^OWDICH'S MISSION 
 
 CAPE COAST CASTL 
 
 ETO ASHANTEE
 
 ^'yr^vrrji^wv* 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 From the collection of 
 ELSPETH HUXLEY
 
 iiCSB LIBRARY
 
 \ 
 
 V
 
 MISSION 
 
 FEOM CAPE COAST CASTLE 
 
 TO 
 
 ASHANTEE, 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THAT KINGDOM. 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 T. EDWARD BOWDICH, Esq. 
 
 QUOD SI PB^ METU ET rOEMIDIlS^E PEDESI EEFEEE5ICS, ISTA OMNIA NOBIS 
 ADTEESA FUTUEA SO'T." 
 
 NEW EDITION, 
 WITH INTRODUCTOBY FREFACE BY HIS DAUGHTER, MRS. HAIE. 
 
 LONDOX : 
 
 GRIFFITH & FARRAJSr, 
 
 CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD. 
 
 aiDCCCLXXIII.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 QILBEET AND EIYINGTON, PEINTEES, 
 
 ST. JOHN'S BQUAEE.
 
 TO 
 
 DAVID E. MORIEE, Esq., 
 
 THIS EEPEINT OF 
 THE WORK or HIS OLD FRIEND, 
 
 IS INSCRIBED 
 WITH THE SINCEEEST REGARD AND ESTEEM. 
 
 T. H. HALE.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A T this time of general interest in tlie little -known 
 kingdom of Askantee, it occurred to me tkat a 
 reprint of my fatker^s mission to tkat country migkt be 
 acceptable to tke public,, by making known tke genius 
 and ckaracter of tke people witk wkom we are engaged 
 in tke present unkappy war. Wkile kesitating from 
 tke fear tkat after tke expiration of fifty years tke 
 information contained in it migkt kave become obsolete 
 or superseded, I received a letter from my valued 
 friend, Mr. David Morier, suggesting tke republication 
 of tke work, from tke desirability tkat tke kistory of 
 our first dealings witk tkat savagely formidable power 
 skould be tkorougkly known. My undertaking also 
 met witk encouragement from Professor Owen and 
 from Mr. Andrew Swanzy, wkose able letters, publisked 
 in tke Times newspaper, prove kim to be so tkorougkly 
 conversant witk tke afiairs of tke Gold Coast, and wko 
 kas kindly allowed me to publisk tke annexed letter, 
 in wkick ke gives kis opinion as to tke value of tke 
 work at tke present crisis. Tke narrative of tke mission 
 
 I kave given as it stood. In tke second part I kave
 
 VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 left out one or two chapters, wliich are hardly suitable 
 to the present time. 
 
 But_, as a generation has passed away since my brave 
 and talented father toiled, suffered, and died in the 
 cause of science and of Africa, the present generation 
 may require to know something of his history before 
 it relies upon his information. 
 
 Thomas Edward Bowdich was born in Bristol, June 
 20th, 1791. The son of a merchant, it was natural 
 that his father should wish him to enter his business, 
 but Mr. Bowdich's career is one of the many instances 
 which show how impossible it is, if not wrong, to 
 endeavour to turn into an uncongenial channel the 
 talents^ the tastes for another, and in this case nobler 
 sphere. To a mind and character such as his, the desk 
 and the counting-house were so entirely distasteful, 
 that, in 1814, through the interest of his uncle, Mr. 
 Hope Smith, then Go vernor-in- Chief of the settlements 
 of the African Company, he obtained a writership in 
 that Company, and proceeded to Cape Coast. In 1817 
 he was chosen by the African Company to conduct a 
 mission to Ashantee, for the purpose of establishing the 
 trade with that kingdom. It is the history of that 
 mission which is now republished, and to that I refer 
 the reader for that portion of Mr. Bowdich^s life. 
 
 On returning to England, flushed with the success 
 of his mission, he was so coolly received, in consequence
 
 INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 of the misrepresentations of those who either dis- 
 approved of his conduct of it^ or were jealous of so 
 young a man having accomplished it, that, after the 
 pubHcation of the first edition of "The Mission to 
 Ashantee/' he repaired to Paris with my mother, and 
 for three years and a half devoted himself to study, 
 with the view of preparing himself for another voyage 
 to Africa. Here he was in constant intercourse with 
 Cuvier, De Humboldt, Denon, and the many gifted 
 persons who formed the brilliant society of the Hotel 
 Cuvier. 
 
 While fitting himself for a return to Africa, he 
 published several pamphlets and works on Natural 
 History, and, in 1822, started for Sierra Leone. The 
 African Company had become extinct, and Mr. 
 Bowdich hoped, if permitted, to make himself useful to 
 the new Government of the Gold Coast. He first went 
 to Lisbon, in order to consult some manuscripts in the 
 public and private archives of that city, which might 
 enable him to form an idea of the extent of the 
 Portuguese discoveries in Africa. From Lisbon he 
 went to Madeira ; not finding a ship bound for Sierra 
 Leone among the many lying at anchor in the bay of 
 Funchal, Mr. Bowdich made several excursions into the 
 interior of the island ; in these he was occupied many 
 months. At last, giving up all hope of finding a vessel 
 going direct to Sierra Leone, he set sail for the Gambia,
 
 VIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 on the 26tli of October, 1823, staying some time at the 
 Cape de Verde Islands, where he made many excursions 
 and discoveries in Natural History. 
 
 Arrived at Bathurst, Mr. Bowdich intended to stay 
 a month before proceeding to Sierra Leone, and as the 
 Gambia was so little known to science, he at once set to 
 work to commence its survey and examine its natural 
 productions. In pursuit of these he lost his life. 
 Anxious to multiply his astronomical observations as 
 much as possible, he scarcely allowed himself needful 
 rest, and one night, fearing he had slept too long, he 
 started from his bed in haste, and exposed himself, 
 with too little additional clothing, to the cold land 
 breeze in the open gallery. Fever followed, and in 
 ten days he closed his life of activity, energy, and zeal, 
 January 10th, 1824. 
 
 Mr. Bowdich's works, and his numerous discoveries 
 in Natural Science, during a short life of little more 
 than thirty years, show what his powers were, to what 
 they would have led, and what might have been 
 expected from so much early promise. 
 
 Brought up with an hereditary love for and interest 
 in Africa, it has been a pleasure to me to contribute, in 
 even the smallest degree, to a better knowledge of it, 
 especially if a closer acquaintance with its people lead 
 to efforts for their civilization and their conversion to 
 the One True Faith ; nor has the task imposed upon
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 me^ as a necessary part of tlie reprint of tlie " Mission 
 to Ashantee/^ of bringing the name of a revered father 
 again before the public, been a less pleasant one. My 
 only regret is that I have performed it so imperfectly. 
 
 Tedlie Hutchison Hale. 
 68, Haeley Steeet, 
 
 11th October, 1873. 
 
 Gojpy of a Lettet'from Mr. Andrew Swanzt. 
 
 122, Cannox Steeet, London, 
 October 6th, 1873. 
 
 My dear Madam, — Owing to the dangers and 
 difficulties attending a journey to Coomassie, few 
 travellers have of late attempted the task ; and had its 
 King been contented to reign in peace over the vast 
 territory under his sway, Ashantee might have re- 
 mained for an indefinite period unnoticed and unex- 
 plored; it needed, however, but a bad excuse and a 
 good opportunity, to induce that savage monarch to 
 make a great, and, as I believe, a final efibrt to regain 
 his former sovereignty over the tribes under the protec- 
 tion of the British. This efibrt, under-estimated at first, 
 and unopposed by any adequate force, has carried the 
 warlike Ashantees to the very gates of our principal 
 towns on the Gold Coast, till at length the interests 
 and eveu the honour of England have become involved
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the struggle with, this barbarous chief. The conse- 
 quence is, that the inquiry excited fifty years since, by 
 the defeat and death of Sir Charles McCarthy, is again 
 awakened, and every one asks where and what is 
 Ashantee ? At such a crisis, my dear Madam, we turn 
 for an answer to the few books written on the subject, 
 and especially to the able work of your late father, 
 copies of which cannot be found to supply even those 
 personally interested in Africa; and the public are 
 deprived of the useful and reliable information to be 
 derived from Bowdich^s '^ Mission,^' information as 
 applicable now as it was when first ofi'ered to the 
 public half a century since, for in the meantime but 
 little change has taken place in the political and social 
 aspect of Ashantee. 
 
 May I, then, as one sincerely interested in all that 
 concerns West Africa, respectfully suggest that your 
 father's account of his journey to Coomassie, and of 
 what he saw and heard there, be reprinted and pub- 
 lished in such a form as you may consider most 
 acceptable to the public ? 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 A, SWANZY. 
 
 Mes. Tedlie Hutchison Hale, 
 58, Sarley Street.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTIB PAGE 
 
 I. The Objects, axd Depaetuee of the Mission . 1 
 II. The Eoute, and Eeceptiox of the Mission. . 13 
 
 III. Peoceedings and Incidents until the Thied 
 
 Despatch to Cape Coast Castle ... 46 
 
 IV. Peoceedings and Incidents until the Thied 
 
 Despatch to Cape Coast Castle. ... 87 
 V. Peoceedings and Incidents until the Signing 
 
 OF the Peeliminaeies to a Geneeal Teeaty . 114 
 VI. Peoceedings and Incidents until the Eatifica- 
 
 tion of a Geneeal Teeaty 133 
 
 VII. Peoceedings and Incidents until the Comple- 
 tion OF the Mission and its Eetuen to Cape 
 Coast Castle 147 
 
 PAET II. 
 
 Histoey 179 
 
 Constitution and Laws 203 
 
 Supeestitions 212 
 
 Customs 226 
 
 Aechitectuee, Aets, and Manufactuees . . . 254 
 
 Climate, Population, Eevenue, City, Maekets, etc. . 263 
 
 Music 278 
 
 Mateeia Medica and Diseases 282
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Ceoom. a town or village. 
 
 Caboceee. a chief or magistrate. 
 
 Ptnin. An elder or counsellor. 
 
 Palayee. a dispute, debate, argument, or suit. 
 
 Book oe Note. A certificate of a monthly pension of the African 
 Committee, paid in trade to the Fantee Kings and Chiefs in 
 the neighbourhood of the British Settlements, in consideration 
 of their attachment, influence, and services ; which Books 
 or Notes were claimed by the King of Ashantee, as his by 
 right of conquest. 
 
 Stool. Throne, seat in council, inheritance. 
 
 Custom. A festival, carnival, public ceremony, funeral rite. 
 
 Pantae. To seize or kidnap. 
 
 A Benda. Two ounces four ackies, or £9 currency. 
 
 A Peeiguin. Two ounces eight ackies, or £10 currenc3\ 
 
 An Ackie. Five shillings currency. 
 
 A ToKOO. Tenpence. 
 
 A Dash. A present. 
 
 Fetish. A charm, amulet, deity. Any supernatural power or 
 influence. Any thing sacred.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE OBJECTS^ AND DEPAETURE OF THE MISSION. 
 
 "DOSMAN and Barbot mention the Ashantees as first 
 -^ heard of by Europeans about the year 1 700 ; the 
 latter calls it Assiantee or Inta^ and writes^ that it is 
 west of MandingOj and joins Akim on the east ; he 
 asserts its pre-eminence in wealth and power. Issert, 
 a physician in the Danish service^ who meditated a 
 visit to Ashantee,, writes, ^^this mighty king has a 
 piece of gold, as a charm, more than four men can 
 carry ; and innumerable slaves are constantly at work 
 for him in the mountains, each of whom must collect 
 or produce two ounces of gold per diem. The Akims 
 formerly dug much gold, but they are now forbidden 
 by the King of Ashantee, to whom they are tributary, 
 as well as the Aquamboos, previously a very formidable 
 nation." Mr. Dalzel heard of the Ashantees at 
 Dahomey, as very powerful, but imagined them, the 
 Intas, and the Tapahs, to be one and the same nation. 
 
 B
 
 2 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Mr. LucaSj when in Mesurata, was informed that 
 Assentai was the capital of the powerful kingdom of 
 Tonouwah. In Mr. Murray^s enlarged edition of 
 Dr. Leyden^s discoveries in Africa, we find, " the 
 northern border of Akim extends to Tonouwah, de- 
 nominated also Inta, Assiente, or Assentai, from its 
 capital city of that name, which stands about eighteen 
 days' journey from the Gold Coast.'' 
 
 In 1807 an Ashantee army reached the coast for the 
 first time. I would refer the reader to the extract in 
 the Appendix, from Mr. Meredith's account of the 
 Gold Coast, as the particulars are introductory as well 
 as interesting ; and also serve to correct the misstate- 
 ment in the work last quoted, that in 1808 the 
 King of Ashantee destroyed the English fort of 
 Annamaboe; originating, probably, from the storm of 
 the Dutch fort at Cormantine, at that time. 
 
 The Ashantees invaded Fantee again in 1811, and 
 the third time in 1816. These invasions inflicted the 
 greatest miseries on the Fantees. Few were slain in 
 battle, for they rarely dared to encounter the invaders ; 
 but the butcheries in cold blood were incredible, and 
 thousands were dragged into the interior to be sacri- 
 ficed to the superstitions of the conquerors. Famines, 
 unmitigated by labour, succeeded the wide waste of 
 the Fantee territory, the wretched remnant of the 
 population abandoning itself to despair ; and the pro- 
 longed blockade of Cape Coast Castle in the last inva- 
 sion, engendered so much distress and hazard, that 
 the Government having averted imminent danger by 
 advancing a large sum of gold on account of the 
 Fantees, earnestly desired the Committee to authorize
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. D 
 
 and enable them to venture an Embassy^ to deprecate 
 tliese repeated calamities,, to conciliate so powerful a 
 monarcli, and to propitiate an extension of commerce. 
 By the store ship which arrived in 1817, the African 
 Committee forwarded liberal and suitable presents, and 
 associated scientific with the political objects of the 
 mission, in their instructions, which I submit in ex- 
 planation. 
 
 *''' In order to enable you to redeem the promise to 
 the King of Ashantee (and as we are sanguine in our 
 hopes of the good that may result from it), we send 
 you sundry articles as presents for him, to which you 
 may add such others from the public stores as you may 
 deem desirable, provided they will not materially in- 
 crease the expense. The Committee are extremely 
 anxious (and in this respect the wishes of all classes of 
 people in this country go with them) that no exertions 
 should be spared to become better acquainted with the 
 Interior of Africa ; and we consider the existing state 
 of things to be most favourable for undertaking an 
 exploratory mission into the dominions of the King of 
 Ashantee. If, therefore, nothing shall have transpired 
 in the interim of this despatch being received by you, 
 to make the measure objectionable, we wish you to 
 obtain permission from the King to send an Embassy 
 to his capital : if granted, you will select three gentle- 
 men (one of them from the medical department) ^ for 
 
 1 "We recommend his being well supplied with dressings, &c., for 
 wounds and bruises, so tliat he may be able to assist any natives 
 whom he may meet with requiring his aid : services of this sort 
 give Negroes an exajted idea of white men, and are always grate- 
 fully remembered. 
 
 B 2
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 that service ; and let them be accompanied by a re- 
 spectable escort, you giving them the fullest instruc- 
 tions for their government. In particular, it will be 
 necessary for them to observe, and report upon, the 
 nature of the country; its soil and products; the 
 names, and distances, and the latitude and longitude 
 of the principal places; and its most remarkable 
 natural objects : the appearance, distinguishing cha- 
 racters, and manners of the natives; their religion, 
 laws, customs, and forms of government, as far as they 
 can be ascertained ; and by whom each place is 
 governed. When at Ashantee, they should endeavour 
 to obtain the fullest information of the countries be- 
 yond, in each direction ; particularly whether any high 
 mountains, lakes, or large rivers are known ; and the 
 width, depth, course, and direction of the latter; and 
 whether the water, as well of the lakes as the jivers, 
 is salt or fresh : and how far, and under what circum- 
 stances, white men may travel with safety, especially in 
 a northerly direction. Tbey should collect the most 
 accurate information possible of the extent, population, 
 and resources of the Ashantee dominions, and should 
 report fully their opinion of the inhabitants, and of the 
 progress they may have made in the arts of civilized 
 life. They should be directed also, to procure and 
 bring away (with the consent of the chiefs) any 
 specimens of vegetable and mineral productions they 
 may be able : and to ascertain where and how the 
 natives collect the gold, and the extent to which the 
 trade in that article, and in ivory, might be carried on. 
 It would, we conceive, be a most important advantage 
 if the King of Ashantee, and some of his chiefs, could
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 5 
 
 be prevailed upon to send one or more of their children 
 to the Cape^ to be educated at the expense of the 
 Committee (to be attended by their own servants_, if 
 required)^ under the guarantee of the Governor and 
 Council for their personal safety^ and that they should 
 be sent back when required. 
 
 ^^ Another great object would be_, to prevail upon the 
 King to form^ and keep open^ a path not less than 
 six feet wide^ from his capital_, as far as his territories 
 extend towards Cape Coast^ you engaging on the part 
 of the Committee to continue it from that point to Cape 
 Coast J which we presume may be done at a very small 
 expense,, by means of monthly allowances to the chiefs 
 of such villages as be in that line ; upon condition that 
 they shall not allow the path to be overgi^own with 
 underwood^ or otherwise obstructed. 
 
 '' It may perhaps be founds that high mountains^ or a 
 large river^ may be not many days^ journey beyond 
 Ashantee ; in which case^ if the gentlemen composing 
 the Embassy feel themselves secure in the attempt^ they 
 may probably be disposed to proceed so far. In such 
 events we authorize you to pay their drafts for any 
 moderate sums which they may find it necessary to 
 expend^ as well as for the general objects of the mission. 
 
 '' Besides the escort of which we have spoken^ we 
 think it necessary, or at least extremely important, 
 that the Embassy should be accompanied by natives 
 of character and consequence, conversant with the 
 Ashantee language, in whom you have perfect confi- 
 dence, selected, one from each of the towns of Cape 
 Coast, Accra, and Appollonia, to whom you may make 
 reasonable allowances for their time and trouble.
 
 6 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 " We liave said tliat you should obtain tlie permission 
 of tlie King of Ashantee to send the Embassy : we have 
 doubts of the expediency of requiring hostages ; but, 
 we presume you will concur with us in thinking, it will 
 be necessary, before it leaves Cape Coast, that a man 
 of consequence should be specially sent down by the 
 King, to serve as a guide and protector ; and who, on 
 his journey to Cape Coast, may arrange with the 
 messenger whom you may send to the King, respecting 
 the places at which the Embassy may stop to refresh, 
 and give directions to open the paths that may be over- 
 grown. 
 
 " The gentlemen whom you may select, will of course 
 be well advised by you not to interfere with any 
 customs of the natives, however absurd ; or in any way 
 to give them offence. And they cannot too strongly 
 impress upon the minds of the King and people of 
 Ashantee, that the only objects his Britannic Majesty 
 has in view, are, to extend the trade with that 
 country ; to prevent all interruption to their free 
 communication with the waterside; and to instruct 
 their children in reading, writing, &c., from which, as 
 may be easily pointed out, the greatest advantages 
 must arise to the Ashantees. 
 
 " From what has been said, you, gentlemen, will 
 perceive, that in selecting the Embassy, it is important 
 that one of the persons composing it should be able to 
 determine the latitude and longitude of places, and 
 that both shall be seasoned to the climate ; of ability, 
 physical and mental; of cool tempers and moderate 
 habits ; and possessed of fortitude and perseverance ; 
 and that in the selection of their escort also, regard be
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 7 
 
 had to the qualifications of the parties in those respects. 
 Among them there should be a bricklayer^ carpenter, 
 blacksmith_, gunsmith, and cooper, with proper tools ; 
 if these persons can be spared for the purpose. We 
 wish also they should take with them a number of 
 certificates regarding Major Peddie, and his companions, 
 to be circulated as distinctly as possible in the interior; 
 for though the period may be past when they might 
 have been useful to those travellers, it is yet possible 
 that they may be of use in making generally known 
 the object of Government in sending white men to 
 explore that country.''^ 
 
 The suggestion of hostages was wholly impracticable, 
 for there was not even time for a communication with 
 the King. A variety of circumstances conspired to 
 urge the immediate despatch of the mission ; our 
 interests, to say the least, imperiously demanded its 
 early interference; and had we waited for a formal 
 permission from the King to relieve the difficulties of 
 the enterprise, the rainy season would have been too 
 far advanced, and the critical moment have escaped us. 
 The Governor thought it more advisable to despatch 
 the mission without an escort, and two native soldiers 
 only were added to the bearers of the baggage. The 
 perusal of the Governor's instructions will be satis- 
 factory to the reader : 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, A_p?Hl 19th, 1817. 
 
 Feedeeick James, Esq., 
 Member of Council and Govemior of Accra. 
 SiE, — In accepting yourvoluntaryofi*er of conducting 
 the Embassy to the King of Ashantee, I have eveiy
 
 8 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 reason to believe^ that from your long experience in 
 this country, and your knowledge of the manners and 
 habits of the natives, it will terminate in a manner 
 highly creditable to yourself, and eventually prove of 
 the greatest importance to the commercial interest of 
 Great Britain, which is the more immediate object of 
 the mission ; however, as many subjects of scientific 
 research may be associated with it, they are particularly 
 recommended to your attention. For this purpose Mr. 
 Bowdich will accompany you ; and 1 have no doubt he 
 will be found perfectly qualified to make the necessary 
 observations, in which you will afford him every facility 
 and assistance. He is provided with instruments for 
 determining the latitude and longitude of places. Mr. 
 Hutchison, writer, and Mr. Tedlie, assistant surgeon, 
 will also be attached to the expedition. 
 
 The Ashantees, who are appointed your guides, have 
 been selected by the Ashantee captain who is now 
 here. They will, I hope, aid and assist you in every- 
 thing that lays in their power. 
 
 In addition to the Committee^s instructions, a copy 
 of which you have herewith, you will attend to the 
 following : 
 
 On the subject of your journey, I have nothing to 
 observe further, than, that I hope you will take every 
 opportunity of travelling when there will be the least 
 exposure to the sun, as the officers who accompany you 
 have been but a short time in the country, and every 
 precaution will be necessary for the preservation of 
 their health. 
 
 As soon as may be convenient after your arrival at 
 the Ashantee capital, you will of course see the King,
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 9 
 
 and deliver him the various presents in tlie name of tlie 
 African Company, to be received by him as pledges of 
 the harmony and friendship which is ever to subsist 
 between them; and also of his goodwill towards the 
 natives residing under the protection of their different 
 forts. You will not fail to impress upon his mind, the 
 great power, wealth, and consequence of the British 
 nation, and how much it is the interest of himself and 
 his subjects, to promote and perpetuate their present 
 free intercourse with the water side. In the course 
 of your interview many circumstances will doubtless 
 occur, which will suggest various other matters proper 
 to be mentioned to the King, all which I shall leave 
 entirely to your own discretion. 
 
 You will acquaint the King, that in order to secure 
 a correct communication between him and myself, I 
 request his permission to allow an officer to reside con- 
 stantly at Commassey, who will defray all his own 
 expenses, and for whom you will build a house with- 
 out loss of time. A carpenter, bricklayer, and cooper 
 are sent with you, and you will leave them with Mr. 
 Hutchison, who will remain as Eesident. On your 
 departure you will give him full instructions in writing 
 for his future government, a copy of which you will 
 deliver me upon your return. 
 
 You will keep an exact diary of every circumstance 
 possessing the least interest, a copy of which you will 
 transmit me by every opportunity. 
 
 In the course of your stay in the Ashantee country, 
 you will embrace every occasion of becoming acquainted 
 with the politics of that nation, of ascertaining its 
 extent and boundaries, the power of the King over the
 
 10 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 lives and property of his subjects^ the probable force 
 he could bring into the field, the number of his allies, 
 the sources and amount of his revenues. Whether he 
 is tributary to any other power, and what nations in 
 his neighbourhood are tributary to him ? The amount 
 of tribute, and in what articles paid ? The rule of suc- 
 cession to the throne ? What are the punishments for 
 crimes of all descriptions ? ^Vho are the persons of 
 most consequence next to the King ? The names of 
 their ofiices, and the extent of their power : by whom, 
 or how paid ? What are the most prominent features 
 in the character, manners, and habits of the people, &c. 
 &c. &c. ? 
 
 Are any human sacrifices made ? Upon what occa- 
 sions, and to what extent ? How are prisoners of war 
 now disposed of? 
 
 Of what nation are the Moors that frequent the 
 Ashantee country, and for what purpose do they go 
 there ? 
 
 Ascertain the current medium of exchange, whether 
 gold, or cowries; also the usual prices at which the 
 Ashantees sell the goods they purchase from the 
 Europeans on the sea coast ; and the extent of their 
 commercial relations with the interior. 
 
 You will inquire whether any European travellers 
 have ever been seen or heard of in any of the countries 
 to the northward ; and what became of them ? 
 Whether anything be known of the river Niger, or 
 Joliba, as it is called by the natives ? This information 
 you will probably obtain from the Moors. 
 
 Ascertain the position of the Doncoe country, and 
 the city of Kong; also the mountains of that name.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 11 
 
 Refer to Parkas Travels,, and acquire as mucli infor- 
 mation as possible of tlie regions lying between 
 Ashantee and the last places lie visited. In short, 
 leave nothing undone that may add to our present 
 imperfect geographical knowledge of the interior. 
 
 You will receive herewith copies of certificates 
 relative to Major Peddie^s expedition, which you will 
 distribute amongst any persons you find travelling into 
 the interior from Ashantee. 
 
 It would be of the first importance to have a road 
 cut directly down to Cape Coast; and this you will 
 urge to the King in the strongest manner. Your 
 observations will, of course^ enable you to point out the 
 proper directions. 
 
 I enclose a sketch of a treaty, and it would be highly 
 deshable if you could procure its ratification by the 
 King. He might perhaps make some objection at first, 
 but may be persuaded at length, by your address, and 
 reasoning. If he wished any trifling alteration made, 
 you might use your discretion in this respect. 
 
 You will acquaint the King, it is my wish that in 
 future he receive his company^s pay at this Castle, and 
 not at Accra, as formerly. Should he say anything of 
 an increase to his present allowance, you may give him 
 hopes that it will be granted to a reasonable extent, 
 provided the objects of this mission be fulfilled, and 
 after twelve months' experience shall have proved the 
 sincerity of his friendship to the British Government, 
 and to the natives resident under its protection at the 
 various forts on the coast. 
 
 From the jealous disposition of the natives of Africa, 
 it is highly probable, that in the prosecution of your
 
 12 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 inquiries^ you will be subject to many unfavourable 
 suspicions. These you ^411 take all possible care to 
 remove^ by tlie most candid explanations on every point 
 that may be required. 
 
 You will particularly explain to the King^ the ill- 
 treatment the people of Cape Coast have experienced 
 from those of Elmina^ which has added very much to 
 the distresses they have for some time suffered from 
 the extreme scarcity of provisions ; and there is reason 
 to believe, that this unjust persecution has been 
 induced, from their presuming on their connexion with 
 the Ashantees. Being perfectly aware that it has been 
 done without the concurrence of the Eang ; I have no 
 doubt but he will, by a proper representation of the 
 affair from you, exert his influence, and prevent what 
 is at present to be apprehended, and what the Elminas 
 are endeavouring to provoke — a war between the two 
 people. 
 
 In all cases not provided for in these instructions, 
 you have of course a discretionary power, which I am 
 convinced you will make use of with deliberation and 
 prudence, and with becoming zeal for the service upon 
 which you are employed. 
 
 Wishing you a prosperous journey and a safe 
 return, 
 
 I am. Sir, your most obedient Servant, 
 
 John Hope Smith.
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 THE EOUTE_, AND EECEPTION OF THE MISSION. 
 
 rpHE mission left Cape Coast Castle on tlie morning 
 -^ of tlie 22nd of Aprils with tlie intention of quitting 
 the water side at Moree, three miles and a half to the 
 eastward ; but on reaching it, we were told that the 
 path thence to Pajntree^s croom, always bad, was then 
 impassable from the rains ; and that we must proceed 
 to Annamaboe before we struck into the bush for the 
 interior. 
 
 The reluctance of the carriers, who had been pressed 
 into the service by the authorities of the town, became 
 thus early almost insuperable ; the consideration of pay 
 and subsistence, and the reflection, that the dearth 
 inflicted by the invasions the mission was to deprecate, 
 allowed them but a bare existence at home, were 
 entirely lost in their aversion to the undertaking, which 
 was equally influenced by jealousy and indolence : 
 eleven deserted the first day ; and the slender authority 
 of the King and caboceers of Annamaboe, delayed the 
 procuring of others to replace them until the next 
 evening. One party was then started, attended by a 
 soldier and a messenger, as they persisted in laying 
 down their loads, even in the town ; and many of the
 
 14 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Annamaboes wlio liad been procured, after lifting their 
 packages, wliicb were of moderate weiglit, walked off 
 again, witli tlie most insolent indifference. The devices 
 by wliicli these people displayed their ill will were pecu- 
 liarly their own, and none could be more ingeniously 
 tormenting. At four o^clock on Thursday morning we 
 started the remainder of the packages, and followed 
 them at half-past six. Proceeding about two miles 
 in a N.N.W. direction, we descended a steep hill, a 
 quarter of a mile in length, and entered a beautiful 
 valley, profusely covered with pines, aloes, and lilies ; 
 and richly Varied with palm, banana, plantain, and 
 guava trees : the view was refreshed by gentle risings 
 crowned with cotton trees of a stupendous size. I 
 never saw soil so rich, or vegetation so luxuriant. 
 
 The first croom we reached was Quama^s, about 
 three miles and a half from Annamaboe ; it presented 
 but a few hovels ; and we passed through three others, 
 Simquoi, Taphoo, and Nasmam, just as wretched and 
 insignificant, before we reached Booka, romantically 
 situated amidst the luxuriant foliage of a high hill, 
 terminating the valley. Abra is about three miles 
 eastward of this croom : it has been entirely deserted 
 since the last invasion, the Ashantee army under Appia 
 Nanu having made it their head- quarters. It formerly 
 exceeded Annamaboe, but the little that now remains 
 is in ruin, the inhabitants having retired to the small 
 crooms of their caboceer, or Captain Quaggheree. 
 
 Passing through Tachradi, which scarcely existed 
 but in name, we ascended a gentle rising, with a small 
 croom, called Acroofroom, on the left hand. The astonish- 
 ment of its miserable inhabitants engaging our attention.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 15 
 
 the extensive area of tlie summit burst upon us with, tlie 
 more effect. It was environed by small groves ; and 
 clumps of cotton trees rose so happily in frequent 
 spots_, as to afford all the scenery of a romantic little 
 park ; the broken rays of the sun stealing through the 
 small trees in the distance^ to make the deep shade of 
 the foreground more imposing. The path then became 
 more hilly^ and the landscape fuller of wood : our 
 descents and risings frequently through long vistas_, 
 so richly gilded with the sun on the summits^ that^ 
 impressed with the description of Issert^ we naturally 
 yielded to the expectation, in ascending each eminence, 
 that it would afford us the delightful prospect of an 
 open country ; but we were disappointed, and passing 
 through Dunnasee and Assoquah, both small crooms, 
 the latter situated on a long level, about three miles 
 and a half from Acroofroom, we shortly after arrived 
 at Payntree^s. 
 
 On the higher hills the soil was generally gravel, 
 with large stones ; on the lesser, white flint and whin- 
 stone abounded ; the levels presented few stones, and 
 the earth was black, strong, and rich, producing grass 
 from four to ten feet high. The country was very 
 thinly inhabited, and more sparingly cultivated, the 
 cassada frequent, but producing little from the want of 
 cultivation. 
 
 I made Payntree^s croom barely fifteen miles from 
 Annamaboe ; judging from time, it was guessed to be 
 eighteen or twenty ; but the impediments which the 
 path almost incessantly presented to a hammock, the 
 inequalities of the ground, and many delays which 
 insensibly consumed the time, conspired to make such
 
 16 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 a calculation of distance very fallacious. The plan I 
 adopted throughout, though laborious, entitled me to 
 more confidence ; and the observations confirmed the 
 pretension. Mr. Tedlie, who was always just ahead of 
 myself, took the angles of the path by his compass, 
 which I pencilled as he uttered them, with their several 
 lengths, allowing four yards and a half for every six 
 paces. It is allowed too by the natives to be an easy 
 four hours^ walk. Several hours elapsed before all the 
 carriers came up ; most of those who had been started 
 by us the preceding day, slept in the bush, and one 
 more had deserted. 
 
 The prevailing courses and their proportions were 
 N. J, N. by W. i, N.N.W. J, N.N.E. i ; the rest of 
 the distance being made up of small lengths, in every 
 point of the compass, from S.W. to S.E. ; the variation 
 17|° W. The latitude of Payntree, by two altitudes of 
 the sun, was 5° 20' 30'' N.; the longitude, by the 
 course and distance, as afterwards corrected, 1° 47' W. 
 
 We received the compliments of Payntree and seve- 
 ral caboceers, under a large tree, and were then con- 
 ducted to a neat and comfortable dwelling, which had 
 been prepared for us ; a small square area afforded a 
 shed for cooking in on one side, and a sleeping room 
 in each of the others, open in front, but well thatched, 
 and very clean ; from this we passed to our sitting- 
 room, the floor of which was elevated about two feet 
 from the ground. 
 
 The croom was prettily situated on a level, encircled 
 by very fine trees, and consisted of a very broad and 
 well-cleaned street of small huts, framed of bamboo, 
 and neatly thatched. Just beyond the north end of
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 17 
 
 the croom_, there was a stream running to the N.N.E. 
 and more than a mile of marshy ground was distin- 
 guished by the deeper shade and luxuriance of the 
 foliage. We observed a great number of small birds, 
 which were even more beautiful from their delicate 
 symmetry than their brilliant plumage ; they were 
 generally green^ with black wings, and their nests 
 hanging from the trees. 
 
 The Ashantee captain, who expected to continue 
 there some months on the King's business, sent us a 
 sheep, pleading the scarcity, and his being a stranger, 
 as apologies for so small a present. Old Payntree was 
 attentive and obliging ; he dashed us some fowls, yams, 
 and palm wine. We remained there the next day, to 
 allow our people to procure four days^ subsistence, as 
 they would not be able to meet with provision on the 
 path during that period. 
 
 I walked with Mr. Tedlie along a very neat path, 
 well fenced, and divided by stiles, to a corn plantation 
 of at least twenty acres, and well cultivated. Payntree's 
 farm-house was situated here, and afforded superior 
 conveniences: a fowl-house, a pigeon-house, and a large 
 granary raised on a strong stage. As we returned we 
 paid him a visit, and were refreshed with some excel- 
 lent palm wine; his dwelling was a square of four 
 apartments, which were entered from an outer one, 
 where a number of drums were kept; the angles were 
 occupied by the slaves, and his own room, which had 
 a small inner chamber, was decked with muskets, 
 blunderbusses, cartouch belts fantastically ornamented, 
 and various insignia. The order, cleanliness, and com- 
 fort, surprised us the sun had ust set, and a cheerful 
 
 c
 
 18 MISSION TO ashantj:e. 
 
 fire on a clean heartli supported the evening meal. 
 The old man was seated in his state chair, diverting 
 himself with his children and younger wives, the elder 
 one was looking on from the opposite apartment with 
 happy indifi'erence ; it was the first scene of domestic 
 comfort I had witnessed among the natives. There 
 was a small plantation or garden neatly fenced in, near 
 the house, for the supply of the family. 
 
 On Saturday, the 26th, we left Payntree's croom, and 
 proceeded through two romantic little valleys, with a 
 few huts in each ; the variety of trees increased with 
 the number, and ornamented the hills with almost every 
 tint and character of foliage ; the path was frequently 
 covered with water. Just before we reached Cotta- 
 coomacasa, a most beautiful landscape opened, the 
 foreground darkly shaded with large cotton trees, and 
 the distance composed of several picturesque little 
 hills; their fanciful outlines, and the beautiful variety 
 of fresh and sombre tint of the small gToves which 
 encircled them, forcibly reminded me of the celebrated 
 ride by Grongar Hill, from Carmarthen to Llandilo. 
 
 Cottacoomacasa is about six miles and a quarter from 
 Payntree^s croom, and consisted but of a few miserable 
 huts and sheds, which scarcely afforded shelter, and 
 were close and filthy. I took the angles of a cotton 
 tree near us, and the height proved to be 139 feet; 
 generally speaking, those we had passed were, to 
 appearance, much higher. The bearers had all settled 
 themselves here, and not contented with a long rest, 
 refused for some time to proceed until the next day ; 
 several were intoxicated with the rum from some ankers 
 they had designedly broken. We started again, how-
 
 MISSION TO ASUANTEE. 19 
 
 ever^ about half-past tliree^ and almost immediately 
 entered a large forest impervious to the sun ; the 
 risings were frequent but gentle ; the path, crooked 
 and overgrown, presented such constant obstacles to a 
 hammock, that Mr. Hutchison, Mr. Tedlie, and myself, 
 were glad to dismount, and found it was much more 
 comfortable, as well as more expeditious, to walk ; the 
 only inconvenience was the troops of large black ants, 
 which were too thick to be avoided, and stung us 
 sadly. We passed two little streams running E.N.E. 
 About six miles from Cottacoomacasa we found all the 
 baggage, the people making their fires, and settling 
 themselves for the night ; it was almost dark ; Qua- 
 mina, our Ashantee guide, had gone on without us, and 
 Mr. James we knew must be far behind ; we therefore 
 determined to halt for the night, and our hammocks 
 were slunsc to the trees. The distance marched this 
 day was twelve miles. The longitude of Cottacoomacasa 
 was one mile E. of that of Payntree by account, that of 
 our resting-place 1° 46' 30" W., and the latitude 5° 2 8' N. 
 
 The next mornino* we continued our march throuo^h 
 the same dark solitude, and passing three small streams 
 running E. we reached Mansue soon after ten o^clock. 
 AVe had scarcely seated ourselves under a tattered 
 shed, which could not defend us from the burning sun, 
 when we were encircled by the cooking fires of the 
 party, and nothing but violence could remove them to 
 a proper distance. 
 
 Mansue had been the great Fantee market for slaves 
 from the interior, and its former consequence was 
 evident from the extent of its site, over which a few 
 sheds only were now scattered, 
 c 2
 
 20 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 We proceeded again at one o'clock, and passing 
 tlirougli a small river, Assooneara, running eastward, 
 we came to a second, called Okee, running in tlie same 
 direction to the Amissa, whicli falls into the sea 
 between Annamaboe and Tantum. We passed five or 
 six swamps, one nearly half a mile long ; in these the 
 soil was a dark clay, but otherwise gravelly. We 
 halted in the woods at a spot where our guide Quamina 
 was busied in cutting down the underwood to accommo- 
 date himself and his women ; the bearers, resolute in 
 their perverseness, had gone on with our provisions 
 and clothes. Tlie ground of our resting-place was 
 very damp, and swarmed with reptiles and insects ; we 
 had great difficulty in keepiug up our fires, which we 
 were the more anxious to do after a visit from a 
 panther ; an animal which, the natives say, resembles 
 a small pig, and inhabits the trees, continued a shrill 
 screeching through the night; and occasionally a wild 
 hog bounced by, snorting through the forest, as if 
 closely pursued. This day's distance was eight miles, 
 and the course N. i, N. by E. ■-. Latitude and longitude 
 by account 5° 34' N. and 1° 48' W. Thermometer in 
 shade 6 a.m. 74. 
 
 We started the next morning at seven o'clock, andafter 
 three miles and a half crossed a small river called Gaia, 
 and sometimes Aniabirrim, from a croom of that name 
 being formerly in its neighbourhood ; it was ten yards 
 wide and two feet deep, and ran to the E. just across 
 the path, but afterwards N.N.E. to the Amissa. Here 
 Mr. Hutchison waited for Mr. James to come up, 
 whilst Mr. Tedlie and myself walked on to overtake 
 the people. The doom and iron-wood trees were fre-
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 21 
 
 quent ; the path was a labyrintli of tlie most capricious 
 windings, ttie roots of tlie cotton trees obstructing 
 it continually, and our progress was generally by 
 stepping and jumping up and down, rather than 
 walking ; the stems or caudices of these trees projected 
 from the trunks like flying buttresses, their height 
 frequently twenty feet. Immense trunks of fallen trees 
 presented constant barriers to our progress, and in- 
 creased our fatigues from th3 labour of scaling them ; 
 we were also frequently obliged to wait the cutting 
 away of the underwood before we could proceed, even 
 on foot. The large trees were covered with parasites 
 and convolvuli, and the climbing plants, like small 
 cables, ascending the trunks to some height, abruptly 
 shot downwards, crossed to the opposite trees, and 
 threaded each other in such a perplexity of twists and 
 turnings, that it soon became impossible to trace them 
 in the general entanglement. We passed through two 
 small streams running S., and several swamps, richly 
 covered with palm trees. Parrots and crown birds 
 were numerous. At the end of ten miles we came to 
 a small river called Quatoa, four yards wide, also 
 running eastward to the Amissa; and immediately 
 after to a few sheds bearing the same name, where we 
 found the last party of the bearers all lying down, and 
 a soldier ineffectually endeavouring to rouse them : we 
 started them with difficulty. A mile and a half thence 
 we met with the Okee again, running over its rocky 
 bed in a transparent stream, which reflected the 
 richest foliage ; its course S.W. ^ W., the breadth 
 nine yards, and we stepped across it from rock to rock. 
 We soon afterwards walked through the Antoonso, a
 
 22 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 smaller river running W.S.W.^ wliicli probably crossed 
 tlie patli to tlie eastward in one of the small streams 
 near Cottacoomacasa^ as every report confirmed 
 its also running to tlie Amissa; it was very near 
 Fousou_, where Ave bad scarcely arrived, before the 
 Fantees, such was their perverseness, insisted upon 
 going on; the Cape Coast messengers either had no 
 influence or would not exert it ; we soon stopped them 
 with the assistance of Quamina, our Ashantee guide, 
 Mr. James not coming up until late in the evening. 
 Fousou was formerly a large town, but had been 
 destroyed by the Ashantee invasion of 1807; it 
 presented but a few sheds, in one of which we 
 observed the Ashantee traders to deposit yams and 
 plantains to subsist them on their return, so severe 
 was the scarcity in the Fantee country; we could 
 purchase nothing, and were admitted to the best 
 hovel with reluctance. This day's distance was fourteen 
 miles. The courses N. i N.N.W. i, N. by W. i. The 
 latitude of Fousou by observation was 5° 43' 20'^ N., 
 and the longitude by account 1° 52' W. 
 
 The next morning, the 29th of April, we marched 
 seven miles to Ancomassa, a name given to half a 
 dozen sheds ; the path was still of the same rugged 
 nature, and the gloom unvaried. A strong fragrance 
 was emitted from the decaying plants and trees of the 
 mimosa kind, whilst others in the same incipient state 
 of putrefaction were very oSensive. We passed through 
 two small rivers, Bettensin and Soubin, six yards 
 wide, and shallow; they both ran eastward to the 
 Owa, of which I could not learn more than that it 
 emptied itself into the Boosempra.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 23 
 
 We proceeded at four o^clock_, and had not gone 
 two miles on our gloomy route before it became dark. 
 The path was level,, but very swampy, and generally 
 covered with water. The fire-flies spangled the her- 
 bage in every direction, and from the strength of their 
 light, alternately excited the apprehension of wild 
 beasts, and the hope that we approached the resting place 
 our guide, whom we never saw after starting, had told 
 us of in the morning. The greatest fear of the people 
 was of the spirits of the woods (whom Mr. Parke's 
 interpreter, Johnson, propitiated by a sacrifice between 
 Jing and Gangaddi), and the discordant yells in which 
 they rivalled each other to keep up their courage, 
 mingled with the howls and screeches from the forest, 
 imposed a degree of horror on this dismal scene, which 
 associated it with the imaginations of Dante. Three 
 or four times we suddenly emerged from the most 
 awful gloom into extensive areas, on which the stars 
 shed a brilliancy of light gradually softened into the 
 deep shade which encompassed them ; they were the 
 sites of large and populous crooms destroyed in the 
 Ashantee invasions. About nine o^clock we discovered 
 a few miserable sheds, which the noise of the bearers, 
 who had long arrived, convinced us to be Accomfodey. 
 We had passed two small rivers, the Apriuisee and 
 Annuia, both running to the Boosempra. This day^s 
 distance was eleven miles, and the courses N. J, N. by 
 W. 3". The latitude and longitude by account 5° 49' 
 N. and 1° 55' W. Thermometer 11 a.m. 80. 
 
 We marched early the next morning. The scenery 
 of the forest, excepting on the banks of the small 
 rivers, was very naked of foHage, and only presented a
 
 24 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 harsh and ragged confusion of stems and branches 
 intricately blended. We passed a small river soon 
 after leaving Accomfodey, bearing the same name and 
 running eastward ; and shortly after another, six yards 
 wide and two feet deep (the Berrakoo), running N.E. 
 to the Boosempra. The path was sometimes track- 
 less, and appeared to have been little used since the 
 invasion of 1807; several human skulls were scattered 
 through this dark solitude, the relics of the butchery. 
 We halted about two o^clock by Mr. Jameses direction, 
 and passed the night in the forest. This day^s distance 
 was eight miles, the prevailing courses N. j, N. by W. 
 i, N.N.W. i, N. by E. ^. The latitude and longitude 
 by account 5° 53' N. 1° 55' W. Thermometer 2 p.m. 
 88i, 7 p.m. 824. 
 
 The next morning we passed some sheds, on the 
 sites of the crooms Dansamsou and Meakirring. At 
 the end of five miles and a quarter, the herbage to the 
 right disclosed the cheerful reflections of the sun from 
 the water ; and we descended through a small vista of 
 the forest, to the banks of the Boosempra or Chamah 
 river. Nothing could be more beautiful than its 
 scenery : the bank on the south side was steep, and 
 admitted but a narrow path; that on the north 
 sloping, on which a small Fetish house, under the 
 shade of a cachou tree, fixed the eye; whence it 
 wandered over a rich variety of tint and foliage, in 
 which light and shade were most happily blended : the 
 small rocks stole through the herbage of the banks, 
 and now and then rufiled the water ; the doom trees 
 towering in the shrubbery, waved to the most gentle 
 air a rich foliage of dark green, mocking the finest
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 25 
 
 touch of tlie pencil ; the tamarind and smaller mimosas 
 heightening its effect by their livelier tint, and the 
 more piquant delicacy of their leaf; the cotton trees 
 overtopped the whole, enwreathed in convolvuli, and 
 several elegant little trees, unknown to me, rose in the 
 background, intermixed with palms, and made the 
 coup d^oeil enchanting. The bright rays of the sun 
 were sobered by the rich reflections of the water ; and 
 there was a mild beauty in the landscape, uncongenial 
 to barbarism, which imposed the expectation of elegance 
 and refinement. I attempted a sketch, but it was far 
 beyond my rude pencil ; the expression of the scene 
 could only have been traced in the profile of every 
 tree ; and it seemed to defy any touches, but those of 
 a Claude or a Wilson, to depict the life of its beauty. 
 I took two angles from a base on the south side, 
 which gave the width of the river, forty-three yards ; 
 the depth was seven feet, and the course N.W. J W. 
 with a very strong current. A small river, called 
 Nimea, ran into it, close to our right as we landed : 
 we crossed in the hollow trunk of a tree, thirty 
 feet long, the ends plastered up with sticks and 
 swish. 
 
 Mansue was said to haVe been the last town of the 
 Fantee territory; but we had no opportunity for 
 comparison until we passed the river, the country 
 thitherto presenting all the gloom of depopulation, 
 and the forest fast recovering the sites of the large 
 towns destroyed in the Ashantee invasions. The in- 
 habitants of the few wretched hovels, remotely scattered, 
 seemed as if they had fled to them as outcasts from 
 society ; they were lost even to curiosity, and their
 
 26 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 manners were brutal and sullen.^ We could purchase 
 nothing for our subsistence. 
 
 The scene brightened from our crossing the Boo- 
 sempra; the path improved, and Prasoo, the first 
 town_, only three quarters of a mile from the river_, 
 presented a wide and clean street of tolerably regular 
 houses ; the inhabitants clean and cheerful, left their 
 various occupations to gratify their curiosity, and 
 saluted us in a friendly and respectful manner : indeed 
 the Assins may be considered, collectively, a more 
 mannerly and orderly people than the Ashantees. 
 Kickiwherree, one mile and a half distant, was a larger 
 town, not so regular, but presenting the same neat 
 appearance, improved by the whitewashing of many 
 of the houses. We halted here under the ganian ^ tree, 
 used, generally speaking, for recreation only, palavers 
 being talked in the open fronts of the houses. We 
 were conducted to a comfortable dwelling, affording 
 us four very clean rooms, about twelve feet by seven, 
 in which there were shelves containing many articles 
 of superior domestic comfort ; a curtain or screen of 
 bamboo let down in the open front, and the floors 
 raised about a foot and a half from the ground, were 
 washed daily with an earth of the neighbourhood, 
 which coloured them Etruscan red. The iron-stone 
 abounded. Kickiwherree was seven miles from the 
 previous resting-place, and the prevailing courses N. ^^ 
 
 ^ Every account I received afterwards, confirmed the boundary 
 of the Fantee and Assin territories to be between Mansue and 
 Eousou ; also that Ancomassa, Accomfodey, Dansamsou, Meakirring, 
 &c., &c., had all been large Assin crooms, destroyed with many 
 others in their neighbourhood in the Ashantee invasion of 1807. 
 
 * This is the same tree as the banian or India fig.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 27 
 
 N. by W. -f . The latitude by observation was 5° 56' 
 40'' N j the longitude by account 1° 57' W. Tliermo- 
 meter 8 a.m. 77 ; 1 p.m. 91. 
 
 My observations bad not been so frequent as I 
 wished ; the nature of the country and the season of 
 the year were both very unfavourable to them. I 
 worked the double altitudes, invariably by Dr. Pem- 
 berton^s rule in Keith^s Trigonometry, which requires 
 no assumed latitude, and is in all cases accurate. 
 
 Mr. James having determined to rest the next day 
 at Kickiwherree, we did not proceed until Saturday, the 
 ord of May. We passed through a small river close 
 to the town, called the Ading, six yards wide and two 
 feet deep ; and soon after a second, the Animiasoo, 
 nine yards wide and three feet deep, both running to 
 the Boosempra ; close to the latter was a large croom 
 of the same name, the seat of Cheboo^s government. 
 Pagga and Atobiasee were also large crooms near each 
 other, and within four miles of Kickiwherree. At 
 Atobiasee was a small river called Prensa, five yards 
 wide and two feet deep, which ran E.S.E. to the 
 Boosempra : two miles thence we came to Becquama, 
 a very old croom, with a river nine yards wide, called 
 Prapong, running E. by S. to the Boosempra; and at 
 the end of nine miles we halted at Asharaman, a small 
 croom on an eminence, where the Asslds, under Apootey 
 and Cheboo, first engaged the Ashantees in 1807. 
 There was a small plot of corn near this croom, the 
 first we had seen since we left Payntree, though every 
 croom was surrounded by a tract of cultivated land, 
 or plantation of plantains. The path continued through 
 . forest. Distance eight miles. Courses N. i. Latitude
 
 28 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 by observation 5*^ 59' 20'\ Longitude by course and 
 distance 1° 57' 40'' W. Thermometer 6 a.m. 76, p.m. 89. 
 The next day we passed through Ansa, a large 
 croom, where Amoo had governed; north-west of 
 which, at a little distance, was Aboiboo, the residence 
 of his enemy Apootey. A small river near Ansa, 
 called Parakoomee, eleven yards wide and three feet 
 deep, ran south to a larger, called Ofim or Foom, 
 which rises six days northward of Coomassie, and falls 
 into the Boosempra some miles westward of our 
 crossing. The path was very swampy, and we did 
 not reach Akrofroom until three o^ clock : this was 
 by far the largest croom we had seen. The heavy 
 rains during the night floated us in our lodgings, and, 
 as Quamina reported, rendered the path to Moisee 
 impassable for the next day ; consequently, we did not 
 proceed until Tuesday, the 6th. Distance twelve 
 miles. Courses N. 4-, N.N.W. 5. Latitude by observation 
 6° 5' 40'^ Longitude C and D 2° 2' W. The path, 
 still through forest, presented frequent acclivities, and 
 the iron-stone and a soft grey rock abounded; the 
 soil was sometimes gravelly, but generally of a red- 
 coloured clay used in the native pottery. We passed 
 the Parakoomee again twice, and at the end of eleven 
 miles halted at Moisee, 
 
 " Ciugebant silvge ; quern collibus undique curvis," 
 the last Assin town at the foot- of three high hills 
 covered with wood, bearing W.N.W., N., and N.N.E. ; 
 the barriers of the Ashantee kingdom. Course N. 4-, 
 N.W. by N. y, N. by E. J. Latitude by observation 
 6" 8' 50'^ N. Longitude C and D 2^ 4' 20'^ W. The 
 thermometer was broken on the 4th.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 29 
 
 We passed the nortliem boundary tlie next morning ; 
 the ascent was a mile and a half in length, and very 
 rocky; a small river called the Bohmen ran S.W. to 
 the Jim_, which falls into the Ofim : the water of the 
 Bohmen is said to instil eloquence,, and numerous 
 Ashantees repair annually to drink of it ; it flowed in 
 a very clear stream, over a bed of gravel, and was 
 three feet deep and eight yards broad. The expecta- 
 tion of an open country was again disappointed ; I bore 
 several eminent points, in the hope of being able to do 
 so again at some distance, and of thus, with the inter- 
 mediate course, checking the distance computed by 
 paces j but the forest soon shut them out entirely. The 
 first Ashantee croom was Quesha ; and we soon after 
 passed through Fohmannee, which had been a very 
 considerable town. We stopped there awhile at the 
 request of a venerable old man, who regaled us with 
 some palm wine and fruit; his manners were very 
 pleasing, and made it more painful to us to hear that his 
 life was forfeited to some superstitious observances, and 
 that he only waited the result of a petition to the King 
 to commiserate his infirmities so far as to allow him to 
 be executed at his own croom, and to be spared the 
 fatigue of a journey to the capital ; he conversed cheer- 
 fully with us, congratulated himself on seeing white 
 men before he died, and spread his cloth over the log 
 with an emotion of dignity rather than shame : his 
 head arrived at Coomassie the day after we had. On 
 ascending the hill, the soil became a dark brown clay, 
 and very productive. We passed the first large planta- 
 tion of corn we had seen since we left Payntree, and 
 halted at Doompassee. Distance six miles. Courses
 
 30 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 N. i, N.N.W. i, N.W. |. Latitude by observation G^ 
 ir 30". 
 
 Doompassee had been a very large croom, but tlie 
 caboceer having intrigued with one of Sai Cudjoe^s 
 wives, who had permission to visit her family in this 
 place, the greater part of it was destroyed in con- 
 sequence, and the caboceer decapitated : the woman 
 possessing irresistible art in practising upon the 
 numerous admirers of her beauty, the King spared her 
 Hfe, and employed her thenceforth to inveigle those 
 distant caboceers whose lives or properties were 
 desirable to him. It was the most industrious town 
 on the path ; cloths, beads, and pottery were manufac- 
 turing in all directions, and the blacksmiths^ forges 
 were always at work. The intelligence of the beginning 
 of the King^s fetish week, and Mr. Jameses attack of 
 fever, delayed us at Doompassee, and a messenger was 
 despatched in the interim to announce our approach. 
 During our stay, I observed an eclipse of Jupiter^s first 
 satellite, which gave the longitude 2° 6' W. 
 
 We did not leave Doompassee until the 14th of May ; 
 after two miles, passing a small stream running N.W., 
 we ascended a high hill, on which a large croom, 
 called Tiabosoo, was situated. I looked into a pit 
 here six feet deep ; the first stratum was vegetable 
 mould, the second gravel, the third a kind of potter^s 
 clay, and the remaining of brittle stone of a reddish 
 brown, resembling that they call cabouc in the East 
 Indies. The next croom was Sanquanta, where the 
 path took an easterly direction, aud about seven miles 
 from Doompassee we passed Datiasoo, where large 
 quantities of pottery were manufacturing, exclusively :
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 31 
 
 it was not more than a mile distant from Dada- 
 wasee, where we found a messenger from tlie King, 
 expressing liis regret that we had come up in the rainy 
 season, as he had heard it was a very unhealthy one 
 for white men, and appointing us to enter the capital 
 on the Monday following; he sent us a present of a 
 sheep, forty yams, and two ounces of gold for our 
 table ; he had also given six ackies to our messenger, 
 who returned at the same time. The path had been 
 cleared by the Kiug^s order, the plantations became 
 more frequent and extensive, and numerous paths 
 branching off from that we travelled, showed that the 
 country was thickly inhabited, and the intercourse of 
 the various parts direct and necessary for an interchange 
 of manufacture and produce : the crooms hitherto had 
 appeared insulated. The acassey or blue dye -plant 
 grew profusely. Distance seven miles. Courses N". ^, 
 N. by W. -I, N.N.W. -f, N.N.E. ±. Latitude by obser- 
 vation 6° 16' 20" N. Longitude C and D 2° 7' 30" W. 
 The next day, leaving Dadawasee, close to which was 
 another large croom called Modjawee, we descended a 
 very steep hill, and passed the Dankaran or Mankaran, 
 a small river, in the rainy season eleven yards wide and 
 four feet deep, running' to the Birrim; not far from 
 this river was Sahnfoo, and a short distance from that 
 croom, a smaller river called Yansee, running N.N. W. 
 We then passed through Korraman, near which was 
 the small river Dansabow, running westward, and three 
 other large crooms, Aquinasee (having a neatly fenced 
 burial ground), Amafou, and Agabimah; crossing 
 another small river called Soubirree, near the latter, we 
 reached Assiminia, distant eight miles from Dada-
 
 32 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 wasee. Tlie patli was frequently eight feet wide^ and 
 kept as neatly as that of a garden in the environs of 
 the crooms, which now disclosed themselves very 
 prettily at some distance. Courses N. ^, N. by E. ^, 
 N.N.E. -J-. Latitude by observation 6° 22'. Longitude 
 C and D 2° 7' 50" W. 
 
 There was a violent tornado in the nighty during 
 almost the whole of which the rain continued in torrents, 
 increasing the small streams near the town from ankle 
 to three feet deep. Almost all the inhabitants were 
 employed in weaving the staple manufacture of Assi- 
 minia, which was formerly of much greater extent. 
 Mr. James rested here the whole of the next day, and 
 on Saturday we proceeded through Boposoo (on a very 
 high hill), Agemum, Yoko, and Abountum; near which 
 we crossed the Biaqua, running west to the Jim, and 
 about seven yards wide and two feet deep ; between 
 this and Sarrasou, where we halted, were two large 
 crooms, Pootooaga and Fiasou. 
 
 The path was continually well cleared : each croom 
 presented one wide central street, with the ganian or 
 cachou trees at the extremities. The soil ceased to be 
 sandy, and became a reddish earth : we observed some 
 quartz, but silex prevailed. Distance eleven miles. 
 Courses N.J, N.N.E. -|-. Latitude by observation 6° 
 30' 20". Longitude C and D 2° 6' 30". 
 
 The river Dah runs close to Sarrasou, rising at 
 Sekooree near Dwabin, and falling into the Ofim at 
 Measee in the Warsaw path ; it is generally about six- 
 teen yards wide and four feet deep. There was an in- 
 genious fishing weir in this river : two rows of very 
 strong wicker-work were fixed across it, supported
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 33 
 
 against tlie rapidity of tlie stream by large stakes^ 
 driven into the ground obliquely on eacli side of them, 
 and connected above and below by the trunks of two 
 large trees. The funnel-shaped baskets, thickly in- 
 serted at the bottom, were of split cane, and about 
 twelve feet long. There are large plantations of corn 
 around Sarrasou, which is a great nursery for pigs. 
 We left it on Monday morning, the 19th, and, passing 
 through a small croom, Oyoko, stopped at another, 
 Agogoo, about four miles distant, to dress ourselves in 
 full uniform. The soil from Sarrasou was a rich black 
 mould, and there were continued plantations of corn, 
 yams, ground-nuts, terraboys, and encruma : the yams 
 and ground-nuts were planted with much regularity in 
 triangular beds, with small drains around each, and 
 carefully cleared from weeds. 
 
 Two miles from Agogoo, we crossed the marsh which 
 insulates Coomassie; the breadth at that part forty 
 yards, and the depth three feet. Being within a mile 
 of the capital, our approach was announced to the King, 
 who desired us by his messengers to rest at a httle 
 croom, called Patiasoo, until he had finished washing, 
 when captains would be deputed to conduct us to his 
 presence. Distance 6J miles. Courses N. -5-, N.N.W. ■^. 
 
 We entered Coomassie at two o^clock, passing under 
 a fetish, or sacrifice of a dead sheep, wrapped up in red 
 silk, and suspended between two lofty poles. Upwards 
 of 5000 people, the greater part warriors, met us with 
 awful bursts of martial music, discordant only in its 
 mixture ; for horns, drums, rattles, and gong-gongs 
 were all exerted with a zeal bordering on frenzy, to 
 subdue us by the first impression. The smoke which
 
 3-1 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 encircled us^ from tlie incessant discharges of musketry, 
 confined our glimpses to tlie foreground ; and we were 
 halted whilst the captains performed their Pyrrhic 
 dance, in the centre of a circle formed by their warriors, 
 where a confusion of flags, English, Dutch, and Danish, 
 were waved and flourished in all directions ; the bearers 
 plunging and springing from side to side, with a passion 
 of enthusiasm only equalled by the captains, who 
 followed them, discharging their shining blunderbusses 
 so close that the flags now and then were in a blaze ; 
 and emerging from the smoke with all the gesture and 
 distortion of maniacs. Their followers kept up the 
 firing around us in the rear. The dress of the captains 
 was a war -cap, with gilded rams' horns projecting in 
 front, the sides extended beyond all proportion by im- 
 mense plumes of eagles' feathers, and fastened under 
 the chin with bands of cowries. Their vest was of red 
 cloth, covered with fetishes and saphies ^ in gold and 
 silver ; and embroidered cases of almost every colour, 
 which flapped against their bodies as they moved, inter- 
 mixed with small brass bells, the horns and tails of 
 animals, shells, and knives ; long leopards' tails hung 
 down their backs over a small bow covered with fetishes. 
 They wore loose cotton trousers, with immense boots of 
 a dull red leather, coming half-way up the thigh, and 
 fastened by small chains to their cartouch or waist-belt; 
 these were also ornamented with bells, horses' tails, 
 strings of amulets, and innumerable shreds of leather ; 
 a small quiver of poisoned arrows hung from their right 
 wrist, and they held a long iron chain between their 
 teeth, with a scrap of Moorish writing affixed to the end 
 2 Scraps of Moorish writing, as cliarms against evil.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 35 
 
 of it. A small spear was in tlieir left liands^ covered 
 with red cloth and silk tassels ; their black countenances 
 heightened the effect of this attire, and completed a 
 figure scarcely Imman. 
 
