PERKINS LIBRARY 
 
 Duke University 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
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A 
 
 VOYAGE TO AFRICA: 
 
 NARRATIVE OF AN EMBASSY 
 
 TO 
 
 ONE OF THE INTERIOR KINGDOMS, 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1820; 
 
 WITH 
 
 REMARKS ON THE COURSE AND TERMINATION OF THE NIGER, 
 AND OTHER 
 
 PRINCIPAL RIVERS IN THAT COUNTRY. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM HUTTON 
 
 LATE ACTING CONSUL FOR ASHANTEE, AND AN OFFICER IN THE 
 AFRICAN COMPANY’S SERVICE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS AND PLATES. 
 
 * 
 
 SIMPLEX VERI SIGILLUM. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRIN TED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1821 
 
London ; 
 
 Printed by A. and R. Spottiswoode, 
 Ne w- Street- Square. 
 
TO 
 
 f 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 EARL BATHURST, K.G. 
 
 his majesty’s principal secretary of state 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE COLONIAL DEPARTMENT* 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 It is no small gratification to me, after 
 my return from arduous duties abroad, 
 to find myself distinguished by the 
 kind patronage of Y our Lordship ; the 
 more especially, when I reflect that I did 
 not apply to any friend to solicit this 
 protection, but that Your Lordship was 
 
IV 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 pleased to extend it to me, merely from 
 your knowledge of my services, from the 
 communications which I have had the 
 honour of addressing to Your Lordship, 
 at different periods, during the last nine 
 years. 
 
 Such an instance of Your Lordship’s 
 indulgence and impartiality, will convince 
 the world how ready you are to encou- 
 rage every individual, whose conduct may 
 appear to merit attention. 
 
 My gratitude, therefore, indulges it- 
 self in the honour of dedicating this 
 small Volume to Your Lordship. 
 
 May Your Lordship long continue in 
 the high office you now hold, in the 
 full enjoyment of health and happiness, 
 that you may always have the power 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 V 
 
 of extending protection to those who 
 endeavour to deserve it. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 With the highest respect. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s much obliged, 
 
 and very humble servant, 
 WILLIAM HUTTON. 
 
 London , 1 5th Oct. 1821 . 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It is neither my wish nor my intention to 
 make the usual every-day apologies for 
 publishing, although I am sensible how 
 much I stand in need of them, and of that 
 indulgence which I hope will be extended 
 to this humble production, written not 
 with the most distant view of establishing 
 literary pretensions, but from the convic- 
 tion that any observations made during a 
 period of eleven years, and particularly on 
 a journey into the interior of Africa, could 
 not fail to be interesting. Notwithstanding 
 that such is my conviction, I' should not 
 have presumed to submit these observ- 
 ations to public inspection had I not been 
 flattered by some respected friends into 
 a belief that they were of sufficient im- 
 portance to deserve publicity. Those 
 scruples, therefore, which I at first entertain- 
 
 a 
 
Vlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ed, I was the more encouraged to overcome 
 from the interest Mr. Henry Mackenzie 
 took in reading an extract from some of 
 my papers before the Royal Society of 
 Edinburgh, and the consideration that I 
 was performing a duty which every travel- 
 ler owes to his country. 
 
 In claiming the indulgence of the 
 Pteader for any inaccuracies I may have 
 fallen into, I confidently rely upon that 
 liberal sentiment so justly expressed in 
 the Quarterly Review of October, 1816 , 
 in the following words : “ When we find 
 “ Englishmen exposing themselves with 
 ££ their eyes open to all the inconveniencies 
 ££ and hardships of painful and perilous 
 “ journies, to the effects of bad climates 
 4£ and pestilential diseases, not merely out 
 “ of idle curiosity, but for the sake of see- 
 ££ ing with their own eyes, hearing with 
 ££ their own ears, and of obtaining that in- 
 ££ formation, and receiving those impres- 
 ££ sions, which books alone can never give, 
 ££ we ought to be proud of this national 
 ££ trait peculiarly characteristic, we believe, 
 ££ of British youth ; and so far from visit- 
 ££ ing their literary omissions with critical 
 
 13 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 “ severity, we should consider their com- 
 “ munications entitled to every indul- 
 “ gence.” 
 
 To this extract I shall only add, that, al- 
 though an account of the former Mission to 
 Ashantee is before the public, the particu- 
 lars of this second mission to that country , 
 it is hoped, may not be without interest ; 
 but as Mr. Bowdich has entered very fully 
 into the history and constitution, supersti- 
 tions, and customs, &c. of the Ashantees, it 
 would be superfluous in me to repeat what 
 that gentleman has said upon these sub- 
 jects. I shall therefore confine myself as 
 much as possible to our proceedings at the 
 capital, and to such facts as have come 
 within my own observation ; and as they 
 have been the result of several years’ expe- 
 rience, if it shall be considered that I have 
 contributed in the smallest degree to the 
 entertainment or information of the public, 
 my utmost wish will be gratified. 
 
 My grateful acknowledgements are due 
 to many respected friends for the assist- 
 ance and encouragement I have received 
 upon this occasion j and in particular to 
 Sir Charles Mac Carthy, the Governor of 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Sierra Leone, Mr. Hutcheson, the Judge- 
 Advocate for Scotland, and Mr. Henry 
 Mackenzie of the Exchequer, whose works 
 are so well known, and so universally 
 admired. 
 
 London , 1 3th September , 1821 , 
 
( L/C ^ WM/s. 
 
 
 Bublishzd by Longman, Hurst, Rets, Orme. 8c Brown, 1-921 . 
 
A 
 
 VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 So much lias been written upon Africa, 
 and upon the various travels in, and voy- 
 ages to that country, it would be tedious 
 and unnecessary to consume the time of 
 the reader by a minute detail of all the 
 trifling incidents which happened during 
 four voyages to the Gold Coast. I shall, 
 therefore, confine myself briefly to the 
 principal occurrences. 
 
 We sailed from the Downs in the ship 
 Brixtone, Capt. London, in July, 1816, 
 with a fine breeze, and soon passed the 
 South Foreland and Beachy Head, but 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 as the wind became unfavourable, we did 
 not see the Isle of Wight until the third 
 day, nor the island of Guernsey until the 
 fifth, when it bore S.W., Alderney at the 
 same time bearing S.E. by E. 
 
 In the morning of the 4th of August, a 
 pilot came on board, which afforded us the 
 opportunity of going ashore in his boat ; 
 and, on landing, we regaled ourselves at a 
 farmer’s house with an excellent breakfast. 
 During breakfast, horses were provided to 
 convey us to the town of Guernsey, and 
 we had a delightful ride of nearly five miles, 
 having landed at a distant part of the 
 island. Guernsey is a beautiful and ro- 
 mantic little island, abounding with the 
 choicest fruits and the best wines ; but as 
 the object of these pages is to describe 
 more distant countries, I shall only add 
 that we left that island on the 8th of Au- 
 gust, after taking on board Captains Birch, 
 Vaughan, Demon, and eight other officers 
 of the African corps, with four ladies. 
 
 We now sailed with a breeze from the 
 S.S.W., and in a few days we passed the 
 Bay of Biscay, though not without expe- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 3 
 
 riencing a little rough weather, particularly 
 off Cape Finisterre. 
 
 On the 22d, at daylight, we saw Porto 
 Santo ; and on the 23d we anchored, after 
 a tedious, though rather a pleasant passage, 
 in Funchall Roads, for the purpose of 
 taking on board several pipes of Madeira 
 wine. 
 
 We had not been long at anchor before 
 we went ashore, and it is perhaps time I 
 should mention who my companions were. 
 I have already mentioned the officers of 
 the African corps, and four ladies, whom 
 we took on board at Guernsey. My other 
 companions were Messrs. Fountaine, We- 
 therall, Sutherland, Nelson, and Price, and 
 Drs. Hall and Henley, with Mrs. Henley. 
 Dr. Flail was going out to Goree, to join 
 Major Peddie’s expedition, to explore the 
 Niger ; and Dr. Henley was to join the 
 staff at Sierra Leone. 
 
 On going ashore, we divided ourselves 
 into two parties : one party dined at the 
 British consul’s (Mr. Veiteh’s), and the 
 other at Mr. Keir’s. Mr. Keir, however, 
 was at that time in England, but Mr. Car- 
 penter (to whom I take this opportunity of 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 expressing my thanks for his hospitality 
 and attention) made ample amends for Mr. 
 Keir’s absence. 
 
 During our stay at Madeira, we put up 
 at the British hotel, but we found a wide 
 difference between this house and that 
 which we left at Guernsey. Every thing 
 here appeared dirty and uncomfortable ; 
 the rooms large and unfurnished, and the 
 people uncleanly and miserable. The town 
 of Funchall is a wretched dirty hole ; the 
 streets are narrow, but paved ; and the in- 
 habitants (Portuguese) are, generally speak- 
 ing, so filthy, that they destroy the vermin 
 in their heads publicly in the streets. The 
 market contains abundance of fruit and 
 vegetables of all descriptions, and in parti- 
 cular the finest grapes and apricots ; of the 
 latter I purchased nearly a hundred for a pis- 
 toreen (value 10c?.), and of the former I ate 
 as many as I thought proper in the vineyards 
 for 6d. As you walk through the vineyards, 
 the grape-vines form a beautiful arbour, 
 with large bunches of grapes clustering 
 round your head as you pass. 
 
 The day after our arrival at Madeira, we 
 rode up the mountains to the country-seat 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 5 
 
 of Mr. Gordon, a noble mansion, most de- 
 lightfully situated. The enchanting valleys 
 and stupendous precipices, with waterfalls 
 in different directions, added to the gran- 
 deur of the scenery. On our return, some 
 of my companions, who were not very good 
 horsemen, were obliged to dismount, and I 
 believe I was the only person in company, 
 besides Mr. Wetherall, who rode down the 
 mountains. In riding out here, the man 
 from whom you hire the horse attends it 
 while you are riding, and holding the tail 
 (which is long) in one hand, and a stick 
 with a sharp nail in the top of it in the 
 other, runs close behind, and occasionally 
 pricking your horse, makes it rather un- 
 pleasant to a timid rider. To speak of the 
 well-known salubrity of the climate, the 
 wines that are produced here, the churches, 
 the convents, and other interesting par- 
 ticulars, is not necessary, as they have 
 already been so well described by a con- 
 temporary ; such descriptions are not the 
 object of these pages ; and the observ- 
 ations I have presumed to offer have merely 
 been made en passant. 
 
 b 3 
 
6 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA* 
 
 On the 25th, we returned on board, and 
 sailed for Teneriffe. On the 27th we saw 
 the peak, which is the highest land in 
 this part of the world, and it is said can be 
 seen in clear weather at the distance of 
 100 miles. It is situated in 28° 10' north, 
 and 21° 10 west. 
 
 On the 26th we arrived at Port Oratavio, 
 and anchored close to the shore, when the 
 health-boat came alongside. As 1 did not 
 go on shore, I am unable to give any de- 
 scription of this island, further than that it 
 belongs to the Spaniards, who supply vessels 
 with considerable quantities of wine ; and 
 it will ever be remembered, that it was here 
 the immortal Nelson unfortunately lost his 
 eye. 
 
 Having taken on board fourteen pipes 
 of wine, we sailed for Goree ; and being 
 fortunately favoured with a strong north- 
 east trade-wind, we passed Senegal on the 
 4th of September. The weather this day 
 was unusually warm, the thermometer 
 being as high as 85°. We had light airs of 
 wind inclining to calms, and in consequence 
 of not hauling more to the eastward off 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 7 
 
 Senega], we were for some time unable 
 to shape our course for Goree, the wind 
 blowing directly off the shore. This wind, 
 however, (from the E. S.E.) is very uncom- 
 mon here, and only lasted a few hours, 
 when it again shifted to the N. E., which 
 enabled us to anchor within a mile of Goree 
 on the following day. 
 
 Here we all went ashore, and paid our 
 respects to the then governor, Major Mack- 
 enzie, and afterwards took up our quarters 
 at the house of a Mrs. Martin, a fine Mu- 
 latto woman, who treated us with great 
 hospitality and attention. In the evening, 
 it blew a tornado, with considerable light- 
 ning, thunder, and rain, which lasted nearly 
 two hours, a circumstance hardly ever 
 known before, as tornadoes seldom last 
 more than twenty minutes or half-an-hour. 
 Considerable damage was done to the 
 shipping ; some bowsprits and foremasts 
 were carried away, and one or two vessels 
 were driven on shore, and completely 
 wrecked. The Brixtone drove from her 
 anchorage, was thrown on her beam-ends, 
 and lost her boat. The fort was struck 
 with the lightning, and, in consequence, 
 
 b 4 
 
8 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 the flag-staff was split in pieces, and one of 
 the bastions nearly destroyed ; hut no lives 
 were lost. 
 
 Major Peddie was at Goree at the time 
 of our arrival, and I had the pleasure of 
 being introduced to him by Mr. Joseph 
 Davies, His Majesty’s consul at the Cape 
 de Verd Islands, and by this gentleman was 
 recommended to the Major, as likely to 
 answer his views, he having expressed a 
 wish for a person to accompany the ex- 
 pedition to explore the Niger, in the ca- 
 pacity of secretary. Accordingly, as I 
 offered my services, the Major was pleased 
 to accept of them, and immediately ad- 
 vanced me 200/. to fit myself out for the 
 journey ; and promised, on seeing Captain 
 Campbell at Senegal, (where he was then 
 going,) to send me a written document to 
 pay me 300/. a year salary, and, in the 
 event of my being so fortunate as to return, 
 it was agreed that I should be recommended 
 to Lord Bathurst, to receive the sum of 
 2000/. as a further reward for risking my 
 life for the public good, should our exer- 
 tions to discover the course and termin- 
 ation of the Niger be successful. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 9 
 
 With these prospects, therefore, I re- 
 linquished my appointment in the African 
 Company’s service, and joined the expedi- 
 tion of Major Peddie, who, after leaving me 
 at Goree three weeks, returned from Sene- 
 gal, and requested me to accompany him 
 thither, which I did. On our passage, we 
 were both so tired of the boat, having expe- 
 rienced contrary winds for several days, that 
 we at last proposed to the sailors to land us 
 about forty miles from Senegal, which they 
 agreed to do ; and, after being pretty well 
 ducked and nearly drowned in the heavy 
 surf, we got on shore in safety; but as we 
 had no provisions or fresh water, we regret- 
 ted having left the boat, particularly as 
 night came on, when, being worn out with 
 fatigue, we lay down on the open beach, 
 quite exhausted for the want of refreshment. 
 Fortunately I had with me a box-coat, which 
 we spread on the beach, and this was all 
 our bed. We had not, however, lain long, 
 before we were agreeably disturbed by some 
 Arabs passing with a herd of cattle, who 
 kindly gave us a bottle of milk, which 
 greatly refreshed us, and we once more re- 
 
10 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 tired to rest. During the night, as we did 
 not sleep very soundly, we occasionally 
 heard the roaring of the lion and the wolf, 
 which infest this part of Africa, and are 
 said to seek for food in company, like the 
 shark and pilot fish. Lions are so common, 
 that three and four at a time have been 
 seen on the banks of the Senegal. For 
 myself, I can say, that I only saw one dur- 
 ing my stay here. 
 
 At daylight in the morning we proceeded 
 on our journey, and passing the salt-pans, 
 where the natives were making salt, we 
 reached the outpost of Senegal, which is 
 about seven miles distant, when we made 
 the signal for two horses. In the mean 
 time, we refreshed ourselves with some 
 fried fish from the Senegal river, and 
 might, if Major Peddie had thought pro- 
 per, have had a comfortable breakfast at 
 Colonel Brereton’s country-house, which 
 was close at hand. As the Colonel hap- 
 pened then to be there for the benefit of 
 his health, he politely sent his compli- 
 ments, and requested our company; but as 
 Major Peddie was not on very good terms 
 
 3 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 11 
 
 with His Excellency, he declined the in- 
 vitation. 
 
 Having waited about an hour for the 
 horses, they arrived, and Major Peddie 
 mounting one and I the other, we soon 
 reached Senegal. 
 
 On the following day I was confined to 
 my bed with a fever, from the exposure to 
 the heavy dews on the preceding night, and 
 did not recover for some days. 
 
 During our stay at Senegal, every pre- 
 paration was made to forward our depar- 
 ture for the interior as early as possible. 
 The Moors who visited Senegal, which they 
 frequently did, with the finest horses for 
 sale, were daily examined as to the best 
 route to be pursued in getting to the Niger. 
 Various were the routes recommended, 
 but the one Major Peddie determined upon 
 pursuing, was suggested by a Moor named 
 Amadah Dhiob , who strongly recom- 
 mended the route through the Foulah 
 country, from Kakundy, in the Rio Nunez, 
 on account of the safety in travelling, and 
 because there are only the Kings of Foulah 
 and Sego in the way to contend with. 
 
12 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 This man stated, that the north bank of the 
 Niger was the best to travel on, the south 
 bank being impeded by inlets; but he added, 
 that there were no Moors on the south side. 
 He also said, that the Moors leave the 
 banks of the Niger during the rains, and 
 recommended our going down this river 
 after the commencement of the rains in 
 June, when he said the negroes would be 
 all we should have to contend with. 
 
 On questioning him respecting the un- 
 fortunate Parke, he said that a chief of the 
 Moors beyond Sego, named Boordaau , 
 killed him. The only difference between 
 this man’s account of the price of articles 
 on the Niger, and that given by Parke, 
 was as to the value of dollars, which he 
 stated to be 2000 couries for each dollar. 
 
 Another Moor, named Bonama , stated 
 that either side of the Niger might be 
 travelled in safety. This man spoke of 
 libraries at Timbuctoo, and of salt being 
 obtained in the desert three feet below the 
 surface of the earth. He also added, that 
 caravans travel during the rains, and at all 
 times, between Timbuctoo and Morocco. 
 The other Moors gave similar inform- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 13 
 
 ation ; but I was much inclined to suspect 
 Amadah Dhiob’s earnest recommendations 
 on this subject. Jackson, indeed, in his 
 account of Morocco, says, that any person 
 acquainted with these people will believe 
 the reverse of what they advise, and from 
 tlieir ill treatment of the unfortunate Parke, 
 and the dread he appeared to have in 
 meeting them upon all occasions, I have 
 always had a bad opinion of their charac- 
 ter, which my late acquaintance with them 
 at Ashantee has not at all tended to re- 
 move. 
 
 The number of horses purchased by 
 Major Peddie amounted nearly to fifty, and 
 the asses to a hundred, besides several 
 camels ; the officers and men exceeded 
 a hundred ; and the property purchased 
 for the use of the expedition, the pre- 
 sents, and all expenses, could not have 
 cost less than 50,000/. ; so that the little 
 good (if any) which has resulted from 
 this expedition, must plainly show the bad 
 policy of fitting out such large and ex- 
 pensive missions to explore Africa ; for 
 what Chief would let such a formidable 
 expedition pass through his territory ? The 
 
14 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 King of Ashantee, and all the African 
 chiefs that I have ever been acquainted 
 with, would object to it from the fear alone 
 of such a strong party joining their enemies. 
 It was, therefore, not at all to be wondered 
 at that the kino; of the Foulahs would not 
 allow the expedition to pass through his 
 territory. Besides, Major Peddie did a 
 very impolitic thing at Senegal, in trying 
 in public how the horses would carry the 
 two field-pieces, which were intended for 
 the boats after getting to the Niger, as the 
 Moors who were at Senegal, must have 
 noticed it, and, it was most probable, would 
 send word of the fact to the king of Sego 
 and other chiefs in the interior. But as 
 the fate and particulars of this expedition 
 were long ago known, I shall only add that 
 Major Peddie lost his life at Kakundy, 
 in the Bio Nunez ; and Captain Campbell, 
 who succeeded him in the command, ad- 
 vanced into the Foulali country, where his 
 haughty conduct obstructed his further 
 progress, and constrained him, amidst a 
 thousand difficulties, to retrace his steps 
 to Kakundy, where the fever prevented 
 the execution of a plot formed by his 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 15 
 
 soldiers to assassinate him. Lieutenant 
 Stokoe, of the Inconstant frigate, then suc- 
 ceeded to the command ; and there was a 
 gentleman of the name of Dochard, a 
 surgeon, who was the next officer to Stokoe, 
 and who, I believe, is now in England ; but 
 what became of Lieutenant Stokoe I have 
 never heard. Upon the subject of this 
 expedition, experience has convinced me 
 that such formidable missions will never 
 succeed in exploring Africa, as the natives 
 are too jealous and too much alarmed at 
 such a force. My humble opinion is, that 
 we must either have no appearance of 
 force at all, or else such a force as will sur- 
 mount every obstacle. 
 
 But I now come to the painful task of 
 explaining the cause of my leaving Major 
 Peddie — painful only because, as that 
 gentleman is dead, a delicacy obliges me to 
 withhold certain facts, which I should not 
 hesitate to state were he alive ; and, 
 
 De mortuis nil nisi bonum. 
 
 Major Peddie, I believe, was a most 
 liberal-minded man ; and had he not been, 
 in a great measure, controlled by Captain 
 
16 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Campbell, nothing but his death would 
 have separated us ; but it is a duty which 
 I owe to myself, to state the fact which 
 caused our separation, and which I cannot 
 do better, than in the words of my affi- 
 davit, made before the Governor of Cape 
 Coast Castle, on the 17th of February, 
 1817, a copy of which was laid before 
 Lord Bathurst shortly after. The follow- 
 ing is an extract from that document: 
 
 “ About a month after the deponent’s 
 “ verbal agreement with Major Peddie, as 
 “ particularly applicable to the 2000/. which 
 “ he was to receive in the event of his re- 
 <c turn from the interior of Africa, this 
 “ deponent (being then at Senegal in the 
 “ execution of his office as secretary, and 
 “ on the eve of departure for the interior), 
 “ again called on Major Peddie for his sig- 
 “ nature to the agreement, in the same 
 “ words as were previously submitted to 
 “ him at Goree, and specifying the precise 
 “ sums before mentioned and approved ; 
 “ whereupon the said Major Peddie de- 
 “ dared there was no such sum as 2000/. 
 “ mentioned ; and after much conversation 
 u on both sides, and a meeting on the sub- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 17 
 
 44 ject tlie next day, lie, the said Major 
 44 Peddie, suggested the propriety of the 
 c< deponent giving up the idea of accompa- 
 44 nying him on the expedition, pledging 
 44 himself, — 
 
 44 To get the deponent restored to his 
 44 rank in the African Company’s service : 
 
 44 To pay his passage from Senegal to 
 44 Cape Coast : 
 
 44 To write a letter to Governor Dawson, 
 44 at Cape Coast, exonerating the deponent 
 44 from all blame : 
 
 44 And as to the money which had been 
 44 advanced to this deponent for his outfit, 
 44 it was agreed that nothing; should be said 
 44 upon the subject, such sum being con- 
 44 sidered an equivalent for the deponent’s 
 44 detention and loss of time : which terms 
 44 and conditions the deponent declared 
 44 himself satisfied with ; and, a few days 
 44 after, the deponent left Senegal (hav- 
 44 ing received the permission of Major 
 44 Peddie so to do, by letter bearing date 
 44 29th October, 1816), and arrived at Cape 
 44 Coast on or about the 19th of January 
 44 following. But in consequence of such 
 
18 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 “ detention as aforesaid, the deponent 
 “ had been placed at the bottom of the 
 “ Rank List in the African Company’s 
 <e service.” 
 
 It is here, however, proper to observe, 
 that although the Governor and Council 
 most unjustly placed me at the bottom of 
 the Rank List, the African Committee or- 
 dered me to be restored to my former rank 
 in the service, and approved of my con- 
 duct, as will appear from the following ex- 
 tract from their dispatches. 
 
 “ We observe by Mr. William Hutton’s 
 “ letter to Mr. Dawson, of the 25th 
 
 September, that, at the solicitation of 
 “ Major Peddie, he had agreed to accom- 
 “ pany that gentleman, in the capacity of 
 “ secretary, on his interesting mission into 
 “ the Interior ; and though we applaud 
 “ his conduct therein, we cannot, consist- 
 “ ently with the rules of the service, per- 
 “ mit him to retain either his rank or pay, 
 “ until he shall arrive at Cape Coast Castle, 
 “ and enter upon his duty.” 
 
 Having then explained, as briefly as 
 possible, the cause of my leaving Major 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 19 
 
 Peddie, (various autograph letters in sup- 
 port of which I could submit, were it ne- 
 cessary), I shall now say a few words of 
 Senegal and Goree, and then proceed with 
 my voyage to the Gold Coast. 
 
20 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 The island of Senegal, or St. Louis, lies in 
 lat. 16° 3' N., and long. 16° 10' W., is well 
 situated for trade, being only three weeks’ 
 sail from England, and has many mercan- 
 tile advantages, the most essential of which 
 is its noble and commanding river, being- 
 navigable for small vessels, which may cross 
 the bar, and load and unload close to the 
 warehouses of the merchants, without the 
 trouble and expence of boats or canoes. 
 This river is about half a mile broad, and 
 extends nearly north and south from its 
 mouth for about seventy miles, when it 
 takes an easterly direction. Its source has 
 lately been determined by M. Mollien to be 
 between the parallels of 10° and 11° N. 
 lat., and 11° and 12° W. long, near Labbe 
 and Timbo, from whence it takes a direc- 
 tion to the S. and afterwards W. and N. W, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 21 
 
 to the cataract of Felou, where it runs to 
 the westward as far as Galem, which is a 
 great trading place belonging to the French, 
 who have a fort here, called St. Joseph, 
 and is, at least, 600 miles from the entrance 
 of the river. From Galem it runs nearly 
 N. W. to Podor, another settlement, about 
 three degrees from its mouth ; from Podor, 
 it continues its course westward, to Serin- 
 pale, and from thence falls into the sea in 
 15° 56 ' N. and 16° 13' W., passing through an 
 extent of country of nearly 1200 miles in 
 the very centre of N. W. Africa. On enter- 
 ing this river* the bar or sand-bank, which 
 extends across its mouth, causes a consider- 
 able agitation of the waves, and there is 
 some little danger in crossing it, but ac- 
 cidents seldom occur. Several persons how- 
 ever have been lost here, and in particular 
 a captain of the navy and one or two sailors 
 were drowned about ten years ago. The 
 land on both sides of the river, on enter- 
 ing, is low and sandy ; the western bank 
 is a narrow neck of land which separates 
 the river from the sea, and is called Bar- 
 bary point. The town of Senegal is situ- 
 
22 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 ated eight miles north from the month of 
 the river, and is about one mile and a half 
 long, and two-thirds of a mile broad. It is 
 one of the finest towns in this part of Af- 
 rica ; but as the streets are not paved, the 
 sand is sometimes unpleasant to the feet, 
 the island being nothing but a sand-bank, 
 which is completely surrounded by the 
 river, affording amusement to those who 
 are fond of aquatic and shooting excur- 
 sions ; and there are many good horses, 
 and a fine [piece of ground at the north 
 point, where the inhabitants usually ride in 
 the evening. There is also a good billiard- 
 table ; and, when the English had posses- 
 sion of Senegal, there was no want of so- 
 ciety. The houses are well built of stone, 
 very commodious, and comfortable ; the 
 streets are broad, cleanly, and well arranged, 
 and the inhabitants are daily refreshed with 
 land and sea breezes. 
 
 A considerable trade is carried on here 
 in gum, which is collected in the forests 
 from the Acacia-tree, and is conveyed on 
 camels by the Moors to the marts, (called 
 Escales,) which are situated on the bank of 
 
 13 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 23 
 
 the river, some distance up the country. I 
 have frequently seen pieces of gum as large 
 as an ostrich egg, and quite transparent. 
 Great quantities of hides, wax, elephants’ 
 teeth, and other articles, are also exchanged 
 for blue bafts and other cloths, which 
 are exported from Europe, besides guns, 
 powder, iron, lead, and various British 
 manufactures ; bullocks, sheep, hogs, and 
 poultry, are abundant ; horses, camels, and 
 asses, are brought from the interior by the 
 Moors. The vegetables and fruits usually 
 found in tropical climates are daily sold 
 in the market, besides eggs, milk, and mil- 
 let, of which the Icons Icons is made : crabs, 
 lobsters, mullet, soles, and various other 
 fish are plentiful. Lions, wolves, tigers, 
 elephants, and other wild beasts abound. 
 Crocodiles and hippopotami are frequently 
 seen on the banks of the river, and ostriches 
 and camelions are to be found here. But 
 I fear I am too minute, and shall therefore 
 only add that this settlement now belongs 
 to the French, to whom it was ceded by the 
 British government in 1816. 
 
 One hundred and twenty miles from Se- 
 c 4 
 
24 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFllICA. 
 
 negal is the island of Goree, which is a low 
 narrow piece of land, about a mile in 
 circumference ; but although small, it is 
 a desirable settlement in many points 
 of view, particularly as it is the most 
 healthy situation in this part of Africa. A 
 considerable trade is carried on here in wax, 
 hides, elephants’ teeth, and other articles. 
 The fort is built on a steep hill, at the foot 
 of which is the town, where there are 
 several well-built houses. There is a mar- 
 ket daily for beef and other articles, and 
 abundance of fish of almost all descrip- 
 tions, as well as vegetables and fruits, 
 which either grow on the island, or are 
 brought from the continent. It is bounded 
 on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and 
 on the north by Cape Verd ; the air is cool 
 and temperate, and the nights and days 
 (as at most of our settlements in Africa,) 
 are nearly equal ; but this island was also 
 given up to the French at the same time 
 as Senegal. 
 
 Proceeding in a south easterly direction, 
 one hundred miles from Goree, the next 
 place of commercial importance is the 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 25 
 
 settlement of St. Mary’s in the river Gam- 
 bia, but the situation is low and unhealthy.. 
 It was from Pissania, in this river, that the 
 unfortunate Park set out on his first mission 
 to the interior of Africa. A late traveller, 
 M. Mollien, has determined its source to be 
 about ten miles to the N.W. of Labbe, be- 
 tween the parallels of 10° and 11° north la- 
 titude, and 11° and 12° west longitude. It 
 passes through the interior of North West 
 Africa, for a distance of 1200 miles ; is 
 about three leagues broad at its mouth ; 
 and is navigable by large vessels. I sailed 
 up this river in a vessel of 300 tons, 
 in the year 1816. The soil is rich, and the 
 country on its banks has a beautiful appear- 
 ance ; but the locusts are sometimes ex- 
 tremely troublesome, although the natives 
 (Mandingoes) have a very effectual plan of 
 getting rid of these unpleasant visitors, 
 by eating them ! The river being lined 
 with mangroves, it is common here, as in 
 many other parts of Africa, to gather the 
 oysters from the roots and branches of the 
 trees. Bosnian and Adanson, both men- 
 tion the same fact. The natives, have 
 
26 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 little trouble in tilling or cultivating the 
 ground. By digging a few holes, and 
 strewing some grains of millet or corn, and 
 covering it over, they are sure to have a 
 good crop in due season. Blessed with a 
 climate suited to their own constitutions, 
 and abundantly provided for by nature, 
 both by land and by sea, they are happy in 
 their present ignorant state ; and the slave- 
 trade once entirely abolished, they would 
 no doubt be a happy and flourishing 
 people. 
 
 About 200 miles from the Gambia is 
 the Rio Grande, which I have good reason 
 to recollect, having been nearly wrecked at 
 its mouth, owing to the stupidity of the 
 captain with whom I sailed. In conse- 
 quence of not keeping sufficiently to the 
 westward, we were nearly lost on the island 
 of Canabac, and certainly should have 
 been, had not the break of day fortunately 
 exposed to us the awfulness of our situ- 
 ation in time to let go an anchor at the 
 mouth of the river, until the wind and tide 
 shifted, when we once more got out to sea. 
 This river is navigable by vessels of small 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 27 
 
 tonnage upwards of a hundred miles, and 
 extends 350 miles into the interior. Its 
 source has lately been determined by 
 M. Mollien to be close to the source of the 
 Gambia, from whence it runs N.N.E., and 
 at some leagues distance, it changes its 
 course, and runs to the west into the At- 
 lantic. The Portuguese have settlements 
 on the banks of this river, and carry on a 
 considerable trade. 
 
 From the Rio Grande we sailed in a 
 south-easterly direction, for about 200 miles, 
 and arrived off Sierra Leone. 
 
 This colony, and its noble and com- 
 manding river, are so well known, that a 
 particular description is here unnecessary. 
 The following observations, however, may 
 not be uninteresting. 
 
 The settlement of Free Town is situated 
 seven miles up the river, with an excellent 
 harbour, where a fleet might ride in safety ; 
 neither is there any danger on sailing into 
 it, if you keep well over on the south 
 side, taking care to avoid the Carpenter’s 
 Rock. From the great breadth of this river, 
 vessels sometimes sail boldly into it, when 
 
28 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 they have in consequence got on the middle 
 ground, and been wrecked. This should, 
 therefore, be avoided ; and during the day 
 it is prevented by the pilot or harbour- 
 master going out to pilot vessels into the 
 harbour. The river is more than ten miles 
 wide at its mouth, but does not extend so far 
 into the country as the Gambia or Senegal. 
 It divides into three branches, which are na- 
 vigable from fifty to seventy miles. About 
 a degree to the north, there are several 
 rivers navigable by vessels of small tonnage, 
 and others also to the southward, which af- 
 ford the greatest facility to commercial 
 intercourse in the interior countries ; al- 
 though, in this point of view, the Sierra 
 Leone will not bear a comparison with 
 the Gambia, Senegal, Volta, Lagos, For- 
 mosa, and other rivers on the coast of 
 Africa. 
 
 Both Great Britain and Africa are much 
 indebted to Sir Charles MacCarthy, the go- 
 vernor of this colony, for the many excel- 
 lent improvements which have been carried 
 on under his direction. 
 
 During my stay at Sierra Leone, I wit- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 29 
 
 nessed His Excellency’s great attention to 
 the discharge of his various public duties ; 
 and, on one occasion, I had the honour of 
 riding into the country, as far as Regent’s 
 Town, in company with His Excellency, 
 to lay the foundation-stone of one of the 
 public buildings there. Among other im- 
 provements in this colony, may be men- 
 tioned, the markets, the prison, the court- 
 house, the police, the hospital and the 
 establishment of a gazette. 
 
 But these improvements are trifling in 
 comparison with the education of so many 
 of the natives. In riding up the moun- 
 tains, I met nearly 200 children, and was 
 highly gratified to see them so neatly 
 dressed, and so correct in demeanour. The 
 inhabitants daily solicit admission for their 
 children into the schools. Many hundreds 
 are annually instructed to read and write ; 
 and the girls are taught to sew. The eldest 
 boys are instructed in mechanics, during 
 certain hours in the day, which do not in- 
 terfere with their scholastic duties. 
 
 The streets are broad and well arranged, 
 but the houses, generally, are built of 
 wood, and raised about half a foot or 
 
30 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 more from the ground, so as to let the 
 water, during the rainy season, pass under 
 them. These houses, indeed, differ in one 
 particular from any others that I have 
 seen, in being moveable from one part of 
 the town to the other ; and I was surprised 
 when I first saw about 300 men, all in a 
 body, moving along with a house upon their 
 heads and shoulders. These men were 
 principally Krew men, (inhabitants of 
 Settra Krew) who go to Sierra Leone and 
 other places for work, although their own 
 country is at least 400 or 500 miles distant, 
 and will be spoken of more fully hereafter. 
 Those who are fortunate enough to get stone 
 houses must pay very dear for them, as 
 there are only a few ; as much as 300/. and 
 400/. a year for a good house is paid by se- 
 veral of the inhabitants. 
 
 After passing six weeks at Sierra Leone, 
 I sailed to the Isles des Los, where I was 
 under the necessity of making a barter 
 with an American captain, to the amount 
 of 500/., to induce him to dispatch a 
 schooner with me to Cape Coast, which he 
 did ; and thus I procured a direct passage 
 to our head-quarters on the Gold Coast, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 31 
 
 which I had waited for so long, in vain, 
 at Sierra Leone. 
 
 The Isles des Los are situated about se- 
 venty miles N. of Sierra Leone, and af- 
 forded great facilities to contraband traffic 
 with American and other vessels, which 
 were not allowed to trade at that colony. 
 These islands are healthy and pleasantly si- 
 tuated, and carry on a considerable trade. 
 
 From the Isles des Los I sailed for Cape 
 Coast, the latter end of December, and 
 proceeding down the coast, a tornado from 
 the eastward burst upon us so suddenly, 
 that we had scarcely time to take in our 
 sails, before we were driven with the 
 greatest velocity under bare poles ; but the 
 fury of this tempest did not last long, al- 
 though, while it did last, the rain came 
 down in torrents, and the thunder and 
 lightning were terrific. 
 
 Having passed the shoals of St. Ann, se- 
 veral canoes came off to us, but the people 
 would not come on board from the fear of 
 being kidnapped and carried off the coast, 
 which fear evidently arose from someof their 
 countrymen having been served this trick. 
 In justice, however, to the British flag, I 
 
32 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 must observe, that, although I had sailed re- 
 peatedly along this coast in British vessels, 
 I never knew the natives refuse to come on 
 board before. Whether, therefore, it was 
 the American flag that alarmed them I will 
 not positively say, but it certainly looks 
 very like it. This kidnapping was one of 
 the cruelties, among others, practised during 
 the slave trade ; another instance of which 
 I shall mention hereafter, when speaking 
 of the island of Anna Bona. 
 
 The first land we made, after passing St. 
 Ann’s shoals, was Cape Mount, where the 
 coast is low, but the mountain, which ap- 
 pears to have given rise to the name of this 
 place, is remarkably high land, and is seen 
 at a long way off at sea. The capital of the 
 kingdom is Couseea, which is situated about 
 a degree inland, and is said to contain as 
 many inhabitants as the capital of Ashan- 
 tee (about 15,000). There are several 
 rivers on this part of the coast, which af- 
 ford great facilities to trade, being navigable 
 for small vessels a considerable distance 
 into the interior. The articles of traffic 
 consist chiefly in cam-wood, ivory, and 
 rice ; of the latter, the natives could supply 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 33 
 
 large quantities, if the trade were encour- 
 aged, and as the people are industrious and 
 harmless, and the country eminently calcu- 
 lated to produce abundance of cotton, rice, 
 and other articles of trade, it might be an 
 essential advantage to Great Britain to have 
 a small establishment here, especially as it 
 is so near Sierra Leone, and would be of 
 service in keeping up a direct communi- 
 cation between that colony and our settle- 
 ments on the Gold Coast. 
 
 The land also is abundantly supplied with 
 water, and there are plenty of cattle, sheep, 
 pigs, goats, and poultry. The extent of 
 the kingdom of Cape Mount is 160 miles, 
 from west to east, and about 100 miles 
 inland. 
 
 The dexterity of the negroes in swim- 
 ming between this part of the coast and 
 Cape Palmas is surprising ; they are not 
 at all afraid of the shark, and it is in- 
 credible the time they will remain under 
 water. If a pipe, or the most trifling 
 article be thrown overboard, they will dive 
 and bring it up again, though it be sunk a 
 hundred feet below the surface of the water. 
 In short, I have seen twenty and thirty at a 
 
34 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 time jump overboard, and swim for a mile 
 after their canoes, and they appear as much 
 in their element in water as on land. 
 
 Sanguin is the next kingdom to the east- 
 ward of Cape Mount, and extends about 
 fifty miles coastwise. The character and 
 dispositions of the inhabitants are so assi- 
 milated to those of Cape Mount, that any 
 additional remarks are unnecessary, and 
 the principal articles of trade are the 
 same with the addition of palm-oil. Sail- 
 ing along the coast to the eastward, the 
 next place particularly deserving notice, 
 is Settra Croo, where the people are re- 
 markably industrious, and are well known 
 to Europeans all over the coast, and par- 
 ticularly at Sierra Leone, and on board 
 merchant vessels. They would be of great 
 advantage either in establishing a new 
 colony, or in composing a force to march 
 into the interior, should it hereafter be 
 deemed necessary to explore Africa by 
 such means ; particularly as they speak 
 English, and are happy to be employed as 
 labourers, sailors, or in any other capacity. 
 Indeed, they frequently make voyages to 
 England and back again, and have great 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 35 
 
 confidence in the English. Mr. Robertson 
 says, “ that, to the indelible honour of these 
 “ people, they have never been known to 
 “ enslave each other, even for criminal of- 
 “ fences of the most aggravated nature.” 
 About a degree and a half from Settra 
 Croo or Coroo is Cape Palmas, which 
 is so justly described by Robertson, in 
 his notes on Africa, that I cannot do 
 better than quote that gentleman’s words 
 upon this occasion : “ Cape Palmas has al- 
 ways appeared to me to be one of the most 
 desirable situations for an European colony 
 on the west coast of Africa. Its command- 
 ing situation must render it valuable as a 
 link of connexion between Sierra Leone 
 and the British possessions on the Gold 
 Coast, as it is equidistant from those places, 
 and the harbour that is formed by the reef 
 off Cape Palmas, is the only sheltered one 
 of consequence on this part of the Coast, 
 Tacoradee excepted. It being so near 
 the equator, either the East India or Brazil 
 packets might call there with little loss of 
 time. The advantages of Cape Palmas 
 therefore cannot be doubted. The harbour 
 is spacious and perfectly secured. The soil 
 
36 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 is good, and the spontaneous productions 
 numerous ; and in fact the inhabitants are 
 almost provided with the necessaries of life 
 without labour. The people, too, being 
 harmless and docile, they would afford all 
 the assistance in their power to promote 
 the establishment of a colony.” — Notes on 
 Africa, p. 47. 
 
 I have quoted Robertson thus fully, 
 not only to show the advantages which 
 would result to the commercial interests 
 of Great Britain from the establishment of 
 a colony at this place, for the reasons 
 pointed out by that gentleman, but also in 
 confirmation of an opinion I have long 
 entertained of its expediency in another 
 point of view. 
 
 This opinion is, to establish a settlement 
 either here or at Cape Lahou, 140 miles 
 to the eastward of Cape Palmas, for the 
 purpose of opening a communication with 
 the Buntakoos, a large and powerful nation 
 to the N.W. of Ashantee, by which means 
 we should be able, at any time, to prevent 
 the king of Ashantee from disturbing the 
 tranquillity of our settlements on the Gold 
 Coast, as he is now in the constant practice 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 37 
 
 of doing ; and also have it in our power to 
 command a free communication with the 
 interior of Africa through Ashantee ; which 
 would open greater sources of wealth to the 
 British merchants in Africa than any they 
 have ever yet possessed in tins country, and 
 at the same time enable us to pass that 
 barrier, (the power of the King of Ashantee,) 
 which has hitherto opposed itself to our 
 penetrating further into the interior from 
 Cape Coast than Coomassie. 
 
 To establish a settlement therefore at 
 Cape Palmas or Cape Lahou, wonld doubt- 
 less be of the first importance in every 
 point of view. I have some doubt as to 
 which of these situations would be the most 
 desirable, but am inclined to determine in 
 favour of Cape Lahou, on account of the 
 river, 'which large craft may enter with safety 
 during the rams, arid the natives say it is a 
 branch of a great river in the interior ; so that, 
 if a colony were established here, small 
 vessels, and particularly steamboats, might 
 be employed to great advantage in trans- 
 porting merchandise into the country. A 
 considerable trade in gold and ivory is 
 carried on at this place by our merchant 
 
 d 3 
 
38 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 vessels. The government is republican, 
 and the people are pagans, but they are in- 
 dustrious and well-disposed. 
 
 Robertson gives the following account of 
 their religious observances : “ The inhabit- 
 ants keep every sixth day sacred, and can- 
 not be induced, even in cases of necessity, 
 to deviate from the custom. The reason 
 they give for its origin is, that a canoe up- 
 set and some of the people were drowned, 
 which is very uncommon, as they can all 
 swim well ; on the sixth day afterwards, a 
 similar accident took place, which induced 
 them to consult the Flamen, who was of 
 opinion that the sea was offended at their 
 doing wrong.” 
 
 About 27 leagues to the eastward of 
 Cape Lahou is the river Assinee, which 
 may be considered the commencement of 
 the Gold Coast. At Assinee, there was 
 formerly a good gold trade, but it is now 
 very circumscribed, owing to the wars in 
 which this people have been engaged. 
 In the evening, however, we observed a fire 
 on the beach, which the natives make at 
 night as a signal to captains of vessels of 
 their being a commercial people. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 39 
 
 Sailing along the coast from Assinee, 
 we arrived off Appollonia, which is about 
 twenty-five miles to the eastward, where we 
 had very lately a small fort, but it is now, 
 much to the credit of government, aban- 
 doned as an useless burthen to the nation, 
 affording no real protection to trade, and 
 the landing here is so bad, that, although I 
 have passed this place several times, I never 
 attempted, to go on shore ; indeed, no per- 
 son in senses would attempt it, with- 
 out a cor'k-iacket, unless an extreme case 
 obliged .t horn to do so, as canoes are fre- 
 quently upset. The country in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Appollonia is pleasant and 
 fertile, and there is a lake at the back of 
 the town that supplies the inhabitants with 
 plenty of fish. The king’s name is Yansaka, 
 who bears but an indifferent character. The 
 stool or throne is hereditary. The king is 
 subject to Ashantee, and pays tribute an- 
 nually to that nation. There is a good 
 trade in gold and ivory, which is just as 
 well carried on by our merchants without 
 the fort as with it. 
 
 About five miles to the eastward of Ap- 
 d 4 
 
40 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 pollonia is the river Ancobra, a few miles 
 east of which there is a fine fort belonging 
 to the Dutch, called Axim, or St. Anthony, 
 and is the seat of their vice-president, 
 being the second best fort in this country 
 belonging to Holland. This fort would be 
 a great acquisition to the British, in the 
 event of its being abandoned by the Dutch, 
 as it is a respectable fortification, the land- 
 ing good, and the situation desirable from 
 its contiguity to the Ancobra river, where 
 there are considerable quantities of gold ; 
 the country is also well cultivated, and the 
 people industrious. The Ancobra, or Cobre, 
 was partly explored by Colonel Straenburg 
 during the government of General Daen- 
 dels, in 1817, has twelve feet water at 
 its mouth, and is navigable a considerable 
 distance by small vessels. 
 
 Between Axim and Dixcove there were 
 two other settlements, belonging to the 
 Dutch ; but they are now abandoned. 
 
 To the eastward of Cape Threepoints is 
 the settlement of Dixcove, where we have 
 a fort superior to the generality of our 
 out-forts on the Gold Coast. Small craft 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 41 
 
 can, anchor in the cove, under the guns of* 
 the fort, which is situated on the summit of 
 a hill, at the foot of which stands the town, 
 containing about 1200 inhabitants, who 
 are quiet and well-disposed. They worship 
 the crocodile ; and any person going ashore 
 here, may see one of these animals at the 
 expense of a fowl and a bottle of liquor, 
 which is given to the fetish man, (Tando 
 Cudjoe,) who obliged me with a sight of it 
 in the following manner. This fetish man, 
 or priest, took a white fowl (which colour, 
 it appears, the fowl must be, as the natives 
 have most faith in it), and on arriving at 
 the pond near the fort, it was placed on 
 the ground, Tando Cudjoe making a little 
 noise with his mouth, when the crocodile 
 instantly made its appearance on the oppo- 
 site side of the pond, and, plunging through 
 the water, came very near the spot where 
 we were standing; but as the fowl made 
 its escape into the bush, or forest, the cro- 
 codile, instead of following it^ pursued me 
 and my companion, Captain Leavens, so 
 closely for a short distance, that had not a 
 small dog been behind me, which it laid 
 
42 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 hold of, and was thus satisfied, the animal 
 would, in another minute, most probably 
 have taken a fancy to one of my legs ! 
 The path being narrow, and Captain Lea- 
 vens before me, I could neither run so fast 
 as I wished, nor turn to the right hand or 
 to the left, on account of the thick under- 
 wood which prevailed on both sides of the 
 path. 
 
 At the back of Dixcove Fort is a good 
 garden, which produces a plentiful supply 
 of vegetables and fruits for the governor’s 
 table. Oranges, pine-apples, cocoa-nuts, 
 and other fruits, are also abundant. The 
 natives have generally good crops of In- 
 dian corn, and other articles, which the soil 
 produces without any trouble to the hus- 
 bandman. Nature here, as at all other 
 places on the coast, does every thing for 
 the inhabitants, and there is seldom a 
 scarcity. 
 
 Passing Dixcove, we arrived off Boutry, 
 or Boutrou, a Dutch settlement four miles 
 to the eastward. The fort stands on a 
 hill, in a commanding situation, but is now 
 abandoned. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 43 
 
 About ten miles from Boutry we passed 
 another Dutch settlement, called Tacorary, 
 or Tacoradee, off which place there are 
 some dangerous reefs, where vessels are 
 sometimes wrecked. I have, however, 
 only known one accident of this nature 
 during the last eleven years. The reef, 
 although dangerous to pass in the night 
 by persons unacquainted with the coast, 
 is of great value in forming a safe har- 
 bour for vessels ; and, as this settlement 
 is now abandoned by the Dutch, as well as 
 the next settlement at Succondee, if it were 
 thought desirable to increase the number 
 of our establishments on the Gold Coast, 
 this would be a favourable situation to take 
 possession of. As we have no protected 
 harbour on the Gold Coast for vessels, it 
 may be wise to abandon Dixcove and An- 
 namaboe, and take possession of Tacorary 
 and Dutch Succondee Fort, as the guns of 
 the latter command the harbour of the 
 former, and would effectually protect our 
 shipping at any future period in the event 
 of war ; and thus we should have possession 
 of one of the strongest and most desirable 
 situations on the coast, particularly as there 
 
44 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 is also a sheltered harbour for vessels im- 
 mediately under the Dutch fort at Succon- 
 dee. These, however, are not the only 
 advantages to be derived from the posses- 
 sion of these settlements as there are 
 others equally important. I allude to the 
 capitals of Warsaw and Ashantee, being 
 immediately in the interior of these forts ; 
 and, consequently, the greater part of the 
 trade could soon be brought down to this 
 part of the coast, if extensive factories were 
 once established here. Indeed, Succondee 
 has always been considered a good situation 
 for trade, particularly in gold, from its 
 contiguity to Warsaw, or Wassa, a con- 
 siderable trading nation in the interior, 
 tributary to Ashantee. Another advantage 
 is, that boats can land goods in safety, which 
 cannot be done either at Cape Coast, An- 
 namaboe, or Accra. 
 
 It is also well adapted for agricultural 
 pursuits ; and since Mr. Smith’s govern- 
 ment, considerable quantities of Indian 
 corn have been grown here, and shipped 
 for Madeira and other places. 
 
 In support of the opinion I now advance, 
 
 I will quote Robertson’s Notes on Africa 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 45 
 
 (page 127). He observes, that “ should 
 any European state, seriously determine on 
 using endeavours to introduce agricultural 
 pursuits here, and possess itself of the har- 
 bour of Succondee, where merchandise 
 could be shipped in safety, and a lucrative 
 coasting-trade be established from thence 
 to the adjacent places of trade on this 
 coast, the advantages would be great ; as 
 from its being the only sheltered harbour 
 from thence to Cape Palmas, it could pro- 
 tect both its trade and connexions.” 
 
 Mr. Robertson, however, is wrong in this 
 last observation, that Succondee is the only 
 sheltered harbour, as the next settlement 
 possesses the same advantage. This is not 
 the only error he has fallen into from writ- 
 ing; too fast to allow himself time to reflect 
 on what he had written. For example ; 
 his assertion that the town of Elmena is 
 built of mud ; that canoes come from Tim- 
 buctoo to Lagos in three days ; and that 
 all the names of persons mentioned by 
 Park appear to have been feigned to de- 
 ceive him ; besides several other of his 
 statements, must have been written with- 
 out reflection. 
 
46 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 But with all this gentleman’s errors, there 
 can be only one opinion as to the merit of 
 his work, which I must confess I have 
 read with very sincere pleasure ; and in- 
 deed he has described the coast of Africa 
 so correctly, that he has left very little for 
 me to say upon the subject. I shall there- 
 fore only briefly add a few remarks upon 
 the other settlements. Leaving Tacorary, 
 the next settlement to the eastward is Suc- 
 condee, where both the English and Dutch 
 had forts ; but they are now abandoned. 
 A melancholy instance of the great morta- 
 lity amongst Europeans on this coast, oc- 
 curred here in 1810 . The Governor, his 
 wife, and two daughters, (one of them an 
 interesting and amiable girl about fourteen 
 years of age,) all died shortly after their 
 arrival from Holland. Thus a whole family 
 was soon cut off ; the death of one most 
 probably hastening the death of the others. 
 
 A few miles further is Chama, another 
 Dutch settlement, where there is a small 
 fort, which is also abandoned. Here there 
 is a large river, called Chamah, which emp- 
 ties itself into the sea, and is the same 
 which is called the Boosempra, on the route 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 47 
 
 to Ashantee, This river was afto partly 
 explored by Colonel Straenburg in 1817, 
 and is navigable a long way up the country 
 by small craft. It has eight feet water at 
 its mouth. The inhabitants are very in- 
 dustrious in the cultivation of corn, yams, 
 &c., which is principally managed by the 
 women in the interior, while the men attend 
 to the fishing on the coast ; and this ob- 
 servation applies to many other places. 
 
 About ten miles from Chama is Com- 
 menda, where there was a British and 
 Dutch fort for many years, within half a 
 mile of each other ; but both these forts 
 are now abandoned. 
 
 The town of English Commenda contains 
 about 2500 inhabitants, and is divided into 
 what is called the Trade and Fish town ; 
 one part of the inhabitants carrying on the 
 trade in gold, ivory, and canoes, and the 
 other part attend to the fishing. These 
 people sometimes divide, and fight against 
 each other, although living in one town ; 
 and at other times they unite and fight 
 against the Dutch town. During my resi- 
 dence here, I saw them engaged in two or 
 three actions; but they are poor warriors, and 
 
48 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 are soon defeated. They are a troublesome 
 and bad-disposed people, although I lived 
 very quietly with them for seven months. 
 It will be seen in the sequel, that these 
 were the people who gave great offence to 
 the king of Ashantee, in turning his mes- 
 sengers out of the town without allowing 
 them a draught of water. 
 
 Before the abolition of the slave-trade, 
 and for several years after, until it was put a 
 stop to by the Hon. Captain Irby, of the 
 Amelia frigate, the governors of the British 
 fort made a trade of the large canoes which 
 are to be procured here, with which they 
 supplied the captains of Portuguese vessels, 
 who made a point of calling for them on 
 their way to Popo, Whydah, and other 
 places on the leeward coast, where they 
 traded in slaves. These canoes were gene- 
 rally paid for with Portuguese tobacco, 
 which the governors of Commenda sold at 
 a great price to the War saws, who, as well 
 as the Ashantees, are immoderately fond 
 of it, I have known, at times of great 
 scarcity, one roll of Portuguese tobacco, 
 about 80 lbs. weight, sell for \oz. Jackies of 
 gold (6/.) and upwards. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 49 
 
 The Dutch fort was besieged, and the 
 exterior walls and batteries destroyed by 
 the British, during the American war ; a 
 governor was afterwards appointed, who 
 kept possession of it for several years, but 
 he was obliged to fly from his post in the 
 year 1810 , in consequence of the Warsaw 
 army attacking the town, which they burnt, 
 and afterwards took possession of the fort, 
 and completely destroyed the only apart- 
 ments which were at all habitable. The inha- 
 bitants fled for protection to Elmina, where 
 they joined the natives of that place, and 
 in their turn, sometime after, attacked the 
 Warsaw army, at Ampaney (a small village 
 between Commenda and Elmina), on which 
 occasion they completely routed the War- 
 saws, who retreated to Commenda, and 
 ultimately returned to their own country, 
 without accomplishing any object worthy 
 of notice, excepting what has been already 
 mentioned. 
 
 The retreat of the Warsaws was at- 
 tributed to their having been taken by sur- 
 prise during the time they were at dinner 
 at Ampaney, where they were encamped 
 for several weeks, for the purpose ofblock- 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 ading the Dutch town of Elmina, on the 
 western side, while the Cape Coast natives 
 and Fantees blockaded it on the northward 
 and eastward. Both the Fantees and War- 
 saws suffered considerably, and having lost 
 many men, killed and wounded, were 
 obliged to raise the siege. 
 
 The cause of this war was, that the Fi- 
 nd inas had pointed out to the Ashantee 
 army, in 1806, some of the Annamaboe 
 people, who had escaped from that town 
 during the invasion of Fan tee by the 
 Ashantees. In consequence of this, the 
 Fantees swore to destroy the Elminas, and 
 the Warsaws joined them, but with what 
 success has been already shewn. 
 
 The Elminas upon this occasion behaved 
 well, and defeated their enemies, although 
 double their numbers. The bold and in- 
 trepid manner in which they advanced, and 
 pursued the Warsaws within reach of the 
 guns of the British fort at Commenda, was 
 highly creditable, and afforded a pleasing 
 specimen of their warlike skill.. They 
 kept up a steady fire upon the enemy, 
 and their flags and banners were displayed 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 51 
 
 in all directions. The Warsaws, however, 
 retreated in good order. 
 
 Riding out a few miles, during the 
 continuance of the blockade, I was met 
 by one of the foraging parties, who sur- 
 rounded me in an instant, with all the 
 earnestness and appearance of attacking 
 me, pointing their guns and brandishing 
 their knives ; but on finding who I was, 
 they allowed me to pass unmolested. 
 
 Intefoe and Attobrah commanded the 
 Warsaw army upon this occasion. Intefoe 
 is the king of Warsaw, and is a handsome 
 shrewd-looking man, thirty-five years of 
 age, and about the middle stature. At- 
 tobrah was the general, a good-looking 
 person, about the same age as Intefoe, 
 but corpulent. Both of them visited 
 the governor of the fort, not only to pay 
 their respects, but also to demand pay- 
 ment for two men whose lives had been 
 humanely saved by the then second of the 
 fort, Mr. Blenkarne, who, on passing Am- 
 paney the morning after the destruction 
 of that town by the Warsaws, saw these 
 men clinging to the rocks in the sea, 
 and took them into his canoe. Having 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 saved their lives, and sent them to Elmina, 
 the king of Warsaw demanded two slaves, 
 or their value in goods. But this demand 
 the governor, at first, refused to listen to, 
 stating that Mr. Blenkarne did no more 
 than his duty, and what every Christian 
 was bound to do ; adding, at the same 
 time, that if the two men had been War- 
 saws instead of Ampaneys, Mr. Blenkarne 
 would have saved their lives in like man- 
 ner. The king of Warsaw rejoined, that 
 he was aware the governor’s argument was 
 just, and that Mr. Blenkarne did right in 
 saving the lives of the people. “ This,” 
 said he, “ is what I do not complain of ; 
 for had you kept these men in your fort 
 as slaves, until the war was over, and then 
 sent them back to their own country, I 
 should have had no cause to feel aggrieved; 
 but instead of doing so, you sent them 
 to Elmina to join my enemies, in attack- 
 ing me at Ampaney, and thereby gave 
 them two strong men to fight against 
 me, after I had once destroyed them by 
 driving them into the sea, where they 
 must inevitably have perished, had not 
 your second saved them. I therefore 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 53 
 
 now demand two men from you, to fight 
 against those two you sent to Elmina.” 
 
 The governor seeing that if he did not 
 comply with this demand, it would involve 
 the fort in a war with the Warsaw army, 
 paid the value of two slaves, which, at that 
 time, was 40/. 
 
 The next settlement to the eastward 
 of Commenda, is Elmina, where the Dutch 
 have a fine fortification, and which is the 
 only one on the coast that is protected by a 
 deep ditch. It is also further strengthened 
 by a small fort, called St. Jago, which is 
 built on a hill that commands both the 
 town and the castle, and is called the key 
 to the latter. The Dutch are so jealous 
 regarding St. Jago, that, even in time of 
 peace, they will not allow the English to be 
 admitted into it. 
 
 Great credit is due to the Dutch for the 
 improvements which they have carried on 
 here. Besides a harbour for small vessels, 
 there are piers, wharfs, and cranes, for land- 
 ing goods. The country also is better cul- 
 tivated than at any other part of the coast ; 
 nearly two miles at the back of the town 
 
 e 3 
 
54 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 are well laid out in beds of ground-nuts, 
 and Mr. Neiser has made a fine plantation 
 with 35,000 cotton trees, about two miles 
 from the castle, and cut a road to it, at 
 least thirty feet broad, at his own expence. 
 I rode into the country with this gentle- 
 man, when I was last at Elmina, and was 
 astonished at the improvements he had 
 made. He then informed me that he had 
 eighty men employed in making a coffee 
 plantation ; and it is to be hoped many 
 others in Africa will follow Mr. Neiser’s 
 example, which is the most effectual way to 
 cultivate the country, and civilize the na- 
 tives. The gardens at Elmina, containing 
 oranges, pine-apples, sour soups, and other 
 tropical fruits, besides vegetables of all 
 descriptions, do great credit to the Dutch, 
 and the English at our head-quarters are 
 frequently obliged to them for a supply of 
 these articles. Mr. Neiser’s hospitality 
 deserves to be particularly mentioned. 
 
 The town of Elmina is the only one on 
 the coast which is built with stone, and 
 also the only one that is paved. There is 
 one broad street before the fort, but the 
 town is badly laid out, the houses being all 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 55 
 
 built close together, without more than 
 sufficient space to walk between them. 
 
 The number of inhabitants may amount 
 to eight thousand ; and, like most of the 
 natives residing on the coast, they fish with 
 the cast-net regularly every morning, except- 
 ing on their fetish days. 
 
 Although Elmina belongs to Warsaw, 
 the king does not prevent the inhabitants 
 from exercising municipal authority. 
 
 These people were guilty of an act 
 some years ago, which can never be forgot- 
 ten. The governor, Hoogenboom, having 
 given them some cause of offence, they be- 
 set him one evening at the billiard-table, 
 and murdered him in the most inhuman 
 manner. 
 
 Elmina is the easternmost maritime 
 town in the kingdom of Warsaw, and 
 Chama the most western. I have already 
 stated that this country is tributary to 
 Ashantee, and have described the various 
 towns on the coast which I have been at ; 
 but never having been in the interior of 
 this kingdom, I will not attempt a descrip- 
 tion of it. 
 
56 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 The Warsaws carry on a considerable 
 trade with Europeans, in gold and ivory, 
 and are more remarkable for honesty than 
 their neighbours the Fantees. 
 
 If they have any palaver (dispute), the 
 Pynins and Cabboceers * assemble to hear 
 the parties, which sometimes occupies them 
 a whole day, as they are extremely clever 
 in argument, and will frequently speak for 
 hours together. When the Pynins cannot 
 decide to the satisfaction of the parties in 
 town, they assemble in the fort, and submit 
 the case to the decision of the governor. 
 
 * Pynins and Cabboceers signify the magistrates or 
 head men of the town, the chiefs. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 .57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 About a mile to the eastward of Elmina, is 
 a small river which runs into the sea, and 
 is the western boundary of Fantee *, which 
 extends eastward nearly as far as Accra. 
 
 Proceeding seven miles further in an 
 easterly direction, is Cape Coast Castle, the 
 British head-quarters, which is a large and 
 commodious building, containing comfort- 
 able apartments for the officers, and good 
 barracks for the privates, besides many ex- 
 cellent warehouses, where the property of 
 our merchants is lodged in the event of war 
 with the natives; and even in time of peace, 
 one or two of the warehouses are made use 
 of for this purpose. There are also excel- 
 lent tanks for the supply of water in the 
 dry season, or when blockaded ; and great 
 credit is due to the present chief governor 
 for the improvements he has made ; and 
 
 * Affetue (or Fettu), as well as Braffoo and Asse- 
 caoma, are districts of Fantee; in the first of which 
 Cape Coast is situated. 
 
 * E 5 
 
,58 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 it is but justice to this gentleman to say, 
 that the castle never was in such condition 
 before. The guns, which amount to be- 
 tween sixty and seventy, are kept in good 
 order, and well mounted. The bastions 
 have been well paved, and the whole of the 
 castle wonderfully improved. It is built 
 on a rock close to the sea, and is triangular. 
 The garrison amounts to about 30 officers 
 (civil and military), and 120 privates, who 
 are natives. 
 
 A redoubt is now nearly built about a 
 quarter of a mile from the town, which, 
 when completed, will add greatly to the 
 strength of the castle, and secure the in- 
 habitants from invasion by the Ashantees. 
 
 The town of Cape Coast is situated be- 
 hind the castle. It is not laid out upon 
 any regular plan like Sierra Leone and 
 Senegal, but the houses, which are built of 
 swish, or mud, are huddled together much 
 in the same manner as those at Elmina. 
 There is a square or parade in front of the 
 castle-gate, which might be made a respect- 
 able place, if an old fetish* tree and a large 
 
 * Fetish signifies any thing sacred, a charm or deity; 
 and is applied to those men and women who devote their 
 lives wholly to the religious customs of the country, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 59 
 
 rock were levelled, and gravel thrown over 
 the surface. This I am surprised the pre- 
 sent governor does not order to be done. 
 I am aware the natives would make an ob- 
 jection to have their fetish-tree removed ; 
 but I can see no sufficient reason why the 
 improvement of the town should be pre- 
 vented by a fetish-tree, when the natives 
 have so many other places to worship their 
 wooden gods. 
 
 The officers and merchants at Cape 
 Coast have built some comfortable houses 
 with stone in the town, and also a few neat 
 cottages, a short distance in the country, 
 which have a pleasing effect, and are con- 
 sidered more healthy to reside in than the 
 castle. 
 
 The governor has also made several im- 
 provements in the town. Some of the old 
 houses have been taken down, and the road 
 from the castle-gate improved. The country 
 in the vicinity has been cleared of those im- 
 penetrable thickets, which have been so 
 much complained of, as having tended, in a 
 great measure, to increase the mortality 
 among Europeans in this part of Africa. 
 And the public garden, about five miles 
 
60 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 from Cape Coast, deserves to be mentioned; 
 but instead of seven acres of land, which it 
 has been represented to contain, I do not 
 believe there are more than three acres 
 cultivated. The house, which the present 
 governor began building some years ago, 
 is not yet finished, which is much to 
 be regretted, as this would be a desir- 
 able situation for convalescent officers to 
 retire to, until their health was re-esta- 
 blished. It is therefore to be hoped that 
 the garden-house will be finished and de- 
 voted to this purpose. The produce of 
 the garden should also be more frequently 
 divided among the officers, who, in con- 
 sideration of the benefits to be derived, 
 should occasionally attend to the improve- 
 ments that might be carried on. The soil 
 is black and good, and there are few things 
 that it would not produce, if properly cul- 
 tivated. Radishes, cucumbers, cabbages, 
 nnd other vegetables, as well as oranges, 
 sour-soups, and other fruits, are already 
 procured in great abundance. 
 
 The society at Cape Coast is very con- 
 fined, but, generally speaking, both the offi- 
 cers and merchants are extremely hospitable. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 61 
 
 A library has been established by subscrip- 
 tion, and there is also a billiard table ; in 
 other respects, Cape Coast is barren of 
 amusements. 
 
 There is a scarcity of horses and bul- 
 locks, not only here, but at most of our 
 settlements on the Gold Coast. Potatoes 
 are also seldom to be procured, and there 
 is no fresh butter, veal, or European fruits. 
 
 Poultry, sheep, goats, and hogs, are 
 plentiful, and the usual tropical fruits, 
 such as pine-apples, guavas, &c. grow 
 spontaneously. 
 
 The governor is almost the only person 
 at Cape Coast who has any bullocks, and 
 the number he has does not exceed thirty. 
 The cows here give so little milk, that the 
 inhabitants depend chiefly upon the goats, 
 which are plentiful, and a good goat will 
 frequently give half a pint of milk, night 
 and morning. I kept a cow for some time, 
 and had it milked regularly for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining what quantity of milk 
 it would give; but I had a goat which 
 always supplied me with a much larger 
 quantity, although it cost only 10s., whereas 
 the cow cost 8/. 
 
62 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 It is somewhat singular, that all attempts 
 to keep horses at Cape Coast have hitherto 
 failed. Some have been sent from the Cape 
 de Verd islands, and others from Sierra 
 Leone and the leeward coast, but they 
 have all died, so that the governor is now 
 almost the only person who will run the 
 risk of giving 30/. or 40/. for a horse. I 
 have twice attempted to keep this useful 
 animal at Cape Coast ; one I purchased 
 for 40/. from a man who brought it from 
 Whydah, and the other was given to me by 
 Mr. Dupuis, who received it from the king 
 of Ashantee ; but they both died within 
 a few months. The cause of this mor- 
 tality in the horse is supposed to be from 
 eating a particular sort of bearded grass, 
 which affects the intestines, and causes a 
 swelling under the belly of the animal, 
 which always makes its appearance two or 
 three weeks before its death, when it begins 
 to droop, and look dull and sleepy. This 
 is a sure sign of its approaching disso- 
 lution ; but some persons suppose it to be 
 caused by drinking bad and dirty water. 
 The bearded grass, however?* or some 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 63 
 
 poisonous herb, I think the more probable 
 cause. 
 
 Credit is due to Mr. Bowdich for the 
 information he has given the public, from 
 time to time, on the subject of our 
 affairs in Africa ; but as that gentleman, 
 in a late publication, has stated, that he 
 was “ the first who unmasked the pernicious 
 system of a trading government, and says, 
 that the late measure of government has 
 acknowledged his second service to his 
 country, in exposing the disguised system, 
 which perverted the uses of her valuable 
 settlements on the Gold Coast it is but 
 justice to others, as well as to myself, to ex- 
 plain, that Sir James Yeo, Mr. C. Hutton, 
 and Mr. Robertson, if I am not much mis- 
 taken, unmasked the pernicious system of 
 a trading government on the coast of Africa, 
 long before Mr. Bowdich thought of it, and 
 I rather think, even long before that gentle- 
 man visited Africa. At all events, it will 
 evidently appear on reference to Sir James 
 Yeo’s letters, as well as those of Vidfe*, 
 
 * The letters of Vkliwere written by Mr. Robertson, 
 at Liverpool, in 1816 . 
 
64 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 (which are so well known by persons con- 
 nected with Africa,) that these letters 
 were published years before Mr. Bowdich’s 
 Pamphlet on the African Committee made 
 its appearance. And the following extract 
 from a statement, addressed by me to Lord 
 Bathurst in June 1818, will prove, that I 
 also had something to say upon the subject, 
 long before that pamphlet was published. 
 This paper will at the same time shew, that 
 the suggestions, which I then took the 
 liberty to offer, were almost immediately and 
 implicitly followed ; — Appollo?iia, Succondee, 
 Commenda, and Tantum were abandoned ; 
 a redoubt built ; the governors of forts received 
 orders in future to swear to their accounts ; and 
 finally , the African Committee ceased to exist ! 
 All which, it will be seen from the following 
 statement, was strenuously urged by me to 
 Lord Bathurst in June 1818, as well as 
 upon other occasions. 
 
