IN THE BUSH NOVEMBER 1873
Ten minutes later, the column headed inland, past the lagoon, with a good view of St George"s Fort and the bridge that Jack and the 2nd West had held. Then it was over marshland with a stink that made the men gag. On either flank, the Hausas searched clumps of bushland, with the shouts of the officers as clear as their Elwood helmets and white puggarees.
“Here"s the first village,” Colonel Wood said. “It"s deserted now, but the Ashanti used it as a base only a few weeks ago.”
By now, Jack was familiar with the local villages. The brushwood huts were flimsy, offering protection from the sun and little else. When the inhabitants fled, they left only a few odds and ends on the ground. “Not even a gold nugget,” a Marine grumbled. “I thought this was the Gold Coast,
