Read Ebook: Journal of an African Cruiser Comprising Sketches of the Canaries the Cape De Verds Liberia Madeira Sierra Leone and Other Places of Interest on the West Coast of Africa by Bridge Horatio Hawthorne Nathaniel Editor

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Departure--Mother Carey's Chickens--The Gulf Stream--Rapid Progress--The French Admiral's Cook--Nautical Musicians--The sick Man--The Burial at Sea--Arrival at the Canaries--Santa Cruz--Love and Crime--Island of Grand Canary--Troglodytes near Las Palmas.

Nelson's Defeat at Santa Cruz--The Mantilla--Arrival at Porto Grande--Poverty of the Inhabitants--Portuguese Exiles at the Cape de Verds--City of Porto Praya--Author's Submersion--Green Turtle--Rainy Season--Anchor at Cape Mesurado.

Visit of Governor Roberts, &c.--Arrival at Cape Palmas--American Missionaries--Prosperity of the Catholic Mission--King Freeman, and his Royal Robe--Customs of the Kroo-People--Condition of Native Women.

Return to Monrovia--Sail for Porto Praya--The Union Hotel--Reminiscences of Famine at the Cape de Verds--Frolics of Whalemen--Visit to the Island of Antonio--A Dance--Fertility of the Island--A Yankee Clockmaker--A Mountain Ride--City of Poverson--Point de Sol--Kindness of the Women--The handsome Commandant--A Portuguese Dinner.

Arrival of the Macedonian--Return to the Coast of Africa--Emigrants to Liberia--Tornadoes--Maryland in Liberia--Nature of its Government--Perils of the Bar--Mr. Russwurm--The Grebo Tribe--Manner of disposing of their Dead.

Settlement of Sinoe--Account of a Murder by the Natives--Arrival at Monrovia--Appearance of the Town--Temperance--Law-Suits and Pleadings--Expedition up the St. Paul's River--Remarks on the Cultivation of Sugar--Prospects of the Coffee-culture in Liberia--Desultory observations on Agriculture.

High Character of Governor Roberts--Suspected Slaver--Dinner on Shore--Facts and Remarks relative to the Slave-Trade--British Philanthropy--Original cost of a Slave--Anchor at Sinoe--Peculiarities and distinctive Characteristics of the Fishmen and Bushmen--The King of Appollonia--Religion and Morality among the Natives--Influence of the Women.

Palaver at Sinoe--Ejectment of a Horde of Fishmen--Palaver at Settra Kroo--Mrs. Sawyer--Objections to the Marriage of Missionaries--A Centipede--Arrival at Cape Palmas--Rescue of the Sassy-wood drinker--Hostilities between the Natives and Colonists.

Palaver with King Freeman--Remarks on the Influence of Missionaries--Palaver at Rock-Boukir--Narrative of Captain Farwell's murder--Scene of Embarkation through the Surf--Sail for Little Berebee.

Palaver at Little Berebee--Death of the Interpreter and King Ben Cracko and burning of the Town--Battle with the Natives, and Conflagration of several Towns--Turkey Buzzards--A Love-Letter--Moral Reflections--Treaty of Grand Berebee--Prince Jumbo and his Father--Native system of Expresses--Curiosity of the Natives.

Madeira--Aspect of the Island--Annual races--"Hail Columbia!"--Ladies, Cavaliers, and Peasants--Dissertation upon Wines--The Clerks of Funchal--Decay of the Wine-Trade--Cultivation of Pine-Trees--A Night in the Streets--Beautiful Church--A Sunday-evening Party--Currency of Madeira.

Passage back to Liberia--Coffee Plantations--Dinner on shore--Character of Colonel Hicks--Shells and Sentiment--Visit to the Council-chamber--The New-Georgia Representative--A Slave-ship--Expedition up the St. Paul's--Sugar Manufactory--Maumee's beautiful grand-daughter--The Sleepy Disease--The Mangrove-tree.

The Theatre--Tribute to Governor Buchanan--Arrival at Settra Kroo--Jack Purser--The Mission School--Cleanliness of the Natives--Uses of the Palm-tree--Native Money--Mrs. Sawyer--Influence of her character on the Natives--Characteristics of English Merchant-Captains--Trade of England with the African Coast.

American Trade--Mode of Advertising, and of making Sales--Standard of Commercial Integrity--Dealings with Slave-Traders--Trade with the Natives--King's "Dash"--Native Commission-Merchants--The Gold Trade--The Ivory Trade--The "Round Trade"--Respectability of American Merchant-Captains--Trade with the American Squadron.