 « By the 5th section of the act 23 Geo. 3. 
 c. 65., every officer, or other person, em- 
 ployed by the African Committee on the 
 coast of Africa, to whom any of the goods 
 and stores purchased and sent out by the 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 65 
 
 Committee are delivered, is required to 
 transmit annually an account of the dis- 
 posal and application of all such goods and 
 stores, 44 having first made oath to the truth 
 44 of such account before such person as 
 44 shall be authorized by His Majesty, his 
 44 heirs and successors, to administer the 
 44 same.” 
 
 And the 6th section of the said statute 
 enacts, that to prevent any misapplication 
 of the sums granted by parliament for the 
 support and maintenance of the forts and 
 settlements upon the coast of Africa, or 
 embezzlement of the goods and stores by 
 the servants of the said Committee, they 
 shall annually lay before parliament, and 
 deliver to one of His Majesty’s principal 
 secretaries of state, an account of the dis- 
 posal and application of those goods and 
 stores attested upon oath, in like manner as 
 the accounts rendered by them under the 
 act 23 Geo. 3. c. 31. 
 
 The reason given for these sections not 
 being complied with, is stated by Mr. Cock 
 to be the want of a person duly authorized 
 to administer the oath required. 
 
 But that gentleman was perhaps nor. 
 
66 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 aware, at the time of writing to Mr. Ar- 
 buthnot upon this subject, that not only the 
 governor-in-chief, but also the out-fort go- 
 vernors, have constantly been in the habit 
 of administering an oath to any of His 
 Majesty’s subjects who have wished to be 
 sworn. 
 
 What, then, we shall be glad to learn, 
 was to prevent a compliance with that 
 part of the statute just adverted to ? 
 
 The chief governor can administer an 
 oath to the deputy-governors, and vice 
 versa ; or, what might still be better, a 
 captain of a man-of-war can administer 
 the oath, as was done by Captain Irby, 
 of the Amelia, to Mr. White, when he 
 swore that he had nothing to do with the 
 slave-trade. 
 
 The most probable, and only cause to 
 be assigned for the 5th and 6th sections of 
 the act not being complied with, seems 
 to be the incontrovertible fact, that all the 
 governors of our forts and settlements on 
 the Gold Coast have been in the habit, 
 from time immemorial, of swelling out what 
 is called a day-book , or, their six months' 
 accounts , which are sent in twice a-year to 
 the chief governor, to be audited. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 67 
 
 In these accounts are a variety of unjust 
 charges ; and it is a notorious fact, that 
 some of these governors have left their six 
 months’ accounts entirely to the account- 
 ants to make out, they being, as is generally 
 supposed, more capable of increasing the 
 amount of these day-books by such charges ; 
 and as the chief governors are generally 
 persons who have had a share in this sort 
 of peculation, it is not to be supposed that 
 they would be very nice in auditing the 
 accounts of the deputy-governor. 
 
 In order, therefore, to put a stop to this 
 system, it is suggested, that officers holding 
 the command of forts should comply with 
 the act, as already mentioned, or be allowed 
 a certain salary, so as to enable them to 
 pay all incidental expenses out of such 
 allowance ; which we are convinced will be 
 far more agreeable to their feelings, than 
 if they retained their present privilege of 
 keeping an unjust account against the 
 public. 
 
 On conversing with one of the Com- 
 mittee’s servants on this subject, we were 
 told that the sum of 200/. per annum was 
 
68 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 too small for any governor of an out-fort, 
 and that therefore those charges or over- 
 charges were allowed. 
 
 We answer, however, that 200/. a-year, 
 with the privilege of an exclusive trade 
 (which they at present enjoy), with the 
 conveniences and advantages which those 
 forts afford, is no contemptible thing ; al- 
 though we will not assert that 200/. a-year 
 would be a sufficient salary to enable them 
 to pay out of such sum any incidental 
 expenses. We wish to be as liberal to- 
 wards the officers as we think they deserve, 
 considering the unhealthy climate they 
 have to contend with. And they must 
 not suppose we have any enmity towards 
 them, in stating these facts for the public 
 good ; on the contrary, we shall propose 
 that a provision be made for them, which 
 we have no doubt will fully compensate 
 for any loss they may sustain from these 
 observations. 
 
 On reference to the books in the African 
 Office for many years past, we find charges 
 which are altogether unjust ; and if this 
 point is disputed, let the affidavits of the 
 parties contradict us, if they can he pro- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 69 
 
 cured; let the 5th section of the act 23 G. 3. 
 c. 65. be complied with. 
 
 There is yet time to do this, by calling 
 upon any of the senior officers in the service 
 for their affidavits on this subject ; and if 
 such affidavits deny what we now assert, 
 we will allow these our humble exertions, 
 to effect a change in the present system, to 
 fall to the ground. 
 
 But we are too well assured of the fact 
 to apprehend a contradiction upon oath. 
 For example, we find charges for soldiers , 
 which were never employed ! Charges for 
 salutes, which were never fired ! ! and many 
 more such unjust and unwarrantable 
 charges, too numerous to particularize. 
 
 We will however endeavour to give our 
 readers some idea of these extraordinary 
 day-books, which are kept against the pub- 
 lic, at all our miserable settlements. 
 
 These day-books contain charges under 
 the following heads : 
 
 White men’s salaries. 
 
 Black men’s pay. 
 
 Castle slaves. 
 
 Free canoe-men and labourers’ hire. 
 
 Customary presents. 
 
70 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Extraordinary presents. 
 
 Salutes. 
 
 Fire-wood for forts’ use. 
 
 Lights for forts’ use. 
 
 Charges for canoes. And, 
 
 Sick, wounded and dead ! 
 
 From a statement contained in the Re- 
 port on African Forts, the amount of 
 charges in the Cape Coast books alone, 
 amounted, for they ear 1814, to 3492 1. Is. 1 d.* 
 Of course the odd penny was put down, to 
 shew how particularly nice the African go- 
 vernors are in making out their accounts ; 
 and we will venture to assert, that the 
 charges for any year since that period, have 
 rather increased than otherwise ; and if the 
 books in the African office are referred to, 
 we are assured that for the last year, 1817, 
 the charges for Cape Coast Castle will not 
 be much less than 7000/., exclusive of 
 white men’s salaries, &c. which will increase 
 the expenses of Cape Coast Castle, for this 
 
 * If the amount of white men’s pay, castle slaves, &c. 
 is added to 3492 /. Is. 1 d., the expense of Cape Coast for 
 the year 1814 will be upwards of 15,000/. Company's 
 pay, which is about the annual expense of this settle- 
 ment. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 71 
 
 last year, to the enormous amount of 
 17,000/. ! And the other seven insigni- 
 ficant settlements will be found to be pro- 
 portionably expensive to the country. 
 
 It would, however, be illiberal to say 
 that all the charges made by the commit- 
 tee’s servants, are without foundation ; on 
 the contrary, we believe the major part 
 to be correct. 
 
 Our object in writing these pages is to ex- 
 pose the present bad system, by stating such 
 facts as have come to our knowledge, and 
 we are determined to state nothing but 
 what can be proved by the books in the 
 African office, and by the evidence of the 
 accountants at Cape Coast, and the senior 
 officers in the service. 
 
 Should, therefore, our information be 
 disputed, let the accountants at Cape Coast, 
 as well as the warehousekeepers, be put on 
 their oaths to answer such questions as may 
 be put to them, touching the matter now 
 before us. 
 
 It is not because our statements are for 
 a moment unsupported by evidence, that 
 our authority is to be questioned or in- 
 validated, while we point out those steps 
 
 f 4 
 
72 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 to be pursued, which will either prove or 
 disprove the truth of our assertions. 
 
 We have no desire to swell this plain 
 statement of facts with hyperbole, and we 
 wish it to be equally exempt from the im- 
 putation of invidiousness. 
 
 From our knowledge of the country, and 
 from all the opinions we have heard on the 
 subject of still retaining a part of our ter- 
 ritories on the Gold Coast, we are induced 
 to recommend to the consideration of His 
 Majesty’s Government the following, as 
 being not only most likely to answer 
 their views as to retrenchment, but also as 
 regards the improvement of the country, 
 and the more effectual protection of our 
 commercial interests. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle 
 
 To be retained ; with the same number of 
 castle officers as at present, excepting the 
 deputies of the secretary, accountant, and 
 surveyor. 
 
 The factors and writers to be reduced 
 from the present number of twenty-eight to 
 four. These, with two clerks, are quite 
 sufficient to do the duties in the account- 
 ant’s office, which only require their 
 attendance about three months in the year. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 73 
 
 The present large establishment, therefore, 
 might be thus reduced with the greatest 
 propriety, and without injury to the public. 
 
 The surgeons might also, with equal pro- 
 priety, be reduced from the present number 
 of five to two ; especially if our minor forts 
 are abandoned. A judge, chaplain, and 
 teacher, will be highly necessary ; and the 
 Governor should be vested with lull powers 
 of life and death. 
 
 One hundred soldiers, besides the Com- 
 pany’s slaves and castle officers, are suf- 
 ficient to compose the garrison of Cape 
 Coast ; but we strongly deprecate the prac- 
 tice of the chief o’overnors beino- allowed 
 
 o o 
 
 to enlist their own slaves, who merely receive 
 a miserable subsistence of a few shillings 
 per month, while these governors, of course, 
 pocket their pay, amounting to c 27l. or 13/. 
 10s. * per annum, besides bounty-money 
 every five years allowed to each soldier by the 
 public ! This is a species of slavery more 
 lucrative than sending the poor wretches to 
 the West Indies ; and we are assured, from 
 good authority, that this has been the 
 constant practice since the abolition. 
 
 * Some of the soldiers only receive 1 31. 10s. per annum. 
 
74 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Ill order to make Cape Coast Castle a 
 fortification of greater security, we recom- 
 mend a redoubt being built on Phipps’ 
 Hill, as formerly ; which might be done 
 at a trifling expense with the materials of 
 any of the abandoned forts. 
 
 Annamaboe 
 
 Establishment to be reduced, being so 
 contiguous to Cape Coast, as Mr. Hutton 
 observed, in his evidence before the Se- 
 lect Committee, that it is of little or no 
 utility to trade. 
 
 But as the fortification is good, and the 
 situation, in a commercial point of view, 
 desirable, we would by no means recom- 
 mend the total abandonment of this settle- 
 ment ; for although, while we are in pos- 
 session of Cape Coast, we have no occasion 
 for Annamaboe, yet, if we abandoned it 
 entirely, the Dutch, or some other power, 
 might take possession of it, which would 
 considerably annoy our trade at the Cape. 
 
 For these reasons, a seijeant and two 
 soldiers should be stationed here, in order 
 to keep the British flag flying; which 
 would be quite sufficient lor all the objects 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 75 
 
 in view ; and by these means there would 
 be a saving to the public, at this fort alone, 
 of the present unnecessary expenditure of 
 nearly 4000/. Company’s pay, annually. 
 
 Tantum 
 
 To be abandoned ; being of no use, except 
 as a convenience to travellers between Ac- 
 cra and Cape Coast, and as regards the 
 lime it supplies ; but as sufficient lime can 
 be procured at Dixcove and other places, 
 as well as at Tantum, without the fort, we 
 see no reason for its being retained at the 
 present expense to the public. It may, 
 however, be desirable to keep a serjeant 
 here, to hold possession of the situation in 
 the event of its becoming of more import- 
 ance hereafter. 
 
 Accra 
 
 To be retained; being a desirable station 
 in many points of view. The country is 
 delightful ; a fine fertile open plain, ex- 
 tending several miles, and abounding, as 
 it does, with deer, hares, and other game, 
 makes Accra the most agreeable residence 
 on the Gold Coast, especially when there 
 
76 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 is a good trade, as there was formerly, and, 
 no doubt, will be again at some future 
 period ; the paths from Accra to Ashantee 
 being open and pleasant to the traders of 
 that nation. Accra is also considered the 
 most healthy situation on the Gold Coast ; 
 and we perfectly agree with Sir James Yeo 
 in his description of this place. 
 
 We therefore recommend the fort to be 
 put into a good state of defence, both 
 towards the sea and land, which might be 
 done at a trifling expense ; and we would 
 also recommend the present number of 
 soldiers to be increased to twenty-five. 
 
 Besides the advantages of retaining Ac- 
 cra, we must not omit to mention the river 
 Sokoom, so facetiously noticed by Vidi, 
 which is only a few miles from the fort, 
 and which, with a little expense, may here- 
 after be brought down to the sea-side with 
 considerable advantage to the mercantile 
 interests. 
 
 Succondee 
 
 To lie abandoned ; being merely a thatched 
 house, “ more a laughing-stock,” to use 
 Mr. Hutton’s expression, than any thing 
 
77 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 else. The trade, which is considerable, 
 could be done by the free traders and 
 merchant-vessels. We would, however, 
 recommend the notes being continued to 
 the native chiefs; and it may be deemed 
 prudent to station a serjeant here, as at 
 Tan turn. 
 
 Commenda 
 
 To be abandoned ; being of little conse- 
 quence, excepting the canoes it supplies, 
 which, however, the natives would readily 
 convey for sale to Cape Coast ; whereas the 
 governors have made a trade of them for 
 many years. 
 
 Appollonia 
 
 To be abandoned ; as the fort affords no 
 real protection to trade, which is consider- 
 able ; but the same observation may apply 
 here, as we have made regarding Succondee. 
 
 Dixcove 
 
 To be retained ; being a good situation, 
 and the landing good ; in addition to 
 which the fort is also respectable, and has 
 a good garden attached to it, and the neigh- 
 bourhood supplies a considerable quantity 
 
78 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 of lime, and a superior sort of wood, ap- 
 proaching very near to Mahogany. There 
 is also a river near the fort, which supplies 
 fresh water during the rainy season, April, 
 May, and June, as well as in the after rains 
 in September and October. 
 
 By pursuing the plan of retrenchment 
 we have now recommended, there would 
 be the following saving to the nation annu- 
 ally : 
 
 Cape Coast 
 
 Annamaboe 
 
 Tantum 
 
 Succondee 
 
 Commenda 
 
 Appollonia 
 
 *24,500 0 0 
 
 4.000 0 0 
 
 1,200 0 0 
 
 1.000 0 0 
 1,000 0 0 
 1,300 0 0 
 
 £1 3,000 0 0 
 
 Hence then it appears, there would be a 
 saving to the nation of 13,000/. company’s 
 pay every year. We must, however, not 
 omit to observe, that 13,000/. company’s 
 pay is only equal to 7142/. 17s. Id. sterling, 
 that is after a deduction of 82/. per cent., 
 the rate at which the committee usually 
 issue the goods for the payment of the 
 officers’ salaries. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 79 
 
 To the above 7142/. may be added a fur- 
 ther saving to the nation of upwards of 
 2000/. annually, if the African committee 
 were not employed, as will appear from a 
 statement of expenses incurred in 1815; 
 and should the alterations now suggested 
 take place, there will be a saving to the 
 nation of nearly 10,000/. annually , which 
 will enable his Majesty’s government in 
 future to reduce the present annual parlia- 
 mentary grant for the support of our settle- 
 ments on the Gold Coast, to 18 instead of 
 28,000/., as at present allowed. 
 
 In another place, we have been induced 
 to recommend the direction of our affairs 
 on the Gold Coast to be left to Mr. Cock, 
 and we beg to observe, that we do so on ac- 
 count of his well-known ability and long- 
 experience in these matters, and as he now 
 chiefly directs those affairs, we cannot see 
 why he might not be employed more im- 
 mediately under the control of the board of 
 trade or secretary of state, as well without 
 nine committee-men as with them ; for it 
 cannot be expected that men possessing 
 the property most of the African committee 
 do, will devote much of their attention, or 
 
80 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 be otherwise than indifferent to any public 
 matters brought before them, when it is 
 considered that their salaries are only 100/. 
 a-year, besides the patronage we have al- 
 ready alluded to. But even this patronage, 
 valuable as it may be to those who have a 
 long train of relatives and friends to supply 
 with situations in the service, is of little or 
 no consideration to the other members, 
 some of whom we have been informed do 
 not even take the trouble of sending to the 
 African office for their salaries. 
 
 We are therefore decidedly against the 
 existence of such a committee, not only on 
 account of the unnecessary expense to the 
 nation, but also as injurious in other respects 
 to the interests of the public. And we 
 conceive that Mr. Cock, or some other per- 
 son well acquainted with our African affairs, 
 might be employed, under certain restric- 
 tions, with great advantage to the public, 
 provided such person be placed imme- 
 diately under the control of the board of 
 trade, or His Majesty’s secretary of state 
 for the colonial department, in whom the 
 patronage should in future be vested. 
 
 Should government determine upon 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 81 
 
 adopting the measures now suggested, we 
 would recommend a small duty being im- 
 posed on all persons trading at those settle- 
 ments, which may be retained at the public 
 expense, in order that such expense may 
 be defrayed by those persons benefitting 
 from the protection of such forts, the same 
 as at Sierra Leone, Hudson’s Bay, and 
 other places. 
 
 In conclusion, we shall only observe that 
 we have spoken of men only in their public 
 capacities, and even the African committee 
 must do us the justice to admit the truth ol 
 what has been stated. Should they con- 
 ceive themselves to have been spoken of with 
 too little respect, we can sincerely declare we 
 have the highest respect for every member 
 of the board, and in particular for their 
 able secretary, Mr. Cock, and can assure 
 them, that we have not been influenced by 
 malice or prejudice against any individual, 
 either in the committee or in the service. 
 
 Thus much, therefore, we conceive we 
 owe to ourselves, and as a proof that what 
 has been stated proceeds from a sincere 
 conviction of the necessity of a speedy and 
 radical change in the present system. 
 
82 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA* 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I will not detain the reader by a more par- 
 ticular detail, regarding our settlements on 
 the coast of Africa, but confine myself to 
 a few general remarks on this part of the 
 country, and then proceed with an account 
 of my journey to the interior. 
 
 Fantee or Fantyn is a republic, bounded 
 on the west by a small rivulet, seven miles 
 to the westward of Cape Coast ; on the 
 east by Accra, which, although tributary to 
 Ashantee, I will include in the following 
 observations ; on the north by Assin ; and 
 on the south by the Atlantic. It extends 
 along the coast from west to east, nearly 
 ninety miles ; and, according to Robertson, 
 is seventy miles square, and contains about 
 40,000 inhabitants. 
 
 As I have already described Cape Coast, 
 and shall be more minute in my account of 
 one of the interior Fantee towns on my 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 83 
 
 journey to Ashantee, the following brief 
 remarks, in this place, only appear to be 
 necessary. 
 
 The natives in this part of Africa are 
 Pagans. It is true they have fetish men 
 or priests, but these ignorant wretches do 
 more harm than good, frequently practising 
 the most shameful excesses upon their still 
 more ignorant and superstitious followers, 
 who are silly enough to have faith in what 
 these priests profess. They appear, how- 
 ever, to have some idea of a Supreme Being, 
 whom they call Yaung Coompon ; and when 
 they hear thunder they will sometimes 
 remark, that it is Yaung Coompon riding in 
 his carriage. Their usual method of offer- 
 ing sacrifices is to break eggs, and leave 
 them on the ground, which they consecrate 
 to the Fetish ; some tie a piece of string 
 round a stone, and leave it on the public 
 path ; others cut out a small wooden image 
 and fasten it to their doors, which they 
 daily worship ; and having, on one occa- 
 sion, inadvertently kicked one of these 
 wooden gods before me, the fetish man 
 demanded a penalty of a bottle of rum for 
 having done so, which he said was neces- 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 sary to appease the Fetish ; but, as I consi- 
 dered it would only encourage these Fetish- 
 men to practise similar impositions upon 
 others, I would not pay the demand, which 
 appeared to give great offence. They have 
 no regular mosques, but little places are 
 erected, sometimes with mud, but more 
 frequently with sticks and leaves, in the 
 form of a small arbour, where they leave 
 eggs, stones, and earthen pots ; and in 
 supplicating the Sooman, they make a 
 most dismal noise, calling out upon their 
 father ( Majeh ), or their mother ( Minnali ). 
 
 I have already stated, that at Dixcove, 
 in Ahanta, the natives worship the cro- 
 codile j at Accra, the hyena, and vultures 
 all over the coast. A gentleman (I believe 
 Mr. F. L. Swanzy) having killed a hyena at 
 Accra, was obliged to pay one piece of 
 cloth and a case of liquor as a penalty. At 
 Dahomey the snake is revered ; and a party 
 of Englishmen destroying one of these 
 animals were in consequence all put to 
 death. 
 
 At some of our settlements on the coast, 
 human sacrifices have frequently been 
 made on the death of a person of distinc- 
 17 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 85 
 
 tion. On one occasion, in 1809, when I 
 lived at Commenda, which is twenty miles 
 from Cape Coast, a poor woman was sacri- 
 ficed to “ water the grave,” as it is called ; 
 but the manner in which it was done was 
 humane, in comparison with the method 
 which is sometimes practised in torturing 
 the victim. This woman’s head was se- 
 vered from her body, by one blow with a 
 sort of bill, and the executioner was imme- 
 diately taken upon men’s shoulders, and 
 carried round the town in triumph, for not 
 having mangled the body. 
 
 Another instance, of the same kind, hap- 
 pened at Dixcove, in 1816, on the death of 
 Tando Cudjoe, a cabboceer there, when a 
 poor girl was sacrificed ; and a man would, 
 at the same time, have lost his life, had not 
 Mr. Hutcheson, much to his credit, hu- 
 manely interfered and prevented it. 
 
 This practice of sacrificing human vic- 
 tims, on the death of a person of distinc- 
 tion, is not confined to one part of the 
 coast ; it being carried on, at other places, 
 to a much greater extent, and even with 
 more savage barbarity. 
 
 g 3 
 
86 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 At Asharrtee hundreds, sometimes thou- 
 sands, are sacrificed on the death of- a per- 
 son of distinction, or on the commence- 
 ment of the yam season ; at Dahomey, in 
 like manner, at the beginning of the har- 
 vest, sixty-five human beings have been 
 known to be butchered ! And these hor- 
 rid customs are repeated annually, and 
 sometimes oftener. Similar barbarous 
 customs also prevail at other parts of the 
 coast. In Appollonia, (if we may believe 
 Bosnian,) the tenth child is always buried 
 alive ; in the Benin country, if twins are 
 born, not only the mother but the chil- 
 dren also are destroyed ; and, if the father 
 should happen to be a priest, he must 
 destroy his own children. 
 
 In the same country, “ A vestal female 
 is frequently impaled, as a sacrifice to im- 
 prove the navigation of the river and 
 extend the trade. The ceremony is per- 
 formed with the most barbarous brutality, 
 by pressing the body on a sharp stake, the 
 extremities being fastened to two adjoining 
 posts ; in this state the victim is left to ex- 
 pire. The bustards, which are very nu- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 87 
 
 merous here, sometimes attack the body 
 before life is extinct.” (Robertson’s Notes, 
 p. 293.) 
 
 But as the introduction of the customs 
 of other countries may not be exactly cor- 
 rect in speaking of those of Fantee, we will 
 now return to our remarks on that country. 
 When a person dies, the corpse is kept for 
 several days, and dressed in a silk or cloth 
 robe and cap ; and, being put in an erect 
 posture, the family and friends all as- 
 semble round it — some of them howling 
 for days and nights in the most dismal 
 manner ; but the firing of guns and drink- 
 ing, on such an occasion, make it appear 
 more like a day of rejoicing than that of 
 mourning. The gold ornaments and silks 
 of the deceased are put in the coffin and 
 buried with the corpse, in the house of the 
 family. 
 
 A custom prevails here which is called 
 brandeeing, and which is done by the parties 
 in dispute “ staking property to abide the 
 issue of a dispute so that if a poor person 
 is injured, and cannot bring forward as 
 much property as the person who injures 
 him, he can get no redress, and the aggressor 
 
 g 4 
 
88 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 escapes with impunity. When a palaver 
 occurs, the pynins and cabboceers assemble 
 to hear the parties, and decide by the ma- 
 jority. If a person is suspected of theft, 
 or any criminal act, the pynins have re- 
 course to administering doom , which is a 
 poisonous bark procured from Appollonia, 
 and is administered in the following 
 manner : 
 
 Early in the evening preceding the day 
 of trial, the accused person goes to bed, 
 and if he be a man, he is not allowed to 
 have his wife to sleep with him that night, 
 as he must refrain from women, liquor, and 
 every thing upon such an occasion, The 
 next morning, at five o’clock, he washes 
 himself, and chews about one-eighth of an 
 ounce of this bark, called doom ; as soon 
 as he has chewed the bark, a calabash, or 
 bowl of fresh water is brought, which he 
 drinks, and also one or two more calabashes 
 of water in like manner, when, if he vo- 
 mits what he has taken, he is pronounced 
 “ innocent.” But if the bark remain on 
 the stomach after drinking three or four 
 calabashes of water, then (to use the words 
 of the person who explained this custom 
 to me) “ the palaver ketches him.” 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA* 
 
 89 
 
 The accused is thereupon pronounced 
 guilty, when some human dung is put into 
 his mouth, which causes him to vomit im- 
 mediately, and he is then liable to whatever 
 punishment the pynins or chiefs decide 
 upon inflicting, whether he be really guilty 
 or innocent. 
 
 Property is hereditary, but it is so in a 
 singular manner, the same as the stool or 
 throne at Ashantee, as it descends to the 
 children of the sister, on account of the un- 
 certainty as to the fidelity of the brother’s 
 wife. For example ; “ if two brothers 
 and a sister be born by the same mother, 
 the eldest son of the sister is heir to his 
 uncle’s property, and takes charge of 
 their families at their death, and they look 
 to him for protection in the same manner 
 as they did to their parents during their 
 lives.” 
 
 Polygamy is allowed ; and even Eu- 
 ropeans shamefully degrade themselves by 
 keeping two or three women at a time. 
 Their method of obtaining these poor girls 
 from their mothers is by giving cloth, 
 liquor, tobacco, and pipes, to the amount 
 of 15/. or 20/. on the day of marriage , and 
 
90 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 as long as these girls behave well they re- 
 ceive an allowance of 15s. per month! 
 
 Marriages are not attended with any 
 religious ceremony. The parents or fa- 
 mily of the female receive a certain sum, 
 depending on the rank and wealth of 
 the husband, a few pipes and tobacco, and 
 some liquor, with which they make merry : 
 and the bride, being dressed in costly silks, 
 and richly ornamented with gold, parades 
 through the town with her friends for se- 
 veral days, to show herself and make her 
 marriage known. Adultery is punished 
 with slavery ; but in general one, two, or 
 more slaves, are paid to the injured hus- 
 band. In this country, as in all others, 
 there is no want of prostitutes. 
 
 The natives are the greatest thieves I 
 ever met with. This is their general cha- 
 racter, but I can speak from experience. 
 My own servants have frequently plundered 
 me of my linen and other articles, and 
 particularly of dessert knives, which they 
 make use of to shave their heads. 
 
 On one occasion, while I was sleeping 
 at my cottage in the country, a servant 
 whom I had left in charge of my house in 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 91 
 
 town, procured a false key to my secretaire, 
 where I kept my gold and the keys of my 
 warehouses, when he and his companions 
 modestly carried away 15 ounces of gold 
 (60/.), and goods to the amount of about 
 150/. more. 
 
 Having detected them, I lodged them in 
 the fort, and the governor recovered the 
 gold for me ; but the other property I 
 lost entirely, and the thieves, after a short 
 imprisonment, were liberated, the governor 
 and council at Cape Coast not having the 
 power of life and death, which, for the good 
 of Europeans in this country, ought cer- 
 tainly to be vested in them. 
 
 Although the ■ Ajlic’mte.es are great thieves, 
 
 many of them are industrious, and work 
 hard. They follow the occupations of 
 fishing, trade, and agriculture ; others are 
 employed by the Europeans in various capa- 
 cities, such as gold-takers, hammock-men, 
 canoe-men, messengers, &c. The cast-net 
 is commonly used all over the coast, and 
 there are plenty of fish of almost all de- 
 scriptions. In the month of September, 
 the natives of Winnebah, Accra, and other 
 places, go about twenty miles out to sea, 
 
92 
 
 A VOYAGE VO AFRICA* 
 
 to the Forgo is Bank, where they are sure 
 of loading their canoes every day (except- 
 ing their fetish day) with porguis, which is 
 a fine fish as large as the cod, and almost as 
 delicate. These fish they get in such large 
 quantities, that they spread them over the 
 towns to dry, so that, during the porguis 
 season, it is almost difficult to walk at 
 Accra and other places, without treading 
 upon them, and they have a most dis- 
 agreeable smell. The porguis make excel- 
 lent soup, and as the natives of Accra and 
 Winnebah cannot consume one-half of what 
 they take, they sell considerable quantities 
 to their neighbours. I accompanied a small 
 fishing-party on one occasion to the Por- 
 guis Bank, where we caught the fish as fast 
 as we could throw out the hook. 
 
 The dress of the Fantee men is very 
 simple, consisting merely of a cloth which 
 they fasten round their waist, under which 
 they wear a girdle ; but when carrying a 
 hammock, or otherwise at work, they 
 usually take off the cloth. * 
 
 * The costume of the higher orders of Fan tees, as 
 well as Ashantees, is given in the plate of Prince Adoom. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 93 
 
 The women work very hard, and are 
 generally great slaves to the men ; they 
 are extremely cleanly, but I cannot say 
 so much for their delicacy, having seen 
 hundreds of them at a time in a state of 
 nudity, at the sea-side, at Cape Coast, 
 washing themselves, which they do every 
 morning early ; after which they use a little 
 oil, to make their skins shine. 
 
 The superior black women and mulattoes 
 dress very modestly. They wear a cloth 
 either of silk or cotton, which they fasten 
 round their waist with a handkerchief, from 
 which is suspended in front a large bunch 
 of silver keys, about thirty-two in number. 
 Under their cloth they wear a girdle that 
 goes several times round their loins, and 
 forms into a large pad behind, just at the 
 small of their backs, which is called a 
 cankey, and on which they carry their chil- 
 dren. This cankey, which has a very un- 
 seemly appearance, possesses the advantage 
 of keeping the cloth loose, and thus pre- 
 vents their shape from being exposed. The 
 young girls in general are proud of showing 
 their bosoms, but the mulatto women con- 
 ceal theirs by wearing a linen shirt. As 
 
94 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 their dress is curious, I have given an en- 
 graving of one of them. 
 
 O O 
 
 The natives on the coast have a strange 
 custom when a woman first becomes preg- 
 nant, which is, to take her to the sea-side 
 and wash her ; on her way thither a num- 
 ber of children assemble, and pelt her with 
 mud and filth of all descriptions. 
 
 I have frequently seen this custom car- 
 ried into practice: the woman crying all 
 the way, is dragged along by one or two of 
 her friends until she arrives on the beach, 
 when she is plunged into the sea and 
 washed. The reason for doing this, it is 
 said, is to prevent the death of the mother 
 or child at its birth. Children are named 
 after the day of the week on which they 
 are born, and by that name they are 
 commonly called, although, as they grow up, 
 they have various other names conferred 
 upon them, in like manner as titles are 
 conferred upon men in England, for their 
 good and great deeds ; for example, if a 
 man kills a great enemy in battle, he gets 
 an additional name in consequence, which 
 is called his great or strong name. 
 
 Circumcision is only practised at Accra, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 95 
 
 where females as well as males undergo the 
 operation. 
 
 Menstruous women are considered un- 
 clean, and are at such times separated from 
 their husbands. 
 
 It is difficult to define the religion, laws, 
 and customs of a barbarous people, whose 
 language you are unacquainted with, and 
 who either wilfully evade your questions, 
 or are unable to give you satisfactory 
 answers ; but what has already been said, 
 it is hoped, will convey to the reader some 
 idea of the Fantees ; and the following ac- 
 count of the yam custom, which I witnessed 
 at Accra on the 15th of August 1814, may 
 not be uninteresting. All the men from 
 the towns of Dutch and Danish Accra, 
 which are both within two and a half miles 
 of British Accra, meet at the latter, where 
 they assemble near the house of the head 
 pynin, named Quow, who keeps the stool. 
 This stool or crown is carried before the 
 head pynin in battle, by one of his confiden- 
 tial slaves, and is considered a great prize 
 if captured. ’When the natives of the three 
 towns (English, Dutch, and Danish Accra,) 
 
96 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 amounting to about 5000 effective men, are 
 all assembled at Quow’s house, they are 
 entertained with plenty of liquor and palm- 
 wine; and it is not a little that serves them, 
 as they are immoderately fond of rum, and 
 in their eagerness to get the calabash or 
 bowl from one another, they frequently 
 spill more than they drink. 
 
 Being all met at Quow’s house, armed 
 and accoutred, they proceed in the follow- 
 ing order to the salt-pond, which is about 
 half a mile from the town. 
 
 The stool-bearer goes first with the stool 
 upon his head. Quow, preceded by large 
 drums which are constantly beaten, imme- 
 diately follows, attended by his slaves and 
 soldiers. Next in the procession are the 
 slaves and soldiers of the principal persons 
 at English Accra, namely, Mr. Sackey, 
 Mr. Mill, the Governor, Mr. Bannerman, 
 and Mr. Hansen.* These are followed by 
 the soldiers from the Dutch town, and 
 those from Danish Accra bring up the 
 rear. 
 
 * Since the above was written, Mr. A. C. Hutton has 
 become one of die principal merchants at Accra. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 97 
 
 On their arrival at the salt-pond, Quow 
 sprinkles water upon the stool three times. 
 Then two of Quow’s people fire one gun 
 each. After this a glass of rum is sprinkled 
 on the stool, when they all return to the 
 British fort, which the stool-bearer enters 
 first, followed by a number of women who 
 join the procession on its return. Quow 
 then enters the fort, leaving the drums at the 
 gate, which are continually beaten. On 
 entering the spur, Quow dances before 
 the stool, throwing himself into the most 
 extravagant and ridiculous attitudes, the 
 stool-bearer dancing at the same time. 
 This being over, all the pynins, headed by 
 Quow, enter the hall to pay their respects 
 to the governor, when the stool-bearer 
 empties a glass of rum into his hand, part 
 of which he sprinkles over the people and 
 part over the stool ; which is then sup- 
 plied with two fathoms of bonny blue, (a 
 coarse cotton cloth,) given by the go- 
 vernor, who also makes the pynins a small 
 present of liquor, when they leave the fort, 
 and return to Quow’s house, where they all 
 spend the day in rejoicing and indulging in 
 every excess, which concludes the custom. 
 
 n 
 
98 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 It is proper to mention, that upon 
 this occasion, Quow killed a bullock, 
 which he distributed on the following 
 morning to the pynins of the different 
 towns, the governors and principal inhabi- 
 tants of English, Dutch, and Danish Accra. 
 
 Quow told me the next day, that if he 
 neglected this custom, he could not eat 
 yams during the season. 
 
 Similar customs are practised throughout 
 South West Africa on the commencement 
 of the harvest and yam season. 
 
 The law most universally recognized by 
 the Fantees, and I believe by most of the 
 other nations in this part of Africa, is, that 
 every man and boy capable of carrying a mus- 
 ket, must providehimself with one at hisown 
 expense, and be ready at a moment’s notice 
 to take the field against an enemy. I have 
 seen the natives on several occasions go to 
 battle, when there has not been a single 
 male left in the town. The females, on such 
 occasions, chalk their bodies all over, dress 
 in white clothes, and assemble together 
 to dance, when they are extremely im- 
 modest in the motions of their bodies, 
 throwing themselves into the most lasci- 
 vious attitudes. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 99 
 
 The husbandman in Fantee, as well as at 
 all the other countries which I have visited 
 in this part of the world, has very little 
 trouble to procure the fruits of the earth, 
 many of which grow spontaneously. The 
 hoe is the chief, and almost the only 
 implement of husbandry. The land is 
 so rich and productive, that cultivation 
 is not required. All that the inhabitants 
 have to do, is to cut down the under- 
 wood, dry it in the sun, and set fire to 
 it; and having planted the seed, nature 
 does every thing else. In some parts of 
 the country they have two crops in the 
 year ; they plant their seed before the rainy 
 season commences, which it generally does 
 about the beginning of June, and continues 
 till August, during which the country 
 is inundated, and houses are frequently 
 washed down by the torrents. Natives, as 
 well as Europeans, confine themselves chiefly 
 to their own homes. The harvest follows 
 in September, during which and October, 
 there is frequently rain, which is called the 
 after-rains. Vegetation is incredibly rapid 
 and luxuriant, and “ nature breaks forth 
 in all her excess of abundance.” 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Indian corn, yams, kasada, plantains, &c. 
 are cultivated, and abundant crops are 
 always produced. I never knew a scarcity 
 but once, which was in 1816 , just after the 
 Ashantee army had a second time invaded 
 this country. The wretched inhabitants of 
 Cape Coast and other towns were then 
 starving, when Mr. Dawson, who at that 
 time was chief-governor, and the officers 
 under him, subscribed a considerable sum 
 to purchase corn, which was distributed 
 every morning among those who were most 
 distressed* An officer attended to its fair 
 distribution, and as I was one who had to 
 officiate in this duty, I had an opportunity 
 of observing the miseries of this wretched 
 people, which were such as I hope never to 
 witness again. 
 
 Mr. Dawson’s conduct upon this and 
 upon other occasions, during his govern- 
 ment, will ever endear his name to the 
 natives of Cape Coast. This worthy man, 
 after devoting nearly thirty years of the 
 prime of his life to the public service, was 
 most unjustly removed from the chief go- 
 vernment, and is now even without the 
 smallest pension. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 101 
 
 Indian corn, within the last few years, has 
 been cultivated to a great extent. Many 
 vessels have been loaded with it for Ma- 
 deira and other places, which is a strong 
 proof that if the slave-trade were once en- 
 tirely abolished, and the attention of the 
 natives directed to agricultural pursuits, 
 they would soon become a very superior 
 people. The country would be better cul- 
 tivated, and the natives civilized. The 
 former is blessed with a fine climate, and 
 the latter with intellectual capacity, little 
 inferior to our own. 
 
 The general appearance of the country 
 is beautiful, many parts resembling a 
 gentleman’s park ; deer, hares, partridges, 
 wild ducks, pigeons, &c. abound ; sheep, 
 goats, pigs, and poultry, are also plentiful. 
 
 The natives on the coast live commonly 
 upon cankey and fish ; the latter they procure 
 in great abundance from the sea, and the 
 former is the black’s bread, and is an ex- 
 cellent substitute for European bread when 
 flour is scarce. It is made from the Indian 
 corn by the women, who dilute it, and then 
 rub it upon a large stone, after which they 
 allow it to remain until sour; it is then 
 
 h 3 
 
102 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 made into small loaves, and either baked or 
 boiled. 
 
 Palm wine is drank all over the coast, 
 the method of procuring which will be 
 explained hereafter ; rum, however, is 
 preferred. The natives on the coast, as 
 well as those in the interior, manufacture 
 pots and other vessels, which they cook 
 their victuals in, and make use of in car- 
 rying palm-oil and water. I have seen 
 them made at Commenda, and other places, 
 from a sort of clay in the neighbourhood. 
 After they are well baked, they bear the fire 
 extremely well : they are commonly baked 
 in the sun. 
 
 As regards the general character of the 
 Fantees, I cannot speak very favourably. I 
 have already mentioned that they are great 
 thieves. In a few words, I consider them 
 badly disposed ; and the atrocious murders 
 of Messrs. Hoogenboom, Meredith *, and 
 Vanderpois, and the ill treatment of other 
 Europeans, can never be forgotten. 
 
 # A particular account of Mr. Meredith’s death will 
 be found in the Appendix. 
 

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A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 In the map which is prefixed to this 
 part of the work, is shewn the different 
 places in Africa which I have visited dur- 
 ing the last eleven years ; from Senegal, 
 which lies in 16° 3 ' N. lat., and 16° 10' W. 
 long., to the island of Anna Bona, in 
 1° 32' S., and 6° 5 ‘ E. 
 
 To have entered into a minute descrip- 
 tion of all these places would have far ex- 
 ceeded the limits of this work; and I have to 
 regret the omission of some remarks on 
 various parts of the country to leeward of 
 Cape Coast. I cannot, however, omit say- 
 ing a few words on the islands of Anna 
 
 <D 
 
 Bona, St. Thomas, Princes, and Fernando 
 Po. These islands all lie within a few days’ 
 sail of each other in the Gulf of Guinea, 
 and afford great facilities to the slave- 
 dealers. On passing Anna Bona, on my 
 voyage to England some months ago, we 
 observed a large ship lying at anchor with 
 
 h 4 
 
104 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 patriot colours (blue, white, and blue), 
 carrying 20 guns, and having on board a 
 cargo of slaves. When we stood in for the 
 anchorage, we expected, from our vessel’s 
 warlike appearance, that the patriot would 
 have fled ; but she boldly remained at an- 
 chor, as we presumed, from a determination 
 to fight with us, had we been a ship of 
 war ; from which it would appear that 
 these slave-dealers now go so well manned 
 and armed, as to bid defiance to our war- 
 vessels. This, at least, they have more 
 than once asserted. How far they would 
 keep their words, remains to be proved 
 when any of our sloops of war meet with 
 them. Many canoes came alongside our 
 vessel ; one of which conveyed the padria, 
 or governor, who, on coming on board, in- 
 formed us that the ship in the roads had 
 kidnapped many of the inhabitants, and 
 that three men were shot in their canoe, in 
 endeavouring to make their escape from 
 the vessel. The governor, and the people 
 with him, declared that it was the wish of 
 the inhabitants to be under the protection 
 of the British government, and requested 
 the captain of our ship to take possession 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 105 
 
 of the island. In short, there can be no 
 doubt, as these people have been so ill 
 treated, and so long neglected by the pa- 
 rent state, that they would gladly place 
 themselves under the protection of Great 
 Britain ; so that we have now an excellent 
 opportunity of taking possession of this 
 island, which would be of incalculable ad- 
 vantage to us in many points of view, and 
 in particular, as regards the more effectual 
 abolition of the slave-trade. Robertson, in 
 his notes on Africa, says, that from its 
 situation, it is little less valuable than St. 
 Helena. The high land in the interior of 
 the anchorage might be made next to im- 
 pregnable, at a trivial expense. In short, 
 he calls it a little Eden,” and adds, 
 that “ if the temple of Hygeia is to be 
 erected any where in these latitudes, here 
 ought to be its site.” 
 
 The canoes, which came off to our ves- 
 sel, supplied us with great quantities of 
 excellent oranges, pine-apples, paupas, co- 
 coa-nuts, plantains, sweet potatoes, &c., for 
 which they received in payment old jackets, 
 waistcoats, and shirts. 
 
 The inhabitants are catholics, and 
 
106 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 sold us some cassava bread. There are 
 plenty of pigs, sheep, and goats on the 
 island; but the people live chiefly upon 
 fish, which they daily procure in large 
 quantities. 
 
 The salubrity of the climate, and the 
 island being well supplied with most excel- 
 lent water, would make it doubly valuable 
 to Great Britain. It is therefore to be 
 hoped that His Majesty’s government will 
 comply with the wishes of the inhabitants, 
 and order the island to be taken possession 
 of in the name of His Britannic Majesty, 
 especially as this might be done without 
 any expense to the nation, as one of the 
 ex-governors and soldiers from our aban- 
 doned forts, on the Gold Coast, might 
 be conveyed here by any of His Majesty’s 
 cruisers on the African station. 
 
 The expenses of the establishment might 
 be defrayed by levying a small duty on 
 all our vessels calling at the island for 
 water and provisions ; which they would 
 willingly pay, rather than be subject to 
 the heavy harbour dues at Prince’s and 
 Saint Thomas’ Island, amounting to 24/., 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 107 
 
 which, if they anchor only for a few hours, 
 they are obliged to pay. 
 
 Saint Thomas is immediately on the 
 equator ; and the inhabitants, who are ca- 
 tholics, are under the Portuguese govern- 
 ment. They appeared very unhealthy 
 when I was there ; but the island is the 
 largest and the finest of all the islands in 
 this part of Africa. There are two or 
 three churches, a bishop, and several 
 catholic priests here. Fruits and veget- 
 ables are abundant ; and St. Thomas ap- 
 pears to want nothing to make it as de- 
 sirable a residence as any settlement in 
 Africa. It has also an excellent harbour, 
 which is protected by batteries ; and the 
 anchorage, in standing in from the south- 
 east, is under a round, barren, red hill, 
 the top covered with herbage to leeward 
 of the high land. In the map, I have 
 given a sketch of the island as it appeared 
 at the distance of four leagues. 
 
 Prince’s is more remarkable for its 
 fine harbour than any thing else, which 
 is completely land-locked, and well 
 protected with batteries. It is a dirty 
 hole, but supplies vessels with excellent 
 
108 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 water, fruits, and vegetables. The gover- 
 nor and fiscal, who are the principal men 
 in the island, are miserable-looking crea- 
 tures, in comparison with our governors on 
 the Gold Coast. The principal merchant 
 is a Mr. J. Schevere, who is a good- 
 looking man, and much resembles the 
 English, both in appearance and hospi- 
 tality. The inhabitants are catholics, and 
 nearly the same observations may apply 
 to this island as have been made on the 
 others. 
 
 To expatiate on the great facilities these 
 islands afford to the slave-dealers is un- 
 necessary, as they are already so well 
 known ; but to counteract these evils is the 
 duty of every man who has the cause of 
 humanity at heart. 
 
 I am therefore induced to point out the 
 advantages which would result to Great 
 Britain from the possession of Fernando 
 Po, and Anna Bona, not only in a commer- 
 cial point of view, but also as it would 
 be the means of effectually checking the 
 slave-trade, which is at present carried on 
 to so great an extent in these latitudes 
 by the Portuguese and Spaniards. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 109 
 
 The advantages to be derived from the 
 possession of Anna Bona, I have already 
 described ; but they will not bear a com- 
 parison to those which would result from 
 the possession of Fernando Po. In a com- 
 mercial point of view, I know of no settle- 
 ment on the coast of Africa so valuable 
 and important to Great Britain. It com- 
 mands the entrance of all the rivers that 
 flow into the Gulf of Guinea, and which 
 are supposed to have a communication 
 with the Niger. But upon this subject 
 both Robertson and Macqueen have ex- 
 patiated so fully, that I shall only add my 
 regret that Mr. Robertson’s vessels were 
 captured in the laudable attempt made by 
 that gentleman, in 1819, to colonize this 
 island. 
 
 The river Gaboon, which is only two or 
 three davs’ sail from the island of Fernando 
 Po, deserves to be particularly mentioned. 
 It is situated in from 15 to 30 miles north 
 latitude, and 8^50' east longitude, and is 
 740 miles S. E. of our head-quarters on 
 the Gold Coast. The river is about fifteen 
 miles broad at its mouth, but does not 
 extend far into the country. It is navi- 
 
110 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 gable for large vessels, which may enter 
 it with safety, keeping well over towards 
 Cape Clara. The vessel I was on board, 
 kept too near Sandy Point, where she got 
 on shore at five o’clock P. M., and did not 
 get off again until two A. M., during which 
 time, considerable apprehensions were en- 
 tertained for our safety ; and it was fortunate 
 for us that the vessel grounded on a sand- 
 bank, or, most likely, we should not have 
 escaped so well as we did. 
 
 About twenty-five miles up the river 
 lie Parrot and Konig islands, each of which 
 may be about two miles in circumference ; 
 but one only is inhabited. There are 
 several creeks in the river, which enable 
 the slave-dealers to carry on the trade 
 in safety. I much regret the loss of a 
 survey of the Gaboon, which was given 
 to me by Captain Nannings, and which 
 is the only one of this river I ever saw. 
 
 Gaboon is well known for the quantity 
 of red wood and ebony it supplies ; and 
 there are other articles of trade, such as 
 ivory, bees’ wax, gum, &c. 
 
 There is also a vegetable butter here, 
 used by the natives, which much resembles 
 
 18 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the “ Ashantee grease,” used bj the natives 
 of Accra and other places on the Gold 
 Coast. Vide Bovvdicli’s Mission, p. 447. 
 
 As it may be interesting to the reader 
 to know the price of ebony in this part 
 of the world, the following assortment of 
 goods is given for 200 pieces, each weigh- 
 ing about 20 lbs. 
 
 Four bottles of powder. 
 
 Four Jeboo cloths. 
 
 Two pieces long-cloth. 
 
 Two doz. small common looking-glasses. 
 
 Two doz. Dutch knives. 
 
 Two doz. pipes. 
 
 One iron bar ; 
 
 the value of which, in Africa, is about 8/., 
 or half this sum in Europe. 
 
 Red-wood is only half the price of ebony, 
 and 125 billets of red- wood are about equal 
 to one ton. If the billets are small, two 
 are always reckoned equal to one. 
 
 The natives are, in general, well-dis- 
 posed. At every village they have a 
 chief, to whom they give the title of king 
 or prince. 
 
 For example ; on entering the river, we 
 were visited by King Qua Ben and his 
 
112 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 people ; then by Prince Will, and next 
 by Prince Jack. The principal man on 
 this river is Tom Lawson , in whom traders 
 place the greatest confidence, from his 
 having uniformly behaved well ; but Prince 
 Jack, who supplied our vessel with the best 
 wood, is a man I should have great confi- 
 dence in if ever I make a voyage to Ga- 
 boon again. Prince Will appears a great 
 rogue ; he speaks both French and English 
 tolerably well, having made one or two 
 voyages to France. 
 
 These chiefs have a strange custom, 
 which is to take their wives on board ves- 
 sels, as soon as they arrive, and leave them 
 with the captain or supercargo, as a depo- 
 sit for the fulfilment of whatever agreement 
 they make as regards supplying the vessel 
 with red-wood and ebony. During the 
 time such deposit is in possession of the 
 captain, he is at liberty to make what use 
 of the lady he thinks proper. Indeed the 
 natives here make a practice of lending 
 their wives to each other ! 
 
 The women of distinction have copper 
 rods twisted round their legs from the ankle 
 to the knee. Their dress is similar to those 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 113 
 
 of the Gold Coast, excepting the cankey, 
 which they do not wear. 
 
 Tom Lawson, and all the principal men 
 who came on board, would not drink with- 
 out putting their hands or a handkerchief 
 before their faces ; as they said, if they 
 were to do so, their enemies had at that 
 time the power of doing them an injury. 
 
 Both men and women braid their hair, 
 which hangs about their neck and shoulders, 
 and has a strange appearance. 
 
 There is a fetish man in the Gaboon, be- 
 longing to Tom Lawson, who declares him- 
 self to be invulnerable, and offered to allow 
 any of the passengers on board our vessel, 
 to fire at him with "a musket or pistol 
 loaded with ball. When one of my com- 
 panions, (Captain Colliver) presented a pistol 
 at him, he said that it was not then his fe- 
 tish day, but the next day was, when, if he, 
 (Captain C.) would go on shore, he might 
 fire as many balls as he pleased, which, 
 the fellow said, would all fall at his feet 
 without wounding him. Tom Lawson also 
 assured us it was true : so that the natives 
 here really believe what this man tells 
 them. 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 A former traveller relates the following 
 fact : — 64 His son bribed this man to endue 
 him with the same fetish ; and eagerly 
 making trial of its virtue, received a mus- 
 ket ball, which fractured the small bone of 
 his arm. The address of the fetish man 
 accounted for this, to the entire satisfaction 
 of every body, by declaring that it was at 
 that instant revealed to him by the offended 
 fetish, that this young man once had a 
 stolen intercourse with his wife, at an im- 
 proper season ; it was immediately con- 
 fessed as a truth, and they are as obstinate 
 believers as ever.” 
 
 This is the only place on the coast, 
 which I have visited, where the natives use 
 boats instead of canoes, which are made 
 out of one solid piece of wood, and large 
 enough to carry two or three puncheons. 
 
 During the time the vessel was taking in 
 her cargo, I went on shore, and paid a visit 
 to Tom Lawson and King George. They 
 have both separate towns, which are within 
 half a mile of each other, and may contain 
 four or five hundred inhabitants. St. 
 George’s Town, which belongs to King 
 George, is pleasantly situated on a hill, is 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 115 
 
 well laid out, and the streets are broad and 
 clean. The houses are made of bamboo, 
 but would be much more comfortable if 
 they had windows, and the natives were to 
 adopt the method of cooking their victuals 
 in an outer apartment. They sleep on 
 bedsteads, and use musquito curtains made 
 of bamboo. 
 
 From St. George’s Town we could see 
 our vessel lyiug at anchor, about eight 
 miles off. King George was very ill, and 
 confined to his room, but he shook hands 
 with us all very cordially, and appeared 
 happy to see us. He spoke English fluently 
 and said he had been at Liverpool, and 
 other places in England. He was ex- 
 tremely well-behaved, and comparatively 
 civilized. We saw here a solitary Por- 
 tugese, who was very sickly. He said he 
 had done some trade in ivory with the 
 natives ; and well he deserved it, shut out 
 from all society, and from every amuse- 
 ment. It is indeed surprising how any Eu- 
 ropean could reconcile himself to live in so 
 desolate a place. 
 
 The natives speak English tolerably well. 
 They spoke of a nation in the interior, 
 
116 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 called the Kaleys, who make iron from the 
 ore, which the earth produces in con- 
 siderable quantities. Some of their wea- 
 pons of war, such as swords and javelins, 
 I brought to England ; and also some 
 curiously worked mats, which they make 
 very skilfully in various colours. These 
 people are said to be cannibals ; and they 
 “ not only eat their prisoners but their 
 dead, whose bodies are bid for directly the 
 breath is out of them ; a father has fre- 
 quently been seen to eat his own child." 
 
 They bring off great quantities of par- 
 rots for sale, which are so plentiful that 
 I have seen more than a hundred in a flock. 
 Pelicans are also numerous, and cameleons 
 are to be procured here. 
 
 Tom Lawson described to us a species of 
 ourang-outan, called the Ingrena, which, he 
 assured us, was much largerthan a man; and 
 said, they frequently tore off branches from 
 the trees, and beat men to death in the 
 woods. I saw the skeleton of the hand of 
 one of these animals, and it certainly was 
 larger than that of a man. 
 
 There are a great variety of monkeys 
 here; leopards also are numerous. The 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 117 
 
 natives brought off one of the latter to 
 our vessel, which a passenger on board 
 purchased, but the captain would not allow 
 it to be kept ; it was therefore thrown 
 overboard. 
 
 The scenery on the banks of the river is 
 beautiful ; the mangrove, palm, and red- 
 wood trees are abundant. The climate is 
 considered unhealthy, but we had only one 
 man sick while we remained here. It was 
 very warm on board the vessel, the thermo- 
 meter being frequently as high as 98°. 
 
 I will now close my observations upon 
 the Coast of Africa, and proceed with an 
 account of my journey into the interior. 
 
118 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EMBASSY TO ASHANTEE, IN 1820. 
 
 The last mission to Ashantee, in 1817, was 
 conducted by Mr. Bowdich, under the di- 
 rection of the African committee,* which, 
 
 * The African committee, since the year. 1750, has 
 had the management of our settlements on the Gold 
 Coast, under the control of the Board of Trade. By 
 an act 23 Geo. II. and several subsequent acts of parlia- 
 ment, the committee was established, and allowed to 
 appoint governors, deputy governors, and other officers, 
 civil and military. The Royal African Company was 
 established in the reign of Charles II., when an exclu- 
 sive trade was granted from Sallee to the Cape of 
 Good Hope. But by an act passed in the last session of 
 Parliament (originating from the judicious measures of 
 His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonial De- 
 partment,) the African committee has ceased to exist; a 
 measure which has long been desired by the merchants 
 in Africa; for although it must be admitted, injustice to 
 the committee, and their secretary, Mr. Cock, that they 
 have ever been anxious to discharge their duty to the 
 public faithfully and zealously, yet the system in itself 
 was notoriously bad, and universally reprobated. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 119 
 
 it may be necessary to state, consist of nine 
 respectable merchants, chosen fromLondon, 
 Liverpool, and Bristol, for the purpose of 
 managing the forts and settlements on the 
 Gold Coast of Africa ; and to enable them 
 to do so, they receive from Parliament, 
 an annual grant of 28,000/., out of which 
 they are permitted to expend a consider- 
 able sum for a progress into the interior ; 
 and the present embassy alone has been 
 attended with an expense of nearly 4,000/. 
 To enable the reader more clearly to 
 comprehend the objects of the embassy, 
 I beg to refer him to a copy of Mr. Dupuis’ 
 instructions from Mr. Simon Cock, the se- 
 cretary to the committee, in the Appendix, 
 (No. 1.) 
 
 Mr. Dupuis, on receiving his instruc- 
 tions, sailed from Gravesend in the ship 
 Sarah, and arrived at Cape Coast Castle 
 early in January, and in October I joined 
 that gentleman at Cape Coast. In Novem- 
 ber, I made him an offer of my services, 
 (Appendix, No. 2.) and received from 
 him the answer, (Appendix, No. 3.) On 
 receipt of this letter, I applied to the 
 governor in chief for permission to accom- 
 i 4 
 
120 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 pany the embassy, which was immediately 
 granted ; and the following appointment 
 shortly after conferred upon me. 
 
 “ Cape Coast Castle, 
 
 “ 3d January, 1820. 
 
 “ Sir, — I am commanded by the go- 
 vernor and council to inform you, that you 
 are appointed to accompany Consul Dupuis 
 on the embassy to Ashantee. 
 
 “ You will place yourself entirely under 
 the direction of that gentleman; and in the 
 event of any accident happening to him, you 
 will take charge of the embassy, and act in 
 all respects in conformity to the instructions 
 which are in the Consul’s possession. 
 
 “ Thursday next is fixed for the departure 
 of the embassy, you will therefore hold 
 yourself in readiness. 
 
 “ By order of the governor and council, 
 “ J. Tasker Williams, 
 “ William Hutton Esq. “ Secretary.” 
 &c. &c. &c.” 
 
 From this period there was an unbroken 
 friendship and confidence between Mr. Du- 
 puis and myself ; we were both embarked 
 in the same cause, and both equally anxious 
 for its success. Our political sentiments 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 121 
 
 were the same, and all our attention was 
 directed to the object in view. We attend- 
 ed the public meetings of the governor 
 and council in the castle-hall, and not a 
 day passed without something being done 
 to forward the departure of the embassy. 
 As the governor and council were at first 
 averse to the measure, both Mr. Dupuis and 
 myself were obliged to use every effort to 
 induce them to alter their decision, which, 
 after much difficulty, we succeeded in. Upon 
 this occasion I received the following flat- 
 tering testimony of my exertions from Mr. 
 Dupuis. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear Sir, however much 
 I am harassed in mind with £C palavers,” 
 I feel for your situation. Looking at your 
 energetic endeavors in forwarding the em- 
 bassy, depend upon it, my feelings, as much 
 as my public duty, are deeply interested at 
 this very moment in taking proper notice 
 of your meritorious conduct.” 
 
 I have stated that the governor and 
 council were, in the first instance, averse 
 to the departure of the embassy; and 
 as it arose from some negotiations at 
 that time pending between them and 
 
122 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 the king of Ashantee, it will be proper 
 to explain, for the information of the 
 reader, and in justice to the governor and 
 council, the nature of these negotiations, as 
 well as the cause of the dispute which gave 
 rise to them, this explanation being par- 
 ticularly connected with my narrative. 
 
 After the king of Ashantee had returned 
 from the war with the Buntakoos, or Adin- 
 kiras, so called from their king’s name, he 
 sent (as is usual on such occasions) several 
 jawbones to Cape Coast, Elmina, Com- 
 menda, and Accra, to convince the natives 
 of those towns of his having conquered his 
 enemy, Adinkira. At Commenda, a Bri- 
 tish settlement about twenty miles from 
 Cape Coast Castle, the pynins, or chiefs, 
 drove the king’s messengers out of the town, 
 without allowing them even a draught of 
 water, and the boys hooted and pelted 
 them with stones. 
 
 The Ashantee messengers, on being 
 driven from Commenda, proceeded to Cape 
 Coast, where they complained of the ill- 
 treatment they had experienced ; but in- 
 stead of receiving any redress, they were 
 sent back to the king of Ashantee, without 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 123 
 
 being shewn the common rights of hospi- 
 tality. When his sable majesty became 
 acquainted with it, he sent a messenger 
 to the governor of Cape Coast, and to 
 the principal men of that town, de- 
 manding satisfaction for the insulting con- 
 duct of the Commendas, stating that they 
 were under the protection of the Cape Coast 
 natives ; and, “ therefore,” says the king, 
 “ you shall give me satisfaction in the present 
 case.” He preferred making his demand on 
 the town of Cape Coast, as he well knew 
 the poverty of the Commendas rendered 
 them incapable of paying the penalty ; but 
 this demand was refused by the governor 
 in chief, principally on account of the mes- 
 sage being couched in improper language, 
 and accompanied with insulting advice to 
 the governor, to build the castle-walls 
 higher, and to prepare for the Ashantee 
 army, which, it was intimated, would march 
 to the sea-side in forty days, if the demand 
 were refused. The governor answered, 
 that the king might march his army down 
 in twenty days if he thought proper, as in 
 that time he should be prepared to receive 
 him. This reply gave great offence to the 
 
124 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 king, who was then at war with the Bunta- 
 koos, and several months elapsed before any 
 thing further transpired on this subject ; 
 but, at length, his sable majesty’s dis- 
 pleasure was manifested by a prohibition 
 of all trade with Cape Coast ; and thus was 
 our commercial intercourse interrupted, 
 and the departure of the embassy for a con- 
 siderable time delayed. The natives of 
 Cape Coast, alarmed by the dread of being 
 again visited by an Ashantee army *, built 
 up a wall of circumvallation, with swish or 
 mud, and made preparations for defence. 
 Affairs continued in this state from the pe- 
 riod of the first message until the begin- 
 ning of September, when the king sent 
 down a confidential captain, who, in the 
 public hall, in presence of the governor in 
 chief, delivered himself to the following 
 effect : 
 
 * It may be necessary to mention, that the Ashantees 
 invaded Fantee in 1808 , 1811 , and 1816 . On the last 
 invasion, Cape Coast was so long blockaded by the 
 Ashantee army, that the greatest distress and famine 
 were the consequence ; and still greater miseries would 
 have ensued but for the humane conduct of Mr. Dawson, 
 Mr. Hope Smith, and others, in advancing a consider- 
 able sum of gold on account of the Fantees. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 125 
 
 “ The king, my master, feels very much 
 hurt at the message which was returned 
 him by the governor of Cape Coast, im- 
 porting that he would neither suffer the 
 Commenda people to do him justice for 
 their ill-treatment of his messengers, nor 
 the natives of Cape Coast, for their conduct 
 in bidding him defiance, by building up 
 entrenchments, and refusing to interfere 
 and settle his palaver with the Commendas, 
 and by their indecent conduct in laughing 
 at what they suppose to be his misfortunes 
 with the Buntakoos. The king knows 
 they have said there is no king on the 
 stool of Ashantee, and that the Bunta- 
 koos have killed him. But the king is 
 more hurt than all to think that the white 
 men should believe it, and that they should 
 put shame on his face before his own 
 people, and before the Fantees in the castle- 
 hall. The king denies having sent any 
 indecent message to the governor, and 
 therefore has put his first messenger 
 under arrest ; who, if he has been guilty 
 of any misrepresentation, shall forfeit his 
 head ! How could the king wish for war 
 with the white men, whom he considers his 
 
126 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 friends, and with whom he took fetesh ? 
 The king cannot make war with any nation 
 with which he has made fetesh ; and there- 
 fore he sends back your book, (treaty,) and 
 desires that it may be read over by the gover- 
 nor, in order that he may know he has not 
 been deceived by the white men who 
 visited Ashantee. But if the articles are 
 right, he desires that you will keep your 
 book, that he may make war ‘proper.' The 
 king’s army is now stationed on the oppo- 
 site side of the river (Boosempra) ; but he 
 will not suffer his troops to cross until 
 he knows your answer ; nor will he 
 suffer any more trade, until the pa- 
 laver is settled. The king says, Take 
 back your book, since you have broken 
 it ; for I acknowledge the forts to govern 
 the towns under them, and therefore de- 
 manded of you satisfaction for injuries 
 done me by the people of those towns, 
 when it would have been easy for me to 
 have marched an army, and obtained satis- 
 faction myself. The king wishes proper 
 respect to be paid by the Ashantees to the 
 white men ; but he cannot suffer an indig- 
 nity to be offered to him without a cause; 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 127 
 
 when he wished to cultivate a good under- 
 standing with them, and when he thought 
 the book he had signed, secured to him their 
 good-will, and the friendship of their great 
 king. But the king is afraid he has been 
 deceived, and therefore desires to know de- 
 cidedly whether you wish for peace or war. 
 He is ready for either, and will soon con- 
 vince his enemies that he is not dead, as the 
 Fantees say. But if you wish for peace, 
 the king will have ample satisfaction for 
 those injuries.” 
 
 Here the Ashantee captain paused, and 
 the governor read aloud the articles of 
 the treaty, which were interpreted into 
 Ashantee ; upon which the governor pointed 
 to Mr. Dupuis, and said, <c that he had 
 been sent by the king of England with 
 presents to the king of Ashantee, and that 
 he had been some time at Cape Coast, but 
 had been prevented from visiting the king 
 in consequence of what had happened.” 
 The chiefs, and the Ashantees then pre- 
 sent, congratulated Mr. Dupuis, saying, 
 they were certain their king would be glad 
 to see him, as he had come from the king 
 of England. The debate was concluded 
 by the chief declaring that he must have a 
 
128 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA* 
 
 decisive answer, to send to his master, and 
 again desired to know whether the gover- 
 nor would see justice done him or not : to 
 which, after some consideration, the go- 
 vernor replied, that the people should pay 
 a fine, which should be determined on by 
 the chiefs of the town. The Ashantee 
 chief having returned to the king with the 
 governor’s answer, and a considerable de- 
 lay having taken place before any farther 
 message was received from Ashantee, Mr. 
 Dupuis applied to the governor and coun- 
 cil, to order the necessary preparations for 
 the departure of the embassy, to which, 
 in this state of affairs, they did not deem 
 it prudent to comply. 
 
 At length, the long-expected ambassador, 
 Prince Adoom *, nephew to the king of 
 Ashantee, with an escort of five hundred 
 armed men, besides servants and bearers in 
 a considerable number, arrived at Cape 
 Coast, it being understood that he was to 
 be joined, in case of need, by several thou- 
 sand of the Elminas and Fantees. Affairs 
 assuming a very serious aspect, it became 
 the more necessary that measures should 
 
 * Vide Plate. 
 

 #Z777t . 
 
 TublCsktd by Long man, Ifurrt, Rees, Ormt drjBrvwn . 1S21 . 
 

 
 
 
 » 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 129 
 
 be immediately adopted for the departure 
 of the embassy. Accordingly, Prince 
 Adoom, with Acassey, one of the Assin 
 captains, attended by many inferior mes- 
 sengers, and servants, were allowed an au- 
 dience with the governor and council in 
 the public hall. Captain Kelly, of the 
 navy, with Mr. Dupuis and myself, were 
 present, as well as the pynins and cabboceers 
 of Cape Coast. A long and animated dis- 
 cussion ensued, the speakers recapitulating 
 the whole of the affair, from the origin of 
 the dispute to the present time. One of 
 the speakers harangued the assembly for 
 upwards of two hours with amazing rapidity ; 
 his name was Endo, a slave of Prince 
 Adoom. This man was employed in con- 
 fidential business, from the ambassador at 
 Cape Coast, to the king at Coomassie. 
 After he had finished his speech, he was 
 followed on the same side by Enkansa, an 
 Assin messenger, who also delivered his 
 sentiments at great length, and with consi- 
 derable ability. The Ashantees are re- 
 markable for their powers of oratory ; and 
 as it may not be uninteresting to know 
 what passed on this occasion, I will give a 
 
 K 
 
180 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 brief account of it. The criers * of the 
 court having called “ Silence,” Endo be- 
 gan by stating the origin of the dispute, 
 the ill treatment of the king’s messengers 
 by the Commenda people, — the first mes- 
 sage sent by the king to the governor, with 
 the governor’s answer, — and the king 
 having accepted the present sent him by 
 the governor, while he refused that which 
 was sent by the pynins of Cape Coast, 
 which evinced his desire to be on friendly 
 terms with the white men, while the con- 
 trary was manifest as regarded the natives 
 under the fort, who had given him offence, 
 and therefore he refused their present until 
 they had given him satisfaction. Enkansa 
 followed, and stated that no insulting mes- 
 sage was sent to the governor, advising him 
 to build the castle-walls higher ; and that if 
 the messenger had said so, he was in con- 
 finement, and would lose his head. He 
 
 * These criers have a singular appearance, wearing 
 monkey-skin caps, with a gold plate in front, and long 
 tails hanging down their backs ; at the end of almost 
 every sentence delivered by the linguist, or person 
 speaking, they call out loudly, “ Tchawoum! Teha- 
 woum!” Silence! Silence! There are upwards of a 
 hundred of these criers, who attend the linguists, and 
 are all deformed. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA* 
 
 131 
 
 added, that the king being tired of sending 
 messengers to the governor, had now sent 
 down his nephew, Prince Adoom, with 
 full powers to negotiate and settle the dis- 
 pute ; but that the king demanded 1600 
 ounces of gold from the natives of Cape 
 Coast, and the same quantity from the 
 governor, for having broken the treaty. 
 
 The substance of the two speeches having 
 been interpreted to the governor and coun- 
 cil by the linguist (De Graft), they made 
 answer by desiring the linguist to ask 
 Adoom, or any of his attendants, if ever 
 they heard of a governor of a British fort 
 paying a fine to the king of Ashantee, or 
 to any black man whatever. The reply to 
 this was a negative ; when the governor 
 said, “ Then tell them I am not now soing 
 
 J o o 
 
 to begin.” 
 
 Upon this spirited reply, a great up- 
 roar and confusion ensued, and the 
 meeting broke up ; but a second hearing 
 took place some days after, when it was 
 determined that the embassy should imme- 
 diately depart for Ashantee, with an assur- 
 ance from Prince Adoom, that Mr. Dupuis 
 and his companions should be protected 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 and allowed to return to Cape Coast at 
 any time they thought proper, in the 
 event of the differences not being amicably 
 settled. Accordingly, the day was fixed 
 for our departure, and Prince Adoom agreed 
 to supply 300 Ashantees and two captains, 
 to conduct the embassy to the capital, and 
 to assist in carrying the presents to the king. 
 
