New-York tribune., 1900-04-15

hound his hands behind his back another drove
a knife through both his cheeks. which effectual-
ly prevented him from opening his mouth to
speak. and in this horrible condition he had to
await his turl for execution When the time
came the executioners. mad with blood. would
make a rush for him and force him upon the
bowl Then Of them, using d large kind of
a butchers knife, would cut into the spine and
so carve the head off. AT great executions
torture resorted to in order to please the
spectators 1t certainly seems that the people
had, by frequent indulgence, become imbued
with kind of blood lust, and that to them
execution attractive an entertainment
as is a bull fight to a Spaniard d football
match Englishman.
The contract made between the king and the
English Government in 1874 contained a clause
which provided for the abolition of the custom,
but sacrifices made until the expedition Of
1885 was undertaken. The objects of this
pedition were. besides putting end TO human
sacrifice, to wipe out slave trading and raiding.
to fnsure. peace and security for the neighboring
tribes and to settle the country and protect the
development Of trade. The expedition ended in
the downfall Of the Ashantee king Says Baden
Powell
It need not be supposed that all the property
found in the palace was of great value There
were piles of the tawdriest and ccmmonest stun
valuable articles.
TREASURES TAKEN AWAY.
The celebrated dinner service of Dutch silver,
the kings golden hat his golden chair of state
and above all the royal stool, the emblem Of
the King Of Ashautee, had been removed before
the victorious English troops took possession Of
the palace" which nothing more than a
collection of straw and mud covered huts. These
were destroyed by the English troops, and some
of the sacrificiaI paraphernalia was blown up
with dynamite.
Richard A. Freeman in his description Of an
interview with King Prempeh. says:
was at first a little uncertain about his sex
until I was formally introduced TO him. He
wore a cardinal red silk body cloth. richly en-
broidered. and his head was encircled by hIlet
Of silk. TO the front of which was attached an
ohIong safi Of gold A gold ornament also
attached TO his hair at the summit of the back
Of his head and his hair was cut short in front
and brushed or drawn back in such manner
as 10 cause the forehead to appear much lower
and the back of the head much higher than they
naturally were
The King with his mother and other members
of his family and a number OF chiefs, We're con-
veyed as prisoners to the coast in January. 1896
and the new era began in Ashantee at that
time Native troops were organized by a draft
on the various tribes. The tribe known as the
Mumfords were nearly all fishermen, and it
was believed that they would be poor soldiers
one officer describing them as having iron
sinews but hearts Of mice
The twenty companies We're recruited as fol-
lows: Eight from the Koobos two Mumfords
one Elminas four Adansis, two Beckwais and
one Abodoms. The which terminated in
the overthrow of King Prempeh was the fourth
in fifty years. and if the native king could have
raised the fifty thousand ounces Of gold which
. England asked a indemnity he might
have remained in authority and the civilization
Of the country would have been retarded and
/ the wars against the smaller tribes and the
bloody sacrifices might have continued.
Because of the trade in human beings.