Full text of "Liberia"
This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the
publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web
at|http : //books . google . com/
on War, Revolution, and Peace
FOUNOtLJ t3> MLKliLK! MUUVt^
/"
■>
4
>lf
v"
*^.
0^
■a)
LIBERIA
A Mandingo
^Frontispiece
LIBERIA
By
SIR HARRY JOHNSTON
G.C.M.G.. K.C.B.. D.Sc.
Gold Medallist Royal Geographical, Royal Scottish Geographical, and Zoological Societies
Author of "The Uganda Protectorate," ** History of the Colonisation of Africa," etc.
WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE FLORA OF LIBERIA
By
DR. OTTO STAFF, F.L.S.
Principal Assistant, Kew Herbarium
28 Coloured Illustrations by Sir Harry Johnston
24 Botanical Drawings by Miss Matilda Smith
402 Black and White Illustrations from the Author's Drawings
and from Photographs by the Author and others
22 Maps by Mr. J. W. Addison. Capt. H. D. Pearson, R.E.,
Lieut. E. W. Cox, R.E., and the Author
*' A more enviable renown England never won— no, not when from the reluctant hand
of the throne she wrung the Charter of her liberties, not when beneath the raging waves
she sank the Spanish Armada, not even when her power struck down Napoleon— than
when the perishing African cried to her and she listened and saved."
R. R, Glrlev (one of the founders of Liberia),
Philadelphia, U.S.A., 1839
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I
New York
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
1906
219367
I. SURF OFF LIBERIAN COAST
PREFACE
THE Republic of Liberia is an attempt and an atonement
in which the author of this book takes a great interest.
It is an attempt to establish a civilised Negro State in the
West African forest ; and a somewhat paltry atonement which
has been made by Britain and her Daughter in America, for
the wrong-doing of the slave trade. As France shared to
some extent this traffic in negro bondsmen, we may claim her
sympathy and participation also in the Liberian experiment.
She holds back her mighty forces and the tidal wave of her
African Empire from the skirts of this small African republic,
wherein the descendants of slaves impressed with European
culture may try to devise a new and appropriate civilisation
Preface ^
for Negro West Africa : preserving all that is good and
practical of America's teaching, shedding what is inappropriate,
and inventing additional precepts suited to the Negro's mind
and body. Personally, the author thinks the main future of
those negroes in the United States who cannot be absorbed
into the American community without risk of civil war lies
in the West Indies and in portions of Tropical South America.
He believes they have become too widely separated in physical
constitution, in political and commercial ideals from Africa to
resume with ease the African citizenship of their forefathers.
For good or for ill, they must populate some portion of America,
as partners with the white man or as a race by themselves.
But amongst their millions some few thousands, now and
again, may choose to try an African career. There is plenty
of room for such adventurers within the 43,000 square miles
of the Liberian Republic, room and to spare ; for this country,
properly tilled and drained, cleared and cultivated, might easily
sustain a population of twenty millions.
The author classes Liberia as an attempt as well as an
atonement. It is but a tiny portion of the African continent,
soon to be (with the exception of Abyssinia, perhaps) the only
truly independent African State which we have set apart for
the unfettered development of the black race. We have allowed
them to take — which means that we have given them — a little
garden in which to show what their husbandry can do. To this
careless gift we should at least add Time. We should not
■^ Preface
flurry them or worry them by expecting fifteen thousand, twenty
thousand, twenty-five thousand Americanised Negroes to eflfect
in a hundred years as much as P>ance and England could do
in other portions of Negro Africa with unlimited resources
in arms, men, and money, during the same period of time.
Let us claim for Liberia at least another half-century of trial
before the world in congress pronounces decisively upon the
success or failure of the experiment.
The author of this book first visited the coast of Liberia in
1882; again in 1885 and 1888 he landed at one place and another
on its shores, collected in its forests, and took sketches or
photographs of its people, animals, or plants. After a consider-
able interval of time, he re-visited Liberia in the summer of
1904 and the winter of 1905-6, and during these visits took
a considerable proportion of the photographs which illustrate
this book, besides painting numerous studies in colour. On
these last occasions the author compiled most of the vocabu-
laries printed in this work, and acquired a good deal of the
information — such as it is — which is here given. For portions
of this book he is greatly indebted to the help of other people.
In the first place. Dr. Otto Stapf of the Botanical staff at the
Royal Gardens, Kew, has, with the consent of Sir William
Thiselton Dyer, prepared a most valuable annotated list of the
known flora of Liberia. A good deal of his information is
acquired from the collections made on behalf of the Liberian
Development Chartered Company and the Liberian Rubber
vii
Preface ^
Corporation by Mr. Alexander Whyte, M.A., F.L.S. Mr.
Whyte was the first European, or indeed collector of any kind, to
botanise in the liberian hinterland. His work as a collector in
African botany may not unfitly be classed with that of Adanson,
Hooker, Vogel, Mann, Schweinfurth, and Kirk. After thirteen
years' service in the East and Central African protectorates he
visited Liberia in 1903-4 to report on the flora of the
country for the information of the two companies above men-
tioned. Dr. Stapf has also derived much material for his treatise
from the collections of Herr Dinklage (of Messrs. Woermann),
and from those made by the foresters in the employ of the
Liberian Rubber Corporation — Messrs. David Sim, Harold
Reynolds, J. Cosh, and F. J. Whicker.
The author has to thank the Directors of the Liberian
Chartered and Monrovian Rubber Companies for the information
derived from the botanical and zoological collections made by
their employes which are now in the national collections at Kew
and the British Museum. He has also used in this book a
number of interesting photographs taken for the Liberian
Development Company by Sir Simeon Stuart, Bart., Mr. T. H.
Myring, the Due de Morny, Mr. J. P. Crommelin, and others.
The Liberian Government or the Liberian Consul-General in
London (Mr. Henry Hayman) has also placed photographs at the
author's disposal, and he owes the use of others to Mr. G. W.
Ellis, Secretary to the American Legation at Monrovia. Mr.
C. H. Firmin, of the Sierra Leone Railway, has most kindly lent
viii
^ Preface
the author a number of photographs illustrating the native
industries, fauna, and scenery of the Western Liberian border-
land. The botanical drawings for the book have been done by
Miss Matilda Smith of the Kew Herbarium. In regard to the
nomenclature of the mammals and birds, the author is indebted
to Mr. Oldfield Thomas and Mr. C. Chubb, of the British
Museum, for much assistance, and also to Mr. G. A. Boulenger
for information regarding the reptiles and fish. Miss E. M.
Rowdier Sharpe has examined and classified the butterflies. Mr^
R. I. Pocock has contributed some notes on the spiders.
In compiling the lists of fauna, the author has to acknow-
ledge his indebtedness to the work of Professor J. Battikofer^
who has laid the foundations of our biological knowledge of this
interesting part of Africa.
The author has received much information on Liberian
commerce, history, and peoples from the American Minister
to Liberia, Dr. Ernest Lyon, and from the General Manager
of the Chartered and Rubber Companies, Mr. I. F. Braham.
He has also to acknowledge assistance from the Liberian Rubber
Corporation's foresters, Messrs. Harold Reynolds, D. Sim, F. J.
Whicker, Maitland Pye-Smith, John Gow, and Percy Newman.
Dr. E. W. Blyden, Liberian Minister to France, has been of
great help in checking the historical account of modern Liberia,.
a country of which he is a citizen, and with which he has been
intimately connected since 1851.
The Royal Geographical Society and Captain H. D.
ix
Preface ^
Pearson, R.E., and Lieut. E. W. Cox, R.E., have permitted
the reproduction in this book of their map of the Sierra Leone-
Liberia Boundary region. The rest of the maps have been
•compiled and drawn specially for this book by Mr. J. W.
Addison, of the Royal Geographical Society, from the Admiralty
charts, the work of Dr. Biittikofer, the French, British, and
Liberian frontier surveys, and from information supplied by
Messrs. I. F. Braham, Maitland Pye-Smith, P. Newman,
Conrad Viner, Harold Reynolds, and the author.
So far as labour and expenditure go, the author's own
■share in this work has been considerable. He cannot pretend
that the book will be of general interest : Liberia may seem
to many, in the words of R. L. Stevenson, " a footnote to
history" ; although to the author it appears from many points
of view the most interesting portion of the West African coast-
lands. Its area is trivial — 43,000 square miles, more or less —
but within these limits are locked up, he believes, some of the
great undiscovered secrets of Africa, besides an enormous wealth
of vegetable products, and perhaps some surprises in minerals.
Here, also, is being tried the most serious and cautious ex-
periment in Negro self-government. This book is an advance
on the few works which have preceded it, merely because it
is written sixteen to twenty years later, and in the meantime
our knowledge of the country has increased. But Liberia^
like The Uganda Protectorate, is only an attempt to put before
the reading world some information about a little-known part
^ Preface
of Africa. Perhaps the author may be enabled in subsequent
editions to extend the scope and usefulness of this present
study of Liberia by corrections and additions.
Lastly, he feels he owes some explanation to his readers
outside the limits of Liberia. If in his description of the
■country and its productions he has stated obvious facts or has
illustrated types familiar to men of science or to people who
are widely read, he has done so, not with British readers
in his thoughts, but in the desire to produce a book which
may be primarily useful to untravelled Liberians, especially to
those who are as yet unacquainted with the history, the fauna,
flora, and anthropology of their own country.
H. H. Johnston.
London, 1906.
2. MLSURAUO LAGOON
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE following list of books will be of use to students of Liberia,
and some of them constitute the principal authorities for
statements made by the author when not writing from his own
experience or researches :
I. History of Liberia down to 1822
A History of Ancient Geography^ 2 vols., by Sir E. H. Bunbury, 2nd
edition, 1883.
Prince Henry the N'dvigafor, by Charles Raymond Beazley, 1895.
T/ie Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, Translated
from the Portuguese by Gomez Eannes de Azurara, by C. R. Beazley and
Edgar Prestage. (Hakluyt Society : with a very valuable introduction on the
history of early African exploration, etc., by C. R. Beazley.) 2 vols. 1899.
Chronica do Descobrimento e Co?u/uista de Guine, pelo chronista Gomez
Eannes de Azurara (edition Visconde de Santarem, 1841).— It is useful to
scan the Portuguese version as well as the English translation in regard to
the spelling of place names.
Relation des Voyages a la Cote occidentale d'Afrique d'Aloise de Ca'
da Mosto, 1455-7- Publiee par M. Charles Schefer, 1895. Paris. — The cele-
brated Italian geographer, Ramusio, published several sumptuous works at
Venice about 1550 on the voyages of Ca' da Mosto and others. All or
nearly all the editions of this Italian work may be seen at the British
Museum Library. As in the case of the above-mentioned Portuguese works,
it is interesting to see the Italian version for the checking of place names.
Consideration sur la Priority des Dccouvertes maritimes sur la Cote
occidentale d'Afrique aux XIV' et XV' Siecles, par L. G. Binger (published
by the Comit^ de I'Afrique franc^aise, Nos. 4, 5, and 6 of Kenseignements
coloniaux for April, May, and June, 1904). — This is a most valuable
summary of all the evidence dealing with the Norman voyages to Liberia.
It also contains a subsidiary bibliography of the fullest description.
Afemoria Sob re a Prioridade dos Dcscobrinientos Portuguezes na Costa
d' Africa Occidental, pelo V^isconde de Santarem, 1841.
Revista Portugueza Colonial e Maritima, Lisbon, May 20th, 1898.
Les derniers Jours de la Marine a Rames, by Admiral Jurien de la
Graviere, Paris, 1885.
Les Marins du XV' et du XVI' Siecles, 2 vols., by Admiral Jurien de la
Graviere, Paris, 1879.
Bibliography ^
Levi Hits Hulsius^ Theii VII., Siebende Schiffart, etc., Frankfurt, 1606.
Ltvinus Huhius, Theii AVA'., Braitn's Voyages to Guinea, Frankfurt,
1626.
Hakluyfs Voyages, especially that portion dealing with the coast of
Ciuinea in the sixteenth century.
Description de VAfrique, Traduite du Flamand d'O. Dapper, Amsterdam,
1686. — The celebrated work by Dr. Olivier Dapper, a Dutch surgeon who
visited the Guinea coast in the latter half of the seventeenth century.
Re marques sur les Cotes d\4frique, et Notamment sur la Cote d'Or, pour
justifier que les Francais y out etc Longtemps auparavant les autres Nations^
by Villault de Bellefonds (1666-7).
Description of the Coast of Guinea, etc. — Written originally in Dutch
by William Bosman, etc., London, 1721.
A New Voxage to Guinea, etc., by William Smith, London, 1745. —
Much of this is borrowed from Bosman, but the notices of the Grain Coast
are original.
Essay on Colonisation, Particularly applied to the Western Coast of
Africa, etc., by C. B. Wadstrom, in two parts, London, 1795. — ^ copy of
this work in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society contains some
rather amusing marginal notes by *' William Dickson, LL.D." According
to Dickson's story, this work was " Really compiled by W. Dickson, Mr.
W'adstrom having furnished only a small part of the material, namely, the
contents of his voyage to the coast of Africa. Commercial queries, and
certain Swedenborgian doctrines (namely, such as W. D. could not get
excluded), claim Mr. Wadstrom as their author, the language having been
corrected where possible by W. D." Dickson, according to his own account,
was a sort of *' ghost " who did literary work for Wadstrom, and whose
salary remained much in arrears and unpaid at the time oi Wadstrom's
death. I^ickson seems rather to have resented the mixture of commercial
enterprise with philanthropy which inspired the work of Wadstrom and his
supporters in England, and he pencils at the bottom of the title-page :
For the pale fiend, cold-hearted Commerce, there
Breathes his gold-gendered pestilence afar,
And calls to share the prey his kindred demon \^Vi\.-~Southey.
Wadstrom's book, though it contains many fantastic notions about
colonisation, nevertheless throws an interesting light on the condition of
W^est Africa at the end of the eighteenth century.
A History of the Colony of Sierra Leone, Western Africa, by Major
J. J. Crooks (formerly Colonial Secretary), London, 1903 (Simpkin, Marshall
& Co.). — An excellent compilation.
A Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Africa, by the late
John Leyden, M.D., etc., Edinburgh, 181 7. — This is a compilation remark-
ably accurate for the time at which it was written, completed and added to
xiv
^ Bibliography
by Hugh Murray. It is an interesting resum^ of what was known about
Western and Central Africa at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Article on ** Slavery " in Encydop(edia Britanniaiy 9th edition. — An
admirable review, containing allusions to an exhaustive bibliography.
II. History of the State of Liberia since its Foundation in \%22
The Life of Jehiidi Ashmun, by the Rev. Ralph Randolph Gurley^
Washington, 1835. — Describes the foundation of Liberia.
Report of the Rev, R. R. Giiriey on Liberia (United States State Paper),
Washington, 1850.
The African Repository^ 1S25 to 1892. — From 1892 onwards the orgar>
of the American Colonisation Society was named LJberia, The African
Repository and LJberia together constitute a kind of quarterly chronicle of
events in and connected wiih Liberia for a period of something like eighty
years.
Twenty Years of an African Slave-trader, by Captain Theodore Canot,
London, 1854. — This work, which was published by George Routledge at
eighteen-pence, is one of quite extraordinary interest, and it is surprising
that it has not been republished for those who like tales of adventure.
Some proportion of it may be fiction, but much of that which relates to-
Liberia is substantially true, except the story of Governor Findlay's deaths
which is untrue.
Wanderings in West Africa by an F.R.G.S. (the late Sir Richard
Burton, K.C.M.G.), London, 1862.
The African Sketchbook, by Win wood Reade, London, 1873.
Liberia : Liistoire de la Fondation cTun Atat nhgre libre, by Colonel
Wauwermans, Brussels, 1885.— An t^xcellent compilation of the history of
Liberia as a Negro republic, with a good deal of interesting matter regarding,
the frontier dispute with Great Britain.
LListory of the Colonisation of Africa by Alien Races, by Sir Harry
Johnston, 3rd edition, Cambridge, 1905. — This little work gives a.
general history of European enterprise in West Africa.
The Story of Africa and its Explorers, vols. i. and iv. by the late
Dr. Robert Brown, M.A., London, 1892 (Cassell <& Co.). — An excellent
history of African discovery.
The Map of Africa by Treaty, by Sir Edward Hertslet, K.C.B. (Librariai^
to the Foreign Office), London, 1894.
III. Biology, Anthropology, etc.
Reisebilder aus LJberia, 2 vols., by J. Biitlikofer, Leyden, 1890. — This
is the great work on Liberia, gathering up all the knowledge of the country
which existed in 1890. A good deal of the book is of permanent value.
Bibliography ^
Professor Biittikofer was not able to penetrate far into the interior of
Liberia ; with the exception of a journey of a hundred miles up the St.
Paul's River, he travelled no more than thirty miles from the coast. But
he has given a correct and impartial sketch of Liberian history, and his
services to biology in that country cannot be too highly praised, since
before his explorations and those of the other Swiss collectors who acted
-with him practically nothing was known of the zoology of this country.
To Dr. Biittikofer, Stampfli, and their companions (who were nearly all
sent out to this country by Dr. Jentink of Leyden Museum, Holland) we
owe the revelation of the more interesting features of the Liberian fauna.
For some reason not explained Dr. Biittikofer made practically no botanical
■collections. At the commencement of the first volume of his work he
gives a bibliography dealing with Liberia, and many of the works he quotes
the present writer does not cite over again, as no one who wishes to study
Liberian questions can do so without direct application to Biittikofer's
work.
A Gramwar of the Vei ( Vai) Language, by the Rev. S. W. Koelle,
London, 1854. — This work, I believe, was subsequently republished by
Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., and is now on sale. It is a
most interesting treatise on the Vai language, and is very necessary to
persons exploring Western Liberia, where that language, apart from English,
is the chief means of communicating with the natives.
Polyglotta Africana, by the Rev. S. W. Koelle, London, 1854. — This
is Koelle's colossal work, compiled at Sierra Leone from slaves landed
there by the British cruisers. These short vocabularies are on the whole
wonderfully accurate in transcription. The languages represented range
xis far afield from Sierra Leone as J^ke Chad, the Egyptian Sudan, Nyasa-
land, Angola, and the western Sahara. He gives examples of most of the
Kru and Mandingo dialects, of the Gora language, the Kisi speech, and
two or three dialects of Kpwesi.
The Revds. J. L. Wilson and J. S. Payne l)oth published works (at
Boston, U.S.A., and also locally printed at Cape Palmas in Liberia) on the
Grebo language in the middle of the nineteenth century. Copies of their
works exist in the British Museum Library, and may be looked for under
those names.
Les Peuplades de la Sen^gambie, by L. J. B. Beranger-Feraud, Paris, 1879.
The Modern Languages of Africa, by Robert Need ham Cust, London,
1883, vol. i. — Mr. Cust in his well-known work summarises very ably
all that was known about Liberian languages down to the year 1883, and
gives useful hints as to where to obtain the works then existing on the
subject.
Christianity, Lslani, and the N'egro Race, by Dr. Edward Wilmot Blyden,
London, 1887. — This works deals incidentally with Liberian problems. It
^ Bibliography
is one of great interest, and has gone through two or more editions.
Its author, though born in the Danish West Indies, became a Liberian
subject as far back as 185 1, and has written many other works on or dealing
with Liberia which will be found under his name in the British Museum
Catalogue. He is Director of Muhammadan Education at Sierra Leone, and
has several times been sent to Europe on diplomatic missions by the
Liberian Government.
I}e la Cote dVvoire au Soudan et a la GuMe^ par le Capitaine
d'Ollone, Paris, 1901. — This is a work of primary importance on Eastern
and Northern Liberia. The author, together with M. Hostains, first delineated
with more or less accuracy on the map of Africa the eastern regions of
Liberia. His book is not by any means fair to the Liberian (iDvernment^
as apparently one of its objects was to decry the results achieved by the
Negro Republic so as to prepare the mind of his readers for a possible ex-
tension of P'rench influence over these regions. But if the writer of the
book had these intentions they were not carried into effect by his Govern-
ment, and we owe to him and to his collaborator, M. Hostains, a great deal
of valuable information on the geography, peoples, and fauna of Eastern
Liberia. The book is well illustrated, chiefly from photographs.
Le Boude du Ni^er, etc., par la Colonel L. G. Binger, Paris, 1890. — A
description of Binger's great journey, useful for understanding the Mandingo
question.
Notre Colonie de la Cote d'/innre, by MM. Villamur et R'chard, with
a preface by L. G. Binger. — This is an excellent description of the French
colony of the Ivory Coast which adjoins Liberia. It commences with a
historical summary of the connection of France with the regions immediately
to the east of Liberia.
Journal of the African Society (London), 1902-5 (Macmillan).
HON. ARTHUR BARCLAY, PROFESSOR OK
ENGLISH LITER ATUKK, LIHKRIA COLLEfiE
ERRATA AND ADDENDA
On pages 462 and 463 the alternative (native) name of the River Cestos should be Nijnve,
The phrase should read, not "Cess or Cestos,*' but "Cestos or Nipwe."
On pages 762-3 the bird referred to as the **Red*' Phalarope should be styled "Grey"
(according to Mr. Chubb). The same correction should be made in the further
description of this bird on page 790.
On page 790 "Butler" should l)e read as " /f////<?r,*' and (on bottom line) "tertiaries
feathers" as "tertiary feathers."
On the top line of page 791 the word " margins" should be inserted after "brown" ; on
the third line of the same page the phrase " becoming grey towards their lips " should
read " becoming darker towards the tips." In the eighth and ninth lines, " l)eComing
streaked with grey and while" should read "becoming streaked with white "
On page 792 the record of ihe bird *' Lunpribii iplendida, Salvadori Ibis; 1903, p. 184
(Liberia) " should be instrWd next to Hagcdaihia hagedaih, etc." On the same jiage
" BiUtikofer" and not " Du Bus" should be given as the authority for Ibis olivaeea.
On page 799 " Hengl." should be corrected to " Heugl." and " Cub." to " Cab."
On page 800 " Cami'Ephagid.i-:" should read " Campophagid^."
On page 802 the Vol. of the British Museum Catalogue quoted in reference to Ciiticola
should bo VII., and not XII. On page i?04, in line 10, " Coliopaiier ** should
read **Coliaipaiier."
Throughout these lists of l)irds ** Rupp." stands for " Riipp.'" and " Mull." for " Miill."
CONTENTS OF VOL. I
CHAP. PACE
I. Liberia i
II. Ancient History 13
III. Normans and Genoese 29
IV. Portuguese 37
V. Pepper and Gold 54
VI. The Guinea Trade in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries 70
VII. A Dutch Account of Liberia in the Seventeenth Century 83
VIII. The Slave Trade 104
IX. The Founding of Liberia 125
X. The Last Phase of the Slave Trade . . . .161
XI. Governors of Liberia 179
XII. Independence 198
XIII. President Roberts 224
XIV. Frontier Questions 241
XV. The Loan and its Consequences 258
XVI. Recent History 277
XVIL The Americo-Liberians 340
Appendix I. Americo-Liberian Population . . -371
„ II. Statistical information as to Government,
Religion, Education, etc 374
„ III. The Libcrian National Anthem . . . 394
XVI IL Commerce 398
XIX. Geography of Liberia 432
XX. Climate and Rainfall 497
XXI. Geology and Minerals 5M
xix
COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I
FROM THE AUTHOR'S PAINTINGS
wo. TITLE.
1. A Mandingo
2. Malagucta pepper: leaves, seed-pod, and flowers {AfratHomitm
melegtteta) ..........
3. The Shield, Emblems, and Motto of Liberia as established in 1847
4. The Flag of Liberia
5. The Shield and Emblem of Liberia as they might be .
6. President J. J. Roberts (painted from a photograph taken about 187 1)
7. A Liberian homestead
8. A Mandingo in blue cotton robe .......
^9. The Red-headed Guinea-fowl (Ageiastcs tticlcagroidcs)
10. A Liberian stream in the short dry season .....
11. The Ytllow-flowered Mussaenda with white sepals, so common in the
Liberian bush {Miissivnda conopharyngifolid)
12. The Hoffmann Kivcr, Cape Palmas ......
Frontispiece
To face p. 58
218
220
222
264
346
356
370
436
456
472
BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS
IN VOL. I
KO. TITLE. SOURCE. PAGE
1. Surf off Liberian coast Photograph by the Author . v
2. Mesurado Lagoon m » >• ^i
3. Hon. Arthur Barclay, Professor of English
Literature, Liberia College ... ,, ,, •* xvii
4. On the St. Paul's River . . ..»»»!»/ *
5. River Ca valla ....... Photograph by Mr. Cromme/m 2
6. Promontory of Cape Palmas .... „ n m 3
7. On a Liberian river Photograph by the Author 4
8. On the Liberian coast ..... „ n m 5
9. Surf off the Liberian coast .... Photograph by Mr. Crommeliu 7
10. Houses in Monroxia Photograph by the Author 8
11. In the forest ,, „ „ 9
12. Arums on the borders of a stream ... ,, » m 10
13. On the beach, Monrovia : Bombax cotton
tree in background Photographby Mr.T.H. Myrirtg 11
14. The British village of Gene (River Mano) \ Photograph by Mr. Cecil H,\
from the Liberian shore . ( Firmin j
15. Mandingos Drawing by the Author. 15
16. The coast of Liberia near Cape Mount Photograph by Mr. T. II. Myring 19
17. Agri bead from Putu, Eastern Liberia (pro-
bably Venetian) ...... Dtaiving by the Author. . 22
18. Agri beads from West Africa and elsewhere . „ „ „ ^3
19. "Nivaiia'': a view of the peak of Tenerife,
from a distance of forty miles ... „ „ ,, 25
20. A Barca, early type of Portuguese sailing
ship, fifteenth century .... „ ». »» 39
21. The mountainous promontory of Sierra Leone
from the lighthouse ..... Drawu by the Author in 1882 40
22. Canoes coming off from the Liberian coast . Sketched by the Author in 1882 42
23. Palms (Borassus, oil and coconut) at Cape
Palmas Photograph by the Author 44
24. Ca valla River near its mouth . . . Photograph by the Due de Momy 50
25. Portuguese warrior in Africa on horseback:
early sixteenth century. Drawn from a
Benin carving in the British Museum . Drawing by the Author . 53
xxi
Black and White Illustrations in Vol. I ^
26. A Portuguese sea captain of the sixteenth
century. Drawn from a Benin carving in
the British Museum
27. A native of Sino
28.
29.
30.
3'.
32-
33-
34-
35-
36.
Borassus flaMltfer ......
Kru canoes
"The Mandingo robe of stoutly woven cotton" :
group of Kondo people from behind Vai
country
The Caravela redonda or round caravel (from
Revista Colonial of Lisbon) ....
A Caravel .......
A Caravel (? of Genoa), fifteenth century :
After Jurien de la Graviere
A Portuguese warrior, sixteenth century.
From a Benin carving in the British
Museum
Dutch sailing Vcsstl of seventeenth century.
After Levinus Hulsius . . . .
Dutch seamen of the early seventeenth century
landing on the West African coast. After
Levinus Hulsius
Drawing by the Author . .61
(Photograph by the late Mr.\ ,
\ Sam. Hall. j ^
Photograph by the Author . 67
Photograph by Mr. T. H. Myring 69
J Photograph taken by order of I
Liberian Government
Drawing by the Author.
37. Mermaid Island on the St. Paul's Rivfr, re
sorted to by European traders in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
38. A De man, aboriginal native of Mesurado
district, described by Des Marchais .
39. A (native) De kitchen near Monrovia (as de
scribed by Des Marchais in the early
eighteenth century)
40. A mangrove thicket
41. A native of the Kru coast
42. A street in Sierra Leone (1905)
43. Fura Bay Road, Freetown
44. Providence or Perseverance Island in Mcsu
rado Lagoon
45. Jehudi Ashmun, the founder of Liberia (from
the portrait in Gurley's Lt/e 0/ Ashmun)
46. Vicinity of site of first stockade on Cape Mesu-
rado (town of Monrovia in the distance)
47. Last rapids of St. Paul's River twenty miles
from its mouth ......
48. "Vai Town," on Mesurado Lagoon, nearly
opposite Monrovia, once a famous locality
for shipping slaves
49. St. Paul's River above last rapids, near site of
Elijah Johnson's fight with Chief Brumley .
J Photograph by Sir Simeon \
j Stuafi
Photograph by the Author ,
I Photograph bv Sir Simeon [^
I Stuart ' j
(Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
\ Firmin j
(Photograph by the late Mr.\
{ Sam. Hall j
Photograph by the Author
j Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
\ Firmin j
Photograph by the Author . 131
Drawing Ity the Author. . 133
Photograph by the Author . 139
Photograph by Mr. T. H. Myring 1 4 4
J Photograph taken by order of I
I Liberian Government j
73
78
79
80
81
87
89
95
97
99
103
109
123
124
147
Photograph by Mr. T. H. Myring 1 53
SOURCE.
PAGE
Photograph >by the Author
165
ri n M
167
Photograph by Herr "Diiikhge
169
Photograph by the Author
«7S
»» M l»
•77
-*> ^}3^ and White llUistrations in Vol. I
NO. TITLE.
50. A " Kruman " from near Basa, Basa tribe
51. Surf on the Li berian beach ....
52. Liberian Settlement at Cape Mount (supposed
site of Canot's establishment in 1847)
53. A Mandingo of Western Liberia
54. Oil palms {Ela'is guiueensis) ....
55. A Boporo man visiting Government House,
Monrovia .....•• n >• n t^l
56. Governor Joseph J. Roberts (afterwards Pre-
sidCLt). From an oil painting executed
about 1849 Drawing by the Author . 186
57. Harper (Cape Palmas) and Hoffmann River . Photograph by the Ducde Monty 190
58. Old mango trees in Monrovia, near Roberts's
house Photograph by the Author . 196
,. , ^ ■ . ^ ,. (Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
59. Bandasuma on the River Sulima . . . | Firmiii / '97
60. Executive Mansion, Monrovia, the official
residence of the President . . . Photograph by the Author . 222
61. Mrs. Jane Roberts (widow of President j Photograph by Mr. Heiiry\
Roberts) I Irvitig j ^^>
62. Dr. E. W. Blydcn in 1894 231
63. Liberia College in 19CX) 237
64. President's House, Monrovia .... ... ... 239
65. River Scwa. once claimed as the Liberian (Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\ ,
western frontier (Gallinhas country) . . (^ Firmin j ^
66. President Barclay in 1896 . 249
67. Mandin^os from Boporo Photograph by Mr. T.H.Myriug 251
68. A Mandingo horse (in Sierra Leone) . . Photograph by the Author . 253
69. Abhmun Street, Monrovia .... ,, „ ,, 256
70. Mano River, Liberian frontier, from Dia, (Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
looking up-slrcam t Firmin J ^'
71. General R. A. Sherman 263
72. Memorial to President J. J. Roberts . . Photograph by Mr.T.H.Myring 265
73. Kruman of Nana Kru Photograph by the Author . 269
74. Liberian Order of Af ican Redemption . . ,, ,, „ 271
75. A Liberian household iPh^ograph by Sir Sm,con\ ^.^
76. Hilary R. W. Johnson, Piesident of Liberia
1884-92 281
77. President James Cheeseman and Cabinet, 1894 285
78. Group of European consuls and merchants, (Photograph by Sir Simeon'X
in Monrovia, 1901 \ Stuart ' j ^
79. AKruboy ( ^ S^^ trt//"^^^' '"'"^ ''^'^' } ^^^
80. Kru headman on steamer .... Photograph by the Author . 293
81. In Kru Town, Monrovia ,, „ „ 295
82. President Gibson and his Cabinet . . Photo by Mr. Downing . 297
Black and White Illustrations in Vol. I ^
NO. TITLE. SOURCE. PACE
83. Sir Simeon Stuart in a Liberian village 298
84. Chartered Company's headquarters in Men- (Photograph by Sir SmttoM\ ^
rovia \ Sfuart f ^
85. President G W. Gibson Photograph by Mr.TM.Myring 301
86. A Vai chief, his wives and interpreter . . „ ,, ,, 302
87. Mandingos from the Franco-Liberian frontier Photograph by the Author . 303
.88. A Mandingo headman from the Dukwia River „ „ „ 305
89. Natives of the Grebo country near the Lower
Cavalla River ,, „ „ 307
90. Natives of PadibcDuobe River . . ■ {^'StL'f "" '''''""") 3o8
91. Natives of the Kelipo country, central Cavalla
region „ „ „ 309
92. Liberians and European visitors . . . Photographby Mr.I.F.Braham 310
93. In Monrovia: firing a salute . . . J^Pholograph by Sir Sim<ou\ ^^^
94. A Gora chief and his wives at Sinko . . { ^%'^Zmc»f "" ^'""'"' } 3'*
95. A Liberian schoolhouse Photograph by the Author . 318
96. Hon. Mrs. Barclay (wife of the President) and fP/io/o^;o/>A by Sir SttueoH\
the pupils of a girls' school . ,\ Stuart j ^^^
97. Pupils of a school for indigenous Negroes . Photograph by Mr.T.H. My ring 320
98. An Americo-Libcrian plantation . . fP^totogfa^^ ^^^
99. Americo-Libcrian coffee plantation. . . Photograph by Mr. Crofftme/iu 322
100. Liberian postage stamps (issued prior to I906) ...... 324
loi. Liberian stamps (issued prior to 1906) ........ 325
102. Liberian stamps, new issue, 1906 ......... 327
103. Liberian judges and lawyers .......... 329
104. The late Hon. E. J. Barclay, a most respected
Liberian Secretary of State ......... 331
IC5. A Liberian family group (Photograph by Sir Simeon^ ^^^
106. Liberian silver and copper coins ......... 33c
107. Hon. Arthur Barclay, President of Liberia 1906 Photograph by the Author . 337
108. Looking towards the Customs House, Monrovia „ ,, ,, 339
109. A Liberian planter (Mr. Solomon Hill) and
his family ......
110. Mandingo woman of Western Liberia
111. A Mandingo from Western Liberia.
112. Telephone poles in Monrovia, erected by
Mr. Faulkner, a Liberian. This tele
phone extends to the St. Paul's River
settlements
113. In a Liberian general store at Buchanan
Grand Basa ......
114. "Civilii.ed ' Krumen of Monrovia
xxiv
Photograph by Mr. T. H. My ring 34 1
Photograph by the Author . 343
45
347
349
351
-#i Black and White Illustrations in Vol. I
HO. TITLE. SOURCE. PAGE
115. Methodist Church, Monrovia .... Photograph by the Author . 353
116. The " religion of the tall hat " 354
. _ .. . , , i Photos;raph by Sir SimeoH\ ^^^
117. A Libenan lady ^ ^^f^^/ -^ | 355
118. The "religion of the tall hat and frock
coat": a masonic procession . . Photograph Ity Mr. T.H.Myring 357
1 19. A municipal brass band, Liberia ... „ „ ,, 359
120. A wedding at Government House, Monrovia . ! PownJv \ ^^'
121. A wedding procession, Monrovia ... ,, ,, ,, 362
122. A review of troops in Monrovia ... ,, >, .. 363
123. Review of troops : "Quick march ! " . . „ „ ,, 364
124. A funeral procession, Monrovia . . . Photograph by the Author . 365
.25. Independence Day, July 26th. . . . { /-/- W'' *v i,W./.-Co WJ 3^^
126. Waiting for the President to be sworn into
office, January 1st Photograph Ity Mr. T.H.Myring 367
127. Teaching staff and some of the students of
Liberia College (1900) .......... 369
128. A Monde girl from the Sierra Leone frontier j Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
of Liberia, wearing silver ornaments . . (^ Firmin ] ^'
129. A Liberian house of wooden shingles, Green-
ville, Sino . . . . . . . Photograph by the Author . 373
130. Right Rev. J. C. Hartzcll, Methodist Bishop
'of Africa 375
131. Methodist Church, Harper, Cape Pal mas Photograpk by the Author . 377
132. Protestant Episcopal Church at Harper, Cape
Palmas 377
133. Baptist Church, Monrovia .... Photograph Ity the Author . 38 1
134. In the House of Representatives, Monrovia Photograph tty Mr. Downing . 382
135. J. A. Railey, a Colonel 01 Liberian Militia J^rholof;j-.,f.h by Sir Sim.o,.\ ^g^
136. Uberian Militia: a march past . . [Photograph by UeHl..Colo,„lX g
** I ^ Poivney j '^ ^
137. Liberian Militia in review order (white uni-
form, blue sashes) „ „ ,, 387
138. The Armoury, Monrovia Photograph by Mr. T.H.Myring 389
139. Unfinished Masonic Lodge, Monrovia . . Photograph by Mr. Cromnteiin 391
140. A house and garden, Monrovia . . . Photograph by the Author . 393
141. " Green be her fame " — Liberian native coffee
^^e«s » M M 394
142. Sir Alfred Jones's agency in Monrovia (Elder,
Dempster & Co.) Photograph by Mr. I. F.Braham 399
^43- Coffea liberica in flower Photograph by Mr, Croninieiin 401
144. A Liberian coffee plantation at White Plains
on the St. Pauls River .... Photograph by Mr. T.H.Myring 403
145. Oil palms Photograph by Mr. Croinmelin 404
XXV
Black and White Illustrations in Vol. I ^
NO.
146.
"47-9
150.
151.
152.
>S3.
154.
155.
156.
'57.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
Native i^omen manufacturing palm otU Note
the wooden trough like a canoe Aril of
palm oil
. Native ascending the trunk of oil palm in
order to collect palm kernels
Young or small Raphia vinifera palm, to show
inflorescence
171.
172.
173-
174.
175.
176.
177.
Raphia vinifera — Piassava palms. Rice is
growing below the palms .
Dalbergia meianoxyhn (producing ebony)
Flowers and leaves of Cola acuminata (Kola
nut)
Fruit of the Cola acuminata (Kola nut) .
Weighing rubber at Greenville (Sino) : Liberian
Rubber Corporation ....
Forester's house in interior (Rubber Corpora
tion)
Headquarters of the Liberian Rubber Cor
po ration, Monrovia ....
A forester's camp
A dish of fruit from Liberia : pineapples,
papaw, avocado pear, mangoes, orange,
coconuts, and bananas
Ox-cart on Liberian road
•' In the wet season these paths become canals
A porter, Liberia .....
Women porters
Canoe-travclling : stopped by rapids
A bush road near the Mano River .
The shore of P'isherman Lake (Cape Mount)
At Robertsport, Cape Mount .
River scene on an afTluent of the St. Paul's
On the Poba River
The St. Paul's River about seventy miles from
the coast, in the region of its rapids and falls
The " Traveller's Tree "' .
Mangrove and pandanus swamp
The turfy streets and cattle of Monrovia
A street in Monrovia ....
Waterside vegetation : pandanus, mangrove
palms
Mangrove swamp: mangrove trees, showing
aerial roots ......
Forest on the landward edge of the Mcsurad
Peninsula
\ Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.
I Firmin
Drawing by the Author .
Y 405
406-7
. 408
Photograph by the Authar . 409
Dra wing by Miss Matilda Smitk 4 1 1
413
4"5
Photograph by the Author . 417
(Photograph by Mr. Harold \ «
\ Reynolds jf ^'^
Photograph by the Author . 419
Photograph by Mr. Crommelin 421
Drawing by the Author .
{Photograph by Sir Simeon\
Stuart f
Photograph by the Authof
{Photograph by Lieut. -Colonel\
Potency j
Photograph by Mr. Crommelin
M » » n
(Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
\ Firmin /
Photograph by Herr Dinklage
»» »» «»
Photograph by the Author
Photograph by Mr. I. F, Braham
Photograph by the Author
f Photograph by Mr. Cecil H.\
\ Firmin j
423
424
425
427
428
4^9
433
435
438
439
440
442
443
445
447
449
450
451
Photograph by the Author . 453
XXVI
^ Black and White Illustrations in Vol. I
KO. TITLE. SOURCE. PACE
1 78. Mangrove trees on the borders of the Mesurado
Lagoon ....... Drawing by the Author . .457
179. Dense bush with white-leaved MusscendOf
wild coffee, etc Photograph by the Author . 458
180. A road near the St. Paul's River ... „ n »» 459
181. Waterside, Monrovia ..... Photograph by Herr Dinklage 460
182. On the outskirts of Monrovia . . . Photograph by Mr. T.H.Myring 461
183. In Lower Buchanan (Grand Basa) . . . Photograph by the Author . 462
184. Vegetation in Sino County: Cyrtosp^Tma
arums, palms, etc „ „ „ 467
185. In a Kru village on the coast . . . J^Ph^tograph by Sir Shueon^^ ^^,
186. European travellers crossing a river in Liberia \^^p^\l^y^ ^^ Lieut.-Colonel^ ^^^
187. In a Kru village Photograph by the Author . 473
188. Missionary College, Harper, Cape Palmas . Photograph by Mr. Crortiwe/in 474
189. '• Oleanders fill most of the front gardens " . ,, „ ,, 475
190. Cape Palmas : " the promontory . . . girdled
with a ring of foam" Photograph by the Author . 476
191. A road in Maryland Photograph by the Due deMorrty 477
192. "Half Cavalla": the beach near the mouth
of the Cavalla River „ „ „ 478
193. Interior of Maryland County: marshy country Photograph by :he Author . 479
194. The Gba or Bwe River, flowing into the f „# . ^, i ^ r r • 1
Cavalla from the ^^est (note the Raphia J ^^^'^^'''^^^ ^>/'^ Ltber.au \ g,
palms on the bank and the Muscovy du^ks) ( Goverumeut Comnusswnerj
195. Village in Keticbo country, about a hundred f rt, , ^i l ai 7 / • 1
miles from the coast : Arrival of Liberian ] Photograph by the L.Unan I g^
Commissioners \ Oovcn,me,,t J
196. Kiki River, an affluent of the Lower Cavalla . Photograph by Mr. Cromnielin 483
197. Cavalla River Photograph by the Due de Monty 484
198. Cavalla River, about eighty miles from its
mouth „ „ „ 485
199. Travelling through the forest clearings in a
hammock Photograph by Mr. Crommeliu 486
200. A forest clearing „ „ „ 487
201. A forest clearing : washing clothes in a brook „ „ „ 4S9
202. A pool in the forest Photograph by the Author 491
203. Evening in the forest „ „ „ 493
204. The St. Paul's River above the rapids . . [''''^'Xotds ''^ ^'' "'"'°'''} 494
205. The Mano River from Mina . . . IPI'otogrnfih by Mr. Ccc,/ HA
206. A dug-out canoe ...... „ ,, ,, 496
207. Quartz outcrop near the Lower St. Paul's River Photograph by Mr. Crotuuieiin 515
208. Sinking a shaft in a quartz reef near the St. (Photograph by Sir Simeon\ ^•
Paul's River \ Stuart ) ^^^
xxvii
SEPARATE MAPS IN VOL. I
NO. TITLE.
1. General map of Lilx^ria
2. Map of Sierra Leone-Lilxria Frontier
3. Map of western half of Liberia .
4. Map of eastern half of Lil>eria .
SOURCE. OPPOSITE PAGE
Draicn by Mr. J. IV. Aiidison 12
r Drawn by Captain H. D.^
I Pearson , A'. E. , and Lieu-
) tenant £. IV. Cox, /^.E.
I {Reproduced by permission
I of the Royal Geographical
\ Society. )
Dra'iVn by Mr. /. W. Addison 434
496
279
MAPS IN TEXT IN VOL. I
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
II.
12.
13.
14.
15-
TITLE.
Kerne Island, or Rio de Oro
Grand Basa Settlements
Monrovia District
Sketch-map uf West Africa. (Shf)\ving approximate
boundaries of Liberia and Maryland in 1846.)
Cape I'almas and Maryland ....
.Sketch-map of West Africa. (Showing frontiers
claimed by Liberia in 1876, also French counter-
claims.)
Ditto, showing supposed frontiers of Liberia in 1892
Ditto, to show area and frontier of Liberia as pro
posed by Lilx'rian Minister in Paris, 1905 .
Ditto, to show frontier of Liberia proposed in 1906
Cape Mount District
Junk and Dukwia Rivers ....
River Cestos
.Sang win River
Sino ........
Sketch-map showing com[3arative Rainfall of West
Africa
xxviii
f Dra'.cn by Mr. J. W. Addi- \
\ son and the Author f
Drawn bv Mr. J. W. Addison
( Drawn by Mr. J. W. A
i son and the Author
ddi- \
SOURCE. PACE
Drawn by Mr. /. I V. Addison 17
31
127
189
235
255
287
313
317
Draion by Mr. J. W. Addison 437
455
463
465
469
/ Draicn by Mr. ./. W. Addi- \
( son and the .tuthor I
503
4. ON THE ST. PAULS KIVEK
LIBERIA
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
LIBERIA is a portion of the West African coast-lands between
Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast, which may be styled
the end of Northern Guinea. Its most easterly point on
the coast, the mouth of the Ca valla River, just beyond Cape
Palmas, is in longitude 7''33' W. of Greenwich. The western-
most point of Liberia (at the mouth of the River Mano) lies in
about N. latitude 6^55', and in W. longitude ii°32'. In the
interior, Liberian territory extends northwards to about 8^50' N.
latitude. The trend of the coast from the mouth of the River
Mano is in a south-easterly direction, and at the entrance to the
Cavalla,"near Cape Palmas, reaches to within 4^2 2' of the Equator.
VOL. I. I
Liberia ^'
From this point the Guinea coast curves to the north-east, and
does not again approach near to the Equator till the delta ot
the Niger is reached. The southernmost extremity of Liberia,
generally associated with the striking promontory of Cape
5. RIVLR CAVALLA
Palmas rather than with the mouth of the Cavalla, has been, in
fact, one of the stages in African exploration, just as the northern
extremity of Liberia on the coast (the River Mano) very nearly
represents the extreme limit reached by the Carthaginian ex-
plorer Hanno in his celebrated voyage of discovery along the
north-west coast of Africa about five hundred years before
the Christian era.
The political geography of Liberia^ at the present day makes
it out to be a territory of approximately forty-three thousand
* On the bases of the Franco-Liberian Treaty of 1892 and the Anglo-Liberian
delimitation of 1903.
-r» Introductory
square miles in extent, bounded on the west by the British
colony of Sierra Leone, on the north and east by the French
possessions in the Niger Basin and on the Ivory Coast. The
southern boundary, of course, is the Atlantic Ocean. By this
coast-line Liberia occupies an important strategic position. The
general trend of its scarcely indented littoral is from north-
west to south-east, so that it is nearly parallel to the course
taken by steamers plying between Europe and South Africa,
6. PROMONTORY OF CAPE PALMAS
In its physical geography Liberia does not at first sight
seem specially marked off from the rest of West Africa ; and
yet to a certain extent in its fauna and flora it is a peculiar
country, almost rising to the dignity of a distinct sub-district of
the West African sub-region. Its characteristic features in plants
and animals are naturally not confined stricdy within the actual
political boundaries, but overlap into the eastern part of Sierra
Leone and the western part of the Ivory Coast.
3
Liberia ^
So far as conditions of physical geography go, Liberia may
further be defined as the basin of the St. Paul's River and the
western half of the basin of the Cavalla, together with the hill
7. ON A LIBER I AN RIVER
country (part of the Mandingo Plateau) lying about the head-
waters of the Moa or Makona River. ^ Politically speaking,
^ An important stream known as the Sulima in its lower course, which enters
the sea within the Colony of Sierra^ Leone.
4
Liberia ^
Liberia is not taken to include any portion of the Niger water-
shed, the northern frontier being so drawn by France as to
exclude any portion of the basin of the Upper Niger from
Liberian limits. This country, therefore, is the most southern
portion of the land which slopes to the Atlantic from the
knot of highlands, plateaux, and mountains that gives rise to
the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia.
On the north-east frontier of Liberia are situated the
highest mountains as yet discovered in West Africa.^ Altitudes
of nearly ten thousand feet are reported by the French in
connection with the Druple Range, which, together with the
Nimba Mountains close by, may be the kernel of truth in
the old stories of the *' Kong Mountains." North-westwards,
nearly parallel with the Atlantic coast-line, at a distance of two
to three hundred miles, this range of highlands, mountains, and
plateaux is prolonged to the vicinity of the Upper Senegal.
It condenses the tremendous rainfall which creates the Niger
River, and sends it like a western Nile on a long, long journey
through the desert before it once more reaches in its lower
course the rainy lands of the Gulf of Guinea.
Liberia has a coast-line of three hundred and fifty miles,^
but little indented, and possessing no natural harbour or sheltered
anchorage, while the mouth of each one of its rivers is defended
by a bar that no vessel of any considerable draught could cross
with safety ; though, unlike the pitiless Guinea coast from
Cape Palmas eastward to the Niger Delta, the Liberian littoral
offers several fairly safe landing-places where even at the height
of the rainy season, when the surf is at its worst, a disem-
* That is to say, westwards of the Canieroons.
> About three hundred geographical miles. Measured in a straight line from
the Cavalla River to the Mano River, without regard to indeutations, about three
hundred and thirty English miles represent Liberia's section of the West African
littoral.
■^ Introductory
barkation can be ejected with little or no danger. One of
the easiest landing-places, which, with the construction of break-
waters, might he made a good port, is Monrovia, the capital,
on Cape Mesurado. Monrovia is only ten days' journey from
Southampton or Liverpool by the thirteen-knots-an-hour steamers
of the English and German lines which once or twice in every
month make a direct run from England to Liberia.
9. SLKF OFF THE LIHEKIAN COAST
As a sovereign State, Liberia — '' the Land of the Free '' —
has existed since 1847, ^^ which date it received formal
recognition as an independent Negro Republic from England,
France, and Prussia. The governing class in this country con-
sists of approximately twelve thousand Negroes and Mulattos
of American origin, to whom may be added, as the remainder
of the Christian voting community, about thirty thousand
** civilised " Liberians of local origin. The indigenous uncivilised
7
II. IN THE FOREST
Liberia
<^
in parts very mountainous. No fresh-water lake has as yet
been discovered, nor has any traveller yet lighted on a large
area of marsh. The coast belt is a little broken up by lagoons,
but it does not degenerate into those extensive mangrove swamps
intersected by countless creeks which are so characteristic of
the Ivory and Slave Coasts. The rainfall is very heavy, perhaps
an average hundred inches per aimum, rising in some districts
1 '
1
/ -.'V^* i ^< ivr u£/a iK^ '\^a
^^F
Wf/m&W-
Prnk-it^A
, -t ./.-O-i y ' v
v^l
12. AKUMS UN Tilt: 1K)KI»KKS OF A STKliAM
to one hundred and fifty inches, and in the northern plateau
country decreasing to seventy inches. Rain falls in every month
of the year, but the true rainy season begins in May and
ends in November. The coolest month is possibly August, in
the middle of the rainy season ; the hottest, December. Except
no doubt on those lofty mountains scarcely as yet explored
by Europeans, the temperature throughout Liberia is high
13- ON THK BKACH, MONKOVJA : BOMHAX COTTON TREK IN THE BACKGROUND
Liberia ^
and fairly uniform, generally ranging between 75*" at night
and 100° at noon, occasionally sinking as low as 56° and rising
as high as 105''. With these preliminary details, sufficient to
give a general idea of the situation of this little-known part
of Africa and its geographical conditions, we will now pass on
to a consideration of its history, which from several points of
view is of great interest in connection with the development
of Tropical Africa.
14. BRITISH GENK, ON THE MANO KIVEK, SEEN FKUM LIBERIAN SHORE
(LIBERIAN FRONTIER)
N
A-.
" ;" •-.^.49»..„./'\^
■■^V
\^
\
JXl
n
CHAPTER II
THE HISTORY OF LIBERIA PRIOR TO THE MIDDLE
AGES
IN some respects it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that
Liberia is still within the Miocene Period so far as its
vegetation and its fauna are concerned. There are beasts,
birds, and reptiles living to-day within its limits which (or
near representatives of which) are found fossil in Miocene
formations of France and Southern Germany. The mighty
forests of Liberia, while they sheltered these ancient types, long
kept the country from being overrun by man, so that Liberia,
like parts of the Congo Basin and of forested West Africa, is
in a far more backward condition (in respect of human develop-
ment) than the rest of Africa. As yet, however, no traces have
been found of any Pygmy race (such as is associated with the
Congo Basin) either in Liberia or in any other part of the
West African projection. The Pygmies of the Congo, who
perhaps represent the lowest and most simian type of Negro
existing at the present day, have not hitherto been found
westwards of the Cameroons. It is just possible that they
may never have reached the western extremity of Africa, though
it would be premature to make any statement to that effect,
considering how very little West Africa has been explored as
regards its present or its past conditions.^
* Since this was written, reports of a Pygmy people have been transmitted from
Central Liberia.
13
Liberia ^
Liberia was at some unknown period peopled, chiefly from
the Niger Plateau on the north, by that black West African
type of Negro which is so characteristic of Equatorial Africa,
from Uganda westwards to the mouth of the Congo and the
mouth of the Gambia. These Negroes are of the same general
type as those of the whole West African littoral, from the
regions south of the Gambia to Angola. After the big black
Negroes had occupied the Equatorial belt of Africa, the African
types of Caucasian man began to press westwards from the
Nile and southwards from Mauritania, till they had reached the
Niger and the Senegal. Many hybrids and intermixtures with
the northern fringe of Negroes took place through the ages,
forming different types and degrees in physical beauty of yellow
men and brown men.
Remarkable amongst the earliest of those semi-Caucasian
races who colonised purely Negro Africa were the Fulas,^ who
were probably the result of one of the first invasions of the
Western Sahara by the Libyans (Moors) of Northern Africa.
The element of Caucasian blood in the Fula people impelled
them towards high lands with a relatively cool climate, and
these they found on that mountain range and knot of plateaux
already alluded to as the head-waters of the Niger. The
Fulas (of whom more will be said in this book), though
proud of their light colour, did not hesitate to interbreed with
Negro women as well as with the carefully guarded females of
their own stock. So they gave rise to many further hybrids
with the Negro, of dark complexion, but with features showing
the intermingling of Caucasian blood. Of such possibly were
the Mandingo, the Wolof, the Tukulor. The Mandingo is
the most notable of these Negroids, though this race is of
» It is most convenient to call by this term the ¥u\, Fulbe, Fellata, Fulani, or
Peulh people of Senegambia, Central and Eastern Nigeria.
14
15- MANDlNfJOS
Liberia ^
very mixed origin, often no doubt due to direct intermixtures
between the Tawareq and Arabs from north of the Niger
and the Western Sudan Negroes, as well as through descent
from the Fulas. At some time or other, however, the
Mandingos developed a very distinct group of languages,
which is nowadays the dominant speech (in a great many
different tongues and dialects) of inner West Africa, all about
the sources of the Niger, and along the main Niger nearly
as far north as Lake Debo ; on the Upper Senegal and
Gambia, and in the northern hinterland of Liberia.
At a distant period in the unwritten history of West
Africa this vigorous Mandingo Negroid race was impelled to
push its way to the sea-coast, and it must have thus found
an outlet in the north-western part of Liberia and the eastern
part of Sierra Leone.^ The Mandingos seem to have been
shut out from the Atlantic coast farther north by the savage
and warlike Negroes that are still the main stock of western
and southern Sierra Leone, PVench and Portuguese Guinea,
and the Lower Gambia — peoples speaking a peculiar West
African type of prefix-governed language. The Moors of the
desert, the Fulas and the Wolofs, prevented the Mandingos
reaching the sea-coast in Senegal. Consequently, at an early
date they were compelled to force their way through the dense
forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia, and there they have left
traces of their former incursions In the existing Vai and Mende
peoples, whose languages are members of the Mandingo group.
In a general way It may also be said that the other tongues of
Liberia, belonging chiefly to the Kpwesi and Kru families, oflFer
faint and distant resemblances to the Mandingo languages.
Perhaps these peoples also sprang from the original Mandingo
stock. Through the Mandingo, at any rate, a small proportion
^ Through the Mende and Vai countries.
i6
MAP t
VOL. I
'7
Liberia ^
of Caucasian blood and a still smaller degree of Caucasian
civilisation reached the unadulterated Negroes of prehistoric
Liberia.
So far as the pure-blooded Caucasian is concerned, his
first historical appearance in these latitudes was in the persons
of Hanno the Carthaginian and his crews of Phoenicians and
Moors. Hanno left Carthage in perhaps 520 B.C. ;^ and
after visiting and reinforcing the Carthaginian trading colonies
along the north and west coast of Morocco, he founded
the settlement on Kerne Island in the Rio de Oro inlet, passed
the mouth of the River Senegal, Cape Verde, and the
Highlands of French Guinea and of Sierra Leone, and
apparently got as far as the swampy island of Sherbro —
possibly even as far as Cape Mount and the very beginning
of modern Liberian territory. On Sherbro Island " his sailors
captured wild, hairy men, whom they called (in the Greek
rendering of the Punic word) gorilla. This term they are
said to have derived from their ^' interpreters," showing that
these may possibly have been men of the F'ula or Wolof race.^
If they did not capture specimens of a low and savage type
of real wild man (which might have still been lingering in
Africa), then in all probability the story or the legend refers
to nothing more than the chimpanzees, which are still common
in the forest-covered coast region of Western Liberia and
Eastern Sierra Leone.
Han no's voyage took place about five hundred years before
> Vide Bimbury, History of Ancient Geography, p. 332. vol. i. The date
of the •• Periphis," or voyage of Hanno, is very uncertain. It may have occurred
as late as 470 b.c. or as early as 520 b.c., according as the "Hanno" in
question was the father or the son of the "dated" General Hainilcar.
* Or on an island in a lake on Sherbro ? Macaulay Island ?
' Gor- is the root for "man" in both Fula and Wolof. With one of the
suffixes added it would make a combination not unlike " Gorilla."
18
^ History Prior to the Middle A^^es
the Christian era if the story is a true one. Written first in Punic,
and inscribed on a tablet dedicated by Hanno to a Carthaginian
deity probably equivalent to Moloch, it is thought to have
been placed in the temple of that deity at Carthage. This at
least is the account given in the Greek version of the original
record of Hanno's
voyage. So far as
authentic history is
concerned, the record
only exists in a Greek
translation. It is
possible that this
translation was made
in the fifth century
before Christ by
some Greek o\ Sicily
who became ac-
quainted with the
original at Carthage.
The first recorded
publication of this
"Periplus" of Hanno
in its Greek form
appeared, according
to Sir E. H. Bun-
bury,^ in Aristotle's work of marvellous narratives published in
the third century B.C., but it is also reproduced in Latin by
Pomponius Mela (though in a garbled form) about a.d. 43.
A still more corrupt version was given by the Elder Pliny
(Caius Plinius Secundus) a few years later. Apparently the
actual version of the Periplus of Hanno, which has been the
» Hisiofv of Ancient Geography, vol. i., p. 332.
19
16. THE COAST OF LIBKRIA NfclAK CAFE MOUNT
Liberia ^
foundation of all translations and commentaries since the six-
teenth century, goes back to the Periplus of Arrian, published
in Greek at Bile in 1533 from a Greek MS. then in the
Heidelberg Library. The authenticity of this interesting frag-
ment has been once or twice disputed, but is apparently
established beyond reasonable doubt, at any rate in its main
features, though one or two geographical names differ in the
Greek and Latin versions. But it was a voyage which, although
overlooked by Herodotus (who wrote at a subsequent period),
made a deep impression on the Mediterranean world in the
centuries which immediately preceded and followed the Christian
era, and considerable tradition of this exploring trip along the
West Coast of Africa seems to have survived even the ignorance
of the dark ages (perhaps kept alive and handed on by the
Byzantines and the Spanish Arabs), and to have been currently
discussed by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century, a hundred
years before the publication of the Bale version.
Apparently in the original Greek version of the narrative
the River Senegal is styled the Chretes or the Chremetes.^
In Pliny's garbled version of Hanno's journey the river
equivalent to the Senegal is called the Bambotus, a word which
has a very African sound and may even be connected with
the name of the existing Bambuk country on the Upper
Senegal. The Island of Kerne so repeatedly mentioned in
Hanno's journey is undoubtedly the little Island of Heme
which is situated at the head of the bay or gulf known as
the Rio de Ore, in the present Spanish Protectorate of that
name on the Atlantic coast of the Sahara (see p. 17). There is
much that might lead us to suppose that Hanno was not the
first Caucasian adventurer who emerged from the Mediterranean
' The Chremctes is mentioned by Aristotle as a large river on the West Coast
of Africa.
20
^ History Prior to the Middle Ages
and found his way on a trading voyage to tropical West
Africa. In the first place, if there be any truth in Han no's
story, he merely started with a small fleet of ships, colonists,
soldiers, traders, and women, to revictual as well as to found
Carthaginian posts along the north and north-west coasts
of Africa.^ From the Morocco coast district round about the
tpwn of Al-Arish (the ancient Lixus) Hanno took Moorish
interpreters, who of course at that period, one thousand two
hundred years before the Arab invasion, would have spoken
Berber dialects like those that are still to be heard in Western
Morocco. These Berber interpreters might have been able to
link on with the less savage Fula and Wolof people about the
Lower Senegal and Cape Verde ; and these latter peoples perhaps
acted as interpreters during the third and southernmost voyage
from Kerne to Sherbro. Such brief glimpses as we get of the
West African Negroes in Hanno's narrative show them to have
been sufficiently advanced in human development to know the
use of fire, since at that period, two thousand five hundred years
distant from the present day, they were burning up the dry
grass and bush at the end of the rainy season, just as they do
at the present time ; and the sheets of flame on the grass plains
and the fires that climbed Mount Kakulima filled the Carthaginian
explorers with terror.
Was this first recorded intercourse between the civilised
Caucasian and the black savages of Western Africa the
commencement of a more or less unrestricted intercourse which
has continued down to the present day } Did the Carthagin-
iahs or Phoenicians repeat and extend Hanno's experiments .^
And when Rome took the place of Carthage, how far did
1 Bunbury states that in the extant Greek version Hanno is credited with
having conveyed thirty thonsand people in a fleet of sixty ships, but this was
no doubt a great exaggeration.
Liberia ^
Roman energy carry Roman commerce beyond the southern
limits of modern Morocco ? How did the Agri beads reach
Liberia ^ and the Gold Coast ?
The Agri beads are undoubtedly of Mediterranean origin.
In appearance they are most diverse. Some are of the chevron
pattern, in layers of blue, white, red glass ; others are round,
four-sided, or cylindrical beads of blue, red, or amber glass, or
are of a mixture of glass and porcelain (or clay), with spots or
dashes of different colours. With one
notable exception, no bead has yet been
discovered on the West African coast
which need be older than the thirteenth
century a.d., or which might not be
of Italian manufacture. This exception
is the component beads of a necklace
long buried in the grave of a Gold
Coast chief, about forty miles inland
from Elmina (on the road to Kumasi).
The glass beads of this necklace are
undoubtedly of '' classical '' times {i.e.
antecedent to the Renaissance), and
resemble very closely beads of the Greek
Islands of perhaps five hundred years before Christ (vide article
and illustration by Mr. C. H. Read in Mail of January, 1905).
So far as native tradition goes, these Agri beads are declared
to be much older than the glass beads manufactured at Venice
17. AGRI BKAI) FKo.M I'UTU,
KASTEKN LIBKKIA (I'KOBAHLY
VENETIAN)
^ Writers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries mention Agri beads
as being found on tlie Km coast of Liberia. Mr. Braham has recently discovered
them to exist in the Putu country behind the Kru coast. Here they are of dull blue
glass, long, and four-sided. The illustration given is of a Putu Agri bead now in
the British Museum. This Putu bead is pronounced by Mr. C. H. Read to be of
no car/f'er date than five hundred years ago, and to be of Venetian make. It may
of course be much later in origin.
l8. AGKI BKAIXS FROM WKST AFRICA AM) KLSEWIIKRF.
1. Roman bead dredged up from mouth of Thames
2. Beads from Hausaland (Nigeria) : possibly Roman
8, 4, 5, 6. 7, and 8. Agri beads from Ashanti and Gold Coast
Liberia ^
and in England for the last two hundred years. Chevron beads
are found on the Central Niger and in Hausaland. These
may have travelled thither from mediaeval Egypt. Did the
Agri beads of West Africa likewise come across the Sahara
and the Niger from Egypt or Carthage, or were they carried
along the north coast of the Mediterranean from trading
station to trading station, and so down the north-west and
west coasts of Africa ? Both routes may have been followed,
especially after the rise of Islam. It may be that once Hanno
had shown Mediterranean sailors the way to Negro West
Africa, that way may have been followed by Carthaginians and
Greeks, and by Romanised Moors for some time afterwards.
As to the Romans, they had conquered most of the Berber
tribes of North Africa by the beginning of the Christian era
(modern Morocco was incorporated in the Empire about a.d.
42), and during the first century a.d. Suetonius Paulinus led
a Roman expedition across the Atlas and Anti-Atlas ranges,
and apparently reached as far south as the River Draa. This
is the river — so far as resemblance of name goes — which is
indicated by Pliny and other classical writers of that period as
the Daradus ; but it is also mixed up in their descriptions with
a supposititious River Gir or Nigir. • From this confusion some
writers in the eighteenth century asserted, that Suetonius Paulinus
had actually marched across the Sahara Desert to the River
Niger, an impossibility with the means and time at his command.
He probably got no farther than the River Draa, and between
the Draa and the Senegal there is not, so far as we know, even
a trace of an ancient or modern watercourse.
The Nigir or Daradus (River Draa) was said by Polybius
and Pliny to contain crocodiles ; but it is distinctly stated that
the Bambotus or Chretes contained not only crocodiles, but
river-horses. Of course, it is quite possible that nineteen
24
^
>mr,.''-^ ,,
19. "NIVARIA"— A VIEW OFJTHE PEAK OF TENERIFE FROM A DISTANCE OF FORTY MILEJ?
Liberia ^
hundred years ago crocodiles may still have lingered in the
Draa River, just as they are still to be found in a Syrian river,
and until recently were present in the lakes of the Isthmus of
Suez. But the Gir or Nigir of classical writers, though con-
founded by them with the geographical position of the River
Draa, was undoubtedly the reflex of stories circulated by the
Moors or Carthaginians of the tropical River Senegal and
also of the Upper Niger ; and so much did this description
linger in the minds of the Western Mediterranean people, that
when the Portuguese first brought back the story of a great
Nile-like river flowing from west to east beyond the coast-
lands of Guinea, it was at once identified as Pliny's Nigir or
Niger, and this is the origin of the name which that river
bears in European languages at the present day.
The islands of Madeira and Porto Santo seem first to
have been discovered by Carthaginian or Phoenician seafarers
of Cadiz. Some such agency, no doubt, revealed to the
Mediterranean world the existence of the Canary Archipelago.^
In the earliest allusions to the Canary Islands no mention
is made of their being inhabited ; but this may be due to a
confusion with the Madeira Archipelago, which certainly had
never been inhabited by man until rediscovered and colonised
by the Portuguese. But the Canary Islands were already
populated by a race of Berber (Libyan) origin when the
rule of Rome was finally established over North Africa.
The nearest of the Canary Islands to the mainland is
Fuerteventura, which is only about sixty (English) miles distant
from the Morocco coast. There is, however, nothing to show
that the Libyan people of North Africa before the coming
of the Carthaginians possessed any sea-going boats, and it
» These islands were named by Pliny Nivaria, the Snowy (Teiierife); Canaria,
the Doggy (Grand Canary), from its big shepherd dogs.
a6
♦. History Prior to the Middle Ages
is just possible, therefore, that the Canary Islands may only
have been peopled by Moors about two or three thousand
years ago, with the aid of Carthaginian or Phoenician vessels.
If, however, the case was otherwise, and the Moors of
prehistoric periods possessed vessels in which they could
at any rate cross the strait of sixty miles between the
Morocco coast and the Canary Islands, they might have
managed to journey in the same way along the north-west
coast of Africa. Probably they travelled overland along the
Atlantic fringe of the Sahara Desert to the Senegal even in
prehistoric times. The Pula race is an ancient relic of Berber
advance in this direction.
After the destruction of the Roman Empire in North Africa
at the hands of the Arabs and Arabised Berbers, all exploration
of West Africa by Mediterranean peoples came to an end for
a hundred and fifty years, yet afterwards developed in a more
surprising way than ever. The first Arab invaders of Morocco
possessed no means of sea-transport, and all communication
between Morocco and the Canary Islands seems utterly to have
ceased ; so that the Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands, when
they were rediscovered by Normans, Portuguese, Italians, and
Spaniards, were absolutely untouched by Muhammadanism, and
showed but little affinity in customs with the people of Morocco,
though they spoke a Berber language and were apparently Libyan
in their physical features. It is an interesting fact to be noted
that Ca' da Mosto, a Venetian sea-captain in the service of
the Portuguese, who visited the Canary Islands early in the
fifteenth century, describes the natives (afterwards called Guanches
by the Spaniards) as being much given to nudity, the adults
sometimes appearing without a vestige of clothing. This
trait — nudity — is absolutely unlike anything recorded of the
inhabitants of North Africa in historic times.
27
Liberia ^
The Arab invasion of North and North Central Africa,
bringing with it the religion of Islam, was not to affect the
country of Liberia for many centuries, so that it can be passed
over for the present. Assuming Liberia to have been peopled
by something nearer to the genus Homo than the chimpanzee
two thousand five hundred years ago, the Negro inhabitants of
her jungles then may just have derived from their neighbours
on the west rumours of this wonderful visit of the white men
in their great winged boats ; and if, as I imagine, Carthaginian
enterprises of this description did not cease with the return of
Hanno, the Liberian savages of those distant days may have
traded directly or indirectly with the men of the Mediterranean
down to the beginning of the Christian era. But with the
absence of all information on the subject in the writings of
Roman or Greek geographers after the second century of the
Christian era, we are obliged to assume that a complete break
occurred in the intercourse between the Mediterranean peoples
and the Negroes of tropical West Africa from the second century
of the Christian era to about the twelfth century. By this time
the Libyan races (Tamasheq) of the northern bend of the Niger
had been Muhammadanised, and had begun to break up and
destroy the Negro or Negroid kingdoms along the course of
the Upper Niger. Some faint, faint wave of the turmoil they
created, some tiny infiltration of their commerce, may have
reached the northern and western regions of Liberia ; but
assuming Hanno's expedition to have reached the confines of
this country about two thousand five hundred years ago, we
have no distinct record of its having any further contact with
the Caucasian (Aryan, Mediterranean, Libyan) until the
traditional journeys of the Norman adventurers from Dieppe
in the fourteenth century of our present era.
zS
CHAPTER III
«
THE NORMANS AND THE GENOESE
THE name of Dieppe is apparently but a Frenchification
of the Scandinavian word Diep (deep), meaning a narrow
inlet. It early became a point of settlement for the
Normans, who fastened on the decaying power of the Franks
in the ninth and tenth centuries. From ports such as this
their princely rovers sailed round the coasts of Spain and Portugal
into the Mediterranean to found kingdoms in Naples and Sicily
and to attack the Saracens on the North Coast of Africa.* Even
after the Duchy of Normandy had been fused once more into
the empire of France, the Norman adventurers continued their
explorations of the Atlantic coasts. The Canary Islands were
accidentally visited about 1334 by a Norman vessel driven off
the African coast by a storm. This shows, therefore, that as
early as 1334 the Normans were feeling their way down the
West Coast of Africa.^
* As early as 814 a.d., according to the Moorish historian Al Bakri, the
Normans or Norse rovers were pillaging the Morocco coast, and these attacks
continued during the ninth century. The Norse rovers were known to the Spanish
and North African Arabs as Maju.
^ In 1270 Lanciaroto (Lancelot) Malocello, a Genoese captain searching
vaguely for the Guinea Coast and the '' River of Gold,'' discovered the easternmost
Canary Islands, probably Lanzarote (named after him) and Fuerteventura. It is
asserted that this Genoese captain was really of Norman descent from the French
family of Maloisel. In 1341 a Portuguese expedition spent four months among the
Canary Islands. Various Spanish expeditions between 1344 and 1395 attempted
with ill success to effect a permanent settlement. In 1402 Jehan de Bethencourt, a
Norman gentleman-adventurer, sailed from La Rochelle in the west of France, and
29
Liberia ^
Other unrecorded Norman adventurers may have sailed past
the Canary Islands along the Sahara Coast to Cape Verde and
the Land of the Blacks, probably trading with the natives in
spices. It is asserted by Villault de Bellefonds^ that as early
as 1339 (the year in which Dieppe was taken and plundered by
the English) the Dieppois adventurers had sailed along the
North-West African coast, and that in 1364-5 two of their
ships reached the ^* Grain " Coast, which is now known as
Liberia. They started in November, reached Cape Verde at
Christmas, visited " Boulombel " (Sierra Leone), Cap Moute
(Cape Mount), and extended their voyage to Petit Dieppe
(Grand Basa). In 1365 and 1367^ the Norman adventurers
founded this Petit Dieppe, which might be identified with Basa
Cove, near the modern town of Lower Buchanan at the mouth
of the Biso River (Grand Basa). " Grand Dieppe " was
effected a landing at Lanzarote and Fiierteventura. This first expedition of Jehan
de Bethencourt's was repulsed by the natives ; but four years after, having obtained
a grant of the islands from Henry III. of Castille, De Bethencourt mastered four
of the smaller among the Canary Islands, and proclaimed himself king. He was
unsuccessful, however, in his attempts on Grand Canary and Tenerife, and died
in France in 1408. His nephew disposed of the De Bethencourt claim to a
Spaniard and afterwards to the Crown of Portugal. After some dispute as to
ownership between private individuals and the Crowns of Spain and Portugal —
disputes which dragged on for nearly eighty years — and after violent and effective
opposition on the part of the warlike indigenes of Grand Canary, Tenerife, and
Palma, the whole archipelago was finally conquered and occupied by Spain at
the close of the fifteenth century. During the next hundred years the indigenous
Berber inhabitants were either exterminated or became fused in the mass of
Spanish settlers, to whom physically they were not very dissimilar.
* A Relation of the Coasts of Africa called Guinea, a book published in
London in 1670, apparently a translation of an earlier work in French. Villault
was a supercargo or controller of the Europa, a trading vessel sent from Amsterdam
to the Guinea Coast by the French West Indian Company. The Dutch writer. Dr.
Dapper, also alludes to these traditions of pre-Portiiguese settlements by the
French in his work published at Amsterdam in 1686 (p. 230).
* For an admirable summary of all the traditions and evidences regarding
these Norman voyages, see Beasley and Prestage, Discovery and Conquest of
Guinea (Hakluyt Society), p. Ixvi. These authors consider the case "non
proven."
30
MAP 2
Liberia ^
possibly a station at or near the mouth of the River Cestos.
*' Grand Buteau*' and " Petit Buteau " were placed, it is suggested,
at Great and Little Butu (Bootoo), a few miles north of Greenville
(Sino). Great and Little Paris are identified with Grand and
Picaninny ( = little) Sesters (places in the western part of Maryland
County). They are also thought to have had a calling-place at
Fresco, on the Ivory Coast (near Lahou), stations at Cape Mount
(1375) and Sierra Leone. By 1382 their ships are alleged
to have reached the Gold Coast, and in 1382 and 1383 they
built a fort at the modern Elmina, on a bastion of which (long
called the French bastion) it is said (by Dr. Dapper) that two
figures indicating the first part of " thirteen hundred " were still
visible at the close of the eighteenth century.^ All these Norman-
French settlements, however, seem to have been completely
abandoned by about 141 3, at which time Normandy was involved
in the internal internecine wars which raged in PVance after the
death of Charles VI.
Very soon after the Normans commenced their adventurous
voyages in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the seamen of
Genoa, Majorca, and Barcelona (the Moorish power in south-
eastern Spain having abated) took to adventurous voyages for
trading purposes along the North Coast of Africa and out into the
Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar.^ During the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries there was a lull in the ferocious conflict
between Christians and Muhammadans in the Mediterranean
^ MCCCLXXXIII would represent 1383 in Roman numerals. It is almost
certain that at that date Arabic figures would not be employed in inscriptions;
consequently, as it would require four Roman numerals (MCCC) to indicate 1300,
Dapper's story is not quite credible. Colonel Dinger, however, thinks that Norman
seamen used Arabic figures, as did the English, in the thirteenth century.
* Noteworthy among these adventures is the story of Jac Ferrer, a Majorcan
captain who sailed for the River of Gold in 1346, and perhaps reached the Senegal
River. In the French traditions about the Norman voyages to the Grain Coast there
is one pointing to Catalan ships frequenting this coast in 1375.
32
-#i The Normans and the Genoese
basin, and something like friendly intercourse arose between the
polished Berber kingdoms of North Africa and the Italians and
Catalans. The Crusades were over ; the bitter persecutions
of the Moors by the fanatical Flemish kings of Spain had not
begun. Constantinople was still a Christian city, and the awful
infliction of the Osmanli Turks had not as yet paralysed
the Arab world and sharpened its hatred of European
civilisation.
Islam, which had destroyed the Roman Empire in North
Africa, Nearer Asia, and Eastern Europe, had nevertheless
delivered a counter-stroke for the Caucasian's civilisation in
Africa. The deserts which had baulked the Roman, the Greek,
and the Persian in their attempts to reach the Sudan were no
obstacle to the natives of Arabia. The invasion of Egypt in
640 A.D. was soon followed by the conquest of Tripoli and
Mauritania. By 711 a.d. the Arabs had not only overrun and
Islamised Morocco, but had begun to penetrate southwards the
Atlantic coast of the Sahara. By 950 (approximately) their
influence had reached the mouth of the Senegal, and they had
commenced travelling eastwards up the course of that river, thus
reaching the Niger. Simultaneously,^ through Egypt, they had
invaded Nubia and Darfur, and thence attained Lake Chad and
the Upper Niger ; and before actual Arabs made this journey
they sent in front of them a great religious movement of
Islamised Nubians, Songhais, and Libyan Tawareq (the Berber-
speaking indigenes of the Sahara).
These same Tawareq,- or desert Moors, had also been
* The movement began in the tenth century, but was most marked at the
beginning of the eleventh.
* Tawareq is the plural of Tarqi, an Arab name given to the Tamasheq or
Imoshagh, the Berber tribes of the Sahara. These people are absolutely the
same in race and language as the Berber inhabitants that form the bulk of the
indigenous population in Tunis, Algeria, and Morocco.
VOL. I 33 3
Liberia ^
Islamised and generally stirred up to adventure by the Arab
invasion of Mauritania. They surged backwards and forwards
across the Western Sahara during the tenth, eleventh, and
twelfth centuries, rushing in a few years from the banks of the
Niger to Spain, or back again from Morocco to the Niger.
Thus in about four hundred years after the Arab invasion of
Egypt some of the most notable features of the Northern Sudan,
from Senegal to Abyssinia, had reached the Arabs and Berbers
of North Africa, and had been communicated by them to the
Sicilians, the Normans, and Genoese. By the middle of the
thirteenth century the Genoese and the Catalans had derived
a very correct impression of the main geographical features of
the Niger Basin, and even of the North-West African coast.^
More than this, the rapidly growing Moslem civilisation of
Jenne and of Timbuktu, had got into touch southwards and
north-westwards with the gold-bearing regions of Ashanti or
of Bambuk. From such place-names as Jenne or Ghana arose
a vague geographical designation — Ghine, Ghinoa, Ghinoia,
which was mentioned by Arab and Italian geographers two
hundred years before it was actually applied by the Portuguese
to West Africa. In fact, the Portuguese had the word Guinea
(Guine, Guinala) in their minds when they set out to discover
these regions. They did not invent the word Guinea as an
original term.
The Genoese, either coming independently or as the
captains or pilots of Spanish and Portuguese vessels, discovered
the Canary Islands, as we have already seen, and two of their
* In 1402 the priests or missionaries attending De Bethencourts expe-
dition to the Canary Islands revived and recorded the accounts of a wonderful
journey made about 1230 by a Spanish mendicant friar of the Franciscan
Order to Morocco, and from Morocco overland to the Senegal, the •' River
of Gold," the Kingdom of Melli, and perhaps to the Mandingo hinterland of
Liberia.
