Chapter 13

TO EFFUENTA, CROCKERVILLE, AND THE AJI BIPA HILL.

At Tumento the halt of a day (March 22) was necessary in order to hire carriers and get ready for the march eastward. Here, too, I washed sundry specimens of soft earth from various parts of the river-banks, finding colour of gold in all except the grey clay. Our Mohammedan friends were there; the eldest called upon me and was exceedingly civil, besides being to a certain extent useful. For the hire of a shilling and two cakes of Cavendish he found me eggs in a village some three miles off, and he ended by writing me a 'safy,' which would bring me good luck in all my undertakings. It consists of the usual Koranic quotations in black, and of magic numbers in pink, ink.

Dr. Roulston and Mr. Higgins, the new District Commissioner for Tákwá, entered Tumento about 3 P.M. The carriers hired in addition to my canoe-men would now be wanted, said the cunning old chief, for the 'Government man,' with whom he wished to stand well. As the porters had received an advance of pay I objected to this proceeding. The fresh arrivals had to find other hands, and were not very successful in the search. Their detachment of twenty-five Haussa soldiers, who had escorted to the coast Dr. Duke, the acting commissioner lately invalided, were sent abroad in all directions to act press-gang, and the natural lawlessness of the race came out strong. The force is injured by enlisting 'Haussas' who are not Haussa at all; merely semi-savage and half-pagan slaves. On detached duty they get quite out of hand; and they by no means serve to make our Government popular. By the rules of the force they should never be absent from head-quarters for more than six months; their transport costs next to nothing, as they march by bush-paths. And yet they are kept for years on outpost-duty, where it would require a Glover to discipline them and to make them steady soldiers. They live by plunder. A private on a shilling a day will eat three fowls, each worth 9_d_. to 10_d_., and drink any taken amount of palm-wine. There are no means of punishment, or even of securing a criminal; the colony cannot afford irons or handcuffs; there is no prison, and a Haussa, placed under arrest in a bamboo-hut, cuts his way out as easily as a rat from a bird-cage.

One of these men was accused of murdering a woman in one of the villages on the way. His comrades brought in husbands, wives, and children indiscriminately, not sparing even the chiefs. Bimfú, of Insimankáo, was among the number; next morning, however, he threw his pack, bolted to the bush, and eventually reported his grievances to Axim. The second headman of Tumento, when pressed, managed to secure a very small load. But as payment is by weight, 6_d_. per 10 lbs. from the river to Effuenta, and no subsistence is allowed, his gains were small in proportion; he received for three days only 9_d_., the ordinary value of porter's rations.

Next day (March 23) we left Tumento at 7.30 A.M. The caravan consisted of thirty-two men, all told--canoe-men from Axim, Tumento bearers, boatswain, and my three body-servants. All were under the command of Joe the Indefatigable, who formed a kind of body-guard of gun-carriers out of the porters that carried the lightest packs. Mr. Dawson assisted me in collecting; Paul prepared to shoulder a bed, and the boatswain was ordered to catch butterflies. The cries of 'bátli,' 'basky,' and 'bokkus' (bottle, basket, and box) continually broke the silence of the bush and gladdened the collector's ears. I was still able to dispense with the hammock.

In the first few minutes the path trends southwards; it then assumes and keeps an easterly direction. Here is a water-parting: the many little beds, mostly full of water, flow either north towards the Abonsá or south and westwards to the Ancobra. They are divided by detached hills, or rather oblong mounds, of the same formation as the beds; quartz, gravel, and red clay, all disposed in the usual direction. Women's washings were seen everywhere along the road, and in some places oozings of iron from the soil heavily charged the streamlets. Some of the quartz-boulders were coloured outside like porphyry by the oxide. About three-quarters of the way from Tumento to Apankru is a hill rich in outcrops of quartz. I believe it to be French property.

These rises and falls led over 7-1/2 direct geographical miles, usually done in three hours, to Apankru, a second 'great central Depôt.' The village lies on the right bank of the Abonsá River, here some forty feet high. It is composed almost entirely of the store-houses of the several companies--(Gold Coast) Effuenta, and Swanzy's (English), the African Gold Coast and Mines d'Or d'Aboassu [Footnote: At first I supposed the word to be Abo-Wásá, or Stones of Wásá: it is simply Abosu, meaning 'on the rock.'] (French). Only the latter use the Abonsá for transport purposes--I think very unwisely. My descent of the stream will show all its dangers of snags, rapids, and heavy currents. Here it rises high during the floods, and sometimes it swamps the lower courtyards.

I put up at Mr. Crocker's establishment, which was, as usual, nice and clean; and the officials went on to Effuenta. The native clerk took good care of me, probably moved thereto by Mr. Joe, who addressed him, 'Here, gib me key; I want house for _my_ master!' During the evening, in the intervals of heavy rain, I obtained a latitude by Castor. Apankru lies in north latitude 5º 13' 55", and its longitude (by calculation) is 0º 20' 6" west.