 This exhibition continued about half an hour, when 
 we were allowed to proceed, encircled by the warriors, 
 whose numbers, with the crowds of people, made our 
 movement as gradual as if it had taken place in Cheap- 
 side ; the several streets branching off to the right 
 presented long vistas crammed with people, and those 
 on the left hand being on an acclivity, innumerable 
 rows of heads rose one above another : the large open 
 porches of the houses, like the fronts of stages in small 
 theatres, were filled with the better sort of females and 
 children, all impatient to behold white men for the first 
 time ; their exclamations were drowned in the firing and 
 music, but their gestures were in character with the 
 scene. When we reached the palace, about half a mile 
 from the place where we entered, we were again halted, 
 and an open file was made, through which the bearers 
 were passed, to deposit the presents and baggage in the 
 house assigned to us. Here we were gratified by ob- 
 serving several of the caboceers pass by with their trains, 
 the novel splendour of which astonished us. The bands, 
 principally composed of horns and flutes, trained to play 
 in concert, seemed to soothe our hearing into its natural 
 tone again by their wild melodies ; whilst the immense 
 umbrellas, made to sink and rise from the jerkings of 
 the bearers, and the large fans waving around, refreshed 
 lis with small currents of air, under a bmming sun, 
 clouds of dust, and a density of atmosphere almost 
 suffocating. We were then squeezed, at the same 
 
 D 2
 
 36 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 funeral pace, up a long street,, to an open-fronted house, 
 where we were desired by a royal messenger to wait a 
 further invitation from the King. Here our attention 
 was forced from the astonishment of the crowd to a most 
 inhuman spectacle, which was paraded before us for 
 some minutes ; it was a man whom they were torment- 
 ing previous to sacrifice ; his hands were pinioned be- 
 hind him, a knife was passed through his cheeks, to 
 which his lips were noosed like the figure of 8 ; one ear 
 was cut off and carried before him, the other hung to his 
 head by a small bit of skin ; there were several gashes 
 in his back, and a knife was thrust under each shoulder- 
 blade ; he was led with a cord passed through his nose, 
 by men disfigured with immense caps of shaggy black 
 skins, and drums beat before him ; the feeling this 
 horrid barbarity excited must be imagined. "We were 
 soon released by permission to proceed to the King, and 
 passed through a very broad street, about a quarter of 
 a mile long, to the market-place. 
 
 Our observations en imssant had taught us to con- 
 ceive a spectacle far exceeding our original expecta- 
 tions ; but they had not prepared us for the extent and 
 display of the scene which here burst upon us : an area 
 of nearly a mile in circumference was crowded with 
 magnificence and novelty. The King, his tributaries, 
 and captains, were resplendent in the distance, sur- 
 rounded by attendants of every description, fronted by 
 a mass of warriors which seemed to make our approach 
 impervious. The sun was reflected, with a glare 
 scarcely more supportable than the heat, from the 
 massive gold ornaments, which glistened in every direc- 
 tion. More than a hundred bands burst at once on our
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 37 
 
 arrival, with the peculiar airs of their several chiefs ; 
 the horns flourished their defiances, with the beating of 
 innumerable drums and metal instruments, and then 
 yielded for awhile to the soft breathings of their long 
 flutes, which were truly harmonious ; and a pleasing 
 instrument, like a bagpipe without the drone, was 
 happily blended. At least a hundred large umbrellas, 
 or canopies, which could shelter thirty persons, were 
 sprung up and down by the bearers with brilliant effect, 
 being made of scarlet, yellow, and the most showy 
 cloths and silks, and crowned on the top with crescents, 
 pelicans, elephants, barrels, and arms and swords of 
 gold ; they were of various shapes, but mostly dome ; 
 and the valances (in some of which small looking- 
 glasses were inserted) fantastically scalloped and 
 fringed; from the fronts of some, the proboscis and 
 small teeth of elephants projected, and a few were 
 roofed with leopards^ skins, and crowned with various 
 animals naturally stuffed. The state hammocks, like 
 long cradles, were raised in the rear, the poles on the 
 heads of the bearers ; the cushions and pillows were 
 covered with crimson taffeta, and the richest cloths 
 hung over the sides. Innumerable small umbrellas, of 
 various coloured stripes, were crowded in the intervals, 
 whilst several large trees heightened the glare by con- 
 trasting the sober colouring ofnature. 
 
 " Discolor unde auri per ramos aura refalsit." 
 
 The King^s messengers, with gold breast-plates, made 
 way for us, and we commenced our round, preceded by 
 the canes and the English flag. We stopped to take 
 the hand of every caboceer, which, as their household
 
 38 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 suites occupied several spaces in advance^ delayed us 
 long enough to distinguish some of the ornaments in 
 the general blaze of splendour and ostentation. 
 
 The caboceers_, as did their superior captains and at- 
 tendant s_, wore Ashantee cloths of extravagant price, 
 from the costly foreign silks which had been unravelled 
 to weave them in all the varieties of colour as well as 
 pattern ; they were of an incredible size and weight, and 
 thrown over the shoulder eziactly like the Roman toga ; 
 a small silk fillet generally encircled their temples, and 
 massy gold necklaces, intricately wrought, suspended 
 Moorish charms, dearly purchased, and enclosed in small 
 square cases of gold, silver, and curious embroidery- 
 Some wore necklaces reaching to the navel entirely of 
 aggry beads ; a band of gold and beads encircled the 
 knee, from which several strings of the same depended; 
 small circles of gold like guineas, rings and casts of 
 animals, were strung round their ankles ; their sandals 
 were of green, red, and delicate white leather ; manillas, 
 and rude lumps of rock gold, hung from their left 
 wrists, which were so heavily laden as to be supported 
 on the head of one of their handsomest boys. Gold and 
 silver pipes and canes dazzled the eye in every direction. 
 Wolves^ and rams^ heads as large as life, cast in gold, 
 were suspended from their gold-handled swords, which 
 were held around them in great numbers ; the blades 
 were shaped like round bills, and rusted in blood ; the 
 sheaths were of leopard-skin, or the shell of a fish like 
 shagreen. The large drums supported on the head of 
 one man, and beaten by two others, were braced around 
 with the thigh-bones of their enemies, and ornamented 
 with their skulls. The kettledrums resting on the
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 39 
 
 gToimd were scraped with wet fingers, and covered 
 witli leopard''s skin. Tlie wrists of tlie drummers were 
 hung with bells and curiously-shaped pieces of iron_, 
 which jingled loudly as they were beating. The smaller 
 drums were suspended from the neck by scarves of red 
 cloth ; the horns (the teeth of young elephants) were 
 ornamented at the mouth-piece with gold, and the jaw- 
 bones of human victims. The war-caps of eagles^ 
 feathers nodded in the rear, and large fans of the wing 
 feathers of the ostrich played around the dignitaries ; 
 immediately behind their chairs (which were of a black 
 wood, almost covered by inlays of ivory and gold em- 
 bossment) stood their handsomest youths, with corselets 
 of leopard^ s skin covered with gold cockle-shells, and 
 stuck full of small knives, sheathed in gold and silver, 
 and the handles of blue agate ; cartouch boxes of 
 elephants^ hide hung below, ornamented in the same 
 manner; a large gold-handled sword was fixed behind 
 the left shoulder, and silk scarves and horses^ tails 
 (generally white) streamed from the arms and waist 
 cloth : their long Danish muskets had broad rims of gold 
 at small distances, and the stocks were ornamented 
 with shells. Finely-grown girls stood behind the chairs 
 of some, with silver basins. Their stools (of the most 
 laborious carved work, and generally with two large 
 bells attached to them) were conspicuously placed on 
 the heads of favourites ; and crowds of small boys were 
 seated around, flourishing elephants^ tails curiously 
 mounted. The warriors sat on the ground close to 
 these, and so thickly as not to admit of our passing 
 without treading on their feet, to which they were 
 perfectly indifferent ; their caps were of the skin of the
 
 40 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 pangolin and leopard^ the tails hanging down behind ; 
 their cartouch belts (composed of small gourds which 
 hold the charges^ and covered with leopard or pig^s skin) 
 were embossed with red shells^ and small brass bells 
 thickly hung to them ; on their hips and shoulders was 
 a cluster of knives ; iron chains and collars dignified the 
 most darings who were prouder of them than of gold ; 
 their muskets had rests affixed of leopard^ s skin_, and the 
 locks a covering of the same ; the sides of their faces 
 were curiously painted in long white streaks^ and their 
 arms also striped^ having the appearance of armour. 
 
 We were suddenly surprised by the sight of Moors, 
 who afforded the first general diversity of dress ; there 
 were seventeen superiors, arrayed in large cloaks of 
 white satin_, richly trimmed w^ith spangled embroidery; 
 their shirts and trousers were of silk, and a very large 
 turban of w^hite muslin was studded with a border of 
 different-coloured stones : their attendants wore red 
 caps and turbans, and long white shirts, w^hich hung 
 over their trousers ; those of the inferiors were of dark 
 blue cloth : they slowly raised their eyes from the 
 ground as we passed, and with a most malignant scowl. 
 
 The prolonged flourishes of the horns, a deafening 
 tumult of drums, and the fuller concert of the intervals, 
 announced that w^e were approaching the King : we 
 were already passing the principal officers of his house- 
 hold; the chamberlain, the gold horn blower, the 
 captain of the messengers, the captain for royal execu- 
 tions, the captain of the market, the keeper of the 
 royal-burial ground, and the master of the bands, sat 
 surrounded by a retinue and splendour which bespoke 
 the dignity and importance of their offices. The cook
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 41 
 
 had a number of small ser^dces covered with leopard^s 
 skin held behind him_, and a large quantity of massy 
 silver plate was displayed before him — punch-bowls, 
 waiters, coffee-pots, tankards, and a very large vessel 
 with heavy handles and clawed feet, which seemed to 
 have been made to hold incense. I observed a Portu- 
 guese inscription on one piece, and they seemed 
 generally of that manufacture. The executioner, a man 
 of an immense size, wore a massy gold hatchet on his 
 breast ; and the execution stool was held before him, 
 clotted in blood, and partly covered with a cawl of fat. 
 The King's four linguists were encircled by a splendour 
 inferior to none, and their peculiar insignia, gold canes, 
 were elevated in all directions, tied in bundles like 
 fasces. The keeper of the treasury added to his own mag- 
 nificence by the ostentatious display of his service ; the 
 blow-pan, boxes, scales and weights were of solid gold. 
 A delay of some minutes, whilst we severally ap- 
 proached to receive the King's hand, afforded us a 
 thorough view of him. His deportment first excited my 
 attention. Native dignity in princes we are pleased to 
 call barbarous was a curious spectacle. His manners 
 were majestic, yet courteous ; and he did not allow his 
 surprise to beguile him for a moment of the composure 
 of the monarch. He appeared to be about thirty-eight 
 years of age, inclined to corpulence, and of a benevolent 
 countenance ; he wore a fillet of aggry beads round his 
 temples, a necklace of gold cockspur-shells strung by 
 their largest ends, and over his right shoulder a red silk 
 cord, suspending three saphies cased in gold; his 
 bracelets were the richest mixtures of beads and gold, 
 and his fingers covered with rings; his cloth was of
 
 42 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 a dark green silk; a pointed diadem was elegantly 
 painted in white on his foreliead ; also a pattern 
 resembling an epaulette on each shoulder_, and an 
 ornament like a full-blown rose, one leaf rising above 
 another until it covered his whole breast; his knee- 
 bands were of aggry beads, and his ankle- strings of 
 gold ornaments of the most delicate workmanship, 
 small drums, sankos, stools, swords, guns, and birds, 
 clustered together ; his sandals, of a soft white leather, 
 were embossed across the instep-band with small gold 
 and silver cases of saphies; he was seated in a low 
 chair, richly ornamented with gold ; he wore a pair of 
 gold castanets on his finger and thumb, which he 
 clapped to enforce silence. The belts of the guards 
 behind his chair were cased in gold, and covered with 
 small jaw-bones of the same metal ; the elephants' tails, 
 waving like a small cloud before him, were spangled 
 with gold, and large plumes of feathers were flourished 
 amid them. His eunuch presided over these attendants, 
 wearing only one massy piece of gold about his neck : 
 the royal stool, entirely cased in gold, was displayed 
 under a splendid umbrella, with drums, sankos, horns, 
 and various musical instruments, cased in gold, about 
 the thickness of cartridge paper : large circles of gold 
 hung by scarlet cloth from the swords of state, the 
 sheaths as well as the handles of which were also cased ; 
 hatchets of the same were intermixed with them : the 
 breasts of the Ocrahs and various attendants were 
 adorned with large stars, stools, crescents, and gossamer 
 wings of solid gold. 
 
 We pursued our course through this blazing circle, 
 which afforded to the last a variety exceeding descrip-
 
 MISSION TO ASHANIEE. 43 
 
 tion and memory ; so many splendid novelties diverting 
 the fatigue,, heat^ and pressure we were labouring 
 under. We were almost exhausted^ however^ by the 
 time we reached the end ; when, instead of being 
 conducted to our residence, we were desired to seat 
 ourselves under a tree at some distance, to receive the 
 compliments of the whole in our turn. 
 
 The swell of their bands gradually strengthened on 
 our ears, the peals of the warlike instruments bursting 
 upon the short but sweet responses of the flutes ; the 
 gaudy canopies seemed to dance in the distant view, 
 and floated broadly as they were springing up and 
 down in the foreground ; flags and banners waved in 
 the interval, and the chiefs were eminent in their 
 crimson hammocks, amidst crowds of musketry. 
 They dismounted as they arrived within thirty yards of 
 usj their principal captains preceded them with the 
 gold-handled swords, a body of soldiers followed with 
 their arms reversed, then their bands and gold canes, 
 pipes, and elephants^ tails. The chief, with a small 
 body-guard under his umbrella, was generally supported 
 around the waist by the hands of his favourite slave, 
 whilst captains hollaed, close in his ear, his warlike 
 deeds and (strong) names, which were reiterated with 
 the voices of S tenters by those before and behind ; the 
 larger party of warriors brought up the rear. Old 
 captains of secondary rank were carried on the shoulders 
 of a strong slave; but a more interesting sight was 
 presented in the minors, or young caboceers, many not 
 more than five or six years of age, who, overweighed by 
 ornaments, were carried in the same manner (under 
 their canopies), encircled by all the pomp and parade
 
 44 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 of tlieir predecessors. Amongst others^ the grandson 
 of Cheboo was pointed out^ whom the King had 
 generously placed on the stool of his perfidious enemy. 
 A band of Fetish men_, or priests^ wheeled round and 
 round as they passed with surprising velocity. Manner 
 was as various as ornament ; some danced by with 
 irresistible buffoonery, some with a gesture and carriage 
 of defiance ; one distinguished caboceer performed the 
 war dance before us for some minutes, with a large 
 spear, which grazed us at every bound he made; but 
 the greater number passed us with order and dignity, 
 some slipping one sandal, some both, some turning 
 round after having taken each of us by the hand ; the 
 attendants of others knelt before them, throwing dust 
 upon their heads ; and the Moors, apparently, vouch- 
 safed us a blessing. The King^s messengers who were 
 posted near us, with their long hair hanging in twists 
 like a thrum mop, used little ceremony in hurrying by 
 this transient procession; yet it was nearly eight 
 o^clock before the King approached. 
 
 It was- a beautiful starlight night, and the torches 
 which preceded him displayed the splendour of his 
 regalia with a chastened lustre, and made the human 
 trophies of the soldiers more awfully imposing. The 
 skulls of three Banda caboceers, who had been his most 
 obstinate enemies, adorned the largest drum : the 
 vessels in which the boys dipped their torches were of 
 gold. He stopped to inquire our names a second time 
 and to wish us good-night ; his address was mild and 
 dehberate : he was followed by his aunts, sisters, and 
 others of his family, with rows of fine gold chains 
 around their necks. Numerous chiefs succeeded, and
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 45 
 
 it was long before we were at liberty to retire. We 
 agreed in estimating the number of warriors at 30_,000. 
 We were conducted to a range of spacious but 
 ruinous buildings, which had belonged to the son of 
 one of the former kings, and who had recently destroyed 
 himself at a very advanced age, unable to endure the 
 severity of disgrace. Their forlorn and dreary aspect 
 bespoke the fortune of their master, and they required 
 much repair to defend us from the wind and rain, which 
 frequently ushered in the nights.
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 PEOCEEDINGS AND INCIDENTS UNTIL THE THIED DESPATCH 
 TO CAPE COAST CASTLE. 
 
 CooMASsiE, 3Iai/ 22nd, 1817. 
 To the Governor and Council, Cape Coast Castle. 
 
 GENTLEMEN,— The important objects of tlie mis- 
 sion, and the safety and prosperity of ttie Settle- 
 ments, liave this day demanded our public dissent from 
 our superior officer, Mr. James. To prove the act 
 tutelary to these objects can be our only justification. 
 
 The mission has engrossed our thoughts and exer- 
 tions from the moment we were honoured by the 
 appointments ; we have felt that the credit of the 
 Committee, the character of the service, and the good 
 of our country were associated in the enterprise ; and 
 that we were personally responsible for these important 
 objects, to the extent of our industry, fortitude and 
 ability. Our reflections naturally associated obstacles 
 commensurate with the importance of the objects 
 affected; and to overcome the former in a manner 
 auspicious to the latter we conceived to be the duty 
 expected from us, as composing a mission originated to 
 remove a portion of the formidable barriers to the 
 interior of Africa. We anticipated prejudice, intrigue
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 47 
 
 and difficulty as inevitable, as obstacles to invigorate 
 and not to sicken our exertions. 
 
 At Dadasejj on Wednesday tbe 14tli instant, we 
 received a present from the King of two ounces of 
 gold, a sheep, and thirty yams, with a second appoint- 
 ment to enter his capital the succeeding Monday. 
 When within a short distance, the messenger who 
 announced us returned, to desire us to wait at a croom 
 until the King had washed. We were permitted to 
 enter soon after two o^clock, and the King received us 
 with the most encouraging courtesy and the most flat- 
 tering distinction. We paid our respects in turn 
 (passing along a surprising extent of line) to the prin- 
 cipal caboceers, many of remote and several of Moorish 
 territories, and all of these encircled by retinues asto- 
 nishing to us from their numbers, order and decora- 
 tion. We were then requested to remove to a distant 
 tree to receive their salutes, which procession, though 
 simply transient, continued until past eight o'clock. 
 It was indescribably imposing, from the variety, mag- 
 nificence and etiquette. Its faint outline in Mr, Bow- 
 dich's report will impart our impression of the power 
 and influence of the monarch we are sent to conciliate. 
 The King, as he passed, repeated his former conde- 
 scensions. 
 
 The next morning (Tuesday) the King sent to us to 
 come and speak our palaver in the market-place, that 
 all the people might hear it. We found him encircled 
 by the most splendid insignia, and surrounded by his 
 caboceers. We were received graciously. Mr. James, 
 through his linguist, declared to the King's (who are 
 alone allowed to speak to him in public) that the
 
 48 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 
 
 objects of the mission were friendship and commerce ; 
 impressed tlie consequence of onr nation, and the good 
 feelings of the Committee and Grovernor towards the 
 King, as would be testified by our presents ; he sub- 
 mitted the wish of a residency, and of a direct path. 
 The King inquired if we were to settle the Commenda 
 palaver ; the reply was, No ! He rejoined, that " he 
 wished the Governor of Cape Coast to settle all pala- 
 vers for him with the people of the forts, and that he 
 had thought we came to make all things right, and so 
 to make friends with the Ashantees/' The King had 
 previously observed, as literally rendered, that ^^ the 
 forts belonged to him," meaning (as the context and 
 the whole of his sentiments and conduct have con- 
 firmed) nothing humihating to our dignity and inde- 
 pendence, but simply that the advantages derived by 
 the Fantee nations from the forts should now be his. 
 He desired the officer to be pointed out to him who 
 was to be the resident, and then inquired if that was 
 all our palaver. He was told. Yes. He said he would 
 give us his answer the next day. 
 
 Soon after we retmmed to our house, the King^s 
 linguist delivered this message: — "The King knows 
 very well the King of England has sent him presents ; 
 if you wish to be friends with him, you must bring 
 these presents to his own house, and show them to him 
 and his friends, and not give them before all the 
 people.''^ This, in our judgment, was a policy to pre- 
 vent any favourable bias of the body of caboceers and 
 people anticipating the King's and his council's satis- 
 faction of our motives and professions. 
 
 We attended : all the curiosity the packages excited
 
 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 49 
 
 could not incline tlie King to regard tliem until he had 
 desired distinctly to understand who had sent them_, 
 the King of England or the Governor. He was told 
 the Company to whom the forts belonged under the 
 King. The interpreter seemed to render it the King 
 individually; it was more intelligible, and the agree- 
 able impression it made was striking. The presents 
 were displayed. Nothing could surpass the King's 
 surprise and pleasure,, but his warm yet dignified avowal 
 of his obligations. " Englishmen/' said he^ admiring 
 the workmanship of the different articles, " know how 
 to do everything proper/' turning to his favourites 
 ^dth a smile as auspicious to our interests as mortal to 
 the intrigues of our rival. Much of the glass was 
 broken; Mr. James expressed his regret and offered 
 to procm^e more ; the King replied, ^' The path we had 
 come was bad and overgrown, that we had many 
 people to look after," and waved our excuses with 
 superior courtesy. He desired the linguists to say, 
 '' This showed him that the English were a great people ; 
 that they wished to be friends with him, to be as one 
 mth the Ashantees ; that this made him much pleasure 
 to see ; (and to repeat again and again) that he 
 thanked the King of England, the Governor at Cape 
 Coast, and the officers who brought the presents much, 
 very much." He made very liberal presents of liquor 
 to our people, and delivered the distinct presents to his 
 four principal caboceers in our sight. 
 
 We learned from Quashie, the Accra linguist, the 
 favourable reports he had collected through his inti- 
 macy with some of the principal men. All the cabo- 
 ceers, he said, had thought we had come for bad^ to
 
 50 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 spy tlie country ; tlie King thouglit so too a little j but 
 niucli fetisli was made, and all showed tliat we meant 
 well; and now the King thouglit so. Tlie mulatto sent 
 by General Daendels, directly after Mr. Hydecoper, 
 and wbo arrived just before us, bad sent to tbe King 
 for a pass to go back, and the King told him that he 
 would give him this message : — " That the King had 
 thought to do good to the Dutch, but now he sees 
 their white men^s faces he should do good to the 
 English." This mulatto man (who is not in the service, 
 but a free man of Elmina town) visited us afterwards, 
 and his complaints and sentiments confirmed these 
 reports in our favour. 
 
 On Wednesday morning the King's sisters (one the 
 caboceer of the largest Ashantee town near the frontier) 
 paid us a visit of ceremony, and retired to receive ours 
 in return ; their manners were courteous and dignified, 
 and they were handed with a surprising politeness by 
 the captains in attendance. 
 
 Mr. James being indisposed, we went by invitation 
 to see the chief captain's horse, when the King sent to us 
 to say he was walking that way, and requested us to get 
 our chairs and wait, that he might bid us good-morning. 
 Directly he saw us he ordered the procession to alter 
 its course, and stopped to take us by the hand. The 
 procession consisted of about 2000 men, and was 
 marked by all the suite and parade of royalty. The 
 caboceers that day in attendance appeared as warriors, 
 being divested of the rich silks of the preceding day ; 
 the executioner, the master of the bands, and the cook 
 were in the train, with suits which showed the impor- 
 tance of their offices ; the latter was preceded by a
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 51 
 
 massy service of plate. Mr. Bowdicli^s report will be 
 more particular. 
 
 The King sent Ms messenger this morning to repeat 
 that he thanked the King of England and the Groyernor 
 very much for yesterday. 
 
 The King was much pleased when Quashie, the 
 Accra linguist (who is our only intelligible medium) _, 
 attempted to describe the use of the sextant; conse- 
 quently_, when Mr. Bowdich saw the King^s chief 
 captain this morning, he offered to show it to the King 
 with the camera obscura and telescope. The captain 
 said it would please the King, and reported that the 
 King was much pleased with us_, that he liked to be 
 friends with the English, that he wished to make plea- 
 sure with us, and would send for us by-and-by to do 
 so. We have been particular in these lesser circum- 
 stances, as they are the evidence of the King^s good 
 feelings and of the fair prospect of the consummation 
 of the mission, superior to all the prejudice and 
 intrigue opposed to it. 
 
 We were sent for to the King^s house ; he was only 
 attended by his privy-counsellors ; he expressed much, 
 delight at the camera obscura and instruments. He 
 said, ^^ The Englishmen knew more than Dutchmen or 
 Danes — that black men knew nothing.^^ He then 
 ordered our people to be dismissed, said he would look 
 at the telescope in a larger place, that now he wished 
 to talk with us. He again acknowledged the gratifica- 
 tion of Tuesday, and desired Mr. James to explain to 
 him two notes which he produced, written by the 
 Go vernor-in- Chief at the request of Amooney, King of 
 Annamaboe, and Adokoo, Chief of the Braffoes, making 
 
 E 2
 
 52 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 over to Sai^ King of Ashantee, four ackies per montli of 
 their Company^s pay^ as a pledge of tlieir allegiance and 
 the termination of hostilities. The impression seemed 
 instantly to have rooted itself in the King^s mind that 
 this was the Governor's individual act_, or that he had 
 instanced it ; his countenance changed_, his counsellors 
 became enraged; they were all impatience^ we all 
 anxiety. " Tell the white men/' said the King, ^' what 
 they did yesterday made me much pleasure ; I was glad 
 we were to be friends -, but to-day I see they come to 
 put shame upon my face ; this breaks my hearfc too 
 much. The English know^ with my own powder_, with 
 my own shot^ I drove the Fantees under their forts ; I 
 spread my sword over them ; they were all killed, and 
 their books from the fort are mine. I can do as much 
 for the English as the Fantees ; they know this well ; 
 they know I have only to send a captain to get all the 
 heads of the Fantees. These white men cheat me ; they 
 think to make 'Shantee fool; they pretend to make 
 friends with me, and they join with the Fantees to 
 cheat me^ to put shame upon my face ; this makes the 
 blood come from my heart.'' This was reported by his 
 linguist with a passion of gesture and utterance scarcely 
 inferior to the King's ; the irritation spread throughout 
 the circle, and swelled even to uproar. 
 
 Thus much was inevitable ; it was one of our antici- 
 pated difficulties ; it was not a defeat^ but a check ; and 
 here originates our charge against Mr. James, whom 
 we declare to have been deficient in presence of mind, 
 and not to have exerted those assurances and arguments 
 which, with a considerate zeal, might at least have 
 tended to ameliorate the unjust impression of the King,
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 53 
 
 if not to have eradicated it. Mr. James said^ '' Tlie 
 Governor of Cape Coast liad done it ; that lie knew 
 nothing about it ; that he was sent only to make the 
 compliments to the King ; that if the King liked to send 
 a messenger with him, lie icas going hach, and luould 
 tell the Governor all that the King said/' This was 
 all that was advanced. Was this enough for such a 
 mission to effect ? The King repeated,, '^ That he had 
 expected we had come to settle all palavers, and to stay 
 and make friends with him ; but we came to make a 
 fool of him."*^ The King asked him to tell him how 
 much had been paid on these notes since his demand 
 — that he knew white men had large books which told 
 this. Mr. James said he had seen, but he could not 
 recollect. Nothino- could exceed the Kino-^s indio-na- 
 tion. " White men/^ he exclaimed, '^ know how many 
 months pass, how many years they live, and they know 
 this, but they won^t tell me ; could not the other white 
 men tell me ?" Mr. James said, " We never looked in 
 the books. ^^ 
 
 We were not so indiscreet as to expect or wish Mr. 
 James to commit himself hj ijromising the satisfaction 
 of the King^s wishes ; but dwelling on the expense and 
 importance of the mission, on the expectations it had 
 excited, and feeling the reason of the King's argument 
 that its object should be to settle all palavers if we 
 wished to be good friends, we conceived we but antici- 
 pated the feeling of the Council and of the Committee, 
 in our anxiety for Mr. James to offer to communicate 
 with the Governor by letter, and to wait his reply, with 
 a confidence that his good feeling towards the King, his 
 instructions from England, and his own disposition.
 
 54 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 would lead him to do everytliing that was right to 
 please him. 
 
 Mr. Jameses embarrassment had not only hurried 
 him to extricate himself as an individual at the expense 
 of his own dignity and intellect_, but^ which was worse, 
 he had thrown the whole onus of this invidious trans- 
 action on the shoulders of the Go vernor-in- Chief, 
 against whom the King's prejudice would be fatal to 
 all, and whose interest in his honour was most flattering 
 to the King, most auspicious to us, and the hopes of 
 the mission; not only the future prosperity, but the 
 present security of the Settlements hung upon this, and 
 the dagger was at this moment suspended from a cob- 
 web. Mr. Bowdich urged this in the ear of Mr. James, 
 urged the danger of leaving the King thus provoked, 
 the fatal sacrifice of every object of the mission, the 
 discredit of the service, the disgrace of ourselves. Mr. 
 James replied, " He knew the Governor's private senti- 
 ments best."" The Moors of authority seized the 
 moment, and zealously fanned the flame which encircled 
 us ; for the King, looking in vain for those testimonies 
 of British feeling which presence of mind would have 
 imposed, exclaimed, as he turned his ear from the 
 Moors, " I know the English come to spy the country ; 
 they come to cheat me ; they want war, they want war."" 
 Mr. James said, " No ! we want trade.'"' The King- 
 impatiently continued, "They join the Fantees to put 
 shame upon my face ; I will send a captain to-morrow 
 to take these books, and bring me the heads of all the 
 Fantees under the forts. The white men know I can do 
 this j I have only to speak to my captains. The Dutch 
 Governor does not cheat me ; he does not shame me
 
 MISSION TO ASHAKTEE. 00 
 
 before tlie Fantees ; lie sends me tlie wliole four ounces 
 a montb.. Tlie Danes do not shame me, and the 
 English, four ackies a month is nothing to me ; I can 
 send a captain for all ; they wish war/'' He drew his 
 beard into his mouth, bit it, and, rushing abruptly 
 from his seat, exclaimed, " Shantee foo ! Shantee foo ! 
 ah ! ah ! ^^ then shaking his finger at us with the most 
 angry aspect, would have burst from us with the 
 exclamation, " If a black man had brought me this 
 message, I would have had his head cut off before vne." 
 Mr. James was silent. 
 
 Gentlemen ! imagine this awful moment ; think what 
 a fatal wound menaced the British interests ; the most 
 memorable exertion of the Committee, the pledge to 
 the Government of their energies, of the zeal and capa- 
 bilities of their officers; this important and expensive 
 mission falling to the ground ; the sacrifice to supine- 
 ness ; the Settlements endangered instead of benefited ; 
 ourselves disgraced as officers and men, our key to the 
 interior shivered in the lock, and the territories of a 
 great and comparatively tractable prince shut against 
 us for ever. Could we be expected to look with 
 indifi'erence on these sacrifices, to risk nothing to avert 
 them j to be auxiliary to the triumph of the intrigues 
 and duplicity of our rival, which you know to have been 
 exerted even to our destruction ? j^^ot a moment was 
 to be lost : Mr. Bowdich stood before the King, and 
 begged to be heard; his attention was arrested, the 
 clamour? of the council gradually abated : there was no 
 interpreter but the one Mr. James brought from his 
 own fort, and no alternative but tocharge him promptly 
 in the Governor's name, before reflection could associate
 
 56 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 the wishes of Ms master _, to speak truly. Mr. Bowdicli 
 continued standing before the King, and declared, 
 " That the Governor wished to gain his friendship more 
 than he could think ; that we were sent, not only to 
 compliment him, but to write what he had to say to 
 the Governor, and to wait to tell his answer to the 
 King, and to do all he ordered ; to settle all palavers, 
 and to make Ashantees and English as one before 
 we went back. That the Governor of Accra was sick 
 and in pain, and naturally wished to go back soon, 
 but that himself and the other two officers would 
 stay with the King, until they made him sure that 
 the Governor was a good friend to him. That we 
 would rather get anger, and lose everything ourselves, 
 than let the King think the Governor sent us to put 
 shame on him -, that we would trust our lives to the 
 King, until we had received the Governor's letter, to 
 make him think so ; and to tell us to do all that was 
 right, to make the Ashantees and English as one; 
 and this would show the King we did not come to 
 spy the country, but to do good.'' Mr. Bowdich 
 then assured Mr. James that no outrage on his dignity 
 was meditated ; that we should continue to treat him 
 as our superior officer, but that we felt the present act 
 imperative, as our duty to the service and our country. 
 Conviction flashed across the countenance of the 
 interpreter, and he must have done Mr. Bowdich's 
 speech justice, for the cheerful .aspect of the morning 
 was resumed in every countenance. The applause was 
 o'eneral ; the King (who had again seated himself) held 
 out his hand to Mr. Bowdich, and said, " He spoke 
 well; what he spoke was good; he liked his palaver
 
 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 57 
 
 mucli." Tlie Kino-^s chief lino*iiist came forward and 
 repeated his comraendations with the most profound 
 bows; every look was favourable; everywhere there 
 was a hand extended. The King then instructed his 
 linguist to report to Mr. Bowdich, personally, his 
 arguments respecting the books. "That he had 
 subdued the Fantees at the expense of much powder 
 and shot; and that, in consequence, all their notes 
 were his : that he had only to send a captain to bring 
 all their heads, that he did not want to do no good, 
 and keep the books ; he would do more for tha forts 
 than the Fantees could; that the Dutch Governor did 
 not cheat him, but gave the four ounces a month. That 
 he wished to be friends with the English ; but that the 
 four ackies a month put shame upon his face.^^ To 
 this Mr. Bowdich replied, that he could only say he 
 knew the Governor would do what was right ; that he 
 could not say more until he heard from him ; but that 
 he would write every word the King said; and he was 
 sure the King would see that the Governor would do 
 what was right. We shook hands and retired. 
 
 All the Fantees being detained by the King, Mr. 
 Bowdich and Mr. Hutchison went in the evening to 
 the chief captain to request a messenger from the King* 
 to Cape Coast. About two hours afterwards he reported 
 the King^s reply almost literally as follows : — " The 
 King wishes you good-night ; this is his palaver and 
 yours; you must not speak it to any one else. The white 
 men come to cheat him. The King recollects the face 
 of the white man who spoke to him to-day ; he likes 
 him much ; he wishes he would talk the palaver. The 
 King likes the other white men who stood up with
 
 58 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 
 
 liim very mucli ; lie thinks the Governor of Accra 
 wishes to put all the wrong on the Governor at Cape 
 Coast^ and not to tell anything. The King thinks 
 that not rightj and he sees you do not like that. You 
 must not speak this palaver again; ^tis the King^s 
 palaver^ and yours; the King^s captain will speak 
 right to the King what you say^ and you shall have a 
 messenger." 
 
 We again affirm positively that Mr. James made no 
 offer to communicate with the Governor,, but spoke only 
 of his return^ which we know he was meditating at the 
 expense of the treaty^ and every object of the mission. 
 
 Referring to our detail previous to the serious 
 business of to-day, you will find every circumstance to 
 have been encouraging, and in our opinion auspicious 
 to the consummation of the mission. Yet at that 
 moment, unclouded as it was, we know Mr. James, by 
 his own confession, to have written to head-quarters 
 with a gloom which existed only in his own imagina- 
 tion j this letter did not go from the detention of the 
 Fantee bearers. We believe firmly that, had there 
 been no interference on our part at the critical moment, 
 Mr. James would have returned forthwith to Cape 
 Coast without effecting one object of the mission, and 
 that the future good of the Settlements would not 
 only have been sacrificed, but their present security 
 endangered.^ 
 
 ^ " The government of the country is a military despotism ; and 
 I have this day received private information that it is already 
 settled that if the refusal of the notes occasions a war, and any 
 one is hurt or killed by the forts, our lives will be the forfeit." 
 — Mr. James's despatch.
 
 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. ' 59 
 
 Mr. James may Trrite tliat Mr. Bowdicli rose with 
 great warmtli : tills we deny^ and affirm tliat lie 
 displayed no more tlian a temperate zeal^ considerate 
 in its declarations^, and respectful even in its dissent 
 from Mr. James. Tlie attention of tlie King was 
 arrested by tlie novelty of a white man addressing 
 liim in tlie oratorical manner of his own country; but it 
 was not until the linguist had conveyed the arguments, 
 that the King held out his hand, and the applause was 
 general. Mere observations whispered in the ear of 
 the linguists had lost all effect, and would not have 
 answered the crisis. 
 
 Mr. James has talked, and perhaps written, much of 
 the King^s susjDicion ; but we must contend that much 
 of this is misnamed, and is no more than that deliberate 
 policy -which is a pledge of the durability of the 
 confidence it precedes. Certainly there has been 
 suspicion, but not more than must have been expected, 
 not more than was commensurate with the important 
 novelty which challenged it. It has been confessed 
 here that our political rival has exerted all his address 
 to vitiate our objects in the eyes of the King; to 
 convince him our ostensible views were pretences, our 
 real ones dangerous and unjust; that we sought 
 sovereignty, not commerce. The Moorish chiefs and 
 dignitaries by whom the King is surrounded, whose 
 influence is powerful, not only from their rank but 
 their repute, naturally urged these arguments against 
 unbelievers and competitors in trade, and their 
 extensive intercourse has unfortunately possessed them 
 of facts to the point of our ambition. Let these 
 considerations be weighed; let our account of the
 
 60 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 King's general deportment be again referred to ; let 
 us impress that lie has never once adverted to our 
 destruction of his troops before Annamaboe^ or of the 
 critical situation of the fort; that he has evinced a 
 disposition to a sound understanding-^ by veiling every 
 irritating retrospect, by acknowledging every con- 
 ciliatory circumstance. 
 
 We do not presume to enter our opinions into the 
 important question of the King's demand of the whole 
 of these two notes ; we have advanced nothing but our 
 assurance that the Governor will do what is right, and 
 we have pledged our lives to convince the King of 
 this ; the importance of the mission would have claimed 
 a more valuable pledge. 
 
 Whilst we impress the surprising power and influence 
 of the King, we must do him the justice to acknowledge 
 the convincing manner in which he urged the injuries 
 and forbearance which preceded the Fantee war; his 
 willingness to do everything for the forts, and the 
 conduct of the Dutch Governor in giving him the 
 whole of the four ounces, were impressively and 
 ingeniously associated. 
 
 To wear away suspicion, Mr. Bowdich has ceased his 
 inquiries and observations for a time. The resources 
 for intelligence of the interior are infinite. Timbuctoo 
 has been visited by most of the sojourners, and a mass 
 of valuable information may be gathered with caution.^ 
 
 2 " In the present suspicious state of the King's mind respecting 
 us, I fear it would be impolitic to make the inquiries you ordered in 
 your instructions. I think it will be more prudent to leave them 
 to time. Mr. H., if he remains, will be able, from time to time, 
 to obtain such information as they can give, without creating that
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 61 
 
 Tlie eclipses of Jupiter^s satellites will be regularly 
 observed by Mr. Bowdicli, and tlie laean longitude 
 reported; the want of a good watch imposes consider- 
 able trouble. 
 
 We have reflected on what we have done, and if we 
 are so unfortunate as to be visited by your and the 
 Committee^s displeasure, we shall console ourselves in 
 our reluctant change of pui^suit, by the satisfaction of 
 our own minds of the honourable zeal of our motives. 
 
 "We most respectfully solicit our recall, as we cannot 
 implicate our character and our responsibility with Mr. 
 Jameses judgment and perseverance in prosecuting the 
 mission, of the consummation of which we cannot 
 agree to despond. We could not reconcile om^selves 
 to the sacrifice of one of its important objects to our 
 personal apprehensions (supported as we are by 
 authority and circumstances) whilst the recollection of 
 the illustrious energies of an enterprising traveller, 
 forlorn and destitute, appeals to our spirit, and im- 
 presses the expectations of our country. — We are, &c. 
 (Signed) T. Edward Bowdich. 
 W. Hutchison. 
 Henet Tedlie. 
 
 CooiiASSiE, May 24, 1817. 
 To the Governor and Council , Cape Coast Castle. 
 
 Gentlemen, — The act our former letter has avowed, 
 and we would presume (after the most deliberate 
 
 suspicion which would certainly arise from any questions put at the 
 present moment. I have kept Mr. H.'s hammock men, as it is jet 
 uncertain whether he will remain." — Mr. James's despatch.
 
 62 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 reflection) to add justified,, lias made it our duty to 
 communicate (independently of Mr. James) tlie circum- 
 stances of tlie interval we may await your pleasure. 
 
 If tMs duty had not been imposed on us by tlie act 
 in question^ the imminent fatality engendered in the 
 debate of to-day^ and quickened by the ardour of the 
 captains^ would have demanded from our private as 
 well as our public feelings the most energetic repre- 
 sentations (as auxiliary to those of Mr. James) in 
 impressing the calamities and the sacrifices which 
 menace the Settlements and the mission, to secure 
 your serious deliberation, as the only preventive we 
 can look to with confidence. 
 
 Yesterday we were conducted some way without the 
 town to an assembly of the Moorish caboceers and 
 dignitaries, who exert every device against us. A 
 chapter was read from the Koran, and we were ordered 
 to swear by that book that we had no rogues' palaver, 
 and that we had put no poison in the King's liquor. 
 We severally refused to swear on the Koran, but 
 offered to do so on our own prayer-books. The 
 King's linguist mediated, and asked us if we would 
 only strike that book three times, and then declare as 
 much, because the Moors said that book would kill us 
 if we lied. We did this, and were about two hours 
 afterwards ordered to sit without our house and 
 receive the following present from the King : — 
 
 1 bullock, 2 pigs, 8 ozs. of gold, for Mr. James. 
 
 1 sheep, 2 ozs. 4 ackies of gold, for each of us. 
 
 To each of the numerous Fantee messengers, 10 
 ackies of gold. 
 
 To our cooks, a large assortment of pots and country
 
 MISSION TO asha:n'tee. 63 
 
 vessels^ 100 large billets of wood,, 100 yams^ 100 
 bunches of plantains, 4 of sugar-cane^ 4 (24-gallon) 
 pots of palm oil, 3 jars of palm wine. 
 
 To the soldiers, 10 ackies of gold. 
 
 To the Accra linguist, 10 ackies of gold. 
 
 On Saturday we were summoned to the King, and 
 waited as usual a considerable time in one of the outer 
 courts of the palace, which is an immense building of a 
 variety of oblong courts and regular squares, the 
 former with arcades along the one side, some of round 
 arches symmetrically turned, having a skeleton of 
 bamboo; the entablatures exuberantly adorned with 
 bold fan and trellis-work of Egyptian character. They 
 have a suite of rooms over them, with small windows of 
 wooden lattice of intricate but regular carved work, 
 and some have frames cased with thin gold. The 
 squares have a large apartment on each side, open in 
 front, with two supporting pillars, which break the 
 view and give it all the appearance of the proscenium 
 or front of the stage of the older Italian theatres. 
 They are lofty and regular, aod the cornices of a very 
 bold cane-work in alto relievo. A drop-curtain of 
 curiously-plaited cane is suspended in front, and in 
 each we observed chairs and stools embossed with 
 gold, and beds of silk, with scattered regalia. The 
 most ornamental part of the palace is the residence of 
 the women. We have passed through it once; the 
 fronts of the apartments were closed (except two open 
 doorways) by panels of curious open carving, convey- 
 ing a striking resemblance at first sight to an early 
 Gothic screen; one was entirely closed and had two 
 curious doors of a low arch, and strengthened or
 
 64 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 battened with wood-work^ carved in liigli relief and 
 painted red. Doors chancing to open as we passed, 
 surprised us with a ghmpse of large apa,rtments in 
 corners we could not have thought of; the most secret 
 appeared the most adorned. In our daily course 
 through the palace there is always a delay of some 
 minutes before the door of each of the several distinct 
 squares is unlocked; within the inmost square is the 
 council-chamber. 
 
 To-day, after the delay of nearly an hour (which 
 seems an indispensable ceremony) in the outer court 
 (where different dignitaries were passing to and fro 
 with their insignia and retinues), we were conducted 
 to a large yard, where the King, encircled by a varied 
 profusion of insignia, even more sumptuous than that 
 we had seen before, sat at the end of two long files of 
 counsellors, caboceers, and captains ; they were seated 
 under their umbrellas, composed of scarlet and yellow 
 cloth, silks, shawls, cottons, and every glaring variety, 
 with carved and golden pelicans, panthers, baboons, 
 barrels, crescents, &c., on the top ; the shape generally 
 a dome. Distinct and pompous retinues were placed 
 around, with gold canes, spangled elephant tails to 
 brush off the flies, gold-headed swords, and embossed 
 muskets, and many splendid novelties too numerous 
 but for a particular report, which will not be neglected. 
 Each had the dignitaries of his own province or estab- 
 lishment to his right and left ; and it was truly 
 ^' Concilium in Concilio." When we recollected the 
 insignificant, though neat, appearance of the few 
 Ashantee towns we had passed through on the 
 southern frontier, and even the extent and superior
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 65 
 
 ctaracter of tlie capital, this magnificence seemed tlie 
 efiect of encliantment. 
 
 We have intruded this sketch to impress the power 
 and resources of the monarch we are to concihate, and 
 to anticipate in some degree the delay of Mr. Bowdich^s 
 report, the transcription of which must yield to the 
 present momentous communication. 
 
 The King having decided a cause then in course, by 
 which one of his captains was condemned to death for 
 cowardice, ordered the question of the Annamaboe and 
 Brafibe notes to be resumed. The several Fantee 
 messengers were heard, the King of Annamaboe^s, 
 Amooney^s and Payntree^s (the interior caboceer) 
 having joined us in the path. They appeared all 
 equivocation and embarrassment, as Quashie^s interpre- 
 tations confirmed; they were incompetent to answer 
 the King^s linguists, and unable to use the few unin- 
 terrupted intervals which were allowed them to any 
 purpose. It seems they would not acknowledge what 
 the full amount of these notes was. Mr. James was 
 asked ; he said, " White men^s heads were not like black 
 men^s, and he could not recollect ; but he thought four 
 ozs. and two ozs.^^ He did not offer to learn from the 
 Governor. Several impassioned harangues were made by 
 the King^s linguists and counsellors; the King said, '"''He 
 had four ozs. from Elmina, and two ozs. from English 
 Accra ; was it not putting shame upon him to send 
 him four ackies from Cape Coast ? ^' The Cape Coast 
 messenger (Quashie Tom had absented himself) spoke 
 again with great trepidation ; the King could not con- 
 ceal his emotions ; his counsellors became clamorous ; 
 in an instant there was a flourish of all the horns; all 
 
 F
 
 66 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 tlie captains rose and seized tlieir gold-headed swords 
 from tlieir attendants ; tlie liead general snatclied Mr. 
 Tedlie^s from Ms scabbard ; numerous canopies crowded 
 one upon tlie other in the background^ as if some con- 
 siderable personages had arrived; there was nothing 
 but commotion^ wrath_, a.nd impatience. The captains^ 
 old and young_, rushed before the King^ and exclaimed^ 
 as Quashie reported (who seems to have been afraid to 
 tell us all_, and was restrained by Quamina), '^''King, 
 this shames you too much; you must let us. go to-night 
 and kill all the Fantees^ and burn all the towns under 
 the forts. ■'^ They then presented themselves succes- 
 sively with their bands of music and retinues, and, 
 bowing before the King, received his foot upon their 
 heads ; each then directed his sword to the King (who 
 held up the two first fingers of his right hand), and 
 swore by the King^s head that they would go with 
 the army that night, and bring him the books and the 
 heads of all the Fantees. Each captain made the oath 
 impressive in his own peculiar manner ; some seriously, 
 some by ridicale at our expense and that of the 
 Fantees, pointing at our heads and ears, and endeavour- 
 ing to intimidate us by the most insolent action and 
 gesture as they held out their swords. The old general 
 (Apokoo) who swore the last, after he had done so in 
 the most expressive manner, threw Mr. Tedlie^s sword 
 to him over the heads of the people with contemptuous 
 defiance. The number was so great that we thought 
 this awful ceremony would never finish. 
 
 The King left the council a short time. In the 
 interval, Quamina Bwa (our guide) told Accra Quashie 
 to beg Mr. James to speak to the King when he came
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 67 
 
 backj and try and appease him. Mr. James did so_, 
 but witliout tlie zeal, presence of mind, or argument 
 tlie crisis demanded ; it was not adequate even to 
 ameliorate tlie King^s impression of tlie Governor and 
 tlie English; it was no more tlian lie said at first. 
 Tlie King took not tlie least notice of it, but declared 
 angrily that " if he did not see white men^s faces he 
 would cut ofi" the heads of every Fantee miessenger on 
 the S23ot.''^ Some sheep and gold were then brought 
 forward and presented to the captains, and the King 
 rose abruptly from his chair. In this anxious moment 
 we reflected that the mulatto of General Daendels had 
 a long audience of the King just before we were re- 
 ceived; no resource was to be left untried that was 
 manly and appropriate. Mr. Bowdich stepped before 
 the King and declared, through the linguist, " that he 
 wished to speak what he knew would make the King 
 think that the Governor would do him right, and was 
 his good friend.''^ The King said he would hear him 
 speak in the house ; we retired amidst the insults and 
 menaces of the assembly. 
 
 About two hours after, we were summoned, and, as 
 is the etiquette, kept some time in waiting; in this 
 interval, Mr. James said that our situation being very 
 critical, it was a pity any difference should be observed, 
 and that he thought it much better to be reconciled. 
 Mr. Bowdich replied that he could not think it possible 
 our sentiments to be delivered to the Kino- could differ 
 at such a moment ; that if they did we should assimilate 
 ours to his as much as possible ; but, feeling the ne- 
 cessity for the greatest energy, for every address and 
 argument for the conviction of the King, we must, for 
 
 F 2
 
 68 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 tlie public good, continue our assumption of tlie privi- 
 lege of strengthening liis declarations by our own until 
 our recall; tliat we should be tender of liis dignity; but 
 that, it being a difference on a point of public duty, we 
 could not compound it, but would take the conse- 
 quences. We were received ; the King's aspect was 
 stern ; he prefaced that " he did not wish to make war 
 with the English, but that the four ackies a month 
 shamed him too much ; that the captains said to him, 
 ' King, they cheat you, they put shame on you ; we will 
 go to-night and bring you the heads of all the Fantees ;' 
 that he was forced to say to them, ''I beg your pardon, 
 but, as I see the white men's faces, I beg you to stay 
 till to-morrow, when they can write to the Governor, 
 and they will tell me themselves what he says ; then, 
 if he does not send me Amooney's and the Braffoe's 
 books, you shall go and kill all; that he had been 
 obliged afterwards to dash them sheep and gold to make 
 them stay until the white men got the Governor's 
 letter/' Mr. James assured the King ^' that the King 
 of England and the Governor wished to be friends A\ath 
 him, to do all that was right ; and he thought in his 
 own mind that the Governor would give up the books." 
 The King took no notice, and continued serious : the 
 moment called for the most energetic appeal to his 
 reason, for every imposing argument and circumstance. 
 There was a long pause; Mr. Bowdich rose, and 
 charged Mr. James's linguist to interpret truly. We 
 took the precaution of making notes of this speech, 
 feeling we should be particular where we pledge our 
 honour and volunteer our affidavit. It was as follows : — 
 " We swore yesterday as the King wished; to-day we
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 69 
 
 wisli to swear as we should before our own King." 
 Tlie King lield up the two first fingers of his right 
 hand as he did to the captains. '' We swear " (pre- 
 senting our swords and kissing the hilt^ as the most 
 imposing form that occurred to us) ^^ by our God and 
 by our King^ and we know the Governor of Accra will 
 do the same_, that we mean no bad to the King ; that 
 the King of England and the Company ordered the 
 Governor to send us to make the Ashantees and English 
 as one ; that we are sure the Governor will do the King- 
 right j and that when we write him all the Eang says^ we 
 will write also that we think the King's palaver good. We 
 were sent to make the English and Ashantees as one, 
 because ours is the greatest white, yours the greatest 
 black, nation ; and when two great nations are friends, 
 it makes good. I came out in the ship that was sent 
 to tell the Governor this, and when he heard it he said 
 it gave him very much pleasure. The KJing of England 
 and the Company thought the Governor should send to 
 the King, to send some of his great men to Cape 
 Coast, that we might be safe ; but the Governor said, 
 ' Ko ! there was no occasion,'' and wrote to the King and 
 the Company that he could trust all his officers in 
 Ashantee, because the King's honour made them safe; so 
 we came without sending, because we knew the King- 
 was our true friend. 
 
 " The Governor wished always to do the King right, 
 but the Fantees never would tell him what was right, 
 so he wrote to the King of England to send him some 
 presents, that he might send his own officers to the 
 King, and hear properly from the King's own mouth 
 what was right, because the Fantees never would tell
 
 70 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 him wliat was true^ or wliat tlie King said. Wlien tlie 
 Governor reads what we shall write him_, then he will 
 know the truth for the first time. We shall stay to 
 make the Ashantees and English one, and we pledge 
 our lives to the King_, that we speak a projDer palaver, 
 and when we speak true before God and the King 
 we cannot fear/^ 
 
 There were repeated and general applauses as each 
 sentence was interpreted ; the King smiled, and desired 
 his linguist to say to Mr. Bowdich as Quashie inter- 
 preted, " The King likes you ; you speak a proper good 
 palaver ; you speak like a man ; the King wishes to be a 
 friend to white men; he thinks white men next to 
 God.^^ Here the King raised his hands to heaven, 
 and then, covering his face, Quashie continued to inter- 
 pret : — '' The King thanks God and his own fetish, 
 that they have sent him white men to talk proper like 
 this to him, and when you three white men go back to 
 Cape Coast, and the Governor has bad put into his 
 head, and thinks you did wrong, then if you want any- 
 thing to eat, send a messenger to him and he will send 
 you plenty, for the King thinks you do right to God 
 and him, and to your King and to the Governor, and 
 that you will get much honour when you go back ; so 
 the King thanks you, and says you speak well.'''' The 
 King then asked Mr. James if he would swear on his 
 sword like us, as we said; Mr. James did so. The 
 King made an observation which it seems we cannot 
 convey to you in its full force, or nearer than that he 
 liked the three white men because they always stood 
 up to speak, and pushed forward to get what they 
 wanted. Many auxiliary observations were afterwards
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 71 
 
 offered casually by eacli of us^ to confirm his change of 
 sentiment. Tlie Fantee linguists attempted to intimi- 
 date the linguist Quashie of Accra, but ineffectually ; 
 this man is invaluable from his influence and intelli- 
 gence ; he is our only safe medium_, and interprets to 
 the King anxiously and impressively. 
 
 The King appeared much pleased_, and made us a 
 long speech. *^The King says the Fantees are all 
 rogues; the Governor knows that very well. The King 
 thinks they always put bad palaver in the Governor's 
 head ; he always tells his captains so ; he is sure you 
 come to do him right. The King wishes all good for 
 the English ; he swears by God and by the fetish^ that 
 if the English could know how the Fantees serve him, 
 and all the bad they do, they would say his palaver 
 was good. The King speaks true.'''' He then gave us' 
 an outline of the Fantee war, which must have con- 
 vinced even the most prejudiced of his injuries and 
 forbearance, and their injustice and cruelty. 
 
 The King says, " If the English trust to him, he will 
 take more care of the forts than the Fantees can ; he 
 will do them great good; he does not want to do 
 nothing. He will send the English his trade ; he will 
 send them good gold like what he wears himself 
 (showing his armlets), not bad gold hke he knows 
 the Fantees make ; his people don''t know how to do 
 that; the Fantees do it in their own houses before they 
 give it to white men. If at any time the English in 
 the forts are in want of anything to eat, and send to 
 him, he will send them everything-. To-morrow is 
 Sunday, but the next day is Monday ; then he will give 
 you a proper messenger.^''
 
 72 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 We cannot do justice to tlie King's sentiments 
 either in detail or in expression ; they were incredibly 
 liberal_, and would have ennobled the most civilized 
 monarch ; they seemed to break the spell which has 
 shut the interior. He begged us to drink with him, 
 and Mr. James agreed in the toast of '^May the 
 Ashantees and English always be one/' it pleased 
 him, and he begged us to touch his glass with ours. 
 He then turned suddenly to the Fantee messengers 
 (who were trembling in the rear) and said, ^^ You made 
 me very angry with you, and I am very angry with 
 youj but never mind, come and drink some of my 
 liquor.'' 
 
 Our critical situation demands the delivery of our 
 sentiments on the subject of these notes; we do so 
 with diffidence and respect. The services of the 
 Braffoes, who hold the one, are merely nominal, their 
 enmity nugatory from their political situation; the 
 issuing of a fresh note to Amooney will be but a small 
 addition to the expenditure, and even the expense of 
 renewing them both cannot be weighed with the pre- 
 vention of another Fantee war, of the destruction of a 
 whole people, and the ruin of our Settlements in their 
 defence, with the defeat of the intrigue and devices of 
 our rival, and the acquisition of the confidence of a 
 powerful and liberal monarch, whose influence may 
 perfect the views of the British Government on the 
 interior. We hail the circumstances as auspicious, 
 even in the present serious moment. 
 
 Mr. James confesses that he desponds of consum- 
 mating the objects of the mission ; we do not. We 
 would be responsible for all of them, but we diffidently
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 73 
 
 await your decision. We must claim tliis momentary 
 calm of the King to ourselves,, because it only affords 
 us tlie credit^ or rather the justification, of having done 
 our duty, which we are resolute in repeating Mr. 
 James has not. What has been said through Mr. 
 Bowdich is here reported faithfully ; we have not 
 committed the Governor or ourselves. 
 
 Gentlemen, our situation is critical ; if your answer 
 determines the King on war, we are his prisoners ; if, 
 as we cannot doubt, the valour of our countrymen 
 again retards hu progTess by defences as memorable as 
 that of Annamaboe, we may be the victims of an 
 irritated soldiery, though we feel it would be with the 
 reluctance of a generous prince, who is not inde- 
 pendent, but, unfortunately, controlled by a military 
 despotism, which deposed his brother and invested 
 him. 
 
 But, gentlemen, if in your better knowledge and 
 reflection you cannot consistently with your honour 
 and your trust meet the King^s demand, the history 
 of our country has fortified our minds with the illus- 
 trious example of a Yansittart and his colleagues, who 
 were situated as we are, when the dawn of British 
 intercourse in India was scarcely more advanced than 
 its dawn in Africa now ; and their last request to their 
 Council is our present conclusion to you — " Do not 
 put our lives in competition with the honour and 
 interests of our country.''^ 
 
 We are, &c. &c. 
 (Signed) T. Edwaed Bowdich. 
 W. Hutchison. 
 Henky Tedlie.
 
 74 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 CooMASSiE, May IWi, 1817. 
 
 To the Governor and Council. 
 
 Gentlemen_, — On Sunday tlie King visited us at our 
 quarters, and expressed much gratification with the 
 trifles we presented him individually, and our solicitude 
 in explaining some plates of botanical and natural 
 history, which he sends for frequently. 
 
 On Monday we had a public audience before the 
 captains (whose ill-will has been acknowledged), when 
 two messengers were ordered to accompany one of ours 
 to Cape Coast, with the letters to the Governor, and 
 were impressively sworn ; they received their instruc- 
 tions in a speech from the linguist of nearly two hours; 
 it seemed to be intended to conciliate the captains at 
 the same time. 
 
 In the afternoon the King sent for us again, and 
 said he wished to dictate a letter to the Governor. 
 Mr. James wrote the sense of the King^s expressions, 
 but was obliged to leave off from indisposition. The 
 King would not trust it out of his hands. Yesterday 
 evening it was concluded, when the King proposed to 
 make his mark, and insisted on repeating it in the 
 direction. We have taken the pains to preserve this 
 curious letter verbatim, which from its length and our 
 constant interruption we are compelled to reserve, 
 with many curious particulars, for the General Report. 
 
 We are anxiously waiting a summons to hand our 
 despatches to the messenger. Nine days are allowed 
 for the journey to Cape Coast, and nine for the return. 
 The whole time has been gradually extended, by
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 75 
 
 entreaty of tlie Fantee messengers^ from eigliteen to 
 thirty days. 
 
 Mr. Hutcliison is ill with a bilious attack, and 
 several of the people with a fever and dysentery. The 
 heat is very powerful here, but Mr. Bowdich and Mr. 
 Tedlie continue in excellent health. 
 
 We would recommend the sending up a common 
 green silk umbrella, and a Company^s dirk, as presents 
 to the King^s favourite nephew. 
 
 Our confinement to the house is rather irksome ; we 
 are not allowed to walk in the town without captains 
 accompanying us. 
 
 12 o^clock. The King sent to say !Mr. Bowdich must 
 come to the palace, and mount the chief captain^s 
 horse, and show him how Englishmen ride. Mr. 
 Bowdich went, and by the King^s desire galloped up 
 and down the opposite hill. The King expressed great 
 anxiety when the horse was made to play his tricks ; 
 and when Mr. Bowdich persevered, and made him 
 gallop back and alighted, the King sent him word that 
 "he rode like a proper man, that he stayed on the 
 horse well, and made him do proper.''^ 
 
 4 o^clock. The King sent for us at two, to make 
 some additions to the letter, and to seal it in his pre- 
 sence. A long prayer was uttered by a Moor after the 
 sealing of the letter, and we were called back to be 
 again impressed with the example and justice of the 
 Dutch as regards the books. Mr. Hutchison's illness 
 prevented his attendance to-day. The messengers are 
 to go to-night. 
 
 May 29th, 3 p.m. The messengers and the Fantee 
 bearers^ have been delayed in consequence of the death
 
 76 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 of a person of rank, and their assistance in the custom. 
 I am now assured that they will leave Coomassie at 4 
 o'clock. 
 
 In reply to the request we urged to Mr. James, that 
 he would dismiss our hammock-men as they had been 
 of so little service to us in coming up, and were a 
 considerable expense, he impressed that it would be 
 contrary to your instructions. 
 
 Only one message from the King to-day, and that a 
 private one to Mr. Bowdich, with permission for him 
 to ride : he went all round the town, which he considers 
 to be about three miles in circumference; the King 
 afterwards sent him word that to-morrow he must ride 
 on a cloth only, as he had heard the English did. 
 We are, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) T. E. Bowdich. 
 H. Tedlie. 
 
 P.S. Mr. James had a severe relapse of fever last 
 night, and was very ill this morning ; at 10 o'clock 
 a.m. he had the cold bath, and some febrifuge medicine. 
 Mr. Hutchison is rather better, the soldiers also, but 
 the hammock-men continue much the same. 
 
 Sai Tootoo Quamina, King of Asliantee and its Bepen- 
 
 dencies, to John Hope Smith, Esquire^ Qovernor-in- 
 
 Chief of the British Settlements on the Gold Coast of 
 
 Africa. 
 
 The King sends his compliments to the Governor; he 
 
 thanks the King of England and him very much for 
 
 the presents sent to him, he thinks them very hand-
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 77 
 
 some. Tlie King's sisters and all liis friends have 
 seen tlierQ^ and think them very handsome^ and thank 
 him. The King thanks his God and his fetish that he 
 made the Governor send the white men's faces for him 
 to see, like he does now ; he likes the English very 
 much, and the Governor all the same as his brother. 
 
