National Republican., 1873-09-25
THE ASIANTRK.
HaSY lie I.IYea nj Ilanae


Mr.. Winwood Rcadc, 10 his second letter
to the Pal Mall Gazette, has the following.
THE King is allowed to have 1888 wives,
but not to exceed that number. Some OF
these ladies arc merely slaves, who work In
the royal plantations and furnish tho Court
with cassada and plantains; others reside In
rooms luxuriously furnished, guarded by
cunuchs, enjoying the delights Of tobacco
and palm wine In true oriental style. In
trigue with royal wife Is punished by death;
the executioners torture the offender from
sunrise TO sunset, leading him about the town
aud performing fantaslas upon his body with
knives before the houses Of all noted chief
tains or strangers Of distinction. Finally,
they lead him TO the presence Of the King,
and literally cut him to pieces before the
throne. This horrible method OF execution
is only employed for the aforementioned
offence and for the crime Of murder. II is q
curious custom In Ashantce that II the con-
dCmncd man cries out q certain word or
phrase he cannot be killed; 1t gives him the
right OF sanctuary; the exocutioners, there
fore, steal upon their victims from behind,
and begin proceedings by passing q dagger
through both checks, whereby the man is
effectively gagged.
when the King dies, number OF lords
in-waillng kill themselves TO serve as his es-
cort TO the Shadow Land. These persons arc
called okras, or souls, and wear p peculiar
| EViu buukN NuiNh inulCutco tutlE bllCt. ht
that time also saturnalia Of blood Is cele-
bratcd; hundreds Of victims arc sacrificed
and the young men of the royal house run
| about the town shooting whom they please
even the highest personages Of the land.
Thus the death Of tue King Is national mis-
fortune, and that, perhaps, gives the clue to
| the origin of these extraordinary customs.
THE Ashantees believe In a life after DEATH
as VIC believe In the existence Of lands beyond
the sea. Their Hades or Sheol Is situated
underground; there this life Is continued, and
becomes eternal. The king resumes his roy
atty, and the slave remains slave. Death,
therefore, for them Is only migration, and
they depart IRON life with equanlmity. A
woman slave, who was one Of those con-
demned to die, was stripped according to
custom, and knocked on the head. Being
| only stunned by the blow, she recovered her
senses, and saw herself surrounded by dead
bodies. She ran into tho town, found the
mobiles sitting In council, told them she had
been to the land of the tead, and that she
had been sent back because she had no
clothes. They must dress her finely and kill
her over again; which was accordingly done.
This happened In small kingdom adjoining
Ashantec, the laws and customs Of which are
the same.
"One noble who had committed some
crime offered large ransom for his life, and
| finally his weight In gold. But the King cut
off his head and also took possession OF his
gold, which Just amounted In weight TO that
of the corpse. l have myself seen coast
native of no great importance with thou
sand pounds worth Of gold upon him, and
most of that gold came from the mines Of
Ashantee.
"Finally, as to war. The Ashantcc army
Is the nation. When the order for the march
Is given all able-bodlcd men Join their re-
spective companies and leave the town, car
rying with them o kind of meal as food. The
women then parade the streets, and, II they
detect man skulking behind, beat him un-
mcrcifully. In battle the generals occupy
the rear, and cut down all those who retreat.
| II the battle Is lost they kill themselves.
One suicide Of this kind witnessed on the
Volta. 4 battle took place between our
allies and some allies Of the Ashantces. THE
latter we're defeated, and tho Ashantee chief,
who was present, threw the insignia Of his
rank into the river and then, sitting on a
barrel Of powder, blew himself into the mir"