Please see the [Transcriber’s Notes] at the end of this text.

LIBERIA:
DESCRIPTION
HISTORY
PROBLEMS

BY
FREDERICK STARR

CHICAGO
1913

Copyrighted, 1913
By FREDERICK STARR
CHICAGO

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
WILLIAM N. SELIG
OF CHICAGO
IN EVIDENCE OF APPRECIATION AND AS
A TOKEN OF REGARD

PREFACE

Africa has been partitioned among the nations. The little kingdom of Abyssinia, in the north, and the Republic of Liberia, upon the west coast, are all of the continent that remain in the hands of Africans. Liberia alone is in the hands of negroes. Will it remain so, or is it destined to disappear? Is it a failure? The reports which have so frequently been printed in books of travel and elementary treatises of ethnology appear almost unanimous in the assertion that it is. Yet there are those who believe that the Black Republic is far indeed from being a failure. We are not willing to admit that its history and conditions warrant the assumption that the black man is incapable of conducting an independent government. A successful Liberia would be a star of hope to the Dark Continent. In Liberian success there lies African Redemption; redemption, not only in the religious sense, but redemption economic, social, governmental. If the black men can stand alone in Liberia, he can stand alone elsewhere; if the negro is able to organize and maintain a government on the west coast, he can do the same on the east coast, and in the southern part of Africa. Africa is restless under the white man; it makes no difference whether the ruler be Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, or English, the native is dissatisfied under the present regime. It is recognized that a spark may cause a conflagration through negro Africa. On the other hand, the colonial burden of the European governments grows heavy; the trade advantages of holding Africa might be equally gained without the expense and trouble of administration; it is mutual jealousy, not great success, which holds the European powers in Africa. Were each convinced that withdrawal would not give advantage to other powers, that abdication would not be recognized as weakness, that free trade with black men might not result in individual national advantage, they would be quite ready to withdraw from the Dark Continent. In every colony the native is advancing; education becomes more general; it must continue to diffuse itself, and with diffusion of knowledge among the natives, restlessness will be increased; the colonial burden will become heavier,—not lighter. If Liberia prospers, it will stand as an example of what black men can do to all the other negro populations of the continent; its example would stimulate advance for all; the sight of enterprises originating with negroes and carried out by them would give heart and stimulus to negroes everywhere. This does not mean that all the European colonies should necessarily become republics; far from it. Nor would it mean, unless the home governments were blind and ignorant, a necessary severance between the mother country and its colonies; it would, however, lead to a great measure of home rule and to a large development of self-government. Wauwermans, years ago, recognized the powerful influence which a successful Liberia must needs exert. He says: “From this little state, the size of Belgium, whose population does not surpass, including the natives, a fifth part of the population of our country, will go forth perhaps some day the best imaginable missionaries to extend over the Black Continent the benefits of civilization and to found the free United States of Africa, sufficiently powerful to defy the covetousness of white men and to make justice reign, so far as it can reign among men.”

One of the most thoughtful writers regarding the Republic is Delafosse who, for a time, was French Consul at Monrovia. He has written upon Liberia on various occasions, and what he says always deserves consideration. On the whole he is not a hostile critic, having a rather friendly feeling toward Liberians and being deeply interested in the Republic. We translate some passages from his writings, as his point of view is original. He says: “If one consider the Liberians superficially—civilized, clad, knowing how to read and write, living in relatively comfortable houses,—one will probably find them superior to the natives. Actually, they are rather inferior to them, as well from the moral point of view as from the point of view of general well-being.”

Further on he says: “First, along the coast and in the east, we see the Krumen, a race of workers, energetic, proud, and fighters, but honest, rejoicing in a fine physical and moral health, jealous of the virtue of their women, of a most careful cleanliness. What a contrast do they make by the side of the idle and nonchalant Liberians, expecting everything from the State, subject to every kind of congenital disease, and in particular to tuberculosis, never washing themselves, nourishing themselves with food which a native slave would not accept, decimated by a considerable mortality, having generally very few children, of whom, moreover, the greater part are born scrawny, weak, devoted beforehand to an early death!

If we cast our eyes upon the natives of the west and north, the Vai and other tribes of the Mandingo race, it is a different grade of comparison which offers itself to us, but always to the disadvantage of the Liberians. These natives, half islamized, have, much more than the Liberians, the sentiment of human dignity, and their costume, fitted to the climate and the race, far from rendering them ridiculous, as the European does the Liberians, is not devoid of a certain æsthetic character. They have, the Vai and the Manienka, above all, a superior intelligence of commercial affairs. The Vai have even a self-civilization which makes this little tribe one of the most interesting peoples of Africa; alone, of all the negroes known, they possess an alphabet suited to the writing of their language, and this alphabet, which they have completely invented themselves, has no relationship with any other known alphabet. A Vai native named Momolu Massaquoi has just established at Ghendimah, not far from the Anglo-Liberian boundary, a sort of model village, and in this village, a school where he proposes to teach the language and the literature of his country. I do not know what is the result of this attempt, but it seems to me interesting, being an attempt purely indigenous in character toward perfectment, attempted alongside of the effort toward perfectionment by adaptation of European civilization which has so badly succeeded in Liberia.”

Again, after having given an attractive description of the first impression made upon the stranger by Liberia and its inhabitants, our author proceeds to say: “Now, the spectacle which offers itself to the eyes of the visitor is less beautiful. It is the spectacle of a nation in decadence. And this fact of a nation not yet a century old which, starting from nothing, raised itself in twenty years to its apogee, and has commenced, at the end of barely sixty years, to fall into decay, this fact, I say, deserves that one should pause, for at first sight it is not natural. And it can only find its explanation in the theory which I attempt to develop here, to wit: That the negroes in general, and the Liberians in particular, are eminently susceptible of perfectionment and progress, but that this perfectionment and this progress are destined to a sudden check, and even to a prompt decadence, if one has sought to orient them in the direction of our European civilization.

I have said that the spectacle which offers itself today to the eyes of the visitor is that of a nation in decadence. In fact, the beautiful broad streets cut at the beginning still exist, but they are invaded by vegetation and guttered by deep gullies which the rains have cut and which one does not trouble to fill up; the enclosing walls about the different properties are half destroyed, without any one’s seeking to repair them; a mass of houses in ruin take away from the smiling and attractive aspect of the city; even houses in process of construction are in ruins; a superb college building erected at great expense upon the summit of the cape, is abandoned, and one permits it to be invaded by the forest and weathered by the rain; the stairway which leads to the upper story of Representatives’ Hall, having crumbled, has never been reconstructed, and a sort of provisional flight of steps has been for years back the only means of access which permits the cabinet officers to enter their offices; the landings waste away stone by stone, and it is difficult to draw boats up to them; the shops where one formerly constructed vessels and landing-boats, have disappeared; roads, from lack of care, have almost everywhere become native trails again; the plantations of sugar-cane and ginger are matters of ancient history, and fields, which formerly were well cultivated, have returned to the state of virgin forest; coffee plantations have run wild, choked by the rank vegetation of the tropics. The level of instruction has lowered, the new generations receive only an education of primary grade; of the University of Monrovia there remains only the name and some mortarboard caps which one at times sees upon the heads of professors and candidates.

All, however, is not dead in the Republic. There is yet a nucleus of Liberians of the ancient time, remarkably instructed and civilized, excellent orators, fine conversationalists, writers of talent. There are also among the young people some choice minds, who desire to elevate the intellectual and moral level of their country and who seek to do so by published articles, by lectures, by literary clubs, and by new schools.”

There is much food for thought in these statements of Delafosse. Some of his arraignment is true; on the whole, it is less true to-day than when he wrote. There was a period when the Liberians were quite discouraged and things were neglected. Much of this neglect still exists. It would be possible to-day to find houses falling to ruins, crumbling walls, guttered streets, unsatisfactory landing-places. But a new energy is rising; the effects of efforts put forth by the nucleus which Delafosse himself recognizes as existing in Liberia are being felt; contact with the outside world with its stimulus, sympathies, and friendships, warrants the hope that the future Liberia will surpass the past. We make no attempt to answer Delafosse in detail; in the body of our book most of the questions raised by his remarks are discussed with some fullness.

In this book we attempt to represent the negro republic as it is—Description, History, Problems. We have desired to paint a just picture; some may think it too favorable; to such we would say that, when there have been so many unfair, unjust, and biased statements, it is necessary that some one should say things that are favorable, so that they be true. We have no right to demand more from Liberia than we would expect from any white colony with everything in its favor; yet that is precisely what everybody does. We demand perfection. We forget that perfection is not yet attained in any country, among people of any color. It is unreasonable to demand it in a small African republic of black men. There is no fairness even in comparing Liberia with English and French colonies like Sierra Leone and Senegal. They have had much done for them. The financial resources, the trained forces, the wise judgment of rich and powerful nations have aided them. Liberia has worked alone, blindly, in poverty.

While to some we may seem to paint an unduly favorable picture, it is probable that Liberians will claim that we have dragged some things to light which should be left unmentioned. We have mentioned many of the weaknesses of Liberia and her people. This has been done for several reasons. It is a good thing to “see ourselves as others see us”; the weak points of Liberia are always emphasized by critics, they can not well be ignored by friends. If we are to improve, we must clearly realize the opportunity and necessity for improvement. The worst things, after all, about Liberia are largely inherent in its form of government, or are due to the descent of the Americo-Liberians from American slaves. They must fight against these inherent dangers and tendencies of democratic government and against the disadvantages of American inheritance, as we do.

From time to time, in reading, we have gathered a considerable number of quotations from Liberians, past and present, which seem to us of special interest and pertinence. These we have prefaced to the chapters and sub-divisions of our book. They are all expressions of black men regarding their home and problems. Some of them are eloquent, all of them are sensible. Thoughtful Liberians have never been blind to national dangers, national weaknesses, national problems.

The materials which we present have been culled from many sources; the book contains little that is absolutely new. For its preparation we have read double the literature which has been found mentioned in bibliographies and in books treating of Liberia. We have made constant use of Johnston, Wauwermans, Delafosse, Jore, and Stockwell. As the book is meant for general reading, we have made no precise references. This is not due to neglect of writers and sources, but is in the nature of our treatment. We present no bibliography; it would be easy to fill pages with the titles of books and articles, dealing with Liberia, but such a list would be mere pedantry here, especially as four-fifths of the works named would be absolutely inaccessible even to students with the best library equipment at their disposition. The author has made a considerable collection of pamphlets printed in Liberia, by Liberian authors, dealing with Liberian matters. A list of these almost unknown prints would have real interest for the special student of Liberian affairs and for professional librarians; such a list may perhaps be printed later, in separate form.

Thanks are due to so many friends and helpers that it is impossible to make individual acknowledgment. We were treated with great courtesy, while in Liberia; from President Howard in the Executive Mansion to the school children upon the village streets, every one was kind. It was generally recognized that the author was a white visitor to the Republic without a personal axe to grind. He represented no government, no commission, no institution, was seeking no concession, had no mission—a rara avis truly. While it would be impossible to name all from whom kindness and courtesy were received—for that would be an enumeration of all we met—we may perhaps mention as particularly kind Ex-President Barclay, F. E. R. Johnson, T. McCants Stewart, C. B. Dunbar, Bishop Ferguson and Vice-President Harmon. To Major Charles Young, military attaché to the American Legation, we are under greater obligations than we can mention. Campbell Marvin was our companion and helper throughout our visit to the Republic, and gave us faithful aid in every way. We dedicate the book to William N. Selig, of Chicago, whose kindness and interest made the expedition possible.

The book is written in the hope of arousing some interest in Liberia and its people and of kindling sympathy with them in the effort they are making to solve their problems. For Liberia is the hope of the Dark Continent. Through her, perhaps, African Redemption is to come.

CONTENTS

LIBERIA

A more fertile soil, and a more productive country, so far as it is cultivated, there is not, we believe, on the face of the earth. Its hills and its plains are covered with a verdure which never fades; the productions of nature keep on in their growth through all the seasons of the year. Even the natives of the country, almost without farming tools, without skill, and with very little labor, raise more grain and vegetables than they can consume, and often more than they can sell. Cattle, swine, fowls, ducks, goats, and sheep, thrive without feeding, and require no other care than to keep them from straying. Cotton, coffee, indigo, and the sugar cane, are all the spontaneous growth of our forests, and may be cultivated at pleasure, to any extent, by such as are disposed. The same may be said of rice, Indian corn, Guinea corn, millet, and too many species of fruits and vegetables to be enumerated. Add to all this, we have no dreary winter here, for one-half of the year to consume the productions of the other half. Nature is constantly renewing herself, and constantly pouring her treasures, all the year round, into the laps of the industrious.—Address by Liberians: 1827.

DESCRIPTION

Physiography

—1. There are various inherent difficulties in African Geography. The population of the Dark Continent is composed of an enormous number of separate tribes, each with its own name, each with its own language. Most of these tribes are small and occupy but small areas. For a mountain, or other conspicuous natural landmark, each tribe will have its own name. What name is given by a traveler to the feature will be a matter of accident, depending upon the tribe among which he may be at the time that he inquires about the name; different names may thus be easily applied to the same place, and confusion of course results. Even within the limits of a single tribe different names in the one language may be applied to the same place; thus, it is regular for rivers to have different names in different parts of their course; it is nothing uncommon for the same river to have four or five names among the people of a single tribe, for this reason. Throughout Negro Africa, towns are generally called by the name of the chief; when he dies, the name of the town changes, that of the new chief being assumed. Again, throughout Africa, towns change location frequently; they may be rebuilt upon almost the same spot as they before occupied, or they may be placed in distant and totally new surroundings. For all these reasons, it is difficult to follow the itinerary of any traveler a few years after his report has been published. All these difficulties exist in Liberia, as in other parts of Africa. More than that, Liberia has itself been sadly neglected by explorers. Few expeditions into the interior have been so reported as to give adequate information. Sir Harry Johnston says that the interior of Liberia is the “least known part of Africa.”

2. Liberia is situated on the west coast of Africa, in the western part of what on old maps was known as Upper Guinea. Both Upper and Lower Guinea have long been frequented by European traders; different parts of the long coast line have received special names according to the natural products which form their characteristic feature in trade; thus we have the Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, Slave Coast, Gold Coast. Liberia is the same as the old Grain Coast and was so called because from it were taken the grains of “Malagueta Pepper,” once a notable import in Europe. Liberia has a coast line of some 350 miles, from the Mano River on the west to the Caballa River on the east and includes the country extending from 7° 33′ west to 11° 32′ west longitude, and from 4° 22′ north to 8° 50′ north latitude. Its area is approximately 43,000 square miles—a little more than that of the state of Ohio.

3. The coast of Liberia is for the most part low and singularly uninteresting. Throughout most of its extent a rather narrow sandy beach is exposed to an almost continuous beating of surf; there is not a single good natural harbor; where rivers enter the sea there is regularly a dangerous bar; here and there, ragged reefs of rocks render entrance difficult. There is no place where vessels actually attempt to make an entrance; they regularly anchor at a considerable distance from the shore and load and unload by means of canoes and small boats sent out from the towns. At Cape Mount near the western limit of the country a promontory rises to a height of 1068 feet above the sea. It is the most striking feature of the whole coast. There is no other until Cape Mesurado, upon which the city of Monrovia stands; it is a notable cliff, but rises only to a height of 290 feet. At Bafu Point, east of the Sanguin River, there is a noticeable height. These three, diminishing from west to east, are the only three actual interruptions in the monotonous coast line.

4. Five-sixths of the total area of the Republic is covered with a forest, dense even for the tropics. Almost everywhere this forest comes close down to the sandy beach and the impression made upon the traveler who sails along the coast is one of perpetual verdure. The highest lands are found in the east half of the country. In the region of the Upper Caballa River just outside of Liberia, French authorities claim that Mount Druple rises to a height of 3000 meters. The same authorities claim that the highest point of the Nimba Mountains, which occurs within the limits of Liberia, is about 2000 meters (6560 feet). Further south is the Satro-Nidi-Kelipo mass of highlands bordering the Caballa basin on the southwest; Sir Harry Johnson claims that it offers nothing more than 4000 feet in height. Northeast of the Caballa are Gamutro and Duna which rise to 5000 feet. There are no heights comparable to these found in the western half of the Republic, though there are peaks of significance among the upper waters of the St. Paul’s River and its tributaries. In the lower half of this river’s course there is a hilly or mountainous region known as the Po Hills, where possible heights of 3000 feet may be reached. In the northwestern part of the country the forest gives way to the Mandingo Plateau, high grass-land. Benjamin Anderson, a Liberian explorer, says that he emerged from the forest at Bulota where the ground rose to the height of 2253 feet. This plateau region is open park-like country of tall grass with few trees.

Very little as yet is known of the geology of Liberia. On the whole, its rocks appear to be ancient metamorphic rocks—gneiss, granulite, amphibolite, granites, pegmatite, all abundantly intersected by quartz veins. Decomposition products from these rocks overlie most of the country. The material and structure of the coast region is concealed by deposits of recent alluvium and the dense growth of forest; a conspicuous lithological phenomenon is laterite which covers very considerable areas and is the result of the disintegration of gneiss. As yet little is known of actual mineral values. Gold certainly occurs; magnetite and limonite appear to be widely distributed and are no doubt in abundant quantity; copper, perhaps native, certainly in good ores, occurs in the western part of the country; various localities of corundum are known, and it is claimed that rubies of good quality have been found; companies have been organized for the mining of diamonds, and it is claimed that actual gems are obtained.

5. There are many rivers in Liberia and the country is well watered. Several of these rivers are broad in their lower reaches, but they are extremely variable in depth and are generally shallow. Few of them are navigable to any distance from their mouth, and then only by small boats; thus the St. Paul’s can be ascended only to a distance of about twenty miles, the Dukwia to a distance of thirty (but along a very winding course, so that one does not anywhere reach a great distance from the coast), the Sinoe for fifteen miles, but by canoes, the Caballa (the longest of all Liberian rivers) to eighty miles.

A notable feature in the physiography of Liberia is the great number of sluggish lagoons or wide rivers, shallow, running parallel to the coast behind long and narrow peninsulas or spits of sand; there are so many of these that they practically form a continuous line of lagoons lying behind the sandy beach. These lagoons open onto the sea at the mouths of the more important rivers; smaller rivers in considerable numbers enter them so that in reality almost every river-mouth in Liberia may be considered not the point of entrance of a single river, but of a cluster of rivers which have opened into a common reservoir and made an outlet through one channel. As good examples of these curious lagoons, we may mention from west to east the Sugari River, Fisherman’s Lake, Stockton Creek, Mesurado Lagoon, Junk River, etc., etc.

Inasmuch as the rivers are the best known features of Liberian geography, and as they determine all its other details, we shall present here a complete list of them, in their order from west to east, together with a few observations concerning the more important.

Mano—Mannah: Bewa, in its upper course; the western boundary of the country; flows through a dense forest; no town at its mouth; not navigable to any distance; Gene, a trading village, twenty miles up; Liberian settlements a few miles east of the mouth.

Shuguri, (Sugary), Sugari, only a few miles in length; extends toward the southeast, parallel to the coast.

Behind the peninsula upon which Cape Mount stands is a lagoon called Fisherman’s Lake, which parallels the coast for a distance of ten miles; this shallow, brackish, lagoon is about six miles wide at its widest part, and is nowhere more than twelve or thirteen feet in depth; it is so related to the Marphy and Sugari Rivers that it is said of them, “These rivers with Fisherman’s Lake have a common outlet, across which the surf breaks heavily”; where these three water bodies enter the sea by a narrow mouth there is but three feet depth of water.

Half Cape Mount River, Little Cape Mount River, Lofa (in its upper part). Of considerable length; in the dry season a bank of sand closes its mouth; the village of Half Cape Mount is here.

Po, Poba. Small stream eight miles from last; here are the Vai village of Digby and the Liberian settlement of Royesville.

St. Paul’s, De; Diani, further up. This great river, the second of Liberia, rises on the Mandingo Plateau, about 8° 55′ north latitude; it is perhaps 280 miles long; it receives several important tributaries. There is a bar at its mouth, and it is not directly entered from the sea; it is navigable, after once being entered through Stockton Creek, to White Plains, about twenty miles from its mouth.

Mesurado River (Mesurado Lagoon) enters the sea at Monrovia and lies behind the high ridge on which that town is built. Through the same mouth with it Stockton Creek enters the sea, and through Stockton Creek, which runs across to the St. Paul’s, the latter is accessible for boats from Monrovia and the sea, although at low water there is but two feet of depth. At White Plains the St. Paul’s River is broken by rapids which occur at intervals for a distance of about seventy miles. Above these rapids it is probably possible to ascend the St. Paul’s and its tributary Tuma, Toma, might be navigable for a combined distance of about 150 miles. There are many Liberian settlements on the lower St. Paul’s River, and it is said that “quite half the Americo-Liberian population is settled in a region between Careysburg and the coast.”

Junk River parallels the coast and nearly reaches Mesurado Lagoon; a long, winding tidal creek; at its mouth three streams really enter the sea together—the Junk, Dukwia, and Farmington. On account of the near approach of this river to the Mesurado Lagoon, Monrovia is almost on an island thirty miles long and three miles wide, surrounded by the Mesurado, Junk, and the sea.

Dukwia. Very winding; navigable for thirty miles; source unknown; at its mouth is the settlement of Marshall; one of the worst bars of the coast is here.

Little Bassa, Farmington. As already stated, enters the sea together with the Junk and the Dukwia.

Mechlin, Mecklin. A small stream.

St. John’s, Hartford.

Benson, Bisso (Bissaw). The Mecklin, St. John’s, and Benson enter the sea by a common mouth. At or near this mouth are Edina, Upper Buchanan, Lower Buchanan—the latter at a fair harbor, though with a bad bar.

Little Kulloh, Kurrah. Small, but accessible to boats.

Tembo.

Fen.

Mannah.

Cestos, Cess. A considerable river, rising probably in the Satro Mountains, close to the basin of the Cavalla; very bad bar—rocks in the middle and only three feet of water.

Pua.

Pobama.

New.

Bruni.

Sanguin. Of some size; rises in the Nidi Mountains; entrance beset with rocks; though the bar here is bad, there is a depth of nine or ten feet of water, and a promising port might be developed.

Baffni.

Tubo, Tuba.

Sinu, Sinoe, San Vincento, Rio Dulce. Savage rocks, bad bar; Greenville is located at the mouth; canoes can ascend for about 15 miles; rises in the Niete or Nidi Mountains, close to the Cavalla watershed. There are three channels by which boats may enter this river. Here again we have long narrow lagoons paralleling the coast and with a mere strip of land between them and the sea. Going from the west toward the east we find the Blubara Creek and the Sinoe entering with them. The Blubara Creek is supplied by two streams, the

Bluba and the

Plassa.

Uro.

Dru. A stream of some magnitude.

Esereus, Baddhu, Dewa, Escravos. It rises in or near the Niete Mountains, not far from the sources of the Sinoe and Grand Sesters.

Ferruma, near Sasstown.

Grand Sesters. Empties into a lagoon nearly three miles in length.