 The King of England has made war against all the 
 other white people a long time, and killed all the 
 people all about, and taken all the towns, French, 
 Dutch, and Danish, all the towns all about. The King 
 of Ashantee has made war against all the people of the 
 water side, and all the black men all about, and taken 
 all their towns. 
 
 When the King of England takes a French town, 
 he says, " Come, all this is mine, bring all your books, 
 and give me all your pay/' and if they don't do it, does 
 the Governor think the King of England likes it ? ^ 
 So the King has beat the Fantees now two times, and 
 taken all their toT^-ns, and they send and say to him, 
 " You are a great King, we want to serve you ;" but he 
 says, '' Hah ! you want to serve me, then bring all your 
 books, what you get from the forts ;" and then they 
 send him four ackies ; this vexes him too much. 
 
 The first time he made war against the Fantees, two 
 great men in Assin quarrelled ; so half the people came 
 to Ashantee, half went to Fantee. The King said, 
 "What is the reason of this ? " so he sent his gold swords 
 and canes to know why they did so, and the Fantees 
 
 ' This is an extraordinaiy impression, that all the towns in 
 Europe are supported like those under the forts, holding notes from 
 their Governments for annual stipends.
 
 78 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 
 
 killed his messengers and took all their gold/ After 
 they fought with the Elminas and Accras^ the Fantees 
 sent word to the King they would serve him; the 
 King sent word to the Assins, '' If it is true that the 
 Fantees want to serve me_, let me hear/^ After that they 
 sent to say_, "Yes ; they tired of fightings and wanted to 
 serve him/^ he said^ " Well, give me some gold, what 
 you get from the books, and then you shall hear what 
 palaver I have got in my head, and we can be friends /' 
 then he sent some messengers, and after they waited 
 more than two years, the Fantees sent word back, "No ! 
 we don^t want to serve the King, but only to make the 
 path open and get good trade :''■' this vexed the King 
 too much. 
 
 Then the Fantees sent to a strong man, Cudjoe 
 Coomah, and said, " Come, let us put our heads to- 
 gether against the King -," after that, when the King 
 heard this, he sent one, not a great man, but his own 
 slave, and said, "Well you will do, go kill all the peo- 
 ple, all the Aquapims, and Akims, and all ;" and so he 
 killed all, and after he killed all he came and told him. 
 
 When he sent against Akim, the people in Akim 
 sent word that they told their head men not to vex the 
 King, but they would not mind them, so he killed the 
 head people, and the others begged his pardon. 
 
 ^ Here the King's linguist ceased, and by his desire requested us 
 to repeat all the King had said; he was much pleased with our 
 accuracy, and begged us to take some refreshment (spirits and 
 palm wine were introduced in sih'er bowls), fearing he had kept us 
 too long without eating, and would continue the letter to-morrow. 
 He locked up what had been ^vTitten, and heard it read again the 
 next day, before his linguists continued.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 79 
 
 Wlien the King went to fight with the Fantees they 
 sent this saucy word^ "We will kill you and your peo- 
 ple, and stand on you;^^ then they did not kill one 
 Ashantee captain, but the King killed all the Fantee 
 captains and people. They do not stand on him. 
 
 That time, after the King fought, all the Fantees 
 sent word, " Well we will serve you, but you must not 
 send more harm to hurt us, we don^t want to fight 
 more, but to make good friends with you.^^ Then the 
 King said, "What caboceer lives at Cape Coast and 
 Annamaboe, what books they get from the forts, let 
 them send all, and then we can be friends.''^ And the 
 King sent word too, " If my messengers go to Cape 
 Coast fort, and if they bring pots of gold, and casks of 
 goods, then I can^t take that, hut I must have the 
 loohsr 
 
 After that the King sent word to the Governor of 
 Cape Coast and the Governor of Annamaboe, " Well ! 
 you know I have killed all the Fantees, and I must 
 have Adocoo^s and A mooneyes books, and I can make 
 friends with you, good brother and good heart -/' but 
 now they send four ackies, that is what makes the 
 King^s heart break out when he looks on the book and 
 thinks of four ackies, and his captains swear that the 
 Fantees are rogues and want to cheat him. When the 
 white men see the Fantees do this, and the English 
 officers bring him this four ackies, it makes him 
 get up very angry, but he has no palaver with white 
 men. 
 
 All Fantee is his, all the black man^s country is his ; 
 he hears that white men bring all the things that come 
 here ; he wonders they do not fight with the Fantees,
 
 80 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 for lie knows they cheat tliem. Now lie sees white 
 men, and he thanks God and his fetish for it. 
 
 When the English made Apollonia fort he fought 
 with the Aowins^ the masters of that country, and 
 killed them; then he said to the caboceer," I have killed 
 all your people, your book is mine /^ the caboceer said, 
 '^True ! so long as you take my town, the book belongs 
 to you." 
 
 He went to Dankara and fought, and killed the 
 people ; then he said, " Give me the book you get from 
 Elmina," so they did, and now Elmina belongs to him.^ 
 
 The English fort at Accra gave a book to an Akim 
 caboceer, called Aboigin Adjumawcon. The King 
 killed him and took the book. The Dutch fort gave a 
 book to another Akim caboceer, Curry Curry Apam. 
 The Danish fort gave a book to another Akim caboceer, 
 Arrawa Akim; the King killed all and took their 
 books. 
 
 This King, Sa'i, is young on the stool, but he keeps 
 always in his head what old men say, for it is good, 
 and his great men and linguists tell it him every 
 morning. The King of England makes three great 
 men, and sends one to Cape Coast, one to Annamaboe, 
 and one to Accra ; Cape Coast is the same as England. 
 The King gets two ounces from Accra every moon, 
 and the English wish to give him only four ackies for 
 the big fort at Cape Coast, and the same for Annama- 
 boe ; do white men think this proper ? 
 
 When the King killed the Dankara caboceer and 
 got two ounces from Elmina, the Dutch Governor said, 
 
 ^ The King always spoke of the acts of all liis ancestors as liis
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 81 
 
 '^ Tills is a proper King; we shall not play witli Mm/' 
 and made tlie book four ounces. Tlie King lias killed 
 all tlie people, and all tlie forts are his j lie sent liis cap- 
 tains to see white men ; now he sees them, and thanks 
 God and his fetish. If the path was good when the 
 captains went, the King would have gone under the 
 forts and seen all the white men. The Ashantees take 
 good gold to Cape Coast, but the Fantees mix it ; he 
 sent some of his captains like slaves to see, and they 
 saw it ; ten handkerchiefs are cut to eight, water is 
 put to rum, and charcoal to powder, even for the King ; 
 they cheat him, but he thinks the white men give all 
 those things proper to the Fantees. 
 
 The King knows the King of England is his good 
 friend, for he has sent him handsome dashes; he knows 
 his officers are his good friends, for they come to see 
 him. The King wishes the Governor to send to Elmina 
 to see what is paid him there, and to write the King of 
 England how much, as the English say their nation 
 passes the Dutch ; he will see by the books given him 
 by both forts. If the King of England does not like 
 that, he may send him himself what he pleases, and 
 then Sai can take it. 
 
 He thanks the King and Governor for sending four 
 white men to see him. The old King wished to see 
 some of them, but the Fantees stop it. He is but a 
 young man and sees them, and so again he thanks God 
 and his fetish. 
 
 Dictated in the presence of, 
 T. Edwaed Bowdich. 
 William Hutchison. 
 Henry Tedlie.
 
 82 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 May SOth. Apokoo sent us a present of tliirty ackies 
 of gold and some fruits. 
 
 June 1st. The King sent to desire Mr. Tedlie to bring 
 his instruments and medicines, and explain their uses 
 to him; he was shrewdly inquisitive, and presented 
 Mr. Tedlie with six ackies of gold in approbation of 
 his intelligence. 
 
 4:th. The King paid us a visit at our quarters, 
 and expressed himself highly gratified with some 
 botanical engravings : he said white men tried to 
 know so much they would spoil their heads by-and-by. 
 We were allowed to take a walk in the town to-day, 
 in charge of two captains. We had scarcely passed 
 the palace when two men were decapitated for cowardice : 
 three others had been executed during the night. 
 
 bth. Bakkee, to whom our house formerly belonged, 
 had been sent the second in command of the army 
 with which Appia Danqua invaded Fantee the second 
 time, in pursuit of the Akim and Aquapim revolters. 
 Wearied of the procrastination and labours of the 
 campaign, he inconsiderately observed to a public 
 messenger, that, as the King had declared when 
 he invaded Fantee in person that he would have 
 the head of every Fantee caboceer, and yet returned 
 with a part only, so he could not be expected to 
 forego the enjoyment of the riches and luxuries of his 
 home until every revolter was killed. On his return to 
 the capital without leave, he was charged with this, 
 and not denying it, was stripped of all his property, 
 and hung himself. Aboidwee, our present house- 
 master, was raised to Bakkee^s stool, or seat in 
 council, to which 1700 retainers are attached.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 83 
 
 9tJi. Tlie King sent us two slieep and a large 
 quantity of fruit ; his nephew also sent us a slieep. 
 
 11th. We were invited to attend the King^s levee, 
 on the Adai custom, and were presented with a 
 flask of rum and a fat sheep. This walk was a great 
 relief, for the longest court in our quarters was not 
 more than fourteen feet. 
 
 12th. The King sent us a large Hio sheep to 
 look at; it measured four and a half feet from the 
 head to the insertion of the tail, which was two feet 
 long; its height was three feet, and it was covered with 
 coarse shaggy hair. 
 
 ISth. The King sent for us Jate at night; he 
 assured us he wished to think well of the English ; 
 and that if Cape Coast was not so far off, he should 
 send messengers daily to wish the Governor good 
 morning, but the Crambos (Moors) and his great 
 men thought we came to do bad, and spy the country ; 
 so he sent for us when it was dark, that they might 
 not know it. He had only two persons with him. 
 Mr. James was too ill to attend. 
 
 17th. The King sent a present to our quarters of 
 2 ounces of gold to the officers. 
 20 ackies to our people. 
 10 ackies to our linguists. 
 1 hog, 1 sheep, and a profusion of plantains and 
 oranges. 
 This was his reproof of a disgraceful attempt to borrow 
 money of him for our subsistence; of which Mr. 
 Hutchison, Mr. Tedlie, and myself, had publicly 
 disclaimed our knowledge and sanction. Nothing 
 could be more injurious to our dignity. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 18th. Mr. Tedlie liaving ventured to walk a few 
 yards without the town_, was arrested by a captain 
 with about 100 followers, who detained him in his 
 house whilst a message was sent to the King, who, 
 desiring Mr. Tedlie to be brought before him, inquired 
 if he had his small box (compass) in his pocket, and 
 finding he had not, affected to reprove the captain 
 severely for supposing either of us could wish to run 
 away, whilst the King was our friend. After this we 
 seldom went out. 
 
 2lst. Bundahenna, one of the King's uncles, begged 
 him for permission to go and make custom for some 
 relatives whom he had lost in the last Fantee war, as 
 he feared their spirits were beginning to trouble him. 
 The King subscribed four ounces of gold, two ankers 
 of rum, one barrel of powder, and four human victims 
 for sacrifice, towards this custom. We received a 
 present of eleven ackies of gold from Quatchie Quofie's 
 household. 
 
 26th. We received a present from a captain called 
 Ooossa Cudjo of ten ackies of gold, and another from 
 Jessinting of the same quantity, a sheep and some 
 plantains. 
 
 28th. The King sent us a large quantity of plantains 
 and oranges. Apokoo, one of the four greatest men 
 in the kingdom, hearing his mother's sister was dead, 
 killed a slave before his house, and proceeded to her 
 croom to sacrifice many more, and celebrate her funeral 
 custom; but when he found on opening her boxes, 
 that the old woman from her dislike of him had 
 thrown almost all her rock gold into the river, and 
 that he should only inherit a number of hungry slaves.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 58 
 
 he sacrificed but one more victim, and made but a 
 very mean custom. 
 
 '29th. Attended tlie King^s levee, and were presented 
 witli a flask of rum and a fat slieep. Tbe King sent us 
 word tliat lie would be glad to let us walk out, but tbere 
 were many bad people wko would kill us if they could. 
 We were gratified by an invitation to visit Odumata, 
 one of the four aristocrats; he begged us to drink 
 palm wine with him, and ordered a large jar of it to be 
 sent to our servants. He told us he was the first 
 captain who fought with the English at Annamaboe ; 
 and that if the books were not sent, he would be the 
 first to do so again ; he asked us if we would take him 
 to England to see our King, and engage to bring him 
 back again ; for, having sold an immense number of 
 captives as slaves, he expected some of them might 
 recognize him, and call out to the King of England to 
 stop him, because he had sent them out of then' own 
 country. 
 
 July 2nd. A girl was beheaded for insolence to one of 
 the King's sons, and a man for transgTessing the law 
 by picking up gold which he had dropped in the 
 public market-place, where all that falls is allowed to 
 accumulate until the soil is washed on state emer- 
 gencies. 
 
 3rc7. This morning one of the King's sons (about 
 ten years of age) shot himself: his funeral custom was 
 celebrated in the afternoon, and a smart fire of 
 musquetry was kept up until sunset, amidst dancing, 
 singing, and revelry; two men and one girl were 
 sacrificed, and their trunks and heads were left in the 
 market-place till dark. The mother of this child, a
 
 86 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 favourite wife of the King^s^ having added crime to a 
 continued perversity of conduct^ had been put to 
 death ; the boy was banished the King^s presence from 
 that time. This morning he had stolen into the 
 palace for the first time_, and the King desiring him 
 to be removed_, observing that he had^ doubtless, as 
 bad a head towards him as his mother had shown, he 
 replied that if he could not be allowed to come and 
 look at his father he had better die ; half an hour 
 afterwards he destroyed himself privately, by directing 
 a blunderbuss into his mouth, and discharging it with 
 his foot. The keeper of the royal cemetery was this 
 day imprisoned. His wife was soon after charged by 
 the council with making fetish to turn the King's 
 head ; she replied that it meant no more than to make 
 the King think better of her husband ; but they 
 insisted that she invoked the fetish to make the King 
 mad, and she was executed. 
 
 bth. A loud shout from our people announced the 
 return of the messengers from Cape Coast Castle, after 
 an absence of thirty-eight days.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Peoceedings and incidents until the third despatch 
 to cape coast castle. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, June 21, 1817. 
 OIRj — Mr. James being ordered to return liere as 
 ^ soon as possible^ will deliver you bis instructions, 
 and you will immediately on receipt of tbis letter take 
 upon yourself tbe management of tbe mission. I bave 
 every reliance on your prudence and discretion, and 
 still firmly bope tbat tbe termination of tbe embassy 
 will be attended witb success, and tbat tbe sanguine 
 expectations wbicb we bave entertained as to tbe 
 result of it will not be disappointed. 
 
 Tbe King bas received a very erroneous impression 
 of tbe affair of tbe Fantee notes, wbicb I regret to 
 bear was tbe cause of a serious disturbance : I am 
 glad, bowever, to find tbat by your prompt mode of 
 conduct, you were in some measure able to repress 
 tbe unfavourable bias it seems to bave occasioned, and 
 I bave no doubt tbat an explanation of tbe circum- 
 stance will effectually remove any remaining prejudice. 
 Tbis transaction was entirely between tbe Asbantee 
 messengers and Fantees, negotiated and determined 
 on by tbem at Abrab, and afterwards ratified bere by
 
 88 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 their mtltual consent. Hearing tliat messengers from 
 the King were at Abrali^ I invited tliem down, wishing 
 througb. their medium to communicate with him 
 concerning the conveyance of the presents I had 
 received from the Committee. After some delay they 
 arrived, and on their first interview made known their 
 errand to the Fantees, and the manner it had been 
 arranged, applying at the same time for two notes to 
 be made out in favour of Zey, at four ackies each, 
 which were to be deducted from the notes of Amooney 
 and Aduecoe. Not being perfectly satisfied from the 
 representation of these people as to the justness of the 
 claim, I delayed complying until it was stated to be a 
 pledge of good faith and allegiance on the part of the 
 Fantees, and a confirmation of the final adjustment of 
 all difierences between the two parties, and as such 
 they were given them. The nature of the claim 
 having been fully and satisfactorily explained, I have 
 no hesitation in complying mth the wishes of the 
 King ; and this I do the more readily, knowing that 
 by the extension of his authority, good order and 
 subjection will be better preserved. 
 
 This will, I hope, evince to the King my friendly 
 intention towards him; and you will impress upon 
 his mind, that it is my earnest desire to cultivate his 
 friendship, the establishment of which will be mutually 
 beneficial; and in order that the union between us 
 may be more closely cemented, I am particularly 
 desirous that Mr. Hutchison be permitted to reside 
 at Ashantee, which will be the means of preventing 
 any interruption to the good understanding which, 
 before you leave^ will, I hope, be firmly settled.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 89 
 
 I have no objection to you returning by way of 
 Warsaw^ but your undertaking tbe journey on foot, 
 I am appreliensive, you will find too fatiguing. Tlie 
 hammock-men are engaged for tlie trip, therefore the 
 only additional expense will be their subsistence; I 
 however leave it to you to dismiss them or not. 
 
 The Accra linguist being so very useful, and the 
 only man who will interpret faithfully, you will retain 
 him until you return. 
 
 I have sent you, by the King's messenger, forty 
 ounces of gold to defray your expenses ; should any loan 
 have been granted by the King, you will of course 
 repay him. 
 
 I send you a piece of muslin and ten danes for 
 presents to the Moors, whose friendship it will be 
 highly necessary to conciliate. I have also, at your 
 request, sent a dirk and umbrella, intended for the 
 King's chief captain and his favourite nephew. 
 
 Quamina, the Ashantee captain at Abrah, has refused 
 to allow any letters to pass that place which may be 
 given in charge to Ashantee traders, on the plea that 
 by so doing he would incur the displeasure of the 
 King, who, he says, expects that especial messengers 
 will be engaged here to proceed with all letters to the 
 capital. Not long ago a trader who had received a 
 letter was detained by him at Abrah, and the letter 
 returned. The expense of employing messengers here 
 on every occasion would be material, which is quite 
 unnecessary, as opportunities almost daily occur for 
 forwarding letters by the different traders going from 
 hence. I therefore hope your representation of this 
 affair to the King will induce him to countermand
 
 90 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 his orders to Quamina^ if any sucli liave been given 
 him. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 John Hope Smith. 
 
 To Thomas Edward Bowdich, Esq. 
 
 John Hope Smith, Esquire, Governor-in-Chief of the 
 British Forts and Settlements on the Gold Coast of 
 Africa, to Sai Tootoo Quamina, King of Ashantee. 
 
 Sir, — I have received your letter of the 26th ult., and 
 am happy to find that you are sincerely desirous of 
 cultivating the friendship of the British nation. Both 
 inchnation and duty urge me to reciprocate the 
 sentiments expressed by you, and I shall be anxious 
 at all times to promote the harmony and good under- 
 standing which, I hope, will now be established 
 between us respectively, and which cannot fail to 
 be mutually advantageous. 
 
 I regret to find there has been so much trouble 
 about the Fantee notes, and I am sorry you did not 
 apply to me in the first instance, as the affair should 
 have been settled immediately to your satisfaction ; 
 but I knew not of it, except from the Fantees having 
 begged me to take four ackies per month from each 
 note, which they said they had agreed for with your 
 messengers at Abrah. 
 
 I observe by the many instances quoted in your 
 letter, that the notes of conquered countries have been
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 91 
 
 transferred to your ancestors^ therefore it sliall be the 
 same on the present occasion. Herewith I send you 
 two notes^ one for two ounces per mouthy formerly held 
 by Amooney^ also one from the caboceer at Abrah for 
 two ounces, the latter was only twelve ackies per month, 
 and I have added one ounce four to it. These, and the 
 notes you hold from Accra, will make your Company^s 
 pay six ounces per month, which shall be regularly paid 
 at the Castle. 
 
 I hope my ready compliance with your wishes will 
 convince you of the goodwill of the British nation, 
 but I have every reason to believe that attempts have 
 been made to prejudice you against it ; however, your 
 own good understanding will readily suggest to you 
 that the only motive is jealousy in trade. 
 
 The conduct of the English you will always find very 
 different; they enter into fair competition with the 
 other European residents here, but they never, by 
 clandestine means or false assertions, endeavour to 
 injure then* character with the natives of this 
 country. 
 
 I have learned with regret that the people of Elmina 
 are using their influence to induce you to make a palaver 
 with the Commendas. They are a mere handful of 
 people, extremely poor and not worth your notice; 
 besides, they are under my protection, therefore I hope 
 you will not think further of the affair, and I shall 
 consider your compliance in this instance as the 
 greatest possible proof of the sincerity of your inten- 
 tions towards the English. 
 
 I wish you health and happiness, and I hope you 
 will reign many years, enjoying the love of your
 
 92 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 subjects^ and the respect of all tlie Europeans resident 
 in this country. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 (Signed) J. H. Smith. 
 Cape Coast Castle, 20^^ June, 1817. 
 
 P.S. The abolition of the slave trade was an act of 
 the King and the Parliament in England, in which the 
 Government in this country had no concern. 
 
 CooMASsiE, July 9, 1817. 
 To JoJui Hope Smith, Esq., Goveimor-in-Ghief, 8fc. SjX. ^x. 
 
 SiE, — The messengers returned on Saturday the 5th 
 instant. 
 
 To be confirmed by your approbation, in the opinion 
 that my zeal for the public good had not exceeded my 
 duty, is a most flattering satisfaction. The appoint- 
 ment you have conferred on me, is an acknowledgment 
 so far transcending my conduct, that it must stimulate 
 every ability to exert itself for the success of the 
 mission, to justify such an honourable distinction. 
 
 The box containing the letters was opened in the 
 King^s presence, but being engaged in a custom on the 
 death of a son, he deferred the reading of your letter, 
 retaining it with the notes. His acknowledgments of 
 your justice were associated with the declaration, that 
 although you had sent him the notes, still if I could 
 not fortify him with the prices of the various articles to 
 be received in payment, you would have it in your
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 93 
 
 power (thougli lie did not suspect you) to reduce tlic 
 intrinsic of tlie whole to tliat of tlie moiety rejected. 
 The proposition of the same prices as those attached to 
 the Accra note_, was annihilated by the argument that 
 Accra was a small fort, and not like Cape Coast or 
 Ehnina. So much stress was laid on the instance of 
 the latter, that I felt called upon to declare, as the only 
 striking conviction, that you did not wish in the 
 payment of these notes to treat the King like a trader, 
 and therefore would not allow the Elmina Governor to 
 act more liberally in prices than yourself : the convic- 
 tion was entire and instantaneous. 
 
 The next audience did not take place until Monday, 
 Mr. James being present. I did justice to the utmost 
 of my ability to your impressive letter ; the effect was 
 honourable to you, and encouraging to myself; the 
 King ordered me to take his hand, in his sensibility to 
 the strong appeal of the several paragraphs, and again 
 at the conclusion, as a pledge of his cordial satisfaction 
 of the whole ; his Hnguist followed his example (as did 
 the whole council), when he laid his forefinger on his 
 head and breast, as the invocation to heaven for the 
 vouchsafement of your several good wishes, as I con- 
 cluded with them. I was reluctantly compelled to 
 yield a minor object to a custom consecrated by their 
 constitution. The laws of the three first kings (who 
 were brothers, and contemporary leaders of the colony, 
 whose conquests established the empire) are sacred ; 
 and it was a law of Sai Cudjo, the younger brother, 
 and the grandfather of the present King, which gi-anted 
 to particular captains the honourable patent of receiving 
 the pay of small forts, distinctly, each being respon-
 
 94 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 sible for his separate duties to his settlement. If 
 this law were not inviolable^ the King pleads that it 
 would be an invidious act, and unjust to the merits of 
 the Captain of English Accra (Asquah Amanquah), to 
 remove the payment of the Accra note to Cape Coast ; 
 but as the other appointments originate in him, he will 
 respect your wish by constituting one captain to receive 
 both the Abrah and Annamaboe notes at Cape Coast. 
 He inquired if it was your wish that no Ashantee 
 trader should go to Accra ? I replied, No ; you were 
 only desirous to induce as many as possible to come to 
 Cape Coast. 
 
 The Cape Coast linguists, and our guide, Quamina 
 Bwa, confirmed your report of the conduct of Quaruina 
 Bootaqua, the captain now at Payntree, in the negotia- 
 tion of the notes ; it excited the greatest surprise and 
 indignation : his interception of letters was disclaimed, 
 and will be done away with. I submitted to the King 
 on retiring, that in my next audience I should be 
 desirous of declaring the purport of the official instruc- 
 tions transferred to me (which had not been yet avowed) 
 with other credentials, explanatory and impressive of 
 the good wishes and intentions of the Government, the 
 Committee, and yourself. I was favoured with my first 
 separate audience at eight o^clock this morning. I first 
 impressed from the despatches of the Committee, every 
 motive and sentiment that was convicting or imposing ; 
 urging your waving the hostages and escort, as the 
 demonstration of your confidence in the King^s honour 
 and friendship ; and insinuating that the establishment 
 of a school at Cape Coast, was solely in anticipation of 
 the King^s committing some of his children to your care
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 95 
 
 for education^ as the foundation of tlie pre-eminence of 
 Europeans. I then passed to your instructions^ ren- 
 dering them in a manner as persuasive and auspicious 
 as possible ; associating in favour of the Residency^ the 
 commanding motive of facilitating political interests^ 
 with the imposing one of securing justice to the 
 Ashantee traders. Lastly _, I introduced the treaty _, as a 
 pledge from the King to give force to your application 
 to the Government at home^ for the increase of his pay ; 
 for_, as he continued to dwell on the grant of four ounces 
 from Elmina^ I availed myself of this liberty of my 
 instructions, to divert the impression_, and to propitiate 
 his ratification of the treaty. I considered the pretence 
 of your being obliged to address the British Government 
 on the subject,, as preservative of the opportunity of 
 judging of the sincerity of his professions, and of the 
 duration of the union. 
 
 I think I may pledge myself for three great pillars 
 of our commercial intercourse, by the accomplishment 
 of the Residency, the Education, and the Treaty. 
 
 I reconcile myself to fresh difficulties by the reflec- 
 tion that they are inseparable from all great political 
 views ; and that without them, I should be deprived of 
 the satisfaction of proving myself, in a small degree, 
 worthy this confidence and distinction, by patience and 
 perseverance. A letter accompanies this, written in 
 the King^s presence, on the subject of the Commenda 
 palaver, which wears so decided an aspect, that whilst 
 I pledge all my energy and address, and look with hope 
 to the aid of your suggestions, I must candidly confess, 
 I do not think it can be compounded in anything like 
 a reasonable way. I appealed to the King^s magna-
 
 96 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 nimitj^ and depicted the poverty of the Commendas, but 
 every appeal and every argument was ineffectual ; their 
 aggravated offences admit of no amelioration of the 
 King's feelings. I depreciated the plea of General 
 Daendels' repeated messages, by submitting that they 
 were addressed to the town and not to the fort, and I 
 succeeded in retiring him from the negotiation, as an 
 interference inconsistent with your dignity and the 
 present good understanding. 
 
 I did not discourage the King's great anxiety for 
 clothes of the English costume, considering that his 
 example would be more auspicious than anything else 
 to the introduction of these manufactures. I have 
 distributed the muslins, &c., as politically as possible, 
 including with the Moors of repute, the aristocracy or 
 four captains controlling the King, his four linguists, 
 his brother and successor, our house-master, and some 
 other captains of superior influence. I made a point 
 of conciliating a Moor of influence about to return 
 through Sallagha or Sarem (the capital of the Inta 
 country, and the grand emporium of the merchandize 
 of the interior) to Houssa, feeling the policy of com- 
 municating every favourable impression to the neigh- 
 bouring kingdoms ; in my second interview I obtained 
 permission from the King to dismiss the remaining 
 Fantees. It was one of the first considerations, for 
 the sake of our dignity, to avoid the humiliating cir- 
 cumstances and impressions which have ensued from 
 the want of foresight, and the consequent inability to 
 meet the demands of our people. Their conduct since 
 has been so mutinous and insulting, with the exception 
 of six, that to preserve the impression of the firmness of
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 97 
 
 an English officer, I secured one who encouraged the 
 others by persisting in some insulting indecencies, in 
 contempt of my remonstrances, and ordered him to be 
 punished. 
 
 The others (with the above exception) having refused 
 in a body, aggravating their disobedience with the 
 grossest insolence, to go with a cane to Payntree, and 
 bring the biscuit which had been deserted there; I 
 have disclaimed them, and left them to act for them- 
 selves, only securing them the King^s permission to 
 depart. 
 
 I shall request the King to furnish me with his own 
 people, on the conclusion of the business of the 
 embassy. Such an arrangement favours economy, and 
 impresses the confidence I affect. 
 
 The frequent presents had enabled me to present the 
 Fantees with large supplies of plantains and hogs ; and 
 on paying them their arrears, which I did the same 
 evening I received your gold, I gave them a bullock 
 which fell to my share in a division with Mr. 
 James. 
 
 You will see by the balance of the annexed account, 
 that (preserving our dignity) every expense should be 
 avoided that can be ; and I assure you, that in making 
 the present arrangement for bearers for our baggage 
 only, I do not disregard your soHcitude for our health. 
 I shall order one Cape Coast messenger to attend Mr. 
 James, and also the bearers left behind, being 
 sufficiently recovered. 
 
 The statistical and scientific desiderata, so impres- 
 sively recommended to my attention, are daily reahzing 
 beyond my expectations. Mr. Tedlie has had a severe 
 
 H
 
 98 mSSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 attack of fever and dysentery, but is convalescent ; Mr. 
 Hutchison and myself are in perfect liealtli. 
 I am^ with respect^ Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 T. E. BowDiCH. 
 
 Sai Tootoo Quamina, King of Asliantee and its Depen- 
 dencies, to John Hope Smith, Esquire, Governor-in- 
 Chief of the British Settlements on the Gold Coast of 
 Africa. 
 
 The Commenda palaver now rests with you and the 
 King of Ashantee only; the Dutch Governor has no 
 more to do with it, so the King recalls the captain sent 
 to him, and sends a proper messenger to treat with you 
 individually. 
 
 The conduct and messages of the Commendas have 
 been so irritating and insolent to the King, that nothing 
 but believing you to be his good friend, could induce 
 him to treat at all with them, or do anything but kill 
 them ; but for your sake, he will settle the palaver, and 
 you must help him properly. 
 
 The King wants to begin the union without any 
 palaver remaining, and as this Commenda palaver is 
 the only one it must be settled, and if you do this, he 
 will take care the Elminas shall not do wrong to the 
 Fantees, but he will help you in all your palavers. 
 
 The Elminas are always sending him messages about 
 the insulting conduct and expressions of the Com- 
 mendas towards him, and this is very vexatious to him, 
 so he wishes to put an end to it with your help.
 
 I 
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 99 
 
 Adoo Bradie^ his favourite nepliew_, tlie son of the 
 former King Sai Quamina^ is sent with a proper 
 captain^ Quantree^ to help you settle the palaver. 
 Two thousand ounces is the demand. 
 The origin of the palaver is, that after the King 
 returned from his own campaign against the Fantees, 
 the Commendas went to the Elminas and said_, " Well, 
 you helped the King, and now he is gone back we will 
 fight for it." 
 
 Again, when a war was about to take place between 
 the Cape Coast people and the Elminas, the Commendas 
 went to the latter and said, " Well, we will help you if 
 you will give us plenty of powder to fight for you."*^ They 
 did so, and immediately the Commendas used it to 
 seize ninety-eight Elminas, and sold them as slaves — 
 this the King thinks you will say is very bad. 
 
 The Cape Coast people and the Fantees having 
 joined against the Elminas, they sent to tell the King, 
 stating, when he demanded the reason, that it was 
 because they had not resisted him when he came down 
 against the Fantees; adding, that the Commendas, 
 who were their natural allies before, had now joined 
 their enemies, and begging the King to revenge this 
 act of perfidy. The King much angered, immediately 
 sent a captain for the purpose of their destruction 
 (Yaquokroko), but the Dutch Governor sent to him 
 and then sent to the King to beg him to stop, because 
 the English and Dutch being one, it would put shame 
 on his face. 
 
 Colonel Torrane, by giving up Cheboo, induced the 
 King to consider the Cape Coast people as his friends, 
 and they took fetish accordingly, but their joining the 
 
 H 2
 
 100 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Fantees afterwards to fight against Elmina for assisting 
 tlie King, has made him distrust them always since. 
 
 He considers his favourite nephew as the adopted 
 son of Colonel Torrane, to whom he gave him, and the 
 Colonel gave him English clothes, so he is all the same 
 as a Cape Coast boy. 
 
 Colonel Torrane being dead, he considers his nephew 
 to stand in the same relation to you, and that he is 
 therefore the proper messenger to send to you about 
 this palaver. 
 
 You must write in your great book, that the King is 
 your good friend, that he likes you too much, that he 
 thanks God very much, so that every future Governor 
 may read that in the Cape Coast books. 
 
 The mark X of Sai Tootoo, King of Ashantee, 
 . Present. Per T. E. Bowdich. 
 
 Wm. Hutchison. 
 Heney Tedlie. 
 
 CooMASsiE, July Wi, 1817.- 
 
 CooMASsiE, July \Wi, 1817. 
 Jolin Uoj)e Smith, Esq., Governor-in-Chief, 8)'C. 8,x. 
 
 Sir, — I am just returned from reading your letter to 
 the King, and extracts from that to myself, before the 
 assembly of the captains : the effect was satisfactory ; 
 and Quamina Bootaqua is ordered up to answer for 
 his conduct. The King inquired if the pay now due on 
 the two notes would be liquidated on application ; I 
 replied, immediately ; he is anxious for it, on account 
 of the approaching yam custom. 
 
 I am, <^^c. 
 (Signed) T. Edwaed Bowdich.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 101 
 
 I will not continue to copy tlie rude diaiy before 
 submitted^ it is only a register of dull or disgusting 
 circumstances, illnesses, human sacrifices, and cere- 
 monious visits. I would not anticipate the better 
 arrangement of my reports, or break the thread of 
 the correspondence on the political difficulties opposed 
 to the mission. I will abridge some passages of my 
 diary, merely to give an idea of the nature of our con- 
 versations, and the biography of the leading men. 
 Mr. Hutchison has sent me copious extracts from his 
 diary, as Kesident ; his leisure and tranquillity having 
 afforded him better opportunities of social intercourse 
 and domestic observation than I had, or could afford 
 time to cultivate, without neglecting my reports. I 
 shall adjoin these extracts, expecting they will con- 
 tribute to the rational entertainment of the public^ and 
 to the credit of an active and intelligent officer. 
 
 A captain called Asofoo, sent us a present of seven 
 ackies of gold, and we also received twelve from 
 Amanquatea, and three from our house-master. On 
 the 9th of July the King sent us ten ackies of gold, 
 and repeated his satisfaction of the result of the late 
 correspondence, and daily presents of meat and fruits 
 from various quarters, evinced the better opinion of 
 his chiefs. 
 
 I paid my first private visit to Baba, the chief Moor, 
 and took some pens, paper, ink, and pencils with me as 
 a present ; the paper and pencils were much esteemed, 
 but he preferred his reed and vegetable ink. He 
 received me courteously, and was contemplating a 
 curiously intricate figure like a horoscope ; the MS. 
 was filled with them; he laid his finger on it, and
 
 102 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 said, if you have any Lard palaver this can make me 
 settle it for you when no other person can ; or if you 
 have any dear friend in England you wish to see, tell 
 me the name, and this shall bring him to you. I 
 thanked him, observing, that when Englishmen knew 
 their palaver was right, they always left it to God, and 
 that England was too good a place for me to wish any 
 one I regarded to leave it. His disciples and pupils 
 were writing on wooden boards, like those Mr. Park 
 describes. AVhen a charm was applied for, one of the 
 oldest wrote the body of it, and gave it to Baba, who 
 added a sort of cabalistical mark, and gave it a myste- 
 rious fold j the credulous native snatched it eagerly as 
 it was held out to him, paid the gold, and hurried 
 away to enclose it in the richest case he could afford. 
 T had a long conversation with Baba, and he begged 
 me to visit him frequently; he was much gratified 
 with the specimens of African Arabic at the end of 
 Mr. Jackson^s work, and read them fluently. I visited 
 him the next day, when he sent hastily for a Moor, 
 who he told me was very learned, and just come from 
 Timbuctoo. This man expressing no surprise when he 
 first saw me, Baba explained it by telling me spon- 
 taneously, that this Moor had seen three white men 
 before, at Boussa. I eagerly inquired the particulars 
 of the novelty, and they were again repeated to Baba, 
 and were thus interpreted : — '' That some years ago, a 
 vessel with masts suddenly appeared on the Quolla or 
 Niger near Boussa, with three white men, and some 
 black. The natives encouraged by these strange men, 
 took off provisions for sale, were well paid, and re- 
 ceived presents besides; it seems the vessel had
 
 :jiission to ashantee. 103 
 
 ancliorecl. The next day, perceiving the vessel going 
 on_, the natives hurried after her (the Moor protested 
 from their anxiety to save her from some sunken rocks_, 
 with which the QuoUa abounds), but the white men mis- 
 taking, and thinking they pursued for a bad purpose, 
 deterred them. The vessel soon after struck, the men 
 jumped into the water and tried to swim, but could 
 not for the current, and were drowned. He thought 
 some of their clothes were now at Wauwaw, but he 
 did not believe there were any books or papers.^^ This 
 spontaneous narrative, so artlessly told, made a power- 
 ful impression on my mind. I saw the man frequently 
 afterwards, his manners were very mild, and he never 
 asked me for the most trifling present. He drew me a 
 chart before he went away, and I despatched some 
 certificates for Major Peddie by him, endorsed with 
 Baba^s recommendations. I heard exactly the same 
 thing afterwards from another Moor, but he had not 
 been an eye-witness. I begged Mr. Hutchison, when 
 I left Coomassie, to note any other report on the subject 
 of Mr. Parkas death, and he afterwards sent me the 
 MS., a translation of which is in the Appendix. I con- 
 tinued to call on Baba three or four times a week; 
 these visits afforded much information, for at each I 
 found strange Moors just arrived from different parts 
 of the interior, sojourning with him. They always 
 affected to deplore the ignorance of the Ashantee s, and 
 presumed it must be as irksome to me as to them. 
 Baba telling one that I could speak different languages, 
 he said that he would try me, and addressed me in 
 several, all very uncouth to my ear, and their names 
 even unintelligible, except one, which he called Hindce
 
 104 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 or Hindoo; neitlier had I heard of any of the great 
 cities he enumerated, until at last he pronounced Room 
 (Rome)_, and said, if I did not know that I was not 
 a Christian. I never saw the Shereef Brahima (to 
 whom I was introduced about this time by a Jenne 
 Moor) at Baba^s, they did not appear to be on terms ; 
 I think the latter was envious of the greater learning 
 and intelligence of the former, who had been to Mecca 
 and Medina. One day I requested Baba to draw me a 
 map of the world; he did so, encircling one large 
 continent with a sea, bounded by a girdle of rocks. 
 Old Odumata^s notion of geography was as strange ; 
 for he mentioned one day, that when on the coast 
 above ApoUonia, he had an idea of walking to England, 
 for he was told he should reach Santonee (Portugal) in 
 thirty days, and that after that, the path was very good. 
 He greatly enjoyed our singeing the hair of a foppish 
 attendant of his with a burning glass, the man^s 
 amazement was inconceivable ; Mr. Hutchison was at 
 some distance, and not suspected. 
 
 We were now permitted to walk four or five miles 
 beyond the city, and felt quite at home. We seldom 
 went out in the morning, lest an occasion for an 
 audience should occur. Apokoo and several other 
 daily visitors diverted us with their anecdotes, and in 
 the afternoon we made our round of calls. Apokoo 
 was always facetious, and looked with much anxiety 
 for our entry as his greatest recreation ; he was very 
 desirous of learning tennis and sparring, and daily 
 made some essays, so comical, that neither we nor his 
 attendants^ could contain ourselves. Apokoo became 
 very communicative of Ashantee politics, and asked
 
 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. 105 
 
 innumerable questions about England ; particularly^ 
 why the King of England did not send one of his own 
 sons to the King of Ashantee with the presents, and 
 why so great a King sent such a small force to Africa. 
 The Spanish campaign was gone through again and 
 again, and never tired him. He gave us an excellent 
 dinner, as did Odumata repeatedly. Both were ex- 
 travagantly enraptured with the miniature of an 
 English female, and called all their wives to look at it. 
 
 Having been advised by a note from the Governor, of 
 the arrival of an Ashantee boy and girl at Cape Coast 
 Castle, sent by the King without any explanation, I 
 desired an audience on the subject, and forwarded the 
 following letter, which also communicates the baseness 
 of one of the King^s messengers, just returned from 
 the Coast, and other inauspicious circumstances : — 
 
 CooMASSiE, lOtk Aug. 1817. 
 John Hope Smith, Esq., Governor-in-Chief, ^"c. 8fc. 8fc. 
 
 SiE, — The King has explained to me that he sent the 
 boy and girl you mention to have arrived at Cape 
 Coast, to become the property of the Committee or 
 Government, conceiving it to be obligatory on him, in 
 justification of his possession of the notes, to allow an 
 Ashantee family to rear itself under the Governor's 
 protection, for the service of the Settlement, and as an 
 acknowledgment of the duties he owes it. He begs 
 me to observe that he put the same plates of gold 
 around their necks which distinguish the royal 
 attendants.
 
 106 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 I had reason to believe^ from a coolness and some 
 invidious comparisons on tlie part of tlie King, that 
 the messenger lately arrived, Ocranameahj who was so 
 particularly recommended to your favour, had been 
 unjust in his report of the treatment he had experienced. 
 I did not hesitate to avow my impression to the King, 
 having solicited an audience for the purpose. The 
 King confessed he had felt his private feelings hurt ever 
 since the return of that messenger, having received his 
 assurance that you would scarcely admit him to your 
 presence; that he received no present or compliment 
 from you, and was wholly neglected during his stay at 
 head-quarters. I instantly pledged my honour to the 
 King that Ocranameah (who was present) was guilty of 
 falsehood and ingratitude, adding, that I was not pre- 
 pared to confront him with the particulars of the 
 presents he received from you and the oflScers ; though 
 I was positive, from private letters, as well as my own 
 conviction, that you had not slighted the opportunity 
 of evincing your private friendship for the King ; and 
 as I might possibly identify some trifle, I wished the 
 King to allow a search to be made. On the messen- 
 ger's box being sent for and opened two engravings 
 appeared, to the surprise of the King, and which I 
 recognized; but as the messenger still persists in your 
 entire neglect of him, and of his not having received 
 any present or compliment worth mentioning, I must 
 trouble you for the particulars of his treatment at 
 Cape Coast Castle, for the entire conviction of the 
 King. The King expressed his suspicion (founded on 
 reports) that many Ashantees imposed on your 
 generosity, by introducing themselves as attached to
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 107 
 
 him iu various capacities ; and hoped that you would 
 only listen in future to such as he recommended to 
 your notice by letter^ which his three messengers 
 above had been ; the second (Ocranameah) the more 
 particularly^ and that recollection had made him so 
 sensible of the neglect. You will regret^ with myself, 
 that this inauspicious circumstance l;as been un- 
 avoidable. 
 
 The recent intelligence respecting the Buntooko war, 
 has imposed serious anxiety in the place of the King^s 
 former confidence. The revolt of that people_, as may 
 be expected in all revolts from arbitrary control, has 
 gradually induced the secessions of some other tribu- 
 taries ; and the King feels called upon, by these un- 
 expected difficulties, to conduct the war in person; 
 not with his former expectation of witnessing their 
 rapid subjugation, but from his present conviction of 
 the necessity for every stimulus and energy. His 
 precaution has dictated some popular acts, ameliorating 
 the condition of the lower order of his subjects. The 
 confidential ministers have been instructed to hint 
 to me, that it would be indiscreet in the King to 
 expose even his temporary reverses in an arduous war, 
 by the residence of a British officer ; and that he 
 would most probably defer that part of the mutual 
 wish until the contest was terminated. I used the 
 same medium to impress upon the King, that such a 
 feeling towards the delegate of a friendly power was 
 misplaced ; that you had expedited his ex parte views 
 in the confidence of his consummation of the reciprocal 
 objects of the mission, without which (as they had 
 been instituted for his benefit and aggrandisement) I
 
 108 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 could not think of returning, since a protraction 
 would be construed into a slight of the friendly over- 
 tures of the British Government, which (from its 
 dignity and pre-eminence in Europe) could not be 
 vouchsafed whenever they might be solicited. 
 
 I anxiously await your communications on the 
 Commenda palaver, to further my exertions for the 
 full accomplishment of the mission. The King and his 
 council labour under so much anxiety and business at 
 the present moment, that though we pay and receive 
 visits of ceremony, it is almost impossible to effect an 
 audience but on the receipt of despatches. 
 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 T. Edward Bowdich. 
 
 The most entertaining delassement of our conversa- 
 tions with the chiefs was, to introduce the liberty of 
 English females, whom we represented not only to 
 possess the advantage of enjoying the sole affection of 
 a husband, but the more enviable privilege of choosing 
 that husband for herself. The effect was truly comic ; 
 the women sidled up to wipe the dust from our shoes 
 with their cloths, and at the end of every sentence 
 brushed off an insect, or picked a burr from our 
 trowsers ; the husbands suppressing their dislike in a 
 laugh, would put their hands before our mouths, 
 declaring they did not want to hear that palaver any 
 more, abruptly change the subject to war, and order 
 the women to the harem. 
 
 One of the King^s linguists was a very old man, 
 called Quancum ; he spoke but seldom, yet the greatest
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 109 
 
 deference was paid to his opinion ; the King appeared 
 to consult him more than any other. I was so much 
 interested by this man^s deportment,, that I inquired 
 his history. He had been the linguist of two former 
 KingSj who paid frequent and large sums of gold as 
 damages for his intrigues ; neither had age corrected 
 his faulty until very lately, though the present King 
 used the most friendly remonstrances, and urged that 
 from his paying large sums so frequently for him on 
 this account, his subjects thought that he countenanced 
 the depravity. Quancum confessed to the King, that 
 his ardour for women was perpetuated by the sensual 
 devices of one of his wives. Soon afterwards, he was 
 detected in an intrigue with the wife of a captain of 
 great consequence, and the King refused to interfere. 
 The captain declaring that the punishment of Quancum 
 and not gold was his object, the King permitted him 
 to be despoiled of all his property, even to his bed. 
 The favourite wife was amongst the spoil, and the 
 injured captain being much smitten with her, assured 
 her of an indulgence and preference, even greater than 
 that she had enjoyed with Quancum ; she replied, she 
 must always hate him, and entreated to be sold. After 
 much importunity the captain agreed to do so, provided 
 she would put him in possession of all the presents 
 Quancum had lavished on her; she produced them, 
 stipulating that her son might retain a small sum of gold, 
 which Quancum had lately presented to him ; this was 
 agreed to, and she was immediately sold to a distant 
 caboceer ; but her son followed her, and buying her with 
 his little property, presented her again to his father. 
 On this the King gave Quancum a house and some
 
 110 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 furniture^ and takes care to continue small supplies of 
 gold daily^ adequate to his and this woman's comfort ; 
 having exacted a solemn oath from him, that he would 
 devote himself to this one wife, and never try to recover 
 any of the others. 
 
 Mr. Tedlie's interesting interview with the King, 
 when he desired his attendance to exhibit and explain 
 his surgical instruments and medicines, is best described 
 in his own words. 
 
 "The King sent for me this morning, saying he 
 wished to see the medicines, books, and instruments. 
 I went immediately, and explained through Quashie, the 
 Accra linguist, the proper use and advantage of each 
 instrument : he was very particular in his inquiries, and 
 asked if I had performed the operations I described ; I 
 assured him that I had, and as a proof exhibited a piece 
 of bone that I had taken out of an Indian black man's 
 head in Ceylon, who had been wounded, and who lived. 
 The King held up his hand as a mark of approbation, 
 and all his attendants were astonished. I applied the 
 instruments first on myself, then on the linguists, after- 
 wards on the King's two captains, and lastly on the 
 King; nothing could exceed the King's approbation. 
 He then desired me to show him the medicines ; he in- 
 quired the virtues and doses of each, what time in the 
 day they should be taken, and whether it was proper to 
 eat or drink after taking them. I told him : he asked 
 if I would sell them. I said, Xo. I brought these 
 medicines for the ofiicers ; I could not sell them, but I 
 would give him as much as I could, keeping in view 
 that some of the four officers might be sick ; he said 
 that I was right, but he could not help coveting the
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. Ill 
 
 greater part of tlie medicines. He viewed tliem all over 
 five or six times_, and asked me to give him some of 
 them ; I did give him as much innocent medicine as I 
 could with propriety afi*ord ; he thanked me ^ very 
 much/ I then showed him the botanical books ; he 
 was astonished_, held up his hand and exclaimed, hah ! 
 at every brilliant or high-coloured plant which he saw. 
 All his attendants were closely arranged around : the 
 two captains laid hold of a volume each^ and were ad- 
 miring the flowers ; when either of them ejaculated an 
 admiration, the King would seize it, and ask me what 
 that tree was. After I had told him the use of them, I 
 said all these trees grow in England ; and the reason 
 the English write all these in a book is, that they may 
 know which is a good tree, and which is bad. He 
 expressed the greatest astonishment at the flax (linum) 
 oak ^ that we build our ships with,^ poppy * ^^^^ makes 
 a man sleep,' and the sensitive plant (mimosa), which 
 he pointed out and described himself. During this 
 time he whispered to one of his attendants, who went 
 out and returned in a short time with a bit of cloth 
 containing nine ackies of gold ; the King presented it 
 to me ; I accepted it, and returned thanks. He then 
 asked me if I would come and see him at any time he 
 sent for me ; I assured him I would do everything to 
 please him, consistent with my duty. He shook hands 
 with me and went into his house. He returned in a 
 short time, leading his sister by the hand, in a manner 
 that would shame many beaux in Europe, saying, ' This 
 is the white doctor I told you of; go, and take his 
 hand ; you are sick, tell him your complaint, and he will 
 do you good :' the lady complied with his request. He
 
 112 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 then said, ^ Give me that gold 1 gave you, the cloth is not 
 clean ; I want to put it in a clean cloth for you/ He 
 then put it in a piece of rich silk, and after he returned 
 the gold, he said, ^ I like you ; I like all the English very 
 much ; they are a proper people, and I wish to drink 
 health with you/ He retired to his own apartment, and 
 returned with a flask of gin, and two servants with a 
 silver vase and water and glasses ; he helped himself and 
 me, made a bow and said, ' Sai wishes you good health/ 
 I returned the bow, saying, ^ I wish good health to the 
 King, and hope he never will require any of my medi- 
 cine : when this was explained to him he held out his 
 glass to me ; we touched and drank. He then took my 
 hand, saying, '' If I send my sister to you will you talk 
 with her V I assured him I would talk with and advise 
 all the King^s friends whenever he wished. After I 
 gave all the medicine I could conveniently part with, he 
 sent for a small Dutch liqueur case ; he desired ten or 
 twelve of his attendants and his eunuch to keep in 
 their heads what I said, and requested me to repeat 
 again the use and dose of each medicine I gave him, 
 with the proper time and method of using it. I did so. 
 He placed his hand on his head saying, ' Sa'i recollects 
 what the white doctor says / then placing the medicines 
 in the case himself, said, ^ That good for my head, that 
 good for my belly, that good for my stomach,^ &c. 
 One of the King^s sisters sent a message that she wanted 
 to come and see the white gentleman ; and shortly after- 
 wards arrived with her stool and retinue, being head 
 caboceer of a large town. After exchanging compli- 
 ments, she complained that her left hand pained her 
 very much. I examined it, but must confess I could
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 113 
 
 not see anytHng the matter witli it ; however I rubbed 
 a Httle liniment on her hand_, which seemed to gratify 
 her. She asked if I would come and see her in the even- 
 ing ; I answered, Yes. Quamina, our Ashantee guide, 
 came to conduct me : he said I must dress, put on my 
 sword and hat, as this woman was a caboceer, and the 
 King's sister ; he would carry my umbrella. When I 
 arrived, I found the princess lying on a mat in one of the 
 inner apartments of the house she occupied. She ordered 
 a stool for me ; I rubbed some more liniment on her 
 hand ; she wished me to stop and drink palm wine : this 
 I declined, alleging- the English did not like palm wine 
 in the evening because it is sour.''
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS AND INCIDENTS UNTIL THE SIGNING OP THE 
 TEELIMINARIES TO A GENERAL TREATY. 
 
 [The Governor's reply to mj communication on the subject of 
 the Commenda palaver reached me on the 27th of August.] 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, August 11th, 1817. 
 T. E. Bowdich, Esq. 
 
 SIR, — I entertained a confident hope tliat no further 
 mention would have been made by the King con- 
 cerning the Commendas after the receipt of my letter^ 
 and I am sorry that he should allow so insignificant a 
 set of people to protract in the least the settlement of 
 our union. As it is my particular wish to remove this 
 impediment, I have used every endeavour to bring the 
 afiair to a conclusion, and trust the King will not 
 sufier it to be invincible. The Commendas are also 
 naturally anxious for its termination, but their poverty 
 is so great, that they have it not in their power to 
 comply with his demand. They have acknowledged 
 their fealty to the King, and have agreed to pay the 
 sum of 120 ounces of gold, of which messengers are 
 sent by his nephew to inquire whether he will accept. 
 This, with the sum they have been unavoidably obliged
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 115 
 
 to promise tlie principal persons deputed to negotiate 
 this business^ will increase the sum to at least 150 ounces. 
 The many proofs the King has had of my friendly 
 intentions towards him, and the consideration of the 
 benefits that will accrue to him from his alliance with 
 the English, will, I hope, induce him to concede to the 
 terms offered by the Commendas. A refusal must be 
 considered as an avowal of his determined resolution 
 not to conciliate the affair, and as the indigent circum- 
 stances of these people make it utterly impossible for 
 them to pay a larger sum, you will, should he persist 
 in exacting more, procure his permission to leave the 
 country, and return with the other officers as soon as 
 you can. To sacrifice the mission, after the heavy 
 expenses which have been incurred, and when we are 
 induced to believe that every other object is propitiated 
 to our utmost expectations, should be avoided if pos- 
 sible ; but if he insists on a larger sum being levied 
 from the Commendas than has been offered, there 
 remains no other alternative. The dio^nitv of the flagr 
 must be the superior consideration to all others. 
 
 The King has no need to doubt in the least the 
 sincerity of the Cape Coast people, they are his friends, 
 and have every inclination to continue so ; and I am 
 convinced his nephew will, on his return, confirm this 
 report to him. 
 
 I will make known to the Committee his request for 
 a crown and clothes, and I have no doubt but it will be 
 complied with. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 John Hope Smith. 
 I 2
 
 116 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 CooMASSiE, Aug. 2dt/i, 1817. 
 John Hojie Smith, Esq., Governor-in-Chief, 8j'c. Sfc. 8fc. 
 
 SiR^ — I have the satisfaction to enclose a copy of the 
 Prehminaries to the general Treaty^ as signed this day 
 by the King in Council^ adjusting the Commenda 
 palaver^ agreeably to your letter of the llth_, which did 
 not reach me till the 27th instant. 
 
 I proceed to acquaint you with the transactions of 
 the interval. 
 
 The charge of a political Embassy^ in a part of the 
 world where respect and security are founded upon the 
 opinion imposed by our conducti, exacted a spirit and 
 dignity which might have been abated in insinuating 
 a mission through the country for scientific purposes^ 
 but the inviolability of which was inseparable from the 
 improvement and safety of neighbouring settlements. 
 Since my last despatch^ I have been obhgated to resist 
 various encroachments^ of which I shall mention two 
 or three to justify my treatment of them. 
 
 The death of Quamina Bwa, our Ashantee guide^ in 
 the early part of the last week^ creating an idle but 
 popular superstition that he had been killed by the 
 fetish for bringing white men to take the country, I 
 was applied to in the King^s name to ameliorate this 
 impression, by contributing an ounce of gold towards 
 the custom to be made by the King for his repose. I 
 refused on two grounds ; first, that Quamina Bwa had 
 himself unjustly incensed the people against us, by 
 panyaring ^ their provisions in the King^s name for 
 ^ Seizinor.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 117 
 
 our subsistence^ and defrauding them of the gold we 
 gave him for the payment : secondly^ that the rites of 
 customs were unnatural to our relisfion, which bound 
 us^ at least, not to encourage them. Fifteen persons 
 had been sacrificed the week before (in a custom for 
 the mother of a captain) with aggravated barbarity. 
 
 Several of the principal men having applied to me to 
 send to Cape Coast for silks^ to be paid for on receipt 
 at Coomassie (a very dangerous and impolitic indul- 
 gence)^ I impressed^ indignantly, that I was not sent 
 as a trader to make bargains with them, but as an 
 officer to talk the palavers with the King. 
 
 These circumstances, and a personal chastisement of 
 some insults from inferior captains, which was provoked 
 after much patience, influenced ex-parte representations, 
 which, though they may not have sickened the King^s 
 regard, induced hauteur and neglect. In proceeding 
 to the King^s house on public occasions, which I never 
 did without the flag, canes, and soldiers, we had been 
 expected to make way for the greater retinues of 
 superior captains, who would rudely have enforced it ; 
 and after soliciting audiences for two days, I was kept 
 in waiting above an hour in the outer courts of the 
 palace. On the last occasion of the latter treatment, 
 knowing that it was affected, I returned to our quarters 
 until I received the King^s invitation ; representing to 
 him, that as an officer dignified by an authority to make 
 a treaty with him in the name of the British Govern- 
 ment, I could not submit to disrespectful treatment at 
 the Palace, nor allow the English flag to give place to 
 any but himself; that, if it merely affected myself as 
 an individual, my esteem for the King would induce
 
 118 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 me to compromise these points of etiquette witli his 
 captains ; but^ according to tlie custom of England, I 
 dared not, for if I did my sword would be taken from 
 me on my return to Cape Coast Castle. It produced 
 the desired effect ; the gong-gong proclaimed in every 
 street that all captains must make way for the flag ; 
 and at the monthly levee of the captains (the Adai 
 custom) the King^s linguists were deputed to us first, 
 with the customary present of a sheep and rum, and 
 presented us the first to pay our compliments to the 
 King, being followed by Amanquatea, Quatchie Quophi, 
 Apokoo, and Odumata, the four captains composing 
 the Privy Council, or Aristocracy, which checks the 
 King. The first (whose power approximates to that of 
 the Mayor of the Palace under the early French dynasty) 
 sent his linguist and gold swords to compliment us on 
 the ground. I determined to take advantage of this 
 impression, and of the comparative facility of inter- 
 course, and demanded an audience to discuss the treaty, 
 a copy of which I enclose, and hope my additions will 
 be satisfactory. I have the King^s assurance that it 
 shall be formally executed in eight days, when all his 
 tributaries will be present for the yam custom, and 
 when I hope to make the King of Dwabin and its 
 dependencies a party, whose power is equal to the King 
 of Ashantee^s. 
 
 To resume — the audience was granted ; and I read 
 the treaty before the King and his council, submitting 
 it article by article to their consideration. It was 
 debated the whole of that and the succeeding day. I 
 considered that if I could get the treaty discussed and 
 executed in this favourable interval, removing the 
 Commenda palaver from the situation of an obstacle,
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 119 
 
 and reserving it as the first proof of the King's dis- 
 position to coincide with, you in what was reasonable 
 and just^ I mighty on the receipt of despatches^ gain 
 the better terms for that people. 
 
 On Saturday^ the 22nd instant^ I was summoned to 
 declare the articles of the treaty before the assembly of 
 captains^ who were seated with their attendants and 
 warriors in the large yard of the palace, T\dth all the 
 imposing pomp and military parade which had before 
 been collected to subdue us in the scene of the decla- 
 ration of war. The King's sisters, with the females of 
 his family, were seated, with their numerous attendants, 
 on an elevated floor behind. The deputies from the 
 Fantee towns in the interior, were placed within hear- 
 ing, and the crowd was almost impervious : the most 
 ghastly trophies were mixed with this blaze of osten- 
 tation. We were seated near the King, immediately 
 opposite to his linguists. 
 
 In reading the treaty, I paused after every article, 
 leaving it to be formally repeated to the King through 
 his linguists, and then sat down whilst it was discussed 
 by the assembly. It is not necessary to repeat the 
 various debates; and I will only notice that Aman- 
 quatea, through his linguist, proposed the renewal of 
 the Slave-trade as a sine qua non f this, however, as I 
 
 ^ Presents from two Spanish slave ships were received through 
 the Mulatto Brue on the 16th instant ; they were general, but I 
 can only particularize the following : 
 
 To the King, 3 pieces of cloth, 1 umbrella, and a hat. 
 
 To the chief linguist, 1 piece, ditto 2 flashes liquor. 
 
 To the 4th ditto (Otee) 1 ditto. 2 ditto, ditto. 
 
 To Odumata, 2 ditto. 2 ditto, ditto. 
 
 To Quamina Bwa, agent for the purchase of the slaves, 2 pieces 
 of cloth, 1 umbrella, and 1 Dane gun.
 
 120 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 had all along declared it to be impossible^ was at length 
 overruled^ but with considerable difficulty. It was 
 also proposed to attach a fine to the infraction of the 
 treaty ; but this I resisted as derogatory to the dignity 
 of the contracting parties ; and urged, that as the 
 King and his dignitaries would consider his oath as 
 sacred, as you and the Government would mine, I 
 considered no infraction of the treaty could take 
 place ; though it might possibly be offended by the 
 conduct of his subjects, or of individuals under 
 British protection, which was provided for, and must 
 be visited accordingly by the authorities pledged to 
 the treaty. 
 
 I had declared from the first, that it would be 
 expected that the King should swear in the form of his 
 country to the fulfilment and preservation of the treaty, 
 and that his oath should be attested by his principal 
 captains, from my anxiety to fortify to the utmost, a 
 measure not only valuable to commerce but to humanity, 
 in averting the renewal of a war, recorded by indelible 
 marks of carnage and devastation. 
 
 At the moment I expected the King to execute the 
 treaty, a fresh design was disclosed, in a long speech 
 from the chief linguist, setting forth the wrongs the 
 King had just received from the people of Amissa, who 
 had scourged his messengers, and couched their insult- 
 ing defiance in the foulest language ; yet, he said, the 
 King did not want to invade the Fantee country for 
 the sake of one town, and therefore I must stay and 
 assist him to settle that palaver ; he would then readily 
 swear to the treaty. I replied at length, declaring 
 particularly that I could not, and would not recognize
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 121 
 
 the Amis sa palaver ; that the King vitiated the com- 
 phments he had heen pleased to pay me^, in expecting 
 me to be such a fool as to involve you in the palaver 
 of a people^ over whom you neither possessed nor 
 desired authority; and that if I had not a right to 
 think better of the King, I should view such a proposal 
 as evasive of the treaty, and final to the hope of a 
 thorough understanding. 
 
