128 
PKEPAlJfNG TO LEAA^E. 
settlers, in charge of Thomas King, an intelligent man 
of colour, and twelve blacks, among whom was Wil- 
liam Guy, a steady and good seaman. 
King had joined our expedition at Sierra Leone, 
and his conduct had, in addition to the excellent 
character given him by Mr. Schon, been such, as to 
entitle him to every confidence. 
During the whole of the day all available hands 
were employed in providing the settlement and ship 
with provisions to last nine months, and cowries to 
purchase enough for three months more, getting wood 
on board, and making arrangements for our departure 
the following morning. 
Mr. Moore had forty natives employed on the farm, 
in addition to the artificers and agriculturists brought 
from Sierra Leone. Eleven acres of ground were 
cleared, and he purposed planting cotton in a few 
days, and from the nature of the soil, he anticipated 
very good crops'-h 
lie said the natives were anxious to be on tbe most 
friendly terms with the settlers, and worked readily on 
* Some of the natives brought specimens of cotton on board, wliich 
looked well. According to Dr. Stanger, “the soil of Stirling Hill, 
and as far up the river as was explored, is composed of horizontal 
sandstone, becoming more highly ferruginous as we ascend. At 
Stirling Hill the iron occurs in the form of pea iron ore.” The valleys 
and flats are in general covered with a rich vegetable mould. The 
ground subjected to the temporary inundation of the river is generally 
left more or less swampy. 
