With Wolseley to Kumasi: A Tale of the First Ashanti War

by F. S. Brereton

This time he beckoned the bluejackets to come close up to him, and for a little while they were clustered together at the foot of a cotton tree.

“We are getting near the enemy,” said Dick, “and if we are rushed it will be very easy to get separated. We will keep in couples, and no man is to be more than three or four feet from his comrade. Once we are in touch with the enemy we will whistle, so as to tell each other where we are. Then there will be no getting lost, and we shall not run the danger of firing at one another. Remember, before pulling a trigger, give a whistle and wait a moment.”

Once more he turned his face to the interior of the jungle and crept on, and presently the call of birds was again heard. Then he redoubled his caution, cutting creepers from his path as silently as possible, and removing all broken twigs from the ground. Half an hour later he and his men came to a sudden halt, for the darkness which had surrounded them up to this suddenly lightened, while as if to increase their difficulties there came the sound of more cheers, the answering yell of hundreds of natives, and then a succession of sharp explosions which shook the leaves. A minute later a volley of slugs screeched overhead, stripping the boughs, and covering the little party with the débris.

“Forward!” shouted Dick, “and let the men come up on either side of me. We will get to this clearing and turn the enemy out.”

There was no time to be lost, for it was now evident that the approach of his party had been heard by the enemy, while the sudden lifting of the gloom showed that there was a clear space in the forest some little way ahead, and from this no doubt the enemy were firing. Dick lost no time therefore in pushing forward. Bent double he ran between the creepers, jumping over fallen boughs, and slashing at every obstruction which threatened to arrest his progress. Very soon he came to the edge of the forest. Meanwhile the sailors were not behindhand. They gave vent to a cheer, just to show their spirit, and then, spreading by couples to either side, they scrambled forward, wriggling their way through the bush.

“Lie flat!” shouted Dick, as they got into position, and a second volley of slugs flew overhead. “Now, you can see where they are. Pick them off, my lads. Fire about a foot below the flashes and about the same or a little less to the right. That should get them.”

At his order the men threw themselves on their faces, and wriggling forward a few inches till they could obtain a clear glimpse of the open space ahead, opened a heavy and well-directed fire at the flashes and puffs of smoke which burst from a hundred points on the opposite side of the clearing. There the jungle again commenced, though it was not so dense, and many paths could be seen cutting their way through it. Beyond, some distance away, the glare of a big fire could be detected, while the smoke hung over the summit of the forest trees.

“Our men at work,” Dick shouted to his companion, “and these fellows who are firing at us are between us and our friends. We must try to drive them away and effect a junction.”

But if that was his object, it was not so easy to accomplish, for the enemy were in full force on the far side of the narrow clearing, and had he and his party but known it, the path taken by the British troops led rather far to the left of the river, while so deceptive was the forest that the glare and the smoke were actually much more distant than they appeared. Sir Garnet had with him a few bluejackets, with a seven-pounder gun and a rocket trough, twenty Royal Marine Artillery, 129 Royal Marines, 205 of the West India Regiment, 126 Houssas, a force enlisted in Central Africa, a few natives and many bearers enlisted on the coast. It was this force which Dick and his comrades heard. They had come upon the village of Essaman, and finding it vacant had set it on fire, exploding some kegs of powder which the enemy had left, and finding a number of muskets and war-drums, all evidence of the truth of the report which had been brought by our hero to headquarters. Indeed, there was little doubt that the enemy were in force in the neighbourhood, though so far none on our side had seen a single man. All that Dick could perceive was the flash of guns, and the falling of numerous leaves and twigs cut down by the slugs which hailed overhead. Suddenly another sound attracted his attention, and his expression changed to one of concern.

“Our fellows are going still farther away, and the enemy are closing in on us,” he said hastily. “There is a man, and, look, others are appearing. They are going to try a rush. We will warn the men. Listen, my lads,” he shouted, “the Ashantis look as if they would try a charge, and we must stop it. If they reach this side of the clearing they will creep into the jungle and shoot us down easily. Keep on firing till I shout, then charge them as they come.”