CHAPTER XIII. 



THE GOLD COAST. 



" Men sacrifice others — women themselves." 



Elmina. — Cape Coast Castle. — The grave of L.E.L. — A merry 

 evening. — Ancient grandeur. — Bad strategy. — The native 

 tribes. — Gold. — "Jacks in Office." — Semi-starvation. — Accra. 

 — The Civil Commandant's welcome. — The " Land of Plenty." 

 — Fort James. — The earthquake and its consequences. — 

 Christiansburg. — News of game. — Again en voyage. 



January 18th — At eleven a.m. we passed the 

 Dutch settlement of Elmina, which is said to be the 

 first European possession on the Gold Coast, the 

 French having established themselves here in 1383, 

 but the place passed into the hands of the 

 Portuguese about a hundred years later, and was 

 finally ceded to Holland in 1641. On a projecting 

 rock, on the east side of the River Beyah, is the 

 castle of St. George del Mina, an imposing looking 

 fortress of the old school, with square flanking 

 towers, battlements, and a high central keep sur- 

 rounded with double walls, behind which apparently 

 heavy guns are mounted. In the back-ground 

 ran a range of low wooded hills, which continue 