34
^ The Normans and the Genoese
ships passed beyond the dreaded Cape Bojador ^ in 1291, but
were not known to return. Other Catalan or Genoese ad-
venturers, however, may have been more fortunate in their
attempts to reach the Guinea Coast, the ^' Land of Gold."
There is certainly a very remarkable map of the continent of
Africa painted in 1351,' and known as the Laurentian Portolano
in the Medician Library at Florence. This map, of which a
copy is reproduced in T/ie Discovery aftd Conquest of Guinea^
published by the Hakluyt Society,^ gives a remarkably true
indication (for that period) of the bend of the West Coast of
Africa, though of course the extent of this great bight is
proportionately exaggerated at the expense of the rest of the
continent. But this indication of the coast-line shows firstly the
projection of Cape Blanco ; secondly, gives some idea of Cape
Verde and Cape Palmas (Cape Palmas being not much out in
longitude), the northward trend of the coast between Cape
Palmas and the Bight of Benin ; and, thirdly, it suggests the
sharp southward turn after the Niger Delta is passed. The
situation of the Bight of Biafra is of course much too far to
the east. It is curious, however, that the photograph of this
painting shows an alternative line of coast much farther to the
west and much more in the true position of the southern
projection of Africa. Off this coast lie two islands which
might be Sao Thome and Principe ; while there is the in-
dication of a river that may be intended for the Congo. It is
quite possible, however, that this alternative line may be a
sketch by some traveller or geographer a century or two later,
* This name meant in Portuguese "Jutting out" (Bojar = to bulge, jut out).
The Cape does not appear particularly prominent on the coast of Africa to modern
travellers, but it seems to have been a turning-point of winds and currents, and
was for many years the obstacle at which Portuguese explorers turned back.
* Nearly a century before the Portuguese discoveries.
» Vol. i. (1896).
35
Liberia ^
who, in consulting this Portolano, chose to add a correction of
his own. In any case this map is a very remarkable guess at
the real configuration of the West African coast-line, drawn as
it was in 1351, at least a century before the Portuguese had
published the positive results of their West African discoveries.
No doubt much in this map is due to the information given
by Moors and Arabs to Italian geographers. To this source is
obviously due the delineation of the upper course of the Niger
and the outline of Lake Chad. Nevertheless, if we could turn
back the leaves of the book of time, and see the West African
coast as it was in the fourteenth century, we might descry
Norman, Majorcan, and Genoese sailors trafficking with the
blacks of Senegambia and Liberia for ivory and Guinea pepper,
possibly even for gold on the Gold Coast.
There can be little doubt (although it is hotly denied by
Portuguese historians — who indeed have endeavoured to relegate
the Norman adventurers on the West Coast of Africa to the
region of myth) that the trade in gold, ivory, and pepper
started by those Norman adventurers (whose attempts to seize
the Canary Islands had already excited Portuguese ambitions)
had come to the knowledge of Prince Henry the Navigator,
and had, with other influences, created in him the desire to
send forth the Portuguese on similar voyages of discovery.
His desire in its accomplishment led to the turning of the
Cape of Good Hope and the revelation of the sea-route to
Arabia, Persia, India, the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago,
China, Japan, and Korea.^
* The very citation of these East Asiatic names shows us that we first received
our existing versions from the Portuguese.
36
CHAPTER IV
PORTUGUESE EXPLORATIONS
HENRY, the third son of Joao (John) I. of Portugal, was
born in 1394. When he was only about twenty-one
(in 141 5) he took part in a Portuguese expedition sent
to capture Ceuta, on the north coast of Morocco.^ At Ceuta
he gathered information from Moorish prisoners and merchants
as to the fertile and gold-bearing countries beyond the Great
Desert, on the Western Coast of Africa. He also desired to
find for Portugal lands to colonise, and possibly the discovery
of a short sea-route round Africa to the Indies. After his
return from Ceuta the Prince was made Governor of the southern
province of Portugal, the Algarve.'*^ From the year 141 8, at
any rate, if not a little earlier, the ships dispatched by him on
southern voyages of exploration rediscovered Porto Santo and
Madeira, and later on visited the Canary Islands on a series of
profitable raids. But in 1434 one of his captains, Gil Eannes,
stuck more closely to the Morocco coast and rounded Cape
Bojador. By 1435 ^^^ Portuguese had reached the narrow inlet
which they named the Rio do Ouro, or River of Gold (see p. 17).
At the head of this gulf, as already mentioned, is situated the
^ It is interesting to note that Knglish and German merchant vessels assisted
the Portuguese in the siege of Ceuta.
* Algarve was simply the Portuguese softening of the Arab Algharb — the
(Land of) Sunset, the Extreme West.
37
Liberia ^
little Island of Heme or Kerne, which was such an important
rendezvous for the Carthaginians.
Why the Portuguese named this place the River of Gold
is not very clear, except that they were convinced from the out-
set of their journeys that they were going to find the mysterious
River or Coast of Gold reported by the Catalan and Norman
adventurers, and most of all by the Moors and Arabs. It is
possible also that in their intercourse with the Moors in this
little inlet, known now as the Rio de Oro (the headquarters of a
Spanish Protectorate), they may have met Moors returning from
the Sudan to Morocco with gold-dust in their possession. In
1 44 1 a Portuguese ship brought back from the Sahara coast
near Cape Blanco several Moorish captives and some gold-dust.
In the next year Nuno Tristam reached the Bay of Arguim
inside Cape Blanco. In 1444 several Portuguese ships reached
the mouth of the Senegal River, where they are said to have
found remains of the Norman forts. Cape Verde, " the
Green," was rounded by Dinis Diaz either in 1445 ^^ i^ H47>
and about the same time another Portuguese captain discovered
the mouth of the River Gambia.
In 1455 and 1456 Luigi Ca' da Mosto,^ a Venetian sea-
captain in the service of Prince Henry, visited the River Senegal,
discovered the Cape Verde Islands, and reached in his explorations
as far as the Bisagos Archipelago. Sierra Leone was perhaps
first attained by the Portuguese Diego Gomez in 1460. Ca' da
Mosto,^ the Venetian, was certainly the first notable explorer of
the W^est Coast of Africa. Besides discovering the Cape Verde
Islands (in which feat he was joined by a Genoese captain, Uso
di Mare, who with other ships accompanied him on both these
* His name is variously spelt Alvise, Aloysius. Cil or Ca', in the Venetian
dialect, is short for Casa, '• house."
* Only twenty-two years old when he started from Venice in 1454
38
-^ Portuguese Explorations
20. A BARCA. EAKLV TYPK OF PORTl'GUKSE
SAILING-SHIP (HFTKKNTH CF.NTURY)
voyages), he was the first of these captains to give a clear and
accurate account of the people and geography of North- West
Africa.
Pedro de Sintra, or Cintra (an account of whose voyages
was written by Ca' da
Mosto), was the first
Portuguese to reach
the coast of modern
Liberia, part of which
in the vicinity of the
modern Marshall
(River Junk) he de-
scribes as " a great
green forest." He set
out from Portugal in 1461, shortly after the death of that
great prince, Henry the Navigator. De Sintra was dispatched
by King Alfonso V. to survey the coast of Guinea beyond
Ca' da Mosto's farthest point (Cape Roxo, Casamance River).
He passed the Bisagos Archipelago, Cape Verga, and the
high mountain of Kakulima (near Konakri), which he named
Mount Sagres, after the place of residence of Prince Henry
in the Algarve. (This mountain was evidently the Theon
Ochema in the Greek translation of Hanno*s voyage.) He
also first gave the name *' Serra Leoa " (Sierra Leone) to the
mountainous promontory which the natives at that period
seemingly called Bulom-bel (by which name it was even
quoted by the French and Dutch travellers ^). The western
' We are distinctly told by Ca' da Mosto that tins name— The Lion-like Mountain
Range — was given to Sierra Leone because of the loud noises coming from its
echoing hollows to the ships out at sea, these noises being caused, he says, by the
beating of the surf on the coast, or more probably by the constant thunderstorms. It
is highly improbable that lions were ever found in the forest region of Sierra Leone.
" t-eoai," moreover, in conjunction with " Serra," is an adjective meaning lion-lik^.
3?
Liberia ^
21. THK MOL'NTAINOLS PROMONTDKY OF SIKKKA LKONK FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE
(DRAWN BY THE AUTHOR IN 1882)
promontory of Sherbro Island was called Cape St. Anne, a
name it still bears.
Then Pedro de Sintra reached the coast of what is now
called Liberia in the autumn of the year 1461 — certainly
an important date in the history of that country, as, if the
legends of the Dieppe adventurers are untrue, it was possibly
the first time in which the Negroes of Liberia ever beheld a
white man. Pedro de Sintra noticed and named the remarkable
promontory of Cape Mount (Cabo do Monte), and beyond
that. Cape Mesurado.^ Hereabouts the natives were lighting
^ Mesurado in Portuguese does not mean '• measured " (as several writers
have assured us), neither does it mean "miserable" (another explanation). The
correct transhilion is "moderated," "diminished," •* quiet," and in this sense Pedro
de Sintra may have intended to refer to the lessened surf (it is nearly always
a safe place for landing) or an improvement in the weather. But Ca* da Mosto
in his Italian version of De Sintra's narrative calls it alternatively " Capo Cortese ''
(in the French translation, " Cap Courtois "). and one is led to infer that the name
was given on account of the placable and quiet demeanour of the natives. As
40
^ Portuguese Explorations
fires, apparently to announce with their smoke that something
very unusual had occurred, and they seem to have conveyed
to him in some way the intelligence that no European ship
had ever come to their country before. But as in the same
narrative it is distinctly stated that it was impossible to under-
stand a word the people said, and as by their actions they
appear to have been neither hostile nor timid, there is not
much evidence in this to rebut the story of the earlier Norman
settlements farther down the coast.
Beyond this cape De Sintra's ships travelled " about sixteen
miles," till they reached on the shore a wood formed of splendid
green trees which extended itself almost to the water. This
they called Bosque (or '* Arvoredo '') Santa Maria. Here the
ships were brought to an anchor, and immediately several
canoes ^ came off to them. In each canoe were two or three
men, '' quite naked," carrying pointed spears, darts, javelins,
bows, and here and there a shield of leather. Their ears were
pierced in several places, and apparently also the septum of
their noses, while their teeth were sharpened to a point. Not
a single word of their language could be understood, and
consequently when three of them boldly came on board one
the first definite record of Liberian exploration is interesting for the purposes
of this book, it may be well to give Ca' da Mosto's actual words as recorded
by Ramusio in 1564: "Per la spiaggia si trova un capo che si mette molto al
mare, et sopra di questo capo pare un monte alto, et a questo capo hanno messo
nome il Capo del Monte, //rm oltra questo capo di Monte i)er la spiaggia andando
avanti circa miglia sessanta si trova uii altro capo piccolo et non alto, il quale
anche mostra sopra d* esso haver un monticello, et a questo hanno messo nome,
il Capo Cortese 6 Misurado, et oltra questo caj)o a miglia sedici pur per la
spiaggia e un bosco grande con moiti arbori verdissimi clie beono fina su 1' acqua
del mare, al qual messono nome il Bosco ovcro Arboredo di Santa Maria, et
drieto di qnello sorgetteno le caravelle," etc.
' "Almadia" is the word used. This term, wlii. h is Arabo-Portugue.se, was
employed from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries in Portuguese, Spanish,
Italian, and English to indicate "canoe," until it was replaced by the American
words can{Hi and pirogo.
41
Liberia ^
of the caravels the Portuguese detained a specimen of these
Negroes as a prisoner, *' thereby accomplishing the command
of their king," who had *' expressly ordered them on their
return to bring a man of the last country they had visited "
(provided they could not make themselves understood in seeking
for information) ; they were to bring him *' by force or by Jove,"
in order that on arriving in Portugal he might, by meeting
with other Negroes of possibly the same race, be able to
give an account of his country. In this instance, the first'
*' Liberian " who was forcibly brought to Europe actually did
22. CAN0P:S coming off from THK LIBF.RIAN COAST (skKTCHED BY THE
AUTHOR IN 1882)
meet a woman slave in the service of a citizen of Lisbon,
possibly a Vai woman who had come from an adjoining region
and could make herself understood in a tongue which the
native of "Bosque Santa Maria" could understand ; but appar-
ently the only item of interest that his Portuguese majesty
could extract from the conversation which resulted was that
"unicorns" were found in Liberia! Consequently, after the
Portuguese king had shown this Liberian all the sights of
Lisbon, he loaded him with presents and sent him back to
Liberia in 1462.
42
-^ Portuguese Explorations
Probably this Negro returned with the second voyage
of De Sintra in that year (1462). De Sintra travelled with
another captain, Sueiro da Costa, and together these explorers
seem to have extended their voyage along the Liberian coast
as far as Cape Palmas, though this promontory did not
receive its present Portuguese name till a later date.^
The Cavalla River was perhaps the limit of De Sintra's
explorations in 1462, and after this there came a pause of
nine years before further progress was made. Then, in 1471,
the Portuguese captains, grown bold by familiarity with the
smooth seas of the Atlantic coast of Africa, sailed eastwards from
Cape Palmas to that Gold Coast of two hundred years' tradition,
and farther on across the Bight of Biafra to the southward
bend of the African continent.
They had already named what we now know as Liberia
the *' Malagueta " coast. The Malagueta pepper being
* It was very soon noticed that this headland near the Kiver Cavalla was
covered with a remarkable and striking form of palm tree. At the present day
Cape Palmas is very notable for its growths of coconut palms, which crowd
its rocky promontories and islets. But in all probability when the first Portuguese
explored these coasts there were no coconut palms growing on Cape Palmas,
but the stately fan palm {Horassus) which I have photographed myself on this
spot, still lingering in the scrub. As will be seen later in the book, the first British
explorer of this coast notices the considerable numbers of F'an palms in the close
vicinity of Cape Palmas.
When I asked the Grebo people at Cape Palmas if the coconut was in-
digenous to their country, they replied positively that according to their traditions
this tree was introduced by the Portuguese. Yet Dapper in the seventeenth
century alludes indirectly to the Coco palm and its fruit as one of the products of
the Grain Coast.
The Coco palm is indigenous to the islands and shoresi of the Pacific
and perhaps of the Indian Ocean. Apparently by the agency of man it was
transported across the Central American isthmus to the Atlantic coast of that
continent, and the far-sighted Portuguese planted it on the West African
littoral : bringing it no doubt from Northern Brazil at the same time that they
brought the pineapple. This last grows everywhere in the coast regions of Liberia,
as though it was a native, and its presence there is noted by Dutch and English
voyagers 9 hundred (ind fifty years after the Portuguese discovery of Liberi^.
43
Liberia <•-
styled in Europe " Grains of Paradise," the Dutch and English
soon applied the shorter designation of '* Grain Coast " to all
the country between Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast (which
23. PALMS— BOKASSUS, OIL, AND COCONUT— AT CAl'E I'ALMAS
last was called by the Portuguese the Coast of Ma gente —
Bad people). Between 1462 and 15 15 the Portuguese had
practically the monopoly of trade with the Liberian coast and
Guinea generally. After that date the French (usually
44
-^ Portuguese Explorations
Dieppois) again frequented the West Coast of Africa. They
had, indeed, commenced in 148 3 — perhaps earlier — to renew
the Atlantic voyages interrupted seventy years before. But
the Portuguese kept for nearly a hundred years a pretty tight
grip on the Gulf of Guinea. They did not object, however,
to engaging Genoese captains or officers for their vessels, and
it was in this service that Columbus made several voyages to
Guinea a few years before his great adventure. The Discoverer
of America, therefore, in all probability landed on the Liberian
coast when the Portuguese ships called there for fresh water
or commerce in pepper.
When Creasy was writing on the decisive battles of the
world, it is curious that he did not include amongst them
the battle of Kasr-al-Kablr, which occurred on August 4th,
1578; for the results of this conflict in Northern Morocco on
the banks of the River Aulkus were felt in a remarkable series
of events all over the habitable globe — ^just as when some
obscure volcanic outburst or earthquake occurs at the bottom
of the sea in the Pacific, or in the Indian Ocean, tidal wave
after tidal wave ravages the coasts and islands of some unwitting
land a thousand miles or so from the scene of the scarcely
noticed outbreak of natural forces.
Portugal, ever since the capture of Ceuta in 141 5 (the
event which had set Prince Henry of Portugal thinking on
West African discovery), had been striving to conquer for
herself an empire over Morocco. Spain — that is to say,
Castille — was shut off from any such ambition in the first half
of the fifteenth century because the Moorish kingdom of
Granada still stood between the territories of the kingdom of
Castille and the nearest part of the Morocco coast. Portugal
by degrees laid hands on most of the principal ports, pro-
montories, and islets along the coast of Morocco from Ceuta
45
Liberia ^
(the Roman Septa') to Mogadon. By the middle of the
fifteenth century the Portuguese were masters of the northern
horn of Morocco, that peninsular projection towards Europe
which extends from Tangier and Ceuta, on the north, to the
River Aulkus on the south. This intrusion of the Portuguese
was singularly disconcerting to the Arabised Moors of Morocco,
who, reinforced from time to time by fresh bands of Arabs
coming right across Northern Africa from Egypt, or by some
northward rush of Muhammadan Berbers from the Niger, had
renewed over and over again the invasion of Spain, if not
of Portugal.* This solid block of Portuguese dominion, there-
fore, in the northern promontory of Morocco threatened to be
a wedge which would completely separate the Moors (not then
a bold seafaring people) from the Moorish kingdom of Granada
across the Straits of Gibraltar. Consequently the Moorish hosts
threw themselves with fanaticism again and again on the barrier
of Portuguese fortresses and armies.
The intrusion of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century
had assisted to break up the Moorish dynasty of the Beni-
Marln. Moorish opinion was in disarray. That portion of it
which was founded on the less fanatical coast population de-
scended from the Romans, Spaniards, Goths, Byzantines, and
Christian Berbers, was half inclined to waver in its allegiance
to the Crescent, and join the Empire of the Cross under Portugal.
This reactionary feeling provoked another Mahdi in one of
the Sharifs of Sijilmassa in Southern Morocco. This man
finally led the Moorish armies against the Portuguese. The
young King Sebastian had just succeeded to the crown of
• The Portuguese generally pronounced this name Septa or Sevta, and spelt
it Cepta ; it was the Spaniards that turned v into u, and made it Ceuta. The
Moors call it Sebta.
* The Moors had been finally expelled from their last foothold on Portuguese
soil (Algarve) about 1254.
46
-^ Portuguese Explorations
Portugal, and was full of crusading ardour. He dashed to the
front in Morocco, and lost the battle of Kasr-al-Kablr against
the Moorish forces under the last prince of the Marinide
dynasty, Abd-al-Malek, and the first of the Sharifian, Abul
Abbas Ahmad al-Mansur. Realising that he had not only
lost the battle, but the Portuguese empire in Morocco, he
rushed on death. He died unmarried. The house of Avis
was left with but one royal representative, the Cardinal
Henry, who assumed the royal power, and died two years
afterwards. Philip II. of Spain, taking advantage of the dis-
puted claim to the Portuguese crown, forced on the notables
of the country his own rights through his wife, and by dint
of cajolery, bribes, and threats he was chosen as King of
Portugal.
This union of the crowns of Spain and Portugal gave rise
to many results, and even affected the future of Liberia ! The
merchants of England, France, and the Low Countries had
long been envious of the Portuguese monopoly on the West
Coast of Africa, in Brazil and the Guianas, the Malay Peninsula
and Archipelago, China and Japan. The Turks of Egypt and
the Arabs of Western and Southern Arabia were furious at the
way in which the Portuguese had ousted them from the strong
places of Eastern Africa and Zanzibar, of the Red Sea, Aden,
and the Straits of Ormuz in the Persian Gulf But England,
France, and the Low Countries were ostensibly at peace with
Portugal, and Portuguese valour and marvellous resourcefulness
in the Eastern seas imposed submission on the Turks and
Arabs. The act of Philip II. in uniting the kingdoms of Spain
and Portugal put an end to this check on the greed and
ambition of other Powers. In the first place, the same fatal
paralysis which the rule of Madrid had exercised over Spanish
operations in America was to numb much of the enterprise carried
47
Liberia ^
on during the next seventy years in the Portuguese settlements
of Asia, Africa, and America. The Portuguese were enraged
and disgusted at their '* captivity '* (as the Spanish rule was
called), and worked with less heart at their defence of a
magnificent empire no longer their own. But England, being
intermittently at war with Spain, and in her hatred of Spain
allowing piracy on the part of British subjects when ostensibly
at peace with the cold Flemish Philip, seized with avidity an
excuse for ousting Portugal from her gains. France followed
precisely the same course, and the bitterest foe of the Portu-
guese was Holland. The Dutch, affecting to consider all that
was Portuguese as belonging to Spain (against whom they were
in revolt), made descents on the Guianas and Brazil, ousted the
Portuguese from the Gold Coast in West Africa and from
Angola, replaced their fugitive settlements in South Africa by
a Dutch colony, and took from them Mozambique in East
Africa, the islands of Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Flores, and Celebes.
The French also attempted to secure a foothold in Brazil, of
which French Guiana is the only vestige at the present day.
But so far as the purpose of this book is concerned, it
is more to the point to notice that at the beginning of the seven-
teenth century the French replaced the Portuguese (as a ruling
power) on the Senegal River and at Cape Verde, and as traders
on the Liberian coast and elsewhere. The English under
Elizabeth now deemed the time opportune for gaining a foot-
hold in West Africa. Forts were built at the mouth of the
River Gambia in 1588, and towards the close of the sixteenth
century English trading-settlements were erected at or near
Sierra Eeone, and during the seventeenth century Great Britain
became one of the leading Powers on the Gold Goast. At the
beginning of the seventeenth century travellers record that the
natives along the Liberian Coast were becoming tri-lingual ;
48
-^ Portuguese Explorations
that is to say, in addition to their native language they could
speak Portuguese and English/ Dutch, PVench, and English
adventurers who visited the Liberian coast in the sixteenth and
early seventeenth centuries noted the extraordinary hold that the
Portuguese language had acquired over natives of the littoral,
especially in the Vai country. The early Portuguese visitors
or settlers had intermarried much with native women, and
hundreds of Mulattos, still speaking Portuguese, and resolutely
firm in their Christianity, were dwelling on the Senegal River,
on the Gambia, and on most of the rivers of Guinea as far
as Sierra Leone, perhaps as far as the River Gallinhas on the
borders of Liberia, down to the beginning of the nineteenth
century.
During the first hundred years of their adventures (1445
to 1525) the Portuguese had named nearly every cape, inlet,
river, and mountain on the west, south, and east coasts of
Africa, from Morocco past the Cape of Good Hope to the Red
Sea. Their nomenclature in West Africa has been more lasting.
If we look at the coast of Liberia we may begin with the River
Gallinhas, near the Liberian frontier, so named by the Portuguese
from the abundance of domestic fowls in the possession of the
natives. Inland of the Gallinhas, which is really little else than
a lagoon, there is a considerable lake of brackish water named by
the Portuguese " Palma,*' from the abundance of oil palms in its
vicinity. Tracing the coast eastwards, we next come to Cape
Mount, styled by the Portuguese Cabo do Monte, from the
lofty hill of 1,066 feet which rises up from the shore. The
biggest river of Liberia they named the St. Paul, and the cape
' The Dutch travellers state that at Cape Mount there were chiefs who
could speak Portuguese fluently, and in addition a little Dutch, French, and
English. Between Cape Verde and Cape Palmas there arose a medium of
intercommunication in the form of a '* pidgin " Portuguese, which only gave way
to "pidgin*' English in the eighteenth century.
VOL. I 49 4
Liberia <•-
which is near its mouth, Mesurado, a Portuguese name of
which the true translation is given on p. 40. Then we come
to the River Junk, which was named by the Portuguese '' Junco"
{reed^ the Reedy River). The next river of importance entering
the sea at Grand Basa was called the " River of St. John/'
because discovered on the feast of that saint. The succeeding
river eastwards (of any size) is still known as the Cestos or Cess
River. (Cestos in Portuguese does not mean a girdle^ as a few
'^^>\ii&^_
24. C A VALLA RIVF.K, NKAR ITS MOUTH
writers on Africa have translated it, but a basket, a hamper. It
was probably applied to this river because of the fish-weirs or
fish-baskets which are placed in such streams of Liberia at the
present day.) ^ The promontory now known as Rock Cess was
called by the Portuguese Cabo Baixo, the Low Cape. The next
' This name Cestos has been subsequently misspelt Sestos or Sextos, and
is therefore confused with a totally different locality in Liberia, nowadays called
Sesters.
50
-^ Portuguese Explorations
big river eastwards of the Cestos is the Sanguin. This is from
the Portuguese Sanguinho (= sanguine, bloody, blood-red). The
origin of this name is supposed not to have had any lugubrious
signification, but to express the blood-red colour of the stream
after floods, when it is deeply loaded with ferruginous clay.
The promontory eastwards of this river, which is now called
Bafu Bay, was called by the Portuguese Cabo Formoso — the
Beautiful Cape. The Island of Palma, named by the Portuguese
because of its groves of palm trees, and situated near the mouth
of the Sanguin River, is apparently represented at the present
day by the Baiya rock, about sixty feet high, or by one of the other
rocky islets in this vicinity. The Sino settlements the Portuguese
called by their existing native name ; ' but the Sino River is
on some early maps the Sao Vicente or the Rio Dulce. The
Dewa River near Setra Kru was called by the Portuguese Rio
dos Escravos, the River of Slaves. Grand Sesters (which is
supposed to have been the site of Grand Paris of the Dieppe
adventurers), together with Piccaninny - Sesters, derives its name
from the Portuguese word Sestro— j/>//j/^r, or suspicious^ perverse y
an adjective which apparently applied to the people of the
locality. The promontory of Rock Town was called Cabo Sao
Clemente. Cape Palmas was so named, as I have already related,
from the abundance of palms, and the Cavalla River or point is
from the Portuguese word Cavalla, meaning mackerel (Cava/a
means a big fish like a tunny), a name given to it, no doubt, be-
cause of the abundance of horse-mackerel on the bar of its mouth.^
* I spell this name as it was spelt by the Portuguese. It is pronounced Sino,
more like the English word snow. There is no reason whatever for adding an " e "
to this name, except the desire of all English and Americans and all Negroes
under English or An.erican influence to misspell every African name they come
across.
* The Portuguese Pequeninho, '• very little."
' Several writers on African geography have informed us that the transla-
tion of Cavalla (corrupted quite recently into Cavally) is "mare"; and as in the
51
Liberia ^
The fate of the Portuguese kingdom after the battle of Kasr-
al-Kablr determined, as has been sxid, much of th^ subsequent
history of Africa, Asia, and South America. But for this
crushing blow, it is quite possible that the Portuguese might
have stuck as resolutely to the coast of Liberia as they did to
that of Angola and the Congo, and there might have been no
Liberia to-day in the sense of a free Negro republic inde-
pendent of European control. But although they made an
indelible impression on the Grain Coast, although they named
most of its striking features and taught the Portuguese language
to the Vais and the Kruboys, and in their hundred years of
trade monopoly introduced to Liberia the orange tree, lime,
coconut palm, pineapple, papaw, chili pepper, and tobacco
plant, the European domestic ox (possibly), the hog, and
the Muscovy duck, they did not succeed in effecting a per-
manent hold.
In the seventeenth century they were driven away from the
Gold Coast. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they
were forced to relinquish their hold over Benin and Dahome.
All that remains to them at the present day of their " Lordship
of Guinea '' (which once stretched nearly uninterruptedly from
the Senegal to Old Calabar) is the small territory they have
at different times disputed with England and France, round
about the River Jeba and the Bisagos Archipelago ; this is
now known by the restricted name of Portuguese Guinea.
days of early Portuguese discovery there were no horses on that coast, it is
supposed that the Portuguese explorers sighted a hornless female of the Kob
water-buck, and mistook it for a mare ! But they argued from a false analogy in
etymology Cavallo means horse in Portuguese ; but the word for mare is "egua,"
••jumenta,' " poldra."
The recent form of this name — Cavally— is an Anglo-American corruption
thoughtlessly adopted by the French, which should be at once discarded for the
correct form— Cavalla. This is used in all the older documents connected with
the Liberian Republic.
52
^ Portuguese Hxploratione^
The capital town is on the island of Bulama, and this is slightly
interwoven with the more modern history of Liberia, because
an attempt was made by the British at the close of the eighteenth
century to found a precursor of Liberia on this large deserted
island in the estuary of the River Jeba. But for a series of
accidents and the great unhealthiness of the site, it is possible
that '* Liberia/' the colony of free blacks, might have had
its centre here.
25. POKTUGL'ESK WAKKIOR IN AKKK A, ()N HoKsKMACK: KAKl.Y SIXll.KMII CENTURY.
DRAWN FROM A HKNIN C.ARVINC; IN TIIK HRITlSIl ML'SKIM
53
CHAPTER V
PEPPER AND GOLD
WHAT were the first great inducements of gain which
led to West African maritime discovery on the part
of these Normans, Catalans, Genoese, Portuguese,
and, as will be shown later, English, Dutch, French, Swedes,
Danes, Germans, Flemings, and Spaniards ? Firstly, the search
was for gold, then for pepper, and finally for slaves. To the
gold quest they were spurred by the discoveries of the
Arabs in the centuries that followed the outbreak of Islam.
The ancient, like the modern, Semites seem to have had a
kind of sixth sense, a " nose," a flair for gold. It was probably
amongst the Semiticised Hamites of Lower Egypt and the
pure Semites of Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia (in the Old
World) that the admiration for and use of gold as a precious
metal first arose ; though it may also have become a precious
metal in the eyes of man in Eastern or Central Asia. At any
rate, from the rising civilisations of Asia there spread to the
nations of Northern and Western and Mediterranean Europe
an appreciation of gold perhaps not longer ago than four
or five thousand years. In the rocks of Egypt sufficient gold
was found at first to content the cupidity of the Semitic world ;
but later on the adventurous Arabs of Southern Arabia sought
for it in South-East Africa, while their Phoenician kindred
no doubt carried on a search in the Mediterranean world and
54
-#i Pepper and Gold
in Spain. It is truly marvellous to think of the instinct, the
sixth sense that must have led these Minasans, Saba^ans, and
Himyarites to coast along the savage shores of Eastern Africa
some two thousand to one thousand years ago, at a time when
the navigation of the high seas by sailing vessels was only just
beginning ; and that this instinct should have led them on and
on, not merely along the coast of East Africa to the regions
south of the Zambezi, but have prompted them to ascend that
river and to make great journeys inland on foot from swampy
landing-places like the present Beira, through countries which
so far as we can tell do not in their coast regions offer any
signs of gold.
It is as yet one of the unexplained mysteries in the history
of the human race how the Arabs learnt that gold was to be found
alluvial and in the rock at distances of from one to five hundred
miles from the coast of South-east Africa. Moreover, from
the little we know of the conditions of Africa at that period,
the Arabs were exploring a country sparsely inhabited by Negro
races of low development, Bechuana and Makaranga Bantu,
and others, practically identical with the modern Hottentots,
Bushmen, or Berg Damara — a population caring little for
gold or any other metal. Did these same pre-Islamic Arabs
or kindred Semites or Hamites explore the regions west of
Egypt, say, through Darfur towards the Niger Basin ? Were
the gold-bearing rocks of the Fula and Mandingo Highlands
and of the interior of Ashanti known in any way to the
Semitic world before the Christian era and before the birth
of the Muhammadan religion sent wave after wave of Semitic
conquest over North Central Africa ? That is also a problem
as yet unsolved, and one which again reverts for solution to
the Agri (Aggry) beads. These Agri beads, as already stated,
ofFer types which might be traceable equally to Egypt and
55
Liberia ^
Syria as to Rome and Carthage. But these patterns of beads
also seem to have been continuously manufactured in Italy (at
Venice) and perhaps also in Egypt down to the close of the
Middle Ages. One or two ornaments, and some beads
possibly of Ancient Egyptian origin, have been found in the
possession of Negroes of the Bahr-al-Ghazal and the north-
eastern part of the Uganda Protectorate, and Agri beads of
a very Roman appearance have been obtained from the Central
Niger (see p. 23).
But certainly two or three centuries after the death
of Muhammad the Semitic world had got into touch with
the gold-bearing regions of West Africa by way of Lake
Chad and the Niger, and later through direct trans-Saharan
journeys from Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco. Guinea gold
therefore first inspired the European adventurers of the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries in their exploration of West
Africa.
The next most potent inducement was pepper. Pepper
is a word derived through the Greek or Latin from an Indian
root — pipli. The spice had become popular even amongst
the Greeks in the Classical period ; still more amongst the
Romans of the Empire. The taste for it reached the northern
barbarians, and when Alaric the Goth put Rome up to ransom in
408 he demanded three thousand librae of pepper. India sup-
plied the condiment exclusively, and down to the eleventh century
the trade was almost entirely carried on through Greeks and
Arabs by way of India, the Rea Sea, and Egypt. In the eleventh
century the Venetians took up the trade, owing to the increasing
warfare between the Byzantine Greeks and Turks. Venice, in
fact, soon obtained the monopoly of the pepper trade, created
a '^ Trust '' in pepper, and made the price of this condiment
so high that '' peppercorn rents '' in the Middle Ages were
56
^ Pepper and Gold
by no means the joke that they now seem to us.^ The
Normans, the Genoese, and the Portuguese successively felt
after some sea-route to India round Africa which should enable
them to obtain pepper in defiance of the Venetians and Turks.
The invention in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries of the
mariner's compass came as an aid to maritime exploration ;
though without this help the bold Norsemen had already dis-
covered North America and had in their Norman descendants
explored the Eastern Atlantic.
The first object, therefore, of European research along the
Atlantic coast of Africa was gold, and, secondly, a route to
India along that coast which might lead to a trade in pepper.
Judge, therefore (if we may believe French traditions), of the
delight of the Dieppois when in their tentative explorations
of the Guinea coast they discovered pepper, apparently of two
kinds, in use by the Negroes. The first of these spices which
they brought to light was the ''grains of Paradise.'' These
were obtained from Sierra Leone, and notably the coast of
Liberia, which is the reason why that part of Guinea has been
known on the maps for several centuries as the " Grain "
Coast. These grains of Paradise are sometimes called cardamoms
(cardamom is really the name of a kindred species from Eastern
Asia), and sometimes Malagueta or Maniguette pepper. The
origin of the word Malagueta is uncertain, but it may be that
in the days of Moorish Spain, Malaga was an emporium for
this new spice ; for it is known that these grains of Paradise
were first introduced into the Mediterranean world by the
Moors, who obtained them through the overland trade already
existing between Mauritania and West Africa. The grains are
* A peppercorn rent generally implied an obligation to supply at least one
pound of pepper, a tax amounting possibly to as much as ^5 to ;£io in our
money.
57
^ Pepper and Gold
grains of Paradise in malt liquor, strong waters, and
cordials.
The other pepper^ that was found on the West Coast of
Africa was closely akin to the Indian kind. It was a true pepper
and of two species — Piper subpeltatum and Piper guineense. The
first named, and perhaps the other as well, is still found growing
wild in the Liberian coast forests and in most other parts of
West Africa as far east as the Bahr-al-Ghazal region of the
Nile. These kinds in the trade are known as " Ashanti "
pepper. It is said to have been brought back by the Norman
adventurers to Dieppe and Rouen in 1364. The Portuguese
also pushed a trade in it, especially in the country of Benin,
until towards the middle of the sixteenth century. When the route
to India had been discovered, the importation of this African
pepper was forbidden in Portugal, in order that it might not
compete with the Indian trade.
After gold, it was perhaps pepper that made the adven-
turous spirits of Europe more anxious to explore the West
Coast of Africa than any other motive down to the end of
the fifteenth century. I have already described what led to the
abrupt end of the Norman trade with West Africa, From
the middle of the fifteenth to the middle of the sixteenth century
the Portuguese had the Guinea trade entirely in their own
hands, and they imitated the Venetians in trying to control the
pepper trade and run up the price of these spices. With the
same result, that the English under Mary I. and Elizabeth,
and a little later the Dutch and the Flemings, resolved to follow
the tracks of the Portuguese and find out where the pepper
came from.
The first Englishman that (so far as we know) found his
way to West Africa travelled more or less in disguise as a sea-
' Pepper is also made in Liberia from the fruits of Xylopia oethiopica.
59
Liberia ^
man on one of the Portuguese ships, ^nd fetched up in Benin.
He discovered that pepper at any rate came from Benin.
This discovery nearly cost him his life ; but he showed the way
to other adventurers, and by 1553 Englishmen were trading
with the Guinea Coast in their own ships.
As early as 1482 King John II. of Portugal sent an
embassy to Edward IV. of England, asking him to restrain by
his orders two Englishmen, John Tintam and William Fabian,
from making a voyage to Guinea, in defiance of the Portuguese
restrictions, which forbade persons not subjects of Portugal to
trade with that '^ lordship.'* These two English adventurers
were to have gone out in the pay, and possibly commanding
the ships of, the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a great Spanish
nobleman.
A vigorous English trade with the Canary Islands had
sprung up at the end of the fifteenth century, and even at the
beginning of the sixteenth century English merchant captains sent
back the most copious notes about the indigenes (Guanches)
and natural productions of the Canary Islands/ Already at the
beginning of the sixteenth century sugar-cane was grown there,
and sugar was manufactured in twelve bakeries. Also, even at this
early date the Spaniards, with the help of the Portuguese, had
orange trees, lemons, and bananas'"' growing in Grand Canary and
Tenerife.
Probably the first Englishmen to see the coast of Liberia
were the officers and crew of the Primrose and the Lio}i^
two goodly ships accompanied by a pinnace called the Moon
which sailed from Portsmouth on August 12th, 1553. (Prior
' "Tenerifais a high land with a great pike like a sugar loaf, and upon the
said pike is snow throughout all the yeere, and by reason of that pike it may be
knouen above all other islands. . . ''— Captain John I .ok, 1554.
* The banana was introduced from Senegambia. The word "banana" comes
from the languages of the Siena Leone Coast, such as Bullom.
60
^ Pepper and Gold
to this it is said that two or three young Englishmen shipped as
sailors on board vessels in order to find out the way to Guinea
and the land of pepper and gold. They reached as far as
Benin, but very nearly lost their lives at the hands of the
enraged Portuguese.)
About 1550 a Portuguese sea-captain called Antonio
Anes Pinteado of Oporto, after holding high rank in the
Portuguese naval service and defending the
coasts of Portugal and Guinea against the
French, got into trouble on his own account,
and lost favour at Court. He came to South-
ampton in anger, and resolved to show the
English the way to Guinea. It was arranged
to send him out in joint command of these
two ships, the 'Primrose and the Lion, with a
certain Captain Windham. Touching at the
Canary and Cape Verde Islands by the way,
they made a pretty straight coarse for the
Grain Coast (Liberia), and fetched up at the
Cestos River, " the great river of S*^sto," as
it is called in the English chronicle. Here
Pinteado proposed that they should fill up
part of their cargo space with large quantities
of grains of Paradise, the Amomum pepper already described.
But Captain Windham thirsted to reach the land of gold,
and so hurried on. This date may be fixed approximately at
October 15th, 1553. Afterwards Windham's voyage met with
something like disaster. The ships entered the Benin River,
and Pinteado escorted a party of the officers and men to see
the King of Benin, a monarch who was found to be speaking
Portuguese perfectly. He promised them a great cargo of
pepper ; but Pinteado delayed so long over his commercial
61
:6. A I'ORTUGUKSE
Si;.\ -CAPTAIN OF
T H K S I X T E i: N T H
CKNTL'KY. DRAWN
FROM A BKNIN
CARVING IN THE
HRITISII MUSKLM
Liberia ^
transactions that the rest of the men in the two ships began
to die four or five a day from all sorts of maladies, con-
tracted generally through their imprudence. The result was
that Windham lost his head completely. He smashed up
Pirtteado's cabin, broke open his chests, and when he came
on board he deprived him of his rank and treated him like
a felon, so that on the return voyage he died of a broken
heart.
In the following year (1554) the Trinity^ the Bartholomew^
and the John Evangelist (the first and the last of one hundred
and forty tons burden) sailed from London for Guinea on
October nth. The captain of this expedition was Mr. John
Lok, and there went with him Sir George Barn and Sir John
York and other gentlemen. On December 21st they found
theitiselves close to Cape Mesurado, which is described as
*'like a porpoise head.*' The latitude of it was fixed fairly
correctly. The next day they came to the Cestos River, where
they collected a ton of grains of Paradise. Then on to the
" Rio Dulce." The mouth of the River Cestos is described as " a
good harborow, but very narrow in the entrance into the river.
There is also a rock in the haven's mouth right as you enter."
The high land which lay between the Cestos River and the
River Dulce was called Cakeado, and in this land were two
notable places of call for fresh water, Shawgro and Shyawe or
Shavo. They called at the St. Vincent or Dulce River (? Sino),
and experienced the dangers from submerged rocks. Cape Palmas
is described as '' a fair high land, but some low places thereof
by the waterside look like red cliffs with white streaks like
highways." These two ships went on to the Gold Coast, and
traded very advantageously in gold, ivory, and pepper, and
apparently returned without misadventure to England, bringing
back with them five black slaves.
62
^ Pepper and Gold
In the year 1555 Master William Towerson organised
an expedition to the " Guinea Grain Coast " (Liberia), the same
River Cestos being his principal objective. Two ships, called
the Hart and the Hinde^ started from Newport in the Isle
of Wight on September 30th. They slightly overshot their
mark.^ Captain Towerson describes very vividly his first sight
of the (Liberian) coast : '' The land . . . full of woods and
great rocks hard aboard the shore, and the billows beating
so sore that the seas brake upon the shore as white as snow,
and the water mounted so high that a man might easily discern
it four leagues off/' On nearing the River St. Vincent
(evidently that which is now known as the Sino), they *' met
with divers boats of the country, small, long, and narrow, and
in every boat one man and no more. We gave them bread
which they did eat and were very glad." The description given
is very similar to the present approach to the river and port
of Sino : '' Directly before the mouth of it there lieth a ledge
of rocks ... so that a boat must run in along the shore a
good way between the rocks and the shore before it come
to the mouth of the river; and being within it, it is a great
river, and divers other rivers fall into it : the going into it
is somewhat ill, because that at the entering the seas do go
somewhat high ; but being once within, it is as calm as the
Thames."
As to the inhabitants on this coast, ''They are mighty
big men, and go all naked except something before their
privy parts, which is like a clout about a quarter of a yard
* It will be noticed repeatedly in these early voyages to West Africa that
most of the ships — Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French — seem to have made
Liberia their first objective after rounding Cape Verde. No doubt this was a
good deal connected with the currents and wind, but also the desire to avoid
the treacherous shoals and the intricate archipelagos of islands which lie off the
intervening coast of Northern Guinea.
63
Liberia ^
long, made of the bark of trees, and yet it is like cloth. . . .
Some of them also wear the like upon their heads, being
painted with divers colours ; but the most part of them go
bare-headed, and their heads arc clipped and shorn of divers
27. A NATIVK OF SIN 6
sorts, and the most part of them have the skin of their bodies
traced with divers works in the manner of a leather jerkin. The
men and women go so alike that one cannot know a man
from a woman but by their breasts, which in the most part
64
-^ Pepper and Gold
be very foul and long, hanging down low like the udder of
a goat."
Here the mariners bought grains of Paradise and tusks
of Ivory in exchange for basins, iron manillas, and '* margarits "
(beads). After a time the headman of the place seems to
have made a corner in grains of Paradise, and tried to raise
the selling price, with the result that they suspended trade for
a bit, and went off to visit a village in the interior and see
something of the life of the country. Captain Towerson noticed
the iron work which was being carried on, the making of
arrow-heads, for example. The only domestic animals were
goats, fowls, and dogs. He comments on the unending forest
and the mangroves, which he compares to enormous pea-stalks.
He even collected a few words and sentences of the language ;
but these are no longer recognisable, except that they seem
to be tinged with a Portuguese jargon. After buying more
grains of Paradise along the coast, and passing Cape Palmas,
he stopped at the River Cavalla (which he does not name),
and this river was entered in boats in order to obtain fresh
water. The bar at its mouth seems to have been fully as
bad then as it is at the present day. It is interesting to note
that although the actual palm trees on Cape Palmas are not
described, other palm trees are, near the mouth of the Cavalla,
and the description of these given by Captain Towerson is such
as to Identify them with the Borassus, and not with the
coconut : *' Their stems are very high and white -bodied,
straight, and biggest In the midst.^ They have a round bush
at the top of them." From these palms he says that the
natives get their principal supply of palm wine.
After going on to the Gold Coast, the two ships turned
* The ventricose swelling which occurs near the middle of the stems of most
Borassus palms. It is met with also in some Hyphaeiie palms— never in the
coconut.
VOL. I 65 5
Liberia <#-
back from a most successful trade. The Hart reached the south
coast of Ireland on May yth, 1556. The Hinde parted company
with her consort on March ist, in a tornado off the Guinea
Coast, and was apparently never seen again, though there was
no record of whether she was completely lost. Undaunted by
these dangers, however. Master William Towerson (who, after
landing on the south coast of Ireland and buying two sheep
from *' the wild Kerns/' had brought up his good ship the Hart
to Bristol) started off again on September 14th, in the same
year, from Harwich to Bristol, and from Bristol sailed to Sierra
Leone. Near the Cestos River they fell in with some French
ships, who told them that they, the French, had just had a
little battle with the Portuguese, who were now determining
to bar the way on the part of foreign ships to the Gold Coast.
The French had sunk one of the Portuguese ships, and they
proposed to Master Towerson that he should join in his
fortunes with them. They obtained water from one of the
Liberian rivers, and bought ivory from the natives. They also
landed their men with '' harquebuses, pikes, long bows, crossbows,
partisans, long swords, and swords and daggers,'' in pursuit of
two elephants, whom they '' stroke divers times with harquebuses
and long bows," without apparently doing them much harm.
Their subsequent adventures in fighting the Portuguese do not
come within the scope of this book. Captain Towerson visited
the coast of Liberia a third time in 1577.
A voyage in 1562 was made by a number of English
adventurers, one of whom, Robert Baker, afterwards a prisoner
for ransom (salvage) in France, solaced his captivity by re-
counting his adventures in doggerel rhyme {Hakluyt^ vol. ii.
p. 518). These occurred, to begin with, on the coast of
Liberia. He seems to have found the Kruboys of that period
stark naked, though this may only have been due to facetious
6h
28. BOKAbSUS FLABLLLIFER
Liberia ^
exaggeration on the part of the rhymester. He describes how
the headman of some Kru village comes off to their big boat
in a canoe (Almadie)
.... made of a log
The very same, wherein you know
We used to serve a hog.
Aloof he stayed at first,
Put water to his cheek,
A sign that he would not us trust
Unless we did the like.
During the night the natives, however, deftly robbed the
pinnace of the big boat of the trade goods that were stored in
it. The result was that the Englishmen landed with their
men and had a great fight. The Kruboys came with a hundred
canoes, in each two men with long shields and darts. Many
of their darts had light strings attached to them, so that they
could be recovered after they had been shot away ; but '^ the
hail shot of the arquebus, the arrows of the long-bow men, and
the pikes of the halberdeers '' killed and wounded some of the
Kruboys. Nevertheless, they redoubled their attacks. The
English had long since taken to their boats, and were rowing
hard down the river out into the sea, being followed by this
flotilla of a hundred canoes. The Kruboys' darts did consider-
able execution. Seven out of nine Englishmen were badly
wounded, one lying for dead, having been so pierced with a
spear that his viscera were torn out.
The writer describes with a certain amount of pathos his
own pain and fever from his wounds, and how he passed into
a delirium delicious by contrast with the misery of his surround-
ings on board ship, and, when he regains his senses once
more, the almost painful joy with which he learns from one of
the seamen that they have got " a right merry wind " and are
sailing for old England, which is safely reached at last.
68
■^ Pepper and Gold
They again visited the coast of Liberia, but fared better
as regards trade, and were well treated by the natives. The
voyage commenced with a fight against a French pirate which
ended in a British victory ; but when they reached the coast
of Liberia, as usual nine of them quitted the big ships and
entered the Liberian rivers to trade in their boats. Somehow
the big ships were lost sight of and never seen again. The
mariners went through the most terrible sufferings from hunger
and thirst (though they constantly touched at the coast and
29. KRU CANDtS
obtained wild food from the natives). After extraordinary
adventures they reached the Gold Coast. Here the Portuguese
received them with outrageous cruelty. After a desperate
fight for their lives, they passed along the coast, and then
in despair landed through the surf on the shore of some
Negro kingdom, where they were received with far greater
kindness. After long and dreary waiting, during which six
out of the nine died of fever, the remaining three were picked
up by a French vessel, which conveyed them back to France,
where they had to lie in captivity until they were ransomed.
69
CHAPTER VI
THE GUINEA TRADE IX THE SIXTEENTH AND
SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES
OTHER West African products in those early days,
besides gold, pepper, and Negro slaves, more especially
from Senegambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, consisted
of hides, ivory, civet perfume, indigo, ostrich feathers, gum, and
ambergris. Most of these articles are enumerated in Azurara's
History of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea by the Portuguese
during the First Half of the Fifteenth Centufy. The hides
so often mentioned were firstly the skins of seals, possibly
Monachus albiventcr^ which the Portuguese found existing in
large numbers along the Sahara coast between Cape Bojador and
the Senegal River. They killed these, often fifty at a time,
and used triumphantly to bring back their skins and the oil they
produced to Prince Henry, who at last got so vexed at the
way in which their exploring journeys were stopped by these
seal-hunts that he forbade the practice.
Then in the Senegal and Gambia Rivers they purchased
the hides of oxen, goats, and sheep. Acacia gum and ostrich
feathers, of course, came from the Sahara coast between the Rio
de Oro, Cape Blanco, and the Senegal River, and in a lesser
degree from Cape Verde and the Gambia. Ambergris, which
is an intestinal product of the Sperm Whale, cast up on the
* The Monk seal of the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic.
70
-9^ The Guinea Trade
shores of the Atlantic and other oceans, seems to have been
obtained from the Cape Verde Peninsula. It was much valued
in the Middle Ages as the component part of perfumes, and
most of all because of its supposed aphrodisiac qualities. Indigo
came from the Gambia and the rivers of Guinea, and the scent-
bags of the civet cat from all points on the coast between the
mouth of the Senegal and Liberia, in which latter country the civet
cat is extremely common at the present day. There was a
great demand for the civet perfume during the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, and besides the dried pods or pouches
cut from the dead animal, live civet cats were esteemed a
very choice present, a gift made from time to time by the
chiefs of the coast regions to the Portuguese captains. Ivory
was obtained in large quantities from the Senegal River, the
Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Liberian coast, and from that less
known region between Liberia and the Gold Coast which to
this day is called " the Ivory Coast." But in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries it was chiefly Sierra Leone and Northern
Liberia that furnished ivory. It seems to have been a common
incident for chiefs or native traders in the Vai and Gallinhas
countries near the coast to produce a hundred tusks of
considerable size and weight at one deal. Camwood (Bap/iia
hitida\ which produces a crimson dye, was much sought
after from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.
The traditions of the Norman traders who visited Liberia
in the fourteenth century (if they be founded on fact), and
the authentic records of the Portuguese commerce with that
country before 1460 and 1560, reveal a condition of civilisa-
tion and well-being amongst the untutored natives which is
somewhat in contrast to what one finds on the same coast
at the present day ; still more in contrast with the condition
of the Liberian coast-lands in the early part of the nineteenth
7<
Liberia ^
century, suggesting that the rapacity of the Europeans, com-
bined with the slave trade, did much to brutalise and impoverish
the coastal tribes of Liberia during the two hundred years
between 1670 and 1870. They seem to have been well
furnished with cattle (in Northern, perhaps not in Southern
Liberia), with sheep, goats, and fowls/ to have carried on a
good deal of agriculture, and not to have been such complete
savages as were the natives of the still little-known parts
of Portuguese Guinea or the people of the Ivory Coast, who
were wild cannibals.
Having cast a glance at the principal commercial products
of these countries when they were first discovered by Europeans,
it may be interesting to note the trade goods which Europe
was able to offer to the Blacks from the fourteenth to the
seventeenth century. To begin with a negative statement,
there were no cotton goods, no calicoes in the holds of these
vessels such as there would be nowadays. Strange to say,
it was the natives of the Gambia and other rivers of Northern
Guinea, and of Cape Mount in Liberia, that impressed the
Europeans with the excellence of their cotton fabrics, and
actually, sent some cotton goods to Portugal !
Two or three species of cotton grow in almost all parts
of Tropical Africa,- and it was the Arabs who had brought
to Africa from India a knowledge of spinning cotton and
* The domestic fowl, in fact, was so abundant amongst the tribes of Liberia
and the borderlands of Sierra Leone, that the Portuguese named one of the
streams of this country '* Gallinhas," ''the River of Hens.'*
' There are many different species of the genus Gossypium (cotton) yielding
a vegetable fleece which varies in length of staple, in colour, and in quality. One
species only (it is said) is actually indigenous to West Africa, Gossypium punctatutn.
The cultivated forms seem to be of either Indian or American origin. Divers
species are indigenous to America, where the civilised natives of the tropical
regions spun and wove the cotton into fabrics long before the Europeans discovered
America. Columbus, in returning from Hispaniola in 1493, brought back with him
pods of cotton-wool as curiosities.
72
^ The Guinea Trade
weaving it Into cloth, and this art had spread rapidly during
the first few centuries of Islam to the banks of the Niger,
and thence had reached not only to the countries bordering
on the sources of that great river, but the adjoining regions
of Senegal and Guinea. Even as early as the sixteenth
century it was remarked by the Portuguese that the i kings,
30. "tmk mam»in(;() koiu; ok siouilv vvdn kn coiroN": (;k(>ui's ok kondo
I'KOPI.K KKOM HKIIINI) VAI COL NTKY
chiefs, and headmen of Northern Liberia round about Cape
Mount wore the now familiar Mandingo robe of stoutly woven
cotton in alternate stripes of blue and white. It is possible
that no cotton goods were exported from Europe to West
Africa till the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of
the eighteenth centuries. Since that time the cotton goods
of Lancashire, of Germany, and of Barcelona have almost killed
the local industries of weaving and dyeing.
73
Liberia ^
But the Europeans probably brought linen with them
even in the fifteenth century, and they certainly from the
beginning of their journeys imported woollen cloth. In fact,
garments made of wool were for long a subject of interest
and astonishment to the Negroes. It is curious that the Arabs
and Berbers who spread everywhere the knowledge of cotton-
spinning and weaving should never have introduced breeds of
wool-bearing sheep, or taught the Negroes any idea of textile
fabrics to be made with the hair or wool of other animals,
or the similar use of hemp fibre ; though hemp is widespread
throughout Negro Africa as a cultivated plant, its dried leaves
having been burnt and smoked (a practice derived from India)
long before tobacco was introduced from America.
The linen of Flanders anel of Normandy, therefore, the
cloth and frieze coming from the same regions and also from
England, Ireland, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, were
brought out for trading by the caravels that sailed from the
Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. As early as the time of Ca'
da Mosto (middle of the fifteenth century) cannon were taken
on the ships, and gunpowder was fired to astonish and frighten
the Negroes ; but there seems to have been no sale of gun-
powder till the close of the fifteenth century. Mirrors, beads,
daggers, swords, basins of pottery and tin, iron bars and
manillas,^ and manillas of brass and of lead, tin pots (quart
measure), iron saucers and pails, Dutch kettles, basins, and jugs
of pewter and brass, caskets (small boxes), chests, pins of large
size, blankets, red caps, axe-heads, hammers, bells, gloves (!),
rosin, aqua vita^ (brandy), cheese, and blue and red coral were
used as presents or for barter. Perhaps next to cloth the most
important of the trade goods were coral ornaments and glass
beads. We also find specially mentioned bars of iron, copper,
' Made in the shape of bracelets. Manilla means bracelet in Spanish.
74
-^ The Guinea Trade
bronze, and brass.^ Bronze, which is an amalgam of copper and
tin, seems to owe its introduction into West Africa entirely to
the Portuguese.
To many this proposition seems to be difficult of belief,
owing to the extraordinarily rapid way in which the bronze art
of Benin developed. Some writers therefore have ventured to
imagine an Egyptian commerce in bronze, carrying with it a
sculptural art which found its way from Egypt two or three
thousand years ago across Central Africa to the Lower Niger
and Benin. But there seems to be absolutely no evidence to
support such a theory. The art of Benin is entirely Negro,
without any hint of Egyptian influence. This is not altogether
the case, for example, with the Negroes or Negroids of the
Bahr-al-Ghazal, who possess ornaments of brass showing dis-
tinct signs of Ancient Egyptian influence, if indeed they are
not trade goods that came from Ancient Egypt. Absolutely
nothing of this kind, however, has as yet been discovered in
Benin, and the earliest Benin bronze work seems to consist
chiefly of portraits of the Portuguese soldiers.
As early as the first Portuguese voyages to Guinea horses
were brought from Portugal and from the Moorish coast and
sold to the natives of the Gambia, even though it was remarked
by Ca' da Mosto that these people had an indigenous breed of
* Brass, which is an amalgam of copper and zinc, seems to have been brought
to the regions of the Niger and Guinea by Arabs and Moors quite independently of
its introduction along the coast by Europeans. Copper is found in the rocks of
Liberia (copper pyrites) at the present day, and no doubt in other parts of West
Africa, but it has never been worked there by the natives so far as is known. Iron
of the best and most workable kinds is singularly abundant in Liberia and in all
the inner regions of West Africa, and was worked by the natives when Europeans
first came on the scene, though perhaps not so much as at the present day by the
unmixed Negroes, who still seem to have been using weapons of wood, bone, horn, and
stone in the fifteenth century, concurrently with the iron introduced from the north^
It is possible that at that period they did not smelt iron to any great extent (in the
purely Negro countries), and so it was a particularly acceptable article of commerce,
as it is even at the present day.
75
Liberia ^
their own. Pigs also were introduced into these countries by
the Portuguese.^
Wine was carried in the Portuguese vessels as a beverage
absolutely necessary for their use ; but at first the Negroes do
not appear to have greatly appreciated it, preferring their own
native alcoholic drinks, the fermented sap of various palm trees
or a mead made from honey. Not much notice in these
earlier days of African trade seems to have been taken of
European alcohol until the seventeenth century, when the fatal
development of distillation created such strong waters as gin
and rum, which were to prove the curse of the coast regions
of West Africa, as they have been the curse of Northern
Europe. Perhaps one reason why less is recorded in the
chronicles of the African trade from the middle of the fifteenth
to the middle of the seventeenth century of violent fevers and
deadly epidemics amongst the European traders and explorers
was the relative sobriety of the latter, whose strong drink was
for the most part the natural, uiibrandied wines of Spain and
Portugal. Moreover, in spite of the slave trade, their relations
with the natives seem to have been easier on the whole, and
less marked by murders on both sides than they were from
the middle of the seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth
century.
The sugar-cane had apparently reached North-west Africa,
^ In all Tropical Africa, with the exception of Sennar and the outskirts of
Northern Abyssinia, there is no indigenous wild swine of the ^enus Sus. The
nearest form to this genus would be /*o/a//ior/t(enis, the bush or river pigs of
Tropical Africa and Madagascar. Fotamochacrus in its structure is so very nearly
related to the genus Sus that by some it is fused with that genus. The wild
Polamochoeriis will interbreed with our domestic pigs. The handsome red river
hogs of West Africa {Potamochcurus porcus) are very easily tamed and domesticated ;
but although they are sometimes found as pets in West African villages, there has
never been any determined attempt on the part of the Negro to domesticate
this animal. Consequently the domestic pigs which were introduced by the
Portuguese in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were eagerly received.
76
^ The Guinea Trade
coming along the Niger by the same Muhammadan agency as
had introduced rice and horses into the same regions. But the
Portuguese seem to have brought over the sugar-cane and
sugar from Brazil before their trade with West Africa had
been much more than a hundred years old, though, on the
other hand, the sugarcane did not exist in the New World
when first discovered in the fifteenth century. The Spaniards
introduced the sugar-cane from West Africa to Hispaniola
(Hayti) in the early part of the sixteenth century.
Perhaps the most eflfective European trade goods of these
days were beads from Venice and red coral from the Medi-
terranean. It is curious that in contradistinction to North-
east Africa and Asia, coined money, silver especially (assuming
the African had as much gold in his own country as he
wanted), should have taken so little hold in the West African
trade even down to the present day.
Silks and velvets began to be introduced from the middle
of the seventeenth century.^
And what were the ships in which these early discoveries
of West Africa were made ? Mr. Charles Raymond Beazley,
quoting Ca' da Mosto,^' Osorio, and Candido Correa, describes
the average exploring ship of the fifteenth century as follows :
'* They were usually twenty to thirty metres long and six to
eight metres in breadth ; were equipped with three masts
* Dapper gives a list of the trade goods of the Dutch on the Sierra Leone-
Liberia coast in the middle of the seventeenth century ; — Iron bars, hempen cloth,
earthenware basins and pots, buttons, beads, copper medals, bracelets, ear-rings,
axes, sailors' knives, collars (!), coarse lace, glassware, Indian cotton goods, mostly
of red patterns, Spanish wines, olive oil, brandy, and silk kerchiefs or waist-belts
for the women. To this list we may extract from Andrew Battel's sixteenth-
century experiences ** long glass beads, round blue beads, seed beads, looking-
glasses, red and blue coarse woollen cloth, and Irish rugs " (frieze).
* In his introduction to his jotnt translation with Mr. Prestage of the Chronicle
of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea by Azurara, published by the Hakluyt
Society.
77
Liberia ^
without rigging tops or yards ; and had lateen sails stretched
upon long, oblique poles, hanging suspended from the mast-
head. These winged arms, when their triangular sails were once
spread, grazed the gunwale, the points bending with the air
according to the direction of the wind. They usually ran with
all their sail, turning by means of it, and sailing straight upon
a bow line, driving before the wind. When they wished to
change their course it was enough to trim the sails."
In the Revista Portugueza Colonial ^ the Navios de
31. TIIK "(ARAVKLA KKDONDA," OK ROrND CARAVEL
descobrimentos, or exploring ships, are divided into the following
named classes : — The Barca^ the Barinel, the Caravel^ and the
Nau ; while the Navios de couquistas, or war vessels, are styled
the Fusta, the Caiur, the Almadir de Cathuri, the Gale^ the:
Galiota, the Brigantim, the Gallea^a, the Taforea, the Galeao,
and the Carraca, (The author has copied from the pictures in
this article the accompanying illustrations of the commonest type
of exploring ship in the fifteenth century — the Caravel:) The
* May 20th, 1898.
78
^ The Guinea Trade
navigation of these African waters by such vessels meant the
victory of the sail over the oar.
This was a movement which had been long developing
in the Mediterranean world and in the Baltic and North Sea,
as also contemporaneously in the Indian Ocean and the Sea
of China. Man's first means of locomotion over the surface
of the water was punting, urging forward his raft or hollowed
log by the leverage of a pole pushed into the river bed or the
32. A CAkAVKL
bank. Next came the use of a shorter, broader stick as a
paddle, and so developed the oar. On the estuary of the
Cameroons River in West Africa I have seen the natives fasten
a tall, bushy frond from the Raphia palm into the prow of
their canoe, and this possibly, or some such idea, was the
commencement of the sail. A skin, a stretch of bark-cloth,
a sheet of matting (as in the Far liast) attached to an upright
punting-pole, gradually transformed itself into the simple lateen
sail which existed concurrently with oars as a means of pro-
79
Liberia
pulsion in the ships of the Arabs, Phoenicians, Egyptians,
Greeks, Romans, Norwegians, Portuguese, Italians, and other
Mediterranean peoples down to the thirteenth century. Then
oars were less and less used, were chiefly retained as sweeps
to aid the vessel when the wind dropped, or in negotiating
some intricate port, while the sail and the masts became more
33. A CAKAVKL (? OF GKNoA), FIKTKKNTH CKNTIKY :
AFTKK JIKIEN DK I. A GKAVIKKK
and more important. But many of us do not realise that
sailing as a fine art and the differentiated forms and complicated
use of sails really only began as a maritime practice amongst
the European nations (including the North African Moors) in
the sixteenth century. The Arabs and Turks of North Africa
did a great deal in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
to abolish the use of oars, to elaborate sails and masts, and
80
The Guinea Trade
to construct sailing vessels of a modern type. The Sailing ship
did not arrive at perfection till it was becoming superseded by
the Steamer.
And the traders, sailors, soldiers, captains who travelled
in these vessels, the early European visitors to Liberia ? They
were very religious in their
speech, literally very God-fear-
ing, but for the most part utterly
wanting in the practice of real
Christian principles. Their
dread of '' God's providence "
and its wayward blows never
restrained them from kidnap-
ping, cheating, alcoholising, or
otherwise corrupting the blacks,
towards whom they had not yet
developed a conscience. They
introduced to this and other
parts of West Africa all the
diseases of Europe, shameful
as well as unavoidable ; they
brought, it is true, cultivated
plants of the greatest value to
the Negro, and they reinforced
his stock of domestic animals.
He learnt from them little or
nothing in the industrial arts ;
and though there were Christian missionaries (mostly Jesuits)
at work during all the one and a half centuries of Portuguese
domination, they made but few — and no lasting — converts, and
apparently spread no knowledge of reading and writing, though
they used their influence (in vain) against the slave trade and
VOL. I 8 1 6
34. A I'OKrUGlKSK WAKKIOK, SIXTKKNTH
CKNTUKY. KKDM A HIININ CARVING
IN THK HKITISH MUSKUM
Liberia ^
cannibalism. These earlier European adventurers wore the same
stuffy clothes in the hot-house climate of West Africa as they
did in Northern and Western Europe. They often slept in
their clothes on board ship, and seldom or never washed. (The
frequent ablutions with native soap and water of the Kruboys
and the Gold Coast natives are subjects of amused comment to
the, no doubt, smelly Hollanders, Englishmen, or Portuguese
who have left us records of their African experiences.)
These clothes were mostly of wool and linen. Ruflfe were
worn during the Elizabethan period, and, when on expeditions
of a more or less martial character, steel hauberks or breastplates,
which must have been well adapted for causing sunstrokes.
The Europeans of the fifteenth to the first half of the seventeenth
century, however, seem to have suffered less markedly from
African fevers than occurred subsequently with their successors.
Perhaps this may have been due to their small consumption
of distilled spirits or to their being already inoculated with the
malarial bacillus in their own aguish countries.
The clothes worn by the Dutch and English on the African
coast during the seventeenth century were simpler and better
adapted to the climate than any costume in vogue until the last
quarter of the nineteenth century : a broad-brimmed felt hat
(usually), linen shirt, close-fitting coat, or jerkin of stout cloth,
loose breeches, stockings, and stout, comfortable shoes. Unless
sea-boots were worn, however, this left their ankles and calves
exposed to mosquito-bites ; but protection against the mosquito
was not understood or effected till about five years ago.
82
CHAPTER VII
A DUTCH ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA IN THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
THE Dutch had followed up the Portuguese on the West
Coast of Africa nearly concurrently with the English ;
that is to say, at the close of the sixteenth century, when
both these Northern maritime nations could give themselves the
excuse of the Spanish absorption of Portugal for wresting from
the Portuguese such of their possessions in Africa, Asia, and
America as could be torn from them. About 1600 the Dutch
captured from the French Arguin Island near Cape Blanco, and
the little Island of Ber near Dakar (Cape Verde), which they
called Goree, after an islet off the coast of Holland.^
Of course, the main objective in West Africa at that period
was the Gold Coast, the demand for slaves not having as yet
become so important as to oust gold from its first place as a
bait in African commerce. They therefore visited the coast of
Liberia on their journeys to and from the Gold Coast, though
occasionally a special voyage was made to the " Grain *' Coast
for pepper and ivory. "Grain '' was apparently as much a Dutch
as an English word (from the Latin grannm\ and was first applied
by the Dutch in succession to the Portuguese name Malagueta.
' These places were taken from Holland by the French in 1677-tS. Portugal
was usually stripped of her colonies or forts in this order : first by the Dutch ; then
the French plundered the Dutch in the seventeenth century, and the Britiish
snatched or bought from France and Holland in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries.
83
Liberia ^
The first definite account of the Grain Coast derived
through the Dutch was compiled by a great German geographer,
Levinus Hulsius, who published from the beginning to the
middle of the seventeenth century all the records of navigation
to Africa, the East Indies, and America which he could collect,
chiefly from the captains of Dutch vessels. In the map of
Africa which Hulsius printed in 1606 the following place or
tribal names occur : Cabo do Monte, " Nc^surada " (Mesurado),
Rio de S. Biante (Vicente), Cabo de S. Clemente (near
Garawe), C. das Palmas, and Ponta de Cavallas (at the mouth
of the Cavalla). '' Crou '* is written along the Kru Coast.
Cestos is misspelt Chostes. Sino appears as " Synno,*' a spelling
very like its present pronunciation. Wappo (at present spelt on
the maps Wapi) was a frequent place of call on the Kru Coast.
The far interior of the Grain Coast was described as being the
''Bitornin province of the Kingdom of Melli.*'^ Hulsius, in
gathering up the early Dutch impressions in 1606, writes that
** the natives of the Grain Coast interlarded their conversation
with French words, just as the Gold Coast people did with
Portuguese."
In 1626 Hulsius published at Frankfurt-am-Main an
account of the voyages of Samuel Braun to the Guinea Coast
(among other parts of West Africa), w^hich were undertaken in
161 1 and 1614. Samuel Braun was a Swiss (though in those
days he reckoned himself as a German generically), a citizen and
dentist (*' Burger und Mund Artzt") of Basel.
He first navigated vessels on the Rhine, and thus came
into contact with Dutch merchants and seamen. He was offered
the command (apparently) of two Dutch ships for an adventure
in the Guinea trade.
In 161 1 he proceeded almost direct to the Cameroons, the
^ i.e. Mandingo.
84
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
Congo, and Angola, touching at the Grain Coast only on his
return ; but in 1 6 14 he visited the " Qua Qua '* (Ivory) Coast,
and before or afterwards made a somewhat lengthy stay in
Liberian waters. He called at Cape Mount, the River Cestos,
and the Kru Coast. He calls the people near Cape Palmas
" Gruvo." ^ Of the (Liberian) people generally he records :
" Die Eynwohner sind grawsame und bose leute doch an einem
Ort besser als am andern gedrucken stetigs wie sie die fremde
Nationen so dahin kommen zu handthieren,'' etc. (Which may
be freely rendered : " The natives are cruel and bad people,
though in some places better than others, according to the way
in which foreign nations coming there to trade have treated
them.'*)
" Doch ist ihnen ein Nation angenemmer und lieber als die
ander nemblich die Franzoscn, so dess Orts lang gereiset und
gefahren haben, aber die Portugaleser kommen jetziger Zeit
gar selten dahin. Unser Teutsche Nation ist an einem Ort
angenemmer als an andern und dasselbe daher dass sie es
biszweilen da selbst gar grob gemacht und sehr verderbet haben
derhalben dann die Mohren ofFt vcrsuchs ob sie sich an ihnen
rechen mOchten.'' ('' Yet one nation is agreeable to them and
beloved more than others — the French — who for such a long
time have frequented and travelled in this district. The
Portuguese in these present times come here but seldom. Our
German nation is at one place more agreeable than another ; but
from time to time we have made ourselves disliked by our
rough ways, so that the Moors often try to take their revenge
on us. )
In 161 1 Braun called at the Grain Coast chiefly to buy rice.
In 1614 he traded for pepper with iron bars and for rice with
* Grebo. This corruption " Grubo " of a tribal name may be the origin of
•* Kruboy."
85
Liberia ^
coral beads (" glaserne corallen ") : from his first Guinea voyage
he brought back to Holland about two tons of ivory and a
thousand pounds of gold.
All these journeys bristled with perils from Spanish pirates,
with whom sea-fights were of constant occurrence, so that one is
quite relieved at the end to know that this honest mariner landed
his cargoes safely in Holland and lived to make interesting
voyages to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, then a Turkish
Lake.
The results of Dutch exploration of the Grain Coast in
the seventeenth century are summed up by the learned Dr. O.
Dapper in his great work on African geography, which was
published at Amsterdam in both Flemish and French in 1686.
Dapper devotes a good many interesting pages to the description
of the coast tribes of what is now called Liberia. The northern
coast region of Liberia between the Mano River and Cape
Mesurado is described as the kingdom of Quoja (? Kwoya or
Kwia). The Quoja is said to be the name of the language ; but
it would seem to be that of the dominant caste at the time,
for all these people, Dapper is careful to tell us, belonged to the
Vey (Vai) tribe.
Dapper writes much of a warlike people called the Folgia,
who are much mixed up in their history with the Kru tribes.
One of the provinces of the Folgia kingdom was called ** Karou,"
and it is a question whether this word can be in any way
connected with the name of the Kru people. It is stated by
Dapper that the most widely spread language of all this part
of the Liberian coast was that of the " Folgia '* people, of which
he describes the ^uoja, Gebbe (Gibi), and the Gala (Gora) as
being merely dialects. The Folgia appear to have repeatedly
attacked and decimated the Vai tribes. The Mano River is
mentioned under the name of Magwibba. The Mafa bears its
86
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
present name, and the lake and creeks behind Cape Mount,
which are nowadays known as Pisu/ are referred to as Plizoge.
The Little Cape Mount River is called the Menoch or Rio
Aguado. The interior people immediately behind the Kwoya
or Vai are styled the " Galavey/* The tribal name of Hondo,
still farther in the interior, is probably the modern Kondo. The
De tribe is not referred to by name, but is evidently included
under the generic term of Caroii, by which seems to be indicated
35. DUTCH sailing; VKSSKL of TlIK SKVKN rKi:NTH CKMl-KY.
AFIKR IJ-.VINLS Ilfl-SIL'S
the Kru race in general. (Reference to my vocabularies will
show that the De language is only one of the dialects of the
Kru family.) The Folgia (? Fulja) may be a people belonging to
the Gora stock. They seem to have inhabited the coast district
now occupied by the De people ; but they were at that time —
the middle of the seventeenth century — a powerful and warlike
race which, under the name of Kwoya or Kwia, had partially
conquered the coast Vai. Dapper's "Gala** are evidently the
* Merely " lake " or '• river " in Vai.
87
Liberia ^
Gora of to-day and the *^ Golahs " of writers in the first half
of the last century.'
The St. Paul's River is referred to by Dapper, but is
evidently regarded as a much more insignificant stream than
the rivers farther north.
According to Dapper, the true Grain Coast does not begin
till the mouth of the River Cestos is reached, and extends
thence to the mouth of the Cavalla. Dapper constantly refers
to the French settlement of Petit Dieppe at the mouth of a
river. (? Biso River, near Grand Basa.)
The tribal name for the Kru people is spelt Krouw, which would
be pronounced in Dutch *'Krau.'* The Kru people behind Cape
Palmas were classed by Dapper as cannibals, no doubt correctly.
Besides the Dutch, both the English and the French were
very active on this coast. The River Cestos appears to have
been the most frequented trading station, and during this
century it exported large quantities of ivory. It was, as well,
the headquarters of the pepper trade.
According to Dapper, the English at this time frequently
ascended the St. Paul River, and were always active on the
Junk and St. John Rivers, searching for ivory and camwood.
The Dutch were shy of this river exploration, because they
disliked travelling in canoes.
Dapper and the Dutch traders from whom he derives his
stories seem to have concentrated their researches chiefly on the
northern coast of Liberia, the Vai country, generally mentioned as
Quoja. A very detailed description is given of the forest trees and
' Benjamin Anderson's researches (1868) show that even at that late date there
were De settlements fifty miles west of" the middle St. Pnul's Kiver, behind the Vai
peoples and west of the Gora. So the Folgia and possibly Kwoya conquerors may
have been akin to the Kru peoples. The Gora, by their language, are the indigenes.
The Mamba people who inhabit the country east of the Lower St. Paul are allied to
the De and Basa.
88
A Dutch Account of Liberia
their uses : The Soap tree, the Kola nut, the Bombax, Parinarium,
the Borassus, Oil, Raphia, and Coconut palms are all to be
identified in Dapper's descriptions. He is somewhat more
vague about the fauna. A large species of Pangolin or Scaly
Ant-eater (^Manis gigafited) is described and illustrated, with the
36. DUn^tl SKAMKN OK IHK HAKl.Y SKN l.M l.KM II CICNnKV I.ANPINC (^N VHV.
WKsT ai-kk;an rih\sr. ai ikk i.i'.viM:.s m isiis
suggestion that it is a relation of the crocodile. Its native name
is given as quogiielo. In describing the wild pigs it is rather
remarkable that Dapper distinguishes carefully between the red
bush swine (which he calls Couja')and a gigantic species of
* If, as is so common, tli»^ " n " in this word is a misprint for '' n," and the "j "
has its Diitcli pronunciation, this word might read as Konia, its actual form in Va
at the present time.
89
Liberia
<^
black pig which is described as being very dangerous, and with
teeth so sharp that they snap through everything they bite.
It may be that an allusion here is made to the Forest Pig or
Equatorial Africa, the existence of which in Liberia has been
already reported from native accounts by Mr. M. Pye-Smith,
while a skull collected by Mr. G. L. Bates serves to prove
its existence in the Cameroons. The chimpanzee is described
accurately, and the leopard is called a ** royal " animal, being
regarded by the natives as the king of beasts. Dapper mentions
that there is a tiger in the country which does no harm to
mankind. The description given of the '' tiger '' is very vague,
and may be due really to stories of lions brought to the coast
by the Mandingo people. A good deal is said about the native
beliefs in bird-oracles. This bird-lore, of which Dapper gives
many instances, is another proof of the homogeneity of the
Negro race, as they might be capped by similar stories from
East, South, and Central Africa.
According to Dapper, the natives of this part of Liberia
knew nothing of dysentery, which was apparently introduced
into West Africa by a Dutch trading ship that called at Sierra
Leone in 1626. It spread to Northern Liberia as a terrible
plague soon afterwards, so that the plantations were left untilled
for three years, and many people died or fled into the interior
in panic. Smallpox was already established in the country.
The great monarch of the country appears to have been
the King of Manu, referred to occasionally as '' Mendi Manou,"
possibly a Mandingo chieftain. No direct statement is made
by Dapper of the advance of Muhammadanism, but it is pro-
bable, from one or two of his allusions that Islam had already
reached the interior of the Vai country. Dapper gives an
admirable description of the various initiation ceremonies of
boys and girls nearly identical with those of the present day.
90
-^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
As to the Karou, who at one time conquered the Vai,
they are described as having lived recently in the country of
the Folgia, which is located by Dapper in the vicinity of the
present town of Monrovia. The first general of this conquering
tribe was known as Sokwalla, who was succeeded by his son
Flonikerri. Under these leaders the Karou first conquered the
Folgia round about the River Junk, and then made friends with
them. The united peoples of the Folgia and Karou conquered
the tribes about the River Cestos on the one hand and the Gala
(Gora), Vai, and Kwoya on the other, even carrying their
victorious arms as far west as Sierra Leone, also bringing under
their control the interior people called Dogo and the Gibi tribe.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, according to
the letter of John Snoek,^ who visited the Grain Coast in the
yacht Johanna Jaba^ ivory was becoming less abundant in
Liberia as a trade product. Snoek describes the natives round
about Cape Mount as wearing the voluminous Mandingo
garments, but adds that the women are nearly and sometimes
quite naked. In the country where the town of Monrovia is
now situated he writes that the natives live in large houses con-
taining two or three apartments, in one of which buildings as
many as fifty or sixty men, women, and children were sleeping
promiscuously. For the most part the people all along the
coast were very hospitable and friendly to Europeans. The
chiefs were already beginning to bear European names,
and the slave trade had commenced, owing to the excessive
warfare between the people of the coast and those of the
interior, each party, when victorious, being ready to sell their
prisoners of war to foreign traders. A chief amongst the
Kruboys at Sanguin called himself James. *' He spoke a
confused sort of language, a mixed jargon of English and
* In Bosnian's Description of the Coast of Guinea.
