LIBERIA—CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, ETC.
Territory, Climate
Liberia extends from a point north of Grand Cape Mount, about 7 deg. 30 min. north lat., on sea shore, northeasterly to the western extremity of the most southern range of the Kong Mountains, lat. 4 deg. 30 min. The climate is generally salubrious, and quite moderate. But it is frequently somewhat oppressive, though mild and genial, and the high hills and mountain ranges sometimes enervating to strangers or foreigners from temperate climates, in consequence of the "air being freighted with fragrance" from the flowers and aroma of the exuberant, rich, rank growth of vegetable matter, as trees, shrubbery, and other herbage.
Temperature
The temperature is seldom or never great, the average being 85 deg. Fahr.[5] This, it will be perceived, is but 5 deg. above summer temperature in the temperate zone of America, according to Fahrenheit's scale.
Comparative Temperature Bees
It is worthy of observation that, by a natural law, we are enabled to compare the temperature in many parts of Africa satisfactorily with that of some other countries. There are parts of India, and also Central and South America, where it is said that bees cannot propagate, in consequence of their inability to build their cells because of the heat, the cera or wax melting in their hive or habitation. While in Africa such is not the case, there being no part known to civilized travelers where bees are not seen ever busy on every blossom, gathering their store, leaving laden with the rich delicacies of the blooming flowers; and Doctor Livingstone not only speaks most frequently of the profusion of honey in the extensive country through which he traveled, but says that, while near the coast in Loango, he encountered many persons laden with "tons of beeswax" carried on their heads exposed to the sun, on their way to the trading posts. And during our stay at Abbeokuta, Mr. Campbell my colleague, had two swarms of bees; the first taken by him when in transitu (swarmed) and hived, which bred a new swarm in the hive at the Mission House where we resided.
Soil, Stone, Minerals, Productions
The soil is very rich, which, like that of other parts of Africa through which I traveled, rates from a sandy loam to a rich alluvial, resting on strata of granite, limestone, and quartz with a large percentage of mica, profusely incorporated with iron, and doubtless other rich minerals not yet discovered. Palm oil and camwood are abundant, comprising the principal articles of native products for exportation; a good deal of ivory from the interior through the Golah country, but not so much as formerly; palm nuts, which principally go to France; ginger, arrowroot, pepper, coffee, sugar and molasses, to which three latter articles (as well as pepper, ginger and arrowroot,) the industrious citizens of Liberia have, during the last six years, turned their attention.
Domestic Animals, Fowls, Goats, Sheep, Swine, Cattle
The stock consists of fowls of various kinds—as chickens, ducks, common and Muscovy; Guinea fowls in abundance; turkeys, and on one farm—the Gaudilla farm of William Spencer Anderson, Esq., sugar planter, on the St. Paul River—geese. Neither are the cows so small as supposed to be from the general account given of them by travelers. Those which are common to, and natives of this part of Africa, which I shall classify as the Bassa (pronounced Bassaw) cattle, are handsome and well-built, comparing favorably in size (though neither so long-legged nor long-bodied) with the small cattle in the interior counties of Pennsylvania, U.S., where no attention is paid scientifically to the breeding of cattle; though the Liberia or Bassa are much the heaviest, and handsomely made like the Golah, or Fulatah, hereafter to be described, resembling the Durham cattle of England in form. Also swine, goats, and sheep are plentiful.
Horses, None. Why?
I saw but one horse in Liberia, and that on the Gaudilla farm of Mr. Anderson; and though, as the Liberians themselves informed me, they have been taken there by the Mandingo and Golah traders, they never lived. And why—if they live in other parts of Africa, on the western coast, which they do, even near the Mangrove swamps, as will hereafter be shown—do they not live in Liberia, the civilized settlements of which as yet, except on the St. Paul and at Careysburg, are confined to the coast? There are certainly causes for this, which I will proceed to show.
Horse Feed, Pasturage, Hay
In the first place, horses, like all other animals, must have feed naturally adapted to their sustenance. This consists mainly of grass, herbage, and grains, especially the latter when the animal is domesticated. Secondly, adequate shelter from sun and weather, as in the wild state by instinct they obtain these necessary comforts for themselves.
