The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1857-04-09

our day. He speaks of the settlement oil
Sierra Leone by negroes taken from our
Southern States durir e the war OF the Anne.
rican Revolution, which negroes, because
their captors did not know what to do with
them, were planted on their native shore,
forming now school of preparation to ma.
tive Africans who will exert AN influence up
on the interior. He presents "A graphic pic.
ture of things in Liberia. drawing conclu-
sons which, from his point of view in Cen
truth. He is specially full in the inlorma.
ton lie gives as TO the influence of the colo
ny on the barbarous tribes of the coast. the
very curse OF African society, and says: "lf
they improve in the same ratio for the next
twenty years many of them will be half
civilized"
Mr.. Bowen thus states the principle on
which he felt bound TO act, in passing
through the rude tribes Of the coast, to de
vote liis life 20 the improvement Of tie com
paral''eIy civilized tribes of The interior:
Desire to stimulate, labor to supply, and
Tx strong arm of law TO direct and restrain.
are indispensable to the improvement, of any
barbarous tribe. IL there had been no peo.
pie IN Africa superior 10 those Of Guinea !
might have been content TO pass my days
here, engaged in the lowest department of
preparatory labors; but VIXEN knew that
the intellectual and social state of the Cen.
trail Africans already demanded the Gospel
and the higher degree Of civilization. il ap.
peared to me unreasonable to neglect them
for the sake of premature labors in Gui.
nea"
Arrived on the coast of Badagrv, where
he was TO penetrate the interior, he speaks
thus OF the distinction between the tribes
OF Africa, as recognised by our Southern
planters:
This part of Africa is called the slave
coast, because ii afforded the most inteli.
gent, docie and industrious negroes for the
American plantation. am sorry 10 add
that these good uiggers' were the almost
civilized inhabitants of Yoruba. Nicfe. and
liau>a, and other countries in Soudan. the
very people to whom | had gone forth as a
missionary. They at least, according TO
tile intleXible laws Of nature, deserved "A bet
ter late than slavery; for If rights and rela-
tons are the just result properties or char
ac'er, which they undoubtedly are. these
people had right 10 remain uumolested
IN their native land. Every planter who
Is forty years old knows The grea, differ
ence in the character of new nirrers.' The
short, siubby, silly fellows, often brourh,
into tie slave markets, were chiefly from
Cong" south of the Inc, where all The peo-
pie imported into America have an affinity
To The Hotentots. The "iiula niggcrs
were from the Golah country, on the ST
PauIs river, where they still vegetate, abou,
tile meaneSt of the human race. and amply
worthy of the cotton-feld. The Eboe nig
ger was from fine open country above the
Delta Of the Niger, and not from the Delta
itself as we have commonly supposed AT
home he was noble, high minded, and
hait civilized man, who beauttied his fine
country with well cultivated farms and sha-
dv villages. In America he was trusty. i'm.
ieiIlgent. and industrious, but remarkable
Tor an absolutely indomitaLle spirit, to
| winch even the master ;nust Weld when
the Eboe was aroused, unless he should
choose TO shoot down the best slave on his
plantation.
The familiar town Of Abbeokuta was the
first visited by Mr. Bowem-a town whose
history marks AN era as the opening the
way for Christianity to penetrate to Cen
tral Africa. A series of civil conflicts wao
ed particularly between The Eghas and Y0
ruba>, led 10 the destruction of many min
clpal towns, and two hundred thousand peo
pie were Killed and made slaves. Some
refugees OF the Egbas took shelter on a pre-.
cIpiiouS granite hill about forty years since.
a'onnd which population of perhaps sixty
thousand have since gathered About | s3S
Egha merchants met tie WESLEYAN mission
aries at Balagry, on The coast. and also
Several E5has, who had been recap,ured
from slave ships and civilized in Sierra Lee.
one, returned TO their countrvmen AT ALbeo
kdta, telling wonderful things of chri>tiani
ly aud christian missionaries" WESLEYAN
missionaries were invited To the town and
now, IN the Episcopal and WESLEYAN STA
tons there, six hundred COMMITMENTS are
numbered.
During lis stay at Abbeokuta the town
was attacked by "a large army of the Klng
oil DaIomey, the powerful tribe who stand
iorlh yet as champions for the slave trade
and the extirpaliun of the Christian reli.
glon Mr.. Bowen's military experience led
INN to take part such as few nen in his
' W "'0 N"u'u nave prayed. lie thus
describes the beginning OF the conflict:
Early on the morning of March 3d.
1851 the scouts brought news that the ar
my OF Dahomey was approaching the city.
exhorted the people to stand firm. to re
serve their fire, and take good aim. Ogo.
bnna, one of the CaIoguns, generals re-
piled: You will see that we shall fpht.'
Towards noon the Egbas amounting per.
h"ps to fifteen thousand men, all armed
with guns, marched out at the Badaory
gate to meet the enemy. There was no
noise and gasconading, after the manue? of
the GoIahs, but could plainly see in their
hrm and solemn counlenance, as thousands
alter thousands passed by, that they were
prepared for the occasion"
After two days, hard fighting the Daho-