91
Liberia <^
Portuguese. He seemed a great lover of the female sex, which
was the whole subject with which he entertained us."
Snoek describes the River Cestos ^ as being the port of an
agreeable and friendly country. His sailing ship anchored first
before a village called Corra, three miles west of the river
mouth. The sea off this part of the coast was more than
usually phosphorescent. The people along the banks of a little
stream near the sea were much occupied in boiling water to
produce salt. The water over the very rocky bar of the Cestos
River appears to have had a depth of at least six feet, but even this
amount of water would seem to have been too little for the
sailing ships of earlier days. These, therefore, must have anchored
off the coast outside the river, into which they sent their
merchandise in boats. The principal village at the mouth of
the River Cestos contained about sixty houses, " very neatly
built, and so high that some of them appear three miles out
at sea.'' They differ from those of Cape Mesurado, " only that
there are here more Stories'* (i,e. that the houses were built with
three or four platforms or stories). The now familiar West Coast
*Mash" (meaning a tip, a pourboire^ a present) makes its appear-
ance in Snoek's writings under the form of ''dasje." Apparently
in trading with the Negroes of the Liberian coast at this time it
was necessary to commence operations by giving a dash or piesent.
(^Dasje, diminutive of Das in Dutch means a little strip of cloth.)
The Cavalla River in these times seems to have been the
boundary between the fiercely cannibal tribes of what is now
the Ivory Coast and the more sophisticated Krumen, on the
hither side of Cape Palmas. All the people to the east of the
Cavalla River at this period had their front teeth sharpened to
a point, and were very wild.
^ Under the mistaken term of Seslre ; but the geographical definition in his
contribution to Bosman's work shows it to have been the Cestos.
92
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
After the wars of Louis XIV. were over, France and
Holland somewhat drew together in their common policy ; so
much so, that in the middle of the eighteenth century the
informal alliance between them at the Cape of Good Hope
became a danger to the British East India Company, and led to
abortive attempts on the part of the British to seize the Cape of
Good Hope. Under the Orleans Regency, advantage was taken
of this friendlier feeling with the Dutch to call at the Dutch
settlements on the Gold Coast, and the French began to think
of creating depots for trade in slaves and even for colonisation
far to the east of their establishments in Senegambia.^ In
tropical South America, as well as in Africa, the Dutch and
the French were in friendly relations, and in 1725 and subse-
quent years the Chevalier des Marchais was sent by the
French Government to visit the West Coast of Africa and the
South American settlement of Cayenne (Guiana), and report
on the trading piospects of both regions. The following is
an abridgment of Chevalier des Marchais* description of his
visit to Cape Mesurado (the modern Monrovia).
*' Almost every vessel, after leaving Cape Mount, touches
at Cape Mesurado. They are obliged to call at this last cape for
wood and water, to serve them while they remain at the factory
at Fida (Hwida'"), where the water is indifferent and difficult
of access. Another reason is that the natives of Fida, looking
upon trees of every kind as species of divinities, will neither cut
them down themselves nor allow other people to do so. In
the third place, rice, maize, or Indian corn, fowls, sheep, goats,
and even oxen are in greater plenty at Mesurado than at F'ida.
* Which had been commenced (perhaps) in 1360 by the Dieppe adventurers,
recommenced in 1637, and definitely established by the building of Fort St. Louis
du S6n6gal in 1662. In 1677-8 the French captured from the Dutch the forts of
Beguin (South-west Sahara coast) and Gor^e (Dakar).
* Otherwise "Whydah " in Dahome.
93
Liberia ^
*^ The course from Cape Mount to Cape Mesurado is south-
east ; the distance eighteen leagues. The coast is clear, and
the anchorage is everywhere good. If the wind be contrary
it will be proper to anchor ; if there be a calm, for security
against the currents, you must also put out your anchors."
Chevalier des Marchais, owing to contrary winds, took six
days to make this short passage of fifty-four miles. On
December 9th, 1724, he anchored a mile and a half from Cape
Mesurado.
A canoe immediately came off to him. He was heartily
welcomed by the natives, whom he had visited on a previous
occasion on the affairs of the Royal Senegal Company. The
'* king," being informed of his arrival, sent his Prime Minister
to invite him on shore, and accordingly he landed the next
morning.
'*Cape Mesurado is a detached mountain, steep and high
towards the sea, but less so on the land side. The summit
forms a level plain, the soil of which is better than what is
generally found in such situations. On the east is an extensive
bay, bordered by a good and uniform soil, which is bounded
by hills of a moderate elevation, covered with trees. On
the west is another great bay, which receives the River
Mesurado.'* ^
" The cape points to the south-east. Its latitude is 6^32' N.
and its longitude s'^il' ^o^n the meridian of Tenerife. On the
east a long spit of land separates the sea from a basin [flaque
d'eau) formed by the River Mesurado and a smaller one which joins
it. They navigate this last in their canoes, six or seven leagues
at low water, and double the distance at high water. The water
is always salt, or at least brackish ; and it is full of filth.
The course of the River Mesurado is north-west for seventeen
* Des Marchais means by this the St. Paul's.
94
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
or eighteen leagues, afterwards north-east ; but its length is
unknown." One of the people assured the Chevalier des
Marchais that he had gone up this river in his canoe for three
moons, when he came to a great river, whence it proceeded,
which ran from east to west, on which there were rich and
powerful nations, who drove a great trade in gold, ivory, and
37. MKRMAIl) ISLAND ON THK ST. I>AI'L'.S KIVKK, RKSUKTKD TO HY KIROI'KAN
TKADKKS IN THK KKJHTICKN 1 11 AM» NlNllTKI'.NI H ( KNITKIKS
slaves (? the Makona River). '' The Mesurado runs through fine
countries, but is so rapid that those who have laboured three
months in ascending it may return in eighteen days. The
Negroes call the rich country where their river originates Alam^
that is, the country of gold/*
'* In the lagoon just mentioned are two islands, a small one
95
Liberia ^
at the mouth of the little river,' and a large at that of the
great river. This last is called ' the king's island,' though he
never resides there. But some of his slaves raise cattle and
poultry on it for his use. [ The king gave this island to the
Chevalier, and very much pressed him to settle on it.] It is
never overflowed, even by the great annual inundations, which,
as in the Niger, take place in July, August, and September.
This island is two leagues long and three-quarters of a league
broad. Its soil is excellent, as appears from the size and
height of the trees, which also evince its depth. The winds,
which blow without intermission, render it very temperate. The
only inconvenience it labours under is the want of fresh water,
which must be brought from springs on the continent. But
these are at no great distance, and are very abundant."
" The tide flows twenty leagues [a great exaggeration] up
the Mesurado, at the equinoxes, and eight or nine during
the rest of the year. In July, August, and September the
water is brackish only three leagues up, owing to the rapidity of
the stream in these months ; four or five leagues up the water
is perfectly sweet."
The king who reigned in 1727 was called Captain Peter,
a name which had long been common to the kings of Mesurado.
When dealing with the Dutch and English, both parties took
every precaution against roguery. They were armed, hostages
were exchanged, and mutual caution observed. The French,-
on the contrary, traded there without the least suspicion. The
natives put themselves in their power, went on board French
ships without fear, and on all occasions manifested the most
* This " little " river is now called the Mesurado River or lagoon. It is a tidal
creek. The " large Island " would be Bushrod Island, and the " small," Providence
Island.'— H. H. J.
* The French, through the Senegal Company, began a renewed intercourse
with Northern Liberia at the close of the seventeenth century.
96
38. A DK MAN, AN ABOKKJINAL NATIVE OF THK MPISURAIK) DISTRICT DKSCRIHKU
BY DES MARCHAIS
VOL. I
Liberia ^
friendly disposition towards them. The French dealt with
them as with old and faithful friends, went on shore unarmed,
committed their persons and effects to the safeguard of the
natives, and never had any reason to repent of this confidence.
" The religion of the natives of Mesurado is a kind of
idolatry, ill understood, and blended with a number of super-
stitions, to which, however, few of them are bigoted. They
easily change the object of their worship, and consider their
fetishes only as a kind of household furniture. The sun is the
most general object of their adoration ; but it is a voluntary
worship, and attended with no magnificent ceremonies."
^' In the space of a few leagues are many villages swarming
with children. They practise polygamy, and their women are
very prolific. Besides, as those people deal no further in slaves
than by selling their convicted criminals to the Europeans, the
country is not depopulated like those in which the princes
continually traflSc in their subjects. The purity of the air, the
goodness of the water, and the abundance of every necessary
of life all contribute to people this country.
" The natives are of large size, strong, and well proportioned.
Their mien is bold and martial, and their neighbours have
often experienced their intrepidity, as well as those Europeans
who attempted to injure them. They possess genius, think
justly, speak correctly, perfectly know their own interests, and,
like their ancient friends the Normans, recommend themselves
with address and even with politeness. Their lands are carefully
cultivated, they do everything with order and regularity, and
they labour vigorously when they choose, which, unfortunately,
is not so often as could be wished. Interest stimulates them
strongly, and they are fond of gain without appearing so.
Their friendship is constant ; yet their friends must beware
of making free with their wives, of whom they are very jealous.
98
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
But they are not so jealous with respect to their daughters,
who have an unbounded liberty, which is so far from impeding
their marriage that a man is pleased at finding that a woman
has given proofs of fertility, especially as the presents of her
lovers make some amends for that which he is obliged to
39. A I)E (NATIVK) KIK IlKN NKAK MONROVIA (AS UKSCKIHKlJ HV
IJKS MAKCHAIS IN TIIK KAkIA' IKjIUKEN TH ( liN TLKV)
give her parents when he marries her. They tenderly love
their children, and a sure and quick way to gain their
friendship is to caress their little ones and to make them trifling
presents."
"Their houses are very neat. Their kitchens are some-
what elevated above the ground, and of a square or oblong
figure ; three sides are walled up, and the fourth side is left
open, being that from which the wind does not commonly
99
Liberia <^
blow. They place their posts in a row, and cement them together
with a kind of fat, red clay, which, without any mixture of
lime, makes a strong and durable mortar. Their bedchambers
are raised three feet above the ground. This would seem
to indicate that the country is marshy or sometimes inundated.
But this is by no means the case. The soil is dry, and they
take care to build their houses beyond the reach of the greatest
floods. But experience has taught them that this elevation
contributes to health, by securing them from the damps caused
by the copious dews.
*'The women work in the fields, and kindly assist one
another. They bring up their children with great care, and
have no other object but to please their husbands.
" The extent of King Peter's dominions towards the north
and north-east is not well known ; but from the number of
his soldiers, there is reason to believe it considerable. The
eastern boundary is the River Junco, about twenty leagues
from Cape Mesurado, and the western is a little river, about
half way from Cape Mount.
'^ The whole country is extremely fertile. The natives have
gold among them ; but whether found in this country or
brought thither in the course of trade is not precisely known.
The country produces fine redwood, and a quantity of other
beautiful and valuable woods. Sugar-canes, indigo, and cotton
grow without cultivation. The tobacco would be excellent
if the Negroes were skilful in curing it. Elephants, and con-
sequently ivory, are more numerous than the natives wish ;
for those cumbrous animals very much injure their cornfields,
notwithstanding the hedges and ditches with which they so
carefully fence them. The frequent attacks of lions and tigers ^
hinder not their cattle from multiplying rapidly ; and their
* Leopards of course are meant.
lOO
-^ A Dutch Account of LibeHa-,
— _ — _. . •-.•
' •'•
trees are laden with fruit, in spite of the mischief done to
them by the monkey tribes. In a word, it is a rich and
plentiful country, and well situated for commerce, which might
be carried on here to any extent by a nation beloved like the
French ; for no nation must think of establishing themselves
here by force." ^
The result of King Peter having given Bushrod Island,
in the estuary of the St. Paul's, to the Chevalier des Marchais
was that he formulated a scheme for the establishment of a
French colony at Cape Mesurado. This was laid before the
Senegal Company, and if it had been carried out a French
settlement might have completely anticipated Liberia. The
Chevalier, after careful consideration of the best sites for the
capital of this colony, finally selected the actual plateau on which
Monrovia is now built. He wrote : " Clay fit for bricks
abounds everywhere, and even stone proper for ashlar work.
Building timber grows on the spot, and the common country
provisions are extremely cheap. Except wine, brandy, and
wheat flour, which the Company must supply, everything else
is to be had on the spot. Beef, mutton, goats, and hogs cost
little, and game abounds. Antelopes and deer graze quietly
with the tame cattle in the meadows. There are many species
of birds. The basin {i,e, the lagoon), the rivers, and the sea
afford plenty of fish and turtles. No river on the coast is
as much frequented by sea-horses as the Mesurado. The flesh
of these animals is good ; and their teeth, whiter and harder
than those of the elephant, are scarce and dear/'
Among the goods which he recommends should be sent
from France for trade in such a colony are brandy, gunpowder,
* The foregoing abstract is mainly taken from C. B. Wadstrom's translation
in 1792. P6re Labal published Des Marchais* and other French explorers* works
op West Africa about 1744.
J9I
. -Liberia ^
trade guns, swords, knives, striped linen, Indian cottons, glass
ware of all sorts, beads, kauri shells, brass rods, pewter plates
and pots, gunflints, iron bars, and coral. The Director of
the colony was to have the munificent salary of ;^I50 a year,
with a chaplain at ^^ 54 a year.
Another French traveller, Grandpierre, who visited the
River Cestos in 1726, wrote in his book of travels about this
place : *^ My ambition is to be powerful and rich enough to
fit out a large fleet, filled with able and intelligent people, to
make a conquest of this fine country, and change its nature
by introducing the best social laws and religious knowledge."
Captain Snelgrave, an English slave-trader who visited
the Liberian Coast in or about 1730, reported that on the
windward or northern part of the coast there was not a European
trader left, owing to the hostility of the natives, caused by
kidnapping on the part of Dutch and English. English and
Spanish pirates infested the northern littoral of Liberia from
1720 to 1740, "the Spanish being the worst offenders." The
Dutch frequented the Liberian Coast at first, mainly for the
pepper and ivory. When they took up the trade in slaves
they seem to have preferred dealing with their settlements
on the Gold Coast — Elmina especially — leaving the Grain Coast
to the attentions of the English, French, and Spaniards. Yet
in the nineteenth century, soon after Liberia was formed, the
Dutch traders came back, and the Dutch House (the Oost
Afrikaansche Compagnie) is now one of the oldest established
and most respected commercial agencies in the country.
A Swede named Ulrik Nordenskiold in 1776 proposed
Cape Mesurado and Cape Mount as suitable places for colonies
which should start sugar plantations. A Dane — J. Rask —
who wrote a description of Guinea in 1754, states on page
46 that a sugar plantation was established in 1707 by the
^ A Dutch Account of Liberia
Dutch ^' about nine miles from the Fort of Boutra," Nor-
denskiold also alludes to this sugar planting by the Dutch
on the coast of Guinea. " Boutra " may have been on the
coast of Liberia or on the Ivory Coast/ at Great or Little
Butu. Rask states that "there is plenty of gold in the country
above Cape Mount and Cape Mesurado."
• From NordenskiOld's allusion it is more likely to have been on the Gold Coast.
40. A MANT.KOVK rillCKKT
CHAPTER VIII
THE SLAVE TRADE
DURING the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the
great inducement that brought Europeans to the West
Coast of Africa was not merely the trade in gold, ivory,
camwood, and pepper, but it was, first and foremost, slaves.
Liberia, however, for reasons which will be shown, suffered
perhaps less than most parts of the West African Coast, the
adjoining district of the Ivory Coast having even greater
immunity/ Nevertheless, it was the slave trade that indirectly
gave birth to Liberia as a recognised state, and it is therefore
necessary to treat of it to some extent as a part of Liberian
history.
Negro slaves were used bv the Ancient Egyptians, and
from Egypt in later days they were sent to Rome and to the
Byzantine Empire. Carthage also procured Negroes for the
Roman galleys, possibly from Tripoli. Under Islam, however,
the modern trade in Negro slaves as we know it really began.
The Arab wars of conquest in the Egyptian Sudan and along
the East African Coast, and Arab and Berber raids across the
Sahara Desert from North Africa to the regions of the Niger,
^ The northern coast districts of Liberia were much infested by slavers ; but
the natives of the Kru Coast utterly disliked existence in slavery, and, refusing to
work under such conditions, were ordinarily left alone. The Ivory Coast people
were, in those days, tierce cannibals and inaccessible.
104
-#i The Slave Trade
rapidly led to the dispatch of Negro slaves to Southern Persia,
Western India, the coasts of Arabia, Egypt, the whole of
North Africa, and most parts of the Turkish Empire. Negro
slaves were occasionally imported into Italy as curiosities during
the Middle Ages.
The early Portuguese explorers sent out by Prince Henry
at first took every opportunity of kidnapping the Moors whom
they met on the coast of the Sahara, and these people were
dispatched as slaves to Portugal. Prince Henry, however, came
in time to realise the iniquity of this proceeding and its bad
policy on the part of a nation which at that time was aspiring
to colonise and rule Morocco. He therefore ordered that
they should be given a chance of ransoming themselves. One
of these Moors explained that he was a nobleman by birth,
and stated that he could give five or six Negroes for his own
ransom and another five for the freedom of those amongst his
fellow captives who were also men of position. The result
was that Antao Gonc^'alvez, their captor, on returning to the
Rio de Oro, received ten Negroes, a little gold-dust, a shield
of ox-hide, and a number of ostrich eggs as ransom.
The Portuguese learnt in this way that by pursuing their
journeys farther south they might come to a land where it
was possible to obtain " black Moors '' as slaves. It was already
appreciated that the Negro as a captive was a far more tractable
and manageable person than any one akin to the white man
in race. Consequently, during the first hundred years of
their African exploration, the Portuguese picked up Negroes
by purchase from the Fula and Mandingo chiefs of Senegambia,
and also by kidnapping them occasionally on the peninsula of
Sierra Leone and on the Liberian Coast. They traded for
them on the Gold Coast, in the Congo and Angola countries.
Thes^ slaves were mostly sent to Portugal as curiosities, quite
105
Liberia ^
as much as for domestic service. Care was generally taken to
have them baptized and even to a certain extent educated.
Meantime, North and South America had been discovered
and the West India Islands settled by Spaniards. As early
as 1 50 1, only nine years since the West India Islands had been
discovered by Christopher Columbus, it was found that the
wretched inhabitants of the Antilles were dying out under
the treatment of the colonising Spaniards. In 1502, therefore,
it was decided to export from Spain and Portugal to the
West Indies some of the Negro slaves who had reached the
Iberian Peninsula from West Africa and had been converted to
Christianity (!). By 1503 there were already quite a number of
Negroes in Hispaniola (Haiti — San Domingo). In 15 10 the
King of Spain (Ferdinand) dispatched more Negro slaves,
obtained through the Portuguese^ from West Africa, to the
mines in that island.
The celebrated Bartolomeo de las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa
in Hispaniola, came to Spain in 15 17, to the court of the
young King-Emperor Charles V., to protest against the wicked
treatment which the West Indian indigenes were enduring at
the hands of the Spaniards. As a remedy he proposed that the
hardier Negroes of West Africa should be imported direct into
the West Indies, to furnish the unskilled labour for which
the native Americans were unsuited by their constitution.
Charles V. had, however, already anticipated this idea, and a
year or two previously had granted licences to Flemish courtiers
to recruit Negroes in West Africa for dispatch to the West
Indies. One of these patents issued by Charles gave the
* The Spaniards were prevented by the Papal Bull of Demarcation— an
anticipation by Pope Alexander VI. in 1493 of our modern term "spheres of
influence " — from trespassing on the Portuguese sphere, which included the West
Coast of Africa. This, therefore, was the reason why they had to contract with
the Portuguese directly or indirectly for the supply of Negro slaves,
10^
-#i The Slave Trade
exclusive right to a Flemish courtier named Lebrassa to supply
four thousand Negroes annually to Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica,
and Puerto Rico. This Fleming sold his patent to a group
of Genoese merchants, who then struck a bargain with the
Portuguese to supply the slaves. But the trade did not get
into full swing till after the middle of the sixteenth century,
when, amongst others, the English seaman John Hawkins took
up a concession for the supply of Negroes from Guinea to the
West Indies. He made in all three voyages, the first of which
was undertaken in 1562. He obtained his slaves first from
the rivers between the Gambia and the confines of Liberia,
visiting Sierra Leone amongst other places. On the last of
these journeys he was accompanied by Drake ' (afterwards Sir
Francis), then a mere youth. They probably touched at the
Liberian coast for water on their way to Elmina, where two
hundred slaves were obtained by joining a native king in a
slave raid.
The coasts of Liberia were not so much ravaged by the
slave trade as were the regions between the Gambia and
Sierra Leone, the Dahomc or Slave Coast, the Niger Delta,
Old Calabar, Loango, and Congo. Perhaps in all the ravages
which the over-sea slave trade brought about, the Niger Delta
and the Lower Congo suffered the worst. What damage was
done to the coast of Liberia seems to be chiefly attributed to
the English, who had already begun to visit that coast at the
close of the sixteenth century, and were very busy there all
through the seventeenth. The French traveller Villault de
Bellefonds mentions repeatedly in his writings the damage that
the English did on the Grain Coast (Liberia) In attacking the
* Drake was a kinsman of Sir John Hawkins, wlio practically adopted and
educated him. He was twenty years old when he started on this slave-trading
voyage to Guinea.
107
Liberia ^
natives for little or no cause, and in carrying them off as slaves.
In fact, a slang term, ^' Panyar '* (from the Portuguese Apanhar^
to seize, catch, kidnap), had sprung up in the coast jargon to
illustrate the English methods. Even English travellers such
as William Smith (who went out as a surveyor to the Gold
Coast early in the eighteenth century) admit that the English
had become very unpopular on the Gold Coast, owing to these
aggressions on the natives ; and William Smith and his
companions endeavoured to pass as Frenchmen when they
visited Eastern Liberia and the Ivory Coast, ^* because of the
bad name the English had acquired/'
The Chevalier des Marchais, the French traveller who
visited Cape Mesurado in 1724-5 {vide p. 94), wrote that the
natives of this part of the (irain Coast were much addicted to
human sacrifices, until they found that their captives were
marketable commodities which could be sold with profit to the
foreigner. He estimated that the region round about Cape
Mesurado might yield two thousand slaves annually.
Captain Snelgrave, who traded in slaves to the West Indies,
had already reported in 1730 that all Europeans were through
the hostility of the natives banished from the " Windward
Coast " of Liberia ; for even if the chiefs and headmen profited
by the slave trade, the common folk loathed it as the cause
of all their wars and village troubles. Snelgrave asserted that
he had witnessed human sacrifices, and apparently suggested,
like many other writers during that century, that the slave
trade was really a preservative of human life, in that it oflFered
an inducement to the savage conquerors to spare the lives of
their prisoners, in order to sell them into a Christian captivity
wherein (to quote a much later apologist) they might "enjoy
all Church privileges.'' These and other writers forget that
even the worst excesses of barbarous kingdoms like B^nin or
^ The Slave Trade
Dahome, in ofFering human sacrifices at religious ceremonies,
did not approach anywhere near the loss of life and the
destruction of homes caused by wars undertaken to supply the
slave market. Moreover, it is very probable that much of the
41. A NATIVK OK THK KRl' CoASl
ceremonial bloodshed of Benin, etc., did not come into existence
until slave-raiding had accumulated large stocks of serfs, and
made the human body a cheaper article of sacrifice than a
domestic animal.
109
Liberia ^
English and Spanish pirates paid flying visits to the
northern rivers of Liberia during the early part of the eighteenth
century, but were not very successful in their search for slaves,
and so left the Grain Coast pretty much to the Dutch and
French traders in pepper and ivory. It was not until the early
nineteenth century that the slave trade revived in the northern
half of Liberia.^
During the seventeenth century French, Portuguese, and
English writers dilate unctuously on the opportunity which the
slave trade gives to the savage blacks of embracing the Chris-
tian religion. It is amusing indeed, in reading the old travellers'
tales of these earlier centuries, to note the scorn with which they
described the nakedness, the ugliness of the Negroes, their
'^ beastly '' habits, their wicked idolatry, their brutish lives,
laziness, etc., etc. Yet perhaps on the next page to these
objurgations there might be unconsciously contradictory accounts,
showing that the civilisation among all these Negro tribes on
the West Coast of Africa in, let us say, the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries was not so very far inferior to that of their
white visitors. Indeed, the whole impression one derives after
reading many books on West Africa, written in Portuguese,
Italian, French, Dutch, Elizabethan and Miltonian English, is
that the native culture and social well-being of the Negroes of
West Africa from Cape Verde to the Niger Delra three and
four hundred years ago were superior in degree to the condition
of the same peoples in the nineteenth century. The sanitary
arrangements in their towns were quite up to the level of
sixteenth-century Europe. Their cookery was as appetising
* The Coast peoples of Liberia were never much valued in the slave market.
The Muhammadan Vais were too proud, the Des and Basas were not of strong
constitution, and the Kru tribes, though quite w'illing to enslave their neighbours or
to look on at other tribes being raided, were so averse to slavery in their own
persons that they would commit suicide if they could not escape.
no
^ The Slave Trade
(or unappetising). Their nakedness showed their good sense,
and such spun and woven clothes they might wear, their inherent
good taste. Agriculture seems to have been much more
advanced than in present times, and the quantities of live-stock
superior to their present resources.
But to return to Christianity : the Portuguese, though
they were ruthless man-catchers, and very often preferred kid-
napping to fair trading, were really scrupulous about their
self-imposed duties in this respect. Once the Negroes reached
Portuguese America, they were well treated, had no ignominious
servitude, and were certainly made into convinced Roman
Catholic Christians. Those Negroes who reached the Spanish
Main or Spanish West Indies found a sterner master in the
Spaniard, but a fanatical proselytiser. The Dutch dealt with their
slaves much better as regards the condition of their transport
overseas, but do not seem to have worried themselves much
with religious propaganda. Throughout they treated the whole
transaction in the most prosaic, businesslike way, and did not
seek to clothe their eager prosecution of this traffic with any
sickening protestations of zeal for Christianity such as pro-
foundly affected most of the English and French writers of that
period.^
On the other hand, it was amongst English-speaking people
first of all that the revolt against slavery and the slave trade
began. The Quakers — to their honour be it said — led the
way from 1670 (George Fox preached in that year against
slavery in Barbados) ; they lighted a candle which, though it
flickered uncertainly for a hundred years, could not be put out.
The great body of Nonconformists in England and America came
* Opinions collected from intelligent travellers during the eighteenth century
seem to have resulted in the slave-holding nations being placed thus in order of
kindliness : Portuguese, Spaniards, Danes, French, English, Dutch.
Liberia ^
to their aid, especially the Wesleyans. Somehow the enthusiasm
spread to the Lutherans of Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.
The first country which as a nation denounced the slave trade
not only in principle, but in practice, amongst its subjects on
the West Coast of Africa was Denmark (1792),^ followed by the
United States in 1794, by Great Britain in 1807, Sweden in
1 8 13, Holland in 18 14, and France in 181 5-18.
In England the anti-slavery movement began about 1772
by the trial of a Negro named Somerset before the bench of
judges, presided over by Lord Mansfield. James Somerset was
a slave who had accompanied his master to England, and there
declared himself to be free ; but the majority of the judges
decided against him, though the Lord Chief Justice dissented
from the opinion of the majority and pronounced a famous
decision which really fixed the law, namely, that every one was
free who took refuge on British soil. The loss of the United
States brought the question of slavery before the British public.
A number of Negroes had fought with their Loyalist masters on
the British side, and after the war received their freedom and
were settled in Nova Scotia, where, as in Canada, many awkward
questions regarding the validity of slavery began to arise. Not
a few of these liberated Africans drifted to England, especially
from Nova Scotia ; and to England also had come a number of
ex-slaves from the West Indies, who, after the decision in the case
of Somerset (for which Granville Sharp had struggled), found
themselves in the status of free men.
It would take up space unduly in this book to dilate on
the eflforts of Granville Sharp, Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson,
William Dillwyn, and others to bring about the abolition of
slavery and the slave trade. This great movement finally
* Ten years' grace, however, was allowed for total cessation of the trade in
1802.
1 12
^ The Slave Trade
resulted in the prohibition of the slave trade in 1 807-11,
and in the abolition of slavery throughout all the British
dominions in the year 1833-40. Before this, however,
many good people in the United States and in the British
West Indies had been granting freedom to their slaves. Some
of these were discontented with their position, and either drifted
to b'.ngland or vaguely desired to return to Africa. As free
men they felt themselves out of touch with their environment
in America. The Church of England (which in a great measure
only really awoke to a true sense of its duties and responsibilities
in the nineteenth century) was rather on the side of the white
people and the masters than on that of the blacks. It condoned
or approved of slavery, and when it preached to the slaves at
all, counselled contentment with the condition in which God
had been pleased to place them. Nearly all the Negroes in
America who could obtain education and choose their own
religious sect became Baptists or Wesleyans. As an unconscious
tribute to John Wesley, it may be stated that his name is one
of the commonest even at the present day amongst West
African or West Indian Negroes who are descended from
freed slaves.
Those who felt that vagrant Negroes were out of place
in the English polity, in the streets of London and in Lancashire
towns, and those who in the West Indies or in Canada
realised the difficulty of a free black man living alongside
a white colonist, began to entertain the idea of repatriating
Negroes freed from slavery, of sending them back to Africa.
The somewhat fanatical " philanthropy " of those who promoted
this scheme in both hemispheres to a great extent spoilt the
immediate results of their well-meant efforts. If the repatriation
movement had been conducted in a more deliberate and scientific
manner, ex-slaves would have been interrogated as to the tribe
VOL. I 113 8
Liberia ^
from which they sprang. In very few cases would the Negro
or Negress have been unable to give some indication as to his
or her racial origin. Then those who had come from the
Niger Delta would have been sent back to the Niger Delta ;
those from the Congo to the Congo ; those from Old Calabar
to Old Calabar ; the Senegambian slaves to Senegambia ; the
people from Little Popo, Hwida, and Lagos to those parts of
the Slave Coast, and so on. Thus they would still have had
some chance of returning to their own people and of re-uniting
their life without too much break to the condition from which
they or their parents had been torn.^ But the first care of the
promoters of these repatriation schemes was that the Negro
should be preserved in the Christian tenets learnt by him in
his captivity. It was their desire to create a new Negro nation,
as it were, from out of a heterogeneous gathering of Negroes
derived from many different African races.
In an informal way, as merchants and slave traders, the
English had during the seventeenth century (if not earlier)
ousted the Portuguese from the occupation of Sierra Leone ;
and that mountainous peninsula and bay had become a good
deal Anglicised in the eighteenth century, most of the native
chiefs being able to talk broken English. It was decided to
make the first attempt at repatriating these North American
Negroes in the territory of Sierra Leone. This idea sprang
first in 1783 from the brain of Dr. Henry Smeathman, an
English surgeon who had spent four years on the West African
Coast, but was later supported by the advocacy of a Swede, Carl
Berns Wadstrom, who had travelled a good deal about the
world. Wadstrom had developed from book theories rather
' On the other hand, it might have been urged against this argument that
the condition of all these parts of Africa was so uncertain that repatriated Negroes
might be enslaved and sold again, whereas planted in a solid colony they could
defend themselves.
114
^ The Slave Trade
than from practical experience somewhat wild ideas on the
subject of colonising the tropics. Accompanied by the naturalists
Sparmann and Arrhenius, Wadstrom in 1787 visited the coast
of Guinea, and finally recommended Sierra Leone and the
Island of Bulama (in Portuguese Guinea) as suitable sites for
commencing these colonies of freed slaves.
One reason why Sierra Leone had been selected as the
most suitable site for the commencement of a New Africa,
a home of free Negroes, was its previous condition as a strong-
hold or central depot of European and Mulatto slave traders
and raiders. During the middle of the eighteenth century
Liverpool had established a great trade between West Africa
and the West Indies. Not a few mates or supercargoes of
vessels had settled on the coast between the Gambia and Sierra
Leone, had married native women, made large fortunes in the
slave trade, and left their mulatto sons and daughters to
carry on this commerce.
The Directors of the Sierra Leone Company hoped that
their colony of liberated Africans might influence the native
chiefs to stop the slave trade. They collected through their
agents much information concerning this traflic, which is
published in the second part of Wadstrom's Essay on Colonisation,
A few extracts of this evidence may be of Interest, because they
will enable the reader to realise some of the misery which the
slave trade inflicted. The dates of these reports or Incidents
range between 1787 and 1792 :
'' I have been to-day on board a slave ship in the river,
with two hundred and fifty slaves. The men were chained
in pairs ; the women were kept apart. The young slaves were
cheerful, but the old ones were much cast down. At meals
they were obliged to shout and clap their hands for exercise
before they began to eat. I could then see shame and indigna-
Liberia ^
tion in the faces of those more advanced in years. One woman,
who spoke a little E'.nglish, begged me to carry her home.
She said she was from the opposite shore of the river to
Freetown,* that her husband had sold her for debt, and that
she had left a child behind her. At the mention of the child
she wept."
" I was this morning on board a slave ship, where I saw
a woman who had been newly sold, and who seemed to have
been weeping. On asking her the reason, she pointed to the
milk flowing from her breasts, and intimated that she had
been torn from her unweaned infant, which the captain confirmed.
She was from one of the towns nearest us, and said she had
been sold for being saucy to the queen of it.''
*' In the neighbouring slave yard I saw a man about thirty-
five years old in irons. He was a Muhammadan, and could
read Arabic. He was occasionally noisy ; sometimes he would
sing a melancholy song, then he would utter an earnest prayer,
and then he would observe a dead silence. This strange conduct,
1 was told, was from his strong feelings, on having been put,
for the first time, in irons the day before. As we passed,
he cried aloud to us, and endeavoured to hold up his irons
to our view, which he struck very expressively with his hand,
the tear starting in his eye. He seemed, by his manner, to
be demanding the cause of his confinement."
*' An American slave captain has been telling us that he
lost a very fine slave a few days ago by the sulks. ' The man,'
said he, ' was a Muhammadan, uncommonly well made, and
seemed to be a person of consequence. When he first came
on board he was very much cast down, but, finding that I
allowed him to walk at large, he grew more easy. When my
* Freetown was established in 1792. It is the capital of the Sierra Leon^
Colony.
116
^ The Slave Trade
slaves became more numerous, I put him in irons, like the
rest, on which he lost his spirits irrevocably. He complained
of a pain at his heart, and would not eat. T/ie usual means ^ was
tried, but in vain ; for he rejected food altogether, except when
I stood by and made him eat. I offered him the best things
in the ship, and left nothing untried ; for I had set my heart
on saving him. I am sure he would have brought me three
hundred dollars in the West Indies ; but nothing would do.
He said from the first he was determined to die, and he did,
after lingering nine days.''
"I shall give the substance of a conversation with an
English slave factor who has lived some years a little way
to the south, and is well acquainted with all the practices of
the slave trade. The factor, having mentioned the Mulatto-
trader - (of whose ravages the proprietors ^ have heard so much)
as a very gentleman- like, well educated and respectable kind
of man, I was induced to ask whether he had not been guilty
of many excesses all round.
" ' Excesses ! No. He would make war sometimes on
the head-men that owed him just debts, and sell some of
their people, if he could catch them ; or he might perhaps
carry off the inhabitants of a town when the king or father
of it gave him express permission. He was a good man
on the whole, and a man of humanity ; for he did not shed
all the blood he might, nor sell every one he had a right to
sell. For instance, the chief now living near Freetown, and
all his generation, were adjudged to be his property ; but the
chief himself has never yet been sold, which is a mere act
of forbearance in the Mulatto-trader. But I consider the sentence
still in force against him.'
* The " cat," it is elsewhere explained. • Possibly Ormond. See p. 163.
' I/, the Directors of the Sierra Leone Company.
"7
Liberia ^
^* ' Did not the Mulatto-trader order an attack on the
neighbouring island when the proprietor (a native chief) was
killed in defending himself, and do not the friends of the
proprietor consider this as an act of great injustice ? '
" ' The proprietor well deserved to be attacked, for there
is reason to think he was then intending to attack the Mulatto-
trader.'
*' ^ I understand this affair is not over, and that the
successors of this proprietor intend to retaliate on the successors
of the Mulatto chief, when they have an opportunity?'
" ' I believe they do ; but it ill becomes them to question the
Mulatto chiefs conduct, for they should consider how much
worse things their own father (the deceased chief or proprietor)
did. For example, the old man has been known to sail up a
river with some large craft, to land at a town under a great show
of friendship. He has then made a speech to the head-men and
people, remarking how shamefully all former traders had used
them, and that he was come to trade fairly with them, as friends
and brothers. He has then opened a puncheon or two of rum,
and invited them to sit round and drink. At night, when
he had got them thoroughly drunk, he has given the signal
to his people in the craft, who have secured all the party in
fetters, and sold every one worth purchasing to some slave ship
all the while waiting at the river's mouth. This old proprietor
did many such things. But the Mulatto-trader never used
treachery, nor attacked a town without reason ; but the other
plundered without distinction.*
'' ' Does the Mulatto-trader's successor recover debts by the
same means that he used ? '
'' ' Noy he is too easy'
" ' Is it not unpleasant to carry on a trade so full of
enormities as you describe the slave trade to be ? '
-^ The Slave Trade
'* ' It is no doubt a bad trade, but it is very profitable. I
hate it, and would get out of it to-morrow if I knew of one
in which I could get the same money. ...'*'
^ ** A slave vessel which has awaited some time in the
neighbouring river arrived here. The captain complains bitterly
of this detention, observing that if he had been well manned
he would not have allowed the trader he dealt with to detain
him thus ; for he would have carried off some of the people
from a large town near which his vessel lay. I asked him if
this was common.
" * Oh, not at all uncommon,' said he ; ^ we do it every day
on the Gold Coast. We call it panyarifjg} If a native there
does not pay speedily, you man your boat towards evening,
and bid your sailors go to any town, no matter whether your
debtor's town or not, and catch as many people as they can.
If your debt be large, it may be necessary to '' catch *' two
towns. After this your debtor will soon complete his number of
slaves.'
'* ' But what if he should not ? '
'* * Why, then we carry our prisoners away, to be sure.'
*' ^ But is this proper ? '
'^ ' Necessity has no law ; besides, panyaring is country law.'
*^ ^ Did you ever recover debts in this way ? '
" ' Aye, many a time, and I hope to do so again. I wish
we had the same law here that we have on the Gold Coast,
or that the old Mulatto-trader was alive. He was a fine fellow
for business : he never caused any delay. But the present
man is afraid to make a haul of the people : he wants a proper
spirit.'
" ' How do you contrive to guard your slaves with your
slender crew } '
* From the Portuguese Apanhar^ to catch, kidnap,
119
Liberia ^
** * I put them in leg-irons ; and if these be not enough,
why, I handcufF them ; if handcuffs be too little, I put a
collar round their neck, with a chain locked to a ringbolt on
the deck ; if one chain won't do, I put two, and if two won*t
do, I put three — you may trust me for that.'
^' He afterwards very gravely assured me that he never knew
any cruelties committed.
" * But are not these cruelties ? '
** ^ Oh no ! these are not cruelties ; they are matters of
course ; there's no carrying on the trade without them.*
** The following is a sketch of the origin, progress, and
end of a European slave trader who lately died at an island
near Sierra Leone, and who seems to have attained to a degree
of ferocity and hardness of heart proportionate to his success
in that bloody traffic. As he appears to have neither friend
nor connection left, the Directors [of the Sierra Leone Company]
need not conceal his name, which was Ormond.
*' He went from England about thirty-five years ago (/.<?.
about 1758) as a cabin boy to a slave ship, and was retained
as an assistant at a slave factory at Sierra Leone River. There
he acquired a knowledge which qualified him for setting up
a slave factory afterwards for himself in a neighbouring part
towards the north [Rio Pongo], and, though unable to write
or read, he became an expert slave trader, so much so that
he realised about ^30,000. His cruelties were almost incredible.
Two persons who seem to have had good means of information
give the following account of them. One of them, who lived
for some time near Ormond, said he knew it to be a fact that
he used to tie stones to the necks of his unsaleable slaves, and
drown them in the river during the night ; and that his cruelty
was not confined to blacks, for, being offended by a white
agent one Christmas day, when drinking freely with sonie
1^9
^ The Slave Trade
company, he made his slaves tie up the European, and gave
him, with his own hands, four hundred lashes, from which
he died in a few days. The other person allowed his general
character for barbarity, and added that he was told by a black
witness that Ormond, having caught a black wife of his in a
criminal conversation with one of his slaves, he burnt them
both to death with a tar barrel.
'^ This savage had attained to the same trust with
the Africans in witchcraft and grigris or charms, and was
subject to silly, superstitious fears. Providence, having
permitted this man to become an abandoned and successful
slave trader, was pleased also to allow him to experience a
reverse of fortune. A few years ago, having lose his health,
he went to the Isle de Los for the sake of sea air and medical
help, leaving his affairs under the care of a Mulatto who was
his son. Happening to have recently destroyed one of the
towns of the Bagos, which surround his factory, they took this
opportunity to retaliate. Ormond's slaves having been little
attached to him, favoured the Bagos, and, the place being taken,
they shared the plunder. The buildings were all burnt, and
the goods in them, amounting, it is said, to a value of ^^30,000,
were either destroyed or carried away. Young Ormond and
his adherents were put to death. Old Ormond lived to hear
the news, but died about a month after.'* '
The British philanthropists who had created Sierra Leone
decided, after thinking more than once about Capes Mount and
Mesurado, to establish another colony on Bulama Island (off
the mouth of the River Grande). This place had been recom-
mended for a European settlement by the Sieur Andre de Briie
in 1710.
Bulama Island was accordingly occupied by the Bulama
* {See a continuation of this story in Chapter X.
12;
Liberia ^
Association in 1792, but was abandoned in 1793, owing to
the determined hostility of the Negroes on the mainland and
the sickness which prevailed amongst the repatriated Africans.^
The first recruits for the Sierra Colony in 1786 were
obtained in an extraordinary way ; for besides sweeping together
and sending out all the Nova Scotian and West Indian blacks
that were then to be found in England, there was added thereto
a company of sixty irreclaimable London prostitutes, who were
to be landed at Sierra Leone and begin a new life under different
conditions, as the spouses of some of these repatriated Africans.
About four hundred Nova Scotian Negro ex-slaves were
sent (with the prostitutes) in 1787, and 1,131 more Nova
Scotians in 1792. All these proceedings at Sierra Leone were at
first conducted under the British Sierra Leone Company, whose
prospectuses were a mixture of pure philanthropy and shrewd
commercial propositions. In 1794 the settlement was much
damaged by a French squadron, and in 1807 Sierra Leone
became a Crown Colony under a Governor, the British in the
interval having begun to appreciate the strategic value of Sierra
Leone harbour."
When the British Government after 1833 began to take
severe repressive measures against the slave trade, and captured
slaver after slaver, the liberated slaves were landed usually at
Sierra Leone, independently of their place of origin. The
most extraordinary and heterogeneous collection of Negroes
that could be imagined were got together on this little promon-
tory of the Guinea Coast. The wonderful linguistic researches
' On account of this attempt, sovereignty over Bulama Island was afterwards
claimed by the British. The Portuguese, who, amid all their dynastic troubles,
had somelmvv managed to retain a hold over the rivers of what is now styled
Portuguese Guinea, disputed the British claim in 1870. It went to arbitration,
and the case was decided against the British. The capital of Portuguese Guinea
is on Bulama Island.
' The best harbour along the whole West African Coast,
122
^ The Slave Trade
of Dr. S. Koelle, of the Church Missionary Society, revealed
the existence at Sierra Leone, amongst the freed slaves, of
natives of East and South-east Africa, of Nyasaland, of the
Ivualaba or Upper Congo, Tanganyika, and the greater part
of the Congo Basin ; of Bornu, Wadai, the Shari, the Benue,
42. STRKKT IN SltKkA I.toNK (1905)
all parts of the Niger, and nearly every country on the West
Coast of Africa from Cape Blanco to Angola.
Negroes among Negroes are very clannish. So far as each
Negro could pick, up a fellow-tribesman, these Negro colonists
at Sierra Leone banded together, Congos with Congos, Ibos with
Ibos, and so forth, hating each other far more than they may
have disliked the white men. Then of course there was the
abundant native population of what is now the Colony and
123
Liberia ^
Protectorate of Sierra Leone. Our wars and troubles in this
colony may be said to have lasted a hundred years. It is only
within the last eight years, especially in connection with railway
construction, that this African state has made good progress
and that its Negro inhabitants have shown some sign of fusing
in defence of their; common interests.
43. FURA DAY ROAD, FKKEIOWN (SltKKA LEONE)
124
CHAPTER IX
THE FOUNDING OF LIBERIA
THE experiments made at Sierra Leone between 1786 and
1794 by an association of British philanthropists (growing
as they did in 1807 into the establishment of a Crown
Colony) aroused some enthusiasm and much interest in America,
so that to no small extent Sierra Leone has been the elder
sister, the forerunner of Liberia.
From the very beginning of American independence the
northern states of the American Union were opposed to the
idea of slavery. V^ermont abolished slavery in 1777; most
of the northern states had followed suit by 1804. Only the
English-speaking south-east held out, and these states were
supported by the French and Spanish states (slave-holding), which
joined the Union between 1782 and 1845. In 1794 Congress
forbade the participation of American subjects in the slave
trade. In 1808 the importation of African slaves into the
states of the Union was prohibited.
Meantime free black men were growing as an element
in the American polity. Washington had freed his slaves at
his death. Many followed his example. But the black citizen
did not live on easy terms of equality with the white. Some
philanthropists in the United States felt that giving freedom to
the slave was not enough as reparation : he should be restored
to the land of his fathers and resume an existence in Africa
as a Christian and an enlightened propagator of civilisation.
*25
Liberia <4-
In 1816 philanthropists of the northern and southern
states united their efforts in founding the American Colonisation
Society. By this time there were some two million Negro slaves
living in the United States, and about two hundred thousand free
people of colour. These last at any moment might want a
home in Africa, for at that period the West Indies were scarcely
open to the immigration of free settlers.
Elijah Caldwell and Robert Finley^ proposed the Colonisa-
tion Society at a meeting held at the Capitol in Washington
on December 4th, 1816, under the presidency of Henry Clay.
On January ist, 181 7, the Society was constituted, with Bushrod *
Washington as President, Robert Finley and Francis Key as
Vice-presidents, and Elijah Caldwell as Secretary.
At first it was suggested that the Negro emigrants from
the United States should be sent to Sierra Leone, and a com-
mission to this British colony under Mill and Burgess in 181 8
reported favourably on this project. Accordingly in 1820 the
Rev. Samuel Bacon, John P. Bunkson, and Dr. S. Crozer (all
white Americans) started for Sierra Leone on the Elizabeth with
eighty eight Negroes. But Charles Macarthy, the Governor
(afterwards of Ashanti fame), became suspicious of p^olitical motives
at the back of' this enterprise, and could find no room in the Sierra
Leone peninsula for Bacon's Negro colonists ; so the Elizabeth
moved southwards to Sherbro Island, and attempted to start
the colony there. But in a few weeks fever of a virulent type
killed all the whites and twenty-two of the black passengers ;
the remainder, under the leadership of Daniel Coker and Elijah
Johnson, returned sadly to Sierra Leone (Fura Bay) to await
events.
In 1 82 1 the Rev. Fphraim Bacon, brother of Samuel
* After whom the Finley Mountains of Ba?a county are named.
* Bushrod Island was called after him.
12O
MAP 3
Liberia ^
Bacon, came out (with his wife) on the U.S.A. brig Nautilus^
commanded by Captain R. F. Stockton,^ with Messrs. Joseph
Andrus, J. B. Winn, and Christian Wiltberger. They brought
a few more Negro colonists, and came especially to relieve
the unhappy band of pioneers remaining over from the 1820
voyage, who were temporarily settled at Fura Bay, Sierra
Leone.
The first impulse of the party was to proceed to Cap)e
Mesurado and negotiate there for a site of land. But their
reception was unfriendly, so the ships passed on to Grand Basa,
where a contract was entered into with the local chiefs. Here
a beginning in colonisation might have been made but for an
outbreak of fever which laid low Ephraim Bacon (whose
brother Samuel had already died), Winn, and Andrus. These
three returned at once to America, leaving Wiltberger in sole
charge of the emigrants. The returning ships brought back
with Captain Stockton a Dr. Kli Ay res to take joint charge
of the expedition with Wiltberger. Ayres and Stockton returned
on December iith, 1821, to Cape Mesurado^ six months
after Bacon and Joseph Andrus had failed in their negotiations
with the De chiefs. Through the intercession of an English
Mulatto trader, John Mill, who had a trading licence on Cape
Mesurado, Ayres and Stockton were more fortunate.
On December 15th, 1821, not only was the future site of
Monrovia bought, but, in addition, the chiefs or '' kings " Peter,
George, Yoda, and Tong Peter (of the De and Mamba tribes)
made over to the American Colonisation Society (represented by
Ayres and Stockton) a strip of coastland one hundred and thirty
miles long and forty broad, which might be reserved for ever for
^ Commemorated in Stockton Creek.
* The early expeditions to Liberia misspelt this cape as ** Monlserrado.''
This led to the county being called Montserrado. Subsequently the correct spelling
for the cape — Mesurado — was restored.
128
-#i The Founding of Liberia
the settlement of American freed slaves.^ For this cession of land
Ayres paid to the chiefs the following goods : — Six muskets,
one small barrel of powder, six iron bars, ten iron pots, one
barrel of beads, two casks of tobacco, twelve knives, twelve forks
and twelve spoons, one small barrel of nails, one box of tobacco
pipes, three looking-glasses, four umbrellas, three walking-sticks,
one box of soap, one barrel of rum, four hats, three pairs of
shoes, six pieces of blue baft, three pieces of white calico.
In addition, the purchasers bound themselves to pay when they
could : six iron bars, twelve guns (probably long Danes), three
barrels of powder, twelve plates, twelve knives, twelve forks,
twenty hats, five barrels of salt beef, five barrels of salt pork,
twelve barrels of ships' biscuit, twelve glass decanters, twelve
wineglasses, and fifty pairs of boots.
The native chiefs, after their fashion, recked little of the
consequences which might follow the signing of this deed and
the acceptance of the part payment. They probably thought,
if they looked at all to the future, that these eccentric persons —
enthusiastic, thin, fever-stricken white men, who loathed drink,
debauchery, and the slave trade," and English-speaking Christian
Negroes dressed in Eluropean fashion — merely wished to settle
here and there along the coast and start some novel conmierce
no doubt profitable to one or other party. They certainly did
not realise that they were *' selling their country.'*
On the other hand, the colonists as implicitly believed they had
purchased a section of the Grain Coast. Possibly they excused
themselves for the modest value of the purchase price ^^ by the
belief that they would never have occasion to turn the indigenes
' This very unreal concession was alterwards made actual by Ashmun's
agreements in 1825.
* At that date a very new type in West Africa.
' The chiefs of Mesurado afterwards complained that the supplementary goods
mentioned in the above list were not paid in full.
VOL. I 129 9
Liberia ^
out of their holdings on the soil, and that they were bringing
Christianity and true civilisation to a country still ravaged by
the slave trade. The first disillusionment began over Bushrod
Island (as the colonists named it, after the President of their
Society, Bushrod Washington), a considerable tract of low-lying
but fertile land between the St. Paul's River, Stockton Creek,
and Mesurado Bay. Here the colonists were opposed by the
local Negroes, who forcibly prevented their settlement.
The colonists — some eighty Negroes in all and two white
men — moved over to Perseverance (or Providence) Island, a
low, rocky, tree-crested islet in Mesurado lagoon, only two or
three furlongs in length. Here the mulatto trader, John
Mill, had his establishment.*
Dr. Ay res proposed a final return to Sierra Leone.
Wiltberger, on the other hand, declared for remaining and for
securing a site on the high land of Mesurado promontory
(where Monrovia is now built). He met with strong support
from a Negro, Elijah Johnson," a survivor of Samuel Bacon's
Sherbro expedition. Johnson exclaimed, when pressed by Ayres,
" Two years long have I sought a home ; here I have found
one, here I remain.'' He probably decided thus the fate of
" Liberia."
After Ayres had left for Sierra Leone, Christian Wiltberger
in June, 1822, set himself to lead the colonists to the inland
aspect of the Mesurado promontory, and to the great astonish-
ment of the natives trees were felled and slight fortifications
were erected on this plateau. But fever prostrated Wiltberger,
who was forced to return to America with Dr. Ayres. He
> This was called Kiiifistown. Mill seems always to have befriended the
Liberians, and his help is justly commemorated in the name of Millsburg, a
settlement on the St. Paul's River.
» Johnson's son was the celebrated Hilary Johnson, President of Liberia
from 1884 to 1891.
130
^ The Founding of Liberia
left the poor bewildered colonists under Elijah Johnson's
leadership. Only twenty-one among them (and they were
scarcely eighty in number) were capable of bearing arms as
fighting men.
Yet Elijah Johnson was a host in himself. Determined
not to pass the rainy season on the unhealthy little "Persever-
ance " Island in the lagoon, he carried on Wiltberger's idea,
44. PKOVIUKNCK OK I»KKSK\ KKANC K ISLAND o.N MK^UKADO LAtiUON (THK ISLKT WITH
TRKKS AND A HOtSK JUST UKYuM) llli: KtKJFx FAK THKk AWAY Is BLSHKOI) ISLAM))
and in spite of the natives' opposition, he with his band of
soldier workers cleared the site of the future Monrovia. The
natives '^ sniped '' the labourers from the shelter of the dense
forest, and their attacks grew fiercer and more determined,
when suddenly a British gun-vessel appeared off Cape
Mesurado. The commander inquired into the troubles, and
offered to punish the natives if Johnson would cede a small
piece of land to the British Government and hoist the British
131
Liberia ^
flag on the same. Johnson refused point-blank/, the British
vessel sailed away, and a resolute turning of the maddened
colonists on their native enemies produced a lull in the attempts.
Fortunately this trying position was not unduly prolonged.
On August 8th, 1822, arrived at Cape Mesurado the American
brig Strong from Baltimore, with fifty-three new colonists, new
supplies of stores, and a white American as the Director of the
colony. This was Jehudi Ashmun, a native of Champlain in
New York State and the practical founder of Liberia.
Jehudi Ashmun came of New England Puritan stock.
His father was Samuel Ashmun, a well-to-do settler. Jehudi
was the third son out of ten children, and was born April 21st,
1794. He grew up at a time and in surroundings when
Methodist Christianity in the United States was in its most
enthusiastic, dominant, and yet ahiiost repellent form. He
seems to have been naturally a bright-spirited, happy boy ; but
he was constrained by the feeling of those around him to ex-
perience that sudden call to religion at an emotional age which
during the last century impressed so many lives in the middle
classes of England and America with good and bad results.
The bad results in the case of Ashmun (as evidenced by his
copious written diaries, prayers, meditations, and so forth) was
the gradual evolution of a God of Terrors, before whom he was
perpetually accusing himself in exaggerated language of awful sin.*^
The life of Jehudi Ashmun'^ was written in 1835 by
* Johnson was no warm I'ritMul of the British, as he liad fought on the American
side in the war of 1812.
* One of his characteristic prayers, written down in his diary, begins: **Oh
heart-searching and rein-trying ( lod I who requirest ... a broken heart of aU
who worship Thee, . . ." p. 388 in the Rev. K. K. Gurley's Li/c of Ashfnun.
' The accompanying portrait of Ashmun lias been carefully reproduced by
the author from an engraving in Mr. Gurley's book. Ashmun is described as
being a good-looking man, with refined features, tall, slender, in later life rather
ascetic, at all times an impressive personage.
132
^ The Founding of Liberia
the Rev. Ralph R. Gurley, who himself visited Liberia at a
subsequent date to report on the conditions of the settlement,
45. JKIIUDI ASIIMUN, rilK KOl.NDKU OF l.IliF.UI.V (KKoM Till. I'OKIKAIT IN
GIRLKY'S "l.lFi: OF ASUMUN")
and to him alone we owe a most intcrestin": account of the
man who made Liberia and of that man's character.
After his conversion at the age of seventeen, Ashmun,
by inclination and by the wishes of his parents, trained himself
^33
Liberia ^
for ministry in the American Episcopal Church. But when
not much over twenty he accepted the position of professor
at a college. About this time he made the acquaintance of
a young woman, also a teacher, for whom he conceived a certain
attachment ; but his proposal of marriage was received rather
ambiguously. He met her once or twice at intervals during
the next few years, but (so far as the very involved language
of his biographer can be understood) she was of the Early
Victorian type, and preferred her sentiments to be divined rather
than to express them herself in a simple Yes or No. At last
Ashmun made her a decided proposal of marriage. While
she shillyshallied, he accidentally crossed the path of a '' Being "
unwillingly described by his biographer as ''a person of radiant
beauty,'' but apparently no precisian. What took place —
whether Ashmun merely kissed her and fled and was onlj^
momentarily unfaithful to his first love, or whether the case was
a less innocent flirtation, it is impossible to divine from the
inflated language and mysterious hints of Ashmun's biographer.
It may quite well have been a blameless love conceived too late ;
but having already made this unanswered proposal, Ashmun felt
himself in duty bound to press for a reply. At last the
object of his earlier attachment said Yes, and they were soon
afterwards married. Owing, however, to the gossip which
had arisen over the incident (which only merits description
because of its important bearing on Ashmun's life), the latter felt
obliged to give up his professorship and travel ''a thousand miles
by sea '' to Baltimore.* Here, later on, he was ordained, and
ofl^ered himself as a missionary. At this juncture, in 1821,
the American Colonisation Society was in want of a capable man
to take charge of their derelict settlements at Cape Mesurado.
* This journey was undertaken apparently from Portland, Maine, to Baltimore
in Maryland.
^ The Founding of Liberia
Ashmun ofFered himself, and was appointed, and together with
his wife left for the Grain Coast in an American sailing ship
which took eighty-one days to reach Cape Mount by way of
the Azores. Ashmun took with him, among fifty-two other
Negro settlers, the Rev. Lot Carey.
This man also deserves some description. Carey was a
pure-blooded Negro, short, broad, thick-set, ugly of features,
but a man of remarkable natural ability and dogged determination.
He was a slave employed by his owner in the southern states
to manage a large store where the tobacco of the plantation
was kept for sale. He married early, like most slaves, and had
several children. He also contrived, somehow or other, in
between his hours of work, to get a little elementary education,
so that he could read and write. He possessed extraordinary
business ability and a remarkable memory, and was so clever
and upright in his commercial transactions that his master
again and again rewarded him with gratuities in the form of
five-dollar bills, or allowed him, when ofF duty, to do a little
work for payment on his own account. Gradually in this way
he accumulated a sum of money with which to purchase his
freedom and that of his wife and children. Learning that he
had nearly reached the required amount, some of the merchants
who had dealings with his master clubbed together out of
respect and liking for Carey, and enabled him to tender eight
hundred and fifty dollars for his redemption and that of his
family. He became a free man, therefore, in 1813. He then
studied eagerly, and qualified himself for the ministry. He
took an ardent interest in this repatriation scheme, and was
selected as one of Ashmun's principal assistants.
Ashmun infused from the moment of his arrival new
energy and hope into the minds of the Liberian pioneers. He
brought to the Mesurado promontory, apparently from Bushrod
13s
Liberia ^
Island, where they had been landed from the " American ships,"
five guns (four of cast iron, one of brass). Besides the cannon,
the settlement possessed only forty muskets. The cannon were
mounted in a martello tower constructed of rubble and timber
near the point of the peninsula ; for it was realised that the lull
in the native attacks was only likely to last until the rains were
over. The De chief George was particularly bitter against the
new colonists, and he and other De and Mamba chiefs were
urged against them (and supplied with munitions of war) by the
Cuban slave traders who had settled in the adjoining Gallinhas
country and realised that the definite establishment of this colony
of free Negroes would be a great blow to the slave trade. A
strong palisade was erected round the martello tower, near the
site of the modern lighthouse. Those of the colonists able to
bear arms (only thirty-five in number, even with Ashmun's new
recruits — and of these, six were mere boys under sixteen years
of age) were daily drilled by Carey and Elijah Johnson.' For
months twenty of these warriors out of the thirty-five had to
remain on guard every night.
On August 3 1 St, a fortnight after Ashmun's arrival, he issued
the following proclamation organising the available force of the
settlement. It may be interesting to reproduce this in detail, as
it gives us the names of the more notable among the Negro
colonists, the ''pilgrim fithers," some of whom have left
descendants who are living in twentieth-century Liberia.
'' I. The Settlement is under military law.
'' 2. Elijah Johnson is Commissary of Stores.
"3. R. Sampson is Commissary of Ordinance.
''4. Lot Carey is Health Oflicer and Government Inspector.
'' 5. F. James is Captain of the brass mounted fieldpiece,
' Johnson had fought on the American side against the British in 1812, and
knew something about soldiering.
'36
^ The Founding of Liberia
and has assigned to his command R. Newport, M. S. Draper,
William Meade, and J. Adams.
" 6. A. James is Captain of the Long i8, and has under his
command J. Benson, E. Smith, William Hollings, D. Hawkins,
John and Thomas Spencer.
*' 7. J. Shaw is Captain of the Southern Picket Station,
mounting two iron guns. To his command are attached S.
Campbell, E. Jackson, J. Lawrence, L. Crook, and George
Washington.
" 8. D. George is Captain of the Eastern Picket Station,
mounting two iron guns. Attached to him are A. Edmondson,
Joseph Gardiner, Josiah Webster, and J. Carey.
" 9. C. Brander is Captain of a carriage mounting two swivels
to act in concert with brass piece, and move from station to
station as the occasion may require ; attached are 1\ Tines, I^.
Butler.
*' 10. Every man to have his musket and ammunition with
him, even when at the large guns.
''II. Every officer is responsible for the conduct of the
men placed under him, who are to obey him at their peril.
*' 12. The guns are all to be got ready for action immedi-
ately, and every effisctive man is to be employed at the pickets.
" 13. Five stations to be occupied by guards at night till
other orders shall be given.
" 14. No useless firing permitted.
" 15. In case of alarm, every man is to repair instantly to
his post and do his duty."
On September 15th, 1822, Mrs. Ashmun died of fever after
days of terrible suffering, during which the floods of rain pene-
trated her miserable hut and soaked her bed. Some Negro
colonists also died. The worst of the rainy season was on, and
the condition of these unfortunate creatures, cooped up on a
137
Liberia ^
narrow piece of cleared rocky ground, with dense, gloomy forest
on all sides but that which looked towards the sea, was dismal in
the extreme. For two months they were exposed to a downpour
of rain day after day.
On November iith, at daybreak, the struggle with the
natives began. The settlement was attacked by the De, the
Mamba, and the Vai. The assault was at first so overwhelming
that many of the colonists fled in panic into the woods. Women
were wounded in their huts, and children killed or kidnapped.
If the enemy had been resolute they would have pushed on to
the palisade and overwhelmed the small band of resolute fighters
under Ashmun, Carey, and Johnson. But they stopped and
scattered to plunder the goods of the colonists. This gave
Ashmun his chance, and under his directions "common shot" was
fired trom the five guns into the serried masses of the marauders.^
Great execution was done, and the De fled precipitately down
the slopes of Mesurado promontory and away to their canoes.
Ashmun ordered a day of thanksgiving ; but this first defeat
of the natives was not decisive. Soon the little colony found
itself living in a state of siege, and gradually they withdrew
from the larger area of the settlement to the restricted limits
of the palisade. Their case seemed desperate, for their supplies
of provisions and gunpowder were running out. Fortunately
a British trading ship from Liverpool arrived in the anchorage
on November 29th. Its commander, Captain H. Brassey, most
generously gave the colonists all the supplies he could spare,
and probably saved the situation for the time.
' Ashmun writes in his diary : •" Eight hundred men were here pressed shoulder
to slioulder in so compact a force that a cliild mip;ht easily walk upon their heads
from one end of the mass to the other. They presented in their rear a breadth of
rank equal to twenty or thirty men, and all exposed to a gun of great power, raised
on a platform at only tiiirty to sixty yards' distance. Every shot literally spent its
force in a solid mass of human flesh."
'38
-^ The Founding of Liberia
On November 30th the Des once more began to assemble
large forces in the woods round the apex of the peninsula, and
on December ist about a thousand of them attacked the stockade.
The thirty-five warriors within kept them at bay for hours; T.
Tines was killed, Gardiner and Crook very badly wounded, and
Ashmun received three bullets through his clothes. Towards
evening the enemy withdrew, and some one in or outside the
^•^'
>»^'
i// '!)■;'
.^r^^
46. VICIMTV OF sni. OF FIRM s !(»( K ADl-. ON < AIM! MFSl'KADO
(TOWN OF MONROVIA IN I)IMAN(F)
palisade discovered the cause by sighting the approach of a ^
British war vessel. This was the Prince Re^ent^ a colonial '/
schooner on its way from Sierra Leone to Cape Coast Castle.
Hearing the noise of gun-firing, the Captain of the Prince
Regent sent to inquire the reason, and soon afterwards dispatched
a midshipman named Gordon, with eleven seamen (who were
the crew of a prize travelling under Gordon's command), to
the assistance of the beleaguered colonists. Gordon conveyed
139
Liberia ^
to them most welcome supplies of food and munitions of war,
and ofFered to remain with them till other relief came. The
arrival of the Prince Regent^ in fact, occurred at a most critical
moment in the history of Liberia. On board this colonial
schooner was the celebrated African traveller Major Laing,
who was afterwards to lose his life at or near Timbuktu. He
came on shore to see Ashmun, and gave the colonists great
assistance. The gallant little midshipman Gordon, who had
volunteered to remain with his eleven stalwart bluejackets,
brought for a brief period a breath of cheerfulness into the
sad and disenchanted band of colonists. On December 4th,
1822, through the efforts of Major Laing, peace was made
between the Americans and the De and Mamba chiefs. The
Prince Regent went on its way to the Gold Coast with Major
Laing, and Ashmun recommenced the work of building which
had been interrupted by the war with the natives.
Gordon, the midshipman, lived with them for one month.
Just before he and his men could be relieved he died of a
virulent fever, and this disease carried off eight of the eleven
bluejackets. He was wept for with unfeigned regret by Ashmun
and the Negro colonists. His memory lingers in Liberia to
this day, and Dr. E. \V. Blydcn has proposed to found a
Gordon Scholarship at Liberia College.
As soon as a respite had been obtained by the victories
over the native chiefs, Ashmun set to work with vigour to get
the houses re-built in the space outside the palisade. We read
that these houses were very much like those in the poorer quarters
of modern Monrovia, raised from the ground on wooden or stone
supports, built of planks and roofed with wooden shingles. This
evidently was a style of architecture brought direct from America.
It is nowhere else seen in Africa. A market was established
where the natives could bring their food products for sale,
14Q
-#i The Founding of Liberia
In the spring of 1823 the American war vessel Cyane
visited the settlement on Cape Mesurado, and in place of
the old palisade with the wooden tower built a strong little
fort of stones, on which six cannon were mounted. About
the same time Lieutenant Dashiell, of the Cyane^ went to Sierra
Leone, and had the schooner Augusta^ which had been used
by Samuel Bacon, put into proper seaworthy condition and
manned by twelve seamen. Dashiell gave much assistance to the
Liberian community, and then, like so many who helped in this
task, died of fever. This also was the fate of Richard Seaton,
clerk to the Cyane^ who also volunteered for service in Liberia,
and also died after having done excellent work on the Kru Coast.
During the first part of 1823 the task of Ashmun was
one of peculiar difficulty. Relieved of the dread of attack
from the natives, the Negro colonists became unruly. Several
of them took to dissolute or drunken habits, others were lazy,
and a good many disliked agricultural work. Ashmun for
his firmness and courage was detested by the slave-trading
chiefs in the vicinity, who called him the 'Svhite American devil'*
of Cape Mesurado. An intrigue was started within the colony
against him, and news of it reached the American Colonisation
Society. In this body there were some who disapproved of
Ashmun's vigorous attacks on the slave trade : it is hard to
say from what point of view ; but several of these philan-
thropists, though easily moved to tears over the woes of the
Negro slaves in America, seem to have had very little sympathy
for the indigenous natives of Africa, who might or might not
be despoiled by American slave traders, under the eyes of
the freed slaves whom the Society was repatriating. Their
sympathies apparently were restricted to those Negroes who
had embraced the Christian faith, wore the white man's clothes,
and talked his language.
141
Liberia ^
On May 24th, 1823, Dr. Eli Ayres came back as agent
for the Colonisation Society. Soon after his arrival he
attempted to appease local dissensions by allotting to each
colonist a definite share of the land on the Mesurado peninsula.
His allotment, however, did not give satisfaction, and led to
further bickerings. Ayres soon left Liberia, and returned
for the last time to America, while Ashmun resumed work as
Director of the Colony. In February, 1 824, the Cyrus
brought one hundred and five fresh colonists from Virginia.
Soon after this Ashmun, whose health had suffered most
severely, went away for a rest and change of scene to the Cape
Verde Islands. Here he met the Rev. Robert Gurley, after-
wards his biographer, who had been entrusted both by the
Colonisation Society and by the American Government with
the task of drawing up for the little colony at Mesurado a
provisional constitution. He was proceeding to the Grain
Coast on the American warship Porpoise. At his request
Ashmun accompanied him. Gurley had the wisdom to ap-
preciate the full merits of Ashmun's work, and he succeeded
in bringing home to the grumbling colonists their indebtedness
to this man's talents and devotion. He definitely installed him
as the principal agent of the American Colonisation Society,
in fact, as the practical (jovernor of the settlement.
With Ashmun, Gurley drew up a kind of constitution,
and about the middle of August he endowed the little colony
with its name, '' Liberia," at the same time christening the
settlement on the Mesurado plateau with the name of Monrovia,
after Monroe, then President of the United States.^ Both
these names, it is said, were the invention and suggestion of
Robert Goodlowe Harper of Baltimore, who had interested
• Ashmun had at first called the settlement on Cape Mesurado *' Christopolis,"
but afterwards felt the name to be a little unsuitable.
142
^ The Founding of Liberia
himself greatly in the colonisation project, and had suggested
them, both in the councils of the Colonisation Society and
in the Senate of the United States.^
Gurley returned to America August 22nd, 1824. So good
were the reports that followed from Liberia that his measures
were not long in receiving the ratification both of the American
Colonisation Society and of the United States Government,
and this ratification of the constitution and the name of Liberia
was conveyed to Monrovia March 14th, 1825, by the U.S.A.
ship Hunter^ this vessel also bringing at the same time about
sixty-six fresh colonists.
Ashmun had at the advice of Mr. Gurley resumed his
holiday at the Cape V^erde Islands, leaving the direction of the
colony during his absence to Dr. Randall ; but he soon returned
to Liberia, and busied himself with increasing the lawful bounds
of the settlement ; that is to say, not wishing to lock up the
colonists within the limits of the township of Monrovia, he
proceeded to find strips of country where they could be
scattered to their own advantage. Bushrod Island (of which,
however, the Liberians have made very little use down to the
present day) was definitely taken over from the natives," and
Ashmun secured a right to plant colonists along the St. PauFs
River, up to about twenty miles from its mouth, where the last
rapids closed navigability seaward. To this end he concluded
a treaty or alliance on May iith, 1825, with the chiefs Peter,
Long Peter, Gouverneur, Yoda, and Jimmy. Near the spot
where the Stockton Creek branches off from the St. Paul's
* After Harper has been named the principal settlement in Maryland, on Cape
Palmas.
' Ashmun distinctly writes that this took place by an agreement concluded
with "old King Peter" on May nth, 1825. VVauwermans, writing in 1885, states
that it was purchased from " its native owner, Mary Mackenzie, on December I5tii,
1827." I cannot find any other mention of Mary Mackenzie, who, if she existed,
was possibly the mulatto daughter of a British trader.
M3
Liberia ^
River a new town or settlement was founded, to which Ashmun
gave the name of Caldwell in honour of Elijah Caldwell, the
Secretary of the Colonisation Society. A station called New
r,«i
47. I.ASl RAl'Ih'" or IIIK SI. I'ALl/s UIVI K, IWKNIV MILKS FKUM ITS MOl'I H
Georgia was made near the Stockton Creek as a depot for the
receiving and planting out ot treed slaves who might come as
refugees.
Ashmun's health was better in 1825. He had begun to
receive proper appreciation of his work in the United States,
and had won the affection and respect in Liberia of the Negro
colonists. Something approaching gaiety in this year tinges
144
^ The Founding- of Liberia
his sombre diary, modifying the deep religious gloom which
earlier and later made his outlook one of great melancholy.
On July 4th, 1825, the Monrovian volunteers gave a
dinner to celebrate United States Independence Day and also
to entertain certain American and British guests, among whom
was a Captain Ferbin, apparently the master of a trading vessel
on the West Coast (who afterwards got into some trouble by
his alleged participation in the slave trade).
The dinner began at 3 p.m., and the repast consisted
chiefly of the products of the country — (a fact recorded by
Ashmun with justifiable pride in his diary). ^
It is mentioned somewhat grimly that two cases of drunken-
ness occurred among the fifty diners, "of which the Justices
took cognisance the next morning.''
After the terrible fashion then prevailing in Anglo-Saxon
America and Britain, the toast list was portentously long, a
condition which it is to be hoped caused the justices to temper
with mercy their sentences on the inebriate volunteers.
It was as follows :
'' I. The present President of the United States : the
Champion of the People's rights, he deserves the people's
honour.
"2. The Day we commemorate.
'^ 3. The Colony of Liberia : may the history of the nation
which has founded it become its own.
*' 4. Africa : may It outstrip its oppressors in the race for
liberty, intelligence, and piety.
'* 5. The Heroes and Statesmen of American Independence.
' Under Ashmun's vigorous management the little settlement had in three
years developed a very good local food supply. Ashmun records in his diary the
industrious horticulture of a certain Sarah Draper, an American Negress, " the
first woman for whom land deeds were issued in Monrovia." Sarah Draper pro-
vided vegetables from her garden all the year round, •' generally three kinds."
VOL. I 145 10
Liberia ^
They fought and legislated for the Human race — even the
people of England are freer and happier for their labours.
" 6. The Monrovian Independent Volunteers : armed for
the defence of rights which it is the trade of war to destroy.
May they never forget their character !
*' 7. General Lafayette in America. We honour him not
because we are Americans, but because we are men.
'' 8. (In politeness to our guest, Captain Ferbin) His
Britannic Majesty, the Constitutional King of England.
" 9. Success to Agriculture.
'' 10. (by Captain Ferbin) Health of the President of the
United States, and Prosperity to the Colony of Liberia."
During 1825 and the succeeding years vigorous action was
taken against the slave trade, which by 1820 had acquired a
very firm hold over the Lower St. Paul's River. Even as late
as the year 1825, two hundred slaves were shipped from the
mouth of the St. Paul's River to America by an American ship.
Dr. Randall explored the St. Paul's River with some success,
and in 1827 a Liberian settlement was made at the limit of
tidal navigation called Millsburg, after John Mill, the Mulatto-
trader. This, together with later measures taken along the banks
of the river, practically abolished the slave trade in these regions.
At the same time, Ashmun took still more vigorous measures
against this traffic in other parts of the Grain Coast. So that
he might proceed with a show of right, he was careful to con-
clude arrangements or treaties with the various native chiefs
in the coast regions, by which he purchased or acquired rights
over definite pieces of land, so that he might from the mere
trespass plea object to the presence thereon of slave traders or
their agents. On October 27th, 1825, he made such a contract
with the chief Freeman for a piece of ground to the south of
Grand Basa Point, round and about a little stream called New
146
^. The Founding of Liberia
Cess or Poor River, a district, oddly enough, which some years
later, through the temporary lapse of power on the part of
the Liberian Government, was to become the headquarters of
Theodore Canot's slave trade. He also bought land round
the promontory of Cape Mount, where powerful Spanish slave-
trading stations were established. This was done by a treaty
signed on April I2th, 1826, to which was attached a condition
48. " VAI town" on MKSrKADO LAGOoN, M. \KLY OPl'OSITb: . MONROVIA, ONCE A
FAMOUS I.O( ALIIY K(^K SlIIPl'lNO SLAVKS
by the natives that the said Cape Mount territory should never
be sold by the Liberians to any foreigners. On October iith,
1826, the Mamba chiefs, Will, Tom, and Peter Harris, sold or
ceded to the Liberian colony the territory about the Junk
River and that which lies between the rivers Dukwia and
Farmington/ On October 17th in the same year, the ''king,*'
* At the mouth of the Junk River in 1827 was founded tlie town of Marshall,
named after the Chief Justice of the United States.
147
Liberia ^-
Joe Harris, of Grand Basa, with the approval of the headmen
of his country, ceded to the Liberian colonists a strip of territory
at the mouth of the St. John River, as far south as the Biso
(Bissaw) stream, near Basa Point.
By this and by the preceding agreements entered into by
Ayres, the Liberian colony now possessed some sort of political
rights to ail that part of the Grain Coast between Cape Mount
on the north and Grand Basa Point on the south, besides
territory up the St. Paul's River. While Ashmun was still in
the colony, a (.'^ Mandingo) chief known on the coast as King
''Boatswain'* (said to have served in that capacity in British
ships) wished to enter into friendly relations with these American
strangers. This chief or his father had established a Mandingo
colony in the Kondo country at or near the site of the modern
town of Boporo.^ The envoys of "King'' Boatswain made a
treaty with Ashmun on March 14th, 1828. It is by no means
certain that the envoys who put their marks to this piece of
paper realised its import, or that King Boatswain ratified their
action ; but at any rate this treaty conferred on the young
colony of Liberia considerable rights over the interior to the
north of Cape Mount.
Not content with mere treaty-making, however, Ashmun
obtained the help of three American warships, and conducted
an expedition to Trade Town, a slave settlement near the mouth
of the New Cess River. Here the Spanish slave traders made
a very determined resistance, but without avail. Their " factories "
(as these trading establishments are called throughout West
Africa) were completely destroyed. Ashmun landed on the
beach with the armed parties of marines ; the first of the towns
^ Bosan or '* IJoatsuain " was not a chief by descent or iniieritance, but an
astute trader — probably Mandingo — wlio gathered around him at Boporo a mixed
following of Mandingo, Buzi, Fula, Mamba, Kpuesi, Bandi, Gora, Vai. and
Gbwalin people. This confederacy went by the name of Kondo.
148
^ The Founding- of Liberia
was set on fire ; the fire reached a great store or magazine
of powder, and a terrific explosion occurred, filling the air
with debris^ thatch, splinters, and fragments of human beings.
Nevertheless, in a few years the slaving stations were built up
again, and lasted till the British and Liberians destroyed them
finally in 1842.
In spite of constant ill-health, Ashmun worked unceasingly
to lay the foundations of an agricultural prosperity for Liberia.
He incessantly urged on the ofttimes lazy colonists the im-
portance of field work. He would devote rare moments of
leisure, for example, to drawing up instructions how to obtain
manure and how to apply it to the plantations so as to obtain
the best crops. He introduced fresh breeds of cattle, sheep,
pigs, goats, ducks, and fowls. He encouraged the planting of
cotton, coffee, indigo, sugar-cane, rice, maize, and sorghum. In
spite of fever, floods of rain, peevish interruptions of grumbling
settlers, Ashmun managed to get through a great deal of study
in his Liberian exile. He tells us in his diary that in 1825
he beguiled the worst months of the rainy season by reading
through the whole of Blackstone's Commentaries^ The Letters
of Junius, The History of England by Aquitel, Robertson's
America, Marshall's Life of IVashington^ Hamilton's Political
Writings, Robertson's Scotland, Voltaire's Essays and Henriade^
Madame de Stael's Delphine, etc., etc.