No Cultivated Farms—No Shelter for Horses
Up to the time, then, when the Liberians ceased the experiment of keeping horses, they had not commenced in any extensive manner to cultivate farms, consequently did not produce either maize (Indian corn), Guinea corn (an excellent article for horses in Africa, resembling the American broom corn both in the stock, blade, and grain, the latter being larger and browner than those of the broom corn, and more nutritious than oats); peas, nor any other grain upon which those animals are fed, and the great, heavy, rich, rank, pseudo reed-grass of the country was totally unfit for them, there being no grass suited either for pasturage or hay. Again, I was informed by intelligent, respectable Liberians, that to their knowledge there never had been a stable or proper shelter prepared for a horse, but that they had, in one or more instances, known horses to be kept standing in the sun the entire day, and in the open air and weather during the entire night, while their owners had them.
No Horses; Why, and Why Not
It is very evident from this, that horses could not live in Liberia, and since the tsetse fly introduced to the notice of the scientific world recently by Doctor Livingstone the African Explorer, has never been seen nor heard of in this part of the continent, nor any other insect that tormented them, those must have been the prime causes of fatality to these noble and most useful domestic creatures. I have been thus explicit in justice to Liberia, even in opposition to the opinion of some very intelligent and highly qualified gentlemen in that country (among whom is my excellent friend, Doctor Roberts, I think,) because I believe that horses can live there as well as in other parts of Africa, when fairly and scientifically inquired into and tested. Proper feed and care, I have no doubt, will verify my opinion; and should I but be instrumental, by calling the attention of my brethren in Liberia to these facts, in causing them successfully to test the matter, it will be but another evidence of the fact, that the black race should take their affairs in their own hands, instead of placing them in the hands of others.
Exploration. Farms, Sugar, Coffee
My explorations in Liberia extended to every civilized settlement in the Republic except Careysburg, and much beyond these limits up the Kavalla River. There is much improvement recently up the St. Paul River, by the opening up of fine, and in some cases, extensive farms of coffee and sugar; also producing rice, ginger, arrowroot, and pepper, many of which have erected upon them handsome and well-constructed dwellings; also sugar mills and machinery for the manufacture of sugar and molasses, which articles manufactured, compare favorably with the best produced in other countries. There has, as yet, been no improvement introduced in the hulling and drying of coffee, there being probably not enough produced to induce the introduction of machinery. I am informed that there have also been commenced several good farms on the Junk River, which district, farther than the settlement at the mouth, I did not visit. The people are willing and anxious for improvement, and on introducing to many of the farmers the utility of cutting off the centre of each young coffee-tree so soon as it grew above the reach of a man of ordinary height, I had the satisfaction of seeing them immediately commence the execution of the work. The branches of the tree spread, in proportion to the checking of the height; hence, instead of eight feet apart, as some of the farmers have done, the trees should be planted at least twenty feet apart, thus leaving ample space between for the spreading of the branches. The tree should never be permitted to grow too high to admit of the berry being picked from the ground, or at least from a stand which may be stepped upon without climbing.
Schools
The schools are generally good, every settlement being amply accommodated with them; and in Monrovia and at Cape Palmas the classics are being rigidly prosecuted.[4]
Churches Missionaries
Churches are many and commodious, of every Christian denomination—except, I believe, the Roman Catholic. The Missionaries seem to be doing a good work, there being many earnest and faithful laborers among them of both sexes, black and white, and many native catechists and teachers, as well as some few preachers.
Business, Professions, Theology, Medicine, Law
The principal business carried on in Liberia is that of trading in native and foreign produce, the greater part being at the Capital. The greater part of merchants here are Liberians; but there are also three white houses—two German and one American. And along the coast there are a number of native trading-posts, the proprietors of which are white foreigners, with black agents. Many of the Liberian Clergy of all denominations are well educated gentlemen; and the Medical Profession is well represented by highly accomplished Physicians; but of all the professions, the Law is the most poorly represented—there being, as I learnt when there, but one young gentlemen at the bar who had been bred to the profession; and not a Judge on the bench who was learned in the law. This I do not mention in disparagement of the gentlemen who fill those honorable positions of presiding over the legal investigations of their country, as many—indeed, I believe the majority of them—are clergymen, who from necessity have accepted those positions, and fill their own legitimate callings with credit. I sincerely hope that the day is not far distant when Liberia will have her learned counsellors and jurists—dispensing law, disseminating legal opinions, and framing digests as well as other countries, for the benefit of nations.