Garraway, Garawe, Try. Accessible at all times to canoes and boats. Within the next eight miles there are three small streams,

Gida.

Dia—with a rock reef stretching out from it.

Mano.

Hoffman. Another lagoon-river, which forms Cape Palmas harbor; it is one hundred yards wide at its entrance to the sea. The town of Harper is situated upon it.

Cavalla; Yubu (in its upper part); also Diugu or Duyu. The largest river of the country; forms the boundary with French possessions; very bad bar; goods going up the river are landed at Harper and sent across the lagoon which parallels the Atlantic for nine miles and is separated from it only by a narrow strip of land; navigable for small steam vessels for about fifty miles; boats of considerable size ascend to a distance of eighty miles; it rises in the Nimba Mountains at about 8° north latitude; it receives a number of important tributaries.

There are no true lakes in Liberia, although the name “lake” is rather frequently applied to the brackish lagoons so often referred to. Thus we hear of Fisherman’s Lake, Sheppard Lake, etc.

6. We have already mentioned that there are no natural harbors of any value in Liberia; boats anchor at a considerable distance from the beach, and all loading and landing is done by means of small boats or canoes; at all points there is a dangerous bar, and it is a common thing for boats to be capsized in crossing it.

There are almost no islands of any consequence off the coast. There are indeed many masses of land included in the networks of river-mouths and lagoons, but they are not usually thought of as being islands. There are also many rocky islets and reefs along the coast, particularly from the mouth of the River Cestos eastward. Such, however, are mere masses of bare and jagged rocks. Of actual islands to which names have been given, four are best known, two of which are in Montserrado County and two in Maryland County. Bushrod Island, named from Bushrod Washington, the first president of the American Colonization Society, is a large, cultivable island near Monrovia, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Paul’s River, and Stockton Creek. A very small island in the Mesurado, known as Providence or Perseverance Island, is interesting as having been at one time the only land occupied by the colonists. Garawé Island, also called Old Garawé, at the mouth of the Garawé River, is about three miles long. Russwurm, or Dead Island, lies in the Atlantic, opposite Cape Palmas, with about two hundred feet of water between it and the mainland; it measures about 700 by 120 yards; the name Dead Island is due to the fact that the aborigines buried their dead here.

7. The climate of Liberia is very imperfectly known. Our most recent data are derived from Sir Harry Johnston, the best informant on all scientific matters. He states that there is probably a marked difference between the climate of the forest region and that of the Mandingo Plateau. In the forest region the dry season is short; it is the hottest period of the year and includes the months of December, January, and February; February is the hottest and dryest month of the year and the temperature ranges from 55° at night to 100° in the shade at midday. During the wet season the daily range is almost nothing; the constant temperature stands at about 75°. The coolest month of the year is August with a day temperature of 69° and a night temperature of 65°. Upon the Mandingo Plateau the annual rainfall is believed to be not more than from 60 to 70 inches; the dry season extends from November to May; during that time the vegetation is parched; the nights are cool, becoming cold with an altitude of 3000 feet; the hottest time of the year is at the beginning and end of the rainy season when the thermometer may mark more than 100° at midday.

8. On the whole, we still have nothing better in regard to the climate than the description given by Dr. Lugenbeel in 1850. He traces the characteristics of the weather through the year month by month. He says:

“January is usually the dryest, and one of the warmest months in the year. Sometimes, during this month, no rain at all falls; but generally there are occasional slight showers, particularly at night. Were it not for the sea-breeze, which prevails with almost uninterrupted regularity, during the greater part of the day, on almost every day throughout the year, the weather would be exceedingly oppressive, during the first three or four months of the year. As it is, the oppressiveness of the rays of the tropical sun, is greatly mitigated by the cooling breezes from the ocean; which usually blow from about 10 o’clock A. M. to about 10 o’clock P. M., the land-breezes occupying the remainder of the night and morning; except for an hour or two about the middle of the night, and about an hour in the forenoon. During these intervals, the atmosphere is sometimes very oppressive. The regularity of the sea-breeze, especially during the month of January, is sometimes interrupted by the longer continuance of the land-breeze, which occasionally does not cease blowing until 2 or 3 o’clock P. M. This is what is called the harmattan wind; about which a great deal has been written; but which does not generally fully accord with the forced descriptions of hasty observers or copyists.

The principal peculiarity of the harmattan wind consists in its drying properties, and its very sensible coolness, especially early in the morning. It seldom, perhaps never, continues during the whole day; and usually not much longer than the ordinary land-breeze, at other times in the year. When this wind blows pretty strongly, the leaves and covers of books sometimes curl, as if they had been placed near a fire; the seams of furniture, and of wooden vessels sometimes open considerably, and the skin of persons sometimes feels peculiarly dry and unpleasant, in consequence of the rapid evaporation of both the sensible and the insensible perspiration. But these effects are usually by no means so great as they have been represented to be. What is generally called the harmattan season usually commences about the middle of December, and continues until the latter part of February. During this time, especially during the month of January, the atmosphere has a smoky appearance, similar to what is termed Indian summer in the United States, but generally more hazy.

The average height of the mercury in the thermometer, during the month of January, is about 85°, it seldom varies more than 10°, during the 24 hours of the day; and usually it does not vary more than 4° between the hours of 10 A. M. and 10 P. M. During this month, however, I have seen the mercury stand at the lowest mark, at which I ever observed it, in Liberia, that is, at 68°. This was early in the morning during the prevalence of a very strong land-breeze. During this month I have also seen the mercury stand at the highest mark, at which I ever observed it—that is, at 90°. The air is sometimes uncomfortably cool, before 8 o’clock A. M., during this month.

During the month of February the weather is generally similar to that of January. There are, however, usually more frequent showers of rain; and sometimes, towards the close of this month, slight tornadoes are experienced. The harmattan haze generally disappears about the last of this month; and the atmosphere becomes clear. The range of the thermometer is about the same as in January.

March is perhaps the most trying month in the year to the constitutions of new-comers. The atmosphere is usually very oppressive during this month—the sun being nearly vertical. The occasional showers of rain, and the slight tornadoes, which occur in this month, do not usually mitigate the oppressiveness of the atmosphere, as might be supposed. The variation in the state of the atmosphere, as indicated by the thermometer, seldom exceeds 6° during the whole of this month. The average height of the mercury is about 85°.

April is significantly called the ‘tornado month,’ the most numerous and most violent tornadoes usually occurring during this month. The ordinary state of the weather, in reference to the degree of heat, and its influence on the system, is not very different from that of the three preceding months. The showers of rain are usually more frequent, however; and the visitations of those peculiar gusts, called tornadoes, are much more common in April, than in any other month. These are sudden, and sometimes violent gusts, which occur much more frequently at night, than during the day. Although they usually approach suddenly and rapidly, yet certain premonitory evidences of their approach are almost always presented, which are generally easily recognized by persons who have frequently observed them. They generally commence from northeast, or east-northeast, and rapidly shift around to nearly southeast; by which time the storm is at its height.

At the commencement of a tornado, dark clouds appear above the eastern horizon, which rapidly ascend, until a dense looking mass spreads over the whole hemisphere. As the heavy mass of clouds ascends and spreads, the roaring sound of the wind becomes stronger and louder, until suddenly it bursts forth in its fury; sometimes seeming as if it would sweep away every opposing object. Very seldom, however, is any material injury sustained from these violent gusts. The scene is sometimes awfully grand, for fifteen or twenty minutes, during the formation and continuance of a heavy tornado. Sometimes the whole hemisphere presents a scene of the deepest gloom; the darkness of which is momentarily illuminated by vivid flashes of lightning, in rapid succession; and sometimes tremendous peals of thunder burst upon the solemn stillness of the scene. The rain seldom falls, until the violence of the gust begins to subside; when a torrent of rain usually pours down for a short time, seldom more than half an hour; after which, the wind shifts around towards the west; and generally, in about an hour from the commencement of the tornado, the sky becomes serene, and sometimes almost cloudless.

The weather during the month of May is usually more pleasant, than during the two preceding months. The atmosphere is generally not quite so warm and oppressive. Sometimes copious and protracted showers of rain fall, during the latter half of this month; so that the beginning of the rainy season usually occurs in this month. Tornadoes also occasionally appear, during the month of May. The average height of the mercury in the thermometer is usually two or three degrees less, than during the four preceding months.

June is perhaps the most rainy month in the year. More or less rain usually falls nearly every day or night in this month. Although there are sometimes clear and pleasant days in June; yet, there are seldom twenty-four successive hours of entire freedom from rain. The sun is, however, seldom entirely obscured for a week at a time; and he frequently shines out brightly and pleasantly, in the interstices between the floating clouds, several times during the day; occasionally for several hours at a time. During this month, as during all the other rainy months, more rain always falls at night than in the day time; and, indeed, there are very few days in the year, in which the use of an umbrella may not be dispensed with some time during the ordinary business hours. In the month of June, the atmosphere is always considerably cooler than during the preceding month; and I have generally found it necessary to wear woolen outer as well as under garments; and to sleep beneath thick covering at night, in order to be comfortably warm. The sensible perspiration is always much less, during the month, and the five succeeding months, than during the other six months in the year. The mercury in the thermometer seldom rises above 80° in this month, the average height being about 75°.

During the months of July and August, a great deal of rain also generally falls; but perhaps less in both these months than in the preceding month. There is always a short season of comparatively dry, and very pleasant weather, in one or both of these months. This season usually continues from three to five weeks; and generally commences about the 20th or 25th of July, Sometimes, for several successive days, the sun shines brilliantly and pleasantly all day; and no rain falls at night. The air, however, is always refreshingly cool and agreeable. This is perhaps the most pleasant time in the year. This is what is commonly called ‘the middle dries.’ It seems as if Providence has specially ordered this temporary cessation of the rains, for the purpose of permitting the ripening and gathering of the crops of rice, which are generally harvested in August.

September and October are also generally very rainy months; especially the former. Sometimes more rain falls in September, than in any other month in the year. Towards the close of October, rains begins to be less copious; and sometimes slight tornadoes appear, indicative of the cessation of the rainy season. The sea-breezes are usually very strong, during these two months; and the atmosphere is generally uniformly cool, and invigorating to the physical system.

During the month of November the weather is generally very pleasant, the temperature of the atmosphere being agreeable to the feelings—not so cool as during the five preceding months, and not so warm as during the five succeeding months, the average height of the mercury in the thermometer being about 82°. Frequent showers of rain usually fall during this month, both in the day and at night; but generally they are of short duration. Slight tornadoes also generally appear in this month. The sun may usually be seen during a part of every day in the month; and frequently he is not obscured by clouds, during the whole of the time in which he is above the horizon. The middle of this month may be regarded as the beginning of the dry season.

December is also generally a very pleasant month. Occasional slight showers of rain fall during this month, sometimes several sprinklings in one day, but seldom for more than a few minutes at a time. The mornings in this month are peculiarly delightful. The sun usually rises with brilliancy and beauty; and the hills and groves, teeming with the verdure of perpetual spring, are enriched by the mingled melody of a thousand cheerful songsters. Nothing that I have ever witnessed in the United States exceeds the loveliness of a December morning in Liberia.”

9. Closely related to climate is health. Here again we have no better information than that supplied us by Dr. Lugenbeel. He asserts that “the rainy season is decidedly more conducive to health than the dry season in both new-comers and old settlers. The oppressiveness of the atmosphere and the enervating effects of the weather, during the dry season, tend to debilitate the physical system, and thereby to render it more susceptible of being affected. Persons who arrive in Liberia during this season are more liable to attacks of fever than those who arrive during the rainy season.” Monrovia is usually ranked with Freetown as being unusually unhealthy; conditions have, however, considerably improved and are by no means so bad as in the early days. All new-comers, white and black alike, must undergo the acclimating fever, but on the whole, blacks seem to suffer least. Remittent and intermittent fevers, diarrhoea and dysentery are among the more common and serious diseases. Rheumatism occurs, though it is rarely violent either in a chronic or acute form; dropsical affections are rather common, often due to debility after fever; enlargement of the liver and spleen are common, the latter being most frequent in whites and mulattoes, and usually following upon fevers; the most common eruptive diseases are measles and erysipelas—both mild; varioloid, though common, is rarely fatal; flatulent colics are common; slight scratches and abrasions give rise readily to ulcers, more common in whites and mulattoes than in blacks. Leprosy is occasional among natives. Curious local diseases are craw craw and yaws, both endemic cutaneous troubles. The famous sleeping sickness, the scourge of Africa, is more frequent among natives than among the Americo-Liberians, but it has long been known in that region. The list sounds like a long and dreadful one, but is, after all, far from appalling. Dr. Lugenbeel says: “Some other diseases, which are common to most countries, may be occasionally observed in Liberia; but the variety is much less than in the United States; and except in some old chronic affections, in broken down constitutions, convalescence is generally much more rapid; in consequence of the less violence of the attack. Among the many attacks of fever, which I experienced, I never was obliged to remain in my room more than a week, at any one time; and I very seldom was confined to my bed longer than twenty-four hours. The danger in new-comers generally consists more in the frequency than in the violence of the attacks of sickness. And the majority of colored immigrants, who have sufficient prudence to use such means for the preservation of good health in Liberia as enlightened judgment would dictate, usually enjoy as good health, after the first year of their residence, as they formerly enjoyed in the United States. In some cases, indeed, the state of the health of the immigrant is decidedly improved by the change of residence from America to Africa.” In another place, he says: “In some cases, persons who might have enjoyed tolerable health in the United States, die very soon after their arrival in Liberia, in consequence of the physical system not being sufficiently vigorous to undergo the necessary change, in order to become adapted to the climate. Hence the impropriety of persons emigrating to Liberia whose constitutions have become much impaired by previous diseases, by intemperance, or otherwise. And hence the necessity of missionary societies being careful to guard the physical as well as the moral qualifications of persons who offer themselves as missionaries to Africa.”

10. So far as concerns the flora of the country, four different types present themselves. The beach, the river-swamp, the forest, the grass-lands present their characteristic forms of plant-life. Five-sixths of the Republic are covered with the densest tropical forest; an enormous variety of gigantic trees grow closely crowded together and are bound by a tangle of vines and creeping plants into an almost impenetrable mass. Nowhere perhaps in the world is there a more typical tropical forest. The lower reaches of the rivers are bordered by a thicket of mangroves and pandanus, the former by its curious mode of growth—throwing downward from its branches almost vertical aerial roots which reach the water and strike down into the soft, oozy mud of the river-bottom—stretching far out from the banks themselves over the stream. Among the notable trees of Liberia are mahogany, ebony, and other valuable timber trees; camwood is abundant, and was formerly an object of important export for dyeing purposes; coffee grows wild and is of fine quality; there are various gum-producing trees, among them that which yields the gum arabic; the kola nut is common and has long been exported from the Grain Coast; there are various rubber-producing plants—the funtumia and landolphia, the two most prized rubber-plants of Africa, occur abundantly—the former being a tree, the latter a vine; palms of many species occur; among them are the borassus or fan-palm, the calamus or climbing palm, the oil palm, a raphia, commonly known as the bamboo palm, which yields palm wine and the precious piassava fibre; notable is the great cotton-tree, which is considered sacred by the natives, no doubt on account of its strange appearance, due to enormous, thin, buttressing roots. There are flowers everywhere; water-lilies are common in the swamps, and lovely epiphytic orchids bloom upon the forest trees.

11. The fauna is especially interesting because it presents an ancient facies, more like that of a bygone age than of the present, In fact Sir Harry Johnston refers to it as being of the Miocene type. There are at least a dozen species of apes and monkeys, among which the most interesting is the chimpanzee; there are many species of bats of all sizes, some being insectivorous and others eating fruits; there are a variety of wild cats, including the leopard, and the natives make a specialty of killing them for their spotted skins; two species of mongoose are found; the red river hog is abundant; four species of manis, with curious overlapping scales, able to roll themselves up into a ball something like an armadillo, are among the curious forms; the most interesting animal in the fauna perhaps is the water chevrotain, a creature of no great size, but which presents a curious intermediate or connecting form between the pig and camel on the one side and the deer, giraffe, and antelope on the other; true antelopes are numerous in many species, some of which are dainty little creatures; the buffalo, perhaps the most dangerous animal of Africa, occurs; elephants are still found, and ever since the traders first visited the Grain Coast, ivory has been to some degree exported; the most famous of Liberian animals, however, is the pygmy hippopotamus, just like the larger species, but weighing perhaps only four hundred pounds when fully grown.

12. Bird-life, too, is abundant. There are naturally great numbers of water birds, both swimmers and waders—such as egrets and other herons, ibis, and the strange finfoot; hornbills are common; eagles and vultures occur; one of the commonest and most striking of the birds is the black and white crow; brilliant of plumage is the plantain-eater, but the parrots of the country are dull and inconspicuous. Of reptiles there are plenty. The python is the largest snake, and grows to a length of thirty feet; there are many species of serpents, including ten which are poisonous; lizards are common, among them the chameleon with its varying color and its strange, independently movable eyes; crocodiles are common in all the rivers. There are fish in plenty, but the most curious certainly is the little bommi fish which comes out of the water, jumps about upon the bank, and even crawls among the branches and bushes near the water; in appearance and movement it is so like a frog that one at first does not realize that it is in reality a fish.

13. While beasts, birds, and reptiles are varied and numerous, it is surprising how inconspicuous they are. In fact, unless one is really hunting for these creatures, he may rarely see them. One might spend months in Liberia and upon returning home declare that forest and stream were almost without inhabitants. There are, however, forms of life which are very much in evidence. Insects and other invertebrate forms abound; no one can overlook them. The termites or white ants are everywhere. Sometimes they build their enormous hillocks of clay out in the open country; these are great constructions which rise to a height of six, eight, or ten feet and which, within, present a complicated system of passages and tunnels; in the heart of this great nest the queen lives immured in a clay cell. Another species of the white ant enters houses and works destruction; books, papers, wood, all may be destroyed. This sort dislikes exposure to the sunlight and constructs tunnels to protect themselves from it. Of true ants there are many species, among which of course the driver is the most famous; it travels in droves of millions, running in a continuous black line perhaps an inch in breadth and many rods in length; they are scavengers and clear everything within their path; their bite is painful, and one must look out for their moving column when he is upon the trail; they swarm upon and kill small animals which they encounter and clean their skeletons before they leave; when they enter houses people are wise to vacate and leave them to clean out the place. The famous jigger is a recent importation into Liberia, as into Africa generally; it burrows into human feet, causing an intolerable itching; ensconced, it develops a sack of eggs, round and of considerable size; unless this is removed, the eggs hatch and the young burrow out into the sole of the foot; when itching is felt, search should be made for its cause and the insect, sack and all, carefully removed with a needle; serious injury to the feet may result if jiggers are neglected. When one walks over the trail during rainy weather, he sees great quantities of earth-worms of enormous size, even two feet six inches or three feet in length. Scorpions and centipedes are not uncommon. We have not even suggested the wide range and diversity of insect-life, but have simply mentioned samples of the more conspicuous.

14. The human population of Liberia consists of the Americo-Liberians, who live in a number of small settlements along the coast and upon some of the more important rivers, and the aborigines. The truly native population consists of many different tribes, each with its own language, territory, government, and life. These tribes linguistically form three or four groups. Delafosse, our best authority in regard to Liberian populations, recognizes four such groups; Sir Harry Johnston recognizes three. The four divisions of Delafosse are Kru, Mandingo, Gola, Gbele—Sir Harry Johnston’s are Kru, Mandingo, and Kpwesi. We have already suggested that the tribes are many and diverse; within his Kru group Delafosse names eighteen tribes. The black populations of Africa are usually divided into three great divisions—true Negroes, Bantu, Negrillos (Pygmies and Bushmen). The Liberian tribes are true Negroes and are to be distinguished from the Bantu populations of Congo Belge and southern Africa. Most of the native tribes are pagan. In the western half of Liberia, however, Mohammedanism has taken hold of the great tribes of Mandingo and Vai. Among all these natives the tribal organization and government remain in full force, although most of them recognize the sovereignty of the Republic; native dress, arts, and industries remain; among the pagan tribes polygamy is common; domestic slavery still exists; witchcraft is recognized and the ancient ordeals are practiced.

Political Geography.

—1. The name Liberia was suggested in 1824 by Robert Goodloe Harper, of Baltimore, Maryland, and has reference to the fact that the colony was established as a land of freedom; the capital city, Monrovia, was also named on his suggestion in honor of the president of the United States at that time, James Monroe. The Republic of Liberia is divided for administrative purposes into four counties—Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, and Maryland. These are named in order from west to east. The portion of Montserrado County lying around Cape Mount forms a territory with Robertsport as its capital and chief city.

2. It is difficult to learn reliable facts regarding the population of Liberia. Sir Harry Johnston made a careful estimation of the number of Americo-Liberians, listing each of the settlements and stating their probable number of inhabitants. He found the total to be 11,850 persons—or in round numbers 12,000; he estimated that there were 30,000 natives who had been more or less in contact with the white man and knew something of English or some other European language and of civilization; he estimated the total of untouched native population at 2,000,000 persons. Delafosse, an exceptionally cautious observer, claims 30,000 civilized inhabitants. Gerard raises the citizen mass of the Republic to 80,000 persons, of whom 20,000 are Americo-Liberians and 60,000 are natives who have submitted themselves to the laws of the country. It is certain that Sir Harry’s estimate of the number of interior natives is at least double the reality; so far as the other elements of population are concerned, he is probably somewhat near the facts, although it is likely that his number of 12,000 Americo-Liberians is an underestimate.

3. Most of the Americo-Liberian settlements are on the coast, although there are a number along the St. Paul’s River and a few upon some of the other rivers. There are four cities in the Republic, with mayor and common council; Monrovia, Grand Bassa, Edina, and Harper. The townships are Robertsport, Marshall, River Cess, Greenville, Nana Kru, Cavalla. In order to reduce the expense of the government service, the Liberian government has limited the number of open ports where foreigners may trade. The open ports at the present time include the cities and townships above mentioned and also Manna, Nifu, Sasstown, and Fishtown. The remaining ports are open for trade to Liberians but not to foreign traders. They are, Little Bassa, Tobakoni, New Cess, Trade Town, Grand Kulloh, Tembo, Rock Cess, Bafu Bay, Butu, Kroba, Beddo, Pickanini Cess, Grand Cesters, Wedabo, Puduke, Garawé.

4. We reproduce Sir Harry Johnston’s table.[A] It appears to have been carefully made and deserves consideration. We happen to have another set of figures, however, which we can compare with his; we quote them from Ferguson’s Handbook of Liberia. In May, 1907, an amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the popular vote; 6579 votes were cast. Voters must be males of at least twenty-one years and owners of property; the population represented by them would surely be at least three times this number—which gives a minimum of 19,737. These figures, however, can not be depended upon without qualification, because no doubt “natives” were among the voters; in fact, when matters of importance, upon which public opinion is actively aroused, are voted on, the “brother from the bush” is mustered to the polls in considerable numbers. We copy the numbers voting at different settlements in column parallel to Sir Harry Johnston’s figures. Curious discrepancies occur, as for instance, cases where a larger number of votes were cast than Sir Harry’s figure, which is supposed to give the total number of population.

