The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-22


water, but the exhaIation covers the cisy
with thick fag morning and evening,
and en9enders dysentery. IL Ii . little
extraordinary that We never saw o mosquito in
Aslantee. could mud none but blrd's-eye views OF
the city, which wore uninteresting, presenting
nothing but the thalch OF the house. It was en-
circled by beautiful forest, which required more
time than could spare and more expressive
pencil 10 portray. kumassi is an oblong
four miles in circumference. Four OF the principal
streets are half mile long and from 30 to loo
yards wide. The streets were all named and su-
perlor captain IN charge OF each. The palace was
the middle of the town. rom which it was smut
out by high wall, terminating ut each end at the
hcient boundary. recKoned twentyseven streets
in all, which / have laid In q ground plan OF the
MARKET Mace was called sanmomnone 'n Or ia fS
spirit House, because the trunks OF all the human
victims were thrown into 1t. The bloody tracks,
daily renewed, showed the various directions trey
had been dragged from. and the number Of vul
lures on the trees Indicated the extent of the re-
cent sacrifice. The stencl was Insupportable and
the visits OF panthers nightly
POPULATION.
"The Ashantees persisted that the population OF
Kumassi, when collected was upwards of 100. 600.
l say when collected. because the higher class
could not support their numerous followers or the
lower their large families in the city, and therefore
employed them in plantations generally within
two or three miles OF the capital where their Ia
bOrs not only feed themselves, but supply the
wants or their chlef his family and more lminedi-
ate suite Perhaps the average resident pOpula.
ton OF Kumassi Is not more than from II QUO to
$1,000.
'The markets were held daily from about eight A.
M. to sunset. The larger contains about sixty
stalls or sheds, small square frame covered
with cotton cloth. Among the articles for sale
were beef. mutton, wild hog deer, monkeys flesh,
cane. rice, peppers, vegetable butter, oranges,
papaws, plneapples, bananas. salt and dried fIsb,
large snails, smoke-dried and stuck in rows on
sticks in the form OF a herring bone, eggs for
fetch, palm WINE. rum, pipes, beads looking
glasses, sandals SILK, cotton cloth, powder small
& &c" ""''' "A' 0'u' c0'''n 'nfeao caaoasnes'
Bowditch's account Of Coomassie, as it appeared
to hm In 1917, WIN stand very well for it until we
see with our own eyes the C0Omassie OF 1874
Material STRENGTH OF THE ENGLISH ALLIANCE.
. me rife brigade has arrived az Barracoa the
quote an officers words 'fs In great rage be-
cause OF detention.' The battalion WIN be Kept
there FOR week longer, owing TO failure of trans
The First West Indians have been also added to
the list OF carriers between Cape Coast and Dun
quah. You must remember, as you pass your
Judgment upon this glaring mistake OF the authOr-
ties here, that the detention OF the white regi-
ments at the unhealthy stations on the road
means much more than delay-it means sickness
and mortality-and also remember that to make
carriers OF West Indian negroes who are as little
capable OF standing this climate as white troops
are ~ to make them nearly all unfit Tor the active
prosecution of the war.
woLsELEY's aENRRAIsH1p.
There is another mistake which sir Garnet Is
committing, and that IS 10 pay such attention 10
the ROAD In 'front.' after the white regiments have
the malaria Of the climate. He has actually de-
spatched black native regiments in the advance,
beyond the Prah while the work for which an Eng
sh regiment is naturally capable of performing
they have been withdrawn r0m. In such climate
as this, the least the ardent Englishmen are t Or
is to be detained lnactlvey at an unhealthy post.
why were not thA Mae brigade and the
His, by occupy Solon sae Moaas
and Major Russell's regiments OF Fantees, Bonny-
Of supplies for them; after which the natives
might return and employ their whole strength to
moving as much eatables to the Adansi Hills as
ganized under efficient non-c commissioned oficers,
might continue the transport work between
Prahsu and Cape Coast Castle. In the meanwhile
small orce only under the Royal Engineers
might improve the path into proper road be.
tween the Adansi Hills and the Prah River.
There are enough black men at Prahsu Camp
engaged IN constructing huts and other improve
ments to TORN very respectable force of carriers.
Major Hume informed me he had about l, 500 men
under him Tor engineering wOrG, which, In such q
crisis as the present. Is number exceeding the
II, cessity OF such work by exactly l,OOO
THE COLORED TROOPS FOUGHT BRAvELY.
But why Major RussePs black warriors should
have the honor OF occupying advance posts while
the white regiments are detained at the lower sta
to Inc incOmprehensible 1t must be certainly That
know nothing whatever OF military work. that
have never seen military expeditions that have
never travelled and know nothing Whatever OF
what agitates the minds of critics here, because it
cannot be that the "yOung Napoleon" the ''cOm-
ing man" the chest officer in the British servicen
that IN short, Sir Garnet Joseph WolseIey whose
brilliant exploits in the Canadian Wilderness
awed the world, has made q mistake and is on
the eve OF being checked IN his dash upon Coo.
massie.
Major Russell's regiment is expected to arrive at
Acrogr0und tonight No iurtner news from the
'front.'.