CHAPTER LXX.

VOYAGE TO LIBERIA.

BY DR. JAMES HALL.

1. THREE days after the arrival of the ship at Monrovia, she was followed by the British steamer Hecla, which brought up the Commissioner and troops; the palaver having been set as before detailed. The entire operation, from the receipt of Governor Drayton's application for aid, to the disbanding of the troops, was conducted in a manner most creditable to all concerned, the President of the Republic, the Legislature, the Commissioner, officers and men, the Government of Maryland in Liberia, King Will and his people, and last, though not least, Capt. Alpin, of the Hecla, who with a kindness and liberality most commendable, promptly tendered the use of his vessel to Commissioner Roberts, in transporting the troops, baggage, and munitions of war to Monrovia.

2. The business of the ship having been completed, it only remained to finish ballasting with sand, no freight being offered, and leave for home. Our visit having thus far been one of labor and anxiety, relieved occasionally by the hospitality of old friends, we determined on devoting one day to pleasure, going "up the river," as they say, in Monrovia; and it is a phrase not without meaning and importance. From up-the-river they get their daily bread or vegetables, which often supply the place of bread-upthe-river live the sturdy farmers and planters of Mesurado County-up-the-river lie the country seats of many of the Monrovia merchants and leading men; in fact, up-the-river is felt to be the home of the Liberians, their little inland kingdom, to which they expect to retire when all the world shall again go a slave-hunting. So up-the-river we must go.

3. One of our friends kindly tendered us the use of his light six-oared gig, and favored us with the company of himself and his interesting lady. To insure a safe return ere night-fall, an early start was necessary; therefore we put off for the shore by sunrise, found our friends at the water side awaiting us, and were soon headed up the Stockton Creek. Everything promised a most charming time of it, and we will anticipate the conclusion by saying, that we have seldom experienced a more delightful day. The party was just large enough, four in number, to sit comfortably in the well-cushioned stern sheets of our beautiful shallop, a nice canvas awning screened us from the rays of the sun, and the swiftness at which we were impelled through the water by six athletic Kroomen, gave us the advantage of a perpetual breeze as we sped through the tortuous Stockton.

4. Here, again, the recollections of former times came over us, when we daily passed through this body of mangrove on our way to Caldwell to visit the receptacles of newly-arrived emigrants. But we recognized no point or landmark of old, scarcely did we know new, Georgia landing. All is one dreary sameness after leaving Mesurado and sight of the harbor. There is no change in the scene except what is caused by the time of tide. At low water you see the roots, or, more properly, the legs of the mangrove trees, tripod-like, but innumerable, supporting their twisted and irregular trunks. Underneath are channels of water and black mud, on which are plenty of snipes and other varieties of water-fowl, looking up an honest livelihood among the small deer, which always abound in such localities. You not unfrequently see the beautiful goldstreaked iguana and other smaller species of the lizard tribe, crawling around among the mangrove roots; occasionally, too, an alligator lies stretched on the mud embankment, dozing away the time, or watching for his dinner.

5. At high water all is covered up; the roots and lower

limbs of the mangrove-trees are submerged in the water, and one seems to be gliding through a floating leafy forest ; no sign of animation, excepting the water-fowl screaming through the creek, looking in vain for food, and occasionally a monkey swinging on the mangrove limbs, now fearless of alligators and other foes. All is bush and water. A passage through the Stockton to the St. Paul's is at all times, and in all seasons, one of the most monotonous and disagreeable undertakings imaginable, neither conducive to pleasure, comfort, or health. 'Tis a dead pull of five or six miles through malaria that can almost be felt, or too certainly felt, afterward. We, however, noticed one very great difference between a passage now and twenty-five years since. Then, it was not only dreary and monotonous, but lonely, seldom meeting or passing any human being on the way, unless a provision or lumber boat of the agency, going to or returning from Caldwell. Now, the creek was alive with boats and canoes, many of the latter loaded with vegetables for the Monrovia market. Boats, canoes, and people, a curious and mixed-up lot they were. We met two or three pretty good boats, pulled by Kroomen with oars, one the doctor's, the others belonging to farmers and traders on the St. Paul's; but the majority were canoes of all varieties, from the light-curved Kroo canoe, to the heavy burthensome dug-out of the colonists; some manned by colonists, some by natives, and some not manned at all, but womaned.

