In Bassa town, three miles from Charlotte, 130, all liberated Africans.

In addition to these there are about 400 inhabitants at the island of the Bananas, 100 at the village of Calmunt, and many others of whom no correct amount can be given, residing at various little villages along the coast, perhaps their entire number may be about 200; if so, it will make the population of the whole colony about 15,000. The names of the parishes to each town are as follows:

St. George's in Freetown. St. Patrick Kissey. St. Arthur Wellington. St. Francis Hastings. St. Michael Waterloo. St. Paul in Wilberforce. St. Thomas York. St. Edward Kent. St. Andrew Gloucester. St. Charles Regent Town. St. Peter and James Bathurst. St. John Charlotte.

Freetown is well supplied with fish every afternoon at sunset, most of which is brought in by boats that go outside the harbour in the morning, and return in the evening. Unfortunately, there is an immense number of sharks generally in the harbour, which sometimes commit great depredations.

Sierra Leone is about six miles within the cape of that name, and lies at the entrance of the river. The town is laid out with great regularity, and the streets are spacious. It is two miles in length near the water-side, and about one mile in width, gradually ascending from the beach to the hills at the back of the town. The intervening space between a short distance beyond the extremity of the town and the summit of the hills is principally unreclaimed forest land, which was originally portioned out amongst the first settlers in the colony. From want of means, however, or some other cause, the colonists never cleared those grounds, nor did they offer them on sufficiently reasonable terms to enable others to do so. This is the more extraordinary, as it is generally supposed that if the wood were removed, it would greatly improve the salubrity of the air in the town and neighbourhood, as well as open a new source of profit to the proprietors, it being already well known that all tropical productions thrive most successfully in this soil. Coffee, cocoa, arrow-root, sugar-cane, &c. have been tried with the utmost success. The houses of the Governor, several of the respectable merchants, and some of the natives, are built of stone. There is a church also, on a very magnificent scale; indeed, so ambitious was the design of this building, that the Colonial Government do not appear to have been able to afford the expense of furnishing the interior, and have accordingly run up an ugly brick wall in the centre, for the purpose of appropriating one half of it to religious duties, and the other to public offices. The church, as it was built, was evidently too capacious for the congregation that was likely to attend the service of the established religion, particularly as a great portion of the population consists of Dissenters, who have men of their own colour and way of thinking for preachers. I have heard some of their black divines, but cannot say that I was much edified by their discourses.

The following extraordinary letter from two master workmen, free blacks, who were employed on the church, received by a Member of Council, while I was on a visit to him, will serve as a specimen of the advancement in education that some of these poor fellows have made. The letter is given literally from the original.

"Sierra Leone, Sept. 18th, 1827.

"Honourable Sir,

"I have the honour of sendin to you this morning with humble manner I was to the Honour D. Denney yesterday, about the trouble what I have, I was take work from the church-yard, and I finish it, the gentlemen I must made petition and I cannot tell who will go to please to help me from this trouble if I will get the money from the gentleman. Shew me the way for get the money by your Honour all the people what I hired I do not know how to do with myself—only you one I know because I was under your brother if any trouble to much for me I cry to you with humble manner I am poor black man—

"I remain Your affectionately and obedient servant,

"JOSEPH RICKETT and GEORGE DUNE, Sierra Leone Labourers.

"To the Honourable K. Maccauley, Esq. M.C. &c. Freetown."

The original settlers of this colony, we learn from "Murray's Historical Discoveries," consisted of about four hundred blacks, and sixty whites, (the latter chiefly women of abandoned character,) who arrived at Sierra Leone the 9th of May, 1787. These blacks, as is well known, were part of those that went to Great Britain; having been sent with the white loyalists, among the Bahama Islands, Nova Scotia, and England, at the conclusion of the American war: and twelve hundred more of the same description of American blacks agreed to leave Nova Scotia for Sierra Leone, on terms proposed to them by the Sierra Leone Company, where they arrived in March, 1792: and in December, 1793, Lieut. Beaver arrived at Sierra Leone, with the few survivors that had abandoned the colony of Bulama.

The present inhabitants arc principally composed of negroes of a variety of nations; Maroons from Jamaica, negroes who were captured or had deserted in the American war, some from England, some from Nova Scotia, some from disbanded West India regiments, and many prize slaves, that come under the name of liberated Africans, who from their industry and prudence have saved a little money and settled at Freetown in various capacities. There are besides a great number of persons residing here in succession under the denomination of strangers. These are people from various parts of the interior of Africa, namely, Timmanees, Foulahs, Mandingoes, &c. &c. There are also a great number of Kroomen, formerly upwards of a thousand, but a late order in council reduced them to 600, with the intention of introducing and encouraging the liberated Africans to come forward as labourers, fishermen, mechanics, sailors, soldiers, &c. &c.

Sierra Leone has a large market-house, with a market held daily, where the inhabitants may be well supplied with most of the tropical fruits and vegetables, and some from Europe. Poultry is abundant and reasonable. Beef and mutton are in most common use. The animals are small, a quarter of beef weighing on an average between 50 and 60 lbs. and a quarter of mutton from 5 to 8 lbs. Pork and lamb are seldom sent to table, and I never met with veal. The colony is principally supplied with stock, (viz. bullocks, sheep, and fowls,) by the Foulahs, Mandingoes, Sousoos, and Timmanees. They carry the fowls on their head in a large basket, and their necessaries in a sheep-skin bag fastened on the top of it. Perhaps the reason why veal and lamb are but rarely seen at table is in consequence of the bullocks and sheep having to travel a considerable distance, and fresh pork is almost too gross a food for a hot country.

The trade with the nations of the interior is chiefly confined to the Foulahs and Mandingoes, who bring small quantities of gold with them, which they exchange for European articles to carry home. Their mode of travelling to the colony is not a little curious. They first appoint one of their number as head man, who is referred to on every occasion, and who is answerable for the conduct of the whole. They generally come down in numbers of from six to thirty, and sometimes more. Each man carries on his head a kind of basket, made of the rattan cane, in which is contained his shirt, a calabash, some rice, and a bag made of sheep-skin, which holds the alcoran, some rice, bread, a knife, scissors, and other useful articles; also a small pouch in which they carry their gold, averaging about 5l. sterling each person. They secure the bag by fastening the sides of the basket together, and binding it round with strong twine which they make from grass. On the top of the basket they tie their bow and quiver of arrows loosely, so that they can get at them readily, in case they should be attacked in the woods by wild animals, or by any of the different tribes whose settlement they pass through in coming down. They also carry a bamboo cane about six feet long, and three inches in circumference, with a piece of iron, about six inches long, and sharp at the point, fixed into the end of it; this they make use of as a spear. They also carry a long knife or sword, which is slung over the arm by a belt. They partly live on the wild fruits of the country, and occasionally get something at the villages through which they pass; generally walking between the hours of six and ten in the morning, and two and six in the afternoon each day. When they arrive at Porto Logo, (which place is the termination of their land journey) they engage a canoe to take them to Freetown, for which they used to pay four dollars a head, but it is now reduced to one, and this charge they are accustomed to levy afterwards upon the merchant with whom they intend to deal, looking upon it as a bonus included in the traffic. They also apply to the merchants in Freetown, for accommodations during their stay, which is from ten days to a month. They will not trade either on the first or second day, but go round the town examining the different goods in the shops, and ascertaining the prices. In this preliminary proceeding they are assisted by their countrymen, who have been long resident in the colony and are acquainted with the English language. These interpreters make their living by cheating in every possible way, both the poor traveller and the merchant.

