Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

"I am glad, indeed, chiefs," he said, "that you have decided to take no further part in the war. You will stay here with us, until I hear that your camp is broken up; and you will then be at liberty to return to your own grounds. I thank you for receiving my messengers so kindly; as a reward for which I shall, when you leave, present you each with five hundred dollars. Henceforth, I trust that you will always remain on good terms with us, do all you can to aid us by sending in carriers, and will accept our rule frankly and truly.

"Now, I will ask you to come into the fort; where you will be treated as guests, until I hear of the dispersal of your camps."

The chiefs were much gratified by their reception; and sent off the escort, at once, to order the camp to be abandoned and burnt, and the stockades to be pulled down. Then they followed Colonel Willcocks into the fort, where a room was assigned to them, and everything done for their comfort.

As soon as the governor had retired with them, the other officers flocked down round Hallett and Lisle, to learn their adventures. Both were warmly congratulated upon their safe return; and Lisle came in for a large share of their congratulations when, in spite of his protestations, Hallett insisted on giving him the largest share of credit for the manner in which he had suggested the scheme, and had unquestionably been the means of saving their lives.

"Hallett had everything to do with it, except that," he said; "and that was only an accidental idea. We mutually helped each other, during those long days of tramping; and it was most fortunate for me that he was with me for, had I been alone, I don't think I should have had the strength of mind or body to hold on, when the prospect seemed altogether hopeless."

As they went down to the lines of their company, they were surrounded by the delighted blacks; who continued to cheer so heartily that it was some time before they could get an opportunity to tell what had taken place. Cheers again broke out, when the stories were finished. The men insisted on shaking their hands, and then started a war dance to show their satisfaction.

Then both retired to a shelter erected for them and, lying down, slept for some hours. When they awoke they ate a hearty meal; after which they agreed that, in a day or two, they would be fit for duty again.

"I shall mention your conduct in my despatches," the colonel said, next day. "You have not only saved your own lives; but have rendered very important service, in inducing those two chiefs and their followers to submit. From the information that we have been able to get, their camp was very strongly fortified, and could only have been taken after hard fighting; and even then, as has happened on all previous occasions, the main body would have escaped, rallied again a short distance away, and given us all the trouble of dispersing them, once more. As it is, I have no doubt that the influence of their chiefs will keep them quiet and, indeed, scattered as they will be among their villages, it will be difficult to persuade them to take up arms again.

"On second thoughts, I allowed them to leave this morning, with a column that was starting to collect the arms of the garrison. They seemed quite in earnest; and will, I have no doubt, succeed in inducing their men to part with their arms, without a squabble."

The detachment, indeed, returned in the evening. The success of their mission had been complete; and the natives had handed over their arms, and started off with their chiefs into the forests, after burning the camp and razing the stockades. They all seemed highly pleased that they should not be called upon for more fighting, and had individually taken an oath that they would never again fight the white men.

Several other flags of truce came in, and many chiefs surrendered. The Queen Mother, the most important of the leaders, tendered her submission. Colonel Willcocks gave her four days in which to prove the truth of her submission by coming in, in person. Shortly, however, before the truce expired, she sent in an impudent message that she would fight till the end.

Some of the chiefs who had been foremost in their opposition, and who had personally taken part in the torture and death of those who fell into their hands, were tried by court martial; and either shot or hanged, it being necessary to prove to the natives that even their greatest chiefs were not spared, and that certain punishment would be dealt out to those who had taken part in the murder of soldiers, or carriers, who had fallen into their hands.

The greatest tragedy of this campaign became known, on the 8th of September, through a letter from a native clerk who was with the Akim levies, which were commanded by Captains Willcox and Benson. These levies had worked up on our right flank, as we advanced from the south, in the same way as the Denkeras had done on the west. They were as cowardly, and as terrified of the Ashantis, as all the other neighbouring races. In fact, the only work they were fit for was living in deserted villages, or cutting crops and eating up the produce.

