THE GOLD COAST.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 953, 26 May 1883, Page 4

THE GOLD COAST.

“ To the Gold Coast for Gold” -is-Sr very 'interesting account by Captains Burton and Cameron of a visit to the West Coast of Africa.• Not that; the whole of the two volumes treat of that region, for a very large portion is taken up with the narrative of the journey thither, and is wholly and completely irreTevPritto the title of the- book, but .we can forgive this’ when a digression is so interesting and so welt-written as this. Captain Burton left Trieste in November, 1881, and, picking up Captain Cameron by the way at Madeira, went leisurely on via Funchal; Bathurst, Sierra Leone and Cape Palmas to Axim, on the Gold Coast, where they finally landed. The primary,object, of their visit was to report, on. spine .new, gold mines injwnfcn hcertain' 1 Mr Irvine''t&tei%s&d ! ; s !: btut - they had also the intention of attempting to iri- T crease the present .geographical’ knowiculafly of the Kong Mountains. So much, however, presented itself to be seen and done on the .coast, Aat they never got any They found the gold aU-engrossinj&ond other considerations faded into deed the^Qul(knot-b.We ?: gone m if they sfor through oWrclimate,. tain Burton was regularlyp invalided when he re-embarked.' Their sufferings were not lessened by the fact that,, owing to their delay bn the road, they landed in the Jwrohg* - seakbh,' The' book, however, is full of interesting matter. —The greater part of the textTs from the pen of Captain Burton, with whose style, both in its merits and defects, our readers may be familiar. But Captain Cameron contributes an account of his visit to several important mines, and the maps, Surveys, and astronomical observations are also his, and he brought home a large natural history collection. We are. by no, means prepared to agree wi^BP nil (Captain Bur-' ton says. He is given to expressing his opinions very strongly, and * the views he holds on many subjects are very decided; but| whether we agree with him or not there is no doubt he has given us a very interesting*Account .of a little-known country. He has hadthe advantage, ,jnpreoyer. of T being able intnis his*'second visit to verify or correct former impressions. Th&Gdtd Cbast at ■ (has ; been likened to the interior of the tropicalhouse at Kew Gardens, an<j. Captain Barton thinks this 1 a ver/'fair description. What it is at its worst it is perhaps difficult for anyone to understand who has not had . actual experience of it Ants of aIV 'tolors' “ariff ‘ sizes, poisonous spiders, centipedes, flies and Scorpions add to the; zest of life,-and recently thejrauch-dreaded “jigger” of South America has been imported, and, has be66nM vforse than' the native' plagues. This agreeable creature buries itself in the flesh of human beings, and has to be dug out as best it baay. The process of extraction is not pleasant, but it is decidedly preferably>to allowing .the “jigger” to remain in. Of a certain kind of black ant, Captain Bur f ton says that it “ bites clears outhouses, destroys the smaller animals, and has, it is said, overpowered and destroyed hunters, when, torpid with . fatigue, they have fallen asleep in the bush.” The spiders also bite fearfully. From the sea and not too close, the coast looks very inviting, but._.a .. nearer inspection reveals mangold swamps and dense and rank _ vegetation, teeming with inse& life, abd breathing deadly malaria night and morning, There are no harbors, and the surf is tremendous, and the riwerAjhQUfff often., fine* are barred Wsand brid'swampy shallows. Such is the country which Natpftatas -inadp a 'peffectFl Dorado. This region has, since the opening,up of Califofela but enterprise is nfcw turning again in that direction. The fact is fjiaTJhe of this British colony is absolutely full of gold; it crops can’ be got without difficulty. So far, little! little or nothing has been done except surface washing. Two great difficulties stand in the way of a profitable 1 working of mines there. First? the, climate, which hardly any European can stand tor.more than a very limited period without having all enefgy ; Hnd health taken , outofhirß, iSecondiy, the want of labor. Thepatiyes arelazy beyond description, and will not workjliH.absplutely in want of food, and if induced by big wages work so slowly as to exhaust all patience. They'afe also hopelessly dishonest Of course no mines ' ban possibly pay^under, the circumstances, and |be .only yyay to; success 'will be t 6 import j<|he- East < Water seems .gjjoutthe only good thing that is ■ ;TjhaJ>, ip 1 some , way or other will be overcome is tolerably certain, but it is probable that jjjj^ce^.will ,0051 both'lives ahd money.’ Captain Burton is very severe upon British,, .administration in : those parts, .but perhaps ,his expressions of opinion op this head should be taken cum fgam L ,salis \ at .the same time it is probable* that no great trouble or zpenseis lavished upon this portion . our,dominions. What appears to nave struck the author most was the badnestof the native soldiery, who are certainly by his account as bad as bad can bes» ! He >! lliso -complains' of the Government charts of the coast. We commend the book to our readers as one containing! rppch information pleasantly given about a little-known portion of the British Empire. —Home