Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-07-04
LIBERIA HEARD FROM.

A gentleman residing in Aberdeen, Miss,
having business in the upper or northern por.
ton of the county, and learning that Sam.
White, who, in company with his family and
quite a number of colored people, left for
Liberia sometime in December last, had re-
turned, took occasion to interview Sam, and
hear what he had to say Of the new country
of milk and honey" Sam said that on leav-
ing he took the cars at Okolons for New
York City; to reach New York it cost him
s164. There the Liberian Emigration So
ciety took them in hand and sent them to Ii.
IBERIA free of charge. Their voyage was con.
tinuous, not touching land until they arrived
at their destination. On arriving they were
furnished tents and food by the society for
six months, the fare being rather rough. He
said the natives look about like our home
darkies the men are very large and the wo-
men small. They are not more than half civ
ilized, and wear no clothing save fore.apron
made of calico. Their food consists princi.
pally of cosote, a kind of plant that grows
there similar to the sweet potato, which they
cultivate with a hoe, they having no horses
Their houses consist of a small thatch with
dirt floors. There are several tribes-abeut
seven, among the inhabitants, each tribe gov.
erned by king, similar to the mode of our
American Indians. The entire republic is
governed by President. There is but one
tribe among them that speaks the English
language, and they very imperfectly. The
women are bought and sold as wives, their
beauty regulating the price. The climate is
very hot, varying but little with the seasons.
The soil is rich, dark, sandy loan. Rice
and coffee are the principal staples-coffee
being the only article raised from which they
can realize. 1t bears about pound to the
bush and about 5000 bushes to the acre.
They have but two seasons-six months rain
and six months dry. The water is clear, but
salt-even the atmosphere is so salt that
piece of iron hung up will rust in twenty.four
hours. The brush is so thick that it is i'm.
possible to get about until paths have been
cut out. The climate is very unhealthy, es-
pecially for Americans. Fevers are frequent
and fatal. If you get sick, the native doc
tors will give you brush tea, which kills eight
out of every ten Americans. The country is
full of insects, the most troublesome being a
bug resembling large ant, and travels very
rapidly, called the racer. They 60 into the
houses at night, after rain, and give per-
son no rest, their bite being both poisonous
and painful There are no horses, except in
the interior of the country, where they also
have small COWS which give about pint of
milk per day. But few hogs are raised there,
owing to the scarcity Of feed, and the few
that are raised never 90 100 pounds. Bacon
sells for twenty-five cents pound coffee
twenty cents flour twelve cents; calico twen-
ty.6ve cents per yard. Labor is worth thirty
cents per day. The town, at which Sam
stopped, the capital of the Republic, has
about 10000 inhabitants, represented By all
nations-the Portuguese predominating. They
have both colored and white merchants. The
principal traffic is rum. Colored people who
are medtating change of home, would do
we'll to confer with Sam before further prep
aration. Sam seems to have acted the wise
part by leaving before his money gave out,
otherwise he would have been fixture there
for all time, where, he says, not one in every
fifty who goes from this country are satisfied
to stay under any circumstances.