E G O LD C O A ST
PAST AND PRESENT
A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF
TH E CO U NTRY AND ITS PEOPLE
GEORGE MACDONALDLATE H .M . DIRECTOR OF EDU CATIO N FOR TH E G OLD C OAST COLONY AND PROTE CTORATE
IN SPECTOR OF SCH OOL S ; MEMBER O F THE BOARD OF EDU CATION ; ORGAN ISERAND MANAG ER OF THE G OV ERNME NT SCHOOL S , ETC . , ETC .
WITH ILL USTRA TIONS
L O N G M A N S, G R E E N , A N D
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1 898
A ll rights reserved
PRE FACE .
I N the compi lat ion ofthe h i stori cal port ion of the presen t
volume the fol lowing authorities have been consu lted
Bosman . Coast of Guinea I 703.
Snelgrave . N ew A eeoun t of Guinea 1 734.
Benezet . Some A ccoun t of Guin ea I 7 87 .
Bowdich . l V/ission to A s/ian ti 1 8 1 7 .
Cru ickshank . T/ze GoldCoast 1 853.
Burton . Wanderings in DVest Africa 1 863.
Gordon . Life on t/ze GoldCoast 1 874.
Burton and Cameron . To t/ie GoldCoast
for C old .
E l l i s . Tsai-speaking People on tlie GoldCoast 1 887 .
I am indebted to Messrs . Chatto 8: Windus and to the
proprietors ofBlack and PV/zite for descr ipt ion s of the
Lake Vi l lage in Apol lon ia,and also to Messrs . Skuse 8:
H ughes,Photographers
,of Cape Coast Castle
,for many
of the i l lustrat ions,which are from photographs taken
by those gentl emen,during my tours of service in the
Gold Coast Colony ( 1 893Should the present volume help to draw attent ion to
one of our most important West A fr ican Colon ies,its
object wi l l have been attained by
THE AUTHOR .
LONDON , j uly , 1 898 .
CONTENTS .
CHAPTER I.
The GulfofGu inea—D iv is ion s—Early Exped it ion s to the Coast—Fren ch and Portuguese C laims—Early En gl ish Trad in gCompan ies—The Go ld Coast in Bosman ’
s T ime—The Go l dCoast ofTo -day— Gen eral View ofthe Co lony
CHAPTER II.
The Early In hab itan ts of the Go l d Coast— The ir Trad it ionalOri gin The Dom inan t Powers Man ners CustomsSuperst i tion s—Occupat ion s— Rel i g ion -Manual Arts— TheAggrey Bead
CHAPTER III.
The Season s— C l imate—The Harmattan— Product ion s— V egetation An imal L ife Exports Imports Hab i tat ion sThe S lave Trade -Its R ise andFal l—The LabourQ uestion
CHAPTER IV .
Go l d in West Africa—An t iqu ity of the same— Go l d-produc in gAreas— Presen t Gol d M ines—
7How Obtain ed— Go ld Work
-Go l d We i ghts—The Future‘
OfWest Africa as a Go ldproduc in g Coun try
“CHAPTER v .
HalfAss i’n ‘ i to Axim—Apo l lon ia— The Lake Vi l lage—Axim and
its NeighbourhoodéThe An te Coun try— Cape Three Po in ts-Chama andthe Prah—The K ingdoms ofWassawgDénkira
andSefwi
PAG E S
62 -89
90 - 1 2 1
1 22 -150
CONTENTS .
CHAPTER V I.
Chama to E lm ina —Commendah,Bri t ish andDutch—Cape Coast
Castle—Land in g—The Town in General—The L i ghthouse-The Rest ing-p lace of L . E . L .
”—A Memo ir—TheRoad to Kumas i— Mouri andFort Nassau— Anamaboe and
Saltpond—The Tufel andAssin Coun tries
CHAPTER V II.
Appam—The Dev i l ’s Moun t—Win nebah— Bereku—Accra or
Akra—The Akra Peop le— Mann ers and Customs—TheAdan gme Tribe— Names—The Presen t Town— Christ ian sborg—Merid ian Rock
CHAPTER V I I I .
The Ak im andKwahu Coun tries— Begoro , Kyeb i andAbetifiTheAk im Forests— TheTsh i Peop le— Man n ers andCustoms
— The Future of Ak im—Nat ive Trad i t ion s—Akwamu or
Aquamboe
CHAPTER IX.
The Aquapim , Adan gme, Awoonah, Krobo andAkwamu Countries—The irPeop les— Pram Pram— Ada andKw itta— Krep iandPek i Coun tries— The Vo l ta R iver—An glo -Fren ch C onven tion
,1 898
CHAPTER X .
The K in gdom of Ashan t i— Its Peop le—Ori g in—H istoryDwaben—The Cap ital , Kumas i—Wars down to 1 8 1 7
—The
Town— Con st itut ion andLaws—Roads from Kumas i
CHAPTER XI.
Mon th ly Notes—Wars w ith En glan d, 1 80 7
- 1 8 1 7—M iss ion to
Ashan t i— Secon d Ashan ti War, 1 824— Th ird Ashan t i War,
1 863—Fourth Ashan t i War, 1 873—The Last Ashan t i War
~ Downfal l ofPrempeh, 1 896
PAG E S
151- 1 7 7
20 8 -234
262 -29r
CONTENTS . i x
CHAPTER XII.
PAG E SProgress of the Co lony— Educat ion—The Bas le M iss ion—TheWes leyan s —The Roman Catho l ic M i ss ion—The Schoo lsof the Co lony— The Future of the Co lony—Wan t ofRai lways andCen tral Harbour
APPEND ICES .
ASHANT I K I NG S,BATTLE S AND WA R S 339-340
D I STANCES BETWEEN COAST TOWN S , WINDWARD ANDLEEWARDFARE S FO R H AMMOC KME N , CARR IE R S AND CANOE M END I STANCE S BETWEEN INTE R IOR TOWN SGOVERNOR S ON TH E GOLD COAST
F . OUTF IT FOR TH E WE ST COA ST
H
0
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g
en
-MF
R
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1 4.
15.
I 7 .
1 8 .
19.
2 0 .
2 1 .
2 2 .
23.
24.
26 .
2 7 .
28 .
29.
30 .
31 .
32 .
LIST OF ILLUSTRAT IONS .
NAT IV E MAJE STY ON THE GOLD COAST Fron tisjbieeePAGE
MAP OF TH E GOLD COAST OF TH E PRE SENT DAY opposite
TH E GOLD COAST OF TH E SEVENTEENTH CENT URYA FET I SH PR IE STNAT IVE POTTERY AND S I LVE RWORK OF TH E ASHANT I SNAT IVE LOOM FO R WEAV ING C LOTHGOLD COAST BEETLE S : TH E GOL IATHTYP ICAL NAT IVE H UT S opposite
A G ROU P OF LABOU RE R SASHANT I GOLD WE IGHTSASHANT I GOLD WE IGH T SFORT ST . A‘NTHONY , AX I MSQ UAR I NG MAHOGANY ON TH E BEACH , AX I MINTE R IO R O F WE SLEYAN SCHOOL
,CHAMA
A STREET SCENE I N ELM I NACAPE COAST CA STLETH E L IGHTHOU SE
,CAP E COAST
INTER IOR COU RTYARD OF CAPE COAST CASTLEVIEW OF TH E TOWN OF CAPE COASTVIEW OF TH E BEACH AT CAPE COA STCH R I ST I AN SBO RG CASTLE , ACCRATOWN TRAVELL ING I N ACCRAA G ROU P OF OFF IC IAL S AND MERCHANTSBASLE M I SS ION STAT ION
,BEGORO
BASE OF A B IG TREE,ABU R I
TH E ROAD To KUMAS I opposite
TH E TOWN OF KUMAS IROADS FROM KUMAS IG ROU P OF NAT IVE WOMEN opposite
B R IT I SH RES IDENT AT KUMA S I AND O FF I CERSA NAT IVE BEAUTYA WEDD ING G ROU P
2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
al so i nd irect ly to an Engl ish coin,the gu inea
,so cal led
from the fi rst pieces being struck from the gold that
came from there.
This strip of coast was general ly sub-d ivided into four
minor terri tories,which received their des ignations from
the commerc ial commodities they then furn ished to
the European adventurers of the s ixteenth, seventeenth
and eighteenth centu ries,who r i sked thei r l ives among
the peri l s and dangers of th is part of the then almost
unknown continent,for the traffi c in grains
,ivory
,s l aves
and gold .
These four d ivis ions,extend ing eastward from the
Isles de Los,were several ly known as Tlze M alaguetta or
Grain Coast,Tne Tootn or Ivory Coast, Tne GoldCoast,
and Tne S lave Coast ; of which , at the present day, one
on ly retains and deserves the name that was bestowed
upon it by these ancient navigators,via ,
Tne Gold
Coast .
Tbe Grain orM alaguetta Coast ofthese early t imes isn ow known under the more modern t i t le of the Free S tateof Liberia
, and extends from S ierra Leone to Cape
Formosa . Why the ambiguous name of the Grain Coast
was given to th i s terri tory i t i s d iffi cul t to say, for the
grain for which thi s part ofGu inea was once famous was
a condiment and not a cereal . The late S ir R . F . Bu rton
thus describes i t in his Wandering s in West Africa“ I t i s a real cardamon
,of which many variet ies grow
along the whole length of the western coast of i nter
tropical Afr i ca . The flower i s ofgreat beau ty,the shrub
is cane- l i ke,and the fru i t
,which appears c lose to the
ground with a pyri form pod with crim son skin,enclos ing
b lack -brown seeds,i s surrounded by a j u icy placen ta . O n
THE GRA IN COAST . 3
a long and thirsty‘
march,noth ing is more pleasant than
a handfu l ofthese cardamons, the acidi ty of the pu lp con
trasting most pleasantly with the pungency of the spice .
”
By the Dutch they were cal led Guinea Grain s ; and by
the trade,Malaguetta pepper and the demand in Europe
in the s ixteenth century led to the d iscovery ofmany
ports on the coast The grains were then principal ly
used for giving the fi re and flavou r to sp iri tuou s l iquors
and i n the adul teration of beer . A t last the importa
t ion into England was forbidden ; cases of poison ing
being attributed to i t . The natives of the West Coast
sti l l use th is cardamon extens ively as a cond iment and a
med icine ; i t i s a stomachic, a carm inat ive, and also an
external i rri tant . The people of the Gold Coast,when
Suffer ing from headache,rub over the forehead a paste
made from Malaguetta pepper,and the powder is appl ied
during the hot stage of fever . I n earl iest t imes these
grains were supposed to have been derived from coch ineal,
which was then thought to be a paras it i cal plant instead
ofan insect . I n Martin ’s H istory of tae Britisn Colonies
( 1 834) we find the fol lowing explanat ion for the name
given to the Grain Coast . The species of pepper to
which it owes its name is produced from a smal l parasiti
cal plant,with beaut i fu l green leaves
,and the fru i t of
which,resembl ing a fig
,p resents
,when opened
,aromati c
grains, forming the valuable part . A t i ts fi rst in troduct ion into Europe
,where such arti c les were l i ttle known
,
it 'recei ved the flatteri ng appel l at ion of Grains ofPara
dise After the d i ffu s ion,however
,of the finer species
from I nd ia,i t fel l in to total d isrepute ; and th is coast ,
producing no other art i cl es ofexport,has been the least
frequented ofany part of Gu inea .
4 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
The fi rst of these grains is Malaguetta,otherwi se
cal led Paradise Grains,or Guinea Pepper
,a fru it which is
not general ly known . I t grows on shrubs in red shel l s or
husks , which at a d i stance afford a very p leasant prospect .Within these husks i s contained the Malaguetta
,separated
into four or five d ivis ions and covered by a whi te fi lm .
This Gu inea pepper grows also in a d i fferent manner,
not un l ike large grass reeds .
Here also grows a fru i t on shrubs,which in taste and
figure resembles cardamon,which I doubt not but i t is .
”
Tlie Ivory Coast extended from Cape Formosa east
ward to Ass in ie,but the name is now entirely a m isnomer ;
the an imals that once suppl ied Europe with tusks having
been ei ther exterminated or d r iven away by the ravages
of the hunter ; the ivory of the present day coming from
ports much farther to the south . On the Old Ivory Coast
there were but few settlements ; Fresco ,Cape Lahou,]acka-J ack
,Grand Bassam and Ass in ie were among the ch ief
,
the last two being French . The teeth obtained in olden
t imes were of good qual i ty and Often very large,some
weighing as much as z oo pounds .
This part of West Afr i ca i s now known as French
Guinea ; i t i s under the adm in istration ofSenegal,and
incl udes the coun try east and west ofCape Palmas for
some 150 miles of which the ch ief part i s at present dis
tinguished as the Kru Coast. This name is various ly
wr i tten Kru,K roo
,Croo and Krou . I t would hard ly be
fai r to leave th is part of the Gu inea Coast wi thout saying
something about the pecu l iar tribes which inhabi t the
Kru country,and the part they have played and sti l l play
in th is rapid ly civi l i s i ng part ofAfri ca .
Bishop Payne describes “ the Krus as a smal l tribe,
THE KRU PEOPLE . 5
occupying that part of the coast lying hal f-way between
Cape Mesurado and Cape Palmas,with a seaboard ex
tending some twenty or th i rty m i les,and stretching
perhaps as far into the in terior . O riginal ly they pos
sessed but five sett lements— Little Kru , Settra Kru ,Krubah
,Nanna Kru and King V Vill
’
s town . O f the
inhabitants of th is part of the coast they were the first
to l eave thei r country and go to sea ; but soon other
tribes fol lowed thei r example,unti l
,at the present day
,
some twenty or more tribes,number i ng perhaps some
sou ls,are l a rgely engaged in the various spheres
of l abou r throughout the whole of Upper and Lower
Gu inea under the common name of Kru men,but more
common ly known as Kru boys,whether thei r age be
twelve or forty . One most not iceable feature abou t
them is that they never ens lave on e another ; yet
in past days they were the l i fe and sou l of the Span ish
and Portuguese s lave traders,and might wel l have been
cons idered the greatest k idn appers on the coast . On
the decl ine of the S l ave trade they offered as seamen to
the Ships of warand merchantmen then on the coast, and
have at the p resent day pract i cal ly become the cool ies
and lascars ’
ofWest A frica .
”
The tribes now supplying the boys for this work come
from S inou,Sette K ru
,Niffu
,Grand Cess
,Caval ly and
Cape Palmas,and from the su rround ing country for
some forty mi les in land . Thei r language and physique
prove them to be cognate tribes,and from thei r inter
cou rse,general moral s and behaviour they may al l be
included under the one name of Kru boys .The features of these people are d ist inctly A frican
,
the sk in is very dark,the hai r short and k inky
,and often
6 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
cut and shaved into pecul iar pattern s,which gives the
cranium a very grotesque appearance to European eyes .
The sku l l i s often remarkably flat at the back,and
sometimes narrows much towards the crown,thus appear
ing almost pyram id ical in shape . The face i s always cut
and tattooed,the variat ion in the marks procl aim ing
the tribe from which the ind ividual comes . The teeth,
wh ich are very fine,are cut
,sharpened and sometimes
extracted . This cutt ing is most often seen in the shape
ofan inverted letter V,which is done between the m iddle
inc isors ofthe upper j aw . A l l th is d i sfigurement is done
in the roughest poss ible manner,the implemen t being
simply a kn i fe or rough piece of i ron,and the process
,
instead ofhelping to destroy the teeth,seems to act rather
as a preservative,and appears opposed to the views once
held by dentists and phys iologis ts,that destru ction ofthe
tooth enamel involved the loss ofthe tooth . A fter food,
the mouth is always rinsed and the teeth c leansed,and i t
i s rare that a day passes wi thout the whole body being
bathed, thus great ly reducing the unpleasant odour
which always ex ists . The tooth st ick,too
,i s l argely
used .
O f a l l the African tr ibes belonging to the West Coast,
the Kru boy lends h im sel f most read i ly to im itat ion of
the European . I n h i s nat ive state he i s a fi ne- look ing
savage,with the mu sc les of the shou lders
,chest and
arms fi ne ly developed,a s ingle cloth round the m idd le
being h is on ly covering,a rude chain of coloured string
oreven a strip of hai ry sk in or beads round the neck,
whi ls t ank les and wrists are variou s ly adorned with
ivory,brass or i ron rings . One of h is greatest weak
nesses i s a hat,and this covering embraces every kind
KRU BOYS 7
and colour that can be included from an o ld “ top hat
to a cotton n ightcap .
A few years away from home,however
,changes al l
th is,and when he returns again to his country
,which he
must a lways do,he i s transformed in the most grotesque
manner. H i s wages have been spent upon his outfi t,
and he returns to we country,as he cal l s i t
,i n
the most glaring colours of Manchester cotton clothes,
or i n cast-Off European garments ei ther too large or too
smal l and with personal imped imenta in the shape ofa
wooden box the S i ze ofa tool chest— in which are secreted
al l the odds and ends he has managed to appropriate
during h is term of service- two o r three kegs of gun
powder,a case or two of Hamburg gin
,brass and i ron
pans,brush
,comb and look ing-glass
,al l ofwhich are
du ly appreciated and quick ly d ivided by the members of
his expectant fami ly,who have been await ing his retu rn .
By many of the other races on the West Coast the Kru
boys are desp ised,and yet they are doing al l the rough
work along this western part ofAfrica,from Sierra Leone
to the mouth Of the N iger. They work the cargoes ofthe
vessel s plying between these points,andare to be found
in every factory down the coast,preparing the palm oil
,
the palm kernels , and the rubber for the export trade .
When trained,they make fairly good personal servants ,
but would be of l i tt le or no use as sold iers,too l arge
a proportion of coward ice being found in thei r nature .
They make excel len t canoe and surf-boat men , being
apparently neither afraid of~
the water nor of the sharks
that abound in i t .When away from thei r own coun try they adopt, or
more often are given by thei r new masters a new
8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
name,which to Eu ropean ears sounds in
-
many cases
most lud i crous,but by which in future they are always
known . Thus in every coast town wi l l be found
Kru boys answering to such names as Seabreeze,Jack
Savage,Hal f-Dol lar
,No . 1
,Bottl e 0
’ Beer,P r ince of
Wales,Best Man
,and so on
,adlioituin .
The one object of the Kru boy in leaving home i s to
make money,in order to return again to his own country as
a “ fine gentleman For the first few years of h is vo lun
tary ex i le,he is fleecedof his earnings and belongings by
the various members ofhis fami ly and the headmen ofhi s
vi l lage,every t ime he returns to we country
,
” but after
five or six voyages he learns enough Engl ish to become
a headman,and then he is able to fleece others i n
place of being fleeced himself.
The Kru women seldom ornever leave thei r country . I
have seen but two offer themselves for serv ice on the Gold
Coast. This was to the Roman Cathol ic M iss ion at Cape
Coast Cast le ; but W i thou t the aid of the K ru boy, much
ofthe p resent trade ofWest A fr i ca would ent i rely cease .
The GoldCoast i s the thi rd divis ion of Guinea,and
,as
before stated,i s the on ly part that now retains the name
that was fi rst bestowed upon i t,as ear ly as the fourteenth
centu ry . S in ce that time it has seen many changes,
unti l at the present day it has become on e of the ch ief
centres of interest,both in the d iplomatic and the com
mercial world . The Gold Coast has wel l deserved its
name,for from the beginn i ng of the s ixteenth century
,
and on through the two succeed ing centuries,i t poured a
steady flow ofthe yel low metal i nto Europe,and attracted
to its shores the adventurers ofal l nat ions , unt i l down to
the present t ime,i t is estimated that between S ix ty and
IO THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
when on a m ission Of peace to Ben in c i ty early in
1 897 .
The two other great centres ofthe A frican s lave trade
lay in the countries immed iately surround ing the Gambia
and Senegal R ivers on the one part,and the terr i tor ies
along the whole mouth of the Congo upon the other,but
with these i t is not my intent ion to deal .
E arly Expedition s — So far as i s known, and accord ing
to thei r own wri ters,the French were the fi rst European s
to vis i t the Gul f of Gu inea . This i s stated to have been
sometime between 1364 and 1413, in the reign ofCharles
the Fi fth,when they explored as far as the present E lm ina
of the Gold Coast . This claim to be the fi rst navigators
of what was then an unknown region i s upheld by
many French writers,who state that a company of
D ieppe merchants vis i ted Gu inea and founded the trad ing
stat ions at Goree,Verde and G rand Cess . The date of th is
V i s i t i s said to have been 1364, and the exped it ion to have
cons isted of on ly two vessel s of one hundred tons each .
Some eighteen years l ater,i n 1382, a combined fleet from
Rouen and D ieppe,cons ist ing of three Ships
,again vi s i ted
the coast,one ofwhich
,the V irgin ,
is stated to have
reached Commendah and M ina,and to have obta ined large
suppl ies ofgold from these places . More than this,i t i s
al leged that the French were the bu i lders ofthe fi rst fort
at E lm ina in 1383, which was afterwards rebu i l t by the
Portuguese in 148 1 , and named St . George del M ina o r
O ra del M ina— the mouth Of the m ines . This occupation
by the Rouen and D i eppe merchants i s reported to have
been the means of importing large quanti ties ofgold,ivory
and Malaguetta pepper into France,and of establ ish ing a
flourishing trade between the two countries,which las ted
EARLY EXPED IT ION S . I I
for about hal f a century,when European continental
d i sturbances caused the French to abandon their West
Coast settlemen tsi This would be somewhere about
1413, when the attention and resources of France were
drawn away from her colon ial enterprise,and concentrated
upon her European wars,which continued to occupy her
ti l l nearly the end Of the fifteenth century
This c laim of early di scovery and the establ ishment
of trade by the French i s strongly d isputed by the
Portuguese,who cla im (and , accord ing to ear ly Engl ish
authori ties,are supported in the i r c laim ) the honou r of
being the fi rst to vis i t and to trade with this part ofthe
world .
Their claim i s based upon the fact that Pr ince Hen ry
ofPortugal,the navigator
,was the fi rst European power
that d irected attent ion to the West Coast of Afri ca,and
caused i t to be explored as far as S ierra Leone,and that
in 1442 Gon z ales Baldez a, after an absence oftwo years ,returned to Portugal
,br inging with h im ten slaves and
a large amount ofgold dust . The s laves are reported to
have been presented to Pope Mart in the Fifth,who there
upon conferred upon Portugal the sovereignty and right
over al l the l ands that might be d iscovered in th is part of
the world .
Prince Henry d ied in 1463, and up to th is date no point
of d iscovery further than S ierra Leone is c laimed in this
account by the Portuguese . In 148 1 , however, a second
exped i t ion under the patronage of King John the Second
of Portugal,i s reported to have been sent
,with a force
of some 700 men . This expedit ion reached the p resent
Gold Coast,landed at the E lm ina of our t ime
,and bui l t
the Fort of S t . George ofthat name . That the Portuguese
12 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
bui l t thi s fort there is no doubt,but because no mention
is made of the ex istence,or traces found
,of the ru in s
of the fort p revious ly al leged to have been bu i l t by the
French,i t does not fol low that the French had n ot been
there before them,as they claim to have been in I383.
Another Portuguese account says that i n 147 1
Fernas Gomez,a wel l -known Lisbon merchant , Obtained
the perm iss ion ofhi s Government to trade Upon the West
Coast for five years under the fol lowing cond it ions : an
annual payment to the Portuguese Gove rnment of£ 44and an annual voyage along the coast forno t less than 300
miles . They then claim that i n the five years some I 500
miles ofcoast were d iscovered and E lm ina establ ished .
These variou s accounts p rove the establ i shment ofthe
Portuguese at E lm ina,but the actual year seems some
what in doubt,for Bosman
,wr i t ing in 1 705, says :
“ I
cannot pretend to in form you exact ly when they (the
Portuguese) began to bu i ld the castle, but can on ly tel l
you that we took i t from them in 1 638 and i t i s indeed
j ust ly become famous,for to speak the fai r truth of i t
,
forbeauty and strength,i t hath not i ts equal upon the
whole coast ” .
I wi l l not attempt to dec ide upon the rival claims of
France and Portugal to the right of fi rst d iscovery,but
l eave the reader to form his own opin ion . However i t
may have been,nei ther one nor the other enjoyed the
sole rights thus obtained for very long,for the commence
ment of the traffi c in s laves and gold attracted other
nations to the Gu inea Coast,notably among whom were
the Dutch,the Danes and the Engl ish .
The advent of these three nations,the gold produce
,
and the exci tement of the s lave trade soon caused that
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
part of Guinea known as the Gold Coast to be studded
with forts and factories from end to end . A glance at the
map on page 13wi l l Show a total oftwenty -five,three of
whi ch were Dan ish,two B randenburgers and seventeen
Dutch and Engl ish . There were probably more . The
Rev . Mr . Reindorf gives the tota l as th i rty-five,s ixteen
Dutch,fourteen Engl i sh
,and five Dan ish . These forts
served a three- fold purpose : defence against hosti le attack
by the nat i ves and from other European powers,as a pro
tection for the trad ing factories , and as s l ave barracoons .
We have seen that the Portuguese lost S t . George del
M ina to the Dutch in 1 638 , by whom they were final ly ex
pelledfrom the coast some fou r years later, in 1 642 . Bos
man dri ly remarks : The Portuguese served for sett ing
dogs to Spring the game,which
,as soon as they had done
,
was sei zed by others ”. The Danes in thei r tu rn ceded thei r
possess ions to the Engl ish in 1 850 ,and the Dutch in 1 868
and 1 87 2 , and many of the o ldforts are now a mass of
ru ins andtangled bush . A complete l ist ofthe forts wi l l be
found at the end of th is Chapter. The his tory ofthe Engl ish
upon the Gold Coas t forms a very interest ing study,par
ticularly when regarded with our action of the present
day concern ing thi s neglected spot of ourgreat empi re .
The fi rst Engl ish mercanti l e transact ion recorded i s that
ofCaptain Thomas Wyndham,who i n 1551 made the first
voyage to the coast and sent home a cargo of Mala
guetta pepper (Gu inea grains) and a large amount of
gold dust . I t i s however stated that the Engl i sh were ac
quain tedwith the coast as early as the reign ofEdward theFourth
,but ofth is there i s no authenti c record
,though the
date is fixed at 1556 . About the latte r end of the reign
ofEdward the S ixth,some London merchants fi tted out
ENGLISH EXPED IT ION S . 15
the fi rst Engl i sh sh ips that ever traded to Gu inea,and in
the reign of Q ueen Mary, and for the fi rst ten or twelve
years of Q ueen E l i zabeth,sundry other p r ivate ships
were fi tted out for the same parts but the Engl ish,not
having as yet any Settlements o r plantat ions in : the
West I ndies,and con sequent ly no occas ion for negroes
,
traded in such sh ips only for gold,elephants ’ teeth and
Malaguetta pepper,and al l such voyages were under
taken and performed at the haza rd of los ing the ships
and cargoes i f they fel l in to the hands of the Portuguese,
without the least ground to hope for any red ress or
sat is faction for the same . I n the th irt ieth year of the
reign of Q ueen E l i zabeth , England , being then at war
with Spain and Portugal,formed a company for the
“ better d iscovering and'
carrying on of the gum trade,
from the northernmost part of the river Senegal,and
from and with in that ri ver,al l along that coast unto the
most southern part Of the Gambia and within the same
To this company was al so granted the sole right to trade,
in,to and from the said r i vers and countries for a certain
term ofyears,with prohibi t ion to all others to trade to
the same places,on pain of forfei tu re ofships and goods ;
and these were the fi rst merchants that ever traded to
the coast of West A fri ca,by and under the author i ty and
protection of the C rown of Great B r i ta in . I n the re ign
ofjames the Fi rst andhis successor Charles,and during
the t ime of Cromwel l,other person s were encouraged by
publ ic authori ty to trade to other parts of Gu inea,and
to take such measures for the bette r carrying on and
improving the same as they should j udge most proper .
The resu l t of thi s was that one fort was bu i l t at Cor
mantine i n 1 624 on the Gold Coast,and another on the
1 6 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
river Gambia on the North Coast,and these were the
only places of consequence which the Engl ish possessed
on the West Coast at the t ime ofthe Restorat ion .
K ing Charles the Second,soon after h is restoration
,was
made acquain ted with the precarious state to which the
trade ofhis subjects in those parts had been reduced,and
having received many complaints touching the interrup
t ion to and the depredations committed upon the ships
of h is nation by the Dutch West I nd ia Company on the
coast ofA fr i ca,i t became necessary to consider not on ly
a proper method for protecting and securing the trade
for the fu ture,but l i kewise in what manner reparation
m ight be obtained for damage done . From this arose
the fi rst corporat ion for trade with West A fr ica,and
such subj ects of the k ing as were wi l l ing to engage i n
th is trade were granted such powers,privi leges and en
couragemen ts as the circum stan ces at that time requ i red .
This was done by letters patent u nder the great seal of
England,bearing the date of l oth j anuary, 1 662
,and
the body of Engl ish merchants was styled the Com
pany of Royal Adventu rers of England trad ing to
A frica ” This power was further augmented in 1 67 2 by
Charter bearing date of27 th September, granting al l the
l ands,countries
,havens
,roads
,r ivers and other places in
A frica,from the port ofSal lee in South Barbary to the
Cape of Good Hope,for the term of 1 000 years
,with the
ent i re trade and traffi c into and from the said countries
and places,with proh ibit ion to al l others of his subj ects
to vi s i t or frequent the same wi thout the l i cense of the
said Company . Subscriptions were invi ted from al l H i s
Majesty ’s subjects,but on ly a sum of was
obtained,which was l argely spent in repairing the ex ist
1 8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
the t ime that Wi l l iam Bosman was the Chief factor for
the Dutch at E lm ina,and to whom we are indebted for
much of our knowledge of the coast at th is t ime . A
strange fatal i ty,however
,seemed to fol low the formation
ofthe Engl ish trad ing companies . The “ Royal A frican
Company decl ined,became bankrupt and disappeared
from the scene,and to take i ts place in 1 753the
“ A fr ican
Company ”was establ ished for free trade on the Gold
Coast to al l His Majesty ’s subj ects . This company
fol lowed in the wake of the others,and in 1 82 1 ceased
to ex ist,and al l B ri t ish possess ions on the West Coast of
A fri ca were,by the Engl i sh Pa r l iament
,made mere
dependencies of S ierra Leone . This was about the
worst th ing that cou ld have happened for the prosperi ty
and general wel fare of the colony . This was i n 1 82 1 .
Six years later saw another change . Owing to the
expen ses of S i r Charles McCarthy’
s A shan t i war,the
Government found themselves compel led to del iver the
various forts of the Gold Coast over to the merchants,on
cond it ion that Cape Coast Cast l e and james Fort,A ccra,should st i l l be admin i stered from Sierra Leone
,and that
the general affai rs Shou ld be under the control of th ree
Afri can m erchants and a paid secretary,the Home
Government con tribut ing £ 4000 per annum towards the
necessary expenses . Th i s arrangement lasted unti l 1 844,when Government again took possession of the Gold
Coast,Commander H i l l
,R .N .
,being appointed the fi rst
Governor. From this period to the presen t time the
var ious vi ciss i tudes through which the coast has passed
wi l l be fu l ly dealt with in succeed ing chapters .Accord ing to Bosman
,the Gold Coast original ly
extended for about s ixty m i les,but th is i s not at a l l
ENGLISH AND DUTCH FORTS . 19
accu rate. He says : “ The Gold Coast,being
“
a part Of
Guinea,is extended about s ixty mi les
,beginn ing with
the GoldRiver, twelve m i les above Ax im ,and end ing
with the vi l lage Pon ni,seven or eight m i les east of
Accra This i s so far incorrect,with regard to the
d istance,that one wonders by what mi leage i t cou ld
have been computed,though it i s qu i te poss ible the Dutch
mi le of9000 yards was the med ium ofmeasurement.
From my own actual travel l ing on the coast,I make
the d istance from Accra to Cape Coast about eighty-one
mi les,and from Cape Coast to Ax im much the same ;
add to this the twelve m i les between Axim and the Gold
R iver and the seven or eight m i les between Accra and
the Ponn i Vi l lage,and we have a d istance of about 1 80
miles Engl ish for the extent of the Gold Coast,early in
the eighteenth century,between its western and eastern
l im its as laid down by this o ldDutch author .
A glance at the map on page 13 wi l l show to the
reader the extent of the coast,with the numerous forts
and factories studding the whole coast l ine,one to every
eight or nine m i les . Twenty- five are mentioned in his
map,ofwhich three were Dan ish
,two belonged to the
Brandenburgers,and the remain ing twenty to the Dutch
and the Engl i sh .
A t Accra the Engl ish had but j ames Fort,whi le to the
west ofAccra,or to the windward as i t is termed
,they
held Winnebah,Mumford
,Gomoah,Tantum
,Corman tine,
Anamaboe,Cape Coast Cast le
, Commendah,Sekondi
,
D ixcove and Beyin . I n tersect ing these were the Dutch
establ ishments of Barracoe,Appam
,Cormantine
,
Mouri, Chama, Commendah,Takorad i
,Boutri
,Acoda
,
Hol land ia . Brandenburg and Axim ,whi le to the east they
20 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
he ld Dutch Accra,Labaddi
,Pona
,Temma and P ram
P ram .
I n add it ion to these there were five held by the Danes,
via,Christ iansborg
,Fredericksborg,
Augustenborg,Kon
gen stein an d Prinden stein , al l s i tuated between Accra
and the Volta R iver.
The countries incl uded in the Gold Coast numbered
eleven,and extended from the A n cobra R iver to the Ponn i
Vi l lage,each contain ing two or three towns or vi l l ages
,
S i tuated upon the sea - shore,either under or between the
forts ofthe Europeans but the largest and most popu lous
towns were found farther in land . These d istr i cts were
then known by the fol lowing names Axim,Ante
,
Adorn,Jab i
,Kommany,
Fetu,Saboe
,Fan tyn ,
Acron,
Agona and Aquambu.
A t the present day the Gold Coast consi sts ofa much
larger terri tory than that just described,the coast l ine
having been considerably increased by the add it ion of
the Apol lon ia country to the west,and the Adangme
and Awoonah countries to the east . These last men
tionedterri tories were added to the P rotectorate in 1 850 ,
when the K i ng Of Denmark sold h is forts on the Gold
Coast to the B ri t ish Government for
Some seventeen years later,i n 1 867 , the Governments
of Great B ritain and Hol land by mutual agreement rearranged their possessions upon the Gold Coast . England
transferred all her forts,rights and privi leges west of the
Sweet Water R iver as far as Newtown,i ts western l im it
,
to Hol land , and in return the Dutch Government gave
over to the Engl ish al l the forts,rights and privi leges pre
viously held by them to the eastward ofthe same river.A t th is period nei ther Dutch nor Engl i sh c laimed
TRAN SFER OF TERR ITORY .
any land outs ide thei r forts,though the former held ,
near Axim,a very considerab l e tract ofcountry, watered
by the A ncobra, and bounded by the k ingdoms of Apol
lonia,Denkira and Wassaw . A further transfer of terri
tory was made in 1 872 , when the Dutch Government
handed over to the Brit ish a l l i ts remain ing forts and
territories held by them at that t ime, in cluding those
that had been previous ly transferred to them by the
Engl i sh in 1 867 . Thus, from 1 87 2, the whole coast has
been in B r i t ish hands,with the French for neighbours on
the west,and the Germans on the east . The French at
thi s t ime took but l i ttle interest in thei r possess ions to
the west,having stations on ly at Grand Bassam
,A ss i n i
and Li ttle Bassam,so much so that they let their pos
sessions to Messrs . Swan zy 81 Co .,who opened up a great
trade upon the Ass in i and Tando R ivers,and the lagoons
connected with them . A l though the French had practi
cal ly withd rawn,no formal declaration ofsuch was made
,
and they con tented themselves by mainta in ing a naval
connection on ly with this part of the coast,to be again
developed in later years by actual occupation and mercan tile activi ty . Thus ended the rights ofthe Portuguese
,
Dutch and Danes upon the Gold Coast of A fri ca,so that
instead of the strip of s ix ty mi les mentioned by Bosman,
there is now a seaboard of some 360 miles extend ing
from Newtown,i ts extreme western l im it
,to Danoe in
the east,bordering upon French Gu inea and Togoland
respect ively . This seaboard is now divided and recognisedas cons isting ofsome eight d ist inct native pol i t ical
d ivis ions , in place of the eleven known in the early
part of the eighteenth century, and mentioned byBosman .
22 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT
These countries occur in the fo l lowing order from the
west
1 . Apol lon i a from Newtown to Ax im .
Ahanta from Ax im to Sekondi .
Chama from Sekondi to Chama .
E lm ina from Chama to Cape Coast .
Fanti from Cape Coast to Bereku .
Ga orAccra from Bereku to P ram P ram .
Adangme from P ram P ram to Ada ; and
A. woonah from Ada to Danoe .
Besides th i s large increase of seaboard,the interior
territor i es have been extended in a most i rregular
manner,unt i l the whole of the countries from the coast
,
up to and incl uding the eleventh paral lel ofN . lat i tude,
are n ow under B r i t i sh protection , under the comprehens ive t i t le of the Gold Coast Colony and P rotectorate .
Geographical ly the coast extends from 3°2'
W . longi
tude to 1°
3'
E . longitude , a d istance of some 360 miles
from point to point .
The interior territories now i nc lude some very im
portant states,the chief of which a re
1 . Aowin and Sefwi .
Wassaw .
Denkira. i n the west .Tufel .
A ssin .
Akim .
Aquapim .
K robo .
In the east .
90
V
Q
w-p
wtx)
po
wpx
sn
-w
9. Krepi .
While st i l l farther i n land to the north are the importan tcountries ofAshanti
,Kwahu
,Nkoranza and Dagwumba.
V IEW OF THE COAST . 23
Viewed from the deck of a pass ing steamer,th is
coast presen ts to the eye an almost unbroken l ine
of low,flat
,sandy beach
,ris ing at intervals into
bold,rocky headlands
,proj ect ing in some cases far
ou t to sea. A long th is l ow- lying shore,the great
A t lanti c rol lers break wi th unceas ing violence, caus ingthe beach to be continual ly fringed wi th boi l ing surf
,
thus mak ing the land ing on the coast anything but
pleasan t,should duty take you there . Upon the Apol
lon i an, Adangme and Awoonah Shores , this surf i s the
most dangerous,and it is only at such places as Axim
,
Takorad i,D i xcove and E lm ina
,that land ing in an ord inary
ship ’s boat i s at al l poss ible,and then Often on ly in ex
ceptionally quiet weather . N avigation a long the Go ld
Coast,and in whole ;coast of the Gu l f of
Guinea,requires. ,much ,
-c,aut ion
,as the ishore 48 flat and
comparat ively dest i tute of any c on spicuous l andmarks,whi le the heavy surf
,borne i n from the wholeb readthrof
the vast At lanti c,breaks continual ly against the Shore.
Landing from a steamer i s accompl ished by'a surf-boat.No compan ion ladder can be used on account ofthe swel l .Men clamber over the s ide of the ship by a rope ladder
of the roughest descript ion into the surf-boat wait ing to
receive them,whi le lady passengers are swung between
sky and sea in a tub or basket kept for the purpose.O nce in the surf-boat one feel s comparat ively safe
,
though to my mind there i s more danger attend ing thi s
l ast m i le and a hal f of the j ou rney than in the whole
4000 miles’ run from Liverpool . Except at the places I
have ment ioned,great care has to be exercised in
‘
the
selection ofa s i tuation for the an chorage ofa sh ip ofany
si ze. A s a ru le,steamers anchor from one to two mi les
24 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
from the shore in about s ix to ten fathoms of water.
Smal ler trad ing vessels may approach nearer,but as a very
heavy swel l almost continual ly sets in,i t i s necessary not
to be too near the breakers . The strength ofthe cu rrent
var ies along the whole coast,but its average rate may be
taken as from one to two mi les to the eastward per hou r .
The surf i s supposed to be at i ts worst at the new and
the ful l moon . The sea-breez e is very regu lar along the
coast and comes up from the south -west . On this account
the coast has been d ivided into windward and leeward
distri cts,the former extend ing from Cape Apol lon ia
,
2°
35’
west longitude,to the Secoom R iver
,some ten m i les
west of Accra,and the l atter from the same rive r to the
town of Danoe upon the eastern boundary Ofthe colony .
An ord inary surf-boat is manned by a crew of eleven
men,ten to paddle and one to steer . Good time is kept
in paddl ing,and the work is somewhat var ied by the
monotonous dron ing of a chant in the vernacular,of
which the chorus is general ly in nat ive Engl i sh,and
runs as fol lows
Good o ldmassa come from home,
Leave h im fader,leave h im moder,
Dashee me on e hun der pon n s,Good oldmassa come from home
When near the shore a wave is selected a l l row for dear
l i fe,and
,r id ing in on the crest ofthe sea
,the boat is run
upon the sand befo re the next breaker i s able to over
take it . The great danger l ies in the boat gett ing
broads ide on and turn ing turtle.
Vegetation in the colony flourishes in many places
down to the water ’s edge,thus caus ing the spectator
,
who Views this part of the globe for the fi rst t ime,to
26 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
east for a d istance of about three mi les,there being ,
however,a considerable stretch of open country between
Usshe r Town and Chri st iansborg . james Town and
Ussher Town are most i rregu lar ly con structed,and
contain but few decent streets ; narrow al leys and tor
tuons turn ings serving as passages from on e part of the
town to another . Fortunately,a large port ion of thi s
crowded and i l l - bu i l t section of these town s was com
pletely dest royed by fi re in 1 894. The area,once thu s
occupied,i s now being cleared ; and I bel ieve in the
place ofthe former m iscel laneous co l lection ofmud huts
and hovel s of al l shapes and s izes,that Accra wi l l soon be
able to boast ofa large po rtion ofits area having been laid
out in wel l -planned and symmetrical ly-arranged streets .Cape Coast Cast le
,also on the coast
,and about eighty
m iles to the west of Accra,i s the next impo rtant town
,
and was the seat of the Government of the colony unti l
i t was removed to the present capi tal i n 1 874. Caoo
Corso was its or igi nal name . I t is s i tuated on hi l ly
ground,and is
,l i ke Accra
,most i rregu lar ly bu i l t
,smel l s
horribly and is very hot— native huts and European
quarters j ostl ing s ide by S ide in al l parts of the town .
From the sea i t looks very picturesque . O ther towns
of importance on the coast are E lm ina and Axim to
the wes t of Cape Coast,Sal tpond to the east
,and Ada
and Kwi tta on the eastern shores of the colony.
I n the inter ior are many wel l - s i tuated towns,at mos t
ofwhich, especial ly in the eastern part of the colony, are
to be found members of the “ Basle M ission Society,
”
with their wives and fami l ies . Thei r most impo rtan t
centres are Aouriand A kropong i n the Aquapim country,KiooiorKyebiand Begoro in the Ak im country,
A oetifi in
INTER IOR TOWN S . 27
the Kwahu country , Odufnase in the K robo country, and
A nuiu i n the Krepi coun t ry. Ada,at the mouth of the
Vol ta,is al so an important “ Bas le M iss ion ” stat ion .
Thi s miss ion,ofwhich a further account wi l l be given in
the later pages ofth is work,has a two- fold purpose
,viz .
,
that of trade al l ied to civi l i sat ion and Chri st ian ity . The
Wesleyan M iss ion has also a stat ion at Aouri in Aqua
pim,though the headquarters of th is body are at Cape
Coast, from whence thei r branch stat ions extend east
and west for the whole extent of the coast,with a few
minor interior centres . On the coast,too
,are found the
stations of the Roman Catho l ic M i ss ion of St . Franci s
de Sales from Lyons,their most important centres
being E lmina,Cape Coast, Saltpond, A ccra and Kwitta .
The populat ion of the Gold Coast Colony is rough ly
estimated at 1 -5mil l ions, mostly the descendants of the
negro fami ly,possess ing
,in the majori ty of cases
,the
marked racial physical characteristics of that people,
though the close observer might detect s l ight d i fferences
ofbui ld and facial express ion among the var ious peoples
of the d i fferent coun tries compris ing the colony . The
wander ing A rab of the desert i s to be found in every
town,and i s a stately and wel l -ordered member of the
West Afri can popu lation,though perhaps not qu ite so
clean and sweet-smel l ing as he m ight be . The men
general ly give one the impress ion of being phys ical ly
very strong and capable ofgreat enduran ce ; the women
are for the most part tal l and wel l -proport ioned,and easy
in thei r movements . Matu r i ty in both sexes arrives early,prime of l i fe is of short durat ion
,and sen i l i ty fol lows
qu ick ly in i ts wake . The Child ren are active, l i thesome
l i tt le mortals, and , when young, are very precocious and
28 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
apt to learn . NO one,however
,in th is part ofthe world
seems to work for work ’s sake . So long as the immed iate
wants of the presen t can be sat isfied,no one cares to
remember the past,or has any ambition for the future .
M an works to sat is fy h is most press ing needs, and woman
works for,and to sat isfy
,the wants ofman .
The whole coast from end to end is dotted with in
numerable fish ing vi l lages,and the male population in
these spend thei r t ime in catch ing enormous quanti t ies
of al l k inds of fi sh w i th which the tropica l waters ofthe
Gul f of Gu inea abound . The fish i s then d r i ed and
cu red in a pecul iar native fashion,which to the European
nose i s most Offens ive,packed in loads
,and carried by
the women and ch i ldren to the interior towns,to be ex
changed for other food products not obtainable near the
coast,or to be sold for cash .
Fishing on the Gold Coast was and is sti l l esteemed
next to trad ing,and those who fol low i t are more
numerous than those engaged in other employments .I t i s now general ly fol lowed along the whole coast
,and
every morn ing (Tuesday excepted , which is Fetish day
or Sunday) hundreds of canoes pu t out to sea and
return abou t noon with a plent ifu l harvest,which i s
d r i ed and sold to the in land inhabi tants,who have come
down to buy and sel l again at the inter ior towns .
COM PLETE L I ST OF FORT S ON THE GOLD COA ST .
(A . ) DUTC H .
S ituation . Name .
Axim St. An thony
Fredericksborg D i sused .
Barten stein
When built . Presen t.
Portuguese Stil l used .
(captured by theDutch in 1 642 )1 725.
U
S ituation .
Takorad iSekon d iC hamaCommendah
E lm inaE lm inahioree
Corman t i n eAppamSeniah
Cape CoastDutch Accra
Takrama
Acoda orAcquidah
FORTS ON THE GOLD COAST . 29
Name. WhenW i l sen 1 725
Orange 1 680
St. Sebast ian 1 690
V reden burg 1 688
St. Jago 1 640
St. George 148 1
Nassau 1 637
Am sterdam 1 665
Pat ien ce 1 697 St i l l used .
Bereku 1 667
Cabo Corso 1 624 .
Crevecoeur (U ssher 1 650
Fort).
(B. ) DAN ISH .
Ch r i st ian sborgAugusten borgFreden sborgKongen stein Still used.
Prinden stein
(c . ) B RAND E NBU RG .
Takrama 1 674 D i sused .
Doroth ea 1 682
(D . ) ENGL ISHApo l lon iaD ixcoveSekon d iCommendah
V ictor iaW i l l iam
Macarthy
Corman t in eTan tamquerryMumfordW in n ebah
James FortV ern on
CHAPTER I I .
The Early In hab itan ts Ofthe Go l d Coast— The i r Trad it ion al Or ig in— The Dom inan t Powers— Man n erS— Custom s— Superst i t ion s— Occupat ion s— Rel ig ion— Manual Arts— The Aggrey Bead .
AFR ICA is supposed to have derived its name from the
Pun ic word s ign ifying “ Ears of Corn,
” and to the
ancients was one of the three great d iv i s ions of l and,
ofwhich the world was then supposed to consist . I ts
western part,covering the whole Gu l f ofGuinea
,and ex
tending southward to the mouth ofthe N iger,i s the home
of that portion of mankind known as the Ham it i c
fami ly,which must have pushed i ts way westward from
the main bran ch unti l s topped by the At lant i c Ocean .
To trace the origin of the early inhabitants of the Gold
Coast i s a most d ifficu l t task,i nasmuch as there remain
ne ither d irect trad it ions n orauthenticated accounts,ei ther
among the people themselves or from thei r supposed
V i s i tors before the Chris tian era,or from those who
vis i ted i t for some centu ries after that epoch . By early
wri ters i t was supposed that there once ex isted in th i s
part of the world a most powerfu l k ingdom,whose ru ler
,
by his numerous victories over weaker tribes,subdued
the whole of the su rround ing country,and formed the
so - cal led mighty k ingdom of Gu inea,bestowing this name
upon the whole coast from Cape Mesurado to B iafra .
O ther authori t ies refute th is,notab le among whom is
THE KINGDOM OF GU INEA . 3I
Bosman,who says : How great th i s m istake i s
,I hope
to evince to you,s ince the very name ofGu inea is not
so much as known to the natives here,nor the imaginary
Gu inea Monarchy yet to be found in the wor ld The
supporters ofthose who bel ieve in the supposed k ingdom
ofGu inea,attr ibute to the Phoen ic ians the fi rst vis i tat ion
offore ign powers to the west coast ofA fr i ca,su rmis ing
that Pharaoh Necho,Kin g of Egypt
,employed Phoeni
cian mariners to vis i t the coas t some 600 years B.C . After
them came the Carthagin ians,who are supposed to have
explored the greater part of these western shores and evento have settled there .
The Rev . Carl Reindorf in his recen tly publ ished book ,1 895, says Hanno the Carthagin ian sa i led wi th s ixty
ships offi fty oars each,some men and women and
stores and provis ions to establ ish permanent sett lemen ts
upon theWest Coast ofA fr i ca, and seems to have reached
that particu lar part n ow known as the Gold Coast ” . Com
ing down,however
,to much later t imes
,M r . F . Romer
,the
Dan ish merchant who res ided at the p resen t Christ ians
borg,at the ext reme eastern l im it of Accra ( 1 735 con
fi rms the statements wi th regard to the ear ly ex istence of
a m ighty k ingdom . He says The Gold Coast was a
part of the western d ivis ion of the empi re ruled by the
Emperor of Ben in,whose terri tor i es extended along the
coast from Ben in to the Gambia,and whose k ings were
appoint ed by that emperor ”. He also quotes the find ing
ofthe mosaic oraggrey bead on the Gold Coast and the
S lave Coast , as evidences ofa trade that must have then
ex isted between West A fr i ca and Egypt,and also men
tion s that the ins ign ia of the royal ty ofAccra were the
same as those in use in the Ben in country,and that many
32 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
ofthe rel igiou s ceremonies were identi cal i n both countries .O ther writers assert that the whole ofthe tr ibes now inhabi ting the Gold Coast
,some n in eteen in number
,came
original ly from the interior,being gradual ly pushed
towards the coast by more powerfu l Arab tr i bes,who
i nvaded their terri tories in order to enro l them beneath
the banner ofthe Moslem faith . Foremost among these
tribes were the Ashant is and the Fan t i s,at this per iod
branches of the same fam i ly,who are reported to have
settled i n the countries round the Kong Mountains,a
d ist ri c t then known to the Arab traders as Wangara .
This m igration towards the sea of the p resent people in
habit ing the western part of the Gold Coast from the far
interior,appears l i kely to be perfectly t rue
,but of the
tr ibes to be found in the eastern part of the colony the
supposi t ion cannot hold,for according to present local
trad i tion in th is part of the country,i t i s asserted
,that
the Kings of Lagos came from Ben in,and such people
as the Akras and the Lates arr i ved on the coast at d i f
feren t i ntervals from the East . That the King of Ben in
once held sway over th is eastern part ofthe Gold Coast,
is strengthened by a statement made by the previous ly
ment ioned M r . Romer, viz . ,that a ruler for the Ak im
country came with the Ak ras from the sea.
Another trad it ion asserts that the Akras and severa l
of the other tr ibes now inhabi t ing the eastern portion of
the colony came from a country farther east,s i tuated
between two large rivers,and cross ing the Vol ta R iver
,
d istributed themselves over the country,the Akras
sett l ing on the sea- Shore . There seem s no doubt that
abou t the same period that the Ashant is and the Fantis
were moving from the inter ior southward towards the sea,
34 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Denkiras,Wassaws
,and other peoples of the interior
,
thus mark ing the common origin of these va ri ous fami l ies .
Of thi s mother language,the Fanti Of the p resen t day i s
the most important d ial ect,a tongue that wi l l carry you
throughout a large port ion ofthe colony,but which is more
particu larly spoken by the Fantis,E lm inas and Chamas .
This settlement by the Fantis along the shore had the
effect of d ivid ing the original inhabitan ts of the coast
in to two parts,the newly formed Fanti k ingdom being
the divid ing state. This wou ld account for the relation
ship sti l l c la imed by the Apollonian s, Sefwis, A owins and
Ahan tas i n the west to the Ak ra and Adangme - speak ing
people in the east,who sti l l c laim to be brothers .
About the same per iod that saw the removal of the
Fanti tribe from their Old headquarters,in the in te
rior,towards the coast
,witnessed also the fi rst growing
power ofthe Ashant is,and the settlemen t of such powe r
fu l tribes as the Sefwis, Denkiras,Wassaws and Ak ims
to the north ofthe sea- coast fami l ies ; unti l at the end of
the seventeenth centu ry,we find
,accord ing to Bosman
,
some eleven d i fferent states along the shore in add i t ion
to those al ready ex ist ing in the interior .
A fu l l l ist ofthese states has al ready been given in the
previous chapter,so no further mention need be made of
them here,except to state that the migrating tribes from
the interior became from this t ime,i.e. ,the seven teenth
cen tury,the dominant races upon the West Coast ofA fri ca .
