286 
MISSIONARY LIFE IN ASHANTEE. 
house, there to be guarded till they might be sent home. 
We could not even visit them, and never saw them 
again. 
The officers conducted us through a number of outposts, 
along a well lighted path, where hundreds of West Africans 
were at work felling trees, and levelling the ground. 
Their joy was great; "welcome, sir," "good morning, sir," 
sounded on all sides, in the Tschi and Akra dialects. In 
the superabundance of our joy, we thought we must shake 
hands with all the Europeans who were employed ; but 
this soon became impossible, for there were whole com- 
panies of them. The major felt great pleasure in offering 
us the first cup of welcome on free soil, for it seems that 
for the last two days they had given up all hope of our 
release. They were greatly astonished at our children, 
and made themselves very merry with little Rosie. How 
strange all the surroundings, in which we were so sud- 
denly placed appeared to us. The whole thing was like 
a vision of joy and wonder. We could hardly swallow 
any of the plentiful food that was set before us, our hearts 
were much too full. 
After resting some hours with our kind friends, we 
again started for the Mouse camp, to appear before Sir 
Garnet Wolseley. Our wSjJ led through the never-to-be- 
forgotten town of Fomana. From thence a beautiful 
road stretched to the Mouse mountain, past Kwisa; 
hundreds being still at work on it, while others con- 
structed bamboo huts. What a bustle, and what haste ! 
Carriers and loads of all kinds, cows and horses abounded 
everywhere. Dawson's boy, who conducted brother 
Kiihne, had on his return to Coomassie, broken out in 
the cry, " Europe is come to Africa ! " This we now saw 
confirmed, for how wonderful was the appearance of so 
many white faces in the old African forest. 
But we soon began to feel very footsore, and before us 