When they begin to trade it takes one day for the head man to settle the investment of the gold in the merchant's hands, which he has received individually from his companions, giving a separate receipt to each: after which they all assemble to choose their goods to the amount of each person's portion. This is an affair of three or four days. They do not, however, think it necessary to leave the colony so soon as their business is settled, but remain some time after idling about the streets. Two or three days before they really intend returning by the canoe to Porto Logo, the whole party call and say that they are going, which is intended as a hint to prepare some present for them. They repeat their visit the next day, and if they do not receive a present from you, they address you in the following manner. "Friend," (calling the merchant by his name, and holding out his hands with extended arms,) "do you see my hands? do you not see that they are empty? When I go back to my country, my countrymen will ask me if I have seen the great merchant! they will say they doubt me, asking me, at the same time, where are your presents? and if I have nothing to shew they will call me a liar, saying that the great merchant never allowed any one that went to see him, to go away empty-handed. I came from my country on purpose to see you. True, I have brought you but little trade this time, but when I go back to my country, and say I have seen the great merchant, and shew them the presents I have received, then they will all want to come, and bring plenty of trade." This of course concludes with a present to propitiate the grasping spirit of the African petty dealer.

The goods principally preferred by the Foulahs and Mandingoes, are powder, muskets, fowling-pieces, flints, swords, spear-pointed knives, India blue baft, India white baft, India scarlet silk taffety, red cloth, beads, and tobacco, which they make into snuff, being the only manner in which they use it.

The following amusing dialogue occurred between two sailors who happened to be on the military parade when the soldiers were at drill, going through the evolution of marking time,—a military manoeuvre by which the feet, as well as the whole body of the person, are kept in motion, presenting a similar appearance to that which they exhibit when they are actually marching. One observed the other watching the movements of the corps very attentively, with his eyes fixed and his arms akimbo: "What the h-ll are you looking at?" he inquired. "Why, Jack," replied his companion, "I'm thinking there must be a d—d strong tide running this morning." "Why?" said he. "Why?" answered the other, "why, because these poor beggars have been pulling away this half hour, and have'nt got an inch a head yet!"

The custom of sentencing soldiers to serve in the Royal African Corps, must naturally be attended with bad consequences, not only to the soldiers themselves, but to the natives. If we desire to enlighten a savage race, we could scarcely devise a worse plan than that of sending amongst them the refuse of a civilized country, who carry into the new community, the worst vices and crimes of an old country. These soldiers consider themselves to be exiled for life from their native land, and as they entertain no hope whatever, under such forlorn circumstances, of redeeming their character, they abandon themselves to debauchery, and give a free vent to the most debasing tendencies of their nature. The influence of this injurious example, which is a thousand fold more powerful than all the precepts of the preachers, upon the minds of the Africans, must be obvious. It weakens the effect, even if it does not altogether obliterate the impressions of that morality which we so studiously labour to inculcate. The African says, "The white man tells us not to do those things which are wicked in the sight of God; yet, in the same breath, he commits the very guilt against which he warns us. The white man tells us that drunkenness is a crime in the eyes of God, yet he drinks until his senses become stupified; he tells us not to curse and blaspheme; yet the most terrible oaths are on his lips. Which are we to follow? the white man's words or his actions?" If we wish to command respect, and to impress upon the savage the real advantages of civilization, we should send out only such persons as would be likely to secure a complete influence and ascendancy over the uninstructed people, and so demonstrate to them, by the force of actions, the purity and stability of the Christian faith, the importance of education, and the practical benefits of social organization. If it be necessary, as no doubt it is, to send out Europeans to serve in the African Corps, they should be sent in the capacity of officers, or non-commissioned officers: privates of good character might be selected, who would volunteer to go out on certain conditions, perhaps on some such terms as these: to serve as corporal for a limited period, after which time, if their conduct had been unimpeachable, to be advanced to the rank of serjeant, when, having served in that rank for a prescribed period, they might be permitted to return home on a pension. Two years might be assigned as the first period of service, and three as the second, making altogether a service of five years in Africa, which, considering the opinion that is popularly entertained respecting the climate, might be deemed of sufficient duration. I am aware that this suggestion is liable to one objection arising from the prejudice that is generally entertained against the climate, namely, the difficulty that would arise, in the first instance, in obtaining volunteers; nor am I entirely prepared to say, that the objection is without force. But the plan might be tried, and the temptation which would be held out, by the certainty of promotion, might, probably, be considered an adequate compensation to the risk: and, in case any individual should have conducted himself throughout the whole period of his service, to the entire satisfaction of his officers, and should subsequently wish to remain at the colony, it might be adviseable to offer him a small government appointment, or, in some cases, the reward might be extended to a commission in the Colonial Corps. If this could be carried into effect, it would certainly be attended with considerable advantages; it would procure respect for the British name, recall the savage from his life of recklessness, and put a final stop to those disgraceful scenes of profligacy which are so frequently witnessed in the streets of Sierra Leone.

Having requested my friend Dr. Barry, who was at the head of the Medical Staff at Sierra Leone, to procure me what information he could on the subject of vaccination and small-pox, in Africa, he most obligingly forwarded me the following document, which, for the sake of perspicuity, is put in the form of question and answer.

Replies to Dr. George Gregory's Queries on Vaccination and Small-pox, Sierra Leone, 24th September, 1827.

1st. Is vaccination generally practised among the infant negro population?

2nd. Whence do they derive their stock of lymph?

3rd. What is the degree of confidence placed in it?

Vaccination is not at all practised among the negro population, by native vaccinators; it is, however, practised among certain branches of the negro population by European surgeons; the negro population of Sierra Leone consists of Nova Scotian, and Maroon settlers, liberated Africans, and several of the aboriginal African tribes, namely, Timmanees, Mandingoes, Soosoos, Boollams, Sherbros, &c. &c. &c. The three first mentioned of these branches of the negro population, having greater intercourse with Europeans, are better acquainted with European customs, and have, of course, imbibed more of European notions and prejudices, on such subjects as the one now under consideration, than the aboriginal inhabitants of this part of Africa; vaccination, therefore, is, and has been, practised among them to a considerable extent, the stock of lymph being derived from, and kept up by, frequent renewals from England. That their confidence in it, as a measure preventive of small-pox, is great, I judge from the anxiety which they shew, and the eagerness which they manifest to have their children vaccinated when the small-pox is raging around them; while, under ordinary circumstances, and when their fears have been lulled by the absence of this fatal epidemic, an absence which they well know is probably but temporary, they exhibit such an unaccountable apathy regarding vaccination, that a stranger might well suppose they had no faith in it as a prophylactic measure; notwithstanding this, I believe they have great confidence in it, although, from circumstances to which I shall presently allude, that confidence has declined considerably.

4th. How soon does the arcola arrive at its greatest height in those countries?

The arcola surrounding the vaccine vesicle is, I think, at its greatest height about the eleventh or twelfth day after vaccination, if the lymph used has been genuine.

5th. Does small-pox prevail there?

6th. Does small-pox prevail there after vaccination?

Small-pox prevails occasionally, and there are instances of its having occurred even in a confluent form after vaccination: one genuine instance of this kind came under my notice in the year 1824, in the person of a liberated African girl, of about sixteen years of age; vaccination had been performed in this case, by the late Dr. Nicol, Deputy Inspector of Hospitals, and was considered satisfactory; the case proved confluent; the secondary fever was accompanied by a severe diarrhoea, which carried off the patient about the thirteenth day. Another well authenticated instance of the same fact, occurred in the early part of the present year, in the family of a respectable Nova Scotian settler; other cases of a similar nature have been reported by the inhabitants; but I do not consider that, in these cases, the proofs of a pure previous vaccine disease have been satisfactorily established; when vaccination has been carried on for some time, from the same stock of lymph, the disease is apt to degenerate and become spurious, from which cause we require a frequent renewal of lymph from England, in order to keep it in continuous and successful operation; the spurious disease, on the fifth day, generally shews itself in the form of a small globated papula; on the eighth day, it presents sometimes an ash-coloured pustule, containing purulent matter; at other times, and less frequently, a brown-coloured scale, having a small quantity of purulent matter under it, capable of producing, by innoculation, a disease similar to itself; the great prevalence of a disease among the negro population, called "craw craw," is considered as materially influencing that change in the properties of the pure vaccine lymph, which has been just noticed: that apathy and indolence of which I have already accused the negro population, leads them to consider the appearance of disease in the arm, after vaccination, as the test of safety from small-pox, great as the difficulty sometimes is, in getting them to bring forward their children for vaccination, it is still greater to procure the examinations in its progress and maturation; the mere appearance of disease in the arm, is supposed to carry along with it immunity from small-pox; and, on the occurrence of the epidemic at an after period, it may be easily foreseen how wretchedly and how fatally this confidence in the spurious disease may be misplaced; I, therefore, do not consider, that, in all the cases spoken of among the inhabitants, as cases of small-pox occurring after vaccination, there existed satisfactory proofs of the patient having previously undergone the genuine vaccine disease; yet, I am sorry to say, that from such occurrences as these, vaccination has rather lost ground in the opinion of the negro population.

