Africa is the Land of Black Men, and to Africa they must and will come.—John Kizell.Tell my brethren to come—not to fear—this land is good—it only wants men to possess it.—Daniel Coker.
Africa is the Land of Black Men, and to Africa they must and will come.—John Kizell.
Tell my brethren to come—not to fear—this land is good—it only wants men to possess it.—Daniel Coker.
The American Colonization Society was founded in Washington in December, 1816. To it Liberia is due. On the 23rd of December, 1816, the legislature of Virginia requested the governor of the state to correspond with the President of the United States “for the purpose of obtaining a territory on the coast of Africa, or at some other place not within any of the states, or territorial governments of the United States, to serve as an asylum for such persons of color as are now free, and may desire the same, and for those who may hereafter be emancipated within this commonwealth.” A few days after this a meeting was held at Washington to which persons interested were invited. Bushrod Washington presided; Mr. Clay, Mr. Randolph, and others took part in the discussions which ensued and which resulted in the organization of the American Colonization Society. Judge Washington was chosen president, a board of twelve managers were selected, together with seventeen vice-presidents from various states. The object of the Society was clearly set forth in the first and second articles of its constitution. “Article 1. This society shall be called The American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States. Article 2. The object to which attention is to be exclusively directed, is to promote and execute a plan of colonizing (with their consent) the free people of color residing in our country,in Africa, or such other place as Congress shall deem most expedient. 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 on the subject.”
We do not desire in the least to minimize the good, either of the intent or result, of the American Colonization Society. It is, however, only just to say that it was not a purely benevolent organization. Its membership included different classes. Of this Jay says: “First, such as sincerely desire to afford the free blacks an asylum from the oppression they suffer here, and by their means to extend to Africa the blessings of Christianity and civilization, and who at the same time flatter themselves that colonization will have a salutary influence in accelerating the abolition of slavery; Secondly, such as expect to enhance the value and security of slave property, by removing the free blacks; and Thirdly, such as seek relief from a bad population, without the trouble and expense of improving it.” As a matter of fact, the American Colonization Society was largely an organization of slave holders. Judge Washington was a southern man; of the seventeen vice-presidents twelve were from slave states; of the twelve managers all were slave holders. Through a period of years the American Colonization Society and the Abolition Societies of the United States waged a furious conflict. The real purpose of the organization was to get rid of the free blacks at any cost, and the attitude of its members toward free blacks was repeatedly expressed in the strongest terms. Thus, General Harper, to whom the names Liberia and Monrovia were due, said: “Free blacks are a greater nuisance than even slaves themselves.” Mercer, a vice-president of the Society, spoke of them as a “horde of miserable people,—the objects of universal suspicion,—subsisting by plunder.” Henry Clay, an original member of the Society and for many years vice-president, said: “Of all classes of our population, the most vicious is that of thefree colored—contaminated themselves, they extend their vices to all around them.” Again Clay said: “Of all the descriptions of our population, and of either portion of the African race, the free persons of color are by far, as a class, the most corrupt, depraved, and abandoned.” And yet these excellent gentlemen repeatedly stated that in sending free black men to Africa, they were actually combatting the slave trade and Christianizing the natives. Clay himself said, in the same speech in which he referred to the free blacks as “corrupt, depraved, abandoned.”***“The Society proposes to send out not one or two pious members of Christianity into a foreign land; but to transport annually, for an indefinite number of years, in one view of its scheme, 6,000, in another, 56,000 missionaries of the descendants of Africa itself, to communicate the benefits of our religion and the arts.” Stripped of all pretense, the facts were that the free blacks of the day were not wanted in America, and that they must somehow be got rid of; accordingly they were dumped upon the African west coast.
This idea of recolonizing black men into Africa is not a new one; as far back as 1773, at which time slavery was common in New England, Dr. Samuel Hopkins became convinced of its wickedness and, with Dr. Stiles (afterwards president of Yale College) made an appeal to the public in behalf of some colored men whom he was preparing to send to Africa as missionaries. The Revolutionary War interfered with his plan. In 1783 Dr. Thornton, of Washington, proposed a colonization scheme and organized about forty New England colored men to go to Africa; his scheme failed for lack of funds. The British Sierra Leone Company in 1786 organized its colony at Sierra Leone for freed blacks. When Thomas Jefferson was President, he made application to the Sierra Leone Company to receive American negroes, but his request failed of effect. From 1800 to 1805 the project of colonization was again discussed. Veryinteresting was the work of Paul Cuffy, born in New Bedford, Mass., of negro and Indian parents; he was a man of ability, gained considerable wealth, and owned a vessel; he induced about forty persons to embark with him for Sierra Leone in 1815; they were well received and settled permanently in that colony. Paul Cuffy had larger schemes of colonization and planned to transport a considerable number of American negroes to Africa, but died before his plans were realized.
In 1818 the Society sent Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess to seek a suitable location for the colony. Samuel J. Mills was the young man to whom the work of foreign missions of the United States was largely due; after he graduated from college, he planned to establish a colony in the West; he became interested in a seminary for the education of colored men, who should go to Africa as missionaries, at Parsippany, N. J. Mills and Burgess went by way of England, where they called upon various persons of prominence in the hope of receiving information and advice which might be of use to them. They sailed from the Downs, England, in February, 1818, and were in Sierra Leone before the end of March; they examined the conditions there with interest and then, in company with John Kizell and a Mr. Martin, went farther down the coast; they reached Sherbro Island on the first of April and decided to found the settlement there.
