THE OOLD COAST, ASHANTI, AND KUMASSI 5 



confederation, who line the coast from Ehnina to Akkra, deserve 

 special mention as having from time immemorial been brought 

 into close contact with the British. Of the natives who have 

 migrated to the colony within the last lift}' years, the most im- 

 l)ortant are tlie INlohannnedan Haussas, from the Niger districts 

 ■of the interior, who man the ranks of the military police, and 

 the Krumen, from the coast to the west. The latter are a most 

 useful element, hut are somewhat unstable, as the}^ invariahlv 

 return to the Kru coast as soon as they have earned a small 

 competence. Most of the natives are still })agans, but tlie pres- 

 ence of Christian missionaries among them for the last fifty years 

 has at least resulted in their modifj'ing their fetich worship and 

 savage rites. The Mohammedans on the Gold coast are, with 

 the exception of the Haussas, mainly traders, and they are 

 found in the larger settlements on the coast and along the trade 

 routes of the interior. 



The Fantis are an inoffensive, peace-loving, happy-hearted 

 race, who readily succumbed to European aggression, but have 

 been exceedingly loth to accept its civilization and Christianity. 

 In common with the other natives of West Africa, with the ex- 

 •cei)tion of the Haussas and the Krumen, the Fanti is shiftless 

 and will work only when it is absolutel}^ necessary. Centuries 

 of life without a want that nature did not lavishlv sup])ly have 

 quite s])oiled him for the advantages of civilization and its ac- 

 companying responsibilities, and it is no easy task to convert 

 him to the waj's of European life; yet he is tractable and read- 

 ily governed, and the colonial official and trader find no great 

 •difficulty in utilizing him for many purposes. He has a full 

 fip})reciation of justice, is honest, hospitable to strangers who 

 approach him for no evil purpose, and has an absolute faith in 

 the superior beauties and advantages of Fantiland, though to 

 the white man it seems the dreariest and most hopeless place in 

 the world, and official statistics prove it to be the most deadly 

 .spot on the face of the earth for the foreigner of every nation- 

 -ality. In the year 1895, for instance, the average European 

 poi)ulation of Cape Coast Castle was thirty-two. Of these, sev- 

 enteen died during the first two months of the year from the 

 malignant fevers which plague the coast at all seasons. It is 

 true that, as a British colonial report apologetically states, it 

 was a bad season on the coast, but the figures for every other 

 year show an appalling death-rate among Euro})eans at all sta- 

 tions on the Slave and Gold coasts. So far as can be judged 