7th. Is small-pox an increasing malady?

Small-pox is not an increasing malady; it is generally introduced here from the slave cargoes of vessels detained by the squadron, and sent here for adjudication; were this source of its renewal removed, I am persuaded that small-pox would, in the course of a few years, be almost unknown in this part of Africa.

8th. Can the vaccine virus be retained on points and glasses, so as to be fit for use?

The vaccine lymph, if taken on points, will not retain its virulence seven days in this country: this observation is established by repeated trials; if taken on glasses, I would not be disposed to depend on its activity when kept longer than fourteen or sixteen days, though I have known it sometimes to retain its original properties for four or five weeks; if preserved in glass bulbs, hermetically sealed, in the manner practised by the National Vaccine Institution, I have known its properties unimpaired after keeping for three months; repeated trials have convinced me of the excellence of this mode of preserving the vaccine lymph, and, I believe it to be the best and surest that has been yet devised of transmitting the lymph from England to tropical countries: next to this method, I believe the crusts have proved the most successful.

9th. Are the young negro population pitted with the small-pox?

The negro population are pitted with the small-pox in the same manner as Europeans.

10th. Are there periodical vaccinations of large districts? or, is each child vaccinated soon after its birth? if the latter, how soon?

The practice, in these cases, is, as long as the vaccine lymph continues to produce a genuine disease, to keep it up by the weekly vaccination of all comers. Children are rarely vaccinated under four weeks old; but there is no rule observed on this head.

11th. What sort of scars are usually left in the arms?

The scar bears the shape of the original vesicle, and is slightly depressed below the surface of the surrounding skin; the surface of the scar is marked by a number of small depressions of various shapes, corresponding, I believe, with the cells in the original vesicle.

12th. Is vaccination, in hot countries, attended with feverish symptoms? and, if it is, on what day do they begin?

Vaccination is, sometimes, in this country, attended with feverish symptoms; but, in the most marked cases, so far as I have seen, these symptoms have been so slight, as almost to escape common observation. I have not remarked on what day they begin.

13th. Is vaccination ever followed by any eruptions?

I have seen only one case of this: an eruption appeared on the sixth day after unsuccessful vaccination; it was diffused over the whole body, and is now in progress.

W. FERGUSON, Assistant Surgeon, Royal African Corps.

N.B. The case alluded to, in the last of the above replies, was, in the first instance, papular eruption; the base of each papula being surrounded by an inflamed ring; the eruption was thickest on the thorax, and on the arms; in its progress, the eruption became pustular, the pustules being in circumference about half the usual size of the vaccine vesicle; on the twelfth day, the crusts had dropped from some of the smaller pustules; and, by the seventeenth day, they had all dropped off, leaving a mark, but not in any manner pitted; and which, I think, promises to be permanent.

W.F.

Thursday, October 4th, 1827.—At length the day arrived when I was to quit Sierra Leone, and I might say with some regret; for, during my residence there, I had been very hospitably and agreeably entertained by the principal government officers, as well as by several of the most respectable merchants; and I had found a sufficient variety of objects of interest, to yield ample occupation for the mind. I could have desired to remain sometime longer, particularly as the fine weather, and what is called the healthy season, was fast coming on, which would have afforded me more time to examine and reflect on what was of interest to the colony as well as to the mother country; but I was conscious of a feeling of still deeper regret, and of a different character from that of mere curiosity;—it was the pain of parting from those whose kind sympathy had led them to take more than a common interest in my pursuits, and to whose friendly and constant attentions I was indebted for the advantages I enjoyed while I remained in the colony.

The apprehension, too, which was afterwards fatally realized, that many of us should never meet again, was calculated to embitter my leave-taking, even more poignantly. Of the friends who were then around me at Sierra Leone, the greater number are now no more; the principal persons amongst whom are the following: Colonels Lumley and Denham; Mr. K. Macauley (member of council); Mr. Barber, Mr. Leavers, Mr. Reffel (acting judge), Mr. Magnus (clerk of the court), Lieutenant Green, R.A.C., and several gentlemen volunteers of the same corps.

At daylight in the morning, just as the ship was preparing to get her anchors up, a heavy tornado came on, and the rain continued for some hours after the violence of the wind had subsided. Notwithstanding the rain, however, Colonel Lumley, the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, and his private secretary. Lieutenant McLean, R.A.C., came on board at eight o'clock for a passage to Cape Coast, where the Lieutenant-Governor was going for the purpose of delivering the fortress of Cape Coast Castle into the hands of the British merchants, who were to take possession of it with a militia force, which they were permitted to organize for their own protection: the Government allowing them a stipulated sum to support the necessary establishment, at the same time withdrawing the troops of the Royal African Corps, and all the government stores, part of which were to be sent to Fernando Po, and the rest to Sierra Leone or England.

At ten o'clock we got under weigh, and made sail out of Sierra Leone harbour. The Horatio, a schooner, which Captain Owen had purchased to take provisions, mechanics and labourers to Fernando Po, was to have sailed in company with us, but from some unaccountable delay, she did not join us till we got to Cape Coast.[18] At noon, Cape Sierra Leone bore E. 1/2 S. distance seven miles; and the Banana Islands S. 1/2 E. The afternoon cleared up, and the wind was very light. From Sierra Leone to Cape St. Ann, the course is S. 57 deg. E. distance 86 miles. From Cape St. Ann to Cape Mesurada the course is S. 60 degrees E. distance 123 miles.

————— [17] All the headmen understand enough of English to perform any labour under the direction of Englishmen, and the Kroomen are a hard-working body of men.

[18] Fenao Gomez, a Portuguese, was the first person who rented a monopoly of the trade of the Coast of Guinea, on consideration of his paying 300 milreas per annum for five years; and he was to discover 100 leagues of coast per annum, beginning at Sierra Leone. He finished his discoveries at Cape St. Catherines.



CHAP. V.

Cape St. Ann—Dangerous Shoals—Old Sailors—Liberia—Origin and History of the Colony—Failure at Sherbro Island—Experiment at Liberia— Difficulties Encountered by the Settlers—Differences with the Natives— Final Adjustment—Improving State of the Colony—Laws and Morals— Remarks on Colonization

Friday, October 5th.—There was a moderate breeze from the westward, and fine weather. At eight o'clock, finding, by our calculation, that we had rounded the shoals of Cape St. Ann, we altered our course more towards the land, intending to run along the Gold Coast, within sight of the shore. These shoals are the most dangerous part of the west coast of Africa; and there is good reason to believe that many vessels have been wrecked on them, particularly in former times. There is but little doubt that H.M. (late) ship Redwing was lost here, for there has been no trace of her since the day she sailed from Sierra Leone, (the afternoon of which was very squally) excepting a small mast that was picked up on the coast, to the northward, with her name on it; and as she was bound from Sierra Leone to Accra, she had occasion to go round these shoals, which commence about 30 miles from Cape Sierra Leone. But there is an additional cause for apprehending that such was her fate, for I was informed by an officer, that he heard Captain Clavering say, that he did not believe in the existence of these shoals; it is not improbable, therefore, that, with an idea of shortening his passage, he might have attempted to have gone nearer to them than prudence would justify, and thus tempted the danger which he held to be apocryphal. They might also have neglected to sound sufficiently often, an error which I have frequently witnessed, and which arises from a mistaken wish to save trouble and time—a poor excuse for risking the loss of lives and property. I am sure this will not be the case with Captain Owen, for I believe he knows the ground under water where his ship is in soundings, as well as that which he sees above it; and among the jokes of the crew of his ship, there was one on his late surveying voyage, uttered by an old sailor, who said, that as soon as he was paid off, he would set up a public-house in Wapping, with the sign of The Bag and Nippers,[19] and the words "Watch, there, watch!" written underneath. Notwithstanding this poor fellow's joke, he entered a second time with Captain Owen, on board the Eden, for an equally hazardous voyage, which he did not survive. I was near him in his last moments, when the fatal signal of ebbing life—the rattles in the throat—fell on the ear like the melancholy sound of the muffled drum in a dead march.

