The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-01-16
prupERs OF BLOOD
,,., CUSTOMS ATrRlso'eo
he sSU ,us ASHANTI sAvAerS'

he ssu' ,s ASHANTI sAvAers.
x,,,s Details Of the Finally
sp. Of the -. -. Of the English to De-
''' 30. .. bloody Reign of rr'"''A i
~" - London Paper a.. px,..
.,,o wears ago the first BRIT
severty'!wo .ycainst Kumassi came 10
n expedition a. The skull of its leader,
miserable -; enc Charles Mccarthy, was
Governor On u drinking cup, from when,
kurned ln'O Sehayed according to their
4 they az al 1 y ancestor and his VIC
wont rr l'arriors must have toasted e %S,,
tgiouis = T bumpers of human blood, a, no
other in Ou.d year 1868, was also
second eAp peu Int by King Fever. Most
badly know suow the history OF tne , 's1,"
people s3. ION Lord Wolseley's' year 100
espediIi orrcnaper reader has a general
Every n ~. sEourth and final expedition.
d si.S without firing a shot, maze az, an. ha
vn % ~ Prempeh's hideous RUE, Oh 'no
end Dt, Oh !, i1 January, 1896. The recording
sOth Oh ~ At least one good deed done
angel saw oartb that day, jotting 1t down
.. o. 1 RaIs credit as singulariy e. sat tho
70 pun example of his work in the
fac'O,' Those who may like TO possess
VOrla o, faithful, most readable record
q ,5s campaign will find 1t IN the Illus
o. .ns v vo of Major Baden Poweil's'
ua. HS;cb is appended suggestive CHAP
oN ~ Sir George Baden-Powell, M: r.,
Ter py 90 on,;tical and commercial position
Oh A Asu much we may detest war, 1t
:. nu.tifvipg to recognize the fact that
s' "'o.t African one has been service
~ Srmapity. King Prempeh was one OF
-. - n three or four most appalling mon
u .'.s y" Nth whom the British govern
~ ',u ba, had relations within the last
n'D Gears Still, had it been merely q
. ~ Of removing Prempeh. the sue
SSsssful expedition would not have de-
. .'rvad all the eulogium we have just
s.stowed upon it. When on Jan. 20
promneb did homage to Governor Max
ali kn.eling on a biscuit box. while
h;s eYcellency sat ON another, it was
not merely black king who passed
.wav Init a whole atrocious system OF
Mood torture and state sorcery that
had endured from immemorial time.
Tho name Kumassi means "the death
nlace" How we'll it deserved its name
I made plain enough in the first part OF
Major Baden Powell's book. SO numer-
ous were Prempeh's executioners that
two whole streets Of the town were set
anart for them to live in. One OF the
streets was occupied by the executioners
Of men. women and children doomed to
be sacrificed. In spite of the Wolseley
treaty, human sacrifices were never
stopped in Ashanti. At the harvest fes-
tiyal human beings were sacrificed to
the spirits. Whenever the king made O
pilgrimage to his ancestral ghosts. he
sacrificed 20 men, hacking their heads
of on the edge of his execution bowl, q
vessel five feet across.
1.-THE blood of the victims was allowed
to putrefy i'll the bowl, and leaves OF
certain herbs being added it was con-
sidered very valuable fetch medicine. +"
When great parsonage died. two OF
his household slaves were at once killed
on the threshold of the door, in order to
attend their master Immediately in his
new life, and his grave was afterward
lined with the bodies Of more slaves
who were to form his retinue in the
spirit world" Sometimes the slaves, or
free people kidnapped for the purpose.
were buried alive with the dead person
age. Slave girls were killed to accom-
pany their mistress into the other world.
Great numbers were sacrificed when q
king died. When = man was kidnapped
Tor sacrifice, he was gagged with knife
run through Lis cheeks. These frightful
customs Of the Ashanti capital were oh
served by every kinglet in the Ashanti
empire. Executions were decreed O.
any pretense. at 10 even said that on
one occasion he (Prempsh) preferred Q
richer color in the red stueco ON the
walls OF the palace and that for thii
purpose the blood Of 400 virgins was
used"
We need say nothing Of the march, IL
winch our author rendered most excel
s" service with his pioneering ant
covering corps The following funny
Story Is worth quoting: A native runner
came IN with crumpied piece Of pa
pr bearing the insssiption, "Najo,
GORDON killed 18th instant. Comma
uon and grief. OF course. Then "som,
one discovered faint pencil note Of re
~ipt initiated by Major Gordon himself
1o IL then was rememb ered that q pisc,
"a fresh meat had been sent off to him
quay or two previously with this sci
saino label attached to it." There is
'~y good description of the last scene
~ humassi, including the destruction
" inc ietich village and the BLOWN,
" WIN gun cotton Of the great fetiol
we IN whose shade hundreds Of vic
aIls nave been sacrificed The oil,
ashanti a.nanu dam" which prevented com
mel. ..c,ciM intercourse between the coas
n0 u inc interior being now removed, 81
.on u.se Baden. Powell. in the chapter b
"'tioutes, advocates the construction
tIa hgnt railway from Cape Coast Gas
w W the Prah river. News.