Posts

Showing posts from August, 2017

How Sugar Loaf Got Its Name, and Other Stories | Fantasy History 13

Image
F rom the harbour, a long sand-bank stretches across the entrance, or rather estuary, and it must be approached on the south point, on which is Carpenter's rock, to be seen at low water but covered at high, which ships safely avoid by taking a wide berth...The only danger to be apprehended is during the Tornado season, when such is its violence that ships are frequently driven from their anchors. T he appearance of the Colony from sea is particularly marked by a high-peaked mountain, which, from its conical shape, is commonly called the “sugar-loaf” in the neighborhood of which are three other hills of minor attraction. The most elevated is seen above the clouds, and may be described at the distance of thirty or forty miles, perhaps more, long before the low land. ( William Whitaker Shreeve.  Sierra Leone: The Principal British Colony on the Western Coast of Africa, 1847 pp 21.) . F reetown's peninsula is about 18 miles long from north-west to south-east by about 12 broad