Sunday, 7th.—Light airs and variable, with rain at times. Cape Mesurada in sight great part of the day. Under the eastern side of this Cape is the American settlement of Liberia. The origin and progress of this colony present so many points of interest, that I am induced to lay before my readers a succinct account of its early history. I am chiefly indebted for the materials of this sketch to a pamphlet, which I procured in Sierra Leone, published a short time before in Washington.

The first efforts of the American Colonization Society were directed to Sierra Leone in 1818, when two Agents were sent there to purchase land for a new colony; on their arrival at their destination, two men of colour, well acquainted with the coast, accompanied them on a voyage of exploration. Having examined all the places which appeared suitable for their purposes, they finally made arrangements for forming the new colony on Sherbro Island, about 100 miles south of Sierra Leone, when one of the agents returned to America, the other having died on his passage. The Society now resolved to fit out an expedition immediately, in which they were greatly aided by the President, the object seeming to be well calculated to promote the political advantages of the United States. The first colonists left America in February, 1820. They consisted of two government agents, one from the society, and eighty-eight persons of colour. These emigrants were very unfortunate: they arrived just at the commencement of the rainy season, the damps of which were much increased by the unhealthiness of the low, marshy ground of the Sherbro. The result was that all the agents, and a great number of the colonists died; the remainder wisely abandoned a speculation so fruitful of risk. Those people remained at Sierra Leone until new agents were sent out, and another spot selected lor colonization. The new scene of operations was Liberia.

The territory on which the first settlement, of the colonists of Liberia was made, forms a tongue of land of twelve leagues extent, in no part more than a league in width, and in some parts contracted to half that distance. This peninsula is so connected with the main land, as to represent a scale beam, the narrow isthmus answering to the pivot; which isthmus is formed by an acute angle of the Junk river on the eastern side, that falls into the sea at the S.E. extremity of the peninsula and an acute angle of the Montserado river on the western side, which falls into the sea at the N.W. extremity. Thus the N.E. side of the peninsula is washed by the above rivers; and the whole of the S.W. side by the sea. The north-western termination of this linear track of country is Cape Montserado, which towards the extremity rises to a promontory, sufficiently majestic to present a bold distinction from the uniform level of the coast.

The town of Monrovia is situated on the inland side of the peninsula, on the S.W. bank of the river Montserado, about two miles within the extremity of the Cape. The original settlement approached within 150 yards of the water, and occupied the highest part of the spiral ridge, which traverses a large part of the peninsula, and rises at this place to about 75 feet. At the time this territory was purchased by the agents of the American Colonization Society, in December 1821, this tract of land was covered by a dense and lofty forest, entangled with vines (a very large description of parasitical plant, so called) and brushwood, which rendered it almost impervious to new settlers.

Opposite the town, are two small islands containing together less than three acres of ground. The largest of these islands is nearly covered with houses built in the native style, and occupied by a family of several hundred domestic slaves, formerly the property of an English factor, but now held in a state of qualified vassalage (common in Africa) by a black man.

This little community lives so entirely within its own resources, that the individuals composing it are little known by their neighbours; their utter indifference to whose politics, however, does not preserve them from their dislike and envy, which, without the protection of the American colony, would soon be converted into acts of oppression.

There are four tribes in the neighbourhood of this coast, viz. the Deys, who extend along the coast twenty-five miles to the northward of Montserado, to the mouth of the Junk about thirty-six miles to the south-eastward. Next, towards the interior, the Queahs, a small and quiet people, whose country lies to the east of Cape Montserado. The Gurrahs, a more numerous and toilsome race, occupying the country to the northward of the upper part of the St. Paul river. And further into the interior, the Condoes, whose warlike character renders them the terror of all their maritime neighbours.

On the beach, one mile to the north of the new settlement, there is a small hamlet belonging to the Kroomen, a people entirely distinct in origin, language, and character, from all their neighbours. They originate from the populous tribe, whose country is Settra Kroo near Cape Palmas, and are well known as the pilots and watermen of the country. The number of families belonging to this hamlet, scarcely exceeds a dozen, and may comprehend fifty individuals.

The purchase of the Montserado territory being effected, it was first occupied by such American emigrants as could be collected early in the following year, at which time the indications of hostility exhibited by the Dey people, demonstrated but too distinctly the insincerity of their engagements with the new settlers, the first division of whom, consisting chiefly of single men, were met with menaces, and positively forbidden to land. This purpose they, however, effected upon the small island of Perseverance, situated near the mouth of the Montserado, where they were kindly received by Mr. S. Mill, an African by birth, who was at that time occupant, and from whom the island had been purchased by Dr. Ayres on behalf of the Society.

After many ineffectual attempts to conciliate the friendship of the Deys, the ferment of opposition seemed to have subsided, and Dr. Ayres received an invitation to meet the chiefs at a friendly conference in King Peter's town. This amicable appearance, however, proved to be a mere ruse de guerre, and the doctor found himself a prisoner in the hands of his faithless allies. Nor could he obtain his freedom until he consented to receive back the remnant of the goods, which had been advanced to the natives the preceding month in part payment for their lands, but, in according this enforced compliance to their wishes, he contrived eventually to elude their purpose of ejectment, by pleading the impossibility of removing the emigrants until vessels could be procured for their use.

The individuals at this time upon the island of Perseverance, did not exceed twenty persons. The only shelter for them and their store was that afforded by half a dozen diminutive native huts; the island itself was a mere artificial formation, which being always becalmed by the high land of the Cape, was extremely unhealthy; it was also entirely destitute both of fresh water and firewood—which circumstances, added to the insalubrity of the air, and the closeness of their dwellings, soon produced a sensible effect upon the health of the settlers. Happily at this critical juncture a secret arrangement was concluded with King George, (a monarch who claims the right of jurisdiction over the northern district of the Peninsula) and by virtue of his authority the settlers were permitted (in consideration of certain presents, consisting of rum, trade-cloth, and tobacco) to cross the river and commence clearing the forest for the site of their intended town. Being stimulated to exertion, by the union of interest and self-preservation, their labours proceeded with surprising rapidity, and in a very few weeks presented the skeletons of twenty-two dwelling houses, ranged in an orderly manner to form the principal street of their town. Unfortunately, at this period, so promising to their hopes, and so honourable to their assiduity, a circumstance occurred that interrupted their avocations in the most painful manner, and plunged them into a disastrous war with the natives.

A small vessel, the prize of an English cruiser, bound to Sierra Leone, and having on board about thirty liberated Africans, put into the roads for water, and had the misfortune to part her cable and run ashore below George's town, where she was in a few hours beaten to pieces by the heavy surf. She was immediately claimed by the natives on behalf of their king, whose alleged rights they came forward to maintain by the force of arms.—In attempting to board, however, they were opposed and beaten back by the prize-master and his crew. The American settlers, perceiving the extreme danger of their English visitors, hastened to their relief, bringing with them a brass field-piece, which they turned against the assailants, who, terrified by so unaccustomed a mode of warfare, hastily retreated towards their forest-bound hamlet, leaving the English officer, his crew, and the Africans at liberty. The damage on both sides was, however, considerable; on that of the natives it consisted of many wounded men and two killed; on that of the strangers, in the total loss of their vessel, with most part of their stores and property; but on that of the settlers the injury sustained was fatally severe, it consisted of the destruction by fire of their most valuable and requisite stores, amounting in actual worth to three thousand dollars: a loss incalculably increased by their necessities.

