CAPE PALMAS. , 321 



hind an isolated bank of sand and red earth, called 

 Russwurm Island, which is uninhabited and only 

 used as a burial-ground. There is a lighthouse on 

 the point, but it is a very poor affair, and the lamp 

 is often allowed to go out. The soil belongs to the 

 negro republic of Liberia, but it was originally the 

 site of an American settlement. Hardly was the 

 anchor down -than the deck was covered with Kroo- 

 men wishing to be engaged for service on the 

 coast, and having a choice of some hundreds, I 

 selected six athletic able-bodied fellows as a boat's 

 crew, taking care to examine each one all over as 

 I would a horse, so as to make sure that they were 

 without blemish and sound in wind and limb. 

 They all said they could row, and Captain Wyld 

 kindly lending me his gig, I tested their powers 

 before finally engaging them. Being satisfied with 

 their performance, I then paid them iive dollars 

 each, or a month's wages in advance, which they 

 handed over to a blear-eyed old party through 

 whom their engagement was made, and who was 

 responsible for their conduct. This individual — a 

 strange character in his way — was supposed to be 



Y 