This John Kizell, who was with them as adviser and friend, was a black man, a native of the country some leagues in the interior from Sherbro. His father was a chief of some consequence and so was his uncle. They resided at different towns; and when Kizell was yet a boy he was sent by his father on a visit to his uncle who desired to have the boy with him. On the very night of his arrival the house was attacked. A bloody battle ensued in which his uncle and most of his people were killed. Some escaped, the rest were taken prisoners, and among the latter was Kizell. His father made every effort to releasehim, offering slaves and ground for him; but his enemies declared that they would not give him up for any price, and that they would rather put him to death. He was taken to the Gallinhas, put on board of an English ship, and carried as one of a cargo of slaves to Charleston, S. C.—He arrived at Charleston a few years before that city was taken by Sir Henry Clinton. In consequence of the General’s proclamation, he, with many other slaves, joined the royal standard.—After the war he was remanded to Nova Scotia from which place he came to Africa in 1792. Kizell had established a small colony of colored people on Sherbro Island. He had prospered in trade, built a church, and was preaching to his countrymen.
Having accomplished the purpose of their journey, the commissioners started again for the United States. On the voyage Mills died.
On March 3, 1819, the Congress of the United States passed an act which was of consequence to the cause of African colonization. It provided that the President of the United States should have authority to seize any Africans captured from American or foreign vessels, attempting to introduce them into the United States in violence of law, and to return them to their own country. It provided also for the establishment of a suitable agency on the African coast for the reception, subsistence, and comfort of these persons until they could be returned to their relatives, or provide for their own support. From the time of the passage of this act the government and the Society worked in practical co-operation.
The first shipment of colonists took place in February, 1820, from New York, by the shipElizabethwhich had been chartered by the government. It carried two agents of the United States Government—Rev. Samuel Bacon and John P. Bankson; Dr. Samuel A. Crozer was sent as agent of the American Colonization Society; 88 emigrants accompanied them, who had promised in return for their passage andother aid of the Government, to prepare suitable accommodations for such Africans as the Government might afterwards send. The expedition went at first to Sierra Leone, thence to Sherbro Island, landing at Campelar, the point chosen by Mills and Burgess for settlement. The place was badly selected. Practically the whole company suffered frightfully from fever. Bacon, Bankson, and Crozer, all died, together with many of the colonists.
A second party was sent out in 1821 in theNautilus, a vessel chartered by the United States Government. It carried two agents of the government—J. B. Winn and Ephraim Bacon—and two agents of the colony—Joseph R. Andrus and Christian Wiltberger. Some emigrants accompanied them. On their arrival at Sierra Leone, the emigrants were left at Fourah Bay, while Bacon and Andrus went on down the coast in search of a suitable situation for settlement.
In this search they went as far as Grand Bassa. Soon after they returned to Sierra Leone, Mr. and Mrs. Bacon were invalided home; shortly afterwards Mr. and Mrs. Winn died of fever; thus Wiltberger was left alone in charge of the settlement, until Dr. Eli Ayres arrived as chief agent of the Society in the autumn. Wiltberger visited Sherbro, and finding the conditions of the settlers serious, he took them with him back to Fourah Bay, Sierra Leone. In December, Capt. Robert F. Stockton, of theAlligator, came to the coast with orders to co-operate so far as possible with the agents. Leaving Wiltberger in charge of the colonists at Fourah Bay, Ayres and Stockton made an exploration of the coast. On the 11th they reached Mesurado Bay, and being pleased with the appearance of the district, they sought a palaver with the native chiefs. Making their way through the jungle to the village of the most important chief, they found hundreds of people collected; negotiations were at once begun for land at the mouth of the Mesurado River, upon which a settlement might be made. The businesswas not conducted without excitement and some danger, but Stockton appears to have been a man of parts, and finally a contract was drawn up and signed by six kings, with their marks, and by Ayres and Stockton. The territory secured included all of the cape, the mouth of the river, and the land for some distance into the interior, although the boundaries were left indefinite.
There was a mulatto trader living in this district, by the name of John S. Mill. His friendship was of importance to the enterprise in those early days. Mill was an African by birth, the son of an English merchant who owned a large trading concern on the coast; he had enjoyed a good English education; he was himself the owner of the smaller of the two islands at the mouth of the Mesurado River, and this island was purchased from him for the use of the colony.
Land having been secured, measures were at once taken to remove the colonists from Fourah Bay to Cape Montserrado. Some of them refused to leave, and remained in Sierra Leone, becoming British subjects. It was January 7, 1822, when the colonists under the leadership of Agent Ayres reached their new home. It was soon learned that King Peter had been condemned by the people for the sale of the land, and that the natives desired that the colonists should leave; the vessel, however, was unloaded and preparations for building houses were made. On account of the threatening attitude of the natives, a palaver was held. There was considerable opposition, but the colonists persisted in their efforts. The month of February was a sickly time, and little was done toward settlement. About the middle of February more settlers came from Fourah Bay, and the place was crowded and in bad condition. Agent Ayres was absent in Sierra Leone, when an incident occurred which might have had serious results for the infant colony. The colonists at this time were living on Perseverance Island. A small vessel, prize to anEnglish schooner, with thirty slaves on board, put in for water at the island. Her cable parting, she drifted ashore and was wrecked. It was the custom of the coast to look upon wrecks as legitimate booty for the people upon whose shore they occurred. King George at once sent his people to take possession of the vessel and the goods, but they were met with resistance by the crew and were repulsed. While the natives were preparing to renew the attack, the Captain sent for help to the colony agent. Though no white man was there in charge, help was promised. A boat was manned and sent to his relief; a brass field piece on the island was brought to bear upon the assailants who were put to rout, with two killed and several wounded. The crew and slaves were brought safely to the land, but the vessel went to pieces and most of the stores and property were lost. The natives were very angry. The next day they resumed the attack, and the British soldiers and one colonist were killed.
