Part 21 (1/2)
That afternoon d.i.c.k appeared at Government House, a familiar place to him, and handed his letter to the Governor, who was delighted to see him.
”Of course we shall be glad to have you,” he said, ”and I will send along an official appointment this evening, stating your pay and allowance. For the present there is nothing for you to do, save perhaps to ascertain from the natives what is the present whereabouts of the Ashantis. When Sir Garnet Wolseley arrives he will no doubt have work for you. You look thin and pale. Take a rest, my boy. A white man cannot work for so long out here in the forest without feeling the effects of the climate.”
But d.i.c.k Stapleton was young and inclined at times to be foolhardy. He had the objection to remaining still common to every lad of his age. He loathed molly-coddling, and though at times he felt feverish, his stubborn nature would not let him give in, lest he should be thought to be shamming. And so, within a few days of his arrival back at the coast, he was exploring the mouth of the Pra once more, with Johnnie as stoker, and a crew of ten bluejackets from the _Rattlesnake_, all intent upon a brush with the enemy.
”Pending the arrival of Sir Garnet and the troops, you will do your utmost to obtain tidings of the enemy,” said the Commodore, as he bade farewell to our hero. ”And above all, d.i.c.k, no meetings with armies, if you please. You have as complete a selection of stores aboard as we could think of, and your crew are all picked men. Make the _Rattlesnake_ your headquarters, returning here with news whenever you can.”
And so d.i.c.k set off, in command of an expedition for the first time, and a proud man he felt, too, as he sat at the tiller, with his eye on his fine crew. But he had only ascended a very few miles of the river Pra when he met with an enemy even more dangerous than the Ashantis. One morning, as he sprawled on the deck to eat his breakfast, he was seized with a curious sensation.
”What is there, Johnnie?” he asked listlessly, toying with the pocket fork and knife which all campaigners carry.
”Hot coffee, ma.s.sa, berry hot; and golly! look at dem tinned sausages!
Johnnie take dem from de tin jest now, and look how dey frizzle!”
d.i.c.k did look, and on another occasion he would have fallen upon the food with eagerness, for an expedition of any sort encourages a healthy appet.i.te. But this morning, strangely enough, he could not eat. The sight of food sickened him. He pushed his plate away and took to his pipe. Even that did not please him. The taste was all wrong, and he sat down, looking dejected, for the first time for many a day. Then he commenced to s.h.i.+ver, till his teeth rattled together like castanets.
”'E's got it, sure enough,” whispered one of the salts, an old hand on the coast. ”This cruise 'as come to a end, chummies. Look at 'im s.h.i.+verin'. It's a bit of bad luck, mates, 'cos 'e was the boy to show us some fun. Beg pardon, sir,” he went on, coming to d.i.c.k's side, ”but ain't yer feeling quite up to it? Let's feel yer 'and.”
Without further ceremony he took the hand which hung listlessly at his young commander's side, and put his finger on the pulse, at the wrist, for this tar had had some instruction, and was an intelligent fellow.
Then he turned to one of his mates, ”Fetch along that 'ere medicine pannier,” he said shortly. ”Now, then, open it carefully, and jest lift out that 'ere box. If yer please, sir, jest put this under yer tongue.”
With deft fingers he produced a thermometer from the medicine chest, and placed it in d.i.c.k's mouth. Three minutes later he inspected it, while the look on his jolly face turned to one of concern.
”Are yer cold, sir?” he asked sympathetically.
”No; but awfully hot. I'm burning all over,” was the answer. ”And I'm very thirsty.”
”And you've got a temperature. Tom Huggins there, 'bout s.h.i.+p; and, Johnnie, let 'er skip till we're out of the river. The orfficer's got a go of fever, and sooner he's aboard the _Rattlesnake_ and at sea the better for him and all of us. I'll get yer a blanket, sir, and make yer comfortable.”
They were all very good to their young commander, and took care of him as if he were a child, till they reached the open sea and espied the _Rattlesnake_. An hour later he was lying on the after deck beneath an awning, tossing with fever, and with an orderly from the sick bay told off to keep special watch and ward over him. For d.i.c.k had a severe attack. The responsible work at the stockade, the fear of a sudden appearance of the enemy, and the flight had all aided a notoriously bad climate. And at last he was down with malaria, which kept him aboard the s.h.i.+p for a month.
While he is lying there, with plenty of friends about him to see to his welfare, we will step aside for a little while, and review matters at the coast. War, for war's sake, is seldom waged, except amongst savage tribes. And even with them there is usually some grievance, some cause which leads to the outbreak of hostilities. It may be that more country is desired, that the men of a certain tribe desire to take wives from another, or that some injury done to a nation or a race years and years before has left a feeling of bitterness and a desire for vengeance; a grudge is owed, and is paid back at the first moment when those who have sustained the injury are strong enough to fight. But Britain does not conduct her wars in that manner. The numerous little expeditions and minor campaigns upon which she is so often engaged are almost invariably the direct result of molestation from some race living on her borders.
For years, perhaps, she has patiently suffered the injury, hoping by diplomacy to put an end to the whole trouble. Then, when her patience is exhausted, and diplomacy has failed; or when the aggressors have become still more audacious, she finds that war is necessary, that nothing but armed interference will bring peace to that particular border. Too often her patience and forbearance have been mistaken by an untutored race for weakness, and thus it happens that the foes she has to meet are more numerous than they might have been. However, the history of these small wars is, as a rule, so very similar that one campaign differs only in detail from another. Troops are sent to the part, there is an invasion, and, most likely, severe fighting. Villages are taken and burned, forts are stormed, and men killed and captured.
