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.]