Men who remembered as far back as March 1858, when Colonel Bird ruled the land, declared that Akra had never felt an earthquake; but on the morning of April 14, 1862, there had been a sharp shock followed by sundry lighter movements, and lastly by the most severe. The direction was said to be north-south, and it was supposed to be the tail of a great earthquake, whose focus was behind Sierra Leone. A rumbling, like the rolling of guns, had been heard under the main square of Akra; the shocks were felt by the ships in the roads, and the disturbance was reported to have been even more severe up-country. When the wave reached Agbome, Gelele, King of Dahome, with characteristic filial piety, exclaimed, 'Don't you see that my father is calling for blood, and is angry because we are not sending him more men?' Whereupon he at once ordered three prisoners from Ishagga to take the road to Ku-to-men, Hades or Dead-land.] so tossed and broke up the hill-strata of Akim that all the people flocked to the diggings and dispensed with the chimney-holes generally sunk. The frontier-village of Adadentum, on the Prah, was nearly buried by a landslip from a spur of the 'Queeshoh Range.' Huge nuggets were uncovered, and the people filled their calabashes daily, thankful to their great fetish, the Kataguri. [Footnote: This is a huge brass pan which fell from heaven: it is or was surrounded by drawn swords and gold-handled axes in its sanctuary, the fetish-house.] The provinces of Gyaman, especially Ponin, Safwi, and Showy, are famed for wealth of gold. In African phrase, while 'the metallic veins of Ashanti, Denkira, and Wasa lie twelve cubits deep, those of Gyaman are only five.' The ore dug from pits is of deep colour, and occurs mixed with red gravel and pieces of white granite (quartz). It is held to be rock-gold (nuggets), and more valuable than that of Ashanti, although the latter, passing for current, is mostly pure. This pit-gold appears in lumps embedded in loam and rock, of which 14 to 15 lbs. would yield 1 to 1 1/2 lb. pure metal. Nuggets are also produced, and chiefs wear them slung to hair and wrists; some may weigh 4 lbs. The dust washed from the torrent-beds is higher-coloured, cleaner, and better than what is produced elsewhere. It found its way to the Nigerian basin as well as to the Gold Coast, and was converted into ducats (miskals) and trinkets, chains, bracelets, anklets, and adornments for weapons. The King of Gyaman became immensely rich by the produce of his mines; and, according to Bowdich, his bed had steps of solid gold.