Among the races thus mentioned was a common
trad ition,that the whole Of these people were orig inal ly
incl uded in twelve tribes or fami l ies,accord ing to Bow
d ich whi le the Rev . J . B . Anaman ofCape Coast
Castle denies th is,and C l a ims only seven great d ivis ions
,
ANCIENT FAM ILIES . 35
though the latter authority includes as sub -d ivis ions,
several ofthose mentioned by Bowdich as d ist inct fami l ies .Each ofthese fam i l ies contained d i fferent branches
,which
were known by d i fferent names in the d istricts to which
they belonged . The fam i l ies men t ioned by Bowdich
are : Aquonn a,Abrootoo
,Abbradi
,E ssonna
,Annona
,
Yoko,In tchwa
,Abadie
,Appiadie, Agoona, Tchweedam
and Doomina,al l of which are given in the Rev. Mr.
A naman’
s l i st of seven fami l ies and thei r sub-d ivi s ion s,
though somewhat varied i n the orthography .
I t wou ld appear that each fami ly name had a dist in ct
s ign ificance : thus Aquon nameant buffalo,which was a for
bidden an imal to that fami ly A brootoo was a corn stal k
or carof co rn A bbradi,a plantain E sson na
,a bush-cat
Annona,a parrot ; Yoko ,
’
red earth : In tchwa,a dog ;
Appiadie, a servant ; Tchweedam ,a panther ; Agoona,
palm oi l,or a place where palm oil was col lected .
That certain fami l ies exi st down to the present day isquite true
, for I have, i n my travels, verified the ex istence
ofmany ofthem,i n which the nat ives st i l l C lass themselves
without regard to thei r national d ist inct ion s,and have seen
people of qu ite d i fferent tribes at the p resent day salute as
brothers,when each has mentioned the stock fami ly to
which he belongs .O f the famil ies mentioned
,perhaps the bu ffalo
,bush
cat,panther and dog
,are the oldest
,mark ing the people
who l ived by hun t ing whi le the corn stalk and the
plantain represen t the beginn ing of agr icu l ture ; the red
earth fami ly showing atten t ion to bu i ld ings and dwel l ings ;and the palm -oil fam i ly denoting the introduction of com
merce, in which the nat ives include the Portuguese, who
were among the earl iest traders to the coast .
36 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
This latter can hard ly be poss ible,for palm oi l was
not kn own as an export in the early days,though perhaps
the fami ly was named from this commodity being used
as food by the natives .
There are,however
,natives to be found on the Gold
Coast,who assert that the Ashant is were once a water
s ide people,from which place they migrated to thei r
present in land terri tory,conquering on thei r way a very
powerfu l people cal led the [n tas,and many smal l tribes
,
final ly establ ishing themselves and bui ld ing Kumas i
about the beginn ing of the e ighteenth century .
This conquered n at ion,the I ntas
,was supposed to have
been r i ch in barbaric arts,many ofwhich were adopted by
the i r conquerors,i n addit ion to a great portion of thei r
l anguage and thei r complete sys tem of weights . The
headquarters ofth i s ancien t Ashant i k ingdom were doubt
fu l ly placed in the count ry,behind the present W innebah
,
along the bank s of the river Ain su,but the whole theory
i s n ot a l ikely sol ut ion of the o r igin ofsuch a powerfu l
race as the people i n question . The ancient history of
the kingdom of Ashanti i s most uncertain,as i t i s bound
to be,from a people possess ing no written language
o r recogn ised trad i t ional records ; and to make i t more
d iffi cul t,en forc ing laws to make it a capital pun ishment
to even ment ion the particu lars about the death ofon e
k ing or the l i fe of another. This supposed migrat ion
of the Ashan t i s from the coast is assumed to have been
conducted by a great leader cal led Osai Tootoo,who
,
en cou raged by supersti t ious omen s,founded Kumas i
,
was made king and received the “ stoo l ” ornative throne
from hi s fol lowers . To conci l iate the other chiefs who
accompanied and ass isted h im in the foundation of th is
FOUNDATION OF ASHANTI . 37
barbar i c monarchy,he created the ari stocracy
,and
passed a law mak ing the royal fam i ly and i ts descendan ts
exempt from capita l pun ishment .The foundation of the Ashan t i k ingdom with Ku
masi as i ts headquarters abou t th is t ime may be re
garded as an absolute fact,but as to whence they came
,
mu st st i l l remain an open question . I n the Ashant i
h i story,dating from 1 700 ,
i t wi l l be found that a s i s ter
nation,known as the Dwaben s
,has always pl ayed a
very importan t part,and it is general ly admitted that
the Dwaben s became a d ist inct branch of the Ashantis,
under the leadership of a chief Boitin ne,a s i ster ’ s son
andcous in to Osa i Tootoo,at the same time that the
Ashant is were bu i ld ing Kumas i . The town of Dwaben
is stated to have al ready existed,some e ight m i les east
of the s i te selected for the capital of A shant i,and i t is
supposed when the suggested exodus from the coast
took place,that the st ronger party under Boitin n e
attacked and captured Dwaben,leaving O sai Tootoo
,
his weaker companion,to found Kumasi . A l though the
two parties thus became separate,they st i l l remain ed
the firmest of al l i es in war,shar ing equal ly in al l Spoi l
and conquest . This common i n terest remained intact
for over a centu ry,al l other interests becoming sub
ordinate to the on e great pol icy of aggress ive increase
ofterri tory and acquis i t ion ofbarbar i c power. No ear l ier
authent ic records ofthe Ashant is have been foun d , ei ther
at Cape Coast Castl e or Accra,than 1 7 80 . The Moors
state that the Ashant i k ingdom was foun ded in 1 700 ,
and upon th is foundation i t rests,there be ing no chrono
logica l reco rds in ex istence to substan t iate the statement .
Osai Tootoo appears to have concentrated hi s energies
38 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
upon the consol idation ofhis newly establ i shed k ingdom ,
mak ing Kumas i the headquarters of his m i l i tary power,
and requ iring h i s subord inate chiefs to res ide in the
various town s that sprang up in the immediate n eigh
bourhood of the capital,bestowing d ignity upon them
by means of t i t l es . He conc i l iated his conquered tribes
by making them t r ibutary powers,and checked thei r
poss ible desertion by requ i ring thei r constant presence
at al l pol i t i ca l fest ivi ties . H e held absolute sway over
al l,whi le h is ch iefs and his created aristocracy held al l
j ud icial and legis lat ive power,and looked after the
common bus iness of the state .
Osai Tootoo was ki l l ed by the A to'
as i n I 7 20 ,on a
Saturday,some t ime before the completion of the bui ld
ing of hi s capital . The story goes that he declared war
against the people of Atoa,inhabiting the d istrict
between the Ak im and A ssin countr ies . These people,unable to face such an invader in the Open field
,dis
tributed thei r smal l force through the bush,and passing
the main body ofOsai Too too ’
s army,surprised the king
and his rearguard of some 200 or 300 fol lowers , k i l l ing
them al l,and shooting Osai Tootoo as he lay in hi s
hammock . This is said to have happened at a place
cal led Corman tee,and on a Satu rday
,and was the
origin of the most so lemn oath of the Ashantis for the
future,via ,
“ Miminda Corman tee,
”i.e. ,by “ Saturday and
Corman tee,from wh ich date and c ircumstance Saturday
has always been looked upon as a fatal day by the
A shant is, and upon which n o enterpri se or important
undertak ing has s ince been attempted . So from the
beginn ing of the eighteenth centu ry and on for more
than one hundred years we Shal l find the A shant i power
MANNERS AND CU STOMS .
spread ing over the whole of the Gold Coast,11
the whole country from the A n cobra to the V 0
pletely under thei r sway . As a later cha
with the growth and decay of the Ashant i power,
subject may be dismissed from the present pages .
A t the t ime of which I am writ ing,the negro tribes
inhabit ing the Gold Coast were very much al ike in the i r
manners,customs
,supersti tions
,rel igion and occupations .
Their d isposi t ion was natural ly crafty and cruel,seldom
to be trusted,and they lost no opportun i ty of ei ther
cheat ing the European or one another . I n add it ion they
were natural ly id le and careless,and possessed none ofthe
finer qual i t ies of mankind that are to be found in other
races . Fortune ormisfortune con cerned them but l i tt le,al l
occas ions,whether ofgrief
,pain
,joy
,or even death
,being
se i zed‘ upon as opportun i t ies for feasting
,s inging and
dancing . They l ived i n the present,speed i ly forgot the
past,and cared not for the future. O f personal adorn
ment they were very fond,whi le a s ingle cloth worn round
the m iddle was their on ly clothing,thus leaving the upper
port ion -Of the body and the a rms and legs qu ite bare .
Thi s c loth was of cotton,s i l k orvelvet
,accord ing to the
stat ion of the wearer,whil st arms and neck were various ly
adorned with chains and rings of S i lver,gold or ivory .
A parti cu lar van i ty of the women was the manipulat ion
oftheir hair in al l manner of grotesque shapes and pat
terns,which they interspersed with ornaments of gold
,
coral or the aggrey bead to the value ofmany pounds
sterl ing.
The bearing and the rearing of chi ldren caused but l i tt le
trouble in a negro household . The women apparently care
l i ttle about thei r offspring,the men care less . I n some
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
parts of the country the chi ld ren are named after the
day upon which they are born,and in others from the
order in which they are born . Thus we get what in
Engl ish wou ld be Monday boy and Monday gi r l,and
First boy,Second boy
,Fi rst gi rl
,Second g i rl
,and so on .
For the fi rst two orth ree years the ch i ld ren are nu rsed by
the mothe r,and then
,when able to run
,the chi ld goes
where i t pleases,to the market for food
,to the water to
swim,with no on e to let orhin der .
Male chi ld ren,as a ru le
,fol low the occupation of thei r
father,and are brought up when very young to his cal l ing,
wh i le the female chi ld ren become the domestic s laves of
the hou se,t i l l ready for sale as a wife to a ne ighbou r .
The ord inary d iet of the bu l k of the popu lat ion was,
and i s at the presen t t ime,ofa very S imple nature . Bos
man says that twopen ce per day was sufficien t to d iet
on e of them,and at the presen t day but threepence i s
al lowed fordai ly subs i stence . Thei r food cons i sts chiefly
ofpounded corn,yarn or plan tain mashed together after
bo i l ing,to the con s i stency of an Engl i sh dumpl ing
,over
which is pou red a l i tt le palm oil,or a fewboi l ed herbs
andpeppers,to wh i ch they add a l i ttl e fi sh . This latter
i s most offen s ive to Eu ropean n ostri l s,and i s deserved ly
termed st ink - fi sh I n the i n ter ior fi sh can not always
be obtained,but its place i s often suppl ied with a piece
of d r ied meat ofsome an imal caught in the chase . O f
thei r own nat ive d r in k,palm win e
,they are inord inately
fond,and they have al so acqu i red a st rong des i re for al l
l iquors of an in tox icating n ature,but more particular ly
rum . The old Dutch factor of Axim must have had
many opportun i t ies of n otic ing thei r pred i lections in
th i s respect,for he says Let the wo r ld go how it wi l l ,
42 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
either been sold by thei r relat ions,captured in war
,or
brought to such a stage by poverty,i f such a state exi sted .
O f t ime and its d ivis ions they had n o idea except
what had been learned from the Eu ropeans . The moon
to them was thei r c lock,and by i t they cal cu lated thei r
t imes for sowing and reaping . A name for each day of
the week is however found in thei r language,pointing to
the fact that the d ivis ions of the week must have been
long known to them. The general Sunday on the coast
fal l s on ou r Tuesday,and that of the Mohammedans on
our Friday,though i t d i ffers from no other day in the
week to them except that n o person may fish,al l other
k inds ofwork are perfectly al lowable . Many of the in
terior tribes d ivide thei r t ime into lucky and u n l ucky
periods,with a set t ime d ivid ing the two . This d ivid ing
t ime between the two fortunate periods lasts seven days ,which are observed as a time of id leness
,or vacat ion ,
and during which they ne i ther t ravel nor work . The
great l ucky time l asts n ineteen days,then fol low
the seven days of un lucky time,again fol lowed by the
lesser lucky t ime of seven days . Though thi s idea i s
general ly prevalent in the interior,the “ good and evi l ”
days vary in d i fferent d i stricts . Why thi s d i st inction
has been made i t is d i ffi cu l t to determ ine ; poss ibly the
resu l t of some importan t event fi rst settled i t,from which
i t passed into custom,to u l timately become a law .
Marriage among the negroes is eas i ly arranged,and the
knot once t ied,i t can be as eas i ly unt ied should the occa
s ion arise . Among the lower orders the bride brings n o
fortune,and the bridegroom need have but very l itt le to
recommend him . Custom shows that when a young man
des ires a young gir l for his w i fe,nothing is much more
MARR IAGE CU STOMS . 43
requ is i te than forhim to apply to her father,ormother
,or
her nearest relations to give her to h im . The request i s
seldom den ied,and no feel ings ofthe daughte r are al lowed
to bar the way . The consent ofthe parents or relations
once gained,the wedd ing is fixed
,and al l the bridegroom
needs is sufficient to pay the expenses of his wedding
day,which cons ist of some fancy clothes fo r his bride
and presents to her fami ly and relat ions . These presents
often cons is t of sheep or goats,rum and other drinks
,
together wi th a l i tt le gold dust or a sum ofmoney . The
richer the bridegroom,the more expens ive his wedding
day ; but, as a ru le, a strict accoun t is kept of everyth ing
that i s presented to the br i de orher relat ions,i n order that
he may recover their value again shou ld his wi fe feel inclined to leave him . Shou ld the husband wish to leave
the wife,he is free to do so
,and the account is then con
sideredclosed . For some days before the wedd ing the
br ide is d ressed in her best,her hair done in the most
app roved fashion,and if her fam i ly be a rich on e
,she i s
wel l bedecked with gold ornamen ts for the hai r,the neck
and the arms . These are borrowed fo r the occas ion and
returned soon after the marriage . Po lygamy is the ru le,
and a man may keep as many wives as he cares for,who
often do al l the work and thus keep the husband in
id leness . Often in the r icher fami l ies,on e or two of the
wives are exempt from the manual labours of the others,
thei r work being solely to manage what household there
i s , and to keep the rest in order . Bosman declares that
as many as twenty wives were sometimes kept,but the
common number is from three to ten .
The goods of married people belong separately to
each, and the mother j ust as Often sustains the chi ldren
44 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
as the father,upon whom fal l s the expense of cloth ing
for al l -ih many cases not a very great one " I n the
eighteenth centu ry i t was the custom,when a man or
his wi fe d ied,for the relat ion s to come and take away
everything that was l eft he l p ing in thei r tu rn to defray
the fun eral expen ses ofthe departed .
Should a man have a ch i ld by one of hi s s l aves,the
chi ld i s looked upon as a s l ave al so,un less set free before
the death of i ts father,in acco rdance with the usual ri tes
and custom s necessary to be perfo rmed upon such an
occas ion . I f th is be proper ly carried out before the
father d ies,the ch i ld is then treated in every part i cu lar as
a free person,but sho uld i t be neglected
,the relat ions
treat the offsp r ing as a me re chattel to be d isposed ofas
they wi l l . The nat ive l aw of inher i tan ce upon the Gold
Coast appea rs to Eu ropean ideas a very strange one the
ch i ld ren seldom inher i t ing p roperty left by thei r parents .
The on ly except ion i s,I bel i eve
,among the Akras . The
eldest son,suppos ing the father to have been a k ing
,or
ch ief,or captain
,succeeds to the tit l e on ly
,together wi th
the arms born e by h i s deceased parent . Shou ld the
father wish to endow his eldest son with wor ld ly goods
he must do i t du r ing h i s l i fetime,and then i t mu st be
done in a very carefu l man n er,forshou ld i t be d i scovered
,
the relat ions can deman d restorat ion from the son after
h is father ’s death . I n stead ofthe chi l d ren inher i t ing the
property,when there i s any
,i t descend s to the chi ld ren of
the brothers ands isters of the parents . The eldest son
i s hei r to the mother ’s brother or his son s,andthe eldest
daughter i s hei ress to her mother ’ s s i ster orher daughters .Thu s we fi ndmany instances of the n ative kings and
ch iefs educating thei r s i ster ’s son as thei r own,and ap
SUPERSTITIONS . 45
point ing him as nex t successor to the throne. Thisextraord inary rule of success ion
,excl uding al l ch i ld ren
but those of a s i ster,i s explained in the fol lowing mann er .
The natives say they are more sure that the son of thei r
s ister i s of the ir own blood than they are of the i r own ;andthat i f the wi ves of the son s are fai thless , the blood
of the fami ly is ent i rely lost in the offspr i ng, but i f thedaughters are fai thless to the i r hu sban ds
,the blood i s
st i l l preserved in part . Not a great tr ibute to the vi rtues
ofthe women ,certa inly
Superstit ion i s sti l l r i fe among the n at ives, particu
larly among those of the in ter ior . In Ashan t i the tra
dit ion of the or igin of the white and the black man i s
kn own to every one,though i t d i ffers somewhat from
the tradit ion current on the coast . This form s the
source of thei r re l igiou s ideas, andrun s as fol lows : I n
the beginn ing of the wor ld God created three white
men and th ree black men,wi th the same n umber of
women ; he resolved ,in order that they might n ot after
wards compla i n,to give them thei r choi ce ofgood and
evi l . A l arge box or calabash was set on the ground,
with a piece of paper,sealed up
,on one s ide of i t . God
gave the black men the fi rst choice,who took the box
,
expecting i t con tained everyth ing,but on open ing i t ,
there appeared on ly a piece ofgold,a piece of i ron and
several other metal s ofwhich they d id not know the use .
The Whi te men opening the paper , i t told them every
th ing . God left the black s i n the bush,but conducted
the whites to the water- S ide (for th is happen ed in A fr i ca) ,communicated wi th them every n ight
,and taught them
to bu i ld a smal l ship,which carr ied them to another
country,whence they returned after a lo ng per iod, with
46 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
various merchandise, to barter with the blacks, who
might have been the superior people . I n some parts of
the colony,the people bel ieve that man was created by
a great spider cal led Aman fie,whi lst among others the
opin ion is general ly Shared that Godcreated two k inds of
men,black and white
,and offered them two sorts of
gifts,via
,gold and knowledge . The blacks had the
fi rst choice,and being covetous chose the gold
,l eaving
knowledge to the white man . God gave them thei r
gi ft,but as a pun i shment he decreed that the whi tes
shou ld be for ever thei r masters,and they (the blacks)
should be obl iged to wait on them as thei r s laves .
No part of the Gold Coast is without its parti cula r
dei ty, which is known as a“ fet ish
,
” and is supposed to
i nhabit particu lar an imal s,forests
,mountains
,trees
and rivers . These feti shes are revered in proport ion
as thei r pred ict ion s (known through the fet ish p r iest and
told to the people) are real ised . The r ive r Tando was a
favouri te fet ish of the Ashantis,and al so the Prah whi l st
at Accra the bu sh -cat was revered,and at D ixcove and
other places along the coast the al l igator . This l ast i s st i l l
worsh ipped in the presen t century,and the n at ives say
there is an al l igator about twelve feet long in a fresh -water
stream n ear D ixcove,which appears at the cal l of the
fetish man,and receives i n payment a white fowl . I
was invi ted to test th is by the nat ives in 1 895.
Bosman derives Fetishe to mean fal se God,which the
nat ives cal l Bossum,
” hence the Bossum or sacred P rah
of the Ashanti s . The fear of the fet ish i s deeply im
planted ih the breast of every n egro,part icularly those
who res ide in the in ter ior of the colony . When
travel l i ng th rough the Kwahu distri ct i n 1 897 , I
WEST AFR ICAN FETISH . 47
found upon inqu i ry,that the principal fetish of the
d istri ct had previously res ided in a range of mountains
cal led A tiwa Yaw,supposed to be named after him .
He was,from al l accounts
,a very c lever fel low, for he
imposed upon the people for years, unt i l , emboldened by
his success,he threatened to clear out al l the nat ives in his
district who professed Christ ian i ty,with a breath . What
a sulphurous breath he must have had A sti r was made,a trap laid for him
,andhe was captured and deported to
Accra . When arrested , he refused to go unless accom
paniedby some Christ ian natives, to protect h im on the
way from the vio len ce of his previous dupes and votaries,who were now as greatly incen sed against h im as they had
previous ly been in fear of h im,seeing that he was shown
to be human l i ke them selves,and not a sp iri t . He
,how
ever,threatened to retu rn
,but never d id . Two false
A tiwa Yaws , however, sp rang up, both were captured
and wel l flogged by the nat ives,and many sheep were
ki l led in order to mark the event,the false “ A tiwas
”
being cal led upon to pay fo r al l the sheep ki l led .
The Krobo Mountain in the eastern part of the colony,
near the r iver Vol ta,was once a stronghold of fetishes
,
and held the whole of the surround ing country in i ts
power,un t i l destroyed by the late S i r W . Brandford
Griffi th early in 1 893.
Every fami ly has i ts own domesti c fetishes,suppl ied by
the pr iests . These cons i st of rude wooden figures ofpeople
and an imals,Of the most extraordinary Shapes and propor
t ion . They are kept in the house,and upon al l customs and
fest ival s are the recipients of good -wi l l offerings and drin k .
A string across a road,a branch laid in the path
,a
bottle hung outs ide his hut,are suffi cient to deter a native
48 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
from any undertak ing, so afraid are they Of “ fet ish
A FET I SH PR IE ST .
Upon every occas ion his aid is invoked ; for trade, for
SO THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
these general ly confine thei r attention to med ical cures,
and are fu rther notoriou s for thei r loose ideas ofmoral i ty .
Every appl i cat ion to the feti sh must be accompan i ed
by a gi ft-offer ing,which
,in gold -bear i ng areas
,i s gene
ral ly preferred by the dei ty (so says the priest) to be
in the Shape of a quanti ty of the prec ious metal . The
k ings of Ashant i paid as much as ten ounces of gold,
in add it ion to several s l aves,for each invocation of the
fetish pr iest whi l st the poorer inhab i tan ts cou ld invoke
his aid for a sum varying accord ing to thei r C i rcum
stances . Bowd ich says the Ashanti s had n o fixed fet i sh
day or Sun day,di fferen t fam i l ies selecting d i fferent days
of the week,upon wh ich they absta ined from work and
d r ink . The former absten tion I can qu i te understand ,but n ot the latter .
O f al l thei r customs,that of the yam is the most im
portan t . I t occu rs annual ly at the matu r i ty of that
vegetable,which
,planted in December
,is ready for
gathering in September,and fu rn ishes the opportun i ty
for the wi ldest exh ibi t ion of nati ve l i cence andpass ion .
Theft,in tr igue and assau l t are all forgi ven during the
continuance of this an nual feast .Throughout the whole length of the land
,the inhabi
tants of the coast towns obtained thei r l iving by fi shing
and the making of can oes . These latter vary much in
s i ze : the smal lest from ten to twelve feet long by two
to three feet broad,to the largest S i ze some thirty feet
long by six feet broad . I n the management of these
frai l craft they are most expert,and do not appear in
the least concerned Shou ld they caps ize and p recip itate
thei r wor ld ly belongin gs i nto the sea. The canoe i s
qu ick ly r ighted,baled out
,and again manned
,to be
OCCUPATION S . 51
again very soon the vict im of a sim i lar fate . I n add it ion
to the use of the canoe for fi shing,i t forms the means
for commun icat ion and t ransport of goods from port to
port . I n them the nat ives wi l l venture far out to sea,
qu ite out of s ight of land,using a large square sai l
,that
bel l ies out with the wind,and carr ies the boat through
the water at a rapid pace . The canoes carry, accord ing
to S i ze,from three to fi fteen men
,who Sit i n twos along
the s ides of the boat,leaving the odd man to steer from
the stern . A l l the larger boats have weather boards in
the bow,cons i sting of planks raised two feet or more
to keep out the seas . I nstead of oars,paddles are used
,
which along the Gold Coast are made with a broad
spade- l ike blade,with rather a short handle .
I n other parts of the colony plantat ion work is the
general occupat ion,and in the early days of the colony
much rice was grown,particu larly in the country round
Axim,and carried to al l parts of the coast. I n other
parts the people gave their attent ion to the cu lt ivat ion
ofcorn,yams
,potatoes
,plantain and ban anas
,and the
preparat ion of palm oil. I t wou ld be very d ifficul t to
find at the present day a potato grown in the Gold Coast
rice is now very largely imported,but much attention is
st i l l given to the cu l t ivat ion ofthe yarn,cassada and the
sweet potato . A l arge proportion of the people are,and
always have been,engaged in trade
,act ing as the midd le
men between the traders ou the coast and the people in
the far interior . People of al l tribes find employment
in this capaci ty,parti cu lar ly the A shan t i s in later years .
Head carriage forms almost the on ly means of transport
in the colony,though
,where poss ible
,canoes wi l l be found
on al l the larger water-ways and lagoons . The average
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
native wi l l carry a load of from forty to s ixty pounds
upon his head for some fi fteen m i les in a day ; though
for hi s own purposes he wi l l carry much more ; a pr i vate
NAT IVE POTTERY AND S I LVE RWORK OF TH E ASHANT I S .
load often weighing as much as 1 00 pounds . Everyth ing
is carried on the head,from an empty bottle to a case of
MANUAL ARTS . 53
provis ions,and i t i s very seldom that an accident occurs .
Through the swamps knee -deep in thick,black mud
,up
and down the rocky moun tain s ides,and through the
r ivers,men
,women and chi ld ren do al l the transport
work,bringing down the produce of the interior to the
coast,and retu rn ing to thei r homes laden with art icles
of European produce ofal l descriptions .
I n manual arts the colony is not ri ch,which by Bos
man i s attributed to the gen eral laz iness of the negro .
The chief arts to which they turn thei r atten t ion are the
manufacture ofwooden and earthen cups,matt ing
,brass
or copper ointment boxes,andornaments ofgold
,s i lver
and ivory . I n the manufactu re of gold and s i lver orn a
ments they are very adept,part icu lar ly when the rude
nature of the i r tools and implemen ts i s taken into con
s ideration . Specimen s of thei r work wi l l be found on
page 52 .
One of the i r ch ief hand icrafts is sm ithwork . I n past
times al l thei r own implements of war (guns excepted) and
agricu l tu ral tool s were made with the aid ofa hard Stone
for an anvi l,a pai r oftongs
,and a pai r of bel lows with
two or thfee pipes blowing in to an open fire . I have not
seen any examples of the gold and si lver hat ban ds
made for the Dutch in the t ime of Bosman,ofwhich he
says the th read and texture was so fine that he questioned
whether European artists would not be much put abou t
to imitate them .
I must not om it to give some description of the weav
ing Of native cloth ; an i l lustration of the loom used
wi l l be found on page 54.
Bowd ich says that he foun d the A shanti l oom to be
precisely upon the same principle as the Engl i sh, being
54 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
worked by strings held between the toes . The web
from th i s 10 0 111 i s never more than fou r inches broad .
They use a spindle for spinn ing,hold ing i t in one hand
,
and twisting the thread (which has a weight at one end )between the finger and thumb of the other. I n th is
pr im i tive manner they manufactu re cloths ofgreat fin e
NAT IVE LOOM FOR W'EAV I NG CLOTH .
ness , variety of pattern , and br i l l iancy of colou r,the
pattern runn ing th rough the cloth,and having the same
appearance on both S ides . This loom,of which an
i l lustrat ion is given,i s not common to the Ashant i
country . I have seen them at work in the Awoonah,
Ak im and Kwahu terri tories,though very possibly i t
NAT IVE LOOMS AND CLOTHS . 55
was introduced in to these countr ies by Ashant i work
men . The cotton from which thei r native c loth is
made i s ei ther imported Engl i sh yarn,dyed w i th
nat ive dyes,or spun from the cotton produced in the i r
own country . They p refer thei r own dyes,say ing
that European colou rs are not fast . Bowdich men t ion s
two dyes on ly used by the Ashanti s,red and yell ow
,
obtain ed from dye woods,and a thi rd
,blue
,obtained
from the leaves of a plant grow i ng about two feet h igh,
which when mixed with thei r yel low produces a very
fine green .
I have found these mysel f in the Ak im forests and inthe K robo country
,and in add i t ion
,a fou rth
,a black
dye . Th i s i s a cl imber cal led O tatsche,which
,when
pounded andboi led,gives a r ich deep - black dye. The
bark and the wood of the Odubeng give the yel low ;the leaves of the plan t Akase
,or as Bowdich says
,
A cassic, for blue, and the seed s of the frui t Tsere
,a
bush growing in K robo,which yields a red dye cal led
Tchara . Mr . R . Moh r was k ind enough to obta in speci
mens of these fo r me in 1 897 , when I was at Begoro in
that year inspecting the schools of the Basle M iss ion at
that stat ion .
On another page wi l l be found i l lustration s of the
nat ive pottery of the coast,pa rt i cu larly the pipes . The
manufacture of these is n ot confined to the Ashan t i
count ry ; most of the spec imen s I Obtained from Os ino ,in Ak im
,on ly on e com in g from A shan t i . They
are of two k i nds,black andbrown
,made of clay, both
admitting Of a high pol ish by fr ict ion , and decorated
with rude patterns,the grooves of wh i ch are fi l led in
with a wh i te chal k . A long stem,often of s i lver, is
56 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
attached to these pipes,the bowl being al lowed to
rest on the ground when smoked . Leather i s prepared
and worked in A shant i and the countries farther in land,
parti cu lar ly i n the Hausa terr i tory ; sandal s , cushions,bel ts
,pouches
,sadd les
,cases for native kn ives and
swords,and coverings for bottles being among the chief
manufactured arti c les in th is branch of industry . O f
thei r woodwork the Ashanti stool i s a fai r specimen,which
is cut from a sol id block and various ly ornamented .
Chief among the occupations ofthe people in the ear ly
history of the colony were fish ing and hunting . For
the latter,the poisoned arrow was largely used to bring
down the largest game,incl ud ing even the elephant .
A t Labad i and Ponn i,vi l lages to the east of Accra
,were
enclosures,in which was stored the ivory Obtained from
the s laughter ofthe elephants,once so numerous
,even in
the Gold Coast . To the Fant is is attr ibuted the cred i t of
being the fi rst to manufactu re nets and hooks for fishi ng
in the sea,and no great improvement in these art ic les
appears to have been made down to the p resen t day .
Next to fi shing and hunt ing,came the manufacture of
sal t and the washing forgold . The former was carried on
at al l towns along the coast,that were not engaged in trad
i ng wi th the Europeans who frequented th is part of the
wor l d,and appears to have been done in the roughest
manner . Sea-water was boi led in earthen pots,some
ten or twelve in number,arranged in two rows
,and
cemented together with clay . Under th is a fi re was
k indled and the sal t obtained by the evaporation of
the water. The Portuguese are supposed to have intro
duced the use of sal t -pits and pans,in to which the
sea and lagoon waters were al lowed to run and spread
58 TH E GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
i s exhausted and the game won . A t Akropong in the
Aquapim country, and at severa l other places , I foundthe natives gambl ing for cowries
,by sp inn ing beans upon
a mat sp read on the ground . The native name for th is
game I was unable to d i scover,but i t was wel l known
by the Engl ish name of “ marbles Any number of
players can join in the game ; s i tti ng in a ci rcl e with the
mat spread in the cent re,a stake is fixed upon
,and . the
win ner 15 the one whose bean knocks out most of the
others when al l are set spinn ing. Need less to say,noise
,
an imated d iscuss ion s and interference by the lookers -ou
form part of al l native games .
I cannot do better than close th is chapter with a de
script ion Of the Aggrey Bead ,” one of the few genu ine
an tiqu i t ies of the coast . They a re reported to be found
in the fol lowing countr i es,anda re as a ru le worth twice
thei r weight in gold : Denkira,Ak im
,Wassaw
,Ahanta
and Fanti . The nat ives say the greater number is found
in Denkira,owing to i ts extra richness in gold . They
were o r iginal ly used as ornamen ts of dress,and the riches
of an ind ividual were computed by the numbe r of these
aggrey beads wh i ch he possessed , i n add ition to hi s weal th
in gold . The Rev . Carl Reindorf says : “ The mosai c
bead s known as aggrey beads (Bosman cal l s them Conte
de Terra) found chiefly on the Gold Coast and the S lave
Coast must have been brought h ither from Egypt ”
The beads are found in the ground,and native trad i t ion
asserts,that the people are d i rected to d ig for them in
those spots where a spi ra l vapour is seen i ssu ing from the
ground,and that they are seldom found n ear the surface .
The finder of aggrey beads i s said to be assured of future
good fortune. They are of two k ind s,plain and varie
THE AGGREY BEAD . 59
gated . The former are of a blue,green
,ye l low or du l l
red,whi le the latter embrace every var iety of shade and
colour . The Fantis are said to p refer those ofthe pla inyel low co lour
,whi l st the A po llonian s prefer the yel low
and bl ue shades . Wherever they came from and what
ever thei r origin,they are of great ant iqui ty
,the art of
making them,i f i t was ever known in these parts
,being
enti rely lost,so that i t i s not improbable
,i f Egypt ever
had any communication w i th th is part ofA fr i ca,they
may have been imported from that country .
D r . Leyden says “ The aigri s is a stone of a green ish
blue colou r,supposed to be a spec ies ofjasper, smal l, per
foratedpieces of which,valued at the i r we ight in gold
,
are u sed as money ” Bowdich n eve r heard ofth i s,and I
must say I have never heard ofthem be ing u sed as money .
The late S i r R . F . Bu rton speaks of them as the Popo
Bead,
”
which the above rather describes ; though that
is sem i - transparent,something l ike carnel ian
,and said
to be found in the same mann e r as the aggrey bead .
An otherwri ter upon the subject,I ssert
,says : They
are a sort ofcoral with in l a id work ; the art ofmaking
the beads is ent ire ly lost , or never was kn own in theseparts
,thu s point ing to thei r fo reign or igin
The beads ofvar iegated st rata are so fi rmly un ited,and
so C leverly blended,that they seem super ior to manu
factu re some resemble mosaic,whi lst the su rfaces of
others are so del icately covered w i th minute flowers and
regular pattern s,the shading so softened i n to on e another
,
and into the shades ofthe body ofthe bead,that nothing
but the finest pain t ing cou ld equal them . O thers Showflowe rs and patterns deep in the body of the bead, w i th
opaque l i nes of colour runn ing from the cen tre to the
60 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
surface . lmitat ion s of the true aggrey bead have
certain ly been manu factured and imported into the
country du r i ng more recent t imes (I have in my pos
sess ion several such im i tat ion s), which the natives cal led
boi led beads,stat ing that they consis t of broken aggrey
beads,ground into powder and mixed . They are al so
heavier than the true aggrey bead . A bel ief i s common
among the people that i f aggrey beads are bu r i ed in the
ground,they not on ly grow
,but breed . This probably
arose from the practi ce of bu rying a number of these
beads with the corpse ofa deceased person,the number of
beads buried varying in proport ion to the rank of the
departed . Another use for them was to gr ind a number
to powder,and after the body of the deceased had been
wel l greased,to paint the body wi th the dust of the
aggrey beads before i ts interment .
The bu r i al ofthe dead in th is pa rt Of the wor ld i s accom
paniedwith many ri tes and ceremonies ,and much drink ing
of spi ri ts and palm wine . The lamentations are d ismal
and loud,and respect i s supposed to be paid to the de
parted by the fi r ing of muskets at in terval s throughout
the days before the funeral . In some parts Ofthe country
the corpse is i n terred under the flOorofthe dwel l ing-house,
accompan ied with many presents of gold and bead s for
the use ofthe departed . These bur i ed treasures Often form
stores ofwealth for the fami ly to use hereafter,so that a
man,when poor, may dig over his forefather
’
s grave and
obtain the weal th there hidden . I have heard a native Of
Accra state,that he has thus l ived for years upon his
ancestors " The bod ies of kings were often kept above
ground for a whole year . Pu trefaction was prevented
by plac ing the body upon a wooden bier something l i ke
THE BUR IAL OF THE DEAD . 6 1
a gr id i ron and keeping a very s low fi re burn ing under
neath,by which process the body was s lowly d ri ed .
When th is was complete,the body wou ld be richly
clothed and placed in the coffin,other rich c loths
,gold
dust and aggrey beads being also placed with the corpse
for use in i ts futu re state . The ri cher the deceased
had been,the greater the number of the artic les that
were buried wi th h im,and the greater thei r value .
The burying places for the k ings were always selected
in secluded spots,either in the mountains or away in the
depths of the bush . The actual place of interment was
carefu l ly concealed,and often the bearers who had
carried the corpse to i ts last resting place were,upon
thei r return to the town,ordered to be put to death by
the chiefs,in order to preserve the secret of the burying
place . This was a common practice in the Ak im
country .
CHAPTER I I I .
The Season s— C l imate— The Harmattan —Product i on s— V egetat ion— An imal L ife Exports —Im p orts — Hab itat i on s The
S lave Trade— Its R i se andFal l -The Labour Q uest ion .
S ITUATED north of the Equatoria l l in e between the
paral lel s of 4°
45’ and 6 °
45’
North,acco rding to the
early extent of the colony,the season s are natural ly
d ivided into the wet andthe d ry peri ods . The former com
men ces early in Ap r i l and continues un ti l l ate in August,
and the latte r l asts from th i s latter date unti l the suc
ceeding Apri l . A l though this per i od is ca l led the dry”
season,i t mu st n ot be supposed that no rai n fal l s . On
the contrary,September
,October and November are
each interrupted by what are cal led the “ smal l s or the
second rain s,but from the end of November to the fo l
lowing Apri l fai r weather prevai ls . As in other tropical
countr ies,each change of season is marked by vio lent
atmospher i c d isturbances in the Shape of thunderstorms
and tornadoes,those in troduc ing the rainy season being
by far the most violent of any that occu r on the coast .
The rains come,as a ru le
,from the east
,but Often veer
roun d to the sou th,final ly settl ing down to the south -west .
I t must n ot be imagined that rai n fal l s un interrupted ly
du r ing the rainy season . A fter the fi rst bu rst,br ight
days ofsun sh ine intervene from time to t ime,but
,owing
to the extreme amount of moisture to be found every
THE SEASON S . 63
where,clouds of vapou r rise from the wet earth
,and
hang about l ike a white fog . The wind is uncertain ,
everything is damp,and malaria accumulates from the
great pools ofwater and the rapid ly decaying vegetat ion
which everywhere abound . The rains,though severe at
al l parts of the coast,are more so at and in the n e igh
bourhoodof Cape Coast,heavy thunderstorms
,con t inu
ous downpours,and violent tornadoes
,fo l lowing in
success ion,with but short spel l s ofsunsh ine interven ing
rivers become torrents,low- lying lands are inundated
,and
the coast lagoons burst through thei r banks into the sea .
Towards the end of the rainy season the Showers become
l ighter and less frequent ;dense masses ofvapour gather at
n ight,and are not di spel led ti l l the sun i s wel l up n ext
day the weather i s much colder,part icu larly the n ights
,
and the period is general ly cons idered to be the most
unheal thy time for Europeans on the coast . The fogs
that prevai l at thi s t ime are known as the “ smokes ”
October,November and December particu larly are con
sideredto be the hottest months i n th is part of the world,
as September is general ly the coldest .The dry season fai rly sets in by October
,and with the
exception of the smal l s ” or l esser rains in November,fai r weather remains
,with bri l l iant sunshine
,unti l the
following Ap r i l,when nature again proceeds to usher in
the rainy season . I n the interior,owing no doubt to the
dense vegetation and the elevation ofthe land,the ra in s
begin earl ier i n the season,and are more sudden and
frequent in their appearance than on the coast l ine . The
land and sea-breezes al ternate very regu lar ly throughout
the wet and the dry seasons . The former comes up about
sunset from the north -west and the latter from the south
64 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
west Soon after sunrise every morn ing. Upon the moun
tains in the i nterior i t i s l ater,occurring with great
regularity about 1 0 A .M .
,from sunri se to that time being
often a period of st ifl i ng heat . So far as I have been
able to ascertain,the Fantis are the on ly people along
the coast who d ivide the year in to d ivis ions,accord ing
to its c l imatic cond it ions,bestowing upon each a d ist inct
and part icu lar name . These d ivis ions are n ine in num
ber,commencing with the Harmattan i n J anuary
,and
fin ishing wi th the small tornadoes in December .The Harmattan is a per iod ica l wind which blows at
the beginn ing of the year,varying in i ts commencement
from the midd le of J an uary to the midd le of February,
and which is general ly ushered in by a viol en t tornado .
Mr . Zimmerman , an o ld res ident on the coast,descr i bes .
i t as blowing from January to March or Ap r i l . Thi s
wind blows with a pecu liar effect,drying and parch ing
the skin and drying up the vegetat ion . A fine dust
comes with i t,and during i ts cont inuance i ts progress
i s marked by the creak ing of Madei ra chai rs and sofas,
the crack ing of veneered art ic les,and the curl ing up of
papers and the covers of books . During my last tour
( 1 896- 1 897 ) i ts influence was fel t at Aburi , some twenty
seven mi les north of Accra,as early as Christmas Day
,
1 896, and continued throughout J anuary and part of
February . The air becomes hot and dry,with very
cool mornings and even ings,which to the European are
very benefic ial,though not so to the natives . Sensible
perspirat ion is sens ibly d im inished,the act ion of the
k idneys is far more active than at other times,and a
sense of d ryness i s experienced in the nostr i l s and about
the l ips . Table sal t,which at al l ord inary times is in a
66 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
and cockroach being qu ickly attacked by mi ldew and
rust .Much d i fference of opin ion ex ists with regard to the
general unheal th iness of th is part of the world . S ierra
Leone was of old known as the White Man ’s Grave,
”
and in course of t ime the same appel lat ion was bestowed
upon the Gold Coast and Lagos . That the country has
been unheal thy for the con t inued res idence of European s
admits of no question,and that i t wi l l remai n for ever
so,more or l ess
,Whi le on ly a narrow strip of low- lying
malar iou s coas t l ine forms the country selected for the
habitations of the white traders and offic ial s compel led
to res ide there,admi ts Of l i tt le doubt . I n the past
,
white men were qua rtered amidst surround ings that were
total ly unfi t for habi tat ion,and in whi ch
,i n E ngland
,
people would have hes itated to have located an an imal .European quarters were ren ted s ide by side w i th the
huts of the natives,roun d which the accumu lated fi l th
of fami l ies was al lowed to rapid ly decompose,and to
poison the surround ing a i r . Littl e or no system of
drainage existed,and con sequently every channel and
gutter in the street became a sort of open d rain when
the rain s set in,and began to d isturb andcarry away the
stored up d irt of the d ry season,spreading d isease and
S i ckness among the White populat ion . This s ickness
gradual ly d i sappeared as the rains decreased,and wi th
the ad vent of the d ry season,a more general feel ing of
safety for the next few months brought rel ief to the re
main ing white popu lat ion of the towns along the coast .
This was of an nual occu rrence for a long pe riod, particu
larly when Cape Coast Castle was the headquarters of
the seat of the Government . A fter 1 874,when a more
CLIMATE OF THE COAST . 67
heal thy s i te was looked for,i t was decided to transfe r
the capital to some other spot . Accra was fixed upon,
why I have never been able to d iscover . I t possesses
no more natu ral advantages for commerce than Cape
Coast offered,and i s s i tuated upon a low - ly ing tract of
sandy soi l,bounded both eas t and west by lagoons .
No attempt seems to have been made to secure an
elevated spot a short d istance from the coas t as the
seat ofGovernment,and fo r the res idence of European s .
Many such spots ex ist,but there was
,and is st i l l
,no
transport to these h igher grounds,except upon the heads
ofthe natives by means ofa hammock . The hi l l region
ofAquapim l ies with in twenty m i les north by west ofAccra ;Abu r i i s but twen ty- seven mi les from the coast and
stan ds 1400 feet above the sea,where Eu ropean s now go
to recuperate after a dose of malar i a l feve r . Why not
have faced the difficu l ty of transport and con s tructed a
rai lway from the coast to th is e l evated i n land d istr ict ? But
no,Accra was selected
,and from A ccra no rai lway coul d
be laid because no rai lway machinery andplant could be
safely l anded without fi rst const ructing a harbou r and
th i s meant an almost un l im ited outlay ofmoney .
So the Gold Coast has gone on from year to year
with its death - rate much about the same . Con stant change
of Officers,want of contin u i ty of service and
'
work in
the same department,l im ited occupations
,scanty amuse
men ts,poor quarters
,have al l contr ibuted to keep up the
bad name of the colony,and to embarrass commercial
progress in on e ofthe r ichest of our t ropical possess ions .
Within the last few years many improvemen ts both
i n quarters and san itation have been effected, but there
sti l l exi st in many places along the coast habitation s
68 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
that are not fi t for the conti nued res idence ofEuropeans .Unt i l the higher s i tuat ions are selected
,away from the
native quarters of the towns,so l ong wi l l the death- rate
cont inue to be high and violent epidem ics occu r .On account of the prevalence of the sea-breeze
from the sou th -west, the western port ion of the Gold
Coast i s called the Windward D i s tri ct . This extends
from Hal f Ass in i to the mouth of the Secoom R iver,
some twel ve m i les west of Accra . From th is poin t
begin s the Leeward D i str i ct,which extends eastward to
the Volta R i ver . Thus,on the coast windward means
west,and leeward
,east, s im i l ar to the West I nd ia de
scription,but in East A fr i ca the Oppos i te is the case
,for
there windward means east.
Bosman found the hottest months to be from October
to March,and the coldest to be September
,when he says
,
We could wel l endu re a fire as in Europe He al so
ascribes the unheal thiness of the place to two reasons
Fi rst,the extreme heat of the day fol lowed by the cool
ness of the n ight , and second , the th ick damp or mist
that i s con stantly ris ing from the low- ly ing marshy
grounds . This latter i s made more noxious,he says
,
by the negroes ’ pern iciou s cu stom of laying thei r fishfor five or six days to putrefy before they eat i t
,and to
their eas ing thei r bod ies round thei r houses and al l over
thei r towns There is no doubt that the great di fference
between the ai r in Eu rope and West A fri ca has the effect
of lowering the consti tut ion,caus ing one to be the more
suscept ible to malar i al i n fluences,and that, after an attack
of fever,the great d rawback i s the poor qual i ty Of the
food obtainable . There is l i tt l e or noth ing in the wayoffood , to be tempting to a weakened d igestion . The
PRODUCTION S OF THE COUNTRY . 69
oxen,sheep and fowl s are al l l ean
,dry and tough,
requ i r ing an amount of‘
energy,appeti te and determ ina
tion to eat them that a sound man seldom possesses ,much less so a man who has j ust recovered from an
attack ofmalarial fever . Early wri ters describe the good
weather as beginn ing in September and con tinu ing for
the five succeeding months ; the bad weather or wet
season tak ing up the rema in ing S i x months of the year .
The latte r season,the rainy one
,was further described as
contain ing two rainy,two misty
,and two windy months .
But then,as now
,the seasons al tered from year to year,
the dry season com ing one year earl ier than another ;the same ofwhich may be said of the winds and the rain .
The product ions ofthe country are largely agricu l tural ,supplying the nat ives wi th such a contin uous success ion
of crops,that fam ine and want of food are absolu tely
unknown . The whole soi l of the country i s extreme ly
ferti le,provid ing an abundan ce offood plants , frui ts and
usefu l trees . These may be d ivided into two classes :
those indigenou s to the so i l,and those that have been
introduced into the coun try . Among those that were
cu l t ivated by the early inhabitan ts,and upon which they
l ived,were yams
,cassada
,ma ize
,r i ce and various k inds
ofbeans,whi le the arrival of Eu ropeans upon the coast
st imu lated further cu l tivation,and led to the introduction
ofmany foreign grains,plants and fruit trees the Portu
guese being credi ted with the introduct ion ofmil let, corn ,
plantain,banana
,orange and apple. There is a trad ition
in the country that the plantain and the banana belonged
to the Gold Coast,and were fi rst d iscovered in Akim ,
but it i s more than probable that the fi rst roots were
taken there from one of the ports on the coast . A fter
70 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
the Portuguese,the Dan ish traders interested themselves
in teaching the n at ives to fu rther cu l t ivate the soi l,andin
troducedcoffee and cotton plan tat ion s upon the hi l l l and s
behind Accra . S ince these early times the Bas l e M iss ion
has worked very hard to teach the nat ive to improve
the cul t ivation of h is country,both by example and
by the introduction of miss ion ary labou r from the Wes t
I nd ies . I n 1 843, some twenty - four members ofthe Mor
avian M ISSion i n Jamaica were brought to the Gold Coast
and establ ished at Akropong,a h i l l station some 1400 feet
above the level of the sea,and two days ’ journey north
by eas t of Accra . The expen se of this exper iment was
borne by the Bas le M i ss ion Society,and at the p resent
day there is one of these West I ndians st i l l l i v ing at Aburi,
the Rev. Mr . Clark . By th is exped it ion,the coco
,mango
,
mountain - pear and bread -n ut were introduced into the
coun try,and attempts were al so made to cul t ivate to
bacco . In addi tion to the fru i ts al ready men t ioned , the
paw-paw,water-melon
,l ime
,pine -apple
,sour- sop and
guava grow in d i fferent parts ofthe colony,but they lack
many of the fine qual i t ies expected in such fru its,owing
to the wan t of care upon the part of the nat ives i n thei r
cu l t ivation . R i ce is grown in Apol lon ia i n the west,and
at Q uahu i n the north, wh i le ground -nuts,bean s
,on ions
and tomatoes a re found in d i fferen t parts of the colony .
The sugar—cane flou ri shes in the wet lowland s to the
east,and coffee is n ow very exten s ively grown in al l
parts Of the colony,parti cularly by the members of the
Basle M iss ion Society,andMessrs . A . Mil ler B ros .
A great var iety of usefu l trees is found th roughoutthe land . A long the shore
,part icular ly at i ts western
and eastern l imi ts,cocoa - nut palm s grow in great
PRODUCTION S OF THE COUNTRY 7 I
abundan ce,but l i tt l e or no use i s made Of them for the
export of copra,coi r fibre and coi r yarn . In the west
,
chiefly in Wassaw and Apol lon ia,the bamboo palm
grows freely,supplying at one time a good art ic le of
export in the form of fibre,cal led piassava .
The most importan t of the palms,however
,is the oil
palm,which grows most l uxur iously and abundan tly in
many parts of the colony,furn ish ing the markets ofEurope
and America with most val uable arti c les of trade in palm
oi l and palm kernel s . Many k inds of rubber trees and
vines are to be found in the extens ive forests that stretch
across the country from the A ncobra to the Vol ta,and
a large and i ncreas ing trade i s now being done in ma
bogany and other t imbers ofan equal ly usefu l nature .
The oi l palm,before men tioned
,suppl ies the inhabi
tants wi th thei r native drink,via ,
palm wine . Bosman
says in his day there were fou r var ieties of this palm
known in the colony,and s ings high the praises of both
the oi l and the w i ne that were obtained from them .
The same writer also states that ri ce was once so plen ti
fu l ly grown,that i t was easy to load a Ship with i t
,
perfectly cleaned,at one penny or less the pound .
Vegetation in the Gold Coas t may be said to flourish
down to the water’
s edge,though near the coast l in e i t
i s of a bushy and scrubby nature . The coast plains to
the east on the right ban k of the river Volta are covered
with a th ick,coarse
,ran k grass
,growing some fou r to
s ix feet high,and in terspersed at intervals with c l umps
ofbushes and shrubs . After the low - lying coast pl ains
are passed,the country becomes elevated and mo re
wooded,the hi l l s ides are covered with t imber
,and the
bush on either s ide of the path becomes impen etrable,
7 2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
owing to the dense tropi cal undergrowth that exists on
al l s ides . The forests are fu l l of valuable timber trees .The an imal l i fe of the colony has much changed during
the last two centuries,and at the present day you
may travel through the length and breadth of the land
without find ing occas ion to use your gun .
Through the thick bush nothing is seen andvery l itt le
heard ,whi le on the plains, an occas ional bu sh deer ora few
bi rds form the only sport to be met wi th . Up the rivers
you may be fortunate enough to have a pot shot at some
laz y al l igator s leeping in the sun on the muddy ban k,
but shou ld you miss h im,he soon di sappears and seeks
safety in the depths of the r iver beneath you. To—day
very few tropical an imals find shelter i n the thi ck forests,
that once formed the hiding -places of elephants,hyenas
,
leopards,panthers
,ante lopes
,buffaloes
,wi ld hogs
,por
cupines and squ i rrel s , whi l st the t rees were al ive with
gori l l as,baboons and black and many other colou red
monkeys . A t on e t ime a great trade was carried on in
monkey sk ins,but these are now much scarcer throughout
the coast,the increas ing warfare against these animal s
having pract ical ly exterminated them in the provinces
near the Shore . AS l ate as 1 894 n o fewer than
sk ins were exported of the value of whi le in
1 896 the number fel l to Add to this the numbe r
that annual ly d ies,and i t i s not fa r d istant when the pro
cess ofexterminat ion wi l l ou tstri p that ofreproduction .
To find sol i tary specimens of these an imal s youmust now travel to the remotest and least frequented
parts of the colony,and then poss i bly be rewarded on ly
by disappointment for your energy . Snakes of many
variet ies,i nclud ing python s
,horned adders
,puff adders
74 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
again recovered his s ight . Leopards were once plentifu l
in the colony,com ing down to the trad ing forts and
sei z ing and carryin g off any stray an im al to be found
with in thei r reach . Bosman cal l s them tigers,and
descr ibes how he ass i sted in ki l l i ng one about the s i ze of
a common cal f,bes ides being wel l provided with large
teeth and claws . They must have been common along
the whole coast,for he al so men t ion s that a boy from
thei r factory at Sekond i was attacked and k i l led by a
t iger . The countries Of im and Ante were ful l ofthese
animal s,and the capture of on e was the occas ion for
much d ri n k ing and enjoyment on the part of the negroes .