The accident arose from some mismanagement of the fusee, used for the cannon, a spark from which communicating with the thatch of the public storehouse so rapidly spread into a flame, that it was only by the most daring courage that the powder, some casks of provisions, and a few other stores were rescued from the devastating element.

The natives meanwhile, exasperated at the interference of the settlers, and maddened by the sight of their wounded and dead brethren, were only restrained from taking summary vengeance by the dread of the artillery. Even this fear could not prevent their occasionally venturing near enough to fire upon the settlers and their new allies,—these furtive and for the most part futile indications of malignity, were, however, always easily repelled by a single shot from a four or six-pounder, which usually put the assailants for the time being to an immediate flight. But it was not to this mockery of warfare with King George's warriors that the annoyance of the settlers was limited. Many and various were the vexations to which the hostility of the Deys subjected the unhappy adventurers; in the mere act of obtaining water (for which purpose they had to pass through the enemy's town) their obstacles were endless. While the demolition of their unfinished houses, secretly accomplished by their persecutors, and similar injuries constantly practised, ultimately compelled them to discontinue their principal work. At length the vigilant hatred of their savage enemies, resolved itself into a mode of attack which robbed the settlers of all present means of resistance.—Watching their opportunity when the boats went up the river Montserado, in search of water, they sheltered themselves beneath the large trees and rocks which overhung the narrowest parts of the river, from whence they fired upon the boats at pleasure, alike without the possibility of receiving any injury, or of their victims avoiding the danger by a hasty retreat. In this adventure, one colonist and an English seaman lost their lives, and two other persons were slightly wounded.

The recurrence of such events did not fail to keep up a spirit of animosity between the Dey tribe and the colonists, whose principal crime in the eyes of the natives, was their aversion to the slave trade; an aversion which struck at the root of all the interest, fears, and prejudices of the Deys. Old King Peter, the venerable patriarch of the nation, and with whom the first treaty for the purchase of the ground had been negotiated, was capitally arraigned and brought to trial on a charge of betraying the interests of his subjects, by selling their country. The accusation was substantiated, and it became doubtful whether the punishment of high treason, would not be executed upon a monarch, whom they had been accustomed to venerate and to obey for more than thirty years.

Under these circumstances the settlers became seriously alarmed respecting the nature of the intercourse which might become necessary to the policy of Bacaia, the king of the larger island, and from whom they had received many proofs of friendship, in secret supplies of fuel and water. But as his plantations, with numerous detached bodies of his subjects, were entirety exposed to the power of the Deys, it seemed absolutely requisite that his friendship with that tribe should not be affected by any further acts of kindness to a people so inimical to their views. Hence the suspicions of the colonists became naturally excited against Bacaia. It appeared that the considerations which had been so painfully entertained on the part of the colonists, operated no less powerfully upon the mind of the chief; for he immediately summoned to his aid one of the most powerful and famous chiefs of the Condoes, by whose protection he had for many years been sustained in his dangerous contiguity to such quarrelsome neighbours.

King Boatswain, whose political influence over the maritime tribes of the country was nearly absolute, and whose name had long been the terror of his countrymen, replied to the request of his protegee with that prompt alacrity which characterized all his actions, almost immediately arriving in person, accompanied with an armed force sufficient to carry into effect any measure that might seem most desirable to their chief. He, with that apparent modesty in which extreme pride delights to dress itself, and which is but another way of exhibiting innate confidence, assured his allies,—that he came not to pronounce sentence between the coast natives and the strangers, but to do justice to all. He next convoked the head chiefs of the neighbourhood to a meeting with the American Agents, who were but just returned to the settlement, having been absent during the last mentioned events, and principal settlers, who on their part were required to set forth their grievances and the nature of their claims. These complained of the dishonesty of the Deys, in withholding the possession of lands which they had sold, and of the hostile acts committed against the colonists by King George's people. These charges were followed by a clamorous discussion on the part of the accused; which the haughty judge having heard, as long as his patience served, at length closed, by abruptly rising, with the remark, that, "as the Deys had sold their country, and accepted a part payment for it, they must abide the consequences of their indiscretion; and that their refusal of the balance due to them could not annul nor affect the sale. Let the Americans," said he, "have their lands immediately. Whoever is unsatisfied with my decision, let him say so."—Then turning to the Agents, "I promise you," said he, "protection. If these people give you further disturbance, send for me. And I swear, that if they oblige me to come again to quiet them, I will do it effectually, by taking their heads from their shoulders, as I did that of old King George on my last visit to settle their disputes."

The necessity of an acquiescence in this decree, being by common consent allowed, no farther opposition was offered by the natives, and the usual interchange of presents having been effected, the colonists resumed their labours with increased zeal and confidence.

On the 26th of April, the colonists took formal possession of the Cape, but unfortunately so much time had been lost in contesting with the natives, that, notwithstanding all their industry, the rainy and tornado season set in while the dwelling-houses were still roofless. In the island sickness began to make terrible ravages; both the Agents were among the sufferers, and it was soon evident, that unless a removal from their insalubrious situation should be speedily effected, the consequences would be finally fatal. Nor was this their only trial, for in the midst of this appalling visitation, the gaunt spectre famine reared its ghastly head, and threatened them with new terrors. In circumstances so dispiriting, where despair seemed about to crash the weakened energies of the labourers, and where nothing but activity could preserve them from the loss of life; it was perhaps more honourable to Dr. Ayres' benevolence than to his policy, that he proposed to convey the settlers back to Sierra Leone. It is, however, a fact worthy of record, as well as of admiration, that only a small part of the emigrants embraced this proposal. The rest, consisting of twenty-six persons capable of bearing arms, with a few women and children, together with Mr. Wiltberger, the Society's assistant agent, remained to combat the difficulties of their situation; thus nobly affording a pledge to find for themselves and their brethren a present home, and for the oppressed African, or the captured slave, a safe asylum on this once hostile coast.

The settled rains of the season now set in with unusual violence, and the struggles and hardships endured by this little band cannot be easily imagined. However, so great was their persevering industry, that before the first of May several dwelling-houses had been rendered habitable, with a small frame-house for the Agent; and a storehouse sufficient for their purposes had been constructed of servicable materials.

In the beginning of July the colonists completed their removal from the island, each took possession of the humble dwelling that was henceforth to constitute his home. The Agents had meanwhile both sailed for the United States, leaving the settlement under the management of one of the emigrants (Elijah Johnson of New York), who acquitted himself so much to the satisfaction of the settlers that he now enjoys one of the most respectable situations in the municipal government, conferred upon him by the people.

Still the most economical division of their rapidly diminishing store of provisions, could not enable them to exist through more than half of the rainy season, and as no present produce could be derived from the soil, their prospects continued dark and dispiriting, circumstances which derived no inconsiderable addition from the fact that their stores had been reported to the managers in the United States as sufficient for a twelvemonth's consumption. But, as though fortune, at length won to admiration of their heroic fortitude, had determined to recompense their sufferings, a vessel arrived, unexpectedly, with a moderate supply of stores, and thirty-seven persons patronized by the Colonization Society.

This vessel had encountered many difficulties on her passage, but she arrived safely off Cape Montserado on the 8th of August, being the middle of the rainy season; here Mr. J. Ashman, who had with a truly philanthropic feeling undertaken the direction of this expedition, received the first accounts of the departure of the Agents, and the disasters of the colony. A fresh difficulty now arose in providing dwellings for the newly arrived emigrants, as well as a larger and more secure storehouse for transport stores. And it was not until after four weeks of incessant labour that Mr. Ashmun had the satisfaction of seeing the passengers and property all safely landed, and provided with shelter to secure them from the rains of that inclement season.

He next lost no time in ascertaining the external relations of the settlement with respect to the temper of their neighbours, and for this purpose proceeded to conciliate those kings whose alliance he deemed most desirable. He encouraged them to trade with the colony, and sought to establish them in amicable bonds, by receiving their sons and subjects for the purposes of instruction in all those points which form the basis of civilization. Yet, notwithstanding these pacific measures, a hostile and malign spirit on the part of the Deys, could not be wholly concealed. These symptoms rendered it advisable that measures of permanent defence should be adopted, and on the 18th of August the present Martello tower was consequently planned and the building actively commenced.