 A misunderstanding unfortunately now 
 took place between the governor and coun- 
 cil and Mr. Dupuis, upon the subject of 
 the instructions which were addressed by 
 the former to the latter. Mr. Dupuis in- 
 sisting that the council had no authority 
 to give him such instructions ; and the 
 governor and council, equally tenacious 
 of their prerogative, asserted that they 
 were fully authorized to do so. Whether 
 they were or were not, the reader will de- 
 termine from the documents now before 
 him ; and as I wish to be strictly impartial, 
 I shall forbear giving any opinion on the 
 subject ; at the same time, that it may not 
 be said I have omitted any paper relevant 
 and proper to lay before the public, I have 
 inserted in the Appendix (Nos. 4. and 5.) 
 a copy of the instructions, and also a letter 
 which I received from Mr. Dupuis at this 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 133 
 
 period, which fully shews his determination 
 not to receive instructions from the gover- 
 nor and council. 
 
 In consequence of Mr. Dupuis’ illness, 
 our departure was deferred for a day or 
 two, but the presents for the king of 
 Ashantee, having been sent off on the 3d 
 February, accompanied by Mr. Collins 
 (vice-consul), and Mr. Graves ; and the 
 governor and council not conceiving it pro- 
 per to allow so much property to be exposed 
 on the road without either Mr. Dupuis or 
 myself being with it, they ordered me off 
 to Paintrey, to take charge of the embassy. 
 (Vide Appendix, No. 6.) 
 
 I communicated their orders to Mr. Du- 
 puis, who immediately addressed a letter to 
 the governor and council, stating, that in 
 consequence of his serious indisposition, 
 which he feared might continue longer than 
 it would be proper to detain the presents, 
 he had appointed me to the command of 
 the embassy, and also to succeed him as 
 consul, as will appear by the Appendix, 
 (No. 7.) 
 
 Being in possession of all the necessary 
 documents to enable me to conduct the em- 
 
 k 3 
 
134 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 bassy to the capital, and having received 
 100 oz. of gold from Mr. Dupuis, and also 
 a copy of his instructions from His Majesty’s 
 government, I hastened to the public hall, 
 and took leave of the governor, after which 
 I was accompanied to the castle-gate by the 
 principal officers of the garrison, whose kind 
 attentions and good wishes were very gra- 
 tifying. Having taken a friendly leave of 
 them, I got into my hammock and de- 
 parted from Cape Coast. 
 
 But it is here proper to detain the 
 reader, while I explain, that, although the 
 governor and council had appointed me 
 second of the embassy, and authorized me 
 to take the command in the event of acci- 
 dent to Mr. Dupuis, yet they were so dis- 
 pleased with that gentleman’s taking upon 
 himself to appoint me to the situation of 
 consul (as I presume) without consulting 
 them, that they addressed a letter to Mr. 
 Dupuis, saying they could not recognize 
 his appointment of any person to that situ- 
 ation. Mr. Dupuis’ public letter to the 
 governor and council upon this subject will 
 be found at full length in the Appendix, 
 (No. 8.) Their objection, however, was too 
 trifling to delay my departure from Cape 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 135 
 
 Coast; and on my arrival at Pain trey, where 
 I found Mr. Collins and Mr. Graves, I 
 hoisted the British flag at our quarters, and 
 proceeded to examine the different pack- 
 ages, and compare the marks and numbers 
 with the list of the presents for the king 
 furnished me by the secretary, prior to 
 my departure from Cape Coast. (Vide Ap- 
 pendix, No. 9.) 
 
 I had now a little time to reflect on the 
 important trust committed to my charge, 
 as well as to deliberate on the best mea- 
 sures for carrying into effect the objects 
 of the embassy. My instructions from Mr. 
 Dupuis (Appendix, No. 10.) required me 
 to wait for him at Paintrey only two days, 
 while those from the governor and council 
 desired me to remain there until joined by 
 that gentleman, or until I received further 
 orders ; but I well knew that whatever dif- 
 ference of opinion existed between Mr. 
 Dupuis and the governor and council upon 
 this subject, I had the warmest wishes of 
 all parties for our success. Every one 
 looked forward anxiously to our pro- 
 ceedings ; for the interests at stake, both 
 public and private, were most important ; 
 
 k 4 
 
136 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFKICA. 
 
 and whether I followed the instructions 
 from the governor and council, or those 
 from Mr. Dupuis, I was determined to do 
 my duty in the situation I was placed to 
 the best of my judgment and ability. 
 
 I will now add a list of our stores, and 
 then proceed with the account of the em- 
 bassy from the day we left Cape Coast, and 
 beg to refer my readers to the map, which 
 I have drawn expressly to show the courses 
 and distance of each day’s journey. It 
 would be difficult to give the courses with 
 perfect accuracy in travelling a narrow 
 black’s path, from the numberless turnings 
 and windings. The distances, however, I 
 think, may be depended upon, and the lati- 
 tude and longitude of the different towns I 
 hope will be found tolerably correct ; al- 
 though I regret to say the embassy was en- 
 tirely unprovided with quadrants and tele- 
 scopes. I had therefore no means of check- 
 ing the latitude by an altitude of the sun. 
 But I have deemed it my duty to give the 
 latitude and longitude of the different towns 
 by course and distance, according to the 
 account which I kept during the journey, 
 without regard to other accounts, which 
 may probably be more correct. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 137 
 
 The following is a list of the stores and 
 necessaries, which were furnished from the 
 
 public warehouse for the use of the em- 
 
 bassy : 
 
 P 
 
 1 and 2. 2 Cases containing 2 doz. Port Wine. 
 
 3 and 6. 4 do 
 
 
 7. 1 do 
 
 
 8. 1 do 
 
 
 9. 1 do 
 
 
 
 Plates, 12 Soup Plates, 
 6 Dishes, 2 lbs. Pepper, 
 ^lb. Cloves, ilb. Nutmegs, 
 ilb. Alspice, 2 Table- 
 
 10 and 14. 5 Ankers 
 
 cloths. 
 
 containing West India Rum. 
 
 15 and 16. 2 do. 
 
 
 17. 1 Case 
 
 
 12. 1 do. 
 
 
 20 and 21. 2 Cases 
 
 2 Bottles Oil, 2 pint 
 Decanters, 6 Tum- 
 blers, 6 Wine-glasses, 
 4 Bottles Mustard, 
 6 lbs. Candles, 1 doz. 
 large Knives and 
 Forks, 1 doz. small 
 Knives and Forks, 
 1 pair Carvers, 2 
 Bottles of Vinegar, 
 containing Crackers (small Bis- 
 
 22 and 25. 4 Ankers 
 
 cuits.) 
 
 26 and 27. 2 Cases 
 
 
 28 and 29. 2 do. 
 
 
 1 Hamper .....2 doz. Ale. 
 
138 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 From the above list it will be seen that 
 the governor and council were determined 
 we should not want any thing on our 
 journey to the capital. The)' also, in the 
 handsomest manner, increased my salary to 
 400/. per annum, and made me a present 
 of 20/. in gold to purchase any extra articles 
 I might require for my outfit. 20/. were 
 also given to Messrs. Salmon and Collins, 
 and 10/. to Mr. Graves. 
 
 Each officer was allowed eight hammock- 
 men, besides four men to carry luggage. 
 We were all provided with bedding, and 
 saddles and bridles, as we knew we should 
 get horses at the capital. As the reader 
 may wish to be acquainted with the method 
 adopted by Europeans of travelling in a 
 hammock and in a basket, as used by the 
 Ashantees, I have given a representation of 
 our departure from Cape Coast, in which I 
 have drawn Mr. Salmon riding in a basket, 
 for the purpose of shewing that method of 
 travelling ; although it is proper to observe, 
 that gentleman rode in a hammock as well 
 as myself. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 139 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 H aving received one hundred ounces of 
 gold from Mr. Dupuis, and the necessary 
 documents to enable me to conduct the 
 embassy to the capital, I departed from 
 Cape Coast Castle on Saturday afternoon, 
 about four o’clock, on the 5th of February, 
 1 820, accompanied by Mr. Benjamin Salmon, 
 assistant surgeon in the Company’s service. 
 
 My feelings upon this occasion I will 
 leave to the reader’s imagination. I had 
 for several years an ardent desire to explore 
 the interior of Africa, and in the year 1816, 
 I relinquished an appointment of 2001. 
 a-year under the African Company, and 
 volunteered to accompany Major Peddie’s 
 expedition to explore the course and ter- 
 mination of the Niger; but was disap- 
 pointed in my expectations under that 
 gentleman. I also volunteered to accom- 
 pany the mission to Ashantee in 1817, but 
 the governor of Cape Coast, for reasons not 
 
140 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 material at this moment to mention, did 
 not think proper, at that time, to avail him- 
 self of my services. 
 
 Upon the present occasion, I believe I 
 was the only officer in the Company’s ser- 
 vice who volunteered to accompany Mr. Du- 
 puis. I therefore now not only succeeded 
 in what I had so long and so ardently de- 
 desired, but was quite unexpectedly placed 
 at the head of the embassy, as well as ap- 
 pointed to succeed Mr. Dupuis as His Ma- 
 jesty’s consul at Coomassie. 
 
 The sun was sloping towards the horizon 
 as we took a farewell glance of Cape Coast 
 Castle ; and ere we had advanced a mile, an 
 old fetish woman sprinkled us with water, 
 and bestowed her best wishes for our pros- 
 perity and safe return. Proceeding along 
 the beach to the eastward of Cape Coast, 
 we passed through a small town called 
 Mumford, a Dutch settlement at the end of 
 two miles, and continuing in the same di- 
 rection miles further, we entered Mouree, 
 another Dutch settlement. Here there was 
 formerly a good fort, but, like most of the 
 forts in this part of Africa, it is now 
 abandoned and in a ruinous state. We 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 141 
 
 halted ten minutes at Mouree, but the 
 curiosity of the natives was so much ex- 
 cited by our appearance, and so many as- 
 sembled around us, that we were glad to 
 get into our hammocks and enjoy uninter- 
 rupted the refreshing sea-breeze from the 
 south-west, as we travelled pleasantly along 
 through a fine open country, industriously 
 cultivated with yams, kasada, and Indian 
 corn. The soil was black and rich, particu- 
 larly where the husbandman had made plan- 
 tations, which were frequent. In other 
 places, gravel and marble, as well as iron- 
 stone, abounded ; a few mineralogical spe- 
 cimens I preserved. Gwava and cocoa-nut, 
 as well as cotton-trees, were plentiful ; but 
 thick underwood generally prevailed. 
 
 The path from Mouree, for four miles, 
 is extremely good, being nearly in a straight 
 line E.N.E., and agreeably shaded, in most 
 places, by the branches of trees; and the 
 intense heat of the day being over be- 
 fore we left Cape Coast, made the first part 
 of our journey delightful. The country was 
 nearly a level between the surrounding 
 mountains, forming a beautiful valley, with 
 romantic scenery. 
 
142 
 
 •A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Our hammock-men, after travelling eight 
 miles, halted, and expressed a wish to rest 
 until the morning under a large cotton-tree, 
 which spread its lofty branches so as to pro- 
 tect us from the dews of the night. This 
 however 1 was unwilling to listen to, from 
 the impression that it would be better to 
 proceed to the nearest village ; but after it 
 became dark, and as our difficulties in- 
 creased, I regretted our departure from the 
 cotton-tree ; for we found the path so bad, 
 that the hammock-men frequently fell down, 
 and I would willingly have halted for the 
 night if there had been any town at hand to 
 enable us to do so, as we did not travel 
 more than a mile and a half in an hour, and 
 that in the greatest misery. At last we lost 
 our way, when we halted, and after some 
 difficulty in getting a light, we made two 
 large fires in the woods, around which we 
 all seated ourselves for nearly an hour. 
 But as we were exposed to the heavy dews 
 which always fall at night in this part of 
 the world, as well as to the wild beasts 
 which infest the forest, I did not conceive 
 it prudent or safe to remain in this situa- 
 tion ; and, notwithstanding the unwilling- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 143 
 
 ness of our people to leave the lire, and 
 their entreaties to rest themselves until the 
 morning, I ordered them to proceed, which, 
 after some expressions of dissatisfaction, 
 they complied with. 
 
 We now continued our journey with 
 torches, and arrived at Tom Coffee’s croom 
 (village) at 11 o’clock. The course, before 
 it became dark, was E. by N. and E.N. E. 
 This village lies a little out of the direct 
 path to Paintrey, and is 104 miles from 
 Cape Coast. I have laid it down in the 
 map in lat. 5° 15' 30 ' N., long. 1° 44' W. 
 that is allowing the longitude of Cape Coast 
 to be in 1° 51 ' W. 
 
 Here we entered a miserable hilt, and, 
 notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, 
 we found several of the natives cutting 
 up a bush hog. We requested them to 
 direct us to the cabboceer’s house ; but 
 this they were unwilling to do, and re- 
 garded us with so much apathy and indif- 
 ference, not even offering us a draught of 
 water, or a seat to rest ourselves after our 
 fatigue, that we felt not a little incensed at 
 their inhospitality. We therefore told them 
 that we were travelling to the king of 
 
144 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Ashantee, and exposing ourselves, at that 
 late hour of the night, for their benefit, to 
 settle the palaver between the Ashantees 
 and Cape Coast people, and once more 
 requested them to shew us where the cab- 
 boceer lived. Reasoning, however, with 
 these barbarians had no effect, and finding 
 them still immoveable, I was so provoked 
 by their conduct, that I drew my sabre, and 
 told them, if they did not instantly lead the 
 way to the cabboceer’s house, 1 would cut 
 their ears off*. This threat, (however puerile 
 it may appear to those who have no appre- 
 hensions of losing their ears in such a sum- 
 mary manner,) had the desired effect; for 
 the man who was cutting up the bush hog 
 with a large knife, immediately put it down, 
 and taking the light from one of his attend- 
 ants, very respectfully complied with our 
 repeated solicitations ; and being provided 
 with a lodging for the night, we retired to 
 rest after swallowing a draught of dirtv 
 water. 
 
 The next morning, at five o’clock, we 
 mustered our hammock-men and baggage- 
 bearers, and set off for Paintrey. Just as 
 we were leaving the town, a messenger ar- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 145 
 
 rived from the cabboceer, with his compli- 
 ments, saying he would pay his respects to 
 us ; but this mark of distinction we declined, 
 as we had got into our hammocks, and 
 were anxious to proceed on our journey. 
 We passed through several c rooms, which 
 had been deserted in consequence of dis- 
 putes with the Ashantees. The path was 
 chiefly through a wood, but occasionally 
 led us into an open plain for a short dis- 
 tance, where the picturesque scenery and 
 luxuriant foliage burst upon us with a pleas- 
 ing effect, and the diversity of hill and dale 
 was not wan tin o'. 
 
 O 
 
 The high Guinea grass and bush were 
 particularly unpleasant to our feet and legs, 
 from the dews which had fallen in the 
 night ; and the hammock-men being fa- 
 tigued, we got out and walked about two 
 miles, to relieve them as well as ourselves, 
 being tired from sitting so long in one 
 posture. 
 
 Five miles from Tom Coffee’s croom, 
 we forded a large pool of stagnant water ; 
 and about a mile before we reached Pain- 
 trey, we passed a small brook. Half a 
 mile from thence we reached a neat little 
 
 L 
 
146 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 village, consisting of about twenty huts, 
 called Asoonquci ; on entering which, the 
 man who carried our flag began to unfurl 
 it, which was the signal for our being 
 near Paintrey, where we arrived in ten 
 minutes after, at a quarter before nine 
 o’clock, Sunday morning, the 6 th of Fe- 
 bruary. 
 
 Here we found breakfast very refreshing, 
 as we had not partaken of any food since 
 twelve o’clock the preceding day, having 
 left Cape Coast before the usual dinner 
 hour ; and being disappointed in reaching 
 Paintrey that night, as we expected, we 
 could not get any refreshment where we 
 slept. The courses this morning were N. 
 by E., and sometimes N.W. ; the prevail- 
 ing course was N.E., but the direct course 
 I make N.N.E. distance 85 - miles. The 
 variation of the compass If point W. ; 14 
 point variation is usually allowed, but I 
 think it scarcely sufficient. 
 
 I must not, however, omit to mention, 
 that the path from Tom Coffee’s croom 
 is very indifferent ; in many places it was 
 not more than a foot wide, scarcely wide 
 enough for the hammock-men to walk ; 
 and we found several trees blown down 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 147 
 
 directly across it. But upon the whole, 
 the path from Cape Coast to Paint rev is 
 rather good than otherwise, and an excel- 
 lent road might be made here at a trifling 
 expense, which would be amply repaid by 
 the pleasure and advantages that would 
 result to the British merchants and officers 
 of Cape Coast. And if the king of Ashantee 
 can ultimately be prevailed upon to allow 
 factories to be established at Paintrey, the 
 gentlemen at Cape Coast would find this 
 a delightful country retreat, as they could 
 ride out one day, and return the next, 
 which, from experience, I am convinced 
 would contribute greatly to their health 
 during their residence in Africa. Indeed, 
 if a good road were once cut, the merchants 
 and officers at Cape Coast might ride to 
 Paintrey in their carriages. This, as well as 
 being a great improvement, would act as an 
 example to the natives, and the Ashantees 
 in particular, who visit the coast, to keep 
 the paths open, and make similar improve- 
 ments throughout the country. 
 
 As His Majesty’s government have now 
 taken the forts from the African Commit- 
 tee, I am induced to recommend their 
 
 l 2 
 
148 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 attention to this part of Africa, particularly 
 as a free and open communication might 
 so easily be made all the way to Pain trey ; 
 between which and Cape Coast, an extensive 
 field is open for cultivation and civilization. 
 I say cultivation and civilization, because I 
 am decidedly of opinion, that, to civilize the 
 natives of Africa, we must first shew them 
 how to cultivate the country, by employing 
 a certain number of persons expressly for 
 this purpose, when the incredulous and ig- 
 norant negro will be convinced of the ad- 
 vantages which will result from industry, 
 and civilization will then follow as a matter 
 of course. I do not however mean to say 
 but missionaries and school-masters would 
 be desirable, if assisted in their views by 
 examples of cultivation ; without which all 
 their efforts will be nugatory. 
 
 Missionaries alone will never succeed in 
 civilizing Africa. They have, it is true, 
 made some progress at Sierra Leone and at 
 other places, but their progress is very slow, 
 and will never be completely successful 
 unless other measures are resorted to. 
 These measures, I will endeavour to point 
 out. But as one instance of their igno- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 149 
 
 ranee and contempt of religious means of 
 conversion, there is a very striking and, I 
 believe, a very true anecdote, to this effect: 
 “ that after a missionary had collected a 
 number of the natives together, and 
 preached to them a considerable time, they 
 interrupted him by saying, ‘ What master 
 says is all very true, and master’s palaver 
 is very good, but now we have heard 
 master so far, we want a dram.”’ 
 
 Upon the plan I now suggest I conceive 
 it would be an object of great importance 
 to establish a missionary or a schoolmaster 
 at Paintrey, as the situation is desirable, it 
 being only nine hours ride from Cape Coast; 
 the town pleasantly situated, and the people 
 peaceable, cleanly, and well behaved. 
 
 In short, here is all that can reasonably 
 be desired in a country like Africa, and no 
 country is better provided for by nature. 
 On the sea-coast there is an abundant sup- 
 ply of fish, of almost every description ; 
 great quantities of which are dried and con- 
 veyed into the interior ; and there is no want 
 of poultry, sheep, goats, and hogs, although 
 in some parts there is a scarcity of bullocks, 
 and in this part of Africa, in particular, 
 
150 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 there is not a horse to be procured. But 
 the country spontaneously produces the 
 most delicious fruits, consisting of pine- 
 apples, oranges, gwavas, paupaus, benanas, 
 sugar-apples, sour-soups, &c. besides game 
 of almost all descriptions, such as deer, 
 bush-hog, hares, partridges, wild-ducks, 
 pigeons, &c., and there is no want of beau- 
 tiful lakes and rivers to refresh the soil. 
 Neither is there any want of rain for nearly 
 six months in the year. It has also been 
 proved that the soil is capable of producing 
 the choicest vegetables. In a word, there 
 can be no doubt that, by cultivation and in- 
 dustry, dur settlements in this part of Africa 
 may hot only be the means of civilizing 
 the natives, but also become as valuable 
 to our nation as any of our colonial pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 1 would suggest, on the transfer of the 
 African forts to His Majesty, that at least 
 from fifty to one hundred persons of differ- 
 ent description's, such as farmers, mechanics, 
 and labourers , be sent out to our head- 
 quarters at Cape Coast, to be distributed 
 and disposed of at Coomassie, and in va- 
 rious parts of the country, as the governor- 
 in-chief shall think most advisable. And as 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 151 
 
 it is understood that our affairs in that coun- 
 try are in future to he under the command 
 and direction of Sir Charles Mac Carthy, 
 the governor of Sierra Leone, if we may 
 judge from the advantages which have re- 
 sulted to that colony from the wisdom and 
 humanity which have characterised His Ex- 
 cellency’s measures during liis late govern- 
 ment there, we may hope for the most be- 
 neficial effects from the new arrangement 
 which has taken place ; not that, in making 
 this observation, I would wish to be under- 
 stood as reflecting in the slightest degree 
 upon the measures of the present chief- 
 governor, who, I have already stated, has 
 made many excellent improvements. 
 
 Should I be told that there are mecha- 
 nics and labourers sufficient at Cape Coast, 
 I deny that there are enough, and those 
 who are there are only Company’s slaves, 
 who have been very imperfectly taught. 
 There are, however, neither farmers nor 
 turners , which are highly necessary. For 
 example, among the presents for the king 
 of Ashantee was a turning lathe ; but what 
 was the use of it without a mechanic who 
 perfectly understood how to work it ? If, 
 
 l 4 
 
152 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 indeed, such a person had accompanied the 
 embassy, the Ash antees might then havebeen 
 taught to turn ivory, and the king would 
 have been able with greater facility to have 
 carried into effect his grand design of build- 
 ing a palace, the door-posts and pillars of 
 which were to be of ivory, and the windows 
 and doors to be cased in gold. This single 
 instance alone proves the necessity of such 
 persons being sent out to our settlements 
 on the Gold Coast ; but I shall now leave 
 the subject of cultivation and civilization, 
 and proceed with an account of the em- 
 bassy after its arrival at Paintrey, on the 6th 
 of February. 
 
 Paintrey, commonly so called from the 
 cabboceer of that name, but more properly 
 Doonqua , is situated in 5° 22' 50" N. lat., 
 and 1° 43' 20" W.lon., distant from Cape 
 Coast nineteen miles. From the time we 
 took to travel the distance, it appeared 
 at least twenty-four miles. 
 
 Paintrey, or Doonqua, is a neat and 
 wholesome village, pleasantly situated, and 
 consisting chiefly of one principal street or 
 parade, extending north and south about 
 forty feet broad and 100 yards long. There 
 are about 150 huts or black men’s houses, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 153 
 
 and, I should suppose, 700 inhabitants, 
 adults and infants. Some of the houses 
 are built of swish or clay ; and others are 
 made of bamboo, and neatly thatched with 
 dried palm-leaves and reed, with bamboo- 
 cane for rafters. The house of Quamina 
 Hoyennesse (who is the captain, or right- 
 hand man of old Paintrey, the cabboceer), 
 is curiously divided into four different 
 court-yards, through all of which you pass 
 before you can enter the inner apartment, 
 which is occupied by the master of the 
 house, unless when he has visitors, in 
 which case he gives it up for their accom- 
 modation, as he did, in fact, nearly the 
 whole of the premises, for the use of the 
 embassy. 
 
 This inner apartment, I particularly ob- 
 served, had a ceiling which was white-washed 
 much after the manner of ceilings inEurope, 
 but more rudely done ; altogether, how- 
 ever, it was extremely clean and comfort- 
 able. This room was a sort of armoury, as 
 there were a great many guns, pistols, 
 knives, swords, cartouch-belts, a captain’s 
 curious war-cap, and accoutrements of va- 
 rious kinds hung against the wall. At the 
 
154 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 back of tills room, and detached from the 
 premises, was the Cloacae. 
 
 The court-yards, I have already men- 
 tioned, foriii squares of about eight feet ; 
 on each side are small rooms about eight 
 feet by four, which are raised two feet 
 and a half from the ground by swish 
 01* clay being* thrown up, and which is 
 covered with a layer of red earth Or 
 Ochre, and washed every morning with 
 a mixture of this ochre and Water. 
 These apartments have no windows, blit 
 are left almost entirely open in froilt, so 
 that by day they are as cool and airy as they 
 Can well be in so warm a climate ; and at 
 night, I found them cold enotigh to make 
 use of a blanket on my bed. As a substi- 
 tute for a door, a large mat, (curiously 
 worked,) which is folded up under the roof 
 of the apartment by day, and let down at 
 night, serves to keep the rain out, and also 
 for a screen in the morning, when dressing. 
 The only door is to the court-yard, which 
 these apartments look into. This door is 
 a solid piece of wood cut out of the cotton- 
 tree, and is merely fastened with a piece of 
 stick inside, without any lock. Each end 
 of the apartments is raised about four feet 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 15£ 
 
 with gabie ends, to which three poles are 
 joined ; “ one from the highest point 
 forming the ridge of the roof, and one on 
 each side from the base of the triangular 
 part of the gable,” which support a frame- 
 work of bamboo, covered with palm-leaves. 
 The thermometer sunk twelve alid fifteen 
 degrees during the night, being generally 
 as high as 88° and 90° in the heat of the 
 day in the shade ; and in the mornings, at 
 four or five o’clock, it was as low as 75°. 
 The mornings, indeed, are pleasantly cool, 
 and a walk for an hour, in a retired spot at 
 the back of our quarters, which we selected 
 for a promenade, was almost as pleasant as 
 if we had been ill Europe. A more parti- 
 cular account of the range of the ther- 
 mometer will be found under the head of 
 “ Meteorological Report.” 
 
 The natives of Paintrey live chiefly upon 
 plantains, yams, cankey, and dried sea-fish, 
 which they get from the coast. The flesh 
 of monkeys and deer, which are very 
 abundant all over the country, they fre- 
 quently make soups of. Soup is also made 
 'from the oil of the palm-nut, and is a com- 
 mon dish. The Europeans, indeed, are 
 
156 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 very fond of it, when made into what is 
 called a black’s soup, which is frequently 
 sent to table at relish (luncheon). A mess 
 of it was once dished up in London, at the 
 house of a gentleman who had been in 
 Africa, and was considered a great treat. 
 The nut, if roasted when young, is very 
 pleasant to the taste, and, when old, the 
 oil is expressed from it, which is of a red 
 * colour, and very rich. They have besides 
 plenty of poultry, sheep, and hogs, but do 
 not commonly indulge in this sort of food, 
 as it is too expensive, and they prefer re- 
 serving these articles to sell to any principal 
 men, either in the town, or to travellers. 
 
 During the day, the higher orders amuse 
 themselves chiefly in sitting about in lazy 
 postures, drinking palm wine, and talking 
 palavers, which they are very clever at, 
 and seem never so happy as when they 
 have a good subject to debate upon, which 
 indeed they are seldom at a loss for. They 
 have also a game called worree, or worra, 
 with which they often amuse themselves, 
 but I could not understand it. Bowdich 
 says ’ it is played in Syria, but gives no 
 account of it, neither can I, further than 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 157 
 
 that they have a small board, with fourteen 
 holes cut in it, large enough to admit peb- 
 bles about the size of the marble, which boys 
 in England play with, and these pebbles 
 are tossed from one hole to the other by 
 the two persons at play. A great part 
 of the morning is regularly devoted to 
 washing themselves, from head to foot, 
 which they do by sitting on a small stool 
 in the middle of their court-yard, and 
 sometimes in the open streets, as they do 
 not pay much regard to privacy on these 
 occasions. After washing, they grease their 
 skins with a vegetable ointment called 
 Ashantee grease, which comes from the 
 interior, and is very pure and useful, 
 being extracted from a tree called tim- 
 keea ; it is frequently used for rheumatic 
 pains, and as a salve for sores, &c. and much 
 esteemed at Ashantee, as well as on the 
 coast. It is supposed to be the shea butter 
 mentioned by Park, and is known all over 
 the coast. I met with it several years ago 
 in the Gaboon river, and other places. 
 
 The preceding observations apply chiefly 
 to those natives of the higher orders, who 
 have little or nothing to do ; but those 
 who are poor, and are slaves, are con- 
 
158 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 stantly kept at work, some oil the planta- 
 tions, which are numerous in this neigh- 
 bourhood, and others are employed as 
 servants about the houses, in keeping them 
 clean and attending upon their masters, in 
 cutting wood, getting water, and travelling 
 as messengers and carriers of merchandize, 
 to and from Cape Coast, and the neigh- 
 bouring settlements. 
 
 Palm wine is the common beverage, not 
 only at Paintrey, but all over the coast, as 
 well as in the interior, but I never tasted 
 any so good as at this place. The natives 
 drink it occasionally during the day, as well 
 as at meals, but after three o’clock in the 
 afternoon it turns sour, and is not fit for 
 use. It is brought from the tree every 
 morning early, and is procured in the fol- 
 lowing manner : a hole is made in the thick 
 part of the tree, and in this hole a small 
 tube is inserted through which the palm 
 wine passes, and drops into a pot, which is 
 placed underneath at night, so as to fill by 
 the morning, but this it seldom does, as it 
 distils very slowly. The tree yields wine 
 for twenty or thirty days, and when per- 
 fectly drained withers. As the country 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 159 
 
 abounds with palm trees, there is seldom 
 or ever any scarcity of wine. This tree, I 
 have already mentioned, produces the palm 
 nut, as well as the palm wine, and is very 
 valuable to the natives ; it also produces 
 the bamboo, which is used for rafters for 
 the houses. The age of the palm tree, at 
 its maturity, is about ten years. It seldom 
 yields more than fifteen or twenty gallons 
 of wine. The height of its trunk is about 
 five feet, but the branches shoot out at 
 least fifteen feet. W. e passed a great many 
 of these trees on the path, some of which 
 were in a decayed state, having the wine 
 drawn off, and consequently deprived of all 
 their nourishment. 
 
 The great value of the palm tree is per- 
 haps felt as much by Europeans as the na- 
 tives ; for, besides the supply of beverage 
 and soups made from the oil of the nut, 
 (both of which they are almost as fond of 
 as the natives themselves,) it is also used in- 
 stead of yeast in making bread ; and during 
 the rainy season at Cape Coast, I have fre- 
 quently been obliged to go without bread 
 at my breakfast, in consequence of not being 
 able to get any palm wine the day before. 
 
160 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 I have already mentioned that the wine 
 I have drank here is better than any I ever 
 tasted on the coast, but this is to be ac- 
 counted for by our getting it pure from the 
 tree, as our house-master Quamina Hoy- 
 nesse, (who is exceedingly attentive and 
 obliging,) sent one of his slaves twice a day 
 to get it fresh ; whereas at Cape Coast, the 
 natives take good care to adulterate it with 
 water, although, even in this state, it is very 
 intoxicating. It is a very sweet, pleasant, 
 and wholesome beverage, if not taken in 
 too large quantities. When it is drank to 
 excess, it not only intoxicates, but it is said 
 to create some unpleasant effects upon the 
 body. A gentleman who was many years 
 governor of Appollonia informed me, that 
 he particularly observed this among the 
 natives of that place, where the palm wine 
 is procured in great perfection, as well 
 as at all the settlements in the Ahanta 
 country. 
 
 Rum, although not commonly used, be- 
 ing very dear in the inland towns, these 
 people are very fond of, and drink 
 greedily when they can get it. I had oc- 
 casion, once or twice, to present our house- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. ' 
 
 161 
 
 master, and the Asliantee captain, with a 
 bottle, for their politeness and attention, 
 on receiving which, they returned me many 
 thanks, and appeared to set a great value 
 upon this trifling present. 
 
 Water is to be procured here in great 
 plenty, and of excellent quality, and no fu- 
 ture embassy need carry it from Cape Coast, 
 as we did, unless for drinking on the road; 
 but even this is almost unnecessary, as it 
 can be procured at two or three places 
 between Cape Coast and Pain trey, parti- 
 cularly within a short distance from the 
 town. The water we made use of 
 was as clear as if it had passed through 
 a drip-stone. There are two watering- 
 places which supply the town, the one 
 at the N. W. end of it, about a mile 
 distant ; and the other to the South East, 
 which is not so far, but being nearest, 
 although the water is bad, is most fre- 
 quently resorted to by the natives, who 
 are not very particular what water they 
 drink, whether it be clear or muddy, if 
 they can save themselves a little trouble ; 
 for, generally speaking, they are an indolent 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 people, although it may be admitted that 
 some of them work very hard. 
 
 Shortly after our arrival at Paintrey, I 
 received a message from the cabboceer, re- 
 questing to see me, but I returned for an- 
 swer, that as I was then engaged, he must 
 pay the first visit, and when I was at leisure 
 1 would return it. Paintrey accordingly 
 called, and paid his respects, attended by 
 several of his slaves. He appeared a good- 
 natured old man, about the middle stature, 
 but had a disagreeable manner of speaking 
 through his nose. He was very friendly 
 and attentive, and made a present to the 
 embassy of a sheep, fowls, yams, &c. but 
 doubtless with the view of getting double 
 the value in return, as is usual with the 
 Fantees ; and old Paintrey was rather a 
 selfish character than otherwise. 
 
 It is said, he has 500 slaves, but his fa- 
 ther being of the Fantee, and his mother of 
 the Ashantee nation, he declares himself 
 neutral in time of war, although it is the 
 custom of the country, in such cases, to 
 side with the father’s nation ; but the mo- 
 ther’s, in this case, being the strongest, old 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 163 
 
 Paintrey acts politically by remaining neu- 
 tral, rather than unite with the weakest 
 party. 
 
 In the morning, I was engaged ex- 
 amining the presents for the king of Ash- 
 antee, and found them all correct. 
 
 In the afternoon, Mr. Salmon, Mr. 
 Graves, and myself, walked to the watering 
 place at the south-east end of the town, 
 and found it merely a pool of dirty water. 
 
 On walking out in the evening, as far 
 as Asoonqua, accompanied by Mr. Graves, 
 I observed our Ashantee guide, (Capt. 
 Adoo,) with one or two of his attendants, 
 about 100 yards behind, and was much, 
 pleased on being informed by Graves, that 
 this faithful attendant had followed us 
 for the purpose of seeing that no harm 
 came to me, either by an attack from the 
 natives or the wild beasts ; as, he said, if I 
 were hurt while travelling to the king, 
 under his protection, he should lose his 
 head. For this attention and fidelity, on 
 my return home, I gave him a bottle of 
 rum, which is considered here a handsome 
 present, and pleased Capt. Adoo as much 
 as his conduct pleased me. 
 
 m 2 
 
164 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Tuesday, 8th February. Being still de- 
 tained at Paintrey, waiting Mr. Dupuis’ ar- 
 rival, or dispatches directing us to proceed 
 to the capital, I amused myself in again 
 walking over the town with Mr. Graves, 
 whom I found an agreeable companion, and 
 particularly useful, from his knowledge of 
 the Fantee language, as this was a great 
 advantage, enabling me to converse freely 
 and confidentially with the superior blacks, 
 upon subjects I did not wish at all times to 
 make the linguist acquainted with. 
 
 On returning to our quarters, and read- 
 ing over my instructions from Mr. Dupuis, 
 as well as that gentleman’s instructions from 
 Mr. Cock, the secretary to the African 
 committee, I found I was directed to look 
 out on the road for a desirable spot about 
 twenty miles from Cape Coast, to establish 
 a school for the education of the natives. 
 After attentively surveying the country 
 with this view, I strongly recommend either 
 this place, or the neighbouring village 
 (Asoonqua), not only on account of its 
 being within the distance prescribed, but 
 also because the natives here are well dis- 
 posed, the country rich and fertile, and 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 1 65 
 
 Well calculated for a settlement. Beyond 
 Paintrey, indeed, there is a forest which 
 takes three or four days to travel through, 
 and consequently these are the only places 
 at all likely to answer the views of His 
 Majesty’s government in this particular. 
 
 Thermometer in the shade at two o’clock, 
 P.M. 82. 
 
 Wednesday, 9th February. This after- 
 noon at 3 o’clock, a messenger arrived and 
 informed me that Mr. Dupuis was only 
 a short distance from the town, when I 
 immediately got into my hammock, and 
 went out to receive him, which I did 
 soon after leaving the town. On his ar- 
 rival at Paintrey, I delivered over to him 
 nearly 100 oz. of gold, which he had sup- 
 plied me with before I left Cape Coast, and 
 also his instructions and other papers which 
 he furnished me with in the event of his 
 indisposition preventing him from joining 
 the embassy. — Thermometer at 2 P.M. 86. 
 
 Thursday, 10th February. Still detained 
 at Paintrey, in consequence of Mr. Dupuis 
 not feeling himself well after his journey 
 yesterday. 
 
 We this day wrote several letters to 
 m 3 
 
166 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Cape Coast, both public and private. — - 
 Thermometer in the shade at 2 P. M. 84. 
 
 Friday, 11th. This being a fetish-day 
 with our Ashantee guide, and it being 
 unusual for the Ashantees to travel on 
 those days, he declared he could not pro- 
 ceed until to-morrow ; when he stated 
 it would be necessary for all the people 
 to be provided with sufficient cankey to 
 last them during their march through 
 the forest, as nothing could be procured 
 until our arrival on the other side of the 
 Boosempra. He therefore applied to Mr. 
 Dupuis, in consequence of detaining him 
 so long at Paintrey, to give him some gold 
 to purchase cankey for his people, as their 
 provisions were all consumed by their un- 
 expected detention. This request Mr. Du- 
 puis complied with, b}' giving the captain 
 
 * The Ashantees have no common fetish-day as the 
 Fanlees have; but each family has its particular days, 
 which they hold sacred, and observe with the same so- 
 lemnity as we do the Sabbath, by refraining from work, 
 and from travelling, when they also wear a white cloth. 
 They observe in the same manner the day on which 
 they were born. The fetish-day observed by the Fan- 
 tees is Tuesday; which is also the day kept by the King 
 of Ashantee and his family. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 167 
 
 two oz. of gold to be distributed among 
 the people under his command, which 
 amounted to about 300 ; and at the same 
 time, our own people, consisting of 108 
 hammock-men and bearers, besides servants 
 and soldiers, were also supplied with suffi- 
 cient gold to purchase four days’ provision, 
 preparatory to our departure from Paintrey, 
 which was now fixed for the next morning at 
 six o’clock. — Thermometer 82, at 2 P. M. 
 in the shade. 
 
168 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Saturday, 12th February. We departed 
 from Paintrey this morning at 7 o’clock, 
 and entering a woody country which oc- 
 casionally opened into beautiful valleys, 
 richly diversified with romantic scenery, 
 and presenting plantations in every direc- 
 tion for at least a mile and a half, we 
 passed a small croom or village called Yan- 
 comfodey, between which and Paintrey, a 
 clear and rapid stream runs to the N. E. 
 through a considerable quantity of marshy 
 ground. The path was very crooked and 
 bad, and in many places almost impassable, 
 being overgrown with bushes and branches 
 of trees, which were obliged to be cut away 
 by a man who kept constantly before us 
 with a bill -hook for this purpose. Passing 
 Cuttacoomakasa, another village, which 
 contained only a few wretched inhabitants, 
 we halted at the end of eight miles, near 
 the bank of a beautiful stream running to 
 the eastward, where we enjoyed ourselves 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 169 
 
 lor upwards of an hour with some bread 
 and cold mutton. One of our party who 
 was considerably behind, did not arrive 
 until we were all seated, and, on his appear- 
 ance, he made a most ludicrous figure, with 
 his head bound up like an old fish woman, 
 to protect his face from the thorns, and his 
 trowsers, being made of delicate materials, 
 were completely torn off his legs. 
 
 I must confess I did not see any of those 
 beauties which Mr. Bowdich mentions near 
 Cuttacoomakasa, as resembling Grongar 
 Hill ; but, 
 
 De g'ustibus nil disputandum. 
 
 When, however, I got out of my ham- 
 mock to walk, I did not fail to feel the 
 troops of large black ants which that gentle- 
 man speaks of as having stung him so dread- 
 fully ; and I observed an orange-tree, and 
 pine-apples, as well as considerable quantities 
 of palm, guava, and cotton-trees. A few 
 birds were also seen shortly after our de- 
 parture from Paintrey, more remarkable 
 for their beautiful plumage than melody ; 
 their bodies were yellow and green, with 
 black heads and wings. 
 
170 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 After our repast we set off for Mansue, 
 where we arrived about 5 o’clock, with- 
 out meeting any thing particularly de- 
 serving notice, excepting four small streams 
 which all ran to the eastward. Here we 
 took up our quarters for the night in 
 a miserable shed, in which we slept, 
 scarcely covered from the heavy dews which 
 fell during the night, and we were annoyed 
 for some time after we got into bed by the 
 constant screeching of some wild animal in 
 the surrounding forest ; the same I have no 
 doubt which Mr. Bowdich alludes to, as re- 
 sembling a small pig, and which he calls a 
 panther; but, from the appearance of the ani- 
 mal, I do not think that is its proper name. 
 
 Mansue is merely a resting-place for the 
 Ashantee traders and other travellers. It 
 consists of about half a dozen sheds, made 
 of sticks and plantain leaves, which are 
 erected frequently by the Ashantees at 
 various places in the forest to sleep in. 
 I saw them make one of these sheds at 
 Mansue in less than an hour, so that some 
 idea may be formed of their temporary na- 
 ture. There are no regular inhabitants 
 here, although formerly it was a great 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 171 
 
 depot for slaves, and during the slave-trade 
 was of great importance. 
 
 The courses this day were various, but 
 the prevailing courses were N.E., N.N.E., 
 and N. by E. ; the latter I make the direct 
 course from Paintrey to Mansue ; distance 
 1 4 miles. Latitude and longitude by ac- 
 count 5° 35' N., and l c 4 5' W. — Therm, in 
 in the shade at 6 P.M. 84. 
 
 Sunday, 13th February. We left Man- 
 sue at 7 o’clock this morning, having pre- 
 viously despatched a trusty messenger with 
 our letters to Cape Coast; The path, 
 through a forest, was a little better than 
 that of yesterday, but still very bad. At 
 the end of two miles we crossed a river 
 called Asoonearah , which ran to the east- 
 ward. Proceeding a short distance further, 
 we passed the OJcee , which it is said falls 
 into the sea near Tantum. At the end of 
 nine miles we halted on the bank of a river 
 called the Aniabirim. Here we took 
 a slight repast, and then proceeded to 
 Abandou, where we arrived at six o’clock, 
 passing two streams running to the S. W. 
 and a river which ran to the eastward, called 
 Quatooah . 
 
172 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AfTlICA. 
 
 We saw two beautiful monkeys this af- 
 ternoon playing on the branches of some 
 lofty cotton trees. They were white about 
 the neck, face and tail, but black on their 
 backs. The cotton or capot trees, which we 
 have passed this day, were of a stupendous 
 size, being at least fifty feet in circumfer- 
 ence, and 150 feet high. Their stems or cau- 
 dices “ projected from the trunks like flying 
 buttresses, their height frequently twenty 
 feet.” The canoes which the natives use 
 on the coast are made out of these trees, 
 and from the great quantity that are blown 
 down in the forest, there is no difficul- 
 ty in getting torches, as the wood being 
 light and porous, gives an abundant supply. 
 Bosnian, speaking of the cotton tree, says, 
 I have seen some of these trees so high, 
 that their tops and branches were scarce to 
 be reached by a common musket shot.” 
 Mr. Bowdich’s description is here so faith- 
 ful, that I shall quote it. “ The path was a 
 labyrinth of the most capricious windings, 
 the roots of the cotton trees obstructing it 
 continually. The large trees were covered 
 with parasites and convolvuli, and the climb- 
 ing plants, like small cables, ascending the 
 
 1 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 173 
 
 trunks to some height, abruptly shot down- 
 wards, crossed to the opposite trees, and 
 threaded each other in such a perplexity of 
 twists and turnings that it soon became im- 
 possible to trace them in the general en- 
 tanglement.” 
 
 We were greatly annoyed this evening 
 by our people making fires around us to 
 cook their victuals. In consequence, the 
 heat was excessive. The disagreeable ef- 
 fluvia which arose by so many blacks being 
 near us, was extremely offensive ; and it 
 may be easily imagined that upwards of 
 400 men and women, crammed together in 
 a small compass for a whole night, must 
 have been very unpleasant ; in short, I con- 
 sidered this one of the greatest nuisances 
 we were troubled with. The distance from 
 Mansue to Abandou is nearly 16 miles ; 
 the courses various ; but I make the direct 
 course N. by W. 4 W. lat. and longitude 
 by account 5° 45' 30'' N., 1° 53 ' 20 " W. — ■ 
 Therm, at 7 P.M. 90. 
 
 Monday, 14th February. From Abandou, 
 which we left at seven o’clock, we proceed- 
 ed through the same gloomy scene, with- 
 
174 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 out meeting any thing particularly deserv- 
 ing notice until we arrived at Fousou, 
 (seven miles from Abandou,) excepting two 
 small rivers called the Okee and Atoonso, 
 both running; to the S.W. The forest was 
 naked of foliage, except on the banks of 
 the rivers, most of which were clear and 
 murmuring streams, delightful to the tra- 
 veller in this country, where the excessive 
 heat and fatigue almost constantly occasion 
 thirst. 
 
 One of our party, an Ashantee, who was 
 jealous of his wife, and suspected her of an 
 intrigue the preceding night, beat her so 
 unmercifully this morning, that we heard 
 her cries for miles in the woods. Her 
 groans were dreadful, and however much 
 she might have deserved punishment, it 
 was distressing to hear her. The women 
 in this country are considered so inferior 
 to the men, that they are treated more like 
 beasts of burthen than women, and are made 
 use of to carry heavy loads for their hus- 
 bands, who look upon them as slaves. 
 
 We remained at Fousou about an hour, 
 where we refreshed ourselves with some 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 175 
 
 palm wine and fruit, and started again at 
 twelve o’clock, passing through another 
 small croom called Yancomassie, eight miles 
 from Fousou. Leaving Yancomassie, we 
 proceeded seven miles further, and arrived 
 at Acomfodie, where we halted for the 
 night, but could scarcely get any sleep, be- 
 ing very much pestered by large rats which 
 seem particularly to infest this place. We 
 passed various small rivers and streams 
 this day ; four of these were called Beatin- 
 sin , Soubin , Aprinessie, and Annua , which 
 all ran E. and S.E., and lie between Fou- 
 sou and Acomfodie ; near which there is a 
 considerable quantity of marshy ground. 
 
 Cotton, iron- wood, doom, and palm 
 trees, have been most prevalent, and consi- 
 derable quantities of bamboo and rattan 
 cane ; also pine-apple and paupa trees. 
 The crown birds we heard constantly, almost 
 every hour, both yesterday and to-day. 
 These birds are about the size of a pigeon, 
 with beautiful green plumage, and are often 
 purchased by the Europeans at Cape Coast, 
 and preserved as a curiosity, not only on 
 account of their plumage, but because they 
 cry every hour like the cuckoo. They have 
 
176 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 also a beautiful top-knot, but are very dif- 
 ferent from another species of crown bird 
 on the Gold Coast, which are frequently sent 
 to England on account of their beauty * ; 
 the latter being much larger, and having 
 very long legs, but have also a handsome top- 
 knot the same as the other crown birds, from 
 which they derive their name. These latter, 
 however, are called King Crown birds , and 
 are thus more particularly described by 
 Bosnian.- “ Their legs and body are about 
 the size of a stork ; their bodies are chiefly 
 covered with black feathers, and their wines 
 furnished with large red, yellow, white, and 
 black quills ; their heads are beautified with 
 purple spots, half a thumb’s breadth on each 
 side. These birds seem to be in great 
 esteem in Europe, since we are incessantly 
 solicited to send them over, and I have 
 been told one was presented to the King of 
 England.” 
 
 * Four of these crown birds, I believe, are now to 
 be seen at Mr. Cross’s, at Exeter ’Change, with two 
 leopards, which I had the honour of bringing to Eng- 
 land as a present to His Majesty from the King of 
 Ashantee. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 177 
 
 I have mentioned that four of these birds 
 are to be seen at Exeter ’Change. The price 
 of them in Africa is about 4 1 . each. 
 
 The courses this day were N. by W., 
 N.N.W., and N. ^ W. ; the latter I make 
 the direct course for 15 ^ miles, and the 
 other 2 miles N.N.E., distance 17^- miles, 
 latitude and longitude by account 5° 59 ' 50 " 
 N., 1° 58' 20 " W.— Therm, in the shade at 
 6 A.M. 75; at 2 P.M. 84. 
 
 The next morning we departed from 
 Acomfodie, about the usual hour of starting, 
 (seven o’clock), and still found the path 
 through a forest as dull and gloomy as be- 
 fore ; indeed we all felt the bad effects of our 
 hammock-travelling, the hammock being 
 very ill adapted for travelling through a 
 narrow and crooked path, from the circum- 
 stance of the pole being straight, and at 
 least ten feet long ; consequently, a man 
 being at each end of the pole (vide Plate), 
 as soon as the first man turns a corner, the 
 person riding in the hammock, gets beaten 
 against a tree, if there should happen 
 to be one in the way, (as is often the case,) 
 and if not, his feet and legs are sure to 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 be dragged through the briars. A pre- 
 ferable method of travelling through the 
 forest, is adopted by the Ashantee cabbo- 
 ceers, who are carried in a long basket on 
 men’s heads (vide Plate) ; but something 
 invented like a sedan-chair, if upon a 
 smaller and more portable scale, so as to 
 protect the eyes and face from the thorns 
 and bushes, would be still preferable to the 
 Ashantee baskets. About a mile from 
 Acomfodie, we passed a river called after 
 that place, and a little further another, called 
 the Berrakoo, which empties itself into 
 the Boosempra. Four miles from thence 
 we reached Dansamsou, a dirty little 
 croom, consisting of a few miserable huts, 
 and containing about forty wretched inha- 
 bitants, some of whom were shocking spec- 
 tacles, having suffered from various diseases, 
 and in particular the yaws and lues. We 
 halted at this village for an hour and took 
 some refreshment ; after which we pro- 
 ceeded on our journey, and passed a de- 
 serted croom called Meakering. Three miles 
 from this croom, we were hig hly gratified 
 by arriving at the Boosempra, a noble river 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 179 
 
 running through a fine woody country, and 
 emptying itself into the sea near Chamah, 
 a Dutch settlement on the Gold Coast, 
 where it is known by that name ; its 
 course is N.W. from whence we crossed, 
 with a strong current (at least three miles 
 an hour), breadth forty yards, and depth 
 five feet. Mr. Bowdich states the breadth 
 to be forty-three yards, and depth seven 
 feet ; if so, he crossed it, probably, after a 
 heavy shower in the rainy season, when the 
 rivers in this country are always swollen to 
 an unusual size. 
 
 The scenery on the banks of the Boo- 
 sempra was beautiful, and it may be easily 
 imagined that after travelling four days 
 constantly in the forest through the same 
 dreary scene, a fine river opening to our 
 view, had a pleasing effect: the country was 
 now more open, and the scene more cheer- 
 ful. In short, all appeared for a moment like 
 enchantment, and I almost fancied myself 
 on the bank of the Thames near Bich- 
 mond, which I was forcibly reminded of ; 
 and there was a beauty in the landscape 
 which it would be difficult to do justice to 
 by description. 
 
 n 2 
 
180 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Having crossed the Boosempra, we set off 
 for Kikiwhiri at half-past two, when we 
 found the path much broader and tolerably 
 well cleared, which made the travelling 
 more pleasant. About a mile from the 
 Pra, we entered Prasou, a neat little town, 
 amid the loudest acclamations of the in- 
 habitants, who appeared to have dressed 
 themselves, and to have assembled pur- 
 posely to, witness our arrival. The recep- 
 tion we met with, on entering this croom, 
 was very gratifying. 
 
 This side of the river being considered 
 more particularly the Ashantee territory, 
 (although in the Assin country,) our guide 
 dressed himself in uniform, and his at- 
 tendants also put on their war-dresses. 
 Prasou, indeed, may be considered the 
 first town in Assin, and the Boosempra 
 as the southern boundary of that nation, 
 as well as the northern boundary of Fan- 
 tee; although the natives state the Assin 
 country to extend south of the Pra as far 
 as Man sue. 
 
 We halted at Prasou to pay our respects 
 to the cabboceer, which detained us about 
 fifteen minutes. We were not very well 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 181 
 
 pleased with our reception upon this oc- 
 casion. When we entered the court-yard, 
 where he was seated on a stool with a few 
 of his attendants, he did not rise to re- 
 ceive us ; but as this is the custom of the 
 country, we had no reason to be displeased 
 on this account. It was his sullen manners 
 and unseemly person, which prejudiced us 
 against him; and as he had not the curiosity 
 or politeness to ask us a single question, we 
 took our leave of him rather abruptly, and 
 pursuing our journey, arrived at half past 
 three o’clock at Kikiwhiri, which I make 
 twelve miles from Acomfodie, the courses 
 N.E.,N.W., N.,and N.E., the direct course 
 for this day’s distance I make N. by E.^N. 
 by W.* — Thermometer in the shade at 
 6 A.M. 76. ; at 3 P.M. 93. 
 
 A delay of two days enabled a messenger 
 from Cape Coast to come up with us, with 
 letters, not only from our friends at the 
 Cape, but also with European letters, which 
 had arrived there subsequent to our de- 
 parture. 
 
 We were in fact obliged to remain at 
 Kikiwhiri until Thursday morning, and 
 after the fatigue of four days constant 
 
 n 3 
 
182 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 travelling through the forest, we required 
 rest ; and notwithstanding our anxiety to 
 proceed on to the capital, we did not 
 regret our detention; indeed, if we. had, 
 regret would have been unavailing, as our 
 guide declared he could not proceed any 
 further without first despatching a mes- 
 senger to the King, to inform him of our 
 arrival on this side the Boosempra. For 
 this reasoii, he entreated us to remain at 
 Ivikiwhiri five or six days ; but this was 
 refused upon the ground, that the orders 
 of the King of England were equally im- 
 perative with those of the King of Ashan- 
 tee, and that we could no more disobey 
 our orders than the Ashantee captain. Al- 
 though, therefore, it was agreed to wait 
 two days at Kikiwhiri, for the purpose of 
 enabling our guide to despatch a messenger 
 to the King with information of our arrival 
 on this side the river, we refused to admit 
 of so long a delay as five or six days, urging, 
 that the custom in England was for the 
 King’s ambassadors and messengers to 
 make all possible speed, and that any un- 
 necessary delay would subject us to His 
 Majesty’s displeasure. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 183 
 
 Accordingly, after much argument on 
 both sides, the Ashantee captain reluctantly 
 gave up his attempt to detain us at Kiki- 
 whiri, and a messenger was immediately 
 despatched to the King to acquaint him 
 with our being thus far advanced on our 
 journey to the capital. 
 
 Having taken some refreshment, we all 
 dressed in full uniform for the sake of ap- 
 pearances, (this being essential in the eyes 
 of the natives,) and walked out to take a 
 survey of the town. During our walk, 
 crowds of the natives assembled to see us, 
 but they were all peaceable and respect- 
 ful, excepting one or two who occa- 
 sionally called out our names in the Fantee 
 language. 
 
 The town of Kikiwhiri is pleasantly si- 
 tuated in the Assin country, in latitude 
 6° 10' N., longitude 2° F 30 " W. ; contains 
 about 250 or 300 houses, and I suppose 
 12 or 1400 inhabitants. The houses are 
 neat, clean, and comfortable, being built 
 much in the same style as those described 
 at Paintrey, and like Paintrey also, the 
 town opens to the view, on entering it, with 
 a fine broad street or parade, extending 
 
 n 4 
 
184 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 north and south, and agreeably shaded by 
 ganian-trees. We were much pleased with 
 this town, and indeed with the whole ap- 
 pearance of the country and people ; the 
 former being open and cultivated, and the 
 latter peaceable and well behaved. The 
 gloom which had hitherto hung around us, 
 now began to dispel, and we looked for- 
 ward to our arrival at Coomassie with the 
 greatest impatience. The little privations 
 we suffered in the forest were now more 
 than counterbalanced by a plentiful supply 
 of every thing we wished. The cabboceer 
 at Prasou, to whom we paid our respects 
 on passing through that croom, sent us a 
 present of a sheep, with some fruit and 
 vegetables for our dinner. This was the 
 first present we received after our departure 
 from Paintrey, and was the least expected, 
 from this man’s forbidding manners and 
 appearance. His present, however, im- 
 pressed our minds with a more favourable 
 opinion of him, and we requited his kind- 
 ness by a present of two bottles of rum ; 
 for which his messenger appeared very 
 thankful. 
 
 Having remained two days at Kikiwhiri, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 185 
 
 in compliance with the earnest solicitations 
 of our guide, we departed at a quarter be- 
 fore eight o’clock on the morning of the 
 17th of February, and entering the forest 
 immediately on leaving the town, we crossed 
 the Ading river before we had proceeded 
 a mile ; shortly after which, we arrived at 
 the croom of Cheboo, called Numeasu. 
 Near this croom is a small river of the same 
 name, running S.E. to the Pra. Continu- 
 ing our journey, we passed through the 
 crooms of Apiaga, (meaning tinder-box,) 
 and Atobiasie. Close to this croom are 
 the rivers Atobiasie and Prensah, running 
 in the same direction as the last-mentioned 
 rivulets. Two miles further we reached 
 the Prapong which ran also S. E. to the 
 Boosempra; and passing through Becqua- 
 ma, we halted at the end of eight miles, and 
 took refreshment at a small croom, called 
 Asharaman, (meaning the Lucky Town,) 
 where the Assins engaged the Ashantees 
 in 1807. At half-past twelve o’clock we 
 continued our journey, and proceeding 
 still through a forest, we passed two small 
 streams running to the eastward, and a 
 
186 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 croom which lies out of the path in the 
 the same direction, called Adagee, when 
 we arrived at Ansah, which is nine miles 
 and a half from Kikiwhiri. Course N. N. E. f , 
 W. N. W. j. Lat. 6° 15' 30" N. Long. 2° 4' 
 30" W. — Thermometer in the shade at four 
 o’clock P. M. 86. 
 
 On our arrival at Ansah, we were re- 
 quested to seat ourselves under a large ga- 
 nian-tree, where our attention was arrested 
 by the beating of drums, the blowing of 
 horns, and the natives in seeming confusion. 
 This bustle we soon found was preparatory 
 to a general assembly of the cabboceers 
 and captains at another part of the town, 
 to give us a formal reception, Ansah being 
 the first place of any consequence which 
 we had entered since our departure from 
 Cape Coast, excepting the town Kikiwhiri, 
 the cabboceer of which was absent at the 
 Cape, on the embassy with the Ashantee 
 ambassador, Prince Adoom. After wait- 
 ing half an hour, we received a message 
 to attend the assembly of cabboceers and 
 people, who were drawn up in the form of 
 the segment of a circle, the chiefs being 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 187 
 
 seated under large umbrellas made of cloth 
 of various colours. We marched round 
 and shook hands with the principal men, 
 and retired and seated ourselves under a 
 ganian-tree, at a short distance, when the 
 cabboceers in return paid their respects to 
 us, which they did by sawing the air with 
 their hands, and bowing their heads grace- 
 fully to each of us as they passed. This 
 ceremony over, we were conducted to clean 
 and comfortable quarters for the night, 
 when we received a sheep and so large a 
 quantity of plaintains and fruit, from the 
 chief cabboceer, as enabled us to supply all 
 our people with sufficient provisions for two 
 or three days. 
 
 In the evening, we appeared in full 
 uniform, as a mark of respect ; and in ac- 
 knowledgment of the hospitality and at- 
 tention we had experienced, we waited on 
 the cabboceer at his house, and returned 
 him our thanks for his present, and the 
 attention he had paid us. 
 
 Ansah is a large town in the Assin 
 country, situated nearly ten miles N.W. 
 of Kikiwhiri, and contains about 1500 
 inhabitants, adults and infants, and re- 
 
188 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 sembles the towns previously described too 
 closely, both in appearance and in the 
 building of the houses, to make any addi- 
 tional remarks necessary. 
 
 On Friday morning, the 18th of Fe- 
 bruary, we despatched a messenger to Cape 
 Coast with letters ; and another to the 
 king of Ashantee with a silk Union, stating 
 to his majesty our anxiety to be admitted 
 into the capital with as little delay as the 
 forms of the Ashantee court would admit 
 of ; as we well knew we should have to wait 
 at least a week, if not longer, before we 
 could be permitted to do so. 
 
 We then set off at half past seven, and, 
 continuing our journey, we passed the 
 river Foom, running S. by E. barely four 
 miles from Ansah, and a mile further 
 crossed the Parrakoome, running E. by S. 
 On the bank of this river we halted and 
 took refreshment ; after which we pro- 
 ceeded to Acroofroom, where we arrived 
 at the end of six miles. The courses, as 
 usual, were various, but I make the direct 
 course N. by W., lat. 6 ° 20' N., long. 2° 7' 
 W. — Thermometer, at 2 P. M. 82 in the 
 shade. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 189 
 
 On our arrival at this place, we were re- 
 ceived and entertained much in the same 
 manner as at Ansah. The natives were 
 extremely curious to see us, and assembled 
 in crowds round the house we occupied ; 
 amongst these was a boy who had all the 
 appearance of a female about the bosom, 
 and several children with the navel pro- 
 truding larger than a hen’s-egg, But 
 this is common all over the country, 
 owing to bad management at the birth of 
 infants. I have seen it at Senegal, Goree, 
 Sierra Leone, and many other places. Here 
 we first noticed some trifling attempts at 
 ornamental work on the interior walls of 
 the houses. Acroofroom is a large croom 
 situated in the latitude and longitude al- 
 ready mentioned, and contains about 2000 
 inhabitants. 
 
 As we intended to reach Doompassie 
 the next day, we set off as early as six 
 o’clock. Passing a river immediately on 
 leaving the town, which ran to the east- 
 ward, we ascended a rugged acclivity, and 
 proceeding still through the forest, we 
 crossed the river Parakomee a second time, 
 
 5 
 
190 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 running to the S.E. Soon after we arrived 
 at Moinsey , which lies a little eastward 
 out of the direct path ; we were con- 
 ducted to this croom by our Ashantee guide, 
 for the purpose of paying our respects to 
 the cabboceer, and entered the town under 
 some fetish that was suspended to a cross 
 pole, supported by two others at each end. 
 We did not, however, make any stay at 
 Moinsey, but as soon as we had gone 
 through the ceremony of paying our 
 respects, we proceeded on our jour- 
 ney, and immediately after seated our- 
 selves on the bank of a beautiful clear 
 stream, called the Bohmen, (meaning the 
 water of eloquence,) and the Ashantees, 
 who are remarkable for their oratorical 
 powers, are said to drink of it annually. 
 Here we refreshed ourselves with a few 
 draughts from this Hippocrine, and then 
 ascended an immense steep hill, from the 
 foot of which to its summit, was nearly a 
 mile, which in several places produced good 
 specimens of iron ore ; but the earth was 
 generally red and gravelly. This hill 
 or mountain, extending east and west, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 191 
 
 divides the Ashantee and Assin countries, 
 so that nature seems, in a striking manner, 
 to have provided a barrier to these nations, 
 as well as to the Fantee country. 
 
 On descending the northern side of the 
 mountain, we passed a stream running to 
 the S.W., and at the foot of it, we entered 
 a small croom called Quesa, which com- 
 mences the Ashantee country ; but there 
 was nothing particular to distinguish this 
 croom from any we had previously passed 
 through. Nearly a mile from Quesa, we 
 arrived at a neat and clean little croom 
 called Foman or Fohmanee. Here we 
 halted for half an hour, and it being late in 
 the day, we with difficulty procured a 
 little palm wine, which was very sour. 
 Leaving Fohmanee, we observed some 
 orange-trees loaded with fruit, as well 
 as other fruits, such as paupas, pine- 
 apples, & c. which are here common and 
 grow wild in the forest. As the country 
 was now a little more open, we noticed, at 
 a considerable distance to the westward, a 
 ridge of mountains covered with trees, and 
 extending north and south. One mile and 
 
192 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 a half further, we arrived at Doompassie, 
 where we halted for the night. The dis- 
 tance from Akrofroom is thirteen miles ; 
 the courses various, but the direct course I 
 make N. by W. ; lat. and long, by account 
 6° 30' N., and 2° 11' 40" W. — Thermom. in 
 the shade, at 6 A. M. 76 ; at 4 P. M. 88. 
 
 The houses at Doompassie are built 
 much in the same style as those previ- 
 ously described, and our quarters were 
 extremely comfortable. The town was for- 
 merly much larger, but was some years ago 
 partly destroyed by fire, “ in consequence 
 of the cabboceer having intrigued with one 
 of Sai Cudjoe’s wives.” At present there- 
 fore it does not contain more than three 
 hundred and fifty houses, and about six- 
 teen or eighteen hundred inhabitants. 
 
 We remained here until the 21st, which 
 afforded us an opportunity of observing 
 the manners and habits of the people. I 
 noticed several of the inhabitants employ- 
 ed in making cloth, beads, wooden bowls, 
 and large earthen pots for carrying water, 
 &c. The soil was extremely fertile, and 
 plantations of plantains, yams and kasada, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 193 
 
 surrounded this, as well as most of the prin- 
 cipal crooms. 
 
 In the inner part of the house we occu- 
 pied, was an earthen pot, fixed on the top 
 of a straight pole, about six feet from the 
 ground, containing eggs, with feathers stuck 
 round it. This was consecrated to the fetish, 
 and the master of the house worshiped it 
 regularly every morning. 
 
 Soon after our arrival at Doompassie, we 
 paid our respects to the principal person in 
 the town, in the absence of the cabboceer, 
 who, with many of the inhabitants, had 
 gone to Coomassie, to enable the king to 
 make a greater display of his forces on our 
 entree ; in consequence of which the town 
 appeared deserted. 
 
 During our stay, we despatched ano- 
 ther messenger to the king, acquainting his 
 majesty with our arrival thus far, on our 
 journey to the capital. 
 
 On Monday the 21st, we left Doompassie, 
 at two o’clock P. M., and continued our jour- 
 ney through the forest, with the path nearly 
 as crooked and bad as we found it on the 
 other side of the Boosempra; two miles 
 from Doompassie, we crossed a small stream 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 running N.N.W., close to which, on ah 
 eminence, is a small croom called Taibosoo, 
 from whence we proceeded to Sanquanta, 
 one mile from the last mentioned croom, 
 leaving another croom called Meadowma, 
 to the right, a little way out of the path. 
 We also passed a small river soon after 
 leaving Sanquanta, and at the end of five 
 miles halted for the night at Dachasou , 
 which sio-nifies dirt. It consisted of about 
 
 O 
 
 thirty houses, but there appeared only a few 
 inhabitants. Our quarters here were very 
 uncomfortable, and greatly infested with 
 large rats ; which made us regret having left 
 Doompassie contrary to the advice of our 
 Ashantee guide, who wished us to wait there 
 until we heard from the king. W e had not 
 however arrived at Dachasou an hour, when 
 two messengers arrived from theking, bring- 
 ing with them two sheep, a large hog, and 
 two oz. four aekies * of gold, with a request 
 that we would accept this present by way 
 of subsisting ourselves until the day of our 
 entry into the capital ; which, we were at 
 the same time informed, was fixed for the 
 
 * An aekie of gold is equal to 5s. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 195 
 
 28th, when his majesty would be prepared 
 to receive us. 
 
 The present being accepted, one sheep 
 was killed for our own table, and the other, 
 as well as the hog, was given to our people. 
 
 In company with the messengers, was a 
 poor miserable-looking object, a white 
 negro boy, dressed in a most deplorable 
 manner, with an old cocked hat and feather, 
 and an old coat, trowsers, and shoes, which 
 he could with difficulty keep on his feet. He 
 appeared to be an idiot, and to be treated 
 as a sort of outcast by his companions. His 
 features were of the negro cast, his hair 
 white and woolly, and his skin of a sallow 
 unhealthy complexion. He was no doubt 
 sent by the king, or some of his captains ; 
 but what could have been the motive for 
 sending such an object to us, dressed in this 
 ridiculous manner, we could not imagine, 
 unless it was to let us see, that there was 
 something like a white man in the coun- 
 try ; but we subsequently found such lusus 
 natures were not uncommon, the king having 
 a great number of them at Coomassie. 
 
 The courses from Doompassie to Dacha- 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 sou were various, sometimes N.N.W.,N.E. 
 and E. ; but I make the direct course for 
 five miles N. by E, lat. and Ion. by account 
 6° 34' 40" N. 2° 12' 30" W. — Thermometer 
 at 6 P. M. 84 in the shade. 
 
 On the following morning we left Da- 
 chasou at a quarter before seven, and im- 
 mediately passed a stream running to the 
 N.W., and also several swamps. One mile 
 and a half from Dachasou, we entered Ada- 
 dwassie, which is built on a rock, and 
 is a neat little croom, with industrious in- 
 habitants, some of whom were employed 
 in spinning and weaving cloth. Here, as 
 well as at other places, there appeared to 
 be few persons, some having gone to the 
 capital, and others being employed on the 
 plantations. 
 
 On leaving this croom, we passed a 
 stream running to the S.W. ; one mile 
 further, we entered Madjawe, and imme- 
 diately after we crossed a river running 
 to the westward, called the Dankaran ; 
 close to which is Sumfou, where we arrived 
 at nine o’clock, halted, and took some palm 
 wine. Sam fou is a pleasant little croom, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 197 
 
 consisting of about fifty or sixty houses, 
 and, I suppose, two hundred and fifty 
 inhabitants, who appeared to have been 
 very industrious in cultivatingl arge plan- 
 tations of Indian corn, plantains, &c. which 
 were plentiful in the adjoining neigh- 
 bourhood. A mile further, we passed the 
 river Yansee, running to the eastward. 
 The path this day was much better, being 
 at least ten feet broad, and appeared to 
 have been cleared purposely for us, by 
 order of the king. In one of the crooms 
 there was a piece of ground inclosed, said 
 to be the burial ground. 
 
 The country here assumes a differ- 
 ent appearance. We have passed through 
 several crooms, and heard of others, to 
 which we observed paths branching off 
 from the path we travelled. 
 
 One mile from Samfou, we crossed a 
 stream called Yansee, and descending a 
 hill, passed through Coroman, near which 
 was a stream called Dunsabow, running 
 to the southward ; and passing through 
 Agwanassie, (consisting of about thirty 
 houses,) we crossed a small stream running 
 
 o 3 
 
198 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 to the N.W., when we immediately en- 
 tered Amafoo , or Amahfou, 81- miles from 
 Dachasou. The courses, as usual, were 
 various, but I make the direct course, 
 N. byE. ; lat. 6° 42' N., Ion. 2° 13' 30" W. 
 — Thermometer 86° at 3 P. M. in the 
 shade. 
 
