmina. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, V.C., had been 
 appointed Commandant of that town, with 
 orders to obtain the formal submission of its 
 chiefs. Although the king had been sent off 
 to Sierra Leone for ' eating fetish,' or taking 
 
ESSAMAN. 171 
 
 an oath of friendship with the Ashantees, and 
 although the rebel quarter of the town had 
 been destroyed, the Ashantees had still many 
 friends in Elmina who supplied them with 
 rum, cloth, powder, &c, which were taken 
 by night in canoes to a village called 
 Ampenee. It was situated on the beach, and 
 its people were great fishermen, and supplied 
 the Ashantees with smoked fish. They were 
 also fishers of men, having not long before 
 captured two Cape Coast canoes, and killed 
 its paddlers and the passengers, dashing out 
 children's brains against the gunwales of the 
 canoes. But they knew that at any moment 
 a ' smoke-ship ' might come and destroy the 
 village with shells, and therefore another 
 village, Essaman, was selected as the Ashan- 
 tee magazine. An Ashantee captain and his 
 company always resided in that village, 
 which was in the midst of a dense jungle four 
 miles away from the sea There the insur- 
 gents driven from Elmina used to speak of 
 building a new town, where they would be 
 secure from the white men, for white men 
 could not fight in the bush ; and there large 
 
172 
 
 ESSAMAN. 
 
 ■quantities of rum, powder, dried fish, and 
 corn were stored up. 
 
 The women of these villages went to 
 market at Mampon, selling, for gold-dust, 
 their fish and corn ; and at times they were 
 so numerous that the camp presented the 
 appearance of a fair. But every evening 
 when the sun went down the Ashantees 
 heard the booming of the gun at Abbaye, and 
 then they assembled and cursed. 
 
 Colonel Wood summoned the head-men 
 of the villages to present themselves before 
 him at the Castle. Those who lived near 
 Elmina obeyed ; those who lived a little 
 farther off made excuses for their absence ; 
 Essaman and Ampenee refused to attend. 
 Colonel Wood threatened to fetch them ; 
 upon which Essaman replied ' Come on ! ' 
 Sir G. Wolseley determined to accept this 
 invitation. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle and Elmina were said 
 to be full of Ashantee spies ; the expedition 
 was therefore kept secret. Cape Coast was 
 put on a false scent, and during the night 
 policemen guarded every exit from Elmina. 
 It was intended to surprise Essaman and to 
 
ESS A MAN. 173. 
 
 reach the village at dawn. But the landing 
 of the marines in large troop-boats took more 
 time than had been anticipated, and it was 
 broad day before we started from Elmina, 
 The order of march was as follows: 126 
 Haussas under Lieutenants Richmond, 
 Wood, and Graves ; 16 2nd West under 
 Lieutenant Eyre (these were special service 
 officers attached to Wood's Irregular Regi- 
 ment, as yet unformed). Next came the 
 General, carried in a hammock, and attended 
 by the following officers of his Staff: — Colonel 
 McNeill, V.C., C.M.G. ; Major Baker, 18th 
 Royal Irish, Assistant-Adjutant and Quarter- 
 Master-General ; Captain Henry Bracken- 
 bury, R.A., Assistant Military Secretary ; 
 Lieutenant the Hon. A. Charteris, Coldstream 
 Guards, A.D.C. Then 29 blue-jackets 
 under Captain Fremantle, with Lieutenants 
 Maxwell and Grey, R.N ; a 7-pounder 
 Abyssinian gun, carried on a bamboo by 
 Kroomen, the trail being run along behind ; 
 a rocket detachment with a trough and 20 men 
 of the Royal Marine Artillery, under Lieu- 
 tenant Allan, R.M.A. ; 10 -armed police and 
 30 axemen under Captain Buller of the Staff, 
 
j 74 JESSAMAN. 
 
 D.-A.A. and Q.-M.-G. Next came the main 
 body, consisting of 129 Royal Marine Light 
 Infantry, commanded by Captain Crease, 
 R.M.A., with Lieutenant Moore, R.M.A. 
 60 labourers followed carrying ammunition- 
 boxes and hammocks, the ambulance of the 
 Gold Coast ; they were under the direction 
 of Assistant-Commissary Beardmore. The 
 medical service was admirably organised by 
 Deputy Surgeon-General Home, V.C., C.B., 
 and represented by Surgeons-Major Jackson 
 and Mosse, Surgeons S. Moore and Atkins, 
 and the Royal Navy surgeons Adams and 
 Moore. 65 West India soldiers brought up 
 the rear, under Captains Forbes, Brett, and 
 Fowler, and Lieutenant Devereux. Two 
 loyal chiefs of Elmina, with 20 men', served 
 as guides to the column, which was com- 
 manded by Colonel Wood, so that there were 
 no less than three V.C's. in this little ex- 
 pedition. 
 
 It was a clear calm morning, with scarcely 
 a cloud in the sky, and as the sun rose above 
 the horizon birds sang sweetly from the bushes 
 which covered the plain. We marched in 
 single file along a footpath which was some- 
 
ESSAMAN. 17S 
 
 times of red clay, sometimes of golden- 
 coloured sand ; at one moment we dived into 
 a thicket deep and dark, and the next passed 
 out into green meadows with tall tufted grass 
 and large white flowers bathing in sunlit dew. 
 But then came a quagmire of mud black as 
 registration ink, and giving forth an odour 
 compared with which the Thames at low-tide 
 is rose-water ; and never have I seen such 
 abominable hamlets as the two we passed on 
 our way. In the first were a few people who 
 surveyed us with an air of innocence and 
 virtue ; the second was deserted. 
 
 The country at first was tolerably open, 
 and we could distinguish far away the 
 Haussas running along thickets and copses to 
 and fro on the right of the road and on the 
 left, like a pack of hounds, their officers in El- 
 wood helmets and streaming white pugge- 
 rees plainly to be seen, and always well ahead 
 of their men. One or two shots were heard, 
 but still it did not seem certain that we should 
 find the enemy. We had marched three miles, 
 and as a marine expressed it, ' we had seen 
 no game.' I was beginning to fear that the 
 day would be blank, when of a sudden we 
 
176 ESS AM AN. 
 
 heard a tremendous fusillade and a strange 
 gleeful yelling cry — the Haussas giving 
 tongue. As we pushed on we found that the 
 jungle was before us stretching away on both 
 sides as far as the eye could reach. In the 
 centre was a hill also covered with bush, 
 except that upon its summit was a clearing or 
 plantation. Some men were seen crossing 
 this open space, and Lieutenant Eyre put on 
 his spectacles, sighted his rifle at 300 yards, 
 and dropped his man, which probably aston- 
 ished the natives. A little to the right of the 
 clearing and also on the hill was the village. 
 The rear was attacked, and I remained 
 there some time. Then we saw on ahead 
 rockets flying through the air above the trees, 
 and soon afterwards a thick column of smoke 
 mounted up. I followed Major Baker up the 
 hill : a naked dead body lay across the path, 
 and my servant told me it was a Haussa — 
 probably an Ashantee slave. These men 
 know one another's nationality by certain 
 marks, upon the cheek, or by the style in which 
 the hair is cut. We met Colonel McNeill 
 coming down the hill, his right arm bared 
 and covered with a bandage already reddened 
 
ESSAMAN. 177 
 
 by his blood. This wound was very severe, 
 precisely resembling those which are caused 
 by fragments of shell, and the Colonel was 
 invalided home, to the general regret. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley was standing up to 
 his waist in high grass : on his right was the 
 burning village. Brackenbury and Charteris 
 were the first to be in at the head of some 
 marines, while Captain Crease cleared the 
 bush on the right. Afterwards, entering 
 the village, that officer saved a child from 
 the flames, and throughout the severe march 
 which followed, the marines disputed as to 
 who should ' carry the kid.' 
 
 The first shot of the campaign was fired 
 at Lieutenant Graves, and the shot lodged in 
 his' gaiter. Captain Buller, who was survey- 
 ing the road, had a shot in his leather com- 
 pass-case. A slug passed through Captain 
 Fremantle's right arm, but he went through 
 the whole work of the day. 
 
 The General now gave orders that a clear- 
 ing should be made. Sentries were posted. 
 The men had their breakfast. At 7.15 the 
 heavy firing began; at 7.50 the village 
 was taken, and the enemy driven from the 
 
 N 
 
i 7 8 ESS AM AN. 
 
 bush ; at 8.30 the Assembly was sounded ; 
 and at 9.15 the march was resumed. 
 
 It is difficult to describe that human 
 tornado which raged for half an hour over 
 half a mile of African bush. The enemy were 
 on all sides, and the firing incessant. The 
 air was all flame and smoke, and filled with 
 various sounds — the booming of guns, the 
 whizzing of rockets, the cracking of Sniders, 
 shouts, groans, laughter, the whistling of 
 slugs; Haussas chanting verses from the 
 Koran, English hurrahing ; and then, as the 
 village began to burn, the roaring of flames, 
 explosions of powder, and blazing of rum. 
 
 While we were at breakfast we heard big 
 guns in the distance : this was the ' Decoy ' 
 bombarding Ampenee. We marched off 
 again in the same order towards the seashore. 
 Colonel McNeill and other wounded men 
 were carried in hammocks, and our progress 
 was slow. It was afternoon before we had 
 reached the village Amquena, between Elmina 
 and Ampenee. It was set in flames, and then 
 we all threw ourselves down under a grove of 
 cocoa-nut trees. As we looked up their wind- 
 ing stems, we saw nestling under the parasol- 
 
ESSAMAN. 179 
 
 like spreading leaves great bunches of green 
 nuts — a delicious sight for thirsty souls. Some 
 of these were prodded down with a pole as 
 long as a flagstaff, kept by the villagers for 
 that purpose. Negroes climbed up the trees 
 and threw down the nuts, which fell with a 
 mighty thud. Then,' slashing away the green 
 rind with a knife, and scooping out a hole, 
 we drank from these lemonade bottles which 
 Nature has filled and corked with such gene- 
 rous care. The so-called cocoa-nut milk is 
 the colour of water, and though very sweet, 
 delightfully cool and refreshing. 
 
 So we rested for a time on the soft grey 
 sand, inhaling the odour of the sea. Above 
 us the palm leaves rustled and rattled in the 
 wind, giving forth a sound just like the patter- 
 ing of rain. Before us lay the broad blue sea, 
 and away to the left we could plainly see, like 
 a white mountain, the Castle of Elmina. 
 
 But we had to look the other way, for 
 Ampenee had still to be disposed of. It 
 would be a weary trudge, and the march had 
 already been severe : so only volunteers were 
 taken from the seamen and marines, and these 
 passed before a doctor. The others escorted 
 
 N 2 
 
180 ESS AM AN. 
 
 the twelve hammocks of the wounded to' 
 Elmina. 
 
 There is no harder work than walking 
 along the beach under an African sun. The 
 sand is soft as snow, so that you feel as if 
 leaden weights were fixed to your boots ; and 
 the glare from the sea is not agreeable. When 
 we drew near the village, surf-boats came off 
 from the ' Decoy' and landed a case of claret, 
 some breakers of water, and some bottles of 
 brandy, for which we were not ungrateful, and 
 the following officers landed : Captain Lux* 
 moore, having recovered from the wounds 
 received in the Prah ; Lieutenant Young, 
 (wounded at Tacorady), with Lieutenant Hext 
 commanding the ' Decoy '; Lieutenant Burr, 
 Sub-Lieutenant Sanderson, Surgeons Fisher 
 and Lucas. 
 
 We found two villages before us. Akimp- 
 foo was destroyed without resistance. We 
 then crossed a small stream and came to 
 Ampenee. A flag was flying in defiance, and 
 on the beach was a naked body swollen to an 
 enormous size by the sun, the head and right 
 hand severed from the body. He might have 
 been a Fantee prisoner, or perhaps a human 
 
ESS AM AN. 181 
 
 sacrifice to avert danger from the village ; for 
 such sacrifices are not confined to Ashantee, 
 though they have fallen into disuse on the 
 seaboard through the influence of European 
 opinion and law. 
 
 Ampenee was undefended, and was set in 
 a blaze. . It seemed to be filled with rats, cats, 
 and bats, which come out in extraordinary- 
 numbers. While the village was burning, 
 the natives crept up through the bush, at the 
 edge of the beach, and made an attack ; and 
 here we heard rifle bullets. Only one Haussa 
 was wounded, and the men of the ' Decoy ' 
 got a fair sight at a crowd, and laid many of 
 them low. 
 
 At 4.25 the General embarked on board 
 the ' Decoy,' and kindly offered me a passage. 
 We arrived at Cape Coast Castle at 7 p.m. I 
 asked my Haussa servant how he liked the 
 fight ; he replied that he liked it very much : 
 it was just like ' shooting meat ' — by which 
 he meant to say that it resembled the plea- 
 sures of the chase. 
 
 In itself the combat of Essaman was 
 merely a day's skirmishing, but was raised to 
 importance by the experience it yielded, and 
 
1 82 ESS AM Ah. 
 
 the moral effect it produced. It proved tO' 
 the natives that white men were able to fight 
 in the bush : it showed that the new Governor 
 was not a mere bookman writing at a desk, 
 but a man of war like Macarthy. All ad- 
 mired the style in which he had carried out 
 his plan of operations. The attack on Essa- 
 man was a genuine surprise : the natives had 
 no time to remove their powder, their corn,, 
 their sheep, and their rum : muskets and drums 
 and powder-belts were found in the village ; a 
 mother ran away leaving her child behind. 
 
 This affair of Essaman was also conducive 
 to peace and good-fellowship between the 
 Elminas and the English. 
 
 Savages, when hostile, are not to be con- 
 ciliated until they have been conquered. 
 Give them presents, write them billetsdoux, 
 surrender captives in the Mr. Pope Hennessy 
 style, and they, supposing that these conces- 
 sions are made from fear, display more hos-' 
 tility, in order that the fear may increase with 
 its consequent concessions. But put them 
 down with a strong hand, and you gain 
 not only their submission, but also their 
 esteem. One might suppose' that the 
 
ESS AM AN. 183 
 
 burning of Essaman and Ampenee would 
 have excited the undying hatred of the head- 
 men and elders ; but, on the contrary, they soon 
 afterwards marched into Cape Coast, waving 
 the British flag, and requesting that they might 
 be allowed to take the oath of allegiance to 
 Her Majesty the Queen. 
 
1I84 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. 
 
 I believe that Sir Garnet after this affair did 
 at one time think of attacking the camp at 
 Mampon ; and the Ashantees expected some- 
 thing of the kind, for escaped prisoners used 
 to relate that often there would be a cry, ' The 
 white men are coming ! ' and then they would 
 all run off into the bush, and the drums would 
 beat, and the army would form into position, 
 the skirmishers in front, the generals in rear. 
 There can be no doubt that the Ashantees 
 at Mampon would have fought as they did at 
 Amoaful. The whole army, the nation was 
 there ; and Sir Garnet could not have won 
 a victory with three hundred seamen and 
 marines and his negro troops. He had been 
 taught at Essaman that the enemy were not 
 to be despised. He had also been taught 
 
CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. i$$ 
 
 that the Haussas, though splendid irregulars, 
 full of dash and pluck, were quite unmanage- 
 able in battle, and fired wildly, squandering 
 their ammunition. The West India men did 
 not do so well at Essaman as afterwards in 
 other skirmishes where they deserved and 
 obtained high praise. The General, therefore, 
 having merely a handful of men on whom he 
 could rely, did not venture to attack the camp ; 
 but on October 25 news came that the enemy 
 were in retreat, or, in other words, on the 
 homeward march, and broken up into sepa- 
 rate columns. He thought that because the 
 army was divided he could attack it at an ad- 
 vantage ; but strange to say, he divided his 
 own little army, and thus copied the weakness 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Some little time before he had sent 
 Festing to Dunquah, the appointed rendez- 
 vous for the native allies. Festing built a 
 stockaded fort, and cleared the bush all round. 
 Only a few hundred natives were brought in 
 by the officers sent to the Fantee chiefs : of 
 these the greater part were Assins and Anna- 
 maboes. Fifty men of the 2nd West, with 
 two seven-pounder guns and a rocket-trough, 
 
1 86 CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. 
 
 with ammunition, were afterwards placed at 
 Festing's disposal. 
 
 It having been reported by the Intelli- 
 gence Department that a large force of 
 Ashantees under Essamanquatia was moving 
 between Dunquah and a village called Abra- 
 krampa, the General determined to attack it, 
 and his plan of operations was as follows. He 
 with 200 seamen and marines would proceed 
 on the 26th to Esseboo — a ruined village ten 
 miles from Cape Coast — and there bivouac. 
 On the 27th he would march through Abra- 
 krampa into the bush towards Dunquah ; 
 and at the same time Festing was to march 
 from Dunquah towards Abrakrampa. 
 
 But Sir Garnet's seamen and marines were 
 so fatigued by the hot afternoon march to 
 Esseboo, that he did not go further the next 
 day than Abrakrampa ; so Festing went out 
 by himself, came upon the Ashantees in 
 camp, and fought them the whole afternoon. 
 Several officers were slightly wounded, in- 
 cluding himself ; while Captain Godwin, 103rd 
 Bombay Fusileers, was badly hit, and had 
 to be invalided home. The West India men 
 fought well, but, in Festing's memorable 
 
CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. 187 
 
 phrase, he had to use ' more than verbal per- 
 suasion ' to make the native levies fight at all. 
 The English claimed the victory, but a part 
 only of the camp was destroyed, and the enemy 
 did not abandon their position. 
 
 The next morning Sir Garnet marched 
 out towards Dunquah, having ordered 
 Festing the night before to meet him half- 
 way. But the native levies would not fight 
 two days consecutively, and refused to budge 
 from their huts. 
 
 The Ashantee camp was about two miles 
 from Dunquah, and seven miles from Abra- 
 krampa. Sir Garnet marched about five 
 miles with his seamen and marines, sat down 
 in the shade for a couple of hours, and then 
 marched back to Abrakrampa. The next day 
 he returned to Cape Coast. 
 
 The simple relation of these incidents 
 produces the impression caused by satirical 
 writing; and, in fact, a more complete mistake 
 than Sir Garnet's first march to Abrakrampa 
 can scarcely be conceived. Had he joined 
 his forces to those of Festing at Dunquah, he 
 might have attacked the enemy with some 
 prospect of success. But that was not suffi- 
 
1 88 CONCERTED MOVEMENTS^ 
 
 ciently ingenious ; so he planned a highly- 
 intricate movement which ended in this — that 
 the worst half of his forces got too much 
 fighting and the best half got none at all. 
 
 The truth is that concerted movements 
 demanding exactitude of place and time should 
 in African warfare never be attempted. Some- 
 thing is sure to go wrong. The distance is 
 miscalculated ; or the way is lost ; or carriers 
 desert ; or it is ' an unlucky day ' with the 
 natives ; or the white men are fatigued ; or 
 the black men are lazy. Sir Garnet Wolseley 
 made that mistake which cost Sir Charles 
 Macarthy his life — the playing at chessboard 
 warfare in the African bush. Happily this 
 time it ended in farce, not in tragedy. There 
 is much broad comedy in the proclamation 
 issued by Sir Garnet in the first moment 
 of triumph after his return, and it ought to be 
 preserved as a curiosity of military literature. 
 To use the language of the stage, it is a 
 Screamer : — 
 
CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. 189 
 
 'GARNET JOSEPH WOLSELEY, MAJOR- 
 GENERAL, ADMINISTRATOR. 
 
 ' To all the Kings, Headmen, Chiefs, and 
 Tribes of the Gold Coast, allies of Her 
 Majesty the Queen of England, greeting. 
 
 ' I desire that you should know that im- 
 mediately after the attack made upon Essa T 
 man and Ampenee, and the destruction of 
 those places by the English troops under my 
 command, your enemies broke up their en- 
 campment at Mampon. Finding that they 
 were unable to contend with us either in the 
 open or in the bush, they are now in full 
 retreat, endeavouring to return to their own 
 country by Prahsue. One of their retreating 
 columns has been attacked and dispersed by 
 my troops near Dunquah. 
 
 ' They are trying to carry with them in 
 their flight all the goods of which they have 
 robbed you, all the wives and children whom 
 they have stolen from you. 
 
 'Men of the Gold Coast, will you allow 
 this ? 
 
 ' Will you let the hours slip by while your 
 wives, your sons, and your daughters are 
 
190 CONCERTED MOVEMENTS. 
 
 being driven off to slaughter by the flying 
 enemy ? 
 
 ' Will you not pursue them ? 
 
 ' Now or never is the time to show that 
 you are men. 
 
 ' I for my part shall hold no man as the 
 friend of Her Majesty or as the friend of this 
 country who delays for one moment 
 
 'You have nothing to fear. I hold the 
 whole road from here to Mansu, so that they 
 cannot assail it. Gather upon my strong 
 forts of Dunquah, Abrakampa, and Mansu. 
 No one will venture to attack these points. 
 Thence press onwards to the Prah and 
 oppose your enemies as they are endeavour- 
 ing to re-cross the river. If you now act 
 quickly and with vigour, the fall of your 
 enemy and the peace of your country will be 
 secured. 
 
 ' Given under my hand and public seal at 
 Government House, Cape Coast, this thirtieth 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, 
 and of Her Majesty's reign the thirty-seventh. 
 
 ' God Save the Queen.' 
 
«9i 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 I lived in Green Lettwe Lane, a thorough- 
 fare utterly devoid of lettuces or anything 
 green whatever, except certain young gentle- 
 men who sometimes called upon me to gaze 
 
 with love-struck eyes on Jessie C , the 
 
 belle of Cape Coast. She passed the cool 
 hours of the day in a neighbouring verandah, 
 and sat there sewing or ironing, apparently 
 unconscious of the admiration she excited. In 
 Cape Coast Castle there are no white ladies, 
 but Jessie, if not the rose or the lily, was as 
 near to them as could be ; indeed she was 
 the rose when she blushed and the lily when 
 fear blanched her cheek. She was engaged 
 to a coloured gentleman, and the marriage 
 was postponed by the war; for, first, her lover 
 became a Rifle Volunteer, and found it easier 
 
192 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 to get into that gallant corps than to get out 
 of it, having placed himself under military- 
 law ; secondly, when he did get permission 
 to retire, and the Cake had come out from 
 England, and everything was ready, Sir 
 Garnet was taking Coomassie, and in Cape 
 Coast Castle the licence can only be signed 
 by the governor. However, it was sent up 
 by the post, and came down again duly 
 signed, and the wedding party were at break- 
 fast just as Sir Garnet returned in triumph 
 from the war. 
 
 Like a flower in a vase, or a picture on a 
 wall, this fair girl adorned Green Lettuce 
 Lane, and reminded us of those who were 
 mourning or flirting in our absence. How- 
 ever, to return, I had a neat little house, 
 newly painted and whitewashed, with four 
 rooms on the first floor and a kitchen below. 
 Its windows, which I am proud to say were 
 of glass, commanded a view of the light- 
 house, where signal-flags were hoisted to 
 acquaint the town with the approach of 
 steamers from home, or steamers for home, 
 men-of-war, sailing-ships, &c. At dawn, 
 when Joseph or Lake brought me my tea, I 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 193 
 
 peered out at the flagstaff to know if I had 
 to finish my Letter that morning ; for as the 
 mail-steamers came irregularly, and did not 
 stay very long, Correspondents were always 
 in a flutter, and I used to look at the light- 
 house almost as often as I did at the veran- 
 dah. 
 
 Joseph, who enjoyed the office of cook, 
 had been with me in my journey of 1869; he 
 was a Mendi or Kossoo. Edward Lake, who 
 served as my footman in peace and Snider- 
 bearer in war, called himself a Haussa, and 
 spoke that language like a native, but was 
 really born in the kingdom of Bornu, near 
 the shores of Lake Tchad. I had also a 
 Fantee interpreter, whose English name was 
 Robert Jones, and he had engaged for me a 
 gang of hammock-men. 
 
 It was the custom in Rome for a gentle- 
 man's clients and slaves to present themselves 
 in a formal manner and wish him ' Good 
 day ' ; the same custom exists in Africa, and 
 is strictly kept up, for I once saw a slave 
 being carried off to be flogged because he 
 had not given the morning salutation. Mr. 
 Robert Jones complied with this ancient 
 
 o 
 
j 94 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 ceremony, and also used to enquire whether 
 I should want the hammock that day. I had 
 always to reply in the negative, much to my 
 discontent, for it was dull work staying at 
 Cape Coast. 
 
 However, it was not to last. One day I 
 was told that the Steam Sapper would per- 
 form, and that an Ashantee prisoner who 
 was being sent with a letter to the King 
 would be favoured with a ride. The Steam 
 Sapper was an engine on carriage-wheels, 
 with a steering apparatus, so that it could 
 turn corners. The Fantees, who called it 
 the ' Land Steamer,' collected in a vast crowd, 
 and when it began to move uttered screams, 
 compared with which the whistle of the 
 engine was melodious and subdued. Several 
 of us climbed into the truck and waited for 
 the prisoner. We charitably hoped that the 
 Steam Sapper would frighten him out of his 
 wits, but he took his seat as coolly as a rail- 
 way passenger with a season ticket. The 
 fact is that when a man expects to have his 
 head cut off every moment, he is not easily 
 impressed by the wonders of science. 
 
 On asking the news from a staff officer, -I 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. I9S 
 
 was told that the Ashantee army was en- 
 camped close to Abrakrampa, and that an 
 attack was hourly expected. I thought of 
 going there, and asked Captain Butler's 
 advice. He said the attack was imminent, 
 and I ought not to go without an escort. I 
 called Mr. Robert Jones, who, with the ham- 
 mock-men, belonged to Abrakrampa. He 
 said that when Amanquatia was on his way 
 to the coast he had passed near that village, 
 and had left it alone ; but as its inhabitants 
 (who belonged to the Arbra tribe) had 
 troubled him much in his march, and killed 
 many of his men, he had sworn a great oath 
 that he would attack it on his return. 
 
 I determined to get into the village if I 
 could, but had no right to ask for an escort : 
 and therefore thought it best to make my 
 attempt under cover of the night. Besides, 
 no time was to be lost. As my men knew 
 the village and its secret paths, I took it for 
 granted they would get me safe in, somehow 
 or other ; and when I told them to get 
 ready by 10 p.m. to go to Abrakrampa, they 
 did not make any objection. 
 
 At 9.30 I went over to Government 
 02 
 
196 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 House to ask the General whether I could take 
 anything for him to Abrakrampa, for I sup- 
 posed that the regular communications were 
 closed. The Head-Quarters' mess were at 
 dessert, and Charteris came out into the pas- 
 sage. When I told him my intention, he said, 
 ' I wouldn't go if I were you/ and then asked 
 me in. The dining-room presented a splendid 
 appearance. It was always ' guest-night ' at 
 Government House. All the officers were in 
 full dress, and almost all wore a different 
 uniform. There were the Guards, the Artil- 
 lery, the Engineers, the Rifles, and other 
 regiments. Then the table itself was rich 
 in colour, with golden bananas, deep green 
 melons, the wax-lights shining through the 
 decanters and casting rosy reflections on the 
 shining mahogany; for that abomination of 
 modern desserts, the table-cloth, had been 
 removed. I sat down for a few moments, 
 received two bottles of champagne for Major 
 Russell's mess at Abrakrampa, and then rose 
 to go. As I went down the stone steps out- 
 side, I heard Charteris say, ' Well, I am sorry 
 for Reade.' That was the last time I heard 
 . him speak. A few days afterwards he was 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 197 
 
 sent on board the ' Simoom ' and died on the 
 way to St. Helena. He was a handsome, 
 noble-looking young man, and a good officer ; 
 he displayed gallantry at Essaman, and was 
 of a most gentle and kindly disposition. 
 
 I found my hammock ready, and jumping 
 in, was carried out of the town at a trot. 
 Hammock-men on the Gold Coast are the 
 substitute for horses, which will not live in 
 that country for any length of time. Two 
 men form a perfect animal, with four black 
 legs, the hammock-pole serving as the spine, 
 and the hammock itself as a saddle. If the 
 road is wide enough, four men carry ; and for 
 long journeys, six or eight men are employed 
 — thus giving relays. Good hammock-men 
 will go short distances at five miles an hour, 
 or thirty miles a day. 
 
 An excellent road had already been made 
 as far as Dunquah, and only wanted a turn- 
 pike here and there to give it a perfectly 
 civilised appearance. Our first stopping place 
 was Yamolanza, where I was informed the 
 men wanted to ' blow.' It was a wayside 
 station, with a few shanties and a policeman's 
 hut On a tree was a placard, announcing 
 
i 9 8 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 that ' all extravagant noises would be put a 
 stop to by the police,' and the sergeant in com- 
 mand showed me a paper which I examined 
 by the light of the lantern and found to be a 
 time-table of the military post, containing 
 also the announcement that henceforth a fast 
 mail would run every day between Cape Coast 
 Castle and Dunquah. 
 
 The moon was at her full, and the country 
 at first low jungle and scrub. Now and then 
 we passed through a small grove ; gigantic 
 trees, uniting their branches above, made it 
 dark as pitch, just like going through a tunnel. 
 Strange odours arose from the bush — odours 
 that arise by night alone — sometimes fetid, 
 sometimes fragrant, but always sharp and 
 powerful. 
 
 Esseboo had been burnt by the Ashan- 
 tees, but a few cottages had escaped the 
 conflagration, and these were now inhabited. 
 Robert woke up some people and asked them 
 about the enemy. He was told that the bush- 
 path from Esseboo to Abrakrampa was 
 now in occupation, or, as they expressed it, 
 shut, by the Ashantees ; but the path from 
 Batian was open. So we went on to the 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. i 99 
 
 village Batian, which was a little way farther; 
 up the main road. There I dismounted, and 
 we struck into the forest. The moon had 
 gone down, so Robert walked before me with 
 the lantern. 
 
 I must confess that I did not enjoy that 
 four-mile walk. The Ashantees, it would 
 seem, intended to invest Abrakrampa, and 
 they had occupied the Esseboo road ; their 
 next step would naturally be to occupy the 
 Batian road, and who could tell whether they 
 might not have done it that very afternoon ? 
 The idea of walking into the Ashantee camp 
 with a lantern was not by any means attrac- 
 tive. My men would dash off into the bush 
 like deer, but running is not one of my 
 accomplishments. I should be caught to a 
 certainty, and have my head sawed off in the 
 morning, or perhaps be kept for exhibition 
 at Coomassie, and starved to death on the 
 way. Then everyone would say, ' How 
 absurdly imprudent !' ' Ought to have known 
 better.' ' Served him right,' &c. &c. Such 
 were the gloomy thoughts which passed 
 through my mind, and I gave a gasp of relief 
 when I heard a voice cry out ' Who go dare V 
 
20o ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 and saw the dim outline of the houses in the 
 village. We went up the street, and were 
 challenged no less than three times, on the 
 last occasion by a marine. The garrison was 
 on the alert. 
 
 We arrived at 4 a.m., and at 7 a.m. shots 
 were fired close to the village ; the bugles 
 sounded the Alarm, and I saw in all direc- 
 tions men running in haste, but with method, 
 to their posts. However, it was only a few 
 stray skirmishers. 
 
 Although Sir Garnet in his Proclamation 
 had informed the Fantees (who knew more 
 about it than he did) that the Ashantees 
 would not dare to attack his fortified posts, 
 he had prepared Abrakrampa for a siege. 
 The garrison consisted of 50 seamen and 
 marines under Lieutenant Wells ; 100 
 Haussas, Lieutenant Gordon, 98th Regi- 
 ment ; 93 2nd West, Captain Grant; 100 
 Kossoos, Lieutenant Woodgate ; 64 Sierra 
 Leone Volunteers, Lieutenant Hart; 114 
 disciplined Fantees from Winnebah and 
 Mumford, Lieutenant Gordon, 93rd, and 
 Lieutenant Lord Gifford. Abrakrampa was 
 the capital of Arbra, and the king of that 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 203 
 
 province was also in the village, with nearly 
 500 men, who were armed with muzzle- 
 loading Enfield rifles, or, like the Ashan- 
 tees, with long Dane-guns (flint locks) and 
 blunderbusses. To these Arbras Captain 
 Bromhead was attached. 
 
 The defences of the village were begun 
 by Pioneer Gordon, and concluded by 
 Captain Huyshe of the Staff and Captain 
 Buckle, R.E. At the upper end of the 
 village was a Wesleyan chapel, which was 
 occupied by the blue-jackets and marines, 
 and was a perfect fortress in itself. The 
 thatch had been taken off, and the roof or 
 ceiling made an upper deck, on which was 
 placed a rocket-trough and a little Dutch 
 gun which had the name of 'Nelly' engraved 
 upon its back, and was an object of tender 
 affection to the sailors. The windows and 
 open sides of the roof were filled and padded 
 with sacks, behind which lay the men, who: 
 arranged port-holes or embrasures for them- 
 selves. Shelter-trenches ran down the side 
 of the village, which was partly enclosed by 
 a palisade, and the houses were all of them 
 loopholed. But the chief defence of Abra- 
 
204 ABRAKRAMPA 
 
 krampa was its clearing. A large space of 
 ground had been made open so that it 
 afforded no cover from fire, and at the 
 same time was littered with brushwood so 
 that it could not be crossed at a rush. 
 Before the Ashantees could enter the village, 
 they would have to storm this open ground 
 under fire of the Snider, and their loss would 
 be severe. 
 
 As regards stores there was an abundance 
 of Snider and Enfield ammunition, but the 
 stock of rockets was small. There was 
 plenty of rice, biscuits, salt pork, and tinned 
 meat, tea, sugar, and so forth. The village 
 was commanded by Major Baker Russell, 
 13th Hussars. 
 
 I shall now say a few words on the native 
 troops which formed the Major's regiment, 
 and which may, perhaps, be regarded as the 
 elements of our African army of the future. 
 The Haussas come from Central Africa, and 
 are Moslem by religion ; their country in 
 former times was a great and powerful 
 empire, but has recently been conquered by 
 the Foulas or Fellatahs. Kano, its capital, 
 is the Manchester of Africa, supplying vast 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 205 
 
 regions with blue cotton cloths. The Haussa 
 language is dominant over a vast area, and 
 spoken as a common language of trade by 
 many different nations, and the Haussa 
 people are found far and wide as travellers 
 or slaves. There are many in Ashantee it- 
 self, while those who served with us came 
 from Lagos and the countries of the Niger. 
 Captain Glover first organised these people 
 into soldiers, and is called ' The Father of the 
 Haussas.' They are wild and undisciplined 
 troops, often insubordinate, but always brave 
 and eager, loving war like wine. 
 
 Kossoo is a word meaning ' wild boar,' 
 which was given to the Mendi, a tribe of the 
 Sherbro river, on account of their ferocity. 
 The Kossoos differ from all other coast 
 Africans in this, that they do not care for the 
 musket, but fight chiefly with the sword. 
 They are exceedingly courageous — ' keen as 
 mustard/ for the fray, and declare they have 
 come to the Gold Coast to die. 
 