 The chief linguist rejoined, that I had declared in 
 announcing the treaty, that it was the wish of the 
 British Government to put an end to war, and for the 
 King to have no occasion to trouble the Fantees; 
 whereas^ if the people of Amissa were not persuaded to 
 ^ retract, the King must send a captain to destroy them, 
 which could be done at a word, and this perhaps would 
 make another war. I urs^ed that the Fantee towns 
 under the British forts must be considered distinctly, 
 and that those, and those only, were viewed by the 
 Government and the treaty; yet, for the cause of 
 humanity, I would request you, for the King, to advise 
 the people of Amissa better, through some medium, 
 which I hoped might do good, but if disregarded, you 
 could not even repeat it : that was all I could promise, 
 and if that was not enough, our negotiations were at 
 an end. No ! that was not enough, I must stay and 
 see the palaver settled. 
 
 We immediately rose, and I declared as impressively 
 as I could, that as the officer of the King of England, 
 your orders only could be obeyed by me, that 1 dared 
 not remain or allow myself to be stopped, even if I 
 should be killed on the path, for my life was not my 
 palaver, but the King of England^s. As I bowed to
 
 122 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 retire^ tlie linguist exclaimed,, that tlie King promised 
 to see me again in an hour. 
 
 I used the interval for reflection^ and resolved to act 
 upon the conclusion, that nothing but an undaunted 
 resolution could check these encroachments, which 
 were to be attributed to the Government rather than to 
 the King. 
 
 The hour having fully expired, I sent a cane to 
 Adoo9ee, the chief linguist, to desire the audience; he 
 sent me word that the King was asleep, and no one 
 dared to awake him. I then went to Odumata (who 
 resides within the palace) and repeated to him, that I 
 was determined to go if the King did not keep his 
 word and see me ; he said I could not ; I rejoined, I 
 would, and left him. I then went to Adoo9ee^s house, 
 declared the same, and received the same reply. I left 
 a cane in waiting at the palace, with orders to quit and 
 return to me at four o^clock (which allowed altogether 
 four hours instead of one), if he was not despatched with 
 a message in the interval. No notice was taken ; there 
 was no alternative to my making good what I had said. 
 The views of the mission were at risk, but they would 
 have been too dearly purchased by such concessions, 
 and I was sanguine rather than apprehensive of the 
 success of the measure I adopted; without spirit and 
 fortitude nothing was to be done. 
 
 I ordered all the baggage out, planted the flag, and 
 giving the soldiers^ muskets to the officers, converted 
 them and the artificers into bearers, as well as our own 
 servants, for I saw the previous dismissal of my own 
 people was considered a hold on me. I ordered the 
 linguists to declare to the party publicly, that I would
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 123 
 
 flog any man wlio attempted to leave tlie town in debt ; 
 I paid all they confessed^ by advances on their pay, to 
 the amount of ten ackies : this gave the greatest 
 publicity to our movements. 
 
 The King^s uncle, Bundaenha, and another suj^erior 
 captain, came in form to entreat me to stay, whilst they 
 affected to address the King. I saw through this, and 
 that I might presume on it ; holding the watch in my 
 hand, I promised to wait half an hour and no longer. 
 They returned within the time to conduct me to the 
 King*, but after being kept unusually long in waiting, 
 the answer to my remonstrance through the linguists 
 was, that the King was very busy hearing a great 
 palaver ; I saw they lingered still in their hope of my 
 submission. I sent the two canes to tell the King that 
 mine was a great palaver and ought to be heard, not 
 only from its importance, but because he had passed 
 his word that it should ; that after a Eang disregarded 
 his promise, it was useless to wait any longer. Return- 
 ing to our quarters, I ordered the people to load the 
 baggage. 
 
 At the moment of starting, a royal messenger ran 
 up, to say the King was waiting to see me. I dismissed 
 him with the message, that I could not stop, unless a 
 person of consequence was sent to promise for the King. 
 The King's uncle came, and assured me the King would 
 receive me himself at the entrance of the palace. VYe 
 went, and were instantly ushered into the presence of 
 the King and his captains, who were debating by torch- 
 light : the clamour and deportment of this assembly 
 might have been subduing had it been novel. The 
 uproar having abated, the King demanded, through his
 
 124 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 linguistr, why I had determined to leave so suddenly, 
 and whether he had not behaved well to me, adding to 
 much declamation, that he knew the King of England 
 and the Governor wished to please him, and would not 
 countenance the act. I replied, that " I had not only 
 gone the full length of my instructions to please the 
 King, but exceeded them ; and all that I had to fear 
 was, that you would not approve my remaining a 
 moment after he had trifled with me. The King^s 
 behaviour to me, as an individual, I should always be 
 proud to speak of, but his respect of the Embassy was 
 a very superior consideration. Everything he wished 
 had been done, and now he tried to impose a palaver 
 on me, with which you had no more to do than with 
 the Buntooko war. The King had promised me to 
 settle the point of the treaty, I waited the discussion 
 patiently, he pledged his word to see me that evening, 
 he had avoided it ; I had said I would wait no longer 
 if he did not keep his word ; no English officer dared 
 to break his word, if he did he lost his sword. ^^ Much 
 declamation ensued, but the King's conviction silenced 
 the assembly, and realized the triumph I expected. 
 He said. What I told him was true, that he was very 
 sorry, but he had too much to think about ; he liked 
 the Law (the Treaty) very well, but begged me to wait 
 a little longer till all his captains came. I received his 
 promise to see me the following day. The next morn- 
 ing the head linguist came in form to acquaint me that 
 some palavers had arrived in the night, which had made 
 it necessary for the King to go to Berramang (a croom 
 about five miles to the N.E. on the road to Sallagha, 
 the capital of the Inta country) but he had orders to
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 125 
 
 furnish us with the King^s hammock-meii^ if we were 
 inclined to follow him the next day. We did so, and 
 I enclose an extract from my diary, with the circum- 
 stances of the day, as they do not affect the point in 
 question : on taking leave in the evening, the King 
 promised that I should hear from him the next day. 
 
 Apokoo, who had been left in charge of the town, 
 visited me in form by the King^s orders, with the 
 criers and insignia, to assure me there should be no 
 more impediments to the treaty, and that the King 
 would return the next day. The evening was pro- 
 ductive of another disturbance, from my resistance of 
 an indignity. The Cape Coast messenger arriving, 
 informed me that the despatches and letters were 
 retained by Adoo Bradie^s messenger, who accom- 
 panied him. I sent the canes to Apokoo^s to demand 
 them, but ineffectually ; I then went myself, and 
 insisted on the delivery; he said it could not be 
 allowed until the King returned to the capital. I 
 protested so strongly against the act, that he sent for 
 the chief hnguist (Adoocee) and after a palaver, they 
 promised to send me the letters on my return to the 
 house : I left the canes in waiting. The time allowed 
 having expired without the receipt, I went again to 
 Apokoo^s, who referred me to Adoocee. I went to 
 him, and he said he dared not interfere in the business. 
 The Cape Coast messengers refusing to do so, we 
 proceeded instantly to Adoo Bradie^s house, and 
 finding the messenger, demanded the letters, and 
 obtained them. I had scarcely read them, before 
 Adoocee came with some captains, and about 100 
 persons (being then nine o'clock), to demand my
 
 126 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 delivery of your letter to tis charge, until tlie King's 
 return. I indignantly refused, asserting my authority, 
 and criminating sucli a request as injurious to the 
 rights of the meanest subject of the King of England, 
 and an insuperable affront to you. He tried threats 
 and entreaties alternately; the former 1 treated with 
 contempt, the latter I regretted I dared not yield to. 
 The palaver was prolonged till ten o^clock at night. 
 I determined not to lose ground. The King did not 
 arrive until the evening of the next day; 1 sent three 
 canes with my compliments on his return, and received 
 his with an appointment of an audience the next (this) 
 morning. 
 
 We were sent for early, the affair of the letters was 
 opposed to me. I repeated my declarations to 
 Adoocee, and added, that I should not think of leaving 
 a Resident, if such were the forms of the Ashantee 
 Court. The Ashantee messengers declared that you 
 liad ordered your letters to be delivered to the King. 
 I said that was impossible. The King was very gentle, 
 but such was the suspicion of the assembly, that they 
 requested me to swear on my sword, that I had not 
 altered any part of your letter ; I did so, prefacing the 
 act as such a suspicion merited. I then read your 
 letter, abating nothing of its spirit and firmness, and 
 laying stress upon your disposition to benefit the King, 
 and the proofs you had given. I concluded my illus- 
 trations with the declaration, that you did not settle 
 the King^s palaver from fear, but from friendship, as 
 it remained with him to prove. I submitted the pre- 
 liminaries in form, for rejection or acceptance. After 
 an ardent debate among the captains, they were
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 127 
 
 executed and attested^ and I lose no time in forwarding 
 the copy. I left a duplicate with, the King, as I shall 
 of the treaty. 
 
 The King intends to despatch a messenger directly 
 to empower Adoo Bradie to receive the gold, and 
 hopes you will recommend the people of Commenda 
 to restore any of the slaves in their possession 
 belonging to Elmina, although that is not his palaver. 
 
 The King desired me to communicate his best thanks 
 for your handsome treatment of his nephew, whose 
 reports have been very flattering. 
 
 I urged my intercessions for Quamina Bootaqua, 
 until the King vouchsafed me his assurance that he 
 would pardon him. 
 
 I have the satisfaction to inform you, that I have 
 been able, privately, so far to conciliate the Moors, as 
 to have witnessed their forwardance of the certificates 
 to the interior, with their own letters of recommen- 
 dation endorsed. 
 
 I advocated the merits of the Castle linguist, De 
 Graff, as you desired, and successfully. I flatter 
 myself this will anticipate the arrival of the King^s 
 and the Cape Coast messengers. 
 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 T. E. BowDicH.
 
 128 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Preliminaries of a General Treaty, to he made and 
 entered into by Thomas Edward Bowdich, Esquire, 
 for the Governor and Council ofCaioe Coast Castle, and 
 on the part of the British Government, ivith Sai Tootoo 
 QuAMiNAj King of Ashantee and its Dependencies. 
 1st. The King accepts tlie offer of the people of 
 
 Commeiida_, through the Governor-in- Chief ; namely, 
 
 one hundred and twenty ounces of gold for himself, 
 
 and the customary fees to his ambassadors, as a 
 
 settlement in full of all demands. 
 
 2nd. The people of Commenda shall acknowledge 
 
 their fealty to the King, and be entitled to all the 
 
 benefits of his protection. 
 
 3rd. The King shall authorize some responsible 
 
 captain to receive the gold from the hands of the 
 
 deputies of the people of Commenda, at Cape Coast 
 
 Castle. 
 
 4th. It is hereby agreed, that every palaver is now 
 
 settled preparatory to the General Treaty, which shall 
 
 be executed forthwith. 
 
 Signed and sealed this twenty-ninth day of 
 August, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred and seventeen. 
 The mark of Sai Tootoo Quamina. [x| (l.s.) 
 
 T. E. BowDicH. (l.s.) 
 In the presence of 
 William Hutchison. 
 Henry Tedlie. 
 Adoocee, Chief Linguist. 
 Apokoo, Keeper of the Treasury. 
 
 QuAMINA QuATCHIE, ") t . • i X J.1 Ti/r- • 
 
 X ; r Lmguists to the Mission. 
 
 QUASHEE ApAINTREEj )
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 129 
 
 Extract from Biary. — Monday^ 25tli August_, we 
 started soon after seven o^clock^ and proceeding in a 
 N.E. direction,, crossed tlie marsh close to tlie town, 
 where it was about two feet deep and one hundred 
 and fifty yards broad. We travelled the path to 
 Sallagha, through a beautiful country, abounding in 
 neat crooms (of which we passed through seven), the 
 sites spacious, and environed by extensive plantations. 
 The path was wide and so nearly direct, that the eye 
 was always in advance through beautiful vistas varied 
 by gentle risings. The iron stone still prevailed. 
 
 The King received us in the market-place, and 
 inquiring anxiously if we had breakfasted, ordered 
 refreshment. After some conversation we were con- 
 ducted to a house prepared for our reception, where a 
 relish was served (sufficient for an army) of soups, 
 stews, plantains, yams, rice, &c. (all excellently cooked), 
 wine, spirits, oranges, and every fruit. The messengers, 
 soldiers, and servants, were distinctly provided for. 
 Declining the offer of beds, we walked out in the town, 
 and conversed and played draughts with the Moors, 
 who were reclining under trees : the King joined us 
 with cheerful affabihty, and seemed to have forgotten 
 his cares. About two o^clock dinner was announced. 
 We had been taught to prepare for a surprise, but it 
 was exceeded. We were conducted to the eastern 
 side of the croom to a door of green reeds, which 
 excluded the crowd, and admitted us through a short 
 avenue to the King^s garden, an area equal to one of 
 the large squares in London. The breezes were strong 
 and constant. In the centre, four large umbrellas of 
 new scarlet cloth were fixed, under which was the 
 
 E
 
 130 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 King's dining table (heightened for the occasion) and 
 covered in the most imposing manner; his massy 
 plate was well disposed,, and silver forks^ knives^ and 
 spoons (Colonel Torrane's) were plentifully laid. The 
 large silver waiter supported a roasting pig in the 
 centre; the other 'dishes on the table were roasted 
 ducks^ fowls, stews, peas-pudding, &c. &c. On the 
 ground on one side of the table were various soups, 
 and every sort of vegetable ; and elevated parallel with 
 the other side, were oranges, pines, and other fruits ; 
 sugar-candy. Port and Madeira wine, spirits and Dutch 
 cordials, with glasses. Before we sat down the King- 
 met us, and said, that as we had come out to see him, 
 we must receive the following present from his hands : 
 two ounces four ackies of gold, one sheep and one large 
 hog to the officers, ten ackies to the linguists, and five 
 ackies to our servants. 
 
 We never saw a dinner more handsomely served, 
 and never ate a better. On our expressing our relish, 
 the King sent for his cooks, and gave them ten ackies. 
 The Eang and a few of his captains sat at a distance, 
 but he visited us constantly, and seemed quite proud 
 of the scene ; he conversed freely, and expressed much 
 satisfaction at our toasts, " The King of Ashantee, 
 the King of England, the Governor, the King's 
 Captains, a perpetual union (with a speech, which is 
 the sine qua non), and the handsome women of 
 England and Ashantee."" After dinner the King 
 made many inquiries about England, and retired, as 
 we did, that our servants might clear the table, which 
 he insisted on. When he returned, some of the wine 
 and Dutch cordials remaining, he gave them to our
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 131 
 
 servants to take with tliemj and ordered the table-cloth 
 to be thrown to them and all the napkins. A cold 
 ipig, cold fowls (with six that had not been dressed), 
 were despatched to Coomassie for our supper. We 
 took leave about five o^clock, the King accompanying 
 us to the end of the croom, where he took our hands, 
 and wished us good night. We reached the capital 
 again at six, much gratified by our excursion and 
 treatment. 
 
 Mr. Tedlie had brought Quamina Bwa (our guide) 
 into a very advanced state of convalescence ; but he so 
 eagerly betook himself from low diet to palm oil soups 
 and stews of blood, that he soon relapsed, and a 
 gathering formed on his liver, aggravated not a little 
 by the various fetish draughts he swallowed. Seeing 
 there was no other chance, Mr. Tedlie, who is a very 
 skilful operator, would have scarified the liver; but 
 although I had great reason to rely confidently on his 
 judgment and ability, I thought our situation too 
 critical to run such a risk. A Fantee boy having 
 fractured his leg, and his dissolution appearing inevi- 
 table, the parents in great distress applied to the 
 surgeon of an English out-fort, who amputated the 
 limb, and after much wearying attendance, to the 
 surprise of every one, restored the boy to health. The 
 family then brought him into the fort, and laying him 
 down in the hall, addressed the surgeon (who was in 
 charge of the fort) thus : ^^ As master cut ofi" poor 
 boy^s leg, and so spoil poor boy for work, we come to 
 ask master how much he think to give poor boy to 
 keep him.^^ 
 
 Quamina Bwa was fetished until the last moment, 
 K 2
 
 132 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 and died amidst tlie liowls of a legion of old hags, 
 plastering tlie walls, door-posts, and everything about 
 him, with chopped egg and different messes. I forget 
 how many sheep he had sacrificed to the fetish by the 
 advice of these harpies. The King sent him a sheep 
 and a periguin of gold, when he heard he was ill. 
 This man had settled the palaver with Mr. White, 
 after the blockade of Cape Coast in 1815, the third 
 invasion of the Ashantees, and was universally odious 
 for his cruel extortions ; these being reported to the 
 King, he was disgraced ; and being very extravagant, 
 became much involved. Being at Payntree, he pre- 
 vailed on Quamina Bushmaquaw to allow him to con- 
 duct us, to retrieve his finances a little. Excepting 
 Adoocee, the King^s chief linguist, he was the most 
 plausible villain I ever met with. 
 
 The head of an Akim caboceer arrived in Coomassie 
 about this time. The King and the Ashantee Govern- 
 ment had proposed that every croom of Akim should 
 pay twenty periguins of gold as an atonement for their 
 late revolt. Ten periguins were advanced immediately 
 by each, and the other moiety was excused until after 
 the harvest; but Aboidedroo, caboceer of Manasoo, reso- 
 lutely refused to pay a tokoo. The King^s messengers, 
 however,, appealed to his people with so much address, 
 that they rose upon their caboceer, killed him, and 
 sent his head to the King, with the twenty periguins 
 required.
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 PROCEEDIXGS AND INCIDENTS UNTIL THE EATIFICATION OF 
 A GENERAL TREATY. 
 
 rpHE report of an Asliantee liaving been flogged to 
 -*- death, in Cape Coast Castle^ wliicli was aggravated 
 every liour to our prejudice^ was explained by the 
 following letter : — 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, August Vjth, 1817. 
 
 T. E. BowDicH, Esq. 
 
 SiR^ — The day before yesterday an Ashantee man 
 was guilty of a most daring insult to the fort. On 
 passing the gate^ he was desired by the sentinel to 
 take his cloth off his shoulders_, but instead of comply- 
 ing^ he turned round and struck him. The offender 
 was instantly secured_, and I ordered him to be put in 
 irons. Last night about nine o^ clock, the captain of 
 the guard came to me to say that the sentry on duty 
 had reported the Ashantee to have hung himself. The 
 place in which he was with others confined was imme- 
 diately opened, and he was found in a room adjoining 
 to that in wh^ch the prisoners sleep, with his under- 
 cloth attached to a beam not more than three feet 
 high, and very tightly drawn round his throat, part of
 
 134 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 his body was lying on the ground_, and it must have 
 been by the most determined resolution that he 
 succeeded in strangling himself. The surgeon was 
 present, but his efforts to recover him were ineffectual. 
 This is the second offence of a similar nature that has 
 occurred; the first person, I most assuredly should 
 have punished, had he not run past the sentry and 
 made his escape. 
 
 The King^s displeasure will no doubt be excited 
 when he hears of such acts of insolence, and I hope he 
 will issue such orders to his people as will make them 
 more circumspect in future. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 J. H. Smith. 
 
 CooMASsiE, Slst August, 1817. 
 John Hope Smith, Esq., Governor-in- Chiefs 8fc. 8fc. 8fc. 
 
 Sir, — I received yoar letter last evening respecting 
 the suicide of the Ashantee. I procured an audience 
 this morning, and have just returned from the palace, 
 where I had the honour to address you a letter in the 
 name of the King on this and other subjects. 
 
 The messenger sent up by Adoo Bradie was the 
 brother of the deceased, and declared before the King 
 upon oath that he had been killed by the officers. 
 The master (our landlord) proposed a fine to the 
 captains assembled, but after the audience was gone 
 through the King retired to council, which is the 
 form, and returning, dictated the sentiments I had the
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 135 
 
 honour to communicate to you_, and rebuked our house- 
 master severely for his proposition. Of course I im- 
 pressed the insult to the fort_, as the superior considera- 
 tion of your letter. 
 
 The insolence of the lower orders here became 
 insufferable^ they proceeded even to pelting us with 
 stones^ after every effort on our part to conciliate 
 them by the exhibition of the telescope and other 
 novelties. As may be expected in a military govern- 
 ment^ they are beyond the King^s control^ out of the 
 field. He declared^ however, that he would behead 
 any man I would point out to him, and begged me to 
 punish them as I thought proper ; a summary chastise- 
 ment of two inferior captains repressed this spirit. 
 
 All the captains of consequence have become friendly 
 and respectful ; Apokoo was deputed in form yesterday, 
 in the name of the whole, to thank me for my conduct 
 in negotiating T\dth the King. 
 
 The treaty will be brought forward to be executed 
 in six days, before the annual assembly of Eangs, 
 caboceers, and captains. All the King^s tributaries 
 and allies being compelled to attend him at the yam 
 custom. 
 
 The King intends your linguist, De Graff, to take 
 fetish with his five linguists, to be just to both the 
 powers to be pledged to the treaty, and is convinced of 
 his probity. 
 
 I am, with respect. Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 T. Edward Bowdich.
 
 136 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 CooMASSiE, 31s^ August, 1817. 
 
 Sai Tootoo Quamina^ King of Ashantee, ^-c.^ to John 
 Hope Smith^ Esquire, Governor -in-Chief, ^x. Sj^c. ^-c. 
 
 Siu, — The King assures you that^ anticipating the 
 permanent union of the English and Ashantees^ so far 
 from allowing the death of one man to retard it_, he 
 should take no notice if a thousand were flogged to 
 death by you_, as reported here^ well knowing the 
 insolent disposition of the lower order of Ashantees^ 
 which is as vexatious to him as to you. He is satisfied, 
 however, that this man came to his death by his own 
 hands. 
 
 The King wishes you to adjust the palaver between 
 the Commendas and Elminas as soon as convenient to 
 you ; that all the people who serve him may be united, 
 relying entirely on your justice. 
 
 The King will thank you very much if you will make 
 the people of Cape Coast, Elmina, and Commenda " all 
 one together." 
 
 The little palaver between these people is the only 
 one remaining ; and, therefore, though it is not his, he 
 wishes you to settle it. 
 
 The King hereby, and by his messenger, empowers 
 his nephew Adoo Bradie, and the Captain Quantree, to 
 receive the gold from the deputies of Commenda in 
 your presence. 
 
 You must settle the compliments and fees which the 
 Commendas send to the King^s linguists and captains. 
 
 The King hopes you will advise the people of 
 Amissa, through some medium, to retract their insolent
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 137 
 
 message to tlie King, that tlie whole of the Fantee 
 territory may be quiet. 
 
 The King has condescended personally to solicit Mr. 
 Bowdich to protract his stay fifteen days, and obliged 
 all his captains to the same condescension, so that you 
 will consider it the King^s act from the wish to send 
 him down with an honourable escort, and other marks 
 of his favour. 
 
 The King wishes you health and happiness. 
 
 The mark ><l of Sai Tootoo Quamina, &c. 
 In the presence of 
 Wm. Hutchisox. 
 Henry Tedlie. 
 
 A few only of the many curious observations of our 
 Ashantee friends recur to me. One captain told us 
 he had heard that the English were so constantly in 
 palavers one with another, that their houses, which he 
 understood to be made of wood the same as their ships, 
 were always fixed on wheels ; so that when a man had 
 quarrelled with his neighbour, he moved to another 
 part of the bush. Another insisted that monkeys 
 (whom the Moors said sprung from the Israelites, who 
 disobeyed Moses) could talk as well as men, but they 
 were not such fools ; for if they did, they knew men 
 would make them work. This is better than Pliny^s 
 account of monkeys playing chess. 
 
 The King walked abroad in great state one day, an 
 irresistible caricature ; he had on an old-fashioned 
 court suit of General Daendels^ of brown velveteen, 
 richly embroidered with silver thistles, with an English 
 epaulette sewn on each shoulder, the coat coming close
 
 138 MISSIOX TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 round the knees, from whicli the flaps of the waistcoat 
 were not very distant, a cocked hat bound with gold 
 lace, in shape just like that of a coachman^s, white 
 shoes, the long silver-headed cane we presented to him, 
 mounted with a crown, as a walking staff, and a small 
 dirk round his waist. 
 
 The King presented one of our servants with six 
 ackies of gold, for making trousers for his child and 
 mending him a pair of drawers, which he thought it 
 extravagant to put on under trousers or small clothes, 
 and therefore wore them alone. 
 
 I fixed a rude leaping-bar in the outer yard of our 
 house, and trained the horse to it preparatory to getting 
 him over the trunks of trees on the path : this brought 
 even greater levees than the camera obscura or the 
 telescope. Sometimes a gazer would start from the 
 eyepiece of the latter, to lay hold of the figure at the 
 end, as he expected; and they all insisted on both 
 being taken to pieces in their presence, that they 
 might see what was inside. At length, being in- 
 explicable, it was pronounced fetish. A captain had 
 told the King, that with the telescope we saw when at 
 Doompassie all that he was doing at Coomassie ; and 
 happening, in a sudden and heavy rain to gallop from 
 Asafoo to our house, with Mr. Tedlie on the horse 
 behind me, holding the umbrella, it was immediately 
 reported to the King as our plan of travelling to Cape 
 Coast. 
 
 Our Accra linguist pointed out a man to me named 
 Tando, whom he recollected to have visited the Coast 
 some years in great pomp, never going the shortest 
 distance, but in his taffeta hammock, covered with a
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 139 
 
 gorgeous umbrella^, and surrounded by flatterers^ wbo 
 even wiped the ground before lie trod on it. Tliis 
 man had now scarcely a cloth to cover him ; he had 
 been retired from his embassy to Akim^ in consequence 
 of a dispute with Attah^ then the king of that country ; 
 for though Attah was adjudged to be in fault,, after the 
 palaver was talked at Coomassie^ the Ashantee Govern- 
 ment thought it politic to displace Tando^ though he 
 had . become disagreeable to the other only for his 
 vigilance and fidelity. After a long interval of the 
 most luxurious life the capital could afford^ he was 
 instructed to proceed to Elmina^ to talk a palaver for 
 the King : but thinking it would be a coup d^ eclat 
 much more important and agreeable^ if he could settle 
 the Warsaw palaver as well^ he visited the country on 
 his return^ and persuaded them to conciliate the King 
 and avert their ruin^ by carrying a considerable sum of 
 gold to Coomassie^ and agreeing to pay twenty-four 
 slaves for every Ashantee subject killed or injured by 
 one of Warsaw. Deputies returned with this man for 
 this purpose; but the King dismissed them con- 
 temptuously ; and to the disappointment and surprise 
 of Tando^ declared that no man must dare to do good 
 out of his own head, or perhaps he would find he did 
 bad, as Tando had done, in spoiling a palaver which he 
 and his great men meant to sleep a long time. Tando 
 was immediately stripped of all his property for his 
 presumption, and from a noble became a beggar. 
 
 The Moors now became friendly, and sent us some 
 very good coff'ee, and choice pieces of meat.
 
 140 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 CooMASSiE, Sept. Sth, 1817. 
 John Hope Smith, Esquire, Gov ernor4n- Chief, ^^c. 8fc. 
 
 Sir, — I have tlie satisfaction to inform you that the 
 treaty was signed and sworn to yesterday by the King 
 of Ashantee, and this day by the King of Dwabin. 
 The whole of the caboceers, captains, and tributaries 
 having arrived, the treaty was finally discussed on 
 Saturday, and two of the four members of the aristo- 
 cracy, with the two oldest captains (Ashantee and 
 Nabbra) were deputed to swear for that assembly, ^^\h 
 the King, whose oaths (being very rare) are solemnized 
 by the presence of his wives. 
 
 The King sent a handsome procession of flags, guns, 
 and music, to conduct us to the palace on the occasion ; 
 and meeting us in the outer square, preceded us to the 
 inmost, where about 300 females were seated in all the 
 magnificence which a profusion of gold and silk could 
 furnish. The splendour of this coup d^oeil made our 
 surprise almost equal to theirs. We were seated with 
 the King and the deputies under the large umbrellas 
 in the centre, and I was desired to declare the objects 
 of the Embassy and the Treaty to an old linguist 
 peculiar to the women. The King displayed the pre- 
 sents to them ; the flags were all sewn together, and 
 wrapped around him as a cloth. 
 
 I was afterwards desired to stand before the King, 
 and swear on my sword that I had declared the truth ; 
 I did so, with the other officers. The next form dic- 
 tated was, that I should seat myself and receive the 
 oaths of the deputies ; and lastly, of the King himself, 
 for his brother the King of England. They advanced
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 141 
 
 in turn_, extending tlieir gold swords close to my face 
 as tliey declared tlieir oaths. I rose to receive the 
 King^Sj all the women holding up two fingers as their 
 mark of approbation when he received the sword^ and 
 one of his counsellors kneeling beside him with a large 
 stone on his head. The King swore very deliberately^ 
 that his words might be fully impressed on me, invoking 
 God and the fetish to kill him, first, if he did not keep 
 the law, if we had sworn true ; and secondly, if he did 
 not revenge the Ashantees to the full, if we had bad in 
 our heads, and did not come for the purpose I avowed. 
 The assurances and the menaces of the oaths of the 
 captains were equally forcible. The King sent an 
 anker of rum to our people to drink on the occasion, 
 and paid each captain the customary fee of a periguin 
 of gold on his oath. 
 
 The King having communicated my wish by a 
 formal message to Boitinnee Quama, the King of Dwa- 
 bin, who holds his temporary court on the north side 
 of the town, I seconded it by sending the canes to 
 request an audience; at which I had again formally to 
 declare the objects of the Embassy and the Treaty, 
 which, after a great deal of form and inquiry, received 
 his signature, with the attestations of his chief linguists, 
 Quama Saphoo, and Kobara Saphoo, who are his prin- 
 cipal counsellors. His court was equally crowded with 
 the King of Ashantee^s, who sits on his right hand 
 when he visits Dwabin, a reciprocal etiquette. 
 
 By an addition to the fourth article of the treaty, I 
 reconciled the point of the Amissa palaver ; and the 
 securing you the opportunity of mediation (without 
 attaching anything like responsibility), I considered to
 
 142 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 be not only a precaution due to humanity^ but a pru- 
 dent and legitimate measure for the extension of our 
 influence. 
 
 The value of this treaty is enhanced by the reflection, 
 that the justice, dignity, and spirit of the British 
 Government have been preserved inviolate ; and that 
 it has been the result of the impression, and not of the 
 abatement of these characteristics. 
 
 We are flattered by your acknowledgment of our 
 offer to accompany the King to the Buntooko war, and 
 feel the force of your reason in the present view of the 
 invasion of that country. The lake proving to be 
 southward instead of northward, and close to the Accra 
 path, I did not think it prudent to aggravate suspicion 
 for so secondary and well-defined an object, whilst 
 every day exacted some exertion (beyond vigilance) to 
 wear away the difficulties opposed to the more impor- 
 tant views of the mission. 
 
 I expect the King will permit me to take leave on 
 Saturday next. To-morrow, Apokoo gives us a dinner 
 in pubHc. 
 
 I am, with respect. Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 T. E. BowDiCH.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 143 
 
 Ti'eaty made and entered into hij Thomas Edwaed Bow- 
 DiCHj Esquire, in the name of the Governor and Council 
 at Gape Goast Gastle, on the Gold Goast of Africa, and 
 on behalf of the British Government, with Sai Tootoo 
 Q(JAMINA_, King of Ashantee and its Dependencies, and 
 BoiTiNNEE QuAMA^ King of JDwabin and its Depen- 
 dencies. 
 
 1st. Tliere sliall be perpetual peace and liarmony 
 between tlie British subjects in tbis country^ and the 
 subjects of the Kings of Ashantee and Dwabin. 
 
 2nd. The same shall exist between the subjects of 
 the Kings of Ashantee and Dwabin, and all nations of 
 Africa residing under the protection of the Company's 
 Forts and Settlements on the Gold Coast ; and it is 
 hereby agreed, that there are no palavers now existing, 
 and that neither party has any claim upon the other. 
 
 3rd. The King of Ashantee guarantees the security 
 of the people of Cape Coast from the hostilities threat- 
 ened by the people of Elmina. 
 
 4th. In order to avert the horrors of war, it is agreed 
 that in any case of aggression on the part of the natives 
 under British protection, the Kings shall complain 
 thereof to the Governor-in- Chief to obtain redress, and 
 that they will in no instance resort to hostilities, even 
 against the other towns of the Fantee territory, without 
 endeavouring as much as possible to effect an amicable 
 arrangement, affording the Governor the opportunity 
 of propitiating it as far as he may with discretion. 
 
 5th. The King of Ashantee agrees to permit a British 
 oflS.cer to reside constantly at his capital, for the purpose
 
 144 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 of instituting and preserving a regular communication 
 with the Go vernor-in- Chief at Cape Coast Castle. 
 
 6th. The Kings of Ashantee and Dwabin pledge 
 themselves to countenance, promote,, and encourage 
 the trade of their subjects with Cape Coast Castle and 
 its dependencies to the extent of their power. 
 
 7th. The Governors of the respective forts shall at 
 all times afford every protection in their power to the 
 persons and property of the people of Ashantee and 
 Dwabin who may resort to the water side. 
 
 8th. The Governor-in- Chief reserves to himself the 
 right of punishing any subject of Ashantee or Dwabin 
 guilty of secondary offences, but in case of any crime 
 of magnitude, he will send the offender to the Kings, 
 to be dealt with according to the laws of his country. 
 
 9th. The Kings agree to commit their children to 
 the care of the Governor-in- Chief for education at 
 Cape Coast Castle, in the full confidence of the good 
 intentions of the British Government, and of the 
 benefits to be derived therefrom. 
 
 10th. The Kings promise to direct diligent inquiries 
 to be made respecting the officers attached to the 
 mission of Major John Peddie and Captain Thomas 
 Campbell, and to influence and oblige the neighbouring 
 kingdoms and their tributaries, to befriend them as the 
 subjects of the British Government. 
 
 Signed and sealed at Coomassie, this seventh day 
 of September, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and seventeen . 
 
 The mark of Sai Too Quamina {xj (l. s.) 
 The mark of Boitinnee Quama ><{ (l. s.) 
 Thomas Edwaed Bowdich. (l. s.)
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 145 
 
 In the presence of 
 
 William Hutchison^ Eesident. 
 
 Hexey Tedlie_, Assistant Surgeon. 
 
 The mark of Apokoo \^\ Deputed from the General 
 Odumata X \ Assembly of caboceers 
 Nabbra \^ I and captains to swear 
 AsHAXTEE X ^ with the King. 
 Kabra Saphoo txi \ Linguists to the 
 QuAMiNA Saphoo M J King of Dwabiu. 
 QuASHEE Apaintree ^ Accra Linguist. 
 QuASHEE Tom ><1 I Cape Coast Lin- 
 
 Qdamina Quatchee X J gaists. 
 
 We were present at the trial of Appia Nanu^ who 
 had accompanied his brother Appia Danqua in the last 
 invasion of Fantee^ and was ordered by the King, on 
 his death, to take the command of tbe army, and 
 prosecute the campaign. In the irritation of the 
 moment he exclaimed before the royal messengers, 
 that though the King did not prevent him from suc- 
 ceeding to the stool and the honours of his brother, he 
 kept back all the rock gold which belonged to the 
 inheritance, and desired to wear him out in the pursuit 
 of the revolters, to prevent his claim and enjoyment of 
 the property of his family. From this time he was very 
 inactive, and became suspected of cowardice ; however, 
 having succeeded in getting the head of one of the 
 revolters he returned to Coomassie, where he was coolly 
 received but not accused until the 8th of July. The 
 witnesses were the messengers the King had sent to 
 him, who had been concealed in a distant part of the 
 frontier ever since that Appia Nanu, believing the 
 
 L
 
 146 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 general report of tlieir deatli, raiglit be tlie more con- 
 founded wlien tliey burst upon Mm at the moment of 
 his denial of the charge : he was deprived of his stool 
 and the whole of his property, but permitted to retire 
 with three wives and ten slaves. The King hearing the 
 next day that he still loitered in the capital, exclaimed, 
 that no proper man would bear so much shame before 
 all the people rather than leave his home, and ordered 
 only one wife to be left to him, whereupon Appia Nanu 
 hung himself. The King considers that none but the 
 basest spirits can endure life after severe disgrace. 
 
 The Moors celebrated the feast of Ramadan in this 
 month : there was nothing curious in this ceremony. 
 Men and women were dressed in their richest suits, and 
 seated on large skins before their houses, for they 
 occupy one street exclusively. They rose occasionally 
 in small troops, made short circuits in different direc- 
 tions, saluted each other, and then sat down again. In 
 the evening the superiors exchanged visits at their 
 houses ; the one visited always accompanied the other 
 some distance along the street on his way, where they 
 exchanged blessings and parted. The slaves who 
 carried their small umbrellas over their heads, seemed 
 thoroughly jaded bythis incessant parading. 
 
 The King regretted in one of his visits about this 
 time that they were not more frequent ; he said our 
 conversation entertained him more than anything else, 
 because it told him of so many things black men never 
 heard of ; but when he wished to see us on that account, 
 his great men checked him and said it did not become 
 him as a great King to want us, but that he should 
 only send his compliments, see us, and make us wait a 
 long time when he sent for us to the palace.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PEOCEEDINGS AXD INCIDENTS UNTIL THE COMPLETION OP 
 THE MISSION AND ITS EETURN TO CAPE COAST CASTLE. 
 
 
 
 N tlie llth of September I received the Governor's 
 reply to my letter of tlie lOtli of August. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, August 2bt7i, 1817. 
 T. E. BowDicH, Esq. 
 
 SiE_, — I have received your letter of the 10th instant. 
 The boy and girl shall be disposed of under the protec- 
 tion of the Government here^ agreeable to the King's 
 wishes. 
 
 The messenger (Ocranameah) has grossly mis- 
 represented to the King the reception he met with at 
 Cape Coast ; he was treated with the greatest civility 
 during his stay^ and on leaving expressed himself 
 gratified by the attention which had been shown him. 
 
 For the King's satisfaction_, I have subjoined a list of 
 the articles I made him a present of ;^ the three first 
 which I gave him_, on taking leave^ will_, when produced;, 
 
 ^ One piece of silk, 10 handkerchiefs of Dane, 1 umbrella, 4 
 gallons of rum, 201bs. of pork, 1 basket of rice, Biscuit, 1 
 sheep. 
 
 L 2
 
 148 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 convince liim. how mucli lie lias been deceived, and 
 prove to him tliat his recommendation of tlie messenger 
 was not unattended to. 
 
 The Buntooko war I consider a mere pretext for 
 getting rid of the Kesident; it cannot be the true 
 motive : to oppose, however, any disinclination to the 
 measure, either on the part of the King or his principal 
 men, would be entirely useless ; the aversion to it has 
 no doubt originated in the latter, with whom, under the 
 present order of things, the Resident would be very 
 unpopular, consequently unsafe. The eager desire 
 which the King has manifested for inquiring into every 
 trivial occurrence, is another cause of its being objec- 
 tionable. The residence of a British officer would 
 afford him the opportunity not only of doing this, but 
 of making demands which he might otherwise not have 
 thought of. These and other circumstances, which 
 were entirely unforeseen, have materially altered my 
 opinion in regard to the Residency, which is certainly 
 not so desirable as I before considered it. You will 
 therefore, on your return, bring Mr. Hutchison with 
 you. 
 
 I am not aware of any Ashantees having introduced 
 themselves here but such as were duly authorized by 
 the King ; you will, however, inform him, that none will 
 be attended to unless they bear his cane. 
 
 As Mr. Hutchison is to return, it will be a most 
 important point that you bring down two of the King^s 
 sons for education, and I am very solicitous that you 
 should accomplish this object if possible. 
 
 The Commenda palaver being terminated, there will 
 be nothing to detain you longer at Ashantee. Your
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 149 
 
 returning by way of Warsaw will be desirable,, and I 
 hope tbe King will not object to your so doing. 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 John Hope Smith. 
 
 CooaiASSiE, Sept. IQth, 1817. 
 John Hope Smith, Esq., Governor-in-Gldef, S,-c. SjX. Sj^c. 
 
 SiE, — I did not receive your letter of tbe 25tli of 
 August until tbe lltb instant, four days after I liad 
 advised you of tbe execution of tlie treaty. I con- 
 sidered it my duty to acquaint you of every variation in 
 tbe prospects of tbe Embassy, altbough, even wben 
 communicating the discouraging circumstances of my 
 letter of the 10th ult., I could not abate my hopes, or 
 allow doubt to sicken my exertions. I valued on the 
 reflection, that 1 had not been heard before the King 
 in vindication of the Residency, the motives of which 
 I knew to have been grossly misrepresented by our 
 natural enemies the Moors, to whose arts the suspicion 
 of the natives have been suitably auxiliary. My con- 
 fidence was justified by the favourable impression the 
 King and the Government manifested, when the sub- 
 ject was publicly advocated, since which I have never 
 heard of an objection to it : it has indeed become a 
 favourite measure with the superior captains, who, as 
 far as may be judged from the respect and deference 
 with which they have treated us from that time, seem 
 not only to have been conciliated, but won by the 
 recent circumstances of the negotiation. The terms of 
 the treaty, by exceeding your expectations, will com-
 
 150 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 pensate for tlie accumulation of difficulties wliicli liave 
 been opposed to us. We are tauglit to believe tliat no 
 law has ever been enacted in this kingdom with equal 
 solemnity, or an oath so serious been before submitted 
 to by the King, or imposed on the captains. Had the 
 treaty disappointed, instead of exceeded our expecta- 
 tions, I must have viewed it as inviolable, and submitted 
 myself to your candour, which I would now, and 
 justify myself by answering the reasonable apprehen- 
 sions which have recently affected your opinion of the 
 Residency, rather than by the plea that the treaty was 
 executed before I received them. 
 
 If I had been convinced that it was dislike and not 
 suspicion which actuated the opposition to the Resi- 
 dency, I should not only have considered it imprudent 
 but derogatory to have persevered in the view; but 
 sensible that it was the latter (from the evidence of the 
 King^s deportment, and the knowledge of the intrigue 
 and calumny excited against us), I felt the greater 
 anxiety for its accomplishment ; since to have yielded 
 to suspicion, without every labour to eradicate it, 
 would have been to have excluded ourselves from the 
 kingdom hereafter. 
 
 If the King had been actuated, individually, by the 
 desire of detecting the frauds of his messengers, I 
 should have viewed the measure as pernicious ; but the 
 Government itself having anxiously recommended it, 
 for the sake of their own interest (Fort pay and 
 purchases from the treasury being always divided 
 amongst the superior captains), I considered it harm- 
 less ; and not solely from the power of its advocates, 
 but also from the impotence of the royal messengers in
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 151 
 
 state affairs, being generally attendants on tlie King, 
 and therefore jealously watclied by tlie otlier parts of 
 the Government. This desire has only been addressed 
 to me in two instances, both of which I think justified 
 it; first, respecting the fort pay ; it having been since 
 proved and confessed, that out of sixty-two ounces 
 paid at Christiansburg Castle in 1816 and 1817, the 
 Ashantee Government has been defrauded of twenty- 
 three ounces by the messenger ; and secondly, respect- 
 ing the goods purchased by Ocranameah, where the 
 fraud could not escape notice. Such peculations have 
 probably^ in the first case, given rise to doubts of our 
 honour ; and in the latter, have certainly proved a pre- 
 judice to the trade. On the occasion of Ocranameah^s 
 baseness, I myself requested the King to allow me to 
 address you for the particulars of his treatment ; and if 
 you consider the mischievous influence of the report, 
 the fatality of the impression that the King^s Embassy 
 had been subjected to contempt, whilst we had been 
 treated with generosity and respect, you will admit 
 that the disproof was imperious on me : he has been 
 disgraced, and owes his safety to my intercession. 
 Nothing but the most decisive conduct can arrest 
 villainy here. The reports of Adoo Bradie have been 
 highly flattering. The King will certainly have a 
 better opportunity of making demands from the 
 residence of a British officer ; neither can I lessen the 
 probability further than by my opinion, which though 
 only indulgent of the people in general, is certainly 
 favourable of the honour of the King and the superior 
 captains. The advantages and prospects of our pre- 
 serving our footing by a Residency, have been too fully
 
 152 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 suggested by your experience to require my dwelling 
 on them. 
 
 I will proceed to acquaint you of tlie circumstances 
 subsequent to my receipt of your letter_, one of wMch. 
 bad nearly been serious. After tlie settlement of tbe 
 Commenda palaver^ tbe King requested me to wait ten 
 days^ wbicb were afterwards extended to fifteen^ as you 
 were advised in bis letter of tbe 31st ult. Tbis time 
 expired on Saturday last^ but tbe King said tben tbat 
 we must not go until Monday. Accordingly on tbat 
 day^ I delivered Mr. Hutcbison written instructions 
 (a copy of wbicb I enclose), and sent several messages 
 to tbe King to remind bim of bis promise. We w^ere 
 not sent for until six o^ clock in tbe evening, wben tbe 
 King said be could not let me go tben, nor before be 
 bad time to send me away properly. Tbis I considered 
 to be tbe mere affectation of state. I pleaded tbat 
 your orders were binding, and tbat it was insulting to 
 you, as well as dangerous to me, to prevent my respect 
 of tbem now everytbing like business was settled. 
 Tbe King said be would only ask me to stop until 
 Wednesday. I replied tbat if be would give me bis 
 band and promise tbat I sbould go tben I would wait. 
 No, be could not, but be would promise me for tbe 
 Monday following. I saw tbat yielding to tbis would 
 subject me to an indefinite delay. I told tbe King 
 tbat I sbould be obliged to go, tbougb unwillingly, 
 witbout bis approbation, and tbat not only my duty 
 but bis promise justified me. I bad only to ask bim if 
 be still wisbed me to leave Mr. Hutcbison ? All tbe 
 reply I could get was tbat I migbt break tbe law if I 
 tbougbt proper. I told tbem tbe law would never be
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 153 
 
 broken by an Englisb officer, but still, if they were 
 sorry that they had sworn to the law, I would send for 
 it and tear it in pieces before them ; we did not make 
 laws from fear. No, they liked the law and could not 
 break it, but I might if I chose. I repeated my 
 willingness to stay till Wednesday ; the promise could 
 only be given for the Monday; the King and the 
 council retired abruptly. I followed them, told them I 
 was obliged to be determined, and begged the King to 
 show his respect for you, and the friendship he had 
 condescended to profess for myself, by considering 
 your orders. This was construed as indecision; and 
 Monday, or when the King has time, was the reply. I 
 thanked him formally for all his kindnesses, told him I 
 must go, and retired. It was necessary, at least, to 
 make the attempt, although it was then eight o^clock. 
 I left all the luggage in the charge of Mr. Hutchison, 
 except two portmanteaus, the sextant, and the box 
 containing my papers. We had scarcely proceeded 
 fifty yards, before the gong-gongs and drums were beat 
 all around us, and we were attacked by a crowd of 
 swords and muskets, headed by our house-master 
 Aboidwee, who in the first rush seized the luggage 
 and the flag. I felt myself compelled to attempt to 
 regain the flag ; and the value of my papers, and the 
 impolicy of being intimidated by the outrage, were also 
 considerations. I begged the officers not to draw 
 their swords till the last moment, and taking the 
 muskets, the butt ends of which cleared our way to the 
 luggage, we fastened on it, with the soldiers, artisans, 
 and our servants, who supported us vigorously. The 
 Ashantees did not attempt to fire, but attacked us only
 
 154 MISSION TO ASHANTEH. 
 
 with tlieir lieavy swords and large stones. "We kept 
 our ground nearly a quarter of an liour^ tliougli our 
 belts and caps were torn away, and we frequently fell. 
 At this time_, Mr. Tedlie (who had regained his sword, 
 w^hich had been torn from his side) was stunned by a 
 blow on the head, and as all were much bruised and 
 some of the people cut_, I contented myself with the 
 recovery of the flag, the sextant, and the papers, and 
 we retired slowly to the house, not expecting they 
 would follow us ; but they did so, with a fury which 
 led me to believe they intended our destruction. We 
 posted ourselves in the doorway, and I immediately 
 despatched the canes by a back way to the King, to 
 tell him we had not yet drawn our swords, but we 
 must do so unless he rescued us immediately. The 
 tumult did not allow expostulation, we had no alterna- 
 tive but to defend ourselves^ which the narrow passage 
 favoured. The captain, Aboidwee^ who was quite mad 
 with fury and liquour, made a cut at me as I held him 
 from me, which would have been fatal but for the 
 presence of mind of one of the soldiers, through which 
 it only grazed my face. We were soon rescued by the 
 presence of Adoocee, the chief linguist, and Yokokroko, 
 the King^s chamberlain, with their retinues. Nothing 
 could exceed their servility, they offered to swear the 
 King' was not privy to the outrage, ordered Aboidwee 
 before them, and threatened him with the loss of his 
 head. I told them I knew the King^s control, and 
 was not to be treated as a fool; he had forciblj" 
 detained us as prisoners, and must take the conse- 
 quences ] I should say no more. They continued their 
 professions and entreaties upwards of an hour^ and did
 
 MISSION TO ASHAXTEE. iOO 
 
 all they could by their menaces to Aboidwee, and their 
 deference to the evidence of our people^ to convince me 
 of their discountenance of the outrage. I divided the 
 people into watches for the night. 
 
 By daylight the next morning all our luggage was 
 returned; I refused to receive it. Yokokroko and 
 Adoo Quamina then sent to say they waited below 
 until we had done breakfast ; a long palaver succeeded^ 
 of the same tenour as that of the preceding night. 
 About eleven o^clock the linguists Adoocee^ Otee_, and 
 Quancum_, Yokokroko_, and a crowd of cajDtains came 
 from the King with a present of twenty ackies_, two 
 flasks of liqueur^ and a large hog. I asked them if 
 they came to put more shame on my face by bribing 
 me to settle the great palaver they had made the 
 night before with the King of England. They flattered 
 and menaced by turns to make me take it^ and urged 
 that to refuse the King's present was to declare war. 
 I persisted in refusing everything short of an interview 
 with the King. The Cape Coast messengers^ impelled 
 by their apprehensions and their avarice, had the teme- 
 rity to declare at this moment that you had sent them 
 as a check upon me^ and that they knew I was not 
 doing as you wished in talking so to the King^ and 
 that you would make a palaver with me for not waitiug 
 the King's pleasure. It was necessary to annihilate 
 the impression of such language immediately : I 
 deprived them of their canes_, and threatened to put 
 them in irons. The King not longer after sent his 
 eunuch and followers to conduct us to the palace, 
 where he had assembled the superior captains. We 
 went in plain clothes, alleging that we dared not wear
 
 156 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 our uniforms as prisoners. The King said I must not 
 say that; he was my good friend^ and would do me 
 right ; he did not think I would have tried to go with- 
 out his leave, and never meant his people to fight with 
 us j he would give me the heads of all those who led 
 them on, and beg me himself for the rest, as I begged 
 him for Quamina Bootaqua ; he never begged anybody 
 before; he did not send the gold as I thought, he 
 sent it to pay for anything the people had spoiled, and 
 meant to do us right all the same ; it would break his 
 heart if the King of England heard he had used his 
 officers ill, and if I liked him I must settle the palaver 
 easy. 
 
 Of course I would not hear of any heads being cut 
 off, though they all pressed it repeatedly, and doubtless 
 would not have regarded sacrificing a few inferior 
 captains to varnish their allegation; yet, I must 
 declare, it is my firm opinion, and it is supported by 
 the evidence of our private friends, that the King and 
 his principal men merely intended Aboidwee to stop 
 us, by placing his numbers before us and pleading the 
 King^s orders, not dreaming of any outrage, or that 
 the impetuosity of this man, irritated by the loss of 
 his retainer at Cape Coast,^ would hurry him to order 
 his soldiers to assault us : he has not an atom of influ- 
 ence ; but the King selected him as a near relative of 
 his own, to succeed to Bakkee^s stool, to which 1 700 
 men are attached : the King repeatedly ofi"ered me his 
 head. To resume, the King requested us to drink with 
 him and then to shake hands ; begged us to resume our 
 uniforms, and ordered his own people to attend us at 
 2 The man who hiinor himself.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 157 
 
 our house. I renewed the subject of our departure. 
 The King said this was a bad week^ and he did not 
 like us to go in it ; he would thank me very much to 
 stay till Monday, and then he could get a proper 
 present ready. Sunday, too, was the Adai custom, and 
 then I must put Mr. Hutchison^s hand in Adoocee^s, 
 and Adoocee place it in his, and he would promise 
 to take proper care of him before all the captains. 
 Odumata and Adoocee came forward to give me their 
 hands, as a pledge of their responsibility. I said I 
 could receive no one^s hand but the King^s on such an 
 occasion, but I ordered Quashie Apaintree to do so, 
 and it was sworn to. The King then said Adoocee 
 had told him the Cape Coast messengers had tried to 
 put shame on my face — he was very angry with them 
 — they ought to know God made white man^s head 
 better than black man^s, and they must come before 
 him and put my foot on their heads. I told him I 
 could not let any one do so, but I sent for their canes 
 and entrusted them to them again, with a suitable 
 reprimand. The King then begged me to receive his 
 present, which I did, giving the people the hog and 
 liquor ; they had received another on the Friday before, 
 which the King sent me, with thirty- nine yams. 
 
 I have observed that the Government's anxiety for 
 the force of the Treaty, and for the Residency, has 
 heightened in proportion to the indifference I have 
 affected. 1 consider the affair of yesterday to have 
 perfected the impression of our spirit. I certainly 
 would not think of leaving any but an officer of the 
 most considerate conduct as a Eesident, and I believe 
 Mr. Hutchison, by tempering his spirit with judgment,
 
 158 MISSION TO ASFANTEE. 
 
 may safely realize tlie objects of tlie situation ; if, how- 
 ever^ on my return you consider I have left liim in a 
 precarious situation^ I volunteer my services to replace 
 him^ and deliberately to retire the Residency. 
 
 It occurs to me the Amissa palaver may possibly be 
 the design of this interval, if it should you may rely 
 on my remaining resolute on the subject. 
 
 I am, &c., 
 (Signed) T. Edwap.d Bowdich. 
 
 CooMASSiE, Septemher, 1817. 
 To William Hutchison, Esquire, British Resident. 
 
 Sir, — I am directed by the Governor-in-Chief to leave 
 you written instructions for your future government. 
 
 The con\dction of the honour and justice of our public 
 negotiations having procured us a footing in opposition 
 to the arts which have been practised upon the sus- 
 picion of the natives, your conduct is looked to with 
 confidence to support it, by originating an opinion of 
 our moral character, equally auspicious to the benevo- 
 lent views of the British Government. The simplicity 
 of our religion tolerating the calumny of the Moors, 
 that we are destitute of any, you will have the satis- 
 faction of perfecting the confutation by a regular 
 retirement to its duties, and by the practice of that 
 benevolence and forbearance, equally congenial to the 
 policy prescribed to us. 
 
 It would be premature, as well as dangerous, to direct 
 any other than the tacit reproof of your own conduct 
 and sentiments, to the cruelties consecrated by the super- 
 stitions of the Ashantees ; you must be content to avoid
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 159 
 
 the countenance of tliem by your presence^ by adbering 
 to tbe plea of tbe repugnance of your religion. This 
 conduct^ associated with a humanity always inclining you 
 to induce mercy^ whenever the offence or prudence may 
 admit of an interference,, will propitiate your own 
 wishes^ and the expectations of the Government. 
 
 The friendship and respect which the King and the 
 superior captains have manifested^ will not only be 
 preserved but strengthened^ by a dignified deportment 
 and a considerate use of the private intercourset hese 
 feelings have established; and you will cultivate the 
 frequent opportunities of instilling into their minds, that 
 education originated the pre-eminence of Europeans; 
 and that peace is most auspicious to the greatness of a 
 nation, directing all its powers to commerce and the 
 arts, and thereby founding its superior comfort, 
 prosperity, and embellishment. The power and re- 
 sources of your own country should be quoted to 
 illustrate this truth ; and you will impress that it is 
 the experience of it, which has imposed the benevolent 
 anxiety of the British Government to improve the 
 condition of the people of Africa through the legitimate 
 medium of commerce. This impression you will 
 extend, deliberately, to the visitors from other king- 
 doms, particularly to those from the Sarem and Mallowa 
 countries. 
 
 In encouraging the trade with the coast, your 
 measures mast disprove any view but that of a fair 
 competition ; and your vigilance of the British interests 
 must be distinct from anything like jealousy, suspicion, 
 or intermeddling : you will act as the advocate of the 
 views of Europe, but not allow any interference to be
 
 160 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 imposed on you without tlie sanction of tlie Governor- 
 in-Chief, whose letters will be exclusively attended 
 to, and to whom you will candidly communicate any 
 circumstance or reflection aS'ecting our new connexion. 
 
 You will repress rather than encourage the dis- 
 position of the King and the Council to detect imposi- 
 tion through your assistance, by confining your justi- 
 fications as much as possible to public transactions; 
 for although the Government is gratified by it, it may 
 tend to make the Residency unpopular. 
 
 I enclose you a copy of the Treaty, and particularly 
 direct your attention to the fourth article, which 
 authorizes you to submit to everything like a mediation, 
 separable from responsibility, to the discussion of the 
 Governor-in- Chief, for the sake of peace and humanity ; 
 but you will do this, invariably, with difiidence ; with- 
 out betraying any sanguine expectations. 
 
 You will be more sensible to insult than injury ; and 
 the most pohtic conduct will be, to declare that the 
 British Government exacts from all its ofiicers, on pain 
 of disgrace, a firm repulse of the former ; and that they 
 dare not admit the influence of their private feelings 
 as in the latter case. 
 
 I leave you in possession of the esteem of the King 
 and the friendship of the superior captains, and with 
 everything favourable to the objects of the Residency ; 
 but should any caprice in the Government make you 
 invidious to anything like a party, or diminish their 
 respect, you will immediately address the Governor-in- 
 Chief, who will order your presence at Head Quarters. 
 Another important consideration will be your health ; 
 also the character of the captain who may be left in
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 161 
 
 charge of tlie capital, should the King go himself to 
 the Biintooko war. Your personal safety is out of the 
 question at present, but should the least doubt arise in 
 your own mind hereafter, you must consult the 
 Governor's solicitude rather than your own spirit. 
 
 You see the necessity of keeping in with the Moors ; 
 the flattering their intelligence is most conducive to 
 this, and also elicits valuable information. 
 
 I shall afford you a perusal of the despatch of the 
 Committee, and the instructions of the Governor-in- 
 Chief, to perfect the present. 
 
 I have directed Mr. Tedlie to leave you a supply ol 
 medicines, and you will take charge of the Eesident's 
 flag. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 (Signed) T. Edwaed Bowdich. 
 
 Baba had a great number of Arabic manuscripts ; I 
 have preserved a leaf finely illuminated. Apokoo 
 astonished us by offering to lend us some books to 
 read ; he showed us two French volumes on Geography, 
 a Dutch Bible, a volume of the Spectator , and a 
 " Dissuasion from Popery, 1620.''' It was gratifying to 
 recollect that this chief, now become so much attached 
 to us, was the man mentioned in our early despatches 
 as snatching Mr. Tedlie's sword from him on the 
 declaration of war, to make his oath against us the 
 more inveterate. Telling the King one day that Mr. 
 Hutchison's and Mr. Tedlie's countries, Scotland and 
 Ireland, were formerly distinct from mine, he begged 
 directly to hear specimens of the different languages,
 
 162 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 and was reluctantly persuaded' that it was tlie policy 
 of England to get rid of all national distinctions 
 between lier subjects. Apokoo was very fond of 
 scribbling, and witli a smile frequently begged to 
 know what lie had written. They could not com- 
 prehend how any hieroglyphic that was not a picture 
 could express an object. My name, said the King, is 
 not like me. He was rather uneasy at my sketching ; 
 the Moors, he hinted, had insinuated that I could place 
 a spell on the buildings I drew. I told him, without 
 drawings, the people in England could not be convinced 
 that I had visited him; he appeared satisfied, and 
 begged to be drawn handsome. 
 
 There are only four direct descendants now living of 
 the noble families which accompanied the emigration 
 of Sa'i Tootoo, the founder of the Ashantee monarchy ; 
 none of them are wealthy, and Assaphi, who is one, is a 
 beggar wandering in the bush, having been disgraced 
 from the highest favour for the following fraud. An 
 old linguist of the former King's (Sai Quamina) having 
 died at a distant croom, the King, according to custom, 
 sent Assaphi with four periguins of gold, and a quantity 
 of expensive cloths and mats to bury him ; Assaphi 
 kept the gold, and substituted inferior cloths of his 
 own. The wife urged the great and zealous services of 
 her husband to Sai Quamina, and her indignation at 
 such a mean acknowledgment as the King had sent. 
 Assaphi returned, reported her gratitude, and that 
 everything had been handsomely done to the credit of 
 the King. The wife privately dug up the cloths buried 
 with the corpse, and suspecting the fraud, secretly 
 conveyed them to the King with a full account. The
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 163 
 
 King sent for Assaphi, and again inquiring the par- 
 ticulars, with seeming indifference^ suddenly required 
 him to swear to the truth, which he advanced to do_, when 
 the King said "No ! you must not swear/'' and the 
 woman was immediately discovered to him with all the 
 cloths. He then confessed the particulars, was stripped 
 of everything, and is now the more despised for not 
 killing himself; and the King could not put him to 
 death, as the direct descendant of one of Sai Tootoo^s 
 peers. Part of the King^s reproach to him was curious : 
 '^ My brother^s linguist did him great good, so when 
 he and my brother, who now live with God, make God 
 recollect all, and tell him the shame you put on him for 
 me in so burying him, God will kill me."*^ 
 
 A man and a woman were beheaded on the 1 7th of 
 this month for an intrigue, the woman was very 
 handsome, and the wife of a captain : on their being 
 suspected, both were ordered to drink doom, which 
 choking them, they were immediately executed. The 
 King^s sister sent for Mr. Tedlie to go and see her : he 
 inquired into her complaint and recommended some 
 medicine, which she very thankfully agreed to take ; 
 he prepared some for her, and went to give her the 
 proper directions, upon which she handed the cup to 
 her husband, who beginning to swallow it very fast, 
 Mr. Tedlie stopped him, and said he had only prepared 
 sufficient for one person ; the lady replied, " Let him 
 drink this to-day, and I can have more to-morrow j^"* 
 he told her that he had very little medicine, and could 
 not afford to give it to people that were in good health ; 
 she did not appear pleased with this reasoning. A 
 man of Assiminia, who had received medicine and 
 
 If 2
 
 164 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 advice from Mr. Tedlie on our marcli up, sent him a 
 third present about this time, of fruit, vegetables, and 
 wild deer, with the account that he was quite well. 
 
 Apokoo inquired very anxiously why the King of 
 England had not sent one of his sons with the presents 
 to the King of Ashantee. He said he had himself 
 conquered five nations during the present and the 
 preceding reign, and he named twenty-one nations 
 which now paid tribute to Ashantee ; but he added, 
 there were three countries which would not, two 
 eastward, and one to the north-west ; each of those 
 eastward had defeated the Ashantees ; the one north- 
 westward, on the King sending for tribute, desired 
 that he would come and take it, and afterwards entirely 
 destroyed an Ashantee army. 
 
