Evening journal., 1897-03-05
}UMPERS OF BLOOD.
lE BRUTAL CUSTOMS ATTRIBUTED
TO THE ASHANTI SAvAGES.


troy the Bloody Reign Of Prernpeh Told
n London Paper.
Seventy-two years ago the first Brit
l expedition against Kumassi came to
miserable end. The skull Of its leader,
)vernor Sir Charles Mccarthy, was
rned into a drinking cup, from which,
they at all behaved according 10 their
ont, Prempehs ancestor and his vic
rious warriors must have toasted each
her in bumpers Of human blood The
sond expedition, year 1868, was also
,dly beaten, but by King Fever. Most
ople know the history Of the third
pedition, Lord Wolseley's, year 1878.
very newspaper reader has a general
ca Of the fourth and final expedition.
hich, without firing a shot, made an
I'd Of Prempeh's hideous rule, on the
9TH Of January, 1896. The recording
igel saw at least one good deed done
the earth that day, jotting it down
Bulls credit as a singularly salts
lctory example Of his work in the
orld. Those who may like to possess a
impact, faithful, most readable record
the campaign will find it i'll the illus
ated volume of Major Baden Powells,
, which is appended a suggestive chsp-
r by Sir George Baden Powell, M. p,
1 the political and commercial position
{ Ashanti.
However much we may detcst war, 1t
gratifying to recognize the fact that
lis west African one has been "A service
humanity. King Prempeh was one of
le three or four most appalling mon
jers with whom the British govern
lent has had relations within the last
0 years. Still, had it been merely a
uestion of removing Prempeh, the sue
essful expedition would not have de-
srved all the eulogium we have just
estowed upon it. When on Jan. 20
'rempeh did homage TO Governor Max
7ell. kneeling on a biscuit box, while
is excellency sat on another, it was
OF merely a black king who passed
way, but a whole atrocious system of
Hood, torture and state sorcery that
lad endured from immemOrial time.
he name Kumassi means "the death
llace. How well it deserved its name
made plain enough in the first part Of
dajor Baden -Powell's look. So numer-
Sus were Prempeh's executioners that
wo whole streets of the town were set
part for them to live in Ono of the
treets was occupied by the executioners
# men, women and children doomed TO
De sacrificed. In spite of the Wolseley
reaty, human sacrifices were never
topped in Ashanti. At the harvest fes-
ival human beings were sacrificed to
he spirits Whenever the king made a
pilgrimage to his ancestral ghosts, he
sacrificed 20 men, hacking their heads
lff ON the edge of his execution bowl, a
vessel five feet across.
The blood of the victims was allowed
o putrefy in the bowl, and leaves Of
certain herbs being added it was con-
sidered a very yvaluablefetich medicine. y
When a great parsonage died, two OF
his household slaves We're at once killed
on the threshold Of the door. in order tC
attend their master Immediately in his
new life, and his grave was afterward
lined with the bodies of more slaves
who We're to form his retinue in the
spirit world Sometimes the slaves, OF
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 We're sacrificed when q
king died. When a man was kidnapped
for sacrifice, he was gagged with knife
run through his cheeks. These frightful
customs of the Ashanti capital were OBJ
served by every kinglet in the Ashanti
"empire. Executions were decreed on
any pretense. 'It is even said that on
one occasion ne (Prempeh) preferred &
richer color in the red stucco on tn,
walls of the palace and that for this
purpose the blood Of 400 virgins wa'
used.
We need say nothing of hemarch, il
which our author rendered most excel
lent service with his pioneering arc
covering corps Tho following funny
story is worth quoting: A native runnei
came in with a crumpled piece of pa
per" bearing the inscription, "Majo
Gordon killed l4th instant Commo
tion and grief Of course. Then 'som'
one discovered a faint pencil note of re
ceipt initiated by Major Gordon himself
and it. then was remembered that a piec
of fresh meat had been sent off TO hin
a day or two previously with this sci
same label attached TO it, " There is
very good description of the last scene
at Kumassi, including the destruction
Of the fetch village and the blowing
up with gun cotton of the great feticl
tree in whose shade hundreds of vic
Tins have been sacrificed. " The oil
Ashanti ''dam" which prevented com
mercial intercourse between the coas
and the interior being now removed, 81
George Baden-Powell, in the chapter h
contributes, advocates the constructio
of light railway from Cape Coast Cas-
tie to the Prah river. London News