Council
At Grand Bassa I held a Council with some of the most eminent Liberians, among whom were several members of the National Legislature—the venerable Judge Hanson in the chair. Several able speeches were made—the objects of my mission and policy approved; and I shall never forget the profound sensation produced at that ever-memorable Council, and one of the most happy hours of my life. When the honored old judge and sage, sanctioning my adventure, declared that, rather than it should fail, he would join it himself, and with emotion rose to his feet; the effect was inexpressible, each person being as motionless as a statue.
Public Affairs, Municipal and Public Improvements
The laws of Liberia seem to be well constructed, and framed to suit the wants of the people, and their public affairs are quite well and creditably conducted. But there is a great deficiency in public improvements, and, as I learned—and facts from actual observation verified until comparatively recent—also in public spirit. There are no public buildings of note, or respectable architectural designs; no harbor improvements, except a lighthouse each on the beautiful summit rock-peaks of Cape Messurado and Cape Palmas—not even a buoy to indicate the shoal; no pier, except a little one at Palmas; nor an attempt at a respectable wharfage for canoes and lighters (the large keels owned by every trading vessel, home and foreign, which touches there.) And, with the exception of a handsome wagon-road, three and a half miles out from Harper, Cape Palmas, beyond Mount Vaughan, there is not a public or municipal road in all Liberia. Neither have I seen a town which has a paved street in it, although the facilities for paving in almost all the towns are very great, owing to the large quantities of stone everywhere to be had.
The Capital No City
And what is surprising, Monrovia, although the capital, has not a city municipality to give it respectability as such; hence, there is neither mayor nor council (city council I mean) to give character to any public occasion, but His Excellency the President, the Chief Executive of the nation, must always be dragged down from his reserved and elevated position, and made as common as a common policeman to head every little petty affair among the people. The town was once, by the wisdom of some legislators, chartered into a city, and Dr. T. F. M'Gill (ex-governor) chosen mayor, who, by his high intelligence and fitness for the office, had commenced the most useful and commendable improvements; but the wisdom of other legislators, after a year's duration, in consequence of the heavy expenses incurred to "make Monrovia, where big folks lived, a fine place," repealed the act, degrading their Capital to a town. That is the same as declaring that a court shall not have a judge—the nation a President or Executive, or there shall be no head at all; hence, to reduce the judge to the grade of a lawyer, the lawyer to that of the clerk of the court, the President of the nation to that of the county magistrate, and the county magistrate to that of a constable. How much respect would a people be entitled to who would act thus? They must understand that nothing is greater than its head, and the people of a nation cannot rise above the level of the head of their nation any more than the body of the individual in its natural position can be raised above the head. It is just so with a town population. A villager is a villager, a citizen is a citizen, and a metropolitan is a metropolitan—each of which is always expected to have a standing commensurate with his opportunities.
Self-Reliance, Ways and Means
One word as a suggestion in political economy to the young politician of Liberia: Always bear in mind, that the fundamental principle of every nation is self-reliance, with the ability to create their own ways and means: without this, there is no capacity for self-government. In this short review of public affairs, it is done neither to disparage nor under-rate the gentlemen of Liberia with whom, from the acquaintance I have made with them in the great stride for black nationality, I can make common cause, and hesitate not to regard them, in unison with ourselves, a noble band of brothers.
Executive Munificence
There has been much progress made in the various industrial vocations within a few years past by the munificence of President Benson, aided by the wisdom of the Legislature, through the agency of a national agricultural fair, with liberal premiums on samples exhibited in a spacious receptacle prepared each season for the purpose, in the Public Square in front of the President's mansion, called Palm Palace. Like his predecessor President Roberts, in pressing the claims of his country before the nations of Europe, President Benson has spared no authority which he possessed in developing the agricultural resources of his country. Every man has his forte, and in his turn probably becomes a necessity for the time being, according to his faculty. Consequently my opinion is, that the forte and mission of President Roberts for the time being were the establishment of a Nationality, and that of President Benson the development of its resources, especially the agricultural. Neither of these gentlemen, therefore, might be under-rated, as each may have been the instrument which God in his wisdom appointed to a certain work.