The next morning (March 24) was dark and threatening. At 6.30 A.M. we struck into the path, a mere bush-track, the corduroys and bridges made by the Swanzy house having completely disappeared. This want of public feeling, of 'solidarity,' amongst the several mining companies should be remedied with a strong hand. These men seem not to know that rivalry may be good in buying palm-oil, but is the wrong thing in mining. Such a jealousy assisted in making the Spanish proverb 'A silver mine brings wretchedness; a gold mine brings ruin.' Even in England I have met with unwise directors who told me, 'Oh, you must not say that, or people will prefer such and such a mine.' But, speaking generally, employers are aware that unity of interest should produce solidarity of action. The local employés like to breed divisions, in order to increase their own importance. This should be put down with a strong hand; and all should learn the lesson that what benefits one mine benefits all. Many of the little streams run between steep banks, and in the rainy season mud and water combine to make the line impracticable. Yet there is nothing to stand in the way of a cheap tram; and perhaps this would cost less and keep better than a metalled road. The twisting of the track, 'without rhyme or reason,' reminded me of the snakiest paths in Central Africa. Our course, as the map shows, was in every quadrant of the compass except the south-western.

On our left or north ran the Aunábé, M. Dahse's Ahunabé, [Footnote: M. Dahse's paper, _Die Goldküste_ (Geog. Soc. of Bremen, vol. ii., 1882), has been ably translated by Mr. H. Bruce Walker, jun., of the India Store Depôt.] the northern fork of the Abonsá, which falls into the right bank below Apankru. It has a fine assortment of mixed rapids, which show well during the floods. Hills of the usual quartz blocks, gravels, sand, and clay lead, after 1 hr. 40 min. walking and collecting, at the rate of two geographical miles an hour, to Mr. Crocker's second set of huts. They were built on a level for shelter and resting-places before Apankru was in existence, and were baptised 'Sierra Leone' by emigrants from the white man's grave and the black man's Garden of Eden.

Beyond this settlement is a fine quartz hill, round the northern edge of which the path winds to the little Kwansakru. This is a woman's village, where the wives of chiefs who have mining-rights, accompanied by their slaves, are stationed, to pan gold for their lazy husbands. In this way may have arisen the vulgar African story of Amazon settlements. Messieurs Zweifel and Moustier [Footnote: _Voyage_, &c., p. 115.] were told by a Kissi man that twelve marches behind their country is a large town called Nahalo, occupied only by the weaker sex. A man showing himself in the streets, or met on the road, is at once put to death; however, some of the softer-hearted have kept them prisoners, and the result may easily be divined. All the male issue is killed and only the girls are kept.

Many large 'women's washings' of old date give us a hint how the country should be worked. All along the line of the Aunábé white sands, the tailings of natural sluices, have been deposited; the black sand sinking by its own weight. I was unable to find out the extent of the French concessions, and look forward to the coming day of compulsory definition of boundaries and registration in Government offices. These grants are mingled in inextricable confusion with those secured by 'Surgeon-Major Dr. James Africanus Beale Horton, Esq.'

Soon after Kwansakru we exchanged the ordinary path for a mere thread in the bush, leading to the southern end of Tebribi Hill. The name, according to Mr. Sam, means 'when you hear, it shakes,' signifying that the thunder reverberates from the heights owing to its steep side and gives it a tremulous motion. This abrupt, cliff-like side is the western, where the schistose gneiss is exposed for a thickness of 60 feet and more: the stone is talcose, puddinged in places with quartz pebbles, and everywhere showing laminations of black sand. The long oval mound of red clay, overgrown with trees, and rising 295 feet above sea-level, is all auriferous; but there are placers richer than their neighbours. Tebribi was the favourite washing-ground of the Apinto Wásás; but the old shafts were all neglected after the Dutch left, and no deep sinking was known within the memory of man until the last twelve years. I passed a pit on the western flank; the winch had been removed, and my people found it impracticable: we descended to it by cut steps and followed a cornice, mainly artificial, for a short distance to where its mouth opened. This hole had been sunk 70 to 80 feet deep in the talcose stone; and it would have been far easier and better to have driven galleries and adits into the face of the rock.

We took fourteen minutes to clamber up the stiff side in the pelting rain, with a tornado making ready to break. Ten minutes more, along the level, and a total of three hours, placed us at Mr. Crocker's Bellevue House. I had been asked to baptise it, and gave the name after a place in Sevenoaks which overlooks the wooded expanse of the Kentish weald. The place being locked up, we at once committed burglary; I occupied one of the two boarded bedrooms with plank walls, and my men established themselves in the broad and well-thatched verandah. When the view cleared we saw various outliers of hill, all running nearly parallel and striking north with more or less easting; the temperature was delightful, and between the showers the breezes were most refreshing. At night a persistent rain set in and ruined all chance of getting sights.

The next morning broke dull and grey with curtains of smoky fog and mist hanging to the hills; and the heavy wet made the paths greasy and slippery. Leaving Bellevue House, we walked along the whole length of the ridge in half an hour; and, descending the north-western slope, we struck the main thoroughfare--such as it is. Reaching the level, we found more 'women's washings,' and the highly auriferous ground looked as if made for the purpose of hydraulic mining.

