ASHANTI 



410 



ASHEVILLE 



ASHANTI, ashan'tee, a British colony in 

 West Africa, inland from the Gold Coast, 

 inhabited chiefly by warlike negroes. It has an 

 area of 23,000 square miles and a population 

 of about 288,000. On the west, it is bounded 

 by the French Ivory Coast territory, and it is 

 surrounded on all other sides by British West 

 African possessions. The chief town is 

 Kumassi, with about 19,000 inhabitants. 



At one time, Ashanti was the greatest slave 

 market in the world, slave traders from all 

 parts of Africa meeting at Kumassi to dispose 

 of their captives. Abolition of this traffic by 

 the British authorities has led to the introduc- 

 tion of peaceful pursuits. Cocoa and rubber 

 are extensively grown, and gold to the value 

 of about $1,275,000 is yearly exported. A 

 railway runs from the coast to Kumassi, open- 

 ing up important mining and agricultural dis- 

 tricts. Gold, silver and copper money is in 

 use, but the natives in many parts adhere to 

 the use of cowries and other shells for cur- 

 rency (see COWRIE). 



Although nominally under British protection 

 since 1874, the country was not formally an- 

 nexed until 1901, after repeated rebellions and 

 serious wars. Ashanti is administered by a 

 British resident commissioner, who is responsi- 

 ble to the governor-general of the Gold Coast. 



ASHBURTON, ash'burt'n, ALEXANDER BAR- 

 ING, Lord (1774-1848), a prominent English 

 financier and diplomat, best known as one of 

 the negotiators of the Webster-Ashburton 

 Treaty (which see), between Great Britain and 

 the United States. The interests of the latter 

 country were in the hands of Daniel Webster. 

 For many years before the death of his father 

 he was in the firm of Baring Brothers, and on 

 his father's death he became its head. While 

 on a trip to the United States he met and 

 married Anne Bingham, the daughter of a 

 United States Senator from Pennsylvania; and 

 when, in 1842, the disagreement between the 

 United States and Great Britain in regard to 

 the northeast and northwest boundary lines 

 had reached a crisis, Ashburton, by reason of 

 his American connections and his familiarity 

 with American ideas, was appointed to attempt 

 the readjustment of the difficulty. 



ASHEVILLE, ash' vil, N. C., a famous sum- 

 mer and winter health resort and an educa- 

 tional and manufacturing city. It is the county 

 seat of Buncombe County, in the western part 

 of the state, and is beautifully situated in the 

 Blue Ridge Mountains, near the confluence of 

 the French Broad and the Swannanoa rivers. 



The elevation is 2,350 feet, and many of the 

 wooded hills near by rise above 6,000 feet. 

 The surrounding country, largely agricultural, 

 is also noted for its fine timber. The moan 

 temperature is 55. The population was 18,762 

 in 1910; in 1916 it was 23,000. Of this number 

 ninety-eight per cent are American, of whom 

 about twenty-five to thirty per cent are negroes. 

 These figures are exclusive of the 200,000 an- 

 nual visitors. The area is six square miles. 



Asheville is on the Southern Railway. 

 Raleigh, the state capital, is 210 miles east; 

 northwest 129 miles is Knoxville, Term., ami 

 Atlanta, Ga., is 262 miles southwest. The 

 important manufacturing industries of the city 

 include furniture and ready-cut houses, caskets, 

 leather goods, cotton goods, farm implements, 

 and mica. The combined payroll of these 

 industries amounts to nearly $2,500,000 an- 

 nually. 



In the city and surrounding country are a 

 number of beautiful parks and places of scenic 

 interest, including Round Knob, Richmond 

 Hill, Overlook Park, Beaumont, Connally's 

 View, Riverside Park and Lake, and Swan- 

 nanoa Drive. Fine automobile roads lead to 

 all of these places. About two miles southeast 

 of the city is Biltmore, the country place of 

 George W. Vanderbilt. It is probably the most 

 magnificent private estate in America, the 

 grounds cover 132,000 acres, including Pisgah 

 Forest, a hunting reserve, and rare botanical 

 gardens. Pisgah Forest was purchased by the 

 National Forest Reservation Commission in 

 1914. The splendid chateau on the estate is 

 French Renaissance in design. The all-turf golf 

 course of the Asheville Country Club is one 

 of the finest in the South. 



A number of elegantly-appointed hotels, in- 

 cluding one said to be the finest tourist hotel 

 in America; the Park Memorial Public Li- 

 brary; the government building; a large audi- 

 torium, and sanitariums are among the notable 

 public buildings. Asheville has a number of 

 educational institutions, in addition to the 

 public school system. There are the Normal 

 and Collegiate Institute, the Home Industrial 

 School, both under the auspices of the Board 

 of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, 

 St. Genevieve's College, Asheville School for 

 Boys and Asheville School for Girls. 



The settlement of Asheville was begun in 

 1792 and received its name in honor of Gov- 

 ernor Samuel Ashe. It was chartered as a 

 town in 1797 and obtained a city charter in 

 1883, which was revised in 1901. NX. 



