THE WAR ON THE GOLD COAST.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1763, 30 March 1874, Page 3

THE WAR ON THE GOLD COAST.

[MELBOURNE ARGUS.]

The arrangements of Sir Garnet Wolseley's advance upon Coomassie have been made with energy, and, as far as we can judge with admirable skill. The troops had all landed, and 80 miles between the coast and the Prah were to be traversed in eight marches. The line of advance wonld be protected by a succession of camps or forts ; and large stores of ammunition had been already provided on the river banks. The correspondent of the Daily Telegraph was among the first to cross the Prah after the retreat of the Ashantees. He states that the river is found to be 65 yards broad at the point Beleoied for the bridge. "It is a deep, swift stream, the color and nearly the consistence of mud. That portion of the invading force which used this immediate neighborhood for the crossing have left the remains of their rude bridge. Between two trees which had fallen or been felled long since, and lay half buried in the stream, a rope is stretched that still drags in the racing water. With no other assistance they tried to reach the other bank. Undoubtedly the loss of life must have been great if it be true, as is alleged, that the mass of the Ashantees cannot gwim. . A number of bodies have been found on the foreshore of our camp. One was hanging in the nearest tree when our men arrived, another was caught by the boughs of an overhanging bush, a third lay entangled on a raft ; several corpses were also found on the bank itself, which have been burnt or buried, two of the dead, probably chiefs, being on the branches of a tree suspended in

the baskets which are their travelling carriages. On the further bank, too, were some who had reached tho shore only to to die. Very striking and ghastly was the attitude of a corpsej ust opposite tha site of our bridge ; it was crouched upon the bank, the head resting on the hands, and elbows on the knees. At this moment I look up and see a heap of bones, with Turkey buzzards waddling round." The same writer estimates the number of Ashantees who retreated across the Prah at 30,000. Lieutenant Gorden tells him that "while the length of the abandoned camps along the roadside is surprising, their depth in the bush fairly astonished him. Shed beyond shed, in irregular lines, they stretch 200 yards back on a mile long frontage, then occurs a belt of uucleared bush, behind which lies another camp, and then another equally as long."

Sir Garnet Wolseley had issued a memorandum to the troops, with minute instructions as to health, the march, and mode of fighting. The following is the concluding paragraph, which in style serves to recall the addresses of some greater commanders : — "It must never be forgotton by our soldiers that Providence has implanted in the heart of every native of Africa a superstitious awe and dread of the white man, that prevents the negro from daring to meet us face to face in combat. A steady advance or a charge, no matter how partial, made with a determination, always means the retreat of the enemy. Although, when at a distance, and even when under a heavy fire, the Ashantees seem to be brave enough, from their practice of yelling and singing and beating drums, in order to frighten the enemies of their own color with whom they are accustomed to make war, they will not stand against the advance of the white man. English soldiers and sailors are accustomed to fight against immense odds in all parts of the world. It is scarcely necessary to remind them that when, in our battles beyond the Prah, they tind themselves surrounded on all sides by hordes of howling enemies, they must rely upon their own British courage and discipline, and upon the courage of their comrades. Soldiers and sailors, remember that the black man holds you in superstitious awe. Bo cool, fire low, and charge home ; and the more numerous your enemy, the greater will be the loss inflicted upon him, and the greater your honor in defeating him."

The following terrible story is told in a Chicago paper, which says : — " The girl, Amelia Gruraell, who had her scalp torn off in a shingle-raill, is still alive, and will probably recover. She was working under a shaft which was going at the rate of 200 revolutions per minute, when her hair, which was very long, caught in the knuckle joint, and in an instant it was torn entirely from her head. From a. line drawn around from each eyebrow, her skull was left white and bare, without a trace of blood or flesh. The strangest part of the accident is that she felt little or no pain, declaring that when it was being torn off all that she realised was a tickling sensation in her head. She coolly walked out of the room, and waited patiently for a buggy to take her home. Her only regret was the fright it would give her mother. The scalp, with its beautiful long locks of hair, was curled and entwined around the shaft at the joint, and when the mill was stopped it was taken down, but no one had suftV cient presence of mind to replace it upon her head. It is nearly perfect, and the doctors determined to tan it with the hair on, so that, if the girl recovers, it may be used as a wig. The case is one of the most remarkable on record, and has created a feeling of intense horror here.