CHAPTER XXIII. — 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 9d. to 10d., 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, 6d. 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 9d., 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.