 AKEOFEOOii, Sept. 2Qt7i, 1817. 
 John Hope Smith, Esq., Governor-in- Chief, ^-c. 8fc. 8fc. 
 
 Sir, — The King only availed himself of our detention 
 to introduce us to fresh ceremonies, and to augment the 
 testimonies of his friendship. The Amissa palaver was 
 not attempted, and nothing like design has disclosed 
 itself. 
 
 On the Monday there was a general assembly of the 
 caboceers and captains, the King of Dwabin being 
 present with his linguists, also several Dagwumba 
 caboceers, and the Moorish dignitaries. The King 
 announced the execution of the Treaty by himself and 
 the deputies, and impressed in a long speech through 
 his linguists, that he would visit the least ofifence
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 165 
 
 agaiust it with tlie greatest severity. I was tliea 
 requested to read it for the last time, and the King^s 
 duplicate was executed in a similar manner. 
 
 In the evening, the King gave us our last audience 
 before all his superior captains : a letter was dictated, 
 which I shall present to you on my arrival ; and Adoo- 
 cee, the chief linguist, was formally deputed to receive 
 Mr. Hutchlson^s hand from me and to place it in 
 the King^s, who received it with a solemn avowal of his 
 responsibility for the charge. The linguist then pre- 
 sented from the King, 
 
 To the Government, four boys for education. 
 
 To the British Museum, six specimens of the gold- 
 smithes work. (I had interested the King by my 
 account of this national repository.) 
 
 To the Governor-in- Chief, one boy, one girl, to be 
 brought up in his service. 
 
 To Mr. Bowdich, one boy, one girl, and 2 oz. 6 ac. 
 of gold. 
 
 Mr. Tedlie, one boy, and I oz. 4 ac. of gold. 
 Accra linguist, one cloth . . 10 ditto. 
 Cape Coast linguists, two cloths, 10 ditto. 
 De Graaff^s messenger . . .10 ditto. 
 The officers' servants . . . .10 ditto. 
 
 The soldiers 10 ditto. 
 
 I afterwards received a Sarem cloth and some trifles as 
 a further dash fromApokoo; one sheep, &c., &c., from 
 Baba the chief of the Moors ; and fifteen ackies of gold 
 from the King's linguists, with their acknowledgments 
 of my firmness during the negotiation. 
 
 The King having a palaver at present with the 
 WarsawSj objected so strongly to our returning through
 
 166 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 tlieir territoiy^ tliat after one or two attempts to over- 
 rule his appreliensions, I found it would be imprudent 
 to persevere in the wish^ although the disappointment 
 was great ; the King assured me the Warsaw path was 
 two days longer^ and that he will not spare any labour 
 on that of Assin directly after the war. I had permis- 
 sion to go some miles on the Warsaw path, to convince 
 myself of its neglected condition. 
 
 The King's favourite son (a child about five years 
 old), whom he had dressed in our uniform for the 
 occasion, was so alarmed at the idea of being given over 
 to us, that the King's feelings obliged him to promise 
 me that he would send the children after me ; he is too 
 jealous of the advantages to allow those of his great 
 men to participate, until his own family are first distin- 
 guished by them. 
 
 The King supplied me with bearers, and pressed me 
 to take six hammock-men in case of sickness ; he would 
 not hear of pay for any, and persisted in appointing one 
 of his captains to take care of us. He yielded the point 
 of an escort reluctantly, which I had combated from 
 the consideration of the expense of a present to such a 
 number. The King requested me on taking leave to 
 wait a short time until his captains had distributed the 
 powder to salute us on our departure, audit being then 
 dark, to proceed no farther than a small croom just 
 beyond the marsh, where the people should join us in 
 the morning. The King and his captains were seated 
 by torchlight with all their insignia without the palace, 
 and we quitted the capital, preceded by the King's 
 banners, discharges of musketry, and every flattering 
 distinction that could be thought of.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 167 
 
 The King has provided one of the best houses for 
 Mr. Hutchison_, very superior to any we could have 
 raised at so short a notice, and has anticipated every- 
 thing to make him comfortable and respected ; nothing 
 could be more considerate or kind than his speech to 
 him on my taking leave. 
 
 A messenger of the King of Dwabin^s accompanies 
 me for a suit of our uniform for the King^s wear, which 
 I could not refuse. 
 
 I am, &c., &G.y 
 (Signed) T. Edward Bowdich. 
 
 CooMASSiE, September 22nd, 1817. 
 
 Sai Tootoo Quamina, King of Ashantee, ^c, to John 
 Hope Smith_, Esquire, Governor-in- Chief , Sfc. Sfc. Sfc. 
 
 SiE_, — We are from this time forth good friends^ and 
 I shall send all the trade I can to Cape Coast Castle, 
 and I hope that you will by-and-by have confidence in 
 my word. 
 
 I beg you will send my best compliments to the 
 King of England, and accept them yourself in proof 
 of my satisfaction of the purposes of the Embassy and 
 its happy termination. 
 
 You will call all the Fantee caboceers before you, 
 and impress the importance of the Treaty, and exact 
 their respect of it as I have from all my great men and 
 caboceers. 
 
 I hope you will always act towards me as a friend, 
 and I shall always be ready to protect and support the 
 British interests.
 
 168 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 I wisli you health and happiness, and all my captains 
 send their best compliments to you. 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 The mark ><j of Sai Tootoo Quamina. 
 Present, 
 W. Hutchison. 
 Henry Tedlie. 
 I will thank you to impress on the King of England 
 that I have sworn not to renew the war with the Fan- 
 tees out of respect to him, and I shall consider them 
 as his people. I hope, therefore, he will in turn con- 
 sider if he cannot renew the slave trade, which will 
 be good for me. 
 
 I hope the King of England will now let all foreign 
 vessels come to the Coast to trade, and you must say 
 that the path is now clear to do as much English trade 
 as your supplies will allow. 
 
 The following letter was sent after me to Doompassie : — 
 
 CooMASSiE, 23rd September, 1817. 
 
 John Hope Smith, Esquire, Governor-in-Chief, 
 8fc. 8fc. ^x. 
 
 Sir, — The King of Ashantee desires me to request 
 you will write to all the Governors of English forts on 
 the African Coast, to order the caboceers of each town 
 to send a proper person to Cape Coast, and that you 
 will add one messenger yourself, that they may all 
 proceed to Coomassie to take the King^s fetish in his 
 presence, that none may plead ignorance of the Treaty 
 concluded between his Majesty and the British nation.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 169 
 
 The King wishes me to express that he is fully satis- 
 fied with the objects of the mission,, and that the Treaty 
 may be read by me to all the Fantee deputies you may 
 send for that purpose. 
 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 (Signed) W, Hutchison. 
 
 My last private letters from Cape Coast Castle had 
 imposed the most painful anxiety ; the two lives natu- 
 rally beyond all others the dearest to me, were immi- 
 nently endangered by the seasoning illness of the 
 country; one yielded to it before I could arrive, yet, 
 under all the impatience of my affliction, I must confess, 
 when I took the King^s hand for the last time, when I 
 reflected on the benevolence, the solicitude, and the 
 generosity I had experienced whilst my life was in his 
 hands, affected by the most untoward and irritating 
 political circumstances, by the aggravated suspicions 
 of his chiefs, and by the poisonous jealousy of the 
 Moors, there was a painful gratification in the retrospect, 
 which blended the wish to linger another hour in 
 listening to acknowledgments of esteem and obligation, 
 more affecting than flattering, and enhanced by the 
 consoling reflection, that they were the natural emotions 
 of one of those monarchs we are pleased to call barba- 
 rians. Night was coming on, but as I had so positively 
 declared before the King and his council, on the former 
 occasion, that nothing should deter me from keeping 
 my word in quitting Coomassie on this day, it would 
 not do to delay even until the morning. A strict 
 observance of your word is everything in the eye of a
 
 170 MISSION TO ASIIANTEE. 
 
 Negro. The King said^ lie would not beg me to stay, 
 as I liad declared I dared not ; he would only ask me 
 to go no farther than Ogogoo that night, and his people 
 should join me early in the morning. Our exit was a 
 brilliant scene, from the reflection of the glittering 
 ornaments of the King and his captains by the torches ; 
 they were seated in a deep and long line, without the 
 palace, accompanied by their retinues ; all their bands 
 burst forth together, as we saluted the King in passing, 
 and we were enveloped in the smoke of the musketry. 
 The darkness of the forest was an instantaneous and 
 awful contrast, and the howlings and screeches of the 
 wild beasts, startled us as we groped our way, as if we 
 had never heard them before. The torches provided 
 for our protection against them were extinguished in 
 crossing the marsh, which had swollen to between four 
 and five feet deep, and the descent to it from Coomassie 
 was rocky and abrupt. The linguists and soldiers lost 
 themselves in the forest, and did not arrive at Ogogoo 
 until long after Mr. Tedlie and myself. The inhabitants 
 were asleep, but they rose cheerfully, cleared the best 
 house for us, and made fires. The next morning I 
 received the dash of gold from the King's linguists, in 
 a Mallowa bag, with along compliment ; the conclusion 
 of which was, that I must always be ready to use the 
 same spirit and address, in talking a palaver for the 
 King of Ash ant ee, as I had shown in talking that of 
 my own King. This testimony of their good feeling 
 and esteem, which they could not avow whilst we were 
 political antagonists, was grateful. 
 
 Marching through Sarrasoo, where we were liberally 
 refreshed with palm wine, we halted in the evening at
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 171 
 
 Assiminia. We were received with gi^eat hospitality 
 by the principal man^ who provided us with excellent 
 lodgings to his own inconvenience^ and presented us 
 with some fowls. The path was almost a continued bog, 
 for the rainy season had set in violently. The next day 
 we marched through Dadasey to Doompassie^ and 
 occupied our former comfortable dwelhng. One party 
 spent the night in the woods. Thursday morning, the 
 6th_, we had a short but most fatiguing march over the 
 mountains dividing the frontiers_, to Moisee, the first 
 Assin town. The difficulty of procuring provisions 
 until the people returned from the plantations, detained 
 .us in Moisee until four o^clock in the evening. As the 
 stage from Doompassie had been short (although 
 fatiguing), I determined to proceed to Akrofroom, as we 
 should gain a day by it. The Ashantees remonstrated, 
 knowing the swollen state of the several small rivers, 
 and the aggravated difficulties of the path from the 
 heavy rain; but I was so apprehensive of being detained, 
 by their pleading their superstitious observance of good 
 and bad days for travelling, that I was afraid of seeming 
 to yield to them, lest it might encourage the disposition. 
 I recommended them to go back, and started without 
 them, but they were soon at my heels, declaring they 
 should lose their heads if they quitted us. Mr. Tedlie, 
 myself, a soldier, and the Ashantee next in authority 
 under the captain, outwalked the rest of the party, 
 and found ourselves out of their hearing when it grew 
 dark. We lost some time in trying to make torches to 
 keep off the beasts, and to direct us in the right track, 
 for we were walking through a continued bog, and had 
 long before lost our shoes. A violent tornado ushered
 
 172 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 in the night, we could not liear eacli otlier holloa, and 
 were soon separated ; luckily I found I had one person 
 left with me (the Ashantee) who, after I had groped 
 him out, tying his cloth tight round his middle, gave me 
 the other end, and thus plunged along, pulling me after 
 him, through bogs and rivers, exactly like an owl tied 
 to a duck in a pond. The thunder, the darkness, and 
 the howlings of the wild beasts were awful, but the loud 
 and continuing crash of a large tree, which fell very 
 near us during the storm, was even more so to my ear. 
 The Ashantee had dragged me along, or rather through, 
 in this manner until I judged it to be midnight, when, 
 quite exhausted, with the remnants of my clothes 
 scarcely hanging together, I let go his cloth, and 
 falling on the ground, was asleep before I could call 
 out to him. I was awoke, by this faithful guide, who 
 had felt me out, and seated me on the trunk of a tree, 
 with my head resting on his shoulder ; he gave me to 
 understand I must die if I sat there, and we pursued 
 the duck and owl method once more. In an hour we 
 forded the last river, which had swollen considerably 
 above my chin, and spread to a great width. This last 
 labour I considered final, and my drowsiness became so 
 fascinating, that it seemed to beguile me of every 
 painful thought and apprehension, and the yielding to 
 it was an exquisite, though momentary pleasure. I 
 presume I must have slept above an hour, lifted by this 
 humane man from the bank of the river to a drier 
 corner of the forest, more impervious to the torrents of 
 rain; when, being awoke, I was surprised to see him 
 with a companion and a torch ; he took me on his back, 
 and in about three quarters of an hour we reached
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 173 
 
 Akrofroom. This man knew I carried about me several 
 ounces of gold, for tlie subsistence of tlie people,, not 
 trusting to our luggage, which we could not reckon on 
 in such a season and journey. Exhausted and insensible, 
 my life was in his hands, and infested as the forest was 
 with wild beasts, he might after such a night, without 
 suspicion, have reported me as destroyed by them ; this 
 had occurred to me and was an uneasy feeling as long 
 as my torpor left me any. It was about two o^clock in 
 the morning, and the inhabitants of Akrofroom were 
 almost all asleep, for it was too rude a night for Negro 
 revelry ; however, I was directly carried to a dry and 
 clean apartment, furnished with a brass pan full of 
 water to wash in, some fruits and palm wine, an excel- 
 lent bed of mats and cushions, and an abundance of 
 country cloths to wrap around me, for I was all but 
 naked. After 1 had washed, I rolled myself up in the 
 cloths, one after the other, until I became a gigantic 
 size, and by a profuse perspiration escaped any other ill 
 than a slight fever. A soldier came up about mid-day, 
 and gave me some hopes of seeing Mr. Tedhe again, 
 who arrived soon afterwards, having left his companions 
 in a bog, waiting until he sent them assistance from the 
 town. Our gratification was mutual, for the only trace 
 he had had of me was by no means an encouraging 
 one j my servant meeting an Ashantee in the forest 
 with fragments of my clothes, which he persisted he had 
 not taken from any person, but picked up on his way. 
 Mr. Tedlie (whose feet were cut and bruised much more 
 than mine, and whose wretched plight made him envy 
 the African toga I had assumed) after we had separated, 
 and the storm had drowned our mutual holloaings, the
 
 ] 74 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 liowlings of tlie wild beasts meeting his ears on all sides, 
 had just determined to roost in a tree for the night, 
 when an Ashantee appeared with a torch, and conducted 
 him out of the track to the remains of a shed, where 
 four or five of the people had before strayed and settled 
 themselves. Another party arrived at Akrofroom about 
 four o'clock, and the last, with the Cape Coast linguist 
 and the corporal, not until sunset ; they had lost the 
 track altogether, and spent the whole day, as well as the 
 previous night, in the woods. We made an excellent 
 duck soup, our grace to which was, ^' What a luxury to 
 poor Mungo Park ! '' the name recalled sufferings which 
 made us laugh at our own as mere adventures. 
 
 On Saturday the 8th we marched to Asharamang. 
 Here we found great difficulties in getting provisions 
 until the Ashantees came up, for Quamina Bwa's knavery 
 had been ascribed to us ; and here, panyaring all we 
 required, he had not given the inhabitants a tokoo of 
 the gold. At length we were well supplied and comfort- 
 ably lodged. The next day we marched through Kicki- 
 wherree to Prasoo, where we occupied a good house, 
 and an Ashantee captain proceeding on an embassy, 
 dashed us a supply of fowls and yams. We crossed the 
 Boosempra early the next morning, and thence began 
 to leave the rains behind us. Persevering in making 
 but one journey of the distances which occupied us two 
 and three days going up, we pressed forward, passing 
 by our former bivouacs in the woods, scarcely dis- 
 tinguishable, until we reached the site of Accomfodey, 
 for only one hut now remained ; the wretched inhabi- 
 tants having deserted it in terror of the Ashantees. 
 The solitary Fantee who occupied it, had the address to
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 175 
 
 assure me, that I should find mucli better lodging at 
 Ancomassa, wliere we recollected to have left some 
 comfortable huts going up, and we resolved to try 
 another stage, and were recompensed by finding scarcely 
 a wreck of the place, and some tattered sheds only 
 instead of the sound roof we had quitted. We pro- 
 ceeded early the next morning, passed Foosou, which 
 was entirely deserted, and marched until we found 
 ourselves at sunset on the banks of the Aniabirrim. 
 The people were all behind, and the Ashantees coming 
 up about an hour afterwards, informed us they had 
 settled themselves for the night about two hours^ walk 
 distant. Unfortunately we had no flint, and after fasting 
 all day, we had the mortification of losing our supper 
 merely for want of a fire ; the wood was all so wet that 
 friction had no efi*ect on it, we could find no shelter, and 
 a heavy rain set in as it grew dark ; fatigue luckily 
 beguiled us of cold and hunger, and of our apprehensions 
 of a visit from the beasts, who were howling about the 
 banks of their watering place. I wrapped myself up in 
 the Inta cloth Apokoo had given me, and wet as the 
 ground was, I never slept better. Hence the forest 
 visibly declined in height towards the coast. We 
 pressed on by daylight, found some excellent guavas 
 to allay our hunger, and reaching Mansue, made a good 
 soup of our fowls, peppers growing luxuriantly all 
 around us. We waited until we heard of the people 
 behind us, and then proceeded; about five in the 
 evening I reached Cottacoomacasa, with the Dwabin 
 messenger only. The place was deserted, and a body 
 of Ashantee traders had occupied the remaining shed. 
 I would not disturb them, but waiting until sunset
 
 176 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 for Mr. Tedlie, I left Mm a supply of guavas, and pro- 
 ceeded to Payntree. Tliere was a charm in the name 
 of that place, being but one journey from the sea, 
 superior to the recollection of the former night^s ad- 
 venture. It was a brilliant night, and the dark gloom 
 and hollow echoes of the long vistas of the forest, 
 formed a fine contrast to the extensive areas (sites 
 of large Fantee crooms destroyed by the Ashantees) 
 into which we frequently emerged. The wild music 
 and cheerful revelry of the inhabitants of Payntree 
 stole upon my ear, and raised the tone of my spirits in 
 proportion as the sounds strengthened. 
 
 A loud and continued shout warned me that I was 
 announced ; torches and music instantly encircled me, 
 and I was conducted to old Payntree^s residence, who 
 had built himself a new house somewhat in the Ashantee 
 fashion. An excellent bed was prepared for me of an 
 accumulation of mats and country cloths, and a famous 
 supper of soups, stews, fruit, and palm wine. Quamina 
 Bootaqua paid his respects, and old Payntree, Amooney 
 King of Annamaboe, and two or three other caboceers, 
 unknown to me, made a long adulatory speech, compli- 
 menting my ability, bewailing my hardships, and 
 magnifying their obligations. I was requested to seat 
 myself on old Payntree's state stool, whilst they stood 
 around me, and he begged me to listen to an air com- 
 posed by his band on the occasion of the embassy, and 
 its successful termination ; '^ All would now be well, and 
 Fantee revive and flourish." I sat up till midnight, 
 vainly expecting Mr. Tedlie and the soldiers ; they 
 awoke me by their arrival before sunrise ; they 
 had passed the night in a sound hut, on the path.
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 177 
 
 whicli from the want of a torch had escaped my 
 notice. 
 
 Hearing, as I expected, that there was a path from 
 Payntree to Cape Coast Castle^ avoiding Annamaboe 
 (whence the mission had departed), I determined to 
 explore it, and Pajmtree furnished me with a guide. 
 The country was beautifully diversified with hill and 
 dale, but the soil was generally lighter and more 
 gravelly than that between Annamaboe and Payntree. 
 We passed through several groves of guava trees, and 
 all the other tropical fruits abounded. Occasionally 
 there were small plantations of Guinea corn, where a 
 few wretched Fantees still lurked in the ruins of the 
 crooms the Ashantees had destroyed. We passed 
 through eleven which had been considerable, and now 
 presented but a few mud-houses scattered over exten- 
 sive sites. Their names were Assequah, Daooramong'_, 
 Amparoo, Taachoo, Coorikirraboo, Perridjoo, Abikar- 
 rampa, Aquoitee, Miensa, and Amosima. The only 
 water was near Amparoo ; it was a large pond nearly 
 two miles in circumference, and sixty yards broad, 
 impregnated with vegetable matter. After travelling 
 fifteen miles, we climbed some very steep and rocky 
 hills, apparently of iron stone_, and descended into a 
 flat country, continuing until a small rising about two 
 miles from Cape Coast Castle (which I judged to be 
 twenty miles from Payntree by this interior path) 
 opened the sea to our view ; as delightful to our sight 
 as land would have been after a prolonged and perilous 
 voyage. The shouts and greetings of the natives were 
 a grateful introduction to the more congenial congratu- 
 lations of our countrymen. 
 
 N
 
 PART IL 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 TO speak of the death of a former King, the Ashantees 
 imagine to affect the life of the present equally with 
 inquiring who would be his successor ; and superstition and 
 policy strengthening this impression, it is made capital by the 
 law to converse either of the one or the other. The inability of 
 the natives to compute time, and the comparatively recent 
 establishment of the !Moors, may be pleaded as additional 
 apologies for the imperfect history I have collected. 
 
 According to a common tradition, which I never heard 
 contradicted but once, the Ashantees emigrated from a 
 country nearer the water-side, and subjecting the western 
 Intas, and two lesser powers, founded the present kingdom. 
 These people being comparatively advanced in several arts, 
 the Ashantees necessarily adopted a portion of their language 
 with the various novelties ; which probably created the 
 limited radical difference between their language and that of 
 the Fantees ; for I could not find, after taking the greatest 
 pains, more than 200 words unknown to the latter. The 
 weights of the Inta country, in particular, were adopted with 
 their names, by the conquerors, without the least alteration. 
 
 N 2
 
 180 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 The tradition, scanty in itself, is very cautiously adverted 
 to, the Government politically undermining every monument 
 which perpetuates their intrusion, or records the distinct 
 origins of their subjects : but, from the little I could collect, 
 it appeared to have been an emigration of numerous enter- 
 prising or discontented families, to whom the parent state 
 afterwards became subject. I am inclined to think (the 
 account of their coming from a country nearer the sea being 
 too general for conjecture to revolt from) that they emigrated 
 from the eastward of south, where the territory admitted to 
 be Ashantee Proper is remote, compared with its extent 
 southward, or westward of south, and the former consequence 
 of Doompassie, and the towns eastward of it, support this : 
 yet the very few natives who pretended to any opinion on 
 the subject, had an impression that their ancestors emigrated 
 from the neighbourhood of a small river, Ainshue, behind 
 Winnebah : a croom called Coomadie is to be found there, 
 but there is nothing else to countenance the report. 
 
 The Ashantee, Fantee, AYarsaw, Akim, Assin, and Aqua- 
 pim languages are indisputably dialects of the same root ; 
 their identity is even more striking than that of the dialects 
 of the ancient Greek. Now the Fantees and Warsaws both 
 cherish a tradition, which exists also in many Ahanta fami- 
 lies, that they were pressed from the interior to the water- 
 side by the successful ambition of a remote power ; whence 
 it may be concluded, that the Ashantee emigration we are 
 now considering, was posterior to a more important move- 
 ment of the whole people, corresponding with that of their 
 neighbours. I will not dilate upon this secondary subject 
 by referring to internal evidence ; there is nothing to recom- 
 pense either the investigation or the perusal. 
 
 One curious evidence, however, may be added of the 
 former identity of the Ashantee, Warsaw, Fantee, Akim, 
 Assin, Aquamboe, and part of the Ahanta nations ; which is
 
 HISTORY. 181 
 
 a tradition that the whole of these people were originally 
 comprehended in twelve tribes or families ; the Aquonna 
 Abrootoo, Abbradi, Essonna, Aimona, Yoko, Intchwa, 
 Abadie, Appiadie, Tchweedam, Agoona, and Doomina ; in 
 which they class themselves still, without any regard to 
 national distinction. For instance, Ashantees, Warsaws, 
 Akims, Ahantas, or men of any of the nations before men- 
 tioned, will severally declare that they belong to the Annona 
 family ; other individuals of the different countries, that they 
 are of the Tchweedam family ; and when this is announced 
 on meeting, they salute each other as brothers. The King 
 of Ashantee is of the Annona family, so was our Accra and 
 one of the Fantee linguists ; Amanquatea is of the Essonna 
 family. The Aquonna, Essonna, Intchwa, and Tchweedam, 
 are the four patriarchal families, and preside over the inter- 
 mediate ones, which are considered as the younger branches. 
 I have taken some pains to acquire the etymology of these 
 words, but with imperfect success ; it requires much labour 
 and patience, both to make a native comprehend, and to be 
 comprehended by him. Quonna is a buffalo, an animal 
 forbade to be eaten by that family. Abrootoo signifies a 
 corn stalk, and Abbradi a plantain. Annona is a parrot, 
 but it is also said to be a characteristic of forbearance and 
 patience. Esso is a bush cat, forbidden food to that family. 
 Yoko is the red earth used to paint the lower parts of the 
 houses in the interior. Intchwa is a dog, much relished by 
 native epicures, and therefore a serious privation. Appiadie 
 signifies a servant race. Etchwee is a panther, frequently 
 eaten in the interior, and therefore not unnecessarily for- 
 bidden. Agoona signifies a place where palm oil is collected. 
 These are all the etymologies in which the natives agree. 
 Regarding these families as pjima^val institutions, I leave 
 the subject to the conjectures of others, merely submitting 
 that the four patriarchal families, the buffalo, the bush cat,
 
 182 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 the panther, and the dog, appear to record the first race 
 of men living on hunting; the dog family, probably, first 
 training that animal to assist in the chase. The introduction 
 of planting and agriculture seems marked in the age of their 
 immediate descendants, the corn stalk and plantain branches. 
 The origin and improvement of architecture in the red earth ; 
 and of commerce, probably, in the palm oil ; indeed, the 
 natives have included the Portuguese, the first foreign traders 
 they knew in that family, alleging that their long and more 
 intimate intercourse with the blacks has made the present 
 race a mixture of the African and Portuguese. The servant 
 race reminds us of the curse of Canaan. This resembles a 
 Jewish institution, but the people of Accra alone practise 
 circumcision, and they speak a language, as will be shown, 
 radically distinct, yet not to be assimilated to the Inta, to 
 which nation they are referred by the Pantees, merely because 
 it is the nearest which practises circumcision. Accra is a 
 European corruption of the word Inkran, which means an 
 ant, and they say the name was either given or assumed on 
 account of their numbers ; this must have been before their 
 wars with the Aquamboes. 
 
 AVhen Adokoo, chief of the Braffoes, a Pantee nation, 
 consulted the venerable fetish men of the sanctuary, near 
 Sooprooroo, on the Ashantee war, they answered that 
 nothing could be more offensive to the fetish than the 
 Pantees preventing the peaceable intercourse of their inland 
 neighbours with the water-side, because they were formerly 
 all one family. 
 
 The conduct of the later emigration of the Ashantees is 
 ascribed to Sai Tootoo, who, assisted by other leading men of 
 the party, and encouraged by superstitious omens, founded 
 Coomassie, and was presented with the stool, or made King, 
 from his superior qualifications. This account is supported 
 by the mixed nature of the government, founded on equality
 
 HISTORY. 183 
 
 and obligation, and the existence of a law, exempting the 
 direct descendants of any of Sai Tootoo's peers and assistants 
 (in whom the Aristocracy originated) from capital punish- 
 ment. 
 
 The Dwabin monarchy is said to have been founded at the 
 same time by Boitinnij, who was of the same family as Sai 
 Tootoo, being the sons of sisters. Boitinne and his party 
 took possession of Dwabin, the largest of the aboriginal 
 towns (leaving Sai Tootoo to build Coomassie), whence it 
 seems his followers were the more powerful ; indeed, I have 
 heard it confessed by a few Ashantees, that Dwabin had 
 formerly the pre-eminence, though they have always been 
 firm allies in war, and equal sharers in spoil and conquest. 
 This common interest, preserved uninterrupted more than a 
 century by two rising powers close to each other, with the 
 view of a more rapid aggrandizement, and their firm discretion 
 in making many serious disagreements subservient to the 
 policy, is one of the few circumstances worth considering in 
 a history composed of wars and successions. I do not think 
 there is such an instance in our heptarchy, nor do I recollect 
 any other in history, but that of Chalcis and Eretria. 
 
 Bakkee, who died, as I have related,^ about a year ago, was 
 the son of Sai Apokoo, the second king, and an infant at the 
 breast at the time of his father's death ; he was a very old 
 man when he incurred the present King's displeasure, which 
 supports the report of the Moors, that the kingdom has been 
 founded about 110 years. Bosnian and Barbot mention the 
 Ashantees, as just heard of by Europeans, about the year 
 1700, which confirms this account. The anxiety of the 
 Ashantee Government for daily records immediately on the 
 establishment of the Moors, who were only visitors until the 
 present reign, acknowledges the perplexities and dificiencies 
 
 1 See Diary.
 
 184 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 of their early history too candidly to leave any encouragement 
 to the researches of strangers. Kecords beyond half a cen- 
 tury are not to be found in the archives either of Cape 
 Coast or Cliristiansburg Castles, so that the chronology can 
 only be founded on that of the Moors, and circumstances. 
 
 The Ashantee Government concentred the mass of its 
 original force, and making the chiefs resident in Coomassie 
 .and the few large towns they built in its neighbourhood 
 with titular dignities, conciliated those whom they subdued 
 by continuing them in their governments, and checked them 
 by exacting their frequent attendance at festivals politically 
 instituted. Military command seems to have been the sole 
 prerogative of Sai Tootoo ; his judicial and legislative power 
 being controlled by the chiefs or aristocracy much more than 
 at present, who, as in the Teutonic governments, directed 
 th« common business of the state, only consulting a general 
 assembly on extraordinary occasions. 
 
 Sai Tootoo defeated the Akims and Assins, subjected the 
 Tufel country, and subdued many small states in the neigh- 
 bourhood. He also conquered Dankara, the king of which, 
 Intim Dakarey, was so considerable a trader in slaves, that 
 the Dutch Governor-General paid him a monthly note from 
 liis own purse, and assisted him with two or three small 
 cannons and a few Europeans on the eve of the Ashantee 
 invasion : the former are now placed as trophies in Coomassie, 
 at the top of the street in which the mission was quartered. 
 Booroomwas subjugated soon after. 
 
 Sai Tootoo did not live to see all the streets of Coomassie 
 completed, for war being declared against Atoa, a district 
 betweem Akim and Assin, he invaded that country. The 
 chief of the Atoas, unable to face such a power, dexterously 
 insinuated his small force through the forest, until he reached 
 the rear of the Ashantee army, which the King was following 
 leisurely with a guard of a few hundred men, all of whom
 
 HISTORY. 185 
 
 were destroyed by the Atoas, who shot the king in his ham- 
 mock. This happening near a place called Cormantee (razed 
 to the ground in vengeance), and on a Saturday, the most 
 solemn oath of the Ashantees is, " By Saturday and Corman- 
 tee " (" Miminda Cormantee ") ; and no enterprise has since 
 heen undertaken on that day of the week. 
 
 1720. Sai AjDokoo, brother of Sai Tootoo, was next 
 placed on the stool. Had there been no brother, the sister's 
 son would have been the heir : this extraordinary rule of 
 succession, excluding all children but those of a sister, is 
 founded on the argument, that if the wives of the sons are 
 faithless, the blood of the family is entirely lost in the off- 
 spring, but should the daughters deceive their husbands it is 
 still preserved. 
 
 Sai Apokoo finished the building of Coomassie, and ex- 
 changed compliments with the King of Dahomey, since which 
 there has been no intercourse ; the latter, probably, as a 
 despotic monarch, did not wish to give his people any oppor- 
 tunity of contemplating the greater freedom of the Ashantee 
 Government. 
 
 Sai is the family name of the present race of kings, some 
 of their relatives bearing it as well. Innana is also the 
 cognomen of the kings of Dagwumba. 
 
 Apokoo invading the kingdom of Gaman, Abo, the King, 
 fled to Kong, whither the Ashantee army pursued him. The 
 Eang of Kong politically compelled Abo to meet his enemies 
 on the frontier, lest they might disturb a neutral king- 
 dom. 
 
 Abo being defeated, purchased a peace by presenting large 
 sums of gold to the various chiefs, and consenting to an 
 aimual tribute. Apokoo next subjected Takima, whence the 
 Fantees are said to have emigrated, and forced a second 
 emigration of the people to Gomawa, at the back of AVin- 
 nebah. He dispossessed the Akims of the English, Dutch,
 
 186 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 and Danish Accra notes.* The mortifying destruction of 
 European records, confines me to the report of the more 
 intelligent natives on the subject of these notes, who declare 
 that the people of Accra being deprived of them by the 
 fraud of the Akims, when they were assisted by them against 
 the Aquamboes, the Akims were in their turn obliged to 
 yield them to their conquerors the Ashantees. 
 
 Tribute being demanded from the neighbouring kingdom 
 of Dagwumba, a war ensued, and its troops were defeated. 
 The King of Dagwumba, convinced that his former reliance . 
 on a superior population was vain, from the military genius 
 of the Ashantees, and the commercial disposition of his -own 
 people, dispirited from their want of fire-arms,' prudently 
 invited a peace, before a more decisive defeat left him no 
 dignity, and his enemies no moderation for treating. As it 
 was, they still respected his resources, and were content to 
 secure him as as a tributary rather than exhaust their forces 
 in his subjugation, in the infancy of their kingdom. A 
 triumph in policy was in the view of the King of Dagwumba 
 equivalent to the small diminution of personal dignity ; and 
 at the expense of an inconsiderable tribute, he established a 
 commercial intercourse, which, his markets being regularly 
 supplied from the interior, was both an advantage and a 
 security to him from the great convenience to his warlike 
 neighbours, whose superstition, assenting to his great reputa- 
 tion for making saphies and for augury, would not only 
 
 2 See the explanatory list of words and the early dispatches in the 
 First Part. 
 
 3 Fire-arms are unknown to such of the nations on the south of the 
 Niger as the Shereef has visited ; and the reason which he assigns for 
 it is, that the kings in the neighbourhood of the coast, persuaded that 
 if these powerful instruments of war should reach the possession of the 
 populous inland states their own independence would be lost, have 
 strictly prohibited, and by the wisdom of their measures have eflfec- 
 tually prevented this dangerous merchandise from passing beyond the 
 limits of their dominions. — Lucas.
 
 HISTORY. 187 
 
 augment his revenue, but insure him superior respect as a 
 tributary. Inta had previously become tributary. 
 
 I should have mentioned that every subject state vras 
 placed under the immediate care of some Ashantee chief, 
 generally resident in the capital, who seldom visited it but to 
 receive the tribute from the native ruler, for whose conduct 
 he was in a reasonable degree responsible. Thus Quatchi 
 Quofie has now the care of Dankara, Odumata of Soota, 
 Apokoo of Aquamboe, Ooosa Quantabisa of Daboia, &c., &c. 
 Their policy in short, not only in this particular, but in many 
 others, seems to have been closely similar to that of the 
 Persians, as described by Herodotus. 
 
 Boitinne, the founder of Dwabin, died in this reign. 
 
 1741. Sai Apokoo was succeeded by his brother Sa'i 
 Aquissi. I could not learn any particular exploits of his, 
 excepting that he preserved the subjection of the states 
 previously reduced. The King of Akim, in his time (the last 
 who had the power of governing without consulting the pynins 
 or elders), desii-ing to go to war with his neighbours, was 
 obliged to obtain permission from the Ashantee Government, 
 which he did by the promise of sending them half the spoil ; 
 but, gaining little or nothing, he did not do so. He soon 
 afterwards heard of Aquissi's intention to demand his head ; 
 and knowing the Bang's word was irrevocable, he summoned 
 his ministers, and desired to sacrifice his life for the quiet of 
 his people : his ministers insisted on sharing his fate, and a 
 barrel of powder being brought for each to sit on, they 
 drank a large quantity of rum, and blew themselves up with 
 the fire from their pipes. Dr. Isert also heard of this in 
 Akim. 
 
 1753. Aquissi was succeeded by Sai Cudjo. The Aris- 
 tocracy was retrenched and conciliated by this monarch, who 
 raised his favourite captains to the vacant stools,* uniting 
 
 * "To succeed to the stool," does not mean to the seat in the
 
 188 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 three or four in one, and swearing that their lives should 
 he equally sacred to anticipate any doubts of his fidelity to 
 the constitution. 
 
 Sai Cudjo, defeating the Warsaws and Assins more deci- 
 sively than his predecessors, first compelled them to acknow- 
 ledge their fealty to Ashantee. He also subjected Aquamboe 
 and Aquapim, quelled several revolts of other countries, and 
 was esteemed a very great captain. The grandfather of 
 Amanquatea Atooa conquered Sawee, killing the king Boo- 
 mencumma ; and Bakkee soon afterwards subjugated Moinsea.. 
 In this reign Quama, King of Dwabin, died. 
 
 1785. SaiQuamina succeeded his grandfather Sai Cudjo at 
 a very early age. The Akims revolted soon after his ac- 
 cession, under Ofoosoo, their most active ruler for many 
 years ; he engaged several smaller states in alliance, and 
 defeated the Ashantees repeatedly ; at length the treachery 
 of his followers procured Quatchi Quofie, the Ashantee 
 general, his head, with which he returned to Coomassie, 
 the country having again submitted. The fame of Ofoosoo 
 made Quatchi Quofie so vain of this achievement, that he 
 had a figure of him made, with which his umbrella is still 
 crowned, and before which he dances with every insulting 
 gesture and vaunt when he arrives on the ground at the various 
 ceremonies. The present King has frequently been heard 
 to say, that it was a great pity this old man did not know 
 better, for the Akim caboceers generally attended his summons 
 with alacrity and goodwill ; but the sight of the insulted 
 effigy of their favourite leader disgusted them, and excited 
 their revolt. These brave people have risen from their 
 dependence at least eight times. 
 
 The Government finding a pretext to invade Banda, the 
 
 council, but is the common expression for succeeding to a property 
 even in private life. The same stool or seat descends through many 
 generations.
 
 HISTORY. 189 
 
 King Odrasse vigorously opposed the Ashantee army; but 
 at length, seeing he must inevitably fall into their hands, 
 to prevent his head being found, which circumstance he_ 
 knew would sorely disquiet the enemy ^ and solace his own 
 people, ordered, just before he killed himself, a woman to be 
 sacrificed, and the abdomen being ripped, his head to be sewn 
 up within it, and her body afterwards to be buried in the 
 heap of the slain. It was discovered by bribes, and is now 
 on one of the King's great drums. Soota was also subjugated 
 in this reign, occupying the army under Odumata ten years, 
 during which period he was not allowed to see Coomassie. 
 Odumata afterwards subdued Coranza, the larger part of his 
 army being Gaman auxiliaries. 
 
 Sai Quamina raised Apokoo to the stool of Assimadoo, to 
 whom he had been a servant, in exclusion of the family. 
 
 The Danish Governor-General, meditating the punishment 
 
 ° On the death of the late King of Amanahea, two competitors for 
 the stool appeared, one called Suikee or Suiquah ; the other's name I 
 am ignorant of. Both collected their slaves and adherents, and 
 fought. Suikee was obliged to fly, and hide himself in the bush ; but 
 the people being dissatisfied with the conqueror, Suikee re-appeared 
 against the town. When his rival was reduced beyond all hope, he 
 threw all his gold, which filled several jars, into the lake ; and then 
 collecting his wives and the difiTerent branches of his family, went 
 with them into a remote part of the bush and cut all their throats, 
 with the exception of one son, whom he reserved to assist him in 
 burying the bodies. He then made this son swear on his fetish to kill 
 and bury him, and never to discover where the bodies were laid ; the 
 son fulfilled the oath and returned to Apollonia, but I am not certain 
 what became of him. After Suikee had seated himself firmly on the 
 stool, he by some means discovered where the bodies were concealed ; 
 he caused them to be dug up and taken to Apollonia town ; he then 
 ranged them in a sitting posture, in a row along the beach, with 
 stakes to extend their arms and support their heads : this horrid 
 spectacle was exhibited until even their bones had perished. One of 
 Suikee's first acts after his accession was to consecrate his hiding- 
 place in the bush, making it death, or a heavy fine, for any one to 
 swear by Suikee's bush, and not to keep the oath.
 
 190 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 of the Popos, applied to Sai Quamina for 5000 Ashantee 
 auxiliaries ; the request was granted, but while the troops were 
 on their march down the Governor died, and his successor 
 prudently paid 250 ounces of gold (alleged to have been 
 advanced by the King for their substinence on their march to 
 Christiansburg Castle), rather than involve himself in the 
 expenses and troubles of such an alliance. 
 
 1798. Sai Quamina had remained twelve months on a visit 
 at Dwabin, deaf to the remonstrances of various deputations 
 urging his return, and infatuated beyond recovery by the arts 
 of his mistress, Gyawa, the daughter of the King ; when it 
 was formally announced to him, that if he was not present at 
 the approaching Yam custom, he would be deprived of the 
 stool. It is said that this woman refused to accompany him 
 to Coomassie, either dreading the resentment of his mother, a 
 woman of violent passions and great ambition, or, which is 
 more probable, influenced by her father to mingle tliis 
 repugnance with her blandishments to accelerate the ruin of 
 Sai Quamina, which he was not mthout hopes might lead to 
 his own aggrandizement. The form of the dethronement is 
 interesting. Appia Danqua, whose power seems to have 
 been equal to that of mayor of the palace, repaired to the 
 King's mother with the chief captains, and deliberately 
 recounting the offences of her son, commanded her to remon- 
 strate with him, as the daughter of their old king, and the 
 parent to whom he owed his elevation. The mother, who 
 no doubt had assisted in the private council, affecting to 
 bewail her own misfortune and her son's disgrace, confessed, 
 Avith seeming reluctance, that her remonstrances had already 
 been despised, that the king had even attempted her life, and 
 begged them to raise her second son, Sai Apokoo, to the stool 
 the elder had forfeited. This was complied with, and they 
 sent Sai Quamina a few of his women and slaves, desiring 
 him to retire into the bush and build himself a croom, and on
 
 HISTOEY. 191 
 
 his death, which happened soon after, as it was said from the 
 poignancy of his feelings, they made the greatest custom for 
 him which had ever been known. The sable Cleopatra died 
 soon after him. It was whispered, that those he had formerly 
 injured incessantly insulting him in his retirement, even to 
 abusing his wives before his face, he had a private interview 
 with the present King, communicated several schemes of con- 
 quests, invoked him to distrust, and, if possible, to punish 
 those who had forsaken him, and implored death ; which was 
 inflicted (as the blood of the royal family could not be shed, 
 and as he could not be privately drowned in the sacred river) 
 by fixing his feet on the ground, bending his body backwards 
 with a prop in the small of his back, and suspending several 
 large teeth of ivory from a noose around his neck, which, 
 hanging from the prop, strangled him. 
 
 1799. Sai Apokoo did not live more than a few weeks 
 after being elevated to the stool, and was succeeded by his 
 brother, Sai Tootoo Quamina, the present King, who must 
 then have been about seventeen years of age. On this occa- 
 sion, the general assembly of the captains, jealous of the aris- 
 tocracy, and desirous of making a favourable impression on 
 the young King, insisted that the remaining members of it 
 should propitiate the reign by publicly disclaiming their 
 exemption from capital punishment. 
 
 The invasion of the Fantee kingdom in 1807 was the first 
 important military act of the present reign, the circumstances 
 and origin of which, being pretty accurately described by Mr. 
 Meredith in the extract in the Appendix, I need not repeat. 
 "Whilst the invasion was meditating, Baba, now the chief of 
 the Moors, presented himself to solicit an asylum in Coo- 
 massie, having been driven from Gamba by the rapacity of 
 the King, his near relative ; and professing solely to desire 
 the recovery of a large property withheld from him, to make 
 the King of Ashantee the heir to it. The King promised he
 
 192 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 would oblige the King of Gamba to do him justice on his 
 return from the Fantee war, if Baba and his companions were, 
 fortunate in their prayers and charms for his success. The 
 King of Gamba did not think proper to resist the demand 
 afterwards made through the Ashantee Government. 
 
 1807. Coonadua, the King's mother, was left regent during 
 his absence ; this woman was a second Messalina, and many 
 young captains wht) refused to intrigue with her, from fear or 
 disgust, have been ultimately the victims of her artifice and 
 vengeance. 
 
 Yaboquorra, the King of Dwabin, died in this interval, 
 and was succeeded by his grandson, Boitinne Quama, now 
 about twenty years of age. 
 
 1811. Attah, caboceer or King of Akim, had followed the 
 King to the first Fantee war, and behaved well. Apokoo 
 being sent on an expedition against the Fantees of Winne- 
 bah and Berracoo, Attah received orders to join him with his 
 contingency ; instead of which he sent a message to Apokoo, 
 before he passed the Boosempra river, refusing to join him, 
 and advising him not to attempt to pass through his country. 
 Apokoo reported this immediately to the King, who, as is 
 usual, sent to Attah to inquire if he had said so. He con- 
 fessed that he had, without hesitation, adding that the King 
 treated him like a slave in incessantly summoning him to 
 attend his wars ; and besides, that he never could forget that 
 Sai Cudjo had cut off his grandfather's head, and that he 
 would fight with Apokoo whenever he came. Soon after- 
 wards, Quamina Guma (the father of Becqua, captain of 
 Danish Accra), and one of the King's sons, returning to 
 Coomassie with a large quantity of gold collected to make 
 custom for the King's mother, Attah intercepted, robbed, 
 and murdered them and their party, with the exception of 
 one, whom he desired to tell the King that this act would 
 convince him he was in earnest, and determined to go to
 
 HISTORY. 193 
 
 war with him. Apokoo was immediately ordered to proceed 
 against Attah, who had engaged Quaw Saffatchee as a party 
 in the revolt, who was weary of the same laborious vassalage. 
 When Apokoo entered the Akim country, Attah was for 
 attacking him immediately, and at sunrise ; but Quaw im- 
 pressing his doubts of their succeeding against the superior 
 warfare of the Ashantees, begged him to stop until three 
 o'clock, when the Ashantees generally ate and slept, and 
 when they might be better able to retreat if worsted, as the 
 enemy never pursued in the dusk. The attack was a sur- 
 prise, but the fight continued obstinate and undecided until 
 night, when Apokoo found he had lost so many men that 
 he immediately despatched a messenger to summon the 
 Accras to his aid as vassals to the King. His messenger 
 reached Accra the next day, and that people joined him on 
 the following, on which the enemy retreated precipitately, 
 Attah to windward, and Quaw to Adda. Apokoo followed 
 the latter, who having escaped him after a tedious watch- 
 fulness, Apokoo, believing the Danish Governor, j\Ir. Flindt, 
 to have connived, made him his prisoner and kept him with 
 the army, which soon afterwards encamped in Aquapim five 
 months, during which time he was treated with kindness 
 and respect, but his ransom amounted to nearly .£'400. 
 Apokoo was soon after ordered back to Coomassie. He told 
 me he brought the bell of Adda fort as a trophy. 
 
 Appia Danqua had been sent, at the same time with 
 Apokoo, with 6000 men against tlie Fantee states, which 
 were disposed to the revolters. He defeated them at Apam, 
 and took Baffoo the Annamaboe caboceer prisoner; but 
 whilst his army was before Tantum, intelligence of the ap- 
 proach of Attah, who had retreated from Apokoo, but whose 
 name was as redoubtable as his disposition was rapacious, 
 subdued his firmness, and under the plea of prudence hurried 
 him back to the interior. 
 

 
 194 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 The path was afterwards shut for two years, through the 
 vigilance and from the terror of Cudjo Cooma, who had 
 been elected to the stool of Akim, six months after the death 
 of Attah, whose immediate successor (Quawko Ashantee) 
 tyrannized so cruelly during that period, that he was com- 
 manded by the people to kill himself, and could only obtain 
 the indulgence of a week's respite, which he spent in singing 
 and dancing, in fact in making his own custom. Quaw 
 Saffatchee had also leagued with the Fantees, who attacked 
 the Accra town, but were repulsed. The King suddenly 
 determined to open the path to receive the arrears of pay 
 due from the forts, and sent Amanqua Abiniowa with an 
 army of 20,000 men, charging him to offer no violence nor 
 commit hostility, unless provoked by attack, but to receive 
 the submission of the Akims and Aquapims, and merely to 
 exact a fine to seal it. Appia Danqua was sent at the same 
 time with a smaller army to the back of Winnebah and 
 Tantum, to intercept the revolters if they fled to windward. 
 Abiniowa proceeded to Aguiasso, one day's march from 
 Aquapim, unmolested, when one of his foraging parties was 
 attacked by Cudjo Cooma and seven men killed. A general 
 engagement took place the next morning, and after six hours' 
 fighting the Ashantees were victorious, and sent a jaw-bone 
 and a slave to each of the Accra towns. Amanqua then 
 marched to Accra to receive the King's pay, and remained 
 nearly twelve months in its neighbourhood. He then returned 
 to Aquapim, where after some time he received a message 
 from the King, with a large quantity of gold, advising him 
 that he must not see his face again unless he brought the 
 heads of Cudjo and Quaw. Amanqua did not immediately 
 communicate this message to his captains, but ordered 
 them to deposit their equipage and property in Accra, and 
 then, making a large custom for three days to propitiate 
 the enterprise, he took fetish with all his captains,
 
 HISTOEY. 195 
 
 that they would never return to Coomassie without the 
 heads. 
 
 1816. Appia Danqua had died in Assin in the interim, 
 and was succeeded by his brother Appia ^anu, under whom 
 Bakkee was the second in command. The King hearing 
 nothing of his progress, and his indolence being reported to 
 him, sent orders to Amancjua to join him, which he did at 
 Essecooma, reproaching him for his cowardice. Soon after 
 this, the skirmish at the salt pond near Cape Coast took 
 place, the detachment was principally of Assins, and com- 
 manded by Quasheemanqua. Yokokroko soon afterwards 
 joined the combined army (which had marched to Abra), 
 with a few hundred men destined to attack Commenda. 
 
 I^ot long after the palaver was settled at Cape Coast and 
 the army again divided, Cudjo Cooma was killed by a party 
 of Appia ^anu's at Insoom or Incoom near Essecooma ; upon 
 which Appia, instead of marching to join Amanqua as had 
 been concerted, returned to Coomassie, where he was coldly 
 received, but not accused until the 12th of July last (see 
 Diary). Adoo Danqua, the brother of Quaw Saffatchee, 
 came to the Accras and concerted the delivering of him up, 
 as he had tired him out with his wanderings ; the Ashan- 
 tees agreed to prevail on the King to give him the stool if 
 he did. A few Accras and a few Ashantees accompanied 
 him, and when he came near where his brother was hid, one 
 day's journey from Accra, he placed an ambush, and sitting 
 down expostulated with him, and recommended him to kill 
 himself; but Quaw would not, alleging that he should even- 
 tually wear out the King's patience in pursuing him ; on this 
 Adoo rose, and a shot was immediately fired at Quaw, who 
 was brought down and rose again four times, exclaiming 
 that his brother was his murderer, who reflected the reproach 
 on his own obstinacy. The body was brought to Accra, and 
 his head sent to Coomassie, and it is now a trophy at Ban- 
 
 o 2
 
 196 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 tama or the back to^vii. Auianqua then returned to Coo- 
 massie, and arrived about six months before the mission. 
 
 The Aowins, to anticipate the ambitious views of the 
 Ashantee Government, lately sent an embassy with offers of 
 service and tribute, but the amount of the latter has not 
 yet been decided. 
 
 The King had sent to demand the royal stool of Buntooko 
 or Gaman, which was thickly plated and embossed with gold ; 
 it was given up by Adinkara, the King, from fear ; his sister, 
 a woman of masculine spirit and talent, and the soul of the 
 Government, being absent. On her return, she reproached 
 her brother severely, and ordered a solid gold stool to be 
 made to replace it. That being also demanded as the right 
 of the superior, with a large gold ornament in the shape of 
 an elephant dug out from some ruins, the sister, receiving 
 the ambassadors, replied that the King should not have 
 either, and added, impressing it with more force than delicacy, 
 that her brother and she must change sexes, for she was 
 most proper for a King, and would fight to the last rather 
 than be so constantly despoiled. The King of Ashantee 
 sent word that she was fit to be a King's sister and a strong 
 woman, and he would give her twelve months to prepare for 
 war. Several embassies have been sent, however, to nego- 
 tiate, tw^o during our stay ; the latter, it w^as said, with an 
 offer of 400 Bendas (£3200), but the aristocracy were obsti- 
 nate, and urged to the King, that his other tributaries would 
 laugh at him if he did not get the King of Gaman's head. 
 The small-pox was raging in Buntooko. 
 
 It is clear that the King of Ashantee contemplates the 
 reduction of the King of Dwabin from an independent ally 
 to a tributary ; we witnessed one circumstance to the point. 
 A messenger being sent to require gold of Dwabin, the King 
 of which is a very weak young man, a captain of the royal 
 family replied, that there was no war on foot to require
 
 HISTORY. 197 
 
 gold, and as it coiild only be for the individual benefit of 
 Ashantee, the Government must be reminded that Dwabin 
 had formerly exacted gold, and was not now to be subjected 
 to imposition, because the right had been yielded from 
 respect to the sister kingdom. This being reported to the 
 King, he suppressed his anger, and sent a gold-headed sword, 
 with other marks of dignity and favour to this man, who to 
 his surprise refused them, alleging that the honours he 
 already possessed at home became him better. The King 
 still temporized. Some months after, at the full assembly 
 convened for the proclamation of the treaty with the British 
 Government, the mother of the King of Dwabin, who acts 
 as regent, and over whom Sai is known to have much influ- 
 ence, suddenly, and no doubt at his instance, accused this 
 captain of plotting to deprive her son of the stool. The 
 accusation was supported by others, who prayed the King to 
 judge the palaver. The King of Dwabin sat with the 
 greatest indifference. The accused made an animated appeal 
 to the assembly, and Sai affected to support him vehemently, 
 and ordered the linguists to give him chalk or acquit him. 
 The man thanking him very earnestly, Adoosee was desired 
 to tell him, that his ill-will to the King of Ashantee had 
 been reported in a very aggravated manner ; but as it was no 
 longer believed, he was only required to take fetish that he 
 liked the King, and would do him all the good he could ; 
 this done the man received several marks of favour and 
 bounty. 
 
 Sai Tootoo is considered to take better care of the treasury 
 than any of his predecessors : he cautiously extends his pre- 
 rogative, and takes every opportunity of increasing the num- 
 ber of secondary captains, by dignifying the young men 
 brought up about his person, and still retaining them in his 
 immediate service. 
 
 Sai Acotoo, the King's brother, and the heir to the stool,
 
 198 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 appeared to me very inferior in ability ; but the Ashantees 
 say otherwise. 
 
 The King's private character is amiable ; the children of 
 his brothers share the fondness and indulgence which endear 
 him to his own, and his few moments of recreation are the 
 liveliest of theirs. The circumstances connected with the 
 various instances which we witnessed of his generosity to 
 others, justify me in ascribing it to the benevolence of his 
 disposition. His admiration of ingenious rather than splen- 
 did novelty, has freqently imposed the appearance of a 
 covetousness, scarcely culpable from his reverence for in- 
 vention, and the amazement its extent excited. To present 
 him with the trifles which attracted his notice when he 
 visited us offended him, he told us we must only answer his 
 questions and let him examine them; to make dashes on 
 the occasion of a private visit, was to vitiate the motive of 
 the condescension, which could not be repeated unless we 
 paid more respect to his dignity and friendshijD. The King 
 is certainly capricious, and his liberality of mind is stained by 
 prejudices against individuals which he confesses to be un- 
 accountable ; and to several of the principal actors in his 
 brother's deposition (which, desirous to extend his preroga- 
 tive, he would tacitly censure), he has been unjustly severe. 
 His humanity is frequently superior to his superstition and 
 policy ; he offended Quatchi Quofie, one of the four, by limit- 
 ing the human sacrifices at his mother's funeral, and resisted 
 all the importunities, founded on precedent, for the allowance 
 of a greater number. He dismissed us twice with apologies 
 for not proceeding to business, confessing the first time, that 
 he had been unusually irritated just after he sent for us, and 
 had not recovered his calmness ; the latter, that some agree- 
 able news had induced him to drink more than fitted him to 
 hear great palavers like ours. In his judicial adminstration 
 a lie always aggravated the punishment, and truth generally
 
 HISTORY. 199 
 
 extenuated, and sometimes atoned of itself for the offence : 
 lie invariably anticipated the temerity of perjury, where con- 
 victing evidence was to be opposed to the accused. The 
 King's manners are a happy mixture of dignity and affability, 
 they engage rather than encourage, and his general deportment 
 is conciliating though repressive. He speaks well and more 
 logically than most of his council, who are diffuse ; but his 
 superior talent is marked in the shrewd questions by which 
 he fathoms a design or a narrative. He excels in courtesy, 
 is wisely inquisitive, and candid in his comparisons : war, 
 legislature, and mechanism, were his favourite topics in our 
 private conversations. The great but natural fault of the 
 King is his ambition; I do not think it has ever proved 
 superior to the pledge of his honour, but it certainly has, and 
 that frequently, to his sense of justice, which is repressed 
 rather than impaired by it. This sketch of his character 
 being narrowed to my own knowledge, will be assisted by 
 the following history of Agay, the second linguist. 
 
 Agay, when a boy, carried salt from Aquoomo to Coomassie 
 for sale ; he was afterwards taken into the service of Aquoo- 
 too, caboceer of that place, against whom the Government 
 had instituted a palaver, but wrongfully. Agay accompanied 
 the caboceer when he was sent for to Coomassie for judgment. 
 After the King's messengers had spoken, misrepresenting the 
 case in preference to confessing the King to be in the Avrong, 
 and the caboceer was confused, this boy suddenly rose and 
 said, to use the words of the narrators^ " King, you have 
 people to wash you, to feed you, to serve you, but you have 
 no peojDle to speak the truth to you, and tell you when God 
 does not like your palaver." The assembly cried out unani- 
 mously that the boy might be hurried away and his head 
 taken off ; but the King said, " ]S"o ! let him finish ; " and 
 Agay is said to have spoken three hours, and to have disclosed 
 and argued the palaver to the King's conviction, and his
 
 200 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 master's acquittal. He was retained to attend the King, but 
 treated with no particular distinction. A serious palaver 
 occurring between two principal men, it was debated before 
 the council, who were at a loss to decide, but inclined to the 
 man whom the King doubted ; judgment was suspended. 
 In the interim the King sent Agay privately to the house 
 of each, to hear their palavers in turn, tete-a-tete ; he did so, 
 and when the King asked him who he thought was right, 
 he confirmed his impression. " JSTow," said the King, " I 
 know you have a good head." Agay was then made a 
 linguist, and presented with a house, wives, slaves, and 
 gold. Sometime afterwards, the King confessing a prejudice 
 against a wealthy captain, his linguists, always inclined 
 to support him, said, " If you wish to take his stool from 
 him, we will make the palaver ; " but Agay sprang up, ex- 
 claiming, " Xo, King ! that is not good ; that man never did 
 you any wrong, you know all the gold of your subjects is 
 yours at their death, but if you get all now, strangers will 
 go away and say, only the King has gold, and that will not 
 be good ; but let them say the King has gold, all his captains 
 have gold, and all his people have gold, then your country 
 will look handsome, and the bush people fear you." For 
 this the King made him second linguist, and much increased 
 his property. When Amanqua had the command of the 
 army against Cudjo Cooma, the King asked him which 
 linguist he would take, he replied, Adoosee or Otee ; the 
 King said, " ^o ! I will give you this boy, he has the best 
 head for hard palavers." Amanqua urged that he was too 
 young, the King told him he was a fool to say so. He 
 then made Amanqua take fetish with him to report the 
 merits of Agay faithfully, who distinguished himself so much, 
 that he is always employed in difficult foreign palavers. 
 
 The manners of the higher orders of captains, always dig- 
 nified, are courteous and hospitable in private, though
 
 HISTORY. 201 
 
 haughty and ahrupt in public. I believe them to be jealous 
 rather than tenacious of their honour, and their sophistry is 
 as ingenious as their maxims are prepossessing. They con- 
 sider that war alone affords an exertion or display of ability, 
 and they esteem the ambition of their King as his greatest 
 virtue. They have no idea of the aggrandizement of a state 
 by civil policy alone. They are candid in acknowledging 
 their defeats, and just to the prowess of their enemies ; but 
 they possess httle humanity, and are very avaricious and op- 
 pressive. They listen to superstition with the most childish 
 credulity, but they only cultivate it for the j)reservation of 
 life and the indulgence of passion ; beyond this, the Moors 
 could never advance their inquiries ; they are neither curious 
 nor anxious about a future state, pretending to it from rank 
 and achievement rather than domestic virtue ; and believing if 
 the latter were outraged, the solemnities and sacrifices of 
 their funeral customs would purchase their repose. Indeed, 
 licensed as they are by the zealous conflicts of rival super- 
 stitions, Moorish and Pagan, their lives are moderate and 
 benevolent to what might be expected, and merit more than 
 our excuses. 
 
 The lower order of people are ungrateful, insolent, and 
 licentious. The King repeatedly said he believed them to 
 be the worst people existing, except the Fantees, and not 
 comparable with many of their inland neighboui's. Perhaps 
 we should agree with Yoltaire — " Je crois qu'il faut plutot 
 juger d'une puissante nation par ceux qui sont a la tete, que 
 par la populace."^ 
 
 6 The principal districts of Fantee are the Affetoo, the Braffoo, and 
 the Essecoomah ; Cape Coast is in the former. The Dej of Aflfettoo 
 (a title probably introduced by the Portuguese) was formerly supreme 
 in Fantee, so far as summoning the other kings and caboceers at 
 pleasure, prescribing their political conduct, and being appealed to 
 and sentencing in all cases of life and death, wherever or by whomso- 
 ever the crime may have been committed, witchcraft excepted. Up-
 
 202 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 wards of a century ago the small-pox almost depopulated Affettoo, 
 then the largest town and capital of all Fantee (it is about ten miles 
 inland from Cape Coast), and all the immediate heirs to the stool 
 being cut oflP, the supremacy was transferred to Mankasim. The pre- 
 sent Dey, however, preserves a spiritual authority over the other 
 kings and caboceers, and is esteemed as the superior fetish man ; 
 when they desire rain, for instance, they apply to him to procure it, 
 and they look to him solely for their chronology, which he preserves 
 by knotting strings. Mankasim then became the capital and largest 
 town of Fantee, but it was almost destroyed by the Ashantees in 
 their fii-st invasion of 1807. Any Fantee caboceer who did not attend 
 the summons of the King of Mankasim was suspended by him, and 
 afterwards disiDlaced by the Diet. Adoo, the last King of the Braflfoos, 
 despoiling all his subjects of their most valuable property, and coun- 
 tenancing the individuals of his family in the same assumption and 
 violation, without any regard to persons ; they were all seized on his 
 death by a simultaneous rising of the people, and sold off the coast as 
 slaves to get rid of the race. Adookoo, one of the leading men, was 
 then called to the care of the stool, with the title of caboceer only, it 
 being still considered as an interregnum, but he exercised the same 
 supremacy and privileges which the King had done, and was acknow- 
 ledged by the whole country. During his retreat and wanderings in 
 the bush, after several defeats by the Ashantees, the Fantee towns 
 have assumed many political and judicial rights before centred in 
 Mankasim ; but Adookoo is now expected to summon them all and re- 
 establish the ancient order of things, which they deem too sacred to 
 think of resisting. It was not the Braffoos, or the whole people of that 
 district, who had the privilege of living abroad at the public expense, 
 and who took whatever they pleased of the property of others, as Mr. 
 Meredith has stated ; but the state officers of that district called Bro- 
 foos, who acquired that name from the hide in which the tobacco is 
 rolled, being formed into a seat peculiar to them, never using a 
 wooden stool. They were the executors and not the organs of the law, 
 and always sat to the right and left of Adookoo, but had no voice. 
 The number was twelve, and the dignity immemorially hereditary in 
 as many families. These men were allowed to take whatever they 
 pleased at home and abroad, but since Adookoo' s misfortunes and in- 
 ability to support them, they have been content to beg for their tithes 
 in the large towns, and only exercise their rapacity in the small 
 crooms of their own district.
 
