Burton, in commenting on the above on the occasion of a visit paid to Freetown, the capital of the Colony, prior to writing his interesting book “Wanderings in West Africa,” says in justice to the place, “Here, as elsewhere, the saying may hold good that a certain person may, perhaps, not be so black as he is painted.”
The educated Sierra Leonean is proud of the fact that the great Milton in “Paradise Lost” referred to Sierra Leone, even though it was only in connection with the awe-inspiring tornado to which the Colony is frequently subject, in those lines:
“With adverse blast upturns them from the South
... black with thund’rous clouds from Sierra Leone.”
Sierra Leone as it exists to-day is, owing to segregation and up-to-date sanitation, comparatively healthy for Europeans. The progress of the Colony has been phenomenal during the last fifteen years, and the credit is chiefly due to two energetic and far-seeing Governors in the persons of Sir Frederick Cardew and Sir Leslie Probyn, who foresaw the great benefit that would accrue by opening up the Protectorate, and this has been done by building lines of railway into the rich palm-kernel belts and encouraging the natives to gather the natural products of the country for export.
The revenue of the Colony, which in 1898 was only £117,000, had increased to £618,000 in 1913, and although the expenditure has proportionately increased, the finances of the Colony may be looked upon as satisfactory.
Freetown, the chief port and the seat of the Government, is a city with a population of about 35,000 inhabitants, of which about two-thirds belong to a class known as Creoles, the majority of whom are the descendants of the liberated slaves. It is beautifully situated, at the foot of a circle of hills on the summits of which are barracks belonging to the Garrison Artillery, the West India and the West African Regiment; and a short distance beyond lies Hill Station, the residence of the majority of the European officials stationed in the Colony—Sugar Loaf, a beautiful wooded mountain which rises to a height of nearly 3,000 feet, forming a picturesque background. Altogether the natural beauties of Freetown and its surroundings are many, though it is frequently asserted by the jaded or bored temporary resident, that to enjoy the view really one must see it from the stern of one of Messrs. Elder, Dempster’s ships homeward bound.
COTTON TREE STATION, 9 A.M. BUNGALOW TRAIN, FREETOWN.
In regard to the temporary resident—which every European must consider himself, as, even with the greatest progress possible, Sierra Leone can never be regarded as other than a black man’s country—a discussion recently took place at a meeting of the members of the Hill Station Sports Club on the interpretation of the words “permanent residents” and “ordinary members” of the Club. One member humorously moved the deletion of the words “permanent” and “ordinary,” assigning as his reason that the only European “permanent” members were those in the cemetery, and that there was a misuse of the word “ordinary” as no one who was ordinary ever came to West Africa; needless to say the proposal was carried nem. con. The European officials and officers of the garrison are well provided for in the way of means of recreation. There are numerous tennis courts, a golf link, stickie and squash courts, and a cricket ground—and there is no doubt that the fact of being able to take healthy and pleasant exercise reacts favourably on the health generally of the white community. Hill Station is situated nearly 1,000 feet above sea level and in the midst of most beautiful surroundings, and here the European official can enjoy the refreshing breezes from the broad Atlantic after leaving his office and the used-up atmosphere of Freetown. The Station is connected by a line of rails six miles in length with Freetown. The train is naturally not a “flying Scotchman,” and some years ago the Railway Department were practising economy by feeding their engines with firewood instead of coal; however, the train service at present is as good as can be expected, and there are a sufficient number of trains to meet the requirements of residents.