The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-09-24
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
The West Coast Of Africa.


Wiunifred Reed, an English traveller, has re
Gently published = book, relative 10 the people
Of the West Coast OF Africa. IL is L very inter
esting work, furnishing valuable information IN
u pleasing and chatty manner. We publish the
following extract. giving some account OF q
people who have become quite distinguished
under the name of KroOmen
ksooxES-THE COAST SAILORS.
Here is his crew of Kroomen =
(" They demanded first where ! was going 10
take them on hearing their destination, they
replied that plenty sharks lib 1T Lagos plenty
sick mt Benny, but that GibOOn was a tine place
IL then told them that they would be paid
five dollars 4 month. They desired To TO gwen
The usual advance and 4 book The thirst for
literature astounded me; but the doctor. coming
To my aid, informed me that : book was the
generic term for all things written, and that
they wanted an agreement.
IAN old man now presented himself. His
forehead WIS smeared Will. white earth, which
he told me was great fetish. Ii was great fetish
indeed. These chiefs keep their fathers skull
when half decomposed in u dark room placing
the earth below. a liquid matter oozing from
the skull falls upon the earth, which on great
occasions is used Us I have described.
Every one has heard the story Of the actor,
who, having pledged everything else OF value,
finally pawned himself, and sent the duplicate to
the manager. In this same way my boys had
borrowed money from King George, pawning
their bodies IS security. | was the manager
vino paid book and part of their debts IN order
10 obtain their services
"As native names however melodious, are
difficult TO remember. traders christen these con-
verts to with the most absurd appella-
tons, Dry Toast, Cockroach. Pot o. Beer, anu
Florence Nightingale. made the usual arrange
ments with the purser for their board and pas
sage. They were to receive o pint and = hall OF
rice daily; which, US they staTve like most sayages,
Ill their own country, they regarded in the light
of high living
q" gave each of them a red cap like n bragee's
and u blue flannel shirt. They used to come TO
me every day, ask what my name was. inquire
after the health OF my near rclatives-as negroes
always do-and beg a little tobacco They
elected n head man to rule over them; ms duties,
as they told me, consisted In receiving their
ratious, and i'm portioning them out TO each IN
being the bearer of nv orders or their complaints
and in tbrashing any OF the gang who mlsoe-
haved himself.
1.-The Kru-men are natives of the Grain Coast,
and appear TO have taken but lately to maritime
pursuits, for l meet no mention OF them ln TIE
old writer's.
ssThey are men of q Herculean type, a con-
trast TO some savage tribes, who are slim, muscle
less. and soft-handed. Strength is the result Of
regime. Savages are less muscular, rs 1T has
been proved, than We are. But that Is owing
rather to their indolent life than to an inferior
physical organization. We have no grounds for
surprising that these Kru-men were originally a
finer race of men than the other tribes OF the
coast. They are now the most athletic race IN
the world. They are Goliaths of strength, as
well as of stature. Regular work and a regular
diet can work marvels upon the framework OF
the savage, aud can modify not only an III
divid1al, but 4 race.
They are such pilferrers that they will upset
your boat in a surf, save your life with one hand,
and pick your pocket with the other; Tor tney
are as much At home IN water as on land.
When the Kru-man becomes rich he buys a
few wives, retires from business, and lives Ike q
private gentleman on his own estate, which Is
cultivated by his spouses. But, even when the
term of his labor is over, he has many dangers
20 undergo. If he is set on shore at any distance
from his native place he is sure to be piundered
by the Intermediate tribes. And when he has
regained his own home, he finds his relative but
little more merciful.
He Is treated To his face IA If he were a rich
man suddenly become defunct. Guns are hired
women dance joyously and sing his praises a
council Of the next Of kin IL held for the diyI-
zion of his property, over which they quarrel
bitterly ; and full display is made OF those emo
tions, which in England are felt, but concealed.
at the reading of a will. The amount OF pro-
psrty which the man is allowed TO retain de-
pends entirely on the number of his cousins