The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-04-02
REVELS IN BLOOD.
Tho Horrible Slnughtors by tho
King OF Ashnntoe. 3
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IRE KILLED
On tho SllGhtcs Protoxts-Thc Awful
Ceremonies Described by u Mia.
Hionary-Fatlicr Ransoycr Tolls OF
How tho People OF Whole Districts
Arc Put 20 Doath-Tho Dautnma
Memorial Festival. .#g

In February, ut tho end OF my fourth
aud last year Of imprisonment In
Coomassie, capital OF Aahantoo, tho
West African kingdom whore gold and
human sacrifices arc most numerou,, !
and Father Kuehnc, tho other mission.
AIRY hold captive. wero forced as sort
OF special punishment to witness tho
scenes OF carnage inaugurating tho fos-
tival Of God Jams, tho diety Of fertility.
This year, by royal docroc, licontious.
ness and tho unrouralncd indulgence OF
debauchery wore restricted to one day
only on account Of tho Bantama ie,o
that occurred toward the middle OF the
month.
As the morning dawned the kings
drums. hung with dried up human
bones and rrinning skulls OF whites and
blacks. rolled forth the legend tina! law
had shut hor books and that crimos
would 20 unpublished. The seventy to
eighty thousand men, women aud
children Of the capital know what that
meant and kept to their homes, retus.
ing to SEQ the great spectacle OF pomp
and bnrbaric circumstance attending
tho decreo's PRONUNCIATION. Father
kuehne and mysolt were especially in.
yi,ed to 500 the show, but knew too
much, and withal were too" disguised
with tho whole proceedings to comply.
But one ovcrcurious observation-disclosures
to say, they always find one-crawlod
up to the palace gate, hoping to escape
observation. llo was at once seized and
Gu, to pieces tnen and there, and as, n
few minutes later tho trnmpets made
out OF mems lcSbones announced the
"ioyous" fact that God Jams was
pleased with tho sacrifice. tho natives
arrived in such haste and in such
masses as 10 suggest they had waited
one aud all outside tho sacred precinct
for this signal.
The dead body was carefully carved
into little bits OF flesh and bono. and
these were then distributed among tho
populace. Nearly everybody was per
mittcd to dip his finger or knife into tho
blood Of tho human sacrifice to decorate
his forehead with It.
4 thousand or more bits OF the bleed.
ing body having been distributed, the
native set themselves to drinking and
eating, mostly drinking. The noise
that now ensued in every palace and
howell OF the capital was terrible; dan
ger lurkcd in it, violence and death. At
noon, to bring the popular frenzy to n
pitch, the kings cxecutioners held their
annual procession through the streets,
naked, painted red from head to feet.
| around their necks garlands OF human
jaws, intersectod with green leaves.
while from their gird!es hung, on golden
chains. skulls AMI bones.
On the sixteenth day OF February tho
| Bautama memorial festival Wis cels-
brated. Just after sunrise the king rode
| in grand procession to the suburb OF
| Bantama, where his predecessors are
buried in mausoleum half milo long.
In this each majesty has special apart.
ments behind doors Of silk. There arc
twenty OF them lying in rich sarcopha-
gi, their skeletons held together by gold
wires. In the previous night the priests
had taken them up, washed. periuned
and clothed the bony frame, in fine
linen and puppies, finally to DO placed
on golden chairs.
Tho living king visitad each success.
sively in great state, Offering the flesh
OF slaves and prisoners OF war and other
dclicacics. Then the band played the
melodies most favored by each oil the
kings, for their special benefit. and the
sovereign lord gave order that twenty
young women and children be killed.
which was done forthwith, their blood
being collected in golden vessels. Into
these the king dipped tho ancestors'
skeletons with many strange cere-
monies, expecting thereby to increase
their viCor and insure their perpetual
you,hfulness in tho other land.
The king. We were told, did not get
through with his bloody work until late
in the evening. as after he had once
seen blood flow he sent out c1ecutioners
Tor more victims.
A month later Father Kuehnc and |
were before the Council OF the Caboo-
ccrs or Captains, presided over by tho
King. His swartliy majesty and tho
paiadins OF his robin were about TO do
eide our fato when messenger arrived
and lneclinc before the King, said a
few words into his ear. Tho King
thcrcupon bowed down to The ground
and, sticking his finger into the rcd
mud, smeared his forehead with it.
This was tho signal Of 4 general flight.
All the servants, slaves, lower officials,
even our guards, ran away rs fast rs
.hoir le.s could carry them, aud as tLcy
entered upon the streets tho hundreds
lounging about the palace quickly fol.
lowed suit, bowling and moaning rs il
in intense agony.
What had happened? The heir pro.
sumptive to tho throne, boy Of six.
teen years, had died, and that no might
be buried with tho proper pomp u
hundred and fifty human beings wero
10 DO sacrificed. according to the consti-
tuition. Tho messenger himself was
tho frat victim-his majesty putting
him in irons with hia own hands.
Think OF his crime! lIe had forgotten
10 order out tho guards to catch runa.
way slaves before ho came TO tho coun.
Gil. Thus q dozen or moro mon, who
on account OF their sturdy figures wero
marked for early death on tho ALTAR
had escaped.
The king. ns intimatod, folt in honor
bound 10 deliver hundred and fifty 10
his band OF cxecutioncrs. "a s.ingy
devil, his majesty" tho Ashantocs said.
"IIis grandfather. 0say AQuainh, killed
Gvo thousand slaves md prisoners oil
war at his mothers death and com.
PEELED each freeman to slaughter Mt
leag. one slave" That was, believe,
sixty years ago.
THO king, as no emerged from tho