 Amafoo is a large croom, consisting of 
 about four hundred houses, and two thou- 
 sand inhabitants, including children ; the 
 principal street extends north and south, 
 and resembles, in all respects, the towns 
 previously described. The houses are ex- 
 tremely clean and well-built with swish or 
 clay, and may be a little superior to 
 those already mentioned. Here we were 
 more plentifully supplied with mats, which 
 are used as screens or doors to the 
 inner sleeping apartments. We remain- 
 ed here until the 26th, and, during our 
 stay, received various presents of fruit. 
 One of the king’s sons, a fine young 
 man, and his sister, who was married to 
 a cabboceer at this place, were both 
 introduced to us, and appeared to be 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 199 
 
 highly gratified on our shaking hands with 
 them. 
 
 On Saturday the 26th, we set off early 
 for Sirassou, in order to be as near as 
 possible to Coomassie on the 28th, so as 
 not to have a fatiguing journey on the 
 day of our entry into the capital. The 
 path, for some distance from Amafoo, was 
 cleared and in good order, and at least 
 four yards broad. 
 
 Half a mile from the town, we passed a 
 stream running to N. W., and, shortly after, 
 entered a small croom, called Gwabin, con- 
 taining about twenty huts ; three quarters 
 of a mile from which we passed the river 
 Soubin , or Soubirri , running also to the N. W. 
 One mile from this river, we arrived at 
 Assiminict , a large croom superior to any 
 we had yet seen, which was surrounded 
 also by Targe plantations, and an immense 
 quantity of pine-apple trees grew close 
 to the path we travelled. One mile from 
 Assiminia, we ascended to Biposs , or Bi~ 
 posso, which was a very clean little croom, 
 pleasantly situated on a hill, and consisted 
 of about thirty houses. Half a mile thence 
 
 o 4 
 
200 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 we passed some swamps, and a stream 
 running to the S. W., and, immediately 
 after, a river running to the westward, 
 close to which was Agemum, a croom con- 
 sisting of about fifty houses. From Age- 
 mum we continued our journey through 
 the forest without meeting any thing 
 novel or interesting, excepting a few ne- 
 groes occasionally, who, never before hav- 
 ing seen a white man, would break through 
 the thickest part of the forest, and tear 
 their flesh with the thorns, to prevent our 
 seeing them. Others, who had before seen 
 white men, and had been in the habit of 
 trading with them on the coast, would 
 scarcely move out of the path to let us 
 pass. At the end of seven miles, we en- 
 tered Yoko, having previously passed a 
 small stream and a river running to the 
 westward. At Yoko we observed a weav- 
 ing-machine, with one of the natives 
 manufacturing cloth. There were con- 
 siderable swamps, and a piece of ground 
 cleared for cultivation in the neighbour- 
 hood. One mile and a half further, we 
 entered Aboyentum, and shortly after we 
 crossed the river Biaqua, which ran to the 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 201 
 
 westward. From thence we passed through 
 Apotiaga and Fiasi, two large crooms, 
 within half a mile of each other, and within 
 two miles of the last-mentioned river. 
 Proceeding in a north-easterly direction, 
 we observed considerable plantations, and 
 passed two streams, running to the N. E. 
 and S. W., when we halted at Sirassou, 
 eleven miles and a quarter from Amafoo. 
 Course, N. N. E. ; lat. 6° 51' 40" N. ; 
 longitude, 2° 12' 40'' W. — Thermometer 
 88 at three o’clock in the shade. 
 
 Sirassou is a small croom, pleasantly 
 situated on an eminence, at the foot of 
 which runs the river Dah ; and, like 
 all the others between Cape Coast and 
 Coomassie, is blessed with a plentiful 
 supply of excellent water, which we have 
 found a great luxury in travelling ; and 
 I could not help reflecting, in passing so 
 many beautiful streams, that the fatigues 
 of the traveller, on crossing the desert of 
 Africa, would be greatly alleviated, if he 
 were as well supplied. 
 
 During our stay here, we received 
 letters from Cape Coast, both public and 
 private ; and, as we had a little leisure, we 
 
202 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 availed ourselves of the opportunity of 
 writing to our friends in reply, to inform 
 them of our being within six miles of the 
 capital. 
 
 Shortly after our arrival, we received 
 a present of a pig, and some vegetables and 
 fruit, but we gave the pig to our people, as 
 we determined not to eat pork during our 
 stay in the Ashantee country, having been 
 informed that the pigs are frequently fed 
 upon dead bodies. I observed many fine 
 pigs here, but we had no wish for pork 
 while we were plentifully supplied with 
 mutton and poultry. 
 
 Monday 28 th February, being the day 
 appointed for our entry into the capital, 
 we set off from Sirassou, at nine o’clock this 
 morning, with the most lively feelings of joy. 
 Immediately on leaving the town, we crossed 
 the river Dah, which ran to the N. W., and 
 is twelve yards wide and three feet deep. 
 The travelling was this day delightful. 
 We knew we had only a pleasant morn- 
 ing’s ride, the path was broad and well 
 cleared, and the country more open and 
 better cultivated. We passed several plan- 
 tations which were well inclosed, and in 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 203 
 
 different places there was as much as two 
 acres of ground cleared, and laid out in 
 small beds not greatly dissimilar, or much 
 inferior, to the country gardens in Europe ; 
 eschalots, ground nuts, yams, and other 
 vegetables were plentiful. The soil is so 
 rich, and the climate so genial, that the 
 natives have always abundant crops. We 
 observed a number of small birds shortly 
 after leaving Sirassou, which, contrary to 
 the generality of the feathered tribe in this 
 climate, were rather melodious, but more 
 remarkable for their beautiful plumage. 
 
 One mile and a half from the river Dali 
 we passed a stream running to the S.W., 
 and immediately entered Kilapata, a small 
 croom consisting of about thirty huts ; from 
 whence we proceeded through Agogoo, 
 another small croom, about a mile from 
 Kilapata, and soon after crossed a river, ten 
 yards broad and two feet deep, running to 
 the westward, and also a small stream not 
 far from it, which ran in the same direction. 
 
 When we arrived within two miles of 
 the capital, our guide took a direction 
 eastward to a small croom (five miles from 
 Sirassou) called Sirre or Sidi, where we 
 
204 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 halted lor the purpose of dressing in uni- 
 form. 
 
 At this little village, I observed a painful 
 instance of Ashantee oppression and injus- 
 tice. One of the king’s messengers, who 
 was the bearer of the present we received 
 at Dachasou, having returned in company 
 with our guide, seized upon two fowls which 
 belonged to a poor old farmer at Sirre, 
 who ran to save them from being killed, 
 stating, that, as they were two favourite 
 fowls, he wished to preserve them, and 
 would give two others in their place ; but 
 this tyrannical slave of the Ashantee mo- 
 narch only laughed at the poor old man, 
 telling him that the fowls were for the 
 white men who were going to the king, 
 and expressed his astonishment and indig- 
 nation that he dared to complain. So much 
 for the Ashantee laws, mentioned by Mr. 
 Bowdich as promulgated during his resi- 
 dence at Coomassie in 1818 . * 
 
 * “ All persons sent on the king’s business shall no 
 “ longer seize provisions in any country, whether tribu- 
 “ tary or otherwise, in his name, but, requiring food, 
 “ shall offer a fair price for the first they meet with ; if 
 
 this is refused, they shall then demand one meal, and 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 205 
 
 During the time relish was preparing, we 
 amused ourselves in looking over the farm- 
 er’s plantation, and about his house. In 
 the former were paupas, plantains, Indian 
 corn, &c. and in the latter was his gun 
 and accoutrements (no man in this or the 
 Fantee country being without his musket in 
 case of war). We also observed some im- 
 plements of husbandry, such as hoes, &c. 
 and a peculiar sort of adze, with which the 
 Ashantees cut down the largest trees ; of 
 these there were several which appeared 
 to have been just manufactured at Sirre, 
 and the following is a sketch of one of 
 them. 
 
 “ one meal only, in the king’s name, and proceed. 
 “ This extends to all messengers sent by the head cap- 
 
206 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 After relish we all dressed in full uniform, 
 and each of us displaying our best silks 
 upon the occasion for our hammock cloths, 
 and Mr. Dupuis covering a sort of palanquin 
 with the richest taffetas, we set out from 
 Sirre, and immediately crossing the marsh 
 which insulates the capital, we made our 
 entry into Coomassie (six miles N.N.W. 
 from Sirassou) at a few minutes past three 
 o’clock in the following order. * * 
 
 First, Mr. Dupuis, in a palanquin, carried 
 on men’s shoulders, with a man carrying a 
 silk union before him, attended by two 
 sword bearers, and preceded by the linguist 
 and bugleman, two soldiers, the Ashantee 
 captain, (in uniform,) with an inferior captain 
 beside him, both carrying gold handled 
 swords, and one of his attendants following 
 in his war-dress, with two attendants be- 
 
 “ tains, whose servants, as well as the king’s, have been 
 “ long in the habit of extorting goods from traders, and 
 “ tobacco and provisions in the market place, which 
 “ they shall do no longer without incurring the same 
 “ penalty which is attached to the former part of the 
 ££ law, 110 periquins.” 
 
 * I regret being obliged to omit the representation of 
 our entry into the capital. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFKICA. 
 
 207 
 
 hind. I followed Mr. Dupuis in my ham- 
 mock, and was preceded by a man carrying 
 a silk union, and attended by two sword 
 bearers ; Messieurs Salmon, Collins, and 
 Graves followed in succession in their ham- 
 mocks. Several of the king’s sons, who 
 had come out in the morning as far as 
 Sirre, returned with the embassy to the 
 capital, and were carried on men’s should- 
 ers attended by their slaves, who were be- 
 hind them carrying their stools. These 
 stools are made out of one solid piece of 
 wood (called zesso), and are carved and 
 polished in a superior manner. I brought 
 home one of them ; but they are now no 
 great curiosity (although the workmanship 
 is curious enough), as a great number have 
 been carried to England by captains of ves- 
 sels, and gentlemen who have visited the 
 coast for many years past. 
 
 The king’s sons were fine handsome boys, 
 about ten or twelve years of age, their 
 heads shaved all over, excepting in two or 
 three places behind, where little tufts of 
 hair were left for the purpose of fastening 
 some small square pieces of gold and silver, 
 of curious workmanship, very much resem- 
 
208 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 bling a silver or gilt scent box. The 
 cloths they wore were large and handsome, 
 of Ashantee manufacture, from cotton and 
 foreign silks, which had been unravelled 
 to weave them. Their skins were a 
 beautiful black, and, as well as their heads, 
 were highly polished, being rubbed with 
 the grease or vegetable butter already 
 explained. 
 
 On entering the capital we were met by 
 thousands of people, men, women, and 
 children, crowding in all directions to see 
 us. The concourse of people was im- 
 mense, I should suppose not less than 
 50,000, besides warriors. The principal 
 streets, and the avenues leading from 
 them, were completely crammed with 
 all descriptions. The porticos of the 
 houses were crowded with the ladies of 
 Coomassie, who were genteel, handsome 
 women, and courteously waved their 
 hands to us as we passed. Fine young 
 girls, not more than thirteen or fourteen 
 years of age, and dressed in their best 
 clothes, followed us from our entry into the 
 capital, and kept close to our hammocks, 
 smiling, and appearing, by their looks and 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 209 
 
 gestures, to invite us to notice them. 
 The shouts of the multitude, and the noise 
 of the drums, horns, and flutes, made it 
 impossible to hear the sound of our own 
 bugle, which our bugleman kept almost 
 constantly blowing before us. Many thou- 
 sands had flocked from various parts of the 
 country, for at least thirty miles round the 
 capital, to witness our entry. 
 
 In the first place, we were conducted by 
 
 our Ashantee guide to the palace. Here 
 
 we halted under some trees, near which 
 
 the presents were deposited ; and were 
 
 almost immediately attended by a party of 
 
 the king’s body guard* in uniform, the 
 
 same as is worn bv our own soldiers at the 
 */ 
 
 Cape. They were drawn up in a line on 
 our right to keep the crowd off, which we 
 much required, as the heat was very op- 
 pressive. The spirit and firmness which 
 these men manifested on one or two occa- 
 sions, in driving back the mob that pressed 
 upon us too closely, convinced me of 
 
 * There are thirty of these men, which were sent to 
 our head quarters at Cape Coast, to be fitted out with 
 uniform, during my residence there in 1818 . The uni- 
 form is red, with yellow facings. 
 
210 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 their good discipline. While we were thus 
 amused in reflecting on the novelty and 
 variety of objects which surrounded us, one 
 of the Ashantee captains (Adoo Quamina) 
 rode past on a fine white horse, but did not 
 appear to notice us. * After waiting about 
 half an hour, we received a message from 
 the king that his majesty was ready to re- 
 ceive us. This message was conveyed by 
 the executioner, who was loaded with massy 
 gold ornaments, and had a solid gold 
 hatchet upon his breast. He was an amaz- 
 ing strong and powerful man, and wore a 
 war-cap, with eagle’s feathers, (as repre- 
 sented in the plate of Adoo Quamina,) and 
 
 * I have given a drawing of this warrior as he ap- 
 peared on this occasion. As he passed us at a quick pace, 
 I had not time to notice his dress so particularly as I 
 could wish, but he appeared in his war-dress, with his 
 body covered with fetishes, in gold and silver cases, and 
 small brass bells, shells, and knives. His cap had 
 gilded ram’s horns, projecting in front, with eagle’s fea- 
 thers ; and he wore cotton trowsers, with large boots of 
 red leather. This dress alone cost the king eleven slaves. 
 
 The loss of one of his eyes in the late wars with the 
 Buntakoos, gave him all the appearance of an old war- 
 rior. The horse he rode was a very good one, some- 
 thing of the Arabian breed, and was afterwards presented 
 by the king to Mr. Dupuis, w r ho gave it to me. 
 
 16 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 211 
 
 having his face painted, was altogether 
 a terrific figure. 
 
 Proceeding a short distance, we were 
 once more desired to halt, which we did for 
 about ten minutes, when we again moved 
 on slowly to the assembly of cabboceers and 
 captains, who, with their warriors and at- 
 tendants, were drawn up in a circle, leav- 
 ing room sufficient for us to walk round 
 and shake Jiands with every person of con- 
 sequence. 
 
 We entered this circle a few minutes af- 
 ter four o’clock. Here a splendid spectacle 
 presented itself : at least 20,000 warriors, 
 with bright muskets and long Danish guns, 
 now appeared in view, and a hundred 
 bands of music * began to play at the same 
 moment. The king and his captains, 
 many of whom had been summoned to the 
 capital upon this occasion from distant parts 
 of the kingdom, were all dressed in cloths 
 of the richest manufacture, and decorated 
 with ornaments of the purest gold and 
 
 # I have said bands of music, although the discordant 
 sounds which often offended the ear were not very mu- 
 sical. There was, however, a good deal of harmony in 
 the Ashantee flutes and sancos. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 aggry beads. * Their banners and flags of 
 different nations, English, Dutch, and Da- 
 nish, and at least a hundred large umbrellas 
 were seen in every direction. The majes- 
 tic appearance of the cabboceers and cap- 
 
 * The aggry beads are highly valued by the natives, 
 who purchase them with equal, and sometimes double 
 the weight, in gold. They are said to be found in 
 Fantee, Warsaw, and other countries, and the Ashantees 
 believe that those who are fortunate enough to find them, 
 are sure of a series of good fortune. They are of vari- 
 ous colours, yellow, green, and blue, and are used in 
 some cases as fetish. Mr. Bowclich says, “ The varie- 
 gated strata of the aggry bead is so firmly united and so 
 imperceptibly blended, that the perfection seems supe- 
 rior to art ; some resemble mosaic work, the surfaces of 
 others are covered with flowers and regular patterns, so 
 very minute and the shades so delicately softened one 
 into the other, and into the ground of the bead, that 
 nothing but the finest touch of the pencil could equal 
 them ; those of inferior beauty frequently fetch a large 
 price, from having been worn by some royal or eminent 
 character.” Dr. Leyden writes, “ the aigris is a stone of 
 a greenish blue colour, supposed to be a species of jas- 
 per, small perforated pieces of which, valued at their 
 weight in gold, are used for money.” Isert writes, 
 “ they are a sort of coral with inlaid work : the art of 
 making beads is entirely lost, or was never known in 
 these parts ; it is not improbable, that, in the golden age 
 of Egypt, she had communication with the Gold Coast ; 
 indeed it has been thought, and perhaps not without 
 some reason, that the Gold Coast is the Ophir of So- 
 lomon.” The natives believe that when these beads are 
 buried, they not only grow but breed. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AF1UCA. 
 
 213 
 
 tains, the richness of their dresses, the glit- 
 tering and costly gold ornaments which 
 were seen every where, as far as the eye 
 could reach, had a most imposing effect, 
 and left us for a moment in doubt whether 
 we were not then in the presence of the 
 king; but our guide, Captain Adoo, who 
 preceded us upon this occasion, with our 
 linguist, to point out those men possessed 
 of most power and influence, informed us 
 that the chiefs we then saw were only some 
 of the king’s captains. We therefore shook 
 hands with them and passed on, Mr. Du- 
 puis going first, followed by myself and 
 the other officers of the embassy. As Mr. 
 Dupuis preceded me* I had the advantage 
 of seeing that some of the inferior captains, 
 with whom he did not shake hands, ap- 
 peared to look sullen and displeased, and 
 whenever I observed this, I made a point 
 of conciliating them by shaking their hands 
 as well as the superior chiefs. This I could 
 perceive had a great effect, and produced 
 an instantaneous smile, accompanied by ex- 
 pressions of their approbation of what they 
 evidently appeared to consider a conde- 
 
 scension. 
 
214 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Mr. Bowdich’s description of their dress is 
 here so correct that I will give it nearly in 
 his own words : “ The cabboceers and cap- 
 tains wore Ashantee cloths of extravagant 
 value, which were large andheavy, and thrown 
 over the shoulder like the Roman toga * ; a 
 small silk fillet encircled their temples. 
 Some wore necklaces of aggry beads, or of 
 massy gold intricately wrought. A band of 
 gold and beads encircled the knee. Small 
 circles of gold, like guineas, rings and casts 
 of animals were strung round their ancles ; 
 their sandles were of green, red, and deli- 
 cately white leather ; manillas and rude 
 lumps of rich gold dangled from their left 
 wrists, which were so heavily laden as to be 
 supported on the heads of some of their 
 handsomest boys. Gold and silver pipes 
 and canes dazzled the eyes in every direc- 
 tion, wolves and rams’ heads, as large as life, 
 and cast in gold, hung from their gold- 
 handled swords, the blades of which were 
 rusted in blood ; their large drums were 
 braced about with the thigh-bones of their 
 
 * A plate, showing the costume of these cabboceers, 
 I conceived would be interesting. I have therefore given 
 one, (Vide Prince Adoom.) W.H. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 215 
 
 enemies, and ornamented with their sknlls. 
 Behind the chairs of the chiefs stood their 
 handsomest youths, habited much in the 
 same costly style. Finely grown girls stood 
 behind the chairs of some with silver ba- 
 sins. Crowds of younger boys were seated 
 around, flourishing elephants’ tails, curiously 
 mounted. The warriors sat on the ground 
 close to these. Their caps were made of 
 the skin of the pangolin and leopard, the 
 tails hanging down behind ; their cartouch 
 belts (composed of small gourds,) were em- 
 bossed with red shells *, and small brass 
 bells hung to them. On their hips and 
 shoulders was a cluster of knives ; iron 
 chains and collars dignified the most daring, 
 who were prouder of them than gold ; the 
 sides of their faces were painted in long 
 white streaks, and their arms also striped, 
 having the appearance of armour.” 
 
 A short distance before we came to the 
 king, we observed the Moorish chief Ali 
 Baba to the left of his majesty, dressed in 
 the usual style of his nation, with a large 
 
 * These shells are procured from the coast in the 
 neighbourhood of Cape Lahoo. One of them I brought 
 home with me, and have it now in my possession. W.H. 
 
 P 4 
 
216 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 white turban, in the centre of which was 
 a small looking-glass ; his cloak, shirt, and 
 trowsers, were of white silk. There were 
 also two other superior moors, dressed 
 much in the same style ; and the infe- 
 riors, which amounted to at least a hun- 
 dred, were dressed in a sort of coarse blue 
 cotton. 
 
 We passed nearly the whole assembly of 
 cabboceers before we reached the king. 
 His majesty was seated in a low chair, the 
 back of which was profusely studded with 
 gold nails, and ornamented with small 
 pieces of gold. His chair was elevated a 
 little, and placed about a yard in the back- 
 ground ; a small avenue was formed by his 
 attendants in front of him, so that we had 
 to step out of the circle to approach the 
 throne. His majesty and all his captains 
 were screened from the sun, by large 
 umbrellas, or canopies, made of scarlet and 
 other cloth, capable of covering thirty or 
 forty people, crowned on the top with 
 elephants, crescents, &c. of gold. The king 
 appeared about forty-five years of age, 
 and rather corpulent ; his cloth was a rich 
 green silk, and he wore a necklace of aggry 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 217 
 
 beads and small pieces of gold. Saphies*, 
 cased in gold, were suspended over his 
 shoulder, and he had a number of gold 
 rings upon his fingers, and gold castanets 
 on his finger and thumb. His wrists, knees, 
 and ancles, were richly adorned with brace- 
 lets and knee-bands of the finest gold and 
 aggry beads ; and his sandals were of white 
 leather, curiously worked and neatly orna- 
 mented. His features were remarkably 
 handsome, his head was entirely shaved, 
 with the exception of a small part on the 
 left of the crown, about the size of a guinea, 
 and his beard, (of which he is extremely 
 proud,) was at least three inches long, f 
 
 On appearing in the royal presence, we 
 all took off our hats, and each of us, in re- 
 gular succession, advanced and shook hands 
 with his majesty. We were received in the 
 most condescending and affable manner, 
 and his majestic and dignified deportment 
 surprised and delighted us. He was evi- 
 dently much pleased at the mark of dis- 
 tinction which we paid him in taking off 
 
 * Scraps of Moorish writing, as charms against evil. 
 
 f The plate of Prince Adoom is a good representation 
 of the King of Ashantee. (Vide page 214.) 
 
218 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 our hats, although he did not appear the 
 least surprised. 
 
 It has been justly observed, that 
 
 “ A king’s face — 
 
 Should give grace 
 
 and it may be truly said ot‘ this African 
 monarch that he possesses such a face; a 
 mild and pleasing countenance — open, 
 lively, and animated ; and a quick and 
 penetrating eye. Indeed, I never saw a 
 more handsome or dignified black man. * 
 
 The guards behind his majesty wore 
 belts cased in gold ; the royal stool was 
 also cased in gold, and displayed, under a 
 large umbrella, with drums, horns, &c. of 
 the same metal ; and the breasts of all his 
 majesty’s attendants were decorated with 
 stars, crescents, &c. of the purest gold. 
 
 Apokoo, the chief general of Ash an tee, 
 
 * Colonel Torrane, speaking of the king of Ashantee 
 in one of his despatches, observes, “ In all my negoci- 
 ations with the king, I had cause to remark, what I have 
 not experienced on the sea-coast, to wit, the strictest re- 
 gard to his word. In fact, I look on king Zey (so he is 
 called) to be a high character ; he is of a middling sta- 
 ture, remarkably well made, and of a handsome open 
 countenance.” 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 219 
 
 made a grand display of gold ornaments, 
 and I particularly observed that the king’s 
 scales and weights, the blow-pan and box, 
 were of solid gold. 
 
 The chamberlain, the gold horn-blower, 
 the captain for royal executions, and the 
 other officers of the household, were seve- 
 rally pointed out by our guide, and were 
 all adorned with massy gold ornaments. 
 The cook displayed his majesty’s plate, 
 consisting of immense large bowls, salvers, 
 tankards, tea and coffee pots, some of 
 which were of English, but the most of 
 Portuguese manufacture. 
 
 As soon as we had passed the king and 
 the officers of his household, we shook 
 hands with Adoosey and the other three 
 principal linguists, who were seated on the 
 right hand of his majesty, and were loaded 
 with a profusion of ornaments of the purest 
 gold; their gold canes were elevated before 
 them. 
 
 It is impossible to describe correctly so 
 much splendour and novelty as was upon this 
 occasion displayed ; but what has been said, 
 will give some idea of the riches of Ashan- 
 tee, and our reception at the capital. 
 
220 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFKICA. 
 
 After parading through this magnificent 
 scene, we proceeded to some ganian-trees 
 at a short distance, under which we all 
 seated ourselves to receive the compliments 
 of the king and his captains in return. 
 
 Some of the chiefs, as they passed, were 
 supported round the waist by their prin- 
 cipal slaves, and preceded by captains, who 
 shouted close to their ears their great 
 deeds (or strong names). The young cab- 
 boceers, not more than five or six years of 
 age, were carried on the shoulders of a 
 strong slave. Each cabboceer, on passing, 
 shook hands with us, and during this cere- 
 mony, the executioner, who carried the 
 execution-stool, which was besmeared with 
 human blood, and covered with a caul of 
 fat, came quite close to us, and shook it in 
 our faces, which probably was done to inti- 
 midate, and to caution us against the con- 
 sequences of acting as spies in the country ; 
 and as a large bell was attached to it, the 
 noise it made, added to the frightful ap- 
 pearance of the executioner, and the dis- 
 gusting sight of the stool, did not give rise 
 to the most pleasing sensations. Some of 
 the king’s body-guard, who were stationed 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 221 
 
 near us, and placed under the command of 
 our guide, Captain Adoo, hurried by the 
 warriors and attendants as fast as possible, 
 and frequently lashed some of them se- 
 verely with canes and whips, which they 
 had for this purpose ; but it was half past 
 seven o’clock before the king made his ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 His majesty was preceded by boys, carry- 
 ing torches and vessels of gold, containing 
 oil to dip them into. He appeared intoxi- 
 cated, and broke through the line we had 
 formed with our attendants, which threw 
 us into such disorder, from the crush of 
 people, that we were for a moment driven 
 from our seats, and intermixed with the 
 crowd. Being taken quite by surprise, we 
 at first gave way, but finding the crowd 
 press upon us rudely, we struck several of 
 them with the hilts of our swords, which 
 soon made them give way in turn, and we 
 resumed our seats ; on which his majesty 
 shook hands with each of us, and wished us 
 good night. He was evidently too intox- 
 icated to ask any questions. His sisters, 
 and other branches of his family were with 
 him, and one of them shook hands with us, 
 
222 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 and wished us good night. They also were 
 adorned with a profusion of gold ornaments. 
 
 The ceremony now being over, we retired 
 to our quarters, which consisted of very 
 comfortable apartments, purposely fitted 
 up for our reception. It was the bouse of 
 Prince Adoom, who was then absent on an 
 embassy at Cape Coast. 
 
 This ceremony lasted nearly five hours ; 
 during which we took no refreshment, 
 were almost suffocated with heat, and quite 
 exhausted. 
 
 The king, however, immediately sent us 
 four large jars of palm wine, a sheep, and 
 some eggs, (not remarkable for their fine 
 quality,) fruit, and vegetables. Having taken 
 a little fruit and other refreshments, we re- 
 tired to rest about twelve o’clock, and after 
 the fatigue of the day, my first night’s rest 
 in the capital of Ashantee was as comfort- 
 able as ever I experienced in the capital of 
 England. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 223 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE EMBASSY AT THE CAPITAL. 
 
 Although the reader will doubtless feel 
 anxious to be made acquainted with our 
 proceedings at the capital, I shall defer en- 
 tering into these particulars, until I have 
 communicated my impressions from the 
 events of yesterday ; and contrasting the 
 conduct of the king of Ashantee, upon this 
 occasion, with his former conduct, when 
 Mr. Bowdich entered Coomassie in 1817, I 
 shall endeavour to shew the great improve- 
 ment in the manners and customs of the 
 Ashantee court since that period. 
 
 In the first place, it will be recollected by 
 those who have read Mr. Bowdich’s account 
 of the former mission, that while his de- 
 scription of the Ashantee government, their 
 armies, their treasures, and their courteous 
 manners, were highly gratifying, yet there 
 was an alloy in this gratification by the re- 
 
224 
 
 A VOYAGE T'0 AFRICA. 
 
 flection that so much barbarity and cruelty 
 should be practised amongst people, in other 
 respects, so very superior. 
 
 I allude to the human sacrifices and tor- 
 tures, one of which he thus describes : — 
 “ A most inhuman spectacle then presented 
 itself. It was a man whom they were tor- 
 menting previous to sacrifice. His hands 
 were pinioned behind him, a knife was 
 passed through his cheeks, to which his 
 lips were noosed like a figure of 8. ; one ear 
 was cut off and carried before him, the 
 other hung to his head by a small bit of 
 skin ; there were several gashes in his back, 
 and a knife was thrust under each shoulder 
 blade ; he was led with a cord passed 
 through his nose by men disfigured with 
 immense caps of shaggy black skins, and 
 drums beat before him.” 
 
 Every person must feel a degree of hor- 
 ror on reading this account of Ashantee 
 barbarity, and will therefore be highly gra- 
 tified to learn that no such tortures or sacri- 
 fices were committed, either on our arrival 
 in the capital, or during our stay there. 
 This then evidently indicates improvement 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 225 
 
 among this barbarous people, and at least 
 manifests a desire, on the part of the king, 
 not to displease Europeans, by the exhibi- 
 tion of such shocking spectacles, as are here 
 described, now that he knows it is offen- 
 sive to them. 
 
 From what has been stated, it will plain- 
 ly appear, that the Ashantees, and particu- 
 larly the king, might, in the course of time, 
 be prevailed upon to discountenance human 
 sacrifices and tortures, by sacrificing sheep 
 and fowls instead, as, in fact, they even now 
 very often do. The Moors indeed set them 
 the example of sacrificing sheep ; and as 
 this people have the greatest influence 
 with the Ashantees, it would be of the first 
 importance to conciliate them, that they 
 might be prevailed upon to unite in the 
 humane object of inducing the king to 
 discontinue these abominable practices. 
 Some of the Moors, indeed, are nearly as 
 much averseto thesebarbarities as ourselves, 
 and also to the ridiculous and absurd cus- 
 tom of wearing fetish, as will appear on re- 
 ference to Mr. Hutchison’s diary, wherein 
 that gentleman mentions an instance of a 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Moor, (the shereff Abraham*,) “ rejecting 
 fetishes, and absenting himself from hu- 
 man sacrifices, and other abominations.” f 
 If then, the Moors are inclined to favour 
 our views, in the accomplishment of an ob- 
 ject so desirable, what benefits to mankind 
 may not result from the establishment 
 of a missionary at Coomassie ? The influ- 
 ence of this people with the Ashantees, 
 and in Africa in general, is too well known, 
 and the advantages to be attained by cul- 
 tivating their friendship, are too evident, to 
 require any explanation. 
 
 That the king of Ashantee is also well 
 inclined to discountenance such sacrifices, 
 not only plainly appears from what I have 
 stated, and not having heard of the immo- 
 
 * This man stated, that he had come from Boussa, 
 inhere he saw Mtingo Park drowned. Another Moor, 
 (Amadou Dhiob), whom I met with at Senegal, stated 
 positively, that a chief of the Moors (named Bourdaau) 
 killed Park ! Which of these men is to be believed ? 
 
 From these, and other contradictory accounts, which 
 have been given of poor Park’s death, by the Moors, 
 it may be possible that he is still alive. 
 
 f Mr. Hutchison adds that the rest of the people, of 
 whatever country they may be, when the king’s horns 
 announce any thing of the kind, strive who will get there 
 first to enjoy the agonies of the victims 1 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 227 
 
 lation of any human victim, during my 
 stay at Coomassie, but also from Mr. Bow- 
 dich’s mission, who says, (p. 274.) “ that 
 his (the king’s) humanity is frequently su- 
 perior to his superstition and policy ; he 
 offended Quatchie Quofie, one of the four, 
 by limiting the human sacrifices at his mo- 
 ther’s funeral, and resisted all the impor- 
 tunities, founded upon precedent, for the 
 allowance of a greater number.” 
 
 If then the king of Ashantee, as well 
 as the Moors, are so well inclined to set 
 their faces against the sacrifice and torture 
 of human victims, what possible objec- 
 tion can there be to sending a missionary 
 to Coomassie immediately ? or, I should 
 rather ask, why has a missionary not been 
 sent long ago? 
 
 There can be no objection, on account of 
 any apprehensions for the safety and pro- 
 tection of such a person, as the king, in 
 the last treaty, entered into with him by 
 Mr. Dupuis, on the part of the British 
 government, expressly binds himself to allow 
 a missionary to reside at the capital , and pro- 
 mises him his protection. 
 
 And moreover, as Europeans have ah 
 q 2 
 
228 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 ready visited Ashantee, and been weli 
 received, and kindly and hospitably treated 
 during their stay there, I conceive there 
 could be no moment more auspicious than 
 the present for the establishment of such 
 a person ; not only for the reasons now 
 stated, but also as His Majesty’s govern- 
 ment have now taken the forts on the 
 Gold Coast under their own immediate 
 direction. Indeed, it is somewhat surprising, 
 and a little inexplicable, that, considering 
 the number of missionaries which has been 
 sent to all parts of the world, not one has 
 been established on the Gold Coast, al- 
 though we have had no less than ten set- 
 tlements* there, under the direction of the 
 African committee, during the last seventy 
 years. 
 
 Having thus pointed out the great good 
 which would be likely to result from the 
 establishment of a missionary at Ashantee, 
 
 * Until very lately, the African Company had ten 
 settlements on the Gold Coast, namely, Appollonia, 
 Dixcove, Succondee, Commenda, Cape Coast, An- 
 namaboe, Tantum, Winnebah, Accra, and Wliydah ; 
 which however are now reduced to four, namely, Dix- 
 cove, Cape Coast, Annamaboe, and Accra. 
 
 14 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 229 
 
 and the king having given permission 
 for one to reside at the capital, I can have 
 no doubt but so favourable an opportunity 
 will be embraced, by the Missionary Society 
 sending a fit person immediately to that 
 quarter of the globe. 
 
 The thousands of human victims who 
 might thus be saved from torture and from 
 death, which are at present annually sacri- 
 ficed to the superstitions and customs of 
 this people, would amply reward the ex- 
 ertions of those who might be induced to 
 engage in such a pleasing undertaking. 
 What indeed can be more pleasing or grati- 
 fying to the human mind than the reflection 
 of having saved hundreds and thousands of 
 our fellow-creatures from a cruel death? 
 and even the attempt to do so, though it 
 should prove unsuccessful, will still endear 
 the names of those who may engage in it. 
 
 The great necessity for such an under- 
 taking, need not be further illustrated than 
 by the following extract from Mr. Bow- 
 dich’s Mission, p. 289. : “ I was assured by 
 several that the custom for Sai Quamina 
 was repeated weekly for three months, and 
 that two hundred slaves were sacrificed and 
 
 q S 
 
230 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 twenty-five barrels of powder fired each 
 time. But the custom for the king’s mo- 
 ther, the regent of the kingdom, during 
 the invasion of Fantee, is most celebrated. 
 The king himself devoted three thou- 
 sand victims, (upwards of two thousand of 
 whom were Fantee prisoners,) and twenty- 
 five barrels of powder ! Dwabin, Kokofoo, 
 Becqua, Soota, and Marmpong, furnished 
 one hundred victims and twenty barrels of 
 powder each, and most of the smaller 
 towns ten victims and two barrels of pow- 
 der each.” 
 
 Hence, then, it appears that nearly four 
 thousand victims were sacrificed at the 
 death of one person ! And when it is con- 
 sidered that many hundreds are also immo- 
 lated on the yam and the Adai customs *, 
 as well as on the death of any person of 
 rank, how many thousands may we sup- 
 pose to be annually sacrificed to these 
 horrid superstitions ? 
 
 * The following account of the Adai custom is given 
 by Mr. Hutchison, who was the British resident at 
 Coomassie for some months after the departure of Mr. 
 Bowdich ; and as, I am happy to say, I have none of 
 these cruelties to relate, from my own observation at 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 231 
 
 The most effectual arguments which I 
 conceive could be urged to the king of 
 
 Ashantee, I shall be excused quoting others upon this 
 subject. 
 
 “ When any public execution or sacrifice is to take 
 place, the ivory horns of the king proclaim at the palace 
 door, “ wow ! wow ! wow !” “ death ! death ! death !” 
 and as they cut off their heads the bands play a peculiar 
 strain till the operation is finished. 
 
 “ The greatest human sacrifice that has been made in 
 Coomassie during my residence, took place on the eve 
 of the Adai custom, early in January. I had a mys- 
 terious intimation of it two days before from a quarter 
 not to be named. My servants being ordered out of the 
 way, I was thus addressed : ‘ Christian, take care and 
 watch over your family ; the angel of death has drawn his 
 sword, and will strike on the neck of many Ashantees. 
 When the drum is struck on Adai eve, it will be the 
 death signal of many. Shun the king if you can ; but 
 fear not.’ When the time came to strike the drum, I 
 was sitting thinking on the horrors of the approaching 
 night, and was rather startled at a summons to attend 
 the king. This is the manner he always takes to cut off 
 any captain or person of rank ; if they are thought des- 
 perate characters they are thrown down, and a knife 
 is thrust through their mouth to keep them from swear- 
 ing the death of any other. 
 
 “ This sacrifice was in consequence of the king 
 imagining, that if be washed the bones of his mother and 
 sisters who died while he was on the throne, it would 
 pi’opitiate the fetish, and make the war successful. Their 
 bones were, therefore, taken from their coffins, and bathed 
 
 Q 4 
 
232 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Ashantee, to abolish human sacrifices, (and 
 which I have no doubt would be successful, 
 at least in reducing: the number of* vie- 
 tims, if it did not remove the practice alto- 
 gether,) are the following. 
 
 in rum and water with great ceremony ; after being wiped 
 with silks, they were rolled in gold-dust, and wrapped 
 in strings of rock gold, aggry beads, and other things of 
 the most costly nature. Those who had done any thing 
 to displease the king, were then sent for in succession, 
 and immolated as they entered, “ that their blood might 
 water the graves.” The whole of the night the king’s 
 executioners traversed the streets, and dragged every one 
 they found to the palace, where they were put in irons. 
 Next morning being Adai custom, every place was silent 
 and forlorn, and his majesty proceeded to the morning 
 sacrifice of sheep, & c., attended only by his confidents 
 and the members of his own family. He appeared agi- 
 tated and fatigued. 
 
 “ As soon as it was dark, the human sacrifices were 
 renewed. The victims, with their hands tied behind 
 them and in chains, preceded the bones of the deceased, 
 which were removed to the sacred tomb of Bantama. 
 The procession returned about three P. M. on Monday, 
 when the king took his seat in the market-place with his 
 small band, and “ Death ! death ! death !” was echoed 
 by his horns. He sat with a silver goblet of palm wine 
 in his hand, and when they cut off any head, imitated a 
 dancing motion in his chair, and a little before dark he 
 finished his terrors for that day. I dared not send out 
 my people, lest they should be murdered. The sacrifice 
 was continued till the next Adai custom, seventeen 
 days 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 233 
 
 First, That the sacrifice of so many 
 people gives great offence to the king of 
 England *, who is surprized that the king 
 of Ashantee, of whom he has heard a high 
 character in other respects, should consent 
 to the immolation of so many of his sub- 
 jects, this being contrary to humanity, 
 and to his own interest and happiness as a 
 great king. It should also be represented 
 that the life of the meanest subject of the 
 king of England is as sacred as his own, 
 and that he cannot himself injure any indivi- 
 dual with impunity. At the same time, it 
 would have great influence with his sable 
 majesty, if a portrait of our sovereign were 
 sent out with this message, “ that the king 
 
 * We found that the name of the king of England 
 had the greatest weight and influence in our negotiations 
 with his sable majesty. To have said “ the Government,” 
 or the “ African Company,” would not have had half 
 the effect. This, Mr. Bowdich’s observations confirm, 
 as will appear from the following, (p. 44.) “ All the 
 
 curiosity the packages excited, could not incline the king 
 to regard them, until he had desired distinctly to under- 
 stand who had sent them, the king of England or the 
 governor. He was told the company, to whom the forts 
 belonged under the king ; the interpreter seemed to 
 render it the king individually ; it was more intelligible, 
 and the agreeable impression it made was striking.” 
 
234 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 of England on being informed of tlie 
 king of Ashantee and his captains having 
 taken the oath of allegiance and fidelity to 
 the crown of Great Britain, and that no 
 human sacrifices were allowed during the 
 visit of the last embassy, was so well 
 pleased, that he had directed, among other 
 presents *, a portrait of himself to be sent 
 to the king, as a mark of his approbation 
 of the great improvement in the manners 
 and customs of the Ashantee court since 
 the visit of the former mission.” 
 
 A message to this effect, would no doubt 
 have great influence with the king of 
 Ashantee, who has the greatest reverence 
 for the name of the king of England. 
 
 A portrait, therefore, coming directly 
 from His Majesty in this way, accompanied 
 by other presents, would most probably be 
 successful. And our gracious sovereign, it 
 is presumed, would have no objection to his 
 name being made use of in so good a cause. 
 
 * The other presents should consist of a service 
 of silver plate, a crown set with stones, and also a 
 sceptre, a silk robe, a handsome cushion, a silk flag, 
 a star, a gold chain, and half a dozen pieces of small 
 brass cannon, with a collection of engravings of the 
 most illustrious characters in Europe. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 235 
 
 Secondly, As an additional inducement 
 to the king of Ashantee to comply with 
 our wishes, an offer should be made to 
 double the amount of the pay he annually 
 receives from the forts, which is only 288 /. 
 And what is this sum annually to our 
 government, in consideration of the humane 
 object of saving the lives of so many human 
 beings, as well as the advantages which 
 must, in every point of view, result to the 
 nation from our connection with so power- 
 ful a monarch ? 
 
 Thirdly, It might be urged to the king, 
 that in sacrificing so many of his people, 
 he weakens his own power, and destroys 
 those who might otherwise be of the great- 
 est service to him in battle, or in clearing 
 and cultivating the ground, and making a 
 road to Cape Coast, which his majesty has 
 promised to do ; and it might also be added, 
 that a compliance with the king of Eng- 
 land’s wishes, would always secure his ma- 
 jesty’s friendship and good will for the king 
 of Ashantee ; but, if human sacrifices were 
 continued, His Britannic Majesty could not 
 any longer continue his friendship, or allow 
 his officers to visit Ashantee again. 
 
236 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I shall now state my impressions on en- 
 tering Coomassie. 
 
 The town, at the first glimpse we had 
 of it, appeared, at a short distance, much 
 the same as other towns on the coast ; the 
 roofs of the houses being of a conical shape 
 resembling bee-hives. This last observa- 
 tion, however, does not apply to the prin- 
 cipal houses, some of which are very supe- 
 rior, and upon a larger scale than any we 
 observed on our journey. But I must 
 confess, that, on entering the capital, and 
 passing through the principal streets, I 
 felt disappointed from the impression Mr. 
 Bowdich’s drawings had made upon my 
 mind ; and the same feeling, I believe, ex- 
 tended to my companions. These draw- 
 ings, to say the least of them, are too 
 highly coloured. Many of the Ashantees, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 237 
 
 to whom I shewed them, could not perceive 
 a resemblance sufficient to strike them at 
 first sight. * 
 
 The houses generally were in a ruinous 
 condition, and that which we took posses- 
 sion of, although it belonged to Prince 
 Adoom, and had been put in order ex- 
 pressly for us, was little better. Several parts 
 of the premises were in a dilapidated state ; 
 and even the palace itself, if it deserves the 
 name, was as bad, if not worse. I have 
 observed only a few bouses in good order, 
 and these were built upon a large scale, 
 with open porches in front, and kept ex- 
 tremely clean. 
 
 Mr. Bowdich’s observations, regarding the 
 houses being provided with cloacses, and 
 the general cleanliness of the Ashantees, are 
 correct ; and there can be no doubt, that, in 
 the arrangement of their dwellings, they are 
 superior to many of their neighbours. The 
 houses atPaintrey, however, which appear to 
 have been built in imitation of those at the 
 
 # Mr. Bowdich’s representations of the yam custom 
 and the war captain are more correct than any other of 
 his drawings. 
 
238 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 capital, so closely resemble them, that that 
 town may be said to be Coomassie in minia- 
 ture. My observations, therefore, upon the 
 houses at Paintrey, will apply also to those 
 of Coomassie. The principal difference 
 between them is, that the latter have some 
 ornamental work, and, in a few instances, 
 a first floor raised, to accomplish which, 
 the under room is divided in two by a wall, 
 which supports it. The roofs are sup- 
 ported in front by square pillars neatly 
 plastered. 
 
 In closing my remarks upon this subject, 
 it is proper to observe that the ruinous state 
 of the houses may, in some measure, be ac- 
 counted for, by the king and his captains 
 having only lately returned from the war 
 with the Buntakoos, which his majesty, as 
 well as the inhabitants, pleaded as an apo- 
 logy for the town not being “ more hand- 
 some” 
 
 On Tuesday morning, the 1st of March, 
 we received a message from the king, desir- 
 ing we would attend him in the market-place. 
 Accordingly we waited on his majesty, about 
 a quarter before twelve o’clock, and found 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 239 
 
 him surrounded by his principal captains 
 and linguists, the Moors, and many thou- 
 sand people, but not nearly so many as on 
 the preceding day. His majesty received 
 us in the same gracious and affable man- 
 ner as he did on our entree ; and, as soon 
 as we had shook hands with him, and 
 seated ourselves, he expressed a wish to be 
 informed what were the objects of our visit. 
 On which Mr. Dupuis rose, and stated *, 
 that Mr. Bowdich’s book had given the 
 king of England so favourable an account 
 of the king of Ashantee, and the country 
 in general, particularly the hospitable man- 
 ner in which they were treated by him, 
 that His Britannic Majesty had been in- 
 duced to send him (Mr. Dupuis) with the 
 presents which he had brought to the ca- 
 pital, consisting of 100 guns, 100 kegs of 
 powder, and 100 ankers of rum.” Here 
 Mr. Dupuis was requested by our guide, 
 
 * Mr. Dupuis stated what he had to say to our own 
 linguist, who interpreted it to Adoosey, by whom it was 
 repeated to the king; it being the etiquette of the Ashan- 
 tee court, that the king’s linguists only can speak to his 
 majesty in public. 
 
240 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Capt. Adoo, through the medium of our 
 own linguist, not to mention the other ar- 
 ticles before all the people ; from which it 
 would appear that the king and his princi- 
 pal captains and linguists did not wish the 
 people to be acquainted with the whole of 
 the presents. 
 
 Our linguist having interpreted the first 
 part of Mr. Dupuis’ statement, Adoosey, 
 the principal linguist, (as is customary,) 
 repeated it to the king, who signified his 
 approbation by a gentle nod of the head. 
 Mr. Dupuis then proceeded to say, that he 
 had come to settle all palavers, which being 
 interpreted to his majesty as above ex- 
 plained, he returned for answer that what 
 palavers he had, Mr. Dupuis should settle. 
 Upon which Mr. Dupuis added that the 
 king must not do wrong to the governor of 
 Cape Coast ; and that he would see the 
 governor of Cape Coast should not do 
 wrong to him. 
 
 On the linguist interpreting this part of 
 Mr. Dupuis’ statement, he made some 
 mistake, which Mr. Graves, much to his 
 credit, detected and immediately rectified. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 241 
 
 The king seemed to be pleased with Mr. 
 Dupuis’ communication, which, although 
 short, was perhaps quite long enough on 
 our first audience. Indeed, to have said 
 much upon this occasion, would not have 
 been prudent or politic, as it might have 
 awakened feelings of alarm and jealousy, 
 which we studiously endeavoured to avoid. 
 
 This audience, therefore, did not last 
 more than ten or fifteen minutes, when we 
 returned to our quarters. 
 
 I observed his majesty was dressed dif- 
 ferently this day : he had not the same 
 cloth he wore yesterday, and had not so 
 great a profusion of gold ornaments. His 
 head linguist, Adoosey, as well as the other 
 linguists, and Apokoo, the head general or 
 commander-in-chief, together with the other 
 generals, were all arranged near his majesty, 
 and decorated with a variety of gold orna- 
 ments. 
 
 At half-past eleven on the follow- 
 ing morning, we received a message from 
 his majesty, to send the presents, and 
 wait upon him, which we attended to im- 
 mediately. On our arrival at the palace, 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 we were admitted into an inner court-yard 
 or anti-room. In this court-yard, I observed 
 two small window-frames, the one cased in 
 gold, and the other in silver ; but they were 
 not larger than a pane of glass in our shop- 
 windows in England. These window-frames 
 belong to the king’s bed-room, of which Mr. 
 Bowdich has given a drawing; but so supe- 
 rior to what it represents, that I should not 
 have known it, but for the round chequered 
 doors. The window-frames scarcely deserve 
 that name, being so small and insignifi- 
 cant. I observed one of these frames 
 still more insignificant, cased in gold, on 
 entering the palace, just over the outer 
 gate ; but I should be sorry to give ten 
 guineas for all the gold window-frames at 
 Coomassie. 
 
 After waiting about half an hour in 
 the inner court-yard, or area, we were 
 ushered into the king’s presence. We 
 now entered a large square open court- 
 yard, with an apartment on the right- 
 hand side, which was covered with a roof 
 composed of bamboo-cane for rafters, and 
 thatched with .grass and palm-leaves. The 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 243 
 
 roof is about twenty feet high, and sup- 
 ported in front by square pillars ; so that 
 the apartment is quite open, and forms 
 a sort of piazza. The floor is raised about 
 two feet from the ground, with steps 
 made of swish, which is covered with 
 a layer of red earth, called inchuma, very 
 much resembling ochre. These floors are 
 washed every morning early with a mixture 
 of this sort of ochre and water. The 
 council-chamber, (if I may be allowed the 
 expression,) was about thirty feet long and 
 eight feet wide. 
 
 In this council-chamber we found his 
 majesty, surrounded only by a select num- 
 ber of his principal advisers, consisting 
 of Quatchie Quofie , Odumata, Apokoo, and 
 Ainanquatea, who compose the aristocracy; 
 and the linguists, Adoosey , Cancum, and 
 Otee, ( Agay being absent.) These, with 
 Adoo Quarnina (one of the captains), the 
 eunuch, a few of the king’s domestic 
 slaves, and some of his favourite girls (not 
 more than ten or twelve years of age), were 
 the only persons allowed to be present. 
 These girls generally attend his majesty, 
 r 2 
 
244 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 and were very handsome. Each of them 
 had a large piece of solid rock-gold sus- 
 pended round the neck, at least ten or 
 twelve ounces, value forty or fifty pounds. 
 
 Having taken our seats immediately 
 opposite, and within three yards of the 
 king, (between whom and ourselves, there 
 was a low table made of wood, which 
 much resembled oak,) we gave directions 
 for the cases to be opened for his ma- 
 jesty’s inspection. The first case happened 
 unfortunately, to contain the turning- 
 lathe, or rather a part of it, consisting 
 of what only appeared to be two pieces 
 of wood. This caused a smile and a 
 whisper between his majesty and his mi- 
 nisters, who asked what it was. We, of 
 course, explained the use of it as well as 
 we could ; but if a mechanic had accom- 
 panied the embassy, who perfectly under- 
 stood how to work it, and had at this 
 instant done so, the king, who is a great 
 admirer of ingenuity in mechanism, would 
 have been both astonished and delight- 
 ed, as well as convinced of the great 
 utility of an article which now appeared to 
 him perfectly useless, and no more than a 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 245 
 
 few pieces of wood. It is therefore to be 
 regretted, that such a person did not ac- 
 company us, as he might have remained 
 at Ashantee for a few months, and in- 
 structed one of the Ashantees how to work 
 it ; and this is one reason, among many 
 others, that has induced me to recommend 
 a certain number of mechanics, farmers, 
 &c. to be sent to Coomassie and other 
 parts of the country. (Vide page 150.) 
 
 The other cases being opened, and their 
 contents exhibited, his majesty appeared 
 much pleased with the mirror, the organ, 
 the uniform, the chandelier, the drums, the 
 kaleidescopes, and the tower-guns, but 
 seemed cautiously to avoid expressing sur- 
 prise at any thing; for although we could 
 evidently discern from the countenance of 
 the king and his ministers, that they were 
 highly pleased with the presents, yet they 
 not only appeared to avoid shewing their 
 approbation, but sometimes endeavoured 
 to appear indifferent. This, however, I 
 considered more studied than natural ; it 
 being a maxim at the Ashantee court, not 
 to betray themselves by any expressions 
 of surprise, as they think that in so doing 
 n 3 
 
246 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 they would lessen their dignity in the eyes 
 of Europeans. 
 
 All the cases being opened, and the con- 
 tents found correct, his majesty ordered 
 hollands and rum to be handed round to us, 
 which was immediately done on a silver 
 salver, in tumblers, full of neat hollands ; 
 and liquor was also very liberally distri- 
 buted among our servants and the people 
 who opened the cases. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to mention that we 
 did not drink our bumpers of neat hollands ? 
 Indeed, I do not know what sort of stomachs 
 his majesty supposes Englishmen to have, 
 to be able to drink so much neat liquor j 
 but the Ashantees themselves think nothing 
 of drinking off a tumbler full of neat gin or 
 rum at any time ; and after we had tasted 
 what was presented to us, for the sake of 
 drinking his majesty’s health, our servants, 
 who stood behind our chairs, greedily drank 
 what was left. 
 
 His majesty made several enquiries re- 
 specting the King of England, and in parti- 
 cular as to his name ; and the name of 
 the place where he resided. On being 
 
 informed, he attempted several times to re- 
 
 18 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 247 
 
 peat the words, “ George ,” and “ London 
 and laughed heartily at the difficulty he had 
 in doing so. In short, the king shewed 
 much good-humour and pleasantry, and was 
 this day very facetious. 
 
 As this audience was merely for the pur- 
 pose of laying the presents before his ma- 
 jesty, no matters of business were entered 
 into ; and shortly after the packages were 
 opened, the meeting broke up, and we 
 retired to our quarters. 
 
 In the evening, we walked out for an hour 
 opposite the house we occupied, where there 
 was a fine open street, or parade. It was a 
 beautiful star-light night, and we enjoyed 
 our walk, without the least interruption 
 from the natives, who took no more notice 
 of us, than if we had been constantly resid- 
 ing at the capital. 
 
 The next morning, Captain Adoo waited 
 on us with a message from the king, to say 
 that his majesty would be ready to receive 
 us about twelve o’clock. Accordingly, at 
 that hour we set off for the palace, but were 
 detained, as on the preceding day, for half- 
 an-hour in the inner area, or court-yard, 
 which indeed is the etiquette of the Ashan- 
 ti 4 
 
248 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 tee court, as the king and his counsellors 
 think it makes them appear of more con- 
 sequence to keep us waiting some time for 
 an audience. This is also the practice on 
 entering the capital, when it will be recol- 
 lected we were kept waiting a week at Ama- 
 foo and Sirassou. The latter, however, is in 
 some measure necessary to enable the king 
 to call his cabboceers and captains toge- 
 ther from distant parts of the country, to 
 make as great a display of his strength and 
 forces as possible. 
 
 On being admitted into the council^ 
 chamber, and taking our seats, as on the 
 preceding day, Mr. Dupuis endeavoured to 
 call his majesty’s attention to the objects of 
 the embassy. But there was evidently a 
 desire on the part of the king to avoid all’ 
 discussions on matters of business, particu- 
 larly such as regarded his demand on the 
 Cape Coast people. The reason for this was 
 obvious. Having only just accepted of such 
 a munificent present, he could not with a 
 good grace speak of the demand on the 
 Cape Coast people. His majesty, therefore, 
 waved all discussion at that time, by ob- 
 serving, “ that now he had seen Mr. Dupuis’ 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 249 
 
 face, he had no bad palaver in his head, and 
 no palaver at all with white men.” 
 
 This was a most important declaration, 
 as the claim lately made on the governor of 
 Cape Coast for 1600 oz. of gold, for an al- 
 leged infraction of the treaty, was now not 
 only abandoned, bnt the claim on the Cape 
 Coast people reduced to an object of se- 
 condary consideration, by the expression, 
 “ that now he had seen Mr. Dupuis’ face, 
 he had no bad palaver in his head and 
 consequently, if he had “ no bad palaver 
 in his head,” he could not be supposed to 
 entertain any serious thought of persisting 
 in his demand on the Cape Coast natives 
 for 1600 oz. of gold; for this was consi- 
 dered by every body, both by the whites 
 and blacks, by the Ashantees and Fantees, 
 a very bad palaver ; and therefore there can 
 be no doubt the king intended, by this ex- 
 pression, to say, that if he did not give up 
 the Cape Coast palaver entirely, he should 
 at least reduce his demand to so small an 
 amount that it would not be difficult to 
 be settled, and hence it would cease to be 
 “ a bad palaver .” 
 
 This impression upon my mind was con- 
 
250 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 firmed (if I had wanted any confirmation of 
 it) by what Mr. Graves acquainted me with 
 after the meeting broke up *. Having ob- 
 served the king say something in a low 
 tone of voice to one of the linguists (Can- 
 cum) who spoke to his majesty at the time 
 he declared he had no bad palaver in his 
 head, I desired Graves, who sat behind 
 Mr. Dupuis and me, to take notice of what 
 
 * I always made a point of enquiring from Mr. Graves, 
 on returning to our quarters, the particular expressions 
 of the king to his ministers during our audiences with 
 his majesty; and indeed it was one of my most particular 
 injunctions to Graves, to watch with unceasing vigilance 
 and attention every word that the king uttered to his 
 linguists in our presence, as it was only by a knowledge 
 of the king’s private and confidential observations that 
 we could judge of the real state of his majesty’s mind and 
 feeling towards us. For this reason I was induced to 
 recommend Graves’s appointment on the embassy, not 
 only as a check upon our linguist, but as a faithful in- 
 terpreter of any confidential expression which might fall 
 from the king to his linguists during the heat of debate ; 
 for it is not to be supposed our linguist could pay atten- 
 tion to such expressions, allowing that he had been wil- 
 ling to do so, as he had enough to do to interpret what was 
 said on both sides ; but it is not likely that he would have 
 been willing to inform us of any thing the king said pri- 
 vately, as he woud be afraid of his majesty’s displeasure. 
 Such a person, therefore, as Graves, or any respectable 
 Mulatto acquainted with the language, ought to be taken 
 on any future embassy. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 251 
 
 the king said, and to let me know when we 
 left the palace. Accordingly Graves in- 
 formed me, that Cancum (who is one of 
 the principal linguists, and an ill-natured 
 looking old fellow,) suggested to the king 
 the propriety of still urging his demand on 
 the Cape Coast people ; on which the king- 
 replied, that he could not consistently do 
 so after accepting the liberal presents he 
 had just received. This therefore shewed 
 the king to possess a noble and generous 
 feeling, and proved his superiority in this 
 respect over his avaricious adviser, Cancum. 
 
 As there was so evident a desire on the 
 part of his majesty to wave all discussion 
 for the present, we felt a delicacy in urging 
 any particular subject for consideration 
 upon this occasion ; and the meeting in 
 consequence broke up, when we retired, as 
 usual, to our quarters. 
 
 But on the following day Mr. Dupuis re- 
 quested an audience, for the purpose of 
 reading his commission ; which was imme- 
 diately granted ; and all of us (excepting 
 Mr. Salmon) waited on his majesty about 
 the usual hour (12 o’clock). On entering 
 the palace we were detained, as is custom- 
 
252 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 ary, about half an hour in the inner court- 
 yard. When we were admitted into the 
 council chamber, we found his majesty pre- 
 pared to receive us, attended by Adoosey 
 and the other linguists, as well as Apokoo, 
 and his brother generals. As soon as we 
 had paid our respects to the king and his 
 counsellors, Mr. Dupuis asked his majesty, 
 through the medium of the linguists, if it 
 would be agreeable to hear his commission 
 read, on which he received an answer in 
 the affirmative; but the king requested that 
 our linguist and servants might first be 
 sworn to speak the truth, and represent 
 every thing fairly on both sides ; which was 
 accordingly done by fetish being given to 
 them. This ceremony being gone through, 
 Mr. Dupuis requested me to read his com- 
 mission, which I accordingly did, explain- 
 ing at the end of every sentence the mean- 
 ing to the best of my ability. His majesty 
 expressed great satisfaction that the king of 
 England had been pleased to take so much 
 notice of him, to appoint one of his own 
 officers to reside at his capital ; and this 
 evidently made the most favourable im- 
 pression upon all present. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 253 
 
 As soon as the commission was read, 
 the linguists and captains rose, and each of 
 them in succession taking one of the king’s 
 swords, (which was about the size and shape 
 of a bill, with the handle cased in gold, but 
 the blade rusted in blood.) flourished it 
 about for two or three minutes within an 
 inch of Mr. Dupuis’ nose. During this 
 time they made a solemn oath of allegiance 
 and fidelity to his Britannic majesty. The 
 king rose last, and took the same oath ; 
 after which his majesty stated, that he was 
 sensible the king of England was a great 
 king, greater than all the other kings in 
 Europe, and that if he wanted 10,000 of 
 the Ashantee troops at any time, they 
 should be ready to march to any part of 
 Africa, to forward the views of his Britan- 
 nic majesty. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm 
 with which the king expressed himself upon 
 this occasion in favour of Great Britain, and 
 the delight and satisfaction which beamed 
 on every countenance was most gratifying 
 to our feelings. 
 
 His majesty further declared, that Air. 
 Dupuis, as the officer of the king of Eng- 
 
254 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 land, should want for nothing during his 
 residence at the capital. If he wanted 
 gold, or if there was any thing at Cape 
 Coast Castle, that the king could get for 
 him, he was to say so, and it should be im- 
 mediately procured. 
 
 His majesty remarked, that I knew a 
 little of the Ashantee language, and en- 
 quired all our names, our respective duties, 
 and particularly about Mr. Collins, observ- 
 ing him differently dressed from Mr. Salmon 
 and myself. Mr. Dupuis’ answer was, that 
 this gentleman was a person he had en- 
 gaged as his vice-consul at Cape Coast, to 
 assist him in his writings. The king also 
 enquired what was the opinion in England 
 respecting Mr. Bowdicli’s conduct to Mr. 
 James ; and on being informed that the 
 general opinion was against Mr. Bowdich, 
 for the reason, that no young officer on a 
 public service could be justified in interfer- 
 ing with his commanding officer, his ma- 
 jesty shrugged up his shoulders, and whis- 
 pered to his linguists, appearing to say, 
 (although we could not hear distinctly,) that 
 he had predicted such would be the case. 
 
 The king also enquired why Mr. Hutchi- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 255 
 
 son did not return to Ashantee with us, 
 and said, that he supposed he was ashamed 
 to do so ; implying, not any thing deroga- 
 tory to that gentleman, but, as far as I could 
 understand, that Mr. Hutchison would not 
 like to visit the capital under the command 
 of Mr. Dupuis. 
 
 The meeting then broke up, and we re- 
 turned to our quarters. 
 
 The next day passed without any audi- 
 ence with his majesty ; but we were re- 
 quested to attend in public to receive the 
 following presents from Adoosey, the head 
 linguist, and Yokrokokoo, the king’s cham- 
 berlain, on behalf of his Majesty. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis 7oz. of gold, besides 1 bullock, 
 2 hogs, and 1 sheep. 
 
 Mr. Salmon, Mr. Collins, and myself, 2oz. 
 
 4ackies of gold, and 1 sheep each. 
 
 Mr. Graves, 1 oz. 2ackies of gold, and 1 sheep. 
 The linguist, loz. 2ackies of gold. 
 
 Our servants, loz. 2ackies of gold. 
 
 Our hammock-men and carriers, 2 oz. 4ackies 
 of gold, and 1 bullock, 
 and as many yams, plantains, pine-apples, 
 bananas, eggs, fire-wood, &c. as it required 
 200 men to carry. In short, our quarters, 
 
256 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 which were very extensive, were crammed 
 with fruit and vegetables, most of which 
 we immediately distributed among our 
 people, as it would not have been possible 
 for us to consume one twentieth part of 
 them before they would have been rotten. 
 
 Upon this occasion there was a consider- 
 able number of the inhabitants assembled 
 to witness the distribution of the king’s pre- 
 sents ; and the king’s scales and weights, 
 blow-pan, and box of solid gold, were dis- 
 played, as is customary in such cases. 
 
 On Sunday the 6th, we all waited on his 
 majesty, to thank him for the presents we 
 had received the preceding day, when we 
 merely shook hands, and immediately with- 
 drew. 
 
 But, on the following day, we had an 
 audience, when Mr. Dupuis, conceiving 
 from the king’s declaration on a former 
 occasion, “ that he had no bad palaver in 
 his head,” thought it would be most pru- 
 dent to give notice of his intention to 
 leave the capital, without alluding at all 
 to the Cape Coast palaver, unless the king 
 did so. Accordingly, Mr. Dupuis stated 
 that it was his wish to return to Cape Coast 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 257 
 
 in the course of a week. But his majesty 
 now stated, that he had some palaver to 
 speak, after which he would fix a day for 
 our departure. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis then endeavoured to prevail 
 on his majesty to consent to a school being 
 established "at Paintrey ; and, in order 
 more effectually to succeed in this object, 
 it was first suggested, that great advantage 
 would result to the Ashantee traders by the 
 establishment of factories at this place, and 
 that the king would also derive advantage 
 therefrom by the payment of a monthly 
 note for one or two ounces of gold by the 
 governor of Cape Coast. 
 
 But his majesty did not appear at all 
 disposed to sanction this ; in short, nothing 
 could exceed his surprise and jealousy upon 
 this occasion. The instant the proposition 
 was made, he rose suddenly from his couch 
 (on which he was before reclining with great 
 composure), and taking his seat among the 
 assembly of linguists and captains, he de- 
 clared that he could not consent to any 
 establishment of the kind, from which it 
 evidently appeared he was jealous of the 
 least innovation upon his territories, or 
 
 s 
 
258 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 rather of our establishing ourselves nearer 
 the capital ; for the king and all his gene- 
 rals are dreadfully afraid of our power- 
 ful armies, and that we shall ultimately 
 wish to conquer the country. As one 
 proof of this, among others that might be 
 mentioned, his majesty one day visited 
 Mr. Dupuis, and earnestly demanded to 
 know from him, if the king of England 
 had sent him to spy the country, which 
 he said his generals persisted was the 
 fact ; and the Moors, jealous of our in- 
 fluence and power, have ever been ready 
 to encourage this opinion. Mr. Dupuis, 
 however, solemnly assured his majesty 
 that he need not entertain the least appre- 
 hension upon this subject ; for that, so far 
 from the king of England sending him to spy 
 the country, he had sent him there to do 
 good to the Ashantees, and to convince his 
 majesty of the constant friendship which the 
 king of England would always have for 
 him, while he acted as he did, in con- 
 tinuing to promote and encourage the views 
 of Great Britain in her commercial trans- 
 actions with the Ashantees and the other 
 African nations. Upon this declaration 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 259 
 
 the king took Mr. Dupuis cordially and af- 
 fectionately by the hand, exclaiming, “ I 
 believe you before I do my own generals ; 
 for you are a white man and the king of 
 England’s officer, and would not I am sure 
 tell me a lie.” * 
 
 The apprehensions and jealousy of the 
 king, however, were too evident to admit 
 of our urging the establishment of a school 
 at Paintrey, or even to mention our wish 
 to proceed further into the interior, as 
 there was not the slightest hope of its 
 being granted at this period. Time may, 
 however, do much to remove the king’s 
 fears and suspicions ; if not, I have sug- 
 gested other measures for accomplishing 
 our object. (Vide p. 36.) 
 
 The king enquired about Buonaparte, and 
 on being told he was sent to a small island 
 in the sea for being a tyrant, and disturb- 
 ing the peace of nations, his sable majesty 
 suddenly became thoughtful, and, after a 
 
 * The Ashantees have no expression short of “ You 
 tell me a lie.” The king was surprized on being told 
 that the English made a great difference between a mis- 
 take and a lie. He said “ the truth was not spoken in 
 either case, and therefore it was the same thing.” Vide 
 Bowdich’s Mission. 
 
260 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 moment’s silence, whispered to one of his 
 ministers near him, and seemed to con- 
 gratulate himself that he was out of the 
 power of the king of England, lest he 
 might be sent to St. Helena also. 
 
 His majesty expressed a desire to have 
 the slave-trade re-established, and on being 
 told it was impossible, as the king and 
 parliament of England would never consent 
 to such an inhuman traffic, he expressed 
 his regret, and said that the embassy would 
 have given him more pleasure if the slave- 
 trade were again permitted. In reply to an 
 observation that one great objection to the 
 slave-trade originated from a belief that it 
 encouraged the different chiefs to go to 
 war for the purpose of making prisoners to 
 sell to the slave-dealers, the king denied 
 that such was the fact, observing, as a proof 
 to the contrary, that since the abolition 
 there had been constant fighting. 
 
 On leaving the palace this day, we called 
 on Baba, the principal Moor, and were pa- 
 raded through the streets by our Ashantee 
 guide, with the British flag carried before us, 
 attended by our soldiers and servants ; but 
 
 we were not in the least annoyed by any 
 
 15 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 261 
 
 crowd following us, as might be expected ; 
 on the contrary, the inhabitants merely 
 looked at us as we passed, and were ex- 
 tremely polite and well-behaved. When 
 we arrived at Baba’s house, we found him 
 sitting in an open porch writing and in- 
 structing some of his pupils in the Arabic. 
 As soon as we had paid our respects, Mr. 
 Dupuis asked him if he had any horses that 
 be could sell or lend us to ride ; upon 
 which lie replied in the negative, but said 
 that one of his servants should conduct us 
 to two Moors who had very fine horses, 
 which no doubt they would oblige us with.. 
 Accordingly, we waited on these. Moors,, 
 and were shewn their horses, both of which 
 were spirited animals, in very good order, 
 and about the size of our small horses in 
 England. One was about fourteen hands 
 high and strongly made, something re- 
 sembling our light cart-horses, the other 
 not quite so high, but more resembling a 
 gentleman’s saddle-horse. The one was a 
 dark bay, the other a dun colour. The 
 Moors who owned these animals were 
 respectable and well dressed men, appa- 
 rently superior to Baba, and were shortly 
 
 s 3 
 
262 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 about to return to the interior, for which 
 reason they said they could not sell their 
 horses, as they should require them in 
 travelling ; but they expressed their wil- 
 lingness to oblige us with the loan of them 
 to ride out occasionally. Mr. Dupuis 
 thanked them ; and, after inviting them to 
 visit us the next day, we took our leave 
 and returned to our quarters. 
 
