682 Adams's Account of the 



pluasaiit .iikI imliilioiis food. It is 

 called bj (lie natives ciinhi) ; they call 

 Ei]i()j)can Ijisciiit, panoo. 



Danghlcis are purchased from tlieir 

 faiJicrs tor wives, and arc paid for ac- 

 cording to the rank and wealth of the 

 bridegroom and (he bride's father. 'I'he 

 common price of a wile is one ounce of 

 sjold, one anker of brandy, and clotii of 

 the value of one ounce in trade. 



CHAMBA. 



The natives of Chaml)a, of whom 

 many arc sold on the Gold Coast, in- 

 habit a counlry lying to the north of 

 ,Asshantce. Their stature is generally 

 above the middle size; and the colour 

 of their skins is not of so deep a black 

 33 tliose of liie Fantee or Asshanlec. 

 They arc an a^^riciiltural people, whose 

 dispositions are niild, tractable, and 

 inulfcnsivc; and, of all the negroes in- 

 habiting the countries north of the 

 C(|uator, that have come under my 

 tibscrvalioM, they are the most passive. 

 Ill (act, they may be called a simple 

 jteople, who never (;xhibit any siillen- 

 uess of manner, but a uniform willing- 

 ness to do to the best of their ability 

 H'hatevtr they arc desired ; and the 

 term diinco, which in the Fantee lan- 

 guage, signilies stupid fellow, or igno- 

 rant m;ni from the back counlry, is 

 Htvariaby given to them by the Fantees, 

 »s a term of derision in consequence. 

 Ta the Fantees, as well as to (ho 

 Asshantces, tlioy have a strong aversion, 

 because they eonsicler these people as 

 the authors of tixir misfortunes, and 

 the ehit'f instruments used in removing 

 tl>ou» from their country ; therefore, 

 Wilijfnevcr insurrections have occurred 

 »Hi-board of slave ships on the Gold 

 Coast, as the Fantees and Ashantees 

 were invariably the promoters of them, 

 the Chambas, as if to be revenged on 

 thcni, always assisted the crews in sup- 

 pressing these mutinies, and keeping 

 tlicin in subjection. 



The tattoo, or national mark, of this 

 Face, consists of three strong lines drawn 

 irom the temple over each cheek to the 

 chin, and taking the form of the longi- 

 tudinal lines upon a globe. 



CLIMATE. 



For a country, lying only five degrees 

 MOfth of the equator, •.vhich is the mid- 

 dle latitude of the Gold Coast at its 

 soathern boundary, its temperature may 

 be considered moderate; the tiiermo- 

 Bieter only averaging throughout the 

 year 78°, as registered by Governor 

 Daliiel at Cape Coast Castle; and, dur- 

 ing the wot season, it oltcu sinks lo 



Country extending from 



73° or 74°. The days are generally 

 cloudy, owing to the prevailing south- 

 west wind loading the atniospherc with 

 moisture, and which gives it a haziness, 

 when not otherwise clouded, that dimi- 

 nislies flic intensity of the sun's rays, and 

 renders them more supportable 1h«n in 

 the West Indies, where the sun shines 

 with a briiliaiicc, and unobslrueted 

 splendour, seldom seen or felt in this 

 I ait of Africa. The nights, ncverlhc- 

 le.~s, diuiiig tlie dry season, are cloud- 

 less; and the moon and stars shine with 

 unusual briuhtncss in a'clear, deep blue 

 sky. 



The wet season is of shorter duration 

 llian in many parts of Africa that 1 have 

 visited, and the seasons are generally 

 milder, and assume more favotirable 

 aspects ; yet, notwithstanding, the cli- 

 mate is very obnoxious to the lu^ultli ol' 

 Europeans. 



GOLD. 



The face of the country, from Appo- 

 lonia to Accra, is undulating, and co- 

 vered with shrubbery and timber of 

 small growth, except in the vicinity of 

 towns, where some |)atohcs of ground 

 are cultivated with the hand-hoe, and in 

 which maize and yams aregrown. The 

 country, to the north of it, and of that 

 extending from Appolonia to tlie west- 

 ward as (iir as Piccaninny IJassam, i.s 

 rich in gold, as the quantity annually 

 exported, and in general circulation, 

 proves; especially when we take into 

 coiisidcra(i(Ui the imperfect knowledge 

 whieh the natives have in uiining, and 

 that thiir principal supply of gold is 

 derived from the surface of the earth, 

 and is that which is waslieil from it 

 during the perioilical rains, and which 

 is afterwards collected on the bunks of 

 rivers and small streams, after their 

 waters have subsided. The manner of 

 obtaining or washing for gold, is as fol- 

 lows : a (|u.'iiitity of soil is collected 

 near a stream, or at the sea-side, in 

 whicii gold is known to bo, a portion of 

 which is put into a tolerably seized cala- 

 bash, Mliieh is tilled with water, and 

 then mixed together; and, while the 

 soil is he'd in solution, a quick rota- 

 tory motion is given to the calabash, by 

 which means the mixture is made to fly 

 over its siile, and the gold, by its speci- 

 tic gravity, sinks to the bottom. I 

 have olten watched women and children 

 employed in tliis way, and thought their 

 labour but ill requited, the quantity of 

 gold obtained by each individual being 

 inconsiderable : from each calabash of 

 soil only a few very minute muticlcs of 



this 



