134 
carried us througli the surf, and we took our way up to 
tlie Castle, where we found quantities of women engaged 
as bearers, waiting for their different loads to start up the 
country. How I wished we had had such a troop of 
bearers, and willing to carry such loads as these people 
appeared to be. We saw heaps of old and useless guns 
lying about in all directions — the cannon of former times, 
and I suppose not worth the carriage to sell as old metal. 
We strolled about the town — a collection of mud huts, 
most of which had fallen in or out during the rainy season, 
and are apparently not repaired, as few of the places we 
saw were in a weather-tight state. The only decent 
buildings were the Castle, a few Grovernment offices, and 
one or two houses occupied by the governor and the white 
residents. The heat was truly awful, and most oppressive, 
and one wondered what there could be to be got out of 
such a miserable country and such a deadly climate, to 
compensate for the lives and money annually lavished 
here by Europeans. The country at the back of the 
settlement seemed undulating and thickly wooded, looking 
pleasant enough from the sea ; but we had neither time nor 
inclination to go farther inland, and were glad to get on 
board again out of the frightful heat — we had thought the 
ship hot enough, but going back to it seemed like entering 
an ice house after being on shore. We took on board some 
mails and despatches, and sailed again at 4 p.m. One fever 
victim, an officer of a West Indian regiment, came away 
with us, scarcely able to crawl about, but he picked up 
wonderfully before we reached Southampton. 
December 16^A. We are now coasting along to the 
westward, by the coast of Guinea. Kemp down again 
with another attack of the fever, and in a very low and 
desponding state. I managed to get him moved out of 
the 2nd class berths down below, into one of the cabins on 