E lephants too we re once numerous in the Gold
Coast,but very few of these animal s have been seen
of late years . The O ld Du tch ch ron icler’s account of
an elephant shoot is very in teresting .
“
In the year
1 700 ,i n December
,at S ix in the morn ing
,an elephant
came here to E lm in a,walk ing eas i ly along the Shore
under the h i l l of St . J ago . Some natives were so bold
as to go agains t h im without anything in thei r hands,as
a sort ofwelcome to br i ng h im in'
,when one of our
Officers belonging to the h i l l and a n at ive who came
down with him,fi red on him immed iate ly
,the officer ’s
bal l h itt ing him above hi s eye . This and the fol lowin g
shots which the n at ives pou red_
on h im were so fa r from
provok ing h im,that they d id n ot move h im to mend his
pace in the least . H e went on,and last ly stepped i n to
our garden,expec t i ng perhaps c iv i l er t reatment there .
This drew the D i rector-General and myself in to the
garden,fol lowed by our people . We found h im standing
in the garden , break ing down the cocoa -nut trees , either
to d ivert h imsel f or to Show us hi s strength . Whil st he
ENCOUNTER WITH AN ELEPHANT . 75
stood here above one hund red shots were fi red at him,
which made him bleed as i f an ox had been k i l led .
Du r ing al l which he d id not st i r,except to set up his ears ,
wh ich were of a prod igious s i z e . But th is sport was
accompan ied with a tragi cal event,for a native fancying
himsel f able to deal with him,went softly behind h im
,
caught h is tai l in h is hand,intend ing to cut a piece ofi t
o ff,but the elephant , being used to wear a tai l
,would
not permit i t to be shortened in hi s l i fe time . Wherefore,
after giving the nat ive a stroke with his snou t,he drew
him to him,and trod upon him two or three t imes
,and
,
as i f that was not suffic ient,he bored in his body two
holes wi th his teeth,large enough fora man
’
s fi st to enter.Then he let h im l ie without making any further attempt
upon him,and stood st i l l a lso whi lst two natives fetched
away the dead body . A fter the elephant hadki l led the
n at ive,and had been about an hour in the garden
,he
wheeled about as i f he intended to fal l on us,so that
each endeavoured to secu re himsel f by gett ing away .
We al l flew out of the garden by the fore-door,and the
elephant took to the back door,which
,whether i n his
way,or too narrow for him to pass
,he flung
,though a
br i ck and a hal f thick,a good d istance . A fter wh ich he
forced his way through the garden hedge, going softly by
Mount St . J ago towards the river,where he bathed
,i n
o rder to wash offthe blood and to cool h imsel f. Aftera l i tt le whi le in the river
,he came out and stood under
some trees among our watertubs,which he broke in
pieces,and also a canoe which lay by them . While the
e l ephant stood here,the Shooting was renewed ti l l at
last he fel l down,and the nat ives cut Off his snou t,
which was so hard and tough that i t took thirty strokes
76 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
to separate i t,which must be very painfu l to the elephan t
s ince i t made him roar, the only noise I heard h im make .
The elephant was no sooner dead than the natives fel l
upon him in crowds,each cutt i ng off as much as he
cou ld,so that he furn ished a great many ,
black as wel l as
wh i te,with food enough for that day . He was not very
large,his teeth on ly weighing about th i rty- fou r pound s .
I nsect l i fe on the Gold Coast i s varied and prol ific,
ranging from the t iny sand fly to the largest of beetles .
Butterfl i es a re plent i fu l,part icu larly in the month s of
May and J une . They are of gaudy colour,large and
smal l,and in the interior many rare specimens are to be
found . Bi rd l i fe is wel l represen ted,and the var i ety of
aquat ic and forest bi rd s i s very great . Among these
may be mentioned kingfishers, ospreys , herons, sn ipes,cross bi l l s
,storks
,pel i can s
,cu r l ews
,wild ducks
,spu r
plovers,hawks
,crows
,vu l tures
,parrots
,n ight ingales
,
pigeons,bottle bi rd s
,doves
,wood -peckers andswal lows .
The plumage i s mos t br i l l iant,but the bi rds are for the
greater pa rt songless .
The chief domest ic an imals are the horse,cow
,ox
,
sheep,goat and pig . O f these
,horses are on ly found
in Accra,and are not nat ive . They are brought from the
far interior,or from the Canary I s lands
,and do not thr ive
anywhere on the coast, except i n the Accra coun try, o n
account,i t is said
,of the tsetse fly . The tropical waters
ofthe Gul f of Guinea abound in fi sh,and many variet ies
ofthe ed ible k ind are caught by the fi shermen along the
coast . Some ofthese are very fine,and incl ude mackerel
,
skate,bonetta
,flying-fi sh
,sole
,snapper
,barra - couta
,eel
,
mul let and herring . This last form s the staple food of
the fisher people,and when dried is carried i n enormous
GOLD COAST BEETLES . 7 7
quantit ies to the people ofthe inter ior countries, by whom
it is esteemed to be a great rel ish .
I n spite ofthe few improvements that have been made
in the colony to render i t more habi table to the Euro
pean,the export and the import trade of the country
has very cons iderab ly in creased du ring the presentcen tury
,and though the present trade i s said to be
GOLD COAST BEETLE S (on e- th ird l ife S i z e) .The Goliath . Young M ale, Full-grown Male andFemale.
dul l,no doubt owing to the recent annexat ion of the
Ashant i coun try, and the presen t troubles i n the hin ter
l and , it wi l l recove r and i ncrease so soon as the nat ive
mind sett les down and recognises the new order of th ings .
The fol lowing information may be of use to somereaders
7 8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
EXPORTS . IMPORTS .Rubber . S i lk Good s .
Timber . Cotton Goods .
Ko la N uts . Woo l len Goods .
Coffee . Hardware .
Copra. Earth enware.
S k in s . G lass .
Go l d Dust . M etal Work .
Gu in ea G ra in s . Prov i s ion s .
Gum . Drugs .
Ivory. Furn i ture .
Kern el s . O i l s .
O i l . Sugar.
Q uartz . Station erv .
Ore . Book s .
Q u i l ls . Bead s .
G roun d Nuts . Perfum ery .
F ibre . Wear i ng Appare l .Cocoa. Soap .
Can d les .
W i n es .
S p i r its .
Bu i l d in g Mater ial s .
R ice .
Tobacco .
The revenue ofthe colony is obta ined chiefly from the
Import Duties and Spiri t Licenses,ofwhich the fol low
ing are the ch ief :
IM PORT DUT I E S .
On w in e, ale, porter andbeer, gal lon or partOn sp i r its andl iqueursOn man ufactured tobacco , c igars or sn uff
, per poun dor part thereof
On unmanufactured tobacco , per poun d or partOn gun powderOn leadOn fi rearm s (each )
EXPORTS AND I MPORTS . 79
s . d.
On fi l led cartr idges, per hun dred 5
On unfi l led 1 o
On percuss ion cap s 1 0
Wh i le a 1 0 per cen t. ad valorem is charged on the fo l lowin g imported art ic les
Beads .
Boats .
Can oesB rassware .
Bread .
B i scu i ts .
Bu i l d in g Mater ial s .
Cordage .
Cotton s .
Earth enware .
F lour .Furn i ture .
H ardware.
Kerosen e.
O i l s .
Spiri t l icenses are a sou rce of great income to the
Governmen t . A l i cense to sel l spi r i ts no t to be consumed
on the premises, £ 5 per an num ,
and a l icense to sel lspiri ts which may be consumed on the p remises
, £ 5per
annum . These l i censes have l ate ly been in creased in
amount .
On thei r habi tat ions I am unable to bestow much pra i se .
I t is on ly of l ate years that two - s tor ied dwel l ings have been
more common ly bu i l t by the nat ives,and then on ly by the
more opu len t l ivi ng in the towns o n the coast and in the
in ter ior at the l arge mi ss ion stat ion s . It i s very ra re to
find a two - storied dwel l ing in an i n ter ior town . The
materials from which thei r houses are bui l t depend largely
upon the natural resources ofthe ne ighbourhood .
Timber .Mach in ery (n ot m in in g n or
agr icu l tural ).Perfum ery .
Prov i s ion s .
R ice .
S i lk .
Soap .
Sugar .
Appare l .V V
oollen S .
A ndon all oth er goods n ot
en um erated and n ot
exempt.
80 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
I n the eastern and western parts of the colony,where
no swish i s to be found,the nat ive huts are enti rely of
bamboo,l aced t ightly together with the runners of trees
,
roofed over with a thatch of palm leaves . I n al l other
parts of the colony the wal ls are of swish (nat ive mud ) ,and in some isolated cases
,of nat ive stone cemented
together with swish . I n many cases the wal l s are bu i l t
after the s i ze of the hut has been laid out in the fol lowing
manner : Two rows of st icks and wattle-work are placed
at a d istance apart equal to the intended thickness of
the wal l s ofthe house . The space be tween these i s then
fi l l ed up wi th loose , gravel ly clay,mixed with water, and
the in s ide and outs ide of the framework of the wal l
smoothly plastered over with swish to give i t the appear
ance of a sol id mud wal l . The roofs are made with gable
ends,to form which
,three poles are joined
,one from the
r idge of the roof,and one from the poin t to form the
s ides to the base of the tri angle . Over al l i s spread a
framework ofbamboo,into which the thatch ofleaves i s
interlaced . This i s tied to the poles runn ing from endto
end of the gables,ando n the ins ide to the framework of
bamboo . Holes a re left i n the wal ls for windows , in to
which rude shutters are fixed at n ight . A t the presen t
day stone bu i ld ings wi th i ron roofs are fast becom ing
more numerou s i n al l the coas t towns . The flooring i s
mostly of the same n atu re as the wal l s,sometimes of
cement,seldom ofwood
,and is general ly raised from o ne
to two feet above the surface of the ground,the floor
being reached by on e or two steps of the same materia l
as the wal ls . The wal ls of the huts are often washed
over either white or red . This latter wash i s Obtai ned by
mak ing an i n fus ion of red earth found in the neighbour
NATIVE BU ILD INGS . 8 1
hood wi th water,with which the wal l s are dai ly coated
,
the former being ord inary whitewash . The doors a re
often made ofan enti re piece ofwood,with other pieces
,
cut and carved,nai led across them . The only fasten ing
is a nat ive Hausa or a common European lock,often
to be used on the inside of the door on ly . Many huts
requ ire no door,the fourth S i de of the house being
enti rely open to the winds of heaven . When thi s i s the
case,the habitat ion cons ists very often of three or four
d i stinct huts enclos ing a compound with thei r open S ides
turned towards the centre,the whole being enclosed with
a pal isade of bamboo with a door orgate at one angle .
I n the centre of th is compound the cook ing is done,
meals are taken , and sheep, goats and fowls roam in and
out at will. I n many places neither chai rs nor tables
are to be found,the floor being a subst i tute for both
,and
al so form ing the bed at n ight,with the addi t ion of a
thin bamboo mat spread at n ight,and rol led up and put
away in the morn ing .
Bosman says the natives bu i ld thei r vi l lages without
the least regard to s i tuation or to pleasantness ; having
no regard for pleasant prospects or walks,nor the
val leys and r ivers wi th which thei r country abounds .
This is very true,and they are j ust as i nd i fferent wi th
regard to the making and the keeping ofthei r roads . A
road,which need n ot be more than two mi les in length
,
i s frequently more than three on account ofi ts wind ings .
The native seldom troubles to get over an obstacle i n
h i s path,he goes round i t l ike the ant
,and . the t ime lost
i s of not the s l ightest value to h im,and i n th i s respect
he is qu i te at a loss to understand the haste of the
European . One t ime,oras we shou ld say,
“ at once,
”
i s6
82 TH E GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
to him,presently
,and soon
,i n h i s vocabu lary
,means any
t ime from one hour to a day or even more . The abund
ance of t ime and the cl imate of the country are the two
chief factors aga in st hurry in West Africa . Commercial
progress i s very s low,and the whole country su ffers too
much from the l i teral in terpretat ion ofthe native saying,
“ Softly,softly
,catch monkey ”
. This may be true of
catching monkeys,but I fai l to see its un iversal appl i ca
0 al l the improvements so necessary in West A fri ca .
ere i s l i ttl e doubt that s l avery has ex isted in A frica
from the earl iest t imes,and the test imony of the ancient
wri ters goes to prove that such ea rly nat ion s as the
Phoen i c ians,Carthag in ians
,Egyptians , Greeks, Romans
and A rabian s,al l d rew their suppl ies Of s laves from the
interior of the Dark Continen t . Among the inhabitants
of A fri ca,s lavery was always the portion of those
prisoners of war that were n ot needed for sacrifice or
human food,and so the des i re for traffic in human
bod ies was deeply rooted in the A fr i can nature,long
before the adven t of the Europeans in the fourteenth
century . Fo r centuries before th is period,the great
Mohammedan states of the northern interio r were the
centres oforganised slave-hunting exped i tions,by which
many of the p resent t r i bes inhabit ing the Gold Coast
were driven farther and farther from the interior towards
the sea. For thei r own defence and safety,fami ly joined
with fam i ly and tribe wi th t ri be,the increase ofnumbers
bringing increase of power and greater immuni ty from
capture, and. possibly lead ing to the formation and es
tablishmen t ofsuch extens ive t r i bes as the Ashant is and
Fanti s of the present day . S lavery existed in the timeofMoses, i t flouri shed in the early and midd le ages, and
84 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
tak ing the fi rst twelve prisoners,with whom he returned
to his vessel and carried them to Portugal .
The traffi c in slaves was undoubtedly inaugu rated by
the Portuguese and the Span i ards ear ly in the s i x teenth
century,foras ear ly as 1503 we hear of thei r employ
ment by these nat ion s as m iners and field workers in the
newly-acqu i red terr i tor ies in South America . Some
fi fteen years later,we find Charles the Fi fth granting
the exclu s ive p r iv i lege to a favou ri te F lemi sh courtier,
of annual ly importing a stated number of sl aves i n to
Ameri ca,which priv i lege he qu ick ly d isposes ofto some
Genoese merchants ; who from this t ime organ ise and
carry on a regula r traflic i n s l aves,the magn itude of
which was soon to be equal led and u l t imately su rpassed
by thei r rival s,the Engl ish . Thus in 1562 , in the reign
of E l i zabeth,we read of the honours bestowed upon S i r
J ohn Hawkins,who went as far as S ierra Leone and
“ got into h i s possess ion partlyby the sword and partlyby other mean s
,to the number of 300 n egroes at the
least,bes ides other me rchand ise From th is t ime the
trade grew and flou r i shed,un t i l the Engl ish
,copying
the example of the Portuguese and the Span iards,be
came the l ead ing European nat ion engaged in th is ne
farious trade . So,from the m iddle of the seventeenth to
near the end of the eighteenth centu ry,stat ist ics show
that nearly 23mil l ions ofthe negroes were deported from
thei r own country by European adven tu rers to work in
the Engl ish colon ies in the West I nd ies,the total for
given years reach ing to no less than slaves fora good year ’s work . From this t ime unt i l ear ly in the
n ineteenth centu ry the traffic in creased rather than d i
m in ished,and after al l countries except Spain and Portu
TRAFFIC IN SLAVES . 85
gal had declared such traffic to be i l legal , there is ample
eviden ce to prove that more than were sti l l being
annual ly deported from thei r homes across to Ameri ca .
Educated by European example,the nat ives th roughout
the whole coast ofGuinea became expert s l ave ra iders
themselves,in order to meet the demand of the whi te
man for s laves,and now we wonder why Wes t Afr i ca
has made so l i tt le progress in the c ivi l isat ion that has
been gradual ly spreading over the wor ld . The answer
is n ot far to seek . For cen tu r ies the tr ibes inhabit ing
the coast l ine had been the mean s of robbing the interior
countries of thei r best men and women to work in a
fore ign land ; there was no market for old men and
chi ld ren,so they cou ld be left behind and al lowed to die
in their own country,or more often were k i l led in the
ra id that took place,and the wonder i s that the previous ly
thi ck ly -popu lated countries d id n ot more rap id ly become
changed in to more th in ly- peopled terr i tories than theydid.
To encou rage and extend thi s trade,the coast from
Apol lon ia to Danoe was studded with the forts and
trading stat ions as shown in Bosman’
s map on page 13,
and how eager must have been the competi t ion,i s shown
by their great number in so smal l a strip of terr i tory,div ided as they were between the Brit ish
,Dutch
,Danish
,
French and the B randenburg Companies . To the ch iefs
and the headmen of the towns where these forts were
bu i l t, a kind of monthly rent was paid , and upon th is
S lender understand ing the tenure of the European wasacknowledged in West Africa . Little or nothing was
ever don e in these ear ly times for the improvement of
the n at ive , and the on ly object in the erection of so
many forts, seems to have been to protect the occup i ers
TH E GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
and to extend the S l ave trade . No j u r i sd iction was
claimed over the surround ing coun try,and no interference
was attempted in the affai rs of the people,except where
the squabbles of neighbouring chiefs i nterfered with the
profi ts of the var ious compan ies,by the temporary di s
organ isation of what was then a very l ucrative trade .
These squabbles or palavers ” were of very frequen t
occu rrence,often purposely i nvented by the chiefs and
headmen in order to secure an increased monthly payment
upon thei r notes,or to make an extra profi t by caus ing
temporary delay in the supply of the cargoes,that were
an x iously competed forby the var ious trading compan ies .
Thi s was the state of things that reigned for more
than two centuries . Popes had granted decrees authoris
i ng the S l ave t rade,kings and emperors had gi ven
monopol ies for pu rsu ing it ; and even Acts of Par l ia
ment had app roved of the conti nuance of i t . A l l th ings,
however,have an end
,and toward s the end of the
eighteen th centu ry Denmark was the fi rst Eu ropean
Power to forb id the traffi c in hum an flesh and blood .
The Un i ted States and En gland soon fol lowed ; France
partly agreed,and the i nterests of Portugal and Spain
were bought out by the Engl i sh,by the paymen t of huge
sum s of money to the respective nat ion s of those countr i es ,in orde r to secu re thei r co - Operat ion in putt ing an end
to a trade that had ex isted for so long . Towards the end
ofthe reign of W i l l iam the Fou rth,the r ight of search
was agreed upon by most of the European powers , and
in 1 842 the Un i ted States and G reat Bri tain agreed to
main tain a fleet,for the preven t ion of the exportation of
s l aves from the coas t OfGuinea .
The great quest ion affecting the commercial interes ts
88 THE GOLD COAST FAST AND PRESENT .
unti l the middle of the presen t century . From this date
c ivi l i sat ion has been the order of the day— by the aid
of the trader— and the old forts became s imply centres
for the export of palm nuts and oil,ground nuts and
gold dust,and for the importat ion of gaudy articles
of European man ufacture. Since thei r emancipat ion,
c ivi l i sat ion and freedom were going to do much for the
people,but for years
,instead Of progress ing
,they have
gradual ly dec l ined . A t the present day a new phase of
thei r ex i stence is open ing up the Engl ish are beginn ing
to see thei r importance,and the Government to wake up
to its respons ibi l i t ies . The same remarks that apply
to one of our West A fr i can colon ies apply al i ke to
them al l,Gambia
,S ierra Leone
,Gold Coast and Lagos
,
with regard to the labour question . The people,inu red
for centu ries to a system of s lavery,resent free labour
,
and hold agricu l ture as a : degradat ion to a free man .
The women and ch i ldren perform the field work,the
man ’s ambit ion i s to be id le orat most to become a petty
trader . The richest land s are uncu lt ivated and thin ly
populated,e ither one or both
,and l ands once left
,soon
become an impassable tract of bush . O f the four colon ies,
the Gol d Coast i s perhaps the better supp l ied with popu
l at ion,but l abour i s scarce
,and a strain soon exhausts
the Supply . A compu lsory labour ordinance had to be
passed as late as 1 896, i n order to secure carr iers for
Governmen t loads for the interior,but even that does
n ot work sat i s factori ly . Fortunes cou ld be made by the
natives by the cul t ivation ofcoffee,which grows to per
fection,cocoa
,r ice
,cot ton
,rubber and tobacco for export
,
and by the cu l t ivation of fru i ts and vegetables for con
sumpt ion by the res ident Europeans . Hard ly any capita l
THE LABOUR Q UESTION . 89
need be expended o rgan i sed and d isc ipl ined labour
i s al l that is requ ired,but even the super ior class ofnative
does n ot seem to be possessed of the necessary energy
for the organ isat ion of nat ive labou r to carry this out .
The Fantis,Akras and Apo llonian s wi l l
’
work better
than the rest of the tribes,and I fi rmly bel ieve that much
n at ive labou r cou ld be organised in the interior,with the
ass i stance of the ch iefs Of the var i ous towns , to wo rk the
gold m ines that at presen t ex i st,and to Open up new ones .
A ccu rate and regular payment fo r work done, and the
establ i shment and the open ing of stores in the inter ior,
wou ld soon create a des ire in the native mind for better
art i cles for dai ly u se,and th i s desi re once created
,the
nat ive wou ld soon work to sat isfy h is demands .
Unti l the face ofthe country is c leared of bush,o rganised
white labou r i s out of the quest ion,except in a few more
favou red parts ; the importat ion of cool ie labou r wou ld
be of n o use,as cool ies would not stand the cl imate .
The native himsel f seems to be the on ly person who can
stand the c l imate,and who shou ld do the wo rk but the
quest ion is,how is he to be induced to do it
,i n order that
i t shal l be profi table to those who invest their cap ital ?I n J u ly
,1 897 ,
the late Governor,S i r W
'
i l l iam Maxwel l,
caused S i xteen Chinese m iners to be sen t to the Gold
Coast . This was to test the cl imate for Chinese labou r,
and to see what were the prospects of gold min ing in the
colony . They returned to England in December last,
and spoke exceed ingly wel l of the gold -min ing prospects
i n the Ak im and Tarkwa D is tr i cts,where they cons idered
al luvia l gold was very p len ti fu l,but
‘
the cl imate was in
no way su itable to thei r heal th . None had d ied,but
most of them had been at t imes very i l l .
CHAPTER IV .
Go l d in West Afr ica— An t iqu i ty of the same— Go l d -p roduc in gAreas— Presen t Go l d M in es— H ow Obta in ed— Go l d WorkGo l dWe igh ts— The Future ofWest Afr ica as a Go l d -producing Coun try.
TO obtain a thorough idea ofthe value of the Gold Coast
as a gold -producing area,i t is necessary to go back to
i ts early h istory of the fou rteen th centu ry,when the
French declare that they imported the precious metal
from the presen t E lm ina,j ust one century before the
arr iva l of the Portuguese . Whether the French cl aims
are good or not,i t i s certain that the Portuguese
,under
Gonzales Balde z a,brought gold from the Gold R iver or
R io de Ouro in 1442 ,and that in 1470 other nav igato rs
brought suppl i es of i t from the neighbou rhood of Chama
into the Eu ropean market . About the same period
another Portuguese merchan t,Fernando Gomez
,bought
from the Ki ng of Lisbon the monopoly of trad ing in
gold dust for five years,at a year ly rental of less than
£ 50 ,and bind ing himsel f in add ition to explore some
300 miles of coast l ine every year . Th i s exploration
led to the open ing of la rge and important m ines at
Commendah,to defend which
,i t i s assumed the castle
at E lm ina was bui l t,and a flou r i sh ing trade was carried
on t i l l ear ly in the seventeenth century,when the m ines
at Commendah were shut down and the d igging of gold
92 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
i ts d iscovery by the Portuguese . The Portuguese gave
way to the Dutch,who held sway ove r a great part ofthe
'
coast from 1 637 unti l 1 868,but who were interrupted
in thei r turn by the Engl ish and the F rench adventu rers,
who had heard ofthi s E l Dorado of Western A fri ca,and
began to take thei r share . The fi rst Engl i shman to br ing
away the p recious metal was Captain Thomas Wyndham,
who in 1551 b rought to England 1 50 lb . of gold dust
from the Gold Coast . He was qu i ck ly fol lowed by
many others,among whom were Captain Phi l ips
,R i chard
Thompson and R i chard Jobson,but by far the larger
share of the gold then produced,fel l to the Portuguese
and the Dutch traders of that t ime .
The gold -bearing a reas i n the vast conti nent of A frica
are three in number,two of which date from the most
remote times . The fi rst i s found in the north - eastern
corner of the con tinent,inc l ud ing Nubia and Abyss in ia
the second extends along the whole of the western
shores from Morocco to the Vol ta,whi le the thi rd occu
pies enormou s areas in the south -eastern d istricts . The
two first-mentioned areas are of most remote origin,
whi le the thi rd is of compa rat ively recent date . Tradi
tion on the west coast of A fr i ca points to sensat ional
finds of the precious meta l,and the barbar i c splendour
of some of i ts past ru lers freely j u st ifies such trad i t ion .
Ghana,the old name poss ibly of Guinea
,was famous
among the ancients for i ts golden th rone : Bontuko,for
i ts golden stool,whi le Bowd ich tel ls us that the King
ofGaman , of which Bon tuko was the capital , had steps
of sol id gold by which he ascended to h is bed . The
Ashantis were most profic ien t ‘ i n.the manufacture of
ornaments made from gold,but were su rpassed by the
GOLD -PRODUCING AREAS . 93
people ofDagwumba, who inhabi ted a large terri tory to
the n orth -east of the Ashant i country,ornaments being
made i n weight to the extent ofmore than 1000 ounces .I n fact
,the whole of the states north and south of the
great range of the Kong Mountains were more or l ess
wel l suppl ied with extens ive depos its of the precious
metal,the source apparently being the Kong range
itsel f,the northern l im its being the borders of the N iger.
For centu ries thi s vast terri tory poured in to Europe
mi l l ions of pounds ’ worth of th is precious metal,and
coming down to Bosman ’
s t ime we find s ix d istinct areas
in and about the Gold Coast supplying the yel low ore.
These were Denkira,includ ing Wassaw
,En casse
,Ju ffer
and Commendah,A can ny,
Ak im , Ashant i , Adansi and
lastly Aowin . A reference to the map on page 13 wi l l
show the relat ive pos i t ions of these terri tories . A S the
o ld Dutch traders were most ass iduous in securing as
large a supply as possible of the gold then produced,i t
may be fai r ly assumed,that what Bosman says concern
ing the quanti ty produced by these countries i s correct .With regard to Denkira
,he says : “ The fi rst country
which produces gold is Denkira,which incl udes the
conquered states ofWassaw,Encasse
,J uffer
,and Com
mendah ”. The Denkiras at this period were a very
powerful race of people,possessed of vast treasures of
gold,partly obtained from thei r own mines
,and from
plunder and commerce with the inter io r tribes . That the
countries men t ioned produced a vast supply is proved bythe fact , that the Denkiras from thei r own terri tory and
from those in subj ection to them,p roduced enough gold
to satisfy the demands of the coast from Ax im to
Sekond i, a d istance of forty m i les , contain ing some eight
94 THE GOLD COAST FAST AN D PRESENT .
forts or trad ing stations . The metal thus suppl ied by
the Denkiras was very pure,though often al loyed with
fet ishes,
” odd ly- shaped figures composed of several in
gredien ts . Sometimes these “ feti shes ” would be m ixed
from one- third to one -hal f thei r va lue with al loys of
earth,s i lver or copper ; those of pure gold being kept
by the n atives for ornament and seldom parted with .
Thus in the early days of h is h i story,the nat ive knew
the val ue of trying to soph ist icate his gold for the
European .
The second d istr ict was A can ny ,a prov ince not marked
i n Bosman ’
s map,but ly ing somewhat north -east of the
Ax im coun try between Ashant i and Ak im . The people
of thi s count ry were greate r traders than the Denkiras,
and bought the gold of Ashanti and Ak im,which in
addi t ion to thei r own,they brought down to the forts of
E lm ina,Cape Coast
,Mouri
,Anamaboe
,Corman t ine and
Winnebah . The gold brought to the coast by the A canny
people was neve r m ixed with “ feti shes,and on th i s
account i t was known to the coast nat ives as A can ny
Sika or A can ny gold ,“ Sika ” being the nat ive word
for the preciou s metal . These peopl e in tu rn fel l to the
power of the Denkiras,who them selves were defeated by
the Ashant i s,and in after t imes formed one of the most
powerfu l al l ies ofthat rap id ly extend ing state .
The th i rd d istri ct was A leiin,which in Bosman
’
s t ime
produced as l arge quanti ties ofgold as any land that he
knew,and that bei ng also the most valuable and pure of
any carried away from the coast . I t was eas i ly d ist in
guished by i ts deep colou r . The gold Of Ak im was
brought to Accra unal loyed in any manner whatever .
Auri ferous Ak im,as i t has been termed
,was general ly
96 THE GOLD COAST PA ST AND PRESENT
ofgo ld per d iem The Ashanti p i ts at Soko were reported to yield from 700 to 2000 ounces Of gold permonth, and their store was further in cre s edby the dai ly
washings th roughout Denkira and the h i l ls between Ak im
and As sin , then repu ted to be very rich in gold . E ach
ch iefpaid a tax to the King ofAshan t i upon the gold
ornamen ts in his possess ion , and all t ributary states contributed ann ual paymen ts amoun t ing in a l l to nearly
per annum in addi t ion to the t ribute demanded
in s laves,cows
,sheep
,co tton and s i lk good s .
Rock or nugget go ld had, when found,to be a lways
brought to the k ing,a third ofits value be ing given to the
finder. On stated occasion s the market-p lace in Kumas i
was washed,andproduced as much as 800 oun ces ofgo ld
at a time . Gold dropped in the market-place be longed
to the k ing andcould not be again picked Up on pain of
death. The gold thus obtained was stored up hy'
the fet ish
men agains t future d iffi cu l t ies, and in t imes of danger,it is said ,was buried in thei r sac red riverthe P rah, where
I bel ieve much wi l l ul timately be found .
The fifth terri to ry was Adans i orAnan s i,the country
to the south ofAshan t i east ofthe Tando R iver and to
the eas t ofDonk ita,whi ch a lso furn ished largequanti tiesofgo ld . The s ixth and last place was Aowin
,the stri p
ofcoun try ly ing north OfApo l lon ia and to the west ofAxim . A t on e peri od i t Suppl i ed vast quant i ties Of the
precious meta l,whi ch was pure and una l loyed,and the
people who brought it to the coas t were among the
c iviles t andfaires t dealers Ofall the negroes, wi th whom
the Dutch, accord ing to Bosman , traded wi th a d ea l ofp leasure ” . The coun try ofA owin was
, however, des
tined , in its turn , to become tribu tary to the ris ing power
THE GOLD FOUND . 97
of Denkira, though not unt i l many batt les had beenfought. After their defeat, the gold brought down by
the Aowins decreased in amount, the inhab itants of the
coun try preferring rather to let i t remain in the ground ,than to dig i t for the benefi t ofa neighbouring tribe .
The gold obtained by the natives in these early dayswas of two kinds
,dust go ld and mountain go ld . The
former was ofthe fines t nature , often as fine as flour and
obtain ing the h ighes t pri ce, whi ls t the latter varied w ry
much both in siz e and qual i ty . The siz e of the piecesof mountain go ld w ried from grai ns no larger than a
pin’
s head,to others varying i n value to twe n ty or thirty
guineas,but these latter were always m ixed with a multi
tude of smal l stones , wh ich greatly reduced their value .
The go ld thus found was produced, accord ing to the
natives, i n three d ifferent k inds of places , the exact
local i ty ofwhich was seldom or never divu lged to the
Euro pean, for fear that he should take pos s ess ion of
their m ines and thus nob them of their sto re ofweal th .
The bes t go ld was found in or between particu larhil l s ,where the natives dug pits andseparated it by washingfro m the earth thus obtained.
The second p lace was in, at or about some rivers and
waterfal ls , where the vio le nce ofthe water brought down
larg e quantities ofearth , bringing the go ld with it.The thi rd p lace was along the sea-shore , particu lar ly
where the streams and titers emptied theirwaters alongthe coast.
This a l l p oi nts to the fact that ma ny of the present
h i l ls a ndmoun tai ns in the interiorofthe G old Coas t mus t
form the sources from which these supplies were then
obtained . and that in spite of the enormous quantities
98 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
that have been obtained in the past,there must st i l l re
main in the interior of the country vast stores of the
precious metal,wai t ing to be d iscovered and worked by
Eu ropean energy and enterpr i se .
I n later t imes,the known gold -bearing areas became
reduced to three,Wassaw
,Ak im and A shant i
,with i ts
powerfu l rival,the Gaman country
,none of which have
ever been proper ly developed,and which became practi
cal ly forgotten by the open ing up of Cal i forn ia and
Austral ia,on account of the gold d iscoveri es in those
countries . A fter the lapse of many years,attent ion i s
again being turned toward s West A fri ca as a gold -pro
ducing area, and a short accoun t of what real ly does
exist in the Gold Coast wi l l perhaps not be out of place
in these pages .
Axim ever was and has cont inued to be the gold port
ofthe colony,S i tuated as i t i s to the south of one of the
bes t gold -producing countries,via ,
Wassaw,where most
ofthe present gold mines are s ituated,and many attempts
at development are tak ing place . Tarkwa,the presen t
centre of the min ing industry of the colony, i s S i tuated
in Wassaw,some fi fty m i les from the coast
,travel l ing
by bush and river . The mineral depos i ts ofthe Wassaw
distr i c t may be d ivided into two classes,w
’
z
( I ) Gold -bearing quartz,and (2 ) bedded al l uvial de
pos i ts,in add it ion to more recent al l uvia l depos i ts .
The fi rst are stated to be found to the west of the
A ncobra,whi le the second are found to the east of the
same river . There i s no doubt that the present group
of Tarkwa mines was on e of the pl aces i n the Wassaw
country,from which the Portuguese and the Du tch were
suppl ied with their gold,though the m ines themselves
100 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
form the western part Ofthe Gold Coast,form one Of the
most promis ing Ofthe gold -producing a reas Of the colony,
l ack ing on ly tran sport and capita l to place thei r weal th
before the European market . Many attempts have been
made in th is d i rect ion,on ly to meet with fai l ure
,be
cause,in the compan ies fo rmed , adequate preparat ions
were not made,either for the land ing or transport Of the
machinery absolutely necessary for the work ing of the
m ines . The top a l l u v i al beds have been worked out,
and engineering sc ience i s now needed to Obtain the gold
from the qua rt z and the lower strata,where i t s t i l l ex ists
in large quanti t ies . Remains of O ldDutch forts are al so
to be found at Essaman,some twelve mi les n orth -west
OfTarkwa,near the main st ream Of the river An cobra
,
and some forty m i les from Ax im in a stra ight l ine,and
this i s no doubt the place referred to by Bosman,when he
says that the gold comes from as far in land,that our
servants are common ly five days in going from E lm ina
to i t,and ten days from Ax im
,not so much on account of
the d istance,but on accoun t ofthe d iffi cu l t ies Of the road .
I n the Apol l on i an country are to be found remain s of
O ld nat ive m ines which were vis i ted and described by
Bu rton and Cameron in 1 882,and leased through thei r
instrumental i ty by Mr . R . B . N . Walker, who had fi rs t
v is i ted the place in 1 88 1 . The fi rst was cal led the Iz rah
mine,S i tuated with in an easy march Of the coast from
Nanipoliand promis ing to pay and pay wel l the second
lay some d istance east,a l i ttle south from the fi rst at a
place cal led Imyoku,near New Amanta
,and could be
eas i ly approached from the town Of E siamo on the coast .
This m ine al so gave some wonderfu l Specimens and pro
mised to give a rich reward to the owners . Noth ing,
ASHANTI GOLD WE IGHTS . 10 1
however,i s heard Of i t at the present day . A th ird was
s i tuated at IngotrO ,a short d i stance west Of the A n cobra
R iver,and was Of far larger d imens ions than the two
p revious ly ment ioned . Nothing has been done with this .
ASHANT I GOLD WE IGHT S .
Down to the end of the eighteenth century the m ines
remained enti rely in the hands of the nat ive owners,but
1 0 2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
i n 1 825 the Gold Coast M in ing and Trad ing Company,with a capi tal Of was formed
,for the purpose
,
among others, Of extend i ng the intercou rse now subs ist
ing with the native chiefs and princes,and to make
arrangements with them to in troduce a better method
Of work ing the mines and pi ts in the Denkira,Wassaw
,
Ahanta and Fanti terr i tor ies on the Gold Coast . This
company, however, left m in ing alone, and confined its
attent ion to trad ing . Coming down to st i l l l ater t imes,
71 2133, 1 874, M . Bonnat,a French trader
,drew attent ion to
the poss ibi l i t ies Of thi s pa rt Of A fr ica . He explo red the
Vol ta R iver unti l stopped by the Ashant is,and was held
by them for fi ve years as a pri soner in Kumasi . Re
l eased by the Ashant i war of 1 873-74 he retu rned to
France, and succeeded i n the foundation Of the Soc iétédeS Mines d’
Or d’
Afrique Occidentale . This was moreofa synd icate than a company
,and devoted i ts energies
to the acqu is i t ion Of concess ion s and demonstrat ing the
p ract i cabi l i ty Of dredging the bed Of the A n cobra for
gold . The exploration Ofth i s synd icate lasted for abou t
three years,when Bonnat again returned to France
,and
i n 1 879 he was instrumental in forming the Anglo
French Compagn ie M in ie re de la COte d’
Or d’
Afrique,or the A fr i can Gold Coast Company . He retu rned to
the coast again i n 1 88 1 and d ied there in J u ly, 1 882 ,being
buried at Tarkwa . H i s name w i l l always be associated
with the Tarkwa mines,for he was the fi rst European
to cal l atten t ion to thei r poss ib i l i t ies,and to vis i t them .
O thers have fol lowed,but he was the fi rst . The two
French companies j o ined hands i n 1 886,and in 1 888 the
m ines were taken over by an Engl ish company,who have
S ince that time been qu ietly opening them up,with
1 04. THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
I n the same report wi l l be found an account of the
auri ferous l ands in the Winnebah d istr i ct of the Gold
Coast,contributed by the request of the Government
by Mr. Henry Eyre,a then D i s tri ct Comm i ss ioner .
H aving d iscussed at some length the mines of the
Wassaw country,I wi l l now endeavour to show that other
parts of the co lon v are as rich , and have been SO from
al l an t iqu ity,as those at present known . I refer to the
Ak im country . Let us see what h isto ry has said con
ce rn ing it . Bosman speaks Of i t as being the th i rd place
ofimportance for the p roduct ion of gold,plac ing A can ny
as the second,but nei ther A can ny nor Ak im is to be
found upon his map . H i s in formation was drawn from
intercourse on ly with the nat ives,and I am incl ined to
bel ieve,that the A can ny S ika
”Of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries,the pu res t gold of any Obtained on
the coast,was none other than Ak im gold
,A canny,
accord
ing to D r . Leyden,being another name forA k im . The
pos it ion of th is importan t country in these early times
was very uncertain the nat ives purposely avoided giving
i ts exact locat ion in order to retain in the i r own hand s
the enormous supply of precious meta l that i t furn ished .
Bosman says Having several times heard that Ak im
was an extraord inary large country,I took once the oppor
tunity of ask ing some Of the Akimese how many days
their country was ;they repl ied , that very few natives knew
how far i t extended in land towards the Barbary coast,
which,accord ing to what they told me
,was i ncred ible
Again Bowdich says , i n quoting D r . Leyden “ On the
wes t ofAquamboe l ies the powerfu l s tate ofAk im ,some
t imes denominated Akam,Acham and A canny,
which
occupies a lmost al l the i nterior of the Gold Coast,and
GOLD IN AKIM . 1 05
i s supposed by the natives to extend to Barbary This
somewhat proves that Ak im was the same as A can ny . I n
D r . Leyden ’s map,he places i t east Of Dahomey
,instead
ofwest of the Vol ta,which is i ts true S i tuation . I n the
earl i es t maps of Afri ca i t is marked Akim,rz
'
c/z in gold,and of thi s fact there i s no doubt
,for in more modern
t imes i t ranks second in importance for the production of
the yel low ore, A canny being lost s ight of enti rely .
So far as I have been able to ascertain,both from
reference and from actua l t ravel through the country,no Euro pean attempts at min ing have ever yet
been made i n the Ak im country,though the whole
terr i tory is l a rgely honeycombed with nat ive pits and
women ’s washings . The abol i tion of the s l ave trade and
the introduct ion of rubber into the European market
from this part Of the world,fo rm no doubt two of the
chief reason s for the decl ine in the work ing of the gold
in the Gold Coast colony . To collect rubber,which
abounds in the Ak im forests,i s far easier than d igging
and washing forgold,and thus l i tt le has been heard of
l ate years ofthe gold in Akim . I t i s my fi rm opin ion that
the whole OfAkim i s impregnated with the precious metal ,and this opinion has been formed from actual travel l ing
through the country,not once
, -but ten t imes . What
wou ld be thought of a place,that I can mention
,where
pieces Ofquartz,broken offan ou tcrop in the very street
Ofthe town,gave vi s ible gold and assayed S ix teen dwts .
to the ton ? Yet the quartz in th is part of the colony
has never yet been touched by Eu ropean machinery,and
the whole ofAkim is pract ical ly unexplored . I wi l l add
the test imony ofothers in addition ‘
to my own .
Captain Butler described Western Akim as “ a country
IO6 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
teem ing with gold,whi le Captain Glover has stated “ that
in Eastern Ak im gold is as plent i fu l as potatoes in I re
land,and the paths are honeycombed with gold pits
I n h i s Wanderings in West Africa,the late Captain R .
F . Burton says : I n several countries,especial ly Akim
,
the h i l l region lying north ofAccra,the people are st i l l
active in d igg ing gold . The pits, from two to three feet
in d iameter,and from twelve to fi fty feet deep
,are Often
SO near the roads that loss of l i fe has been the resu l t .
Shor ing-up’ being l itt l e known
,the m iners are not un
frequently buried al ive . The stu ffi s d rawn up by ropes
in clay pots or cal abashes,and thus a workman at the
bottom widen s the pi t to a pyr i form Shape . Tunnel l ing
is,however
,unknown . The excavated earth i s carried
away~
to be washed . Bes ides s ink ing these holes they
pan in the beds of r ivers and in places col lect quartz
which i s roughly pounded . Mr. H . Ponsonby found the
nat ives gett ing quanti t ies Of gold by d igging holes eight
to ten feet deep on ei ther s ide of the forest paths . He
saw as much as three ounces taken up i n hal f an hour .A round the capital Of Eastern Ak im
,Kyebi orKibbi
,the
land i s honeycombed with manholes,making n ight travel
l ing dangerous to the stranger . I t requ i res a sharp eye
to detect the deserted pi ts,two feet in d iameter
,and sunk
stra ight as i f they had been bored by huge augers . The
workman descends by footho les,and works wi th a hoe
from four to s ix inches long by two broad,and when hi s
calabash is fi l led i t i s drawn up by his companions .
I t is general ly acknowledged that the earthquakes ,which occurred i n and about th is part Of the Gold Coast
in 1 862 (Apri l and J u ly), so d isturbed the hi l l s i n the
Akim country,that the natives left thei r ord inary ho le
108 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
the process repeated unti l nothing is left but the grains
ofgold and a l i ttl e sand,which a re again washed and the
gold final ly extracted . Th roughout the whole ofAk im,
wherever water is avai lable,these wash ings are carri ed
on,and the farther in land one travel s the ri cher the al lu
vial deposi ts become . I n some places the quartz i s
roughly pounded,and general ly cons i sts of only those
pieces that Show vis ible gold . A s l ight ly hol lowed s lab
Of gran ite i s general ly used for th is purpose,upon wh i ch
the quartz i s pounded with a hand -stone . O ften the
same stones are used forgrind ing the quartz,that are u sed
forpound ing the corn to make flour .
The Fanti s and the Ashant is are the most expert gold
sm iths at present i n the colony,but in the past each
importan t tribe,i n fact each important town
,had its
goldsmith,who fab ricated rough ornaments for the k ing
and chiefs,and the r i cher portion of the commun ity .
These general ly took the shape of bangles,rings
,studs
,
bracelets,brooches
,chains and charms of al l k inds
,or
fetishes as they were cal led,o rnamented with a common
pattern,the S igns of the zod iac
,
” which were no doubt
introduced to the country by the fi rst vis i tors,the
Portuguese. The workmen,however
,a re very ski l fu l
in the art of im itat ion , and can make an artic le to a set
copy,or to any des ign that may be furn ished to them .
Art ic les thus made are sold for the val ue Of thei r own
weight in gold,plus a commiss ion of twenty -five per
cent . for workmanship ; thus an art ic le weighing one
sovereign wou ld be so ld for twenty- five sh i l l ings . Gold
ornaments thus made are very soft,owing to the absence
of al loy,which
,when i t is used
,general ly consi sts ofa
l i tt le s i lver. The natives work in s i lver as wel l as gold,
NATIV E GOLD WORK . 1 09
charging fi fty per cent . of the value forworkmansh ip in
the former,owing to the greater d ifficul ty of work ing
the harder metal . The implements at the command of
the goldsmith for h i s work are Of a very prim it ive char
acter . Some bees ’ wax,a model l ing block and stick
,
melting pots and trays are his chief tool s . Thei r mode
Of procedure is as fol lows : Suffi cient bees ’ wax for
making the model of the arti cle wanted is worked out
upon the mode l l ing block or table by the S ide of the
fi re on which stands a pot ofwater the model l ing st ick,a piece of flat
,hard wood
,i s d ipped in to this
,and with
this the wax is made of the requis i te softness forwork
ing ; i t takes the workman about a quarter ofan hou r
to make the model of a ring . When the mode l of the
art icle wanted i s fin ished,i t i s enclosed in a case ofwet
clay and charcoal,which
,being closely pressed round
the model,forms a mou ld . This i s then dried in the sun
,
and has a smal l cup of the same materials attached to
i t (i n which to put the gold for mel t ing) communicat ing
with the model by a very smal l aperture . When the
whole model is fin ished,and the gold for the art i cl e to
be made enclosed safely in the cup,the whole is placed
in a charcoal fi re with the cup undermost . When the
gold has had time to become fused,the cup i s turned
uppermost,i n order that i t may run in to the place of
the mel ted wax,and take i ts place in the mould when
cool the clay mould i s broken,and the arti cle taken out
,
which if not perfect is again mel ted and the whole pro
cess gone through again . The stoves for thei r fi res are
bu i l t of swish or native mud i n a c ircular form and
about three or four feet in height,being open for one
fifth part of their ci rcumference . Through the closed
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
part a hole i s made on a level wi th the ground of the
fi re,through which the nozz le of the bel lows i s to pass .
The bel lows are an exact im itation of our own,made
with sheepskin tied to the wooden s ides with leather
thongs,and Often two or three pai rs of bel lows are
used to one fi re . Shou ld an anvi l be wanted , a large
stone is general ly selected for the pu rpose,or a p iece
of i ron placed on the ground,and upon this rude
su rface al l hammering work i s performed . When the
article i s completed,i t i s covered al l over w i th a layer
of a k ind Of red och re (cal led In chuma by the
nat ives) , and placed in boi l ing water mixed with sa l t
and some Of the same red earth,boi led for about th i rty
m inutes,and then taken ou t and final ly pol i shed . Th i s
process gives a good colou r to the gold . I n add it ion to
the manufactu re of ornaments for the people,the gold
sm ith i s the buyer and sel ler of the gold dust for the
di strict . He possesses a complete set Of weights and
scales,the former varying from the value of a farth ing
to £ 24 63. The ackie orone- S i xteenth part Of an ounce
i s the un it Of value . A native proverb says,
“ You cannot
buy much gold for a farthing,and in th is
,at least
,al l
Europeans wi l l agree . There are thi rty - five weights,each
with a d ist in ct value,i n use in the Ashanti and Fant i
countr ies,a complete l i st ofwhich wi l l be found at the
end Of the chapter . The complete set of weighing apparatus is cu r ious and very compl icated
,con s ist ing Of
blowers,S i fters
,spoons
,native scales
,and weights of
many k inds . The smal ler we ights are no larger than
tiny seeds,whi lst the larger consi s t Of brass or copper
castings Of almost every art ic le,an imal
,fru i t
,fish or
vegetable with which the people are acquainted . I l lus
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
with black,and are cal led dambas (equal to twopence) ,
twenty- four ofthem amounting to an angel,and each Of
them reckoned two styver weights . The white beans with
black spots,or - those en ti rely black
,are heavier
,and
accounted four styver weights ; these are usual ly cal led
tacoes,but there are some which weigh half or a whole
gu i lder . But these are not esteemed certain weights,
but are on ly used at p leasu re,and thus Often become
instruments of fraud " Several have bel ieved that the
negroes on ly used wooden weights , but thi s is a m istake,al l ofthem having cast weights (see pages 10 1 and of
copper or of t in,which though d ivided or adj usted in a
manner qui te d ifferent to ou rs,yet upon reduct ion agree
exactly with them .
” S ince i ts fi rst d i scovery by the
Eu ropeans,i t has been roughly est imated that from 600
to 700 mil l ions ster l ing Ofgold have been produced from
the Guinea Coast,and in i ts most flou r i sh ing days the
town of E lm ina alone annua l ly exported
work of the precious metal . Early i n the eighteenth
century Bosman computed that twenty- three tuns Of gold
were annual ly brought by the nat ives to the forts along
the coast,a tun of gold in Hol land at that date being
reckoned at gu i lders,or about He
made the total output 7000 marks , and est imated i t i n
the fol lowing manner
The Dutch West I n d ia CompanyThe Engl i sh Afr ican CompanyThe Zealan d In terlopersThe Engl i sh In terlopersThe Bran den burgers andDan esThe Portuguese andFren ch
Mak ing a total of
ASHANT I GOLD WE IGHTS . 1 13
Early in the n ineteenth century the export became
reduced to S l ightly under sterl ing,about
ounces,and averaged thi s amount for nearly
ASHANT I GOLD WE IGHTS .
hal f a century . Ear ly i n the S ixt ies thi s export fel l to
under ounces,constantly varying between that
and the ounces of the earl ier part Ofthe century .
1 14 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
This became again reduced in the seventies and the
eighties of the present century to an an nual average of
about sterl i ng,which i s about the output at
the present time .
With the decl ine of the S l ave t rade began also the
decl ine in the gold -min ing industry,though the d i s
covery Of new gold -bearing areas in more heal thy parts"/Of the world
,must also have had its effect upon the
output Of the Gold Coast . Another reason for the de
cl ine is that the nat ives always wash and dig for years
i n the same pl ace after the ra ins . They seldom ornever
fol low the gold to the hi l l s from whence i t i s carried by
the torrents,but res t conten t with the head waters Of
the various r ivers that flow from them,where the rapid ity
Ofthe stream has al ready cleared much Of the sand and
clay away for them . A s a ru le,the richest depos its are
found after the ra ins,near the foot of some hi l l where
gold has been previous ly seen . Accord ing to the
natives,the most l ikely places i n which to find gold
,are
those that contain a foundation of redd ish sand m ixed
with smal l part ic les Of black matter,l ike fine gunpowder
,
and cal led by the natives “ sana m ira ”. The same
style Ofwashing and pann ing is common throughout the
Gold Coast,and apparently there is an art even in th is
s imple process,for some women wi l l find gold where
others cannot . NO mercury is ever used,and con se
quently much fine gold must be lost in the prim i t ive
process of washing. I n some places nugget gold is
again buried,i n order that a more bount i ful supply may
be Obtained in the futu re,and trad it ion has i t
,that in
some places the presence of a thin white smoke or
vapour leads to a rich depos i t,whi le the find ing Of
1 16 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
pounds’ weight to reach Kumas i from the coast,at a
m in imum cost Of 1 2 s . 6d. fo r carr iage,a rate equal to
nearly £ 25for a ton ? No m i n i ng scheme for the Gold
Coast wi l l ever succeed,that does not inc l ude provi s i on for
a means Of transport and the con struct ion of better roads
than at present ex ist . A Roads Department i s wanted
in this country,with trave l l ing road commiss ioners
,
who shou ld report from actual inspection upon the state
Of the roads . Narrow paths are Of no use ; they soon
become overgrown with bush and practi cal ly u seless for
al l transport pu rposes . A min imum wid th Of s ixteen
feet Shou ld be cleared,wel l banked in the centre
,d itched
on either S ide,stones being u sed wherever obtai nable
for the edges of the road s . Timber ex ists i n abundance
for bridges,and soft pl aces cou ld be cordu royed with
the trunks of the smal ler t rees . A Roads Department
was created in 1 894 by one gove rnor to be abol ished by
another in 1 896,when it was merged into the Publ ic
Works Department,before i t had had time to prove its
worth o r u selessness . A l l departments in the colony
suffer a l ike from this want Of cont inu i ty Of purpose .
I n the height of thei r power the Ashantis knew too wel l
the value Of roads,for they caused to be kept open and
maintained,no less than n ine good road s that led from
thei r capital to the other most important parts of the
Gold Coast . These road s were to Dwaben,Akim ,
Ass in i,Wassaw
, Sauree,Gaman
,Soko
,Daboia and
Salaga . The chief Kumas i -Accra roads were two in
number,both pass ing through the Ak im coun try ; one
took fi fteen days and the other seventeen . This latter
passed near Lake Bosomshwi and covered a d istance
Of230 mi les in a south - easterly d i rection (see page
THE FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST . 1 1 7
The futu re Of the Gold Coast l ies in i ts commercial
prosperity, and thi s can on ly be increased by greater
attent ion to the m in ing capabi l i t ies of the colony,and
the production of t imber and rubber . Good road s once
establ ished,the introduct ion ofwheeled traffic wi l l soon
fol low,though the matter Of an imals for draught pur
poses wi l l sti l l be somewhat of a d ifficu l ty . Horses do
not thrive,oxen have never been tried
,elephants would
be too expensive,but I th ink mu les from Canary could
be used to great advantage . These last are n ow being
tried by the Government in the VV Orks Department .
