Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/404

 398 LIBERIA esculent and farinaceous roots chiefly culti- vated are the sweet potato, the cassava, the yam, the tenia, which in flavor resembles the potato, and the arrow root. Cabbages, beans, peas, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, and almost all the common garden vegetables known in America, thrive when planted in the proper season. The fruits are numerous and fine. Among them are the mango, lemon, lime, orange, guava, tamarind, pomegranate, cocoa- nut, plantain, banana, rose apple, African cherry, pineapple, avocado pear, and the Afri- can peach. Wild animals are becoming scarce in Liberia, and the elephant, hippopotamus, leopard, crocodile, boa constrictor, and deer, formerly abundant, are now rarely met with. Monkeys, guanas, chameleons, lizards, and ants in great variety, abound in the forests. The driver ants, which travel from place to place in countless multitudes, are welcomed by the peo- ple, for when they enter a house they soon clear it of every other species of insect and vermin. The population of Liberia is composed of colored emigrants from the United States and their descendants, who are the ruling class, and of uncivilized native tribes. The total popula- tion, according to the latest official estimates of the Liberian government, amounts to about 720,000, of whom 19,000 were Americo-Libe- rians, and the remaining 701,000 aboriginal inhabitants. The colonists live in houses gen- erally a story and a half high, built of wood upon a basement of stone, with a porch in the front and rear, and in Monrovia and the other towns standing in yards enclosed with wooden palings or stone walls built without mortar. The moisture of the climate and the ravages of a species of termite cause wood to decay very rapidly, and give the towns an old and dilapi- dated appearance ; and in the newer dwellings stone or brick is more used. The native method is to build of wattles and mud. The yards are planted with tropical fruit trees, and are sometimes very handsome. The better dwellings are well and even elegantly fur- nished. The natives generally wear a single t loose garment, leaving the head and feet bare ; but the colonists dress like Europeans, and in Monrovia are rather distinguished for dressing well. They are strict observers of the Sab- bath, and have many churches, to which they give a full and constant attendance. There is a regular system of common schools, high schools, and a college. In 1870 there were in Mesurado county 36 public schools, with 37 teachers and 1,155 pupils. The Methodist Episcopal church has organized the Liberia mission into an annual conference, with a missionary bishop at its head. The mission in 1872 had 24 missionaries, 26 churches, 15 day schools, and 2,239 members, inclusive of pro- bationers. The Protestant Episcopal church also supports at the head of its mission a mis- sionary bishop, and in 1871 had 10 Liberian and 14 native stations, 13 clergymen, 9 churches, 1 chapel, and 453 communicants. The Baptist churches in 1868 organized the Liberian Bap- tist missionary union for the evangelization of the heathen within the borders of the republic and contiguous thereto, at the first meeting of which 10 Baptist churches were represented. A training school for Baptist preachers and teachers has been established at Virginia. The Presbyterian churches of Liberia have an ag- gregate membership of about 250, and form with those of Gaboon and Corisco the presby- tery of Western Africa. The native popula- tion under the jurisdiction of the republic com- prises a variety of tribes, of whom the princi- pal are the Veys, the Pessehs, the Barlines, the Bassas, the Kroos, the Grebos, and the Mandin- gos. The Veys, who extend from Gallinas, their northern boundary, southward to Little Cape Mount, and inland about two days' journey, are considered superior to all other tribes on the coast, except the Mandingos, in morals and intelligence. They invented about 30 years ago an alphabet for writing their own language. As they are in constant intercourse with the Mandingos and other Mohammedan tribes of the interior, Mohammedanism is making rapid progress among them. The Protestant Epis- copal church of the United States has estab- lished a mission school among them at Toto- coreh. The Pessehs live about 70 m. from the coast, and extend about 100 m. from N. to S. They supply most of the domestic slaves for the neighboring tribes. A mission begun among them by the Presbyterian board of foreign mis- sions has been abandoned, and the tribe is still entirely pagan. The Barlines are the tribe next interior to the Pessehs, and have recently been brought into treaty relations with Liberia. Their capital, Palaka, contained in 1858 a pop- ulation of 8,000, half of whom were Sunni Mohammedans ; but according to the account of W. Spencer Anderson, the latest explorer, there were no longer any Mohammedans in the Barline country. The Bassas, who occupy a coast line of over 60 m., and extend about the same distance inland, are the great producers of palm oil and camwood, of which thousands of tons are annually sold to foreigners. Amer- ican Baptist missionaries established a mission among them in 1835, and reduced their lan- guage to writing. Recently the son of a sub- ordinate king of the Grand Bassa people, Jacob M. Vonbrunn, has displayed great zeal in behalf of Christianity and civilization. The Kroos, who occupy the country S. E. of the Bassas, are a powerful tribe, extending about 70 m. along the coast and only a few miles inland. They are black and woolly headed, and are a stout brawny race, very industrious, and peculiarly fond of working on board ships. They are good seamen, and generally speak English. The greatest ambition of a Krooman is to marry many wives ; this is said to be the chief reason why they wander from home and labor on ships. When one of them has earned money enough to buy a wife, he returns to his native village, marries, and remains a while at