To The Gold Coast for Gold: A Personal Narrative. Vol. IIBurton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
To The Gold Coast for Gold: A Personal Narrative. Vol. II
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Ghana -- Description and travel; Gold mines and mining -- Ghana
The ground which fronts the reef-ford reflects that of the left bank, and
is pitted with diggings, large and small. In a dry torrent-bed, running
north-south, was an oblong shaft, a native copy of European work, four
feet by six, and timbered in the usual negro way. Its further bank was a
high and steep slope of yellow clay with a midway step, containing another
and a similar shaft: to the north and west were many other signs of
exploitation. The rich-looking quartz of the lode is white and sugary,
with black streaks and veins: its strike is nearly meridional, between
north 20º and 25º east, and the dip 40º-45º east. A glance shows that
_Fluthwerk_ and 'hydraulicking' would easily wash down the whole alluvial
and auriferous formation to the floor of grey granite which has supplied
the huge 'cankey-stones' [Footnote: This proto-historic implement, also
called a 'saddle-quern,' is here made out of a thick slab of granite
slightly concave and artificially roughened. The muller, or mealing-stone,
is a large, heavy, and oval rolling-pin used with the normal rocking and
grinding motion. These rollers are also used for crushing ore, and
correspond with the stone _polissoirs_ of ancient date.] littering the
village. Cameron, who had before visited the site, and had remarked how
vigorously the placer-gravels had been attacked by the natives, would
'hydraulick' by means of the St. John's River. This might also be done by
damming up and tapping the adjacent bottom. And, if routine work be
wanted, it would cost little to construct upon the topmost crest a large
reservoir with channels to conduct the rains, and thus secure a fair fall
for the water.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account