Their military force was, meanwhile, extremely slender, consisting of not above thirty men capable of bearing arms. They had forty muskets, but out of six guns attached to the settlement, one only was fit for use, four of the remaining number being without carriages. There were no flints, and but little ammunition. It was soon perceived that a system of defence was to be originated, without either the materials or artificers usually considered requisite, but undaunted by obstacles like these, each difficulty seemed to stimulate the ingenuity of the colonists to fresh activity and untried resources.

With immense labour the guns were transported over the river, and conveyed to the height of the peninsula, where they were mounted on rough truck carriages. Thirteen African youths (attached to the United States Agency) were next exercised in the daily use of arms. A master of ordnance was also appointed to repair the small-arms, and to make up a quantity of cartridges, as well as to arrange minor details for service.

But their chief difficulties arose from the necessity of clearing the heavy forest from the neighbourhood of the town, and of keeping a constant nightly watch: a duty which required no less than the services of twenty men; but, arduous as these were, they were carried on with unremitting diligence by all whose health remained unaffected by the climate.

At the commencement of the third week after his arrival, the Agent was attacked with fever; and, a few days after, his wife, whose affectionate devotion had induced her to accompany him, was seized with symptoms fatally. The sickness, from this period, made so rapid a progress amongst the last division of emigrants, that, in a short time, there were but two of their number who were not on the sick-list.

Notwithstanding the domestic calamity, and the enervating debility which bowed the energies and spirit of the Agent, he continued, at every intermission of fever, to direct the operations of the colonists, and to organize such a plan of defence as he considered necessary to secure the safety of the settlement; so that, in the event of his death, they might not be deprived of their security.

To accomplish this purpose, five heavy guns were stationed at the different points of a triangle, which enclosed the whole town; each angle resting on a point of ground, sufficiently commanding to enfilade two sides of the triangle, and to sweep over a considerable extent beyond the lines. These guns were to be covered by musket-proof triangular stockades, of which two would be sufficient to contain all the settlers in their wings. The brass piece, and two swivels, mounted on travelling carriages, were stationed in the centre, ready to support the post exposed to the heaviest attack: these detached works were to be all joined together by a paling, intended to enclose the whole settlement; meanwhile, the Martello tower was to be carried on with all possible speed; and it was hoped that this, when completed, would almost supersede the necessity of the rest, and form an impregnable barrier to the efforts of any native force; while the tangled brushwood, and newly-felled trees, were to form a formidable and impracticable hedge forest side.

With all the details of this plan, the most intelligent of the colonists were made familiar, so that they might be carried into effect for the good of those who might happen to survive.

On the 8th of November, while these warlike preparations were still far from being completed, intelligence arrived at the colony, that King George, who, with his people, had previously evacuated the neighbouring town, and to whom the African youths had deserted, was advancing upon the settlement with a force, composed of such people, from among all the neighbouring tribes, as had the daring to set the authority of King Boatswain at defiance. Happily for the colonists, they had a means of acquiring intelligence of their enemy's deliberations and intentions, of which that enemy was little aware; a circumstance which enabled them effectually to guard against surprise, and of which the Agent took advantage to press the necessity of coolness and determination upon the attention of the men.

On the evening of November 10th, the army of King George made its appearance, at the distance of little more than half a mile to the westward of the settlement, where it encamped for the night. The number of warriors comprising this force, was generally estimated at nine hundred; but, as the chiefs were the only persons who could tell the exact amount, and each was afterwards interested to diminish the account of their individual subjects, it is probable that the force was much greater than it was allowed.

The most wakeful vigilance was kept up by the settlers throughout the night; but the out-piquet having imprudently ventured, in violation of their orders, to leave their station at the dawn of day, were immediately followed by the native force; who, suddenly presenting a front of ten yards in width, fired a volley, and then rushing forward, took possession of the post, towards which they had been so incautiously led, and from which the men were driven without having been able to discharge their guns. Had the enemy possessed the skill, or the self-denial to have kept their advantage, the colonists must have been utterly destroyed; but such was their avidity for plunder, that, abandoning every thing for the pillage of four houses in the outskirt of the settlement, they so far impeded and confused the main body of their army, that the colonists had time to recover from their panic, and, by keeping up a rapid fire with the brass field-piece, they brought the whole body of the enemy to a stand. A detachment of musketeers, with E. Johnson at their head, was, meanwhile, despatched round the enemy's flank, which considerably increased their disorder, and, in about twenty minutes, the main front of the assailants began to recoil, but from the numerous obstacles presented to their rear, the entire absence of discipline, and the difficulty of giving a reversed order, without method, to so large a body, and added to all, the delay arising from their practice of carrying off their dead, their retreat was, for a time, rendered impossible; and the violence used by those in front, to hasten this measure, only increased the difficulties of its accomplishment. The colonists, perceiving their advantage, quickly regained possession of the western post, and brought their long nine-pounder to rake the whole line of the enemy, who, pressed together into so dense a body, that a child might have walked on their heads from one end to the other, remained thus defenceless, and exposed to the destructive fire that was poured upon them by a cannon of great power, at no more than sixty yards distance; every shot from this tremendous engine did immense execution, and savage yells filled the forest with horrible echoes. These gradually died away, as the terrified host fell back. At eight o'clock the well-known signal for their retreat was sounded, and immediately after, small parties were seen running off in different directions. One large canoe, employed in carrying a party across the mouth of the Montserado, venturing within the range of the long gun, was struck by the shot, and several men killed.

On the part of the settlers it was soon ascertained that considerable injury had been sustained. One woman who had imprudently, and contrary to express orders, passed the night in a house outside the fortifications, and which happened to be at the point first attacked, received thirteen wounds, and had been placed aside as dead, (after incredible suffering she, however, recovered.) Another, flying from the house with two infant children, received a wound in the head, and was robbed of both her babes; but she herself providentially escaped. A young married woman, with the mother of five small children, finding their house surrounded, barricaded the door, in the vain hope of resistance. It was forced, when each of the women seizing an axe, held the barbarians in check several minutes longer; they were, however, speedily overpowered, and the youngest stabbed to the heart: the mother instinctively springing through the window to preserve her suckling babe, providentially escaped, but the babe recoiling through fright, was left behind and fell into the enemy's hands.

It was not possible to ascertain the number lost by the enemy, but it must have been very considerable, as it is calculated that the killed carried away by water alone amounted to not less than 150. Many others were conveyed along the beach on mats; and twenty-seven bodies were at one period found by a party of friendly Condoes employed by the Agent to remove them; and long after this action the offensive effluvia from the wood proved that the researches of these persons were still incomplete.

The numerical force of the settlers at this period amounted to 35 persons, including six native youths not sixteen years of age. Of this number, but one half were engaged. After this action it was determined to contract the lines, and to surround the central houses, and stores, with a musket-proof stockade, and before night more than eighty yards of this erection were completed.

The work was carried on with no other interruption on the following day, than the necessary one of burying the dead: and was so speedily completed that by the fourteenth of the month half the number of men were, by the contraction of the lines, relieved from camp duty: thus obtaining for each a larger portion of rest during the day, which enabled them to perform their night watch with renewed vigour. An additional gun was mounted and posted on the same day, and every hour witnessed some progress in the discipline or defences of the colonists.

It was at this period that a friendly message, accompanied by a small present, consisting of the country's produce, sent by Prince Tom Bassa, a chief of some distinction, inspired something like encouragement to the hopes of the desolate little band; but it cannot be denied that their despondency outweighed their hopes, on discovering that, exclusive of rice, there remained but fifteen days provision in store. Each individual was now placed on an allowance per diem, scarcely sufficient to sustain animal strength, especially when such constant demands were made upon their industry and vigilance. No supplies could be obtained from the natives, in whose hands seven infant children were retained as captives, added to which the enemy's troops, though repelled, had not dispersed, and the colonists remained in daily expectation of a fresh incursion upon their little territory; to complete all came the cruel conviction that their stock of ammunition was insufficient to maintain more than an hour's defence.