[A]

5. As vital statistics for Liberia are rare, and it is interesting to know how immigrants survived the acclimating fever, we subjoin a table taken from the African Repository.[B] It is interesting in various ways. The large number of deaths, nearly one-half the total of immigrants, is not strange in view of the fact that a large part of the persons sent were well on in years, or worn out through service. Such, and small children, were especially liable to die under the new conditions. Under the circumstances, the number of removals (presumably returns to the United States) is not large. Most interesting of all, however, is the column of viable births. How would it compare with the present? The impression the visitor receives is that the Americo-Liberian population is barely holding its own—if it is doing that.

[B]

Society.

—1. In considering the society of Liberia, and the problems with which the Liberian government has had to deal, it is necessary to sharply distinguish the different elements of which it is composed. We have already indicated them, but it will be well here to clearly separate them. We may first recognize immigrant and aboriginal populations. The immigrant population, as we use the term, includes negroes who have come from the United States, from the British West Indies, or from South America, and their descendants; this class also includes a number of recaptured Africans and their descendants. The first settlers were of course American freed-men from the United States. They and their descendants have always formed the bulk of the Liberian population. Immigration from the United States has never entirely ceased, although in these latter days the new-comers have been people who were born in freedom. There is a very considerable number of so-called “West Indian Negroes” in Liberia; ever since the foundation of the Republic there has been a small but rather steady influx of such individuals. Occasionally immigrants have also come from South American colonies and from various British colonies and settlements along the coast of West Africa; all of these new-comers are included under the general term of Americo-Liberians, even though they may have had no relation to America. During the early days of Liberia it was customary to send Africans who had been captured on slaving ships by American war vessels to Liberia for settlement; these individuals were known as recaptured Africans, and it was customary to settle them in places by themselves; although such recaptured Africans rapidly acquired the improvements of civilization and showed themselves industrious, enterprising, and progressive, they were generally looked upon with more or less contempt by the other settlers. The aboriginal population may be divided into three quite different groups. The coast natives, Kru and others, have long been in constant contact with white men and have acquired considerable knowledge of the outside world; they are constantly employed by steamers both as crews and in loading and discharging cargoes. In the western half of the Republic Mohammedan influence is strong; the Mandingo, most of the Vai, and considerable numbers of such tribes as the Gola are Mohammedans; the influence of Mohammedanism is spreading and the presence of this element is destined to have its effect upon the nation. The third element of the native population is the interior natives living the old tribal life. Having thus called attention to the different elements which mingle in Liberian society, it will be understood that our further discussion in this section has reference only to the civilized Liberians.

2. The Liberian settlements generally consist of well built houses arranged along broad, straight streets. The style of architecture is, as might be expected, influenced by the plantation houses of our southern states before the war. It was natural that the freed-men, when they had a chance to develop, should copy those things with which they were familiar. Towns, houses, dress, life—all were reproductions of what was considered elegant in the days before removal. Of course Monrovia, as the capital city, is the best representative of the development. It is a town of perhaps 7,000 inhabitants; it is sharply divided into two divisions, a civilized quarter upon the summit of a ridge some 290 feet in height; here live the Americo-Liberians and the European residents. The buildings are for the most part rather large constructions of one and a half or two stories; the houses have large rooms with high ceilings and are generally supplied with balconies and porches. Krutown, lying along the water’s edge on the seacoast and fronting the interior lagoon, consists of large, rectangular native houses closely crowded together, and its narrow streets swarm with people. Five minutes’ walk takes one from the Executive Mansion in the heart of the civilized quarter to the heart of Krutown.

While on the streets of Monrovia one may see a startling range of clothing, due to the fact that there are pagan natives, Kru boys, Mohammedans, and Americo-Liberians, all jostling and elbowing each other. The Americo-Liberian dresses very much like civilized people in our ordinary country towns. There are of course differences in wealth, and one may see all grades of dress. On all public occasions men of prominence appear in the regulation dress of our southern states. Sir Harry Johnston says that “Liberia is the land of the cult of the dress-suit.” Nowhere else have I ever seen so large a number, proportionally, of dress-suits, frock-coats, and stovepipe hats as in Monrovia upon Sundays or days of celebration.

3. All speak English, and though Sir Harry does not like their English, it is far better than might be expected, though there are indeed colloquialisms. All who meet you give friendly greetings. At first it is something of a shock to have the children as they pass say “Mawnin, paw,” or address one as “daddy,” but one soon becomes accustomed to it. On the whole, the life of the people is that of simple country folk. They are well satisfied with their condition and take life easy. They love to sit on the porch and chat with passers. On the whole, it must be admitted that they lack energy. The number who really think, lead, direct, control, is very small. There is, as among our own colored people here at home, something of over-elegance in both speech and manner. While a very large number of them read, few indeed have even a moderate education.

4. Sociability is largely developed. They love to gather upon every kind of pretext. There are practically no places of public amusement. In 1831 there was a public library with twelve hundred volumes in the city of Monrovia; to-day there is no public library or reading-room in the capital city. Lodges are numerous and the number of secret organizations is very large. There are eight or ten Free Masons Lodges; the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows has sixteen lodges and upwards of three hundred members; the United Brothers of Friendship have lodges at ten of the most important towns and The Sisters of the Mysterious Ten—which is the female branch of the order—has four temples; the Independent Order of Good Templars too is represented. Literary societies and lyceums are from time to time organized, but usually have a short existence; one, however, at Cape Palmas, seems to have outlived the usual period. A respectable Bar Association has been in existence for several years, has annual meetings, and prints its proceedings.

5. There is little of what could be called literary activity in the Republic. One sees some books, but there are no book-stores; the number of individuals who have modest private libraries must be very small. It is true, however, that a considerable number of men can write remarkably well. The public documents of the Republic have always been well worded and forceful. The messages of successive presidents to the legislature have shown extraordinary ability. One who follows the dealings of Liberian officials with foreign governments is constantly impressed by the fact that in deliberation they show judgment, in diplomatic procedure extraordinary skill. It is certainly no unjust discrimination to emphasize the literary power of such men as Ex-President Arthur Barclay, Chief Justice J. J. Dossen, Ex-Secretary of State F. E. R. Johnson, and Judge E. Barclay, a poet of no mean ability. Oratory is inherent in the race and the number of individuals who can deliver a public address of merit on the celebration of Independence Day or other occasion is very large. Such orations are often put into print, and a considerable library might be made of this kind of production. Comparatively few have written seriously on public questions or on history. Occasionally something in this line is printed—Karnga’s Negro Republic on West Africa, and Branch’s Sketch of the History of Arthington are samples. The one notable literary man whom Liberia has produced is Edward Wilmot Blyden, who died a year ago; his name is known wherever the English language is read and his contributions upon negro subjects were many and important.

6. Newspapers.—When we were in Monrovia in October and November, 1912, no newspaper was printed in the capital city. At that time six periodicals were published at different places in the Republic. They were: The Living Chronicle, The Silver Trumpet, both printed at Cape Palmas; The African League, at Grand Bassa; The Gazette (official) and Liberia and West Africa, at Monrovia. Three of these publications were missionary enterprises, one was an official monthly publication, and one was an actual newspaper appearing monthly. This, The African League, was conducted by J. H. Green, an American negro from Little Rock, Arkansas; it began in the United States and is now in its fifteenth volume; it was removed to Liberia at the beginning of its fourth volume, which was printed in Monrovia in 1902; it is now conducted at Buchanan, or Grand Bassa. The African League is a live sheet and discusses the questions of the day with considerable independence. Newspapers in Liberia have a hard time and usually maintain a brief existence; so true is this that persons are extremely cautious about subscribing by the year to any publication for fear that it will end after the publication of the first few numbers; for this reason it is more customary to buy single copies than to subscribe for a definite term. Still worse than this, it is far more the custom for Liberian readers to borrow newspapers than to buy them; nowhere perhaps does a single copy of a periodical go so far. All of this makes editing and publishing an uphill task.

PERIODICALS OF LIBERIA

In the course of reading, rummaging and inquiry, I have secured a lot of fragmentary information regarding Liberian periodicals. I present the matter here because taken together it is more in quantity and more definite than I have been able to find anywhere in print. I make this note in the hope that it may bring me information to correct and extend the list.

7. The importance of education in the Black Republic is by no means overlooked, but it has always been difficult to raise the money to conduct schools. The office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is a Cabinet position. In 1912 ninety-one schools were under his direction. There are many mission schools in the Republic, some of them of high grade, and all of them doing a useful work. Liberia College has had an existence of a half century, and most of the men of prominence in the later history of the Republic have received instruction within its walls; it has received a partial endowment from private American sources, but is also assisted by financial aid from the government. As education is one of the most serious problems facing the Republic, it will be discussed under a [separate heading], and further comment may be delayed.

8. The Liberians are a very religious community; the Bible is read with old-fashioned devotion; Theology is of the orthodox and rigid type; Sunday is a day of rest and religious duty, and Sabbath desecration approaches the dangerous. There are churches in all the settlements, and in Monrovia and the other cities several denominations are represented. The Protestant Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran denominations are represented either by independent churches or by mission work. The emotional nature of the negro is well known, and the religion which ministers to them in Liberia is emotional to a high degree; revivals are common—in fact they recur probably at annual intervals—and are accompanied by all the displays of extravagant and explosive demonstration which once were common among the negroes of our southern states and earlier among white populations in the north. Conviction of sin and the attainment of glory are the two chief ends sought in these reviving efforts.

9. Some facts in regard to the history of churches in Liberia may prove of interest. The first church established was Baptist in 1821. It had been organized in this country among emigrants about to sail to the land of hope; in its membership was the famous Lott Carey, who served as leader and preacher. The denomination has had a varied history in Liberia; it spread rather rapidly and at one time was widely developed; it suffered some decline thereafter, but still has several congregations; it is strongest in Montserrado and Bassa Counties; it maintains a flourishing Sunday school in Monrovia.

In 1825 the famous Basle Mission undertook an establishment in Liberia, several missionaries having been sent out from Switzerland. Considerable correspondence took place between the officers of the Mission Society and the Colonization Society, and some of the missionaries visited the United States before going to Liberia; these Swiss missionaries suffered much from disease and death; the effort was continued for some time, but eventually the work was transferred to Sierra Leone, and Liberia was left unoccupied.

The Methodist Episcopal denomination entered Liberia in 1832. It has continued in active work from that date until the present time; the present missionary bishop for Africa is Joseph Crane Hartzell, whose residence is Funchal, Madeira, and whose field includes Liberia, Angola, and Madeira on the west coast, and Rhodesia and Portuguese Africa on the east coast. A resident bishop (colored) is maintained at Monrovia, who is at present Isaiah B. Scott, a native of Kentucky, educated in the United States. The work is full of life and much headway is making. The Report of 1912 announces work at 49 different stations in four districts—Bassa and Sinoe, Cape Palmas, Monrovia, Saint Paul River Districts. There were 15 foreign missionaries, 3 other foreign workers, 45 ordained and 86 unordained native preachers, 4317 members. One College, 1 High School and 29 elementary schools were reported, with a total of 63 teachers and 1882 scholars. The work is well sustained and $11,576 was contributed during the year in the direction of self-support. The first missionary sent into this field was Melville B. Cox, who lived but a few months after his arrival. It is an interesting fact that this Liberian mission is the first foreign mission of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The first Presbyterian missionary to Liberia, John B. Pinney, organized a church in the colony in 1833; its first building was dedicated in 1838; a Presbytery was organized in 1848, but was soon dissolved for lack of a legal quorum; it was organized again in 1851, when there were three churches in the country—Monrovia, Greenville, Clay-Ashland; the work was at first a purely mission work, especially directed towards the aborigines; there were many deaths among the early missionaries, and in 1842 the policy was established of sending only colored preachers; white men, however, were sent again in 1849. The mission maintained churches and schools, including the Alexander High School at Monrovia. The work was continued under considerable discouragement, both white and black missionaries dying in considerable numbers, until 1899, when it was abandoned by the mother church. Presbyterianism, however, did not die, but has continued under local direction and with self-support up to the present. It is reported that, in 1904, there were ten clergymen, nine churches, 450 members, and 437 scholars on its lists. From an historical sketch put out by the Presbyterian Board, we quote the following: “In 1894 the Board of Foreign Missions resolved that its wisest policy in regard to the Liberian church would be to commit their support to the zeal and devotion of their own members. In pursuance of this resolve the amount of aid was gradually diminished, until in 1899 the entire responsibility was given over to the Presbytery of West Africa. The latest report shows that the work has not fallen off in consequence. There are now fifteen churches with about 400 members. This little flock of Liberian Presbyterians greatly need the prayers of Christians in America, that they may be kept faithful and pure, and use aright their exceptional opportunities for mission work among the pagan tribes.” A very pious prayer, but it would be interesting to know how genuinely the American Presbyterians feel aught of interest in, and sympathy with, “this little flock.” It is possible that, if the flock is to “use aright its exceptional opportunities for mission work among the pagan tribes,” an occasional expression might be a stimulus to them.

The Protestant Episcopal Church began its work with a little school for natives in the Cape Palmas District in 1836. The work has prospered notably, and Bishop Ferguson in his latest annual report reported 26 clergymen, 25 lay readers, 46 catechists and teachers, of whom 21 were native Africans; he had 479 baptisms in the year, of whom 423 were from heathenism. The present number of communicants is 2404, two-thirds of whom are native Africans; the mission maintained twenty-two day schools and nineteen boarding schools with an attendance of 1210 in the one, and 643 in the other. The work of this mission is approaching the point of self-support.

The Lutherans began their work in Liberia in 1860. It has been largely educational work; it centers at the Muhlenburg Boys’ School, which, in 1911, reported 145 boarding pupils, and 13 day pupils; at the Girls’ School in Harrisburg there were 61 boarding pupils and 17 day pupils; the mission maintains three schools in the interior, with a total of 71 boarding and 6 day pupils. One of the strong features of their work is that they encourage the boys to labor. “In vacation time they remain in the schools and put in their time on the farm, picking coffee, cutting and clearing land; some of them also worked in the work-shops and in other ways around the mission, rowing the boats and making themselves generally useful. The Girls’ School carries out similar plans of education for the girls.” This mission attempts to aid in its own support by actual production; the proceeds of its coffee sales during the year of 1911 were something like $1,700, $1,000 of which amount was used in the installation of a water-power plant. The mission sets an example in advanced methods which can be helpful to the Republic at large; in reporting work, they say: “Until a few years ago, our coffee was all hulled by an old-fashioned mill consisting of two flat stones similar to the burrs of the old flour mills with which our parents were familiar. This was crude and slow, though it did its work fairly well. The chief objection to its use was the large number of grains which were broken. Five or six years ago a large iron mill was installed, which effected a great saving both in time and expense, and turned out coffee in more marketable condition. An improved fanning machine, differing from the grain fanners in America only in the screens used, was put in beside the huller. By this machine we can grade the coffee satisfactorily as to size of grain desired.” If only Liberian planters had equally kept pace with the treatment of their coffee harvest, the market would not have suffered so severely as it has. The policy of this mission is to locate a married couple as missionaries at interior points separated from each other by considerable distances; these places are to be stations and head-quarters within populations estimated at about 150,000 persons; it is a capital plan and should exercise wide influence. In connection with the mission a store is conducted which not only maintains itself, but leaves a profit of some hundreds of dollars yearly; a tailor-shop, shoe-shop, a blacksmith-shop, and a doctor’s office, are also maintained, which not only care for themselves, but add somewhat to the income. On the whole, the work and plans of this mission are markedly practical.

The last mission in order of establishment is the African Methodist Episcopal Church Mission, founded under Bishop Turner. It has been successful under the direction of Bishop Turner, Bishop Moore, and Bishop Shaffer. Its superintendent is the Rev. L. C. Curtis; it has five church buildings, 16 ordained and 3 unordained preachers, 3 missionary teachers, 501 members. It has an industrial school with 100 acres of land on the St. Paul’s River. It is the only one of all the missions which originates with colored men and which is carried through without white assistance.

Government.

—1. The Declaration of Independence of Liberia was adopted on July 26, 1847. It is a human document of extraordinary interest. As a basis for it, the declarers state their case in the following words: “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 men—in other parts, public sentiment, more powerful than law, ground us down. We were everywhere shut out from all civil offices. We were excluded from all participation in the government. We were taxed without our consent. We were compelled to contribute to the resources of the 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 all lands, of a color different from ours, were preferred before us. We uttered our complaints, but they were unattended to, or met only by alleging the peculiar institution of the country. All hope of a favorable change in our country was thus wholly extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked about with anxiety for some asylum from the deep degradation.” The [whole document] is well worth reading.

2. The Constitution was adopted on the same day, which date is celebrated annually as the birthday of the nation. The document is largely patterned after our own, but presents some interesting points of difference. Among these, three deserve special mention. Slavery is absolutely prohibited throughout the Republic. Citizenship is limited to negroes or persons of negro descent; in the original Constitution the wording was, that it was confined to “persons of color,” but, as curious questions gradually arose in regard to who should be considered “persons of color,” an amendment was adopted, changing the expression to “negroes or those of negro descent.” The ballot is cast by male citizens, twenty-one years of age, and owning real estate.

3. This Constitution remained without amendment for sixty years. In the beginning the term of president, vice-president, and representatives had been fixed at two years, and that of senators at four; experience demonstrated that these terms were too short and a vigorous agitation to lengthen them took place. The Liberians are a conservative people and look back with pride to the doings of the “fathers”; very strong feeling was aroused at the suggestion of changing the wording of the sacred document which they had left. In time, however, sufficient sentiment was developed to lead to the submission of amendments at the election of 1907; the amendments were carried by a vote of 5112 to 1467. By these amendments the term of office of president, vice-president, and representatives was extended to four years and that of senators to six.

4. The flag of the Republic has six red stripes with five white stripes alternately displayed longitudinally; in the upper angle of the flag, next to the staff, a field of blue, square, covers five stripes in depth; in the centre of the field is a lone white star.

5. The great seal of the Republic bears the following design:—a dove on the wing with an open scroll in its claws; a ship under sail upon the ocean; the sun rising from the water; a palm-tree, with a plough and spade at its base; above, the words: Republic of Liberia; below, the national motto: The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here.

6. The government of Liberia consists of three co-ordinate branches—the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and a Cabinet of seven members. The Legislature consists of two houses—the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and two Associates, and Circuit Courts under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The President, Vice-President, and Congressmen are elected; all other officers of state are appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Senate.

7. The President and Vice-President are elected by the voters for a period of four years. The President’s Cabinet consists of seven members—Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of War and Navy, Postmaster-General, Attorney-General, Superintendent of the Department of Education. These officers have the usual functions connected with such positions. The Vice-President is President of the Senate.[C]

[C] The present President of the Republic is Daniel Edward Howard. He is the third “native son” to hold that office—the first having been President Johnson. President Howard’s Cabinet consists of the following members: Secretary of State, C. D. B. King; Secretary of the Treasury, John L. Morris (son of the Secretary of the Interior); Secretary of the Interior, James Morris; Secretary of War and Navy, Wilmot E. Dennis; Postmaster-General, Isaac Moort; Attorney-General, Samuel A. Ross; Superintendent of the Department of Education, Benjamin W. Payne (educated in the U. S.). The Vice-President is Samuel G. Harmon, of Grand Bassa, whose father was vice-president in 1876.

8. The Legislature consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of eight members, two from each county; they are elected for a term of six years. The House of Representatives at the present time includes fourteen members, apportioned as follows: Montserrado County, four; Grand Bassa County, three; Sinoe County, three; Maryland County, three; Cape Mount Territory, one. Notwithstanding its small size, this Legislature has as broad a range of matters to consider as any legislative body elsewhere; thirty-two committees deal with matters ranging from foreign affairs and commerce through military and naval affairs, native African affairs, and pensions, to engrossing and enrolling. Naturally in such a multiplicity of committees—most of which consist of five members—ample opportunity is found for the development of political ability among the members; it seems, however, as if membership on twenty-two committees, a case of which occurs in the present standing committee roll, was over-ambition or over-loading. In case of necessity the President, Vice-President, and Cabinet officers may be impeached. Impeachment must originate in the House of Representatives; the trial is made by the Senate, over which at the time the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides.

9. The judicial branch of the government consists of the Supreme Court, with a Chief Justice and two Associates, and of Circuit Courts with rotating judges under the supervision of the Supreme Court. All judges are appointed by the President. The Supreme Court holds two sessions annually; the Circuit Courts hold quarterly.

10. Mr. George W. Ellis, for a number of years secretary of our legation at Monrovia, and exceptionally well informed regarding Liberian affairs, states that the political authority of the President is exercised in the counties and territories by a governor appointed by the Executive, who is called Superintendent. In the interior the President is represented by a Commissioner, who presides over each commissioner-district, and who associates with himself the native chiefs in the control or government of the native peoples in his district. In some instances this Commissioner has judicial functions, from which an appeal lies to the Quarterly and Supreme Courts. The authority of the Commissioner is supported by a detachment of the Liberian Frontier Police Force, with head-quarters at the Monrovia barracks.

11. In the matter of lesser courts there are Quarterly, Probate, and Justice courts, for each of the counties and territories. The judges can only be removed for cause, the President suspending, and his suspension meeting the approval of the Legislature. Monrovia recently abolished the Justices of the Peace and established a Municipal Court with a special judge, whose tenure of office is during good behavior.

12. Politics is in great vogue. The Liberians have never liked to work. Since the establishment of the colony, agriculture even has had but slight attractions for the people. It is not strange, all things considered. The ancestors of these people used to work hard in the fields before they went over there; one reason they went was that they wanted to escape field-labor. They had always been accustomed to see their masters live in ease, without soiling their hands with toil; when they became their own masters, they naturally wanted to be like the men to whom they had been accustomed to look up with respect. Trade has always been in high repute. It was easy for the new-comers to trade with the natives of the country and rapidly acquire a competence. So far as work was concerned, there were plenty of “bush niggers” to be had cheaply. There is, however, another way of escape from manual labor besides trade—that is professional life. Everywhere people who do not wish to work with their hands may seek a learned profession; it is so here with us—it is so there with them. The Liberians would rather be “reverends” or doctors or lawyers than to work with their hands. Of all the professions, however, law seems to be the favorite. The number of lawyers in Liberia is unnecessarily large, and lawyers naturally drift into politics; they aim to become members of Congress or judges of the Supreme Court or members of the Cabinet or President of the Republic. It is unfortunate that so many of them are anxious for that kind of life; but they are skilled in it, and we have nothing to teach them when it comes to politics.

