=Source.=--_Annual Register, 1874_; _English History_, pp. 29–31.
On entering Coomassie the General strictly forbade all plundering on
the part of his men; but the darkness of night coming on, the camp
followers could not always be restrained, and a policeman taken in the
act was hung. Here and there, too, attempts were made to set fire to
the town. Coomassie was found to be a large place, with wide streets,
and houses with verandahs, built round courtyards. It bore tokens
of desolation in patches of waste land, covered with grass, and the
absence of domestic poultry, etc., the despotism of the King making
property as well as life insecure among the Ashantees. The King’s
palace was larger than that of the chief of Fommanah, and consisted
of many courts, each a house in itself. Upstairs were several small
rooms, each of which was a perfect old curiosity shop, containing books
in all languages, English newspapers, Bohemian glass, Kidderminster
carpets, pictures, furniture, etc. The King’s sitting-room was a court
with a tree growing in it, which was covered with fetish objects, and
hung with spiders’ webs. In the royal bedroom adjacent was an English
General’s sword, bearing the inscription: “From Queen Victoria to
the King of Ashantee,” a gift probably of Her Majesty to Calcalli’s
predecessor. Besides the King’s palace there was a grand building,
called the “Bantoma,” where the ashes of former monarchs were entombed,
and which was considered the most sacred spot in all Ashanteeland. Sir
Garnet Wolseley sent word to the King that his desire was to spare
Coomassie, and if he would come into the town and sign the peace a
smaller indemnity would be accepted than that at first specified. But
if not, a sign should be given of Great Britain’s power which should be
known throughout the length and breadth of Africa. The King promised
to come, but came not. The General waited throughout the whole day of
the 5th in vain. The envoys sent with deceitful promises by the monarch
were caught surreptitiously removing property. The General then gave
orders to burn the Bantoma, but on second thoughts he recalled them.
The destruction of so strong and vast a fortress would have taken
too much time, and perhaps in their despair the Ashantees would have
rallied round their sacred mausoleum in inconvenient force. In fact,
it was very necessary to think of a speedy retreat. Heavy rain had
fallen, and if the streams in rear of the British army should be much
swollen, its backward march might be seriously impeded. It was coming
short of the entire triumph anticipated, to leave Coomassie without the
treaty and the royal signature; but the subjugation of the capital was
a sufficient blow to Ashantee prestige, and, that it might never be
forgotten by the nation, Sir Garnet gave orders to set fire to the city
and to the royal palace.
“The demolition of the place was complete,” said Sir Garnet, in his
despatch to the Colonial Secretary. “From all that I can gather, I
believe that the result will be such a diminution in the prestige and
military power of the Ashantee monarch as may result in the break-up
of the kingdom altogether. This I had been anxious to avoid, because
it seems impossible to foresee what Power can take this nation’s
place among the feeble races of this coast. I certainly believe that
your lordship may be well convinced that no more utterly atrocious
Government than that which has thus, perhaps, fallen, ever existed
on the face of the earth. Their capital was a charnel-house; their
religion a combination of cruelty and treachery; their policy the
natural outcome of their religion. I cannot think that, whatever may be
the final fate of the people of this country, the absolute annihilation
of such a rule, should it occur, would be a subject for unmixed regret.
In any case, I believe that the main object of my expedition has been
perfectly secured. The territories of the Gold Coast will not again
be troubled by the warlike ambition of this restless power. I may add
that the flag of England from this moment will be received throughout
Western Africa with respectful awe, a treatment which has been of late
years by no means its invariable fate among the savage tribes of this
region.”
It was Sir Garnet’s good fortune not to bring his enterprise to an end
without the rounding off of complete success. The return march of the
British troops towards the coast commenced on the 6th. At Fommanah,
where the General halted for four days, he was again visited by envoys
from Koffee Calcalli, bearing in their hands a thousand ounces of
gold, and asking for a draft of the treaty, to be signed forthwith
by the defeated monarch. The draft was accordingly given to them,
and was actually signed a month later. What had brought the King to
this tardy and, as it would seem, unnecessary submission now that
Wolseley had done his worst, and was retreating? It was the march of
Captain Glover that had occasioned the step. That officer, working up
from the East, with troops drawn from the native tribes of the Akims,
Yorubas, and Houssas--between three thousand and four thousand in
number--had arrived within eighteen miles of Coomassie, when he heard
of the capture and destruction of the place. His difficulties had been
great. Many of the men with whom he originally set out had deserted,
and he had failed to make the junction with Wolseley, which, had it
taken place a few days earlier, must have crushed the foe effectually.
Nevertheless, his advance had operated as a useful diversion on the
left of the Ashantee forces; and when he, too, arrived near the ruined
city, the monarch’s spirit altogether left him. Thinking that some of
the British forces might still be in Coomassie, Glover sent on Captain
Reginald Sartorius with twenty men to reconnoitre. Then occurred one
of the most dashing exploits of the war. Sartorius found the capital
deserted. None of the inhabitants had returned to try and secure their
property, or view their burned homesteads. But they might be lurking
anywhere--in fact, Sartorius heard that the King and his attendants
were near at hand, weeping over the ruins of Coomassie. With his
little band of twenty men, Sartorius rode boldly through the deserted
precincts, and then onwards through fifty miles of hostile territory,
to join the British army, passing one burnt village after another, but
not meeting any human form till, at Fommanah, they came up with the
main body of Sir Garnet’s forces. Captain Glover followed in the track
of Sartorius first to Coomassie and then to Fommanah.
The treaty, finally signed by King Koffee Calcalli, stipulated that he
should renounce all rights of Protectorate over the petty monarchs in
alliance with the British Queen, and formerly tributary to the kingdom
of Ashantee; also over any of the tribes formerly connected with the
Dutch Government on the Gold Coast; that free trade should be permitted
between Ashantee and the British ports; that the road between Coomassie
and the Prah should always be kept open; that the King should use his
best efforts to check the practice of human sacrifice; and that he
should pay in instalments a war indemnity of 50,000 ounces of approved
gold, beginning with 1,000 ounces forthwith.
The cost of the war to the British Government was estimated at 900,000
pounds sterling. To Sir Garnet Wolseley, who declined titular honours,
a sum of 25,000 pounds was awarded in recognition of his services.