On returning from Sierra Leone, April 7, Ayres found the colony in confusion and alarm. The natives had received only a part of the purchased goods for their land. They now refused to receive the balance and insisted on returning what they had received and annulling the transaction. To this the agent would not give consent. They invited him, therefore, to a conference, seized him, and held him until he consented to take back the articles already paid. They insisted that the colonists should leave, but agreed to permit their staying until a purchase could be made elsewhere. Under these circumstances, Agent Ayres appealed to a chief named Boatswain who, after hearing the complaint, decided in favor of the colonists and ordered that the goods should be accepted and the title given. In his decision he said that the bargain had been fair on both sides and that he saw no grounds for rescinding the contract. Turning to King Peter, he remarked: “Having sold your country and accepted payment, you must take the consequences.***Let the Americans have theirlands immediately. Whoever is not satisfied with my decision, let him tell me so.” To the agents he said: “I promise you protection. If these people give you further disturbance, send for me; and I swear, if they oblige me to come again to quiet them, I will do it by taking their heads from their shoulders, as I did old King George’s, on my last visit to the coast to settle disputes.”
By the 28th of April the whole colony of immigrants had come from Sierra Leone. Dissatisfied with Perseverance Island, they had moved over on to the higher land of Cape Montserrado and taken formal possession of it. This led to great excitement. There was a palaver at which many kings and half kings were present. Difficulties, however, were still pressing. The rainy season had begun; the houses were not fit for occupancy; fever was prevalent and both agents were suffering; provisions and stores were scanty—almost exhausted; it was realized that hostility on the part of the natives was but slumbering. Dr. Ayres, discouraged, determined to abandon the enterprise and to remove the people and the remaining stores to Sierra Leone. Wiltberger opposed this project, and the colonists also rejected it. A small number indeed accompanied Dr. Ayres to Sierra Leone. The remainder resolved to suffer every hardship, remained, and by July had their houses in fair condition. Soon, however, Wiltberger felt compelled to return to the United States. There was no white man to leave in charge of matters, and a colonist, Elijah Johnson, was appointed temporary superintendent.
It is at this point that Jehudi Ashmun came to Liberia. He was a remarkable man, and to him the colonial enterprise owes much. He was born April 21, 1794; he studied at Middlebury College and Vermont University; in 1816 he was principal of the Maine Charity School; in 1818 he married Miss C. D. Gray, at New York City; resigning his principalship on April 7, 1819, he removed to Washington where, for three years, he edited theTheological Repository; hehere thought seriously of entering the ministry; he wrote theLife of Samuel Bacon, who had died for the sake of the colonial enterprise; in 1822, June 20th, he embarked upon the brigStrong, at Baltimore, having been employed to accompany a cargo of returned Georgian slaves. Mrs. Ashmun accompanied him; they were 81 days upon the voyage; on August 9th they arrived at Cape Montserrado. When Ashmun arrived, a small spot had been cleared, about thirty houses had been constructed in native style, together with a storehouse too small to receive the supplies which had been brought; the rainy season was at its height; the settlers already on the ground were barely supplied with shelter; for the new-comers no provision had been made; though the whole country was hostile, there were no adequate means of defense; the total population of the settlement, including the new-comers, did not exceed 130 persons, of whom thirty-five only were capable of bearing arms.
It was a desperate situation; the erection of a storehouse and of a building to shelter the recaptured Africans was at once begun. The people and the goods were transferred as rapidly as possible from the vessel to the shore. On September 15th, less than six weeks after their arrival, Mrs. Ashmun died of fever, and on December 16th Ashmun himself was taken down and for two months his life was in doubt; it was not until the middle of February, 1823, that he was able to resume his duties.