Before much introduction ofthese an imals takes place,
large areas in the min ing d istri cts ofWassaw and Ak im
should be c leared of vegetation,and hydrau l icked for
the gold that they con taTri. Th i s shou ld produce enough
gold to pay for the rai lways necessary for the tran sport of
heavy machinery,i n order to work the reefs that would be
laid bare by the process previous ly referred to . Before any
rai lway can be la id,a port on the coast i s wanted where
a breakwater could be eas i ly constructed,and ra i lway
plant securely landed . Under ex isting circumstances
everything i s transferred to a surf-boat for l anding,and
more Often than n ot the goods are landed in the last
breaker on the shore,i n stead of upon d ry land . Much
damage and loss i s the resu l t,in addi tion to a great waste
oft ime,which to a wh ite man Often mean s loss ofmoney.
Every coast l i ne,however ‘ bad
,has somewhere in
i ts length a natu ral coign Of vantage,where engineer
ing art ifice cou ld eas i ly step in and make the necessary
improvements . Thi s n atural advantage in the coast l ine
is to be found,along this surf- beaten shore
,between
D ixcove and Sekond i in the western part of the colony,
1 1 8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
somewhat nearer to the l atter place than the former.
A t Takorad i i s a bay large enough to contain a fleet at
anchor,with deep and comparat i vely st i l l water
,and at
Apoassi, or Sekondi , i s a natu ral point, which cou ld be
extended into the sea without much diffi cu l ty,and formed
into a breakwater,along which vessel s cou ld moor and
d ischarge thei r cargoes,und isturbed by the long A t lan t i c
swel l for ever breaking on this coast . This poin t shou ld
be made the chief port ofentry for the colony,a coast
rai lway shou ld be constructed west to Ak im and Apol
l on ia,and east to Cape Coast
,Saltpond and Accra
,with
b ranches to Tarkwa,l nsuaim
,Kumasi
,Kyebi and Abetifi .
The Tarkwa l ine cou ld run d i rect from Sekond i ; the
I n suaim -Kumas i l i ne from Sal tpond,and the Kyebi
Abetifi l i ne from Winnebah or Acc ra . The capi tal
required to construct a harbou r at any other point along
thi s coast wou ld be suffi c ien t to lay the greater part
of the much -needed coast rai lway . I f Apoassi were
made the chief port of entry for the colony,I am aware
that i t wou ld necess i tate the establ ishment of a Customs
stat ion and the European officials at or near that point .So much the better ; Accra is not a des irable place for
headquarters . There are many places i n the west far
better su i ted for the res idence of Europeans . Boutrii s
one of these,D ixcove and Sekond i are others
,al l s i tuated
in what was known as the Ante country in the days of
the Dutch and the Portuguese,and where the former
traded cons iderably for a large quanti ty of gold .
Boutrii s s i tuated about one and a hal f m i les east of
D ixcove and original ly possessed a fort bui l t upon a very
high hi l l,strengthened wi th two batteries of eight smal l
guns . The Dutch name for th is place was Bartenstein
1 20 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Engl ish ships received fal se gold for the whole of thei r
cargoes,of which they d isposed
,on e to the value of
£ 1 700 . Bosman says they complained to the Engl ish
governor at the time,but that to complain to him was
as good as going to the devi l to be confessed,and the
trade in fal se gold SO prospered that open business was
done in i t at the rate ofone dol lar for two pounds ’ value
sterl ing of fal se,unti l this part of the country became
known as the false mint of Gu inea .
TAB LE OF GOLD WE IGHT S AND TH E I R V ALUE S INENGL I SH MONEY U SED IN TH E GOLD COA STCOLONY.
Weight.
PuwaPesiwa
DambaSimpuwa
Kokuwa
Akau TakuTakuNtaku-mmien sa
Suwa-fa
Dumba-fa
Agyiratwi-fa
SuwaNtaku -akumDumbaAgyiratwi
Nsuwa-n sa
BodombuN sau
I wi l l conclude this chapter by endors ing the remark s
of Bosman written nearly two centu ries ago,but which
are nevertheless true of to -day . I wou ld refer to any
intel l igent metal l i s t whether a vast deal of ore must not
of necess i ty be lost here,from which a great deal of
Weigh t.
Akau-dwuasruAbau-dwuasruSuruPiresuru
As iaKandwuaAnamfi -sur
Abau~dwuaOsua
Ndwua-mmien
Ndwua-mmien sa
Asuan u
Asuasa
Ben daPireguan
Ntan u
Ntan sa .
LOSS OF THE FINE GOLD . 1 2 1
gold might be separated,forwant ofsk i l l in the metal l i c
art ; and not only so , but I fi rm ly bel ieve that large
quanti t ies of pure gold are left behind , for the negroes
on ly ignorantly d ig at random,without the least know
ledge Of the veins of the mine . And I doubt not but i f
thi s country belonged to the Europeans,they wou ld soon
find i t to produce much richer treasures than the negroes
obtain from it .”
N ote.— S in ce th is chapter was written , a copy ofthe A tlas M aritime
de l ’Asie et de l ’Afrique (1 764) has come in to my possess ion . In map
1 06, La Coste d’
Or,”the two d iv is ion s ofthe Ak im coun try are marked
as fo l lows Western Ak im as Pays d’
Akan ni, autrefo is tres pu issan t et
riche en or, andEastern Ak im as Pays d’Akim on b rand Akan n i ,
tres éten du et riche en or Th is proves that Acan ny S ika was the
same as Ak im Go ld . See pp . 1 04 and1 05.
CHAPTER V .
HalfAss in i to Axim— Apo l lon ia— The Lake V i l lage—Axim and
its N e ighbourhood— The An te Coun try— Cape Th ree Po in tsChama andthe Prah— The K ingdom s of Was saw
,Den kira
andSefw i .
THE lower course ofthe Tano orTando R iver forms the
western boundary ofthe Gold Coast colony,though the
coast extends in a strip some two or more m i les wide
farther west to N ewtown,a short d istance beyond the
A ss in i H i l l s,where i t j oins the terr i tory known as French
Gu inea,the Old I vory Coast . Here the French have
two important trad ing stat ions,Grand Bassam and
Ass in i,or as the latter was once cal led
,Fort J oinvi l le
,
from which port la rge quan ti t ies Of t imber are now ex
ported . The whole Ofthe Apol lon ian coast,from New
town to the mouth Of the A ncobra R iver near Axim,i s
a low stretch of sand,studded with no less than forty
fi sh ing towns and v i l l ages between the two po ints I have
mentioned,i n a d is tance ofsome s ixty Odd mi les .
I mmed iately behind Newtown,extend the Tano and
the Eyi Lagoons,into which are d i scharged the waters
Ofthe river bea r ing the former name,after a course of
some m iles from the ancient town of Tak ima,some d i s
tance north Of Kumasi,whence the Fantis are supposed
to have original ly come . The most importan t town s along
this western seaboard are Newtown,Hal f A ss in i
,Beyin ,
1 24 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT
Newtown into the interior i n a most i rregular manner,
and at the present day is not at al l wel l defined . I n
the map publ ished by Stanford in 1 895 a note s tates
that,The boundary between the Engl ish and French
possess ion s has been taken from the text of the agree
ment between Great Bri tain and France of 1 2 th J u ly ,
1 893, and the map attached thereto, but has not been
demarcated on the ground,and the l ine must therefore
be regarded as on ly approx imately correct ” .
This approx imate l ine of demarcation runs east from
Newtown for some twenty—five miles,and turn s north to
fol low the Tano R iver for about the same d istance . I t then
leaves the Tano,st i l l going north
,trends north -west un t i l
the same longitude as Newtown i s again reached,and
then north again for about 100 mi les,to turn off again
towards the east. Thus the whole ofthe upper waters of
the Tano are in Engl i sh terr i tory,and the lagoons into
which its waters are emptied remain in French Gu inea .
The resu l t of thi s i s,that the French port Of Ass in i has
become the centre Of the mahogany trade that comes
down the Tano R iver,which is in Engl i sh te rri tory . A
canal Should be cut from the lagoon behind Hal f Ass in i
to the shore,and an Engl ish t imbe r port establ ished at
th is l atter place . The in land terri tor ies to the north Of
Apol lon ia conta in the k ingdoms of Wassaw,Sefwi and
Denkira,which wi l l be separately treated in th is chapter .
This coast received its name of Apol lon ia from the
Portuguese,who named i t from the saint bearing that
name,the pres id ing saint of the day upon which i t was
fi rst d iscovered,via , 9th February . There i s al so an
Apol lon ias Of5th March .
I n the Old days the Kings ofApol lon ia were held to
APOLLON IAN SACR l FICES .
be important personages,and much human sacrifice was
practised upon al l great occasions . Mered ith in h is
A ccoun t of Me Gold Coast says that when a k ing d ied,
twenty men were sacrificed every Saturday for the fol
lowing Six months,when the “ great custom took place
,
whi le the jou rnal Of an A fri can cru iser,publ i shed in
1 848, mentions the royal res idence Of the Apol lon ian
kings as being most gorgeous ly furn ished in imi tat ion
of European style,and contain ing vast stores Of riches .
The death of a k ing was the occas ion for the sacrifice Of
S i xty men to attend thei r lord to h is next realm,each
being bu r ied wi th kn ife,plate
,cup,
sword,gun and
cloth for use in the unknown land,whi le the co rpse of
the k ing was wel l O i l ed and powdered with gold dust .
I n the early h istory Of these savage people,many
strange devices were resorted to in order to escape
fal l ing into the hands Of their enem ies,many preferring
death by thei r own hands to torture and death from the
hand s of the victors . One i l l ust ration wi l l be sufficientas an example of a practice once common throughout
the colony . About the year 1 7 85, the King Of Apol lon ia
d ied,and two competi tors appeared and claimed the
stool,
” one ofwhom was cal l ed Suikee . To test their
r ight each col lected his s laves and adherents and fought .
Suikee was defeated in the engagement , fled and hid
himsel f in the bush . I n the meant ime his opponen t was
duly made k ing,but the people be ing d issat isfied with
the conqueror, Suikee reappeared again st hi s o ldenemy
and besieged his capital . The k ing,his rival
,reduced
th is t ime beyond al l hope,threw al l h i s gold
,which
fi l led several j ars,in to the lake
,and col lecting his wives
and the d i fferent branches of his fami ly,took them to
1 26 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
a remote part of the bush,cut all thei r throats with the
exception of one son,who ass isted him to bury the
bod ies . He then made feti sh,and caused his son to
swear upon i t that he wou ld ki l l and bury him,and never
d isclose the place of the burial of the bodies . The son
d id this and returned to Apol lon ia,and was for a t ime
lost s ight of. Suikee, now seated fi rm ly on the throne,by
some means d iscovered the burial place . He caused al l
the bodies to be dug up,carried to Beyin and ranged
them in a s i tt ing pos i tion upon the beach,with stakes
support ing thei r arms and heads . There this horrid
spectacle remained unti l even the bones had perished,
and Suikee had thus gratified his revenge upon the dead
bod ies of his adversaries . Many instances of S im i lar
barbari ties could be given .
The country immed iately to the north of Apol lon ia
was known as Amanahea. Both were once under the
sway of the Ashantis, who extorted gold from them in
various quantit ies,though no annual tribute was fixed .
The Apo llonian s are a branch no doubt of the once
great Akan fam i ly, al l speak ing the same language, and
related to the Akra, Cheripong,
Late,Ahanta and
Adangme tribes,and incl ude the people of Ax im
,who
are Apol lonian s . Thei r speech d iffers somewhat from
the Fant i,but each i s i ntel l igible to the other. Fish ing
is thei r chief occupation,though the Apol lon ian men
make good hammock men and carriers . They are fond
Of d r in k,somewhat noisy
,easi ly pleased
,and clean as
regards the wash ing of thei r bod ies . Fowls,goats
,
cattle and sheep thrive throughout the country,the
sheep being among the best in the colony . The women
are much the same as al l others i n the colony,though a
1 28 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Unti l qu i te recen tly,big game and elephants were to
be found with in a two days ’ j ou rney in the grassy lands
above Beyin,but i t is very seldom now that a tooth is
ever brought i n, though qu ite c lose to the old Ivory or
Tooth Coast,belonging to the Cote d
’
orOf the French.
I cannot leave the Apol lon ian country without giving a
Short description ofthe lake vi l lage that i s to be found a
short d istance in land from Beyin,and which has been
vis i ted by very few Europeans . I n Mered ith ’s A ccozm t ofMe GoldCoast ( 1 8 1 2 ) i t i s thus described
“ About three
m i les from the fort in land,there i s a very fine lake of fresh
water that forms the boundary ofthe plain,and may be
computed at six miles in c i rcumference . I t i s deep,for
no bottom was found about the centre with a l ine ofthirty
fathoms . There is a variety Of fi sh here : the crocod i le oral l igator inhabi ts i t
,and a large species of snake has
been d iscovered on i ts banks . A smal l vi l lage is erected
on th is lake ; the houses are formed on wooden pi les ;they are separated from each other so that every house isi nsu lated . The inhabitants form a commun icat ion by
means Ofcanoes,which are general ly padd led by women .
The original inhabi tants Ofth i s vi l lage are said to have
been composed Of d isaffected and i l l -disposed person s,
who emigrated from thei r nat ive country Chama, a smal l
state some d istance eastward of Apol lon ia and where the
Dutch had a fort . I t i s reported that the King of
Apol lon ia at fi rst refused them any indu lgence,and
des i red them to depart from his k ingdom they,however
,
entreated him with much importun i ty,and in formed him
that they were wi l l ing to undergo the meanest oflice i f
he would perm it them to settle in any part ofhis country.
A t l ength the king a l lotted to them a smal l spot of
THE LAKE V ILLAGE . 1 29
ground adjoin ing to the lake,but told them they must
not bui ld upon i t bu t endeavour to erect houses in the
lake,so as to be secluded from his subjects . Necess i ty
thus obl iged them to exert al l the ingenu ity and art
they were masters of and after much labou r they suc
ceeded i n forming comfortable and secure houses of
wood,chiefly
.
of the bamboo cane . The inhabitants Of
th is vi l lage are carefu l in retain ing thei r prim it ive language,
and have no fu rther intercourse wi th the Apo llon ian s
than a trifl ing trade wi l l admit of,which on ly cons is ts
of the fi sh caught in the lake,and for which they get
corn and rice in exchange . Whatever may have been
their character and d ispos i t ion,they appear to l ive peace
ably and happ i ly . Thei r s i tuation i s favourable to tran
qui l l i ty,as no part ofa fam i ly can move abroad without
some d ifficul ty,which affords no opportun i ty ofu s ing mal
practices,and fearfu l Of incurr ing the d ispleasure of the
k i ng,they must be str i ct i n thei r behaviour and conduct .”
This vi l lage i s of great antiqu i ty,and is s i tuated a
short d istance to the east ofthe town Nuba orN iba,which
can be approached ei ther from Beyin orby a long water
way runn ing paral lel to the coast from the fi sh ing vi l lage
Of Eku E nunu E bomesu at the mouth Of the r ive r,
some s i xteen mi les to the east of Beyin . The local i ty
of this pecu l iar vi l lage i s not Shown on any ordnance
map before 1 887 , and an interesting account Of a j ourney
there , made by the then D is t rict Commiss ion er ofAx im ,
Mr . C . A . O’
Brien,appeared in Bloc/e and W/zz
'
te in
J anuary , 1 897 , ofwhich the fol low ing IS an extract“ The lake v i l l age is s i tuated in Apol lon ia
,the most
western part ofthe Gold Coast Colony,some miles from
Beyin town and five or six from the coast yet i ts ex istence
9
130 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
is vi rtual ly unknown to Europeans,close as i t i s to the
coast l i ne. Doubtless th is i s owing to the fact that the
white populat ion in that portion of the colony res ides at
Axim,some thi rty- five mi les away . Ti l l after 1 887 no
trace Of such a vi l lage could be found in the maps pre
pared by the Intel l igence Department Ofthe War Offi ce .
Burton and Cameron were both at Axim for a t ime,and
explored the country and i ts vi c in i ty . Sti l l they make
no mention Of th is extraord inary vi l lage,which they
certain ly would have done had they seen i t .” The
writer here is so far correct in stating that Burton and
Cameron never saw i t,but that no mention i s made of i t
by them is a m istake,and I am sure he wi l l forgive me
for pointing i t out . I n the map prefacing volume i.,
To tko Gold Coast for Gold, by Burton and Cameron ,
1 883, the lake vi l lage i s d istinctly marked , as a lso the
waterway lead ing to i t,but not the town of Nuba
,whi le
on pages 148 - 151 , volume i i . Of the same work,i s to be
found a ful l description Of the lake vi l lage and its sur
round ings,which I shal l have pleasure in quoting later o n .
Mr . O ’
Brien continues : “ I had occas ion to travel to
Nuba,l ake vi l lage and some other places by a route
other than the ord inary one— that i s,not by Beyin
,on
the coast l ine. I t became necessary to travel through
dense bush orforest to several vi l lages unknown to whi te
men save by name,and thence by a ser ies of lagoons ;
some ofthem,though dign ified by th is t i tl e by the nat ives,
were naught but evi l -smel l ing d rains,sometimes not
three feet wide,and Often with no more than S ix inches
of water i n them . Completely covered in by trees,they
were even in the daytime dark tunnels,whi le at n ight
the blackness became awfu l i n i ts in tens i ty . Having
132 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
trop ical fol iage on i ts banks . I t affected even the canoe
men,who chal lenged one another to race . The five
canoes were ranged in l ine,and then started for the lake
vi l lage . While th is two -mi le struggle was in p rogress,
I had t ime to notice the pecul iar vi l l age we were ap
proaching. I t i s bu i l t on pi les and i s surrounded by
water,whi le each house
,placed on a ki nd of plat form
,
supported by these stakes,seemed to be d ist inct from its
neighbour,and to have i ts own rough ladder lead ing to
the water. The on ly means of commun icat ion is by
boat,there being no connect ion with the land at the
back . I f a nat ive des i res to v i s i t another three or four
houses off,he has to gO down h i s l adder, enter h i s canoe
and paddle to the house . The populat ion numbers
about 300 ,and I shou ld say there are s ixty or seventy
houses i n al l . I tried to d iscover the reason forbu i ld ing
the vi l lage in th i s manner,but cou ld get no sat isfactory
explanation . O ne sa id that the method adopted was
conven ient for fi sh ing ; and another, that the place was
once used as a place of confinement for person s trouble
some to forme r k ings Of Beyin . The p resent inhabi tants,
at least,are not prisoners i n any sense
,as thei r canoes
have free access everywhere . Like other natives on the
coast,they l ive by fi sh ing and trad ing .
” 1
The account given by Bu rton and Cameron of thi s
extraord i n ary vi l lage is not from thei r own pen,but
from an excurs ion made to the place by M r . Edward
L . McCarthy, i n Augu st , 1 88 1 . I wi l l give the ac
count in his own word s,and the reader can j udge for
himsel f how the two accounts agree . M r . McCarthy
says : Accompan ied by P rince John Coffee,hei r to
1 By the k in d perm i ss ion ofthe publ ishers ofBlack andWhite.
THE LAKE V ILLAGE . 133
King B lay, three other chiefs, thei r servants , and my
own party ofKroo men,we l eft the town ofBe in
,Apol
l on ia,to go up to the V i l lage in the bush cal led Esua- t i .
Hal f a m i le from the town we found canoes awai ting us,
and in these we were poled along for over hal f an hou r
over what in the dry season is a nat ive path,but now a
narrow channel ofwater,wind ing about in a dense j ungle
of reeds . Emerging from these reeds,one broad
sheet ofwater presented i tsel f to the eye,enci rcled by a
low shore fringed with can es,bush and palm trees . The
lagoon receives several smal l streams and empties i tsel f
i n to the sea by the Ebomesu R iver,i ts mouth being about
hal f-way between Béin and the A n cobra. The length of
the lagoon appears to be about th ree to four mi les,and
about one to one and a hal f in breadth .
-Twenty m inutes ’
paddl ing brought u s round the point ofa smal l head land,
where we came in s ight of a pretty lake vi l lage,bu i l t
upon pi les,at some l itt le d i stance from the shore
,the
whole forming a most p icturesque and an imated scene .
“ From house to house canoes laden with people,
plantain s,etc . ,
were pass ing to and fro ; groups of
V i l lagers,some standing
,others s i tt ing
,upon the raised
bamboo platforms outs ide thei r hou ses,were busy barter
ing fish for plantains,whi le the chi ld ren played around
,
apparently unconscious Of any danger from fal l ing into
the water. The settlement cons isted ofover forty houses,
mostly Of bamboo,a few Of swish
,forming one l ong
i rregular l ine,and th ree or fou r stand ing away from the
rest,round a corner of land
,after the Fanti custom .
These houses were bu i l t on a bamboo platfo rm supported
by pi les,and raised above the water some three and a
hal f feet . One hal f of the plat form is covered by the
134 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT
house ; the other hal f, left free, is used to fi sh from,for
the chi ldren to play about o n,and for recept ion s when
pal avers are held . The distan ce from the Shore varies
with the overflow Of the lake,at the t ime Of my vis i t
abou t thi rty or forty yards,though for mi les beyond
this the ground was saturated with water,whose depth
varied from three and a hal f to n ine feet . I closely
questioned the natives as to why they had bu i l t thei r
V i l l age upon the lake,and they invariably gave as thei r
reason that they ch iefly fi shed at n ight and,as the water
Often overflowed,they wou ld have to bu i ld thei r houses
too far away to come and go during the n ight whereas ,‘ now,
’ they said,
‘ we are close to where we catch our fi sh,
and we often catch them even from ourhouses Under
neath each house were t ied from on e to five and sometimes
more canoes . These were much l ighter,more rounded Off
in the keel,stem and stern than the beach canoes .” 1
“ Three white men,they told me
,had vis i ted thei r
vi l lage,Captain Dudley in 1 876, j udging from the age Of
a ch i ld that was born at the t ime of h is V i s i t ; Captain
Grant andMr Gi l lett in 1 87 8, I afterwards learnt were
the other two .
’
Thus,except for the vis i t ofMr . McCarthy,
who wrote
the above account,I bel ieve M r . O
’
Brien is the fi rst
white man to vi s i t th is in teresting Spo t S ince that t ime .
The port Of Ax im l ies as near as poss ible in lat i tude
5° N . and 2
°
14’
45" W . longitude . I ts appearance from
the sea i s most picturesque,and the fi rs t impress ion s Of
the place are far from dispiri t ing,and upon the whole
,
the heal th ofthe Eu ropeans stat ioned there is decided ly
good . Two bays are vis ible from the sea,a larger and a
1 To the GoldCoastforGold. Burton andCameron
136 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
to al l other parts of the coast and exchanged for mi l let,
yams,potatoes and palm oi l (then u sed for food) , which
were not to be Obtained in any quanti ti es in the Axim
d istri ct .
The A n cobra,or Snake R iver
,cal led so on account of
i ts windings,i s the R io Cobre of Bosman
,and is n ow
navigated in s team launches for some eighty or n i nety
m i les . I t was,
” says the same author,a waterway too
FORT ST . ANTHONY , AX IM .
pleasant to be l ightly passed over,its mouth being some
di stance to the west of Fort St . Anthony . I t possesses a
wide,shal low estuary
,sand - locked l i ke al l other rivers i n
th is part ofA frica,over the bar of which the great A t lantic
rol lers thunder wi th unceas ing roar,that makes i t im
passable to ord inary vessels ;whi le a short d istance in land ,i t grows deeper and narrower for some mi les of its course
,
THE AN COBRA R IVER . 137
andbecomes a u sefu l stream . In the early part of the
eighteen th cen tury,a smal l three days
’
voyage upon it
was con s idered a great undertak ing,and afforded a
pleasan t trip . I n those days the banks down to the
water ’s edge were adorned with lofty trees,afford ing the
most agreeable Shade to the voyager,Whi le the trees
were en l ivened w i th troops of monkeys and variet ies
of birds of the most var iegated plumage . The lower
reaches of the river are very tortuous,and many towns
and V i l l ages are scattered upon its banks . For some
years the Dutch held a fort at the vi l lage ofEquira, somemi le s from the mouth Of the river . This d istr i ct was
then the centre Of a large gold -min ing industry,and the
people d id a very cons iderable trade in the preciou s
metal derived from the m i nes then in ex is tence in the
neighbou rhood,as wel l as from the great amount Of gold
brought in from the su rrounding coun try. Bu rton and
Cameron mu st have passed near to the source of th is
wealth when on their way to the Ingotra mine described
in t he l as t Chapter,though I am of Opin ion that th i s
mine is on e Of the O ld n at ive workings of that date,
included in this d i stri ct of Equira. I n my Copy Of
Bosman’
s Gaz’
nea ( 1 705) n o mention is made ofthe name
Ofthe fort at th is place . Bu rton cal l s i t “ Fort Equirawhi le Bosman speaks of i t as “ the country ofEquiraSome authori t ies
,among whom are Bowd ich and Mere
d i th,place E l i sa Carthago at this spot
,whi le others
,in
clud ing Bosman,Lieutenant Jeekel (Royal Dutch Navy )
and Burton and Cameron,place E l isa Carthago upon
A kromasiPoint,near the mouth Of the An cobra R iver .
The account of the destruct ion of the fort i s men
tioned by most authors,but the d i fficul ty remains as to
138 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
whether i t was Fort Equira or Fort E l i sa Carthago .
The latter place was bui l t by the Portuguese,sometime
before 1 700,and captu red by the French
,who held i t
for a conside rable t ime,did a great trade in gold
,and
were final ly driven out by the Dutch . These last pos
sessors d id n ot enjoy i t for long . The fol lowing account
of i ts destruct ion is by Bosman :“ I remember when I
had the government ofAx im,a very rich one (mine) was
d iscovered,but we lost our foot ing there in a very tragica l
manner,for the commander-in - chief Ofthe negroes being
closely bes ieged by ourmen (so fame reports) shot gold
instead ofbul lets,showing by s igns that he was ready to
treat and afterwards to trade,but in the m idst of thei r
n egotiations he blew up him sel f and al l his enemies at
once,as unfortunately as brave ly putt ing an end to our
s iege and to his own l i fe,and
,l i ke Samson
,revenging his
death upon his enemies . To encompass h is des ign he
had encou raged a s lave,by prom i se Of new cloths
,to
stand ready with a match,with which he was to touch
the powder when he saw him stamp wi th h i s foot,which
the s i l ly wretch but too punctual ly performed , und is
covered by any one but one of our company ’s s laves,
who,Observing it
,withdrew as s i lent ly as t imely
,being
on ly left al ive to tel l us the news ; and s ince we could
get no better accoun t,we were obl iged to bel ieve th is ,
i t being too certain that our fort,to the cost Of our
d irector and some of our enem ies,was blown up.
The Axim of the presen t day and the immed iate
country su rrounding presents a very d i fferent appearance
to what i t d id in these early t imes . The O ldDutch fort
has seen several masters and undergone many changes .
O r iginal ly bu i l t by the Portuguese about 1515, i n the days
140 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
seems to have an equal r ight with the burghers ofMinde
to the advice,that they shou ld keep thei r gate shut for
fear the fort should run away "
This was cal led Fredericksborg and was n ear~to the
town of P rinces at the mouth of the Pr inces o r St . John ’s
R iver. On ly the great double doorway now remains .
Some ten mi les farther to the east was another
Brandenburger fort cal led Dorothea,which appears to
have been given by the Dutch to the B randenbu rgers,
who cons iderably en larged and improved i t . I t was
flat- roofed,contained two smal l batte r ies
,and was fu r
nishedwith a number ofrooms and conveniences s l ightly
bu i l t and somewhat crowded . A th i rd place of impor
tance belonging to these i nterlopers,as they were styled
,
was a smal l fort-house between the Mamfro H i l l and
Fort Dorothea,bui l t on the m idd le tongue of Cape Th ree
Points,at the vi l lage ofTakrama
,i n 1674.
A t the end of the seventeen th century these places
were the centre of a thriving gold trade ; at the present
t ime they have d isappeared and thei r s i tes are almos t for
gotten . The B randenburgers were n ot successfu l in thei r
deal ings with the nat ives,who treated many of the
d i rectors and ofl‘icers of the company with the utmost
contempt,final ly break ing thei r power and becom ing
masters over them,unt i l they were compel led to leave
the coast through the stagnat ion of thei r trade.Axim is now an importan t trad ing station
,and has
yet a great fortune in store as the entrance port to the
valuable Tarkwa min ing d istri cts,and to the t imber
forests to be found on either bank of the A ncobra R iver .
The amount Of gold s ti l l shipped annual ly from this
port amounts to £ 6000 ,whi lst thousands offine mahogany
TIMBER AT AX IM . 141
trees are fel led every year, and towed down the An cobra,
to be squared upon the beach and exported to Europe .
Rubber and sk ins are also brought from the interior to
this port i n large quanti t ies . The surround ing country
is hi l ly and wel l wooded . Water i s plen ti fu l and the
whole d istrict i s very rich in gold . Transport i s the one
thing wanted to trans form th is comparatively healthy
S Q UAR ING MAHOGANY ON THE BEACH , AX IM .
part of the Gold Coast in to a busy centre of mining
industry and trade,which is at present crippled by a trans
port costing some £ 25per ton from Axim to Tarkwa .
Axim is various ly wri tten Axem,
’
A tzyn and Achen,whi le the natives cal led i t E ssim . I t must not be con
founded with Ak im in the eastern part of the colony to
the north ofAccra .
142 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
The country of Ante orHante,the present Ahanta
upon modern maps,was cont inuous with the Axim
terri tory,and extended from Bushua or Acoda in the
west to Sekondi,a d istance of some twenty- five mi les .
Formany years the Ante country included Axim,which
was known as Upper Ante . I t was a popu lous and
powerfu l state,i nhabited by a war- l ike people
,who gave
much trouble to the Dutch , and were constantly at war
with their neighbours,more parti cu larly wi th those to
the north of thei r own terri tory,i n the Adorn country
,
and who final ly broke thei r power. A t D i xcove,or
D i ck ’s Cove,the Dikjeschoft ofthe Dutch , in the Infuma
country,a l i ttle to the west Of the vi l lage Of Bu shua
,the
Engl ish establ i shed themselves and bu i l t a fort in 1691 ,after several struggles wi th the B randenbu rgers
,who
d isputed th is terri tory with them . This took six years
to complete,and became the headquarters Of the trade
in sophist icated gold ment ioned i n the previous chapter.Burton says i t was bu i l t i n 1 68 1 and fin ished in 1688 .
A t the present day i t has a terri tory qu i te d ist in ct from
the Ahanta country,extend ing along the shore to
Achowa Point,and for some twenty mi les in l and .
Three m i les to the east Of this sett lement were Boutri
Vil lage and Fort . The smal l river runn ing into the sea at
Boutririses in the Adom country,which i s said to abound
in gold . Amanfee also abounds in very fine gold,which
is general ly found in quartz,and is ground upon stones
arranged under large sheds for the pu rpose. The former
remains,but the latter has been long in ru ins
,while
s ixteen mi les farther to the east was Sekondi,where the
Dutch had a smal l s tation cal led ‘ Orange Fort,below
which the Ante country ended . I trust I may be excused
144 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
rebui ld their fort,but met
,upon each occas ion
,with much
oppos it ion from the nat ives,the town of Sekond i i tsel f
fal l ing at l ast before the ravages of the people Of Adom .
Sekond i i s also described as being on e Of the health ies t
p laces on the coast for the res iden ce Of Eu ropean s.
The country round i s d ivers ified and very fert i l e.Some four mi les west ofSekond i are Takorad i Bay and
Fort,the latter now in ru ins and overgrown wi th bush .
The fort was bui l t sometime before the m idd le Of the
seventeenth centu ry , and has had many European masters,the Engl i sh
,Du tch
,Brandenbu rgers, Swedes and the
Danes each having had possess ion in turn . De Ruyter
took i t from the Engl i sh in 1 665, during the Dutch wars
in the reign ofCharles the Second,and after many years
Of prosperi ty the town gradual ly decl ined,to be at last
destroyed by the people ofAdorn . Takorad i was the scene
ofthe murder ofthe Dutch m i l i tary commandant ofBoutri
and his ass i stant i n 1 837 , andan encounter between the
Dutch troops and Bon su,the chief ofthe Ahan tas .
The whole country appears to have been at the
height Of i ts prosperi ty at the end of the seventeenth
century,when i t contained numerous vi l lages
,wel l popu
l ated,a plent i fu l harvest
,and abundance of cattl e
,so
much SO,that the Dutch sold iers , who cou ld hard ly l ive
on thei r pay elsewhere,could here l ive wel l upon hal f.
Bosman declares Boutrito be heal thier than other places
along the coast,for during his stay there he O bserved
,
that fewer people d ied there in proport ion to the number
Ofpeople and time than anywhere el se, and that i f the
whole coast were l ike i t,i t would soon lose i ts dead ly
name .
About midway between 2 the V i l l age of Boutri and
CAPE THREE POINTS . 145
Takorad i Fort i s the smal l town Of Adjuah . This place,though not very large or populous
,i s a port of entry
,
and is provided with customs,post and telegraph
offices . I t i s reported that large beds of s late are to be
found in th is neighbourhood,which may in t ime prove
ofvalue . The mosqui toes at th is town at certain t imes of
the year render l i fe to the European almost unbearable.
The Ante country was final ly subdued about 1 692
by the Adom people,who were governed by five or s ix
principal men without a king,and who were a terror to al l
the tribes around . Their country extended north Of Ante
from the A n cobra to the P rah,a d istance Of more than
fi fty m i les,and for about the same d istance in land . The i r
leader in warwas a native cal led A nquah,whose name was
a terror to al l the tribes around,on account ofthe atrocious
manner in wh ich he treated his prisoners .
Cape Three Points stands about m idway between Ax imand D ixcove
,upon the m idd le point of which stands
the presen t l ighthouse. This was the o ld Cape Tres
Puntos Of early days,forming an excel lent landmark for
mar iners,the capes being respectively fi fty ,
forty -five and
forty m i les west Of Cape Coast . About four mi les to the
east of the cape are the remains Of another Dutch ru in,
now cal led A cquidah,the Acoda of the seventeenth
century,one of the stations of the Brandenburgers
,bu i l t
about 1 680 and named Dorothea,which I have previous ly
described . Good oysters abound here .
The next town Of in terest along the coast is Chama,
s i tuated at the mouth ofthe Prah R iver,between which
po int and the town OfSekondi extends a strip ofcountry
known by the same name . Chama is also written
Chumah and Essama,pronounced by the people Nshama.
IO
146 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
I t is continuous with the Ahanta country,and resembles
i t in poin t Of ferti l i ty. The town itsel f is fairly large and
wel l popu lated,but is very hot
,and on the whole
not SO heal thy as the country farther west . The present
fort,overlook ing the town
,was bui l t by the Portuguese
in 1680,and captured from them by the Dutch . I t is
very smal l,contain ing four batteries
,and is known as
I NTER IOR OF WESLEYAN SCHOOL , CHAMA .
Saint Sebastian . l t furn ishes miserable Offices for the
D is trict Commi ss ioners who res ide at E lm ina, and
quarters for an ass istant Colon ial Surgeon in add it ion to
the usual rooms for customs,post and telegraph requ i re
ments . I n the Dutch wars wi th England it was almost
completely destroyed,but was restored by the Dutch ,
in whose hands i t remained unti l the whole coast was
148 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
of the upper courses of the Prah and the Birrim flow
through a rich auri ferous country,Eastern and Western
Ak im,which I hOpe wi l l be opened up in the near
futu re to Eu ropean development .
The k ingdoms of Wassaw,Sefwi and Denkira l i e
d i rectly to the north Of the Apol lon ian,Ahanta and
Chama countries on the coast . The largest of the th ree
is Wassaw,which was governed in the past by four chiefs
,
whose relat ion and power were exerci sed independently
Of each other . Sefwi and Denkira form the no rthern
boundaries of th is country,which is general ly given to
extend from 1 00 to 1 20 mi les east to west and some s ix ty
mi les from north to south,the eastern port ion of the
country com ing down to the sea at Sekondi . The Anco
bra flows through the centre ofthe country,and the Tano
upon i ts western border,almost d ivid ing i t from Ass in i
i n French Guinea . The Tarkwa and most ofthe present
we l l -known mines are s ituated in Wassaw,and most of the
t imber exported from Ax im is Obtained from the same
terri tory . The chief town s are Ak ropong . Awudwa and
Tarkwa . I t i s very thin ly populated in proport ion to i ts
s i ze,and was once a strong tributary power to the
Ashanti s,paying an indefin ite yearly tax
,based upon the
number oftowns and vi l lages found in the country .
Sefwi l ies due north ofWassaw,having Aowin for i ts
western boundary and Ashant i on i ts no rth . Very l i ttl e
i s known about the country and i ts inhabitants even at
the present day,th i s part Of the colony having been
vis i ted by very few Europeans,and consequently but
l itt l e explored . Like Wassaw,the country is wel l wooded
and is watered by the uppe r cou rses of the same rivers .
I n some maps th is country i s incl uded in the Ashant i
SEFWI AND DENKIRA . 149
terri tory,and the peop le were no doubt tributary at one
t ime to the dominant power of th is race . The chief
town in the Sefwi country i s Wiawusu,near the northern
border Of Wassaw . Sefwi is a lso wri tten Sawee and
Sahue .
Denklra IS the th ird Ofthese inland states,lying north
east between Wassaw and Ashanti,and is the smal lest
ofthe three terri tories . I ts capital bears the same name
and is S i tuated a l i tt le to the west Of the Ofi n R iver,
which passes through the centre Of the country. Osa i
Tootoo,the first King of Kumas i of whom ment ion is
made,conquered Denkira
,notwi thstand ing that the latter
country received help from the Europeans at E lm ina,
i n the form ofcannon,about 1 7 20 . These cannon were
captured by the Ashantis and carried as troph ies to thei r
capi tal . Before th is t ime the Dutch governor of the
coast paid a monthly sum to the King Of Denkira for
E lm ina Castle,which
,by his conquest by Osai Tootoo
,
became the spoi l of the vi ctor,whose ances tors enjoyed
i t for many years afterwards . These monthly pay
ments were cal led “ Notes,
” and many stat ions along
the coast were held by the Europeans i n the same way.
The brother Apokoo, and successor to Osai Tootoo ,com
pletedthe conquest OfAkim,and secured from the people
ofthat d i stri ct the paynotes that the Akims held for the
Engl ish,Dutch and Dan i sh forts at Accra and for those
farther to leeward . These paynotes had been original ly
held by the chiefs OfAccra,who lost them to the Akims
when seeking help from them against thei r enemies,
the Aquamboes , a Volta R iver people .
J udging from thei r language the Wassaws, Sefwis
and Denkiras al l speak d ialects of the same tongue,
150 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
which wou ld induce to the bel ief that they have sprung
from the same source,being on ly d i fferent branches of
the same fami ly,and related to the Fanti
,Ak im and
Ashan t i people .
Before leaving this part of the coast,I must mention
one other station belonging to the Dutch,some five mi les
west of Chama . I t was then cal led A boary,the Aboadd i
ofour modern maps,and forms a smal l point of rocks
j utt ing for some d istance out to sea. For several years
during the early part of the eighteenth century,a Dutch
lodge was maintained at th is place,but as i t appeared to
bring more profi t into the pockets of the offi cers res id ing
there than into the coffers Of the o ld Dutch Company,
i t was c losed as being unnecessary,the fi rs t principle
i n Dutch trad ing being,
“ That you must trade with
advantage to yoursel f or not trade at al l ”.
152 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
The o ld Dutch fort thus mentioned was a square
bu i ld ing,strengthened with large and roomy batter ies
,
on which was accommodation for no less than thirty- two
guns,each gun having its separate port i n the breast
work,and garrison - room for s ixty men . . I t was sel dom
,
however,that the ful l complement Of guns and men was
found necessary to defend the place against the attacks
Of the nat ives . I n 1695the place was be s ieged by the
surround ing tribes,and susta ined a vigo rous attack
,of
which the fol lowing i s the Dutch accoun t
Our enem ies attacked us by n ight,when I had but
a very sorry garrison,not fu l l twenty men
,hal f Ofwhom
were not capable of service,and yet I forced them to
reti re wi th loss,after a fight offive hours .
’
Twas wonder
fu l that we lost but two men in thi s act ion,for we had
no doors to most ofou r gun -holes,and the nat ives poured
smal l shot on us as th ick as hai l ; insomuch , that those
few doors wh ich were left to some gun -holes were become
l ike a target,which had been Shot at for a mark
,and the
very staff wh ich our flag was fastened on,though i t took
up so l i tt le room,did not escape shot- free . You may
imagine what case we were in when one of them began
to hack our very doors with an axe,but th is undertaker
being k i l led,the rest sheered Off. The general to whom
I had represented my weak condit ion,advised two ships
to anchor before our fort,i n order to supply me with
men and ammun it ion. Peter H i nken,the captain Ofone
of these vessel s (the day before I was attacked ) , sent his
boat fu l l ofmen with orders to come to me, but they
were no sooner on the land than the nat ives fel l upon
them so furiously,even under our cannon
,that they
k i l led several of them,which though I saw
,I could not
154 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
two compan ies ex isted for many years,and at the
present day Commendah i s divided into two fact ion s,
Engl ish and Dutch,though the forts and trad ing factor ies
have long s ince d isappeared from the scene.
The Dutch fort was destroyed during the Amer i can
War,and time and cl imate have destroyed that Of the
Engl ish . When approached from the west Commendah
i s backed by a high hi l l,an insul ated elevat ion known as
the Gold H i l l,the source of the nat ive d ispute with the
Dutch,which is re lated as fol lows : Large quantit ies of
gold were exported from this part of the coast,and the
Dutch were natural ly anxious to become possessed Of the
source Of these suppl ies,supposed to be the Gold H i l l .
Arrangements had been made with the n at ives,and in
1694the Dutch caused fou r miners to be sent from Europe
to prospect the country forgold . They were o rdered to
assay the hi l l i n question,which was s i tuated in the
Kommany count ry, about two mi les from the Dutch fort
Vredenburg,which seemed to be wel l p laced for the
purpose,and prom i sed to reward them wel l for thei r
pains . A s was Often the case wi th the nat ives Of the
coast,th is h i l l was at th is t ime a fetish
,and dedicated
to one Of thei r many gods,and thus cons idered sacred .
The Dutch miners went to work,but in a few days they
were assau l ted,i l l - treated and robbed by the natives
,
and even taken pr i soners . The Dutch complained to
the k ing,but i n the usual sh i fty fashion he placed the
blame on somebody else, and the war began between the
Dutch and the n at ives which led to the fi rm establ i sh
ment ofthe Engl ish,as before mentioned , on the ru ins
of the O ld fort they had previous ly posses sed . Com
mendah has been variously wr i tten Commenda and
ST. GEORGE D ’ELMINA . 155
Kommany , and is cal led by the nat ives E kki-Tokki orA katay Ki , and somet imes A katay Kin . The Engl ish
were said to be wel l fortified at th is p lace,so wel l so
that Bosman said i t wou ld be imposs ible to move them
except in time Of war,and even then they would have a
n ice bone to pick . The fort was l arge and possessed
four batteries,i n add ition to a tu rret that cou ld also be
used for guns,and ser iou s ly incommode the Dutch
,as
wel l as having more and larger cannon than thei r rivals .Commendah i s one Of the towns mentioned by Barbot
to which the Rouen and D i eppe traders sent thei r fleet
Of three vessel s as early as 1383, one of which,cal led
La V z'
erge, touched at Komenda or Koman i one hundred
years before the arrival of the Portuguese .
Some ten or twelve mi les to the east of Commendah
stands the present important town of E lm ina,with its
two forts ofSt . Jago and St . George d’
E lmina,famous
as being the fi rst European establ ishment on the Gold
Coast . The castle of St . George i s supposed to have
been bui l t by the French in 1383, rebu i l t by the Portu
guese in 148 1 , captured by the Dutch about 1 638 , and
handed to the Engl ish by the last owners in 1 867 , and
is one of the largest and finest cast les remain ing upon
the Gold Coast at the presen t day, stand ing as an
example of the pat ience,sk i l l and industry bestowed by
the Portuguese and Dutch upon thei r colon ial possessions .
The native n ame for the town is Oddena, Addina or
Edina,and why the Portuguese named i t Ora del M ina
ormouth ofthe m ines,i t i s d ifficu l t to say,
for no mines
are now found in the immediate neighbou rhood,though
i t was famed for centu r ies as the port from which the
greatest output of gold came,probably drawn from al l
156 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
parts Of the coast,and which reached its zen i th early in
the eighteenth century,with an annual export Of near ly
ofthe prec ious metal .
The castl e i s one of strength and beauty,bui l t square
wi th very high wal ls,and four batteri es wi thin and
another on the ou tworks of the cast le,al l wel l fu rn ished
with brass and i ron guns (of course now Obsolete) , and
provid ing garri son accommodation for 200 men , i n add i
t ion to the officers’ quarters . On the land s ide i t was
supp l ied with two canals or moats,cut in the rock on
which the cast le stands,i n order to provide enough
fresh water for the garri son and the sh ips frequenting
the port . Above it,a short d istance i nland
,s tands
Fort S t . J ago orS t . J ames,cal led by the Dutch Conrads
burg,on a hi l l bearing the same name
,which completely
commands the other fort of St . George,and is a l arge
rectangular fort with one square tower,the whole being
now used as a j ai l . St . J ago was bu i l t by the Dutch
in 1 640, and i t was from this h i l l , before the fort was
bu i l t,that they d irected thei r guns and compel led the sur
render Ofthe Portuguese in Fort S t . George in 1 638, the
on e completely command ing the other . D i rect ly under
the fort Of S t . George is s i tuated the nat ive town,l ong
and i rregularly bu i l t,the houses being mostly of stone
,
which i s very plent i fu l in the neighbourhood,and con
trasting very much with the ord inary mud houses of the
coast towns . A short d istance east of E lmin a the Sweet
R iver runs into the sea,poss ibly cal led SO because i t
brings down so much fresh water in the ra iny season
that its waters are qu ite fresh,whi le in the : dry season
the opposi te i s the case . This river rises i n the Denkira
country,and in ear ly t imes formed the boundary between
ELMINA AND CAPE COAST. 157
the k ingdoms of Kommany and Fetu , i ts near neighbou r.I ts cou rse is very swift .The present castle of E lm ina is now the res idence Of
the D i s tri ct Commiss ion er,an Ass istant Colonial Sur
geon,the Officer Commanding
,and some few Hausa
t roops,besides provid ing the necessary accommodation
for the var ious departmental officers . Prempeh was de
tained here after h is captu re in 1 896. The country
round E lm ina is d ivers ified,and gives evidence of having
been worked for gold . The town itsel f i s unheal thy ;the natives su ffer from smal l -pox and Europeans from
the d readed malar ia so prevalent along the coast.A three hours ’ j ourney
,the d is tance being about eigh t
mi les,along rather a good road
,brings us to Cape Coast
Cast le,the Ooegwa Of Bosman and Cabocors or Cabo
Corso of the Portuguese . The cast le,next to that of
E lm ina,is the largest and best on the coast .
O n approaching Cape Coast from the west th ree eleva
t ions are seen,two forts and the castle . The most westerly
i s Fort Victoria,once cal led Fort Royal l
,and also Ph ipps
Tower,and the ear ly Fredericksborg of the Danes
,bui l t
i n 1 659,bought by the Engl ish in 1 685, and consist ing
of a huge round martel lo tower, unoccupied and com
manding both the town and the castle . The second i s
Fort Wi l l iam,once known as Smith’s Tower
,bui l t by
P res ident Maclean about 1 830 ,another martel lo
,circu lar
below and square above,mounted with twelve guns and
also commanding the cast le . I t is now the l ighthouse for
the port,and stands nearly 200 feet above the sea level .
Cape Coast Castle i tsel f stands upon a narrow
spi t of rocks wi th the nat ive town clustering behind
i t.Fort Cabo Corso is supposed to have been bu i l t
158 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
by the Portuguese in 1624,though the Rev . Mr . Rein
do rf states that i t was bu i l t by the Swedes in 1 652,
by whom it was named Caro lusborg or Charles ’s Fort,
and that in 1 658 i t fe l l i nto the hands of the Danes,
through the instrumental i ty of one Of thei r servants .I n 1 659 the Danes su rrendered i t to the Du tch, from
whom the nat ives Of Fetu captured i t in 1660 . From
these the Swedes are supposed to have taken i t,i n whose
hands i t remained for th ree years,when i t again fe l l i nto
the possess ion of the Fetus,who voluntar i ly su rrendered
i t to the Dutch in 1 663. I n the next year,1664,
Admi ral
Holmes captu red i t for the Engl i sh,in whose hand s i t
has s ince remained,though several t imes be s ieged ; by
De Ruyter i n 1 665, and by a Fre nch squad ron i n 1 7 57 .
The author of Battles places i ts captu re by
Admi ral Holmes in 166 1,and this i s borne out by
anothe r author i ty,the Rev . J . B . Anaman
,who s tates
that the Engl ish en la rged i t i n 1 66 2 . However this may
be,Cabo Corso was the fi nest fort in the hands Of the
E ngl ish du ring the e igh teenth centu ry,con ta in ing wel l
bu i l t qua rters for its Offi cers . I t was st rengthened wi th
five batteries and a turret,al l wel l suppl ied wi th guns
,
command ing both the l and and the sea,which made it
almost in v i ncibl e to attack from either s ide .
The Cape Coast ofto -day is a l arge and i rregularly bu i l t
town ofsome inhabitants,European quarters and
native huts being in close proximity,much to the detriment
ofthe heal th ofthe inhabitants ofthe former. Next to the
cast le the Chief bu i ld ings Ofimportan ce are Goth ic House,the res idence and Offi ces ofthe D i s tri ct Commiss ioner
,the
Colon ial Hospital,the Engl ish
,Roman Cathol i c and Wes
l eyan places Of worship and thei r respective school s,and
160 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
but th is has been,and wi l l remain
,in m i l i tary hands for
some time to come . The resu l t i s that other officers
have to l ive where they can , there bei. g l itt le other p ro
vis ion for their accommodation .
Landing at Cape Coast i s at t imes very unpleasant,but
during the Harmattan season in December,J anuary and
February the sea is fai rly calm,and land ing i s effected
TH E L IGHTHOU SE (FORT W I LL IAM ), CAPE COAST .
without the least danger,while between May and August
the su rf i s Often so bad that boats cannot work for days
together . The principal landing- place is a smal l bay
j ust under the north- east Of the castle,partly protected
by a reef j utt ing out from the rock on which the cast le
i s bu i l t . Near the land ing- place are a number of cannon
(l ate ly pi led to extend the breakwater) lying near the
CAPE COAST CASTLE . 1 6 1
beach,l anded no one knows when
,and left there ever
since to rus t away. Cape Coast i s not the on ly town
along thi s shore where now obsolete cannon ornamen t
the beach,a tribute to the lack ofenergy ofbygone days .
The whole coast i s an example of the undoing by one
Governo r of the doings of h i s predecessor .
There has been in the past l i tt le orno continu ity, and
this perhaps is to be accounted forby the fact that each
new- comer,knowing h i s stay wi l l be brief
,i s anxious to
carve out fame for himsel f as qui ck ly as poss ible,by
pu rsu ing a plan that brings the ind ividual in to p ro
minen ce,but sometimes to the detriment Of the general
wel fare Of the colony . West Afri ca i s a country where
great haste is inj urious,and the nat ive motto Softly
,
softly,catch monkey
,
” i s a very true one . The motto
of one governor was “ Festina lente I t was erased
from the place where i t was inscribed by his successor .Both are now dead and gone
,but the fact points a
valuable lesson nevertheless .
I n the tr iangular courtyard of Cape Coast Castle l i e
the mortal remains of Mr . and Mrs . Maclean, .the
last rest ing- place of the poetess “ L . E . L .
” and her
husband , Pres ident Maclean . The local practice of
inte r-mural sepultu re was here fol lowed,and the floors
of the surgery, the k i tchen and the store- rooms of
the colon ial hospital have al l been used for the same
purpose . The graves are marked in the fol lowing
manner, and a neat tablet on the wal l n ear by,bears
record Of the death of the poetess,and the su rvivor’s
grief.
1 62 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Mr. and Mrs . Maclean landed at Cape Coast in August ,1 838 . The poetess d ied on the 15th ofOctober, and her
husband fol lowed her in May,1 847 , to the great regret
of the whole popu lat ion . The story of her tragi c death
n eed not be retold in these pages,but a short accoun t Of
her l i fe may be Ofin terest to many readers .Laetit ia E l i zabeth Landon was descended from a
Herefordsh i re fam i ly , which held landed property in the
county. Her grandfather was the Rev . John Landon,Rector Of Tedstone . This l i ving
,together wi th Tedstone
Court and estate,was sold in h i s l i fet ime
,and the fam i ly
was left wi th very slende r means . A t an early age his
eldest son,Miss Landon
’
s fathe r,went to sea ; but some
years later he settled in London,where he became an
ass istant and final ly a partner in the house Of Adairs,
army agents . Soon afterwards he married a Welsh lady
of the name Of Bi shop,and took up hi s res idence in
Han ’s P lace,Chel sea
,where in 1 80 2 his eldest chi ld ,
Laet iti a E l i zabeth,was born . I n her s ixth year she was
sent for a few months to a board ing school,almost next
door to her father’
s house ; but M r . Landon having
taken a farm on the borders ofHerefordshire,which he
confided to the superintendence of one ofhis brothers ,
1 64 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
which the strai tened ci rcumstan ces Of her fami ly made
doubly welcome . Shortly after the publ i cation Of the[rnprovisatrica which, though far from being her best,was her most popu lar work
,Miss Landon lost her father
,
to whom she was deeply attached . I n 1 825 she pub
lisheda volume contain ing “ The Troubadour Poetica l
S ketches ofModern P i ctu res ” ;and“ H i s torical Sketches ”.