13. Ellis says: “. . . the most notable characteristic of Liberian government is the existence practically of only one political party. The reasons for this no doubt are many, but important, if not chief among them, is the economic depression which followed the decline in the price of Liberian coffee. Coffee was the overshadowing industry of the Republic. The Liberian planters had invested all the capital they had in the coffee industry, and when coffee went down in the early nineties, the different Liberian communities were thrown into such a paralysis of hard times that they have not recovered to this day. Disheartened and financially distressed, formerly strong, self-sustaining, and independent, Liberian planters one after another abandoned their plantations and transferred their time and attention from coffee and the farm to politics and office-seeking. And while something is due to the ability of the administrations to undermine opposition by capturing its capable leaders through the charm of political preferment, something due to the smallness of the civilized population and the disposition of voter and leader alike to be on the winning side, yet, economic depression is at the foundation of the one-party system which now obtains in Liberia.”

14. Still there has ever been a nominal division into parties. Again we quote from Ellis: “Thus after the adoption of the Liberian constitution the people divided themselves into two parties under the same names as those which obtained at the time in the United States—the Republican and the Whig parties. For some time the Republican Party has ceased to exist in Liberian politics. The opposition to the Whig Party has been for the most part unorganized, without wise and resourceful leaders, and without funds adequate to compete with the dominant Whig administrations in national campaigns. But like the present Republican Party of the United States, the Liberian Whigs have met all the Liberian difficulties during the past thirty years or more. The Whigs had been progressive, and inspired by wise and distinguished statesmen, the Liberian Whigs have repeatedly addressed themselves with success to the Liberian voters. Opposition to the Whig Party in Liberia at the polls seems now to have little or no chance of success, so that nomination on a Whig ticket is equivalent to election.”

15. All this is true, but after all, at the last election there was a considerable awakening of party spirit; it was a bitter political contest. The cry of fraud was loudly raised; seats in Congress were challenged by more than half the total number of membership; the question was seriously asked how an investigation would be possible on account of the lack of unimplicated to conduct it. This outburst of feeling and this cry of fraud, came at a bad moment; the nation was appealing for our financial assistance; it was feared that a bad impression might be produced by the condition of disharmony; under this fear, personal feeling was for the time suppressed and the demand for investigation dropped.

16. We have already said that the Liberians are skilled in politics and that we have but little to teach them. They know quite well what graft means. In fact, graft of the finest kind exists and has existed among the native Africans from time beyond the memory of man; if the Americo-Liberians could have escaped from our own republic without ideas in this direction, such would quickly have been developed through contact with their native neighbors. Unfortunately there is considerable opportunity for graft in the black Republic. The actual salaries of public officers and congressmen are very small. Important concessions are, however, all the time being demanded by wealthy outside interests. English, German, French, American promoters have always something to propose to that little legislature, and they never come with empty hands. One of the greatest dangers which the nation faces is found in these great schemes of exploitation offered from outside. The natural resources of the country are very great; but they should be, so far as possible, conserved for the benefit of the people and the nation. The temptation to betray the nation’s interest for present personal advantage is always very great.

Economics

—1. We have already called attention to the attitude of the Americo-Liberian toward manual labor and have shown that it is, on the whole, natural under the circumstances. Where there are sharp contrasts between the elements of society, as there are in Liberia between the Americo-Liberians, the Vai, the Kru, and the “Bush Niggers,” there is bound to develop more or less of caste feeling. This was inevitable with people who had themselves come from a district where caste was so marked as in our southern states. The natives have never been considered the full equals of the immigrants nor treated as brothers; they are “hewers of wood” and “drawers of water”; they are utilized as house servants. It is convenient to be able to fill one’s house with “bush niggers” as servants, and the settlers have done so from the early days of settlement. Why indeed should one himself work where life is easy and where money is quickly made through trade? This feeling of caste showed itself in various curious ways—thus the colonists soon fell into the habit of calling themselves “white men” in contrast to the negroes of the country.

2. For the present and for some time still the chief dependence of the country is necessarily trade in raw products. Wealth must come from palm nuts and oil, piassava, rubber, and the like. In such products the Republic has enormous wealth. These can only be secured from the interior through native help. In order that this kind of trade develop, it must be stimulated by legitimate means. At present it is not as flourishing as it might be. The natives are not steady workers; they bring in products when they feel like it or when they have a pressing need of money; trails are bad, and transportation of raw products for great distances is hardly profitable. Yet, if the country is to develop, this production must be steadily increased.

3. Ultimately Liberia must depend on agriculture. With a fertile soil, a tropical climate, abundant rainfall—its possibilities in the direction of agricultural production are enormous. This industry will be the permanent dependence of the country. It must be the next in order of development. Serious development of manufacturing appears remote. Agriculture has always been neglected; Ashmun pleaded with the natives to go into it and prepared a little pamphlet of directions applicable to the local conditions; friends have begged the people ever since to pay less attention to trade and more to cultivation; all in vain. It is true, however, that ever since the days of early settlement, there has been some attention given to the matter of field culture. There was a time when there were extensive plantations of coffee and fields planted with sugar-cane. For a time these plantations were successful, but hard luck came; foreign competition arose, careless and wasteful methods were pursued, and a paralysis seems to have fallen upon the industry. Sons of those who once were successful planters have moved into Monrovia and entered politics. In the old days there were native villages in the vicinity of the capital city; then bullocks were constantly to be seen in the Monrovian market and fresh meat was easily secured; to-day the native towns have retreated into the interior, and Monrovia depends upon the steamers for fresh meat supplies.

4. Through the over-emphasis placed upon trade, there has grown up a needless importation of foreign articles. It is not only meat that is brought in from other lands; there was a time when the making of shingles was a fairly developed industry—to-day corrugated roofing comes from the outside world; one of the chief foods of the Liberians is rice—it is also one of the chief crops among the native tribes—the native rice is of most excellent quality—yet the rice eaten by Americo-Liberians is imported from foreign countries. There are many articles which might as well or better be produced in Liberia, furnishing employment and a source of wealth for many of the population, which to-day are imported in poorer quality and higher prices from outside.

5. There is a widespread feeling that Liberia has great mineral wealth. No doubt a part of this is justified; much of it, however, is merely due to the fact of ignorance regarding the interior of the country. There are surely gold and copper; there is iron, no doubt, in abundance; we have already mentioned the possibility of diamonds. Under such conditions it is natural that men throughout the whole Republic are ever dreaming of making lucky finds. Anything found anywhere, which chances to have lustre, is considered precious and leads to hopes of sudden and enormous wealth. This widespread expectation of always finding a bonanza is certainly unfortunate for any population; it is unfortunate for Liberia, but just enough of actual mineral wealth will always be discovered to keep it vigorous. It would be well indeed for the black Republic if it were lacking completely in mineral wealth. It is likely that the discovery of valuable deposits will harm the country far more than help it. Such discoveries are certain to enlist rapacious foreign capital and to lead to constant interference and ultimate intervention. If white men in Dutch South Africa were unable to resist the aggressions of avaricious English miners, what chance can the small black Republic stand? The very day I wrote this passage, I received a letter from a well-informed Americo-Liberian. He closes with these words: “I am told that the English have opened up a gold mine in the rear of Careysburg on the St. Paul’s River. This is the last settlement on the river, thirty miles inland. Of course, it is by grant of the legislature, but all based on fraud, as I am told. The yield, I learn, is very great, of which Liberia sees and knows nothing. The whole thing is guarded by an English force.” I have no means of knowing how much truth there may be in this statement of my correspondent. Just such things, however, do occur, will occur, and such things are fraught with danger.

6. It is common to speak in terms of pessimism regarding the economic conditions of Liberia. This has been true for years. In 1881, Stetson spoke as follows in his Liberian Republic as It Is: “This condition of hopeless bankruptcy is fraught with danger to the existence of the Republic. The cords which bind her to England are being drawn closer and closer, her exports go largely to England, her imports are from England, her loans are from England, and what few favors she has to grant, or are received of her, are to English capitalists; notably a charter recently given to an English company for a railroad extending two hundred miles back from Monrovia, the capital, and designed ultimately to connect that port with the head-waters of the Niger. English influence and gunboats may at any moment settle the question of the future of Liberia.” It will be seen that this was written after the time when Liberia solicited her first loan from England—the notorious loan of 1870.

7. Thirty years have passed since then. England has encroached, but she has not yet absorbed the Liberian Republic. Meantime, while conditions are far from satisfactory, they have improved; England still has large relations with Liberia, but there has been a wise development of common interests with Germany since 1870. To-day Germany has greater shipping interests, greater trade interests, greater prospects than has Britain. Germany may some time become a menace, but certainly for the present she is a safer friend for Liberia than England. So far as the present financial circumstances in Liberia are concerned, a few figures may be quoted. For the ten years, from 1893 to 1903, the receipts of the nation amounted to $2,243,148, and the expenses to $2,171,556; an average annually of something like $225,000 of income, $217,000 of outgo. In 1905 receipts were $357,000 and expenditures $340,000. In 1911 the income rose to $443,255 and the estimated outgo was probably $481,954. These figures are very far from discouraging, and there is no reason why they should not be notably increased by judicious management.

8. We reproduce a [little table] of the receipts from customs. It will well repay careful examination.

It will be seen that during the short space of time represented by this table the receipts in customs have more than doubled. By fair dealings with the natives of the interior and by the improvement of roads, this income can be greatly multiplied.

9. It is hardly to be expected, in a population such as that with which we are here dealing, that there should be a large development in postal service. The statistics of the four years, from 1907 to 1910 show us the general movement of postal matter. The total amount is by no means insignificant and a fair growth is evident.

POSTAL STATISTICS

10. The Republic is now in telegraphic connection with the outside world. Gerard tells us that “the German-South-American Telegraph Society, with a capital stock of 30,000,000 marks, has recently laid a cable at Monrovia which will place the negro capital hereafter in rapid communication with the civilized world. Up to this time telegraphic messages addressed to Liberia were delivered at Freetown, and there were entrusted to the ordinary postal service, upon the semi-monthly mail-boats conducting business between Sierra Leone and the Grain Coast. Constructed by the North German Marine Cable Factory of Nordenham-am-Weser, the cable, destined to draw the little Guinean Republic from its isolation, starts from Emden, passes under sea to the island Borkum, connects at Teneriffe, in order then to reach Monrovia, from whence it is finally directed to Pernambuco, the terminal point of the line. On the other hand, the South American Cable Co. of London, a French society with a French director and supported by French capital, has obtained a concession with a view to the establishment of a submarine cable connecting Conakry (Guinea) with Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), touching at Monrovia, and it is interesting to notice in passing that there has been arranged, in connection with this matter, between Germany and France a friendly relationship permitting the German cable to touch at Brest, allowing the French installation to be accomplished through the German cable, and obliging the two rival companies to have similar tariffs and giving each of them the right of using the apparatus of the other in case of the breaking of its own connection. It is also to the French government that the exclusive right has been given of establishing a wireless telegraph station which will connect Monrovia with the Eiffel Tower via Dakar and Casablanca, while posts, constructed at Conakry, Tabou, and Cotonou will give origin to radio-telegraphic connections between Liberia, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Dahomey; the importance of this project, to-day in course of execution, will escape no one, since one will understand that there is question here of installing the Marconi system in Madagascar and at Timbuctu, and of thus enclosing the whole black continent in a network of rapid communication of which France alone will have control.”

All three of these enterprises have been successfully carried through, and to-day Liberia is in easy connection with every part of the civilized world. It is a notable step forward.

11. Five lines of steamers make regular stops upon the coast of Liberia. Chief of these is the great Woermann Line, of Hamburg. Two regular sailings weekly in both directions touch at Monrovia. Next in importance are the British steamships controlled by Elder Dempster and Co. They have a combination consisting of the African Steamship Co. and the British African Steam-Navigation Co. These boats make two weekly sailings from Liverpool and one monthly sailing from Hamburg. Nor are these the only landings made by these lines at Liberian ports. It is probable that the Woermann Line makes three hundred calls annually, and the Elder Dempster Lines two hundred and fifty, at Liberian ports. A recent arrangement which, if given fair attention, promises a notable development, has been entered into between these two companies, whereby every two months a boat sails from New York to Monrovia and return; The English and German lines alternate in supplying this steamer. Besides these two lines of chief importance, three other lines make stops at Monrovia—the Spanish Trans-Atlantic Co., of Barcelona, Fraissinet and Co., of Marseilles, France, and the Belgian Maritime Co. of Congo, from Antwerp.

12. Considering the dangers of its coast, the light-house service of the Republic is far from satisfactory. The old light-house at Monrovia, for years a disgrace, has been replaced by a more modern apparatus; at Grand Bassa a light-house was erected at the private expense of Mr. S. G. Harmon, a successful Liberian merchant, now the Vice-President of the Republic; at Cape Palmas a good light-house has been erected, visible at all times to a distance of six miles—this cost about $9000 and was a gift from the French authorities. It is somewhat doubtful whether it was good policy to accept a gift from a neighbor, who has made definite efforts to crowd Liberians out of the Cavalla River, which forms the natural boundary between the Grain Coast (Liberia) and the Ivory Coast (French).

13. The whole west coast of Africa has for centuries depended only on foreign trade. Portuguese, Dutch, French, English, Germans, have all played their part. Most of these nations still have interests in that portion of the world. So far as the Liberian Republic is concerned, representatives of foreign houses have numerous trading-posts upon its coast. The house of A. Woermann has factories at Monrovia, Cape Mount, Bassa, Sinoe, and Cape Palmas. J. W. West (Hamburg) is established at Monrovia, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, and Sinoe. Wiechers and Helm are at Monrovia and Cape Palmas. Wooden and Co. (Liverpool), Patterson and Zachonis (Liverpool), Vietor and Huber, C. F. Wilhelm Jantzen (Hamburg), and the American Trading Co. (established only in 1911), are among those who trade in Liberia.

14. A number of development companies have at different times been formed with the intention of exploiting the black Republic. Many of these have been fraudulent enterprises and have come to nothing; some, started in good faith, have failed; a few—a very few out of many—have developed promisingly. The English Liberian Rubber Corporation has a farm of 1000 acres with 150,000 rubber-trees already planted; this was begun in 1904 and has now reached the period of yielding; in 1912 it was expected that it would prove a paying proposition. The Liberian Trading Co. (English) are exporting mahogany and other valuable woods. They are opening commercial houses in different parts of the country and seeking concessions from the government to open roads. The Liberian Development Co. (English) discovered gold and diamonds in 1908 and are now importing heavy machinery to work their mines, together with materials for a railway to them, and have already laid part of the railway; this is probably the company to which my correspondent, [already quoted], refers. One of the latest of the development companies is the Liberian-American Produce Co., which was chartered in 1910 by the national legislature with the approval of the president of the Republic for a period of sixty years. It was given large and varied powers, among them being the right to build for itself or for the government, roads, bridges, harbor-improvements, railways, etc.; and the company was granted a concession of a hundred square miles with the privilege of taking up this land in any sized blocks, anywhere in the country by simply filing in the State Department a description of the lands thus taken up. The company has already selected four square miles of land containing mineral deposits, and plans to start active operations in trade, agriculture, and mining.

15. As the subject of the financial outlook of the Republic will come up again for consideration, we are here only completing our descriptive picture of the Republic. She has long been in debt; her resources have been mortgaged; her customs-houses have been in the hands of receivers. She has recently consolidated all her debts, foreign and domestic, and has secured a loan through the kind offices of the United States of $1,700,000. This loan has been guaranteed by the customs-house receipts, and the customs-service is now under the direction of an international receivership.

HISTORY

Africa is the Land of Black Men, and to Africa they must and will come.—John Kizell.

Tell my brethren to come—not to fear—this land is good—it only wants men to possess it.—Daniel Coker.

1821-1828.

The American Colonization Society was founded in Washington in December, 1816. To it Liberia is due. On the 23rd of December, 1816, the legislature of Virginia requested the governor of the state to correspond with the President of the United States “for the purpose of obtaining a territory on the coast of Africa, or at some other place not within any of the states, or territorial governments of the United States, to serve as an asylum for such persons of color as are now free, and may desire the same, and for those who may hereafter be emancipated within this commonwealth.” A few days after this a meeting was held at Washington to which persons interested were invited. Bushrod Washington presided; Mr. Clay, Mr. Randolph, and others took part in the discussions which ensued and which resulted in the organization of the American Colonization Society. Judge Washington was chosen president, a board of twelve managers were selected, together with seventeen vice-presidents from various states. The object of the Society was clearly set forth in the first and second articles of its constitution. “Article 1. This society shall be called The American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States. Article 2. The object to which attention is to be exclusively directed, is to promote and execute a plan of colonizing (with their consent) the free people of color residing in our country, in Africa, or such other place as Congress shall deem most expedient. And the Society shall act to effect this object in co-operation with the general government and such of the states as may adopt regulations on the subject.”

We do not desire in the least to minimize the good, either of the intent or result, of the American Colonization Society. It is, however, only just to say that it was not a purely benevolent organization. Its membership included different classes. Of this Jay says: “First, such as sincerely desire to afford the free blacks an asylum from the oppression they suffer here, and by their means to extend to Africa the blessings of Christianity and civilization, and who at the same time flatter themselves that colonization will have a salutary influence in accelerating the abolition of slavery; Secondly, such as expect to enhance the value and security of slave property, by removing the free blacks; and Thirdly, such as seek relief from a bad population, without the trouble and expense of improving it.” As a matter of fact, the American Colonization Society was largely an organization of slave holders. Judge Washington was a southern man; of the seventeen vice-presidents twelve were from slave states; of the twelve managers all were slave holders. Through a period of years the American Colonization Society and the Abolition Societies of the United States waged a furious conflict. The real purpose of the organization was to get rid of the free blacks at any cost, and the attitude of its members toward free blacks was repeatedly expressed in the strongest terms. Thus, General Harper, to whom the names Liberia and Monrovia were due, said: “Free blacks are a greater nuisance than even slaves themselves.” Mercer, a vice-president of the Society, spoke of them as a “horde of miserable people,—the objects of universal suspicion,—subsisting by plunder.” Henry Clay, an original member of the Society and for many years vice-president, said: “Of all classes of our population, the most vicious is that of the free colored—contaminated themselves, they extend their vices to all around them.” Again Clay said: “Of all the descriptions of our population, and of either portion of the African race, the free persons of color are by far, as a class, the most corrupt, depraved, and abandoned.” And yet these excellent gentlemen repeatedly stated that in sending free black men to Africa, they were actually combatting the slave trade and Christianizing the natives. Clay himself said, in the same speech in which he referred to the free blacks as “corrupt, depraved, abandoned.” *** “The Society proposes to send out not one or two pious members of Christianity into a foreign land; but to transport annually, for an indefinite number of years, in one view of its scheme, 6,000, in another, 56,000 missionaries of the descendants of Africa itself, to communicate the benefits of our religion and the arts.” Stripped of all pretense, the facts were that the free blacks of the day were not wanted in America, and that they must somehow be got rid of; accordingly they were dumped upon the African west coast.

This idea of recolonizing black men into Africa is not a new one; as far back as 1773, at which time slavery was common in New England, Dr. Samuel Hopkins became convinced of its wickedness and, with Dr. Stiles (afterwards president of Yale College) made an appeal to the public in behalf of some colored men whom he was preparing to send to Africa as missionaries. The Revolutionary War interfered with his plan. In 1783 Dr. Thornton, of Washington, proposed a colonization scheme and organized about forty New England colored men to go to Africa; his scheme failed for lack of funds. The British Sierra Leone Company in 1786 organized its colony at Sierra Leone for freed blacks. When Thomas Jefferson was President, he made application to the Sierra Leone Company to receive American negroes, but his request failed of effect. From 1800 to 1805 the project of colonization was again discussed. Very interesting was the work of Paul Cuffy, born in New Bedford, Mass., of negro and Indian parents; he was a man of ability, gained considerable wealth, and owned a vessel; he induced about forty persons to embark with him for Sierra Leone in 1815; they were well received and settled permanently in that colony. Paul Cuffy had larger schemes of colonization and planned to transport a considerable number of American negroes to Africa, but died before his plans were realized.

In 1818 the Society sent Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess to seek a suitable location for the colony. Samuel J. Mills was the young man to whom the work of foreign missions of the United States was largely due; after he graduated from college, he planned to establish a colony in the West; he became interested in a seminary for the education of colored men, who should go to Africa as missionaries, at Parsippany, N. J. Mills and Burgess went by way of England, where they called upon various persons of prominence in the hope of receiving information and advice which might be of use to them. They sailed from the Downs, England, in February, 1818, and were in Sierra Leone before the end of March; they examined the conditions there with interest and then, in company with John Kizell and a Mr. Martin, went farther down the coast; they reached Sherbro Island on the first of April and decided to found the settlement there.

This John Kizell, who was with them as adviser and friend, was a black man, a native of the country some leagues in the interior from Sherbro. His father was a chief of some consequence and so was his uncle. They resided at different towns; and when Kizell was yet a boy he was sent by his father on a visit to his uncle who desired to have the boy with him. On the very night of his arrival the house was attacked. A bloody battle ensued in which his uncle and most of his people were killed. Some escaped, the rest were taken prisoners, and among the latter was Kizell. His father made every effort to release him, offering slaves and ground for him; but his enemies declared that they would not give him up for any price, and that they would rather put him to death. He was taken to the Gallinhas, put on board of an English ship, and carried as one of a cargo of slaves to Charleston, S. C.—He arrived at Charleston a few years before that city was taken by Sir Henry Clinton. In consequence of the General’s proclamation, he, with many other slaves, joined the royal standard.—After the war he was remanded to Nova Scotia from which place he came to Africa in 1792. Kizell had established a small colony of colored people on Sherbro Island. He had prospered in trade, built a church, and was preaching to his countrymen.

Having accomplished the purpose of their journey, the commissioners started again for the United States. On the voyage Mills died.

On March 3, 1819, the Congress of the United States passed an act which was of consequence to the cause of African colonization. It provided that the President of the United States should have authority to seize any Africans captured from American or foreign vessels, attempting to introduce them into the United States in violence of law, and to return them to their own country. It provided also for the establishment of a suitable agency on the African coast for the reception, subsistence, and comfort of these persons until they could be returned to their relatives, or provide for their own support. From the time of the passage of this act the government and the Society worked in practical co-operation.

The first shipment of colonists took place in February, 1820, from New York, by the ship Elizabeth which had been chartered by the government. It carried two agents of the United States Government—Rev. Samuel Bacon and John P. Bankson; Dr. Samuel A. Crozer was sent as agent of the American Colonization Society; 88 emigrants accompanied them, who had promised in return for their passage and other aid of the Government, to prepare suitable accommodations for such Africans as the Government might afterwards send. The expedition went at first to Sierra Leone, thence to Sherbro Island, landing at Campelar, the point chosen by Mills and Burgess for settlement. The place was badly selected. Practically the whole company suffered frightfully from fever. Bacon, Bankson, and Crozer, all died, together with many of the colonists.

A second party was sent out in 1821 in the Nautilus, a vessel chartered by the United States Government. It carried two agents of the government—J. B. Winn and Ephraim Bacon—and two agents of the colony—Joseph R. Andrus and Christian Wiltberger. Some emigrants accompanied them. On their arrival at Sierra Leone, the emigrants were left at Fourah Bay, while Bacon and Andrus went on down the coast in search of a suitable situation for settlement.