 On Tuesday the 8th of March, we again 
 waited on the king, when he stated that it 
 was his wish to have an account of his wars 
 with the Fantees, Assins, and Buntokoos 
 written in a book to be kept for that pur- 
 pose, that the king of England might read 
 it himself, and see how ill he had been 
 treated by those nations, and the forbear- 
 ance he had shewn before he commenced 
 war upon them. Agreeably, therefore, 
 to his majesty’s request, a book was set 
 apart for this purpose, in which I had the 
 honour to write an account of the wars 
 from his majesty’s dictation, and which 
 book was kept by the king until after we. 
 left the capital, when it was sent to Cape 
 Coast by a royal messenger, and is now in 
 my possession. I shall therefore devote a 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 263 
 
 chapter expressly to these wars, at the 
 conclusion of my narrative. 
 
 After an audience of nearly three hours, 
 his majesty was pleased to dismiss us. But 
 in the evening he sent for us again, when 
 we attended, and found it was about the 
 goods he had received in payment of the 
 notes * he held from the governor of Cape 
 Coast. Upon this occasion, we were ad- 
 mitted into a private apartment of his 
 majesty, where we found him apparently 
 much dissatisfied with the goods he had 
 received, and the high prices which he 
 said was put upon those goods, particularly 
 the article of rum, for one anker of which 
 he declared the English governor charged 
 him as much as the Dutch governor did 
 for three ankers, which were quite as large, 
 and the rum of a quality equally good. 
 This impression we endeavoured at first 
 to remove, by stating that there certainly 
 must be some mistake, as we conceived 
 
 * A note means a certificate of a monthly allowance 
 to the king of Ashantee, paid as a sort of ground-rent 
 for the forts, or in consideration of his influence and 
 power to encourage the trade with our settlements. 
 
 s 4 
 
264 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 it impossible that the governor of Elmina 
 could supply three ankers at the same 
 price which the governor of Cape Coast 
 charged for one. His majesty, however, 
 persisted in asserting that such was the 
 fact, ordering the Dutch ankers to be 
 produced for our inspection ; and the 
 coolness and patience with which he en- 
 deavoured to convince us that he was only 
 stating the truth, (even though we re- 
 peatedly disputed the point, under the 
 impression that there must have been some 
 mistake,) was a striking proof of his su- 
 perior intellect and great command of 
 temper; for we afterwards found his ma- 
 jesty was correct in what he had stated. 
 
 It is proper, therefore, I should explain 
 this apparent inconsistency. The governor 
 of Cape Coast, as has been the immemorial 
 practice, charges the king of Ashantee 
 what is called the Company’s prices, or 
 the price at which the rum is issued from 
 the Company’s store, which is one ounce 
 of gold, or four pounds the anker ; although 
 rum mav be selling for a third of that 
 value by private individuals, as was about 
 this time the case. And as the governor of 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 265 
 
 Elmina sends a circular letter to Cape Coast 
 to all the British merchants, to give in tenders 
 of the lowest prices at which they are dis- 
 posed to supply the garrison with goods, for 
 bills on the Dutch government, it happened 
 about this period, that one of our mer- 
 chants at Cape Coast contracted to supply 
 rum at the rate of twelve and fourteen 
 gallons to the ounce ; and there being 
 scarcely five gallons to the anker, three 
 ankers for one ounce due to the king of 
 Ashantee were actually paid him, the go- 
 vernor of Elmina being obliged to pay the 
 officers of the garrison, and those holding 
 notes from the Dutch government, precisely 
 on the same terms at which the articles may 
 be contracted for ; and it is to be observed, 
 that merchants at Cape Coast, who are 
 anxious to remit money to England, or 
 who may be on the point of selling off 
 their goods to return, will sometimes con- 
 tract upon a large scale with the Dutch, 
 at the same price, or perhaps less than 
 what such goods cost them, in order to get 
 bills on the government, such bills being 
 always considered a safe remittance, and 
 not liable to those losses and deductions 
 
266 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 which attend a remittance of gold dust 
 and ivory. 
 
 Although, therefore, we at first doubted 
 what the king told us, yet we subsequently 
 found that it was true, and accordingly pro- 
 mised to rectify it in future. 
 
 His majesty then requested I would ex- 
 amine the goods which the governor had 
 sent him in payment of the notes he held 
 from the fort, &c. On doing so, I found 
 two pieces of cloth missing, which I men- 
 tioned ; and our guide, Captain Adoo, who 
 had been the bearer of the goods from the 
 governor of Cape Coast, admitted that he 
 had been under the necessity of taking the 
 two pieces of cloth on the road, to subsist 
 the people under his command, in conse- 
 quence of their being longer on the journey 
 than was expected when they left the Cape. 
 The king, who was previously acquainted 
 with this circumstance, appeared to be 
 pleased at my correctness in discovering it; 
 for he had kept it a secret at first pur- 
 posely, as I presume, to see if I should 
 do so. 
 
 His majesty then asked me the price of 
 rum, cloth, powder, &c. to see if the go- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 267 
 
 vernor had charged him correctly for the 
 goods he had received in payment of the 
 notes he held from the fort. The Ashan- 
 tees make all their calculations with cou- 
 ries, (small shells) and are very expert in 
 reckoning. 
 
 It was quite dark before we left the pa- 
 lace, and on returning to our quarters we 
 were informed of the arrival of George Ar- 
 bro, one of our linguists, from Cape Coast 
 with letters ; which we were informed were 
 detained by some of the king’s officers who 
 had taken them to the palace. We there- 
 fore sent a messenger to the king, re- 
 questing our letters, which we immediately 
 received from Arbro, who was permitted 
 to wait upon us after he had seen his 
 majesty. 
 
 By this opportunity Mr. Dupuis received 
 a letter from the governor and council, 
 stating that the Pynins of Cape Coast had 
 agreed to pay one hundred ounces of gold, 
 (four hundred pounds,) to the king of 
 Ashantefe to settle the palaver, if Mr. Du- 
 puis could prevail on his majesty to be 
 satisfied with this sum. 
 
 This was the only information of a pub- 
 
268 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 lie nature ; but my private letters informed 
 me of the dangerous illness of one whose 
 life at that moment was of all others most 
 valuable to me ; and had not my duty 
 compelled me to remain at Coomassie until 
 the object of the embassy was decided, I 
 should have instantly returned to Cape 
 Coast. But nothing could induce me to 
 leave Coomassie with my duty unperformed.. 
 
 In my leisure hours I generally took a 
 survey of the town, or paid a visit to 
 Adoosey, whom, he being the king’s head 
 linguist, I considered the most likely person 
 to forward the objects of the embassy, and 
 as Mr. Dupuis was of the same opinion, he 
 approved of my visits. Mr. Graves, being- 
 acquainted with the Ashantee language, 
 usually accompanied me upon such occa- 
 sions. 
 
 When we arrived at Adoosey’s house, 
 we were admitted into an outer court-yard, 
 where having remained until our names 
 were announced, we were conducted through 
 three different apartments to an inner 
 chamber. Here we found Adoosey seated 
 with a pot of palm wine before him, and 
 smoking his pipe. He received 11s in the 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 269 
 
 most friendly manner, and desired ns to be 
 seated. After paying the usual compli- 
 ments upon such occasions, I explained to 
 him that as he was the king’s friend and 
 head linguist, I could communicate with 
 him more freely in private than Mr. Dupuis 
 could with the king in public, before all the 
 generals and linguists, and that what I 
 said he could take a favourable opportunity 
 of making known to his majesty when 
 alone. 
 
 Adoosey nodded assent, and I proceeded 
 to explain the objects of the embassy ; 
 stating, that Mr. Bowdich had written so 
 favourable an account of the king of Ashan- 
 tee, that the king of England and his go- 
 vernment were anxious to be upon good 
 terms with him, and that with this view 
 Mr. Dupuis had been sent out to live at 
 Coomassie to keep up a good understand- 
 ing between the Ashantees and the English, 
 and to make them all the same as brothers. 
 I also added, that the king of England had 
 sent out the handsome presents which 
 he (Adoosey) had seen, and that if the 
 king of Ashantee encouraged the trade 
 with our settlements, other presents would 
 
270 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 in due time be sent from England, and 
 whatever the king might wish for, he could 
 have if he kept upon good terms with the 
 English ; but I pointed out the great of- 
 fence it would give if the king persisted in 
 his demand on the Cape Coast people, who 
 were living under the protection of Great 
 Britain, and considered her subjects, and, 
 consequently, that a demand upon them 
 was almost the same as a demand on the 
 English. Adoosey said he would explain 
 all I had stated to the king, but carefully 
 avoided saying any thing himself, either 
 pro or con. Indeed, before he had time 
 to do so, a messenger arrived to say he was 
 wanted at the palace, and he was obliged 
 to leave me abruptly, observing, that he 
 should be happy to see me the next day. 
 
 Accordingly I waited upon him the fol- 
 lowing morning, when he appeared curious 
 to know the particulars of the wars England 
 had been engaged in ; I therefore explained 
 such particulars as I thought would interest 
 him, and at the same time endeavoured to 
 impress upon his mind the power, wealth, 
 and consequence of Great Britain ; at which 
 he appeared much pleased, and said he 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 271 
 
 knew that England was very strong, and 
 had conquered all her enemies, the same as 
 the Ashantees had conquered the Fantees, 
 the Buntakoos, and all their enemies. 
 
 In the course of conversation, I hinted 
 that it would please the king of England to 
 receive from the king of Ashantee any 
 trifling present, such as a gold pipe* of the 
 Ashantee manufacture, or any articles made 
 by the Ashantees, as such trifles, I stated, 
 would be highly esteemed in England, not 
 for their intrinsic value, but on account of 
 the workmanship. Adoosey replied, that 
 he would mention it to the king, and 
 that he had no doubt a handsome present 
 would be sent to the king of England when 
 Mr. Dupuis returned, j' 
 
 * It is somewhat singular, that this article, among 
 several others, was sent to the king of England imme- 
 diately after ; a sketch of which will be found in the 
 plate of Prince Adoom. 
 
 f On Mr. Dupuis leaving the capital, the king gave 
 him a curiously worked gold pipe, (value 30 /.) one cloth, 
 one silk sash, and one carpet, of Ashantee manufacture, 
 besides two leopards to be presented to the king of 
 England: three periguins of gold ( 30 /.), two slaves, one 
 country cloth, one rug, one horse, and one cow for him- 
 self; and other presents in gold to Messrs Salmon, Col- 
 lins, and Graves. 
 
272 A VOYAGE TO AFRTCA. 
 
 As I conceived it of great consequence 
 to gain the good opinion of this courtier, I 
 presented him with my sword, observing, 
 that I hoped he would make good use of it 
 in the next battle he might be engaged in. 
 He received it from me with great polite- 
 ness, assuring me that the recollection of 
 the person who gave it to him would always 
 act as a stimulus to his exertions in any 
 future wars he might be engaged in; expres- 
 sing, at the same time, his apprehensions 
 that I was depriving myself in parting with 
 it ; but I explained to him that I had a 
 sabre at our quarters, which I always used 
 in travelling; and that, as I should leave 
 the capital in a day or two, I should not 
 want my dress sword until my return to 
 Cape Coast, where I could get another. 
 
 Soon after, I took leave of him, highly 
 pleased with his affability of manners. In 
 short, this man appears little inferior to 
 the king ; and, although it is true he has 
 a hump-back, he has a very pleasing, hand- 
 some, and animated countenance, and is 
 one of the most shrewd and sensible men 
 at the Ashantee court. 
 
 Apokoo and the other three, who form the 
 

W, If utton del , 
 
 Uia/mdia, . 
 
 BuMfsTud Try L ongmaru, Hurst, Rees, Or^nu, Sc Brown, 1321 . 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 273 
 
 aristocracy, may have more power than 
 Adoosey, but I incline to think, from the 
 situation he holds as head linguist, as well 
 as from his great abilities, both as an orator 
 and a statesman, that they have not more 
 influence. 
 
 Adoo Quamina, of whom I have given a 
 drawing, is another of the Ashantee cour- 
 tiers, and deserves to be particularly men- 
 tioned. This man frequently visited us, 
 blit we considered him more as a spy upon 
 our actions than a friendly visitor. He 
 would sometimes entertain us with a de- 
 scription of the war with the Buntakoos, 
 whom he described as a brave and powerful 
 nation, and as having nearly overpowered 
 the Ashantees in battle. He always spoke 
 highly of this people ; but of the Fantees, 
 with the greatest contempt. “ Fantees,” 
 said he, 46 can’t fight; one Shantee can 
 fight forty Fantees. With forty Shantees 
 I can drive all the Fantees before me.” 
 
 The next day, about twelve o’clock, we 
 received a message from the king to wait on 
 him, which we did as soon as we could dress 
 ourselves in uniform; but having kepthis ma- 
 jestywaiting a few minutes, when we arrived 
 
274 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 at the palace, Adoosey came out to say the 
 king could not then see us, as he was gone 
 to dinner. We had, therefore, to return to 
 our quarters, at which we were not very 
 well pleased, as we always made a point 
 of having the flag carried before us when 
 we went to the palace ; and therefore we 
 considered that to allow ourselves to be 
 dismissed without an audience after being 
 sent for by the king, was an insult to the 
 flag. Under this impression, Mr. Dupuis 
 determined to notice it to his majesty at 
 the next audience. 
 
 In the afternoon, at four o’clock, I waited 
 on the king alone, and notwithstanding his 
 refusal to see us in the morning, I seated 
 myself near the entrance of the palace, and 
 desired Captain Adoo to acquaint liis ma- 
 jesty that I was waiting for an audience. 
 This he at first declined doing, stating 
 that he might lose his head if he intruded 
 upon the king after he had once refused 
 to see me ; but I insisted on his com- 
 pliance with my orders, assuring him that 
 I would be responsible ; when he delivered 
 my message, and an audience was granted. 
 On being admitted, I found his majesty in 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 27 5 
 
 the outer area of the palace, walking in 
 company with Otee, the junior linguist, 
 and several attendants, giving directions 
 respecting the new palace, which was a 
 very high building of stone, to complete 
 which he had sent to Elmina, Cape Coast, 
 and Accra, for all the bricklayers he could 
 get. To finish this building appeared to be 
 his majesty’s favourite object, and engrossed 
 much of his time and attention. The brick- 
 layers were kept constantly at work, and it 
 was at that time in a state of great forward- 
 ness. 
 
 The king having enquired the object of 
 my visit, I explained to him, through the 
 medium of the linguist, that I had received 
 letters from Cape Coast, which required me 
 to return as soon as possible, and requested 
 he would name an early day for my depar- 
 ture from the capital. His majesty replied 
 that he should see me to-morrow, when he 
 had some palaver to speak, after which he 
 said I might go. 
 
 On the following morning we all attend- 
 ed at the palace, when Mr. Dupuis com- 
 plained of the flag being returned on the 
 preceding day ; but his majesty said he 
 
 t 2 
 
276 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 meant no insult to the King of England’s 
 flag, and his only reason for desiring us to 
 return to our quarters was, that he was at 
 dinner, and thought it would be keeping us 
 too long to wait at the palace until he had 
 dined. After this, I was directed by Mr. 
 Dupuis to read over the new treaty ; on 
 doing which, the king interrupted me on 
 the subject of the palaver with the Cape 
 Coast natives, recapitulating at great length 
 the whole of his grievances, and in particular 
 the conduct of the Commenda people, in 
 ill-treating his messengers, which has al- 
 ready been detailed so fully by me in my 
 account of the proceedings at Cape Coast, 
 (vide page 125.) that a repetition is here 
 unnecessary. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis admitted the just cause 
 whicli the king had to complain, but ob- 
 jected to the Cape Coast natives being 
 responsible for the faults of the Commen- 
 das ; availing himself, at the same time, of 
 the plea, that the king of England having 
 heard of their conduct, had given orders 
 for the abandonment of Commenda fort, 
 being determined not to encourage any of 
 the natives on the coast in giving offence 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 277 
 
 to his majesty ; adding, at the same time, 
 that as the natives of Cape Coast were under 
 the protection of the king of England, he 
 hoped the king of Ashantee would be 
 induced to relinquish his demand, from 
 friendship for His Britannic Majesty, and 
 in consideration of the punishment which 
 had already been inflicted on the people at 
 Commenda, by the abandonment of the 
 English fort. 
 
 This argument, however, the king would 
 not listen to, but expressed himself with 
 great warmth and indignation ; observing 
 to Mr. Dupuis, “ How can you wish me to 
 give up my claim altogether on the Cape 
 Coast people, when the governor (Mr. 
 Smith), has sent a messenger to say that 
 they shall pay a certain sum, if I will make 
 it less, (reduce the amount of the demand,) 
 and that he will receive the money from 
 them for me ?” 
 
 In support of this statement, the king 
 brought forward one of his messengers 
 (Endo), who had just arrived from Cape 
 Coast, and who declared that he had been 
 sent to the king with the above inform- 
 ation from the governor in chief ; in con- 
 
 r 3 
 
278 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 formation of which he appealed to Arbroah, 
 the linguist, who was present at the discus- 
 sion, and declared that he was the person 
 who had interpreted to him the governor’s 
 message, in the public hall, at Cape Coast 
 Castle. Arbroah being interrogated upon 
 the subject most particularly, at the time, 
 confirmed the king’s statement so posi- 
 tively *, that we conceived, as the governor 
 had interfered with our negociations in 
 this particular, we should be fully justi- 
 fied in leaving this dispute for him to set- 
 tle with the Ashantee ambassador at Cape 
 Coast, which we accordingly did. The 
 king indeed would not agree to any thing 
 else, observing that he should look to the 
 governor only for the settlement of his de- 
 mand, agreeably to the message he had 
 received. 
 
 # It is propel' to mention that the governor of Cape 
 Coast positively denied having offered any interruption 
 to our negociations at Coomassie. A meeting upon this 
 subject was held in the public hall at Cape Coast Castle 
 before Sir George Collier, the Commodore of the station, 
 in presence of all the officers and merchants at Cape 
 Coast, when it is said, (for I was not present at the meet- 
 ing,) that the governor cleared himself from all imputa- 
 tion of this nature. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFKICA. 
 
 279 
 
 Previously to this conversation, Mr. Du- 
 puis had drawn out the treaty, stipulating 
 for the Cape Coast people, a settlement of 
 their dispute, but the king positively re- 
 fused to listen to it ; and on Mr. Dupuis 
 offering his mediation, and demanding to 
 know what reduction the king would make 
 from his original demand, his majesty 
 would not give any answer upon the sub- 
 ject, further than what has been already 
 stated, that he should leave the settlement 
 of this affair to the governor of Cape Coast 
 and his nephew Prince Adoom. 
 
 In reply to an observation which was 
 made by Mr. Dupuis, that the king had 
 consigned over to the British government 
 the natives residing under the forts on the 
 coast, his majesty produced the original 
 treaties, and requested me to read them 
 over, and explain the contents to him ; 
 which being done, he said that they had 
 not before been properly explained to him, 
 as he never had agreed to give up his power 
 over those people, whom he declared were 
 his subjects, from Appollonia on the west, 
 to Danish Accra on the east. 
 
 The king again stated that he relinquish- 
 t 4 
 
280 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 ed his demand of 1600 ounces of gold on 
 the governor of Cape Coast ; but requested 
 to be informed if there was not a clause in 
 the treaty of 1817, binding the governor to 
 pay a penalty in the event of any infraction 
 of the treaty. On being answered in the 
 negative, his majesty repeated, that Mr. 
 Bowdich had told him the penalty for 
 breaking the law was a fine of gold. In 
 support of this statement, he first appealed 
 to the linguists and captains, and then to 
 Mr. Dupuis’ servant, who accompanied Mr. 
 Bowdich to Ashantee, and who was present 
 at the time the treaty of 1817 was read over 
 to the king, and this man confirmed what 
 the king said. * 
 
 * I am bound in justice, both to Mr. Bowdich and 
 the governor of Cape Coast, to observe, that the con- 
 firmation here alluded to by Mr. Dupuis’ servant, and 
 Arbro the linguist, ought to be received with great 
 caution ; as it is reasonable to suppose that any appeal 
 from the king of Ashantee would be confirmed by these 
 persons, for a very plain reason, that no black man 
 would dare to deny what the king said in his presence. 
 At the same time, I have stated the facts as they occur- 
 red, leaving it to the reader to decide how far the king 
 and his witnesses are to be believed. Whatever my 
 own opinion may be upon the subject, I do not conceive 
 it would be correct to influence the reader either one 
 way or the other. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 281 
 
 Mr. Dupuis, in reply, observed, that he 
 did not doubt his majesty’s word, but a 
 treaty so framed was not valid, as the go- 
 vernor of Cape Coast had no power to pay 
 money on account of the king of England. 
 
 Upon this subject, a paper, signed by the 
 officers of the embassy, will be found in the 
 Appendix (No. 11.) 
 
 The king having positively and repeated- 
 ly refused to admit of Mr. Dupuis’ media- 
 tion to settle the Cape Coast palaver for the 
 reasons already stated, and having relin- 
 quished his claim on the governor of Cape 
 Coast, and pledged himself, by all the means 
 in his power, to support and encourage the 
 commerce of the country with the British 
 settlements, and not to allow any future 
 differences to interrupt the trade with our 
 merchants on the coast, nothing further 
 remained to be done but to obtain his 
 majesty’s signature to the treaty to this ef- 
 fect, which will be found in the Appendix 
 (No. 12.); and which was now read over by 
 me, and approved of by the king and his 
 ministers. 
 
 As this treaty, and a supplementary one, 
 (Appendix, No. 13.) occasioned much con- 
 
282 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 troversy at Cape Coast, between the go- 
 vernor and council, and Mr. Dupuis, I have 
 given in the Appendix (No. 14.) a copy 
 of that gentleman’s letter, explanatory of 
 those documents. 
 
 Conceiving therefore that my services 
 could no longer be of any avail at the capi- 
 tal, and being anxious, for the reason already 
 mentioned, to return to Cape Coast as early 
 as possible, I availed myself of this opportu- 
 nity to remind the king of his promise on 
 the preceding day, to allow me to do so ; but 
 his majesty now wished me to remain two 
 or three days longer ; and alluding to the 
 account of his wars, which I had written 
 some days before to his dictation, he said, 
 “ Who will write any thing I wish, when 
 you are gone ?” I replied, that Mr. Salmon 
 or Mr. Collins would do so in my absence. 
 His majesty then asked Mr. Dupuis if he 
 was agreeable that I should leave him ; 
 to which Mr. Dupuis replied in the af- 
 firmative. The king then turning to his 
 ministers and generals for their opinion, 
 Adoosey and several others said, with a 
 smile, “ Stop till Saturday.” Upon this I 
 desired our linguist to tell the king, “ that, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 283 
 
 as he gave his word I should go to-day, 
 I expected he would keep it.” His ma- 
 jesty then said I might go that after- 
 noon ; on which I advanced and shook 
 hands with him, taking my leave at the 
 same time. On shaking hands with him, 
 he said, “ Are you then determined to go ? 
 If you are, you must not do so until I send 
 you a present.” 
 
 I thanked his majesty for his kindness ; 
 after which I shook hands with his ministers 
 and generals, when we all left the palace 
 together and returned to our quarters. 
 
 I now gave orders to my hammock-men 
 to hold themselves in readiness to depart 
 that afternoon ; and devoting the few hours 
 left me, in arranging some public matters 
 with Mr. Dupuis prior to my departure, I 
 got into my hammock a little after four 
 o’clock ; and being accompanied a short 
 distance through the town by Mr. Dupuis 
 and the other officers of the embassy, I 
 took leave of them, and immediately losing 
 sight of the capital, I entered the forest 
 on my return to Cape Coast, Thursday 
 afternoon, the 10th of March. 
 
284 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 It was a pleasant afternoon when I left 
 Coomassie ; and the inhabitants, who were 
 sitting at their doors, enjoying the cool of 
 the day under the large ganian-trees *, which 
 spread their branches over different parts 
 of the town, rose and greeted me kindly as 
 I passed ; some of them insisting on carry- 
 ing me out of the capital, by way of compli- 
 ment, as well as to relieve my hammock- 
 men. 
 
 Those who have ever felt restraint or 
 imprisonment, will easily imagine how 
 happy I was on being once more out of 
 the power of a monarch, who, although 
 hospitable and generous, was nevertheless 
 a savage, whose wretched government gave 
 him full power over the lives and liberty 
 of all who might offend him. That he had 
 this power, there is no doubt ; that he 
 did not use it towards me when in his 
 
 * This tree is similar to the Banian in India. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 285 
 
 power, I shall always consider a fortunate 
 event. 
 
 As my hammock-men stepped along at 
 a good pace, I soon passed through the 
 crooms of Agogoo and Kilapata, a short 
 distance from which the country became 
 less woody, and the ground better culti- 
 vated. 
 
 The last rays of the setting sun were 
 leaving the horizon as I passed through 
 Kilapata ; and the reflection that I was re- 
 turning from a barbarous country, with the 
 prospect of once more seeing my native 
 land, and those who were dear to me, gave 
 rise to the most pleasing sensations. Passing 
 the river Dah, I immediately entered Sa- 
 rassou ; but I was unwilling to halt before 
 it was dark, and I pushed on to Apotiaga, 
 where I was provided with a comfortable 
 hut for the night. 
 
 As I was retiring to rest, messengers 
 arrived from the king with a present of 
 gold, and the best wishes of his majesty 
 for my safe return to Cape Coast. 
 
 The next morning, before five o’clock, 
 I sent off the men who carried my trunks 
 and bedding, and followed them soon after 
 
286 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 in my hammock. Ascending to Abo- 
 yentum, I proceeded four miles farther, 
 and passed through Yoko, Agemum, Bi- 
 poss, Assiminia, and Gwabin, crooms which 
 are all situated within six miles of each 
 other ; and at the end of ten miles, I en- 
 tered Amafoo, where I halted and took 
 refreshment. From Amafoo, I continued 
 my journey through Agwanassie, Coroman, 
 Samfou, Adadwassie, Dachasou, Asan- 
 quanta, and Kabo ; and, at the end of 
 twenty-four miles, entered Doompassie. I 
 then pushed on to Quesa, and arrived 
 there at seven o’clock, first passing through 
 Fohman, a small croom, barely two miles 
 to the southward of Doompassie. On my 
 arrival at Quesa, which is the last Ashantee 
 town on returning to the Coast, the cab- 
 boceer (named Amanquea) suffered me to 
 stand in the streets for nearly a quarter 
 of an hour with my people, without at 
 all putting himself out of the way to pro- 
 cure a house for me. Observing this, I 
 desired my servant to ask him if he wished 
 to have his head sent for by the king of 
 Ashantee ! This was sufficiently under- 
 stood without any further explanation. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 287 
 
 The cabboceer immediately rose from his 
 seat, and proceeding to the best house 
 in the place, turned the inhabitants out 
 to make room for me and my people ; 
 after which he sent me a fowl and two 
 large bunches of plantains, and some eggs 
 for my supper. Such is the influence of 
 the king of Ashantee’s name over all his 
 dominions ! To satisfy the cabboceer I 
 had no intention of reporting him to 
 the king, I sent for him and made him 
 drink with me, at which he appeared much 
 pleased. 
 
 The next morning I found him waiting 
 to pay his respects to me as I left the town, 
 which I did as early as six o’clock, and im- 
 mediately ascending the hill, which forms 
 the southern boundary of the Ashantee 
 kingdom, I passed several plantations, ri- 
 vers, and streams, leaving Moinsee to the 
 eastward. 
 
 At the end of ten miles, I descended to 
 Acrofroom, where I arrived at twelve 
 o’clock, and refreshed myself with a little 
 fruit and palm wine. . 
 
 From Acrofroom I continued my journey, 
 and passing a river one mile from the town, 
 
288 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 I proceeded to Ansah and Asharaman, 
 twenty miles from whence we set out in the 
 morning. Here my people wished to re- 
 main all night, and some, who were behind, 
 did halt here ; but those, who were with me, 
 I made proceed, as I was unwilling to halt 
 while it was daylight. Soon after, how- 
 ever, as night approached, the rustling of 
 the upper branches of the trees prepared 
 me to expect what is so much to be dreaded 
 by travellers in Africa, namely, a tornado, 
 which in a few minutes raged with unabat- 
 ing fury for nearly an hour, and seemed to 
 set the whole forest in commotion. The 
 torrents of rain deluged the path ; and 
 plunging every instant up to my knees in 
 mud and water, I had much difficulty in 
 keeping my shoes on, and it was only with 
 the most determined perseverance that I was 
 able to reach the nearest croom. But the 
 awful roaring of the thunder, and the vivid 
 flashings of the lightning, which constantly 
 illumined the forest, were most appalling. 
 The horror was increased by the howling 
 of the wind, the approach of night, and 
 the apprehension of wild beasts, the lofty 
 and stupendous cotton-trees falling at a 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 289 
 
 distance with dreadful crash ; and imme- 
 diate destruction appeared to threaten us 
 at every step. 
 
 “ Infernal seem the shades ; they smite all drear, 
 
 “ The eye with blindness, and the heart with fear.” 
 
 Our situation indeed was dreary beyond 
 description, and sufficient to shake the 
 stoutest heart, and sicken the dauntless 
 spirit even of a Park ! 
 
 But greater troubles yet awaited us ; for, 
 on halting at the first croom (Atobiase), I 
 found myself without provision or baggage, 
 having left my baggage-bearers behind, ex- 
 cepting one man, who carried a little provi- 
 sion for me in a box ; in which my servant 
 had unfortunately placed two bottles of 
 palm-oil and spirits ; and the man having 
 thrown it off his head in the forest dur- 
 ing the storm, broke the bottles, and the 
 whole of my little provender was in con- 
 sequence destroyed. Having left my lug- 
 gage behind, I was obliged to take off my 
 wet clothes, and wrap myself up in a dirty 
 black’s cloth, which one of the negroes 
 kindly lent me. As soon as I had refreshed 
 myself with a little cankey and a glass of 
 water, I lay down for the night on a black’s 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 mat, which with a country cloth was all my 
 bedding, with a piece of wood for my pillow; 
 but the large rats, which constantly kept 
 running over me during the night, deprived 
 me of sleep. The master of the house and 
 his slaves were very kind in making a fire, 
 and sitting up all night to dry my clothes : 
 one dried my shirt, another my stockings 
 and neckcloth, a third my forage-cap, and 
 a fourth my jacket and trowsers ; so that in 
 the morning they were all ready for me ; 
 and, without waiting for my baggage-bear- 
 ers to come up, I left Atobiase at eight 
 o’clock. 
 
 Before I had gone a mile and a half, I 
 reached a small croom called Apiaga, and 
 soon after Numeasu, from whence I crossed 
 the Ading river, and in less than half an 
 hour arrived at Kikiwhiri, where I allowed 
 my liammock-men to remain three hours, 
 to supply themselves with provisions pre- 
 paratory to our crossing the Boosempra. 
 During this delay, I took such refresh- 
 ment as the place afforded, and bound up 
 the wounds on my feet in the best man- 
 ner I could, to protect them from the briars 
 in the forest. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 291 . 
 
 At two o’clock I left Kikiwhiri, and 
 shortly after passing through Prassou, we 
 arrived on the banks of the Boosempra. 
 
 Here I regaled myself for half an hour, 
 and drank freely from the water of this 
 beautiful river. Crossing the Pra, we en- 
 tered the forest, and after passing through 
 Meakering and Dansamsou, we arrived 
 at Akomfodie about seven o’clock, where 
 we halted for the night, much against 
 my inclination ; but I could not prevail 
 upon my hammock-men, either by threats, 
 bribes, or entreaties, to proceed any fur- 
 ther, as they insisted upon waiting until 
 the baggage-bearers and their companions 
 came up, which some of them did in the 
 course of the evening. 
 
 The next morning, as early as six o’clock, 
 we started again, and passing through Yan- 
 comadie and Fousou, we arrived at Aban- 
 dou at five o’clock, where we halted for the 
 night. 
 
 We left Abandou on the following morn- 
 ing at four o’clock, and travelled for some 
 time by torch-light. Passing several rivers 
 and streams, which are particularly noticed 
 on the journey to Coomassie, we arrived 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 at Mansue at twelve o’clock, after an un- 
 pleasant journey in the rain. We remained 
 two hours at Mansue, and then proceeded 
 to Cuttocomacasa, which we passed just 
 as it became dark, and about nine o’clock 
 we made a fire in the forest for the pur- 
 pose of preparing torches to proceed to 
 Paintrey that night if possible ; but as soon 
 as the fire was kindled, my people assem- 
 bled round it with great composure, and 
 appeared to be settling themselves for the 
 night ; to which I should myself have 
 had no objection, after the fatigue I had 
 already endured, but that I knew we 
 could not be more than three or four 
 miles from Paintrey, and for this reason, 
 I was determined to push forward to that 
 croom if possible, and pass the night, as I 
 knew I should have good quarters there, 
 and get refreshed with something comfort- 
 able to eat, as well as a good night’s rest, 
 which I had not enjoyed since my departure 
 from Coomassie. In this, however, I was 
 sadly disappointed, for although I succeed- 
 ed in obliging my people to leave the fire 
 and proceed, it was only for a short dis- 
 tance, they having deserted me very soon 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 293 
 
 after, in consequence of ray having indulged 
 them by getting out of my hammock to 
 walk. But as I had rrot the smallest idea of 
 their running away, I walked on for some 
 time without looking behind me, and when 
 I did so, I found they had decamped ! It was 
 in vain that I hallooed for them to return': 
 
 I therefore continued my journey with 
 the hope of soon reaching Paintrey. My 
 servant (Quashie), a little black boy, was 
 before me with a torch, lighting me along 
 the path in the greatest misery. The smoke 
 from the torch made my eyes so painful, 
 that it was with difficulty I could keep them 
 open to see my way ; my feet being dread- 
 fully lacerated, were tied up with the soles 
 of an old pair of shoes and pack-thread, so 
 that my pace was not very rapid; and occa- 
 sionally kicking my feet against the roots of 
 the trees in the path, gave me the most 
 excruciating pain, and stopped my progress 
 for a while, until I recovered a little from the 
 agony. But I suffered most for the want 
 of water, my people having carried away my 
 hammock with a bottle which I had filled at 
 the last stream we passed, and also my pocket 
 compass, so that I could not see whether P 
 
 u 3 
 
294 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 was going right or wrong. At last, my 
 thirst was so great, that coming to a little 
 dirty water in the path, which had collected 
 from the rain in the morning, I was glad to 
 drink heartily of this, although my boy had 
 found it out in the first instance by step- 
 ping into it with his dirty feet. But those 
 who know what it is to suffer from thirst, 
 will not be surprised that I could drink 
 greedily from this polluted swamp. I was 
 now a little refreshed, and pursuing my 
 course still through the wild and gloomy 
 forest, with a narrow rugged path, which 
 ill suited my disabled feet, I at length 
 arrived at some extensive plantations of 
 Indian corn and plantains, which gave me 
 hopes of being near Paintrey, or the adjoin- 
 ing croom, called Yancomadie. But just 
 at this moment, my boy, who was before 
 me, lighting me along with a torch, loudly 
 exclaimed “ Majeh ! majeh !” * and danced 
 about like a frantic person. Before I had 
 time to enquire what was the matter, I 
 found out t lie cause, by feeling a number 
 
 * This is an exclamation the natives generally use 
 when flogged. It; signifies Father. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 29 5 
 
 of large black ants * crawling up my legs, 
 which stung me dreadfully, by digging 
 their forceps into the sores on my feet. 
 I had some difficulty in tearing them off. 
 My boy, from the agony he suffered, threw 
 down the torch, and I had now the misery 
 to be left in this dismal forest without a 
 light ! Having, with my servant, retreated 
 
 # The ants here mentioned, are reptiles of the most 
 surprising nature. There are different species of them ; 
 red, black, and white. They go in troops of millions 
 and tens of millions ; and the regularity and order with 
 which they march from place to place are astonishing. 
 In making their nests they throw up the earth to an 
 incredible height, making hillocks at least six or eight 
 feet high, and twenty feet, and more, in circumference ; 
 they also make their nests in trees. Bosman, speaking 
 of these vermin, says, “ They come to our forts and 
 “ chambers in such prodigious swarms, that they fre- 
 “ quently oblige us to quit our beds in the night time; 
 “ they are strangely rapacious, and no animal can stand 
 “ before them. They have often, in the night, attacked 
 “ one of my live sheep, which I have found a perfect ske- 
 “ leton in the morning, and that so nicely done, that the 
 “ best master of the dismembering art could not succeed 
 “ so well, it being impossible for human hands to have 
 “ done it so artificially. As swift as rats are, they can- 
 “ not escape them ; and as soon as one of them assaults a 
 “ rat he is inevitably gone.” These ants appear to have 
 a sort of language, calling one another to seize their prey, 
 when they march off with it in good order, all of them 
 moving in the same direction. 
 
 u 4 
 
29b 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 from the nest of ants, we assisted each other 
 as well as we could in the dark, in brushing 
 them off our legs. 
 
 Worn out with fatigue, having travel- 
 led nearly thirty miles, exposed eighteen 
 hours in my wet clothes, from the rain 
 which had fallen during the day; desert- 
 ed by my people, without any thing 
 to eat, or a glass of water to allay my 
 parching thirst ; without even a bed of 
 straw to lie down upon ; without a great 
 coat or any thing to shelter me from the 
 heavy dews of the night ; without the means 
 of making a fire to keep of!' the wild beasts 
 which every where surrounded me in the 
 forest, I was almost without hope. And if 
 any thing had been wanting to fill up the 
 measure of this night’s misery, it was the 
 circumstance of my having travelled, in the 
 early part of the day, in my wet clothes, 
 which were doubly wet from the profuse 
 perspiration 1 had been thrown into by 
 walking, and which now hung about me the 
 whole night. 
 
 To proceed on my journey, or to return, 
 with a view of finding my people in the 
 dark, I conceived was equally hopeless ; 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 297 
 
 and indeed I was too fatigued, and in too 
 much agony to do so. I therefore sat down 
 in the forest, (being unwilling to climb a 
 tree,) and waited anxiously for morning. 
 In this situation the lines of Mr. Bird, in 
 the “ Vale of Slaughden,” forcibly occurred 
 to me ; — 
 
 But far remote thy native valley lies. 
 
 Drear are the scenes thy dubious path supplies, 
 Where, when the night falls chilly on thy head, 
 Wilt thou, sad wanderer, find thy lonely bed? 
 
 No friendly comfort near to hush the sigh 
 That thou may’st breath in weary agony. 
 
 Having passed the night in singing * 
 the most noisy songs I could think of, in 
 which I was assisted by the discordant yells 
 of my boy Quashie, (whom I was obliged 
 to keep awake by a gentle rap occasionally 
 on the head with my sabre,) I proceeded at 
 day-light, and, in less than half an hour, 
 passed through Yancomfodie; so that, had 
 I continued my journey the preceding night, 
 
 * I did not sing from an impression that music would 
 charm the savage beasts, but as I had no fire, I thought 
 it was the best plan to prevent them from coming near 
 me, which I have no doubt it did ; for although I heard 
 them frequently throughout the night, they did not 
 molest either me or my companion. 
 
298 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 only half an hour longer, I should have 
 escaped the misery which I have just de- 
 scribed. 
 
 On leaving Yancomfodie, we passed 
 many extensive plantations of Indian corn, 
 plantains, and fruit, and crossing a beauti- 
 ful stream about a mile from Paintrey, we 
 entered that neat little village, which, it 
 will readily be imagined, was an agreeable 
 relief to me, after the perilous night I had 
 just encountered. Here I was received 
 with the most cordial welcome by my old 
 friend Quamino Hoyenesse, the house- 
 master, with whom we put up on our jour- 
 ney to the capital. A large brass pan of 
 water was immediately provided to bathe 
 my wounded feet, and, stripping off my wet 
 clothes, I wrapped myself up in a large 
 country-cloth of Hoyenesse’s, and felt 
 comparatively comfortable. 
 
 By the time I had bathed my feet, and 
 made myself an African cabboceer, with 
 the assistance of my friend’s country-cloth, 
 I was provided with two or three glasses of 
 shrub, which I drank one after the other 
 immediately, and found it of great service 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 299 
 
 in warming me all over ; I then was pro- 
 vided with some fine deer chops, cankey, 
 and ripe plantains (roasted), of which I ate 
 very heartily, not having had a comfortable 
 meal since crossing the Boosempra. As I 
 waited at Paintrey until one o’clock, one of 
 my men fortunately came up with a trunk 
 containing my linen, which enabled me to 
 dispense with my cabboceer’s cloth, and 
 supply myself with some dry clothes of my 
 own. The hammock-men, who had de- 
 serted me the preceding night, now arrived, 
 and begging my pardon for having left me 
 in the forest, entreated me to accept of 
 their services in carrying me to Cape Coast, 
 alleging as an excuse for their conduct, 
 that I had travelled so fast, it was impos- 
 sible for them to keep up with me, and 
 that when they halted last night, they had 
 then gone twice as far as they had on their 
 journey to the capital ; at the same time 
 shewing me their blistered feet, they said, 
 “ Master pass all man in this country for 
 travel ; no black man or white man before 
 ever travel from Coomassie to Paintrey in 
 h ve days,” 
 
300 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 I could not help receiving their excuses 
 with good temper, although I reported 
 their conduct to the governor at Cape 
 Coast, as a duty to future travellers, from 
 the impression that if I allowed them to 
 desert me with impunity, they would serve 
 other Europeans in the same manner. 
 I would not, therefore, accept of their 
 services in carrying me to Cape Coast, but 
 procured a new set of hammock-men from 
 Quamino Hoyenesse, and gave my recreant 
 hammock-men a little gold to subsist them- 
 selves that day at Paintrey, that they might 
 not have occasion to travel to Cape Coast 
 until the next day. 
 
 Having regaled myself as just mentioned, 
 I took leave of my old friend Hoyenesse, 
 and getting into my hammock, soon lost 
 sight of Paintrey. 
 
 Passing through Asoonqua, we continued 
 our journey through a delightfully shaded 
 path, with guava-trees on each side, forming 
 a beautiful vista, and occasionally emerging 
 from the most retired walks into a romantic 
 country, well cultivated with plantations of 
 yams and kasada , we arrived at Monree at 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 301 
 
 five o’clock ; when I once more beheld the 
 sea, with a British frigate and several other 
 vessels riding at anchor in Cape Coast roads. 
 The sight repaid me for any little sufferings 
 I had experienced during my absence ; and 
 just as it became dark, I arrived at Cape 
 Coast, where I immediately went to my 
 own house, and reported my arrival to the 
 governor. 
 
30 c 2 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis and his companions, Messrs. 
 Salmon, Collins, and Graves, returned to 
 Cape Coast a few days after me, accom- 
 panied by one of the king’s Ocras *, and 
 three other confidential slaves, which his 
 majesty wished to be sent to England, in 
 compliment to His Britannic Majesty, and 
 to explain the views and sentiments of the 
 Ashantee monarch. 
 
 The reason these ambassadors were not 
 conveyed to England, I shall state can- 
 didly and impartially ; and as I believe 
 two of the parties, (Sir George Collier and 
 Mr. Dupuis,) are now in England, to cor- 
 rect me should I be in error, they will of 
 
 * Ocras are favourite slaves, and sometimes relatives 
 and men of rank, who stake their lives on the king’s ; so 
 that, whenever the king dies, they are all murdered on 
 his tomb, with women in abundance. The Ocras are 
 known by a large circle of gold, which they wear on their 
 breast. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 303 
 
 course have the opportunity of doing so 
 immediately ; and I shall, in the mean 
 time, keep myself open to conviction. But, 
 as I shall study to avoid making any state- 
 ment that I cannot be borne out in by 
 public or private documents, I shall pro- 
 ceed without fear of contradiction ; leaving 
 the parties themselves to adjust the differ- 
 ence between them. 
 
 This difference (as particularly applicable 
 to the governor and council, and Mr. Du- 
 puis,) I have before adverted to ; and how- 
 ever unwilling I may be to incline either 
 to one party or the other, I cannot avoid 
 saying, that such controversies, between 
 public characters, upon mere points of 
 punctilio, are, to say the least of them, 
 highly discreditable ; and, in the present 
 case, particularly to be deplored, as 
 having tended, in every stage of the em- 
 bassy, to check its successful progress, and, 
 ultimately, to defeat almost every essential 
 object in view. 
 
 On Mr. Dupuis’ arrival from Coomassie, 
 instead of going to the castle, to pay his 
 respects to the governor, he went directly 
 to my house in town ; the reason for which, 
 
304 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 as stated by that gentleman, was, that no 
 person, not even a corporal or sergeant, was 
 sent out to receive him. 
 
 Two or three days after Mr. Dupuis’ 
 arrival, he requested me to wait upon the 
 governor and council in the public hall, for 
 the purpose of reading the treaties, and 
 giving such explanations relative to our 
 negociations at Coomassie as they might 
 require. 
 
 Accordingly, with this view, I attended 
 in the public hall ; but, instead of being 
 received there by the governor and council, 
 I was met by Mr. Williams, the secretary, 
 to whom I presented my credentials and au- 
 thority from Mr. Dupuis ; but that gentle- 
 man, after communicating a message from 
 me to the council, (who were assembled in 
 the governor’s private apartments above 
 stairs,) returned with their answer, to this 
 effect, “ that they could not grant me an 
 audience for the purpose of reading the 
 treaties.” 
 
 Being unwilling, however, to leave the 
 castle-hall without doing all in my power 
 to obtain an audience, I remonstrated with 
 the secretary upon the unreasonableness of 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 305 
 
 their refusal to hear the treaties read ; and 
 that gentleman, with his well-known po- 
 liteness and condescension, conveyed my 
 remonstrance to the council ; but it was in 
 vain that I attempted to alter their deter- 
 mination. 
 
 In consequence of being detained some 
 time at the castle, Mr. Dupuis became 
 Uneasy, and joined me in the castle-hall, 
 just as I was about leaving it ; when he re- 
 quested Mr. Williams to announce his name 
 to the governor and council, which he did ; 
 but they also refused to see him : on which 
 Mr. Dupuis desired the secretary to say, 
 that as the council had refused to hear the 
 treaties read, they should wait his conveni- 
 ence for copies of them. 
 
 We then left the hall together ; and, 
 some days after, Mr. Dupuis wrote the 
 public letter, which will be found in the 
 Appendix (No. 15.) 
 
 Just at this period, Sir George Collier, 
 who was then the commodore on the 
 African station, arrived in the Tartar fri- 
 gate ; and Mr. Dupuis sent me off to Sir 
 George, to request a passage for him and 
 Mrs. Dupuis to England ; which, it will be 
 
 x 
 
306 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 seen, was accordingly granted in the gun- 
 room of the Tartar. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis having also applied for a 
 passage in the Tartar for the Ashantee 
 ambassadors, received the following an- 
 swer : 
 
 His Majesty’s ship Tartar, 
 
 Cape Coast Roads, April 16 . 1820 , 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I had the honour to receive your letter 
 yesterday afternoon, informing me, for the 
 first time, that two Ashantee ambassadors, 
 with presents for the King of England, 
 were desirous of having a passage in the 
 Tartar, or some other man-of-war, to Eng- 
 land ; and although I took an immediate op - 
 portunity , by my first lieutenant , Finlaison , of 
 conveying to you , with my regret , the inform- 
 ation , that if I considered myself at liberty to 
 accede to the desire you expressed , by afford- 
 ing a passage in the Tartar; yet , your hav- 
 ing deferred the communication till the very 
 i hour I had previously informed you I should 
 sail , would of itself I fear, preclude me from 
 complying with your wishes. 
 
 “ I now do myself the honour of again 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 307 
 
 acknowledging the receipt of your letter 
 above mentioned; and to it I add my 
 extreme sorrow, that the fears I expressed 
 to you , in person yesterday, respecting the 
 increase of fever on board the Tartar, has 
 been verified. 
 
 “ The report that has just now reached 
 me is so unfavourable, that it makes it 
 absolutely necessary that I should proceed 
 without a moment’s delay from off this 
 coast, in the hope of checking the disease ; 
 which I shall positively do this evening. 
 
 “ I regret that I do not feel myself 
 authorised to order any ship of war from 
 off this coast direct for England with the 
 Ashantee ambassadors ; but I shall leave 
 directions with Captain Kelly on his ar- 
 rival here, (probably in three weeks,) to 
 proceed to Ascension, if you wish it, to 
 afford them and yourself the means of ob- 
 taining a direct passage to England, in 
 case you cannot avail yourself of the ar- 
 rangements I made some days since for 
 your being received on board the Tartar 
 this evening. 
 
 “ I must now express how truly I am 
 mortified that any private feeling of ill-will 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 or contempt, existing between yourself and 
 the governor-in-chief of this Castle, should 
 have in any degree operated to the incon- 
 veniency of the public service ; as I con- 
 sider it was not only his bounden duty to 
 have informed me of the circumstance of 
 these ambassadors being in the town ; but 
 that either the governor or yourself should 
 have timely informed me of their wishes to 
 have embarked the presents you allude to, 
 as well as to have informed me of the rank 
 these people hold at the court at Ashantee. 
 
 44 I beg to add, that ample room will be 
 made on board the Tartar for any presents 
 you may wish to bring with you, except the 
 wild beasts. 
 
 “ I have the honour to be, 
 
 “ Sir, 
 
 44 Your most obedient 
 44 humble servant, 
 
 44 George R. Collier, 
 
 “ Joseph Dupuis, Esq. “ Commodore.” 
 
 “ His Majesty’s Consul, &c. 
 
 “ Cape Coast.” 
 
 How far Sir George Collier, as a captain 
 of one of His Majesty’s ships, was justified 
 in refusing to take the Ashantee ambas- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 309 
 
 sadors, under the circumstances stated in 
 his letter, I leave the reader to decide. 
 
 I will not dispute the fact of there hav- 
 ing been some of the Tartar’s crew in a 
 sickly state ; but it is well known, that 
 there are no contagious fevers on the coast 
 of Africa, to have made it necessary for Sir 
 George to have hurried away without the 
 ambassadors, as the delay of one day could 
 not have made a very material difference : 
 but admitting that it would, the ambassa- 
 dors might have been put on board at a few 
 hours notice, as they were not men of such 
 consequence to require any preparations 
 to be made for their reception, but could 
 have taken their passage under the care of 
 one of the inferior officers, without the least 
 trouble or inconvenience to Sir George. 
 My humble opinion, therefore, is, that Sir 
 George Collier was bound to take these 
 ambassadors, and also the wild beasts, they 
 being a present from the king of Ashantee 
 to the King of England. In consequence 
 of his not doing so, I had to keep them in 
 my possession for five months, and to pay 
 their passage to England, at a great expence 
 
 to His Majesty ; and the ambassadors, after 
 
 x 3 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 310 
 
 waiting at Cape Coast a considerable time, 
 returned to the king of Ashantee : so that, 
 after being taken from Coomassie, under a! 
 faithful assurance from Mr. Dupuis that 
 they should be sent to England, they were 
 now sent back to his sable majesty, to say 
 that a passage to England was refused 
 them ! 
 
 Doubtless, the king would feel indig- 
 nant on hearing of his messengers having 
 been treated in this manner ; it being 
 in fact, little short of a direct and pointed 
 insult to his majesty, and quite sufficient 
 to remove any favourable impression which 
 had been made on his mind by the visit 
 of the last embassy to Coomassie. 
 
 That the king thinks highly of his am- 
 bassadors, there can be no doubt, from the 
 manner in which he punished the Assins 
 and Fantces for having killed two of his 
 messengers in 1806. This, indeed, was the 
 observation made by prince Adoom in the 
 Castle-hall, when some doubts were ex- 
 pressed for the safety of Mr. Dupuis and 
 myself in going to Ashantee. Prince Adoom 
 then observed, that the governor and coun- 
 cil need not be apprehensive for our safety, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 311 
 
 as the king always considered messengers 
 sacred either in peace or war ; as a proof 
 of which* he mentioned the fact I have just 
 adverted to. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis having sailed from the Coast 
 in the Tartar, on the 16 th of April, ap- 
 pointed me a second time to the situation 
 of consul for Ashantee ; but as the governor 
 and council still persisted in refusing to 
 recognise my appointment, I protested 
 against their conduct, (as will appear from 
 the Appendix,) and took the earliest op- 
 portunity of returning to England. 
 
312 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HISTORY, CONSTITUTION, CUSTOMS, &C. 
 
 My short stay at Coomassie, and the va- 
 rious public duties to which my time and 
 attention were necessarily devoted, will not 
 enable me to enter into a very minute de- 
 tail of the history, manners, and customs 
 of the Ashantees ; neither, indeed, is it ne- 
 cessary, Mr. Bowdich having already pre- 
 occupied the ground. I am, therefore, 
 indebted chiefly to that gentleman for the 
 following observations, which I hope will 
 not be uninteresting. 
 
 In Bosnian’s account of Guinea, the Ash- 
 antees are spoken of about the year 1 700, 
 as a powerful nation, having at that time 
 conquered the king of Dinkira, when, it is 
 said, above 100,000 men were killed. Al- 
 lowing, however, only half that number, it 
 is evident, that if the Ashantees were at 
 that time so powerful, it must have taken 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 313 
 
 some time for them to have become so, 
 and, therefore, I am inclined to think that 
 this kingdom was founded before the pe- 
 riod Mr. Bowdich supposes ; instead of 
 110 years, 1 calculate, at least, 150 years 
 ago ; but on this subject I leave the reader 
 to decide, from the extract from Bosman, 
 which I shall give in the next chapter. 
 
 The Ashantees, like the Dahomyans, 
 dare not speak of the death of a former 
 king, or of the person likely to succeed 
 to the throne, on pain of death ; conse- 
 quently, it is not very easy to trace their 
 history. But according to common tradi- 
 tion, they emigrated from near the water- 
 side, and subjecting the western Intas and 
 two other powers, founded the present 
 monarchy. The language of the Ashan- 
 tees and Fantees is nearly the same, which 
 leaves room for the hypothesis, that they 
 were originally one and the same nation, 
 although in one particular, they have not 
 the most distant resemblance to each other ; 
 and that is, in warlike skill and determined 
 courage, for which the Ashantees are re- 
 markable ; while the opposite traits are well- 
 known characteristics of the Fantees. 
 
gl4 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Sai Tootoo, assisted by other leading mert 
 of his party, and encouraged by supersti- 
 tious omens, founded Coomassie and was 
 presented with the stool * for his superior 
 abilities. The Dwabin monarchy was found- 
 ed at the same time by Boitinne, who was 
 of the same family as Sai Tootoo, being 
 the sons of sisters. These two nations have 
 maintained a common interest for more 
 than a century. In 1720 Sai Apokoo suc- 
 ceeded his brother Sai Tootoo ; but had 
 there been no brother, the sister’s son 
 would have inherited. This rule of sue- 
 cession excluding all children but those of 
 a sister, is founded on the argument, that 
 if the wives of the sons are faithless, the 
 blood of the family is entirely lost in the 
 offspring ; but should the daughters de- 
 ceive their husbands, it is still preserv- 
 ed. Apokoo was succeeded in 1741 by 
 his brother Sai Aquissa* On the death of 
 Aquissa, Sai Cudjoe ascended the stool, 
 Under whom the aristocracy was retrenched* 
 
 * “ To succeed to the stool,” does hot mean to the 
 seat in council only ; but also for succeeding to property. 
 The same stool or seat descends from one generation to 
 another, the same as the coronets of our nobility. 
 
 19 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 315 
 
 He raised his favourite captains to the va- 
 cant stools, uniting three or four into one. 
 In 1785 Sai Quamina succeeded his grand- 
 father Sai Cudjoe, but Quamina was de- 
 throned by the intrigues of his mistress, 
 and as a release from disgrace and poverty, 
 implored death, which was inflicted by fix- 
 ing his feet on the ground, bending his 
 body backward with a prop in the small of 
 his back, and suspending several large ele- 
 phant’s teeth from a noose around his neck, 
 which, hanging from the prop, strangled 
 him. Sai Apokoo succeeded his brother Sai 
 Quamina, but did not live to enjoy his ele- 
 vation more than a few weeks, when he was 
 succeeded by his brother Sai Totoo Qua- 
 mina, the present king, in the year 1799 $ 
 being then, as I suppose, about twenty-four 
 years of age ; that is, believing him to have 
 been forty-five when I saw him. Mr. Bow- 
 dich, however, supposes him to have been 
 only seventeen when he was made king. 
 His majesty is courteous and dignified irt 
 manners, humane and liberal in disposition, 
 and able and eloquent in argument ; more 
 so than any of his counsellors, excepting 
 Adoosey, the minister premier. He takes 
 
316 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 every opportunity of increasing the number 
 of secondary captains, by dignifying the 
 sons of those who are brought up about 
 his person. His private character is ami- 
 able, as will appear from the following 
 anecdote from Mr. Hutchinson’s diary, 
 (p. 418.) “ His Majesty some years ago, 
 
 took one of Apokoo’s daughters to wife ; 
 she is now one of the finest women in 
 Coomassie, and must have been a great 
 beauty. It was discovered by the chief 
 eunuch that she had intrigued with one of 
 the attendants. It was told the king that 
 one of his wives had proved false. ‘ Let 
 her die instantly,’ said he in a rage. The 
 slave whispered him, ‘ it is Apokoo’s child.’ 
 He rose in silence, and went to the harem, 
 and the culprit being sent for, the king 
 turned his head away while he folded his 
 cloth around him, and lifting the curtain 
 to let her pass, he exclaimed, ‘ Go, you 
 are free ! your father was my father he 
 
 * The present King carried an elephant’s tail before 
 Apokoo until he unexpectedly succeeded to the stool ; it 
 being usual at Ashantee for the sons of the nobility to 
 do so. Whenever the King dignifies a deserving sub- 
 ject, he exchanges some of his own sons or nephews for 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 317 
 
 is my friend, and for his sake I forget you j 
 when you find any man good enough for 
 you, let me know and Iwill give him gold.’ ” 
 
 The manners of the superior captains are 
 polite and hospitable in private, though 
 haughty and abrupt in public. They think 
 that war only affords fit display for ability. 
 The lower order of people are insolent and 
 licentious. 
 
 The Ashantee constitution is composed 
 of the king, the aristocracy, (consisting of 
 four,) and the assembly of captains. It ad- 
 mits of the interference of the aristocracy 
 in all foreign politics, extending even to a 
 veto on the king’s decision ; but they watch 
 rather than share the domestic administra- 
 tion, influencing it by their opinion, but 
 never controul it by authority ; and their 
 opinions on civil questions, are submitted 
 with deference, directly contrary to their 
 bold declarations, on subjects of war or 
 tribute, which amount to injunction. 
 
 The general assembly of the cabboceers 
 and captains is summoned to give pub- 
 
 those of the individual, who maintains them, and for 
 whom they perform the same offices as his own and 
 others do for the King. 
 
318 
 
 A VOYAGE. TO AFRICA. 
 
 licity to the will of the king, and the aris- 
 tocracy, and to provide for its observance,. 
 The king is heir to the gold of every sub- 
 ject, from the highest to the lowest. This 
 law, however, is sometimes rendered of 
 little or no effect, by the father presenting 
 his children with most of his gold just 
 before his death. 
 
 It being the practice to bury a con- 
 siderable quantity of gold with the corpse 
 of any rich person, that which is buried 
 with members of the royal family is sacred, 
 and cannot be used but to redeem the capital 
 from the hands of an enemy, or in ex- 
 treme national distress. The blood of 
 the royal family is held sacred, and can- 
 pot be shed ; but when guilty of a crime 
 deserving death, they are drowned in the 
 griver Dali by a particular captain named 
 Dudjo Samfani. Interest of money is 33 f 
 per cent, for every forty days. To be con- 
 victed of cowardice is death. If any sub- 
 ject picks up gold dropt in the market- 
 place, it is also death, it being collected 
 only by order of the government on state 
 emergencies. Riding out with Mr. Dupuis 
 one day, he lost a valuable gold-seal — - of 
 which lie immediately acquainted the king, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 319 
 
 who returned for answer that it should be 
 sent to him in the course of the morning. 
 Accordingly the gong-gong was beat, and in 
 less than an hour the seal restored to its 
 owner ! I very much doubt if it would have 
 been so easily recovered in England. 
 
 To rob the king, or intrigue with the 
 female attendants of the royal family, is 
 punished by emasculation ; but crim. con. 
 with the wife of a man who has been so 
 punished, is death. No man is punished for 
 killing his own slave, but he is for the 
 murder of his wife or child. If a great man 
 kills his equal in rank, he is generally 
 allow r ed to die by his own hands. If a 
 person brings a frivolous palaver against 
 another, he must give an entertainment to 
 the family and friends of the acquitted. 
 If an Aggry bead is broken in a scuffle,, 
 seven slaves are to be paid to the owner. 
 No man is allowed to praise the beauty of 
 another man’s wife. None but a captain 
 can sell his wife, or put her to death for 
 infidelity. When the family of a wife is 
 too powerful for the husband to venture 
 to put her to death for intrigue, he takes 
 off her nose, and makes her the wife pf 
 one of his slaves. A wife who betrays a 
 
820 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 secret, loses her upper lip ; and if disco- 
 vered listening to a private conversation 
 of her husband’s, an ear. Those accused 
 of witchcraft, are tortured to death. Slaves 
 have the liberty of dashing * themselves to 
 a freeman or to the fetish, which in some 
 measure prevents their masters from treat- 
 ing them ill. 
 
 There is a tradition among the Ashan- 
 tees, “ that in the beginning of the world 
 God created three white and three black 
 men, with an equal number of women ; 
 and that they might not have reason after- 
 wards to complain, he gave them their 
 choice of good and evil. A large box or 
 calabash was set on the ground, together 
 with a piece of paper, sealed up on one 
 side of it ; God gave the black men the 
 first choice, who took the box, expecting 
 it to contain every thing good ; but on 
 opening it, there appeared only a piece of 
 gold, a piece of iron, and several other 
 metals, for which they did not know any 
 use. The white men opening the paper, 
 were told every thing. God left the blacks 
 in the bush, but conducted the whites to 
 
 * Giving a dash signifies a present. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 321 
 
 the water-side, communicated with them 
 every night, and taught them to build a 
 small ship, which carried them away to 
 another country, (for all this happened in 
 Africa,) whence they returned after a long 
 period.” With this imaginary alienation 
 from God, no despondency is associated ; 
 they consider, indeed, that it diminishes their 
 earthly gifts and comforts, but that futurity 
 is a state of torpitude to the majority 
 of mankind. The king’s cabboceers and 
 the higher class are believed to dwell with 
 the superior deity after death ; and under 
 this idea, arises the barbarous custom of 
 sacrificing a certain number of both sexes 
 at funerals, to accompany the deceased and 
 attend him in the next world. The spirits 
 of the inferior class are thought to inhabit 
 the houses of the fetish in a state of indo- 
 lence. Those of superior wisdom are said 
 to be appointed guardians to those who 
 acknowledge the fetish ; but they have 
 their bad spirits as well as their good ones. 
 Persons neglecting the funeral rites of their 
 family, are haunted by the ghosts of those 
 whose crimes have nullified, or whose cir- 
 cumstances have deprived them of the 
 
322 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 mediation of the funeral solemnity. There 
 are two orders of fetish men ; the first 
 dwell with the fetish, who have a small 
 round house generally built at a distance 
 from the town. The other class mix with 
 the people, and are treated much like for- 
 tune-tellers or conjurors, in Europe. The 
 occult science of these men consists in 
 
 knotting and dividing behind the back, 
 
 e> 7 
 
 several strings and shreds of leather. Half 
 the offerings to the fetish are thrown into 
 the river, the other half belongs to the 
 priests. The Ashantees, as well as the 
 Fantees, always spill a little liquor upon 
 the ground before they drink, as an offering 
 to the fetish ; and when they rise from 
 their seats, their servants instantly lay them 
 on their sides, to prevent the devil, (whom 
 they say is white,) from slipping into their 
 masters’ places. Suicides are frequently 
 committed among the Ashantees ; a re- 
 markable instance occurred when 1 was at 
 Cape Coast. An Ashantee having struck 
 the sentry at the castle gate, he was con- 
 fined in the slave hole, where he hung 
 himself in the night. An alarm was given, 
 and I was one who accompanied the cap- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 323 
 
 tain of the guard to the place of his con- 
 finement ; when we found the poor fellow 
 upon his knees, hung to a sort of manger 
 by his cloth, which he had taken off his 
 body to accomplish his purpose. 
 
 The Moors have hitherto exercised the 
 greatest influence at Ashantee, and a few 
 lines written by Baba, the chief of the 
 Moors at Coomassie, is believed to possess 
 the power of turning aside the balls of the 
 enemy in battle, and is purchased at an 
 enormous price ; writing paper is conse- 
 quently very valuable at Ashantee. Mr. 
 Dupuis gave Baba several quires, which 
 highly pleased him. I have said that the 
 Moors have hitherto possessed the greatest 
 influence ; it is therefore proper I should 
 explain why they do not still possess this 
 influence to so great an extent as they 
 formerly did. In the late battle between 
 the Ashantees and Buntakoos, when the 
 balls were flying about rather briskly, Baba 
 skulked out of the battle, and was not to 
 be found until it was over ; when, it is said, 
 the king reproached him thus : — “ How 
 can you expect that I can have faith in 
 your fetish, if you are afraid of the balls 
 
 y 2 
 
324 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 yourself?” Since that period Baba and 
 his companions have lost much of their 
 influence, and it was a long time before 
 the kino; would be friends with him. In- 
 
 o 
 
 deed, during my stay at Coomassie, I could 
 not perceive they had half the influence 
 which I should have supposed they had, 
 from reading: Mr. Bowdich’s work. Doubt- 
 
 o 
 
 less, however, they still possess influence 
 to a certain extent ; but I never observed 
 them present at any of our meetings, ex- 
 cept on public occasions, when they at- 
 tended with the rest of the people. 
 
 Time, and a more intimate acquaintance 
 with Europeans, will, no doubt, convince 
 the Ashantees of their folly in believing 
 the mystical absurdities of the Moors. Two 
 of their inferior priests accompanied Prince 
 Adoom on his embassy to Cape Coast, 
 where they lived at my house for some 
 time ; and the gross falsehoods they fre- 
 quently told me will appear from the fol- 
 lowing. When I asked them if the path 
 to Coomassie was in good order, they im- 
 mediately assured me it was a fine broad 
 path well cleared ! To an enquiry respect- 
 ing the houses at the capital, they said I 
 should find them much superior to that 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 325 
 
 which I occupied at Cape Coast ! A.nd on 
 asking them if I should be able to get a 
 horse to ride at Coomassie, they replied, 
 certainly, that their chief (Baba) would 
 make me a present of one ; when it will be 
 seen elsewhere, that on Mr. Dupuis apply- 
 ing to Baba, he had not one belonging to 
 him even to lend us ! The reason for these 
 people telling such falsehoods, it is difficult 
 to imagine, except that they are so ha- 
 bituated to lying, that they seldom speak 
 the truth. They visited us several times at 
 Coomassie, but Mr. Dupuis generally com- 
 municated with them alone. 
 
 The yam custom in Ashantee, as well as 
 in Fantee, is annual, and is held just at the 
 maturity of that vegetable. This is their 
 greatest national solemnity. The Adai cus- 
 tom has been already noticed ; and as the 
 observance of the one is attended by much 
 the same cruelties as the other, any further 
 notice of them would be painful to the 
 reader, as well as unnecessary. 
 
 “ The death of a person of consequence is 
 announced by a discharge of muskets. In 
 an instant all the slaves rush from the 
 house, hoping to escape ; but one or more 
 
326 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 are always sacrificed at the door of the 
 house. On the death of a king, his bro- 
 ther’s sons and nephews, affecting insanity, 
 fire among the crowd.: no rank is safe. 
 The law allows the king 3333 * wives ; a 
 number which is carefully kept up, al- 
 though his majesty does not keep more 
 than six at the palace. They live quite 
 secluded, and are never approached but by 
 the king’s messengers, or their female 
 relatives, who only communicate with them 
 at the entrances, where there is always a 
 guard. None but the chief eunuch is al- 
 lowed to bear a message to the king when 
 in the seraglio. The king has a small troop 
 of boys, who carry the fetish bows and ar- 
 rows, and are licenced plunderers. What- 
 ever they can steal is deemed fair game. 
 The king’s weights are one-third heavier 
 than the current weights of the country, 
 which is a source of emolument to the 
 household. When the king sends an am- 
 bassador he enriches the splendour of his 
 suite and attire as much as possible ; but 
 there is also attached to the embassy a 
 
 * This is a mystical number in the eyes of the natives, 
 as they seem to think, as many Europeans do, that there 
 is a ditinity in odd numbers. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 327 
 
 mean-looking, but shrewd boy, as a kind 
 of’ spy on the whole proceeding. It is a 
 practice of the king to consign sums of gold 
 to the care of rising captains, without re- 
 quiring payment for two or three years, at 
 the end of which time the king expects it 
 to be returned. If no advantage has been 
 made of it, the person is thought unworthy 
 of further assistance. 
 
 44 Apokoo (keeper of the treasury,) holds 
 a kind of exchequer court at his house 
 daily, to decide all cases relative to the 
 revenue. In all public trials, the charges 
 are preferred against the criminal by the 
 king’s linguists ; the accused is always heard 
 fully, and is obliged either to commit or 
 exculpate himself upon every point. The 
 oaths are various ; that by the king’s foot 
 is not considered decisive, as perjury to 
 this oath is commutable by fine ; those by 
 the king’s father are held binding ; and 
 still more so are those made 44 by Corman- 
 tee and Saturday.” (Vide page 347.) 
 
 44 I will describe two modes of taking fe- 
 tish : one, licking a white fowl twice or 
 thrice, and drinking a nauseous vegetable 
 juice without coughing ; it is administered 
 
 y 4 
 
328 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 by the linguist out of a brass pan in a folded 
 leaf of the plant. If the accused is cleared, 
 he comes forward, and is marked with white 
 chalk by the linguist. The second is taking 
 doom, which is the infallible test, when 
 they consider the case to be too doubtful 
 for human decision. The bark of that tree 
 is put into a calabash with water, so as to 
 make a strong infusion ; it is stirred up 
 whilst the suspected parties sip in turn ; 
 those who sip first may recover, and the 
 dregs are frequently left designedly for the 
 obnoxious.” 
 
 The Ashantee loom is precisely the same 
 as the English : their cloths are very fine 
 and showy ; their patterns are printed 
 with a fowl’s feather, with much taste and 
 regularity : they excel in pottery ; the clay 
 is very fine, and after baking is polished 
 by friction, and the grooves of the patterns 
 are filled up with chalk : they are also 
 skilful in goldsmith’s work ; but they have 
 no idea of making iron from ore as their 
 interior neighbours have : they tan leather 
 well, but are indifferent carpenters. 
 