In 1827 a fresh invitation had been sent to America to
free Negroes that they should seek their homes and independence
in Liberia. By 1828 the total American population of the colony
had risen to over twelve hundred, some of whom were Mulattos.
To these had been added a number of freed slaves and natives
of the country, who had left their own homes to associate with
their civilised brethren. It really seemed as though the enter-
prise was marching rapidly towards a great success. In 1824
149
Liberia ^
a code of laws had been drawn up, and about the same time a
printing press had started, and the first newspaper, the Liberia
Herald^ edited by John Baptist Russwurm, a mulatto, was
born. Four companies of militia, raised from among the
twelve hundred colonists, kept the peace. Churches and schools
were built.
But in the spring of 1828 Ashmun's health, never very
strong, gave way completely, and in an almost dying condition
he left Liberia for America on the ship Doris,
Ashmun sailed towards America, but was so ill that he
had to be landed at St. Bartholomew Island in the British West
Indies to endeavour to attain convalescence. On August 4th,
1828, he returned to the United States, and died on the
25th of that month at Newhaven (Connecticut). Before his
death he had induced the American Colonisation Society to
accord a greater measure of independence and self-government
to this little colony on the West Coast of Africa. By this new
arrangement, which practically came into force on October 28th,
1828, the direction of the Colony of Liberia was entrusted
to an agent and vice-agent, who were to be appointed direct
by the American Colonisation Society. All the other officials
were to be elected by the colonists themselves, and then to
receive their appointment at the hands of the agent, provided
he approved of the selection. Every adult black or coloured
man in Liberia was to have the vote who had taken an oath
to the constitution.
When Ashmun left Liberia no other white man existed
in the colony. He had chosen Lot Carey to succeed him as
agent ; but Carey was killed by an explosion of gunpowder
in a fight which the colonists undertook against a chief called
Bristol in December, 1828.
The American Colonisation Society, however, appointed
150
^ The Founding of Liberia
another white American, Dr. Richard Randall (who had been
in Liberia before) to succeed Ashmun as agent. He arrived
at the end of 1828, and in 1829 he founded the station of
Careysburg in remembrance of Lot Carey. This place is
situated some distance to the east of Millsburg, and originally
was intended to be a settlement for freed slaves rescued from
captured slave traders. Unhappily, Dr. Randall died of fever
in April, 1829, j^^t as he was conducting important negotiations
with the powerful King Boatswain of Boporo. He was succeeded
by a young doctor, Mechlin, who had accompanied him to
Liberia in 1828.
Mechlin's first endeavour was to strengthen the hold of
the Liberian colonists along the banks of the St. Paul's River.
In his dealings with the chiefs he gave much evidence of ability,
and thus attracted the attention amongst others of I>ong Peter,
chief over Cape Mount, and Bob Gray, the principal Chief of
Grand Basa. Mechlin founded the settlement of Marshall, at
the mouth of the Junk River (which is the common estuary
of the Dukwia and Farmington streams). He continued with
vigour Ashmun's policy against the slave traders, and took
special pains to keep in good repair the fort which Ashmun
had caused to be built to control the peninsula of Cape Mount.
In 1832 a number of slaves who were being sent down by
a petty chief (called the Sultan of ''Brumley") on the St.
Paul's River, above the falls, escaped from their guards and
took refuge in Monrovia. They were on their way via Cape
Mount to the Gallinhas territory, where they were to be
handed over to the Cuban slave trader Pedro Blanco.
Shortly afterwards Kaipa, the son of the Sultan of "Brumley,"^
arrived at Monrovia, and in very insulting language demanded
* No doubt a Muhammadan Mandingo. He is generally referred to in the
records as the Sultan of Brumley.
151
Liberia ^
that these slaves should be restored to him. His demand was
refused. The Chief of Brumley, receiving assistance from the
slave traders, gathered together a number of armed men and
attempted to take the Liberian settlements on the St. Paul's
River. Mechlin accordingly dispatched against him a force
of one hundred and seventy militia with one field-piece, under
Elijah Johnson, which proceeded to the St. Paul's River above
the first rapids. The expedition was also accompanied by one
hundred and twenty freed slaves who acted as scouts. Johnson
seized the villages of the chiefs of " Brumley " and '' Gurrats "
and forced them to sue for peace. Favourable terms were
accorded to them by Mechlin, on the understanding that these
chiefs were no longer to hinder the trade of Liberia with
the interior populations, whose caravans hitherto had been
constantly turned away from Monrovia.
In 1827 the state of Maryland organised a society some-
what in rivalry with the American Colonisation Society of
Washington, and sent out to Monrovia on the Orion
(October, 1831) Dr. James Hall (a white) with thirty-one
emigrants. Hall and Mechlin could not quite come to terms
as to the allotment of ground to the Maryland Society within
the then existing limits of ** Liberia." Consequently, Dr.
Hall returned to America to receive fresh instructions. The
Maryland State had heavily subsidised this attempt to export
free Negroes, and the philanthropists who attached themselves
to the scheme did so with the special aim of promoting the
principles of temperance or total abstinence amongst these
African colonists, realising as they did from the reports that
reached them year by year that the abuse of alcohol was not
only a universal fault amongst the Europeans and civilised
natives of West Africa, but that it occasionally sullied the
records of Liberia.
152
49- THE ST. PAUL'S RIVHK, AKOVli LAST KAPIUS, NEAR THE SITE OF ELIJAH JOHNSON'S
EIGHT WITH CHIEF BRUMLEY
Liberia ^
Dr. Hall returned again to Monrovia in 1833 with twenty-
eight fresh colonists and several Methodist and Presbyterian
missionaries. He was instructed to pick up at Monrovia the
thirty-one colonists whom he had deposited there two years
previously, and to take all his party beyond Liberian limits,
there to found another state to be called Maryland. He
directed his expedition to Cape Palmas. Here he found the
Grebo chiefs very ill-disposed to receive the colonists or to
give them any rights over the land, chiefly because of the
temperance or total abstinence principles which were inculcated.
The chiefs were furious at the idea of giving up brandy, which
had become quite a vice along the Grain Coast. They did,
however, in return for small presents, sign deeds which conveyed
the usual large areas of territory on the part of the non-under-
standing native. But when the colonists had settled down and
began to make themselves at home, the Grebo chiefs brought
pressure to bear upon them by withholding food supplies —
chiefly rice — in the hope that from fear of starvation the
colonists would trade in brandy or rum A violent altercation
ensued between Dr. Hall and the Grebos, the former threaten-
ing if driven to desperation to attack and burn the Grebo
villages. At last the chiefs gave way and the Marylanders
settled down to their independent effort of colonisation.
In 1833 another philanthropic society at a town called
Edinburgh in the United States ^ sent a batch of coloured
emigrants to Liberia, and for these was purchased from the
chief Bob Gray a piece of land on the south bank of the St.
John's River (Grand Basa). This settlement was therefore
named Edina, and exists to this day. In 1834 Mechlin returned
to America, breakdown in health being the cause of his depar-
* Either Edinburgh in Pennsylvania, or Edinburgh in Mississippi : probably
the latter.
154
^ The Founding of Liberia
ture. He had played a very notable part, however, in the
development of Liberia, and his name stands high amongst those
white Americans who laid the foundations of this state. He was
succeeded by the Rev. John B. Pinney. Mr. Pinney, however,
only stayed a few months, became very ill, and went back to
America, being succeeded temporarily by Mr. Brander, the vice-
agent, who during his short tenure of power had to suppress
a rising of the natives at Grand Basa against the Liberian
settlements.
In 1835 the Pennsylvania Young Men's Society interested
itself in the emigration to Africa. It was a Quaker organisation,
and had very practical ideas on the subject of colonisation. This
Pennsylvanian body therefore dispatched to Liberia one hundred
and twenty-six Negro colonists, who were entirely men of their
hands — blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, brick-makers, shoe-
makers, and tailors. Like the Marylanders, they were bound
by vows as regards total abstinence ; but they met with a
kindlier reception at Monrovia, as the little state of Liberia was
already beginning to regret that its churlish reception of Dr.
James Hall had brought about the institution of an independent
organisation for colonisation on the east. Therefore, strong
efforts were made to obtain for the Pennsylvania Young Men's
Society tracts of land at Grand Basa. The Basa chief Joe Harris
was induced to sell an island in the St. John's River in front of
Edina. Here the one hundred and twenty-six emigrants sent
out by the Quakers established themselves in a village called
Port Cresson. But the Spanish slave traders, who still possessed
great influence over the Basa chiefs, incited them to attack this
Liberian settlement. The head of the little colony at Port
Cresson refused to resort to arms. Consequently, when his
settlement was attacked by the Basa people, eighteen of the
colonists were killed, the houses were all destroyed, and the rest
155
Liberia ^
of the colonists were obliged to flee for their lives to Edina.
But another Basa chief, Bob Gray, was faithful to his engage-
ments towards the Liberian Government. He assisted the
settlers of Edina to repel the people of Joe Harris, and even to
frighten the latter into suing for peace.
Joe Harris himself rebuilt the Quaker village on a site
farther to the north on the St. John's River, where it
received the name of Basa Cove. This incident of the fight
at Grand Basa is also referred to elsewhere in describing
the adventures of the slaver Theodore Canot. Whilst the
Basa country was in this disturbed state, ''Governor'' Finley,
of the Mississippi Colonisation Society of Sino, insisted on
going ashore, no doubt to find out what was going on. The
Governor had been on a cruise along the coast for his health,
and had unsuspectingly accepted the hospitality of Canot on
his fast sailing ship. But the unfortunate man soon after
landing was killed on the shore. Canot stated that he
co-operated with the Libcrians in attacking and punishing Joe
Harris and his people, though he gives a difl^erent version of
the results of the operations, making out that the Liberians
lost their guns and did not conduct themselves with anything
approaching valour. But soon following on these events appeared
the warlike Elijah Johnson, with one hundred and twenty militia,
from Monrovia, who by his capture of one of the principal Basa
villages brought Joe Harris to reason.
In 1^35 lands were bought from the natives along the coast,
which carried the Liberian dominions as far east as the Sino
River, and secured, amongst other important points, the mouth
of the Sanguin River.
The successor as principal agent to the Rev. John B.
Pinney was Dr. Skinner, whose appearance in Liberia was very
fleeting. He came out in 1835, and returned at the end of
156
-^ The Founding of Liberia
1836. He was succeeded by Anthony D. Williams, who was
principal agent from 1837 to 1839. Under the brief direction
of Skinner, Thomas Buchanan, a white American (like Skinner
and Williams and all previous agents), came out as an envoy
from the colonisation societies of New York and Pennsylvania
to report on the condition of Liberia. He built the first
lighthouse at Cape Mesurado, and after him was named later
on the Liberian settlements of Upper and Lower Buchanan at
Grand Basa.
During Anthony Williams's tenure of office as agent
another independent colony was founded. A fourth colonisation
society had been formed in America, that of the Mississippi
State. Funds for this Society were chiefly found by a philan- ,
thropist named Reed. The Mississippi Colonisation Society
decided to establish its own little colony at or near the mouth
of the Sino River. About 1838 the colonists sent by this
Society built the town of Greenville, which is still the principal
settlement at the mouth of the Sino River. This place was named
after James Green, one of the first advocates of emancipation.
The census taken in 1838^ gives the total population of
American origin (leaving out the colony of Maryland) as only
2,281. The death-rate amongst these American immigrants had
been somewhat high, and a certain number had drifted away to
Sierra Leone or had gone back to the United States. It was
generally assumed about that time that four thousand emigrants
had been sent away from America. Even including those dis-
patched to Maryland, this was probably an over-estimate, and at
first sight the effort strikes one as being feeble in face of the
three million Negroes who then inhabited the United States.
But as has been pointed out by several writers, the object of
* On p. 191 1 give a resume of the censuses taken in connection with the
Liberian immigrants between 1820 and 1843.
157
Liberia ^
the American Colonisation societies which sprang up in nearly
all the organised southern states was not so much the
abolition of slavery as an attempt to deport free Negroes.
The position of the slave in American society was then clearly
defined, and it was thought even by good men and women
that slavery as an institution was so necessary to the planting
interests of the Southern States that its abolition was a very far-
off event. But the society of the South felt there was no place
in its midst for the free Negro, for the black or coloured man
who demanded the same rights as his white fellow-citizens.
These men were considered to be a growing danger to society,
and in the efforts made by the association which directed this
emigration may be traced not only pure philanthropy but even
a certain anxious fear.
In 1838 fresh attention was given to the government of
Liberia. A new constitution was drawn up for the country,
probably by Professor (ireenlof, of Harvard College. By^ this
the Colony of Maryland which had been built up round
Cape Palmas was left out of consideration, as an independent
state. The rest of what we now know as Liberia was divided
into the two counties of Montserrado and Grand Basa, and
stretched from somewhere about Cape Mount on the west to
beyond the Sino River on the east. It was placed under a
Governor and a Vice-Governor. To these was added a Council
of Liberians, who under the direction of the Governor were
constituted as a legislative body. The Governor and Vice-
Governor were practically appointed by the Committee of the
American Colonisation Society, which also retained the right
of veto on any laws promulgated by the Governor and Council.
The members of this Council were to be elected by the people.
The suffrage was granted to every male citizen of twenty-one
years and upwards, without property qualification. The Council
158
-^ The Founding of Liberia
consisted of ten members, of whom six sat for the county of
Montserrado and four for the county of Basa. The administra-
tion of justice was vested in a High Court, of which the
Governor was president. Slavery and the slave trade within
the limits of Liberia were declared unlawful. The question
of granting citizenship to white men of European or Euramerican
origin was much discussed, but finally it was decided (mainly
through the bitter opposition to this principle on the part of
Elisha Whitdesey, a member of the commission appointed to
discuss this constitution) to confine citizenship in Liberia
to persons of colour, or " Africans/' " African/' I believe,
was the term originally employed and woven, so to speak,
into the Liberian constitution. (This was made use of a
good many years later by a Moorish trader, Attia, possibly
a Morocco Jew, who boldly established factories on the coast
and up the rivers of Liberia and carried on trade outside the
limits of ports of entry, claiming his right to Liberian citizenship
as an African. He was able to enforce this claim by the terms
of the constitution, although he and his sons were for the
most part as fair-complexioned as Europeans.) Many people
thought this condition in Liberia most illiberal ; but unless
there had been some restriction excluding white men from
citizenship, the slave traders already settled on that coast might
have claimed to form part of the Liberian community. More-
over, the experiment was being conducted admittedly in the
sole interests of coloured people, and considering the way in
which already in the 'thirties of the last century the European
Powers were laying hold of the African coast, it was not over-
generous to select for a purely African experiment three hundred
miles of the West African littoral.
By 1838 Liberia as a State had attained a certain consistency.
The number of the American colonists was not seemingly so
159
Liberia ^
great as often mentioned in round numbers by contemporary
and later writers : the official census, as already stated, made
it out at 2,247, to which might be added about four hundred
in Maryland. But attached to these Negroes and Mulattos
of America were already large bands of freed slaves and
a good following of friendly natives. A lighthouse had been
built on Cape Mesurado ; the slave trade had been practically
abolished along the St. Paul's River and on the Basa and
Kru coasts, and very nearly done away with at Cape Mount
and in the Vai country. Twenty churches had been built,
ten schools, and four printing presses. The Liberia Herald
commenced its issue as a newspaper in 1824, with Russwurm
(afterwards Governor of Maryland) as editor, and was
followed later on by the Afrian Luminary, A system of paper
money had been adopted to facilitate trade with the natives.
These first notes were of a most original nature. Writing,
which would have been unintelligible to the natives, was replaced
by pictures, generally of natural objects akin to the value of
the note, which was also transcribed in figures. A constant
service ot sailing vessels kept up communication between Liberia
CHAPTER X
THE LAST PHASE OF THE SLAJ'E TRADE
ALTHOUGH in 1808 the United States Congress had
declared the over-sea slave trade to be illegal, had
stopped, in fact, the importation of slaves from Africa
into the United States, slavery and the need for slaves grew
to be more important than ever in the development of the
Cuban plantations, as well as in Puerto Rico and Brazil. Owing
to the disproportionately large number of males imported as
slaves and the high mortality which prevailed amongst these
Africans, the slaves in tropical America did not increase in
numbers, the births not even meeting the deficit caused by the
deaths. Moreover, as the prices of produce rose and the de-
mand for labour became more and more acute, the slaves were
greatly overworked, and their proportionate value rose higher
and higher. These reasons concentrated in Cuba more especially
the vigorous slave trade of the first half of the nineteenth
century, and it was from Cuba chiefly that fast sailing vessels
started for the West Coast of Africa.' In the first decades of
the nineteenth century the Spanish and Portuguese slavers, with
whom were associated recreant English, French, and Italians,
* The privateering permitted undcT the British and otiier Hags ihiring the
Napoleonic wars naturally degenerated often into sheer piracy. After the peace
of 181 5 many of the fast sailing vessels built for the privateering business were
bought up by the slavers of England, the United States, Spain, and I'ortugal, and
put into the business of slave-running. The French also took part in this trade.
VOL. I 161 II
Liberia ^
found two parts of the North-west African coast well adapted
for their purposes.' These were the River Pongo, in a No-man's
land north-west of Sierra Leone, and the Gallinhas lagoons on
the western frontier of Liberia. In those days the French had
made no attempt to establish themselves on the River Pongo,
nor did the British or the Liberians exercise any authority over
the Vai country east of Sherbro Island.
One of the slavers of those days, Captain Theodore Canot,
has left us in his reminiscences a vivid picture of what the slave
trade was like in West Africa in its last phase. Canot was
born at Florence (Italy) in about 1803. His father was a
captain and paymaster in Napoleon's army, and his mother a
Piedmontese who was left a widow with six children. In his
boyhood Canot, through his uncle, a person of influence —
made the acquaintance of Lord Byron. But finding no chance
of employment near his home, and having a thirst for adventure,
he decided for a sea life, and in 181 9 became an apprentice on
the American ship Galatea of Boston, trading with the East
Indies. He rose to be mate, but met with several disasters,
one of which caused him to be wrecked off the coast of Cuba,
where tne Dutch ship on which he was then serving was
captured by pirates. One of these pirates saved his life by
pretending a relationship, and through this man's advice he
drifted into the slave trade with Africa by engaging on a sailing
ship destined for the River Pongo. This was in 1826. When
this vessel, named the Areostatica^ reached the River Pongo, a
furious mutiny broke out on board owing to the incapacity of
the captain and the timidity of the mate, who were natives of
Majorca or Barcelona. Canot, in his own story, quelled the
mutiny by prompt action and the shooting of five of the
' The Portiigo-Hrazilians devoted themselves more to the Dahome and Lagos
coast-J.
162
-^ The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
mutineers. He did this partly to save the life of an English
cabin boy, who in some extraordinary way had drifted from
Lancashire to this horrible service, and who had been frightfully
ill-used by a British mate on board some vessel at Cuba, his
part having been taken by Canot then, as later on in the slave
ship at the Pongo River.^
At the Pongo River, Canot made the acquaintance of a
great local celebrity of those days, a mulatto named Ormond,^
the son of a Liverpool merchant by a native wife. Ormondes
father had married a woman of good family and influence in
the vicinity of the River Pongo. He took his mulatto son to
England, and did his best to give him a good education.
After his father's death, the boy felt out of place in his English
surroundings, and indeed was almost penniless. He managed
to find his way back to Sierra Leone and eventually to the
River Pongo, where his mother at once recognised him, and
calling all her connections together managed to get him installed
by the native authorities in all the possessions of his late father —
houses, lands, slaves, boats, and barracoons. Ormond started a
large harem of wives, and settled down as a native chief, being
known by the local designation of '' Mongo."
Mongo John or Mongo Ormond was quite a personality
in Senegambia between 1820 and 1830. Canot became his
bookkeeper, and made a journey to the Fula kingdom in the
interior. After quarrelling with Ormond, however, he set up
as an independent slaver on his own account, taking into
* Canot, after quelling the mutiny, managed to arrange that the Arcostafira
should convey the cabin boy back to Cuba, whence he should be sent to his home
in Lancashire. He states that the boy actually reached his home in safety. What
extraordinary experiences must this Lancashire lad have had to relate to those
who cared to listen ! It would be interesting to know what became of him.
' Compare this story with the accounts of the Ormonds given {ex Wadstrom)on
pp. 117 and 120. There is some discrepancy in dates and in one or two other points
between the story told to the Sierra Leone Company in 1792 and Canot's version.
163
Liberia ^
partnership a vagrant Englishman, Edward Joseph. But at
last the authorities of Sierra Leone, and later on the French
ships of war, came down on this nest of slavers. Ormond died,
Joseph fled, the slave-trade settlements were broken up, and
Canot eventually fell into the hands of the French, and was
sentenced to a long term of imprisonment at Brest, from which
he succeeded in escaping. He then found his way out with
scarcely any money to Sierra Leone, and here started a small
coasting trade which eventually led him to the Gallinhas country
beyond Sherbro.
The region round the Gallinhas lagoon and the River
Sulima had become the chief focus of the West African slavers
after the Rio Pongo had been rendered more or less impossible
by English and French action. Don Pedro Blanco, a native
of Malaga, and originally the mate of a sailing vessel, settled
in the Gallinhas country about 1821. Amid the islands of
these lagoons, with their occasional openings on to a surf-lashed
sea-coast, he gradually built up an extraordinary establishment,
which had its subsidiary stations at various points on the
Liberian coast, as flir down as New Cess in the Grand Basa
district.
Pedro Blanco had of course been led into the slave trade
by his original voyages to Cuba, He was a man of very
cultivated mind, and, it is asserted, not naturally cruel. He
finally retired from the trade in 1839 with a fortune of nearly
a million sterling, and after living for a time in Cuba he
settled at Genoa, and ended his days in a pleasant Italian home.
Pedro Blanco surrounded himself with every luxury that
could be imported from Europe. His bills were as promptly
cashed as a banknote in Cuba, London, or Paris. He had
large numbers of Negroes under his command as paid servants,
watchers, spies, and police. From a hundred look-outs on
164
-#i The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
the GalHnhas beach and the islands of the lagoon, these men,
trained to use telescopes, watched the horizon for the arrival
of British cruisers. By their signals they repeatedly saved
incoming or outgoing ships engaged in the slave trade from
50. A " KRIMAN " 1 KOM NilAK HASA (HASA IKIML)
detection and capture by the British. Pedro Blanco derived
most of his slaves from the countries of what is now the
eastern part of the Sierra Leone Protectorate. But Canot, after
being taken into his employ, was detailed to establish a vigorous
slave trade at " New Sesters,'* a place called nowadays New
165
Liberia
^
Cess, at or near the mouth of the Pua River, about eight
or ten miles south-east of Grand Basa Point and the modern
settlement of Ix)wer Buchanan.^ Canot created what he called
his "chapels of ease" (or minor depots to feed the central
station), at Digbi (to the north-west of Monrovia), at Little
Basa (ten miles south of the Farmington River), and at Manna,
near the Cestos River. His main establishment at New Sesters
he claims as a model of what such establishments should be.
It was built by the paid labour of Kru men, who, though entirely
averse to slavery themselves, were the faithful (because well paid)
allies of Canot and other slavers. The barracoons were spacious
and cleanly. The slaves while stored there were well fed (many
bullocks being killed each week), and they even became relatively
happy through the dances and entertainments organised for
their benefit.
From New Sesters, Canot shipped his slaves on board
Spanish, Portuguese, and even American or Russian vessels
sent to him by Don Pedro. The British cruisers soon directed
a special attention to this place. Their commanders were
frequently gammoned or cajoled by Canot into letting important
consignments of slaves slip past them. Graphic descriptions
are given of the terrible dangers of the surf both at this
and at other points on the coast. Often Canot had, with the
sails of a British gunboat in sight, to ship hundreds of
slaves in tiny Kru canoes through the surf on to the im-
patiently-waiting slaver ship, and when some of the canoes
upset — as almost invariably happened in crossing the breakers
— some of the slaves would be devoured by sharks. He
mentions that on one occasion off the Gallinhas Coast Don
^ Which itseJf is on the presumed site of Grand or Petit Dieppe. BQttikofer
considers it to be " Grand " Dieppe, and would place Petit Dieppe at LitUe Basa,
a place much farther west.
166
^ The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
Pedro Blanco lost in this way a hundred slaves while trying to
send them off in a hurry through the terrible breakers.
Canot seems to have had a very engaging address, and
could speak equally fluently English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
He had about him such an English manner that he often
impressed favourably British naval officers or Colonial officials,
who should have viewed him with suspicion. Unlike most
of his colleagues (if one may believe his asseverations), he
led a clean, gentlemanly life, even though he was a slave trader.
Of course, when he willingly permitted inspection of his depots
on the Liberian coast, there were no slaves en evidence, and
51. SURF ON rili: MIU.KIAN UKAr M
everything was arranged to convcv the impression of lawful
trading in the ordinary products of the country. He had
a good cook, and gave excellent dinners, and had at all times
an eye for a trim-built sailing vessel. On board one of these
vessels travelling up the Liberian coast he met '' Governor " Finley
of the American settlements at Sino (a white man), who had
been to Monrovia for change of air and recovery from fever.
Canot ofl^ered to take him on a cruise, and the Governor
accepted, but afterwards seemed very impatient to be landed,
possibly suspecting the true nature of his host. Such was his
impatience, in fact, that he insisted on going through the surf
to land at what is now Upper Buchanan (Grand Basa). It is
167
Liberia ^
stated by Canot that as soon as he reached the beach he was
murdered by the Basa boatmen for the money that he carried
with him. Canot writes that his body was discovered seriously
mutilated on the beach, and that in consequence of this outrage
he co-operated with the forces of the Liberian Colony just
established at Upper Buchanan, and with the crews of several
vessels, in a punitive attack on the people of Grand Basa.
This fight was little more than a drawn battle, Canot himself
retiring with a wound which disabled him for some time.^
After this he paid a visit to his sub-station at Digbi,
where an attempt to set up a second store with a rival chief
was the cause of a furious native civil war. The chief, whose
jealousy was stirred, called in the interior people to his aid, and
Canot's new friends not only lost their town but their lives.
The scene of frightful barbarity that followed is given in his
own words :
" Each female leaped on the body of a wounded prisoner.
They passed from body to body, digging out eyes, wrenching
off lips, and slicing the flesh from the quivering bones, while
the queen of the harpies crept amid the butchery, gathering
the brains of each severed skull as a honne-bouche for the ap-
proaching feast. After the last victim had yielded his life, it
did not require long to kindle a fire and fill the air with the
odour of human flesh. A pole was borne into the apartment
on which was impaled the living body of the conquered chieftain's
wife. A hole was dug, the staffs* planted, and fagots supplied. . . .
The bushmen packed in plantain leaves whatever flesh was
^ By an odd coincidence the contemporaneous Governor of Sierra Leone
was named Findlay ! Canot, deceived by tliis similarity of names, asserts in his
memoirs that his unwilling guest, afterwards murdered by the Basa Negroes, was
the British Governor of Sierra Leone. This was not so: General Findlay was for
long Governor of Sierra Leone, and died in England in 1853. Canot's guest was the
American *' governor'" of a small Liberian settlement at Sino.
168
-#i The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
left from the orgie, to be conveyed to their friends in the
forest. . . .'* ^
Canot and his companions managed with great difficulty
to escape from the scene of this massacre of which he was the
indirect cause, and eventually reached Sierra Leone, where he
was imprisoned on board ship. Getting away from here, however,
he returned to New Cess. Hearing in 1839 that Pedro
52. LIHKKIAN M.rn.l-.MKM AT (AIM, MOl N'l (.Si I'l'OSKD MTK Ul-~ (. ANDl's
KSTAin.IMIMI'M IN 1847)
Blanco had retired for ever from Gallinhas with a large fortune,
Canot came to terms with the British cruisers at New Cess,
and gave a solemn pledge that he would for ever abandon
the slave trade. On this occasion he released the remainder
of his slaves in store.- He then proceeded to England in
* The whole of this episode may be mere sensational fiction. The Vai people
at Digbi have never been cannibals.
* This is his own story- But other Spanish slave traders seem to have
lingered on the Basa coast even if Canot retired, for in 1840 they induced the
Fish men of Basil Cove and the chiefs of New Cess and Little Basa to attack
the Liberian settlers.
169
Liberia ^
1839, ^"^ induced an important merchant to interest himself
in the establishment of a kind of colony and trading station
at Cape Mount, a site to which Canot had taken a great liking.
He endeavoured at this time to free himself entirely from all
connection with Pedro Blanco, but for monetary reasons this
seems to have been not altogether possible. He revisited New
Cess in 1842, but found that Governor Buchanan had destroyed
all the slave-trading stations. There is no doubt, therefore,
that after his return to Liberia he gave some slight assistance
to the slave trade from his settlement at Cape Mount, although
affecting the greatest friendship and community of interests with
the young state of Liberia. He purchased the promontory
of Cape Mount * and offered it to the British Government, who,
however, coldly declined. At Cape Mount he seems to have
done great things in the way of planting, but in 1847 his
whole establishment was burnt and utterly destroyed (including
the plantations, which was a pity) by a force of British sailors
and marines landed from one of the gunboats.
Canot then left the coast of West Africa and settled at
New York. His experiences as related and transcribed by
Mr. Brantz Mayer are of thrilling interest, and it is surprising
that they attained but little vogue, though they were published
at New York and in London (Routlcdge) at the modest cost
of eighteenpence. Whether his story is all true or whether
Canot was an earlier De Rougemont, is impossible to determine.
There seems, as already shown, to be some discrepancy between
Canot's account of Ormond, the mulatto slave trader on the
River Pongo (if one compares dates) and the information
given of Ormond's Liverpool father in Wadstrom's compilation."
' Of course ignoring tlic {)revioiis purchase by Ashmun.
* //// Essay on Colonisation applied to the West Coast of Africa, by C. B.
Wadstrom. London, 1795, PP- 8?. 88. 2nd part.
170
^ The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
But this may be explained by slight errors having occurred
in both stories. In Wadstrom's book, published in 1795, ^^^
Ormondes (only) mulatto son is represented as having been
killed by the natives in 1792, but he may have escaped and
reached Liverpool, or Ormond the elder may have had several
sons by his native wife.
It is probable that by the year 1847 ^^^ ^^e Spanish
slave-trading depots on the coast of Liberia or in the debatable
land between Liberia and Sierra Leone had been destroyed partly
by the British cruisers on the coast, and partly by the vigorous
action of the American Agents or Governors of Liberia — Ashmun,
Mechlin, Buchanan, and Roberts. The United States, though
it created Liberia and generously lent the infant colony the
support of its ships, did nothing — or very little — until after
1842 to interfere with the oversea slave traffic. Frequently
it occurred that within a few miles of where an American
war-ship was landing Liberian colonists pledged to abolish
the slave trade, an American sailing vessel would be cramming
the slaves between her decks, preparatory to starting to dispose
of several hundred captive Negroes in the markets of Cuba
or even of the Southern United States, wherein, despite musty
prohibitions of 1792, 1807, *^^^^^ 1808, fresh slaves from West
Africa, Madagascar, and Mozambique were constantly being
admitted. Even the British West Indies and British Guiana
offered a surreptitious market for the slave trader until the
abolition of slavery in 1833.
The Spaniards, Portuguese, and Brazilians were the worst
offenders after 1808, Great Britain had to pay Spain ^400,000
and Portugal ^300,000 to induce them to declare the slave
trade illegal to their subjects and agree to a right of search.
France and Scandinavia behaved much better. Frenchmen indeed
were less connected with the slave trade in the nineteenth century
171
Liberia ^
than the subjects of Britain, the United States, or Spain and
Portugal. The only power which besides Great Britain took
any effective naval measures against the West African slave
trade was France/ The reign of Louis Philippe was dis-
tinguished by a noble activity in this respect. "Libreville"
in the Gaboon was the French analogue to Freetown at Sierra
Leone.
The accounts of Liberia and the writings of Canot and
others give vivid pictures of the horrors of the nineteenth-century
slave trade. It is probable that during the last thirty years
of its existence (1815-35) the oversea slave trade caused
more misery than in the previous centuries, because, being illegal,
the risks were greater and the inconveniences much increased.
Reference has already been made to the difficulties of shipping
slaves through the surf. In terror of the arrival of some British
or French cruiser, the slave merchants dared not wait for a
change of tide or wind. Thus many slaves were drowned by the
swamping of canoes ; still more were devoured by sharks. The
herding in the barracoons provoked or intensified epidemics.
If smallpox broke out, the infected Negroes were often murdered,
drowned, poisoned, to prevent the disease spreading. Canot
himself admits poisoning a Negro boy on board ship because
he had contracted smallpox ; the body was then thrown overboard.
The slaves were also " medicated '* hv the native dealers, so
as to deceive even astute European purchasers at the coast
markets. The application of drugs internally and externally
swelled out the muscles and gave a glossy look to the dry skin.
Before the slaves were shipped they were — men and women
alike — reduced to absolute nudity, in case rags might harbour
* Nevertheless, between 18 18 and 1830 there were French slavers on the
Liberian coast, especially at Cape Mount and the St. Paul's River. French war
vessels assisted Ashmun, the de facto Governor of Liberia (1822-8), to punish
their compatriots and destroy their ships.
-^ The Last Phase of the Slave Trade
parasites or infection. They were branded by a hot iron with
their owner's marks, usually under the breasts.
A continual warfare raged in West Africa during the first
half of the nineteenth century, provoked and sustained by the
slave trade with America and the Mediterranean. Tribe fought
against tribe, nation against nation, and within each tribe were
scenes of bloodshed and civil war (similar to that described by
Canot at Digbi) caused solely by the demand for slaves. The
Fulas and Mandingos were distinguished beyond all other West
African peoples for the zeal they threw into this commerce.
Fula merchants visiting Sierra Leone or Cape Mount might
the year previously have travelled to Morocco, Algeria, or Tunis.
Morocco Jews were established at Timbuktu by 1827, solely
as brokers in the slave trade. Jews from Northern Europe and
the Mediterranean settled at Sierra Leone soon after the colony
was founded, and enabled Canot and other slave traders to carry
on their business by giving them advances of goods and cash,
and by scrnding timely information as to the movements of
British cruisers.
Alcohol was the main inducement to the Negro chief to
become a slave trader. From the middle of the seventeenth
to the end of the nineteenth century West Africa lay under
the curse of this poison — not the mild fermented liquors made
by the natives from palm sap, honey, or grain, but the distilled
spirits invented by the European. First, brandy (Aqua vitae,
Brantwein, distilled grape juice) ; then rum, the product of the
sugar cane ; then gin, made from malted rye or potatoes and
juniper berries ; last and worst, whiskey.
Gunpowder and guns, of course, figured largely in the
white man's trade goods ; but these were necessary to the Negro
chief or slave trader for slave-catching expeditions, or to support
an authority under which the punishment for all offences was
173
Liberia ^
slavery. Silks and velvet, beads, cloth, calico, iron bars were
all appreciated by Negroes of high or low degree ; but
the one article for which the black potentate or trader was
ready to sell his soul (be he Muhammadan ^ or pagan), his wife,
child, brother, or unoffending subjects and friends was distilled
spirit.
The natives of the Kru coast of Liberia strongly objected
to the first American colonists because they were pledged to
temperance and were likely to discourage the trade in brandy,
rum, and gin. To some extent the curse of alcohol has affected
the Americo-Libcrians themselves. The early records contain
but infrequent allusiofis to drunkenness amongst the colonists.
This vice became very prominent in the sixties and seventies
of the last century, and is only recently on the wane, thanks
to fashion having veered round towards temperance or abstinence
as the characteristic of a civilised community.
On the march from the interior to the coast the slaves
were usually tastcncd in this manner, writes Canot :
*' Hoops of bamboo wcrj claspeJ round their waists, while
their hanvis were tied by stout ropes to the hoops. A long tether
was then passed with a slip-knot through each rattan belt, so
that the slaves were firmly secured to each other, while a small
coil was employed to link them more securely in a band by
their necks."
The prices paid on the Liberian coast for adult slaves
in gooj condition were only about ten dollars (^2) each.
Children or inferior slaves were bought at from three to eight
dollars. Slaves of Mandingo or Fula race were more valuable,
owing to their lighter skin and handsomer appearance. Man-
dingos were very much in request in Cuba, as the smartest type
of domestic servant. But speed and economy of space in the
' P^or the drunkenness of tlie Fulas read Canot.
174
53- A MAN'DINGO OF WEbTEKN LIBERIA
Liberia ^
oversea transport being essential considerations, after the British
interference with the slave trade had commenced, not so much
attention was paid as in the eighteenth century to the comfort
of the slaves on board.
''Sometimes on slave ships the height between the decks
where the slaves were chained was only eighteen inches, so that
the slaves could not turn round, the space being less than the
breadth of their shoulders. They were chained by the neck
and the legs. They frequently died of thirst, for the fresh
water would often run short." ^
The establishment of the Liberian colony contributed
remarkably to the driving out of the slave trade from the
regions east of Sierra Leone ; but the real hard work in the
suppression of this traffic in Negro slaves in West Africa
was done by Great Britain sending her cruisers to patrol the
Atlantic and the Cult ot Guinea, and abolishing slavery in
the West Indies (as in South Africa) at a cost of something
like ^30,000,000. When the British West Indian market was
closed, half the inducements were removed. Moreover, it became
apparent to the men of Liverpool and Bristol that there were
other pursuits in West Africa as profitable as slave trading and
far less perilous. The invention and growth of railways had
stimulated the search for lubricants. Palm oil in consequence
succeeded slaves, gold, and pepper as the attraction to West
Africa. The oil in the pericarp of the nuts of Elais guineensis^
the handsome palm tree of the West African forest region,
had been used as a food by the natives from a remote period,
but its value only became realised in Europe and America in
the twenties and thirties of the nineteenth century, and some
of the earliest exportations of palm oil (and later of palm
* Governor Buchanan writes in his Journal, 1840 : "The space between slave
deck and upper deck is only ten inches." This must be a clerical error.
176
VOL. I
54. UIL PALMS (KLAIS GUINEENSIS)
Liberia -^
kernels, which produce a still more valuable oil) were made from
Liberia.
The place of the slave traders in the Gallinhas region
was taken by traders in palm oil, who were in turn to prove
the source of much trouble and anxiety to the little Negro
republic.
178
CHAPTKR XI
GGl'EKXORS OF LIBERIA
IN January, 1836, as related in the last chapter, Thomas
Buchanan, a citizen of Philadelphia, a white American, and
a cousin of James Buchanan, afterwards President of the
United States, came out as an envoy of the Colonisation Societies
of New York and Pennsylvania to Monrovia, and amongst other
things built the first lighthouse on Cape Mesurado. He went
on to Grand Basil, and spent the year 1837 as administrator of
the little group of settlements of Kdina, Port Cresson, and
Basa Cove. In 1839 he was sent to Monrovia as the first
'' Governor '' of Liberia under the new constitution, relieving
from his post of agent Mr. Anthony D. Williams.
From 1838 to 1840 the country at the back of Monrovia
was convulsed by constant warfare between the Gora and De
tribes, in which the Gora people were eventually victorious, the
Des ever since having taken an inferior position and become a
dwindling tribe. This warfare was not at first especially directed
against the American settlers, though it did considerable damage
to their little colonies, and under Williams's timid rule they
were powerless to impose peace by force of arms. But when
Buchanan took up the reins of government, he resolved to put
an end to this disorder, the more so as the chieftain of Boporo
had constituted himself the champiofi of the Gora people, and in
his defeat of the Des had glanced aside to attack those Liberians
who were settled along the St. PauTs River. These settlers had,
i7g
Liberia ^
no doubt, assisted the Des to defend themselves. The Boporo
chieftain, Gatumba, was the successor of ** King '' Boatswain or
Bosan, who, as already related, had built up a heterogeneous
confederacy of peoples in the hilly country round Boporo.
Boatswain had been a steady friend of the young Liberian
Government, but his successor Gatumba disliked them because
of their interference with the slave traffic.
Buchanan had been suffering from a violent attack of fever
towards the close of 1839 ^^hen he heard of Gatumba's advance
down the St. PauFs River. He dispatched a message to this
chief, warning him that he would be held answerable for any
attack on Liberian settlements. Gatumba sent an insulting
reply. The destruction of Millsburg decided Buchanan (though
still very ill) that the time for energetic action had arrived.
He therefore organised a force of three hundred Liberian Militia
with several field guns, and appointed a young octoroon trader,
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, to command the expedition. Gatumba
had a ferocious ally named (iotora, supposed, like many other
natives of the interior, to be a professing cannibal. With seven
hundred men (iotora attacked the little Liberian mission station
of Heddington on the St. Paul's River ; but although Hedding-
ton was only inhabited by a handful of American settlers, thev
were well armed, and offered such a determined resistance that
Gotora was killed and his men desisted from attack. Buchanan
accompanied the little army which he had placed under General
Roberts's command. He resolved to carry the war into the
enemy's country, and so the three hundred Liberians marched
through the dense forest on Gatumba's stronghold, which is said
to have been a walled town about twenty miles from Millsburg.
They were obliged to leave their cannons behind, owing to the
great difficulty of transporting heavy loads through the forest
and occasional swamps. But they made up for the lack, of
180
-^ Governors of Liberia
artillery by well-directed volleys, which so impressed Gatumba's
soldiers that after the first fierce conflict they abandoned their
stronghold and chief. The Liberians occupied Gatumba*s town
for twenty-four hours and then burnt it to the ground.
Gatumba became a wanderer, and this determined action
515. A HOI'C»K<,) MAN VI>ITIN(: r;oVKKNMKNT HOlSK,
MONROVIA
acquired for the L.iberian Government considerable prestige in
the eyes of the natives. A fresh treaty of peace and friendship
was made with the chiefs at Boporo ; but although Gatumba had
lost all power, the country on both banks of the St. Paul's
River remained in an unsettled state for some time, and its
agricultural development, which had been proceeding so satis-
181
Liberia ^
factorily during the 'thirties, received a check from which it
took a long time to recover.
Writing in May, 1839, Buchanan states that ''the right
bank of the River St. Paul presents an almost continuous line
of cultivated farms.** Some of the recent colonists derived from
America were not by any means suited to the Siberian life.
They were townsmen, and not agriculturists, and it is to be
feared that from 1840 onwards nothing like the same propor-
tionate advance in Liberian agriculture has been made such as
occurred during the 'thirties of the nineteenth century.
Buchanan took advantage of the prestige acquired by the
Liberian forces in the war against Gatumba' to conclude treaties
of friendship with several native chiefs and bring all his influence
to bear in suppressing internecine warfare amongst the tribes, in
putting down barbarous customs such as the poison ordeal, and,
above all, in attackit^g the slave trade, which had been again
reorganised and had at its command a powerful confederacy of
chiefs. Unfortunately, this slave trade was actually (at that
period) encouraged and maintained by American ships under the
Stars and Stripes. American slaving ships bore ofl^ their cargoes
of wretched men and women unmolested, because at that period
the British Goverfiment had not acquired the right to search
American vessels, while the United States Government would
not (until about 1842) take any measures of its ow^n to stop
this traffic. But for the British cruisers, Buchanan must have
looked on impotently whilst the vicinity of the Basil settlements
and Cape Mount was turned into slave-exporting stations.^
' As the result of this war, he himself received the nickname of Big Cannon,
a very easy corruption of •• Burhanan."
2 Writing of the British naval officers,' Buchanan says, " Whilst making
various complaints against English traders, I cannot forbear placing in distinguished
contrast the honourable and gentlemanly conduct of the naval officers of that
nation. They invariably manifest a warm interest in the prosperity of the colony,
^nd often lay me under obligations by their kind offers of service."
182
-^ Governors of Liberia
But the co-operation of British ships was not without its
danger for the independence of Liberia. The palm-oil trade
was ousting the commerce in slaves as an inducement for
European enterprise on the West Coast of Africa ; and Great
Britain at this time, and for many years to come, was the
principal purchaser of palm oil, a commodity to which Liverpool
and British shipping owe not a little of their development during
the last sixty years. Liberia was found to be well endowed
with the oil palm, and British traders from Sierra Leone began
to settle on the Lberian coast, very anxious to carry their flag
with them, and very scornful of a Government conducted by
civilised Negroes. In 1840 Buchanan decided to send an agent
to England to obtain assurances that English colonisation societies
would not encroach on the limits of Liberia. The Liberians
viewed with suspicion the motives of the British Anti-Slavery
Society even under the direction of philanthropists like Fowell
Buxton. It was thought that under the guise of philanthropy
Great Britain would extend her rule eastwards from Sierra
Leone until she linked it with the Gold Coast Colony.
Americans interested in the future of Liberia at this time urged
the United States to purchase the Dutch and Danish settlements
on the Gold Coast, ^ in the hope that this action might intensify
United States* interest in Liberia, which Buchanan was desirous
of turning into a regular American colony for American Negroes.
In 1840 it was calculated that Liberia (excluding Maryland)
had a population of 2,221 American settlers and 30,000 freed
slaves or natives who had placed themselves under Liberian
government. But the whole colony still remained heavily ifidebt
to the American societies, little attempt having ever been made
to raise money by local industry so as to repay to these
societies the cost of founding Liberia. Buchanan addressed very
^ Eventually acquired by Great Britain.
183
Liberia ^
drastic remarks from time to time to the settlers on their want
of self-respect, urging them to become self-supporting. When
a settlement or township asked for a school, he told them there
was nothing simpler than to start such an institution if they
would club together amongst themselves for the necessary-
money to support it. He himself was rebuked by the American
Colonisation Society for the very poor cargoes of agricultural
produce which were sent back from Liberia to the United
States by the return voyages of the ships that brought out
emigrants. Moreover, during his Governorship several of
the sailing vessels that kept up communication between Liberia
and the mother-country were lost on the coast, and com-
munications with America gradually dwindled. Some years
later, the first British steamer from Liverpool came out to the
West Coast of Africa (the Macp'ej;or Lainf), and gradually
by this means it became easier and quicker to visit Great
Britain than to cross the Atlantic to the United States. From
this time perhaps (1840) may he dated the gradual turning
towards Great Britain on the part of Liberia, which in spite
of a few rebuffs and some harsh treatment has till the present
time increased gnidually into a very strong sympathy between
the two countries, aided no doubt by the brotherly relations
which have grown up between Liberia and the very similar
Negro colony of Sierra Leone.
Buchanan was much worried durinir the last two years of his
life by the intrigues and opposition of the Rev. Mr. Seyes, a
prominent (? Baptist) missionary. Mr. Seyes appears to have
wished to become a sort of religious Dictator or Grand Elector,
to control the Government and iornore the American Colonisa-
tion Society.
Governor Buchanan died at (lovernnient House, Basa Cove,
on September 3rd, 1841, after an illness lasting about ten days.
184
^ Governors of Liberia
He had been on a vessel to Marshall, at the mouth of the
Junk River, and here had narrowly escaped drowning in the
surf, his soaking with sea water being followed by exposure
to drenching rain. He returned to Basa very ill with fever,
recovered somewhat, and then imprudently left his sick-room
to resume business before he was properly convalescent. He
was seized wnth a relapse, and after a tough struggle for life
died, to the deep regret of natives and colonists alike along
the coast regions of Liberia. After him were named the
two principal Liberian settlements at Grand Basa — Upper and
Lower Buchanan. He was the last c>f the white administrators
of Liberia.
His successor in the (iovernorship was General Joseph
Jenkins Roberts, the first man of colour ' to rule Liberia.
He was a native of V'irginia, born in 1809. He came to
Liberia as a young man of twenty years old in 1829. Roberts
at first was a trader, had seen something of the nearer interior
in this capacity, and had developed very friendly relations with
several native chiefs. Entering the Liberian Militia, he rose
rapidly to a position of command, and was already a "General ''
in 1839 when he was placed by Buchanan at the head of the
troops which delivered such a spirited attack on Gatumba's
stronghold. His success in the armed forces marked him out
very naturally as the leading man of the colony in succession
to Buchanan. He took up the reins of office as soon as the
news reached Monrovia of Buchanan's death, and was later
on confirmed in the position of Governor by the American
Colonisation Society.
He had not been in office many months when he was
' His tinge of NVgro blood was but slight. He is generally callcnl an
octoroon, and at the age of (say) forty was a slight-built, handsome man with
a very English-looking face, brown hair, blonde moustache and grey eyes. As
he grew older and stayed longer in Africa he became more sallow in complexion.
185
Liberia ^
faced with a serious difficulty. Since Louis Philippe had
become King of the French, vigorous measures had been
taken on the West Coast of Africa by the French Navy
against the slave trade, partly from a spirit of genuine
philantliropy, and partly because, owing to naval jealousy of
England, it was not desired to leave to Great Britain alone
the task of policing these waters. Witnessing the success
56. (;(;VERN<)R JOSKTII 1. kOHKKTS (AFTKK-
WAKPs I'KKSIDKm). from AN OIL
l'AINlIN(i I \1 ( 111 I> AHoir 1849
from a commercial point of view which had attended the
establishment of Sierra Leone and other British colonies and
depots on the West Coast of Africa (especially since the
development of the palm-oil industry), it not unnaturally
occurred to the French Government that in this work of
suppressing the slave trade it was necessary to have points
d'appui on the coasts for their own cruisers, French footholds
pn the West African littoral eastwards of Senegal. Up till
|8(5
-Pi Governors of Liberia
about 1S40 the French possessions on the West Coast of Africa
were practically limited to the course of the River Senegal,
the Cape Verde Peninsula, and the little island of Goree.^ But
after 1840 France took possession of places on the coast to
the south of British Gambia and the north of Sierra Leone.
She acquired Grand Bassam and one or two other points on the
Ivory Goast, certain claims at Porto Novo, near Lagos, and
the mouth of the Gabun River, which was subsequently to
develop into her vast Congo possessions. In 1842 she en-
deavoured to establish herself on the coast of Liberia by
purchasing from the native chiefs (who were ready to sell
their countries fifty times over) Cape Mount, the site of Great
or Little Dieppe at Basa Cove, Great and Little Butu, and
Garawe, on the western borders of the State of Maryland.
At Garawe the French flag was hoisted '' by Royal authority,"
and it was asserted that a considerable portion of the Kru
coast had been purchased from the natives. Apparently, though
there is no clear record of the circumstances. Governor Roberts
protested strongly against this overriding (in most cases) of
previous Liberian purchases ; but as no immediate attempts
were made by the French to follow up these actions on the
part of naval commanders by any definite taking of possession,
the question dropped for a long time out of view, and the
French claims were only revived (more for purposes of negotia-
tion than anything else) in 1892.
But this action of the French, combined with the increased
commercial activity of the British, stirred up Governor Roberts
to make fresh efibrts to purchase from the natives all the more
important sites along the coast of Liberia between Cape Mount
and the borders of Maryland. On February 22nd, 1843,
Roberts concluded a treaty with King Yoda of the Gora country,
^ Originally Dutch and often occupied by the English,
»87
Liberia ^
which enabled Liberian influence to be a good deal extended
up the St. Paul's River. In this treaty the Goras pledged
themselves to abolish slavery and trial by poison ordeal. In
December, 1843, on various dates in 1844, and in 1845, Roberts
concluded other and further arrangements, strengthening the
position of Liberia on the Junk River, at Grand Basa, at Sino,
on the Sanguin, and west of Cape Mount in the direction of
the Mano River; so that by 1845 the Liberian Colony could
claim something like direct government over the whole coast
between the Mafa River on the west and Grand Sesters River
on the east, where the territory of Maryland began.'
Maryland had insisted on maintaining an existence inde-
pendent of Liberia proper. Founded in 1831, it numbered
about four hundred colonists in 1840. In 1843 '^^ coast-line
extended for about ten miles west of Cape Palmas, but by the
year 1846 treaties with the various petty chiefs of the Kru
tribes on either side of Cape Palmas extended the Maryland
State from the Liberian frontier at the Grand Sesters River
on the west to the River San Pedro, sixty miles east of Cape
Palmas. 1 his therefore was a coast-line of about one hundred
and twenty miles. In 1892 the l^Vench Ciovernment suddenly
annexed the fifty miles of coast between the San Pedro and the
Cavalla River, taking away the hinterland at the same time.
Thus the existing county of Maryland is but a fragment of
the State which was projected in the 'forties of the nineteenth
century. The administrative capital of Maryland was situated
at Cape Palmas, and named Harper, after Robert Goodloe
Harper of Baltimore, who had been one of the most active
members of the American Colonisation Society. The first
' Considerable sums in cash were occasionally ])aid in these territorial
acquisitions, the money being furnished by the American and other Colonisation
Societies.
188
MAP 4
Liberia ^
Governor of Maryland was John H. Russwurm/ an octoroon
like Roberts, the contemporary Governor of Liberia, and also
a most energetic, capable man. It was agreed between Roberts
and Russwurm that Maryland and Liberia should, as it were,
make common cause against the outside world, and should as far
as [x^ssible pursue a common jx^licy, especially in the matter
of a Customs taritF, wh^ch in the case of both colonies was
: : ^ ■\ \ \ V : ■. r k
twcvi M A i::.:! ••
was hv^pv\: v^;::
fvnuis tx> jr.vv: ::
to lOHvicr tiu:r.
\anous Anu t'.v.i
1^ *:: :\ r: vi..:\ : ' :vr cc:::. .:.: z\i.^rc'n:. It
. t' ::^ > v^\>:.^:^^< -v.^' ..c to obtain sufficient
v^ vv^s: v^T ...v^. •' >:v:-*.i: the colonies and thus
.r.vic'.vr.v'v-t .: :r. '.vMT-N Svjpix^rt trom the
Nv^' r ru-.ition of Liberia
. r. , i. . . .: oi :hc West lncie<.
^ Governors of Liberia
(including Maryland — about 400) was 2,790.^ In the same year
there were only six white men (traders) settled on the coast of
Liberia, and perhaps one or two more at Cape Palmas in Maryland.
In this year it was noted that the north-western part of Liberia
was invaded by an increased number of Muhammadan traders
coming from the Mandingo countries, and these Mandingos
commenced an active propaganda amongst the natives in favour
of Muhammadanism. The Vai had already embraced the faith
' The following abstract of census of Liberia down to September, 1843, is taken
from TAe African Refosiiory^ and may be of interest at this stage. It does not
refer to Maryland.
Year.
1820
182 1
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
183s
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1 841
1842
1843
Total
Arrivals.
86
33
37
65
103
66
182
234
301
147
326
165
655
639
237
183
2C9
76
205
56
86
229
19
4,454
Deaths.
15
7
14
»5
21
2 1
48
29
137
67
1 ro
«3
129
217
140
83
»45
141
185
135
180
ICO
91
85
2,198
Removals.
35
8
5
8
8
3
6
14
24
25
25
12
83
122
31
32
»3
6
12
10
6
9
15
2
5'4
Births Uiving) *
3
6
3
6
3
6
12
20
20
30
13
44
33
48
47
58
56
55
40
78
35
29
645
Population.
36
54
75
120
200
248
379
576
638
813
1,024
1,117
1.573
1.917
2,016
2,132
2,230
2,217
2,281
2.247
2,216
2,271
2,429
2,390
In the same year the Americo-Liberian population of Maryland was estimated
at 400. The total of the Americo-Liberians in that year, therefore, may be stated,
at only about 2,790.
* i>. number of children of each year who were surviving in 1843.
191
Liberia ^
of Islam more or less, without abandoning their initiation
ceremonies and *' devil dances/' The Goras also began to go
over to the Arabian religion, which many of them have adopted
at the present time ; and the Des, the great Kpwesi tribe in all its
various divisions, and all the Kru peoples remained aloof and
attached to the vague fetishistic beliefs which they still profess.
On the other hand, at Cape Palmas some slight progress was
made in Christianising the Grebo people, and the Rev. J. S.
Payne (who died in 1874), commenced in 1843 ^^^ somewhat
remarkable missionary labours amongst them. The cessation
of the slave trade and the remarkable activity of Governors
Roberts and Russwurm gave a considerable fillip to commerce
on the Liberian coast. The natives began to give up their
incessant internecine fighting (originally undertaken to supply
the slave market), and brought increasing quantities of palm oil,
palm kernels, and ivory to the coast.
The definite establishment of a 6 per cent, ac/ valorem import
duty at the Customs Houses of Liberia provoked a crisis in the
status of the colony. British merchants who had come to
the country to trade scoffed openly at the idea of a Negro
Government, and refused to recognise the rights of Governor
Roberts or Governor Russwurm to submit their commerce to
any tax, or to interfere in any way with their engagement of
Kruboys or other more questionable acts still savouring of the
slave trade. They therefore set the Liberian authorities at
defiance.
To deal with these and other problems afFecting the
continued existence of Liberia, Governor Roberts paid a visit
to the United States in 1844, and in the same year an American
squadron visited the coast of Liberia. After Roberts returned
from America, he concluded an important agreement with the
chief Bob Gray, who had long been an ally and friend of
192
^ Governors of Liberia
the American colonists in the Grand Basa district. A treaty
with this chief was concluded on April 5th, 1845, which
definitely established Liberian authority over the coast between
Marshall (Junk River) and the Grand Basa settlements. Later
on in 1845, Roberts further strengthened the rights of the
colony over the Sino and Kru coast, and the prestige conferred
on him by the visit of the American squadron to some extent
counteracted the shock to the Liberian influence over the
natives by an unexpected protest from Sierra Leone against
the assertion of sovereign rights.
The British merchants were told by the authorities at Sierra
Leone that the Liberian Administration had no right to levy
Customs duties anywhere on the Liberian coast, and they were
therefore guaranteed against acts of aggression on the part of
the unrecognised Government of that country. The first test
case was the attempt of the Liberians at Basa Cove to charge
harbour and import dues on a British trader settled there who
was known as Captain Dring. A naval oflicer of the West
African Squadron, Commander Jones, was sent from Sierra
Leone to Monrovia with a letter from the British Government,
in which Governor Roberts was plainly told that Great Britain
could not recognise the right of " private persons " to con-
stitute themselves a Government, and amongst other acts of
sovereignty to levy Customs duties. The Liberians later on,
in 1 845, having seized in the anchorage of Basa a ship known
as the Little Ben (belonging to a Captain Davidson of Sierra
Leone) for non-payment of harbour dues. Commander Jones
arrived on an English gunboat, and sent an armed cutter into
the anchorage of Grand Basa, which there seized a vessel, the
John SeyeSj belonging to Benson, a Liberian subject. The
reason of this action was alleged to be the desire to possess
an equivalent for the indemnification of Dring and Davidson;
VOL. I 193 13
\
Liberia ^
but at the same time it was stated that Benson, the Liberian,
was susp)ected of shipping slaves to America. Nevertheless, the
Government of Sierra Leone seems to have invited Governor
Roberts to state a case for Liberia which would have the
attention of Her Majesty's Government.
The Liberians at this time were a prey to great anxiety.
Six months had elapsed without direct news from America,
and the French were beginning to annex places on the Ivory
Coast in addition to their paper claims to Cape Mount, Grand
Basa, and points on the Kru coast. The seizure of the "John
C^ Seyes, however, decided the United States Government to ap-
proach the British Ministry with the desire for an explanation.
The reply was that Great Britain could not recognise the
sovereign powers of Liberia, which it regarded as the commercial
experiment of a philanthropic society. It was alleged that
Captain Dring by residence had prior rights at Basa Cove to
those of the Liberian colonists. Lord Aberdeen, then Foreign
Minister, wrote to Mr. Everett, the American Ambassador at
the Court of St. James, stating that " Her Majesty's naval
commanders would afford efficient protection to British trade
against improper assumption of power on the part of the
Liberian authorities'' (referring presumably to the levying of
Customs duties and harbour dues). The United States did not
follow up their intervention very energetically. Their Minister
in Great Britain replied that his country had no intention of
'' presuming to settle differences arising between Liberian and
British subjects, the Liberians being responsible for their own
acts." Throughout this correspondence it was plain that the
United States had no intention of claiming for Liberia the status
of an American colony ; in fact, that it was desirous of re-
linquishing any responsibility entailed on it by the creation of
this Negro settlement.
194
-#i Governors of Liberia
In January, 1 846, it was resolved by the American Colonisa-
tion Society through its Board of Directors that " the time had
arrived when it was expedient for the people of the Common-
wealth of Liberia to take into their own hands the whole
work of self-government, including the management of all their
foreign relations."
Fortunately for this experiment, the British Government
at that time was not anxious to increase its territorial responsi-
bilities on the West Coast of Africa, or there is little doubt
that had it decided during 1846 to annex Liberia the United
States would not have offered any very determined opposition.
But there were as yet no steamships plying between Britain
and the West Coast of Africa ; the British Government was
in no hurry to act precipitately, and during this fortunate lull
Governor Roberts strengthened the hold of his country over
the Grain Coast by further purchases from the natives. In
this year eighty miles of the Kru coast (and later on the Kru
towns of Setra Kru and Grand Sesters) were purchased from
the natives. During this year also a determined attack on the
slave trade was made, especially in the region of Cape Mount,
where Canot was settled, ostensibly as an innocent trader. The
British cruisers co-operated whole-heartedly with the actions
of Governor Roberts, and seem to have landed the slaves they
liberated from the Spanish vessels on the coast of Liberia.
Here they were ''apprenticed" to Liberian subjects, the adults
for seven years and the children till the age of twenty-one,
the girls being mostly sent to the mission schools already
established.
The additional purchases of territory, however, and this
apprenticeship system both attracted the unfavourable notice
of the British Government. It was alleged with some degree
of truth that the forcible apprenticeship of these released slaves
195
Liberia ^
to Liberian settlers was little else than slavery for a term of
years under another name, and the British Government resented
the activity of Roberts in buying up all the vacant spots on
the coast as an attempt to pre-judge the eventual solution of
the status of the Liberian colony. With regard to the ap-
prenticeship, it is of course the case that where this system
^^l^^^^^HH
1 ^-^.'r* Jv^HHH
«'AiU:r..;!R-j4»VG^
OI.I) MAN<.
IRI.l S IN MO.NUONIA, MiAK KOHKKTSS HOL'SE
has been abused from 1846 to the present day it has resulted
in these released slaves leading a life of servitude under a
Christian Liberian which differed in little but dulness and
respectability from the life he would have led witli a Muhammadan
master in the interior. But hiany of these slaves were worthless
people, convicted of crimes in their own land, and in almost
all cases it was impossible to repatriate them. Left to themselves
196
^ Governors of Liberia
they would have led a vagrant, useless hfe which would have
turned them into criminals once more, or have resulted in
their being enslaved by the Kruboys or the Mandingos. On
the whole, the apprenticeship resulted in no great abuse, and
many of these apprenticed Negroes settled down eventually in
the status of Liberians.
59. n.WDA.^lMA ON WW. KIVKR SII.IMA
(Pre«-idem Roberts sinjve to int hide the Lower SuHina River within Liherian boundaries
It now only bounds I-iV>eria on the north-west)
197
A
CHAPTER XII
INDEPENDENCE
FTER the communication from the American Colonisa-
tion Society in January, 1 846, Governor Roberts decided
that the only way of saving the special character of
the Liberian colony was to declare it to be an independent
Negro republic. He obtained the assent of the mother societv
to this proposition. It was then submitted to a council of
Liberians, and voted for by a large majority on October 7th,
1846. Nearly all the local opposition to this scheme came,
curiously enough, from the people in Grand Basa.
The news of this decision was not received by the British
Government with any disfavour ; on the contrary, it seems to
have been intimated that, provided Liberia constituted itself a
definite State with definite responsibilities, it would receive full
recognition from the British Government. Through the spring
and early summer of 1847 the Liberians continued to discuss
the question of independence. On May i8th an ordinance for
administering justice in the State of Maryland was passed, and
preparation was made to declare Maryland an independent State
simultaneously with Liberia.' July 8th, 1 847, was declared a day
of public thanksgiving in Liberia, to mark the conclusion of
the efforts which had been made to draw up the terms of the
1 No recognition was afforded by foreign Powers to the independent status of
Maryland. It seems to have been realised that its fusion with Liberia wjis ap
inevitable and a desirable event.
198
^ Independence
Declaration of Independence and the future constitution of the
Liberian Republic.
On July 26th a solemn Declaration of Independence on the
part of the Liberian nation was made in Convention. Roberts
seems to have been absent from Monrovia at the time ; Samuel
Benedict, the Chief Justice of Liberia, was elected President of
the Convention which made this declaration. The other
members were H. Teage, General Elijah Johnson, J. N. Lewis,
Beverly Wilson, and J. B. Gripon (representatives of the
Montserrado County); John Day, Amos Herring, A. \V. Gardner,
Ephraim Titler (representatives from Grand Basa) ; and R. E.
Murray, representative from Sino. Mr. Jacob W. Prout was
the Secretary of the Convention. The Constitution was adopted
by a unanimous vote, and as it is still the Constitution of the
Liberian Republic, it may be here given together with the text
of the preliminary declaration :
IN CONVENTION— DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDKNCE
We, the representatives of the people of the commonwealth of
Liberia, in convention assembled, iinestcd with the authority of
forming a new Government, relying upon the aid and protection
of the Great Arbiter of human events, do hereby in the name and
on behalf of the people of this commonwealth, publish and declare
the said commonwealth a free, sovereign, and independent State,
by the name and title of the Republic of Liberia.
While announcinj^ to the nations of the world the new position
which the people of this republic have felt themselves called upon
to assume, courtesy to their opinion seems to demand a brief
accompanying statement of the causes which induced them, first
to expatriate themselves from the land of their nativity and to form
settlements on this barbarous coast, and now to organise their
Government by the assumption of a sovereign and independent
character. Therefore, we respectfully ask their attention to the
following facts :
199
Liberia ^
VVc recognise in all men certain inalienable rights ; among these
are life, liberty, and the right to acquire, possess, enjoy, and defend
property. By the practice and consent of men in all ages, some
system or form of government is proven to be necessary to exercise,
enjoy, and secure these rights, and every people has a right to
institute a government, and to choose and adopt that system, or
form of it, which in their opinion will most effectually accomplish
these objects, and secure their happiness, which does not inter-
fere with the just rights of others. The right, therefore, to institute
government and powers necessary to conduct it is an inalienable
right and cannot be resisted without the grossest injustice.
We, the people of the Republic of Liberia, were originally
inhabitants of the United States of North America.
In some parts of that country we were debarred by law from
all rights and privileges of man — in other parts, public sentiment,
more powerful than law, frowned us down.
\Ve were everywhere shut out from all civil office.
We were excluded from all participation in the Government.
\Vc were taxed without our consent.
VVc were compelled to contribute to the resources of a country
which gave us no protection.
We were made a separate and distinct class, and against us
every avenue of improvement was effectually closed. Strangers
from other lands, of a colour different from ours, were preferred
before us.
W'c uttered our complaints, but they were unattended to, or
only met by allci^ing the peculiar institutions of the country.
All hope of a favourable change in our country was thus
wholly extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked with anxiety
for some asylum from the deep degradation.
The western coast of Africa was the place selected by
American benevolence and philanthropy for our future home.
Removed beyond those influences which oppressed us in our native
land, it was hoped we would be enabled to enjoy those rights and
privileges and exercise and improve those faculties which the God
of nature has given us in common with the rest of mankind.
Under the auspices of the American Colonisation Society, we
established ourselves here, on land acquired by purchase from the
lords of the soil.
2O0
^ Independence
In an original compact with this Society, we, for important
reasons, delegated to it certain political powers ; while this institu-
tion stipulated that whenever the people should become capable of
conducting the government, or whenever the people should desire it,
this institution would resign the delegated power, peacefully withdraw
its supervision, and leave the people to the government of themselves.
Under the auspices and guidance of this institution, which
has nobly and in perfect faith redeemed its pledges to the people,
we have grown and prospered.
From time to time our number has been increased by immi-
gration from America, and by accession from native tribes ; and
from time to time, as circumstances required it, we have extended
our borders by the acquisition of land by honourable purchase
from the natives of the country.
As our territory has extended and our population increased,
our commerce has also increased. The flags of most civilised nations
of the earth float in our harbours, and their merchants are opening
an honourable and profitable trade. Until recently, these visits
have been of a uniformly harmonious character ; but as they have
become more frequent and to more numerous points of our ex-
tending coast, questions have arisen which, it is supposed, can be
adjusted only by agreement between soverei^^n Powers.
For years past, the American Colonisation Society has virtually
withdrawn from all direct and active part in the administration of
the Government, except in tlic appointment of the Governor, who
is also a colonist, for the apparent purpose of testing the ability
of the people to conduct the affairs of government, and no complaint
of crude legislation, nor of mismanagement, nor of maladministration
has yet been heard.
In view of these facts, this institution, the American Colonisa-
tion Society, with that good faith which has uniformly marked
all its dealings with us, did, by a set of resolutions in January, in
the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-six,
dissolve all political connection with the people of this republic,
returned the power with which it was delegated, and left the people
to the government of themselves.
The people of the Republic of Liberia, then, are of right, and
in fact, a free, sovereign, and independent State, possessed of all
the rights, powers, and functions of government.
2o\
Liberia ^
In assumtng the momentous responsibilities of the position
they have taken, the people of this republic feel justified by the
necessities of the case, and with this conviction they throw them-
selves with confidence upon the candid consideration of the civih'sed
world.
Liberia is not the offsprinij of grasping ambition, nor the tool
of avaricious speculation.
No desire for territorial aggrandisement brought us to these
shores ; nor do wc believe so sordid a motive entered into the
high consideration of those who aided us in providing this asylum.
Liberia is an asylum from the most grinding oppression.
In coming to the shores of Africa, we indulged the pleasing
hope that we would be permitted to exercise and improve those
faculties which impart to man his dignity ; to nourish in our hearts
the flame of honourable ambition ; to cherish and indulge those
aspirations which a beneficent Creator had implanted in every human
heart, and to evince to all who despise, ridicule, and oppress our
race that wc possess with them a common nature ; are with them
susceptible of equal refinement, and capable of equal advancement
in all that adorns and dignifies man.
We were animated by the hope that here we should be at
liberty to train up our children in the way that they should go ; to
inspire them with the love of an honourable fame ; to kindle within
them the flame of a lofty philanthropy, and to form strongly within
them the principles of humanity, virtue, and religion.
Among the strongest motives to leave our native land — to
abandon for ever the scenes of our childhood and to sever the most
endeared connections— was the desire for a retreat where, free from
the agitations of fear and molestation, we could approach in worship
the God of our fathers.
Thus far our highest hopes have been realised.
Liberia is already the happy home of thousands who were once
the (loomed victims of oppression ; and if left unmolested to go on
witli her natural and spontaneous growth, if her movements be left
free from the paralysing intrigues of jealous ambition and un-
scrupulous avarice, she will throw open a wider and yet a wider
door for thousands who are now looking with an anxious eye for
Moin<* land of rest.
Our ctuirts of justice are open equally to fhe stranger and th^
20^
^ Independence
citizen for the redress of grievances, for the remedy of injuries, and
for the punishment of crime.
Our numerous and well-attended schools attest our efforts and
our desire for the improvement of our children.
Our churches for the worship of our Creator, everywhere to be
seen, bear testimony to our acknowledgment of His providenc^.
The native African, bowing down with us before the alte^r of
the living God, declares that from us, feeble as we are, the light
of Christianity has gone forth, while upon that curse of curses, the
slave trade, a deadly blight has fallen, as far as our influence
extends.
Therefore, in the name of humanity, and virtue, and religion,
in the name of the great God, our common Creator, we appeal to
the nations of Christendom, and earnestl\' and respectfully ask of
them that they will rcL^ard us with the sympathy and friendly
considerations to which the peculiarities of our condition entitle us,
and to extend to us that comity which marks the friendly inter-
course of civilised and independent communities.
CONSTITUTION
Article I. Declaration of Rights
The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration
of government is to secure the existence of the body politic ;
to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it
with the power of enjoying in safety and tranquillity their
natural rights, and the blessings of life ; and whenever these
great objects are not obtained, the people have a right to
alter the government, and to take measures necessary for their
safety, prosperity, and happiness.
Therefore we, the people of the commonwealth of Liberia
in Africa, acknowledging with devout gratitude the goodness
of God in granting to us the blessings of the Christian
religion, and political, religious, and civil liberty, do, in order
to secure these blessings for ourselves and our posterity,
203
Liberia ^
hereby solemnly associate and constitute ourselves a free,
sovereign, and independent State, by the name of the Republic
of Liberia, and do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the government of the same.
Section i. All men are born equally free and independent
and have certain natural, inherent, and inalienable rights,
among which are the rights of enjoying and defending life
and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property,
and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Section 2. All power is inherent in the people ; all free
governments are instituted by their authority and for their
benefit, and they have a right to alter and reform the same
when their safety and happiness require it.
Section 3. All men have a natural and inalienable right
to worship Go J according to the dictates of their own con-
sciences, without obstruction or molestation from others : all
persons demeaning themselves peaceably, and not obstructing
others in their religious worship are entitled to the protection
of the law in the free exercise of their own religion, and no
sect of Christians shall have exclusive privileges or preference
over any other sect, but all shall be alike tolerated, and no
religious test whatever shall be required as a qualification for
civil office or the exercise of any civil right.
Section 4. There shall be no slavery within this republic ;
nor shall any person resident therein deal in slaves either within
or without this republic.
Section 5. The people have a right at all times, in an
orderly and peaceable manner, to assemble and consult upon
the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to
petition the Government or any public functionaries for the
redress of grievances.
Section 6. Every person injured shall have remedy
204
-^ Independence
therefor by due course of law ; justice shall be done without
denial or delay ; and in all cases not arising under martial
law, or upon impeachment, the parties shall have a right to a
trial by jury, and to be heard in person, or by counsel,
or both.
Section 7. No person shall be held to answer for a
capital or infamous crime, except in cases of impeachment,
cases arising in the army and navy, and petty offences, unless
upon presentment by a grand jury, and every person criminally
charged shall have a right to be seasonably furnished with a
copy of the charge, to be confronted with the witnesses against
him, and have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in
his favour ; to have a speedy, public, and impartial trial by a
jury of the vicinity. He shall not be compelled to furnish
or give evidence against himself; and no person shall for the
same offence be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.
Section 8. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty,
property, or privilege, but by the judgment of his peers, or
the law of the land.
Section 9. No place shall be searched nor person seized on
a criminal charge or suspicion unless by warrant lawfully issued,
upon probable cause supported by oath or solemn affirmation,
specially designating the place or person, and the object of
the search.
Section 10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed nor excessive punishments inflicted ; nor
shall the legislature make any law impairing the obligation of
contracts ; nor any law rendering any act punishable in any
manner in which it was not punishable when it was committed.
Section 1 1 . All elections shall be by ballot, and every male
citizen of twenty-one years of age, possessing real estate, shall
have the right of suffrage.
205
Liberia ^
Section 12. The people have a right to keep and to bear
krms for the common defence. And as, in time of peace,
fermies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained
without the consent of the legislature, and the military power
shall always be held in exact subordination to the civil authority,
and be governed by it.
Section 13. Private property shall not be taken for public
use without just compensation.
Section 14. The powers of this Government shall be divided
into three distinct departments — the Legislature, Executive, and
Judicial ; and no person belonging to one of these departments
shall exercise any of the powers belonging to others. This
section is not to be construed to include justices of the peace.
Section 15. The liberty of the press is essential to the
security of freedom in a state ; it ought not, therefore, to be
restrained in this republic.
The press shall be free to every person who undertakes
to examine the proceedings of the legislature, or any branch
of the Govertiment ; and no law shall ever be made to restrain
the rights thereof The free communication of thoughts and
opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every
citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being
responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating
the official conduct of officers or men in a public capacity, or
where the matter published is proper for public information,
the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And in all
indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine
the law and the facts, under the direction of the Court, as in
other cases.
Section 16. No subsidy, charge, impost, or duties ought
to be established or levied under any pretext whatsoever, without
206
^. Independence
the consent of the people or their representatives in the
legislature.
Section 17. Suits may be brought against the republic in
such manner, and in such cases, as the legislature may by
law direct.
Section 18. No person can in any case be subjected to
the law martial, or to any penalties or pains, by virtue of
that law (except those employed in the army or navy and
the militia in actual service) but by the authority of the
legislature.
Section 19. In order to prevent those who are vested
with authority from becoming oppressors, the people have
a right at such periods, and in such manner as they shall
establish by their frame of government, to cause their public
officers to return to private life, and fill up vacant places by
regular elections and appointments.
Section 20. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient
sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident
or presumption great ; and the privilege and benefit of the
writ habeas corpus shall be enjoyed in this republic, in the
most free, easy, cheap, expeditious, and ample manner, and
shall not be suspended by the legislature except upon the
most urgent and pressing occasions, and for a limited time,
not exceeding twelve months.
Article II. Legislativk Powers
Section i. The legislative power shall be vested in a
legislature of Liberia and consist of two separate branches —
a House of Representatives and a Senate, to be styled the
Legislature of Liberia — each of which shall have a negative
on the other ; and the enacting style of their acts and laws
shall be '' It is enacted by the Senate and House of
207
Liberia ^
Representatives of the Republic of Liberia in legislature
assembled."
Section 2. The representatives shall be elected by and
for the inhabitants of the several counties of Liberia, and shall
be apportioned among the several counties of Liberia as follows.
The county of Montserrado shall have four representatives,
the county of Grand Bassa shall have three, and the county
of Sino shall have one, and all counties thereafter which shall
be admitted in the republic shall have one representative,
and for every ten thousand inhabitants one representative
shall be added. No person shall be a representative who
has not resided in the county two whole years previous to
his election, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant
of the county, and does not own real estate of less value
than one hundred and fifty dollars in the county in which
he resides, and who shall not have attained the age of twenty-
three years. The representatives shall be elected biennially,
and shall serve two years from the time of their election.
Section 3. When a vacancy occurs in the representation
of any county by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be
filled by a new election.
Section 4. The House of Representatives shall elect
their own Speaker and other officers ; they shall also have the
sole power of impeachment.
Section 5. The Senate shall consist of two members from
Montserrado county, two from Bassa county, and two from
Sino county, and two from each county which may be hereafter
incorporated in this republic. No person shall be a senator
who shall not have resided three whole years immediately
previous to his election in the republic of Liberia and who
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of the county which
he represents, and who shall not have attained the age of
208
^ • -^ Independence
twenty-five yeirs. The senator for each county who shall
have the highest number of votes shall retain his seat for
four years, and the one who shall have the next highest
number of votes, two years, and all who are afterwards elected
to fill their places shall remain in office four years.
Section 6. The Senate shall try all impeachments ; the
senators being first sworn, or solemnly affirmed, to try the
same impartially, and according to law, and no person shall be
convicted but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators
present. Judgment in such cases shall not extend beyond
removal from office, and disqualification to hold an office in
the republic, but the party may still be tried at law for the
same ofience.
When either the President or Vice-President is to be tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside.
Section 7. It shall be the duty of the legislature as soon
as conveniently may be after the adoption of this Constitution,
and once at least in every ten years afterwards, to cause a
true census to be taken of each town and county of the
republic of Liberia, and a representative shall be allowed every
town having a population of ten thousand inhabitants, and for
every additional ten thousand in the counties after the first
census one representative shall be added to that county until
the number of representatives shall amount to thirty — afterwards
one representative shall be added for every thirty thousand.
Section 8. Each branch of the legislature shall be judge
of the election returns and qualifications of its own members.
A majority of each shall be necessary to transact business, but
a less number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the
attendance of absent members. Each House may adopt its own
rules of proceeding, enforce order, and with the concurrence
of two-thirds may expel a member.
VOL. I 209 14
/■■
')
Liberia <4-
Section 9. Neither House shall adjourn for more than two
days without the consent of the other ; and both Houses shall
sit in the same town.
