260 LIBERIA. 



very fond of flowers, and have gardens full of roses, oleanders, alle- 

 mandas, bougainvillia, and frangipani in constant bloom. There are 

 numerous churches and a masonic hall. 



There is a good deal of civilization and comfort and signs of prog- 

 gress at the settlements, which are grouped together under the gen- 

 eral name of Grand Basa, and also at the Sino towns, the principal of 

 which is named Greenville. But perhaps, on the whole, the most 

 go-ahead and energetic assemblage of Americo-Liberians is to be 

 found at Harper (Cape Palmas). Here there is a philosophical 

 society, which is doing a good work in collecting and printing statis- 

 tics about Liberia. But Harper, unfortunately for Europeans, is a 

 good deal more unhealthy than Monrovia. 



Compared with other parts of West Africa, I should say that 

 Liberia is less unhealthy for the European than Sierra Leone, the 

 Ivory coast, the Gold coast, or Lagos. But it is, perhaps, too soon to 

 judge. It is noteworthy, however, that the remarkable absence of 

 mosquitoes should to a great extent coincide with a less marked prev- 

 alence of malarial fevers. 



From the European point of view, perhaps the most healthy part 

 of Liberia is the northern half, and from all accounts it would be the 

 Manclingo plateau that Europeans would prefer for their trading or 

 mining settlements. 



The great undoubted wealth of Liberia lies, as I have already 

 pointed out, in its rubber, but the trade in this product is as yet only 

 in its infancy. Another important article of export in the future 

 Avill be timber. Piasava, which is a fiber derived from the rind of 

 the fronds of a Raphia palm, figures to some extent in the exports, 

 wliich also include coifee, a little cacao, ivory, copal, palm oil, palm 

 kernels, ginger, camwood, and annatto. 



APPENDIX I. 



PEOPLES AND TRIBES OF LIBERIA. ^ 



The following is a summary of the principal Amerieo-Liberian towns and 

 settlements with their approximate populations. The enumeration commences 

 with Roberts Port, not far from the western (Sierra Leone) frontier of Liberia, 

 and proceeds northward, southward, and eastward to the French frontier along 

 the Kavalli River : 



