262 LIBERIA. 



The appi'oximate total coast population of "civilized" Lil)erians (mostly 

 Christian, and of mixed American and indigenous negro races) amounts to 

 40,000. The " Liberian " community, therefore, at the present time amounts to 

 a population in the coast region of about 50,000 in number. 



There are a good many other native villages and small isolated settlements 

 or farms of Americo-Liberians which it would be tedious to enumerate by 

 name. The ones and twos in such scattered settlements as these (such as Fish 

 Town, ruduke, Weabo, Pequenino Ses. etc.) may be taken as a set-off against 

 any possible exaggeration of numbers in connection with the more populous 

 places. 



These Americo-Liberians at present constitute the governing caste of the 

 country. In origin about two-thirds are from the United States of America and 

 one-third from the British West Indies. It is curious that in a general way 

 the men who have come most to the front in the history of Liberia have been 

 of British West Indian descent rather than emigrants or descendants of emi- 

 grants from the United States. They came, or their ancestors came, to Liberia 

 rather to seek a profitable field for their enterprise than in any attempt to flee 

 from conditions of slavery or other kinds of luisatisfactory social environment. 

 The Liberians of British West Indian origin have generally been removed one 

 or even two generations from a condition of slavery. They are also for the 

 most part better educated and remember more as to their actual African origin 

 than is the case with those whose immediate ancestors have come from the 

 United States. For instance, the present President of Liberia, the Hon. Arthur 

 Barclay, knows that the negro stock from which he sprang came from the dis- 

 trict of Popo, now on the borderland of French and German territory, in the 

 western part of the Dahome coast. English is naturally the universal language 

 used by the Americo-Liberians. It is variously spoken by them, those origi- 

 nally of United States origin speaking it with a very strong "American " accent, 

 while the Liberians who have sprung from the British West Indies talk 

 English — that is to say, educated persons do — with but slight accent, and in 

 the case of those who have received additional education in England, with no 

 very obvious accent at all. A good deal of connection in sentiment is still kept 

 up with the United States, though perhaps there is an increasing tendency, so 

 far as higher education is concerned, for the dispatch of young Liberians to 

 study in England at such places as the Liverpool schools and the African 

 Training Institute of Colwyu Bay. But several local educational institutes are 

 generously maintained by American philanthropists. The station of Arthiug- 

 ton, on the St. Pauls River, is named after the celebrated philanthropist of 

 that name connected with Leeds (Yorkshire), who did so much to establish the 

 first missionary steamers on the Kongo, and whose name is very gratefully 

 remembered in Liberia for the assistance that he has given in educational work. 



The indigenous population of Liberia, not of extraneous origin, may be esti- 

 mated with some correctness at a total of about 2,160,000. [In Vol. II, pp. 

 884-901, of his book on " Liberia," New York, 1906, Sir Harry Johnston gives 

 additional information about the native races, estimating the population at 

 2,000,000.] They may be enumerated as follows: 