The next production ofher muse was The Golden V iolet
i n 1 8 26,fol lowed by me V en etian Bracelet in 1 829.
Miss Landon might now have graceful ly reposed upon
her wel l -earned poeti c lau rel s . But she resolved to enter
the l i sts with the novel ists ofthe day,and to struggle in a
new arena for the wreath Of fame . Her fi rs t ventu re in
thi s new and per i lou s field was Romance and R eality ,
publ i shed in 1 831 , fol lowed bv two others,Francesca
Carrara and E tnel Cnnrc/zill .
From her chi ldhood L . E . L . might be said to have
l ived upon the same spot,and with the same people .
Soon after her father ’s death she became an inmate of
the fam i ly Of the M isses Lance,who had occupied the
hou se in Han ’s P l ace,in which she had for a br i ef t ime
gone to school,and which was formany years a temple
oftu it ion,and cou ld boast Ofmany gi fted scholars
,among
others,Miss M itfo rd and Lady Carol ine Lamb . Her
attachmen t to London was in tense . She pai d a v is i t
n ow and then to her relation s i n the country ; but we
find from her co rrespondence that her heart was always
in London . In the summer of 1 834 she joined S ir A .
Farquha r and h is daughter in an excurs ion to Par is .
She does not appear,howeve r
,to have been so deeply
impressed with the novel ty,gaiety and picturesqueness
Of the French metropol i s as might have been expected
FORT MACARTHY . 1 65
from her l ively and su sceptible imagin at ion . On her
return to London she resumed her l i terary pursu its wi th
even greater zest than before .
I n the sp r ing of 1 836 the fr iends of L . E . L. were
apprised that she was about to fo rm a matr imon ialal l iance wi th a gentleman whose friendsh ip she had long
en j oyed . Circumstances,however
,induced her to break
Off th i s engagement,and in 1 838 she gave her han d to
Mr . George Maclean,Governo r of Cape Coast Cast le ,
who had been for some time on a vis i t to England . A
fortn ight after her marriage she sai led for her home on
the Shores ofAfri ca,fu l l ofplans fo r the continuation Of
her l i terary pursu its . But al l her anti cipations Of the
future were doomed to di sappointment . The same vessel
that brought to her fr iends and relatives SO many pleas~
ing hopes and remin iscen ces,conveyed al so the stern
announcement that “ L . E . L .
” was n o more,for early on
the morn ing Ofthe 15th Of October, 1 838, she was founddead in her room
,lying close to the door .
A l i tt le to the n orth of the castle stan d s Fort Ma
carthy upon an isolated em in en ce,whi le about o ne mile
to the north-west l ies a l arge lagoon,known as the Salt
pond,the scene of a sk i rm ish with the Ashantis in 1 8 1 6,
and approached by the Saltpond Road . Women have
frequen t ly washed gold from the sands to the west of
the cast le,and the land at the east s ide of the town is
studded with gold -d iggers ’ pits,now become receptacles
fo r al l the refuse that can be found to be thrown i nto
them ev idences of the r i chness Of the soi l in former days .
About one mile to the east Of Cape Coast Castl e isthe smal l fi sh ing vi l lage Of Manfu l or Aman fu l
,the scene
ofan Ashant i attack ear ly in the p resent cen tu ry .
1 66 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
One ofthe best roads in the colony extends from Cape
Coast to Prahsu,unt i l recently the boundary of the
Ashan ti country,a d istance Of some seventy- n ine mi les
a lmost due north from the cast le . This road was con
structed in 1 873by Sir Garnet Wolseley forthe transport
of the troops to Ashant i,and has been kept in good re
pai r s ince that date . This road has now been carr i ed across
the P rah,th rough the Adans i country to Kumas i
,and tele
graphic communication i s now establ ished the whole way.
The total d is tance from Cape Coast Cast le to Kumasi i s
about 1 80 miles,but in a d irect l ine not more than 1 25.
The country for the fi rst few mi les along the road
to the P rah i s covered with rather stunted bush,giving
way at last to tal ler trees and the denser growth
that extends through the coun try from east to west
for about fi fty m i les north Of Kumas i,th i s in i ts turn
giving way to the vast grassy plains that rol l away to
the foot of the Kong Mountains . From the river P rah
to the Adans i H i l l s,which a re about forty m i les away
,
the country is more open and a l i tt le less wooded— th in ly
peopled by scattered vi l lages of not more than 500
people . A fter the Adansi H i l l s are crossed the real
A shanti count ry i s entered,and the vi l lages on the road
are more numerous and more th ick ly populated .
The Adans i H i l l s const i tu te the most seri ous phys i cal
d i fficu l ty to be overcome between Cape Coast and Kumas i .
They cross the P rah road some forty m i les from P rahsu,
and are supposed to be connected with the Ak im and
Aquapim ranges i n the east . The ascent on the south
s ide is very rugged and steep,ri s ing to 1600 feet, where
a smal l p lateau extends for a short d istance to lead down
on the other s ide by a much more favourable path .
1 68 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Guinea Coas t he marks Saboe as an in l and coun try .
Saboe, he says , begin s at the bottom of the hi l l and
ends about hal f a m i le below Mou ri,being in i ts whole
extent along the shore about two mi les (Dutch) and
about twice as broad . From the Dan i sh mount,i.e.
,
Fort Victoria, i t i s about hal f a mi l e (Dutch) to Congo ,where the Dutch formerly had a fine stone house
,d ivided
and s ituated upon two smal l h i l l s,upon which thei r flag
was planted in order to keep out other Europeans whomight have been tempted to trade there
,and thus have
cons iderably interfered wi th the trade done at Mou r i .The Congo ofwhich he speaks I am unable to find any
mention of,and the s i te seem s to have d isappeared from
the maps,i f i t was ever marked .
Saboe,
was about equal i n power wi th K ommany,and
i ts people were as great vi l la ins,but the country produced
an abundance Of corn,yarn s and potatoes
,and from
Mouri about 1 00 canoes were dai ly laden with palm Oi l
forAxim and Accra .
The Dutch fort at Mouri was cal l ed Nassaw,and
was bu i l t by them in the seventeenth centu ry,being
thei r chief place of res idence when the Portuguese held
E lm ina . I t was a l arge fort,almost square
,with the
front somewhat broader than the other s ides,provided
with four batteries suppl ied with no l ess than eighteen
pieces of ordnance,the wal l s of the fort be ing higher
than those Of any other fort along the coast, E lm ina
excepted . The curtain on the seaside contained two
batter i es,almost as spacious and conven ient as those at
Cape Coast,whi le at each angle Of the fort was a spaciou s
tower . This place was once garri soned by seventy men
fo r defence against the nat ives and the attacks of other
MOUR I AND THE IRON H ILL . 1 69
European powers . The vi l l age Of Mouri was s ituated
close to the fort . I t was n ot so large as E lm ina but
contained more people,who were chiefly engaged in
fi shing.The Dutch exacted a tol l upon th is town , as
also upon Ax im,Chama and E lm ina
,of every fi fth fish
that was caught by the natives, which was paid every
day to the factor who governed the town . From Mou r i
alone some 400 or 500 canoes would go out to fish dai ly,
I NTER IOR COURTYARD OF CAPE COAST CASTLE .
so that the garri son must have been wel l suppl ied with
thi s usefu l art ic le of food . NO other Europeans on the
coast ever exerc ised such a p rerogat ive as th is over the
nat ives . Near Mouri is the I ron H i l l,an elevat ion
about a quarter Of a mi le long,covered wi th the thickest
bush . From the fort on this hi l l the Fanti country
stretches away to the east,a descript ion Ofwhich must
1 70 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
be reserved for the next chapter The true Fanti
country commences at the foot of the I ron H i l l and
extends along the sea-board for some thi rty - five miles,
and into the interior for some ten or a dozen . In early
t imes the Engl ish held four stations in th is terri tory— one
fort and three lodges,and the Du tch had one fort also .
The fi rst Engl ish sett lement was at the p resent
A nishan,some e ight m i les east of Cape Coast
,where
,
accord ing to Bosman,
“ the enti re garri son cons isted Of
one whole Engl ishman , who l ies there”
. Some hou rs ’
j ou rney to the east ofth is lodge is Anamaboe,where in
early t imes we had a smal l compact fort,which was the
cen tre ofa very cons iderable trade,Engl i sh vessel s being
always in the roads,much to the chagrin and annoyan ce
Ofthei r Dutch compet i tors .
Anamaboe Fort was bu i l t hy the Engl ish in 1 753,but the
nat ives were so troublesome that they Often confi ned the
Engl ish garrison with in the wal l s of the fort,and held
general ly such power over the traders that,when a
governor was sen t to the fort to superintend the trade
there,and in any way d ispl eased them
,they retu rned
him in a canoe again to Cape Coast . Peace was con
stan tly bought with them by p resents , and the Oftener
this was done the more troublesome they became . A s
a nat ive town Anamaboe was the strongest on the coast,
on account of the number of armed nat ives that i t con
tained the whole land round was wel l populated,besides
being very ri ch in gold,s laves and corn
,this l ast be ing
Sold to the Engl ish vesse l s in great quanti t ies . The
p resent town ofAnamaboe was once the flourish ing centre
of a very importan t trade,which has Of late years been
considerably d im in ished owing to the r i se of the neigh
1 72 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
usual amb i t ion to be sole masters or not at al l,we pu shed
out our enterpr i s ing r ival s,much to thei r d isgust . The
remains of an O ld fort are st i l l to be fou nd here,and the
latest map Of the I ntel l igence Department Of the Wa r
Offi ce marks the place “ E tsin”
. This was probably
the s ite Of the Dutch Adja,and the cause of the com
mercial r i val ry early in the eighteenth centu ry.
Not far away stood the vi l lage cal led Litt le Cormantine,
where the Dutch held the fo rtress cal led Amsterdam,
which was the ch ief res idence of the Engl ish traders in
Fan tilandunt i l 1665, when the Dutch admi ral De Ruyter
d rove them out. The fort was bu i l t by the Engl ish in1 624, was of fai r ly large d imen s ions and contained one
l arge and three smal l batteries,mounted wi th twenty
pieces ofcannon,and in the t ime of the Dutch govern ed
by a ch ief facto r,as at Mouri .
Near Littl e Cormantine,Upon another h i l l about a
cannon shot from Fort Amsterdam,stood a l arge and
very popu lous town cal led G reat Cormantine,the in
habitants ofwhich,bes ides be ing trade rs
,were fishermen
to the number of 1000 . Nothing but ru in s are now left
ofFort Amsterdam,andthe towns ofCorman t ine are Of
the most wretched description .
The original Fanti k ingdom ended at Mumfort or
Mumford,
and between Cormantin e and thi s place
were two more Engl i sh establ i shments, Tantum orTan
tumquerry and Mumford , the former place being knownas Tuam . Both these forts were bu i l t by the Engl ish,afte r much oppos i t ion on the part of the natives
,toward s
the end ofthe seventeenth century . The bui ld ings have
long since d isappeared and thei r s i tes are almost for
gotten . The country in which these two towns are
THE FANTI COUNTRY . 1 73
s i tuated was once known as Gomoah or Gomoor, and
was si tuated on the east of Fant i and to the south of
Akim . The d istri ct i tsel f was wel l popu lated, al l the
in land towns being qu ite su rrounded by the densest
forests,where the people long maintained thei r barbarous
practi ces . The people now inhabit ing the coast towns are
almost enti rely engaged in fishing . The Fanti nat ives in
those early days gave much trouble to al l the traders,and
thei r character i s best shown by the fol lowing extract“ The Engl i sh and the Dutch possess in Fan ti an
equal power,that i s
,none at al l
,for when these vi l l ainous
people are incl ined to i t,they shu t up al l the passes so
close that not on e merchant can poss ibly come from the
in land countries to trade with us ; and sometimes not
content with this,they preven t the bringing Of provis ions
to us ti l l we have made peace with them . They have
a hank upon us,we having former ly contracted to give
them a good sum Of ready money,bes ides 300 gui lders ,
for every one of the company ’s sh ips wh ich for the
future shou ld bring any goods hither,i n consideration Of
thei r aid in tak ing Fort Amsterdam and other aux i l iary
ass i stan ce ; but in th is contract i t was part i cu larly stipu
lated that s lave ships shou ld be excepted from paying
anything,notwi ths tand ing Which they are now become
so un reasonable that they wi l l make no di fference be
tween s lave ships and others,obl iging us equal ly to pay
for al l,andal l our remonstrances that i t is contrary to
the treaty are whol ly ineffectual,for i f we wi l l l ive at
qu iet, we are always obl iged to humour them .
”
I n later t imes Fanti inc luded al l the countries from
the Sweet R iver,E lmina to Mumford
,and compr i sed
Cape Coast,Anamaboe
,A bracrampah ,
Dunquah,Domi
1 74 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
nass i,Mankassim and Adjumako ,
a l l of which and
many other smal ler towns are governed by separate kingsand chiefs . A t the present time Fant i i s the mos t con
fused part Of the Gold Coast wi th regard to pol i t i cal
d ivis ions . I n every croom or v i l lage there is a k ing or
chief,though his l and often does not extend for a m i le
round h is so - cal led cap ita l . Fan tI 15,however
,the most
c ivi l ised port ion Ofthe western d ivis ion of the Gold Coast.
At Cape Coast and Anamaboe are some good,strong
,
substantial bu i ld ings Of native-made bricks and stone,
but in the maj ori ty Of the towns the hou ses a re of
s imple mudand sti cks . The towns are qu i te devoid Of
properly laid out streets,the nati ve hu ts be ing j umbled
together in a confused mass,many present ing a very
unfin ished appearance to Eu ropean eyes . About one
i n a hundred of the Fantis can read and write,and
n inety-n ine Ofa hundred st i l l d ress i n the nat ive fashion .
Gold i s found al l through the Fant i country in smal l
quanti t ies below the surface soi l,which is washed by the
women the men cons ider i t beneath thei r d ign i ty to do
such work,and spend the greater part of their t ime
s i tt ing laz i ly about under the shade of the trees .
Domest ic s lavery ex ists in al l i ts various forms . The
women are the hard -work ing portion of the communi ty ,
t i l l i ng the ground and br i nging i ts produce to the markets
for sale,which i s exchanged for either gold or s i lver
Yams,plantains
,cassada
,corn and a large quan t i ty of
vegetables are grown in the country with in a few mi les
of the sea coast,but very l i ttl e or nothing of nat ive
growth is exported from th is fert i le part of the colony.
Domest ic s lavery and the plura l i ty Ofwives enervate the
energies Of the male popu lat ion,so that even the produc
1 76 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
exported from th is town,i n add it ion to large quantit ies
of rubber and monkey skins . As a port,Saltpond
ranks th i rd i n importance on the Gold Coast . The in
teriorcountry is wel l watered by the r ivers Amissa and
Narkwa. The former i s a stream Of con s iderable breadth,
though shal low and unsu i table fornavigat ion,and flows
,
after a cou rse Of nearly fi fty m i les,into the sea at a
d istance of five mi les east ofSal t pond . The river Narkwa
r ises near ln suaim,the capi tal of Western Ak im
,and
after a course Of some s ix ty mi les empties i tsel f in to
the sea near the town of Narkwa,some ten m i les away .
The schools in the town Of Sal tpond are among the
best i n the colony,and are u nder the management of
the Roman Cathol i c and Wes leyan M iss ionary bod ies .
They are wel l attended,and new and substanti al school
premises have lately been provided to meet the wants
ofthe population in this respect , which is fast awakening
to the value of a sound elementary educat ion for i ts
ch i ld ren .
Tufel andA ssin are two smal l states lying immedi
ately to the north Of E lm ina and Fanti,and to the south
of A shanti,by which power they were conquered under
O sai Too too . Very l i tt le i s known about the former
country,except that i t is remarkably wel l wooded andi s
watered by the m idd le courses Ofthe river P rah,and was
poss ibly once a part of the great kingdom OfDenkira,
before that power became tributary to the A shantis .
A ssin i s s i tuated to the south -east Of Denkira,and
was al so once a powerful p rovince ofA shan t i . I t was
original ly bounded on the north by that country,south
by Fan t i,west by Denkira and east by Ak im . I t was
pol i t ical ly d ivided into two d ivis ions,each Ofwhich had
CHAPTER V I I .
Appam— The Dev i l ’s Moun t—W i n n ebah— Bereku—Accra orAkra— The Akra Peop le— Man n ers andCustom s— The Adangme
Tribe fi Names—The Presen t Town— Ch r i st ian sborg— M er id ian Rock .
OF the coast countr i es known to the ear ly vis i tors to th is
part,there are now but three left to describe . These
are marked in old maps as Acron,Agonna and Aquam
boe . The fi rst extended over the presen t Winnebah
count ry the second lay to the north a l i tt le i n land and i s
marked as Agoona on recent maps : whi le the th i rd was
a smal l strip of country s i tua ted beyond the AquamboeMountains i n the distr i ct Of the same name . I t is at
present cal l ed the Akwamu count ry,the people speaking
the Akra and the Adangme languages . The fi rst point
of interes t in the O ld Acron country was the then vi l lage
(now a town of con s iderable s i ze) of Appam ,where in
1697 the Dutch began to bu i ld the p resent fort, or rather
house,which was subsequently fort ified with two batter ies .
The fort stands upon a considerable eminence,and has
ofl ate years been repai red,and accommodation provided
for any European travel l ing through the place,though
there is n o European res ident at present at Appam .
By the Dutch thi s fort was cal led Leydstambeyd or
Patience,on account of the manner in wh ich thei r vi rtue
was tried in th i s respect by the natives,when they were
bu i ld ing the fort . A t the p resent day it i s more general ly
THE DEV I L ’
S MOUNT .
known as Appam Fort . On the two batter ies weremounted eight p ieces of cannon
,and a fine turret com
mandedmost extens ive land and sea views . The whole of
the Winnebah distr i ct i s extremely wel l wooded,Often
being cal led The Forest Country,” and comp r i ses a series
ofundulat ing rocky hi l l s , ris ing apparently to about 300feet
,with wel l - clothed val leys between
,watered with in
numerable smal l streams that flow on al l s ides .
From the elevation m idway between Appam and the
town OfWin nebah,i s the Devi l
’
s Mount or Monte da
D iable,abou t which many a native legend ex ists
,and
which is fet ish to the inhabitants . I t i s supposed to have
derived its name from the sa i lors of the Old sai l ing vessels
that frequen ted the coast,from the fact that being very
high and close to the sho re they cou ld see i t at a long
d istan ce and yet cou ld n o t reach i t,for the wind i s very
con trary in th is di rection . The hi l l i tsel f i s over 600 feet
high,and is now known as Mankwadi H i l l
,fo rming the
most importan t landmark between Appam and Accra .
The district is supposed to be gold - bea r i ng,and the hi l l
i s reported to be r ich in gold . I t has never been properly
prospected,though i t i s affi rmed that after violen t
storms of rain the natives of the local i ty always find a
considerable amount Of gold round its base . Early in
the present century a Mr . Baggs was sent out by the
d irectors of the A frican Company,with al l necessary
apparatus,to test the ore from this h i l l
,but he un
fortunately died on his way at Cape Coast Castle. Since
thi s date no ser ious effort has been made,and the fact
of a white man dying,when on such an expedi tion
,has
on ly tended to strengthen the opin ion of the nat ives
that the mountain i tsel f is a very strong fetish . While
1 80 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
on the subject Of gold in th is local i ty,I may as wel l give
what evidence the re is of i ts existence,and for th is pur
pose wi l l quote from a report on gold m ines,made in
1 889to the Secretary Of State for the Colon ies by the
late S i r Wi l l iam BrandfordGriflith,the governor of the
colony at that date. A Mr . Eyre, D i strict Commissioner,was sen t to the Winnebah d i str i ct for this purpose in
1 888 . He reports as fol lows
I n the afternoon (24th J uly, 1 888 ) I examined the
rocks cropping out along the sea-coast immediately in
front ofWinnebah and extend ing up the coast for about
a quarter ofa m i le. These rocks are principal ly i ronstone
with quartz vein s runn ing through them,though here
and there the quartz reef i tsel f also crops out. The
quartz var ies much in colou r,from d irty red to pu re
crysta l andopaque white,but does n ot show any ind ica
t ion Of being au ri ferous , at least n o t at the su rface,
though I bel ieve that below the surface there are aurif
erous veins runn ing th rough the quartz,espec ial ly the
quartz vein s runn ing through the i ronstone,but as I had no
tools with me suffi c ient ly powerfu l for break ing through
the su rface—stone,I was unable to ascerta in the fact .
The land immed iately around Winnebah is of a l ight,
sandy nature,with e ither clay
,dark- colou red earth
,or
quartz or i ronstone below i t . The quartz crops out
every here and there,and is princ ipal ly of a d i rty red
colour ; but white opaque and clear crystal quartz al so
crop up at t imes,but none Of them show any traces of
gold,at least not at the surface . The natives state that
they Obtain gold here near the sea-beach by wash ing,
after the rains,the d i rt taken from the tracks of the
water-flows . They s ink holes t i l l they arrive at a b l ack
1 82 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
thei r forefathers Obtained gold almost anywhere along
the foot Of this range of h i l ls by s ink ing holes and
washing as described,and that sometimes nuggets were
found . From the nature ofthe coun try,and the evident
fact that the nat ives do Obtain gold here,I should say
that i f the base of th i s range of hi l l s was properly
p rospected,i n al l probabi l i ty al l uvial depos its bearing
gold in payable quant i t ies would be found,and the reef
from which they come could subsequently be traced .
Wherever there is a flow Of water on the h i l l -s ide during
the rainy season the quartz reef has been laid bare i n
places .
“ Tuesday the 3l st I left Appam about seven in the
morn ing with Mr . Wil l iams, the nat ive proprietor of the
hotel,who wanted to Show me the various spots where
he h imse l f had Obtained gold . A fter proceed ing about
three mi les along the Ak im road,we came to the bed of
an almost d ry water—course . Here Mr . Wil l iams showed
me various holes along the track of the stream ,and
about fi fteen to twenty feet from it,where the nat ives
had been or were st i l l p rocuring gold by washing . I
took away some Of the earth from these holes,and on
our return had it washed,and Obtained speck s of fine
gold du s t m ixed with the fine black sand al ready men
tion ed. A fter examin ing the holes and procuring some
Ofthe d i rt,Mr. Wil l i am s took me to several pl aces where
the quartz reef crops out,and where he had tried to s ink
holes to see whethe r there was gold or not in the lower
strata . From on e of these holes he found a smal l nugget
lying in the soi l . H e then took me to where an outcrop
ofi ronstone veined with quartz occu rs, and where he had
sunk a hole about ten feet deep th rough the i ronstone .
GOLD NEAR W INNEBAH . 1 83
Here, wherever the quartz ve ins traverse the i ronstone,specks ofgold are most d i st inct ly vis ible to the naked
eye,and even th rough the i ronstone i tsel f specks of gold
are to be seen,but very few . Another metal i s trace
able in th is s tone,resembl i ng s i lver in co lour
,but very
br i ttl e,but wi th which I am not acquain ted . August
2nd I left Appam for Mankwad i . I s topped on the wayat the smal l town of Moeyan s , where there are very
exten s ive gold diggings,one hole being abou t twenty
yards in d iameter and eight orn ine feet deep and fu l l of
water . A l l around this central excavation are inn umer
able smal ler holes,al l Ofwhich have been sunk for gold .
I tried d irt from several of these smal ler holes and in
each case obtained specks of fine gold dust,and also
larger part ic les the si z e Of fine sand . Here the natives
i nform me that nuggets are by no means unfrequen t
and that grains of gold l i ke sand are common . This
spot i s by far the best I have examined yet for al luvial
work ing,and seems from al l accounts of the natives to
be fairly rich in places . The native gold holes here are
many of them sunk to a considerable depth , t i l l theyreach the clay bottom on which the gold rests . Gold
washing seems to be very extens ively carried on here ,the holes dug by the n atives lying in every d i rection .
These holes are al l sunk at haz ard and consequently
are no guide to the d i rection taken by the gold . The
formation cont inues from the town ofMoeyan s to the
town ofMankwad i,and is about a quarter of a m i le in
width . I n conclus ion I wi l l add that I bel ieve there is
a cons iderable quant i ty Of gold in the d istri ct,and that
in places i t would probably pay Europeans to work i t ;but unti l the direction it takes has been ful ly determined
1 84 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
and the richness of the depos its pract ical ly ascertained
nothing is l ikely to come of it . ”
I must now retu rn to the town Of Appam,which in
early t imes was but a mere fishing vi l lage,poorly in
habited,ly ing j ust under the wal l s of the fort . I t was
wel l s i tuated for trade and soon developed,being for
some t ime a populou s and important town . The country
was governed by a k ing and was under the protection
Of i ts more powerfu l neighbours,the Fanti s
,and on this
account,was very seldom engaged in war
,so that the
nat ives of th is part Of the coast had a comparat ively
qu iet t ime ofi t and were able to devote al l thei r energies
to the cu l t ivation of the soi l . Deer,hares
,partridges
,
pheasants,wi ld fowl and quad rupeds were found i n
great abundance. The fol lowing chase of a hare is told
by Bosman as being very uncommon,i n which I th ink
al l my readers wi l l agree .
Behind our fort,which is bu i l t on a hi l l
,i s a vale
which i s about a m i le square,where there were abundanceof haycocks ;he re about twi l ight we met a young hare
that,being pu rsued by my dog
,took refuge in a haycock
,
i n which,though we made a d i l igent search
,we cou ld
not find him,t i l l at l ast, bu rning the haycock , to our
mighty surprise we found the hare s i tt ing under the
ashes of the hay,unhurt
,and we carr ied her al ive wi th
us to E lm ina .
”
The smal l terri tory ofGomoah or Gomoor i s s i tuated
south Of Ak im and north Of Fanti . The Acron country
was d ivided into Li tt le and Great Acron , the former beingthe country I have j ust described . Great Acron lay farther
in land,i ts government being a k ind Ofrepubl ic
,or rather
anarchy,and these two d iv i s ions, though they had no
THE TOWN OF WINNEBAH . 1 85
dependence on each other,were in perfect am ity for many
years . A smal l river empties i tsel f in to the sea near
Appam,the waters of which are always more or less
sal t,and which in some maps is named the Sal t R iver.
The Devi l ’s H i l l,previous ly mentioned
,was the
commencement of the Agoona country , Which was re
ported in the seventeen th and eighteenth centuries to
have been governed by a woman,who showed as much
spi ri t and courage in the conduct of affai rs as many Of
the male ru lers . She was indeed sufficiently wise to
remain unmarried,i n order to retain the government of
her k ingdom in her own hands,though report had i t that
she d id not complete ly remain a stranger to the soft
pass ion,but satisfied her desi res wi th amours with the best
of her s l aves,upon whom she bestowed her favours wi th
out fear or scandal . About the middle of the Agoona
country the Engl i sh bu i l t a fort in 1 694,which took its
name from the adj acent vi l lage ofWimba orSimpa , and
i s now cal led Winnebah . This fort had a flat roof and
was suppl ied wi th four batter i es,so l arge
,says Bosman ,
“ that a man cou ld leap over them withou t a sti ck ”"
The guns too were Of a proportionate s ize,on e of them
discharging a hal f-pound bal l " The Agoona distr i ct
was Of twice the area of i ts neighbour Acron , possess ing
too more power and riches , though equal i n general
ferti l i ty and pleasantness, the coast being wel l suppl ied
with al l k inds Of fish and oysters,whi le the country ln
l and was plent i ful ly suppl ied with al l sorts of apes .
The Winnebah ofthe present day is the name ofboth
the oldA goona d istr i ct and the present town , bou nded
on the west by Saltpond and on the east by the Sekoom
or Humo R iver,a d istance ofsome forty mi les from west
1 86 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
to east . The sea- board i s level,but the inter ior i s d i
versifiedwith several ranges of hi l l s,of which the Mank
wad i Range IS the most important. The d istrict is wel l
watered by the r iver A nisu,and its tribu tary the Akora
,
the former ris ing in the Ak im country and emptying its
waters some two mi les east ofWinnebah after a course of
about forty m i les . The product ions of the d i stri ct are
kernel s,palm O i l and rubber
,to which
,i n the past
,might
be added gold dust,the gather ing Of these products
and fishing form ing the chief Occupat ion of the people,
who number some 4000 i n Winnebah alone. I n add i t ion
the people are great agricu l tu rists,the in land plantat ions
produc ing large suppl ies Of ground -nuts,plantains and
bananas forhome consumption . Nat ive canoes are al so
made here in large numbers,which a re used as far down
the coast as Ben in,and are much sought after. The
forest lands conta in hard and valuable woods,the Odom
,
mahogany and A fri can cedar being among the best,but
l i tt le export trade i s done in these on account Of the
want Of transport . The quarters i n the Old fort are very
damp and most unsu itab le forthe res idence of Europeans .
The Colon ial Hospital,a good
,substant ial bu i ld ing
,i s
about a mi le from the fort . The last stat ion Of impor
tance along th i s coast is Bereku,some twelve miles from
Winnebah and about twenty-one mi les from Accra . The
Dutch had a fort at Bereku,Ofwhich but l i tt le mention
is made . The fort i s now converted into a rest-house
for travel l ing Officers,and but l i tt le trade i s done in the
town . Bereku Poin t is a wel l - known landma rk,on which
the nat ive town is s i tuated .
Thi s brings us to the last d ivi s ion of the Gold Coast ,the Aquamboe country,
which i n the seventeenth and
1 88 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
known as Ussher Fort,after a governor of that name
,
which was bu i l t a few years before the Engl i sh fort .
The Dutch fort was much larger and better fu rn ished
wi th guns than the Engl ish,though Of about equal
s t rength,with the exception of the wal l s
,which were
thinner,and consequent ly less able to stand a siege .
Some two mi les farther east was the Dan ish fort of
Christian sborg,bu i l t i n 1 659, and taken from them by
the natives in 1693, who held i t for a cons iderable t ime .
Thi s fort was far stronger and better than ei ther that of
the Engl i sh or the Dutch,and more than a match
,with
regard to the number of the garri son,for the combined
forces of the other two . The date upon i ts wal l s i s
1694,but th i s
,I think
,must refer to i ts restorat ion in
that year,after the nat ives had captu red i t in 1693, and
stripped i t Of everyth ing,leaving only the wal l s stand ing.
This m isfortune was caused by the death of several
Of the Dan ish garri son,the remainder being i l l - treated
and plundered by the natives,under one A ssameni
,
who dressed h imsel f in the governor’
s clothes,and
caused himsel f to be salu ted by his name,wasting the
powder in the castle by thunder ing salutes to every
vessel that passed,unti l the arriva l oftwo Dan ish vessels
at Accra,when he was induced to give up possess ion . The
fort was square in shape,with four batteries furn ished wi th
twenty good guns ava i labl e foruse at all points,the roof
being enti rely flat . One account says,the castle was bu i l t
by the Portuguese during the seventeenth centu ry,in what
year cannot be accurately laid down . I t was a smal l
fort ificat ion,and resembled a block -house more than a
fort . The Swedes expel led the Portuguese and in the
year 1 657 his Dan ish maj esty Freder i ck I I I . sen t an
CHR IST IANSBORG CASTLE . 1 89
exped it ion to the coast ofA fri ca under the d irect ion and
command of Sir Henry Carlof, who conquered the
Swed ish forts Carolusborg (now Cape Coast) , Taccarary,
Anamaboe,and U rsu Lodge (now Christiansborg) . A t
th is period the Danes erected a fort near Cape Coast
and named it Fredericksborg (which was afterwards pur
chased by the Royal A fri can Company and destroyed) .The governor of th is fort en larged U rsu Lodge
,and
gave i t the name Of Ch r i st ian sborg . The Danes re
mained un interrupted masters ofth is p lace unti l the year
1 679, when it was treacherou s ly sold to the Portuguese
by a man named Peter Bol t . I n 1 683 i t was restored
by order of the King Of Portugal,and ten years
after,the Aquamboes, who then l ived but a short
d i stance from Accra,took possess ion of i t
,at the in
stigation ofthe U rsu Caboceer, i n the fol lowing manner.They brought down a number of s laves and a large
quantity ofgold and ivory,in exchange for which they
would take nothing but guns and powder. This was
agreed to by the governor,who al so consented that the
guns and powder should be proved before they were
taken out of the fort . Having now Charged a numberof their muskets
,they loaded them with bul lets which
they had concealed,and i n a moment seized the un
guarded garrison,as also every white person in the fort .
There was but l i ttle res i stance made, no l ives were lost,and the fort was plundered but not inj ured . The Ursu
Caboceer was proclaimed governor,and compel led both
Engl ish and Dutch whites who had occas ion to pass
the forts to pay their Obeisance to him after which he
general ly treated them civi l ly,and frequently honou red
them with a salute from the great guns . He often in
190 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
dulgedhimsel f with a salute , sometimes at midn ight . The
next year i t was del ivered up,through the intercess ion
ofthe Dutch nat ion , and on a large sum being paid by the
Dan ish Government . The town ofChristian sborgwas s itu
ated immediately under its wal ls . A l though the Engl ish ,Dutch and the Danes possessed forts at Accra , the power
Ofeach was very l im i ted , and autho r i ty ex isted with in the
CH R I ST IAN SBORG CASTLE , ACCRA , RE S IDEN CE OF THE GOVERNOR .
wal l s on ly for thei r own defence . One might suppose
from the presence of three important trad ing compan ies
i n the one place,that competi t ion woul d have l imi ted
the trade then done,but it seems that the contrary was
the case,for such was the supply of s laves and gold in
these early t imes that no one was i n danger of los ing a
192 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
and Fanti peoples . I f such be the case,and the name
has any des ignat ion,they must have been a very
numerous and powerfu l people,who eas i ly subdued the
original inhabitants of the country they now occupy .
Accord ing to thei r own trad it ions,thei r largest towns were
si tuated some distance inl and,before the present coast
town ofAccra had any ex istence,and occupied most of
the eminences south of the Aquapim country . Fourteen
such towns ex isted in land from Accra,and many others
in the neighbou rhood of the present towns of N ingo ,Labad i and Temma
,whi l st such states as Adangme
,
Akwamu and Aquapim were at one t ime tributary to them .
That they are a d ist inct race from the other tribes on the
coast adm its Of no doubt,the d i fference of language
,
manners and customs being most strongly marked .
Upon th is leeward part of the coast,two princ ipal
languages are spoken,the t rue Ga
,and i ts mother tongue
,
the Adangme . The true Gao r GaAkpa is spoken in al l
the coast towns from the Sekoom to Teshi,a vi l lage five
mi les east ofChrist iansborg,and once the s i te Of fort and
station Augustenborg ofthe Danes,bu i l t i n 1 700 but now
completely in ru ins,whi le the Adangme language is the
tongue from Teshi to the Volta R iver,the K robo country
and several towns at the foot ofthe Aquapim Mountains .
The Ak ras,Krobos
,K rep i s
,Awoonahs and Addahs
d iffer great ly from the branches Of the Akan fami ly in
physique . A s a ru le the men are ta l ler and stronger, and
the women remarkably wel l formed,with complex ions
not qu i te so black as those descended from the Tshi
speak ing race . They are expert fi sher and boatmen , and
make excel lent carriers .
Un l ike the people ofthe other tribes on the coast,they
THE AKRA PEOPLE . 193
name thei r chi ld ren accord ing to the number,and not from
the day of the week upon which they are born . Thus
there are the fi rst male,second male
,fi rst female
,second
female,and so on . Appended are the Akra names
Male. F emale.
F i rst Tet i DedeSecon d Tete Koko‘
I‘
hird Mesa Man saFourth Anan TsotsoF ifth Anum ManumS ixth N sia Sasa
whi le the seventh,eighth
,n inth and tenth are Ason
,Botfe
,
Akron and Badu respect ively for both male and female .
Most of these names have been taken from the Tshi
numerals,and Europeans are general ly named from
the day upon which they l and in the colony. I n many
places,however
,i n add it ion to this nomenclatu re
,the
chi ldren are named after thei r parents or grandparents,
the name Of the l atter preced ing that of the former,
whi le in al l the pure Akra names ofmale and female
chi ld ren,the name of the father precedes that ofthe chi ld .
Thus Ayi Dede would mean the first daughter ofAyi .
I n manner the Akras are qu iet and unassum ing,though
somewhat d ifficul t to govern,and when thoroughly
roused hard to conquer . I n the country d istri cts the
European is made welcome,a house is C leared on his
arrival,and whateve r the place affords i s soon brought
in for h i s use. The chief fet ish of the Akras is water,to
which it was usual for them to make an annual sacrifice .
Every year a gi r l oftwelve years ofage was sacrificed to
the sea,and at the present t ime i t i s thei r custom to vis i t the
chief rivers and streams,to make thei r Offering in the Shape
of food to the god that inhabits the water . The food is13
194 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
prepared on the banks,part th rown in and part eaten .
Many of thei r customs stri ke the European as being very
strange,found as they are in a land far from any other
,
where such ri tes are performed . I n thei r early histori cal
t imes the Akras were forbidden by thei r p r iests to touch
human blood,and when blood was sp i l t by accident or
des ign,the k ing and elders of the people made sacrifice
by way Of atonement for i t , and the people cau s i ng i t
were fined i n proportion . A k ind of rude bapt ism Of
their ch i ld ren i s al so Observed . A week after the bi rthofa ch i ld
,when i t i s to receive i ts name
,the father sends
the best ofh is relat ions or friends in to the house where
the chi ld and the mother a re to bring i t i n to the Open,
where his friends are assembled . The father then pro
ceeds to throw some water over and upon the roof ofthe
principal room ofthe fami ly house,which i s again caught
in a cal abash or d ish used for the purpose,and thrown
three times on the chi ld,when it receives its name .
Another un iversal practi ce among the Akras i s that of
c ircumcis ion , which is practised by al l the Gaand Adan
gme- Speaking tribes . By the natives thi s ri te i s cal led
Keteafo,or shortening , which every male chi ld from the
age Of s ix to ten years is made to undergo . S laves are
al so subj ect to the same Operat ion,and no unci rcumcised
person,from the k ing downwards
,i s a l lowed to enter the
inner yard ofthe fet i sh priest ’s house,to wi tness any cere
mony that is there being performed by him . Some people
think,from this pract ice
,that the Akra race Obtained
the ri te from the Jews,but we must remember that these
peop le derived the custom from Egypt,andthat Egypt
is in A fri ca,where the r i te had perhaps been pract ised
for centuries before the Jews went to Egypt. A t the
196 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
custom is cal led in the nat ive tongue Yereyelo . After
the fi rst custom fol lows the Homowo,when the yams
are gathered,which means l iteral ly the “ mocking Of
hunger,and which is the thanksgiving for the harvest .
Each ofthese ceremon ies fu rn ishes the occasion formuch
gun -firing,music
,danc ing
,s inging
,eat ing and d rink ing
,
but at Accra the excesses are not so great as in many
towns in the interior . The Akras do not recogn ise a
personal dei ty, attr ibut ing thei r h ighest power, which they
cal l Nyonmo,to many events . The word means A l
mighty,but i t i s al so used for the sky, rain , thunder and
l ightn ing . Throughout the whole of the Gold Coast,
however,among the Tshi and Ga races there ex ists a
bel ief i n the transmigrat ion of l i fe,which takes the form
of a spir i t and an imates al l the act ions Of the ind i v idual .
This spiri t i s known as the Ok la or Okra of a person .
I t in st igates him to actions (good or bad ) whi le al ive,and is supposed to inhabit another body after the fi rst i s
dead . Every person is supposed to be attended during
l i fe by two such Oklas , a male and a female , the former
for bad and the latter for good deed s . The word
Okla means l i teral ly a sanctified boy,and many of the
people of higher rank possessed a number of such boys,
who attended them during l i fe, and were sac r ificed at
their master ’s death,to be h is compan ions in h is next
state . When a King Of Ashanti d ied , his Oklas , to the
number of 1 00 or more,were murdered on his tomb .
During thei r master’s l i fe these attendants are d is
tinguishedby a large ci rcl e of gold suspended from the
neck : many of them are favouri te s laves,raised from
the common people to th is d ist inction,al l Ofwhom are
glad to stake,as i t were
,thei r l ives upon that Of thei r
SU PERSTITION S . 197
master,during which time they are free from al l pala
vers and supported by h is bounty,to be sacr ifi ced upon
his tomb when he d ies .
Chi ldren born with supernumerary fingers or toes were
Often strangled orburn t a l ive,and when several chi ld ren
had been lost by a fam i ly,the body Of the last that d ied
was Often cast t in to the bush,and any deform ity pos
sessed by a subsequent ch i ld,whose body they be l i eved
to be the same as the one cast in to the bush,was attri
buted to the bodi ly inj uries that the dead chi ld had
received from the wi ld an imals Of the forest .
From the sea the town of Accra has a very imposing
appearance,stretch ing alon g the sea- front from east to
west for a d istance Of nearly three mi les from the land ing
place to Chr istiansborg Cast le . The town itsel f 15 n o t
cont in uous for the whole d istance ; J ames Town is fi rst
wi th i ts fort and signal s tation ; Ussher Town, with i ts
Dutch fort and its suburb,V ictoriaborg,
adjoins i t,and
then comes a stretch ofgreen level country fora mile along
the sea- shore,interven ing between V ictoriaborg and the
castle and town Of Chri st iansborg . Landing from the
steamer is general ly accompl ished at the west Of the
town,n ear the Custom House
,except in very bad
weather,when a poin t farther east i s general ly selected
,
under the wal ls Of James Fort . I t i s general ly ac
compl ished with ease compared to other parts Of the
coast : hal f an hour ’s paddl ing from the s ide of the
s teamer to the breakers,a ru sh through the breake rs
,
general ly on the crest of a wave,and the surf-boat
touches the sand . Padd les are thrown overboard,the
boys spring out,and carry the passengers pi ck -a-back
to dry land . This costs a dash ”offive shi l l ings , which is
198 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
wel l l aid out, for shou ld there be any delay, the nex t
wave general ly swamps the boat . J uly,August and
September are general ly supposed to be the worst
months for land ing at A ccra,but in most cases there i s
l i t t l e more to risk than a wet j acket,un less the boatmen
are at al l careless,when danger may easi ly arise. A
fai rly steep bank Of redd ish earth or c lay leads from the
beach up to the Custom House and Post Offi ce,and the
vis i tor is i n the main road ofAccra . The impression from
th is point i s not encouraging,the place giving one the
idea of general bankruptcy. To the west of the land
ing-place and close to the edge Of the cl i ff are the Postal
and Telegraph Oflices , with the Q ueen’s Warehouse and
the Publ i c Works Yard hard by,whi l st on the opposite
s ide Of the road are the o ld Treasury Bu i ld ings and
the Custom House Offi ces . Behind these bu i ld ings l ies
J ames Town,a motley col lect ion of native huts Of al l
s i zes,i nterspersed with the Old ru ins of many a past
dwel l ing,and m ixed ind i scrim inately with the newer
stone bu i ld i ngs ofmodern t imes,that belong to the richer
nat ives and traders . To the right or east of the land ing
place the road widens and leads past the fort, leaving
the large rectangular Wesleyan Chapel on the left,be
hind which are the present Government School s accom
modating about 1000 scholars, once the s i te ofa French
factory . Behind th is are the Wesleyan M iss ion House
and School,once the property of Old M r . Bannerman .
From this point the main thoroughfare of the town is
entered,which leads in a di rect run Of over two miles to
Chri stiansborg. This is known as O too Street, the h igh
street of the capital,along which are s ituated some Of
the princ ipal trad ing hou ses Of the town . Yates B rothers’
200 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
i ng back a l i tt l e from the main road,are the headquarters
Of the A frican D i rect Telegraph Company,roomy and
commodious premises stand ing in the ir own grounds .
V ictoriaborg i s n owentered the nat iveHausaquarters and
parade ground are on the on e s ide, andthe HausaNat ive
and European Hospi tal s on the other . The newly con
structed Accra C lub House and the Colon ial Secretary ’s
res idence are next passed,on e on ei ther s ide ofthe road
the former sanctioned as a place Ofrecreation forres ident
Europeans,by the R ight Honou rable the Secretary of
State forthe Colon ies,i n 1 897 , and the latter erected in the
same year,as private quarters for the res ident ial Colon ia l
Secretary,F . M . Hodgson
,E sq. , the Governor.
To the left i s the Secretariat,once European quarte rs
,
but now devoted to the Official accommodation requ i red
by the various heads Of departments in the service
of the colony,whi le a branch Post Offi ce
,the new
Treasu ry Bu i ld ings,the Government P rint ing O ffice
and the n ew Bungalows,complete the ch ief p laces
of i nterest in what i s known as V ictoriaborg. This
part of Accra i s now the princ ipal res idence of the
offi cials ofthe town,some twenty bungalows having been
erected at various spots i n thi s local i ty during the past
five years,to take the place of the previous quarters that
were provided in the nat ive parts of the town . I t i s im
poss ible to over-estimate the benefi ts that have accrued
from th is change of res idence,with regard to the health
ofthe Government offi cial s at Accra . Malar i a st i l l ex ists ,but many ofi ts most pern icious effects have d isappeared .
A walk or drive of rather more than a mi le upon a good
road brings us to Christ iansbo rg,the l ate res idence Of the
Governor and the headquarters Of the I nspector-General
THE TOWN OF ACCRA . 20 1
of the Hausa Forces and his sta ff. On the road, lying
back some d istance to the left, i s the cemetery , where
many a European has found his final rest ing-place . I t
i s now a wel l -ordered and wel l -kept enclosu re, with
double gateway and porch,over which is the somewhat
ambiguous and muti lated scriptural quotat ion : “
Here
the wicked cease from troubl ing and the weary are at
rest ” Why the fi rst word i s “ Here”instead Of
TOWN T RAVELL ING I N ACCRA .
Where no one seems to know,except that from in
spection ,i t seems there was not enough room for another
letter,and the person who carved i t poss ibly thought ,
that the omission Of a lette r would not much matter.
A t the eastern extrem ity Of Chr ist iansborg, and at the
T HE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
western end of Am are the usual hgoons so oftm
found skirting the towns along the coast,and which
con tn’
bute to theirgeneral unhealthiness . Chr istiansborgis the coast ha dquarters of the Bas le Miss ion Society,where they have chape ls , schoo ls andworkshops , in ad
dition to spacious quarters for the residen ce of the
European members of the Mission . The road from the
port ofAccra to Ch ristiansborg is broad andhard, fit for
wheeled trafiic, and is con t inued from the latter place
to AbokobiandAburi, some fifteen and twen ty-seven
mi les north from the coast. The country beh ind the
capital is ro l ling grass land , rather th in ly wooded andsparing ly watered, stretching away to the hori z on in a
l ine of thin fading blue hi l ls, the h igh lands ofAquapimandAkim,
reaching to 2000 feet above the sea level .
Horde of catt le now feed upon these grass lands , but
birds andgame are scarce. Horses, which die after a
few months at other po in ts along the coast. thrive at
Accra, but do not l ive long when taken into the interior,
possibly owing to the presence of the fatal tsetse fly,
which, though supposedto exis t, has not defin itely been
foundto do so . Mules andasses would , I think, thrive
in this neighbourhood,ifthe necessary care andatten t ion
could be ensured for them,from the hands ofthei r native
atten dants, who ride them furious ly at all t imes and
se ldom orneverthink ofkeeping them clean . The usua l
mode oftravel l ing in Accra is by what is termed a Go
cart,"ao il lustrat ion of which appears on page 20 1 .
These are en tirely drawn by Kru boys .
Many Europeans andnat ives keep horses in Accra,anddriving or rid ing is a common recreat ion after5PM .
An annual two days’
race meet ing is held just outside
204 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
The native streets— al leys they shou ld be cal led— are
general ly very d i rty,contain ing the garbage thrown
out from the huts , which crowd together on al l s ides ;whi le dogs ofvery doubtfu l ped igree are common every
where . Fortunately, the greater part ofthe native quarter
ofJ ames Town and Ussher Town was destroyed by fi re
i n 1 895,and in the place of the previous overcrowded
and i l l -kept streets,spac ious thoroughfares are n ow
being provided,with properly constructed drains to
carry off the water,wel l l ighted with oil l amps
,and
with roads fi t for wheeled traffic . I n 1 893 O too
Street was about twelve feet wide,i t i s now as many
yards .
Many of the Akras and also the E lm inas are excep
tionally good cooks , the men being much better than
the women,which i s often the case i n uncivi l i sed races .
Some of the nat ive d ishes are part icu larly palatable ,and far preferable to many of the bad ly cooked Euro
pean foods that have been introduced .
“ Kan k ie ”
takes the place ofbread,and is made from the Hour of
nat ive corn,undergoing many operat ions before being
boi led or roasted in plantain leaves andfi t to eat . Many
people prefer i t to the sour Engl ish bread that is made
on the coast though th is has considerably improved of
l ate years . Fou - fou is a tenacious mass composed of
yam,plantai n or cassada
,which i s peeled
,boi led and
pounded and then made into large bal ls,to be served up
with the various k inds of native soups,i n place of the
European potato . I t is much l i ke boi led batter pudding,
but more tenacious,and is very savoury . Fresh ly baked
flour cakes seasoned with the oil of the palm kern el are
much rel ished by the nat ives,but are far too rich for the
NAT IVE FOODS . 205
vis i tor . Fish and stews are wel l prepared,and turtl e i s
good and plenti fu l during the Harmattan season,but
not after March . The fish mostly eaten by the nat ive
i s a k ind ofherring,which abounds in the Guinea Gul f
i n immense numbers,and which
,when cured
,i s carried
far i n to the interior beyond Ashanti . When these fi sh
are opened,cleaned
,stu ffed wi th green pepper and fried
i n the freshest and purest palm oil,i t i s cal led Kinnau
,
and forms an admirable food Palm -oi l chop ” i s
another favouri te d ish on the West Coast of Afri ca fromS ierra Leone to the Congo
,some Europeans being
very fond of i t . The ingred ients are freshly made
palm oi l,meat or fowl
,wel l peppered and served up
i n a nat ive pot wi th freshly boi led yam or fou - fou or
rice . I t is the curry ofA fri ca,but i s too r i ch a d ish for
many peop le . A l i queur of cognac after such a meal
general ly prevents a recu rrence ofi ts flavour . Ground
nut soup is a general favouri te wi th most people on the
coast,which is prepared in much the same way and with
the same ingred ients as p alm - oil chop,
”
but with finelypounded ground - nuts instead of palm oil as the bas is .
Last,but not least
,i s the nat ive k iek ie
,
” a compound of
finely-minced fowls orfi sh,high flavoured
,and served up
with “ fou -fou in the A ccra-made pots of black porous
earth into which the pepper thoroughly s inks . I t i s
somewhat l ike the West I nd ian “ pepper pot,” and is
very tasty to the palate . The Accra fowls are poor and
stringy,but good ducks and turkeys are suppl ied from
Ada and Jel la Kofi,near Kwitta . Mutton and beef are
poor,but are improving in qual i ty
,and cou ld be made
very good if some enterpris ing nat ive would only breed
the an imals,and feed them in a proper manner upon the
206 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
grass l ands at the back Of the town . But su ch an under
taking requ ires too much energy from the hands Of a
nat ive,though a fortune would soon be made from
supplying the town and the numerous vessel s that cal l
here wi th good fresh meat . Fru i ts are plent i fu l oranges,
l imes,bananas
,pine-apples
,mangoes
,guavas
,are always
obtainable . The topical rains at Acc ra are l ight com
pared with those at Freetown,S ierra Leone. The
annual average is about eighty inches . The best
season for travel l ing into the in terior i s during the
Harmattan,when i t i s very pleasant
,but i t i s attended
with l itt le danger from Novembe r t i l l the end OfApri l
orMay .
Rude nat ive gold work is done at Accra,which ch iefly
finds i ts out let in the manufacture of the zod iac ring,
which is worn by almost every one. Studs,brooches
,
watch chains and bracelets are al so made from copied
patterns,but the nat ives possess but l i t t l e art i st i c meri t
Of thei r own .
Accra possesses wi th Christ iansborg some
inhabi tants,and the whole Ga country some
The majori ty are engaged in fishing,though good
carpenters and masons are to be found,whi le many
are employed in petty trad ing . Education is making
rapid strides,and there i s no lack Of native clerks
for mercanti le and Offi cial work . Though the seat of
the headquarters Of the Government,the trade Of the
town is not increasing ; the chief imports are rum ,gin
,
tobacco,cottons
,provis ions and bu i ld ing materia ls
,whi le
rubber,palm Oil and kernels
, gold dust and kO la nutsform the bu l k of the exports . Gold dust i s exported
in but smal l amounts from Accra,and comes from
CHAPTER VI I I .
The Ak im and Kwahu Coun tr i e s— B egoro -Kyeb i— Abetifi TheAk im Forests— The Tsh i P eop l e— Man n ers and CustomsThe Futu re of Ak im— Nat ive Trad it i on s -Akwamu or Aquamboe .
THE Ak im and Kwahu countries of the Gold Coast l ie
between 6° and 8
°
north lat i tude,and nearly 1
°
westlongitude . Ak im being the more importan t of the two
,
and s ituated nearer the coast,I shal l describe that fi rst .