Between the time of Mrs. Ashmun’s death and Ashmun’s illness, troubles with the natives reached their culmination. Fortunately the danger had been foreseen and preparations made. Defensive operations began on August 18th. The plan included the clearing of a considerable space around the settlement in order to render concealment of the natives difficult; the stationing of five heavy guns at the angles of a triangle circumscribing the whole settlement, each angle being on a point sufficiently commanding to enfilade two sides of the triangle and sweep the groundbeyond the lines; guns to be covered by musket proof; triangular stockades any two of which should be sufficient to contain all of the settlers in their wings; the brass piece and two swivels mounted on traveling carriages were in the center to support the post suffering heaviest attacks;—all to be joined by a paling carried quite around the settlement. Upon inspecting the matter of the force, it was found that there were only twenty-seven native Americans able to bear arms, when well. On November 7th it was found that an assault had been ordered within four days. Picket guards were set; no man was allowed to sleep before sunrise; patrols of natives were dispersed through the wood in every direction. Trees were felled in order to render approach more difficult. On Sunday, the 10th, it was reported that the enemy were approaching, crossing the Mesurado River a few miles above the settlement. Early in the night from 600 to 900 of them had assembled on the peninsula half a mile west, where they encamped. The attack itself was made at early dawn; it was vigorous, and at first the enemy had the distinct advantage; had they pressed it instead of delaying for looting, they would perhaps have won the day; as it was, the settlers recovered themselves and gained the victory. The number of the hostile dead could only be estimated; it could hardly have been less than 200 persons; the colonists had some dead and several wounded. The entire force of the settlers at the moment of the combat was thirty-five individuals of whom six were native youths not sixteen years of age; of this number only about one-half were actually engaged in fighting. Lott Carey and Elijah Johnson were notable for bravery in this defense. Attempts were made to bring about a treaty of peace with the enemy; these efforts were ineffective, and it was well known that a new attack might be expected. Nothing could be secured in the way of supplies from the surrounding country; all were put upon an allowance of provisions; the ammunition on hand was insufficient for an hour’s defense; it was impossible to know anything about the movement of the enemy, as there were no natives left in the settlement. Seven children had fallen into the hands of the native foe. November 23rd was observed as a day of humiliation, thanksgiving, and prayer. Two days later a passing steamer was able to give some relief in stores. On the 29th Capt. Brassey, aided with stores and by his influence, which was considerable, tried to bring about a peace with the hostile chiefs. It was in vain; the enemy had planned destruction that very night, but delayed the attack on account of his presence with his vessel. Guard was kept the night of the 29th, the 30th, December 1st; the attack was made at 4:30 in the morning of the 2d from two sides. How many were in the attacking force is not known, but there were more than in the first great battle; the battle lasted for more than an hour and a half and was most obstinately conducted; the loss of the enemy, though considerable, was less than in the preceding battle; one of the gunners of the colonists was killed. Conditions were so desperate that a renewal of the battle the following day might have proved fatal to the settlers. A seeming accident brought deliverance. An officer on watch, in the middle of the night, is said to have been alarmed by some slight noise; on hearing it, he discharged several muskets and a large gun. At that moment the schoonerPrince Regentwas passing; the well known Major Laing was aboard, and a prize crew of eleven seamen commanded by Midshipman Gordon; they were on their way to Cape Coast Castle, but, hearing midnight cannon, anchored in order to investigate with morning’s light; when they found the condition of things, Capt. Laing intervened in behalf of the colonists and brought about a truce; the chiefs agreed to refer matters of dispute, which might thereafter arise, to Sierra Leone for settlement. Midshipman Gordon and his eleven men were left behind to assist the colonists in case of need, and a plentiful supply of ammunition was given them. Gordon was a greatfavorite with the settlers; he was, however, together with his companions, quickly taken down with fever, and within four weeks he and seven out of his eleven men were dead.
We have already stated that seven children of the colonists had been captured by the enemy. Ashmun tells us: “Two of the captured children have been given up in consideration of a small gratuity. Five are still in the hands of the natives; for their relief a very extravagant ransom was demanded which it was steadily resolved not to pay . . . redeeming trait . . . in their treatment of these helpless and tender captives. It was the first object of the captors to place them under the maternal care of several aged women, who, in Africa, as in most countries, are proverbially tender and indulgent. These protectresses had them clad in their usual habits and at an early period of the truce, sent to the colony to inquire the proper kinds of food, and modes of preparing it, to which the youngest had been accustomed. The affections of their little charges were so perfectly won in the four months of their captivity as to oblige their own parents, at the end of that time, literally to tear away from their keepers several of the youngest amidst the most affectionate demonstrations of mutual attachment. This event did not occur until the 12th of March, when their gratuitous redemption was voted almost unanimously in a large council of native chiefs.”
We have referred to Elijah Johnson. He was an extraordinary man. His parentage is quite unknown; June 11, 1789, he was taken to New Jersey; he had had some instruction, gained perhaps in New York; by religion he was a Methodist and had studied for the ministry; he had had some experience in military life in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts; he had fought in the war of 1812 against the British; he came to Africa with the first colony of emigrants in 1820; in 1822 he was one of the founders of the settlement at Cape Montserrado; when Ayres proposed the abandonment of the enterprise, he vigorouslyopposed him, and his influence had much to do with holding his fellow colonists; to the British captain who, on the occasion of a difficulty, offered to quell the trouble with the natives if he be given ground for the erection of a flag, Johnson is said to have replied, “We want no flagstaff put up here, that will cost us more to get it down than it will to whip the natives.” When Wiltberger left the colony entirely to itself, it was Johnson who was put in charge; his son, born in Africa, became President of the Republic; Elijah Johnson died March 23, 1849.
March 31, 1823, the United States ship,Cyane, Capt. Spencer, reached Cape Montserrado. Finding the colonists in bad condition, the Captain supplied their wants; he repaired the agent’s house, commenced and nearly completed the Martello tower—for defense; after three weeks’ assistance so much fever had sprung up among his crew that he was obliged to depart, sailing for the United States. He, however, left behind as helper, Richard Seaton, his chief clerk. Seaton assisted Ashmun and the colonists so far as he could but was himself stricken by fever and died in June. On May 24th theOswegoarrived with sixty-one new colonists; the agent, Dr. Ayres, who seems to have thought better of matters, returned by this vessel. About this time, however, the whole community was rife with intrigue and rebellion; the settlers were dissatisfied with their situation; they were particularly dissatisfied with the distribution of land about which misunderstanding had arisen. The steps Ayres took for bringing about peace were not successful, and in December he left again for the United States.
