One _bouche inutile_ bore a flag, a second carried a gun,
and so forth, the only principle being to work as little as possible and
to plunder all things plunderable. There were exceptions. Joe (Kwasi
Bedeh) of Dixcove, Cameron's old servant, who boasts of being a pagan, and
who speaks English, French, and Dutch, a handy and intelligent young
fellow, who can cook, sew, carpenter, or lead a caravan--in fact, can
serve as factotum--and his accounts, marvellous to recount, are honestly
kept. I should want no better servant in these coast-countries and in
exploring the far interior. The cook, 'Mister Dawson,' of Axim, is a
sturdy senior of missionary presence: having been long employed in that
line, he wears a white tie on Sundays, and I shrewdly suspect him of
preaching. A hard worker, beginning early and ending late, he is an
excellent stuffer of birds and beasts, and the good condition of our
collection is owing entirely to him. His son, Kwasi Yau (Sunday Joe), is a
sharp 'boy' in the Anglo-Indian sense. The carpenter, our model idler, who
won't work and can't work, receives 3_l_. per mens., when $8 should be the
utmost; we cleared him out on return to Axim.
Pages:
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155