The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-03-14 00:00:00

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(6.ZICIOIIITe 6 to No. 1,)
.coommate, Feb. 4, 1874.
Klug,—Yon have deceived me, but I have Ist pi my pro-
mise to you.
'r I am in C)0111441e, •d my only lei& 1180 mikes last-
ing peace with you. 1 have e.own you the power of Fug-
lend and now 1 will be merciful
Ai yo 4t nut Islip to rive rip your Mother ant Piince
Itensah,eaull one some ctuer4tsges of rat k, sat I will
m ete I es II 4 ce. with V 0 spo on the terms originally
411.m,d KAP: 't
ellber your Its) city, or year Royal rnotbar, or Fallon
.Nleoaah,-will *Odle to me to-morrow rnorolLg early, 1
will jr-at you with all %shoe,. - due to your Royal disnity,
and sikw rdi to return In R.O ety You can trust my word.
—I have-AM., 0. 3. Waimt, lfejor-General and Al-
mithatrat ir, Gold Coast,
"To Ma lf *jelly Coffee Kallulty, King Of Athantaa,

The following General Order waif famed by General Sr 0.
holey upon his entre nee Into Coonulle:

"Special Gene? I Order by Major .General Sir Garnet
Joseph Wolseley, GB., annmanding Her
Majesty's Krces in Western Africa.

" Coottass IS, Fee. 6, 174,
" Sldlers,'semen, and 31 trines of tide expeditionary
°roe,—

After ave day.' very bard eghting, under trying cmdll
Mons, your courage and devotion have been rewarded with
complete incense. I thank you, in Her Majesty', name,
for your gallantry and good conduct throughout these
operations.

"In the first ph.., ot this war the Athantee Army was
driven back hem the Fantee country into Its own territory.
ace then you have penetrated far through a dente
forest, de f,nded al mai y points with the greateet °hollowly.
YLn have repeatedly detested a very humerous and met
courageous enemy, fighting on Ns own ground, In we'l-
selected positions. Brltish pluck and the discipline common to
Her Majesty'. land and sea tomes have enabled you thus to
overcome all difficulties md to seize upon the enemy's
capital, whi,h now ilea at oar mercy.

" All the people, both European and native, unjaitly htli
captive by the King of Asnantee, are now at liberty, and you
have proved to tilts cruel and bar bar9us people that Ecgland
Is able to punish her enenitcli, Po BAILOR' chat their strength
to numbers or position.
" Maintain on your return march to the Coast the same
admirable sonduat you have hitherto evinced, and England
may be as lastly proud of having such Solder., Sailors, and
Marine. as I am of having had the honour of commanding
you throughout this campaign.

“Gt. WOLesLii, MaJor-Oeneral.”

The following extracts are from an inlfresttng sketch by
the Spec at Corretpondent of Th 4 Times, writing from
Coomaule, the eth alt:—

