Moslems also appeared about the town, showing that the flood of El-Islam
is fast setting this way. They might profitably be hired as an armed
escort into the pagan interior.

Axim, preferably written by the Portuguese 'Axem,' was by them pronounced
Ashim or Ashem: no stress, therefore, must be laid upon its
paper-resemblance with Abyssinian Axum. [Footnote: I allude to _The Guinea
or Gold Coast of Africa, formerly a Colony of the Axumites_ (London,
Pottle and Son, 1880), an interesting pamphlet kindly forwarded to me by
the author, Captain George Peacock. I believe, as he does, that the West
Coast of Africa preserves traces of an ancient connection with the Nile
valley and the eastern regions; but this is not one of them.] Barbot calls
it 'Axim, or Atzyn, or Achen.' The native name is Essim, which, in the
language of the Mfantse or Mfantse-fo (Fanti-race), means 'you told me,'
and in the Apollonian dialect 'you know me.' These fanciful terms are
common, and they allude to some tale or legend which is forgotten in
course of time. The date of its building is utterly unknown. The Fanti
tradition is that their race was driven coastwards, like their kinsmen the
Ashantis, [Footnote: In _Wanderings in West Africa_, (ii. 98) I have given
the popular derivation of Fanti (Fan-didi = herb-eater) and Asyanti
(Sán-didi = corn-eater). Bowdich wrote 'Ashanti' because he learnt the
word from the Accra-men.] by tribes pressing down upon them from the
north. They must have found the maritime lands occupied, but they have
preserved no notices of their predecessors. The port-town became the
capital of an upper factor, who ruled the whole coast as far as Elmina. It
was almost depopulated, say the old authorities, by long wars with the
more powerful Apollonia; but its commanding position has always enabled it
to recover from the heaviest blows. It is still the threshold of the
western Gold-region, and the principal port of occidental Wásá (Wassaw).