Another half-hour along the lower flat led us to Burnettville, Crocker's _Ruhe_ No. 3. It is a large native-built house fronted by long narrow quarters for negroes on the other side of the road. The path crossed several streamlets trending north to the Aunábé, and a bad mud which had seen corduroy in its better days. Blocks of quartz and slate protruded between the patches of bog. We then traversed fairly undulating and well-wooded ground, clay-stone coated with oxide of iron; we crossed another small stream flowing northwards, and we began the ascent leading to 'Government House, Tákwá.' It is also known as Mount Pleasant, Prospect Mount, and Vinegar Hill.

The site facing the Effuenta mine is the summit of a long thin line about 275 feet high. This queer specimen of official head-quarters was built by the united genius of the owners of the ground, Mr. Commissioner Cascaden and Dr. Duke. As before said the really comfortable house of boarding has been bequeathed to the white ants at Axim by the Government of the Golden Land, too poor to pay transport. Commissioner and doctor receive no house-allowance, and according to popular rumour, which is probably untrue, were graciously told that they might pig in a native hut in or about Tákwá. Consequently they built this place and charge a heavy rent for it.

Government House is a large parallelogram of bamboo. The roof is an intricate mass of branches and tree-trunks, with a pitch so flat that it admits every shower. Mr. Higgins was at once obliged to expend 10_l_.-12_l_. in removing and restoring the house-cover. Under it are built two separate and independent squares of wattle with plank floors raised a foot or so off the ground; these dull and dismal holes, which have doors but no windows, serve as sleeping-places. The rest of the interior goes by the name of a sitting-room. The outer walls are whitewashed on both sides, and between them and the two wattle squares is a space of 6 to 8 feet, adding to the disproportionate appearance of the interior. Had it been divided off in the usual way the tenement would have been much more comfortable. There is a scatter of ragged huts, grandiosely designated as the barracks, on the level space where the Haussas parade. When Mr. Higgins was making himself water-tight, these lazy loons had the impudence to ask that he would either have their lines mended or order new ones to be built. I would have made them throw down their ramshackle cabins, knock up decent huts, and keep them in good order.

Leaving Government House, I descended the steep incline of Vinegar Hill, passed through the little Esanuma village, and crossed two streams flowing south. One is easily forded; the eastern has a corduroy bridge 176 ft. long, built to clear the muds on either side. I shall call this double water the Tákwá rivulet, and shall have more to say about it on my return.

Another steep ascent placed me at the Effuenta establishment. I was now paying my second visit to the far-famed Tákwá Ridge. It is a long line running parallel with Vinegar Hill, but instead of being regular, like its neighbour, it is broken into a series of small crests looking on the map like vertebræ; these heights being parted by secondary valleys, some of which descend almost to the level of the flowing water. Westward the hog's-back is bounded by the Tákwá rivulet, rising in the northern part of the valley. Eastwards there is a corresponding feature called by the English 'Quartz Creek:' it breaks through the ridge in the southern section of the Effuenta property and unites with the Tákwá. My aneroid showed the height of the crest to be 260 feet above sea-level, and about 160 above the valley. Mr. Wyatt has raised it to 1,400 feet--a curious miscalculation.

At Effuenta I found Mr. MacLennan, the manager whom we last met at Axim. Owing to the drowned-out state of 'Government House' he had given hospitality to Messieurs Higgins and Roulston, and I could not prevent his leaving his own sleeping-room for my better accommodation. I spent two days with him inspecting the mine and working up my notes; during this time Mr. Bowden, of Tákwá, and Mr. Ex-missionary Dawson passed through the station; and I was unfortunate in missing the former.

'Effuenta House' is a long narrow tenement of bamboo and thatch, divided into six or seven rooms, and built upon a platform of stone and swish raised seven feet off the ground. All the chambers open upon a broad verandah, which shades the platform. The inmate was talking of rebuilding, as the older parts were beginning to decay. He had just set up in his 'compound' two single-room bamboo houses, with plank floors raised four feet off the ground; these were intended to lodge the European staff. Other bamboo huts form the offices and the stores. The Kru quarters are at the western base of the hill; a few hands, however, live in the two little villages upon the Tákwá rivulet. The Sierra Leone and Akra artificers occupy their own hamlet between the Kru lines and the stamps. Last year there was a garden with a small rice-field, but everything was stolen as soon as it was fit to gather.

Next morning Mr. MacLennan led me to the diggings. This concession, which is the southernmost but one upon the Tákwá ridge, contains one thousand by two thousand fathoms; and desultory work began in 1880. The rock, a talcose gneiss, all laden with gold, runs along the whole length of the hill, striking, as usual, north 6º east (true). In places it forms a basset, or outcrop, cresting the summit; and the eastern flank is cliffy, like that of the Tebribi. To get at the ore three shafts have been sunk on the western slope of the ridge just below the highest part, and a passage is being driven to connect the three. A rise for ventilation, and for sending down the stone, connects this upper gallery with a lower one; and the latter is being pushed forward to unite the three tunnels pierced horizontally near the foot of the hill, at right angles to the lode. There is also a fourth tunnel below the manager's house, which will be joined on to the others. The three tunnels open westward upon a tramway, along which the ore is carried to the stamps. I judged the output already made to be considerable, but could not make an estimate, as it was heaped up in different places.