In this search they went as far as Grand Bassa. Soon after they returned to Sierra Leone, Mr. and Mrs. Bacon were invalided home; shortly afterwards Mr. and Mrs. Winn died of fever; thus Wiltberger was left alone in charge of the settlement, until Dr. Eli Ayres arrived as chief agent of the Society in the autumn. Wiltberger visited Sherbro, and finding the conditions of the settlers serious, he took them with him back to Fourah Bay, Sierra Leone. In December, Capt. Robert F. Stockton, of the Alligator, came to the coast with orders to co-operate so far as possible with the agents. Leaving Wiltberger in charge of the colonists at Fourah Bay, Ayres and Stockton made an exploration of the coast. On the 11th they reached Mesurado Bay, and being pleased with the appearance of the district, they sought a palaver with the native chiefs. Making their way through the jungle to the village of the most important chief, they found hundreds of people collected; negotiations were at once begun for land at the mouth of the Mesurado River, upon which a settlement might be made. The business was not conducted without excitement and some danger, but Stockton appears to have been a man of parts, and finally a contract was drawn up and signed by six kings, with their marks, and by Ayres and Stockton. The territory secured included all of the cape, the mouth of the river, and the land for some distance into the interior, although the boundaries were left indefinite.

There was a mulatto trader living in this district, by the name of John S. Mill. His friendship was of importance to the enterprise in those early days. Mill was an African by birth, the son of an English merchant who owned a large trading concern on the coast; he had enjoyed a good English education; he was himself the owner of the smaller of the two islands at the mouth of the Mesurado River, and this island was purchased from him for the use of the colony.

Land having been secured, measures were at once taken to remove the colonists from Fourah Bay to Cape Montserrado. Some of them refused to leave, and remained in Sierra Leone, becoming British subjects. It was January 7, 1822, when the colonists under the leadership of Agent Ayres reached their new home. It was soon learned that King Peter had been condemned by the people for the sale of the land, and that the natives desired that the colonists should leave; the vessel, however, was unloaded and preparations for building houses were made. On account of the threatening attitude of the natives, a palaver was held. There was considerable opposition, but the colonists persisted in their efforts. The month of February was a sickly time, and little was done toward settlement. About the middle of February more settlers came from Fourah Bay, and the place was crowded and in bad condition. Agent Ayres was absent in Sierra Leone, when an incident occurred which might have had serious results for the infant colony. The colonists at this time were living on Perseverance Island. A small vessel, prize to an English schooner, with thirty slaves on board, put in for water at the island. Her cable parting, she drifted ashore and was wrecked. It was the custom of the coast to look upon wrecks as legitimate booty for the people upon whose shore they occurred. King George at once sent his people to take possession of the vessel and the goods, but they were met with resistance by the crew and were repulsed. While the natives were preparing to renew the attack, the Captain sent for help to the colony agent. Though no white man was there in charge, help was promised. A boat was manned and sent to his relief; a brass field piece on the island was brought to bear upon the assailants who were put to rout, with two killed and several wounded. The crew and slaves were brought safely to the land, but the vessel went to pieces and most of the stores and property were lost. The natives were very angry. The next day they resumed the attack, and the British soldiers and one colonist were killed.

On returning from Sierra Leone, April 7, Ayres found the colony in confusion and alarm. The natives had received only a part of the purchased goods for their land. They now refused to receive the balance and insisted on returning what they had received and annulling the transaction. To this the agent would not give consent. They invited him, therefore, to a conference, seized him, and held him until he consented to take back the articles already paid. They insisted that the colonists should leave, but agreed to permit their staying until a purchase could be made elsewhere. Under these circumstances, Agent Ayres appealed to a chief named Boatswain who, after hearing the complaint, decided in favor of the colonists and ordered that the goods should be accepted and the title given. In his decision he said that the bargain had been fair on both sides and that he saw no grounds for rescinding the contract. Turning to King Peter, he remarked: “Having sold your country and accepted payment, you must take the consequences. *** Let the Americans have their lands immediately. Whoever is not satisfied with my decision, let him tell me so.” To the agents he said: “I promise you protection. If these people give you further disturbance, send for me; and I swear, if they oblige me to come again to quiet them, I will do it by taking their heads from their shoulders, as I did old King George’s, on my last visit to the coast to settle disputes.”

By the 28th of April the whole colony of immigrants had come from Sierra Leone. Dissatisfied with Perseverance Island, they had moved over on to the higher land of Cape Montserrado and taken formal possession of it. This led to great excitement. There was a palaver at which many kings and half kings were present. Difficulties, however, were still pressing. The rainy season had begun; the houses were not fit for occupancy; fever was prevalent and both agents were suffering; provisions and stores were scanty—almost exhausted; it was realized that hostility on the part of the natives was but slumbering. Dr. Ayres, discouraged, determined to abandon the enterprise and to remove the people and the remaining stores to Sierra Leone. Wiltberger opposed this project, and the colonists also rejected it. A small number indeed accompanied Dr. Ayres to Sierra Leone. The remainder resolved to suffer every hardship, remained, and by July had their houses in fair condition. Soon, however, Wiltberger felt compelled to return to the United States. There was no white man to leave in charge of matters, and a colonist, Elijah Johnson, was appointed temporary superintendent.

It is at this point that Jehudi Ashmun came to Liberia. He was a remarkable man, and to him the colonial enterprise owes much. He was born April 21, 1794; he studied at Middlebury College and Vermont University; in 1816 he was principal of the Maine Charity School; in 1818 he married Miss C. D. Gray, at New York City; resigning his principalship on April 7, 1819, he removed to Washington where, for three years, he edited the Theological Repository; he here thought seriously of entering the ministry; he wrote the Life of Samuel Bacon, who had died for the sake of the colonial enterprise; in 1822, June 20th, he embarked upon the brig Strong, at Baltimore, having been employed to accompany a cargo of returned Georgian slaves. Mrs. Ashmun accompanied him; they were 81 days upon the voyage; on August 9th they arrived at Cape Montserrado. When Ashmun arrived, a small spot had been cleared, about thirty houses had been constructed in native style, together with a storehouse too small to receive the supplies which had been brought; the rainy season was at its height; the settlers already on the ground were barely supplied with shelter; for the new-comers no provision had been made; though the whole country was hostile, there were no adequate means of defense; the total population of the settlement, including the new-comers, did not exceed 130 persons, of whom thirty-five only were capable of bearing arms.

It was a desperate situation; the erection of a storehouse and of a building to shelter the recaptured Africans was at once begun. The people and the goods were transferred as rapidly as possible from the vessel to the shore. On September 15th, less than six weeks after their arrival, Mrs. Ashmun died of fever, and on December 16th Ashmun himself was taken down and for two months his life was in doubt; it was not until the middle of February, 1823, that he was able to resume his duties.

Between the time of Mrs. Ashmun’s death and Ashmun’s illness, troubles with the natives reached their culmination. Fortunately the danger had been foreseen and preparations made. Defensive operations began on August 18th. The plan included the clearing of a considerable space around the settlement in order to render concealment of the natives difficult; the stationing of five heavy guns at the angles of a triangle circumscribing the whole settlement, each angle being on a point sufficiently commanding to enfilade two sides of the triangle and sweep the ground beyond the lines; guns to be covered by musket proof; triangular stockades any two of which should be sufficient to contain all of the settlers in their wings; the brass piece and two swivels mounted on traveling carriages were in the center to support the post suffering heaviest attacks;—all to be joined by a paling carried quite around the settlement. Upon inspecting the matter of the force, it was found that there were only twenty-seven native Americans able to bear arms, when well. On November 7th it was found that an assault had been ordered within four days. Picket guards were set; no man was allowed to sleep before sunrise; patrols of natives were dispersed through the wood in every direction. Trees were felled in order to render approach more difficult. On Sunday, the 10th, it was reported that the enemy were approaching, crossing the Mesurado River a few miles above the settlement. Early in the night from 600 to 900 of them had assembled on the peninsula half a mile west, where they encamped. The attack itself was made at early dawn; it was vigorous, and at first the enemy had the distinct advantage; had they pressed it instead of delaying for looting, they would perhaps have won the day; as it was, the settlers recovered themselves and gained the victory. The number of the hostile dead could only be estimated; it could hardly have been less than 200 persons; the colonists had some dead and several wounded. The entire force of the settlers at the moment of the combat was thirty-five individuals of whom six were native youths not sixteen years of age; of this number only about one-half were actually engaged in fighting. Lott Carey and Elijah Johnson were notable for bravery in this defense. Attempts were made to bring about a treaty of peace with the enemy; these efforts were ineffective, and it was well known that a new attack might be expected. Nothing could be secured in the way of supplies from the surrounding country; all were put upon an allowance of provisions; the ammunition on hand was insufficient for an hour’s defense; it was impossible to know anything about the movement of the enemy, as there were no natives left in the settlement. Seven children had fallen into the hands of the native foe. November 23rd was observed as a day of humiliation, thanksgiving, and prayer. Two days later a passing steamer was able to give some relief in stores. On the 29th Capt. Brassey, aided with stores and by his influence, which was considerable, tried to bring about a peace with the hostile chiefs. It was in vain; the enemy had planned destruction that very night, but delayed the attack on account of his presence with his vessel. Guard was kept the night of the 29th, the 30th, December 1st; the attack was made at 4:30 in the morning of the 2d from two sides. How many were in the attacking force is not known, but there were more than in the first great battle; the battle lasted for more than an hour and a half and was most obstinately conducted; the loss of the enemy, though considerable, was less than in the preceding battle; one of the gunners of the colonists was killed. Conditions were so desperate that a renewal of the battle the following day might have proved fatal to the settlers. A seeming accident brought deliverance. An officer on watch, in the middle of the night, is said to have been alarmed by some slight noise; on hearing it, he discharged several muskets and a large gun. At that moment the schooner Prince Regent was passing; the well known Major Laing was aboard, and a prize crew of eleven seamen commanded by Midshipman Gordon; they were on their way to Cape Coast Castle, but, hearing midnight cannon, anchored in order to investigate with morning’s light; when they found the condition of things, Capt. Laing intervened in behalf of the colonists and brought about a truce; the chiefs agreed to refer matters of dispute, which might thereafter arise, to Sierra Leone for settlement. Midshipman Gordon and his eleven men were left behind to assist the colonists in case of need, and a plentiful supply of ammunition was given them. Gordon was a great favorite with the settlers; he was, however, together with his companions, quickly taken down with fever, and within four weeks he and seven out of his eleven men were dead.

We have already stated that seven children of the colonists had been captured by the enemy. Ashmun tells us: “Two of the captured children have been given up in consideration of a small gratuity. Five are still in the hands of the natives; for their relief a very extravagant ransom was demanded which it was steadily resolved not to pay . . . redeeming trait . . . in their treatment of these helpless and tender captives. It was the first object of the captors to place them under the maternal care of several aged women, who, in Africa, as in most countries, are proverbially tender and indulgent. These protectresses had them clad in their usual habits and at an early period of the truce, sent to the colony to inquire the proper kinds of food, and modes of preparing it, to which the youngest had been accustomed. The affections of their little charges were so perfectly won in the four months of their captivity as to oblige their own parents, at the end of that time, literally to tear away from their keepers several of the youngest amidst the most affectionate demonstrations of mutual attachment. This event did not occur until the 12th of March, when their gratuitous redemption was voted almost unanimously in a large council of native chiefs.”

We have referred to Elijah Johnson. He was an extraordinary man. His parentage is quite unknown; June 11, 1789, he was taken to New Jersey; he had had some instruction, gained perhaps in New York; by religion he was a Methodist and had studied for the ministry; he had had some experience in military life in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts; he had fought in the war of 1812 against the British; he came to Africa with the first colony of emigrants in 1820; in 1822 he was one of the founders of the settlement at Cape Montserrado; when Ayres proposed the abandonment of the enterprise, he vigorously opposed him, and his influence had much to do with holding his fellow colonists; to the British captain who, on the occasion of a difficulty, offered to quell the trouble with the natives if he be given ground for the erection of a flag, Johnson is said to have replied, “We want no flagstaff put up here, that will cost us more to get it down than it will to whip the natives.” When Wiltberger left the colony entirely to itself, it was Johnson who was put in charge; his son, born in Africa, became President of the Republic; Elijah Johnson died March 23, 1849.

March 31, 1823, the United States ship, Cyane, Capt. Spencer, reached Cape Montserrado. Finding the colonists in bad condition, the Captain supplied their wants; he repaired the agent’s house, commenced and nearly completed the Martello tower—for defense; after three weeks’ assistance so much fever had sprung up among his crew that he was obliged to depart, sailing for the United States. He, however, left behind as helper, Richard Seaton, his chief clerk. Seaton assisted Ashmun and the colonists so far as he could but was himself stricken by fever and died in June. On May 24th the Oswego arrived with sixty-one new colonists; the agent, Dr. Ayres, who seems to have thought better of matters, returned by this vessel. About this time, however, the whole community was rife with intrigue and rebellion; the settlers were dissatisfied with their situation; they were particularly dissatisfied with the distribution of land about which misunderstanding had arisen. The steps Ayres took for bringing about peace were not successful, and in December he left again for the United States.

It was on February 20, 1824, that the official names of Liberia for the colony and Monrovia for the settlement on Cape Montserrado were adopted on recommendation of General Harper. Previous to this time the settlement had been known by the name Christopolis. Things at Christopolis had been going badly. Even Ashmun could no longer get on with the settlers; perhaps it would be as true to say that even the settlers could not get on with Ashmun. However that may be, on March 22nd he issued a farewell address in which he expressed his feelings in regard to the disaffected, and on April 1st he embarked for the Cape Verde Islands. There is no reason to believe, so far as I know, that he had any intention of returning again to his field of labor. He had had a most unsatisfactory and disagreeable correspondence with the Society, and his tenure of office with them was vague and unsatisfactory; they had refused to recognize some of his official acts and conditions could hardly have been more disagreeable than they were at the moment.

Rev. R. R. Gurley had been ordered by the Society to visit Africa and investigate conditions at the colony. On July 24th the Porpoise, which was carrying him to Monrovia, put in at Porto Praya where Ashmun was stopping; he went on board to meet Gurley, and there they had their first conversation over the state of affairs; Ashmun consented to return to Monrovia and assist Gurley in getting a general knowledge of conditions. Together they reached Monrovia on August 13th; Gurley stayed until August 22nd; the two men went over the details of the situation, held consultations with the settlers, and drew up a plan of government more definite than had before existed, and which the discontented settlers agreed to accept.

After Gurley had departed conditions at the colony greatly improved; the new laws and the participation of the colonists in their own government had an excellent effect; every one appeared loyal and all united to advance the common interests. New lands were acquired in the neighborhood of Grand Bassa, New Cess, Cape Mount, and Junk River. In 1826 difficulties arose with the slave traders at Trade Town, about 100 miles south from Monrovia. Ashmun had remonstrated against their operations. In reply the French and Spanish traders proceeded to strengthen themselves; the traders were organized and some 350 natives were under their command. Ashmun decided to take vigorous action against them. On April 9th the Columbian war vessel, Jacinto, arrived at Monrovia with orders to co-operate with Dr. Peaco, the United States Government agent, and Mr. Ashmun; on April 10th Ashmun and thirty-two militia volunteers embarked upon the Jacinto, and the Indian Chief (Capt. Cochrane), and sailed for Trade Town where they arrived on the 11th, finding the Columbian vessel Vencedor, there, ready to assist them. The three vessels united in the attack, attempting to make a landing on the morning of the 12th; the surf was breaking heavily over the bar and the passage was only eight yards wide with rocks on both sides. The barges, full of armed men, were in great danger; the Spanish force was drawn up on the beach within half a gunshot of the barges; the two barges with Captains Chase and Cottrell were exposed to the enemy’s fire and filled with surf before reaching the shore; their crews, however, landed and forced the Spaniards back to the town. The flagboat with Ashmun and Capt. Cochrane and twenty-four men was upset and dashed upon the rocks; Ashmun was injured; some arms and ammunition were lost. Capt. Barbour, observing the difficulties encountered by the other boats, ran his boat on to the beach a little to the left of the river’s mouth, and landed safely. The town was captured; the natives and Spaniards took to the forest, and from behind the town poured in shot at frequent intervals; the contest continued through two days; more than 80 slaves were surrendered, but no actual adjustment of the difficulties was arrived at. At noon of the 13th, preparations were made to leave; the slaves were first embarked, and in the middle of the afternoon, the town having been fired, the officers took to the boats; before the vessel sailed the fire reached the ammunition of the enemy, and 250 casks of gunpowder were exploded; Trade Town was wiped out, and the victorious party returned to Monrovia. It was indeed only a temporary solution of the difficulty; by the end of July slaving vessels were again at Trade Town, a battery had been constructed, and preparations made to resist any force that might in future be sent against it.

On August 27, 1827, the Norfolk arrived with 142 recaptured slaves; this was the largest shipment of the kind so far sent. The policy was adopted of settling such Africans in settlements by themselves at a little distance from Monrovia, on lands well suited to agriculture; it is remarkable how readily these poor creatures took advantage of the opportunities offered them; they were industrious, established neat settlements, cultivated fields, and were anxious to learn the ways of the “white man”; as, however, they represented different tribes, occasional difficulties arose among them through tribal jealousies, and adjustment was necessary at the hands of the civilized colonists.

Ashmun’s health had long been bad; the injuries he suffered in the attack at Trade Town had been somewhat serious; he had, moreover, been subjected to a constant strain of anxiety, together with responsibility; he had been doing the work of several men; his condition finally became critical, and he decided that he must leave the colony. Whatever feeling might have existed at one time against him, he was now a much loved man; in losing him, the colonists felt as if they lost a father; he embarked on March 25th for the United States; he reached his native land in a condition of extreme exhaustion and weakness; on August 25th he died at New Haven, Conn. There was no white man in the colony at the time when Ashmun left to whom he could turn over the leadership of the settlement; he accordingly placed affairs in the hands of Lott Carey.

Lott Carey was a remarkable black man; he was born a slave near Richmond, Va., about 1780; in his early manhood he was rather wild; in 1804 he went to Richmond where he worked for a tobacco company; becoming converted in 1807, he joined the Baptist Church; he learned to read and write, and preached among his people; he was well considered by his employers and earned $800 a year as a regular salary, besides frequently making additional sums by legitimate outside labor; by carefully saving his money, he raised $850, ransoming himself and two children; his wife had died in 1813; becoming interested in African missions, he took to preaching, organized a missionary society, and through it raised contributions for the cause; he had married again, and learning of the Liberian scheme, early becoming interested, and decided to go to Africa; on January 23, 1821, he left Richmond for the colony; he was a most useful man—active in church work, interested in school affairs, instructing the recaptured Africans, aiding in the care of the sick and suffering; he had been of the disaffected, but after difficulties had been adjusted, was a firm friend and supporter of Ashmun. When left in charge of the colony, he actively pushed on in every line of progress, dealing fairly with the natives, arranging for defense, encouraging development, etc. In June, when three suspicious Spanish vessels stood off the harbor, he lost no time in dealing with them, ordering them away at once. Trouble, however, was arising with the natives. A factory belonging to the colony at Digby had been robbed; satisfaction had been demanded and refused; a slave trader was allowed to land goods in the very house where the colony goods had been; a letter of remonstrance to the trader was intercepted and destroyed by the natives. Lott Carey called out the militia and began to make arrangements for a show of force; on the evening of November 8th, while he and several others were making cartridges in the old agency-house, a candle caught some loose powder and caused an explosion which resulted in the death of eight persons; six of these survived until the 9th, Lott Carey and one other until the 10th. With his death the settlement was left without a head. Shortly before that sad event, however,—on October 28, 1828, a new constitution and laws, suggested by Ashmun shortly before his death, had been adopted by the Colonization Society and been put into operation. It was in every way an advance upon the previous efforts to organize the administration of the colony, and it may be said to mark a period in the colonial history.

“Instead of repenting that I am here, although I was well treated in Georgia, I would not return to live in the United States for five thousand dollars. There is scarcely a thinking person here but would feel insulted, if you should talk to him about returning. The people are now turning their attention to the cultivation of the soil, and are beginning to live within their own means.”—S. Benedict.

1828-1838.

Richard Randall, the newly appointed agent, arrived at Monrovia on December 22, 1828. He found the Digby incident still unsettled. King Brister (or Bristol) had been threatening. Randall thought it best, however, not to pursue active warfare and attempted to adjust matters without fighting. He was a man of excellent ideas, devoted to his duties, active and energetic. He was imprudent, however, in caring for himself, and died on April 19th, having been in the colony only about four months. He was succeeded by Dr. Mechlin who had come out with him as physician in December. Mechlin remained as agent for some years, although, on account of bad health, he was obliged to return once during that period to the United States. It was during his agency that the first printing press was erected in Monrovia, in 1830, and the first newspaper, The Liberian Herald, was printed with J. B. Russwurm as editor. It was in 1830 that Mechlin took his furlough to the United States; he was at first relieved by Dr. J. W. Anderson who died on April 12th, having been in Liberia less than two months; upon his death, the vice-agent, Anthony D. Williams, took charge until the return of Dr. Mechlin. Mechlin negotiated several treaties with native chiefs and increased the land holding of the colony through purchase; he visited Grand Bassa and negotiated for land around Cape Mount; it was during his administration that the Dey-Golah War took place. He seems to have been a well-meaning man, and certainly accomplished something, but there was considerable dissatisfaction with his administration, and when he left, it was questioned whether he was a good financier and used judgment and economy in administering money matters.

One of the most exciting incidents in the history of Liberia was the Dey-Golah War of 1832. Hostilities had been threatened against the colony by King Bromley, but he died before serious difficulty occurred. It was soon found that the Deys and others were combining; deeds of violence were practiced against the colonists and recaptured Africans; captives had been taken by King Willy; a messenger was sent to demand their release, but the letter was torn up and the messenger told to inform the agent that they would seize and hold every colonist they could find. The next day the enemy, standing on the river bank opposite Caldwell, blew war horns, fired muskets, and challenged the colonists; a body of recaptured Africans, 100 in number, was sent against them; finding a large force gathered, they were driven back, and one man was killed. The enemy barricaded their own town, and sent word that, if the colonists did not promptly meet them in the field, they would attack Caldwell and Millsburg; the Golah were acting with the Dey in this affair. Mechlin left Monrovia on June 20th, with the regular militia and volunteers, eighty in all; they had a large field piece with them; at Caldwell they were joined by seventy volunteers and militia, and 120 recaptured Africans; all were placed under Capt. Elijah Johnson. One day’s march from Caldwell brought the force to Bromley’s town which they took without trouble, camping there for the night; the next day they advanced over an exceedingly difficult road—seven hours being required for ten miles’ progress; after mid-day the recaptured Africans, who were in advance, were engaged with the enemy; the field piece was brought up until only twenty-five or thirty yards from the barricaded town. A few firings forced the enemy to abandon their position; under cover of the field piece, the colonists now rushed forward and cut through the barricade; the field piece was advanced and the town captured, the enemy escaping in the rear. In this engagement Lieutenant Thompson, of the colony force, was killed and three men wounded; of the enemy fifteen were killed and many wounded. The captured town was burned and also Bromley; the force returned to Caldwell for the night and then to Monrovia. Lieutenant Thompson was interred with the honors of war. Messengers promptly arrived from Kings Willy and Brister; Mechlin demanded that the kings themselves appear in person at Monrovia; Brister, Sitma, Long Peter, and Kai appeared; Willy sent New Peter as his representative; they agreed to the terms offered and a treaty of peace was signed.