It was on February 20, 1824, that the official names of Liberia for the colony and Monrovia for the settlement on Cape Montserrado were adopted on recommendation of General Harper. Previous to this time the settlement had been known by the name Christopolis. Things at Christopolis had been going badly. Even Ashmun could no longer get on with the settlers;perhaps it would be as true to say that even the settlers could not get on with Ashmun. However that may be, on March 22nd he issued a farewell address in which he expressed his feelings in regard to the disaffected, and on April 1st he embarked for the Cape Verde Islands. There is no reason to believe, so far as I know, that he had any intention of returning again to his field of labor. He had had a most unsatisfactory and disagreeable correspondence with the Society, and his tenure of office with them was vague and unsatisfactory; they had refused to recognize some of his official acts and conditions could hardly have been more disagreeable than they were at the moment.
Rev. R. R. Gurley had been ordered by the Society to visit Africa and investigate conditions at the colony. On July 24th thePorpoise, which was carrying him to Monrovia, put in at Porto Praya where Ashmun was stopping; he went on board to meet Gurley, and there they had their first conversation over the state of affairs; Ashmun consented to return to Monrovia and assist Gurley in getting a general knowledge of conditions. Together they reached Monrovia on August 13th; Gurley stayed until August 22nd; the two men went over the details of the situation, held consultations with the settlers, and drew up a plan of government more definite than had before existed, and which the discontented settlers agreed to accept.
After Gurley had departed conditions at the colony greatly improved; the new laws and the participation of the colonists in their own government had an excellent effect; every one appeared loyal and all united to advance the common interests. New lands were acquired in the neighborhood of Grand Bassa, New Cess, Cape Mount, and Junk River. In 1826 difficulties arose with the slave traders at Trade Town, about 100 miles south from Monrovia. Ashmun had remonstrated against their operations. In reply the French and Spanish traders proceeded to strengthenthemselves; the traders were organized and some 350 natives were under their command. Ashmun decided to take vigorous action against them. On April 9th the Columbian war vessel,Jacinto, arrived at Monrovia with orders to co-operate with Dr. Peaco, the United States Government agent, and Mr. Ashmun; on April 10th Ashmun and thirty-two militia volunteers embarked upon theJacinto, and theIndian Chief(Capt. Cochrane), and sailed for Trade Town where they arrived on the 11th, finding the Columbian vesselVencedor, there, ready to assist them. The three vessels united in the attack, attempting to make a landing on the morning of the 12th; the surf was breaking heavily over the bar and the passage was only eight yards wide with rocks on both sides. The barges, full of armed men, were in great danger; the Spanish force was drawn up on the beach within half a gunshot of the barges; the two barges with Captains Chase and Cottrell were exposed to the enemy’s fire and filled with surf before reaching the shore; their crews, however, landed and forced the Spaniards back to the town. The flagboat with Ashmun and Capt. Cochrane and twenty-four men was upset and dashed upon the rocks; Ashmun was injured; some arms and ammunition were lost. Capt. Barbour, observing the difficulties encountered by the other boats, ran his boat on to the beach a little to the left of the river’s mouth, and landed safely. The town was captured; the natives and Spaniards took to the forest, and from behind the town poured in shot at frequent intervals; the contest continued through two days; more than 80 slaves were surrendered, but no actual adjustment of the difficulties was arrived at. At noon of the 13th, preparations were made to leave; the slaves were first embarked, and in the middle of the afternoon, the town having been fired, the officers took to the boats; before the vessel sailed the fire reached the ammunition of the enemy, and 250 casks of gunpowder were exploded; Trade Town was wiped out, and the victorious party returned to Monrovia.It was indeed only a temporary solution of the difficulty; by the end of July slaving vessels were again at Trade Town, a battery had been constructed, and preparations made to resist any force that might in future be sent against it.
On August 27, 1827, theNorfolkarrived with 142 recaptured slaves; this was the largest shipment of the kind so far sent. The policy was adopted of settling such Africans in settlements by themselves at a little distance from Monrovia, on lands well suited to agriculture; it is remarkable how readily these poor creatures took advantage of the opportunities offered them; they were industrious, established neat settlements, cultivated fields, and were anxious to learn the ways of the “white man”; as, however, they represented different tribes, occasional difficulties arose among them through tribal jealousies, and adjustment was necessary at the hands of the civilized colonists.
Ashmun’s health had long been bad; the injuries he suffered in the attack at Trade Town had been somewhat serious; he had, moreover, been subjected to a constant strain of anxiety, together with responsibility; he had been doing the work of several men; his condition finally became critical, and he decided that he must leave the colony. Whatever feeling might have existed at one time against him, he was now a much loved man; in losing him, the colonists felt as if they lost a father; he embarked on March 25th for the United States; he reached his native land in a condition of extreme exhaustion and weakness; on August 25th he died at New Haven, Conn. There was no white man in the colony at the time when Ashmun left to whom he could turn over the leadership of the settlement; he accordingly placed affairs in the hands of Lott Carey.