. . . Cule nel Wood's company of Bonny men led the
advance up the hill, and the fixing speedily began. Tto
order of march was in single column, the It fle Brigade
being interspersed with the native troops. After two
hours' fighting Ordaheu was taken by the Rifles. But
the flanks and rear were heavily attacked ; the baggage-
bearers and ammunition carriers, covered by the 42nd
and by the men of the 23rd, were passed up to the vil-
lage, a movement that was much admired. The
Naval Brigade formed the rear guard. Soon after the
arrival of Sir G. Wolseley at the vilisee, the enemy,
coming between it and Coomaes.le, endeavoured to
retake the position, and poured in a tremendous fire.
The 42nd, advancing under its own Colonel, M'Leod,
who commanded in front all the day, dispersed the
enemy. ne Ashantees now attacked the village from
the left, in whiffi direction the King was seated
beneath a silk and velvet canopy, encircled by his eobles.
This attack was still going on, when Colonel AELecel
received orders to take his regiment to Coomassie. The
distance was about six miles., but the enemy being out-
generalled by thin sudden advance, were not on the way
in any numbers. At 530 p.m. on February 4 the gallant
42nd Regiment entered this famous city, where
scarcely a dozen Europeans hadbeen before. Brigadier.
General Sir Archibald Alison role in on a fine white
mule, with the officers of his stall—Captain Russell,
12th Lancers, and ..laptain Robinson and Lieutenant
Fitzgerald, Ride Brigade; Colonel DELeod and the
officers of ffie 42ad Regiment; Major Home, H.R. ;
Captain Buller, the head if the Intelligence Depart•
ment ; Lieutenant Lord Gifford, and Staff-Surgeon
Turten. I had the honour ef being the only civilian
present on this interesting occasion.
At six o'clock Sir Garnet Woleeley came in, second-
pipit d by Commodore Hewett, V.C., and the follow-
ing Staff officers :—Colonel Greaves, Major Baker,
Captain Braekenbfiry, Lieutenant Maurice, and Lieu-
tenant the Hon. H. Wood. Since we sailed from
Liverpool on board the Ambriz there have been several
changes and losses in the Staff. Colonel Greavee has
taken the place of Colonel McNeill, wounded near
Emma; Lieutenant Wood repdaces the gallant and
ill-feted Charteris ; Captain WCalmont, selected as
Aide-de-Camp for his weffiknown daeh, had the nols-
fortune to be invalided at a very early date, and his
substitute, Captain Lanyon, was also invalided at the
Prah, where another Staffofficer, Captain lluyshe, fell a
victim to the el !nate. On Ole side of tee Ptah the
casualties w• 11 be scarcely lees than 300 killed and
wounded. More than half of these are Europeans.
Yesterday Li. utenant Eyre was killed. Lieuteeset
Wench°, e, Aide.de-Catup to Colonel Itl'Leed. was
wounded in the shonlder. Captain Moore and Lieu-
tenant Grogan, 42nd Regiment, were slightly wounded.
A Marine and three natives were killed, and 30 Euro.
peaus and 25 natives were wounded, some of them
dangerously. It will be seen from these returns that
the battle of Ordaheu wait Lot so severe as the battle
of Auesaful. The Aehantees were lees numerous, and
did nut fire at such a doge range. Nevertheless., it is
generally ackuowledged that they fought with dash
and determination.

Our or ier of battle was in single column along the
main road, skirmishing parties being thrown off right
and left lot the bush. At first I was with Russell's
regiment, but went to the front shortly after the action
commenced. I found the advance companies of the
Rifle Brigade lying flat upon the-ground, some facing
to the right, others to the left, and filing slow and low.
The air was filled with a sulphurous stench, and was
thick with smoke, through which dark forms moved
slowly. These were the officers, who walked back-
wards and forwards giving orders to their mon. I saw
poor Eyre lying by the path. His face, ffillowed on a
comrsam'a aim, already bore the ghastly impress of
death. He was an Ambriz passenger, and as one of
Colonel Wood's regiment, had been much in front, and
in more than one dangerous skirmish. I sat down by
the path under the beet cover I could find, and watahed
with much amusement the be, aviour of the Bonny
men, who fired off their rifles with strange gesticulations
and cries. On the other side of the path Dr. Mcßobin
was attending to the wounded, Lieutenant Wauchope
came up just alter a Houses, but would not be probed
and bandaged before his bumble companion in arms.
"No," said he, "it is his turn first." As the doctor
dressed Wauchope's wound I saw the slugs chirping off
the twigs just above his head.
The Rifles gradually advanced, and finally took
Ordahsu. The last Ashantee to leave the village (a
mere cluster of homes) woe a last about 14 years old,
armed with • flint gun. In this village we heard more
than once the unmistakable " ping" of a rifle bullet;
and Russell's men declare that on the previous dsy
they had seen mane yellow men almost as white as the
white men themselves fighting on the Ashantee aide.
These were probably Dutch Mulattoes from ElMilll4
and Chamah.