There may be a reverse, for one cannot hope for continued good fortune.
But persistence, good training and discipline tell in the end. The tribe is conquered, a fine is levied, and in numerous cases the British Commissioner left to aid in the administration of the country settles down peaceably, and a new order commences to reign. So much so that in time the very race which had been opposed to us begins to see some virtue in our friends.h.i.+p, and when another campaign takes place against some neighbouring chief, old enemies are united in the effort to subdue the common foe.
Britain had had trouble with the men of Ashanti before this time, when d.i.c.k Stapleton had been practically the first to have a brush with them.
We had crossed swords with the Ashantis more than once, and with varying success; but, unlike other races, these men inhabiting the forest beyond the coast-line had maintained their independence and their bitterness. For they had always a cause for war, and as the reader will see presently, that cause had been increased since we acquired the town and port of Elmina from the Dutch. The Ashantis were at this time a powerful nation, for the most part trained to war, and it will have been gathered that, owing to the fact that there is ample gold in their country, they were a wealthy nation as compared with many others in a similar condition of civilisation. Moreover, the commercial spirit was strong within them. They traded with the interior, and for many years caravans had pa.s.sed to k.u.masi across the country lying still farther from the sea, carrying products of Africa, ivory in large quant.i.ties, food-stuffs and cottons, and what was appreciated far more perhaps, slaves in plenty. And in return the men who brought these caravans to k.u.masi received gold dust, and the highly prized kola nut. Thus, it will be seen that the Ashantis were unlike many savage races. They were in friendly communication with far-off peoples, and, owing to the peculiar resources of their country, to the gold found there, and mainly to the kola nut, which grows in profusion, and which was then extensively cultivated, they were rich and prosperous. It was only natural that, with money to spend and a coast so near, they should desire to have a port where they could trade with other nations, and through which, in exchange for their surplus gold, they could obtain European goods, and, above all, guns and ammunition. For much wealth brings the desire for more. It engenders a feeling of pride and superiority in the savage breast, and it is hardly to be wondered at that the Ashantis, looking about them and comparing their own degree of comfort and civilisation with that of their less fortunate neighbours, desired to increase their wealth. With guns and powder they could fight, and could conquer neighbouring nations. And with guns they could make sure of a port on the coast.
It will be realised that with her object gained, Ashanti would hardly look favourably upon any nation which attempted to put a stop to her coast trade, and there is no doubt that it was Britain's determination to arrest the import of guns and ammunition which led to the war which had now commenced. For the reader will recollect that Elmina had just pa.s.sed into our hands, having been purchased from the Dutch, who had for very many years maintained a trade with the Ashantis. Now, however, Britain, being in possession of this port--if Elmina can be given such a t.i.tle--determined to put an end to the trade in guns, and indeed to all trade, till matters were satisfactorily settled with the King of Ashanti. For if he had a grievance, so also had we. For years we had been on bad terms, and how, when Ashanti armies were threatening the coast, and a demand was being made for free trade with Elmina, a request on our part met with refusal. King Koffee held certain Europeans as captives, and before we would discuss the question of trade with him, we desired the return of those captives, a request which was refused, a large ransom being demanded. Then followed negotiations, till King Koffee, a despot ruling over an extensive country, and with much h.o.a.rded wealth, lost all patience. He was a powerful king, he said to himself, and could put fifty thousand armed and trained men in the field. Why should he take ”nay” from a race of white men living on the coast? Why should Ashanti be hemmed within her forests? She was powerful and could eat these white men up.
Promptly the armies were organised, and while Britain still dallied, the King of Ashanti invaded our protectorate. But still Britain held her hand, for this was a native war, and because the Ashantis had attacked the Fantis and other tribes, there was no reason why we should send troops to this notoriously unhealthy coast, and fight their battles.
Thus it happened that matters at Cape Coast dragged on, while all trade with the interior ceased.
If the invasion of the protectorate had ended with an attack upon the Fantis and other races, Britain might well have continued her policy of aloofness, for she had nothing to gain by invading Ashanti. She had tried to do so on former occasions, and had failed disastrously. And so she was minded now to leave matters till King Koffee and his armies had settled their quarrel with their neighbours, when perhaps there would be a satisfactory ending to the negotiations, and peace would result. Then trade would be reopened, guns and ammunition excepted, and the white men on the coast would have ample opportunities of reaping a harvest, for, as has been said, Ashanti was a wealthy country. However, matters did not stop at invasion of our protectorate. While d.i.c.k was at the mine, looking after the affairs of his employers, the forces of King Koffee attacked Elmina. They induced the natives of that town and other places bought by us from the Dutch, to join them, and Britain suddenly awakened to the fact that the enemy was at her very door, and that they meant to wage war with the white man. If there had been any doubt as to the intentions of the Ashantis, the attacks made by their friends and allies on the boats of the _Rattlesnake_ were sufficiently convincing proofs.
It was war, and Britain found herself, as is too often the case, utterly unprepared for it. But she girded on her sword, and preparations were pushed forward so as to enable us to drive the Ashantis back, and march on their capital.
That was the condition of affairs existing when d.i.c.k reached the coast, and it was only because of the isolated position of the mine that he had failed to hear earlier of the Ashanti invasion. There were few troops at Cape Coast Castle, and few officers. There were practically no stores, and certainly insufficient to support an expedition. All was being prepared in Britain, while s.h.i.+ps were loading every sort of item likely to be serviceable in the coming campaign.