The stamp-mill, lying to the extreme north of the actual workings, is supplied with water by a leat from the eastern Tákwá rivulet. The twelve head of stamps, on Appleby's 'gravitation system,' are driven by a Belleville boiler and engine; this has the merit of being portable and the demerit of varying in effective power, owing to the smallness of the steam-chest. The battery behaves satisfactorily; only the pump, which is worked by the cam-shaft, wants power to supply the whole dozen; consequently another and independent pump has been ordered. Krumen, who will never, I think, make good mine-workmen, are constantly employed in washing the blankets as soon as they are charged; and the resulting black sand is carried to the washing-house to be panned, or rather calabashed, by native women. In time we shall doubtless see concentrating bundles and amalgamating barrels.

The three iron-framed stamp-boxes discharge their sludge into two parallel mercury- or amalgam-boxes, which Mr. Appleby declares will arrest 75 to 80 per cent. of free gold. It then passes on to the distributing table, the flow to the strakes being regulated by small sluices. Of the latter there is one to each width of green baize or of mining-cloth made for the purpose. The overflow of the sluices runs into a large tailing-tank of board-work, with holes and plugs at different levels to tap the contents. These tailings are also washed by women.

Finally, the mercury is squeezed through leathers and the hard amalgam is sent for treatment to England. Retorting is not practised at present in any of the mines. The only reduction-gear belongs to the Gold Coast Mining Company; and some time must elapse before it is ready for use. My discovery of native cinnabar will then prove valuable.

The Effuenta can now bring to bank, with sufficient hands, at least a hundred tons a day of good paying ore; whereas the stamps can crush at most one-tenth. When this section of the lode, about 200 fathoms, shall be worked, there will still be the balance of 1,000. But even this fifth of the property will supply material for years. The proportion of gold greatly varies, and I should not like to hazard a conjecture as to average, but an ounce and a half or two ounces will not be above the mark.

At present the manager works under the difficulty of wanting European assistants. His mining-engineer and one mechanic lately left him to return home; and he has only a white book-keeper, an English working-miner, and a mechanic, besides a man who made his way from the coast on foot, and who is now doing good, honest work. The progress made by Mr. MacLennan, during his ten months of charge, has been most creditable. He has literally opened the mine, the works of which were begun by M. Dahse. He has personally supervised the transport and erection of all the machinery; and at present, in addition to the ordinary managerial routine, he has to act as chief of each and every department. Owing to his brave exertions the future of the Effuenta mine is very promising: it will teach those to come 'how to do it,' in contrast with another establishment which is the best guide 'how _not_ to do it.' If the Board prove itself efficient, this property will soon pay a dividend. But half-hearted measures will go far to stultify the able and energetic work I found on the spot. [Footnote: This forecast has been unexpectedly verified with the least possible delay. Perfect communication has been established between the shafts and levels; and the mine can now (October 1882) turn out 100 tons a day at five shillings. But imperfect pumps have been sent out, and the result is a highly regretable block. Of the value of the mine there can be no doubt.]

The northern extremity of the Tákwá ridge, whose length may be nine to ten miles, remains unappropriated, as far as can be known. The furthest concession has been made, I am told, to Mr. Creswick. South of the section in question lies a property now in the hands of the late M. Bonnat's executors: the grant was given to him as a wedding-present by his friends, the chiefs. Report says that from this part of the lode, which is riddled with native pits, came some of the specimens that floated the G. C. M. Company. Succeeds in due order the African Gold Coast Company, French and English, which was brought out in 1878. It is popularly and locally known as the Tákwá (not 'Tarcquah') mine, from the large native village which infests its grounds. I have described the Effuenta, its southern neighbour. Beyond this again is a strip belonging to the Franco-English Company; and, lastly, at the southern butt-end, divided by a break from the main ridge, lies the 'Tamsoo-Mewoosoo mines of Wassaw.' The latter has lately been 'companyed,' under the name of the 'Tacquah Gold Mines Company,' by Dr. J. A. B. Horton and Mr. Ferdinand Fitzgerald, of the famous 'African Times.' When its directors inform us that 'twenty ounces of gold lately arrived from a neighbouring mine, the produce of stamping of twenty-five tons of ore, similar to that of Tamsoo-Mewoosoo,' they may not have been aware that the produce in question was worked from the alluvial drift discovered, about the end May 1881, in the north-western corner of the Swanzy estates. This drift has no connection with the Tákwá ridge-lodes.

