Page:A pilgrimage to my motherland.djvu/21

12 situated in lat. 5° 6', N., long. 1° 5' W The town is not so low as either Bathurst or Lagos, but at the same time not more healthy than either. It was originally founded by the Portuguese; the British became its owners in 1672. The immediate site of the town wears a very rugged and barren aspect, but there are some beautiful green hills in the background where Indian corn and other products are cultivated. Gold dust is the principal article of export—the gold is chiefly brought from the Ashantee country in the interior, but the women procure small quantities after rain by washing the black sand scraped from the sea-beach and water-courses. The landing is bad, although the native canoe-men manage so well as seldom to wet their passengers. The inhabitants experience great want of water, relying for their supply on wells and pools which are frequently dry, and the latter sometimes muddy and unwholesome. The natives are very industrious, and manufacture tolerably fine articles of jewelry. The women both of this place and of Acra wear a strange-looking appendage to their dress immediately at the base of the lumbar region. Bustle would be hardly an appropriate term for it, as, although worn in about the same position, the appearance is different; and though used as a support for infants, which African women universally carry on their backs, it is