 COXSTITUTIOX AXD LAWS. 
 
 rpHE King, the Aristocracy (now reduced to four), and the 
 J- Assembly of Captains,^ are the three estates of the 
 Ashantee Government. 
 
 The constitution requires or admits an interference of the 
 Aristocracy in all foreign politics, extending even to a veto 
 on the King's decision; but they watch rather than share 
 the domestic administration, generally influencing it by their 
 opinion, but never appearing to control it from authority; 
 and their opinions on civil questions are submitted with a 
 deference, directly in contrast to their bold declarations on 
 subjects of war or tribute, which amount to injunction. 
 
 The Ashantees advocated this constitution by the argu- 
 ment, that the interference of the Aristocracy in all foreign 
 politics makes the nation more formidable to its enemies, 
 who feel they cannot provoke with impunity where there are 
 so many guardians of the military glory, who, by insisting 
 on a war, become responsible in a great degree for the issue, 
 and pledge an energy and exertion, in comparison with which 
 such as could be excited by a despotic monarch must be 
 
 ' It has been shown in the history that the Aristocracy was ori- 
 ginally formed of the peers and associates of Sai Tootoo, the founder 
 of the monarchy, who owed his elevation not to his superior rank, but 
 to his superior endowments and address. The Aristocracy has been 
 gradually retrenched since Sai Cudjo pointed out the way.
 
 204 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 deemed disinterested. They added that an almost indepen- 
 dent administration of the King was better calculated for the 
 domestic government, because the decrees of a monarch have 
 naturally more force with the people, over whom his power 
 is unlimited ; and further, that a civil power in the Aristo- 
 cracy could not be reconciled to the Assembly of Captains, 
 to whom the former estate was already sufficiently invidious 
 for the health of the constitution. 
 
 In exercising his judicial authority, the King always 
 retired in private with the Aristocracy to hear their opinions, 
 to encourage their candour, without diminishing his majesty 
 in the eye of the people ; and in using his legislative prero- 
 gative, he was said always to give them a private opportunity 
 of defending the old law rather than of objecting to the new, 
 though from the same state policy the latter was announced 
 to the Aristocracy as well as to the Assembly of Captains, 
 before the people, as the sudden and arbitrary pleasure of 
 the King. 
 
 The general Assembly of the Caboceers and Captains is 
 summoned merely to give publicity to the will of the King 
 and Aristocracy, and to provide for its observance, unless on 
 state emergencies or unprecedented occasions, such as the 
 treaty with the British Government. The following anec- 
 dote, related to me by many Ashantees, will illustrate the 
 freedom of their constitution. 
 
 A son of the King's, quarrelling with a son of Aman- 
 quatea's (one of the four), told him that, in comparison with 
 himself, he was the son of a slave. This being reported to 
 Amanquatea, he sent a party of his soldiers, who pulled 
 down the house of the King's son and seized his person. 
 The King hearing of it sent to Amanquatea, and learning the 
 particulars, interceded for his son, and redeemed his head for 
 20 periguins of gold. 
 
 The most original feature of their law, that of succession,
 
 CONSTITUTION AND LAWS. 205 
 
 lias Leen mentioned in the History, with the argument on 
 which it is founded : it is universally binding : the course 
 is, the "brother, the sister's son, the son, the chief vassal or 
 slave to the stool. In the Fantee country, the principal slave 
 succeeds to the exclusion of the son, who only inherits his 
 mother's property, frequently considerable, and inherited 
 from her family independently of her husband : the daughters 
 share a small part of the fetish or ornamental gold, which is 
 much alloyed with silver. 
 
 The sisters of the King may marry or intrigue with whom 
 they please, provided he be an eminently strong or person- 
 able man ; that the heirs of the stool may be, at least, per- 
 sonably superior to the generality of their countrymen. 
 
 The King is heir to the gold of every subject, from the 
 highest to the lowest ; the fetish gold and the cloths are 
 generally presented by him to the successor to the stool, 
 from which the slaves and other property of the deceased are 
 inseparable. The King contributes to the funeral custom to 
 validate his claim, and usually bestows ten j^eriguins of the 
 dust gold on the successor (if of a rich man), who is in all 
 cases liable for the debts of the deceased, though the amount 
 is generally made good to him sooner or later, if he has in- 
 fluence with those about the King^ or recommends himself 
 to his notice personally. This law is sometimes anticipated, 
 by a father presenting his children with large sums of gold 
 just before his death. Boiteem, the father of Otee, one of 
 the King's linguists, is known to have done so, but the son 
 discovers his wealth very deliberately. 
 
 The gold buried with members of the royal family, and 
 afterwards deposited with their bones in the fetish house at 
 Bantama is sacred, and cannot be used but to redeem the 
 capital from the hands of an enemy, or in extreme national 
 distress ; and even then, the King must avoid the sight of it, 
 if he would avoid the fatal vengeance of the fetish or deity.
 
 206 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 If a slave seeks refuge from an all}^, or tributary, he is 
 restored ; if from an unconnected power, he is received as a 
 free subject. 
 
 The tributary state, which distinguishes itself in sup- 
 pressing the revolt of another, is rewarded by privileges at 
 the expense of the offending power. Thus, if a subject of 
 the former kills a subject of the latter, the price of a slave 
 only can be recovered, instead of the fine otherwise attached 
 to the death of a freeman; and the damages for other 
 injuries are reduced in proportion. 
 
 If the subjects of any tributary do not like the decision of 
 their ruler, according to the laws of their own country, they 
 may appeal to the King, and claim decision by the law of 
 Ashantee. The commission allowed to the collectors of 
 tribute or fine, is two periguins out of ten. 
 
 The direct descendants of the noble families who assisted 
 the enterprise of Sai Tootoo, the founder of the kingdom, are 
 not subject to capital punishment, but can only be despoiled. 
 There are now but four remaining, Ananqui, Assafee (see 
 Diary), and two others, all beggars. 
 
 We were present at the promulgation of the following 
 law : — " All persons sent on the King's business shall no 
 longer seize provisions in any countr}^, whether tributary or 
 otherwise, in his name, but requiring food shall offer a fair 
 price for the first they meet with ; if this is refused, they 
 shall then demand one meal, and one meal only, in the 
 King's name, and proceed. This extends to all messengers 
 sent by the head captains, whose servants, as well as the 
 King's, have been long in the habit of extorting goods from 
 traders, and tobacco and provisions in the market-place, in 
 the names of their masters, which they shall do no longer 
 without incurring the same penalty which is attached to the 
 former part of this law, 110 periguins." The form of 
 making this law was, the linguists with their insignia
 
 CONSTITUTION AND LAWS. 207 
 
 advanced and announced it to each of the four members of 
 the Aristocracy, then to the whole assembly; afterwards 
 Cudjo Appani, the chief crier, proclaimed it to the people, 
 who shouted their thanks ; his fee from the King was ten 
 ackies, from the people twenty. This attachment of the 
 penalty to the law (the chief merit of Zaleucus) manifests 
 some advancement in pohty, in securing the accused against 
 arbitrary judgment.^ 
 
 The caboceers of Soota, Marmpon, Becqua, and Ivokofoo, 
 the four large towns built by the Ashantees at the same time 
 with Coomassie, have several palatine privileges ; they have 
 an independent treasury, though subject to the demands of 
 the Government and a judicial power, with the reserve of an 
 appeal to the King. They celebrate their own yam custom 
 after they have attended that at Coomassie, at which all 
 dependents and tributaries must be present, and which seems 
 to have been instituted like the Panathena^a of Theseus, 
 to unite such various nations by a common festival. These 
 four caboceers only are allowed, with the King, to stud their 
 sandals with gold. 
 
 The blood of the son of a King, or of any of the royal 
 family, cannot be shed ; but when guilty of a crime of 
 magnitude, they are drowned in the river Dah, by a particular 
 captain named Cudjo Samfani. 
 
 If a man swears on the King's head that another must 
 kill him, which is understood to be invoking the King's 
 death if he does not, the other man must do so, or forfeit the 
 whole of his property, and generally his life. This very 
 frequently occurs, for the blacks in their ardour for revenge, 
 
 2 By the laws of Ahanta, which are peculiar, if any subject or so- 
 journer is in urgent want of provisions, he may seize the first he meets 
 with, paying the owner the prices which have been fixed by the 
 caboceers : this is similar to the law of Lycurgus. At the Contoom 
 or annual Harvest Custom, the Ahantas revise their laws, as Solon 
 enjoined the Athenians to do, annulling some and adding others.
 
 208 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 do not regard sacrificing their own lives to bring a palaver on 
 their miu'derer, which their families are sure to do. 
 
 To be convicted of cowardice is death. 
 
 A subject may clear any part of the bush for building a 
 croom, or making a plantation, without paying anytliing to 
 the King as lord of the soil ; but he must pay a small sum to 
 the possessor of the nearest croom or plantation through 
 which his path runs. 
 
 The Government has no power to direct the traders to any 
 particular market, though it interdicts the commerce with 
 any power which may have offended it. 
 
 All the King's linguists take fetish to be true to each 
 other, and to rejjort faithfully. 
 
 If any subject picks up gold dropped in the market-place 
 it is death, being collected only by order of the Government 
 on emergencies. (See Revenue.) 
 
 Theft of the King's property, or intrigue with the female 
 attendants of the royal family, or habitual incontinence, is 
 punished by emasculation ; but crim. con. with the wife of a 
 man who has been so punished is death, being considered an 
 aggravated contempt of law. 
 
 Interest of money is 33^ per cent, for every forty days, 
 which is accompanied after the first period by a dash of 
 liquor. When the patience of the creditor is exhausted he 
 seizes the debtor, or even any of his family, as slaves, and they 
 can only be redeemed by the payment. This barbarous law 
 was nearly the same in Athens.^ 
 
 In almost all charges of treason, the life of the accuser is at 
 risk as well as that of the accused, and is forfeited on the 
 acquittal of the latter. I understood this, from the best 
 
 3 In Ahanta, all old debts must be paid witlun six weeks from the 
 commencement of the Contoom or Harvest Custom. The creditor 
 can panyar or seize not only the family, but the townsmen of the 
 debtor.
 
 CONSTITUTION AND LAWS. 209 
 
 authorities, to be indispensable as a check on the palavers ; 
 envy, spleen, or covetousness would otherwise accumulate. 
 
 The accuser is never discovered or confronted to the 
 accused, nor the evidence revealed, until the latter has fully 
 replied to the charge, as outlined by the King's linguists. 
 
 Palavers are frequently allowed to sleep even for years, as 
 in the Fantee country, to make the damages sued for the 
 heavier. For instance, if a man stole a hen twelve months 
 before, the value of the broods and eggs it would have 
 produced on a fair average in the interv^al, would be 
 shrewdly calculated and sued for.^ State palavers are also 
 allowed to sleep for years, but that is to impose the con- 
 fidence on the accused that the principal witnesses are dead, 
 and the impression is artfully assisted by the policy of the 
 council. The witnesses against Appia i^anu, who had 
 reported his haughty message to the King, had not been seen 
 for nearly twelve months before they burst before him on the 
 day of his trial, having been sent into the bush on the most 
 distant frontier. 
 
 No man is punished for killing his own slave, but he is 
 for the murder of his wife or child. ^ If he kills the slave of 
 another he must pay the value. If a great man kills his 
 equal in rank he is generally allowed to die by his o^vn 
 hands. The death of . an inferior is generally compensated 
 by a fine to the family, equal to seven slaves.' 
 
 * The Ahanta laws do not allow of these protracted palavers, and 
 only award the intrinsic value of the articles stolen or destroyed. If 
 a man robs a plantation of a yam, he must pay the owner a tokoo of 
 gold, and take two more. In Fantee the pettiest theft frequently en- 
 tails slavery. 
 
 5 In the kingdom of Amanahea or Apollonia, the tenth child is 
 always buried alive. 
 
 6 A person accidentally killing another in Ahanta pays 5 ozs. of gold 
 to the family, and defrays the burial customs. In the case of murder 
 it is 20 ozs. of gold and a slave ; or he and his family become the 
 slaves of the family of the deceased. If a man dashes himself to the 
 
 P
 
 210 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 If a person brings a frivolous palaver against another, he 
 must give an entertainment to the family and friends of the 
 acquitted. 
 
 If an aggry bead is broken in a scuffle seven slaves are to 
 be paid to the owner. 
 
 Trifling thefts are generally punished by the exposure of 
 the party in various parts of the town whilst the act is 
 published ; but more serious thefts cannot be visited on the 
 guilty by any but his family, who are bound to compensate 
 the accuser, and punish their relative or not as they think 
 fit ; they may even put him or her to death, if the injury is 
 serious, or the crime repeated or habitual. 
 
 1[f a man cohabits with a woman without the house, or in 
 the bush, they are both the slaves of the first person who 
 discovers them ; but redeemable by their families. 
 
 It is forbidden, as it was by Lycurgus, to praise the beauty 
 of another man's wife, being intrigue by implication. 
 
 A captain generally gives a jDeriguin to the family on 
 taking a wife, a poor man two ackies. The damages for 
 intrigue in the former case are ten periguins ; in the latter, 
 one ackie and a half, and a pot of palm wine. 
 
 fetish on the head of another, the other mast redeem him. If a man 
 kills himself on the head of another, the other must kill himself also 
 or pay 20 ozs. to the family : in Fantee the sum is indefinitely great : 
 this is frequently resorted to, when there is no other prospect of 
 revenge. 
 
 Adumissa, an extraordinary beautiful red-skinned woman of Cape 
 Coast, possessed numerous admirers, but rejected them all. One of 
 them, in despair, shot himself on her head close to her house. The 
 family demanding satisfaction, to save her relations from a ruinous 
 palaver, she resolved to shoot herself in expiation. She accordingly 
 assembled her friends and relatives from various parts of the country, 
 and sitting, richly dressed, killed herself in their presence with golden 
 bullets. After the body had been exposed in state, it was buried with 
 a profusion of cloths and gold. The beautiful Adumissa is still eulo- 
 gised, and her favoui-ite patterned cloth bears her name amongst the 
 natives.
 
 CONSTITUTION AND lAWS. 211 
 
 If a woman involves herself in a palaver she involves her 
 family, but not her husband. 
 
 None but a captain can sell his wife, and he only if her 
 family are unable to redeem her by the repayment of the 
 marriage fee. 
 
 The property of the wife is distinct and independent of 
 the husband, though the King is the heir to it. 
 
 !N'one but a captain can put his wife to death for infidelity, 
 and even then he is expected to accept a liberal offer of gold 
 from the family for her redemption. To intrigue with a wife 
 of the King's is death. 
 
 If the family of a woman are able and willing, on her 
 report of her dislike to her husband, or his ill-treatment 
 of her, to tender him the marriage fee, he must accept it, 
 and the woman returns to her family, but may not marry 
 again. 
 
 If a husband is not heard of by his vdte for three years 
 she may marry again, and if the first husband returns the 
 claim of the second is the better ; but all the children of the 
 after marriage are considered the property of the first hus- 
 band, and may be pawned by him. 
 
 Those accused of witchcraft, or having a devil, are tortured 
 to death. 
 
 The good treatment of slaves is in some degree provided 
 for by the liberty they have of dashing or transferring them- 
 selves to any freeman, whom they enjoin to make them his 
 property, by invoking his death if he does not — an imperative 
 appeal. 
 
 p 2
 
 supeestitio:n"s. 
 
 rpHE negro tradition of the book and the calabash, cited by St. 
 -^ Pierre, is familiar to every native of these parts, and seems 
 the source of their religious opinions. Impressed that the 
 blind avarice of their forefathers inclined all the favour of the 
 supreme God to the white men, they believe themselves to have 
 been committed to the mediating care of subordinate deities, 
 necessarily as inferior to the primary as they are to the 
 Europeans. 
 
 As the Ashantee manner of relating this tradition differs a 
 little from that of the Fantee, I will repeat it, on the authority 
 of Odumata and other principal men. In the beginning of 
 the world God created three white and three black men, 
 with the same number of women; he resolved, that they 
 might not afterwards complain, to give them their choice of 
 good and evil. A large box or calabash was set on the ground, 
 with a piece of paper, sealed up on one side of it. God gave 
 the black men the first choice, who took the box, expecting it 
 contained everytliing, but, on opening it, there appeared only 
 a piece of gold, a piece of iron, and several other metals, of 
 which they did not know the use. The white men opening 
 the paper, it told them everything. God left the blacks in 
 the bush, but conducted the whites to the water-side (for this 
 happened in Africa), communicated with them every night, 
 and taught them to build a small ship which carried them to 
 another country, whence they returned after a long period,
 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 21 3 
 
 with various mercliandize to barter witli the blacks, who 
 might have been the superior people. 
 
 With this imaginary alienation from the God of the uni- 
 verse, not a shade of despondency is associated ; they consider 
 that it diminishes their comforts and their endowments on 
 earth, but that futurity is a dull and torpid state to the 
 majority of mankind. 
 
 Their fetishes or subordinate deities are supposed to inhabit 
 particular rivers, woods, and mountains, as the imaginary 
 deities of the Celts. They are venerated in proportion as their 
 predictions (always equivocal) chance to be realized. The 
 present favourite fetish of Ashantee is that of the river Tando, 
 Cobee, a river in Dankara, and Odentee on the Adirree, are 
 two of the others. 
 
 The kings, caboceers, and the higher class, are believed to 
 dwell with the superior Deity after death, enjoying an eternal 
 renewal of the state and luxury they possessed on earth. 
 It is with this impression that they kill a certain number 
 of both sexes at the funeral customs, to accompany the 
 deceased, to announce his distinction, and to administer to his 
 pleasures. 
 
 The spirits of the inferior classes are believed to inhabit 
 the houses of the fetish in a state of torpid indolence, which 
 recompenses them for the drudgery of their lives, and which 
 is truly congenial to the feelings of the negro. Those of 
 superior wisdom and experience are said to be endued with 
 foresight after death, and to be appointed to observe the lives 
 and advise the good of those mortals who acknowledge the 
 fetish ; their state corresponding, in short, with that of the 
 first race of men after death, as described by Hesiod. Those 
 whose enormities nullify the mediation of the funeral custom, 
 or, whom neglect or circumstances might have deprived of it, 
 are doomed, in the imagination of others, to haunt the gloom 
 of the forest, stealing occasionally to their former abodes in
 
 214 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 rare but lingering visits. Those who have neglected the 
 custom, or funeral rights of their family, are thought to be 
 accursed and troubled by their spirits. 
 
 There are two orders of fetishmen. The first class dwell 
 with the fetish,^ who has a small round house, built generally 
 at a distance from the town. They question the oracle 
 respecting the future fortune of a state or an individual, convey 
 its advice, and enjoin the attention of the audible spirits of 
 those any member of their family would question respecting 
 property or domestic circumstances : — 
 
 " Auditur tumulo et vox reddita fertur ad aures." — ^n. vi. 
 
 The inferior class pursue their various occupations in society, 
 assist in customs and superstitious ceremonies, and are applied 
 to as fortune-tellers or conjurors are in Europe ; especially 
 in cases of theft, when, from a secret system of espionage, 
 and a reluctance, frequently amounting to a refusal to discover 
 
 1 At Nanampong (Nanan means a grandfather) near Mancasim, in 
 the Braffoo country, there is a deep dell, inhabited by a number of 
 aged fetishmen, whom the Fantees believe to be immortal, and to 
 have lived there beyond all memory, in close converse with the fetish, 
 and ignorant of the world but by intuition. The spirits of the aged 
 and wise are believed to dwell amongst them, and their pi'ophecies 
 and advice are revered as emanations from the fetish. Adookoo, the 
 chief of the Braffoos, used sometimes to consult them in person, but 
 generally through his head fetishman, and the Fantees now attribute 
 the successes of the Ashantees and their own defeats and misfortunes 
 to the disregard of what the oracle enjoined ; for, whilst it was 
 obeyed, they say the country always prospered ; and, indeed, from the 
 instances which have been reported to me, the responses appear to 
 have directed a just and prudent policy, highly conducive to the wel- 
 fare of Fantee. This dell is so impervious, and yet so capacious, that 
 many hundred Fantees were secreted there during the Ashantee 
 invasions which these priests had predicted. The house or temple of 
 the principal fetish of the Ahanta country, called Checquoo, is at 
 Apremmadoo, about four miles up the Takaradee river. Upwards of 
 fifty superior priests are resident there.
 
 SUPEESTITIONS. 215 
 
 the culprit, or to do more than replace the property whence 
 it was taken, they are generally successful. The magical 
 ceremony consists in knotting, confusing, and dividing behind 
 the back several strings and shreds of leather. They are also 
 frequently applied to by slippery wives to work charms to 
 keep their husbands in ignorance of a projected intrigue, 
 which they affect to do. 
 
 The primary dignity is hereditary in families, as the priest- 
 hood was in Egypt, celibacy not being enjoined ; their property 
 is also hereditary, and they possess other immunities. The 
 latter order is frequently augmented by those who declare that 
 the fetish has suddenly seized or come upon them, and who, 
 after inflicting great severities on themselves, in the manner 
 of the convulsionists, are ultimately acknowledged. The fetish 
 women, generally preferred for medical aid, as they possess a 
 thorough knowledge of barks and herbs, deleterious and sana- 
 tive, closely resemble the second class of Druidesses as 
 described, I think by Mela : they seem licensed prostitutes, 
 before and after marriage. 
 
 The present state of these people, referring them to a 
 comparison with the nations of ancient Europe,^ the close 
 resemblance of many points of their superstition to relative 
 particulars recorded of Greece and Gaul, recalls the following 
 reflection of an eminent writer : — " The truth is, there is 
 hardly anything more surprising in the history of mankind, 
 than the similitude, or rather identity, of the opinions, insti- 
 tutions, and manners of all these orders of ancient priests, 
 though they lived under such different climates, and at so 
 great a distance from one another, without intercourse or 
 communication. This amounts to a demonstration that all 
 
 ^ " And here I cannot but remark that those accounts, when com- 
 pared, show how little manners and minds improve in Africa, and how 
 long and how much society has been there at a stand : — Jobson saw 
 in 1620 exactly what Park saw in 1798." — Sir W. Young.
 
 216 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 these opinions and institutions flowed originally from one 
 fountain." 
 
 Half the ofi'erings to the fetish are j^retended to be thrown 
 into the river, the other half belongs to the priests. The 
 King's offering is generally ten ounces, and three or four 
 slaves ; that of a poor subject about four ackies. Children 
 are frequently vowed to the service of the fetish before their 
 birth. A slave flying to the temple may dash or devote him- 
 self to the fetish ; but, by paying a fee of two ounces of gold 
 and four sheep, any person shuts the door of the fetish house 
 against all his runaway slaves.' 
 
 Every family has a variety of domestic fetishes, furnished 
 by the priests, and answering to the Penates of the Eomans ; 
 some are wooden figures, others of arbitrary shapes and 
 materials ; they receive offerings and libations at the yam 
 custom, but are not brought out of the house. * 
 
 3 A slave dasiiing or devoting Hmself to Checquoo, the great fetish 
 of Ahanta, is never redeemed ; the impression of the superior power 
 of that fetish being so awful, that the proprietor of the slave would 
 believe the death of all his family inevitable, were he to redeem him 
 from the sanctuary. 
 
 * The dijfferent states of the water-side revere different animals as 
 fetish : the hyaena is esteemed so at Accra, the alligator at Dix Cove 
 and Annamaboe, and vultures universally ; and with more apparent 
 reason, as they consume all the offal of the neighbourhood, and thus 
 contribute to its health and cleanliness. A black man killing a 
 hyaena at Accra, would incur a serious penalty. A European is 
 obliged to pay a case of neat rum and one piece of white baft, in 
 which the head of the animal is wrapped, and afterwards buried by 
 the natives. Almost every resident on the coast can speak to the 
 imitative powers of the hyaena, which Pliny has been ridiculed for 
 reporting. In a fresh water pond at Dix Cove, there is an alligator, 
 about twelve feet long, which always appears on the bank at the call 
 of the fetishmen, who then throw it a white fowl. In a modem 
 natural history, I read, " In this part of the world (Africa) also, as 
 ■well as at Siam, the crocodile makes an object of savage pomp, near 
 the palaces of their monarchs. Philips informs us, that at Sabi, on
 
 SUPEESTITIONS. 217 
 
 In Ashantee there is not a common fetish day, as on the 
 coast.^ Different families solemnize different days of the week, 
 by wearing white cloths, abstaining from palm wine and 
 labour, as they do the day of the week on which they were 
 bom, which is in fact their second fetish day. The King's 
 family keep Tuesday as their fetish day ; Odumatas, Friday. 
 Saturday was the King's birthday, when, as well as on his 
 fetish day, he always sat on a stool placed before his chair 
 as a footstool would be. Some families never eat beef, 
 others abstain from pork. Fowls and beef are the fetish of 
 the King's family, and consequently never eaten by it. 
 
 The Ashantees have their Fasti and iSTefasti, or lucky 
 and unlucky days, as the Eomans had." The former con- 
 secrated by some good fortune, the latter condemned from 
 some national calamity, as Saturday, for instance, from the 
 defeat and death of Sai Tootoo. They are also otherwise 
 marked than by the week ; for I was told that our month 
 of September contained fewer bad days than any other, 
 and was besides deemed auspicious to travelling : — 
 
 " Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine Luna 
 Felices operum .... 
 
 . . . nona fugee melior," — Geor. i. 
 
 I have known Ashantees thirty days coming with despatches 
 from Cape Coast Castle to Coomassie in August ; and in Sep- 
 tember to have arrived in twelve. 
 
 the Slave Coast, there are two pools of water near the royal palace, 
 where crocodiles are bred as we breed carp in our ponds in Europe." 
 I never heard of any royal palaces, or of Sabi (probably Assaboo) on 
 the Slave Coast ; the alligator of Dix Cove may possibly be alluded to. 
 
 ^ Tuesday is the common fetish day on the coast, when they neither 
 fish nor work in their plantations. 
 
 6 " Ille et nefasto te posuit die."— Hor. 12, 13. 
 
 Eomani pariter quosdam atros et nefastos habuere, eo quod in iis 
 clades acceperant ; . . .
 
 218 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 If the successor to a stool or any rich inheritance is a child, 
 they grind aggry beads into a powder and rub him with it 
 daily after washing, believing that it hastens his growth and 
 maturity. When any one denies a theft, an aggry bead is 
 placed in a small vessel with some water ; the person holding 
 it puts his right foot against the right foot of the accused, who 
 invokes the power of the bead to kill him if he is guilty, and 
 then takes it into his mouth with a little of the water, the 
 rest being thrown on the ground, and crossed as he repeats 
 the invocation : their superstition is generally superior to their 
 resolution. • I shall be expected to notice these aggry beads. 
 
 The natives invariably declare that the aggry beads are 
 found in the Dankara, Akim, Warsaw, Ahanta, and Fantee 
 countries, the greater number in the former being the richer 
 in gold. They say they are directed to dig for them by a 
 spiral vapour issuing from the ground, and that they rarely 
 lay near the surface. The finder is said to be sure of a series 
 of good fortune. The plain aggry beads are blue, yellow, 
 green, or a dull red ; the variegated consist of every colour 
 and shade. The Fantees prefer the plain yellow bead ; the 
 Amanaheans the blue and yellow, for which they will give 
 double the weight in gold ; those of inferior beauty frequently 
 fetch a large price, from having been worn by some royal or 
 eminent character. Dr. Leydon, who writes, " The aigris is 
 a stone of a greenish-blue colour, supposed to be a species of 
 jasper, small perforated pieces of which, valued at their 
 weight in gold, are used for money" (which I never heard 
 of), rather describes the popo bead, though that is semi- 
 transparent (of a bright blue), resembling carnelian (which is 
 frequently found in these countries), and said to be obtained 
 in the same manner as the aggry bead. Isert writes : — 
 "They are a sort of coral, with inlaid work. The art of 
 making beads is entirely lost, or was never known in these 
 parts. It is not improbable that in the golden age of Egypt
 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 219 
 
 she had communication with the Gold Coast ; indeed, it has 
 been thought, and perhaps not without some reason, that the 
 Gold Coast is the Ophir of Solomon." 
 
 The variegated strata of the aggry beads are so firmly 
 united and so imperceptibly blended, that the perfection 
 seems superior to art. Some resemble mosaic work; the 
 surfaces of others are covered with flowers and regular patterns, 
 so very minute, and the shades so delicately softened one into 
 the other and into the ground of the bead, that nothing but 
 the finest touch of the pencil could equal them. The 
 agatized parts disclose flowers and patterns, deep in the body 
 of the bead, and thin shafts, of opac^ue colours, running from 
 the centre to the surface. The natives pretend that imita- 
 tions are made in the country, which they call boiled beads, 
 alleging that they are broken aggry beads ground into powder 
 and boiled together, and that they know them because they 
 are heavier; but this I find to be mere conjecture among 
 themselves, unsupported by anything like observation or 
 discovery. The natives believe that by burying the aggry 
 beads in sand they not only grow but breed. ^ 
 
 7 The colouring matter of the blue beads has been proved by expe- 
 riment to be iron ; that of the yellow, without doubt, is lead and 
 antimony, vsith a trifling quantity of copper, though not essential to 
 the production of the colour. The generality of these beads appear 
 to be produced from clays coloured in thin layers, afterwards twisted 
 together into a spiral form and then cut across, also from different 
 coloured clays raked together -without blending. How the flowers 
 and delicate patterns, in the body and on the surface of the rarer 
 beads have been prodiiced, cannot be so well explained. Besides the 
 suite deposited in the British Museum, I had the pleasure of present- 
 ing one of the most interesting kind to Baron Humboldt ; and I have 
 also sent one to Sir Richard Hoare, as it seemed to correspond so 
 closely with the bead which he found in one of the barrows, and 
 describes, as follows, in his " History of Wiltshire." The notion of the 
 rare virtues of the Glain Xeidyr, as well as of the continued good for- 
 tune of the finder, accords exactly with the African superstitions. " A 
 large glass bead, of the same imperfect petrifaction as the pully beads,
 
 220 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 To return to the superstitions of the Ashantees. ^ATien 
 they drink they spill a little of the liquor on the ground as 
 an offering to the fetish, and on rising from their chairs or 
 
 and resembliBg also, in matter, the little figures that are found with 
 the mummies in Egyj^t, and are to be seen in the British Museum." 
 This very curious bead has two circular lines of opaque sky, blue and 
 white, which seem to represent a serpent entwined round a centre, 
 which is perforated. This was certainly one of the Glain Neidyr of 
 the Britons, derived from glain, which is pure and holy, and neidyr a 
 snake. Under the word glain Mr. Owen, in his Welsh Dictionary, has 
 given the following article : — " The Glain Neidyr, transparent stones, 
 or adder stones, were worn by the difierent orders of the bards, each 
 having its appropriate colour. There is no certainty that they were 
 worn from superstition originally ; perhaps that was the circumstance 
 which gave rise to it. Whatever might have been the cause, the no- 
 tion of their rare virtues was universal in all places where the Bardic 
 religion was taught. It may still be questioned whether they are the 
 production of nature or art." The beads, which are the present object 
 of my attention, are thus noticed by Bishop Gibson in his improved 
 edition of " Camden's Britannia :" " In most parts of Wales, and 
 throughout all Scotland and in Cornwall, we find it a common opinion 
 of the vulgar, that about Midsummer eve (although in the time they 
 do not all agree) , it is usual for snakes to meet in companies ; and 
 that by joining heads together, and hissing, a kind of bubble is formed 
 like a ring about the head of one of them, which the rest, by con- 
 tinual hissing, blow on till it comes off at the tail ; and then it imme- 
 diately hardens and resembles a glass ring, lohich xvhoever finds (as 
 some old ivomen and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all their 
 undertakings. The rings which they suppose to be thus generated 
 are called Gleiau Nadroedh, i. e. Gemmse Anguinum, whereof I have 
 seen at several places about twenty or thirty. They are small glass 
 annulets, commonly about half as wide as our finger rings, but much 
 thicker ; of a green colour usually, though some of them are blue, and 
 others curiously waved with blue, red, and white. I have also seen 
 two or three earthen rings of this kind, but glazed with blue, and 
 adorned with transverse streaks in furrows on the outside. There 
 seems to be some connexion between the Glain Neidyr of the Britons 
 and the Ovum Anguinum mentioned by Pliny,^ as being held in vene- 
 
 8 " Praeterea est ovorum genus in magna Galliarum fama, omissum 
 Graecis. Angues innumeri sestate convoluti, salivis faucium, corpo- 
 rumque spumis artifici complexu glomerantur, anguinum appellantur.
 
 SUPEESTITIONS. 221 
 
 stools their attendants instantly lay them on their sides to 
 prevent the devil (whom they represent to be white) from 
 slipping into their master's places. 
 
 ration by the Druids of Gaul, and to the formation of which he gives 
 nearly the same origin. They were probably -worn as an insignia or 
 mark of distinction and suspended around the neck, as the perforation 
 is not sufficiently large to admit the finger." 
 
 The glass globes dug up in Lincolnshire, and presented by Sir Joseph 
 Banks to the British Museum, are very like a distinct sort of aggry 
 bead, dug by the natives even more rarely than the others, but not 
 larger than a moderate-sized apple. They are more opaque than the 
 other beads, and the ground or body is generally black, speckled con- 
 fusedly with red, white, and yellow. 
 
 Aggry is the generic, not the abstract name ; " aivynnee " is head, 
 but aggry is an exotic word no native can explain. When first I 
 heard of similar beads having been lately dug up in India, I associated 
 for an instant the expectation that it might have been in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Agra, and thus have throvm some light on the name, but 
 it appears they were found in Malabar. I am indebted for the follow- 
 ing account of this interesting discovery to a gentleman lately 
 returned from India : — " The bead, you sent me is more like 
 those I saw in India than any I have seen before ; but it is 
 thicker and shorter, neither does the material of which it is formed 
 exactly agree with those in India, which appear to be of a red 
 glass, very like red carnelian (such, however, are frequent among the 
 Aggry beads) with white lines of enamel, inlaid, as it were, in the 
 body of the bead. I gave these to a friend in India who promised to 
 send them to the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. The circles of stone in 
 which these beads have been found abound most in Malabar, in the 
 neighbourhood of Calicut ; but I have seen them in other parts of 
 India, and I am of opinion that they might be traced throughout the 
 whole of the southern peninsula. They are formed of large masses of 
 rough stones, placed round in irregular circles, some of very large ex- 
 
 Druidae sibilis id dicunt in sublime jactari, sagoque oportere intercipi 
 ne tellurem attingat. Profugere raptorem equo. Serpentes enim 
 insequi donee arceant aninis alicujus interventu. Experimentum ejus 
 esse si contra aquas fluitet vel auro cinctum Insigne Druidis. Ad vic- 
 torias litium ac regum aditus maxima laudat." — Plinii Hist. Natural. 
 L. 29. 0. 3.
 
 222 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 But tlie most surprising superstition of the Ashantees is 
 their confidence in the fetishes or saphies they purchase so 
 extravagantly from the Moors, "believing firmly that they 
 
 tent, some of smaller. They appear so much like natural rocks that 
 m.ost persons would pass them unobserved. Several of these circles 
 about three years since were excavated in the vicinity of Calicut, and 
 in the centre of each of them we found, at the depth of about five feet, 
 a large earthen jar of the same shape as those found in Wiltshire, as 
 near as we could judge, for it was broken to pieces. It was about 
 four or five feet deep ; its mouth in general closed with a square piece 
 of granite. The beads were found at the bottom of these jars with 
 some pieces of iron, apparently parts of swords and spears. There 
 was an iron javelin found in one of these places tolerably perfect. It 
 was about five feet long, with a large iron knob at one end of it. In 
 the centre of one of the circles we came to a flight of seven steps, 
 which led to a cave excavated in the rock. It measured eleven feet 
 in diameter and seven feet in its highest part. The entrance to it was 
 a square opening of about eighteen inches, which was closed up by an 
 immense block of granite. We found in this place a great number of 
 earthen pots of very curious shape. In one of these there were the 
 remains of bones, which appeared to have been but imperfectly cal- 
 cined. In several of the larger jars there were the husks of rice, 
 which dropped into dust immediately they were opened. We found 
 here also an iron tripod and a very curious stone, somewhat similar to 
 what the Indians now use for grinding their curry powder on. The 
 large stones forming the circles were set upright and capped with still 
 larger ones. They are not of granite but of the stone of the country 
 in which they are situated. They are of diSerent sizes. I have seen 
 some of them ten or twelve feet high, and the large stone on the top 
 from ten to twelve feet in diameter, or perhaps more. Coimbatore is 
 a district situated between the Coromandel and Malabar coasts. It 
 is bounded on the east by the river Cavery, on the banks of which the 
 tumuli are in general situated. In some a few silver coins have been 
 found of a square figure, with characters on them, which none of the 
 most learned Brahmins have been as yet able to make out. It is in 
 these also that remains of very large swords, &c., have been found. 
 The Eoman coins, to the number of upwards of ninety were all of 
 gold, and Nero's. Each of them had a cut or slit in it. They were 
 not found in one of these barrows, but were discovered in a garden by 
 one of the natives when digging. They were in a small copper pot. 
 Pandu Kuri literally means Pandu's caves or holes. Pandu is a very
 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 223 
 
 make them invulnerable and invincible in war, paralyze the 
 hand of the enemy, shiver their weapons, divert the course of 
 balls, render both sexes prolific, and avert all evils but sick- 
 ness (which they can only assuage) and natural death. The 
 King gave to the King of Dagwumba for the fetish or war 
 coat of Apokoo the value of thirty slaves, for Odumata's 
 twenty, for Adoo Quamina's thirteen, for Akimpon's twelve, 
 for Akimpontea's nine, and for those of greater captains 
 in proportion. The generals, being always in the rear of 
 the army, are pretty sure to escape — a circumstance much 
 in favour of the Moors. This dress, which has been described 
 before in our entree, is so weighty that old Odumata could 
 scarcely move in his. Jannequin, who visited Mandingo in 
 1637, describes exactly the same sort of dress as worn by the 
 chiefs of that country, and adds : " Their bodies are so encum- 
 bered with these defences, that they are often unable to 
 mount on horseback without assistance." For a small fetish 
 of about six lines, sewn in a case of red cloth, which the 
 King presented to our Accra linguist, Baba charged and 
 received six ackies. The man valued the gift highly ; he had 
 expended two pieces of cloth and a quantity of rum in fetish 
 at Accra before he joined the mission, but for which, he 
 told me, he was convinced the Ashantees would have 
 managed to poison him ; yet he was one of the most sensible 
 natives I ever conversed with. A sheet of paper would 
 support an inferior Moor in Coomassie for a month. Several 
 of the Ashantee captains offered seriously to let us fire at 
 them ; in short, their confidence in these fetishes is almost 
 as incredible as the despondency and panic imposed on their 
 southern and western enemies by the recollection of them. 
 
 celebrated personage in the Hindoo Mythology and a great warrior. 
 It is common in India to ascribe to him all great works of antiquity. 
 This term, therefore, only shows that those places are very ancient, 
 and that the present inhabitants are quite ignorant of their origin."
 
 224 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 They impel the Ashantees^ fearless and headlong, to the 
 most daring enterprises ; they dispirit their adversaries almost 
 to the neglect of an interposition of fortune in their favour. 
 The Ashantees helieve that the constant prayers of the Moors, 
 who have persuaded them that they converse with the Deity, 
 invigorate themselves and gradually waste the spirit and 
 strength of their enemies. This faith is not less impulsive 
 than that which achieved the Arabian conquests. 
 
 IS'either the Ashantees nor their neighbours have any tradi- 
 tion of a deluge, nor does Catcott, the only writer I recollect 
 to have read on its universality, report any negro tradition, 
 though he sabmits that of the American tribes, with those of 
 the other nations of the world. The Moors told me that the 
 waters of the deluge retired to and were absorbed in the Lake 
 Caudi, or Caughi, which they also called Bahar JS'oohoo, or 
 the Sea of Noah. 
 
 Amongst other observations, I recollect the Moors to have 
 said, that Moses spoke like God, that Abraham was the 
 friend of God, that Jesus was a spirit of God, but that 
 Mahomet was the best beloved of God. They added, that 
 there were four books written by the inspiration of God, at 
 different times. Moses wrote Tauratoo ; David, Zaboura ; 
 Jesus, Lingheel ; and Mahomet, Al Koran. Lightning, they 
 said, was occasioned by God waving his hand to direct the 
 courses of his angels. One Moor was a great etymologist ; 
 he told me, that Mahomet rushing between two armies, who 
 were fighting, exclaimed to one party, " Toorek ! Toorek ! " 
 (Leave off ! Leave off I) and that those people were thencefor- 
 ward called Turks. I questioned them concerning the origin 
 of nations ; they told me, that Japhet was the most active 
 in covering the nakedness of his father, which Ham disco- 
 vered, and thence the subjection of black men the descendants 
 of Ham, to Europeans the descendants of Japhet. Shem, 
 from whom they were themselves descended, they said, was
 
 SUPERSTITIONS. 225 
 
 neither so good nor so "bad as his brothers, and therefore his 
 cliildren enjoyed a medium of endowment and favour. They 
 augured from the sacrifice of sheep, with which the King 
 supplied them abimdantly, and, excepting those who had 
 made a pilgrimage to Mecca (of which they told us wonder- 
 ful tales), did not hesitate mingling the superstitions of the 
 natives with their own, either for their profit or safety. They 
 were tolerably expert in sleight-of-hand tricks.
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 THE Yam Custom is annual, just at the maturity of that 
 vegetable, which is planted in December, and not eaten 
 until the conclusion of the custom, the early part of September. 
 All the caboceers and captains, and the majority of the tribu- 
 taries, are enjoined to attend, none being excused but such 
 as the Kings of Inta and Dagwumba (who send deputations 
 of their principal caboceers), and those who have been de- 
 spatched elsewhere on public business. If a chief or caboceer 
 has offended, or if his fidelity be suspected, he is seldom 
 accused or punished until the Yam Custom, which they 
 attend frequently unconscious, and always uncertain of what 
 may be laid to their charge. The Yam Custom is like the 
 Saturnalia ; neither theft, intrigue, nor assault are punishable 
 during the continuance, but the grossest liberty prevails, and 
 each sex abandons itself to its passions. 
 
 On Friday, the 5th of September, the number, splendour, 
 and variety of arrivals, thronging from the different paths, 
 was as astonishing as entertaining ; but there was an alloy 
 in the gratification, for the principal caboceers sacrificed a 
 slave at each quarter of the town on their entree. 
 
 In the afternoon of Saturday, the King received all the 
 caboceers and captains in the large area, where the Dankara 
 canons are placed. The scene was marked with all the 
 splendour of our own entree, and many additional novelties.
 
 CUSTOMS. 227 
 
 The crusli in the distance was awful and distressing. All 
 the heads of the Kings and calDOceers whose kingdoms had 
 been conquered, from Sai Tootoo to the present reign, with 
 those of the chiefs who had been executed for subsequent 
 revolts, were displayed by two parties of executioners, each 
 upwards of a hundred, who passed in an impassioned dance, 
 some with the most irresistible grimace, some with the most 
 frightful gesture : they clashed their knives on the skulls, 
 in which sprigs of thyme were inserted, to keep the spirits 
 from troubhng the King. I never felt so grateful for being 
 born in a civilized country. Firing and drinking palm wine 
 were the only divertissements to the ceremony of the cabo- 
 ceers presenting themselves to the King ; they were an- 
 nounced, and passed aU round the circle saluting every 
 umbrella : their bands preceded ; we reckoned above forty 
 drums in that of the King of Dwabin. The effect of the 
 splendour, the tumult, and the musketry, was afterwards 
 heightened by torchlight. We left the ground at ten o'clock ; 
 the umbrellas were crowded even in the distant streets, the 
 town M'as covered like a large fair, the broken sounds of 
 distant horns and drums filled up the momentary pauses of 
 the firing which encircled us : the uproar continued until 
 four in the morning, just before which the King retired. 
 
 The next morning the King ordered a large quantity of 
 rum to be poured into brass pans, in various j)arts of the 
 town ; the crowd pressing around, and drinking like hogs ; 
 freemen and slaves, women and children, striking, kicking, 
 and trampling each other under foot, pushed head foremost 
 into the pans, and spilling much more than they drank. In 
 less than an hour, excepting the principal men, not a sober 
 person was to be seen, parties of four, reeling and rolling 
 under the weight of another, whom they affected to be carry- 
 ing home ; strings of women covered with red paint, hand 
 in hand, falling down like rows of cards; the commonest
 
 228 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 mechanics and slaves furiously declaiming on state palavers ', 
 the most discordant music, the most obscene songs, children 
 of both sexes prostrate in insensibility. All wore their 
 handsomest cloths, which they trailed after them to a great 
 length, in a drunken emulation of extravagance and dirti- 
 ness/ 
 
 Towards evening the populace grew sober again, the strange 
 caboceers displayed their equipages in every direction, and at 
 five o'clock there was a procession from the palace to the 
 south end of the town and back ; the King and the dignitaries 
 were carried in their hammocks, and passed through a con- 
 tinued blaze of musketry : the crush was dreadful. The next 
 day (Monday) was occupied in state palavers, and on Tuesday 
 the diet broke up, and most of the caboceers took leave. 
 
 About a hundred persons, mostly culprits reserved, are 
 generally sacrificed in difierent quarters of the town at this 
 custom. Several slaves were also sacrificed at Bantama, 
 over the large brass pan, their blood mingling with the 
 various vegetable and animal matter within (fresh and putre- 
 fied), to complete the charm, and produce invincible fetish. 
 All the chiefs kill several slaves, that their blood may flow 
 into the hole from whence the new yam is taken. Those 
 who cannot afibrd to kill slaves, take the head of one already 
 sacrificed and place it on the hole.^ 
 
 1 The description of tlie siege of Pondicherry in Voltaire occurred 
 to me ; it will assist the imagination of the reader : — " De grands 
 magasins de liqueurs fortes j entretenaient I'ivrognerie et tous les 
 maux dont elle est le germe. C'est une situation qu'il faut avoir vne. 
 Les travaux, les gardes de la tranchee etaient faits par des hommes 
 ivres De-la les scenes les plus honteuses et les plus destruc- 
 tives de la subordination et de la discipline. On a vu des officiers se 
 colleter avec des soldats et mille autres actions infames, dont le de- 
 tail, renfei-me dans les homes de la verite la plus exacte, paraitrait 
 une exageration monstreuse." 
 
 2 In Ahanta, at the Contoom or Harvest Custom, each family erects 
 its rude altar, composed of four sticks driven in the ground and twigs
 
 CUSTOMS. 229 
 
 Tlie royal gold ornaments are melted down every Yam 
 Custom, and fashioned into new patterns as novel as pos- 
 sible. This is a piece of state policy very imposing on the 
 populace, and the tributary chiefs who pay but an annual 
 visit. 
 
 About ten days after the custom, the whole of the royal 
 household eat new yam for the first time in the market-place, 
 the King attending. The next day he and the captains set 
 off for Sarrasoo before sunrise, to perform their annual ablu- 
 tions in the river Dah; almost all the inhabitants follow 
 him, and the capital appears deserted. The succeeding day 
 the King washes in the marsh at the south-east end of the 
 town, the captains lining the streets leading to it on both 
 sides. He is attended by his suite, but he laves the water 
 with his own hands over himself, his chairs, stools, gold and 
 silver plate, and the various articles of furniture used espe- 
 cially by him. Several brass pans are covered with white 
 cloth, with various fetish under them. About twenty sheep 
 are dipped (one sheep and one goat only are sacrificed at the 
 time), to be killed in the palace in the afternoon, that their 
 blood may be poured on the stools and door-posts. All the 
 doors, windows, and arcades of the palace are jDlentifully 
 besmeared with a mixture of eggs and palm oil ; as also the 
 stools of the different tribes and families. After the cere- 
 mony of washing is over, the principal captains precede the 
 King to the palace, where, contrary to usual custom, none 
 but those of the first rank are allowed to enter, to see 
 
 laid across the top, the whole is then covered with fresh-pulled leaves. 
 A hog, a sheep, a goat, or a fowl is killed, according to the means of 
 the family, and the most delicate parts laid on the altar. A mixture 
 is made of eggs, palm oil, palm wine, the blood of the animal slain, 
 and other ingredients, and also dedicated to the fetish, in small pots 
 placed on the altar. In a few days these altars become so offensive 
 as to render it disagreeable to pass them, but they are never re- 
 moved.
 
 230 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 tlie procession pass. Tlie King's fetish men walk first, 
 with attendants holding basins of sacred water, which they 
 sprinkle plentifully over the chiefs with branches,' the more 
 superstitious running to have a little poured on their heads, 
 and even on their tongues. The King and his attendants 
 all wear white cloths on this occasion. Three white lambs 
 are led before him, intended for sacrifice at his bedchamber. 
 All his wives follow, with a guard of archers. 
 
 Another national custom is the Adai, by the number of 
 which the Ashantees appear to reckon their year, which . 
 began, I could not understand why, on the first of October. 
 The common people pretend, or believe, that the time for 
 repeating the Adai is marked by the falling of a fruit like a 
 gourd, from a tree called Brebretim, and which generally 
 takes place in about twenty days from its first appearance, 
 all the birds and beasts in the neighbourhood crying out 
 simultaneously. They further pretend, that from the fruit of 
 this tree spring various kinds of vegetables. This account of 
 the tree, known in Warsaw as well, is peculiar to Ashantee. 
 The customs are alternately called the great and little Adai, 
 the former taking place always on a Sunday, the latter on a 
 AVednesday ; and it appeared to me, from calculation, that 
 there were six weeks between each great Adai, and six 
 between each little one, so that the custom was generally held 
 every twenty-one days. 
 
 The large drum which stands at the entrance of the 
 palace, adorned with skulls and thigh bones, is struck with 
 great force at sunset the preceding day as a signal; the 
 whole of the establishment of the palace shout, and their 
 shout is echoed by the people throughout the town. Music 
 and firing generally beguile the night. The next morning 
 the King goes to the fetish house (Himma), opposite the 
 
 3 " Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda, 
 
 Spargens rore levi et ramo felicis olivae." — ^-^n. vi.
 
 CUSTOMS. 231 
 
 palace, and offers several sheep ; the blood of this sacrifice is 
 poured on the gold stool, to which extraordinary virtues are 
 ascribed, being considered the palladium of the kingdom : the 
 deposition of Sai Quamina was protracted from his having 
 it in his possession at Dwabin. The caboceers and captains, 
 many coming from towns two or three days' distant, begin to 
 march to the large yard of the palace about sunrise to secure 
 theii' j)laces; we generally attended between nine and ten, 
 when the King had just seated himself. The first ceremony 
 was penetrating to the King, tlirough the various state 
 officers and attendants, to wish him good morning, at which 
 he slightly inclined his head. The chiefs, as they advanced 
 to do so, were supported and followed by a few favourite 
 attendants, who flourished their swords in the air, the gold 
 handles upwards, and the band of each began to play as he 
 left his seat. Young caboceers, of five and six years of age, 
 stalked by with interesting vanity. After this the King left 
 his chair, which was turned upside down, and retired a few 
 minutes into the palace. All the horns flourished as he 
 made his exit and entree ; swords, feathers, elephants' tails, 
 were waved rapidly, and the drums beaten with deafening 
 effect. After he was seated, the linguists, preceded by their 
 gold canes and insignia, presented a sheep, a flask of rum 
 (drunk on the ground), and ten ackies of gold to each superior 
 captain, and somewhat less to the others. Another flourish 
 proclaimed the dispensation of the King's bounty ; five or 
 six men then rose, and chanted his deeds and titles for 
 about ten minutes. I regret exceedingly that this chant 
 was not noted, it was so harmonious. I observed them put 
 something between their teeth before they began. The 
 same tedious form of saluting the King was now repeated to 
 return thanks. Any new law was afterwards promulgated 
 which occurred but twice during our stay, and the levee 
 broke up on the King's leaving his chair. Is^ot unfrequently
 
 232 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 the whole took place during heavy rain. It was computed 
 that the King dashed or presented forty pereguins of gold 
 (£400) every Adai custom.* 
 
 The decease of a person is announced by a discharge of 
 musketry, proportionate to his rank, or the wealth of his 
 family. In an instant you see a crowd of slaves burst from 
 the house and run towards the bush, flattering themselves 
 that the hindmost, or those surprised in the house, will 
 furnish the human victims for sacrifice, if they can but 
 secrete themselves until the custom is over. The body is 
 then handsomely dressed in silk and gold, and laid out on the 
 bed, the richest cloths beside it.' One or two slaves are then 
 sacrificed at the door of the house. I shall describe the 
 custom for Quatchie Quofie's mother, wliich we witnessed 
 August the 2nd ; it was by no means a great one, but it will 
 give the most correct idea of these splendid but barbarous 
 ceremonies. The King, Quatchie Quofie, and Odumata 
 each sacrificed a young girl directly the deceased had breathed 
 her last, that she might not want for attendants until the 
 
 ■* The Ahantas divide time into periods of three weeks. The first 
 week is called Ada'i, and is termed the good week, in which much 
 work is done, and traders visit the markets more frequently in this 
 week than at any other time, supposing all they do in it must prosper. 
 The second week is Ajamfoe, or the bad week, in which no work or 
 trade is done, the natives believing everything undertaken in it must 
 fail. The third week is Adim, or the little good week, in which they 
 both work and trade, but not as much as in the Adai. 
 
 ^ " . . . Tum membra toro defleta reponunt, 
 Purpureasque super vestes, velamina nota, 
 Conjiciunt." — ^n. vi. 
 
 In Fantee they dress the body richly, and usually prop it erect in a 
 ehair, exposing it until it is dangerous to do so any longer. They 
 bury it in their house, with as many gold ornaments as they can afford 
 to dedicate. The men called the town drummers are only allowed 
 to die standing, and when expiring are snatched up and supported in 
 that posture. In Ahanta they frequently exhibit the body chalked 
 all over.
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 233 
 
 greater sacrifice was made. The retainers, adherents, and 
 friends of the family, then sent contributions of gold, powder, 
 rum, and cloth, to be expended at the custom ; the King, as 
 heir, exceeding every quota but that of the nearest relative, 
 who succeeded to the stool and slaves. The King also sent a 
 sum of gold, and some rich cloths to be buried with the 
 deceased, in the basket or coffin. I could not learn the 
 various sums of gold-dust with sufficient accuracy to note 
 them, but the following were the quantities of powder 
 presented on the occasion : — 
 
 Quatchie Quofie . . 20 oz 
 
 . (of gold) kegs. 
 
 King 4 
 
 J) 
 
 )J 
 
 King's brother ... 2 
 
 J) 
 
 )J 
 
 Amanquatea ... 2 
 
 )> 
 
 >) 
 
 Odumata .... 2 
 
 J) 
 
 )) 
 
 Apokoo .... 1 
 
 » 
 
 )) 
 
 Otee .... 1 
 
 >) 
 
 }> 
 
 Yapensoo .... 1 
 
 » 
 
 J> 
 
 Amanqua Abiniowa (the nephew) 2 
 
 >> 
 
 5) 
 
 (Name illegible) ... 1 
 
 J) 
 
 >? 
 
 Adoosey .... 1 
 
 )j 
 
 J) 
 
 Jessinting .... 1 
 
 )5 
 
 )) 
 
 Saphoo .... 1 
 
 )J 
 
 )) 
 
 Ooshoo .... 1 
 
 J) 
 
 )J 
 
 Inferior retainers . . 4 
 
 >J 
 
 }J 
 
 44 nearly 12 barrels. 
 The inferior retainers of Quatchie Quofie gave four ackies of 
 gold and eight fathoms of cloth each. I was told these con- 
 tributions were unusually small, from the command of the 
 King that the greatest economy should be observed in every 
 expenditure of powder, on account of the approaching war. 
 
 We walked to Assafoo about twelve o'clock ; the vultures 
 were hovering around two headless trunks, scarcely cold.
 
 234 MISSION TO ASFIANTEE. 
 
 Several troops of women, from fifty to a hundred in each, 
 were dancing hy in movements resembling skaiting, lauding 
 and bewailing the deceased in the most dismal, yet not dis- 
 cordant strains; audible, from the vast number, at a consider- 
 able distance. Other troops carried the rich cloths and silks 
 of the deceased on their heads, in shining brass pans, twisted 
 and stuffed into crosses, cones, globes, and a fanciful variety 
 of shapes only to be imagined, and imposing at a small dis- 
 tance the appearance of rude deities. The faces, arms, and 
 breasts of these women, were profusely daubed with red 
 earth, in horrid emulation of those who had succeeded in 
 besmearing themselves with the blood of the victims. The 
 crowd was overbearing ; horns, drums, and muskets, yeUs, 
 groans, and screeches, invaded our hearing with as many 
 horrors as were crowded on our sight. JSTow and then a 
 victim was hurried by, generally dragged or run along at full 
 speed ; the uncouth dress, and the exulting countenances of 
 those who surrounded him^ likening them to as many fiends. 
 I observed apathy, more frequently than despair or emotion, 
 in the looks of the victims. The chiefs and captains were 
 arriving in all directions, announced by the firing of muskets, 
 and the peculiar flourishes of their horns, many which were 
 by this time familiar to us ; they were then habited plainly 
 as warriors, and were soon lost to our sight in the crowd. 
 As old Odumata passed in his hammock, he bade us observe 
 him well when he passed again : this prepared us in a small 
 degree. Presently the King's arrival in the market-place 
 was announced, the crowd rolled towards it impetuously, but 
 the soldiery hacked on all sides indiscriminately, and formed 
 a passage for the procession. Quatchie Quofie hurried by, 
 plunging from side to side like a Bacchanal, drunk with the 
 adulation of his bellowing supporters ; his attitudes were 
 responsive to the horror and barbarism of the exultations 
 which inspired them. The victims, with large knives driven
 
 CUSTOMS. 235 
 
 througli their cheeks, eyed him with indifference ; he them 
 with a savage joy, bordering on frenzy ; insults were aggra- 
 vated on the one, flattery lavished on the other. Our disgust 
 was beguiled for an instant by surprise. The chiefs, who had 
 just before passed us in their swarthy cloths, and the dark 
 gloomy habits of war, now followed Quatchie Quofie, glisten- 
 ing in all the splendour of their fetish dresses ; the sprightly 
 variety of their movements ill accorded with the ceremony. 
 Old Odumata's vest was covered with fetish, cased invariably 
 in gold or silver. A variety of extraordinary ornament and 
 novel insignia courted and reflected the sun in every 
 direction : it was like a splendid pantomime after a Gothic 
 tragedy. 
 
 "We followed to the market-place. The King, and the 
 chiefs not immediately connected with Quatchie Quofie, were 
 seated under their canopies, with the usual insignia and 
 retinue, and lii.ed about the half of a circle, apparently half 
 a mile in circumference ; the soldiery completed it, their 
 respective chiefs situated amongst them. Thirteen victims, 
 surrounded by their executioners, whose black shaggy caps 
 and vests gave them the appearance of bears rather than men, 
 were pressed together by the crowd to the left of the King. 
 The troops of women, before described, paraded without the 
 circle, vociferating the dirge. E,um and palm wine were 
 flowing copiously, liorns and drums were exerted even to 
 frenzy. In an instant there was a burst of musketry near 
 the King, and it spread and continued incessantly around 
 the circle for upwards of an hour. The soldiers kept their 
 stations, but the chiefs, after firing, bounded once round the 
 area with the gesture and extravagance of madmen; their 
 panting followers enveloping them in flags, occasionally firing 
 in all the attitudes of a scaramouch, and incessantly bellomng 
 the strong names of their exulting chief, whose musket they 
 snatched from his hands directly he had fired. An old hag.
 
 236 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 described as the head fetish ■woman of the family, screamed 
 and plunged about in the midst of the fire as if in the greatest 
 agonies. The greater the chief the heavier the charge of 
 poAvder he is allowed to fire ; the heaviest charge recollected, 
 was that fired by the King on the death of his sister, 
 eighteen ackies, or an ounce avoirdupois. Their blunder- 
 busses and long guns were almost all braced closely with the 
 cordage of the country ; they were generally supported by 
 their attendants whilst they fired, several did not appear 
 to recover it for nearly a minute ; Odumata's old frame 
 seemed shaken almost to dissolution. Many made a point of 
 collecting near us, just within the circle, and firing as close as 
 possible to startle us ; the fi'equent bursting of their muskets 
 made this rather alarming as well as disagreeable. The 
 firing abated, they drank freely from the bowls of palm wine, 
 religiously pouring a small quantity on the ground before 
 they raised them to their lips.^ 
 
 The principal females of the family, many of them very 
 handsome and of elegant figures, came forward to dance, 
 dressed generally in yellow silk, with a silver knife hung by 
 a chain round their necks ; one with, a gold, another with a 
 silver horn ; a few were dressed as fetish women ; an um- 
 brella was held over the granddaughter as she danced. The 
 Ashantees dance incomparably better than the people of the 
 water-side, indeed elegantly; the sexes do not dance sepa- 
 
 6 " Hie duo rite mero libans carcliesia Baccho 
 Fundit humi." — -^n. v. 
 
 Ohov S'e/f SeTrdwu x«M«5iS X*'<"'j o^^^' "^'^ ^rXrj 
 Uplv TTte'etJ', Trplv \e7ypai virepfx^vei Kpoviupi. — Ofirfp. 77. 
 The Ashantees do so not only on solemn occasions but invariably ; and 
 it would seem that the Greeks did from the following words of Hecuba 
 to Hector : — 
 
 'AAAa /xeV, ocppa Ke toi /ueAiTjSea ohov eVei/fO), 
 
 'ris aneiaris Aii Tcarpl Koi &W01S aOavdroici 
 
 UpuToi/' CTretTa 5e /c' curbs ovijaeai, at Ke iri-pcrQa. — O/xrjp. ^.
 
 CUSTOMS. 237 
 
 lately, as in Fantee, but the man encircles tlie woman with a 
 piece of silk, which he generally flirts in his right hand, 
 supports her round the waist, receives her elbows in the 
 palms of his hands, and a variety of figures approximating, 
 with the time and movement, very closely to the waltz. 
 