Lott Carey was a remarkable black man; he was born a slave near Richmond, Va., about 1780; in his early manhood he was rather wild; in 1804 he went to Richmond where he worked for a tobacco company;becoming converted in 1807, he joined the Baptist Church; he learned to read and write, and preached among his people; he was well considered by his employers and earned $800 a year as a regular salary, besides frequently making additional sums by legitimate outside labor; by carefully saving his money, he raised $850, ransoming himself and two children; his wife had died in 1813; becoming interested in African missions, he took to preaching, organized a missionary society, and through it raised contributions for the cause; he had married again, and learning of the Liberian scheme, early becoming interested, and decided to go to Africa; on January 23, 1821, he left Richmond for the colony; he was a most useful man—active in church work, interested in school affairs, instructing the recaptured Africans, aiding in the care of the sick and suffering; he had been of the disaffected, but after difficulties had been adjusted, was a firm friend and supporter of Ashmun. When left in charge of the colony, he actively pushed on in every line of progress, dealing fairly with the natives, arranging for defense, encouraging development, etc. In June, when three suspicious Spanish vessels stood off the harbor, he lost no time in dealing with them, ordering them away at once. Trouble, however, was arising with the natives. A factory belonging to the colony at Digby had been robbed; satisfaction had been demanded and refused; a slave trader was allowed to land goods in the very house where the colony goods had been; a letter of remonstrance to the trader was intercepted and destroyed by the natives. Lott Carey called out the militia and began to make arrangements for a show of force; on the evening of November 8th, while he and several others were making cartridges in the old agency-house, a candle caught some loose powder and caused an explosion which resulted in the death of eight persons; six of these survived until the 9th, Lott Carey and one other until the 10th. With his death the settlement was left without a head. Shortly beforethat sad event, however,—on October 28, 1828, a new constitution and laws, suggested by Ashmun shortly before his death, had been adopted by the Colonization Society and been put into operation. It was in every way an advance upon the previous efforts to organize the administration of the colony, and it may be said to mark a period in the colonial history.
“Instead of repenting that I am here, although I was well treated in Georgia, I would not return to live in the United States for five thousand dollars. There is scarcely a thinking person here but would feel insulted, if you should talk to him about returning. The people are now turning their attention to the cultivation of the soil, and are beginning to live within their own means.”—S. Benedict.
“Instead of repenting that I am here, although I was well treated in Georgia, I would not return to live in the United States for five thousand dollars. There is scarcely a thinking person here but would feel insulted, if you should talk to him about returning. The people are now turning their attention to the cultivation of the soil, and are beginning to live within their own means.”—S. Benedict.
Richard Randall, the newly appointed agent, arrived at Monrovia on December 22, 1828. He found the Digby incident still unsettled. King Brister (or Bristol) had been threatening. Randall thought it best, however, not to pursue active warfare and attempted to adjust matters without fighting. He was a man of excellent ideas, devoted to his duties, active and energetic. He was imprudent, however, in caring for himself, and died on April 19th, having been in the colony only about four months. He was succeeded by Dr. Mechlin who had come out with him as physician in December. Mechlin remained as agent for some years, although, on account of bad health, he was obliged to return once during that period to the United States. It was during his agency that the first printing press was erected in Monrovia, in 1830, and the first newspaper,The Liberian Herald, was printed with J. B. Russwurm as editor. It was in 1830 that Mechlin took his furlough to the United States; he was at first relieved by Dr. J. W. Anderson who died on April 12th, having been in Liberia less than two months; upon his death, the vice-agent, Anthony D. Williams, took charge until the return of Dr. Mechlin. Mechlin negotiated several treaties with native chiefs and increased the land holding of the colony through purchase; he visited Grand Bassa and negotiated for land around Cape Mount; itwas during his administration that the Dey-Golah War took place. He seems to have been a well-meaning man, and certainly accomplished something, but there was considerable dissatisfaction with his administration, and when he left, it was questioned whether he was a good financier and used judgment and economy in administering money matters.
One of the most exciting incidents in the history of Liberia was the Dey-Golah War of 1832. Hostilities had been threatened against the colony by King Bromley, but he died before serious difficulty occurred. It was soon found that the Deys and others were combining; deeds of violence were practiced against the colonists and recaptured Africans; captives had been taken by King Willy; a messenger was sent to demand their release, but the letter was torn up and the messenger told to inform the agent that they would seize and hold every colonist they could find. The next day the enemy, standing on the river bank opposite Caldwell, blew war horns, fired muskets, and challenged the colonists; a body of recaptured Africans, 100 in number, was sent against them; finding a large force gathered, they were driven back, and one man was killed. The enemy barricaded their own town, and sent word that, if the colonists did not promptly meet them in the field, they would attack Caldwell and Millsburg; the Golah were acting with the Dey in this affair. Mechlin left Monrovia on June 20th, with the regular militia and volunteers, eighty in all; they had a large field piece with them; at Caldwell they were joined by seventy volunteers and militia, and 120 recaptured Africans; all were placed under Capt. Elijah Johnson. One day’s march from Caldwell brought the force to Bromley’s town which they took without trouble, camping there for the night; the next day they advanced over an exceedingly difficult road—seven hours being required for ten miles’ progress; after mid-day the recaptured Africans, who were in advance, were engaged with the enemy; the field piece was brought up until onlytwenty-five or thirty yards from the barricaded town. A few firings forced the enemy to abandon their position; under cover of the field piece, the colonists now rushed forward and cut through the barricade; the field piece was advanced and the town captured, the enemy escaping in the rear. In this engagement Lieutenant Thompson, of the colony force, was killed and three men wounded; of the enemy fifteen were killed and many wounded. The captured town was burned and also Bromley; the force returned to Caldwell for the night and then to Monrovia. Lieutenant Thompson was interred with the honors of war. Messengers promptly arrived from Kings Willy and Brister; Mechlin demanded that the kings themselves appear in person at Monrovia; Brister, Sitma, Long Peter, and Kai appeared; Willy sent New Peter as his representative; they agreed to the terms offered and a treaty of peace was signed.