After morning tea on March 28 I bade a temporary adieu to my most hospitable host, and walked along the ridge-crest to the establishment of the Franco-English or African Gold Coast Company. Here I found only one person, Dr. Burke, an independent practitioner, who is allowed lodging, but not board. M. Haillot, of Paris, formerly accountant and book-keeper, was in temporary charge of this mine and of Abosu during Mr. Bowden's absence. I shall give further detail on my return march. Passing through the spirit-reeking Tákwá village, where nearly every hovel is a 'shebeen,' I walked along the valley separating the ridge from its western neighbour, Vinegar Hill, and in half an hour entered the huts belonging to the Gold Coast Mining Company. [Footnote: These gentlemen are still (October 1882) doing hard and successful work at the mines.] Here I breakfasted with the brothers Gowan, who had been left in charge by Mr. Creswick. My notes on this establishment must also be reserved for a future page.

Twenty-five minutes' walking brought me to where the main road, a mere bush-path, strikes across a gully separating two crests of the Tákwá ridge. Then came a good stretch of level ground, composed of sand and gravel of stained quartz, clothed with the ordinary second-growth. When this ended I passed over the northern heads of two small _buttes_ which lie unconformably; the direction of their main axes lies north-north-west, whereas all their neighbours trend to the north-north-east. The climb was followed by a second level, bounded on the left, or north, by the Abo Yáo Hill, the _emplacement_ of the 'Mines d'Or d'Aboassu.' Two branch paths lead up to it from the main line of road. Near the western is a place chosen as a cemetery for Europeans; as usual it is neglected and overgrown with bush.

Presently I arrived at the village of Abosu, a walk of about two hours from the Tákwá mine. Ten months ago it contained forty to fifty head of negroes; now it may number 3,000, although the May emigration had begun, when the workmen return to their homes, being unable to labour in the flooded flats. There was the hum of a busy, buzzing crowd, sinking pits and shafts, some in the very streets and outside their own doors. This alluvial bed must be one of the richest in the country; and it is wholly native property under King Angu, of Apinto. There is little to describe in the village; every hut is a kind of store, where the most poisonous of intoxicants, the stinkingest of pomatum, and the gaudiest of pocket-handkerchiefs are offered as the prizes for striking gold. There are also a few goldsmiths' shops, where the precious metal is adulterated and converted to coarse, rude ornaments. The people are able 'fences,' and powder, fuses, and mining-tools easily melt into strong waters. Hence Abosu is a Paradise to the Fanti police and to the Haussa garrison of Tákwá.

I looked about Abosu to prospect the peculiarities of the place, where the Sierra Leonite and the Cape Coast Anglo-nigger were conspicuous for 'cheek' and general offensiveness. These ignoble beings did not spare even poor Nero; they blatantly wondered what business I had to bring such a big brute in order to frighten the people. Resuming my way along the flat by a winding path, I came upon a model bit of corduroying over a bad marsh, crossed the bridge, and suddenly sighted Mr. F. F. Crocker's coffee-mill stamping-battery. It lies at the south-western end of a _butte_, one of a series disposed in parallel ranges and trending in the usual direction. All have quartz-reefs buried in red clay, and are well wooded, with here and there small clearings. The names are modern--Crocker's Reef to the east, Sam's Reef, and so forth.

Then I passed an admirably appointed saw-mill. At this distance from the coast, where transport costs 24_l._ to 26_l._ a ton, carpenter's work must be done upon the spot. A wide, clean road, metalled with gravel, and in places bordered by pine-apples, led to store-houses of bamboo and thatch, built on either side of the way. After walking from Effuenta seven and a half geographical miles in three hours and forty-five minutes, I reached the establishment known as Crockerville. It dates from 1879, and in 1880 it forwarded its first remittance of 11_l._ 10_s._ to England. The village was laid out under the superintendence of Mr. Sam, the ablest native employé it has ever been my fortune to meet. He is the same who, when District-commissioner of Axim, laid out the town and planted the street-avenues. In conversation with me he bitterly derided the native association formed at Cape Coast Castle for obtaining concessions and for selling them to the benighted white man. He resolved not to put his money in a business where all would be at loggerheads within six months unless controlled by an European.

The houses are bamboo on stone platforms. One block is occupied by the owner, and a parallel building lodges Mr. Sam and his wife, the two being connected by an open dining-hall. The kitchen and offices lie to the north and east. Further west are quarters for European miners, and others again for Mr. Turner, now acting manager, and his white clerk. Furthest removed are the black quarters, the huts forming a street.

Crockerville at present is decidedly short of hands. The number on the books, all told, black and white, is only sixty-two: when the whole property comes to be worked, divided and sub-divided, it will require between a thousand and fifteen hundred. The hands are mostly country people, including a few gangs employed to sink shafts. One gang lately deserted, for the following reason. Two men were below charging the shots from a heap of loose powder, whilst their friends overhead were quietly smoking their pipes. A 'fire-'tick,' thrown across the shaft, burnt a fellow's fingers, and he at once dropped it upon his brethren underground; they were badly scorched, and none of the gang has been seen since. I mention this accident as proving how difficult it is to manage the black miner. The strictest regulations are issued to prevent the fatuous nigger killing himself, but all in vain: he is worse, if possible, than his white _confrère_. If I had the direction all the powder-work should be done by responsible Europeans. I would fire by electricity, the battery remaining in the manager's hands, and no native should be trusted with explosives.