These considerations, as well as the fear that the infant captives might fall victims to their infuriated enemies, determined the Agent to make another attempt to open a treaty for peace with the hostile chiefs, and after great difficulty he succeeded in conveying a message to their council (then in the act of debating a second attack), descriptive of the wishes of the colonists to maintain peace, and of their equal determination to oppose an invasion, with measures still more destructive than those under which their assailants had already suffered. These negotiations being unsatisfactorily entertained for some time, a day of humiliation and prayer was set apart at the settlement, after which the preparations for resistance were carried on as before. Fortunately, at this juncture a trading vessel touched at the Cape, from which the most pressing wants of the people obtained relief, and a few days after, a still more bountiful supply was received through the disinterested kindness of Captain Brassey of Liverpool, who, unsolicited and without prospect of remuneration, nearly exhausted his own stores to relieve the necessities of the sick and wounded, and presuming upon a long acquaintance with the people of these parts, he undertook to negotiate for peace; his efforts were however not successful; and immediately after the departure of his vessel a considerable army advanced upon the colonists; they, however, on their part were better defended than on the former occasion, and although the force against which they had to contend was more numerous and better disciplined than before, yet as the forest in the neighbourhood of the town was now converted into a wide plain, the assailants were obliged to approach under a fire from the cannon, the rapidity of which to them appeared like magic.

The natives sustained these destructive measures with surprising fortitude and perseverance; several times throwing themselves on their faces to allow the shots to pass over them, and renewing their own fire immediately after each discharge. But a contest so unequal could not be long maintained—in seventy minutes from the commencement of the attack a final victory was accomplished; and the terrified fugitives dispersed as suddenly as they had appeared, many throwing themselves into the water and diving to avoid the shots that were fired after them. The loss on the part of the natives was supposed not to be greater than upon the former occasion, but its results were longer and more fearfully remembered. Three men belonging to the colony, serving at the guns on the eastern post were wounded, Gardiner and Crook dangerously, Tines mortally; the Agent received three bullets through his clothes, but providentially escaped without any bodily hurt.

There was at this time but little surgical knowledge, less skill, and no instruments at the settlement. Its dispensary was liberally furnished with James's powders and febrifuges; but for broken bones, and extracting pieces of pot-metal or copper ship-bolts from shattered limbs, there had been no provision whatever. A dull penknife or razor were substituted for lancets; and for probes there was nothing to be had but pieces of priming wire; the sufferings of those compelled to carry in their cankering wounds the corroding metal, were indescribably afflicting; and served to exemplify, most completely, the cruelty of placing men subject to the casualties of war, beyond the reach of surgical assistance.

A movement on the following night, supposed to indicate hostility, induced the officer, on duty at the western post, to open a pretty brisk fire of musketry, with several discharges from the large guns. This, however, proved a most fortunate circumstance, for it was not only the cause of bringing immediate relief to the settlement, but was finally productive of the most beneficial results.

The English colonial schooner, Prince Regent, laden with military stores, having as passengers Captain Laing of the Royal African Light Infantry, and a prize crew commanded by Midshipman Gordon, belonging to H.B.M. sloop of war, Driver, six days from Sierra Leone, bound for Cape Coast, was at the time in the offing (a little past the Cape). So unusual a circumstance as cannonading at midnight could not fail to attract notice, and the vessel lay to till morning, when a Krooman carried on board intelligence of the situation of the settlement, and was immediately despatched on shore with offers of assistance.

On the following day the officers landed, and kindly undertook to mediate on behalf of the colonists. An interview with the native Chiefs was without much difficulty procured, their warriors having dispersed, and themselves being overwhelmed with vexation and shame. After a little show of affected reluctance, they were easily induced to sign an instrument by which they became bound to observe an unlimited truce, and to refer all their future differences with the settlers to the arbitration of the Governor of Sierra Leone. It is scarcely necessary to remark that having no real grievances to submit, they never had recourse to this provisionary reference; from which time the colony has been considered invincible to native force, and consequently has been permitted to prosecute its plans in the utmost tranquillity, uninterrupted even by the semblance of war.

The death of the amiable and lamented Gordon, with eight out of eleven generous seamen, who volunteered their services to remain on the settlement to guarantee the truce settled by Captain Laing, was the first event that occurred to interrupt the general joy that prevailed after the consummation of peace; these gallant fellows all fell victims to the climate, within four weeks after the departure of the Prince Regent, on the 4th of December.

On the 8th of the same month, the colonists received fresh assistance through the friendly offices of Captain Wesley and his officers, whose vessel, a large privateer schooner, under Columbian colours, came to an anchor off the town. By the aid of mechanics, obtained from this vessel, the settlement was put into a superior state of defence, while the sufferings of the wounded were alleviated by the assiduous attentions of a skilful surgeon. After conferring upon the settlers countless obligations during a term of four weeks, Captain Wesley's vessel sailed, bearing with it the sincerest wishes of a grateful people.

The Agent's health, which had promised improvement, sunk into a state of hopeless debility, and by the 16th of December, medicines utterly failed to produce any beneficial effect. It was at this period that a remedy of the most singular nature was presented to him by a French charlatan, who, accidentally touching at the Cape, offered his services; a drowning wretch it is said will catch at a straw, and from despair rather than hope the Agent submitted to his adviser, and consented to try the effects of his prescription. A potion, was accordingly prepared, of which one ingredient was a spoonful of calomel! Having administered this, the Frenchman proceeded on his voyage, leaving the patient to abide the consequences of his docility. Such, however, was the weakness of his system, that he could neither throw it off, nor take it into circulation for five days. The crude poison was then voided, and a distressing salivation ensued, in the course of which all other morbid symptoms disappeared: by the middle of February, he was restored to health and the active duties of his station. Two out of the number of captive children had been delivered up for a small gratuity; five still remained, for whose release an extravagant ransom was demanded, terms steadily rejected by the colonists. It speaks well, however, for the humanity of the natives, that their first object had been to place these young prisoners in the care of experienced nurses. These protectresses so entirely won the affection of their charges, that when the chiefs determined eventually to restore them unransomed to their parents, they were obliged to be taken from their nurses by main force.

The long illness of the Agent, had relaxed the principle of industry and order, which he had been so anxious to establish; and on his recovery he found that it required all his influence to rouse the colonists into those exertions, which were necessary to secure their comfort, and the safety of their stores, during the rainy season. The huts were still without floors, and except the storehouse there was but one shingled roof, so that through the thatch of nearly all, the rain could easily penetrate in continued streams.

The store of provisions was now consumed, and still remained unreplenished by any shipment from America, while the neglect of effective financial arrangement on the part of the Colonization Society at home, rendered it difficult for the Agent to make purchases from occasional vessels, and he had already a larger pecuniary responsibility, than as an individual he could justify either to himself or others; the productions of the country had been rendered available, but the few disposable goods which the settlers possessed were now all exhausted in their purchases.

Matters had arrived at this extremity, when, on the 12th of March, the welcome intelligence of the arrival on the coast of the U.S. ship Cyane, R.T. Spence, Esq. was announced, by a Krooman from Sierra Leone. By the judicious and indefatigable exertions of that officer, the hulk of the dismantled and long-condemned schooner Augusta, was again floated, and metamorphosed into a seaworthy and useful vessel, on board which Captain Spence placed a crew and a quantity of stores for the new settlement, under the command of Lieut. Dashiell. Not satisfied with these important services, he rendered the Agent's house habitable, and caused the Martello tower to be completed, chiefly by the labour of his own crew, before the 20th of April; and it is to be deeply regretted that the sickness which had begun to make fearful inroads in the crew of his ship, during her stay at the Cape, terminated in the death of no less than forty persons, soon after her return to America.