Section 10. Every bill or resolution which shall have
passed both branches of the legislature, shall, before it becomes
a law, be laid before the President for his approval. If he
approves he shall sign it ; if not, he shall return it to the
legislature with his objections. If the legislature shall afterwards
pass the vote or resolution by a vote of two-thirds, in each
branch, it shall become law. I; the President shall neglect to
return such bill or resolution to the legislature with his
objection for five days after the same shall have been so laid
before him — the legislature remaining in session during that
time — such neglect shall be equivalent to his signature.
Section 11. The senators and representatives shall receive
from the republic a compensation for their services, to be
ascertained by law ; and shall be privileged from arrest, except
for treason, felony, or breach of the peace, while attending at,
going to, or returning from the session of the legislature.
Article III. Executive Power
Section i . The supreme executive power shall be vested
in a President, who shall be elected by the people, and shall
hold his office for the term of two years. He shall be
commander-in-chief of the army and navy. He shall, in the
recess of the Legislature, have power to call out the militia
into actual service in defence of the republic. He shall have
power to make treaties, provided the Senate concur therein by a
vote of two-thirds of the senators present. He shall nominate,
and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint and
commission all ambassadors, and other public ministers and
consuls, secretaries of state, of war, of the navy, and of the
^ Independence
treasury ; attorney-general, all judges of courts, sheriffs, coroners,
marshals, justices of peace, clerks of courts, registrars, notaries
public, and all other officers of state, civil and military, whose
appointment may not be otherwise provided for by the Constitu-
tion, or by standing laws ; and, in the recess of the Senate, he
may fill any vacancy in those offices, until the next session of
the Senate. He shall receive all ambassadors and other public
ministers. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed. He shall inform the legislature of the condition of
the republic and recommend any public measures for their
adoption which he may think expedient. He may, after con-
viction, remit any public forfeitures and penalties, and grant
reprieves and pardons for public offences, except in cases of
impeachment. He may require information and advice from
any public officer, touching matters pertaining to his office.
He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the legislature,
and may adjourn the two Houses whenever they cannot agree
as to the time of adjournment.
Section 2. There shall be a Vice-President, who shall be
elected in the same manner and for the same term as that of
the President, and whose qualifications shall be the same ; he
shall be president of the Senate, and give the casting vote
when the House is equally divided on any subject. And in
case of the removal of the President from office, or his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers of the said
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the
legislature may by law provide for the case of removal, death,
resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice-President,
declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such
officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed,
or a President shall be elected.
Section 3. The secretary of state shall keep the records of
211
l.iberia ^
the State, and all the records and papers of the legislative body
and all other public records and documents, not belonging to
any other department, and shall lay the same, when required,
before the President or legislature. He shall attend upon
them when required, and perform such other duties as may
be enjoined by law.
Section 4. The secretary of the treasury, or other person
who may by law be charged with the custody of the public
moneys, shall, before he receive such moneys, give bonds to
the State, with sufficient sureties for the faithful discharge of
his trust. He shall exhibit a true account of such moneys
when required by the President or legislature ; and no moneys
shall be drawn from the treasury but by warrant from the
President, in consequence of appropriation made by law.
Section 5. All ambassadors and other public ministers and
consuls, the secretary of state of war, of the treasury, and of
the navy, the attorney-general, and postmaster-general, shall
hold their offices during the pleasure of the President. All
justices ot the peace, sheriffi>, marshals, clerks of courts,
registrars, and notaries public shall hold their office for the
term of two years from the date of their respective commissions ;
but may be removed from office within that time by the
President, at his pleasure ; and all other officers whose term
of office may not be otherwise limited by law shall hold their
office during the pleasure of the President.
Section 6. Every civil officer may be removed from office
by impeachment, for official misconduct. Every such officer
may also be removed by the President, upon the address of
both branches of the legislature, stating the particular reasons
for his removal.
Section 7. No person shall be eligible to the office of
President who has not been a citizen of this republic for at
212
-^ Independence
least five years, and shall not have attained the age of thirty-
five years ; and who shall not be possessed of unencumbered
real estate of not less value than six hundred dollars.
Section 8. The President shall at stated times receive for
his services a compensation which shall neither be increased
nor diminished during the period for which he shall have
been elected ; and before he enters on the execution of his
office he shall take the following oath of affirmation :
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the office of President of the Republic of Liberia, and
will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution and enforce the laws of the Republic of Liberia.
Article IV. Judicial Department
Section i. The judicial power of this republic shall be
vested in one supreme court, and such subordinate courts as
the legislature may from time to time establish. The judges
of the supreme court and all other judges of courts shall hold
their office during good behaviour, but may be removed by the
President on the address of two-thirds of both Houses for that
purpose or by impeachment or conviction thereon. The judges
shall have salaries established by law, which may be increased but
not diminished during their continuance of office. They shall
not receive any other perquisite or emoluments whatever on
account of any duty required of them.
Section 2. The supreme court shall have original jurisdic-
tion in all cases affiscting ambassadors or other public ministers
and consuls, and those to which the republic shall be a party.
In all other cases, the supreme court shall have appellate
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, and with such exceptions
and under such regulations as the legislature shall from time
to time make.
Liberia ^
Article V. Miscellaneous Provisions
Section i. All laws now in force in the commonwealth
of Liberia, and not repugnant to this Constitution, shall be in
force as the laws of the Republic of Liberia, until they shall
be repealed by the legislature.
Section 2. All judges, magistrates, and other officers now
concerned in the administration of justice in the commonwealth
of Liberia, and all other existing civil and military officers
therein, shall continue to discharge their respective offices in
the name and by the authority of the republic, until others
shall be appointed and commissioned in their stead.
Section 3. All towns and municipal corporations within
this republic shall retain their existing organisation and privileges,
and the respective officers thereof shall remain in office and
act under the authority of this republic.
Section 4. The first election of President, Vice-President,
Senators, and representatives shall be held on the first Tuesday
in October in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-
seven in the same manner as elections of members of the Council
are chosen in the commonwealth of Liberia, and the votes
shall be certified and returned to the Colonial Secretary, and
the result of the election shall be posted and notified by him as
it is now by law provided in cases of such members of Council.
Section 5. All other elections of President, Vice-President,
senators, and representatives shall be held in the respective towns
on the first Tuesday in May, in every two years, to be held and
regulated in such manner as the legislature may by law prescribe.
The returns of votes shall be made to the Secretary of State, who
shall open the same and forthwith issue notice of election to
the persons apparently so elected senators and representatives ;
and all such returns shall be by him laid before the legislature
214
^ Independence
at its next ensuing session ; and the persons appearing by
such returns to have been duly elected shall organise them-
selves accordingly as the Senate and House of Representatives.
The votes for President shall be sorted, counted, and declared
by the House of Representatives. And if no person shall
appear to have a majority of such votes, the senators and
representatives shall in convention, by joint ballot, elect from
among the persons having the three highest number of votes
a person to act as President for the ensuing term.
Section 6. The legislature shall assemble at least once in
every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in
January, unless a different day shall be appointed by law.
Section 7. Every legislator and other officer appointed under
this Constitution shall, before he enters upon the duties of his
office, take and subscribe a solemn oath or affirmation to support
the Constitution of this republic and impartially discharge the
duties of such office. The presiding officer of the Senate
shall administer such oath or affirmation to the President, in
convention of both Houses ; and the President shall administer
the same to the Vice-President, senators, and representatives
in convention. Other officers may take such oath or affirmation
before the President, chief justice, or any other person who
may be designated by law.
Section 8. All elections of public officers shall be made by
a majority of the votes, except in cases otherwise regulated
by the Constitution or by law.
Section 9. Offices created by this Constitution which the
circumstances of the republic do not require that they shall
be filled, shall not be filled until the legislature shall deem it
necessary.
Section 10. The property of which a woman may be pos-
sessed at the time of her marriage, and also that of which shq
?T5
Liberia ^
may afterwards become possessed, otherwise than by her husband,
shall not be held responsible for his debts, whether contracted
before or after marriage.
Nor shall the property thus intended to be secured to the
woman be alienated otherwise than by her voluntary consent.
Section ii. In all cases in which estates are insolvent, the
widow shall be entitled to one-third of the real estate during
her natural life, and to one-third of the personal estate which
she shall hold in her own right, subject to alienation by her,
devise or otherwise.
Section 12. No person shall be entitled to hold real estate
in this republic unless he be a citizen of the same. Neverthe-
less, this article shall not be construed to apply to colonisation,
missionary, educational, or other benevolent institutions, so long
as the property or estate is applied to its legitimate purposes.
Section 1 3. The great object of forming these colonies being
to provide a home for the dispersed and oppressed children
of Africa, none but persons of colour shall be admitted to
citizenship in this republic.
Section 14. The purchase of any land by any citizen or
citizens from the aborigines of this country, for his or their
own use, or for the benefit of others, as estate or estates in fee
simple, shall be considered null and void to all intents and
purposes.
Section 15. The improvement of the native tribes and
their advancement in the arts of agriculture and husbandry being
a cherished object of this .government, it shall be the duty of
the President to appoint in each county some discreet person
whose duty it shall be to make regular and periodical tours
through the county for the purpose of calling the attention of
the natives to these wholesome branches of industry, and of
instructing them in the same, and the legislature shall, a$
?i6
^ Independence
soon as can conveniently be done, make provision for these
purposes by the appropriation of money.
Section i6. The existing regulations of the American
Colonisation Society in the commonwealth relative to emigrants
shall remain the same in the republic : nevertheless, the legislature
shall make no law prohibiting emigration.
Section 17. This Constitution may be altered whenever two-
thirds of both branches of the legislature shall deem it necessary ;
in which case the alterations and amendments shall first be
considered and approved by the legislature by the concurrence
of two-thirds of the members of each branch, a»id afterwards
by them submitted to the people, and adopted by two- thirds
of all the electors at the next biennial meeting for the election
of senators and representatives.
Done in convention at Monrovia, in the county of
Montserrado, by the unanimous consent of the people of the
commonwealth of I^ibcria this twenty-sixth day of July, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven
and of the republic the first.
In witness whereof we have hereto set our ?iames.
S. Benedict, PresidoiT
J. N. Lewis,
H. Teage, Montserrado
Beverly R. Wilson, County
Elijah Johnson,
J. B. Gripon,
John Day,
A. W. Gardner, Grand 'Basa
Amos Herring, County
Ephraim Titler,.
R. E. Murray, County of Sim,
J. W. ^KOUTy Secretary of Convention,
Liberia <^
Flag and Seal of the Republic of Liberia
The following flag and seal were adopted by the convention,
as the insignia of the Republic of Liberia, and ordered to be
employed to mark its nationality.
Flag : Six red stripes with five white stripes alternately
displayed longitudinally. In the upper angle of the flag, next
to the spear, a square blue ground, covering in depth five
stripes. In the centre of the blue, one white star.
Seal : A dove on the wing, with an open scroll in its
claws. A view of the ocean, with a ship under sail, the sun
just emerging from the waters. A palm-tree, and at its base
a plough and spade. Beneath the emblems, the words Republic
of Liberia ; and above the emblems the national motto. The love
of liberty brought us here.
By order of the convention,
S. Benedict, F resident.
The foregoing Constitution,* modelled a good deal on that
of the United States, was a sound piece of work expressed in
clear language and without the verboseness and oratorical
flourishes of the preliminary Declaration of Independence. It
contains, so far as I know, only one really inconvenient and
unworkable proposition : the President, House of Repre-
sentatives, and half the Senators arc to be elected" for a term
of fjco years only. This means that every other year the
little republic is convulsed by political agitation, while neither
Executive nor Congress can initiate new legislation and set it
going efl^ciently without the paralysing check of a more or
* Which still remains in fon <* uiialt<Tt.*il. ihoii^'h Dr. K. \V. Blydcn and some
others attempted in 1S64 to effect slight chaiii^es. In i(/.)6 a movement has been
started to alter tin* constitution in a lew ])artirulars.
* On the first Tuesday in May every " odtl " year, to take office on January ist
following,
?i8
The Shield, Emblems and Motto of Liberia, as established in 1847
^ Independence
less immediate appeal to the people. The electors are thus
often called upon to pronounce a verdict on new measures which
have had no fair trial. The term of office of Executive and
people's representatives alike should be enlarged to four years,
the term of the senators perhaps to eight.
The franchise is to be exercised (apparently only in towns)
by "every male citizen of twenty-one years possessing real
estate.*' The Constitution did not define the relations which
were to exist between the (American) colonists and the
indigenous Negroes. The real natives of Liberia, indeed, are
only alluded to in Section 15 of Article V.' No doubt for
some time to come the position of native '' kings " and chiefs
must continue to be recognised, but as the component parts of
the republic are welded together the Constitution will have
to be enlarged so as to admit of a reasonable extension of the
franchise to all Africans who are Liberian citizens, and who
acknowledge the central Government at Monrovia.
The flag which was adopted under the Constitution for
the Republic of Liberia was copied from the flag of the
United States. The United States of America had dis-
played no originality in selecting its own national colours.
It had copied without reflection the red, white, and blue of
Great Britain.'"' Without consideration, therefore, the new
State of Liberia adopted the colours of the United States
and a modification of the same design — alternate red and
white stripes, with a white star on a blue ground in the left-
hand corner.
No combination of colours has been done to death in the
same way amongst the nations of the world as red, white,
* And in S'^ction 14 of tlie .same articlo. wluTein the natives' riglit to their
own land is somew hat obscurely safegnardcd.
' Our own colours being derived from the red and u iiite of England and
Scotland combined with tiie blue and white of Ireland (St. Patrick's colours},
219
Liberia ^
and blue. Holland was apparently the first to start this arrange-
ment, Great Britain followed suit in the reign of Queen Anne,
then the United States, France, Russia, half a dozen South
American republics and the kingdom of Servia. If those who
directed the shaping of Liberia had given a little thought and
attention to this important symbolism, they would certainly
not have chosen a combination of colours which has no reference
whatever to the characteristics of the Liberian Republic. If
ever Liberia decides to make a change in her Constitution (of
which the flag design is a part), the present writer respectfully
recommends for adoption a design like the one of which he
gives an example. In this the stripes would be black and
golden yellow, with one white stripe in the middle, and in the
left-hand corner a white star on a green ground. Instead of the
spear-head of the flag-staflP, the writer would suggest a white
cross with an olive branch, indicative of Christianity and peace.
The predominating black would of course represent the pre-
dominating Negro type in the State ; the yellow would represent
those African races which have mingled anciently with the
Caucasian — Mandingos and Fulas — who are, and may be still
more in the future, inhabitants of the interior highlands. The
one white line across the flag would be the recognition on the
part of Liberia that she owes her existence to the impulse of
White America, and perhaps also to occasional acts of kindly
help from Great Britain and France, that the Black Republic on
the West coast of Africa by no means excludes White enterprise
or energy from its territories, just as it may aspire at a future
day to see its citizens trading without fear or favour in the
white countries of the world. Green must be the special colour
of Liberia, as representing the forest land par excellence of all
Africa, the most densely forested State in the African common-
Wealth- In these rich forests, nevertheless, will shine (the
229
The Flag of Liberia.
^ Independence
author hopes) the white star of the black man's growing
civilisation.
With like presumption, he would venture to suggest when
a day of prosperity justifies any development of the work of
1847, the substitution of a different design from that which
is laid down as the seal or emblem of the Liberian Republic.
The illustration opposite p. 220 has been drawn by the author
from that which is usually circulated as the design of the Liberian
seal. (As a matter of fact, it differs slightly from the verbal
description given in the Constitution, which says, " A dove
on the wing, with an open scroll in its claws." As it is
apparently difficult to render the open scroll in this position,
the dove is usually represented as carrying a document in its
beak. The reason of this symbolism is not given us by the
founders of the Constitution, but it is apparently intended to
typify the dispatch from the United States of the American
Colonisation Societies' renunciation of their rights and consent to
the proclamation of Liberian independence. In most versions of
the Liberian seal — though it is not mentioned in the aforesaid
definition — the promontory of Mesurado appears with its light-
house.) None of the emblems in this seal are particularly ap-
plicable to Liberia. Ships under full sail have long been out
of date as a means of communicat^'on between Liberia and the
outer world, and the plough is nowhere employed in Liberia,
it being very doubtful whether much use could be made of
it in ground that is better tilled by the African hoe. If any
change is made in the flag and the colours of the Republic,
the writer of this book would venture to recommend a similar
change in the design of the seal, and he has been bold enough to
append a painting as a suggestion for a new design. In this
the real national colours of Liberia are once more embodied,
(black, yellow, white and green), and on the shield are depicted
291
Liberia ^
representations of the three principal types — Christian Negro,
Muhammadan Mandingo and Fula — that may go to the making
of this African State.
A somewhat similar Constitution was drawn up at Harper
in the same year for the Maryland State, which continued under
its own Governor. When this State was annexed (at its own
desire) in 1857, it was allowed to send three members to the
60. KXl.CUnVK MANSION, MoNKiJVIA: IHl. OKKiriAl. Kl.SlDKNCK OF THK PRESIDENTS
Lower House, and was represented by two senators in the
Liberian Senate. At the same time the number of repre-
sentatives for Sine was raised equally to two in the Upper and
three in the Low^er House.
The proceedings in this eventful year, 1847, were closed
by the solemn hoisting of the new flag of the republic on
August 24th, and the British Government, apparently kept
The Sliicld and Emblem of Liberia as they might be
-#i Independence
informed of all these proceedings, sent a man-of-war to
Monrovia and there saluted with twenty-one guns the Liberian
flag, as a sign that Great Britain recognised the new African
republic as a sovereign State.
On the first Tuesday in October, 1847, Joseph Jenkins
Roberts was elected first President of the republic. Until
then he remained " Governor " of the colony. On January 3rd,
1848, he was installed as President.
223
CHAPTER XIII
PRIiSIDnXT ROBERTS
1847—1856
PRESIDKN r ROBERTS paid his first visit to Europe
in 1847.' He concluded with the British Government
(whom he describes as " exceedingly kind ") a treaty
of amity and commerce which placed the Liberian Republic
on the footing of the most favoured nation. This treaty was
ratified by the Liberian Senate on February 26th, 1849. It
acknowledged the right of Liberians to levy duties and of the
British to reside where they pleased in Liberia ; but their ships
might not enter certain specified ports of entry to search for
slavers except by the permission of the Liberian authorities.
The treaty was signed by N'iscount Palmerston and the Right
Hon. Henry Labouchere.'-
' He was accompanied on tliis ami suhseqiient journeys by Mrs. Roberts. This
lady, born in 181 8 (she was the daughter of a Baptist minister named Waring),
came to Liberia with lier parents in 1824 Her father ministered to the colonists.
He and liis wife were octoroons. Kobens lost 1 is tirst wife before he left America,
He married Miss Waring at Monrovia in 1836. This wonderful old lady still lives
(in full possession ol her faculties) in a (piict street otf Battersea Park, She
visited most of the European courts with her husband in the middle of the niueteeuth
century, knew Napoleon HI. as "Prince-President,'' saw King Edward VII. as
a little boy, lived in Liberia for over .seventy years, and is the only survivor of the
early immigrants.
^ The last named was tlien Unde-r-Secrctary of .State for the Colonies. He
was afterwards Lord Taunton, and was tin* uncle of the better-known Henry
Labouchere, the proprietor of Truth.
224
6l. MRS. JANK ROKKKTS (WIDOW Ul- I'RKSIDENT ROHKRTS). PORTRAIT TAKKN IN I905
VOL. I 225 15
Liberia ^
^ President Roberts went on from England to France and
Belgium, in which latter country he received a most cordial
welcome from Leopold I. He then proceeded to Holland and
to Berlin, where the Government of Prussia formally recognised
the existence of the Liberian Republic, its recognition following
closely on that of England and France. Upon Roberts's return
to England, the Ambassador of Prussia, the Chevalier de Bunsen,
gave a dinner in his honour. At this dinner were present,
amongst others, Lord Ashley (afterwards the great Earl of
Sh.iftesbury), the Rev. Ralph Randolph GurJey (the biographer
of Ashmun and one of the most prominent American promoters
of Liberia), and the Bishop of London (Blomfield). The
Bishop asked permission to take notes of Roberts's conversation,
and the President described amongst other matters the shocking
condition of the Gallinhas country on the western frontiers
of the little republic, due to the ravages of the Cuban slave
traders — Pedro Blanco and his associates. Roberts went on
to say that the only way in his eyes finally to suppress the slave
trade in this region would be to purchase the sovereign rights
of the countries between Sherbro Island and Cape Mount from
the native chiefs, and then roolutely exert the authority of
Liberia to put an end to the slave trade. The Bishop of London
inquired as to the sum necessary for the acquisition of these
rights, and Roberts placed it at ^^ 2,000.
Lord Ashley declared this sum should be raised immediately,
and after dinner was over he offered to obtain the money for
the purchase of these lands if Mr. Gurley approved. Needless
to say, he expressed the liveliest pleasure at the offer. Accord-
ingly, the next morning Lord Ashley took Roberts to a bank
in Lombard Street, and there ^1,000 was obtained on the spot,
and arrangements were made by Lord Ashley for the raising
of the remainder of the estimated amount. With this money
226
-^ President Roberts
Roberts on his return proceeded to come to terms with the
chiefs of Mattru, Gumbo, Kasa, Gallinhas, Manna, and Manna
Rock, though the actual purchase of these territories was not
entirely finished until the year 1856.
It is curious to notice (as will be seen in a subsequent
chapter) that though a British philanthropist raised the funds
for the purchase of these north-western territories of Liberia,
it was the British Government that took them away from the
republic and added them to the colony of Sierra Leone, with
scant compensation and no show of right whatever.
Queen Victoria gave the most kindly reception to President
Roberts, and The Illustrated London News of April, 1848,
contains an illustration of the reception by the Queen of the
African President on board the Royal yacht, whereon he was
accorded a salute of seventeen guns. When Roberts and his
family were ready to return they were sent back to Liberia on the
British warship Amazon^ and the Queen from her yacht signalled
to the President, *' I wish you God-speed on your voyage/'
The British Admiralty made a present to Roberts at this time
of a vessel called the Lark for transport purposes on the
Liberian coast, and a small sloop of four guns, the Quaily
as a revenue cutter, to assist in suppressing smuggling and
the slave trade.
Roberts returned to Liberia, delighted above all with his
reception in England, and also gratified at the kindliness with
which other foreign courts had received him, and the readiness
which they showed to recognise this Liberian Republic. Indeed,
soon after his return to Monrovia France sent a gunboat, the
PenelopCy to salute at Monrovia with twenty-one guns the flag
of the Liberian Republic. The American corvette Torktown
and the English gun-vessel Kingfisher also visited Liberia in
the early part of 1849 and assisted Roberts in a final attack
a37
7x
f
Liberia ^
on the obstinate Spanish slave-trade settlements at New Cess
River, just beyond Basa. These were again destroyed, and
on this occasion 3,500 slaves were released.
In the year 1849 Portugal, Sardinia, Austria, Denmark,
Sweden and Norway, Brazil, Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck, and
Haiti followed the Powers of Western and Central Europe
in formally recognising the Liberian State. Alone amongst
the then Great Powers of the world, the United States withheld
its own act of formal recognition : for the extraordinary reason
that in 1849 it was feared if Liberia was recognised as an
independent State, the United States would have to receive at
Washington a *' man of colour '' as the Liberian envoy to the
Great Republic. Such was the preposterous colour prejudice
then in vogue, that this disability lasted until the great war
between North and South in 1862. It was not till that year
that the United States formally acknowledged the independence
of this little State created by American philanthrophy.
At this period of emergence into the status of a Sovereign
Power Liberia was estimated to extend between 4^ 41' and 6^ 48'
N. Lat. and between 8'^ 8' and ir 20' W. Long. Its length
of sea coast from Cape Mount to Grand Sesters was 286
miles. The average width of the country was 45 miles, and
its approximate area 12,830 square miles. Amongst the Negro
population professing allegiance to the republic were 6,010
Liberians of American origin. The annual value to which the
exports had risen was stated at 500,000 dollars (^100,000).
The population of Monrovia (in 1850) was estimated at 1,300.
The public debt (that is to say, the adverse balance between the
receipts and expenditure of the Liberian Government at the
commencement of 1850) was 8,000 dollars (^1,600).
In 1849 I'iobertsport was founded at Cape Mount. In
the same year the Rev. Ralph Gurley was requested by the
228
^ President Roberts
Liberian Government and the American Colonisation Society ^
to proceed to Liberia and rep)ort on the condition of the country
since its proclamation of independence. He left Baltimore on
August 1st, 1849, ^^^ reached Cape Mount on September i8th.
As he approached the West African coast he commented in
his report on the gorgeous sunsets and sunrises of this region.
The present writer has noticed the same phenomenon at a
similar time of year. It has no doubt something to do with
the rainy season, though the full glory of these spectacles
is rather to be observed on the limits of the rain-belt than
within the area of drenching rain. Quoting Chateaubriand, he
writes : " It seemed as though all the purple of Rome's consuls
and Caesars were spread out under the last footsteps of the
God of Day." Gurley remained about a month in Liberia,
and returned to America, writing a very rose-coloured report
on the country and its possibilities, which was printed as a
State Paper in 1850 by the United States Congress. With this
act may be said to have ended the direct patronage of the
United States and the American colonisation societies, though
in 1877 a number of Negroes were sent from the Southern
States as colonists. But in various philanthropic circles the
interest in the Liberian experiment never died out. The
African Repository was the journal of these philanthropists.
Founded in 1832, it has continued to give regular reports on
Liberia down to the present day, though its name was changed
to Liberia in 1892.^
Not only did the Liberian Republic imitate the United
* The American Colonisation Society still exists and still publishes this review,
Liberia, The President elected in 1905 is the Rev. Judson Smith, D.D. Mass.
Among the Vice-Presidents are the familiar names of Crozer (in remembrance of
whom Crozerville was founded in Liberia), Professor Edward W. Blyden, and
Bishop Joseph C. Hartzell, Methodist Bishop of Africa (see page 376). The
Chairman of the Executive Committee bears the honoured name of Gurley, and is
no doubt a son of Ashmun's biographer.
229
Liberia '^
States in its flag, but it imported unnecessary political distinc-
tions and a system of party government. The Conservative-
minded amongst the Liberian voters styled themselves Whigs
or Old Whigs, while the more Radical or Progressive section
of the people called themselves firstly the "True Liberian
Party," and later on '' Republicans." The term " Whig " —
which, like '' Tory," arose as a political nickname in Ireland
— travelled across to England, thence to the United States, and
from America back to Liberia, where it is in use at the present
day.^
In May, 1849, Roberts was elected for a second term as
President, the term commencing January ist, 1850. He was
again chosen for President between 1851 and 1853, and soon
till December 31st, 1855.
In 1850 two Hamburg trading houses established them-
selves in Liberia." In 1851 the British Government appointed
its first Consul at Monrovia, the Rev. Mr. Hanson, a native of
Cape Coast Castle, and of African birth ; but he only held
the post for a year, as he complained of disrespectful treatment
from the Liberians. In this same year Dr. Lugenbeel reported
the ** sleep disease " (sleeping sickness) to exist in Liberia.
This malady still occurs from time to time. The missionary
Koelle from Sierra Leone, who visited the Vai country of
Liberia in 1850, also alludes to a case of sleeping sickness (the
death of the inventor of the Vai alphabet, Doala Bukere).
* The Wiiigs in hiter days have been further differentiated as "True Whigs"
and " Old Whigs." As a party they desire to limit and restrain the rights
of foreigners in Liberia, and to preserve the commerce and land-settlement as
much as possible for Negroes. The True Liberian, called later on the Republic
Party, on the other hand, advocated a far more liberal policy, which should admit
strangers to nearly all the advantages of Liberia. To this last party belonged
President Roberts, and also Stephen Allen Benson for the first part of his career.
But Benson afterwards went over to the Whig party, and since i860 this has been
the dominant faction, both for the good and for the ill which have come on Liberia.
* One of them being the now celebrated house of Woermann.
230
^ President Roberts
In 1 85 1 there arrived in Liberia a remarkable personage
who has had a great deal to do with its subsequent history — \
Edward Wilmot Blyden, a Negro born in the Danish island of \
St. Thomas in 1832, but brought up to all intents and purposes
as a British West Indian. He came to Liberia when only
62. DK. K. W. HLYnKSriN 1894
nineteen years of age, and soon became a person of note, owing
to his exceptionally good education. He was well versed in
Latin and Greelc literature, became subsequently an Arabic
scholar, and was conversant with several European languages
besides English. He is the author, amongst many other books,
^31
Liberia ^
of Christianity^ Islam, and the Negro Race, and he has
taken a position of his own as a writer on African subjects.
During 1851 there were serious troubles in the interior
of Liberia, which caused considerable damage to commerce on
the coast. The Boporo people ^ had practically stopped all trade
between the Mandingo countries and the Liberian settlements
by their exactions on caravans. This was the more exasperating
because President Roberts, by skilful diplomacy, had for a time
negotiated peace between the Vai, Gora, and Buzi people at
the end of 1850, and had attempted by this action to clear
the way for a great development of commerce. At Grand Basa
everything was thrown into confusion by an attack on the
part of a chief named Grando. He practically destroyed the
new settlement at Lower Buchanan, and killed ten Liberians.
But the rest of the settlers at Basa Cove, fighting for their lives,
managed to drive off Grando with considerable loss to his
following. In the adjoining State of Maryland troubles with
the natives quite disorganised the community of American
settlers, and the Governor, John B. Russwurm, died of over-
work and worry.
President Roberts, having completed his purchases of
territory between Cape Mount and the vicinity of the Bulom
country, at the back of Sherbro Island, left on another trip to
Europe in 1852. In October of that year he had an interview
with the Prince-President of the French Republic, Louis
Napoleon, who was not yet Emperor. One reason of Roberts's
visit to England was to secure recognition from the British
Government of Liberian sovereignty over the Gallinhas country.
He was sent back to Liberia on a British warship.
In 1853 Roberts declared the civilised population of
^ A congeries and mixture of African races- -DOs, Vais, Goras, Buzis, etc.,
permeated and ruled by Mandingos.
232
^ President Roberts
Liberia to be ** about lC,Ooo/* If these figures referred to
Negroes of American origin, it would seem to have been an
exaggeration, their numbers at this time probably not exceeding
7,500. He made a declaration at the same time to the effect
that the policy of the Liberian Government would be to stop
all wars in the interior by closing the coast ports to the im-
p)ortation of arms and ammunition intended for trade. But
apparently it was found impracticable to give effect to this
policy, no doubl because the belligerents could obtain what
supplies they required of guns and powder from the direction
of Sierra Leone.
Governor Russwurm had been succeeded in Maryland by
S. ,M. McGill ; but although the foundations of a fine town
were being laid at Cape Palmas, Maryland as a State did not
prosper, owing to the constant troubles between the American
colonial administrators and the warlike coast tribes —the Grebos
and Krus and the allied races of the Lower Cavalla River. At
the same time, any advice from Monrovia was resented, as
interfering with the independence of Maryland. This in-
dependence was solemnly declared at the beginning of 1854^^
when William A. Prout was elected Governor in succession to \
McGill. Maryland was then declared not to be a colony,^
but an independent republic. No recognition, however, was
accorded to this by European Powers, it being expected that
before long the State would fuse with Liberia.
On January i8th, 1 857, occurred the Sheppard Lake dis-
aster, in which, while attempting to chastise the Grebo tribe on
the borders of Sheppard Lake (a lagoon between Cape Palmas
and the Cavalla River), the Maryland State lost a number of
men and guns. Prior to this there had been a fiercely contested
fight between the colonists and natives at Cape Palmas
(December 22nd, 1856). General J. J. Roberts, no longer
233
Liberia ^
President, came to the assistance of Maryland with two hundred
and fifty men, and on February 1 8th, i 857, he and the Hon. J. T.
Gibson signed a treaty of friendship between Liberia and Mary-
land, which was followed, through their efforts, by the conclusion of
a treaty between the Grebos and Maryland State on February 25th.
William Prout, the Governor of Maryland, had died in 1856,
and had been succeeded by J. B. Drayton. It was felt, however,
that the only way to settle the difficulties of Maryland was to
annex it to the larger republic on the west, and this was finally
carried out on February 28th, 1857, the "Governors '' of Mary-
land being succeeded by Superintendents, as is the case with
each of the other counties of the Liberian Republic. The first
Superintendent of Maryland after its annexation was the Hon.
J. T. Gibson. Maryland, as already mentioned, now sends
'two senators and three representatives to the Liberian Congress.
Roberts during the last year (1854) of his first tenure of
power as President paid a third visit to Europe, reaching
England in October, 1854. On this occasion he was so confident
of the future that lay before Liberia, and elated at the en-
couragement afforded by Great Britain, that he went to the
length of asking the Earl of Clarendon (then Foreign Minister)
to consent to Sierra Leone being annexed to Liberia, on the plea
that the latter country stood in need of a really good harbour.
'' The proposition,'' Roberts wrote at the time, '' was received
with some indications of surprise, and but little favour." During
this visit, however, Liberian coins were struck in England with
the financial assistance of Mr. Samuel Gurney (after whom
Roberts had named a settlement in the Gallinhas country).
Other British philanthropists subscribed at the same time
generously to Liberian needs. Roberts returned to Liberia
in December, 1854, to find himself confronted with some degree
of local opposition to his policy. In May, 1855, Stephen
234
MAP 5
4*
7'46*
7'^4'
7*4r
^^
?4"
^1 't^i
M
/<"-
Himkerffiil /
?i
iV \ R "V
li
::^
"7\jLhm,an.
^*•
^^.
4:
ti
(^^^
JO /2
HARVt:
JO,
Cape Palmas
30
P^i^^
.^
CAPE PALMAS j
T'iTi^li pvh Miles
I L^_i I L -. I
'nr'"'"''f"T[-|1i "rfiiiiiilil"'
^^^-/j
4'
2^
7*-?-^'
7VJ"
Liberia ^'
Allen Benson was elected President, to take office in 1856.
Benson was born in Maryland (U.S.A.) in 18 16 and had come
to Liberia in 1832. He had risen to be a General and a Vice-
President in the Liberian State.
Roberts had rendered great services to the Liberian Re-
public, only to be matched by those of Ashmun. It is
possible that but for his vigorous management the State might
never have had any independent existence at all, but have
drifted into such a condition as to render annexation by Sierra
Leone a necessity for the welfare of West Africa. Though
Roberts had a strain of Negro blood in his veins, he was
mentally and physically a white man, a fact which perhaps
gave him more weight at that time in the councils of Europe,
but a circumstance which raised some jealousy about him
amongst the pure-blooded Negroes in the Liberian State, and
perhaps also in America. He was much exasperated in the
summer of 1855 by the attacks of a Mr. George S. Downing,
described as a ** free coloured man of New York City," who
" wrote bitter articles containing various aspersions on Liberia
and President Roberts.''
Roberts after ceasing to be President still continued to
devote his talents and energies to the service of Liberia. As
already related, he took command of the armed force that
went to save Maryland at the beginning of 1857, and he played
a leading part in the annexation of that colony.
In 1857 he was appointed principal of Liberia College,
an institution founded on paper in 1856, but not brought into
being until 1858-62. With Mrs. Roberts he resided on the site
of the College (outskirts of Monrovia) for a good many years.
In 1862 he was sent on a six months' mission to Europe.
Soon after his return to Liberia he was appointed by the King
of the Belgians Belgian Consul at Monrovia, and, as will be
236
-^ President Roberts
seen in a later chapter, he was again called to the Presidency
at a critical time in the condition of his adopted country.
Roberts on the occasion of his visit to France in 1852
had attracted the sympathies of that much maligned man,
Napoleon III., then Prince-President. In 1856, when the
troubles of the Crimean War were over, Napoleon III.
remembered the little African republic, which he seems to
f^f!^-^
63. mukkia < (>i,i.i.(;k in 1900
have wished to help from a spirit of pure disinterestedness. He
sent them out in that year equipment for a thousand armed
men, and at the same time gave them a smart little gunboat,
the Hirondelle^ which was very soon turned to account. It
conveyed Roberts with his two hundred and fifty troops to
Cape Palmas when he came to the rescue of the Government
of Maryland in its disastrous war against the Grebos.
In the year 1858 an unfortunate event occurred, which
for a time threw a cloud over the relations between France
237
Liberia ^
and Liberia. The French ship Regina Cceli arrived on the
Kru coast, and the captain treated with various Kru chiefs
for a number of their men to be shipped as labourers. These
Krumen of course believed when they voluntarily came on
board that they were to be taken to various parts of the
West Coast of Africa — a practice to which they had long been
accustomed — to serve for a year in the establishments of
merchants or possibly as seamen on board French ships. But
when they heard their destination was to be the West Indies
they took alarm and believed that the long conversations
between the captain of the ship and the various headmen on
the shore indicated their having been sold as slaves. With
their horror of slavery, they lost their heads, and whilst the
captain was still on shore they mutinied, took possession of
the ship, and killed all the white crew with the exception of
the doctor (who had already become a favourite with them,
owing to some attention which he had paid to sick men
amongst their number). The Krumen having returned to
the shore, the ship was adrift, without a crew, and might
have become a wreck had it not been noticed by a passing
English steamer, which took it in and brought it to a Liberian
port. The French Government instituted an inquiry, in which
it was shown that the Liberian Government was in no way to
blame for this unfortunate incident, due no doubt to a complete
misunderstanding.
Benson was anxious to open up relations with the interior
of his country. When a young man he had engaged in trade up
the St. Paul's River and had been taken prisoner by a boisterous
native chief and kept in the interior for some time as a captive.
Soon after he became President he sought for men who might
be dispatched on journeys of discovery to the utterly unknown
regions beyond the forest. Two Liberians seemed to him
238
^ President Roberts
suitable for this purpose : Seymore ^ and Ash. They left for
the interior early in 1858, and travelled for six months.
A description of their journey, in which they are supposed
to have reached a place called Kwanga, two hundred and eighty
miles distant from Monrovia, is given In the Proceedings of
the Royal Geographical Society for i860. The journey was
in no sense a scientific one, and no means were taken to map
the route. Kwanga can no longer be Identified on the map
(it is probably the Mandingo state of Kwana) ; but the travellers
64. I'KESlDKM's IIOISH, MONROVIA
describe with emphasis the high mountains which they reached.
There is little doubt that they made a considerable journey
and reached the great mountain mass'of NImba, where the Cavalla
River takes its source.
In 1858 the first hospital (St. Mark's) was founded at
Cape Palmas.
Throughout this decade, from 1850 to i860, Increasing
trouble was experienced by the State In controlling the natives,
especially on the Kru coast, when sailing ships or steamers
' The name is sometimes spelt Seymour.
239
Liberia ^
struck on rocks or drifted ashore. It is still the custom of
natives in those parts to regard a shipwrecked vessel as a gift
from the gods, and attempts on the part of the Liberian or Mary-
land Governments to enforce proper treatment of stranded ships*
generally resulted in conflicts in which a very doubtful victory
was obtained by the civilised Government. This condition of
afFairs on several occasions during the latter part of the nine-
teenth century led to sharp reprisals from Germany or Britain.
By 1855 it is stated by Roberts that there were '* four
English steam-propellers'' keeping up a regular communication
between England and Liberia. These were the pioneer vessels
of the African Steamship Company, which in conjunction with
the firm of Elder Dempster was to become the great carrying
agency on the West Coast of Africa, existing almost without a
rival until the Hamburg Woermaiin Line started in 1875.
24C
CHAPTER XIV
FRONTIER QUESTIONS
AS already mentioned in the last chapter, British philan-
thropists had furnished the funds which enabled
President Roberts to extend by purchase the coast
territories of Liberia westwards to the Gumbo country. This
may be roughly described as the Gallinhas territory. The land
round about Cape Mount had been bought from the coast chiefs
in the year 1850. Beyond the Mano (Manna) River (now the
frontier of Liberia) the territory had been purchased westwards
as far as the Sewa River and the vicinity of Sherbro Island,
either in 1850 or in 1856. Apparently no objection was raised
by the British Government at the time of these purchases,
perhaps for one reason amongst others, that in the 'fifties of
the last century no very great interest was taken in the
extension of our West African possessions.
But the Slave trade had given place to the trade in Palm-
oil, which was beginning, in our modern phrase, to " boom," and
enterprising men from Lancashire or Bristol established them-
selves on the West Coast of Africa, sometimes as repre-
sentatives of companies, sometimes with their own capital of
two or three hundred pounds. As often as not these men
were the ex-stewards, pursers, or mates of steamers and sailing
ships engaged in the African trade, who, having amassed a little
gain, settled on shore, generally choosing for their first venture
some river or coast port, not too near civilised government and
VOL. I 341 x6
Liberia ^
Customs duties. Usually these men married daughters of
native chiefs, had a brood of mulatto children, and became very-
powerful, turning their efforts towards establishing a close
monopoly in trade. It was desirable in the debatable lands
between Liberia and Sierra Leone to establish more effective
control over these independent traders, or their trading without
heed of Customs duties would be detrimental to the more
settled establishments farther west and east. It may be that
the pioneer traders themselves invited the intervention of the
British Government, to enforce claims justifiable and unjustifi-
able against natives for debts or robbery. ^
In the early days of the Sierra Leone colony (1817 and
1825) some attempt was made by the Governors of that colony
(Sir Charles MacCarthy, for example, in 18 17, and Sir Charles
Turner in 1825) ^^ extend British political influence along the
coast eastwards past Sherbro Island ; and on September 24th,
1825, a convention with the chiefs of Sherbro and the ad-
joining islands and mainland was concluded, which certainly
brought the British frontier to the vicinity of the Sewa
River. It is true that by a subsequent proclamation Sir
Charles Turner, though expressly leaving the Gallinhas
territory outside British limits, instanced the intersection of the
7th degree N. Lat. with the coast as being in some way the
British boundary. But in that case he claimed a boundary to
which he had no treaty rights, and for which apparendy it was
not thought worth while to acquire any.
No attempt was made to contest the right of the Liberians
to the coast-line up to the Sewa River and the Turner
Peninsula until i860, when trouble arose through a trader
named John Myers Harris, who had taken advantage of the
lack of any efl^ective Liberian occupation to the west of Cape
Mount, to establish himself between the River Sulima and the
242
^ Frontier Questions
/*^
River Mano. Soon after his establishment, however, he was
reminded of the Liberian political rights. His presence wgs
the more obnoxious because it was suspected, not without some
probability, that he was carrying on a disguised trade in slaves.
In consequence of his refusing to acknowledge in any way
Liberian authority, President Benson sent a coastguard boat
in the employ of the Liberian Customs to seize two schooners
belonging to Harris. Actually the seizure of these schooners
(for the infringement of Customs regulations) took place be-
tween Cape Mount and Mano Point, consequently within limits
always recognised as Liberian since 1847. Nevertheless, acting
on orders issued from Sierra Leone, a British gunboat, the
Ton/i, appeared suddenly at Monrovia, and took away by
force the two schooners belonging to Harris. Liberia being too
feeble to resist, was obliged to submit to this display of force.
In 1862 President Benson decided to visit the Governor
of Sierra Leone on his way to England, in the hope that by
friendly negotiation he might arrive at a definition of the
boundary between Sierra Leone and Liberia, which should
leave no room for a no-man's-land — -a boundary within which
Liberia might exercise her sovereign rights. At Sierra Leone,
of course, though civilly received, he was referred to London
for a decision. Soon after his arrival in London, Earl Russell
addressed a dispatch to him according to which the British
Government recognised the political rights of Liberia be-
ginning on the coast east of Turner's Peninsula, somewhat
vaguely known as Mattru.^ Thence eastwards Great Britain
recognised the whole coast as being under Liberian jurisdiction
as far as the River San Pedro.^'
* Mattru seems to have been in the Gumbo country, between the Rivers Sevva
and Mongrao.
' About sixty miles east of the Cavalla.
243
Liberia ^
Meantime the trader Harris got up a considerable agitation
against Liberian rights being recognised in the vicinity of his
stations. With the backing of the Governor of Sierra Leone
(Hall), Harris and his friends protested vigorously against
the concession to Liberian rights which Earl Russell had just
made. No decided action was taken by the British Govern-
ment one way or the other, either to intimate to Liberia
that a revision of the frontier was necessary or to inform
these Sierra Leone traders that if they chose to settle within
Liberian limits they must obey Liberian laws. In this year,
1862, Harris's two schooners were again seized by the coast-
guard vessel of the Liberian Customs ; but on this occasion
his evasion of I.iberian Customs regulations had been markedly
impudent, since his ships were found landing goods close
to Cape Mount, well within the range of effective occupation
by the Liberian Government.
After this agitation the Governor of Sierra Leone allowed
a mixed Anglo-Liberian commission to consider the details of
the north-west frontier. This commission met at Monrovia in
March, 1862. The British commissioners offered to recognise
Liberian rights as far as the so-called River Gallinhas,^ but the
Liberians refused this definition, and held out for the whole of
the territory allowed to them by Earl Russell's dispatch. Never-
theless, although the commissioners could not come to an
agreement about the frontier definition, the Liberian Govern-
ment restored his sailing ships to Harris after inflicting on
him a small fine for breach of Customs regulations.
The frontier still remained undetermined on the part of
the Colonial Government of Sierra Leone. Harris, rendered
* Gallinhas is really the name of the country to the north and west of the
River Sulima. The river to which that name is sometimes given is a little stream
entering the sea near Falma Lagoon.
244
^ Frontier Questions
bold by his repeated flouting of Liberian authority, in which
he was secretly-, jpported by the Sierra Leone Government,
began at last to act almost as an independent chief in the
Gallinhas country, and his exactions and disputes aroused
the adjoining Vai tribe to reprisals. Harris met these reprisals
by organising an attack on the Vai country by the Gallinhas
people. The Liberian Government dispatched a body of
its militia to defend the Vai. The Gallinhas natives took
to flight and avenged their defeat by turning on Harris and
destroying one of his factories. A demand for an indemnity
of j^6,ooo was put in by Harris and apparently supported
by the Sierra Leone Government. Another joint Anglo-
Liberian commission was sent to inquire into the matter and
ascertain the circumstances under which Harris's property had
been destroyed and the real monetary value of the damage.
It is doubtful whether at this time the Governor of Sierra
Leone would not have carried matters with a higher hand
had not Liberia made some kind of appeal to the United States,
or at any rate to the commander of the United States battle-
ship which happened to be in those waters (Commodore
Shufeldt). This naval officer was chosen as arbitrator. The
monetary claim of Harris was reduced to the sum of ;^300.
But at the sitting of this conference the senior British repre-
sentative claimed for the colony of Sierra Leone a protectorate
over the coast east of Sherbro as far as the mouth of the
Mano River, on the ground that the Liberian forces were
unable to maintain order west of the last-named stream.
Undoubtedly they were unable to fight British traders, since
every time they used force, maritime or military, the said
traders were able to command the armed interference of the
Sierra Leone Government.
The question was once more referred to London, and was
245
;q
Liberia
met at first by a very vague dispatch from Lord Clarendon,
which settled nothing. In 1870 President Roye went to
England to see Lord Granville, who proposed that the British
frontier should be carried eastwards to the banks of the Sulima
River. A joint commission was to be established at the mouth
of the Sulima to inquire into the validity of Liberian rights
west of that stream ; but by consenting to this somewhat curious
t)5. klVKK Si:\VA, ONLK CLAIMKI) AS TIIK LIHI.KIAN WESTKKN FKONTIKK
((TALLIN HAS c;oi;ntkv)
proposal President Roye had no doubt gravely compromised
the right of his Government to an extension west of the Sulima.
As a matter of fact, no steps were taken to carry Lord Granville's
proposals into effect, owing to the disaster which led to the
death of President Roye in 1871. The question, therefore, of
this north-west frontier continued to remain open until closed
by the Anglo-Liberian Treaty of 1885, as will be related in
due course.
246
^ Frontier Questions
Meantime, the United States had at last, on October 22nd,
1 862, officially acknowledged Liberia's independence as a sovereign
State. This recognition, as already stated, had been delayed
for fourteen years by an absurd prejudice against regarding any
country ruled by black men as a State which could send
diplomatic representatives who were men of colour. This
treaty of October 22nd, 1862, did not, as has sometimes been j
thought, guarantee the independence of Liberia, nor did it |
convey any distinct assurance of United States protection.^ J
* Whilst touching on this question, it might be well to summarise as far as
possible the instances in which the United States Government have intimated
to other great Powers their special interest in Liberia. The extracts in question
are abridged and quoted from the first edition of The Map of Africa by Treaty^
by Sir Edward Hertslet, K.C.B.
"In 1879, °" ^^'^ occasion of tlie reported offer of French protection to Liberia,
the American Minister at Paris was instructed to make inquiries on the subject,
and he was reminded in his instructions that when it was considered that the
United States had founded and fostered the nucleus of native represematlv|e
government on the African shores, and that Liberia, so created, had afforded a
field of emigration and enterprise for the emancipated Africans of America, who had ^
not been slow to avail themselves of the opportunity, it was evident that the
United States Government must feel a peculiar interest in any apparent movement
to-'divert the independent political life of Liberia for the aggrandisement of a great J
Continental Power, which already had a foothold of actual trading possession on/
the neighbouring coast.
" In 1880 Mr. Evarts informed Mr. Hoppin (the United States Charg6 d'Aflfaires
in London) that the United States were not averse to having the great Powers
know that they publicly recognised the peculiar relations which existed between
them and Liberia, and that they were prepared to take every proper step to
maintain them.
" In 1884 Mr. Frelinghuysen informed M. Roustan (French Minister at Washing-
ton) that Liberia, though not a colony of the United States, began its independent
career as an offshoot of that country, which bore to it a quasi-parental relationship.
This authorised the United States to interpose its good offices in any contest
between Liberia and a foreign State. A refusal to give the United States an
opportunity to be heard for this purpose would make an unfavourable impression
on the minds of the Government and the people of the United States.
" In 1887, on the occasion of the reported French aggressions on Liberian
territory, the United States Government stated that their relations with the
republic had not changed and that they still felt justified in employing their good
offices on her behalf."
247
Liberia ^
In 1864 S. A. Benson (a negro) had been succeeded as
President by Daniel Bashiel Warner, a mulatto, who, being
re-elected once, served from 1 864 to 1 868. Although, like Benson
and Roberts, Warner was a Republican (or True Liberian)
candidate, he went over while in office to the Whig policy of
preserving Liberia jealously from white invasion. He was
moved to this distrust of Europeans by the actions of Harris
and other merchants, nor can he be held to have been wholly
unreasonable in establishing his Ports of Entry Law in 1865.
According to this measure commerce to non-Liberians (and
any person of African race could become a Liberian citizen even
if he were a white Jew of Morocco) was restricted to six ports
of entry and a circle of six miles diameter round each port
of entry. The six places selected as trading ports were
Robertsport (Cape Mount), Monrovia, Marshall, Grand Basa
settlements, Greenville (Sino), and Cape Palmas.^
At all these places Liberian Customs-houses would be
established and the Liberian Government would as far as possible
be responsible for the safety of persons and property.
Bitter complaints were raised, by British merchants chiefly,
against this law, since it restricted their commercial intercourse
with the" indigenous Negroes at many calling places on the
coast. But it is difficult to see what other course could then
have been taken by the Liberian Government at that juncture.
Its revenue was far too small to permit of its equipping more
than six Customs-houses ;uid ensuring law and order at these
stations, with all the monetary consequences resulting from
any failure to keep the peace between natives and Europeans.
After all, even on the coast of British and French Africa, there
^ To these were added subsequently Grand Cestos River and Nana Km,
and in addition foreigners may trade under certain provisions and restrictions
three miles into Liberia from any foreign frontier line.
24S
-^ Frontier Questions
were only a stipulated number of places at which goods could
be landed or embarked under Customs supervision.
The Liberian Customs duties at that time were low —
a uniform 6 per cent, ad valorem — but the foreign merchants,
chiefly British, delighted in defrauding the weak little Negro
Government by landing or shipping goods at other spots on the
Liberian coast outside the ports of entry. To a certain extent
this practice still goes on. A
steamer in attempting to traffic
on the " wild ** coast away from
a port of entry occasionally runs
on the rocks and becomes a
total wreck. The ungrateful
aborigines (having perchance
some score to pay off against
the captain of the vessel) dart
out in their canoes, plunder
the ship of all they can lay
hands on, the passengers and
crew have to walk miles (quite
unmolested) to the nearest
Americo-Liberiaii settlement, and
the Liberian Government is ,, i.KKsn>KM hak< lav in ,896
called upon subsequently to pay
an indemnity and engage in an expensive war with the erring
natives.
All things considered, perhaps the Ports of Entry Law was
a wise measure. Its scope will no doubt be widened as the
expanding revenue of Liberia permits of more Customs stations
being opened along the coast and on the British and French
frontiers. The Liberian Government has expressed the intention
of creating numerous trading stations in the interior as soon
249
Liberia ^
as it can construct a series of roads for wheeled traffic and
establish police-stations.
In 1865 three hundred West Indians (mainly from the
British West Indies) emigrated to Liberia. Amongst these
was a boy (Arthur Barclay) who is now President of the Liberian
Republic. Barclay's father was a free Negro of Barbados who
had associated himself with political agitation, and in consequence
found himself obliged to leave the island. He emigrated with
all his family, who throve greatly in their new home. Ernest
Barclay, one of his sons, became a Secretary of State and
might have risen to the higher office but for his untimely
death in 1894 (see p. 331). He was a very able man and
much regretted. The Barclays were of unmixed negro origin
and originally came from Little Popo (Dahome).
American interest in Liberia began to revive when the
terrible war between North and South was at an end and when
the Negro question was forcing itself on the attention of thought-
ful Americans in a new form — namely, the Negro as a free
itian and a citizen enjoying equal rights with white men.
Several abortive attempts were made to start Negro emigration
to Liberia on a large scale, and for this purpose information
as to the unknown hinterland was desirable.
Benjamin Anderson, a young Liberian (born in 1834^), had
received a good education together with some knowledge of
surveying. Between 1864 and 1866 he had been Secretary
of the Treasury under President Warner. He paid a visit to
the United States when he left office, and there found several
American philanthropists who asked why no attempt had been
made to fix some limits in the interior for the future bounds
of Liberian territory. Anderson professed himself to be able
and willing to make a journey through the dense forests to
' He was still living at Monrovia in I9<:>5.
250
Liberia ^
the more open country at the back believed to be inhabited
by Mandingos. Funds were found in America, chiefly by
Henry M. Schieflfclin, to meet the cost of Anderson's journey,
and in 1868 he set out on an enterprise which has scarcely yet
been repeated in the same direction. For a great many years,
in fact, Anderson's journey loomed large in the exploration of
West Africa. It did not shrink into insignificance until the
more remarkable explorations of Captain L. G. Binger' twenty
years later.
Anderson started from Monrovia on February 14th, 1868,
and journeyed by zigzags to the town of a chief called Besa,
quite close to the coast, to the west of the River Mano. He
found at first considerable opposition to his journey on the
part of the Mandingo colony at Boporo. At Boporo, however,
he managed to conciliate the chieftain and obtained porters
to take him through the " Boatswain " country.^ Anderson
found the Boatswain country ruled over by Mandingo chiefs
or head-men who were large slave-holders, having in fact
enslaved most of the local population or purchased slaves from
the adjoining Kpwesi or Buzi tribes. Travelling north through
the Busi or Buzi country (Doma Buzi), Anderson finally quitted
the great forest, to his relief, at Zigapora Zue. From this
point his way lay over a country of parklands ascending
to a plateau of an average altitude of 2,200 feet. The Buzi
people (Bousie in Anderson's spelling) seem to have been
able in many districts to hold their own as an independent
' Now Colonel L. G. liingcr, of the French Colonial Office.
' The true meaning of this ridicnlons appellation is not very clear. Need-
less to say, there never has been any tribe calling itself by such a name
pronounced phonetically. The patriarch or founder of the community was caHed
Hoatswain from having served in that capacity on r>ritish ships. This chief of the
Hoporo district (Tom Boatswain) was in existence at the foundation of Liberia in
1822, and is supi)osed to have rendered some assistance to the early Liberian
settlers by his influence over the Goras.
2^2
-Pi Frontier Questions
race (admitting the Mandingos as traders or friends). At Bulata
(2,253 feet) Anderson passed beyond the limit of oil palms, which
throughout Western and Equatorial Africa are associated with
the forest region. He was now in an open country of grass-
lands, with a dry atmosphere and (seemingly) a healthy climate,
with deliciously cool nights. The people of the country were
A MANDINCit) HOK^K (iN SIKKKA MiONK)
Mandingos, Muhammadans of course, horse-breeders and riders
of horses. Their capital town was Musadu.^
At Musadu and elsewhere in the Mandingo country
' The Americo-Liberians have never yet mastered the true principles of modern
Enghsh orthograpliy, copying in this the mass of the United States population,
which is still very eighteenth-century in its use of the English alphabet. Con-
sequently, again and again the letter ;- is used to supplement the vowel a in order
to give the latter the sound of a xn father. Musadu is the phonetic spelling. The
place has not been foimd (seemingly) or recognised by subsequent French travellers.
253
Liberia ^
(which, by the bye, is described by Anderson and others of that
period as the country of the IVestern, instead of, as it should
be, the Southern Mandingos) Anderson made treaties with the
chiefs by which they placed their countries within the limits
of Liberia. These treaties, the originals of which, written in
Arabic, are still in the archives at Monrovia, do not seem to
have been much more in intention than treaties of friendship.
But as the result of them a somewhat eccentric hinterland
boundary was fixed for Liberia.
Anderson made in 1874 another exploring journey north-
eastward through the densest forest of Liberia. But the
geographical results were so vague and untrustworthy that it is
scarcely worth mentioning, except for his further dealings with
the Buzi people.
Anderson's journeys and treaties (together with arrange-
ments which had been made subsequent to the fusion with
Maryland along the Ivory Coast) caused Liberia to claim a
hinterland of a curiously zig-zag outline. The suggested limits
of the republic's territory in 1876, and for some years later,
are depicted on the accompanying sketch-map. It says something
for the scrupulousness of Liberian agents that whilst they were
about it — mere map-making, so to speak — they did not boldly
include the Buzi territory and so round off the future boundaries
of their republic. But the Buzi tribe was a formidable one,
and had apparently agreed to no arrangements which could
be construed as bringing them by their own consent within the
limits of the Liberian State.
The great traveller, Burton, visited the coast of Liberia
(chiefly Cape Palmas) in 1861, on his way out to Fernando
Po, to take up his consular work in the Bights of Biafra
and Benin. In one of the best hooks he ever wrote
{IVanderings in West Africa by a F.R.G.S.) he gives an
254
MAP 6
Liberia ^■
interesting description of the condition of Liberia at the
beginning of the 'sixties of the last century : his writing a
little tinged with malice, perchance, for to Burton the pure-
blooded non-Muhammadan Negro was never an object of much
liking. Moreover, Burton represented with some efficiency the
spirit of revolt at that time against the sickly sentimentalism
I
AsHMTN MRII I, MONKOVIA
of Exeter Hall, according to which if the Negro only professed
Christianity he could do no wrong and need not do much work.
A disciple of Burton's and a writer of brilliant style,
Winwood Reade glanced at Liberia in 1863, and visited the
country in 1870, spending about three months on the coast
between Cape Palmas and Monrovia. He also set out on a
journey to Boporo with Dr. Blyden, but he has left us no clear
description of that Kondo town. His chapter on Liberia in the
second volume of T/ie African Sketch-book (published in 1873)
256
^ Frontier Questions
and his notes on the Kru people are wonderfully true to life
(even after thirty-five years' interval) and instinct with that
charming sympathy, that real genius, which ran through the
works of this wonderful young man, who died in 1874 after his
return from the Ashanti Expedition, aged only thirty-four years.^
' He and the late Professor Henry Drummond were perhaps the only two
writers of genius who ever touched Africa — Reade on the west, Drummond on the
south-east. Burton came very near genius in some of his work but lacked the
sympathetic insight of Reade. Reade's A/^r/r/v/(f?;w of Man, his swan-song, planned
in a squalid hut at Kalaba in the Mandingo Highlands, where he was detained a
prisoner, was not '' writ in water " as he feared. It is now in its seventeenth
edition and should be given by the State to every young man and woman in the
United Kingdom, the United States, and shall we add ? — Liberia, on their
attaining the age of twenty-one years. It is the first rational exposition of the
relations of mankind to the mystery which shrouds the how and wherefore of man's
existence, the first honest protest against our long, long martyrdom.
70. MxNNU KIVLK, LIBKKIAN I-KuNTlKK (FKUM DIA, LOOKING fl' S'IKKAM)
VOL. 1
257
»7
CHAPIER XV
THE LOAX AM) ITS COXSEQUEXCES
PRESIDENT WARNER' was defeated in the election of
1867, and on January ist, 1868, his place was taken
by another mulatto President, James Sprigg Payne, a
candidate of the Republicans. Payne's tenure of the Presidency
was uneventful, and on January ist, 1870, he was succeeded by
the first Whig President, Edward James Rove, a pure-blooded
Negro.
Towards the close of the 'sixties there was much discussion
in Liberia on the question of public works and the means of
opening up the interior to a more profitable and extended com-
merce ; for, owing to the restrictive law already described,
foreigners — that is to say, non- Africans or persons not of Negro
race-- could not trade away from the ports of entry. In fact,
whilst the Constitution and legislation of Liberia were very
naturally directed towards keeping this small pordon of Africa
open to the black man's enterprise, the civilised fringe of this
Negro republic nevertheless stagnnted, and the volume of trade
was very small compared with that of the possessions of Britain
and France on the West Coast of Africa. Perhaps also Liberia,
now an independent State of twenty years* existence, thought it
was time she should imitate all the other independent States of
the world and have a loan and a public debt.
' Warner's sons and danghters, unlike the descendants of other Americo-
Liherians, are said to have adopted the life of the indigenous natives.
258
^ The Loan and its Consequences
It was decided to negotiate this loan in London. At that
period the Liberian Consul-General for Great Britain was an
English financial agent named Chinery, who was apparently
in touch with certain banking agencies not perhaps of the
first rank. Two Liberian commissioners (W. S. Anderson
and W. H. Johnson) were directed to proceed to London
and negotiate through Chinery a loan of 500,000 dollars
(^100,000). An agreement was come to with the firm of
bankers introduced by Chinery of a character unfortunate
for Liberia. Bonds to the extent of ^100,000 were to
be issued against a payment in cash of ^70,000. This loan
was to carry interest (on ^^ 100,000) at 7 per cent., and the
whole loan — that is to say, ^(^ 100, 000 — was to be repaid over a
term of fifteen years. This would mean that in order to touch
^^70,000 in money --if the agreement had been carried out to
the letter — Liberia was to repay to the lenders at the end of
fifteen years a total sum, including the 7 per cent, annual
interest, of ^132,600. Of course the indifferent security (in
the eyes of the lenders) counted for much. The loan was to
be guaranteed on the Customs or on some branch of the Customs
revenue ; but the lenders alleged that the Customs revenue
was collected in a somewhat haphazard fashion, and that
there was sometimes an insufficiency of revenue to meet the
actual working expenses of Liberia. Also they were aware that
if the country repudiated the debt no steps would be taken by
the British Government to exact payment. News of the terms
of this loan whtn it reached Monrovia created a lively dis-
satisfaction among the citizens. But although a protest was
forwarded to Chinery, the matter was further complicated by
the absence from Liberia of President Roye, who had gone
to England to discuss the long-disputed Gallinhas question.
Roye whilst in London seems to have given his approval to the
259
Liberia ^
scheme of the loan. He was accompanied on his journey to
England by his Secretary of State, Hilary R. W. Johnson
(afterwards President). Johnson disagreed with Roye on some
point connected with the frontier, and returned to Monrovia
before the President.
Although President Roye had not taken any direct part
in the negotiation of the loan, on his return to Monrovia he
intimated his approval of the scheme before the matter could
be submitted to the Legislature. From this and other indica-
tions it had been thought for some months that Roye was
aiming at a coup d'etat which would get rid of the trammels
of the Constitution and enable him, at any rate for a time, to
govern Liberia despotically. A story went abroad, for which
no actual proof could afterwards be found, that Roye had
himself received a portion of the money raised for this loan,
or else a very heavy commission for according it his approval.
Roye knew that according to the terms of the Constitution
his Presidency would come to an end on January ist, 1872.
Therefore, soon after his return from England, at the be-
ginning of October, 1871, he issued a proclamation to the effect
that he had on his own authority extended his tenure of the
Presidency for another two years. Popular discontent soon
made itself manifest at Grand Basa and Monrovia, and in most
of the Americo-Liberian settlements. The President attempted
to arm those of his party who had promised to stand by him
in this unconstitutional manner of provoking a constitutional
change which in itself had often been advocated by Liberian
statesmen ---namely, the extension of the President's term of
office from two years to four. To this principle the people
were not by any means ill-disposed, although it has not yet
been brought about. But it was felt that Roye was aiming at
something more extended than this — that he intended to act
260
-^ The Loan and its Consequences
as not a few contemporary presidents of South American
republics had done, in arrogating to himself supreme and
uncontrolled power.
An attempt on the part of Roye's supporters to seize a
building in Monrovia used as a bank by an industrial society
of the St. Paul's River settlements was the last straw that
broke the camel's back. The people of Monrovia rose against
him in the first — and, let us hope, the last — of Liberian in-
surrections. They soon overpowered the armed resistance of
Roye's followers, though several lives were lost on both sides.^
The President's house was sacked by an angry crowd hunting
everywhere tor him, and with one of his sons he was caught
and imprisoned.
The Senate and House ot Representatives then met in a
hurriedly summoned congress and issued a most temperately
worded manifesto. In this the ''sovereign people of the Re-
public of Liberia" declared on October 26th, 1871, that the
President, E. J. Roye, was deposed from his office ; the Govern-
ment was to be provisionally carried on by an executive
committee of three members until constitutional measures had
been taken for the election of a new President. The proclama-
tion ended with an expression of thanks to God that this
uprising had been attended with so little bloodshed. The three
personages appointed to be members of the executive committee
were Charles B. Dunbar, General R. A. Sherman, and Amos
Herring. The Secretary of State, H. R. W. Johnson, still re-
mained in office.
Ex-President Roye was then brought to trial before the
Supreme Court of Justice, but during the night he managed,
^ It is said that Roye commenced the actual fighting by going into the street
and flinging hand grenades at the crowd. The populace soon retorted by sending
^ cannon-ball through the President's house.
?6j
Liberia ^
either through the negligence or the connivance of his guardians,
to escape. An English steamer was anchored ofF Monrovia,
and it is said that the ex-President removed nearly all his
clothing, in the hope that he might be mistaken for an ordinary
native or Kruboy boarding the ship for work. Around his
waist was a belt, said to have been heavily charged with
sovereigns, which of course it was further alleged were part
of the loan. He attempted to cross the breakers in a native
canoe and thus reach the steamer ; but the canoe was badly
steered and capsized, and the unfortunate Roye was drowned.
As regards the loan, no very clear account exists as to
the precise sum in money which actually reached the Liberian
treasury. The estimate has been put as high as ;^2 7,ocx)
(out of the theoretical ^100,000). Assuming that ^70,000
was really found by the London bankers, three years' interest
was apparently retained or deducted by them from the ^{[70,000.
This would reduce the amount to be handed over in cash to
^49,000. But of this sum again several thousands of pounds
were represented by trade goods and /^ 12,000 was paid in more
or less bad paper, in bills which could only be cashed at a
terribly high discount. A good deal of the money seems to
have disappeared with Rove, and a small sum which was being
brought out by \V. S. Anderson was further diminished before
it reached the Liberian treasury owing to his flight to St.
Paul de Loanda, from which place he refused to return to
Liberia unless he was guaranteed against prosecution. One
way and another, it is perhaps a generous estimate to supp)ose
that ^27,000 in money reached Liberia out of this unfortunate
loan. Against this sum bonds had been issued to the extent
of ^80,000, chiefly by President Roye's Government. It is
doubtful indeed whether bonds to the extent of nearly
/ 1 00,000 were not in circulation, but a considerable proportion
?62
^^ The Loan and its Consequences
of these at any rate were disavowed and cancelled by the
Liberian Government.
It cannot be said, however, that Chinery or the bankers
associated with him profited by their share in the enterprise.
The bankers received only paper for their money, and were
'I. GKNKK.M, K. A. >.ll liKMAN
not of course responsible for the defalcations of President Roye,
and soon afterwards they went into liquidation. Chinery's
commission as Consul-General was revoked, and he was replaced
by another Englishman, who brought an action against him in
the Courts at the instance of the republic.^
' Little or no satisfaction was obtained by these proceedings. Chinery went
out to Sierra Leone and there made the acquaintance of Dr. E, W. Blyden, who
263
Liberia ^'
On January ist, 1872, the veteran Joseph J. Roberts
was recalled to the Presidency, and served his country in that
capacity till 1876.' He then refused re-election on the ground
of age and enfeebled health. James Sprigg Payne was elected
to succeed him.
Three years' interest, it will be remembered, had been retained
in London out of the principal of the loan. The Liberian
Government were inclined to repudiate the whole transaction
after the deposition of Rove ; but this was not easy, as a
certain proportion of the loan — ^20,000 to ^27,000 — had
been received and spent by the republic. A Mr. Jackson
had succeeded Chinery as Liberian Consul-General and financial
agent in London, and during his tenure of the post for some
nine years he had attempted to do his best for the affairs
of the republic. After the brief reappearance on the scene
of Chinery, the post of Consul-Cjencral was finally conferred
on a \lr. (iudgeon, who was succeeded in 1891 by the present
Consul-d'eneral and Acting Minister Resident — Mr. Henry
Hayman. It was not until Mr. Hayman took up this office
from 1885-91 (first as Consul) that any attempt was made to
clear up the business of the loan. For years Mr. Hayman
fought his way through an extraordinary tangle of fraud and
the results n\ negligence, owing to which large numbers of
bonds ('' to bearer ") had found their way on to the London
Stock Market, or to Holland, or even more remote places.
It is supposed that there had been negligence and malfeasance
came to the coiiclu-sion that ho had lujt beni to blame for the unfortunate aflair
of th«.^ loan. Owing to JMyJcns representations, Chinery acted as Consul-Genenl
in London for a short period in i8«Su; but this step on Dr. Blyden's part (Blyden
was then Liberian Minister at the Court of St. James) was not confirmed by the
Liberian Kxeculive.
' He died on February 2ist. 1876, two months after leaving the presidential
chair. He had just attended the funeral of a colleague at which a tornado burst
with an awful downpour of rain. Roberts died from the chill.
?04
IVcsitlcnt J. J. Roberts
(Pointed from a PImtoKruph taUtn ;jh«)ut IS71)
t
m
C
•^ The Loan and its Consequences
in Liberia as well as in England, and that bonds to bearer
in both countries had been disposed of for trivial sums of money.
Finally the republic (in 1898) admitted a loan of between
^70,000 and ^80,000 and agreed to pay a progressive in-
^2. ML.MOKIAL TO I'HKMDKNT J, J. KoHKKlS
terest at 3 to 5 per cent. Since 1898 the interest (which is now
4 per cent.) has been paid without default. This honourable
settlement with the bondholders (honourable especially to the
Liberian Government) was achieved by Mr. Arthur Barclay
265
Liberia ^
(then Secretary to the Liberian Treasury), Mr. J. C. Stevens
(Attorney-General), and Mr. Henry Hayman (Consul-General).
The negotiations were materially assisted by Mr. I. F. Braham,
manager of the Liberian Rubber Syndicate.*
' I append the text of this agreement :
JJheriiin (iovcrnment 7 per cent. External Ijoan of 1871.
Bases of Acreememt submitted by the Honourable A. Barclay, Secretary of
the Treasury, and the Honourable J. C. Stevens, Attorney- General of the
Govrrnment of Liberia, of tlie one part, and approved by the Committee
of Liberian Bondholders acting in conj miction with the Council of Foreign
Bondholders of the other part.
I. The interest on the debt to be reduced as follows : 3 per cent, for three
years; 3^ per rent, for three years; 4 per cent, for three years jhe present rate
of interest ; \\ prr cent, for three years ; 5 per cent, thereafter until extinction.
Interest to be paid half-yearly in gold in London, by a banking house to be
appointed by the Government of Liberia and approved by the Council. The
first payment of iritt^rest to b^^ made on October ist, 1899.
II. Amortisation of the principal of the bonds deposited with the Council
under this arrangement, in accordance with Article VI H.. to commence after
five years, viz. cm October 1st, i(/)4, by means of an accumulative sinking fund
of I per c<'nt. ptr annum, to be applied half-yearly by purchases on the market
or by tenders, as the Government may decide, when the price of the bonds is
under par, or by drawings for redem[)tlon at par when the price is at or above
par. Tlie G(»vernnient reserves the riglit to increase the sinking fund at any time,
or to [»ut it into operation at an earlier date.
Ill For the arrears of interest reckoned up to March 31st, 1899. the Council
of Foreign Bontlholders will i<s\ie non-interest bearing certificates, which shall
be redeemed in ih" following manner. Alter the extinction of the principal
of the debt, the Government of Liberia will continue to remit in the manner
hereinbefore i)rovided, for a period of four years, the like amount of interest
and sinking fund payable at the date of such extinction in respect of the amount
of bonds which may be deposited with the Council within the period prescribed
by Article VIII. This sum shall be applied by the bankers charged with the
service of the debt to the redem{)tion of the certificates, either by a pro rata
payment or by half-yearly drawings as may be determined by the Council in
conjunction with the Committee. The Government of Liberia is entitled to
purchase certificates on the market at any time if it so desires, and to participate
with the holders of the other outstanding certificates in the fund appropriated for
their redemption.
IV. As security for the service of the debt the Government especially assigns
the exports duty of 6 cents per lb. on rubber, to be paid by the exporters direct
to the Consul-General for Liberia in London, and to be handed by him to the
bank charged with the service of the debt. Any sums hereafter paid to the
?66
^^ The Loan and its Consequences
It was under Roberts's last Presidency, in 1874, that the
explorer Benjamin Anderson was again sent into the interior,
if possible to reach the alleged gold-mines near Musadu. He
Government by the existing Liberian Rubber Syndicate, or any other syndicate
or company that may succeed it, are to be appHed in Hke manner to the service
of the debt.
V. Should the product of the rubber export duties within the first five years
amount to more than is required for the payment of the interest on the debt at
the rates set forth in Article I., such surplus shall be applied to amortisation,
or if after the fifth year there should be a surplus from the same source after
providing for the payment of interest and the accumulative sinking fund of
I per cent, as set forth in Article II., such siuplus sliall be applied to additional
amortisation,
VI. The service of the debt shall be further secured on the general Customs
revenue of the republic, it being understood tiiat the acceptance of these bases
of arrangement on the part of tiic Council and Committee is contingent on some
effective control of the collection of the Customs duties satisfactory to the
Committee being established, and that any deficiency in the product of the rubber
export duties rerjuircd for the service of the Kxternal IV'bt is to constitute a first
charge on the revenues derived iVom the general Custom^- revenue, subject only
to the expenses of collection and the payment of interest not exceeding 6 per
cent, per annum on any advance made by the syndicate or company which may
be formed to undertake the collection of the said revenue?.
In any event the full sum required in gold for the half-yearly service of the
debt is to be in the hands of the bankers in London at least a fortnight before
tlie due date of the coupons as altered under this arrangement.
The Government will also at the same time pay tlie bank the usual commission
for administering the debt service.
VTI. The bonds of 1871 are to ht lodged with the Council, and stamped on
their face as assenting to the new arrangement, and the coupons endorsed with
the altered dates and rates of payment in accordance with Article I., or new
coupon sheets are to be j)rinted and attached to the bonds. If any stamp duty
in England is involved in this operation, the cost shall be borne by the Govern-
ment of Liberia.
VI II. In order to participate in this arrangement the bonds must be deposited
with the Council of Foreign Bondholders within one year from the date of its
acceptance by the bondholders.
IX. In the event of default of any payment contemplated by this arrangement,
or of failure to carry out the terms thereof, the existing rights of the Bondholders
to revive.
X. This arrangement is subject to ratification first by the Legislature of
Liberia, and afterwards by resolution of a general meeting of bondholders to be
convened by the Council.
XI. A reasonable sum to be paid by the Liberian Government to the Council
267
Liberia ^
did not succeed, nor did his vague wanderings in the central
forests lead to any definite increase of geographical knowledge,
although they increased the political influence of Liberia.
Lord (iranville had promised President Roye in 1870
that although Great Britain could not bind herself to recognise
Liberian territorial rights west of the River Sulima, nevertheless
a mixed commission would be appointed to meet in the vicinity
of that river and discuss the Liberian claims to the territories
farther west. Roye had accepted this proposal, but before it
could be carried into efl^ect the Vai people had again attacked
(in revenge for injuries sufl^ered) the factories which Harris
had founded on the Mano and Mafa Rivers. The Governor
of Sierra Leone demanded an indemnity for these acts from
Liberia, reminding the Government of that country at the
same time that the indemnity agreed upon in 1869 had not
yet been paid. President Roberts paid over this first indemnity
in 1872, but demurred to the second claim. The matter
remained dormant until 1878, when it was revived with some
asperity by Sir S:u-niicl Rowe, then Governor of Sierra Leone.
This second indemnity was a demand for about ;^8,500. At
the same time Sir Samuel Rowe revived the claim of the
British Government to extend its protectorate along the coast
as far as the Mano River, partly on the pretext that the
Liberians were unable to keep order amongst the tribes west
of that river.
lor their expenses and services, to be settled Ixtweeii them and the Consiil-
Geiieral ol Liberia.
London, the 28th day of September. 1S9S.
For the Guvernment ot Liberia,
AKTiiLR Bak( LAV. Sccrciarv of Treasury.
J. C\ Stevens, Attorney-General.
For the Committee of Liberian Hondliolders,
(\ VV. Fremantle, Vicc-Presiih'ut of the Council^
Acting Chairman.
^68
^ The Loan and its Consequences
Roberts in 1876 had been succeeded as President by
J. S. Payne, and this last had been followed by Anthony
William Gardner at the beginning of 1878. President
Gardner met Sir Samuel Rovve's dispatch by agreeing to the
meeting of that boundary commission which had been already
7:^. KK I.MAN OF NANA KKU
foreshadowed in Lord Granville's protocol of 1870. It was
decided, however, that the mixed commission of Liberian and
British delegates should meet at Sierra Leone on January
1st, 1879. The Liberian delegates arrived at that place on
December 29th. Through all the negotiations that followed
Lil
)cria
during the next few months it cannot be said that they received
even cijmmon courtesy from the colonial authorities at Sierra
Leone, nor were the proceedings of the commission conducted
fairly and impartially. The matter was allowed to drag on
and on, and during these delays much pressure was brought
to bear on the chiefs of the frontier districts west of the
Mano River to deny that they or their predecessors had ever
made any cession of their territories to the Liberian Republic.
Naturally, in the time which had elapsed between 1850 and
1856 and the year i8"9 local conditions had changed. Tribes
had increased or diminished in power. Those which were
dominant when the Liberian rights had been acquired by
President Roberts thirty years before were now displaced bv
other tribes, who were much better disposed to come under
the rule of the British than under the Liberian Government.
The British commissioners sought to compel the Liberians
into accepting as their frontier the little River Mafi or Mafa,
which lies to the east of the Mano and which would have
brought the valuable possession of Cape Mount almost within
the grasp of the British. A long wrangle also took place when
the commission was estaI')li^hed on the Sulima River on the
amount of iiulcmnity due not onl\' to Harris but to several
other British or Sierra Leone traders who declared themselves
to have suffered from the attacks of the Liberian Vais in
I 87 I. The commission bn)kc up without arriving at any settle-
ment of the questions of frontier or indemnity.
Later on, in 1 Syc;, another unfortunate incident occurred
to lessen the dignity of the Liberian Republic, already gravely
compromised by tlie British action on the north-west and the
repudiation of the London loan. A (ierman steamer, the Carlos
went on the rocks at Nana Kru, near the mouth of the Dewa
River. The K rumen on the coast not only pillaged the vessel
74.