I t i s bounded on the north by the Kwahu (sometimes
Okwahu) and the Kanak i countries , on the east by
Krobo,on the west by Adans i and A shant i
,and on the
sou th by Aquapim . I t i s Often described as the h i l l
l and lying north -west of Accra,and the whole surface
i s occupied wi th a series ofmountain ranges,i n some
places as high as 2000 feet,with the exception of a smal l
portion in the south -east and in the west where the land
i s low . The Ak im country is d ivided into Eastern and
Western,the former having Kyebi or Kibbi
,and the
latter l nsuaim,for i ts capi tal . For the most part
,the
towns andvi l lages in th is d istri ct are s i tuated upon or
near the.
tops of the h i l l s,which perhaps accounts for its
comparat ive health iness for the res idence of Europeans .The Bas le m iss ionaries
,who have many important sta
t ions in th is d istrict,res ide here for a period varying
from fou r to seven years,without a vis i t to Europe
,
THE AKIM COUNTRY . 209
making i t thei r home with their wives and chi ldren,
though the latter are sent to Europe when they have
reached the age offour or five years . The lower d istricts
are not so wel l populated as the h ighlands,some ofthem
,
with the exception of a few hunters ’ huts,being total ly
uninhabi ted . I n the O ldmaps ofthe A fri can continen t
i ts s i tuation is marked Akim,famous for gold
,a char
acter i t wel l deserves . The people, who fu l ly know the
va lue of thei r country,though they cannot themselves
develop i t,are most des i rous that Europeans should
vi s i t i t for th is purpose . Their chief occupat ion is gol d
d igging,and as l ate as 1 863 two new rich deposi ts were
d iscovered . I t is a beaut i fu l country,and would wel l
repay the European botan ist and geologist .The King of Kyebi possesses more n ugget gold than any
other monarch in the Gold Coast,and the currency ofthe
country is gold dust . The whole surface i s wel l watered?the principal s treams being the Birrim
,the Den su
,the
Bompong and the Pompong with thei r various tributaries .
None ofthese rivers are ever dry,receiving thei r suppl ies
from the various mountain ranges,and being frequently
swol len and overflowed when the ra ins are on . The
Birrim i s the longest ofthe four rivers I have mentioned ,but not the widest . This river r ises near the l i tt l e
vi l lage of Appapam ,a short d i stance south -west of
Kyebi,the cap ital of the d istrict, and receives i ts source
from a mountain in the n eighbourhood,nearly 2000 feet
high . I t flows north - east past the capital , and then
turns north -west as far as E nyinam,where i t turns its
course south -west and joins the P rah a short d is tance
north - east Of P rahsu,on the borders of Ak im and
Ashanti . The whole of the val ley of the upper part ofI4
2 10 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
this river i s honeycombed with nat ive pits,where gold
d igging has been carried on and al l uvial washings are
common on the outsk i rts ofevery town that l ies near .I n the dry season I have crossed the bed of the Birrim
at E nyinam when the water was on ly knee deep, a
bright,clear stream
,with a c lean
,sandy bed
,whi le at the
same place in the rainy season i t i s transformed into a
rushing,muddy river
,ten feet deep
,nearly twenty yards
wide,and with a curren t runn ing at the rate offour mi les
an hou r. The whole course ofthe river i s between n inety
and on e hundred m i les .
The river Den su ri ses from the same moun tain near
the vi l lage of Appapam ,but flows in an enti re ly oppos i te
d i rect ion . Leaving Appapam i t flows fi rst south - east
and then almost due south to the sea,emptying i ts
waters some ten m i les to the west ofAccra . This river
i s known by d i fferent names to the nat ives at various
parts ofi ts course . I t ri ses as the Den su,i s known lower
down as the Humo,and flows into the sea as the Sekoom
at the place ment ioned . I t has no very large or im
portant town upon its banks,the on ly poin t of in terest
passed being the Ak im peak,an isolated mountain of
1 000 feet , at abou t i ts midd le d istan ce from the source
to the sea. The Bompong and the Pompong also ri se
together,but flow in oppos i te d i rections . The sou rce of
these two rivers i s found near the vi l lages Oseem and
Tafo,at a point on the main route between Kukurantumi
and Os ino . The former flows south and becomes a
tributary Of the Den su,whi l s t the latter flows north -east
and empties its waters in the A fram,which is i tse l f a
tributary ofthe Vol ta . None of the rivers I have men
tioned are navigable except for smal l canoes , owing to
2 1 2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
growth of coffee,cocoa
,ri ce and tropical spices
,and to
the cul t ivat ion ofthe rubber vine and the tobacco plant .
The industry ofthe nat ives is l im ited to their wants,and
as these are few and easi ly sati sfied,the amount ofenergy
they put into the cul t ivat ion of thei r soi l,and in fact
into any k ind ofwork,i s in proportion to thei r dai ly
requ irements . The palm flouri shes everywhere,and in
places the tobacco plan t has been found growing in wi ld
l uxu riance,i n add it ion to fru its ofmany k inds
,i nc lud ing
the guava,mango
,banana
,plantai n and pine - apple .
Whenever cu l t ivated,the orange grows in profus ion and
i n excel lence,parti cu l arly at the m iss ion stat ion of
Begoro . I n this ne ighbourhood,too
,one of the most
northerly parts of Ak im,and some 1400 feet above the
sea,are a great variety ofrubber
, gum and dye trees, al l
ofwhich m ight with industry and care form the source
ofgreat weal th to the inhabitants . Kibbi or Kyebi is
the chief town and capital of Eastern Ak im,and the
residence ofthe k ing . I t i s wel l el evated,being about900
feet above the sea,at the sou thern extremity of the A tiwa
Range,and is the cen tre
'
ofa large gold—bearing area .
Another very important town in the Akim country
i s Begoro,s i tuated on i ts northern borders
,at the
same elevat ion,and almost surrounded by mountains of
a higher al t i tude . I t i s a very picturesque and healthy
stat ion ofthe Basle M iss ion,an i l lustrat ion of which wil l
be found on page 2 14. Coffee i s being cu l t ivated with
great su ccess,and grows luxuriantly throughout the
whole province . I have travel led the forest bel t,that
extends from Aburi,twenty- seven mi les from the coast
,
to Abetifi,some 1 75 miles from the sea , four t imes up
and down,and have been much surprised at the almost
THE AKIM FORESTS . 2 13
total absence of an imal l i fe . A few deer,leopards and
monkeys are the on ly occupants of the th ick bush that
everywhere prevai ls,and these are se ldom seen
,and in
access ible to the hunter owing to the security of thei r
haunts . Through this forest from south to north is a
seven days ’ j ourney,and travel l ing through i t i s most
monotonous and somewhat depress i ng . There is no
road,but ever the same narrow
,wind ing
,tortuous path
,
bordered on either s ide by the dense tangled undergrowth
of the bush,through which i s seen the ta l l straight
trunks of giant trees,whose lofty tops are lost in the
mass of fol iage overhead ; the spaces between being
fi l led in with depend ing and cl imbing plants Of every
description . But few flowers en l iven the way ; bright
patches of glaring sun l ight and dense banks of deep
shade seem to struggle for the mastery,and owing to the
dense Shade,there i s bu t l i ttle danger from the sun .
Over stagnant pool s ofwater,and occas ional ly across
the path,a few gaudy butterfl i es fl i t to and fro in the
gleams ofsun l ight,form ing abou t the on ly rel ief for the
eye,from the sombre dark green in which everything i s
endowed by nature. And al l i s st i l l ; save for the oc
casional cal l of a bird to its mate,or the wi ld harsh cry
ofthe sloth,no sound is heard . I nsect l i fe i s very plen ti
ful , and the s i lence of the day somewhat compensated
for,by the innumerable i nsect noises of the even ing and
n ight . On the higher lands of the forest the travel l ing
i s dry and comparat ively easy,but sometimes the bush
and undergrowth are so thi ck that what track there i si s lost ; and i n the low- ly ing distri cts swamps are fre
quent, where the travel ler can on ly progress by walking
for hours through mud and water,poisoned by the
2 14 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
noxious gases r i s ing from the rapid decay of such an
abundance of vegetable matter .I mmediately to the north ofthe Ak im country l ies the
mountainous d istri ct ofKwahu orOkwahu ,which in the
native l anguage means the top of a rock or top of the
palm trees . This state has the A shant i country as a
western boundary,the river Vol ta on the east
,whi le
i t jo ins Ak im to the south and stretches in ro l l ing
BASLE M I SS ION STAT ION , BEGORO .
grass l and s far away to the north . The mountains Ot
Ak im are continued into Q uahu,and reach thei r h ighest
points at Abetifi and Obo . The former is 2000 feet
above the sea level and the latter even higher,form ing
the sou rce of the river P rah . From Begoro,the most
northern town of Ak im ,to A betifi is a three days ’ j ou rney
through the forest,and th is latter place is one of the
most in land stat ions Of the Bas le Miss ion Society. The
2 16 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
the former power. One ofthe ch ief roads from Ashanti
to Accra passes through Western Akim . I t i s poorly
popu lated and i ts productions are very few . A Govern
ment school has lately been opened at its capital,I nsuaim .
I n appearance,the inhabi tants of Akim are much the
same as the other tribes upon the coast,di ffering but
l i ttle i n thei r habits,manners
,language and rel igion
from thei r surround ing neighbours . The men are of
medium height,though of s l ighter bu i ld than the coast
tribes,but they are capable of sustain ing great exertion
when they feel inc l ined,which is not very often . The
women are shorter than the men and wel l fo rmed,and
perform most ofthe work that is done. They obtain the
food supply, fetch the wood and water, and do most ofthe washing for go ld
,the proceeds from the sale of which
are Spen t by the men in rum and tobacco . Thei r ch ief
food is fou -fou,
” a tenacious mass of boi led p lantain s or
yams,beaten to the consistency of a thick batter by the
aid of a l i ttle water,and immersed in a d ish Of pepper
soup flavoured wi th a l i tt le d ried fi sh,monkey ’s flesh
,or
a few snai l s . They are very fond of palm -oi l food,but
are seldom able to get i t,as they are too lazy to cu l ti
vate the particu lar palm which provides th is dainty d ish .
Roast p lantains are also a favouri te fare,and when
cooked over a wood fi re form an agreeable d ish to a
hungry travel ler. I have tried both the palm -oil chop,
”
as i t i s cal led,and the roast plantains
,which make a good
substi tu te for bread,though a trifle sweet . Eggs
,fowls
,
Sheep and goats are plent i fu l throughout the country,
except when native troops are pass ing through,when
they wi l l suddenly d isappear,and al l k inds of food are
then d iffi cu l t to obtain . The travel l ing nat ive is,how
THE TSH I PEOPLE. 2 1 7
ever,as bad as the nat ive sold ier i n this respect. I f he
i s hungry and sees food,he takes i t and if remonstrated
with,h is answer general ly is No belong to any
one ; plenty food l ive ; God send i t What answer
can you make ? I remember on one occas ion when
leaving a town in the Akim d istrict,being presented
by the chief with a parting present of a sheep, which
was handed to on e of my bearers to lead by a
string to our nex t halt ing-place,when the day ’s march
shou ld be fin ished . When resting in the even ing
before taking my dinner,I heard a commotion in that
part of the compound inhabi ted by my carriers and
servants,and . upon proceed ing to inqui re the cause
,I
found that my sheep of the morn ing had become two .
On inqu i ry as to whom the other sheep belonged,I was
in formed that i t was the property of my bearers,who
could not tel l me how they obtained i t,but volunteered
the statement that they “ supposed it had fol lowed my
sheep because i t wanted company Some roadside
vi l l age that we had passed i n the day had one sheep the
less to fo ld that n ight "
To Show how completely the Akims were at one time
under the power of the Ashantis and feared thei’
r dis
pleasure,I wi l l give but one instance . About I 742, when
Osai Aquissa ruled over Ashanti and i ts tributarypowers
,the King of Ak im desired to make war upon
on e of h is near neighbours . Before he could do this,the
consent of the A shan ti monarch was necessary,which
was Obtained by the promise of halving the Spoi l . The
Akims went to war,but gained l i ttle or no spoi l
,and
Osai Aquissa hearing of thi s demanded the head of the
King of Ak im for hi s want of success in the campaign .
2 1 8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
When the Ak im ru ler heard of the demand,he summoned
his ch iefs and explained his'
fate to them,and des ired to
sacrifice hi s l i fe i n order to ensure peace for his k ingdom .
Report has i t,that he and his chiefs had a barrel of
powder brought for each to s i t upon,and having drunk a
large quant i ty ofrum,they blew themselves up with the
fi re from thei r pipes,rather than su ffer the resentment of
the A shant i ru ler. Thi s i s recorded by Bowdich and
al so ment ioned by D r . I ssert,who reports i t as trad i
t ion from Akim .
The language of the Ak ims is a branch of the Akan
tongue,the mother language of both the A shanti and
Fanti peoples . I t is commonly cal led Tshi (pronounced
Chwee), and is spoken by the Ashanti , Gaman, Tufel,Ak im
,A ssin
,Aquapim ,
Akwamu,Fanti
,Wassaw and
Ahanta peoples . For conven ience the Tshi " may be
d ivided i nto two dialects— that spoken by the tribes in
the north,andthat spoken by the tribes i n the south of
the colony . This northern d ialect is often cal led Akan,
ofwhich the Akim tongue is an example,whi le that of
the south i s cal led Fanti,which i s spoken from E lm ina
to Winnebah . The people of Winnebah,though Fant is
,
speal"i n add ition to thei r own tongue a d ialect cal led
E ffutu,and from Hal f Ass in i to the Volta
,no less than
s ix d i fferent languages are spoken in a d istance of300
miles . The Akan excels the Fant i i n puri ty,and that
spoken by the people of Eastern Akim is c onsidered to
be the purest and best of the Akan tongue . There are
variations i n both languages common to part icu lar tribes,but the princ ipal d i fference between the Akan and the
Fanti,is that the l atter is the more sibi l ant language .
In addi t ion to the common language, the manners,
220 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
which she proceeds to mark the trees in the principal
s treet Of her town,to Show that she is no l onger a wi fe .
Should,however
,the d ivorce be granted to the man
,the
amount paid to the wife ’s relat ives for her must be re
tu rned in fu l l to the man .
The greatest custom,however
,of the Tsh i -speak ing
people,i s the yarn custom . This i s annual
,and is held
j ust before that vegetable arrives at maturity . The yams
are planted in December,and are not eaten ti l l the
conclus ion Of the custom at the end of the fol lowing
September . A ll ch iefs and headmen of the towns and
vi l lages are expected to appear wi th thei r noisy retinues
at the capital of the k ing,and none are excused . I f a
ch ief or headman has offended,or i f hi s fidel i ty is sus
pected,he is seldom accused or pun ished unti l the yam
custom,which they attend frequently quite unconsc ious
,
and always uncertain ofwhat may be laid to thei r charge .
This yam custom is a regu lar saturnal ia,nei ther theft
,
i ntrigue nor assau l t i s pun ishable during i ts continuan ce
the grossest l iberty i s al lowed to prevai l,and each sex
abandons i tse l f to i ts pass ions . The fest ival s are two
in number,one held in December at the planting
,and
the second held in September at the gathering . This
second lasts a fortn ight,and IS commenced by a loud
beating of drums . On the fi fth day the king eats new
yams,but the people are not al lowed to do so unt i l the end
ofthe festivals . They are real ly rel igious thanksgivings
to the gods for the crop of yams,but were made into
pol i t i cal customs by the A shant is . The fi rst and fifth
days were days of fast ing,but any amount of drink
cou ld be consumed du ring the whole time . This was
served out by the chiefs . On the fi fth day a human
MANNERS AND CU STOMS . 22 1
sacrifice was made to the soul s of departed k ings,whil st
the eighth day was further marked by another publ i c
d istri b ut ion of l iquor . On the days between those
mentioned,and unti l the close of the custom
,other cere
mon ies,such as sprinkl ing with water
,process ions to
thei r gods, bath ing in the n earest stream,making sacri
fices at the yarn plantat ion,i n order that some of the
fresh blood might run in to the ground,were rel igious ly
Observed .
O ther national customs are the Ada ‘
f,by which time
is counted,the New Year of the Tsh i people beginn ing
on the Ist of October . The Ada'
f customs are two in
number,known respectively as the great and the l i tt le
Ada ’
f. The former always occu rs on a Sunday and the
latter on a Wednesday,and s ix weeks are al lowed to
elapse between each great Ada ‘
t and the same between
each l itt le Ada ‘
i'
,with a period oftwenty-one days between
the two customs . A l l the fest ivals of these people are
occas ions for immoderate dri n king,general l i cense
,up
roarious noise,beating of drums and fi ring of muskets ,
commencing at sunrise and continu ing the whole day
and far into the n ight .
The customs of these people at a bi rth,marriage or
death are worthy of notice. When a Tshi woman finds
hersel f to be with chi ld,she commemorates the event by
an offering to the particu lar deity that pres ides over her
house,the priestess Of whom binds her neck
,wrists and
ankles with fetish charms made ofblack and white beads,in order to bring good fortune with the event . As the
t ime for the bi rth of the ch i l d draws near,the woman
usual ly leaves her husband ’s house and proceeds to that
ofher mother or some near female relation,in order that
222 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
she may receive whatever advice ‘ and assistance may
be necessary on the bi rth of the chi ld . This operat ion
i s general ly accompl i shed whi le the woman is seated on
the ord inary stool,where she is surrounded by her femal e
friends , relations and vi s i tors ,'
who wou ld look with scorn
upon her d id she dare to utter any cry of pain during
her period of l abou r . This being over,the chi ld i s at
once named from the day of the week upon which i t is
born , washed and bound round the neck, ankles and
wrists wi th strings of beads,l i ke the mother
,to bring
'
it
good fortune . A fter th is ceremony i s over,the mother
is not al lowed to do any work of a domest ic nature for
seven days,when she again takes her place andproceed s
with her dai ly work . A t the expiration ofthree months
more Offerings a re made to the fami ly god,and the
mother,with her chi ld
,pays a round of vis i ts to her
friends and neighbou rs,accompan ied wi th a band of
females,s inging and dancing by the n ay i n honou r of
her safe del ivery . General ly on the eighth day after
the bi rth ofthe chi ld,the father proceeds wi th a number
ofhis friends to the house where the mother and chi ld
are staying to see his newly-born Offspring . A rrived
there,they seat themselves i n front of the entrance : the
ch i ld i s brought to the father and handed round . Thanks
are given to the fet ish,and Often a second name i s be
stowed upon it by the father,after some particu lar friend
ordeceased relative,and a l i tt le sp i ri t i s squ i rted from
the father’s mouth in to the face of the ch i ld . The
second name thus given to the ch i ld i s a lways used after
the fi rst,and the pouring of some spi ri t upon the ground
completes the ceremony . A s the Tshi names are d ifferent
from the Akra,I give a fu l l l i s t ofthem
,male and female .
224 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
with the dai ly necessari es of l ife . I n many parts of the
country the women,when thei r custom is upon them
,
are compel led to reti re from the towns to some shel ter
in the plantat ions or i n the bush,and i n Ahanta,on the
same occas ions,the women are prohibi ted from entering
any inhabi ted place under penalty of heavy fines and
other punishment . The better cl asses general ly have
a hut orhouse in the bush to which thei r females reti re,
but the poorer classes are forced to suffer the inclemencies
of the weather without any shel ter . Fortunately,with
the advance of c ivi l i sat ion al l such customs are dying
out,part icu larly i n the parts nearer the coast
,and many
of those connected with the sacrifice of,or affecting
,
human l i fe no longer ex ist. Marriage among these
people i s a question ofphysical fi tness rather than ofage,
and when a girl has arrived at her eleventh or twelfth
year she i s cons idered capable of entering the married
state. A t th is age maturi ty i s reached,and the gi rl
i s taken by her friends to the nearest water-s ide and
washed,and an Offeri ng to the gods i s made upon the
banks of the stream,cons ist ing ofmashed yarn and palm
oil,to thank them that the gi rl has arrived at a mar
riageable age . A fter the washing in the stream i s com
plete,a bracelet of black and white beads and gold i s
placed round the gi rl ’s wri st,and where this i s not pro
curable the body is s imply marked with whi te l ines .
Phys ical development alone is often deemed by the
natives to be sufficient evidence of a girl ’s fi tness for the“
married state,and this being sati sfactory
,and the previous
ceremony complete,she is most carefu l ly dressed and
paraded through the town in order to not ify that she
has reached the age when she can be married . A l l the
MARR IAGE CU STOMS . 2 25
finery in the way Of gaudy cloths and gold ornaments
that the fam i ly possesses i s used for the occas ion,
and when there is none,i t i s frequently borrowed
for the occas ion . A s i l k cloth takes the place of the
ord inary cotton one,tied wi th a s i l k handkerchief round
the waist,leaving the upper parts of the body qu ite
bare . Her hair i s made up into some fantast i c design
accord ing to the fash ion of her country,and head
,neck
,
arms and ankles are plenti ful ly adorned with gold orna
ments . Her sk in shines l ike ebony,and she is perfumed
with scents that on ly native nostri l s can appreciate .
Thus atti red she i s paraded through the streets of her
town or vi l lage attended by a number of young gi rl s,
who chant a song in her praise . This is a publ i c notice
that she is of a marriageable age,and i f n ot al ready be
trothed,such a d isplay seldom fai l s to bring forward a
number ofsu i tors forher hand . The favoured one makes
his offer to the gi rl ’ s parents,which
,i f accepted
,i s at
once paid over,and the bridegroom prepares his wedding
feast . P resents for the bride and for her fami ly and
relat ions are bestowed by the future husband,and a
plenti fu l supply of l iquor and tobacco provided for the
ceremony,accord ing to the
'
financial pos i tion of the
bridegroom . A l l preparat ions being made,on a given
day the bride i s led to the house of the bridegroom,and
the two fami l ies join in a feast whi ch lasts long after
the couple have become man and wi fe . Next day the
husband shows h is sati s fact ion concern ing his wife by
anoin ting her head,shou lders and the upper parts ofher
body with a powder of fine white C l ay,and sends her
again through the streets accompanied by her friends,
who s ing in her honour . Should,however
,the husband
15
226 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
have faul t to find,he can obtain arelease from his wi fe
accord ing to his country ’s law . On the coast the character
ofthe bride i s made most publ ic,for part of the husband ’s
present to her fam i ly being a flask of rum,and that
being not sent unt i l the next day,the cond i tion Of th is
,
whether qu ite fu l l orsomewhat wanting,i s held to denote
the cond it ion of puri ty in which he received his newly
made wife from her fam i ly. Some of thei r funeral
customs are as strange as those relating to bi rth and
marriage . Loud shouts and cries announce the death of
a person , and the females ofthe house parade the streets
with d isordered cloth ing and unkempt hai r,uttering the
most mournfu l cries,and mak ing known the fact to al l
the people l iving in the neighbou rhood of the deceased
person . A lmost immediately after death the corpse i s
washed and then dressed in i ts ri chest c loths,and orna
men tedwith more or less profus ion of gold and beads,
accord ing to the rank of the deceased . When th i s i s
done,i t is e i ther a l lowed to repose upon a couch
,as i f
as leep,or i s supported in a s itt ing posi tion upon the
n at ive stool,to receive the las t v is i ts from friends
,
relat ions and neighbours . During th is t ime the whole
place is crowded with people,mostly women
,who in
turn approach the corpse and al ternately s ing its praises,
or reproach i t for having left them and the good things
of the world beh ind . The noise is astound ing,and the
greater the person the louder and'
more continued the
noise . A d ish of the food most favoured during its l i fe
t ime i s placed before the corpse,and the body is sur
rounded by the most valuabl e artic les that were possessed
by the deceased . The men seldom or never enter
the room where the body l ies,but sit outs ide smok ing
228 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Shou ld i t be a person of some rank and weal th,s i l k
handkerch iefs and c loths,sandal s and pipes are in terred
with the body,which i s adorned with bracelets and
ank lets of gold and aggrey beads , and sometimes even
powdered over wi th gold dust . These buried t reasu res
form a source ofweal th to the fami ly in later days,and
are drawn Upon when necess ity arises,Often by the sons
of the deceased . A quanti ty Of sp i ri ts,general ly rum
,
food and tobacco are al so included for the use of the
departed and his shade on thei r long j ou rney to the un
known land . A fter the grave has been fi l led in,a sacri
fi ce of fowls,sheep orgoats i s made
,the last sal utes are
fi red and the day ends in a general d runken orgie,which
i s continued for some t ime in accordance with the wealth
ofthe fam i ly. The head is Often completely shaved by
the nearer rel at ions of the departed,and the widows
seldom leave the house for some weeks after the funera l,
part icu larly i f the buria l has been performed ins ide the
wal l s . They Sit and watch the grave, tak ing l i tt le or
no food,and being general ly in a most d isorderly and
unt idy cond i t ion . Thanks are sent round to al l those
people who ass isted in any way at the funera l ri tes , and
great debts are often incu rred by the poorer people in
order to ensu re an impos ing ceremony for thei r lost
relat ive . The Ashant is and other people in the north
bu ry thei r dead outs ide their houses,but the ri tes de
scribed are common to most ofthe Tsh i - speak ing tri bes .
The same native tradi t ions are common among these
people,some of which are worthy of record . The
fi rst,relat ing to thei r own origin
,i s i nterest ing . A l l the
Tsh i -speak ing people are supposed to have come from a
far country behind Salaga. This was an Open,flat
,grass
TSH 1 TRAD IT ION S . 2 29
country,plenti fu l ly suppl ied with oxen
,sheep and goats
,
and to this country came another race,a red people
,
supposed to be the Fu las . These new- comers,being
stronger than the original inhabi tants,took from them
thei r catt le and thei r women,and general ly made s laves
ofthe people,unt i l the nat ives
,to avoid such depredat ions
,
began to go away into the bush lands farther to the
south and west . Here,in the forests
,they were secu re
from thei r strange oppressors,and vi l l ages
,far away
from their own l and , were secretly formed , secu re from
the attacks oftheir invaders,who many times attempted
to force them back as s laves i n thei r own country.
The numbers of the runaways gradual ly increased,
and,as they grew and multip l ied
,they extended thei r
habitat ions farther and farther through the forests to the
south,unti l the sea was reached . The s ight of th is
thundering along the shore much startled them,and
they cal led i t i n thei r nat ive tongue,bo i l ing water that
was not hot ” This appears to be a l i kely explanat ion
ofthe emigration of the Tshi - speak ing people in to the
Gold Coast,though many years must have elapsed for
them to have become so numerous and to have been
broken Up into the many d i fferent tribes in wh ich they
are now found . I n the map forming the preface to
A N ew A ccoun t of Guinea,publ i shed in London in
1 734,and wri tten by Captain Wi l l iam Snelgrave, the
country to the north of the Gold Coast i s marked,Fou le
Guiallon,or the original country of the Foules
,which
would go to prove that the Fulas inhabited the country
that the Tshis describe,and that the latter were driven
south by the former . The Tshis state that when they
reached the sea-board,the country was unjnhabited, but
230 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
th is could hard ly be,as traces of an older language than
the Tshi are found to th is day at several poi nts along
the coast,notably at Winnebah
,where a d ialect i s
spoken known as E ffutu,previous ly described in an
earl ier chapter .
A second trad it ion that ex is ts concerns the origi n of
the names A shant i and Fant i,and is explained in the
fol lowing way I n the times long ago,when the Fantis
and the Ashant is were one people,poss ibly before the
migration of the Tsh is to the coast,before mentioned
,
and whi ls t engaged in war with some more in land
northern race,thei r provi s ions fai led them
,and they
were reduced to the verge of starvation . I n th i s diffi
cu l ty they agreed to save themselves by separat ing,and
to wander in d i fferent d i rect ions in search of food . The
one party d iscovered and subs isted themselves upon a
plant they found growing to the sou th of thei r own
coun try termed “ Fan,
” which word,together with the
verb “ d id i,
” to eat,formed the origin of the present
word “ Fant i,the eaters of the plant fan
,a k ind of
cabbage . The other section Of the tribe di scovered a
plant they cal led Shan or San,
” and coupl ing i t with
the same verb d id i,
” formed the present word Shanti o r
Santi,now cal led Ashant i . Hence the origin of the two
names .Palm wine is the national d rink of the country
,and
i ts d i scovery i s related in the fol lowing manner : The
Fanti s were once marching through the forest,headed
by a very famous hunter cal led Ansah,who was aecom
panied by his dog . One day when out hunting,the
dog led h im to a fal len palm tree,which had been up
rooted by an elephant,and a great hole bored in i t by his
232 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
had hi s s ister with him,and Kwagia,
who,with a large
number of their fol lowers and attendants,came out of
the sea to l ive upon the dry land,and after journeying
for some days,al ighted upon a part Of the beach between
Anamaboe and Cape Coast . The two l eaders,Amamfi
and Kwagia,had reached dry land attended by a host of
fol lowers,when they were seen by a hunter
,who
,clapping
his hands,exclaimed
,What a number " and immedi
ately al l those who had not completely emerged from
the water were tu rned into stone,and thei r bod ies
,i n the
shape ofa reef of rocks,may be sti l l seen stretching far
out into the sea . Amamfi and h is s i ster and Kwagia
travel led on unti l they reached the I ron H i l l,and
descend ing to the road at the base,they parted
,Amamfi
and his s ister turn ing to the interior and found ing the
vi l lage of A sabu orA ssibo,whi le Kwagia took the beach
road,unt i l he arrived upon a head land which he con
sidered a good place for fi sh ing,where he founded the
present Mouri,having cleared away al l the bush in s ix
days with the help ofhis fol lowers . From this,Kwagia
i s said to be the father of fi shermen,and Amamfi is
cal led the father of agricu l tu re,the latter us ing a bi l l
hook so large,that i t took S ix bars ofi ron to make it
,and
the point of it,which by some means became broken off
and was found in the bush,contained enough i ron to make
six ord inary artic l es of the same k ind . I t i s further re
ported that Amamfi came to vis i t Kwagia at Mou ri every
Friday,and on th is account no plantation work is done
on that day . The Fanti s who al ready inhabi ted the
country around A sabu,l ooked upon Amamfi as an
intruder,with the resu l t that many encoun ters took place
between Amamfi and his fol lowers and the Fantis,
NAT IVE TRAD ITION S . 233
which always ended in a vi ctory forthe former,on account
ofthe great strength ofthei r leader. The latter, however,determined to make one more effort to regain thei r
country,and after consu l tat ion with thei r feti sh , in tro
duced a certain creeping plant in to Amamfi’
s country,
with the resu l t that Amamfi and his chiefs were attacked
with guinea-worm,and unable to fight in the batt le that
ensued,they reti red aga in to the sea. From this arose
the fol lowing saying in the country : “ Amamfi fears
nothing so much as gu inea -worm
Another trad i t ion accounts for the rocks s ituated in
the sea by Ussher Town,Accra . A prince coming
from the sea was to be selected from A ccra to ru le
over Ak im,and two men were sent forward to spy out
the land . They had to run a race,and the fi rst who
saw the land was to c laim i t for h is master . The race
began,and the Accra messenger
,being outstripped
,
cal led to the other to help h im to remove a thorn that
had entered his foot . The Tshi man stopped,and said
,
How came a thorn upon th is rock ?” but wi l l ing to help
h is compan ion,he stooped down to get h is kn ife to lend
to the Akra,whereupon the latter j umped over h is
shoulders and exclaimed,
“ I t i s I who fi rst saw the
l and Immed iately the two messengers were turned to
stone and became the twin rocks on the beach,behind
the Basle M iss ion Factory at j ames Town ,A ccra . Sti l l
a further trad i tion is to ld to account for the Tsh i villagé/
at the foot of the Akim Peak ( 1000 feet) . A noble
woman in the in terior was loved by two princes,who
agreed to cast lots as to which shou ld ask for her hand .
This was done,but the unsuccessfu l one cal led upon her
one night and carried her away . The name of th is
234 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
prince was A kwamu , which afterwards became the name
of that tribe and k ingdom . A fter travel l ing for s ix
weeks they took refuge with the K ing of Accra,for
whom the husband worked as a servant . They had two
chi ld ren,a son and a daughter
,and in course of t ime
obtained the gran t Of a piece of land from the k ing and
bu i l t on i t thei r own vi l lage,some fou r or five m i les away
,
leaving thei r son at the court of the k ing to be trained .
This prince was cal led Akwamu . Akwamu,being a
Tsh i,soon managed to col lect a number of fugit ives
around him,and i n the space of fi fty years formed the
present smal l state,Nyanawan ,
at the foot of the Ak im
Peak,though st i l l remain ing under the King ofA ccra .
236 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
people seem to have been scattered in al l d i rect ions,to
be un ited again under the A k im prince Safori, the re
ported founder of the capi tal,Akropong . This would
be early in the eighteenth century . I n these days the
Aquapim people were not un ited under on e common
king,but each town recogn ised a separate ru ler
,among
whom quarrel l ing was very frequent . From thei r un i t ing,
under Safori,again into a common race
,n ine ru lers can
be traced,according to native trad it ions
,in the Short
space of abou t forty -five years,from I 734 to 1 77 8 . The
people at thi s time seem to have been very poor,possess
ing neither gold,money
,nor cloth to wear
,which last
defic iency they remedied by beat ing out the bark of a
certain tree to make the necessary cloth for thei r lo ins .
The country now contain s some twenty important
towns,the chief Of wh ich are Berekuso
,Aburi
,Mam
pong,Akropong and Late
,i n addi t ion to many vi l lages
ofvarying si ze and popu lat ion . The inhabitants make
good farmers,and are active and industrious
,speaking
the Tshi language i n add it ion to the Ga . Palm oil,a l i tt l e
gol d du st and coffee,which latter grows here to perfec
t ion,are among thei r chief productions
,whi le the surface
ofthe whole country i s d ivers ified and wel l wooded and
watered . The town of Akropong,some thi rty -n ine mi les
north - east ofAccra,is the capital of the k ingdom and
the res idence of the k ing . I t s tands on a ridge of the
Aquapim Mountains some 1440 feet above the sea l evel .The present k ing
, Q uamina Fori, speaks Engl ish wel l ,and tries to improve h is country to the best ofhis abi l i ty
,
but I am afra id some ofhis tribes are very troublesome,
owing to the power of the fetish that st i l l remains
among the people . This capi tal i s one of the most
THE TOWN OF AKROPONG. 237
important stat ions of the Basle M iss ion,where they have
an excel lent church and three schools,in which both
Engl i sh and the vernacu lar are taught,in add it ion to
plantation work and general industrial subjects . The
coffee plantat ions round Akropong are among the best
i n the colony,though the nat ive is often too apt to think
,
that after having once planted his coffee i t needs no further
attention . A regu lar postal service exists between this
town and Accra,which is continued to the Vol ta R iver.
The people of the capi tal seem to do l i tt le or no
work,the latter for preference
,but there is much drink
ing of palm wine,beating of drums
,playing the native
game of Warri and gambl ing for shel l s,by spinn ing
beans upon a mat spread on the ground . This latter
game seems to have earned the Engl ish name of
marbles,
” but I could not d iscover i ts nat ive t i tl e . Any
number of players can join in th is game,s itt ing in a
C i rc le with the mat spread in the centre . A stake i s
fixed upon by the players,and the beans are set spinn ing
,
and the person whose bean knocks out most ofthe others,
when al l are set sp inn ing, i s declared the winner .A moonl ight n ight in a large in l and town such as this
i s a t ime to be avoided,part icu larly i f after a long
march,the travel ler des i res to s leep . From moonri se to
m idnight,and sometimes long after
,the whole place is
made hideous with the noise oftom - toms,drums
,mouth
organs,bel l s
,sti cks beaten on each other
,and in fact
the knock ing together of any two substances that wi l l
make a noise (the louder the better), which is v igorouslyaccompanied by song and dance . The King ofAkropong
boasts a town band,with big d rum
,s ide drums
,fifes and
a bugle,upon which Engl ish tunes are done to death in
238 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
many and various keys . Each member ofth is band vies
wi th his neighbour to play the loudest,and as the big
drum,when vigorously hand led
,can speak for i tsel f i n
th is respect,i t i s general ly an easy victor in the pro
duct ion Of sound,and covers (l i ke charity) a multi tude
of s in s in the way of false notes committed by the
other players . The players themselves are dressed as
gorgeously as poss ible,in the colour or colours (and
garments) that each fancies, whi le the conductor smokes
a pipe when beat ing time,which is general ly in a
d i fferent measu re to that in wh ich the band is playing .
When at Akropong in 1 897 , the band tu rned out two
n ights in my honour,but on the th i rd I sent them to
my nearest European neighbou rs,the Basle M iss ion .
The members ofthe band are insensible al ike to praise
or rid icu le, and whatever one says , i s taken as a compl i
ment,and forms the s ignal for louder and more con
tinuous playing . Every event i s seized upon by these
people for “ mak ing play ” as they term i t,a birth
,a
marriage ora death,i t i s al l the same for them .
The road from A ccra to th is capi tal i s an excel lent
one,pass ing near Abokobi
,through Aburi to Akropong.
I t i s wide and wel l kept,fi t for wheeled traffic for the
greater part of i ts d istance,and was
,I bel ieve
,fi rst con
structed by the m iss ionaries,at a cost of someth ing under
£ 1000 . From Accra to Abokobi i s about s ixteen m i les ,over a flat and s l ightly undu lat ing country . The soi l i s
sandy and produces l i ttl e more than tal l rank grass,with
here and there smal l c l umps of stunted bushes,afford ing
no shade to the travel ler. NO place of importance i s
passed on the way,except the l i ttle vi l lage ofAkokomi
,
near wh ich runs the smal l DakobiR iver. This stream is
240 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
whi le K 0 i n Ga means bush,and B i means chi ld .
Thus the word means rock bush ch i ld ”. To explain
th is,trad i t ion says
,a rock of i ronstone exists a short
d istance from the hi l l s round,in which is a large hole
which fi l l s with water after ra in,and in to this hole a
chi ld fel l and was lost, hence, chi ld i n the rock of the
bush,from which the town was named . The people of
Abokobi are general ly very superst i t ious,and bel ieve i n
many fabled monsters that inhabi t the country round,
some ofwhich are so tal l,that on ly the branches of the
trees wi l l serve them for a seat .
Excel l en t dwel l ings,school and church have been
establ i shed here by the Basle M iss ion,and in the miss ion
gardens the date -palm,the van i l la and castor-Oi l trees
flourish,whi le the mahogany
,coffee and orange
prom ise wel l i n the surround ing neighbourhood .
From Abokobi a by-path leads in to the main road
again to Teimang,after from thi rty to forty m inutes ’ easy
walk,where as a ru le a cool
,comfortable rest can be ob
tainedat the so -cal led Hotel P rovencal , a house belonging
to the chief nat ive ofthe place . Teimang means Tei’s
Town,and is seven teen m i les from Accra by the main
road . From here to Abu ri i s a three hours’ j ourney
,
along a good road unti l the foot of the mountain i s
reached,which is continued after a thi rty minutes ’ cl imb
right into the town,some twenty- seven mi les from the
coast and 1400 feet above the sea . I ts elevated pos i t ion
ensures i t a certain immun i ty from the malarial vapours
ofthe low - lying coast,and the town i s cons idered to be
,
i n consequence,better su ited to the heal th ofEuropeans .
The Government has establ i shed an excel lent sanatorium
at this place,attached to which are the botan ical gardens
,
BOTAN ICAL GARDEN S,ABUR I . 241
where experiments in the cul t ivation of tropical agricul
tu re are carried on under the superintendence of a
Curator from Kew Gardens,for the benefi t Of the nat ives
ofthe colony. Coffee, both A rabian and Liberian , grows
here in profus ion,and cocoa also flouri shes wel l . Both
the Bas le M ission and Wesleyan Societies have stat ions
at Aburi,and much good has been done by them in the
BASE OF A BIG TREE, BOTAN ICAL GARDENS,ABU R I .
neighbourhood . Some fl in t axe heads have recently
been found here. From the verandah ofthe sanatorium,
the white roofs ofAccra,the sea and the passing steamers
are clearly vis ible during the fine weather . A l l the roads
from Aburi to the surround ing places of importance are
more or less mountainous and very rocky, quartz being
abundant everywhere . The one exception to th is, i s the16
242 THE GOLD COAST FAST AND PRESENT .
road to Akropong,which continues upon the ridge ofthe
mountains unt i l the l atter pl ace i s reached,and which
may be described,for i ts whole
'
d istance of about eleven
miles,as a fai rly good road .
Less than two hours ’ j ou rney south—east of Akropong
stands the importan t town of Late,sometimes written
Lateh or Daté,upon another d i sti nct range of h i l l s .
Though under the ru le of the Aquapim king, the Latepeople are d is t inct in speech and in many of thei r cus
toms from the other i nhabitants of the Aquapim country .
The Aquapim s general ly speak Tshi the Lates and
thei r branches have a d ist inct language cal led Cheripong .
The road to Late leads down the mountain behind the
present Basl e M ission prem ises,across the val l ey at the
base and up to the top of another range,qu ite d ist inct
from that Upon which Akropong stands . The ascent to
the town is -very steep and rocky,and much quartz i s to be
found in every d i rect ion . When near the top,the road
d ivides left and right,the one l ead ing to the Basle M iss ion
Stat ion and the other to the Wesleyan headquarters,both
of wh ich have important schools in the town . An assay
of the stones picked up in the former road showed 1 2
grains ofgold to the ton,whi le those from the latter gave 16
grains . Some pieces,however
,broken from the immense
bou lders which are everywhere to be found in the streets,
showed vis ible gold upon thei r broken surfaces,and upon
assay,gave 1 6 dwt . to the ton . These rocks are in the
streets of the town upon the top of a mountain some
1400 feet h igh, and on ly a seven hours’ j ourney from the
coast at Pram P ram . The nat ive houses are nearly al l
bu i l t of stone,but the people rej ect the quartz as being too
hard to work . I t i s,I bel ieve
,the fi rst t ime that gold has
244 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
2500 inhabitants and is d ivided in to.
an Upper and a
lower town . Large quanti t ies Of palm oi l and kernel s
are exported from th is place,which does a very con
siderable trade with the interior towns . Dodowah i s the
most important of these,where an immense market i s
held twice a week,attended by native traders from al l
parts ofth is d ivis ion of the colony . I t i s s i tuated in the
centre of a rich oi l -yield ing d istri ct,and contains con
siderably over 1 000 inhabitants . The most important
places on the coast are Temma and N ingo,s ituated
respect ively west and east abou t the same d istance from
P ram P ram . The inhabi tants are mostly engaged in fish
ing,and in the col lection of sal t
,which is transported
and sold in the in ter ior . A t N ingo was the Dan ish fort
ofFredensborg, bu i l t by the Danes somewhere between
1 735 and 1 741 , but which i s now a mass of tangled
bush and ru ins . The whole country from here to Ada
at the mouth of the'
V olta,i s a low- lying marshy
d istri ct,with a sea-board of about forty m i les
,upon
which breaks the most terrible surf to be found at any
point along the coast . The shore i s fringed for i ts
ent i re length by enormous groves of the cocoa -nut palm,
separated at intervals by cl umps oflow bushes and scrub .
The Vol ta R iver forms the eastern and northern boundary
of th is d istrict , which during the rainy season has more
than hal f i ts area under water,forming a vast shal low
lagoon,separated from the sea by a narrow elevated bel t of
sand , varying from two hu ndred yards to two mi les in
width . I n the dry season the waters of th is lagoon are
evaporated,leaving behind a thin deposi t Of sal t
,which is
col lected by the inhabi tants and sold in the i nterior. On
account of i ts s ituation,the whole d istrict i s very thin ly
ADA AND B IG ADA . 245
populated,the nat ives either congregat ing in the vi l lages
upon the sea - shore or in the towns upon the right bank
ofthe Volta. The town ofAda is s i tuated at the mouth
ofthe Vol ta R iver upon its right bank,and contains the
remains Of Fort Kongen stein ,belonging to the Danes
in 1 7 84, but which was ceded, with the other Dan ish
possessions on the coast,to the Engl ish in 1 850 . Ada
is the res idence ofa D i s tri ct Commiss ioner,and contains
about 1 000 people,engaged i n a cons iderable export
trade at the hands ofthe Engl ish,American
,French and
German factories . The Basle M iss ion has establ ished a
smal l school and church at th is port . The town is not
cons idered heal thy for the res idence ofEuropeans .
Four m i les up the river, o n its right bank ,stands B ig
Ada,a town ofmuch more importance than the on e at i ts
mouth . I t has a populat ion of abou t 8000 people , the
majori ty ofwhom are engaged in the col lect ion of palm
oil and kernel s from the surround ing d istricts ofKrobo ,Krepi and Akwamu
,and transporting them down the
river to the port at its mouth . The quanti ty thus obtained
and exported from Ada,amounts to no less than nearly
one th ird ofthe tota l produce ofthese commod ities from
the whole colony . Steam launches are employed in bring
ing down the pun cheon s ofpalm oil to the mouth Of the
river, and a“ tow ” often consi sts ofmore than one hun
dred such puncheons,the kern el s being brought down
in canoes and bar-boats . The Basle and Wesleyan
Miss ions have centres at B ig Ada,and many ofthe in
habitants are engaged in the cu lt ivation ofthe pin e—apple
and the rearing of ducks . By boat from the rivers ide
Ada to Big Ada is a pleasant passage of abou t one
hour, and should the river be at al l low,good sport can
246 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
be had on the way with the al l igators lying as leep in the
sun upon the muddy banks , and up the numerous creeks
which are to be found at al l points . A t certain seasons
of the year the mosqu itoes are very troublesome in th is
d istrict,parti cu larly at Ada . On ly once
,I th ink
,have
the Ashan tis troubled thi s waters ide port,and that was
in 1 807 , when they carried away the big bel l from the
fort as a trophy to Kumasi . I t has,I bel ieve, s ince been
recovered,and
,as far as my memory serves me
,is now
i n the possess ion of the Basle M iss ion .
The province of Awoonah i s the most eastern coast
terri tory in the Gold Coast of the present day,extend ing
from the Volta R i ver to the German boundary ofTogo
land,at Afflao
,a d istance of some fi fty m i les along the
shore,and in land
,at i ts greatest width for about forty
m i les . The general aspect of th is large stretch ofcountry i s
very S im i lar to that of Adangme,the greater part of the
low- ly ing terri tory near the sea- shore being covered by
the Kwitta orAwoonah Lagoon,and i ts various branches .
Throughout i ts whole length,th is lagoon is separated
from the sea by a very narrow strip of sandy soi l,which
at t imes,after very heavy rains i n the interior
,i s broken
through by the great weight ofwater behind,which thus
finds its way to the sea. During the dry season the
water from a very large portion of its surface is com
pletely evaporated ,l eaving behind a bed ofblack mud
covered wi th t iny shel ls,from which the most nox ious
odou rs are emitted . This exposure of the black fetid
mud to the fierce rays of a tropica l sun causes the most
unwholesome vapou rs to ri se,that render the d istri ct a
very unheal thy one forEuropeans,and consequently the
death -rate in this d is trict i s h igh . A t one t ime the lagoon
248 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
portant of these are Awoonah Agbosome (3000)and j el l a Kofi A large and gradual ly increas ing
trade is being done at Kwitta,vast quanti t ies ofpalm oil
,
kernels,rubber and copra being exported to the ch ief
European and American ports . A market i s held in the
town twice every week,which attracts the natives from
al l the adj acent towns and vi l lages . Sugar-cane and
ground -nuts grow plenti fu l ly in th is part ofthe colony .
To the north ofAdangme and Aquapim and south of
Akwamu l ies the smal l country ofKrobo,close to the
right bank of the Vol ta,a country notorious unti l most
recent t imes for the human sacrifices carried on within
i ts borders . I t i s a wel l -populated d istrict,and the bu lk
ofthe people are now industriously employed in plantation
work,particu larly in the growing ofcoffee
,which finds a
good market at Hamburg . This d istrict contains some
large and very important towns,the ch ief ofwhich are
Odumase,Sra
,Kpong and Akuse
,the l ast be ing the res i
dence of the D i strict Commiss ioner,and si tuated upon
the right bank of the Vol ta,a short d istance south of
Kpong . A range of mountains from the Aquapimcountry traverses the Krobo d istri ct from south -west to
north-east,and isolated peaks are dotted about the
country. The ch iefof these are the Krobo Mountain,1000 feet ;Mount Yogaga,
1 200 feet ;Mount Noyo, 1400
feet,and Mount Lovolo . The town of Odumase
,the
res idence of the k ing and an importan t stat ion of the
Basle M iss ion,is almost surrounded by mountains
,which
causes i t to be very hot unti l even ing,when the land
breeze sets i n with great regulari ty about five o ’clock .
The populat ion ofth i s town is nearly 2000,and the town
i tsel f is very clean and somewhat picturesque,with good
THE KROBO COUNTRY . 249
roads runn ing in al l d i rections . Quite close are the
towns of Sra and Somanya,both large a nd populous
,
and famous for thei r week ly markets .
The Krobo Mountain l ies about mid -way between
Odumase and Akuse,ri s ing abruptly from the plain to
a height ofabout 1 000 feet,and qu i te inaccess ible except
from one side . On this mountain were the vi l lages Of the
ce the home ofthe worst fetish in the colony .
many years the inhabitants were under the power Of
people Of Aquapim ,who i l l - treated them upon every
avai lable occas ion,i t being a ‘ l aw that every Krobo who
was found alone in the bush shou ld be the property of
the finder and sold as a s lave . The Krobos themse es
were very fond ofcaptu ring individual s in the forest,and
k i l l ing them in order to obtain thei r sku l ls for the annual
fest ivals ofthei r tradit ional feti shes Kotokro and Nadu,
whose homes were in the mountain .
By degrees these people extended themselves from the
mountain,and began to form settlements in the bush near
thei r plantation s,where they Con structed rough sheds for
thei r habi tat ions,with two open ings
,one i n front andone
behind . This was done for the fol lowing reason O ften
but one Krobo wou ld be left in the hamlet orvi l lage,the
others being at work on the plan tations,and when he
took his meal,he wou ld drop pieces of food round the
d ish to make i t appear that more than one person had
been eating . Should a stranger pass and speak to him ,
the Krobo would not understand,
'
but point ing to the
crumbs on the ground,he wou ld int imate by S igns that
his friends were near and he wou ld cal l them i f des i red .
To do this he wou ld step ins ide his hut by the on e door
and out again by the other,and soon be lost to s ight in
250 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
the bush, so afraid wou ld he be of being captured by any
on e who spoke with him . The power of the Krobo
feti sh was completely broken in 1 893, when the ring
l eaders were hanged formaking human sacrifice .
The Krobo d istri ct i s general ly considered to be the
richest part of the colony for the production of palm oi l ,consist ing as i t does of an immense plain covered with
palm trees,which often shade the roads on both s ides .
The peop le are industrious in the manufactu re of the
palm oil,and the Basle M ission has made great progress
among them in the way of educat ion and agricuétural
pursu i ts . The whole currency of the coun try js cowryshel l s
,though Engl i sh si lver is now accepted all through
the d istri ct . Gold i s fet ish to these people,and on no
account wi l l they touch i t with the hands un less th rough
thei r c loth shou ld they do so the hands are immed iately
washed to cleanse them . A ri ch man wi l l possess a
house fu l l of cowry shel l s,which are also Often buried
i n the earth . I t i s supposed that there are large deposi ts
ofgold in the Krobo country,which for generations have
been held as sacred by the inhabitants,and which
,when
found,are again returned to the earth . The sand in the
bed of the Okoi river yields gold when panned , and the
country round is held to be ofan auri ferous nature .
The Krobos are not a warl i ke people,and when attacked
or i n danger,they ascend the Krobo Mountain
,a natural
fortress wh ich wou ld defy the ascent ofan army . They are
a wi ld and supersti t ious,but not a dangerous people . The
men dress i n much the same fash ion as the other nat ives
of the coast,but the women and gi rl s are
,for the most
part,often naked and are very wel l formed . The port
ofthe Krobo country i s Kpong or Pong, an important
252 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
inhabitan ts were conquered by the Aquamboean s , anddriven to a place cal led Little Popo
,which at present
contains the remainder ofthe great k ingdom of Accra ”.
The people were then so rich in s l aves and gold,that
this country possessed greater weal th than most of the
other d ivis ions of the colony put together.
An excel lent trade road now ex ists from Accra through
Aburi,Akropong
,Odumase
,Pong
,Akwamu
,to Anum in
the Pek i country,the most north -eastern l im i t of the
colony . Krepi orCreppee i s now included in the German
terri tory ofTogoland,and is a wel l—cul t ivated and fai rly
extens ive country on the left bank of the Vol ta,and in
c l ud ing the oldA rgotime country . Though in German
terri tory the Basle M ission has some stations in the
country,the ch ief ofwhich i s Bismarcksburg,
some m i les
south -east ofSalaga . P reviou s to the del im itation of the
Anglo -German boundary to the east ofthe colony in 1 890 ,
Krepi was i ncl uded in the P rotectorate ofthe Gold Coast .The inhabitan ts are said to be very industrious
,
smel t ing thei r own i ron and col lecting large quant i t ies
ofcotton,which are shipped from the coast towns . The
o ld country of Argotime,which formed a part of the
Krepi country,was inhabited by a very brave and ener
getic people,very much resembl ing the Krobo people Upon
the western s ide of the Volta . They bui l d thei r towns
and vi l lages among the groves ofcocoa - nut trees,which
everywhere abound,and which partly conceal them from
the travel ler . The people are supposed to cons ist of
emigrants from the coast neighbourhood of N ingo,Shai
and Ada,who left thei r own country more than one
hundred years ago to settl e in these regions,but who
have no connect ion wi th the people of Little Popo,who
THE KREP I AND PEKI COUNTR IES . 253
al so migrated from the Shai plains and the Ga country .
The language of the coun try i s the same as the coas t
terri tory ofAdangme,but by so much and such constant
i ntercourse with the neighbouring tribes in customs and
intermarriage,they are rap id ly acqu i ri ng the language of
the surround ing people . The inhabitants are very in
dustrious,and in every town and vi l lage are to be found
cotton sp inners,weavers and dyers . A pecul iar featu re
of thei r towns and vi l lages i s said to be the centra l
shaded streets,form ing a spacious shed as i t were
,which
i s used as the market-place . The branches of the trees
along the s ides of the main street are drawn together at
the top,and propped up by st icks to form a shady arch
over the whole .