 The climate of Ashantee I consider 
 more healthy than on the coast. The in- 
 
 19 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 329 
 
 habitants are very subject to, dysentery 
 from the marshes which surround the 
 capital : it rains at intervals six months 
 in the year. Mr. Bowdich estimates the 
 population of Ashantee at a million ; but 
 I think he has greatly overrated it. The 
 population of Coomassie may be about 
 15 or 20,000: the men are not so strongly- 
 made as the Fantees ; but the women are 
 generally handsomer in their persons, and 
 more pleasing in their manners. 
 
 “ The food of the higher orders is chiefly 
 soup of dried fish, fowls, beef, or mutton, 
 and ground-nuts stewed in blood : palm 
 
 wine is their usual beverage, but they have 
 also a drink made from Indian com called 
 pitto. 
 
 “ The markets are held daily. Amongst 
 the articles for sale were beef (about 8d. 
 per lb.), and mutton cut in small pieces 
 for soup, wild hog, deer, monkey’s flesh, 
 fowls, pelts of skins, yams, plantains, 
 Indian corn, sugar-cane, rice, encruma 
 (a mucilaginous vegetable resembling as- 
 paragus), peppers, vegetable butter, oranges, 
 papaws, pine apples, bananas, salt and dried 
 fish from the coast, large snails smoke-dried, 
 
330 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 eggs for fetish, pitto, palm-wine, rum, pipes, 
 beads, looking-glasses, sandals, silk, cotton- 
 cloth, powder, small pillows, white and blue 
 cotton-thread, calabashes, &c. &c. 
 
 The price of a good bullock at Coomassie 
 is about 6l., a sheep 15s., and a fowl Is. 8d. 
 
 “The revenue arises from various sources; 
 the gold dust of all deceased and disgraced 
 subjects ; a tax in gold upon all the slaves 
 purchased for the coast ; a tax upon the 
 elephant hunters ; the washings of the 
 small pits in Soko, yielding from 700 to 
 2000 ozs. per month ; a tax upon every 
 chief increasing his gold ornaments, and 
 also the tributes paid by dependant states. 
 
 “ Coomassie is built upon the side of a 
 large rocky hill of iron stone ; it is an 
 oblong of upwards of three miles in cir- 
 cumference ; four of the principal streets 
 are nearly half a mile long, and 50 yards 
 wide ; they have all a name, and a prin- 
 cipal captain resides in each. There are 
 about 27 streets in all.” 
 
 The cattle at Coomassie are nearly as 
 large as the English. All the cows belong 
 to the Moors, who regularly supplied, us 
 with milk, it being fetish with the Ashan- 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 331 
 
 tees, so that they will neither drink nor touch 
 it unless by accident. The sheep at Ash- 
 antee, as well as at all our settlements on 
 the coast, are hairy, with long legs. The 
 horses are small, with large heads and lathy 
 legs. The Ashantees seldom ride on horse- 
 back, consequently they are bad horsemen. 
 The number of horses at Coomassie did 
 not exceed a dozen, and the price of a good 
 one was 8 and 10 ozs. (321. or 401.) The 
 Ashantees use no implement but the hoe ; 
 yet their plantations are neatly laid out, 
 and enclosed, with a house at the gate, 
 where the slaves, who take care of it, sleep. 
 
 They have two crops of corn a year ; 
 they plant yams at Christmas, and dig them 
 early in September. The oranges are large, 
 but I did not think them of that excellent 
 flavour which Mr. Bowdich mentions. The 
 castor-oil rises to a large tree. The cotton 
 plant is very common, but little cultivated. 
 The usual African animals are found here. 
 The currency of Ashantee is gold dust, 
 but the Ashantees are more inclined to be 
 a warlike than a commercial people : they 
 do, however, carry on a considerable trade 
 in gold dust and ivory with our merchants 
 
332 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 on the coast ; but the chiefs consider trade 
 beneath their attention. 
 
 On our journey to the capital, we met 
 many traders going to the coast with gold 
 dust and elephant’s teeth. These traders 
 on their arrival at our settlements are al- 
 ways imposed upon by the Fantees, who 
 act as brokers or agents between them and 
 
 o 
 
 the Europeans : it is the common practice 
 for these fellows to cheat the Ashantees 
 of nearly one-third of the value of an ele- 
 phant’s tooth. The way this is done, is by 
 the Fantee brokers making a bargain with 
 the Europeans for more than they reeive in 
 the presence of the Ashantee trader, and 
 the overplus is reserved by the European 
 merchant for the broker, who calls for it 
 the day after ; so that the king and Sir 
 James Yeo were very right when they said 
 the whites joined with the Fantees in cheat- 
 ing the Ashantees. This practice, however, 
 I believe, much to the credit of the English 
 merchants, has in some measure been put 
 a stop to within the last two ^ears. The 
 profits made by Europeans on goods sold 
 to the Ashantees are from 50 to 100 per 
 cent. ; and those made by the Ashantee 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 333 
 
 traders, in retailing goods at Coomassie, are 
 from 100 to 4001. per cent. The principal ar- 
 ticles of trade will be found in the Appen- 
 dix, in the list of the Company’s prices. 
 The most valuable article sold to the Ash- 
 antees, is the Indian silk or taffeta, the price 
 of which is 31. 10s. and 41. per piece, of 
 1 1 yards : these are unravelled by the Ash- 
 antees, and wove into cloths of their own 
 manufacture ; they prefer those from Fez- 
 zan for this purpose, as the colours are 
 more showy. Coarse thick scarves are also 
 brought from the interior. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the 
 currency of Ashantee is gold dust ; that of 
 Inta, Dagwumba, Gaman, and Kong, cow- 
 ries. Cowries (small shells,) are also the 
 currency at Accra, but at all the other Bri- 
 tish settlements on the coast it is gold dust. 
 Mr. Lucas writes, “ To the merchants of 
 Fezzan who travel to the southern states 
 of the negroes, the purchase of gold, which 
 the dominions of several, and especially 
 those of Degombah, abundantly afford, is 
 always the first object of commercial ac- 
 quisition.” Mr. Bowdich says, “ I could not 
 learn that any gold was dug or collected in 
 
334 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Dagwumba, though considerable quantities 
 are imported from its extensive commerce.” 
 I have no doubt but the natives dig for 
 the gold in the interior, from the large 
 pieces of pure gold which are sometimes 
 purchased from the Ashantees, weighing 
 10 and 15 ozs. Mr. Hutchison mentions 
 having noticed a piece in the king’s pos- 
 session, weighing 20 ozs. (801.) I have 
 never seen (either in the interior, or on the 
 coast,) the natives dig for the gold ; but 
 I have frequently observed fifty old women 
 under the walls of Cape Coast Castle wash- 
 ing for it. The method they adopt is this : 
 early in the morning after a hard shower 
 of rain, when the gold is supposed to be 
 driven down to the sea side from the 
 mountains, they assemble under the fort, 
 each of them having two or three cala- 
 bashes or bowls ; these they fill with 
 earth, and by continually washing and 
 throwing water over it, the gold being 
 heavier than the sand, sinks to the bottom 
 of the calabash. After great labour they 
 pick out whatever small particles there 
 may be. In a whole day they may not 
 get more than the value of a few shillings ; 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 3 35 
 
 , sometimes not more than a shilling or two, 
 so that only old women think it worth 
 their trouble to wash for it. 
 
 There are nine great paths leading from 
 Coomassie, namely, the Dwalein, Akim, 
 Assin, Warsaw, Sawee, Gaman, Daboia 
 and Sallagha, which places Mr. Bowdich 
 has described so fully that I have nothing 
 to add respecting them, further than as 
 relates to the late war with Gaman, which 
 I shall notice in the next chapter. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 336 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WARS. 
 
 The wars of a barbarous people ab- 
 stractedly, cannot be very interesting ; but 
 the following account of them, being written 
 by me to the king’s dictation at the palace 
 of Coomassie, will perhaps greatly increase 
 their interest ; and as I have the original 
 which I wrote at the time, in my possession, 
 the reader may depend on the following 
 being a faithful interpretation of the king’s 
 sentiments. The extracts, also, which I shall 
 give from Bowdich and other authors, to 
 make this account as complete as possible, 
 I believe to be perfectly correct. 
 
 The origin of the war between the Aslian- 
 tees and Assins was, that two rival chiefs of 
 that nation, (the Assins,) named Apinnanim 
 and Atanesefu, fought amongst themselves. 
 After fighting very hard, and destroying 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 337 
 
 a number of people, the king of Asliantee, 
 as a mediator, sent them a present of gold 
 to settle the palaver ; but they would not 
 do so, but still continued to fight. They 
 refused to admit of the king’s mediation ; 
 and the chief, Atinesefu, ran to the Fantees, 
 when the king sent his captains and criers 
 of the court, with two pieces of manilla, to 
 endeavour once more to settle the palaver ; 
 but on doing so, Atinesefu, assisted by 
 the Fantees, took the gold, and killed the 
 messengers. 
 
 The king having heard of the ill-treat- 
 ment of his people, sent Apokoo and Apier, 
 (two of his generals,) with an army, giving 
 them orders to destroy Atinesefu, and those 
 Fantees who had interfered. On their 
 march, they strewed leaves to shew that 
 they were not hostile to those countries 
 they passed through, but only with the 
 persons who had provoked the war. They 
 told the Fantees that they had no war with 
 them collectively as a nation, but only 
 against those who had interfered bv assist- 
 ing Atinesefu. The Fantees, however, 
 took up arms against the king, and a 
 battle ensued, when the Fantees and 
 
338 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Atinesefu were defeated at Benda, and 
 one captain (Ate,) was taken prisoner, and 
 sent to Coomassie. His majesty here de- 
 sired the linguist to repeat that the army, 
 on marching through the Fantee country, 
 previous to the battle, strewed leaves the 
 same as they did on passing through the 
 Assin territories. * 
 
 On shewing the prisoners at Coomassie, 
 that had been taken by Apokoo and 
 Apier, Ate was exhibited, chained to a log, 
 and Apokoo then declared to the people 
 that this man had taken up arms against 
 the king. Nevertheless, he was liberated 
 from his chains, to remain at Coomassie 
 until further information was received from 
 the Fantees. This happened in the reign 
 of the king’s brother, Zai Quamina. f 
 
 At this period the former king died, and 
 the present king succeeded him on the 
 stool. 
 
 The Fantees now sent word that the 
 king must put a price upon Ate, that they 
 
 * Assin, it will be recollected, lies between Ashantee 
 and Fantee. 
 
 f The king always spoke of the deeds of the former 
 monarch the same as his own. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 33fr 
 
 might redeem him, which they promised 
 to do, and the price affixed, was sixty 
 pereguins * of gold ; but the Fantees 
 never kept their promise. 
 
 The king demanded that those Assins, 
 who had joined the Fantees, should be - de- 
 livered up as a condition of the peace, but 
 this was not done. 
 
 The king also ordered that all the Assin 
 chiefs, who had been taken by Apokoo, 
 should be decapitated as traitors, which 
 was done accordingly. 
 
 The king then sent a proper captain 
 (one of his own linguists) with gold chains, 
 rings, and gold dust to the Assins, to pay 
 any debts they owed to the Fantees ; and 
 the Assin chiefs were ordered to appear 
 before the king at Coomassie. 
 
 The Fantees again sent word that they 
 wanted Ate ; but the king replied, that 
 until he received the sixty pereguins of 
 gold, Ate must remain prisoner ; but 
 added, that he would send him to Assi- 
 cooma, a croom near the Fantee country, 
 to remain there until ransomed at the 
 price mentioned. 
 
 A pereguin is equal to 2 oz. 4 as. or 9 L currency, 
 z 2 
 
 # 
 
3 AO 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Soundou, the name of the king’s linguist, 
 was sent to settle the palaver ; after Soun- 
 dou went to Fantee, he told the Assins on 
 his return to Ashantee, to accompany him ; 
 but they would not do so, but stole Ate 
 away. 
 
 The king then said, “ Very well, you 
 stole Ate, — where is my sixty pereguins 
 of gold ?” But the Fantees now declared, 
 that they would only give a case of liquor, 
 and ridiculed the king, saying, that he 
 might purchase guns with large fish, of 
 which they sent a sample, while they said 
 they could purchase them on the coast 
 with framfras.* The sea, they said, was 
 larger than Boosemache,']' meaning that 
 they could get a greater supply of fram- 
 fras than the king could river fish, and 
 guns in proportion. 
 
 The Fantees then took all the gold a 
 
 * Framfras are a small fish which are taken in great 
 abundance with the cast-net by the natives on the coast, 
 who chiefly live upon them. 
 
 f Boosemache is a lake four miles long and thi’ee 
 broad, about fifty miles from Coomassie, on the great 
 path leading to Akim and Accra. Thirty crooms are 
 situated around it, which are supported by fishing, and 
 fish are daily sent from this lake for the king’s table. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 341 
 
 second time, and killed Asoundou and his 
 companions. The king on hearing this, 
 said, “ Very well, I will now go and fight the 
 Fantees which he did with his own army 
 and part of the Assins who joined him. 
 But the other Assins, with Cheboo * Apo- 
 tey, and Safou, joined the Fantees and fled 
 to Cape Coast from Annamaboe. After the 
 battle at Annamaboe, Colonel Torrane 
 seized upon Cheboo, and sent him to the 
 king by the wish of the Cape Coast people, 
 as they feared the Ashantees would de- 
 stroy Cape Coast. Colonel Torrane then 
 went to Annamaboe, and made friends with 
 the king ; but the Fantees again gave battle 
 to the Ashantees, when they (the Fantees) 
 were driven to Aquapim, and eastward. 
 A number of prisoners were taken and all 
 their heads cut off ; but one Braffoo cap- 
 tain, named Adooko, made his escape. The 
 people of Accra and Elmina are the king’s 
 good friends ; and when the king returned 
 to Ashantee after the battle, he heard the 
 
 * This man was blind, and Colonel Torrane, to put 
 a stop to the war at Annamaboe, seized upon him, and 
 delivered him up to the king of Ashantee, who decapi- 
 tated him. 
 
342 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Fantees were making war with the Accras:* 
 he then sent his captains again to fight, and 
 defeated the Fantees a second time. In 
 justification of this act, the king observed, 
 that if any one treated Mr. Dupuis ill, it 
 would be his duty to take his part and 
 fight for him, as he was the king’s friend. 
 The reason the Fantees fought against the 
 Elminas and Accras, was, because they 
 assisted the king when he fought against 
 the Fantees. 
 
 The Fantees sent to Quamina Akim, to 
 beg the king to make peace and be friends ; 
 but they were only playing, and did not 
 mean to do so, as they immediately made 
 war, and induced ten tributary states to 
 join them against the king ; namely, 
 
 Kotokoo 
 
 - King Cudjoe Coomae. 
 
 Abaqua 
 
 King Atta, (who was 
 
 
 succeeded at his death 
 
 
 by Coffee Ashantee.) 
 
 Aseaqua 
 
 - King Borokoo. 
 
 * This I know to be true, as I was at Accra at 
 the time that Town was blockaded by the Fantees 
 in 1809; a battle ensued, when the Fantees were de- 
 feated and many taken prisoners ; the fingers and hands 
 of whom were cut off by the Accras and roasted in 
 the streets. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 343 
 
 Aquapim - King Assafrotchwi. 
 
 Sabah - Kino; Yonminta. 
 
 Braqua - King Yamo. 
 
 Assecooma - King Ecoome. 
 
 Adobin - King Amoo. 
 
 Encoom - King Agai. 
 
 Warsaw - King Intefoe. 
 
 But the king sent his captains with a 
 large army to invade Fantee, and destroyed 
 them all.” 
 
 As the account of this invasion of Fantee 
 is correctly given by Mr. Meredith * in his 
 account of the Gold Coast, and in the 
 Appendix to Mr. Bowdich’s work, as well 
 as in Robertson’s Notes on Africa, it would 
 be superfluous to repeat the particulars upon 
 this occasion. 
 
 As long as the Ashantees have been 
 known to Europeans, they appear to have 
 been a brave and warlike people, and in 
 tracing back their history, the first account 
 of any battle of moment, is given by 
 Bosnian about the year 1700, in the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 * This gentleman was afterwards murdered by the 
 people of Winnebah. Vide Appendix. 
 
 z 4 
 
344 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 “ The king of Dinkira, a young prince, 
 whose valour was become the admiration of 
 all the negroes of the coast, sent some of 
 his wives to compliment Zay the king of 
 Asiante ; who not only received and enter- 
 tained them very courteously, but sent 
 them back, charged with very considerable 
 presents, to express his obligations for the 
 grateful embassy. And being resolved to 
 return his obligation, he, some time after, 
 sent some of his wives to compliment the 
 king of Dinkira, and assure him of the 
 great esteem he had for his person. These 
 Ambassadresses were not less splendidly 
 treated at Dinkira, being also loaded with 
 presents. But the king cast a wanton eye 
 upon one of them, and hurried on by lust, 
 gratified his brutal desire ; after satiating 
 which, he suffered her, together with the 
 rest, to return to their country and their 
 injured husband, who was informed of this 
 affront. But he took good care to make 
 the king of Dinkira sensible that he would 
 not rest till he had washed away the 
 scandal in his injurious blood. Whilst the 
 king of Asiante was making preparations 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 345 
 
 to attack his enemy, the king of Dinkira 
 died, which might encourage a belief that 
 the impending cloud of war would blow 
 over : but he still immoveably persisted in 
 his purpose of utterly extirpating the 
 Dinkirans ; accordingly about the beginning 
 of this year (1700) being completely ready, 
 he came with a terrible army into the field, 
 and engaging the Dinkirans, who expected 
 him, he beat them ; but fighting them a 
 second time, he entirely defeated them. 
 
 “ The Negroes report, that in these two 
 battles, above 100,000 men were killed. 
 The plunder after this victory, took up the 
 Asiantees fifteen days, (as ’tis said, but per- 
 haps largely enough) that Zay’s booty alone 
 amounted to several thousand marks of 
 gold, as is affirmed by one of our European 
 officers, who was sent on an embassy to 
 Zay, and says, he had several times seen 
 the treasure. This messenger of ours, who 
 is now in the Asiantean camp, has orders to 
 take an exact account of what he hears and 
 sees there.” (Bosnian’s Account of Guinea, 
 page 66.) 
 
 Mr. Bowdich writes that “ Sai Tootoo 
 
346 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 having defeated the Akims and Assins, 
 subjected the Tufel country, and subdued 
 many small States in the neighbourhood. 
 He also conquered Dankara, the king of 
 which (Intim Dakarey,) was so considerable 
 a trader in slaves, that the Dutch governor- 
 general paid him a monthly note, from his 
 own purse, and assisted him with two or 
 three small cannons and a few Europeans, 
 on the eve of the Ashantee invasion : the 
 former are now placed as trophies in Coo- 
 massie. Boroom was subjugated soon 
 after. 
 
 “ Sai Tootoo, who began the building of 
 Coomassie, did not live to see all the streets 
 completed ; for war being declared against 
 Atoa, a district between Akim and Assin, 
 he invaded that country. The chief of the 
 Atoas, unable to face such a power, dex- 
 terously insinuated his small force through 
 the forest until he reached the rear of the 
 Ashantee army, which the king was fol- 
 lowing leisurely with a guard of a few 
 hundred men, all of whom were destroyed 
 by the Atoas, who shot the king in his 
 hammock. This happening near a place 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 347 
 
 called Cormantee; (razed to the ground in 
 vengeance) and on a Saturday ; the most 
 solemn oath of the Ashantees is, “ by 
 Saturday and Cormantee;” “ Miminda 
 Cormantee:” and no enterprize has since 
 been undertaken on that day of the week. 
 
 “ 1720, Sai Apokoo finished the building 
 of Coomassie, and invaded the kingdom 
 of Gaman, when Abo the king, fled to 
 Kong, whither the Ashantee army pur- 
 sued him. The king of Kong politically 
 compelled Abo to meet his enemies on 
 the frontier, lest they might disturb a 
 neutral kingdom. Abo being defeated, 
 purchased a peace by presenting large 
 sums of gold to the various chiefs, and 
 consenting to an annual tribute. 
 
 “ Apokoo next subjected Takima, whence 
 the Fantees are said to have emigrated, and 
 forced a second emigration of the people to 
 Gomowa at the back of Winnebah. He 
 also dispossessed the Akims of the English, 
 Dutch and Danish Accra notes.* 
 
 Tribute being demanded from the neigh- 
 bouring kingdom of Dagwumba, a war 
 
 * For an explanation of this word, vide page 263. 
 
348 A VOYAGE TO AFItICA. 
 
 ensued, and its troops were defeated. The 
 king of Dagwumba, convinced that his 
 former reliance on a superior population 
 was vain, from the military genius of the 
 Ashantees, and the commercial disposition 
 of his own people, dispirited from their 
 want of fire-arms, * prudently invited a 
 peace. 
 
 “ In 1741, Sai Aquissa was made king. 
 During his reign the king of Akim desiring 
 to go to war with his neighbours, was 
 obliged to obtain permission from the 
 Ashantee government, which he did, by the 
 promise of sending him half the spoil ; 
 but gaining little or nothing, he did not do 
 so. He soon afterwards heard of Aquissi’s 
 intention to demand his head ; and 
 knowing that the king’s word was irrevo- 
 cable, he summoned his ministers, and 
 
 * Fire-arms are unknown to such of the nations on 
 the South of the Niger as the Shereef has visited ; and 
 the reason he assigns for it is, that the kings in the 
 neighbourhood of the coast, persuaded, that if these 
 powerful instruments of war should reach the posses- 
 sion of the populous inland states, their own inde- 
 pendence would be lost, have strictly prohibited, and 
 by the wisdom of their measures, have effectually 
 prevented this dangerous merchandise from passing 
 the limits of their dominions. Lucas. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 349 
 
 desired to sacrifice his life for the quiet of 
 his people : his ministers insisted on 
 
 sharing his fate ; and a barrel of powder 
 being brought for each to sit on, they drank 
 a large quantity of rum, and blew them- 
 selves up with the fire from their pipes !” 
 an instance of devotion surpassing even the 
 Greek and Roman name. 
 
 “ Deeming a peace bought cheaply with their blood, 
 
 “ They died with pleasure for their country’s good.” 
 
 Roemer, a Danish author, writes “ that in 
 1744, a king of the Ashantees called 
 Opokoo, put himself at the head of a 
 powerful army to make war upon a 
 Mahometan nation situated far to the north- 
 east. He marched twenty-one days through 
 a woody country intersected by rivers ; 
 afterwards fourteen days across a sandy 
 country without water, in which he lost 
 many men, and then entered a fertile 
 country, populous, and abounding in all 
 kinds of provisions, the towns of which were 
 exceedingly large. He possessed himself 
 of several towns and a large booty, but the 
 people of the country suddenly surrounded 
 him with an immense body of cavalry : 
 nevertheless he carried off several slaves 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 350 
 
 and many Arabic M.S.S. which afterwards 
 fell into the hands of the Danes, the mas- 
 ters of Accra.” 
 
 Bruns concluded that the country thus 
 invaded by the king of Ashantee, was the 
 Degombah which Inhammed made known 
 to Mr. Lucas. But Yarriba and Hio are 
 the most powerful nations of this part of 
 the interior, whereas Dagwumba has been 
 tributary to Ashantee nearly a century. 
 Mr. Bowdich says, “ Apokoo told us more 
 than once that there were three countries 
 which would not pay tribute to Ashantee, 
 two eastward and one to the N. W. ; each 
 of those eastward had defeated the 
 Ashantees.” (Bowdich’s Essay on the Geo- 
 graphy of North Western Africa, p. 18.) 
 
 “ Sai Cudjoe, during his reign in 1753, 
 defeated the Warsaws and Assins more de- 
 cisively than his predecessors, and was the 
 first who compelled them to acknowledge 
 fealty to Ashantee, he also subjected 
 Aquamboe and Aquapim, quelled several 
 revolts of other countries, and was esteemed 
 a very great captain. The grandfather of 
 Amanquateii Atooa, conquered Sawee, kill- 
 ing the king Boomancumma ; and Bakee, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 351 
 
 soon afterwards, subjugated Moinse'a. In 
 this reign Quama, king of Dwabin, died.” 
 “In 1785, Sai Quamina succeeded his 
 grandfather Sai Cudjo, at a very early age. 
 The Akims revolted soon after his accession, 
 under Ofoosoo, their most active ruler for 
 many years : he engaged several smaller 
 states in alliance, and defeated the Ashan- 
 tees repeatedly ; at length the treachery of 
 his followers procured Quatchi Quofie, (the 
 Ashantee general,) his head ; with which 
 he returned to Coomassie, the country 
 having again submitted. The fame of 
 Ofoosoo made Quatchi Quofie so vain of 
 this achievement, that he had a figure of 
 him made, with which his umbrella is still 
 crowned, and before which he dances with 
 every insulting gesture and vaunt, when 
 he arrives on the ground at the various 
 ceremonies. The present king has fre- 
 quently been heard to say, that it was a 
 great pity this old man did not know better, 
 for the Akim cabboceers generally attended 
 his summons with alacrity and good-will ; 
 but the sight of the insulting effigy of their 
 favourite leader, disgusted them, and ex- 
 cited their revolt. These brave people 
 
352 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 have risen from their dependence at least 
 eight times. 
 
 “ The government finding a pretext to 
 invade Banda, the king Odrasee vigorously 
 opposed the Ashantee army ; but at length, 
 seeinghemustinevitablyfall into theirhands, 
 to prevent his head being found, which cir- 
 cumstance he knew would sorely disquiet 
 the enemy *, and solace his own people, 
 
 * On the death of the late king of Amanhea, two 
 competitors for the stool appeared, one called Snikee or 
 Suiquah ; the other’s name I am ignorant of. Both 
 collected their slaves and adherents, and fought. 
 Suikee was obliged to fly, and hide himself in the bush ; 
 but the people being dissatisfied with the conqueror, 
 Suikee re-appeared against the town. When his rival 
 was reduced beyond all hope, he threw all his gold, 
 which filled several jars, into the lake ; and then collec- 
 ting his wives and the different branches of his family, 
 went with them into a remote part of the bush, and cut 
 all their throats, with the exception of one son, whom he 
 reserved to assist him in burying the bodies. He then 
 made his son sw r ear on his fetish, to kill and bury him, 
 and never to discover where the bodies were laid : the 
 son fulfilled the oath, and returned to Apollonia, but I 
 am not certain what became of him. After Suikee had 
 seated himself firmly on the stool, he by some means dis- 
 covered where the bodies were concealed ; he caused 
 them to be dug up, and taken to Apollonia town ; he 
 then ranged them in a sitting posture, in a row along 
 the beach, with stakes to extend their arms, and sup- 
 port their heads : this horrid spectacle was exhibited 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 353 
 
 ordered, just before he killed himself, a. 
 woman to be sacrificed, and the abdomen 
 being ripped, his head to be sewn up within 
 it, and her body afterwards to be buried 
 in the heap of the slain. It was discovered 
 by bribes, and is now on one of the king’s 
 great drums. Soota was also subjugated in 
 this reign, occupying the army under 
 Odumata ten years, during which period he 
 was not allowed to see Coomassie. Odu- 
 mata afterwards subdued Coranza, the 
 larger part of his army being Gaman aux- 
 iliaries. 
 
 “ The first important military act of the 
 present king was the invasion of Fantee, 
 which has already been noticed. Whilst 
 that invasion was meditating, Baba, now 
 the chief of the Moors, presented himself, 
 to solicit an asylum in Coomassie, having 
 been driven from Gamba by the rapacity 
 of the king, his near relative ; and pro- 
 
 until even their bones had perished. One of Suikee’s 
 first acts after his accession, was to consecrate his hiding 
 place in the bush, making it death, or a heavy fine, for 
 any one to swear by Suikee’s bush, and not to keep the 
 oath. 
 
 A A 
 
354 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 fessing solely to desire the recovery of a 
 large property withheld from him, to make 
 the king of Asliantee the heir to it. The 
 king promised he would oblige the king of 
 Gamba to do him justice, on his return 
 from the Fantee war, if Baba and his com- 
 panions were fortunate in their prayers 
 and charms for his success. The king of 
 Gamba did not think proper to resist the 
 demand afterwards made through the 
 Ashantee government. 
 
 “ In 1807, Coonadua, the king’s mother, 
 was left regent during his absence ; this 
 woman was a second Messalina, and many 
 young captains who refused to intrigue with 
 her, from fear or disgust, had been ulti- 
 mately the victims of her artifice and ven- 
 geance. 
 
 “In 1811, Attali, caboceer or king of 
 Akim, had followed the king to the first 
 Fantee war, and behaved well. Apokoo 
 being sent on an expedition against the 
 Fantees of Winnebah and Berracoo, Attah 
 received orders to join him with his con- 
 tingency ; instead of which, he sent a 
 message to Apokoo, before he passed the 
 Boosempra river, refusing to join him, and 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 355 
 
 advising him not to attempt to pass through 
 his country. Apokoo reported this imme- 
 diately to the king, who, as is usual, sent 
 to Attah to enquire if he had said so. He 
 confessed that he had, without hesitation, 
 adding that the king treated him like a 
 slave, by incessantly summoning him to 
 attend his wars, and besides, that he never 
 could forget that Sai Cudjo had cut off his 
 grandfather’s head, and that he would fight 
 with Apokoo whenever he came. Soon 
 afterwards, Quamina Guma, (the father of 
 Becqua, captain of Danish Accra,) and one 
 of the king’s sons, returning to Coomassie 
 with a large quantity of gold collected to 
 make custom for the King’s mother, Attah 
 intercepted, robbed, and murdered them 
 and their party, with the exception of one, 
 whom he desired to tell the king that this 
 act would convince him he was in earnest, 
 and determined to go to war with him. 
 Apokoo was immediately ordered to pro- 
 ceed against Attah, who had engaged Quaw 
 Safiatchee as a party in the revolt, who was 
 weary of the same laborious vassalage. 
 When Apokoo entered the Akim country, 
 Attah was forattackinghim immediately, and 
 
 a a 2 
 
356 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 at sun rise, but Quaw expressing bis doubts 
 of their succeeding against the superior 
 warfare of the Ashantees, begged him to 
 stop until three o’clock, when the Ashan- 
 tees generally ate and slept, and when they 
 might be better able to retreat if worsted, 
 as the enemy never pursued in the dusk. 
 The attack was a surprise, but the fight 
 continued obstinate and undecided until 
 night, when Apokoo found he had lost so 
 many men, that he immediately dispatched 
 a messenger to summon the Accras to his 
 aid, as vassals to the king. His messenger 
 reached Accra the next day, and that 
 people joined him on the following, on 
 which the enemy retreated precipitately; 
 Attah to windward, and Quaw to Adda. 
 Apokoo followed the latter, who having 
 escaped him after a tedious watchfulness, 
 Apokoo, believing the Danish governor, 
 Mr. Flindt, to have connived, made him 
 his prisoner, and kept him with the army, 
 which soon afterwards encamped in Aqua- 
 pim, five months, during which time he 
 was treated with kindness and respect, but 
 his ransom amounted to nearly 400/. Apokoo 
 was soon after ordered back to Coomassie. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 357 
 
 44 Appia Danqua had been sent, at the 
 same time with Apokoo, with 6000 men 
 against the Fantee states which were dis- 
 posed to the revolters. He defeated them 
 at Apam, and took Baffoo the Annamaboe 
 cabboceer prisoner, but whilst his army 
 was before Tantum, intelligence of the ap- 
 proach of Attah, who had retreated from 
 Apokoo, but whose name was as redoubtable 
 as his disposition was rapacious, subdued 
 his firmness, and under the plea of pru- 
 dence, hurried him back to the interior. 
 
 The path was afterwards shut for two 
 years, through the vigilance, and from the 
 terror of Cudjo Cooma, who had been 
 elected to the stool of Akim, six months 
 after the death of Attah, whose immediate 
 successor (Quawko Ashantee) tyrannized so 
 cruelly during that period, that he was com- 
 manded by the people to kill himself, and 
 could only obtain the indulgence of a week’s 
 respite, which he spent in singing and danc- 
 ing, in fact in making his own custom. 
 Quaw Saffatchee had also leagued with the 
 Fan tees who attacked the Accra town, but 
 were repulsed. The king suddenly deter- 
 mined to open the path to receive the ar- 
 
358 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 rears of pay due from the forts, and sent 
 Amanqua Abiniowa with an army of 
 20.000 men, charging him to offer no 
 violence nor commit hostility, unless pro- 
 voked by attack, but to receive the sub- 
 mission of the Akims and Aquapims, and 
 merely to exact a fine to seal it. Appia 
 Danqua was sent at the same time with a 
 smaller army to the back of Winnebah and 
 Tantum, to intercept the revolters if they 
 fled to windward. Abiniowa proceeded to 
 Aguissao, one day’s march from Aquapim, 
 unmolested, when one of his foraging 
 parties was attacked by Cudjo Cooma and 
 seven men killed. A general engagement 
 took place the next morning, and after 
 six hours fighting the Ashantees were vic- 
 torious, and sent a jaw-bone and a slave 
 to each of the Accra towns. Amanqua 
 then marched to Accra to receive the king’s 
 pay, and remained nearly twelve months in 
 its neighbourhood. He then returned to 
 Aquapim, where, after some time, he re- 
 ceived a message from the king, with a 
 large quantity of gold, advising him that he 
 must not see his face again unless he 
 brought the heads of Cudjo and Quaw. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 .359 
 
 Amanqua did not immediately communi- 
 cate this message to his captains, but ordered 
 them to deposit their equipage and pro- 
 perty in Accra, and then, making a large 
 custom for three days, to propitiate the en- 
 terprize, he took fetish with all his captains 
 that they would never return to Coomassie 
 without the heads of Cudjo and Quaw. 
 
 “ In 1816, Appia Danqua had died in 
 Assin in the interim, and was succeeded by 
 his brother Appia Nanu, under whom Bak- 
 kee was the second in command. The king 
 hearing nothing of his progress, and his 
 indolence being reported to him, sent or- 
 ders to Amanqua to join him, which he did 
 at Essecooma, reproaching him for his 
 cowardice. Soon after this, the skirmish at 
 the salt pond, near Cape Coast, took place, 
 the detachment was principally of Assins, 
 and commanded by Quasheemanqua. Yo- 
 kokroko soon afterwards joined the com- 
 bined army, (which had marched to Abra,) 
 with a few hundred men destined to attack 
 Commenda. 
 
 “ Not long after the palaver was settled 
 at Cape Coast, and the army again divided, 
 Cudjo Cooma was killed by a party of Ap- 
 
 a a 4 
 
360 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 pia Naim’s at Insoom or Incoom near 
 Essecooma ; upon which, Appia, instead 
 of marching to join Amanqua as had 
 been concerted, returned to Coomassie, 
 where he was coldly received, but not ac- 
 cused until the 12th of July last. Adoo 
 Dan qua, the brother of Quaw Saffatchee, 
 came to the Accras and concerted the 
 delivering of him up, as he had tired him 
 out with his wanderings. The Ashantees 
 agreed to prevail on the king to give him 
 the stool if he did. A few Accras and a 
 few Ashantees accompanied him, and when 
 he came near where his brother was hid, 
 one day’s journey from Accra, he placed 
 an ambush, and sitting down, expostulated 
 with him, and recommended him to kill 
 himself; but Quaw would not, alledging 
 that he should eventually wear out the 
 king’s patience in pursuing him ; on this 
 Adoo rose, and a shot was immediately 
 tired at Quaw, who was brought down and 
 rose again four times, exclaiming that his 
 brother was his murderer, who reflected 
 the reproach on his own obstinacy. The 
 body was brought to Accra, and his head 
 sent to Coomassie, and it is now a trophy 
 
 6 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 361 
 
 at Bantama or the back town. Amanqua 
 then returned to Coomassie, and arrived 
 about six months before the mission. 
 
 “ The king had sent to demand the royal 
 stool of Buntooko, or Gaman, which was 
 thickly plated and embossed with gold ; it 
 was given up by Adinkara, the king, 
 from fear ; his sister, a woman of mascu- 
 line spirit and talent, and the soul of the 
 government, being absent. On her return, 
 she reproached her brother severely, and 
 ordered a solid gold stool to be made to 
 replace it. That being also demanded, as 
 the right of the superior, with a large 
 gold ornament in the shape of an elephant, 
 dug out from some ruins, his sister, receiv- 
 ing the ambassadors, replied, that the king 
 should not have either, and added, im- 
 pressing it with more force than delicacy, 
 that her brother and she must change sexes, 
 for she was most proper for a king, and 
 would fight to the last rather than be so 
 constantly despoiled. The king of Ashan- 
 tee sent word that she was fit to be a king’s 
 sister, and a strong woman, and he would 
 give her twelve months to prepare for 
 war. Several embassies have been sent 
 
362 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 however to negotiate ; two during our stay, 
 the latter, it was said, with an offer of 400 
 bendas, (3,200/.) but the aristocray were 
 obstinate, and urged to the king, that his 
 other tributaries would laugh at him, if he 
 did not get the king of Gaman’s head.” 
 Accordingly, in 1818, the king assembled 
 his troops, amounting to at least 30,000 
 men, including Apokoo and the principal 
 generals and captains, and marched to 
 attack the Buntakoos in person ; as they 
 were no contemptible enemies, and there- 
 fore required a strong force to engage them. 
 The former king of Ashantee (if we may 
 believe his present majesty) thrice con- 
 quered the Buntakoos. But upon this 
 occasion, Adinkira expecting some of the 
 Ashantee allies to join him, marched his 
 troops into their territories to prevail upon 
 them to do so. The kins; of Ashantee 
 notwithstanding, attacked the enemy, and 
 after a long contested engagement, which 
 was for a considerable time doubtful, and 
 at one moment nearly decided in favor of 
 Adinkira, the Ashantees were the victors. 
 Adoo Quamina informed us that many 
 thousands were slain on both sides, and 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 363 
 
 several generals were killed and wounded. 
 Amongst the latter was Adoo Quamina 
 himself, a ball having entered his left eye * 
 and passed through the temple. The 
 wound, however, was wonderfully well 
 cured. From all the information I could 
 collect, the Ashantees had not much to 
 boast of although they claimed the victory; 
 but it was very evident from the cautious 
 manner in which they answered all our en- 
 quiries upon the subject of this battle, that 
 it did not terminate to their satisfaction. 
 As a proof, indeed, that they had not gained 
 a very decisive victory, we did not hear of 
 any particular trophies, no gold stool, no 
 great men’s sculls, which they would not 
 have failed to speak of had they possessed 
 any. It is true a few captives were pointed 
 out to us, and one, in particular, was said 
 to be the heir to the stool. But the king 
 did not appear to like the subject, and 
 seemed to be perfectly contented in as- 
 suring us that he had “ destroyed him,” 
 (meaning Adinkira}.” 
 
 “ When a general is appointed to the 
 command of an army, he receives a gold 
 
 Vide Plate. 
 
864 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 handled sword of the king from his hand, 
 (who strikes him gently with it three times 
 on the head,) swearing to return it encrust- 
 ed with the blood of his conquered enemies. 
 One of the king’s linguists always accom- 
 panies an army of any consequence, to 
 whom all the politics of the war are en- 
 trusted, and whose talent and intelligence 
 in negociating, are expected to mature the 
 fruits of the military genius of the general, 
 and to reimburse the expence of the war 
 by heavy fines and contributions. The 
 Ashantees are as superior in discipline as 
 in courage to the people of the water side, 
 though their discipline is limited to the 
 following precautions. They never pursue 
 when it is near sunset; the general is always 
 in the rear ; the secondary captains lead 
 the soldiers on, whilst those in command, 
 with a few chosen individuals, urge them 
 forward from the rear with their heavy 
 swords, and cut any man down who retreats 
 until the case is desperate. The first ob- 
 ject of the Ashantee in close fight, is, to 
 fire and spring upon the throat of his ene- 
 my ; to advance every time he fires he feels 
 to be imperative, if his commander thinks 
 it possible, who would, otherwise, if he 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 365 
 
 escaped death in the action, inflict it on 
 him directly it was over. It is one of 
 the sentences of the most popular song * 
 in Coomassie, “ If I fight I die, if I 
 run away I die, better I go on and die.” 
 They are as the antient Spaniards have been 
 described, “ prodiga gens animae et p rope- 
 rare facillima mortem.” The general has 
 his umbrella spread in the rear, and, besides 
 his guard, has several extra musquets ready 
 loaded for those soldiers who may be driven 
 to him in case of reverse. His band plays 
 
 * The following is one of their songs, which is sung 
 by several individuals, who rise and advance, singing in 
 turn. 
 
 1st. Woman. My husband likes me too much, 
 
 He is good to me, 
 
 But I cannot like him, 
 
 So I must listen to my lover. 
 
 1st. Man. My wife does not please me, 
 s I tire of her now, 
 
 So I will please myself with another 
 Who is very handsome. 
 
 2d. Woman. My lover tempts me with sweet words, 
 
 But my husband always does me good, 
 
 So I must like him well, 
 
 And I must be ti*ue to him. 
 
 2d. Man. Girl, you pass my wife handsome, 
 
 But I cannot call you wife, 
 
 A wife pleases her husband only, 
 
 But when I leave you, you go to others. 
 
S66 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 all the time, and in his assumed contempt 
 for the enemy, it is the etiquette for him 
 to divert himself at some game, whilst the 
 heads of the slain of any rank in the hos- 
 tile army are sent to him to put his foot 
 on. When the result of an important ac- 
 tion is expected, even with an anxiety by 
 no means sanguine, and the messengers are 
 known to be near the capital, the king is 
 always seated in public, with his golden 
 worra board before him, playing with some 
 dignitary ; and thus receives the news, to 
 impress the people with confidence by his 
 affected indifference to victory or defeat, 
 when superstition had revealed and fated 
 invevitable success ultimately. 
 
 “ All the superior captains have peculiar 
 flourishes or strains for their horns, adapted 
 to short sentences, which are always recog- 
 nised, and will be repeated on enquiry by 
 any Ashantee you may meet walking in the 
 streets, though the horns are not only out 
 of sight, but at a distance to be scarcely 
 audible. These flourishes are of a strong 
 and distinct character. The King’s horns 
 uttered, “ I pass all kings in the world.” 
 Apokoo’s, “ Ashantees, do you right 
 now?” Gimma’s, c< Whilst I live no harm 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 367 
 
 can come.” Bundahenna’s, “ I am a great 
 king’s son.” Amanqua’s, “ No one dares 
 trouble me.” 
 
 I will now close this chapter with the 
 following anecdote, which is related of the 
 king of Ashantee. His majesty having 
 determined to invade one of the towns 
 which supplies Coomassie with a consider- 
 able quantity of salt, was invited to dine 
 with a Cabboceer, who wished to alter his 
 determination, and with this view, had 
 recourse to the following stratagem. He 
 ordered two sheep to be killed, the one 
 lean and the other fat, and a soup to be 
 made from each. The former he seasoned 
 with salt which he omitted in the latter ; 
 on helping his majesty to the fat soup he 
 did not like it, and sent away his plate ; 
 but on tasting the other, he was much 
 pleased with its superior flavour, and re- 
 marked the difference, although the fat 
 soup looked the best ; when the Cabboceer 
 took the opportunity to observe, that the 
 town his majesty was about to destroy, sup- 
 plied the Ashantees with salt ; upon which 
 the king declared, that such being the 
 case, the town should not be destroyed. 
 
368 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LANGUAGE. 
 
 For the following account of the languages 
 of Ashantee and Fantee I am greatly in- 
 debted to my friend Mr. Robertson. 
 
 The language of Ashantee, as well as of 
 Fantee, the last of which is, indeed, merely 
 a dialect of the former, is very meagre, and, 
 in many respects, very imperfect ; although, 
 in common affairs, our thoughts can be ex- 
 pressed in either with tolerable precision. 
 The following Vocabulary has been com- 
 piled in the Fantee Dialect, as promising 
 to be more useful to those Europeans who 
 might frequent the African coast, than the 
 Ashantee, which is spoken principally in 
 the interior ; it does not appear necessary 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE, 
 
 369 
 
 to give a vocabulary of both languages ; a 
 person who becomes acquainted with the 
 Fan tee, will very readily acquire the Ashan- 
 tee, whenever he shall have occasion to mix 
 with the people of that country. 
 
 It must be recollected, that neither the 
 Fantees nor Ashantees have any written 
 language. To put, therefore, that upon 
 paper of which there is no example, is 
 necessarily difficult, and can scarcely be ex- 
 pected to be free from faults. 
 
 There are no Articles in this language. 
 
 Substantives do not vary their termin- 
 ations : the plural is distinguished by the 
 addition of numerals. 
 
 Adjectives do not alter their termination. 
 The comparative and superlative are ex- 
 pressed by the addition of the word dodo 
 comparative, and kerrara superlative. 
 
 Pronouns undergo no alteration whatever: 
 they are few in number, and do not answer 
 to ours, by any means. 
 
 The alterations in the persons and times 
 of the Verb , are generally expressed by a 
 difference in the pronunciation, and from 
 the imperfect nature of this language can- 
 not be easily described. 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 With respect to Adverbs , although they 
 have the common ones of time and place, 
 yet they do not appear to have any answer- 
 ing to the English words, terminating 
 generally, in ly : such as cautiously , curiously , 
 ardently , &c. 
 
 Conjunctions they of course have. 
 
 They have, also, the common Prepositions, 
 answering to the English words, of, from , 
 to, by, &c. 
 
 The Interjection is as common as in other 
 languages. 
 
 From the paucity of words in this lan- 
 guage, it may be naturally expected that 
 the natives of Africa, who use this and 
 others of the same kind, have frequently re- 
 course to figures to express their meaning. 
 Such is the case: the elephant, the lion, 
 and other animals, are very often the sub- 
 jects of their metaphors. 
 
 As some sort of guide to the pronun- 
 ciation of the words of this Vocabulary, I 
 would observe, that the vowels oo are to be 
 sounded like the same letters in the English 
 word soon ; and that the vowels ee are to be 
 sounded the same as they are in the English 
 word seen ; that the letter g, preceding a 
 
 16 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE, 
 
 371 
 
 vowel, is uniformly to be pronounced hard; 
 that ch always sounds the same as in the 
 English word chamber ; that throughout 
 the Vocabulary there are no silent vowels, 
 the final ones being always to be sounded ; 
 and that where such combinations of vowels 
 occur, as ea, oa, ooa, eea, ooe, ooee, and eeu, 
 &c. they make always two syllables. 
 
 To Abhor 
 
 Keroo 
 
 Able 
 
 Toomeh 
 
 Abode 
 
 Odan 
 
 Above 
 
 Tiffee 
 
 About 
 
 Ubieli 
 
 Absent 
 
 Ineheh 
 
 To Abuse 
 
 Wae emboney 
 
 To Accept 
 
 Fa 
 
 To Accom- 
 
 Inco possa 
 
 pany 
 
 Active 
 
 Etwemlica 
 
 To Admire 
 
 Peh-do-do 
 
 To Advise 
 
 Camker 
 
 Adult 
 
 Bo iran 
 
 Adulterer 
 
 Effarrey 
 
 To Affirm 
 
 Oosay ampa 
 
 To Affront 
 
 Booaffoo 
 
 Afloat 
 
 Ota-Insue 
 
 Afraid 
 
 Sooloo 
 
 After all 
 
 Ne-Eenah 
 
 Afterwards 
 
 Feelee 
 
 Aga 
 
 Saffohen , 
 
 Age 
 
 Infea 
 
 Agent 
 
 Obatton 
 
 Agression 
 
 Eah 
 
 Agony 
 
 Ayeo yeh- 
 
 Ague 
 
 dodo 
 
 Heim 
 
 Ah (interj.) 
 
 Yea 
 
 To Aid 
 
 Soh-mooh 
 
 To Ail 
 
 Yea 
 
 To Aim 
 
 Tobo 
 
 Air 
 
 Inframa 
 
 Alarm 
 
 Sooloo 
 
 Ale 
 
 Ahai, or pito- 
 
 Alike 
 
 porter 
 
 Eenaseh 
 
 Alive 
 
 Nikan 
 
 AH _ 
 
 Eena 
 
 Almighty 
 
 Yancoompon 
 
 Almost 
 
 Acoocooma 
 
 Aloft 
 
 Surro 
 
 Alone 
 
 Incoa 
 
 Altar 
 
 Edoo-Sooman 
 
 Always 
 
 Indeheena- 
 
 Ambush 
 
 eena 
 
 Aditcho 
 
 Amends 
 
 Adoopa 
 
 Amiable 
 
 Eayit passa 
 
 Amiss 
 
 Eadoo bonee 
 
 Among 
 
 Aoo-um 
 
 Amorous 
 
 Pehbissea 
 
 To Amuse 
 
 Gemanee 
 
 Anchor 
 
 Seekeh 
 
 Anew 
 
 Foofrou 
 
 Anger 
 
 Dadje 
 
 Angle (a cor- 
 
 Tee Inam 
 
 ner) 
 
 Angry 
 
 Booehfoo 
 
 Anker 
 
 Ankora 
 
 2 
 
 
372 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 Ankle 
 
 Nangeh 
 
 Annually 
 
 Afee-een- 
 
 Anodyne 
 
 eena 
 
 Adooloo 
 
 To Anoint 
 
 Fabedooeena 
 
 Ansvverfre- 
 
 Kakrem 
 
 ply) 
 
 Antelope 
 
 Adooah 
 
 Antique 
 
 Oakir 
 
 Any 
 
 Eebew 
 
 Ape or Mon- 
 
 Adopee or 
 
 key 
 
 Crassee 
 
 Apish 
 
 Adopee Ineem 
 
 Apostacy 
 
 Chenohoo 
 
 Apothecary 
 
 Edoo yehfoo 
 
 Apparel 
 
 Etade 
 
 To Approach Obah 
 
 To Approve 
 
 Mepeh 
 
 Arable 
 
 Dadeepa 
 
 Arm (of the 
 
 Insa 
 
 body) 
 
 Army 
 
 Assa foo 
 
 Arrow 
 
 Eggen 
 
 Art 
 
 Neem 
 
 To Ascend 
 
 Co Suroo 
 
 Ashes 
 
 Insoo 
 
 Ashore 
 
 Dadee 
 
 Aside 
 
 Inkeen 
 
 To Ask 
 
 Beesa 
 
 Aslant 
 
 Obinken 
 
 Asleep 
 
 Oada 
 
 To Assert 
 
 Soomoo 
 
 To Assure 
 
 Ampa 
 
 Astray 
 
 Atoguin 
 
 At 
 
 Owa 
 
 Atom 
 
 Coomawa 
 
 To Attack 
 
 Twesa 
 
 To Attend 
 
 Chowm 
 
 Averse 
 
 Mahnpeh 
 
 Awake 
 
 Nanica 
 
 Aweful 
 
 Surrododo 
 
 Axe 
 
 Acuma 
 
 Baboon 
 
 Effoo 
 
 To Backbite 
 
 Chapo me 
 
 Backward 
 
 Mekee 
 
 Bad 
 
 Imoo 
 
 Bag 
 
 Kootookoo 
 
 To Bake 
 
 To oh 
 
 To Balance 
 
 Too-anoo 
 
 Bald 
 
 Tikueh 
 
 To Balk 
 
 Dooeh-kessee 
 
 Bamboo 
 
 Adoobey 
 
 Bandy (adj.) 
 
 Inkomoo 
 
 To Bang 
 
 Bonoo 
 
 Bank 
 
 Inken 
 
 Bar (of a 
 
 Asurokee 
 
 river) 
 
 Bar or Bolt 
 
 Dako 
 
 Bard 
 
 Aduto ajum 
 
 Bare 
 
 Coora 
 
 Bargain 
 
 Ejehanoo 
 
 Bark of a treeObon droch 
 
 To Bark (like Opobodam 
 
 a dog 
 
 Barrel 
 
 Odookoo 
 
 Base 
 
 Ebon 
 
 Bashful 
 
 Incatoo 
 
 Bass 
 
 Intong 
 
 To Bathe 
 
 Guerra 
 
 Battle 
 
 Coo 
 
 Bawdy 
 
 Kassa bonee 
 
 Bay (of the 
 
 Oka 
 
 sea) 
 
 Bean 
 
 Edoveh 
 
 Beauty 
 
 Aoyeafoo 
 
 To Becalm 
 
 Keemah-imbo 
 
 To Beckon 
 
 Too-insa 
 
 Bed 
 
 Impadoo 
 
 Bed-chamber Impa-peeum 
 
 Bedtime 
 
 A deb assain 
 
 Bee 
 
 Adooa 
 
 Beehive 
 
 Adooa-den 
 
 Before 
 
 Dican 
 
 To Beg (to 
 
 Chuane 
 
 ask) 
 
 To Begin 
 
 Incan 
 
 To Believe 
 
 Itteh 
 
 Bell 
 
 Odou 
 
 Bell-man 
 
 Odoufoo 
 
 To Bellow 
 
 Qbom 
 
 Bellyfull 
 
 Amee 
 
 Belly 
 
 Effoon 
 
THE FA NT EE LANGUAGE. 
 
 373 
 
 To Belong 
 
 Ideh 
 
 Beloved 
 
 Ina-peh 
 
 Below 
 
 Asinadee 
 
 Belt 
 
 Aff'orey 
 
 Bench 
 
 Opoon 
 
 To Bend 
 
 Poonomoo 
 
 Beneath 
 
 Sinadee 
 
 Berry 
 
 Idooch aba 
 
 To Besmear 
 
 Sinah dee 
 
 Besom 
 
 Mina 
 
 Best 
 
 Adipapa 
 
 To Betray 
 
 Dada 
 
 Better 
 
 Adipa 
 
 Beware 
 
 Tohe yea 
 
 (interj.) 
 
 To Bewitch 
 
 Aein 
 
 ,To Bide (to 
 
 Tina 
 
 dwell) 
 
 Big 
 
 Osso ; Cok- 
 roko 
 
 Biggest 
 
 Bill 
 
 Osso tineh 
 
 Pampo 
 
 Bin 
 
 Alaka 
 
 Bird 
 
 Anima 
 
 Bird-catcher 
 
 Inropeh rooh 
 effile 
 
 Biscuit 
 
 Pano 
 
 Bit 
 
 Cooma 
 
 To Bite 
 
 Cah 
 
 Bitter 
 
 Alaawheen 
 
 Black 
 
 Beebin 
 
 Blackguard 
 
 Nim aha-foo 
 
 To Blame 
 
 Assim 
 
 Blanket 
 
 Koontoo 
 
 Blast (wind) 
 
 Aho 
 
 To Bleach 
 
 Hoole 
 
 To Bleat 
 
 Adoosoo 
 
 Blear-eyed 
 
 Enea-kehoo 
 
 To Bleed 
 
 Shang 
 
 Blight 
 
 Oa-kinkin 
 
 Blind (adj.) 
 
 Effeleh 
 
 To Blink 
 
 Boo-enee 
 
 Blister 
 
 Poonpoonjeh 
 
 Block 
 
 Issee 
 
 Blood 
 
 Booghe 
 
 Bloom 
 
 Herin 
 
 Blow 
 
 Boh 
 
 Bludgeon 
 
 Abah 
 
 Blue 
 
 Toontoom 
 
 Blunt 
 
 Eendam 
 
 Blush 
 
 Neato 
 
 Boar 
 
 Eamooh 
 
 Board 
 
 Apoon 
 
 Boat 
 
 Batidch 
 
 Boastful 
 
 Koontompo 
 
 Bog 
 
 Bynin 
 
 Bone 
 
 Obeao 
 
 Book 
 
 Aooma 
 
 Boon 
 
 Wawoon 
 
 To Bore 
 
 Bo-tooclea 
 
 To Borrow 
 
 Fafeh 
 
 Bosom 
 
 Cookoo 
 
 Both 
 
 Beena 
 
 Bottom(back- Noo-toon 
 side) 
 
 Bough 
 
 King quan 
 
 Bowl 
 
 Akooroo 
 
 To Brag 
 
 Kootompo 
 
 Brain 
 
 Chong 
 
 Branch 
 
 Ningquan 
 
 Brass 
 
 Aeeooa 
 
 Brave 
 
 Insurro 
 
 Bread 
 
 Pano 
 
 To Break 
 
 Boam 
 
 Breakfast 
 
 Nopa de 
 
 Breast 
 
 Noofoo 
 
 Breath 
 
 Akoom 
 
 To Bribe 
 
 Kakera 
 
 To Bring 
 
 Fama 
 
 Bristle 
 
 Ewhee 
 
 To Broil 
 
 Tooto 
 
 Broken (part) Waboh 
 
 Brook (a ri 
 
 11) Ooia ba 
 
 Brother 
 
 Nooeli 
 
 Brothel 
 
 Aguaman feh 
 
 To Bruise 
 
 Potto 
 
 Buckle 
 
 Catoom 
 
 Bud 
 
 Aba-bang 
 
 Bug 
 
 Impaboa 
 
 Bugle 
 
 Aben 
 
 Bull 
 
 Nanche 
 
 Bullet 
 
 3 
 
 Coorabo 
 
374 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 To Burn 
 
 A hew 
 
 Burning 
 
 Dehew 
 
 Burnt 
 
 Aweh ahew 
 
 To Borrow 
 
 Otoom 
 
 To Burst 
 
 Paee 
 
 Bush 
 
 Ahaban 
 
 Bastard 
 
 Peteh 
 
 Busy 
 
 Edguma 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Coombuch 
 
 Butter 
 
 Bootree 
 
 Butterfly 
 
 Fafranta 
 
 To Buy 
 
 Toll 
 
 Cabbage 
 
 Fang 
 
 Cabin 
 
 Peim 
 
 Cable 
 
 Sickahooma 
 
 Cockle 
 
 Acoco 
 
 Calamity 
 
 Adeebonoo 
 
 Calf 
 
 Nanche ba 
 
 To Call 
 
 Fren 
 
 Cavalry 
 
 Ponko do 
 
 Camp 
 
 Insirem 
 
 Can (to be 
 
 Inehe 
 
 able) 
 
 Canary (a 
 
 Akiem 
 
 bird) 
 
 Candle 
 
 Candee 
 
 Cannibal 
 
 Deinepa foo 
 
 Canoe 
 
 Hiemba 
 
 Cant 
 
 Dada 
 
 Cape 
 
 Ippo 
 
 To Caper 
 
 Ayeahoom 
 
 Care 
 
 Whasam 
 
 Careless 
 
 Em whasam 
 
 To Caress 
 
 Dina asseh 
 
 To Carry 
 
 Osoo 
 
 To Catch 
 
 Keerine 
 
 Chair 
 
 Egwah 
 
 Chalk 
 
 Heero 
 
 Chamber 
 
 Peeum 
 
 To Chatter 
 
 Cassa-dodo 
 
 Cheap 
 
 Ohe-foo 
 
 To Cheat 
 
 Imeem 
 
 Cheese 
 
 Keesoo 
 
 To Cherup 
 
 Cassa do anima 
 
 Chest 
 
 Alaka 
 
 To Chew 
 
 Tresa 
 
 Child 
 
 Ba fra 
 
 Chill (cold) 
 
 Awoa 
 
 Chin 
 
 Abogee 
 
 To Chip 
 
 Chiveh 
 
 To Chop 
 
 Chiveh 
 
 Clay 
 
 Dottee 
 
 Clean 
 
 Epee 
 
 Clear 
 
 Ghen 
 
 Cloth 
 
 Tam 
 
 Cloud 
 
 Ahominee 
 
 Coach 
 
 Wheeleh 
 
 Cobweb 
 
 Ananseewheh 
 
 Cold 
 
 Awoa 
 
 Cholic 
 
 Ayeo 
 
 To Come 
 
 Bah 
 
 To Command Awhedoo 
 
 Common 
 
 Inoompa 
 
 Concern (in- 
 
 Consar 
 
 terest) 
 
 Constant 
 
 Indeh ena ma 
 
 Cool 
 
 Wagweh 
 
 Cork 
 
 Cakoo 
 
 Corpse 
 
 Effoo 
 
 Correct 
 
 Ampa 
 
 (right) 
 
 Cost (price) 
 
 Deng 
 
 Costly 
 
 Dendodo 
 
 Cotton 
 
 Assaba 
 
 Covey 
 
 Animamba 
 
 Cough 
 
 Owa 
 
 To Count 
 
 Ka 
 
 Country 
 
 Kroom 
 
 Couple 
 
 Ehbien 
 
 Courage 
 
 Eyeging 
 
 Coarse 
 
 Inehfen 
 
 Coward 
 
 Hoofoo 
 
 Cousin 
 
 Trofa 
 
 Crack 
 
 Bom 
 
 To Crack 
 
 Abom 
 
 Cradle 
 
 Ba-impadoo 
 
 Crafty 
 
 Nineato 
 
 Crag 
 
 Boba kesse 
 
 Cramp 
 
 Ananse kitem 
 
 Crane (a bird) Anantingtmg 
 
 To Crawl 
 
 Panoofoo 
 
 Crazy 
 
 Abodam 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE 
 
 37 5 
 
 Creek 
 
 Oka 
 
 Crier 
 
 Bodehfoo 
 
 Clime 
 
 Edoo bony 
 
 Crocodile 
 
 Denkiem 
 
 To Cross 
 
 Betroo 
 
 To Crow 
 
 Orobong 
 
 Crowd 
 
 Inipapee 
 
 To Cry 
 
 Desoo 
 
 Cudgel 
 
 Epoonah 
 
 Cunning 
 
 Aboo 
 
 Curse 
 
 Oyea 
 
 Custom 
 
 Mene vvayeh 
 
 Cut 
 
 Chweh 
 
 Cutlass 
 
 Ofoonah 
 
 Dam 
 
 Nee 
 
 Damp 
 
 Wafo 
 
 Danger 
 
 Nookoo 
 
 To Dare 
 
 Doh 
 
 Dark (adi.) 
 
 Esoorn 
 
 Dart 
 
 Ipma 
 
 To Dash 
 
 A pittee 
 
 To Daunt 
 
 Surro 
 
 Dawn 
 
 Ahanamakee 
 
 Day-light 
 
 Adakee 
 
 Dead 
 
 Waoo 
 
 Deaf 
 
 Chache 
 
 Deals 
 
 Tab oh 
 
 Dear 
 
 Oyadee 
 
 Debt 
 
 Ka 
 
 Debtor 
 
 Demeka 
 
 Deceit 
 
 Dada 
 
 To Decoy 
 
 Dada 
 
 Deep 
 
 Ehdoh 
 
 To Defame 
 
 Geen bonee 
 
 To Defeat 
 
 Eho-dom 
 
 To Deform 
 
 Moopon 
 
 To Defraud 
 
 Chew-champa 
 
 Delirius 
 
 Erey bosum 
 
 Deluge 
 
 Insue bocrom 
 
 Demon 
 
 Aboinsam 
 
 Den 
 
 Boo 
 
 To Despise 
 
 Kelloo 
 
 To Destroy 
 
 Boboon 
 
 To Detain 
 
 Jinakoo 
 
 Devil 
 
 Oboinsam 
 
 Dew 
 
 Hoowehsoo 
 
 To Dine 
 
 De-deh 
 
 To Dip 
 
 Toom 
 
 Dishonest 
 
 Eweu 
 
 To Distract 
 
 Assudee 
 
 To Divert 
 
 Cogor 
 
 Dizzy 
 
 Chebon 
 
 To Do 
 
 Eeh 
 
 Dog 
 
 Bodam 
 
 Done 
 
 Wayewae 
 
 Doom 
 
 Adoom 
 
 Door 
 
 Abo 
 
 Double 
 
 Ehbein 
 
 Dove 
 
 Abro anima 
 
 To throw 
 
 Tooa 
 
 down 
 
 
 Dragoon 
 
 Ponko inepa 
 
 Dread 
 
 Surro dodo 
 
 Dream 
 
 Sooda 
 
 To Dress 
 
 Headee 
 
 To Drill 
 
 Bo-tooclea 
 
 To Drink 
 
 Noom 
 
 Droll 
 
 Brebee 
 
 Drum 
 
 Tenteh 
 
 Drunk 
 
 Abooa insa 
 
 Dry 
 
 Wawoo 
 
 Dumb 
 
 Emoom 
 
 Dung 
 
 Eben 
 
 Dusk 
 
 Adeh 
 
 Duty 
 
 Amea 
 
 Dwarf 
 
 Toompon 
 
 Dysentery 
 
 Eemeetoo 
 
 Each 
 
 Eheen 
 
 Eagle 
 
 Sansaw 
 
 Ear 
 
 Asoo 
 
 Earnest 
 
 Am pa 
 
 Earthy 
 
 Offam 
 
 Ear-wax 
 
 Asooimbou 
 
 Easy 
 
 Ioominee 
 
 To Eat 
 
 De 
 
 Eaten (part.) 
 
 De wassa 
 
 Ebb 
 
 Watchwey 
 
 Eclipse 
 
 Effroe-perro 
 
 Effeminate 
 
 Issehbeesea 
 
 Eldest 
 
 Paneen 
 
 Elephant 
 
 Esoon 
 
 Empty 
 
 Be eneem 
 
.376 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 End 
 
 Nanoo 
 
 Equal 
 
 Isseh 
 
 To Err 
 
 Ade bonee 
 
 To Escape 
 
 Guen 
 
 Even 
 
 Isseh 
 
 Every 
 
 Eena 
 
 Ewe 
 
 Gwenbirra 
 
 Eye 
 
 Ineweh 
 
 Eye-brow 
 
 Intow 
 
 Face 
 
 Neem 
 
 To Fade 
 
 Odohen 
 
 To Faint 
 
 Gwecotchoom 
 
 Fair 
 
 Ayeafew 
 
 Fairy 
 
 Bosoom 
 
 Fan 
 
 Ahweteh 
 
 Fang 
 
 Aseeting-ting 
 
 Far 
 
 Ewa 
 
 To Fasten 
 
 Keker 
 
 Fast 
 
 Intern 
 
 Fashion 
 
 Foofroo 
 
 Fat 
 
 Kessey 
 
 Father 
 
 Aga or Me- 
 jah 
 
 Fathom 
 
 Abasam 
 
 Fatigue • 
 
 Afra 
 
 Fawn 
 
 Chwem-ba 
 
 Fearless 
 
 Insurro 
 
 To Feast 
 
 Orotopon 
 
 Feather 
 
 Tickea 
 
 To Feed 
 
 Mamoo 
 
 Feeble 
 
 Inframa 
 
 To Feel 
 
 Kawhe 
 
 Feet 
 
 Wansa 
 
 To Feign 
 
 Dada 
 
 To Fell 
 
 Faheim 
 
 Female 
 
 Basea 
 
 To Ferment 
 
 Chool 
 
 To Fester 
 
 Badee 
 
 Few 
 
 Koomawa 
 
 Fiddle 
 
 Sankoo 
 
 Fiddler 
 
 Sankoofoo 
 
 Field 
 
 Afoom 
 
 Fife 
 
 Aben 
 
 To Fight 
 
 Ekoo 
 
 To Fill 
 
 Heanama 
 
 Filth 
 
 Eatan 
 
 Filthy 
 
 Eatan dodo 
 
 Fin 
 
 Nifimfim 
 
 To Find 
 
 Ahoon 
 
 Fine 
 
 Aeafeh 
 
 Finger 
 
 Satteaba 
 
 Fire 
 
 Geah 
 
 Fire-stick 
 
 Gcahba 
 
 Firm 
 
 Eadeu 
 
 Fish 
 
 Po-inam 
 
 Fish-hook 
 
 Incoaba 
 
 Fishing 
 
 Teeinam 
 
 Fist 
 
 Insa 
 
 Fit 
 
 Weyhee 
 
 To Fix 
 
 Keepeea 
 
 Flavour 
 
 Oeadeh 
 
 To Fledge 
 
 Tiklea-ba 
 
 Fleece (wool) Guen wohee 
 
 Flesh 
 
 Inam 
 
 Flint 
 
 Aehurabo 
 
 To Flirt 
 
 Ateainsu 
 
 To Float 
 
 Eadoo cu 
 
 Flock 
 
 Tantera 
 
 To Fly 
 
 Too 
 
 Fly 
 
 Wansama 
 
 Foal 
 
 Ponko ba 
 
 Foam 
 
 Ahooloo 
 
 Folk 
 
 Foo 
 
 Folly 
 
 Oabodam 
 
 Fool 
 
 Quasea 
 
 Foot 
 
 Nansa 
 
 To Forbear 
 
 Gey 
 
 To Forbid 
 
 Geh 
 
 Force 
 
 Eaden 
 
 Food 
 
 Eedooban 
 
 Foremost 
 
 Incan 
 
 To Forget 
 
 Rofee 
 
 Fork 
 
 Faca 
 
 Form 
 
 Yea 
 
 To Fortify 
 
 Sinee den 
 
 Fortune-tel- 
 
 Soomanfoo 
 
 ler 
 
 
 Foul 
 
 Effee 
 
 Found (part.) 
 
 Ehoon 
 
 Fox 
 
 Osso 
 
 Fowl 
 
 Acocko 
 
 To Free 
 
 Menomedeh 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE, 
 
 377 
 
 Fresh 
 
 Amoon 
 
 To Fret 
 
 Osooroo 
 
 Frog 
 
 Achweye 
 
 Fruit 
 
 Adooeh ba 
 
 To Fry 
 
 Keoo 
 
 Fnll 
 
 Ima 
 
 Fun 
 
 Ego 
 
 Fy (interj.) 
 
 Capeneemfoo 
 
 To Gallop 
 
 Guen 
 
 Garden 
 
 Tooroom 
 
 Gay 
 
 Oyea serroo 
 
 Ghost 
 
 Saman 
 
 To Give 
 
 Mam 
 
 Gloss 
 
 Effee 
 
 To Glut 
 
 Meen 
 
 Glutton 
 
 Dedehfoo 
 
 To Gnaw 
 
 Weesa 
 
 Goat 
 
 Abreekee 
 
 To Go 
 
 Caw 
 
 I am going 
 
 Me caw 
 
 Gold 
 
 Sicca 
 
 Good 
 
 Owyea 
 
 Gore (blood) 
 
 Bogea 
 
 Gourd 
 
 Apakee 
 
 Grain 
 
 Efooeh 
 
 Grand 
 
 Baramponye 
 
 Grape 
 
 Assecrama 
 
 To Grasp 
 
 Soonoom 
 
 Grass 
 
 Ahaween 
 
 Gravel 
 
 Mosea 
 
 Grave (adj.) 
 
