Liberia ^^ 



knowledge of the Liberian hinterland, had aroused French land- 

 hunger once more as regards Liberian territory. This expedi- 

 tion was under the joint command of a colonial official of the 

 Ivory Coast, M. Hostains, and a military officer, Captain d'Ollone. 



This mission started on February 19th, 1899, ^^^^'^ Berebi 

 on the Ivory Coast. It crossed the Cavalla River and the Ivory 

 Coast frontier at Fort Binger, travelled through the interior 

 of Maryland and Sino counties, passed through the Niete 

 Mountains, mapped the upper course of the Duobe, recrcssed 

 the main Cavalla at its great western loop, followed the Upper 

 Cavalla at intervals till they rounded the mountain mass of 

 Nimba, and passed almost at the same time out of the great 

 forest and the political boundaries of Liberia. 



Their journey was the most remarkable piece of explora- 

 tion that has yet been accomplished in the Liberian hinterland. 

 Americo-Liberian officials and traders and European represen- 

 tatives of the British companies had, it is true, traversed some 

 of the regions described by Captain d'Ollone and had met 

 with a much more peaceable and less sensational reception 

 amongst the (so-called) cannibal tribes. Biittikofer's journeys 

 had been more productive of general knowledge, but this 

 French expedition was the first to reveal with any approach 

 to accuracy the configuration of the Cavalla basin. It discovered 

 the lofty Nimba Mountains and enabled us to make a more 

 accurate guess at the sources and affluents of the St. Paul's 

 River. The accuracy of all their estimates and deductions has 

 been called in question : Hostains and d'Ollone may prove 

 to be wrong here and there ; but their journey threw a beam 

 of bright light through the dark Liberian hinterland.^ 



' The results of this expedition are embodied in an interesting and admirably 

 illustrated work by Captain d'Ollone (De la Cote (i'lvoire au Soudan, etc., Paris, 

 1901, Hachette). 



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