6. In more than one instance we saw colonist women paddling the canoe and the men sitting idle; whether husband, father, or passenger, we could not say. But even here, in this humble and unfeminine occupation, the passion for finery and dress is by no means extinct; jaunty bonnets, pink and yellow ribbons, and light muslin dresses, were not uncommon; the latter, however, well tucked up around the waist, clear of the water, while using the paddle. We recollect witnessing the debarkation of up-theriver people at Monrovia on parade day, before going to

Cape Palmas; soldiers with their wives, daughters, and, possibly, sweethearts. The men had little to do, save haul up the canoe, dry their feet, and put on shoes and stockings. Not so the females; it took them no little time to get in fix to go up-town. We noticed a number go behind one of the warehouses and carefully arrange their dresses, add a cape or collar from a box, adjust ribbons and bonnets, holding in one hand a little sixpenny German lookingglass, and then walk off with an air of gentility and pride, not without grace. It spoke well for the tidiness and good charater of this most humble part of the population of Liberia.

7. But to return to our voyage up the river. We said we recognized no old landmark on our way up the Stockton, but we did expect to find our old boat-landing at Caldwell, the junction of the Creek with the St. Paul; but not a vestige of it was to be seen, not even of the old Government House or any of the old receptacles-all gone -the landing overgrown with thick, heavy grass, and the houses, probably, resolved into their original elements. Africa is no place for monuments. The tooth of Time is said to destroy all works of man; but softened by the heat and moisture of Africa, old Time might easily work great changes were his tooth extracted; birth and death, decay and reproduction, so constantly and rapidly succeed each other. Glad were we to emerge from the Stockton and enter upon the beautiful, broad St. Paul's; 'twas like leaving a cellar for open day, so different was the scene before us.

8. Truly, the St. Paul is a noble river, and were it not for the obstructions at Millsburg, would ere this have thousands of Americo-Africans lining its borders far interior to our present settlements. The banks on the southeast side, at Caldwell, and for some distance up, are rather low, but yet are lined with cottages, mostly old settlers; for it was settled for some mile or two up in our early Liberian life. On the opposite shore, the bank rises more

abruptly-it ranges from ten to twenty, thirty, and even fifty feet high in some places. On this side, no attempt had been made at settlement when we left Monrovia, in 1833.

From all that has been said of the St. Paul in our colonization prints, letters from colonists, by those whom we have seen there located, and the constant reference to upthe-river in Monrovia, we had not been led to expect great changes and improvement; but, in this case, we are gratified to say, our expectations fell far short of reality. We can not say that the indications of prosperous wealth are greater or exceed our anticipations; but the evidences of comfort and good living do. We think we have never seen a place more charming, or where we would sooner choose to live and die, than on the banks of the St. Paul.

9. There is very little to be said about it, or, rather, we are unable to convey by words an adequate idea of its charm and beauty. One must be acquainted with tropical scenery to form any just estimate. The river is from half to three fourths of a mile broad; the current free but not rapid, gliding down with a smooth, unruffled surface, stronger in the center, eddying under the slight curves. and projections of the shore, although the course from Millsburg to its mouth is very direct; the water turbid, especially in the rainy season. As we left Caldwell, we began to pass the farms of emigrants on the opposite shore; in fact, both sides were lined with farms and gardens, alternating with occasional reaches of wood, from Caldwell to Millsburg. Having no time to spare, we landed but twice on our way up; and therefore can not describe the different towns, or even name them. All appeared to be one continuous settlement, and required no naming for our enjoyment or satisfaction. The farms were generally cultivated, even to the water's edge, or top of the bank-grass, or garden and field vegetables, alternately. The plantains and bananas formed a conspicuous feature in the landscape, generally lining the river bank.