I mmediately to the west of Krepi and bordering the
left bank of the Volta,is the smal l country of Peki
,a
narrow strip runn ing almost due north and south for
some forty mi les,by eight to twenty wide . Very few
Europeans have vis i ted this part of the colony,and
consequently but l ittl e i s known about i t. I t i s a wel l
watered and mountainous country,and in the neighbour
hood ofAnum very picturesque . The chief towns are
Boso and Anum,the latter stand ing 800 feet above the
sea,and commanding a fine V iew ofthe upper and lower
reaches ofthe Vol ta,and i ts tributary the A fram
,which
joins the former nearly Opposi te the town . Anum stands
on a mountain in the m idst of mountains on al l s ides
but the north -west,where the land fal l s away in rol l ing
grass lands as far as the eye can reach, across the Afram
plain to Kwahu,a d istance of nearly 1 00 miles . The
town is an important station of the Basle M iss ion, con
tain ing commodious quarters,and an excel lent chapel and
254 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
schools . The town was vi s i ted by the A shantis about
1 870 the m iss ion station was captured,and the res idents
,
the Rev . Mr . and Mrs . Ramseyer and Mr. Kiihn e,taken
away to Kumas i,where they were detained for nearly
four years . The district round Anum might wel l be
cal led the Switzerland ofAfrica,for at no other spot in
the colony are such beautifu l views to be obtained . I t i s
a comparat ively heal thy d istri ct and Should be the res i
dence of a D i stri ct Commiss ioner,who should control this
part of the colony . Before th is can be done a su i table
res idence should be provided . An experiment in th i s
d i rect ion was tried in 1 897 , but fa i led for some reason ,and I bel i eve the idea of a res ident has been dropped .
The d istrict i s al so known by the name ofBrit i sh Krepi .The Volta
,or as the natives cal l i t
,the A tirriR iver
,
i s by far the largest stream in the Gold Coast,though
very l i tt l e i s known defin i tely about i t . This importan t
r iver i s general ly supposed to take its rise in the high
l ands near the Kong country,far away to the north of
the Gold Coast,near the twel fth paral lel of northern
l ati tude,and to be composed of three separate branches
ris ing at a considerable d istance from each other,and
known as the Black,White and Red Volta . The Black
Volta i s the most western stream,ri s ing in the Grunshi
country ; the Wh ite Vol ta forms the central waters ,flowing south from the Mosh i country
,where i t j oins the
fi rst some thirty mi les west of Salaga,whi le the th ird
arm comes from the Gurma terri tory and joins the
waters Ofthe other two at a point some thi rty m i les south
of Salaga,from which the main stream flows almost due
south into the Gu l f ofGu inea . From Salaga to the sea
i ts course must be about 140 mi les, whi le i ts total length
256 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
more fish . The river overflows in ju ly and August, and
the neighbou rhood of i ts banks i s excel lent for the cu l t i
vat ion of rice . Three mi les from the sea i s an i s land
cal led Bird I s land,fu l l ofpel ican s ofpecu l iar k inds
,and
a fi sh is caught i n the river, whi ch when smoked is very
s im i lar to European salmon . There are a lso hippo
potam i and crocod i les,whi le quanti t ies ofoysters adhere
to the mangroves which everywhere fringe the banks .
Monkeys and s inging bi rds are reported plenti fu l,and
a spec ies ofn ightingale,which S ings only in May and
December . A k ind of cedar is found along i ts ban ks,
which shoots up many branches from the ground , about
as th ick as a pipe,and qu ite dest i tute ofleaves th is tree
i s so very sal t i n i ts nature,that i n the morn ing a great
quanti ty of l iqu id sa l t i s found upon its leaves,which
crystal l i ses in the course of the day . A plant of th i s
c lass and order i s a lso found in the province of St . J ago
i n Chi l i . Some forty -eight mi les from its mouth is the
i s l and of Amalfee,the inhabitants of wh ich
,with those of
Agravi and many other rivers ide towns, cal l themselves
river inhabitants,who acted in the past as the chief
brokers of sl aves for the people of the Krepi and the
Argotime countries . I n Bosman’
s map the river is
marked as the R i o Vol ta,emptying into the sea at Ponn i
Vi l lage,the then eastern boundary of the Gold Coast
,
whi le in Capta in Wi l l iam Snelgrave’
s N ew A ccoun t ofS ome Parts of Guinea,
1 734,i t rece ives i ts correct s i tua
t ion . By travel lers along the coast,the Vol ta mouth is
crossed from a poi n t cal led R ivers ide on the right bank,
to the Custom stat ion ofA ttitition the left,a d istance of
five or s ix m i les, anda pu l l of from forty to fi fty m inutes,
which at times i s attended with some danger when near
THE VOLTA R IVER . 257
the bar and the surf is bad,and a native canoe the
on ly transport avai lable . The mouth of this important
river has recen tly been thoroughly surveyed by the
Colon ial Offi ce authori t ies,with a V iew of open ing the
estuary to ord inary n avigation,to which
,I am afraid
,
almost insurmountable obstac les bar the way . A better
sol ution ofthe d ifficul ty would be found in the construe
t ion of a rai lway from Kpong on the right bank of the
Vol ta to Accra,and a land ing stage at the latter p lace .
This brings us to the c lose of the descript ion of the
various coast and in land terri tories that comprise the
Gold Coast Colony andP rotectorate,with the exception
of the Ashant i country and the recently added interior
provinces . The former has played so important a part
in the hi story of the Gold Coast from the year 1 700
down to the present t ime,that its rise and fal l must be
given in their ent i rety,in the two fol lowing chapters
whi le the present may be closed with an epitome ofthe
genera l products of the eastern part of the colony .
The resources of the whole of this d istri ct between the
P rah and the Volta are vast and extens ive,and requ ire
only to be developed . The country provides a number of
exportable p lants not to be found in any abundance in
other parts of the coast the soi l i s ri ch and ferti le,and
wou ld faci l i tate the growth ofmany artic les rapid ly and
luxurian tly . The Volta R iver might be used to bring down
the ri ches ofthe interior,and an impetus be given to the
export ofgo lddust,palm oil,mon key sk ins,gum,
copal and
cotton . A s previous ly stated,the amount of gold dust
now exported from Accra i s smal l,but this could be con
siderably increased by the open ing up and the working of
the m ines in Eastern and Western Akim . Before thisI7
258 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT
can be accompl ished several d i fficu l t ies must be over
come,parti cu larly with regard to the fool i sh superst i t ions
ofthe nat ives . The people in the gold d istri cts are very
much prej ud iced agai nst having any one who wears
European clothes,or who can read or wri te i n Engl i sh ,
in the gold -bearing d istricts . They are afraid of the
gold being worked by civi l i sed people,and make thei r
rel igion the excuse for doing so . They ins ist that thei r
fetish forbids any white man,or for the matter of that;
any black man in white man ’s c lothes,to go near or find
out the real sou rce of thei r native m ines . Norwi l l they
dig too deep for fear of the gold runn i ng away,and the
resul t i s that many extens ive gold fields of the country
remain undeveloped . This i s'
not on ly true in Ak im,
but in al l the gold -bearing parts of the colony . Civi l ised
organ isation and proper mach inery must be introduced
to successfu l ly work the mines,and su itable means of
transport from the coast must be provided by the construe
t ion of roads,avai lable at al l seasons for wheeled traffic .
A good road i s the fi rs t developmen t that must be
undertaken ; money, engineering sci ence and Engl ish
energy wi l l do the rest . One i l lustration of the nat ive
oppos i t ion wi l l serve to show how true thei r supersti t ion
is,with regard to the work ing of gold by educated per
sons . I t i s reported that a M r. Thomas Hughes , an
intel l igent native of Cape Coast,commen ced min ing
Operations in the s ixt ies in the rich gold fields ofWestern
Wassaw. Being prom ised support by the local govern
ment, he imported expensive machinery for the pur
pose, and after much diffi cu l ty had i t transported by the‘
natives to the local i ty selected,and commenced min ing.
Within a short d i stance from the surface,his miners
260 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
at Kwitta and Ada, but i t i s my fi rm bel ief in years to
come,al l things being equal
,and development pro
gressive,the d iamond wi l l u l t imately be one of the
exportable artic les .”
O thers in add ition to M r. Horton hold this bel ief,and
Burton and Cameron report that in a smal l m in ing con
cess ion near Ahema or Huma,i n the west
,a crystal
was found,which was strongly suspected of being a
d iamond. They say : I t was taken to Ax im,where i ts
gl ass -cutting propert ies were proved . Unfortunately
during one of these trials the sett ing gave way,and the
stone fel l in to a heap Of rubbish,where i t cou ld not be
found . Many have suspected that these regions wi l l
prove diamanti ferous . ”
The H interland of the Gold Coast Colony has now
been sati sfactori ly sett led with France,and accord ing to
the Anglo -French Convent ion of the present year the
fol lowing bas is of agreement has been determ ined upon .
The boundary l ine which has been accepted as a pro
longation of the front ier between the Gold Coast
(Brit ish) and the I vory Coast (French) takes the upper
courses of the river Volta as the most convenient
d ivid ing l ine and cedes a s l ice of the theoret ic H i n ter
land ofthe Gold Coast Colony to France . The friendly
departure which has been made from our academ ic
c laim gives the towns ofBona and Dawkita,l ately the
scene of the heroi c exploi ts of Lieutenant Henderson ,and now in the occupation of Brit ish troops , to France .
These are the on ly points upon the map which Great
Bri tain wi l l be cal led upon to evacuate . The French
wi l l evacuate Wa and al l other po ints to the east of the
river Volta and south of the eleventh paral lel , but
THE ANGLO-FRENCH CONVENT ION . 26 1
France obtains,north of the eleventh paral lel , the con
cession of the extens ive,heal thy
,and valuable terri tory
ofMoss i,for which Great Bri ta in receives no equ ivalent .
The new boundary,after fol lowing the eleventh paral le l
i n an eastward d i rect ion along the northern frontier of
Mamprusi,i s deflected northwards to include Bawku
,
and has the appearance of end ing without cause east Of
the Greenwich merid ian . A s a matter of fact, i t comes
in contact at that po int wi th the boundary lately defined
by the Franco-German agreement to mark the l im its of
French and German terri tory in that d istrict . The
boundary as n ow defined between ourselves and France
carries the northern frontier of the Gold Coast to
German terri tory. I t wi l l be a matter for future
negotiat ion between ourselves and Germany to deter
m ine the l ine wh ich shal l be defin itely drawn between
German and Brit i sh terri tory from the point at wh ich
the Anglo-German front ier of the Gold Coast and
Togoland ceases on the eighth paral le l to a point at
which i t shal l meet the Anglo -French boundary defined
under the present convention .
1
1 From the week ly edition of the Times , 4th Jun e, 1 898 .
CHAPTER X .
Th e K in gdom ofAshan t i— Its P eop l e— Origin— H i st ory— Dwaben— The Cap i tal , Kumas i— Wars down to 1 8 1 7
—The TownCon st i tut i on andLaws— Road s from Kumas i .
AUTHENT IC records concern ing the early h istory of the
A shant i people are very d iffi cul t to obtain even from
trad it ion,for among the Ashant is i t was made a capi tal
pun ishment to speak ei ther of the l i fe or the death of
thei r King,so that very l i tt le informat ion is to be gained
even from the nat ives themselves . With some it i s a com
mon and general ly accepted trad i t ion that the Ashantis
were once a more waters ide people than at present,and
that they migrated towards the interior,conquering the
I nta people and some lesser tribes on thei r way,final ly
sett l ing in the country we know as Ashant i somewhere
about 1 700 ,and found ing the two important towns of
Kumas i and Dwaben . This West A frican power has
thus lasted fora l i tt le less than two centuries,bowing
,in
i ts tu rn,to the civi l isation of Western Europe . By some
i t i s stated,that the A shant is went from the country
behind the present Winnebah,from the banks of the
river Ain su,and that the town Of Croomadie to be
found there was thei r original sett lement. But this is
not a l i kely solu tion of the d i ffi cu l ty. Among the
Ashanti,Fanti
,Wassaw
,Akim
,A ssin and Aquapim
people i t i s a general bel ief, that they were forced from
264 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
from capital pun ishment,and creat ing an aristocracy
composed of h is peers and associates .
I n al l the Ashant i history from this date,a s is ter tribe
,
known as the Dwaben s,has always p layed a very im
portant part,and i t i s recorded that thi s s ister kingdom
,
which ex isted unti l very recent ly,was founded by a
relat ive of O sai Tootoo,named Boitin ne
,about the
same time the latter choosing for h is centre the al ready
exi st ing town of Dwaben or J abin,some twenty mi les
east and a l i ttl e north of the proposed s ite for Kumasi .
These two ch iefs were sons of s isters,and i t i s Supposed
that when th is change of localitv took place,the tribe
over which Boitin ne had charge was the stronger of the
two,and was thus able to secure for its centre an al ready
ex ist ing town,l eaving Osai Too too to bu i ld h i s own at
Kumas i . However th is may have been,we find that the
inhabitants of the two towns became fi rm al l ies in war,
and equal Sharers in spoi l and conquest from 1 700
unti l very recen t t imes . This common interest remained
und istu rbed for more than a century,the two tribes
s ubord inating al l other in terests,to that of one great
pol icy ofi ncrease of terr i tory and power,at the expense
ofal l su rround ing tribes .
From the establ i shment of Osai Tootoo and h is
fol lowers at Kumasi,the latter became the head of the
m i l i tary power of his adherents . He caused his most
important chiefs to bu i ld large town s near the capital,
bestowing upon them ti tular d ign ity,and conci l iat ing the
conquered peop le by mak ing them tributary to h i s own,
and check ing any attempt to revol t,by exacting thei r
frequent .attendance at the cap ital on the occas ion of
al l pol it i cal fest ivi t ies and native customs . The despotic
266 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
And being resolved to retu rn his obl igation,he some
time after sent some of h is wives to compl iment the
King ofDinkira,and assure him of the great esteem he
had for his person . These ambassadresses were not l ess
sp lend id ly treated at Dinkira,being also loaded with
presents ; but the k ing cast a wanton eye upon one of
them,and grat ified h is brutal des ire ; after which he
su ffered her to return with the rest to thei r country
and thei r inj ured husband,who was i nformed of th is
affront . But he took care to make the King of Dinkira
sens ible that he would not rest ti l l he had washed
away the scandal in his inj urious blood . A fter he
was made sens ible of the King ofAshan t i ’s resolu tion,
knowing very wel l with whom he had to deal,the King
of Dinkira offered several hundred marks of gold to
compensate for the inj ury . The enraged k ing,deaf to
al l such offers,prepared h imsel f for a vigorous war
,by
rais ing a strong army to make a descent on Dinkira,
and not being suffi c ient ly stored with gunpowder,he
bought up great quantiti es on the coast . The Dinkiras
were fool ish enough to ass is t h im themselves,su ffering
h is subjects to pass wi th i t un interrupted ly through thei r
country,notwi thstand ing they knew very wel l i t was
on ly des igned for thei r own destruct ion . While he was
making these preparat ions,the King of Dinkira d ied
,
which m ight encourage a bel ief that the impend ing cloud
Of war would blow over . Whether the governors of
Dinkira were too haughty to implore a peace of the
inj ured Osai,orbeing instigated by the enemies of that
country,i s uncertain
,forhe sti l l pers isted in his purpose
ofutterly exti rpat ing the Dinkiras . And about the be
ginn ing of the present year being completely
THE ASHANT I KINGDOM . 267
ready,he came with a terrible army into the field and
engaging the Dinkiras he defeated them,and fighting
them a second time he again defeated them . The
natives report that i n these two battles,more than
men were k i l led,and that the natives ofAkim
,
who came to ass is t the Dinkiras,lost some men
,
i n add i tion to one of their great captains and his whole
fol lowing . The plunder after th is victory took the
Ashantis fi fteen days to col lect,the k ing’s booty alone
amounting to several thousand marks in gold,which is
affi rmed by on e of our European officers,who was in
the Ashant i camp and saw the treasure . Thus you see
the towering pride of Dinkira in ashes,they being now
forced to fly before those whom they not long before
thought no better than thei r slaves,and themselves
being now sold as s laves .
Osai Tootoo d id not l ive long enough to complete the
bu i ld ing ofKumas i . He met his death about 1 720 in
the fol lowing tragic manner. He had declared war
against A toa,a smal l d istri ct between A ssin and Akim
,
and invaded the country . The King ofA toa, wel l know
ing he could not s tand against so formidable a force as
the Ashant is cou ld put in the field,spread his smal l
army through the bush unt i l he reached the rear of the
A shant i force . Here they found the king leisurely
fol lowing the main body ofhis army with a few fol lowers
on ly,al l of whom were destroyed by the A toas, who
shot the k ing in his hammock . This event happened
near a place cal led Corman tee, and on a Saturday,from
wh ich arose the most solemn oath of the A shanti people,M em z
'
nda Corman tee or by Saturday and Corman tee.
Since that day it is reported that Saturday is regarded
268 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
by the Ashant is as fatal,and no enterprise has s ince
been undertaken on that day of the week .
Osai Opookoo,brother of the former k ing
,succeeded to
the stool abou t 1 7 20, and had there been no brother to
succeed,the s ister
’
s son wou ld have been the heir to the
right ofsuccess ion this extraord inary ru le ofsuccess ion,
which excludes al l ch i ldren bu t those of a s is ter,i s
founded upon the argument, that i f the wives of the
sons are fa ithless,the blood Of the fami ly i s ent i rely los t
in the offspring,but shou ld the daughters of the royal
fami ly deceive thei r husbands,i t i s s ti l l i n part preserved
on one S ide . A n ice d is t inction tru ly,and one showing
the moral i ty of Western Afri ca . Throughou t the Ashant i
race property descends to the s ister ’ s so n,andwi th the
exception ofthe k ing, t i t les on ly descend to the son of
the deceased .
Osai or Sai was the fami ly name of the Ashanti
royal ty,being shared by some Of the fami ly as wel l
,in
the same way that In nane was the fami ly name of the
k ings of Dagwumba. Osai Opookoo continued and
fin ished bu i ld ing the town of Kumas i,and made ap
proaches to the King ofDahomey for un ion with that
monarch,who refused al l iance
,poss ibly because he was
more despotic and refused to al low his subjects the same
freedom,that was then enjoyed by the Ashan tis .
The next effort of th is potentate was the invas ion and
subj ugat ion of the powerfu l Gaman country,of which
Bon tuko was the capital . Abo,the K ing of Gaman
,
hearin g ofthe approach of the Ashant is,retreated north
towards the Kong plains,fol lowed by the Ashanti army .
The King of Kong interfered,and refus ing to al low a
struggle i n his terr i tory , compel led Abo to return and
270 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Committee of a set sum in gold dust,paid to the Fant i
ch iefs and k ings who res ided in the neighbourhood of
the Bri ti sh Settlements on the coast,to secu re thei r
attachment,influence and services for the safe- conduct
of merchand ise through their terri tories . When the coast
tri bes,who held most of these notes
,were conquered by
the rapacious Ashant is,they had to del iver them as part
ofthe spoi l of the vi ctors,and the month ly amount was
du ly claimed and received by the Ashantis by right of
conquest . I n th i s way many ofthe Engl i sh,Dutch and
Dan ish notes found thei r way into Ashant i hands,and
were u l t imately destroyed by them,thus unwitt ingly in
thei r ignorance d ispos ing of val uable European records .
The Akras state that they lost thei r notes to the Ak ims
by fraud , and the latter lost them to the Ashanti s, thei r
conquerors,under Osai Opookoo . Thus
,by right of
conquest the Ashantis became the recip ients of the
monthly payments,and many troubles arose in con se
quen ce, a detai led account ofwhich wi l l be given later onin the next chapter .
Dagwumba, a large country north -east of A shanti,
was next attacked and added to the Ashanti ru le . Osai
Opookoo had sen t messengers to the k ing, probably re
qu iring a pretext for war,demand ing tribute from this
country,which being refused
,war was declared
,the
people defeated,and thei r k ing glad to make terms with
the A shant i s,in order to prevent further loss ofd ign ity
with h is own people,and to save the further insu lts to
which he would be subjected as a conquered ch ief from
his adversaries . The al l iance thus formed was beneficia l
to both countries ; the King of Dagwumba’
s l oss of
d igni ty being compensated by a gain of commercial
CON Q UEST OF DAGWUMBA . 27 1
power,for
,on becoming tributary to Osai Opookoo ,
mercanti l e in tercourse was establ ished between the
Ashantis and the great markets of the far interior,
through the med ium of h is own people,to which they
al ready had access,because thei r coun try was farther
in land than Ashan ti . Thus by levying a tol l upon al l
commodi ties passi ng through his country,he increased
his revenues and at the same time obtained respect from
his conquerors as a superior tribu tary power . The I nta
country,which lay between Ashant i and Dagwumba to
the north -east,also became tributary during this reign
,
so that between 1 7 20 and 1 741 four great tribes, the
Gaman s,Akims
,Dagwumbas and I ntas , were each in
tu rn made subservient to the power ofA shant i . When
a fresh state was thus conquered,i t was placed under
the parti cular care ofsome important Ashanti ch ief,who
general ly resided at Kumas i,and who on ly V i s i ted h is
tributary state in order to receive the annual payment
due to h is king from i ts native ruler,for whose proper
conduct and obed ience he was held,i n a measu re
,to be
respons ible .
The ru ler of Dwaben d ied during the reign of Osai
Opookoo ,whose decease is al so reported about the year
1 741 . A brother agai n succeeded to the stool,by name
O sai Aquissa,who ru led in Kumasi for twelve years, unti l1 753. Nothing very remarkable appears to have taken
place during his short reign . He preserved tributary al l
the states previous ly conquered,but there are n o trad i t ions
of his add ing any fresh terri tory to the empire . The
one event of importance that is mentioned and the his
tory of i t preserved,refers to the King ofAkim . This
monarch,having received from Osai Aquissa permission to
27 2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
wage warwith h is neighbours, on cond it ion of sharing the
Spoi l wi th that k ing,i s reported to have sacrificed him
sel f for the good ofhis people . For,fai l ing to obtain the
necessary spoi l,he sent none to Kumasi
,whereupon his
head was demanded by O sai Aquissa,and the Akim
king,after consul tation with his chiefs
,decided to end
h is l i fe wi th them . Trad it ion has i t that each sat Upon
a keg ofgunpowder,smoking his pipe
,and that after a
long and final d raught of rum,each appl ied the ashes
ofhis pipe to h is own funeral pyre and thu s saved de
struct ion at the hands Of the Ashant is .
Osai Cudjo succeeded in 1 7 53, and devoted h is
energies to retrenching the power of,and afterwards
conc i l i at ing,the so - cal led aristocracy
,which in power
was growing to such an extent as to menace the ex istence
of the state. Wherever possible,he rai sed h is favouri te
captains to the vacant stool s whenever an opportun i ty
offered,often un it ing three or four d i stri cts under the
newly made k ings,and tak ing an oath with them that
thei r l ives shou ld be held as sacred as h is own,i n order
to ant i c ipate any doubts as to thei r fidel i ty to the con stitu
t ion . The act of rais ing a man to the stool d id not of
necess ity give the recip ient a seat at the general counci l ,but merely notified a success ion to certain property,which was handed down to success ive generations .
The tribu tary Wassaws and A ssin s attempted in
th is reign to regain thei r freedom,but were again
attacked and defeated,and compel led to acknowledge
Ashant i as a superior power . Osai Cudjo then tu rned
his attention to Aquapim and Kwahu , subjected thei rpeople and placed them under tribute to his people .
These successes kept in awe other tribes,which were
274 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
upon every occas ion of a state ceremony,particu larly
when the Akim representat ives were present to witness
his van ity . Such s ights were n o doubt duly reported
to the conquered Ak ims,and on ly tended to make them
the more rebel l ious and to fight wi th more bravery when
in the field : and to constant ly see the effigy of thei r
favourite leader so gross ly insul ted,added to thei r hate
for the Ashantis,and so i ncensed them again st thei r
cruel masters,that i t i s reported that they fought for
thei r independence no less than eight t imes . The states
of Banda and Soota were also made tributary in this
reign,the subj ugation of the latter occupying the A shant i
army,under Odumata
,for ten years
,during which time
th is general was forbidden to come to Kumas i unti l the
subj ugation was complete . The same general attacked
and subdued the Nkoran z as,but to accompl ish h is end
,
he was compel led to ra ise a large aux i l iary army from the
Gaman country,al ready tributary to A shanti .
Osai Q uamina incurred the d ispleasure of his people,
by rais ing a servant named Apookoo to the vacant stool
ofA ssimadoo to the excl us ion of the rightfu l fam i ly,and
th is event was the commencement of d isagreemen t with
h i s people,which may perhaps have had someth ing to
do with h is own end . The last m i l i tary act of his re ign
was the despatch ofan exped it ion in answer to a request
forhelp from the Dan i sh Governor-General ofChrist ians
borg,to send h im an army with which to pun ish the
Popos . Osai Q uamina agreed , and despatched 5000
A shanti troops to the cast le at Christ iansborg,but on
thei r way down the Governor-General d ied,and his
successor,rather prudently
,paid to the Ashan t i k ing
the sum of 250 ounces ofgold dust to take his men back
H ISTORY OF ASHANT I . 275
again,rather than be a party to what would have been
a very troublesome al l i an ce .
I n 1 798 Osai Q uamina l eft Kumasi and paid a vis i tto the s ister town of Dwaben
,remain ing away for the
space of twelve months,a most unusual thing for an
Ashanti k ing to do,and in spi te of the urgent requests
of his people to return . I t i s supposed that he wasinduced to stay by the al l urements ofGyawa
,the k ing’s
daughter,ofwhom he seemed to have become infatuated .
I t was,however
,at last announced to him by his nobles
,
that i f he d id n ot return to h is country by the approach
ing Yam custom ,he would be deprived of his stool by
his people . He,however
,d id not return
,owing either
to the arts of h is m istress,or to her refusal to accompany
him to Kumas i,on account of the possibl e resentment
of his mother to her when she arrived . Some sup
pose that the King ofDwaben was privy to and urged on
her refusal,i n order that by the dethronemen t of Osai
Q uamina, he might reap the benefi t of join ing the twok ingdoms under h is own sway . That the king was dethroned is certain
,and the manner of this deprivat ion of
the stool i s worthy ofrecord and most in teresting .
The chief captains of Kumasi,headed by one Appia
Danqua, waited upon the queen mother, and recountedto her the shortcom ings ofher son
,command ing her
,as
daughter of thei r o ldk ing and as hi s parent,to remon
strate with him upon his conduct . H i s mother,how
ever,told them she had al ready done so
,but without
avai l,and also stated that in return her son had attempted
to take her l i fe,and that as remonstrances were ofno avai l
,
she would beg them to unseat Osai Q uamina, and to place
her second son Osai Opookoo on the stool in his place .
276 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Thus Osai Q uamina was dethroned and his brother raisedIn his place . This decis ion ofthe queen mother and the
captains was then commun icated to the dethroned k ing
a few women and s laves were sent to him,with the re
quest that he wou ld ret i re to the bush and bu i ld himsel f
a croom and there d ie . Before h is death,however
,he
sought andobtained a private i n terview with the new k ing,
ask ing that those who had been the means of his down
fal l should be d istrusted and pun ished,and then he
implored death,which was effected by fixing his feet on
the ground,bend ing h i s body backward with a prop in
the smal l of the back,and suspend ing from a noose
round his neck several large tusks of ivory,the weight
ofwhich press ing upon his neck strangled him . (This
mode was chosen because hi s blood could not be shed,nor
could he be drowned in the sacred river . )1 799.
— Osai Opookoo l ived only a few weeks after h is
elevat ion to the stool,and was succeeded in tu rn by his
brother Osa i Tootoo Q uamina,a youth about seventeen
years of age . On the occasion of his access ion,the
captains of the country,from fear ofthe increas ing power
ofthe aristocracy,i ns i sted that the remain ing members
ofthe k ing’s fami ly should publ ic ly proclaim thei r l iabi l i ty
to capita l pun ishment,and thus remove the idea of the
sacredness of the royal fam i ly from suffering in this
way . I t was in th is re ign that the Fanti k ingdom was
invaded in 1 807 , and for the fi rst t ime the Ashantis
came in to d irect confl i ct with the Engl ish during the
campaign . Whi l e this Fanti invas ion was being con
sidered, Baba, afterwards the ch ief of the Moors ,appeared in Kumas i
,and requested protection from
its k ing against h is ch ief,who had driven h im from the
278 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
k ing at Kumasi,who as usual despatched messengers
to A ttah to inqu ire i f such was the case . Without
hes i tation,A ttah confessed to the k ing
’s messengers
that he had refused to j oin Opookoo ,and added
,more
,
over,that he was t i red of being a slave and incessantly
summoned to war,and that also he cou ld n ot forget that
Osai Cudjo , Q uamina’
s ancestor,had cut off h i s (Attah
’s)grandfather ’s head
,and that he wou ld fight wi th Opookoo
whenever he came . About th i s t ime Q uamina Guma
(the father of Beegua,captain ofDan ish Accra) , one of
the k ing ’ s sons,was return ing to Kumas i wi th a large
quantity of gold,in order to make custom for the king ’s
mother,pass ing through A ttah ’s terri tory . Here he was
intercepted,robbed ofhis gold
,and murdered with h is
party,with the except ion of one
,who was sent as a
messenger to the k ing at Kumasi,to tel l h im that
A ttah was i n earnest and determ ined to war with h im .
A ttah,to strengthen his forces
,had induced another ch ief
who was also weary ofAshant i ru le,Quaw Saffatchee, to
jo i n h im . Opookoo was therefore ordered by the Ashanti
k ing to at once march against A ttah,who
,when he
entered his country,was for attacking him at once at
sunrise,but to th is Quaw objected
,saying it would be
best to wait unt i l 3 RM,when the A shant is had eaten
and would be rest ing,and also i f they were defeated , i t
wou ld be a better t ime for retreat (evening coming on ) ,as the Ashantis never pursue in the dark . The at
tack took place as arranged,and the fight remained un
dec ided t i l l n ight fel l,when Opookoo ,
on counting his
men,found he had lost so many
,that he decided to send
messengers to cal l the Akras to h is help,they being
then vassal s of Ashant i . The Akras came to the help
H ISTORY OF ASHANT I . 279
of Opookoo,whereupon A ttah and Quaw divided and
retreated,the former to windward and the latter to Ada .
Opookoo fol lowed the latter, and think ing the then
Dutch governor,Mr . Fl indt, had ass isted Quaw to escape,
after being tedious ly and closely watched by Opookoo’
s
men,took the governor prisoner and marched away with
him to Aquapim ,where the army encamped for five
months,during which t ime Mr. Flindt was treated wi th
al l respect,and at last rel eased on a ransom of £ 400 .
Opookoo was then ordered back to Kumasi , and it i s said
took with h im the bel l from the fort at Ada as a trophy .
A t the t ime of th is insurrect ion Appia Danquahad been sent with 6000 men against the Fantis
,who
were d isposed somewhat to aid the rebels . Appia met
them at Appam,a town on the coast between Winnebah
and Sal tpond,and after the fight
,Baffoo
,the Anamaboe
Caboceer,was taken prisoner . Whi le
,however
,Appia ’s
army was in the neighbourhood of Tantum,some few
miles away,they heard of the approach Of A ttah
,who
,
i t wi l l be remembered,was retreat ing to windward before
the troops of Opookoo ,andwhose very name was suffi
c ien t to infuse genu ine fear into the victorious army of
Appia,who
,with a Show ofd iscretion
,then hurried away
into the interior .I n th is manner the passage of the Ashantis through
the Ak im country to the coast became closed,and
remained so for about a period of two years,partly
owing to the act ivity and energy of Cudjoe Cooma,the
new k ing of that country,who had been raised to the
stool some six months after the death Of A ttah . During
this six months ’ i nterval,between the death of A ttah
and the plac ing of Cudjoe Cooma upon the stool, the
THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Ak ims were governed by one Q waku A shanti, but who
ru led them so very harshly,that at the end of a few
months he was commanded by hi s peopl e to take his
own l i fe,and was al lowed by them one week in which
to accompl ish th is end . I t i s reported that he spent
the week thus a l lowed in mak ing custom and then com
mittedsu ic ide.
A t the t ime of A ttah ’ s rebel l ion,Quaw Saffatchee,
another Ashant i tributary ru ler,had joined forces wi th
h im,and about th is t ime thi s chief
,together with the
Fantis,attacked Accra
,but were repul sed . The King
of A shant i now determined to make on e bold effort to
reopen the road through the Ak im country,and to
receive the arrears of pay from the forts on the coast
that were due to h im . H e accord ingly col lected an army
ofsome men,and plac ing them under the charge
ofAmanquaAbiniowa,instructed h im to proceed through
the Ak im and Aquapim countries to receive the submiss ion of the people
,to do no violence
,and to commit
no act ofwar except in sel f- defence . A t the same time
Appia Banqua was sent wi th a smal ler body ofmen,to
encamp a short d istance from the coast beh ind Winnebah
and Tantum,in case the revol ters again retreated and
fled to windward . Abiniowa and his army reached to
within a day ’s march of the Aquapim coun try, and thenat a smal l place cal led Aquiasso ,
one of his advance
parties was attacked by Cudj oe Cooma andhis men,and
beaten back with a sl ight loss . The main body of the
Ashantis now prepared for attack,which took place next
morn ing. The engagement l asted about six ho urs,and
ended in a v i ctory for the Ashant is . After the fight
Amanqua sent a jaw - bone ofa man and a slave to each
282 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
enem ies, the Ashantis , prom is ing that i f the Akras
del ivered him in to thei r hands they wou ld prevai l upon
thei r k ing to give the stool to h is brother,who was now
trying to betray him . Quaw thereupon left Accra to
meet his brother,accompan ied only by a few Akras and
A shant is , and after one day’s j ourney came where hi s
brother was waiting h im . A palaver took place,Adoo
u rged his brother to k i l l himself,but from th is Quaw
dissented,saying he hoped eventual ly to wear out the
patience ofthe A shant i k ing in thus pu rsu ing him . A t
th is Adoo rose,a Shot was fi red at Quaw
,which struck
h im down,but before he was ki l l ed he was shotandrose
again no less than four t imes,dying with the reproach
on his l ips,that his brother was his murderer . The
body was sent to A ccra,and the head later to Kumas i .
Amanqua’
s miss ion being now complete he returned to
the A shanti capital in 1 8 1 7 .
About th is time the King ofAshant i received homage
and tribute unasked from the Aowin tribe,and em
boldened by h is m i l i tary successes,sent an embassy to
Bon tuko,the capital of the Gaman country
,demanding
the royal stool ofthe k ing . This stool was thick ly plated
and embossed with gold,and was in fear sent by Ad in
kara the king,in answer to the summons
,i n the absence
of his s ister,a woman of great spi ri t
,and real ly the chief
adviser of the k ing . On her return,l earn ing what her
brother had done,she severely reproached him
,and
ordered a new stool to be made of sol id gold to replace
the lost one,with a golden elephant for an ornament .
The King of A shanti hearing of th is,sent another
embassy demand ing th is new stool,but the S i s ter in
formed them with more force than del i cacy,that the
H ISTORY OF ASHANT I . 283
k ing shou ld del iver up neither the stool n orits ornament,
add ing she and her brother would change places,as he
was unfi t to be a k ing . Further,she wou ld fight to the
last, rather than submit to be so constantly despoi led .
This message was du ly del ivered,and the k ing
,admiring
her Spiri t,sen t word back to say She was a strong woman
and fi t to be a king ’s s i ster,and that he wou ld give her
twelve months to prepare for war . During the prepara
t ion many embass ies passed between the two countries,
one from the Gaman court,with gold to the amount
of £ 3200, to preserve peace . The aristocracy obj ected
to this,urging that their other tributary powers wou ld
mock them,d id they not get the King ofGaman
’
s head .
Up to th is t ime i t w i l l be remembered,that the
Ashanti people had real ly cons isted of two d ivis ions,
those of Kumas i and those ofDwaben,each with thei r
separate capi tal,but work ing together to carry out thei r
schemes of m i l i tary aggress ion . I t became clear about
1 8 1 7 that Osai Tootoo ,the King ofAshanti , contemplated
the reduction ofhis al ly ofDwaben to be a tributary power,
and to this effect sent a messenger to the King of Dwaben,
a very weak young man,demanding gold . To this de
mand an answer was sent by one ofthe royal captains to
the effect,that as no war was on hand no gold could be
requ ired in Kumasi,except for the benefi t of the k ing
himsel f,and also remind ing him
,that of o ld i t had been
the custom for the King of Dwaben to exact gold and
not to pay i t . Upon thi s being reported to the King of
A shanti,he sen t his messengers with a gold -headed
sword andother marks of favour to th i s captain , who ,to
his great surprise,refused them
,saying that the honours
he al ready possessed at home became him better.
284 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
This brings us down to the period when “ the Ashantis
fi rst began to be troublesome to the Engl i sh upon the
West Coast of A fri ca,and the various wars that arose
from th is wi l l be detai led in the fol lowing chapter,whi le
some account of the town ofKumasi,as i t was in 1 8 1 7 ,
may be of interest to the general reader.The fi rs t town of Kumas i was bu i l t upon the s ide of
a large rocky hi l l of i ronstone. I t was insu l ated by a
marsh close to the town on the north,and by a narrow
stream hal f a mi le d istant from i t o n the north -west,and
about s ix ty yards broad,whi le at the east
,south -east
and sou th i t was respectively twenty,seventy and fi fty
yards broad at these points . I n many parts,th is marsh
was five feet deep after the heavy rains,but more com
mon ly on ly two . I t contained many springs and suppl ied
the town with water,but the vapou rs ri s ing from it en
veloped the ci ty morn ing and even ing with a thick fog,which was favourable to the product ion ofdysentery in
Europeans . A bird ’s - eye view of the place was un
in terest ing,nothing being seen but the thatch roofs of
the houses,the whole enci rcled wi th bush and forest .
The town itsel f was an oblong about four m il es in cir
cumference,exclud ing the subu rbs of A ssafoo and Ban
tamah,which were once connected with the main town by
streets,at th is t ime most ly in ru ins . Four of the prin
cipal streets were abou t hal f a m i le long and from fi fty to
a hundred yards wide. The streets were al l named , and
each placed under the charge ofa separate captain , and at
the top ofOne,upon a mound
,were placed the cannon
taken from the Denk iras by Osai Tootoo,the first authentic
king . The royal res idence was s i tuated in a long and
wide street runn ing through the m idd le ofthe town,from
286 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
which it was shut out by a high wal l,term inating at each
end of the marsh,which was cons idered suffi cient pro
tection at these points . This street in cluded the k ing ’s
res idence and also that Ofhis brothers,wi th several smal ler
streets and open spaces to serve as recreation grounds for
the k ing, when confined to his palace by the superst i t ions
of hi s peopl e .
The whole town contained some twenty-seven streets
as shown in the plan . The smal l grove marked O,at
the back of the great market-place,was the sp i ri t house
,
where the trunks of the vict ims sacrificed were thrown .
The tracks leading to i t,which were dai ly renewed
,showed
the various d i rections from which they had been d ragged,
and the number of vu ltu res on the trees i nd icated the
extent of the sacrifice . The stench was terrible,and
panthers vis i ted the place n ight ly . Trees were scattered
about the town for the recreation of the people ofthose
part i cu lar parts where they ex isted,and smal l c i rcu lar
e levations of two steps,the lower about twenty feet in
c i rcumference,l i ke the bases of the o ldmarket crosses in
England,were ra ised in the m idd le ofseveral s treets
,on
which the k ing’s chair was placed when he went to drink
palm wine there,h is attendants stand ing round in a
ci rc le . I n these t imes the average dai ly res iden t popu
l at ion was about to though it was asserted
that the total number reached a much larger figure .
Dai ly markets were held from about eight in the
morn ing ti l l sunset,the larger market contain ing some
S i xty stal l s or sheds,bes ides crowds of in ferior vendors ,
s i tt ing about in al l d i rections,and the fol lowing arti cles
were freely Offered for sale : Beef, mutton , pork , deer
and monkey ’s flesh,fowls
,yams
,plantains
,corn
,sugar
THE TOWN OF KUMAS I 287
cane,ri ce,peppers , oranges , pawpaws ,pine -apple,bananas ,
sal t and dried fish from the coast,l arge snai l s smoke
d ried and stuck in rows on smal l s t icks i n the form of
herring bone,eggs
,palm wine , rum,
pipes,beads
,look ing
glasses,sandals
,S i l k
,cotton
,cloths
,powder
,pi l lows
,
thread and calabashes . P ri ces ru led much higher in
Kumasi than in the surround ing towns,owing to the
greater abundance of gold among the people . The
fol lowing wi l l show the prices in the capitals of Ashanti
and Dagwumba respectively
Article. Kumasi. Yahudi.
A bu l l ock f,6 o 0 I o o
A Sheep 0 1 5 o 0 4 o
A fow l O I 8 0 0 5
A horse 24 o o 8 O o
Yams O 0 8 (for 2 ) o o 8 (for 1 0 )
P lantat ions ex isted al l round the town,the exten t and
order ofwhich were surpris ing . No other implement was
used but the hoe,and two crops of corn were produced
every year . Yams
'
were planted at Chri stmas and dug in
the fo l lowing September . The latter plantat ions were
wel l looked after,and were wel l fenced in
,planted in
l ines,with a broad walk round
,whi le a hut was erected
at each wicker gate,where a S l ave and his fami ly res ided
to protect the plantat ion .
Down to the beginn ing of the n ineteenth century the
const itut ion of the Ashantis cons isted of three estates ,the King
,the A ristocracy (reduced to four in number)
and the great Assembly of the Captains or Caboceers .
I n the exercise ofhis j ud icia l au thori ty ,the king always
retired in private with his four counsel lors to hear thei r
opin ions, which they were encouraged to state wi th the
288 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
utmost candour,whi le the genera l assembly of the
captains was summoned,S imply to give publ ic i ty to the
decis ions arrived at by the k ing and its aristocracy,or
s imply to announce the wi l l and pleasu re of the former .The captains also made al l necessary provis ion for the
carrying out of such deci s ions . The most original featu re
of the law was that of success ion,al ready described .
The s isters of the k ing could marry or in trigue wi th
whom they pleased,provided that the chosen one was
an eminent ly strong or personable man . The king was
hei r to the gold of al l h is subjects,from the h ighest to
the lowest ; the fetish gold and the C loths being pre
sented by h im to h is successor . The successor became
l iable for al l the debts of the previous k ing,and in order
to meet these,a large sum of gold dust was often pre
sented to the one chosen to succeed to the stool . A l l
the gold and ornaments buriedwith members of theking’s fami ly
,and which were depos ited with their bones
in the feti sh house at Ban tamah,were sacred
,and cou ld
on ly be used to save the capital from destruct ion at the
hands of an enemy,or in a t ime of extreme national
d is tress,and shou ld the occas ion arise for thei r use in th is
manner,the reign ing king must on no account look upon
them,un less he wished to incur the fatal vengeance ofthe
fet ish god. A slave seek ing refuge from an al l ied or
tributary power was always restored,but i f he came from
an unconnected power,he was received as a free man .
A tributary state which d ist inguished itsel f in the suppress ion of revol t in another was rewarded with certain
privi leges at the expense of the revol t ing power. I f the
subjects ofany tribu tary power objected to the decis ion
of thei r own ru ler, accord ing to the laws of thei r own
290 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
person who thus d iscovered them,but were redeemable
by thei r fam i l ies .To praise the beau ty Of another man ’s wi fe was for
bidden,i t be ing considered intrigue by impl ication .
I f a woman became involved in a su i t,she compromised
her fam i ly,not her
.husband .
A woman cou ld leave her husband for i l l - treatment or
d is l i ke,by return Of her marriage fee
,but she cou ld n ot
marry again .
A husband unheard of for three years al lowed the wife
to marry again,and should the fi rst husband return
the claim of the second sti l l stood,but al l the chi ld ren
of the after marriage were considered the property ofthe
fi rs t husband,and could be pawned by him .
To intrigue with the wi fe of a k i ng was death,and
only the captains could put thei r wives to death for in fi
delity,though they were expected to a l low thei r redemp
t ion by their fami ly on payment of a large sum of gold
dust .The '
property of a wife was qu i te d ist inct from that of
the husband,but the k ing was hei r to i t .
I f a person brought a frivolous charge against another
and i t was dism issed, the accuser was bound to provide an
entertainment for the fami ly and the friends ofthe accused .
A captain general ly paid a periguin , £ 8 for a wi fe ,and a poor man two ackies
,about I S . 6d. I ntrigue with
the former incurred a fine often periguin s, with the latter
one and a hal f ackies and a pot ofpalm wine .
The Government had no power to d irect trade into
any part icu lar market,but i t cou ld prevent the commerce
ofany obj ectionabl e power from pass ing through its ter
ritories .
ROADS FROM KUMAS I .
TH E PR I N C I PAL ROAD S FROM KUMA SI.
Coast Roads .
To Apol loniaTo Three Pom ts andChama.
To Accra.
To Accra.
To the V olta. Ul
-P
wN
H
In landRoads .
To Bon tuko .
To Kin tampo .
To Attabubu.
To Salaga.
Governmen t Road.
291
CHAPTER X I.
M on th ly N ote s—Wars w i t h Englan d , 1 80 7- 1 8 1 7
—M i ss ion t oAshan t i— S econ d Ashan t i War, 1 824
— Th i rd Ashan t i War,
1 863— Fou rth A shan t i War
,1 873
—The Last Ashan t i War
Down fal l ofPrempeh, 1 896 .
ONE i l lu stration of the va lue placed upon the month ly
notes from the Government to the natives,wi l l be suffi
c ient to show the importance that attached to them,and
al so serve to show the ideas in the m ind of the reign ing
King of Ashant i,at that t ime Osa i Tootoo Q uamina.
The fol lowing is a letter from the King ofAshant i to
John Hope Smith,E sq. , Governor-in -Chiefofthe Brit ish
possess ions on the Gold Coast ofA frica .
This letter was sent down by Mr . Bowdich,soon
after the m iss ion which had been despatched from the
coast to interv iew the Ashant i k ing in 1 8 1 7 reached the
capital,to the governor ofthe colony
,and shows exactly
the state Of affairs a t that t ime . A shant i had conquered
al l the countries from the river Tando in the west,to
the Vol ta in the east,l eaving on ly the strip of shore,
with i ts forts and factories,which were now seriously
threatened . There is no doubt that the Ashantis con
templatedthe reduct ion ofthese,in order to sat i sfy their
des i re to become a mari time power .
Th e k ing sen ds h i s comp l im en ts to th e gove rn or . H e than ksth e K ing of Englan d andhim very much fo r t h e p re sen ts sen t to
294 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
go ld, what you get from th e books , and th en you shal l h ear what
palave r I have got in my head, andwe can be fr i en d s ” ; th enhe sen t some me ssen gers , andaft e r th ey wai ted m ore than two
years, t h e Fan t ee s sen t word back, N o "we don’t wan t t o serve
th e k in g, but on ly t o make th e path open and get good trade ”
;
th i s vexed the king too much .
Then t he Fan te e s sen t t o a strong man,Cudjoe Coomah , and
sai d,
“ Come,l et u s put ou r head s t ogeth er again st th e k in g ”
aft er that , when t he k in g h eard th i s, h e sen t on e, n ot a great man,
but h i s own s lave,and sai d
,
“ We l l,you wi l l d o
,go k i l l all the
peop l e,all t h e Aquapims
, andAk im s, andall andso he ki l l edall
,andafter he ki l l ed all h e cam e andto l d him .
When he sen t again st Ak im , th e p eop l e in Akim sen t word thatthey to l d th e ir head men n ot to vex th e k in g, but they wou ld n ot
m in d th em,so h e ki l l ed th e head peop l e
, and th e othe rs beggedh i s pardon .
When th e kin g wen t t o fight wi t h th e Fan t ee s th ey sen t th i ssaucy word, “ W e w i l l k i l l you andyou r p eop l e and stan d on
you”; th en they ‘
didn ot k i l l on e Ashan t ee captain,but th e k ing
k i l l ed all th e Fan tee captain s andp eop l e . Th ey do not stan d on
him .
That t ime , aft e r th e k in g fought,all th e Fan t ee s sen t word ,
We l l we wi l l se rve you, but you mu st n ot sen d more harm tohurt u s, we don
’ t wan t to fight mo re , but to make good fr i en d swi t h you ”
. Then th e k in g sai d,What cabocee r l ive s at Cape
Coas t and An amaboe,what books they get from th e fo rts
,l e t
th em sen d all,and t h en we can be fr i en d s ” . Andth e k in g sen t
word too,
“ Ifmy m es sen ge rs go to Cape Coast Fort, and i f th eybr in g pot s of go ld
,andcask s ofgood s
,t hen I can ’ t take that, but
I must have the books”
.
After that th e kin g sen t word to th e G overn o r of Cap e Coast andt he Govern o r of Anamaboe
,
“ We l l "you kn ow I have k i l l ed all
th e Fan tee s, andI mu st have Adocoo
’
s andAmoon ey’s books
,and
I can make fr i en d s w i th you,good broth e r andgood heart but
n ow they sen d fou r acki e s,that i s what make s th e k in g’s h eart
break out when h e l ooks on th e book and th in ks of four ack i es,and h i s captain s swear that th e Fan t ees are rogue s andwan t tocheat him. When the whit e men see the Fan t ees do thi s, and
MONTHLY NOTES . 295
th e Engl i sh offiéers brin g him th e se fou r ack i es,i t makes him get
up very an gry,but he has n o palaver wi t h wh ite men .
A l l Fan tee i s h i s, all th e black man’s coun try is h i s ; he h ears
that wh i te men br in g al l th e th in gs t hat come here ; he won dersth ey do n ot fight wi t h th e Fan t ees
,for he kn ows th ey ch eat them .
Now he see s wh i te men,andhe than ks Godandh i s fet i sh for i t .
When th e Engl i sh made Apo l l on ia Fort h e fought wi th th eAowin s , th e masters of that coun t ry
,and ki l l ed them ; th en he
sai d to th e caboceer, “ I have k i l l e d all your peop l e, your book i sm in e ”
; the caboceer sai d , “ True "so l on g as you take my t own ,t h e book be l on gs t o you ”
.
H e wen t t o Dan kara andfought,andk i l l e d th e peop l e ; t hen h e
sai d,
“ G ive me th e book you get from E lm in a,
” so th ey d id,and
n ow E lm in a be l on gs to him .
1
The En gl i sh Fort at Accra gave a book t o an Ak im caboceer,cal l e d Aboigin Adjumawcon . Th e k in g k i l l ed him and
’
took thebook . Th e Dutch Fort gave a book to an other Ak im cabocee r
,
Curry Curry Apam . The Dan i sh Fort gave a book to an otherAk im cabocee r, Arrawa Ak im ; th e kin g ki l l ed all and t ook the irbooks .Th i s k in g
,Sai, i s young on th e stoo l
,but h e keep s always in h i s
head what o l d men say, fo r i t i s good, and h i s great men and
l ingu i sts te l l i t him every morn in g . The K in g of Englan d make sth ree great men , andsen d s one to Cape Coast , on e to An amaboeand on e t o Accra ; Cape Coast i s th e sam e as Englan d . Thek ing gets two oun ce s from Accra every moon
,and th e Engl i sh
wi sh to give him on ly fou r acki es for th e b ig fort at Cape Coast,andt he same for An amaboe do wh it e men th in k th i s p roper ?When th e k in g ki l l ed the Dan kara cabocee r and got two
oun ces from E lm in a,th e Dutch governor said , “ Th i s i s a p rope r
k in g,we shal l n ot p lay w i t h him ,
andmade the book fou r oun ces .The k in g has k i l l ed al l th e peop l e andall the fort s are h i s ; hesen t h i s captain s to see wh it e men ; n ow he sees them , andthan ksGod and h i s fet ish . If th e path was good when th e captain swen t
,t he k in g wou l d have gon e un de r th e fo rts and seen all the
wh ite men . The Ashan tee s take good go l d to Cape Coast , butthe Fan t ee s mix i t ; he sen t som e of h i s captain s l i ke s lave s to see,
1 The king always spoke of the acts ofall h is ancestors as his own ,
296 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
andt h ey saw i t ; ten han dkerch i efs are cut to e ight, wat er i s putto rum
, and charcoal to powder, even fo r th e k in g ; th ey cheathim
, but h e t h in k s t h e wh it e men give all th o se th in gs prope r t oth e Fan t e e s .The king kn ows t he K in g of Englan d i s h i s good fr i en d
,for he
has sen t him han d som e dash es ; he kn ows h i s offi cers are h i s goodfr i en d s , for th ey come t o see him . Th e k in g wi sh es th e govern orto sen d to E lm ina t o see what i s pai d him th e re , and to wr i t e t heK in g of Englan d how much , as t h e Engl i sh say the i r n at i onpasses th e Dutch ; he w i l l see by the books given him by bot hforts . If th e Kin g of Englan d doe s n ot l i ke that , h e may sen dhim h imse l f what h e p l eases
,andt h en Saican take i t .
He than k s th e k ing and govern o r fo r sen d ing four wh ite men
to see him . The o l d k ing wi shed t o see som e of them,but th e
Fan t ee s stop i t . H e i s but a youn g man andsee s th em , andsoagain he than ks Godandh i s fet i sh .
D ictat ed in t h e p resen ce of
T . E DWA R D B OWD I CH .
W I LL IAM H UTC H I SON .
H E N RY TE DL IE .
I t was in 1 80 7 that an A shant i army reached the coast
for the fi rst t ime,though i n the previous year
,1 806
,they
had approached the neighbourhood of Cape Coast Castle,
the governor ofwhich,under some apprehens ion for the
safety ofthe Bri t i sh Settlements along the coast,wished
to send a flag of t ruce with a message to the King of
Ashant i, who was then
,i n May
,1 806
,encamped only
some fi fteen m i les from the town . The Fantis,with
whom the A shantis were at th is t ime at war,were con
sulted upon th i s measure and so much opposed it,
particu larly the nat ives of Anamaboe,that i t was dis
pen sedwith , the A namaboes th inking themselves qu i te
a match for the Ashant i s,and underrat ing thei r power .
