The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-02-06

Stumbles upon them and falls into
fresh heaps Of mutilated humanity.
There is no such place in the world as
the slaughter places of Ashantee land.
Given to the CrocOdiles.
A more modern form of execution,
which affords the added charm Of tor
ture, is much affected by the present
monarch. This is to tie the victim to
q stake in the center of a river and
leave him or her-alas! 1t Is often a
woman-to be torn asunder by the
crocodiles that infest the stream. Such
sacrifice is especially grateful to the
besotted senses of the king of Asian
tee.
Considering that the king of Asian
tee is a tyrant-and such q tyrant!-his
kingdom is fairly well administered.
1t is divided into provinces, each un-
der a sort of governor, whose power,
within his w limitations, is as abso-
lutte as that of the monarch himself.
In times of peace, which occasionally
intervene, these governors collect the
revenues and transmit them to the
capital, Coomassie. In war each Is
bound to furnish a fixed contingent Of
men to defend the royal banner.
Surrounding nations are much in
vi tlC NuDClIpl VI
the Ashantee army, which is a rude
imitation Of European methods, sup
plemented very effectually by the law
which condemns the deserter or cow
ard to instant execution. Thus the
Ashantees fight fiercely, not to say
desperately, and yet with Il certain
method. No African race is a match
for them; no European army can con-
quer them without effort.
They will be handicapped In their
encounter with the British by inferior
arms. They know the use of gunpow-
der, but their arms are mostly of an
cient pattern, some Of them being
even the old-fashioned firelocks. 1t Is
the enlightened practice of civilized
Europe to sell off it's discarded fire.
arms to the savages of Africa. Eng
land has had it's full share in this
traffic, besides sending into Ashantee
an ocean of the yileSt run it's distillers
knew how to concoct.
Thus the twenty-one years since
W~olseley's campaign have not been
spent in idleness or without an eye to
the emergency which now dawns.
A Film FInm' imatum
The intended conquest of Ashantee
is no whim on the part of the British
government. Many serious and con-
sistent motives lead directly to the
business now in hand. The ultimatum
to the Ashantee king was, Of course.
pure film FAM" as all British diplo-
macy with savage nations is. 1t was
not intended or expected that his maj
eSty Of AShantee would understand
this gage of battle, much less decline
1t. The events of recent years have
simply taught Great Britain hat Ash
antee is a valuable possession, and she
proposes to grab it-before Germany
or France shall anticipate her.
There is the gold, which, by all ac-
counts, may prove so fabulous In
amount as to affect the price Of the
metal in the worlds market. There is
a respite from the annoying wars upon
the eastern boundary of the British
possessions on the gold coast. There
are places for the ever growing army
of young and well born Blitons out of
a job. There is an opportunity for
the army, which has been idle for so
long and which really must do some
thing once in a while to justify it's ex-
i~stence. But, chiefly, there is a new
market for cheap cottons, Brumma-
| gem ironware and nasty rum. After
these the missionaries.
So England is by 40 means without
a motive, such as it is, for this new
campaign of aggression. There are,
perhaps. 100000 Ashantees in the
| rich territory to be invaded. A quar-
ter century of English rule and Eng
lish rum will reduce them to a com
paratively harmless minority, and in