HEROES OF KUMASI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11520, 3 November 1900, Page 5 (Supplement)

HEROES OF KUMASI.

THREE BRITONS KEPT THE FLAG FLYING. TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF THE ! ' GARRISON. The following is an account of the privations and sufferings of the little garrison left in Kumasi from the time of the escape of the Governor and his party until the date of their relief by Colonel Willcocks. This supplements the story of the siege up to the time when Major Morris cut his way out out of the capital. In the following account, which was given to Reuter's representative by Captain F. E. Bishop, Gold Coast Hausas, the Commandant of the Fort, it will be seen that he and his two white officers who were left to bold Kumasi until the place was relieved had the most terrible experiences. Long before they were relieved they had abandoned all hope, and, knowing the tortures to which they would be submitted if they fell into the hands of the Ashantis, arrangements had been made with the medical officer to supply them with drugs enabling them in the last extremity to escape a terrible and lingering death at the ha»,J-" of the Ashantis. " When," said Captain Bishop, "Major Morris' column, with the Governor, cut its way out on June 23, there were three white men left in Kumasi, viz., Lieutenant Ralph (Lagos Hausas), Dr. Hay (medical officer), and myself. The entire garrison consisted of about 115 Hausa troops, of which only twenty-five were really fit. The rest, while capable of manning a loophole, could not have walked five miles to save their lives. They could hold the fort, and that was all. I There was also in the fortfor all the ether I buildings in the town were now abandoned some carriers and servants. Dr. Hay was j severely ill from fever almost the whole time and was carried into the fort in a hammock the very day that the Governor's column left. During the anxious time until the itrival of Colonel Willcocks we had not any serious fighting, but daily our gallant Hausas died of starvation, and long before our relief we had abandoned all hope. We lost from sheer starvation about a third of our garrison, and when the relief column arrived the survivors were too weak to fire their carbines. One poor- starving Gold Coast Hausa blew his brains out, complaining that, death would not come quickly. Fortunately Ralph and myself, barring slight touches of fever, kept very fit, but all got terribly thin. . . . Major Morris had scarcely left Kumasi when we saw a band of Ashantis coming towards the fort from the Bantama stockade. I suppose they thought that the fort was evacuated, but the fire from two Maxims soon, convinced them that m;cli was not the case, and after firing a random volley ihey retired. It will be remembered that the friendly population, coast people, traders, and so forth, had fitted up shelters all round the fort under the fire of our guns. These, to the number of some thousands, extended for a considerable distance, and were now abandoned, all of the people, with the exception of about 150, having gone away with the Governor's column. These empty shelter! formed A PESTILENTIAL AREA, the stench from which was such that, despite the heat, we were compelled to keep the windows of the fort shut. Moreover, they now formed a fine cover for the Ashantis, and we had to set to work to destroy them. Apart from the stench, the presence of hundreds of vultures afforded only too sure evidence of what some of these huts contained, but to make sure that there were no half-dead people a personal inspection of the shelters was necessary. So Ralph and myself, each Avith handkerchiefs tied over our faces, and half a dozen men, visited the huts. We found decaying remains on all sides, and many bodies which had been torn to pieces by the vultures. In one hut we found a wretched, starving woman, who had been living for three days with her dead child beside her.

In the meantime, starvation was doing its work in the fort. The day after the Governor's column left three of our men died, and almost daily one or more succumbed. The gates of the fort were never opened except for a few minutes at early morning and again at dusk, when the dead were carried out and buried in "the adjoining trench, no one being strong enough to dig graves. At. last the rations consisted of a cup of linseed meal and a block of tinned meat about 2in square. Occasionally some native women would come outside the fort and offer at ridiculous prices certain articles of food. A piece of cocoa usually costing a fraction of a penny realised 15s. and bananas fetched Is 6d each. I paid 15s for a tiny pineapple. But even these high-priced luxuries were extremely rare, and the value of money can be judged when I tell you that I used to pay the Hausa troops three shillings in lieu of half a biscuit. By this means we saved a few biscuits, and the Hausas were able to purchase leaves, etc., for food. A large quantity of our scanty store of biscuits had been so' badly packed'that they We full of weevil and grubs, while others were thickly coated withTmildew. . . On July 14 the usual native stories were told of distant firing, but these reports, which had at first caused us hope, by their constant repetition only made us more despondent, so we paid little attention to them. On the evening of that dav the native officer said he was sure he had beard a seven-pounder, and we fired three double shells as a signal. We got no reply, and we felt sure that the supposed seven-pounder was only an Ashanti Dane gun. Next morning, whilst I was in the bastion, I distinctly heard three volleys fired in the direction of the Cape Coast Road. Even then we were not quite sure of their origin, but we felt more hopeful. The men were quite apathetic, being too weak to care much for anything. At half-past four that same afternoon WE HEARD TERRIFIC FIRING, which removed any doubts we had, and after opening a pint bottle of champagneone of our few remaining medical comfortswe mounted the lookout, field-glasses in hand. It was very pathetic that, even with relief at hand, some of the men were just at the point of death. At a-quarter to five, amid the din of the ever-approaching firing, we heard ringing British cheers, and at the same time a shell passed over the top of the fort, which was in the direct line of fire. We then saw shells bursting in all directions about 400 yds off, and we fired a Maxim to show that we were alive. Then, to our intense relief, we heard a distant bugle sound the halt, and at six o'clock on Sunday evening, July 15, we saw the heads of the advance guard emerge from the bush, with a fox terrier trotting gaily in front. Instantly the two bugles on the verandah sounded the "Welcome," and in their excitement blew it over and over again. A few minutes later a group of white helmets told us of the arrival of the Staff, and we rushed out of the fort, cheering to the best of our ability. The meeting with our rescuers was of a most affecting character. Colonel Willeocks and his officers plainly showed what they had gone through. The whole of the force was halted in front of the fort, and three cheers for the Queen and the waving of caps and helmets formed an evening scene that none of us will ever forget. _,