Here I fell amongst old acquaintances, and was only too glad to remain with them between Friday and Thursday. Mr. Turner gave me one of his bed-rooms, and Mr. Crocker's sitting-room was always open by day. We messed together, clerks, mechanics, and all, in the open dining-hall: this is Mr. Crocker's plan, and I think it by far the best. The master's eye preserves decorum, and his presence prevents unreasonable complaints about rations. The French allow each European employé 4_s. _9_d._ a day for food and hire of servants, and attempt most unfairly to profit by the sale of provisions and wines. The consequence is that everything is disjointed and uncomfortable: some starve themselves to save money; others overdrink themselves because meat is scarce; and all complain that the sum which would suffice for many is insufficient for one.

The Swanzy establishment has set up an exceptionally light battery of twelve stamps, made in sections for easier transport. Neither here nor in any of the mines have stone-breakers or automatic feeders yet been introduced: the stuff is all hand-spalled. One small 'Belleville' drives the stamps, another works the Tangye pump, and a third turns the saw-mills. I will notice a few differences between the Swanzy system and that of Effuenta. The wooden framework of the stamp-mill is better than iron. The cam-shaft here carries only single, not double cams, a decided disadvantage: in order to strike the same number of blows per minute it has to make double the number of revolutions. Moreover, by some unhappy mistake, it is too far from its work, and the result is a succession of sharp blows on the tappets, with injury to all the gear. On the other hand proper fingers are fitted to the stamps: this is far better than supporting them by a rough chock of wood. At Crockerville, as at Effuenta, only six of the twelve stamps were working: there the pump was at fault; here the blanket-tables had not been made wide enough. I could hardly estimate the total amount of ore brought to grass, or its average yield: specimens of white quartz, with threads, strings, and lobs of gold, have been sent to England from Crocker's Reef. The best tailings are reserved either for treatment on the spot or for reduction in England. The mine, as regards present condition, is in the stage of prospecting upon a large and liberal scale. The stamps are chiefly used to run through samples of from 50 to 100 tons taken from the various parts of the property: in this way the most exact results can be obtained. During my visit they were preparing to work a hundred tons from Aji Bipa, the fourth and furthest _butte_ to the north-west.

I visited this mound in company with Mr. Sam, who interpreted the name to be that of the gambogefruit. We descended, as we had ascended, by the stamping-battery, crossed the bridge, and then struck northwards, over the third hillock, to No. 4. Unlike Crocker's Reef, Aji Bipa does not show visible gold; its other peculiarities will best be explained by the report I wrote on the spot.

This property is situated near Crockerville and can always be easily reached from that place. In fact, the southern boundary marches with the northern limit of the Crockerville estate. The rich gold-bearing lode is situated on the western slope of the hill, and can be seen in all the three shafts which have been sunk. The formation of the hill seems in many respects to correspond with the Lingula flags at and near Clogau, Dolgelli, and Gogafau. This formation is practically the same as that of the range of hills on which the concessions of the Gold Coast Mining Company, of the African Gold Coast Mining Company, of the Effuenta Company, of the Mines d'Or d'Aboassu (Abosu), and the Tamsu concessions are situated, and also as that of Tebribi Hill; but each of the three areas has its own marked features. In all the rocks are talcose and show a sort of conglomerate of quartz pebbles, in some cases water-worn and in others angular, bedded in a mixture of quartz and granite detritus. This has in the three areas undergone varying degrees of pressure, and has been upheaved at different angles. In some cases the pressure and heat have been so great that the rock assumes a distinctly gneissic character.

At Aji Bipa the lode runs N. 38º E. (Mag.) in the centre shaft, and N. 40 E. in the southern shaft, a sort of fault occurring in the centre shaft. In the northern shaft I should put it at 38º, but from the way in which the neighbouring rock had cleaved it was difficult to get the strike accurately. The dip is the same in all three shafts, viz. 82º. The lode being so near vertical, it can be clearly traced for the whole depth of the shafts, and is very well defined. The hanging (eastern) wall is highly coloured with iron oxides, and contains many quartz crystals which are through-coloured with the same, and I do not think it at all unlikely that garnets and other gems may be found in it. One or two minute crystals showed a green colour, and might be tourmaline or emerald; but perhaps it was only a surface-colour caused by the presence of copper. The foot wall is very well marked by a strip of whitish yellow clay about an inch in thickness. The rock on both sides of the lode is gold-bearing, and is evidently, as well as the real lode, formed of the debris of old quartz and granites. Talcose flakes are frequent, and in some places it seems to be clearly gneiss. Although with a small plant it might not be profitable to treat this, still with large and suitable machinery it may be made to pay, and the trouble of separating the rich lode from the inferior stone avoided. One remarkable trait in the lode is the manner in which it splits into blocks and slabs, all the faces of the quartz pebbles being cloven in precisely the same plane.