It was also during Mechlin’s agency that the colonization of Maryland in Africa began. In 1831 Dr. James Hall with 31 colonists from the Maryland Colonization Society stopped at Monrovia; they had been sent out to locate a settlement where the colonists should devote themselves exclusively to agriculture (refusing trade) and should be devoted to temperance principles; they were not received with cordiality by the people at Monrovia, and no particular inclination was shown to aid them in securing a site for their purposes; Dr. Hall, therefore, left them temporarily at Monrovia, while he returned to the United States for advice and further supplies; he returned in 1833 with 28 new colonists; taking those who were at Monrovia, all sailed farther down the coast until, at Cape Palmas, they found a location to their satisfaction; they landed there, engaged in negotiations with the native chiefs, and founded what was at first known as Maryland in Africa; it was entirely distinct from the settlements under the direction of the American Colonization Society.

About this time there was a tendency for local branch organizations of the American Colonization Society to be formed and to undertake their own settlements, although these were not considered to be actually independent of the mother society and of the people at Monrovia. Considerable settlements had been made in the neighborhood of Grand Bassa. Among these, one of the most promising was Edina which was laid out upon a tongue of land upon the north side of the St. John’s River; it was named Edina from Edinburgh, Scotland, citizens of which had contributed quite liberally to the funds of the American Colonization Society. After Edina was founded, a neighboring settlement was made through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Young Men’s Colonization Society—an organization of Friends; it was organized with the idea that agriculture should be the chief interest; that trade as a means of income should be forbidden; that temperance and sobriety, involving a pledge of abstinence, should be demanded; and that war and resistance should be forbidden. Non-resistance and peace-principles, however, were not in place at that time and region; in 1835 this little colony was wiped out of existence by a brutal attack on the part of natives instigated by a slave trader who feared that the presence of the colonists would interrupt his trade. Joe Harris and King Peter, brothers, were the active agents of destruction; for several days their people spied upon the settlers, informing themselves whether any arms were in the place; there was one gun only there; the assault took place at night, and about 20 persons, mostly women and children, were killed; the agent Hankinson and his wife were rescued by a Kruman who concealed them; those who escaped were taken to Monrovia and cared for; the authorities at Monrovia took immediate action, marched an armed force against the aggressors, put them to flight, and destroyed their towns; King Peter and Joe Harris agreed to forever abandon the slave trade, to give free passage from the interior through their country, to rebuild the settlement, and return the property; a better spot was selected and a new settlement made.

When Mechlin returned to the United States, Rev. John B. Pinney, who was already in Liberia as a missionary, succeeded him. He found everything in a state of confusion and dilapidation; himself a man of vigor, he acted promptly and made notable improvements; he attempted to give agriculture its proper position as the fundamental interest of the community; he purchased fertile lands in the interior for cultivation; he emphasized the claims of Liberia to lands lying behind Cape Mount; he adjusted difficulties between the Congoes and Eboes, recaptured Africans; had he remained long in office, he might perhaps have accomplished much. He, however, left Liberia at the end of 1834 for home. Dr. Ezekiel Skinner took his position; at the time of Pinney’s retirement he was the colonial physician. His labors were arduous and multiform; in performing them he suffered repeated exposures which brought on a serious fever under which he was reduced so low that he was obliged to return to the United States, leaving Anthony D. Williams as agent in his place.

Williams, in fact, seems to have been agent at intervals from the time of Randall’s death until he gave way to Thomas Buchanan in 1839. Inasmuch as most authorities speak of him as if he were a white man, it may be well to raise the question. Late in November, 1836, Rev. Charles Rockwell, chaplain of the United States Navy, was in Liberia. In his Sketches of Foreign Travel he says: “Mr. Williams, who has for years been the acting-governor of Monrovia, took the lead in entertaining us and in doing the honors of the place. He was from Petersburg, Va., where, if I mistake not, he was once a slave. He has a peculiarly modest, sedate, gentlemanly deportment, and during his repeated visits to the United States has, by his intelligent and good sense, justly secured the esteem and confidence of those with whom he had intercourse. He came to Africa as a clergyman of the Methodist Church, and for a year or more was engaged in the self-denying work of a missionary among the natives at a distance of 150 miles in the interior. Under the title of vice-agent, he has for years been head (actively) of the colony, and as far as I could learn, has so discharged the duties of his office as to secure the confidence alike of his fellow citizens and of the society from which he received his appointment.” When, in 1839, he gave up the agency to Thomas Buchanan as Governor of the newly established Commonwealth of Liberia, the Board of the Colonization Society expressed itself as well satisfied with his long services; but it was their opinion “that the time had not yet arrived when the interests of the colony would permit it to remain permanently under the direction of a colonist.” It would seem as if these two quotations amply establish the fact that Williams was a colored man; we have thought it worth while to raise the question, inasmuch as his services were serious, and if rendered by a black man, deserve special recognition.

With the year 1836 there arrived in Africa a man of great ability and extraordinary energy, Thomas H. Buchanan; he was sent out as the agent of the New York and Pennsylvania Societies to take charge of their settlements at Bassa Cove; these settlements recognized the superior authority of Monrovia and the American Colonization Society; but it was deemed better that they should have a special superintendent in charge of them. It is well enough to notice that, at this time, there were three totally different associations at work within the area of what now is Liberia, besides Maryland; there was the original settlement of Monrovia on Cape Montserrado with extensions in the direction of Cape Mount and the Junk River; this district included Monrovia and several villages around it; “the people were not much given to agriculture; they were shrewd at driving trade and better liked to compete for some gallons of palm oil or sticks of camwood than to be doing their duty to their fields and gardens;” politics and military concerns occupied considerable of their attention, and they were called upon to adjust claims with the neighboring settlements. Secondly, there were the Bassa Cove villages; there were several of these in the neighborhood of the St. John’s River; they depended mainly upon agriculture and trade; they encouraged temperance and desired peace. Third, there were interesting settlements in Sinoe along the Sinoe River upon its rich agricultural lands; Greenville was a flourishing town; the settlers in this vicinity came from Mississippi, and their region was known as Mississippi in Africa.

Just as the New York and Pennsylvania Societies engaged a special governor to take charge of their settlements, so the Mississippi Society sent out a special governor to take charge of Mississippi in Africa. The appointment was of special interest in the person of I. F. C. Finley. Governor Finley was a son of the Rev. Robert Finley, to whom the organization of the American Colonization Society was in reality due. In September, 1838, Governor Finley left for Monrovia on business as well as for his health; making a landing in the neighborhood of the Bassa Cove settlements, he was robbed and murdered by the natives on September 10th; it is believed that the motive to this murder was the desire for gain, as the Governor had considerable money upon his person. The murder led to disturbance between the settlers at Bassa Cove and the natives who were implicated; one or two of the latter were killed, several wounded, and some houses were destroyed.

One rather interesting incident in connection with the Bassa settlements was the experience of Louis Sheriden. He was a colored man of some means from North Carolina, who came to Liberia in February, 1838; he at first planned to settle at Bassa Cove, but on visiting the settlements and examining the laws of their government, he was dissatisfied and refused to take the oath required of those who became citizens, saying that he had “left the United States on account of oppression and that he would not subject himself to arbitrary government in Africa”; he finally decided to locate at Bexley, six miles from Bassa Cove; he took a lease of 600 acres and soon had more than a hundred men in his employ; his intention was to develop an extensive sugar and coffee plantation, but he died before his plan could be realized.

An interesting man in this period, although but indirectly connected with the colony, was Theodore Canot; he was born in Florence in 1803 and had a life of excitement and adventure; in 1826 he became a slave trader; he finally located with Pedro Blanco at Gallinhas, and was sent by him to New Cess; he was a witness of the Finley murder; after Blanco retired from the slave trade, Canot, being hard pressed by the British officers, decided to abandon the business also. He finally retired to New York, where he met with Brantz Mayer, who wrote a book which purported to be autobiographical material supplied by the old adventurer. Canot not infrequently came into contact with the Liberian authorities. He must have known the whole colonial experiment better than almost any other white man. Of Liberia he says: “Nevertheless, the prosperity, endurance, and influence of the colonies are still problems. I am anxious to see the second generation of colonists in Africa. I wish to know what will be the force and development of the negro mind on its native soil—civilized, but cut off from all instruction, influence, or association with the white mind. I desire to understand, precisely, whether the negro’s faculties are original or imitative, and consequently, whether he can stand alone in absolute independence, or is only respectable when reflecting the civilization that is cast upon him by others.”

As was to be expected, considerable feeling arose between the four separate colonies—Liberia, Bassa Cove, Mississippi in Africa, and Maryland. Thus, in May, 1838, Anthony D. Williams wrote: “I regret to say, our neighbors of Bassa Cove and Edina seem to entertain the most hostile feelings toward the colony and everything connected with it. They have manifested such a disposition as will, if continued, lead to serious difficulties between the settlements. The policy which the colonizationists are now pursuing is assuredly a bad one and will inevitably defeat the object they aim to accomplish. Nothing can be conceived more destructive to the general good than separate and conflicting interests among the different colonies, and this consequence will certainly follow the establishment of separate and distinct sovereignties contiguous to each other.” This was felt to be a serious problem; after due consideration, an effort was made to more strongly unite the colonies outside of Maryland; a new constitution was accordingly drawn up by Professor Greenleaf, of Harvard College, the name “Commonwealth of Liberia” was adopted, and Thomas Buchanan, who had been governor of the Grand Bassa settlements, was appointed governor of the newly organized commonwealth. We have [already referred] to him as a man of vigor and enthusiasm; it is seldom indeed that Liberia has had an equally capable director.

“It is not every man that we can honestly advise, or desire to come to this country. To those who are contented to live and educate their children as house servants and lackeys, we would say stay where you are; here we have no masters to employ you. To the indolent, heedless and slothful, we would say, tarry among the flesh-pots of Egypt; here we get our bread by the sweat of our brow. To drunkards and rioters, we would say, come not to us; you never can become naturalized in a land where there are no grog-shops and where temperance and order is the motto. To the timorous and suspicious, we would say, stay where you have protectors; here we protect ourselves. But the industrious, enterprising, and patriotic, of whatever occupation, or enterprise—the mechanic, the merchant, the farmer, and especially the latter, we would counsel, advise, and entreat, to come over and be one with us, and assist us in this glorious enterprise, and enjoy with us that to which we ever were, and to which the man of color ever must be a stranger, in America.”

1838-1847.

Governor Buchanan had scarcely come to power when he was forced to take vigorous action against the slave traders at Trade Town; he assumed the right of jurisdiction over the entire territory along the Little Bassa seaboard; he ordered a trader, who had been there established for some months, to leave within a given time or suffer the confiscation of his entire property; the man had received two similar orders from Anthony D. Williams, but had treated them with contempt; to Buchanan’s order he returned a courteous reply; he promised obedience, but asked delay until a vessel should come to take his goods; this was granted on condition of his desisting entirely from slave trading in the meantime. About this time an English trader established a regular trade factory at the same place; he put some goods ashore in charge of a native agent; Buchanan ordered him off under threat of seizing his goods; he treated the messenger rudely and refused obedience. Meantime the slave trader had been negotiating with native kings for their protection; he added to his stores, extended his barracoon, and paid no attention to remonstrance. On the 18th of April, without previous announcement, Buchanan ordered a military parade at 7 P. M.; he stated the facts, declared his intention of proceeding in force against Trade Town, and called for forty volunteers who were soon secured; the next day he sent to New Georgia for twenty-five volunteers—they sent him thirty-five. He then chartered two small schooners, and sent them, together with the government schooner Providence, with ammunition, by sea to join the land forces for co-operation; on Monday, the 22nd, at 9 A. M., the land force took up the march under Elijah Johnson; in despatching his soldiers, the Governor told them that they were not out for war and plunder, but to sustain a civil officer in the discharge of his duty; he urged them to conduct themselves in an orderly manner with obedience and discipline. When the force actually started, about 100 men were in line. The fleet found bad winds and currents; after thirty-six hours’ struggle in trying to make Trade Town, it reappeared at Monrovia. The case looked desperate, as the men sent overland had little ammunition or food. At this moment Sir Francis Russell arrived and placed the fast Euphrates at the disposition of the government; arms and ammunition were at once loaded, Buchanan went in person, and the next morning they were at anchor in front of Little Bassa. The battle was already on; the barracoon, a circular palisade ten feet high, enclosed some half-dozen native houses, from which firing was going on; the opening in the forest was about 150 yards from the shore; it was difficult to know what to do, as it was impossible to recognize which was the friendly party; the Euphrates, well known as a slaving vessel, would be mistaken; the landing-party would be fired upon by its friends; an American seaman volunteered to perform the dangerous feat of carrying a letter to the shore; Elijah Johnson, seeing a white man landing from the canoe, made a sally with his forces to destroy him; his real character was only recognized when the natives were on the point of knifing him; Johnson’s party rushed out and saved him. As soon as his messenger was ashore, Buchanan started with two boats for the beach; the terrified Kru, whom they met in canoes before landing, told them that the woods on both sides of the path were lined with natives and the woods behind alive with them; when their boat was about fifty yards from the beach, a party of five or six came out to attack the new-comers; Buchanan stood and fired into them and they scattered. In landing, his canoe was capsized and he was nearly drowned. Huzzas greeted the relieving party; the defense was vigorously resumed; the houses outside of the barracoon, fifteen or twenty in number, had given cover to the natives; Buchanan ordered them to be destroyed, which was promptly done. Johnson with a party of thirty or forty was then ordered to drive the enemy from their forest shelter; this he did, and the axe-men felled trees so as to clear the space around. The enemy kept firing all day, scattering whenever a rush was made; Buchanan himself led two such charges. The Krumen were now employed in loading the property which had been seized by the government party, a task which continued through the day under the protection of the soldiers. The next morning firing was renewed from a dozen places at once; a pursuing party set out; Johnson led on; he was twice wounded and also three of his men, though not seriously. As ammunition was almost gone, Buchanan hurried in the Euphrates to Monrovia, where he arrived late at night; the next morning forty additional volunteers were taken on board, together with two field pieces, 14,000 ball cartridges, etc., etc. The vessel met with contrary winds and was delayed. As they neared their destination a large brig was seen apparently making for the anchorage ground; it was believed to be a brig of the English trader whose factory had been destroyed; the decks of the Euphrates were cleared for action and a six-pounder made ready. The brig turned, however, and was soon out of sight. On landing, Buchanan found that there had been no fighting since he left; messengers were sent out to the native chiefs, Prince and Bah Gay, demanding instant surrender of the slaves, who, on the appearance of the force, had been turned over by the slavers to the natives; the captured goods were finally all loaded, the wounded were sent on board, and everything was prepared for the return; though the chiefs failed to turn in all the slaves, some were surrendered. As the main objects of the expedition had been gained, the party returned to Monrovia.

From 1838 to 1840 there had been war between the Dey and Golah tribes in which the Golah gained the advantage. The Dey suffered so much that their remnant took refuge in the colony. A number of them were living on the farms of colonists near Millsburg; suddenly Gatumba, a Golah chief, burst upon them, wounding four dreadfully and carrying twelve into slavery; the entire number would have been killed or captured had not the colonists, hearing guns, appeared and rescued them. The attackers fled. Notice was sent to Governor Buchanan, and he at once hastened thither; he prepared for difficulties and kept strict watch; a letter was sent to Gatumba, demanding an explanation and requesting a palaver at Millsburg; an insulting reply was returned; Gatumba intimated that he was prepared for battle, did not intend to attack the Americans, but would not permit their interference. Returning to Monrovia, Buchanan assembled his principal officers, laid the matter before them, and proposed attacking Gatumba’s colony before he should attack Millsburg. His officers thought it best to send another message to the chief; five messengers were sent, were fired upon, and three of them were taken prisoners. Several days passed when, on March 8, 1840, Gatumba burst upon Heddington and would have murdered everybody in the place had they not in a measure been prepared. The battle took place at the house of Missionary Brown; two Americans from Caldwell were living with Brown at the time; a desperate attack was made at daybreak by from 300 to 400 men; against them were three black Americans sheltered by the house; all had guns and considerable ammunition; the attack was frightful, and the numbers great; the battle continued for almost an hour, and the ammunition was nearly gone; Gotorah, a notable cannibal, at the head of his best warriors, made a rush and came within ten feet of the door; Harris, handed a loaded gun by a town native, poured a heavy charge into the advancing leader, who fell hideously mangled; his fall caused panic and flight to his followers. The battle over, notice of the event was sent to Buchanan, who was at Little Bassa; hastening to Heddington, he found the place fortified in preparation for a second attack; the people above the settlement were in alarm; Gatumba was reported to be preparing for vengeance. Buchanan determined upon immediate attack on Gatumba’s town; with 200 men, arms, ammunition, and a week’s provisions, they were to start in boats for Millsburg. Rumors of an approaching hostile force delayed their departure; but, on the second day, embarcation was made and Millsburg reached; from there the line of march was taken by 300 men with a piece of artillery; sixty of the party were Kru carriers and forty were native allies, so that the really effective force consisted of some 200 men; the cannon was dragged for six miles with great labor and was then abandoned; the rain was falling in torrents when, at two o’clock, they reached a ruined walled town which had at one time been destroyed by Gatumba; as some huts still stood and the site was high, a camp was made. The next day the line was formed again and, in spite of the flooded trail and swollen streams, the party continued to Gatumba’s town. As they neared, an attack upon them was made from ambush and Capt. Snetter fell mortally wounded; the men rushed forward and dislodged the enemy; the music struck up, and a lively advance was made; for nearly six miles they were exposed to shooting from the thick forest, but rushed on; the town was found well barricaded; Buchanan ran up with his aids, Col. Lewis and Gen. Roberts, to the margin of the open field, where he found Johnson vigorously engaged with the people of the town and with an ambush; the third company now came up and joined the combat. Such was the vigor of their attack that the enemy, taken with panic, rushed from the town by a rear gate into the forest; the Liberian forces entered in triumph. By this victory the strength of Gatumba was completely prostrated.

During Buchanan’s administration a serious difficulty arose with the mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The superintendent of its interests at the time was the Rev. John Seyes; he was a man of considerable ability and force of character, but was highly opinionated; the mission had found that trade goods was the best means of remitting from their treasury in America to their stations in Africa; it was the ruling of the colony that goods necessary for carrying on the work of missions should be admitted free of duty; a difference arose between Governor Buchanan and Mr. Seyes in reference to the goods being introduced by the mission for trading purposes with natives—Buchanan holding, very justly, that free admission should be granted only for supplies for the personal use of missionaries. The undutiable goods introduced by the missionaries enabled them to undersell the colonial merchants, who had to pay the regular fees. The Governor was firm in his attitude and demanded that all goods which were to be used for trade purposes should pay their duties; the Colonization Society stood behind the Governor in his course; the community, however, was rent in twain—great excitement prevailed—and there were practically two parties, the Seyes people and the government supporters.

In 1840 it was evident that there was destined to be serious trouble with English traders settling in the neighborhood of the Mano River. On account of threatening complications, Buchanan sent an agent to England to inquire as to the purposes of such settlers and the attitude of the British Government in the matter. On September 3, 1841, Buchanan died at Bassa Cove. His death was a serious loss, but fortunately the man was ready who was competent to take up his work and carry it through to a successful conclusion.

This man was Joseph Jenkin Roberts, who was appointed Governor by the Colonization Society and who held the office for six years; at the end of that time the Society itself severed its relation to the settlements. Roberts was a mulatto; he was born in Virginia, in 1809; he went to Liberia in 1829 and at once engaged in trade; he was at the head of the Liberian force in its war against Gatumba. His six years of governorship were on the whole successful ones, although it was at this time that difficulties began with France. In 1842 the French Government attempted to secure a foothold at Cape Mount, Bassa Cove, Butu, and Garawé; this occurrence caused considerable anxiety, but the matter seemed to be finished without serious results; long afterwards this attempt was made the basis of claims which troubled the Republic. Roberts recognized the importance of strengthening Liberian titles to territory; he pursued an active policy of acquiring new areas and strengthening the hold of the Commonwealth upon its older possessions. John B. Russwurm was at this time the Governor of Maryland; Roberts consulted with him in regard to public policy, and between them they agreed upon the levying of uniform 6 per cent ad valorem duties upon all imports. During his governorship Roberts visited the United States; he was well received and made a good impression; as a result of his visit, an American squadron visited the coast of West Africa; difficulties, however, were brewing; Roberts found the English and other foreigners unwilling to pay customs duties; they took the ground that Liberia was not an actual government and had no right to levy duties on shipping and foreign trade. On account of its failure to pay duties, the Little Ben, an English trading boat, was seized; in retaliation the John Seyes, belonging to a Liberian named Benson, was seized and sold for £2000. Appeals were made to the United States and to the Society for support; the United States made some inquiries of the British Government; the American representations, however, were put modestly and half-heartedly; to them Great Britain replied that she “could not recognize the sovereign powers of Liberia, which she regarded as a mere commercial experiment of a philanthropic society.” It was clear that a crisis had been reached; the Society of course could do nothing; the American Government was timid in its support; if Liberia was to act at all, she must act for herself. Recognizing the situation, in 1846 the Society resolved that it was “expedient for the people to take into their own hands” the management of their affairs, and severed relations which had bound Liberia to it. The Liberians themselves called for a constitutional convention, which began its session the 25th of June, 1847; on July 26th the Declaration of Independence was made and the Constitution of the Liberian Republic was adopted. The flag consisted of eleven stripes, alternately red and white; the field, blue, bore a single white star. It is suggested that the meaning of the flag is this: The three colors indicate the three counties into which the Republic is divided; the eleven stripes represent the eleven signers of the Declaration and the Constitution; the lone star indicates the uniqueness of the African Republic.

Moreover, here is a wonder such as Solomon in all his wisdom conceived not of, when he said, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Here on Africa’s shores, the wilderness to which our fathers came but as yesterday, in ignorance, penury and want,—we have builded us towns and villages, and now are about to form a Republic—nay, nor was it thought of by the wise men of Europe and America.—H. J. R.

1847-1913.

The election was held in October, and Joseph Jenkin Roberts, the Governor of the Commonwealth, was elected to the new office of President of the Republic. One of his earliest acts was to visit Europe in order to ask the recognition of the new nation by European countries. The first to recognize the Republic was Great Britain; France was second. As it may be interesting to know just what powers have so far recognized Liberia as a nation, the list is presented in the order of their recognition, the date of recognition being placed within parenthesis:—Great Britain (1848); France (1852); Lubeck (1855); Bremen (1855); Hamburg (1855); Belgium (1858); Denmark (1860); United States (1862); Italy (1862); Sweden and Norway (1863); Holland (1863); Hayti (1864); Portugal (1865).

