The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-09
THE GOLD COAST.
ODD THINGS SEEN on THE WEST
COAST OF AFRICA.
The Natives and Their Houses-Pe-
culiar Burial Customs-Jour-
neyfnS in Hammocks-The
Oil-Palm Industry.

Although the Gold Coast of Africa is
mot favorable for the prolong cation of
land healthy enough. The children are
particularly sprjghtly and fat. They are
MARI ageable at an early age, commencing
hhe cares of we dcd lie at ten. The
Infants are carried by their mothers in a
|peculiar position. A piece of light wood
iabout ten inches long by four or FIVE
lbroad is covered with cotton and tied
! around the woman, so as to rest upon
! the lower part of her back. Upon this
! the infant is placed, straddling face to
J the mothers back, and secured by q
fold of her cotton cloth. The woman is
thus free to work.
! saw some very old persons here, says
{ a writer in the San francisco Chronicle.
One day on going down the road toward
the castle, 1 saw vererable-looking
negro sitting in wicker-cha bare
headed and fully exposed to the fierce
rays of the sun. 1t was about noon,
when the sun is very powerful, and the
sold fellows skull was devoid of WOO,
bare and shiny. I stopped to speak to
him, placing my hand on top of his
head and finding the heat excessive.
I He smoke in tremulous tones, telling
me he was nearly one hundred years OF
age, and that his blood was cold; so he
had his chair placed in the sun so that
his system could be warmed thoroughly.
The houses are made of SUM- baked
brick, or adobe, which material is all
right during the dry portion of the
year, but has an inconvenient habit of
tumbling about your devoted person
during a continuance of rain. The
walls of the houses are thick, to keep
the great heat out, and the roofs are
thatched with dried grass.
The burials of the Gold Coast are
very peculiar. Most Of the people own
their houses, and the family have per-
haps lived in them for generations.
The custom doubtless arose from con-
siderations of security, for fear the
graves might be rifed. They always
bury their dead within the walls of the
deceased's residence. The house where
we were lodged was separated from the
ad joining one by narrow alley. The
window of our upper room looked into
the lower story of the other house, as
door was just opposite US. We were
thus enabled to view the whole pro-
ceedings. The wife of the owner, a
young woman Of about twenty years Of
age, had died of fever and was laid out
on a trestle covered with black cloth,
attired as in life. In the center of the
room a trench was dug, the depth of
which we could not exactly determine.
The body was literally covered with gold
ornaments. Gold beads rouad her
neck in double row, gold.bead girdle,
earrings, rings, pins, braeelets--all of
massive form and chased, but not very
finely. The workmanship is not of the
highest order. A rich mulstto lady,
widow of a white merchant and niece
of the ruling King of Ashantee. was
among the mourners. She had vial
filed with gold dust in her hand, which
she emptied into the mouth of the de-
ceased woman, scattering the overplus
on the face. Some women then took
the body and wrapped it carefully in a
white sheet; they then lowered it with
cords into the grave. A bra,ier was
burning in the apartment, which was
large, and usually the parlor. Onto the
hot Goals they then threw some odori-
ferrous stuff, which gave out an intense
smoke. This had the effect, doubtless,
of driving away any evil spirits that
might have been loating around seeking
something to devour. Under cover Of
this smoke, which was too dense for us
to see through, the earth must have been
filed in; for when we could discern OBJ.
iects again the floor was even and
stamped down, looking as before. saw
no men present during the interment.
I was informed that during little
difficulty between the French and
native King, men were landed from
war ship, who, after driving away the
inhabitants, had Kroo-b boys to dig up the
interiors of the chief houses, and Sc
cured fair amount of the precious
metal as booty.
The kingdom of Ashantee ad joins the
Fantee country inland. The people of
this kingdom are not SO tall or athletic
a race, but are 1.-the and clean limbed.
active and intelligent. Ipreferred them
to their neighbors, the Fantees. went
up as far as the Frah, q pleasant enough
trip of several days. AS there are no
horses, nor mules, nor even the humble
Jerusalem pony, We were carried in
hammocks, bsd imitation of the Indian
palkce. These contrivances are made
of canvass and slung to pole, which
latter is carried on mems shoulders fore
and aft. TT is very jumpy, jolting
method of locomotion.
The ol-palm grows in dense forests on
this coast, although the short-sighted
natives are doing all in their power to
destroy this lucrative trade. To get at
the palm nuts, or kernels, they cut the
trees down, so ending the career of that
source of revenue. In the course of time
all these trees will have been cleared out,
andI have not heard that they are plant
ing anew. Whenever trees are cut
down the African marigold springs up,
growing luxuriantly to nve and six feet
in height. The palm-a.christi also is
indigenous here, the seeds of which, by
expression. furnish castor oil. Of late
years trees furnishing an excellent rubber
have been, found in large quantities,
about SO, 900 worth having been ex-
ported last year.
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