THE INSIGNIA OF THE LIBERIAN ORDER OF AFRICAN REUEMIHION, FOUNDED
BY PRESIDENT A. W. GARDNER IN 1 879
Liberia ^
but treated very badly the shipwrecked Germans who had landed
in their boats. These unfortunate people were robbed of the
small luggage they had saved and even stripped of their clothes.
Adding insult to injury, they:were compelled to sign a grotesque
document drawn up in broken English by an educated Kruboy
in which they professed to have received most considerate treat-
ment from the natives of the place where they had been shi{>-
weecked. They were then compelled to walk along the beach
(fording streams where necessary) until they could reach the
European trading establishments at Greenville (Sino). A
(ierman ship of war, the yiitoria^ was immediately dispatched
to the Liberian coast. Taking for granted that the Liberian
(iovernmcnt had no effective power over the Kru people, the
commander of the J'ictoria proceeded first to Nana Kru and
bombarded the towns round about the scene of the shipwreck.
The I'icioria then proceeded to Monrovia, and deposited a claim
for £^)00 on behalf of the shipwrecked Germans, a claim by
no means unreasonable. So short of money was the Liberian
Treasury, however, that even after a delay of six months which
was granted to them for the purpose they were unable to find
this sum, ami it was onlv paid eventually under the threat
of a bonil)ai\inR'nt, and by the co-operation of the European
merchants settled at Monrovia.
Soon after tliis (in 188";) occurred the wreck of the Corisco^
a British mail steamer belonging to Messrs. Elder Dempster.
The (j))isio, carried out of her course by a current, struck on
a concealed rock (Manna rocks) near the mouth ot the Grand
C'estos River. The passengers took to the boats, and crew
but thev were surrounded (^n landing by crowds of natives who
plundered them of all they possessed, including most of their
clothing. Amongst the passengers were four ladies, who would
have surteretl cruellv but for the kind consideration of the
-#i The Loan and its Consequenceg
principal agent at the Dutch factory, who gave them shelter and
clothing until another steamer could call for them.
This was utterly indefensible behaviour on the part of the
natives. The steamer was not trying to land or embark goods
away from a port of entry, and the natives plundered not only
the derelict ship but the unfortunate shipwrecked passengers.
A I.IIU.KIAN llOUMlllULn
The British Government dealt with the matter in a conciliatory
manner, and the Liberian forces under Major-General Sherman
inflicted more punishment on the Grand Cestos people. The
Senegal was also wrecked on the Liberian coast and plundered
in much the same manner by the indigenous natives.
The 'seventies of the last century had not been a happy period
for Liberia. Besides the loan and the Monrovia uprising there
VOL. I 273 18
Liberia ^
had been a terrible outbreak of smallpox in 1871 in Maryland,
beginning at Cape Palmas. Then ensued in the same region
more wars with the natives, chiefly the Grebos. In 1875 ^^^
Grebes burnt two Liberian settlements on the outskirts of
Harper -Bunker Hill and Philadelphia. In the following year
(1876) ''jiggers'* ^ or burrowing fleas were first introduced, by
a ship coming from the Portuguese island of Sao Thome to land
or recruit Kru labourers. The jigger has since spread all over
the coast regions of Liberia, but is not so abundant as it was
a few years ago.
In 1879 President Gardner (who had recently been made
a Knight Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Isabella
Catolica) resolved to institute a Liberian Order of Chivalry,
which was named the Order of African Redemption (see p. 271).
Under Gardner's Presidency, on April ist, 1879, Liberia joined
the Universal Postal Union.-
In 1877 there had been a fresh accession of Negro colonists
from Louisiana, who were mainly distributed about the Lower
St. PauTs River. Some of these subsequently returned to
America. No immigration of any organised or important kind
has taken place subsequently from America, though individuals
from the United States and the West Indies have from time
to time found their way to Liberia and settled there more or
less permanently. By 1880 it is probable that the total Americo-
Liberian population scarcely reached ten thousand in number.
The birth-rate was small, and the somewhat slow increase at most
atoned for the departure of disappointed settlers or the rather
heavy death-rate from disease ; for some sixty years' experience
' Sitr,o/*sy//ffs /unttfans. This pest is indigeiKuis to tropical America, where
it is known as thf "ohiro." It was brought in saiui ballast by a Brazilian ship
to :\inbri/ in i^5S-
* In ii;o3 an agrrtnuMit with regard to the exchange of money postal orders
was cntcreii into with the United States and Great Britain.
274
-^ The Loan and its Consequencies
had shown that Negroes born in America, especially in the
temperate climate of the United States, were scarcely less immune
from African fevers than a people of European origin. Mulattoes
suffered more than full-blooded Negroes, and quadroons more
than mulattoes. The result has b'^en the gradual dying out in
Liberia of the half-breeds and the proportionate increase of a
purely Negro type. Down to 1880 a somewhat foolish spirit
of distinction had been kept up between the " civilised *'
Christian Negro immigrants from America and the ^* natives."
A marriage or an illicit union between an Americo-Liberian
man and a native woman (though some of the native women,
especially those of Mandingo race, are distinctly comely) was
looked upon as a shameful occurrence, at any rate as an episode
to be kept in the shade as much as possible. That these
unions did take place in spite of caste prejudices was perhaps
fortunate, since they decidedly infused new vigour into the next
generation.
But about the period named (1880) a feeling of dis-
appointment as regards the results of Negro repatriation was
making itself felt, and public spirit in Liberia was taking —
wisely, perhaps — a more African turn. In spite of the some-
what harsh treatment which the country was then receiving
from England over frontier questions, an increasing disposition
to turn to England for advice was manifested. The constitution
of the adjoining colony of Sierra Leone, with its coast population
of freed slaves so similar in origin to the fundamental stock of
the Americo-Liberian, was a bond of union between the British
Empire and Liberia. The United States continued its practical
philanthropy on the part of individuals, who sent from time
to time donations towards the educational work of the Liberia
College ; but this benevolence was also matched by splendid
gifts for missionary and educational purposes from the British
275
N
Liberia ^
philanthropist of Leeds, Mr. Robert Arthington (after whom
a settlement on the St. Paul's River has been named). Moreover,
throughout Liberia an extraordinary affection and reverence grew
up during these years for Queen Victoria. This feeling dated
possibly from the journey of President Roberts to England in
1849; but the late Queen had often testified her interest in
West African Negroes by the adoption or even the bestowal
of her godmothership on Negro girls, one or two of whom
afterwards settled in Liberia with their husbands. Liberian
ladies, the wives of such statesmen who occasionally travelled
to England on business, were not infrequently presented to the
Queen, and brought away memorials of her in the shape of
photographs and kindly speeches, the result of which was a
kind of cult for the Queen of Great Britain which the present
writer found still lingering on his visit to Liberia in the
summer of i 904. Her picture was to be seen almost wherever
a Liberian settlement existed.
276
CHAPTER XVI
RECENT HISTORY
SIR ARTHUR HAVELOCK had succeeded Sir Samuel
Rowe for a time as Governor of Sierra Leone in 1880,
and under his administration of that colony renewed steps
were taken to procure British predominance over the territories
between the Sherbro and the Mano River. It was resolved to
exact Liberia's consent to this restriction of her frontiers, and
also to compel the payment of an indemnity to Harris. Ac-
cordingly, Sir Arthur Havelock (who was also Consul-General
for Britain in Liberia) came to Monrovia on March 20th, 1882,
with four gunboats, and demanded that the Liberian Government
should at once give its consent to a frontier delimitation, which
would bring the British Protectorate up to the River Mafa
and the vicinity of Cape Mount. Also the Liberians were
simultaneously to pay the indemnity of ^^8,500 claimed on behalf
of Harris and the other merchants. President Gardner, over-
awed by the appearance of this section of the British fleet,
hastened to appoint Dr. Edward Blyden (then Minister of the
Interior) to arrange the bases of an understanding with Sir
Arthur Havelock. It was agreed between the two plenipoten-
tiaries that Liberia should pay an indemnity to Harris and the
other merchants supposed to have suffered from the Vai in
1871, that Liberia should abandon her rights to any territory
west of the Mafi or Mafa River (subject to a promise from
277
Liberia ^
Sir Arthur Havelock that he would intercede with the British
Government for the line of the Mano River instead), but that
Britain should repay to Liberia all the sums which could be
shown to have been spent by her since 1849 in acquiring
territories west of the Mano.
The treaty was signed, and Havelock returned to Sierra
Leone with the British gunboats ; but these terms aroused
most violent opposition, and the Senate rejected the treaty
soon afterwards. The Liberians declared themselves willing to
submit the matter of the disputed territories to arbitration.
Floods of eloquence were poured forth in the Liberian press,
some of it very true and very touching, but all futile in face
of this incontestable fact, that paper rights cannot always remain
paper rights in Africa, and that claims to political control must
be supported by evidence of the control being sufficient to
maintain law and order and the recognition of sovereign rights,
at any rate after a reasonable lapse of time. The hardness of
Liberia's position arose from this, that if it had been a mere case
of keeping in order turbulent blacks, she might have been able
to show that she possessed sufficient resources for that purpose.
But the dispute about the Mano, Sulima, and Gallinhas
territories really arose from Liberia not daring to use her
force to restrain within limits of law and order the arrogant
English traders who had established themselves on the confines
of her territory and who had refused to obey her regulations.
On September 7th, 1882, Sir Arthur Havelock returned
with the gunboats and demanded a ratification of the treaty.
The Liberian Executive opposed to him two arguments. If
the contested territory was British, why did the British
Government claim from Liberia an indemnity for acts of
violence amongst the natives which had taken place thereon ?
If, however, Liberia acknowledged her responsibility, as she
278
' -Mad done, and agreed to pay an indemnity, why should she
^^^^ in addition deprived of territories for the law and order
^ -^ which she was held responsible, and which were hers by
^^^^"s of purchase admitted by the British Government ? The
-*" ^>^rian Senate, again summoned, persisted in refusing to
^^^^^y the treaty. In March, 1883, the Colonial Government
Sierra Leone took possession on behalf of the British
"^5-^=^ ernment of the territories between Sherbro and the Mano
^^ ^^^r, lands which from first to last, in original purchase
.ey, in special missions of negotiation to England, military
editions to punish the natives for attacking English factories, '
mnities due for such attacks, and in the expenses of three t
^^ tier commissions had cost Eiberia in all ^'20,000. 1
President Gardner was so much upset over the forcible •
^^«-==Jxation of this north-western strip of the Libcrian coast T
^^^ he resigned office before his Presidency terminated/
~^^^^^^^ wording to constitutional usage, he was succeeded for the ;
*^"^^ of the term by the Vice-President, A. K. Russell. On •
^^ laary ist, 1884, Hilarv Richard WRicinr Johnson - (who ;
^^^^ been elected in the previous May) was installed as President, i
^^v\ at once commenced negotiations in London to regularise f
^^t: action taken by the British Ciovernment in 1883. These
"^"^^gotiations finally resulted in the treaty of November iith,
^-^85, which was subsequently ratified by both Governments,
'^iy this the boundary of Liberia on the west commences at the
'*Ylouth of the River Mano.' Its continuation in the interior in
' January 20tli, i<SS3 Hi- lU'vt.T rccuvcTod from the nKirtirtcation oausi-d by
Governor Havt^lrx-ks artions ami died early in 1SS5.
- lolinson, a mulatto, was a man ol vory distiiif;ui>li<(l attainmruts. who had
served as professor at Liberia College, had been a LilxTian dijilouiatist aud
Secretary ol State. He was the tirst Pri'sident boru in Lilx-ria (F'^37) aud was
the son of the gall.uit jiioueer, Elijah JohuNon.
•' Spelt Mannah in all the doi lum-nts of an earlier date, but u«)W known as
the Mano.
Liberia <•-
Article II. of this treaty was defined in such extraordinarily
vague language that its purport could have been clear to no one.^
But the question was finally set at rest by further negotiations in
1902, which resulted in the Anglo-Liberian boundary commission
in 1903. The same treaty also provided for the repayment
to Liberia of the sum of ^4,750, which was intended to
reimburse Liberia for sums originally paid between 1849 ^"^
1856 for the purchase of some of these contested territories.
French opinion at the time censured the British Govern-
ment for this action in forcibly curtailing Liberian limits.
The Belgian author, Colonel Wauwermans, who in 1885
published an admirable work on the history of Liberia, reflected
French feeling when he compared the aggressive attitude of
Great Britain to the kindly and indulgent demeanour which
France displayed towards the little republic. But France, too,
soon afterwards was to have her unscrupulous mood. By deeds
of purchase and treaties, the little State of Maryland (and
subsequently the bigger Republic of Liberia with which it
^ The actual text of Article II. of the Treaty of 1885 runs thus:
•' The line marking the north-western boundary of the Republic of Liberia
shall commence at the point on the sea coast at which, at low water, the line of
the south-eastern or left bank of the Mannah River intersects the general line of
the sea coast, and shall be continued along the line marked by low water on
the south-eastern or left bank of the Mannah River, until such line, or such
line prolonged in a nortli-casterly direction, intersects the line or the prolongation
of the line marking the north-eastern or inland boundary of the territories of
the republic, with such deviations as may hereafter be found necessary to place
within Liberian territory the town of Hoporo and such other towns as shall be
hereafter acknowledged to have belonged to the republic at the time of the
sighing of this Convention."
It is regrettable that those who negotiated this treaty should have composed
an article so vaguely and cumbrously worded. Fortunately, when it came to a
delimitation of the boundary many years afterwards Cireat Britain was sutficiently
actuated by goodwill towards Liberia not to avail herself of the bad definition
of her frontier expressed in this article. But evidently this fault was not confined
to British or Liberian diplomatists. The wording of the French boundary treaty
of 1892, as will be seen later on, was almost equally vague and contradictory,
280
76, HILARY K. W. JOHNSON, rKESIDKNT OF UKKKIA 1884-92
Liberia ^
fused) had extended the limits of the republic eastwards along
the Ivory Coast to the River San Pedro, about sixty miles
east of the Cavalla. This extension really covered all the coast
territory inhabited by people belonging to the Kru race, so
that it was to a great extent coincident with an ethnographical
boundary. When the present writer was Acting Consul for
the Niger Coast, etc., in 1888, he visited this portion of the
Liberian coast to settle some disputes which had arisen between
Kruboys and their employers in Southern Nigeria. At that
date the territory between the Cavalla and the San Pedro
was distinctly recognised as Liberian. Nevertheless, when
French ambitions in the matter of an African empire were
revived in the beginning of the 'eighties of the last century,
it was determined to extend the scattered French possessions
on the Ivory Coast until they covered the whole region between
the British Gold Coast on the east and the Cavalla River on
the west. An indication of this intention was given by a
decree published in the Bulleiiu cits Lois in 1885, which declared
the coast to be French territory not only between the San Pedro
and the Cavalla but beyond the Cavalla and Cape Palmas to
the town of Garawe. France also began to revive claims of
a very shadowy nature^ to Cape Mount, to the original site
of Petit Dieppe (Grand Basa), and to a large piece of territory
at Grand Butu." Most of these claims were based on ofFers
of territory by native chiefs to the commanders of French war
vessels.
In 1 89 1 an official communication of these intentions on
the part of the French Government was made to Great Britain.
But no doubt unacknowledged negotiations had been" proceeding
^ Dating from 1842.
^ Also the site of a supposed Norman settlement, Le Grand et le Petit
^ Recent History
for some time, and the late Lord Salisbury had induced France
to restrain her aggressions on Liberian territory within reasonable
limits. Consequently, in the French official notification of
October 26th, 1891, the French boundary was drawn at the
Cavalla. The Liberians protested in vain against this spoliation,
but receiving no assurances of support either from the United
States or Great Britain, they were fain to conclude a treaty with
France on December 8th, 1892, according to which the River
Cavalla became the boundary between P>ance and Liberia from
its mouth "as far as a point situated at a point'* about twenty
miles to the south of its confluence with the River '' Fodedougou-
ba,*' at the intersection of the parallel 6" 30' N. Lat. and the
(Paris) meridian 9° 12' of W. Long/ From this ''point at a
point '* so contradictorily fixed on the Cavalla, the boundary
was then to be carried along 6^ 30' parallel of N. Lat. as far
west as the Paris Meridian 10^ of Longitude, with this proviso,
that the basin of the Grand Sesters River should belong to
Liberia and the basin of the Fodedougou-ba to France. Then
' This starting-point of Franco-Liberian delimitation on the River Cavalla is
determined in the most contradictory manner. The treaty first says that it shall
be sitnated at a point on the Cavalla abont twenty miles to the south of its confluence
with the Hiver Fodedugu-ba, which was at that time supposed to be an affluent of the
Cavalla. But the treaty supplements this definition by adding the words '• at the
intersection of the parallel 6^ 30' N. Lat. and the (Paris) meridian g' 12' of W. Long."
At the date this treaty was drawn up, almost nothing was known of the course
of the River Cavalla. The name Fodedugu-ba is a Mandingo word (apparently)
for rh'fr or watercourse which under varying forms appears and reappears con-
stantly in the Upper Niger basin. The river which is indicated under this name
in the Franco-Liberian treaty is obviously the main course (I)ugu or Duyu) of the
River Cavalla, placed a good deal too much to the north in the hypothetical map
of 1892. This was confused by native tradition with a real •• Fodedugu-ba" which
occurs a great deal farther to the north as an affluent of the Sasandra River. It
was therefore foolish enough that the negotiatiors of this treaty should assume a
point of junction between a hypothetical Fodedugu-ba and an equally hypothetical
Upper Cavalla ; but when in addition they went on to postulate that twenty miles
below the confluence of these two streams the main course of the Cavalla would
be intersected by 6' 30' N. Lat. and 9" 12' (Paris) W. Long., they were simply courting
subsequent confusion.
283
Liberia ^
the boundary was to be carried north along the loth meridian
of Paris to the intersection of the 7th degree of N. Lat.,
and from this point in a north-westerly direction till the
(supposed) latitude of Tembi Kunda was reached, after which
the boundary was carried due west along the latitude of Tembi
Kunda till it intersected the British frontier near that place.
At that time it vvas supposed by both French and English that
Tembi Kunda was situated in about J^t. S^ 35'. Subsequent
surveys, however, show that Tembi Kunda is in about 9" 5'.
All these lines drawn by latitudes and longitudes from 7° N. Lat.
to Tembi Kunda were, however, to be inflected and diverted
should they conflict with the basin of the Niger and its affluents,
all of which was to belong to France. It was also decided
that the Mandingo towns of '' Bamaquilla '' and " Mahom-
modou " should belong to Liberia, while '' Mousardou " and
*' Naalah '' should belong to France.
Disadvantageous as this treaty was in some directions to
Liberia, it, at any rate, coupled with the Sierra Leone settlement,
enabled the territory of Liberia to appear on maps of Africa
with some greater dcfiniteness of outline and without the
fantastic zi^za^s introduced hv Anderson's surveys.
President Flilary Johnson ' (whose (iovernment had beon
chiefly responsible for negotiating this frontier treaty with
France) retired from the Presidency before it was concluded,
on January ist, 1S92, and was succeeded by President Joseph
James CnrESEM.w, who occupied the chief magistracy till his
death in November, 1896. Cheeseman was succeeded by
WiLLiA.Ni David Coleman, first as \'ice-President and later
as President.
' Johnson died in 1898. He had rrccivfd several dtiorations from European
Powers and was much respected. After his letirement from the Presidency he took
up the position of Postmaster-General.
284
- ra
Liberia ^
In 1893 the Grebos, excited by French aggressions on
Liberian territory east of the Cavalla River, attacked the Americo-
Liberian settlements near Harper and on the Lower Cavalla
River, and the Liberian forces in the conflict met with several
disasters involving loss of guns. The Liberian Government's
armed steamer, the Gorrofwmah^^ was completed in that year, and
this vessel co-operating with the land forces under General R. A.
Sherman enabled the Monrovian Government to gain an eventual
victory over the natives in this, the so-called " Third Grebo
War/' - General R. A. Sherman, a mulatto oflicer, directed the
Liberian forces on most of these punitive expeditions, but he
died in 1894 (see p. 263). In 1896 fresh troubles arose with
the Grebos, in which one or more Liberians were killed.
About 1880 the question of admitting Europeans in a
more extended degree to the development of Liberian resources
was agitated. Sharing in the spirit of the time, there was a
talk of '' concessions,'' of privileges to be granted in mining
or rubber-collecting which might prove lucrative to the State,
and enable it perchance to pay off that debt which hung like
a millstone about the neck of the republic's finances. In 1869
there had sprung into existence the Mining Company of Liberia,
which was granted certain special rights by the Government of
Liberia, but which failed to raise any capital for the working
of these mining rights. In 1881 this was transformed into
the Union Mining Company, and to it was granted a charter
containing important privileges. This chartered company was
to languish in inaction, since it was unable on a purely Liberian
basis to raise any capital for its purposes.
' The native name of C'ape l^alinas.
* These " wars *' were mostly skirmishes with small loss of life and many
••alarums and excursions" on both sides.
286
MAP 7
^1
. «
* n „
,«?<5r
-fl
i: » e
^ K>
o
>
s
o
vS?
Liberia ^
The belief in mineral wealth in Liberia then (and perhaps
one may add now) was persistent but hypothetical. Benjamin
Anderson had written a great deal that was alluring about
mines of fabulous wealth in the vicinity of Musadu, which,
however, he had not been allowed to visit. He had tried to reach
these regions in 1874, but had failed. Although the French
have since occupied this country and presumably have explored
it, the wonderful gold-mines of Buley (? Bula) have not been
discovered, or if they have been found by the French they have
been kept absolutely secret. But after the diamond discoveries
in South Africa in 1869 and the revival of the gold-mining
industry on the (iold Coast following on Burton and Cameron's
journey and report, it was believed that any part of Africa must
of necessity be packed with precious stones or minerals of great
value.'
Between 1886 and 1888 the writer of this book, then
Acting Consul in the Niger Delta, had drawn attention to the
existence in that region and in the adjoining Cameroons
of enormous quantities of rubber-producing vines and trees.
Various French travellers had done the same in regard to
Senegambia, and by the end of the 'eighties the great rubber trade
of West Africa had begun. Long before this it had been realised
that the Liberian torests down almost to the sea coast were
equally well provided with rubber-bearing lianas and trees.
These and other sources of wealth had been pointed out by
the celebrated Swiss traveller, Professor J. Biittikofer, and the
question ot a rubber concession had been suggested either by
a Liverpool or a Hamburg rirm. Finally this resulted in the
granting ot a concession to export rubber (subject to a royalt\^
to the Liberian Ciovernment) and to work exclusively all the
' As to Liberian diamonds the cautious remarks of Professor Biittikofer on
p. 426 of vol. i. of his Travels in Liberia should be read.
288
^ Recent History
rubber of all the public lands and forests throughout Liberia
to a firm in London. This concession had been re-drawn in
an amended form at the request of Lord Raglan, who visited
Liberia for this purpose in 1894. The royalty payable to the
Liberian Government on the rubber exported was to range
from twopence to fourpence a pound according to selling price,
and a considerable sum of money as additional bonus was to be
paid in instalments for the granting of this concession.^
In 1879 Professor J. Biittikofer,' at the suggestion of Dr.
Jentink of Leyden, started to begin his celebrated explorations
of the fauna of Liberia, which at that period was felt to be with
justice one of the least explored and yet most accessible parts
of Africa. Professor Bottikofcr travelled in Liberia from the
beginning of 1880 to the middle of 1882, and from the end of
1886 to the middle of 1887. On his return he published in
1890 at Leyden his ReisebiUier aus Liberia.
Professor BiUtikofer was a Swiss by birth, employed in
Holland, where he still resides. There may have been good
reasons for his not publishing his work in Dutch. He decided
to write it in his native language, German. This, if one may
say so without unfairness, was unfortunate for those most
interested in Liberia, since German is a language too little under-
stood in England, not very commonly known in America, and
absolutely ignored in Liberia. There is little doubt that had
Biittikofer's work been published in French like Wauwermans's
book (which appeared in 1885) it would have had the extended
vogue which it thoroughly deserved, for it was, and is, one of
' The rubber royalties were afterwards applied to the service of the
Liberian debt. The concession after passing through several hands was finally
bought by the Chartered Company, and has now become tiie Liberian Rubber
Corporation.
^ Nowadays Director of the Zoological Gardens, Rotterdam ; formerly
Conservator of the Leyden Museum in Holland.
VOL. I 289 1.;
Liberia ^
the best books ever written about Africa, as useful to-day as
when it first appeared sixteen years ago.
The results of Biittikofer's journeys were firstly a consider-
able increase of our knowledge of the coast geography of Liberia,
which was then very incorrectly represented on the British
Admiralty charts and even less accurately given in contemporary
French or American maps. The journeys of Bottikofer and his
friend and fellow-countryman F. X. Stampfli produced some
remarkable results in the discovery of what were new, or practi-
cally new, species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and inverte-
brates. Battikofer collected a great deal of information
regarding the history and natives ot the country.
During the 'eighties and 'nineties of the last century
German interest in Liberia began to grow considerably, partly
through the publication of BtUtikofcr's work, but also and
mainly through the establishment of factories (as trading stations
are named in West Africa) at various points along the Liberian
coast bv the celebrated Hamburg firm of Woermann, who had
commenced trading in Liberia in 1850. In 1886 the old-
established firm of Wiechers & Helm (also of Hamburg)
founded trading stations at Monrovia, Marshall, and Cape
Palmas. The Dutch trading house (Oost Afrikaansche Cie.)
which did so much to develop the commerce of Mozambique
has long been established in Liberia, but without any political
bias whatever ; whereas the Germans, like the French and the
British at other times, have cast a longing eye on the territory
of Liberia as a possible field for (ierman "colonisation." The
great explorer Nachtigal seems to have had a half intention
(when sent out by (Germany in 18S4 to secure the Cameroons
and Togoland) to get a foothold in or near Liberia. As it
was, he did raise the Cierman flag in some territory on the
North Guinea coast, but it was removed in deference to the
290
^ Recent History
feeling displayed by France. Curiously enough, Dr. Nachtigal
died at sea as he was returning from the Cameroons, and
was actually buried at Cape Palmas on Liberian soil. From
this time onwards, however, Germany was disposed to increase
78. .^(iRolP Ol- KIKOI'K.W CitNsn.S AND MKKCHANTS IN MONROVIA (1901)
her influence in Liberia, cither by demanding indemnities and
threatening bombardments when German ships were wrecked on
the coast or by tendering Liberia loans of money when she was
hard up. In 1897 the German Consul concluded a dispute
about damage to a German plantation at Cape Palmas by o fleering
to the Liberian Government a treaty placing the country under
291
Liberia ^
German protection. News of this was dispatched as soon as
possible to England and to the United States. Germany
disavowed the action of her Consul and withdrew him.
Nevertheless, the house of VVoermann has conferred great
WSiT^
•Kf. A KRri;uV
benefits on that country, not easily to be overlooked or for-
gotten. The British house of Klder Dempster, acting through
the two British steamship companies which are practically one
292
--^ Recent History
(the African Steamship Company and the British and African
Company) has long maintained (since 1855) a steamer service
between Liverpool and nearly all the Jjberian ports; but the
Liberia ^
steamers were formerly the slowest boats of the line, uncertain
and unpunctual, and not always very comfortable.^ Therefore
the Woermann service, which provided an express boat once
a month from Hamburg and Southampton to Monrovia, and
which placed on the line modern steamers of fair speed and
thoroughly comfortable accommodation, proved most beneficial
to European intercourse with Liberia, and naturally these efforts
by the Woermann firm provoked similar improvements in the
steamers of their English rivals.
During the last decades of the nineteenth century Liberia
acquired an a«.ided importance in the eyes of Europe as being
the home ot the Kruboys. This race had for nearly a century
been the seanicrn of West Africa. Refusing ever to be enslaved,
though quite willing to assist in the enslavement of other tribes,
they were the first free labourers to engage themselves voluntarily
for employment with Europeans on the West Coast of Africa.
They entered willingly the service of the British Navy, in
which large numbers of them continue to the present day in
ships of the Cape and West African Squadron. As British
sailors they might he seen up And down the coasc of West
Africa, from the (ianihia to the Cape of Good Hope. They
engaged in service with all the commercial houses — British,
German, l^Vench, Spanish, Dutch, Belgian, and Portuguese —
along the ccxist of West Africa from Sierra Leone to Mossa-
medes. It was soon found that thev were of little use as porters
in inland expeditions ; but they were invaluable in any service
connected with the water or the waterside. They formed the
universal boats' crews up and down the coast.
This race accepted the settlement bv the Americo-Liberians
on either side of their country with good-humoured tolerance
until attempts were made to maintain law and order within
^ I am writing of course of the state of attairs which prcvaihd twenty years ago.
294
Lil>cria ^
the Kru country and to prevent the pillaging of wrecked ships.
Then, and at every other effort on the part of the Liberian
Government to assert its authority, the Kruboys showed fight ;
but in spite of their splendid muscles and their bullying manner
they are a cowardly race, and generally gave in to resolute
action on the part of the Liberian Militia. Nevertheless, the
writ of Monrovia does not completely run through the Kru
country yet. The existence of the Krumen both tempted to
aggression on Liberian territory and yet was one of the motives
which obliged England on several occasions to intervene when
any Power seemed advancing towards the absorption of Liberia.
France snapped up the sixty mile stretch of coast between the
San Pedro and the Cavalla so as to have under her own flag
a supply of Kru labour. But although at that period Great
Britain was disposed to make many concessions to France, the
late Lord S.disburv drew, the line at the Cavalla. Several
attempts were made by the (icrnuui house of Woermann to ob-
tain a concession for the recruiting and exporting of Kru labour,
and regulations governing this recruitment were from time to
time drawn up by the Liberian (jovernment ; but so far, any
monopoly has been wisely avoided, while on the other hand
not too much unnecessary red tape has been introduced into the
engagement of a [K-ople who have very good ideas of looking
after themselves. Now and again, of course, unscrupulous
steamer capt;iins managetl to conve)' Kruboys to a destination
which was opposed to their wishes. Lmployers on the West
Coast are very soon ticketed with a character good or bad bv
the Kru community on the coast of Liberia and at Sierra Leone.
A bad or inconsiderate employer very soon fails to get men ;
so in time, on the lines of the survi\al of the fittest, it has
come about that Krumen receive fair and considerate treatment
wherever they are employed, lest by breaking this rule it would
2u6
82. I^RKSIDENT GIHMJN AND HIS CABINET
Lil>cria ^
be impossible to secure fresh ^n2> of Kru labourers. Thev
rarely engage for more thin a year.
The Monrovian (iovemme:^: ir: iSt^; strengthened its
position amongst the Krun^cr. by securing declarations on the
\N \ II LA«i
part of their chiefs of luihcsioii to the (lovcrnment ot Liberia,
to put a stop to tc;rcign intrigue in this direction.
In 1900 IVesident Coleman entertained somewhat ambitious
views about establishing Siberian influence in the interior north-
west of the St. I^iuFs River. He therefore organised and
conducted an expedition in that direction, which, however, was
29S
-#i Recent History
disastrously defeated by the tribes it had been intended to
subdue. As this policy towards the natives was not approved
of by his Cabinet, President Coleman resigned and was suc-
ceeded by Vice-President Garretson Wilmot Cjibson (who
was already President-elect).
Under Gibson's Presidency a further change took place
in regard to the development of Liberia. The agent of the
^ ±<
8|. (HAKI l.KI-.Ii ( OMI'AW's UIAIKJIAK 11 RS IN MoNKuNIA
Union Mining Company offered the charter of that body to
an English syndicate, of which Lieut.-Coionel Cecil Powney
was chairman. An agreement to purchase the charter was
concluded, but as there were matters concerning the tenure of
the charter in dispute, and as the transfer of such a document
to a foreign company might require the direct sanction of the
Liberian Government, Sir Simeon Stuart and Mr. T. H.
Myring went to Liberia on behalf of the syndicate. In
299
Liberia <#-
December, 1901, the transfer of the charter in an amended form
from the Union Mining Company to the West African Gold
Concessions, Limited, was sanctioned by an Act of Congress.
Colonel Powney travelled through part of Liberia to investigate
its possibilities in 1903. Soon after his return his company
changed its name to that of the Liberian Development Chartered
Company. Some further modifications were introduced into
the tenure of this company's charter (which conveyed mining
rights over the counties of Montserrado and Maryland, and
general banking, railway, telegraph, and other rights throughout
Liberia) in August, 1904, and January, 1906.
The Chartered Company between 1902 and 1904 dispatched
six expeditions to search the hinterland for minerals ; and in
1903 engaged Mr. Alexander Whyte, F.L.S., to make a thorough
investigation of the Liberian flora. The results of Mr. Whyte's
work have been of some importance to science : he has done
for the flora of Liberia what Biittikofer did for the fauna.
In 1904 a great step was madcr towards the extension of
Liberian rule over the hinterland of this country. President
Arthur Barclay, who had succeeded the Hon. G. W.
Ciibson on January ist, 1904,' summoned to Monrovia an
important congress of ''kings'' and chiefs from the interior,
chiefly from the (iora, Boporo, and Kpwesi countries. In 1903
missions had been dispatched under native commissioners to
places on the Cavalla River a hundred miles and more from
the coast, and also to native towns and markets at about a
similar distance up the St. Paul's River, not only to hoist the
Liberian flag, hut to endeavour to assuage the internecine wars
' President Bardayuas born in Barbados in 1854. He came to Libt^ria in
1865, and entered the pnblic service in 1878, becoming first Clerk to House of
Kepresentatives, and then successively Judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions*
Sub-Treasurer, Montserrado ; I\)stmaster-General ; and Secretary to the Treasun*.
He has been re-elected for a fresh term of c^flice from January ist, 1906.
^ Recent History
between tribe and tribe and open a road to commerce with the
coast. President Barclay's conference of native chiefs (which
was succeeded by other meetings of Kru and Grebo chiefs from
85. i'Kksil)i:nt g. w. gihson
the eastward) markedly improved the trade relations of the
iVmerico-Llberian settlements with the western Mandingo and
Gora country and with the regions behind Cape Palmas.
President Barclay's arguments against the French assump-
301
Liberia ♦
tion that the absence of Americo-I.iberian settlements in the
far interior argues a lack of Liberiari *' occupation " are that
he considers all the Negroes inhabiting Liberia to be Liberians,
8'.». A \ \i < iiiHr, ni^ uivis wn in 1 1 ui'kki kr
and has not the slightest desire to displace native-born Negroes
by colonists born on the coast. This is a perfectly sound
doctrine ; but of course the present weakness of the civilised
\02
Liljeria ♦
Americo-Liberian Government on the coast is that it has no
sure means of maintaining law and order between tribe and
tribe, and between all these tribes in the hinterland in regard
to their relations with the French and English possessions across
the frontiers. The British have borne with patience the
occasional lawlessness of Kisi, Kondo, and other tribes on the
Sierra Leone boundary, together with the gun-running — namelv,
the passing of guns and ammunition in defiance of Customs
regulations from Ijberia into the recently agitated hinterland
of Sierra Leone.
France complains of similar lawlessness on the north-east
and north-west frontiers of Liberia. On the other hand, the
Liberian Ciovcrnment retorts that the Muhammadan Negroes
who arc now l^Vcnch subjects are eating steadily into the Liberian
hinterland. They arc penetrating the north-east parts of Liberia,
firstly as peaceful traders, and secondly as somewhat exclusive
colonists. They cut down the forest and take possession of
the country little by little, vlriving back the forest-dwelling tribes
towards the heart of Liberia.
Time aiui p.itiencc arc required to settle these problems,
and to settle them more satisfactorily bv peaceful negotiation
than by armed expevlitions. It is surely not too much to ask
from the kindliness aiul civilisation of Europe that the poor
little Americo-Liberian Republic shall have grace accorded to
it -say another fifty years -within which to show how it can
bring into an orderly condition the not very large territory
entrusted to its charge. It has made considerable progress in
that direction in the coast regions, where it is scarcely ex-
aggeration to say that the life of a white man is absolutely safe,
even though the same assurance cannot be given about his
property in every hole ;;iid corner, just as there are parts of
London and Paris at the present moment in which it would
304
^ Recent History
be very unsafe for a well-to-do person to appear, flourishing
signs of wealth on his person and without the escort of the
police.
In 1903, during President Gibson's tenure of oflice the
Anglo-Liberian boundary had been demarcated locally from the
I Ail
88. A M.\M)l.N(;o HKADMAN FROM THK ULKWIA RIVEK
mouth of the Mano River to Tembi Kunda. In 1904 President
Barclay strove to have the same needful work carried out by
a Franco-Liberian commission so that the northern and eastern
boundaries of the Liberian Republic might be fixed from the
vicinity of Tembi Kunda to the mouth of the Cavalla River.
Between 1898 and 1900 a very remarkable journey of explora-
tion had been accomplished which, while adding greatly to our
VOL. I 305 20
Liberia ^
knowledge of the Liberian hinterland, had aroused French land-
hunger once more as regards Liberian territory. This exp)edi-
tion was under the joint command of a colonial official of the
Ivory Coast, M. Hostains, and a military officer, Captain d'Ollone.
This mission started on February 19th, 1899, from Berebi
on the Ivory Coast. It crossed the Cavalla River and the Ivory
Coast frontier at Fort Binger, travelled through the interior
of Maryland and Sino counties, passed through the Niete
Mountains, mapped the upper course of the Duobe, recrossed
the main Cavalla at its great western loop, followed the Upper
Cavalla at intervals till they rounded the mountain mass of
Nimba, and passed almost at the same time out of the great
forest and the political boundaries of Liberia.
Their journey was the most remarkable piece of explora-
tion that has yet been accomplished in the Liberian hinterland.
Americo-Liberian officials and traders and European represen-
tatives of the British companies had, it is true, traversed some
of the regions described by Captain d'Ollone and had met
with a much more peaceable and less sensational reception
amongst the (so-Called) cannibal tribes. Biittikofer's journeys
had been more productive of general knowledge, but this
French expedition was the first to reveal with any approach
to accuracy the configuration of the Cavalla basin. It discovered
the lofty Nimba Mountains and enabled us to make a more
accurate guess at the sources and affluents of the St. PauFs
River. The accuracy of all their estimates and deductions has
been called in question : Hostains and d'Ollone may prove
to be wrong here and there ; but their journey threw a beam
of bright light through the dark Liberian hinterland.*
' The results of this expiditi(ni are enibcxlied in an interesting and admirably
illustrated work by Captain d'Ollone (A /</ O'fr tflT'i^irt- au Soudan^ etc., Paris,
1901, Hachette).
89. NATIVES OF THE GREBO COUNTRY NEAR LOWER CAYALLA RIVER
Liberia ^
Hostains had explored a portion of South-eastern Libena
in 1897. Between 1901 and 19OA Mr. 1. F. Braham (General
Manager of the Chartered and Rubber Companies), Mr. J. P.
Crommelin, and the Due de Morny had done the same. In
addition there had been exploration from the north-cast and
north-west. The increasing success of the French warfare from
the Niger eastward and southward against the Mandingo chieftain
Samori brought them to established posts at Kisidugu and Bella
90. NATIVI s ()l- i'ADllUi, DIOIU: KIVF.K
on the verge of Northern Liberia {i.e. near the limits of the
Niger watershed). From these points enterprising French officers
like Lieut. Woelffel (one of the captors of Samori) discovered
the lofty Druple and Nimba Mountains and collected informa-
tion regarding the sources of the Cavalla and of the mysterious
Nipwe or Nuon River, which is a western tributary of the
Cavalla, or an eastern affluent of the St. Paul, or an independent
stream, the head-waters of the Dukwia or the St. John's River.
308
■^ Recent History
Other expeditions revealed the upper waters of the Moa or
Makona with its many affluents on the Mandingo Plateau ;
the most important of these affluents, the Meli, being discovered
by the Anglo-Liberian boundary commission under Captain
H. D. Pearson and Lieut. E. W. Cox.
Several French officers and Senegalese soldiers lost their lives
91. NATIVKS OF THK KKLIl'O ( UlNTKV, 'C KM KAL CAVALLA KtGION
in these explorations, attempting to pierce the dense Liberian
forests from the north. The pagan cannibal tribes of the forest
did not regard them as deliverers from Samori's raids but as
fresh invaders come to ravage the forest villages. So there were
not a few fights until they became better acquainted with the
true character of the French explorers. On the other hand, a
309
Liberia ^
devoted, and capable public servant, the Hon. H. J. Moore,
Secretary of the Interior. His father, G. Moore, Esq., a prominent
merchant largely interested in the interior trade, for many years
before the formation of the Interior Department was recognised
as the Agent of the Government of Liberia among the tribes of
the hinterland of Montserrado, among whom he was widely known.
His tactful management maintained the peace of a great part of
the province for many years, especially of the districts contiguous
to the Americo-Liberian townships. It was throuijh neglect of the
advice given by him toward the end of his life that the country
between the Little Cape Mount and the St. Paul's Rivers has been
for over twenty years in a disturbed condition. Secretary Moore
received from his father much useful information and sound advice
as to the manner in which the native population ought to be
controlled and governed.
Dr. Moore was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President
Cheeseman in 1892, and directed that department for about twelve
years. His attitude toward the native population was sympathetic
and his policy conciliatory. It is to be regretted that his ideas were
not always popular, especially among the less thoughtful section
of our civilised population. But Secretary Moore made a lasting
contribution to the country's prosperity and progress when he
succeeded eventually in convincing the community that the policy-
he advocated and invariably followed was and is the correct one.
No bill, as far as I have been able to ascertain, has since the
Declaration of Independence passed the Legislature providing for
the local organisation and government of the territory. The necessity
for such a measure has now become urgently necessary. It may
be said we have town.ships— our smallest political units — and these
townships are grouped into counties. So much was done before
1848. Since that time as regard townships, and their boundaries,
every man has done what was right in his own eyes. The public
statutes accord to the township a territory of eight miles square. In
Montserrado County the township of V^irginia claims that the town-
ship of Brewerville is in its territory. No one knows where the
township of Brewerville begins and cnd'^. There is also an un-
pleasant boundary dispute between the townships of Arthington
and Millsburg in the same county. Misunderstandings and difficulties
of a like nature e.xist elsewhere in the territory of the republic.
MAP 8
Liberia <♦-
I recommend that the townships should have an area of six miles
square ; that all townships be laid out under direction of the
President ; that they be called into existence by public proclamation,
and in such proclamation the boundary of each be indicated and the
inhabitants dwelling therein be directed to elect and appoint the
local authorities, notifying their initial action to the Secretary of
the Interior, who shall immediately give publicity to the same ; said
township shall then be considered as properly organised. In the
same connection I think it will be found advisable that the native
districts be considered and treated as townships under the govern-
ment of the native authorities. In the Act, power of sub-division
and rearrangement under direction of the President ou^ht to be
reserved. The native chief in charge, commissioned by the President,
will be treated as the local authority.
The government of townships needs your attention. The 3rd
Article of the Act establishing the boundaries of counties of
the republic, and regulating towns and villages, declares that the
several townships shall be bodies corporate, but it is not settled
by whom the corporate authority is to be exercised after town
meeting has adjourned. The power of taxation was placed in the
hands of the town assembly which meets the first Tuesday in
October, and also the appointment of one treasurer and three over-
seers of police. Without warrant, as far as I can see, the assemblies
have appointed the commissioners to exercise executive authority.
The town assembly has not been altogether a success. I suggest
that a mayor and council, elected every two years, be substituted for
the town assembly, the elections to take place the first Tuesday in
October in specified \ cars.
The Act authorising the President to open certain roads in the
county of Maryland has been put into operation. Starting from
Webo, stations have been established, at intervals of one day's march,
at Tuobo, Ketibo, and Pan Each commissioner is supported by a
police guard of twelve men. The upkcc[) of the stations and police
guard will necessitate an annual expenditure of $11,000. Of this
sum it is proposed to spend $1,000 a year in widem'ng and improving
old paths, building permanent bridges and cutting out new roads.
The establishment of the stations was a matter of gratification to the
native population of the districts affected.
The route suggested for the proposed water-way between Harper
314
"^ Recent History
and the Cavalla River has been examined. It cannot be made
practicable unless at an expense of about $6,000. A map of the
country and of the creeks between Harper and Cavalla River drawn
by Mr. T. J. R. Faulkner, who with the Hon. J. I. Dossen was
appointed to survey the route, will be laid before you.
The stations authorised on the Anglo-Liberian frontier have not
yet been taken in hand.
I hope the Legislature will not adjourn before passing a bill to
93. IN MONROVIA : FIRING A SALUTE
regulate the government of the native communities of the country.
This matter cannot be any longer delayed. A national policy in this
regard ought to be initiated. The territory should be controlled
through the leading native families. We ought to make it a point to
recognise and support them and get them to work with us. The
desired bill should be arranged on the following lines. Assimilation
of tribal territory to townships ; right of inhabitants to land within
3'5
f ^
Liberia ^
a specified area : local self-government granted to F)eopIe ;
recognition and administration of customary native law, both lo
and by Courts of the republic ; sujxrrvision of native p>opulatio
commissioners living among them ; the creation of two new Cou
the Court of the native chief and that of the District Commissi
The former will take, in native communities, the place of the ju
of the peace in the townships inhabited by the civilised popula
The latter will deal with appeals from the Court of the native t
94. A (.OKA run h AND Mis \\IVF.> A I MNKO
and will hear and settle disputes between members of different
tions of the same tribe, or persons of different tribes within
jurisdiction. Jails, fees, and costs are subjects which for the pre
ought to be left to Kxccutive regulation, through the Attori
General. Appeals from District Commissioners should be to
Court of Quarter .Sessions of each count\', which Courts should
deal with crimes of a serious character. The bill should also ac<
to the Kxecutive the power of issuing such regulations as ma\
requested or advised by the native chiefs, which regulations w<
316
Liberia ^■
of course have the force of law until expressly disallowed by i
Le^^islature. It should also be made a misdemeanour for any ch
or other person to refuse to obey the summons of the President, 1
Secretary of the Interior, or the Superintendent of county or disti
when it becomes necessary to investii^ate matters and thin<;s tendi
to disturb the peace of the country.
The Actin*^ Secretary of the Interior will submit his report, a
'3
I
ar
'i 1 i iTnr
A I 111 Ki \N s» mihu.hoim:
from that ducuincnt the LcL^i^hilurc will be informed what t
GovernnuMit has striven to tftcct in the hinterland and on the co;
since your last session.
The Superinlendenl of Public Instruction will submit his rep
for 1904. It will show over 5.000 i)Ui>ils in the public and inissi
schools of the country. The expentliture has averaged $25,0
Besides this we are spendini; about $10,000 a year on the Colle;
The latter is an absolute necessity, since it is from the ranks of
students that we will obtain the most efficient teachers of our priin;
and secondary -chools. The great wants of the public schools
MS
-#i Recent History
present are books, and a defined course of instruction. The Govern-
ment will give the tuition. Parents must pay for the books which
their children need. People never properly value that which costs
them nothing. We must not pauperise the people. My idea is
that as soon as the prescribed course is laid down and a list of the
books required given, the Government might arrange for the
establishment of a book depository in Monrovia with agencies
throughout the country. The owner or manager ought to be
guaranteed ag^ainst eventual loss. We oui^ht not to sacrifice the
96. HON. MRS. HAKCl.AV, UIKK (»K IMK I'RKSI DKM , AND IHI". I'l I'lLS
OK A (".IKI.s' .S( H«l«)L
future of our children to the necessities of the present adult genera-
tion. The education of the youth of the country should in no way
be connected with its political parties. Our public schools system
will never amount to very much as long as the Superintendents and
Commissioners of Education arc for the most part political appoint-
ments. For the party system is necessarily applied, and controls in
the main the ai)pointment of the teachers. We need efficient, zealous,
and punctual teachers. There is need for careful selection. Many
otherwise capable persons cannot impart instruction to others. They
319
Liberia ^
do not attract and cannot interest the children, have no enthusiasm
for the work, indeed are often otherwise objectionable. The
Superintendents, knowing this, are hindered from refusing employment
to such jx;rsons for fear of offending a good partisan or a local boss.
Then it is observed too that the County Suj^erintendents do not
inspect the schools in their districts quarterly as is required by the
public school law. Hence they can make no suggestions. They
do not often remove teachers, many of whom shamefully neglect
V7. I'L'l'Il.^ OK A S<,1I(«»I. H>k INDKiKNOrs NKGROES
their charges. It is necessary to put life into the dead bones of our
system of public instructiun. \Vc oui^ht to take the schools out of
politics. It is universally recognised that the money spent on public
education of the right sort is a national investment of great produc-
tive value. It is a gilt-edged national security. We ought not then to
be so indifferent about it. If we must make the investment, then we
must get full value for the money expended. I recommend that the
Superintendent of Public Instruction be created a member of the
320
^ Recent History
Cabinet so as to place him in immediate touch with the heads of
the State ; that an advisory Board of Flducation be created, the
members of which shall be appointed by the President for a term of
three years, serving without pay, to advise and assist the Super-
intendent of Instruction. To the Superintendent and Board ought
to be handed over the distribution of the educational funds, the
appointment of Superintendent of the schools in each county and
the management of the whole system of public instruction. I cordi-
1. AN A.NfKKK <)-LIHI:KI.\N IM ANIAIION
ally endorse the suggestion of the Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion that a fee of two cents per week be required of each child
attending a public school, the money to be applied to the purchase
of books.
Bureau of Ai^ritu/turc
The Act creating the Bureau of Agriculture has been put into
operation. Its organ, T/ic Ai^n'cu/turai W'or/d, is printed at public
expense, besides which the Bureau will issue bulletins on subjects of
VOL. 1 321 21
Liberia ^
interest to the agricultural communities. These it will distribute
through the local committees provided for by the Act.
The question of cotton-growing in West Africa is claiming
considerable attention in Europe. Liberia is well known to be a
cotlon-producing country. The plant here is perennial. Some of
our citizens, 1 learn, are giving special attention to its culture. In
view of the depression in the coffee trade it will be to the interest
of our agricultural districts to extend the industry in the fertile
regions with which the republic abounds. The Government it is
needless to say, will give every assistance and afford every facility
(/.i. AMKkH «)-l.ir.KkI.\N toKFKK I'LANTA T KJN
for the extension and development of the growth of that and other
valuable staples.
Post Office
The report of the Postmaster-General will show you that the
Postal Department continues to make satisfactory progress. The
money order office is of great public service and its advantages are
daily being utilised. The progressive development of the department
has entailed considerable outlay, and its revenues are insufficient to
meet its expenses. It ought to be remembered that this department
is maintained as a public agent, and that it cannot in this country,
at present, afford a surplus revenue. What is maintained for the
service of the people of the State should be supported by the people.
The revenue of the Post Office this year is returned at
$746670
322
-#i Recent History
All expenses, except the salaries of some of the officials, have
been met out of this. Contributions to the expenses of the Inter-
national Bureau at Berne, sea transit of letters, stationery, printing
of stamps, postal supplies, salaries of General Post Office officials*
boat hire, salaries of the Monrovia Post Office, are paid out of the
postal revenues. The Postmaster-General is exceedingly anxious to
place the service on the same footing in all parts of the country,
but he is hampered by want of funds. The state of the public
finances will not admit of any large sum being spent on the service
out of revenue from other sources. I hope that the Legislature will
after ten years' solicitation pass the Stamp Act constantly suggested
since 1894 If not satisfactory in the way put before you, pass the
measure modifying the scale of fees. There is no tangible reason
why it should be longer ignored. It is a proposal entirely in the
interest of the people. I think, too, the Legislature should pass some
measure for the encouragement of thrift among our people. I would
recommend that the Postal Department be authorised to establish
Postal Savings Banks.
Judiciaty
I fear the unguarded expressions of some of our judges arc
affecting the reputation for impartiality which our Courts have
hitherto sustained. The judges of subordinate Courts seem at present
to have the opinion that they are subject to no sort of control either
on the part of the Supreme Court or of the Executive Government.
With their judgments, where there does not exist a well-grounded
suspicion of corruption, or provided they do not violate Constitution
or law, the Executive power has nothing to do. I am of the opinion
that if a judge proves unfit from want of legal knowledge, the
Executive ought to suspend him and report the facts to the Legis-
lature for action. The judges are civil officers, they arc therefore
to be supervised by the Executive Government as regards their
conduct and deportment, since these must materially affect the
respect in which the judicial office ought to be held. These remarks
are to some extent called out by a discussion which the Government
of the Republic has been carrying on during the year with the
Imperial German Foreign Office, with regard to the case of
323
Liberia ^
Fisi'/ier & Lemckc v. Houston Bros. & Co. for dissolution of part-
nership. This case was filed in the Court of Kquity, Montserrado
County, in November, 1903, and was decided for plaintifTs at the
December term of 1903. The defendants appealed, and the judgment
was reversed by the Supreme Court at its session of January of
the present year. On May 19th the German Consul complained
(i)that in said case several serious violations by illegal actions of
Liberian officials had been committed, and (2) that the Supreme
Court of this republic by its judgment in said case had been per-
100. i.ir.KKiAN P()siA(;i: ^lAMrs — issikd i'KIok to 1906
verting justice to the disadvantage of a German firm, and intimated
that an indemnity would probably be demanded.
It may not be generally known that alien residents have wider
powers of redress for judicial wrongs than citizens. The latter are
bound by the action of the Court of their owii country. The former
are not so precluded. Government ma\- question the judgment, and
may institute an investigation as to its fairness and legality.
The principle is thus enunciated in Taylor's hitertiatiojial Lau\
p. 260, sec. 214: '*The responsibility of a State for the conduct
324
^ Recent History
of its judicial officers rests upon an entirely different basis. In all
highly organised modern State systems such officers are placed in
positions of greater or less independence so as to protect them,
except in case of high misdemeanours, from all responsibility to the
other departments of power. International law supposes that the
tribunals are open for impartial administration of justice between
natives and foreigners, and only when there has been palpable denial
of it, after the foreigner has made adequate appeal to such tribunals,
does the occasion arise for diplomatic intervention." It is not neces-
lOI, LIUEKIAN STAMIVS— ISSIKL) i'RIOR TO I906
sary to affirm that a government is not responsible in any case to
a foreign government for an alleged erroneous judicial decision
rendered to the prejudice of a subject of said foreign government.
But it may be safely asserted that this responsibility can only arise
in a proceeding when the foreigner, being duly notified, shall have
made a full and houa fuic, though unavailing defence, and, if neces-
sary, shall have carried his case to the tribunal of last resort. If
after having made such defence and prosecuted such appeal he shall
have been unable to obtain justice, then, and then only, can a demancj
32$
Liberia ^
be with propriety made upon the 'government. Redress must be
denied on some palpably unjust ground, such as discrimination on
account of aliena^je, or there must be arbitrary acts of oppression
or deprivation of property as contradistinguished from penalties and
the punishments incurred through the ordinary infraction of law,
before the administration of a Stale's justice can be subjected to
diplomatic inquisition.
That this discussion has taken place at all is directly due to
the indiscreet remarks and unfounded statements of persons connected
with the judiciary of Liberia.
The representatives of foreign Powers in Liberia should remem-
ber that in all countries, especially in oriental lands, before making
complaints it is absolutely necessary to verify your facts. The first
point in the complaint of the German representatives was understood
incidentall}' to question the right of the Supreme Court of Liberia to
control the procedure of the subordinate Courts. As a brief statement
of the law in this regard may be serviceable, I will cite it. In the
Constitution of Liberia, Article I\'., it is ordained as follows :
"Section i. The judicial power of this republic shall be vested
in one Supreme Court, and such surbordinate Courts as the Legis-
lature may from time to time establish.
" Section 2. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction
in all cases affecting ambassadors, or other public ministers and
consuls and those to which a country shall be a party. In all other
cases the Supreme Court shall have apj)ellate jurisdiction, both as to
law and fact, wich such exceptions and under such regulations as
the Legislature shall from time to time make."
The term "judicial power " is thus defined by Mr. Bouvier : " The
authority vested in the judges. The authority exercised by that de-
partment of government which is charged with the declaration of what
the law is and its construction so far as it is written law. The power
to construe and expound the law as distinguished from the legislative
and executive functions. The power conferred upon Courts in the
strict sense of that term ; Courts that compose one of the great de-
partments of the government. The term ' power ' could with no
propriety be applied nor could the judiciary be denominated a depart-
ment without the means of enforcing its decrees. The term 'judicial
power ' convc}'s the idea both of exercising the faculty of judging-
and applying physical force to give effect to a decision. Judicial
326
^^Vl^l 1 1 u I ■ 1 I I »^
- - - - - -^^ rf»i<*j^*d
J02, LIHKRIAN .ST.\M1'S — NKW ISSUK, I906
Liberia ^
power is never exercised for the piirpxise of giving effect to the will
of the judge; always for the purpose of giving effect to the will
of the legislature ; or in other words to the will of the law." It
will be noticed that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, both
original and appellate, is fixed by the Constitution. It is a
settled legal principle th it where a jurisdiction is conferred and
no forms prescribed for its exercise, there is an inherent |x>wer
in the Court to adopt a mode of proceeding adapted to the
exigency of the case.
I do not think it will be denied therefore that the Supreme
Court has an inherent right to supervise the subordinate Courts,
in such a manner as to prevent disorder and failure of justice.
This right grows out of its appellate jurisdiction in all cases.
But notwithstanding this, the Legislature has from time to time
affirmed the right by statutory enactment. The 7th section of
an Act to amend the 5th Article of an Act entitled ** An Act to
establish the Judiciary and fixing the Powers common to several
Courts," passed in 1S5S, rccid as follows: "It is further enacted,
that the Supreme Court, nr Chief Justice, in the interim of said
Court, shall have power to issue writs of prohibition to the County
Courts when proceeding as Courts of Admiralty and in the exercise
of maritime jurisdiction ; and writ^ of mandamus, in cases when
a new trial, a writ of crr^r. or an appeal has been denied ; or when
it is proved that the judj.^e otherwise failed to do his duty, agree-
ably to the principles and u^agrs of law, to any Courts created, or
persons appointed and holding oftlcc under the authority of the
Republic of Liberia."
An Act reorganising the Supreme Court was passed in 1875.
Sec. 5 of this law contains the following : *' Upon satisfactory
application to the Chief Justice or either of the Associate Justices
during the rvirss of the Supreme Court, it shall be lawful for
either of them to issue such writs or processes as arc usual in
the common law and the practice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, or order the same issued from the Clerk's ofHce."
Among the prerogative writs mentioned in common law, which
by statutory enactment is a part of our Civil Code, except when
otherwise expressly directed by the Legislature of Liberia, is the
writ of mandamus. The riL;ht to issue such a writ appertains ex-
clusively to a judge of the Supreme Court.
.^28
^ Recent History
or this writ it is said that it h'es to prevent failure of justice.
It extends to the control of all inferior tribunals, corporations,
public officers and persons. It may be granted by an appellate
court to require a judge to settle and allow a bill of exceptions.
In the case of Fischer ^n' Levuhe v. Houston Bros & Co.y
Judge King made an ex parte otder to which defendants took
exceptions. The judge refused to allow their exceptions to be
recorded. The defendants then applied to Associate Justice Richard-
son, who upon their petition issued a mandamus to Judge King to
1Q3. i,iMi:i<iAN jii)(;es and lawyers
allow their exceptions to be noted or show cause why he refused
to do so. The judge upon this declared that he would have nothing
further to do with the case, and thus created the impression that
the judges of the Supreme Court were exercising an authority not
warranted by law.
It would have been impossible to have had the order of Judge
King reviewed on appeal, unless the defendants' exceptions were
on record.
The law on Appeals, Chap. XX., .sec. 10, ist Liberian
Statutes, declares : ** The Court to which the appeal is taken shall
Liberia ^
examine the matter in dispute, upon the record only ; they shall
receive no additional evidence, and they shall reverse no judgment
for any default of form, or for any matter to which the attention
of the Court below shall not ap|>ear to have been called either by
some bill of exceptions or other part of the record."
Of course in the end the mandamus was obeyed and the
exceptions noted, but the erroneous impression remained. The
right of the judges of the Supreme Court to supervise the
procedure of the subordinate Courts rests securely on both
Constitution and statute law.
With respect to the second exception, that the judgment of
the Supreme Court was a perversion of justice, the German
authorities have so far presented no evidence. Indeed the discussion
would seem to indicate a charge of erroneous judgment rather than
of intentional unfairness. The Government of Liberia took the
ground that the defendants having gone into court it must be
presumed that they went there to have some wrong corrected or
injustice redressed. They were therefore bound to prove their
allegations. If they did not do so, no blame can be attached
to the Supreme Court. They were quite at liberty, too, to renew
their case, which ought not to be made the subject of diplomatic
action until the point in dispute had been legally and fully
adjudicated.
It has been finally agreed that the question whether there was
intentional unfairness in the trial be settled by an arbitrator whose
decision shall be final.
This case attracted locally a great deal of attention and elicited
much passionate discussion. It would perhaps be a wise innovation
if the judges of the Supreme Court would sometimes reserve their
opinions until the passion of suitors, counsellors, and supporters had
had time to subside. \\c are pleased to sec the Courts of Justice
dispatch business promj^tly and without delay ; but with regard
to the Supreme Court, the Bar and thinking citizens generally would
be glad to see just a little less hurry — more time given to cases
argued before it. It is due to the country that the Court place
itself above just criticism, and it can only do this by keeping reso-
lutely apart from the passions of the arena, and by its calm, careful,
well-digested, and matured opinions on the many important cases
submitted for its decision. I am impressed, after twenty years*
^ Recent History
contact, that the Court has always striven to act up to its motto:
•* Let justice be done to all."
Cofistitiitional A mcndtnents
A ^rcat source of weakness in the Government of Liberia is
the very short tenure of office accorded to the President and members
■4"^
104. TIIK I.MK HON. K. J. HAK( LAV, A MIC M-
KtSI'l.C ThI) l.IHKKIA.N M( RKTAKY OF MATK
of Legislature. Twelve months after inauguration the President
is called upon to justify his administration and to undergo all the
trouble and strain of a fresh election. Six months must elapse
before he can resume his projects of administration, and if he is defeated
he knows that it is useless to do so. In any case he can only have
33 »
Liberia ^
cifjhtccn months' continuous administration before his policy is
challenged. Under these circumstances a continuous and progressive
policy is almost impossible because an advance is nullified by a
return to the old un progressive conditions. We are to some extent
goin^ around a circle. We have worn out and sacrificed many
of our brainiest men without any corresponding national benefit.
A member of the Legislature is of very little service until after his
first term. If he is not re-elected, the $1,200 dollars the State has
paid him is as much wasted as if it had been thrown into the sea.
For every avocation in life men must have a special training. It
takes quite two years for even a fairly well-educated man to learn
the House ; how to manage it ; how to catch its ear — and interest
it ; the rules of order and of business ; how to deal with the leaders ;
how to conciliate and compromise with opponents ; and where to
go for and how to obtain information on matters of public concern.
The good sense of the j^eople has usually accorded to the President
and members of the Legislature two terms at least, but many good
men have been forced out of the public service by the expense and
worry of constant elections. For more than thirty years the necessity
for an amendment of the Constitution has been discussed, and agreed
upon as a national want.
The amendments have been framed, passed the Legislature and
submitted to the people at the least on three occasions. Why have
they not been carried ? Because of a want of moral courage on the
part of the men in office, and because of the selfishness of political
opponents. Why sacrifice the interest of the country to our passions
and prejudices ? If the amendments are adopted, all will have the
same chance. Hut I would not advise that the necessary amend-
ments be considered at this session. I would like to see first of all
a plank in the platform of some political part}' to the eflFect that
the Constitution ought to be amended. In two years the people
will have become accustomed io the idea, will have had time to
hear and consider the reasons for the changes, and will be ready
doubtless to adopt them. Perhaps it would be better, in order
to avoid any charge t)f self-seeking, if the Legislature passed an Act
providing for the calling of a Constitutional Convention for framing
a new Constitution, which might cmbotly most of the features of the
present, submitting same to the })e()})le for adoption. It would
greatly simplif)* matters.
332
^ Recent History
In the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of
Liberia the word " Negro " is conspicuously absent. The impression
is sought to be conveyed that we are of American origin.
The adhesion, attachment, and support of the native population
of the country are of vital importance to us. Yet these important
State papers place the civilised Liberian in a false light before the
r#f#t*ii#t«i#iM^^^*»
05. A I.inr.KIAN FAMII.V GR(.>U1*
eyes of the aboriginal citizen. lie is made to appear as an alien
and stranger in Africa, the land of his fathers.
I trust that the recommendations of the Attorney-General will
have your careful consideration. Abuses and disorder in the
judicial branch of the Government ought to be carefully examined
and scrutinised with a view to their immediate correction. The
question with regard to the legality of aj)peals from the Courts
of Monthly Sessions to the Courts of Quarter Sessions, rather
than to the Supreme Court, should be set at rest by positive
enactment.
333
iJbcria ^
lutfn'i^N ReiatioNS
Our relations with foreij^n Powers are on the most friendly
footing^. In pursuance with the provisions of the An^lo-Liberian
Boundary Agreement the British Government has announced that
the survey of the coast c^f Liberia will be taken in hand during the
present month. A map of the frontier and other documents relative
to the An^lo-Libcrian Delimitation Commission has been received
at the Department of State. Liberia's share of the joint expense
was found to be /4.S36 iS.v. 2(i., cqu.il to $23,117.16. You are
requested to make provision for the piyment of this sum.
A commission composed of the Attorney-General F. E. R.
Johnson and Associate Justice Do -sen was dispatched to France
durinij the year. The commissioners, with our Minister Resident in
France, were charged to (/btain the speedy execution of the Franco-
Liberian agreement of 1892, and to endeavour to arrive at a
preliminary understanding^ with rcL^ard to the deviations or changes
which mii,dit become necessary on lines designated on the agree-
ment, in consecjucnce of said lines runnini^ between towns, and the
territory belon<;iiv4 to them, or si)litting the country of a small
tribe in two, and such other chanc;es as might appear proper ^nid
in accord with the spirit of said agreement.
The representatives of the two (governments were unable to
agree with regard to the Cavalla frontier, for which cause, and other
good reasons, our eomnn'ssioners suspended the negotiations and
returned home.
The Government has often found itself much hampered and
embarrassed by the fact that its foreign representatives are too
little acquainted with the laws and institutions of the country.
Therefore where ex})lanations have U) be made, and the Civil
and Criminal Code of the country ex[)lained, we arc placed at a
great disadvantage.
For this reason the Hon. li. W. Travis, Secretary of State, was
dispatched to Herlin to discuss with the German Foreign Office
the Fischer-Lemcke — Houston case. He was received in the
most courteous and friendly manner. He was able to reach a
friendly accord. He has communicated to me his impression that
the republic will receive at all times just and considerate treatment
334
^ kecent History
from the Imperial German Government, and that we have many
warm friends amon^ the people of that great State.
Finances
The revenue for the year is expected to show a decrease
compared with that of the last year of at least $50,000. The
106. LIHKKIAN SILVKK AND COPPER COINS
accounts have not been fully made up, but for the half-year
ended March 30th, from all sources only $158,664.04 had been'
received. No blame can be attached to the administration for this.
Revenue is an index of the industrial condition of the country and
its relation to the markets of the world. The greater in volume
and in value the exports, and the larger the imports the greater
the revenue. For, since it is principally obtained from the move-
ment of trade, it must flourish or decline in accordance with that ..
movement. First the coffee crop decreased both in quantity and \
335
Liberia ^
value, and then the piassava-fibre, ihc principal article of export
in the leeward counties, declined in quality and consequently in
price. Disturbances in the interior, especially in Montserrado County
and in other quarters, have affected conditions. Everything possible
is being done to settle the disturbed districts, but as it is easier
to excite disturbances than to allay them, it will be some time
before the result of these efforts can be seen and appreciated.
Nations, like individuals, must live within their income or else
go into bankruptcy and so lose control to a ver>' great extent of
their affairs. It may be useful to place before you a statement of
our financial condition.
The foreign bonded debt amounts to ^96,997. We are paying
interest on ^78,2 50 at the rale of 3 A per cent, and the charge on the
revenue for sinking fund and interest will be $16,000 for the next
three years. The inlcrnal bonded debt amounts to $135,557.17,
of which $36,000 bears interest at 6 per cent, ani the balance at
3 per cent. The annual charge is about $5,000.
The floating debt is estimated at under $200,000, less than one
years average income. It consists of currency, audited bills, and
drafts on the Treasury.
About $150,000 of this sum is held by foreign merchants. It
forms the principal embarrassment of the Treasury, since it is bein*^
constantly liquidated out of current revenue. To meet the deficit
and pay current expenses of government, the Treasury has con-
stantly to ask for advances from the mercantile holders of this
debt. For this accommodation it is paying interest at the rate of from
25 to 33 per cent.
The total debt of the country is about $800,000, of which the
English 1 87 1 7 per cent. Loan is the largest item. The debt would
be covered by about three years' revenue.
F'or the last ten years, 1S93 to 1903, the revenue from all
sources is returned at $2,243,148. The disbursements were
$2,177,556, showing a balance in favt)Ur of the country of
$65,592.
Unpaid balances due by the receivers of the revenue stamps, etc.,
account for a very large amount of this balance. Now if our disburse-
ments represented approximate!}' the sum annually appropriated,
there would be no floating debt ; but unfortunately they do not.
The local budgets of the counties of Sino and Maryland especially,
33(y
^ Recent History
for the last ten years, approved and passed by the Legislature, have
been double the estimated revenue, as I shall now proceed to show.
The total revenue collected in the county of Maryland for the last
ten years amounted to $335,598.02. A little less than one-half of
this sum is placed at the disposal of the local administration, say
HON. AKTIILK HAKCI.AY, rRKSlDKNT
OK LIIJKRIA, ICfOG
$160,000. The appropriations for Mar\'land County for the same
period, or let us sa\' the local budt^ct, ha\c amounted to $243,139.06,
most c^f which was drawn for, and the difference between receipts and
expenditure went to form the floating debt.
In fact, the tlcxiting debt in that district was found to be
about $44,000. Everybody can see how this debt has been
VOL. I 337 22
y
l Liberia ^
'if brought about. The case is the same in the county of Sino, wher
the total revenue has during the last ten years amounted t
$202,24570 while the local budgets for same period have amountei
to $235,435.00. As the local administration could control only hal
at the most, of the revenue, the difference against the Treasury \va
^ at least $100,000. Now the case is different in the two uppe
counties ; the budgets are more in accord with their financia
position. The General Government having to meet many unforescei
expenses, always, too, owes something. The Secretary of th
Treasury, confronted on one hand with the necessity of payinj
the floating debt, must, on the other, find means of meeting curren
expenses. If he does not pay the persons who hold the Govcrnmen
paper, they will make no advances, and if he does pay and endeavour
at the same time to extinguish the debt by not asking for advance^
he is met by the angry murmurs of citizens employed in Governmen
service, wlio require i)aymcnt of their bills. Now the real blame lie
on the shoulders of the Legislature. The annual budget must res'
on certain data, which ought to be estimated for the five years las
past and forwarded to Houses b\' the Treasury. But if th<
Legislature will not, as it does not, draw up the budget in accordanci
with these data, the situation will never improve. The avera*^^^
revenue each year for the last ten years has been for the first fiv<
years $225,000, and for the last five $266,000. The budget for th<
General (jovcniment then must not exceed $160,000 ; for th<
county of IMontserrado $40,000; Hasa $35,000; Sino $16,000
Maryland $16,000 in hand. If wc could be suie that this estimate
would be adhered to, then a small loan could be negotiated for paying
off the floating debt.
The President of the Republic has for many years been de
prived of his right of veto so fiir as concerns the budget, as it i:
made the last bill and is gcnerallv presented on the last dav, jus
at the last hour or even a little after the Legislature has adjournec
sine die. I hope this course will be abandoned. It is contrary t(
the Constitution.
With the desire, doubtless, of as>isting the republic and o
facilitating the development of the country, the French Governmen
by a decree i.ssued during the present year directed its West Africar
State Bank to establish a branch at Monrovia.
338
^ Recent History
As a direct incentive to vigilance I recommend the passage of
a resolution granting to the officers of Customs at the ports one-half
of the penalty recovered from persons convicted of smuggling at said
ports, to be divided among the staff in proportion to the amount of
salary. The County Attorney for the purposes of this Act should be
considered a member of the Customs staff.
Arthur Barclay.
108. LOOKING lOWARI)^ NIK ^.r.sK>M.s Htn'sK, M<)NK<I\IA
339
CHAPTER XVII
THE AMERICO-LIBERIAXS
NO official census has been taken in Liberia (so far as the
author is aware) since 1 843. When the author visited
that country in 1904, he made a rough computation,
from data variously obtained, of the approximate Americo-
Liberian population of the civilised settlements, and adding to
the total thus obtained one or two hundred to represent
Liberian traders or (iovernment officials travelling from place
to place in the far interior, he came to the conclusion
that the men, women, and children of American origin did not
exceed i2,oco in number.^ In an appendix to this chapter is
given an enumeration of the Americo-Liberian settlements known
to the writer, and their approximate population. The author
confesses that the results arc less than the estim.ates of some
recent writers on the subject ; but when there has been taken into
account the rather high death-rate amongst the civilised Negroes,
the poor birth-rate, and the return to America of some few
dissatisfied persons, it is probable that his estimate is not far
short of the mark. Is this to be regarded as a source of
discouragement? Are we to pronounce the Liberian experiment
after eighty years* trial to be a failure? The author thinks not,
decidedly.
^ This is not the cont-ct estimate of the Liberian {i.e. more or less civilised and
Christiin Negro) population, whieh in the various co.ist centres of population reaches
to quite 40,oco. TJ:e appendix only deals with settlers of Attieriean origin.
^ The Americo-Liberians
Many of the first immigrants from America were broken-
down people, worn-out slaves, dissatisfied, sickly mulattoes or
octoroons. Liberia is no country for the half-breed between
the Northern European and the Negro ; nor is this a mis-
cegenation to be encouraged. It is not a good cross. In distant
centuries, in historic and prehistoric times, the Caucasian of
** *--»> * ^^.am^ «-J
109. A I.IP.KKIAN IM.AMKK (MK. .SoUi.MoN HILI.) AM) HIS FAMILY
the Mediterranean and of Western Asia repeatedly invaded
Africa and interbred with the Negro. But this type of
Caucasian was less widely separated from the Negro stock.
The long-headed, brunet division of the white man's species ranges
in infinite gradations of skin colour but with scarcely any change
of head form from Dravidian India to the Berbers on the shores
341
Liberia ^
of the Atlantic Ocean. The Dravidian type of Indian in its lowest
form almost links on to the Australian, and thereby to that
fundamental primitive human stock from which the Negro also
sprang. The result of intermixture past and present between the
Mediterranean type or the Dravidian, direct from India, with the
Negro has produced exceedingly good results in physical develop-
ment. It has brought beauty in varying degrees to the Negro,
who in his unmixed type is usually a hideous creature. So
inveterate have been the permeations of Caucasian blood through
Negro Africa that only the Congo Pygmies and a few forest
tribes in Equatorial West Africa and the desert peoples of South-
west Africa can be described as pure Negroes, and consequently-
hideous. Near as the Libyans of North Africa are to the
Iberians of the Spanish Peninsula or the Southern Italians, there
is just that extra drop of Dravidian blood in their veins that
causes them to fuse with the Negro and produce a satisfactory-
hybrid so far as the human animal is concerned. Most mulattoes
of Portuguese parentage are feebler in race than are the cross-
breeds produced by the Spaniard, because the average Portuguese
(except in the Algarve) contains more Northern, Aryan blood in
his veins than does the average Spaniard. French and English
hybrids with the Negro are still less satisfactory from the point
of view of physique. But the cross between the northern white
man and the Negro rises far higher hitcHectnally than does the
cross with Arab, Libyan, Hamitc, or Indian. The Aryan mulatto
(so to speak) has usually a poor physique but a " white'' brain/
The future for the Mulatto will lie in two directions. He must
• Tht»re are exceptions to every rule, and there are isolated instances of
fine-looking \wvx\ and women in ditlVient parts of America who arc apparently pro-
ducts of the cross between the northern white man and the Negro. But very often if
the past lustor>' of thes^' exceptional individuals was incjnired into it would be
found that the Negress mother was not a pure Negress. Itui of Fula or Mandingo
stock — that is to say, already partly mixed with Caucasian blood.
342
no. MANDINCIO WOMAN OF WKbTLKN LIBKKIA
Liberia ^
re-marry with the Negro and fuse by degrees into a purely
Negro community, or he must take his part with one or other
of the white peoples. Pride in his white parentage may stand
in the way of his marrying a Negro wife, in which case his
place is not in Liberia or in any other part of tropical Africa.
The caste prejudice of the Northern European may reject for
a long time to come any absorption of the Quadroon into the
white community. In Spanish and Portuguese America, where
these prejudices arc scarcely existent, lies perhaps the best chance
for these Negro hybrids in the future. Gradually they will
fuse with the Southern luiropean element and that mixture of
Mongolian blood represented by the American Indian ; and a
strong composite race may yet arise which by continued physical
improvement will acquire an ever clearer skin — unless in the
course of centuries the admiration of humanity should once
more gravitate towards a darker ideal instead of a pink and
white complexion.
But even the pure-blooded Negroes of American origin —
that is to say, born in America, perhaps bred in America for
several generations- have not withstood triumphantly the severe
test of the Liherian climate. 1 hey have been far more subject
to attacks of malarial fever than the indigenous blacks, and
are prone at the same time to luiropean diseases not yet
endemic in Tropical Africa. Hie only remedy for this lies in
marriage with the indigenous peoples. No American Negro
need scorn alliance with a Mandingo woman or even with some
of the Vai. 7'he Mandingo race ought to become the backbone
of the Liberian Republic. Even the people of Basa and the
Kru country not infrequently present comely types in both
men and women ; yet there is nearly alwavs a grotesque appear-
ance in these unmixed negroes ; whereas there is a something
about the Mandingo people that checks the white man's sneer
344
III. A MANDINGO FROM WESTERN LIBERIA
Liberia ^
and even compels his admiration if he has an artist's eye. Not
a few among the interior tribes — Buzi or Gora — are of fine
physique and comelv lineaments, due no doubt to some ancient
infiltration of northern blood.
The Americo-Liberians have a right to boast of their
civilisation. They are an intelligent, often well-educated, polite
people, whose method of life is perhaps more akin to that of the
Englishman or New Knglander than it is to habits of the African
Negro. Mentally, they are much more European than African.
Physically, their best friends cannot maintain that they are a
handsome race, taken as a race. Here and there a man or
woman of good physique and pleasing face announces Mandingo
descent or an origin from the more refined races of Dahome.
Thev arc composed of the most diverse West African elements.
Senegal and Scnegambia sent handsome Wolofs, an occasional
aristocratic Fula, hideous Kclups and Papels to Louisiana and
Haiti and the French West Indies. The Gold Coast sent slaves
to the Dutch possessions of Manhattan and New Amsterdam
in the State of New York. Other Gold Coast negroes and
natives of the coast of Dahome and of the Niger Delta were
dispatched to the Danish and Dutch West Indies. The British
West Indies recruited fr(^m all parts of the African coast, from
the Gambia to the Congo. The hulk of the slaves, however,
imported into what are now the United States of America when
they were British colonies came more from the Gambia, Sierra
Leone, and Northern Liberia. Add to this the permeating inter-
mixture of Lnglish, Scorch, Dutch, Krench, and Spanish blood,
and from this extraordinary amalgam vou have the i 2,000 civilised
Liberians who have been with some success and certainly no
excesses administering for eightv ve.irs a territory on the West
Coast of Africa not much smaller than Lngland. Given their
pitifully small numbers, one may pronounce their achievements
A Libcrian Honiestcnd
^ The Americo-Liberians
considerable. Several of their towns, in the appearance of their
buildings and accessories of a civilised existence, need not fear
comparison with European towns in West Africa. They are, as
has been already stated, a most polite race, of instinctive good
manners, and evince considerable dexterity in building and in some
other directions. They can construct and work a telephone, for
V*':r<" ■(
112. 11 I iriloM. I'Ul.i;s IN MONROVIA, IKI( 11.1) l!V MR. lAlI.KNI.R, A l.Iltl.RIAN.
nils 1 1 I.I 1M10NI-. i:.\ri.Ni)s ro iiii. sr. I'Ail's kivkr si.i h.kmkms
example, and nothing but want of means has prevented them
from linking their capital by an overland telegraph wire with
the Sierra Leone system or with that of the Ivory Coast. They
are quite as well read as the average English peasant, are law-
abiding, and almost invariably of a kindly disposition.
