Cape Coast Castle 



acter of being bad " rollers." We all took our 

 seats, relying on the skill of our crew, who sat on 

 the gunwale, six on each side of the boat, brand- 

 ishing paddles, the heads of which are heart- 

 shaped. A voluble steersman directed when to 

 paddle and when to stop. 



We, in the boat, could plainly see that the 

 breakers near the shore were big enough, but 

 from the place where our ship lay anchored, 

 about a mile from land, they resembled but a 

 slightly moving swell. 



We started the boys keeping time with their 

 paddles to perfection. As we proceeded the boat 

 appeared to stand more or less on end. Now we 

 were deep down in the trough of a big hollow, 

 next we were being hurled along on the hissing 

 crest of a huge green wave ; and there before us 

 were the mighty rollers, breaking into foam upon 

 the beach. A shout from the steersman, who 

 had hastily glanced behind him, and the boat 

 stopped dead, then seemed to slide back, as 

 though by machinery, into the trough of a wave 

 just passed, from whose depths we were lifted 

 to the top of a mightier sea than ever, as though 

 we were a bottle cork. This happened four or 

 five times, the boat being, during all this time, 

 head on to the sea. At length, at a given shout 

 from the Krooboy in command, the crew, with 

 hoarse yells and cries, dug out with their paddles 

 as though possessed, and we travelled on the 

 D 33 



