Bowden's
absence. I shall give further detail on my return march. Passing through
the spirit-reeking Takwa village, where nearly every hovel is a 'shebeen,'
I walked along the valley separating the ridge from its western neighbour,
Vinegar Hill, and in half an hour entered the huts belonging to the Gold
Coast Mining Company. [Footnote: These gentlemen are still (October 1882)
doing hard and successful work at the mines.] Here I breakfasted with the
brothers Gowan, who had been left in charge by Mr. Creswick. My notes on
this establishment must also be reserved for a future page.
Twenty-five minutes' walking brought me to where the main road, a mere
bush-path, strikes across a gully separating two crests of the Takwa
ridge. Then came a good stretch of level ground, composed of sand and
gravel of stained quartz, clothed with the ordinary second-growth. When
this ended I passed over the northern heads of two small _buttes_ which
lie unconformably; the direction of their main axes lies north-north-west,
whereas all their neighbours trend to the north-north-east. The climb was
followed by a second level, bounded on the left, or north, by the Abo Yao
Hill, the _emplacement_ of the 'Mines d'Or d'Aboassu.
Pages:
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314