 Inda 
 
 Great 
 
 Osso 
 
 Green 
 
 Boyouma 
 
 Grief 
 
 Mobor 
 
 To Grind 
 
 Eemaoo 
 
 To Groan 
 
 Apeenee 
 
 Ground 
 
 Dade 
 
 (earth) 
 To Guess 
 
 Guinee 
 
 Guilty 
 
 Obanoyea 
 
 Gum 
 
 Ehea 
 
 Gun 
 
 Atoo 
 
 Gunpowder 
 
 Atoodoor 
 
 Gun-stock 
 
 Atoo-edooeh 
 
 Gut 
 
 Ninsoon 
 
 Gutter 
 
 Woraba 
 
 To Guzzle 
 
 Noomintem 
 
 Ham 
 
 Pleako inum 
 
 Hamper 
 
 Kinking 
 
 Fland 
 
 Insa 
 
 Handsome 
 
 Aoyeafoo 
 
 To Hang 
 
 San 
 
 Hard 
 
 Ayeaden 
 
 Haft 
 
 Offa 
 
 Harp 
 
 Sankoo 
 
 Harpoon 
 
 Cola 
 
 Hat 
 
 Cheavvoo 
 
 Hatchet 
 
 Icoomeh 
 
 Hawk 
 
 Sansa 
 
 Heap 
 
 Booanoo 
 
 Head 
 
 Echee 
 
 Heart 
 
 Coomba 
 
 Heat 
 
 Eahew 
 
 Heavy 
 
 Aea-doo 
 
 Heal 
 
 Nantee 
 
 Heir 
 
 Achewa 
 
 To Help 
 
 Soomo 
 
 Hem (interj.) Paineh 
 
 Herbs 
 
 Idooloo 
 
 Here 
 
 Heh 
 
 Herring 
 
 Imman 
 
 To Hew 
 
 Oguan 
 
 Hidden 
 
 Issima 
 
 (part.) 
 To Hide 
 
 Dooma 
 
 High 
 
 Awoa 
 
 Hip 
 
 Junkoo 
 
 To Hit 
 
 Bon 
 
 Hoarse 
 
 Ideeafea 
 
 Hoe 
 
 Asso 
 
 Hog 
 
 Pleako 
 
 To Hoist 
 
 Chwee 
 
 To Hold 
 
 Sum 
 
 To Hold fast 
 
 Sumaedeem 
 
 Hole 
 
 Tooklea 
 
 Hollow 
 
 Toowooum 
 
 Home 
 
 Feab 
 
 Honest 
 
 Imbaba 
 
 Horse 
 
 Ponko 
 
 Horseback 
 
 Ponko surro 
 
 House 
 
 Odan 
 
 How 
 
 Ayeaindeh 
 
378 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 To Hoax 
 
 Dada 
 
 Hump 
 
 Afoo 
 
 Hung (part.) 
 
 Sen 
 
 Hunger 
 
 Ocom 
 
 To Hunt 
 
 Ayeaheh 
 
 To Hurt 
 
 Peera 
 
 Husband 
 
 Ukoonoo 
 
 Husk 
 
 Ehoon 
 
 Hussy 
 
 Ejueman 
 
 I 
 
 Mea 
 
 Idle 
 
 Nehehfoo 
 
 Idiot 
 
 Abodamfoo 
 
 Idol 
 
 Bosumboa 
 
 111 (sick) 
 
 Eereh 
 
 In (prep.) 
 
 Wooum 
 
 Ink 
 
 Ninke 
 
 Ink-stand 
 
 Ninke ade 
 
 Inside 
 
 Noomo 
 
 To Insist 
 
 Ocantem 
 
 Instant 
 
 Intern 
 
 To Insult 
 
 Beafoo 
 
 Itch 
 
 Yeaheen 
 
 Ivory 
 
 Ossoomeh 
 
 Jam (a pre- 
 
 Mean 
 
 serve) 
 
 Jealous 
 
 Coorafoo 
 
 Joy 
 
 Go 
 
 Jump 
 
 Too 
 
 Key 
 
 Saphee 
 
 To Kick 
 
 Intea 
 
 King 
 
 Ossey 
 
 Kitten 
 
 Ginumba 
 
 To Kneel 
 
 Kootoo 
 
 Knife 
 
 Sikan 
 
 To Knit 
 
 Boboa 
 
 Knot 
 
 Bopo 
 
 To Know 
 
 Neim 
 
 Labour 
 
 Ajuma 
 
 Lady 
 
 Oheamba 
 
 Ladle 
 
 Kancora 
 
 Ladder 
 
 Achweree 
 
 Land 
 
 Mewoo 
 
 Landing 
 
 Badadee 
 
 Lane 
 
 Branoo 
 
 Language 
 
 Cassa 
 
 Lap 
 
 Sirra 
 
 Large 
 
 Osso 
 
 To Last 
 
 Akillee 
 
 To Laugh 
 
 Seeree 
 
 To Lay 
 
 Toa 
 
 To Lead 
 
 Soomini 
 
 Leaf 
 
 Hawan 
 
 To Leap 
 
 Hooloo 
 
 To Learn 
 
 Keera 
 
 Leather 
 
 Aooma 
 
 To Leave 
 
 Caw 
 
 Leg 
 
 Nantoo 
 
 Leopard 
 
 Gehean 
 
 Less 
 
 Issueh 
 
 To Let 
 
 Ma 
 
 Lick 
 
 Laffee 
 
 Lid 
 
 Ibroowado 
 
 Lie (false- 
 
 Chapo or En 
 
 hood) 
 
 chapo 
 
 Life 
 
 Necan 
 
 Light (not 
 
 Oghe 
 
 heavy) 
 
 Light (of the Eaheh 
 
 day) 
 
 Like (adj.) 
 
 Seh 
 
 Limb 
 
 Nan 
 
 Lime 
 
 Kado 
 
 Line 
 
 Ahama 
 
 Lion 
 
 Getteh 
 
 Litter 
 
 Apacka 
 
 To Load 
 
 Apooa 
 
 Loaf 
 
 Odokanoo 
 
 To Lock 
 
 Toom 
 
 Long 
 
 Tintin 
 
 To Look 
 
 Wheh 
 
 To Loosen 
 
 Sang 
 
 Loss 
 
 Aegou 
 
 To Love 
 
 Peh 
 
 Lover 
 
 Penoo 
 
 Love-sick 
 
 Penooerey 
 
 Louse 
 
 Igwee 
 
 Low 
 
 Itea 
 
 Lynx 
 
 Jehean cang 
 
 Mad 
 
 cang 
 
 Abodam or 
 
 Madam 
 
 Aberdam 
 
 Eooraba 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE. 379 
 
 Male 
 
 Banin 
 
 Man 
 
 Banin 
 
 Many 
 
 Pee 
 
 Market 
 
 Guem 
 
 Marrow 
 
 Efeen 
 
 Master 
 
 Eoora or 
 Youra 
 
 Mat 
 
 Impa 
 
 To Measure 
 
 Soosoo 
 
 Meat 
 
 Enum 
 
 To Melt 
 
 Nan 
 
 Memory 
 
 Guin 
 
 To Meet 
 
 Heean 
 
 Midnight 
 
 Isooum 
 
 Mine (pron.) 
 
 Me-dea 
 
 Milk 
 
 Noofooinsu 
 
 To Miss 
 
 Foor 
 
 Misty 
 
 Fooeh waheh 
 
 Moon 
 
 Abosoom 
 
 Moose deer 
 
 Oehwee 
 
 Morning 
 
 Nopa 
 
 Morsel 
 
 Coomabee 
 
 Mother 
 
 Mina or 
 Minna 
 
 To Mourn 
 
 Eamobor 
 
 Mouse 
 
 Quaque 
 
 Mouth 
 
 Noom 
 
 Nail 
 
 Plego 
 
 Name 
 
 Ideh 
 
 Narrow 
 
 Eatea 
 
 Nation 
 
 Foo eena 
 
 Nature 
 
 Eadyeena 
 
 Neck 
 
 Okong 
 
 Negro 
 
 Bibinee 
 
 Nest 
 
 Boo 
 
 Net 
 
 Eboa 
 
 Never 
 
 Debeda 
 
 New 
 
 Foofulo 
 
 News 
 
 Assim 
 
 Next 
 
 Akeer 
 
 Nimble 
 
 Guen 
 
 To Nibble 
 
 De ca 
 
 Nice 
 
 Ayeafeh 
 
 To Nick 
 
 Che cooplemo 
 
 Night 
 
 Adea-sa 
 
 To Nip 
 
 Chen 
 
 Nipple 
 
 Noofoo 
 
 No 
 
 Dcbe or Dabi 
 
 Nod 
 
 Boacheadee 
 
 None 
 
 Beeine 
 
 Nose 
 
 Owheen 
 
 Nostril 
 
 Tooclea ow- 
 heen 
 
 Nothing 
 
 Ebreebee 
 
 Now 
 
 Impre 
 
 Nurse 
 
 Bafeafoo 
 
 Nut 
 
 Adoogee 
 
 Nut-tree 
 
 Doeh 
 
 Oar 
 
 Atabon 
 
 Oakum 
 
 Paha 
 
 To Offend 
 
 Boofoo 
 
 To Offer 
 
 Deema 
 
 Officer 
 
 Ossafoohen 
 
 Oil 
 
 Ingoo 
 
 Old 
 
 Dada 
 
 Old-fash- 
 
 ioned 
 
 Incodade 
 
 One 
 
 Ecor 
 
 Open 
 
 Boey 
 
 Ordeal 
 
 Noomadoom 
 
 Otter 
 
 Insu bodam 
 
 Over 
 
 Todo 
 
 Out 
 
 Epooeh 
 
 Owe 
 
 Dee 
 
 To Own 
 
 Ara 
 
 Ox 
 
 Nanche 
 
 Oyster 
 
 Adontee 
 
 Paid (part.) 
 
 Twehca 
 
 Pain 
 
 Yeh 
 
 Paint 
 
 Kahooey doo- 
 loo 
 
 Pair 
 
 Eben 
 
 Palm-tree 
 
 Abeh 
 
 To Paint 
 
 Ahoom 
 
 Paper 
 
 Krata 
 
 To Pardon 
 
 Keaoo 
 
 To Pass 
 
 Whee 
 
 Passion 
 
 Bahfoo 
 
 To Pay 
 
 Tueca 
 
 Pea 
 
 Edooeh brafoo 
 
 Pepper 
 
 Moko 
 
 Physic 
 
 Adooloo 
 
380 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 To Pick 
 
 Wafeh 
 
 Piece (of 
 cloth) 
 
 Opoo tam 
 
 Price 
 
 Iohee 
 
 Pin 
 
 Pausa-ba 
 
 To Pinch 
 
 Tee 
 
 Pipe 
 
 Abooeh 
 
 Pistol 
 
 Mostruroa 
 
 Pity 
 
 Eamobo 
 
 Place 
 
 Aheh 
 
 Plague 
 
 Freh 
 
 Plaster 
 
 Danahoo 
 
 To Play 
 
 Gooroo 
 
 Play-fellow 
 
 Go ankopa 
 
 To Please 
 
 Baiemone 
 
 Plenty 
 
 Pee 
 
 To Pluck 
 
 Tootoo 
 
 Pod 
 
 Edooeh ting 
 
 Point 
 
 Keereh 
 
 Poison 
 
 Toonadoo 
 
 Pole 
 
 Dooeh tintin 
 
 Poor 
 
 Ohea 
 
 Pot 
 
 Coora ba 
 
 Powerful 
 
 Toomoeh 
 
 To Prepare 
 
 Sesheindeam 
 
 - 
 
 ba 
 
 To Press 
 
 Mean 
 
 Pretty 
 
 Ayeafew 
 
 To Prick 
 
 Aronoo 
 
 Pride 
 
 Koontompo 
 
 Priest 
 
 Soomanfoo 
 
 Prison 
 
 Wisse inepa 
 
 To Probe 
 
 Hoe toosea 
 
 To Pull 
 
 Chivveh 
 
 To Punish 
 
 Whew 
 
 To Pine 
 
 Abroobeh 
 
 To Putrify 
 
 Ehbon 
 
 Pace 
 
 Tooboo 
 
 Rage 
 
 Booefoo 
 
 Rainbow 
 
 Eakontong 
 
 To Raise 
 
 Madoo 
 
 Rare 
 
 Adepapa 
 
 Rash 
 
 Eeintem 
 
 Rat 
 
 Eerudiere 
 
 Raving 
 
 Inkassah ereh 
 
 Raw ■ 
 
 A moon 
 
 Ray 
 
 Awhiwhejeh 
 
 To Reach 
 
 Ca 
 
 To Read 
 
 Wheam aoo- 
 ma 
 
 Reading 
 
 Whea aoorna 
 um 
 
 Ready 
 
 Crara 
 
 To Recollect Inea woofra 
 
 Red 
 
 Memin 
 
 To Reeve 
 
 Faheim 
 
 To Refuse 
 
 Impeh 
 
 To Refresh 
 
 Aeamedeen 
 
 To Remove 
 
 Facaw 
 
 To Repay 
 
 Too aca 
 
 To Rest 
 
 Da 
 
 To Restore 
 
 Metoo ouka 
 
 To Return 
 
 Bah 
 
 Rich 
 
 Sicca do 
 
 To Ride 
 
 Co ponko 
 
 Right 
 
 Waea 
 
 To Roast 
 
 Tootoo 
 
 To Rob 
 
 Keanoo 
 
 Robber 
 
 Keanoofoo 
 
 Roll 
 
 Boobo 
 
 Rogue 
 
 Koncoin sine 
 
 Round 
 
 Domaroo 
 
 To Romp 
 
 Goora 
 
 Roof 
 
 Impoonah 
 
 Roost 
 
 Accoko da 
 
 Root 
 
 Nittoo 
 
 Rope 
 
 Tampe 
 
 To Rot 
 
 Eapro 
 
 To Rub 
 
 Guitta 
 
 Rough 
 To Run 
 
 Eh wee 
 
 Twemlica 
 
 To Rust . 
 
 Dunkandel 
 
 Saddle 
 
 Ponko gweh 
 
 Sail 
 
 Embrada 
 
 Salt 
 
 Inkeen 
 
 Sand 
 
 A whea 
 
 Sap 
 
 Idooehinsu 
 
 Savage 
 
 Woogeh 
 
 Sauce 
 
 Apehsee 
 
 Sauce-pan 
 
 Dadicey 
 
 To Save 
 
 Faseeh 
 
 To Say 
 
 Sell 
 
THE FANTEE LANGUAGE. 
 
 381 
 
 Scent 
 
 Eh ween 
 
 Scissars 
 
 Appassoo 
 
 Scratch 
 
 Cheche 
 
 Screech 
 
 Keekam 
 
 To Screw 
 
 Faheiin 
 
 Seal 
 
 Bobo 
 
 Sea 
 
 Apoo 
 
 Sea gull 
 
 Apoo anima 
 
 Sea side 
 
 Apo anoo 
 
 Sea water 
 
 Apo insu 
 
 Second 
 
 Ehekeuy 
 
 Secure 
 
 Keekrea 
 
 Seed 
 
 Effou 
 
 To See 
 
 Wheh 
 
 Stem (stalk) 
 
 Gineh 
 
 To Seize 
 
 Sonimoo 
 
 To Sell 
 
 Tou 
 
 To Send 
 
 Minabah 
 
 Sense 
 
 Yeinsa 
 
 To Set 
 
 Tah 
 
 Sing 
 
 Togooum 
 
 Shadow 
 
 Soonsoom 
 
 To Shake 
 
 Pepeim 
 
 Shallow 
 
 Idoh 
 
 Share 
 
 Ekeh 
 
 Sharp 
 
 Aeindam 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Gueng 
 
 Shell 
 
 Awooraba 
 
 Shirt 
 
 Camesa 
 
 Ship or vessel Ohen 
 
 Shoe 
 
 Sapatro 
 
 Shot 
 
 Atootroo 
 
 To Shove 
 
 Peanoohoo 
 
 To Show 
 
 Keera 
 
 Shout 
 
 Seam dodo 
 
 Shower 
 
 Insu doto 
 
 To Shun 
 
 Cowheenta 
 
 To Shut 
 
 Boodoh 
 
 Sick 
 
 Eirey 
 
 To Sigh 
 
 Hoomeh tin 
 
 Silk 
 
 Silke 
 
 Silly 
 
 Quasia 
 
 Silver 
 
 jueteh 
 
 Single 
 
 Ecor 
 
 To Sink 
 
 Asseywoo 
 
 To Sip 
 
 Fee 
 
 Sister 
 
 Keraba 
 
 To Set 
 
 Tinna 
 
 Sex 
 
 Issea 
 
 Skin 
 
 Aooma 
 
 To Skip 
 
 Holoo 
 
 Sky 
 
 Ehoomanee 
 
 To Slack 
 
 Goom 
 
 Sleek 
 
 Deotro 
 
 Sleep 
 
 Dah 
 
 To Sleep 
 
 Adah 
 
 Slice 
 
 Chivveh 
 
 To Slide 
 
 Tirado 
 
 Slain 
 
 Afon 
 
 To Sling 
 
 Ehooma 
 
 To Slink 
 
 Nineato 
 
 To Slip 
 
 Tirado 
 
 To Slit 
 
 Wate 
 
 Sloth 
 
 Afoonah 
 
 Sloven 
 
 Ayefee 
 
 Slough 
 
 Ahoon 
 
 Slow 
 
 Guininee 
 
 Sluice 
 
 Aurado 
 
 Sly 
 
 Konkoinsin 
 
 Smack 
 
 Boenim 
 
 Small 
 
 Koomba 
 
 Smart 
 
 Aeinteen 
 
 Smell 
 
 Wehhooa 
 
 To Smear 
 
 Sarrade 
 
 Smile 
 
 Ledee 
 
 Smoke 
 
 Weeseeroo 
 
 Smoky 
 
 Wesee dodo 
 
 Smooth 
 
 Oatsroo 
 
 To Smother 
 
 Meanan 
 
 To Smuggle 
 
 : Ahoouta ode- 
 egweh 
 
 Snail 
 
 Soon sum 
 
 To Snap 
 
 Apim 
 
 Snare 
 
 Afillee 
 
 To Sneeze 
 
 Hintee 
 
 To Snore 
 
 Incorum 
 
 Snot 
 
 Hewindol 
 
 Snout 
 
 Awheen 
 
 Snuff 
 
 Assira 
 
 Snug 
 
 Mauguaho 
 
 So 
 
 Jeh ayea 
 
 To Soak 
 
 Insu madon 
 
382 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF 
 
 Soap 
 
 Simina 
 
 To Sob 
 
 Kontoo 
 
 Sober 
 
 Inoom insa be 
 
 Softly 
 
 Jervenee 
 
 Soil 
 
 Dotty 
 
 Sold (part.) 
 
 Tou 
 
 Sole (of the 
 foot) 
 
 Nansa 
 
 Some 
 
 Be 
 
 Son 
 
 Badbaning 
 
 Song 
 
 Ehjeum 
 
 Sometimes 
 
 Dabee 
 
 Soon 
 
 Akookama 
 
 Sorceress 
 
 Aboinsam 
 
 Sore 
 
 Ekooroo 
 
 Sorry 
 
 Emobo 
 
 To Sort 
 
 Ittedeh 
 
 Sot 
 
 Aboa insa foo 
 
 Sound 
 
 Eke-kum 
 
 Soup 
 
 Inguen 
 
 Sour 
 
 Oyeaween 
 
 Sow 
 
 Prako-bree 
 
 Span 
 
 Tro-insa 
 
 Sparrow 
 
 Cossa-anima 
 
 To Speak 
 
 Kassa 
 
 Spear 
 
 Kamah 
 
 Spider 
 
 Anauseh 
 
 To Spin 
 
 Orotoo 
 
 To Split 
 
 Paeym 
 
 To Spoil 
 
 Sekeao 
 
 Spoken 
 
 Kassa 
 
 Spoon 
 
 Ateeree 
 
 Spoonful 
 
 Ateereema 
 
 Sport 
 
 Goora 
 
 Spot 
 
 Tookou 
 
 To Spread 
 
 Otira 
 
 To Spring 
 
 Petey 
 
 To Sprout 
 
 Pampaye 
 
 Squabble 
 
 Eadede 
 
 Square 
 
 Watin 
 
 To Squeeze 
 
 Mea 
 
 To Squint 
 
 Incachou 
 
 Squirrel 
 
 Apateebe 
 
 Stage 
 
 Adan 
 
 To Stagger 
 
 Coffafa 
 
 To Stain 
 
 Waeberrahoo 
 
 Stairs 
 
 Achwerreh 
 
 Stake 
 
 Dooeh myseh 
 dadee 
 
 To Stand 
 
 Gina 
 
 To Stare 
 
 Whe dodo 
 
 To Stay 
 
 Tineh 
 
 Steam 
 
 Insu piem 
 
 To Steal 
 
 Wea 
 
 Stench 
 
 Ebon emoo 
 
 Step 
 
 Toonau 
 
 Stick 
 
 Ipima 
 
 To Stifle 
 
 Mooeh hoom- 
 eh 
 
 Still 
 
 Conee 
 
 To Stir 
 
 Nooum 
 
 Stomach 
 
 Efoo 
 
 Stone 
 
 Oboh 
 
 Stood (past.) Aginel 
 
 Stool 
 
 Geweh 
 
 To Stoop 
 
 Cotoh 
 
 To Stop 
 
 Ginah 
 
 Story 
 
 Assim 
 
 Stout 
 
 Bland 
 
 Straight (adj. 
 
 ) Ehtinee 
 
 Strait 
 
 Isua 
 
 Stranger 
 
 Hooahos 
 
 Straw 
 
 Adobeh haw 
 een 
 
 Softness 
 
 Melloh 
 
 Street 
 
 Bronoo 
 
 To Stretch 
 
 Hooaden 
 
 To Strew 
 
 Googoo 
 
 To Stride 
 
 Trah 
 
 To Strike 
 
 Bonoo 
 
 String 
 
 Hama 
 
 To Strip 
 
 Pawootam 
 
 To Struggle 
 
 Pehel 
 
 To Strut 
 
 Cherea koon- 
 tan 
 
 Sugar 
 
 Sicaree 
 
 Sultry 
 
 Eohew 
 
 Sun 
 
 Ehwhea 
 
 Sunday 
 
 Quassee deli 
 
 Sunshine 
 
 Ehweafee 
 
 To Sup (to 
 drink) 
 
 Noom 
 
fllE FANTEE LANGUAGE, 
 
 383 
 
 Sure 
 
 Ampa 
 
 Surely 
 
 Moonah 
 
 Swallow 
 
 Cankan anima 
 
 Swarm 
 
 Edoosoo 
 
 To Sweat 
 
 Feeferee 
 
 Sweet 
 
 Ehooem 
 
 To Swell 
 
 Walloon 
 
 Swift 
 
 Atoo 
 
 Switch 
 
 Edooehba 
 
 Sword 
 
 Crante 
 
 Table 
 
 Apoon 
 
 Tail 
 
 Edooeh 
 
 To Talk 
 
 Cassa 
 
 To Tally 
 
 Ca 
 
 Tallow 
 
 Serradee 
 
 Taste 
 
 Cawan 
 
 To Teach 
 
 Kina 
 
 To Tear 
 
 Che 
 
 To Tell 
 
 Kakira 
 
 To Terrify 
 
 Insurro dodo 
 
 Terror 
 
 Insurro 
 
 To Thank 
 
 Dawsee 
 
 That 
 
 Ea 
 
 Thatch 
 
 Whebah 
 
 There 
 
 Oaha 
 
 They 
 
 Narra 
 
 Thick 
 
 Oye-doo 
 
 Thief 
 
 Oyewfoo 
 
 Third 
 
 Beeassa 
 
 Thirst 
 
 Insu com 
 
 Thirsty 
 
 Insu comadee 
 
 This 
 
 Ejin 
 
 Think 
 
 Juim 
 
 Those 
 
 Eena 
 
 Thousand 
 
 Apiem 
 
 Thread 
 
 Ahamab 
 
 Three 
 
 Ehbeassa 
 
 To Throw 
 
 Toom 
 
 Throat 
 
 Mein 
 
 Throne 
 
 Abrogwah 
 
 Thunder 
 
 Sinnama 
 
 Thursday 
 
 Abinnadeh 
 
 To Tickle 
 
 Noonoo 
 
 Tide 
 
 Insu pimeh 
 
 To Tie 
 
 Keykera 
 
 Timber 
 
 DooehKesseh 
 
 Tiresome 
 
 Infra neepa 
 
 Toe 
 
 Nausaba 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 Tooa 
 
 Told (part.) 
 
 Kamkera 
 
 Tongue 
 
 Tikuama 
 
 Tooth ache 
 
 Addeeayeome 
 
 Tooth 
 
 Addee 
 
 To Torture 
 
 Apoorben 
 
 To Touch 
 
 Ka 
 
 Town 
 
 Groom 
 
 Trap 
 
 Effileo 
 
 To Tread 
 
 Teeadoo 
 
 Tree 
 
 Edvoeh 
 
 True 
 
 Ampa or 
 Umpah 
 
 Trumpet 
 
 Aben 
 
 To Trust 
 
 Fidim 
 
 To Try 
 
 Sowee 
 
 Tub 
 
 Ecoro ossoo 
 
 Tune 
 
 Eioom 
 
 To Turn 
 
 Dan 
 
 To Twist 
 
 Dahoo 
 
 Vein 
 
 Inteen 
 
 To Vex 
 
 Loefoo 
 
 Villain 
 
 Nipa bon 
 
 Under 
 
 Assee 
 
 Umbrella 
 
 Keeneba 
 
 Unwilling 
 
 Imp eh 
 
 Vow 
 
 Kintam 
 
 Wake 
 
 Inean 
 
 To Walk 
 
 Nantoo 
 
 To Wander 
 
 Nantoo Babee 
 
 Warm 
 
 Ehen 
 
 Waist 
 
 Sickea 
 
 Water 
 
 Insu 
 
 Wave 
 
 Soorakee 
 
 Way 
 
 Ehneh 
 
 Weak 
 
 Booboo 
 
 To Wear 
 
 Hea 
 
 To Weave 
 
 Wenee 
 
 Web 
 
 Tam 
 
 To Weigh 
 
 Kadee 
 
 Weight 
 
 Boo 
 
 Well 
 
 Yea 
 
 Well done 
 
 Ien chea 
 
 Wench 
 
 Bysea abofra 
 
384 A VOCABULARY, &C. 
 
 Whole 
 
 Yeanamoo 
 
 Wheel 
 
 Ewheel 
 
 Whelp 
 
 Bodomba 
 
 Where 
 
 Waheen 
 
 Whip 
 
 Abah 
 
 White 
 
 Foofoo 
 
 Who 
 
 Wana 
 
 Whale 
 
 Aboa insu 
 
 Whore 
 
 Ajuman 
 
 Wide 
 
 Attery 
 
 Window 
 
 Tooclea 
 
 Wife 
 
 Eara 
 
 Wing 
 
 Attaban 
 
 To Wish 
 
 Beeyea 
 
 Woman 
 
 Bysea 
 
 To Work 
 
 Ejuma 
 
 To Write 
 
 Kerra aooma 
 
 Wrong- 
 
 Foomado 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Mimin 
 
 Yes 
 
 Eo 
 
 Yesterday 
 
 Inda 
 
 Young 
 
 Abadima 
 
 Yourself 
 
 Wooarra 
 
 You 
 
 Woa 
 
 IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 1 am going to the 
 ship. 
 
 Where are you go- 
 ing ? _ 
 
 I am going home. 
 
 Go and bring your 
 dog here. 
 
 The horse is com- 
 ing. 
 
 Set it down on the 
 ground. 
 
 Where are all these 
 people going ? 
 
 To-morrow you 
 and I will go to- 
 gether. 
 
 I am very sick; I 
 want some me- 
 dicine. 
 
 I am going to the 
 fort. 
 
 That woman is very 
 handsome. 
 
 I am hungry and 
 want bread to 
 
 eat. 
 
 I am going to Eu- 
 rope to see that 
 -country. 
 
 Me co henum. 
 
 Woo co hene ? 
 
 Me co me feh. 
 
 Co fa woo abodam 
 bra. 
 
 Ponko aba. 
 
 Fah tah hah. 
 
 Ye inipa inna oro 
 co hene ? 
 
 O kinna woo ame 
 beenoo boco. 
 
 Me yem ayeome ; 
 peh edooloo. 
 
 Me co habenum. 
 
 Babosiere aoyea- 
 foo dodo. 
 
 Ocomodem mepeh 
 panoo dee. 
 
 Me co abrikinnie 
 opeh, wheh ha. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 I go ship. 
 
 You go where P 
 
 I go my home. 
 
 Go bring you dog 
 here. 
 
 Horse coming. 
 
 Put it down. 
 
 The people go 
 where ? 
 
 To-morrow you 
 and me both go. 
 
 My stomach pains 
 me; I want me- 
 dicine. 
 
 I go fort. 
 
 That female hand- 
 some very. 
 
 I go white country, 
 to see yonder 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 385 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MATERIA MEDICA. 
 
 I regret that the limits of the present 
 work do not admit of my giving, at full 
 length, a voluminous treatise on the various 
 diseases most prevalent on the Gold Coast, 
 which was expressly written for this public- 
 ation, by my friend, Dr. Reynhaut, physi- 
 cian to the Dutch forces on the coast of 
 Africa, for nearly five years, and who, on 
 my last voyage from Africa, accompanied 
 me to England ; but the following extracts 
 will give the reader some idea of the ex- 
 tent of that gentleman’s labours, and, at 
 the same time, will be so far satisfactory as 
 to the names of the diseases, medicines, 
 animals, minerals, and plants, indigenous to 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 that country ; — for which I take this op- 
 portunity of acknowledging my obligation 
 to him. 
 
 The various Diseases which prevail on the 
 Gold Coast. 
 
 Bilious remittent fever 
 Intermittent fever 
 The small pox 
 The measles 
 
 The large swelling of the 
 scrotum 
 
 Bursarum mucosarum tumo- 
 ris 
 
 Diarrhoea — cum tenesmo et 
 forminibus 
 
 Ulcera pedum pertinacia 
 Glandularum, meseraicarum 
 tumores — paedatrophia 
 Ophthalmia 
 
 Cingeries — bilioso pitui- 
 tosae 
 
 Pleuritis & pneumonia rheu- 
 matica 
 
 Rheumatismus — universalis 
 
 Ascites 
 
 Ectropium 
 
 Hernia 
 
 Lepra 
 
 The land dysentery 
 The nettle rash 
 The malignant ulcer 
 The Elephantiasis 
 The giggers 
 Gordius Medinensis 
 Scabies endemica 
 Strumae 
 
 Herniae umbilicales infan- 
 tum 
 
 Lues venerea localis 
 (Blennorphagia bubo ulcus 
 syphyliticum) 
 
 Anasarca 
 
 Branchosele 
 
 Odontalgia 
 
 Cancer 
 
 Zinia capites 
 
 Hydrocele. 
 
 Medicines commonly used by the Natives. 
 
 Laxantia 
 Amara tonica 
 Diuretica 
 Cephalica 
 
 Medicamentum, specifice ga 
 lsetophosum 
 
 Diapharetica 
 Antidy senterica 
 Aromatica 
 Oxterna mundantica 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 387 
 
 The Animal Species found 
 Coast. 
 
 Equus Caballus 
 Elephas 
 Cervus 
 Apes 
 Simia 
 Leopardus 
 Canis carcharias 
 Cervus pygmaeus 
 The civet cat 
 The badger 
 Canis domesticus 
 Lepus timidus 
 Lacerta leguana 
 Lacerta chamelec 
 
 Lacerta vulgaris 
 Lacerta alligator 
 Species serpentis 
 nigrae 
 Constrictor 
 Serpens viridis 
 The crown bird 
 Numidis meleager 
 (the guinea fowl 
 or pintade) 
 Milvus 
 Hirundo 
 Columba viridis 
 Psittacus erythacus 
 
 The Plants of the 
 
 Bombax herba- 
 ceum 
 
 Nicotiana tabacum 
 Amomum zingeber 
 Rhirooraphmangle 
 Musa paradisiaca 
 Musa sapientum 
 Diascorea satira 
 Convolvulus ba- 
 tattas 
 
 Bombax arbora- 
 ceum 
 
 Psidium pomiferum 
 Carica papaia 
 
 Amomum Grana 
 paradisi 
 
 Amomum zerum- 
 ber 
 
 Mynthus pimenta 
 West India cherries 
 Annona muricata 
 Achras sapota 
 Cucurbita citrullus 
 Limones 
 
 Bromelia annanas 
 Cocos nucifera 
 Tamarindus Indi- 
 ca 
 
 on the Gold 
 
 Psittacus pullarius 
 The India colibri 
 Anas guineensis 
 Yulus silvestris 
 Centipes mordax 
 Scorpio Africanus 
 Tarantula Africana 
 Franca guineensis 
 peculiaris 
 Araneae domestic® 
 Blatta orientalis 
 Formicarum spe- 
 cies divers®. 
 
 Soil 
 
 Arundo sacchari- 
 fera 
 
 Ela'is guineensis 
 
 Borassusflabellifor- 
 
 mis 
 
 Cleominis penta- 
 phylla 
 
 Hibiscus esculen- 
 tus 
 
 Capsicum bacca- 
 tum 
 
 Fructus Elais gm- 
 neensis 
 
 Zea, Maiz 
 
 The weed nut 
 
 C C 2 
 
388 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 The Minerals and fossils. 
 
 Gold 
 
 Iron 
 
 Spathum 
 
 Talcum 
 
 Dendritum 
 
 nicum 
 
 Marmora 
 
 Schictum 
 
 carbo- Lapis calcareus 
 Terra silicea 
 Dendrozinthos 
 
 (^tvSpo^i »0o;). 
 
 Meteorological — The Nature, the Air, and 
 the Weather. 
 
 Thunder storms The fogs and damp The sea wind 
 Tornadoes weather The land wind- 
 
 The rainy season The hot or dry 
 weather 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 389 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 REGARDING THE NIGER AND RIVERS IN THE 
 BIGHTS OF BENIN AND BIAFRA. 
 
 So many theoretical opinions have been 
 hazarded as regards the course and termina- 
 tion of the Niger, that it only remains to 
 be practically decided which of those opi- 
 nions is correct. Some have supposed 
 that this great river is absorbed by sands, 
 others have endeavoured to prove that 
 the Nile and the Niger are one and the 
 same river, and various conjectures have 
 been offered from time to time, which still 
 leave us in the same incertitude upon this 
 interesting subject ; but the clouds which 
 have so long obscured this geographical 
 problem, it is now hoped, will shortly be 
 dissipated. 
 
 cc 3 
 
390 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Among all the hypotheses which have 
 been submitted to the public *, that 
 which has lately been published by Mr. 
 M‘ Queen, carries with it the greatest pro- 
 bability of being correct ; not that I come 
 to this conclusion from the facts so dis- 
 tinctly elucidated by that gentleman, but 
 from various enquiries and observations 
 during my residence in Africa, and parti- 
 cularly in my last visit to that country (be- 
 fore the publication by Mr. M‘ Queen), I 
 gave almost precisely the same opinion 
 upon this subject, and stated it, in writing, 
 to the President of the Royal Society of 
 Edinburgh (Mr. Henry Mackenzie), who 
 did me the honour to read it before that 
 board in April last. I have since seen Mr. 
 M‘ Queen’s publication, and read it with 
 increased satisfaction, from the circum- 
 
 * M. Mollien (to whom we are indebted for determin- 
 ing the sources of the Senegal, Gambia, and Rio Grande,) 
 has laid down the source of the Niger, in his map, nearly 
 two degrees further to the westward than it was hitherto 
 supposed to be. How far this gentleman may be correct 
 in doing so, we must leave to future travellers to deter- 
 mine ; but I have not copied him in my map, as I would 
 not pay so bad a compliment to the diligent researches 
 of the enterprising Park. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 391 
 
 stance of that gentleman’s sentiments being 
 so much in accordance with my own, and 
 the whole of his arguments have tended 
 to confirm the opinion I have long en- 
 tertained; namely, that the Niger ter- 
 minates in the bights of Benin and Biafra. 
 In support of this opinion, Mr. McQueen 
 has so ably arranged the various authorities, 
 both ancient and modern, that little now 
 remains to be said upon the subject. It 
 may be proper, however, to notice two 
 authorities which he quotes in support of 
 this opinion : the first is Gregory of Abys- 
 sinia, who states, that flowing west from 
 the Egyptian Nile, he says pointedly, 
 
 “ descendit enim versus reeionem Elwah? 
 
 © 
 
 et sic illabitur in mare magnum ; viz. 
 Oceanum Occidentalem.” The other is 
 Mr. Robertson, who states, “ that the na- 
 tives on the coast of Benin and Biafra 
 assert, that all the rivers in the Delta come 
 from one great river which descends from the 
 north.” 
 
 Indeed, although it is true that the 
 Moors, whom I have met with at Coomassie 
 and elsewhere, have invariably insisted on 
 c c 4 
 
392 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 there being a communication between the 
 Niger and the Nile, yet the natives on the 
 coast positively state, that the rivers in the 
 bights of Benin and Biafra are branches of 
 the Niger, which they call Insukussey, or 
 Insoohassy , and which, in the Fantee and 
 Ashantee languages, signifies Large Water , 
 or Large River. 
 
 That such was my opinion, I not only 
 stated to Mr. Mackenzie, but also as long 
 since as 1819, I wrote a letter to a gentle- 
 man, to be laid before Lord Bathurst, to 
 the same effect, and suggesting establish- 
 ments on the rivers Volta, Lagos, and 
 Formosa, as well as on the island of 
 Fernando Po, which would command an 
 exclusive and extensive trade with all this 
 part of Africa, and by which our mer- 
 chandise could be transported into the 
 very heart of that country with facility 
 and security. Much credit is due to Mr. 
 M‘ Queen for the able manner in which 
 he has pointed out the advantages which 
 would result from our taking possession of 
 the island of Fernando Po. It is, however, 
 but justice to others to observe, that he was 
 by no means the first to suggest this, as not 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 393 
 
 only myself, but my respected friends, 
 Sir Charles MacCarthy and Mr. Robertson, 
 submitted the same opinion long ago to 
 His Majesty’s government ; and Mr. Ro- 
 bertson, in 1819, arrived on the Gold 
 Coast with three vessels, for the purpose of 
 taking possession of this island, under the 
 sanction of His Majesty’s government ; so 
 that, in fact, this island would long since 
 have been in the possession of a British 
 merchant, had not the captain of one of 
 our sloops of war detained Mr. Robertson’s 
 vessels, with their cargoes, and sent them 
 to Sierra Leone, uitder the following cir- 
 cumstances : 
 
 Mr. Robertson having taken on board 
 his vessels a number of negroes on the 
 windward coast of Africa, for the purpose 
 of colonizing Fernando Po, fell in with 
 the Morgiana at Cape Coast on his way 
 to take possession of that island ; and, in 
 consequence of those negroes expressing 
 some doubt as to where Mr. Robertson 
 was carrying them, the captain of the 
 Morgiana detained the vessels, and sent 
 them to Sierra Leone ; and although they 
 were afterwards liberated, it ruined the 
 
394 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AF11ICA. 
 
 voyage, and, for a time, obliged the aban- 
 donment of the plan. 
 
 Whether the rivers which empty them- 
 selves into the bights of Benin and Biafra 
 are outlets of the Niger or not, they ought 
 at least to be explored, especially as this 
 may be done at so small an expense, and 
 with every prospect of success. It is indeed 
 surprising, with all the anxious curiosity 
 which has so long been manifested re- 
 specting^ the Niger, that these rivers have 
 never attracted the attention of the Af- 
 rican Company, though they are situated 
 only a few days’ sail from our settlements 
 on the Gold Coast. How far this has 
 been owing to the contracted means 
 of the African Committee, or to a want 
 of energy and zeal for the public service 
 among the chief directors of their affairs 
 in Africa *, I will not now stop to enquire ; 
 but certain it is, not one of those rivers 
 has ever been explored by the Company’s 
 
 * The only exploratory missions which have been 
 undertaken by the Company’s servants, were suggested 
 during the government of Mr. Dawson and Mr. Smith, 
 within the last four years. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 395 
 
 servants, although it is well known, from 
 their short distance from our settlements in 
 that quarter, small expeditions for this pur- 
 pose might easily have been fitted out at 
 Cape Coast, where there are not wanting 
 men of enterprising spirit, who would wil- 
 lingly have hazarded their lives in such 
 an undertaking, had they been encouraged 
 to do so. It is therefore to be hoped, as 
 His Majesty’s government have taken the 
 forts from the African Company, that the 
 Governor, who may be appointed at Cape 
 Coast, will be vested with full powers to 
 send exploratory missions up the Volta, 
 Lagos, Formosa, Calabar, and Del Rey ; for 
 even though such undertakings fail in ascer- 
 taining the termination of the Niger, they 
 will not fail in acquiring much valuable and 
 interesting information of the countries on 
 the banks of those rivers. The Rio Del 
 Rey is eight miles broad at its mouth, and 
 is very likely to prove an arm of the Niger, 
 althoughMr. M £ Queen draws a different con- 
 clusion, from the cataracts and rapids which 
 he states this river to be full of ; and hence 
 will arise the greatest difficulties in exploring 
 
396 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 it. The death of Mr. Nichols, who was em- 
 ployed by the African Association to ex- 
 plore it, is to be lamented, as we have no ac- 
 counts of its source, although Mr. M‘ Queen 
 supposes it to be on the south side of the 
 Mount Thala of Ptolemy ; but Mr. Nichols’s 
 reports to the African Association give 
 no account of this, and his information 
 is altogether very unsatisfactory. From 
 frequent conversations upon this subject 
 with Mr. Robertson, (author of notes on 
 Africa), that gentleman appeared to be 
 better acquainted with the Del Rey and the 
 other rivers which flow into the bights of 
 Renin and Riafra, than any person I have 
 ever conversed with, or any author I have 
 read, excepting only Rosman, whose work 
 certainly contains the best account of the 
 Rio Formoso ; it was written by a Dutch 
 Captain (Nyandale) in 1702, who had been 
 twice trading in this river, and is to the 
 following effect : “ That sixty Dutch miles 
 (or two hundred and ten English) above its 
 mouth, ships may be navigated with safety, 
 sailing by hundreds of branches, some of 
 which are so wide that they well deserve 
 the name of rivers ; its length and source, 
 16 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 397 
 
 he adds, he was not able to discover, no 
 Negro being able to give him an exact ac- 
 count of it.” 
 
 Granting, however, that the Formoso 
 may not enable us to get to the Niger, still ‘ 
 a trial, with steam boats, ought to be made 
 to ascertain how far it will take us into the 
 interior ; and then, mooring a vessel well 
 manned and provisioned, at the highest 
 navigable point of the river, small parties 
 could be sent out daily to make incursions, 
 and after becoming in some measure ac- 
 quainted with the natives, and obtain- 
 ing information as to the best means 
 of pursuing the journey, a strong de- 
 tachment, with men of science, might 
 easily be fitted out from the vessel, which 
 should remain moored as already men- 
 tioned ; so that the party, which may be 
 detached, will have an opportunity of com- 
 municating to the commander, from week 
 to week, the success of the undertaking, and 
 hence we should be able to get in England 
 the earliest accounts of their progress. Upon 
 this subject, I agree with Mr. M‘ Queen, that 
 the bights of Benin and Biafra are the 
 most desirable points to set out from to 
 ascertain the course and termination of 
 
398 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 the Niger ; but I cannot agree with him 
 in the whole of what he states in the 
 following extract. “ A very considerable 
 portion of the journey, we know from 
 the best authority, can be travelled by a 
 water conveyance, and the whole distance 
 cannot much exceed 300 miles till the point 
 would be determined. The natives and 
 people on the route are comparatively 
 peaceable, civil, and friendly to Europeans. 
 At Old Calabar different European lan- 
 guages are understood, the English language 
 is spoken, taught, read, and written ; they 
 keep regular mercantile accounts in our 
 language ; hence good guides could be pro- 
 cured, in any other route from the west, 
 from the north, or from the east, into the 
 interior; the path is through dreadful barren 
 deserts, countries wild and rugged, and men 
 fierce and rude, and by their religion, the 
 most inveterate enemies to the Christian 
 name. The distance also by any one of 
 these routes to be travelled before the points 
 alluded to could be decidedly determined, is 
 about 2500 miles ; it is not difficult there- 
 fore to determine the route which should be 
 chosen.” 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 399 
 
 Having thus given as copious an extract 
 from Mr. M‘Queen’s book, as the limits of 
 my own small volume will admit of, and ex- 
 pressed my concurrence in the opinion that 
 the bights of Biafra and Benin are desirable 
 points to set out from, to ascertain the ter- 
 mination of the Niger, it is proper I should 
 explain where I differ from that gentleman, 
 who, not being so well acquainted with 
 Africa in practice, as he appears to be in 
 theory, has fallen into a few slight errors. 
 With these, however, I have nothing to do, 
 unless they happen to come in my way, as 
 one or two of them do in the preceding 
 passage ; in which it is implied, although 
 not expressly stated, that the bights of 
 Benin and Biafra are the only desirable 
 points to set out from, and that to proceed 
 from any other place to ascertain the ter- 
 mination of the Niger, the distance to be 
 travelled would be 2500 miles. Such, at 
 least, is the inference which might be drawn 
 from the extract just quoted, and therefore, 
 though I agree with this gentleman in the 
 main, yet, as he says not one word about 
 the route from Cape Coast through Ashan- 
 tee, it is proper to explain, that in setting 
 
400 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 out from Cape Coast, the distance to the 
 Niger would not exceed 700 miles, nearly 
 200 of which have been travelled by myself, 
 and others; and, with the king of Ashantee’s 
 protection, we know that the greater part 
 of these 700 miles can not only be travelled 
 in almost perfect security, but also that the 
 country, through which we should pass, is 
 abundantly supplied with fresh water and 
 provisions, and the people generally hos- 
 pitable and obliging. Indeed, as the king 
 of Ash an tee, in his last treaty with Great 
 Britain, (Appendix, No. 12.) pledged him- 
 self to march his armies to any part of his 
 dominions, where the interest of His Bri- 
 tannic Majesty might require their assist- 
 ance, it is not unreasonable to suppose that 
 he might be prevailed upon to assist in this 
 undertaking, if a suitable embassy were 
 fitted out for this purpose, accompanied by 
 an escort and such presents * as would be 
 almost certain of securing the respect and 
 confidence, as well as the friendship and as- 
 sistance of the Ashantee monarch. Such an 
 undertaking I conceive very likely to be 
 successful ; and, not calculating any delays 
 
 * Vide page 234. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 401 
 
 upon the journey, the whole distance from 
 Coomassie might be travelled in fifty days, 
 at the rate of fourteen miles a day ; but if 
 we allow twenty days for delays upon the 
 road, the journey would take up nearly ten 
 weeks. 
 
 Mr. M‘ Queen states that ten miles was 
 the utmost which Mr. Bowdich and a small 
 party could make good in the journey from 
 Cape Coast to Coomassie, and seems to 
 think that this is the utmost distance which 
 can be allowed for a day’s constant travel- 
 ling in Africa. In this, however, I must 
 differ from him ; but I agree with Mr. Bow- 
 dich, in thinking that Mungo Park’s five 
 journies through the Ialonka wilderness, 
 were as much as any man could perform in 
 Africa, being nineteen direct or twenty-five 
 road miles each day. I believe I performed 
 as great a distance, on my journey from 
 Coomassie to Cape Coast, but I did not 
 do so without the greatest exertion, having 
 been obliged to travel some days fourteen 
 or fifteen hours, starting as early as five 
 or six o’clock in the morning, and not 
 halting until eight or ten at night, which 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 enabled me to perform the whole jour- 
 ney in six days, and which Jtlie Ashan- 
 tees declared was never done before, either 
 by native or European. Differing, how- 
 ever, as I do with Mr. McQueen, I conceive 
 that fourteen direct miles a day may be 
 travelled in Africa, without any extraor- 
 dinary exertion, as we repeatedly did this 
 on our journey to Coomassie, with upwards 
 of 400 men, who carried up the presents 
 to the king, through a forest, where the 
 path was narrow and crooked, and our 
 progress continually interrupted by large 
 trees being blown down directly across it. 
 
 But to return to the subject of the Niger, 
 we will suppose, for a moment, that the 
 main body of this river does not flow into 
 the bights of Benin and Biafra, yet some 
 other branch of it, to the eastward of 
 the Leasa, I have no doubt will ultimately 
 be found to do so. The Moors, it is true, 
 have positively stated again and again, that 
 the Niger communicates with the Nile, 
 and after all the information that has been 
 collected to support this opinion, it would 
 be presumptuous to say that such is not the 
 13 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 403 
 
 fact.* It is possible that these two great 
 rivers may have a communication with each 
 other, and yet be distinct rivers, neither is 
 there any thing improbable in supposing 
 that the Niger may communicate with the 
 Nile,, and also throw off a great body of its 
 water, by a tributary stream, to the east- 
 ward of the Leasa, not yet discovered. 
 
 A stronger proof indeed of the strange 
 concatenation of rivers cannot be referred 
 to than that mentioned by Mr. Bowdich, 
 drawn by Baron Humboldt, who represents 
 the courses of the Orinoco and Amazon 
 to be quite opposite to each other, not- 
 withstanding their immediate connection ; 
 and there is nothing more improbable in 
 the Niger and the Nile being connected 
 by the Gir, (although flowing in opposite 
 directions,) than there is in the Orinoco 
 and Amazon being connected by the Caci- 
 quaire. 
 
 According to information we obtained 
 
 * Mr. Dupuis, I believe, is of opinion that the Niger 
 and the Nile unite, and this is also the opinion of others. 
 (Vide Jackson’s Account of Morocco, and Bowdich’s 
 Mission to Ashantee.) 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA, 
 
 at Coomassie, there is a water communi- 
 cation from Porto Nova and the Lagos 
 river nearly all the way to Egypt ; and 
 this is in a great measure confirmed 
 by the late Mr. Jarvis of the Company’s 
 service, with whom I had many con- 
 versations, who stated that, during his 
 residence at Lagos, he met with negroes 
 who had come from the banks of the Niger, 
 who assured him that there was a water 
 communication nearly the whole of the 
 way. Mr. Bowdich, in a late publication, 
 speaks of having received similar inform- 
 ation, and Mr. Robertson writes also to 
 the same effect, and says he was informed 
 that canoes have come from Timbuctoo to 
 Lagos in three days, but this I suppose 
 must be a typographical error, as I can- 
 not imagine that gentleman would write 
 such a manifest absurdity, three weeks be- 
 ing more likely. The Quolla * mentioned 
 
 * Mr. Dupuis, in Adams’s Narrative, states, upon 
 the information of a Negro of Bambara, that Quollo 
 is the name of a country, and says it must be to the 
 south-east of Bambara, and about three journies from the 
 capital of Quolla is a considerable lake, or rather a river, 
 which communicates with the Niger, 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 405 
 
 by the Moors, and alluded to by Mr. Bow- 
 dich, is said to be the Lagos, and not 
 the Niger.* The Moorish name is the 
 Bohr Neel or Seer Neel , which the Moors 
 call all large rivers, and the sea they call 
 “ Bahr Mall." “ Joliba ” is also a figu- 
 
 rative name, meaning “ a great river and 
 the Negroes call the Nile of Egypt “ Gulbi ,” 
 which signifies a sea. It is also called 
 “ Neel Massar ,” and “ Neel Sham" The 
 Niger likewise is known by various names, 
 such as Neel-el Abeed, Joliba , Coudha, &c. 
 
 The Quolla is reported to be one month’s 
 journey from Coomassie, and the Niger one 
 month’s journey from the Quolla. Accord- 
 ing to Mr. Bowdich’s account, the Niger is 
 forty-seven days’ journey from Kong, to 
 which place the Ashantees can travel in 
 safety. The Mecca itinerary, detailed by 
 that gentleman, is of considerable value, 
 and strongly tends to confirm what I have 
 stated in the first part of this chapter, 
 respecting the route to the Niger , through 
 Ashantee. 
 
 * This statement I would wish to be understood as 
 offering with great diffidence, as I had no opportunity 
 of confirming it by the general reports of the Moors. 
 
 D D 3 
 
406 
 
 A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 On the route to Coomassie, after passing 
 the Boosempra, most of the rivers run to 
 the eastward. The Volta or Adirri is said 
 to flow from the Kong mountains, and is a 
 beautiful river, which empties itself into 
 the ocean about one degree to the eastward 
 of our settlement at Accra. * This state- 
 ment is indeed confirmed by the new map 
 published by Mr. Bowdich, on which this 
 river (the Volta) is traced from the Coomba 
 or Zamma, close to the Kong and Koon- 
 doongoree mountains. 
 
 These scanty notices, regarding the 
 Niger and the geography of this part of 
 Africa, I trust will be excused, when it is 
 considered that I was prohibited from 
 making inquiries upon these subjects. 
 Vide Instructions, p. 416 and 447. 
 
 But from what has now been stated, 
 it will be evident that these noble rivers 
 afford the greatest facilities for the in- 
 troduction of our commerce into the very 
 
 * Colonel Straenberg, (whom I frequently had the 
 pleasure to meet at table, with the late General Daendels, 
 after he sailed up this river,) gave me some interesting 
 particulars respecting his journey ; but as they are cor- 
 rectly given by Mr. Bowdich, I will not repeat them. 
 
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 407 
 
 heart of Africa ; and it cannot be too often 
 repeated, that whether they have a commu- 
 nication with the Niger or not, they ought 
 at least to be explored, as more trade 
 might be thus carried on in one month, 
 than on the Gold Coast in a year ; there 
 being no rivers of any magnitude near our 
 settlements there, and consequently the 
 transportation of merchandise on the heads 
 of the negroes for hundreds of miles under 
 a vertical sun, must evidently be attended 
 with every disadvantage to the African 
 trader, as well as to the mercantile interests 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 I cannot therefore do better, in concluding 
 my observations upon this occasion, than 
 by earnestly calling the attention of His 
 Majesty’s government to these subjects, as 
 the prosperity of this country depends 
 chiefly, if not entirely, upon her commercial 
 resources ; and if the suggestions here 
 offered be adopted, new channels will be 
 opened for our manufactures, which will 
 not only greatly increase the revenue of the 
 country, but give employment to thousands 
 who are now wanting bread. 
 
 D D 4 
 
, 
 
vwi ym .V 
 
 OS 
 
 lv "//-n 
 
 '''wTojy 
 
APrENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Instructions from the Committee of the Company of Mer- 
 chants trading to Africa to Joseph Dupuis, Esq. 
 
 African Office, October 31. 1818. 
 
 Joseph Dupuis, Esq. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The committee of the company of merchants 
 trading to Africa have received a communica- 
 tion from the right honorable the lords of His 
 Majesty’s treasury, importing that their lord- 
 ships desire that the intercourse which has been 
 opened with the king of Ashantee, should be 
 kept up, and the advantages which may be 
 expected to arise from it, promoted to the 
 utmost. With this view, his royal highness the 
 Prince Regent has been pleased to appoint you 
 (your long residence at Mogadore, and acquaint- 
 ance with the Moorish language peculiarly qua- 
 lifying you for the situation,) to be His Majesty’s 
 consul at Coomasie, the capital of Ashantee. 
 Their lordships further direct the committee to 
 
110 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 make you an allowance of 5001. sterling per 
 annum, from the period of your arrival in Africa; 
 and to pay your passage to Cape Coast, and 
 journey to Coomasie, furnishing you with an 
 escort, and such presents for the king, as may 
 be deemed most acceptable, not exceeding 
 the value of 200/. ; and with such instructions 
 for your government, as may be necessary for 
 your own safety, and useful to you in the pro- 
 motion of the objects of confirming the friendly 
 disposition of the natives of Ashantee, and ob- 
 taining correct information of the kingdoms fur- 
 ther inland. 
 
 Their lordships have also intimated their opi- 
 nion, that besides yourself, there should be 
 stationed at Coomasie, one officer in the service 
 of the African company, qualified to establish 
 and conduct a school at that place, if the op- 
 portunity should be afforded ; and also a sur- 
 geon with two or three subordinate officers as 
 the committee may think necessary. 
 
 Conformably to their lordships said instruc- 
 tions, I have now by directions of the commit- 
 tee, to acquaint you, that the vessel which they 
 have chartered to take out their annual supply 
 of stores to Cape Coast Castle, is the Sarah, Cap- 
 tain Corser, now lying in the London Docks, 
 which is intended to leave the river on the 15th 
 of next month at the furthest. Captain Corser 
 will be instructed to receive you and your bag- 
 gage, and to afiord you every accommodation. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ill 
 
 With respect to the presents for the king of 
 Ashantee, I am directed by the committee to 
 acquaint you, that they have authorised me to 
 purchase such articles, to the amount limited, 
 as you may deem best suited for the purpose. 
 
 The committee will also instruct the governor 
 and council at Cape Coast to furnish you with 
 the necessary escort to Coomasie. 
 
 With regard to the measures requisite for your 
 own personal safety, and for confirming the 
 friendly disposition of the natives, and obtaining 
 correct information of the kingdoms further 
 inland, so much must depend on the actual state 
 of things when you arrive upon the coast, that 
 the committee have judged it better to refer you 
 to the governor and council, than to lay down 
 for you any specific and positive rule of con- 
 duct. 
 
 The committee are however of opinion, that 
 previously to your going into the interior, you 
 should take up your residence for a considerable 
 time, at Cape Coast, 
 
 1st, In order that you may become seasoned 
 to the climate. 
 
 %dly, That you may acquire a knowledge of 
 the language and manners and customs of the 
 natives. 
 
 3dly, That you may obtain the most satisfac- 
 tory information from Ashantee that yourself 
 and attendants will be favorably received and 
 permitted to reside there. 
 
142 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 And in order that you may have a full insight 
 into the company’s affairs and connexions with 
 the natives, whereby you may be enabled most 
 effectually to promote the objects of his majesty’s 
 government in your appointment, the committee 
 propose, that you should be admitted to a seat 
 in council. In concluding upon this last mea- 
 sure, the committee are much influenced by the 
 consideration of the extreme importance both to 
 the service and to yourself, of your appearing to 
 the natives to be a member of the company, and 
 wholly dependant upon the governor and coun- 
 cil ; since, were the natives to imagine that your 
 situation was independent of the company, you 
 would be tormented with numerous applications 
 of various kinds, which, however improper, you 
 would find it difficult, if not impossible, to avoid. 
 Whereas, by making it distinctly understood 
 that you are subject to, and that your conduct 
 must, in all cases, be regulated by the governor 
 and council, you will be able, whenever you see 
 proper, to evade coming to a decision, by send- 
 ing to Cape Coast for instructions. 
 
 In order that you may be in possession of all 
 the information in the power of the committee 
 to afford, I have been directed to furnish you 
 with the accompanying copy of the instructions 
 which they gave to the governor and council, 
 and of the additional ones given by them to the 
 gentlemen who visited Coomasie in the year 1817> 
 and to acquaint you that you are at liberty to 
 peruse and take extracts from the whole of the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 413 
 
 correspondence which took place in Africa on 
 that occasion. I also enclose copies of the trea- 
 ties entered into with the kings of Ashantee and 
 Dwabin ; upon reference to which you will see 
 that they pledge themselves to continue on terms 
 of friendship with the British : to permit a 
 British officer constantly to reside at Coomasie : 
 to encourage trade with Cape Coast Castle and 
 its dependencies : and to commit their children 
 to the care of the governor-in-chief for education 
 at Cape Coast Castle, &c. &c. 
 
 The foregoing you will observe are objects of 
 great importance ; it appears therefore to the 
 committee, to be desirable to impress upon the 
 kings, that His Britannic Majesty’s government 
 consider the treaties as sacred ; and the better 
 to give effect to the amicable relations subsisting 
 between this country and those sovereigns, you 
 are hereby authorized to signify to them, that 
 provided they will find labourers, they may de- 
 pend upon receiving, free of other expence than 
 of carriage from the coast, an ample supply of 
 hatchets, saws, spades, pick axes, and other tools 
 for opening and repairing the roads to the coast; 
 which the committee deem to be an object of 
 the greatest importance in every point of view ; 
 but especially, as it may, by furnishing profitable 
 means of employment, induce those kings to dis- 
 continue the practice of sacrificing their prisoners 
 and others. 
 
 As the governor and council have a supply of 
 these articles sent out by the store-ship, we re- 
 
414 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 commend your taking a few of each to Coomasie, 
 in order that you may he the better enabled to 
 explain yourself upon this point. 
 
 One object most desirable to obtain, as it 
 would essentially assist in the realization of the 
 views of government, might perhaps be a grant 
 from the king of Ashantee, of a district, distant 
 about twenty-five miles from the coast, subject 
 to a certain perpetual annual rent, with full 
 liberty to clear and cultivate the same, and to 
 erect houses, &c. Such a spot, judiciously chosen, 
 might open an extensive field for the employ- 
 ment of the youth educated at the company’s 
 schools, and be the beginning of a system which 
 might eventually extend to the cultivation and 
 civilization of the whole coast. You will there- 
 fore keep this object constantly in view ; and 
 seize every favourable opportunity of impressing 
 upon the mind of the king, the signal advantages 
 that would result to the Ashantees as a people, 
 and the immense accession of riches and strength 
 which would be acquired by the sovereign from 
 the country being brought into such an improved 
 state. It need hardly be observed to you that 
 this is a matter which will require to be treated 
 with the greatest delicacy, and that no opinion 
 upon it should be ever hazarded by any person 
 attached to the mission. 
 
 Whatever may at any time pass upon this 
 subject, you will, as soon as possible, communi- 
 cate to the governor and council, and be very 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 415 
 
 careful that your despatches are entrusted to 
 safe hands. 
 
 It does not occur to the committee on the 
 present occasion to add to the foregoing any 
 particular instructions. The inclosed paper 
 containing queries on the geography, statistics, 
 government, political institutions and rela- 
 tions, wars, laws, general appearance of the in- 
 habitants, their dispositions, morals, religion, 
 intellectual capacity, arts, sciences, manu- 
 factures, education, &c. &c. ; you will find of 
 great assistance to you in the prosecution of 
 your enquiries ; and, as opportunities may offer 
 of gaining assistance in this object, from others, 
 you have herewith several copies which you can 
 distribute as such opportunities offer. 
 
 It must be almost superfluous to point out to 
 you, that the most important object, is, to estab- 
 lish mutual confidence, since upon this basis 
 alone can mutual interest be raised. And with 
 this view, it may be good policy to defer the 
 prosecution of any plans for immediate profit, 
 that may have a tendency to excite the suspicion 
 or jealously of the natives. For, though the 
 promotion of our commercial relations with the 
 interior, is undoubtedly a consideration of the 
 first importance, vet in a country with which 
 we have had so little intercourse, that should be 
 but a secondary object. Your particular care 
 should be to satisfy the minds of the king and 
 his ministers, that our professions of friendship 
 and good-will are sincere, before you allow it to 
 
410 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 be understood that the intention is to pursue 
 our enquiries, and to extend the trade beyond 
 the boundaries of his dominions. 
 
 For the same reasons, all enquiries relative 
 to the geographical situation of Ashantee, or 
 neighbouring countries, or their internal govern- 
 ments, should be cautiously avoided, both by 
 yourself and those who may accompany you, 
 since it will be difficult to make the Ashantees 
 credit the true motives by which the company 
 are influenced ; and it is most probable that an 
 unfavourable construction would be put upon 
 the views of persons who manifest an eager 
 curiosity upon those subjects. Nevertheless, 
 you must be sensible how necessary it is to get 
 this information, and therefore you will carefully 
 treasure up every thing you can learn, without 
 shewing you attach any importance to the ob- 
 taining of it. 
 
 Your acquaintance with the characters of the 
 Moors or Arabs, obtained during your long re- 
 sidence in Barbary, renders any suggestions for 
 your government with respect to them wholly 
 unnecessary ; further than that it will be de- 
 serving of much consideration, how far it may 
 be politic to place confidence in any of those 
 who are resident at Coomasie, by making use 
 of them as interpreters, or otherwise, as they 
 must, both from their religious principles, and 
 self-interest, be rather disposed to prejudice, 
 than to promote our interests. You may, how- 
 ever, find them to be less bigotted than self- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 417 
 
 interested ; and by prudent measures may be able 
 to turn their influence with the government 
 very much to the advantage of this country. 
 
 The duties of a British consul at Coomasie 
 must necessarily be of a peculiar nature : he 
 must, therefore, for a time, be almost wholly 
 guided by circumstances as they arise ; bearing, 
 however, always in mind, as the general rule of 
 his conduct, his duty and allegiance to his sove- 
 reign and country ; the promotion of the Christ- 
 ian religion, and the interest of British commerce. 
 In every case in which you may require advice 
 and assistance, you may always rely upon the go- 
 vernor and council at Cape Coast ; to the extent 
 prescribed by their means ; — by the orders of 
 government, and by their sense of what is pro- 
 per and just in the cases upon which you may 
 apply to them. 
 
 I have only to add the best wishes of the 
 committee for your health and prosperity. 
 
 By order of the committee, 
 
 (Signed) S. Cock, Sec. 
 
 P.S.— 20th Nov. Since writing the foregoing 
 the committee have received directions from 
 the right honourable the lords of the Trea- 
 sury, authorizing the committee to encrease the 
 amount of the presents to the king of Ashantee 
 to 500/. ; and to allow your pay to commence 
 from the date of your appointment, which it 
 appears by your commission w r as dated the 26th 
 January, 1818. 
 
 E E 
 
418 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 To Mr. Dupuis. 
 
 Cape Coast, November 6. 1819. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I feel complimented by the handsome manner 
 in which you have expressed yourself' on the 
 subject of my abilities and zeal for the public good; 
 and to prove to you that I have no interested 
 motive in wishing to accompany you to Ashantee, 
 I now repeat the tender of my humble services, 
 without any stipulation whatever as to profit or 
 emolument, but merely as a volunteer, and the 
 pleasure and pride I shall feel in being your 
 companion on so interesting an occasion. 
 
 Should you, therefore, think my services wor- 
 thy of your acceptance, and signify the same to 
 me, I shall immediately apply to the governor 
 for permission to accompany you. Believe me, 
 dear Sir, with great truth and esteem, 
 
 Your’s always, 
 
 W. Hutton. 
 
 Joseph Dupuis, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 419 
 
 No. III. 
 
 From Mr. Dupuis. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, November 7. 1319. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your offer of the 6th instant does, as you 
 justly observe, bear testimony to the purity and 
 disinterestedness of your motive for voluntarily 
 rendering your services to accompany the em- 
 bassy to Ashantee ; and in reply to the same I 
 have only to observe, that I shall feel much gra- 
 tified with your society for the reasons I have 
 already given, and because I am fully impressed 
 with the conviction, that from your knowledge 
 of the country much advantage may be derived, 
 and much solid information obtained, in promo- 
 tion of those objects for the public good which 
 his majesty’s government has in its wisdom sug- 
 gested. Therefore I embrace your offer, pro- 
 vided only that no obstacle of sufficient weight 
 shall oppose itself to the proposed arrangement. 
 This objection I am induced to make, founded 
 on a knowledge that your zeal on a former occa- 
 sion, and under similar circumstances, involved 
 you in great difficulty ; and because it might 
 militate against you in the present instance. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your very obedient servant, 
 
 Joseph Dupuis. 
 
 William Hutton, Esq. 
 
 E E 2 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 420 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Instructions from the Governor and Council to Mr. Dupuis. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, January 1820. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The king and people of Ashantee being in 
 some measure aware of the objects for which 
 you have come to this country, have expressed 
 a strong desire of your immediately visiting 
 Coomasie, the capital of that kingdom ; this 
 favourable disposition leaves no doubt on the 
 minds of the governor and council, that you can, 
 with perfect safety to yourself, and the other gen- 
 tlemen attached to the embassy, proceed to your 
 destination ; and, as all the requisite arrange- 
 ments are now complete, and your departure 
 fixed for Thursday next, it becomes their duty, 
 in obedience to the orders received from “ The 
 Committee of the Company of Merchants trad- 
 ing to Africa,” to add to their instructions 
 such other matters as appear to them to be 
 important for your guidance. 
 
 You are in possession of the instructions 
 which, in accordance with the directions of his 
 majesty’s government, were addressed to you 
 by Mr. Cock, the secretary of the committee, 
 under date of 31st October, 1818. And you will 
 receive herewith copies of their instructions to 
 the governor and council, dated November, 
 1816, relative to the mission to Ashantee of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 421 
 
 18 17 ; and of the instructions given to Mr. 
 James, the chief of that mission, by the go- 
 vernor and council, dated the 9th of April 
 I 8 I 7 . To these several full and important do- 
 cuments, the governor and council particularly 
 refer you. Conceiving it unnecessary to touch 
 on the subjects contained in them, they will 
 confine their communications to such points as 
 have occurred since, or which differ from the 
 state of things at the period that mission was 
 undertaken. 
 
 Mr. Hutchison, the late resident at Coom- 
 assie, returned to this Castle in consequence of 
 the king leaving his capital, for the purpose of 
 proceeding at the head of his army to attack 
 the Buntookoos, a warlike nation to the north- 
 ward of Ashantee. The king of Ashantee 
 claiming a decisive victory sent to the different 
 states on the water-side (whom he considers in 
 some measure as tributary to him) messengers 
 acquainting them with his success, and request- 
 ing them to send him presents in order to add 
 to the splendor of his entree into his capital, 
 where he was about to return. The king’s re- 
 quest was acceded to, with the exception of the 
 Commendas, who not only did not send pre- 
 sents, but insulted the messenger. This mes- 
 senger returned, complained to the Cape 
 Coast people of the treatment he had expe- 
 rienced, and sent to the king his master, an 
 exaggerated account of the facts ; and in conse- 
 quence of which, the king sent down, in March 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 422 
 
 last, a very hostile and threatening message 
 both to the Castle, and to the people of Cape 
 Coast ; importing, that in forty days, he would 
 march down with his army to the attack of 
 both ; to which, the substance of the reply 
 was, that he was at liberty to take his own 
 measures. 
 
 You are too well acquainted with the parti- 
 culars of this very insulting communication 
 from the king, and with the minutiae of the 
 circumstances which have since occurred to 
 render their detail necessary. The preceding 
 concise and plain statement will therefore suf- 
 fice to shew the grounds which have led to 
 the king’s sending down the embassy, which 
 is at present here, to demand from this castle 
 1600 ounces, equal to 6400/., and a similar 
 sum from the Cabboceers and people of the 
 town of Cape Coast. 
 
 These two points being entirely new, could 
 not be contemplated, and of course could not 
 be provided against by any instructions in your 
 possession. They are of extreme importance, 
 and may in their result vitally effect the 
 British interests in this country, and as such 
 they will require, and the governor and council 
 have no doubt, will receive vour utmost at- 
 tention. 
 
 On the first point — “ The demand on the 
 Castle of 1600 ounces.” 
 