Shortly after th is, a d ivis ion of the A shanti army made
298 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
to an unders tand ing,and that i f the A shant i army at
tempted to approach the fort at Anamaboe in a host i le
man ner,the guns wou ld be Opened upon them . To
impress upon the messengers the power of these guns,
some few shots were fi red from the fort,and as the
bearers were about to depart,private intel l igence was
received by the governor that the men bearing the flag
oftruce,were to be murdered on thei r way to Corman
t ine. To present s uch a d isaster,Mr. White and another
gentleman accompanied them,and left them at a safe
d istance from their fort . A week elapsed and nothing
occu rred,and th is c i rcumstance was looked Upon as a
favourable omen . But the commander of the Ashant i
d ivis ion,who happened to be the King of Denkira
,
having ascerta ined the s trength ofAnamaboe,took pos
sess ion ofand occupied a smal l vi l lage about on e mile
to the east of the Anamaboe Fort,whence al l the opera
t ions of hi s adversari es cou ld be observed . This act ion
was considered to be an annoyance,anda party cons ist
i ng of nearly al l the men in the town attacked the
Ashant is,and succeeded in d is lodging them from their
newly-acqu ired post,after a somewhat stubborn res ist
ance . While the A namaboes were occupied with thi s
attack,the Ashant i captain and the main body of h is
men were actively employed in securing al l the passes
that led again back to the town . Early on the next day
the A shanti army was seen to be in motion,the alarm
was given,and every man able to carry a musket
marched to meet the enemy . Confus ion soon spread
through the town ; al l the old people were co l lected in
the fort and the gate c losed . The sound ofmusketry
approached nearer and nearer, and in a short time the
INVASION OF THE COAST . 299
Ashant is entered the town on al l s ides,pursued the
people to the beach and s laughtered al l with whom they
came in contact . Many took to thei r canoes andothers
saved themselves by swimming ; the fort was several
t imes assai led,though the guns were used against them
with great effect . The governor was twice wounded,one
man k i l led,and an offi cer and another man wounded in
the assau l t . A fter repeated attacks by the Ashant is,the
garrison was reduced to eight able men upon whom de
penden ce cou ld be placed, and who defended the western
gate with much vigour . Chief among these defenders
were Mess ieu rs Governor White,Mered ith
,Swanzy
,
Smith and Baines .
N ight came on and hosti l i t ies ceased,but the morning
showed the resul ts ofthe fight,dead and wounded on al l
s ides,houses unroofed and others on fi re . The fort
gave refuge to about 2000 people of every description,
and about 200 escaped to a rock surrounded by the sea
and about a pistol shot from the shore,where they re
mained unmolested . Upon inqu i ry i t was estimated
that about 8000 Fantis had perished during the confl i ct.The attack on the fort was again renewed , but repulsed
each t ime by the l i tt le garri son . The Ashant is now
ceased active hosti l i t ies,remain ing in and near the town
for some days,and evidently anx ious for peace
,for,
al though they had defeated thei r enem ies the Fantis ,they too had su ffered severely, los ing in actual confl i ct
and by si ckness some 3000 men . On the 16th of J une,reinforcements arrived from Cape Coast
,and were
landed safely and lodged in the fort under cover of the
guns . A truce was soon afterwards agreed upon , by
which the Ashantis undertook not to molest the British
300 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
forts along the coast,provided that they observed a
stri ct neutral i ty . The forces then withdrew,proceed ing
along the coast to l eeward,infl i ct ing desolation and ru in
upon every town in the way. A t l ast,the A shant i
captain returned towards h i s own country,on ly leaving
a suffic ient guard at A ccra to loo k after the prisoners
that had been captu red,and to convey them to the
Ashant i capita l . The war,however
,continued in d i fferent
parts of the colony throughout the fo l lowing years un t i l
1 8 1 1,when the A shant is captured and conveyed into the
in terior M r . Flindt, the Dan i sh governor of the fort at
Ada,who remained in thei r custody for a period of five
months and three days . On thi s occas ion the states of
Ak im and Aquapim rebel led unsuccessfu l ly against
Ashant i .The next invas ion of the Fanti count ry by the
A shant is took place in 1 8 1 7 , when they advanced as far
as Cape Coast Cast le and blockaded i t,withdrawi ng
on ly after the payment of a large tribute by the Fant is,
to whom the money was advanced by the Engl ish . I t
was from this invas ion that the necessi ty arose for the
miss ion ofMr . Bowdich to Kumas i i n 1 8 1 7 ,i n order to
negotiate a peacefu l solut ion ofthe ever- recurring Ashan t i
troubles . Reference to this m ISSIOn has al ready been
made,and the letter from the k ing to the governor
commences the present chapter,in which a demand was
made for the pay notes to be continued,and which was
duly recogn ised by Mr . Bowdich . Relat ions of a friend ly
nature were establ i shed with the Engl i sh,and a t reaty
concluded in September,1 8 1 7 , one cond ition of which
was the leaving of a Bri t ish resid en t at Kumasi . The
treaty thus made was soon broken by these troublesome
302 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
in roads of the A shantis . This action soon roused the
king again to commence act ive operat ion s against h isformer adversaries . The fi rst act of the Ashantis was
to carry off from Anamaboe a sergeant of the Brit ish
servi ce and to execute h im for speak ing d isrespectful ly
of the A shanti k ing,and the second was to wri te to the
governor to say that hi s head shou ld be soon converted
into an ornament for the royal d rum . Opportuni ty for
the execution of th is threat came un fortunately but too
soon . The Dutch governor at E lm ina endeavoured to
settl e the negotiat ions peaceful ly,but fa i led and in 1 823
the Ashant is again invaded the d istr ict ofWassaw,and
encamped themselves on the right bank of the P rah .
The Engl ish governor,S ir Charles Macarthy,
determi ned
to leave h i s camp at Duquah and cross the P rah at
once,in order to give bat t l e to h is adversaries
,and with
but a force of some 500 men he carried out h is design ,crossed the river and took up a posi t ion at the vi l lage of
A ssamacow i n J anuary,1 824. I n the meantime he had
sent messengers to Major Chisholm,who
,with some
2000 men,was on the left bank ofthe river
,to come to
his support . About the m idd le of the month he ad
van ced st i l l farther to the banks of the smal l river
Adooman soo,and on his way
,with the greatest diflflculty
prevai led upon the t im id and retreat ing Wassaws and
Denkiras to remain in thei r country . Here a very
decis ive engagement took place,which unfortunately
ended in the defeat and death ofS ir Charles Macarthy .
On the 2 1 5t of J anuary,abou t m idday
,the Ashant is,
reported to be some strong,advanced to the
attack,and the act ion was continued unt i l dark . The
Wassaws retreated early in the fight,ammunit ion soon
WARS WITH ASHANTI . 303
ran short,and no more being avai lable massacre com
pleted the sad d isaster. The Ashant is,su re of thei r
victory,crossed the river
,surrounded the governor ’ s
smal l and rap id ly d imin ishing force,and cut them to
p ieces . The bush was too dense for open fighting and
n o orders cou ld be given . S ir Charles Macarthy,Ens ign
Wetherall,Mr. Buck le and Mr . Wil l iams , were sur
rounded,shot down
,and al l except the last named
were beheaded,S ir Charl es Macarthy
’
s head being
carried off by the victors’
to adorn the wal ls of the king’s
palace at Kumasi . Mr . W i l l iams was taken prisonerand kept in the hands of the Ashantis for two months
,
tortured and released . O f the twelve offi cers who fought
in th is engagement,n ine were ki l led and the remain ing
three bad ly wounded . Major Chisholm then succeeded
to the command,and by carefu l measu res saved the forts
upon the coast from being attacked . The name of S ir
Charles Macarthy l ives to th is day among the Fanti s,and the great oath of the country i s now the one that
cal ls upon his name . Some time had to elapse before
the Ashant is cou ld be pun ished for this defeat of the
Engl i sh force,and the base of operations was moved
from Cape Coast Castle to Accra . Here a force of some
men was col lected,aided by a smal l contingent
from the Engl ish regiments,and encamped at Dodowah,
some twenty- five mi les north - east ofAccra,i n the hopes
ofgiving battle to the Ashantis in the plains instead of
i n thei r favouri te bush . I t was in the latter hal f of the
year 1 826 that the Ashant i army,some strong,
and elated by their previous victory,marched coast
wards towards Accra,and met the encamped forces at
the town ment ioned and sustained a severe and crushing
304 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND . PRESENT .
defeat . The al l ie'
d t ribes fo'
ug'
ht wel l,the King of Ak im
and his people carried al l before them,thewhole army of
the . A shan tis was Completely routed,and their c amp and
gold captured,and by i t the country was set
'
at rest for ‘
many years . I n September,1 8 27 , the King of Kumas i
sent his messengers to the coast to say that he wished to
make peace with the white men and to be in'
future under
their control . To ensu re th i s Bri t ish envoys were sent
to Kumasi,and arrangements made by
“
which a treaty
was agreed upon in December,1 827 ,
and though not
final ly adopted, preservedpeace t i l l 1 831 , when a final
sett lement ofal l d ifficul ties was dec lared
The d isasters of the last fewyear'
s,the
‘
declin e'
oftrade,
and the death'
of Si r Charles Macarthy had at th is t ime
caused the Home Government to withdraw al l the publ i c
establ ishments from the Gold Coast,and to invest them
in the hands of the Company of African Merchants,of
whom Captain Maclean was the fi rst governor. The
treaty of 1 831 , j ust referred to , was concluded by th is
gentl eman,on behal f of the K ing of England
,with
the K ings of Ashanti,Cape Coast
,Fanti
,Anamaboe
,
Denkira,Tufel
,Wassaw and A ssin;of which the ch ief
point was as fol lows : “ The King'
of A shan ti having
depos i ted in Cape Coast Castle,i n the presence of
the above -mentioned part ies,the sum of 600 ounces
of gold , . and having del ivered into the hands of
the governor two young men of the royal family
of Ashant i as security that he wi l l keep peace with
the said parties in a l l t ime com ing,peace is hereby
declared betwixt the said King of Ashanti and al l and
each of the parties aforesaid,to continue . in a l l t ime
Peace was kept for some S ix or s even years
CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES . 305
after th is,when the 600 ounces of gold
,that had been
lodged in the cast le as securi ty,were sent back to the
King of A shanti . I t i s reported that the messengers
who came for i t were qu ite aston ished that they received
the ful l amount,and sti l l more so that i t was del ivered
to them in exactly the same cond ition as when i t was
given to the Government .
I n 1 840 a commiss ion of inqui ry was held,with the
resu l t that in 1 843the Home Government again resumed
occupat ion of the for ts upon the Gold Coast,and thei r
proper main tenance,and Commander H . W . H i l l
,R .N .
,
was appoin ted in the fol lowing year as Lieutenant-Gover
nor of the colony . H e was succeeded in 1 846 by Com
mander W’ i l l i am Winniett,R .N . ,
whose mission to
Kumas i wi l l be remembered for its efforts to Obtain the
abol i t ion ofhuman : sacrifice . From this t ime down to
1 863 was a t ime of comparat ive peace in the colony,
but the deman d of the King ofA shant i from Governor
P in e in December,1 862
,brought about fresh d ifficu l ties .
The King of Kumas i somewhat insolently demanded
the return ofa runaway S l ave boy,and also the del ivery
into his hands of an o ldman accused of thieving gold
dust belonging to the king . This demand was natural ly
refused,andthe Ashanti s somewhat crafti ly prepared for
war. They entered into an al l iance with the E lminas,who suppl ied them with large quantit ies of arms and
ammun ition obtained on the coast,and general ly couched
thei r messages to the governor in very strained language .
Roving bodies of A shantis appeared in d i fferent parts
of the Protectorate,and a new demand was sent to the
governor that a certain chief Adjaman shou ld be de
l ivered up to them,or as an alternative they, the
20
306 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
Ashantis,wou ld occupy the P rotected Terri tory for
years . When this l ast message was sent, these roving
part ies ofAshant is had al ready pi l laged and burnt some
th i rty vi l lages,in add it ion to k i l l ing several hundreds of
thei r inhabitants . Governor P ine at . on ce made known
the state of affai rs to the Engl ish Government,and re
quested that an exped ition be sent to for ever quel l the
troublesome A shantis,but to his great d isappointment
th i s wished - for help was for some reason refused . I t
was necessary to take action at once,and in December
,
1 863, having al ready a camp at Mansu , about hal f-way
between Cape Coast and the P rah,he determined to push
on and fortn a m i l i tary camp at the P rah,with a depot
,
now known as P rahsu,from which poin t he hoped that
he wou ld be able to induce the A shant i k ing to come to
terms once more . Accord ingly a camp was constructed
at P rahsu by some compan ies of the West I nd ia troops,
which occupied them unti l March,1 864,
when the rain s
commenced,somewhat earl ier than usual
,and the work
had,for the time being
,to be abandoned . With the
rains came the fever owing to the inaction of the men,
and in J une of the same year they were withdrawn
again,to be quartered at Cape Coast . Troubles between
the Fantis and the E lm inas occupied the next few years,
and no lasting peace had as yet been concluded with the
Ashant is . I n 1 869a party of the Ashantis had crossed
the northern port ion ofthe P rotectorate and reached the
right bank of the river Volta,attack ing and plundering
the town of A num,which lay some few mi les to the
east ofthe opposi te bank . Here was a very important
stat ion belonging to the Basle M iss ion,occupied by the
miss ionaries and thei r fami ly . A l though no actual war
308 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
J£9000 , andth e Dutch de l ivered the E lm in a t o him as h i s own,
and from t hat t ime tr i bute has been pai d u s to th i s p re sen tt ime . I hope , th erefore , you r Exce l l en cy wi l l n ot in cl ude E lm inain th e change , fo r i t i s m in e by r i ght .
This claim was of course den ied by the Dutch
governor,who
,however
,s tated the sum of £ 80 had
been annual ly paid to the Ashan t is,not as tribute
,but
rather as a presen t,to preserve friend ly relat ion s in
trade . There is no doubt that th is c laim was a piece of
impudence on the part of the King of A shant i,foron a
M r . P l ange being sent by the Engl i sh to Kumasi,the
claim fel l to the ground,and E lm ina was duly i n cl uded
in the Dutch terri tory that was t ransferred . I n the
meantime several u n successfu l attempts had been made
to effect the release ofthe captured Europeans at Kumasi,
but the k ing shel tered h imsel f wi th the excuse that as
his general had captu red them at great expense,he
cou ld not force h im to re lea s e them unti l a ransom of
1 800 ounces ofgold had been paid . Many communica
t ions took place,many delays occurred
,but the mis
sion aries were sti l l held at Kumas i . I n Apri l,
1 87 2 ,
both the Engl ish and Dutch governors sent letters and
presents to the k ing ask ing h im to give up the prisoners,but al l representations were of no avai l
,unti l l ater in the
year,when Mr . Pope Hennesey was in formed by letter
from the Ashant i capi tal,that the ransom of the Euro
peans was the on ly poin t to be settled in order to ensure
a lasting peace . To th is a reply was sent that the Basle
M iss ion Society wou ld be wi l l ing to pay any sum,not
exceed ing £ 1000 ,to cover the expenses of the Ashanti
ch ief who had captured thei r representatives,but that i t
was not to be looked upon as an exchange of men for
RENEWAL OF THE WAR . 309
money,and that the amount stated should be at once
paid i f the captives were sent safely down to the P rah .
To thi s the king repl ied : H i s chiefs,i n consu l tation
wi th him , had decided that the £ 1000 should be accepted,andhe asks for i t to be sent to Kumas i and he wi l l send
the men down ”. Nothing
,however
,came of i t
,nor of
a further request that the pri soners shou ld be brought
down to Cape Coast,and the money paid there . This
was about the l ast negotiation made,which was in
November,1 87 2 ,
for even ts that were soon to happen
were fortunately go ing to settle the difficultv that had so
long ex isted .
Some trade d isputes or m isunderstand ings arose at
th is t ime with the King ofE lm ina,on very s l ight grou nds
,
and the Government,when
,withou t the sl ightest warning,
news was rece ived on the coast that an Ashan ti army,
some 1 200 strong,had crossed the P rah
,occupying fi ve
days in the passage, and had invaded and attacked the
A ssin coun try,plunderi ng and burning the towns and
vi l lages on thei r way. This occurred in J an uary,1 873,
and earlv i n March i t was known in England that
another trouble wi th the Ashan ti power had become a
real i ty and not a farce,and that i f the prestige of the
Engl ish nat ion was to be upheld,immediate act ion was
necessary. The towns near Cape Coast and E lm ina were
fi l led wi th men,women and chi ldren
,who were forced
from the interior d istri cts by the ravages of the enemy
to take refuge under the wal l s of the castles,and as al l
the food crops had been destroyed by the advancing
A shantis,fam ine became inevi table. Stores ofrice were
sen t from England for the people, and arms and ammu
nition for the male part of the population . A body of
31 0 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
Hausa troops were brought from Lagos,and several of
the nat ive k ings prepared thei r forces to repel the in
vader . E lm ina,which had long shown s igns of d i s
content to the Engl i sh ru le,
n ow Open ly jo ined the
Ashant is,who
,advancing from the river Prah
,destroyed
n ine towns on thei r way,and final ly encamped with in
twelve m i les of E lm ina and Cape Coast Castle,having
twice defeated the nat ive forces Opposed to them on thei r
way. This latter defeat occurred on the 5th June, 1 873,at Duquah, when the Fanti forces were total ly routed , andretreated in great d i sorder in to Cape Coast
,swel l i ng the
al ready enormous crowd of refugees that occupied the
place,and los ing many of thei r number by smal l -pox
and dysentery,which had broken out among thei r ranks .
About the same time,to add to the d iffi cu l ties
,the
Dutch nat ives ofChama and E lm ina joined a d ivis ion of
the A shant i army and attacked Commendah,where the
people were practi cal ly at the mercy of the ir inveterate
enem ies . Colonel R . W'
. Harley was then admin i stering
the government of the colony,and the force at h is dis
posal was very smal l,consist ing as i t d id Of some 100
sold iers of the Second West I nd ia Regiment,less
than 250 Hausas armed with breech - l oaders,a local
volunteer corps from Cape Coast armed with E n fields,
and about fi fty nat ive Fant i pol icemen . On the coast,
however,were H .M .S . Druid and A rg us , and the gun
boats fi l er/in,Decoy and S eag ull ; opposed to these was
an advancing Ashan t i army of men,who
,flushed
with recent successes,had actual ly encamped with in
twelve m i les of Cape Coast Castle . The gun - boat
M erlin ,under Lieutenant Day
,was at once despatched
to the rel ief of Commendah,which was i n a most pi ti able
31 2 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
miles north ofE lm ina,when they returned to thei r camp
wi th the loss of thei r general,a nephew of the k ing
,and
several of thei r more important chiefs . Commander
Commerell then arrived on the west coast as Commander
in -Chief,but was dangerously wounded soon after his
arrival whi le vis i t ing the P rah to ascertain what faci l i t ies
i t afforded for navigat ion by boats,and Captai n Luxmore
ofthe A rg us was also severely wounded .
A l i tt le later in the year Major-Genera l S i r Garnet
Wolseley was sen t out as Governor-in—Chief to take
command of the forces in the colony,and to undertake
the pun ishment of the troublesome Ashan tis . H e arrived
with thirty - six spec ial service officers at C ape Coast
Castle,on the S S . Amoriz
,but wi thou t an army to assi s t
the presen t smal l force in the colony . He soon showed,
however,after h is arrival the superiority ofa smal l force
of d isc ipl ined men over a mul ti tude Ofbarbarous natives,
and towards the end of October,succeeded in infl ict ing
three defeats upon the enemy . This,however
,was only
the commencement of the campaign the country near
the coast was cleared of the Ashantis,and al l prepara
t ions were made for an advance into the interior and for
the destruct ion ofKumasi so soon as the n ex t dry season
shou ld come round . This exped i t ion was organ ised wi th
care and crowned with success . The main body of his
forces,consis ting of 1400 white troops, advanced d i rect
on the capi tal by the main road from Cape Coast
through P rahsu,whi ls t nat ive levies were organi sed to
attack and annoy the Ashant i s i n the eastern and
western portions Of thei r country . SO soon as the
A shant is heard of these preparat ions for thei r destruc
t ion they began to rely upon thei r tactics of the past,
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1 873. 313
send ing in message after message ofsubm iss ion,andgpro
mising al l sorts of good behaviour for the future . These
attempts at obtain ing peace had,however , no effect upon
THE BR IT ISH RE SIDENT AT KUMAS I (CAPTAIN DONAL D STEWART ,AND OFF IC IAL S .
S ir Garnet Wolseley he marched with his forces straight
upon the capital,defeated the Ashant is in several wel l
contested irregu lar bush fights,and u lt imately captured
314 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
and burnt thei r capital . The king was captured,and a
peace s igned in wh ich the Ashant is acknowledged the
Bri t ish authority , consented to pay an indemn ity of
ounces of gold,to abol ish human sacrifice and
to keep the trade roads from their country to the coast ,particu larly the P rah road
,clear of bush . I n th is expe
d it ion he was ass isted by Captain Glover,R .N . ,
the
Governor of Lagos,who ra ised a native force at Accra
and in the eastern d ivis ion ofthe colony to march upon
Kumasi from the east .From this t ime down to 1 896 peace was kept and but
l i tt le trouble give n to the Bri tish by the Ashant is,though
the promise of the payment of the war i ndemnity and
the abol i t ion of human sacrifice was not honoured by
these sh ifty people . I n 1 893-94, they attacked and
pi l laged thei r neighbours the Nkoran z as,and infl i cted
several severe defeats upon them,and as the latter came
into Bri t ish terri tory for protection,the Ashantis
threatened to fo l low them and pun ish them there . In
add it ion the roads had been al lowed to become again
overgrown,and the captured Nkoran z as were sacrificed
to the number of some thousands in Kumasi . An
exped it ion consi st ing of nat ive troops,under S i r Francis
Scott,
was despatched to the Nkoranza country
at the end of 1 893, and order was again restored , but
the events of th is exped it ion final ly led to the campaign
of 1 895-96 and the complete destruction of the Ashanti
power,and the captu re and deportation of the king,
Prempeh ,to S ierra Leone . To accompl ish this end
a wel l - selected and complete force was despatched from
England,cons is ting ofsome 2000 regu lar troops, accom
paniedby a large staff ofspecial offi cers ofevery descrip
CHAPTER X II.
Progre s s of th e Co l ony— Educat i on— The Bas l e M i ssion— TheW es l eyan M i ss i on— The Roman Catho l ic M iss i on ~—TheSchoo l s of th e Co l ony—The Future of th e Co l ony—Wan t ofRai lways andCen tral Harbou r .
IT becomes an interesting study to even the most ord in
ary observer who vis i ts or travels in the Gold Coast
Colony,to ascertain the resul ts of more than four cen
turies ’ in tercourse that th is part ofthe A frican con t inent
has had wi th so - cal led ci vi l i sed Europe,and to mark the
advantages and d isadvan tages received therefrom . As
sociated,as i t has been
,wi th the lead ing countries of
Europe at d i fferent epochs ofits ex i stence,one might
have reasonably expected to find a consti tut ion and laws
bu i l t up upon a pri n c iple su i table to the needs of a
West A fri can race,and the people themselves tak ing an
act ive interest i n the future wel fare ofthei r own people.
But this is not the case. The four centuries ’ connect ion
with Eu rope has been a purely commercial on e,which
seems to have insti l led in the minds of the natives of the
present day one very doubtfu l bus iness maxim,via , to
pay as l i ttle as poss ible for any artic le you buy, orbetter
st i l l— do not pay for i t at al l i f i t can be poss ibly avo ided .
So anx ious are we in Europe to extend our fo reign trade,that i t i s far eas ier for a nat ive ofWest Africa to become
a so- cal led merchant wi thout the need for absolutely
PROGRESS OF THE COLONY .
any capital,than i t is for a respectable European to
establ i sh himsel f in any branch of trade in his own
country. For years past,so -cal led native princes and
the sons ofprinces have been able to establ i sh themselves
as petty traders al l along the coast,at the expense of
Eu ropean merchants,obtain ing suppl ies of goods of al l
descriptions upon cred it,in some cases wi thout the
s l ightest intention ofmaking payment,and even sel l ing
them u nder the cost price in order to become possessed of
ready money . A portion ofthe money thus obtained i s
remitted to Eu rope accompan ied by a sti l l larger order,
and thus the debts to Europeans increase by leaps and
bounds . Many causes have led to th i s resu l t . I t i s easy
for a commerc ial house to obta in orders from the Gold
Coast,but obta in ing payment for the same is a very d i f
feren t matter. Some lay the blame for th i s state of
th ings Upon the local governmen t,others upon the
merchants who period ical ly res ide in the colony ; some
attribute i t to the mi ss ionary societies at work on the
coast,whi ls t others say i t i s the fau lt of educat ion .
Rather than s ide with any particu lar section,I am in
clinedto think that a l l four have ass isted in producing
the present unsat i sfactory state of affa irs in this respect .The Government has at times been too len ient
,the
merchan ts are too anx ious to gain orders,often at the
expense of each other,the m iss ionary often places the
n at ive upon a pedestal among the races of the world
that he is not yet fi tted to occupy,and the educat ion
given has not been founded upon a proper basis . These
remarks may give ri se to a d i fferent Opin ion in the minds
ofmy readers ; shou ld such be the case, my answer to
them is,vis i t the country and see for yourselves .
31 8 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
A constant change of masters s ince the beginn ing of
the fi fteenth century ; a vaci l lat ing pol i cy oftreatment of
the natives by the various governments ; want of con
tinuity and purpose in the work in the official s , and the
very uncertain nature of the West African cl imate have
al l tended to produce the unsat i s factory West A fri ca of
the present day. The other great d rawback to the gene
ral progress of the colony is the system of domestic
s l avery that exists in every part of the coun try,and
causes most of the laz iness and immoral i ty that every
where abound . The ord inary man possesses many
domest ic s l aves,they al ternately work and sl eep ; the
master does l i tt l e or noth ing. These s laves are fed by
thei r owners,morn ing and even ing
,and thus thei r on ly
des i re i s satisfied . They possess no energy,no vigour
,no
intel lect,and care n othing for the rights and respons i
bilities Of ordinary everyday l i fe . The bu lk of the popu
l at ion of the colony being incl uded under th is head , i t i s
l i ttl e wonder that progress i s s low and disappoint ing.
The country is rich,mines are wait ing to be worked
,but
the people,eas i ly sat isfied with a variety of food that
costs them l itt le or noth ing,are content to l ive in the
most miserable state ofdomestic sl avery amid the most
m iserable surround ings in the shape of dwel l ings .
Education in the colony at the presen t day i s in the
hands ofvarious m ission societies,the Government lead
ing the way,and enti rely support ing from publ i c funds
large school s at Accra and Cape Coast Cast le,i n add ition
to a smal ler one at the capital of Western Ak im,some
fou r days ’ j ourney from the coast to the i n terior .
The various miss ion agencies Impart thei r own deno
minational teaching to thei r own part icu lar group of
320 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
but one to continue the work and the school of somen inety scholars that had been establ ished . He also fel l
A NAT IV E BEAU TY .
a vict im early in March,1 832 , some short t ime before the
arrival of three new-comers to take the place of those
THE BASLE MISS ION . 32 1
who had fi rst d ied . The early h istory ofal l the m iss ions
on the Gold Coast i s one of s ickness and death , and of
the three new-comers bu t one was left,after the short
space of three months,to continue the work so nobly
begun . The on ly survivor up to this time was Mr. R i i s ,who
,finding the low- ly ing coas t land so treacherous for
the res idence of the European,vis i ted the hi l l region
,
cal led Aquapim ,lying due north OfAccra
,and finding i t
by comparison heal th ier than the coast,decided to form
a sett lemen t in the mountains,and opened a Bas le
M iss ion Station at Akropong,the capital of Aquapim ,
some 1400 feet above the sea, and a journey of on ly one
day and a hal f from the sea coast . The stat ion at
Chri stiansborg was then abandoned and Akropong be
came the headquarters of the miss ion . Mr. R i i s was
wel l received by the natives ofAquapim,and was j oined
in his work in 1 836 by two new arrival s, both ofwhom,
however,fel l vi ctims to the cl imate before a two years ’
res idence had been completed . About thi s t ime,Mr.
R i i s vis i ted Kumas i,and on h is return . to the coast left
for Europe to recru i t and to consu l t with the home committee about the future ofthe m iss ion
,which
,on account
of the very heavy loss of l i fe, was about to be given up.
The success ofthe work,too
,in the Aquapim d istri ct was
at th is t ime seriously threatened by the pol it ical d istu rb
ances among the nat ives themselves,and al so by some
misunderstand ing that had arisen between the nat ives
and the Dan ish Government .
A new plan was now to be tried . Mr. Rns, in company
with a Mr. Widmann,proposed to in troduce from the
West I nd ies some of the l iberated Chris t ian A fri cans to
ass ist in the establ ishment of the work upon the Gold2 1
322 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Coast,as the c l imate had up to thi s t ime been found to be
veryd isastrous to the continued res idence Of Europeans .They vis i ted J amaica in the West I nd ies
,and selected
,
with the ass istance of the Moravian M iss ion,some
twenty-four l i kely colon ists , with whom they landed at
Christ iansborg in Apri l,1 843. No stay
.
was made here ,but the party proceeded at once to the h i l l s tat ion at
Akropong,where for a t ime
,th ings general ly flourished
under the new regime. The success, however, was on ly
short- l ived,for after a few years
,the people
,with the
exception of a very few,turned out very unsatisfactory
,
and general ly d isappointed the expectations ofthe origi
nators of the“
scheme . Some were the cause of much
trouble to the m iss ion i n the -colony,others returned to
thei r old homes i n the West I ndies,whi le a few remained
to carry on the work . O f those that remained,I know
ofone who is st i l l l iving at Aburi in Aquapim ,though I
bel ieve there are others at d i fferent stat ions in the colony
in receipt of a smal l pens ion from the soc iety. The year
1 847 saw the arrival of Mr . Mohr (st i l l act ively at work
in the colony) and several others to take up the work
al ready begun . Chri s ti an sborg was again taken up,
another stat ion Opened at Aburi and a preparatory school
opened at Akropong,i n which native ass i stants cou ld be
trained for the m ission . Mr. Mohr devoted h is energies
to the erect ion of good houses as miss ion stations,and
also uti l i sed the West I nd ian colon ists in the formation
of coffee plantations,and other tropica l produce which
they had brought wi th them from the west . Thus gradu
al ly,though very slowly
,coffee planting began to work
its way among the members of the Bas le M is s ion, and a
part of the fi rst plantat ion made at Akropong exi sts to
324 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PR ESENT .
establ ished by the m iss ion,led the committee in Eu rope
to send out to the coast special ly qual ified men as artisans
and mechanics to superintend thei r erect ion,and to
establ ish industria l workshops at the same time,where
,
under proper supervis ion,the native youth of the colony
might i n time learn usefu l trades,and become workmen
in thei r tu rn . A fter many d i fficu l t ies and comparative
fai lu res,workshops at Christ i an sborg were establ i shed for
carpen ters,j oiners
,wheelwrights and blacksm iths
,which
have progressed so far at the present day as to become
nearly sel f- supporting,and i n add i t ion have great ly
benefi ted the country . The m iss ion houses,al l erected
by nat ive l abour,are now to be reckoned among the best
habi tat ions in the colony,and stand as an example of
what can be accompl ished by nat ive hands when superin
tended by European minds . One of the greatest diffi
culties in thi s count ry has been , and wi l l be for years to
come,to find the proper persons as managers of these
establ ishments. Europeans cannot permanen tly res ide
in the country,and even to th is day
,l i tt le orno progress
is made,where a nat ive i s at the head of an industrial
department .
The next few years,1 85357 , saw an attem pt on behal f
ofthe Basle M iss ion to establ i sh themse lves at Gyadam ,
i n Ak im,but nat ive wars between rival tribes destroyed
thei r efforts . Gyadam was abandoned and Kukurantumi
tried,to give way in its tu rn to Kyebi
,the capital of
Eastern A k im ,and res idence of the king
,where
,under
much d iffi cu l ty,a stat ion was establ i shed in 1 86 1 . The
King of Kyebi was no friend to the miss ion,and used his
powers to prevent h i s people from receiving the benefits
of c ivi l i sat ion . Open dissens ions soon appeared , and
THE BASLE M ISS ION . 325
persecution fol lowed . The k ing accused a native mem
ber of the m iss ion of having stolen a quanti ty of gold
dust,and began to i l l - treat the accused person and
other members of the station . The Government was
appealed to,and upon an investigation being made the
king’s charge cou ld not be upheld,and the accused
person was acquitted . The king,ordered to the coast
by the Government to explain h is conduct,died in the
meantime,and the native members of the miss ion were
accused ofbeing party to hi s death . The miss ion station
was attacked,much property destroyed
,and many of
the people i l l - treated . P rompt act ion on the part ofthe
Government,however
,avoided further trouble
,peace
was restored,and the Kyebi people ordered to refund
to the m iss ion the value of the property destroyed . The
cause of c ivi l i sat ion d id n ot progress rapid ly at Kyebi ,partly on accou n t of the d istu rbances mentioned
,and
part ly on account of the cl imate being unheal thy for the
continued res iden ce of the European members . The
stat ion was surrounded by dense bush,and after the
loss of severa l of the Europeans by fever,the head
quarters were removed from Kyebi to Begoro in 1 876,
where a new stat ion was formed some 1500 feet above
the sea,and which has proved comparat ively heal thy
But though the European s wi thdrew to Begoro,the
stat ion at Kyebi was not abandoned,but the care ofthe
congregation and the management of the schools were
entrusted to a nat ive m in ister and his ass istants,aecom
paniedwith a series ofregu lar vis its from and the super
vis ion by the Eu ropeans,with the resu l t that Kyebi sti l l
remains a prosperous centre ofthe Basle M iss ion .
I n 1 857 Messrs . Locher and Zimmermann made a
326 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
vis i t to the Krobo country,near the river Volta i n the
north- eastern portion of the Gold Coast,and were re
ceivedby Chief Odonko ofOdumase . He gave one of
his sons to thei r care for educat ion,and in many ways
ass isted the efforts of the m iss ionaries,with the resu l t
that Odumase i s now the centre of a large number of
out- stat ions,where Engl i sh i s taught and plantation work
encouraged . This centre contains an excel lent church
and two good school s,i n add it ion to many smal ler ones
in the surround ing vi l lages . Two years after thei r estab
lishmen t at Odumase,visa
,in 1 859,
the M iss ion Trade
Soc iety,a j o int stock company work ing for the benefi t
of the m iss ion,and carrying on general trade to the ex
e l us ion ofguns,powder and sp i ri ts
,began i ts operat ions
in the colony. This company renders very valuable
ass i stance to the Bas le M iss ion Society,even to the
d irect support of the m iss ion work,as at Ada in 1 865,
and at Anum in 1 867 . The agen ts of the M iss ion
Trade Society are al l u nder the same ru les and regu la
t ions as the other m iss ionaries,and even occasional ly
take part in the ord inary miss ion work .
I n these days the town of Ada,at the mouth of the
Volta R i ver,was cons idered as an out- station ofOdumase
,
and was period ical ly v is i ted by the m iss ionaries from
the latter town,by means of the water-way ofthe Vol ta .
But i n 1 868 the M iss ion Trade Soc iety commenced large
and substant ial prem ises at Adafo,a vi ll age C lose to the
mouth of the Volta,s ince wh ich t ime a representat ive of
the m iss ion has either res ided there or at B ig Ada,the
principal town,some two hours’ jou rney up the river .
The number ofmembers in th i s d istri ct rapid ly increased ,and many of them being wel l - to -do traders
,they com
328 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
l ater Kumas i was captured and destroyed by the Engl i sh
troops . A fter a beneficial stay in Europe M r. and Mrs .Ramseyer returned to West A frica
,with the avowed in
tent ion of Open ing up miss ion stations in the Ashanti
country,but owing to the unsettled state of the place
,
they se lected Abetifi,the capita l of the Okwahu country
,
for the scene ofthei r new operat ions . This country was
formerly a tributary state to Ashant i , but since 1 874 had
thrown off the yoke and become independent under
Bri t ish protection . The stat ion at Abetifi was com
menced i n 1 876, and the selection of such a s i te has
proved a very fortunate one, for there i s no doubt that
Abetifi ,s i tuated upon the tableland of Okwahu
,some
2000 feet above the level of the sea,i s one of the
heal th iest station s in the’
co lony. I ts on ly d rawback
is i ts d istance from the coast , necess itat ing a somewhat
fatigu ing journey through swamps for several days .
I n 1 88 1 , ju st twelve years after the destruct ion of the
stat ion at Anum,the town was again occupied by the
m iss ion,and is n ow a very flourish ing centre
,beau t i fu l ly
s i tuated,and extend ing its c ivi l i s ing influence in the
su rround ing vi l lages in al l d i rections . O ther stat ions
were establ ished in the Western Ak im and the Agona
Fanti countries,and after some fi fty years ofmost arduous
l abour,the Basle M iss ion Society may claim to have been
fi rm ly sett led in the country. The bi l l ofmortal i ty had ,however
,been very heavy
,for from 1 82 1 down to 1 883
no less than seventeen Eu ropeans had given thei r l ives to
the work,and to t ry and lessen th is great mortal i ty in
the future D r. R . Fisch was appoin ted in 1 885as the fi rst
medical m iss ionary for the Gold Coast,3 posi tion which
he st i l l Occupies .
THE WESLEYAN MISSION . 329
I have here attempted to give a s l ight out l ine of the
work Of the Basle M iss ion on the Gold Coast from its
commencement,and would add in conclus ion
,from a five
years ’ personal acquaintance with thei r work in al l partsofthe colony
,that much good and lasting work has been
accompl ished by them,and that I hope to see i n the near
future a st i l l further development in their industrial
branches and the spread of Engl i sh in their school s.
A WEDD ING GROUP.
The work of the Wes leyan M iss ion Society on theWest Coast of A frica dates back to about the year 1 831 ,when a few young men , who had been educated in the
Government School at Cape Coast Castle, formed a
soc iety at Cape Coast,cal led A Meeting or Society for
Promoting the Christ ian Knowledge,
” wi th the Object of
330 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
meeting at regul ar t imes to examine Carefu l ly the nature
and c laims ofthe Christian rel igion .
I n 1 833, whi le Wi l l iam de Graft, one of the members
ofth is society,was at D ixcove
,he received a request from
his friends at Cape Coast to order out from England,
through some su i table person who might be proceed ing
th ither,a number of copies of the New Testament for
thei r use. De Graft appl ied to Captain Potter,the master
of a Bris tol merchant vessel,which short ly afterwards
arrived in port . Captain Potter was surpri sed to receive
such an appl icat ion from a native youth,and after some
conversation with De Graft, inqu ired whether he and his
friends would not l i ke to receive instruct ion from a
miss ionary . De Graft repl ied in the affi rmative,and
Captain Potter saw the other members of the society
when h is vessel proceeded to Cape Coast,and having
consu l ted P res ident Maclean,he sa i led for England
,
resolving to bring out with h im on his nex t voyage,not
on ly the copies of the Scriptures,but a m iss ionary.
On his arriva l in Bristol,Potter commun icated with
the Wesleyan M iss ionary Soc iety in London Upon the
subject,offering to take out with h im on his next voyage
a miss ionary to Cape Coast Castle,and to bring him back
to England without any expense to the committee,Shou ld he
,after t rying the nat ives
,conclude he cou ld
not commence a m iss ion at that place .
This noble offer was readi ly accepted by the committee,who sent out Joseph Dunwell. Mr . Dunwell arrived on
the coast on 3l st December, 1 834,and commenced work
Upon the fol lowing Sabbath, 4th January, 1 835. H i s
work lasted only for six months,for he d ied on the 25th
ofthe next J une,and was succeeded in September
,1 836,
332 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
I n addit ion to the 1 15 i nspected school s enumerated
above there are al so 83school s belonging to the various
mi ss ions that are not in receipt of a GovernmentGran t .
GRANTS EARNED .
The grants earned by the inspected schools have in
creased in about the same proporti on to the increase
of in spected school s . I n 1 894-95 the total amount
expended by the Government was £ 31 79 6s . upon
the passes obtained . This year the amoun t has ri sen
to £ 3400 an increase of £ 2 2 1 55. Upon the
previous year,and £ 100 1 1 5. in excess of the vote
sanctioned . This grant when divided by the tota l
number of scho lars for examinat ion (exclus ive of those
in the Government School s,for whom no grants are
paid ) , via ,8730 ,
gives an average grant per scholar of
7s . 95d,a sl ight decrease Upon the amount per eapita
for 1 894-95, but exactly the same as that for 1 893-
94.
This sum of £ 3400 1 1 8 . i s d ivided in the fol lowing
amounts :
Bas l e M i s s i onWes l eyan M i ss i onR . C . M i ss i on
Making a total of 3400 1 1 o
The fol lowing table shows the compari son of the
grants earned by the various educat ional bod ies for the
years 1 894 to 1 896
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC M ISSION . 333
1 894-95 1 895436
Denomination .
Total . PerScholar. Total . PerScholar.
s . d. [I s . d. s . d. s . d.
40 Basle M ission 1 0 1 2 19 o o 8 23 1 043 7 6 o 8 553 Wesleyan Mission 1 396 2 o o 7 8 1 6 13 1 7 6 o 7 2 11 6 R . C . Mission 7 70 5 o o 9 93 743 6 o o 8 43
Totals 31 79 6 o o 8 3400 1 1 o o 7 92;
The decrease i n the grant per eapita to the Roman
Cathol i c Schools,I attribute so lely to the heavy mortal i ty
the miss ion has sustained during the past twelve months,
by the sad l oss ofmany European princ ipals,who have
fal len vi ct ims whi l e bravely doi ng thei r duty,to the
treacherous nature of the West Afri can cl imate .
I n the year 1 88 1,the Roman Cathol ic M iss ion on the
Gold Coast was confided by His Hol iness Pope LeoX III. to the fathers of the Society of the A frican
M iss ions,whose mother house is in Lyons
,150 Cours
Gambetta,France . This important society was founded
in 1 856 by Mons ignor Marion de Brissillac,a miss ionary
bishop who had al ready passed several years i n the
Chinese miss ions . Having barely started the work,
Mgr. Marion entrusted i ts future to a young and able
priest,the Rev . Father P lanque , and taking wi th h im
his vicar-general,two priests and one l ay brother
,he left
France for the Gu inea Coast on board a sai l ing vessel,
and after a month ’s voyage landed at S ierra Leone .
Their stay there was of a very short duration,for at the
end ofsix weeks al l five were in the grave, having fal len
vict ims to malarial fever . The newly founded Society
“
334 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
ofthe A fri can M iss ions,not having men enough to sacri
fice them in such large numbers to the dead ly influence
ofthe cl imate Of Sierra Leone,abandoned that station
,
and i n 1 863 the newly ordained priests proceeded to
Lagos and Porto Novo,coast of Ben in .
I t was on ly in the year 1 88 1,on the proposal of Chief
J usti ce Marshal l,that the Rev . Father P l anque cast h is
eyes towards the Gold Coast . Two priests,the Rev .
Fathers Moreau and Murat,who had been chapla ins to
Her Maj esty’s troops at Sain t Helena,were appointed
by him for the new miss ion . They landed at E lm ina
early i n 1 88 1,and at once opened a miss ion and a school .
I n a very short t ime after thei r arrival Father Murat fel l
a vict im to the treacherous cl imate,and was the fi rst of
that long l i ne of priests and nuns who have laid down
thei r l ives for that noble cause,the convers ion and c ivi
lisation of the Gold Coast people,for al though the
miss ion only reckons seventeen years ’ ex istence,twenty
five m iss ionaries have fol lowed Father Murat to the
grave . I n spi te of th is h igh death rate,and a great
many other d ifficu l t ies,the m iss ionary work has made
marvel lous progress on the whole Gold Coast,but more
especial ly at E lm ina . Here three d ist inct schools have
been establ i shed by the fathers and the nuns .
1 . The boys’ school
,which reckons over 1 20 pupi ls
from the I . to the V I I . s tandard .
2 . The girl s’ school
,much inferior in number
,the
natives deeming the education of thei r female ch i ld ren
a matter of s l ight importance .
3. The infan t school , whose pupi l s amount to 250
boys and gi rl s combined .
The fathers ’ and s is ters’ dwel l ing houses are s i tuated
336 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
A l arge piece of l and s i tuated outs ide the town has
been pu rchased by the fathers for agricu l tu ral purposes .
A miss ion was opened at Accra in 1 893 by the Rev.
Father Hilberer. The work was in a most promisi ng
cond i tion when the miss ionaries were recal led to Cape
Coast,In order to replace those who had fal len victims to
the c l imate there.
The Rev . Father Wade founded the Cathol i c M ission
of Kwi tta in the year 1 891 . A l arge tract ofl and having
been ceded to him by a ri ch nat ive ch ief,he at once
bu i l t a large and comfortable m iss ion house. Some
other n ice bu i ld ings,such as a church
,school rooms
,etc.
,
have been added s ince.
Bes ides these m iss ions they have several out- stations,of
which Anamaboe and Adjuah are the most important .I n each of these stat ions is a nat ive catech i st
,who at
the same t ime fi l l s the post of schoolmaster .
The fathers vis i t these out-stat ions period ical ly,i n
order to see how the work i s progress ing,and also to
admin ister the Sacraments to the faithfu l . A namaboe
actual ly coun ts 150 schoolboys , and almost as many con
verts Adjuah s i xty -five school ch i ld ren and 1 80 converts .
They have in contemplation the extens ion of their
work to the interior,and to Kumas i
,as soon as the
means at thei r d isposal wi l l al low of them doing so .
The miss ion counts moreover the charge of fi fteen
slaves,male and female
,who have been entrusted to thei r
care by the Government . These chi ld ren having been
bought and sold by the nat ives,in defiance of the law ,
the Government,after having them
,hand them over in
order that they may be educated .
A good start has been made in farming near E lm ina .
FUTURE OF THE GOLD COAST . 337
Coffee,cacao , and a great number of rubber trees have
been planted .
There is l i tt le doubt that with the addit ion of the
A shant i terri tory,and the recent acqu is i t ion ofthe coun
try in the H in terland up to the eleventh degree of north
lati tude,the commercia l future of the Gold Coast pro
mises to be one of great activi ty. The great d iffi cu l t ies
to be fi rst overcome are the want of su itable land ing
pl aces and the absence of i nternal t ransport communica
t ion . Once these are establ ished,commercial activi ty
wi l l soon fol low ; valuable products wi l l be brought to
the coast,mines wi l l be opened up, and Brit ish energy
and capi ta l pave the way for a prosperous future for a
somewhat long-neglected colony. Two land ing places
should be constructed,one near Takorad i Bay and one at
Accra . The former place provides al l requ irements for
harbour,safe anchorage
,easy landing
,and for a coal ing
station,whi le at the latter place the rocks upon which
J ames Fort i s bu i l t,wou ld serve as a su itable foundation
for a l and ing stage for the eastern part ofthe colony .
I n a previous chapter I have al ready given an ou tl ine
ofthe rai lways required in the colony . Here I wi l l add
but one more suggestion . The short strip of seaboard
between A ccra and Ada,incl ud ing the estuary of the
river Volta,i s ofbut l i tt le commercial value orimportance.
Yet the town ofAda at the mouth of the Vol ta is the
port from whence nearly one thi rd of the palm oil and
palm kernel s produced in the colony are exported .
Kpong on the right bank of the Volta i s the col lecting
point for th is large export trade,from whence with much
trouble and expense,i t i s with cons iderable d iffi cu l ty
transported to the Volta mouth and across the bar for22
338 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT.
sh ipment from Ada . The trade ofAccra,al though the
town is the capital and headquarters ofthe colony,does
not improve,the exports being very smal l i n comparison
with other ports on the coast .
Now the present large export trade of Ada cou ld be
transferred with but l i tt l e d ifficu l ty to Acc ra,by the con
struction of a rai lway between that port and the town
of Kpong on the Volta river,and shipped with ease
,
provided that a land ing stage was constructed at Accra
in connect ion with the proposed rai lway . This increase
of traffic wou ld bring the capital into a state of com
mercial prosperi ty, at the expense of the present un
heal thy town of Ada,a change that no one wou ld
serious ly deplore ; the trade i tsel f would remain in the
same hands,but the present commerc ial houses at Ada
would have to c lose thei r premises and trans fer thei r s taff
to Accra, the present headquarters of many of the Ada
trad ing compan ies .
340 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Chief Battles fought
P lace.
Batt l e of EgyaaBatt l e of AnamaboeBatt l e o f Nsimanke
Batt l e ofDomp imBatt l e of AfutuBatt l e of Cape CoastBatt l e of Dodowah
Batt l e ofBobi kumaBatt l e of Yan coomasieBat t l e o f Tets iBatt l e of DwukwaBatt l e of E lm inaBat t l e of AbakrampaBatt l e of AboguBatt l e of BoborasiBatt l e of OwuratserBat t l e ofAmoafur
Batt l e of BekwaiBatt l e ofFoman ahKumas i Burn tKumas i again Burn t
Chief Civil Wars on the Gold Coast.
War between Akwamus andAkrasWarbetween Fan t i andE lm inaWar between Fan t i andAccraExped i t i on t o Apo l l on iaSecon d Exped i t i on to Apo l l on iaWar between Don asiandAburaWar between Dun kwa andAburaAkim C iv i l War
S econd War between Fan ti andE lm in aWarbetween Ashan t i andN koran z a
A shan ti Wars .
Date.14th J un e, 1 80 71 sth J un e, 1 8072 1 st Jan uary, 1 82425th Apr i l, 1 8242 1 st May,
‘
1 824
1 1 th J u ly,1 824
26th Augus t,1 826
9th May, 1 863
1 0th February,1 873
6th Ap r i l,1 873
3oth May, 1 873
13th J un e, 1 8739th N ovembe r, 1 8731 7 th Jan uary, 1 87429th Jan uary, 1 87431 st Jan uary, 1 8743rst Jan uary, 1 874I st February
,1 874
2ndFebruary, 1 8743rdFeb ruary, 1 874
1 896
APPEND ICES . 341
Distances in Miles and Time between A ccra andthe prin
cipal towns and villages on the coast. From “ Actual
Travelling
I. To W INDWA RD .
Town . Place. Time. Mi les.
AccraR iver SekoomBe rekuW in n ebahMan kwad iAppamM umfordTan tumArkra .
Narkwa
SahpondSal tp on dAnamaboeCap e Coast .
E lm inaCommendahChama
Sekon d iAdjuahBoutri
D i xcoveAcquidahTh ree Po in t s L ightPr in ce sAx imE siamah
Attuabu
Bey inHal f As smi
R ive r SekoomBerekuW in n ebahMan kwad iAppamMumfordTan tumArkra
Narkwa
Sal tp on dCorman t in eAnamaboeCap e Coas tE lm inaC ommendahChama .
S ekon d iAdjuahBoutri
D ixcoveAcquidah .
Three Po in ts L ightPr in ce sAximE siamah
Attuabu
BeyinHal f Ass in iN ewtown
342 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
II. To LEEWA RD.
Town . P lace. Time. Miles.
AccraCh r istian sborgTe sh iPram PramGreat N ingoAdaAttititi
H ut iKwi t taDan oe
C .
Fares for H ammockmen and Carriers .
From. Amount.
Cape Coast
to Ch r i st ian sborgTesh iPram PramG reat N ingoAda .
Attititi
H ut iKwi t taDan oeAflao
344 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
Distances in Miles and Time between A ccra and the prin
cipal towns andvillages in the in terior.
From . Time. Mi les .
APPEND ICES .
Distances in Miles and Time between A ccra and the prin
cipal towns andvillages in the in terior
From . Time. Mi les .
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THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .346
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THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .348
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APPEND IX F .
OUTFIT FOR THE WEST COAST .
I . CLOTH ING .
THE same clothing i s worn on the West Coast as in tem
perate coun tries in the heigh t of summer. For the dryseason flan n els , thin dark b lue serge, or thin tweed s wi l lbe foun d most u sefu l , whi le for the rainy season ord inarysummer su i ts wil l n ot be found too heavy. In ad d i t ion to
several chan ges of the above, the d ress su i t, thin b lackmorn ing coat and ves t , and a thin overcoat shou ld be
taken .
Soft white or fancy shirts forgen eral wear ; thin woo l lenunderclothing andsocks , woo l len pyjamas
,cholera bel ts and
flan nel dress ing-
gown s wil l be found the best . Travel lersshou ldalways wear flan nel shirts . Ordinary white shirtsare ofcou rse wan ted.
Shoes or boots are a matter oftaste— shoes are coo ler forthe town s, but travel lers mu st have boot s . Brown tan or
white canvas wi l l recommen d them selves accord ing to tas te .
Even ing shoes andsl ippers are al so wan ted . Heavier boot sand leggin gs, kn ickerbockers and p u tties are requ i red bytravel l ing ofl‘icers . Much heavier clothing i s requ i redu ponthe homewardvoyage.
The best travel l ing cases are the tin air-tigh t un iform
352 THE GOLD COAST PAST AND PRESENT .
The Maconochie Ration s wi l l be found part icu larly wel ladaptedforofficers away from headquarters .
I w i l l n ot attempt to g ive any ru les here forhealth , forso much depends upon the individual , that what 1 8 on e man
’
s
food in this respect is another man ’
s poison . There isbut on e golden rule for West Africa—Moderation in
Things .
ABERDEEN UN IV ERS ITY PRESS .