Dr. Dix, the surgeon of the Cyane, became the earliest victim of a too generous zeal for the advancement of the colony. The tears of gratitude fell upon his grave, which was closed over his remains by the hands of a sorrowing community. The case of the amiable Seton is still more worthy of memorial, in him the blossoms of youth had just ripened into the graceful bloom of manhood, giving to a person naturally prepossessing, the higher ornament of a benevolent disposition, and accomplished mind. He perceived that his services would be invaluable to the colony, and he became the voluntary companion of the solitary Agent. His conciliating manners, and judicious counsels, completed the conquest of public approbation, and rendered his decease (which took place on board the Oswego, five days after he had re-embarked for the United States), a subject of unmitigated grief to the whole colony.

The arrival of the above-mentioned vessel, bringing an accession of sixty-six emigrants from the middle states of America, with ample stores and a physician, terminated the difficulties of the colonists, and since that period, the settlement has continued rapidly improving in all those resources necessary to the comforts of peace; as well as in those means of defence which serve, at once, to repel, and even defy the incursions of war.

From this period the affairs of the colony have rapidly improved. In a short time after peace was restored, sixty-one new emigrants, and a supply of stores, under the charge of Dr. Ayres, augmented the resources of the colonists; but that gentleman was obliged, in consequence of the state of his health, to resign, at the close of 1823, the superintendance of the interests of the colony to Mr. Ashmun, who continued, until the period of his death, to act as principal Colonial Agent to the Society. To Mr. Ashmun's admirable management of the affairs of the colony, much of its contentment and security may be attributed. He purchased from its natural owners, all the territory he occupied; and as not an acre was taken without an equivalent, the natives were well pleased to cultivate an intercourse that was at once so profitable and desirable. In 1825, a number of fresh emigrants arrived, whose pursuits were of an agricultural nature, and as they desired to go into the jungle at once, and commence operations, a negotiation was opened with the neighbouring tribes for the purchase of land. The ground selected was a tract of about twenty miles, varying from one to three miles in breadth, lying on the navigable part of the St. Paul's river. The advantages of this accession of territory, consisted in the opportunity it afforded the settlers of dwelling on their plantations, instead of being compelled to live in the town, at an inconvenient distance from them; in the fertility of the soil, which was sufficiently rich to enable the emigrant to support himself and his family, a short time after his arrival; in making the agricultural settlement more available and compact; and in securing the trade of the St. Paul's river, which was an object of great importance. Subsequently to that period, other additions have been made to the possessions of the colonists; and, at present, the colony extends nearly 150 miles along the coast, and a considerable distance into the interior. The government of the colony commands eight trading stations, established on the purchased land for the convenience of, and intercourse with, the natives, from Cape Mount to Trade Town; and the prospects and advantages of the colonists, are every day improving.

The laws by which a colony so prosperous and happy is governed, must suggest a subject of deep concern to every man who is interested in any project, that has for its end the promotion of the well being of any section of his fellow-creatures. In this little colony, which has succeeded so effectually in securing the confidence and attachment of the natives, the utmost vigilance appears to have been exercised from the commencement, to prevent any dangerous precedents from being established, that might afterwards be cited for the defence of customs injurious to the interests of the settlers. One of the first principles adopted, even before the regulations by which the colonists were governed assumed the tangible shape of law, was that all persons born in the colony, or residing in it, should be free, and enjoy all the rights and privileges of citizenship known to the United States of America, which was taken as the model of the Liberian Constitution in all respects, except that anomaly, the institution of slavery. It must always continue to be a matter of surprise and regret, that a country which expended so much blood on the purchase of its independence, should sanction within its boundary the existence of slavery as a legal right. The ermine is said to die if a single stain fall on its spotless skin, and one would suppose that the giant republic of the new world would be equally susceptible throughout her mighty frame of the taint of slavery; but, perhaps, there is a fine moral in the fact, to shew us that the works of man, even in his most elevated inspirations, must of necessity be imperfect. The wisdom and power of the Godhead alone can produce perfection.

The colonists of Liberia resolved to avoid the error of the parent country. They began by banishing the very name of slave, and they have persisted in their resolution to keep themselves free. Under the provisions of their constitution, the Colonization Society is empowered to make such regulations as may appear requisite for the government of the colony, until it shall withdraw its superintendence, and leave the colonists to govern themselves; the common law, as it is in force in the United States, is applied to the jurisdiction of Liberia. In 1824 a regular plan for the civil government of the colony was drawn up, and a digest of laws framed, which have been approved of, and are now in full operation. By this plan, the Agent is invested with sovereign power, subject only to the decision of the colonial board; municipal and judicial officers are appointed; the choice of certain offices is vested in the colonists, subject to the approval of the Agent; and standing committees of agriculture, of public works, of colonial militia, and of health are appointed, whose duties are clearly defined and rigidly enforced.

The criminal code is singularly mild: the highest degree of punishment being expulsion from the colony, which is a very beautiful exemplification of the sense of honour and integrity that the colonists entertain, when, for the most flagrant violations of civil rights and good order, they deem it a sufficient disgrace and infliction to cast out the guilty person from all further communion, the property of the exile being given to his heir; or, in lack of an heir, reverting to the general stock.

The remarkable success which crowned the efforts of the settlers in Liberia, has subsequently led to the consideration of more extensive plans for the establishment of colonies for liberated slaves. Of course, in proportion as the circle of manumission is enlarged, the provision for the future welfare of the emancipated blacks must he increased:—with a double view, therefore, not only to prepare adequate settlements for their reception, but by the exercise of an active liberality to encourage the spirit of freedom which was found difficult of accomplishment at first, but which ultimately yielded to the energies of the opponents of the slave trade in America. Many attempts had been made in the United States to abolish, or at all events diminish the practice of slavery, bat in vain; for it appears, however startling and apocryphal the statement may seem, that the English Government, during the period that they exercised sovereignty in the Union, always refused to sanction the abrogation of slavery. Even so far back as 1698, the mother country rejected a proposition made by the assembly of Pennsylvania, to levy a duty of 10 per cent. per head on the importation of slaves; which was intended to operate as a prohibition. Indeed, one of the proximate causes of the Declaration of Independence (July 1776) was the unrestricted introduction of slaves. Soon after the American war had terminated, it was suggested as an appropriate measure, in fulfilment of views which had been so long defeated by the influence of English authority, to establish a colony on the coast of Africa, but the continued pursuit of the degrading traffic by almost all the powers of Europe, prevented the benevolent projectors from carrying their design into effect. Twenty years afterwards, the plan was revived, and the most strenuous exertions were made in the different States to organize a body of opinion, which should finally triumph over the self-interests and reluctant morality of the slave-owners. At this period, one of the difficulties which the philanthropic abolitionists experienced was the want of a suitable refuge for such slaves as they might be enabled to liberate. The legislature of Virginia, which contains nearly one-third of the black population of the Union, pledged itself to release all its slaves, if Congress would undertake to provide an adequate asylum for them. President Jefferson negotiated in vain for a territory in Africa, and the Brazils. The legislature of Virginia again renewed its pledge, and as much of the bigotry of former times had now been obliterated by the diffusion of enlightened principles, the renewal of the proposition was followed by the best results. General Mercer, familiarly designated as the Wilberforce of America, opened a correspondence with the principal advocates of emancipation, which ultimately produced the formation of the American Colonization Society, on the first of January, 1817. The labours of the Society were greatly facilitated by the laws of the Union, which left to each State the uncontrolled power of legislating for itself on the subject of slavery. The members of the Society had therefore merely to address themselves to the humanity and understanding of the slaveowners, in order finally to attain their purpose. The progress of moral truth, however slow, is always certain, and the issue of those proceedings has been such as the excellence of their object might have led us to anticipate. Several of the States have already signified their willingness to forego all the pernicious advantages of slavery. And the number of slaves offered gratuitously by owners in different parts of America, vastly exceed the present means of the Society to provide for them in Africa. The legislature of Maryland appreciate so highly the utility and importance of the settlement of Liberia, that they have voted in the first instance a considerable sum, to be appropriated annually to its support, and have subsequently, within the last six months, voted two hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of assisting in the formation of another settlement on the same principles.