The length of the concession along the line of lode is 2,780 feet, and from the way in which the lode stands on the western slope of the hill, and the dip being eastward, I am of opinion that if a drift were put through the hill other and parallel lodes would be found. Of course this can only be proved by experience.

The thickness of the lode where I measured it varied from 22-1/2 to 25 inches in the southern shaft; and although I saw one pinch in the northern, and the fault in the centre one, it can easily be traced and worked, and should prove most profitable. In the centre shaft it is 24 inches, and in the northern 30 inches.

A curious sort of black substance occurs close to the line of clay which defines the under side of the lode, and may be remnants of some vegetable material; but with the means at my disposal I will not give any decided opinion.

Over the rock which forms the main body of the hill lie the usual red clay and oxidised quartz gravels, which, if treated by hydraulic mining, ought, as it contains gold, to prove a paying stuff: moreover washing off the surface-dirt would lay bare the rock and render all after-work easy and simple.

The alluvials in the bottoms should here prove unusually rich, and means might be adopted by which they should be raised mechanically and then flumed down again.

Ample water supply exists both for hydraulic mining and reef-working; there are good sites for all necessary machinery and building, and timber as usual is to be had in any quantity that may be required.

The question of transport is of course a most important one, and in the present state of the roads and country very expensive; but from the route-survey I have made I am convinced that a cheap and efficient service to the mines of this and neighbouring districts would be easily organised, and that instead of paying, as at present, the absurd price of 4_s_. or 5_s_. per ton per mile, it could be reduced to an average of from 4_d_. to 6_d_. The shafts now open are-- South, 45 feet deep, 9 feet by 4 feet 9 inches. Centre, 36 feet deep, 8 feet 6 inches by 4 feet 2 inches. North, 45 feet deep, 8 feet by 5 feet 10 inches.

This is both a most valuable and interesting piece of country to work, and I hope that it may soon be provided with all necessary staff, plant and machinery.

Rich returns may be confidently expected, and under proper management should prove a most paying business.

The exploratory works now existing have been done in an honest and businesslike manner, like all I have seen where Mr. Crocker and Mr. Turner have worked; and the zeal and intelligence displayed by Mr. Sam could scarcely be equalled and certainly not surpassed.

I have not said anything about the quantity of gold to the ton, as the experimental crushings at Crockerville will enable a much more accurate idea to be formed than any I could make from the hand-washings I saw done.

The boxes of specimens sealed by me are the result of blasts and excavation done whilst I was on the spot.

[Footnote: TEMPERATURE, ETC., AT CROCKERVILLE. Date Thermometer Bar. Rainfall Max. Min. Inches Ins. April 1 91º 73º 29.55 " 2 91 75 29.50 0.06 " 3 93 74 29.50 " 4 90 73 29.50 " 5 96 76 29.40 " 6 91 71 29.45 3.02 " 7 80 70 29.50 " 8 75 71 29.55 " 9 93 72 29.50 0.01 " 10 92 73 29.50 " 11 93 74 29.45 0.02 " 12 94 72 29.50 0.09 " 13 95 74 29.50 0.50 " 14 96 74 29.50 " 15 96 76 29.50 " 16 88 74 29.45 " 17 92 73 29.55 " 18 89 74 29.55 " 19 85 74 29.55 0.03 " 20 91 73 29.60 0.47 " 21 88 74 29.55 0.01 " 22 93 74 29.60 0.03 " 23 92 73 29.55 " 24 94 73 29.50 0.28 " 25 93 73 29.50 0.18 " 26 93 73 29.50 0.26 " 27 93 74 29.55 0.27 " 28 88 74 29.50 " 29 94 74 29.45 " 30 93 74 29.40 0.26 May 1 90º 73º 29.45 0.40 " 2 90 72 29.45 0.74

