Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-07-25


buttons, and tall brimless linen or cloth caps
These are the fellows who come in from the
country, and are mot at work to-day" Their
humber brethren, who are at work, "a condi'
tion of life in which Mussulman never is il
he can possibly help himself wear gowns OF
coarse blue cotton, generally dirty, but Of the
same shape. Not only these followers of the
prophet but many others Of the colored citi:
zens of Sierra Leone have suspended around
their necks, leather pouches, bits Of stone, &C.,
containing charms. The dress of the women
is as diverse as the mems. Sometimes they
wear single long, loose garment Of thin cot
ton, gathered in at the waist. Others have a
gaudily colored robe wrapped around their
waists and falling below their ankles, with q
spare piece hanging in front, which they pull
up over their bosoms when strange man ls
approaching. Very frequently an infant is
bound up in the folds of this garment, resting
quietly behind and forming hustle. The
mother always looks profoundly unconscious
of, and unconcerned about, this burden,
which is invariably quiet. Everybody. un'
less engaged in commercial pursuits, manages
to get some bright color introduced in bis or
her dress, except the aristocratic Mussulman,
in his spotless white, and even his cap is often
bright red or scarlet.
THE LABoR1NG PEOPLE OF BOTH SEXES
are generally very erect, and walk with what
in white man would be swagger, but in
them, with their free limbs, is merely grace
full independence. The business men have
the business mans usual stoop, methodicaI
walk and steady look, and generally carry an
umbrella and wear broad hat think these
natives are usually very strong, and some OF
them are nagni6cently shaped, especially the
women. The most beautiful and massive
pair of female shoulders l have ever seen,
saw here. Their owner had heavy load on
her head, but walked under it as straight as
an arrow, and the shoulders just spoken of
we're studies for an artist, being straight,
square, clean cut and we'll rounded-alto.
gether perfect Almost all the overland
transportation is done on human heads, there
being only three horses in the entire colony.
A woman will walk into town at good pace
from miles in the country, with child swing
ing at her back, and from thirty to seventy
pounds of produce on her head, carrying her.
self as we'll and showing as little fatigue as
an average American or English woman
would after miles unencumbered stroll.
What the men can carry am afraid TO say.
saw one start home with two huge iron pots
balanced on bis head, weighing probably one
hundred pounds, and he looked as if he hard
" felt them. The laborers whom we met at
the wharf bore two two-gallon demJohns of
rum in each hand and another on their heads.
saw no woman whose dress would forbid her
appearance on the streets of an American
city. The children to about eight years old
wear very lttle-very often nothing at all.
Now you have the people as they appear on
the streets.
LOOKS OF THE TOWN.
From the large stone dock on which we
landed we walked probably half block
across sort of court, on the right side of
which was large brick warehouse, in and
about which demijohns and bales we're being
handled by gang of black men. Here we
reached flight of broad steps made Of heavy
stone, in the interstices of which grew grass
and weeds. On these steps We get up short
bill and are fairly within the town, which
does not differ much, SO far as can see, from
any small American seaport town. The town
proper (Freetown) contains about $500 pop
ulation, and the colony of Sierra Leone, ex-
tends some thirty miles back of the coast,
and contains between 10000 and 10000 peo-
ple Freetown is built more along the foot of
the high hills than I thought, not running
more than a third of the distance up them.
The streets are of ordinary width, being un-
paved. The soil is common red clay, beaten
hard by much treading, and the streets or
roads are fringed on each side by broad bor
der of grass, precisely similar to our Ameri-
can grass and weeds. ...
THE HOUSES
are generally one story, and built of wood,
with roofs made Of reeds or rushes plated.
From the front of each of these houses pro.
iects wide roof, covering where the pave
being the ordinary slat ones, the Stats being
boards, or barrel staves. In the little gar.
dens, which are generally about seventy.6ve
feet square, grow short stalks Of corn, yams
and few other vegetables, and in most Of
them cocoanut tree or two towers up. At
long intervals a more pretentious building is
reached, there being several large two.story
frame stores, the upper story surrounded with
lattice work, few brick stores, and probably
half a dozen brick and wooden warehouses.
A tin or tile roof is occasionally seen. The
town is well laid off into streets, with English
names, such as "Rawdon street." water
street" "Oxford street." &c, painted at their
corners A short walk down several streets
and around several corners brings US to the
place of business of
THE AMERICAN CONSUL,
from which the "glorious gridiron" floats.
Our guide has been black man picked up
from boat, and on the way he succeeds in
engaging himself to wait on the ship with
his conveyance. We note en- route that near.
" every man we meet touches bis hat and
says "goo mornin |" We see only one white
mana squarely built Englishman, in cork
hat and his shirt sleeves, smoking large
pipe, and standing under tree superintend-
ing a gang of laborers-who eyes us supercil.
iously as we pass. The American representa-
tive is a member of an English firm doing
the largest business il Sierra Leone. On the
first floor of his establishment is the retail
store, a wide and deep apartment, stocked
with bright prints, cotton, beads, hats, san
dals, hardware, motions" clothing and guns.
The latter are the old hintlock, long barreled,
smooth bore musket. My idea is that the
man who fires one of them thereby gives proof
of courage of very high order. The store
has counter, behind which stands the keep
er, black-tbe head clerk, black-the ju.
nior clerks, black-porter, black-messenger,
black. Back of this store is his warehouse,
where gangs of laborers are at work. Up
stairs are the Offices, of which there is large
suite. Here are four white men, including