258 LIBERIA. 



ence from the big steamer to the shore-going boat has to be effected 

 by means of a crane and a ciadle. Still more to be dreaded on some 

 points on the coast is the landing or the going off on account of the 

 surf. Perhaps the best approach to a sheltered harbor which exists 

 is at the capital, Monrovia. Here there is a bar to a small river or 

 creek which communicates with the St. Pauls River. The bar is very 

 seldom rough, being to a certain extent sheltered by a promontory, 

 and once across the bar you can land quite comfortably on the beach 

 in perfectly smooth water. But at places like Grand Basa, Sino, and 

 Cape Palmas, the landing can be extremely dangerous and disagree- 

 able. One seldom arrives at or departs from these places without, at 

 any rate, a wetting from the rollers that break over the stern or bow 

 of the boat. Ilowever, real accidents to persons or property are, it 

 must be confessed, of rare occurrence, and the whole question depends 

 very much on the good or ill will of the Kru l)()ys who direct the 

 sreernig. 



The Kavalli River, though i)rol>ably less in volume than the St. 

 Pauls, is the most navigable as a means of access to the interior. 

 Unfortunately there is a very l)ad bar at the mouth of the Kavalli or 

 it would have played a very different part in the history of West 

 Africa. Once across the bar, a steam launch or a rowing l)()at can 

 ascend the river for about 80 miles, when the first rapids are reached. 

 The upi^er Kavalli is imperfectly known, and, indeed, its extreme 

 upper course is still a matter of conjecture. On the definition of its 

 course depends to a great extent the laying down of the northeastern 

 frontier of Liberia according to the French treaty of 1S92. 



The St. Pauls River is only navigable as far as a place called 

 ^^Tiite Plains, about 20 miles from the mouth. There is no difficulty 

 about the bar at the mouth of the St. Pauls, for this reason, that one 

 can land with little or no risk at Monrovia ; and once inside the 

 Mesurado River (which is merely a creek), one can embark on a small 

 river steamer, of which there are two or three in existence, enter 

 the St. Paids River by the Stockton Creek, and thence ascend the 

 St. Pauls to the first rapids near the settlement known as AAliite 

 Plains. All the lower part of the St. Pauls River is pretty thick with 

 Americo-Liberian settlements, some of them of a distinctly prosperous 

 and prepossessing appearance. Several of the officials at Monrovia 

 liave coinitry houses on the banks of the St. Pauls amid charming 

 surroundings. This great virtue may be attributed to the Americo- 

 Liberians, that they certainly know how to build houses, comely in 

 appearance, sanitary, and lasting, or as reasonably durable as one 

 can expect in a land of heat and moisture. In fact, the leading char- 

 acteristics of the Americo-Lil)erians are their love of building and 

 their remarkable politeness. 



