Liberia <*- 



of the caravels the Portuguese detained a specimen of these 

 Negroes as a prisoner, " thereby accomplishing the command 

 of their king," who had " expressly ordered them on their 

 return to bring a man of the last country they had visited " 

 (provided they could not make themselves understood in seeking 

 for information) ; they were to bring him " by force or by Jove," 

 in order that on arriving in Portugal he might, by meeting 

 with other Negroes of possibly the same race, be able to 

 give an account of his country. In this instance, the first 

 " Liberian " who was forcibly brought to Europe actually did 



22. CANOES COMING OFF FROM THE LIBERIAN COAST (SKETCHED BY THE 

 AUTHOR IN 1882) 



meet a woman slave in the service of a citizen of Lisbon, 

 possibly a Vai woman who had come from an adjoining region 

 and could make herself understood in a tongue which the 

 native of " Bosque Santa Maria " could understand ; but appar- 

 ently the only item of interest that his Portuguese majesty 

 could extract from the conversation which resulted was that 

 " unicorns " were found in Liberia ! Consequently, after the 

 Portuguese king had shown this Liberian all the sights of 

 Lisbon, he loaded him with presents and sent him back to 

 Liberia in 1462. 



42 