Of Roberts, Mr. Thomas, in his West Coast of Africa, says: “We called on President Roberts and family. Mrs. and Miss Roberts are most intelligent and interesting personages, speak English and French fluently, and are, in all respects, well bred and refined. I suppose that they have colored blood enough in them to swear by, but they might travel through every State in the Union without ever being suspected of having any connection with the sable progeny of Ham. Miss Roberts is a blue-eyed blonde, having light brown hair and rosy cheeks; yet she is a genuine African in the know-nothing sense of genuineness, having been born in the woods of Liberia. The Ex-President is tall and well proportioned, colorless in complexion—hope the reader can tolerate a paradox—but plainly indicating his African extraction by a very kinky head of wool, of which, his friends say, he is very proud. We have spoken of his official character. In intelligence and moral integrity he is a superior man, and in the interview of that morning displayed much of that excellence in conversation and elegance of manner that have rendered him so popular in the courts of France and England. The best evidence of his practical good sense was displayed in a visit, which he made a few years ago, to his colored relatives and his white friends in his native state of Virginia. In every circle he knew his place, and conducted himself in such a manner as to win great favor among bond and free.”

It was while he was in London, in 1848, that Mr. Roberts, at a dinner given by the Prussian Ambassador, met Lord Ashley and Mr. Gurley, and received from them promises of assistance for purchasing the land in the neighborhood of the Gallinhas River. He was well treated everywhere; he was received by Queen Victoria upon her royal yacht in April; the British Admiralty presented the Republic with a war vessel, the Lark; he was returned to Monrovia on the British war-ship Amazon. Roberts was re-elected president for two subsequent terms, holding office until the end of 1855. During his administration there were a number of disorders among the natives which needed settlement; thus, in 1850, the Vai, Dey, and Golah were quarreling; this was during the absence of the President. In March, 1853, Roberts, with 200 men, went to the region of Cape Mount in order to quiet the disturbance. The Grando War, in Grand Bassa, called for vigorous action, and Chief Grando continued to give trouble at intervals from 1850 to 1853. On the whole, the Roberts administrations were successful, and the country was greatly strengthened under his direction.

If Roberts was a mulatto, so light that he might easily have passed for a white man, his successor, Stephen Allen Benson, was black enough. This is amusingly brought out in an incident given by Thomas, which no doubt has some basis in fact, if it is not literally true. Thomas claims to quote a conversation between Capt. White of Virginia, while walking through Monrovia, and a former slave whom he had known as “Buck” (now “Col. Brown”). The Captain asked, “Which of the candidates for the presidency are you going to vote for?” “Oh, Benson, sir.” “Has not Roberts made you a good president?” “Oh, yes.” “He is a very smart man,” continued the Captain, “and much respected abroad. I think you had better vote for him.” “That’s all true”—Colonel becomes quite animated—“but the fac’s just this, Massa White; the folks say as how we darkies ain’t fitten to take care o’ oursel’s—ain’t capable. Roberts is a very fine gentleman, but he’s more white than black. Benson’s colored people all over. There’s no use talking government, an’ making laws, an’ that kind o’ things, if they ain’t going to keep um up. I vote for Benson, sir, case I wants to know if we’s going to stay nigger or turn monkey.”

Stephen Allen Benson was born in Maryland, in 1816; he removed to Liberia in 1822; he was captured and held by the natives for some little time; he was inaugurated President in January, 1856. During his administration Napoleon III presented the Republic with the Hirondelle and equipment for 1000 armed men. During his administration there were various troubles with the coast natives, especially in the neighborhood of Cape Palmas; in the month of January, 1857, the difficulty was so serious that the very existence of the colony and the American missionaries at Cape Palmas were threatened. A force of Liberian soldiers under Ex-President Roberts was sent upon an English war steamer to their relief; the arrival of so considerable a force awed the natives and led to a palaver; the natives promised submission and an indemnity for the destruction they had caused.

The independent colony of Maryland in Liberia had had a fairly successful existence. Their first governor, J. B. Russwurm, died in 1851. He was succeeded by McGill, and he by Prout. At the time of the Grebo War, J. B. Drayton was Governor. Largely as a result of this trouble it was decided that Maryland should join with the other colonies and become a part of the Republic; this annexation took place February 28, 1857, ten days after the ending of the Grebo War.

A curious incident took place in 1858. The French ship, Regina Coeli, arrived on the Kru Coast, and the Captain treated with Kru chiefs for men to be shipped as laborers; the men supposed that they were shipped for a trip along the west coast, as usual, to serve as seamen; learning, however, that their destination was the West Indies, they became alarmed and believed that they were to be sold into slavery; the Captain was still on shore, treating with the chiefs; the men mutinied, seized the ship, and killed all the white crew except the doctor; they then returned to shore and left the ship without a crew; had she not been noticed by a passing English steamer, she would no doubt have been wrecked; she was taken into a Liberian port. The French Government investigated the matter, but it was clearly shown that the Liberian Republic was in no way responsible for the incident.

In 1860 troubles with British traders in the region of the Mano River began; these are so fully discussed in [another place] that we need not present the facts here.

A great deal of trouble was encountered by the Republic in preventing smuggling by foreign ships; as it was impossible to adequately man all the ports along the coast with customs-officers, a law was passed naming certain Ports of Entry at which only it was permitted for foreign boats to trade; this rendered the detection of illegal trade and smuggling easier.

In 1864 Daniel Bashiel Warner became President. He was a native of the United States, born April 18, 1815. It was during his administration that the Ports of Entry Law was passed; it was also during his term that an immigration of 300 West Indian negroes took place; among those who came at that time were the parents of Arthur Barclay, later prominent in Liberian politics; Arthur Barclay himself was a child at the time.

In 1868 James Spriggs Payne became President. He was a clergyman of some literary ability; he was author of a small treatise upon political economy; during his first administration he sent Benjamin Anderson on an official expedition to the interior. Anderson penetrated as far as Musahdu, an important town of the Mandingo; Payne served a second term, but not immediately following his first; after him were President Roye and President Roberts; it was in 1876 Payne was inaugurated a second time.

In 1870 Edward James Roye, a merchant and ship-owner, became President of the Republic; he was a full negro; he represented the “True Whig” party. His administration is notable for the turbulent character of its events. It was under him that the famous loan of 1871 was made. Before he became President, an effort had been made to amend the Constitution in such a way as to make the presidential term four years instead of two; the amendment was not carried; when, however, his term of office neared its end, he proclaimed an extension of his period for two years. Public dissatisfaction with the loan and a feeling of outrage at this high-handed action aroused the people so that they rose against him; in the strife several lives were lost; the President’s house was sacked; search was made for him and one of his sons was caught and imprisoned; in the effort to escape to a British steamer standing in the harbor, it is said that he was drowned. Roye’s deposition took place October 26, 1871. A committee of three was appointed to govern the nation until a new election could be held; these gentlemen were Charles B. Dunbar, R. A. Sherman, and Amos Herring.

In this moment of public excitement and disorder the people looked to their old leader, and Joseph Jenkin Roberts was again elected to the presidency; this was his fifth term. His time was largely devoted to bringing about calm and order; Benjamin Anderson, in 1874, made a second expedition to Musahdu; in 1875 there was a war with the Gedebo (Grebo) of some consequence.

After President Payne’s second administration Anthony W. Gardner became President; he was inaugurated in 1878. It was under his administration that the difficulties with England culminated, and Liberian territory was seized by British arms. In 1879 took place what is known as the “Carlos incident;” the German steamer, Carlos, was wrecked at Nana Kru; the natives looted the vessel and abused the shipwrecked Germans who had landed in their boats; the Germans were robbed of everything they had succeeded in bringing to shore with them and were even stripped of their clothing; they were compelled to walk along the beach to Greenville. The German warship, Victoria, was immediately despatched to the point of difficulty; she bombarded Nana Kru and the towns about; she then proceeded to Monrovia and demanded £900 damages on behalf of the shipwrecked Germans; the Government was unable to make prompt settlement and eventually paid the claim only under threat of a bombardment and with the help of European merchants in Monrovia. It was under President Gardner’s direction that the Liberian Order of African Redemption was established; the decoration of the order consists of a star with rays pendent from a wreath of olive; upon the star is the seal of the Republic with the motto, THE LOVE OF LIBERTY BROUGHT US HERE. Gardner was re-elected twice, but finally, in despair on account of the misfortune which his nation was suffering, resigned his office in January, 1883; at his resignation the Vice-President, A. F. Russell, took the chair.

In 1883 there were two other difficulties with wrecked steamers. The Corisco, a British mail steamer belonging to the Elder Dempster Company, was wrecked near the mouth of the Grand Cesters River; the passengers and crew took to the boats, but were plundered by the natives when they landed; the ship itself was also plundered; the Liberian force punished the Grand Cesters people for this deed, and the British Government treated the matter in a friendly manner. About the same time the Senegal was wrecked upon the Liberian coast and plundered by the natives. It must be remembered, in connection with such events as these, that it has always been recognized along that coast, that the natives on the beach are entitled to whatever wreckage occurs upon their shores; it is very difficult to disabuse the native mind of this long recognized principle and to teach them that they must leave wrecked vessels unpillaged. It will be remembered that a difficulty of this same kind took place when the first settlers were living on Perseverance Island. In September, 1912, while we were in the interior of the Bassa country, a German boat of the Woermann Line was wrecked in front of Grand Bassa; although this occurred within sight of one of the most important settlements in the Republic, the natives put out in their canoes and took from the sinking ship all its contents.

In 1884 Hilary Richard Wright Johnson became President of the Republic. He was the first “native son” to hold the office. He was the child of the oft-mentioned Elijah Johnson, one of the first settlers. Hilary was born at Monrovia, June 1, 1837; he graduated from the Alexander High School, on the St. Paul’s River, in 1857; for seven years he was the private secretary of President Benson; in 1859 he became editor of the Liberian Herald, continuing to be so for two years; in 1861 he was elected to the House of Representatives; in 1862 he visited England and other countries with President Benson; he was Secretary of State under President Warner, and Professor of English and Philosophy in Liberia College; in 1870 he was Secretary of the Interior under President Roye, but resigned his office on account of difference of opinion with him; during the provisional government and during President Roberts’ final administration he was Secretary of State; he became President in 1884 and served eight years; after he left the presidential chair, he was for some time Postmaster-General; he died at Monrovia in 1900. It was in President Johnson’s administration that the boundary dispute so long pending with Great Britain was settled, the Mano River being recognized as the limit of Liberian territory; through a very considerable part of his time of service efforts were being made toward adjusting the unfortunate affairs connected with the loan of 1871; at the very close of Johnson’s term of office trouble with the French began by their claim on October 26th of the Cavalla River boundary.

Joseph James Cheeseman was the next President, being inaugurated in 1892. He was born in 1843 at Edina, and was trained for the ministry by his father; he was ordained as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Edina in November, 1868. He was a man of energy; in 1893 he found the third Gedebo War upon his hands; he secured two gunboats—the Rocktown and the Gorronama—to patrol the coast for the prevention of smuggling; during his administration the use of paper currency was abolished and gold payment established. He was twice re-elected and died in office in the middle of his third term, November 15, 1896. The Vice-President, William David Coleman, took the presidency and, at the close of his filling of the unexpired term, was elected to the presidency.

William David Coleman was a resident of Clay-Ashland. His term was rather troubled; his interior policy was unpopular; he quarreled with his legislature; and finally resigned in December, 1900, under threat of impeachment. As there was no vice-president at the time, the Secretary of State, G. W. Gibson, succeeded to his office. It was during President Coleman’s administration that Germany offered, in 1897, to take over Liberia as a protected territory; the offer was refused, but certainly is interesting. Germany has watched with some concern the constant encroachments of Great Britain and France upon Liberian territory and sovereign rights; having no territorial boundary herself, she is unable to pursue their methods; she is watching, however, and unless, as some suspect, there is an actual understanding between Great Britain and France, as to the eventual complete division of the Republic between them, it is certain that, when the German Government thinks Liberia’s neighbors are going too far in their land piracy, she herself will take a hand and grasp the whole Republic. Such at least is a possibility not infrequently suggested.

Garretson Warner Gibson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 20, 1832; he was but three years old when he went with his parents to Cape Palmas; he was educated under Bishop Payne and became a teacher in the mission school at Cavalla; in 1851 he went to the United States for the purpose of studying, returning to Cape Palmas two years later. In 1854 he was made deacon by Bishop Payne, the first ordained in the African field; he later became priest and preached and taught through a period of years until 1858, when he came to Monrovia to open up a church. He occupied a variety of political offices, but under Gardner, Cheeseman, and Coleman was Secretary of State; on the resignation of Coleman he filled out his term, and was himself elected President for the period from 1902 to 1904. He was three times president of Liberia College and was always interested in educational affairs; in 1908 he was a member of the commission which visited the United States; he died at Monrovia April 26, 1910.

In 1904 Arthur Barclay became president. We have already stated that he was a native of the West Indies, having been born at Barbados in 1854; he was of pure African parentage; his parents took him with them to Liberia in 1865; graduating from Liberia College in 1873, he became private secretary to President Roberts; after filling various minor offices, he became, in 1892, Postmaster-General, in 1894, Secretary of State, and in 1896, Secretary of the Treasury. He served two terms of two years each; during the second of these terms the Constitution was amended and the term of office of the President extended to four years; in 1908 President Barclay entered upon his third term of office, this time for the longer period. Arthur Barclay is a man of extraordinary ability; he has for years been the acknowledged leader of the Liberian bar; many of the most important incidents of Liberian history occurred within his period of administration; most of them, however, are connected with the vital problems of the Republic and their discussion will be found elsewhere.

The present executive of the Liberian Republic is Daniel Edward Howard. He assumed office January 1st and 2nd, 1912; at his inauguration one day was given to the native chiefs, a new feature in inauguration, and one to be encouraged. In his inaugural address President Howard laid particular stress upon agriculture, education, and the native policy. He is the third “native son” to hold the presidential office. His father was Thomas Howard, who for years was chairman of the Republic. Of him Ellis says: “Comparatively a young man, Secretary Howard is a natural leader of men. Frank, honest, and decisive, he may be truly described as the Mark Hanna of Liberian politics. He received his education at Liberia College and in the study and management of men. Proud of his race and country, he is to my mind today the strongest single factor in the Liberian Republic. He has large influence with the aboriginals because of his ability to speak fluently a number of native tongues, and he is usually relied upon to settle the native palavers and difficulties. He is chairman of the National True Whig Committee, and for years has been keeping in touch with, and commanding the great forces of his party. It is said of him that to his friends he is as true as steel, and that he does not know what it is to break a promise.”

President Howard has an able Cabinet, liberal views, and the courage of his convictions.

Of men not actually in the present government, but of commanding influence and significance, two must be mentioned. No clear understanding of the present trend of Liberian affairs is possible without some knowledge of their personality. Here again we quote from Ellis: “Secretary Johnson is the grandson of Elijah Johnson, the historic Liberian patriot, who by his wisdom and courage saved the infant colony of Liberia from early extirpation; and the son of the late Ex-President Hilary Johnson, one of Liberia’s notable public men. Secretary Johnson is proud and dignified in his bearing, scholarly in his attainments, and fluent in his speech. For years he has acknowledged no superior, and has been recognized as a close competitor of President Barclay at the bar. He has enjoyed extensive foreign travel and has had a varied public experience. He has served on two important foreign missions, and at different times has been Postmaster-General, Attorney-General, and is now Secretary of State.” It will be seen of course from the contents of these quotations from Ellis that his article was written just before Barclay’s administration ended. There is no man in Liberia who has a more complete grasp upon Liberian problems than F. E. R. Johnson. At the time of the visit of the American Commission to Monrovia, he presented for their study and examination a defense of the Liberian position, which was masterly.

Of Vice-President Dossen—now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court—Ellis says: “He is a man of magnificent physique and splendid intellectual powers, aggressive and proud in spirit, ready and forceful in language, he has enjoyed a useful public record. For ten years he was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and compiled the publication of the Supreme Court Decisions. He served as envoy extraordinary to France and to the United States, and now presides with becoming dignity over the deliberations of the Liberian Senate.” It was a matter of serious disappointment to us, that we were unable to meet John J. Dossen when in Liberia; he is certainly one of the best men in Liberian public life today; much is still to be expected from him.

PROBLEMS

I have heard men express preferences. They have made mention of whom they desire to rule over them if the worst should come upon us nationally. Some are rampant after American associations; some are enamoured of the English; some would have the Germans, others the French. Personally I indulge no such predilections. They argue an abandonment of hope; they display a lack of vitality; they are an absolute admission of incapacity and of failure. For my part I am a Liberian first and last and my desire is that Liberia should endure till the heavens fall, that this country be controlled by Liberians for Liberians. But I also desire that these Liberians be tolerant; that they be prescient; that they be energetic, industrious, and public-spirited; that they be courageous in shouldering their national responsibilities; that they be liberal and that they become a great and glorious people, unanimous in sentiment, united in action, abounding in all the virtues which make a nation powerful, perpetual and enduring.—E. Barclay.

BOUNDARY QUESTIONS.

The most pressing and ever urgent question which the Republic has to face is the protection of its frontier against aggression; Liberia has two powerful neighbors, both of which are land-hungry and are continually pressing upon her borders; she has already lost large slices of her territory and is still menaced with further loss.

FIRST BRITISH AGGRESSION.

Shortly after his election to the presidency of the Republic, President J. J. Roberts visited Europe. He was well received both in England and France. On one occasion, in 1848, when he was dining in London with the Prussian Ambassador, the conversation dealt with the difficulties which the Liberian settlers had with the native chiefs along the Gallinhas River; these hostilities were kept alive by slave traders who had their trading stations near the river’s mouth; these difficulties had generally been incited and directed by a chief named Mano. Among the guests who were present at the dinner were Lord Ashley and Mr. Gurney; it was suggested that an end might be put to these difficulties and the anti-slavery cause advanced, if Liberia would purchase this territory; considerable interest was aroused by the suggestion, and through Lord Ashley’s effort the necessary money was raised for consummating the purchase. On his return to Liberia, President Roberts entered into negotiations which extended from 1849 to 1856, by which the land was gradually acquired; the area secured stretched from the Mano River to the Sewa and Sherbro Island on the west. Through the annexation of this territory, Liberia’s domain extended from Cape Lahon to the eastward of Cape Palmas, west to the border of Sierra Leone, a distance of 600 miles. This acquisition of territory was attended with considerable difficulty; the influence of traders, of slavers, and even of England herself was thrown in the way of the negotiations—so Commodore Foote tells us. Nor did the acquisition of the territory put an end to the difficulties in that region. In the year 1860 John Myers Harris, an English trader, had established himself in the country between the Mano and Sulima Rivers and refused to acknowledge Liberia’s authority; as he was conducting a flagrant trade in contravention of Liberian laws of commerce, President Benson sent a coast guard to seize two schooners, the Phoebe and Emily, which had been consigned to him; the seizure was made between Cape Mount and Mano Point, clearly Liberian territory. It is curious that this seizure was made by a Liberian government vessel, the Quail, which had been a gift to the Republic from Great Britain. We have, then, a vessel, contributed through British sympathy, operating within an area secured through British philanthropy, against law-breaking indulged in by British subjects. The captured schooners were taken to Liberia and were held for legal adjudication; under the orders of the Sierra Leone Government, the British gunboat, Torch, appeared at Monrovia, and seized the two schooners by force on December 17; at the same time the commander of this gunboat demanded from the Liberian Government a penalty of fifteen pounds per day for nineteen days’ detention. Shortly after these events, President Benson, on his way to England for public business, visited the government of Sierra Leone and tried to adjust the difficulties which had arisen; he was, however, referred to London. At about this time part of the disputed territory was annexed by Sierra Leone to her own area. While in London, Benson took up the matter with the British Government. Lord Russell acknowledged the territorial rights of Liberia to extend from the coast east of Turner Point (Mattru) to the San Pedro River on the east, thus admitting the point for which Liberia contended. This decision was by no means satisfactory to the troublers in Africa. Harris agitated the matter in dispute. Backed by Governor Hall of Sierra Leone, he and neighboring traders protested against the concession Russell had made. A commission was therefore appointed and met at Monrovia April 25, 1863, continuing in session until May 4, when it adjourned without decision. The British Commissioners examined the title deeds held by Liberia and were inclined to recognize some of these and to refuse others; they objected to Liberia’s possessing any territory beyond the Mano River, and proposed that river as the boundary. The Liberian Commissioners demurred, urging the validity of the deeds they showed and proposing that the Sherbro should be their northwest boundary; they asserted a good title to the territories known as Cassee, Gumbo, and Muttru. The British Commissioners based their claims upon letters from the chiefs of the territories involved and on statements which they asserted had been made by them. The Commission broke up without a settlement, as the Liberians held strictly to the concession which Lord Russell had previously made. London, however, yielding to the colonial pressure, regretted that no solution had been reached, and claimed that it was “justified in view of the facts” in only recognizing Liberia’s sovereignty over Sugaree. The closing episode in this exchange of views was the sending of a letter by Dr. Blyden, who was then Secretary of State for the Republic, which ran as follows: “The President is equally grieved that the oral statements of barbarous and heathen chiefs on a subject affecting the prosperity of a rising Christian state should be regarded by Her Majesty’s Government as entitled to more weight than the statements of Christian men supported by written documents and by the known local conduct of the chiefs towards the Liberian Government since the cession of their territories until very recently.”

As might be expected, the troubles did not cease. Traders continued to smuggle; local chiefs continued to harass; shipping continued to bid defiance to Liberian laws; vessels continued to be seized; threats continued to be made. Harris began to act almost as if he were an independent chief within this territory; there were various tribes about him, and some of them were inclined to resist his exactions; disputes with him aroused the Vai to undertake reprisals; Harris organized the Gallinhas peoples in an attack upon the Vai; the Liberian Government sent forces in 1869 to aid the Vai, who were loyal to them. The Gallinhas natives were defeated, fled, and in their rage turning on Harris, destroyed one of his factories; this of course gave him a basis for new claims for damages. On this military expedition some property had been destroyed or confiscated. Thus new difficulties grew up; there were occasional seizures, retaliatory threats, demands for damages, shows of force. Naturally, the hostile chiefs living in the Mano District, encouraged by the unsettled conditions, raided and destroyed Liberian settlements; things presently were critical, and in 1871 another expedition was despatched by the Liberian Government into Mano and Sulima; property was destroyed, including powder and goods belonging to British owners; the usual demands for damages were made, and these demands known as the “Mano River Claims” were pending until 1882.