 The Winnebahs and Mumfords are 
 Fantees, but became good soldiers after a 
 time by fighting always in the company of 
 Haussas and Kossoos. The Sierra Leone 
 
206 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 Volunteers behaved very well ; and the men 
 of the 2nd West (negroes from the West 
 Indies), though they have not all ,the dash of 
 the Haussas, nor all the steadiness of regular 
 troops, are by no means deficient in either 
 quality, and rendered good service in the 
 campaign. 
 
 I arrived in the village on November 2. 
 With the exception of Essamanquatia's 
 division (about 2,000 strong), which was still 
 at Escaboo, near Dunquah, the whole Ashan- 
 tee army was encamped in and around the 
 village Anasmadi, about a mile from Abra- 
 krampa. 
 
 The Kossoos used to plunge into the 
 forest with their swords in their hands, and 
 cut off foragers. The Arbras also under 
 their king spent most of the day rambling 
 about, sometimes exchanging shots with 
 Ashantee scouts. 
 
 On November 3 the Kossoos came in 
 and declared that they had been to Anasmadi, 
 and that nobody was there. Major Russell 
 had received orders not to attack, but he 
 ordered a reconnaissance in force to find out 
 if the enemy had taken their departure. 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 207 
 
 The advance party consisted of Winne- 
 bahs and Mumfords, supported at a little dis- 
 tance by the Haussas. Lord Gifford, Lieu- 
 tenant Pollard, and I walked at the head of 
 the column, a negro named Tom Dollar and 
 a Kossoo scout keeping two or three yards 
 ahead. These experts carefully examined 
 the war-paths which the Ashantees had cut to 
 the right and left of the main path ; they also 
 pointed out some half-eaten unripe papaws 
 lying on the ground. We had gone about 
 three quarters of a mile when we heard the 
 jabbering of the Ashantees in their camp. 
 Several hundred people seemed to be speak- 
 ing all at once, and everyone at the top of his 
 voice. We ought now to have turned back, 
 having accomplished the object of the recon- 
 naissance ; but no one made the sugges- 
 tion, and so we went on. As we turned a 
 corner, we came upon a picket. Tom Dollar 
 fired, the Ashantees fired back, and a huge 
 piece of iron or lead whizzed close past Lord 
 Gifford's head with a loud musical hum. 
 At the same time one or two shots were 
 fired from the flank. Then there was a 
 charming scene. The Winnebahs stampe 
 
208 ABEAKRAMPA. 
 
 ded ; the Haussas sang hymns and blazed 
 away right and left into the bush, as 'if it 
 were a general engagement Lord GifFord 
 and I were knocked down and run over. The 
 Kossoos were sent as reinforcements. On 
 the other hand (as we heard from an escaped 
 prisoner that evening) there was a similar 
 movement in the Ashantee camp. The 
 women left their cooking pots, the men 
 snatched up their guns, and all bolted into the 
 bush, and the drums began to beat. These 
 panic duets are not unfrequent in African 
 warfare. 
 
 That same afternoon, a more serious affair 
 was taking place a few miles off. Festing 
 again attacked the Ashantee camp at Esca- 
 boo. On the first occasion he had taken the 
 Ashantees completely by surprise, for they 
 are not in the habit of being attacked, but 
 this time they were better prepared, and 
 fought with great determination. Whenever 
 a rocket was fired, or the seven-pounder gun, 
 they gave a yell of derision and replied with 
 a volley. Had it not been for the staunch 
 behaviour of the 2nd West, there would have 
 been a serious disaster. As it was, the Ashan- 
 
.ABRAKRAMPA. 209 
 
 tees pursued the column some little way. Lieu- 
 tenant Eardley Wilmot, R.A., was severely 
 wounded early in the action, but would not 
 go to the rear, and was afterwards shot 
 through the heart. Colonel Festing, who 
 was again wounded, and Surgeon-Major Gore 
 carried the body away : it was then taken to 
 Cape Coast and buried with military honours. 
 That night a Fantee woman escaped from 
 the camp at Anasmadi, and came into Abra- 
 krampa. She said that her name was Amba 
 Firitumba, and that with her three children 
 she was captured near Cape Coast Castle 
 about six months before. Her children were 
 allotted to three of her captors, and she her- 
 self was put into Log ; that is, her foot was 
 passed through a hole in a large and heavy 
 piece of wood, the native stocks, and there 
 confined by an iron hoop closing over the 
 ancle. It happened that a number of axes 
 and hammers were within reach of her hand ; 
 so in the middle of the night she took an axe 
 and cut the log in such a manner that she set 
 herself free. She said that Amanquatia had 
 really sworn to attack the village, and would 
 do so ; but the army had not much taste for 
 
 p 
 
210 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 the work, knowing that rockets would be* used 
 against them, and having a great dislike of 
 those missiles. 
 
 That afternoon (November 4) Robert 
 Jones informed me that he and the hammock- 
 men did not want to look on while others 
 were fighting, and hoped that they might be 
 supplied with Enfields, to which weapons 
 they were perfectly accustomed. Major 
 Russell had some in store, and so I was able 
 to gratify their wish. Mr. Jones then observed 
 it would be necessary for them all to take medi- 
 cine in order to ward off the bullets ; this 
 medicine, a red powder, he produced, and 
 said its proper vehicle was rum. I gave him 
 the money he wanted, merely stipulating that 
 I should witness the taking of the medicine. 
 In a short time they returned with a bottle of 
 rum and a large knife : each man stirred up 
 the medicine with the rum, and, as he 
 drank off the mixture, pointed the knife at his 
 own throat. I must do my men the justice 
 to say that they did not neglect other pre- 
 cautions : for instance, they did not go too 
 near the enemy. 
 
 That evening the Ashantees came down 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 211 
 
 to the outskirts of the bush, and made a great 
 noise, talking loudly and laughing. Robert 
 told me that they often did this before attack- 
 ing a town in order to frighten the inhabit- 
 ants away. He acknowledged that if the 
 Abrakrampa people were in the village by 
 themselves at this particular juncture they 
 would run away in the night. But it would 
 also appear from this custom that the 
 Ashantees prefer to take villages without 
 fighting if they can, though they must lose 
 much plunder by thus announcing their inten- 
 tion of attack. 
 
 The next day (November 5) all. was un- 
 usually quiet ; in the afternoon the Kossoos 
 .bagged a chief, and brought in his hand, which 
 was covered with rings. And now a curious 
 thing happened. By some inexplicable con- 
 fusion in heads at Headquarters a letter had 
 come on the 3rd or 4th (I forget which) 
 ordering Major Russell to send back the fifty 
 seamen and marines. At the same time fifty 
 marines were ordered to Esseboo, which was 
 in no danger of attack. Major Russell wrote 
 to explain that the attack seemed imminent, 
 and asked permission to retain the men a few 
 
212 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 days. To this an affirmative reply was 
 received on the 5th, but on the 6th came 
 a second order recalling the seamen and 
 marines. Major Russell did not venture to 
 disobey, and ordered Lieutenant Wells to 
 pack up and go at four o'clock. At half-past 
 three the church was cleared, all the carriers 
 were ready, and the men were about to fall in 
 when a tremendous rattle of musketry was 
 heard. The attack had begun ! In ten 
 minutes every sailor had unpacked his kit and 
 was again at his post. 
 
 The Ashantees, concealed by the bush, 
 swarmed along the paths they had cut in a 
 crescent facing the church. We heard their 
 drums beating, and their ivory trumpets, and 
 the voices of their chiefs ; and then they began 
 their war-song, which, chanted by thousands in 
 unison, had a magnificent effect. The King of 
 Arbra went out into the open near to the bush, 
 and cried out, ' I am the king of this country ; 
 come on if you are coming ! ' He was answered 
 with a fusillade. 
 
 The Ashantees kept up their fire almost 
 without intermission through the night, ceasing 
 only at 4 a.m. At the same time they cut 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 213 
 
 paths through the bush so as to attack from 
 other points. Lieutenant Saunders, R.A., 
 ■worked the little gun, 'Nelly,' loading her 
 with bullets, and Lieutenant Wells fired 
 rockets which were sometimes received with 
 a yell, sometimes in dead silence. There 
 was a bright moon, and the enemy ventured 
 but little beyond the margin of the bush. 
 
 The next day (November 6) at 1 1 a.m. they 
 attacked the village on three sides at once, 
 and kept it up till dusk without a moment's 
 cessation. The sharp whistling of slugs, like 
 that of wind through fir trees, was always in 
 the air ; but they fired at long range for such 
 weapons as they had, and our men were 
 chiefly under shelter. An escaped captive 
 afterwards informed us that the Ashantees 
 complained we shot at them through holes in 
 the houses, and when they shot back they hit 
 the houses instead of us. But whenever they 
 ventured into the open a sortie was made and 
 they were driven back. Opposite the church 
 within the clearing was some rising ground 
 which sloped towards the bush. A party of 
 Ashantee skirmishers, creeping out into the 
 open, but covered by the hill, fired at the men 
 
214 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 in the church. Captain Grant, of the 2nd 
 West, was stationed with thirty soldiers to the 
 left of the church ; and he had just remarked 
 to me that he wished Major Russell would 
 give him permission to clear the hill, when up 
 came the Major and ordered him to do so. 
 Captain Grant took his men over the open 
 near to the brow behind which the Ashantees 
 were lying. Then, waving his sword in the 
 air, he cried ' Charge ! ' and went at a double, 
 followed by his men, the ' Times ' Correspon- 
 dent, and Mr- Edward Lake of Bornu. Here 
 for the first and last time (in battle) I saw a 
 crowd of Ashantees : they ran down the hill 
 like mad, and, with their naked black bodies, 
 resembled a herd of wild animals. 
 
 In the evening Sir Garnet Wolseley and 
 his staff arrived with naval and native troops 
 by the Batian road, just as the firing came to 
 an end. Many jokes were made about the 
 Relief of Lucknow ; and, although Major 
 -Russell and his young officers could have 
 held the village till doomsday against a 
 method of attack which was feeble in every- 
 thing but noise, they were not sorry to have 
 their places taken for a time. During six-and 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 215 
 
 twenty hours they had not been able to rest, 
 and it was still necessary to be on the alert. 
 However, the enemy did not attack during 
 the night ; and, as we afterwards discovered, 
 the siege had really come to an end. 
 
 The next morning I went out before break- 
 fast and found an Ashantee skirmisher under 
 the brow of the hill exchanging shots with the 
 sailors in the church, while another was a little 
 behind him to the right. I stalked the man 
 in advance till I got near enough to see him 
 when he stood up to fire. I missed him 
 twice, and he shot back at me, so it was quite 
 a little duel ; the third time I silenced his 
 fire, and I think silenced him — at all events, I 
 afterwards found a body lying close to the 
 spot. The gallery applauded, or, in other 
 words, I was cheered by the men in the 
 church ; and much amusement was caused 
 by Lake, who followed me as usual, and, 
 having picked up an Enfield somewhere, fired 
 at the other skirmisher, holding out the gun 
 at arm's length straight before him on a level 
 with his nose. 
 
 Nothing was done that morning on either 
 side except that the Ashantees made a pre- 
 
?i6 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 tended attack, a feint to cover their retreat. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Wood arrived at seven 
 o'clock. He had been ordered to advance 
 from Napoleon, and to attack the Ashantees 
 in their rear ; but, his force being chiefly com- 
 posed of Cape Coast Fantees, they declined 
 the fight, and joined Sir Garnet on his way 
 to Abrakrampa. He now told them that 
 they should have a last chance to redeem 
 their character, and gave them the order to 
 enter the bush at 2 p.m. and attack the 
 Ashantees. 
 
 At two o'clock these miserable people ad- 
 vanced to the edge of the bush, and then 
 stood still like children afraid to go into cold 
 water. The Kossoos were ordered to drive 
 them in at the sword's point, but nothing 
 would induce them to go more than 200 
 yards. Then they squatted down. 
 
 The Ashantee army had gone, but the 
 rearguard and the baggage were left be- 
 hind. When the Ashantees did not attack 
 the Cape Coast mob, the Arbras, suspecting 
 the truth, ran down the Anasmadi road and 
 took the temporary camp. Then the Haus- 
 sas were ordered in and took the village 
 
ASRAKRAMPA. 217 
 
 Anasmadi. There avals scarcely any resist- 
 ance ; here and there a few shots were fired, 
 but the Ashantees dropped their loads and 
 ran. It is said that Amanquatia, who had 
 covered himself with mud and stupefied him- 
 self with rum, narrowly escaped capture. 
 When the Arbras took the temporary camp 
 a romantic incident occurred. Human sacri- 
 fices were being made for a chief that had 
 been killed, and just as the knife touched the 
 throat of a young Fantee woman a bullet 
 killed the executioner. I saw her telling the 
 story herself, and pointing to the bloody 
 mark upon her throat. Nature, it seems, 
 has become sensational, and imitates Captain 
 Mayne Reid. 
 
 The path all the way to Anasmadi was 
 littered with baskets, brass pans, stools, 
 powder-kegs, muskets, and other Ashantee 
 furniture. Amanquatia's sacred chickens 
 were found in a coop with amulets tied round 
 their necks. The carved riding-chair which 
 he had taken from the King of Denkera 
 was now taken from him. Yet few Ashan- 
 tees were captured, and none of these were 
 fighting-men. Many Fantee captives were 
 
2i8 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 released * others were "found with their throats 
 cut, lying by the wayside. 
 
 The next day Sir Garnet returned in 
 triumph to Cape Coast. Castle, and soon 
 afterwards was down with African fever. 
 He was first sent up to Connor's Hill, and 
 then taken on board the ' Simoom.' 
 
 So ended the famous siege of Abrakrampa, 
 the glory of which belongs to Major Russell 
 and his officers. In fact, the arrival of Sir 
 Garnet and his assumption of the command 
 can scarcely be considered fortunate. He 
 brought reinforcements, but would not use 
 them against the enemy. I have been in- 
 formed that Major Russell and Captain Fre- 
 mantle both urged him to attack the enemy 
 at daybreak on the 7th ; and never had a 
 General such an opportunity. The Ashantees 
 occupied a temporary camp close to the clear- 
 ing ; they were disheartened and fatigued ; 
 Sir Garnet had a considerable force of seamen 
 and marines, Haussas, Kossoos,and 2nd West. 
 Had he attacked at dawn he would have 
 taken the camp by surprise, and might have 
 cut the army into pieces. But supposing he 
 had found them prepared, and they had fought 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 219 
 
 at their best, he would have had a wonderful 
 advantage with the village in his rear ; and 
 he could have touched and engaged the 
 enemy with his reserve based upon the 
 clearing. The best excuse I have ever heard 
 made on his behalf was not a very good one, 
 viz., that his health was already affected by 
 the fever. 
 
 Then what a pitiable business was that 
 which, by extraordinary luck, produced a 
 panic in the Ashantee rear ! When he had 
 good negro troops thirsting for battle, why 
 should he have sent into the bush a timid 
 mob of deserters whom he ought to have dis- 
 armed and turned into carriers ? In fact, Sir 
 Garnet's proceedings that day were of an 
 enigmatical description. He posted a seven-, 
 pounder gun outside the village in the clearing; 
 but instead of pointing it towards the enemy's 
 position, he pointed it towards the Esseboo 
 Road, and there he sat with his staff eagerly 
 gazing in the opposite direction from the 
 enemy. 
 
 In his despatch to the War Office, he 
 wrote : — ' I have great hopes that the Ashan- 
 tee army may be entirely broken up before it 
 
220 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 reaches the Prah.' The Correspondent of the 
 .' Daily News,' an officer upon the Staff, tele- 
 graphed his opinion that, 'except a few 
 stragglers, none would cross the Prah alive. 
 The truth being exactly the reverse, that, 
 except a few stragglers, all crossed the Prah 
 alive. We professional Correspondents were 
 less sanguine and more sensible than the 
 General and his Staff. 1 If they could still 
 believe in the native allies we could not ; and 
 what reason was there to suppose that the 
 army would be broken up ? Sir Garnet did 
 not pursue the enemy ; he went home again. 
 The forces sent in pursuit were the Haussas 
 and Kossoos without any provisions (so that 
 they must come back the same day), the 
 , Arbras and the Fantee mob. They had not 
 gone very far when they found Amanquatia 
 waiting for them with his rear-guard. After 
 some little fighting there was the usual stam- 
 
 1 What I said was this : ' It may now be affirmed that 
 the Ashantee invasion is over, and that soon the Protectorate 
 will be clear. In two months the second act of the drama 
 will commence, and in three months probably Coomassie 
 will be taken.' — Letter to the ' Times,' dated November 8. 
 The Ashantees crossed the Prah in the first days of Decem- 
 ber ; the regiments began their march in the first days of 
 anuary ; Coomassie was taken in the first days of February. 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 221 
 
 pede. The native levies ran over the Haussas ; 
 Pioneer Gordon was knocked into a river; 
 and more than fifty Fantees lost their heads 
 close to Abrakrampa. As an officer who 
 was present drily remarked, ' This was the 
 pursuit.' 
 
 The Arbras called that day's work 'a 
 sacrifice to Amanquatia ; ' i.e., a sacrifice of 
 propitiation ; and it almost obliterated in their 
 minds the triumphs of ' the siege.' 
 
 I shall now follow the march of the 
 Ashantee army. We supposed that it would 
 return by an unfrequented route ; but, as if 
 nothing had happened, it took the road by 
 which it had come. It passed close to Mansu 
 without being attacked, and moved with such 
 slowness that Major Home, who was making 
 road, continually touched it in his work. 
 Home's party was covered by Colonel Wood's 
 regiment, which was ordered to harass the 
 enemy's rear, and at a place called Faisoo 
 Colonel Wood did attack the rear-guard. But 
 he soon discovered that the army had a sting 
 in its tail ; in fact, an attack on the Ashantee 
 rear does not essentially differ from an attack 
 on its front, for the rear is the position of the 
 
222 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 General, who is surrounded by the flower of 
 his army. 
 
 Wood, with only a few hundred men 
 against an army of at least 10,000 men, was 
 forced to retreat, and the enemy captured a 
 hammock, some baggage, &c. One officer 
 lost 20/. worth of property; another was 
 parted from a much beloved box of Fortnum 
 and Mason's, containing many things precious 
 in the wilderness. The regiment had quite 
 enough of harassing the enemy's retreat. But 
 now comes the extraordinary part Either 
 the Ashantees supposed that this regiment 
 was the advance guard of an army, or else 
 they were seized with a mere animal panic. 
 The night after the skirmish, they all girded 
 up their loins, and ran to the Prah, crossed it 
 in haste, many being drowned in the process, 
 and did not recover their equanimity till they 
 had reached the Adansi Hills. 
 
 They marched to Coomassie, and, Aman- 
 quatia having lost his umbrella and stool, 
 had to wait outside till a new set of these 
 insignia were sent out to him. He then 
 entered the town, and was received with the 
 firing of muskets ; but less powder was burnt 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 223 
 
 in his honour than for Adoo Buffoo returning 
 from Krepee. According to Mr. Kiihne's 
 account 40,000 men had gone with him to 
 the war, and only 20,000 returned. Seventy- 
 nine boxes, containing the bones of chieftains 
 who had perished in the war, were carried 
 through the streets. Hundreds of women, 
 the relatives of warriors, joined the proces- 
 sion ; some of them were daubed with white 
 clay, and wore green garlands, and sang merry 
 songs ; others were covered with red clay, and 
 wept, and wailed, and cried to the spirits of 
 the dead. 
 
 The army was received in the great 
 market-place, and the king, as usual, regaled 
 the soldiers with sheep and gin. He then 
 summoned the chiefs in council, and pro- 
 ceeded to business. The king does not defray 
 all the expenses of the war, but subscribes 
 handsomely towards it, in virtue of which 
 contribution, and in virtue of his royalty, he 
 is entitled to receive so many prisoners if the 
 war has been successful ; if not, the generals 
 or chiefs must pay him the equivalent in gold. 
 Now the army brought but few prisoners, and 
 therefore the king fined Amanquatia so many 
 
224 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 ounces, and the other war chiefs in proportion, 
 and gave them a fortnight to raise the required 
 sum. But, before that fortnight had elapsed, 
 the king was informed that the white men 
 were coming to Coomassie and were already 
 at the Prah. 
 
 Let us now examine the causes and nature 
 of the Ashantee retreat. Sir Garnet Wolseley 
 claims to have driven them out of the Pro- 
 tectorate ; and, at first sight, that would seem 
 to be the case. An advocate might say that 
 when the General arrived, the Ashantees were 
 encamped close to Cape Coast Castle and 
 Elmina, the inhabitants lived in continual 
 dread, and panics were frequent. On one oc- 
 casion, Lieutenant-Colonel Wood signalled to 
 Cape Coast that he expected an attack that 
 afternoon : more than once the cry of ' Ashan- 
 tee ! ' was raised in the streets at Cape Coast. 
 But Sir Garnet destroyed the villages from 
 which the camp received its supplies, and also 
 occupied Abrakrampa, Dunquah, and Mansu. 
 The Ashantees were alarmed, and began to 
 retreat ; at Dunquah they were twice assailed 
 with success ; they attacked Abrakrampa and 
 were defeated, and then got out of the Protec- 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 225 
 
 torate as quickly as they could. Half the 
 army was destroyed, &c. &c. 
 
 For my own part, I believe that the* true 
 history of the retreat is as follows : The 
 Ashantees were victorious up till the middle 
 of May ; then the rains, which were unusually 
 heavy, produced two epidemics, small-pox and 
 dysentery ; and to these must be ascribed the 
 frightful mortality which, if Mr. Kuhne's in- 
 formation be correct, thinned the masses of 
 the army. 
 
 It was the chief object of invasion to take 
 Elmina from the English ; but the repulse of 
 June 13 proved to Amanquatia that this was 
 not to be done. I believe that the retreat — or, 
 to speak more correctly, the return — was 
 then decided on, and that Amanquatia only 
 waited to obtain the formal permission of the 
 king, which is in such cases necessary. 
 
 The first piece of news we heard on our 
 arrival was that the Ashantees were about to 
 retreat ; and all the natives whom I have 
 questioned said that, ' as everybody knew,' the 
 circle of beads was received before the arrival 
 of the new Governor. 
 
 Q 
 
226 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 The well-planned and well-executed 
 attack on Essaman was a blow for the 
 Ashantees, but its chief effect was on the 
 people of Elmina. In respect to them its 
 success was complete : it put down the re- 
 bellion. 
 
 But those who assert that the Ashantees 
 were thus cut off from their supplies and 
 forced to retreat do not understand how an 
 Ashantee army lives. They have no com- 
 missariat : each man has to feed himself. The 
 chiefs and their clients are able to buy with 
 their gold-dust stores of corn and smoked fish, 
 but the rank and file live by foraging. When 
 the Ashantees win a victory they settle down 
 on the neighbouring region like locusts, and 
 when they have devoured all the plantains they 
 proceed to another area. When I asked Amba 
 Firitumba why the Ashantees left Mampon, 
 she replied, ' Because they had eaten it up.' If 
 Amanquatia had been told that he was driven 
 by the Governor out of the Protectorate, he 
 would probably retort that he had remained a 
 long time close to Cape Coast waiting for the 
 Governor to come ; that the Governor had not 
 
ABRAKRAMPA. 227 
 
 dared to attack him, had not even made a re- 
 connaissance ; that the white men had defeated 
 him in the plain of Elmina from behind a 
 stone wall and from behind houses at Abra- 
 krampa, but they had never beaten him in the 
 bush. They had tried it twice at Dunquah ; 
 but had Essamanquatia been driven from 
 his camp ? They had tried the day after 
 Abrakrampa; they had tried it again at 
 Faisoo ; and what had been the result ? He 
 did take his army home, but that was because 
 he had ravaged and laid waste Assin, Arbra, 
 Fantee, and Denkera. He had not won every 
 battle : God had not given him success at 
 Elmina and Abrakrampa ; and sickness had 
 fallen on his army. But he had passed twelve 
 months in the Governor's country, and had 
 not once been attacked with success. 
 
 I therefore think that the reverses of the 
 Ashantees are to be ascribed, first of all, to the 
 accident of disease ; secondly, to their presump- 
 tion in dashing themselves against Elmina and 
 Abrakrampa. Festing deserves high credit 
 for his defence of the first, and Russell for his 
 defence of the second ; but it should also be 
 
 Q2 
 
228 ABRAKRAMPA. 
 
 remembered that it was Wolseley's wisdom 
 and forethought which garrisoned the village 
 Abrakrampa and placed it under the command 
 of an officer whom he knew well, and on 
 whom he felt he could rely. 
 
229 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 What could have induced Sir Garnet to ask 
 for thirty miles of railway ? He says that 
 he was misled by certain information he 
 received ; but he has often complained with 
 justice that he could not obtain good inform- 
 ation respecting the Gold Coast, and there- 
 fore he took that important step of asking 
 for a railway on information which he knew 
 to be bad. But what was that information ? 
 Did anyone who had been to Mansu assure 
 him that the country was flat for thirty miles ? 
 If he obtained such an assurance, did he seek 
 for other men who had been to Mansu in 
 order to check the information ? Did he, 
 furthermore, read the works of Bowdich, 
 Dupuis, and Hutton, who had all been by 
 that route, and who, unless I am very much 
 
230 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 mistaken, all speak of valleys and hills ? Is 
 not Cape Coast Castle always described as a 
 town with hills at its back ? Has it not often 
 been said that Mansu was situated on a 
 plateau ? Put this and that together, and is 
 it not a matter of fair inference that there are 
 hills between Cape Coast Castle and Mansu ? 
 But supposing Sir Garnet had been 
 correctly informed, supposing the country 
 for thirty miles inland was quite suitable for 
 the making of a railway, even then the pro- 
 ject never should have been for a moment 
 entertained. The General's time was limited, 
 and the advantages to be gained by having a 
 railway for thirty miles would have been 
 more than counterbalanced by the time 
 and toil of its construction. I even doubt 
 whether it could have been made except 
 by setting all else aside. The rails and 
 rolling stock came out, but where was the 
 skilled labour ? Major Home had never 
 enough officers and non-commissioned officers 
 for his regular work; what would he have 
 done had there been a railway to make as 
 well ? And it must always be remembered 
 that, where one man is needed in England, 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 231 
 
 two men are needed in Western Africa, on 
 account of the climate. But my main ob- 
 jection to the railway would have been (had 
 my opinion been asked) that the country 
 could not produce the necessary labour. 
 Africa is not a populous country, and the 
 making of a railway would have drained 
 Fantee of all its able-bodied men. 
 
 It may be said that I am writing with 
 wisdom after the event. But I asked Sir 
 Garnet onboard the ' Ambriz - whether the 
 railway was a fact. If it were settled I would 
 not say anything about it, for that would be 
 useless; but if it were a matter still to be 
 decided, I meant to oppose it might and 
 main. He said that he had been promised 
 the railway. I replied that I was sorry to 
 hear it, and I thought that he would be too. 
 It is due to Sir Garnet to say that he counter- 
 manded the railway directly after his arrival, 
 and so reduced the expense to its minimum. 
 
 My object in speaking of the railway is 
 to show that Sir Garnet from the first never 
 understood the labour difficulty ; he seems 
 always to have supposed that he could get 
 as many men as he wanted. But men on 
 
232 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 the Gold Coast are not only men, they are 
 trains, steamers, carts and boats, horses, 
 elephants, and mules. In a country which 
 has no railways, no navigable rivers, no 
 roads, and no beasts of burden, men have to 
 carry everything upon their heads. The one 
 thought which should have haunted the 
 General day and night from the hour of his 
 landing, or rather from the hour of his 
 appointment, should have been : ' Shall I be 
 able to get men of labour ? Shall I be able 
 to keep them when I get them ? ' I fear 
 that, if the truth be known, Sir Garnet 
 thought very little about the matter at all 
 until he found that for want of men his ex- 
 pedition was in danger. 
 
 The war has been sometimes called an 
 Engineers' War, and sometimes a Doctors' 
 War; it should be called a Control War, 
 for the greater includes the less. The science 
 of the engineers was necessary ; but they 
 wanted men of labour to cut down trees, to 
 build huts, and to set up the telegraph poles. 
 It was the business of the Control to supply 
 these men. The science of the doctors was 
 in great request; but they wanted men to 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 233 
 
 carry their medical panniers and their bulky 
 stores of medical comforts ; and, above all, 
 hammock-men were required to carry the 
 wounded and the sick. It was the fault of 
 the Home Government that only a few 
 Control officers were sent out at first ; but 
 they would have sent out whatever Sir 
 Garnet applied for after his arrival on the 
 coast ; it is, therefore, his own fault that the 
 Control was undermanned and overworked. 
 The officers were, for the most part, raw 
 young lads, and had to do, not only their own 
 work, but non-commissioned officers' work as 
 well. One of them told me that while he 
 was at Mansu he had often to work nineteen 
 hours a day — and this on the West Coast of 
 Africa ! 
 
 The Ashantee expedition was African 
 travelling on a grand scale, and every African 
 traveller knows that transport is his difficulty. 
 He endeavours to get men who do not belong 
 to the country through which he has to pass, 
 for they can always run away if they choose. 
 But often the men of the country are the only 
 carriers he can obtain. He then uses every 
 possible precaution to keep them in his ser- 
 
234 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 vice. He treats them well, but not with 
 indulgence j looks after their lodging and food ; 
 and, if he adopts measures of severity, takes 
 care that they shall be of a kind which subdue, 
 not of a kind which merely irritate or terrify. 
 
 The question of transport occupied from 
 the first all thoughtful minds that were 
 turned to the prospects of the Gold Coast 
 expedition. It was suggested by members 
 of the Press, and by members of the Profes- 
 sion, that elephants should be employed ; but 
 Sir Garnet refused to apply for elephants. 
 Now, the Gold Coast is an elephant country, 
 and, before they were all shot off, frequented 
 the road between Cape Coast Castle and 
 Coomassie. Bosman saw one walk into the 
 Governor's garden at Elmina ; they are still 
 to be found at Assinie close to the beach. 
 Moreover we had to fight a superstitious 
 people, and I believe that the sight of tame 
 elephants would have had no slight effect 
 upon the enemy. 
 
 It was also suggested at an early date, not 
 only in the papers but also by eminent 
 military men, that though mules and horses 
 would not live upon the coast for any length 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 235 
 
 of time, still they might live for a month, or 
 even two months, and in that time could be 
 turned to account. Had Sir Garnet written 
 for mules in large numbers, his request 
 would not have been refused. But he merely 
 applied for a few riding-mules and pack- 
 mules for the comfort of his Staff. These 
 animals not only were able to carry the Staff 
 to Coomassie, but even to kick some of them 
 off ; a few horses also were used, and they 
 went through the work equally well. It is 
 therefore certain that mules and horses would 
 have answered. Sir Garnet, in his speech at 
 the Mansion House dinner, says that he could 
 not use mules, because there were no regular 
 roads, a strange excuse to be made by the 
 author of the ' Pocket Book,' a work which 
 professes to teach us all about such matters ! 
 He also said something about carts ; but no 
 one ever blamed him for not taking carts. 
 As far as mules are concerned, they can of 
 course be used without roads being made. 
 Horses and asses exist in great numbers all 
 over Central Africa, and the latter are used 
 for purposes of transport; but in those 
 countries the art of Macadam is unknown ; the 
 
236 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 roads are merely foot-paths, as upon the Gold 
 Coast. 
 
 Elephants, and mules, and draught oxen 
 should have been employed ; but still these 
 would have been experiments, and the success 
 of the expedition should have been made a 
 certainty. So far as concerned fighting, suc- 
 cess was a certainty, and it only remained to 
 secure the well-being of the transport. I 
 believe that labour should have been imported, 
 and 2,000 coolies at least brought over to 
 the Gold Coast. But, as this was not done, 
 surely Sir Garnet should have used great 
 care to enlist at an early date an adequate 
 supply of labourers, and have taken some 
 precautions against their desertion. He 
 surely must have known that negroes do not 
 love to labour day after day, and that these 
 Fantees were not only slothful, but cowards, 
 dreading the very name of Ashantee. 
 
 I have heard some say, ' It is not the 
 General's business to look after the hiring of 
 men. He cannot give his personal attention 
 to every detail : that is the business of the 
 Control.' But the labour question was not a 
 detail ; it was the mainspring of the whole 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 237 
 
 affair. Without a supply of labour the army 
 could not advance ; and having advanced, 
 unless the labour supply were kept up, it could 
 not fight, could not pick up its wounded, could 
 not retreat, could not exist for a week. The 
 country produced no food. 
 
 Besides, the supply of labouring men was 
 not a mere question of hiring, as in civilised 
 countries ; it was a question of Diplomacy. 
 I believe that most of the carriers were slaves. 
 In any case the proper way to engage them 
 was by arrangement with the chiefs, as in the 
 case of the fighting men. Now, had the 
 command been divided, had there been a 
 Governor and a General, the military man 
 would have said to the civilian, ' I want so 
 many thousand carriers ; ' and the Governor 
 would have summoned the chiefs and given 
 the necessary order. But in Sir G. Wolseley 
 the two commands were united, and it was 
 his duty, if not as a General, then as Adminis- 
 trator of the Gold Coast, to have summoned 
 the chiefs to a Durbar. 
 