It was also during Mechlin’s agency that the colonization of Maryland in Africa began. In 1831 Dr. James Hall with 31 colonists from the Maryland Colonization Society stopped at Monrovia; they had been sent out to locate a settlement where the colonists should devote themselves exclusively to agriculture (refusing trade) and should be devoted to temperance principles; they were not received with cordiality by the people at Monrovia, and no particular inclination was shown to aid them in securing a site for their purposes; Dr. Hall, therefore, left them temporarily at Monrovia, while he returned to the United States for advice and further supplies; he returned in 1833 with 28 new colonists; taking those who were at Monrovia, all sailed farther down the coast until, at Cape Palmas, they found a location to their satisfaction; they landed there, engaged in negotiations with the native chiefs, and founded what was at first known as Maryland in Africa; it was entirely distinct from the settlements under the direction of the American Colonization Society.
About this time there was a tendency for localbranch organizations of the American Colonization Society to be formed and to undertake their own settlements, although these were not considered to be actually independent of the mother society and of the people at Monrovia. Considerable settlements had been made in the neighborhood of Grand Bassa. Among these, one of the most promising was Edina which was laid out upon a tongue of land upon the north side of the St. John’s River; it was named Edina from Edinburgh, Scotland, citizens of which had contributed quite liberally to the funds of the American Colonization Society. After Edina was founded, a neighboring settlement was made through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Young Men’s Colonization Society—an organization of Friends; it was organized with the idea that agriculture should be the chief interest; that trade as a means of income should be forbidden; that temperance and sobriety, involving a pledge of abstinence, should be demanded; and that war and resistance should be forbidden. Non-resistance and peace-principles, however, were not in place at that time and region; in 1835 this little colony was wiped out of existence by a brutal attack on the part of natives instigated by a slave trader who feared that the presence of the colonists would interrupt his trade. Joe Harris and King Peter, brothers, were the active agents of destruction; for several days their people spied upon the settlers, informing themselves whether any arms were in the place; there was one gun only there; the assault took place at night, and about 20 persons, mostly women and children, were killed; the agent Hankinson and his wife were rescued by a Kruman who concealed them; those who escaped were taken to Monrovia and cared for; the authorities at Monrovia took immediate action, marched an armed force against the aggressors, put them to flight, and destroyed their towns; King Peter and Joe Harris agreed to forever abandon the slave trade, to give free passage from the interior through their country, to rebuild the settlement, andreturn the property; a better spot was selected and a new settlement made.
When Mechlin returned to the United States, Rev. John B. Pinney, who was already in Liberia as a missionary, succeeded him. He found everything in a state of confusion and dilapidation; himself a man of vigor, he acted promptly and made notable improvements; he attempted to give agriculture its proper position as the fundamental interest of the community; he purchased fertile lands in the interior for cultivation; he emphasized the claims of Liberia to lands lying behind Cape Mount; he adjusted difficulties between the Congoes and Eboes, recaptured Africans; had he remained long in office, he might perhaps have accomplished much. He, however, left Liberia at the end of 1834 for home. Dr. Ezekiel Skinner took his position; at the time of Pinney’s retirement he was the colonial physician. His labors were arduous and multiform; in performing them he suffered repeated exposures which brought on a serious fever under which he was reduced so low that he was obliged to return to the United States, leaving Anthony D. Williams as agent in his place.
Williams, in fact, seems to have been agent at intervals from the time of Randall’s death until he gave way to Thomas Buchanan in 1839. Inasmuch as most authorities speak of him as if he were a white man, it may be well to raise the question. Late in November, 1836, Rev. Charles Rockwell, chaplain of the United States Navy, was in Liberia. In hisSketches of Foreign Travelhe says: “Mr. Williams, who has for years been the acting-governor of Monrovia, took the lead in entertaining us and in doing the honors of the place. He was from Petersburg, Va., where, if I mistake not, he was once a slave. He has a peculiarly modest, sedate, gentlemanly deportment, and during his repeated visits to the United States has, by his intelligent and good sense, justly secured the esteem and confidence of those with whom he had intercourse. He came to Africa as a clergymanof the Methodist Church, and for a year or more was engaged in the self-denying work of a missionary among the natives at a distance of 150 miles in the interior. Under the title of vice-agent, he has for years been head (actively) of the colony, and as far as I could learn, has so discharged the duties of his office as to secure the confidence alike of his fellow citizens and of the society from which he received his appointment.” When, in 1839, he gave up the agency to Thomas Buchanan as Governor of the newly established Commonwealth of Liberia, the Board of the Colonization Society expressed itself as well satisfied with his long services; but it was their opinion “that the time had not yet arrived when the interests of the colony would permit it to remain permanently under the direction of a colonist.” It would seem as if these two quotations amply establish the fact that Williams was a colored man; we have thought it worth while to raise the question, inasmuch as his services were serious, and if rendered by a black man, deserve special recognition.
