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

by G. A. Henty

Major Melliss gave the word:

"Mass the buglers, form up left company, and both charge!"

The buglers stood up, waiting for the word to blow. One of them was instantly wounded but, though the blood was streaming down his face, he stuck to his work. The word "Sound the way!" was given, and the Hausas sprang wildly forward and dashed down the slope, Major Melliss at their head.

Contrary to custom, the Ashantis were not terrified at the sight of the bayonets and, through their loopholes, kept up a heavy fire. The assailants, however, soon reached the stockade. Two white men scrambled up the timbers, which were slippery with blood; and jumped down, eight feet, on the other side, where they were soon joined by numbers of their men. The enemy, however, stood their ground bravely, and there was a fierce hand-to-hand fight. But the bayonet did its work; and the enemy, who were getting more and more outnumbered, at last turned and fled, hotly pursued by the victors.

A turn in the path revealed the war camp. It was an enormous one, but already the last of its garrison were disappearing in the forest, taking any path that afforded a chance of safety. The assembly sounded, and the pursuit was abandoned; as another company came forward, at a steady double, with orders to proceed up the road to the next village. This they were to burn, and then return to the war camp.

The work of destroying the war camp at once began. The troops lined its outskirts, while the carriers cut down and burnt the huts. Then a party set to work to pull down the stockades, which turned out to be nearly three hundred yards long, and crescent shaped--a fact that explained why we had suffered so severely from crossfire.

At last, sheets of flame showed that the work was accomplished, and the company that had gone on in advance returned, and reported the destruction of the village behind. The little force then gathered, and proceeded to Bantama, a sacred village at which human sacrifices had been perpetrated, for centuries. This place was razed to the ground.

On the left, the sound of continuous firing told that Major Cobbe was still heavily engaged. There was, however, no means of moving through the bush to his assistance. The force therefore returned to the fort.

It was late before the firing ceased, and Major Cobbe's column came in, with the wounded on hammocks and stretchers. The first two signal shots had slightly wounded Major Cobbe and a white colour sergeant. After a prolonged fight, the former had finally turned the right of the enemy's position, with two companies of the Central African Regiment; but lost heavily, owing to the thick grass and slow progress.

Meanwhile the West African company had engaged a stockade similar to the one we had rushed, but horseshoe in form. Thus our men had been almost completely surrounded by a circle of fire. When, however, the flanking movement had at last been completed, the enemy were charged simultaneously from the front and flank, whereupon they broke and fled. The large war camp behind had been looted and burnt, and the stockade pulled down. The guns had failed to penetrate this, and the defenders were only driven out at the point of the bayonet, after a fight of two hours' duration.