 It was evident from the first that the 
 Fantees were useless as fighting men, and fit 
 only to be hewers of wood and drawers of 
 
238 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 water. Indeed if they had been good 
 soldiers, and yet not good enough to preclude 
 the necessity for European regiments, it 
 would have been embarrassing, for where, 
 then, would the labourers have come from ? 
 The other settlements and regions of the 
 coast could not supply labour. As I stated 
 in a previous chapter, a commissary was 
 sent to Cape Palmas to hire as many Kroos 
 as he could get ; but his mission was a failure. 
 The Kroos are not numerous, and are so much 
 in request that frequently captains of merchant 
 vessels are unable to hire as many as they 
 want. The Fantees, therefore, alone could be 
 used, and, as they were useless for purposes 
 of war, the General's path of duty was clear. 
 After the siege of Abrakrampa he should 
 have summoned the chiefs, told them of the 
 regiments that were coming, and of his inten- 
 tion to invade Ashantee, and then called upon 
 them to supply carriers instead of fighting 
 men. He should have been bountiful in 
 matters of money if the men were supplied, 
 and remained with the army : he should have 
 threatened measures of coercion if the chiefs 
 disobeyed. But, instead of doing this, he 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 239 
 
 retained idly under arms several thousands of 
 the natives for more than a month, and those 
 fighting men that were converted into carriers 
 were converted informally. Then these 
 carriers were not properly organised : they 
 were not arranged into companies, each under 
 its own officer, who might look after them, 
 punish them, and attend to their complaints. 
 They were not always paid with regularity : 
 they were not always fed when they were 
 hungry. I believe that hundreds deserted 
 to escape death from starvation. It is the 
 custom on the Gold Coast to pay carriers 
 subsistence-money, instead of giving them 
 rations ; and this answers well enough where 
 there are markets, if the food-money be paid 
 every day ; and this was not always done. 
 But when the carriers were taken into the 
 country beyond Mansu, where no provisions 
 could be bought, will it be believed that then 
 the Control fed the labourers with money ? It 
 seems to have been a prevalent idea with 
 those who managed such matters that food 
 could always be obtained by foraging. I 
 shall give one instance out of many. A 
 special service officer who had been attached 
 
240 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 to a tribe was ordered to convert them into 
 labourers and hand them over to the Control. 
 He did so, and after some days they came to 
 him, crying, and said that they were hungry. 
 He represented the case to the officer of the 
 Control at the station, who replied, ' Oh, that 
 be damned ! They can get plenty of plantains 
 in the bush.' This evil was afterwards 
 remedied by order of the General, but not 
 before many had deserted for that cause alone. 
 It was early in December, a few days 
 before the arrival of the regiments, that the 
 General's eyes were first opened to the 
 danger he was in. He had been up country 
 himself and seen how things were going on, or 
 rather not going on. As he returned he met 
 a number of chiefs at Dunquah and told them 
 the regiments were coming (the announce- 
 ment was rather late) and that he wanted 
 5,000 men (the demand was also rather late). 
 And what was the threat he used in case the 
 5,000 men were not produced ? Did he say 
 he would punish the chiefs, fine them, im- 
 prison them, or burn their villages for dis- 
 loyalty and base ingratitude ? No : he said 
 that if the 5,000 men were not forthcoming, he 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 241 
 
 would send the regiments home again and go 
 away jhimself. Now I venture to say that 
 the chiefs would have liked nothing better. 
 Their country was clear ; they were safe from 
 invasion for the next ten years ; they wanted 
 to sow their crops and to build their villages ; 
 and they did not relish the idea of an 
 Ashantee campaign, for they did not believe 
 that it would have any effect except that of 
 giving the enemy fresh provocation from 
 which they would be the sufferers. Sir Garnet 
 was mistaken in supposing that his presence 
 on the coast was necessary to their happiness ; 
 while some, no doubt, were shrewd enough 
 to see it was only an empty threat which he 
 dared not, for his own sake, carry out. But, 
 whether they believed or disbelieved it, the 
 threat was impotent against them. 
 
 Sir Garnet's final measures were as success- 
 ful as any measures could be when employed so 
 late in the day. He took the transport virtually 
 out of the hands of the Control and placed it 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Colley and military 
 officers. Colley was an extraordinary man ; 
 he dashed about all over the country, some- 
 times using persuasive words,, sometimes 
 
242 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 burning a village. In a marvellously short 
 space of time he had carriers in hundreds on 
 the road. When the march to Coomassie com- 
 menced, he travelled backwards and forwards, 
 bringing up convoys himself, now and then 
 taking part in a battle or a skirmish — his only 
 kind of holiday. Much of this travelling was 
 through parts of Ashantee infested by parties 
 of the enemy. He had many narrow escapes ; 
 his servant was shot : as one of his officers said, 
 ' he seemed to bear a charmed life.' More 
 than once I have heard the remark, ' What 
 should we have done without Colley ? ' To 
 use Sir Garnet's own words, ' he restored 
 order to chaos : ' but, strange as it may appear, 
 Sir Garnet did not seem to think, when he 
 made that observation, that he himself was 
 partly to blame for the chaos. 
 
 To Colley it is due that Coomassie was 
 taken when it was. Had it not been for him 
 there would have been more delay ; and delay 
 in Africa is death. I do not think that in 
 any case Wolseley would have left the country 
 without going to Coomassie. If he lacks 
 forethought, he does not lack dash and deter- 
 
THE TRANSPORT. 243 
 
 initiation. If the worst had come to the worst, 
 if the carriers had not been forthcoming (and 
 this contingency was at one time often dis- 
 cussed in the camp), he would have done 
 permanently what he did for a time. He 
 would have converted the 1st and 2nd West 
 India regiments with Wood's and Russell's 
 regiments into carriers, and then taken on as 
 many white soldiers as those men could 
 supply with food and ammunition, marched 
 to Coomassie with a flying column, and 
 back again, without attempting to provision 
 and garrison posts upon the way. But this 
 would have been a flashy kind of success at 
 the best, and might have been attended with 
 serious disaster. As it was, we shall see 
 that, in spite of Colley's noble exertions, the 
 question of supplies never ceased to retard 
 the advance, and finally hastened the return of 
 the army. Had that one ' detail ' received the 
 General's attention at the first, the success of 
 the expedition would have been as dramatic 
 and complete as that of Magdala. The troops, 
 instead of being delayed upon the road, could 
 have stayed a week or ten days in Coomassie. 
 
244 THE TRANSPORT. 
 
 There Wolseley and Glover would have 
 met — and what a meeting that would have 
 been ! There the treaty would have been 
 signed, and the gold paid over by the 
 king. 
 
245 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PRAH. 
 
 For a fortnight nothing was heard of the 
 Ashantee army ; to use the military phrase, 
 we had ' lost the touch.' However, it crossed 
 the main road near Mansu, and the touch was 
 regained in the following manner : — Surgeon- 
 Major Gore was travelling from Mansu to 
 Dunquah with a guard of Fantee police and 
 a postman carrying the mail-bag. They saw 
 several unarmed Ashantee foragers who 
 ran off into the bush ; next they came 
 upon a man carrying a musket. He was 
 seized, disarmed, and tied to the postman 
 with a cord. Mr. Gore went on, and next 
 came upon a party of armed men ; they 
 fired, wounded him slightly, and killed a 
 policeman dead. The Ashantee prisoner 
 tried to pull the postman into the bush, so 
 
246 THE PRAH. 
 
 the latter untied the cord and let him go. 
 The police returned the fire, the Ashantees 
 ran off, and Mr. Gore returned to Mansu — 
 a promenade of two miles which he did not 
 much enjoy, expecting every moment to be 
 fired into from the bush. However, he 
 arrived safely with the body of the policeman. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Webber, 2nd West India 
 regiment, who commanded at Mansu, sent 
 two messengers to Dunquah by a circuitous 
 route, and informed Festing that he was sur- 
 rounded. Festing sent him reinforcements 
 under Captain Huyshe, but they marched 
 from Dunquah to Mansu without seeing 
 any signs of the enemy. 
 
 When the news of this incident came to 
 Cape Coast, I at once ordered my hammock 
 and proceeded to Mansu. I was told that 
 the Head of the Sap, the farthest advanced 
 point of the Royal Engineers, was at Akro- 
 fum, seven miles farther on, and that the 
 Ashantee camp was somewhere in its neigh- 
 bourhood. Lieutenant Gordon, 93rd, was 
 going there with some Haussas, so Captain 
 Huyshe and I followed in his rear, picking 
 up an Ashantee straggler (a slave) on the way. 
 
THE PRAH. 247 
 
 We found at Akrofum a large camp of 
 Denkeras, who lay idle in their huts day 
 after day, refusing to scout, and refusing to 
 skirmish, though the Ashantees were close 
 by, though they were hired to fight the 
 Ashantees, though the Ashantees had 
 ravaged their country, burnt their villages, 
 killed their relations, and captured their 
 children and wives. 
 
 We found also a couple of tents in which 
 resided Major Home and his two subalterns, 
 Lieutenant Bell, R.E., and Lieutenant Hearle, 
 R.M.L.I., a most industrious young man, 
 who was attached to the Denkera tribe, but 
 had volunteered to serve as assistant engi- 
 neer. Major Home informed us that the 
 enemy's camp was close by ; that the night 
 before he had heard Ashantees jabbering 
 close to the clearing with which Akrofum 
 was fortified ; and that a few hours ago they 
 fired a few shots, probably by way of bravado, 
 to cover their departure. This afterwards 
 proved to be the case. Home said he in- 
 tended to go on with his road, and not to 
 attack the Ashantees unless they came in his 
 way. However, as Huyshe and I * were on 
 
248 THE_ PRAH. 
 
 our way back to Mansu, we met a body of 
 Kossoos and 2nd West sent to reinforce 
 Akrofum with a 7-pounder gun strapped on 
 a bamboo ; and that same afternoon Home 
 went out on a reconnaissance and heard the 
 noise of the Ashantee camp. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Wood had been ordered up to the 
 front to cover Major Home's road-making 
 operations, and had arrived at Mansu. He 
 received a note that evening from his friend 
 to the following effect : ' I attack the Ashan- 
 tee camp at daybreak, and expect you to 
 breakfast at nine.' 
 
 Wood gave orders to his men to be 
 ready to march at 3 a.m. that he might be in 
 time to act as a support. But I knew that 
 a march at such an hour would be attended 
 with delay, and determined to go back that 
 same night to Akrofum. I afterwards 
 found that Huyshe had the same intention, 
 and that Captain Butler was going too, 
 although he had just come from Western 
 Akim, and had travelled thirty miles that 
 day. 
 
 At nine o'clock we lighted three lanterns, 
 for the night was pitch dark, and journeyed 
 
THE PRAH. 249 
 
 along the forest path. We had to go very 
 slowly, and it was past midnight before we 
 arrived. We then made beds of our ham- 
 mocks, and enjoyed a short but comfortable 
 sleep. 
 
 The next morning at daybreak Home 
 gave us a breakfast of tea, oatmeal-porridge, 
 and regulation pork, and we then started for 
 the bush. The Kossoos under Lieutenant 
 Woodgate formed the advanced guard, six 
 Denkeras serving as guides. Huyshe, 
 Butler, and I walked at the head of the 
 column. 
 
 When we came to the place where Major 
 Home had heard the loud talking of the 
 camp all was perfectly silent ; then we knew 
 that either the Ashantees had gone, or that 
 they were waiting for us. 
 
 I have found nothing so trying to the 
 nerves as to walk along in the dense bush at 
 the head of a column, or, rather, at the head 
 of a line, knowing that at any moment one 
 may pass an ambuscade, that the enemy's fire 
 will be delivered at ten yards' range, and that 
 the white men will be singled out. However, 
 in bush warfare, the man who is in search of 
 
250 THE PRAH. 
 
 incidents must be quite at the front, or con- 
 tent himself with hearsay. 
 
 We now crossed the Oki river on a 
 native bridge, the trunk of a tree. The banks 
 were high and the stream was swift. Presently 
 we came to three or four lean-tos or shanties, 
 and a fire still smoking. This had, no doubt, 
 been a picket. A little while afterwards we 
 heard voices and the chopping of wood. The 
 Denkeras now became highly excited, gasped 
 under their breath ' Shanti fo ! Shanti fo ! ' 
 (Ashantee people), and, plucking green leaves, 
 laid them by the way-side to show that the 
 enemy was found. We then told them to go 
 on ; but they seemed aghast at such an idea, 
 walked a few yards, then stopped and listened, 
 were then kicked by Woodgate, and then 
 went a little way farther, till I suggested to 
 Huyshe we should go on without them. 
 Woodgate gave the word to his Kossoos, and 
 they at. once dashed ahead, spreading out to 
 the right and left just like a set of spaniels 
 hied into cover. Then of a sudden they 
 threw themselves together and knelt in a 
 close group, their swords pointing upwards, 
 while two or three of them went on ahead. 
 
THE P RAH. 251 
 
 The leader of the group turned round to the 
 others, made grimaces expressive of delight, 
 writhed and twisted his body as if he were 
 dancing, and made movements with his sword. 
 At that moment we heard an Ashantee bawl- 
 ing out at the top of his voice, and the inter- 
 preter told us he was. calling to his chum, and 
 saying, ' Come away, come away, there are 
 people in the bush ! ' The Kossoos now 
 dashed on ahead at a pace with which I could 
 not keep up : I heard two or three shots, and* 
 the sounding of a horn, and thought we had 
 touched the rear-guard and were in for a fight. 
 But it was a Kossoo horn, and the voices we 
 had heard were only stragglers. The Kossoos, 
 some of whom had guns, killed a few of these 
 wretches before their hands could be stayed. 
 A boy was taken alive : he was about four- 
 teen years old, and a wound on his foot showed 
 why he was not with the main body of the 
 army. Huyshe at once gave him a biscuit, 
 and spoke to him in his gentle voice, while the 
 lad, who was as pretty as a girl, looked up in 
 his face with his great black lustrous eyes in 
 wonder and awe : it was the first white man 
 he had ever seen. 
 
252 THE PRAH. 
 
 The boy told us that Amanquatia had 
 marched the morning before, and that the sick 
 camp with the rear-guard had followed in the 
 afternoon. They were most likely on the 
 move when Home made his reconnaissance. 
 He also told us that we had gone round the 
 camp, and showed us the way. Here we saw 
 the Ashantee trail : apparently they marched 
 in three columns through the bush. In the 
 centre was a broad track, with a smaller track 
 on each side. 
 
 As we passed through the camp Gore 
 overtook me. He was in a tremble of delight, 
 having had an object-lesson in anatomy. 
 An Ashantee had been cut down by a Kos- 
 soo, and the sword had laid bare the great 
 muscle which is called the diaphragm. . The 
 man was unconscious, but not dead ; and so 
 the diaphragm was ascending and descending 
 with the respiratory movements. As human 
 vivisection is not yet allowed even in the 
 Paris schools, this spectacle was quite unique 
 in its way, and reminded one of the American 
 soldier who had a hole in his side through 
 which his doctor used to put in pieces of beef, 
 mutton, vegetables, &c, to find out which were 
 
THE PR AH. 253 
 
 most easily digested. Just at that moment 
 I saw a scull lying by the side of a brook, 
 and, showing it to Gore, was about to say I 
 would take it home to Mr. Huxley, when the 
 enthusiast cried out, ' Hurrah, I have got the 
 lower jaw-bone ! ' and rushed down the bank. 
 The scull was as white and polished as any 
 specimen in the Museum of the College of 
 Surgeons, and Gore, who had picked up a 
 lower jaw-bone just before, found that it dove- 
 tailed in. The Ashantees had probably been 
 aware of Home's approach the day before, for 
 they seemed to have departed in haste and 
 had left many things behind, among others 
 a small package of gold-dust. 
 
 We returned to Akrofum disappointed of 
 our fight ; but, perhaps, it was just as well. 
 The Major had a compact little force of good 
 fighting men, Haussas, Kossoos, and 2nd 
 West, with a rocket-trough ; but we could not 
 have done much against the Ashantee army ; 
 and behind us was the Oki, with only its 
 trunk of a tree for a bridge, which, in case 
 of retreat, would not have been agreeable. 
 
 I returned to Cape Coast, for, as a 
 gatherer of news, I could not stop too long 
 
254 THE PRAH. 
 
 away from head-quarters ; but in the first 
 week of December I again paid a visit to the 
 Head of the Sap. 
 
 It was now much farther on, being at 
 Yancoomassie Assin, about fifteen miles from 
 the Prah. The Assin scouts had reported, a 
 few days before, that the Ashantees had crossed 
 over, and two West India soldiers volun- 
 teered to go on to the river. They came 
 back and reported all clear to the Prah, and 
 said they had written their names on a piece 
 of paper and posted it up. Major Home 
 and Captain Buller went on with some 2nd 
 West soldiers, intending to be the first to 
 arrive ; but Captain Butler, who was in 
 Akim, pushed in before them. I went to 
 Akumfudi, a temporary post, with the advance 
 guard of Wood's regiment. First Butler, 
 and then Home and Buller, came in from 
 the Prah. Lieutenant Grant, 6th Regiment, 
 had command of the Assin scouts, and we 
 agreed to go the next morning and have a 
 look at the river. But in the morning the 
 scOuts mutinied ; they said they were starved, 
 and could not bear the fatigue of the journey ; 
 they observed also that their pay was in 
 
THE PRAH. 2SS 
 
 arrear. Grant, who had neither silver nor 
 food at his disposal, told them that he was 
 going to take them through a land flowing 
 with milk and honey. But it was their land, 
 and they knew all about it. I then produced 
 a box of Huntley and Palmer's mixed 
 biscuits, and said if they would take us to 
 the Prah I would divide it amongst them. 
 They at once agreed to this, and we started. 
 The Ashantees had marched along the 
 main road, and vestiges of them were plainly 
 to be seen. In some places the grass at the 
 side of the path had been trampled down, as 
 if by a herd of deer ; this showed they had 
 been running. Many dead bodies were 
 scattered about, and the forest smelt of death ; 
 this showed they had left their sick to perish 
 on the way. When we came to our desti- 
 nation (about eleven miles' march) dead 
 bodies lay around, and vultures swarming 
 on the opposite bank showed that corpses 
 also were there. Through the dark forest 
 rushed the Prah, a dark and troubled stream. 
 A sombre silence prevailed. On the site of 
 Prahsu, the deserted village, were a number 
 of camp huts thatched with withered leaves ; 
 
? 5 6 THE PRAH. 
 
 and, the scouts setting fire to these, red 'flames 
 gleaming through clouds of smoke heightened 
 the sense of destruction and death already 
 imparted to the mind. However, I saw with 
 pleasure that the banks of the river were 
 high, and that it would be a healthy site for 
 the encampment of the regiments. Robert 
 divided the box of biscuits among the 
 Assins : each man had a cracknel and two 
 or three macaroons, with which light repast 
 they were quite satisfied. We saw the paper 
 posted up by the two brave men of the 2nd 
 West India regiment. 
 
 During this trip to the Prah (seventy-four 
 miles from the coast) I had been troubled 
 with dysentery, and had kept it within bounds 
 by means of opiates. On returning to Cape 
 Coast Castle the disease became violent, and 
 I began almost to fear that the Prah would 
 be my Pisgah, and that I should not enter 
 the Threatened Land. But I had recourse 
 to ipecacuanha, given in full doses, and this 
 pulled me through. The Jesuit missionaries 
 who discovered Peruvian bark (from which 
 quinine is obtained) also discovered ipecacu- 
 anha, which they named the radix dysen- 
 
THE PR AH. 257 
 
 terica. It is strange that we owe to the 
 ' Society ' our two specifics for the two great 
 tropical diseases. But between these two 
 maladies there is no comparison. Fever is 
 to dysentery what the slug is to the Snider- 
 bullet. I have had dozens of fevers, and 
 dread them little more than a cold ; but as 
 for dysentery, that is another affair. 
 
 I had scarcely recovered when (December 
 24) Lieutenant Rolfe of the ' Active ' kindly 
 invited me on board for a day's trip to Chamah. 
 The people of that town, after the bombard- 
 ment by the ' Rattlesnake,' had gone to live 
 in a bush-village about three miles off. On 
 the other hand the people of Commenda, 
 whose town had been destroyed by the 
 Ashantees, and who had been taken off to 
 Cape Coast Castle in ships, had now returned 
 home. Behind Chamah is the land of the 
 Wassaws, our allies ; and Sir Garnet Wolseley 
 had ordered the Wassaws and the Commendas 
 to carry war against the Chamahs, after 
 which they were to unite and invade Ashantee 
 via Wassaw. 
 
 But the Wassaws asked for guns and 
 s 
 
258 ' THE PRAH. 
 
 ammunition, and then would not do any- 
 thing ; they would not even attack Chamah ; 
 and the Commendas made but a poor 
 business of it, as will be seen. It would 
 have been much better if the Wassaws and 
 Commendas and Akims had been made to 
 serve as carriers. But the humble business 
 of transport was neglected for the art of 
 strategy. 
 
 The General and his Staff were also on 
 board the ' Active,' and Commodore Hewett 
 kindly made me his guest. We steamed to 
 Chamah; but it was found that the Commendas 
 would not be ready to fight till the following 
 day, so the Commodore gave his friends a trip 
 of half a mile up the Prah in a steam launch 
 and took them back to Cape Coast. The ' En- 
 counter,' Captain Bradshaw, and the ' Merlin,' 
 Commander Day, remained at the mouth of 
 the river, and it was arranged with a Mr. 
 Hughes of Cape Coast, sergeant in the Rifle 
 Volunteers, who commanded the Commendas, 
 that they should be on the banks of the river 
 at 8 a.m., and that then the boats of the two 
 men-of-war should ferry them across. The 
 
THE PR AH. 259 
 
 Commenda camp was a mile or so down the 
 beach. 
 
 The next morning about 700 Commendas 
 made their appearance, some of them armed 
 with Enfields, others with flint-locks, and the 
 boats, manned by Kroos, soon put them 
 across. They then marched towards Chamah, 
 which was a quarter of a mile from the mouth 
 of the river. In the meantime Captain Brad- 
 shaw determined to make a little voyage up 
 the Prah. The steam pinnace was armoured 
 with mantlets or plates of iron which rose above 
 the sides, and she also had a round shield of 
 iron in her bow. Every man was armed with 
 a Snider, and was ready ; so there was not 
 much fear of another disaster on the Prah, 
 even had the natives prepared an ambuscade ; 
 which was quite possible. We rattled along 
 at a swift pace in a narrow lane of water, with 
 green walls and towers of vegetation on 
 either side. Sometimes we saw a crocodile 
 lying on a log, or a family of monkeys which 
 went off into the bush chattering, gamboling, 
 and looking back at us over their shoulders. 
 We passed the place where Commerell was 
 shot, and had gone about four miles, when 
 s 2 
 
26o The prah. 
 
 Lieutenant Evans, of the ' Encounter,' quietly 
 remarked ' A narrow escape ! ' and, looking 
 behind us, we saw the brown surface of a 
 rock which was almost covered by the water. 
 Had we touched it there would have been a 
 hole knocked in the bottom of the pinnace ; 
 and, as rocks in African rivers are seldom 
 alone, Captain Bradshaw thought it best to 
 return. As we reached the mouth of the 
 river, we saw smoke rising above the trees ; 
 the Commendas had set fire to Chamah, and 
 so added the finishing touch to the bombard- 
 ment It was low water when we crossed 
 the bar, and the pinnace bumped on the 
 sand. This was not pleasant in the midst of 
 the breakers, and it happened again and 
 again ; but the little craft was beautifully 
 handled. When she struck the sand, Brad- 
 shaw gave the word, and the engineer, with 
 a movement of his hand, turned off the steam. 
 Then would come a big wave and float her 
 ■off; and, as soon as the water passed under- 
 neath, the steam was turned on, and she dashed 
 ahead till at last she got out into the sea. 
 Decidedly the Prah, though picturesque, is of 
 no avail for navigation. 
 
THE PRAH. 261 
 
 We had a naval artist on board, so steamed 
 near the town to give him a subject for a 
 sketch, and then returned to the ' Encounter.* 1 
 Captain Bradshaw, wishing ' to save his day- 
 light,' weighed anchor at 2 p.m., to rerun* 
 to Cape Coast, and we were watching the 
 Commendas driving a herd of Chamah cattle: 
 along the beach, when we heard shots and 
 saw puffs of smoke. A skirmish took place, 
 and the Commendas were apparently vic- 
 torious ; but next day Mr. Hughes petitioned 
 to be once more ferried over to the safe side 
 of the Prah, declaring that his men had eaten 
 their food, and shot away their ammuni- 
 tion. 
 
 Let us now return to the main stream of 
 events. In the beginning of December, the 
 ' Sarmatian,' 'Himalaya,' and'Tamar' came 
 with the 42nd, the Rifles, and the 23rd regi- 
 ment ; and the ' Thames,' a small transport, 
 brought out a battalion of marines under 
 Colonel de Courcy. The 1st West India 
 regiment also arrived. 
 
 At that time little had been done in the 
 way of preparation, and so the troopers were 
 sent out to sea, and the first days of the New 
 
262 THE PRAH. 
 
 Year appointed for the landing of the regi- 
 ments. On December 27, Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley and his Staff, with the Naval 
 Brigade under Captain Blake, R.N., started 
 for the Prah. The Commodore went up after- 
 wards. Fifty seamen and marines had been 
 already some weeks at the front with the 2nd 
 West and the native regiments of Russell and 
 Wood. Two hundred marched with Sir Garnet, 
 all picked men from the ' Active,' ' Amethyst/ 
 ' Argus,' ' Druid,' and ' Encounter.' The men 
 of Abrakrampa had been for the most part 
 invalided, and Lieutenant Wells had died of 
 yellow fever on his way home to take command 
 of the Queen's Yacht. Consul * Livingstone 
 (Dr. Livingstone's brother) also fell a victim 
 to this disease, which was raging in the 
 Bights. All homeward-bound steamers were 
 put in quarantine, and the Gold Coast es- 
 caped infection. 
 
 After much honourable but bitter dispute, 
 it was arranged that the Rifles should march 
 first, the Black Watch second, and the 
 Fusiliers last. Each regiment would land 
 half a battalion at a time, so that on January 
 6 all the troops would be on the road. 
 
THE PRAH. 263 
 
 They would marchto Prahsu in eight 'days, 
 there concentrating ; on January 15 they would 
 cross that river, and the Invasion would 
 begin. On the same day three other columns 
 were to enter Ashantee territory. Captain 
 Glover would cross the Prah with his disci-' 
 plined Yorubas and Haussas, his Eastern 
 Akims, Croboes, Kreepees, Accras," &c, at 
 some point to the east of Prahsu ; Captain 
 Butler would cross with the Western Akims 
 at a place called Akim Prahsu, about thirty 
 miles to the east of the main 1 road ; Captain 
 Dalrymple and Moore, both of the 80th 
 regiment, would cross the Ashantee frontier 
 with the Wassaws. 
 
 These arrangements were perfect On paper ; 
 but concerted movements in Africa do not 
 usually succeed. Sir Garnet could not cross 
 on the 15 th because the transport broke down. 
 Glover crossed, but with only his Yorubas 
 and Haussas. Butler crossed with Brabazon, 
 Macgregor, and Surgeon Low, but without 
 any Akims. Dalrymple did not cross the 
 frontier at all, being unable to move the 
 Wassaws, who seem the worst of our native 
 allies. 
 
? 64 THE PRAH. 
 
 I must now attempt to give some descrip- 
 tion of what had been done upon the road 
 from Cape Coast Castle to Prahsu. My de- 
 scription of the country will also apply in a 
 general way to the country between Prahsu 
 and Coomassie. It is all the same forest, and 
 all the same race. 
 
 The primeval forest is composed of tall 
 and massive trees, with creepers extending 
 like cordage from one to another, and so mat- 
 ting the foliage together overhead that a green 
 roof is formed, almost impenetrable to the sun. 
 Here and there are chinks and sky-lights, 
 through which the sun shoots in and falls upon 
 the tree-trunks and ground in gleams and 
 splashes of crystal light. There is not much 
 undergrowth, for that kind of vegetation can- 
 not exist without sunshine, and in the virgin 
 forest is always a kind of twilight or Dim. 
 There is no danger of sunstroke in the forest, 
 but the heat is often suffocating — a moist dank 
 sunless heat, an atmosphere of Kew. There 
 are many hills and dales ; the hills are composed 
 of primary rock which sometimes lines the 
 hollows at their feet, and then bright streams 
 sparkle along over quartz beds glittering with 
 
THE PRAH, 265 
 
 mica like rivers of gold. But more often the 
 valleys are marshes and beds of black mud, 
 where grows the bamboo with its drooping 
 branches and pale green leaves. 
 
 Through the forest runs a red or yellow 
 path, winding as a river, and joining village 
 to village. These are usually perched on 
 hills, are always near water, and are em- 
 bosomed in broad-leaved plantain groves. 
 But the plantations of the village are at some 
 little distance, and are frequently changed. 
 
 The natives make a plantation by cutting 
 down trees and letting them lie, but burning 
 the branches. They sow their crops in the 
 ashes, and_ in three years' time the soil is ex- 
 hausted, and they have to cut a clearing 
 again. Now, on the site of the abandoned 
 plantation, which is freely exposed to sun 
 and rain, springs up a thick scrubby vegeta- 
 tion, which I shall term jungle ; it is all 
 thick undergrowth, almost impenetrable, ex- 
 cept to the axe and the knife, but rises to 
 a considerable height. 
 
 The seaboard region, having been the most 
 thickly populated since the advent of the Euro- 
 pean trade, has been almost entirely turned 
 
266 THE PRAH. 
 
 into jungle, and few large trees are there to be 
 seen ; but in the interior the forest chiefly' 
 prevails. From a military point of view the 
 forest is to be preferred, because it is com- 
 paratively open ; but in the neighbourhood 
 of villages (just where the fighting is sure to 
 be) there is always an area of jungle. 
 
 In the beginning of 1873, the Ashantees 
 marched down the main road and destroyed 
 all its villages — Prahsu, Yancoomassie, 
 Seuta, Mansu, Dunquah, and so forth. We 
 found on the sites of these villages a clear- 
 ing overgrown with shrubs and high grass, 
 with here and there a gable end or a piece. oi 
 a wall. As we advanced into the country, 
 some of these clearings were converted into 
 camps for the engineers at work upon the 
 road, and for the troops by which they were 
 covered. Others, as Dunquah and Mansu, 
 were made store dep6ts and fortified posts-. 
 Finally, when it was decided that the regi- 
 ments were to march upon Coomassie, seven 
 clearings were selected in addition to Prahsu, 
 the terminus, and these were specially pre- 
 pared as camps for the accommodation of 
 the troops. The natives were not allowed' 
 
THE PRAH. 267 
 
 to encamp in these clearings for sanitary 
 reasons. 
 
 The preparations made were as follows : — 
 Large huts of bamboo were built, with a 
 raised bedstead or couch running along each 
 side, leaving a gangway in the centre. 
 These gave sleeping accommodation to half 
 a battalion ; and huts with separated couches 
 (of split bamboo) were built for the officers. 
 A stream was always in the neighbourhood, 
 and here a washing-house was built, with a 
 trough and plugs. But this water the men 
 might not drink. A Crease's filter, with a 
 tin mug beside it, answered that purpose. 
 Two latrines (on the dry-earth principle) 
 were dug, one for the officers, One for the 
 men. A hut was set aside as hospital ; 
 another as guard-room (seldom or never re- 
 quired); another as Control store, from which 
 were issued the salt pork and Australian 
 meat, biscuits, rice, preserved potatoes, salt 
 and pepper, tea and sugar, which formed the 
 excellent rations served out to the troops. 
 In the larger stations, such as Mansu and 
 Prahsu, were post-office huts and telegraph 
 stations. In each camp were, at the least, 
 
268 THE PRAH. 
 
 two officers : one a Control, the other a 
 Medical man. In no campaign has the 
 British soldier ever had such comforts and 
 luxuries on the march. Each camp was like 
 an hotel, and some were almost elegant, with 
 neatly swept roads, and boards fixed up 
 pointing the way to the Water, the Latrine, 
 &c. The men also had fresh beef every day 
 up to the Prah. Sir G. Wolseley organised 
 much that was remarkable in the Ashantee 
 campaign ; but I think the arrangement of 
 the camps must be regarded as his best 
 piece of work. 
 
 I left Cape Coast Castle on January i, 
 and for the fifth time passed over the Iron 
 Hill, which lies behind the town. At Dunquah 
 I found Festing still in command ; and my 
 gallant friend was in very low spirits, it having 
 been decided that he was not to go to 
 Coomassie, but to take charge of Prahsu. I 
 said that it was impossible for him to better 
 his position, and that nothing he could do 
 would really add to the fame he had gained 
 already by his exploit at Elmina of June 13, 
 and his two wounds received in action near 
 Dunquah. But he did not look at the matter 
 
THE rRAH. 269 
 
 from that point of view ; what he wanted was 
 not Reward, but the realisation of an Idea. 
 
 Before Sir Garnet came out, or perhaps 
 before he was appointed, Festing had taken 
 up the question of a march upon Coomassie : 
 he had collected much information, and cor- 
 responded with the War Office on the subject. 
 It was a bitter disappointment to him, that 
 having had so much to do with the Find, he 
 was to be taken out of the saddle with no 
 chance of being in at the Death. It is true 
 that there was no command to which he could 
 have been appointed ; for he was not of 
 sufficient seniority to be made Brigadier to 
 the native regiments, as was afterwards done 
 with Colonel McLeod ; but he might have 
 been taken as a handy man upon the Staff, 
 and his knowledge of the natives acquired 
 during long residence at Dunquah would 
 have been of service to the General. In that 
 kind of knowledge the Staff was undoubtedly 
 deficient, and in that kind of knowledge 
 alone. Every other kind of ability was 
 possessed at Head-quarters ; but Sir Garnet 
 and his officers never learnt to understand 
 the Africans. 
 
270 THE PRAH. 
 
 It was a quarter past 6 a.m., on January 
 3, and I was just about to start, when Festing 
 came to me and said, ' Did you not hear 
 a bugle just now ? ' As he spoke it sounded 
 again. Presently we heard a low, deep, 
 solemn tramp, and some men came round the 
 corner dressed in Norfolk grey, with pith 
 helmets on their heads, rifles on their shoulders, 
 pocket filters round them, and tin mugs at 
 their belts. Then came others with axes and 
 spades in leather cases ; and then an officer on 
 horseback, another with his face covered by 
 a brown veil, to keep out malaria ; and then 
 the main body marching by fours. It was 
 the first half-battalion of the Rifle Brigade. 
 I felt a thrill as I saw for the first time British 
 soldiers on African soil. My hammock-men 
 looked at them with astonishment. Robert 
 asked me what the Sappers were for, and 
 when I answered his question he shook 
 his head and thought I must be mistaken. 
 Their use was clearly emblematical. The 
 axes they carried were to show that Ashantee 
 would be cut down, and the spades indicated 
 that Ashantee would be rooted up. 
 
 When I came near to Mansu I heard rifle- 
 
THE PRAH. 271 
 
 shots and tumultuous cries, and Robert told 
 me that there was ' a beast up in a tree.' I 
 alighted and found a crowd of about three 
 hundred natives, all looking up at a brown 
 animal, about the size of a rabbit, which was 
 lying along a bough at the top of a gigantic 
 tree. The creature must have lost its way, 
 for it had come into or rather over the native 
 camp. One man had an Enfield rifle, with 
 which he was shooting at the animal ; he got 
 right underneath it and held out his gun at 
 arm's length. He fired six shots or so, and 
 then I took the Enfield, for I had no Snider 
 ammunition with me at the time. The first 
 shot made it move, and the second brought 
 it down, much to the delight of the crowd, 
 who laughed, and yelled, and shook hands 
 with me, and patted my back, and seemed as 
 grateful as if I had killed a goat-eating leopard 
 or venomous snake. The animal was a 
 species of hyrax, and will be known to all who 
 have travelled on the Gold Coast as the 
 beast which makes an extraordinary screech- 
 ing at night, not unlike the hyaena, or a negro 
 being flogged. A story is told of a sentry in 
 one of the regiments being found with his 
 
272 THE PRAH. 
 
 bayonet fixed ready to resist the onslaught 
 of this ferocious creature. The natives say 
 that when it is on the ground it is modest 
 and well behaved, but as soon as it gets 
 safe on the top of a tree, ' it begins cursing 
 everyone's father and mother.' This, I be- 
 lieve, was the only quadruped bagged in 
 the Ashantee Expedition. The forest 
 is not a game country on account of the 
 absence of pasture ; a few antelopes and 
 boars exist, with here and there a leopard 
 and hyaena, but these are rare and difficult 
 to find. 
 