So much for their virtues ; and now for their faults or
defects and their mistaken ideals, (i) They are too religious.
347
Lil
)cria
(2) I'hcrc is still rather a tendency towards abuse of alcohol,
in which of course it may be said that they arc no worse or
even a little better than the luiropeans on the West Coast of
Africa. ("}) They are too American in their devotion to frothy
oratory and tloovis of eloquence in print, orations on this subject
and on that. Over v.nd over aaain one is reminded of the
American scenes in MtintH C/iuzzlciiit as one passes through
the coast rei^ions of I-iberia. (4) They are too much given up
to politics, after the American fashion; and with a zest for
unproductive disputation and ridiculous hair-splitting on public
questions i^oes an American facility tor — how shall one phrase
it delicately : makint^ politics more openly a trade than they
are yet mavie in I'jiLiland.
We arc uivcn to boasting in our own country of the
pure tone of our offiLial life and its relative freedom from
corruption- in plain words, the more or less unbribable nature
of our officials. Ihis happv state of affairs is brought about
not bv anv deeper attachment on the part of the Briton to
abstract moralit\-, but because for a long time past we have
realised that to ^euire impartial and incorruptible officials we
must pa\' men suffix ieiuK' well to place them above temptation.
This prini^iple is lu^t yet realisevl in somj parts of Kurope and
America, af,d certainly n^t in Liberia. Iti these regions it is very
often impossible for a si;b«M\iinate official to live within his
means, on his official iiKoir.e ; *.oi>equently, in some cases, severe
temptations are put in h:^ \\a\ :«> avid to that income by illicit
means. 'I'hc'-e are ot Loiir^e otfi^Mi^, high and low, in 1-iberia of
absolute integrity, aiui as !iigh.-s(.iilcvl in their ideals as the men
ue ha\e in our own service. But, again, there have been in
the past others as there would be in b'.ngland under similar
circumstajices- not aboxe taking a monetary inducement to
depart from their strict J. uty 1 his has been hitherto one of
S4-^
113. IN A LIBKKIAN GENKKAL STORE AT BUCHANAN, GRAND BASA
Liberia ^
the weaknesses of the Customs service in Liberia. High-
handed officers of European steamers or influential merchants
have used both threats and monetary blandishments to evade
the strict payment of duties, export and import.
This tendency has not been helped by the unfortunate
condition of the Liberian currency. Absence of cash in the
Liberian exchequer has compelled the (iovernment from time
to time to issue a certain amount of paper money in the
form of Treasury bonds. These are taken by various mercantile
houses in Liberia, at a greatly reduced rate, in payment for
goods supplied to the Government or to officials in their
private capacity. They then tender these bills (as they have
a right to do) at their face value in payment of Customs
duties. Consequently, what with this unreal value of the paper
and the mixture of threats and cajolery on the part of
foreigners connected with shipping on the coast or some
commercial firms on shore, the receipts of the Liberian Customs-
house, instead of being ampiv sufficient to meet the cost of
administering the country, do not yield to the exchequer
more than half the value of what should really be gathered in.
Reference has been made to high-handed procedure. It is
meant in this sense ; that the officers ot certain European
steamers plying up and down this coast occasionally try to
carry things with a high hand because the country is run by
'* niggers." In defiance of the law prescribing nine specified
places as ports of entry where Customs-houses are established,
officers ot the at'uresaid steamers will attempt to land or to embark
cargo (without paymetu of Customs duties) at more or less
wild spots on the coast where there is no Liberian official
to interfere with their movements. These adventures not
infrequently result in the steamer striking an uncharted rock
or in being driven ashore by some sudden tornado. Then
350
^ The Americo-Liberians
people — excess of religion. With a few rare exceptions the
mass of the Americo-Liberian community suffers from
religiosity.
Almost without exception they belong to various branches
of the Protestant Church. They are Episcopalians (Methodist,
Protestant, and African ^), Free Methodists, Baptists, Pres-
115. METHODIST CHURCH, MONROVIA
byterians, Lutherans, Zionists, and so forth. They betray
little or none of the superstition that clings to the uncultivated
West Indian Negro or to the Negroes of Spanish, French, and
Portuguese America ; but they have erected the Bible into a
sort of fetish. They exhibit the Puritanism of New England
. in the eighteenth century almost unabated.
* These three adjectives represent three separate Episcopahan bodies in
America and Liberia.
VOL. I 353 23
Liberia ^
Their average morality is probably no higher than that
of European nations or even of the Negroes indigenous to
Liberia. But so far as outward behaviour, laws, and language
go they are prudish to a truly American extent. Sparsity of
clothing on the part of the native is treated in some settlements
as an ofFence. The mistaken idea which arose after the
Christianising of the Roman Empire that there is something
sinful in man's body divested of clothes is still a leading idea
amongst the Liberians. The Americo-Liberian still worships
Il6. THE " KKI.IfJION OF; THE TAl.I. HAT"
clothes as an outward and visible manifestation of Christianity
and the best civilisation ; that is to say, the European clothes ot
the nineteenth century. He shares with our fathers the religion
of the tall hat and frock coat. No self-respecting Liberian
would be seen abroad on a Sunday or would pay a call or
take part in any social function, even under a broiling sun
in a Turkish-bath atmosphere, except in an immaculate black
silk topper and a long black frock coat.
Their women of course follow the fashions of Europe •
354
-»i The Americo-Liberians
but although one hears them much derided for this by Europeans,
it must be admitted that as a rule Liberian ladies are attired
in good taste. It is impossible to put back the clock, and
although one would infinitely prefer the costumejof the beautiful
H7. *^XIBER1AN LADY
Mandingo womcr- — a combination of golden-brown skin, silk
turban, cotton waist-cloth, and velvet drapery — I imagine that
the Liberian lady would go willingly a martyr to the stake
sooner than clothe herself after the fashion of her half-wild but
355
A Mandingo in blue cotton robe
Il8. THK " RKLU;i<JN OF TMK TALL HAT AND FROCK CoA 1 " I A MASONIC PKOCKSSION
Liberia ^
arc the folklore of Genesis, the trivial and often silly pre-
scriptions of Leviticus, the confused and bloody wars of f>etty
Syrian tribes a thousand years before Christ, the dismal
ravings of Jeremiah or of the minor prophets ? Christianitv
may not appeal to some races or individuals as a divine revela-
tion— it depends on the definition one would dare to give to
the adjective "divine''; but so far, the world has known
nothing like the simple teaching of Christ for the perfection
of religion. We are only beginning to appreciate it now.
Unhappily, not many years after the death of Christ, men of
second-rate, third-rate, fifth-rate insight and intelligence began
to overload His direct teaching with more or less nonsensical
dogma-- dogma of absolutely no profit either to human intelli-
gence, morality, or life.
Worshipping, as they do, the Old Testament, they are
strong Sabbatarians ; that is to say, they transfer to Sunday
the rigitl respect given to Saturday by the Jews, coupled, of
course, with the spiteful mortification of poor human flesh
which began with Pauline Christianity.
In this of course, as in other things, they will not resist
the emollient tendciicics of modern civilisation. They will
learn that true religion is not to be reserved for one day in
the week only ; that one day of rest in the seven is absolutely
necessary to humanity, but that the day of rest — more or
less compulsory rest —should not be associated with dreariness,
or dissociated from every lawful form of happy enjoyment.
Their newspajKTS will cease to devote a large portion of their
space to profitless examination papers on the Old Testament ;
and one may begin to hope that there, as in America and in
Protestant Enghuul, some surcease may be given to the bestowal
of Jewish names. Let the Jews by all means style themselves
with expressions derived from the Hebrew language ; but
35S
.^f:^^^•;J^f
119. A MUNICIPAL BRASS BAND, LIBKRIA
Liberia ^
surely the Knglish, the Americans, the Liberians, and all future
races that may come within the pale of the Christian religion —
or the MuhammaJan need not be obliged to give Hebrew
appellations t«> their sons and daughters? They are inappro-
priate, their real meaning is verj' seldom understood, and the
pronunciation given to them in the English language is ugly
and most inaccurate.
The Amcrico-Liberian need not throw away any precept
of Anglo-Saxon civilisation which can be usefully adapted to
Africa. They have a battle to fight, or, let us say, a friendly
rivalry to wage with the civilisation of Arabia, which is being
steadily brought into Liberia from the north by the Mandingos.
The present writer has little more sympathy with Muham-
madanism as a religion than with that strange amalgam of \
Judaistic Christianity which became associated for a time with
the Protestant Reform, but which is now being shed rapidly by
the Reformed Churches. But it is useless to deny — though
it be inconvenient to admit- -that Muhammadanism has done
a great deal to raise the Negro in the social order. It has
clothed his nakedness with good taste. It has given him pride
and confidence in himself which makes him look a man and
a ruler. It has given him great ideals for which he is ready
to lav down his life, and it has brought to him the reasonable
amenities of the Kast. Whether it be possible to fuse in one
community what is best in iMuhammadan civilisation with what
is practical and cheerful in Christianity remains to be seen.
France in North Africa, England in Egypt and the Sudan,
are trying the experiment. Liberia on a much smaller scale
must solve the same problem in this forest-land of West
Africa. Muhammadanism, though it has greatly helped the
Negro, has been a bitter foe of the more reasonable side of
European civilisation in India, in Turkey, in Syria, Asia Minor,
:;r)o
Liberia
and North Africa. The strength and pride with which it
infuses its believers hardens them for a struggle which is
lamentable, and wasteful of human effort. There is absolutely
no reason but the inherent perversity of man why the precepts
of Christ in the New Testament might not be the basis of all
religion, the common dcnoniinator, with liberty to each race and
tribe to tack on what superfluous adornments they choose.
Perhaps in this direction the present and future statesmen
of Liberia may work out the redemption of their country and
their race.
But it is not only for their fetishistic worship of the Old
Testament that one is disposed to criticise these people: it cannot
be too often repeated that their ideals hitherto have been those of
362
•^ The Americo-Liberians
New England and not of Africa. Dwelling on the West Coast
of Africa, they still turn their faces and their intelligence towards
the east coast of North America, which again but reflects the
culture of eighteenth-century England. **Have done with this!"
122. A KLlVltW UK TKOOl'S IN MONKUV lA
their friends might say. " Make yourselves polished Africans,
not imitation Anglo-Saxons. Study the languages of West
Africa, not Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ; or at any rate only
teach your boys a suflficient smattering of Greek and Latin that
they may understand the construction of that English language
Liberia ^
which must bt the I'w^ua franca of West Africa, must be used
by Liberia tor intercourse with the world at large, as Japvan
and China, I lolland and Scandinavia, use it." For eig^hty years
123. KF.VIKW ol- I K« )(»!•>: "vL'irK MAKriI '
have these American Negroes and their descendants inhabited
this part of West Africa. Several of them, quite exceptionally,
have studied the Grebo language on the eastern frontier of
3^M
^ The Americo-Liberians
the republic, and have published their studies. The Liberia
College has existed since 1862. It has taught a great deal
of useless Greek and Latin, Miltonian and Shakespearian
English to its pupils. It has not conveyed one particle of
instruction in the languages of Africa, notably those which are
spoken in Liberia itself Yet the various dialects of the
124. A FIINERAL PROCKSSION, MONROVIA
Mandingo tongue were well worth attention, and in studying
the evolution of African ideas minute examination should have
been made of the Kru group of languages. Has anything *been
done for African botany } — No. African zoology ^ — No. A
little tropical American agriculture has been taught ; there has
been no society founded for the study of indigenous cultivable
plants ; there has been no attempt made to domesticate in-
365
Liberia ^
digenous birJs and beasts. The average Americo-Liberian is
far more ignorant of the fluina and flora of his own country than
is the casual Englishman, Frenchman, or, above all, Gvrrman who
lands on his shores. He brought with him from America
that exasperating habit of mis-naming birds and beasts, a per-
versity which will long afflict American-English. The Civet Cat
12^. IN.itl'KMil.N{.i: DAY, J L L\ 26tH
is called a "raccoon," the splendid Bongo Tragelaph (^Boocercus
e'«nT£'r<?5) is styled the "elk/' the Harnessed Antelope is called
the "red-deer,'' Jentink's Duiker is named the "tapir"
the Manis is called the " armadillo/* the Chimpanzee is
known as the "baboon," the Zebra Antelope is styled the
" mountain deer " ; other antelopes are called the " roebuck "
the " bush-goat/* and so forth. The present writer was told
366
Liberia ♦
by one Liberian that the forest near his settlement was full of
" peacocks." He intended to indicate by this term the Great
Blue Plantain-cater. Not one prominent bird or beast in that
country is known by its right name.
A little more attention has of late been applied to botany,
and there have even been one or two interesting articles in the
Liberian press describing familiar plants of the country in their
correct (and consequently universal) I^tin names. No portion
of Africa is more interesting for its biology than Liberia. The
Americo-Liberians may be proud of having inherited a rare piece
of Miocene Africa, one of the choicest morsels for the modern
naturalist. They may rcioice in a somewhat specialised fauna
and flora, and the present writer earnestly hopes that the new
generation will drop the attempt to translate Plato and Cicero,
will cease troubling about the vicissitudes of David, leave Israel
to wander in the wilderness, and devote itself whole-heartedly
to studying the fascinating folklore of the Vai, the religious
rites and ceremonies of the Cirebo or the Gbalin, and the
marvellous Miocene flora and equallv remarkable fauna to be
found within the limits of their 43,000 square miles.
If the author of this book were a Liberian, he would strive
(within reason) to do everything as difirrently as possible from
what is done in l\urope, Asia, or America. He would try to
be original. Kor instance, if he were the Principal of the
Liberia College he would resolutely exclude '* mortar-boards "
from the heads of his students, not only because they are an
unsuitable form of headgear, hut because they happen to be the
mode adopted in iMigland and America. He would try to
develop a special African architecture, an African school of
painting. He would certainly study and develop the inherent
musical talent evinced by many of the Liberian natives. He
would attempt to domesticate the Red Bush-pig, and not introduce
368
VOL. 1
369
24
Lil)cria '•
Berkshire swine ; the red Buffalo, and not the English Short-
horn ; the Ajjeliisres (»uinea-fowI, and not the Cochin-China.
Along this route there are lite, hope, and a future before the
Liberians. In their obstinate adhesion to the ideals of New
Kiigland there is a h«»peless stumbling-block in the way of their
very existence. They must turn their backs on America and
their taces towards AtVica, or they will dwindle to nothing, leave
no heirs, and implant no permanent civilisation on those whonl
thev have come to redeem.
I-'S. A Ml M -l <;il>'l. IK< 'M I III. MKi;i.A I 1 . -M I K« ).N 1 II- K ol' LIHKKIA
(Wturiii^ silver i-riNiiiiciils .,r,.l .i t.iNitfiil .ij-pi-'prialt i.osluiuc)
370
Red-hcadcd Guinea Powl {Agclastcs nwlcagroiifcs)
APPKNDIX I
AMERICO-LinERIAM POP TLA TION
TllK follo\vin<4 is a summary of the principal Amcrico-Liberian
towns and settlements with their approximate population of American
origin. The enumeration commences with Robcrtsport, not far from
the western (Sierra Leone) frontier of Liberia, and proceeds north-
wards, southwards, and eastwards to the French frontier along the
Cavalla River :
tll<*imMits —
20()
(.'ounty of Moiitsi-rrado : —
Kobertsport
Koycsvillc
St. Paul's kiv«T
New Gt'(>r<;ia
\'irginia ... ... nx)
raklu-fll 200
Ikcwcrville 3(0
Clay Asliland V-y<^
L()iii>iana ... ... 100
Xt'w Yi'fk 50
White Plains ... ... 300
Millsburg 230
Arthington ... ... 300
Carcysburg ... ... 400
Crozerville ... ... i(.)o
Bcnsonville 150
Robcrtsville 150
Harrisbiirg 250
Settlements on the Mesu-
rado River: —
Barnersville
Gardnersville
Johnsoiiville j
Paynesville j
Carried forward
Amei ito-
Libcrian
population.
-|.(X)
Amcrico-
Liberian
population.
3900
Ikoii^lit forward
County of Montserrado {(onfd.) : —
Monrovia ... ... ... 2500
Junk Kiver settlements —
Sehieffelin and Powells-
ville 225
Mount Olive 150
Marshall 125
Farmington River and
Owen's Cifove
325(
3900
... 300
County of (irand Basa : —
Ha^a settlements -
Little Hasa 50
Edina ... ... ... 250
Hartford 50
St. John's River ... 350
Upi)er Buchanan ... 400
Lower Buchanan( Grand
Basa) 600
Tobakoni 50
Coast between Grand Basa
and River Cestos
On the River Cestos
Carried forward
8uo
I7SO
150
9150
371
Liberia
Americo-
A
merico
Liberian
Lib^rian
(Mtpii)ation.
popuUtioD.
Broupht
forward
...
9150
Brought forward
...
10050
County of Sino : —
County of Maryland {.contdJ).
—
Sino Settlements -
Brought forward
...
IIOO
Sino River
5"
Latrobe
...
50
Lexington
1M>
Cuttington
...
100
Greenville
35"
HalfCavalla ...
5«
Philadelphia ..
i-'S
Iloffmann
50
Georgia
■->
Middlesex
SO
750
Jacksonville ...
75
Settlements on Km Coa^t
Bunker Hill ...
25
Nana Km '
Tubman Town...
100
Setra Km
New Georgia ...
25
Nifii
150
lliilierville
-5
Sas T<nvn
1650
Garawe
County of Maryland . —
Settlements round ('ap<' Tahnas
and on the Lowi-r (avall.i
River
Rock Town Kh.
lJar|)er ... <><)«)
Philadelphia i«ki
( 'arried forward
.Americo-Liberians scattered about
Kelii>o in far interior of
Mar\land County; in the
BojKiro oountr)*, near the
.•*^ierra Leone frontier, and
on the Upp>er St. Paul's
River, etc., say
150
Total Liberians
origin
of American
1 1,850
The appro.xirnatc total coast |)0[Hilali()ii of ** civilised ** Liberians
(mo.stly Chri.stian, and of mixed .American and indi«:^enous negro
races) amounts to 40,(^).x Tin- *' Liherian " cc^mmunity therefore
at the present time amounts to a })oiuilation in the coast regions
of about 50,000 in numi)er.
129- A I.IHKKIAN HOUSK OK WOODKN MIINGLKS, GKKKNVII.LE, SIXO
ArPKNDIX II
KE/j(Uors, rouricALy KnrcATioyAL, and other
KSTAIUJSIIME.XTS IX LIBERIA
I. TiiK Protkstant Ki'iscoPAL CnrKCH seems to have begun
in America as a branch of the Church cf England or of the Church
Missionar\' Society. It started work in Liberia in 1830. A few
years later the first Missionar\' Hishop was elected (Bishop Auer).
The second Bishop was the celebrated John Payne, who did such
a splendid work amongst the Grcbo of Cape Palmas. The present
Bishop is a man of colour, the Rii^ht Rev. Samuel Dav-id Ferguson,
D.I)., born at Charlest(Avn in the United States, but settled in
Liberia since 1S4S. He was elected Bishop of Liberia in 1884 «^"d
consecrated in 1885. He attended the Lambeth Conference in
1897 and was one of the Bishoi)s received in audience by Queen
Victoria.
Under the Pn)testant P^piscop.d Church, Liberia is divided
into four districts, Mesurado, Basil, Sino, and Cape Palmas. These
aj^ain are divided into a number of sub-districts. Nearly every
Americo-Liberian settlement has a church or school belonging to
this body, which is also very active as a missionary institution
amongst the natives. At Cape Mount the P.E. Church has a fine
establishment: the Irving Memorial Church, Langford Memorial
Hall,^ St. George's Hall, etc. The residence of the Bishop is at
Monrovia. I'his Church maintains, besides the Bishop, 18 clergy,
69 catechists and teachers, i"^ da>' schools, 18 boarding schools,
and 31 Sunday schools. It gives instruction to over 3,000 pupils.
2. TiiK Mktiiodist Ki'Iscopal Church. -This, as a missionary
body in Liberia, started in 183:^. Its work in Liberia is controlled
by the American Methodist J^ishop of Africa, the Right Rev.
' L'sed as a sc hool.
.w4
130. RIGHT REV. J. C. HARTZELL, METHODIST BISHOP OF AFRICA
Liberia ^
Joseph C. Harlzell, U.U., a well-known and much-respected p)ersonagc
in West, South, and South-east Africa. Bishop Hartzell supervises
all the American missionary work in Western Africa between Liberia
and Angola, and in Rhodesia and Mcx^ambiquc. The Associate
Bishop in Liberia is the Riy;ht Rev. Isaiah Scott.
The Methodist ICpiscopal Church has abc^ut 2.700 adherents
48 ministers and missionaries. 40 lay te.ichers, 59 Sunday schools,
and 2,709 scholars.
3. TllK rKKsr.YTKKlAN CllUKCii.— l^rcsbyterian missionaries
began work in Liberia in 1S32. At present their operations are
chiefly confined to Monrovia antl the St. Paul's settlements.
4. Tin: lV\in 1ST ('lll'K( n.— Larliest of all Christian Churches,
the American Baptists entered Liberia (in 1821; to perform
chaplain's dutio- so to speak — ft)r the American colonists. Their
pioneer pastor was the Rev. Mr. Warini;, the father of Miss Jane
Warin^f who marrietl Roberts, the first President of Liberia. Mrs.
Roberts is living still in London , the only survivor of the original
band (^f colonists.
The Haptists have most of their adherents in Monrovia (with
a lar^e church and Sundav school and in the Hasa settlements.
5. Tin-: African Mkthodist KriscorAL CiirKCii. — This
Church or Mission, which in a sense is more exclusively Ncj;jro in
its sympathies, hei^an work in Liberia in 1885. It has mis.sion
stations in thiee counties of Liberia not in Sino .
6. 'riiK Ll nil KAN ClHk' H is represented by a very energetic
missionary enterprise chietl\- in the St. Paul's River district,
with stations at Arthini^ton and Mount Cofrec.
'J here are Muhammatlan moscpies at Vanswa (Hrcwerville),
and of course in the far interior Mandin<^o towns.
Of the appro.ximate 2,000,000 of population, about 40,000 are
Christians, about 300,000 Muhammadans, and the remainder Pagans.
I. /ST OF J'AFS/J)JlA7S OF LIBERIA
Jo.SKPH Jknkins Ror.KRTS, January ist, 1848, to January
1st, 1856.
STi;rnKN Allan HKNsr»N, Januarx- 1st, 1856, to January
Lst, 1864.
37^^
lU. Ml. I lI'MUsl < iirk( II, IIAKI'I R. I AIM I'AI.MAs
132. PROTKSTANT KPISCOPAL CHURCH AT IIARPKK, CAPE PALM AS
Liberia ^
Danikl Bashiel Warner. January ist, 1864, to January
1st, 1868.
Jamks Spric.cs Payne, January ist, 1868, to January ist, 187a
Edward James Roye, January ist, 1870, to October 19th,
1 87 1 (deposed;.
(Vice-President) James S. Smith, October 19th, 1871, to
January ist, 1872.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, January ist, 1872, to January
1st, 1876.
James Sprk^cs Payne, January ist, 1876, to January- ist, 1878.
Anthony William Gardner, January ist, 1878, to January
20th, 1883.
(Vice-President) Alfkkd \\ RussELL, January 20th, 1883, to
January 1st, 1S84.
Hilary Ruiiard Wriciit Johnson, January ist, 1884, to
Januar)' ist, 1892.
Joseph Jamks Chkkskman, January ist, 1892, to November
1 2th, 1896.
(Vice-President; WILLIAM David ('('LKMAN, Xovcmber 12th,
1896, to January ist, 189S.
William David Colkman, January ist, 1898, to December
1 1 til, 1900.
(Secretary of Stale (iARKi:TSuN WiLMOT GlHSON, December
ilth, I900, to January 1st, 1902.
Garretson WilmoT GiusoN, January ist, 1902, to January
1st, 19O-I.
Arthur Barclay, January ist, 1904. Rc-clcctcd for further
term from Januar\' ist, 1906.
The Cabinet and ICxeculive usuall\- consists of the President,
the Secretary of State (at present time Hon. H. W. Travis), the
Secretary of the Treasury (Hon. D. K. Howard), the Attorney-
General (Hon. V. K. R. Johnson), the Secretary of the Interior
(vacant), the Secretary of War and Navy Hon. J. B. Dennis), and
the Postmaster-General (Hon. S. T, Prout). There is an official
private secretary to the President (N. H. Gibson).
The Senate is composed of <7>/// member.s — two from each
of the four counties or provinces (Montserrado, Basa, Sino, and
37«
-^ Religious, Political, Educational
Maryland). Each Senator receives about ^£'140 a year whilst serving.
The Senators are selected for four and two years (viWe terms of
Constitution).
The House of Representatives consists of thirteen members
— four from Montserrado and three from each of the other counties.
Each member of the House receives about £\QO a year whilst
serving in that capacity. They sit for two years, and are elected
biennially.
President
LIST AND SALARIES OF PRINCIPAL LIRERIAN OFFICIAIS
$ £
^^500^^
Entertainment Allowance... 1,000) '
Vice-President...
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary for War and Navy
Secretary of the Interior
Postmaster-General
Attorney-General
Chief Justice
Two Associate J usticcs, each ...
Superintendent, Public Instruction ...
Controller of Treasury
Auditor-General
Treasurer-General
Statistician
Superintendent, Montserrado County
„ Grand Basa County
„ Sino County
„ Maryland County
„ Grand Cape Mount
JUDiciARv Department
His Honour Zachariah B. Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court.
His Honour R. B. Richardson, Associate Chief Justice.
His Honour J. J. Dossen, Associate Chief Justice.
His Honour F. E. R. Johnson, Attorney-General.
379
1,000
= 200
1,000
= 200
1,000
= 200
700
= 140
700
= 140
700
= 140
700
= 140
I 000
= 2CO
750
= 150
700
= 140
700
= 140
700
= 140
700
= 140
700
= 140
500
= 100
500
= 100
400
= 80
500
= 100
375
= 75
Liberia
Tkeasikv Dkpartmknt
r'ive Sub- Treasurers one for each county j, at $400 to $5CX).
ClSTOMS DErAKTMENT
Thirteen Principal Collectors of Customs, at $250 to $500 each
//AM/}' KSTA/W.ISI/ME\T
Brigadier-General J. S. Pad more (only paid when on active
service), pay about $-^5 a month, with rations.
Major-( General J. A. (iibson (Cape Palmas) (only paid when on
active service;, pa\' about $40 a month, with rations.
Co/on els of Militia : —
l'*lijah Johnson
A. F. Jones
Francis l^iyne
A. D. Williams
J. A. Railcy
J A. Tolivcr
J. H. Tubman
J. W. Dent
A. H. Stephens
There are five regiments of Militia, divided into a number of
companies, which bear the followini; names: —
The Newport \'oluntcers, Clay Ashland Defcnsibles, Edina
Regulars, lUichanan Rallies, St. John's Volunteers, Cheeseman
Guards, Roberts (iuards, Jackson X'olunteers, Gibson Guards,
Independent Blues, Johnson (iuards, Cooper's Invinciblcs. l^almas
Union Guards, Ashton (iuarcU, Johnson Artillery, etc.
l^iy when on active service about $38 a
month, with rations.^
nil'LOMA TIC
As regards diplomatic and consular representation, Liberia is
represented in Great Ihi'taiu by a Charge d'Affaires and Consul-
Gcneral (Mr. Henry Hayman), in l^^rancc b\- a Charge d'Affaires
' The pay of a licutciiant-rolonel is 83$ a month, that of a major $30, captain
^22, heuteiiant .^17, serg'-ant Si 5. corporal I c, private S8 -all with lalioiis.
380
-^ Religious, Political, Educational
(Mr. J. P. Crommclin), in the United States by a Consul-General
(Mr. C. H. Adams), in Germany by a Consul-Gcneral ([lerr Dinkla^je),
and elsewhere by consuls-general or consuls. Amkric.a is repre-
sented in LlHKRIA by a Minister-Resident (Dr. Krnest Lyon), Great
133. KAIMIM" ( HrK( H, MONKOMA
Britain, 1^'rance, and Gcrmanv by Consuls (/e carricrc ;X'ai)t. Hraith-
waite VVallis, M. Germcnot, and Merr Franouxj, and the other
Powers by tradin<; consuls or vice-consuls.
EDVCATIOXAL
I'llK LinKRiA C()LLK(ii:. - This College, represented at the
present day by a L;rcat gaunt building of iron and brick about one
mile outside M<;nr<)via, on the verge of the tropical forest, and not
far from the sea coast, dates its existence in idea from 1848, when it
was suggested by the Right Rev. John Payne, afterwards a Missionary
LilxTJa ^
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the celebrated
missionary and philolojrist of Cape Palmas. The Rev. John Payne
made the suggestion to the Hon. Simon Greenleaf of Boston of
establishing a School of Theology. Greenleaf and those who were
working with him for philanthropical objects in Liberia decided that
the college had better be placed in the vicinity of Monrovia anJ that
it should be un>ectarian. In 1S50 a Board of Trustees under the
title of the ** Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia'* was
incorporated in Massachusetts. In 1851 the Legislature of Liberia
IN IHK Horsj: OK KKI'KtNKNTATI\K>, MONROVIA
passed an Act incorporatin[j: Liberia College. In 1857 ex-President
J.J. Roberts was appointed the Principal of this College, and together
with Mrs. Roberts took up his residence in the vicinity of the existing
building, of which he practically superintended the construction.
By 1S61 further funds had been derived from America, and the
endowment was vested in eighth en Trustees, of whom eight represented
the Mcsurado Count}-, three Grand Bnsa, three Sino, and three Mary-
land, J. J. Roberts making the eighteenth. In the same year the Colleee
buildings were completed, and in 1862 the institution was opened for
382
^ Religious, Political, Educational
work. In 1865 Dr. E. VV. Blyden became one of the principal pro-
fessors. But towards the close of the 'sixties the teaching of this
institution languished, and it remained in a very unsatisfactory con-
dition until 1892, when, under the impulse of ex-President W. D.
Coleman, the College regained new life, and was to some extent re-
135. J. A. KAILKV, A COLONEL OK LIHEKIAN MILITIA
organised in 1900. The President of the College at the present time
is His Honour Dr. R. B. Richardson. His predecessor was ex-President
G. VV. Gibson. There is a department for the teaching of women in
this College under the direction of Mrs. S. A. King, with one or more
assistants. This last department educates at the present time about
forty-eight pupils.
383
In !•*• •; ihi' ttMihin.; <taff of the College stood as follows : —
^n'^:tU•N: : n«.n. I)r. K. H. Kichards.m AssMciato Chief lustice,.
rfvft>s r ' Mori/ /*/):/ s /*/n i/'.'c/ .Vi v//tv .* Ci. \V. liibson. LtizL' ti9fd
.]/ttMiif:,i:r.s : Y. \\ . J. Ha\ i^cs. lini^/is/i and L,2ti9i : Mon. Arthur
Baicl.iy. M lUn: I..if.\:tit.^'.s : O. 1'. M.irch //istt';r tint/ /^o/iiny :
O. A. M.i-<cy. Pr:nc:Y,i/ / t/ic Pfr/^anUify Dcpartnitfit : H. B.
HayiK-^. \':\t-rrinc:Y:i/ of ///<■ l^rt-f^anit-ryDcf^artmcftt: K. J. Barclay.
So: !ar:^'::f<.- l^ur schi.i.irship^ have bet n established in the
Liberia i'« Hcl^c 1 l.c tV.s: is tiu- "(i.irdMn Memorial Scholarship,"
proposed by 1 )r. K. \\ . H!\dcn in i«/CO in mcmnry of the Kn*»^lish
midshipni i:i linrd-.n. v. h.idicd tf tcvtr at Mcnnivia in September,
1S22. dciVn-iin^, llu ii:t".:.t SLt:lcme:.t a:;ain>t llie attacks of the
natives. The * lui.n I'.iyi.c ^cholar•^hip " is in honour of Bishop
John I'ayi.c it' T.jm. I'aliv.a-. riu'"Sinv»n Grccnlcaf Scholarship"
and "lji."iu;i r»i:_,^- Sc: 1 ■'. v:>Mp" p^ rpctii.itt: the mcnii>ry of American
Licntlt-mc:^ wl." \\\\\\ «t'u:N kA M,issiclui>ctts ti ok an active part
in tr.di -'A iii^ I ::)ir..i i « ••«>,^t-*-
Liberia i*«'.!t ..,». rccuvc-- a-i a:Kui il L;rani from State funds, at
prociU /; ;.J'. •■ : (.t .i..nr.in.
\\\ law- p.i.--«^.«l in iSSi awkX \>>2 piil)Iic funds arc appropriated
for llu- -ujM/oil ^'f t i.r prLpar.itiny sch«'ol< in the f<.ur counties of
Liberia lo >vr\c as kilei- :.> il.r ^'ii'.Icl;*. at Monn>via,
I 111: i'.'Mi- 1 ■ I Wi-r Ai!;i<A OT.ductL-d by the Methodist
Kpi>c pa! I '1 lire:: 1 :.c <. .iiK.itioiia! wi-rk cf the Methodist Epis-
copal i.'I.uiLh. \\\\\ \\ :> vl:\' 1v!'^:^.1> ^'-n^.ir.cndcd by all who know
Liberia, \\a> c.'iv.nu :.l\ d in i>;v u-^'i'^r the direction c»f the Rev.
Jabt/ A. Hurt-:! fir-t Principal k\ the College . Mrs. Anne Wilkins
anil Mrs. luii.icv.- M-- re. I:^ iS.iu a larL^c brick buildintr with stone
foundati«»:iS i< •• .'.^ tb.e p". .«.c « 1 tb.e e uiier structure. This was erected
under the Ktv. N. S. H.i-ti- w .il a ^^ -i ..Io\er i."2.CKX\
l\uh/:\. rr.^ii.-.:: A. T. i.a;nphi'i A.M.. D.D. ; also Professor
otMrra' .v:d .1/. k:.}^ S.:. :\r, /..' ..v.'/ ';,</;.</ /V/«-.'/t>^r. f/i/yrciA.^ Greek
ami iMtiu : Tb.e Ke\. W . It^ r II. Hawkins, A.^L, L).l>, .\fodeni
L<vfi^u<l^ys and JA//.>.;//<///.\.v; Mi-s i;;;a H. P- »\vell. A.^L /'//<- English
Latii^uai^c and Mu>:c : M;<- Ida M. Sii.irp. M dcrn Scicfice : .vacant
in i(/35 . Assis:a)i: Ma>:n\s : Me-^r^. \\ . II. I'ouell and Ji>seph Cop-
land. r)\\ypl)\'-s <v:ii Ma:;- ti : y[\<. \\. A. R. Cainph<.>r. / eac/ier of
Priniary (iradcs: Mr*-. Lmnia \\ . I'ayr.e.
3^4
MARCH I'Asr
VOL. I
25
Liberia ^
The f^!; '.vi-:^ i:.f.irmiti«j:i is j^iven about the work of the
( ' -LI.Ki.K "f \\ \ ^T At M' A :
' f\'t'::s t:: fi.— l. Ihi: rrimary Schocl. the work of which
I..-. ir> .1 }^ri'-i « f three years and leads up to the Grammar
Stho .;.
II. 1 he 'irarninitr Scho ! furni-hes in-truction in the ordinar}'
Kn^li'h Ijr.irKi.' - a: d pr-jp ira'.ury fur the Hijh School. It oovers
I ; eri- vi 'f three year>.
Ill li.-- Hi^-h S-h ■ ; endeav-.urs tu '^ive a knowledge of the
h^^hi r br.i'iche- l' h.:.^!i-h. Ihe cuuisc may be completed in two
year-
I\'. 1 he N rina! c- ;;r>e i> de-ij;ncd tt» prepare teachers for
their w tk.
\'. Ih.'. <■ ".it^e rrv-paiiit-.Ty and Cullejije Departments ^ive
tla-MCii! «.'iii'..'i'.i- ■:..
\I Ih.' liii/.ici'. l)«.;>ar:me:.t " ^ives y•Jun^J men preparing for
the « h::-::»in ::.:: .-\ry tivit >y-te:r.atic preparation which will help
thMTi ':j*.-\ :■■ ^i::'-'.-:-.' ::.<: ::.te:e-t- « ■?" the kini;d«..m ol God."
\'II. I:i :l:-*.: .i! 1 '• :> ir:::.er.t embraces wi.rk in carpentry, tin-
Mnit:.::.. -:.".::.; :::_;. '•!.:. •.-:::i:!u:^^^ printing:, and home training
1 r -:■:-.
.'.' ' ' ^ ■' -:l: :.: :- .h.., caiiii^rt attend school in the day.
'II:. •:.'. : :/■.. ! > -. - r ::;- :;th.
I\.\ '■■.:> '.r ' - ' '; .'. .'. littLii examinations will be held at
th^- <:.■: ■ :" ( .v.\\ '..: :. .
/'^". ./ -■■■■-■ li:- t.-.lle-e of West Africa is open
t'^ i'l'.!. ijT' .-; lC ; ■. : ;.:<.!::. i^c. r.icu, >e.\ or relii^ion.
/:i/'A'.... h- ;■ / .■■ -V.:. .V ■•.-., i:i the College, College Prepara-
t^;r\- ;iii'.: S"V\i.u\ I ^c; .;::::.- :.:-. i": j<er month.
h. the 11:.!; .-<.;.■../. (i:-.i:r.iii;ir and Primary Departments,
y> ct-. I he u-ii ;1 r< 'i'lLti'ii k-\ iricitlc-ntal fee will be made for
two or more co:!.i:i.^ fr- :;; iht. s iiric fa: nil}".)
Vny lu.tUfiuiy; St/i'i://! .--'J\ib!c b<-ard. including room, wash-
in;^, incidental lee, and th.r- u.-e «'!" the necessary text books $Q
per month. Students must lin:i;->h their own bcd-clothcs, towels
lamp^, oil and toilet articles. .Suuients who are not afraid of
indiscriminate work can earn :f3 |.»er ni'.'nth to help pa\* their
expenses. Hill.^ paid in advance and quarterly.
137- LIBERIAN MILITIA IN REVIEW ORDER (WHITE UNIFORM, liLUE SASIIES)
Liberia ^
Gnxdnatioti Fee. — Diploma from College Department, S5.
Diploma from College Preparatory Department, $3.
Diploma from Normal Department, $3.
Diploma from High School, $2.
Diploma from Biblical and Industrial Departments, each ;?2,
This College of the Methodist Mission has an Industrial Schoo
on the St. Paul's River, in charge of Mr. J. B. McGill. It has als<
an Industrial School on the Sino River, and a High School at Cap
Pal mas.
Ei'iriiANv Hall, CnTiNdTOX :the College of the Protcstan
Flpiscopal Mission).
Cuttinglon is the name given to a former station of the Pro
testant Kpiscopal Mission, four and a half miles north of Cap<
Palma.s. This station takes it name from Mr. R. F. Cutting, th<
late President of the P.h'. Mission in the United States. Th(
College was founded in iS<S9. It is sometimes known as the Cutting
ton Collegiate and l)ivinil\' School.
The operation of the Institution is maintained \w three depart
ments :
The Higher, formerly known as the Hoffmann Institute, whict
had its origin at Cavalla station on March 8th, 1868, under th<
late Rev. Dr. Auer, and was transferred to Harper at the beginning
of the political trouble with the (irebo tribe. The object aimec
at in this department is similar to that of the Theological Depart
ment.
The Preparatorv' Department, knt)vvn as the High School, whicl
was for many \ ears a flourishing institution at Mount V^aughan, i:
to impart a Christian education to the aborigines and others.
'ihe Theological Department is to "train young men to tak(
part in the work of advancini,^ the cause of Christ in the capacit}
of clergymen, catechists, teachers, or other laymen, according to th<
doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Holy Catholic Church a
is maintained in one of her true branches — the P.E. Church ii
U.S.A."
The Preparatory Department has a two years' Primary course
and a two years' Secondar\- course.
The Higher Department has a two years* Advanced course
a two years' Collegiate course, a year's course for Certificate o
3S8
-^ Religious, Political, Educational
Proficiency in General Education, and a Normal course for candi-
dates for teaching.
The Theological Department has a three years' course and a
Postulant course.
hidustrial Departnioit. — A valuable work is carried on in this
College in inculcating habits of manual labour. It has a coffee
138. THK AKMOLKV, MONROVIA
plantation on which the [)upils work, and a farm. The pupils are
generally called upon to work for about four hours a day. during
the week in learning practical agriculture and horticulture. There is
a printing department in connection with Epiphany Hall, situated
at the town of Harper, where the students are taught printing.
Faculty, — Principal : The Rev. A. Dunbar. Vice-Principal : The
Rev. G. \V. Gibson. Professor of Bible History, Secular Histor)\ and
389
Liberia ^
Speilhig: T. M. Gardner. Lau^i^inji^^es and Music: E. D. W.
Shannon. Mathematics: S. P. Hodges. Modern Languages : N. W.
Valentine.
TiiK Hall Frke School.— Dr. James Hall, of the United
Stales, founded in 1S75, on his own endowment, the Hall Free
School in Maryland (Harper). This school was chartered by the
Legislature of Liberia in 1875. Its funds were invested in five
Trustees. When Dr. Hall died, he left money to continue the
upkeep of this institution. The Principal of this school is Mr.
S. J. Dossen, IVL.
In addition to the fore^^oin*^ colleges, the Liberian Government
has appointed a General Superintendent of Public Schools, Mr.
J. Deputie.
Each county has a local School Commissioner. There are 55
Government Schools in Mesurado County, 13 in Grand Rasa, 15
in Sino, and 19 in Maryland, with 102 teachers and 3,320 pupils,
male and female. A number of these pupils, according to Govern-
ment statistics, are native Africans.
LITERARY SOCIETIES
The principal amoni^st these is ])robably the MARYLAND
AcADKMV OF PillLOSorilv, with its headquarters in the town of
Harper (Cape Palmas i. At Monrovia is established Dr. Blyden's
LlTEKAKV Union. At Cape Palmas is the Ladies' MUTUAL
Rklikf Sociktv.
The other societies trail away into secret, freemasonic, or bene-
volent institutions, such as the (ikAND UNITED ORDER OF ODD-
FELLOWS ('with fifteen lodi^^cs throughout Liberia), the UNITED
Brothers of I^'riendsiiii- .described as a secret order, having
its origin in the United States in 1861). ''Like all other secret
orcyanisations, this (the U.B.F.j inculcates the principles of brotherly
love, friendship, and truth." This institution has an organisation
of a somewhat lurid character as rcL^ards nomenclature. Besides
the Grand Lodge of Monrovia, there is the " Eastern Star Temple,"
or Female Branch, further known as the •' Sisters of the Mysterious
Ten." The United Brothers of 1m<iendshii> maintain about
390
Liberia ^
eleven lodges in various parts of Liberia, besides the female mysteries
of the Sisters of the Mysterious Ten.
Colonel Powney has supplied me with the following information
regarding the organisation of Freemasonry in Liberia : " There are
nine lodges established at Monrovia, St. Paul's River, Cape Mount,
Edina, Grand Rasa, Greenville, and Cape Palmas, — viz. the
Oriental, St. Joiin'.s, St. Paul's, Excklsior, Widow's Son,
Rising Star, KvKNiNci Star, and Morning Star."
THE PRESS IN LIBERIA
The ncwspa[)crs and periodicals now published in Liberia consist
of the following :
The Liberia Reeorder fKditor, the Rev. N. II. B. Cassell). Monrovia.
This paper is in its seventh \car. It comes out every fortnight, and
each copy costs 2\ti. it often contains excellent articles.
I'/ie Ai^riciil/urai W'or/d {VA\\or, \\ 1\ Gray), Monrovia. Price
ihd. monthly. In its sixth year.
Lib:ri(i and West Jfriea ( luiitor, the Rev. A. P. Camphor). A
monthly publication, in its fifth year. Yearly subscription, 6s. 3^/.,
including postage.
J he Afrieati Leai^/u^ (hAlitor, J. H. Green), Grand Basa. A
monthly paper, price yi.
7 he Livitii:; Chrotiiele Kditor, the Rev. S. D. Ferguson, Jun.),
Gregory Street, Har[)cr, Cape Palmas. Monthly paper, price \\d,
A useful handbook on Liberia is issued yearly from the office of
The Lii'if/i^ ChroJiicle.
Mi'MClPALITlES AM) PORTS OE EXTRY
There are at present four incorporated cities in Liberia — namely.
MoNKOx lA, Grand Basa Lower Ikichanan ;, Kdina, and Harpkr,
Each of these cities has a Mayor and Council. The other centres
of population of the second order arc described as town.ships.
The ports of entry at which foreigners are free to trade and
settle (the theoretical areas of these ports of entry being reduced to
a radius of three miles from the centre of the town) are at present nine
in number— RonKRTSPoRT Cape Mount;, MONROVIA, Marshall,
Grand Basa Lower lUichanan), RivKR Ckstos, Greenville
392
^ Religious, Political, Educational
(Sino), Nana Kru, Harper (Cape Palmas), and Cavalla (mouth of
Cavalla River).
The following are not yet ports of entry but are places on
the coast where Americo-Liberians carry on trade : Little Basd,
V
140. A HOUSE AM) (JARDKN, MONROVIA
Tobakoni\ Netv Cestos^ Trade Town^ Grand Kulio^ Tembo^ Manna^
Rock Ccss^ Bafu Bay^ Butu, Setra Kru, Kroba, Nifu, Beddo, Sas
TowHy Pikanini Ses, Grand S esters, IVedabo, Fish Town, Rock Town,
Puduke, and Garaivi.
393
Liberia -^
141.
i.lvIlN 1:1. Ill R 1 \\:i I IKI KIAN NMIM (( •H-I K 'I KT-KS
AIMM'.NDIX ill
7///-; XA'IJOXA/. nvMx or LinERIA
It is not very cU-ar when ihi^ came into existence. As early
as the 'fifties of the last century there was a fceUng that as an
independent state Liberia should be endowed with a National
Anthem. The stories circulated about it^ — to the effect that the
394
^ The National Hymn
words were " indented for " in America and the music was supplied
by a student at Dresden — are untrue. The words of " Hail, Liberia,
hail ! " were (it is said) written by President D. B. Warner. The
music, certainly, was composed by a Liberian citizen, Olmstead Luca,
in the early 'sixties. The Luca family was a very musical one.
They were mulattoes from the southern United States, of whom
one or more settled in Liberia.
This musical talent in the Eurafrican, the mixed breed between
the Caucasian and the Negro, is a noteworthy feature. Many of the
beautiful airs of the early " nigger " songs from the United States
were invented by mulattoes and quadroons. A well-known com-
poser of the present day rapidly coming to the fore in the British
musical world is of this mixed lineage, and hnils from Sierra Leone,
next door to Liberia.
L1BI:KIAX NATIONAL ANTIIKM.
Music !)>• Oi.MsrKAi) Luca, a Libnian composer.
Words said to l)e by I'resident D. B. War MR.
/w/r( '<///(>■</ //-.'/// /hr Ani<-rii.in m/tU' ^' Lihn-'h'" for i8»;j.
Sop unit cd Alii.
1^^
J. J' J J
J. J- J J
All
TtnOTK t
f f. f f
ill, Li be ria,
hail
Bassi.
T
bant
All
All
MM
f c r r
hail^ Ld- be • ria,
hail, all
m
^
r
I \j rj
M
*
J. ;^ J J
J- j' J J
^zi
T — =r
hail I This
bail, Li • be ria,
J- J
T f r f
r^ c r r
glorious land of
baill This . .
J J J J
r r f f
r 't; r f
li • bcr • ty shall
»» » 9 tf
I I I iE
long
^
m
395
t
^
Liberia ^
U^_'A\^
fe^
$
^fe^
F^
mighty be her
tf f» ft ff
ours. Tho*
Dew her name, (rreen
IT*
be her fame, and
9 9 0 n
^m
^^
ju r r
==f
rr
m
DSC
3z:
2Z=
pow'rs,
Tho'
new her name, green
«:. ^
H
u^
be her fame, and
jUM.
3
hty be ber
^
m
T T
i
st4=
and
pow'rs,
j2 '^ "
^
^
mighty be her
pow.rs
and
-sU
3221
mighty be her
^
^
pow're.
a
^ The National Hymil
LJLAi
~^m
3b
home of glorious
rTT2
ffl
"f
liberty by
^^
God's com
^
mand, a
m
-^^_
j^
m
home uf gloijous
^
■^^l^
3L±r^
-^-^
liberty, by
^=
^'
:|=
God's com
=t:
mand.
— # —
All hail, Liberia, hail!
In union strong, success is sure.
We cannot fail.
With (}od above
Our rights to i)rove
We will the world assail.
With heart and hand our country's cause defending,
We'll meet the foe with valour unpretending.
Long live Liberia, happy land,
A home of glorious liberty by God's command.
397
CHAPTKR XVIII
COMMERCE OE LIBERIA
(BV THE AUTHOR ANT) MR. I. F. BRAHAM)
THE imports into Liberia comprise practically every sort
and description of cotton goods, hardware, tobacco, silks,
crockery, guns, gunpowder, rice, stock-fish, herrings,
and salt. The natives are most conservative in their tastes, and
there is great difficulty in finding a market for new goods.
Certain articles such as brass kettles, cutlasses (matchets), and
tobacco are now of the same pattern and description as they
were when introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese
in the fifteenth (?) century, and no inducement will tempt the
natives to purchase any modern variation of these old patterns.
As a matter of fact, this description of articles has become the
currency of the interior tribes (who up to the present do not
understand the value of a coinage), and from time immemorial
have been employed in the purchase of their wives and cattle
and this may be taken to be the principal reason why a change
is unappreciated. The value of wives varies in different
districts, but an average may be struck — viz. 6 brass kettles
15 kegs of powder, and 5 pieces of cloth. The value of a
slave boy is 15 kegs of powder, and of a slave girl 10 kegs
of powder, or too sticks of salt.
Salt and rice are very largely imported. Although the
natives throughout the hinterland grow rice in large quantities,
39^^
^ Commerce of Liberia
they do not cultivate nearly sufficient for their own consumption,
and thousands of bags are imported annually. We may compute
the amount of rice at 150,000 bags = 700 tons per annum, and
salt in rather larger quantities. The import of salt, rice, and
fish may be regarded as the greatest import trade of the country.
Another article of consumption imported in great quantities,
especially on the Kru Coast, is stock-fish from Norway. The
142. SIR ALFKKD JONKs's AGKNCY IN MONKOVIA (KLDI.K, DEMr>IKK AND CO., KTC. )
Kru people, Grebos, and in fact all those tribes living between
Grand Basa and Maryland, are extremely fond of stock-fish,
which has become one of their principal articles of diet. Fish,
generally in the shape of herrings in barrels, is largely imported.
Gin and rum are imported in considerable quantities, but
the liquor traffic, so much discussed, does not appear, from
the writer's experience, to have in any way affected the natives
of the interior, and on the whole there is very little drunkenness
399
Lil)cria ^
among the interior tribes. These strong waters are much used
in compounding native medicines.
Cotton goods such as blue baft, prints of various descrip-
tions, romals and white shirting, have a large sale. Kven in
their choice of cotton goods the natives are very conservative,
and a new pattern does not *' catch on " very readily. Strangely
enough, the Liberian natives have little fondness for gorgeous
and brilliant colours and patterns, sombre blue and white
being their favourite colours. Another feature is that the
cloth must be sold in pieces made up of twelve yards —
smaller pieces, although correspondingly lower in price, are not
easily disposed ot.
The total value of the imports per annum into Liberia
may be estimated at about ^f 200,000.
Hie exports of Liberia at the time of writing consist of
the following products :
Camwood {liaphid uitida).
Cacao (cocoa).
Calabar beans [Physosti^j^vui vcPicHOSci).
Cassa\a (manioc) (^MiUii/iot ntHissima),
Coffee [CoJlfrd lihrrioisis).
(linger.
Indiariibbcr (^1 .dndoiphid^ luntumid^ Clitandra^ etc.).
Ivory.
X'ciretablc i\-ory (nuts o\ Bordssus palm).
Kafa or Konibo oil seeds [SiSdwum or Pycnanthus),
Hides.
Kola nuts.
Palm kernels/
Palm oil I --^
Piassa\'a hbre (Rdp/iid vi}iiftrd).
Annatto seed (Bixd orclldud^,
400
143- COFFEA LIBKRICA IN FLOWKR
VOL. I
26
Liberia ^
Amongst other products of the country not included in
any recent list of exports, but which, if they could be worked
with industry, might well add to the stream of Liberian com-
merce, are rice, cotton, peppers of various sorts, the Strophanthus
drug, timber from the African mahogany and teak, copal gum,
and pineapple fibre.
Reliable statistics relative to the exports are not easily
obtainable, but their average annual value at the time of writing
is about ;^20o,ooo.
Coffee w.'is once the principal article of export, but now
takes a secondary rank. It is mainly exported from Monrovia
and Cape Mount (Robertsport). It is grown extensively on the
St. PauKs River by the Americo-Liberians. At one time
Liberian cofFee was greatly appreciated in the European markets,
and for many years averaged the high price of ^5 per cwt.
The increasing importations from Brazil, Ceylon, and from
other sources have had, however, a serious effect upon the
value of Liberian cofFee, which is now only worth from 38/. to
44J. per cwt. The reason for this fall in the value of Liberian
coffee is not only to be sought in the larger imports from
other countries, but also in the fact that the Liberian planters
are unscientific in their methods of preparation for market,
the machinery employed is primitive, and, as a consequence, the
coffee berries come into the market in a broken and imperfect
condition. There is no doubt that proper treatment would
have the effect of greatly enhancing the value of this product.
It is a delicious coffee of full flavour and improves with age.
The Liberian planters are gradually awakening to the fact that
their old and primitive methods are retarding progress, and are
beginning to attempt improvements.
About 1,500,000 lb. avoirdupois of coffee are annually
exported from Liberia. This output is growing to some slight
402
^ Commerce of Liberia
extent, but not in the proportion anticipated. The planters
have become nervous by long depression and have to some
extent lost faith.
Palm Oil is a large export — mainly from the Basa
and Kru Coast.:: This substance is used in the manufacture
144. A LIBERIAN COFFEE PLANTATION AT WHITE PLAINS ON THE ST. PAUL'S RIVER
of the best kind of soaps and candles and takes the place of
tallow. It is extracted from the outer coating of the palm
nut. The method of obtaining the oil is simple : The palm
nuts are gathered and thrown together into a pit dug in the
earth, and allowed to remain until decay and fermentation set
in ; the outer coating is then squeezed by hand, and the oil
403
Liberia ♦
is thus extracted. The inner nut is then thrown aside to be
cracked for its yield of palm kernels.
Mr. John Gow gives the author the following description
of palm-oil manufacture in the Kaka country (Dukwia River) :
** The fruits are cut off the palm raceme and boiled in water.
T45. OIL TAI.MS
They are then put into a large mortar and pounded with a
pestle until the fibrous covering of the kernel is separated
from the latter. The kernels or nuts are then picked out and
put apart. The orange-coloured pericarp is put into a hollowed
wooden scoop or trough, which is supported on crossed sticks
at an angle of about 45 degrees. Hot stones are then mixed
404
•^ Commerce of Liberia
with the oil-producing pericarp, and as this mass becomes
hardened the oil detaches itself from the fibre and trickles
down into a pan. In some districts they do not trouble to
put the hot stones amongst the oily coverings of the nut, but
soak this oily covering in hot water and then boil the water
that is drained ofF. As it boils they skim the oil ofF the
top.
146. NATIVK WOMKN MANl FA(;HK1N(; I'AI.M «»I1.: NOTE IHE WUOhEN TROKiH
I.IKE A CANOK, FL I.L OF I'AI.M OIL
Liberian palm oil (again owing to careless treatment) is not
the best quality on the market. There is too large a percentage
of dirt and extraneous matter, but the ruling prices for this
oil are good, and Liberian palm oil is now quoted at £2^ \os,
per ton.
Palm Kernels are the inner kernel of the palm nut,
the outer shell of which is cracked by hand ; they were exported
from Africa for the first time in 1850 by a Liberian. Liberia
405
Liberia ^
can claim therefore to have been the introducer of at least
one product of great economic value. Very large quantities
of kernels are exported. The present price per ton is
147. CLIMIIIN*; OIL PALM To Cl'T lU NCII OF OIL NL'TS
^13 1 5 J. Palm kernels are employed for the same purposes
as palm oil. The oil expressed from the kernels is worth
£2 'J a ton.
406
Commerce of Liberia
■>>
m
148. HALF-WAY UP
149. AT THK TOP
PiAssAVA.^ The history of the piassava industry in
Liberia is somewhat extraordinary. Piassava is the fibre of the
' This word is of Brazilian origin. A similar fibre is yielded by a Brazilian
palm nearly allied to the Raphia.
407
Lib
•ena ^
fronds of the Raphia palm {R. v'wiferti]. Its use was discovered
about 1889, and in 1890 it was first exported, the value at that
time being from £ho to ^'-o per ton. It was easy to prepare, and
the Raphia palm (^f which it is a product was extremely plentiful,
150. Vi)r.\<; MK -MAM. K \IHI \ \IMIl.k\ I'AIM, !«) Sllt)W INFLOKKSCKXCF.
The natives rushed in and the production in the course of
a few years grew to enormous proportions, Liberia being
for many years practically the sole country exporting this
product. As the production grew the natives became careless (as
40S
Liberia ^
is the case with most Liberian products), the merchants who
handled this article gave it little attention — prices and profits
being so good — and in course of time prices in the home
markets tell. Other West African countries began to compete
and gradually the price dwindled, the value decreasing rapidly
until it descended to the low level of about ^lo rising to ;(^20 per
ton, at which quotation it now stands. The difficulties of selecting
the good from the bad piassava are great, enormous losses occur
by shrinkage in weight, and the trade is practically at a stand-
still. Although a steady export goes on and profits are made,
the risks are great and merchants are less keen to embark in
this uncertain trade ; the piassava market is too speculative — for
one shipment /]i5 may be obtained, and for the next, identical
in quality, only /[lo.
Grand Basil was, and still is, the headquarters of the pias-
sava export. Efforts are being made, with some slight success,
to regulate this trade and to improve the methods of production,
but the low and uncertain prices ruling (and which are likely
to rule) will prevent the trade from increasing to its former
proportions.
Coffee^ Rnbbti\ Palm O'll^ Pahn Kernels^ and Piassava may
be regarded as the staple exports from Liberia.
Camwooix — At one time — in the 'seventies and 'eighties —
camwood was a most important article of export in Liberia (as
with other parts of the West Coast), and as much as ^40 and
^50 per ton were realised ; but the discovery of aniline dyes
had a disastrous effect, and now, although small quantities are
still shipped, the price (^10 to /' 13) is too low to encourage a
steady export. These remarks apply to annatto and other dye
stuffs, all of which have been affected by the introduction of
aniline.
IvoRv is not largely exported, although occasionally a ton
410
hx/i'^ctLA^
152. 1. DALBKRGIA MELANOXYLON (PRODUCING EBONY) (nat. size)
2. Flower (enlarged). 8. Calyx laid open (enlarged). 4. Wing petal (enlarged). B. Keel (enlarged).
0. Section of ovary (enlarged^ 7. Pod (nat. size).
Liberia ^
or so is shipped. The natives regard their stores of ivory
as v^ery precious, and there is little or no profit in the ivory
trade. Most ivory finds its way through the hinterland to the
French colonies, and very little to the seaboard. The develop-
ment of the transport system of the country, the opening of
roads, and the settlement of native disputes will have a
beneficial effect with regard to this as well as to other products
of the country. The natives state there are two descriptions
of elephant inhabiting the vast virgin forests — a smaller and a
larger, the latter producing the smaller ivory ! From obser-
vation this has not been proved, and the statement is to be
doubted.
Fbonv. -A species of Diospyros and of Dalbergia are both
present in the Liberian forests. It is not difl^icult to understand
why no ebony is exported since the present price is onlv about
/,'6 a ton.
Cacao. - Owing to the bad outlook for the future of the
coffee industry, many Libcrian planters have started cocoa-
growing on their plantations. This industry is in the earlv
stages of inhincy, but bids fair to develop into useful pro-
portions. Samples sent to England have touched high prices
(47J. per cwt.).
CorroN.— l^xperimcnts are being made by the Liberian
planters. It is too early to discuss this product from the
point of view of trade, but there is no doubt that the soil is
well adapted to the growing of cotton. The interior natives
grow cotton for their own consumption, from which they weave
beautiful cloths. The cotton industry is increasing.
Calabar Beans have only an uncertain sale and cannot be
regarded an an article of export. They are plentiful, however
and if the home market demanded, large exports could Imj
made.
412
rh ■A^^.^cM^ del ^,
153. FLOWKKS AM) LKAVKS OF COl.A A( I'MINATA (KOLA Ml)
1. Flowering branch (nat. size). 2. Male tlowcr with calyx removed (enlarged). 3. Anthers (enlarged).
4. Female flower with calyx removed (enlarged). 5. Stellate hairs (enlarged).
Vide Sterculiacca in Appendix.
Liberia ^
Kola Nuts. — Ver)' few kola nuts are exported to Europe
although there is a comparatively large local trade — mostly ii
the hands of the Sierra Leoneans. As this valuable nerv
stimulant (the basis of certain brands of cocoa and tonic wines
is likely to attain a greatly extended use in Europe and America
kola production in Liberia should receive attention.
Ginger. — The export of ginger varies considerably. It i
largely planted by the Americo-Liberians, the soil being splendidl
adapted to the purpose, but the home market for ginger i
most irregular, and this has had the effect of reducing the amoun
planted and exported. In spite of all drawbacks, however
some considerable quantity of ginger is shipped. Presen
prices are about 24/. the cwt.
SuoAR. — In the early days of Liberia sugar-cane wa
largely grown on the St. PauTs River, but the introduction o
beet sugar has had the same effect in Liberia as in other sugar-
growing countries, and none is now exported, although a smal
quantity is prepared for local consumption and the molasse
and syrup are sold locally. The cane grows freely and well
and with a better demand and higher prices a trade in thi
product could be resuscitated to advantage.
Tobacco. --KxpLTinicnts are now being made by ;
Liberian recently arrived from America, but results so far hav<
been negative.
Gum Copal {Copaifcra dinklagci) exists in quantities in thi
forests, and the natives are beginning to gather it. It is ai
increasing industry, and little more can be said. The qualiti
is about on a par with that exported from Sierra Leone, anc
the value reaches to ^^74 a ton.
IvoRV Nuts have been exported in small quantities witt
negative results. These nuts — probably the fruit of a Pandanui
or Borassus — are used in the manufacture of cheap buttons.
414
.iy^M^UU'
154. FKUIT OF THE COLA ACUMINATA (KOLA NUT)
1. Fruit. 2. Section of fruit. S. Seed. 4. Section of seed (all nat. sire).
Liberia ^
CiRoi'M) Nrrs {.h'ihhis and J'oanJzeiii) are grown in
small quantities aiui arc disposed of locallv.
RrnnbR. — The industry in this product is increasing since
the foutuiation of the Monrovian Rubber Company^ in 1904.
In all probability rubber will become in time the principal article
of export.
The present price of I/iberian rubber is about zs. ^iL per
lb. The price during i S9S, 1899, and the first half of 1900
remained very constant at an average of about 2s. 3^/. per lb.
During this time Para rubber rose from y. i)ii. to 4.C. 9^/. per lb.
The lowest price for Para rubber since i88ohas been zs, iJ.
in 1SS4; in 1S91 it was 2.f. Si/, per lb., and it steadily rose to
4.f. ()(/. per ll>. in the beginning of 1900. During the first half
of 1900 Para rul^ber fell rapidly, recovered somewhat, and again
fell, until at the envi of the year it was 4.^. per lb. It is now
about s». per lb. The average price for the last ten years has
been aboLit V- v/. per lb. During the latter six months of
19CO Liberiaii rubber fell steadily to about ijr. 8^. per lb.
\s. "{c/. having been the lowest price ttniched ; 2s. lO//. was the
highest reachcvl '. 1 9c; ).
r.iberia:i rubber is chiefly used, mixed with other
kinds, in the nianutacture ot rubber for mechanical piirpxjses.
The qiiantitN' of rubbL-r u^Cvl in ''mechanicals'' is very large
indee 1, probably ab.)iir equal to the total amount of Para
imported.
In I jbv-ria sixteen «. lasses of rubber are known at present
probabb attributable to as nianv species of rubber-producing
trees and vines, a list ot which, so far as they are known will
be found in the Botanic. il Appendix (p. 616 r/. seq.). 'I*he quality
of the rubber varies ver\ much according to the species. Lan^
dolphiti oii'iirioisis and iHUtHniia euisti:ii probably yield the best.
' Now .styltid tilt' Libciiaii Ivubhrr (.(irporation.
4">
155. WEICiHING RLJIHEK AT GKKENVILLE (SINO), LIBERIAN KLIiHKR CUKl'ORATION
VOL. I 27
IJberia ^
The lianas of I^ndolphias, which produce so much of the rubber,
grow up tall trees and extend sometimes three or four hundred
feet along their tops. The rope-like stems of these creef>ers
are as much as nine inches in diameter, the slenderest probably
being about three inches.
Rubber abounds not only where it has been seen by the
officials of the Company, but right through the vast forests of
150. Fukbl-ll.KS 11«'L>1. IN INllkloK (KIHBKK COKIH»RATION)
the interior. The method of treating the rubber at present is
somewhat crude, but the quality, although it is not considered
the best on the market, is very fair, and, barring a certain un-
pleasant odour, is equal to the average rubber exported from
the West Coast of Africa.
Hitherto rubber-collecting in Liberia has been merely in
its infancy, but the Liherian Rubber Corporation is making
rapid strides towards opening up stations throughout the country
4f8
-^ Commerce of Liberia
with satisfactory results. Down to about 1898 no attempt was
made by Europeans to trade for rubber or to collect it away
from the coast ports. In that year, however, two agents of the
Liberian Rubber Syndicate (which preceded the Monrovian
Rubber Company) made some attempt to collect rubber in the
Dukwia country, but the enterprise, though successful, was not
persisted in. In 1903-4 the journeys of Mr. Alexander Whyte
157. HEADQUARTERS OF THE LIBERIAN RUBBER CORPORATION, MONROVIA
revealed the extraordinary wealth ot rubber-producing trees,
shrubs, and lianas in the interior forests. Early in 1904 Mr.
Harold Reynolds, on behalf of the Monrovian Rubber Company,
opened the first permanent station in the interior, opposite
Dobli Zulu Island on the St. Paul's River, near Boporo.
Prior negotiations had been entered into with the Gora and
Boporo chiefs in the neighbourhood by Mr. Braham, the General
419
Liberia ^
Manager of the Company, with the assistance; and supf
the Liberian (Fovernment. Similar measures brought abc
foundation of other stations at distances of from twenty-
one hundred miles from the coast at Mount Barclay, Kal
(Dukwia), Sikombe, Putu, and Woffbke ' (Maryland).
stations were occupied by foresters (mostly from the Edii
Botanical (iardens) in the service of the Rubber Conipan
1905 Mr. I). Sim, one of these foresters, discover
Fioiiunii.i cliistica (the rubber-tree of I-agos) existing
vast Nidi forest in the Sapo country behind Putu. The
soon realised the public importance of this asset, and are
great pains to see that the trees are not injured by ex
tapping. Since the end of 1905 a number more r
collecting stations in the interior have been opened by Eu
and negro foresters. 'I'he first of this new series ^
Kaitikpo's town, on the T'armington River.
Rubber-collecting bv the natives is carried on i
ways : either as an indivivlual enterprise — the native
out into the forest and collecting rubber which he aftei
brings for silc to the Company's stations or to the tradt
the coast or by direct salaried employment at the hands
Company.
i'he best rLil)ber-c«)llecting season is in August and
October to March, during the (more or less) dry season
this is because at that time of vear the natives have less w<
do on their farms, anvi of course the slackening in the r
makes outdoor work in the f)rests more agreeable.
When rubber-collecting is undertaken bv the nativ
their own initiative, their procedure is usuallv as fol
Their wives prepare about three weeks' food, which they
' Wotl'.k*' ii;is simr bccii c^lc-d. Aljoiit Unw suh-statiojis, mainly im
Oijargc of Sierra Leone nn'ii or I.ihirians, (lc|)<'nd on each head-station.
420
158. A forester's camp
Liberia ^
in the baskets {kiftja) borne on the back and forehead of th(
porter. They then settle down in the forest in the middle oj
the rubber vines and proceed to collect the latex of the vines
or trees by tapping the bark and allowing the ** milk " to run
into little receptacles (broken bottles, large snail-shells, gourds
tin cans, etc.), or else by cutting up the smaller lianas into seg-
ments, from each end of which the latex streams off into basins
or other receptacles.
The supplies of latex ('' milk '') are either collected toward*
evening or in the early morning, and are all mixed together ir
brass kettles or iron pots. The rubber is thence obtained b]
promoting coagulation. This is effected by boiling the latex
or precipitating the caoutchouc by the admixture of acid reagents
such as iinie-juice or the juice or tannin ot wild fruits or bark
infusion. The better educated natives then put their strips oi
balls of rubber aside to dry by hanging them over the rafters o
huts in the smoke from the hearth. The stupider or the men
dishonest in^merse their rubber in flowing streams^ believinj
that by so doing thcv cleanse it from impurities and yet caus
it to absorb moisture and so increase its weight fraudulently
As a matter of fact the caoutchouc does not absorb the water, bu
immersion pre\ents it from exuding its inherent moisture, so tha
it is brought to the trader in a damp and " mucky " condition.
The ordinary pay of the native labourer is about 9^/. t(
IS. per day. By working systematically one man can readilj
collect up to ;^ or 4 lb. of rubber per day, tor which he woulc
receive about \s. per Ih. The natives prefer collecting rubbei
to growing or collecting any other kind of product, as wher
brought to the coast it realises /'2 lO.f. per load as againsi
about 4J. for the same weight of palm kernels, loj. for pain"
oil, and 14.^. for coffee. They will rarely carry produce othei
than rubber more than a two days' journey.
422
Q >
o *^
> r
Z M
D i«
> >
> >
»»'^^^!.^^
Liberia ^
The whole of the rubber trade and collecting of rubber
in Liberia is under the supervision of the Liberian Rubber
Corporation, which is for all practical purposes the Forestry Board
of the Liberian (iovernment, for whom it collects the royalties
or export duties on the rubber (an approximate 8 cents [4//.]
per lb.). The Liberian Rubber Corporation makes arrange-
ments with and subsidises native chiefs for the carrj'ing out of
\-< \lx I <'N l.Il'.I.KIAN K()A1>
its regulations (which hiivc the force of by-laws) for the pre-
servation of the forests and the replanting of rubber vines and
trees. It spreads instruction amongst the natives as to the
proper methods of collecting rubber, and by its stations and sub-
stations in the interior endeavours to provide /or/ for the trade.
Any person may trade in or collect rubber in Liberia by obtaining
a licence from the Company and agreeing to pay the royalties due ^
^ \d. per Ih. to the Liberian Ciovernmerit, 4^/. per lb. to the Company = 8^/
per lb. total royalties.
424
Commerce of Liberia
and observe the regulations in force. The sums derived from
the rubber royalties are pledged by the Liberian Government
to the service of its public debt.
^.A^^K
'^ * ^^r^
^ ?
' ft:
'■^t
l6l. "IN THK WKT SI:AS0N TUKSE PATHS BKCOMK CANALS "
The foregoing list ought not to limit by any means the
possible trade products of Liberia. Any quantity of valuable
timber — African mahogany {Khaya), African teak {Oldfieldia\
425
Liberia ^
besides other trees mentioned in the Botanical Appendix — i
present in the forests ; there are many undescribed nuts and seed
yielding fine oils ; the bark of the mangrove and of certain acacia
is valuable for tanning. Besides articles of export there are \oa
wants to be supplied. Liberia ought — so far as climate an
soil are concerned — to grow all the Rice her inciigenous an
American population requires, and yet become a rice-exportin
country — instead of which she imports rice by the hundred
thousand-pounds' worth. Her coasts are well provided wit
fish. She should set up her own fish-curing establishments o
the seashore and send dried fish to the people of the interic
instead of importing it from Norway.
The fruit produced in the coast regions consists of coconut:
pineapples, oranges, limes, mangoes, papaws, Avocado pear:
" sour sop,'' bananas, and plantains.
Cattle thrive well in Liberia : they ought to be bred an
fattened for the West African market, likewise sheep, goat;
fowls, and ducks. Cieese will not breed in this climate, an
turkeys find it too wet.
The mineral wealth of Liberia is still an unknow
quantity ; it will he discussed in another chapter.
To quicken the stagnant commerce of this land sever;
things are necessary : imprimis, a far greater devotion to a^ricu
ture on the part of the Negro population : practical, tropic;
agriculture should be taught at all the colleges and schools
secundo, more coin, instead of paper money, should circulate
tertio^ roads must he made into the interior and European tradei
be allowed to settle at convenient points along those roads.
Present means of transport are most defective and primitive
In the coast districts there are short stretches of roads inac
by the Liberian Government, with a few wooden bridges. O
these, rudely made ox-carts ply between the plantations an
426
■^ Commerce of Liberia
the villages. Beyond the coast strip of ten to twenty miles
all roads narrow into a footpath which becomes often a mere
tunnel through dense vegetation sufficiently high for foot
passengers with loads on head or' back to pass through. In
the wet season these paths
become canals, along which
Europeans and natives can
only progress by wading,
sometimes up to the armpits.
In the far interior (/.^.
over seventy miles from the
coast) another inconvenience
to caravans arises occasion-
ally from the simultaneous
occupation of the roads by
herds of elephants, who arc
very fierce, and rush at the
human trespassers (for many
of these paths appear to have
been elephant-tracks in origin)
with angry screams and up-
lifted trunks. Needless to
say, the native porters, if ' -^
not the European master, 1
fling down their loads and
scatter into the dense forest. f^A
But when the region
^ 162. A POKTEK, MBKRIA
quite beyond coast influence
is reached, at, say, one hundred miles inland, these narrow
paths often broaden out into fine highways, constructed and
kept clear of vegetable growth by the industrious, warlike (and
often cannibalistic) natives of the far interior.
427
Liberia ^
The native porters prefer to carry their loads in the kinja^
a wicker '' pottle " or long hamper slung on the back (see Index),
but European boxes are carried on the head. In many districts
the women readily proffer themselves as porters, and carry all
loads poised on the head.
On the rivers in their navigable stretches dug-out canoes (see
p. 496) are much used for transport and travel. Horses and
I'>3. \\i>Mi.N I'OKTKKS
donkeys arc employed as pack animals by the Mandingo beyond
the forest zone, hut never within the region of dense vegetation.
The Amcrico-Liherians arc keen traders, fonder, indeed
of trade than of agriculture. Most of them, however, carry
on their business as the agents or employes of European
firms. Mr. S. Harmon, of (irand Basa, is an important trader.
Attia, a Moorish Jew, came to this country a long while ago
and, on the strength of his African nationality, was able to
428
^ Commerce of Liberia
enjoy all the privileges of a Liberian citizen. He built up a
big trading business, but since his death the firm seems to have
left Liberia. The most powerful trading house is that of
Woermann, with agencies in every port of entry ; then follow
the Liberian Development Chartered and Rubber Companies
64. CANOK-IRAVKLMNU : MurPKD H\ VllK KAI'IDS
(British), the German firms Wiechers and Helm, J. West, etc., the
Dutch East African Company, Messrs. Woodin (British), etc., etc.
The total value of British trade with Liberia in /(^o~/ was
^112,779 (imports from United Kingdom, ;f 50,069 ; exports to
United Kingdom, ^62,710) ; total trade with British Empire,
including about ^^20,000 with Sierra Leone and Gold Coast =
^132,000.
429
Liberia
The value of Liberian trade with Germany during the same
period (1904) was ^105,000 ; with Holland (about) ^{[70,000 ;
and with other countries (United States, France, Spain and
Belgium), about ^ioo,ocx5.
A list of Custom Duties in force is appended :
The regular IMPOSTS or CUSTOMS on Goods. Wares, or
Merchandise brought into this Republic arc as follows, as per Tariff
as enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Republic of Liberia. All import duties payable in gold.
Specific
Dried r'ish, per 100 lb. Si. 00 ^
Pickled r^ish, per barrel ..... i ,00
Beef, per barrel .
Beef Tongues, per barrel
Pigs' r^ect and Heads, per barrel
Bacon, per lb.
Ham, per lb.
Pickled Sausages, per lb
Sugar (Refined), per lb.
Fancy Biscuits, per lb.
Butter, per lb.
Lard, per lb.
Cand}' Confectionery, per lb
Salt, per 100 lb. .
Tea, per lb. .
Rice, per i i 2 lb. .
Common Soaj), per lb.
P'ancy Toilet Soap, per lb
Starch, per lb.
Steel, per lb.
Brass Kettles, per lb. .
Cutlasses, per doz.
Gunpowder, per lb.
Kcrosine, per gallon .
Tobacco — Leaf, per lb.
' The Liberian currency is in dollars
dollar) = 4J. 2d. English money; one cent — .Vc/. I'
430
1.^^
2.00
1. 00
.01
.02
•03
.06
.02
.04
.06
•05
.05
.10
.02
.06
.06
.02
.06
•25
.08
.04
.08
and cents (loo cents = I doHar).
nglish money.
81 (one
-•J Commerce of Liberia
Percussion Guns, each
Flint Lock Guns, each
Oven and Spiders, per lb. .
Manufactured Tobacco, per lb.
Cigars, each
$2.50
2.50
.01
.25
.01
Cigarettes ....... ad valorem
Lumber, per foot ...... .oo^
Trade Plates (not in sets), per doz. . . . .12
Basins not exceeding 12 inch, per doz. . .12
„ exceeding 12 inch, per doz. ... .25
Brandy, Old Tom Gin, Jamaica Rum, Scotch or
Irish Whisk}', and all other fine qualities of
Alcoholic Liquors, per gallon
Common Rum or Gin, per gallon
Wine, Chami)agne, Cordial, and all other Liciucurs
or Sweet Waters, per gallon
Beer, Ale, Stout, Porter, Cherry Wine, per gallon
Empt\' Demijohns, each .....
2.CXD
•75
2.00
•50
1. 00
Ad Wxlorcm
Up(-)n all other goods not enumeratetl in the foregoing, there
shall be levied and collected a Dut\' of \2\ per cent, ad valorem, tran-
sient traders not excepted.
h }'ee Goods
Seine, Lye, Thread, Agricultural Implements, and Machinery
of all kinds (Bill-hooks and Cutlasses excepted). Tools, Sewing-
machines, Palm Kernel and Coffee-bags, Shooks, Hoop-iron, Rivets,
Tenter-hooks, Musical Instruments, Books for use of Missions and
Schools, in cases of direct consignment from abroad.
EXPORT TARIFF
Export Duties are payable in gold and currency.