Three thousand of these levies were ordered to cooperate with Colonel Brake's column. They were met by the Ashantis, and bolted as soon as the latter opened fire; and Captain Benson, deserted by his cowardly followers, fell. In a letter he had sent home, a few days before his death, he expressed in the strongest terms his opinion of the men under his command, saying:

"If it comes to a real show, after all, Heaven help us! Three-quarters of my protective army are arrant cowards, all undisciplined, and quite impossible to hold."

The native levies cannot be compared with the disciplined troops. They were simply a motley mob, armed with stray guns, arms, and powder, and their pay is what they can loot; whereas the African private's drill and duties are identical with those of the British private. His orders are given to him in English, and his knowledge of our language is probably superior to that of most Indian or Egyptian soldiers; while the British soldiers in West Africa are rarely able to understand the language of their men.

A column had started, at once, to Captain Willcox's assistance. They returned, however, in ten days, having been unable to come up to him, as he had retired fifty miles farther to the east. They had no fighting, the enemy having gone north; but they ascertained that all the country immediately to the south was free from rebels and desirous of peace. The spot where Captain Benson's action had been fought was strewn with dead bodies, baggage, and rifles; evidence of the disordered flight. It seemed that the levies bolted, as soon as they were fired on. Then, with a few trained volunteers, the white men hastily entrenched themselves; and held out till late in the afternoon when, their ammunition having run short, they were compelled to retire, which they did fighting. It was during the retreat that Captain Benson was shot.

Another column came in on the following day, after five days' reconnaissance. It had gone by the same road by which the governor had broken out, on the 23rd of June. The road was entirely deserted, the villages destroyed, and the crops burnt. They made no attempt to search the bush but, on the path, they found ninety-eight headless skeletons; a painful testimony of the number of soldiers and carriers who had died of privation, and hardship, during the retreat.

Information now came in that, to the north, the most reckless of the Ashantis had again concentrated, and were determined to make another stand. On the 16th there was a big review of the seventeen hundred troops and the nine guns of the garrison. The heavy guns were exercised on a stockade, similar to those of the enemy. Hitherto they had not been altogether successful; as it was found that, owing to the large bursting charge, the range had to be estimated at double its real distance. Six shots smashed a barricade which was six feet high by six feet thick.

Friendly chiefs, who were invited to witness the experiment, were profoundly impressed; and there can be no doubt that the feat was reported to the enemy in the field, for they raised no stockade in the future, and reverted to their old plan of bush fighting.

The heavy and continuous rains were now rapidly bringing on sickness, and the officers were attacked in forms that were quite novel to them.

"I don't know what is the matter with me," Lisle said, one morning, "but I am swollen all round the neck. I once had mumps, when I was a little boy and, if it were not so ridiculous, I should declare that I had got them again."

Hallett burst into a fit of laughter.

"I expect you are going to have all your old illnesses again–scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, and the rest. We must see that the hut is fitted up for you, with something as much like a bed as possible, and a fire for making a posset, or whatever they give you."

"It is all very well for you to laugh, Hallett, but look at my neck."

"Well, it is swollen," Hallett agreed; "and I expect that you have caught a cold, when we were wandering about in the bush. Seriously, I should advise you to put a piece of warm flannel round your neck, or else go across and consult the doctor."

"I think I will do so, Hallett. It hurts a good deal, I can tell you and, as you see, I can hardly drink my tea."

After breakfast was over, he went to the tent of the principal doctor.

"I have come, sir," he said, "to ask you about my neck."

"You don't say so, Bullen! Why, yours is the third case I have seen this morning! Let me look at it.

"Yes, the symptoms are just the same as in the others. If this were England, I should say that an epidemic of mumps has broken out; but of course it cannot be that.

"Well, I have sent the other two into hospital, and you had better go there, too. Is it painful?"

"It is rather painful, and I can hardly swallow at all."

"Well, when I come across to the hospital, I will put you in with the others. I certainly cannot make out what it is, nor why it came on so suddenly. The only thing I can put it down to is the constant rains that we have been having, though I really don't see why wet weather should have that effect. I should advise you to keep on hot poultices."

In the evening another patient came in, and Lisle burst out laughing, when he saw that it was Hallett.

"Oh, you have come to the nursery, have you? I hope you have made up your mind to go through scarlet fever, or measles, Hallett?"

