Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-04-25
THE ASHANTEE CAPITAL.
What Correspondent Says of COOmsssie
Before II was Burned.

Before II was Burned.
I strolled up and down the main
street of Coomassie for q while, says a
correspondent, writing of the capital
before it was burned, to make q sur
vey of the place which the British had
come 145 miles to see and conquer. As
the capital of Ashantee, Comassie may
be fairly said to have verified tho stan
dard had conceived. 1t was situated
on low eminence composed of reddish
clay and rock, stronly impregnated with
iron; about half mile in diameter one
way and about q mile another way,
around the base of which meandered q
sluggish stream about eighty yards
wide, which had transformed its form
er course into swamp. The circum-
ference of the city might be traversed
by man on foot within an hour, or it
may be said the city was little over
three miles round. The principal
streets we're extremely broad and toler-
ably straight, whereon professions of
State, to which Ashantees are much at.
tached, might be made with due form
and ceremony. The main street might
easily contain $4,000 people, and other
streets might contain many thousands
in procession. Besides the main street,
there were many lanes or alleys running
through the rears, and communicating
one with another. The general appear
ance of the main street was that of
aristocratic Ashantee houses, with
usual front of arched porticos, white
washed and raised four or five feet
above the ground and situated apart
one from the other, very pictures of ex-
clusiveness. The whitewashed facades
of each house were covered with the
curious half Moorish, half native de-
signs, worked in the plaster made of
fine white clay, which when retouched
with solution of this clay acquired q
glazed white color similar to paint. The
lower half of the front of each house
was of deep ochrish color, obtained
from the reddish clay. The steps lead
ing from the street into each house and
the floors of the verandas were colored
and glazed with the same material.
So that, looking up the main street at
its width, the glorious old patriarchal
trees which lowered at intervals along
it, the long array of picturesque and
novel porticoed houses, each appearing
as if it were newly whitewashed and
painted, the colors of clean white and
red ochre strongly contrasting, the
effect was fine and gave onea high idea
of the Ashantees as nation, who thus
evinced their attainments in this ambi-
tious embellishment of their capital.
have seen it suggested somewhere that
straight, broad streets mark young
and growing nation instances, Wash.
ington and the cities westward. What
shall be said of Ceomassie, with streets
from $50 to 200 feet wide? The city OF
magnificent distances is excelled by
this capital of sable nation enthroned
amid Businesses of swamp, Jungle and
forest. Behind each of these white
and red painted porticoed houses, which
look out on the streets, the houses of
the families and slaves belonging to the
aristocratic proprietors were arranged
in quadrangles, which during peaceful
times, must have been models of neat,
ness but the hurried departure of the
inhabitants had Uttered these courts
and quadrangles, verandas and yards,
with an indiscribable mass of black
earthenware crockery and q miscellane-
Gus assortment of gourds and stools.
Cotton-waste for pillows seemed also to
be plentiful, for il was strewed over the
ground like clots of slushy, miry snow,
Among the strange, heterogeneous
plumber visible in the courtyard of the
capital of Ashantee, says correspon-
dent, and in the recessed apartments
around it was the stool which, accord
ing to report, was never quite dry from
human blood. That it had been lately
dyed anew with the blood of some un-
fortunate victim to despots caprice,
or some barbarous custom, was evident.
for the flies had settled in hungry myri-
ads on it. Among the thousands of
things, strange, antique, and curious,
which were seen about were dozen OF
so of state umbrellas, leaning against
q corner of the wall and standing ten
feet or so above the ground. When
opened one of these umbrellas gave one
an idea of large and lofty circular
tent of gaudy colors. The major part
of them were made of red, blue and
black blanket cloth; others were OF
variegated, fine broadcloth, with silver
bendicles ringing sweet chimes as soon
as one touched them others were OF
vari-colored silk of exquisite pattern
and manufacture, which latter, it may
be presumed, were the Kings own UNI
brellas or belonged to members of his
family. In one of the lower rooms
we're also found heaps of faded tapes
try, carpets, silks, cloths, worn coun
terpanes of silken damask and cast-of