With the year 1836 there arrived in Africa a man of great ability and extraordinary energy, Thomas H. Buchanan; he was sent out as the agent of the New York and Pennsylvania Societies to take charge of their settlements at Bassa Cove; these settlements recognized the superior authority of Monrovia and the American Colonization Society; but it was deemed better that they should have a special superintendent in charge of them. It is well enough to notice that, at this time, there were three totally different associations at work within the area of what now is Liberia, besides Maryland; there was the original settlement of Monrovia on Cape Montserrado with extensions in the direction of Cape Mount and the Junk River; this district included Monrovia and several villages around it; “the people were not much given to agriculture; they were shrewd at driving trade and better liked to compete for some gallons of palm oil or sticks of camwood than to be doing their duty to their fieldsand gardens;” politics and military concerns occupied considerable of their attention, and they were called upon to adjust claims with the neighboring settlements. Secondly, there were the Bassa Cove villages; there were several of these in the neighborhood of the St. John’s River; they depended mainly upon agriculture and trade; they encouraged temperance and desired peace. Third, there were interesting settlements in Sinoe along the Sinoe River upon its rich agricultural lands; Greenville was a flourishing town; the settlers in this vicinity came from Mississippi, and their region was known as Mississippi in Africa.
Just as the New York and Pennsylvania Societies engaged a special governor to take charge of their settlements, so the Mississippi Society sent out a special governor to take charge of Mississippi in Africa. The appointment was of special interest in the person of I. F. C. Finley. Governor Finley was a son of the Rev. Robert Finley, to whom the organization of the American Colonization Society was in reality due. In September, 1838, Governor Finley left for Monrovia on business as well as for his health; making a landing in the neighborhood of the Bassa Cove settlements, he was robbed and murdered by the natives on September 10th; it is believed that the motive to this murder was the desire for gain, as the Governor had considerable money upon his person. The murder led to disturbance between the settlers at Bassa Cove and the natives who were implicated; one or two of the latter were killed, several wounded, and some houses were destroyed.
One rather interesting incident in connection with the Bassa settlements was the experience of Louis Sheriden. He was a colored man of some means from North Carolina, who came to Liberia in February, 1838; he at first planned to settle at Bassa Cove, but on visiting the settlements and examining the laws of their government, he was dissatisfied and refused to take the oath required of those who became citizens, saying that he had “left the United States onaccount of oppression and that he would not subject himself to arbitrary government in Africa”; he finally decided to locate at Bexley, six miles from Bassa Cove; he took a lease of 600 acres and soon had more than a hundred men in his employ; his intention was to develop an extensive sugar and coffee plantation, but he died before his plan could be realized.
An interesting man in this period, although but indirectly connected with the colony, was Theodore Canot; he was born in Florence in 1803 and had a life of excitement and adventure; in 1826 he became a slave trader; he finally located with Pedro Blanco at Gallinhas, and was sent by him to New Cess; he was a witness of the Finley murder; after Blanco retired from the slave trade, Canot, being hard pressed by the British officers, decided to abandon the business also. He finally retired to New York, where he met with Brantz Mayer, who wrote a book which purported to be autobiographical material supplied by the old adventurer. Canot not infrequently came into contact with the Liberian authorities. He must have known the whole colonial experiment better than almost any other white man. Of Liberia he says: “Nevertheless, the prosperity, endurance, and influence of the colonies are still problems. I am anxious to see the second generation of colonists in Africa. I wish to know what will be the force and development of the negro mind on its native soil—civilized, but cut off from all instruction, influence, or association with the white mind. I desire to understand, precisely, whether the negro’s faculties are original or imitative, and consequently, whether he can stand alone in absolute independence, or is only respectable when reflecting the civilization that is cast upon him by others.”
As was to be expected, considerable feeling arose between the four separate colonies—Liberia, Bassa Cove, Mississippi in Africa, and Maryland. Thus, in May, 1838, Anthony D. Williams wrote: “I regret tosay, our neighbors of Bassa Cove and Edina seem to entertain the most hostile feelings toward the colony and everything connected with it. They have manifested such a disposition as will, if continued, lead to serious difficulties between the settlements. The policy which the colonizationists are now pursuing is assuredly a bad one and will inevitably defeat the object they aim to accomplish. Nothing can be conceived more destructive to the general good than separate and conflicting interests among the different colonies, and this consequence will certainly follow the establishment of separate and distinct sovereignties contiguous to each other.” This was felt to be a serious problem; after due consideration, an effort was made to more strongly unite the colonies outside of Maryland; a new constitution was accordingly drawn up by Professor Greenleaf, of Harvard College, the name “Commonwealth of Liberia” was adopted, and Thomas Buchanan, who had been governor of the Grand Bassa settlements, was appointed governor of the newly organized commonwealth. We havealready referredto him as a man of vigor and enthusiasm; it is seldom indeed that Liberia has had an equally capable director.