The rest are planks brought from Europe,
good carpentry-work, and raised a little off the ground. Unfortunately the
bulkheads are close above, instead of being latticed for draught. The
items are two boxes--sleeping-room and store-room--with a larger lodging
of four rooms which sadly wants a flying-roof. The offices are kept in
good order by the penniless caretaker, who has been left entirely without
supplies, and who is obliged to borrow our ink-bottles.
We lost no time in visiting the 'Akankon' reef, a word appropriately
meaning 'abandoned' or 'left alone.' The people, however, understand it in
the sense that, when a miner has taken possession of the ground, and has
shown a right to it, his fellows leave him to work and betake themselves
elsewhere. Immediately behind the huts we came upon a broad streak
cochineal-red, except where tarnished by oxygen, where it looked
superficially like ochre. The strike ran parallel with the quartz-reef,
north 5? east (true). Cameron had broken some of the stone into chips,
subjected it to the blow-pipe, and obtained bright globules of
quicksilver. Veins of sulphide of mercury, cinnabar, or vermilion have
been found in other parts of the Protectorate: we suspected their presence
at Apatim, and collected specimens, still to be assayed.
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