THE LAND OF THE FREE IN AFRICA 



42' 



often in the exact center of the roadway. 

 No tackle, chains, or tractors were avail- 

 ahle ; so great fires were built in trenches 

 dug around the rocks, heating the stone 

 until it cracked and, piece by piece, could 

 be removed. 



A four-mile stretch of soft sand was 

 encountered, which had to be given a cov- 

 ering of gravel and clay ; but no wheeled 

 vehicles were on hand, not even a wheel- 

 barrow. The merchants again came to 

 the assistance of the road workers and 

 contributed 40 empty kerosene boxes 

 about the size of a bushel basket. The 

 next day a line of 40 natives commenced 

 to move from the gravel and clay pits to- 

 ward the sandy stretch, each with a bushel 

 box of heavy earth on his woolly head. 



At the end of three months the road- 

 way, over which an automobile could pass 

 in a not too uncomfortable manner, was 

 12 miles long and only three miles from 

 its objective, Paynesville. 



A Kru boy chopped down another tow- 

 ering palm tree, a Bassa man felled an- 

 other ; then the Kru boy crawled through 

 the tangled undergrowth to get at the next 

 one, but his jaw dropped and he muttered 

 the Bassa word for "damn." There was 

 no tree, but the right of way in front of 

 him took a sudden drop, and the bottom 

 thereof was a deep, swift little river, and 

 the Kru boy knew that that "puck-a-puck 

 wagon,'' the automobile, could not swim. 

 It looked as if the road would end right 

 there. 



SPIRIT OP PROGRESS DISPLAYED IN ROAD- 

 BUILDING 



But the Liberians were determined that 

 the road should reach Paynesville. A 

 search was made and under an old cus- 

 toms building were found six I-beams, 

 each fully twenty feet long. They were 

 very old and rusty, but still serviceable. 



The beams were carried the 12 miles, 

 each on the heads of 10 natives. The 

 British merchant also made a search and 

 found a barrel of cement in fair con- 

 dition. The "puck-a-puck wagon" carried 

 it to the scene of operations. Rocks were 

 cut, and in a few days a solid little bridge 

 spanned the stream. 



Another month and Paynesville turned 

 out en masse to welcome the entry of 

 the first automobile that had ever spilled 



oil on its earthen streets, and, as a matter 

 of fact, of the first wheeled vehicle of any 

 sort that had ventured thither from any- 

 where. 



The road had cost $75 for rice for the 

 laborers, plus $15 for the services of a 

 mason for bridge- work. A half dozen 

 motor-trucks employed thereon for a few- 

 weeks would make it a fine motor-road. 



I mention this only to show that the 

 Liberians have come to that point where 

 they are determined to develop their coun- 

 try. The natives in the interior have also 

 come to understand the need for roads, 

 and native chiefs have constructed little 

 bits of roadway here and there between 

 their towns, having no other tools for this 

 work than sharpened sticks. 



Liberia's commerce destroyed by 

 world war 



Liberia, it must be remembered, though 

 having no personal grudge against Ger- 

 many, entered the World War with the 

 Allies. The German traders were ex- 

 pelled, and this caused a great decrease in 

 trade. Next, the submarine campaign in 

 the North Atlantic became so fierce as to 

 cause the withdrawal of many West Af- 

 rican steamers. And this is what the war 

 did to Liberian commerce: In 1913, 1,322 

 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,690,178 tons, 

 entered and cleared at Liberian ports ; in 

 1 9 18 the number of vessels was 127, with 

 a tonnage of 333,926 ! 



Also, in 19 1 3, almost half a million dol- 

 lars were collected in customs revenues, 

 and in 19 18, $165,999. At that rate, there 

 was very little chance for progress. 



Not only in trade did the war cause Li- 

 beria to suffer, but Germany sent a sub- 

 marine far from the beaten paths to bring 

 home to Liberians the stern realities of 

 war. Monrovia was bombarded, Liberia's 

 only remaining seagoing vessel sunk, lives 

 lost, and property ruined. As a matter 

 of fact, had it not been for the war, 

 Liberia would not be in its present posi- 

 tion of financial need, but would be 

 more than able to carry on by herself the 

 work of development which is so greatly 

 desired. 



Although the Americo-Liberians barely 

 hold their own in the matter of increasing 

 population, the million and more natives 

 are flourishing and gaining in numbers. 