 It was pleasant travelling to the Prah ; 
 the road was broad and firm, so that my men 
 could trot along in good style, and every 
 night I came to a station where an officer's 
 hut was placed at my disposal, and where I 
 drew my rations at the store. Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley, who was most kind and liberal to 
 Correspondents throughout the campaign, had 
 placed us on the footing of Staff officers ; we 
 could draw for ourselves and four men. I 
 had a gang of bearers carrying provisions for 
 myself — soups, tinned meats, claret, Swiss 
 milk, sardines, biscuits, and pots of jam, 
 
THE PRAH. 273 
 
 •"which sweet food for some physiological reason 
 was much relished in the bush. Other bearers 
 had barrels of rice for my men. These 
 bearers were chiefly women, who carried fifty 
 or even sixty pounds, in -addition to a 
 bustle, and sometimes a child. Many hun- 
 dreds of women were employed in the trans- 
 port of the Expedition. 
 
 On arriving at Prahsu (January 5) I found 
 it transformed. The forest had been con- 
 verted into a plain. A city of huts had 
 sprung up with various wards, or quarters, or 
 lines, assigned to the Naval Brigade, the 2nd 
 West regiment, Wood's regiment, Russell's 
 regiment, the Haussa Artillery, and the 
 Engineers. In the midst was a vast square, 
 and at one side, along the banks of the river, 
 a line of huts, the dwellings of the Staff, and 
 Sir Garnet's own abode with the Union Jack 
 floating overhead. On the opposite side of 
 the square was the post-office, and the huts 
 of the Correspondents. Large buildings were 
 being erected for the accommodation of the 
 regiments ; and there was a hospital, over 
 which was painted on a board ' The Forlorn 
 Hope.' Major Home's bridge, built on 
 
274 THE PRAH. 
 
 American cribs, spanned the river, and on 
 the other side an earthwork (a redan) was 
 being thrown up, and a large clearing being 
 made. Every morning and evening the 
 seamen and marines were marched over and 
 set to work. Then axes were heard ringing 
 in the forest, then trees were set on fire, their 
 foliage dried to tinder by the Harmattan or 
 desert wind. At night the sailors built up 
 an enormous bonfire, and, seated around it, 
 made the camp merry with their songs. 
 
 Here I remained till the 19th, a day 
 marked by a melancholy incident. Captain 
 Huyshe, since his arrival with Sir Garnet on 
 the coast, had been almost always in the bush. 
 He had made a military survey of the road 
 from Cape Coast Castle to the Prah, pacing 
 the whole distance ; he had been sent on 
 missions to many native chiefs ; and here at 
 Prashu his last work had been to make a 
 plan of the Camp, which he did with his usual 
 neatness and precision. During all this time 
 he had escaped illness ; but now dysentery 
 came upon him, and in a few days he was in 
 a dangerous condition. I went to see him on 
 the 1 8th. He was in bed reading a letter. I 
 
THE PR AH. 275 
 
 said a few words, and then, as I saw he was 
 very weak, rose up to go. ' Good-bye/ said 
 he in a voice faint as a whisper ; ' we shall 
 meet at the front.' These words of hope 
 and courage were almost the last that he 
 uttered ; that night he was seized with fever, 
 and the next day this brave and amiable man 
 was no more. 
 
275 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 We had all of us supposed that if the Ashan- 
 tees fought at all they would begin to resist 
 our advance as soon as we crossed the Prah. 
 But though the Prah is in one sense certainly 
 the frontier, Ashantee Proper begins on the 
 other side of the Adansi Hills. The inter- 
 vening country formerly belonged to Assin ; 
 it was conquered by the Ashantees, and in 
 the days of Bowdich was well populated, and 
 subject to the king. On our side of the Prah 
 was also an Assin country, extending to 
 Mansu ; and the Ashantee Assins being op- 
 pressed by their lords migrated into the Pro- 
 tectorate. So the land was left desolate, and 
 is at the present time but thinly inhabited, 
 whether by a remnant of the Assins, or by 
 Ashantees, or by a mixed race, I could not 
 ascertain. 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 277 
 
 Thus the Ashantees scarcely felt them- 
 selves invaded until we had climbed the 
 Adansi Hills ; and our forces were able to 
 take this first thirty miles of forest almost with- 
 out opposition. That brought us nearly half- 
 way from the Prah to Coomassie. Had there 
 been no delay in respect to supplies, the 
 Imperial troops might have marched right on 
 to Fomana (preceded by the native regiments), 
 Coomassie would have been taken a fortnight 
 earlier, and the march upon that town would 
 have been a masterpiece. As it was, the 
 native regiments, instead of advancing, were 
 detained at Prahsu some days to serve as 
 carriers ; and the 23rd regiment was re- 
 embarked. At this time the fate of the 
 expedition was precarious ; the Control 
 officers at Mansu (the half-way depot) declared 
 that the game was up, and that the troops 
 in advance would have to return by forced 
 marches ; there was a dead lock along the 
 road, each half-battalion being detained in the 
 camp which it then occupied. Brief as was 
 this detention it had evil effects, for an army 
 in Western Africa is like water ; while it 
 moves it has sparkle and life, but putrefies as 
 
2 ;8 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 soon as it stagnates. 'That stoppage in 
 Mansu,' said an officer of the 42nd, ' did more 
 harm to our men than all the hard work in 
 Ashantee.' 
 
 .At this critical time Sir G. Wolseley, I 
 am told, had always high spirits and an air 
 of confidence, not only in public (as was 
 evident to all), but also in the private circle of 
 his Staff. Brightness of mind in adversity, 
 and a sanguine spirit when things seem at 
 their worst, is a fine faculty to possess ; but 
 the man of the cceur Idger is often somewhat 
 improvident ; a less light-hearted commander- 
 in-chief would have been more anxious, and 
 therefore more careful of the future. 
 
 Russell's regiment carried its own provi- 
 sions, and was thus enabled to cross the Prah 
 at an early date. A corps of scouts was 
 organised, consisting of Assins who knew the 
 enemy's country, with picked men from the 
 Bonnys, Opoboes, Haussas, Kossoos, and 2nd 
 West. These were now placed under the 
 command of Lieutenant Lord Gifford. He 
 marched in advance of the regiment, and took 
 the villages which lay upon the route. At 
 Essiaman he met with some resistance, and 
 
NEGO TIA TIONS. 279 
 
 one of his men was wounded. A villager 
 was killed and two women captured. These 
 he afterwards released, and they went off to 
 Coomassie. The Ashantees were astounded 
 at this proceeding and said, as Mr. Kiihne 
 informed us, 'What a curious people these 
 white men are to send the women away ! 
 Why this is money? (A woman in Ashantee 
 is always worth at least four or five pounds ; 
 and a young marriageable lady who has just 
 come out will sometimes fetch seven or eight.) 
 Lord Gifford went on and on, till at last he 
 came to the Adansi Hills. The road leads 
 over a forest-covered mountain about fifteen 
 hundred feet above the level of the sea and 
 exceedingly precipitous. As Gifford climbed 
 the hill voices called out to him and ordered 
 him to go back ; an old woman cursed him, 
 and said there was a thousand men at the 
 top ; a priest dressed in white held up his 
 arms, and warned him not to enter Ashantee. 
 But on went the gallant lad, and the enemy 
 retreated before him, beating their drums. 
 On the summit of the mountain is a flat 
 space of ground where a small post was 
 afterwards established. Through openings 
 
2 8o NEGO TIA TIONS. 
 
 in the forest a beautiful prospect was 
 afforded. Below lay an ocean of trees, 
 their topmost branches like green water 
 moving in the wind, and other hills rising 
 in the midst. 
 
 Russell's regiment followed the scouts, 
 and made fortified clearings at Essiaman, 
 Akrofum, and a place called Moinsey, at the 
 foot of the hills. Wood's regiment followed 
 on the 15th, and garrisoned these stations; 
 and the 2nd West encamped in tentes d'abri 
 on the Parakome river, about half-way to the 
 hills. Home's engineers made a rough 
 marching road, cutting the bush on either 
 side, bridging the streams, and ' corduroying ' 
 the marshes, that is, laying down logs of 
 wood. They also made a zigzag road up 
 the mountain. 
 
 On the other side was a descent, but not 
 equal to the ascent, so that Ashantee may be 
 considered a plateau. Certain new species 
 of trees were detected, even by our unscien- 
 tific eyes ; but still it was all forest to Coo- 
 massie, and (so it is said) more than fifty 
 miles beyond. 
 
 About two miles from the top of the hill 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 281 
 
 was Quisah, the first village of Ashantee 
 Proper ; and a quarter of a mile farther on 
 was the spacious town of Fomana, capital of 
 the province Adansi, and the residence of its 
 powerful chief. Both Quisah and Fomana 
 were deserted by their inhabitants, and occu- 
 pied by Russell's regiment. Lord Gifford 
 scouted every day in the neighbourhood, and 
 almost every day he met Ashantees, or, 
 rather, the provincials called the Adansis. 
 He had orders not to fire first. They used 
 to call out and say, having first presented the 
 butts of their guns as a sign of parleying and 
 peace, ' What are you white men come here 
 for ? Do you mean to fight ? ' Gifford 
 replied that we did. ' Very well,' said they, 
 ' we will go and ask our chief to let us fight 
 with you.' 
 
 A white thread was drawn along the 
 road from Quisah to Fomana as a fetish. 
 Kids and other animals were staked into the 
 ground by the wayside. A wooden apparatus 
 was found — a model of knives and gun with 
 points and muzzle turned towards the south. 
 A man, also, had been impaled and mutilated 
 in a manner too horrible to be described, 
 
282 NEGO TIA TIONS. 
 
 then laid by the road-side to propitiate the 
 savage gods of the country, and to strike 
 terror into the hearts of the invaders. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Fomana 
 (January 24, 1874) with the Naval Brigade 
 and the first half-battalion of the Rifles. He 
 took up his abode in the palace of the chief, 
 and remained in this town to concentrate his 
 troops. He was also detained four or five 
 days waiting for supplies. 
 
 Meanwhile, let us pay a visit to Coo- 
 massie. The captives were all well, though 
 obliged to live like the natives on a meagre 
 allowance of snail-soup and plantains. Two 
 children had been born to the Ramseyers, 
 the youngest being only two months old. 
 There were also about seventy Fantees 
 detained in the town, and a certain Mr. 
 Dawson, a coloured man, Fantee, with 
 English blood in his veins, at one time a 
 missionary agent, but sent up to Coomassie 
 as Government envoy. Many of his letters 
 addressed to the Gold Coast Government 
 will be found in the Blue Books, and he 
 wrote the letters which Sir Garnet received 
 from the king. 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 283 
 
 The army had dispersed ; Amanquatia 
 and the war chiefs were raising gold-dust 
 to pay the fine imposed upon them ; and 
 the king wrote a letter to the Governor. 
 This letter has not yet been published, but it 
 is said to have been a complaint in respect 
 to the skirmish at Fesoo. The envoys ex- 
 pected to find the Governor at Cape Coast, 
 but they found him at the Prah. Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley refused to see them, saying he 
 would treat only in person with the king ; but 
 he kept them some days. The Gatling was 
 exhibited before them and made to play 
 upon the river. At midnight of that same 
 day a shot was heard, and it was found that 
 one of the envoys, or an attendant of the 
 envoys, had blown out his brains, lying down 
 on his couch, putting the gun to his head, and 
 pushing the trigger with his foot. Some say 
 it was pure fright at the Gatling ; others, that 
 he had said something treasonable which his 
 companions intended to report against him 
 to the king. They put his body in a wicker 
 coffin, and buried it on the other side of the 
 Prah. Each Ashantee threw a handful of 
 earth upon the grave. 
 
284 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 The envoys were sent back over the 
 bridge which had been built while they were 
 at Prahsu ; and the Naval Brigade was 
 marched over before them as a feint, and 
 then marched back again. Before the mes- 
 sengers arrived at Coomassie rumours were 
 already in the air. The missionaries heard 
 that the white men were coming ; that the 
 king was going to make war ; that they the 
 captives would be taken with the army, em- 
 ployed to intercede in case of defeat, and killed 
 if the Ashantees were victorious. There was 
 a certain chief to whom they had been as- 
 signed, whose business it was to protect them 
 and receive their complaints. They went to 
 him for information, but could obtain no 
 definite reply. When the envoys returned 
 they were summoned to the palace ; the 
 king and chiefs assembled in council, and 
 Dawson was ordered to read the Governor's 
 letter. It was received in profound silence. 
 No one rose, no one uttered a word ; at last 
 the captives were dismissed. They heard 
 that the king said after their departure that 
 since Coomassie had been built it had never 
 been invaded ; to which the chiefs replied 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 285 
 
 that ancient times were not now. The queen- 
 mother said that when the Ashantees were 
 in the right God had always given them the 
 victory ; but they had done wrong in not 
 giving up the white men after they had pro- 
 mised to accept a ransom. Kiihne saw gold- 
 plated envoys leaving the town in every 
 direction, to gather an army as he supposed. 
 Messengers also came and informed him that 
 he was to go that night, and must get ready 
 at once. They brought him as presents a 
 periguin of gold-dust, and a royal robe, such 
 as only the king's relatives may wear. This 
 was intended to remove any unfavourable im- 
 pression which four years and a half of captivity 
 may have made upon his mind. So forgiving 
 is the nature of the African, that presents and 
 kind words will often remove all rancour 
 caused by prolonged ill-treatment ; but Euro- 
 peans do not so easily forgive. After sun- 
 set Kiihne was called to the palace, and 
 passing from courtyard to courtyard was 
 brought at last to an inner apartment, where 
 on a low stool, and wearing a white cloth, the 
 king was seated playing with his cats. Only 
 three or four persons were present. The 
 
286 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 t 
 king told Kiihne that he must plead for him 
 
 with the Governor, and must say that he 
 
 could not fight with the white men, no, not 
 
 even if they came into the market-place at . 
 
 Coomassie, for his ancestors had never fought 
 
 with the white men. This was a strong 
 
 statement, even for an Ashantee, when the 
 
 scull of Sir Charles Macarthy was at that 
 
 moment adorning the Bantama. Kiihne was 
 
 sent out at night, lest the people should 
 
 notice his departure, and say ' Ha ! see ; the 
 
 king is afraid.' At night no one may go out 
 
 of Coomassie, except with the sanction of the 
 
 king, and policemen patrol their streets, their 
 
 heads half shaved, long hair falling over their 
 
 foreheads, and lances in their hands. 
 
 When the troops ascended the Adansi 
 Hills the king also liberated Bonnat and the 
 Ramseyers, and sent them with a letter to 
 Fomana, where they met the General. The 
 Ramseyers journeyed on to Cape Coast, but 
 Bonnat remained with the Expedition, messed 
 with the Naval Brigade, accompanied them 
 in all their engagements, and went with them 
 to Coomassie. 
 
 With the released captives came a letter, 
 
NEGO TIA TIONS. 287 
 
 in which the king said he would make Aman- 
 quatia pay the indemnity. I believe that this 
 promise was coupled with a proviso that we 
 should remain at Fomana. In that case it 
 was not a promise at all, for we were going 
 on to Coomassie. But in any case, what 
 was a promise from the King of Ashantee ? 
 Had the letter been made public I should 
 have thought twice before I went to the ex- 
 pense of telegraphing such a promise to the 
 ' Times.' 
 
 Very different was the effect produced on 
 the mind of Sir Garnet Wolseley. His in- 
 structions had been at first not to invade 
 Ajshantee if he could help it ; to make peace 
 if possible without crossing the Prah. When 
 the regiments were sent out he was still in- 
 structed to avoid war, not to provoke the 
 Ashantees more than could be helped, not to 
 destroy villages, and so forth. Such at least 
 I presume from Sir Garnet's acts to have 
 been his instructions ; and his friends always 
 made his instructions serve as an excuse for 
 his many unsoldier-like proceedings. But I 
 have since learnt from a reliable source that 
 Sir Garnet's instructions were quite in ac- 
 
288 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 cordance with his own personal wishes and 
 views. He did not want to fight. He had 
 made his reputation as a soldier, and now 
 aspired to be a diplomatist. But he was 
 matched against men compared with whom 
 he was merely a child. It is a mistake to 
 suppose that the Africans are a stupid people 
 because they have no books, and do not wear 
 many clothes. The children do not go to 
 school, but they sit round the fire at night or 
 beneath the town-tree in the day, and listen to 
 their elders, who discuss politics, and matters 
 relating to law and religion. Every man in a 
 tribe, and every slave belonging to a tribe, 
 has learnt at an early age the constitution by 
 which he is governed, and the policy pursued 
 towards foreign tribes. In such a land as 
 Ashantee the king and chiefs are profoundly 
 skilled in the arts of diplomacy. Their 
 weapon of offence is treachery, their weapon 
 of defence suspicion. They have no scruples 
 and • no illusions. They never hesitate to 
 betray, and always hesitate to believe. Op- 
 posed to them was a man who could practise 
 some trifling little devices, but who felt him- 
 self bound by the laws of honour, and who, so 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 289. 
 
 far from being distrustful and suspicious, 
 possessed a ' fatal facility ' for believing what- 
 ever he wished. 
 
 As a soldier he did wrong in exhibiting 
 the Gatling to the Ashantee envoys : these 
 surprises should be reserved for the battle- 
 field. And why did he detain the envoys till 
 he had finished the bridge and sent Russell's 
 regiment over in advance ? And why did he 
 send the Naval Brigade on a make-believe 
 march along the road ? Was it to warn 
 the king that he had no time to spare, that 
 he must make haste and collect his troops 
 if he did not wish to be taken by surprise ? 
 Evidently it was the proper policy to make 
 these dilatory people suppose that we were 
 not ready to invade. But Sir Garnet thought 
 that the Gatling and the advance of the 
 white men would frighten the king into 
 peace. 
 
 In the same manner it is not customary 
 for a general to write to the enemy and tell 
 him where he is going to be attacked, and 
 where he had better send his troops. But 
 this kind office was performed for the king by 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley, who informed him he 
 
 u 
 
290 NEGO TIA TIONS. 
 
 intended to invade Ashantee from four points 
 at once. This announcement was also made 
 with a view to avert war, and to obtain the 
 peaceful submission of the king. 
 
 On the other hand, the King of Ashantee 
 was also desirous for peace, having nothing 
 to gain and everything to lose by a war 
 in his own territory. He thought that 
 the war was being made on account of the 
 captives, to whom he had always attached a 
 high diplomatic value ; to avert war he gave 
 them up, and would perhaps have been will- 
 ing to pay an indemnity. As for a treaty, he 
 would have signed anything and everything 
 with the greatest pleasure in the world. But 
 he could not tamely consent to the march upon 
 Coomassie. That would have been a sign to 
 all the surrounding people that his power had 
 been broken. He might keep it a secret from 
 the Gamans and other tribes to the north, 
 about white men marching to Fomana, and 
 having been paid with a treaty and gold- 
 dust to retire ; or if the story did get about, he 
 might even circulate a version of his own, and 
 cause it to be believed that the white men had 
 been defeated in battle and repulsed. But the 
 
NEGO TIA TIONS. 291 
 
 occupation of Coomassie, in which town were 
 always many foreigners and traders, would 
 soon be known all over the African world: 
 He was therefore disposed to make conces* 
 sions ; but the white men must not advance 
 beyond a certain point. Sir Garnet was dis- 
 posed to be moderate in his demands ; a treaty 
 of peace signed by the king would alone have 
 done much to content him ; but on one point 
 public opinion forced him to insist He could 
 not stop short of Coomassie. 
 
 The King of Ashantee displayed much 
 wisdom in the negotiations. He was right 
 in making sacrifices to avert a war of invasion, 
 even supposing that the chances of victory 
 seemed to be on his side. He was right to 
 resist the advance upon Coomassie, even sup- 
 posing that there seemed little hope in resist- 
 ance. But . Sir Garnet Wolseley in wishing 
 premature peace did not know what was best 
 for the country or what was best for him- 
 self. 
 
 So far as his own reputation was concerned 
 
 he would have won and deserved few laurels 
 
 by an unopposed march to Coomassie, His 
 
 military achievements in the Protectorate had 
 
 v 2 
 
292 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 not been of a brilliant kind. The attack on 
 Essaman was perfect in its way, but that was 
 only a small affair. His attempt to shoot the 
 Ashantees flying, to attack their divided 
 columns in retreat; had been a ludicrous fiasco. 
 At Abrakrampa he had shown himself defici- 
 ent ; and, when the merest luck gave him a 
 showy success, he turned from a flying enemy 
 and returned to Cape Coast. He did not 
 attack the Ashantees as they were crossing 
 the Prah. Then, as to organisation, he had 
 bungled his transport, his published arrange-, 
 ments had been altered and postponed ; one 
 of his regiments boiling with rage had been 
 re-embarked on account of the break-down in 
 the Control. Nothing in fact could save his 
 reputation except a great victory. Had he 
 returned to England with a treaty of peace, 
 and a few thousand pounds' worth of golden 
 curiosities, and a long list of deaths from in- 
 glorious disease, he might have pleased Lord 
 Kimberley, but he would not have satisfied 
 the Nation. 
 
 To Lord Kimberley 1 must, I presume, be 
 
 1 I must add that Lord Kimberley is a sincere friend of 
 Africa, and intimately acquainted with the history, politics, 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 293 
 
 chiefly ascribed the weak and faltering in- 
 structions which Sir G. Wolseley appears to 
 have received. The object which that states- 
 man had in view was wise and laudable ; but 
 he adopted precisely the worst method to 
 attain it. He desired to establish a lasting 
 peace between Great Britain and Ashantee, 
 and he feared that if the war was waged with 
 too much severity we should provoke their 
 undying enmity. So Sir Garnet was to con- 
 duct the invasion of Ashantee with all possible 
 politeness and humanity ; he was not to de- 
 stroy the poor people's villages ; he was not 
 to burn Coomassie if he could possibly help 
 it. I venture to doubt whether such half- 
 and-half measures are of much use in Euro- 
 pean warfare ; but in a contest with a savage 
 people they defeat their own object; they 
 prolong and germinate war. Already we had 
 excited the bitter enmity of Ashantee ; what 
 we had now to do was to render that enmity 
 innocuous. They hated us because we had 
 aided the tribes of the Protectorate to regain 
 their independence; they hated us because 
 
 and geography, not only of the Gold Coast, but also of the 
 other West African settlements, especially Sierra Leone. 
 
 » U3 
 
294 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 we refused to be, as once we had been, their 
 vassals and tributaries. They yearned to 
 win back what they had lost. Nothing would 
 quench this hatred, nothing would stifle this 
 ambition, except the conviction that it was 
 folly to cherish it any longer in their hearts. 
 Once prove to them that we were a strong 
 military people, and that they could 
 never hope to beat us in battle, and they 
 would submit to destiny. They would fear 
 us, admire us, and finally love us. Lord 
 Kimberley has been Viceroy of Ireland, and 
 ought to know something about savages. 
 They are not like civilised men. A hostile 
 savage is like an ill-tempered dog : try to pat 
 him and he bites you ; give him a cut with 
 your whip and he attacks you furiously ; take 
 him by the collar, thrash him within an inch 
 of his life, and he will never try to bite you 
 any more. Then feed him and treat him 
 kindly and he becomes affectionate and faith- 
 ful. Now the patting process had been tried 
 with the King of Ashantee ; this bandit chief 
 kept white men in captivity, and sent insolent 
 demands to Cape Coast ; in return he received 
 handsome presents, prisoners gratis, and 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 295 
 
 polite words. He then in the most treacher- 
 ous manner invaded our Protectorate. Lord 
 Kimberley ordered the beast to be flogged ; 
 but Sir Garnet must not flog him too hard. 
 Sir Garnet faithfully tried to carry out these 
 instructions, and did even more. He patted 
 the king with one hand and flogged him with 
 the other. He invaded the Ashantee country, 
 drove the people out of their villages along 
 the main route, and at the same time indited 
 peaceful and soothing letters to the king. 
 
 Sir Garnet's advocates may assert that by 
 means of these soothing letters the release of 
 the European captives was effected, and that 
 had the General refused to open negotiations 
 until he arrived at Coomassie, their lives 
 would have been endangered. But our 
 invasion had nothing to do with the captives, 
 and they had no claim upon the British 
 Government. Of Mr. Bonnat it is need- 
 less to speak. As for the missionaries, 
 they were not captured within the Protec- 
 torate, and had only themselves to blame for 
 being captured at all. Sir Garnet would not 
 have been justified in allowing his military 
 movements to be checked and retarded on 
 
296 NEGO TIA TIONS. 
 
 their account. He did not stop his army 
 because Mr. Dawson wrote to say that he and 
 the Fantee captives would be killed if the 
 army came on ; yet, despite the difference of 
 colour, Mr. Dawson and the Fantees had 
 more right to be considered English prisoners 
 than the missionaries. 
 
 However, the truth is that it was not the 
 letters but the advance of Sir G. Wolseley 
 which procured the liberation of the captives. 
 Mr. Ussher and Mr. Hennessy had written 
 letters enough to the king. Had the General 
 marched to Fomana rejecting all negotiations 
 the captives would have been released all 
 the same. When he did fight his way to 
 Coomassie, Dawson and the Fantees were 
 not killed or taken from the town. The de- 
 feat of the English alone would have been 
 dangerous to them. 
 
 When the captives made their appearance 
 at Fomana with a letter from the king, stating 
 that he would make Amanquatia pay the in- 
 demnity, Sir Garnet Wolseley seems to have 
 taken for granted that there would not be any 
 more fighting. That was what he wished, 
 and that was what he believed. Although in 
 
NEGO T/A T/ONS. 297 
 
 a few days he would certainly know whether 
 the king was acting in good faith, he, on this 
 mere promise of a savage noted for his 
 treachery, composed a telegram in cipher and 
 sent it to the coast, with an order to the 
 senior naval officer to despatch it by the fast 
 steam-ship ' Sarmatian ' to Gibraltar. Not a 
 moment was to be- lost The telegram 
 arrived in England, and shed a brief and 
 delusive gleam over the last days of Mr. 
 Gladstone's Ministry. The Ashantee War 
 was at an end, and no blood had been shed. 
 But when the news came of the five days' 
 fighting, and the great battle Amoaful, the 
 effect on the mind of the public must have 
 resembled that which is produced by a prac- 
 tical joke. 
 
 The voyage of the ' Sarmatian,' which 
 carried no freight but an Ashantee Lie, cost 
 several thousand pounds ; and the style in 
 which the telegram was sent, the employ- 
 ment of cipher, the air of mystery with which 
 the matter was surrounded, makes the after 
 process of disillusion all the more entertain- 
 ing. For why should there have been any 
 secrecy at all ? Then again, if Sir Garnet 
 
298 NEGOTIATIONS. 
 
 thought it advisable to send a special steamer 
 to Gibraltar, he should have allowed it to 
 be utilised in other ways. The ' Sarmatian ' 
 might have taken a number of invalids ; but 
 the orders were peremptory, and she got up 
 steam without delay. 
 
 Sir G. Wolseley showed himself a little 
 too much the child of nature, in believing 
 the promise of the king, and should not have 
 employed a special steamer at all until he had 
 facts, not promises, to send. Secondly, he 
 should not have sent such a vessel as the 
 ' Sarmatian,' but one of an inferior class, for 
 the ' Sarmatian ' brought out the 42nd regi- 
 ment. When they arrived on the coast, she 
 had not returned, and in order to accommodate 
 the regiment, a hospital ship for sailors and 
 marines, the ' Nebraska,' had to be cleared 
 out of its patients, who were sent back to 
 their ships, not to the improvement of their 
 health. 
 
 Though I blame Sir Garnet Wolseley for 
 having sent, at great cost, the news of peace 
 to England, before peace had been secured, 
 I do not blame him for having supposed that 
 the king would submit. At Fomana the 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 299 
 
 probabilities appeared to be in favour of 
 peace. The released captives declared that 
 the king had no powder, and that he did not 
 wish to fight, that he could not fight if he 
 wished. They had not the least idea that a 
 great army was being assembled in the field. 
 On the other hand, they mentioned one fact 
 which seemed at variance with their opinion, 
 and which alone should have deterred Sir 
 Garnet from sending home the telegram. 
 They said that in every house in Coomassie 
 slaves were busy breaking up iron-stones into 
 slugs. It was difficult to suppose that the 
 whole labouring population of a city could 
 thus be employed, if all intention to resist 
 invasion had been abandoned by the leaders 
 of the people. 
 
3oo 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AMOAFUL. 
 
 While Sir Garnet remained at Fomana 
 waiting supplies, Russell's regiment and the 
 Engineers went ahead. Lord Gifford scouted 
 in every direction, and discovered that on the 
 flanks of the road were villages in which were 
 armed men, and from which the women and 
 children had been sent away. These villagers 
 received warning to quit, and, as they did not 
 go in peace, Major Russell was ordered to 
 dislodge them. He destroyed a village, kill- 
 ing two men, and taking five prisoners, one of 
 whom was the head scout of the Chief of 
 Adansi. Sir Garnet was much distressed at 
 the village being burnt ; he sent off one of 
 the prisoners with a letter to the king, con- 
 taining an apology, I suppose; and orders 
 were issued not to burn any more villages, 
 
AMOAFUL. 301 
 
 also not to fire first. The next village attacked 
 was Borborassie. Essamanquatia was said 
 to be there with the Chief of Adansi, and a 
 considerable body of men. 
 
 Lord Gifford, from whom all this intelli- 
 gence was obtained, intercepted a convoy of 
 powder on its way to that village from Coo- 
 massie. Colonel McLeod, 42nd regiment, who 
 had been appointed Brigadier to the native 
 regiments, was ordered to visit Borborassie ; to 
 parley first of all, not to attack it except in case 
 of resistance, and even in case of resistance not 
 to destroy it. More ridiculous orders could not 
 have been given. E ither the village should have 
 been left alone until Sir Garnet had thought fit 
 to finish his amiable correspondence with the 
 king, or it should have been attacked in a 
 military manner. Had this been done, Essa- 
 manquatia might have been captured ; at all 
 events the village would have been surprised 
 and taken without resistance. As it was, we 
 were the chief losers. Captain Nicol was in 
 advance with the Amanaboes ; he stopped to 
 parley according to orders ; the alarm was 
 given ; the villagers streamed out into the 
 street, and Captain Nicol was shot through 
 
302 AMOAFUL. 
 
 the heart — a human sacrifice offered up by 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley to Exeter Hall. Colonel 
 McLeod took the village, but, according to 
 orders, did not destroy it. This emboldened 
 the Ashantees, who attacked the troops on 
 their way back, severely wounded a seaman, 
 and killed a Fantee. Altogether, it was not 
 considered a success by many of the officers 
 engaged, though it read well enough in des- 
 patches. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley often made the vulgar 
 mistake of applying to warfare in Africa 
 axioms derived from warfare in Europe. An 
 outcry had been raised against the destruction 
 of villages in Europe : he therefore gave 
 orders that villages should not be destroyed 
 in Ashantee. But there is no analogy be- 
 tween the two cases ; the sound only is the 
 same, the sense is opposite. In Gold Coast 
 warfare villages are equivalent to fortified 
 posts ; there the warriors store up their 
 powder, and assemble in order to attack. It 
 was no use to take Borborassie and not to 
 destroy it, for that same afternoon the 
 Ashantees were back there again. Had it 
 been burnt they would have gone to some 
 
AMOAFUL. 
 
 303 
 
 other village ; and had all the villages near to 
 the road been destroyed, these small parties of 
 marauders, who could give more trouble than 
 an army, would have joined the general camp. 
 
 On that same day Colonel Wood received 
 orders to ambuscade the road which led from 
 Borborassie to Coomassie, as the Ashantees 
 might be expected to retreat that way. The 
 idea was Lord Gifford's, and a good one ; but 
 in what a style it was carried out ! Colonel 
 Wood received orders not to fire first. 
 Imagine an ambuscade with orders not to 
 fire first! Happily the Ashantees did not 
 retreat so far, or perhaps another officer's life 
 would have been sacrificed. 
 
 Again, on that same day, January 28, 
 Ashantee messengers came in. They speedily 
 returned, and it was proclaimed to the army 
 that all negotiations were over, and that there 
 was going to be war. 
 
 The king had promised that Amanquatia 
 should pay the indemnity ; but Amanquatia, 
 instead of collecting gold-dust, collected a 
 large army, and took up his position at a town 
 called Amoaful, about twenty miles from 
 Coomassie. 
 
3 o4 AMOAFUL. 
 
 On the morning of the 30th, Wood's and 
 Russell's regiments occupied the village 
 Quarman. Half a mile further on was the 
 village Egginassie, the outpost of the enemy. 
 The English army was concentrated at or near 
 Insarfu, four miles behind Quarman. The 
 Ashantee army was encamped about half-a- 
 mile behind Egginassie, and extended up to 
 Amoaful. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 30th, Major 
 Home made a road close up to Egginassie, 
 working his way in silence, and cutting 
 through trunks of trees with an oiled saw. 
 He heard voices in the village. In the night 
 Gifford scouted and reported the position of the 
 army. Then we all knew that a great battle 
 would be fought on the morrow. 
 
 Sir Garnet's little army consisted of 
 
 1. The 42 nd regiment or Black Watch, 
 commanded by Major Macpherson, Colonel 
 McLeod being Brigadier to the native troops. 
 
 2. The 2nd battalion of the Rifle Brigade 
 (the old 95th), Lieut-Colonel Warren. 3. 
 A hundred men of the 23rd, Lieut-Colonel 
 the Hon. Savage Mostyn. Sir Archibald 
 Alison commanded the White Brigade. 4. 
 
AMOAFUL. 305 
 
 The Naval Brigade (seamen and marines), 
 Captain Grubbe, R.N. 5. Wood's and 
 Russell's regiments, now reduced to but a few 
 companies, the rest being employed to garri- 
 son posts along the road. 6. A small com- 
 pany of the 2nd West India regiment, 
 Lieutenant Jones. 7. Rait's Artillery, con- 
 sisting of Haussas working seven-pounder 
 mountain guns and rocket-troughs. 
 
 The order of batde was as follows. The 
 42nd regiment would advance along the 
 main road and take Amoaful. It would be 
 accompanied by Lord Gifford and the scouts ; 
 by Major Home and a party of engineer 
 labourers ; by Captain Rait and Lieutenant 
 Saunders with two guns. Its flanks were to 
 be protected by two columns, one upon the 
 right and the other on the left. The left 
 column would be commanded by Colonel 
 McLeod, with a part of the Naval Brigade in 
 advance ; Russell's regiment ; engineer labour- 
 ers, Captain Buckle, R.E. ; and a rocket party, 
 Rait's Artillery. The right column would be 
 commanded by Lieut-Colonel Wood, V.C., 
 with the rest of the Naval Brigade in advance ; 
 Wood's regiment ; engineer labourers, Lieu- 
 
306 AMOAFUL. 
 
 tenant Bell, R.E.; and a rocket party, Rait's 
 Artillery. In rear of the front column would 
 be the General and his Staff, with Commodore 
 Hewett and the company of the 23rd. The 
 Rifle Brigade would be behind them in 
 reserve. Lieutenant Jones with the 2nd 
 West would garrison Quarman. The baggage 
 of the native regiments was parked at that 
 village ; the baggage of the main body with a 
 quantity of stores at Insarfu. 
 
