The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1886-11-03
ON THE GOLD COAST.
a ANDlNG AT ACCRA IN SPITE OF
GRAVE DIFFICULTIES.

4 Bit of West African Scencry-PuiiinS
for the shore in IL Native surf Boat-A
Fight with Furious Wavss-Ashore Mt
Last.
With our usual good luck we pass during
the night the only bit Of scenery worth look
iic at on this part OF the coast-yiz, the alSh
land near Cape Coast castle. seasonabie,
although momcn;ary, relief to tine dreary
and monotonous hidcousness of the low,
bristly. intcnnnable Jungle, which may be
best imagined by pcturiuS to ones self sec
ond hand hair brush several hundred miles
long But next morning some Slight c0mpen-
sation awaits Is in the bold, rocky bluif or
Winnebah, which thru IS forth its broad,
black breast into the roaring sea rs IL detyIng
the white lipucd wrath Of the breakers that
come LAUNDERING against it, flinGinS their
great hills Of foam mast high into the AIR,
while from amid the craS5 four small white
houses peer down into tie bowling chaos be-
low like watching children, half pleased and
half frightened. An hour later two or three
long. sopng hills begin 10 loom through the
breaking mist, and suddenly, rs il at the us
ing of a curtain. the trim white houses o. Ac-
era, and the ridge OF darkrcd sandstone upon
which they stand. and The tail feathery palms
that rise above them against the SKY lnc and
the cmving yellow beach below vi his ring OF
Offering foam, and the wide grcca uplands
beyond. terminated by the rocky hcadland
crowned with the low, massive white walls Of
Christiansborg castle, all start into view at
once.
OFF FOR THE SHORE.
The innocent young men who come out here
for the first time with ideas Of European
comfort and civilization, thinking they have
nothing to do but $50 ashore at once are
naturally somewhat startled TO find that the
first question is whether they can go ashore
at all Old stagers talk so coolly of a heavy
beach, that it is rather n shock to learn that
this simple phrase implies the breaking upon
the beach Of so violent a surf as to involve
the certainty Of being capsized and the very
strong probability Of being drowned In the
offing lies q steamer which has already waited
here two days with passengers whom she can
not land even in a native surf boat, the only
craft which has any chance Of living in such
a sea- However, the breakers are n little less
formidable now, and n native bOatman's YER
dict Of "naaf' lmiddling) sufIices to encourage
US TO venture The acting governor Of
Lagos, the Hon. Frederick Evans, for whom
a special surf boat has been sent out by the
the treasurer, kindly offers me n seat in it.
SO we jump, or rather tumble, into the
dancing boat, which bumps against our knees
one minute and is yards away beneath orr
feet the next, and away we 20 to find out
whether we are to be drowned or not.
Up and down, up and down, with the spray
lashing our faces and the water gurgling
round our feet, now rising far into the air on
a hilltop of scethng foam, now plunging with
a dizzy swing into the depths Of a shadOwy
green valley between two towering walls of
dark water Every moment it seems as if
we must certainly be overwhelmed by some
huge "rolier," which comes rushing on, curl
ing its vast, snowy crestS far above our heads
like a falling avalanche. But the monster
always misses us by a hairs breadth, for the
gaunt, black scarecrows who sit perched
along our rocking gmwale, each with one
foot in n sort of stirrup Of rope fixed in the
boats side have no match along the whole
Guinea coast for such work as this.
SCOLDING THE FURIOUS WAVES.
Every stroke of the short, strong paddles
which, instead of being spear pointed like
those Of the Grain coast, or spoon shaped like
those Of the Niger, resemble a clumsy three
pronged fork, with very broad and thick
points-is accompanied by sharp yell, such
rs Mr.. Lowell humOrously called "a dogs
ology," and sometimes even by few words
of untranslatable abuse, hurled with angry
gestures at the furious waves Meanwhile
scores Of eager eyes watch our progress both
from the ship and from the shore, but, except
when suddenly flung up on the crest Of a huge
billow, both we and our boat are completely
invisible from either point. And now the
yelling grows louder and wilder as the strokes
of the paddles suddenly quicken, and the boat
rocks to and fro till il appears as if one inch
more must turn her right over, while, as we
swoop upward on the whirl of a mighty wave,
the shore and the great pillows that thunder
! upon it, hitherto dim and distant, start all at
once into perilous nearness.
We are now running parallel with the line
OF crashing breakers along the beach, our
only chance being to skirt It's terrible outer
/ edge till we can seize favorable moment for
our final rush. As the next wave lifts US upon
/ It's crest we see a swarm Of black figures hur-
! rying down TO the shore, ready to drag us to
| land when our boat capsizes. Then comes an
ear-piercing howl from our crew, the boat is
ghirled onward like a stone from a sling,
there comes a tremendous shock, deaiening
crash, an indistinct vision Of black faces and
outstretched arms amid a swirl of boiling
foam, and then feel myself clutched by halt
a dozen hands at once and borne landward in
! n Lind of communicated Afren fnhtn amnIo 81 !