The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-08-09
TIE WEST COAST OF NEaIcA.

Mr.. winwood Reade, in letter to the Times,
says:-
The Asbantee war having Just attracted so
much attention from the public, some re marks on
bush wars in general may possibly interest your
readers.
Along the whole margin of the West Coast of
Africa, from 81. Louis, Senegal, on the north, to
Ben2uela, on the south, there is not single spot
which is tit iOr inyaIiding. ibis gigantic range
of territory is one CCsspOOl of fever, dv9enttry,
and ev ry thing which IS deadly and desestable.
/ except q site on the CAMERON mountain,
which Captain Burton has wisely recommended
as sannnrium.
Al the be st OF times the military hospitals are
always toerably uil. Imagine, then, the hor-
fOrs of campaign in such a country. Every
night the army is Ut acked by I'm Irresistible un-
seen fue-the malarla of The swamps. Then
there is always poor supply of food; on the
Gold Coast sheep and Cattle can only be obtained
as articles Of 0OumdHdiSe. There are no roads
bioaoer than sheepwalks; the soldiers are forced
10 carve their way through the woods with their
swords Engagements consist sim ply In u series
of umbuscades, and for this style Of warfare
Western Africa is admirably suiIeo. Nature
appears TO have created these forests and 5wamps
ftr The preservation of the naked negro, as she
has rrotected the n"rnnaise, the armadilo, and
the alligator, with hideous and i'm Ienelrable
coverings. Now, one need not be blessed with u
military genius to understand that Offensive
warfare under such circumstances IL scarcely 10
lie rec, mmended; and the Insane raid which
has lust heen made against the Ashantees Is,
ucrhapR the most curious instance of human
| ignorance and presumption which can be found
| amOrg the blundeis OF colonial history,
| 1t is generally supposed chat the negroes are a
ferC ciOus race, who assassinate white men when-
ever they can do 80 with impupity, and who
attach the same relish 10 blood from II human
skull as we do 70 30 port from d0,ty, cobEebby
| boule. But must assert that have found the
negroes tmd, tfgminate, courteous, thorough
men of the world, lO'h to shed blood, except
/ sl,Yg
| aroused. Above all, they have great commercial
| foresight. They receive from us white men those
| Injuries which have nov become 5heir necessa-
| Iies-lhe cotton cloths with which they clothe
| tbems, Ives the glass beads with which they
| adorn themselves; the rum with which they in.
| iONicate themselves; the powder and guls with
| which they shoot us when we leave them no
| alternative. / viii prove how reluctant they are
| TO make use of this dey7lier resort.
| A subalteru, who many months ago went NJ
| the country with the first expedition dong before
| the British public heard OF these dOngs), in
| formed me that on one occasion they passed M
ambuscude of 200 Ashantees, as they afterwards
| disI oyeled IRON some men whom the Fanti5 h I'd
toktn prisoners. When asked how il was they
had not fired, they replied that they had received
orders from the king not % hurt the white meu
| "Wc are 1T war with he Fanis," they said, "nol
! with you and II you so to war with US on &C.
count Of these fellows, we will not fight with
| YOU. In this fr't campaign, at all events, they
kept their word. The detachment returned with-
| out having seen an Ashantee; all the lighting
! having been done by the Fautls, our allies.
Under ordinary circumstances the coast colo
| les arc garTisOncu by one OF the West India rcg
| mcrts. They are sent there, one is told, 20 prl.
| tCCt the trade. have seen good deal If milf
tary prot ctiOn among the French, the English
| and the Portuguese COionists, aud | can affirm
| that trade Ie elves that kind Of protection from
| military forces which the brazen pot in ".Es0p's
| Fables was desirous of Offering 10 the clay one
| 10 Is military protection which has stifled trade
| in the Senegal, which has ruined several Lisbon
| firms by lls conduct in Angola, and which is nov
| chOkirg commerce on the Gold Coast. The rea
W. alth Cf Africa Is eNtrgced from her oil rivers
the CuabaTs, Brass, Bonny, and Benin, Ia
these rivers, where there is no military prO.ec
| ii, n, the whito man Is never molested in BOunN
he Is even ij- tlIut is to gay, he is an article o
fClish, like tile iguana Oraby other sacred animal
which none may hiiuTe under pain of death
Sometimes, II IS trne the traders have bad debts
\ Then they send 20 Consul Burton at Fernando
Po, who sends gunboat into the river, whiei
lies ever the town.tll II PAYS.
| Tie negroes are really afraid of men-of-war
aud Of the great guns which guard our coOnit
towns Bnt they laugh NJ our drilled negroes
| who must indeed cut sorry figure fiounderint
through swamps, or marching Sin beautiful
| oder into amiuscades. II appears 20 me--ant
| have studied this matter very carefully on th
Spot-lhat these unhappy soldiers, and their still
more unhappy officers are useless in West AfTic
and that it is, 10 All iuients and purposes, an &c
Of cIuelty 10 send Them there. These cOlOnic
could raise a militia quite capable of manning
their cannon and Of defending their homes; aul
for purposes of invasion a Napoleonc arm,
would melt away in those great forests like snow
AS for the rivers, gunboats might be run u
once a month this service would be one of dan
ger on account of the climate, and the pay shoul
therefore be raised in proportion. Still il woUl
be one Of impunity compared with that which tn
soldiery now suffer on the coast for the forme
have il always in their power to escape 10 sha
great sanitarium-ihe sea.