 You are not under any circumstances even to 
 permit its discussion, much less the payment of a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 423 
 
 single ounce on such a pretext, or for the pur- 
 pose of avoiding a war. Any payment so made 
 would be a serious compromise of the British 
 character, and would also lay the governor and 
 council open to repeated demands of a similar 
 nature, until they would become so enormous, 
 that the whole allowance granted annually by 
 parliament would be insufficient to meet them. 
 It would besides destroy at once that high opi- 
 nion (and authority in this country is supported 
 more by opinion than by the force possessed) 
 which the natives entertain of British power, — 
 the maintaining of which is so indispensable to 
 the security of the service and for the protec- 
 tion of the important interests entrusted to the 
 management of the governor and council. 
 
 On the second point — “ The demand of 
 1600 ounces from the Cape Coast people.” — 
 Although this is a matter that might, with more 
 propriety, be left for settlement to the respective 
 parties, yet, as the 5th article of the treaty, en- 
 tered into with the king of Ashantee, does un- 
 questionably bind the executive government of 
 this country to entertain such questions, and as 
 such interference will have the effect of reducing 
 this enormous and unjust demand to a sum 
 within the means of the people of this town, 
 and which they are willing to pay, rather than 
 subject themselves to the inconvenience that 
 would result from a dispute with the king of 
 Ashantee, whose power they are altogether un- 
 able to cope with. And, although they would 
 
 e e 4 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 424 
 
 find protection for their persons and properties 
 within the range of the Castle guns, yet, in the 
 event of a war, they must withdraw from the 
 interior, abandon their villages and plantations, 
 and become dependant on interior supplies for 
 the necessaries of life. Their trade, the 
 source of considerable profit, would also be cut 
 off. It is therefore obviously the interest of the 
 people of Cape Coast to arrange their difference 
 with the king of Ashantee by the payment of a 
 moderate sum of money. The governor and 
 council, though convinced that this will be the 
 worst political proceeding as regards the towns- 
 people, cannot but sincerely regret the necessity 
 of its adoption because they are sensible it will 
 form a precedent for further exactions, and 
 excuses will never be wanting to the stronger 
 power when it has been resolved upon to extort 
 money from the weaker. 
 
 To induce the reduction of the king’s de- 
 mand, the following reasons can be urged with 
 such strength of argument as they may re- 
 quire : 
 
 1st, The Commendas and not the Cape Coast 
 people were the original cause of the dispute. 
 
 Zd, That the Cape Coast people did not in 
 fact refuse satisfaction to the king’s messenger. 
 
 3d, That they neither in word or deed offer- 
 ed any offence to the king ; in proof of the con- 
 trary, they sent him a present of sixty ounces 
 on his return from the Buntookoo war. 
 
 4 dh. That they are a small population, gene- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 425 
 
 rally poor, and depending for support on their 
 ployment by the British residents. 
 
 5th, And lastly, Should the king persist in 
 demanding an exorbitant sum, this Castle must 
 interfere with its power to protect them; and 
 that, in fact, the king’s declaring war against 
 these people will be considered as a declaration 
 of war against the Castle, as it never can be per- 
 mitted to any power in Africa, to oppress with 
 impunity such people who reside under the Bri- 
 tish forts and claim British protection. 
 
 Until the governor and council have ascer- 
 tained the means and inclination of the Cape 
 Coast people, they cannot fix a sum as the max- 
 imum of what they are to pay, but they trust 
 100 ounces will satisfy the king. On this point 
 the governor and council will procure the proper 
 authority and communicate the same to you in 
 due time. 
 
 The governor and council are anxious to im- 
 press the necessity of not allowing the service of 
 his majesty and that of the company to be sepa- 
 rated in any negociation whatever ; they ought 
 in all cases to be identified as one and the same. 
 A contrary line of conduct would most certainly 
 prove fatal to the influence of the government in 
 this country ; would protract the settlement of 
 the present dispute; and, above all, would create 
 the most serious obstacles to the extension of 
 our trade with the interior, which is indeed one 
 of the principal objects of your embassy to 
 Coomasie. 
 
¥26 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 In the execution of the various and important 
 duties confided to you, it will occur to you, from 
 the character of the people, amongst whom you 
 are about to reside, that you may be placed in 
 situations of difficulty and probably sometimes 
 subjected to mortifications not easily submitted 
 to. Nothing can be opposed to these (should 
 you experience them) but your own address and 
 your zeal in the service of your country. In all 
 cases, you may rely with confidence upon every 
 support that the governor and council have it in 
 their power to afford, and you will of course be 
 aware of the necessity of frequently communi- 
 cating with them ; keeping them fully advised 
 of the whole of your proceedings and referring 
 to them for advice on all important occasions. 
 This they consider to be equally as necessary to 
 yonr own safety, and to the attainment of the im- 
 portant objects you have in view, as it is due to 
 the situation they hold as the executive govern- 
 ment of this country, authorized to decide upon 
 and carry into effect any arrangements which it 
 may be thought proper to make with the king of 
 Ashantee. To avoid, therefore, the possibility 
 of your committing yourself to the king, they 
 desire that it may be distinctly understood that 
 no arrangement with him can be considered as 
 final without their previous approval. 
 
 The governor and council have placed under 
 your directions, the following officers belonging 
 to this service ; — Mr. William Hutton, who, in 
 the event of any accident to yourself j will sue- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 427 
 
 ceed to the command of the embassy ; Mr. 
 Salmon, surgeon, and Mr. David Greaves, to be 
 employed as you may think fit ; copies of the 
 letters to each of these gentlemen are sent here- 
 with. 
 
 If a favourable opportunity should present it- 
 self, it would be of very material importance not 
 only to explore the country immediately inland 
 from Ashantee, but even as far as the Niger. 
 All this, however, must depend upon your own 
 judgment. Should you deem it prudent, you 
 can, in furtherance of this great object, select 
 such of the gentlemen under your command as 
 you may deem best qualified for the enterprize, 
 holding out to them the inducement of a reward 
 commensurate to their exertions and to the dis- 
 coveries they may be enabled to make. The 
 parties to be so employed will be at liberty to 
 draw on the governor and council for such 
 reasonable sum or sums as they may require 
 during their absence, not exceeding 200/. unless 
 very sufficient reasons can be assigned, or very 
 peculiar circumstances arise. 
 
 Should you be of opinion that a school could 
 be established at Coomasie with a fair prospect 
 of success, one of the teachers expected from 
 England shall be sent to you as early as possible 
 after his arrival. You will observe by the treaty 
 that the king positively engaged to send some of 
 his children to Cape Coast for education, and this 
 article has never been fulfilled. 
 
428 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Herewith you will receive a copy of a letter 
 addressed to the governor and council by the 
 governor of Christianburg Castle respecting the 
 unwarrantable demand made on him by the king 
 of Ashantee. Should a favorable opportunity 
 offer, they request you will avail yourself of it 
 to carry his wishes into effect. It will of course 
 appear evident to you, that a compliance with 
 the king’s demand would be double his pay from 
 the Danish government, and that this would 
 form the ground of an application to this Castle 
 for a similar mode of payment. In this point 
 of view, therefore, the governor and council 
 conceive that this subject comes within the 
 scope of the objects of your embassy. 
 
 A corporal, a trumpeter, two linguists, and a 
 cooper will be also attached to the embassy. 
 
 One hundred ounces of gold dust are here- 
 with delivered to you to defray the expenses of 
 your journey and other incidental charges. 
 
 A list of the presents intended for the king, 
 and of the articles to be distributed according 
 to your judgment to the Moors and to the seve- 
 ral chiefs, together with a list of the necessaries 
 and stores, accompany this. 
 
 The hammock-men and bearers of your bag- 
 gage, stores, &c. &c. are Cape Coast people, 106 
 in number ; and it will be very desirable that 
 they be sent back as early as circumstances will 
 permit, in order to avoid the very considerable 
 expense attendant on their subsistence. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 429 
 
 The carriers of the presents for the king are 
 his own people, 300 in number. 
 
 It is the particular wish of the governor and 
 council that a journal be kept of the proceed- 
 ings of the embassy, in order that the same may 
 appear on record for the benefit and guidance 
 of those who may be employed on any similar 
 expedition hereafter. 
 
 Anxiously desirous to promote the British 
 interests in this country by the extension of our 
 commercial intercourse, and influenced by the 
 impression that, whilst they are furthering this 
 most important object, their proceeding may 
 tend to add to the respect due to the rank which 
 you hold in his majesty’s service, the governor 
 and council have thought it incumbent on them 
 to add very considerably to the presents sent 
 out from England. The expense of the embassy, 
 including the presents (which, however, form 
 but a small part of the whole charge) will not 
 be less than 4000/. sterling, a sum greatly ex- 
 ceeding what his majesty’s government or the 
 committee had contemplated, and approaching so 
 near the whole sum granted by parliament, that 
 it precludes, for the present, the possibility of 
 their sending an expedition up the river Volta, 
 which, from the best information they have been 
 able to obtain, holds out the promise of consi- 
 derable accession to our commerce : — but on 
 your talents, discretion, and firmness, the gover- 
 nor and council ground a confident expectation, 
 that this sum, though large, will not be expend- 
 
ISO 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 eel in vain ; that the honor and interest of the 
 British nation and character will be maintained, 
 our commerce promoted, our geographical 
 knowledge of Africa improved, and the basis 
 laid for extending to it the blessings of educa- 
 tion and consequent civilization. 
 
 By order of the governor and council, 
 (Signed) John Tasker Williams, Sec. 
 
 To Joseph Dupuis, Esq. &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 Mr. Dupuis to Mr. Hutton. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, 2d February 1820. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I regret to learn you are so very unwell, 
 and am sorry to add, I stand in the same 
 situation. 
 
 I send you two sketches of certain ideas con- 
 nected with the subject we yesterday conversed 
 upon. As we are precluded the pleasure of 
 personal communication, I shall not hesitate to 
 tell you, in this way, that I have given due 
 reflection to the nature of things, and am 
 decidedly resolved not to accept of instructions 
 from the M. C. (member of council) board. 
 I will not submit to such degradation, except in 
 as much as they shall be at liberty to let me 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 431 
 
 know how much the town is capable of paying, 
 without injuring the inhabitants. If they ob- 
 ject to this, you know, my dear Sir, my inten- 
 tions in regard to yourself. I will invest you 
 with as full powers as I am able, and will do 
 all I can, on that score, on my arrival in 
 England, as I have promised you, because I am 
 convinced you will act with that independence 
 becoming an officer and a man. I shall then 
 quit the coast, as I believe I can do more real 
 good to the cause in England in one month 
 than I could effect here in twelve. 
 
 I will not stir, as I have told you, with instruc- 
 tions derogatory to my character, but will con- 
 sider my powers to all intents and purposes 
 plenipotent. 
 
 At all events, it will make no difference to 
 you, with the exception, that it will put a good 
 thing in your pocket (if the king of Ashantee, 
 and our own government are liberal, as I am 
 inclined to think they will be,) and believe me, 
 my dear Sir, none of your friends will feel more 
 pleasure than I shall, as the flattering satisfac- 
 tion of having placed an independent man in 
 an independent and honourable situation will 
 be all the gratification I desire, and I dare 
 assure my friends that you will tread in my 
 steps, or, in other words, that you will do your 
 duty in defiance of such characters as are im- 
 mured in these walls. I can assure you in so 
 doing, you will take the right side of the ques- 
 tion, as you may be assured I know more than 
 
432 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I can communicate to any body. In fact ad- 
 mitting they (the governor and council) were to 
 give you a salary of a 1000/. per annum, I do not 
 think it would be an equivalent for any sacrifice 
 of principle and opinion. 
 
 I am always faithfully your’s 
 
 (Signed) J. Dupuis. 
 
 To William Hutton, Esq. 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 Governor and Council to Mr. Hutton. 
 
 [On Service.'] Cape Coast Castle, 5th February 1820. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have received directions to inform you, 
 that the hammock-men will be in readiness at 
 two o’clock this day to convey you to Paintrey, 
 where you will remain until you are joined by 
 M. Dupuis, or receive further instructions. 
 
 I enclose you a list of the presents and of 
 the stores, and you will of course ascertain im- 
 mediately on your arrival at Paintrey, whether 
 they are correct, reporting the same to the 
 governor in chief. 
 
 The hammock-men and Cape Coast people have 
 received their subsistence until Wednesday next, 
 and as it has been found necessary to encrease 
 the number to 106, the sum of oz. 1, 2. for every 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 433 
 
 two days must be given them for their sub- 
 sistence. I am Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Jn°. Tasker Williams, Sec. 
 To William Hutton, Esq. &c. &c. 
 
 Additional Instructions to Mr. Hutton. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, February 9. 1820. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The governor and council, in order to guard 
 against circumstances which may by possibility 
 arise, although they consider them unlikely to 
 do so, deem it necessary to send the following 
 additional instructions for your government. 
 
 In the event of the consul’s detention on the 
 road, by the recurrence of indisposition, the 
 governor and council direct that you remain at 
 the same place until he may be able to proceed. 
 
 Should any accident occur, or the consul be 
 obliged, by ill health or the intervention of any 
 untoward circumstance, to return to this Castle, 
 without having reached Coomassie, they direct, 
 that you make them acquainted with the same 
 forthwith, await their further instructions, and 
 that you, on no consideration, enter the capital at 
 the head of the embassy without having received 
 their orders to that effect. 
 
 By order of the governor and council. 
 
 Jn°. Tasker Williams, Sec. 
 
 William Hutton, Esq. 
 
434 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 No. VIL 
 
 Mr. Hutton's Appointment as Consul and Conductor of 
 the Embassy . 
 
 “ I, Joseph Dupuis, holder of the foregoing 
 commission, being taken suddenly ill at the com- 
 mencement of the journey to Coomassie, and in 
 consequence of certain presents to the King of 
 Ashantee, which I was to have accompanied, 
 having been already sent olf, are now on the 
 road to Pamtrey, taking into consideration the 
 importance of carrying into effect the objects of 
 the present embassy and the necessity, for cer- 
 tain very important reasons, that the expedition 
 should proceed without delay, I do hereby no- 
 minate, constitute, and appoint William Hutton, 
 Esq. to take immediate charge of the said em- 
 bassy and presents, and if necessary to proceed 
 on to Ashantee with all possible dispatch, and 
 there to act for me in all respects during my 
 absence as I have particularly directed him in 
 my instructions of this day. 
 
 “ And, moreover, influenced as 1 am by my 
 regard for the public good, and with the desire 
 of giving weight and influence to the said 
 William Hutton, in his negociations with the 
 king of Ashantee, while I am unable to act for 
 myself ; I do hereby transfer the power and au- 
 thority which is vested in me, in virtue of the 
 said commission, to him the said William Hutton 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 435 
 
 to have, to hold, and to exercise the functions 
 of my said appointment as his majesty’s agent 
 and consul ; and in the event of my being obliged 
 to leave the Coast from indisposition, this trans- 
 fer of my appointment is to be considered in full 
 force until my return from England ; and as I 
 have every reason to believe, from my present 
 state of health, that I shall be obliged ultimately 
 to leave the Coast, I do hereby make known to 
 all whom it shall or may concern, that in virtue 
 of this appointment and transfer, the said William 
 Hutton is fully and effectually authorized to 
 have, to hold, and to exercise the said appoint- 
 ment of his majesty’s agent and consul, and to 
 fill and to occupy my situation under govern- 
 ment to all intents and purposes for and during 
 the period of my absence and from the date of 
 my said departure. 
 
 “ Given under my hand and private seal at 
 Cape Coast Castle, the 5th day of 
 February, in the year 1820. 
 
 (Signed) “ Joseph Dupuis.” 
 
 f f 2 
 
436 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 To the Governor and Council, Cape Coast. Castle . 
 
 Coomasie, 5th March 1820» 
 
 Gentlemen,. 
 
 In reference to my correspondence with yon 
 on the subject of Mr. Hutton’s appointment to 
 act for me as consul and conductor of the em- 
 bassy, I have now both health and leisure to 
 notice your unjustifiable conduct on that occa- 
 sion, and at the same time to state to you the 
 motives which influenced me to appoint that 
 gentleman my successor, which you, in the usual 
 wisdom of your deliberations, did not think pro- 
 per to recognise. 
 
 First, gentlemen, you are aware that at the 
 time I appointed Mr. Hutton, I was seriously 
 ill, from an unexpected renewal of my old com- 
 plaint, and having been unfortunately afflicted 
 just as the presents for the king of Ashantee 
 were sent offi accompanied by Mr. Collins and 
 Mr. Graves, the first question which occurred 
 to me, in this important crisis was, “ What 
 measures are best to adopt for the public good 
 if my illness should continue ?” The answer, 
 gentlemen, was sufficiently obvious, and I imme- 
 diately decided that nothing else could be done 
 in those circumstances but to appoint Mr. Hut- 
 ton my successor, not only as consul, but also 
 as conductor of the embassy, as you in fact had 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 437 
 
 already spontaneously nominated him to succeed 
 me in the event of accident. Surely, then, I 
 could not have appointed a more fit person, in 
 your ideas, than the one you had yourselves 
 previously nominated and approved of. But 
 although I met your wishes in this respect, even 
 this did not satisfy you ; and I therefore must 
 say, that such conduct convinces me (if I want- 
 ed conviction) of a predetermination on your 
 part to throw opposition in my way, and instead 
 of promoting, is evidently calculated to retard 
 the views of his majesty’s government in this 
 country. 
 
 Secondly, I considered Mr. Hutton the fittest 
 person to succeed me in charge of the embassy 
 for another reason, far more important, perhaps, 
 than as regarded my desire to meet your wishes, 
 namely, that as I had previously notified to you 
 my intention of appointing that gentleman to 
 act for me as consul on leaving the country (in 
 the event of my bad state of health continuing), 
 I deemed it an act indispensably necessary for 
 the public good to appoint him to take upon him- 
 self the functions of my office on his arrival at 
 Coomasie ; but as, happily for me, my health 
 enabled me to join the embassy at Doonqua, I 
 have to inform you that Mr. Hutton’s appoint- 
 ment, for the present, has become null and void. 
 But, gentlemen, you must admit that had it 
 pleased the hand of Providence to have continued 
 the indisposition with which I was afflicted, the 
 circumstance of Mr. Hutton being appointed act- 
 
 f f 3 
 
488 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing consul at Coomasie, and wearing uniform, 
 would have given him far more weight and in- 
 fluence with the king of Ashantee in his nego- 
 tiations as conductor of the embassy, than any 
 officer sent from the castle could possibly have 
 on such an occasion ; and this I can declare, 
 with truth, was my principal reason for appoint- 
 ing Mr. Hutton at that time. I could have no 
 other reason for so doing, as it is to my advan- 
 tage to keep the appointment as long as I remain 
 in the country ; but I considered it a measure 
 inseparably connected with the public good. 
 
 Although, gentlemen, I will not allow you 
 to suppose I value any sanction it is in your 
 power to bestow upon my public conduct, or 
 that in fact I consider your approbation, for 
 reasons which you are well informed of, as 
 amounting to any thing respectable in itself, 
 yet I am willing, nay, desirous of knowing the 
 motives by which you are influenced in refusing 
 to recognise my appointment of Mr. Hutton 
 during my absence in England. To me such 
 insidious dealing appears more than myste- 
 rious. If, therefore, you are able to oppose any 
 reasonable objection to my selecting that gentle- 
 man, I can only say, that as it is by no means my 
 wish to do that which will give you displeasure 
 for the sake of any private gratification of my 
 own, I will listen with patient compliance to any 
 suggestions you may think proper to communi- 
 cate to me of a tendency to promote the vews 
 of his majesty’s government and the interests of 
 
 19 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 439 
 
 the public in this country ; and, therefore, if 
 you can point out any reasons sufficiently cogent 
 in their nature to act as a barrier to the honor- 
 able advancement I contemplate for Mr. Hut- 
 ton, you cannot, I presume, object to make 
 these reasons known to me, and thereby allow 
 me an opportunity of profiting by your argu- 
 ment, which, for the present, you know I am 
 totally unacquainted with. I am, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Josh. Dupuis. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 List of Presents for the King of Ashantee. 
 
 1 — 25 
 
 26—31 
 32 , 33 
 34 
 
 35 , 36 
 
 37 
 
 38 
 
 39 
 
 40 
 
 41 
 
 25 Cases containing 50 Tower and 50 Dane guns. 
 100 Ankers of rum (West India.) 
 
 1 00 Ounce kegs of gunpowder. 
 
 6 Cases containing six-dozen port wine. 
 
 two dozen porter. 
 
 one jar of currants. 
 
 1 12lb. soap. 
 
 three hampers of annisette. 
 
 — — brandy fruits. 
 
 an elegant breakfast service. 
 
 uniform, hat, four shawls, 
 
 six pair of trowsers, six 
 shirts, twelve pair of 
 stockings. 
 
 — magic lantern and kaleides- 
 
 cope. 
 
 1 Case - 
 
 2 Cases • 
 1 Case — 
 
 1 — 
 
 1 
 
 1 ___ 
 
 F F 4 
 
440 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 42 
 
 43—45 
 46, 47 
 
 48, 49 
 50— 54 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 57 
 
 58—61 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 18 
 
 1 Cask containing three dozen tumblei’s, three 
 
 dozen finger cups, and 
 eight decanters. 
 
 3 Cases an organ. 
 
 2 eleven rugs, iEolian harp, 
 
 harmonic glasses belong- 
 ing to piano, and port- 
 folio of prints. 
 
 2 drums and cymbals. 
 
 5 turning lathe. 
 
 1 Case piano of harmonic glasses. 
 
 1 mirror. 
 
 1 lamp. 
 
 4 Ankers sugar. 
 
 1 Case sample of rum and two 
 
 pair of shoes. 
 
 1 gold repeating watch sent to 
 
 the consul. 
 
 Three pieces of linen, six taffetas, 40-10 half 
 Danes, and two chintz. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 Instructions from Consul Dupuis to Mr. Hutton . 
 
 Cape Coast Castle, February 5. 1820. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In consequence of an unexpected renewal of 
 my old complaint, and the uncertainty of how 
 long it may continue, I deem it. proper, to pre- 
 vent any interruption to the present expedition, 
 to appoint you in the mean time to the command 
 of the embassy, now on the road to Ashantee, 
 there to act for me and in the name and on be- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 441 
 
 half of his majesty’s government in all respects 
 as I may direct you or as may be pointed out in 
 the instructions which I shall transfer to you 
 previous to your departure for Coomassie. 
 
 1st. I desire that you will be particular in 
 carrying on your negotiations with the king of 
 Ashantee entirely in the name and on behalf of 
 his majesty’s government, bearing in mind the 
 necessity of impressing the king with a just sense 
 of the importance of the executive government 
 of this country, and particularly as regards the 
 interests of the merchants here. 
 
 Qndly. My own instructions from govern- 
 ment, which are signed by Mr. Cock, a copy of 
 which I send you herewith, will require your 
 particular attention, and you will lose no oppor- 
 tunity of endeavouring, as much as you shall 
 deem prudent, under existing circumstances, to 
 carry into effect the objects which are there 
 pointed out, without, however, losing sight of the 
 more immediate and important objects which 
 have so recently thrown the country into such a 
 disturbed state ; and its important nature to the 
 mercantile interests will demand your most 
 strenuous and early exertions to adjust. 
 
 3dly. In reference to a letter of instruc- 
 tions which has been addressed to me by the 
 governor and council, and which I have pro- 
 tested against, for reasons which you shall here- 
 after be made acquainted with, I beg to say 
 that it is my wish that you should refer to them, 
 and avail yourself of such suggestions con- 
 tained therein, as may appear to you, on your 
 
442 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 arrival at Coomassie, expedient for the public 
 good. 
 
 4 thly. As soon as you have succeeded 
 (which I hope, from the confidence I have in 
 your talents and exertions you will,) in arrang- 
 ing the present serious differences with the 
 king, you will direct your attention to the cutting 
 of a road, in which undertaking the governor 
 and council will supply the necessary tools, and 
 cut one half of the road at their own expence. 
 
 5thli). You will endeavour to get the king’s 
 sanction to the establishment of a school from 
 twenty to thirty miles from Cape Coast ; and 
 if he will approve of a spot of land being 
 selected for that purpose, a monthly note to 
 the amount of one or two ounces will be al- 
 lowed. On your road to Coomassie you will of 
 course look out for a desirable spot for this 
 purpose. 
 
 (5 thly. It is impossible for me to lay down 
 any particular arguments for you to urge, as I 
 must leave you chiefly to your own discretion, 
 and to circumstances, as they may occur. At the 
 same time, I may point out to you, as regards 
 the treaty, that should the king express any 
 dissatisfaction respecting it, I would advise you 
 to propose to the king to destroy it, and to 
 make another in the name and on behalf of 
 his majesty’s government. This treaty I would 
 recommend to be drawn out less complicated 
 than the former, to prevent, as much as possible, 
 any liability to its misconstruction on the part 
 of the king. And in short, I think you may 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 US 
 
 draw the whole treaty in three articles, in 
 which, as one of the most essential points, you 
 will particularly direct your attention to the 
 mercantile interests here, reserving any part of 
 the former treaty, bearing relation to this point, 
 which you may deem adviseable. 
 
 7 thly. In all cases of difficulty, in your ar- 
 guments with the king, I advise you to avail 
 yourself of the pretext that you will send the 
 affair for consideration to his majesty’s govern- 
 ment, and which I request you will do, advising 
 at the same time with the governor and coun- 
 cil, and committee also, if you should think 
 necessary. 
 
 8lhly. You are distinctly to understand that 
 in transferring to you my appointment, you will 
 stand precisely in the same situation as myself, 
 and will in all respects act up to the duties of 
 your station, while you are officiating for me ; 
 and it is my particular desire, that you will not 
 allow the functions of your office, either as 
 consul or commander of the embassy, to be at 
 all infringed, or admit of the slightest inno- 
 vation on the part of the council here ; but at 
 the same time it is my wish, that you should 
 communicate with them on all occasions you 
 may deem necessary, and it is extremely to be 
 desired that you should go hand in hand, and 
 maintain a good understanding with the council 
 if nothing important should occur to interrupt it. 
 In this case, of course, you will be justified in 
 maintaining the independence of your appoint- 
 ment. 
 
444 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Othly, As regards the existing state of affairs, 
 I recommend your arguments with the king to 
 be, as near as you shall deem proper, to the 
 following effect : 
 
 1st, The treaty which was entered into by 
 Mr. Bowdich, was highly gratifying to the 
 British government, and led to my being sent 
 out to this country by the king of England, 
 in consequence of his majesty’s government 
 being satisfied of the king’s friendly disposition; 
 and with the view of strengthening the good 
 understanding which at present exists between 
 the two nations, as the king of England enter- 
 tains so favourable an opinion of the honour 
 and justice of the king of Ashantee, he has 
 been induced to send these handsome presents 
 to cultivate a good understanding with him. 
 
 If the king of Ashantee wishes to keep up 
 a good understanding with the king of England, 
 he cannot more effectually do so than by 
 being on friendly terms with the forts, and 
 as I am the first person sent directly from 
 the king of England, now is the time for him 
 to shew his disposition, either to cultivate the 
 present good understanding, which the British 
 government have taken such measures to pro- 
 mote ; or, if it is his determination to make war, 
 and you find you are unable to move him by 
 your arguments from such determination, you 
 will then request a decisive answer upon the 
 subject, that you may return and lay the same 
 before his majesty’s government. 
 
 If you should ultimately find you are not able 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 445 
 
 to settle matters to the satisfaction of the king, 
 you may tell him, (and it is my advice to you 
 in a political point of view to do,) that you 
 are willing to represent any complaints he may 
 have against the governor of Cape Coast to the 
 king of England ; and that you believe his com- 
 plaints will be attended to, and that the gover- 
 nor will no doubt be removed if he has done 
 wrong. This, however, I recommend as the 
 dernier resort. 
 
 Should my health improve, you will tell the 
 king I shall not fail to pay him a visit, although 
 you should have settled the differences which at 
 present exist, and which you have full powers to* 
 do ; but in the event of your receiving a letter 
 from me acquainting you with my bad healthy 
 you will urge this to him as a reason for coming 
 to an early decision of the differences in ques- 
 tion, and say that my health is so bad that I am 
 obliged to return to England immediately, and 
 only await a letter from you to know the king’s- 
 sentiments, that I may lay them before the king 
 of England on my arrival. This you will parti- 
 cularly urge, as it maybe the means of bringing 
 him to an immediate settlement of the existing 
 differences. 
 
 The argument, as regards the road, will be 
 much strengthened by your adverting to the 
 carriage * now here, there being no road suffi- 
 
 * This carriage was sent out to Cape Coast for the 
 king of Ashantee two years ago ; but in consequence of the 
 narrow path to Coomassie, his majesty has not yet seen it. 
 
446 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ciently wide to admit of its conveyance ; and 
 you may add, that, when the road is completed, 
 many other presents may be made to the king, 
 which could not now be sent, on account of the 
 narrowness of the path. 
 
 As regards the difference between a king’s 
 officer and the company’s, should the king make 
 any inquiry on the subject, you will state that we 
 are all subjects of his Brittanic majesty, although 
 serving him in different situations ; and that, 
 although the uniform is different, you will ex- 
 plain that my appointment is immediately from 
 the king, but the company’s officers are appoint- 
 ed by a body of men, in England, acting for the 
 king, and that the forts and officers are paid and 
 supported with the king’s money, that they all 
 belong to the king of England, and only are 
 managed by a body of men, which are a com- 
 pany, and that is why they are called so ; but 
 any demand made on the fort, or the governor, 
 or any palaver made with the people, is the same 
 as if he made it with the king of England. 
 
 As regards your communications with the 
 Moors, it is a particular source of uneasiness to 
 me, and concerns me above all other consider- 
 ations, on this occasion, that the embassy may 
 be deprived of the advantages which would 
 otherwise result from my presence and my ac- 
 quaintance with the Arabic language ; but 
 should I unfortunately be prevented from join- 
 ing the embassy, you will be attentive in observ- 
 ing the dispositions and manners of the Moors, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 447 
 
 and the principal men to whom you are to dis- 
 tribute the presents, according to the best of 
 your judgment. You will be cautious not to 
 excite their jealousy, by inquiring about the 
 country, &c. ; and on no account ask any ques- 
 tions until tlie present differences are settled. 
 This you will also desire the gentleman under 
 your command particularly to observe. 
 
 I shall write you further in the course of a 
 day or two, if I am able ; in the mean time I 
 have only to add, that you will remain at Pain- 
 try for me two days, when you will proceed on 
 slowly with the embassy to Coomasie, should 
 you not hear from me to the contrary. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Josh. Dupuis. 
 
 William Hutton, Esq. 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 Declaration of Messi's. Hutton, Salmon , Collins, and 
 Graves, relative to the Message sent up to the King of 
 Asliantee, by Mr. Smith. 
 
 We, the undersigned officers and gentlemen, 
 who accompanied the embassy, under charge of 
 Consul Dupuis, being present at an audience, on 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 448 
 
 the 9th instant, were witnesses to the truth of 
 the following statement, resulting from a discus- 
 sion which ensued between the king of Ashan- 
 tee and the consul, on the subject of certain 
 claims established by the former on the governor 
 of Cape Coast Castle, and also on the town of 
 Cape Coast, amounting, separately, to 1600 
 ounces of gold, and collectively to double the 
 said sum. 
 
 The new treaty being read over and inter- 
 preted to the king, he expressed much dissatis- 
 faction, and declared it to be his determined 
 resolution not to relinquish the demand he had 
 made on the town of Cape Coast ; alleging, 
 at the same time, that he was actually negotiat- 
 ing with the governor of the Castle, who had 
 become responsible to him for the payment of a 
 certain sum of money, provided the original de- 
 mand was reduced to limits proportionable to 
 the means of the people ; and in support of this 
 argument the king appealed to a messenger who 
 had been dispatched to him by the governor of 
 the Castle, and who distinctly and vehemently 
 declared that he had been instructed to tell the 
 king, the governor himself would negotiate with 
 him respecting the claim on the natives of Cape 
 Coast town, which claim, when reduced to mo- 
 derate limits, he would cause to be liquidated. 
 
 The messenger, then pointing out one of my 
 own linguists, named George Abroah, who had. 
 very recently arrived from Cape Coast, declared 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 449 
 
 that he was the man who interpreted to him the 
 governor’s words in the public hall of the castle. 
 In consequence of this impeachment, the king 
 called upon the said George Abroah to attest or 
 deny the accusation, which, however, was con- 
 firmed by him beyond the possibility of refu- 
 tation. 
 
 Previous to the discussion on this subject, the 
 consul had framed the treaty in terms to cancel 
 all demands, but the king refused even to listen 
 to such a proposal ; and although the consul per- 
 sisted in offering his mediation between the par- 
 ties, and demanded to know what reduction 
 would be allowed from the original demand, it 
 was declined by the king, .who unhesitatingly 
 declared, he should look to the governor only 
 for the liquidation of his claim upon the natives 
 of Cape Coast town, in conformity with the 
 promises he had received to that effect. 
 
 In reply to an observation, which was made by 
 the consul at an early part of the debate, that 
 the king of Ashantee had, in virtue of the 
 treaty of 181 7, consigned over to the protection 
 of the British government the natives residing 
 under the British forts, he, the king, pro- 
 duced the original treaties, preliminary and 
 definitive, and caused them to be read over and 
 explained to him, which, when done, he declared 
 he had been deceived by the author of those do- 
 cuments, who did not truly explain to him their 
 contents, for he never could or would resign the 
 
 G G 
 
450 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 command he possessed over a conquered people, 
 who were his slaves, and consequently should be 
 obedient to him their master. He moreover de- 
 clared, that he had consigned these people over 
 to the English, resident on the coast, giving and 
 granting them authority to make use of their 
 services as they pleased ; but he never transferred 
 to them the power to interfere with his go- 
 vernment, in any shape, nor would he permit it, 
 as they were, “ bond Jide,” his subjects only, as 
 his dominions embraced the whole line of coast 
 from Appolonia on the west, to Danish Accra 
 on the east, (both inclusive.) 
 
 In reference to the king’s demand on the go- 
 vernor of Cape Coast Castle for one thousand 
 six hundred ounces of gold, as a penalty for 
 having violated the treaty, he again publicly de- 
 clared, what he had expressed on a former occa- 
 sion, namely, that as he was so much gratified at 
 the king of England having sent him out one 
 of his own officers to take charge of his concerns 
 for him ; and as he had “ seen the consul’s 
 face,” he relinquished the said demand of 1600 
 ounces of gold claimed from the governor in 
 toto. This declaration having produced an 
 altercation on the illegality of the king’s de- 
 mand for money, on the alleged infraction of 
 the treaty ; and on the king’s demanding to 
 know if such a clause was not expressly stipulat- 
 ed in the treaty of 1817, and being answered 
 in the negative, he again protested he had been 
 deceived by Mr. Bowdich, who had distinctly 
 
APPENDIX,, 451 
 
 told him, “ the penalty for breaking the law was 
 a fine of gold;” and, in support of his own asser- 
 tion, the king appealed to the evidence, first of his 
 counsellors and generals, and, lastly, to the con- 
 sul’s own servant, who accompanied Mr, Bow- 
 dich on the mission of 1817, and who was pre- 
 sent at the time the treaty of that date was read 
 over to the king ; and this man’s evidence fully 
 confirmed the truth of the king’s assertion. 
 
 The consul, in reply, told the king, he did not 
 doubt his word, but a treaty so framed was not 
 valid, nor was it a treaty, as the governor had 
 neither power nor authority to pay him money 
 on account of the king of England. 
 
 Witness our hands, at Coomassie, this 1 1th 
 day of March, 1820. 
 
 (Signed) Benjamin Salmon. 
 
 Francis Collins. 
 
 David Mill Graves. 
 
 I hereby declare, that I was also witness 
 to the particulars of the above dis- 
 cussion at Coomassie on the 9th of 
 March. 
 
 (Signed) William Hutton. 
 
 Cape Coast, April 7. 1820. 
 
 G G 2 
 
452 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 General Treaty entered into with the King of Ashantee by 
 
 Consul Dupuis on the part of His Britannic Majesty’s 
 
 Government. 1 820. 
 
 Treaty made and entered into by Joseph 
 Dupuis, Esq. his Britannic majesty’s consul for 
 the kingdom of Ashantee, in Africa, in the 
 name and on behalf of the British government, 
 with O’Saii Tootoo Quamina, King of Ashantee 
 and its dependencies. 
 
 1st. The king of Ashantee agrees to receive 
 and acknowledge Joseph Dupuis, Esq. as his 
 majesty’s consul, to the full intent and meaning 
 of his commission, and if at any time ill health 
 should oblige the said Joseph Dupuis to leave 
 this country, the king will receive and acknow- 
 ledge any gentleman that he may appoint to 
 succeed him. 
 
 2nd. The king of Ashantee having taken the 
 sacred oatli of allegiance and fidelity to the 
 crown of Great Britain in the person of his 
 royal highness the Prince Regent, makes known 
 to all to whom these presents shall come, that 
 he will, with all his power and influence, support, 
 aid, and protect the British interest in this 
 country, and that he will, if necessary, on all 
 occasions, march his armies to any part of the 
 country, where the interests of Great Britain 
 may require their aid and assistance. 
 
 3d. The claim recently made by the king 
 of Ashantee on the governor of Cape Coast 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 453 
 
 Castle, amounting to one thousand six hundred 
 ounces of gold, or 6400/. is hereby acknow- 
 ledged to be relinquished ; and it is agreed that 
 there are now no differences or palavers existing 
 between the king of Ashantee and the governor, 
 or between the king and any other of his Bri- 
 tannic majesty’s subjects, collectively or in- 
 dividually. 
 
 4 th. The king of Ashantee agrees and binds 
 himself to support and encourage the commerce 
 of this country with Cape Coast and its depend- 
 encies, by all the means in his power, and pledges 
 himself not to allow any differences that may 
 occur, to interrupt the trade with the English 
 merchants on the coast. . 
 
 5th . . The king of Ashantee claims the Fantee 
 territories as his dominions, to which the consul 
 on the part of the British government accedes, 
 in consideration and on the express condition 
 that the king agrees to acknowledge the natives 
 residing under British protection entitled to the 
 benefit of British laws and to be amenable to 
 them only in case of any act of aggression on 
 their part. 
 
 6th. After the final adjustment of the present 
 claim upon the Cape Coast people, the king 
 binds himself to submit all future complaints to 
 the consul only, and on no account whatever to 
 make war with the natives at any of the English 
 settlements without first allowing the consul 
 the opportunity of settling such differences. 
 
 7 th. The consul, on the part of the British 
 g g 3 
 
454 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 government, guarantees all the protection in his 
 power to the subjects of the king of Ashantee 
 who may have any commerce with the British 
 settlements on the coast. 
 
 8 th. The consul binds himself, on the part of 
 the British government and the governor and. 
 council, to keep half the path that is already 
 made, between Cape Coast and Ashantee, well 
 cleared, and the king of Ashantee agrees to keep 
 the other half of the path constantly in good order, 
 so that there shall always be a free and easy 
 communication with the Ashantee dominions. 
 
 9 th. It is expressly agreed and understood 
 that the consul shall at all times be at liberty to 
 visit the capital of Ashantee, and to take his 
 departure therefrom whenever he may think fit, 
 without being subject to any interruption or de- 
 tention, and that his residence may either be 
 at Coomassie or at Cape Coast, as he may from 
 time to time deem expedient for the public 
 good, but if at any time, during his absence 
 from Coomassie, the king of Ashantee has 
 any complaint or palaver against the natives 
 of the British settlements, the same is to be 
 submitted to the consul at Cape Coast, and if 
 it cannot be settled without his presence at 
 Coomassie, it is agreed that he is immediately 
 to proceed to the capital on all such occasions* 
 
 10 th. The king of Ashantee having publicly 
 and repeatedly complained of the exorbitant 
 prices charged on the notes he holds from the 
 forts, of the goods he receives in payment of 
 those notes ; and in consequence of the manifest 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 4 59 
 
 ligion j and the king hereby cordially invites to 
 his country such well disposed men. 
 
 Given under our hands and seals at the 
 king’s palace, at the capital of Ash- 
 antee, this 23d day of March, in the 
 year of our Lord 1820, and in the 
 fifty-ninth year of the reign of his 
 majesty George the Third, &c. &c. 
 
 The mark X of 
 
 (Signed) O’Saii Tootoo Quamina. 
 Joseph Dupuis. 
 
 In the presence of 
 (Signed) B. Salmon. 
 
 F. Collins. 
 
 D. M. Graves. 
 
 No. XIV. 
 
 To the Governor and Council of Cape Coast, explanatory 
 of the Treaties entered into voith the King of Ashantee , 
 by Mr. Dupuis. 
 
 Cape Coast, April 14. 1820. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In reference to my negotiations at Coomassie 
 it may be necessary to inform you (what you 
 would have been acquainted with long ago but 
 for your insulting conduct to me when I waited 
 upon you in the public hall) that the Cape Coast 
 
460 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 people have nothing to do with either of the 
 treaties excepting only as regards the stipulation 
 I have made in their favor in the second clause 
 of the supplementary treaty, binding the king 
 down “ not to fire a gun in the town nor to 
 allow his troops to commit any act of hostility 
 or depredation therein,” 
 
 I again repeat that the Gape Coast natives have 
 nothing to do with either of the treaties excepting 
 only as regards the clause in their favor just 
 mentioned ; as they are most decidedly exempted 
 in the supplementary treaty , from the advantages 
 or disadvantages of either of the treaties, in con- 
 sequence of the palaver not being settled ; and 
 this will fully appear to the most superficial ob- 
 server from the following words in the second 
 clause of the supplementary treaty. “ It is here- 
 by expressly stipulated that the natives of Cape 
 Coast town, “being subjects of the king of Ash- 
 antee” *, are excluded from participating in the 
 benefits of either of the treaties;” and, moreover, 
 the king’s last words to me were, that I should 
 do every thing in my power to assist the governor 
 and his nephew, the Ashantee ambassador, to 
 settle the palaver with the natives of Cape Coast, 
 which, being done, the king declared he had no- 
 thing further to do with them, but in case of their 
 being guilty of any future offence he would 
 communicate with the consul only, allowing him 
 
 * These were the express words made use of by the king 
 on all occasions, and, as such, were inserted in the treaty. 
 
 15 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 461 
 
 the opportunity of settling the “ palaver.” I 
 liave, therefore, on this subject only to add, and 
 which I do without ostentation, that I believe 
 my influence in this case with the Ashantee am- 
 bassador will have great weight in bringing mat- 
 ters to a speedy and favourable termination. I 
 shall therefore be extremely happy during the 
 short time I remain in this country if I can be 
 instrumental in any w T ay to the accomplishment 
 of so desirable an object. 
 
 But should Sir George Collier leave this be- 
 fore you can avail yourselves of my services, it 
 may be proper to state to you distinctly that, in 
 consequence of the interference of the governor 
 with my negotiations at Coomassie, as particu- 
 larly applicable to the Cape Coast palaver, the 
 natives of this town stand precisely in the same 
 situation as when I left this for Ashantee, ex- 
 cepting only as already mentioned, that the king 
 is bound down “ not to Are a gun in the town 
 nor to allow his troops to commit any act of 
 hostility or depredation therein.” As regards 
 the treaties, copies of which I inclosed for your 
 information and future government, I flattered 
 myself they would have been highly gratifying 
 to you and to the world, inasmuch as they re- 
 stored that harmony and good understanding 
 with the Ashantees which have been so long in- 
 terrupted by the impolitic measures of the chief 
 governor, and not only so, but these treaties 
 secured to the merchants those commercial ad- 
 vantages, which if they are now deprived of by 
 
462 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 your building up a redoubt, at so critical a mo- 
 ment, you will have only yourselves to blame ; 
 and this I very much apprehend will be the case 
 if you persist in building any out- work until the 
 Cape Coast palaver is settled. If, therefore, I 
 may yet be allowed to offer my opinion on this 
 subject, I strongly recommend that the present 
 palaver should be settled in the first instance, 
 and then no man will be more ready than my- 
 self to co-operate in any measures to protect the 
 Cape Coast people, either by building up a re- 
 doubt or otherwise. Indeed had there been 
 any out-work to protect these people, I might 
 then have refused the king’s demand on them 
 altogether, but, situated as they are at present, 
 and as they have been, I did not conceive it 
 either prudent or politic to do so. And, as re- 
 gards the Fantees residing under the protec- 
 tion of the out-forts, the king again and again 
 vehemently declared, “ that they all belonged 
 to him ; that he had conquered them all either 
 by force of arms or by voluntary submission, and 
 that he could at any time destroy the whole of 
 the towns and population on the coast from Ap- 
 polonia to Accra.” As I could not, therefore, 
 with truth or justice, deny these arguments, 1 
 acceded to his claiming the Fantee territories on 
 the express condition of the people under the 
 forts, being entitled to the protection of British 
 laws, and to be amenable to them only in case of 
 any act of aggression. In doing this, I con- 
 ceived I was yielding a point merely nominal 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 463 
 
 for one of real value, namely, the protection of 
 the king of Ashantee, as well as his acknow- 
 ledgement that they should be protected by the 
 British laws, and be amenable to them only in 
 case of any act of aggression on their part. 
 What, then, gentlemen, I will ask, is it that you 
 desire for these people, unprotected as many of 
 them are by the recent desertion of our forts 
 by the governors and garrisons? In placing these 
 wretched inhabitants under the protection of 
 our own laws, I have done more for them than 
 could reasonably be expected since the aban- 
 donment of the out-forts ; for the fifth clause of 
 the general treaty, you will observe, particularly 
 applies to these people, and not to Cape Coast 
 at all, as the natives of this town, in particular, 
 are most decidedly and expressly excluded from 
 participating in the good or bad clauses (if any) 
 of either of the treaties. In short, the king of 
 Ashantee, as can be proved, declared that he 
 would not relinquish his right to claim the Fan- 
 tee territories, for, rather than do so, he was de- 
 termined to make war on these people, and con- 
 quer them as he had done before. The question, 
 therefore, is simply this, was it more politic for 
 me to yield this point for a time to save the people 
 residing under the out-forts from destruction, 
 or, by a refusal to accede to the king’s claim, to 
 have subjected all the towns on the Gold Coast 
 to pestilence and famine, and the most inhuman 
 butcheries ? 
 
 Before concluding my remarks as connected 
 
4-64 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 with my negotiations, it is proper to mention 
 that the king of Ashantee declares he is so 
 completely dissatisfied with the conduct of the 
 present chief governor, and also with the con- 
 duct of the conductors of the former mission, 
 that he long ago lost all confidence in the cha- 
 racter of the former gentleman ; and not only so, 
 but from these and other circumstances, I blush 
 for the misfortune of my country, while I con- 
 fess that the honour, the probity, the dignity, 
 and the faith of an Englishman and a merchant 
 have severely suffered from the obstinacy and 
 folly of men, who, from want of capacity, or some 
 other cause, now scarcely retain a shade of in- 
 fluence either with the king of Ashantee, or over 
 any of the towns on the Gold Coast, if I except 
 our chief settlement. 
 
 As I have told you, in another part of my 
 letter, I should have favoured you with these 
 particulars before, had it not been for your in- 
 sulting conduct to me, when I waited on you in 
 the public hall, for the purpose of reading and 
 explaining the treaties fully for your information ; 
 but as- you then refused me an audience, I was 
 determined not to put you in possession of this 
 dispatch, until the arrival of the commodore. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Joseph Dupuis. 
 To the Governor and Council, Cape Coast Castle. 
 
Route from Cape Coast to Coomassie . 
 
 To Pain trey or Doonqua, 
 Mansue, 
 
 Abandon, 
 
 Acomfodie, 
 
 Kirkiwhiri, 
 
 Ansah, 
 
 Akrofroom, 
 
 Doompassie 
 
 Dachasou, 
 
 Amafoo, 
 
 Sirassou, 
 
 Coomassie, 
 
 1 9 direct mites. 1 day' s journey. 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 is* 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 6 / 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 !i> 
 
 1 
 
 i2ii 
 
 1 
 
 140^ 9 
 
 It is nine good days’ journey from Cape Coast to 
 Coomassie. We were, however, twelve days in per- 
 forming the distance, which was in consequence of being 
 detained at Ansah and other places to pay our respects 
 to the Cabboceers. Messrs. Bowdich and Hutchison, 
 as well as Mr. Dupuis, were ten days in returning to 
 Cape Coast, but I was only six. The Ashantee traders 
 and messengers consider it expeditious travelling if they 
 perform the journey in twelve days. 
 
. 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 • ' 
 
 ■ 
 
 , 
 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 4 (>5 
 
 No. XV. 
 
 A Price Li A of the Company's Supplies and Stores, at 
 Cape Coast Castle. 
 
 
 A 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 Allspice - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 per ounce 
 
 Allegars 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Bees’ Wax 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 per pound 
 
 Bujutapauts 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 Bread (brown) 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3^ 
 
 per pound 
 
 Ditto (white) 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 
 Beef 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 per tierce 
 
 Ditto 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 per pound 
 
 Butter 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per firkin 
 
 Blue - 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 per pound 
 
 Bunting 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per piece 
 
 Box-irons and heaters 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Brads (flooring; 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per hundred 
 
 Belts 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Breast-plates 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 Blacking 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per bottle 
 
 Brushes (shoe) 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 per pair 
 
 Ditto (clothes) 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Ditto (paint) - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (white-wash) - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 Bricks 
 
 0 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 per hundred 
 
 Chelloes 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Cottons - 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 
 Coat patterns (uni- 
 
 
 
 
 
 form) 
 
 11 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 Currants 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 per jar 
 
 Cloves 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 per ounce 
 
 H H 
 
4 66 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 
 
 £• 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 Canvas 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per bolt 
 
 Cambric 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 Cordage 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per cwt. 
 
 Corks 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per gross 
 
 Corkscrews 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 each 
 
 Cocks (puncheon) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (wine) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (vat) 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (porter) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 
 Candles (wax) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 per pound 
 
 Ditto (sperm; 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 S 
 
 G 
 
 
 Ditto (mould) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 Cinnamon 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 per ounce 
 
 Coffee-pots 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Dirks and belts 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Decanters (quart) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (pint) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 Deals (1 inch) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (l£ inch) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (3 inch) - 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 14 
 
 0 
 
 
 Dimity, Indian, 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 Diaper 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 Dish Covers 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per set 
 
 Epaulets 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Earthenware 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per basket 
 
 Ditto 
 
 - 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per crate 
 
 Feathers (uniform) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 
 Flour 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 0 
 
 per barrel 
 
 Flannel 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 per yard 
 
 Funnels (tin) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 Finger cups 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 per dozen 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 
 4G7 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 Guinea stuffs 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Gunpowder 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per barrel 
 
 Glasses (wine) 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 per dozen 
 
 Glasgow danes - 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Green ells 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 
 Hats (round) 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Ditto (uniform) 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 Haberdashery 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per lot 
 
 Hinges 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 per pair 
 
 Hams ... 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per pound 
 
 Huccabuck 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 per yard 
 
 Iron bars 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 each 
 
 Irish linen 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 Iron bars (square) 
 
 0 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ketchup 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 per pint 
 
 Knives and Forks 
 
 
 
 
 
 (large) 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 0 
 
 per dozen 
 
 Ditto ditto (desert) - 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (carvers) 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 per pair 
 
 Lead bars 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 each 
 
 Locks (plate or stock) 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (chamber door) 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (desk or chest) 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (drawer) 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 G 
 
 
 Ditto (cupboard) 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 Lead (milled) 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 per cwt. 
 
 Lanthorns 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 each 
 
 Linen (Irish) 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 Mustard 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per bottle 
 
 Madeira wine 
 
 72 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per pipe 
 
 Ditto 
 
 0 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 per gallon 
 
 H H 2 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 46 3 
 
 Mace 
 
 . 
 
 *£. s. 
 0 2 
 
 d. 
 
 8 
 
 per ounce 
 
 Neganipauts - 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Niccanees (long) 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (bine) 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 
 Nutmegs 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 per ounce 
 
 Noils (2dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 per hundred 
 
 Ditto (4dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 
 Ditto (6dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (8dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 10 
 
 
 Ditto (lOdy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 
 Ditto (20dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (30dy) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 Osnaburg 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 per yard 
 
 Oil (sallad) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 per pint 
 
 Oil (paint) - 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 per gallon 
 
 Oil (Lamp) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 
 Peas 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 per keg 
 
 Pickles 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per case 
 
 Pork 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 per barrel 
 
 Ditto 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 per pound 
 
 Pepper 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 Porter 
 
 - 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per hhd. 
 
 Padlocks 
 
 «• 
 
 0 
 
 14 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 Ditto (common) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 Puncheon (iron bound) 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 
 Pick-axes 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 
 Paint (white) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 per pound 
 
 Ditto (red) •• 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (yellow) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 
 Ditto (green) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 
 Ditto (lead colour) 
 
 - 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 469 
 
 Paint (blue) 
 
 Ditto (black) 
 
 Ditto (chocolate) 
 
 Port wine 
 Romals, (assorted) 
 
 Rum (Jamaica) 
 
 Ditto (Leeward Island) 
 Russia Duck 
 Sastracundies 
 Swords, 
 
 Ditto belts 
 Ditto knots 
 Sashes (uniform) 
 
 Soap 
 
 Stockings 
 
 Starch 
 
 Staples (canoe) 
 
 Spades 
 
 Shovels - 
 
 Spruce 
 
 Sugar - 
 
 Shirts - - 
 
 Shoes 
 
 Sheeting (Irish) 
 
 Ditto (British) - 
 
 Silesias ... 
 
 Tapseils 
 
 Tacks 
 
 Tea - 
 
 Turpentine 
 
 Taffetas 
 
 II H 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 per dozen 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 per gallon 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 per pound 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 per pair 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 per pound 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per hundred 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 per pot 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 per pound 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 each 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 per pair 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 per yard 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 per hundred 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 per pound 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 per gallon 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 £ 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
470 
 
 APPpNDIX. 
 
 
 £• s. 
 
 d . 
 
 
 Tea kettles 
 
 - 0 12 
 
 0 
 
 
 Tallow 
 
 - ^ 0 10 
 
 0 
 
 per keg 
 
 Tumblers 
 
 - 1 4 
 
 0 
 
 per dozen 
 
 Vinegar 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 per gallon 
 
 Watering-pots 
 
 - o 7 
 
 0 
 
 each 
 
 
 No. XVI. 
 
 
 
 
 Meteorological Report. 
 
 
 The range of the thermometer during our 
 journey to Coomassie was from 74° to 93° in the 
 shade. In the mornings, at five o’clock, it was as 
 low as 74° and 75°, from which time the temper- 
 ature continued gradually to increase till three 
 o’clock, P. M. when the maximum was generally 
 from 84° to 88°. The greatest daily heat we ex- 
 perienced was at Kikiwhiri, on the 25th of Feb- 
 ruary, when the thermometer was as high as 93° 
 in the shade, at three o’clock, P. M.; the mini- 
 mum of that day was 7 5°. We had neither a 
 barometer or hygrometer, and the account of 
 the thermometer was kept by Mr. Salmon, from 
 whom I omitted to get a perfect copy ; but the 
 following is a copy from the account kept by that 
 gentleman from the 25th to the 29th of March 
 inclusive. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 471 
 
 Coomassie, March 25 , 
 
 Sarassou, 
 
 In the Forest,' 
 Assiminia, 
 
 -26, 
 
 — — 27 , 
 
 Dachasou, March 27, 
 
 In the Forest, 
 
 Doompassie, - — 
 
 Moinsee, — — 
 In the Forest,- 
 Acrofroom, — 
 
 28 , 
 
 In the Forest, 
 
 ■29, 
 
 Kikiwhiri, 
 
 6 A. M, 
 
 12 M. 
 4 P. M. 
 6 A. M. 
 12 M. 
 4 P.M. 
 8 P. M. 
 6 A. M, 
 M. 
 
 P. M. 
 P. M. 
 6 A. M. 
 12 M. 
 
 4 P. M. 
 8 P. M. 
 6 A. M. 
 12 M. 
 
 4 P.M. 
 8 P.M. 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 , 74° rain. 
 
 79 fine. 
 
 86 tornadoe. 
 
 73 cloudy. 
 84 fine. 
 
 ,86 — 
 
 82 cloudy. 
 
 , 79 hazy. 
 
 86 fine. 
 
 88 — 
 
 82 tornadoe. 
 
 74 fine. 
 
 86 
 
 88 — - 
 82 — - 
 74 — 
 
 86 — 
 
 88 - — ■ 
 
 82 — 
 
 5 No. XVII. 
 
 I 
 
 Since writing the preceding pages, I have 
 been favoured with the following official papers 
 from Sir Charles MacCarthy, which I have 
 no doubt will be interesting, as shewing the 
 advanced state of improvement in the colony of 
 Sierra Leone : — 
 
 h h 4 
 
LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS AND THEIR BURTHEN. 
 
 With the Amount of the several Invoices upon ‘which Duties have been paid at the Port of Free~Town, 
 Sierra Leone, from the lsi January to the 31 si December, 1820. 
 
 472 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
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LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS, See. — continued. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 473 
 
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LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS, &c. — continued. 
 
 474 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
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LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS, &c. — continued. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 4-7 5 
 
 
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LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS, &c. — continued. 
 
 476 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
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 APPENDIX. 
 
 4?7 
 
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 Custom-House, Freetown, 7 J. REFFELL, 
 
 Sierra Leone, January 1st, 1821. j Collector. 
 
478 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 EXPORTS, commencing 1st January and ending S\st December, 
 
 1820. 
 
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 and Scrivelloes. 
 
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 Bushels of Guinea Corn. 
 
 Mats. 
 
 t 1 
 
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 Malagetta 
 
 Pepper. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 <5 
 
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 XI 
 
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 | Tons. 
 
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 Bushels. 
 
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 6 
 
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 10 
 
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 1 
 
 N. B. In addition to the above, the ship Nearchus, Herring, Master, left this 
 in December with a Cargo of Timber, quantity unknown — the Captain and 
 crew being sick, no account was kept of the number of Logs put on board. 
 
 J. R. 
 
 There is, on the Date of this Return, Thirteen Merchant Vessels up the 
 River loading Timber. 
 
 Custom House, Freetown, Sierra Leone, January 1st, 1821. 
 
 J. REFFELL, Collector. 
 
RETURN OF SCHOOLS, AND PERSONS EDUCATED THEREIN. 
 
 Colony of Sierra Leone, January, 1821. 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 479 
 
 Total. 
 
 346 
 
 473 
 
 302 
 
 115 
 
 141 
 
 152 
 
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 90 
 
 93 
 
 27 
 
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 J. REFFELL, Chief Superintendant of Captured Negroes. 
 The number of stone houses at Sierra Leone when I was there two years ago, did not exceed 
 enty, but I understand they have now increased to upwards of one hundred. 
 
480 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. XVIII. 
 
 Murder of Mr. Meredith. 
 
 The following account of the murder of 
 Mr. Meredith, the Governor of Winnebah Fort, 
 is given nearly in the words of a gentleman who 
 witnessed the melancholy affair : — 
 
 “ On Thursday, the 6th of February, 1812, 
 while waiting at Winnebah Fort for the return of 
 Mr. Meredith from his garden, where he had 
 gone to take his usual morning’s walk, I heard 
 an alarm at the gate ; and, on enquiring the 
 cause, was informed that the townspeople had 
 seized the Governor. I immediately rushed out 
 to endeavour to prevail on them to release him ; 
 but it was with the greatest difficulty that I was 
 permitted to speak to him, after going a distance 
 of three miles j and even then they would not 
 allow me to keep the keys of his scrutoire, which 
 he gave me, so alarmed were they that the 
 key of the magazine was amongst them, which 
 they knew would give me the power of firing 
 upon the town. It was not without much trouble 
 and perseverance that I got back to the fort, as 
 they were once on the point of detaining me 
 with Mr. Meredith. On my return, however, 
 I wrote a note to Mr. John Hope Smith *, the 
 Governor of Tantum, informing him of the out- 
 rage ; and that gentleman arrived at Winnebali 
 
 * This gentleman, whose prompt and spirited conduct 
 upon this occasion, does him great honour, is now Governor- 
 in-Chief at Cape Coast. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 481 
 
 the next morning. Before his arrival, however, 
 
 1 received an order from the townspeople for 
 
 2 ankers of rum, 32 heads of cowries, and 100 
 hands of tobacco. 
 
 “ By some means or other, the people heard 
 of my having written to Mr. Smith ; and, in 
 consequence, they kept watch the whole night. 
 When, therefore, Mr. Smith made his appear- 
 ance in the morning, they collected, in great 
 numbers, on the beach ; and, on his landing, 
 they placed him between two ranks of men, and 
 marched him to the place in the Bush where 
 they kept Mr. Meredith prisoner. They pre- 
 viously, however, marched Mr. Smith to a differ- 
 ent place, and told him, that if he wished to 
 speak to his friend, he must pay 8 ounces of gold 
 (32/.) ; but they afterwards agreed to take 4 or 
 6 ounces (I am not certain which). 
 
 “ When I was with Mr. Meredith, in the Bush, 
 on the first day, the natives w'ere treating him 
 very ill, by setting fire to the grass, and making 
 him walk through the flames, without his shoes 
 or stockings, and in the burning sun, without his 
 hat. Mr. M.’s servant informed me that the 
 inhuman monsters had tied his master’s neck to 
 a stake, as tight as possible, and produced a pair 
 of irons, which they threatened to put on him, 
 if he had not averted it by a present of cowries, 
 liquor, and tobacco. On Saturday morning, 
 after having kept Mr. Smith 24 hours, and 
 Mr. Meredith 48, they allowed the former gentle- 
 man to come into the fort, but not without his 
 
482 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 promise, in Mr. Meredith’s presence, to pay 
 them 225 ounces of gold, which, with other pre- 
 sents, amounted to 1100/. ; a sum which, though 
 large, was trifling when the life of a worthy man 
 was in danger ; and, under this consideration, 
 Mr. Smith agreed to pay it. 
 
 “ In the middle of the night, I was called out of 
 my bed by the gunner, who told me he wanted 
 the keys of the fort, to admit Mr. Smith, who 
 was at the gate. When he was admitted, he 
 told me that Mr. Meredith was dangerously ill, 
 and wished to speak to me in a house in town, 
 where these wretches, after much entreaty, al- 
 lowed him to be carried. On seeing him, I 
 found his neck so swollen, that he could scarcely 
 breathe, and his respiration was accompanied by 
 a considerable noise in the throat. On seeing 
 me, he said he felt himself so ill, that he did not 
 think he should survive the morning, and there- 
 fore, in my presence, made some alterations in his 
 will. On Sunday morning Mr. Smith came into 
 the fort, and began to pay the stipnlated sum ; but 
 while we were delivering the goods, we were in- 
 terrupted by the melancholy intelligence that the 
 Governor was breathing his last ! The people, 
 who were receiving the goods, on hearing the 
 report, ran away, and left every thing behind. 
 In the mean while, I went out to see Mr. Mere- 
 dith ; but, alas ! he was a corpse before I 
 reached the house. I caused him to be carried 
 into the fort, and, in a short time after, the 
 people came and received the 225 ounces of gold. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 4.83 
 
 About 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Me- 
 redith’s remains were interred, with all the 
 honours due to the situation he held. 
 
 “ The above melancholy event, I believe, ori- 
 ginated from a palaver one of the townspeople 
 had with the sergeant of the fort. When the 
 Ashantees were in the Fantee territories, in 
 the year 1811, the Winnebahs were about to 
 join the Fantee army ; and a man named As- 
 sibarta at this time delivered a large chest 
 (locked) to the care of the sergeant of the fort, 
 until his (Assibarta’s) return from the war. 
 The greater part of the Winnebahs were de- 
 stroyed, and Assibarta was among the slain. 
 About six months after the battle the chest was 
 demanded by the relatives of the deceased Assi- 
 barta, and was accordingly delivered to them. 
 But, a day or two after, the chest was returned 
 to the sergeant, with this message, “ that, as he 
 had kept the gold which was in it, (amounting 
 to 1000 ounces,) he might also keep the chest.” 
 The sergeant denied the charge ; but, after the 
 palaver had been talked over several times, with- 
 out the cabboceers coming to any decision, it 
 was at last agreed to send to the Great Fetish, 
 in the Braffoe country*, to ascertain which party 
 was in the wrong. The sergeant obtained an 
 
 * This fetish man, or priest, the natives believe can per- 
 form the greatest miracles. They say he can change the 
 wind and weather ; that he knows all things past, present, 
 and to come ! 
 
 I I 2 
 
484 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 advance of 40/. on his pay from Mr. Meredith ; 
 and messengers were accordingly sent to ques- 
 tion the oracle, which declared against the 
 sergeant : but he, conscious of his innocence, 
 protested against the decision, as unjust, and 
 messengers were sent a second time to the 
 fetish man ; but he now sent a threatening an- 
 swer to the sergeant, demanding to know ‘ if he 
 doubted the infallibility of the oracle, and 
 whether he had forgot having taken the gold out 
 of the chest, about seven o’clock in the evening, 
 carrying it to Mr. Meredith about eight o’clock, 
 and telling him to take good care of it, with a 
 promise of dividing the spoil.’ The sergeant, 
 however, still declared his innocence ; but the 
 Pynins then went into the fort, to inform 
 Mr. Meredith of the decision of their fetish; 
 when he asked them, if they really believed he 
 had stolen the gold ; to which they replied, 
 that they had never heard of a white man steal- 
 ing from a black man ; but added, that it was 
 not them but the fetish who had said so. 
 
 “ The next morning they seized him, and also 
 the sergeant at the same time ; when they so in- 
 timidated the latter, by threatening to destroy 
 him, and all his family if he did not declare 
 against his master, that he, at last, was obliged 
 to say what they wished.” 
 
 This atrocious murder did not pass un- 
 punished ; for, a short time after, His Majesty’s 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 485 
 
 frigate Amelia, commanded by the Honourable 
 Captain Irby, took on board a party of the Com- 
 pany’s officers ; and, anchoring in Winnebah 
 roads, destroyed the town, and drove the in- 
 habitants into the woods ; since which the place 
 has been abandoned, although the natives have 
 made several applications to the English to re- 
 side there again, but without success. 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 Protest of William Hutton , His Majesty's Acting Consul 
 for Asliantee , against the Governor and Council at 
 Cape Coast Castle , 3d June, 1820. 
 
 I, William Hutton, His Britannic Majesty’s 
 Acting Agent and Consul for the kingdom of 
 Asliantee, do hereby declare, that I did, on the 
 18th day of April, 1820, transmit to John Hope 
 Smith Esquire, Governor of Cape Coast Castle, 
 and its dependencies, a copy of a commission 
 from His present Majesty to Joseph Dupuis 
 Esquire, conferring upon him, the said Joseph 
 Dupuis, the appointment of His Britannic Ma- 
 jesty’s Agent and Consul for the kingdom of 
 Asliantee in Africa ; which document, I further 
 declare, was accompanied by a copy of the said 
 Joseph Dupuis’ transfer of the said commission, 
 with full powers to me to have, to hold, and to 
 
48G 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 exercise the same until the pleasure of His 
 Majesty’s Government be known. 
 
 And I do further declare, that on the twenty- 
 seventh day of April 1820, I received a public 
 letter from John Tasker Williams Esquire, the 
 Secretary to the Governor and Council at Cape 
 Coast Castle, dated the twenty-fifth April, 
 1820, wherein the said John Tasker Williams 
 Esquire, in his official capacity of Secretary, 
 acknowledges the receipt of the before-mention- 
 ed documents, by the Governor-in-Chief, John 
 Hope Smith Esquire, and distinctly states, that 
 he, the said John Tasker Williams, had received 
 the commands of the Governor and Council, 
 to acquaint me that they could not recognise 
 any appointment of the said Joseph Dupuis 
 Esquire, nor permit any person to exercise con- 
 sular duties in this country, until they received 
 instructions from the African Committee to that 
 effect. 
 
 As it is, therefore, well known, especially to 
 the Governor and Council aforesaid, that the 
 said Joseph Dupuis’ commission, transferred to 
 me as aforesaid, was held by him, the said 
 Joseph Dupuis, under the sign manual of His 
 present Most Gracious Majesty, (when Prince 
 Regent,) and countersigned by the Right 
 Honourable Earl Bathurst, one of His Ma- 
 jesty’s principal Secretaries of State, it is 
 .absurd to suppose for a moment that the Go- 
 vernor and Council here, being under the direc- 
 tion of a Mercantile Board, the African Com- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 487 
 
 niittee, can have any powers whatever to inter- 
 fere with the said commission, either in abrogat- 
 ing or setting it aside j'-ngither can they have 
 any authority to interrupt me in the exercise 
 of those consular duties which have been so 
 sacredly committed to me, by His Majesty’s 
 Consul aforesaid. 
 
 For these reasons, I do solemnly protest against 
 the said John Hope Smith Esquire, Governor- 
 in-Chief and President of the said Council, and 
 also the other members of the said Board, 
 collectively and individually, namely, James 
 Swanzy Esquire, Vice-President, and John 
 Gordon and John Fountaine Esquires. The 
 proceedings of these gentlemen, in the present 
 case, being not only unjust and oppressive, in 
 so far as they interdict me from exercising 
 consular duties, but also inasmuch as they are 
 evidently calculated to deprive me of my only 
 means of support in this country, from the 
 circumstance which has followed, as a natural 
 consequence of these unjustifiable measures, 
 viz. that no person will now give me gold or 
 cash for my bills, which as His Majesty’s Acting 
 Agent and Consul I am, of course, at liberty to 
 draw for my salary. 
 
 In consequence, therefore, of being thus un- 
 justifiably interrupted in the exercise of my 
 official duties, and cut off from all means of sup- 
 porting myself at Cape Coast, or any other of 
 the British settlements, in that respectable man- 
 ner which ought to be observed by a person in 
 
4-88 
 
 APPENDIX', 
 
 my situation, I may he obliged to seek that 
 support and protection' J2Tthe Dutch govern- 
 ment at Elmina, or the government of the 
 colony of Sierra Leone, or elsewhere, as I may 
 deem most expedient, or as the urgency of my 
 case requires, until the pleasure of His Majesty’s 
 government be known. 
 
 I do, therefore, further protest against the 
 said John Hope Smith, James Swanzy, John 
 Gordon, and John Fountaine, Esquires, for all 
 losses, damages, consequences, and expenses 
 that may result to me in consequence of thus 
 being illegally and unjustifiably interrupted in 
 the discharge of my official duties as His Ma- 
 jesty’s Acting Agent and Consul as aforesaid, 
 or that may result from any steps I may adopt 
 in consequence thereof. 
 
 And I do further make oath, to the best of 
 my judgment and belief, to the truth of this 
 protest. 
 
 WILLIAM HUTTON. 
 
 Sworn before me, at Cape Coast 
 Castle, this third day of June, 
 in the year of our Lord 1820. 
 
 J. Hope Smith. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 London: 
 
 Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode, 
 New- Street-Square.