THE REASON OF THE WAR. 205 
from Coomassie was however sent to the Ehnina chief to 
wait quietly, so he hoisted the English flag; but the 
Ashantees fully believed Elmina belonged to them, though 
the king wrote (through prince Ansa) that the surrender 
of the fort was a grief to him, but that he would forget it. 
It was also made a cause of complaint that Akjampong 
had not been followed to Apollonia by the full number of 
his troops, but in December, after we were brought back 
from Fomana, he was sent forward to the Prah with the 
desired escort. 
Meanwhile the desire to prepare for war was so ardent 
that it was not easy to deceive the Fantees who were in 
Coomassie, so, after every conceivable report had been 
spread as to the object of the campaign, such as expedi- 
tions to the interior, &c., the mask was thrown off. On 
December 9th, the day we were seized in Fomana, all the^ 
chiefs marched from the residence, and every town and 
village united in one cry, " War, war, against the Coast !" 
To measure themselves for once with the white men 
was the secret desire of every Ashantee chief That tho 
critical hour had arrived they all acknowledged, when 
the news came of the surrender of Elmina. They could 
not allow the kingdom to be broken up bit by bit, as they 
considered. Not that all were agreed in opinion : many 
an Ashantee owned that the grounds for war were that 
we were unjustly kept prisoners, that the governor had 
shown himself well disposed by sending the quarrelsome 
Akjampong back to Coomassie, &c. ; but all this did not 
alter the resolution to make war to the knife. 
Every one knew that this campagin was very different 
from that against Krepe. It was to decide once for all 
whether the Fantees were to be subject to the Ashantees, 
or the Ashantees to them. For myself I had not the 
slightest doubt that Ashantee was running blindfold to 
its doom, but this seemed absolutely necessary before this 