Jack Purser's wife--Fever on board--Arrival at Cape Palmas--Strange figure and equipage of a Missionary--King George of Grand Bassam--Intercourse with the Natives--Tahon--Grand Drewin--St. Andrew's--Picaninny Lahoo--Natives attacked by the French--Visit to King Peter--Sketches of Scenery and People at Cape Lahon.

Visit from two English Trading-Captains--The invisible King of Jack-a-Jack--Human sacrifices--French fortresses at Grand Bassam, at Assinoe, and other points--Objections to the locality of Liberia--Encroachments on the limits of that Colony--Arrival in Axim--Sketches of that Settlement--Dixcove--Civilized Natives--An Alligator.

Dutch Settlement at El Mina--Appearance of the Town--Cape Coast Castle--Burial-place of L. E. L.--An English dinner--Festivity on shipboard--British, Dutch, and Danish Accra--Native wives of Europeans--A Royal Princess--An Armadillo--Sail for St. Thomas--Aspect of the Island.

Excursion to St. Anne de Chaves--Mode of drying Coffee--Black Priests--Madam Domingo's Hotel--Catering for the Mess--Man swallowed by a Shark--Letters from home--Fashionable equipage--Arrival at the Gaboon--King Glass and Louis Philippe--Mr. Griswold--Mr. and Mrs. Wilson--Character of the Gaboon People--Symptoms of illness.

Recovery from Fever--Projected Independence of Liberia--Remarks on Climate and Health--Peril from Breakers--African Arts--Departure for the Cape de Verds--Man Overboard.

Glimpses of the bottom of the Sea--The Gar-fish--The Booby and the Mullet--Improvement of Liberia--Its prospects--Higher social position of its Inhabitants--Intercourse between the White and Colored. Races--A night on shore--Farewell to Liberia--Reminiscence of Robinson Crusoe.

Sierra Leone--Sources of its Population--Appearance of the Town and surrounding Country--Religious Ceremonies of the Mandingoes--Treatment of liberated Slaves--Police of Sierra Leone--Agencies for Emigration to the West Indies--Colored Refugees from the United States--Unhealthiness of Sierra Leone--Dr. Fergusson--Splendid Church--Melancholy Fate of a Queen's Chaplain--Currency--Probable Ruin of the Colony.

Failure of the American Squadron to capture Slave-Vessels--Causes of that Failure--High character of the Commodore and Commanders--Similar ill-success of the French Squadron--Success of the English, and why--Results effected by the American Squadron.

JOURNAL OF AN AFRICAN CRUISER.

Departure--Mother Carey's Chickens--The Gulf stream--Rapid Progress--The French Admiral's Cook--Nautical Musicians--The Sick Man--The Burial at Sea--Arrival at the Canaries--Santa Cruz--Love and Crime--Island of Grand Canary--Troglodytes near Las Palmas.

At 10 A.M. the steamer cast off, and we anchored inside of Sandy Hook; at 12 Meridian, hoisted the broad pennant of Commodore Perry, and saluted it with thirteen guns. At 3 P.M. the ship gets under way, and with a good breeze, stands out to sea. Our parting letters are confided to the Pilot. That weather-beaten veteran gives you a cordial shake with his broad, hard hand, wishes you a prosperous cruise, and goes over the side. His life is full of greetings and farewells; the grasp of his hand assures the returning mariner that his weary voyage is over; and when the swift pilot boat hauls her wind, and leaves you to go on your course alone, you feel that the last connecting link with home is broken. On our ship's deck, there were perhaps some heart-aches, but no whimpering. Few strain their eyes to catch parting glimpses of the receding highlands; it is only the green ones who do that. The Old Salt seeks more substantial solace in his dinner. It is matter of speculation, moreover, whether much of the misery of parting does not, with those unaccustomed to the sea, originate in the disturbed state of their stomachs.

But the delicious atmosphere, and the amusements of the ship, bring not joy to all on board. There are sick men swinging uneasily in their hammocks; and one poor fellow, whose fever threatens to terminate fatally, tosses painfully in his cot. His messmates gently bathe his hot brow, and, watching every movement, nurse him as tenderly as a woman. Strange, that the rude heart of a sailor should be found to possess such tenderness as we seldom ask or find, in those of our own sex, on land! There, we leave the gentler humanities of life to woman; here, we are compelled to imitate her characteristics, as well as our sterner nature will permit.

One of the seamen in our boat spoke to the persons on shore in Spanish. I inquired whether that were his mother-tongue, and learned that he was a native of Mahon. On questioning him further, I ascertained that he was concerned in a tragedy of which I had often heard, while on the Mediterranean station, two or three years ago. A beautiful girl of sixteen, of highly respectable family, fell in love with a young man, her inferior in social rank, though of reputable standing. The affair was kept secret between them. At length, the lover became jealous, and, one evening, called his mistress out of her father's house, and stabbed her five or six times. She died instantly, and her murderer fled. It was believed in Mahon that he was drowned by falling overboard from the vessel in which he escaped. Nevertheless, that murderer was the man with whom I was speaking in the boat, now bearing another name, and a common sailor of our ship. He told me his real name; and I heard, afterwards, that, when drunk, he had confessed the murder to one of his messmates.

This incident illustrates what I have often thought, that the private history of a man-of-war's crew, if truly told, would be full of high romance, varied with stirring incident, and too often darkened with, deep and deadly crime. Many go to sea with the old Robinson Crusoe spirit, seeking adventure for its own sake; many, to escape the punishment of guilt, which has made them outlaws of the land; some, to drown the memory of slighted love; while others flee from the wreck of their broken fortunes ashore, to hazard another shipwreck on the deep. The jacket of the common sailor often covers a figure that has walked Broadway in a fashionable coat. An officer sometimes sees his old school-fellow and playmate taken to the gangway and flogged. Many a blackguard on board has been bred in luxury; and many a good seaman has been a slaver and a pirate. It is well for the ship's company, that the sins of individuals do not, as in the days of Jonas, stir up tempests that threaten the destruction of the whole.

The island of Grand Canary is one of the most interesting of the group at which we have now arrived. The population of its capital, the city of Las Palmas, is variously estimated at from nine thousand inhabitants, to twice that number. The streets, however, have none of the bustle and animation that would enliven an American town, of similar size. Around the city there is an aspect of great fertility; fields of corn and grain, palm-trees, and vineyards, occupy the valleys among the hills, and extend along the shores, twining a glad green wreath about the circuit of the island. The vines of Canary produce a wine which, two or three centuries ago, was held in higher estimation than at present, and is supposed by some to have been the veritable "sack" that so continually moistened the throat of Falstaff. The very name of Canary is a cheerful one, associated as it is with the idea of bounteous vineyards, and of those little golden birds that make music all over the world.

The high hills that surround the city of Las Palmas are composed of soft stone, the yielding quality of which has caused these cliffs to be converted to a very singular purpose. The poorer people, who can find no shelter above ground, burrow into the sides of the hill, and thus form caves for permanent habitation, where they dwell like swallows in a sand-bank. Judging from the number of these excavations, the mouths of which appear on the hill-sides, there cannot be less than a thousand persons living in the manner here described. Not only the destitute inhabitants of Grand Canary, but vagabonds from Teneriffe and the other islands, creep thus into the heart of the rock; and children play about the entrances of the caverns as merrily as at a cottage-door: while, in the gloom of the interior, you catch a glimpse of household furniture, and women engaged in domestic avocations. It is like discovering a world within the world.

Nelson's defeat at Santa Cruz--The Mantilla--Arrival at Porto Grande--Poverty of the inhabitants--Portuguese Exiles at the Cape de Verds--City of Porto Prayo--Author's submersion--Green Turtle--Rainy Season--Anchor at Cape Mesurado.

The landing at the Mole is generally bad, as Nelson found to his cost. It is easy to perceive that, even in ordinary times, the landing of a large party, though unopposed, must be a work of considerable difficulty. How much more arduous, then, was the enterprise of the great Naval Hero, who made his attack in darkness, and in the face of a well-manned battery, which swept away all who gained foot-hold on the shore! The latter obstacle might have been overcome by English valor, under Nelson's guidance; but night, and the heavy surf, were the enemies that gave him his first and only defeat. The little fort, under whose guns he was carried by his step-son, after the loss of his arm, derived its chief interest, in my eyes, from that circumstance. The glory of the great Admiral sheds a lustre even upon the spot where success deserted him. In the Cathedral of Santa Cruz are to be seen two English flags, which were taken on that occasion, and are still pointed out with pride by the inhabitants. I saw them five years ago, when they hung from the walls, tattered and covered with dust; they are now enclosed in glass cases, to which the stranger's attention is eagerly directed by the boys who swarm around him. The defeat of Nelson took place on the anniversary of the patron-saint of Santa Cruz; a coincidence which has added not a little to the saint's reputation. It was by no means his first warlike exploit; for he is said to have come to the assistance of the inhabitants, and routed the Moors, when pressing the city hard, in the olden time.

We wandered about the city until evening, and then walked in the Plaza. Here the ladies and gentlemen of the city promenade for an hour or two, occasionally seating themselves on the stone benches which skirt the square. Like other Spanish ladies, the lovely brunettes of Santa Cruz generally wear the mantilla, so much more becoming than the bonnet. There are just enough of bonnets worn by foreigners, and travelled Spanish dames, to show what deformities they are, when contrasted with the graceful veil. This head-dress could only be used in a climate like that of Teneriffe, where there are no extremes of heat or cold. It is a proverb that there is no winter and no summer here. So equable and moderate is the temperature, that, we were assured, a person might, without inconvenience, wear either thick or thin clothing, all the year round. With such a climate, and with a fertile soil, it would seem that this must be almost a Paradise. There is a great obstruction, however, to the welfare of the inhabitants, in the want of water. It rains so seldom that the ground is almost burnt up, and many cattle actually perish from thirst. It is said that no less than thirty thousand persons have emigrated from the island, within three years.

The productions of Teneriffe, for export, are wine and barilla. Of the first, the greater part is sent to England, Russia and the United States. About thirty thousand pipes are made annually, of which two thirds are exported. Little or no wine is produced on the southern slope of the island. The hills around Santa Cruz are little more than rugged peaks of naked rock. The scenery is wild and bold, but sterile; and scattered around are stupendous hills of lava, the products of former volcanic eruptions, but which have, for ages, been cold and wave-washed.

The people here are wretchedly poor, subsisting chiefly by fishing, and by their precarious gains from ships which anchor in the port. The Collector informed me that there had been sixty whale-ships in the harbor, within the past year. The profits accruing from thence, however, are very inadequate to the comfortable support of the inhabitants. The adults are mostly covered with rags, while many of the children are entirely naked; the cats and dogs are lean and skeleton-like. As to religion, I saw nothing to remind me of it, except the ruins of an old church. There has been no priest since the death of one who was drowned, a few years ago, near Bird Island, a large rock, at the mouth of the harbor. At the time of this fatal mishap, the reverend father was on a drunken frolic, in company with some colored women.

The Cape de Verd Islands derive their name from the nearest point of the mainland of Africa; they are under the dominion of Portugal, and, notwithstanding their poverty, furnish a considerable revenue to that country, over and above the expenses of the Colonial Government. This revenue comes chiefly from the duties levied upon all imported articles, and from the orchilla trade, which is monopolized by the Government at home, and produces 50,000 dollars per annum. Another source of profit is found in the tithes for the support of the Church, which, in some, if not all the islands, have been seized by the Government , and are farmed out annually. These islands supply the Portuguese with a place of honorable exile for officers who may be suspected of heresy in politics, and hostility to existing institutions. They are advanced a step in rank, to repay them for the change from the delicious climate of Portugal, and the gaieties of Lisbon, to the dreary solitude, the arid soil, and burning and fever-laden air of the Cape de Verds. It is a melancholy thought, that many an active intellect--many a generous and aspiring spirit--may have been doomed to linger and perish here, chained, as it were, to the rocks, like Prometheus, merely for having dreamed of kindling the fire of liberty in their native land.

Going ashore to-day, we beached the boat, and a large negro, with a ragged red shirt, waded out and took me on his shoulders. There is no position so absurd, nor in which a man feels himself so utterly helpless, as when thus dependant on the strength and sure-footedness of a fellow-biped. As we left the boat, a heavy "roller" came in. The negro lost his footing, and I my balance, and down we plunged into the surf. My sable friend seemed to consider it a point of duty to hold stoutly by my legs, the inevitable tendency of which manoeuvre was to keep my head under water. Having no taste for a watery death, under these peculiar circumstances, I freed myself by a vigorous kick, sprang to my feet, and seizing the negro by the "ambrosial curls," pushed his head in turn under the surf. But seeing the midshipmen and boat's crew laughing, noiselessly but heartily, at my expense, the ludicrousness of the whole affair struck me so forcibly that I joined in their mirth, and waded ashore as fast as possible. An abolitionist, perhaps, might draw a moral from the story, and say that all, who ride on the shoulders of the African race, deserve nothing better than a similar overthrow. Sailed from Porto Praya. The bay of this port is a good one, except in south-east gales, when the anchorage is dangerous. The town, called Villa de Praya, contains about two thousand inhabitants of every shade, the dark greatly predominating. Many vessels from Europe and the United States, bound to India, Brazil, or Africa, find this a convenient place to procure water and fresh provisions, and bring, in return, much money into the city. There are three hundred troops here, nearly all black, and commanded by forty Portuguese officers. The men are under severe discipline, are tolerably well dressed, and make a soldierly appearance. It is said that a St. Jago soldier formerly wore only a cocked hat, being otherwise in a state of nature; but I cannot pretend to have seen any instance of this extreme scantiness of equipment.

The sanitary regulations of the squadron, induced by the commencement of the rainy season, cause considerable mirth and some growling. One rule is, that every man shall protect himself with flannel next his person, and at night shall also wear a cloth-jacket and trowsers. Stoves are placed on the berth-deck, to dry the atmosphere below. It is a curious fact, that, in March last, at Portsmouth, N. H., with the thermometer at zero, we were deprived of stoves the moment the powder came on board; while now in the month of July, on the coast of Africa, sweltering at eighty degrees of Fahrenheit, the fires are lighted throughout the ship.

My old acquaintance, Captain Cooper, came on board, and is to be employed as pilot.

Visit of Governor Roberts, &c.--Arrival at Cape Palmas--American Missionaries--Prosperity of the Catholic Mission--King Freeman, and his royal robe--Customs of the Kroo-people--Condition of native women.

Visited and lunched with Governor Rasswurm. Called on Mr. James, a colored missionary, now occupying the house of Mr. Wilson, who has lately removed to Gaboon river. Mr. James presented us with some ebony, and a few Grebo books. He informed us that the fever had visited him more or less severely, as often as once in four weeks during seven years. This may truly be called a feverish life! He is about to remove to Gaboon.

The Catholic Mission seems to have driven the Presbyterian from the ground. We called on Mr. Kelly, a Catholic priest from Baltimore, and the only white man of the Mission at present in Africa. Preparations, however, have already been made for twenty more, principally French, whose arrival is expected within a year, and who will establish themselves at different points along the coast. Mr. Kelly is now finishing a very commodious house, on a scale of some magnitude, with piazzas around the whole. There is evidently no lack of money. The funds for the support of the Catholic mission are derived principally through Lyons, in France; and the enterprise is said to be under the patronage of the king. The abundant pecuniary means which the priests have at command, and the imposing and attractive ceremonies of their mode of worship--so well fitted to produce an effect on uncultivated natures, where appeals either to the intellect or the heart would be thrown away--are among the chief causes of their success. It is said, too, and perhaps with truth, that as many converts are made, among the natives, by presents, as by persuasion. But no small degree of the prosperity of the mission must be attributed to the superior shrewdness and ability of the persons engaged in it--to their skilful adaptation of their precepts and modes of instruction to the people with whom they have to deal, and to their employment of the maxims of worldly policy in aid of their religious views. These qualities and rules of conduct have characterized the Catholic missionaries in all ages, in all parts of the world, and in their dealings with every variety of the human race; and their success has everywhere been commensurate with the superiority, in a merely temporal point of view, of the system on which they acted.

Before returning on board, we called on King Freeman, who received us, seated on a chair which was placed in front of his house. His majesty's royal robe was no other than an old uniform frock, which I had given him three years ago. We accepted the chairs which he offered us, and held a palaver, while some twenty of his subjects stood respectfully around. He remembered my former visit to the colony, and appeared very glad to see me again. His town was nearly deserted, the people having gone out to gather rice. About the royal residence, and in the vicinity, I saw thirty or forty cattle, most of them young, and all remarkably small. It is said, and I believe it to be a fact, that cattle, and even fowls, when brought from the interior, take the coast-fever, and often perish with it. Certain it is that they do not flourish.

I have been conversing with young Ben Johnson, one of our Kroomen, on the conjugal and other customs of his countrymen. These constitute quite a curious object of research. The Kroomen are indispensable in carrying on the commerce and maritime business of the African coast. When a Kroo-boat comes alongside, you may buy the canoe, hire the men at a moment's warning, and retain them in your service for months. They expend no time nor trouble in providing their equipment, since it consists merely of a straw hat and a piece of white or colored cotton girded about their loins. In their canoes, they deposit these girdles in the crowns of their hats; nor is it unusual, when a shower threatens them on shore, to see them place this sole garment in the same convenient receptacle, and then make for shelter. When rowing a boat, or paddling a canoe, it is their custom to sing; and, as the music goes on, they seem to become invigorated, applying their strength cheerfully, and with limbs as unwearied as their voices. One of their number leads in recitative, and the whole company respond in the chorus. The subject of the song is a recital of the exploits of the men, their employments, their intended movements, the news of the coast, and the character of their employers. It is usual, in these extemporary strains, for the Kroomen attached to a man-of-war to taunt, with good-humored satire, their friends who are more laboriously employed in merchant vessels, and not so well fed and paid.

Their object in leaving home, and entering into the service of navigators, is generally to obtain the means of purchasing wives, the number of whom constitutes a man's importance. The sons of "gentlemen" never labor at home, but do not hesitate to go away, for a year or two, and earn something to take to their families. On the return of these wanderers--not like the prodigal son, but bringing wealth to their kindred--great rejoicings are instituted. A bullock is killed by the head of the family, guns are fired, and two or three days are spent in the performance of various plays and dances. The "boy" gives all his earnings to his father, and places himself again under the parental authority. The Krooman of maturer age, on his return from an expedition of this kind, buys a wife, or perhaps more than one, and distributes the rest of his accumulated gains among his relatives. In a week, he has nothing left but his wives and his house.

Age is more respected by the Africans than by any other people. Even if the son be forty years old, he seldom seeks to emancipate himself from the paternal government. If a young man falls in love, he, in the first place, consults his father. The latter makes propositions to the damsel's father, who, if his daughter agree to the match, announces the terms of purchase. The price varies in different places, and is also influenced by other circumstances, such as the respectability and power of the family, and the beauty and behavior of the girl. The arrangements here described are often made when the girl is only five or six years of age, in which case she remains with her friends until womanhood, and then goes to the house of her bridegroom.

Meantime, her family receive the stipulated price, and are responsible for her good behavior. Should she prove faithless, and run away, her purchase-money must be refunded by her friends, who, in their turn, have a claim upon the family of him who seduces or harbors her. If prompt satisfaction be not made , there will be a "big palaver," and a much heavier expense for damages and costs. If, after the commencement of married life, the husband is displeased with his wife's conduct, he complains to her father, who either takes her back, and repays the dowry, or more frequently advises that she be flogged. In the latter alternative, she is tied, starved, and severely beaten; a mode of conjugal discipline which generally produces the desired effect.

Should the wife be suspected of infidelity, the husband may charge her with it, and demand that she drink the poisonous decoction of sassy-wood, which is used as the test of guilt or innocence, in all cases that are considered too uncertain for human judgment. If her stomach free itself from the fatal draught by vomiting, she is declared innocent, and is taken back by her family without repayment of the dower. On the other hand, if the poison begin to take effect, she is pronounced guilty; an emetic is administered in the shape of common soap; and her husband may, at his option, either send her home, or cut off her nose and ears.

There is one sad discrepancy in the moral system of these people, as regards the virtue of the women. No disgrace is imputed to the wife who admits the immoral advances of a white man, provided it be done with the knowledge and consent of her husband. The latter, in whose eyes the white man is one of a distinct and superior order of beings, usually considers himself honored by an affair of this nature, and makes it likewise a matter of profit. All proposals, in view of such a connection, must pass through the husband; nor, it is affirmed, is there any hazard of wounding his delicacy, or awakening his resentment, whatever be his rank and respectability. The violated wife returns to the domestic roof with undiminished honor, and confines herself as rigidly within the limits of her nuptial vow, as if this singular suspension of it had never taken place.

In spite of the degradation indicated by the above customs, the Kroo-women are rather superior to other native females, and seem to occupy a higher social position. The wife first married holds the purse, directs the household affairs, and rules the other women, who labor diligently for the benefit of their common husband and master. Their toil constitutes his wealth. It is usual for a man to live two, three, or four days, with each of his wives in turn. As old age advances, he loses the control of his female household, most of the members of which run away, unless he is wise enough to dispose of them to his more youthful relatives. As a Krooman of sixty or seventy often has wives in their teens, it is not to be wondered at that they should occasionally show a disposition to rove.

Return to Monrovia--Sail for Porto Praya--The Union Hotel--Reminiscences of famine at the Cape de Verds--Frolics of Whalemen--Visit to the island of St. Antonio--A dance--Fertility of the island--A Yankee clock-maker--A mountain ride--City of Poverson--Point de Sol--Kindness of the women--The handsome commandant--A Portuguese dinner.

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