For some
distance from Cape Coast the shore was flat, but further on the
country became hilly. Some of the undulations reached a considerable
height, the highest, Mamquady, being over two thousand feet.
"That ought to be a very healthy place," Frank said. "I should
think that a sanatorium established there would be an immense boon
to the whites all along the coasts."
"One would think so," an officer replied "but I'm told that those
hills are particularly unhealthy. That fellow you see jutting out
is said to be extremely rich in gold. Over and over again parties
have been formed to dig there, but they have always suffered so
terribly from fever that they have had to relinquish the attempt.
The natives suffer as well as the whites. I believe that the
formation is granite, the surface of which is much decomposed; and
it is always found here that the turning up of ground that has not
been disturbed for many years is extremely unhealthy, and decomposing
granite possesses some element particularly obnoxious to health.
The natives, of course, look upon the mountain as a fetish, and
believe that an evil spirit guards it. The superstition of the
negroes is wonderful, and at Accra they are, if possible, more
superstitious than anywhere else.
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