War 1 6 7 



lu Coomassie I saw the same chief with the gold 

 ornament that had come down as envoy to Foomanah, 

 and afterwards with the flag of truce. 



" I saw two Ashantis skulking in the high reed grass, 

 and then come out into the road near where G Com- 

 pany's arms were piled, and no sentry over them. I 

 noticed that one of them had the well-known gold orna- 

 ment on that he had at Foomanah. I accordingly stalked 

 him, made a rush, and caught him by the right wrist with 

 both hands. "We had a tremendous struggle, but so long 

 as I could hold his right wrist he could not draw his big 

 knife from its sheath on his left side. The other man 

 kept running round, and I had to keep the man I had 

 hold of between me and the second, for fear he should 

 stick me. They kept up a great jabbering, while I kept 

 yelling for help, but the men were all inside the house 

 and did not hear at first. Then a few ran out, and I 

 handed over my prisoner to a guard, and sent him on to 

 Sir Garnet Wolseley. A few minutes afterwards the guard 

 returned without the prisoner. I asked them what had 

 become of him. The corporal said that he had taken 

 him to Sir Garnet, who made him a speech about 

 the clemency of Queen Victoria, and then told them 

 to let him go. I could scarcely believe it, and asked 

 him if he knew Sir G. by sight. He said he did, 

 and I made him describe him, and he did so all right. 

 I was so sorry." 



We made a very hurried stay in Coomassie. The 

 rains had begun, so the Palace was undermined and blown 

 up, and the town set on fire and burned to the ground. 

 " One place that we had passed dry-shod two days before 

 we had to wade through up to our hips in water, and the 



