war drums to
begin to beat, and Frank was surprised at the quickness with which the
Ashantis recovered from their panic. In five minutes a tremendous fire
was opened from the whole circle of bush upon the camp. This stood
on rising ground, and the British force returned the fire with great
rapidity and effect. The Annamaboe men stood their ground gallantly, and
the West Indians fought with great coolness, keeping up a constant and
heavy fire with their Sniders. The Houssas, who had been trained as
artillerymen, worked their gun and rocket tube with great energy,
yelling and whooping as each round of grape or canister was fired into
the bush, or each rocket whizzed out.

Notwithstanding the heavy loss which they were suffering, the Ashantis
stood their ground most bravely. Their wild yells and the beating of
their drums never ceased, and only rose the louder as each volley of
grape was poured into them. They did not, however, advance beyond the
shelter of their bush, and, as the British were not strong enough to
attack them there, the duel of artillery and musketry was continued
without cessation for an hour and a half, and then Colonel Festing fell
back unmolested to Dunquah.

The Ashantis were delighted at the result of the fighting, heavy as
their loss had been. They had held their ground, and the British had not
ventured to attack them in the bush.

"You see," Ammon Quatia said exultingly to Frank, "what I told you was
true. The white men cannot fight us in the bush. At Essarman the wood
was thin and gave but a poor cover. Here, you see, they dared not follow
us."

On the British side five officers and the King of Annamaboe were
wounded, and fifty-two of the men. None were killed, the distance from
the bush to the ground held by the English being too far for the Ashanti
slugs to inflict mortal wounds.

Ammon Quatia now began to meditate falling back upon the Prah--the sick
and wounded were already sent back--but he determined before retiring to
attack Abra Crampa, whose king had sided with us, and where an English
garrison had been posted.

On the 2d of November, however, Colonel Festing again marched out from
Dunquah with a hundred men of the 2d West India regiment, nine hundred
native allies, and some Houssas with rockets, under Lieutenant Wilmot,
towards the Ashanti camp. This time Ammon Quatia was not taken by
surprise. His scouts informed him of the approach of the column, and
moving out to meet them, h