Garnet's letter; they brought with them Mr. Kuhne, one of the German
missionaries. He said that it was reported in Coomassie that twenty
thousand out of the forty thousand Ashantis who had crossed the Prah
had died. It is probable that this was exaggerated, but Mr. Kuhne had
counted two hundred and seventy-six men carrying boxes containing the
bones of chiefs and leading men. As these would have fared better than
the common herd they would have suffered less from famine and dysentery.
The army had for the most part broken up into small parties and gone to
their villages. The wrath of the king was great, and all the chiefs who
accompanied the army had been fined and otherwise punished. Mr. Kuhne
said that when Sir Garnet's letter arrived, the question of peace or war
had been hotly contested at a council. The chiefs who had been in the
late expedition were unanimous in deprecating any further attempt to
contend with the white man. Those who had remained at home, and who
knew nothing of the white man's arms, or white man's valor, were for war
rather than surrender.

Mr. Kuhne was unable to form any opinion what the final determination
would be. The German missionary had no doubt been restored as a sort of
peace offering. He was in a bad state of health, and as his brother
and his brother's wife were among the captives, the Ashanti monarch
calculated that anxiety for the fate of his relatives would induce him
to argue as strongly as possible in favor of peace.

Frank left the camp on the Prah some days before the arrival of the
white troops, having moved forward with the scouts under Lord Gifford,
to whom his knowledge of the country and language proved very valuable.
The scouts did their work well. The Ashantis were in considerable
numbers, but fell back gradually without fighting. Russell's regiment
were in support, and they pressed forward until they neared the foot of
the Adansee Hills. On the 16th Rait's artillery and Wood's regiment
were to advance with two hundred men of the 2d West Indians. The Naval
Brigade, the Rifle Brigade, the 42d, and a hundred men of the 23d would
be up on the Prah on the 17th.

News came down that fresh portents had happened at Coomassie. The word
signifies the town under the tree, the town being so called because its
founder sat under a broad tree, surrounded by his warriors, while he
laid out the plan of the future town. The marketplace was situated round
the tree, which became the gre