The Portland daily press., 1873-11-20
Ashantee.

Now that the British are making an attempt
to conquer the barbarian kingdom of Asian
tee and the New York Herald is determined
to bring that far off and inconsequentia peo-
Die into notice by its long drawn out special
dispatches, many of us will desire TO know
something about the country, the people and
the ceuses of the W ar, which is likely to result
in the loss ofmany lives and the expenditure
of large sums of money. The kingdom of
Aslantee lies on the north of the Gulf of
Guinea on the west coast of Africa, not far
from the British settlement OF Cape Coast
Castle. 1t is the most powerful combination
of tribes in Upper Guinea and the territory
Is represented as mountainous, healthy, well
.watered, fertile and producing the tropical
fruits in abundance. The chief products now
are gold dust anc palm OIL In the prosper
Gus days of the slave trade, slaves formed no
small part of its exports. For that kind of
people, the Ashantees are said to be intelli-
gent, active, fond Of war and quite expert in
some of the arts of manufacture. The popu-
lation is estimated at million but it is mere
guess. 1t is stated that the King can turn
q
kingdom was founded about the year 1740 by
barbarian conqueror who established by
his superior skill. kind of feudal superiority
over the adjoining states or tribes.
In 1906 the Ashantees first came in col
lision with the British and the outer world
became aware of their existence. At that
time the king of the Ashantees was engaged
in disciplining some of his insubordinate vas
sails who, hard pushed, escaped into
the country of the Fantees, which lies next
to the British settlements. The Fantees
refused to allow the Ashantees to pursue
the fugitives into their territory, whereupon
the Ashantees made war upon the former.
The result was that the Fantees were beaten
or partially so, and the British governor at
Cape Coast Castle offered his services as
mediator for the purpose of saving the coast
settlements. But the blood of the Lord of
the Ashantees was up and he would hear moth
ing of the kind so the British authorities as
sured the Fantees that they should be assis-
ted. A general war followed which resulted
in the slaughter of the British allies and a
narrow escape of the English garrison. A
truce followed and thus the first Ashantee
war, begun without thought, ended without
honor to Great Britain. The Ashantees in
vaded the Fantee territory again in 1911 and
a third time in 1915, but were bought off on
both occasions by the English African Com
pany, whose trade was nearly ruined by the
continuance Of such connections. ,sf
In January 1924, Sir Charles Mccarthy,
having foolish contempt for the Ashantees,
declared war against them and began a de-
termined foray into their country, but he was
defeated and slain, and his detachment eth
er all killed or taken prisoners. The victori-
Gus Ashantees advanced to within mile of
Cape Coast Castle when, achievements com
ing to the English, the invaders were pressed
back to their own inland territory.
This, however, does not seem to satisfy
them; for having once seen the sea, they
have renewed their old struggles with the Fam
tees and their British allies and the conflict is
now going on. The English journals assume
that in the end the British will conquer the
halfcivilized warriors of the interior, but
the great distance from England, the fatality
of the climate to whites and the barren
fruits that will, at best, result from victory.
lead many of them to declare that this kind
of costly warfare with half-savages is very
doubtful way of sustaining national honor
or commanding general respect for the Brit
ish flag. Hr