 Having studied the plan of battle the night 
 before, I determined to go with the front 
 column, and to be in the advance. It was 
 no idle motive which induced me to thrust 
 myself into ' the forefront of the hottest battle.' 
 In a bush battle no bird's-eye views are to be 
 had, and a war Correspondent who wishes to 
 see anything of war must go very near the 
 enemy. Besides, I wished to study an impor- 
 tant and interesting problem. I had often 
 heard it said by military men that British 
 soldiers are poor bush-fighters, and that in the 
 New Zealand and Cape wars they never much 
 distinguished themselves against the Maoris 
 and Caffres — that is, they did not display such 
 a superiority, and achieve so decisive a success 
 
AMOAFUL. 307 
 
 as they usually gain in contests against an 
 inferior race. Now hitherto we had never 
 beaten the Ashantees in the bush. The 
 battle of Dodowa was fought in a plain. At 
 Elmina the Ashantees were defeated by 
 Festing, but that was in the open. At Essa- 
 mati Sir Garnet won a bush-fight, but there 
 were few Ashantees present. At Abrakrampa 
 Russell repulsed a great army, but he held a 
 fortified post. On the other hand, the experi- 
 ment of Europeans versus Ashantees in the 
 bush had never been fairly tried. When Sir 
 Charles Macarthy was defeated and sur- 
 rounded and killed with nearly all his officers 
 in a great bush-battle fifty years ago, he had 
 merely a handful of inferior European troops 
 and a mob of Fantee allies. When Festing 
 fought twice in the bush near Dunquah, when 
 certain British officers fought near Abrakram- 
 pa, when Wood fought at Fesoo, they com- 
 manded disciplined negro troops or attempted 
 to command undisciplined native allies. Never 
 had a regular regiment engaged the Ashan- 
 tees, and now at length the great question was 
 about to be put to the test. I wished to ob- 
 serve for myself the procedure and issue of 
 
 X2 
 
308 AMOAFUL. 
 
 the combat* I knew that the Ashantees on 
 their own ground, never invaded before, would 
 be at their best ; and every Englishman 
 knows that the British army is well represented 
 by the 42nd regiment. Its history is glorious ; 
 on its banners are inscribed proud and im- 
 perishable names. Raised from loyal clans 
 in 1 739, it was at first composed of independent 
 companies under their own officers, and em- 
 ployed to watch the borders of the Highlands. 
 The uniform consisted of dark-green coats, 
 kilts, and hose : hence the regiment was called 
 the Freacadan Dubh, or ' Black Watch,' to 
 distinguish it from the red-coated soldiers of 
 the king. On the Gold Coast they wore a 
 grey uniform in common with the other troops, 
 but their pith helmets were adorned with the 
 red hackle which was given to the regiment 
 in honour of its having retaken in Flanders 
 some British guns captured from another 
 regiment by the French. 
 
 About half-past seven on the morning of 
 the 31st I was at breakfast at Quarman when 
 Lake, who was on the look-out, rushed in 
 and said, ' White soldier come !' I gave him 
 a knapsack and water-bottle, and snatched up 
 
AMOAFUL. 309 
 
 my Snider. The 42nd did not halt iri the 
 village, but marched along at a pace which, 
 after four months of West Africa, and an 
 attack of dysentery, made me pant and per- 
 spire. Presently we heard a few shots — the 
 scouts clearing Egginassie. The faces of the 
 men brightened, and one of them said ' That's 
 good.' Two Assins ran past us towards the 
 rear, blood streaming down their bodies. 
 We marched through the village, then for 
 half a mile through the forest, and as we 
 were descending a hill the battle began; 
 The soldiers extended to the right and the 
 left of the path in line, and we found that we 
 were in the Ashantee camp. On all sides 
 were little huts with low sloping roofs, 
 thatched with the green broad leaves of the 
 plantain. Each hut or lean-to had a couple 
 of bamboo bedsteads raised on posts. Among 
 these huts were fires with cooking pots upon 
 them, and inside the pots boiled plantains, or 
 messes of Indian corn. They had also taken 
 the pains to make comfortable settees with 
 backs. A vast number of carriers' bundles 
 containing provisions and other property lay 
 scattered about. 
 
310 AMOAFUL. 
 
 A hundred yards ahead the forest was 
 filled with smoke, and seemed to roar : 
 tongues of flame shot forth, and these alone 
 served as a mark, for not a man was to be 
 seen. The slugs hummed and danced in 
 among us, rattling against the trees, and 
 against the pots on the fires. I was hit three 
 times in about five minutes ; but these hits 
 were so innocuous that I thought it was all 
 going to be mere child's play. However I was 
 soon undeceived. In that part the forest was 
 tolerably open ; but as the Highlanders 
 slowly .advanced, moving from tree to tree as 
 directed by their officers, and lying down to 
 shoot, we came to a thicker part of the bush, 
 and the enemy fired at close range. Finally 
 we came to a swampy bit at the bottom of 
 the hill, with a dark sluggish stream flowing 
 through its midst; beyond this was another hill, 
 covered, not with forest, but jungle. Then 
 the business began to be severe. The air 
 was filled with that music which Charles XII. 
 said he preferred to every other. I am not 
 exaggerating when I say that for more than 
 an hour the leaves fell just as they do on an 
 English autumn day when there is a strong 
 
AMOAFUL. 3 n 
 
 wind. At one time, whichever way I looked 
 I saw wounded men. One poor fellow ran 
 past me with a strange staggering gait, his 
 eyes fixed and his hand upon his heart, and 
 then suddenly fell and rolled over stone 
 dead. 
 
 This went on for some time : the High- 
 landers advanced but very slowly ; the bag- 
 pipes were playing, but even when close to 
 could scarcely be heard for the din. Pre- 
 sently a big ,gun boomed on the right; I 
 went in that direction and found Captain 
 Rait and Lieutenant Saunders proceeding 
 along the main road or path with their 
 Haussas and a seven-pounder gun, and a 
 train of naked Fantees bearing ammuni- 
 tion. The Haussas had been indefatigably 
 drilled by these two officers, and the 
 pains bestowed upon them had not been 
 in vain. We were now at the foot of 
 the jungle-covered hill on the summit of 
 which was Amoaful. Up went the gun; 
 every five minutes there was a halt ; the gun 
 was fired two or three times ; the . High- 
 landers crept into the bush on the right and 
 on the left. Then I heard a clear cheery 
 
312 AMOAFUL. 
 
 voice cry out ' Advance !' and then the 42 nd 
 gave a cheer, and the Haussas cheered, and 
 the Fantees cheered, and the gun was 
 wheeled along for fifteen or twenty yards. 
 The jungle was now so thick that the men 
 were formed again in column; it was too 
 thick even for the Ashantees, who had not cut 
 war-paths, and so were obliged to occupy the 
 road, where they suffered severely. Soon 
 we had to lie down among dead bodies 
 marked with great red wounds : yet still the 
 slugs sang over us, and savagely slashed the 
 boughs above our heads. ' Rough work this 
 for a civilian !' said one of the soldiers ; and 
 I saw them all eyeing me with an air of 
 puzzled curiosity. I now observed that the 
 officer who always cried out ' Advance !' was 
 limping in evident pain. It was Major Mac- 
 pherson. He had been shot through the leg, 
 and had tied it round with a handkerchief, 
 but still bright-faced and smiling urged on 
 the men. And they, when the order was 
 given to advance, looked at one another and 
 smiled. Just at this time another officer 
 came up to the extreme front He had only 
 one arm, so I knew that it was Brigadier- 
 
AMOAFUL. 313 
 
 General Sir Archibald Alison, the son of the 
 historian. 
 
 Light ! light ! light ! I saw clear sky on 
 ahead and knew that it was the town. The 
 gloomy forest was behind us ; soon we saw 
 houses and an open street. The fire of the 
 enemy' slackened. Rait fired a shell down 
 the street, and it killed a group of men run- 
 ning out at the farther end of the town. This 
 was the finale ; the day's work was done so 
 far as the 42nd was concerned. 105 men 
 were wounded and 2 killed ; 9 officers were 
 wounded, and one of them, Major Baird, 
 afterwards died. 
 
 We sat down under the shade of the 
 trees in the middle of the town. Clouds 
 covered the sky and a sweet wind was blow- 
 ing ; it was deliciously- cool. Under another 
 cluster of trees a field-hospital was established. 
 The doctors probed and bandaged the 
 wounds; then the men were laid gently 
 down, and their chums sat by them holding 
 their hands and gave them comforting 
 words. 
 
 Lake soon made up a fire, and then, 
 opening my knapsack, we lunched together 
 
314 AMOAFUL. 
 
 on chocolate, biscuit, and sardines. After 
 which I despatched him to ' loot ' curiosities ; 
 for when the town had been occupied, and 
 all precautions taken against a surprise, the 
 men off duty had been told they might ' go 
 and hunt ; ' in such cases a harmless recrea- 
 tion, which it is mere pedantry to forbid. 
 Lake found some stone implements (now in 
 Sir John Lubbock's collection), and also a 
 small metal box, with a portrait of Mrs. 
 Beecher Stowe embossed on the lid. Lake 
 had behaved with his usual steadiness and 
 courage, and had picked up some curiosities 
 under fire on the battle-field. Several cano- 
 pies, or umbrellas, were found in the town ; 
 these are equivalent to colours; and their 
 loss is eternal disgrace for the chieftains to 
 whom they belong. 
 
 Our fight began at 8, and the town was 
 taken at 11.45. We passed some quiet 
 hours ; a few Ashantees hovered round the 
 town like birds of prey driven from their 
 nest, and fired harmless shots out of the 
 adjacent bush. But in the distance we 
 could hear, on the right and left, the rolling 
 sound of musketry. 
 
AMOAFUL. 315 
 
 The General took up his position in the 
 village Egginassie ; there he received the 
 reports of Sir A. Alison, Colonel McLeod, 
 and Colonel Wood. Now and then he gave 
 an order ; Colonel Greaves, the Chief of the 
 Staff, wrote it down on a scrap of paper, 
 carried it himself, or sent it by another Staff 
 officer to the columns engaged. The 
 wounded men were brought into the village, 
 and then despatched with an escort to Quar- 
 man. Early in the day Captain Buckle, R.E., 
 was killed ort the left, and Colonel Wood 
 was brought in wounded from the right 
 column, which had to be supported by a part 
 of the Rifles. Egginassie itself was attacked. 
 In the afternoon an onslaught was made 
 upon Quarman ; the handful of 2nd West 
 behaved gallantly, and the village was re- 
 lieved by a detachment of the Rifles. It is 
 needless to say that the Naval Brigade, 
 which headed the two flank columns, was hotly 
 engaged. Several officers were wounded, 
 and Sub-Lieutenant Mundy afterwards died. 
 
 Sir Garnet went on to Amoaful ; the 
 Rifles and the 23rd kept the road open ; an 
 attempt was made to bring up some of the 
 
316 AMOAFUL. 
 
 baggage from Insarfu, but the convoy was 
 attacked, and a few loads were taken. Some 
 of the Staff officers lost their campaigning 
 kit, and in fact everything but what they had 
 on. 
 
 The soldiers were quartered in the houses ; 
 two kegs of rum, brought on by Captain Baker 
 of the Fantee armed police, were served out, 
 much to the contentment of the army ; and 
 soon after dark sleep fell upon the town. 
 But about 3 a.m. I happened to wake up and- 
 heard the sound of shots far away. It was 
 a night attack upon Quarman. 
 
317 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BECQUA. 
 
 It is needless to say that the problem was 
 now solved ; Ashantees could not beat British 
 soldiers, even in the bush. They could bear 
 the fire of the Sniders, for they are marvel- 
 lously dexterous in taking cover, but they 
 could not stand the advance. They load so 
 slowly that they must retire before an advan- 
 cing army armed with the breech-loader, and 
 those who continually retire must eventually 
 retreat. The 42nd owed much of its success 
 to the fact that it kept moving on. ' Thank 
 God !' said one young officer, ' our men don't 
 know how to skirmish/ It must not be sup- 
 posed that the soldiers of this gallant regiment 
 were indifferent to cover; they lay down 
 to fire, and got well behind trees, but 
 Macpherson never let them stay long in one 
 
318 BECQUA. 
 
 place ; and as soon as he cried out ' Advance ! ' 
 the evident joy of the men, their smiles, 
 their words to one another, the sparkling of 
 their eyes showed that charging was their 
 speciality. 
 
 It had been frequently discussed whether 
 buck-shot or bullets were the best for this kind 
 of warfare. Upon that point I speak without 
 hesitation after Amoaful. If I had to travel 
 through the Ashantee country with a small 
 escort, running the risk of an ambuscade, and 
 perhaps a personal encounter, I would choose 
 a double-barrel breech-loader with buck-shot 
 cartridges, because I might have to take a 
 snap-shot. A certain officer in one of the 
 posts along the road went down to the out- 
 skirts of the clearing into the bush, and sud- 
 denly met an Ashantee who howled with 
 fright. The officer had a Snider, fired a snap- 
 shot, and missed ! The Ashantee gave him 
 a charge of slugs from his flint-lock and 
 bolted. But as for the weapon with which 
 the troops should be armed, that no longer 
 admits of dispute. At Amoaful it was all 
 shooting in the dark; we did not see the 
 Ashantees ; all that we could do was to fire 
 
BECQUA. 319 
 
 towards the flashes and smoke which marked 
 their lurking-place. Nowa storm of rifle-bullets 
 rushing through the air is far more deadly 
 than a shower of buck-shot. The Snider, 
 aimed low, sends its projectile skimming along 
 about three feet high a considerable distance ; 
 nothing can stop it but the trunk of a tree, 
 and perhaps it kills a chief seated on his stool, 
 beneath his umbrella, far away in the rear. 
 Then the wounds caused by the Snider are 
 terrific, and must tend to demoralise the 
 enemy. 
 
 We all thought, before the experiment 
 was tried, that the three columns (parallel) 
 formation was the best for a great battle in 
 the bush. But though with that formation 
 Sir Garnet won a great victory, I do not 
 think he would adopt it again. The right 
 and left columns did no doubt protect the 
 flanks of the 42nd regiment, but lines of 
 skirmishers thrown out, keeping touch of the 
 main column, would have answered that 
 purpose. The disadvantages of parallel 
 columns in bush-fighting are these. They 
 cannot see one another, and cannot keep 
 measure in distance and time. One column 
 
320 BECQUA. 
 
 finds the bush tolerably open, and therefore 
 advances freely ; the other is retarded 
 by a patch of impenetrable jungle, by the 
 enemy's fire, or by the caution of its com- 
 mander. One flank column will diverge, 
 another will perhaps converge upon the main 
 column. One gets ahead of the others, loses 
 its way, and crosses the line of fire. As guns 
 in cover shooting are connected by beaters, so 
 perhaps the three columns might be connected 
 by a line of skirmishers ; but if they happened 
 to meet a thick bit of undergrowth which they 
 could not penetrate (and that sooner or later is 
 tolerably certain), the skirmishers would fall 
 into the columns on the right or the left 
 Thus between the parallel columns is a strip 
 of dark bush, and let us suppose that into this 
 strip glide a party of Ashantee skirmishers. 
 Lying close to the ground, they fire with 
 deadly effect to the right and left. In both 
 columns men fall. But if they return the 
 fire, they shoot over the heads of the enemy 
 into each other. Then the bugles sound, the 
 officers cry out, * Don't fire, don't fire, our 
 own men are there!' the soldiers find that 
 slugs and rifle-bullets are coming from the 
 
BECQUA. yzi 
 
 same quarter ; fear and confusion fall upon 
 them. 
 
 At the hottest part of the fight of Amoaful 
 I heard a Snider bullet come over my head 
 from behind to the left. I must own that 
 I felt for a moment a little bit afraid, and 
 earnestly wished to be saved from my friends. 
 I got in front of a tree, taking my chance of 
 the slugs so long as I could be covered from 
 the rear. For a long time we saw guns flash- 
 ing away on our left, and feared to shoot in 
 that direction ; yet it was never, I believe, 
 ascertained whether they were friends or foes. 
 If this was the case in the main column, what 
 confusion there must have been in the flanks ! 
 One officer was wounded by a Snider, for the 
 bullet was extracted. One officer made his 
 men fire by compass. There was much 
 doubt and mystery as to the position of the 
 other troops. 
 
 The best formation is a single column, 
 strong and continuous as a chain. With its 
 head should be a mountain gun throwing 
 shell, and the rear-guard should be not less 
 powerful. The ammunition and medical 
 hammocks and baggage (if any) should be 
 
322 :becqua. 
 
 distributed throughout the central part, a 
 soldier between each couple of bearers. The 
 column should never cease to advance except 
 for five minutes or so at a time ; it should 
 advance by leaps, so to speak, the men moving 
 quickly and then lying down to fire. Thus 
 always moving on, keeping up a continuous 
 fire on the right and on the left, lining itself 
 with sheets of flame and clothing itself in 
 smoke, the column passes through the enemy's 
 position, takes the village, if there be one 
 behind the position, as is usually the case, and 
 at all events leaves the enemy with its war- 
 paths and ambuscades behind it in the rear. 
 All parts of the column are brought under 
 fire ; but every segment is in a fighting con- 
 dition. There are no gaps or weak parts in 
 the chain. 
 
 At an early hour in the forenoon the 
 baggage was brought in from Insarfu and 
 Quarman. ' I saw, not without emotion, 
 the familiar faces of Robert and Joseph ; but 
 the sight of my black bullock trunk, and 
 my brown leather bag, touched me to 
 the heart. I now recognised their value. 
 Joseph told me that when Quarman was 
 attacked two of my Fantee hammock-men, 
 
BECQUA 323 
 
 following their instinct, ran out of the village 
 into the bush — the enemy's bush. The others 
 seemed inclined to follow their example, but 
 Joseph was a Kossoo, and snatching up a 
 cutlass he threatened to ' chop ' any man who 
 moved out of the yard. I shuddered when I 
 thought of what would have been my fate if 
 the baggage had been lost. Imagine a Special 
 Correspondent with long letters to write and 
 all his stationery stolen by the Ashantees. 
 The next time I was separated from my 
 baggage I put in my pocket some pens and a 
 patent ink-bottle, with some foolscap and large 
 envelopes. 
 
 A mile to the left of Amoaful was Becqua, 
 the capital of a province, and the residence of 
 a great chief who - ranks with the chiefs of 
 Juabin or Duabin, Adansi, and Mampon. It 
 was known that he had furnished a consider- 
 able force to the army, and it was dangerous 
 to leave a great town upon the flank. Lord 
 Gifford, scouting early in the morning, reported 
 its position, and also that the enemy were 
 there in force. At 12.30 the Naval Brigade 
 and Russell's regiment, with the 42nd in 
 reserve, marched against the town. The 
 
324 BECQUA. 
 
 Brigadier commanded. Gifford dashed into 
 the town in advance with his scouts, the 
 Haussas did not support him, and he was in 
 no little danger. Two of his best men were 
 wounded. It was for this plucky lead that 
 he received the Victoria Cross, which is only 
 bestowed for single exploits ; but he was 
 really recommended for the distinction by Sir 
 Garnet on account of the perilous nature of 
 the service in which he had so long been 
 engaged. For weeks he carried his life in his 
 hand; and Sir Garnet once said- to me, 
 ' Every day I expected to get a letter saying 
 that Gifford had been shot.' 
 
 The men at Becqua were taken by sur- 
 prise. There was a street fight, and then, 
 taking to cover, they kept up for some little 
 while a hot fire on the town. One seaman 
 was killed. 
 
 Becqua was nearly as large as Coomassie, 
 and the palace was a house of two storeys. 
 When the enemy were silenced we had little 
 time to look for curiosities ; the town was 
 set on fire, and there being a brisk wind was 
 soon all over in a blaze. There were several 
 explosions of powder. It was curious to see 
 
BECQUA. 325 
 
 the hawks. In West Africa there is a species 
 resembling a kestrel in plumage, but much 
 larger in size, which frequent towns and are 
 almost as numerous as vultures. They now 
 darted and swooped round the burning houses, 
 almost touching the flames with their wings, as 
 if attracted by fire like the motL By some 
 strange instinct (perhaps inherited experience) 
 they knew that the fire would drive out the 
 rats. So in South Africa, when the plains 
 are on fire, birds of prey accompany the con- 
 flagration, and feed on the lizards and other 
 small animals which run out of the thick high 
 grass. 
 
 We were told that next morning (Feb- 
 ruary 2) the army would march, and though 
 (as then arranged) it would not be post-time 
 for two or three days, we thought it best to 
 write our letters while we were in comfort- 
 able quarters. 
 
 The afternoon before, I had taken a stroll 
 through the town, looking for a house. I 
 discovered a detached building surrounded 
 by a high palisade. Forcing my way inside, 
 for it was completely enclosed, I found my- 
 self in what appeared to be a fetish house or 
 
326 BECQUA. 
 
 temple. There was a yard in which were 
 two ancient and majestic trees. All round 
 were earthen pots daubed over with white 
 clay and many kinds of filth. The building 
 itself consisted of an alcove or portico, raised 
 two or three feet above the ground. Its 
 doorway, or rather the open side looking out 
 on the yard, was in the form of a Moorish 
 arch. The floor and basement were crimson 
 in colour, being painted with a kind of red 
 ochre which takes a beautiful polish. The 
 walls inside were washed with the white clay 
 of the Gold Coast, which the natives fre- 
 quently chew, or drink in solution, the young 
 people taking it as a sweetmeat, the old 
 people as a medicine for heart disease and 
 other complaints. The walls were also 
 adorned with arabesques. Overhead was a 
 thatched roof. 
 
 The night was clear and still. The moon 
 was in the heavens, all the stars were alight, 
 from the distance could be heard the sounds 
 of the forest, mingled with the camp fire 
 songs. When all else was silenced in sleep, 
 there rose from time to time the sentries' 
 cry, like the baying of some faithful watch- 
 
BECQUA. 327 
 
 dog, and the half-hourly chimes of a large 
 bell taken at Fomana, and suspended in the 
 middle of the town. 
 
 It was the 2nd February, 3 A.M. I had been 
 writing all night Placing two little Ashan- 
 tee tables one above the other, laying on the 
 top my writing materials with a lantern, and 
 seated on a barrel, I had scribbled away to 
 my heart's content. In two hours the march 
 would begin. 
 
 It is usually supposed that the signs and 
 portents which ancient writers record as 
 having preceded the ruin of a kingdom, a 
 city, or a man, were either entirely fictitious, Or 
 were only called to mind after the event. In the 
 case of Coomassie, however, various prophe- 
 cies and omens were current with the natives, 
 and were even mentioned by Correspondents in 
 the papers, before Coomassie was taken, and 
 at a time when no one supposedthat it would 
 be destroyed. 
 
 For instance, as early as October I was 
 told this legend while visiting Elmina. There 
 was in Coomassie a famous doctor of the Mos- 
 lems; he wrote certain words upon paper, 
 sewed them up in leather cases, and sold them 
 
328 BECQUA. 
 
 as charms against wounds in the war. He 
 fumigated the nostrils of the sick with the 
 smoke of mysterious herbs set on fire : he 
 wrote texts of the Koran on a wooden board, 
 washed off the ink into water, and gave it to 
 patients as a draught : he cupped for fever, 
 inoculated for small-pox, applied the hot iron ; 
 he also divined future events from a book 
 filled with diagrams, or from figures drawn in 
 the sand. The king called him and said he 
 wished to know the future of Coomassie. 
 The priest made auguries and replied that the 
 fall of Elmina would be also the fall of Coo- 
 massie. The king, who did not expect such 
 an answer, went to an old Ashantee sorceress* 
 But she, having consulted the gods of the 
 country, delivered the same oracle. ' The fall 
 of Elmina would be also the fall of Coomassie." 
 ' Well,' said the king, ' what does it matter ? 
 Elmina has been from the creation of the 
 world, and so has Coomassie. It is impos- 
 sible that either can fall.' Now Coomassie 
 was destroyed a few months after the destruc- 
 tion of Elmina. 
 
 Before we had crossed the Prah a story 
 came from Akim that certain omens had 
 
BECQUA. 329 
 
 alarmed the people of Coomassie ; stones fell 
 from heaven ; a child was born which spoke 
 from its birth ; suddenly it disappeared, and 
 the room was instantly filled with bush. One 
 evil omen did actually occur. Mr. Kiihne 
 relates that just before he left Coomassie the 
 old fetish tree from which the town takes its 
 name fell down and was shattered to splinters. 
 No one ventured to touch them, and they 
 were left lying in the street. 
 
 In two hours the march would begin : 
 the Time was approaching ; the Hour was at 
 hand ; soon the guilty city, which for nearly 
 two hundred years had devoured human flesh, 
 and made itself -drunk with blood and tears, 
 deceiving and destroying the nations, spread- 
 ing solitude, pouring forth human hurricanes, 
 withering corn-fields and plantations, kid- 
 napping tribes, dealing out famine and pes- 
 tilence and death — soon Coomassie would be 
 fallen and covered with shame. 
 
33o 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ORDAHSU. 
 
 The defeat of the Ashantees had been per- 
 fect. Amanquatia and many chiefs had been 
 killed ; yet still it was probable that another 
 pitched .battle would be fought before we 
 could enter Coomassie. The king had not 
 been present in the fight at Amoaful, and 
 for him it would be accounted a disgrace to 
 surrender the capital without having once 
 appeared on the field. 
 
 On February 2 we marched about six 
 miles to a village called Ingimmamu. Rus- 
 sell's regiment led the advance, and had a 
 skirmish or two on the way. At Ingimmamu 
 an important decision was taken. The trans- 
 port again embarrassed our progress, and 
 the General had two evils offered for his 
 choice. Either he must halt, as at Fomana 
 
ORDAHSU. 331 
 
 and the Prah, till supplies were brought up, 
 or else be content merely to make a raid 
 upon Coomassie. Instead of staying there 
 a week, opening up communications with 
 Glover, and deliberately concluding a treaty 
 with the king, all that he could do, owing to 
 his early neglect of the transport, was to run 
 into the town, and run out again back to 
 Ingimmamu. He determined to do this rather 
 than delay, and no doubt his decision was a 
 wise one ; for even when the next convoy 
 arrived he would have been in the same 
 position : it would have brought him only a 
 few days' supplies. 
 
 His position was this. He had four days' 
 rations for his men, and the dash to Coo- 
 massie and back would probably occupy five 
 days. Colley promised him that on his return 
 he should find food at Ingimmamu. He 
 would go back for the convoy and fetch it up 
 himself. Thus then it was arranged, and the 
 captains of companies were ordered to ask 
 their men if they would consent to take four 
 days' rations for five days' work. To this they 
 one and all agreed. Hence it will be seen 
 that Sir G. Wolseley left Coomassie on the 
 
332 ORDAHSU, 
 
 6th by previous arrangement, and that the 
 rain had nothing to do with his departure) 
 Had the weather been perfectly fine he must 
 have brought back his troops to Ingimmamu 
 on the 7th ; for the British soldier in the 
 best of weather cannot live on moonshine and 
 air. 
 
 Preparations were made at once to put 
 Ingimmamu in a position of -defence, for 
 this little village had now become the base of 
 operations. It was strongly entrenched and 
 garrisoned ; the heavy baggage and weakly 
 men were left there, and so a flying 
 column was prepared, consisting, besides the 
 soldiers, of Fantees who carried ammunition, 
 medical hammocks, and the four days' rations 
 of the army and their own ; a herd of cattle 
 was also driven with the column, which> 
 though reduced to the smallest possible di- 
 mensions, extended over a third of a mile. 
 
 The next day early in the morning the 
 march began, and the Ashantees gave much 
 trouble on the road. Russell's regiment had 
 to shoot its way through ambuscade after 
 ambuscade ; and in one place where a hill 
 faced a valley swamp— a position resembling 
 
ORDAHSU. 333 
 
 that of Amoaful — the enemy mustered in 
 considerable numbers and stopd some time. 
 Two companies of the Rifles supported 
 Major Russell, and skirmished in good style 
 through the bush. Lieutenant Saunders^was 
 to the front with his gun throwing round shot 
 and shell. Lieutenant Bell, R.E., also dis- 
 tinguished himself, taking his engineer la- 
 bourers right into the enemy's position when 
 he found they had built a kind of stockade. 
 In the afternoon the troops arrived at the 
 Ordah (incorrectly named by Bowdich the 
 Dah), and here Sir Garnet, pushing up to the 
 front and surveying the position, resolved to 
 bivouac. The sappers at once set to work on 
 a bridge under Major Home's supervision ; it 
 was nearly ready before dark and complete 
 before the dawn. Russell's regiment forded 
 the river, and encamped on the other side. 
 In the rainy season this tributary of the Prah 
 is a deep and swift flowing stream. It is 
 regarded by the Ashantees as a sacred river, 
 and the king bathes in it with religious cere- 
 monies once a year. 
 
 About the middle of the day, just after 
 an ambuscad e skirmish, those in the front 
 
334 ORDAHSU. 
 
 heard a loud musical voice crying out ' Mercy 
 O ! Mercy O ! ' and then saw two men running 
 down the path towards them. One carried 
 a white flag in his right hand and a large 
 letter in his left ; the other wore a golden 
 plate upon his breast — the badge of a royal 
 messenger. According to the usual routine 
 they were detained in the front, while the 
 letter was passed down the column to Sir 
 Garnet Just as they seated themselves by 
 the road-side the Ashantees again opened 
 fire, and we could see by the envoys' expres- 
 sion of face that they were apprehensive for 
 their heads. The letter requested the General 
 to stop a few days ; to which he replied that 
 he intended to sleep at the Ordah, and that 
 if the king wanted peace he must send as 
 hostages the Queen-Mother, and Prince 
 Mensah, the heir to the throne. Some of 
 the Staff, it is said, were sanguine enough to_ 
 believe that these distinguished persons would 
 come in that night; and much amusement 
 was caused by an order issued to -the pickets 
 that they were on no account to fire if they 
 saw an old woman coming down the road. 
 Lord Gifford's scouts ascertained the ex- 
 
ORDAHSU. 335 
 
 istence of a large army in and around the 
 village Ordahsu, about a mile from the Ordah. 
 It is needless to say that all military precau- 
 tions were taken against a night attack. 
 When it became dark the camp and picket 
 fires extending right and left a considerable 
 distance presented the appearance of a large 
 town by night, and the murmur of voices was 
 like the roaring of the sea. 
 
 It was the dry season, but soon after sun- 
 set the sky became overcast, a cold gust of 
 wind poured through the camp, dashing up the 
 dry leaves into the air, and thunder could be 
 heard in the distance, prolonged and continu- 
 ous round the horizon, with sharp isolated 
 denotating cracks precisely resembling an 
 Ashantee fusillade. I thought a tornado was 
 coming, but soon the thunder ceased, there 
 was no longer any wind, and down came a 
 regular steady English kind of rain, which 
 lasted almost throughout the night. It was 
 very uncomfortable, and the soldiers' tentes 
 d'abri were left behind at Ingimmamu ; but I 
 heard some light-hearted officers say it was 
 not much worse than the Autumn Manoeuvres. 
 At all events it kept off the Ashantees, 
 
336 ORDAHSU. 
 
 which was some consolation for those who 
 like myself slept on the further side of the 
 river. 
 
 About eight o'clock the postman arrived ! 
 Among my letters was one in an unknown 
 hand, and contained in an envelope of enor- 
 mous size. It was addressed to the Special 
 Correspondent of the ' London Times.' This 
 seemed American, and I took it for granted 
 that some enterprising publisher had written 
 to offer me a handsome sum for the advance 
 sheets of my book. Tearing it open I found 
 that it was an essay on the virtues of chloride 
 of sodium or common salt in cases of fever, 
 and the author implored me to lose no time 
 in diffusing a specific by which hundreds of 
 lives might be saved. I regret that the 
 moderate size of this work prevents me from 
 quoting at length the many ingenious argu- 
 ments and facts by which the writer sup- 
 ported his theory; but I think it right to 
 publish this astonishing discovery for the 
 benefit of suffering mankind ; and I sincerely 
 trust that it will have (by means of this book) 
 a world-wide circulation. 
 
 I received a letter from my kind 
 
ORD'AHSU. 337 
 
 masters, in which I was told that 'a Correspon- 
 dent is bound to take the same precautions 
 for his personal safety as a general,' and I could 
 not but confess to myself that the statement 
 was true. I therefore determined not to go 
 guile in the front the next day. 
 
 When I crawled out of my hammock 
 from under a thick inverness cape (like all tro- 
 pical travellers I carried warm things) I saw 
 Colonel Wood with Furse and Eyre and 
 Mosse, who had been left behind, but had 
 come on by a forced march with a company 
 of Bonny men. They were to have the ad- 
 vance. Wood seemed to have recovered 
 from the slug received at Amoaful, though it 
 had not been extracted. As I shook hands 
 with Eyre he told me what a terrible march 
 they had gone through, not having arrived till 
 midnight. ' Never mind,' said I, ' it is worth the 
 walk ; for to-day I suppose we shall be into 
 Coomassie.' There is something very touch- 
 ing in the thought of this poor boy, who had 
 suffered much from sickness, toiling and toil- 
 ing along, to cause his own death, and secure 
 his own execution. 
 
 That morning an order was issued that 
 z 
 
338 ORDAHSU. 
 
 the troops in advance were not to fire first. 
 This excited much indignation, after what 
 had happened to Nicol, and one hot-tongued 
 subaltern said — ' Reade, we look to men 
 like you to save us from being murdered 
 in this way.' If publicity can prevent 
 generals in future from giving such orders they 
 have it here. There were times when Sir 
 Garnet seemed diplomacy-mad. The worst 
 of such an order is that it seems humane 
 while it really is most inhuman and cruel : it 
 exposes a general's own soldiers to consider- 
 able danger. 
 
 The Bonny men led the advance up the 
 hill, followed by the Rifles, and the battle 
 speedily began. Russell's regiment came 
 next and I remained with them for a time, but 
 when the firing continued I could not stand 
 it any longer. I forgot all about my instruc- 
 tions ; something inside like a spring seemed 
 to push me on' 'despite of myself, and I went 
 right on to the front. The advance companies 
 of the Rifles were lying on the ground, Some 
 facing to the right, others to the left, firing low 
 and slow. The air was filled with a sulphur- 
 ous stench, and was thick with smoke, through 
 
ORDAHSU 339 
 
 which dark forms could be seen moving slowly: 
 These were the officers, who walked back- 
 wards and forwards giving orders to their 
 men. I saw poor Eyre lying by the path : 
 his face, pillowed on a comrade's arm, already 
 bore the ghastly impress of death. A little 
 while before Colonel Wood had bade him 
 farewell. Stooping down he kissed his cheek, 
 and Eyre drawing a ring from his finger said, 
 ', Give this to my mother.' 
 
