THE ASHANTEE KING AND HIS PEOPLE. THE ASHANTEE CAPITAL.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 252, 20 December 1873, Page 2

THE ASHANTEE KING AND HIS PEOPLE. THE ASHANTEE CAPITAL.

Princk Avshn, who has travelled the country from Cape Coast to Coomassie nt least a score of limes, say* positively that CoomMßjp is ft completely open town, built on a slight eminence in a perfectly flat plain Tt is not wullcd or stockaded, and is not a plnce of any natural strength, k small stream railed thp Subino winds almost entirely round Coomassie, which is nlniost an island. Along flip SuMno are a scries of small marshes ; but in the dry season both river and marshes cau bo ciossed with hnrdly more than wetting yourself half-way to t.ho knee. The Prince u a firm friend of England, nnrt is a rr.nx\ of great intelligence and good education; hid information nuy be thoroughly relied on. Prince An«ah describes the country between tho AdansuHills and Cooma«sie as a (iucopcii country, and very bealihv On tho plaint about the Coomassie, the cattle aie nearly as lnrge and as fine as English cattle, where«H, on the «racon«t, n bullock i« n wretched, stunted, n^iserablr bra-t, not lar»er than a well-Ritiwn EiigliMi donkey. About lmll-wnv bilvtecn CVomassiH and the Aduusie Hills, but noinewJiat to the left of the road any inrading force would take, ii Lako Bog•unitcbie, a line iheet of water about twelve inilei long and

eight b-oad. It teonn -with, fi-'i. m<( thu Tia»ket9 ofCoomassie nro largely supplis I from its water*. Prince An.-ali says tliw lake has never been visited by any Europeans. Thero can bj no doiabt thab no rei-r great difficulty wilt be founrl in marching »«ufnriently strong force us far in tho Pri'i, wliic'i lius been reached bv Knglish troops before. This N Prinro Anmli'n opinion* When the troops reach the banks of the Pr-ili, if tli.-re i* any delay about advancing, the njortilitr frjin •ickneji i* likely to* be frightful. One fu-t willt suffice to do away with the idea, which seems to bo entertained in certain quarters at home, that the Prali can be made use of as a means of bi ingiuy fooop? or baggage into thu interior, and that is, that it i<j never used at any period of the year, either to import goods into or to export from Ashnntee. Wore it possible toant> it the natives would do «o. In Hip dry season it is little better than a dry ditch. In the wet season it is a roaring torrent. The best time of the year for an advance on Cooinn-nie would be the>inonths of January, February, March, and April In the beginning of May the season breaks. If the next three or four months wcr.- utilised in road making good fair roads might bo made nearly up to thn Prali. The working purtiei could be protected by tht Houmm and Wert ludiun troops. The European troops that would take part in the expedition could be kept at tome- distance fi»m shore is transports, and not landed until the hour they were required (o advance. Bv tilts means in four or five day* tkey could reach the Prali and tlie only serious obstacle between them and Coomus-,ie would be the Adaiwie Hilk- Once thty.wwe p.«scd, the road to Comassic is through an open healthy country. Although the pa«ige ol the A'dansie Hills will be severely contested, and offers great obstacles, they can- hardly be i on•idered insuperable. The distance is.ac short tiiat the lulls can be crossed in times of peace in a single day's march The great objection to using the Volta as the basis for a march on Coomns«ie h that the river has, in~the first place, to be asceudeel 200 miles, and all store* to. bo transported that distance ; and then the distance to be traversed to reach '. Coomussic from Alt room, or any other feasible point on the Voltft) n nt least three times as great as the distance from the Pral) to Oooma«sie. A project to construct a light railway or tr»niiw;i\ on a two-toot guuge from Cape Coa*t towards Prnh Jits met with great favour. The countn ii almost perJectlj lei el, nnd does not offer the slightest engineering obstacle except the cutting of the bush. E\cn a, few miles of Mm railway, which could easily be laid bpfore Christmas, would enormously facilitate transport of .storch and men. ]f nece^ary, the cars could be pushed or rl raw n . by men. The Kroomcn, perhaps the most athletic and hardy in the world, could be brought down in numbers at very trifling expense, and" they would work cither at construct ing ' the road* or .drawing the cars. At present no menus whatever of conreyjng goods or stores exists, except native porters carrying weights on their heuila. At the outside one of these men cannot carry over GOlb. Some idea mnv be. tliere^ 1 foro, formed of the number of camp follow eta winch would be required at present to accompany any expedition The work of constructing the tramway will be greatly facilitated by the fact that engaged on the harbour woi ls here are a large staff of sfc lied English and native meolianies comprising blacksmiths. caq>ent«ni, masons, an.l ]>litt>livcr* Mr Oakes the resident engineer, and his entire staH,' are quite prepared to place their services at the disposal of the Government. Mj Lo^gje and several others who hnvo been up in the bn«h are much in favour of having a cartridge wide which will fit the Snider chamber, containing «c*erai plugs or swan. shot, instead of one bullet. In the hush there \wlL he but little firing at long distances, and the foliage is ««> dense that % single bullet will be often turned aside. Whether tin's be feasible or not the authorities at home arc the best judge*