Palm Oil, per gallon ...... ^.01
„ Kernels, per bushel ..... .02
Camwood, per ton ....... 3.50
Rubber and Guttapercha, per lb. . . . .06 to .08
Ivory, per lb .05
Piassava, per lb 005 (half cent)
43'
l6^. A BL'SH KOAl) NKAK THE MANO KIVEK
VOL. 1
28
l.iberia ^
River discharges partly into the large lagoon known as Fishe
man I^ke and also directly into the sea, besides giving acc<
to a long creek which runs westwards parallel to the coj
and is known as Shuguri (Sugary) River. Into Fisherm
Lake also flow from the north the Morfi * and Japaka Rive
and a smaller stream called Yonni (Johnny) Creek.
Fisherman Lake, sometimes known by the alternative \
name of Pisu (which simply means *' lake "), is a large sh<
of slightly brackish water subject to the influence of the tid
It is about ten miles long and five miles at its greatest bread
with depths of from thirteen and a half to ten feet. It communica
with the sea by a narrow outlet, rather inclined to shoal wat
The entrance at once to the Mafa River and to the oul
of the b'ishcrman Lake (the delta of the river and the outi
of the lagoon being strewn with islands, big and little) is
Barmouth, immediately to the north of a little rockv' peninsi
which is a promontory of Cape Mount. At low tide tK
is only three feet of water on the bar ; otherwise there mif
be the making of a useful harbour behind Cape Mount.
Cape Mount is the most interesting and noteworthy feati
on the coast of Liberia, and the earliest known and record<
F^'or the most part the West African coast, north of the Kquat<
is low and sinj^ularly uninteresting in outline. This excessi
monotony and vagueness is broken by a few noteworthy featun
such as Cape X'crdc, which, though not very lofty, is still visit
at a considerable distance ; by Mount Kakulima and the oth
highlands near Konakri, which attracted the notice of Han;
the Carthaginian ; by Sierra Leone, with its mountains risii
to 3,OQO feet ; and by Cape Mount in Liberian territor\% t
highest point of which is i,o68 feet above the sea. Eastwar
^ Pt-rhaps " Miievi " in Vai, or it may hv the ohi trade name for Ivory (Moi
Martim).
434
S I ' " "^
KajiHn,iiiraa° ,■«'} <)*
^.I\lielimi °Srn»hunJ
' C ^ ^
I)
^ Geography of Liberia
of this there is no very noteworthy promontory on the whole
coast till the Cameroons Mountains are reached. Cape Mesurado
is a noticeable clifF, and there are some bold bluffs here and
there along the Gold Coast, but nothing which can vie with
Cape Mount, rising as it does more than a thousand feet straight
up from the sea coast, the Gibraltar of Liberia. On the northern
seaward fiice of this steep acclivity is situated Robertsport
160. nil. ^Ik)KI. «>K I l>in KMAN l.AKi; ((AIM MOLN
(Wakoro), the Americo-Liberian settlement. On the coast
for two or three miles round the shoreward face of the mountain
is a succession of small settlements, either native or Liberian.
The mission station of the American Episcopal Mission and
the factories or places of business of the foreign merchants are
on the inner shore facing Gambia Island.
It is difficult to understand how such a splendid site as
this mountainous peninsula with its spacious lagoon on the east
and half-formed seaport on the west did not tempt the nucleus
435
Lil
)eria
of the American settlers in 1822 to choose it for their future
capital instead of the less attractive Cape Mesurado. Several
times slave traders or pirates in the past conceived the idea
of Cape Mesurado as a stronghold. The last to do so was
Captain Theodore Canot, who, as related in another chapter,
was so taken with the beauty of the scenery and agreeable
conditions of Cape Mount that he resolved to lead a new life
there and settle down as an agriculturist and stock-breeder.
He would in fact have done so had not a ruthless British gun-
boat destroyed his settlement, in the conviction that he was
still carrying on a disguised slave trade.
East of Cape Mount the coast is low, and in places
swampy. It is broken by the Little Cape Mount River (called
Lofa in the upper reaches) at Half Cape Mount.* This is a
stream of some length of course, which may be the Lofa which
rises on the Mandingo Plateau. It flows in its lower course
past the Po range of hills in the Boporo country. The river
deserves to be called by its native name of Lofa, instead of
by the unwieldy term of" Little Cape Mount.'* The settlement
of Half Cape Mount was so named because it was half-way
between that promontory and the next cape.
On or near the little Poha River, a few miles to the east
of Half Cape Mount, arc the Vai and Liberian settlements
of Digbi and Roycsvillc. Digbi was often the scene of slave
raids and wars provoked by the slave trade, or of the em-
barcation of slaves down to the middle of the nineteenth
century.
A short distance beyond Poha stream (always proceeding
* The trim •'Halt'" is coiistai.tly applied to rivers or capes or places of call
all along this coast, originating from s.iilnrs, who, unable to find the native name
or to invent a distinc tive term of their own, named such places thus because they
were halt-way or halt" a days journry between one prominent feature and
another.
4 V^
A IJheriim Stream in the short Dry season
MAP lO
no-
escape Mount ^^ -
SiJcLm. Jetf
6^
CAPE MOUNT DISTRICT
Englieh Miles
o 5 (0
* — L- — i — I 1 1 I
\VM
\ym'
IIVO*
Liberia ^■
eastwards) is the mouth of the St. Paul's River. The native
name of this, the second longest and perhaps the most important
river of the Liberian Republic, is the De in its lower course,
and (it is said) the Diani higher up. Taking the source of the
Diani to be the ultimate origin of the St. Paul's River, that
stream may be said to rise in about 8' 55' N. Lat., on
the Mandingo Plateau, within a few miles of the sources ot
streams flowing to the Niger or to the River Moa or Makona.'
l'7. AT k.'l.l Ul^l'olM, CAl'K Mol M'
The approxiiiKitc Icnyth of the St. Paulas River, if its "source
(Diani) has been ;u\unitcl\' fixed by French surveyors, is about
two hundred and eighty miles. It receives several important
* A river ol" K;i«-t<'rn Si«'rra Lronc known as tlic Siilima in its lower course.
Tlif Mna Iia«^ many .tillinnts li-inu in .iiul flowing tVoin tlif north-western part of
Liht'ilan tiTritnry. tlimn^Ii tin- Mai ilii-^o tonntiy. It is curious to note that one
(jf the HKist im|)ortant ol thc^e atlluci.ts whirh rises near Tembi Kunda is known
by the name of Mch. It would !)«• intorrbting if it should turn out to be gold-
bearing in its san(N, as in this jiart of Africa, according to tradition, was situated
the Kiver of Gold of the Meli kingdom so l(»ng souglit for by the early explorers,
43«
l68. RIVER SCENE ON AN AFFLUENT OF THE ST. PAUL'S
Liberia
affluents, so far as conjectural geography goes at present. One
of these is the River Nipwe or Tige, coming from the northern
slopes of the Nimba Mountains; another is the River Tuma or
Toma. According to information collected by Mr. Harold
Reynolds, the Toma is the most important tributary of the
l6o. ON Tin: roHA KIVER
St. Paul's, and a river which should be navigable for some part
of its course.
The considerable River Lofa which flows to the west of
the St. Paul's in its upper course is said by the natives to be
the '^ Little Cape Mount River/' and not an affluent of the
Toma or St. Paul's.
The River St. Paul was, as already stated, discovered and
named by the Portuguese on St. PauPs Day. It has a very
bad bar at its mouth, and would therefore be almost impossible
440
Liberia ^
diminishing De tribe, the most westerly projection of the Kru
peoples. About the region of the rapids, the Gora race seems
to inhabit both sides of the St. Paul's River, though here
and there are trading settlements of Mandingos. On either
side of the Lower St. Paul's, however, there are frequent Americo-
Liberian settlements, the enumeration of which is given in an
appendix (No. I., p. 371). Including Monrovia in this region of
170. 1111: M. V.\[
KIN IK AIUUI m:vKNTY MIM:> FKuM 1HK|( t>Asr, IN THE
KE-.loN <»F 11^ KAriI)> AM) lALI.S
the Lower St. Paul's, it m:\v be said that quite half the Americo-
Libcrian population is settled in the region between Careysburg
and the coast. About ten miles inland from Monrovia the
country becomes hilly and picturesque. Dense virgin forest
alternates with thriving Liberian plantations of cotton, cacao,
and other tropical products. The houses of the Liberian settlers
are of pleasing appearance, generally built of shingles (flakes
442
i/I. THE *• TRAVELLER'S tree'
Liberia ^
of wood), and often attractively painted. The better-class house!
are of masonry or brick, with roofs of corrugated iron. Somt
of the villas on the banks of the St. Paul's River are of attractive
appearance, with prettily planted gardens, and of an aspect
quite cheerful for dismal West Africa. A prominent featun
in the surroundings of these settlements is the Traveller's Tre<
{Uj-aniij speciosa)^ that remarkable species of banana originally
from Madagascar which stores up water at the junction of t\x\
fronds with the stem. It is grown by the I-iberians for it
ornamental appearance, as are also oleanders, frangipani, aloes
roses, hibiscus, etc.
Monrovia is a town of two divisions : the civilised quarter
inhabited by Americo-Liberians and a few luiropean merchants
consuls, etc., is built on the top of the plateau of Capi
Mesurado,' which rises to the altitude of about two hundre(
and ninety feet above sea level. At the extremity of this plateau
which drops in a sheer cliff to the sea, is a lighthouse (Manib
Point). The second division of the town is the not unpicturesqu
Kru quarter, which is along the shore-line, both on the sea coast
near Mamba point, and also on the Mesurado lagoon. Thi
lagoon, which is really the harbour of Monrovia, communicate
with the sea between two sandbanks opposite '* Bushrod Island,"
a large island which is formed bv Stockton Creek on the east and th<
sea on the west. As already mentioned, the bar at Monrovi;
is nearly always benign, at any rate as compared with tht
landings at all other points on the coast. Between Stocktoi
Creek and New (ieoryia Creek, on the north side of Mesuradc
' Kor origin ot" the name " Mesnrado," sc«» j). 40.
^ The sea beach ol "Monrovia, which miglit be made an agreeable promenade, i
foul to nose and eye with the ordure of the Kru (juartcr, a nuisance which ought t<
be abated.
^ Named after Bushrod Washington, an original member of the Colonisatioi
Society at Washington and a nephew (?) of the first President of the United States
444
WJm%
Liberia ^
lagoon, is a large triangle of mangrove and pandanus swamp,
known as Bali Island.
Monrovia ^ itself is built on the western end of a broad
promontory or tableland nearly insulated by the creeks of the
Mesurado River on the west and north, and by the Junk
River on the east. But for the narrow isthmus between
Paynesville and the westernmost branch of the Junk River the
Monrovian or Cape Mesurado promontory would be a long island,
about thirty miles in length and an average three miles in breadth,
surrounded by the sea, the Mesurado and the Junk creeks. If
this narrow isthmus could be canalised and the Junk River con-
nected with the Mesurado lagoon, it would give Monrovia not
only safe water communication with the St. Paul's River on the
one hand, but with the Dukwia and P'armington Rivers on the
east. This would enable an enormous quantity of produce to be
brought cheaply, safely, and quickly to Monrovia for shipment
by ocean-going steamers. As it is, steam-launches and canoes
can penetrate a considerable distance to the east of Monrovia.
The streets and blocks of Monrovia are rectangular. The
town has been laid down with mathematical accuracy ; but the
broad streets are merely the surface of the ground in its natural
formation : they have never been turned into roads of even
surface suitable tor wheeled traffic. Abrupt fragments of rock
break their surface, which is mostly covered with a fine turf.
This turf is the ramification of various herbs mixed with a little
grass. It presents a lawn-like appearance from being constantly
browsed on by the small cattle which pasture on these roads
and give a pretty, almost Arcadian appearance to the capital.
In addition to cattle, however, there are pigs of a less pleasing
aspect that play the part of scavengers, a part unfortunately
^ Native name '' Diiku." The Liberian name is derived from President Mor.rce
U.S.A.
446
173- !"• ilKlV .-IKL1 1^ AND c.MlI.i: Ol' NK'NKoMA
Liberia <#-
necessary, as very little has been done to prevent oflal of all
descriptions from being thrown from the houses into the streets-
Owing, however, to the industrious pigs, who keep pace with
the untidiness of the inhabitants, the upper town is fairly clean of
aspect, and would be really smart but for the excessive growth of
herbage in places where the cattle cannot keep it under.^ The
houses for the most part are spacious and prettily coloured,
more or less surrounded with gardens and handsome trees.
There are five large and spacious churches (and one still
unfinished), some handsome Government buildings, and at a
little distance from the main town rises the gaunt iron-and-
brick structure of Liberia College.
On Mamba point, near the lighthouse, is an unfinished
fort, with the ancient historic guns of the settlement.
There is a large and sad-looking cemetery outside
Monrovia, with a view of the sea-beach below. The con-
siderable number of graves testifies to the mortality among
the American settlers. Amongst the interments are those of
wealthy or important Kru people from the native town, mostly
the wives of leading Krumen. These graves are marked by
slabs or crosses of wood on which rude inscriptions have been
painted, probably by the Kru widower. One of these reads
somewhat as follows : '' Here lies my dear wife, Upsidedown,"
the adverb being really the name of the Kruman, John Ui>-
sidedown. Between the cemetery and the town is an undrained
* My last stay in Monrovia, however, has convinced me that public municipal
spirit in that town should be aroused, not only to do away with the vegetable
growth on waste land and the refuse-heaps in back yards (which breed mosquitoes,
sandflies, and cockroaches), but also to abate the farmyard nuisance of the
domestic animals. Sleep is often interrupted at night by the incessant barking of
dogs, the squeals of fighting boars, lowing of cattle, baaing of goats, miauing of
cats, crowing of cocks, to say nothing of guntiring by watchmen, musical serenades
at untimely hours, loud talking, whistling, and singing. Some of these noises are
inseparable from town life ; but tlie pigs and dogs might be restrained.
448
^ (jcography of Liberia
SWamp used as a place for washing clothes. This, in its present
state, is unwholesome ; but the springs that feed the swamp
might well be diverted into a useful basin of fresh water, with an
overflow to the sea.
Perhaps what makes the locality so melancholy and gives
such a gloomy touch to Monrovia in general is the rampant,
choking, monotonously green vegetation, which for ever
174. A SIKI.1. 1 IN M<»NKl)VIA
threatens to smother the small settlement. No one is so
near a tree-worshipper as I am, or so keen a botanist from the
aesthetic point of view ; but I must confess Liberia is a country
to disgust one with vegetation and even with forest. It is
as though mankind in this part of Africa was fighting a well-
nigh desperate battle against the hostility of the vegetable
world. In the far interior man has won a victory which has
been almost too extreme. He has absolutely killed out the
VOL. I 449 29
Liberia ^
forest, and thus diminished the rain supply to a point whi
makes famine a possibility. Yet in the surroundings
Monrovia, as throughout much of Liberia, you feel as thouj
175. UAllUMDi: VI (.l.lAlloN- I'ANDAM S, MANGKt)VE, I'ALMS
you would like to banish the forest and the bush and begi
anew with domesticated, cultivated, and easily controllc
vegetation. Not a few of the landward streets of Monrov
450
^ Geography of Liberia
end in a wall of forest. This as it grows down to the banks
of the Mesurado lagoon (on the north and east of the Monrovia
plateau) merges into the waterside vegetation of pandanus,
176. MANGKt)Vt: TREKS, SHOWINt; AKKIAL Kt>OT.S
mangrove, raphia and oil palms, coarse ferns, draca^na trees,
bombax, Albizziciy Lonchocar^uSy and Parinarium.
There are in the natural site of Monrovia and the Mesurado
45 «
Liberia ^
peninsula the makintrs <»f a handsome and healthy city, with
its attendant plantations, farms, and pleasure-gardens. There is
no marsh in the vicinity except the small patch near the cemetery,
and the whole of the peninsula is high, fertile land, with patches
of magnificent furest.
The Mesurado lai:«»on, as already related, extends its
tidal creeks eastw.irJ.s within a short walk of the most westerly
creek of the Junk River. Navigation up these creeks can be
carried on to some extent by a steam-launch, but canoes arc
required for the narrower and shallower parts. The mangroves
lining these creeks ri^e to a fair altitude, though not to such
magniricent pr. .portions as the mangroves of the lower Congo.
As Usual, the root^ up to the highest tide-mark are often
set with o\ster clusters. On the high branches of these man-
grove^ perch th'.- white and black, pink-faced fishing-vultures,
almost the onlv si^ii of bird life, while on the mud the common
Nile crocodile atul the short-headed crocoJile may sometimes
be seen. Cirev manuMbey and greenish colobus monkeys
frequent the thicker part or" the mangrove bush ; but all this
region, like so nuich «»f the coast-belt of Liberia, is singularly
lacking i?i aniiTi:il l:fe. N(^rrhwards of these creeks of the
\Iesuravio the -munvi rises :md the scenery becomes agreeable
to the eve. Numerous plantations, belonging, with one exception,
to Americo-l jberians, J^ot the country behind Monrovia in the
direction of the ^r. Paul's Kiver.
The Mount Barclav plantation (Louisiana) belongs to the
Liberian Rubber Corporation. It was initiated by an enter-
prising Bavarian name*.! I lumplinayer. Here the ground rises
to about four or five hundred feet, and from this point a
view of M()nro\ia can be obtained, twenty miles distant.
Along the roads to this and similar plantations are charming
avenues of oil palms, coffee trees, oranges, and raphia palms.
45-'
177. FOREST ON THE LANDWARD EDGE OF THE MESURADO PENINSULA
Liberia ^
An occasional Borassus fan palm towers above the other trees,
or even higher than the Borassus reach the climbing Calamus
palms, which scramble higher than the highest tree-top and
wave their hooked branches in the air. Much of the forest
round about Monrovia is enlivened with the brilliant white
bracts of a Muss^cpida^ these large, smooth, pure-white leaves
looking as though they had been cut out of velvet.
The Junk River, which is fed by streams from the
Mamba country to the north, is a long, winding, tidal creek
that flows almost parallel with the coast for about fifteen miles.
In its eastern half it is really the estuary of two rivers, the
Dukwia and the Karmington. The Dukwia is a rather im-
portant river which is navigable for about thirty miles (it is
very winding) from the sea to the last rapids, a little beyond
Saddle Hill, a mountain sait/ to be nearly two thousand feet high.
The source of the Dukwia River is unknown. It may possibly
have a course of about a hundred miles, and it flows through
a country in its upper part exceedingly rich in indiarubber and
covered with the thickest forest, much and dangerously
frequented by herds of elephants. A rough road exists from
the Liberian settlements on the lower Dukwia and Junk Rivers
overland to Careyshurg, Crozerville, and White Plains on the
St. PauTs River. I have not personally visited Saddle Hill.
It would be interesting to ascertain if its altitude really is two
thousand feet, as in such case it ought to be a valuable and
easily reached sanatorium for Monrovia, since it is close to
the banks of the Dukwia River, where it is still navigable from
the sea upwards. At the mouth of the joint estuary of the
Junk, Dukwia, and Farmington Rivers is the important settle-
ment of Marshall, a place of growing importance, founded
by the Liberians about 1828.' Unfortunately, the entrance
' Named after Chief Justice IVIarshall, U.S.A., the biographer of Washington.
MAP II
Liberia '^■^
to the Junk River at Marshall from the sea has a very bad
bar, or this would become an important ix)rt, as it would receive
produce from so many directions by cheap and easy inland
water carriage. Marshall and the other Liberian settlements
on the adjoining rivers have an Americo-Liberian population
of about eight hundred.
From the Mano River on the west to the Farmington
River on the east are the coast boundaries of the county of
Montserrado. This is the largest province or county of Liberia,
though its inland boundaries, with the adjoining county of
Grand Basa, have not yet been fully determined up to the
French frontier on the north. They are assumed to take
a straight line in a north-easterly direction from the source
of the Little Basil or Farmington River. The county of
Montserrado therefore contains nearly the whole of the basin
of the St. PauTs River. Originally there was another county
to the west of Cape Mount — the Gallinhas or North-Western
Territories ; but when the frontier agreement with England
pushed hack the Liberian boundary to the Mano River, this
definition was alxmdoned, and the territory between the Mano
and Cape Mount was added to Montserrado County. The name
'' Montserrado*' has given rise to manv conjectures. Amongst
others it was supposed to be derived from the West India
island of Montserrat, called by the Spaniards Montserrado. As
a matter of fact, it is nothing else but a mis-spelling of
'* Mesurado." The Americans who first dealt with the question
of Liberian colonisation, not understanding the Portuguese
word " Mesurado,'* wrote the cape " Montserrado.'' As Cape
Mesurado was the principal settlement, it gave its name under the
corrupt form of Montserrado to the province of which it is the
capital. In this form the name of the province has been so long
established that it is impossible to change it back to Mesurado,
45 ^>
The \cll()\v-n<)u creel Miissn-ntlti , with W'iiitc Sepals, so common in
the Liberian Hush {Mii.s.swmlit conophnrynfii/olitt)
178. MANGROVE TREES ON THE BORDERS OF THE MESURADO LAGOON
Liberia -^
^
The Farmington or Little Basa River is the northern
boundar)- both of the Basa people and county. Basa is a native
tribal name covering a section of the Kru races. The Basa
179. DKNSK lU .sll wriH U H ITK-l.l.AVI .1) Ml'.sS-KNDA. WILD COFFKE, ETC.
people speak a dialect closely resembling the Kru, but physically
they seem to be rather a mixed Negro stock. Occasionally
types amongst them are seen which strongly suggest an
45S
(
-»i Geography of Liberia
ancient infusion of the Mandingo tribes, while others are
the most hideous examples of the broad-nosed, prognathous,
thick-lipped Guinea Negro. The principal river of the Basa
county is the St. John's (Portuguese, Sao Joao). This is also
known as the Hartford River, and a small western affluent is
called the Mechlin, after Dr. Mechlin, one of the founders
of Liberia, who did something to settle colonies in the Basa
country in 1830. The St. John's River rises, it is supposed.
180. A ROAD M:.\K ['HE ST. l»AL"l.".S KIVLK
near the conjectural Mount Bo, on the western limits of the
Satro range. Midway along its course it flows past the important
Finley Mountains.^
There are considerable Liberian settlements at the mouth
of the St. John's, Edina, and Upper Buchanan. The pro-
montory of Grand Basa Point, together with certain reefs on
the coast, to some extent protect the anchorage in this bay
* Named after Finley of the American Colonisation Society.
459
Liberia ^
of CJniiul Basa, a bay which with but little work in the
wav ot breakwaters might become a very decent harbour.
As it is, the surf on the l^each is nearly as bad as elsewhere
on the LilxTian c<iast, and landing or embarking is always a
matter of uneasiness. On the south side of the bay is Lower
Buchanan, where most of the foreign factories are situated.
Close to I.nwer Buchanan is the little Biso (Bissaw) River,
v \ N . \ : A
■>
av.v:
\' V *
.. .%
sm::
v-^.
.-"
l\
;s ^'
* s.*
sc::'
^..,,
two
V V
•::.:
'■ . J >
K-.xcr.
.i«
» -v.
Y.n:
nc
s^
:>:o
>:
M.i
Ksur
c\
>■.■■»,
l\:: in-.
w.i<
S..l\0
ruiary site of the old Norman
•c cast of Cirand Basa Point
::a:r.e which goes back some
is New Cess or Pua (Poor)
:he adjoining village of
of Theodore Canot.
> s::uitoi a: the m,nuh of the
.i:
l82. ON THK UUTSKIRTS OF MONROVIA
N
Liberia ^
Between the Cestos River and the Sanguin there is the
important native town of Rock Cess. All this part of the
coast is dangerous from rocks and reefs, one of which bears
the Portuguese name of Diabolitos, or *' Little Devils." The
Sanguin River is the eastern boundary of Basa County. It
is a stream of some size, which rises in the Nidi Mountains
and flows through the Sikofi country. East of the Sanguin
mouth on the coast is Bafu Point, a notable promontory, and
eastwards of this again are the Tuba and Butu Rivers, with
various Butu villages between, villages which are also supposed
to have been sites of Norman settlements.
The entrance to the Sanguin River is, like so manv other
ports on the coast of Liberia, beset with rocks above and
below water, some of which might be blown up and others
marked by buoys. But from the south, with a turn to the
east, there is a fairly clear entrance over a bar which is
better than the bars of most Liberian rivers, inasmuch as it
has from nine to ten feet of water in the shallowest part at
lowest tide. The long spit of land, which is called Wilson
Point, should form an excellent protection against the surf
inside the bar, and there are distinct possibilities therefore
about the Sanguin River as a future port of some iinportance.
The Sanguin River is the western boundary of the Sino
County, named after the Sino River, which was also called
by the Portuguese Rio Sao Vicente or Rio Dulce. Sino
is a native name, either for the river in its lower course
or for the district, which was noted by the Portuguese as
far back as the sixteenth century.'
To those who are greedy of sensational experiences I
recommend a landing at the mouth of the Sino River at a
* The pronunciation of tliis word should be Sino, very like the English *' snow.'
It is more convenient — once tiiis is understood— to spell the word S/fto.
464
MAP 13
VOL. I
30
Liberia <•-
time of the tide and year when the surf is bad. Leaving
the steamer at a distance of about three-quarters of a mile
off Blubarra Point, they will be rowed over the lumpy waves
for a distance of a mile before the actual danger commences.
To avoid the worst of the rollers they will have to pass
very close to the Savage Rocks on North Point, rocks which
above and below water exhibit sharp fangs, on which with
the slightest contact a boat would be instantly impaled. To
the west and north are great sandbanks on which the breakers
are foaming angrily, and chains of rocks or rocky islands.
As the extremity of North Point is reached, the boat,
propelled with all the vigour of Kruboy arms and with all
the way on her, is suddenly arrested by the force of the
tremendous current of the Sino River, which pours violently
as from some cataract round North Point into the sea. If
the tide is at the ebb, it is well-nigh impossible to withstand
the force of this current which is striving to dash the boat
on the savage rcKks or fling it on the sandbank where
the surf would brcdk it to pieces. But the Kruboys know
their danger, to which they have become used and callous
and though the boat may remain stationary for half an hour
while the hoys strain their muscles to keep it from gliding
backwards (m to the rocks or the shallows, it begins at length
to move forward bv inches and feet till North Point is rounded
and the boat makes its way up the relatively tranquil stream
of the clear ri\cr to the Liberian town of Greenville, which
was founded in 1S3S.
Greenville is a town of pleasing appearance, with well-
built houses and regular streets ; but here again, as at
Monrovia, the rampant vegetation has to be fought. Away
behind the town there is gracious forest, and the bush along
each side of the red roads is full of interest to the botanist.
466
184. .VEGETATION IN SINO COUNTRY : CYRTOSl'KRMA AKLMS, PAl.MS, KTC.
^
Lil)eria <•-
Every little dike or pool of water is sprinkled with a very
delicate pink orchis, which apparently grows on the surface
of the water. The Cyrtosperma arums with their purple and
green spathes line the outskirts of the forest. There is a
beautiful little water-lily with blue sepals on the lagoons or
creeks near the river. Three or four miles up its course from
the sea, the Sino River receives a creek which connects it with
the Butu River farther north, so that the town of Greenville
and the other settlements are really on an island. The Sino
River can be navigated by canoes for about fifteen miles from
its mouth, though usually caravans disembark at a place called
Jacktown, nearly opposite the mouth of the Butu Creek. The
Sino River rises in the Niete or Nedi Mountains, close to the
Cavalla watershed, and flows through the Putu country.
With the Sino River may be said to begin on the west
the true Kru country. The real Kru language is spoken between
the Sino on the west and Grand Sesters on the east. A creek
starting off from the eastern bank of the Sino River near its
mouth runs parallel with the Kru coast at a distance of two
or three miles from the sea, with one or more openings, as
far as Little Kru River. The country behind this long creek
is hilly, almost mountainous. The most important river of
the Kru country between Sino and Grand Sesters is the Dewa,
which the Portuguese called Rio dos Escravos. This rises also
in or near the Nicte Mountains, not far from the sources of
the Sino and (irand Sesters Rivers. All along this coast are
the villages of the Kru seamen who are employed on the
steamers plying on the West African coast between the Gambia
and Angola. A g(M)d many of these steamers now recruit their
Kruboys at Sierra Leone, from the colony which is established
there ; but those which are proceeding to the Bights of Benin
and Biafra call oft' the Kru coast for the canoes of boatmen
468
MAP 14
KRU VILLAGE ON THE COAST
Liberia ^
more to the west than was expected when the 1892 treaty
was made.
186. ELRcI'KAN I RA\ 1:1.1.1 Ks CRosSlNt; A KIVKR IN LIBERIA
About Grand Sestcrs the Kru race changes into the Grebo,
closely allied to the former in language. There are no rivers
of any importance east of the Grand Sesters until the Cavalla
472
The Hoffmann River, Cape Palmas
^ Geography of Liberia
River is met with, at once the boundary and the most southern
limit of the Republic of Liberia. There is, however, on the
coast of Maryland that rare feature in Liberian geography,
an island, something more than a mere rocky islet, called Old
Garawe, which lies off the mouth of the small Garaw6 River,
and is about three miles long, being separated from the main-
land by a broad creek. The western approach to the River
Try or Garaw6 is beset with rocks ; but the eastern end of
187. IN A KRL' VILLAGE
this Garawi Island might be inspected with a view to the creek
behind it forming a harbour. There is said to have been an
old French settlement at Garawi, as there was also at Grand
Sesters.
A remarkable reef of rock stretches out into the sea near
the mouth of the River Dia and to some extent prevents the
approach to Fish Town, a Liberian settlement on a promontory
which was called Cape Sao Clemente by the Portuguese.
473
Liberia ^
Beyond this is Rock Town, an important Grebo settlement,
where a Grebo king resides, and beyond this again is the cele-
brated Cape Palmas, an attenuated headland plumed with groves
of coconuts. A rocky island called after Governor Russwurm
lies off Cape Palmas. The harbour of Cape Palmas is the
mouth of a lagoon-like river of short course, which under the
■i8. Mlv^ioNAKY (. (»I.l.K(;i., HAKI'KK, i'AVE PALMAS
name of Hoffman ii rises a few miles back in the interior in
two branches.
The name of the Liberian town at Cape Palmas is Harper,^
very prettily situated on the palm-tufted promontory. This is
perhaps the town of most pleasing appearance on all the coast
of Liberia. The houses are well constructed, with red roofs,
green palings and white fronts. They are built of brick, stone,
or wood. Besides handsome coconut palms, there are many
' Named after Robert Goodloe Harper.
474
^ Geography of Liberia
bouquets of vegetation. Brightly flowering oleanders fill most
of the fi-ont gardens, together with Pride of Barbados (an
acacia-like tree with splendid scarlet blossoms), bread-fruit
trees, oranges, bananas, borassus palms, and oil palms. The
town is cleaner, quieter, and better-governed (municipally) than
Monrovia.
There is nothing about Cape Palmas to suggest ill-health.
A strong breeze blows all day off the sea, the roar of which
189. "OLEANDERS FILL MOST OF THK FRONT GAKDKNS"
is never out ot one's ears. The red promontory with its green
vegetation is girdled with a ring of foam. The temperature
of the air around is seldom oppressively hot, owing to the sea
breeze ; while in the height of the rainy season it is often too
low — sixty- nine degrees — for West Africa ; eppur si muore ! — -
or at least one can fall very ill at Cape Palmas, not only from
ordinary fever but from black-water. This is one of the
unexplained mysteries, because owing to the strong winds
mosquitoes are seemingly absent.
475
Liberia ^
Harper is practically the port for the i
because the mouth of the river has a very h
tor the Cavalla River therefore are always landed
going steamer at Harper, and sent on their d<
overland to the Cavalla or along the coast ant
Ii/x (AIM. lAl.M \-> (IN 1 oKl.t.kUlM)) : "IIIK l-KOMONloKV
Willi A RIN<i OF FOAM"
of that river. There is a salt-water lagoon C
which goes nearly half-way trc^ni Harper to th
Sometimes goods are sent to the eastern extremit
by canoe and are then conveved along the t
porterage to the Cavalla mouth.
The Cavalla River is probably the longest s
476
-Pi Geography of Liberia
It rises, so far as our information goes, in the high mountain
mass of Nimba, nearly under the 8th parallel of N. latitude
(in the vicinity of a place called by the French Fanha), under
the name of Diugu or Yubu. Perhaps its farthest source
com.es just under the highest point of the Nimba Mountains
(approximately 6,560 feet). The extreme Upper Cavalla or
Yubu would then seem to flow through a valley or pass
lyr. A KUAL) IX MARYLAND
between the Nimba Mountains on the west and the lofty
Druple range on the east, the latter a mountain mass with
an approximate altitude of 9,840 feet. The Diugu or Yubu
then flows south-westwards till it comes in contact with
another range of mountains, vaguely and perhaps incorrectly
called Satro, the culmination of which seems to be Mount
B6. To the north of this range the Yubu turns abruptly
477
fl.'
-Pi Geography of Liberia
It rises, so far as our information goes, in the high mountain
mass of Nimba, nearly under the 8th parallel of N. latitude
(in the vicinity of a place called by the French Fanha), under
the name of Diugu or Yubu. Perhaps its farthest source
comes just under the highest point of the Nimba Mountains
(approximately 6,560 feet). The extreme Upper Cavalla or
Yubu would then seem to flow through a valley or pass
Nimba Mountains 011 the west and the lofty
eastj the hitter a mountain mass with
of 9,840 feet. The Diugu or Yubu
rds till it comes in contact with
tains, vaguely and perhaps Incorrectly
lition of which seems to be Mount
'this range the Yubu turns abruptly
477
Liberia ,
in a sharp bend to the south-east. Captain Woelffel, a French
officer who has surveyed the northern part of Liberia^ thinks
that at this abrupt bend to the south-east the Cavalla receives
another affluent, nearly equally important in volume — the Nuon
or Western Cavalla, which also rises (according to his statements)
in the Nimba Mountains. Captain d'Ollone, however, argues
that the Nuon docs not join the Cavalla, but flows either towards
the St. Paul's or to the Farmington River. Captain d*01Ione
.^ .-.J.
.Io2. " HAI.I (AVAII.A- mi. 11 A( H NKAR THE MOlTII .<)F TlIK CAVALLA RIVER
asserts that the natives who accompanied himselt and the civil
administrator, Hostains, said that the Cavalla receives no
important affluent above its junction with the Duobe. In any
case, it seems correct to regard the Yubu as the main stream
of the Cavalla. I'he Ximha Mountains also, according to the
I^Vench surveyors, give rise to the Tige or Nipwe River, which
joins the St. PauTs. Our knowledge, however, of the hydro-
graphy of the innermost parts of Liberia is still extremely vague.
47S
Liberia ^
After its bend to the south-east the Cavalla is generally
known as Diugu or Duyu. From its supposed junction with
the Nuon it flows in a south-easterly direction for about a
hundred and fifty miles, and then turns abruptly to the south-
west and south, receiving an important aflluent at Fort Binger,
and a little farther on being joined by the Duobc. This last
river seems to have its ultimate source on the northern flanks of
Mount Bo, a lofty peak of the Satro Mountains. The Duobe
flows nearly parallel with the assumed course of the main
Cavalla, and receives a large number of affluents from the
northern flanks of a more or less continuous mountain range
(heavily forested) known as Satro on the west. Nidi, Nedi, or
Niete in the centre, and Kelipo in the east, each prominent
peak having its individual name. Mount Keta in KeiipK) is
said to be 6,000 feet high. Below its confluence with the
Duobe, the Cavalla receives the Neka on the east and the
Bwe on the west ; and below that the Nokba and the Kiki,
which is its last affluent before it reaches the sea. The Kiki
has some length of course, as it rises on the southern slope of
the Kelipo Mountains, and flows for about fifty miles south-
east before it joins the Cavalla.
The Cavalla is navigable for boats from its mouth for
about eighty miles up-stream. Except near the coast, it flows
through the most densely forested countries of Liberia, and,
according to the Krcnch, past tribes of people who are
ferocious cannibals of well-developed physique. Yet these
races — which seem, from the very little we know of them and
their languages, to be distantly related to the Kru stock — have
developed a certain amount of civilisation. They are industrious
and skilful agriculturists, and their houses are well built. The
Cavalla is crossed in many places by wickerwork bridges of
lianas and palm midribs. In some of these districts the natives
480
VOL. I
31
Liberia ^
have made quite broad roads for a considerable distance from
village to village.
This eastern half of Liberia is perhaps the most mountainous
part of the country. The highest summit of Mount Druple,
which lies a few miles outside the Liberian frontier on the extreme
Upper Cavalla, has an altitude estimated by Woelffel to be
3,000 metres (9,840 feet). Of course this is mere guesswork,
195. \ ii.i..\<;k in ki 1 11 l:<
)rM KY, AHOl T.A HUNUKKD MILK^ h KOM THE* CoAST :
\I. or LIHKKIAN (OM.MIS^IONKR
as is the similar estimate of 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) for the
highest point in the Niniha mountain mass. Still, both altitudes
are conceivable, as the bVench travellers who have passed in
this direction seem to have been much impressed with the
loftiness of these mountains. Captain d'Ollone even hints
that there may be higher peaks than the two mentioned about
the upper waters of the St. Paul's River and its numerous
affluents. He caught fleeting glimpses of masses towering above
482
^ Geography of Liberia
the clouds. If all these estimates be correct, then Liberia,
within its limits or a few miles outside its borders, presents us
with the highest land in the whole of the western projection
of Africa. In the Futa Jalon highlands and the hinterland
of Sierra Leone there is, so far as we know, no mountain
that reaches to 6,000 feet in altitude, nor has anything as high
I<>6. KIKI RIVKR, AN AFFLUKNT OF IHK LOWKR CAN ALLA
as this been reported along the course of the Niger. The
nearest rival to these alleged high mountains of Liberia would
be the volcanic peak- of the Cameroons, a thousand miles to
the east. If the guess of Captain Woelffel as to the height
of Druple be at all correct, it should possess a remarkable
alpine flora, interesting alike from a negative and a positive
Vhe. great .ounu.ns i-, ^"^ '"LT ^...^.^
sanatoria for .he northern par. "^ L'^^r- -^
of the Niger, and might ""'- >' *" ^'J^U S*. '
from the LilK-rian coast-line and '«"•."•'='■ ^^ ^
The southern range of —;» "" ;i«cW
Cavalla basin on the south and west (»t
Liberia ^
Very little is known even by hearsay of the upper course
of the St. PauFs River within the forest area. Northwards of
the forest, the French and English boundary commissioners
lOi). IK \\ I 1. 1. I.N". rHRi)r(;iI I he KoRtST CLKARINGS
IN A HAMMO( K
from Sierra Lconc have explored to a certain extent. They
have discovered the sources of the Niger affluents, streams
flowing to form the Rivers Sankarani, Milo, and Niandan ;
486
200. A FOREST CLEARING
Lil^eria ^
they have placed on the map the source of t
River Lofa, the ultimate destination of which
many unsolved problems of Liberian geography
the upper waters of the Tuma or Toma River anc
affluent of the St. Paul's ; or it may flow ir
Little Cape Mount River or the Mano (Bewa]
even be the easternmost affluent of the in^
or Makona. The ultimate source of the Mako!
9^' 5' N. lat. It flows south-east, south-wc
nearly due west, until after its junction with
turns once more to the south-west and enten
Sierra I^one territory under the name of Sulima.^
system drains the north-western part of Liber
nearly all the affluents arc united in a single st
into the colony of Sierra Leone. The northeri
Makona basin may probably become French in reti
from .France to Liberia in the Cavalla basin.
To the west of the lower half of the St.
south of the Tuma, is a diversified, hilly, or cvei
stretch of country, with ranges that are called
There is probably no altitude exceeding 3,00c
direction. In this district is the important to\^
which has been known by name to Europeans
like eighty years. Boporo would seem to ha^
importance through having become a Mandingo c
are a good many trading stations of Mandingos
west of the St. Paul's River, from the Man
to the verge of the Americo-Liberian plantatio
Anderson visited Boporo in 1868, and calculat
at 564 feet above sea level. According to Ande
he crossed the St. Paul's River (more probab
• Oltcn railed in past times Solyma.
488
20I. A FOREST CLEARING : WASHING CLOTHES IN A BROOK
202. A POOL IN THE FOREST
Liberia ^
masses of granite, gleaming with the watercourses that slip
down their precipitous sides. During the rainy season, the
noise of all these cascades creates a perpetual roar like thunder.
Although Anderson implies that the luxuriant forest region
continued to the north and east of the Buzi country, he
nevertheless leads one to infer that a good deal of clearing
has gone on in Bu/iland, producing wide, grassy plains between
the forested hills, plains in which rice, sorghum, and ground-
nuts are cultivated, the last-named food-product being produced
in enormous quantities. Beyond the Tuma River the open
grass country l>ecomes more frequent, with marshy tracts which
Anderson descrilxfs as cane-brakes, and fields of wild rice. The
soil is hard red clay (disintegrated granite), strewn with pebbles
and iron ore. v^till farther to the north-east, on the verge of
the Mandingo country, the oil palm ceases, and vegetation
becomes more scanty. The soil (he writes) is so ferruginous
that it appears in many places to be a solid mass of iron ore,
so that the beaten roadways traversed by men, horses, and
donkeys shine like polished metal, and are almost impassable
in the dry season, owing to the frightful heat which they
radiate in the sunshine. There is a sparse vegetation of grass
and scrubby bushes in this burning land, except of course in
the vicinity of watercourses.
According to Anderson, elephants swarm in great herds
in these territories, which are a kind of no-manVland
between the true ManJin(ro country and the more forested
tracts inhabited by the Buzi and Gbalin peoples. In this
no-man's-land he mentions the \'ukka Hills (known as ^* Foma "
by the Mandingo), in which the town of Vukka, belonging
to the Buzi people, is situated. Muhammadu (also called
Musomadu) is (or was) a large town, surrounded by a
quadnlateral clay wall diverMtied with bastions, these walls
492
203. EVENING IN THE FOREST
205. THE MANO RIVKR FROM MINA (WESTERN BOUNDARY OF LIBERIA)
Lil)eria ^
descriptions of Anderson, at any rate in the north-eastern p
of Liberia. It was not until the Hostains-d'OUone mission f
passed entirely outside the basin of the Cavalla that they quiti
the dense forest for a park-like region, which in its turn sc
gave way to the more arid condition characteristic of the wh
Central Sudan, from the Upper Niger right across to Lake Gl-
and Wadai. A small portion of this relatively healthy, si
200. A DUG-OLT C ANOE
smitten country, so well suited to a pastoral existence and &
raising of vast numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, com<
within the political limits of Liberia, if France gives the forme
country her due under the treaty of 1892. But five-sixths (
Liberia will remain a forest region, only modified by the clearing
of the Americo-Liberians on the coast and of the more industrioi
agricultural tribes in the interior.
496
1
1
>F^:"a»^"*'
CHAPTER XX
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL
THE climate of Liberia is essentially equatorial ; yet small
-though this country is in geographical extent, it has by
no means a uniform climate over its surface of 43,oc>D
> square miles. Beyond the forest region, on the Mandingo
Plateau^ the annual rainfall does not exceed 60 or 70 inches ;
there is a perceptible dry season between November and May
during which vegetation becomes very parched, and at this time
of the year the nights are cool — cold indeed where the ground
rises above 3,000 feet in altitude. In this northern part of
Liberia, judging from the experiences of Benjamin Anderson
and of various French explorers, the summer time, or at any
rate the beginning and end of the rainy season, would seem
. to be the hottest period of the year, with a temperature
rising well above 100" Fahr. in the middle of the day. On
the other hand, the winter or dry season is not only cool at
night, but the mid-day temperature is not fierce at that season
of the year. In fact, though no part of Liberia reaches much
farther north than the 9th degree of latitude, the interior regions
beyond the forest can show something like a winter.
In the forest region, however, and along the coast the dry
season is very attenuated, and, except no doubt on such high
mountains as have not yet been explored, the thermometer
probably never descends much below 55°. Throughout this
forest and coast belt of Liberia the few dry months arc
VOL. I 497 32
Liberia ^
at once the coldest and the hottest. These are December,
January, and February. February is the coolest and the driest
month in the year. At this time in the interior or twenty to
fifty miles from the coast, the thermometer may descend at
night and early morning as low as 54^ Fahr. But in the
middle of the day, on the other hand, it may easily reach 100^
in the shade. From these extremes the temperature during the
other months of the year gradually diminishes, till about 75^ may
very well be the scarcely varying temperature of night and day.
In the height of the rainy season — August — there may
be a distinct lull in the rainfall, though the sky is constantly
covered with clouds. At this time the temperature, even at
such an equatorial place as Cape Palmas (little more than four
degrees north of the Equator), may scarcely exceed 69" in the
daytime, and perhaps fall to 65^ at night, so that the middle
of the rainy season is usually regarded by the Liberians as
the coolest time of year, though actually the lowest temperatures
(as well as the highest) are recorded in the three dry months
between December and March.
The accompanying tables will illustrate the fluctuations of
temperature in the various months of the year. The highest
shade temperatures as yet actually recorded in Liberia were
105 ' on December ist, 1904, on January 31st and on February
20th, 1905, at Sikombe Station, in the Sikon country to the
north of Si no. This seems to be an exceptionally hot place
for the'coast-lands of Liberia. During the months of December,
January, and February temperatures of lOO' and loi ' F'ahr.
were trequently registered at noon, while the night temperature
was generally 80 to 83'. At Putu station, about the same
distance from the coast, and some thirty miles to the east (both
stations being only a few hundred feet above sea level), the
temperatures during the dry season were much milder. The
498
Climate and Rainfall
tioon heat seldom went higher than 87^, and only once in
December and twice in February reached as high as 90^. In
March there was a slight increase of temperature, which
occasionally went up as high as 93° at noon,
I At Mount Barclay, twenty miles from Monrovia, the shade
I temperature at noon was only once recorded as reaching 100°
(at 2.30 p-ni,), on February 3rd5 1905, in the height of the
dry season.' The shade temperatures at Monrovia itself are
somewhat lower than at Mount Barclayj which is farther inland.
At both places the extremes of heat and coolness are much
I less during the rainy season, when the highest day temperature
seldom goes above 85^ or at night-time below 75"^, February
I 2nd, 3rd, and 4th showed, curiously enough, the lowest tempera-
ture of 1905 at Mount Barclay (near Monrovia), Sikombe, and
IPutu, At Sikombe, evidently a place of extremes, on February
2nd the thermometer at 6 a.m. registered 56"^, on the 3rd 57^,
and on the 4th 57^ At Putu, thirty miles to the eastwards^
58° was registered on the same three days at 6 a.m. On
the other hand, at Mount Barclay on February 2nd, 3rd, and
4th the thermometer did not fiill lower than 64"^ at 6 ajn.
Ordinarily, on cloudy days during the three dry mojiths and
through the remainder of the year when the rains are on, the
range of temperature in all parts of the coast of Liberia is not
extreme, generally averaging from 74'^ at 6 a.m. to 88° at noon,
The strong sea breeze which for something like eight
months of the year blows from the south over the cool Antarctic
current materially relieves the heat all along the coast-line of
Liberia, but its effects do not reach very far inland. During
the months of December, January, and February the north
I wind or Harmattan takes its place. This blows from the
' Ju March and April, 1905, at Mount Barclay sun lemperatyres of \2v' and
1 1 5"* were Fegistercd conciirrently with shade temperatures of 95 " artd 63''*
499
Liberia ^
Sahara Desert, and although its intensely dry character Is
materially diminished by passing over the well-watered valley of
the Upper Niger and the dense Liberian forests, it is neverthe-
less a dry wind, sometimes hot and sometimes cold, which parches
everything to an inconvenient extent. For something like nine
months of the year the tendency in the coast-lands of Liberia is
towards excessive humidity, with all its consequences of rust and
mould. During January and February the drying influence of
the Harmattan is so extreme that it is scarcely a remedy.
The worst months of the year for storms are March
and April. Thunder-storms also occur in November, De-
cember, February, and May, but very seldom in the height
of the rainy season. In March and April they can be very
violent and dangerous. No one who has visited Equatorial
Africa needs to be reminded of the appalling storms which occur
there in certain months of the year — how following on stifling
heat and a fearful stillness comes the devastating tornado,
succeeded by thunder and lightning and a deluge of rain, during
which the lightning continues for an hour or so. In such
countries as Liberia all buildings which rise to any height
should be furnished with licrhtning conductors.
It is doubtful whether Liberia is the rainiest country on
the West Coast of Africa ; the palm may have to be awarded
to Sierra Leone, where 1 believe in one year (1901) a downfall
of 175*4 Inches was registered. It is only since 1904 that any
attempt has been made (by the employes of the Monrovian
Rubber Company) to register the rainfall continuously month after
month. Records even for the first twelve months of observa-
tion are unfortunately not quite complete at any one station ;
but taking ten> months' observations of rainfall at Mount
Barclay coupled with a record of the missing two months
(September and October) at the not far distant station of
500
^-m Climate and Rainfall
KakatowHj we arrive at a total of /jj ipfc/ies as the rainfall
registered in the southern part of the county of Mesurado,
behind Monrovia, for the twelve months from September, 1904,
to the end of August, 1905. From other observations which
have been taken, I have reason to think that this record of
153 inches 'is not an extreme one, but represents something
like the average annual rainfall in the roasi regions of Western
Liberia, between Cape Mount and Grand Basa.
Judging by the rain records at Sikombe and Putu in
the county of Sino, the year's rainfall from September, 190+,
to the end of August, 1905, stands approximately at 100 inches ;
but this is not a complete or reliable record. I have been in-
formed by an American missionary that the annual rainfall at
Cape Palmas was computed to be about loo inches. Mr.
Alexander Whyte stares that the southern half of Liberia has
a distinctly less rainfdl than what may be attributed to the
northern halt'^ and this opinion is shared by a good many
Liberians. I believe that the approximate average annual rain-
fall on the British Gold Coast is something like 90 inches per
annum/ It may be, therefore, that along the West African
coast-lands the rainfallj which is only about 35 inches at St.
Louis at the mouth of the Senegal, increases gradually in volume
eastwards and southwards till it reaches its culmination in the
colony of Sierra Leone and the western parts of Liberia, gradually
to diminish in volume as far as the Gold Coast, and then to
increase again to the heavy rainfall of the Niger Delta,^ Old
Calabar, and the northern Cameroons, where it is "approximately
120 inches per annum- The southern part of Sierra Leone
is in all probability the wettest part of tropical Africa, with
the exception possibly of one or two isolated mountains.
> Western Gold Coast, 92*5 ioche
' Lagos rainfall, 1901, 112*5 inch<
FOI
Liberia ^
The driest month of the year in Liberia is February. In
the vicinity of Monrovia in 1905 only 2 millimeters (about
one-sixteenth of an inch) fell during that month * on three days,
as against nearly 2^ inches (54*7 mm.) of rain in January
on 4 days, over 5 inches (127*3 ^^') of rain in December
on 8 days, and i-j^ inches (28*2 mm.) of rain in March on
5 days. In April at the same station (Mount Barclay) the
rainfall increased to 5;^ inches (133*3 mm.), and occurred on
19 days out of the 30. In May the rainfall rose (occurring on
nearly every day of the month) to over 19 inches (500*7 mm.),
in June to 33 inches (840*2 mm.). In July it fell to a little
over 22 inches (574*1 mm.), and occurred on about 25 days
in that month. In August the proportion of fine days was
more considerable — about 1 1 in the month ; but the total rain-
fall was heavy, rising to over 29 inches (744*2 mm.). In
September " the rainfall at Kaka Station sank to about i 7 inches,
and in October (also at Kaka) to about 8 inches ; in November
it fell to 6 inches. During the same twelve months the greatest
amount of rainfall which occurred in twenty-four hours at Mount
Barclay was nearly 8^ inches (214 mm.).
The most unhealthy months of the year seem to be
September and October, partly no doubt on account of the
soaked condition of the land. December is not a very healthy
month after the Harmattan wind sets in with its alternate
dry cold and fierce heat. The most agreeable month of the
year perhaps is February. I found August in 1904, however,
not much to complain of, although it was in the height and
middle of the rainy season, because at that time there is usually
' At Sikombe, or Sikon, on the other hand, over 3^ inches fell in February, and
at Putii not quite i inch.
' On the other hand September in most other parts of the Forest region of
Liberia and even the coast belt is usually the wettest month. Captain d'Ollone
in Kastern Liberia recorded rainfall on 27 out of September's 30 days.
- 2
t§
Climate and Rainfall
■■
F
June,
1905
D^ie
Minimetm, Date. MittLnivtePi*
1
* * * * •
121-1
16.
2^0
2.
t * *
2^3
17.
«'7
.1-
. .
46" I
18.
■ 5-6
4.
« ,
64
19*
2-8
5-
< .
24-8
20.
97
6.
, .
J 1-9
21.
2-0
7^
HI .
9
22,
19'^
8.
. .
4-6
33^
. 1 8-4
9'
, »
44-8
24.
. 25-0
lO.
. .
yo
25.
18'2
11,
. .
20^8
26.
4-8
12.
. .
108^0
27.
6o'0
U-
* .
6o-6
28,
. 30-2
14-
, ♦
. J54'3
29-
8-8
vs-
. .
4-5
30.
7
1
Millimeters
. 840-2"
f
ytiry, lyos
Date
Ulllimeters.
1-
Slight Showers
I'O
3.
tt »t
8
3«
til it
«^$
4-
ff i»
1-7
S-
11 IT ■ ■
87
6.
M It
8*1
7'
II t*
67
8,
It 11
5 "4
9'
ft f • ■
15/0
lO.
t* It « ■
rCy
II.
tt It
■V' —
13.
Storms
l6-4
S3*
Stormy
ITS
14.
Nil. 9 haurs' Sun
n^
Vl ft It
—
1 6.
17*
Heavy Storms
ft ft
: 'i^.6^'-*.-.
r8.
Nil ..
—
19*
VI > < * » "
■ —
, 30*
ShowerB
107
isu
Nil ..
^5-
Storms
ft
■ ^'^' \ JO'3
19*2 J ^"^ ^
, 24.
Nil ..
—
25.
It - ■ • » ♦
■ —
26.
Heavy Storms
61-2 J
27.
Showers . . , ,
9'0 > 102-5
38.
M
* i^iS
29,
,,
30-0
30*
11 , «
29-2
3i^
Rain ail day
46-2
Millimeters
S/4'i'
' EquiiU 5^ lBclfc« J aifiiimeteps. ' Equal* 31 indies 51 miffimeteis. p t WhiCKER,
L
S«5
Liberia
TEMPERATURE
Mount Barclay Station
February t 1905
IMte.
•.m.
Fktar.
Fahr.
p.111.
Fahr.
1.
6.15
64
12.0 noon
90
Q.O
73
2.
6.44
64
1.30 p
.m
98 ..
9.0
74
3-
6.45
64
2.30 p.
m.
100
9.0
75
4.
6.30
64 .
2.0 p.m.
93
9.0
76
5.
6.0
64
12.0 noon
92
8.15
76
6.
6.30
69
12.0
f
94
9.0
77
7-
6.0
71
12.0 ,
»
91
9.0
78
8.
6.30
74
12.0
9
88
9.0
77
9.
6.0
73
Absent,
( Engine
House
..
9.0
77
10.
6.0
70
1 2.0 noon
86
9.0
78
11.
6.0
73
12.0
►»
QO
9.0
76
12.
6.0
67
12.0
M
85
9.0
77
13-
6.0
65
12.0
l»
90
9.0
76
14.
6.0
67
12.0
>t
Q2
9.0
75
15.
6.0
7^>
12.0
»»
89
9.0
77
16.
6.0
68
12.0
,,
QO
9.0
76
17.
6.0
72
6.0 p.i
m.
80
9.0
76
18.
6.0
73
12.0 noon
QO
9.0
79
IQ.
7.0
74
1 .0 p.
m.
86
9.0
80
20.
6.45
75
12.0 noon
90
9.0
80
21.
6.0
75
Engine Room
1 12.0 noon
88 1 ••
9.0
79
22.
6.15
75
i Engine
( 12.0 no
Room
• \ ..
9.0
80
on
91 )
23-
6.0
7^>
12.0
)«
91
9.0
85
( Office 90 \
24.
5.3<^
7^>
12.0
»»
\ ]
Engine }
8.0
80
1 House 93 )
25-
q.o
77
12.0
,,
88
9.0
80
26.
6.15
77
12.0
f)
86
9.0
78
27.
|.()
7^>
12.0
»»
86
9.0
80
28.
5.0
74
12.0
»»
90
9.0
80
Afyril,
1905
Date.
a.m.
Fahr.
Fahr.
p.m.
Fahr.
I.
6.0
73
i.o p.m.
Noon.
86
..
9.0
76
2.
6.30
;i
12. C)
85
9.0
76
3-
6.^0
73 Mist
12.0
87
9.0
77
4.
6.0
74 ..
12.0
86
. . .
9.0
78
5.
6.0
76
12.0
95
Sun 103
9.0
74
6.
6.0
r>9
12.0
89
„ 103 .
9.0
77
7.
6.0
74
12.0
90
„ 105 .
9.0
78
8.
5.30
72
I2.f)
90
„ 108
9.0
77
9.
6.0
70
12.0
88
., 105 .
9.0
77
10.
6.0
71
12.0
91
„ 100
9.0
76
11.
6.0
74
12.0
98
„ no
90
80
506
Aprii, 1905 (canlinued)
Dflt*
SoQI
NKn
Nuon.
ruhr.
fkRi. Falir.
12,
<-30
72
12,0 Breeze
87 Sun log
9.0 78
^3^
6.C
1
74
U*o
93 " HS
9.
0 79
14.
6-c
)
72
12.0
92
9,
0 72
IS^
6,c
)
7a
12.0
89 ^^
9'
Q 7^
16.
6x
I
70
12,0
89 Sun 106
9'
0 78
17^
5-30
69
12.0
88 ,. 107
9-
0 78
iS,
6.C
71
J 2*0
79 ■
Q.O 76
19-
6.C
73
t2.0
89 Sun 108
9-
0 78
20.
6.Q
6g
12.0
95 ». I ' I
9*
0 77
ai*
6.C
74
1 2,0
86 ..
9-
0 78
22.
6,0
74
12.0
tK> Sun 1 10
9<
0 79
23-
aa
73
12.30
87 ,.
9^
0 74
24'
5-45
74
12.0
87 Sun 107
9'
0 78
^5^
6.G
76 .
12.0
90 „ no
9*
0 76
26.
6.0
74
1 2.0
94 i. 105
9'
0 79
27,
6,0
7S
1 2,D
73
9-
0 71
28.
6.0
69
12.0
89 Sun 101
9.
0 77
ag.
6.0
74
12.0
9t P. 1*11
9.
0 78
30.
7.0
7a
12.0
r/Q „ 108
9.
0 79
Junet iiyOS
Dale.
l.m.
Faht
Noon,
Fabf
p-
m. Fahi
I.
6.0
74
Ram _ 12.0
81
Rain
Q'O 77
Rain
2.
6.0
74
Fine
12.0
gj
Cloudy ^ .
^\
0 77
Fine
3'
6.d
75
Cloudy .
12,0
81
Rain
8
J 5 71
Rain
4-
6.0
74
Rain
12.0
S7
Fair
9
" 74
Fair
1-
5.30
74
Cloudy .
12.0
75
Rain
9
0 75
Fine
6.
6.0
73
Rain
12, Q
85
Fine
9.0 76
ti
7-
5^30
74
Fair
I 2.0
S3
Cloudy . .
y.jo 74
Fair
a.
5.J0
73
Fine
12.0
80
Rain
9
0 7$
Rain
9'
6,0
74
»»
. 12.0
81
IT * .
7-
3" 7?1
„
10*
6,30
73
11
. 12.0
85
Cloudy , .
8.
3t> 77
Fine
T 1 .
7*3*3
74
Rain
12.0
Ss
Rain
Q.o 71
Rain
12.
6.30
74
ft
12, a
81
Stormy . .
y.2o 76
Fine
M-
6.30
74
*»
. 12.30
80
Rain
<h
0 74
Rain
14
6.0
73
*«
. 12.0
77
n ■ •
9-0 74
ft
J 5'
6.0
73
Dull
12,0
Kt
Dull
8.0 74
Fair
16.
6,jo
74
Kain
12.0
81
Rain
8.
30 74
0 73
Fine
Dull and
»7^
6,30
74
»t
. 12.0
77
»i • "
8.
Damp
18.
7.0
74
Cloudy .
. 12>0
So
If « *
8,
15 72
Rain
i9'
6.15
73
«i >
12.0
80
ii« ' *
9>o 74
Fine
20.
6.0
73
Hain
12,0
So
tf . .
8.
0 74
tt
G.o
73
ti
12.0
79
Dull
9^
0 75
pi
22.
6.0
74
Cloudy
12*0
84
Showers . .
9-
D 75
Cloudy
23.
6.0
74
Showcr^i . ,
12*0
$1
Cloudy . .
9.
0 74
tv
24.
6.0
73
Clouds .
12.0
77
if * *
9.
0 75
Cloud.^
25.
7.0
74
Stormy . .
12.0
80
Showers . ,
9^
0 74
It
36.
6.0
73
Fine
12.0
84
*» ■ "
9-
0 71
IV
^7*
6.0
74
VI * ,
I2.Q
80
VI . *
9'
0 75
„
p8.
6.6
7$
Ram
12*0
«3
Fair
9*
0 75
Fine
6.0
73
Storm}^^ . .
12,0
74
Ram
9-
D 74
Rain
'50.
6,0
73
Clear
.,
12.0
85
Qear
8*
D 74
Fine
507
Liberia ^
J^9
1905.
Otte.
«.«.
Mv.
NOM
Flow.
p.m.
FBhr.
I.
6.0
70
Fine
12.0
80
Fine *
Sun nil
9.0
7S
Fair
3.
7.0
75
ft
12.0
«5
fff
ft >f
9.0
74
Fine
3-
6.0
74
99
12.0
80
Showery
ft »f
8.30
73
Rain
4-
6.0
73
Damp
12.0
82
»f
fff tf
9.0
74
Damp
5.
6.0
7S
Clouds
12.0
75
Stonny
»» »f
8.0
74
Rain
6.
6.0
73
Rain
12.0
76
Showery
tff 1
9.0
74
Fair
7-
6.0
73
Fair
12.0
80
Clouds
tt 1
8.0
72
f f
8.
6.30
72
Rain
12.0
74
Rain
»f 1
8.30
73
**
9-
8.0
73
Fair
12.0
73
>•
»» 1
8.30
72
Rain
lO.
6.0
73
»f
12.0
76
Showery
»» 1
8.0
73
»f
II.
6.0
73
Clouds
12.0
80
Fine
» 8s F
.8.30
73-
Wind,
Fine
12.
6.0
71
Fair
12.0
75
»»
„ nil
8.30
74
f f
13-
6.30
73
Rain
12.0
77
Fair
»»
»
9.0
73
f «
X4-
6.0
72
Sun
12.0
82
Fine
„ 98
9.0
72
f>
!$.*•
5-3Q,'
70
Fine
12.0
88
»»
ff 99
9.0
74
ff
i6.
•74
Rain
12.0
7^
Fair
„ nil
9.0
72
Fair,
17-
6.30
71
Rain
12.0
75
>f
tf
f
9.0'
71
Rain
la.
6.0 •
73
f»
12.0
80
f»
ff 1
t
9.0
74
Fair
19.
6.30
7S
Fair
12.0
85
Fine
ft
f
9.0
75 •
Fine
20.
6.0
73
»»
12.0
82
t>
f»
t
9.0
74
ff
21.
530
72
Mist
12.0
79
Fair
ft
t
9.0
72
Lightning
22.
6.0
71
Rain
12.0
79
Rain
t»
,,
8.30
74
Rain
23-
8.0
73
»»
12.0
84
Fine
>f
f
9.0
73
Fair
24.
6.0
73
Fair
12.0
81
Fine with
breeze
Fine
'}•■
>
9.0
73
ff
25-
6.36
73
Fine
12.0
83
„ 102
9.0
75
Fine
26.,
6.30
73
>»
12.0
79
Showers
„ nil
9.0
74
Showers
27.
6.0
72
Rain
12.0
80
,,
»»
9.0
'73
Rain
28.
5.15
73
Cloudy
12.0
72
Rain
»»
8.15
72
Fair
29.
6.30
72
Rain
12.0
71
f>
f»
8.0
72
Rain
30-
5.30
72
Mist
12.0
73
»»
»>
8.30
72
Fair
3^.
6.30
72
Rain
12.0
73
»»
ff
8.30
72
f f
F.
J. Whicker.
TEMPERATURE
Monrovia, Liberia
September, 1905 ^
Records of Temperature taken at 6 a.m., verandah of dwelling-house,
Monrovia, for preceding twenty-four hours. 28° Centigrade = 82*4° Fahf.
197- = 65°. ^
Centigrade.
Centigrade.
CenUgrade.
Centigrade. ^
Date.
Mio.
Max.
Date.
Min.
Max.
Date.
Min.
Max.
Dfcte.
Min.
Max.
I.
2000
26-50
9.
23-00
26-00
17-
21-90
26-00
24.
21-90
26-75
2.
20-00
26-00
10.
21-75
24-90
18.
22-50
25-50
25.
22-50
26<9o
3-
1975
25-75
I I.
21-90
23-80
19.
22-50
26-00
26.
22-50
27-50
4-
22-25
25-75
12.
21-75
25-00
20.
23-00
27-00
27.
22-00
25-00
5.
22-50
25-50
13-
22-25
25-50
21.
23-20
28-00
28.
22-25
26-50
6.
22-50
26-00
14.
23-00
2650
22.
22-00
25-50
29.
22-00
27-00
7-
23-00
27-25
15.
23-00
27-00
23-
23-10
27-00
30.
22-00
26-90
8.
22-50
25-50
16.
22-50
26-50
H. Reynolds.
508
^ Climate and Rainfall
RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE
SiKOiN Station, Eastern Liberia
October r 1904
Date.
Ritm&ll.
Temp
rem p.
Temp.
1
6 a.m.
Nixii],
fip.tB.
RcRtirks.
k
Inclin,
Fahr.
J
rihr.
Fahr,
1 I-
0.0 1
72
S9
77
. , Heavy thunder ail day
^ 2
^^
71
87
7-3
. - Bright day with showers
3-
oaH
71
83
71
. , Bright day, chilly evening
4-
0.24
71
85
71
* ' F* •> It f«
S-
0.04
72
87
76
* , Bright day, dull towards evening
6,
I 47
70
85
73
Alternate sun and cloud
7-
0,22
72
83
74
, . Doll day with thunder
8,
0.16
72
80
70
.. Dull all day
9.
0,07
71
86
7^
, . Cloudy all day
IOp
0.16
69
86
IS
. . Bright day, slight breeze
II.
—
70
91
76
Ver>' close and sultry
J la.
—
71
90
73
. . Close and sultry with heavy showers
to ward i> evening
'3'
1-33
71
S7
73
. . Alternate sun and cloud
14>
0, 16
7^
82
73
. . \'cry cool and 'showery
IS-
aji
71
81
7S
S h 0 w e ry f 0 re noo n . b ri^ h t a f t e r wardi
16.
0.23
71
on
76
Dulh with occasional sun
17.
o»40
7^
%2
74
Showery ah day
18.
0.14
71
8m
7S
. . Bright day
19.
—
7:2
02
75
. . Sunny, with occasional showers
20.
0.03
7^
*
^J4
75
. . Briglit day
2 1.
o,ii
7i
S2
74
Showery with occasional sun
23.
0.20
71
MS
7S
Bright day
33. ^
0.04
7"'
04
7^
, . Bright forenoon, hea\^ showers
afterwards
2^.
0.29
7^
90
74
Sultry with heavy thunder showers
«.
0.21
7^
91
1^
Bright forenoon, heavy thunder
and lightning in afternoon
r 26,
0.07
7^
g6
74
. . Cloudy all day
* 27-
* 9*05
71
*
101
77
Bright day
2g,
— "
6q
i<^3
7S
.". Bright day, occasionally cloudy
29.
' , — -
6g
\
97
76
»* *♦ VT »«
30-
-^
70
80
73
" . , Dull\day with heavy showers
3I'
aSs
7*
87
75
. . Bright day, slight breeze
Total
> .^
inchest '''''^
Average 0,26
71.
06
»8*S
74.<
36
1
February ^ 1905
■ Dil«, RainfkJL Tcoip. Temp. Tfciop,
1
6 2.tn. Nooo
, 6p,in.
Rem*rki.
f
tnchcL Fahr. J
Fahr,
F«br.
I,
—
63
97
73
1 *
C4jld morningt bright dav
2»
—
56
96
69
IV It It »f
3^
—
57
100
70
l« iv *i •«
4-
~
57
96
7<5
4* *• fl *•*
^ Climate and Rainfal
Ociobtf 1904 {continued)
Dttc.
EainfalL
Temp.
Temp,
Temp.
Sunrise.
Noon.
SUD^tt
ln£hc0,
Fohr.
Fahr.
Falir.
rg.
-^
74
83
76
20t
oa:»7
71
84
76
21.
o-o8
7^
80
78
22.
0-04
74
85
74
23.
■ —
74
82
78
24.
o\17
74
82
78
^5-
0*0!
74
80
77
26,
■
74
82
76
27.
■
73
86
76
28,
74
88
77
2Q.
—
74
88
82
30,
0*17
71
86
85
73
82
78
Total inches 3-95
February 1005
Dfltc?.
RahifuH.
Temp.
TeittE}.
Temp.
Sutirisf^.
Haaa.
Suntet.
Iricht-a.
Fihr.
Kihc.
Filir.
K
—
63
m
84
2-
—
58
86
75
3-
—
58
m
76
4.
—
58
86
76
5'
—
64
86
70
6.
—
08
86
78
7-
— •
68
^^4
80
8.
—
68
S4
80
9.
—
74
8fi
7^
10.
—
jii
86
80
IT.
—
7t>
86
80
li.
—
7S
86
82
U'
0*25
74
84
80
14*
0-23
74
85
76
15.
.
74
80
75
16,
—
74
CJ<>
82
]7^
—
74
88
So
18.
—
76
82
80
i9«
—
74
i}iy
80
20*
—
74
86
80
21.
—
74
86
78
22.
0^03
75
84
80
23-
—
74
88
80
24-
—
74
m
8a
2S-
0-40
74
86
80
26.
—
74
88
80
27.
.
75
84
80
28.
—
75
86
80
'r„i-i i_
^
■t-% t*
Total inches ao I
D. Sm.
SJ'
Liberia ^
July t6ik to August 15IA, ISK>$
T««p.
Tea
Rate .
Noo
Jiy
G»gc
Fahr.
Fal
16.
0*85
70
8:
17-
0-79
70
7J
18.
0-93
71
7^
19.
—
71
8<
20.
0-09
7"
8<
21.
—
72
8(
22.
—
72
7fi
23-
—
72
7^
24.
0-07
73
7|
25.
' —
72
7i
26. Travelling : no obscr\'
ations.
27.
»» »• •»
28.
—
72
7^
29.
—
7i
8(
30-
0*65
72
7^
31-
0-27
73
7<
AuKu«t
1.
—
73
. 7>
2.
—
71
7<
3.
0-(K;
72
7^
4-
71
7;
5.
72
8c
6.
71
7(
7-
70
7;
«.
70
7i
9.
67
7^
10.
70
7^
II.
60
7;
12.
r><;
7^
13-
68
7^
14.
0-65
rx>
7^
15.
073
68
7A
Perc
;i2
J
CHAPTER XXI
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS
HE petrology of Liberia is still very little kriowji'^-almost
^^j^^ unknown would be the correct phrase. It is a land
^f which rises gradually from the sea coast, with a very
diversified surface of hill and valley till the open coLintry of
the Mandingo Plateau is reached on the extreme north^ where
I the average altitude is about 2,500 feet above sea level. Nowhere,
so far as we know, is there any large extent of marsh in Liberiai
or any sheet of open water big enough to be styled a lake,
though during the rainy season — from May to October^ — a good
deal of the coast country is under waten The rivers have
tumultuous courses, strewn w^ith rocks and cataracts, and, with the
exception of the St, Paul's and Cavalla Rivers, tidal influence does
not reach more than a few mile*^ inland from their mouths.
The petrology of the coast is to some extent hidden under
recent alluvium covered with mud, mangroves and pandanus,
or with a growth of dense forest or plantations. Much of the
surface of Liberia is Archsean, references to the " Miocene "
characteristics of its fauna and flora ^ not being intended to
convey for an instant the idea that there are any deposits of
so recent an age as the Miocene in its geology. The rocks
arc mostly metamorphic, and include gneisses of various k!nds>
* Meaning, o( course, that there ia mwth in the existing fauna and flora of
Liberia which suggests affinities wilh the fnuna characteristic of France and
Gennany in the Miocene age.
VOL, I 513 33
Liberia ^
granuUies^ amphibdiie {hornblende)^ groHiies^pegmaiiies^ znd quartz
veins, together with the various products of the decomposition
of the above-named rocks. There is laterite overlying much
of the coast r^ons. Mr. Benjamin Anderson, who explored
the north-western parts of Liberia at the end of the 'sixties,
records that the rocks on the verge of the Mandingo Plateau
were mosdy quartz and granite, while the decomposed granite
produced that red ferruginous clay so familiar to all who have
seen the parklands of tropical Africa. This clay of decomposed
granite is strewn with round quartz pebbles.
The promontory of Gipe Mount is mainly of gabbro ^
formation, sprinkled with the same quartz pebbles. Gabbro is
also seen in parts of the headland of Mesiirado; tor a considerable
distance inland behind Cape Mount the formation is granite
capped with rotten ironstone. Heavy black sand is very common
here, according to Captain Scarvell Cape. The same explorer,
who visited Western Liberia in 1903, describes the formation
near the Lofa River about fifty miles inland as being clay-slates^
diorite, and ironstone. He thought in the country between the
Lofa and the Mano Rivers tin might be discovered. The rock
about the lower rapids of the St. Paul's River is amphiboUte (a
form of hornblende)^ and here, as in many of the stream valleys
of Liberia, are beautiful translucent quartz crystals which over
and over again are mistaken by the Americo-Liberians for
diamonds. Some of these quartz crystals are so hard that they
will scratch, if not cut, glass, and their appearance, with their
regular facets, often of hexagonal shape, is certainly very like
that of a rough diamond. The present writer has obtained
these same quartz crystals on the top of Mount Mlanje in
* Gabbro is a compound Archaean rock composed of triclinic felspar and
diallage, sometimes mixed with olivine or hornblende (both of these last being
silicates of magnesium), quartz, magnetic iron and apatite (phosphate of lime).
^ Geology and Minerals
South-east Africa, and believed at that time he had picked
up a handful of diamonds. Greenstone or diorite and olivine-
diabase (an old eruptive crystalline rock) are found in the
Mesurado peninsula, also in the region of the Cestos River.
Laterite (disintegrated gneiss), as already mentioned, over-
20J. QUARTzriK orrrRoi* nkar tiik'st. paul'srivekj
spreads the rocks of much of the coast formations. It is
spongy and pitted with shallow holes, but hardens under
exposure to the sun and weather. It is often intensely red in
Liberia ^
colour, and makes admirable road material. Grey gneiss is the
rock formation of much of the interior of Central Liberia, of
the regions through which flow the Dukwia, Farmington, St.
John's, Cestos, and Sino Rivers, with here and there an outcrop
of red granite and hornblende. Quarrzite and conglomerate ' are
found in parts of the Dukwia region. Saddle Hill is chiefly
quartz-rock (quartzite) on its surface.
All these central regions of Liberia are rich in mica-schists^
which are found in such large slabs that the laminae of mica
might almost be valuable enough for exportation. In the eastern
part of Liberia (county of Maryland near the west bank of the
Lower Cavalla) there is a good deal of corundum'' {alumina).
This formation has been inspected pretty closely by two
expeditions sent out by the Chartered Company, in the hop)e
that it might contain sapphires^ rubies^ and perhaps topazes ; but
nothing of this kind has yet been found, though the two
former stones are merely variants of corundum and the topaz
is also an aluminoid compound.
In 1903 a Liberian official came to England to exhibit a
small ^//V7W(^W of about 10 carats which it was alleged had been
found in the county of Grand Basa, about twenty miles from
the coast. I'he land from which the diamond was said to have
been obtained was leased to a (ierman syndicate, but so far as
present information goes, no trace of any geological formarion
likely to contain diamonds has yet been met with in that region.
It is much more probable that the eastern parts of Liberia may
be found to contain sapphires, rubies, and such other precious
stones as arc mere variants of corundum.
^ Specimens of sand from the St. Paul's River consist mainly
shingle. ■ l""I.lin«-.to.i.- •■ : formed of consolidated gravel or
ofmetal'Zt'no"„LT-,nn'" "',''''""•'"''"" '^^""talaing as mu.h as 50 percent.
'"' "■"••■ l^-cause <.f its great hardness.
5'6
Liberia ^
of ilmeniie (tttantferous iron ore), with some magneiiiCj zicron^
garnet^ hornblende^ and iourmaline^ and in the rocks from the
same region there is magnetite and limoniie. In sand from
Mount Barclay, twenty-two miles from Monrovia ^nd within
six miles of the creeks leading to the Mesurado Lagoon, monazUe
was present. (It is from this mineral that mantles are made
for incandescent gas-burners.) In this same district zinc ore
was present.* Nearer the east bank of the St. Paul's River, a
sample of sand contained games and ochreous iron ore. Other
specimens were varieties of schist. From the Lower St. Paul's
River, however, come numerous specimens of specular magnetic
iron ore. From the same country, to the east of the Lower
St. Paul's, come copper pyrites and iron pyrites^ and some of
the mineral specimens suggest the presence of cobalt. Magnetic
iron ore seems to be present throughout the greater part of
the coast regions of Liberia. Benjamin Anderson asserts that
the soil of the northern parts of Liberia is so full of iron that
traffic on the paths causes them to shine like steel ; but how far
this information is to be depended on the present writer cannot
decide. Specimens of nearly pure copper have once or twice
been brought by natives from some region of Western Liberia
to the Sierra Leone territory and also to Monrovia ; but the
place of origin of these samples has not yet been identified.
Numerous quartz veins and outcroppings suggest that this
might be an auriferous country. Certainly the Mandingos of
the far interior seem to obtain gold from some local source,
but whether this is within the political limits of Liberia has not
yet been ascertained. The Liberian Development Company has
sent several expeditions into the interior to look for gold since
1900, with no very encouraging results. In 1903 Captain
Scarvell Cape tested the sands of two small streams emptying
* As zinc-blende with quartz veins, or zinc-bleiide with calcite veins.
5'8
\
into the Lofa (Little Cape Mount) River, and each pan returned
from six to twelve colours of ^' moderately heavy gold/' In
this region he found the river sands distinctly auriferous, but
could find no trace of gold in the quartz reefs,
h is thought that gold might be obtained by dredging the
bottom of the riven. It has been suggested that it would be
wiser for prospectois to select those quartz veins with a likely
"gossan'' and to crush several pounds of this quartz on the
spot, and search for gold either by panning or dry vanning.
What discourages all work of this kind at present is the
difficulties of locomotion^ and especially transport of any heavy
machinery.
It was at one time rumoured that there were indications
of coal in Liberia. Apparently the only support to this theory
was the digging up of large fragments of charcoal — charred wood
—which after some forest fire or clearing of a plantation had
been buried and had in the course of time assumed a rather
coal-like appearance. Fhere is nothing as yet discovered in the
rocks of the country to lend any strength to the supposition
that Liberia contains coal ; but in several places there are in-
dications of the possible existence of mineral oil, and as some
form of petroleum has been discovered in the very similar region
of the Canieroons it is not impossible that it may be brought
to light in the rock formations of Liberia.
There are indications of slow subsidence taking place along
the Liberian coast. No traces have yet been found of any
volcanic activity of a later date than the Primary epoch* It is
possible that the whole of this coast between Cape Verde and
Cape Palmas is the African end of the bridge which inienniitently
connected West Africa with Northern South America down to
^"^ 'ate a period as the end of the Eocene (early Tertiary) ;
idge by which the ancestors of the American monkeys,
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11