 I sat down by the path-side, taking the 
 best cover I could find. On the other side, a 
 young surgeon was attending to the wounded. 
 Lieutenant Wauchope, who was severely 
 wounded in the shoulder, came up just after 
 a Haussa, but would not be probed and 
 bandaged before his humble companion in 
 arms. ' No,' said he, ' it is his turn first.' 
 These are the little incidents that a Special 
 Correspondent picks up in the front ; they not 
 only give him items for his letters, but also 
 give him a higher opinion of human nature 
 than he had before. As the doctor dressed 
 Wauchope's wound, I saw the slugs chipping 
 off the twigs just over his head. 
 
 The army ought to be grateful to its 
 
340 .ORDAHSU. 
 
 surgeons. They incur their full share of 
 danger, and do not always receive their full 
 measure of reward. To my mind there is no- 
 thing so impressive, even amid the varied and 
 startling scenes of the battle-field, as the group 
 which encircles a wounded combatant. There 
 lingers the friend, forgetful for a moment of 
 glory, and there, with the bullets whistling 
 around him, kneels an unarmed man examin- 
 ing and dressing the wound with clear head 
 and steady hand, as if he were in the peaceful 
 hospital. 
 
 At Ordahsu the order of battle was in 
 single column ; but the head remained too long 
 without moving on. At last the word was 
 given, and the Rifles rushed into the village. 
 I was just behind the first section, and saw 
 one man rolled over like a rabbit ; it was not 
 a serious wound, the slug having grazed his 
 head, but it stunned him at the time. Among 
 the last to clear out of the houses was a 
 warrior aged fourteen, armed with a gun con- 
 siderably taller than himself. A man was 
 caught in the bush close by, who said that he 
 was a deserter. If we would please not kill 
 him he would show us just where the king 
 
ORDAHSU. 341 
 
 was ; he would show us Coomassie ; he would 
 show us plenty of things. This gentleman 
 was conducted to a hut, bawling, gesticulating, 
 and assuring us he would do anything in pre- 
 ference to being killed. . 
 
 The 42nd lined the road from the river 
 to the village ; the ammunition baggage and 
 stores were passed up ; then followed Sir 
 Garnet and his Staff; the Naval Brigade, 
 like an iron shield, closed up the rear. This 
 movement was justly admired. 
 
 The Ashantees attempted to retake the 
 village, coming between it and Coomassie, 
 and poured in a furious fire. They also 
 attacked it from other points. When this had 
 gone on for some time, Colonel McLeod asked 
 for the command of his regiment, instead of 
 the native Brigade, and volunteered to take it 
 right on to Coomassie. His offer was accepted, 
 and Sir Archibald Alison accompanied the 
 advance. The Black Watch marched down 
 the hill and dispersed the enemy. Coomassie 
 was more than six miles off; but no one then 
 knew exactly how far we had to go, or what 
 opposition there might be upon the way. 
 
342 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 COOMASSIE. 
 
 The Highlanders marched along at a rattling 
 pace. At intervals of a mile or so, the fore- 
 most company came upon parties of Ashan- 
 tees. Then we heard shots, and cheers ' for 
 Old Scotland,' and the bagpipes played, and 
 the whole regiment broke out into a double. 
 By the side of the road we saw kegs of powder 
 which had been emptied in battle, and camp 
 huts with fires still smoking ; and then we 
 saw in the road itself state-chairs and umbrellas 
 belonging to chiefs, mingled with dead bodies, 
 some of them laid on stretchers and thrown 
 down in haste. At one village the regiment 
 was halted to get water, but none was to be 
 had. Several officers had in their hands an 
 Itinerary or road-book, drawn up by Major 
 Wilson, R.E., of the War Office ; and when 
 
COOMASSIE. 343 
 
 we came to Quarsi, the last village before 
 Coomassie, we all became highly excited. 
 Presently there was a halt which gave me 
 time to get to the front. The treacherous 
 white flag had again made its appearance, 
 accompanied by three or four miserable slaves, 
 who were offered as hostages if only the 
 advance might be delayed. They also 
 brought a letter from Dawson to the General, 
 imploring him to stop and arrange a treaty 
 outside the town, or else he, the poor Dawson, 
 and the Fantees would be killed, and then, 
 as he very justly observed, ' the destruction of 
 the whole blessed kingdom would not bring 
 us back again.' The messenger with the flag 
 and the letter was sent on to the General ; 
 but the Brigadier and Colonel McLeod con- 
 tinued the march. Two of the hostages, one 
 of them a woman, were detained and made to 
 walk in the front ; not wishing to be shot by 
 their friends they cried out, in a loud and 
 dismal voice, ' Shanti fo ! Shanti fo ! ' (Ash- 
 an tee people). This showed that armed men 
 were before us on the road. 
 
 A sergeant marched a few paces ahead 
 of the column. As he turned a corner he 
 
344 COOMASSIE. 
 
 encountered an armed Ashantee who raised 
 his gun, whereupon the sergeant fired. The 
 women cried out ' Dabbi Oh !' (No, oh !) to 
 the Ashantees, signifying that they should not 
 return the fire. Presently we came to the 
 dead body of a fine young man, whose head 
 had just been cut off, and was lying by the 
 body. This was a human sacrifice to prevent 
 us from entering Coomassie. 
 
 The forest had now dwindled into jungle; 
 the path became wide, and was joined by 
 other paths from the right and left, like tribu- 
 tary rivers. This showed we were approach- 
 ing a large town, and many earthen pots like 
 those in the fetish-house at Amoaful stood by 
 the wayside. As we came to some cross- 
 roads, we found a number of men with large 
 knives in their hands on the point of killing a 
 man who was tied up for the sacrifice. He 
 was at once liberated, and the Ashantees, with 
 their knives still in their hands, saluted us 
 with a friendly air, saying, ' Thank you, 
 thank you,' which they suppose is our ' How 
 do you do ? ' or ' Good day.' Several others 
 came up with guns in their hands and pre- 
 sented the butts towards us, One man fell 
 
COOMASSIE. 345 
 
 down on his knees, with hands raised and 
 clasped in the attitude of prayer, and a face 
 of woe and supplication. A king's servant was 
 there, wearing some ornament covered with 
 leopard skin ; he begged the Brigadier-General 
 to wait, and said that not having sent back 
 the white flag, and not having halted, we had 
 taken them quite by surprise. He hinted, in 
 fact, that we had played them a trick to escape 
 opposition. As the men required a rest, 
 Sir Archibald agreed to wait half-an-hour. 
 Down a path to the right were a dozen or 
 twenty armed men who surveyed us with 
 looks of hatred and fear, contrasting strongly 
 with the politeness of the gentlemen with 
 knives, who belonged, no doubt, to the best 
 families in Coomassie. These saw that the 
 men on the right meant mischief; it was 
 evident enough by their looks ; so they cried 
 out, again and again, ' Do not shoot ! do not 
 shoot!' But there stood the warriors with 
 the same savage expression of face, restlessly 
 moving their guns in their hands. At last 
 the leopard-skin man walked down the path 
 and spoke to them for a little while. Then 
 they shouldered their muskets with an air of 
 
3461 COOMASSIE, 
 
 disgust, and walked away, looking back at us 
 with an evil eye. 
 
 Sir Archibald's orders were to take up a 
 position by the water outside the town, and 
 there wait further instructions ; but soon after 
 we had started (the half hour having elapsed) 
 Captain Buller came up and said, ' The 
 General thinks you had better press on.' 
 We passed through the filthy marsh which 
 insulates Coomassie, and then came to the 
 town. The first street was a broad road of 
 rising ground, with here and there a detached 
 house on either side. At the top of the hill 
 we turned to the left, and passing the exe- 
 cution grove, which perfumed the air far 
 and wide, marched down a spacious street. 
 Numbers of men came up to the soldiers and 
 shook hands. One man, either drunk or a 
 professional buffoon, performed a dance, and 
 seemed desirous to bestow caresses on the 
 Highlanders. The demeanour of the mob 
 was simply that of the Africans when they 
 see something in the way of a show : they 
 laughed and opened their eyes and mouths, 
 and uttered cries of amazement and delight, 
 just as I have seen them do when I have 
 
COOMASSIE. 347 
 
 entered a large town where no white man 
 had been seen before. They seemed to have 
 no feeling but that of wonder and pleasure. 
 I imagine that most of them were slaves. 
 But far away at the end of the street was a 
 dense black crowd, above which floated a 
 huge red canopy. I could see men with 
 whips in their hands flogging the people to 
 make them get out of the way, and the Um- 
 brella turned round a corner. It was cer- 
 tainly some great chief, and I have often 
 thought it might have been the king. But 
 all the released captives said that the king 
 did not return to Coomassie after the Battle of 
 Ordahsu. Two Haussa slaves, who deserted 
 on the field to our side, said that the king 
 took up his position in the rear to the left of 
 the village. He sat on a golden stool 
 beneath a silk and velvet canopy, and de- 
 clared that he would cut off the head of any 
 chief who tried to run away. But when, as 
 our troops advanced, the bullets whizzed past 
 his royal head, he ran away himself, and 
 passed on to Aminihia, where he has a 
 country seat. 
 
 Coomassie was taken; and now we saw 
 
348 COOMASSIE., 
 
 something extraordinary. Up to the crowd- 
 which was gazing on the soldiers, or giving 
 them water to drink, came men powder- 
 stained and naked, shot-belts round their 
 bodies, and guns upon their shoulders. Not 
 only their appearance, but the affectionate 
 manner in which they were embraced by 
 their friends, showed where they had been 
 spending the day. At the -same time there 
 was a constant stream going by of people 
 with guns and with boxes on their heads. 
 This sight must have been distasteful to 
 those two true soldiers, Sir Archibald Alison 
 and Colonel McLeod : but what could they 
 do without orders ? and they knew it was 
 not a regular war, but a diplomatic war. So 
 the men were not disarmed, and the people 
 were allowed to carry their property 
 away. 
 
 Coomassie was taken by the !Brigadier- 
 General and the 42nd regiment at 5.30. 
 The Major-General arrived at 6, riding on a 
 mule, and followed by his Staff and the 
 Special Correspondents, whom I had dis- 
 tanced in the race. Sir Garnet made the 
 troops present arms and give three cheers 
 
COOMASSIE. 
 
 349 
 
 for the Queen, which sadly scared the, Ash- 
 antees. 
 
 The citizens were still streaming past with 
 their goods. ' Now, at all events,' thought 
 I, ' a stop will be put to this sort of thing.' 
 But Sir Garnet did not interfere with the 
 innocent people. He gave strict orders 
 there should be no plundering, and hanged 
 a policeman who stole a cloth ; but he gave 
 the people of Coomassie free regress and 
 egress, and so before the next morning they 
 had taken away most of their belongings. 
 
 Much gin was found in the town, and 
 having been carefully tasted by the medical 
 men, was pronounced to be excellent Hollands, 
 and was served out as rations to the troops. 
 So the town gin was seized, and some 
 powder, but that was all. 
 
 Sir G. Wolseley knew what was before 
 him. He had only one day. In that day 
 he would have to obtain the submission of 
 the king and the signing of a treaty, or burn 
 the town and the Bantama, and go back to 
 Ingimmamu. Under such circumstances he 
 should surely have prevented the people from 
 taking their property away ; above all he 
 
35o COOMASSIE. 
 
 should have placed a strong guard over the 
 palace. The more he had in his posses- 
 sion, the better security there was that the 
 king would give in. 
 
 The great mistake which Sir Garnet 
 made throughout his negotiations, and es- 
 pecially at the last, was in showing the king 
 that he was anxious for peace. This too 
 evident anxiety the king of course attributed 
 to weakness and fear. Sir Garnet also 
 showed no little vacillation. He said at the 
 Prah that he would see no one in person 
 excepting the king : at Coomassie he did 
 receive messengers himself. He demanded 
 the mother and brother of the king as hos- 
 tages : at Coomassie he said that he would 
 take any hostages of rank. He demanded a 
 certain indemnity, and a certain sum of money 
 down : at Coomassie he said that he would 
 not require so much money down as he had 
 demanded at first. When the king found 
 that in return for his false promises, and his 
 armies gathered on the sly, such important 
 concessions were obtained, it is not remark- 
 able that he should go on as he had begun. 
 As soon as we entered the town I saw a 
 
COOMASSIE. 351 
 
 man coming down the street dressed in 
 European clothes, and carrying a large ging- 
 ham umbrella. On either side were Ash- 
 antees, who, by their gestures, were evidently 
 urging him to do them a favour, while he, 
 placidly waving his hand, was evidently say- 
 ing, 'Do not be uneasy; I will do all you 
 wish.' This, I knew, must be Mr. Dawson, 
 and it was no less clear that the Ashantees 
 were begging him to intercede on their behalf. 
 The Ashantees, although savages, have the 
 power of keeping their passions under control, 
 when it suits their interest to do so, in a 
 manner which would do credit to civilised 
 diplomatists. They did not love Dawson, 
 but they utilised him all the same. 
 
 That night Dawson brought to the 
 General some people from the king. Sir 
 Garnet wrote a letter, which has been pub- 
 lished with his despatches, and also spoke to 
 the following effect. ' The king had deceived 
 him, but he had kept his word to the king : 
 he had come to Coomassie. He earnestly 
 wished to be friends, and to make a lasting 
 peace with Ashantee. He invited the king 
 to come back : his palace had not been occu- 
 pied : and there he might sign the treaty. . . 
 
353 COOMASSIE. 
 
 But if the king refused to make peace, he 
 would then show through the length and 
 breadth of Africa how great was the power of 
 Great Britain. There was no occasion for delay 
 and there must be no delay. The affair must 
 be settled by eight o'clock the next morning.' 
 
 I was told of this speech the same night, 
 and went to bed in a happy frame of mind. 
 That, I thought, was the way to negotiate. 
 But unhappily Sir Garnet did not adhere 
 firmly to his words. 
 
 The king promised to come in. But eight 
 o'clock passed. Sir Garnet waited and waited 
 all day long. 
 
 He had often been told by those who were 
 well acquainted with the Africans that the 
 King of Ashantee would use every possible 
 means to delay him on the march. He 
 declared that no message from the king 
 should detain him a day on the road ; and he 
 kept his word. He promised the king to 
 wait a few days at Fomana, but that delay was 
 necessitated by the transport. 
 
 Yet it would have been better that he 
 should have waited some days on the road 
 than lost that one priceless day at Coomassie. 
 
COOMASSIE. 353 
 
 He squandered away his brief and valuable 
 time— the few hours he had to act — in looking 
 like Sister Anne up the street. He then said he 
 would be content if the king signed the treaty 
 without coming in; but that also failed. In the 
 evening he saw that all was over, and indeed, 
 he had received a convincing proof of Ashan- 
 tee treachery in the course of the day. Two 
 of the envoys who had told him the king was 
 just coming in were discovered taking off 
 powder from the town. They were made pri- 
 soners. Sir Garnet ordered Colonel McLeod 
 to destroy the Bantama, and an hour after- 
 wards, for reasons best known to himself, 
 revoked the order he had given. As a last 
 resource he circulated a report that the next 
 morning he intended to advance, hoping that 
 this shallow device would frighten the king into 
 submission. Had he at half-past eight on the 
 morning of the 5 th marched out his troops to 
 the Bantama the king might have submitted ; 
 at all events Sir Garnet would have done all 
 that was in his power, since owing to the 
 state of his transport he could not remain 
 more than a day and two nights in the town. 
 As it was the Bantama escaped. 
 
 • A A 
 
354 COOMASSIE. 
 
 ' Why was it of so much importance,' the 
 reader may ask, ' that the Bantama should be 
 destroyed ? ' In the first place I reply that 
 the work of destruction if done at all should 
 have been complete. But there were special 
 reasons why the Bantama should have been 
 destroyed. It was the mausoleum of the 
 Kings of Ashantee, a place of human sacri- 
 fices, the great spiritual stronghold of the 
 priests. It was also the royal treasure-house, 
 and a kind of religious and political museum ; 
 there the skull of Sir Charles Macarthy was 
 preserved. No stranger was allowed to enter 
 its sacred precincts ; it was placed under the 
 care of a powerful chief, and a guard watched 
 over it day and night. According to some 
 accounts it was a mile and a half, according 
 to others only half a mile from Coomassie, 
 with which it was connected by a wide road. 
 There can be no doubt that men were 
 sacrificed and much fetish worked by the 
 priests to avert the destruction of this sacred 
 place, and the fact that it did escape will 
 always be a kind of consolation for the Ash- 
 antees. 'The Braffoos,' they will say, 'took 
 Coomassie, but they could not take the Ban- 
 tama.' Then the rites and sacrifices practised 
 
COOMASSIE. 35 5 
 
 on that occasion will be noted down as effica- 
 cious against the power of the white man ; 
 and no doubt the priests say, ' In the next 
 war we will do so and so, and we shall con- 
 quer.' Indeed, I look on the sparing of the 
 Bantama as an actual calamity; and the 
 article of the treaty in which Sir G. Wolseley 
 requests that the king will abolish human 
 sacrifices is a poor substitute for the destruc- 
 tion of their sanctuary. 
 
 That night fires broke out all over the 
 town, lighted as some suppose by our native 
 allies. Home's sappers worked hard to ex- 
 tinguish the flames. 
 
 The next morning I went out for a walk 
 round the town. One street alone was occu- 
 pied by our troops, and the Ashantees had all 
 gone away. I walked through several streets 
 without seeing a man. It was like a City of 
 the Dead. I passed a flock of sheep wan- 
 dering uneasily along, baaing plaintively, as 
 if distressed by this unwonted condition of 
 affairs. Vultures of course were plentiful, 
 and also a kind of black and white crow, 
 common on the Gold Coast. Presently I saw 
 a. strange and melancholy object. It was a 
 
 AA? 
 
3J 6 COOMASSIE. 
 
 man whose feet were manacled together so 
 that he could just shuffle along at the pace of 
 a snail ; his right hand, secured by an iron 
 loop, was passed through a hole in an enor- 
 mous log of wood which he had to carry in 
 his arms. He was a Fantee prisoner ; the 
 others had been released the night before; 
 but he had been imprisoned a long way off, 
 and had managed to creep thus far travelling 
 all night. His ancles were bleeding and 
 covered with flies. Lake and I worked for 
 some time to set him free, and I saw in the. 
 distance a Haussa soldier whom I called and 
 who also joined in our efforts. But we could 
 not break or unloose the diabolical contriv- 
 ance. At last there came three Fantees, 
 released prisoners and friends of the captive ; 
 they understood the Iron and the Log, which 
 are used also in Fantee, and setting to work 
 with a knife and a stone soon set the man 
 free. There is not much one can like in the 
 Fantees ; but it was very pleasing to observe 
 how tenderly they handled their friend, how 
 they brushed the flies from his wounds, how ; 
 sweetly and soothingly they spoke, and with 
 what joy they welcomed him back to liberty 
 
COOMASSIE. 357 
 
 as the fetters and wood fell with a thud and 
 clatter on the ground. 
 
 These prisoners had been captured while 
 trading at Fomana in an interval of peace. 
 One of them was a nephew of Dawson's and 
 could speak English well enough. He served 
 me as 'valet-de-place,' and showed me the 
 sights of Coomassie. First we went to the 
 king's palace, which consists of many court- 
 yards, each surrounded with alcoves and 
 verandahs, and having two gates or doors, so 
 that^each yard was a thoroughfare. These 
 doors were secured by padlocks. An ordi- 
 nary house has one court-yard ; a large house 
 three or four; the king's palace had ten or 
 twelve. But the part of the palace fronting 
 the street was a stone house, Moorish in its 
 style, such as those that are built at Cape 
 Coast, with a flat roof and a parapet, and 
 suites of apartments on the first floor. It 
 was built by Fantee masons many years ago. 
 The rooms upstairs reminded me of Wardour 
 Street. Each was a perfect Old Curiosity 
 Shop. Books in many languages, Bohemian 
 glass, clocks, silver plate, old furniture, Persian 
 rugs, Kidderminster carpets, pictures and 
 
35 8 COOMASSIE. 
 
 engravings, numberless chests and coffers. A 
 sword bearing the inscription 'From Qtieen 
 Victoria to the King of Ashantee' A copy 
 of the ' Times/ October 17, 1843. With these 
 were many specimens of Moorish and Ash- 
 antee handicraft, gold-studded sandals such 
 as only the king and a few great chiefs may 
 wear, with, strange to say, Arabic writing on 
 the soles ; leopard-skin caps lined with 
 yellow velvet and adorned outside with 
 beaten gold like that of Cashmere, and a 
 plume of the same precious metal ; saddles 
 of red leather, magnificent canopies or state 
 umbrellas of velvet and satin, baskets or 
 cradles in which Ashantee chiefs are accus- 
 tomed to be carried on the heads of slaves, 
 with other curious and tasteful things too 
 numerous for me to describe or even cata- 
 logue. 
 
 It was now eight o'clock in the morning. 
 There were no sentries in the palace. Any- 
 one might enter, and anyone whose conscience 
 allowed him could take whatever he pleased. 
 As I passed through the court-yard at the 
 foot of the stairs I met some natives passing 
 in. I supposed them to be Fantees, and told 
 
COOMASSIE. 359 
 
 them they must not go up to the private 
 apartments. But it turned out that they 
 were Ashantees, people of the king, and they 
 said with a charming candour that they had 
 come to fetch things away. I presume that 
 this sort of thing had been going on all the 
 night. Some golden treasure was still left in 
 the palace ; how much then must have been 
 taken away ? 
 
 My friend and servant Mr. Edward Lake 
 was not much impressed by the palace. I 
 regret to say he applied the word ' rubbishy ' 
 to the contents of the private apartments and 
 said he thought that Kerrikerri (Calcalli is a 
 misnomer) was more of a king than that. 
 If I went into the palace at Kukawa (in 
 Bornu), ah, there I should see what a king 
 was like. No doubt Lake was right; the 
 kings of the Niger region can display the 
 cultivated wealth and splendour of the East. 
 
 We passed the Garden Golgotha — the 
 carrion bower where the bodies of sacrificed 
 victims are deposited ; it gave the whole 
 town an odour of death. I must now explain 
 the philosophy of human sacrifices. Among 
 most savage nations it is believed that the 
 
3 6o COOMASSIE. 
 
 body contains a ghost or spirit or soul which 
 lives after death. Some believe that this 
 ghost or soul inhabits the grave and flits 
 around its neighbourhood, and comes to its 
 old home and frequents the company of those 
 whom it formerly loved. With savages of a 
 higher type it is believed that the souls live 
 in a special world, usually supposed to be 
 under the ground, though some place it above 
 the sky. One step more and we have the 
 belief of the Persians, and some other ancient 
 nations, that there are two worlds outside the 
 earth, one of torture for the wicked, one of 
 pleasure for the good. 
 
 Now it is the belief of savages that not 
 only human bodies have souls, but also ani- 
 mals ; and not only animals, but also rivers 
 and trees and all things having movement or 
 life : and not only all things having move- 
 ment or life, but also inanimate objects — such 
 as food and palm-wine, weapons, beads, 
 articles of clothing, Willow-pattern plates, and 
 so forth. So in Western Africa when a man 
 dies food is placed by his grave, and they 
 say that the spirit of the man eats the spirit or 
 essence of the food. On the Gold Coast 
 
COOMASSIE. ' 361 
 
 the natives believe in a world below the 
 ground, a Hades or Scheol where the soul of 
 the dead dwells in a life that shall have no end. 
 They also believe that all the garments he 
 has worn out will then come to life again — a 
 resurrection of old clothes ; but besides this, 
 his relations display their affection by giving 
 him an outfit of weapons, ornaments, new 
 cloth, crockery ware, &c, so that he may des- 
 cend into Hell like' a gentleman. But who is 
 to carry these things ? and who is to look 
 after them ? Evidently his wives and his 
 slaves. So a number of these are killed to 
 keep him company; and often a slave is 
 killed some time after his death to take him a 
 message, or as an addition to his household. 
 In Dahomey this custom of sending messen- 
 gers is organised into a system. 
 
 Thus originated human sacrifice, which is, 
 granting the truth of the theory on which it is 
 based, a most rational custom. Death is dis- 
 agreeable to us because we do not know 
 where we are going ; but to the widow of a 
 chieftain it is merely a surgical operation and 
 a change of existence. That explains why 
 the Africans submit to death so quietly. A 
 
362 COOMASSIE. 
 
 woman at Akropong selected for the sacrifice . 
 was stripped according to custom but only 
 stunned not killed. She recovered her senses 
 and found herself lying on the ground sur- 
 rounded by dead bodies. She rose, went into 
 the town where the elders were seated in 
 council, and told them she had been to the 
 Land of the Dead and had been sent back 
 because she was naked. The elders must 
 dress her finely and kill her over again. This 
 accordingly was done. 1 
 
 But there is another kind of human sacri- 
 fice — the slaying of men and women as gifts 
 to the gods. In Ashantee the first form of 
 sacrifice is practised ; when one of the royal 
 family dies, slaves are killed by the hundred. 
 But I presume the bodies we found by the 
 way-side, killed to avert the invasion, were 
 gifts or bribes to the gods of the country. 
 Be that as it may, one thing is certain : human 
 sacrifices have become in Ashantee, as in 
 Dahomey, public entertainments. The sight 
 of an executioner in shaggy cap of black 
 monkey-skin— the kind used for ladies' muffs 
 
 1 This was told me by a German missionary who was 
 living at Akropong when the circumstance took place. 
 
COOMASSIE. 363 
 
 — chopping off the head of a slave is to the 
 Ashantees what the sports of the amphitheatre 
 were to the Romans, or bull-fights to the 
 Spaniards of the present day. Public execu- 
 tions in all countries draw large crowds of 
 admiring spectators, and in Ashantee this 
 penchant of the multitude has been cultivated 
 and developed into an artistic feeling. De- 
 capitation has become with them an art as 
 various as music. There are two move- 
 ments in vogue — the allegro, in which a 
 head is twirled away by a sharp knife with a 
 dexterous turn of the wrist ; and the adagio, 
 in which the head is sawn off in slow time. 
 
 According to Bowdich only persons of 
 rank are allowed to have portico verandahs 
 or alcoves fronting the street, and the first 
 thing I noticed in Coomassie was the number 
 of houses so built. This town was the Court, 
 and the residence of the nobles, each of whom 
 had a vast crowd of clients and slaves. The 
 people of the provinces belong to an inferior 
 class and are not considered pure Ashantees. 
 ' You talk of Ashantees,' said an interpreter 
 at an early period of the campaign, ' but you 
 have not seen any yet. The Ashantees are 
 
364 COOMASSIE. 
 
 all noblemen and gentlemen like the English ; 
 these people you have been fighting are like 
 the Irish and the Scotch.' 
 
 In such a verandah-alcove I took up my 
 abode in a house that fronted the market-place. 
 Soon after securing these quarters I heard a 
 great noise and found it was the master of 
 the house who complained that some one 
 had stolen his cloth. I said it was war^ 
 time and that such accidents could not be 
 helped. He laughed and said it was so. I 
 then told him I wanted to buy some fowls and 
 plantains ; if he would bring me some the 
 next morning he should be paid : ' See,' said I, 
 ' here is some money I brought with me on 
 purpose ; ' and I jingled a bag of threepenny 
 bits, and gave him one as a proof of what I 
 would do. In half an hour he returned with 
 some plantains and said it was a gift. He did 
 not come back again, but did not like to take 
 off the threepenny bit without making a return. 
 Such is Ashantee honour. Such in fact is 
 the African character. I gave him the money 
 on purpose to make sure of seeing him again. 
 
 The first was a night of fire : the second 
 a night of water. It rained heavily for many 
 
COOMASSIE. 365 
 
 hours, an unusual event at that time of year. 
 In the morning (February 6) we had to turn 
 our backs upon Coomassie. The palace was 
 blown up and the town set in a blaze. The 
 regiments bivouacked again on the Ordah, 
 and again it was a rainy night. The General 
 and his Staff went on to Ingimmamu. The 
 rear-guard destroyed all villages. 
 
 I pushed on down to the Coast. Amoa- 
 ful I found levelled to the ground with 
 a stockaded fort in its midst. So it was 
 with Fomana, which had been attacked by the 
 Adansis. They had got right into the town 
 and set some of the houses on fire, hoping to 
 burn the garrison out The hospital was in 
 some danger ; the sick were armed and main- 
 tained its defence ; some of them fell back 
 fainting after they had fired. But the repulse 
 was complete. , 
 
 Parties of marauders had also infested cer- 
 tain parts of the road, and had shot carriers, 
 engineer labourers, a soldier of the 2nd 
 West, and others. This was because the 
 villages on the flanks had not been destroyed. 
 The 1 st West Indian regiment and 250 of 
 the 23rd regiment had been ordered up and 
 
366 COOMASSIE, 
 
 were useful in keeping the road open and safe. 
 It is much to be lamented that these regi- 
 ments did not accompany the invading force, 
 as at one time there were not enough troops 
 to serve as escort to convoys and to garrison 
 efficiently the posts along the road. Convoys 
 were delayed and Fomana had a narrow 
 escape. I found that the telegraph had been 
 brought as far as Akrofum, twenty miles 
 on the Ashantee side of the Prah. It was 
 of great service in the Expedition. 
 
 Captain Butler and Captain Dalrymple 
 both passed me on their way to the General. 
 Captain Dalrymple had been unable to move 
 the Wassaws across the frontier, and when he 
 travelled with the king and a few warriors 
 through the country, the rural Wassaws fearing 
 ' requisitions,' drove off their sheep and con- 
 cealed their fowls, plantains, &c. Captain Butler 
 had been many weeks in Western Akim. 
 Little by little he had succeeded in persuad- 
 ing the king and 2,000 men to follow him 
 into Ashantee territory. They took some 
 villages, and on the day of Amoaful were near 
 enough to the battle-field to hear the sound 
 of the firing like distant thunder in the air. 
 
COOMASSIE. 367 
 
 Butler intended to join the main body next 
 day ; but now an extraordinary panic seized 
 the Akims. They insisted on going back 
 across the Prah. Butler made an eloquent 
 speech, but even as he was speaking the men 
 were going off. To have attempted forcible 
 measures, such as I have heard recommended, 
 to have arrested the king and pointed a re- 
 volver at his head, would have been useless. 
 The officers had not a single man on whom 
 they could rely. They were therefore obliged 
 to go back. The party consisted of Captains 
 Butler, Brabazon, and Paget, Lieutenant Mac- 
 gregor, and Surgeon Low. For several days 
 not one of them smiled, or made a good- 
 natured remark of any kind ; and it certainly 
 was most mortifying to be so near success, 
 and then to be thrown back into failure by 
 these useless savages. 
 
 In point of strategy it appears to me that 
 these native columns were a mistake. In the 
 first place, the Wassaws and Western Akims 
 would have been more useful as Carriers than 
 as fighting-men; but placing that aside, of 
 what use could be two native mobs marching, 
 from different points into Ashantee? No doubt 
 
3 68 COOMASSIE. 
 
 there is something captivating in the idea of 
 several simultaneous invasions ; but after all 
 it is mere clap-trap, and will not bear examina- 
 tion. A weak auxiliary force may be of use 
 if added to the main body, but can be of no: 
 use if separated from it. One of two things 
 must happen. Either it will not draw a large 
 body from the enemy, in which case it might 
 as well be at home ; or it will draw a large 
 body, and in that case would be destroyed. 
 •Sir Garnet Wolseley in his despatches has 
 asserted that the Wassaws drew off the people 
 of Becqua, and the Western Akims the people 
 of Kokofo. There is no evidence whatever 
 to support such an assertion. The Akims 
 were within ten miles of Amoaful and did 
 not encounter any large force. The Wassaws 
 did not invade. Such statements are very 
 ingenious, but will not do for an old African. .: 
 Had the army been accompanied by a 
 force of Wassaws and Akims, they might have 
 been useful in destroying villages upon the 
 flanks, and plundering plantations. That is 
 the only way to utilise native allies. They 
 should not be officered by Europeans, but 
 allowed -to fight in their own fashion. They 
 should not be fed, and therefore would be 
 
COOMASSIE. 369 
 
 forced to scour the country. They would 
 run away whenever they met anything resem- 
 bling opposition, but that would not do any 
 harm. Sir Garnet's method was the worst that 
 •could be conceived. His main body was quite 
 strong enough to fight all the Ashantees in 
 the kingdom ; and by dangling a weak body 
 of men as a bait to draw off a part of the 
 Ashantee army, he imperilled the lives of the 
 officers employed. It is pleasant to read the 
 praise he accords not only to Butler, his friend, 
 but also to Captain Dalrymple ; but there is 
 nothing else pleasant in the affair. 
 
 Lieutenant the Hon. H. Wood, A.D.C., 
 was sent home as special messenger with 
 despatches announcing the Fall of Coomassie. 
 He travelled day and night, relays being 
 provided at all the posts along the route, and 
 was of course the first to arrive at Cape 
 Coast ; I was the second, reaching that town 
 before daybreak on the 12th, having made 
 the trip from Coomassie in less than six days. 
 Mr. Stanley, who raced me hard, was a good 
 third, arriving that same afternoon. Next 
 came the Commodore and Major Baker of the 
 
 B B 
 
37 o COOMASSIE. 
 
 Staff, to make arrangements for the re- 
 embarkation of the troops. 
 
 Well, it was all over, and the Expedition 
 might, on the whole, be considered a success. 
 The Ashantees had been defeated in two 
 pitched battles ; the king was a fugitive, his 
 capital destroyed. Yet still the success was 
 incomplete. Every officer with whom I con- 
 versed expressed a sense of disappointment. 
 The king had not capitulated, and had not 
 paid an ounce of gold. Thousands of armed 
 men were still in the field, and it must be 
 owned that, if they had attacked us on the 
 way home, it would have unpleasantly resem- 
 bled a retreat. What indeed is a retreat, 
 but a compulsory return ? and on account of 
 his supplies Sir Garnet Wolseley was com- 
 pelled to return in haste, to the prejudice of 
 the Expedition. He had won the victory, 
 but could not stay to gather its results. He 
 was like a boy who spends the afternoon in 
 thrashing down walnuts, and then has not 
 time to pick them up. I comforted myself 
 with the reflection that the Ashantees at all 
 events had been thoroughly thrashed, and 
 
COOMASSIE. 371 
 
 that Coomassie had been burnt. These were 
 facts that they would not forget in our gene- 
 ration. 
 
 As I was out walking in the street, the 
 
 day of my arrival, I met Mrs. H , who 
 
 belonged to the party of Elmina, and was 
 suspected of Ashantee proclivities. She 
 swept along, dressed in all the colours of the 
 rainbow, and followed by a slave girl dressed 
 entirely in black — a becoming kind of apparel, 
 which washed very well, but could never be 
 changed; so I leave my readers to guess. 
 
 the material. ' Well,' said Mrs. H , ' what 
 
 news ? ' ' We have burnt Coomassie,' said I, 
 with a radiant face. Have you caught the 
 king ? ' 'No, your fine king ran off into the 
 bush.' * Have you made him pay any 
 money ? ' ' No, but we cleared out his palace.' 
 ' Ha ! ha ! ' said she, shrugging her shoulders, 
 ' that is no good ; the Ashantees will come 
 down again ; what does the king care about 
 some men being killed ; ' then she gave a 
 shrill laugh, drew her shawl over shoulders, 
 and we,nt off highly delighted. 
 