"Don't chaff. It is no laughing matter."

"No? I thought you took it quite in that light, this morning. Well, you see we have all got poultices on; and the orderly will make one for you, at once. My face is bigger than it was this morning, and what it is going to come to, I cannot imagine. Although the doctor said, frankly, that he did not understand it; he seemed to think that there was nothing very serious about it."

The next day the swelling had abated and, two days later, both of them were discharged from the hospital; to their great delight, for they heard that a column was just going to start, and that their companies were included in it.

On the following day the column started. It was nearly a thousand strong, with guns, and rations for twenty-eight days. This force was to penetrate into the northwestern country. The enemy here had sent an impudent message that they would not surrender; and that, if they were attacked, they intended to revert to their former tactics, and direct all their efforts to shooting down the officers and, when these were disposed of, they would have little difficulty in dealing with the native troops.

On the second day, when twenty-five miles from Coomassie, the enemy were met with in force; and it was found that the message they had sent was true, for there was no stockade, and the enemy resorted entirely to sniping. They were commanded by Kofia, one of the most turbulent and determined of their chiefs. The attack did not come as a surprise for, the day before, a number of Ashantis had been found in a village which was rushed. The active allies now searched the woods thoroughly, and succeeded in ascertaining the spot where the enemy had their war camp. They had been careful that the Ashantis had no notion of our approach, and a number of them were shot down by the Maxims and rifles.

The enemy, who held a strong position on the hilltop, rushed down and attacked our front and flank. Their number was estimated at four thousand. Three companies on each side entered the bush, and soon succeeded in pressing the enemy into a path; where they were fiercely charged by the West African Field Force, under Major Melliss. That officer was wounded; and Captain Stevenson, who was close to him, was shot in the chest.

For a moment the soldiers wavered but, almost immediately, dashed on again to avenge the loss of their officers. The charge was very effective. Those of the enemy who gradually assembled were bayoneted, and the rest fled.

Captain Stevenson's death was greatly regretted. He and Captain Wright, of another company, had asked for leave to accompany the force. As the one had no better claim than the other, Colonel Willcocks suggested that they should toss for it. They did so, and Captain Stevenson won; but what he deemed his good fortune cost him his life.

After the fight was over, there was a short pause to reorganize the force; and an advance was made to a village, three miles ahead, the intention being to attack the next morning. That evening, however, a flag came in, with an offer to surrender. Word was sent back that the offer would be accepted, if made unconditionally; and at seven o'clock in the evening a chief, a large number of men, four hundred guns, and some sheep arrived. They said that Kofia was holding a village, farther on; and would again give fight there. The force returned with them to Coomassie.

The next day, some scouts brought in the news that the enemy had again concentrated, and their numbers had been raised to four thousand by their junction with another fighting tribe. Kofia was in command, and a big war camp had been established some twelve miles away on the Berekum road. Berekum itself, which was a hundred and forty miles to the north, was reported to be invested, and had asked for help but, as so large an Ashanti force was near at hand, no men could be spared for the purpose.

A column twelve hundred strong, with five guns, and every available man in the garrison who could carry a gun, moved out early on the 29th, to give battle. It was followed by a supply column, and the bulk of the carriers.

Nine miles were accomplished without any opposition. Then a small Adansi outpost retired on their approach. The commandant decided to halt, for the night, at a deserted village. It was a miserable place. The huts had all been burnt by the rebels; so that the troops had to sleep in the open, in a steady downpour of rain. The Europeans tried to get rest in some hastily-constructed shelters, but a perfect tornado of wind was blowing, and swept the ground on which they were built.

Next day the troops marched, in their drenched clothes, through a heavy rain. Between seven and eight, however, this ceased and, almost at the same moment, a tremendous fire burst out upon them. The advance guard and support at once became engaged, but the enemy clung with such determination to their position, and contested every foot of the ground so stoutly, that two companies of reinforcements had to be called up.

Two companies were sent out into the bush, and eventually succeeded in getting partly behind the enemy, and forcing them to retreat. More troops were sent out on the left; and a company was instructed to move through the bush, on an extended line. In this way the enemy were driven out of the jungle, and forced to retire slowly up the hill.