 A dash of sheep and rum was exchanged between the 
 King and Quatchie Quofie, and the drums announced the 
 sacrifice of the victims. All the chiefs first visited them in 
 turn ; I was not near enough to distinguish wherefore. The 
 executioners wrangled and struggled for the office, and the 
 indifference with which the first poor creature looked on, in 
 the torture he was from the knife passed through his cheeks, 
 was remarkable. The nearest executioner snatched the sword 
 from the others, the right hand of the victim was then 
 lopped off, he was thrown down, and his head was sawed 
 rather than cut off. It was cruelly prolonged, I will not say 
 wilfully. Twelve more were dragged forward, but we forced 
 our way through the crowd and retired to our quarters. 
 Other sacrifices, principally female, were made in the bush 
 where the body was buried. It is usual to " wet the grave " 
 with the blood of a freeman of respectability. All the 
 retainers of the family being present, and the heads of all the 
 victims deposited in the bottom of the grave, several are 
 unsuspectingly called on in a hurry to assist in placing the 
 coffin or basket, and just as it rests on the heads or skulls a 
 slave from behind stuns one of these freemen by a violent 
 blow, followed by a deep gash in the back part of the neck, 
 and he is rolled in on the top of the body, and the grave 
 instantly filled up. A sort of carnival, varied by firing, 
 drinking, singing, and dancing, was kept up in Assafoo for 
 several days ; the chiefs generally visiting it every evening, 
 or sending their linguists with a dash of palm wine or rum to 
 Quatchie Quofie ; and I was given to understand, that, but 
 for the approaching Avar and the necessary economy of
 
 238 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 powder, there would have been eight great customs instead of 
 one, for this woman, one weekly, the King himself firing at 
 at the last. The last day all the females in any way con- 
 nected with the family (who are not allowed to eat for three 
 days after the death, though they may drink as much palm 
 wine as they please), paraded round the town, singing a com- 
 pliment and thanks to all those who had assisted in making 
 the custom. 
 
 On the death of a king, all the customs which have been 
 made for the subjects who have died during his reign must 
 be simultaneously repeated by the families (the human 
 sacrifices as well as the carousals and pageantry) to amplify 
 that for the monarch, which is also solemnized, indepen- 
 dently, but at the same time in every excess of extravagance 
 and barbarity. The brothers, sons, and nephews of the 
 King, affecting temporary insanity, burst forth with then- 
 muskets, and fire promiscuously amongst the crowd ; even a 
 man of rank, if they meet him, is their victim, nor is their 
 murder of him or any other, on such an occasion, visited or 
 prevented; the scene can scarcely be imagined. Few per- 
 sons of rank dare to stir from their houses for the first two or 
 three days, but religiously drive forth all their vassals and 
 slaves, as the most acceptable composition of their own 
 absence. The King's Ocras, who will be mentioned pre- 
 sently, are all murdered on his tomb, to the number of a 
 hundred or more, and women in abundance. I was assured 
 by several, that the custom for Sai Quamina was repeated 
 weekly for three months, and that 200 slaves were sacrificed, 
 and twenty-five barrels of powder fired each time. But the 
 custom for the King's mother, the regent of the kingdom 
 during the invasion of Fantee, is most celebrated. The King 
 of himself devoted 3000 victims (upwards of 2000 of whom 
 were Fantee prisoners) and twenty-five barrels of powder.' 
 7 Suetonius tells us that Augustus sacrificed 300 of the principal
 
 CUSTOMS. 239 
 
 Dwabin, Kokoofoo, Becqua, Soota, and Marmpong, furnished 
 100 victims, and twenty barrels of powder each ; and most of 
 the smaller towns ten victims, and two barrels of powder 
 each. The Kings, and Kings only, are buried in the 
 cemetery at Bantama, and the sacred gold buried with them. 
 (See Laws.) Their bones are afterwards deposited in a 
 building there, opposite to which is the largest brass pan I 
 ever saw (for sacrifices), being about five feet in diameter, 
 with four small lions on the edge. Here human sacrifices 
 are frequent and ordinary, to water the graves of the Kings. 
 The bodies of chiefs are frequently carried about with the 
 army, to keep them for interment at home, and eminent 
 revolters or enemies also, to be exposed in the capital. 
 Boiteam (the father of Otee, the fourth linguist), who accom- 
 panied the army of Abiniowa in his political capacity, dying 
 at Akrofroom in Aquapim during the campaign, his body 
 was kept with the army two months before it arrived at 
 Coomassie. I could not get any information on their treat- 
 ment of the corpse, beyond their invariable reply that they 
 smoked it well over a slow fire. 
 
 The laws of Ashantee allow the King 3333 wives, which 
 number is carefully kept up, to enable him to present women 
 to those who distinguish themselves, but never exceeded, 
 being in their eyes a mystical one. Many of these reside in 
 a secluded part of the King's croom, or country residence, at 
 Barramang ; a greater number in a croom at the back of the 
 palace, immediately in the marsh ; and the remainder in two 
 streets of the capital. Many, probably, the King has never 
 seen. The streets as well as the croom are inhabited by 
 them exclusively, and never approached but by the King's 
 messengers, or their female relatives, who only communicate 
 
 citizens of Perusia to the manes of liis uncle Julius. We read in Prevost 
 that 64,080 persons were sacrificed, with aggravated barbarity, in the 
 dedication of a temple in Mexico.
 
 240 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 with them at the entrances, which are closed at each end 
 with bamboo doors, where there is always a guard. If the 
 King consaws, or marries an infant at the breast, which is 
 not unfreqnent, she is thenceforth confined to the house, and 
 rigorously secluded from the sight of any but the female part 
 of her family. The King has seldom more than six wives 
 resident with him in the palace. On the occasion of signing 
 the treaty, as explained in the public letter, about 300 were 
 assembled, and none but the King's chamberlain, and the 
 deputies of the parts of the Government, were allowed to be 
 present. They were addressed through their own linguist, a 
 very decrepid old man. Many of them were very handsome, 
 and their figures exquisite. When they go out, which is 
 seldom, they are encircled and preceded by troops of small 
 boys with thongs or whips of elephant's hide, who lash every 
 one severely who does not quit their path for another, or 
 jump into the bush w^ith his hands before his eyes; and 
 sometimes the offenders are heavily fined besides. The 
 scrambling their approach occasioned in the more public 
 parts of the city was very diverting — captains, caboceers, 
 slaves, and cliildren tumbling one over another. I was told 
 what it cost the King daily to support them, but it has 
 escaped me ; they are said to live as daintily as himself. 
 None but the chief eunuch, an immense creature, is allowed 
 to bear a message to the King when in the seragho of the 
 palace. 
 
 It has been mentioned before, that the King's sisters are 
 not only countenanced in intrigue wuth any handsome sub- 
 ject, but they are allowed to choose any eminently so (how- 
 ever inferior otherwise), as a husband, who is presently 
 advised by the King of his good fortune : thus they consider 
 they provide for a personal superiority in their monarchs. 
 But if the royal bride dies before the husband, unless his 
 rank be originally elevated, he is expected to kill himself on
 
 CUSTOMS. 241 
 
 the occasion, and also if the only male child dies. If he 
 hesitates, he is peremptorily reminded that as either are his 
 superiors, to whom he is to be considered as a slave, so he 
 must attend them wherever they go ; and when a male child 
 is born the father does it homage, and acknowledges his 
 vassalage in the most abject manner. 
 
 The Ocras are distinguished by a large circle of gold 
 suspended from the neck ; many of them are favourite slaves, 
 many commoners who have distinguished themselves, and 
 who are glad to stake their lives on the King's, to be kept 
 free from palavers and supported by his bounty, which they 
 are entirely ; some few are relatives and men of rank. All 
 of the two former classes, excepting only the two or tliree 
 individuals known to have been entrusted with the King's 
 state secrets, are sacrificed on his tomb. The royal mes- 
 sengers and others of the suite have been described in the 
 processions ; they are sometimes fed in the palace, but they 
 have a free seat at the table of every subject. 
 
 The King has a troop of small boys, who carry the fetish 
 bows and arrows, and are licensed plunderers; they are so 
 sly and nimble, that it is very diverting to watch them in the 
 market-place, which they infest every morning. A^Tiatever 
 they can carry off is fair game, and cannot be required or 
 recovered ; but the loser, if he can catch them before they 
 arrive at the palace, may beat them as severely as he pleases 
 short of mortal injury; however, they bear it as obdurately 
 as young Spartans. Sometimes one party trips up a person 
 with a load of provisions, whilst another scrambles them up. 
 The anxious alarm of the market people, sitting with sticks 
 in their hands, and the comic archness of these boys threading 
 the crowd in all directions, is indescribable. Some of the 
 earliest European travellers in Abyssinia met with a similar 
 troop of royal plunderers, and I believe suffered from them. 
 Our property was always respected by them, but they used to 
 
 R
 
 242 MISSIOJ^^ TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 entertain themselves witli mimicking our common expres- 
 sions and our actions, Avliich they did inimitably. '\Aniilst 
 sketching, they buzzed about me like mosquitoes. The 
 Ashantees are without exception the most surprising mimics 
 I have ever heard. I have known a captain, called 
 Adoo Quamina, repeat a sentence after I had finished it, 
 of at least a dozen words, which he knew nothing about, 
 and had not heard before. The King has a sort of buffoon, 
 whose movements were as irresistibly comic as those of 
 Grimaldi. 
 
 The King ajDpeared to have nearly a hundred negroes of 
 different colours, through the shades of red and pink to 
 white ; they were collected for state, but were generally 
 disgusting objects, diseased and emaciated; they always 
 seemed as if going to shed their skins, and their eyes 
 blinked in the light, as if it was not their element. 
 
 About twenty pots of white soup and twenty pots of 
 black (made with palm nuts) are cooked daily at the palace 
 (besides those for the consumption of the household), for 
 visitors of consequence, and a jDcriguin of gold is given daily 
 to Yokokroko, the chamberlain, for palm wme. This would 
 have appeared too large a sum, had I not witnessed the vast 
 consumption and waste of it ; for the vigour of an Ashantee 
 being estimated by the measure of the draught he can drink 
 off, nearly half is generally spilt over his beard, which it is 
 his greatest pride and luxury to draw through his fingers 
 when wet. The King was very proud of the superior length 
 of his beard. A large quantity of palm wine is dashed to the 
 retinues of all the captains attending in the course of the 
 day; much is expended in the almost daily ceremony of 
 drinking it in state in the market-place, and our party was 
 always well provided for in the course of the evening. The 
 palm wine at the palace was seldom good, but a zest was 
 excited by the exquisite polish of the plate in which it was
 
 CUSTOMS. . 243 
 
 served. Apokoo, Odumata, and others, sent us some daily 
 that was excellent. 
 
 It is to be observed that the King's weights are one-third 
 heavier than the current weights of the country ; and all the 
 gold expended in provision being weighed out in the former, 
 and laid out in the latter, the difference enriches the chamber- 
 lain, cook, and chief domestic officers of the palace, as it is 
 thought derogatory to a King avowedly to pay his subjects 
 for their services. In the same manner the linguists derive 
 the greater part of their incomes (their influence being occa- 
 sionally purchased), for all the dashes or presents of gold the 
 King makes in the year are weighed out by the royal weights, 
 and re-weighed by them in the current ones. The law allows 
 a debtor to recover of a reluctant or tardy creditor, in the 
 King's weights, besides the interest (noticed in the laws), if 
 he is esteemed enough by Apokoo the treasurer to be trusted 
 with them ; or rather, if he can afford to bribe him, or engages 
 to share the profit with him. 
 
 After a subject is executed for crime, the body and head 
 are carried out of the town by some of the King's slaves 
 appointed for that purpose, and thrown where the wild beasts 
 may devour them ; but if the deceased be of any consequence, 
 some of his friends conceal themselves near where they know 
 the body will be carried, and purchase it, and the right of 
 burial, of these domestics, generally for eight ackies. There 
 are a number of fine large sheep, decorated with bells and 
 other ornaments, about the palace. If any person gets into an 
 ordinary palaver, and wishes the King's interference in his 
 favour, he goes to the captain who has the charge of these 
 sheep, pays him twenty ackies for one, and sends or takes it to 
 the King as a dash, who commits it again to the care of 
 the captain. 
 
 When the King sends an ambassador, he enriches the 
 splendour of his suite and attire as much as possible j some- 
 
 R 2
 
 244 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 times provides it entirely ; but it is all surrendered on tlie 
 return (except the additional wives), and forms a sort of public 
 state wardrobe. The King's system of espionage is much 
 spoken of (for its address and infallibility) by Apokoo and 
 others, who abet it. A shrewd but mean boy is attached to 
 or follows the embassy (sometimes with a trader), in the com- 
 monest capacity and meanest attire ; and he is instructed to 
 collect every report as he passes, and to watch the motions of 
 the embassy as closely as possible. As the extortions of these 
 deputies are always loudly and publicly complained of by the 
 injured inhabitants of the dependent or tributary crooms they 
 pass through (perhaps being aware they will reach the 
 King's ears), the particulars are easily acquired. The mes- 
 sengers who were sent with our first despatches to Cape Coast, 
 excusing the length of the time (forty days), by alleging that 
 it was found necessary to collect a session of the Fantee cabo- 
 ceers at Paintree, the King replied, " You tell me a lie ; you 
 fined a captain there four ounces for breaking an Ashantee 
 law, and you waited to procure and expend the gold, not 
 intending it should be known." The men instantly confessed 
 and were put in irons ; one was the brother of Yokokroko, who 
 paid six ounces for his release after several days. 
 
 AVhen the King spits, the boys with the elephants' tails 
 sedulously wipe it up or cover it with sand ; when he sneezes, 
 every person present touches or lays the two first fingers across 
 the forehead and breast, as the Moors did when they pro- 
 nounced a blessing, and the Ashantees, invariably, to propitiate 
 one. These troops of boys who carry the elephants' tails are 
 the sons of men of rank and confidence ; for whenever the 
 King dignifies a deserving subject with what may be termed 
 nobility, he exchanges some of his own sons or nephews (from 
 eight to fourteen years of age) for those of the individual who 
 maintains them, and for whom they perform the same offices 
 as his own and others do for the King. Thus the present
 
 CUSTOMS. 245 
 
 King (the short reign of his brother Sai Apokoo being unan- 
 ticipated) carried an elephant's tail before Apokoo, whose 
 kindness and indulgence to the child secured the preference 
 of the monarch. 
 
 It is a frequent practice of the King's to consign sums of 
 gold to the care of rising captains, without requiring them 
 from them for two or three years, at the end of which time he 
 expects the captain not only to restore the principal, but to 
 prove that he has acquired sufficient of his o^vn from the use 
 of it, to support the greater dignity the King would confer on 
 him. If he has not, his talent is thought too mean for further 
 elevation. Should he have no good traders amongst his 
 dependents (for if he has there is no difficulty), usury and 
 worse resources are countenanced, and thought more creditable 
 than a failure, ascribed to want of talent rather than to a 
 regard of principle. 
 
 The fees to the King's household, on a captain being raised 
 to a stool, are generally eight ounces. I saw two instances of 
 the King paying them himself ; the indi^dduals, very suddenly 
 elevated for extraordinary courage, being too poor to do so. 
 They were immediately despatched to coUect tributes, the per- 
 centage on which (see Laws), and the douceurs, which may be 
 judged of by the amount provided for them in the settlement 
 of the Commenda palaver, would possess them of a good sum 
 to begin with. 
 
 The interference of Amanquatea, Quatchie Quofie, Odiunata, 
 and Apokoo, is purchased at a most extravagant rate by 
 offenders, whether foreigners or subjects; it is irresistible with 
 the King ; Apokoo is generally preferred ; minor influence is 
 purchased in proportion. Iso subject can sit in public with a 
 cushion on his stool, unless it has been presented to him by 
 the King or one of the four, w^ho, as well as all the other 
 superior captains, receive a periguin of gold for every oath the 
 King exacts of them.
 
 246 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 During the minority, or the earlier part of the reign of a 
 monarch, the linguists and oldest counsellors visit him betimes 
 every morning, and repeat in turn all the great deeds of his 
 ancestors. The greatest deference seemed to be paid to aged 
 experience or wisdom. 
 
 Apokoo is the keeper of the royal treasury, and has the care 
 of all the tributes, which are deposited separately in a large 
 apartment of the palace, of which he only has the key. 
 Numerous and various as the sums are, he disposes of them 
 by a local association which is said to be infallible with him, 
 for the Moorish secretary (who resided some time at Hio) only 
 records the greater political events. Apokoo holds a sort of 
 exchequer court at his own house daily (when he is attended 
 by two of the King's linguists, and various state insignia), to 
 decide all cases affecling tribute or revenue, and the appeal to 
 the King is seldom resorted to. He generally reclined on 
 his lofty bed (of accumulated cushions, and covered with a 
 large rich cloth or piece of silk), with two or three of his 
 handsomest wives near him whilst the pleadings were going 
 forward. He was always much gratified when I attended, and 
 rose to seat me beside him. I observed that all calculations 
 were made, explained, and recorded by cowries. In one in- 
 stance, after being convinced by a variety of evidence that a 
 pubKc debtor was unable to pay gold, he commuted sixteen 
 ounces of gold for twenty men slaves. Several captains, who 
 were his followers, attended this court daily with large suites, 
 and it was not only a crowded but frequently a splendid scene. 
 Before the footoorh or treasury bag is unlocked by the weigher, 
 though it be by the King's order, Apokoo must strike it with 
 his hand in sanction. 
 
 In all public trials, the charges are preferred, in outline, 
 against the criminal by the King's linguists, and he is always 
 heard fully, and obliged to commit or exculpate himself on 
 every point, and to take the various primary oaths before the
 
 CUSTOMS. 247 
 
 witnesses are confronted with him, of whom he is kept as 
 ignorant as possible until the moment of their appearance. 
 The oaths, sometimes four or five, are progressive, generally 
 beginning by the King's foot or some arbitrary form, and are, 
 apparently, not considered awful or decisive, such perjuries 
 being commutable by fine. But when the oath, " By the 
 King's father," is administered, every one looks serious, and 
 if " By Cormantee and Saturday " (see History) is resorted to, 
 there is a gloomy silence ; but this is seldom ventured, if the 
 witnesses, hurried in with a sort of stage effect between that 
 and the former oaths, confound or perplex the accused. 
 
 There are various ways of taking fetish ; the two I observed 
 were licking a white fowl twice or thrice, and drinking a 
 nauseous vegetable juice without coughing : it was adminis- 
 tered by the linguists out of a brass pan in a folded leaf of 
 the plant. If the accused is cleared, he comes forward and is 
 marked with white chalk by the linguists, after which he 
 bows to and thanks all the great men in the council. Taking 
 doom is the infallible test, when they consider the case to be 
 too doubtful for human decision. The bark of that tree is put 
 into a large calabash with water, so as to make a strong infu- 
 sion; it is stirred up whilst the suspected parties sip in 
 turn. It operates instantaneously and convulsively, as a most 
 violent emetic and purge ; those who sip first may re- 
 cover, and the dregs are frequently left designedly for the 
 obnoxious.® 
 
 The criers, upwards of a hundred, who always attend the 
 linguists, are all deformed or maimed, to make them more 
 conspicuous ; they wear a monkey -skin cap, with a gold plate 
 in front, and the tail hanging down behind. Their common 
 
 ^ In the Warsaw country there is said to be a more dreadful poison 
 called Sabe. If it is thrown upon the skin it is absorbed by the pores, 
 and has nearly the same instantaneous mortal effect as when given 
 internally.
 
 2-48 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 exclamations are, Tehoo ! Telling ! Odiddee ! Be silent ! Be 
 quiet ! Pray hear ! And these are so incessantly uttered, that 
 they are themselves the only interruption. 
 
 A general is appointed to the command of an army, iDy 
 receiving a gold-handled sword of the King's from his hand 
 (who strikes him gently with it three times on the head), 
 swearing to return it encrusted with the blood of his conquered 
 enemies. 
 
 One of the King's linguists always accompanies an army 
 of any consequence, to whom all the politics of the war are 
 entrusted, and whose talent and intelligence in negotiating 
 are expected to mature the fruits of the military genius of the 
 general, and to reimburse the expense of the war by heavy 
 fines and contributions. The Ashantees are as superior in 
 discipline as in courage to the people of the water-side, though 
 their discipline is limited to the following precautions. They 
 never pursue when it is near sunset ; the general is always in 
 the rear ; the secondary captains lead the soldiers on, whilst 
 those in command, with a few chosen individuals, urge them 
 forward from the rear with their heavy swords, and cut any 
 man down who retreats until the case is desperate. The first 
 object of the Ashantee in close fight is to fire and spring upon 
 the thi'oat of his enemy ; to advance every time he fires he 
 feels to be imperative, if his commander thinks it jjossible, 
 who would otherwise, if he escaped death in the action, 
 inflict it on him directly it was over. It is one of the sentences 
 of the most popular song in Coomassie, " If I fight I die, if I 
 run away I die, better I go on and die." They are as the 
 ancient Spaniards have been described, " Prodiga gens animai 
 et properare facillima mortem." The general has his umbrella 
 spread in the rear, and, besides his guard, has several extra 
 muskets ready loaded for those soldiers who may be driven to 
 him in case of reverse. His band plays all the time, and in 
 his assumed contempt for the enemy, it is the etiquette for
 
 CUSTOMS. 249 
 
 him to divert himself at some game, wliilst the heads of the 
 slain of any rank in the hostile army are sent to him to put 
 his foot on. AVhen the result of an important action is 
 expected, even Avith an anxiety by no means sanguine, and 
 the messengers are known to be near the capital, the King is 
 always seated in public, with his golden worra board before 
 him, playing with some dignitary ; and thus receives the 
 news, to impress the people with confidence by his affected 
 indifference to victory or defeat, when superstition had 
 revealed and fated inevitable success ultimately. 
 
 All the superior captains have peculiar flourishes or strains 
 for their horns, adapted to short sentences, which are always 
 recognized, and will be repeated on inquiry by any Ashantee 
 you may meet walking in the streets, though the horns are 
 not only out of sight, but at a distance to be scarcely audible. 
 These flourishes are of a strong and distinct character. The 
 King's horns uttered, " I pass all Kings in the world." 
 Apokoo's, "Ashantees, do you do right now?" Gimma's, 
 " Whilst I live no harm can come." Bundahenna's, '' I am a 
 great King's son." Amanqua's, " jSTo one dares trouble me." 
 This will be farther noticed in the chapter on Music. These 
 peculiar flourishes are more particularly for their government 
 in action ; for all the soldiery, indeed I might say all the 
 women and children, being familiar with every flourish, the 
 positions of the various chiefs are judged of when they cannot 
 be seen ; whether they are advancing, falling back, or attempt- 
 ing to flank the enemy by penetrating the woods, is known, 
 and the movements of all the others become co-operative as 
 much as possible. The King's horns go to the market-place 
 every night, as near to midnight as they can judge, and 
 flourish a very peculiar strain, which was rendered to me, 
 " King Sai thanks all his captains and all his people for 
 to-day." 
 
 Several of the hearts of the enemy are cut out by the fetish
 
 250 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 men who follow the army, and the blood and small pieces 
 being mixed (with much ceremony and incantation) with 
 various consecrated herbs, all those who have never killed an 
 enemy before eat a portion, for it is believed that if they did 
 not their vigour and courage would be secretly wasted by the 
 haunting spirit of the deceased. It was said that the King 
 and all the dignitaries partook of the heart of any celebrated 
 enemy ; this was only whispered ; that they wore the smaller 
 joints, bones, and the teeth of the slain monarchs was evident 
 as well as boasted. One man was pointed out to me as 
 always eating the heart of the enemy he killed with his owii 
 hand. The number of an army is ascertained or preserved in 
 cowries or coin by Apokoo. When a successful general 
 returns, he waits about two days at a short distance from the 
 capital, to receive the King's compliments, and to collect all 
 the splendour possible for his entree, to encourage the army 
 and infatuate the people. The most famous generals are 
 distinguished by the addition of warlike names, more terrific 
 than glorious, as they designate their manner of destroying 
 their prisoners. Apokoo was called Aboawassa, because he 
 was in the habit of cutting off their arms ; Appia, Sheaboo, 
 as he beats their heads in pieces with a stone ; Amanqua, 
 Abiniowa, as he cuts off their legs. 
 
 The army is prohibited during the active parts of a cam- 
 paign from all food but meal, which each man carries in a 
 small bag at his side and mixes in his hands with the first 
 water he comes to ; this, they allege, is to prevent cooking 
 fires from betraying their position or anticipating a surprise. 
 In the intervals (for this meal is seldom eaten more than once 
 a day) they chew the boossee or gooroo nut. This meal is very 
 nourishing and soon satisfies ; we tried it on our march down. 
 Ashantee spies have been stationed three and four days in the 
 high trees overlooking Cape Coast Castle, with no other supply 
 than this meal and a little water, before the army has shown
 
 CUSTOMS. 251 
 
 itself. There is ahyays a distinct Lody of recruits with, the 
 army, to despatch those with their knives whom the musket 
 has only wounded, and they are aU expected to return well 
 armed from despoiling the enemy, or they are not esteemed 
 of promise, and dismissed to some servile occupation. I could 
 not find that they had any idea of fortifications, though 
 undoubtedly common to the large cities on the Niger. 
 
 It is the invariable policy of Ashantee to make the con- 
 tingency of the power last subdued, the revolters recently 
 quelled, or the allies last accepted, the van of their army 
 throughout the campaign ; and very frequently there are no 
 Ashantees but captains with the army, but it is composed 
 entirely of tributaries and allies. Thus Odumata subdued 
 Banda with an army of Gamans. In the Ashantee body of 
 the army, which is always that of reserve, the youngest or 
 last made captain marches and engages first, and the others 
 follow seriatim, until Odumata precedes Quatchie Quofie, 
 Amanqua follows him, and Apokoo precedes the King. Were 
 the country generally open, I have no doubt necessity and 
 their military genius would have suggested greater arrange- 
 ment and compactness in their movement, which is never- 
 theless very orderly. Two divisions of an army are rarely 
 allowed to go the same path, lest, being in want of supplies, 
 the neighbourhood should prove inadequate. Aboidwee, our 
 house-master (see correspondence on the Ashantee suicide), 
 who has 1700 retainers, always precedes the King's or 
 Apokoo's division (which will exclusively occupy the Banda 
 path in the invasion of Gaman), to raise a bamboo-house for 
 the King's reception when he comes up. 
 
 Infants are frequently married to infants, for the connexion 
 of families ; and infants are as frequently wedded by adults 
 and elderly men. The ceremony is to send the smaller piece 
 of cloth, worn around the middle, to the infant, and a hand- 
 some dash of gold to the mother, as her care then ceases to be
 
 252 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 a duty, but becomes a service performed to the husband, M'ho 
 also sends frequent presents for the support of the child. 
 Apokoo told me it was a good plan for a man to adopt who 
 wished to get gold, for as the circumstance was seldom gene- 
 rally known, the most innocent freedom when the girl 
 became ten or eleven years old grounded a palaver against 
 the individual, though he might consider he was but fondling 
 a child, and be wholly ignorant of her marriage. I after- 
 wards understood from several others that this view was the 
 leading motive.^ 
 
 It frequently happens when the family of the wife is too 
 powerful for the husband to venture to put her to death for 
 intrigue, that he takes off her nose as a stigma and punish- 
 ment, and makes her the wife of one of his slaves. A wife 
 who betrays a secret is sure to lose her upper lip, and if dis- 
 covered listening to a private conversation of her husband's 
 an ear. Women so maimed are to be met with in all parts of 
 the town. Prostitutes are numerous and countenanced. Ko 
 Ashantee forces his daughter to become the wife of the man 
 he wishes, but he instantly disclaims her support and protec- 
 tion on her refusal, and would persecute the mother if she 
 afforded it ; thus abandoned, they have no resource but prosti- 
 tution. During the menses the women of the capital retire 
 to the plantations or crooms in the bush,^ 
 
 In visiting the chief always gives his principal slaves a few 
 sips of the liquor offered to him, not for security, for it is 
 
 ^ On the coast the bride's character is very notoriously published 
 for part of the husband's present to her family being a flask of rum^ 
 and that not sent until the next day ; whether it is brimful or some- 
 what wanting indicates her virginity or early frailty. 
 
 ^ The women of Ahanta, on the same occasion, are prohibited from 
 entering any inhabited place, and if they attempt to go into a house 
 are heavily fined or punished. If the family is respectable they gene- 
 rally erect a temporary shed to shelter her. The poorer class are 
 forced to endure the inclemencies of the weather without any retreat.
 
 CUSTOMS. 253 
 
 more frequently after than before he has drunk, hut as a mark 
 of his favour. He will frequently give his daughter in mar- 
 riage to a confidential slave, hut where there are a few thus 
 distinguished and indulged (aj^parently as a political check 
 upon a heterogeneous populace), there are thousands barely 
 existing. 
 
 Their principal games are worra,^ which I could not 
 understand, and draughts, which both Moors and negroes 
 play well and constantly. Their method resembles the 
 Polish ;, they take and move backwards and forwards, and 
 a King has the bishop's move in chess. They have another 
 game, for which a board is perforated like a cribbage board, 
 but in numerous oblique lines, traversing each other in all 
 directions, and each composed of three holes for pegs ; the 
 players begin at the same instant, with an equal number of 
 pegs, and he who inserts or completes a hue first, in spite of 
 the baulks of his adversary, takes a peg from him until the 
 stock of either is exhausted. 
 
 2 This game is said to be played in Syria also.
 
 ARCHITECTUEE, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 
 
 rPHE construction of tLe ornamental architecture of Coo- 
 Jl massie reminded me forcibly of the ingenious essay of 
 Sir James Hall (in the *' Edinburgh Philosophical Trans- 
 actions "), tracing the Gothic order to an architectural imitation 
 of wicker-work. 
 
 In building a house, a mould was made for receiving the 
 swish or clay by two rows of stakes and wattle-work, placed 
 at a distance equal to the intended thickness of the wall, as 
 two mud walls were raised at convenient distances to receive 
 the plum-pudding stone which formed the walls of the 
 vitrified fortresses in Scotland. The interval was then filled up 
 Avith a gravelly clay, mixed with water, with which the out- 
 ward surface of the frame or stake-work was also thickly 
 plastered, so as to impose the appearance of an entire thick 
 mud wall. 
 
 The houses had all gable ends, and three thick 
 poles were joined to each — one from the highest point, 
 forming the ridge of the roof, and one on each side, from the 
 base of the triangular part of the gable. These supported a 
 framework of bamboo, over which an interwoven thatch of 
 palm-leaves was laid, and tied with the runners of trees, first 
 to the large poles running from gable to gable, and afterwards 
 (within) to the interlacing of the bamboo framework, which 
 was painted black and polished, so as to look much better
 
 AKCHITECTUREj ARTS; AND MANUFACTURES . 255 
 
 than any rude ceiling would, of which they have no idea. 
 The pillars, which assist to support the roof, and form the 
 proscenium or ojDen front (which none but captains are 
 allowed to have to their houses), were thick poles, afterwards 
 squared with a plastering of swish. The steps and raised 
 floor of these rooms were clay and stone, with a tliick layer 
 of red earth, which abounds in the neighbourhood, and these 
 were washed and painted daily with an infusion of the same 
 earth in water ; it has all the appearance of red ochre, and 
 from the abundance of iron ore in the neighbourhood I do 
 not doubt it is. 
 
 The walls still soft, they formed moulds or frameworks of 
 the patterns in delicate sHps of cane, connected by grass. 
 The two first sHps (one end of each being inserted in the soft 
 wall) projected the relief, commonly mezzo : the interstices 
 were then filled up with the plaster. 
 
 The poles or pillars were sometimes encircled by 
 twists of cane, intersecting each other, which, being filled 
 up with thin plaster, resembled the lozenge and cable orna- 
 ments of the Anglo-Norman order ; the quatre-foil was very 
 common and by no means rude, from the symmetrical bend 
 of the cane which formed it. I saw a few pillars (after they 
 had been squared with the plaster) with numerous shps of 
 cane pressed perpendicularly on to the wet surface, which 
 being covered again with a very thin coat of plaster, closely 
 resembled fluting. When they formed a large arch, they 
 inserted one end of a thick piece of cane in the wet clay of 
 the floor or base, and bending the other over, inserted it in 
 the same manner ; the entablature was filled up with wattle- 
 work plastered over. Arcades and piazzas were common. A 
 whitewash, very frequently renewed, was made from a clay 
 in the neighbourhood. Of course the plastering is very frail, 
 and in the relief frequently discloses the edges of the cane, 
 giving, however, a piquant efi'ect, auxiliary to the ornament.
 
 256 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 The doors were an entire piece of cotton-wood, cut with 
 great labour out of the stems or buttresses of that tree ; 
 battens, variously cut and ^^ainted, were afterwards nailed 
 across. 
 
 So disproportionate was the price of labour to that 
 of provision, that I gave but two tokoos for a slab of cotton- 
 wood five feet by three. The locks they use are from 
 Houssa, and quite original ; one will be sent to the British 
 Museum. Where they raised a first floor, the under room 
 was divided into two by an intersecting wall, to support the 
 rafters for the upper room, which were generally covered with 
 a framework, thickly plastered over with red ochre. I saw- 
 but one attempt at flooring with plank, it was cotton-wood 
 shaped entirely with an adze, and looked like a ship's deck. 
 The windows were open wood work, carved in fanciful 
 figures and intricate patterns, and painted red ; the frames 
 were frequently cased in gold, about as thick as cartridge 
 paper. 
 
 What surprised me most, and is not the least of the many 
 circumstances deciding their great superiority over the gene- 
 rality of Negroes, was the discovery that every house had its 
 cloacae, besides the common ones for the lower orders without 
 the town. They were generally situated under a small arch- 
 way in the most retired angle of the building, but not unfre- 
 quently up-stairs, within a separate room like a small closet, 
 where the large hollow pillar also assists to support the upper 
 story : the holes are of a small circumference, but dug to a 
 surprising depth, and boiling water is daily poured down, 
 which efl'ectually prevents the least offence. The rubbish 
 and offal of each house was burnt every morning at the back 
 of the street, and they were as nice and cleanly in their 
 dwellings as in their persons. 
 
 The King made frequent inquiries about the architecture 
 of England, of which we gave him some idea by drawings.
 
 ARCHITECTURE, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 257 
 
 He was very fond of referring to a project ascribed to Sai 
 Cudjo, and which he declared he would carry into effect 
 directly the Gaman war was over. This was to build a house 
 for his own immediate residence, roofed with brass pans? 
 beaten into flat services, and laid over an ivory framework 
 appearing within. The windows and the doors to be cased 
 in gold, and the doorposts and pillars of ivory. Whether 
 the Moors originated or encouraged this extravagance by the 
 descriptions in their tales, for some of the stories of the 
 " Arabian Mghts " were commonly in their mouths, or 
 whether it was the scheme of his own disposition, prone to 
 magnificence and novelty, the King dwelt ardently on the 
 intention, and by their frequent conversations on the subject, 
 his chiefs appeared scarcely less anxious for the execution 
 than himself. He meditated great improvements and em- 
 bellishments in his capital, on his return from the war, when 
 it was intended that every captain should be presented with 
 an extraordinary sum out of the public treasury, for adorning 
 or enlarging his house. The ruined streets between Asafoo 
 and Bantama were to be rebuilt, and the six or seven small 
 crooms between Coomassie and Baramang (the King's country 
 residence), were to be pulled down, and the inhabitants to 
 occupy a wide street to extend from the city to that croom. 
 This was the darling design of the Iving ; he had already 
 made a sound, broad, and almost direct road, and numerous 
 labourers were continuing to bring it as near as possible to a 
 straight line. 
 
 The Ashantee loom is precisely on the same principle as 
 the English ; it is worked by strings held between the toes ; 
 the web is never more than four inches broad. A small 
 loom complete is amongst the articles for the British Museum. 
 They use a spindle and not a distaff for spinning, holding it 
 in one hand, and twisting the thread (which has a weight at 
 the end) with the finger and thumb of the other. The 
 
 S
 
 258 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 fineness, variety, brilliance, and size of their cloths would 
 astonish, could a more costly one be exhibited ; in the absence 
 of which, that for the Museum will doubtless be admired for 
 the two first qualities, and for having precisely the same 
 appearance on both sides. The richest silks are unravelled to 
 weave into them. The white cloths, which are principally 
 manufactured in Inta and Dagwumba, they paint for mourning 
 Avith a mixture of blood and a red dye-wood. The patterns 
 are various and not inelegant, and painted with so much regu- 
 larity, with a fowl's feather, that they have all the appearance 
 of a coarse print at a distance. I have seen a man paint as 
 fast as I could write. There will be a very fair specimen in 
 the British Museum, the price of painting which was one 
 ackie. 
 
 They have two dye-woods, a red and a yellow, specimens 
 
 of which I brought down ; they make a green by mixing 
 
 the latter with their blue dye, in which they excel ; it is 
 
 made from a plant called acassie, certainly not the indigo, 
 
 which grows plentifully on the coast. The acassie rises to 
 
 the height of about two feet, and according to the natives 
 
 bears a red flower, but the leaf is not small, fleshy, or soft, 
 
 nor is it pale or silvery coloured underneath ; it is a thin 
 
 acuminate leaf, about five inches long and three broad, of 
 
 a dark green.* I regret to add, our best specimens of this 
 
 plant perished in the disasters of our march, and no drawing 
 
 was made of it, as it bore no flower in that season ; it grows 
 
 abundantly in the woods, and produces a fast and beautiful 
 
 colour without requiring a mordant. They gather a quantity 
 
 of the leaves, bruise them in a wooden mortar, and spread 
 
 ^ It is a shrub witli opposite leaves, no stipules, and having a cer- 
 tain degree of resemblance to Marsdenia s^iave-olens (the indigo of 
 Sumatra) but as the leaves are toothed in the acassie, it probably 
 does not belong even to the same natural order.
 
 ARCHITECTURE, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 259 
 
 tliem out on a mat to dry ; this mass is kept for use, a propor- 
 tion of it is put into a pot of water, and remains six days 
 previous to immersing the thread, wliich is left in six days, 
 drying it once every day in the sun, it is then a deep, lasting 
 blue colour. "When a light blue is "svished for, the thread is 
 only allowed to remain in the dye-pot three days. 
 
 They excel in pottery, as the pipes for the Museum will 
 show ; they are rested on the ground when smoked ; the clay 
 is very line, polished (after baking) by friction, and the 
 grooves of the patterns filled up with chalk. They have also 
 a black pottery which admits of a high polish. 
 
 The people of Dagwumba surpass the Ashantees in gold- 
 smith's work, though the latter may be esteemed proficients 
 in the art. The small articles for the Museum, a gold stool, 
 sanko, bell, jawbone, and drum, are not such neat specimens 
 as I could wish, the man who made them having too much 
 costly work on hand for the King to pay our trifles his wonted 
 attention; unfortunately, too, he was committed to prison 
 before they were quite finished ; however, they will give an 
 idea. I weighed out nineteen ackies and a half of gold dust 
 for making these articles ; one third of an ackie was lost in 
 melting, and five was the charge of the goldsmith. "\Ye lost 
 a beautiful silver pipe in the bustle. Bees-Avax, for making 
 the model of the article wanted, is spun out on a smooth 
 block of wood, by the side of a fire, on which stands a pot 
 of water ; a flat stick is dipped into this, with which the wax 
 is made of a proper softness j it takes about a quarter of an 
 hour to make enough for a ring. When the model is 
 finished, it is enclosed in a composition of wet clay and char- 
 coal (which being closely pressed around it forms a mould), 
 dried in the sun, and having a small cup of the same materials 
 attached to it (to contain the gold for fusion), communicating 
 with the model by a small perforation. When the whole 
 model is finished, and the gold carefully enclosed in the cup, 
 
 s 2
 
 260 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 it is put in a charcoal fire ^\'itli the cup undermost. When 
 the gold is supposed to be fused, the cup is turned uppermost, 
 that it may run into the place of the melted wax ; when cool 
 the clay is broken, and if the article is not perfect it goes 
 through the whole process again. To give the gold its proper 
 colour, they put a layer of finely-ground red ochre (which 
 they call Inchuma) all over it, and immerge it in boiling 
 water mixed with the same substance and a little salt ; after 
 it has boiled half an hour, it is taken out and thoroughly 
 cleansed from any clay that may adhere to it. Their bellows 
 are imitations of ours, but the sheep-skin they use being tied 
 to the wood with leather thongs, the wind escapes through 
 the crevices ; therefore when much gold is on the fire, they are 
 obliged to use two or three pair at the same time. Their 
 anvils are generally a large stone, or a piece of iron placed on 
 the ground. Their stoves are built of swish (about three or 
 four feet high), in a circular form, and are open about one- 
 fifth of the circumference ; a hole is made through the closed 
 part level with the ground, for the nozzle of the bellows. 
 Their weights are very neat brass casts of almost every animal, 
 fruit, or vegetable known in the country. The King's scales, 
 blow-pan, boxes, and weights, and even the tongs which hold 
 the cinder to light his pipe, were neatly made of the purest 
 gold that could be manufactured. 
 
 Theu' blacksmith's work is performed with the same sort of 
 forge as the above, but they have no idea of making iron from 
 ore, as their interior neighbours do. Their swords are generally 
 perforated in patterns like fish trowels ; frequently they make 
 two blades springing parallel from one handle, which evince 
 very fine workmanship. The needles and castanets will only 
 give some idea of their progress. The iron-stone is of a dark 
 red colour, spotted with grey, and intermixed with what had 
 all the appearance of lava; they cut bullets out of it for the 
 army when lead is scarce. I have brought some arrows of
 
 ARCHITECTURE, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 261 
 
 native iron. They have no idea of making a lock like the 
 people of Hoiissa and Marrowa. 
 
 They tan or dress leather in Ashantee, but they do this 
 and dye it in a very superior manner in Houssa and Dag- 
 wumba. See the sandals and cushion in the British Museum, 
 the former varied and apparently stitched ; doubting that 
 there could be such stitching, I undid a part, and discovered 
 that they perforated the surface, and then stuck in the fine 
 shreds of leather. The curious will observe, that the patterns 
 of the stool-cushion are all produced by paring the surface. 
 They make their soldiers' belts and pouches out of elephant 
 or pig skin, ornamented with red shells. 
 
 Of their carpenter's work the stool is a fair specimen, 
 being carved out of a solid piece of a wood called zesso, white, 
 soft, and bearing a high polish ; it is first soaked in water. 
 They sell such a stool for about three shillings ; in Accra or 
 Fantee it would fetch twenty. The umbrella is even more 
 curious ; the bird is cut almost equal to turning, and the whole 
 is so supple that it may be turned inside out. This, only a 
 child's umbrella, is a model of the large canopies I have 
 described in the procession ; I gave a piece of cloth value 
 twenty shillings for it. The sanko or guitar is also neatly 
 made, and the chasteness and Etruscan character of the 
 carving is very surprising. The surface of the wood is first 
 charred in the fire, and then carved deep enough to 
 disclose the original white in the stripes or lines of the 
 patterns. 
 
 Numbers of workmen are employed in breaking, rounding, 
 and boring the snail shells, as big as a turkey's egg generally, 
 and sometimes as large as a conch. They are first broken 
 into numerous pieces, then chipped round the size of a sleeve 
 button, and afterwards bored with a bow and iron style 
 fixed in a piece of wood. Lastly, they are strung and 
 extended in rows on a log of wood, and rubbed with a soft
 
 262 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 and bluisli-grey stone and water, until they become perfectly 
 round. 
 
 Their pine-apple thread is very strong, and is made from 
 the fineness of a hair to the thickness of whip-cord ; it 
 bleaches to a beautiful whiteness, and would answer for 
 sewing any strong material, but when muslin is stitched 
 with it, it is liable to be cut from the harshness. The women 
 frequently join their cloths, and ornament their handker- 
 chiefs with a zigzag pattern, worked with unravelled silks of 
 different colours. The fetish case is a specimen of their 
 needlework in the manner of chain stitch.
 
 CLIMATE, POPULATION, EEYEXUE, CITY, 
 ^lAEKETS, ETC. 
 
 THE climate will be best judged of by tlie account of 
 the thermometer from May to February. During the 
 first two months. May and June, it rained about one- 
 third of the time, throughout July and August it rained 
 nearly half, and abrupt tornadoes were frequent in the even- 
 ing, just after sunset, ushered in by a strong wind from the 
 south-west. The heaviest rains were from the latter end of 
 September to the beginning of November, they fell even in 
 more imj^etuous torrents than are witnessed on the coast.^ 
 The influence of the harmattan was described as very power- 
 ful. Generally speaking, from the elevation of Ashantee 
 (unfortunately we had no barometer), it was much cooler in 
 Coomassie than at Cape Coast ; indeed, from four to six in 
 the morning, there was a severity of cold unknown on the 
 coast. 
 
 I can only calculate the population of the kingdom of 
 Ashantee, small in itself, from its military force, of which 
 the following is the most moderate of the estimates I 
 received. 
 
 1 At Cape Coast, in 1815, there was scarcely any rain fell in its 
 season, from May to August. In 1816, the rains were heavy, but no 
 fogs succeeded. In 1817, there was but little rain, but a protracted 
 succession of slight fogs. The climate has been observed, by old 
 residents, to alter as unaccountably within these few years as that of 
 Europe.
 
 264 
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Coomassie district (extending to the northern 
 
 frontier) 60,000 
 
 Dwabin ditto 35,000 
 
 Mairapon ditto 15,000 
 
 Soota ditto 15,000 
 
 Kokoofoo ditto 15,000 
 
 Becqua ditto 12,000 
 
 Adiabin ditto (between Coomassie and the lake) 12,000 
 
 Aphwagwiasee ditto .... 10,000 
 
 Daniasee ditto (southwards of Coomassie) . 8,000 
 
 Koontarasie ditto (on the lake) . . 8,000 
 
 Gamasie ditto 8,000 
 
 Amafoo ditto 6,000 
 
 204,000 
 This appears an extravagant force, until we recollect that it 
 is probably one-fifth of the whole population.^ The Eomans 
 when they were a nation of warriors, which these people are, 
 raised a military force equally great in proportion to their 
 population. Barbot heard of the Ashantees losing 50,000 
 men in two actions, an exaggeration which, nevertheless, 
 serves to argue great military resources. Since the Ashantee 
 invasions, their disposable force has been estimated by old 
 residents in public reports as upwards of 150,000. From 
 the above particular statement, the population may be esti- 
 mated at one million, which I believe is little more than 
 half the population of Scotland, the area of which must be 
 more than double that of Ashantee, which certainly does not 
 contain more than 14,000 square miles. Amanquatea, Quat- 
 
 2 " My friend, Mr. Morton Pitt, M.P., has proved, by tlie enumeration 
 of tlie inhabitants of a country parish in Dorsetshire, that the men of 
 an age capable of bearing arms are one-fourth of the whole community. 
 Mr. Homeman, if I imderstand him rightly, states the number of 
 actual warriors to be 1500 j so that we ought, perhaps, to multiply 
 that number by five to get nearer to the total amount of the popula- 
 tion." — Major Rennell.
 
 POPULATION, ETC. 
 
 265 
 
 chie Quofie, Odumata, and Apokoo's forces alone amounted 
 to 25,000. The contingencies at command from tributaries 
 (21 in number), are too indefinite to attempt to detail. JN'eitber 
 Inta nor Dagwumba furnish any, the Ashantees pretending 
 to despise their troops too much to use them. The following, 
 which are known to be pretty correct, have generally been 
 
 first called into action : — 
 
 Coranza . 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 Assin 
 
 8,000 
 
 Takinia . 
 
 . 6,000 
 
 Dankara . 
 
 5,000 
 
 Warsaw . 
 
 7,000 
 
 Booroom . 
 
 12,000 
 
 Sawee 
 
 4,000 
 
 Akim 
 
 . 4,000 
 
 Aquapim, &c 
 
 . 1,000 
 
 r before their later destructive 
 I revolts, 16,000. 
 
 Though polygamy is tolerated to such an excess amongst 
 the higher orders, I do not think, from observation, that the 
 proportion of women to men is two to one. Most of the 
 lower order of freemen have but one wife, and very few of 
 the slaves (the greater proportion of the military force) any. 
 The following calculation is the only one I can think of, and 
 it supports my impression after five months' residence. 
 204,000 men able to bear arms, about one- 
 fifth of the whole population . 1,000,000 
 101,000 or l-4th, children under ten years 
 of age, as found in Great Britain. 
 50,000 boys above that age not capable of 
 bearing arms. 
 7,000 or one in about 28, incapacitated 
 by old age or accidents, as found 
 
 in Great Britain. 
 
 362,000 Males 362,000 
 
 Females 638,000
 
 266 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 The men are very well made, but not so muscular as tlie 
 Fantees ; their countenances are frequently aquiline. The 
 ■women also are generally handsomer than those of Fantee, 
 but it is only amongst the higher orders that beauty is to be 
 found, and amongst them, free from all labour or hardship, I 
 have not only seen the finest figures (which the ease of their 
 costume and habits may account for), but, in many instances, 
 regular Grecian features, with brilliant eyes set rather 
 obliquely in the head. Beauty in a negress must be genuine, 
 since complexion prejudices instead of imposes, and the 
 European adjudges it to the features only, which appeared in 
 this class to be Indian rather than African ; nor is it surprising, 
 when we recollect that they are selected from or are the 
 daughters of the handsomest slaves or captives, or are 
 expressly chosen by their interior neighbours to compose part 
 of their tribute to the King of Ashantee, who retains but a 
 small proportion. 
 
 Eoth men and women are particularly cleanly in their 
 persons, the latter washing themselves, and the former being 
 washed by them daily on rising, from head to foot, with 
 warm water and Portuguese soap, using afterwards the 
 vegetable grease or butter, which is a fine cosmetic. Their 
 cloths, which are beetled, are always scrupulously clean. 
 The lowest orders are generally dirty. Occasionally, small 
 delicate patterns in green or white paint are traced on their 
 cheeks and temples. The Moorish negresses darken the edges 
 of their eyelids with lead reduced to a fine powder. The ore 
 was brought from Mallowa and is very rich. The powder is 
 moistened a little, and kept in small boxes, like bodkin cases 
 with a bulb at the end, and prettily covered with cow's hair, 
 within which is a metal stylus to apply the powder, as the 
 women of India do antimony for this purpose. Top-cloths 
 are generally worn, and not by the higher order only as in 
 Fantee. They are commonly of a coarse silk bought at
 
 REVENUE J ETC. 267 
 
 Dagwiimba. They wear little or no antififoo, a sort of cushion 
 projecting from just below the small of the back in the 
 Fantee women, by the size of which, frequently preposterous, 
 and at all times unsightly, their rank, or the number of 
 their children is known. The bosoms of girls of thirteen 
 and fourteen are frequently models, but the young women 
 sedidously destroy this beauty for what is considered a 
 greater, wearing a broad band tight across their breasts, until 
 ceasing to be globular they project conically. Their heads 
 are shaved in fanciful elaborate patterns, having as intricate 
 an appearance as a rich carpet. 
 
 The food of the higher orders is principally soup of dried 
 lish, fowls, beef, or mutton (according to the fetish), and 
 ground nuts stewed in blood. The poorer class make their 
 soups of dried deer, monkey's flesh, and frequently of the 
 pelts of skins. Yams, plantains, and foofoos are commonly 
 eaten, and they do not make cankey of their corn (a 
 coarser sort of kouskous not cleared from the husk) 
 as the Fantees do, but they roast it on the stalk, and 
 when young the flavour closely resembles that of green 
 peas. 
 
 Besides palm wine they drink Pitto, made from dried 
 corn, which I think must have been the beer Lieutenant 
 Martyn relished so much, for it is quite as pleasant as 
 a brisk small ale. They are forbidden eggs by the fetish, 
 and cannot be persuaded to taste milk, which is only drunk 
 by the Moors. Their stews and white soups are excellent, 
 and my companions reported their black soups (made with 
 palm oil) to be equally so. 
 
 I cannot pretend to calculate the variable revenue of 
 Ashantee, nor indeed to report its optional sources. I noted 
 a few particulars. 
 
 1. The dust-gold of all deceased and disgraced subjects. 
 Boiteam, the father of Otee, left five jars (said to hold about
 
 268 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 four gallons each) and two flasks. On Appia Kanu's dis- 
 grace three jars were seized. 
 
 2. A tax in gold upon all slaves purchased for the 
 coast.3 
 
 Customs paid in gold by all traders returning from the 
 coast, levied near Ansa in Assin. 
 
 3. A tax on the elephant hunters. 
 
 4. The small pits in Soko, which, with the washings, were 
 reported to yield sometimes 2000 ounces per month, at 
 others not more than 700. 
 
 5. The daily washings throughout Dankara, and the hills 
 dividing Akim and Assin, very rich in gold. 
 
 6. A tax on every chief increasing the number of his gold 
 ornaments. Apokoo paid twenty periguins to the King on 
 melting 100. 
 
 7. The soil of the market-place (see Laws) has been 
 washed but twice during the present reign. I was told it 
 produced about 800 ounces of gold each time. During our 
 stay a heavy rain washed down a large quantity, which was 
 replaced and carefully covered with the soil by the captain 
 in charge of the market-place. It was very easily seen after 
 rain. 
 
 The tributes of the various nations they had subdued were 
 in some instances fixed, but more frequently indefinite, being 
 proportioned to the exigencies of the year; indeed, from 
 various conversations with Apokoo and others, and my own 
 observations during state palavers, it appeared that the 
 necessities and the designs of the Ashantee Government were 
 the superior considerations, and the rule in levying tribute 
 everywhere. I made the following memoranda. 
 
 Inta and Dag^vumba never pay in gold, which, though 
 plentiful from commerce, is not found there, cowries being 
 
 3 Issert mentions this being levied in Akim and other tributary 
 states.
 
 CITY^ ETC. 269 
 
 the circulating medium. Their capitals, and all their large 
 towns, send the following tribute annually, and the smaller in 
 proportion : — 
 
 500 Slaves. 
 200 Cows. 
 400 Sheep. 
 400 Cotton-cloths. 
 200 Ditto and silk. 
 Takima, a smaller proportion of the same kind. 
 Coranza is generally excused, from fidelity, and a long 
 series of military services. 
 
 Sawee . . . .200 periguins annually. 
 Moinsean . . . .50 bendas ditto. 
 Gaman had paid (besides all 
 
 large pieces of rock gold) 100 periguins ditto. 
 Akim, Assin, Warsaw, Aowin, &c. &c., were taxed inde- 
 finitely by crooms. 
 
 Coomassie is built upon the side of a large rocky hill of 
 iron-stone. It is insulated by a marsh close to the town 
 northwards, and but a narrow stream; half a mile distant 
 from it l!T.W., and 60 yards broad ; close to it ^.E., E., 
 S.E., and S., and about 100, 20, 70, and 50 yards broad at 
 these points. In many parts depth after heavy rains was five 
 feet, and commonly two. The marsh contains many springs, 
 and supplies the town with water, but the exhalation covers 
 the city with a thick fog morning and evening, and engenders 
 dysentery, with which the natives of the coast who accom- 
 panied us were almost immediately attacked, as weU as the 
 officers. It is a little extraordinary that we never saw a 
 mosquito in Ashantee. I could find none but bird's-eye 
 views of the city, which were uninteresting, presenting 
 nothing but the thatch of the houses ; it was encircled by a 
 beautiful forest, which required more time than I could 
 spare, and a more expressive pencil to pourtray. Coomassie
 
 270 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 is an oblong of nearly four miles in circumference, not 
 including the suburbs of Assafoo nor Bantama (the back 
 town), half a mile distant, and formerly connected by streets 
 with the city, as is evident from the numerous ruins of 
 houses on the path. The slaughter of constant warfare, and 
 the extinction or removal of several ill-affected chiefs with 
 their adherents, account for this even in a rising state. The 
 ruins in the interval to Bantama were indeed accounted for 
 by Amanquatea (who holds his court there, as Quatchie 
 Quofie does at Assafoo), informing us that almost all the 
 Ashantees killed before Annamaboe (about 2000 by the 
 most moderate computation) belonged to him, as it was 
 his division which marched along the beach from Cor- 
 niantine, exposed to the cannon of the fort. Four of the 
 principal streets are half a mile loncf, and from 50 to 
 100 yards wide. I observed them building one, and a line 
 was stretched on each side to make it regular. The streets 
 were all named, and a superior captain in charge of each ; 
 ours for instance was Aperremsoo, big gun, or cannon 
 street, because those taken when Dankara was conquered 
 were placed on a mound at the top of it, near Adoo Qua- 
 mina's house. The area in which we had our first audience 
 was called Daebrim, the great market, in distinction to a 
 lower street called Gwaba, or the small market. The street 
 above where we lived was called Osamarandiduiim, meaning 
 literally, ''with 1000 muskets you could not fight those who 
 live there." One street was named after Odumata, and there 
 was another near it, whose title I forget, but it was equal to 
 prison street. The palace was situated in a long and wide 
 street running through the middle of the town, from which 
 it was shut out by a high wall, terminating at each end at 
 the marsh, where it was discontinued, that being a sufficient 
 boundary. It included Odumata's and the King's brothers' 
 residences, and two or three small streets (besides the
 
 CiTYj ETC. 271 
 
 several areas and piazzas), for the King's relief and recreation 
 when the superstitions of the country confine him to the 
 palace. I reckoned twenty-seven streets in all, which I have 
 laid down in a ground-plan of the town. The small grove at 
 the back of the large market-place was called Sammonpome, 
 or the spirit-house, because the trunks of all the human 
 victims were thrown into it. The bloody tracks, daily 
 renewed, showed the various directions they had been 
 dragged from, and the number of vultures on the trees 
 indicated the extent of the recent sacrifice ; the stench was 
 insupportable, and the visits of panthers nightly. Several 
 trees were individually scattered about the to^vn for the 
 recreation of the inhabitants of those quarters, and small 
 circular elevations of two steps, the lower about twenty feet 
 in circumference, like the bases of the old market-crosses 
 in England, were raised in the middle of several streets, 
 on which the King's chair was placed when he went to drink 
 palm wine there, his attendants encircling him. 
 
 The Ashantees persisted that the population of Coomassie, 
 when collected, was upwards of 100,000. I think it likely to 
 be much greater than that of Sego (which Mr. Park reported 
 as 30,000), from the extended masses of crowd I observed on 
 festivals, when the plantations of the environs are almost 
 wholly deserted. I compared them in my recollection with 
 the crowds I have seen collected in the secondary cities of 
 England on similar occasions of public curiosity ; the only 
 criterion, as I had not time to finish reckoning the number 
 of houses. I say when collected, because the higher class 
 could not support their numerous followers, or the lower their 
 large families in the city, and therefore employed them in 
 plantations (in which small crooms were situated), generally 
 within two or three miles of the capital, where their labours 
 not only feed themselves, but supply the wants of the chief, 
 his family, and more immediate suite. The middling orders
 
 272 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 station their slaves for the same purpose, and also to collect 
 fruits and vegetables for sale, and when their children 
 become numerous a part are generally sent to be supported 
 by these slaves in the bush. Perhaps the average resident 
 population of Coomassie is not more than from 12,000 to 
 15,000. 
 
 The markets were held daily from about eight o'clock in 
 the morning until sunset. The larger contains about sixty 
 stalls or sheds (a small square frame, covered with cotton 
 cloth, with a pole from the centre stuck into the ground), 
 besides throngs of inferior vendors, seated in all directions. 
 Amongst the articles for sale were beef (to us about 
 Sd. per lb.) and mutton, cut in small pieces for soup, 
 wild hog, deer, and monkey's flesh, fowls, pelts of 
 skins; yams, plantains, corn, sugar-cane, rice, encruma 
 (a mucilaginous vegetable, richer than asparagus, which it 
 resembles), peppers, vegetable butter ; oranges, papaws, pine- 
 apples (not equal to those on the coast), bananas ; salt and 
 dried fish from the coast ; large snails, smoke-dried, and stuck 
 in rows on small sticks in the form of herring-bone ; eggs for 
 fetish ; pitto, palm-wine, rum ; pipes, beads, looking-glasses, 
 sandals, silk, cotton-cloth, powder, small pillows, white and 
 blue cotton-thread, calabashes, &c. &c. 
 
 The following are the comparative prices of the markets of 
 Coomassie and Yahndi, the capital of Dagwumba : — 
 
 
 Coomassie. 
 
 
 Yalmdi. 
 
 A fat buUock 
 
 £6 
 
 * 
 
 £10 
 
 A sheep . 
 
 15 
 
 . 
 
 4 
 
 A fowl . 
 
 1 8 
 
 . 
 
 5 
 
 A horse . 
 
 24 
 
 . 
 
 8 
 
 Yams . 
 
 8 for two 
 
 8 for ten 
 
 The surprising exorbitance of the former is to be accounted 
 for by the abundance of gold, yet labour and manufacture
 
 MARKETS, ETC. 273 
 
 was moderately purcliased. In Mallowa provision is dearer 
 than in Dagwnmba, but the articles of trade much cheaper ; 
 they manufacture very little cloth, the Moorish traders sup- 
 plying it so abundantly. The cattle we saw in Ashantee 
 were as large as the English, unlike those on the coast, which 
 resemble the Jersey. The sheep are hairy in Ashantee, but 
 woolly in Dagwumba — an open country, where they manu- 
 facture a coarse blanket. The horses in Dagwumba are 
 generally small ; some were described to be fifteen hands 
 high, but these were never parted with, and the Ashantees 
 did not desire them, for I never saw but one who rode fear- 
 lessly. The horses I saw were like half-bred Galloways ; their 
 legs lathy, with a wiry hair about the fetlock, only requiring 
 to be pulled. Their heads were large ; dun and mouse colours 
 were said to be common ; they were never shod, and their 
 hoofs consequently in the eye of the European, though not in 
 nature, disproportionate ; they were fed on guinea-grass, occa- 
 sionally mixed with salt, and sal-ammoniac was frequently 
 dissolved in the water. The saddles were Moorish, of red 
 leather, and cumbersome ; the bridles of twisted black leather 
 thongs and brass links, with a whip at the end ; the bit 
 severe, with a large ring hanging from the middle, and 
 slipped over the under-jaw instead of a curb-chain; the 
 stirrups were like large blow-pans, and hung very short. 
 Some of the Moors rode on bullocks, with a ring through the 
 nose. 
 
 The extent and order of the Ashantee plantations surprised 
 us, yet I do not think they were adequate to the population ; 
 in a military government they were not likely to be so. Their 
 neatness and method have been already noticed in our route 
 up. They use no implement but the hoe. They have two 
 crops of corn a year, plant their yams at Christmas, and dig 
 them early in September. The latter plantations had much 
 the appearance of a hop-garden well fenced in, and regularly 
 
 T
 
 274 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 planted in lines, with a broad walk around, and a hut at each 
 wicker-gate, where a slave and his family resided to protect 
 the plantation. 
 
