Remarks on the topography and diseases of the Gold Coast / by R. Clarke.

  • Clarke, Robert.
Date:
[1860]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the topography and diseases of the Gold Coast / by R. Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    14/62 (page 10)
    grinding, and'wasliing^ the soil. The pitsj at' ,i)li'eir^ entraric'e, 'are gi^iier^iy.two feet ih .diameter, and vary from forty to fifty feet in depth, according io the distance of the auriferous quartz 'CTprn the surface. The earth is removed with a clay pot, at- (iached to a ro^e, ai^d in this way , the'tpie is deepened, and ^p^ade large enough' to admit of one man working in a squat- 'tijig position. The excavated earth is divided between the inen who work the pit, carry it home, and grind and wash ^t.^^.^. The chief of the district is entitled to one-third of ^t^e proceeds. From these pits being frequently shored up rjVery imperfectly, and often not at all, masses of earth fall in, Jurying the miners alive. Apintoe and Essaham are the prin- jCipal gold fields in Western T^gssaw. At the diggings, market- able goods, such as cotton, rum, gunpowder, etc., are sold at ^gr^atly enhanced, prices, from the difficulty of their transport, in exchange for gold dust. The yield varies gi'eatly. The ^inetal is procurjsd at some of the holes from the auriferous ^soil, and at others from the crushed quartz. In other districts, ^it 'is obtained by washing in the beds of rivers and water- li|0urses after the rains have run off, especially at the base of ^•the ,hilLs. At Cape Coast, and along the seaboard, women may ''be' Observed washing t]^e, sajid on; .the bjeach, especially after iieavy rains. The sweepings of the market-floors are also dUi- £,gently swept up and washed to recover any gold dust dropped during the day. They carry the earth to the seaside, and, putting it into a wooden bowl, pour upon and mix with it a ^quantity of salt water. The bowl is then rapidly moved in jthe hands, with a circular motion, until the lighter particles ' are washed off, when the weightier portion of the earth is placed in another bowl. The operation is repeated until a bowlfull 'of the earth is freed of its lighter parts, when a careful exami- nation is made, accompanied with frequent washings, the gold fceiiig at length found deposited in the bottom of the vessel, where it is allowed to remain until the whole of the earth is Vashed away, It is then removed,''and dried by the sun or fire. Tlie earnings of these poor women average about I Of/, sterling daily, but occasionally 2s. 6d. worth of granular gold ■'rewards their severe toil. To the granules collected on the %each, a fine, black, and apparently metallic, sand is often found adhering. The bulk of the gold exported from this '?5part of the coast comes from Ashantee, and the quantity an- j nually sent to England is estimated at 100,000 ounces. Nothing . at present known of the other metallic and mineral resources 1 of this country; and the discovery of valuable metals in its ' soil besides gold, remains to incite and reward the labours of