air, and the malarious exhalation and smell of decaying
vegetation arising from the swamps.

Sootah was the station beyond Mansue, beyond this Assin and Barracoo.
Beyond Sootah the odors of the forest became much more unpleasant, for
at Fazoo they passed the scene of the conflict between Colonel Wood's
regiment and the retiring Ashantis. In the forest beyond this were the
remains of a great camp of the enemy's, which extended for miles, and
hence to the Prah large numbers of Ashantis had dropped by the way or
had crawled into the forest to die, smitten by disease or rifle balls.

There was a general feeling of pleasure as the party emerged from the
forest into the large open camp at Prahsue. This clearing was twenty
acres in extent, and occupied an isthmus formed by a loop of the river.
The 2d West Indians were encamped here, and huts had been erected under
the shade of some lofty trees for the naval brigade. In the center was a
great square. On one side were the range of huts for the general and
his staff. Two sides of the square were formed by the huts for the white
troops. On the fourth was the hospital, the huts for the brigadier and
his staff, and the post office. Upon the river bank beyond the square
were the tents of the engineers and Rait's battery of artillery, and the
camps of Wood's and Russell's regiments. The river, some seventy yards
wide, ran round three sides of the camp thirty feet below its level.

The work which the engineers had accomplished was little less than
marvelous. Eighty miles of road had been cut and cleared, every stream,
however insignificant, had been bridged, and attempts made to corduroy
every swamp. This would have been no great feat through a soft wood
forest with the aid of good workmen. Here, however, the trees were for
the most part of extremely hard wood, teak and mahogany forming the
majority. The natives had no idea of using an axe. Their only notion of
felling a tree was to squat down beside it and give it little hacking
chops with a large knife or a sabre.

With such means and such men as these the mere work of cutting and
making the roads and bridging the streams was enormous. But not only was
this done but the stations were all stockaded, and huts erected for
the reception of four hundred and fifty men and officers, and immense
quantities of stores, at each post. Major Home, commanding the
engineers, was the life and soul of the work, and to him more than any
other man w