The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-11-01 00:00:00

THE ASHANTEE WAR,

We The Times) have been favoured with the following ex-
tract. from lettere Jul received from an c Moor on board •
vessel stationed off Ole Meat Cout of /Orlon:
" Off Appolonia(wee, of Cape Three Pointe),
liar Majeety's ship— Sept. 1.

"There are altogether about 140 miles of coast
blockaded, ot which we have 70; but ours is • straight
Line, and there are DJ cks, &c., on it, so we can mules
about more conveniently than the others. Now for
to-day's work: we destroyed • couple of villages this
morning near AliM. the people of which had been
firing at and had killed some of the garrison of this
tort (Arita). We shelled them first from the ship, and
afterwards K— end myself went in the cutters and
gave them rocketa and small gun (Abyssinian), till all
was levelled. We started from Arlin in the ship at
6.30 a.m., the village being four miles off, and we left
the place at 10 a.m, in ruins.
" Of! Anse, Sept. 6.

" We have been been lying here for a few days on
the look out for vessels. We met an English brig the
other day, and I went on hoard and rod the warning
to them and entered it in the log. Bite had among
other things on board 2,000 kegs of gunpowder, so they
bad better be careful A French gunboat, the
Prevent, arrived here a day or two ago; she is going
to look out for the coast to windward of this, which is
French.
"gnmagnee, Sept. lt.

" We are still on this blockade, about which there is
a certain monotony not decidedly agreeable. Ampagnee
is, I must tell you, the only place on our beat which ie
loyal so we came here the other day in hopes of get-
tin.t something to eat term the brave and true-hearted
African. The curt, however, is so bad that communicse
lion 6 almost impossible. We have been able to get
a chicken or two (in the shell), egg. being the only
things they could bring ( ff—f owls would have died
from the quantity of water shipped in the canoe going
through the surf. Yesterday the 1) came up from
her beat to have a look at us; Captain B—, of the
D--, and our captain went on shore (dangerous
work) in • surf boat the D brought up.
They saw the Xing, and went and examined his de.
fences, consisting of stockades, &a He has 1,000 very
hoe men, and all well armed and In telerably good
discipline; they need to be, as the Ashantees are en-
camped within 500 yards of their defences. The
Ampagnee people have the advantage of a small river
between them and their enemies, the stockade (a very
good one) is on their side of the river, so directly the
Ashantees show themselves en the opposite hank they
are liable to be shot, and very often are. Last night, just
after the captain let t, three were bagged (i.e killed and
heads taken). The native, here, aster as I oan make out,
ars very au perior in the fighting way to the cowardly Cape
Coast people; there, where they have forisand Europeans
to back them up, and plenty of supplies of sconnuii-
tion, they are afraid to move out of the town. Here
1,000 armed men have made their own defences ha
two days, and defy all the attempts of the enemy, who
are in no mean force, I believe. They are supposed to
be 4,000 or 5,000 strong, and they have the famous
Atjiempou as a leader. . . I think that Glover,
the man they have sent out to command this expedi-
tion to Coomiuseie, is the right man; it was he who
fist raised the Houma force; splendid troops they are,
and he is like a father to them. If be gets 7,0h0 of them,
as the intention is, I believe, they will go to Coomasseie
without a hitch. They lick the 'West Indian troops to
fit.; in fact, the latter are not a bit more fitted for
this sort of work than Europeans are.
"September N.
"I have just heard that the brig I spoke of, with
2,0(0 barrel., of gunpowder Oil hoard, has landed half
of it in French territory, but only a mile or two out of
our clutches, the French ship having left,"