To The Gold Coast for Gold Volume II Part 12

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 Takwa (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 b.u.t.t-end, divided by a break from the main ridge, lies the 'Tamsoo-Mewoosoo mines of Wa.s.saw.'

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 Takwa 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 pract.i.tioner, 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. Pa.s.sing through the spirit-reeking Takwa 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 Takwa 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 pa.s.sed over the northern heads of two small _b.u.t.tes_ 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 Yao Hill, the _emplacement_ of the 'Mines d'Or d'Aboa.s.su.' 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 Takwa 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 coa.r.s.e, 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 Takwa.

I looked about Abosu to prospect the peculiarities of the place, where the Sierra Leonite and the Cape Coast Anglo-n.i.g.g.e.r were conspicuous for 'cheek' and general offensiveness. These ign.o.ble 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 _b.u.t.te_, 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 pa.s.sed 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 employe 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 a.s.sociation 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 n.i.g.g.e.r killing himself, but all in vain: he is worse, if possible, than his white _confrere_. 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 employe 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 gra.s.s, 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 _b.u.t.te_ 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'Aboa.s.su (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 a.s.sumes a distinctly gneissic character.

At Aji Bipa the lode runs N. 38 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 38, 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. 82. 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 was.h.i.+ng 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 quant.i.ty 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 surpa.s.sed.

I have not said anything about the quant.i.ty of gold to the ton, as the experimental crus.h.i.+ngs at Crockerville will enable a much more accurate idea to be formed than any I could make from the hand-was.h.i.+ngs 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 91 73 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 90 73 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, 94 (1880).

Lowest temperature on July 6 and 7, 65.

Highest rainfall in 24 hourson June 20, 3 25.

Highest variation in 24 hourson May 2 and 3 94-68 = 26.

Lowest variation in 24 hourson May 14, 76-74= 20.

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, 96 (1881).

Lowest temperature on June 14, 66.

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

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

Lowest variation in 24 hourson June 24, 75-71 = 4.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

TO THE MINES OF ABOSU, OF THE 'GOLD COAST,' AND OF THE TaKWa ('AFRICAN GOLD COAST') COMPANIES.

On April 6 I reached the Mine d'Or d'Aboa.s.su, this being my second visit.

The first, on the previous Sunday, had been more interesting in the point of anthropological than of geological study. The day of rest had been devoted to a general jollification by most of the whites, and the blacks had ably followed suit. The best example was set by the doctor attached: he was said to have emptied sixty-two bottles of cognac during his twenty-three days of steamer-pa.s.sage. But, brandy proving insufficient, he had recourse to opium, chloral, and bromide of pota.s.sium, a pint and a half of laudanum barely sufficing for the week. I need hardly say where the abuse of stimulants and opiates lands a man, either in Western Africa or in England.

From the Abosu village and its abominations I turned sharp to the north-west, and ascended the steep western flank of Abo Yao, whose highest point is 312 feet above sea-level. The distance from Crockerville is a mile and three-quarters, or a mile in a straight line, and from Takwa, about six. M. Dahse increases the latter to nine miles, the difference of lat.i.tude being three and a quarter miles, and of longitude four. My map will be the first to correct these distances, which are exaggerated by the native carriers to get more pay.