I left Ordahm, with the main body of the 42nd. At
intervals of a mile or so, the foremost company came
upon parties of Ad:Hinters. Then we heard 'Mote, and
cheers "for old &minim I and the playing of the bag-
pipes as they drove the enemy before them. State
chairs and canopies of chieftains were scattered by the
wayside, mingled with dead bvliee. When we paned
Quarsi, the last village before Cennassle, everyone be.
came highly excited. We were quite close to the town
when there was a halt, which gave me time LO get tothe
front. The treacherous white flit/ had again made its
appearance, this time anctrripanied by three or four
mieerable slaves, who were off-red as hostage., if only
the advance might be delayed. These, with the 028 F.
sage contained in a letter, were sent on to the Major.
general, but the Brigadier and Colonel M'Leod con-
tinted the march. Two of the hostages were made to
walk first, and not wishing to be shot by their friends,
cried out in a dismal and anxious voice, "Shanti lo /
Shwa; fo ! " (Ashantee people), which showed that
there were enemies in front.

•
i The sergeant who marched at the head of the column
fired at ,n armed saishantse, whereupon the hostages
cried '' Debbi 01' (No! oh I) to the men in the bash,
signify jug that they eh( old not return the fire. At
some cross roads • number of Ashantees met Ps. Some
of them had guns, which they hell wilts their butt ends
towards us. Those who seemed of the most importance
had only large knives in their hands. None of them
were perfectly unarmed. They greet.] us, saying
"Thank you! thank you ['which they euppore is out
form of salutation. They earnestly bi•gged that we
should not enter the town, and promised to send
. out hos,ages, Down the road to the right was a
very d.fferent group, cimposed of a dozen armed men,
who looked at us with an expression of hatred and fear,
I The messengers of peace and procrastication called out
to them repeatedly not to shoot, Sir Arcihbald con-
' seated to remain half an hour. His orders were to en.
camp near the water outside the town, and t: eremait
, the General's instructions; if there was any opposition
he was to binabarsi the town. But just as we were
passing through the filthy marsh of Coomasaie, Captain
' Buller CAM. up with orders to press on.
We ascended a broad street, or rather road, on rising
ground, with a few detached houses on either side, and
then, turning to the left, saw before us a spacious
street. But find we had to pass a large tree, near
which was an enclosure fill, d with thicket and greet
This was the execution place, and in that enclosure the
dead bodies of the as :rifted were thrown. Theetench
was abominable. I forgot to mention that near the
town • dead man lay across the road with the bead
recently sevsred from the body. This was done to
prevent the 42nd Regiment from enterin# the .town.
A number of people came up to the 'soldiers, shook
hands with them, and afterwards brought them water
to dtink. At the further and of the street WU • dense
black crowd, and above it floated an enormous red
canopy, which, with the chief underneath it, soon
disappeared round a corner. I did not see any women.
The people near us :teem to be highly delighted at the
spectacle of several hundred white men ; but when all
the troops had assembled, and Sir Garnet rode along
the line, and the men gave three cheers, the Asher:tees
ran away in • scarce, thinking it was the prelude to
attack.
A nember of pecple passed the troops carrying boxes
and (suffers ; they were not interfered with. Others
came into the town arreed, and were received with
warm coogratulations, which clearly indicated where
they had been spending the day. The King, it stems,
did not return to Coomassie from the battle•field, but
pawed aside to Arninihia, where he has a country
palace, and is accustomed to spend his eilleggiatura.
The numerous lettere of General Wolseley to the
King were translated and the answers indited by an
educated Fantee prisoner, named Damon. As SOOD
as we entered the town I saw Mr. Dawson coining
down the street, is Rowed by a few Ashantees, who
were evidently sol:citing his good ODief S. After dark he
brought a R >yid Diana neer to the General, and heard
on pod authority that Sir ('cornet spoke to the follow-
ing effect :—The King had broken his promises to the
Governor, but he (the Governor) had kept his own pro:-
Wise—viz., that he would pay the King • visit at Coo-