 I did not agree with my friend Mrs. 
 
 BB 2 
 
372 COOMASSIE. 
 
 H . The king, of course, did not care 
 
 about some of his men being killed ; but the 
 men themselves did not like it. After all, the 
 army was based on the voluntary system, and 
 the king could not make his subjects undertake 
 a war unless the war was popular. Now the 
 Ashantees, though a brave people, are not 
 like European soldiers ; they do not love 
 fighting for fighting's sake. They receive 
 no pay, and fight in the hope of plunder. 
 They had now been taught that on this 
 side of the Prah were a people who could 
 always defeat them in battle, and who, if they 
 chose to garrison a village, could make it 
 impregnable. I believed that Sir Garnet had 
 attained the main object of the expedition — 
 namely, the securing of the Protectorate from 
 periodical invasion. Yet still I wished his 
 success had been more definite and more 
 complete. 
 
 Suddenly news arrived that the king had 
 sent after Sir Garnet, asked for the treaty to 
 sign, and paid a thousand ounces of gold, 
 chiefly in ornaments, showing that the treasury 
 was bare. What could have induced Calcalli 
 
COOMASSIE. 373, 
 
 to make such a sacrifice when Sir Garnet had 
 already done his worst, and would in a few 
 days have been out of Ashantee ? That shall 
 be explained in the following chapter. 
 
374 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 When the hero of this chapter was a lieu- 
 tenant in the navy he distinguished himself 
 by surveying the Niger, and took part in 
 more than one expedition up that important 
 and interesting river. He had to encounter 
 the well-known hostility of the natives, 
 was several times in action, and received a 
 wound. Having lost his steamer on a rock 
 near the Confluence, he spent much time in 
 the interior, and became friends with the 
 celebrated Massaba, a warrior king of the 
 Felatahs. Accompanied by Haussa slaves 
 and others, he travelled overland from the 
 Confluence to Lagos ; other Haussas from 
 Lagos joined his followers (I suppose they 
 were runaway slaves), and with Glover's as- 
 sistance founded a town. Hence he was 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 375 
 
 ■called ' The Father of the Haussas.' Being 
 afterwards appointed Governor of Lagos, he 
 enlisted, with Massaba's assistance, a number 
 of Haussas, formed them into a body of 
 armed police, and was soon able to assure 
 the Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 that he no longer required West Indian 
 troops. This service alone entitles Captain 
 Glover to a high reward. He greatly im- 
 proved, and indeed transformed the town of 
 Lagos, and gained long ago a high reputation 
 on the Coast for his energy and zeal. But 
 Lagos is not without its troubles, and Glover, 
 it is said, adopted the wrong policy. It was 
 at all events the wrong policy for him, as he 
 was recalled ; and Lord Kimberley promised 
 Captain Glover's opponents that he should 
 never visit Lagos again. I have already ex- 
 plained how it was that he came into contact 
 with the Gold Coast. That government 
 baving no steamer, Sir Arthur Kennedy 
 borrowed Glover's services and colonial 
 .steamer when he went up the Volta in 1868, 
 and made a treaty with the Awoonas and the 
 Aquamoos. In 1870 Captain Glover and his 
 steamer were again borrowed — this time by 
 
376 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 the Administrator of the Gold Coast — to- 
 punish a violation of the treaty. Thus it 
 will be seen that Captain Glover's African 
 experience had been acquired in the countries 
 adjoining Lagos and the Niger. He knew 
 nothing of the Gold Coast, excepting the 
 Volta, and there he had spent but a short 
 time. With the Haussas and Yorubas (the 
 people who live behind Lagos) his name was 
 ' strong,' his power unbounded ; but he had 
 no special influence among the tribes in the 
 eastern districts of the Gold Coast. How- 
 ever, the Africans are much alike, and the 
 man who has succeeded with one set of tribes 
 is likely to succeed with another. At all 
 events Glover was not unknown ; he had 
 commanded the ' smoke-ship ' at the Battle of 
 Duffo. When the Ashantee War was begin- 
 ning to engage the serious attention of the 
 Government, Captain Glover proposed to raise 
 the eastern tribes of the" Gold Coast, and with 
 a nucleus of Yorubas and Haussas to invade 
 Ashantee. Lord Kimberley accepted his 
 offer, gave him the appointment of Special 
 Commissioner, furnished him with stores, 
 money, and arms, and by arrangement with 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 2 7T 
 
 the War Office and the Admiralty allowed 
 him to select certain officers, viz., Mr. Golds- 
 worthy, Colonial Secretary on the Gold Coast, 
 now made Deputy Commissioner, and second 
 in command ; Captain Sartorius, 6th Bengal 
 Cavalry; Lieutenant Larcom, R.N. ; Lieu- 
 tenants Cameron and Barnard, 19th regiment ; 
 Lieutenant Moore, R.N. ; Surgeon-major Rowe, 
 P.M.O., Gold Coast ; Drs; Bale and Parke, 
 R.N. ; Assistant-Commissary Blissett ; Sub- 
 Lieutenant Ponsonby, R.N. 
 
 It was, I believe, Captain Glover's original 
 scheme to invade Ashantee by the Volta. 
 That river was known to be navigable by 
 small steamers as far only as the rapids of 
 Kpong ; but he hoped to navigate it above 
 that point with steam launches. There is a 
 great town called Salgha on the upper waters 
 of the river; the people were said to be 
 enemies of Ashantee, and he had some idea 
 of inducing them also to join the invasion- 
 He relied on the Akims, Kreepees, Crbboes, 
 Aquapims, and Accras ; but he also thought it 
 possible to wean the Aquamoos from the Ash- 
 antee alliance. This, in the first place, seemed 
 to me quite impracticable ; it had first to be 
 
378 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 proved to the Aquamoos that the English 
 were a stronger people than the Ashantees. 
 The scheme of Salgha and the Upper Volta 
 appeared to me wild and fanciful ; few, if any 
 African rivers are more than mere torrents 
 above the first rapids, and no one knew any- 
 thing about Salgha and its people. I had no. 
 doubt that Glover would leave the Volta at 
 Kpong, in which case, what was the use of 
 the Volta at all ? Kpong was not much 
 nearer to Coomassie than Accra, and Accra 
 was a true base, an English settlement ; while 
 Kpong would be merely a secondary base, in 
 fact, a wayside dep6t, which would have to 
 be supplied with all things from Addah. 
 
 There were many fallacies involved in 
 Glover's expedition. One was that the 
 eastern route to Coomassie, though longer than 
 that from Cape Coast Castle and other points, . 
 was the best, because it passed through an 
 open country. This I always denied. It is 
 true that Accra is situated in a. plain, and 
 that the Volta in its lower course flows through 
 -an open country ; but from whichever side 
 Coomassie is approached, a vast forest has to 
 be traversed. I always maintained that the 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 379 
 
 best road to Coomassie was the shortest and 
 the most frequented. That was the Cape 
 Coast Castle route ; but there was a trading 
 road from Coomassie to Accra, leading 
 through Aquapim and Akim, and this I 
 thought was the best for an eastern expedi- 
 tion. Striking out a new route is interesting 
 for a geographical explorer, but too experi- 
 mental for the leader of an army. 
 
 As for the scheme itself — the project of 
 invading Ashantee with an army composed 
 of various tribes commanded by a few Euro- 
 peans — the opinions I have already expressed 
 with regard to a Fantee army, apply with equal 
 force to the tribes of the eastern districts. 
 Glover's experience at Duffo seems to have 
 made him believe he could do great things 
 with the natives. Such was not the impres- 
 sion made upon me. The attack upon Duffo 
 was a trifling operation, resembling that of 
 Essaman ; yet it had not been accomplished 
 without much dispute and delay. The 
 natives fought well enough when the fighting 
 actually began, but it was plainly to be seen 
 that the chiefs were jealous of one another, 
 and not always inclined to accept English 
 
380 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 arbitration ; that their men were a wild herd ; 
 that a victory was followed by frantic anarchy, 
 I believed that whatever a white man could 
 do with such materials would be done by 
 Captain Glover, who has much tact, -and 
 whose energy is not to be surpassed ; but I 
 did not believe that he or anyone else could 
 conquer an Ashantee army with such a con- 
 fused and various mob. However, he had a 
 regiment of disciplined Haussas and Yorubas 
 on whom he could rely. 
 
 It was not till after Glover's appointment 
 that Her Majesty's Government decided to 
 make it a national war. Accordingly Sir 
 G. Wolseley was appointed commander-in- 
 chief, and Captain Glover was placed under 
 his orders. At the same time it was under- 
 stood that Glover would retain to some extent 
 an independent command. For instance, Sir 
 Garnet could not very well have super- 
 seded Glover, or meddled with minor details. 
 Glover would make reports to Sir Garnet ; 
 but he was really the servant of the Colonial 
 Office, while Sir G. Wolseley, though sending 
 despatches as Administrator to Lord Kimber- 
 ley, was the servant of the War Office. It 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 381 
 
 must be confessed that this was a curious 
 arrangement, and the two expeditions were 
 actually rivals. 
 
 Captain Glover has indignantly denied 
 that there was any want of cordiality 
 between Sir Garnet and himself. I do 
 not say there was any want of cordiality ; 
 "but I am certain of this — that they both 
 wished each other at the devil. They did 
 not entertain these kindly sentiments as man 
 to man, but as commander to commander; 
 and it could not well be otherwise. For 
 Glover began his work as commander-in-chief 
 with no one to give him orders excepting 
 Lord Kimberley. All of a sudden he finds 
 another man placed over his head. This was 
 not agreeable. On the other hand, Sir G. 
 Wolseley was appointed to the supreme 
 military command and conduct of the Ashan- 
 tee War ; but he finds another commander 
 operating against the enemy, and his relations 
 to that commander are undefined and obscure. 
 He was appointed Governor of the Gold 
 Coast ; but a vast region of the Gold Coast 
 is ' taboo ; ' he cannot enlist fighting-men or 
 carriers without poaching on Glover's pre- 
 
382 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 serves. And supposing that Glover made a 
 dash at. Coomassie while Sir Garnet was 
 waiting for the regiments and the Ashantee 
 army was in the Protectorate ! If the move- 
 ment was successful, people would say, ' Sir 
 G. Wolseley, the famous general, did not dare 
 to invade Ashantee without European troops ; 
 but Glover took Coomassie with an army of 
 natives and a few officers.' If Glover were 
 repulsed, the Ashantees would have been 
 encouraged, and Sir Garnet's difficulties 
 mightily increased. It is quite certain that 
 the cordial Glover and his officers intended 
 to be first into Coomassie if they could. I 
 have heard that one of them drew up a plan 
 of the town with various quarters assigned to 
 the 20,000 Akims, the 10,000 Accras, &c, &c. ; 
 while up in one corner was a small group of 
 houses with an inscription underneath, ' For 
 the Cape Coast contingent when they arrive! 
 However, they did not find it such easy 
 marching as they supposed, and could never 
 have reached Coomassie at all had it not been 
 for the European regiments, any more than 
 Sir Garnet could have reached it with only 
 his native regiments and native allies. 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 383 
 
 Captain Glover commenced operations by- 
 dealing out with a liberal hand, money, 
 muskets, and rum. He soon collected a con- 
 siderable army. But now he was informed 
 by the Accras and friendly tribes upon the 
 Volta that they could not think of invading* 
 Ashantee until they had crushed the Awoo- 
 nas and Aquamoos, who, if they were left 
 untouched, would cross over the Volta and 
 ravage the country. 
 
 It cannot be denied that Glover was 
 placed in a difficult position. He had some- 
 what incautiously expended large sums of 
 money in advance, and the natives had the 
 game in their hands. If he declined the 
 Trans- Volta campaign, the Accras, Kroboes, 
 and Kreepees might not join him at all. He 
 therefore agreed to their request. He did 
 not bear in mind that an African war is like 
 a suit in Chancery ; no one can tell how long 
 it will last, but it may be safely inferred it 
 will last a long time. Now he knew that his 
 time was short, and so should have left the 
 Awoonas alone. Or he might have adopted 
 a middle course. I heard from a native 
 source, as early as October, that the Accras 
 
.384 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 had no intention of invading Ashantee. They 
 said that it was too far ; besides, they lived in 
 an open plain, and did not understand fighting 
 in the bush. It would have been better if 
 Glover had given up the Accras, as far as 
 Ashantee was concerned, and employed them 
 to garrison the banks of the Volta. Some 
 have attempted to justify the Trans- Volta 
 campaign. Aquamoo and Awoonah, it was 
 said, were Ashantee provinces, their armies 
 commanded by Ashantee captains, their ports, 
 Quitta and Jella Coffee, supplying Ashantee 
 with powder and arms. The same might be 
 said of the districts Chamah, Axim, and other 
 western settlements ; but that would not have 
 justified Sir Garnet in frittering away his time 
 in petty operations against those allies of 
 Ashantee. The way to make war is to strike 
 at the heart and the head ; when once Coo- 
 massie was destroyed, all opposition at a dis- 
 tance would cease. There can be but one 
 apology for Glover's Trans-Volta movements, 
 namely, that they were forced upon him by 
 the natives ; but he should have showed more 
 firmness, and not turned from the Ashantee 
 campaign even for a moment. 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 385 
 
 He thought no doubt that in a few weeks 
 with a sweep of his hand, so to speak, he 
 could crush the Awoonas and Aquamoos, and 
 then push on to Ashantee. But he had to 
 deal with Africans. He went to Addah and 
 there formed a camp. Week followed week 
 and nothing was done. The Accras were 
 not ready. At last they . took the field, and 
 the Trans- Volta campaign commenced just 
 after Christmas Day. When Captain Glover 
 intended to. march upon Coomassie it is diffi- 
 cult to say. He seems to have been sur- 
 prised when a despatch came from Sir Garnet 
 ordering him to give up the Awoonas as a 
 matter of secondary importance, to march at 
 once to the Prah, and to cross it on January 
 15 with whatever forces he could muster. 
 As Sir Garnet intended himself to cross the 
 Prah on the 15 th, and hoped to reach Coo- 
 massie in ten days after that date, it is evident 
 that he left Captain Glover alone as long as 
 he could, and that if Glover was to go to 
 Coomassie at all, he must start at once. He 
 summoned the native chiefs, read them the 
 despatch, said that the General's orders must 
 be obeyed, and called upon them to follow him 
 c c 
 
3 86 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 to the Prah. The chiefs replied that the 
 Awoona war was of more importance than 
 invading Ashantee, and they refused to go. 
 The truth is they had wanted from the first 
 to make war on Awoona, and not to make 
 war on Ashantee. They had therefore utilised 
 Glover. He had been paying them money, 
 giving them powder and arms, and assisting 
 them with his steamers and Haussa contingent, 
 not to carry out his wishes but their own. It 
 is much to Captain Glover's credit that he did 
 not hesitate to obey his orders, and this 
 fidelity gained him his reward. He crossed 
 the Prah on the appointed day with some- 
 thing less than a thousand Yorubas and 
 Haussas, and took the village Obogo. There 
 he was forced to remain some days, waiting 
 for stores, ammunition, and reinforcements ; 
 for without a larger force it would have been 
 imprudent to venture further into the country. 
 At last he was joined by some Croboes and 
 Akims, and he pushed on to the banks of a 
 river called the Anum. There he had a 
 skirmish, routed the enemy, and broke up a 
 camp. But he was not opposed in force ; and 
 this was fortunate, for the Akims would not 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 387 
 
 fight. However, they were useful in plunder- 
 ing plantations and destroying small villages. 
 There were two Christian companies, converts 
 of the Basle Mission, who attended prayers 
 -every day to the ringing of a bell, and fought 
 bravely enough. Captain Glover's orders 
 were to march on Juabin, the second city of 
 the kingdom ; but it seems he was not strong 
 -enough to do so. His attempts to open up 
 communication with Butler were not attended 
 with success. He was still on the Anum 
 river when two Haussa runaway slaves 
 brought him the news of the taking of Coo- 
 massie. He then pushed on, meeting with 
 no opposition, and arrived at a village which 
 was, as he supposed, seven miles from Coo- 
 massie. He sent Captain Sartorius with 
 twenty Haussas to join the General and 
 receive his orders. Sartorius rode seven 
 miles. The country now became populous. 
 There were many villages. All the people 
 ran away as he approached; in one village 
 only a man fired at him. Night came on and 
 Sartorius bivouacked upon the way. The 
 seven miles were really fourteen. The next 
 morning he was told that the king and his 
 cc 2 
 
388 CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 young men were weeping over the ruins of 
 Coomassie and raging for revenge. On rode 
 the brave Sartorius. He came to Coomassie, 
 and passed through the still smoking ruins of 
 the town. No one was there, excepting two 
 Haussa slaves searching for plunder. They 
 told him the white men were one village on 
 ahead. Sartorius rode and rode, passing the 
 ashes of village after village, and seeing no one 
 but a wounded man by the way-side. Finally 
 he found the General at Fomana. Such was 
 the famous march of Sartorius — fifty-one miles 
 with only twenty men through the heart of 
 the enemy's country. 
 
 While he was at Fomana the Chief of 
 Adansi (who had been much oppressed by the 
 king) requested permission of Sir Garnet to 
 migrate into the Protectorate. This was 
 accorded. It was rumoured that the Chief of 
 Becqua had a similar desire. The Chief of 
 Juabin tendered his submission. Messengers 
 came in from the king begging Sir Garnet to 
 stop Glover's advance, and promising to pay 
 a thousand ounces of gold as first instalment 
 of the indemnity. Sir Garnet would not de- 
 tain the regiments ; but courageously remained 
 
CAPTAIN GLOVER. 389 
 
 at Fomana with the native troops. In four 
 days the gold was brought, with a request that 
 the treaty should be sent to the king. It 
 was signed and sent to Cape Coast about a 
 month afterwards. In the meantime Captain 
 Glover followed up Sartorius, passed through 
 Coomassie, and went down to Cape Coast. 
 Just as the king had sent after Sir Garnet 
 begging him to stop Glover, so he sent after 
 Glover with a present of gold on a salver, 
 -asking him to send home the King of Akim 
 and about two thousand of his men who had 
 been left at some village on the road. Cap- 
 tain Glover sent back the gold, but complied 
 with the request. However, he afterwards 
 beard that the Chief of Juabin had invited the 
 King of Akim to his town to discuss the mi- 
 gration of the former to Akim. So it seemed 
 that the Ashantee kingdom was about to be 
 dissolved. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that Captain Glover's 
 Expedition completed the work which 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley had been forced to 
 leave in an unfinished state. Without 
 Captain Glover, the Commander-in-Chief 
 "would not have taken home either treaty 
 
390 ' CAPTAIN GLOVER. 
 
 or gold. He has reason therefore to rejoice 
 that he ordered Glover up to the Prah ; 
 while on the other hand Glover should be 
 grateful to Sir Garnet ; for had he been left 
 to his own devices on the Volta, he would have 
 had no share in the glories of the Ashantee 
 Campaign. 
 
39' 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 In this work I have applied to Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley's brilliant success that searching- 
 kind of criticism which is usually reserved 
 for undertakings that have failed. I have not 
 glossed over or palliated a single error which 
 he committed during the campaign. The ap- 
 plication for a railway — the concerted and 
 disconcerted movements in the bush — the 
 weakness displayed at Abrakrampa — the 
 inflated Proclamation — the neglect of the 
 Transport — the Sarmatian telegram — the 
 sacrifice of Captain Nicol — the various errors 
 in diplomacy — the vacillation at Coomassie — 
 all these have been fully examined and ex- 
 posed. I shall be charged with errors of 
 judgment, but at least my judgment has not 
 been affected by any prejudice of a personal 
 
392 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 kind. No one can be acquainted, however 
 slightly, with Sir Garnet Wolseley and desire to 
 attack him. I must also observe that in many 
 cases I have not expressed my own isolated 
 opinion but the opinion of the army. It may 
 be said that I have given undue space and 
 prominence to the errors of the General; to 
 which I reply that these errors if treated in 
 detail may serve as warnings to other com- 
 manders. It may pain Sir Garnet to be 
 accused of having sacrificed Nicol, but the 
 revelation of the fact may save other men's 
 lives ; and Sir Garnet in this case does not 
 deserve that the truth should be concealed, as 
 he at Ordahsu repeated the order which had 
 already borne fatal fruit. In cases of civil 
 tumult at home, it is better that soldiers should 
 be killed while the Riot Act is being read 
 than that an attack should be made pre- 
 maturely on a crowd. But when a general 
 invades an enemy's country, and that enemy 
 a nation of savages noted for their treachery, 
 he is guilty of actual wrong if he orders his 
 men to seek contact with . the enemy, nay, 
 even to seize a village, yet not to fire unless 
 attacked. Generals who give such orders 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN* 393 
 
 should walk in front of the column and see 
 how they like being face to face with a band 
 of savages who have not quite made up their 
 mind whether they shall fire a volley or not. 
 Then as to the transport question, what I 
 have said may serve to warn generals that 
 this is a ' detail ' which in such expeditions 
 requires their personal attention. Anyone 
 reading Sir Garnet's despatches would sup- 
 pose that the Transport had at one time given 
 him some trouble, but that he had triumphed 
 over the difficulty, and that it was the bad 
 weather which made him run into Coomassie 
 and out again like a ferret in a rabbit-hole. 
 That is the way history is written ; but I have 
 shown how Sir Garnet's early neglect of 
 the Transport vitiated the whole expedition, 
 delayed the regiments on the march, caused 
 some sickness, deprived the army of troops 
 which were afterwards urgently required, and 
 finally hastened the return from Coomassie, 
 making it almost resemble a retreat. It is for 
 the good of the service that this break-down 
 •of the Control should not be passed over ; and 
 I believe it will be found that the more closely 
 the combatant and commissariat departments 
 
394 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 are united, the more efficient an army will be. 
 I have seen enough to convince me that the 
 art of providing food for an army is not less, 
 difficult than the art of manoeuvring an army in 
 the field, and not less essential to success against 
 the enemy. I am inclined to believe that a 
 commander-in-chief will always be deficient 
 unless he has had some practical experience 
 in matters of transport and supply ; or at least 
 he ought to know as much of general principles 
 in that department as of general principles in 
 engineering and artillery. 
 
 It is also my duty to bring more into 
 relief than I have hitherto done the achieve- 
 ments of General Wolseley and the high 
 qualities which he displayed. The difficulties 
 under which he was placed at the outset of 
 the Campaign were of a most strange and 
 complex character. In the Abyssinian Cam- 
 paign Sir Robert Napier knew from the first 
 what he had to do. He had to carry an army 
 to a place called Magdala in Abyssinia. The 
 enterprise was difficult, but it was not ambig- 
 uous. On the other hand, Sir Garnet, who 
 on account of the climate had much less time 
 at his disposal, was sent out to the Gold Coast 
 to look about him and see what was best to 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN,, 395 
 
 be done. He was not to ask for European 
 troops if he could help it ; he was not to invade 
 Ashantee if he could help it ; he was not to 
 burn Coomassie if he could help it. That is 
 what he calls being ' untrammelled by instruc- 
 tions,' Had he been sent out purely as a 
 general to make war against the Ashantees, 
 and to wring the neck of that power if he 
 could, no doubt he would have fixed his mind 
 from the first upon Coomassie, and devoted 
 himself to the Transport and the Road. He 
 knew when he first arrived that he might go 
 to Coomassie, and probably would, and there- 
 fore it behoved him to make preparations. 
 But it is not in human nature to throw one- 
 self heart and soul into probabilities. It was 
 this uncertainty as to what his future move-: 
 ments would be which embarrassed and 
 weakened Sir Garnet as a general. Added 
 to which it was not an ordinary war. He 
 always seemed afraid of doing too much ; he 
 feared public opinion, which when he left 
 England was languidly hostile to the war ; he 
 did not understand that public opinion had 
 changed in the course of the war, for the 
 British people, though averse to begin a 
 
396 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 combat, like to fight it out : when once arms 
 have clashed and blood has been spilt they 
 want no parleyings. But Sir Garnet was 
 led by his instructions to regard the Ashan- 
 tees, not as a foreign enemy, but rather as 
 Maoris and Caffres ; natives who had rebelled, 
 not without justification, and were not to be 
 ■conquered too completely. 
 
 It is not therefore just to institute a com- 
 parison between the Abyssinian and Ashantee 
 Campaigns ; but when the regiments had come 
 out, and Sir Garnet had determined that he 
 would take them to Coomassie, he displayed 
 high talents for organisation and command. 
 In no campaign have British soldiers suffered 
 so few privations. Despite the Transport 
 difficulty, there was not a day in which they 
 received anything short of their rations except- 
 ing in the dash upon Coomassie ; and so 
 liberal were the rations that it was but a slight 
 privation to make four days' rations do for 
 five. The man who fell out of the ranks from 
 sickness had never to wait long for a hammock 
 and a doctor, and was soon housed in a hos- 
 pital hut. From Cape Coast Castle almost 
 to Coomassie a good road had been made, 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 397- 
 
 and at intervals of eight or ten miles were 
 comfortable camps, or fortified posts, contain- 
 ing stores and medical comforts, and capable 
 of resisting an Ashantee army. The postal 
 service was admirably arranged ; letters tra- 
 velled at the uniform rate of four miles an 
 hour. It took no more than a day and a half 
 for the mail-bag to travel from Cape Coast 
 Castle to Coomassie. But as it is more diffi- 
 cult to describe health than disease, so it is 
 more difficult to define excellence than to 
 indicate error. The success of Sir Garnet can 
 best be explained by negatives. He never 
 exposed his troops to hunger or needless ex- 
 posure ; he never allowed any quantity of 
 stores to fall into the enemy's hands ; in battle 
 he never was in want of ammunition, though 
 its expenditure was always extravagant ; to 
 sum up all in one phrase, during five active 
 months he never suffered a disaster. 
 
 It is impossible to praise too highly the 
 conduct of officers and men in the Expedition. 
 Many officers were of necessity precluded 
 from going to the front, and it was this cause 
 alone which produced anger and bitterness 
 during the Campaign. One officer threatened, 
 
398 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 if he was ordered back, to send in his papers 
 and go on as a civilian. Another engaged in 
 the Transport disobeyed orders that he might 
 be ' in ' at the taking of Coomassie. Some 
 went almost crazy with rage and disappoint- 
 ment. Many volunteered to serve as non- 
 commissioned officers in the native regiments. 
 Sub-Lieutenant Bradshaw, R.N., concealed 
 the illness of which he died, and would not 
 at first seek medical attendance, fearing to 
 be put in hospital. That was not the only 
 case of the kind. The men showed a similar 
 spirit. When there was the dead-lock in the 
 transport, the Highlanders volunteered to 
 -convey loads from Mansu to Sutah, and the 
 Rifles imitated their example. The 23rd 
 were especially keen. I have seen more than 
 once a sick man by the way-side, with haggard 
 face and exhausted eyes, begging and praying 
 that he might not be sent to the rear. ' I can 
 go on, sir ; indeed I can go on if I rest here a 
 little while.' The Naval Brigade was always 
 full of merriment and joy. There was an utter 
 absence of disorder, crime, or insubordination. 
 Though the soldiers clearly did not like fight- 
 ing in the bush, and were always looking 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 399 
 
 forward ' to get them in the clear,' they all 
 behaved admirably. For my own part I shall 
 never forget that day when on the slopes of 
 Amoaful I fought side by side with the 
 soldiers in the ranks, and I shall always think 
 ■of the Black Watch with a kind of affection. 
 
 The Staff and Special Service Officers 
 who went out with Sir Garnet in the ' Ambriz,' 
 •or who followed in the next steamer, are en- 
 titled to the highest praise of all. They were 
 the pioneers. Some died, some were inva- 
 lided home, and nearly all of them had 
 suffered much from the climate before the 
 march to Coomassie began. They created 
 native regiments and native artillery, and 
 made the Queen's highway to the Prah. 
 Fortified posts sprang up under their hands. 
 They fought the enemy at a disadvantage. 
 Wood, Russell, Home, and Rait, with their 
 young officers, went into the interior soon 
 after their arrival on the Coast, and remained 
 there till Coomassie had been taken. Similar 
 work was achieved, and similar privations 
 were endured, by the little band of English 
 officers attached to Glover's Expedition. 
 
 On February 19th, Sir Garnet entered 
 
4oo THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, passing under a trium- 
 phal arch erected by the merchants and the 
 natives. The Fantee women painted them- 
 selves white, and waved green branches, sing- 
 ing hymns of welcome and triumph. As the 
 troops came in morning after morning, the 
 women received them, saluting the soldiers, 
 the carriers, and the hammocks of the 
 wounded. The native regiments were paid 
 off and were sent back to their homes. Some 
 of the Bonnys and Ophoboes were seen 
 strutting about the streets in ladies' hats 
 with feathers, and patent leather boots. In a 
 few days the great troop-ships steamed off, 
 and becames specks on the horizon ; Cape 
 Coast Castle resumed its ordinary aspect. 
 But the telegraph still connected that town 
 with Prahsu, which was garrisoned by the ist 
 West. 
 
 As I sat in my little room with my face 
 turned towards Europe, and wrote my last 
 letter to the ' Times,' with what joy I bade 
 adieu to the scenes of the campaign — its days 
 of monotony and weariness — its sickness and 
 anxiety. The episodes which I have selected 
 to describe in this book did not fill the same 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 401 
 
 space in our lives. The days of excitement 
 were few and far between. I had to pass 
 weeks of inaction, and was always haunted by 
 the fear that, when the long-hoped-for time 
 should arrive, sickness would prevent me 
 from -reaching Coomassie. But now all was 
 done, all fear of failure at an end, and I 
 strove to forget the Forest, and to think only 
 of the Land beyond the Sea. For all the 
 pictures of the Forest that came back to my 
 mind were sombre and sad. Great gloomy 
 trees shedding darkness ; creepers coiled 
 round them like serpents ; fungi feeding on 
 their flesh ; pools of green water ; sloughs of 
 black mud, yielding, when stirred with the 
 foot, a sickening stench. And then I saw, 
 as in a dream, long lines of dark figures toil- 
 ing wearily with burdens on their heads, 
 and dead bodies lying by the path, and wan- 
 faced soldiers by the wayside, waiting for the 
 hammock ambulance, and the man with the 
 red cross upon his arm. 
 
 But now when I look back upon the 
 Past other scenes rise also before me. I 
 see the bright bivouac fire, and faces lit up 
 with a ruddy glow, and the rough table, and 
 
 D D 
 
402 THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 bottles upon it containing the rations of rum, 
 and the barrel hospitably proffered as a seat. 
 I remember those pleasant conversations 
 under the night-sky of Africa. I remember 
 the days of honourable toil. Friends and 
 companions of the bush, from most of you I 
 parted without the farewell shake of the 
 hand : let me give it you here. Our ways 
 in life are different ; many of you I shall 
 never see again. But I shall follow your 
 fortunes with interest, and doubt not I shall 
 see them crowned with distinction, such as 
 your Seniors have already obtained. Brave 
 in battle, cheerful in hardship, patient in 
 sickness — such I can testify are the virtues 
 that you have displayed. I return from the 
 Ashantee Campaign proud of my country and 
 proud of its soldiers. I have learnt that the 
 spirit which animated the bowmen of Agin- 
 court and Cressy still lives, glowing and warm, 
 in the ranks of an army which is drawn from 
 the lowest classes of the people. I have 
 learnt that chivalry is not dead, and that 
 valour, goodness, courtesy, compassion for 
 the weak, tenderness to the fallen, the passion 
 for adventure, the love of romance, and need 
 
THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. 403 
 
 I add, devotion to the fair, are still to be 
 found harmoniously blended and combined 
 in that modern knight — the English Gentle- 
 man. 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 1 
 
 Sir Charles Adderley has stated that the 
 Ashantee invasion was due to the Liberals 
 being in office ; he might as well declare that 
 Goschen caused gales in the Channel, or that 
 the wheat harvest was withered by the 
 malignant influence of Lowe. The state of 
 political party at Coomassie may have had 
 something to do with the invasion ; but none 
 could have done more than Lord Kimberley 
 and his servants on the Coast to avert war, if 
 it could have been averted by concession. 
 All events have their proximate causes. 
 The invasion of 1873 was proximately due 
 to the transfer of the Dutch and English 
 settlements in 1867, which led to the cession 
 of all the Dutch settlements in 1872. But 
 it should never be forgotten that while 
 
 1 This chapter was written before Lord Carnarvon pre- 
 sented his scheme for the future government of the Gold Coast. 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 405 
 
 these events were taking place we were 
 actually at war with Ashantee, and the cause 
 of that war, which commenced in 1863, was 
 the refusal of Great Britain to surrender two 
 Ashantee fugitives, one of whom was a run- 
 away slave. Had the Dutch and English 
 settlements never been exchanged, had the 
 Dutch always remained upon the Coast, there 
 would have been an Ashantee invasion all 
 the same. If not to-day, it would have been 
 to-morrow. The true causes of the war must 
 be sought for at Coomassie — in the ambition 
 of the Ashantees. In the beginning of the 
 century they conquered the native tribes 
 which now form our Protectorate ; they made 
 the English their vassals and their tributaries, 
 they ruled- upon the seaboard. Little by little 
 the English power growing on the Gold 
 Coast wrested these conquests from them, 
 and they were driven back across the Prah. 
 But they have never ceased to hanker after 
 'the lands they abandoned by the Treaty of 
 Maclean. As if that treaty had never been 
 made, they have always spoken of Denkera, 
 Assin, Wassaw, and Akim as theirs. They 
 have even spoken of Cape Coast Castle as 
 their own, because it had once paid them 
 
4 o6 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 tribute, and of the Fantees as their slaves, 
 because they once conquered that people. 
 Hence at various periods — the Fantees say 
 every ten years — they have crossed the 
 Prah, sometimes making mere raids, some- 
 times with organised invasion. 
 
 Elmina belonged to Ashantee by virtue of 
 conquest in Denkera, as Cape Coast Castle 
 by virtue of conquest in Fantee, and Accra 
 by virtue of conquest in Akim. When 
 Ashantee lost Denkera, Fantee, and Akim, it 
 lost all claim on these three settlements, and 
 the notes or stipends previously paid. The 
 Dutch, however, continued the stipend for 
 reasons of policy and trade ; therefore Ashan- 
 tee appeared to have some shadow of claim 
 upon Elmina ; and it cannot be denied that 
 the Elminas preferred the Ashantee rule to 
 the British flag. They consented, it is true, 
 to accept the British flag ; and the King of 
 Ashantee withdrew his claim. But the fact 
 remained that the Ashantees wanted Elmina, 
 and the Elmina natives wanted Ashantee. 
 Under these circumstances, why should not 
 we have made the Ashantees a present of 
 Elmina ? It would have gained us the friend- 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 407 
 
 ship of the most civilised nation on the Coast, 
 and it would have been in accordance with 
 the wishes of the people to whom Elmina and 
 its district belonged. This sounds very 
 plausible ; and as Lord Kimberley may yet be 
 arraigned before the tribunal of public opinion 
 for not having adopted this just, wise, and 
 politic measure, I shall describe what would 
 in that case have occurred. The reader must 
 bear in mind that this would have been before 
 the conquest of Ashantee, at a time when our 
 Government was weak — when it was unable 
 to prevent the Fantees from waging war 
 against Elmina, their ancient enemy. 
 