" 3 81 72 29.50 " 4 86 73 29.50 0.03 " 5 88 73 29.55 0.04 " 6 83 71 29.55 " 7 89 73 29.50 0.05 " 8 90 74 29.50 " 9 91 73 29.45 " 10 80 71 29.50 0.95 " 11 89 73 29.45 0.06 " 12 89 74 29.50 " 13 94 73 29.35 0.01 " 14 84 74 29.50 " 15 89 72 29.50 2.90 " 16 85 73 29.50 " 17 79 72 29.60 1.23 " 18 85 74 29.50 " 19 82 74 29.55 0.06 " 20 87 74 29.50 " 21 88 70 29.50 0.30 " 22 84 70 29.60 0.92 " 23 88 72 29.60 0.02 " 24 87 73 29.60 " 25 86 72 29.60 1.23 " 26 82 71 29.60 1.23 " 27 86 71 29.60 1.54 " 28 85 73 29.50 " 29 88 73 29.60 " 30 82 73 29.55 0.56 " 31 82 72 29.55 June 1 82 72 29.60 0.18 " 2 82 72 29.60 1.05 " 3 83 74 29.55 0.16 " 4 84 73 29.65 0.05 " 5 84 73 29.60 0.14 " 6 84 73 29.55 " 7 82 72 29.50 0.16 " 8 82 72 29.65 " 9 85 73 29.55 " 10 84 73 29.69 " 11 80 73 29.55 " 12 81 72 29.60 " 13 81 68 29.60 0.02 " 14 85 66 29.60 " 15 86 68 29.65 " 16 86 68 29.60 " 17 87 69 29.60 " 18 83 70 29.60 " 19 82 71 29.60 0.70 " 20 79 72 29.65 0.14 " 21 82 72 29.60 " 22 85 72 29.65 0.03 " 23 82 73 29.50 " 24 75 71 29.65 2.20 " 25 80 71 29.70 " 26 86 71 29.70 " 27 80 71 29.65 0.34 " 28 81 71 29.65 " 29 81 71 29.60 0.14 " 30 78 70 29.65 July 1 79 67 29.70 " 2 79 68 29.65 " 3 80 71 29.70 " 4 86 72 29.70 0.60 " 5 79 72 29.70 0.40 " 6 81 71 29.60 0.17 " 7 79 72 29.70 " 8 81 71 29.70 " 9 80 70 29.75 0.06 " 10 79 72 29.60 " 11 80 71 29.60 0.50 " 12 80 72 29.60 " 13 78 70 29.60 " 14 79 70 29.65 " 15 80 69 29.70 0.40 " 16 83 70 29.70 " 17 81 71 29.60 0.40 " 18 80 71 29.60 " 19 79 71 29.65 " 20 79 70 29.55 " 21 80 70 29.60 " 22 80 71 29.60 0.02 " 23 81 71 29.65 " 24 80 71 29.65 " 25 79 71 29.70 3.30 " 26 79 70 29.70 " 27 80 70 29.70 " 28 85 71 29.70 " 29 81 71 29.65 " 30 78 70 29.65 0.70 " 31 79 70 29.65 Aug. 1 78 69 29.65 " 2 83 72 29.70 " 3 82 72 29.65 0.56 " 4 80 70 29.65 " 5 82 72 29.60 " 6 79 70 29.60 0.28 " 7 81 70 29.60 " 8 80 70 29.60 " 9 81 70 29.65 " 10 82 70 29.65 0.40 " 11 82 70 29.65 0.60 " 12 81 68 29.65 " 13 81 67 29.60 " 14 80 69 29.70 " 15 83 71 29.65 " 16 81 69 29.65 " 17 90 70 29.70 " 18 86 71 29.65 " 19 81 70 29.65 " 20 85 68 29.70 " 21 83 70 29.70 " 22 80 70 29.65 " 23 81 73 29.70 " 24 84 71 29.65 " 25 86 70 29.70 " 26 82 70 29.70 " 27 84 71 29.65 0.02 " 28 84 71 29.70 0.01 " 29 85 72 29.70 0.02 " 30 86 70 29.70 " 31 85 71 29.65 Sept. 1 84 72 29.65 " 2 85 72 29.66 " 3 87 72 29.65 0.01 " 4 86 73 29.66 0.15 " 5 85 72 29.70 " 6 80 72 29.70 0.15 " 7 85 72 29.70 " 8 86 71 29.60 0.18 " 9 86 72 29.60 1.00 " 10 80 72 29.70 0.01 " 11 85 72 29.70 0.01 " 12 85 73 29.65 " 13 77 72 29.65 0.50 " 14 79 72 29.65 0.40 " 15 83 72 29.65 0.17 " 16 82 71 29.65 0.46 " 17 78 70 29.70 0.07 " 18 86 72 29.55 0.12 " 19 78 72 29.70 1.14 " 20 87 72 29.60 0.43 " 21 78 71 29.66 0.02 " 22 78 70 29.65 0.30 " 23 85 71 29.60 0.03 " 24 85 72 29.70 " 25 87 72 29.60 0.03 " 26 84 72 29.60 0.24 " 27 91 73 29.50 " 28 89 71 29.50 " 29 89 71 29.55 0.65 " 30 91 72 29.65

_Meteorological Register._

1880 Average Tem. per Diem Total Rainfall per Month April 79.00 -- May 78.40 8.27 June 76.60 11.24 July 74.79 3.44 August 74.22 5.30 Sept. 76.28 3.08 Oct. 78.05 4.89

Highest temperature on May 21, 94º (1880).

Lowest temperature on July 6 and 7, 65º.

Highest rainfall in 24 hours on June 20, 3 25.

Highest variation in 24 hours on May 2 and 3 94º-68º = 26º.

Lowest variation in 24 hours on May 14, 76º-74º= 20º.

1881 Average Tem. per Diem Total Rainfall per Month April 83.65 5.89 May 77.67 11.21 June 76.73 7.08 July 75.32 6.65 August 76.46 1.89

Highest temperature on April 5 and 14, 96º (1881).

Lowest temperature on June 14, 66º.

Highest rainfall in 24 hours on July 25, 3 30.

Highest variation in 24 hours on April 14, 96º-74º = 22º.

Lowest variation in 24 hours on June 24, 75º-71º = 4º.]