Between the constant pushing of the “Harris Claims” and the “Mano River Claims,” things finally came to a head in December, 1878. A new commission was then appointed which met in 1879, first at Sierra Leone, then at Sulima; Commodore Shufeldt, of the American navy, was chosen as an arbitrator between the two contestants. The “Harris Claims” by this time amounted to some 6000 pounds. The conduct of Great Britain on this occasion was supercilious. The Liberian Commissioners, after reaching Sierra Leone, were kept waiting for three weeks before the British Commissioners made their appearance; the commissioners examined the title deeds of the Liberian Government and took oral testimony of witnesses favorable to and hostile to the Liberian claims. The Liberians claimed the territories known as Sugaree, Mano, Rock River, and Sulima; the British Commissioners took the ground that no such countries were in existence. The meeting was rather stormy; Shufeldt reduced the “Harris Claims” to £3000, but the British Commissioners were not inclined either in this matter or in others to abide by the decision of the umpire; finally the Commission broke up without accomplishing any good results. The British claimed that Sierra Leone should undertake the protectorate of the whole country as far as the Mano River, as they said Liberia was unable to maintain order west of that point. “Undoubtedly they were unable to fight British traders, since every time they used force, marine or military, the said traders were able to command the armed interference of the Sierra Leone Government.” The matter was again referred to London; nothing final was there done.

Matters reached a crisis when, on March 20, 1882, Sir Arthur Havelock, governor of Sierra Leone, with four gunboats appeared before Monrovia and demanded that the Republic should pay an indemnity of £8,500 to settle all outstanding claims, and that it should accept the Maffa River as a boundary. The Liberian Government yielded to these insistent claims. They promised to pay the indemnity, admitted the Maffa River as a temporary boundary, and agreed to receive from Great Britain a money payment in return for what she had expended for the purchase of the disputed territory. Before the Liberian Government yielded, she set up a statement of her own position which was just and dignified. As soon as the action of the government was known at Monrovia, Havelock having returned to Sierra Leone, violent hostility arose; the Senate rejected the treaty; the Liberians asked that the whole matter be submitted to arbitration. On September 7, Sir Arthur Havelock again appeared with gunboats, demanding immediate ratification of the treaty. Liberia again raised her defense: “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 had done, and agreed to pay an indemnity, why should she be in addition deprived of territories for the law and order of which she was held responsible, and which were hers by acts of purchase admitted by the British Government?” The Senate again refused to ratify the treaty. Sir Arthur Havelock sailed away; but in March, 1883, the Sierra Leone Government seized the territories in question between Sherbro and the Mano River, territories which from first to last had cost Liberia £20,000. The whole matter was finally settled by a treaty signed at London, Nov. 11, 1885, whereby the river Mano was admitted to be the western boundary; a badly defined interior line was agreed upon; a repayment of £4750 of purchase money was made to Liberia.

THE KANRE-LAHUN AFFAIR.

The next act of serious aggression on the part of Great Britain grew out of the bad definition of the interior boundary by the treaty of 1885. The Mano River had been recognized as the boundary between Sierra Leone and Liberia. The question now arose as to whether the two parties enjoyed equal rights of freedom on the river. The Liberian Government attempted to secure to Liberian traders and to foreigners resident in Liberia the rights to free navigation on the river without subjection to the payment of customs dues and other charges to the Sierra Leone Government. The matter became of sufficient consequence to call for a commission in the year 1901. Three Liberians, among them Arthur Barclay, then Secretary of the Treasury (later President of the Republic), were appointed; the meeting was held in London and led to the following memorandum of agreement between His Majesty’s Government and the Liberian Republic.

1. His Majesty’s Government are prepared to accede to the requests of the Liberian Government that a British officer should be deputed to demarcate the Anglo-Liberian Boundary.

2. They are also ready to lend the services of a British officer for employment by the Liberian Government in the demarcation of the Franco-Liberian Boundary whenever the Liberian Government shall have made an arrangement with the French Government for such demarcation.

3. The Liberian Government undertakes to repay to His Majesty’s Government the whole of any cost incurred by them in connection with the survey and demarcation of the Anglo-Liberian Frontier.

4. His Majesty’s Government are willing that, in lieu of the Governor of Sierra Leone acting as British Consul to Liberia, arrangements shall be made whereby some other British officer shall be Consul in the Republic.

5. His Majesty’s Government undertakes the survey of the Kru Coast, provided the Liberian Government will throw open to foreign trade the native ports on the coast.

6. With regard to the navigation on the Mano River, His Majesty’s Government are prepared to permit the Government of the Liberian Republic and its citizens to trade on that river, provided that it is not to be considered actual right, and if, in return, the Government of Sierra Leone is allowed to connect by bridges and ferries the two banks of the river with any roads or trade-routes in the neighborhood.

7. The Government of the Liberian Republic have expressed a desire for closer union with Great Britain: His Majesty’s Government are actuated by the most friendly feelings toward the Republic; and with the view of meeting their wishes in this respect, so far as it is consistent with the declaration made by His Majesty’s government in connection with other powers, will at all times be ready to advise them in matters affecting the welfare of Liberia, and to confer with the Government of the Republic as to the best means of securing its independence and the integrity of its territory.

When this agreement was submitted to the Senate of Liberia for ratification, they made the following amendments:

Section 1. Amended to read, that the Liberian Government shall depute an officer or officers to be associated with the British officer in demarcating the Anglo-Liberian Boundary.

Section 2. Amended to read, that the Liberian Government shall depute an officer or officers to be associated with the British and French officers in demarcating the Franco-Liberian Frontier.

Section 5. The Senate, not perceiving the advisability of throwing the coast open for the present, is under the necessity of withholding its vote in favor of this section.

Section 7. Amended to read, “One bridge at the place where the Liberian Customs House is now erected, and one ferry at the place where the second Liberian Customs House may hereafter be erected; that said bridge and ferry will be accessible to the citizens of the Liberian Government without any restrictions or extra toll, or charges, more than is required to be paid by the subjects of His Majesty’s Government.”

The British Government left the settlement of the details of that portion of the agreement which had reference to the navigation of the Mano River to be settled between the Liberian Government and the Government of Sierra Leone. The colonial government imposed such restrictions that no understanding was ever arrived at. However, a joint commission for the demarcation of the Anglo-Liberian frontier was appointed and in 1903 proceeded with its work. In due time the boundary was satisfactorily settled by this commission. This boundary, however, very soon gave rise to a serious difficulty and to a flagrant aggression. By the delimitation, the town and district of Kanre-Lahun fell to Liberia; Colonel Williams, the Liberian Commissioner, hoisted the Liberian flag at that town which, at the time, was occupied by a detachment of the Sierra Leone Frontier Force; curiously enough, the British force was not withdrawn.

In 1904 the British Government complained to the Liberian Government that the Kissi were making raids into British territory in consequence of a war between Fabundah, a chief of the Kanre-Lahun District, and Kah Furah, a Kissi chief, and asked permission for the entrance of British troops into Liberian territory for the purpose of repressing the disorder which, it was said, threatened British interests. The request was granted; British troops advanced to the Mafisso where they established a post. In November the British Vice-Consul sent word to the President of Liberia saying that the chief Kah Furah had been driven out of the Kissi country, and that the people, at the invitation of the military authorities, had elected a new chief, and had pledged themselves not to receive Kah Furah among them again. The Liberian Government assumed that the matter was at an end and that the British force had been withdrawn. In 1906 Mr. Lomax, the Liberian Commissioner for the French frontier, was instructed to proceed to this point; he reached Kanre-Lahun in December, and found Waladi, a town in Liberian territory, garrisoned by a Sierra Leone force. While Mr. Lomax was at Kanre-Lahun, complaints were made against him by the Chief Fabundah and others. These complaints were examined in the presence of Governor Probyn, Sir Harry Johnston, Mr. Lamont, and leading military officers, and Mr. Lomax justified himself completely, except in a single case where damages of five pounds were suggested and paid. Later on, British officers sent in complaints that the escort with Mr. Lomax were plundering the country. It was impossible in such districts and under such circumstances to prevent some petty thieving. Mr. Lomax, however, accepted the complaints and paid the damages claimed. With a view to permanently settling the country under Liberian rule, Mr. Lomax ordered a local election to be held. Three chiefs were chosen—Fabundah for the lower section, Gardi for the Bombali section, and Bawma for the Gormah section. Fabundah, who before had been exercising jurisdiction over the Bombali, was dissatisfied. The Sierra Leone authorities promised to support him against the Liberian Government; they placed a frontier force at his disposal for the purpose of ruining the chiefs who were favorable to Liberian control or who had received commissions from the President; efforts to arouse opposition and dissatisfaction were made; Lomax was hounded from the district; the chief, Gardi, was driven from the country, his town was plundered, and his brother made a prisoner in Kanre-Lahun.

In 1908 attempts had been made in Europe to settle difficulties pending with Great Britain and France. Mr. F. E. R. Johnson, the Liberian Secretary of State, who had been sent to arrange these matters, found conditions threatening. In London the British Government stated that it had no designs against Liberia, but that they believed the French were planning encroachment, and that, if Liberia lost territory to France, Great Britain would find it necessary to take a new piece of territory contingent to Sierra Leone in her own defense. Matters appeared so serious that President Barclay was advised to come to Europe himself; he arrived in London on the 29th of August, accompanied by T. McCants Stewart, and there met Mr. Johnson. He told the British Government of his fears regarding further aggression upon Liberian territory and expressed the desire that Great Britain and America should jointly guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic. The reply was that Great Britain would on no account enter into any such guarantee; if the Liberian Government obtained a settled frontier with France, and inaugurated certain reforms, there would be little danger of any one’s troubling it; if the reforms desired by England were not undertaken, nothing would save it from the end which threatened. At the same time London refused to treat of the Kanre-Lahun and Mano River difficulties until after the troubles with France had been arranged. In France, as will be shortly seen, the Liberian envoys met with no success; a treaty was indeed arranged by means of which the Republic was robbed of a large amount of valuable territory. The envoys were again in London in September to take up the matters of the Kanre-Lahun and Mano River negotiations. The British officials now demanded that Fabundah should come entirely under the jurisdiction of the British Government, and that the frontier line on the northwest should be so altered as to place his territory within the British colony; the area thus demanded contained something like 250 square miles of territory. At no time had the area actually in charge of Fabundah amounted to any such quantity; the Liberians demurred at the largeness of the territorial claim—the British officials themselves stated that they were surprised at its extent, but insisted upon receiving the entire amount. No decision was actually reached, the matter being postponed until the delimitation of the new Franco-Liberian boundary should be achieved.

Great Britain’s claim to this region was based upon the flimsiest pretext. It is true that she had had relations with Fabundah before the boundary had been delimited; it is true that, previous to that date, she had had a force in Kanre-Lahun; however, when the boundary was actually fixed, Kanre-Lahun was clearly within Liberian territory, and no objection whatever was made to the Republic’s taking possession and to the withdrawal of the Sierra Leone force. When, later on, Great Britain sent soldiers into the area, it was done on the pretext that intertribal difficulties in the region threatened British interests; permission was given as a favor to Great Britain and with the expectation that, as soon as the difficulty had been adjusted, the British force would be withdrawn. Such was not the case; once in Kanre-Lahun, it remained there; Major Lomax was hounded from the country; the Liberian customs officer, Mr. Hughes, was ordered to abandon his post of duty and to surrender the customs house to the British commander. This act of occupation was bad enough; but soon Great Britain demanded that the army of occupation should be paid by the Liberian Government before it would evacuate the district; no such understanding had been arranged, and the claim was unjustified and ridiculous; the frontier force of Sierra Leone was not increased, nor put to any extra expense in the matter. In asking for a new boundary line which should cut out Fabundah’s territory, flagrant injustice was committed; it is true that the boundary which had been arranged cut the land controlled by the chief; about one-twenty-fifth of his territory was on the British side, the remaining twenty-four-twenty-fifths being in Liberia; if a new line were to be drawn, it should have given the one-twenty-fifth to Liberia and reduced the Sierra Leone territory. The matter dragged along for months. December 8, 1909, President Barclay accepted a proposition to exchange or sell the district in dispute; the legislature refused to accept the proposition. In May, 1911, however, an agreement was finally arranged; the British authorities took over the Kanre-Lahun District, an area of extraordinary wealth and dense population; in return for this valuable and most needed area, Liberia received a piece of country lying between the Morro and Mano Rivers, which had formerly been a part of the Colony of Sierra Leone; this territory is almost without population, densely forested, and practically worthless. Even so, it is little likely that the Republic will be left in peaceful possession of it. On some pretext, in the future, Great Britain will no doubt regain it.

THE FRENCH BOUNDARY QUESTION.

When Maryland was added to the Liberian Republic, it possessed lands acquired by deeds of purchase and treaties as far east as the San Pedro River, sixty miles east of the Cavalla; this country was occupied by Kru tribes, and its eastern boundary practically marked their limit; it was hence not only a geographical, but an ethnographical boundary. For years no one questioned Liberia’s right to the whole area, and on maps and in repeated descriptions of the country its rights were recognized. In 1885, however, the French Government claimed that the French possessions extended continuously from the Ivory Coast westward beyond the Cavalla River and Cape Palmas as far as Garawé; at the same time it suggested certain shadowy claims to Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, and Grand Butu;—in other words, points at intervals along the whole coast of the Liberian Republic; these claims were based on agreements stated to have been drawn up between native chiefs and the commanders of war vessels. In 1891 the French Government officially communicated to Great Britain her intention of taking possession of and administering the district mentioned as far as Garawé; she modified her claim, however, in such a way as to extend her rights only to the Cavalla River. In 1891 a French commissioner was authorized to treat with Liberia in this matter. He claimed that the French had deeds to Grand Cesters, dating to 1788, and to Garawé, dating to 1842; he referred to other shadowy rights and mentioned treaties which, he asserted, chiefs in the neighborhood of the Cavalla and San Pedro Rivers had made with French authorities; asked to produce these documents, he admitted that he did not have them with him. The French Government asked that Liberia should recognize the right of France from the Cavalla River to the San Pedro, saying that, if this recognition were granted, they might not revive their old claims. Liberia urged that the treaty formed with her by the French Government in 1852 clearly recognized her rights to the region in question; a French war map, dated 1882, was shown, on which Liberia’s area was clearly shown to extend to the San Pedro River; at the same time Liberia asked that the whole matter should be referred to arbitration. Arbitration was refused; a treaty drawn up by France was offered for approval in August, 1892; the Liberian legislature refused absolutely to ratify it, and the Liberian Government appealed to the United States for assistance and advice. The country was greatly aroused over the manifest injustice of its powerful neighbor. Especially in Maryland, feeling ran high. A printed appeal was issued to the world. In it occurs the following passage:

“We appeal to all the civilized nations of the world.—Consider, we pray you, the situation. Having been carried away into slavery, and, by the blessing of God, returned from exile to our fatherland, are we now to be robbed of our rightful inheritance? Is there not to be a foot of land in Africa, that the African, whether civilized or savage, can call his own? It has been asserted that the race is not capable of self-government, and the eyes of many are watching the progress of Liberia with a view to determining that question. We only ask, in all fairness, to be allowed just what any other people would require—free scope for operation. Do not wrest our territory from us and hamper us in our operations, and then stigmatize the race with incapacity, because we do not work miracles. Give us a fair chance, and then if we utterly fail, we shall yield the point. We pray you, the civilized and Christian nations of the world, to use your influence in our behalf. We have no power to prevent this aggression on the part of the French Government: but we know that we have right on our side, and are willing to have our claims to the territory in question examined. We do not consent to France’s taking that portion of our territory lying between the Cavalla and San Pedro Rivers; nor do we recognize its claims to points on our Grain Coast which, as shown above, our government has been in possession of for so long. We protest, too, against that government’s marking off narrow limits of interior land for us. We claim the right to extend as far interiorward as our necessities require. We are not foreigners: we are Africans, and this is Africa. Such being the case, we have certain natural rights—God-given rights—to this territory which no foreigners can have. We should have room enough, not only for our present population, but also to afford a home for our brethren in exile who may wish to return to their fatherland and help us to build up a negro nationality. We implore you, the civilized and Christian nations of the world, to use your influence to have these, our reasonable requirements secured to us.” But neither the official appeal to the United States nor the unofficial appeal to the Christian nations of the world availed. France seized the territory and threatened to refuse to recognize rights beyond Grand Cesters on the seaboard, and Boporo in the interior. After fruitless remonstrance, the Republic was forced to yield and a treaty was accepted on December 8, 1892. By it the Cavalla River was recognized as the boundary between France and Liberia, from its mouth “as far as a point situated at a point” about twenty miles south of its confluence with the River “Fodedougouba” at the intersection of the parallel 6° 30′ north and the Paris meridian 9° 12′ west; thence along 6° 30′ as far as 10° west, with the proviso that the basin of the Grand Cesters River should belong to Liberia and the basin of the Fodedougouba to France; then north along 10° to 8° north; and then northwest to the latitude of Tembi Kunda (supposed 8° 35′), after which due west along the latitude of Tembi Kunda, until it intersects the British boundary near that place. But the entire Niger Basin should be French; Bamaquilla and Mahommadou should be Liberian; Mousardou and Naalah, French.

LATER FRENCH DIFFICULTIES.

Notwithstanding this delimitation, difficulties with the French continued. In 1895 French posts along the northern border began to crowd in upon the Republic. The town of Lola, in Liberia, was attacked by Senegalese soldiers; these were repulsed and two French officers were killed. Aggressions continued until, finally, in 1903, Liberia begged that a final delimitation might be arranged, as the old had proved completely unsatisfactory. In 1904 F. E. R. Johnson and J. J. Dossen were sent to France to arrange matters. On their way, they called at the British Foreign Office and asked their aid and interest in bringing about an understanding. Arrived in Paris, it was quickly found that the French were planning to possess themselves of all the territory situated in the basin of the Cavalla and the Upper St. Paul’s Rivers; the British Foreign Office expressed sympathy, but did nothing more. In 1905 several efforts were made toward bringing about an agreement. Dr. Blyden was sent to France, but accomplished nothing; in November Sir Harry Johnston was asked to treat with the French Government which, however, refused to recognize him as an official negotiator. In 1907 Secretary Johnson was commissioned to treat with the French Government, but found its attitude most hostile and unfriendly. President Barclay himself was summoned to Europe; taking T. McCants Stewart with him, they joined Johnson, and interviewed the French officials. A treaty was submitted to them by which Liberia would be deprived of a large portion of her territory situated in the richest and most prosperous districts of the Republic. It was in vain that the Liberian commissioners remonstrated; the French were inflexible. The English Government had refused to deal with the commissioners in regard to the British boundary difficulty until they had come to some arrangement with France. In this unhappy condition of affairs, the commissioners decided to consult the American Ambassador in Paris; they asked that the United States should assist Liberia and prevent her being robbed of so large a portion of her territory, and should use her influence in bringing the French Government to submit the whole matter in dispute to arbitration. Ambassador White replied that he doubted whether the United States would aid Liberia in this crisis; he advised President Barclay to accept the treaty, urging that, if he failed to do so, the French would make further encroachments, and the Republic would meet with greater losses. As the case seemed hopeless, the commissioners accepted the treaty. It involved the delimitation of a fixed boundary by an international commission. Liberia engaged two Dutch officials as her commissioners. They were on hand ready to fix the boundary in February, 1898, but were kept waiting until May by the dilatoriness of the French commissioners; in order to have a permanent boundary fixed, the Republic made great concessions and lost valuable regions. It was willing, however, to sacrifice much for peace.

Of course the sacrifice was without result. At the present time the whole question of the Franco-Liberian boundary is again open, and from the points urged by the French Government it is evident that it aims at new acquisition of territory and new restriction of the power of the little Republic.

We stand at the threshold of a new era; new political theories are being advanced; new interpretations are being given to the principles of international law; larger fulfilments of national obligations are being required of individual nations; new duties are being thrust upon us. They cannot be shirked, we must keep pace with world requirements. Regeneration and reform must be our watchword. The people must see that they become so. The process must operate from within outwards, or else influences from without will compass our ruin.—E. Barclay.

THE FRONTIER FORCE.

When President Barclay was in London, the British Government demanded that certain internal reforms should take place in the Republic before it would discuss a final settlement of either the Mano River or Kanre-Lahun difficulties. Shortly after the President’s return to Monrovia, Mr. Braithwait Wallis, Consul-General of Great Britain to Liberia, issued a memorandum on the subject—apparently under the fear “lest we forget”. This memorandum, which bears the date of January 14, 1908, occupies four printed pages, and condenses into that brief space an astonishing amount of venom and insolence. A few quotations will show its spirit:

“Your Excellency will remember then being informed that a critical moment had arrived in the history of the Republic, that however it might have been twenty or even ten years ago, the time had now gone by when Liberia could re-enact the part of a hermit kingdom, and that she must not lose a moment in setting herself seriously to work to put her house in order, or be prepared at no distant date, to disappear from the catalogue of independent countries. His Majesty’s Government, as Your Excellency is aware, have absolutely no designs against either the independence or the integrity of the Republic. Their only desire is that a country which, on one of its frontiers, marches with an important British Colony, and with which not only that Colony, but Great Britain itself, has large and growing commercial relations, should have such a stable or effective Government as will conduce to its own prosperity, and remove any danger of its losing its independence. His Majesty’s Government do not consider that the Government of the Republic is either stable or effective. Improvement has indeed resulted from the appointment of two Customs Officers, and the Customs revenue of the country has largely developed. But it is also considered as absolutely essential, if such improvement is to continue and to extend to other branches of the Government, that the finances of the country be placed, at any rate for the time being, in the hands of an European financial expert, and that at least three more European Customs experts be appointed. And further, no Government can be said to have a stable basis, when it is without any means of enforcing its authority. His Majesty’s Government, therefore, considers that it is essential that a trustworthy police, under European officers, should be at once established. With regard to the appointment of a financial expert, who could advise and assist the Secretary of the Treasury, in the financial affairs of the Country, Mr. Lamont has already been appointed Financial Adviser to the Republic. He is, however, only so in name, but should now be made so in actual fact. His Majesty’s Government further consider that the Liberian judiciary ought to undergo drastic reform.” Mr. Wallis recapitulates the reforms demanded in the following statement: (a) the appointment of a financial expert, who will place the finances of the country on a sound footing, and will advise the Secretary of the Treasury on financial matters. (b) The establishment of an efficient, well armed, and well disciplined police force under competent European Officers; and one that will command the respect of the Powers. (c) The appointment of at least three more European Customs experts. (d) The reform of the judiciary. “If the Liberian Government carry out the reforms herein indicated within SIX MONTHS, counted from the date of Your Excellency’s return to Monrovia from England, His Majesty’s Government will on their side be happy to assist in carrying them into effect in the same way as they have recently been assisting in the work of re-organizing the Liberian Customs. They will further be happy to suspend pressing the monetary and other claims which they have against Liberia, and will endeavor to come to a settlement, on a mutually satisfactory basis, on the long outstanding question of the navigation of the Mano River and the trouble on the Anglo-Liberian Frontier.”

In other words, Great Britain was quite willing to assume the whole running of Liberian affairs; she would be glad to manage her financial matters, to train and handle her frontier force, to collect her customs duties, and manage them, to interfere with, and control her government completely. She hinted at what she might do if these reforms were not carried into effect; she ended with a querulous complaint regarding advantages which German shipping was said to be securing to the disadvantage of British interests. This truly extraordinary document was signed in the following highly dignified fashion: