LIBE               IA;
OR,
MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIJMENTS.
EDITED BY
MIRS. SAlRAII J. IHALE.
AUTHOR OF "WOMAN'S RECORD," ETC., ETC.
Thus doth th' all-working Providence retain
And keep for good effects the seed of worth;
And so doth point the steps of time thereby,
In periods of uncertain certainty.
DANIEL.
NEW     YORK:
1IARP ER & BROTHEItS, PUI BLISHERS,
339 & 331 PEARL STREET.
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
185 3.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New York.




PREFACE.
"Two hundred years! two hundred years!
How much of human power and pride,
Of towering hopes, of trembling fears,
Have sunk beneath their'whelming tide!"
IN 1620 the first African slaves were brought to
Virginia. In 1820 the first emancipated Afiicans
were sent from the United States to Liberia.
If a superior intelligence, while contemplating,
from the serene heights of the mansions of the
blessed, the movements, the tumults, and the aimless activity of the inhabitants of the earth, had observed that one little ship taking its solitary way
across the ocean, laden with emigrants returning,
civilized and Christianized, to the land which, two
centuries previous, their fathers had left degraded
and idolatrous savages, would he not have thought
that, of all the enterprises then absorbing the energies and hopes of man, this, regarded by so large a
portion of the few who were cognizant of it as a
wild and hopeless venture, was the one which promised to the human race the largest portion of ulti



iv                PREFA CE.
mate good? And who can doubt that, in thus providing a home of refuge for " the stranger within
her gates," our beloved Union was nobly, though silently, justifying herself from the aspersions of oppression and wrong so often thrown out against her?
What other nation can point to a colony planted
from such pure motives of charity; nurtured by
the counsels and exertions of its noblest, wisest, and
most self-denying statesmen and philanthropists;
and sustained, from its feeble commencement up to
a period of self-reliance and independence, from a
pure love of justice and humanity?
The aim of this little book, imperfectly as it has
been carried out, is to show the advantages Liberia
offers to the African, who among us has no home,
no position, and no future. These advantages have
not been exaggerated. The endeavor has been to
present the unvarnished reality; to be as exact and
accurate as possible, and rather to err by keeping
within than going beyond.the bounds of truth.
For the few incidents in the history of Liberia
that are mentioned, the writer is principally indebted to the author of " The New Republic;' the
little memoir of Lott Cary is taken from " A Plea
for Africa;" the accounts of the productions and
climate of Liberia are derived from the most authentic sources.
Philadelphia, June, 1853.




LIBERIA;
OR,
MR. PEYTON'S       EXPERIMENTS.
CHAPTER I.
A TRIAL OF FIDELITY.
It is a noble constancy you show
To this afflicted house; that not like others,
The friends of season, you do follow fortune,
And in the winter of their fate, forsake
The place, whose glories warmed you.
JONSON.
THE Peytons were among the earliest settlers and
largest landholders in Virginia. Their plantation
stretched along one of the southern branches of
James River, called Rock Creek, although, but for
the overshadowing of its grander neighbor, it might
well have been dignified with the name of river,
for there are many celebrated streams that are neither so deep nor broad as that known simply as
Rock Creek.
The family mansion, a large, substantial stone




6              LIBERIA; OR,
building, with a piazza running entirely round it,
was built some years before the province of Virginia became a state, and its wide hall and winding staircase of dark mahogany, its deep windowseats and broad fire-places remained unaltered, although here and there a few of the modern improvements or additions might be traced. It stood upon
a hill once covered with a forest of cedars, but they
had long since been cleared away, excepting a grove
of them which clustered down one side of the hill
and along the creek, and gave their name to the
place. Cedar Hill was celebrated through all the
country round for the hospitality, liberality, and true
benevolence of its high-minded owners. They were
the great people of that part of the world, and were
sometimes called the " royal family;" but few royal
families can claim as much real respect and true
homage as was rendered to the Peytons in the esteem of all their neighbors.
For the last few years the shadow of grief had
been resting on Cedar Hill; for first the head of
the family, whom years had seemed only to mature
and ennoble, and in whom no trace of infirmity had
yet appeared, was suddenly summoned away, and
in the two following years Mrs. Peyton saw her
eldest son lying in the fresh glory of his young
manhood by his father's side, and her daughter's
husband, dear to her as her own children, was




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            7
brought by his desolate widow to wait with the
rest for the final resurrection.
A gleam of sunshine had fallen on them when, a
few months before the story opens, Charles, Mrs.
Peyton's youngest child and only living son, had
brought home a bride, a being who seemed the
incarnation of hope and gladness. Bright, joyous,
and restless, she shed the light of her happiness
through every dark corner of that saddened house.
It seemed to Mrs. Peyton that Virginia was a
living blessing sent to cheer them after the great
sorrow that had been crowded in the last few years;
and even her widowed daughter, Margaret Fairfax,
felt the influence of the sunny nature Virginia was
gifted with, and could better endure the mirth of
her fatherless children, and watch with greater
calmness the daily unfolding of the latest blossom
of their love, on whom a father's eye had never
rested, who had never known the great happiness
of a father's love and care.
But already that transient gleam had passed
away, and for days and weeks Virginia had been
the quiet, and sometimes, for hours, the almost motionless tenant of a single room. Sitting by the
bedside of her young husband, who was stricken
by a slow fever before the moon which had shone
upon their bridal had waned from the sky, she
watched him with the intensity that could only be




8               LIBERIA; OR,
felt by one who was conscious that her all of earthly
happiness was in imminent peril. There was but
little that could be done for him-to moisten his
parched lips, to bathe his fevered forehead or hands,
to arrange his pillow, and give him from time to
time a little refreshment or medicine, was all that
he required; but in these little offices Virginia jealously refused all assistance, and, watching him night
and day, slept only while he slept, and waked with
his slightest motion.
Her cheek soon lost its color and roundness, and
her eye its light, but she persisted in saying that she
was neither tired nor sleepy, and neither Mrs. Peyton nor Mrs. Fairfax could gain resolution enough
to insist on her leaving her husband, while they
felt how precious every moment that she had passed
with him might soon become to her; for the physician had the day before announced to the family
that there was but little, if any hope, of a favorable
termination to his illness. It had been a long and
exhausting one; and, now that the fever was conquered, or had worn itself out, he feared that there
was not strength enough left in the patient for him
to rally.
Margaret had promised her brother, in the early
part of his illness, that if there were any doubts of
his recovery, she would inform him of it; and leaving to Mrs. Peyton the sad task of acquainting Vir



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.             9
ginia with the physician's opinion, she went to her
brother's side to fulfill the promise she had made to
hirn. It was a hard task she had to perform, but
Margaret Fairfax was never known to shrink from
any duty, or to put aside any cup her heavenly
Father held to her lips. The whole family were
accustomed to rely almost implicitly on her judgment in all times of difficulty, and Charles, who
was some years younger than herself, regarded her
with a degree of love and respect that might almost
be called reverential.
Her sad duty was performed with the greatest
tenderness, and Charles, looking the thanks he was
too weak to speak, whispered to her to read to him
from the Psalms.
After she had finished, he asked if Virginia knew
his danger.
"I believe she does," replied Margaret; " I left
her with mother."
Just then Virginia walked into the room, and the
sad question was answered-a soul so despairing
looked out of her deep eyes, and intense grief had
given to the almost childish countenance, for she
was but seventeen, such an expression of sternness
and solemnity, that she seemed almost transformed.
She bent over her husband, and pressed her pale
lips to his forehead.
" Dearest," he feebly murmured, "Margaret has
A2




10             LIBERIA; OR,
been reading to me; but if you could, I would like
your voice to be the last I shall hear on earth, if I
must leave you so soon, Virginia."
Margaret turned to the fourteenth chapter of St.
John, and Virginia, as she read the blessed words,
felt insensibly sooothed and comforted. Lulled by
her sweet tones, Charles fell asleep. At first his
sleep was troubled, and every few minutes he would
open his eyes, and fix them on his young wife's face
with an anxious, searching gaze; but gradually he
grew quieter; and at last, when Virginia laid aside
the Bible, she could not help imagining that his
slumber was deeper and more natural than any he
had enjoyed through his whole illness. She wanted
to call Margaret or his mother, but refrained for
fear of disturbing him. Occasionally they glanced
into the room; but seeing him asleep, and Virginia's
face turned toward him with the paleness and almost the immobility of a statue, they went silently away, knowing that perfect quiet was the only
medicine for the invalid in his present state of
weakness.
Thus passed away the night; as the morning
light was slowly breaking into the room, Charles
opened his eyes; in answer to Virginia's glance,
which looked the question she could not speak, he
said, " I feel better, dearest; it seems to me that I
must be much better; but I am yet very weak."




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           11
He spoke in a whisper, and Virginia had to bend
low over him to catch his words; but, faint as it was,
a watchful ear outside had heard it, and the door
was softly pushed open as a dark face thrust itself
in and turned anxiously to the bed. Charles caught
the earnest look and smiled in reply. The whole
expression of the troubled countenance changed as
if by magic, and then disappeared.
"Keziah has gone for your gruel," said Virginia.
"M aster Charles is gwine to get well," said Keziah
to the eager questioners in the kitchen; " I seed it
in his face the very moment I opened the do'; besides, I had a dream about him last night, and
know'd as soon as I woke up he wouldn't die this
time."
" What was your dream, aunt Keziah?" asked
half a dozen voices.
"' Oh, go long, chillun, and don't speak another
word to me; don't you see I'm too glad to talk,
and I must make this gruel this very moment; he's
mighty weak, but he'll get well."
Keziah was a privileged character in the kitchen
and out of it. Few of her fellow-servants ever ventured to oppose her, and it would have been useless
if they had been inclined to attempt it. To say
that her will was iron, is to give but an inadequate
idea of it, for its strength lay not only in passive
resistance, but in active exertion, and so not an



12             LIBERIA; OR,
other question was addressed to her by the chattering group, all full of anxiety to hear about Mas'r
Charles, and devoured by curiosity as to Keziah's
dream.   In grim silence, which certainly did not
look much like gladness, the gruel was made, and
most carefully arranged on a waiter. A little boy,
who seemed to know what was expected of him,
came running in from the garden with a freshlygathered bunch of flowers. Throwing aside the
gaudier ones, Keziah selected some English violets,
a half-blown rose-bud, and some geranium leaves,
and arranging them in a champagne glass, with a
taste no one would have imagined lay hidden under
such harsh features and an expression so forbidding,
she placed the simple but fragrant bouquet on the
waiter, and proceeded to the sick-room.
For the first time since his illness, Charles observed the flowers, and with evident pleasure; for
the first time, too, he seemed to relish his breakfast.
These symptoms of amendment could hardly have
given greater pleasure to Virginia than they seemed
to produce in Keziah. She strove in vain to retain
her usual grim composure; but the broad smile,
which seldom appeared in Keziah's face, yet when
it did, produced a general illumination in that abode
of gloom and sternness, was now a fixture there for
several minutes.
"I wonder why the doctor does not come!" said




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            13
Virginia; " he said he would be here before this
time."
She was very anxious to see him, that he might
encourage the hope newly sprung up in her heart;
her next thought was to impart her good tidings.
Bidding Keziah remain, for the first time for lnany
weeks she left the sick-room of her own. free will,
and hastened to find Mrs. Peyton. She met her in
the hall; and telling her as connectedly as she could
that she thought, she hoped Charles would get
well, he was so much better, and asking her to go
and see if it were not so, she flew in search of Mrs.
Fairfax.
The overseer, Mr. Burke, was with her, but Virginia did not see him. With an exclamation of
"Oh! sister Margaret!" she leaned her head upon
Mrs. Fairfax's shoulder, and burst into tears. Mrs.
Fairfax, who already seemed to have been agitated,
terrified by Virginia's sudden appearance and great
emotion, could hardly support herself. She sank
upon a chair near her, and, with a voice hardly audible, asked,
" What is it, Virginia? what have you to tell
me?"
" Oh, he will get well-I know he will get well
-he is so much better."
With great difficulty, Mrs. Fairfax controlled herself. She neither fainted nor wept, though she felt




14             LIBERIA; OR,
for a moment that if she could yield to her feelings, they would be more endurable; but so much
was depending on her, and there was a crisis full
of such great terror before her, that she nerved herself with all her strength to meet it. When Virginia wiped away her tears, Margaret was smiling
upon her, but it was a smile so tremulous and sad
that she exclaimed,
"Do you think I am    deceiving myself, sister
Margaret? Do you think it impossible that Charles
should recover?"
" No, dear, I have never thought him so ill as
Dr. Parker seemed to, though I did not say it, as I
did not wish to excite false hopes; I will come and
see him directly."
"What is the matter, sister Margaret?" Mrs.
Fairfax hesitated. With an air of impatient authority, Virginia turned to Mr. Burke.
" Something is the matter-what is it, Mr.
Burke?"
" Why, ma'am, they say the negroes are rising
all through the country."
"It may be only a false rumor," suggested Mrs.
Fairfax; " don't be alarmed, Virginia; I will take
some immediate measures to ascertain the truth."
Virginia did not look in the least alarmed; the
blessed hope of her husband's recovery so predominated over every other feeling, that she could




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.'15
hardly dwell long enough on any other idea to realize it.
"There must be some truth in the report," said
Mr. Burke, "even if things are not so bad as I
have heard; for Dr. Parker stopped outside the big
gate to tell me that he could not come here this
morning, as he was taking his wife and all his family to Somerton; he told me all the neighbors were
going, and that, if you could, you ought to go too."
"But Charles can not be moved," said Virginia.
" So I told him, ma'am," replied Mr. Burke,
"and he seemed to feel very much troubled about
it, and said that, as soon as his family were safe at
Somerton, he would come back if he could, and see
him; but it is more than ten miles there, you know,
and the roads are very bad."
Just then the hasty tramp of a hcrse was heard,
and in a moment, without knocking, a young man
walked hastily into the room. After the usual
greeting, he said,
" I have come, cousin Margaret, to take you and
all the rest of the family to Somerton. My mother
is waiting in the road for you. We knew cousin
Charles was too ill to take care of you, and we could
not go by without stopping to see about you."
" Charles is too weak to be moved, cousin Frank,"
replied Margaret, " and we can not leave him, of
course."




16             LIBERIA; OR,
"' In a case like this, when the danger is really so
great, for we have heard the most horrible rumors
of deeds the negroes are committing all through the
county, and it is said they are marching on here in
great force, don't you think it better to run the risk
of injuring Charles, than that all your lives should
be sacrificed?" said Frank Lee.
" It would kill him to disturb him now," said
Virginia, with an imploring gaze; "I am certain
he could never bear that long, hard ride; but you
know we are not sure the negroes will come here,
even if it is true that they have risen.'
Margaret agreed with Virginia that, to escape an
uncertain danger, they ought not to sacrifice a life
so precious to them, and that, in Charles's debilitated
state, he could not endure any agitation or exertion.
Frank Lee urged every argument in his power
to induce them to join him. He said all the neighbors through the whole country were flocking to
Somerton, and that they would be necessarily left
alone for the present, till each one had seen that his
immediate family were safe. He wished, at least,
to take Mrs. Peyton with him; but, on being informed of the circumstances, she resolutely refused'to leave her son. Mrs. Fairfax hesitated about her
children; but her oldest son, a brave little boy of
eleven, begged so hard not to be separated from her,
that she told Frank Lee he need wait no longer



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           17
trusting themselves to Providence, they would live
or die together. Frank left them most unwillingly,
promising, if possible, to return the next day.
They decided to keep Charles in ignorance of
their situation, and Virginia returned to his sickroom. Something flurried or excited in her manner
seemed to strike her husband, but he made no remark about it.
All the active duty fell, as usual, upon Mrs. Fairfax.
" Can we depend upon you to remain with us,
Mr. Burke?" asked she.
" Of course, ma'am, I would not leave you entirely unprotected, though I think it would have
been better for you to have accepted Mr. Lee's
offer; it seems almost like tempting Providence to
stay here."
" We certainly have no right," said Mrs. Fairfax,' to expect you to expose your life for us, and if you
think the danger is so great, I hope you will not
suppose it necessary to remain. One person can
do but little in such a case, and-"
" Oh, Mrs. Fairfax, do you think I could leave
you now; don't speak of it again, I beg of you,"
exclaimed Mr. Burke, vehemently.
Mrs. Fairfax had trembled inwardly lest her proposal should be accepted; for, though she had not
wished to show it, for fear of inducing him to re



18             LIBERIA; OR,
main against his inclinations, she could not help
feeling that even one strong man was a great protection and safeguard.
It was settled, therefore, that the house should
be shut up, excepting the front entrance, where
Mr. Burke stationed himself to keep watch and
ward. But it was no easy matter to fasten the
house securely. The outside locks, and bars, and
bolts on a Virginia house in those days were so little used, that, when needed, they were almost always found out of order. In this instance they
succeeded tolerably until they came to the rooms
that had been occupied by Charles before his marriage, and then even Mrs. Fairfax was obliged to
give up in despair. The negroes about the place,
all in the state of the greatest excitement, were
crowding about the house, talking, advising, and
trying as well as they could to help Miss Margaret,
whom they all looked upon with a feeling amounting to veneration. She selected some of the most
trustworthy, and told them to guard certain points
that were the least protected, and give her the
earliest possible notice of the approach of those
she dreaded so much to see. She called Nathan,
one of the older and most trusted servants, a man
who had been " born and raised" in the family, and
upon whose judgment and fidelity she felt she
might rely, and told him to take his position on the




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           19
top of the house, from where he could see far over
the surrounding country.
"You will stand by us, Nathan, will you not?"
asked she.
"Till I die, Miss Margaret," he replied.
The day wore away. The last rays of the sun
fell on Nathan, patiently watching from the housetop-on the groups of negroes about the lawn, flitting and changing like the figures in a kaleidoscope
-on the figure of a man on horseback, riding swiftly along the highway to Somerton-and they lighted
up with gleaming radiance the three monuments
that rose like columns of snow from beneath the
grand old cypress-tree at the foot of the garden.
Mrs. Peyton stood at the window, looking in that
direction, her favorite place of late years, and
watched the pale, unearthly light that radiated from
those memorials of the departed. " Oh! if I had
wings like a dove, then would I flee away and be
at rest," she softly murmured. An arm gently encircled her, a stately form bent over and kissed her,
and the mother and daughter stood in a silence fi.1u
of eloquence, gazing on the spot where each had
laid the strong arm on which they had leaned so
trustingly, the courageous yet gentle heart, that
would have shed its last drop of blood ere harm
should come near them.
"Mr. Burke has gone, mother," said Margaret,




20              LIBERIA; OR,
calmly, after a few moments; "the negroes brought
so many tales, each one more dreadful than the
other, that I suppose his courage gave way. He
took Argyle, Charles's fastest horse, and is a mile
or more on his way by this time; he met Polydore,
and sent him back to tell us."
" Yes, missis," said an immense black man, full
six feet and a half high, and large in proportion,
but with a countenance as amiable and simple as a
child's-" yes, missis, I was clar down by the big
gate when Mas'r Burke came ridin' past, and he
told me to come right straight to you, and tell you
he was gwine for help; he didn't think he should
be back for some hours."
"No, he will never come back," said Margaret;
I saw, some time ago, he was getting more and
more alarmed"'
" I seed Mas'r Burke a riding off," said uncle
Nathan, putting his head in the door; " but don't
be frightened, Miss Margaret, nor ole missis either.
I'll take his place at the door, and send one of de
little niggers up on top of de house. No one shall
harm either of you while I am alive."
6' I believe you," replied Mrs. Fairfax; and both
mother and daughter felt a sensation of security
they had been strangers to before. Nathan's manner was so earnest and devoted, that they could as
soon doubt themselves as him.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIM.ENTS.           21
"I am   afraid, mother, we shall have to tell
Charles our situation. He hears the commotion outside the house, which I can not prevent, and the little bustle within, so unlike our usual stillness lately, and he has been insisting on knowing the cause.
I dread to tell him, for any agitation must be so
injurious to him now!'
While they were consulting as to what had best
be done, a message came from Virginia, begging
them to come to Charles, who was insisting on being dressed. They hastened to him, and found
that he had partly guessed and partly discovered,
by questioning adroitly his young wife, the alarming state of affairs. He insisted on going with
them to Somerton. No arguments nor entreaties
were effectual in changing his resolution.  He
thought only of their danger, and would not admit
that there was any to himself.
By this time night had come on, cold, dark, and
starless.  Margaret drew aside the curtain, and
showed him the thick darkness that seemed to encompass them. She reminded him of the wretched
roads, and of their doubly defenseless state if met
by the armed negroes on the way at night.
"Wait only till morning," said she," and we
will do whatever you wish. If we only considered
ourselves, and not you, we should be safer here, I
think, to-night.  There is not a servant on the




22             LIBERIA; OR,
plantation who does not seem anxious to prove his
fidelity, and Nathan is a host; Polydore has found
a gun, and is marching up and down before the
door, just as he saw the soldiers keep guard at father's tent during the last war."
" If I had only known this in the morning," said
Charles, "you would all have been safe now!" and
his eye passed sadly over his wife, and mother, and
sister, who returned his glance with looks of calmness and assurance, that sadly belied their fainting
hearts.
"Ah! you can't deceive me," he continued,
smiling sorrowfully. " You are not so brave as you
wish to make me believe. I know very well that,
if I were not lying helpless here, you would all be
trembling, and crying, and clinging to me, especially you, you simple little deceiver," turning to his
wife, whose lips trembled, but who could not trust
herself to speak.
"' Margaret," he went on slowly and with difficulty, " you have thought too much of me; think
now of yourself, of your boys, our precious mother,
and my wife. If you really think that it would be
safer for them to wait till morning, I will consent;
for myself, I feel that the delay would be harder to
bear than any exertion."
They decided to wait till dawn. A sleepless
night was passed amid frequent but groundless




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           23
alarms. The least noise sent all the little negroes
flying to the house with tidings of the approach of
the enemy; but the gray dawn came slowly on,
and no destroyer's foot had yet trodden the path to
Cedar Hill.
There was great bustle and confusion around it.
The carriage-house, with all it contained, had been
burned just before Charles's illness, and no one had
thought yet of replacing their loss; so a large covered wagon stood before the door, in which Keziah
was carefully arranging a bed. As soon as it was
ready, Charles, partly dressed and partly enveloped
in a wrapper, was brought down by Polydore and
laid upon it. He fainted from over-exertion and
excitement as his head touched the pillow, and it
was some time before he revived. Virginia took
her seat by him, supporting him to prevent him
from receiving too rude a jar in their progress.
Then Mrs. Peyton, Margaret, her two youngest
boys, and their nurse joined them.
Nearly all the negro men, and many of the boys,
were assembled in a group on the lawn, and Nathan
was marshalling them in battle array. Such arms
as he had, he had distributed to the most efficient
of them; the rest he had told to look out for themselves, and, consequently, pitchforks, hoes, and rails
figured largely among their hastily-collected weapons.




24             LIBERIA; OR,
"What's dat you have dar, Orful?" asked Nathan of a boy, whose real name of Lord Orville,
given to him by some novel-reading damsel, was
changed to Orful by his companions.
" Tongs, uncle Natlian, and Peter he has de shovel
-couldn't find nothin' else, you see."
" Oh,, go'long, you didn't look; you niggers are
too lazy for any thing. Take your place there at
de tail of de line; you hear?9'
With great difficulty Nathan arranged the curious assemblage in two lines-one to walk on each
side of the wagon. Polydore was to march at the
head of one column, while Nathan took command
of the other, and superintendence of the whole.
Philip Fairfax, mounted on a spirited pony, with
some difficulty reined it in that he might keep by
Polydore's side, into whose charge he had been especially given, for between these two a most devoted attachment existed, that dated from Philip's
babyhood. It began by his always preferring to be
carried about, during a long period of great feebleness, by Polydore's stalwart arm, and then, as he developed into a sprightly, intellectual child, he never
felt that he had half enjoyed any fairy story, or tale
of giants and magicians, till he had related them to
his patient listener, and heard his exclamations of
wonder. The only fault Polydore had in Philip's
eyes was an unfortunate facility in going to sleep,




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS'.           25
and often he would have to be waked up in the
most interesting part of the story, and kept awake
by the most energetic means till it was finished.
Since Philip had left off fairy stories, and taken to
history and mythology, this propensity had greatly
increased.
"Laws, now, Mas'r Phil," Polydore would say,
" I only shets my eyes to hear better, you see."
But five minutes after he had uttered this justification, he gave such convincing evidence of the depth
of his slumbers, that even Philip could not doubt
their reality. He had been trying to teach Polydore to read for the last two or three years, and to
see the intense earnestness with which one threw
his whole soul into the work, and the easy complacency with which the other gave himself up to be
instructed, would have amused any one.
But now Philip's mania for instruction was forgotten, and he rode silently by Polydore's side, whose
heavy tramp kept steadily up with the pony's dainty
prancings, and who, with eyes glancing with unusual restlessness, and lips closed with strange firmness, was mentally resolving, at the first alarm, to
catch Philip in his arms and escape to the woods
with him; for Mas'r Phil was his idol; he loved
him as well, perhaps better, than anly one in the
world. A native African, and separated from all
his own family, he had but few else to love, alB




26             LIBERIA; OR,
though for Keziah he cherished an attachment as
yet unrequited. In fact, it-had but once burst the
bonds of silence, and then was received with such
an energetic "' Shut up! I don't want to yer none of
yer nonsense!" that the poor Polydore had since
worshiped in the sleepy depths of his soul.
At last the cavalcade was in order. The wagon
moved slowly through the heavy roads, and Nathan,,
riding at the head of the troop, looked with no small
satisfaction on the train he had managed to bring
into something like marching order. Suddenly an
expression of vexation appeared on his face; the
light from a blazing pine knot, held by one of the
impromptu guard, had fallen on a yellow turban
that was resolutely forcing its way through the
crowd, throwing all into confusion as it passed.
" Dat's Keziah-I knowed she'd be coming,"
muttered Nathan; and, in truth, at that moment
Keziah's gaunt figure and grim face appeared, unmoved by all the commotion she had left behind
her.' Go right straight back, Keziah," uttered Nathan, in a commanding voice; "' we don't want no
women folks."
"You attend to your own niggers, and I'll take
care of myself," was the curt and decisive reply.
Nathan was not a man who readily gave up what
he intended to do, and therefore, from his not insist



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           27
ing on obedience from Keziah, it may be inferred
he knew the hopelessness of the undertaking.
Keziah had good cause for all the gratitude and
devotion her conduct displayed. Ill treated from
her earliest infancy, first by an unfeeling mother,
whose punishments were all so many ingenious tortures, and who had twice been prevented by her
master from killing her own child, having hung her
up once with her head down, and at another time
being caught dashing her up and down against a
pile of bricks; afterward falling under the power
of a harsh and capricious owner, who, with a dim
perception of her capabilities, and vexed at not knowing how to avail himself of them, determined, as he
said, "to beat her sulkiness out of her."
He could not have chosen a worse course.
Every week Keziah grew more obstinate, perverse, and sulky; at times a strange fire gleamed
in her eyes, like that which may be seen in a newly-encaged wild beast; and if the mutterings of her
restless lips could have been understood, she would
have been guarded like some savage animal. The
fell purposes she was nurturing in a soul toitured
by desolation and cruelty into crime had not yet
matured themselves into action, when, providentially, her whole life was changed, and with it, as if by
magic, her character developed itself in feelings and
acts before strange to her heart. As some deep val



28              LIBERIA; OR,
ley, made damp and unwholesome from the dark
shade of the overhanging trees, leaps into beauty
and freshness when the sun's rays fall unobstructed
upon it, so great and entire a transformation did
happiness produce in Keziah.
Charles, when a mere boy, was sent by his father
to Keziah's master on an errand. As he was leaving, she crossed his path, returning to the quarter
after one of the severest punishments she had ever
received. Every nerve thrilling with agony, she
walked with difficulty. Charles could not help perceiving that something was the matter. His look
fell compassionately on her. She raised her eyes,
full of a dumb yet fierce despair, and met his kind
glance. A sudden impulse seemed to tell her that
here lay her only chance of salvation for this world
or the next.  Moved by an irresistible impulse,
which she always declared came, not from herself,
but the Lord, she stood for a moment, and, stretching out her trembling hands, exclaimed,
Mas'r Charles, will you buy me?"
The words were few, but the attitude and manner were so imploring, so full of entreaty, that
Charles, with a heart full of generous and kind feeling, could not withstand it.
"Yes, Keziah, I will," he replied, and rode off.
All the way home, his thoughts were dwelling
upon his promise and upon the means of fulfilling




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            29
it. He felt that he had done wrong in having made
it unconditionally, but since it had been given, and
given to one so helpless, every high and honorable
feeling in his boyish heart forbade him to retract, or
even to repent of it.
He informed his father of what he had rashly
bound himself to do.
"As it is your own promise, my son, and made
without consulting me, you must suffer the consequences yourself."
" Yes, sir."'
"There is that new horse I promised you when
you were fifteen, and your birth-day comes next
month, I believe."
"Yes, sir."
"And the rifle your brother intended to give
you."
"Yes, sir."
"And the watch your mother has sent to England for for you."
"Yes, sir."
"If you give up these, I can let you have tlhe
money to do as you please with it."
Charles had had little opportunity in his life to
cultivate the Spartan virtue of self-denial, the corner-stone of so much that is noble and elevated, and
even his generosity was put to the proof, as all these
long-desired possessions were slipping from his




30             LIBERIA; OR)
grasp. " He that swearetl unto his neighbor, and
disappointeth him not, though it were to his own
hinderance," rose in his mind, as if some guardian
angel were whispering it there.
" Yes, father, I must do it, for I promised Keziah;
besides, I can do very well with old Roanoke and
my gun; the watch is the hardest thing to give
up," and Charles sighed.
"Do as you think right, my son," said Mr. Peyton.
" Could you go over to Mr. Carpenter's to-night,
father?"
"No; but I will go to-morrow."
And, in due time, a miserable-looking figure, barefooted, and with but one poor garment and no bundle, stood in the broad gravel-walk leading to Mr.
Peyton's front door.
" There, Charles, is your purchase," said he, smiling. " Go tell her where she is to stay."
Charles led the way across a broad lawn sloping
gently down, then through a grove of trees carefully cleared of underbrush, and then, winding his way
among a cluster of whitewashed cabins, he came to
one a little larger and more carefully built than the
rest. An idiot boy was basking in the sun before
the door; within, an aged, infirm, but happy-looking woman lay in the bed.
" This is Mammy Katy's cabin," said Charles;




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           31
" she nursed us all; but she has been bed-ridden
for the last ten years, and now we nurse her. You
are to stay here for the present. You need not go
to work in the field till you are quite well;" for Keziah's languid step and heavy eye showed clearly
that she had not yet recovered from her severe punishment.
Fortunately, the management of Keziah was left
entirely to Charles. She had learned his sacrifices
for her, and her devotion to him knew no bounds.
She begged to be allowed to wait upon him and attend to his wardrobe. Her uncouth figure and
coarse hands seemed but ill fitted for any in-door
work, especially the needle, but no shirts could
have been more neatly stitched or elaborately made
than Charles's. The work she put upon one would
have made three in the ordinary way.
Her habits were peculiar. It was asserted for a
long time that she never slept nor ate. But Charles,
having investigated the matter, discovered that her
only meal was a late but very substantial supper,
and that she slept on the stairs, or threw herself,
with no covering nor bed, on the floor in the passage leading to his room, or, if any one in the family were ill, near their door, so that, at the slightest
noise, she was up and wide awake, to render any
service that might be required.
It was almost wonderful to see into how much




32              LIBERIA; OR,
responsibility and trust Keziah had gradually worked herself, and her influence over the other servants was hardly less than that of the master or
mistress. Nathan was almost the only one who did
not stand somewhat in awe of her, and even he never ventured to thwart her when she was bent on
any object.
So, much to Nathan's discomfiture, Keziah, grasping the handle of a well-sharpened carving-knife,
the blade of which was hidden in her dress, headed
the march; and doubtless, if she had been put to
the proof, her yellow turban would have been, like
Henry the Fourth's white plume, a guide to the
hottest of the fray.
The morning light came slowly on. At every
breath of clear, bracing air, Charles felt renewed
vigor, and, ordering the covering of the wagon to
be put back, he lay gazing out on the earth and
glowing sky he had never thought to see again but
with spiritual eyes, and felt that he could almost
realize the emotions of the widow's son, as, at the
gate of Nain, he rose and looked around on the
crowd whose mourning was changed into wonder,
and on Him whose heart was ever open to our sorrows, and touched with a feeling for our infirmities.
He felt so tranquil in his helplessness, so full of
trustfulness and hope, when, having no power to do
any thing for himself, he had placed himself, and all




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            33
those who were dear to him, in the keeping of Him
who is mighty to save, that he had no room in his
heart for fear. Repeating aloud David's speech,
"C The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the
lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver
me out of the hand of the Philistine."  "Do you
remember, mother," he continued, " reading that to
me when I was a little boy, and how much I liked
it, and repeated it so often that father and brother
Hamilton called me' little David' for a long time."
His mother smiled sadly, and whispered to him
not to talk, for it might disturb Virginia.
There was little danger of that, for she had fallen
into a sleep of perfect exhaustion, and her slumber
was so profound that Charles was at first alarmed,
so like death were her pale cheeks, her eyes sunken with long watching and tears, and her lips lightly parted, through which, so gently did her bosom
heave, no breath seemed to come.
He turned from his young wife to his mother and
sister, and saw, in the cold, truth-telling light of the
morning, lines of care and sorrow that had been
newly traced in the last few weeks. A feeling of
passionate love for them-love that would have held
life cheap if his death could shield them from one
pang or fear, mingled with a conviction of his great
weakness, swelled his heart almost to bursting.
Turning for consolation to the sky, that whisperB2




34              LIBERIA; OR,
ed to him of all-embracing love, and the green earth,
that murmured in its thousand voices lessons of
hope and faith, his eyes fell on the rude guard that
marched steadily by the side of the wagon. In
whatever direction he looked, he met only glances
of affection and encouragement. Different voices,
all familiar to his ear from childhood, called out to
bid him, in their untutored but heartfelt words, to
be of good cheer, they would defend him with their
lives. He thanked them by a look, and, leaning
back on his pillow, fell into a train of earnest
thought.
What had he done for these men, that they should
devote their lives so willingly to him and his? His
parents had been faithful to the great responsibility
they took up with their lives, his sister was untiring
in her efforts for the improvement and education of
her family, but beyond a general feeling of kindness
and interest, he could recall nothing that would account for such fidelity. Excepting in the case of
Keziah, he could remember no instance of self-denial that could excite their gratitude.
"Hereafter, if God spares my life, it shall not be
so," thought he; "I am rich-as far as this world
is concerned; I have nothing to strive for-my lines
are cast to me in pleasant places-I will devote
my life to them who are now so willing to offer
theirs for me. I will make it my chief object to




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           35
see how best to promote their interest and advantage, and may God help me to a right decision."
With a few words of earnest prayer, he looked
again on the dark throng around him, letting his
eyes rest on each face, that he might impress it,
with his vow, on his memory. One of them stepped close to the wagon, and in a whispered voice
said,
"Please, Mas'r Charles, would it'sturb Miss Virginia if we sung a little? We can hold out so much
better if we can sing."
"No, a cannon would hardly disturb her now,"
replied he; " sing, if you wish to."9
And the voices of the motley crowd rose in singular harmony in the clear morning air. The most
delicate ear would have been puzzled to detect a
false note, no matter how varied or intricate the
tune might be. The songs they sung were principally the joyous and triumphant hymns heard
only at a Methodist camp-meeting, and especially
suited to encourage and animate persons in doubtful or hazardous situations.
Keziah was indignant at this interruption to the
stillness that had prevailed. In angry tones she demanded silence, but in vain.
" Mas'r said we might sing," shouted Orful, from
the farther extremity of the line.
" Mas'r Charles said so," echoed Peter.




36              LIBERIA; OR,' Keziah," said Charles.
The faint whisper of that voice reached the ear to
which it was addressed through the confused murmuring around. Her great love seemed to quicken
all her senses. In a moment the yellow turban was
stretched over the side of the wagon, thaet Charles
might communicate his wishes with the least possible exertion.
" You know this is the only road till we reach
Derrick's cross-roads, four miles off. So, unless the
people are already on their way toward us, they can
not hear us; if they are, no noise can harm us. It
cheers me to hear them sing.")
" Sing away, boys," said Keziah, with a condescending nod; and again the strange harmony rose
in the air.  Even the horses seemed to feel the inspiriting power of the music, and moved more rapidly.
The favorite melody of " The old Ship of Zion"
was just commenced, when a trampling of many
horses was heard. A silence full of horror and
dread fell over those in the wagon. Charles grasped his mother's hand, and threw himself over the
unconscious Virginia, as if to shield her with his
body-it was all he could do. Margaret clasped
her infant closer to her breast, and threw her arm
around her little Harry. She cast a glance of agony
on Philip, whose boyish face was the calmest there.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS'.          37' I am not frightened, mother-don't think of
me," said he, in reply to her look.
" Polydore, take care of him," exclaimed MArs
Fairfax.
" Yes, Miss Margaret, I will," was the reply.
These were the only words spoken. Keziah
strided on far in advance of the rest, and, if it should
prove to be the enemy approaching, woe to the first
man that should cross her path. No womanish
fears, no feminine tenderness was in her heart, but
the fierceness and pitilessness of a lioness fighting
for her young.
Nearer and nearer came the sound of hurrying
hoofs, and, as all strained their eyes to catch the
first glimpse of the approaching crowd, each heart
grew stiller and more resolute, excepting that beating in the breast of the young Lord Orville, who,
shaming his illustrious name, stood trembling fearfully, while the tongs clattered in sympathy in his
hands. At last he fairly turned, and, fleeing for
safety, hid himself behind the trunk of some fallen
monarch of the forest. Peter, with uplifted shovel,
looked in supreme contempt on the base flight of
his whilome companion in arms.
" Hi! I allers know'd he no count," said he, and
stretched his short neck to see what was coming.
" Oh, glory! glory! if it ain't Mas'r Frank and
all de rest on'em."




38              LIBERIA; OR,
Orful heard the shout, and, peering over his rampart, saw, to his great relief, a crowd of the young
men of the surrounding country, who, having attended to the safety of their own families, were on
their way to escort the defenseless inhabitants of
Cedar Hill to Somerton.
Learning that all was quiet in the neighborhood,
and that the threatened disturbance had nearly
passed over, Charles dismissed his faithful defenders with earnest expressions of thankfulness, and
left them to return home under the guidance of Nathan, while the family pursued their way to Somerton, to wait there for a more settled state of security, and to give Charles the repose he needed after
so much excitement. Keziah accompanied the family, being unwilling to trust her young master to
other hands until he was quite recovered.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           39
CHAPTER II.
THE FARM.
Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises.
SHAKSPEARE.
THE Peytons remained in Somerton about two
weeks.  The excitement which the necessity for
exertion had produced in Charles, seemed to have
a wonderfully favorable effect in enabling him to
throw off, with much more facility than would
have been possible under other circumstances, the
languor produced by the long and debilitating
fever.
Obliged by the necessity of the case to leave
their large plantation with no overseer but Nathan,
and he having been hastily intrusted with the office
with no direction but the general one, to keep every
thing in as good order as he could, Mrs. Fairfax
dreaded the return.
" We must expect to find the greatest confusion,"
said she, as they were on their way back to Cedar
Hill. "The servants seem to have looked on this




40              LIBERIA; OR,
time as a kind of Saturnalia, and to have done
whatever they pleased. Dr. Parker's family found
their store-room and smoke-house completely emptied of their contents, and Mr. Carpenter, Keziah's
old master, you know, found every article of furniture or clothing he had left in his house had either
been stolen or spoiled. Mrs. Carpenter, poor old
lady, was more distressed at the appearance of her
floors than any thing else. It was the labor of her
life to keep them well-waxed and bright, and they
were so cut and marked that it will take weeks of
hard rubbing to make them look decently. I have
not seen Keziah so pleased since you recovered as
she was when she told me about it, for those floors
had been a source of torment to her for years. She
told me that there was not one in the whole house
that had not caused her a whipping."
" When mother told her she ought not to rejoice
over others' misfortunes," said Virginia, " she said,'I know that, missis; but I've not got clar of de
ole man yet; I has tough fights with him sometimes, and dis time he's got the upper hand. I's
glad in my heart, I is;' and she laughs whenever
she thinks of it."
" How did the Lees find their place?" asked
Charles.
" That was kept in very good order," replied
Mrs. Fairfax, "for the overseer remained there.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            41
He said he had lived with them more than twenty
years, and would not leave them at a time when
they most needed him. But Frank did not know
that he intended to stay, or he would not have consented to it; he expected him to follow them almost
immediately."
" Well, if the old house is left standing," said
Charles, "I don't think we have any cause for
complaint."
"< Complaint, no!" exclaimed Margaret; " when
I recall the feelings with which I last passed over
this road, and my sensations now, I can hardly
realize my happiness."
Virginia had caught a glimpse of the whitecovered wagon, which, laden with groceries for the
family, toiled slowly after the carriage, and interrupting the flow of reminiscences, that were as yet
too painful for her to dwell upon, she broke forth
into the " Old Ship of Zion."  After doing full justice to as much of it as she knew, she amused herself and her more thoughtful companions by singing
little snatches of all the songs she could recall,
until she was stopped in the midst of " Home,
sweet Home!" by the opening of the big gate.
" How dy, Polydore?" said Charles to that servant, who was busy cutting down a lightningstruck tree near the carriage road.
" How dy, MVas'r Charles?" replied Polydore,




42             LIBERIA; OR,
coming forward quickly to shake hands;   I'm
mighty glad to see you again, and Miss Margaret,
and the chilluns, and ole missis, and Miss Virginny
too," shaking hands with each one.
"I've got a new Bible, with big print, for you,
uncle Polydore," called out Philip from his seat by
the coachman.
" Thank you, Mas'r Phil," said Polydore, with a
look of intense delight.
"How are things going on about the place?"
asked Charles.
" Couldn't be better," was the reply. "Nathan's'bout the best driver I seen in all my life. He
makes the niggers stan' roun' like dey was sent
for."
"Have you heard any thing of Mr. Burke?"
asked Mrs. Fairfax.
" Yes, Miss Margaret, dey say he so'flicted with
havin' been took so by sprise, and flyin' off dat er
way, dat he's gone clar off, whar he come from. I
reckon we sha'n't see him no more."
From the roadside gate to the house was a distance of about half a mile, and when the arrival
of the family was made known, in that mysterious
way by which all news travels, the progress of the
carriage was greatly impeded by the troops of busy
idlers who flocked around to welcome them back.
At length the coachman succeeded in bringing




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            43
his horses harmlessly through the swarm of little
negroes, who had seemed bent on immolating themselves in the triumphant progress of " the family,"
as their kindred spirits throw themselves beneath
the rolling wheels of the car of Juggernaut, and,
having surmounted the last gentle slope, the old
mansion arose before them in the massive homeliness so dear and familiar to their eyes.
" See how fast aunt Abby is walking," said Virginia; "I thought she was entirely too dignified
ever to hurry about in that way," as the short,
rotund figure of the old housekeeper appeared on
the piazza, giving directions and uttering exclamations of joy at once.
"You, Peter, tote some light'ud in the dinin'room, this minute. I'd ha' been all ready, missis,
but I didn't spect you till to-morrow. Ben, run
and tell Apphia I'm comin' to give out supper
directly. Oh, Miss Margret, IPse so glad to see
you, and the chillun too! Bless'em all!" and she
kissed them heartily.
Keziah now came up, having alighted from the
wagon, and, by the aid of her general efficiency,
fires were soon lighted in the different rooms, and
an abundant supper-a Virginia supper-prepared
for the once more happy family.
In going over the house, and examining it thoroughly the next day, Mrs. Fairfax was astonished




44              LIBERIA; OR,
and delighted to find every thing left untouched,
except by aunt Abby's careful hands.
Before her promotion to the office of housekeeper,
Abby had been the especial attendant of MIrs. Peyton, who, when she became too stout, and burdened
with the weight of too many years, to move as
readily as she had once done, showed her opinion
of her integrity by giving all the keys of the house
into her care.
Why, aunt Abby," said Mrs. Fairfax, "how
did you manage to keep every thing so safe?"' I jes' lock all the do's, Miss Margaret, and I
ses, nobody but me and Nathan is to come about
the place. Dey all wanted to come and help me
put every thing straight, but I ses no; I don't
want none of your help. I knows what I am, but
I don't know what you are; so get away with you.
And Nathan, he's kep'em right tight to work. But,
bless your heart, Miss Mlargaret, dey didn't need no
keeping; dey never worked half so well in all dere
lives."
Charles found that this assertion was true. He
accounted for it-not by the idea that his servants
were better than those on some of the neighboring
plantations, who had showed themselves unworthy
of trust, nor by the flattering thought that more
indulgent treatment than they received elsewhere
had awakened more noble qualities, for there were




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           45
many planters around, who held the reins of discipline with a looser grasp, and whose easy tempers
led them to pass unnoticed over faults that AMr.
Peyton would have punished severely; but their
religious training was more carefully attended to
than usual, and besides, the principal ones among
them were, without exception, persons of tried integrity, fidelity, and Christian principle. There is
nowhere a more sympathetic or imitative race than
the African, and by working skillfully on their feelings, Nathan, who possessed something of the " wisdom of the serpent," had contrived, with little difficulty, to induce each one to perform voluntarily his
daily task.
As soon as things had fallen into their usual routine, Charles began to reflect upon the best means
to repay the debt of gratitude he owed to his dependents, and, at the same time, to fulfill his vow.
He consulted his sister about it.
"There are some to whom I must give their
fieedom," said he; "I should as soon think of
keeping my own brother in unwilling bondage, as
those to whom we owe so much. But what shall
I do with them or for them afterward? The best
plan I can think of is to place them on a farm. I
have some very valuable land lying on Roceky Run,
about three miles from here.  I think I might
manage to settle at least ten of them on it, with a




46            LLIBERIA; OR,
prospect of making a comfortable subsistence, if
they are only industrious."
"A very important if," said Margaret Fairfax.
"Judging by the free negroe- we see around us,
the probabilities are that they will degenerate from
honest, faithful servants, into idle, degraded, and
worthless men, a burden and a nuisance to every
respectable person near them."
" If I thought that, of course it would prove an
insuperable objection to my project; but how can
I believe that a'man who has stood the test of the
ordeal through which Nathan, and Stephen, and
Polydore, and many others of our servants have
passed-not only this last trial of their fidelity, but
the countless temptations they must meet each
day-should become like those who have grown
up in ignorance and idleness? I can not imagine
that they would ever become a burden, much less
an injury to society."
"They may not, brother," said Margaret; " but
who shall answer for their descendants? Many of
those we see around us received their freedom as a
reward for their good conduct; and if they have
not degenerated, is there an instance where even
that could be said of their children?"'^ Yes, Margaret, I think there is," said Charles;
and after a few moments of thought, he mentioned
two or three who had vindicated their claim to the




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            47
title of freemen by their industry and uprightness.
"Is there any other way I could take, my dear
sister," continued he, "to elevate my people to the
position in which I wish to see them placed?"
At that time Liberia was unthought of, or existed
only in the minds of those far-sighted enthusiasts
to whom it owes its commencement.   The question perplexed Mrs. Fairfax, so that she remained
for some time without replying.
" There certainly ought to be some other course
open in such a case as this-some way not only to
free our negroes, but to place them in a situation
where the superior position and cultivation of the
whites will not react upon them, so as to deprive
them of the hope, and, with it, of the wish to elevate themselves; but, I confess, I do not see any
other. What do you say to sending them to the
free states?"
"I have thought of that; but, besides the climate
being so ill adapted to them, they are not regarded there with the same kindness and toleration as
with us. The tie that unites us to them-the only
possible tie, it seems to me, between the two races,
has taught us to regard their necessities as our peculiar care. We are so familiar with their habits of
improvidence and indolence, that it does not strike
us with the same feelings of surprise and contempt




48             LIBERIA; OR,
that it does the thrifty Northerners.  Besides, I
would like to keep my people near me. After they
have been taken care of by our family so long, I
would not like to have them suffer, even by their
own fault. We hear of a great deal of suffering in
those Northern cities, especially among the negroes."
" Yes, that is true," replied Mrs. Fairfax; " that
I know from observation. You remember my taking mammy Betty to New York with me, when
Philip was a baby, and that she was persuaded to
leave me. I remained in the city several months,
and heard nothing of her. Indeed, I never expected
to see her again; but one day I received a message,
imploring me to come to her. I shall never forget
the horror and misery of the places through which
Mr. Fairfax and I had to pass in order to reach
her room. We found her sick, and almost starving,
and pure pity, if nothing else, would have forced
us to take her back with us. Poor mammy can
never bear to hear of the'big norrard' since. To
be sure, that is only a single instance; but I have
heard of many others."
" We hear of them, and see them constantly at
the North. No, Margaret, I have great hopes that
I shall be successful in this plan; and if I am, I
know many other planters who will follow my example, for there are but few that are not troubled
by the present state of our relations to our servants




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           49
And when the slaves see that by their good conduct
they may hope to attain freedom and respectability,
who can tell how great a stimulus the prospect will
be to them?"
Mr. Peyton was generally distinguished by great
calmness and coolness of judgment; but the warmth
and earnestness with which he entered into this
project for repaying the great debt he owed his
bondmen, kindled a degree of enthusiasm in his
heart that made him set aside all doubts and misgivings as unworthy his design, and the people who
were to carry it into execution.
"I am working with pure heart and hands,"
thought he, " and it seems impossible that I should
fail; but if I do, it shall not dishearten me."
When Nathan was informed that his master
intended to bestow upon him and all his family
the great gift of freedom, together with enough
land to render him independent, partly in recompense for his past services, and partly, Mr. Peyton
said, that the neighborhood might have no cause
to complain that he had thrown his people upon
them for support, he could hardly believe the good
tidings.
He hastened to impart them to his wife, but
soon returned with a more anxious face than he
had often been known to wear.
M' My ole woman say, mas'r, how will Junius do
0




50             LIBERIA; OR,'bout his learnin'? He's mighty fond of books, and
would be a preacher one of these days, if he can
go on. He's been studyin' Latin, and Greek, and
Hebrew, and I don't know what else, with Mas'r
Philip's tutorer, and he say he's the best scholar
he has had for a long time. But if he has to work
on a farm, he must give up studyin'."
Mr. Peyton knew that Junius was a boy of uncommon abilities, and he had given the tutor permission to teach him, but he had no idea he was
so far advanced.
"I will see Junius myself, Nathan," replied Mr,
Peyton, "and if I find him so good a scholar as you
say, I will do the best I can for him."
For Mr. Peyton to promise was almost the same
that it is for other people to perform, so Nathan
went away quite satisfied.
Mr. Peyton found that Nathan had not exaggerated about his son, but that the acquirements of
Junius were so great as to appear wonderful when
compared with his slender advantages. He was
never more perplexed.  " What shall I do with
Junius," thought he, "if, by my connivance, he
fulfills the promise of his boyhood, and becomes a
learned man? What position in America can he
occupy?"  Then the question arose, "Is it right
to stifle the yearnings for knowledge in any human
soul, particularly when the knowledge can be ob



MR. PE YTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          51
tained without the violation of any duty?" Every
feeling in Mr. Peyton's generous heart said no.
It was then resolved that Junius, freed with the
rest of the family, should remain with Mr. Peyton,
and, fulfilling the duties of his position, that of assistant waiter, he might devote the rest of his time
to the improvement of his mind, with all the assistance he could obtain from the tutor or Mr. Peyton's
library.
Essex, an old family servant, the head waiter
and butler, was next informed by his master of the
happiness in store for him. He was a true Virginia
servant of the old school. His courteousness and
suavity of manner, his dignified politeness and ceremoniousness, might have put Beau Brummel to the
blush. "The first gentleman in Europe" bore himself with no more stateliness and consciousness of
his high position on the mightiest throne in the
world, than did Essex when, with a wave of his
silver waiter, he ushered the high-bred ladies and
gentlemen of the "Old Dominion" to their seats at
the table in the dining-room of Cedar Hall.
"Have I ever disobliged you, master?" asked he,
with a magnificent bow and flourish of his hand.
" No, Essex, you have always been a most faithful servant."
"Is it Madam Peyton's wish that I should leave
you?"




52             LIBERIA; OR,
" My mother wishes you to go, as it will probably
be for your greater usefulness and happiness; but,
on her own account, she dislikes very much to part
with you. You were father's body-servant so long,
that she has become strongly attached to you."
" That will do, Master Charles. If I could forsake
the family I was born in, it would not be while my
old mistress needs me. If I decline into an invalid,
or become supernumerary afterward," with another
flourish, " you can turn me off, if you please. For
myself, I do not approve of novelties. As I came
into this world, so I go out of it. And, if you please
Master Charles, don't speak the word to me again."
Another bow-another flourish, somewhat more
deprecating than the others-and he was gone.
Amused and gratified rather than discouraged
by his vain attempt to make Essex understand the
value of the great boon he offered him-an offer
Essex evidently took as a slight to his services, and
a civil way of telling him he was no longer neededMr. Peyton continued his efforts with unabated zeal.
The next person from whom he experienced any
opposition was one of the last from whom he expected it. Ben, the coachman, a bright mulatto,
and a man full of energy and ambition, in his own
way, after consulting his wife Clara about accepting his master's proposal, came to him with a positive refusal.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          53
If it was to work about hosses, now, mas'r, I
wouldn't say no, for that I knows all about, and
likes better than to eat my dinner; but I never
know'd any thing about working on a farm, and
never'spect to.'Pears to me like a mighty coming
down, to go to field-work after I've been raised in
the house. Clary thinks so too."
" But the land will be your own-a very different
thing from working for a master."
"I'm much'bliged to you, mas'r; and ef it was
any thing else but going on a farm, I'd'cept your
offer; but,'deed, I couldn't do that for nobody"for Ben possessed the negro passion for horses to
its fullest extent.
" But, Ben," continued Mr. Peyton, " think that
you can be a free and independent man."
" Yes, Mas'r Charles, I told Clary so; and she
said it didn't make no difference to speak of-a nigger's nothing but a nigger, whether he is free or not."
C"I am afraid Clara dreads the hard work that
may fall to her lot, if she leaves her comfortable
home here," said Mr. Peyton. " Call her to me,
Ben; I will talk to her about it."
She had been down to the quarter administering
a dose of medicine to some child, by Mrs. Fairfax's
orders, and, summoned by Ben, she soon appeared,
slowly emerging from the clump of trees, and ascending the slope that led to the house.




54              LIBERIA; OR,
" Hurry, Clary, hurry; mas'r's waitin' for you,"
said Ben.
"I am hurrying; don't you see I'm running as
fast as I can?" replied Clara, changing her leisurely
movement into what might be called rather a brisk
walk, if the epithet brisk could be applied to Clara's
graceful, swaying motions.
She was a picturesque-looking object; and, gazing upon her then as she crossed the lawn, the imagination would be irresistibly carried away from
this land of universal activity, useful inventions,
and angular movements, to those Eastern climes,
where the sun and the genial soil do all the labor,
and their spoiled children have but to receive and
enjoy. With just such a gait of stately languorregal in its indolent repose-might Pharaoh's daughter have walked, amid her attendant maidens, along
the rush-bordered Nile.  Tall and slender, with
beautifully-moulded limbs and bust, small hands
and feet, softly-rounded features, and large, deeplyfringed eyes, in whose dark depths the gazer might
fancy he could discover terrible capabilities of passion or feeling, or infinite powers of love and tenderness, she was yet only a gentle and affectionate
woman, very vain, and very fond of ease and enjoyment, but, in the main, faithful and true-hearted.
She had been generally employed about Mrs.
Peyton's person, and, as Charles Peyton supposed,




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           55
dreaded the hardships and privations of a life of
labor on a farm. But she had accompanied her
mistress on two journeys to Philadelphia; and the
fine dressing she had seen among persons of her
own rank there, with their opportunities for enjoyment, had struck her so favorably, that she had
been since very desirous of returning.  She told
her master that, if he could get Ben a situation as
coachman with some of his friends in Philadelphia,
she would be very glad to help him as much as she
could by sewing, but that nothing would make
her consent to undertake the farm. Mr. Peyton
would not agree to this proposal, and therefore,
with many misgivings, Ben decided to remain a
slave.
Another surprise was in store for Mr. Peyton.
" I shall make the same proposalto Keziah that
I have done to Nathan and the others," said he,
"but I do not suppose she will accept it."
( Oh, no, certainly not," exclaimed Virginia; " I
should not wonder if she felt even more hurt than
poor uncle Essex."
But Keziah embraced the offer with an irrepressible delight most foreign to her nature. Mr. Peyton
could not prevent a sensation of disappointment, for
he had felt convinced that Keziah loved him too
well to leave him. She instinctively divined his
feeling.




56             -LIBERIA; OR,
" I belong to you all the same, mas'r; and if you
ever want me, speak the word, and I come from
the farmost ends of the arth; but I's born to be
free, mas'r; I allers know'd it. Some niggers born
for slaves-heaps on'em fit for nothin' else; but
this chile ain't one of them ar people."
And she turned to go away; but quickly changing her mind, she returned, raised her eyes, generally downcast and brooding, and fixed them, with a
searching look, full on his face.
" Mas'r Charles, next to God Almighty, I love
you; and you taught me to love Him the best: if
you want me to stay with you, I stay."
" No, Keziah," replied Mr. Peyton, the momentary feeling of disappointment having passed away;
"probably you will be of more real service and
advantage to me by the good effect your industry
and honesty will have on your companions on the
farm, than if you spent your life in my service."
To carry out this attempt to free his servants,
and teach them self-reliance, Mr. Peyton selected
ten of the best men upon his place. Nathan, with
his wife Sally, and a family of six children, and
Polydore, with his patient eyes still fixed on Keziah,
who possessed a strange power over the docile giant,
were among the most prominent of the band.
Mr. Peyton himself had built as many cabins as
were needed, and furnished them with the articles




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            57
that were absolutely necessary. The rest they were
to obtain by their own exertions. But many a millionaire has begun with less.
During the first year they worked the land for
Mr. Peyton, as he wished to ascertain if it were
sufficient for their support.
With the conscientious Nathan as their overseer,
and animated by the desire of proving themselves
worthy of their liberty, all faithfully performed their
part in the common task.
Even Polydore seemed more thoroughly awake,
and no longer took advantage of the opportunity
offered, by being appointed to drive a cart or wagon,
to enjoy a stolen slumber, while the sagacious animals chose their own gait and direction. There
was a story still current, that one night he had
waked up to find himself fast in a swamp, ten
miles from home, which he had left at sunrise to
obtain a load of wood. But no such disaster befell
him now.   Perhaps Keziah's rebukes, sharp and
decided, though rare, had some effect.
He had selected a cabin close by hers, and employed all his leisure time in assisting the severe
mistress of his soul in cultivating a little flowergarden she had planted; for, great an anomaly as
it might seem, Keziah was an ardent admirer of
every thing beautiful or lovely in nature.
The farm proved so much more profitable the
C2




8        ~     LIBERIA; OR,
first year than Mr. Peyton had expected, that he
was much encouraged. Distributing the proceeds
among the laborers when he gave them their freedom, he asked them whether they preferred to work
the land together as they had been doing, or to have
it divided into lots.
As they all relied greatly on Nathan's judgment,
they decided to continue the first arrangement.
Keziah opposed this decidedly, but, overruled by
numbers, she yielded.
The second year was not so favorable. In Mr.
Peyton's frequent visits to Rocky Run farm, he
found Nathan often sad and disheartened.
"Every thing is gettin' behin' han', mas'r," he
said one day. "The niggers won't work; if dey
has de least ache or pain, dey nusses demselves
mos' to death. Keziah's de best man in de lot, and
she keeps Polydore pretty well up to the mark; but
de rest-dey work one day, and rest two."
The result proved that Nathan's complaints were
well founded. Instead of making more than enough
for their support, as they should have done, they
found themselves in debt, and some of them had to
apply to Mlr. Peyton for relief.
The next year matters were still worse; they had
tasted the pleasure of an indolent life, and were not
inclined to resume their old habits of active exertion.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            59
Few men naturally like a life of labor. It was
first inflicted as a curse; and though obedience
often transmutes it into a blessing, yet people generally, white as well as black, count it a happiness
if they are elevated above the necessity for exertion.
It was easy for Mr. Peyton's freedmen to work
enough to satisfy their consciences, and to procure
a part of what was necessary for their subsistence,
and often a great part; for it is wonderful, to those
of many wants, how little will suffice to satisfy
those whose only desires spring from their animal
nature. And they knew they had an unfailing
resource, if sickness or distress came upon them.
Mr. Peyton never refused them what they really
needed, both for the sake of past services, and because he did not wish to be the means of burdening
others in the community with the care of his people.
But he marked, with bitter disappointment, the
downward progress of what, in his sanguine visions,
he had depicted to himself as the Utopia of the
colored race. It needed no prophetic eye to see
that the children trained in indolence and self-indulgence would probably, when his restraining influence and willing aid were withdrawn, become the
pest of the neighborhood by their thriftlessness and
dishonesty.
By the end of the third year, Nathan's patience




60             LIBERIA; OR,
was worn out. He came to Mr. Peyton with the
proposal that the land should be divided.
The reasons that he gave were, that the labor
fell principally on himself, and those of his children
who were able to work, Polydore and Keziah; yet
the others expected an equal share of the profits,
and were inclined to find fault with him, on account
of the falling off in their crops; and if he managed
to lay up any little store for himself, the rest evidently thought that, as long as it lasted, they had
as good a right to it as he, and would come to him
very much as they would have applied to a master,
only with more freedom and importunity.  The
African is naturally generous, kind-hearted, and
yielding, and Nathan often found himself unable
to refuse, though, in the end, he was the greatest,
perhaps the only real sufferer; for the rest, without
hesitation, went to Mr. Peyton when other means
failed; but Nathan had determined that nothing
but "extreme extremities" should force him to do
that.
"If I can not support myself and my family after
all that Mas'r Charles has done for me, I don't ought
to be free;" and so his family often, during the third
winter, lived for days on hoe-cake. Sometimes his
oldest boys would succeed in catching an opossum,
or some rabbits, which made a welcome variety in
their fare, and fuel could always be obtained for




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           61
the trouble of collecting it from the neighboring
forests.
Yet, even in this, Nathan's patience was put to
a hard trial; for, being naturally what the Northerners call " a fore-handed man," he laid in quite
a store of wood, "light'ud, back-logs," and all,
before the cold weather came on. The first stormy
day in winter, hearing a clattering and commotion
outside his house, he opened the wooden shutter,
which served also for a window, in the back of the
cabin, and saw a number of little busy hands helping themselves liberally from his wood-pile.' What
are you doin' dar?" he asked, in no gentle tones,
while a disposition to run was clearly visible in the
greater number of the little depredators; but a
commanding " Stop! you hear?" kept them in their
places, standing silent and abashed, with rolling
eyes, and teeth, whose pearly brightness lit up
occasionally some dark, chubby face, as, notwithstanding the awe in which uncle Nathan was held,
an involuntary giggle would break forth.
At length one of the smaller ones took heart of
grace, and said,
"Daddy sent me, uncle Nathan; he's got de
rheumatiz, and mammy has to stay to take care of
him. He said he knew you'd give him some wood."
"Well, ax me nex time; now take it, and be
off wid ye. What you doin' yer, Jack?"




62              LIBERIA; OR,
" Mammy's sick; she got de spine in her backbone drefful bad; she got it working so hard in de
tater patch, and now de doctor say she mus' lie in
bed ever so long. Daddy's nussin' de baby."
"All he's fit for," muttered Nathan; but, touched
by the singular nature of his mother's illness, Jack
also received permission to go home with full arms.
One by one, each of the little throng came forward
with his excuses, which were "no excuses," and
his humble request, which, backed by the chilling
rain, and raw, gusty wind, Nathan found irresistible.
It rained, and snowed, and sleeted for nearly a
week, and by the end of that time Nathan's woodpile was, as he pathetically observed, "nowhar."
In this emergency, he went in to consult with
Keziah, who, pointing triumphantly to her undiminished stock of fuel, said,
" She'd dare any lazy nigger to lay a finger on
it."
" Yes, aunt Keziah, dat's all right; but, you see,
I feels somehow like a father to dem all, and I
can't see'em suffer as long as dey are under me."
"Why don't you give'em up, den, and go to
work for yourself, as I wanted you to do at fust?"
"Dat's the'dentical ting I've come yer about,"
replied Nathan; "let's hold a conference on dat
very subject."
Just then a clumsy shuffling and stamping was




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           63
heard outside the door; then a knocking,-which,
being answered by a loud "' Come in" from Keziah,
Polydore appeared, leaving, after the custom of the
Turks, though probably unaware of the existence
of such a nation or custom, his shoes outside.
Keziah's floor was not to be profaned by the mass
of mud that Polydore gathered in his daily tramps;
for, like the Hebrews of old, he was content if he
could supply his wants from day to day, giving,
literally, the morrow no thought.
" You've ben gone in de woods longer dan common," said Keziah.
"Yes," replied he, placing on the table several
bunches of holly, with its red berries and glossy
leaves; " fust, I had to tote home wood for myself,
and den one and den anoder axed me to fetch some
for dem, and I've ben as busy as dat ar bee missis
used to preach'bout till dis blessed minute. I
fetched dat green stuff to you, for I know'd you'd
like it to stick'bout de room for Christmas times,
and dat's cornin' soon.  I'll bring some more tomorrow."
" Have you had any breakfast?" asked Keziah.
" No," replied Polydore, with the reluctant, abashed manner of a child confessing a fault, and at the
same time excusing it; "I hadn't no wood. It'peared to me yesterday I had fetched home plenty
for two days; but fust one came, and den anoder,




64             LIBERIA; OR,
and dis one was sick, and dat one was wuss, and
it was all gone'fore I know'd it."
"You and uncle Nathan is two blessed fools,"
said Keziah, with a sort of resigned contempt, as
she went to work mixing a hoe-cake in the most
scientific manner, and, after placing it in the hot
ashes to bake, began making an olla podrida that
sent forth a most savory odor.
While thus engaged, she kept up with Nathan a
discussion of "ways and means."  When they differed in their opinion as to the best course to choose,
they appealed to Polydore, who would gladly have
acted the umpire with impartiality and dignity;
but his attention, distracted by the good things
that were in preparation, he found it impossible,
and, after chafing Keziah's temper to the uttermost
by several mal apropos answers, he lapsed into a
state of entire confusion, but placid satisfaction,
and contented himself with clinching every proposal of hers with a "'Zackly so, Keziah," "Dat's
all right, ole woman," until, soothed by his admiration, she resumed her usual grim composure, and
placed the smoking viands before him.
To have seen the enjoyment with which Polydore
fell upon these " creature comnforts," would have
given unalloyed pleasure to any benevolent heart.
No fragments were left; but when Keziah had removed the dishes, she said,




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           65
You know, Polydore, this is a very important
subjec' Nathan and I are consultin' about, and we
want your'pinion."
"'Zackly so, Keziah; I knows dat. Drive ahead."
Thus adjured, she went on to tell him that the
subject they were conversing about was no less
than the advantages that would spring from a division of the property, each one cultivating their
own farm, instead of working it in common as they
had been doing. They were also considering what
places they would prefer for their own share, if
Mr. Peyton should approve of the division; for
they still considered themselves as so much his
charge, that they did nothing of importance without obtaining his consent.
They concluded that they would like to remain
as they were, neighbors, as then they could mutually assist each other in their plans for improvement,
and protection from the extortions of the indolent
people around them.
All this was explained to Polydore, and discussed
for his benefit, while he sat quietly on a section of
the trunk of a tree, which, stripped of its bark, and
carefully smoothed, filled well enough the place of
an ottoman. It had a nice cushion and covering
of bright chintz, which gave quite a brilliant look
to Keziah's little cabin; but these only came out
in pleasant weather, when visitors from Cedar Hill




66             LIBERIA; OR,
might be expected. When thus arrayed, Polydore
never thought of occupying it, but now he had settled himself very comfortably, and, turning his head
a little away from them, listened, apparently in
motionless attention, to Nathan's calm, slowlyspoken arguments, and Keziah's pithy and decided
remarks.
They finished what they had to say, and waited
to hear his opinion. A lower droop of the head,
and a deep, heavy breath rewarded their patience.
"He's dead asleep," said Keziah. "I believe in
my heart if he was on de fiel' of battle he'd go to
sleep with de bullets flyin' roun' him. But it don't
make no defference-he'll do what we do."
"He'll do what you want him to do, Keziah,"
said Nathan, with a gallant bow; " de ladies is
mighty powerful over our weakness."
Nathan was not much given to the vanity of
complimenting, and Keziah appreciated his remark
the more on that account.
After a few more words, Nathan rose to go, saying, "I'll tell my ole woman what we've been talking about, and de very fust chance I get at Mas'r
Charles, I'll let him know how every thing is goin'
wrong, and, to save my soul, I can't make it right;
and I know he'll agree with us. You see, Keziah,
I feel troubled'bout my chillun. Naterally, dey
ar as good chillun as ever lived, and we tries our




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           67
best to larn'em to obey dar parents, and to walk
in de ways of de Lord. But we can't keep'em
from'sociating with de oders; and dey larn such
mighty bad tricks and words. If we have a farm
to ourselves, we can live more to one side, you know."
And this conversation led to the proposal to Mr.
Peyton that the land should be divided.
To this he readily consented. He saw that matters could not be much worse, and perhaps, when
each one felt himself individually responsible, they
might improve.
He had a long talk with the delinquents, to urge
them to their duty. They all acknowledged their
short-comings, and promised amendment; but when
he placed several motives before them to incite them
to improvement-among others, the increased respect with which they would be regarded-he
always received this reply-varied occasionally in
language, but conveying the same idea" Laws! Mas'r Charles, a nigger can't be any
thing but a nigger."
The only resource he had, when reduced to this
emergency, was to remind them that in heaven all
distinction of race or color is unknown, and that
they could hardly attain a state of blessedness in
the other world without performing their duty in
this.
But there were only a few on whom this argu



68              LIBERIA; OR,
ment seemed to produce any effect. It is a melancholy fact, that the external reality of heavenly
things is but little felt, even by the greater part
of those whose minds are trained to consider them
from infancy. How, then, can we blame these
ignorant beings, whose mental faculties lie almost
dormant for want of exercise, if, having no earthly
motives to stimulate them, they neglect the divine
ones that are offered in their stead?
To do right, for the pure love of right, or the
love of God, is a very difficult thing. Few know
how difficult; for there are but few who have not
some other helps to their upward course, in the
approbation of friends, the increased esteem of their
acquaintances, and the growing influence they must
feel they exert in society.
These inducements can be applied but in a limited degree to the negro; and, with every earthly
aspiration crushed out of his heart by the overpowering superiority of the white man in social and
political advantages, it is no wonder he improves
so slowly, or displays so little desire for intellectual
cultivation.
The division of the land worked admirably for
Nathan, Keziah, and Polydore.
All encouraging and assisting each other, their
little places soon wore a look of thrift and comfort
that gladdened Mr. Peyton's heart.




MR. PE YTOA'l,  -AXPERIMENI' 9. 69
Their farms looked, amid the general decay and
desolation around them, like oases in the desert,
and, by contrast, served to bring out more prominently the improvidence and want of steadiness of
purpose in the others, who had the same advantages.
Those only whose lives were regulated by their
consciences and the word of God, were found strong
enough to bear the trial of worldly prosperity. Those
governed by lower motives sank, as soon as fear of
their master's displeasure, or desire of his approval,
were withdrawn, into a state of apathy as far as
regarded every thing but their bodily comfortsand even those were reduced to a lower scale than
before.
Mr. Peyton, though sick at heart whenever he
thought of the failure of this experiment, commenced
with such sanguine hopes, yet did not lose his interest in those who had once been his peculiar charge.
He labored earnestly to undo the evil he had
unwittingly done to the community, by throwing
upon it so many idle and useless people, who were
allowing their children to grow up in practices of
petty pilfering and vagrancy, which rendered them
a nuisance to the neighborhood.
Every year of Mr. Peyton's life made his mistake
clearer to him. Yet he was just enough not to
attribute his disappointment to an inherent defect




70              LIBERIA; OR,
in the character of the colored race. Other people
so situated, with so few inducements to self-improvement, might have worked much greater injury
to society than they had done. He only felt that
extreme caution was necessary before again taking
a step that involved so much.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.              71
CHAPTER         III.
LIFE IN A CITY.'Tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of sorrow;
But no man's virtue, nor sufficiency,
To be so moral, when he shall endure
The like himself. Therefore, give me no counsel:
My griefs cry louder than advertisement.
SHAKSPEARE.
YEARS passed away.    Another scheme for the
improvement of the colored race, that seemed at
first more uncertain in its results, and more difficult in its execution than Mr. Peyton's plan of the
farm, had been commenced in weakness, and fear,
and doubt; but, by the mighty help of Him who
can make the meanest of His creatures do an angel's
work, this little seed, when first put into the ground,
the smallest of all seeds, was developing-slowly,
indeed, but with a growth more vigorous and healthy
on that very account-into a mighty tree, whose
overshadowing branches should shed their blessed
influences over a whole continent.
Steadily onward came the slowly-advancing le



72              LIBERIA; OR,
gions along a path whose guide-posts and waymarks were the head-stones of those willing spirits
who, with brave resignation, had placed themselves
in the van, that they might meet the brunt of the
battle, and bear the hottest of the day, and had
laid down their lives with a martyr's willingness
and a martyr's triumphant hope.
Mr. Peyton had been from the first deeply interested in the great plan of colonization, so far-reaching and comprehensive in its design, and he had
tried to excite the same feeling in those of his servants whom he thought best fitted for liberty; but,
as far as Ben and Clara were concerned, his labors
were ineffectual.
A true type of many of their race, they would
gladly have been free, if they had been allowed to
exchange their easy, comfortable mode of life in
the household of a Virginia planter for the greater
variety and more easily obtained pleasures that
would be afforded them in a city. A love of finery
was also, in common with many other half-civilized
people, one of their strongest passions, and the better opportunity they would have of obtaining and
displaying it had no slight influence upon them.
But a desire for freedom, for its own sake, was too
abstract and intangible a motive to affect them.
Mr. Peyton was unwilling to expose their facile
dispositions and unstable principles to the tempta



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           73
tions a city life would offer them; and so time
passed on, and they still remained members of his
family.
At length an epidemic, often fatal, and generally supposed to be contagious, came, making its
insidious progress through the land, and at one time
every member of Mr. Peyton's immediate family
lay struck down by the simoon of its breath. His
mother and two of his children died, and only by
the most assiduous nursing were the lives of the
rest saved. Keziah, for whose assistance then many
a wish was breathed, was far away, and the charge
of the sick devolved on Clara and aunt Abby.
Clara's slow, gentle movements, her soft, light
touch, and sympathizing manner, made her a great
favorite at the sick-bed, and for many days she was
in constant request. And yet her affectionate nature
never grew weary, and she complied with the fretful wish of the convalescent with the same uncomplaining patience that she had displayed while they
lay in the shadow of death.
"Is it still your wish to go to Philadelphia to
live?" asked Mr. Peyton, when the family were
able to leave their chambers, and dispense with
their gentle nurse.
" Yes, mas'r; Ben and me would like to go very
much, if you would let us," was the reply.
"Yes," said he, " you may go, if it is your wish;
D




74             LIBERIA; OR,
I think you have well earned your freedom;" and
he thought with a pang of his two fair boys, who
had sighed out their last breath on Clara's bosom,
and his cherished mother, who had had no other
arm but hers to raise her dying head, and no other
hand to wipe the death-dews from her brow.
"I shall go, as usual, to the North this summer,"
he continued, "and I will see if I can find a suitable situation for you among my acquaintances
there."
" Can Americus go with us?" asked Clara.
"What! your brother? No, I think not," replied
Mr. Peyton.
But Clara urged the matter with so much earnestness, that Mr. Peyton,'his heart softened by his
bereavements, felt unable to resist her plea for her
only brother, a boy some years younger than herself, whom she loved with unusual warmth. He
granted the request, on the condition that they
should all remain with him one year longer. This
he did, partly to see if their affection would bear
the trial of self-denial and delay, and still more that
he might train them more effectually for a state of
independence. His first effort had shown him how
much labor and patience were required for this
purpose, and he now proceeded with more caution.
Ben and Clara readily acceded to this condition.
Clara would have remained three times as long




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.             75
uncomplainingly for her brother, and Ben was very
much in the habit of yielding to his wife's inclinations.
The course of the next year saw them fairly
established in Philadelphia; Ben as a coachman
in a gentleman's family in Walnut Street, with
twenty dollars a month, Americus as waiter in another with fifteen, and Clara and her little girl in
a house in South Street, where she was installed
mistress of two rooms and a pump, with a coal
cooking-stove in the kitchen, which nearly burned
her fingers off, and drove her to the verge of distraction, before she learned how to manage it.
The next summer, when Mr. Peyton was passing
through Philadelphia on his way farther North, he
stopped for a day or two, that he might inquire
after his freedmen. After dinner, on the first day
of his arrival, Mrs. Peyton proposed a walk up
Chestnut Street, to call upon some old friends.
It was early in the summer, before the streets
get the deserted look, and the persons sauntering
through them the faded, languid appearance they
wear later in the season. Every thing was bright
and gay; the streets were thronged with ladies in
their fresh and delicate summer attire; airy robes
were floating, dainty little boots glancing in and
out, and bonnets, cloud-like in their translucent
lightness, were decked with exquisite bouquets,




76             LIBERIA; OR,
mocking the eye by their close resemblance to
nature's cunning work, till the passers-by might
imagine themselves in some gay garden.
" What an elegantly-dressed lady that is before
us!" said Virginia; "just notice in what perfect
keeping every part of her dress is; that light, stonecolored silk, and white crape shawl, and tasteful
white bonnet. I think I shall take her for my
model. You know sister Julia wished me to bring
her a fashionable shawl and bonnet, and I do not
see any thing that pleases me so well. But how
fantastically she has dressed that little child of
hers!"
"It is the fashion, I presume," replied Mr. Peyton; "I have observed that they al look very much
alike."
A stylish carriage came rolling down the street.
" Look, Charles!" exclaimed Virginia, "there is
Ben on the box."
The lady in front of them bowed. Ben smiled
in return with an expression of familiar pleasure,
and then, catching sight of his old master, his look
changed to a whimsical mixture of delight and discomfiture. Pleasure at seeing those he liked so
well, and that they should see his wife too, arrayed in her best, and doubt as to their approval of
her manner of disposing of their funds, were about
equally balanced. He had only time, however, to




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            77
take off his hat with a peculiar flourish, meant to
express a great deal, and to give Clara a significant
look as he drove by. She turned to see what he
meant, and her eyes encountered Mr. Peyton's.
" Oh, Mast'r Charles, I am so glad to see you'!
she exclaimed.
" Clara! is it possible!" said Mr. and Mrs. Peyton
in a breath. "Why, Clara, how fine you look!"
continued Mrs. Peyton; "I have been admiring
your dress for the last two squares. And this is
your little Madge, is it?  I should never have
recognized her."
There was, indeed, a great metamorphosis. She
had been a round, chubby, laughing little thing,
dressed in a simple checked frock, and, except in
the coldest weather, running about barefooted; and
now she was thin and sickly-looking, with a closelyfitting frock that came hardly to her knees, and
stockings drawn tight over her slender limbs, yet
leaving them partly exposed; while gray boots, and
a gipsy hat, with long blue streamers, completed
her attire.
A consciousness that the surprise shown by her
old master and mistress was not one of entire pleasure, prevented Clara from feeling perfectly at her
ease. Yet she could not find it in her heart to be
wholly sorry for the untimely meeting. She had
often thought, when surveying herself in the glass




78             LIBERIA; OR,
on Sunday afternoon, previous to going to church,
and taking her usual walk down Spruce. Street"If mast'r or mistr'ss could see me now, wouldn't
they be astonished?"
And astonished they were, even more so than
Clara had anticipated.
"I thought Clara had more sense than to dress
herself in that unsuitable way. I am sure Ben's
wages can not support her long in that style. I
must talk to her about it," said Virginia, as, after
a warm greeting, they passed on.
" I wonder how this will end," said Mr. Peyton,
musingly. "Judging by appearances, I am afraid
I shall find I have made another great mistake. I
will speak to Ben, and give him a little advice about
his affairs."
Mrs. Peyton found Clara the next day, neatly
and suitably attired, and busy with her sewing.
She was alone, for Madge was at school, she said.
"I What is she studying?" asked Mrs. Peyton.
Among a long list of studies, Clara mentioned
music.
" Why are you having her taught music?" asked
Mrs. Peyton; " will it ever be of any use to her?"
" Yes, mistr'ss, I think it will. A friend of mine,
Miss Amanda Fitzwalter (and Clara, in her simplicity, showed evident symptoms of gratified pride
in numbering Miss Fitzwalter among her friends)




MR. PtIYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          79
plays very well on the guitar, and sings most beautiful; and several white ladies take lessons of her.
I thought if my Maggie could learn, she might give
music lessons too-it would be, more genteel than
to take in sewing."
On giving her a little advice, and a gentle reproof
as to her style of dress, Clara answered meekly that
she had earned it all herself, excepting the shawl,
which Americus had given her. The families her
husband and brother were engaged in kept her
supplied-with needle-work.
" But have you laid by any thing, in case you
or Ben should be taken sick?" asked Mrs. Peyton.
( Laws no, mistr'ss!" said Clara, with a wondering shake of her head; " me and Ben's never
sick. White ladies think so much of gettin' sick!
I never see one that they don't talk to me about
it; but I don't know what it is."
" You may know one of these days, Clara," said
Mrs. Peyton, rather severely, for Clara's flippancy
had struck her disagreeably; but remembering her
patient nursing, she went on to talk to her more
plainly, and urge upon her the duties of economy
and of desires suited to her position.
Clara listened without replying, but it was easy
to see that her thoughts were wandering.
She was examining with a practiced eye Mrs.
Peyton's simple yet elegant dress. At last, when




80             LIBERIA; OR,
Virginia had set in every conceivable light the consequences of her folly and extravagance, in short,
had given quite a good little extempore sermon, that
she had been composing all the morning, Clara replied, " Yes, mistr'ss; I will try, mistr'ss; I really
will. Ben and me will get along first-rate. But,
mistr'ss, I would like to show you a new collar I've
made myself, almost exactly like the one you have
on"-and Clara went to the next room to find it.
While she was gone Virginia glanced round the
room. It looked very neat and comfortable. The
floor was covered with a nice carpet; there was a
handsome sofa, and a bureau with a swing mirror,
a marble-topped table, a few chairs, some gay colored engravings, framed and hanging about the room,
with the portrait of a solemn-looking colored clergyman, in a white cravat and spectacles, with one
hand resting on the Bible, and the other grasping a
manuscript sermon; a few china ornaments over
the mantle-piece completed the furniture and adornments of the parlor. A hasty examination of the
kitchen, the door to which Clara had left open,
showed the same orderly arrangement. The floor,
the windows, the dresser, and the tables, in short,
every thing that ought to be clean and bright, were
spotlessly white. Mrs. Peyton remembered that the
well-scoured appearance of the steps and pavement
had struck her as she had entered the house.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           81
" Clara was always neat," thought she; "but
now she seems to have caught the Philadelphia mania fbr water;" and glad to find something to praise,
she commended her, on her return, for the exquisite
order of every thing around her.
Clara was very much pleased with the change in
the tone of the conversation, and showed to her some.
time mistress with no little pride all her comfortable household arrangements, told her how much Ben
was liked in Mr. Westcott's family, and how well
Americus was getting along. She expatiated on the
comfort it was to her that they could all go to
church together almost every Sunday, and hear so
fine a preacher as Mr. Wiley, the man over the mantle-piece.
Mrs. Peyton listened with amused interest to
Clara's artless confidences; it was impossible to
keep up even the show, much less the reality of
displeasure, against one so thoroughly good-humored.
"' Then you like every thing here very much?'"
asked Virginia, as Clara stopped for a few moments
in her outpourings.
"Yes, mistr'ss,'deed I do; it is even better than
I thought it would be; and Ihave so many friends"She was interrupted by the opening of the door,
and a little black woman, round, plump, and consequential, with her chin thrown up in the air by the
D2




82              LIBERIA; OR,
exertion of maintaining a proper dignity of deportment, entered with a roll of music in her hand.
"This is Miss Amanda Fitzwalter," said Clara,
in some embarrassment, while Miss Amanda calmly seated herself.
"Ah! the friend you were speaking about," said
Mrs. Peyton.'"Yes, mistr'ss," replied Clara.
"Oh!" said Amanda, with a shake of the head
and an upward look,
"What is friendship but a name,
A charm that lulls to sleep,
A shade that follows wealth and fame,
And leaves the wretch to weep!"
This outburst took Mrs. Peyton by surprise, but
she soon saw that it was only intended for effect;
Miss Amanda having picked up those four lines
somewhere, evidently thought this a good opportunity to display them. They were clearly not intended as an insinuation against Clara, who listened
to her oracle in simple admiration, and with a blind
belief in her that made Mrs. Peyton a little indignant as well as amused.
"I encountered Mr. Peyton a few moments ago,"
continued Miss Fitzwalter, addressing Clara, while
Virginia wondered how she knew her husband, " and
he reminded me that this evening is the last meeting for the season of the Philomathean Society, and




MIR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          83
at the termination they intend to have a dance.
I promised him I would give my countenance to
it."
"It is Americus, mistress," said Clara; "he belongs to a society that meets in the evening and
makes speeches. He speaks most elegant, they all
say."
"What do they speak about?" asked Mrs. Peyton.
"'Most every thing,'specially poetry and politics," replied Clara.
Lately," observed Amanda, with her calm and
measured propriety of utterance, "' they have been
debatin' on Foreign and Domestic Poetry. To-night
the subjec' is,' Which is the finest poet of Human
Nature, Byron or Shelley V'"
Mrs. Peyton hardly knew whether to laugh or be
indignant at the absurdity of the whole affair, and
Miss Fitzwalter's pompous manner. She was almost ready to believe that the colored race were, as
she had often heard, incapable of taking care of
themselves, when she saw those to whom so much
had been given-such careful, early training, so
much religious instruction, and at last liberty-thus
wasting their time and opportunities. When they
might be vindicating their right to freedom, and
also the capability of their race to appreciate and
enjoy that precious boon, they were wasting their
energies on every pursuit that could gratify their




84             LIBERIA; OR,
vanity, and losing sight of those means that could
alone increase their true respectability.
Soon afterward, two or three more of Clara's
friends entering, all handsomely dressed, and looking as though they had come to make a formal
morning call, Mrs. Peyton took her leave.
When Virginia told Mr. Peyton the particulars of
her visit, and the impression she had received from
it, he did not agree with her as to the entire folly
of the Philomathean Society.
" It is certainly better," said he, " than many
other ways of passing their leisure evenings, and it
shows some desire for intellectual, improvement, and
some power of application, for they must read and
study to be able to make any speech at all. Byron
and Shelley are not, to be sure, likely to be of any
great use to them, nor will their studies of poetry
bring about any practical result, I presume; still,
there is a decided advance where mental enjoyments
take the place of other pleasures. I met Americus
a little while ago,'encountered him,' as Miss Fitzwalter would say, and he is really very much improved in appearance; he has quite a stylish air,
and seemed delighted with his new mode of life."
The next evening, Ben, Americus, Clara, and little Maggie came to report themselves to their old
master. Mr. Peyton was very glad to see them so
happy, and apparently so prosperous. He gave




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           85
them a great deal of good advice about laying by a
little store against "'the evil day;" and they listened with deep attention, and made many promises,
which Ben tried hard to keep, but which Clara and
her brother forgot almost as soon as they ceased to
fall upon their ear.
Americus looked a little confused when Mrs. Peyton asked him about the success of his speech. Ben
answered for him.
" It went off most beautiful, mistr'ss; it's'most
a pity Americus ain't a preacher-he speaks so well.
He's got all the big words ready for just when he
wants'em."' Which side did you take?" asked Mrs. Peyton.
Why, ma'am," said Americus, " Miss Mary,
Mr. Patterson's daughter, told me that Shelley was
an atheist, so, of course, I would not uphold him.
I took Byron's side."
"Yes, mas'r," said Ben, " he spoke'most an hour
without stopping a minute. I never see how the
words did come out of his mouth. I went sound
asleep, for I was mighty tired-I'd been out till
morning almost for three or four nights, driving the
family home from parties-and when I woke up he
was going on just the same."
And honest Ben seemed to take as much pride in
his brother-in-law's achievements as if they were
his own.




86              LIBERIA; OR,
Mr. Peyton was gratified to find them so pleasantly situated. They went regularly to church,
they told him; and little Madge went to Sunday
school, as well as day school. If they had shown
more forethought and prudence, more of Nathan's
or Keziah's spirit, he would have felt fewer misgivings about them; but knowing the difficulties they
had to contend against, and pleased to find they
had fallen into no bad habits, he left them, hoping
that his advice would have some effect, though he
hardly ventured to expect it.
But their life was not all sunshine; and there
were times when they wished themselves back under Mlr. Peyton's protection, when occasionally the
mighty arm of the law was found unable to resist
the aggressions of the strong against the weak.
Belonging to a race almost universally considered
inferior, regarded as the pariahs of society, even
when in outward forms justice was done to them,
the spirit with which its enactments was carried
out was often so oppressive, that they derived but
little satisfaction from its decrees; and obliged to
live apart, to eat apart, to enjoy themselves apart,
and to come by themselves to that blessed sacrament in which believers declare that they are "one
in Christ," while every attempt to put themselves
on even a temporary level with those more favored
is so jealously guarded against and resisted, it is




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            87
wonderful that there is still so much good-will and
kindness of feeling between the races, and that in
the hearts of those on whom these customs must
press so heavily there is so little bitterness or hatred
excited.
Not long after Mr. Peyton left Philadelphia, there
was an anti-slavery fair held there, and great feeling was aroused in consequence in relation to that
much-vexed subject. In addition to this, an old
feud between the lowest class of laborers and the
colored race had broken out afresh in the suburbs
of the city. All the watchfulness of the police was
insufficient to prevent the perpetration of acts of
fearful violence, in which the blacks were almost
invariably the sufferers rather than the aggressors.
Americus had often seen a living proof of the
savage ferocity with which these quarrels were
carried on, in the person of a colored man, whom
age and misfortune rendered venerable, standing
at the corner of a street, with his tall athletic figure erect and motionless, his head bald and exposed
to the cold winds, his sightless eyes touching every
tender heart with painful pity. Though for years he
might be seen standing in the same spot, the charity of the passers-by never failed to him, for it could
easily be seen that he was no common beggar.
He had been many years before a maker and
mender of shoes in a very humble way, and was so




88             LIBERIA; OR,
honest and industrious, that a good deal of the
custom of the neighborhood in that line fell to his
share.  But unfortunately, after he had fairly
established himself in his little business, many of
the houses and shops around were rented by the
whites, who, indignant; at having colored people
for their rivals, and often their successful ones,
declared their determination to drive them from
the street, or inflict summary vengeance on them.
This poor man paid little attention to their threats.
He could not afford to remove-it would break up
his business, and ruin him entirely; and he had a
family dependent on him. Therefore he kept himself as quiet as possible, and worked more industriously than ever. He could not have pursued a
course better calculated to excite the malignant
passions of the unreasonable and excitable people
around him.
One night, after he and all his family had retired
to rest, a gang of ruffians forced their way into his
room, and while his wife and children were calling
in vain for mercy and help, they made him blind
for life.
Americus had often pitied and relieved him, and
now, when the same state of feeling was showing
itself, though not excited to an equal pitch of exasperation, he trembled lest a similar fate, or one even
worse, might befall him or those dear to him. It




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           89
was therefore with a feeling of no little fear that
he prepared to attend a lady who had been spending the evening with his employer's family to her
residence. If his natural diffidence had not restrained him, he would have told Mr. Patterson,
that he had heard that it was unsafe for a colored
servant to escort a lady home at that particular
time, for that, in the excited state of public feeling
then, they were liable to be stopped and insulted;
but he was very much afraid of being called a
coward; and besides, as Mr. Patterson was unable,
from the state of his health, to attend the lady
himself, he saw no other way left, if she chose to
walk.
His heart misgave him as she turned into Tenth
Street, and continued walking for some distance in
a southerly direction, and still more as the fire-bell
had been pealing forth its summons for some time,
its strokes indicating that the engines were needed
in that part of the city.  It had ceased ringing a
few minutes before the lady had set forth ojn her
homeward way, and they were passed by one engine
after another clattering over the pavement on their
return, with the usual noisy and shouting accompaniment of men and boys.
They passed quickly along, and Americus was in
hopes that the rest of their way might be pursued
without interruption, when suddenly strange and




90             LIBERIA; OR,
frightful sounds from one of the neighboring streets
-oaths, imprecations, blows, hurried trampling on
the sidewalk, with the sudden fall of some heavy
body —startled the timid pedestrians.
The lady turned hastily to Americus, who was
at a little distance behind'her, and bade him come
nearer.
" Some of the fire companies must be engaged in
a fight," said she; " we had better turn into the
next street."
But before they had time to do this, the combatants came rushing around the corner, shouting,
fighting, and struggling in the most inextricable
confusion. Some of the foremost of the crowd caught
sight of the lady and Americus, and with a savage
yell they sprang toward them.
The lady ran up the steps of the nearest house,
the door of which was opened, as soon as she reached it, by the inmates, who had seen the disturbance,
and were eager to afford her a refuge. They did
not observe Americus, or were afraid to keep the
door open longer, for it was closed as he approached
it, and he was obliged to face the excited mob, whose
passions having dethroned their conscience and overpowered their reason, now possessed the whole mass,
and led them on to deeds that seemed rather the
instinctive acts of ferocious and destructive animals
than those of rational beings.




IMR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           91
No one stopped to ask the cause of the onset on
the unoffending man, still less to question its justice,
and before he had time to collect his thoughts,
Americus found himself the centre of the tumultuous crowd, and the recipient of blows and thrusts
that fell upon him like a shower of hailstones. IHe
was pushed down and trampled upon several times,
and as often rose, terror and desperation rendering
him hardly conscious of the injuries he received, and
pressed his way through the throng.
Unfortunately, he happened to be particularly
well-dressed that night, and there was not an article of his apparel, from his carefully tied cravat
down to his brightly polished boots, that did not cost
him several severe bruises from the jealous mob.
At length, with his clothes torn and hanging in ribbons around him, without his hat, and with but one
boot, he found himself in a part of the crowd too
busy settling their private quarrels, as to the superiority of their respective engines, to concern themselves about him.
Slipping unobservedly through them, while cries
of " Stop the nigger! Stop him!" were shouted in
vain to combatants engaged in their own disputes,
he reached at last the corner of the street. To run
hastily round it, and take refuge in an oyster cellar
near by, kept by an acquaintance of his, was the
work of a moment.




92             LIBERIA; OR,
He went in expecting to receive the attention his
bruises and other injuries required; but instead of
that he soon found himself busy in assisting and
comforting others; for lying stretched on a couch
hastily prepared in the cellar was its proprietor, in
a state of profound insensibility. The blood slowly
trickling from some wounds in his face and hands
alone showed that he was still alive.
" How did this happen?" asked Americus.
"You know Joshua Mason's people?" asked the
wife of the injured man.
" Very well," was the reply.
"Well, you see, they was a goin' to give a dance,
and we had been invited, but we couldn't very
well go; and they wanted John to send the isters,
and John he got them all ready; he cooked them his
own self, the very last he'll ever cook, I'm afraid;
and then he said, as there wa'n't much business a
doin' to-night, he'd take them round himself, and
see how they came on, and our little Alfred went
with him; and he says, that just after they got into
Myamensing, a whole gang of Killers and Bouncers,
and all them rowdy fellers, ran out from some alley
and tried to get the isters away from John; but
John he held on, and called for the p'lice as loud as
he could; then they all rushed on him, and some
had knives in their hands, and Alfred couldn't see'zactly how it was; but he saw a little feller creep




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.             93
up behin' my husband with a slung-shot in his
hand, and give him such a blow with it on the back
of his head that he fell dpwn as if he was struck
dead; and then they grabbed the isters and ran
away."
The poor woman sobbed piteously as she finished
her simple story. Her apprehensions proved to be
well founded, for her husband never recovered from
the injuries he received that night. Yet the perpetrators of that lawless act of violence, though living in the midst of a law and order-loving community, were never discovered nor brought to justice.
It is a true remark of some modern writer, that
no barbarians, not even the Goths and Vandals of
former times, are so reckless, and fierce, and destructive in their habits as the savages of civilization.
Growing up under the shadow     of Christian
churches, but unsummoned by their bells; living
amid people refined and educated, but who avoid all
intercourse with them, as if there were contamination in their approach; thus debarred from their earliest cry from all good influences, and shut up to
the teachings of riot and intemperance, and fraud
and poverty, that debases where it does not purify,
it is but the legitimate working out of the dark
problem that such means applied to such natures
should produce the results that are read of daily in
the purlieus of all large cities.




94              LIBERIA; OR,
The Saxon has not the indolent and docile nature
of the African, but with strong passions and insatiate desires, he has mighty energies to incite them
to activity, and a resolute will that hangs on to its
prey with unyielding pertinacity. These qualities,
so powerful when directed to any good purpose, are
equally so when urging their possessors forward in
the downward path, or rather, as one restraint after
another drops off, they seem to gain, as they descend, in adroitness in planning and energy in executing their reckless schemes.
If the lazy philanthropists, who give a small share
of their income to advance the cause of Christ, and
then settle down under the complacent impression
that they have done all that is required, and may
fairly claim the epithet of benevolent, were but once
to wake up and realize how much more good a little activity of the spirit and a little personal influence would do than all their money, they might
soon clear the crowded haunts of men from those
who, in the hot blood of their youth, waste their energies and degrade their souls by deeds of violence
and shame. If the pious and high-minded would
but know and employ the almost divine power they
possess of uplifting, by their more elevated nature,
the lower spirits to a purer sphere, how much might
they accomplish!
The state of things which has been described




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            95
lasted but a short time. It was only the outburst
of a spasmodic phrensy, which seems to seize at intervals upon that class of men who, with vacant
minds and undeveloped reason, have yet strong passions with nothing to wreak them upon, and energies that clamor for active exertion.
Americus reached his home safely, and was so
kindly nursed that he soon recovered from the injuries he received. Thankful for his escape, he had no
desire to punish those who had so wantonly attacked him. His only feeling toward them was a prudent desire to avoid any other encounter with them
in any way. When Mr. Patterson told him that
some of the rioters were taken up, and that if he
went to the magistrate's office he might identify
those who had assaulted him, he showed such reluctance to taking the step that Mr. Patterson did
not press it upon him.
The lady in whose service he had met this danger called to inquire after him, and sent him a present, which consoled him for his sufferings. Not long
afterward, Mr. Patterson deciding to go to Paris to
reside for some time, Americus gladly consented to
accompany the family there, as he told Clara he
had heard that "distinctions of color were unknown
in that land."
For two or three years all went smoothly with
Ben and Clara, to whose family a little Charley had




96             LIBERIA; OR,
been added. On Mlr. and Mrs. Peyton's annual visits, they always found them happy and comfortable; and although no amount of advice made them
less improvident or extravagant, yet their hopefulness and easy tranquillity as to the future at last
infected Mrs. Peyton, who declared herself tired of
acting the part of the skeleton at their continual
banquet, and on her last visit contented herself with
praising her husband's namesake, giving Maggie a
dress, and commending Clara's housekeeping and
Ben's steady conduct.
But the time of trial came at last, as it surely
does come in the life of every human being. If the
waters of prosperity make the plants grow rank,
and full of leaves and blossoms when fruit and seed
may be looked for, then is adversity commissioned,
with her unsparing fires, to extirpate every root and
branch that has left unfulfilled the gracious purpose
for which it was appointed.
A few weeks of unusually variable weather in
early winter, of warm, spring-like days, alternating
with chilling rains and gusts of snow and sleet,
during which Ben was more exposed than usual,
laid him up with the inflammatory rheumatism in
the midst of the season. Mr. Westcott, whose family were among the gayest and most fashionable in
the city, was obliged to engage another coachman
to supply Ben's place, though he promised to em



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            97
ploy him again as soon as he was sufficiently recovered, and continued, his wages to him as usual
for the first three months of his illness; then, finding that Ben still continued helpless, and that Clara's time was so much occupied in nursing him and
attending to the children, that she had but little
opportunity for sewing, he advised him to go to the
hospital.
But this Ben was unwilling to do, neither would
Clara consent that he should leave her. Laying
aside all the follies and fripperies on which she had
wasted so much time, and thought, and money, she
sold her finery, stopped Maggie's music lessons,
with a sigh it must be confessed, and set her to
taking care of the baby, while in a sixpenny wrapper she seated herself, like the devoted wife she
r-.ally was, by the bedside of her suffering husband,
a, d sewed day and night, till her dazzled eyes could
h:.rxdly discern the needle in her wearied fingers.
But there is nothing more dispiriting than to try
to make up for wasted time by crowding into one
hour the work of three. Each moment brings with
it its own duties and its peculiar privileges, and,
passing on with no human relentings, leaves behind
it a blessing or a curse, as these have been performed and enjoyed, or neglected and unreceived.
Besides, it was a heavy task to fall upon one
woman, to support with her unassisted fingers a
E




98              LIBERIA; OR,
sick man, two children, and herself. But with the
aid of some friends of her own color, and a little
assistance from the numerous benevolent societies
of that most benevolent of cities, Clara contrived to
keep the family in a decent room and in tolerable
comfort for a year or two.
But as Ben's disease refused to yield either to
time or medical remedies, and the strong man lay
helpless as a child day after day, and month after
month, their friends grew weary of helping them,
and fell away one by one, till even Amanda Fitz'
walter, who had proved, by her constant sympathy,
that her heart was at least equal to her vanity, said
" She didn't know what was to be done. Things
was gettin' worse every day, and with three chillun of her own she didn't see her way clar to do
much more. It was hard times just now, but if
Clara could scrouge along a little while, perhaps
they'd mend."
The liberality of the poor to each other would
surprise any one unacquainted with the fact. If it
had not been for the sympathy and kindness of those
hardly one degree better off than herself, Clara could
not have borne up so long as she did under the
troubles coming upon her.
At length Ben began slowly to recover, and when
reduced to their last crust, with not a cent in their
possession to buy food for their almost naked chil.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           99
dren, he managed to brush the coat so long useless
to him, and which now hung round his once athletic form in loose wrinkles, and went with the feeble
step of a convalescent to his old employer to claim
his promise of a re-engagement. But during his
long illness, Mr. Westcott had died, the family were
separated, and Ben turned away with a great disappointment lying heavy on his heart.
Neither his principles nor his disposition fitted
him to meet this emergency, and for the first time
in his life he went home reeling with intoxication;
having spent in drink a little money some acquaintance had lent him, with which he had intended to
buy food for his family.
Their downward course after this was one that
has been so often trodden and described, that the
particulars need no repetition. With a drunken
husband and two children, Clara found herself unable to sustain the unequal conflict with life's burdens, yet she never gave entirely up; her self-respect grew daily weaker, and her principles less
able to resist the evil influences around her, yet
love for her husband and children preserved her
from many temptations that might otherwise have
proved too strong.
One bitter day in February, two young ladies
were walking with the quick, firm step of those to
whom life is an enjoyment as well as a battle,




100            LIBERIA; OR,
through the crowded thoroughfares of Chestnut
Street. The keen wind brought the blood tingling
to their cheeks, and even with their muffs and boas,
and thickly wadded cloaks wrapped around them,
they felt its piercing cold. A little colored girl with
bare feet, and apparently nothing but an old blanket
shawl wrapped around her shivering frame, stopped
them with the entreaty, so pitiful at such seasons,
" Please ladies, give me some money to buy a little
bread. My mother is sick, and can't work any more."
"Have you no father?" asked they.
" Yes, but he's sick too, and I have a little brother at home; but the baby died yesterday, and we've
no money to bury it."
After asking a few more questions, the young ladies decided to follow the child home to see if she
told the truth, and if so, to render more effectual assistance than street alms would prove. They were
not overly gifted with that virtue which some good
old divine prayed to be delivered from, the worldly
virtue of prudence, or they would hardly have accompanied the girl through all the alleys, and turnings, and out-of-the-way places into which she led
them. At length they came to a narrow alley
swarming with negroes. The houses seemed like
ant-hills, filled to the top, and the sidewalks were
crowded with their overflowings. Fat black faces
darkened every window. Stout, lazy-looking men




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS,           101
lounged in the doors, and, cold as it was, children
of all ages and complexions were tumbling, fighting, and swearing upon the side-walks.
One of the young ladies was alarmed, and wished to turn back; but the other, whose benevolence
would have led her unshrinkingly through a battlefield when the contest was at its height, pressed on
without giving a glance around her. The child
went to the door of a cellar, that seemed rather like
a little opening in the pavement, and gliding down,
beckoned to the ladies to follow her. Even the more
courageous one of the two hesitated to do this, while
the other held her back imploringly. During this
moment of hesitation, a tall, gaunt mulatto woman,
with wild and glaring eyes,, approached them.
" Go back, young ladies," she exclaimed, with a
theatrical start and gesture; "what are such as you
doing here? This is no place for you. Has your
senses quite vanished from you, that you come to
such a bottomless pit? My daughter! I lost her
here; and I come to look for her morning and night.
But I never want no other mother to feel what I've
felt. Go back this minute, and if any one dares to
say a word to you-" and she flourished a broken
cane she held in her hand.
Her manner and words so alarmed the more timid
one that she could hardly stand, and the other young
lady was about to retrace her steps, quite unwill



102            LIBERIA; OR,
ingly though, when she caught sight of a gentlemall approaching.
" There is Mr. Lyndsay, the city missionary,"
said she; " how fortunate!" and beckoning to him,
he hurried to her assistance.
He was evidently known in the alley; for the
commotion and bustle that had been caused by the
entrance of the young ladies was quieted at his approach, and the woman who had accosted them so
singularly welcomed him with an approving smile
and gesture, and, bidding him take good care of the
ladies, left them to him, and disappeared in a house
near by.
" That is a half-deranged woman," observed Mr.
Lyndsay;'" the loss of her only child has affected
her intellect; but, notwithstanding that, she has
great influence among these demi-brutes. If it had
not been for her, I should hardly have met with the
tolerance I have here. But how did you happen to
come to such a place?"
"' We were following a little beggar-girl home, to
see if the sad story she told us was really true, and
were so intent upon keeping sight of her, that we
hardly noticed where she was leading us. She flitted down those steps and disappeared in that dark
cellar at our feet, and we are almost afraid to pursue our investigations further; yet she was so miserably clad, and told such a piteous tale, that I do




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          103
not like to go home without finding out the truth
about her."
" If you will trust the matter to me," said Mr.
Lyndsay, "I will attend to it, and report to you
this afternoon, if you like."
"Thank you," replied the young lady; "that
will be the best way, I suppose. But they are
probably in immediate want of fire and food, and
on so cold a day as this there ought not to be an
hour's delay in providing for their necessities. I
will leave some money with you that you can spend
for them as you think best;" and the young lady
drew her purse from her muff.
" Put up your purse, Miss Sumner," exclaimed
Mr. Lyndsay, hastily; "wait till we are out of this
alley."
But his warning came too late. A slender, sharplooking colored boy, who wanted but a shade or two
of being white, had been hovering unnoticed near
them, listening to their conversation. No sooner
did his keen eyes catch sight of the purse, weighed
down by its burden, than with a sudden dart upon
it he clutched it and sprang into the nearest house.
Mr. Lyndsay looked distressed, and Miss Sumner
glanced at her empty hand with blank dismay.
"It is my whole quarter's allowance," said she;
" papa gave it to me this morning."
"I am afraid you will never recover it," said




104            LIBERIA; OR,
Mr. Lyndsay.  "There is no one in the whole
street but Judith, the crazy woman, who would
not, I think, for a little share of the profits, assist
the boy in concealing himself. But let me take
you away from here as soon as possible," added
he, seeing that a new commotion was exciting this
hive of drones.' I will return and see what wan
be done about your loss, and your proteges also."
The young ladies were very glad to accept his
offer, for Miss Sumner's companion was trembling
with terror, and Miss Sumner herself had lost some
of her courage with her purse.
They had but just turned the corner, and were
breathing more freely, when their attention was
attracted by a loud shout behind them. On looking back, they saw Judith running toward them
with the purse in her hand. She had seen the
whole affair from a window, and as the boy happened to tale refuge in the same house with herself, she flew upon him, and with a celerity and
adroitness equal to his own, snatched his prize
from his grasp and ran with it after its owner.
This had caused the bustle that alarmed Mr.
Lyndsay and the young ladies.
Miss Sumner's eye took a hasty survey of the
woman's dress.  She saw that it was arranged
with a certain decency and neatness, which showed
that her old habits of order and regard for her per



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          105
sonal appearance had not quite deserted her; but
it looked old and thin, and on this bitter day she
braved the cold air without either bonnet or shawl.
The young lady drew a small gold piece from
her purse and offered it to her.
" What do you give me this for?" she burst
forth, with increased wildness of look and flightiness of manner; " is it for my honesty? Do you
dare to pay me for my honesty? You rich folks
think you can buy us poor ones, soul and body;
but I'm above you all. I live up in the sky with
the Lord and his angels, where you daren't comewhere you daren't come, with, all your precious gold
and silver;" and she glared close into Miss Sumner's
eyes with her own, in whose depths of gloom no
ray of brightness shone.
"It was for the trouble you had taken for me
that I offered you that," said Miss Sumner, quietly
and soothingly, not for your honesty."
"'Trouble!" repeated Judith, with a wild laugh;
"ha! ha! you call that trouble, do you? Oh!
child, child!" with a sudden change to the deepest
sadness of tone and look, " if you had a husband
and brother in the penitentiary for nine long years
for loving money too well, and a daughter in the
cold ground because she wanted to live like a lady,
and keep her hands soft, and wear silks and velvets
like you white ladies, then you would know what
E2




106            LIBERIA; OR,
trouble was. Take back this money, or I'll fling
it in the gutter where it belongs."
Miss Sumner took it, and Judith disappeared
round the corner. Mr. Lyndsay accompanied them
a little way, and then returned to fulfill his promise
of ascertaining the condition of the occupants of the
cellar.
He descended the rickety steps, and stood for a
few minutes to let his eyes become accustomed to
the gloom of the place. He heard a faint voice
speaking at intervals from the further corner of the
room, and gradually there came out in the dim light
the figure of a woman stretched on the ground (for
the cellar had no floor); in another corner lay what
seemed a bundle of rags, breathing heavily; and a
little boy, with hardly an article of clothing upon
him, was crouching among the smouldering ashes
in the chimney corner. The girl who had led the
ladies to this desolate abode stood near the fireplace, with her large eyes, which glittered unnaturally in her thin face, fixed with a painfully eager
look on the compassionate visitor.
The least distressing object in the miserable room
was the dead body of a babe, whose life was as yet
counted only by months and days. The ineffable
repose of its softly-rounded features-the perfect serenity and peace stamped on its innocent face-the
once restless hands, whose light, uncertain touch




MIR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          107
had thrilled the mother's heart, now gently laid over
in each other with their dimples frozen into themall that wonderful structure, so perfect and incomprehensible in its minutest details, laid aside by its
Maker, while yet the spirit that informed it was unconscious of the glorious gift it had received-in a
word, all the halo of blessedness and heaven that
lies around the couch of the innocent dead, now
seemed to shed its sanctity and silence over that
most dreary place and its occupants.
The reader will already have surmised that they
who were reduced to this deep degradation were no
other than Ben and Clara; and that not poverty
alone, but crime, had been at work before they could
sink so far. Ben had become a confirmed drunkard, not so much from love of drink as to drown
thought and remorse; and Clara, after trying in
vain to arouse in him a better spirit, had given up
in despair, and allowed matters to take their own
course, without attempting to do the little in her
power to enable them to retain their old position.
But by how many cords does our heavenly Fatlier draw back the wanderers to his fold! In this,
almost the lowest depth to which human nature
could sink, there came to Clara this babe, like a
dove from the ark of God's mercy; and though, even
as the dove found the earth inhospitable and unkind, so the babe lay unwelcomed and uncherished




108            LIBERIA; OR,
on its mother's breast, yet six months of helpless
loveliness and endearing trust could not but soften a
heart hardened by despair rather than vice; and
when, to complete its mission, the child's soul took
its flight for heaven, it went bearing for its olive
branch the repentant prayers and tears of its sorrow-stricken mother.
But though prayers that had long been strange
to her lips came from her heart, mingled with earnest resolutions of amendment and the bitterest pangs
of remorse, yet, situated as she was, sick, cold, and
hungry, with a husband who answered every appeal
with a drunken growl, and no human aid near, she
could not see how she could put her resolves into
practice.
It was without her knowledge, while she lay with
her head buried in her hands, sighing, moaning, and
ejaculating brief and earnest prayers for mercy and
deliverance, that Maggie had slipped out on what
had been for a long time her daily errand; and now,
as if in answer to her cries, there stood before her
the man whose business it was to seek out the poor
and needy.
Mr. Lindsay, with the promptness of true charity,
soon had a fire blazing on the hearth, and an ample
dinner provided for them. The pleasant warmth
drew Ben from his corner, and he tried to utter a few
expressions of gratitude as he hung over the blaze.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          109
The good missionary became interested in Clara's
account of their sufferings; who, though she tried
to shelter Ben's fault under the plea of illness, related every thing else so artlessly and simply that
Mr. Lindsay was convinced of its truth. From the
Dorcas Society of a neighboring church he obtained
garments for herself and the children, wood fiom
another benevolent society, and with the money
Miss Sumner had intrusted to him he hired a better
room, to which he had them removed immediately.
Miss Sumner visited them there, and with her
assistance Mr. Lindsay discovered some old patrons
of Clara, who were very glad to find again the neat
seamstress after whom they had made many ineffectual inquiries.
"If you are willing to work hard, Clara," said
Mr. Lindsay, "I will promise you enough to do."
"Yes, sir," replied Clara; "I am too glad to get
work not to do the best I can-'deed I will; but
Ben hain't got no ambition left. I'm afraid for him.
May be, sir, if you would talk to him pleasant, he
might feel better."
Mr. Lindsay sought an opportunity to speak to
him alone, and tried by encouraging words to awaken some of his old spirit in him.
Ben was employed in splitting up a load of wood,
a job that had accidentally fallen to him, and, stopping in his work, he said, shaking his head,




110            LIBERIA; OR,
"'Taint of the least use to talk to me that way,
Mr. Lindsay. I've tried my best, and I ain't any
thing but a nigger, and never shall be. I'm just as
good and respectable now as when I had twenty
dollars a month, and my wife dressed like a lady;
and what's the use of doing any thing more. You
talk to me about educating my children; but what's
the use of it. You see that black man that went
by us just now, and held up his head so high when
he saw me standing here. Well, I know'd him
very well wonst, when I first came to the city. He
was a head waiter then at parties, and is now, I
believe; and he has been laying up money all his
life. He's worth now twenty thousand dollars at
least, and what good will it do him or his children?
The more they know, the wuss it will be for'em;
for they won't keep company with their own color,
and white folks won't associate with them, and thar
they are shut up by themselves; and what good do
their Brussels carpets and pianny do them, I'd like
to know? They may try till they split, and they
won't be any thing but just what I am, a nigger
that every body despises."
" No person who does their duty," replied Mr.
Lyndsay, "is ever despised, no matter what his
color may be."
" Perhaps, Mr. Lyndsay, if the world was all made
up of good people like you, that might be so. But




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          111
people for the most part don't stop to ask if I do
my duty. They see that I ain't a white man, and
push me out of the way. Don't you believe, Mr.
Lyndsay, that Clary is a great deal more respectable and well-behaved than some of these poor, miserable white women about here."' Certainly I do," said Mr. Lyndsay; " Clara is
a good wife, and is trying hard now to bring up
her children well."
" Clary is a good woman, Mr. Lyndsay; it was
all my fault that we were in that hole where you
found us. She strived and struggled as hard as
any poor woman could, but she couldn't keep me
from drinking, and at last she had to give up. But
she's never given me a hard word all the time we've
been together, and if I leave off drink, as I am going to do, it will be for no other reason but that I
don't want to see her and the children suffer. Well,
now, good as she is, and nice and handsome as she
can make herself look, if I was to take her in the
cars, and they was full, the meanest and dirtiest
white woman, or man either, would have a seat,
and she would have to stand all the way; and if it
was the steam-boat, she'd have to sleep on deck, and,
like as not, not get any thing to eat-always be
shoved a one side, as if she wa'n't made by the same
God. Oh, Mr. Lyndsay, it's mighty hard for a man
like me, that could be as good as any body, if his




112            LIBERIA; OR,
skin were a shade or two lighter, to be kept down
so all the time, and not get drunk or wicked."
Ben had a great deal more to say, for he had
thought more, in his temporary intervals of sobriety
during the last two years, than ever before in his
life; and this was the first time that his thoughts
had found utterance. But, as he was becoming a
little excited, Mr. Lyndsay, fearing he might be
soon addressing an audience instead of an individual, left him, promising to call and see him soon.
To all religious exhortations Ben turned a deaf
ear, and after a time grew restive under them, and
sometimes almost rude.  To Clara's remonstrances he replied,
"Preaching is very well, I ain't nothin' against
it. I wouldn't mind doing a little of it myself.
But to keep at a feller from mornin' till night, with'Do this-it's your duty,' and'bear that-it's your
duty too;' and if you are knocked down, get up and
rub the mud off, and say' Thank you, for that's your
duty; and if you work hard all day, and get nothing but a cuss when you ask for your pay at night,
why go home and make a special prayer for the man
before you go to sleep, for that's another duty-this
is coming it rather too strong. Mr. Lyndsay is a
good man himself; but if he'd only. keep his preaching for the white people, and let them practice it on
us, it would do a great deal more good, I think."




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          113
But though Ben grumbled in this way, still the
oversight Mr. Lyndsay kept upon him was of great
service in keeping him firm in his resolution to be
temperate and industrious. A situation was procured for him with some difficulty, where, although
the wages were low and the work heavy, and not
connected with horses in the most remote degree,
yet he performed his duties faithfully, and brought
home the money to his wife every Saturday night.
It grieved Clara very much that she could not
induce him to renew his old practice of accompanying her to church on Sunday, but he had heard
enough pious talk, he said, to last him the rest of
his life; and so he passed the day principally in
trying to keep asleep.
During all this time, Americus remained in Paris, and Mr. Peyton had been prevented, by affairs
connected with his family, from visiting the North,
so that their apparent neglect, which weighed heavily on the minds of Ben and Clara, was afterward
satisfactorally accounted for.  As often happens,
when trials are sent upon the weak and dependent,
human aid is put far away, that they may learn
more readily the hard lesson of faith and trust in
the unseen arm of the All-Father.




114            LIBERIA; OR,
CHAPTER IV.
LIFE IN CANADA.
Amid all life's quests,
There seems but worthy one-to do men good.
BAILEY.
DURING one of his summer excursions, Mr. Peyton
stopped for a few days at Niagara, on his way, with
his family, to Montreal and Quebec. While walking
about on the Canada side of the Falls, stopping now
and then to examine and admire the grand spectacle
from some new point of view, Mrs. Peyton's eye was
caught by a beautiful flower swaying on its slender
stem on a steep slope, high above her head.
The hillside was covered with broken, shingling
rocks, and from the midst of these, without even a
blade of grass to bear it company, grew up this little delicate flower. Unheeding the overshadowing
grandeur of its mighty rival, yet strengthened and
refreshed by the few drops of spray now and then
flung upon it out of the profusion of its abundance,
it went on gathering in some mysterious way every
day new strength and beauty from the uncongenial




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           115
earth around, until at last it lifted its blue eye to
the clear sky and soft air of that delicious June day,
a perfect flower, speaking its Maker's praise as clearly with its still small voice, as did its glorious rival,
whose grand anthem went pealing ceaselessly on
day and night, winter and summer.
There was a vein of poetry in Virginia's mind
leading her to invest material objects with conscious
life and meaning, and the voices of the flower and
the cataract spoke as distinctly to her heart as if
her ear had heard their uttered words. She was
fond too of memorials, and had retained her girlish
habit of collecting and preserving flowers and leaves,
or some other characteristic memento, from all places
of note she visited.
She wished to obtain this flower, which had awakened such a train of pleasant thoughts in her heart;
and as Mr. Peyton was a little distance in advance
with an elderly lady on his arm, she attempted to
climb the slope herself. But the stones slipped under her feet, and, recalling a fatal accident that had
occurred near there not long before, she reluctantly
gave up the attempt.
"I will get it for you, ma'am," said a voice behind her, and a man sprang up the difficult ascent,
and, returning, offered her the little blossom.
She took it, and looking at him to thank him,
recognized an old acquaintance.




116            LIBERIA; OR,
"Why, Edward," she exclaimed, "is it possible!"
" Yes, Mrs. Peyton," said he; " I knew you as
soon as I saw you walking across the bridge, and I
ran down to ask you about all the people in Clinton.
I was afraid, if I waited, you might get over the other
side."
"You wouldn't venture over there, Edward?"
asked Mrs. Peyton, with a smile.
" No, indeed, ma'am, I had too hard work to get
here to put myself in the least danger again."
Mrs. Peyton gave him all the information she
could recall of their mutual acquaintances in Clinton, for they had been born and brought up in the
same town; and though the broad gulf that separates
the serf from the freeborn, the black fiom the white
race, lay between them, yet integrity and a manliness that commanded respect on the one hand, with
a kind and sympathetic nature on the other, spanned
the gulf, and made them meet with a degree of
pleasure and interest that only those can understand who have been brought up from their infancy
to look upon the negro as a mrember of the same
household.
"And now," said Mrs. Peyton, when she had
finished telling him of the welfare of his mother and
sisters, as well as of all his other friends, " how did
you manage to get here?"




MR. PEYTON'S AEPERIMENTS.          117
" It was a great deal more easy than I thought
it would be," replied Edward; "do you remember
Miss Lucy's wedding, Miss Virginia?" unconsciously
using the most familiar name.
" Yes, it was not long after mine."
" Well, my old master sent me two or three days
beforehand with her silver, up in the country whar
she was going to live. The other servants had been
taking up every thing else to make the house comfortable, and I was to take care of every thing, and
have it all in order for her when she came. I had
been contriving ways and means for a long time for
running away, and had had, I reckon, twenty different plans, but they didn't come to any thing. Still,
my mind was made up, that if I had to wait forty
year, I would run away at the end of it, if I had a
-fair chance, for my old master treated me so bad
that I never had a happy moment. He didn't beat
me so much, but he didn't give me a minute's peace,
and he used to call me all the hard names he could
lay his tongue to. But, yet, he used to trust me
with all his business, and he had made a standing
order that whenever he got drunk-and he used to
have a frolic every two or three weeks-I should
attend to him. I have had as much as three thousand dollars in my care at a time, when he had
been selling his crops and got drunk before he put
the money in the bank; and yet, though he never




118            LIBERIA; OR,
lost a cent by me, he'd keep on abusing me till my
patience fairly gave out."
"I know he was a hard master," said Virginia;
"there was not a person in Clinton who was not
glad when they found you were really off."
" I took the silver up to Miss Lucy's place," continued Edward, " and then I thought, as they would
all be so busy at home that it would be at least a
week before they would find out that I was gone,
that I could not have a better time, and so I started. I had ten dollars, that I had earned in different
ways, and had saved unbeknown to my master, or
he would have taken it away, and that, with the
clothes I had on, was all I had in the world. That
lasted me till I got to some little town in New York,
and then when I was not more than a day's'journey
from here, I was taken sick, and had to lie there a
week. Some of the colored folks about took me in,
and took care of me till I was well again, and as
soon as I could hold myself up, I set out to finish
my journey on foot. That was the hardest part of
the way, for I was so weak I could hardly crawl
along, and I felt every moment my old master's
hand on my shoulder. But I never heard any thing
from him, and I was so glad when my feet touched
this ground, that it seemed to me I felt well right
away. I have been mighty homesick too, since I
have been here, and wanted to see all the people in




IMR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS            119
Clinton but one. I have never heard the first word
from my mother or sisters, or any one else there,
since I left till now, and'deed it does me good to
hear all about them."
"i Have you ever wanted to go back?" asked Mrs.
Peyton.
"No, Miss Virginia, I might if I had had a different master, for I had a very hard time the first
winter here. I'most froze to death, and starved too.
But I have a good place now, and am doing very
well."
" Do the people generally treat you better than
they did at home?"
" No, Miss Virginia, nothing like as well. They
don't seem as natural to us, nor we to them, maybe,
as those we were raised with. Somehow, they don't
seem to have the same consideration for us, and I
know some here that would be very glad to get back
if they were sure they would not be punished. But
that's not my feelings. I wouldn't'vise any one
to come here, though, that wa'n't willing to work
harder, and rough it as much as they ever did in
their lives."
By this time they had overtaken Mi. Peyton, who
also knew and recognized Edward. He asked him
many questions as to the condition of the colored
people in Canada; and Edward's answers, while
showing that he had observed and thought a great




120             LIBERIA; OR,
deal on the subject, gave a faithful, yet sad picture,
of the position of his countrymen in a land which
needed all the amenities and kindnesses of social
life to soften the severities of'its climate, so particularly ill suited to the African.
The same exclusion from all places open to the
meanest white man, the same disregard of their comfort, and open contempt for their color, made Canada any thing but a pleasant place of refuge.  " It
is impossible," thought Mr. Peyton, while meditating
on this mysterious dispensation of Providence, this
placing one race in the midst of another, whose
feelings instinctively rebel against all union on the
footing of equality; "it is impossible but that some
great purpose is to be worked out by these great
means."
" When I was a boy, I accompanied my father to
Quebec," said Mr. Peyton; " we had a servant with
us, a man named Isaac, who left us soon after we
reached Canada. He must be an old man now.
Have you ever happened to meet him?"
" Yes, sir," replied Edward; " he is living at a
little village not far from this place. It is a settlement of colored people, and if you would like to see
how most of them live here, you might go there.
I know Isaac very well. He often talks about old
Virginny to me, and says he was a great fool for
leaving it.  But he's most always sick, and that




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          121
keeps him down-hearted. He'd be glad to see you,
I know, for he don't talk about any thing else but
old times."
" I will stop to see him," said Mr. Peyton, " for
he was a good servant."
Accordingly, a few days after, taking Edward as
his guide, Mr. Peyton drove over to the little collection of hovels and wretched tenements that was
dignified with the name of village. There was not
a house in it that seemed able to protect the inmates
from the changes of the weather, even during the
summer months; and it was hard to imagine how
they could make themselves comfortable in the cold
weather.
The nucleus of the place was a large frame house,
that had been built by some wealthy land-owner in
that part of the country. But he had long since
deserted it as untenantable, and it had fallen to its
present occupants as a matter of course. With its
paint washed off, its boards dropping away, and
with hardly a pane of glass left unbroken in the
windows, it still was by far the best dwelling in
the place. The others were mere shantys, or huts,
put up hastily when it was found impossible to obtain
shelter in the big house, and intended at first only
for temporary abodes. But they were never unoccupied, for as fast as one family vacated them another
made its appearance ready to take their places.
F




122            LIBERIA; OR,
Mr. Peyton could hardly help smiling as he observed how little change of place or position seemed
to affect the strongly-marked yet unobtrusive characteristics of the African. Here in Canada he found
the same inertness, the same easy yielding to circumstances and aversion to labor, and the same
good-nature that had so tried his patience in Virginia. Every other man and woman had a pipe in
their mouths, and, dirty and ragged, they lounged
about in the warm sun, basking in its beams, and
wearing the placid self-complacent look of those
who had voted care an impertinence, and labor an
unnecessary degradation.
As he observed them with the eye of a philosopher and philanthropist, they gazed back upon him
with the open-eyed curiosity of the vacant mind.
Not often had such a presence dignified the path
they fondly called a street. Mr. Peyton had the
true patrician stamp, and it gave a value to his
least word or act far above its intrinsic worth.
From the inexplicable charm of this influence, at
once innate and adventitious, no one can wholly
free themselves, much less the uneducated, who
yield to its sweet authority an obedience not the
less entire that it springs as much from love as
fear.
It was easy for the gazers to discover that he
was a Southern planter; many of them knew the




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          123
little signs and tokens which gave so distinct a
character to that class, too well to be mistaken.
The carelessly-fitting, yet scrupulously neat dress,
with its abundance of spotless linen, the slow and
dignified movement, the air at once commanding
and benign, told a story easily read by the least
observant.
"If I didn't know dat old mas'r had been dead
dese many years, I should say dat was him,"
thought old Isaac, as Mr. Peyton drew near the
door in which he was sitting. When the strange
gentleman stopped before him, the old man raised
his trembling form, and gazed with the anxious,
uncertain look of age in his face.
" Don't you remember me, Isaac?" asked Mr.
Peyton.
" Oh! it's Mas'r Charles! it's Mas'r Charles!"
and Isaac's whole face was convulsed with emotion,
while tears streamed down his cheeks. " I never
tought to see you or any of de fam'ly dis side de
grave again, Mas'r Charles; and you was a little
boy when I lef you; but I know'd you as soon as
you smiled; and I should ha' know'd you by dat
any whar."
"You have had a long life given to you, Isaac,"
continued Mr. Peyton.
"Yes, Mas'r Charles, I knows dat; but mostly
I feels like saying, with ole father Jacob,'Few and




124             LIBERIA; OR,
evil have the days of the years of my life been,'
for I has had mo' trouble than I know'd how to
bar; but de Lord has helped me, and now I's so
near to Him that I feels sometimes as if I could
look straight into glory."
" You are happy now, then," said AMr. Peyton.
"Yes, Mas'r Charles, my fight is mos' over, and
now I'm waitin' with patience for de comin' of de
Lord. I feel fo' true that He won't try me much
longer."
"Is your wife still living?"
"No, Mas'r Charles; dat was my fust great'fiction. I had worked hard five years to get
money enough to buy her freedom, and den she
came here and took sick directly, and only lived
seven month. Den I bought my two boys; dey
was little boys, and I didn't have much trouble in
gettin''em here; but one of'em died two year ago,
and I has his two chillun to see to, while dere
mother and my other son works for dem and me
too. But'tain't much to work for me now, and
dough dey's as willin' as can be, I feels dat I sha'n't
trouble dem long."
"Have you lived here ever since you left us?"
asked Mr. Peyton.
" Oh, no, Mas'r Charles! dis is a mighty poor
place to live in. I used to be a waiter at hotels and
gentlemen's families till I was too old, and den I




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           125
lived in the city, and did mos' any thin' I could get
to do. At last, when I couldn't do no more, I went
to live in a house jus' at the edge of de town, where
a great many colored folks used to come. Dey used
to live in de woods, and wander about all summer,
and den crowd as many as de could in dat house, and
some oders near it, when de col' weather came on.
I didn't like it much; but it was better dan dis, for
white ladies used to come and talk to us sometimes,
and see if we wanted any thin'; and we had a
church to go to, which we haven't here-and de
Sabber day is just like any oder day; but de people roun' us said that it was a nuisance havin' so
many niggers in de houses about; for dar was some
on'em dat didn't do nothin' but beg, and maybe
steal a little; and so one cold night, when it was
rainin' hard, dey set de houses on fire and burned'em down to the groun', and I had to take de chillun in my ole arms and hol' em close up to me all
night to keep'em warm, and in de mornin' my son
hunted us up and brought us here, and I'spects to
finish my life in dis spot.'Tain't much matter'bout
me now; but I can't bar to tink dat de chillun will
grow up where dey hear so little'bout de blessed
Jesus."
Mr. Peyton remained some time longer talking
with this old servant of his house, and left him at
last cheered by a visit from one of that family he




126             LIBERIA; OR,
revered so truly, though a natural instinct had led
him to desert their protection. Neither were his
bodily wants forgotten, and the money his old master's son left with him provided for his few necessities during the rest of his life, which lasted, indeed,
but about six weeks after this interview.
When a person's thoughts are turned steadily in
one direction, it is wonderful how much can be seen
in a short space of time; and Mr. Peyton's investigations, thorough and patient as they were, only
served to convince him more and more that Canada
was no pleasant abiding-place for the blacks, and
that, held far apart from all intercourse and communion with those who occupied the superior position,
regarded as machines rather than as living souls,
with little attention paid to their religious training,
it was fully as probable that they would deteriorate
as improve by a residence in that country. He saw
nothing to make him feel that it would be any advantage to the laborers on his plantation to change
their residence from Virginia to Canada. On the
contrary, he became daily more convinced that his
servants held decidedly the most advantageous position, both for their comfort in this world and opportunity for preparation for the next. He felt that
he would not be willing to expose those who had
been given into his charge-for whose temporal and
eternal welfare he had been trained from his child



MI. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           127
hood to feel responsible-to the temptations, difficulties, and privations that hedged them in on every
side in the land whose proud boast it is "that no
slave can breathe its air."
With a single, earnest wish to benefit his servants
at any self-sacrifice-a wish that time, and thought,
and patient endeavor had elevated almost to a holy
passion, and made one of the ruling motives of his
life-he felt that it would be unjust, both to whites
and blacks, to throw upon society those who have as
yet proved themselves a burden and a drain, rather
than an assistance, whenever the conduct of their
life is given in their own hands.
Of course, only the masses are here intended.
There have been noble exceptions; and, freed from
the crushing superiority of the white man, they
have risen up more quickly and in greater numbers
than their best friends could have ventured to hope
-but not in America.




128             LIBERIA; OR,
CHAPTER        V.
THE PLANTING OF THE NATION.
I hear the tread of pioneers,
Of nations yet to be;
The first low wash of waves where soon
Shall roll a human sea.
WHITTIER.
TIE truth of Machiavelli's maxim, that "to
make a servile people free, is as difficult as to make
a free people slaves," had often occurred to Mr.
Peyton's mind, while recalling the results of his experiments, yet without disheartening him; for between difficulty and impossibility is a great difference, and he knew that few objects of any importance can be attained without labor and disappointment.
In the month of December, 1816, he went to
Washington on business. He had intended to return by Christmas-day, and his family knew that
he had arranged his affairs so that they need not
prevent him, yet he wrote that he was detained
by business of importance, and that for the first
time in his life he could not pass that season, so




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           129
festive a one in Virginia, with his wife and children.
He reached home for New-year's day, and when
the children at last consented to be carried off to
bed, and the older members of the family were left to
talk in quiet, Mr. Peyton, addressing his sister, said,
"' At last, Margaret, I have a plan to propose to
you, which I think even you, with all your practical wisdom and cool judgment, must approve. You
objected to my making my servants free, for you
said that, whether they were nominally bond or free,
or whether they lived at the North or the South,
the colored people held, in reality, the position of
slaves; and that as long as this was the case, they
had better have the protection and assistance which
the relation of master should, and often does, give
to them. We will not discuss that matter now, but
what do you say to placing them in an isolated and
independent position, where they can develop themselves, free from the presence and overshadowing
superiority of the white race."
" If they can govern themselves, which is yet to
be proved," replied Margaret, " that would be the
best course to take. I would like to see it fairly
tried, though I confess I am not sanguine as to its
success."
6" Several of our wisest statesmen and philanthropists have been engaged in forming such a plan,"
F 2




130            LIBERIA; OR,
continued Mr. Peyton; " my delay in Washington
was caused by my desire to assist as far as I could
in carrying it out; for the more I thought about it,
the more did the grandeur and simplicity of the
design strike me, and the more did I feel persuaded
of its practicability and ultimate success."
" How is the idea to be carried out?" asked Margaret.
"I will read you part of the constitution adopted
by a society at which I was present, where Henry
Clay presided, and, with John Randolph and Elias
B. Caldwell, spoke eloquently and ably in favor of
this object.
"Article I.-A society shall be formed, and called
the American Colonization Society, for colonizing the
free people of color of the United States.
"Article II.-The object to which its attention
shall be exclusively directed is, to promote and execute a plan for colonizing, with their consent, the
free people of color residing in our country, in Africa, or such other place as Congress shall see fit.
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 upon the
subject. Hon. Bushrod Washington has been chosen
the president of the society."
" It is certainly a great idea; I hope it may prove
a successful one," said Margaret.




.l. tEYTON'S EXXPERIRMEINTS.        131
" Many of those who go out to Africa, where I
think a suitable location will be found for them,
will not only receive a benefit themselves from the
change, but act as missionaries to the heathen
around them. Even when they do not teach them
directly, which perhaps in many cases is hardly to
be expected, the silent influence of their regular and
Christian mode of life must produce a great effect.
If I were to tell the hopes and expectations that fill
my heart when I think upon this subject, I should
be regarded as an enthusiast."
"Are there any of your own servants that could
be induced to try the experiment?" asked Mrs. Fairfax.
" I have been thinking that it would be the very
place for Junius," replied Mr. Peyton. " I will speak
to him about it to-morrow."
" He needs some encouragement," said Virginia.
" Nathan told me a few days ago that Junius was
going to give up studying, for it only made him unhappy, and come and help his father on the farm.
Nathan seemed a good deal troubled about it, for
Junius has always been his pride."
Junius listened with evident pleasure to Mr. Peyton's account of the formation of the Colonization
Society and its purposes. Accustomed to reverence
his master as a person of superior wisdom and goodness, his sympathies were readily enlisted in favor




132            LIBERIA; OR,
of any thing that had excited Mr. Peyton's approbation.
He went over to the farm to talk with his father
about it. Nathan, naturally averse to change and
unenterprising, considerably damped his son's zeal
by the discouraging manner with which he made his
comments on the untried enterprise. His wife, too,
did not at all like the idea of emigrating to an unknown and heathen country with her six children;
and Junius, who had come full of warmth and ardor, found himself in a little while quite overpowered by the opposition he met with.
At last he proposed an adjournment to Keziah's
cabin, that they might hear her opinion. It was a
still, cold, starlight night, and as they approached
they heard her voice, reading with great emphasis
and feeling.
"Stop a minute," said Sally; " let's yer if dat
ain't' Sinners, turn-why will ye die?'"
They stopped to listen, and found that Sally was
right.
"< She reads dat yer hymn to Polydore every
night," continued Sally; " it was de fust ting dat
struck her heart, and she tinks it will'feet him, if
any ting will."
"Ain't uncle Polydore a Christian?" asked Junius.
" Bless you, honey, yes, dese many years; but




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          133
Keziah calls him a backslider, and I dun no what
else, because he will go to sleep in church, and he
takes it all as meek as a lamb; but he is a good
man, fo' true, if any body is."
When they opened the cabin door, they found
Keziah sitting upright in a rocking-chair, which had
been her first purchase for herself, and reading by
the light of a blazing fire of pine wood. Polydore
was gazing mildly and sleepily upon her, endeavoring, hopelessly, to take in the full meaning of a hymn
he had heard till he knew it by heart, with a patient wonder at his own want of feeling in being so
little moved by it.
As soon as Keziah comprehended the plan which
Junius explained to her, she entered into it with all
her heart.
"It is the very place for me," exclaimed she; "I
would go there to-morrow if I could."
"Oh, Keziah, don't say so; if you only knew what
I know'bout Africa, you would never want to see it
again," said Polydore, wide awake for once. " Don't
go, Keziah, please do, don't. I would rather die dan
go."
" Nobody said any thin' about your goin'," retorted Keziah; " stay here, if you want to, and be a nigger all your life; but I thinks defferently."
Polydore made no answer to this unkind speech,
but sat brooding in silence for some time, while the




134             LIBERIA; OR,
rest were engaged in an animated discussion. At
last he broke forth in a history of his early years.
For the first time in his life he was almost eloquent,
while relating, in his broken language, all that he
had seen and suffered.
He spoke of the devil-man, a frightful figure that
came out of a thicket near his native village, and
frightened every one by his terrible howlings. The
death of some one, by the ordeal of gedu or sassywater, a poisonous opiate made from the bark of the
sassy-tree, often followed the appearance of this figure, in consequence of having been accused by it of
being a witch. Polydore's father fell a victim to this
practice. He had been out, in company with many
of the other fighting men of his tribe, to procure
slaves to carry down to some slave-ships that were
waiting for a cargo; they returned with a train
of captives; but in the skirmishes, the head man
had been slightly wounded. From some cause his
wound did not heal, and he died in consequence.
A cry of witchcraft was immediately raised, and
Polydore's father was pointed out as the suspected
person; the trial by sassy-water proving unfavorable, he was compelled to drink more till he died.
Polydore mentioned many other of their cruel
customs, and said at last that, not long after his
father's death, the whole village was roused one
night by a savage yell. As the startled inhabit



MR. PE YTON'S EXPERIMENTS.         135
ants gazed out to ascertain the cause of the alarm,
they saw that they were now the victims of that
fate they had so often brought upon others. Resistance was useless, for they were completely surrounded by their savage enemies. Chained or tied
together, Polydore being fastened to a half-grown
boy about his own size, they were forced to march
for many days until they reached the sea-shore.
Meantime, they had been joined by several other
bands of captives, nearly all of whom had been
obtained in the same way.
Two ships, lying just off the coast, explained
the cause of the sudden fury that seemed to have
seized the people in that part of Africa; and Polydore was quite relieved when he saw them, for he
had been dreading sharing the fate of the many prisoners whom he had seen killed for various purposes.
Of the horrors of the barracoon, where they were
pent up together before they embarked on board
the ships, or of the still greater horrors of the
" middle passage," where, closely packed, and allowed "less room than a man has in his coffin,"
they suffered from hunger, thirst, and every misery
that the most ingenious tormentor could devise,
nothing need be said, though Polydore dwelt long
upon them. Then he told how he was landed and
sold at Cuba. His first purchaser had given a
pound of tobacco for him. His second purchaser




136            LIBERIA; OR,
in Cuba gave twenty dollars, for he was so emaciated that it seemed impossible he should live.
After a few months, he was carried to Texas and
resold for quite a high price. From there he was
smuggled into Louisiana, but, falling into bad
hands, Mr. Peyton, the father of the present owner
of Cedar Hill, had bought him from motives of
compassion; and, three years after leaving Africa,
he found himself on a plantation in Virginia, and
"better off," said he, " dan I ever was befo'; I is
taught'bout Jesus and my heavenly Mas'r. I no
fear de debbil in de bus', no fear de slave-catchers,
no fear any body, but has every ting safe and comfable. And now, Keziah, I tink I be mighty fool
to leave all dese tings. But if you go, I go too.
You's an unprotected single womin, and I can't see
you go alone."
"Hush! shut up with yer single womin. I's
worth two of you any day," replied Keziah.
"Dese arms is wort' sorethin', Keziah," said
Polydore, stretching out limbs that might have
rivaled Samson's.
" De arms is good enough," replied Keziah, scornfully, yet not without a certain degree of admiration in her look, which strength, either of body or
mind, always extorted from her, "but what's de
good of strong arms when de heart is a coward's?"
"You are just de hardest womin I ever came




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           137
across," said the distressed Polydore; "didn't I tell
you I was a goin', and what mo' could I say?"
" But you didn't say it with your whole heart,
and de Lord don't'cept no unwillin' offerin's."
I wasn't tinking of making an offerin' of myself," said Polydore, resentfully; " only to you,
Keziah," he added, in a softer tone.
Keziah pretended to pass over in silent disdain
the last few words, but they did not fail to make
an impression on her long-besieged heart. Its defenses were fast giving way; yet, showing no outward sign of the weakness within, she replied,
" Dat won't do at all, Polydore; we must make
up our minds to be missionaries, and do de Lord's
work as well as our own. We has been greatly
blessed'bove our poor heathen brethren, in havin'
learned here how to fight de good fight, and gain
de heavenly crown. And when we go'mong de
savages, and dey come to visit us, as dey will mos'
likely" -Polydore groaned-" we can tell demn'bout de blessed Savior, and teach'em to lay down
dem wicked habits you's jus' been tellin' us of."
Another groan. —'Fact," continued Keziah, warming up, " I wouldn't be a bit afraid to go and live
right among'em, if I tought I could do dern any
good dat way."
" Don't talk so, Keziah, do, don't," said Polydore,
beseechingly, " you don't know what dey is."




13.8        LIBERIA; OR,
"Ain't dey our broders and sisters?" asked Keziah.
" If dey is broders, I never want to see no broders
while I live," said Polydore; "but don't talk any
more'bout it, please. I's willin' to go. I's willin'
to be a offerin', or any ting else to please you, for I
has hung about you too long to change now; but I
doesn't feel much heart about it, and dat is de
truth."
Keziah's warm approbation revived Junius's zeal,
and Nathan caught a little of her ardor, and agreed
that, if he could look upon the matter in the same
light that she did, he would be ready to embark in
the first ship.
The idea of living in a land where they would
enjoy the blessings of equality as well as freedom,
once suggested to them, it soon became their guiding thought and desire. The higher the class of
mind to which the proposal was made, the more
eagerly was it received and the more warmly cherished. Keziah was a lover of freedom from instinct
and nature rather than reflection. While a slave,
as long as she was treated like one, she had rebelled almost to death; when brought under kinder
influences, and while yielding, from gratitude and
affection, the most entire devotion, the Peytons could
not help perceiving that the more she was allowed to
consider the service one of free will, the more heartily




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          139
was it performed. She had received with delight
the gift of personal liberty; and now the prospect
of a home, where the overshadowing influence of the
white man would not be felt, destroying every hope
of self-elevation, and almost paralyzing the wish,
was welcomed as a gift from Heaven.
Nathan had a slower, calmer mind, and was more
inclined to consider the difficulties and objections,
"the lions in the way," than Keziah.  For that
reason, perhaps, his judgment was more to be relied
on when he had once come to a decision. But Keziah's warmth and firmness of purpose was of great
use in awakening his naturally sluggish feelings,
and in preventing his interest from flagging in any
subject that occupied them both.
Emigration to Africa was their topic of conversation whenever they met, which was at least once
a day. Polydore listened in a meek but troubled
silence, which ought to have touched their hearts,
but was totally without effect.  Sometimes he
groaned and shook his head; occasionally he broke.
forth into an "'s willin'!" but that came seldomer.
However sound asleep he might be, he woke up at
the word Africa, as if it were a charm, and his eyes
would grow rounder and rounder, and his thoughts
more and more confused, as the idea of all the great
things they intended to do in that land of terror
was held up before him.




140             LIBERIA; OR,
Mr. Peyton sent Junius to Richmond to transact
a little business for him,' and there he met Lott
Cary, whose history should be related, not only for
its own intrinsic merit, but to show what the African is capable of becoming even now, when weighed down by so many and so great disadvantages. If
he succeeded in growing to such a perfect stature in
mind and heart, what may not be expected from
those who are allowed to develop themselves under
more favorable auspices.
He was born a slave near Richmond, Virginia, in
1780. His parents endeavored to train up Lott,
their only child, in the fear of God; but early hired
out as a common laborer in Richmond, he was
thrown into companionship with profane and intemperate persons, who led him into vicious habits.
While in the midst of his irreligious course, his attention was suddenly arrested by the powerful appeals of a Baptist exhorter.  Overwhelmed by a
sense of his sinfulness, he resolved to devote himself
henceforth to the service of God, and in 1807 he
joined the Baptist Church.
Soon after his conversion, hearing a sermon which
related to our Savior's interview with Nicodemus,
a strong desire to be able to read the passage for
himself was awakened in his mind. With no regular instruction and but little assistance, he soon accomplished this, and succeeded also in learning how
to write.




MR. PEYTON s EXPERIMENTS.          141
His next wish was to become a freeman. He
was employed at that time in a large tobacco
warehouse, where, by his usefulness and honesty,
he had acquired the confidence of the merchants,
who frequently rewarded him for his fidelity by
giving him small sums of money. In 1813, he
found himself the possessor of eight hundred and
fifty dollars, with which he ransomed himself and
his two children, his wife having died a little while
before.
He was afterward employed in the same warehouse at a salary of eight hundred dollars a year.
Of the real value of his services there, it has been
remarked no one but a dealer in tobacco can form
an idea. Notwithstanding the hundredsof hogsheads that were committed to his charge, he could
produce any one the instant it was called for; and
the shipments were made with promptness and
correctness, such as no person, white or black, has
equaled in the same situation. While employed in
the warehouse, he devoted his leisure time to reading and self-improvement.
He early began to feel a special interest in
African missions, and contributed probably more
than any other person in giving origin and character to the African Missionary Society, established
in Richmond in 1815, and which, for many years,
appropriated annually to the cause of Christianity




142            LIBERIA; OR,
in Africa from one hundred to one hundred and
fifty dollars. His benevolence was practical; whenever and wherever good objects were to be effected,
he was ready to lend his aid.
For several years he preached on almost every
Sunday among the colored people on the plantations
around Richmond. Some one has remarked about
him that, " in preaching, notwithstanding his grammatical inaccuracies, he was often truly eloquent.
He had derived almost nothing from the schools,
and his manner was, of course, unpolished; but
his ideas would sometimes burst upon you in their
native solemnity, and awaken deeper feelings than
the more polished but less original and inartificial
discourse."
During the latter part of his residence in Richmond, in addition to his weekly duties, he sustained
the office of pastor of a Baptist church of colored
persons in Richmond, embracing nearly eight hundred members, and received from it a liberal support, and enjoyed its confidence and affection.
Yet so clearly did he see the glorious prospect
opened to his race by the colonization movement,
that, from the earliest commencement, he watched
it with anxious and hopeful earnestness, and declared his willingness to lay down all his present
advantages to become a pioneer, and, if necessary,
a martyr in the cause. When a clergyman of his




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          143
own faith asked him how he could determine to
leave a station of so much comfort and usefulness,
to encounter the dangers of an African climate,
and hazard every thing to plant a colony on a distant heathen shore, he replied, " I am an African;
and in this country, however meritorious my conduct and respectable my character, I can not receive
the credit due to either. I wish to go to a country
where I shall be estimated by my merits, not by
my complexion; and I feel bound to labor for my
suffering race."
A heart thus burning with love toward its brethren, and a desire to do them good, must affect with
somewhat of the same zeal all kindred hearts that
come within the sphere of its influence. Junius
returned from his journey to Richmond fully decided to devote the rest of his life to carrying the
Gospel of Christ to the dark regions of Africa. He
found Keziah also more and more bent on leaving
a country where the sense of her degraded position
had always been a heavy burden to her.
But Nathan still shrank from the untried experiment, and it was at last decided that Keziah, Polydore, and Junius should go out among the first
emigrants, and if their report were favorable, Nathan, with his wife and the rest of his family, should
follow.
The departure of kindred could hardly have caused




144             LIBERIA; OR,
greater commotion at Cedar Hill than did the announcement of the determination of the three, who
had made up their minds to sail in the first ship
for Africa.  Philip Fairfax was especially busy,
and by his care Polydore's chest was crowded with
every thing that the wildest imagination could suggest as possibly useful or necessary in their probable
situation. It was well that some one had took it
upon himself to attend to Polydore, otherwise he
would have fared but badly, as he never seemed to
think it even possible that he might need any thing,
but sat, wvhen not attending to some errand for
Keziah; with his head resting on his hands and
his elbows on his knees, absorbed in melancholy
thought, or lost in slumber.
On their way to New York, from which city they
were to embark, they spent the Sabbath in Richmond, and heard Lott Cary preach his farewell sermon in the First Baptist Meeting-house in Richmond. It was a striking one, and when he concluded by saying, " I am about to leave you, and
expect to see your faces no more; I long to preach
to the poor Africans the way of life and salvation;
I don't know what may befall me, whether I may
find a grave in the ocean, or among the savage men,
or more savage wild beasts on the coast of Africa;
nor am I anxious what may become of me: I feel
it my duty to go; and I very much fear that many




MR. PE   TON'S EXPERIMENTS..45
of those who preach the Gospel in this country will
blush when the Savior calls them to give an account
of their labors in his cause, and tells them,'I commanded you to go into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature;' the Savior may ask,'Where have you been? what have you been doing? have you endeavored, to the utmost of your
ability, to fulfill the commands I gave you, or have
you sought your own gratification and your own
ease, regardless of my commands?' many felt their
hearts touched and moved by the solemn appeal.
They left New York in January, 1820, and arrived safely, after a short delay at Sierra Leone, at
Sherbro, an island on the western coast of Africa,
which the agents sent out by the society-Samuel
J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess-had made arrangements for purchasipg from the natives.
The first week or two after the landing of "' the
pilgrims," for so might the greater part of them be
considered, the change from shipboard to the palm
groves and genial climate of their fatherland was
very pleasant indeed. Polydore, to whom Keziah
had held up almost daily, during the voyage, Lot's
wife as a warning, an example to be shunned, fell
back so readily into the habits of his childhood, that
the danger now appeared to be that he would forget
all that he had learned of civilization, and become
once more an indolent, self-indulgent savage.
G




146            LIBERIA; OR,
All kinds of food-fowls, goats, and fish-were
brought in abundance by the curious natives, and
could be obtained for a trifle. The most delicious
fruits-oranges, lemons, pine-apples, guavas, and
many others whose names Polydore did not remember, though in taste and appearance they were perfectly familiar to him-grew in great profusion
around their new home.
However, but a short time was given them for
rest and enjoyment.  The Island of Sherbro was
low and unhealthy, and while Mr. Bacon, the government agent, was endeavoring to induce the kings
of the neighboring country to make a formal surrender of the land according to their promise to Mr.
Mills, he was seized with a burning fever. Almost
at the same time, twenty-five of the emigrants were
prostrated by the same disease; and soon after, Mr.
Bankson, the other agent, the physician, the lieutenant of the ship, and all the crew, were attacked
by African fever in its most violent form. Mir. Bacon struggled as long as he was able against his
own illness, that he might aid the rest. He was
particularly anxious to obtain for those under his
care a healthier home. But all his exertions were
vain. The chiefs had become cold and suspicious,
and the natives, who had at first crowded round
them in amicable curiosity, had evidently become
jealous and unfriendly.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            147
The colonists could not understand the reason of
this change for some time. It arose in a great
measure from the representations of the slave-traders, who have been the chief, though often the secret enemy of that settlement, which, with a foresight quickened by their interest, they saw from
the first, was to prove a greater obstacle to their
nefarious trade than any number of ships or armed
men. The kings along that part of the coast derived a great part of their income from the traffic
in slaves. Of course, they could be easily influenced by the traders; not only to withhold all encouragement from those who were to cut off their
chief source of revenue, but to proceed to open opposition. But while the emigrants were in this
state of utter weakness, He, who is pitiful and of
tender mercy, withheld the hand of their enemy,
that the blow might not fall till they had gathered
strength to resist it.
Mr. Bacon's exertions for obtaining a more salubrious location were in vain. Death came upon
him while he was " working in the field," and with
him Mr. Bankson, Dr. Crozer, Lieutenant Townsend, twenty emigrants, and all the boat's crew,
sank beneath the malignancy of the climate, or
rather, as experience has since proved, from the
want of a knowledge of its peculiarities, and from
no proper shelter or comforts having been prepared.




148            LIBERIA; OR,
Only sixty-six emigrants remained. Some of
these mourned over their situation, thus abandoned,
as they thought, to certain death, and were inclined
to look back regretfully toward the land they had
left. These were the faint-hearted ones, among
whom neither Lott Cary nor Keziah could be placed.
They both remained firm and full of hope, and their
example had no slight effect in encouraging the rest.
Polydore was more easily disheartened. Some excess in eating fruit had brought upon him a severe
attack of fever a second time, and, although he recovered, greatly to his own surprise, he could not
be induced afterward to acknowledge that any thing
but evil could spring from so hazardous a movement.
All the leaders thus speedily taken away, the
agency and the care of the colony was intrusted to
the Rev. Daniel Coker, a colored clergyman of the
Episcopal Church. Thrown thus into a situation
of such responsibility, with the sick, the dying, and
the dead around him, with the charge of the property and interests of the colonists, he found time
not only to fulfill faithfully those duties, but also to
attend to "his Father's business," and he commenced a course of instruction to the natives. In
a letter written in this time of trouble and discouragement, he said,
" We have met with trials; we are but a handful; our provisions are running low; we are in a




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            149
strange and heathen land; we have not heard from
America, and know not whether more provisions or
people will be sent out; yet, thank the Lord, my
confidence is strong in the veracity of his promises.
Tell my brethren to come; fear not-this land is
good; it only wants men to possess it. I have opened a little Sabbath-school for native children. 0,
it would do your hearts good to see the little naked
sons of Africa around me. Tell the colored people
to come up to the help of the Lord. Let nothing
discourage the society or the colored people."
The hope and trust expressed in this simple yet
resolute letter were not disappointed. No sooner
was it known in America that there were vacant
posts waiting to be filled in that country, then regarded asjying under the shadow of death, than devoted men offered themselves as ready for the duty.
Four of these were selected, and sent out as agents,
one of whom was the brother of the Mr. Bacon who
had already fallen a sacrifice.
They were welcomed with great joy by the colonists. Finding that Sherbro was so unsuitable a
place for a settlement, they accepted the offer, which
the governor of Sierra Leone had kindly made them,
of a home at Fourra Bay until they could provide a
better one for themselves. The colonists were soon
removed there; and although this delay was a great
disappointment to Keziah, and troubled her more




150            LIBERIA; OR,
than all the other trials that had befallen her since
she had left Virginia, yet her active and practically
useful mind prevented her from being contented to
spend the time thus given to her in idle waiting.
She busied herself in teaching any native children,
who would attend to her, the various little arts of
civilized life which they could most readily understand, and soon found herself surrounded by quite
a number of pupils, who, although they came and
went as they pleased, yet gave in a short time such
evident tokens of improvement, that Keziah could
not help thinking it was for some good purpose she
had thus been forced to cease from active exertion
on her own account.
Junius went on missionary excursions into the
country around, and sometimes, penetrating far into
the interior, returned with wonderful accounts of
the beauty and fertility of the country, and the barbaric pomp and power of the chiefs.
Meanwhile the agents were exploring the coast,
seeking a better location. Lying about three hundred miles southeast of Sierra Leone was a high
point of land called Cape Mesurado. Its position
made it healthy, and the good harbor near it rendered it desirable. Another consideration made it
still more of an object to obtain possession of it for
their own purposes. It belonged to King Peter, a
warlike and powerful prince, who was deeply en



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            151
gaged in the slave-trade; and on each side of the
cape, above and below, were noted barracoons, or
places where the native Africans were kept crowded together, waiting the arrival of some slaver. To
make a Christian settlement in the midst of these
dark places of the earth would be one great step toward their destruction.
But King Peter refused to receive the agents, and
returned their presents. Seeing that there were no
hopes of an interview, they prosecuted their search
still farther, and had selected a place that they
thought favorable, when two of them sank under
the effects of exposure to the climate, still too unfamiliar a one for them to judge what course they
ought to pursue when first thrown into it.
Mr. Bacon was obliged to return home, and again
the colony was left without a leader. But they did
not remain long in this condition. The vacant post
was soon filled by Dr. Eli Ayres, of Philadelphia.
We extract, with little alteration, from " The New
Republic" (an excellent little history of Liberia), the
following account of the purchase of Cape Mesurado:
"Soon after the arrival of Dr. Ayres at Sierra
Leone, Captain Stockton, of the war-ship Alligator,
came on the coast, bearing instructions fiom the
American government to co-operate with the agents
of the Colonization Society in securing a suitable
territory for the settlement of the emigrants. Dr.




152            LIBERIA; OR,
Ayres accompanied Captain Stockton on an exploring agency along the coast. On the eleventh of
December they came to anchor in Mesurado Bay.
" ( That is the spot we ought to have,' said Captain Stockton, pointing to the high bluff off Cape
Mesurado, as they stood together on the quarterdeck;'that should be the site of our colony-no
finer spot on all the coast.'
6" Then we must have it,' answered Dr. Ayres.
The resolution was a bold one. England and France
had been trying for it for one hundred years without success; the interview with Andrus and Bacon,
six months before, was positively refused, and even
their gifts scornfully sent back by King Peter.
Though well aware of the ill success of every previous attempt at a negotiation, and the uncompromising hostility of the natives to any thing bearing
the semblance of a white settlement, these resolute
men did not mean to sail tamely or timidly by without making an effort, or at least inquiry; and every
new aspect of the coast only strengthened their desires to obtain possession of it. They determined to
land. Some headmen met them on the shore, to
whom they gave suitable presents; and upon entering into a friendly conversation, it was soon clear
that a favorable impression had been made upon
their minds. They expressed a desire to see King
Peter. Messenger after messenger was sent to beg




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           153
a palaver with his majesty; but it was not until
he had disappointed and deceived them again and
again, that he consented to an interview, and then
only on the condition that they should dare to meet
him in his own capital, far into the interior. To
accomplish this, they must leave the coast, wade
through water and mud, cut through dismal jungles, and in an enemy's country, surrounded on all
sides by savages, whose fiercest passions had been
nursed by the slave-trade, and who cared not a straw
for human life. They must go armed to the teeth,
and even then expect at any moment robbery and
death.
" Could they dare visit King Peter at such hazards?.Could they brave the lion in his den? Yes,
they could dare any thing in the prosecution of a
great and worthy enterprise.'" We will go!' was the resolute answer. In order to convince the natives that their object was a
peaceful one, they determined to go unarmed, with
the exception of a small pair of pocket pistols, which
Captain Stockton usually wore in his coat. Wild
beasts, and savages armed with muskets, roamed
through the forests; but they reached the capital in
safety, where groups of naked barbarians came out
to meet them, gaping with wonder. Having been
conducted to the Palaver Hall, which was spread
with mats for their reception, a headman came forG2




%14            LIBERIA; OR,
ward and shook them by the hand, announcing the
arrival of his majesty. When the king entered, he
took no notice of the strangers, but went to the farthest corner of the hut, where he sat down, with an
angry frown upon his brow and a glance of defiance
in his eye.
" On being introduced by one of the chiefs, he
asked, in a surly tone, what they wanted, and what
business they had in his dominions. The plan of
the colonists was carefully and minutely explained,
all about which he well knew, having been informed of the object of Mr. Andrus's visit several months
before, and more recently, through his headmen,
of its contemplated renewal by Captain Stockton
and Dr. Ayres. Meanwhile large bodies of the natives began to darken around them; but every thing
wore a peaceable aspect, until, on the entrance of a
fresh band, an unusal excitement began to agitate
the crowd. Affairs looked dark and threatening.
Captain Stockton arose and took his seat near the
king. Presently a mulatto rushed forward, and,
doubling up his fist, charged Captain Stockton with
capturing slave vessels.'This is a man trying to
ruin the slave-trade!' he cried, in a loud and angry
tone.
"' These are the people who are quarreling at
Sherbro!' shouted another.
"A horrid war-yell broke from the multitude;




MR. PEYTON'S EXXPERIMlNTS.         155
every one sprang upon his feet scowling vengeance
upon the agents. Captain Stockton, fully conscious
of the extreme peril of their position, instantly arose,
and drawing out one of his pistols, pointed it at the
head of the king, while, raising his other hand to
heaven, he solemnly appealed to the God of heaven
for protection in this fearful crisis. King Peter
flinched before the calm courage of the white man,
and the barbarians fell flat on their faces at the apparent danger of their chief.  The captain then
withdrew his pistol; their savage rage was hushed;
awed and subdued by his fearless energy, some
crept away, while their chiefs began to listen with
respect to the advances and proposals now made to
them.
" Success crowned their efforts.  After two or
three palavers, the king consented to sell a tract of
land to the colonists. A copy of the contract entered into upon this occasion may not be uninteresting.
" Know all men, that this contract, made on the
15th day of December, 1821, between King Peter,
King George, King Zoda, King Long Peter, their
princes and headmen on the one part, and Captain
Robert Stockton and Dr. Eli Ayres on the other,
witnesseth: that whereas certain persons, citizens
of the United States of America, are desirous of establishing themselves on'the western coast of Africa, and have invested Captain Robert Stockton and




156            LIBERIA; OR,
Eli Ayres with full powers to treat with and purchase from us (here follows a description of the land),
we, being fully convinced of the pacific and just
views of said citizens, and being desirous to reciprocate their friendship, do hereby, in consideration
of so much paid in hand-namely: 6 muskets, 1 box
of beads, 2 hogsheads of tobacco, 1 cask of gunpowder, 6 bars of iron, 10 iron pots, 1 dozen knives and
forks, 1 dozen spoons, 6 pieces of blue baft, 4 hats,
3 coats, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 box pipes, 1 keg nails, 3
looking-glasses, 3 pieces of kerchiefs, 3 pieces of calico, 3 canes, 4 umbrellas, 1 box soap, 1 barrel rum;
and to be paid the following: 6 bars of iron, 1 box
beads, 50 knives, 20 looking-glasses, 10 iron pots,
12 guns, 3 barrels of gunpowder, 1 dozen plates,
1 dozen knives and forks, 20 hats, 5 casks of beef,
5 barrels of pork, 10 barrels of biscuit, 12 decanters,
12 glass tumblers, and 50 shoes-forever cede and
relinquish the above-described lands to Robert
Stockton and Eli Ayres, to have and to hold said
premises for the use of said citizens of America.
"King Peter, k his mark.
" King George, k his mark.
" King Zoda, > his mark.
"King Long Peter,    his mark.
" King Governor, k his mark.
" King Jimmy, k his mark.
"Capt. ROBERT STOCKTON.
ELI AYRES, M.D.'9




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.            157
Having now, by the courage and energy of these
two commissioners, obtained one of the finest and
healthiest parts of the coast for their own, possessing
a good harbor and a fertile soil, the emigrants removed from Fourra Bay to it as soon as possible.
Keziah's heart was filled with delight when she first
landed at her new home; and to all the colonists, the
prospect of a safe and pleasant abiding-place, after a
season of so much uncertainty and long delay, was
delightful. It was with feelings of hope and exultation, which time has already proved to have been
true presentiments, that on the twenty-fifth of April,
1822, the American flag was hoisted on Cape Mesurado.
Some time afterward the place received the name
of Liberia, as indicating its true character, "the
home of the free."  Like England, Liberia can
boast that " no slave can breathe its air."




168I, LIBERIA; OR,
CHAPTER        VI.
LIFE IN THE NEW      SETTLEMENT.
Here the free spirit of mankind at length
Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place
A limit to the giant's unchained strength,
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race!
BRYANT.
CAPE MESURADO is a bold promontory, rising at its
highest point two hundred and fifty feet above the
level of the sea. At the time when the emigrants
landed upon it, it was covered with lofty forest trees
and thick undergrowth.
Selecting a hill near the Mesurado River, and
about two miles from the coast, they began resolutely clearing places here and there, where they
might erect temporary cabins until they obtained
leisure and means to build dwellings that would
better deserve the name of houses.   Their little
clearing was afterward named Monrovia, in honor
of James Monroe, then President of the United
States; and this collection of huts, formed in trembling haste by the little band of defenseless colonists,




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           159
is now a flourishing town, the metropolis of the
African republic, with streets regularly laid out
and named, with a State House, a prison, and three
churches, all substantial stone buildings, with
schools, dwelling-houses, stores, and warehouses,
many of which are built of stone or brick.
But not without toil, privation, and danger has
this state of things been achieved; and though many
of those who bore the brunt of the battle are now
reaping the fruit of their victory, and they who
went " forth weeping bearing precious seed," have
returned with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with
them, yet others have been called to receive their
reward in another world.
April, the month when the settlers commenced
their work, is generally called, in that part of Africa,
the tornado month, from the violent gusts of wind
and rain that occur during it; and in May the rainy
season often commences, continuing for six months,
with an interruption of a few weeks in July and
August. Though at first this season was dreaded
as the most unhealthy one, it was found by long
experience to be less trying to a new-comer than
the debilitating heat of " the dries," as the other
months are generally called.
But to preserve health, shelter from the rain is
imperatively demanded, and therefore the colonists
labored with little rest until they had erected thirty




160             LIBERIA; OR,
huts. For the first two or three months after their
arrival at Cape Mesurado, the little band were left
to their own resources, one of their number, Elijah
Johnson, being appointed to take charge of their
temporal interests; while Lott Cary, who was every
thing by turns as necessity demanded-carpenter,
wood-cutter, soldier, a successful physician, and a
devoted missionary-officiated as their pastor.
Providentially, while thus defenseless, the natives
were withheld from harming, or even threatening
them. It was not until after the arrival of the new
agent, Mr. Ashmun, who well deserves the name
he earned, by his untiring exertions, of " the founder of Liberia," that the savages around them began
to show symptoms of hostility.
Dissatisfied with the sale of that valuable tract
of land to a people opposed to the trade that was
their chief source of income, the natives determined
to destroy them utterly-to leave no vestige on that
blood-stained, tear-washed coast of the little band
of Christians who had brought with them the law
of love, against whose silent eloquence their selfish
hearts rose in fiendish hatred.
Mr. Ashmun landed, with his young wife and several emigrants, in August. He was then but twenty-eight. He had been a student all his life, and
came out to Africa to preach the Gospel of peace
and good-will. But hardly had he arrived, before




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          161
he was called upon to lay aside all his previous habits, and become a soldier, an engineer, and a commander.
Of the one hundred and thirty emigrants who
then composed the village of Monrovia, only thirtyfive could bear arms, and many of these knew nothing about their management. He spent his days
in training this undisciplined company; in directing the building of a stockade around the settlement; in placing in the best position the six cannon,
almost their only reliable means of defense, humanly speaking; and in encouraging and strengthening
those under his care by his example and prayers.
He had the thickets around Monrovia cleared away,
that they might afford the enemy no shelter; appointed a night-watch; and his discerning eye and
cool judgment foresaw and provided against every
emergency.
Yet during this time his wife died, and often his
whole nights were passed in the delirium of fever.
But when the morning came, laying aside his sorrow and forgetting his weakness, he would wrap
himself in his cloak, and go forth to the work that
so imperatively demanded his care.
The emigrants played their part manfully. Lott
Cary, with his clear mind and undaunted resolution, and Elijah Johnson, who had been a soldier in
early life, and afterward distinguished himself by




162            LIBERIA; OR,
his bravery and skill in the combats that followed
their early settlement in Liberia, were strong arms
of support to the young missionary.
Meanwhile the savages were gathering in numbers around them, and they nightly lay down to
sleep with the dread upon their hearts of awaking
to the horror of a midnight attack. But this was
spared them. The assault so long threatened came
at last, but in the early morning. While hourly
expecting it, Mr. Ashmun assembled his little army,
and addressed a few words of advice and encouragement to them. He ended by saying,
" War is now inevitable.  The safety of our
property, our settlement, our families, our lives,
depends, under God, upon your courage and firmness. Let every post and every individual be able
to confide in the firm support of every other. Let
every man act as if the whole defense depended
upon his single arm. May no coward disgrace our
ranks. The cause is God's and our country's, and
we may rely upon the blessing of Almighty God to
succeed our efforts. We are weak. He is strong.
Trust in Him."
Neither the confidence the leader placed in his
soldiers, nor the faith he showed in God's protecting
care, proved unwarranted. One Monday morning
in November, the savages, who had been hovering
like swarms of locusts for several days around the




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          163
settlement, suddenly rushed upon a post left unguarded for a few minutes. Their sudden onset,
their numbers, and their horrid yells, struck a
momentary panic into the hearts of the defenders,
and they turned to flee.  But Mr. Ashmun and
Lott Cary met them, and, with unflinching courage, rallied and led them back to the attack. The
cannons, instantly brought into action, did great
execution. The savages were appalled at the number of wounded and dead that fell around them,
and when Elijah Johnson, with a few musketeers,
attacked them on their flank, they were filled with
consternation.  With another yell they fled into
the recesses of the forest, and left the settlers to
count their losses and bury their dead. But so
engrossed were they in preparing against a second
attack, which they hourly dreaded, that it was not
until the next day they had time to perform this
last sad duty.
Not more than seventeen men had been engaged
in this defense,while the assailants might be counted
by hundreds; yet in half an hour the settlers could
look far around them, and see no enemy. Was not
the hand of the Lord in this?
A few weeks' rest was given to them; but early
in December, that loveliest of months in Liberia,
the natives gathered again, and, armed with muskets, again attacked the settlement on each side.




164            LIBERIA; OR,
The battle raged for an hour and a half. Four
times were the enemy repulsed with great slaughter, and four times they rallied to the attack. At
last, seized with terror at the destruction the cannon made in their ranks, and at the courage of the
little band who so resolutely defied them, they fled
through the forest to their different tribes, carrying
with them such accounts of the bravery and strange
superiority of the settlers, that it was long before
they were again molested. On the contrary, the
kings of the tribes around them, of the Veys, the
Deys, the Greboes, the Queahs, and many others,
sought an alliance with those who had shown themselves so strong in their own defense.
Mr. Ashmun, in speaking of his little army, said
that "not the most veteran troops could have behaved with more coolness, nor shown greater firmness than the settlers on this occasion;" and Elijah
Johnson earned for himself the title of hero, which
he still retains.
While still ignorant that their second contest was
to be their last important one for many years, and
not knowing how soon or when another attack might
be expected, they learned to their dismay that their
ammunition was almost exhausted. They had been,
of course, unable to till the land or raise the necessary provision, easy as it is to provide for the wants
of the body in Africa, and their bread and meat,




MR. PE YTON'S EXPERIMENTS.         165
though sparingly consumed, would last but little
longer, and, for want of surgical instruments, the
wounded suffered exceedingly.
Yet even in this time of distress their faith did
not falter, and the confidence they retained through
every thing that the course they had taken was the
wisest for them, and would be proved to be so in the
end, sustained them.
"There never has been an hour or a minute,"
said Lott Cary, with great emphasis, " no, not even
when the balls were flying around my head, when
I could wish myself back in America again."
While in this urgent need, a false alarm during
the night led them to fire one of their cannon.
When they discovered their mistake, they bitterly
regretted that they had thus wasted a part of their
small store of ammunition. But they soon found
that they could hardly have used it to a better purpose. A British schooner was just rounding the
cape as that cannon broke upon the stillness of the
night. Thinking it a signal of distress, some of
the crew were sent on shore early in the morning,
and discovered this "little band of brave men, contending for life amid privations, poverty, sickness,
and death, surrounded by barbarous tribes thirsting for their blood."
The officers of the vessel generously gave them
all the assistance in their power, and Major Laing,




166            LIBERIA; OR,
the distinguished African traveler, who was on
board, offered to use his influence to propitiate the
neighboring chiefs. In this he was successful, the
bravery of the colonists having already awed them,
and the settlers were afterward left almost undisturbed, with the exception of a short interval, when
Mr. Ashmun's health obliged him to leave them.
The best means of restoration for him appeared
to be a sea voyage, and reluctantly availing himself of an opportunity for that purpose, he left the
colony in the charge of Elijah Johnson, to whom it
had been once before intrusted. The natives took
advantage of Ashmun's absence to menace them
with another attack, and Mr. Johnson applied to a
British man-of-war, then in the harbor, for ammunition. This was freely given, and the captain also
offered his men to aid in the defense, if Mr. Johnson
would grant to England a piece of land large enough
to plant her flag-staff upon, as British troops could
only be called upon to defend the flag and soil of
their country. This Johnson refused. ": We do not
want," said he, " any flag raised here that will cost
us more trouble to pull down than to flog the natives."
He did not regret this refusal, for the natives
were soon subdued; and when Mr. Ashmun returned, he found all tranquil.
And, now that peace smiled upon them, they had




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           167
time to think of portioning out and cultivating the
land.  Keziah, with her usual discrimination, selected for herself and Polydore, for their interests
were at last united, a fine tract of land, lying a
little out of the village.  A thatched cottage was
soon built upon it, and both she and Polydore worked
industriously to clear the land and prepare it for
planting. Like many of the other settlers, their
first attempts were unsuccessful. Whatever they
planted grew as if by magic, and with hardly any
trouble on their part; but just as they were promising themselves an abundant harvest, legions of
ants, or troops of monkeys, porcupines, or other wild
animals, would in one night lay waste whole acres.
Most of the other colonists were disheartened.
The unsettled life they had lately been leading rendered them less fitted for steady exertion; and finding that, by trading with the natives, they could obtain what was necessary for their subsistence with
much less labor, in the natural desire that all people
share for present ease and self-indulgence, they forgot
their real and permanent good. The more far-sighted
of the emigrants urged in vain upon their companions the advantages of agriculture. It was not for
some years that they realized its importance, and
only lately has their attention been turned resolutely
to it.
Keziah was one of the few who persevered in en



168             LIBERIIA; OR,
deavoring to cultivate the land, and every year it
became easier. The little animals that had at first
proved so destructive, disappeared as the forests
were cleared away. Each failure, instead of discouraging her, was only a new lesson; she learned
from them what seasons were most adapted to certain grains and vegetables, and what seeds were
best suited to the soil.
All the time she could spare from her own cares
she devoted to teaching the native women and children, who frequently visited her. The indefatigable
Lott Cary had, with the assistance of another colonist, already established a missionary school for native children, thus carrying out one of the principal
objects of the society.
Keziah longed to do the same, but the charge of
the farm engrossed her too much; for, although Polydore took the labor upon himself, the direction fell
to his wife, who would have been by no means willing to relinquish it.
Becoming dissatisfied, after a short trial, with this
desultory mode of teaching the natives only when
they chose to attend to her, she determined to adopt
two little native girls, that she might train them
more effectually in her own way. When Keziah
proposed this plan to the savages around her, it was
eagerly embraced, and such a number of children
were offered, that she found her difficulty lay in selecting and refusing, not in obtaining.




MR. PET TON'S EXPERIMENTS.          169
Not long after this addition to her cares, Polydore
returned from the village, already become a place
of some importance, with the news that a slave.
shlip had been taken, and that its cargo was about
to be landed at Liberia'. The settlers, he said, were
asked to do all that was in their power for the
wretched beings thus thrown upon their charity.
Keziah's heart instantly responded to this appeal,
and she offered to provide food and shelter for four
if they were sent to her.  Fortunately, the cargo
was a small one, the ship having been captured before it was fully loaded, and only two were intrusted
to Keziah's kindness.
Ifore miserable objects had seldom been seen than
were these when they first reached her hospitable
door.  Emaciated and trembling, they appeared
hardly able to stand, much less to walk. Indeed,
Polydore had been obliged to carry one of them up
the hill leading to the cottage, for he had fallen from
weakness while attempting to ascend it. But before the end of a month, Keziah was surprised to
observe the great change that had taken place in
them. In their tall, muscular forms they almost
rivaled Polydore.
For several days this latter personage had seemed
very much perplexed. His pipe, which was his
great resource in trouble, was in almost constant
use. He would sit for hours smoking and gazing
H




170            LIBERIA; OR,
into the face of the larger of the savages, without
uttering a word. Keziah, meanwhile, was endeavoring to teach them English, in which she succeeded
but indifferently; but every word they addressed to
each other in their own tongue affected Polydore
strangely. At length, one day when he was left
alone with them, he approached the one who seemed
to interest him so deeply, and addressed a single
word to him. The savage looked up astonished.
Again Polydore repeated the word, as though he
were asking some question. The savage nodded,
and quietly replenishing his pipe, Polydore seated
himself in the door of the cabin, looking steadfastly
in the direction from which he might expect his
wife. He knew that she was gone out on some
business that would detain her several hours longer;
but even watching for her was such a relief to his
mind, that he would have preferred to sit there all
day to any active occupation.
She came at last, just as the sun was shedding
its last faint ray of light. Noticing the wistful
glance he cast upon her, she stopped and asked
him what he wanted.
" Keziah, dat's my brother."' What?"' Dat man yonder is my brother."
" How do you know?"
I've'spected it dis long time' since he fust




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS,          171
began to talk. I know'd every word he said, but I
couldn't remember the meanin'; and a little while
ago I called him by his name, not the name de
other nigger calls him, but de name he used to go
by when we was chillun, and he said yes."
" Does he know who you are?"
"I don't know; I hain't said nothin' to him since."
Keziah found, on entering-her cottage, that the
savage had relapsed into his usual state of apathy.
It was some time before she could induce him even
to try to understand the news she labored to impart
to him. When he did fairly comprehend it, it seemed
to produce but little effect upon him. But both
Polydore and Keziah being unwearying in their
endeavors to instruct him, they soon had the pleasure
of being able to understand his broken English.
From that time his improvement was more rapid.
He consented to take the land usually allotted to
every settler, and they helped him to build a cottage
for himself near them. Whether Keziah's earnest
exhortations, or the silent influence of Polydore's
example had the most effect, can not be known now,
but before three years had passed by they had the
unspeakable delight of welcoming him as a member of the same fold, and under the same shepherd
with themselves.
" Is not this worth all we have endured since we
came to Africa?" asked Keziah.




172            LIBERIA; OR,
And Polydore answered yes with his whole heart.
Meantime, Mr. Ashmun's health had become so
seriously affected, that he was obliged to return to
his native country. The day on which he took his
departure was one of the saddest that has ever
darkened over Liberia.  Yet while all crowded
around him, to take a mournful leave of one who
had been their great support through so many trials,
they hardly thought they were bidding him adieu
forever in this world. He only lived to greet once
more his country, and died at New Haven a few
days after he landed. His last prayers were for
Africa, for "the poor people among whom he had
labored."
Mr. Ashmun had left the colony under the care
of Lott Cary, who continued to manage it with the
same liberal spirit as his predecessor. His main
object was to elevate the moral and intellectual
standard of the African. For this purpose he exerted
himself to establish schools, and labored both as a
pastor over his own church and a missionary to the
heathen around him.  He was also energetic and
prudent in his management of the business affairs
of the colony, and it had never been more prosperous
than when it was under his charge.
His horror of the slave-trade, and his resolute determination to oppose it whenever an opportunity
offered, was the worthy cause of the death of this




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           173
truly heroic man. A king of a neighboring tribe
had obtained possession of a factory belonging to
Liberia, and situated a few miles north of Monrovia,
which he had given to a slave-trader. After attempting uselessly to obtain restitution by pacific
means, Mr. Cary determined to compel the king to
grant his just demand. While engaged in preparing cartridges to be used for this purpose, one of
the men overturned a candle, which, falling into
some gunpowder, caused it to explode, and several
persons were instantly killed. Lott Cary was one
of the number.
It would seem as though the loss of two persons
of such importance to Liberia as IMr. Ashmun and
Mr. Cary would have been almost irreparable.
Yet, though they were mourned with exceeding
sorrow, and each colonist felt as though some member of their family had been taken, able men came
forward to supply their place, and the temporal interests of Liberia seemed unaffected by the change
in the human instruments that controlled them. It
went on increasing steadily, though slowly, in numbers and in size. Every year added something to
its importance, and saw it elevated a degree higher
in the scale of nations.
Though the ardor of some spirits, that were overzealous at first, has been dampened by the slowness
of its growth, yet, to its more discerning friends,




174            LIBERIA; OR,
this very circumstance has been a cause of gratulation. — For, if the colored people had been poured
into Africa as emigrants have swarmed to our coasts,
received, as they would have been, among savages
and heathen, themselves, many of them, not yet
fixed in their opinions and habits, there would have
been great danger that they would have reverted
to the customs of their fathers, and thus lost all the
benefit of their early training. Now this danger is
past. A Christian nation calls for its wandering
children to come under its protecting care, and the
entreaty can hardly be too readily obeyed.
The light in which the settlers themselves regarded their enterprise can not be better shown than
~by a few extracts from an address they drew up at
a meeting of the citizens of Monrovia, in 1827, five
years after they first landed on the cape.  This
was sent to America, to correct some false impressions that were prevalent there with respect to them.
They say,
" The first thing whibh caused our voluntary removal to this country, and which we still regard
with the deepest concern, is liberty-liberty in the
sober, simple, but complete sense of the word;'that
liberty of speech, action, and conscience, which distinguishes the free, enfranchised citizens of a free
state, and that liberty which was denied to us in
America; and now we truly declare to you that




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           175
our hopes and expectations in this respect have been
realized.
"Forming a community of our own, in the land
of our forefathers, having the commerce, soil, and
resources of the country at our disposal, we know
nothing of that debasing inferiority with which our
very color stamped us in America. There is nothing here to create the feeling on our part-nothing
to cherish the feelings of superiority in the minds
of foreigners who visit us. It is this moral emancipation, this liberation of the mind from worse
than iron fetters, that repays us ten thousand times
over for all that it has cost us, and makes us grateful to God and our American patrons for the happy
change which has taken place in our situation.
" The true character of the African climate is
not well understood in other countries. Its inhabitants are as robust, as healthy, as long-lived, to say
the least, as those in any other country. Nothing
like an epidemic has ever appeared in this colony;
nor can we learn from the natives that a sweeping
sickness has ever yet visited this part of the Continent. But the change from a temperate to a tropical climate is a great one-too great not to affect
the health more or less, and, in cases of old people
and very young children, often causes death. In
the early years of the colony, want of good houses,
the great fatigues and dangers of the settlers, their




176            LIBERIA; OR,
irregular mode of living, and the hardships and discouragements they met with, greatly helped the
other causes of sickness, and were attended with
great mortality. But we look back to those times
as to a season of trial, long past and nearly forgotten.
" People now arriving have comfortable houses to
receive them; will enjoy the regular attendance of
a physician; will be surrounded and attended by a
healthy, happy people, who have borne the effects
of the climate, who will encourage and fortify them
against that despondency, which alone has carried
off several in the first years of the colony. A more
fertile soil and productive country, so far as it is
cultivated, there is not, we believe, on the face of
the earth. Its hills and plains are covered with a
verdure which never fades.
" 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 sugar may be cultivated at pleasure, to
any extent. The same may be said of rice, Indian
corn, millet, and fruits, and vegetables too numerous to be mentioned.
" Our trade is already valuable, and fast increasing. It is carried on in the productions of the country-consisting of rice, palm oil, ivory, tortoise-shell,
dye-woods, gold, hides, wax-and brings us, in return, the products and manufactures of the four




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          177
quarters of the world. Seldom, indeed, is our harbor free from European and American shipping.
"Not a child or youth but is provided with an
appropriate school. We have a large public library, court-house, meeting-houses, school-houses, and
fortifications.
"Our houses are built of the same materials, and
furnished in the same style, as in the towns of America. We have an abundance of good building-stone,
shells for lime, and clay for brick.
" The cheerful abodes of civilization and happiness which are scattered over this verdant mountain; the flourishing settlements which are spreading around it; the sounds of Christian instruction
and scenes of Christian worship which are heard
and seen in this scene of pagan darkness; a thousand contented freemen united in founding a new
Christian empire, happy themselves, and the instruments of happiness to others-conclusively testifies
to the wisdom and goodness of the plan of colonization."
This was the grateful and confident language of
the colonists, while yet in the infancy of their existence, while savages were lurking around their
outskirts, ready to take advantage of any weak or
unguarded point, and while they were still obliged
to look up to and lean upon the Colonization Society as their protector and guide.
K2




178            LIBEARIA; OR,
When, twenty years after, they stood up in the
self-reliance of vigorous youth, and with the consent
of their early guardian, declared themselves an independent nation, how many more mercies had they
to acknowledge?




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           179
CHAPTER        VII.
A LIBERIAN VISITS AMERICA.
He that hears himself like a gentleman, is worth to have been
born a gentleman.-CHAPMAN.
AFTER the first few years of trial, the accounts from
Liberia were so encouraging, that Nathan yielded
to the earnest entreaties of Junius, and emigrated
to Africa with his family. At Mr. Peyton's request,
Junius continued to write to him frequently, and
keep him informed of all that happened of interest
in the community, and more especially in the two
households that had once been members of Mr. Peyton's family. Hardly a letter came without bring.
ing some confirmation of the increasing stability
and prosperity of the colonists.  Every step they
took was a step upward and onward. He became
convinced that the great problem which had occupied so much of his thoughts was at last solved,
and that in Africa the African might be allowed to
grow to his full stature-to become a man.
When, in 1847, Liberia proclaimed itself a free
and independent nation, no one welcomed it more




ISO            LIBERIA; OR,
warmly into its new rank as a republic than did
Mr. Peyton. Not long after this important event,
he passed a few weeks in Philadelphia. He had
heard nothing of Ben or Clara for two or three years,
and had supposed them prosperously employed all
that time.
He was troubled at the condition in which he
found them, though it was so superior to the one
from which Mr. Lyndsay had rescued them. Wishing to excite in them a desire to share the privileges which Nathan was enjoying, he sent them
the letters he had received from Junius, most of
which were filled with accounts of the happiness
and comfort in which his father's family were living.
He succeeded so far as to awaken an interest in
them as to all the concerns of Liberia, but he could
not arouse in Ben enough energy to induce him to
leave even the poor home which was all he could
hope to call his own in America.
The influence of Americus was a great obstacle
to Mr. Peyton's wishes. He had returned from
France quite a finished gentleman in manners and
appearance, and with his ideas of his own consequence greatly exalted, and he scouted at the
thought of leaving "the comforts of civilized life,"
to use his own words, " to live in cabins and fight
with savages. The United States was his native
land; he had as much right to all the advantages




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           181
he could derive from living in it as any other of its
citizens; and he was not going basely to give up
his rights, but rather to nail his flag to the mast
and demand them. There was a better time coming; the hour would surely arrive, however long
delayed it might be, when the distinctions of white
and black would be unknown, and man would be
estimated by his own intrinsic worth."
Speeches like these had a great effect on Ben.
Clara, like most women, looking to the immediate
and practical, rather than far into the dim future,
asked what good that time would do to them, if,
as Americus observed, "generations must pass away
before that state of things could be looked for."
" While you are talking about it, and waiting
for it here," said she, " Nathan and Polydore are
helping it forward in Africa; for in Liberia whites
and blacks do meet in terms of equality, or, rather,
the colored people are the most important persons
there, and that is the only Christian place I ever
heard of where that is the case."
Americus had heard of several others, but he
seemed willing to make a trial of none of them.
" He was determined," he said, " to live and die in
America, and no colonizationist should force him to
leave it."
" I am sure you are welcome to stay here if you
like," said Clara;  the white folks are too glad to




182            L IBE R IA; OR,
have somebody they can order about and make do
their hard work, to compel us to leave; but for my
part, I would like to go where I can be as good as
any body else. I know Nathan and Keziah very
well. They have too much sense not to know
whether it is better for them to be there than here,
and they wouldn't speak so well of it if they did not
like it."
"Have you never heard of the fox that lost his
tail in the trap, and tried to persuade his companions
to cut off theirs too?" asked Americus.
" Yes," said Clara; "but I've knowed Nathan
more than thirty years, and I never knowed him
to tell a lie in all my life, and it isn't likely that he
would begin now."
Ben confirmed Clara's assertion, and Americus
himself was too well aware of its truth to deny it.
While this conversation was going on in Clara's
room, Mr. Peyton was sitting with his wife in a
private parlor of one of the principal hotels in Philadelphia, reading partly to himself, and occasionally
aloud to her, such passages from different periodicals
that were lying on the table around him as particularly struck him. From one of the foreign reviews
he read the following:
" What a wonderful continent is this rounded,
smooth-shored Africa, known from the earliest dawn
of time, yet so unknown; the granary of nations,




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          183
yet sterile and fruitless as the sea; swarming with
life, yet dazzling the eyes with its vast tract of glittering sand! North America, first seen but the
other day, has been probed from end to end; its
Philips, Tecumsehs, and Montezumas have been
bridled and broken by the white man; but Africa
has seen no Cortez, or even a De Soto or La Salle,
" wringing favor from fate."  Some solitary Mungo
Park, or faithful Lander, or persevering Burckhardt,
alone has tried to read the secret of the, mother of
civilization-the gray-haired Africa.
"If we seek a land of romance and mystery,
what quarter of the globe compares with that which
holds the Pyramids; the giant Theban temples, under one roof of which clusters a modern village; the
solemn, hewn mountain cliff of a Sphinx; the ruins
of Carthage; the Nile, with its hidden sources; the
Niger, with its unknown outlet; the heaven-bearing
Atlas;:the dimly-seen Mountains of the Moon!
"Theie the slave rose, romantically, to be the
ruler of millions; there Moses, floating in his cradle,
is saved by the king's daughter, and like the hero
of some earlier chivalry, breaks the bonds of his
people and founds a new and mighty nation. There
was the home of Dido, of Hannibal, the scene of
Scipio's triumphs, hnd Jugurtha's crimes; there
lived Tertullian, Athanasius, and Augustine: the
last breath of Louis of France was drawn there.




184             LIBERIA; OR,
" Africa is the home of the leviathan, the behemoth, the unicorn, the giraffe, the antelope, the elephant, the lion, the buffalo. It is the home, too, of
the mysterious negro races yet lying dormant in
the germ, destined, perhaps, to rule this earth when
our proud Anglo-Saxon blood is as corrupt as that
of the descendants of Homer or Pericles.'" The past, present, and future of Africa are
alike wrapt in mystery. Who can tell us of the
childhood of dark-browed Egypt, square-shouldered
and energetic? Carthage, the England of the old
world's rulers, has not even a romancing Livy, still
less an unwearied Niebuhr, to explain her rise and
untangle the mysteries of her constitution. Of all
the vast interior, what do we know more than the
Punic merchants, who, like us, dealt there, taking
slaves, ivory, and gold?
"And what can we hope hereafter to see in those
immense, unknown lands? God has enabled the
European to drive out the North American, and
given a great continent the full development and
trial of whatever permanent power the Caucasian
race possesses; but Africa he has preserved-for
what? For future contest? For an imported foreign civilization, to be entered through Liberia and
~the Cape Colonies? France and Britain are watching each other now along those burning sands, as
they once watched by the icy rocks of Canada and




.MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          15
Acadia: is it to end in the same subjection of the
aboriginal owners to one or both of these? Or does
the dark race, in all its varieties, possess a capacity
for understanding and living out the deep laws of
the world's ruler, Christianity, as the offspring of
the followers of Odin never did, and never can, understand and act it?
"If the old Egyptian Sesostris had paused to
contemplate.the illiterate wanderers of Greece, to
whom Cadmus was just striving to make known
the letters of Phoenicia, would not Plato and Aristotle have seemed as impossible to him as the existence in Africa of a higher Christianity than has yet
been seen seems to us? Would not the present
position of the Teutonic race have appeared equally
incredible to the founder of the Parthenon, the
loungers in the gardens of the Academy?"
Here he was interrupted by the entrance of a lady
who came to call upon his wife. She was a Mrs.
Vaughan, who belonged to the Society of Friends,
as was easy to see by the grave simplicity of her
dress, which accorded so well with the calm, unworldly expression of her face, that the impression
of its oddity was lost in its suitability.
" I have called to see thee," said she, after the
usual words of greeting had passed, " to tell thee of
a very interesting visit I have been making this
morning.  Thee knows that Joseph Roberts, the




186            LIBERIA; OR,
President of Liberia, is here on business connected
with his adopted country. I heard a little while
ago that his wife was with him, and I have been
to see her. She is a pretty, intelligent young woman. I was very much pleased with-her indeed. I
knew that thee was interested in all that concerns
that country, and as I had an opportunity to ask a
great deal about it, I thought that thee might like
to hear what she said."
"Is Mr. Johnson a white man?" asked Virginia.
"Oh no, my dear," replied Mr. Peyton; " he is
the President of the Republic of Liberia, and no
white person is allowed to hold any political office
whatever there. He was once a slave in Virginia,
but was emancipated and sent to Liberia when he
was quite a lad. He has raised himself by his own
exertions to the station he now occupies, after having filled with credit and honor the important position of general of the forces of Liberia, at a time
when they were engaged in a serious contest with
one of the most powerful of the neighboring tribes.
The quarrel was occasioned by a demand for slaves,
and this tribe, which had long carried on their commerce with the Europeans almost exclusively by
means of the slaves they obtained in their forays,
attacked Millsberg and Hedington within a short
time, in order to get possession of several of the natives who had taken refuge under the protection of




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          187
Liberia. Do you not remember, my dear, the account I read to you from one of the letters I received from Junius, of the attack on the latter place
by three or four hundred savages, and of the brave
*defense the inhabitants made, though so taken by
surprise. At last, Zion Harris, a citizen of Liberia,
who emigrated from Tennessee, put the whole band
to rout by a fortunate shot, which struck down their
head man. They rallied, and by another shot he
killed the second chief. This made them hesitate
for a moment, and, taking advantage or the pause,
Harris blew a large bugle. Supposing this to be
the signal of a re-enforcement approaching, the savages fled in all directions."
" Yes," replied Virginia, " I do remember it.- It
was on that occasion, I believe, that the barbarians
brought a kettle to cook the missionary in."
"They were sure of victory," said Mr. Peyton,
" and were amazed at being defeated by such a
handful. They thought the settlers had greegrees
or charms to protect them. Fortunately, Buchanan
was then Governor of Liberia, a man of great ability and energy; and he determined'to settle the
matter at once and forever,' as he said. Therefore
he, with General Roberts, the same man who is
now President of Liberia, went with three hundred
men twenty-five miles into the interior, to attack
the tribe in their own fortress. He gained so corn



188            LIBERIA; OR,
plete a victory, that the settlers have not since been
disturbed by the natives.  On the contrary, most
of the kings around them, and some who live far
in the interior, have sent to beg an alliance with
the Liberians. I have been glad to see that one
stipulation which has always been made before
receiving them as allies is, that. they should never
be in any way engaged in the slave-trade."
" Does it not seem a pity to thee," asked Mrs.
Vaughan, that this bloodshed could not have been
avoided-that the Liberians did not make a treaty
with the natives, as Penn did with the Indians?"
" Under the circumstances, that was impossible,"
replied lMr. Peyton. " There were no slave-traders
in Pennsylvania to excite the natives to war by
telling them that their commerce was about to be
destroyed by the unwelcome intruders.  If the
selfish passions of the Indians had been awakened
by interested and designing men, there might have
been a very different account to give of Penn's
colony."
" I would like to have seen it fairly tried," said
Mrs. Vaughan.
" It was tried more than ten years ago," replied Mr.
Peyton. " Quite a large number of emigrants went
out under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Young
Men's Colonization Society, and established themselves at Bassa Cove, a beautiful and fertile spot on




MR. PEY7c'iYS ExIPRIMENTS.         189
the St. John's River. They named the settlement
Port Cresson, in honor of Mr. Elliott Cresson, who,
you know, has been such an efficient and liberal
patron of this enterprise.  In fact, he was the
founder of the society which sent out these emigrants. They bound themselves before they left to
refrain from ardent spirits and the arts of war, and
to act as missionaries as far as they could. A letter I
received from Liberia, a few months after they landed,
was filled with accounts of the satisfaction of the
settlers with their new home. One of the pleasantest
and finest portions of Liberia had been selected
for them, and they were improving it very fast.
There were but two guns in the whole colony, but
yet, trusting in the influence of their Christian principles, they did not feel the least alarm, although
they were surrounded by savages. They were told
several times of what might be the consequence of
their defenseless situation; but they paid no heed
to the warnings, and therefore were taken completely by surprise when one evening the savages
rushed upon them from the thickets around, killed
several, and compelled the rest to take'refuge in
the swamps and woods.    Only two houses were
left unmolested, and they belonged to the two settlers who had provided themselves with fire-arms."
"Perhaps the colonists had not treated the natives
kindly," suggested Mrs. Vaughan.




190            LIBERIA; OR,
" No; the savages had no cause of complaint
against the settlers, except that they had established
themselves on land which had been bought for that
purpose. It seems that there was a barracoon much
used by the slave-traders quite nearsPort Cresson,
and when they discovered that there:vr wa  to be a
Liberian settlement at the Cove, they told the king
of that part of the c6untry that they could not think
of buying slaves so near to the Americans, and should
remove their factory immediately.  This arioused
the king's cupidity, and he'promised tb drive the
emigrants away."
" Did he succeed?" asked -Mrs. Vaughan.
" He did, at first; and was so pleased with his
good fortune, that he refused tb listen to the messengers the Liberians sent to himn arid was preparing for an attack on some of the other:towns, when
they marched a force againstV/him, which completely destroyed his towns and defenses, and returned without the loss of a single man. After
that, finding that the Liberians were not the weak,
defenseless people he thought them, he became
their firm friend and ally, and entreated the settlers
to return to Port Cresson, offering to repaythem as
far as he could for all the injury he had done them,
and promising them any part of his country to settle in, if they would only give him' God's book and'Merica trade' again."




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           191
"I hope the settlers accepted his offer," said
Mrs. Vaughan.
Yes, they did. But their new settlement was
made about two miles above its former location,
and is now called Bassa Cove. There are, however,
a few houses still at Port Cresson, and I have no
doubt but that it will be a flourishing town before
many years. You see I am well informed concerning Liberian affairs," continued Mr. Peyton, smiling. "There are few subjects in which I take so
great an interest."
A note was just then handed to him. After
reading it, he turned to Mrs. Vaughan, saying,
"This is from  your brother-in-law, Mr. Elias
Vaughan. He says that several gentlemen are to
spend the evening with him to meet Governor
Roberts, and to learn from him more particularly
the condition of Liberia. He is kind enough to ask
me to join them, and I shall be very glad to have
an opportunity to talk with a responsible person
from that country. We can learn a great deal more
about the real state of affairs in that way than in
any other."
Mr. Peyton was detained by some visitors, and
it was quite late in the evening before he reached
Mr. Vaughan's. When he entered the room, the
guests were conversing in little groups around it,
while Mr. Roberts was standing by himself. As




192            LIBERIA; OR,
each person entered, the host had introduced them
to the President of Liberia; but after speaking a
few words to him, so intolerable a feeling of awkwardness and constraint stole over them at the
unusual position in which they found themselves
thus placed toward a colored man, that each, unwilling to make himself conspicuous by any long
conversation with him, turned to those with whom
they felt themselves on common ground.   Mr.
Vaughan did all that he could to prevent Mr.
Roberts from perceiving any want of courtesy,
but he was too much occupied by receiving his
guests to allow him to devote much of his time to
him.
M{r. Peyton perceived the state of things at a
glance, and could hardly repress a smile at the
inconsistency between the principles and conduct
of the assembly.  There was not a gentleman
present who did not profess to be an ardent fiiend
to the colored race.  Many of them  supported
vehemently the most liberal and ultra views with
regard to their rights and capabilities. Yet here
was one whose appearance and manners showed
him to be a gentleman-a man of tried bravery,
fidelity, and uprightness-intelligent, unassuming,
and self-possessed-whom they had assembled for
the purpose of meeting; and each one of them was
trying to appear unconscious of his presence. Yet




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           193
uneasy glances were cast toward him from time to
time, that showed that it was not the desire to be
courteous that was wanting, but a "decent respect
for the opinions" of others. There is something in
the human race that has a striking similarity to
the docility of the sheep. Any lead taken with
confidence will be sure to find followers. And the
innate dignity, the lofty presence, and perfect goodbreeding of Mr. Peyton well fitted him for a leader.
People felt instinctively that, following him, they
could not go wrong.
He had come for the express purpose of meeting
and talking with Mr. Roberts, and was soon engaged
in an animated conversation with him. This could
not fail to be an interesting one, both from the nature
of the subject discussed, and from the clear, straightforward, and satisfactory manner in which Mr.
Roberts gave this account.  Soon, one by one the
guests drew near to listen, until at last Mr. Peyton
and his companion found themselves the centre of
an audience composed of all the persons in the
room; while Mr. Roberts, apparently as unconscious
of the marked attention now paid him as of the
neglect he had experienced a short time before,
went on quietly but earnestly explaining the condition, the wishes, and the claims of Liberia.
His inaugural address, when he entered upon his
duties as the first president of the little republic,
I




194            LIBERIA; OR,
had impressed Mr. Peyton very favorably, and this
interview elevated him still higher in his opinion.
The clear good sense, the calm judgment, and the
piety that appeared in all that he said, could not
fail to inspire confidence in his listeners.
Mr. Peyton returned to his wife with renewed
zeal in favor of colonization.
" Besides the advantages it offers to the colored
race," said he, " and if Mr. Roberts is a fair specimen of a Liberian, they are well worth all that has
been done for it, its efficiency in suppressing the
slave-trade ought alone to induce us to support it.
We have spent millions of dollars in maintaining
fleets there, yet they have done but little for us
in comparison with Liberia. Nearly five hundred
miles on the western coast are now entirely free
from that curse; and I hope and confidently expect
that the time will come when from that little spot
the laws and principles will go forth that will control all Africa."
" I wish we could induce Ben to go," said Mrs.
Peyton. " Americus is so well adapted to his position, that it would be a pity to persuade him to
leave it; but I think if Ben could only get his ambition aroused once more, he would make a valuable citizen of that new country."
" I have spoken to Mr. Lyndsay about it," replied
Mr. Peyton,' and he has promised me that he will




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           195
not lose sight of them, and will do all that he can to
excite in Ben a desire to emigrate. I think he will
succeed. I am sure if Ben had seen Mr. Roberts
last night, he would have been convinced that he
could become something more than'a nigger,' as
he calls himself."
Mr. Peyton was disappointed that President Roberts was obliged to leave the United States without
having obtained a formal recognition of the independence of his adopted country. Great Britain
and France were more ready to welcome the nation
that had thus sprung into existence than its own
foster-mother; and in both these countries the president was received with the honor befitting his rank.
The following extracts from a letter from him will
show, more forcibly than any account can do, how
little effect the color has, when the position and
character is such as to inspire respect. Mr. Lyndsay sent it to Americus, asking him how many generations he supposed must pass away before a colored man from the United States would be so received by the governments of Europe.
"London, October 25, 1852.
" MY DEAR SIR,-A week or two since I wrote
you, giving a somewhat detailed statement of my
proceedings here and in Paris up to that time; and
now I have nothing very special to communicate,




196            LIBERIA; OR,
except that there is a decidedly increasing interest
in England and France in favor of Liberia. By the
government and people of both these countries I
have been received in the most kind and flattering
manner. I mentioned to you that, in consequence
of the departure of the prince president for a tour
in the south of France just about the time I reached Paris, I had promised to make another visit in
the course of a month. Accordingly, I returned on
the 15th instant, to be present and witness the ently of the president on the 16th.
" The minister for foreign affairs, M. Druyn de
Ihuys, had heard of my arrival, and Sunday morning, the 17th, I received an invitation from him
and madame to dine with them the following day;
and, as you may suppose, I did not fail to avail myself of the occasion to state fully my wishes, and to
press upon his excellency the importance of dispatch
in my case. The party at the table consisted of
ten or a dozen, and. all, except one, spoke English
pretty well, and in compliment evidently to me, the
conversation of the evening was carried on in my
own language, notwithstanding the subject of discussion. All appeared deeply interested in favor of
Liberia.
" About nine o'clock the minister was sent for to
meet the president at Saint Cloud. Before leaving,
however, he said to me that he had spoken with the




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          197
prince the morning before respecting Liberia, and
had informed his highness that I was in Paris,
and that my stay would be very short. The prince
had therefore, notwithstanding the fatigue of his
journey, consented to give me an audience the next
day, Tuesday, at twelve o'clock. The next day at
ten, I received a note from the minister, to say he
would call for me at eleven to accompany me to
Saint Cloud. He was punctual, and appeared in
full court dress, and off we posted in his carriage.
I, indeed, had a very pleasant interview, and found
the president quite as well informed in regard to
Liberian matters as I expected. He said he felt
greatly interested in the effort that was being made
in Liberia to test the capacity of the African race
for self-government, and that he was well pleased
at the progress that had been made; and that Liberia would be supported by the French government,
not only to that view, but also as the best means
for suppressing the slave-trade, and introducing civilization and Christianity into Western Africa. In
proof of his good wishes-upon my application for
a few hundred stand of arms, uniforms, &c., for
our militia, and a small ten-gun brig-the prince
readily consented to supply the uniforms, &c., and
said he would speak with the minister of marine
respecting the vessel. On returning to Paris, the
minister for foreign affairs remarked to me, I might




198            LIBERIA; OR,
feel assured that all I asked for would be granted.
The minister of marine was absent, to return in a
few days, and as soon as he can be consulted, I shall
know definitely through the French embassy here.
" With respect to my visit to London, I have continued to receive every attention from her majesty's
government.  I have had frequent conversations
with Lord Malmsbury and Mir. Addington; and
have had a long and tedious correspondence with
them respecting Liberian affairs, and I think I have
succeeded in convincing them thoroughly of the
justice of the course pursued by the Liberian government toward British merchants trading upon
that coast, and that the complaints which have
been made from time to time by said traders are
without just cause.
" Liberia stands to day upon a better footing than
ever before in regard to her foreign relations. I
have accomplished much, and shall not regret my
visit to Europe. The government have kindly
placed at my disposal a vessel to take me to Liberia,
and I shall probably leave about the 1st proximo.
" October 20th. I have just received a communication from the foreign office, in which all my matters have been arranged quite to my satisfaction, and
upon the basis as stated above. Her majesty's government recognize the sovereignty of Liberia over
the points of coast which have been disputed by




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          199
British traders, and thereby relieve us from future
difficulty on that score, and the greatest source of
annoyance we have had to contend against for years
past.
" Very truly your obedient servant,
"J. J. ROBERTS."
Some months before the date of this letter, Ben
had decided, to Clara's great joy, on seeking the
land where so many advantages awaited him. A
letter he received from Junius, written at Mr. Peyton's request, and giving a plain statement of his
father's situation, his own feelings and opinions
about Liberia, and ending with a cordial invitation
from both Nathan and Polydore, for Ben and Clara
to make them a visit, and decide, after seeing the
country, whether to return or remain, was the circumstance that had the greatest effect in bringing
about this decision. Americus exerted all his influence against it; but when he found that it was
unavailing, he generously offered to supply them
with the means of returning whenever they wished
to come.
I care more just now," said Ben, " about getting the money to take me there. I have not ten
dollars in the world.'
" The Colonization Society will send us at its
own expense," said Clara.




200            LIBERIA; OR,
" But what shall we do after we arrive? I suppose we must expect to go through the acclimating
fever, and of course we can be earning nothing
then."
"The society will provide a house for us, and
food, and medical attendance for the first six months,
if we need help so long," replied Clara.
"I would rather have something of my own to
depend upon," said Ben; " how long do you suppose
it will take us to save two hundred dollars. I
would not like to start with less.'
"' If you had as good a place," said Clara, "as
you had when we first came here, we could do it
without much trouble, but as it is, I don't see how
we can lay by any thing."
" Let us try," said Ben, " we may find it easier
than it seems."
Mr. Lyndsay knew the motive that had awakened Ben's long dormant energy, and encouraged
him in his new course. After nearly a year had
passed in constant efforts toward the attainment of
his purpose, Ben confessed to Mr. Lyndsay that he
was almost discouraged. Several things had been
very much against him.  One of his children had
been ill, and his wife had been out of work part of
the time. " He was afraid," he said, " he must be
contented to live here all his life, making only
enough to keep his family from suffering."




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          20 
"When Mr. Peyton returned to Virginia," said
Mr. Lyndsay,'"he told me that whenever you
wished to go to Liberia, I might obtain the needful
funds from him. But, in accordance with his wishes, I did not tell you of this until I had seen that
you were so far in earnest in your intention that
you were willing to practice exertion and self-denial
in order to obtain it."
This was cheering news to Ben, and he with his
wife and children were soon prepared to take advantage of Mr. Peyton's liberality.
" Mr. Peyton has sent through me three hundred
dollars;" said Mr. Lyndsay to them the day before
they sailed, " sixty dollars is considered a fair average by the society for the expenses of the voyage,
and of the first six months in Liberia; so, as there
are but four of you, there is more than you really
need; but take good care of it, you will find it
useful."
Ben promised to act with the greatest prudence,
and, with hearts full of hope, the family embarked
for their new home.
2




202              LIBERIA; OR,
CHAPTER         VIII.
LIBERIA AS IT IS.
1 wave a torch that floods the lessening gloom
With everlasting fire!
Crowned with my constellated stars, I stand
Beside the foaming sea,
And from the future, with a victor's hand,
Claim empire for the Free!
J. BAYARD TAYLOR.
AFTER a pleasant voyage of thirty-five days, Ben
saw the high promontory of Cape Mesurado rising
in bold relief against the clear sky. It' was a bright,
sunshiny day in July when the emigrants landed
at the cove near the base of the cape.   Polydore
and Nathan were on the beach to greet themn on
their arrival, and make them feel less like strangers
in a strange land, and they were struck with the
improvement manifest in Polydore's language and
bearing.
The pretty town of Monrovia also excited their
surprise and admiration. Its substantial, well-built
houses, its churches, and its warehouses were superior to any thing that they had imagined. The




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMEN TS.          203
streets were shaded with the singular and beautiful
trees of the tropics, and by many of the houses were
gardens filled with flowers and vegetables.
" Our farm was very near Monrovia," said Polydore; "' but we found out that the land was better
a little farther from the sea-shore, and so, when Nathan came, we moved to a place near Caldwell, on
the St. John's River. There's some of the best land
there that I've seen any wheres. It's'bout nine
mile from here; but I have a wagon, with some little African ponies, that will soon take us there."
"Are these houses well furnished?" asked Clara.
" I reckon they are," replied Polydore; "some of
them are most equal to ol' mast'r's house at home.
Here's one of our newspapers," continued he, handing " The Liberia Herald" to Ben; "' we've another
one besides that."' Is this written by colored men?" asked Ben.
" Yes, po'try and all. Don't you'member Colin
Teage, that came over here the same time Keziah
and I came? His son, the Reverend Hilary Teage,
is the editor."
" Yes, I remember it," said Ben; "he freed himself and his two children."
On their ride to Caldwell, their road lay for a little while along Stockton Creek, the southern fork
of the St. John's. They passed the little village of
New Georgia.




204            LIBERIA; OR,
" The people there seem to be paying a good deal
of attention to their land," said Ben.
"Yes," replied Nathan, "most all the vegetables
used in Monrovia are raised here. The persons
about here are mostly native Africans,' and have
been slaves. If you could only have seen what poor,
mis'able wretches they were when they first came,
you would not have thought they would ever have
had such comfortable homes."
Are they considered Liberians?" asked Ben.
" To be sure they are-one of them was sent to
the Legislature a few years ago."
" This is the St. Paul's," said Polydore,' after a
while.
" What a beautiful river!" exclaimed Clara. " It
is so wide and full of islands. What are all those
strange-looking trees?"
"That tree with the leaves growing out of the
top is the palm. It is the most useful tree in the
world, I think. I can't tell you what the natives
don't do with it. They thatch their houses with its
leaves, and make cloth and ropes out of its bark,
and wine from its sap, and a great many other
things, besides the oil from the nut, which is the
most valuable part of it, and is one of their principal articles of trade."
" How do they make it?" asked Ben.
" The natives have a very rough way of manag



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           205
ing it. They dig a square pit in the earth, and fill
it with the palm-nuts, pounded shell and all together; then the women trample the oil out with their
feet. When they think they have pressed it all out,
they pour water into the pit, and skim off the oil as
it rises with their hands. But in this way, of course,
a great deal of oil is wasted; yet it is wonderful
how much they make. They sell it to the traders
for about thirty-three cents a gallon. You know a
great deal of fine soap is made with palm-oil, and
so it is always in demand. We have presses to use;
and one of our settlers, Mr. Henning, of Bassa, has
invented a machine for extracting the oil from the
kernel. This is much finer than that which is made
from the whole nut. It is as pure as water, and
can be made quite hard. Many persons use it instead of lard or butter. The common oil makes
very good candles, and can also be burned in lamps."
" Does Mr. Henning make any money by his oil?"
"It sells for one dollar a gallon, and he can make
ten gallons a day. You can judge for yourself
whether it is profitable or not. The palm is one of
our most common trees, so that nuts can always be
obtained. Do you see that weed growing through
the woods?"
" Yes."
Well," continued Nathan, " that is indigo. It
is a'great trouble to the farmers here. We have




206            LIBERIA; OR,
the hardest work to get rid of it. It grows every
where, even in the streets. Once Keziah said she
meant to make some use of it, to pay her for all the
labor it had cost her, and she made some very nice
indigo, that my wife dyed these stockings with; but
it was a good deal of trouble, and she has not tried
to make any more. The natives make a fine blue
with it, and at Monrovia they manufacture it a little. People say a fine living might be made out of
it by those who are willing to take a little pains."
" Does cotton grow here?" asked Ben.
"Yes; there are several kinds of native cotton.
It grows much higher than ours, and is a tree rather than a plant. Junius, who has been traveling
about a great deal in the interior, says that he has
stood under a cotton-tree whose branches were so
heavy with their bolls that they had to be supported by sticks. He says that the cotton was as good
as any he ever saw. The natives manufacture it
for themselves. We have never tried cultivating it
enough to know whether it will be profitable to us
or not. Keziah has one small tree on her place, and
she gets cotton enough from that to knit all the
stockings her family need during the year, and she
has quite a large one."
" There is one thing in its favor here," said Ben;
"there are no frosts to ruin the crop."
"Yes,"' replied Nathan, "'the plants will live and




MR. PE YTO.N'S EXPERIMENTS.          207
yield a good crop for six or seven years, with but little trouble besides what is necessary in picking it."
"I thought this was the rainy season," said Clara; " but the sun has been shining all day."
"' This is what we call'the middle dries.' It is
the pleasantest time of the year, and one of the
most healthy. I am glad you came during this season. We shall not have much more rain now till
September."'
" Is it never any warmer than it is now?" asked
Clara; for the cool breeze that blew so refreshingly
over her face was very unlike the scorching heat
she had expected to find.
" Yes; our warmest weather is in January and
February.  That seemed mighty strange to me
when I first came over here, and I have hardly got
used.:to: it yet.. In January we have a very dry,Spell, and if it were not for the sea-breeze, we should
Bsuffer from the heat. But yet our thermometer has
never risen above ninety degrees, and it is often
nmuch warmer than that in Virginia."
"I see a great many rice fields along here," said
Ben,;:" I suppose you have a plenty of that."
">Yes;;- but the natives raise the most of it. They
take very little trouble with it. They just scratch
the ground and throw the seed in, some time in
April generally, and by August the rice can be harvested. The crops are very abundant, and, though




208             LIBERIA; OR,
the Africans will not work on their farms more than
three or four months in the year, they raise much
more than they need. Many of these little dwellings and farms along this river belong to the natives; and we find we can get our rice from them
cheaper than if we sowed it ourselves. Some of the
farmers are beginning to cultivate it a little."
It was night-one of those beautiful moonlight
nights of the tropics when every thing seems bathed
in a flood of silver light —before the travelers reached Polydore's farm, where they were to remain until they had decided where they would make their
future home.
They had only time to observe that the house, a
low building of one story, but covering quite a large
space of ground, had a pleasant, well-shaded look
of coolness and comfort, when they were surrounded
by so eager a group of welcomers, that they had no
opportunity to notice any thing farther. Sally and
all her children had come over from Nathan's place,
and Polydore's brother had joined them, with his
family, evidently looking upon the new-comers as
old acquaintances. Keziah's adopted children were
also there. One of them was married, and settled
on an adjoining place; the other was still a member
of Keziah's family.
Ben and Clara were too much occupied in asking
and answering questions of personal interest to gain




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          209
many new ideas on the subject of Liberian affairs;
but the next morning Keziah took them over her
farm, and showed them her arrangements with no
little pride. Nathan had warned Ben beforehand
not to think that every place in Liberia was as well
attended to as Keziah's.
" They might be, easily," said he, " for every settler has the same chance; but some folks are lazy,
and won't take the least trouble. They seem to
think they oughtn't to be expected to do any thing
but open their mouths, and the food will drop into
them, ready cooked."
" You know," said Keziah, "that every single
man receives five acres of good land when he comes
here. He can have a town lot, if he prefers it. If
he is married, and has a family, more land is given
to him; but never more than ten acres. If he would
like a larger farm, there is plenty of land to be
bought for a dollar or two an acre. We only have
ten acres, though, and find we can raise a great
deal more than we want from them. Nathan has
more. He has a little coffee plantation that he is
very proud of."
( What is this?" asked Ben.
" That is our sugar-mill. Polydore made it himself. We make all our own sugar and molasses,
and generally have some to sell, though we only
plant one acre in sugar-cane. It grows very high.




210            LIBERIA; OR,
Some people who came from Louisiana say it is
a great deal larger here than they ever saw it
there.
"' Here are a few cotton trees," continued Keziah.
" I suppose, one of these days, we shall raise a great
deal of cotton, for it grows very easily; but we have
hardly tried it fairly yet. And here is my arrowroot. Did you notice the biscuits we had this morning, and the bread and cake that were on the table
last night?"
"Yes," replied Clara; "they were very white
and nice."'" Well, they were all made of arrow-root. You
see, it can be raised without any trouble hardly, and
when it is ripe, we take the roots and pound them,
and throw them into some water, stirring them
about for some time; then we strain the water
into another tub, and let it stand until the arrowroot is settled at the bottom of the vessel, and we
keep on washing and straining it until it is perfectly
pure and white. Then we dry it in the sun, and
it is ready for use. It is so easily made, and so
very wholesome, that we use a great deal of it."
" Do you ever make any to sell?" asked Ben.
"Yes, we sell all we do not want. We have
never planted more than an acre with it, and last
year I made from it fifteen hundred pounds of the
best arrow-root I ever saw. I sold eight hundred




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          211
pounds for fifteen cents a pound, and made one
hundred and twenty dollars.
" This is my orchard," continued Keziah, as they
stood in a little grove of fruit trees. " I am not
going to let you taste much of the fruit now, for
that is the way so many of the emigrants get sick.
Polydore almost died from eating too many bananas
and pine-apples."
The children found the denial a very hard one.
The orange-trees, laden with their golden fruit
hanging just above their reach, was a strong temptation, and Keziah could not resist their entreaties.
There were a number of lemon and lime trees, and
many others which the new-comers had never seen
before.
" That is the guava-tree," said Keziah, pointing
to one about as large as a peach-tree; "and that
other is the mango plum. Those two make the
best preserves I ever tasted. I sent some to Mast'r
Charles, made with my own sugar, and he sent me
back word that they were as nice as any West India preserve. We have a great many other fruits.
Pine-apples giow wild all through the woods. There
are tamarind-trees all about here, and African cherry
and peach trees; and I have two or three cocoa-nut
and bread-fruit trees growing near my house. In
fact, I can't tell you all the kinds of fruits we have,
for I hardly know them myself yet.




212            LIBERIA; OR,
" Here is my vegetable garden," continued she.
"These are plantains; they are very nice when
they are well cooked, and we are never without
them through the whole year. Those are bananas;
here are my Lima beans.   I planted them four
years ago, and there has not been a month since
when I could not gather the greatest abundance of
beans from them. These are sweet potatoes. They
can be raised, like every thing else here, with but
little trouble, and are very fine. We get enough
from this little patch to supply our table nearly the
whole year round."
"And there are some black-eyed peas," said Ben.
"Oh yes, we have plenty of them, and Indian
corn too, though some of our folks think it is not
quite as good as what we had in Virginia; but I
don't see much difference in it."
" What is this tall plant?" asked Ben.
"That is the cassada. The root of it is the part
we use; we generally roast or boil it, and I like it
better than sweet potatoes. The natives almost
live upon it.. You see them walking about every
where with a roasted cassada in one hand and a
bunch of bird-pepper in the other, that they use for
seasoning."
" That must be what I saw the children eating
in New Georgia as we rode through," said Clara.
"Every one we met seemed to have a long potato




MR. PEYTON'S ExIFERIMEN TS.       213
in one hand and something else in the other. What
is bird-pepper?"'
" Some people call it African cayenne," said Keziah. "1 It is a kind of pepper that grows all around
here. You can find quantities of it through the
woods about, and good judges say that it is better
than any kind that is raised in other countries. It
would be worth while, they say, to gather it for
exportation. All that any one would have to do
would be to pick the pods when they are ripe, and
spread them out to dry."
" There seems to be no end to the valuable plants
that are growing wild about Liberia," said Ben.
"Oh, you have not heard half of them yet," said
Keziah; " there are ground-nuts that can be gathered by the barrelful, and very fine ginger growing in the greatest abundance. We raise a great
deal of it, and make two or three hundred dollars a
year by it. But coffee is, I think, what we shall
find the most profitable. You can find coffee-trees
growing wild through the whole of Liberia. At
Bassa many of the woods are full of coffee thickets;
and by transplanting scions from them, and taking
a little trouble with them, we can make quite a
good income in a few years. Nathan planted five
acres in coffee about six years ago, and last year he
made six hundred dollars by them. Our coffee is
said to be as good as that from Mocha."




214            LIBERIA; OR,
I wonder more people don't go into the business," said Ben.
"They are just beginning to understand it," said
Keziah. " Judge Benson, of Bassa, has twenty acres
of coffee. There are seven thousand trees on them,
and from many of these he can get six pounds of
berries a year."
"That does not seem much to get from a tree,"
observed Clara.
" It is a very fair quantity," said Keziah; " they
often do not yield as much as that; though I have one
tree that I gathered twenty pounds from last year."
" How long do they continue to bear?"
"From ten to twenty years; and I will promise
you that, if you will devote three of your ten acres
to coffee, you will be able to support yourselves entirely, clothe yourselves, and put your children to
school with the produce of the seven acres, and be
able to lay by all the money you get from your coffee-trees."
"How much ought that to be?"
"Why, at first it will not be much; but after
they begin to bear well, which will be in six years,
you ought to make at the very least three hundred
dollars a year.
( Besides all these," continued Keziah, " the bean
that castor-oil is made from grows wild here, and
the Croton oil is made from the seeds of one of our




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           215
bushes. We have a great many valuable trees, too,
that a settler might make a good deal of money by
cutting, besides doing the country a good service;
for the more it is cleared the healthier it grows."
" What are the trees?" asked Ben.
"Besides the palm, the most valuable of alland, by-the-way, did you observe our candles lasi
night?"
" Yes, they were quite good."
" They were made of palm-oil.  Well, besides
the palm, there is the Cam wood. That does not
grow much near the coast; the natives generally
cut it, and bring it down here to exchange it for
what they want. It is used for dyeing, and is very
valuable. The gum-elastic-tree, and the trees that
gum Arabic, and the copaiva balsam, and frankincense are obtained from, all grow around here; and
there are many kinds of timber that are useful for
building."
" You seem to have a great deal of poultry," said
Clara.
"Yes, we have more chickens, and ducks, and
geese than we care about, and lately we have begun to raise turkeys. We have a good many sheep
and goats too."
"Have you any cows?"
" Oh yes; but they do not give as much milk as
those in America. We have some small native




216            LIBERIA; OR,
oxen that we use for plowing, and find that they do
very well. The people in the interior bring us down
plenty of beef, so that we seldom take the tro' le
to raise any ourselves. We could easily do it if we
wished. We have plenty of pigs, and all the care
we have to take of them is to keep them from
straying."
"I am almost afraid to walk through this long
grass," said Clara; "for I heard, before I came here,
that Liberia was full of poisonous snakes. Have
you ever seen any?"
" I used to see one occasionally when I first came
up here from Monrovia, but I haven't found one
for a long time; and there never have been half so
many as there were in Virginia. Don't you remember how many rattlesnakes Polydore killed in one
year there? and the copperheads and moccasins we
used to see?"
" But you have a great many insects?" said
Clara.
" Yes, we have, to be sure, and they give us
some trouble; and the woods are full of monkeys,
that do a good deal of mischief sometimes; but the
more settled the country gets, the less we are annoyed by any thing of that kind."
"What pretty bushes these are," said Clara.
" That is my fence," replied Keziah; " you see I
have only a small place, and I wanted to keep it




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          217
as nice as possible; so Polydore found those bushes
in the woods, and we made a hedge all around our
farm with them. It looks very pretty, and, besides,
it never needs any repairs."
" Do you and Polydore keep the farm in order
yourselves?" asked Ben.
" Oh no. I never do any thing but give my
opinion now and then. There are plenty of natives
that are glad to help us, and think a shilling a day
a great deal.9' By the time they had examined Keziah's place
in all its details, the sun was so warm that she
thought it unsafe for them to expose themselves to
its influence longer. After dinner, in which a,
nicely cured ham, and plump turkey, and sweet
potatoes showed their familiar faces amid a variety
of strange vegetables, Keziah left her guests to attend to her school.
This consisted of about a dozen native children,
and a few women whom she had collected, and
was teaching to read and sew. The African girl
whom she had brought up taught them in the
morning, and Keziah usually devoted an hour or
two in the afternoon to them, being regarded by
these ignorant and docile children of the forest as a
wonder in learning and skill.
Late in the afternoon she walked over with Ben
and Clara to Nathan's place. On their way they
K




218            LIBERIA; OR,
passed a farm, where every thing seemed to be
growing in wild luxuriance, certainly, but very
much at its own will and pleasure.
"That belongs to Polydore's brother," said Keziah; " we can't make him believe that it is at all
worth while to take the least trouble to keep things
in order. He thinks if he makes as much as he
and his family want off his place, he does all that
is necessary. But he is very much improved since
he came here. At first he wouldn't work at all,
but said it was the women's place to do all the
planting and raising the vegetables."
They reached at last a substantial farm-house,
standing in the midst of a well-cleared and cultivated plantation of about forty acres, which Keziah informed them, belonged to Nathan. The order
and neatness in which the whole place was kept,
and its flourishing condition, filled Ben with admiration.
"It looks just like him," said he; "I always
knew if Nathan had a fair chance he would be a
rich man."
Keziah informed them that, besides attending to
his farm, he preached every Sunday to the natives,
and had collected from among them quite a large
Sunday-school.
" The Africans are mighty curious to know how
to read," said she; "they think that it is the book




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           219
learning that makes us so much ahead of them in
every thing. One of their kings, Joe Harris, said
that' God made first white man, den black man;
den God held out both his hands-book in one, rice
and palm oil in other. White man choose book,
black man choose rice and palm-oil. Book tell white
man how to get every thing else; black man never
get nothin' but rice and palm-oil.'"
" Have you good schools here?" asked Clara.
" Yes, we have very good schools, and they are all
free. They are supported by.the different churches
and societies in America. There is one at Monrovia
that people say is equal to any common school the
white folks have at home. We have three high
schools, perhaps more, for I remember, when I was
last at Monrovia, they said there were to be two
more established; and we are trying to get up a
college."
In talking with Nathan, Ben asked him if he had
ever wished to go back to America.
"Never for one minute," said Nathan, with energy; " the first moment I stepped my foot on Liberia,
I felt like a different man; and if I had known that
I should have died in the first six months, I would
not have regretted my coming. It is a blessed thing
to be able to bring up a family of children where
they need not be ashamed of their color, and where
their feelings as well as their rights are respected.




220            LIBERIA; OR,
Besides, they have such a good opportunity to make
something of themselves here. I intend this little
fellow," said Nathan, putting his hand on the head
of a bright-looking boy about ten years old, " to
be a senator or a judge, if not a president. He is a
native Liberian, and I mean him to show the world
what stuff they are made of."
You seem to be quite proud of Liberia," said
Ben, smiling.
" To be sure I am," replied Nathan. " When I
think how little while it is since we have been any
thing at all, I am surprised at the improvement we
have made. I do not believe there ever was a nation before that has grown so rapidly. And the
natives look up to us as something wonderful. Soon
after I first came here, one of the kings, Long Peter
they call him, said to Junius,
"'Here am I and my tribe, always afraid lest the
bigger kings get mad, or get poor, or want goods;
then they come pounce on us, steal us, handcuff
us, whip us, sells us slaves over the seas. Now
settlers no such fear.  Here I, my tribe, Devil
King make us drink sassy-water-we die-we
don't want to die-we die-settlers don't drink
sassy-water-I'll be settlers —I'll be.' And he
was almost beside himself with joy when we consented to receive him and his people under our protection."




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          221.
"Don't these natives give you any trouble?"
asked Ben.
"Very seldom.  Last November Cresson, or, as
the natives call it, Fishtown, was attacked for the
second time by Grando, the chief of the tribe of
Fishmen, and afterward they made an attempt on
Bassa Cove; but President Roberts went to the
assistance of the people with some men, and the
natives fled directly. Such things are very uncommon though, and the Africans are generally urged
on by the traders. In this part of the country there
is not the slightest danger, and in fact nowhere but
in the extreme outskirts."
The next day was Sunday, and the new-comers
were taken to a plain but comfortably-thatched
church, where they heard a very good sermon from
a missionary in the morning, and one in the afternoon from a colored clergyman. The Sunday-schools
were well attended by the natives as well as the
Liberians, and among the congregation Nathan
pointed out to Ben several, who, he said, were converted Africans. One of them was a teacher in the
Sunday-school, and also officiated occasionally as a
missionary.
" The Baptist mission among the Bassa tribe has
been for two or three years conducted by a native
African and four native assistants, who were all
educated in Liberia," said Nathan.




222            LIBERIA; OR,
One morning, a few days after Ben's arrival, he
was awakened by the firing of a cannon, and numerous guns and pistols, at short intervals. He had
been dreaming of America, and sprang up in great
haste, thinking that it was the Fourth of July. He
soon recollected himself, and said with a smile to
Polydore, whom he found out enjoying the cool
morning breeze,
"What does that noise mean? I thought, when
I first woke up, that it was Independence day."
" So it is," said Polydore; "it's our Independence
day. The twenty-sixth of July is the day we keep
here. I was in Monrovia last year at this time,
and we had a procession there, and an oration, and
some very good music too. I wish we could have
taken you there to spend the. day; but we was
afraid you might be made sick."
" I do not feel very well this morning," said Ben;
6 my head aches, and I have a little fever."
I s'pose you is going to have the'climating
fever; people generally has it when they fust come
over; but it won't last long if you keep your spirits
up-not more than a week or two. Keziah is a
fust-rate doctor; she has nussed I don't know how
many people through it, and knows jest what. to
do."
"But is there no regular doctor about here?"
asked Ben.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          223
C Oh yes; we has a white doctor and a colored
one. I don't know which is the best, for I's thankful to say I never needs one; but some folks likes
one best, and some the other."
Ben's illness lasted only four or five days. At
first it was rather severe, and he was somewhat
alarmed; but Keziah, knowing by experience that
the most effectual cure in such cases was to prevent
the patient from desponding, and to keep his mind
as calm as possible, assured him that he was in no
real danger.
"Just think you are going to get well," said she,' and you will sure. I never knew it fail. But
give up, and expect to die, and I don't know nothing that will do you any good. I know'zackly how
this fever works, and I tell you if you only keep up
good courage, you will be well in a week."
Thus encouraged, and with every thing around
him calculated to cheer and animate him, Ben soon
threw off his temporary illness. Clara was even
more fortunate than he; for, being naturally of a
more tranquil temperament, she was less affected
by the change of climate than he had been. Their
children also suffered very little; and within a
month after their landing, Ben and Clara acknowledged with thankfulness that they had never felt
better in their lives.
" People don't always get off clear with one fit




224             LIBERIA; OR,
of sickness," said Keziah; " sometimes they have
several attacks in the first few months. But, if you
take proper care of yourselves, you won't be likely
to be sick again. People that's imprudent must
suffer for it."
Ben selected his ten acres as near Polydore's and
Nathan's as he could. A little cottage was put up
for him for fifty dollars, that was amply large enough
for his family.
" The first house I had built," said Nathan, " cost
only twenty-five dollars, and it lasted me five years.
I thought it was mighty nice then; but we get
proud after we have lived in Liberia a little while.
Don't you notice the difference, Ben, between the
colored people here and in Virginia. I can tell a
man that's been raised in Liberia from an American as soon as I see him."
" How?" asked Ben.
"Why, they seem more like men.    You know
Ben, you never felt like a man in America."
"No," said Ben, with some reluctance; " I used
to try mighty hard, but I never could feel like any
thing but a nigger."'" Well, here you forget all about your color in a
little while, and every body else that comes here,
white or black, seems to do so too.  See if it isn't
so."
Ben did notice, and by his observations he re



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           225
ceived the same impressions so clearly stated by
the Rev. Mr. Gurley, in his report concerning Liberia to the Senate of the United States, where he
says:
" From personal observation, I may speak with
confidence of the mighty effects wrought upon the
intellect, hopes, and purposes of the authorities and
people of Liberia, by the freedom which has ever
been theirs upon that shore, and by the high position which they have now taken of national independence. Some of the most distinguished men in
the republic are among those who went thither in
childhood, have received their entire education in
its schools; and bear in their manners, their whole
deportment, and upon their very aspect, the signs
of a just self-respect, of subdued passions, of virtuous resolution, and of a mature and well-disciplined judgment."
The opinion of Dr. Durbin, well known as one of
the most prominent divines of the Methodist Episcopal Church, also founded on facts coming under
his own knowledge, should not be without its effect.
In an address to the House of Representatives in
the capital of Pennsylvania, he observed:
"I am a native of, and was reared in a slave
state. I have seen the colored man under all conditions in this country, from the rice plantations in
Georgia and South Carolina, to the cold regions of
K 2




226            LIBERIA; OR,
Maine and Canada. I know his position and capabilities in America; I know he never can obtain
freedom and equality before the law of the Legislature, and still more imperious law of society; he
can not obtain such freedom and equality as his
heart naturally and justly yearns after. The differences between his race and ours are such, that
political and social equality is impracticable. What
changes, moral, political, and physical, agents acting through centuries to come may work out tending to assimilate the white and colored races, no
man can foresee. We are called on to act under
the present conditions of the case; and to act for
the good of the colored man, and for the honor,
safety, and peace of our country.  I say, then,
knowing as I do the positions and capabilities of
the colored man in America, he can not attain to
the functions and enjoyments of a man among us.
He is not, and can not be free in the proper sense
of the word; the pressure that keeps him down is
irresistible; he can not rise to a manly hope or ambition; he can not develop his powers here, and
show what he could do if circumstances were favorable. If by industry and good fortune he make
money, and rear a family of sons and daughters in
a respectable manner, where will he find suitable
alliances for them? I need not pursue this subject.
I have talked with such, and found them faint and




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS. 227
discouraged with the prospects before their children.
" But transport these people to Africa, with our
religion, our civilization, though in a low degree,
and our political institutions, and experience has
shown that there they become men, and show themselves to be men. After large opportunities, and
long and patient observation, I am persuaded that
nowhere else but in Africa is the African a man.
I have reason to know that there he is a man.
Shortly after I went to New York, to take charge
of the missionary affairs of our whole Church, I received large dispatches from our African mission.
Among them were the minutes of our mission conference in Liberia, composed wholly of some twenty
colored men; also the annual report of the superintendent of the mission; together with reports on education, on Church property, and the extension of
the mission, and on various subjects. Upon opening the papers, I was struck with the clear, bold
hand in which they were generally written; and,
uponjreading a portion of the annual report and
minutes, I was astonished at the perspicuous arrangement of the matter, and the clear and forcible
language in which it was expressed. I turned to the
clerk, who had been accustomed to see dispatches
from Africa, and asked him if colored men wrote
these papers. He smiled, and replied there is no




228            LIBERIA; OR,
white person in the colony, except one lone woman,
Mrs. Wilkins, a martyr to the education of the children of the colonists. The position, the circumstances of the African colonist in Liberia make him
a man and give him action. Transplant him there,
and he becomes a man, and takes place among men.
His descendants, in a few generations, may stand
forward grandly in the affairs of this world."
Bel experienced in his own spirit the invigorating effects of the moral atmosphere of Liberia. His
ambition once more aroused, and his energy called
into exercise by objects worthy of it, he soon laid
aside the habits of indolence into which he had fallen during the latter part of his life in Philadelphia,
and set himself so vigorously to work clearing and
cultivating his farm, that eight months after he
landed at Monrovia, he sent word to Mr. Peyton,
through Junius, that "he was living of his own,
enjoying vegetables of his own raising, and that he
and his family had never been in better health or
spirits, and that he was already beginning to feel
proud of being called a Liberian."
And well might he cherish the title. But thirty
years had passed since the colonists first landed, a
little band of weak men on the coast, and but four
since they became a nation, and already their influence was felt by nearly a million of people. Wherever their power extended, the slave-trade died away;




MR.. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.         229
abolished by their firm, though gentle control more
surely and effectually than by all the armaments of
England or America. More than six hundred miles
of a coast once dotted by barracoons, and given up
to that abominable traffic, were now freed from its
accursed influence.
The independence of Liberia had been acknowledged by Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Prussia. Its reputation and commerce was rapidly increasing, and its influence over the natives was astonishing. Though there were not, in 1852, eight
thousand emigrants in Liberia and the Maryland
colony together, yet they had nearly two hundred
thousand Africans living in their republic and submitting to their laws. More than three times as
many had given up the slave-trade as the first step
toward becoming their allies. And without being
reproached as an enthusiast, the calmest mind
might regard it as a moral certainty that the time
would come when all Central Africa would look to
Liberia for protection, for instruction, and for laws,
as well as for Christianity.




230             LIBERIA; OR,
CHAPTER. IX.
AFRICA.
The voice of my departed Lord,
" Go teach all nations," from the Eastern world,
Comes on the night air, and awakes my ear,
And I will go.
ANON.
THE fifth article of the fifteenth section of the
Constitution of Liberia has the following provision:
1" The improvement of the native tribes, and their
advancement in the arts of agriculture and husbandry, being a cherished object of this government,
it shall be the duty of the president to appoint in
each county some discreet person, whose duty it
shall be to make regular and periodical tours through
the country, for the purpose of calling the attention
of the natives to these wholesome branches of industry, and of instructing them in the same; and
the Legislature shall, as soon as can conveniently
be done, make provision for these purposes by the
appropriation of money."
Although the Liberians have not yet been able
in their short existence to carry out this purpose to




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           231
any extent, yet, through Mr. Peyton's liberality,
Junius had, almost from his landing at Sherbro,
been at liberty to devote himself to this cause.
While the other emigrants waited at Fourra Bay
until a home could be found for them, he, unfettered by any ties, resolved to comply with Mr.
Peyton's wish, and act as a missionary among the
heathen tribes around him. Freely he had received,
and freely he was willing to give.
He found the people sunk in the deepest ignorance and superstition. They, indeed, acknowledged a God as the creator of the world, but worshiped
the devil as the ruler of human affairs; and their
mode of worship, their actions and feelings, were
such as the spirit of evil rnight be supposed to have
inspired. At the entrance of almost every village
which he visited, Junius found a pole set up, with
a rag or a few fibres of the bark of some tree dyed
black fluttering at the top. This the people considered sacred, and called their gree-gree pole; and
the mysterious motions of the gree-gree, as it waved
in the wind, was supposed to prevent the entrance
of the devil or conciliate his favor.
Besides this general gree-gree or charm, each
house and individual had their private gree-grees
or fetiches, which they regarded as endowed with
intelligence, and possessing power to do them evil
or good, according to their deserts. By means of




232            LIBERIA; OR,
these, they thought that their priests were made
acquainted with the most secret thoughts and intentions of their owner. The gods to which this
benighted people attribute this power, and to which
they pay awful reverence, are pieces of yams, broken pots, feathers of fowls, horns of animals, broken
bows and arrows, knives and spears. To these they
erect altars, and place before them dishes of rice,
maize, and fruit. Those who can afford it, sacrifice
weekly to them a cock or sheep.
In the centre of some dense forest, a portion is
selected, and called the gree-gree, or devil-bush.
Into this no woman or boy is allowed to intrude,
under heavy penalties; but once a month the headmen meet there, and sacrifice to the power of evil
a goat or some other animal; and the control of
the oracles that proceed from the devil-bush is
absolute over the ignorant African.
The belief in witchcraft was and is universal,
where the spirit of Christianity has not shed its
blessed light.  This gives the priests immense
power over the inhabitants.
Dark and magical rites, incantations, and barbarous customs are continually practiced, accompanied by all the terrors that the dread of a malignant being and the fear of unknown evil can invest
them. Upon the death of any one, excepting infants
and aged persons, the cry of witchcraft is imme



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           233
diately raised, and the friends invariably institute
an investigation to discover who "made witch" for
the deceased.
The power of determining the question rests with
the priests, and is one of the chief sources of their
influence over the people.  They have several
ordeals, to which all who are objects of suspicion
are forced to submit. Sometimes they are obliged
to grasp heated iron, or to plunge their hands into
boiling oil; if innocent, it is alleged that they suffer no pain; if they are burned, they are punished
as guilty. The most common and severest test is
the ordeal of sassy-wood. This is regarded as infallible. The suspected person is forced to drink a
strong decoction of the bark of the sassy-tree. This
is sometimes soon thrown off the stomach, when
the individual is regarded as innocent; but this
seldom happens, and when it does not, the sufferer
is invariably condemned to death. At one time
Junius arrived at a village a few miles from the
coast just after the death of the headman.  A
secret investigation was going on to discover the
witch. Anxious to see the result, he remained.
For a long time the search was fruitless. At length
a gree-gree man, by continued incantations and
daring diabolical communications, succeeded, and.
the hapless murderer was brought to light. He
protested his innocence in vain. The result of the




234             LIBERIA; OR,
ordeal was unfavorable, and he was condemned to
die. Junius exerted all his influence against the
sentence; but in vain.  He remained with the
tribe two weeks, and during that time three persons fell victims to this practice.  The other two
were women, who were accused of causing the
death of a man who died from a wound he had
received in battle.
This ordeal is so powerful an engine of state
policy, that the kings are unwilling to abandon it.
It is the right arm of an African monarch. By
keeping on terms with the gree-gree men, they can
rid themselves at any time of a dangerous or aspiring subject. And the priests can so arrange these
tests as to make them produce any result they wish.
By weakening or strengthening the decoction of
sassy-wood, they can make it innocent or fatal, as
interest or inclination may lead. If the trial is to
be made by heated oil or iron, they can, by previous
application of some preparation to the part to be
operated upon, enable it to resist the effect of heat,
and the accused escapes uninjured. Thus this system puts the life of the whole community in the
hands of the priests, who, of course, would use every
effort to perpetuate a custom so favorable to their
power. But wherever the power of Liberia extends,
whether over the native tribes who have become
their fellow-citizens, or over those who are only their




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          235
allies, these mock trials have been abolished. If
that had been all that this settlement had effected
for our common humanity, it would be enough to
repay those who established it for all their efforts.
Junius also found slavery prevailing among all
the tribes he visited.  And the condition of the
slaves was indescribably worse than any thing that
he had ever seen, or heard, or imagined before.
By far the greater number of the people were in a
state of the most abject servitude to masters, who,
without the slightest compunction, would inflict on
them the severest punishment, and would even kill
and eat them, or throw them alive on the funeral
pile at pleasure.
He had heard a great deal of the power of the
King of Dahomey, a country lying in the interior of
Africa, nearly two hundred miles from Liberia, and
he resolved to venture upon a visit to that place.
On his way there, he narrowly escaped twice from
the hands of the slave-hunters. Once he was obliged
to conceal himself in the forest for several days, and
at last crept out to take refuge in a large village
that he had passed through a few days before.
He found it dismantled and in ruins. A few old
people sat in despairing apathy amid the desolation,
and the wail of some neglected infant arose occasionally on the air. Junius asked the cause of the
change, so great and sudden, and learned that the




236             LIBBERIA; OR,
slave-hunters, had made a sudden descent on the
village the night before, and left not a single strong
man, or woman, or child in it. A few years after,
he passed over the same spot, and it was so overgrown with rank grass and bushes, that he could
hardly realize that it had not long before been the
abiding-place of so many people, happy and contented in their few wants, and the abundant provision nature had made for them. Nor was this a
single instance, but as years rolled on, many other
similar cases came under his observation.
As he went farther into the interior, he found a
great improvement in the c6untry as well as the
people.  The land gradually became higher and
more hilly. There were no burning sands or unwholesome swamps as along the coast, but an undulating surface of hill and valley, covered with
trees larger and loftier than any that he had ever
seen before. Beautiful streams of cool and pure
water crossed his path at short intervals; and the
soil was evidently of exceeding fertility.
But though rich in all natural resources, the large
country through which Junius had to pass was very
thinly peopled, owing to the devastating wars and
slave hunts of which for more than a century it
had been the theatre. The region lying near Dahomey was subject to the inroads of this terrible
people, whose king derived all his revenue from the
sale of his slaves.




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.          237
At last he reached Dahomey, and found his way
to its capital unharmed. Taking his stand under
a palm-tree that grew near the houses, he began to
tell the idle throng that soon gathered around him
some of the more important truths revealed in the
Bible. They discovered that he was from Liberia,
of which place they had heard wonderful accounts.
Without heeding the precepts he was enforcing,
they began to ask him all kinds of questions, some
idle and childish, and others showing a great degree
of acuteness. At last rumors of an American having come to his dominions, reached the ears of King
Gezo, who commanded him to be brought to his
presence. A troop of Amazons, the king's female
guard, and his bravest and most trustworthy soldiers, were drawn up to receive the stranger, and
impress him with a feeling of awe. All around the
king's residence the ground was paved with human
skulls, and Junius was obliged to push them away
as he walked if he did not wish to stumble over
them.
He found the king, a commanding, intellectuallooking man, proud, stern, and haughty, simply
dressed,. and sitting amid his wives and ministers.
He asked Junius many pertinent and comprehensive questions about the objects and state of the
settlement at Liberia. Junius answered them satisfactorily, and went on to tell him about many of




238            LIBERIA; OR,
the strange things to be seen in America, aboutf
the condition of the civilized portion of the world,
and their wonderful inventions.
While they were conversing, word was brought
that a town, that had long held out against the
Dahomans, was at last reduced to submission.
"That would please my father," said King Gezo;
" I must let him know it. Send a slave here."
A slave entered calmly. The king gave him the
message to be delivered to his father, and when he
had finished, at a nod his prime minister arose, and,
taking a rude ax, in one moment the slave's head
rolled in the dust.
"I have forgotten something," said the king;
" send me another."
Another entered, and, the message being finished,
the same scene occurred.
Junius looked on in horror.
Why is this?" asked he.
" My father is in the land of spirits," said the
king;'" is there any other way to communicate
with him?"
Junius had heretofore used all his eloquence to
excite a feeling against the slave-trade; but now
he thought that even to live a slave would be preferable to so uncertain a tenure upon existence as the
subjects of King Gezo possessed. He suggested to
that monarch the pecuniary advantage he might




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           239
dcrive from selling those whom he sacrificed so
wantonly. The king proudly answered,
" I have killed many thousands without thinking
of the siave-market, and shall kill many thousands
more. Some heads I place at my door, others I
throw into the market-place, that people may stumble over them. This gives a grandeur to my customs; this makes my enemies fear me; and this
pleases my ancestors, to whom I send them."
Junius found it impossible to convince him of the
enormity of this practice, or to induce him to set
the least value upon the life or comfort of a slave;
but he listened to him with a degree of forbearance
and respect that could only be accounted for by his
clear perception of the superiority of the civilized
man over the savage, and he seemed to desire the
friendship of the Americans, as he called the Liberians, rather than their enmity.
The missionary did not remain long there, for he
saw that the time had not yet come when the Gospel might be proclaimed with any prospect of success in that bloody land. He went where he could
employ himself more usefully than in gratifying the
idle curiosity of the vacant-minded savages, who
crowded around him daily to question him.
There were many kings who received Junius
with great kindness, and listened to him with the
utmost respect. One of them went so far as to wish




240             LIBERIA; OR,
that " his son had been a slave in America, that he
might have learnt'Merican fash."  He asked Junius to take two of his children to Monrovia, that
they might learn what they could there, saying, that
he wished them to be wiser than their father.
As the principles and character of the settlers of
Liberia became better known, a missionary from
among them was welcomed with increasing warmth,
till at last their eagerness for teachers, or men with
the " book," as they called it, became so great that
it was almost painful.
A few months before Ben's arrival in Liberia,
Junius had been on one of his usual tours through
the interior, visiting, as far as he could, every native
village within twenty miles of Liberia. He found
that a great change had taken place among the people since he first journeyed through their towns.
The desolating wars that each petty tribe had felt
obliged to keep up with their neighbors in self-defense had ceased. The quiet of a universal peace
prevailed throughout that once-troubled land. Never had they been so willing to listen to God's messengel,, or so anxious to learn His will. In whatever place he stopped, he had only to say, "I wish
to talk God palaver to you," and in a few minutes
a crowd would be assembled to listen to what he
had to say. Neither was it necessary to use flattering words, nor to speak with respect of their su



MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           241
perstitious observances. With the utmost boldness
he was accustomed to denounce their ordeals, their
gree-grees, and their fetiches, as delusions of the
devil, and to tell them that to God alone they must
look for salvation; and kings as well as people
would listen in meek submission to the words of
one, who swept away as curbering rubbish the
whole system of worship on which they had been
accustomed to rely for temporal and eternal safety.
They seldom argued against or opposed his teachings, but would say, " We never prayed to God; we
don't know how to come to him. How must we
seek God? What must we do to find him?  How
can we forsake our sins?" And not withheld by
the pride that often prevents the civilized man from
openly acknowledging his dependence on his Maker,
when the missionary revealed to them the only way
of approach to Him, they might often be seen the
same hour kneeling, king and people together, imploring the mercy of God.
Of course there were difficulties to be overcome
and privations to be endured on these journeys.
After toiling all day over hills and through the
thick undergrowth, Junius was often obliged to
throw himself upon the bare earth at night, without
food, and sleep with no protection but a fire from
the leopards and other wild animals that infested
the forest. But he forgot all his sufferings when
L




242            LIBERIA; OR,
he entered one of their villages, and met the warm
reception of the people, and saw how anxious they
were to hear and learn the truth. Often they pressed him with such urgent entreaties to remain, that
it was with difficulty he could force himself away
from them. There was hardly a town through
which he passed where a teacher might not have
found full employment —and what employment
yields so rich a harvest as this of teaching the inquiring heathen?-but there were no laborers ready
for the work. The Macedonian cry, uttered with
an earnestness that almost amounted to agony, was
heard on all sides; but there were few who seemed
willing to emulate the self-devotion of St. Paul.
Junius had a favorite project to which he had directed his thoughts and exertions during this last
tour. It was to select some spot that would be eligible for the location of an inland colony. He found
it easy to do this. After traveling a few miles from
the low lands lying along the coast, the country
became at once beautiful and healthy. No longer
level and marshy, but hilly and undulating, with
clear streams flowing through it, and shaded by
dense forests, there was no malaria to dread or guard
against.
The great difficulty was not to find a suitable
place for a settlement, but to obtain settlers who
would be fitted for their work. If he could but see




MR. PEYTON'S EXPERIMENTS.           243
established in these dark places of the earth a
Christian colony, "with their houses, barns, and
mills, wagons, roads, fences, farms, and waving
fields," with their schools, their churches, and the
influence of their regular and Christian life, he felt
that one great step would be taken toward the conversion of the whole surrounding country.
Pent up within their coasts as the Africans are,
with no large gulfs or rivers, as in Europe and
America, giving free access from the ocean to their
farthest centre, almost the only way of reaching the
inland tribes to do them any permanent good, is by
planting Christian colonies among them, from which
an influence may radiate that will transform the
whole continent.
Much has been done for Africa in the last thirty
years. The first step, in all enterprises the most
difficult, has been taken and proved successful.
Liberia has outlived the doubts of the weak-hearted, the sneers of the disbelieving, the open opposition of its foes, and is now a great and triumphant
reality. But much yet remains to be done. The
promise so assuredly given, that "Ethiopia shall
stretch out her hands unto God," is on the verge
of fulfillment. Let not the heavy blame of delaying
that blessed event one day or hour rest on the head
of those to whom Providence has intrusted so many
of its exiled and homeless children.








APPENDIX.








APPENDIX.
WE have subjoined in this Appendix documents for the most
part written by colored persons from and about Liberia, showing
the estimation in which that country is held by those who have
the best opportunity of judging concerning it. Only a few letters
are inserted, not for any want of materials, for enough could be
obtained to fill a volume, but because the main object was to
show that the statements in the preceding work have not been
exaggerated. Most of the writers are well-known inhabitants
of Liberia, whose names are sufficient guarantees for the fidelity
of their assertions.
The American Colonization Society, commenced amid distressing discouragements, now occupies a commanding position, having branches or co-operating societies in nearly every state and
territory in the Union. A few years will see the national government engaged in this great work of colonizing the free colored
people in Liberia.
BEVERLY R. WILSON.
Mr. Wilson is an emigrant from Norfolk, Virginia. He was a
freeman, and exercised the office of a clergyman, while he supported himself by his trade as a carpenter. In 1837, he went to
Liberia for the purpose of examining the colony. On his return,
he made an Address to the Free People of Color in the United, States. In it he says:
"After more than a year's residence in Liberia, I have returned
to the United States. I went to satisfy myself; I sought every
opportunity of informing my mind. Some of the things already




248                  APPENDIX.
said about the colony are a fair and candid expos6 of things as
they exist; other persons are too favorable in their estimates;
while a third class, with hearts bleeding for the loss of friends,
or angry at the loss of property, have wielded their pens to bring
the whole scheme into disrepute. I hope to correct these statements. The facilities held out by Liberia are rarely equaled.
Industry and economy meet with a sure reward. For proof, look
at a Williams, a Roberts, a Barbour, and others, who, a few years
ago, possessed limited means, but who now can live like the
wealthy merchants of Virginia.
" The morals of Liberia I regard as superior. A drunkard is a
rare spectacle. To the praise of Liberia be it spoken, I did not
hear, during my residence in it, a solitary oath uttered by a settler. The Sabbath is rigidly observed and respected.
"If the colored man desires liberty, Liberia holds out great
and distinguished inducements. Here you can never be free."
To prove by his actions as well as his words his high appreciation of the advantages enjoyed by his race in Liberia, Mr. Wilson soon sought a permanent home there. After his arrival, he
writes:
" I am more in favor of the colony of Liberia than when I left
it on my return home. No, there is no place like this for the
colored race to be found in their reach, where they can enjoy
the same privileges as here. To fly to the North or South is all
folly; to go to Canada or Hayti is nonsense; for in either there
are obstacles as high as mountains. Here is our home."
In 1840, during the contest with Gatumba, which terminated
so fatally for him, Mr. Wilson's eldest son was killed while bearing a flag of truce to the savage tribe. But this, instead of disheartening, seems rather to have strengthened his love for his
adopted land. In a letter written shortly after this event, he
says:
"Since I have been in Africa, up to the first of December last,
I can truly say I have enjoyed almost uninterrupted pleasure;
but 0, since that time, I have had sorrow. My eldest son was
sent by the governor to a hostile native prince with the terms




APPENDIX                       249
of peace; and this fellow would have nothing to do with the
embassadors, but drove them from his town, and they were followed by a merciless mob; and my son, with Mr. Peale, a very
worthy man, was slain on the second day of December last. I
would give you a detail of the whole affair, but it will be seen in
the'Luminary.' This has caused much grief, but I hope the
Lord will give us grace. Pray for us.
"Here, at White Plains, we are doing well. We have been
greatly blessed in our own labors. Our native boys and girls make
rapid improvement. They read and write.'Many of them promise great usefulness, and to be future blessings to their generation, for many of them have already embraced the religion of
Jesus Christ. We have a considerable farm under cultivation,
and we intend to connect a sugar plantation and a saw-mill to
this institution. Our work-shops are doing well. We are making
wheels, bedsteads, tables, and other articles, such as are useful in
the colony. The native boys are remarkably ingenious. Indeed,
sir, there is a glorious reformation going on in this vicinity; and
as we believe the present wars are very near at an end, we must
look forward to a more glorious day. But I must say that a great
deal depends upon the advancement of the colony; for we plainly
see, as she grows and strengthens, in the same proportion do the
heathen superstitions yield to her influence, and thus the way is
open for the Gospel. This we have sufficiently proved. Our
first object was to extend our labors as far as possible into the
interior, even beyond the general influence of the colony; but
we soon found that our labor was lost. Then we changed our
labors to the natives under the- influence of the colony, and we
find that every thing goes on well. My opinion is, that the only
thing now wanting is men and means, and the barren land will
soon become a fruitful field."
The colony in which Mr. Wilson's heart was so bound up
became, in the course of a few years, a nation; and he, with ten
others, was chosen to draw up the Declaration of Independence
and Constitution. Both documents are such as would do honor
to any class of men in any country.
L2




250                 APPENDIX.
AARON P. DAVIS.
The Rev. Aaron P. Davis was born a slave in Virginia. In
1834, when he was about forty years old, he, with one hundred
and nine others, was emancipated by the will of Dr. Aylett Hawes.
On the twenty-fourth of October of the same year he sailed with
his freed fellow-servants for Liberia, under the auspices of the
Colonization Society. Soon after his arrival at Liberia, he turned
his attention to the improvement of his mind. He taught himself to read and write.:His business as a blacksmith demanded
all his time during the day, but he devoted his evening hours
to study, and his progress was rapid and remarkable. He is now
independent and comfortable in his worldly circumstances, and
the successful pastor of the largest Baptist church in Liberia.
Letters from Rev. A. P. Davis
Bassa Cove, October 11, 1849.
A brief statement of things passing under my observation, at
the request of Rev. R. R. Gurley.
I came to Africa in the year 1834, in December, had a very severe attack of fever, lost a wife and child. Before I recovered
from the fever, in 1835, the 10th of June, the massacre occurred,
but I sustained no bodily hurt. The main part of the survivors
removed to Monrovia. I remained at Edina. In 1835, November
29, the principal part of them returned to the Cove, and I with
them, and the expedition from Savannah joined us. In January,
1836, Governor Buchanan arrived with supplies, and gave employment to all who would work, and encouraged the hearts, and
strengthened the hands of every one possessing the spirit and independence of a man. In that year I drew the lot on which I
now reside, and built a blacksmith's shop, and followed that business, principally, from 1836 to 1847, when I accepted an appointment as a missionary, in the service of the Southern Baptist
Board. I was in low circumstances when I came to the colony,
but by industry and economy purchased my tools, built all necessary houses, supplied them with furniture, and paid all debts




APPENDIX.                      251
in less than six years, after making such improvements as made
us both comfortable and independent, by laying out town lots,
planting fruit trees, &c., cultivating farms, &c. I then accepted
an appointment as a missionary, which was not until about the
time last written. My time as a missionary is employed in various ways. 1. In the dry seasons, I preach through an interpreter in as many of the adjoining native towns as possible. My
circuit embraces eight native towns. The women and children
sit on a mat of hides of animals, flat on the ground. I have preached to large and attentive congregations. I think the preaching
of the Gospel among them has not been without effect, though not
many among the vast number make any profession of religion.
All inquire after the day (Sabbath), and many observe it. All
seem to be ashamed of their superstitious trust in gree-grees,
while others have entirely renounced them. Their views as to
a future state are like those of the heathen of other lands. They
believe that a man dies and passes into a snake, fish, a monkey,
or leopard. They also believe that a person, while living, can
transform himself into a bird or animal, &c.
2 I supply destitute churches with the Word of Life, and perform other needful services.
3. In the rainy season I teach a day-school at Bassa Cove. I
was present at the organization of the first Baptist Church in the
county of Grand Bassa, and took part in the services. I was
pastor of the first Baptist Church in the county of Grand Bassa.
I assisted Governor Buchanan to organize the first Sabbath-school
in Bassa Cove, on the spot where he now silently sleeps under those
large trees. The first Bible-class in Bassa Cove was taught by
Governor Buchanan in my house. I still have the honor to be
pastor of that Church at Bassa Cove. I have not less than 75
members of the congregation, a prosperous Sabbath-school, at
least 25 Congoes and other natives besides.
Bassa Cove, October 4, 1851.
VERY DEAR SIR,-Your favor of July 18th came safe to hand;
also the file of the " Colonization Herald," and the religious news



252                 APPENDIX.
papers, by Judge Benson's hand. I sincerely thank you for all.
I am happy, indeed, that the coffee I sent as a token of my good
wishes for you, and the good cause, reached you, and found acceptance. I hope soon to be able to send some for your market,
but at present it brings us a better price on the coast; however,
you did not say what price might be relied upon. I also received
the letter and books from Dr. Malcom, and can say that they will
prove a blessing to my Sabbath-school, particularly the class on
whose account I wrote for them. In it are many men and women
of families, some native youths.' His books prove to be the very
thing. I introduced them last Sabbath, to take up the morning
lesson only; read Testaments in the evening. Our new settlement (Cresson) is going ahead; I still think it destined to be the
greatest sea-port town on the coast.
More natives are to be seen in our town than ever before known.
Confidence being fully established, they now acknowledge our
power as a government. As a proof of this, the fishermen, who
considered themselves so formidable a few months ago, were indicted for giving some of their fellows sassy wood, by which they
put each on the trial for matters of great importance, and not unfrequently put each other to death that way. It has a stupefying
effect, and operates differently on persons differently constituted.
It possesses medical properties, rendering one insensible to pain,
on others causing violent vomiting. Some of the fishermen were
arraigned, and punished for committing offenses against the peace
and dignity of the laws of the republic. Thus I trust light after
light will shine, and influence after influence spread, till the vast
tribes of Africa be raised to the level of men and women. Education is to do this, to take away their present views and give
them better. I rejoice to say, I have lived to see that which I
once thought could not be accomplished-the settlement of Fishtown and Grando; the great annoyance to our settlements is now
as harmless as a lamb. Why  Because a spirit of bravery, under God, went against him.
Yours truly,        A. P. DAVIS.




APPENDIX.                      253
ZION HARRIS.
The hero of Hedington is an emigrant from Tennessee. He
is a carpenter by trade, and at the time of the attack upon Hedington he was engaged there in building a church and schoolhouse for the Mission. The reader will remember that by his
presence of mind and courage the enemy were driven back, under
circumstances of such great disparity of numbers, that his success seemed miraculous to the simple-minded natives. Some
came from great distances to see him, begging for his "greegree " or charm, and exclaiming "'Merica man's God is God for
true."
He is as famous for his skill in hunting as for his bravery in
battle. During one year Mr. Harris supplied the Liberia market
with more than two hundred dollars' worth of venison, the product of his own rifle; and his promise of taking a boa constrictor
is no idle boast.
A few years ago he visited the United States, in fulfillment of
a promise made to his father-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Erskine, on
his death-bed, to assist his remaining children and grand-children to emigrate to Liberia. He returned with thirteen of Mr.
Erskine's descendants.
Letter from Zion Harris.
Caldwell, May 26, 1851.
REV. R. R. GURLEY:
DEAR SIR,-I write to inform you that we are all well, hoping
you and family are the same. I never will forget you for the
great good in telling me and my father about the land of Liberia.
I have got a good home. I would not change it for any under
heaven   I have tried it twenty-one years. I have borne the
heat and burden of the day, and it gets better and better. I was
eighteen years old when I came here. I have grown to be a
man; in America I never could have been a man-never would
get large enough. Would my colored brethren believe this? They
keep writing to me to tell them all about the'country. Let me




254                 APPENDIX.
tell them a little: Liberia has raised up her bowed-down head,
and has taken a stand with some of the greatest nations of the
earth. She has struck off the stone that bowed us down in America. I have grown so large that I have had the honor and the
pleasure of being a member of the Legislature five or six years.
Did you ever hear of such a thing in America.  No, no-nor
never will. I was in America a few years ago; it was all the
time, boy, where are you going! old man, which way. I was
really tired; I wanted to be a man again; but never found it until I hit the coast of Africa. I even saw the change in the captain; he talked so familiar to you: " What is the matter, Harris 1
Harris is going to be a man again." Sweet Liberia! the love of
liberty keeps me here.
All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home-the
bush is cleared away-you can hear no one say there is nothing
to eat here. Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than
two hundred cattle from the interior this year; another a hundred; some sixty, some fifty, &c. There are no hogs there, they
say; no turkeys; why, I saw fifty or sixty in the street at Millsburg the other day. No horses; I have got four in my stable
now. I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have
been offered a hundred dollars for here; if you had him, he would
bring five hundred. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman
send me a buggy or a single gig; you shall see how myself and
wife will take pleasure, going from town to town; throw the harness in too-any gentleman that feels like it-white or colored,
and I will try to send him a boa constrictor to take his comfort. I know how to take the gentleman without any danger.
My oxen, I was working them yesterday; and as for goats and
sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to eat, every man
that will half work. I give you this; you are all writing to me
to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the news-I mean
my colored friends.
Yours truly,          ZION HARRIS.




APPENDIX.                      255
REV. MR. WILLIAMS.
The subjoined letter from Rev. Mr. Williams will show how he
estimates Liberia. Mr. Williams went out in the packet in July,
and therefore had been but a short time in Liberia when he wrote.
He went from Columbia, Pennsylvania, and is also well known
and respected in this city and Baltimore.
Bassa Cove, Liberia, October 5, 1851.
DEAR SIR,-I write you a few lines by the packet, to let you
know that I have not forgotten the kindness I received from you
and the Colonization Society in preparing me for this land of liberty. I never shall forget the heartfelt thankfulness due to the 
society for helping me and my family here. We had one of the
finest passages any one could have. Plenty to eat; a good captain, and one that was kind to all in sickness and health. All
hands were good to us. I have not wanted to return once since
I left the United States. I was twelve days at Monrovia. It is
a fine town; the people are kind, and doing well. I think this is
a much better place for new beginners. I had the African fever;
myself and wife both took it on the same day. We had it about
fourteen days. The doctor says we are over it, though we are
weak; but it is not so bad as I expected. Mr. Benson is preparing a house at Cresson for me. It is a fine location for a town
-the best one I have seen. I shall be the first one there. I
look for more by the September vessel. I shall feel lonely for
some time until more arrive.
There is, and can be plenty of every thing raised here. The
climate is fine and the land productive. Sweet potatoes of the
finest quality, and as good as produced in New Jersey; rice, sugar, coffee. I will send you some as soon as I can get about. I
wish you would come out in the packet; you need not fear the
fever. I want you to see the finest country you ever saw. Cows,
sheep, goats, chickens, and hogs are plenty. I helped to kill a
hog since I came here, and saw it salted and smoked nearly as
good as in Pennsylvania. It is cool here. I can and do wear




256                  APPENDIX.
two cloth coats. I have not felt a warm day since I left Baltimore. I think all the colored people that can take care of themselves in America had better come here, for this is the place where
they will do well. All they need is a small start; and, above all,
he is a freeman from the highest to the lowest. If I were seventy years of age, and knew as much as I now know, I would
come to Liberia and be a man, and no longer a nigger. I shall
write more when I see more; I only write what I see and feel
I am truly yours,     LEONARD A. WILLIAMS.
JASPER BOUSH.
Jasper Boush is one of the company who went from Norfolk,
Virginia, to Liberia, in July, 1850. And as he was extensively
known to be an honest, upright Christian-one of the most intelligent of his class - industrious, economical, and prosperous;
standing high in the regards and confidence of the free colored
people, he was selected as a fit person to inquire of concerning
certain evil reports that have been industriously circulated, viz.,
that the emigrants from this country can enjoy no health in Liberia; that the soil is sterile, refusing a support to the industrious;
that the laws are oppressive, and the government badly administered; and that the few who yet remain are a miserable set of
wretches, always sick and sighing to get back again.
His letter is a matter-of-fact refutation of those false and injurious rumors.
Clay-Ashland, Liberia, May 10, 1852.
Truly I am better and better pleased with Liberia each morning when I awake and find myself in it. I could not be prevailed
on by any earthly consideration to leave Liberia, or exchange it
for any other country. Here I am in the land of my forefathers;
here I can enjoy all those rights which a benevolent God hath so
liberally vouchsafed to man; here I can exercise and improve
my gifts and graces in enlightening, instructing, and exhorting
the benighted sons of the forest in the truths of the Christian re



APPENDIX.                      257
ligion; here I can bow down in the sanctuary of the Most High,
or at home, and unmolestedly worship the God of my fathers under my own vine and fig-tree, while none dareth to molest or
make me afraid, here my children to their latest generation can
enjoy the privileges of freemen in storing their minds with education and useful knowledge, and participating in the duties, &c.,
of civil government; and here I have as many political, social,
and religious rights as any man any where beneath Heaven's widespread canopy. And should not these considerations endear this
my own country to me? I say, from the bottom of my soul, with
gratitude to my good God for what I enjoy-yes.
In addition to these blessings of situation, I am thrice blessed
in the blessings of condition. I live in my own house, on my
own farm of eighty acres, and eat every day of my life provisions
and breadstuffs of my own raising. I have now growing, as my
1852 crop, a large quantity ofcassadas and potatoes, several acres
of sugar-cane, several acres of rice, and several also of ginger.
I have now to be transported from my nursery several thousand
coffee scions, nearly one hundred cocoa scions (not cocoa-nut,
mind you, but the chocolate), and about the same quantity of
mango plums. My present crop, when it matures, will be worth
about $600 or $700. My sugar crop alone will be worth over
$200. I will have about one hundred and fifty croos of rice,
which is worth from 75 cents to $1 per croo.
I shall labor to benefit mutually myself and my country. I intend to be well represented in the commerce of Liberia, which is
now increasing, and commanding the respect of the commercial
world. I am convinced fully that agriculture is to be the great
dependence of Liberia; that will furnish an extensive commerce,
produce manufactories, and in every way benefit the country. In
America the free colored man can never be " a man." I believe
it true that the free colored women are the great hinderance to
the full tide of emigration which would have, and, indeed, ought
to have poured long since into Liberia. Let them alone, however, if they. do not come now, they will come soon; if they are so
stupidly blind that they can not have an intelligent sight at their




258                  APPENDIX.
own and only interests, I am sure the inevitable force of circumstances by which they are surrounded, the organization of the social elements, both as to the circle in which they move and that
in which the whites belong, and the genius of legislation, will
soon, very soon convince them of their situation and condition.
Sir, the free colored people can not go any where else but to
Liberia, and they are beginning now to know that. They must
come, and would to God that they would do it, not compulsively,
but willingly and cordially, like rational beings.
I and my family are well; we enjoy as good health here as in
America. I eat my allowance every day, setting down at each
meal with a good appetite, made so by my industry, and rising satisfied. I tell you that the enjoyment of one's self in Liberia, by
him or them who appreciate Liberia, is much like religion-it can
well be felt, but illy expressed. Please oblige me by representing this letter, and my special exhortation to brothers Lemuel
Bell, John Williams and families, and all my acquaintances, to
come at once-come now to Liberia,, without unnecessary delay.
Believe me truly to be yours in Christian love,
JASPER BOUSH.
The following letter was written by an intelligent and respectable colored man, who left the city of New York for Liberia in
October, 1851. It was addressed to a colored friend of his in the
city:
Monrovia, Wednesday, April 7, 1852.
With respect to this country, my expectations are more than
realized. I have found that the opinion I formed of Liberia while
in America was very nearly correct. This country is certainly
a most beautiful one, and the climate delightful. I have often
thought, since my arrival here, how the better class of colored
people, or at least a portion of them, would flock to Liberia if
they knew the real condition of the country and people. I always thought that it was their ignorance of the country that
caused their opposition to it, but now I am-convinced of that fact.




APPENDIX.                      259
With regard to the United States having claims on Liberia, I
would ask if England, France, Prussia, and Brazil would acknowledge her independence if the United States had any rights
to or claim on the country? England has made this government
a present of an armed schooner, and has a consul residing here.
Brazil has also a minister residing here, but of a higher grade
than consul; he is charge d'affaires. The facts are, I think, sufficieit to convince any reasonable person that Liberia is really
an independent republic, *nd that the United States has no claim
to this country. There is a kind of blind prejudice which keeps
most colored people from coming to this country, and for the life
of me it is difficult to conceive why this prejudice exists; for in
the United States we are exposed to all kinds of insults from the
whites, which, in nearly every case, we dare not resent; whereas,
in this country we are all equal, and can enjoy the shade of our
own vine and fig-tree, without even the fear of molestation. In
the United States we are considered the lowest of the low, for the
most contemptible white man is better in the eyes of the law, and
in the opinion of the majority of the whites, than the best colored
man; whereas, on the other hand, in this country there are no distinctions of color; no man's complexion is ever mentioned as a
reproach to him; and furthermore, every one has an equal chance
and right of filling any office in the government that they may be
qualified to fill. Liberia ought to be the most interesting country (to the colored people of the United States) in the world, from
the fact that it is the only republic entirely composed of and governed by the colored people, and it is the only country where a
colored man can enjoy liberty, equality, and fraternity, without
having to encounter the prejudice of the whites, which exists
more or less, in some degree, in every country in which the
whites predominate. If this prejudice ever dies away, I believe
that many generations yet unborn will have passed away before
it. Although this country offers many inducements to colored
people, yet it is not a paradise; it has a few unpleasant features,
owing principally to its being a new country. The most unpleasant feature that I know is the acclimating fever, and that is far




260                 APPENDIX
from being as bad as most people in the United States think it is.
On account of the improvements made, such as clearing, &c., it
is much more healthy here than formerly; and also, the kind of
treatment best adapted to the acclimating fever is better known.
The acclimating fever is nothing more than a simple chill and
fever, and persons are affected with it according to the degree of
care they take of themselves, and also much depends on the constitution of the person. Some persons have told me that they
were sick only one day, and that sligAly; while others (I speak
of old settlers) had it one week. and some have had it from six
months to a year or more. A person is seldom sick more than
from one day to three weeks at one time. I have been in the country a little more than three months, and have had several attacks
of the fever. The longest time I was confined to bed was one
day and a half. The symptoms in my case were a slight chill,
followed by a very high fever. I felt no pain whatever during
the continuance of the fever, but always after it I would have a
slight pain in the back, which soon wore off. I would sometimes
be sick in the morning and well in the afternoon. I once had the
fever in the forenoon, and was well enough by night to attend a
tea party. I am told that all children born here, even the natives
not excepted, have the fever while very young. This I have
been told by mothers, and I have seen children with the fever
who were born here. The general health of the place seems to be
very good. A person coming here will not find large cities with
splendid buildings, and large bustling populations; but we have
only small villages with corresponding populations; you will not
hear the sound of numerous carts, drays, &c., but all the carrying is done by native laborers, for the people have not yet begun
to use horses and oxen for such purposes. Both may be had
from the interior. Bullocks are brought down from the interior,
but only to kill. There are at present only three horses in Monrovia; they are used only for riding. I have ridden several times
myself. The buildings are generally quite plain, built of wood,
stone, or brick. There are, however, some very neat brick buildings in Monrovia, and along the banks of the St. Paul's River. I




APPENDIX.                      261
made an excursion up this river a few weeks ago, and never did
I enjoy a trip more than I did this one. The waters of the St.
Paul's are delicious to the taste. The river is about half a mile
wide; its banks are from about ten to about fifteen feet high, and
lined with fine large trees with a thick undergrowth. Among the
other trees may be seen the bamboo, and that most graceful of
all trees, the palm. This is the most useful tree in Liberia. I
have drank the wine made from this tree, and have swung on
hammocks manufactured from it, and I have seen very good fishing-lines made from it; besides, numerous other uses are made
of this tree. There are four villages on this river: Virginia, Caldwell, Kentucky, and Millsburgh. I saw in many places people
making bricks, and busily engaged on their farms of coffee, sugar-cane, &c. I must now come to a close, as I have but little
more space to write. I will remark that I advise no man to come
here unless he has a little money to begin with. A single man
should have at least one or two hundred dollars; although many
come here without a cent, and yet do well; but it is generally
difficult to get a start in this country without a little means. For
my own part, you may infer from what I have said that I like
my new home.
ABRAHAM BLACKLEDGE.
We learn that the writer of the following letter, addressed to
the Rev. Mr. Pinney, has been appointed consul to Liberia by the
British government, in place of Hanson, removed. Mr. Blackledge seems to be a sensible man, and will, no doubt, prove an
efficient officer and a valuable citizen to his adopted country:
Upper Caldwell, Liberia, May 8,1852.
DEAR SIR,-I embrace this opportunity to address you a line. I
am still doing what I can to demonstrate that Liberia is a rich and
productive country. My crops of cane in 1850 produced 8000 lbs.
of good sugar, and 500 gallons of sirup. My crop last year (1851)




262                  APPENDIX.
was not so large-only about 3500 lbs. of sugar, and 250 gallons
of sirup. This falling off was in consequence of having to neglect my sugar-cane farm to give attention to J. R. Straw's cotton farm. I sell my sugar at 8 and 10 cents a pounds, which is
quite a saving to the people of Liberia, This year I am giving
my whole attention to cane-raising, and I have a crop now in the
ground which will produce a much larger quantity of sugar and
sirup, and beat, possibly, both my preceding crops together. A
few days ago, I, with one or two others, noticed, in many hills of
cane on my farm, from forty-nine to sixty stalks. This can not
easily be surpassed, I am persuaded, in any country. I am certainly fully convinced that by industry a man may have all the
necessaries of life, and a surfeit of the luxuries, in this very prolific and God-blessed country. I have the privilege, doubtless, of
saying what no other person can say in Liberia-certainly before
any other could say it, if there is any other who can say it now
-that is, I use at my table coffee, sugar, irup, and molasses of
my own raising. I have now about twenty-five hundred coffeetrees, which will very soon enable me to export a small quantity
to America.
In connection with my sugar-raising, I would just say, that I
have to regret that I have not a proper sugar-mill. In consequence of our very poor facilities, in both materials and manufacturing mills (being compelled to do with wooden fixtures entirely), not more than two thirds of the juice can be expressed from
the cane; hence, had I an iron mill from the United States, I,
and others who make sugar, could, by even less labor than we
now perform in grinding, have at least one third more of sugar,
&c., from the same quantity of cane, than we now get. This,
you perceive, is a clear loss. You see, therefore, we need some
help, both in means and advice, to the development of our enterprise and industry.
These remarks are not confined to sugar-growing, but are in
every way applicable to the subject of agriculture in general in
this country. I have been here now between nine and ten years,
and am able to say something respecting Liberia's resources and




APPENDIX.                      263
the means necessary to their development. By the aid of capital
(and where are we to expect it from rather than from the United
States?), arrow-root, ginger, cocoa, coffee, sugar, and other products of superior quality can be successfully raised here in large
quantities, and exported to the United States, so as to create a
competition in the market. Who, then, is sufficiently enterprising among your acquaintances to embark in so noble a scheme,
that of developing in Liberia her agricultural resources?
The want of means, together with the holding out no inducement whatever for industrial enterprise, are what have kept me
so long in the background. Let us, therefore, have the means, have
the tin, and let a door be thrown open in your country to invite
Liberia's productions especially; let an interest be thus awakened
there in our behalf, and an impetus will be given to Liberia, which
will force her forward in advance of the age. Be you sure, sir,
that agriculture is the dependence, and will become the future
glory and greatness of our youthful country. I speak here for
myself; others are capable of speaking for themselves. I believe,
sir, that all the farmers in Liberia need help in the way I have
alluded to.
I am, most respectfully, sir, yours, &c.,
ABRAHAM BLACKLEDGE.
JOHN MUSU NEAPO.
We could not give a more touching evidence of the blessings
conferred on heathen Africa, through the instrumentality of Christian education, than in the subjoined letter of Musu. It is but a
few years since this consistent Christian was an ignorant Pagan.
After acquiring a partial knowledge of the English language, he
was admitted into the missionary school of Cape Palmas. This
letter is a fine specimen of the happy change he has experienced
-his walk and conversation being in beautiful conformity with
his Christian profession, and rendering him a most useful auxiliary to the devoted men whose lives are dedicated to the regeneration of that dark Continent.




264                 APPENDIX.
All spiritual blessings be on my dear friend-whatever the
tender heart or the almighty arm of the loving Jesus has to bestow, may it be all yours! What glad news you wrote to me
about Mrs. -. Did you see her? Yes, glad and joy speak to
my heart, and laugh come to my mouth. I believe that you have
seen her; you told me that you saw her, and that she wants
very much to return to Africa as a missionary. I have got a letter from her, and my believing and wishes are one, my gladness
and happiness follow after. Oh my happiness is very great; and
a good, happy Christian, who is fixed to a point, go where he will,
one object is his all. The crucified Savior is his happiness; and
this heaven he carries about with him. No time, no place, no
circumstances, make any change. He has one Lord, one faith,
the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Come pain, sickness,
death, the Savior's love and power bears him up. Come temptations of all kinds, I will be with thee in the hour of temptation,
says Lord God. Where he is, nothing need be feared, because
nothing can hurt. Oh, my dear friend, the true knowledge of
Jesus Christ is certainly a cure for all the miseries which come
upon the world by sin. There is no evil of mind or body, temporal or eternal, but our precious, dear Lord is by office engaged
to remove. And shall not you, and I, and our friends value and
love him? What we set our hearts upon, what can bid so high
for them as this adorable Savior 1
Dear Mr. Rambo, I wish very much to see you. How glad and
happy I should be when I meet you, and Doctor May, and Mr.
Hoffman; and then-then my heart will talk to my mouth, and
my tongue will speak all what I have done or seen.
I am your affectionate friend,
JOHN MusU NEAPO.
JACOB VONBRUM.
The writer of the following letter is a native of Grand Bassa.
One of the Swiss missionaries (the Rev. Mr. Sessing), who were
invited to Liberia by Mr. Ashmun, took him, when a child, under




APPENDIX.                      265
his charge, and subsequently he pursued his studies in the schools
of Sierra Leone. He is employed by the Northern Baptist Board,
and has a very good reputation as a Christian and teacher.
Bexley, July 5, 1850.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,-In the following lines, which I have
taken on myself to address you, I hope to find you in the enjoyment of good health, the same as we are at present. Our mission still continues, with its different operations, in which we are
severally engaged, endeavoring daily to instruct the poor, benighted heathen. Not long ago we received a letter of instruction from
our Board, that the lead of the mission affairs is now considered
to be under the superintendence of my native brother and cousin,
Lewis K. Crocker, at Little Bassa, and myself; which serious
charge to keep we humbly depend on God to help us. Our schools
are still kept daily, this, and that of Little Bassa, where brother
Crocker resides. Our children are improving well in their acquisitions of the different branches of knowledge, such as spelling
hard words, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, natural philosophy, &c. I am glad to state that the grown people of this
country, though they have not the privilege of improving themselves by daily instruction, like the children, yet many of them
are getting civilized, getting acquainted with the law, political
economy, and secular improvement; forgetting their old habits,
and adopting those of their civilized fellow-creatures.
I am, dear sir, respectfully yours,  JACOB VONBRUM.
ABRAHAM CAULDWELL.
Mr. Abraham Cauldwell was sent out to Liberia by an association of colored persons in New York, to examine the country
and prepare the way for emigrants to go there.
New York, November 24, 1852.
BRETHREN AND FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN,-YOU are aware that I
was appointed traveling agent to Africa on the 23d of last DeM




266                  APPENDIX.
cember, 1851, by the New York and Liberia Agricultural Association. I returned to New York on the 12th November, 1852,
and it now becomes my duty to give you some account of Africa,
and of the benefits to be obtained by emigration to that country,
and whether there are any benefits to be obtained by so doing, or
not. I will endeavor to give you as true a statement as my
humble ability will admit. In truth and soberness, it would be
needless for me to tell you that Africa flows with milk and honey,
or that corn grows without planting. Liberia truly is a gardenspot; her lands are beautiful, her soil is most fertile, her prairies
and her forests are blooming and gay, her rivers and streams
abound with fish, and her forests with game. Her Constitution
is a republican government, and a most excellent code of laws
are strictly observed. There are several churches and schools
in Monrovia, and they are well filled with people and scholars.
The Monrovians are the most strictly moral, if not the most
strictly religious people, I ever saw.
I shall now speak of emigration, which I have some knowledge
of. In 1823 I emigrated to Hayti, and in 1839-I emigrated to the
island of Trinidad, West Indies, and lastly to Africa, where I
find a peaceful home, where storms of prejudice never come on
account of my complexion. I have been noticing for several
years the movements of the Abolition Society, and once thought
they were right, and still believe they are sincere and really desire to elevate the colored man. Some of them have shown it
too plainly for me to be mistaken. For instance, Mr. Gerritt
Smith, who gave away part of his fortune. Many others have
also sacrificed their good names and their money. But, alas!
how many good men have been deceived. I, for one, have been
blind to my best interest. I hesitate not to say that colonization
is the only thing to elevate the colored man. It is vain for many
of us to talk of settling on Mr. Smith's land, or of emigrating to
Canada and settling on land without money, which, comparatively
speaking, few have. Africa holds forth inducements whereby
the colored man may be elevated, without money and without
price. There are many noble-hearted philanthropists, who stand




APPENDIX.                       267
ready, with willing hearts and open purses, to aid in the cause,
if called upon. Awake, brethren, to your best interests!.... The government grants ten acres to each family, and if
they want more they can get it for about 50 cents per acre........ Liberia calls for you. Emancipated slaves are not the
men to enlighten a heathen nation, for they are not enlightened
themselves. Liberia calls for men of understanding, energy, and
capital. Come, brethren, let us leave our beloved country; there
is an asylum for you in Africa. You can there raise every thing
to make you happy. There is a wide field open for the farmer.
If a man plants ten acres of coffee, in four or five years he will
realize a handsome income. Coffee requires very little labor,
and it would be of more value than what you could make in America in twenty years by labor. Every thing grows abundantly,
with very little labor. It is a fine country for cotton, corn, and
rice, though cotton is not much planted as yet..... You can
salt down beef, pork, and fish. I would, in particular, recommend
farmers to emigrate to that country. Monrovia is decidedly the
best market, in my opinion. If you go there to labor by the day,
month, or year, you will not make much, for laborers' wages are
very low.
I would advise emigrants to take as much house furniture as
they need-for every thing they want here they want there-besides a little money, if they can. Mechanics may find work,
though wages are low. Men of capital, as mechanics, can do
well, and are much wanted. Young men of energy, now is your
time. Freemen of the North, Africa calls for you. There you
can enjoy the luxuries of life and the freedom God intended for
man. To all those who may feel friendly to the cause of emigration to Liberia, and wish to aid the same by giving, I say that
donations will be thankfully received and forwarded to Liberia
by the Association.                ABRAHAM CAULDWELL.
The following letters were for the most part sent to the "Secretary of the Colonization Society, Rev. J. Morris Pease:




268                  a APPENDIX.
From WTillianm H. Taylor.
Edina, June 6,1852.
DEAR SIR,-I am well, and hope you are the same. I arrived
safe after a passage of thirty-seven days from the Capes. I am
happy to inform you that instead of being received in Baltimore
in chains, as I was told I would be, I was received very hospitably. I am certainly grateful to the society for sending me to
Africa. I am perfectly satisfied-with the change, only that I had
not started in 1842 instead of 1852. Here I stand erect and free,
upon the soil of my ancestors, and can truly say to all of my race,
you that would be free, Africa is your home, and the only home
where he that is tinctured with African blood can enjoy liberty.
This alone of him that loves liberty, for it is liberty alone that
makes life dear. He does not live at all who lives to fear. Please
say to any that may come to your office, that I say, come to Africa and assist us in raising a light that may never go out. Enterprise is what we want to make this country and people equal
with any on the face of the globe. Should any of the people of
Camden county; New Jersey, come to you for information, show
them this letter-tell them that I say there is land enough and
provision enough, by industry, for every enterprising colored man
in the United States. I find in Edina a fine soil, that will raise
any thing that a tropical country will produce. A fine, healthylooking people, that are kind and benevolent-who receive the
emigrants with the greatest kindness, and welcome them to the
land of liberty.
Should Charles S. Miller or Benjamin Griffin come to your office, please encourage them all you can, and show them this letter, and tell them to come over and help to fight the battles of
the Lord against the mighty. I stop writing to eat my palm-nuts,
which are very delicious when roasted; the stone of the nut
tastes just like the cocoa-nut. I add no more at present, but'when I see more I will add more. I remain,
Yours respectfully,       WM. H. TAYLOR.




APPENDIX.                      269
From D. A. Madison.
Buchalian, July 2,1852.
MOST RESPECTED SIR,-Liberia is destined to be the glory, the
home, and the resting-place for all the dark race. Then let them
come home, and rove abroad no longer, and that the chains of all
who will or could come and will not may be made tenfold faster,
because here they can come and be free. I mean my brethren
of color. There has been no disturbance with the republic by
the natives.
I believe the American Colonization Society is doing more now
to alleviate the condition of the colored race than ever; for I do
not know when I have seen as good-looking a set of people as
came out in the Ralph Cross and by the Morgan Dix.
I sent you a small box of coffee of my own raising, which I
hope you may have got before this time. Our Sunday-school is
doing tolerably well, and wishes to be remembered to you, and
their friends in America.
Excuse my blunders. I think I said to you before that I have
not had a day's schooling in my life.
Yours in truth,        D. A. MADISON.
From Charles Deputie.
Mr. Deputie was born free-a native of Pennsylvania.
Monrovia, January 10,1853.
DEAR FRIEND,-Through a kind Providence we landed here on
the 6th instant, in forty days from Baltimore. All well. I went
ashore and met for the first time in my life on the same platform
with all men, and the finest people in the world. I never met
with more kindness in my life, and every attention is paid to visitors. On Sabbath day there were seven flags flying in the harbor. I attended the Methodist Sabbath-school, and found it interesting; was invited to address it, and made some remarks.
There were seventy-five scholars in the school. I have been up
the St. Paul's River. It is the finest country in the world. Mr.
Blackledge's sugar farm is splendid. Dined with Mr. Russel,




270                 APPENDIX
Senator of New Virginia, and think his land somewhat better
than some of the rest. The river is sixty feet deep. Every
thing is getting along well, and all that is wanted are industrious
men and good mechanics. I would say to my friends, that every
thing that I have seen surpasses my expectations. Should I be
spared to return, you shall see some articles that I intend bringing with me. I wish you would try to make some arrangement
with the society to let me off with a free passage home, as I
want to labor for the cause, and my means will be far run by the
time I get to Philadelphia. Brother Williams intends doing all
he can for the cause. We intend to go into the coffee business.
Our object is to get five hundred acres of land in one plot, and
have it settled by none but respectable people from Pennsylvania;
and I think that if you could send some from Philadelphia it
would have a good effect.
Respectfully yours, in the cause of liberty,
CHARLES DEPUTIE.
P.S.-The immigrants by the bark Linda Stewart are all well,
and almost all have settled at Millsburgh.
From Henry M. West.
A native of Philadelphia-born free.
Buchanan, January 17,1853.
DEAR SIR,-I avail myself of the present opportunity to address
you a line or two, hoping they may find you as well as they leave
me. I had laid off to write to you before this, but I have not
done so; however, I hope you will take the will for the deed. I
have now been a resident of Liberia for upward of two years, and
I think I can now safely express my opinion as regards the advantages to be gained by locating here. Unquestionably this is
the place, and these are the shores which are to contain the multitudes which have for ages been laboring under the greatest disadvantages, and who have been allured into the belief that they
will not be placed under the inconvenience of removing; but the
time has come which proves to a demonstration, more and more,
that this is a forlorn hope. Doubtless there are many who a few




APPENDIX.                      271
years ago spurned the thought of leaving, who now turn their
eyes in solicitude to various parts for relief, but there is no quarter which presents equal attractions with that presented by Liberia, and they know it; and although they may be men of penetration, who foresee that something must be done, and these may
be men of influence, who will exert this influence in a contrary
direction, yet I believe the masses will speak for themselves, and
such a mighty flood will be poured upon these shores as has not
been witnessed since the world began. I have not written any
on this subject, but I watched with increasing interest the "' signs
of the times," as exhibited in the United States, and I am convinced that my impressions are not erroneous. There are many
false representations made to deter persons who are anywise inclined to emigrate to this country, but I feel confident that those
who use this means to oppose us had better begin to think of
some other method, for they will ultimately be exposed in the
midst of their base attempts. Truth will eventually triumph over
falsehood.
All that Liberia was ever represented to me to be I have found
it, with the exception of a few base misrepresentations, to avoid
which I spoke to but few of my intentions. I am here, and I am
right glad of it. " The flesh-pots of Egypt" present no attractions
to me. But to be deprived of my present privileges and advantages would be to me a sore calamity. But I have said more
than I intended, and I fear lest I should tire your patience. But
when I consider that so many of my brethren suffer themselves
to be deprived of rights and privileges which they are constantly
attempting in vain to gain; and when I know from experimental
knowledge that it needs no such crouching, that the very things
they want are within their reach, if they would only make the
effort; and when I see that they will obstinately refuse a blessing, in hopes of obtaining what I consider a curse, I can not refrain from speaking. But I am thankful that I discern a ray of
light through the heavy darkness-that men, laying aside old
prejudices, are beginning to examine the subject in a different
light-and hope the day is not far distant when my brethren will




272                 APPENDIX.
cease to contend against their own interests, and when Liberia
will have as many friends as now she has opponents.
Pardon me for my lengthy remarks. For the last twelve
months we have been blessed with tranquillity, a few rumors of
war, but no outbreak. I hope to hear from you shortly. No more
at present, but I remain
Yours respectfully,       H. M. WEST.
P.S.-You will doubtless remember me as being one of that
company that sailed from New York by the bark Edgar, October
2, 1850. I was originally from Philadelphia, Pa.  H. M. W.
From John D. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson for some years kept a shaving and hair-dressing
saloon, and also a refreshment saloon, in the Equestrian Institute
of Williamsburgh, N. Y. He was well known and esteemed by
the community.
Monrovia, January 23, 1853.
MESSRS. BENNETT & SMITH:
GENTLEMEN,-I promised to let you hear from me when in Liberia, Africa, but although I have been here two months, I can
not at this time give you much account of the place. This little
republic is so far ahead of what I expected to find it, that your
good people of the United States would scarcely think I were
narrating truth were I to describe all that I have seen. Liberia
is a fine, fertile country. Things of every kind grow here. The
people are more comfortable in every respect, and enjoy themselves much better than I have ever known them to do elsewhere.
The houses are very large, and are built mostly of brick and
stone; they are two stories and two stories and a half high;
from 30 to 50 feet front, and from 25 to 40 feet deep. The steps
to these houses, are composed of iron ore-a substance on which
the city is built. Iron ore is as plentiful in Monrovia as common
stone is in Williamsburgh.
Most of those who farm it are located on the banks of the St.
Paul's River, about five miles from the city, and some are doing
well. Allen Hooper, of New York, has been here a little over




APPENDIX.                      273
two years. He had but small means to commence with, but now
has one of the best coffee plantations on the river. He has seven
thousand trees growing, two thousand of which are loaded with
coffee; and he is of opinion that next year all will bear. Next I
will mention A. Blackledge, who is making about twelve thousand
pounds of sugar a year, and some hundreds of gallons of molasses and sirup-all of which will favorably compare with the best
imported articles of the kind.
Sweet potatoes, Lima beans, Indian corn, cassada, plantains,
and other table vegetables are raised up this river, which is 25
or 30 miles long. A fine town is situated at the source of this
stream; it is called Millsburgh, and contains a population of 800
or 1000 persons-the most of whom employ themselves in making brick and in hewing timber of all kinds for market.
I have not ability to describe the advantages to be reaped in
this country, nor have I the time. My business is so much better
than it ever was before, that I am constantly occupied in attending to it.
One word as to the fever. My children have all had it; so
have all the emigrants who came out with us, except my wife,
myself, and two others. None of them kept their beds more than
two or three days. The fever is not as bad as it is represented
to be. I have seen persons who have lived here for from two to
twenty years, and who never had it at all.
This is a great country for men and women who love liberty,
and who love themselves, for money can be made here.
Please to give my thanks to the gentlemen in your city whose
philanthropy was the cause of my success. I trust you will. publish this letter for the information of those who may wish to know
something of this country. My next letter shall be longer, and
will contain much more information respecting this colony of
Liberia-a day-star of hope for the colored race.
JOHN D. JOHNSON.
From Stephen A. Benson.
Mr. Benson was taken to Liberia when a child.
M 2




274                 APPENDIX.
Buchanan, February 1, 1853.
VERY DEAR SIR,-Fishtown was reoccupied on the 11th of October, and the settlement is progressing rapidly-far in advance of
what it was before the massacre. The immigrants by the Zeno,
Morgan Dix, Liberia Packet, and Ralph Cross, enjoy much better
health down there than they did up at this place, and even the old
settlers movingthere have derived much benefit. It has already
commenced attracting settlers from other settlements in this
county, and I am sanguine that in one or two years it will be in
advance of the other settlements of this county. Physicians
pronounce it a good place for emigrants to pass through their
acclimation, and I know it to be an excellent place for them to
to do well after acclimation. Sharp, Till, and Taylor, by the
Ralph Cross, from New Jersey, are doing pretty well for beginners. They seem to be fine, industrious people, especially the
two former. They occupy three of the houses I built on the
banks of the St. John's River, opposite Factory Island, by direction of your Board, and their produce is growing around them
finely. They would have settled at Fishtown had it been occupied sooner.
It affords me much pleasure to communicate, as it no doubt does
you to hear, that our saw-mill has been in successful operation
nearly three months. It is certainly a great acquisition to Liberia in general, and to this county in particular. The aborigines
in our vicinity find abundant employment in cutting logs (timber),
and floating them in rafts down to the mill. I assure you they
are not idle in this respect; they seem to take an interest in the
matter in common with Liberians (proper).
Though gradually, yet how certainly is civilization spreading
over this Continent. Please say to the worthy gentlemen constituting your Board, that the pecuniary aid tendered the company
(loan) in 1851 may be classed among the most prudent and beneficial acts in the annals of colonization.
I had the pleasure of being handed your letter of introduction,
to and by Captain Lynch, United States Navy. I accompanied him
up to Bexley on the 8th instant, and found it quite a treat to spend




APPENDIX.                      275
a day in his very agreeable and enlightened company. I am preparing some specimens of coffee from my farm, which he has kindly promised and offered to exhibit at the World's Fair, next June,
in New York. I must close by subscribing myself, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,        STEPHEN A. BENSON.
From Thomas Mason.
Mr. Mason was born free, in Pennsylvania-went to Liberia a
year or two ago.
Cape Palmas, February 3, 1853.
MY DEAR SIR,-In your letter you expressed a desire to know
my first impressions of Liberia and Liberian society. On my arrival at Monrovia, Mr. James very kindly invited us to spend the
day at his house, which invitation we accepted. While on shore,
I became acquainted with quite a number of intelligent ladies
and gentlemen. The society at Monrovia I think similar to that
of Philadelphia, while that at Bassa Cove and Edina I think less
favorably of. I am now living at Mount Vaughan, about two
and a half miles from Cape Palmas, at which place I am employed as an assistant teacher in the high school belonging to the
Protestant Episcopal Mission, for which I receive three hundred
dollars. The society at Palmas, when we compare the number,
is equal to that of Monrovia in point of intelligence. This colony
is in quite a flourishing condition. There are in Palmas seven
yoke of oxen, well broken, and work quite steadily. We get the
bullocks from the natives, at eight dollars a piece. I have drawn
my farm land, and planted five hundred coffee-trees, twelve
pounds of ginger, and a thousand cassada sticks, besides arrowroot, pea-nuts, and fruit trees. We have an abundance of fresh
vegetables, egg-plants, tomatoes, and fine large cabbage. Plenty
of venison, fresh fish, and oysters. We are on the eve of declaring our independence. The spirit with which the people take
hold of the subject would do credit to 1776. There will be a
Convention held next week, to prepare a Constitution for our
new state.
Yours most respectfully           THOMAS MASON.




276                  APPENDIX.
From Samuel H. G. Sharp.
Born free, in Camden, N. J.
Grand Bassa, February, 1853.
DEAR SIR,-I received your letter in answer to mine, and was
very glad to hear from you; also to receive those papers you
sent me. My health and that of my family is tolerable. At
present we are perfectly satisfied, and glad we came here. The
society did a good part by us. I have a house and ten acres of
good lnd; all but three acres in cultivation. I do not find it so
warm here as I had been told or as I expected. I have tried
both seasons. Tell the colored people they need not be afraid to
come, but they must be industrious, or they had better stay where
they are. I would not change homes now if they would give
me five hundred dollars and free toleration. Every man can
vote. I visited the courts, where I saw colored men judges,
grand and petit jurymen, squires, constables, &c. Business is
carried on as correctly as in the United States.
I remain yours truly,        SAMUEL H. G. SHARP.
From Henry B. Steuart.
Mr. Steuart is from the South-born a slave-was freed, and
went to Liberia about four years ago.
Greenville, Liberia, February, 1853.
DEAR SIR,-You wish that I would give some statement of
things in general, and in particular of the growth of cotton, rice,
&c. Our answer is this: this is emphatically a tropical region,
as all geographers will tell you. You have only to put your seed
into the ground, and with half the labor you have to perform in
the states you here may make a comfortable living. Cotton
and rice grow here as well as in your Southern States. It is
true, a fair trial was never made for the culture of that valuable
staple (cotton), enough to prove that it can be raised in great
quantity. Rice is indigenous to this country: it will grow almost any where you may plant it, on high or low land. We have
coffee, potatoes, ginger, arrow-root, and pepper. There has not




APPfENDIX.                     277
been much pains taken with the planting of corn; enough has
been done, however, to satisfy one that it can be made, for I have
eaten as much as I wanted in proof of it.
As respects coffee and other products, for a recent comer and
a young man, I need only refer to Mr. Joseph Bacon, one among
many others who bid fair to become independent farmers, to say
nothing of those who are living at ease on their farms. Come
and see for yourselves. Born and raised for the first part of my
life among the very best farmers of Liberty county, Georgia, I
know that these things can be raised in great quantities.
You wish to know what is my occupation. I answer, a little
of any and every thing, from a house carpenter to a boat-maker.
I have not yet seen the day that I have regretted my coming to
this country. All my objects have been realized, while I have
contributed my humble aid in laying the foundation of a civil and
religious government.
From J. M. Richardson.
Monrovia, February 13,1853.
To THE N. Y. EMIGRATION AND AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION:
GENTLEMEN,-Since I have been here I have done very well,
better than I expected. I have bought five hundred dollars worth
of goods and paid for them. I have bought ten bullocks. I have
on hand one hundred bushels of rice. I paid in trade aboutforty
cents. If I keep which I shall do three months longer, I can get
$1 50 per bushel for it. I also have on hand six tons of camwood. I want to increase it to ten tons by next month, and shall
ship it to England by the steamer on the 7th, and remit the money
to New York by a bill of exchange, so as to have more funds here
in the vessel which I understood will sail from New York with
our emigrants in the spring. I had only eight hundred dollars
worth of goods when I started from New York. I have on my
shelves one thousand dollars worth now. Notwithstanding, I
shall send one thousand dollars to New York after more goods.
I also have fifty pounds of ivory, worth here one dollar per pound.
I write this to show you what can be done here with a very little




278                  APPENDIX.
money. If a man has half what I had he would soon get rich, if
he conducted himself aright; if a man has nothing, and came out
under our Association, having a house and lands cleared, he would
soon rise, if he has any spirit; therefore, come one, come all to
the sunny climes of Africa.
Our expedition are all getting along finely; most of them have
the fever now, but they are now all able to be about, with a prospect of soon recovering. I was attacked with the fever on Christmas-day, and am now considered entirely well. I, at all events,
feel as well as ever I did in America.
I am now in Monrovia, where I have been one week trying to
buy coffee scions, but there is such a great demand for them that
I fear I shall not be able to get more than a thousand. I want
seven thousand to plant in April.
I have had several interviews with the president-I had not
this pleasure in the States. He is very affable and gentlemanly;
he received me with great cordiality. I should have told you beforehand that he and his lady called at my store, up the river,
and invited me to call and see them; they also bought quite largely of my wares. He offered to assist me in any way he could, if
I wished any assistance.
As the steamer is about to sail, I must close. Give my respects
to all the boys; tell them that I am in good health and spirits;
tell them, if they want to feel like men, to come to Liberia.
Please write to me via England; the steamer stops here once
a month.      Your most obedient servant,
J. M. RICHARDSON.
From William W. Findlay.
Upper Caldwell, Liberia, March 8,1853.
To GOVERNOR WRIGHT, OF INDIANA:
SIR,-As I look upon you as being an old friend of mine, I take
pleasure in addressing you a few lines to let you know something
about how we are getting along in Liberia, believing you to be a
true friend to Liberia, and to the colored race.
I am much pleased with this country, and I do believe that




APPENDIX.                      279
every colored man that respects himself as a man would do well
to come here, for truly I do think that it is a good country; but,
like all other new countries, a man has privations to undergo, and'
a reasonable man can not expect that he can get every thing here
as handy as he can in old, settled countries. But if he has money,
he need not lack for luxuries here, and some that he can not get
in America.
To be sure, there is some sickness here in going through the
acclimation process; but when we come to look at the people
who come here, we must expect it. But in the last three or
four expeditions that have come out, there have been but few
deaths.
Now I shall say something about agriculture and the prospects.
This country is, I suppose, as good a coffee and sugar country as
there is in any place in the world; at least, it is pronounced so
by those that pretend to judge of these things. We may plant
coffee, and on the same land raise arrow-root, bird-pepper, or
ginger at the same time, and, by so doing, keep the coffee clean
after it is planted-raise a crop of arrow-root, ginger, or birdpepper, which I believe will pay all the other expenses, and will
pay the interest until the coffee commences to bear, which will
be about the third year.
And now in the States there are several gentlemen that have
offered to find men to go into the coffee speculation, which they
can not help making money at. If there should be a friend of
mine, or a friend to Liberia, who will go into that business, I
should be happy in hearing from him. The pepper, ginger, and
such things as I should raise, I should expect those who went in
with me to attend to in America, to sell these things, and send
me in return such things as I should need to carry on business
with. If there should be any that would be willing to risk money
in that way, I should be glad to hear from them.
I have been appointed a justice of the peace in Caldwell county. Nothing more than I remain your humble servant,
W. W. FINDLAY.




280                  APPENDIX.
From Samuel Williams.
Mr. WVilliams, a free colored man of Pennsylvania, intelligent,
respectable, and rich for one of his class, was sent about a year
since to Liberia, by an association of his people in this state, who
desired to learn the prospects that country held out for.the emigrants. The following is an extract from his report:
"Here I must end my advice and my report of what I have
seen. Much that is to me deeply interesting I must omit. It
only remains for me to return my sincere thanks to those whose
friendship has cheered me, in undertaking a voyage fraught with
anxiety and peril, but which has richly repaid me. I see in Liberia the elements of a great state. From her borders I behold
an influence issuing which shall yet elevate my race in the futlure to that proud position which it once held in the past. Although they are my birth-place, and the birth-land of my fathers,
and endeared to me as holding the bones of a now sainted parent,
it is my wish ornly to remain in the United States until a company
can be organized which shall go out together, taking with them
a saw-mill and an apparatus for making iron-ore yielding, in Liberia, 90 per cent. In a few months longer, I trust, I shall go to
the home of my fathers, there to aid in upbuilding a new republic,
and in founding a mighty empire. Would to God I could persuade my brethren every where to go with me, so that after being
aliens and exiles, like Israel in Egypt, for so many long years,
we might at least die in the land of our fathers.
" SAMUEL WILLIAMS."
The following documents, addresses, &c., all written by colored men, will show the character of the government established
in Liberia, and also the character and talents of the people who
have formed, adopted, and now uphold just, wise, and righteous
institutions.




APPENDIX.                      -281
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
We, the representatives of the people of the Commonwealth
of Liberia, in Convention assembled, invested with authority to
form a new government, relying upon the aid and protection of
the Great Arbiter of human events, do hereby, in the name and
on behalf'of the people of this Commonwealth, publish and declare
the said Commonwealth a Free, Sovereign, and Independent State;
by the name.and title of the Republic. of Liberia.
We, the people of the Republic of Liberia, were originally the
inhabitants of the United States of North America.
In some parts of that country, we were debarred by law from
all the rights and privileges of men-in other parts, public sentiment, more powerful than law, frowned us down.
We were every where shut out from all civil office.
We were excluded from all participation in the government.
We were taxed without our consent.
We were compelled to contribute to the resources of a 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 froi ours, were preferred before us. *
We uttered our complaints; but they were unattended to, or
only met by alleging the peculiar institutions of the country.
All hope of a favorable change in our country was thus wholly
extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked with anxiety abroad
for some asylum from the deep degradation.
The western coast of Afiica was the place selected by American benevolence and philanthropy for our future home. Removed beyond those influences which depressed us in our native
land, it was hoped we would be enabled to enjoy those rights
and privileges, and exercise and improve those faculties which
the God of nature has given us in common with the rest of mankind.
Under the auspices of the American Colonization Society, we




282                 APPENDIX.
established ourselves here, on land acquired by purchase from
the lords of the soil.
In an original compact with this society, we, for important reasons, delegated to it certain political powers; while this institution
stipulated that whenever the people should become capable of
conducting the government, or whenever the people should desire it, this institution would resign the delegated power, peaceably withdraw its supervision, and leave the people to the government of themselves.
Under the auspices and guidance of this institution, which has
nobly and in perfect faith redeemed its pledges to the people, we
have grown and prospered.
Among the strongest motives to leave our native land-to
abandon forever the scenes of our childhood, and to sever the
most endeared connections-was the desire for a retreat where,
free from the agitations of fear and molestation, we could in
composure and security approach in worship the God of our
fathers.
Thus far our highest hopes have been realized:
Liberia is already the happy home of thousands who were once
the doomed victims of oppression, and if left unmolested to go on
with her natural and spontaneous growth; if her movements be
left free from the paralyzing intrigues of jealous, ambitious, and
unscrupulous avarice, she will throw open a wider and yet a
wider door for thousands who are now looking with an anxious
eye for some land of rest.
Our courts of justice are open equally to the stranger and the
citizen for the redress of grievances, for the remedy of injuries,
and for the punishment of crime.
Our numerous and well attended schools attest our efforts, and
our desire for the improvement of our children.
Our churches for the worship of our Creator, every where to
be seen, bear testimony to our piety, and to our acknowledgment
of His Providence.
The native African, bowing down with us before the altar of




APPENDIX.                      283
the living God, declare that from us, feeble as we are, the light
of Christianity has gone forth, while upon that curse of curses,
the slave-trade, a deadly blight has fallen, as far as our influence
extends.
Therefore, in the name of humanity, and virtue, and religion —
in the name of the Great God, our common Creator and our common Judge, we appeal to the nations of Christendom, and earnestly and respectfully ask of them that they will regard us with
the sympathy and friendly consideration to which the peculiarities of our condition entitle us, and extend to us that comity
which marks the friendly intercourse of civilized and independent
communities.
CONSTITUTION.
We give Article I. entire, as it is.the exponent and guaranty of
true republican principles-harmonizing with the Gospel precepts
of "loving our neighbor as ourselves," and doing to others as we
would be done by-which, we trust, are, by the blessing of.God,
to be extended throughout Africa.
Article I. Declaration of Rights.
The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of
government, is to secure the existence of the body politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it with the
power of enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural rights,
and the blessings of life; and whenever these great objects are
not obtained, the people have a right to alter the government, and
to take measures necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness.
Therefore, we the people of the Commonwealth of Liberia, in
Africa, acknowledging with devout gratitude the goodness of God
in granting to us the blessings of the Christian religion, and political, religious, and civil liberty, do, in order to secure these
olessings for ourselves and our posterity, and to establish justice,
insure domestic peace, and promote the general welfare, hereby
solemnly associate and constitute ourselves a free, sovereign, and




284                 APPENDIX
independent state, by the name of the Republic of Liberia, and do
ordain and establish this Constitution, for the government of the
same.
Sec. 1. All men are born equally free and independent, and have
certain natural, inherent, and inalienable rights; among which
are the rights of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Sec. 2. All power is inherent in the people; all free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit, and
they have a right to alter and reform the same when their safety 
and happiness require it.
Sec. 3. All men have a natural and inalienable right to worship
God according to the dictates of their own consciences, without
obstruction or molestation from others; all persons demeaning
themselves peaceably, and not obstructing others in their religious worship, are entitled to the protection of law in the free exercise of their own religion, and no sect of Christians shall have
exclusive privileges or preference over any other sect, but all
shall be alike tolerated; and no religious test whatever shall be
required as a qualification for civil office, or the exercise of any
civil right.
Sec. 4. There shall be no slavery within this republic; nor
shall any citizen of this republic, or any person resident therein,
deal in slaves, either within or without this republic, directly or
indirectly.
Sec. 5. The people have a right at all times, in an orderly and
peaceable manner, to assemble and consult upon the common
good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the government or any public functionaries for the redress of grievances.
Sec. 6. Every person injured shall have remedy therefor by due
course of law; justice shall be done without denial or delay; and
in all cases not arising under martial law or upon impeachment,
the parties shall have a right to a trial by jury, and to be heard in
person, or by counsel, or both.
Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or in



APPENDI X                       285
famous crime, except in cases of impeachment. Cases arising in
the army and navy, and petty offenses, unless upon presentment
by a grand jury; and every person criminally charged shall have
a right to be seasonably furnished with a copy of the charge, to
be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have a
speedy, public, and impartial trial by a jury of the vicinity. He
shall not be compelled to furnish or give evidence against himself, and no person shall for the same offense be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb.
Sec. 8. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, property,
or privilege, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the
land.
Sec. 9. No place shall be searched nor person seized, on a criminal charge or suspicion, unless upon warrant lawfully issued,
upon probable cause supported by oath or solemn affirmation,
specially designating the place or person, and the object of the
search.
Sec. 10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor excessive punishments inflicted; nor shall the
Legislature make any law impairing the obligation of contracts;
nor any law rendering any act punishable, in any manner in which
it was not punishable when it was committed.
Sec. 11. All elections shall be by ballot, and every male citizen,
of twenty-one years of age, possessing real estate, shall have the
right of suffrage.
Sec. 12. The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for
the common defense. As in time of peace armies are dangerous
to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the consent
of the Legislature, and the military power shall always be held in
exact subordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it.
Sec. 13. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
Sec. 14. The powers of this government shall be divided into
three distinct departments, the Legislative, Executive, and Judi
cial, and no person belonging to one of these departments shall




286                  APPENDIX.
exercise any of the powers belonging to either of the others.
This section is not to be construed to include justices of the peace.
Sec. 15. The liberty of the press is essential to the security of
freedom in a state; it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in
this republic.
The press shall be free to every person who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or any branch of government; and no law shall ever be made to restrain the rights
thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is
one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely
speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the
abuse of that liberty. * * * And in all indictments for libels,
the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.
Sec. 16. No subsidy, charge, impost, or duties ought to be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatsoever,
without the consent of the people, or their representatives in the
Legislature.
Sec. 17. Suits may be brought against the republic in such manher and in such cases as the Legislature may by law direct.
Sec. 18. No person can, in any case, be subjected to the law
martial, or to any penalties or pains by virtue of that law (except
those employed in the army or navy, and except the militia in
actual service), but by the authority of the Legislature.
Sec. 19. In order to prevent those who are vested with authority from becoming oppressors, the people have a right, at such
periods, and in such manner as they shall establish by their frame
of government, to cause their public officers to return to private
life, and to fill up vacant places by certain and regular elections
and appointments.
Sec. 20. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident, or
presumption great; and the privilege and benefit of the writ of
Habeas Corpus shall be enjoyed in this republic, in the most free,
easy, cheap, expeditious, and ample manner, and shall not be suspended by the Legislature, except upon the most urgent and




APPENDIX.                      287
pressing occasions, and for a limited time, not exceeding twelve
months.
*    *    *    *   *    * -  *    *    *   *
The legislative powers are vested in a Legislature, consisting
of two separate branches-a Senate and House of Representatives. The Representatives are apportioned according to the
number of inhabitants. Two years' residence in the county
which elects him, real estate to the value of one hundred and
fifty dollars, and the age of twenty-three, constitute eligibility to
the office of representative.
The Senate consists of two members from each county. No
person can be elected to this office who has not resided three
years in the republic previous to his election, who does not own
real estate to the value of two hundred dollars, and who shall not
have attained the age of twenty-five.
The supreme executive power resides in a president, elected
by the people, and holding his office for two years. No person
can be eligible who has not been a resident of the republic five
years, who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five, and
who shall not be possessed of real estate to the value of six hundred dollars. The duties of these several officers and bodies are
similar to those in our own country.
The judicial power is vested in one supreme judicial court, and
such subordinate courts as the Legislature, from time to time,
may establish.
FROM THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT ROBERTS.
The time has been, I admit, when men, without being chargeable with timidity, or with a disposition to undervalue the capacities of the African race, might have doubted the success of the
colonization enterprise, and the feasibility of establishing an independent Christian State on this coast, composed of, and conducted wholly by, colored men; but, fellow-citizens, that time
has passed. The American Colonization Society has redeemed
its pledge; and I believe in my soul that the permanency of the
government of the Republic of Liberia is now fixed upon as firm a




288                 APP     NDIX.
basis as human wisdom is capable of devising. Nor is there any
reason to apprehend that the Divine Disposer of human events,
after having separated us from the house of bondage, and led us
safely through so many dangers toward the land of liberty and
promise, will leave the work of our political redemption and consequent happiness unfinished, and either permit us to perish in a
wilderness of difficulties, or suffer us to be carried back in chains
to that country of prejudices from whose oppression he has mercifully delivered us with his outstretched arm.
And, fellow-citizens, it must afford the most heartfelt pleasure
and satisfaction to every friend of Liberia, and real lover of liberty in general, to observe by what a fortunate train of circumstances and incidents the people of these colonies have arrived
at absolute freedom and independence. When we look abroad
and see by what slow and painful steps, marked with blood and
ills of every kind, other states of the world have advanced to liberty and independence, we can not but admire and praise that allgracious Providence, who, by his unerring ways, has, with so few
sufferings on our part, compared with other states, led us to this
happy stage in our progress toward those great and important objects. And that it is the will of Heaven that mankind should be
free, is clearly evidenced by the wealth, vigor, virtue, and consequent happiness of all free states. But the idea that Providence
will establish such governments as he shall deem most fit for his
creatures, and will give them wealth, influence, and happiness,
without their efforts, is palpably absurd. In short, God's moral
government of the earth is always performed by the intervention
of second causes. Therefore, fellow-citizens, while with pious
gratitude we survey the frequent interpositions of Heaven in our
behalf, we ought to remember that, as the disbelief of an overruling Providence is atheism, so an absolute confidence of having
our government relieved from every embarrassment, and its citizens made respectable and happy by the immediate hand of God,
without our own exertions, is the most culpable presumption.
Nor have we any reason to expect that He will miraculously
make Liberia a paradise, and deliver us, in a moment of time,




APPENDIX.                      289
from all the ills and inconveniences consequent upon the peculiar
circumstances under which we are placed, merely to convince us
that He favors our cause and government.
*    *    *   *    *    *    *   *    *    *
I ask you to join with me in supplications that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures, that whatsoever they do shall result in your
good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.
FROM ANOTHER ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT.
The following passages are selected from the first message
(after the adoption of the present Constitution of the republic) to
the national Legislature:
"' Our situation, however, for forming a political society, and
erecting a free government, is more favorable, in many respects,
than that of any people who have preceded us. We have the
history and experience of all states before us: mankind have
been toiling through all ages for our information, and the philosophers and learned men of antiquity have trimmed their midnight
lamps to transmit to us instructions. We live, also, in an age
when the principles of political liberty and the foundation of government have been fully canvassed and fairly settled.
" With these lights before them, our delegates have given us a
Constitution founded, not upon party or prejudice, not for to-day
or to-morrow, but for posterity. It is founded in good policy, because, in my humble opinion, it is founded in justice and honesty.
All ambitious and interested views seem to have been entirely
discarded, and regard had only to the good of the whole, in which
the situation and rights of posterity are considered, and equal
justice has been done to every citizen of the republic. And the
highest respect has been paid to those great and equal rights of
human nature which should forever remain inviolate in every society. Proper attention has also been given to the separation of
the three great powers of the state. Indeed, it is essential to
liberty that the legislative, judicial, and executive powers of the
N




290                  APPENDIX.
government be, as nearly as possible, independent of, and separate
from,-each other; for, were they united in the same persons,
there would be wanting that mutual check which is the principal
security against the making of arbitrary laws and a wanton exercise of power in the execution of them. If these three powers
are united, the government will be absolute, whether they are in
the hands of a few or a great number. The same party will be
the legislator, accuser, judge, and executioner. What probability, then, as I have heard it remarked, will an accused person
have of an acquittal, however innocent he may be, when his judge
is also a party!"
Having shown the wisdom of the Convention who adopted the
Constitution of the republic in their careful provisions to keep
distinct and independent of each other the three great departments of the government, President Roberts adds:
" But, gentlemen, it is to be remembered, that whatever marks
of wisdom, experience, and patriotism there may be in our new
Constitution, like the just proportions and elegant forms of our
first parents, before their Maker breathed into them the breath
of life, it is yet to be animated, and, until then, may indeed excite
admiration, but it will be of no use; from the people it must receive its spirit, and by them be quickened. Let virtue, honor, the
love of liberty, and science be and remain the soul of our present
Constitution, and it must, it will become the source of great and
extensive happiness to this and future generations."
One other paper from President Roberts merits insertion here,
as it indicates a firm determination on the part of the Liberian
government to uphold the principles of freedom.for all Africans
under its protection. The fact that fiom subjects of Great Britain such violation is now feared, is curious, and should be carefully investigated.*
* From an article on " Slavery in Disguise," written by Rev. J. Morris Pease,
nd published in the June number of the " Colonization Herald," we gather that
a London company is actually engaged in bargaining with native chiefs of the
Kroo tribe in Africa for men, women, and children,.which this. company have




APPENDIX.                            29
A Proclamation by the President of Liberia.
Whereas Messrs. Hyde, Hodge, and Co., of London, contractors with her Britannic majesty's government to furnish laborers
from the African coast for the West Indies, have sent some of
their ships to the coast of the republic, offering an advance of ten
dollars for every person who may be induced to emigrate; and
whereas the extinction of the slave-trade has left large numbers
of predial and other laborers in the possession of the chiefs and
principal men of the country, while the offer of ten dollars each
is nearly equivalent to the amount formerly paid for slaves during
the prevalence of the slave-trade, and which operated mainly in
producing and sustaining the wars by which the country was
distracted;
And whereas certain refractory chiefs are reported to have
engaged with the agents of said company to furnish a number of
laborers, and are further known to have in concealment, near
Grand Cape Mount, a number of unhappy victims of their predatory excursions; and whereas complaint has been made to the
government that persons are held to be sent off without their
voluntary consent, or the consent of their natural guardians;
therefore, to prevent the abuses and evils which might otherwise
result from the enterprise,
contracted to deliver to agents in British Guiana and Jamaica, to be employed
as laborers. Mr. Pease quotes from the report of Mr. Hamilton, an agent of the
British government, sent to negotiate with the negro chiefs for " laborers," as
these forced emigrants were styled, showing that the people are under the absolute control of their chiefs, and must go when sent or sold. Mr. Pease thus
concludes his article:
"It will be seen, throughout the whole of the agent's reports, that the parties with whom they invariably put themselves in communication were the
chiefs, and not the people; and they always assumed the right of these chiefs
to control their movements. To dignify such a mode of obtaining emigrants as
free, is a delusion and a mockery. We close with the remark, that for any individual, parties, or government to negotiate with the Kroo, or any other African chiefs, for the labor or services of their people for periods of years, is really to sanction the principle of slave-trading, and to open the way to the revival,
in new forms, of a traffic against which humanity revolts, and which the religion of the Gospel condemns."




292                 A PP END IX.
Be it known by this proclamation, to all whom it may concern,
that the law regulating passports must be strictly observed-that
vessels carrying, or intending to carry away emigrants, must
come to this port with their emigrants on board to obtain passports-in order that an opportunity may be presented to the government to ascertain whether the emigration be free or constrained. Every violation of the law regulating passports will
be visited with the utmost penalty of the law, in that case made
and provided.
Done at Monrovia, this twenty-sixth day of February, in the
year'of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and
of the republic the fifth.              J. J. ROBERTS.
FLAG AND SEAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA.
The following Flag and Seal were adopted by the Convention,
as the insignia of the Republic of Liberia, and ordered to be employed to mark its nationality:
Flag-six red stripes, with five white stripes alternately displayed longitudinally. In the upper angle of the flag, next to the
spear, a square blue ground, covering in depth five stripes. In
the centre of the blue, one white star.
Seal-a dove on the wing, with an open scroll in its claws. A
view of the ocean, with a ship under sail. The sun just emerging from the waters. A palm-tree, and at its base a plow and
spade. Beneath the emblems, the words REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA;
and above the emblems, the national motto, THE LOVE OF LIBERTY
BROUGHT US HERE.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF AUGUST.
The twenty-fourth day of August, 1847, was the day appointed
for raising the flag of the new republic, and its happy dawn was
announced by the thunder of cannon. At an early hour were




APPENDIX.                      2,3,
seen groups of citizens gathered here and there, withl a joyful
smile lighting up every countenance. Old men seemed to have
renewed their youth, and youth itself moved with a more buoyant and elastic step. At nine o'clock, the governor and his staff,
with the military, assembled at the court-house. At the same
time, people from all quarters were pouring toward the Government Square. At eleven, his excellency was escorted opposite
to the Government House, where he was met by a band of ladies,
bearing the flag of their country. On receiving it from Mrs.
Lewis, accompanied with a short speech, he unfurled it amid the
cheers and hurras of the assembled multitude. The troops then
marched up to the Central Fort. At twelve, the first gun of the
national salute pealed over the waters, when the flag was seen
majestically arising, and from its lofty height soon floated on the
breeze, the herald of a brighter day for poor, benighted Africa.
At the same moment, a responsive gun was heard from Signal
Hill, as if the mountains echoed the jubilant shout of freedom.
A salute of twenty-one guns followed, when the procession
marched to the Methodist church, where were holden exercises
appropriate to the occasion.
*    *    *    *   *    *    *    *    -*   *
It was a day which will be long remembered. During the ceremony of presenting the flag, many eyes were suffused with tears.
And, indeed, who that remembered the past could forbear to
weep l Who that looked back to America, and remembered
what he saw and felt there, could be otherwise than agitated.
It is, indeed, a great undertaking; but that Almighty Being who
hath conducted us thus far, can and will conduct us to the goal
at which we aim.-Liberia Herald.
Hymn Sung on the Occasion.
Lines by H. Teague, of Monrovia.
Wake, every tuneful string,
To God loud praises bring,
Wake, heart and tongue;
In strains of melody,




2-94e'    APPENDIX.
And choral harmony
Sing-for the oppressed are free;
Wake, cheerful song.
See Mesurado's height,
Illumed with new-born light;
Lo!. the lone star;
Now it ascends the skies;
Lo! the deep darkness flies,
While new-born glories rise
And shine afar.
Shine, life-creating ray —
Proclaim approaching day;
Throw wide thy blaze:
Lo! savage HottentotBosjasman from his cotAnd nations long forgot,
Astonished gaze.
Shout the loud jubilee,
Afric once more is freeBreak forth with joy;
Let Nilus' fettered tongue,
Let Niger join the song,
And Congo's loud and long,
Glad strains employ.
Star in the East, shine forth,
Proclaim a nation's birth;
Ye nations hearThis is our natal day,
And we our homage pay;
To Thee, 0 Lord, we pray;
Lord, hear our prayer!




APPENDIX.                       295
All hail, Liberia! hail!
Favored of God, all hail!
Hail, happy band!
From virtue ne'er remove:
By peace, and truth, and love,
And wisdom from above,
So shalt thou stand..THE COLONIZATION MOVEMENT.
Thus far our appendix has shown the opinions of the colored
people respecting Liberia, and what they have done there. Now
we add a few pages illustrative of the feelings regarding colonization, which are influencing the minds, and calling forth the exerions of the best and noblest among the white race in America.
But, first, we will show, from the highest British authority, an
acknowledgment of the failure of
West India Emancipation.
After a full trial by Great Britain of negro emancipation, the following article in the " London Times" should receive the discreet
notice of those philanthropists who, in our country, are dealing
so recklessly with the future happiness of the American blacks:
"Our legislation has been dictated by the presumed necessities
of the African slave. After the Emancipation Act, a large charge
was assessed upon the colony in aid of civil and religious institutions for the benefit of the enfranchised negro, and it was hoped
that these colored subjects of the British crown would soon be
assimilated to their fellow-citizens. From all the information
which reaches us, no less than from the visible probabilities of
the case, we are constrained to believe that these hopes have
been falsified. The negro has not acquired with his freedom any
habits of industry or morality. His independence is but little
better than that of an uncaptured brute. Having accepted few
of the restraints of civilization, he is amenable to few of its ne



296                 APPENDIX.
cessities; and the wants of his nature are so easily satisfied, that
at the current rate of wages he is called upon for nothing but
fitful or desultory exertion. The blacks, therefore, instead of becoming intelligent husbandmen, have become vagrants and squatters; and it is now apprehended, that with the failure of cultivation in the island will come the failure of its resources for instructing or controlling its population. So imminent does this
consummation appear, that memorials have been signed by classes
of colonial society hitherto standing aloof from politics, and not
only the bench and the bar, but the bishop, clergy, and ministers
of all denominations in the island, without exception, have recorded their conviction that, in the absence of timely relief, the
religious and educational institutions of the island must be abandoned, and the masses of the population retrograde to barbarism"
THE VIRGINIA LAW ON INSTRUCTION OF COLORED POPULATION.
A committee of the Synod of Virginia, consisting of Samuel C.
Anderson, Esq., Rev. Peyton Harrison, and Mr. Winfree, were
appointed to examine the acts of the General Assembly of that
state, and report to the meeting what the law is touching the
religious instruction of the colored population.
This committee subsequently reported, that it may be seen-by
reference to the Code of Virginia, chap. cxcviii., ~ 31, 2, pages
747-8, that there is nothing in the law prohibiting the owner of
slaves, or any member of his family, with his knowledge and consent, to teach his own slaves, on his own plantation, in any subject and to any extent that may please such owner.
SOUTHERN VIEWS OF LIBERIA.
By Rev. J. Morris Pease.
From personal observation we know that the colored people of
the South, both bond and free, are very far in advance of our colored people of the Free States in a correct knowledge and appreciation of the real character and condition of the government and
citizens of Liberia.
From the first, the largest number of colonists, and some of the




APPENDIX.                    -   97
most distinguished citizens of that republic, have gone from the
Southern States. From them thousands of letters have reached
their friends left behind. All over the Southern States the colored people receive letters from their own dear friends in Liberia.
We have known whole plantations called together to hear read
letters from their friends or relatives residing in that country.
No people. in the United States possess to-day a deeper, stronger, more thrilling and abiding interest in Liberia, or pray more
earnestly for her prosperity, than do the colored people of the Southern States. Thousands of Christian servants, with the knowledge
andconsent of their masters, are in regular correspondence with
citizens of that republic. Mothers have their sons, and sisters
their brothers, who are missionaries of the cross of Christ in
Western Africa. Many contribute liberally of their earthly substance to send the Gospel there, and to sustain the missions already established. Christian Liberia is their comfort and their
hope. With her they sympathize! for her they pray, believing
that at some day they may find their home in her bosom, if not'
for themselves, yet for their children. That republic, that prayer,
that faith makes them better men-better Christians.
Besides, many Christian masters are educating and preparing
tieir servants for freedom, in view of their enlarged usefulness
in that interesting country.
"We are not aware that these facts ihve been generally given
in.either the Southern or Northern press, though we are confiJdent that the Christian people of the South, with but few exceptions, have a true religious interest in Liberia, and are ready to
minister their aid in support of her claims.
COLONIZATION SUPPRESSES THE SLAVE-TRADE.
From an Address by the Hon. Edward Everett..I must pass to another very important object of the Colonization Society in establishing the colony of Liberia, and that is
the effectual suppression of the slave-trade throughout its extent
and within the sphere of its influence. It is grievous to reflect
that contemporaneously with the discovery of our own continent,
N2




298                  APPENDIX.
and from motives of kindness to its natives, the whole western
coast of Africa was thrown open to that desolating traffic, which
from time immemorial had been carried on from the ports of the
Mediterranean, by the Nile, and along the eastern coasts of the
continent. It is still more painful to consider that the very period at which the modern culture of the west of Europe was
making the most rapid progress, is that at which Africa began to
suffer the most from its connection with Europe.
It was the age of Shakspeare, of Spencer, of Hooker, and of
Lord Bacon, of those other brightest suns in the firmament of
England's glory, that her navigators first engaged in this detestable traffic, and vessels bearing, as if in derision, the venerable
names of Jesus and Solomon were sent from Great Britain to
the coast of Africa-at a time when some of the last remnants
of the feudal system were broken down in England and France
r-when private war had wholly ceased-when men began to venture from the covert of the walled towns and traverse the high
roads, and live in the open country in safety, these very states,
the most civilized in Europe, began to struggle for the monopoly
of that cruel trade, which was carried on by exciting the barbarous races of Africa to new fury against each other, and-by introducing a state of universal war, not merely between nation and
nation, but between tribe and tribe, village and village, and almost between house and house. In fact, it is not without example that these benighted beings have delivered their wives and
children to the slave-dealers.
Thus, the western coast of Africa became, like the northeastern-and eastern coasts, one great slave market, and so remained
for nearly three centuries. It is now about twenty years since
the powers of Christendom, excited to activity by philanthropic
operations and benevolent individuals, began the warfare upon
this cruel traffic. The American colonies, before their independence, passed laws for its abolition, which were uniformly negatived by the crown. The Revolutionary Congress, in the first
year of its existence, denounced the traffic, and the Constitution
of the United States appointed a date for its prospective abolition.




APPElNDIX                       299
This example has been successfully followed by other states.
The trade is now forbidden by the laws of every Christian and
most of the Mohammedan powers of Europe and Asia. It still
exists, however, to a frightful extent, and the more active the
means used to suppress it by blockade and cruisers, the greater
the cruelty incident to its practice, by crowding the slave-ships
with a greater number of victims. Such being the case, many
of those in England who have taken the greatest interest in the
suppression of the traffic have seriously proposed to abandon the
system of blockade and cruisers, and resort to other expedients;
and of these, unquestionably, none can be compared for efficiency
with settlement of the coast.
It is necessary only to look at the map to see what an important extent of country has been rescued in this way from the direst scourge which ever afflicted humanity. The last of the ancient slave-marts, Gallinas, has been lately purchased and brought
within the limits of Liberia. Along a line of coast not less extensive than that from Maine to Georgia, from every bay, and
within the shelter of every headland of which this traffic was
carried on within the memory of man, the slave traffic has been
wholly rooted out. What could not be effected by congresses of
sovereigns at Vienna or Aix-la-Chapelle, by quintuple treaties, or
by squadrons of war steamers, has been brought about by these
feeble colonial settlements, of which that of Liberia has been
obliged to struggle its way into permanence-drawing. its sup.
plies almost exclusively from the perennial fountains of Christian benevolence.
AMERICAN SLAVERY HAS IMPROVED THE COLORED MAN.
From an Address by Hon. Daniel Webster.
Gentlemen, there is a Power above us which sees the end of
all things from the beginning, though we see it not. Almighty
God is his own interpreter of the ways of his own providence;
and I sometimes contemplate with amazement, and I may say
with adoration, events which have taken place through the instrumentality of the cupidity and criminality of men, designed




300                 APPEAID1X.
nevertheless to work out great ends of beneficence and goodness,
by our Creator.
African slaves were brought hither to the shores of this con-,
tinent almost simultaneously with the first tread of a white
man's foot upon this our North America. We see in that, our
short-sightedness only sees, the effect of a desire of the white
man to appropriate to himself the results of the labor of the black
man as an inferior and a slave. Now let us look at it.
These negroes, and all who have succeeded them, brought
hither as captives taken in the wars of their own petty provinces,
ignorant and barbarous, without the knowledge of God, and with
no reasonable knowledge of their own character and condition,
have come here, and here, although in a subordinate, in an inferior, in an enslaved condition, have learned more, and become to
know more of themselves and of their Creator, than all whom
they have left behind them in their own barbarous kingdoms. It
would seem that this is the mode, as far as we can judge, this is
the destiny, the rule ofthings established by Providence, by which
knowledge, letters, and Christianity shall be returned by the descendants of those poor, ignorant barbarians who were brought
here as slaves, to the country from which they came.
Who but must wonder, who can fail to see what appears to
be so plainly the indication in the providence of God. He who
now goes back to Africa underthe auspices of this society is an
intelligent man. He knows that he is an immortal man, what
his ancestors hardly knew, except from that instinctive principle
which pervades all human nature, that there is an hereafter. He
-has te lights of knowledge;. he has the lights of Christianity,
and h&.goes back infinitely more advanced in all that makes him
a, respectable human being than his ancestors were when they
-were brought from the barbarism of Africa to slavery in the Unit-?ed States.
COLONIZATION AN ACT OF JUSTICE.
By Rev. John P. Durbin, D.D.
IT was a stupendous public wrong to commence it (slavery);




A P PENDIX                     301
it is a measure of public justice not only to put a stop to it, but
to remedy the wrongs and evils which have flowed from it. These
wrongs and evils, operating through a long series of years, have
entwined themselves with the vast and complicated interests and
institutions of a large portion of our country; and it will require
a long series of years to accomplish the remedy effectually. But
Providence allows time to work out the ends of public justice,
and always seconds the efforts of man, if made sincerely, wisely,
and patiently. Let us, then, do our part in setting on foot a system of public policy that shall safely, peacefully, and equitably
render this great act of public justice to the millions of the exiled
children of Afrina.
But this act of public justice connects with the natural right
of these people, and with the divine will not doubtfully expressed.
In pursuance of the divine distribution of the earth among the
different races of men, God gave Africa to the race from which
our colored people come. The deed of distribution and the reason for it are found in holy Scripture, in these words:. God hath
made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply
they might feel after him and find him.?' Who can doubt but the
( bounds of the habitation" of these people are in Africa'? Who
can doubt but in that part of the world is their lot, in working out
the wise designs of a Providence known to man only as God
manifests them by the signs of the times.? Perhaps this wise
and mysterious Providence has permitted their bondage in order,
to prepare them to be the instruments of Christian civilizWtion
and religion to their vast and populous country.' Had they'remained in their own country, they would have remained:pagans;
in their slavery and exile they have become Christians in their
ideas and feelings, and many of them truly experimental and!intelligent Christians. Return them to Africa, and they.will form
a Christian republic whose light and civilization..wil'illuminate
and reform the western part of that great andgiooiy:ontinent
This single consideration is sufficient to move tlis.:swhole coun



302                 APPENDIX.
try to action in favor of colonization. And if such be the designs
of Providence, who shall estimate the guilt and punishment of
our people if we refuse to send home these prepared missionaries, now that God, by the signs of the times, is intimating His
will that we now enter upon the work?
BLESSINGS OF AFRICAN COLONIZATION.
From a Discourse delivered before the Louisiana State Colonization Society,
by Rev. Dr. Scott, of New Orleans.
Another great blessing of the emigration of our free people of
color to Africa, is that they carry with them the Gospel. This
is the only practicable means that presents itself to the pious for
the Christianization and civilization of that vast continent. How
else can we hope to emancipate one hundred and fifty millions of
people on that continent from ignorance, superstition, and paganism? What enterprise is more grand and noble, and worthy of
our thoughts, prayers, and contributions, than the attempt to bring
Africa under the influence of the Gospel? A wise and good man
once said, if he were sure that he would die to-morrow, he would
plant a tree to-day, whose shade or fruit might bless the coming
generation. This man had a soul truly great, and in the likeness
of the Creator. He looked forward to the future.
And if we look to the future of this grand movement; and seeing how the feeble beginning has grown into an independent republic, with seven hundred miles of sea-coast, and territory sufficient to accommodate all the black population of these United
States, and country capable of raising all the leading and great
products of the tropical climates, cotton, corn, rice, sugar, and coffee-who among us can look to the future of this grand movement? Who can read the microscope, or prophesy from the configuration of the planets, which presided over the birth of the free,
independent, and Christianized Republic of Liberia, what shall
be its history as it sweeps onward through the track of time, enlightening and redeeming that vast continent? The returning of
the negroes of this continent to their fatherland, has made Africa




APP ENDIX.                      303
the "land of promise" to the black man, as this country has become to the European Continent.
And when England asks in time to come, as she has often done
heretofore, and not without a sneer, What has America done for
the negro? we may gladly say, Look to Liberia, and see what
America has done for the negro, for Africa, and for Christ. See
there the only country on the globe in which the negro is a man,
in full possession of all the rights of a man. See there a colony
of intelligent, moral, and industrious people, grown already into a
nation, carrying the English language, and science, and commerce, and arts, and the glad tidings of the Gospel, and of republican liberties, into the darkest regions of heathenism and slavery.
And if fifty years hence England dares to ask again, " What has
America done for the negro " then all Africa will respond, saying, "The continent which England once robbed and ravaged,
and from which she tore our bleeding sires, now smiles and rejoices in the light shed upon it by the sons of those exiles, returned to us ladened with Heaven's best blessings, through the
Christian intelligence and philanthropy of America."
I do not doubt but that the whole continent of Africa will be
regenerated, and I believe the Republic of Liberia will be the great
instrument, in the hands of God, in working out this regeneration.
The colony of Liberia has succeeded better than the colony of
Plymouth did for the same period of time. And yet, in that little
company which was wafted across the mighty ocean in the May
Flower, we see the germs of this already colossal nation, whose
feet are in the tropics, while her head reposes upon the snows of
Canada. Her right hand she stretches over the Atlantic, feeding
the millions of the Old World, and beckoning them to her shores,
as a refuge from famine and oppression; and, at the same time,
she stretches forth her left hand to the islands of the Pacific, and
to the old empires of the East, full of the blessings of the arts and
sciences, of trade, civilization, and pure religion. And does not
faith tell us that the lone star, that our example and benevolence
has made to appear in the very central regions of African barba



304                  APPENDIX.
rism, shall become a mighty constellation, whose glorious light
shall beam along the dark valleys of the Niger and Senegal,.and
make the Mountains of the Moon reflect the glory of the sun of
righteousness, and that Africa redeemed, and having placed the
topmost jewel in the crown of her great deliverer, shall sit with
Europe, Asia, and America, clothed and in their right minds, at
the feet.of Jesus of Nazareth?
THE END.




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