 In the first place the Ashantees would 
 wish to occupy Elmina. But how were they 
 to get there ? The road lay through Denkera. 
 The king of that country might reasonably 
 object to an Ashantee army passing through 
 his dominions. Disputes would have arisen ; 
 and the Ashantees would declare that Elmina 
 was no use to them unless they had a road of 
 their own, or in other words, unless they also 
 possessed the countries lying between the 
 Prah and their port. This in the first place 
 would have brought about a War. 
 
408 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 However, let us imagine the Ashantees 
 peacably established at Elmina. The king 
 would appoint a viceroy, as the King of 
 Dahomey appoints a viceroy to reside at 
 Whydah. This official would levy port dues 
 on the shipping, take his royalty on the trade, 
 extort from the merchants, loans, fines, and 
 loving contributions. If Elmina belonged to 
 Ashantee, as so manyhave asserted, and if we 
 gave it up for that reason, we could not put 
 any restrictions on their government ; and if 
 we attempted to do so there would be war. 
 Nor could we interfere with the customs of 
 the Ashantees. In that ancient settlement, 
 which the Portuguese and the Dutch had 
 governed during nearly four hundred years, 
 human sacrifices would be restored on a 
 grander scale than in the ancient days. The 
 town would be given back to barbarism. The 
 Elmina people themselves would be oppressed. 
 Then it cannot be supposed that the Ashantees 
 would become less exacting and imperious 
 when such an important concession had been 
 made them, from fear (as they would imagine) 
 of their majesty and power. There would be 
 quarrels with the Fantees. Slaves taking 
 
■THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 409 
 
 refuge in Cape Coast Castle would be de 
 manded from the British Government. But 
 it is needless to discuss impossibilities. The 
 project is a mere dream. When Sir Charles 
 Adderley and others proposed that the King 
 of Ashantee should be given Elmina, as the 
 King of Dahomey has Whydah, they wrote 
 about things they did not understand. 
 
 Well now that palaver is finished. The 
 King of Ashantee has given up by treaty his 
 shadowy claim to Elmina, and the natives of 
 that town having been convinced that we are 
 stronger people prefer us for their lords. It 
 is probable that Elmina will be made the seat 
 of Government ; it is more healthy than Cape 
 Coast Castle, and has a better landing-place ; 
 an essential advantage on a surf-ridden coast. 
 If it be made the capital we shall have no more 
 loyal subjects than the people of Elmina. 
 
 The true cause of the war was the, imperial 
 ambition of the Ashantees ; and the weakness 
 of our Government gave them encourage- 
 ment, hope, and provocation. At one time a 
 poll-tax was levied on the tribes of the Protec- 
 torate, but no settled system was ever pursued 
 for the regulation of the road to Prahsu, and 
 
410 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 the protection of Ashantee traders from stop- 
 page and black mail. When I visited the 
 Coast in 1868, with the intention of going to 
 Coomassie, I was advised to choose the Assi- 
 nie route, because the Assins would not allow 
 me to pass through their country to the Prah. 
 It is now no longer their country, as regards 
 government. Sir Garnet Wolseley has not 
 only conquered Ashantee, but also Fantee. 
 Never again will the natives under our pro- 
 tection have a war of their own against our 
 desire, as with Elmina in 1868 ; never again 
 will they cut off the heads of peaceful Ashan- 
 tee settlers under the walls of the Castle, as in 
 1873. There is now a road from the Prah 
 to Cape Coast ; garrisons will be established 
 at Prahsu and Mansu, and when the Ashantees 
 come down to trade they will meet with no 
 obstacle. If on account of their ancient alli- 
 ance with Elmina they choose to trade in that 
 town, no one will prevent them ; but they are a 
 shrewd people and not very sentimental ; they 
 will buy goods wherever they are cheapest. 
 Much has been said about a certain 3 per cent, 
 claimed by the Fantee brokers from the mer- 
 chants on all goods sold to Ashantees. The 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 411 
 
 merchants refused to pay and the Fantees 
 broke into riot. It has been gravely asserted 
 that this was one of the causes of the war ; 
 and Mr. Pope Hennessy took side with 
 the natives versus the merchants. Such 
 stupidity is really marvellous. Why should 
 the Ashantees go to war because the Fantees 
 were refused 3 per cent ? Had that broker- 
 age been paid, it would have been put on the 
 price of the goods, and the Ashantees would 
 have been the losers — which they understood 
 very well. The demand was a relic of the 
 old middleman system which the Fantees 
 enjoyed in the days when they ruled the 
 factors of the Royal African Company. It 
 should be the policy of the Government to dis- 
 courage all interference of Fantees with the 
 Ashantee trade. Let the Fantees make 
 palm-oil, which is the produce of their country, 
 and leave the Ashantees alone. 
 
 It is impossible to say whether the Ash- 
 antees will dare to invade our Protectorate 
 again. Of this at least we may be sure — that 
 the way to secure peace is to show them that 
 we are prepared for war. We can raise an 
 African army of Haussas, Kossoos, Bonnys, 
 
412 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 and Opoboes. With a little time and care 
 Mandingoes might be obtained from the 
 Gambia. Even the Fantees make good 
 soldiers enough if properly drilled and disci- 
 plined. But it is most essential that such 
 irregular troops should be well officered. It 
 was the character of the officers which proved 
 fatal to the Gold Coast artillery, and has 
 always done much harm to the West Indian 
 regiments. The native regiments of the 
 future should not be regiments of refuge for 
 line officers who have run into debt, or for 
 young men who cannot get into the regular 
 army. Special arrangements of promotion 
 and pay (and these are justified by the dangers 
 of the climate) should invite and reward 
 volunteers. 
 
 It is generally allowed that had the Ash- 
 antees been armed with the Snider it would 
 have gone badly with us in the recent cam- 
 paign. They are not marksmen it is true ; 
 but marksmanship is not necessary in the 
 bush. As I heard a rifleman observe, ' A bad 
 shot is just as well off as a good one.' It is 
 all shooting in the dark, and the Ashantees 
 aiming low could do as much execution as the 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 413 
 
 experts of the Rifle Brigade. Now as they 
 must always greatly outnumber our troops — 
 for the untrained Fantees never will fight — 
 it would be idle to deny that the future has 
 its elements of danger. Sniders are already 
 articles of trade in the Cape Coast Castle 
 factories, and have, to my knowledge, been 
 purchased by the Fantees of Annamboe. 
 Whatever the Fantees have the Ashantees 
 will have sooner or later. I found that my 
 hammock-men perfectly understood the per- 
 cussion-cap muzzle-loading Enfield ; and the 
 Ashantees have begun to purchase these 
 weapons. I believe that the natives of the 
 Gold Coast are in a state of transition as 
 regards their armament, and that before many 
 years have passed the old flint-lock with its 
 charge of slugs will have disappeared, like 
 the bow and arrow and the spear. However, 
 all innovations are difficult and slow ; every 
 sportsman will remember how long it was 
 before breech-loaders displaced muzzle-loaders 
 in England ; and therefore Government 
 might, in this case, interfere with effect. The 
 sale of superior weapons should be prohibited ; 
 and perhaps the sale of powder and arms 
 
414 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 should be monopolised by Government, a 
 system which works well at Natal. The 
 Ashantees are placed at a great disadvantage 
 in this — that their base is the sea. They 
 cannot purchase powder and guns without 
 coming down to the settlements ; but unfor- 
 tunately one of their ports is Assinie, which 
 belongs to the French. It would be of great 
 advantage to obtain Assinie and Grand Bas- 
 sam, which are no longer occupied ; and as 
 the French are in want of the Gambia, which 
 lies in the midst of their possessions like a 
 freehold in a manorial estate, possibly an 
 exchange might be effected. If not, the 
 following arrangement might be made. The 
 French, who are often at war with the natives 
 of the Senegal, wisely prohibit the sale of 
 powder and arms to the natives, who obtain 
 them from the Gambia. If we prohibit the 
 sale of powder and arms in the Gambia, which 
 would be to our advantage as well, the French 
 would prohibit in return the sale of powder 
 and arms at Grand Bassam and Assinie. 
 
 Had Sir Garnet been able to feed his 
 troops, he would have remained a few days 
 in Coomassie, and comfortably housed his men, 
 as at Fomana. Glover would have joined 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST 415 
 
 him on the 12th or 13th. Then had Glover 
 been allowed to remain for a time in occupa- 
 tion of the town- — and to this I have reason to 
 believe that thorough-minded man would 
 have gladly agreed — the Gamans and other 
 tribes to the north would have poured over 
 the country and down to the coast. The 
 Ashantee monarchy, which is now in a totter- 
 ing condition, would then have been broken, 
 and I am unable to agree with those who 
 think it would have been a misfortune. By 
 means of that despotism, the Ashantees have 
 been made a superior people in war ; but that 
 is not of advantage to their neighbours or to 
 our trading interests. There seems to be a 
 common belief that the Ashantees are the 
 most civilised people of Africa; that they 
 alone have an organised government, and so 
 forth. Such, as an African traveller, is not 
 my experience. The Moslem tribes to the 
 north of Ashantee doubtless resemble the 
 tribes of Sangara and Boure on the Niger, 
 whom I found living in walled cities with 
 schools, mosques, and a municipal form of 
 government resembling the ' communes,' or 
 independent cities of the Middle Ages. The 
 despotism of Ashantee is injurious to trade, 
 
416 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 for the king is the chief trader in the kingdom ; 
 the gold-mines of the country are neglected ; 
 in Coomassie the inhabitants do not care to 
 raise live stock (as Mr. Kiihne informed me) 
 lest their property should be seized by the 
 people of the king, who have license to rob 
 as much as they please. It would have been 
 preferable for ourselves, for the neighbouring 
 tribes, and for the Ashantees themselves, that 
 the monarchy should have been destroyed, or 
 reduced to a nominal chiefdom. In that case 
 the Ashantees would have been able to work 
 their gold-mines without paying all the nuggets 
 they found to the king ; and their country 
 would have become a thoroughfare; the 
 traders of Gaman would have come to the 
 sea As it is, we must make the best of the 
 affair. The King of Ashantee should be paid 
 a stipend by the year, the amount of which 
 should depend on the amount of gold-dust 
 brought down ; and he should also be tempted 
 by a royalty to allow the Gamans to pass 
 through his land — a stipulation, by the way, 
 which should not have been omitted in the 
 treaty. An expedition might also be sent 
 to Sallagha, upon the Volta, to invite traders 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 417 
 
 to visit Addah and Accra ; for probably the 
 Ashantees are no longer strong enough to 
 stop the road at such a distance from their 
 capital. 
 
 As regards the important question of 
 government in the Protectorate, all such ela- 
 borate schemes as that of a Fantee Confede- 
 ration should be avoided. The result of such 
 schemes would be to place power in the hands 
 of a class of mulattoes called ' Scholars,' who 
 serve as go-betweens, and cheat both the 
 English and the natives. Let there be in the 
 first place a strong government, and then let 
 it grow. Time and circumstance will show 
 what laws are the best to be enacted. The 
 chiefs of Wassaw, Denkera, Assim, Akim 
 and other tribes can continue to govern their 
 people, but at Cape Coast Castle there should 
 be a Court of Arbitration and Appeal. Those 
 natives who dread the expensive law-suits of 
 their country can bring their case by mutual 
 agreement before the Judicial Assessor. 
 Those who are plundered and ill-treated 
 by their chiefs can appeal to the Governor 
 for protection. Slavery must be abolished 
 in the settlements, but not as in the West 
 
 E E 
 
418 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 Indies. When Dr. Madden went out as 
 Commissioner in 1848 he released a number 
 of slaves at Accra. They overwhelmed him 
 with their gratitude, but came to him in the 
 evening for their dinner. . When he declined 
 to provide that repast, they cursed him and 
 returned to their master. It would be absurd 
 to establish a domestic inquisition and to 
 insist on all slaves being turned out of doors. 
 But the Court of the Judicial Assessor must 
 no longer take cognisance of slaves as pro- 
 perty, and the liberty of slaves must be un- 
 restrained. If a slave chooses to leave his 
 master, the law must protect him from being 
 taken back against his will, or being in any 
 way detained. Those slaves who are ill- 
 treated, or have the ambition to be free, will 
 thus have the power of taking their liberty 
 whenever they please. Those who are con- 
 tent to remain in slaver)' can do so, and these 
 will form the majority. In most cases the 
 African slave, so-called, is a poor relation 
 clothed and fed by his master, running mes- 
 sages and doing a little work about the house. 
 If he labours for money, as canoeman or carrier, 
 he receives a portion of the wages. The 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 419 
 
 Bonnys and Opoboes who served in our army- 
 were all of them slaves ; two-thirds of their 
 pay went to their chiefs, and a third to them- 
 selves. The Ashantees have always been in 
 the habit of bringing down slaves to sell ; the 
 people with gashed cheeks who are to be seen 
 in every household on the coast were prisoners 
 of war taken by the Ashantees from the tribes 
 of the north. This traffic must of course be 
 suppressed, and all runaway slaves from the 
 interior will be made free at Cape Coast. 
 
 The Government of the Gold Coast has 
 been of late years subjected to the Governor- 
 in-Chief at Sierra Leone. This arrangement 
 I presume will now be done away with. To 
 rule a country which extends from the Assinie 
 River to the Volta, and beyond it to Jella 
 Coffee and Quitta — to open up communica- 
 tions with the tribes of the interior — to watch 
 the encroachments of Ashantee — is quite 
 enough work for one man ; and for this work 
 will be required men of no slight ability. 
 
 In conclusion, it is my belief that this 
 Ashantee War, which would bring us as every 
 one said neither glory nor gain, has not been 
 inglorious, and may in time be the means of 
 
 EE 2 
 
420 THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 largely profiting our trade. But we have 
 fair reason to hope that this war will be the 
 means of bestowing perpetual peace over vast 
 regions hitherto subject to periodical invasion. 
 In no great space of time this war I fully 
 believe will have saved thousands of human 
 beings from death, hundreds of villages from 
 destruction. If not, it will be because the war 
 was not carried out to the full, and the evil 
 power too mercifully treated. It cannot be 
 denied that there have been wars which were 
 blessings to mankind. There is a Party of 
 Peace who protest against war merely because 
 it is war ; that is just as rational as it would 
 be to protest against a well-proved kind of 
 operation intended to cure a man of a painful 
 disease. The operation may fail through 
 want of skill, or it may be so indifferently 
 performed that the disease after an interval 
 breaks out again. But no rational being would 
 deny that the operation in itself is beneficial. 
 But the Peace Society cry out, ' See what a 
 sharp knife he has got ! O dear, look at the 
 blood ! What a barbarous shame it is that 
 human beings should be laid upon a table 
 and butchered like this within sound of church 
 
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST. 421 
 
 bells ! ' Such is the style of reasoning which 
 these philanthropists employ ; but a little com- 
 mon sense is sufficient to refute them. Here 
 are the Ashantees, who for nearly two hundred 
 years have been making war upon their neigh- 
 bours almost without cessation. If not making 
 war on the Fantees, they are making war on 
 the Gamans, or the Kreepees, or some other 
 unfortunate neighbour. In six weeks an 
 English army puts it out of their power to 
 make war any more. Is that a proceeding 
 opposed to the principles of peace ? 
 
 I do not assert that the operation has been 
 perfecdy successful. I wish the knife had 
 gone in a little deeper ; but still it was a 
 dexterous performance, and, if it be followed 
 up with judicious applications, may save our 
 Gold Coast for all time to come from the 
 pain and suffering caused by Ashantee. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Catalogue Raisonni of Special Service Officers and 
 others engaged in the Gold Coast Expedition. 
 
 This list, chiefly compiled from personal knowledge 
 and without assistance, is of necessity incomplete. This 
 applies especially to the Officers of the Naval Brigade, 
 and to those Special Service Officers who came out late in 
 the day, and were employed in the Transport service. I 
 have not attempted to specify the services of officers in 
 the regiments ; each one had his appointed duty and 
 each did it well. But the duties of the Special Service 
 Officers were individual and singular, and it is useful to 
 enumerate them. 
 
 Adams, Surgeon, 'Simoom.' Distinguished himself at 
 Essaman. 
 
 Allan, Lieutenant,- R.M.A. Assisted to bombard 
 Elmina. Made good rocket practice at Essaman. 
 Invalided. 
 
 Atkins, Surgeon, ' Ambriz ' passenger. Attached to 
 Russell's Regiment Went to Coomassie, and was 
 more often in action than any other medical man. 
 
424 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aylmer, Lieutenant, 43rd Regiment Wood's Regi- 
 ment Commanded the post Essiaman beyond the Prah. 
 Baker, Major, 18th Royal Irish. Assistant- Adjutant 
 and Quarter-Master-General. Acted also as Chief of 
 the Staff for a considerable time. Went to Coomassie. 
 A most industrious and efficient officer, both at the desk 
 and in the field. 
 
 Baker, Captain. Brother of the above. Succeeded 
 Captain Thompson as Inspector-General of armed 
 Fantee Police ; organised the post-office runners. Went 
 to Coomassie. This officer, who is much beloved by his 
 men, will remain on the Gold Coast, holding his present 
 appointment. 
 
 Bale, Surgeon, R.N. Glover's Expedition. Died 
 near the Prah. 
 
 Barnard, Lieutenant, 19th Regiment. Glover's 
 Expedition. Drilled Haussas and Yorubas; several 
 times engaged with the enemy. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Barton, Lieutenant, 7th Fusiliers. Russell's Regi- 
 ment. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Bell, Lieutenant, R.E. This, young officer highly 
 distinguished himself by untiring industry and by cutting 
 bush under fire. 
 
 Blake, Captain, ' Druid.' Commanded the Naval 
 Brigade. Invalided at Prahsu and afterwards died. 
 
 Bolton, Lieutenant, ist West India Regiment. 
 Special Service Officer, and passenger in ' Ambriz.' Did 
 very great service in raising the Winnebah and Mumford 
 company for Russell's Regiment, and afterwards did 
 much good work in transport service. 
 
 Brabazon, Captain, late Grenadier Guards. Served 
 with Butler's Expedition, and afterwards in transport 
 ^service. Captain Brabazon it is said will re-enter the 
 service. 
 
 Brackenbury, Captain, R.A. Assistant Military 
 
APPENDIX. 425 
 
 Secretary. An officer of well-known reputation and 
 literary abilities. Late lecturer at the Royal Academy, 
 Woolwich. Joined the Red Cross movement in the war 
 of 1870, and obtained the Legion of Honour and the 
 Iron Cross. Distinguished himself at Essaman. Went 
 to Coomassie ; always energetic in the field. 
 
 Bradshaw, Captain, ' Encounter.' Explored the 
 Prah ; took part in land expeditions. 
 
 Bradshaw, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Died in the bush. 
 
 Bromhead, Captain, 24th Regiment 'Ambriz' 
 passenger. Russell's Regiment. More frequently in 
 action than any other officer. Obtained a thousand 
 carriers from Abrakrampa in the time of need. Went to 
 Coomassie. 
 
 Buckle, Captain, R.E. Major Home's right-hand 
 man. Killed at Amoaful. 
 
 Buller, Captain, 60th Rifles. D.A.A. and Q.M.G. 
 Appointed Chief of the Intelligence Department; but 
 his talents are best displayed in active service. Went to 
 Coomassie. 
 
 Burnet, Captain, 15th Regiment Russell's Regi- 
 ment Defended Quarman, he being under fever at the 
 time. 
 
 Butler, Captain (half-pay), 69th Regiment. Author 
 of ' The Great Lone Land,' and ' The Wild North Land' 
 Was sent soon after his arrival to Western Akim, and 
 remained in the interior throughout the campaign. No 
 man could have done more than he did ; few men could 
 have done so much. 
 
 Cameron, Lieutenant, 19th Regiment. Glover's 
 Expedition. Drilled Haussas and Yorubas. Went to 
 Coomassie. Suffered much from the climate. 
 
 Charteris, Lieutenant the Honourable, Coldstream 
 Guards. Distinguished himself at Essaman. Died on 
 board the 'Simoom.' 
 
426 APPENDIX. 
 
 Clowes, Lieutenant, 30th Regiment. Wood's Regi- 
 ment. 
 
 Cochran, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Sent to Esseboo 
 in October to raise fighting men. In both skirmishes 
 near Dunquah. 
 
 Colley, Lieut-Colonel, 2nd Queen's Own. Services 
 detailed in the text. Went to Coomassie. Assisted at 
 the defence of Fomana. A benefactor of the expedition. 
 
 Commerell, Captain, V.C., C.B. Commodore of the 
 West African Squadron. This officer, who is much 
 beloved in the Navy, narrowly escaped death from 
 wounds received in an ill-judged expedition up the Prah. 
 
 Crease, Captain, R.M.A. Distinguished himself at 
 Essaman. Inventor of excellent filters used in the 
 expedition. Invalided. 
 
 Crosbie, Lieutenant, RM.L.I. Naval Brigade. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Dalrymple, Captain, 80th Regiment. Sent to the 
 Wassaws. As in the case of Butler, ordered to attempt 
 an impossibility. 
 
 De Hoghton, Lieutenant, 10th Regiment Russell's 
 Regiment. 
 
 Despard, Captain, R. M.L.I. Did much in transport 
 service and present at taking of Amoaful. 
 
 Dooner, Lieutenant, 8th King's Own. 'Ambriz' 
 passenger. Russell's Regiment Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Douglas, Lieutenant, 7th Fusiliers. Wood's Regi- 
 ment. 
 
 Evans, Lieutenant, R.N. Explored the Prah under 
 Captain Bradshaw. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Eyre, Lieutenant, 90th Regiment. 'Ambriz' 
 passenger. Wood's Regiment Killed at Ordahsu. 
 
 Fegan, Staff-Surgeon, R.N. Went to Coomassie, 
 where he discovered a very curious document, the journal 
 of a Fantee prisoner. 
 
APPENDIX. 427 
 
 Festing, Lieut-Colonel, R.M.A. Repulsed the Ash- 
 antee attack on Elmina, June 13, 1873. Improved the 
 defences of the settlements. Created the post Dunquah ; 
 twice fought the Ashantees in the neighbourhood, and 
 was wounded on each occasion. Commanded Prahsu. 
 His services require no comment. 
 
 Ficklin, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Died in the bush. 
 Filliter, Lieutenant, 2nd West India Regiment. 
 Did good service under Festing at Dunquah, and after- 
 wards in transport service. 
 
 Fisher, Surgeon, R.N. Present at the affair of Am- 
 penee, and went to Coomassie. 
 
 Fox, Staff-Surgeon. Much service in the bush. Went 
 to Coomassie. 
 
 Fremantle, Captain the Hon., ' Barracouta.' The 
 Gold Coast Expedition owes much to this officer, who has 
 not that nervous dread of responsibility which is the bane 
 of the naval service. At Elmina, being then senior naval 
 officer, he placed himself and his men under Festing's 
 command. Though wounded at Essaman, he went 
 through the whole work of the day ; and he went both 
 times with Sir G. Wolseley to Abrakrampa. 
 
 Furse, Captain, 42nd Regiment. Special Service 
 Officer and ' Ambriz ' passenger. Went to the Gambia for 
 soldiers without success. Joined Wood's Regiment, and 
 went to Coomassie. 
 
 Gifford, Lord, Lieutenant, 24th Regiment. At first 
 organised and commanded the company of Winnebahs 
 in Russell's Regiment ; afterwards commanded the scouts, 
 with what success everyone knows. 
 
 Godwin, Captain, 103rd Bombay Fusiliers. Com- 
 manded the Annamboes in the first action near Dun- 
 quah. Severely wounded and invalided home. 
 
 Goldsworthy, Deputy Commissioner, Glover's Ex- 
 pedition, late 12th Lancers. Has been for some years in 
 
428 APPENDIX. 
 
 colonial appointments on the Coast. Commanded the 
 Accras against the Awoonas on the other side of the 
 Volta, was wounded and had his horse shot under him. 
 
 Gordon, Lieutenant, 98th Regiment Was making 
 the Coomassie road when Sir G. Wolseley arrived. Ap- 
 pointed to the command of Haussas in Russell's Regi- 
 ment. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Gordon, Lieutenant, 93rd Regiment. Raised the 
 Kosso contingent at Sierra Leone. Russell's Regiment. 
 This excellent officer was invalided. 
 
 Gore, Surgeon-Major. Was also invalided after doing 
 much good work. He was three or four times slightly 
 wounded. 
 
 y-». Grant, Captain, 2nd West India Regiment. Dis- 
 tinguished himself at Abrakrampa, and went through the 
 whole campaign. 
 
 Grant, Lieutenant, 6th Regiment Russell's Regi- 
 ment. Had command of scouts for a time. The first 
 officer to cross the Prah. 
 
 Graves, Lieutenant, 18th Royal Irish. 'Ambriz' 
 passenger. Wood's Regiment and afterwards in transport 
 service. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Gray, Lieutenant, R.M.L.I. Died in the early part 
 of the campaign. 
 
 Greaves, Colonel, Chief of the Staff. Succeeded 
 Colonel McNeill. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Grubee, Captain, R.N., 'Tamar.' Severely wounded 
 at Amoaful. Went to Coomassie, and marched into Cape 
 Coast Castle at the head of the remnant of the Naval 
 Brigade. 
 
 Hare, Lieutenant, 22nd Regiment. Attached to the 
 Royal Engineers. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Hart, Lieutenant, 31st Regiment. Russell's Regi- 
 ment. Made a military survey of the whole road from 
 the Prah to Coomassie. 
 
APPENDIX. . 429 
 
 Hearle, Lieutenant, R.M.L.I. ■ First sent to Den- 
 kera ; then attached to Engineers. In the extreme front 
 at Amoaful. A modest hard-working young officer. 
 
 Hewett, Captain, V.C. Commodore of the Squadron. 
 Went to Coomassie. Co-operated cordially with the 
 General. 
 
 Home, Deputy-Surgeon-General, V.C, C.B. Present 
 at Essaman and in other bush expeditions. Invalided. 
 This distinguished officer made all the medical arrange- 
 ments for the march to Coomassie. Displayed powers 
 of organisation which almost amounted to genius. 
 
 Home, Major, R.E. Superintended the making of 
 road, bridges, &c, from Cape Coast Castle to Egginassie, 
 near Amoaful. Slightly wounded at that battle, where he 
 was in extreme front. One of the first into and last out 
 of Coomassie. A benefactor of the expedition. 
 
 Huyshe, Captain, D. A.A. and Q.M.G. Made a mili- 
 tary survey of road from Cape Coast Castle to Prah. 
 Went on missions to native chiefs. In the first action 
 near Dunquah. Died at Prahsu. 
 
 Irwin, Staff-Surgeon. 'Ambriz' passenger. All 
 invalids spoke with gratitude of Mr. Irwin's attention to 
 them on board the ' Simoom.' 
 
 Irwin, Lieutenant, 1st Foot. Wood's Regiment. 
 Also served under Festing. 
 
 Jackson, Surgeon-Major. 'Ambriz' passenger. 
 Present at Essaman. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Jekvll, Lieutenant, R.E. Engaged in setting the 
 telegraph. Invalided. 
 
 Jerrard, Lieutenant, 8th Regiment Engaged in the 
 transport. 
 
 Jones, Lieutenant, 2nd West India Regiment. 
 Severely wounded at Dunquah. Defended Quarman 
 under Burnet. • 
 
 Knox, Lieutenant, R.A. Served under Rait in the 
 Haussa Artillery. 
 
43o APPENDIX. 
 
 Lang, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Employed on mission 
 to native chiefs. 
 
 Lanyon, Captain, 2nd West India Regiment. Gave 
 up the post of private secretary to Sir John Grant, the 
 Governor of Jamaica, that he might join his regiment 
 when the war broke out. Acted for a time as Colonial 
 Secretary, and afterwards appointed A.D.C. to Sir G. 
 Wolseley. Invalided at Prahsu. 
 
 Larcom, Commander, R.N. Glover's Expedition. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Lazenby, Major, 100th Regiment. Employed in 
 mission to native tribes. Invalided. 
 
 Lees, Captain, late 23rd Regiment. Was called up 
 from Lagos to administer the Government of Cape Coast 
 Castle during Sir G. Wolseley's absence in Ashantee. A 
 most experienced and talented official. 
 
 Loggie, Acting Inspector-General of Police. Dis- 
 tinguished himself at Elmina, where he was wounded, 
 and also fought against Ashantees when they first invaded 
 Fantee. A man of remarkable courage. 
 
 Low, Surgeon. Accompanied Butler's Expedition. 
 
 Luxmoore, Commander, 'Argus.' Severely wounded 
 in the disaster on the Prah. Present at Ampenee. In- 
 valided after Amoaful, in which battle he commanded a 
 wing of the Naval Brigade. 
 
 McCalmont, Captain, 7th Hussars. A.D.C. to Sir 
 G. Wolseley. This officer, who showed much dash in the 
 Red River Expedition, had the misfortune to be invalided 
 at an early date. 
 
 McGregor, Lieutenant, 50th Regiment. Joined 
 Butler's Expedition. 
 
 McKellar, Surgeon, R.N. Fought on the side of 
 the Fantees when Ashantees first invaded the country. 
 Highly spoken of by the natives. 
 
 Mackinnon, Surgeon-Major, C.B. Succeeded Dr. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 43 1 
 
 Home as P.M.O. Dressed wounds under fire. Went to 
 Coomassie. 
 
 McNalty, Surgeon. Attached to Head-Quarters. 
 Went to Coomassie. I have to thank him for curing me 
 of dysentery. 
 
 McNeill, Colonel V.C., C.M.G. Chief of the Staff. 
 Severely wounded at Essaman. Invalided home. 
 
 Maltby, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Mann, Lieutenant, R.N. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Mann, Lieutenant, R.E. Invalided. Was subjected 
 to an unusual amount of hard work and exposure. 
 
 Maurice, Lieutenant, R.A. Private Secretary 
 (Colonial) to Sir G. Wolseley. Author of the Wellington 
 Prize Essay. Distinguished himself by activity in the 
 field at Abrakrampa and Becqua. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Maxwell, Lieut-Colonel, 1st West India Regiment. 
 Acting Administrator of the Gold Coast after Sir G. 
 Wolseley's departure. Died. 
 
 May, Midshipman. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Methuen, Captain the Hon., Scots Fusilier Guards. 
 Wood's Regiment. Commanded a post beyond the 
 Prah. 
 
 Moore, Captain, 80th Regiment. Accompanied 
 Dalrymple's Expedition. 
 
 Moore, Lieutenant R.N. Glover's Expedition. 
 
 Mosse, Surgeon-Major. Distinguished himself in a 
 yellow fever epidemic at the Gambia, and is highly experi- 
 enced in Coast disease. Attached to Wood's Regiment. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Mundy, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Died of wound 
 received at Amoaful. 
 
 Nicol, Captain, Hampshire Militia. Went to the 
 Bonny and Opobo Rivers and obtained two good fighting 
 companies. Served in Russell's Regiment. Killed at 
 Borborassie. 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 Noel, Lieutenant, R.N. An officer of great talent 
 and energy. Distinguished himself at Amoaful. 
 
 Paget, Captain, S.F.G. Joined Butler's Expedition. 
 
 Palmer, Lieutenant, R.A. Served in Rail's Haussa 
 Artillery. Present at Amoaful. 
 
 Parke, Surgeon, R.N. Glover's Expedition. 
 
 Peile, Captain, ' Simoom.' Took part in bush expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 Pipon, Lieutenant, R.N. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Pollard, Lieutenant, R.N. Employed on missions 
 to native chiefs. 
 
 Pollock, Lieutenant, 21st Regiment Wood's Regi- 
 ment. 
 
 Ponsonby, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Glover's Expedition. 
 
 Rait, Captain, R.A. Created the Haussa Artillery. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Rawson, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N. Distinguished him- 
 self greatly in transport service. Wounded at Amoaful. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Richmond, Lieutenant, 50th Regiment. 'Ambriz' 
 passenger. Wood's Regiment. Commanded post be- 
 yond Prah and afterwards invalided. 
 
 Rolfe, Lieutenant, R.N. Naval A.D.C. to Sir G. 
 Wolseley. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Rowe, Surgeon-Major. Through the Ashantee War 
 from the very beginning to the very end. Sent on a 
 mission to Assin to see if it was an Ashantee invasion. 
 Fought on side of Fantees. Present at Elmina affair. 
 Joined Glover's Expedition. Made Chief of the Staff. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Russell, Major, 13th Hussars. Commanded a 
 native regiment Defended Abrakrampa. Led the 
 advance the greater part of the way through Ashantee. 
 Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Russell, Captain, 14th Hussars. Commanded at 
 Akrofum and cleared out villages in neighbourhood. 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 Russell, Captain, 12th Lancers. A.D.C. to Sir 
 Archibald Alison. Went to Coomassie. 
 
 Sartorius, Captain, 6th Bengal Cavalry. Several 
 times engaged with the enemy. His famous march 
 described in the text. 
 
 Saunders, Lieutenant, R.A. 'Ambriz' passenger. 
 Rait's right-hand man and a most deserving officer. 
 Died after his return to England. 
 
 Thompson, Captain, Queen's Bays. Inspector 
 General of armed Fantee Police. Sent on a mission to 
 Wassaw. Invalided and died at St. Vincent. 
 
 Townshend, Lieutenant, 16th Regiment. Russell's 
 Regiment. Died. 
 
 Turton, Surgeon. An active officer. Went to 
 Coomassie. 
 
 Van Der Meulen, Lieutenant, 50th Regiment. 
 Wood's Regiment. 
 
 Waters, Surgeon-Major. P.M.O. Sierra Leone, and 
 well known in respect to sanitary improvements. I saw 
 him in the extreme front both at Amoaful and Ordahsu. 
 
 Wauchope, Lieutenant, 42nd Regiment. Russell's 
 Regiment. Afterwards A.D.C. to Colonel McLeod. 
 Wounded at Ordahsu. 
 
 Wells, Lieutenant, R.N. Distinguished himself at 
 Elmina and Abrakrampa. Died of yellow fever going 
 home. 
 
 Wilmot, Eardley, Lieutenant, R.A. Killed near 
 Dunquah. 
 
 Wood, Lieut.-Colonel, V.C., 90th Regiment. Com- 
 mandant of Elmina. Commanded a native irregular 
 regiment. Wounded at Amoaful. Went to Coomassie. 
 Many times in action. 
 
 Wood, Lieutenant the Honourable H. 10th Hussars. 
 A.D.C. to Sir G. Wolseley. Went to Coomassie. Took 
 home the despatches as special messenger. 
 
 Young, Lieutenant, R.N. Wounded at Tacorady. 
 
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