Mat 28, 1860.] COLOURED EXt^LORliRS OF AFRICA. 185 



14 clays' march from Sierra Leone. Sierra-Leone English is 

 understood by some of the people. 



In the course of their journey they visited several other large 

 and populous towns, having well-constructed mud walls 12 feet 

 high and 4 thick. The sceneiy is described as very diversified, 

 and in some places charmingly beautiful. The population of the 

 country is remarkably industrious; not merely having very 

 extensive tracts under cultivation and raising a great variety of 

 crops, including rice and corn, but exercised in many kinds of 

 manufacture, weaving thousands of yards of cotton cloth, and 

 working in iron and other metals. In some places the people may 

 be considered wealthy. The women in one of the towns are 

 described as beautiful ; their clothing white cotton cloth, and their 

 ornaments so rich that 30 dollars' worth of gold might be worn 

 by one person. The quantity of silver was beyond the travellers' 

 attempts at estimation. 



Cattle, sheep, and goats appear to abound, and some of the cattle 

 are very fine. Horses, which are said not to live in Liberia, were 

 seen near the city of Quanga, and are valued at from 40 to 60 

 dollars. 



It would not be doing justice to these African travellers to omit 

 stating that they collected specimens and statistical information, 

 noticed the natural history and geology of the country, made some 

 ethnological and medical observations, and enquired into the 

 religion of the inhabitants. Mahomedanism has been introduced 

 by the Mandingoes, to whom these people are allied, but it seems to 

 have a slight hold upon them. It is believed they would readily 

 receive Christian instruction. 



It was very evident that important commercial relations might 

 be formed with the people whom these travellers visited. They 

 received the strangers with almost universal kindness and interest ; 

 and the only serious difficulty which occurred, and which was nearly 

 being fatal to both travellers, arose from their own imprudence in 

 not sufficiently attending to the advice and direction of one of the 

 head men. 



A letter from Alexander Crummell, an American of African 

 descent who received a part of his education at Cambridge, has 

 been forwarded to Sir R. Murchison. It was dated from Cape 

 Palmas, towards the southern extremity of Liberia, and gives some 

 particulars of a journey up the Cavalla River to the distance of 

 about 85 miles, near which point the navigation of this fine river 