Official and Personal Favors
To John Moore, Esq., Government Surveyor; the Hon. B. P. Yates, ex-Vice-President of the Republic; Hon. John Seys, U.S. Agent for Re-captured Africans, and Consular Agent, I am much indebted for acts of kindness in facilitating my Explorations in Liberia. The Hon. Mr. Seys and Mr. Moore, for personally accompanying me up the St. Paul River; and Colonel Yates, for the loan of his fine canvas-covered boat for my use. Also to Dr. Henry J. Roberts, for remedies and medicines for my own use; Dr. Thomas F. M'Gill, for offering to make advances on articles of merchandise which I took out on trade to bear expenses, much beyond the market price; and to those excellent gentlemen, Messrs. Johnson, Turpin, and Dunbar, also for large advances made above market price in cash for my commodity, as well as other favors, especially on the part of Mr. Johnson, who, having for years been a resident in Monrovia, did everything to advance my mission and make my duty an agreeable one.
To the Rev. Alexander Crummell, who accompanied me up the Kavalla, above the Falls, making my task an easy one; to Drs. Fletcher and D'Lyon, who rendered me professional aid, and also to our excellent, faithful, and reliable guide, Spear Mehia is, a native civilized Christian Prince, the son of the old friend of the missionaries, Nmehia, the deceased King of Kavalla, I here make acknowledgments. And I cannot close this section without an acknowledgment that, wherever I went, the people of the country generally did everything to make me happy—Esquire Wright at Junk, Dr. Smith at Grand Bassa, and the Hon. Mr. Priest at Sinou whose guest I was, all here will receive my thanks for their aid in facilitating my mission.
Settlement and Sites of Towns
I conclude this section by remarking, that Monrovia is one of the handsomest and most eligible sites for a city that I ever saw, and only lacks the population and will of the people to make it a most beautiful place; and how much it is to be regretted that the charter was repealed, and Mayor M'Gill and the City Council cut off in the beginning of the first steps towards a national pride, which was to have a Capital City in reality as well as name.[3] How unsightly to a stranger, as he steps from the boat at the mouth of Stockton Creek, on the Messurado River, is the rude and rugged steep, leading by simple pathways in true native style, from the warehouses up to the town, which, if improved as it might and should be, would be one of the most pleasing as well as attractive approaches to any city in the world. Not even is there a respectable public market-house or market space in town. But wisdom decreed it otherwise, and for the present it must be so. "Wisdom" in this case "hath" not "built her house" neither "hath she hewn out" the stone "pillars" leading from the beach.
Another good site for a city is Edina, on the northeast side of the St. John River, opposite Buchanan, Grand Bassa, which doubtless in time Buchanan will include. This is also a handsome place, from the gradually rising elevation. Edina is the residence of that great-hearted, good old gentleman, Judge Hanson. Junk, Little Bassa, and Sinou, are also good, but each of these are low, and consequently not so imposing.
Next to Monrovia is Cape Palmas for beauty of location and scenery, and a stranger will more readily be pleased at first sight with Harper than the Capital. A beautiful city will in time occupy the extensive Cape for several miles back, including Mount Vaughan and the country around; and it may be remarked, that this place presents greater evidences of public improvement than any town in Liberia, and the only place in the country which has a regular wagon road with ox-teams running upon it.
Buildings
The private buildings in Liberia are generally good and substantial, and especially those of Monrovia, built of brick. Many of them are handsome and quite extensive mansions, the warehouses mostly being built of stone. The wooden houses generally are well-built frames, and "weather-boarded," and not, as some romancers and wonder-vendors would have it, being either log, bamboo, or mud huts. To take the settlers generally, there cannot be much fault found with their style of living, except perhaps in some instances, rather a little too much extravagance. Caldwell, Clay-Ashland, and Millsburg on the St. Paul, are pleasant and prospectively promising villages, and deserve a notice in this place. Clay-Ashland is the residence of Judge Moore, to whom I am indebted for personal favors and much useful information when examining the land over his extensive sugar and coffee farms. And to my excellent friend Dr. Daniel Laing, of the same place, for similar acts of courtesy and kindness, I am much indebted.
Public Meeting
I addressed the citizens in a very long political meeting in the Methodist church, on the evening of my visit there.