 All the fruits mentioned as sold in the market grew in 
 spontaneous abundance, as did the sugar-cane : the oranges 
 were of a large size and exquisite flavour. I believe this 
 fruit has hitherto been considered indigenous to India only. 
 We saw no cocoa-nut trees, nor was that fruit in the market. 
 Mr. Park's route was through a very different country.* In 
 the marshy ground a large species of fern is very abundant ; 
 there are four varieties of it ; in shady places that have been 
 cultivated, various tribes of urtica, and the leontodon grows 
 abundantly to the north of Coomassie. The miraculous berry, 
 which gives acids the flavour of sweets, making limes taste 
 like honey, is common.^ The castor-oil (ricinus communis) 
 rises to a large tree ; 1 have only seen it as a bush about 
 three feet high on the coast ; and the wild fig is abundant, 
 though neither of them are used by the natives. The cotton 
 plant is very plentiful, but little cultivated. The only use to 
 which they apply the silk cotton is to the stuffing of cushions 
 
 4 " It is observable, however, that although many species of the 
 edible roots which grow in the West India Islands are found in Africa, 
 yet I never saw, in any part of my journey, either the sugar cane, 
 the coffee, or the cocoa tree ; nor could I learn, on inquiry, that they 
 were known to the natives. The pine-apple, and the thousand other 
 delicious fruits, which the industry of civilized man (improving the 
 bounties of nature) has brought to such great perfection in the 
 tropical climates of America, are here equally unknown. I observed, 
 indeed, a few orange and banana trees, near the mouth of the Gambia ; 
 but whether they were indigenous, or were formerly planted there by 
 some of the white traders, I could not positively learn. I suspect 
 that they were originally introduced by the Portuguese." — Park's 
 First Mission. 
 
 5 " The cmious fruit mentioned in the introduction, and to which I 
 have given the name of oxyglycus, I find was known to Des Marchais, 
 who describes it as a little red fruit, which, being chewed, gives a 
 sweet taste to the most sour or bitter things." — DalzeVs Dahomey.
 
 MAEKETSj ETC. 275 
 
 and pillows.® Mr. Park observed the tobacco-plant, which 
 grows luxuriantly in Inta and Dagwuniba, and is called 
 toah. The visitors from those countries recognized it in a 
 botanical work. They first dry the leaves in the sun, then, 
 having rubbed them well between their hands, mix them with 
 water into oval masses, as will be seen. 
 
 Lions are numerous on the northern frontiers of Inta, 
 elephants (assoon, F. A. soorer, B.^) are remarkably numerous 
 in Kong, but they are also found in Ashantee, with wild 
 hogs (yambo, F. A.), hyaenas (patacoo, F. A. boofooree, B.), 
 cows (anantwee, F. A. B), sheep (ygwan, F. A. tsan, B.), 
 goats (apunkie, F. A. terrie, B.), deer (wonsan, F. A. B.), 
 antelopes (ettwan, F. A. B.)j dogs (boddum, etcha, F. twea, 
 A. opooree, B.), approximating to the Danish, cats (agram- 
 waw, F. A. B.), extremely sharp-visaged and long-necked, 
 Gennet cats (essoor, F. A. B.), pangolins (appra, F. A. aypra, 
 B.), alligators (dankim, F. A.B.), &c. &c. &c. The rhinoceros 
 (naree) is found in Boroom, and the hippopotamus (slionsa, 
 A. tchoosooree, B.) in the Odirree river. 
 
 The Ashantees say, that an animal called sissah or sissirree, 
 will attack every other, however superior in size. The 
 Fantees, who had never seen it, had imbibed a tremendous 
 idea of it from the stories in their own country. I doubt its 
 being so formidable to all other animals, for the skin I saw 
 was not more than three feet long, and the legs short ; it 
 resembled that of a boar, but the natives said it was between 
 a pig and a goat. I inquired of the people of Inta and 
 
 6 " Cotton of the cotton-tree (or silk cotton), Bombax Pentandrium 
 Lin. This cotton is not made into thread, but is used for making 
 pillows and beds. It is also, from its catching fire so easily, commonly 
 put into tinder boxes, and employed in the preparation of fireworks." 
 — Ainslie's ^'Materia Medica of Hindostan." 
 
 7 F. A. afl&xed to assoon, denote that to be the native name ia the 
 Fantee and Ashantee languages, as B. represents Boroom. 
 
 T 2
 
 276 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Dagwumba if they had ever heard of a unicorn. One replied, 
 " Yes, in the white man's country." It is extraordinary that 
 the gnoo (antelope gnn), which is found behind the Cape of 
 Good Hope, is known in Inta by the same name.® Where 
 the beds were not an accumulation of cushions, the skin of 
 the gnoo was nailed to a large wooden frame, raised on legs 
 about a foot from the ground, and stretched as we would 
 sacking. It was a revered custom that no virgin of either 
 sex should sleep on this kind of bed. Another animal, 
 called otrum, was described by the inhabitants of the eastern 
 frontier as having one very long horn on one side of the head 
 and a short one on the other; it is much larger than the 
 gnoo. We met with a spotted animal of the cat kind (gahin, 
 r. A. B.), very common, and allied to the leopard or panther ; 
 but whether referable to either of those species, or to be con- 
 sidered as distinct, we could not determine, owing to the 
 very vague and unsatisfactory character by which naturalists 
 have attempted to distinguish them — the kind and number 
 of the rows of spots — which we have observed, in individuals 
 of the same decided species, to present almost an infinity of 
 variation. 
 
 The vidture (pittay, F. A. epraykee, B.), which I have 
 before mentioned to be venerated by the natives for the 
 same reason which the Egyptians venerated the vulturus 
 percnopterus, is the vulturus monachus figured by Le 
 Vaillant. Green pigeons (assam) are found, and crows with 
 a white ring round their necks, probably the corvus scapularis 
 figured by Le Vaillant. There were several smaU birds of 
 beautiful plumage, which sung melodiously — two in par- 
 ticular, the one like a blackbird, and the other of the same 
 colour as the EngKsh thrush, but larger. Also a variety of 
 
 ' C'est probablement lui qui a donne lieu a leur catohlepas. Voyez 
 Pline, lib. 8, c. 32, et ^lien, lib. 7, c. 5, Cuvier. The gnoo is almost 
 always looking down.
 
 MAEKETS, ETC. 277 
 
 parrots beautifully spangled witli different colours. M. Cuvier 
 was mismformed when lie wrote (Eegne Animal, torn. i. 
 p. 108), "Macaque est le nom generique des singes a la cote 
 de Guinee." The name is unknown there as well as in the 
 interior. Dokoo is the generic name. The Simla Diana 
 (effoor, F. A. B.), which has the most beautiful skin of any 
 monkey, is found in Ashantee as well as in Warsaw. All the 
 natives agree that they do not know of any monkeys which 
 dare to attack men but the akoneson, which they describe as 
 small and always seen in troops. 
 
 Snakes (aboitinnee, F. A. ewaw, B.), green, and of all 
 colours ; scorpions, lizards, &c. &c., were found as on the 
 coast, with a curious variety of beetles, and the most beauti- 
 ful butterflies. A few specimens preserved in spirits will be 
 sent to the British Museum, as the best apology for my 
 ignorance rather than neglect of natural history.
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 THE wild music of these people is scarcely to be brouglit 
 within the regular rules of harmony/ yet their airs have 
 a sweetness and animation beyond any barbarous compositions 
 I ever heard. Few of their instruments possess much power, 
 but the combination of several frequently produces a sur- 
 prising effect. The flute is made of a long hollow reed, and 
 has not more than three holes ; the tone is low at all times, 
 and when they play in concert they graduate them with such 
 nicety as to produce the common chords. Several instances 
 of thirds occur, especially in one of the airs, played as a 
 funeral dirge ; nor is this extraordinary considering it is 
 the most natural interval; the addition of fifths, at the same 
 time, is rare. The natives declare they can converse by 
 means of their flutes, and an old resident at Accra has assured 
 me he has heard these dialogues, and that every sentence was 
 explained to him. 
 
 On the Sanko, a specimen of which is in the British 
 Museum, they display the variety of their musical talents, and 
 the Ashantees are allowed to surpass all others. It consists 
 of a narrow box, the open top of which is covered with alli- 
 gator or antelope skin : a bridge is raised on this, over which 
 
 1 " A few melodies in national music have been found incapable of 
 harmony ; sucti as the two first bars of the second part of the Irish 
 tune called * The Fair Hair'd Child.' "—Dr. Crotch.
 
 MUSIC. 279 
 
 eight strings are conducted to the end of a long stick, fastened 
 to the forepart of the box, and thickly notched, and they 
 raise or depress the strings into these notches as occasion 
 requires. The upper string assimilates with the tenor C of 
 the piano, and the lower with the octave above : sometimes 
 they are tuned in Diatonic succession, but too frequently 
 the intermediate strings are drawn up at random, producing 
 flats and sharps in every Chromatic variety, though they are 
 not skilfid enough to take advantage of it. I frequently 
 urged this by trying to convince them they were not playing 
 the same tune I had heard the day before, but the answer 
 was invariably, " I pull the same string, it must be the same 
 tune." The strings are made from the runners of a tree called 
 Enta, abounding in the forests. All airs on this instrument 
 are played very quick, and it is barely possible to make even 
 an experienced player lessen the time, which quick as it is, is 
 kept in a surprising manner, especially as every tune is loaded 
 with ornament. They have a method of stopping the strings 
 with the finger, so as to produce a very soft and pleasing 
 effect, like the Meyer touch of the harp. 
 
 The horns form their loudest sounds, and are made of ele- 
 phants' tusks; they are generally very large, and, being 
 graduated like the flutes, their flourishes have a martial and 
 grand effect. It has been mentioned in the Military Customs 
 of the Ashantees, that peculiar sentences are immediately 
 recognized by the soldiers and people, in the distinct 
 flourishes of the horns of the various chiefs : the words of 
 some of these sentences are almost expressible by the notes of 
 the horns ; the following, uttered by the horns of a captain 
 named Gettoa, occurs to me as an instance : — 
 
 " Sai ttntmtoo, ma yuayia pa pa." 
 
 Sai great King ! I laud thee everywhere, or exceedingly. 
 
 The Bentwa is a stick bent in the form of a bow, and 
 across it is fastened a very thin piece of split cane, which is
 
 280 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 held between tlie lips at one end, and struck with a small 
 stick ; whilst at the other it is occasionally stopped, or rather 
 buffed, by a thick one ; on this they play only lively airs, 
 and it owes its various sounds to the lips. 
 
 The Mosees, Mallowas, Bournous, and natives from the 
 more remote parts of the interior, play on a rude violin : the 
 body is a calabash, the top is covered with deerskin, and two 
 large holes are cut in it for the sound to escape ; the strings, 
 or rather string, is composed of cow's hair, and broad like 
 that of the bow with which they play, which resembles the 
 bow of a violin. Their grimace equals that of an Italian 
 bufPo : they generally accompany themselves with the voice, 
 and increase the humour by a strong nasal sound. 
 
 The Oompoochwa is a box, one end of which is left open ; 
 two flat bridges are fastened across the top, and five pieces of 
 thin curved stick, scraped very smooth, are attached to them, 
 and (their ends being raised) are struck with some force by 
 the thumb. I can compare it to nothing but the Staccado 
 nearly deprived of its tone. 
 
 The Ashantees have an instrument like a bagpipe, but the 
 drone is scarcely to be heard. 
 
 The rest of the instruments can hardly be called musical, 
 and consist of drums, castanets, gong-gongs, flat sticks, rattles, 
 and even old brass pans. 
 
 The drums are hollowed trunks of trees, frequently carved 
 with much nicety, mostly open at one end, and of many 
 sizes : those with heads of common skin (that is of any other 
 than leopard skin) are beaten with sticks in the form of a 
 crotchet rest ; the largest are borne on the head of a man, and 
 struck by one or more followers ; the smaller are slung round 
 the neck, or stand on the ground ; in the latter case they are 
 mostly played with the inside of the fingers, at which the 
 natives are very expert : amongst these drums are some with 
 heads of leopard skin (looking like vellum), only sounded by
 
 MUSIC. 281 
 
 two fingers, which are scraped along, as the middle finger is 
 on the taniborine, but producing a much louder noise. The 
 gong-gongs are made of hollow pieces of iron, and struck with 
 the same metal. The castanets are also of iron. The 
 rattles are hollow gourds, the stalks being left as handles, 
 and contain shells or pebbles, and are frequently covered 
 with a network of beads ; the grimaces with which these are 
 played make them much more entertaining to sight than 
 hearing. 
 
 Their graces are so numerous, some extempore, some trans- 
 mitted from father to son, that the constant repetition only 
 can distinguish the commencement of the air : sometimes 
 between each beginning they introduce a few chords, some- 
 times they leave out a bar, sometimes they only return to the 
 middle, so entirely is it left to the fancy of the performer. 
 The observation made on the time of the Sanko may be ex- 
 tended to almost every other instrument, but it is always 
 perfect, and the children will move their heads and limbs, 
 whilst on their mothers' backs, in exact unison with the tune 
 which is playing : the contrasts of piano and forte are very 
 well managed. 
 
 The singing is almost all recitative, and this is the only 
 part of music in which the women partake ; they join in the 
 choruses, and at the funeral of a female sing the dirge itself ; 
 but the frenzy of the moment renders it such a mixture of 
 yells and screeches, that it bids defiance to all notation. The 
 songs of the canoe men are peculiar to themselves, and very 
 much resemble the chants nsed in cathedrals, but as they are 
 all made for the moment, I have not been able to retain any 
 of them.
 
 MATEEIA MEDICA AND DISEASES. 
 
 THE report of the Materia Medica and Botany of Asliantee 
 was the only one which I was not required to furnish. 
 It was afforded by Mr. Henry Tedlie, assistant-surgeon, whose 
 subsequent death has mingled a regret with the recollection 
 of the Embassy, which the recall of my own sufferings, and 
 the family affliction it entailed on me, could never have 
 exacted. The intelligence reached me in England, to correct 
 the pride of success by associating misfortune with it ; for the 
 recollection of Mr. Tedlie's social virtues, of his enterprise 
 and ability, makes it a severe one to myself, and to the 
 world. Mr. Tedlie suffered severely from intermitting 
 dysentery during the mission, but I had hoped it would 
 have been eradicated after his return. He had previously 
 attended the Expedition to Candy, and expired at Cape 
 Coast Castle in the twenty -seventh year of his age. Through- 
 out the mission he indulged the feelings of the natives, in 
 his professional capacity, with a patience few could have 
 exerted ; whether labouring under sickness himseK, or 
 disturbed in the moments of a scanty rest, he awed and 
 conciliated the people by the importance of his cures, 
 and thus contributed to the success of the enterprise. 
 
 During the earlier part of our residence at Coomassie the 
 season was tolerably favourable to the gathering of plants, 
 but we were then allowed to go out but seldom, and never
 
 MATERIA MEDICA. 283 
 
 beyond the town. Latterly, when better impressions suc- 
 ceeded, and our walks were unrestrained by limits or 
 attendants, the rains not only checked, but generally dis- 
 appointed my researches, by presenting the subject flowerless 
 (or in an unfit state for preservation), and consequently not 
 admitting their classification, as is too evident in the follow- 
 ing list of such plants as are used as medicines by the 
 Ashantees. 
 
 1. Cutturasuh. {Chi'ysanthellum procumhens. Persoon. 
 syn. 2. p. 471, Verhesina mutica Willd}) A small plant, a 
 decoction of which is purgative ; before boiling it should be 
 bruised. 
 
 2. Adumba {a sjpecies of Ficus). The bark and fruit are 
 pounded with Mallaguetta pepper and a small plant called 
 awhinteywhinting, boiled in fish-soup. Two doses in the 
 third month of gestation are said to cause abortion. 
 
 3. Koofoobah {Gloriosa su2?erba. Linn.) is bruised with 
 Mallaguetta pepper (lesser cardamom seeds), and applied to 
 the ancle or foot when sprained. 
 
 4. Tandoorue (jyerJiaps a Cupania or Trichilia). The 
 bark is pounded, and boiled with Mallaguetta pepper. Used 
 for pain in the belly, and acts as a piu'gative, 
 
 5. Bissey. (Sterculia acuminata. Palis, de Beauvois, 
 Flore cVOicare 1. p. 41. tab. 24.) The fruit is constantly 
 chewed by the Ashantees, especially on a journey ; it is said 
 to prevent hunger, and strengthen the stomach and bowels ; 
 has a slight bitter aromatic astringent taste, and causes 
 an increase of the saliva while chewed. 
 
 6. Attueh. (BHghia sapida. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. vol. 3, 
 p. 350. Akeesia Africana Tussac Flor. des Antilles 66.) A 
 decoction of the bark is said to be anti-venereal. The fruit 
 is eaten. 
 
 * I am indebted to Mr. Brown's knowledge for the names and 
 references in the parentheses.
 
 284 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 7. Eicinus Communis Linn. Castor-oil nut-tree, thirty- 
 feet high here, and not a bush as on the coast ; not used as 
 medicine by the natives. 
 
 8. Apooder. {Two species of Leucas, of ichich one is 
 hardly different from L. Martin icensis^ Hort. Keio. ed. 2. vol. 
 3, p. 409, the other is perhaj)s neiv.) A mixture of the 
 bruised leaves with lime-juice is applied to inflammations. 
 
 9. Hooghong (a sjoecies of Urtica), is bruised, mixed 
 with chalk, and drunk by pregnant women to correct acidity 
 in the stomach, heartburn, &c. 
 
 10. Accocottocotorawah. (Heliotropium indicum. Linn.) 
 The juice expressed from this plant is snuffed up the nostrils 
 in cases of severe headache. They also inhale the smoke of 
 it into the nose. 
 
 11. Crowera [Acalypha ciliata. Willd. sp.pl.), is bruised 
 with lesser cardamom seed, and rubbed on the chest and side 
 when pained. 
 
 12. Enminim (a species of Vitls). A climbing plant. 
 The juice expressed from the leaves is dropped into the eyes 
 when affected with ophthalmia or pain. 
 
 1 3. Secoco. {Leptanthus ?) A small marshy plant. Is 
 pounded with lime-juice and rubbed on the body to cure the 
 crawcraws, a severe and obstinate species of itch. 
 
 14. Ammo. The juice is applied to cuts and bruises. 
 
 15. Petey {possibly a Piper). The leaves are pounded, 
 and applied as a plaister to inflammatory swellings and 
 boils. 
 
 16. Abromotome. The bruised leaves are used to discuss 
 boils. 
 
 17. Yangkompro. (A syngenesious p)lcmt related to Ca- 
 calia.) The pounded leaves are applied to cuts and con- 
 tusions. 
 
 18. Oeduema. (Musanga cecropioides Br. See TucJcey^s 
 Congo, p. 453.) The hairy sheath, or stipule, of a large
 
 MATEEIA MEDICA. 285 
 
 palmated-leaved tree ; it resembles a skin, is boiled in soup, 
 and used as a powerful emmenagogue. 
 
 19. Semeney (jyrohahly a species of Aneilema). The 
 leaves are pounded and applied as a plaister to favour the 
 discharge of boils and collections of pus. 
 
 20. Wowwah (perhaps a Sterculia.) The inner bark of 
 this tree is scraped fine and mixed with MaUaguetta pepper, 
 and drank for colic and other pains in the belly. 
 
 21. Anafranakoo. The bruised leaves are applied to 
 discuss boils and other inflammatory swelling. 
 
 22. Kattacaiben (Leea Sambucina). A decoction of the 
 leaves is drunk every morning by pregnant women when they 
 experience any uneasiness in the abdomen. The bark of the 
 tree powdered is rubbed on chronic swellings. 
 
 23. Aserumbdi'ue {a species of Pij)er related to umhella- 
 tum). The leaves are used in soup to allay swellings of the 
 beUy. 
 
 24. Ocisseeree. The bark of this tree is used to stop the 
 purging in dysentery and diarrhcea. 
 
 25. Gingang. {Paullinia Africana Br. See Tuckeifs Congo, 
 p. 427.) The bark of this tree is used internally and 
 externally, mixed with MaUaguetta pepper, for pain in the 
 side. 
 
 26. Cudeyakoo. A very small plant. The leaves and 
 stalk pounded are applied to eruptions on the head. A 
 mixture of it with lime-juice is applied to the yaws. 
 
 27. Affeuah (iLnknoivn) and Xuinnuerafuh (Hedysari spe- 
 cies). A mixture of the bruised leaves of these plants with 
 MaUaguetta pepper, is rubbed on the body and limbs when 
 sweUed or pained : a decoction of them, with an addition 
 of the plant Comfany {Alternajifherof, sp.), is used internaUy 
 in the same cases. 
 
 28. Adummah. {Paullinia Africana. The same as No. 25.) 
 A decoction of the bark of this tree, reduced to powder with
 
 286 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Mallaguetta pepi3er, diimk once a day, stops the discharge of 
 blood and cures the dysentery. 
 
 29. Tointinney (probably a Menispermum)^ is chewed with 
 Mallaguetta pepper as a cure for a cough. 
 
 30. Apussey. {A leguminous plant, probably allied to 
 Robinia.) The hark of this tree, pounded mth Mallaguetta 
 pepper, is applied to the head in cases of headache. 
 
 31. Thuquaniah. The bark is pounded and drank in 
 palm wine, with Mallaguetta pepper, for pain in the belly. 
 
 32. Conkknoney, a dark purple-coloured toadstool, the 
 size of a hazel nut, rubbed with Mallaguetta pepper and lime- 
 juice; it purges briskly. To stop the purging, a mess of 
 boiled Guinea corn-meal and lime-juice should be eaten. 
 
 33. Suetinney. {Brillantaisia owariensis. Palis, de Beau- 
 vois Flor. d'Oware, 2, p. 68, tab. 100, Jig. 2.) A decoction 
 of the leaves is drunk for pain in the belly. 
 
 34. Soominna (Tetandria Monogynia), is bruised with 
 lime-juice, and used to abate cough. 
 
 35. Thattha (Scoparia dulcis. Linn). The expressed juice 
 of this plant is dropped into the ears when pained. 
 
 36. Aquey {Melia Azedarach. Linn.). A decoction of 
 the leaves of this tree is used with palm wine as a corro- 
 borant. 
 
 37. Dammaram {Miisscenda fulgens. nov. spec). 
 
 The diseases most common in the Ashantee country are 
 the lues, yaws, itch, ulcers, scald-heads, and griping pains 
 in the bowels. Other diseases are occasionally met with, I 
 should suppose in the same proportion that they occur in 
 civilized countries ; but I d« not know to what cause to 
 assign the prevalence and frequency of one of the most 
 unsightly diseases that can occur in any country : it is an 
 obstinate species of ulcer, or Noli me tangere, which destroys 
 the nose and upper lip ; it attacks women chiefly, although
 
 DISEASES. 287 
 
 men are not exempt from it ; there are more than 100 women 
 in Coomassie who have lost the nose or upper lip from this 
 cause alone ; it commences with a small ulcer in the alae nasi 
 or upper lip, the size of a split pea excavated, with the 
 edges ragged and turned inwards, it proceeds by ulcerating 
 under the skin. The bottom of the ulcer is uneven, covered 
 with a foul slough of a very disagreeable smell, and the dis- 
 charge is thin, watery, and very irritating. It seldom 
 cicatrices before the alae nasi and lip are completely destroyed. 
 AATien it does cease, the skin is puckered and uneven, and has 
 a very disagreeable appearance. The only remedy which the 
 natives use is an external application of bruised leaves ; they 
 seem to let it take its course without being very anxious 
 about a cure. 
 
 Framboesia, the yaws, is a very frequent disease ^vith the 
 children of the poor and slaves. Before the eruption takes 
 place, they are severely afflicted with pains in the joints, and 
 along the course of the muscles of the superior and inferior 
 extremities. In young persons, hard, round, bony excres- 
 cences, the size of a walnut, form on each side of the nose 
 under the eyes. The natives either are not acquainted with a 
 remedy for this enlargement of the bones, or, if they are, they 
 do not put it in practice. I achninistered alterative doses of 
 calomel and antimonial powder with success, as it stopped the 
 enlargement of the bones and caused them to be absorbed, and 
 relieved the pain in the arms and legs particularly. During 
 the exhibition of the alterative pills, a foul ulcer on the head 
 got well. The natives apply a mixture of the plant cudey- 
 akoo, with lime-juice, to the eruption, but apparently with 
 very little benefit. 
 
 Psora, the itch, a very severe species of which, called craw- 
 craw, is a frequent disease, and is very contagious. It is most 
 commonly met with in children. Few of the Dunko slaves 
 are without it, from their poor diet and extreme dirtiness.
 
 288 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 They do not seem to experience mucli uneasiness from it, as 
 they seldom apply any remedy ; sometimes they use a rube- 
 laciant, made of a plant called secoco, bruised and mixed with 
 lime-juice. 
 
 Gonorrhoea is of rare occurrence. Two cases came under 
 my care. The patients had never used injections. They 
 drank decoctions of leaves and bark, but could not tell me 
 the plants they used. One of the ingredients was a small 
 plant, called cutturasuh, of a purgative nature. The disease 
 is allowed to take its course by the natives, as they are 
 unacquainted with any method to stop it. 
 
 Tinea Capitis, the scald-head, is a common disease with the 
 poorer sort of Ashantees and slaves, arising from their neglect 
 of cleanhness. The applications which they use to cure it 
 have seldom the desired effect. They apply plaisters of 
 pounded leaves and charcoal, but do not wash the head. In 
 one case, where a boy was placed under my care, he got well 
 in eight days by having his head very well washed with a 
 brush, soap, and warm water; then a strong infusion of 
 tobacco, applied with a sponge, and, when the head was 
 dry, a composition of resinous and mercurial ointment was 
 rubbed on it. 
 
 Hydrocele occasionally occurs. They attempt to cure it by 
 frictions of the castor-oil nut, burnt and bruised with Malla- 
 guetta pepper, but without any benefit. I drew off the water 
 from one hydrocele, but, from our want of stimulants, could 
 not perform any radical cure. Their applications to inguinal 
 hernia are equally ineffectual. They never attempt the 
 reduction of umbilical hernia, although some are very large, 
 and the disease very frequent. 
 
 "\Mien a fracture of the leg or arm happens, the part is 
 rubbed with a soft species of grass and palm oil, and the limb 
 bound lip with splints. " If God does not take the patient, 
 he recovers in four months," as they say.
 
 DISEASES. 289 
 
 I have not seen a single instance of fracture in the 
 Ashantee country. Gun-shot wounds of the extremities, when 
 the bone is fractured, are generally fatal, or where a large 
 blood-vessel is wounded, as they are unacquainted with any 
 method, of stopping the haemorrhage. In fact, they pay little 
 attention to their wounded men; if they are not able to 
 travel, they are abandoned. One of the King's criers had his 
 thigh dislocated at the hip-joint with an anchylosis of the 
 knee ; the limb was considerably longer than the other, and 
 the accident must have occurred a long time ago, as he walks 
 very well. 
 
 During the time we remained in Coomassie, and from our 
 first entrance into the Ashantee country, I was every day 
 applied to for advice and medicines by those who were 
 afflicted with diseases, of which the number was great, and in 
 the capital more especially, from its very unhealthy situation, 
 being entirely surrounded by an extensive tract of swampy 
 ground, and the natives consequently very subject to dysen- 
 tery and fever. On first entering the country I was applied 
 to by numbers of patients, many of them miserable objects, 
 from the effects of the venereal disease : to as many of those 
 as apphed, during our halt in a town, I gave boxes of pills 
 and strict directions for their use, and told them if they came 
 to Coomassie during my residence there, I would do every- 
 thing in my power to cure them. Many availed themselves 
 of my offer, and attended me on my arrival. To those who 
 had ulcers or wounds, I applied the proper dressings, and 
 left with them lint, adhesive plaister, and ointment. ^lost 
 of them, as a mark of their gratitude, sent presents of fowls, 
 fruit, palm oil, wine, &c., to me after I had arrived in the 
 capital. One man in Assiminia, who was nearly in the last 
 stage of existence from a complication of disorders, originating 
 from lues venerea, after I had seen him, sent every week to 
 Coomassie for medicines, and completely recovered. Another 
 
 u
 
 290 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 in Sarrasoo, who had the worst-looking ulcers of the inferior 
 extremities that I have ever seen, did the same, and with the 
 same success. A great many caboceers attended me every 
 morning with their slaves and children affected with dropsy, 
 craw-craws, yaws, fever, bowel complaints, &c., and expressed 
 the most unbounded thanks for the medicine and advice they 
 received. 
 
 At the King's particular request, I attended his own 
 brother, the heir apparent, who had oedematous feet : by the 
 use of friction, a roller, and an alterative course of calomel, 
 and diuretics, he soon recovered. 
 
 The King's uncle, heir to the crown after the brother, was 
 severely tormented with stricture of the urethra ; he could only 
 pass urine drop by drop ; three weeks passing the catheter, 
 enabled him to make it in a full stream ; when he immediately 
 requested some powerfully stimulating medicine to correct 
 impotency, which it was not in my power to grant. 
 
 The captain whose office it is to drown any of the King's 
 family who have offended, had an ulcer two inches long in the 
 palate bone ; when he drank, part of the fluid passed out of 
 his nose, and his speech was very unintelligible ; the sides of 
 the opening were scarified, and the granulations touched every 
 third or fourth day with lunar caustic until they united ; he 
 got well in one month. 
 
 The only unfortunate case I attended, was our guide 
 Quamina Bwa ; shortly after we arrived in Coomassie he was 
 attacked with remittent fever ; by the use of febrifuge medi- 
 cines, the cold bath, bark, &c., he recovered, and was able to 
 attend his usual duty of waiting on us, when we visited the 
 King ; he went into the country, and I did not see him for 
 six weeks ; at the end of that time, he sent for me, and I 
 found him labouring under a severe bilious dysentery, and 
 liver complaint. I was unable to prevent the formation of 
 matter in his liver ; it formed a large swelling with distinct
 
 DISEASES. 
 
 291 
 
 fluctuation, and as he hesitated to have it discharged by- 
 puncturing with a trochar, it burst internally, and he died. 
 I had one case of cancer of the upper lip, although the disease 
 is said rarely to occur in that part. This case had all the 
 marks of a true cancer ; I dressed it every day during the 
 whole time I remained in Coomassie, but the effect flattered 
 and disappointed me by turns. 
 
 The most importunate man for medicine, especially of an 
 invigorating kind, in the whole Ashantee country, was old 
 Apokoo, the treasurer and chief favourite. He was afflicted 
 with inguinal hernia : I wrote to Cape Coast for a truss, 
 which I applied, and it gave him immediate relief and 
 satisfaction. He would take the most nauseous drug with 
 pleasure. I generally gave him bark and peppermint-water, 
 which he regidarly either sent or came for every day, during 
 the two last months of our residence, and earnestly requested 
 me to leave plenty of medicine with Mr. Hutchison, the 
 British resident there. Most of the chief men were very 
 earnest in their solicitations for me to give them stimulating 
 medicines. I always assured them that it was imjDossible, 
 that the English never used any, and that nothing astonished 
 me more than that they should ask for such things. Their 
 answers were, *' They knew that the English had good heads 
 and knew everything, and must know that too, but I did 
 not wish to give them any." 
 
 A List of the Diseases which I have seen in tJie Ashantee 
 country. 
 
 Febris remittens 
 
 2 
 
 cases 
 
 Scrofula 
 
 Hepatitis 
 
 1 
 
 
 Syphilis 
 
 Dysenteria mucosa . 
 
 6 
 
 
 Gonorrhoea . 
 
 Colica . 
 
 1 
 
 
 Stricture 
 
 Anasarca 
 
 3 
 
 
 Cataract 
 
 Ascites . 
 
 3 
 
 
 Staphyloma 
 
 many 
 
 cases 
 
 many 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 5 

 
 292 
 
 MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
 
 Ectropium 
 Bronchocele . 
 
 1 case 
 • many „ 
 
 Umbilical(hemia) many cas 
 Dracunculus 7 „ 
 
 Cephalagia 
 Odontalgia 
 Ulcers . 
 
 . many „ 
 
 . 10 „ 
 
 8 „ 
 
 Tinea capitis 
 Hydrocele . 
 Cancer 
 
 many „ 
 many „ 
 1 
 
 Eramboesia . 
 
 Psora 
 
 Hernia inguinal 
 
 many „ 
 many „ 
 1 
 
 Elephantiasis 
 Lepra 
 
 1 
 
 7 ,, 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 GILBEET AND EIVINGTON, PEINTEES, ST. JOHN'S SQUAEE, LONDON.
 
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 With 53 Illustrations. Crown 8vo ; or with gilt edges, 7s. 
 
 Memorable Battles in English History; Where Fought, why 
 Fought, and their Results. With Lives of the Com- 
 manders. By W. H. Davenport Adams. Post 8vo. 
 
 " Of the care and honesty of the author's labour the book gives abundant 
 proof." — Athenceum. 
 
 Strange Stories of the Animal World. By John Tijibs. 
 
 Three Midshipmen (The). By W. H. G. Kln'gston. New Edition, 
 with 24 Illustrations by G. Thomas, Julian Portch, etc. 
 Imperial 16mo. 
 
 Five Shillings each, Small Post 8vo, cloth elegant; 
 
 OS. Qcl., gilt edges, ivitU Illustrations ly Zweclcer, Gorlould, 
 
 Lawson, Priolo, and other emine?it Artists. 
 
 Adventures of Hans Sterk, The South African Hunter and 
 Pioneer. By Captain Dratson, Author of " Tales of the 
 Outspan," etc. 
 
 " From first to last, it is full of life and variety, and -will also give boys 
 some knowledge of the people of South Africa and their mode of life." — 
 Nonconformist. 
 
 Early Start in Life (The). By Emilia Marryat Norris. 
 
 " ilrs. Norris has established her own fame, and her paternity is clearly 
 
 proved by the 'nack in storytelling she inherits from her father.'" — 
 
 Art Journal. 
 Gerald and Harry, or The Boys in the North. By Emilia 
 
 Marryat Norris.
 
 12 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Heroes of the Crusades. By Barbara Hctton. Post 8vo. 
 
 "The most romantic historj^ of the Middle Ages, skilfully nai-rated for the 
 delight and instruction of the young." — British Quarterly. 
 
 Home Life in the Highlands. By Lilian Graeme, 
 
 Household Stories from the land of Hofer, or, Popular Myths 
 OF Tirol, including the Rose Garden of King Lartn. 
 
 John Deane of Nottingham, His Adventures and Exploits : 
 a Tale of the Times of William of Orange and Queen Anne. 
 By W. H. G. Kingston. 
 
 Out on the Pampas, or The Young Settlers. By G. A. Hentt, 
 Author of " The Young Franc Tireurs," etc. 
 
 Patranas, or Spanish Stories, Legendary and Traditional. 
 By the Author of "Household Stories." 
 
 Swift and Sure, or The Career of Two Brothers. By Alfred 
 Elaves. 
 
 Tales of the Saracens. By Barbara Hutton. 
 
 Tales of the White Cockade. By Barbara Hutton. 
 
 *'A most pleasant and well written narrative of the Stuarts in their 
 exile."— r/»?cs. 
 "A history as romantic as any novel." — Satiirday JRevieiv. 
 
 Young Franc Tireurs (The), and their adventures during the 
 Franco-Prussian War. Second Edition. By G. A. Henty, 
 
 Special Correspondent of the Standard. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo, with Illustrations, price Five Shillings, gilt 
 edges. 
 
 Dalton's (W.) Lost in Ceylon; the Story of a Boy's and Girl's 
 Adventures in the Woods and Wilds of the Lion King 
 
 of Kandy. 
 
 Elwes' (A.) Frank and Andrea, or Forest Life in the Island 
 OF Sardinia. 
 
 , , Guy Rivers, or A Boy's Struggles in the Great World. 
 
 ,, Luke Ashleigh, or School Life in Holland. 
 
 ,, Paul Blake, cr A Boy's Perils in Corsica and Monte 
 Cristo.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GEIFFITH AXD FAEEAN. 
 
 Kingston's (W. H. G.) True Blue, or, The Life ant) Adventures 
 OF A British Seajian of the Old School. 
 
 ,, Will Weatherhelm, or. The Yarx of an Old Sailor 
 about his Early Life. 
 
 Neptune's Heroes, or The Sea Kings of England, from Hawkins 
 to Franklin. By W. H. Daventort Adams. 
 
 " We trust Old England may erer have -smters as ready and able to inter- 
 pret to her children the noble hves of her greatest men." — Athenc^iim. 
 
 Little Gipsy (The). By Elie Sal^vage. Translated by Anna 
 Blackwell. Profusely illustrated by Ernest Frolich. Small 
 4to, price bs. ; extra cloth, gilt edges, 6s. 
 
 Merry Songs for Little Voices. The words by Mr?. Broderip ; 
 set to music by Thomas Murbt. With 40 Illustrations. 
 Fcap. 4to, price 55. 
 
 Stories from the Old and New Testaments. By the Key. B. H. 
 Draper. With 48 Engravings. Fifth edition, price 5s. 
 
 Four Shillings and Sixpence each, Small Post 8vo, 
 cloth elegant, ivith Illustrations ; or ivith gilt edges, bs. 
 
 Alda Graham ; and her Brother Phillip. By Emilia Marryat 
 
 NORRIS. 
 
 Book of Cats (The) : a Chit-chat Chronicle of Feline Facts and 
 Fancies. By Charles H. Boss. 
 
 Casimir, the Little Exile. By Caroline Peachet. 
 
 Castles, and their Heroes. By Barbara Hutton. 
 
 Modem British Plutarch (The), or Lives of :Men distinguished 
 
 IN THE RECENT HiSTORY OF OUR COUNTRY FOR THEIR TaLENTS, 
 VlRTL-ES, AND ACHIEVEMENTS. By W. C. TAYLOR, LL.D. 
 
 Oak Staircase (The), or The Stories of Lord and Lady Desmond. 
 A Narrative of the Times of James IL By M. & C. Lee. 
 Authors of "Rosamond Fane," etc. 
 
 Theodora: a Tale for Girls. By Emilia ^Marryat Norris.
 
 14 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Three Shillings and Sixpence inlain ; or coloured plates and 
 
 (fiU edges, Four Shillings and Sixpence, Super Royal 
 
 IGjwo, cloth elegant, tcith Illustrations by Hairison Weir, 
 
 Phiz, Pinwell, Tom Hood, Keyl, etc. 
 
 Aunt Jenny's American Pets. By Catherine C, HoPLEr. Author 
 of ''Life in the South," etc. Small Post 8vo. 
 
 Blind Man's Holiday, or Short Tales for the Nursery. By 
 
 the Author of •• Mia and Charlie." 
 
 Broderip (Mrs.) Crosspatch, the Cricket, and the Counterpane : 
 
 a Patchwork of Story and Song. 
 ,, My Grandmother's Budget of Stories and Verses. 
 ,, Tales of the Toys. Told by Themselves. 
 ,, Tiny Tadpole, and other Tales. 
 Cousin Trix, and her Welcoxie Tales. By Georgiana Craik 
 Cosmorama : the ^Manners and Customs of all Nations of the 
 
 World described. By J. Aspin. 
 Distant Homes, or The Graham Family in New Zealand. By 
 
 Mrs. I. E. Ayljier. 
 Early Days of English Princes. By ]Mrs. PcUssell Gray. New 
 
 and enlarged edition. 
 Echoes of an Old Bell, and other Tales of Fairy Lore. By 
 
 the Hon. Augusta Bethell. 
 Facts to Correct Fancies, or Short Narratives of Remaekable 
 
 WOilEN. 
 
 Faggots for the Fireside, or Tales of Fact and Fancy. By 
 Peter Parley. 
 
 Fairy Land, or Recreation for the Rising Generation, in Prose 
 and Verse. By Thomas and Jane Hood. Illustrated by T. 
 Hood, Jun. Second edition. 
 
 " These Tales are charming. Before it goes into the Nursery, we recom- 
 mend all grown-up people should study ' Fairy Land.' '' — Blackwood. 
 
 Feathers and Fancies, or Stories from the Realms of Fancy. 
 By the Hon. Augusta Bethell. 
 
 Garden (The), or Frederick's Monthly Instruction for the 
 Maj^agement and Formation op a Flotnt^i Garden. With 
 Illustrations by Sowerby. Gs. coloured. 
 
 Granny's Wonderful Chair, and its Tales of Fairy Times. By 
 Frances Browne. 
 
 Hacco the Dwarf, or The Tower on the Mol^ntain, and other 
 Tales. By Lady Lushington. 
 
 " Enthusiasm is not our usual fashion, but the excellence of these stories 
 is so greatly above the average of most clever tales for the play-room, that 
 we are tempted to reward the author with admiration." — AthentBum.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GRIFFITH AND FAERAN. 15 
 
 Happy Home (The), or The Chiujhex at the Red House. By 
 Lady Llshington. Second Edition. 
 
 Helen in Switzerland. By the Hon. Augusta Bethell. 
 
 Holidays among the Mountains, or Scenes and Stories of Wales. 
 By ;M. Betham Edwards. 
 
 Lightsome and the Little Golden Lady. Written and Illustrated 
 by C, H. Bennett. Twenty-four Engravings. Fcap. ito. 
 
 " The -work of a man wto is sure to put some touch of a peculiar genius 
 into whatever he does." — PaU Mall Gazette. 
 
 Nursery Times, or Stories about the Little Ones. By an Old 
 
 Nurse. 
 
 Play Eoom Stories, or How to make Peace. By Georgl^na SI. 
 Craik. 
 
 Peep at the Pixies (A), or Legends of the West. By !Mrs. Brat. 
 
 Scenes and Stories of the Rhine. By INI. Bethasi Edwards. 
 
 Stories of Edward, and his Liitle Friends. 
 
 Tales of Magic and Meaning. Written and Illustrated by Alfred 
 
 Crowqltll. 
 Visits to Beechwood Farm. By Catharine Cowper. 
 
 Three Shillings and Sixpence "plain, in cloth elegant^ or 
 tvith gilt edges, imce ^s., with Illustrations hj eminent 
 
 Artists. 
 Isabel's DifBculties, or Light on the Daily Path. By M. R. Caret. 
 
 Kingston's (W.H.G.) Fred Markham in Eussia, or, The Bot 
 Travellers in the Lant) or the Czar. 
 
 ,, Manco the Peruvian Chief. 
 
 ,, Mark Seaworth; a Tale of the Indian Ocean. 
 
 ,, Peter the Whaler; his Earlt Life and Adventures 
 Tn THE Arctic Regions. 
 
 ,, Salt Water, or Neil D'Arcy's Sea Life and Advbntu-res. 
 
 " There is about all Mr. Kingston's tales a spirit of hopefulness, honesty, 
 and cheery good principle, -which makes them most wholesome, as well 
 as most interesting reading." — Era. 
 
 " With the exception of Capt. Marryat, we know of no English author 
 who will compare with Mr. Kingston as a writer of books of nautical 
 adventure." — Hhistrated Neus.
 
 16 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Lee (Mrs.) Anecdotes of the Habits and Instincts of Animals. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 
 ,, Anecdotes of the Habits and Instincts of Birds, Reptiles, 
 and Fishes. Second Edition. 
 "Mrs. Lee's authorities— to name only one, Professor Owen— are for the 
 most part, first Ta,te.—Atheiiccuin. 
 
 ,, Adventures in Australia, or The Wanderings of Captain 
 Spencer in the Bush and the \Yilds. Third Edition. 
 
 „ The African Wanderers, or The Wanderings of Carlos 
 AND Antonio; embracing interesting Descriptions of 
 the Manners and Customs of the Western Tribes, 
 and the Natural Productions of the Country. Foui-th 
 Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 
 Almeria's Castle, or My Early Life in India and England. By 
 Lady Lushington. 
 
 " The Authoress has'-a very graphic pen, and brings before our eyes, with 
 singular vividness, the localities and modes of life she aims to describe." — 
 London Revieiv. 
 
 Kit Bam, the British Sinbad, or The Yarns op an Old Mariner. 
 By Mary Co>vben Clarke. Fcap. 8vo. 
 
 My School Days in Paris. By Margaret S. Jelt^e. With 
 
 Illustrations, Small Post 8vo. 
 Meadow Lea, or The Gipsy Children. Fcap. 8vo. 
 
 Millicent and Her Cousins. By the Hon. Augusta Bethell. 
 Author of " Helen in Switzerland," etc. Second Edition. 
 
 Our Old Uncle's Home; and what the Boys did there. By 
 Mother Carey. With Illustrations by Walter Crane. 
 
 Rosamond Fane, or the Prisoners of St. James. By Mary and 
 Catherine Lee. Authors of "Lucy's Campaign." Second 
 Edition. 
 
 The Triumphs of Steam, or Stories from the Lives of Watt, 
 Arkwright, and Stephenson. Fourth Edition. 
 
 The Whispers of a Shell, or Stories of the Sea. By Frances 
 
 Freeling Broderip. 
 Wild Roses, or Simple Stories of Country Life. By Frances 
 
 Freeling Broderip. 
 
 Young Governess (The); a Tale for Girls. By the Author of 
 '• Gerty and May." 
 
 Three Shillings and Sixpence each, 
 Bible Illustrations, or A Description of INIanners and Customs 
 peculiar to the East. By the Rev. B. H. Draper. Fourth 
 Edition. Revised by Dr. Kitto.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GRIFFITH AND FAERAN. 17 
 
 British History Briefly Told (The), axd a descbiption of the 
 AxciExx Customs, Sports, asd Pastdies or the English. 
 
 Clara Hope, or The Blade and the Ear. By Miss IMilner. 
 Frontispiece by Blrket Foster. 
 
 Dissections for Young Children. In a Neat Box. Price 35. 6c?. 
 each. 
 
 1. Joseph and Moses. I 3, Mother Hl'bbard. 
 
 2. Our Saviour. | 4. Cock Robin. 
 
 Four Seasons (The) ; A Short Account of the Structure of Plants, 
 being Four Lectures written for the Working Men's Institute, 
 Paris. With Illustrations. Imperial 16mo. 
 
 " Distinguished by extreme clearness and teems vrith. information of a 
 useful and popular chaTSLctev."— Guardian. 
 
 Family Bible Newly Opened (The); wtth Uncle Goodwin's 
 
 AccoTiNT of it. By Jeffreys Taylor, Fcap. 8vo. 
 " A very good account of the Sacred "Writings, adapted to the tastes, 
 
 feelings, and intelligence of young people.'' — Educational Times. 
 Glimpses of Nature, and Objects of Interest described during 
 
 A Visit to the Isle of Wight. By Mrs. Loudon. Forty- 
 one Illusta-ations. 
 History of the Robins (The). By Mrs. Trdlmer. In Words of 
 
 One Syllable. Edited by the Rev. Charles Swete, M.A. 
 
 Super-royal 16mo. 
 Historical Acting Charades, or Amuse]ments for Winter Evenings. 
 
 By the Author of '' Cat and Dog," etc. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 
 "A rare book for Christmas parties, and of practical value." — Illustrated 
 
 News. 
 How to be Happy, or Fairy Gifts : to which is added a Selection 
 
 of Moral Allegories. 
 Infant Amusements, or How to siake a Nursery Happy. With 
 
 Practical Hints on the Moral and Physical Training of Children. 
 
 By W. H. G. Kingston. Post 8vo. 
 "We urge parents most strongly to obtain this book forthvrith ; we know 
 
 of no book that can compare with it in practical value. E.iCH Chapter 
 
 IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK." — Ow OlC/i Firesidc. 
 
 Lizzie's Secret. A Story for Little Children. Written and 
 Illustrated by Adelaide A. Magltre. 
 
 Letters from Sarawak, addressed to a Child, embracing an 
 Account of the Manners, Customs, and Religion of the In- 
 habitants of Borneo, By Mrs. M'Dougall. 
 
 The Mine, or Sl^bterranean Wontjers, An Account of the Opera- 
 tions of the Miner and the Products of his Labours. Sixth 
 Edition. 
 
 Might not Right, or Stories of the Discovery and Conquest 
 of America.
 
 18 NEW AND POPULAR WOEKS 
 
 Modem Sphinx (The). A Collection of Enigmas, Charades, 
 Acrostics, Anagrams, Verbal Puzzles, Conlts'drums, &c. 
 
 Our Eastern Empire, or Stories from the History of British 
 India. Second Edition, 
 
 Sunheam : a Fairy Tale. By Mrs. Pietzker. 
 
 Three Shillings and Sixpence plain ; Five Shillings coloured. 
 
 Bear King (The) : a Narrative confided to the Marines by James 
 Greenwood, ^Yith Illustrations by Ernest Griset. Small 4to, 
 " More than amusing."— /Satwr^^ay Revieir. 
 " Ably supported by Griset's drawings."— -4<Aen(eMm. 
 
 Buzz a Buzz, or The Bees, from the German of William Busch. 
 
 By the Author of " My Bee Book," With 135 Illustrations. 
 
 Familiar Natural History. With 42 Illustrations by Harrison- 
 Weir. 
 *.;jt* Also, in Two Vols., entitled "British Animals and Birds," 
 Foreign Animals and Birds." 2s. each, plain ; 2s. Qd. coloured. 
 
 Little Child's Fable Book (The.) Arranged progressively in words 
 of One, Two, and Three Syllables. Sixteen Page Illustrations 
 by Georgina Bowers, Small 4to. 
 
 Old Nurse's Book of Rhymes, Jingles, and Ditties. Illustrated 
 by C, H, Bennett. Ninety Engi-avings, Fcap, 4to. 
 
 Three Shillings plain-, Four Shillings and Sixpence 
 coloured^ gilt edges. 
 
 Fun and Earnest, or Rhymes with Reason. By D'Arcy W. 
 
 Thompson. Illustrated by Charles Bennett. Imperial IGmo'. 
 Mamma's Morning Gossips, or Little Bits for Little Birds. 
 
 Being Easy Lessons for One Month in Words of One Syllable, 
 
 and a Story to read for each Week. With 50 Illustrations' 
 
 Fcap. 4to. 
 
 Price Three Shillings^ or luith gilt edges, Three Shillings 
 
 and Sixpence. 
 
 Our Soldiers, or Anecdotes of the Cajipaigns and Gallant 
 Deeds of the British Army during the Reign of Her 
 Majesty Queen Victoria. By W. H. G. Kingston. With 
 Frontispiece. Third Edition. With an account of the Abyssinian 
 ExPEDmoN. Fcap. 8vo.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GiUFFITH AND FAEEAN. 
 
 19 
 
 Our Sailors, or Aisecdotes of the Exgagements akd Gallant 
 Deeds of the British Na^t. With Frontispiece. Third 
 Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 
 
 " These volumes abundantly prove that both our officers and men in the 
 Army and Xavy have been found as ready as ever to dare and to do as 
 was dared and done of yore, -when led by a Xelson or a 'Wellington." 
 
 Lucy's Campaign : a Story of Adventure. By Mary and 
 Qatheres-e Lee. Fcap. 8vo. 
 
 Pictures of G-irl Life. By Catherine Augusta Howell. Fcap. 8vo. 
 
 Fruits of Enterprise, exhibited in the Travels of Belzoni in 
 Egypt and Xl^bia. Foui-teenth Edition. "With Six Engravings 
 by BiRKET Foster. Price 3s. 
 
 Two Shillings and Sixpence 2^lciin, or Three Shillings and 
 
 Sixpence coloured and gilt edges, Super Royal 16mo, cloth 
 
 elegant, ivith Illustrations by Crane, Aisolon, Elwes, Phiz, 
 
 ^Veir, Keyl, and others. 
 
 Adventures and Experiences of Biddy Dorking and of the Fat 
 
 Frog. 
 Alice and Beatrice. By GRANDMAioiA. 
 
 Amy's Wish, and What Came of It: a Fairy Tale. By IMrs. G. 
 
 Tylee, 
 Angelo, or The Pine Forest ajiong the Alps. By Geraldine 
 
 E. Jewsbltiy. Second Edition. 
 "As pretty a child's story as one might look for on a winter's day." — 
 
 Examiner. 
 
 Cat and Dog, or INIemoirs of Puss and the Captain. Illustrated 
 by Weir. Ninth Edition. 
 
 Day of a Baby Boy (The). By E. Berger. Third Edition. 
 Discontented Children (The), and how they were Cured. By M. 
 and E. Kirby. Third Edition. 
 
 Doll and Her Friends (The), or Memoirs of the Lady Seraphina. 
 By the Author of - Cat and Dog." Fifth Edition. 
 
 Early Dawn (The), or Stories to Think about. Second Edition. 
 
 Faithful Hound (The) : a Story in Verse, founded on Fact. By 
 Lady Thomas. Imperial 16mo. 
 
 Featherland, or How the Birds lh^ed at Greenlawn. By G. 
 M. Fenn.
 
 20 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Funny Fables for Little Folks. Second Edition. 
 Gerty and May. Third Edition. 
 
 " A charming book for children. Though the story is full of fun, the 
 moral is ncYor lost sight of." — Literary Churchmari. 
 
 By the same Author. 
 
 Children of the Parsonage. 
 
 Granny's Story Box. New Edition. With 20 Engravings. 
 
 Our White Violet. Second Edition. 
 
 Sunny Days, or A Month at the Great Stowe, 
 
 The New Baby. 
 
 Jack Frost and Betty Snow; with other Tales for Wintry Nights 
 and Rainy Days. Second Edition. 
 
 Julia Maitland, or Tride goes before a Fall. By M. and E. 
 
 KiRBY. 
 
 Lee (Mrs. R.) Playing at Settlers, or The Faggot House. 
 ,, Twelve Stories of the Sayings and Doings of Animals. 
 
 Live Toys, or Anecdotes of our Four-legged and other Pets. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 Neptune: or The Autobiography ot a Newfoundland Dog. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 By the same Author. 
 
 Odd Stories about Animals; told in Short and Easy Words. 
 
 Tiny Stories for Tiny Readers in Tiny Words. With Twelve 
 Illustrations by Wehi. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Trottie's Story Book: True Tales in Short Words and Largo 
 Type. Third Edition. Eight Illustrations by Week. 
 
 Tuppy, or The Altiobiography of a Donkey. Illustrated by 
 Harrison Weir. Third Edition. 
 
 Norris (Emilia Marryat.) A Week by Themselves, 
 
 Adrift on the Sea, or The Children's Escape. 
 
 Children's Pic-Nic (The), and -v^tiat came op it. 
 
 Geoffry's Great Fault. 
 
 Harry at School. Second Edition. 
 
 Long Evenings, or Stories for my Little Friends. 
 
 Snowed Up, or The Hlt in tiee Forest. 
 
 Stolen Cherries, or Tell the Truth at Once. 
 
 What became of Tommy.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GEIFFITH AND FAEEAN. 21 
 
 Scripture Histories for Little Children. With Sixteen Illustrations 
 hy John Gilbert. 
 Contents : — The History of Joseph — History of Moses — History 
 of our Saviour — The Miracles of Christ, 
 
 Sold separately 6d. each, plain ; Is. coloured. 
 
 Story of Jack and the Giants. \Mth Thirty-five Illustrations by 
 EiCHARD Doyle. 
 
 " In Doyle's dra\rings we have wonderful conceptions, wliich 'will secure 
 the book a place among&t the treasures of collectors, as vreU as excite the 
 imaginations of children." — Illustrated Times. 
 
 Stories of Julian and His Playfellows. Written by his Ma^ema. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 Tales from Catland. Dedicated to the Young Kittens of England. 
 
 By an Old Tabby. Fifth Edition. 
 " A combination of quiet humoiir and sound sense." — Lady's Keicspaper. 
 Talking Bird (The), or The Little Giel who knew what was 
 
 GOING TO HAPPEN. By M. and E. Kirby. Second Edition, 
 
 Tittle Tattle; and other Stories for Children. By the Author of 
 '•Little Tales for Tiny Tots," etc. 
 
 Two Shillings and Six2mice, witli Illustrations, cloth 
 elegant, or with gilt edges, Tliree Shillings. 
 
 A Child's Influence, or Kathleen and her Great Uncle. By 
 Lisa Lockyer. Fcap, 8vo, 
 
 Adventures of Kwei, the Chinese Girl. By the Author of '-Little 
 Lisette," "Louis Michaud," etc, 
 
 Bertrand Du Guesclin, the Hero of Brittany. By Emile de 
 Bonnechose. Translated by Margaret S, Jeune, 
 
 Comer Cottage, and Its Inmates, or Trust in God. By Frances 
 Osborne. 
 
 Father Time's Story Book for the Little Ones. By Kathleen 
 Knox. 
 
 From Peasant to Prince, or The Life of Alexander Prince 
 Menschikoff. Freely translated from the Russian by Madame 
 Pietzker. 
 
 William Allair, or Running away to Sea. By ;Mrs. H. Wood, 
 Author of "The Channings," etc. 
 
 " There is a fascination about Mrs. "Wood's writings from which neither 
 old nor young can escape." — BclVs Messeiiger.
 
 22 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Davenport's (Mrs.) Constance and Nellie, or The Lost Will. 
 
 ,, Our Birthdays, and How to Improve them. Second 
 Edition. 
 
 ,, The Happy Holidays, or Brothers and Sisters at Home. 
 Second Edition. 
 
 ,, The Holidays Abroad, or Right at Last. 
 
 Tiuo Shillings and Siocpence each. 
 
 Childi-en of the Olden Time. By the Author of " A Trap to Catch 
 a Sunbeam." 27 Illustrations. Imperial 16mo, 
 
 The Boy's Own Toy Maker: a Practical Illustrated Guide to the' 
 useful employment of Leisure Hours. By E, Landells. With 
 Two Hundred Cuts. Eighth Edition. Royal 16mo. 
 
 "A new and valuable form of endless amusement." — Noncofiformist. 
 
 " We recommend it to all who have children to be instructed and 
 amused."— ^co?jo>nis^ 
 
 The Girl's Own Toy Maker, and Book of Recreation. By E. 
 
 and A. Landells. Sixth Editiofl. With 200 Illustrations. 
 " A perfect magazine of information." — Illustrated Neics of the World. 
 Black and White Picture Book; a Collection of Amusing and 
 Comical Figures. Fcap. 4to, 
 
 Nursery Nonsense, or Rhymes without Reason. By D'Arcy W. 
 
 Tnosn^sON. Sixty Illustrations by C. H. Bennett. Second 
 
 Edition. Imperial 16mo, or with coloured plates, gilt edges, 4s. 6d. 
 
 " The funniest book we have seen for an age, and quite as harmless as 
 
 heart}'." — Daily Hevieiv. 
 
 COMICAL PICTURE BOOKS. 
 
 Uniform in Size icitli '"The Struwwelpeter." 
 
 Tico ShiUings and Sixpence each, ivith Sixteen large 
 
 Coloured Plates, fancy hoards; or mounted on cloth, One 
 
 Shilling extra. 
 
 Careless Chicken (The.) By the Baron Krakemsides. Illustrated 
 by Alfred CROWQL^LL. 
 
 Funny Leaves for the Younger Branches. By the Baron 
 Krakemsides, of Burstenoudelafen Castle. Illustrated by 
 Alfred Crowquill. 
 
 Laugh and Grow Wise. By the Senior Owl of Ivy Hall. 
 
 Loves of Tom Tucker and Little Bo-Peep. Written and Illus- 
 trated by Thomas Hood.
 
 PUBLISHED BY GEIFFITH AND FAKE AN. 23 
 
 Nursery Fun, or The Little Folks' Picture Book. The Illus- 
 trations by C. H. Bexxett. 
 
 Picture Fables. Written and Illustrated by ALrEED Crowqoll. 
 
 Spectropia, or Sltiprisixg Spectral Illusions, showing Ghosts 
 everywhere, and of any Colour. By J. H. Browx. Fifth 
 Edition. 
 
 " One of the best toy books we have seen." — Athenccnm . 
 
 ' ' A clever book. The illusions are founded on true scientific principles." 
 — Chemical News. 
 
 The Headlong Career and Woful Ending of Precocious Piggy. 
 
 Written for his Childi-en, by the late Thomas Hood. Fourth 
 Edition. 
 " The illustrations are intensely humorous." — The Critic. 
 
 Upside Down: a Series of Amusing Pictures from Sketches by the 
 late W. McCoxNELL, with Verses by Thomas Hood. 
 " Ludicrous and amusing." — Illustrated Times. 
 
 Tivo SldlUngs, cloth elegant, icith Illustrations . or icith 
 
 coloured plates, gilt edges, Three Shillings. 
 Chit Chat, or Short Tales ix Short Words, 
 Conversations on the Life of Jesus Christ. By a ■Mother.' 
 Easy Lessons, or LEADrs'G-STRixGS to Knowledge. 
 
 Fanny and Her Mamma, or Easy Lessoxs for Childrex. 
 
 Third Edition. 
 Good in Everything, or The Early History of Gilbert 
 
 Harlaxd. By Mrs. Bar well. Second Edition. 
 
 Infantine Knowledge : a Spelling and Reading Book on a Popular 
 Plan. Tenth Edition. 
 
 Little Lessons for Little Learners, in Words of One Syllable. By 
 Mrs. Barwtell, Eleventh Edition. 
 
 Little Reader (The) : a Progressive Step to Knowledge. Fourth 
 Edition. 
 
 Mamma's Bible Stories, for her Little Bovs axd Girls. 
 
 Fourteenth Edition. 
 Mamma's Bible Stories (A Sequel to). Sixth Edition. 
 Mamma's Lessons, for her Little Boys axd Girls. Fifteenth 
 
 Edition.
 
 24 NEW AND POPULAR WORKS 
 
 Primrose Pilgrimage (The) : a Woodland Story. By M. Betham 
 Edwards, 
 
 " One of the best books of children's verse that has appeared since the 
 early days of Mary Howitt." — Nonconformist. 
 
 Silver Swan (The) : a Fairy Tale. By Mad.uie de Chatelain. 
 
 Illustrated by John Leech. 
 
 Scenes of Animal Life and Character, from Nature axd 
 Recollection. In T^-enty Plates. By J. B. 4to, fancy boards. 
 " Truer, heartier, more playful, or more enjoyable sketches of animal 
 life could scarcely be fouucl anywhere." — Spectator. 
 
 Sunday Lessons for Little Children. By Mrs. Barwell. 
 
 Tales of School Life. By Agnes Loudon. Illustrations by 
 Absolon. Second Edition. Royal 16mo. 
 
 Wonders of Home, in Eleven Stories (The). By Gba.ndfather 
 Grey. Third Edition. Royal 16mo. 
 
 Two Shillings each. 
 
 Always Happy, or Anecdotes of Felix and his Sister Serena. 
 Nineteenth Edition. 
 
 Confessions of a Lost Dog (The). Reported by her Mistress, 
 Frances Powt:r Cobbe, With a Photograph of the Dog from 
 Life, by Frank Haes. Super-royal 16nio. 
 
 How to Make DoUs' Furniture and to Furnish a Doll's House. 
 
 With 70 Illustrations. Imperial IGmo. 
 
 Illustrated Paper Model Maker. By E. Landells. 
 
 Ehymes and Pictures about Bread, Tea, Sugar, Cotton, Coals, 
 AND Gold. By William Newman. Seventy-two Illustrations. 
 Price 2s. pfai« ; 3s. Qd. coloured. 
 
 *^* Each Subject maybe had separately. Price Qd. plain; Is. 
 coloured. 
 
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