The Ancobra
now resembles the St. John's or Prince's River in the matter of
timber-floorwork and _chevaux de frise_ of tree-corpses disposed in every
possible direction. After half an hour we paddled past the 'Devil's Gate,'
a modern name for an old and ugly feature. H.S.M.'s entrance (to home?) is
formed by black reefs and ridges projected gridiron-fashion from ledges on
either side almost across the stream, leaving a narrow _Thalweg_ so
shallow that the boatmen must walk and drag. During the height of the
floods it is sometimes covered for a few hours by forty feet of water,
rising and falling with perilous continuity.
Beyond 'Devil's Gate' a pleasant surprise awaited us. Mr. D. C. MacLennan,
manager of the Effuenta mine, [Footnote: The name was given by M. Dahse;
it is that of the first worker, Efuata, a woman born on Saturday (_Efua_),
and the third of a series of daughters (_ata_).] stopped his canoe to
greet us. He was justly proud of his charge--a box of amalgam weighing 15
lbs. and carrying eighty ounces of gold. It was to be retorted at home and
to be followed within a fortnight by a larger delivery, and afterwards by
monthly remittances. The precious case, which will give courage to so many
half-hearted shareholders, was duly embarked on the A.
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