Liberia ««- 



slavery. Silks and velvet, beads, cloth, calico, iron bars were 

 all appreciated by Negroes of high or low degree ; but 

 the one article for which the black potentate or trader was 

 ready to sell his soul (be he Muhammadan ^ or pagan), his wife, 

 child, brother, or unoffending subjects and friends was distilled 

 spirit. 



The natives of the Kru coast of Liberia strongly objected 

 to the first American colonists because they were pledged to 

 temperance and were likely to discourage the trade in brandy, 

 rum, and gin. To some extent the curse of alcohol has affected 

 the Americo-Liberians themselves. The early records contain 

 but infrequent allusions to drunkenness amongst the colonists. 

 This vice became very prominent in the sixties and seventies 

 of the last century, and is only recently on the wane, thanks 

 to fashion having veered round towards temperance or abstinence 

 as the characteristic of a civilised community. 



On the march from the interior to the coast the slaves 

 were usually fastened in this manner, writes Canot : 



" Hoops of bamboo were clasped round their waists, while 

 their hands were tied b)Pstout ropes to the hoops. A long tether 

 was then passed with a slip-knot through each rattan belt, so 

 that the slaves were firmly secured to each other, while a small 

 coil was employed to link them more securely in a banci by 

 their necks." 



The prices paid on the Liberian coast for adult slaves 

 in good condition were only about ten dollars (^^2) each. 

 Children or inferior slaves were bought at from three to eight 

 dollars. Slaves of Mandingo or Fula race were more valuable, 

 owing to their lighter skin and handsomer appearance. Man- 

 dingos were very much in request in Cuba, as the smartest type 

 of domestic servant. But speed and economy of space in the 



' For the drunkenness of tlie Fulas read Canot. 

 174 



