The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-24

addition to his household. It is then an
nounced that the "palaver done set. >"
Despite the efforts Of the missionaries
many or the evils mentioned continue, al
i though their efforts have baen great
means OF reducing the number. The nd
tive girls. when instructed by the mission
| aries, generally object to taking very old
men for husbands and decline TO marry
them for whom they have no affection.
| They become somewhat independent on the
subject OF natrim0ny, and the result is
that the missionaries are prevented from
getting as m my girl pupils as they would
| otherwise. The natives don't like to have
their immemorial customs overridden.
They say of, the girls trained in mission
| schools: They bring sass in we town"
have seen a curious custom at Old Gala
bar with regard to the training of Young
girls for matrimony. A hole is dug in the
| ground, on the floor of the house, and the
girl, who may be 10 or II years of age. is
| made to sit IN 1t constantly, with an abun-
dance of tempting food within easy reach
Her body is chalked to prevent perspiration,
and she grows fat very speedily. Some
times this tattenlng process is continued
three years or more; the fatter the girl the
higher price she will bring. A bride who
ADDS fat to other good qualities is sure to
| mad husband very quickly.
| Among many of the native tribes a sort
| ofrude pollteness prevails that surprises q
| stranger If one native has knife which
| another wishes TO borrow, the first will wipe
1t clean ~ on his legs or feet before hand
ing 1t to the second. Everywhere there is
an anxiety to learn English. The Kroos,
| for example, will accept orders from no for
elgners unless they speak in that language;
| not even from Spanish, German or French.
| They try to use it on all occasions, and the
| result Is an odd tumble of sense and profan-
| lty sometimes, as in the case of one poor
fellow who prayed: 20, God, take cherry
- bad ting out of my heart"
Marvellous changes will take place 10 the
| Dark Continent" before the close of the
present century. The great explorer is yet
to come who will go through the heart of
| Africa, entering at a point on the west
| coast, either from Sierra Leone or Liberi a,
| above where the coast trends eastward,
penetrating the lower Soudan and crossing
| the continent.
he will come across stranger revelations
than those encountered in Stanley's deep,
| dark forests; very likely walled cities and a
| people OF some pret9nsions to civilization.
| Mention of the Soudan reminds me of an
important project now in contemplation in
| connection with missionary work in Africa
Rev. II. Grafton Guinness and his wife,
| who were the founders of the mission known
as the Livingstone Mission. are now in the
United States recruiting for the Soudan
work. MIR. Guinness proposes to enter the
Soudan from four different points, one of
his bases being Liberia with headq uarters
at Monrovia. He is the famous English
preacher. He it was who, when Stanley,
on starting to rescue Emin Pasha, took
away the steamer from the Baptist mission
on the Congo. bitterly denounced the act
1t was high-handed proceeding on the part
| OF the explorer. and one that excited much
comment at the time.
The dreaded African fever, which very
few, either white or colored (coored from
the United States, escape, is a virulent
type of bilious fever. 1t comes on with
symptoms similar to these that accompany
an attack of remittent fever in the United
States l have heard persons say that day
OF two before being stricken down they
felt au unusual exhilaration of spirits; then
came the inevitable pain in the back, a
| giving out" of the knees and a feeling of
general lassitude and exhaustion. Taken in
time, however, the fever is easily controlled.
If not, the victim soon drops off into deep,
unconscious sleep. The skin becomes yell
low from the overflow of bile, which, ]
| should judge, suffuses the brain to an ex-
tent that causes it to cease its action, when
| death supervenes. have never known the
following simple remedy to fail, if applied
| when the symptoms first appear: A dose OF
six or eight grains of podophyllin, folio ed
next day, and, if need be, for several sue
cessive days, by doses of six or eight grains
of quinine daily. 1t has the additional
advantages too, of bringing quick recu.
peration, instead of the usual long and
tedious convalescence
A word about Liberia. The capital of the
Lone Star republic, Monrovia, lies on a cape
that terminates in a headland 2S0 feet above
the Atlantic level. Its base is washed by
the sea- The republic itself Is modelled
after the American republic, and it en-
braces not only toe American Liberians,
but several hundred thousand natives or
abor1gnes, /. e., heather, with whose habits
or customs, however, no interference is
attempted as long as these do not conflict
with the laws. After the election of Mayor
| Williams (all the officials and property
owners are negroes)he prohibited the native
| from appearing on the streets of Monrovia
without clothing. Previous to this order
the men generally had worn a shirt and
loin cloth. Now, the women had to ''dress -
but they were not altogether particular
about their toilet or as to strictly following
the modes. A mans undershirt, with hip
cloth, represents the average wardrobe of
the native women, answering every pur-
pose ard meeting the demands of the law
| The Monrovians all dress very we'll.
Liberia has many natural advantages, but
needs capital and enterprise. 1t is q natural
rice-growing country. and the rainy season
obviates the necessity Of flooding the
growing rice artificially. Coffee, sugar
cane, arrow-root, ginger, cocoanu ut
palm and the palm from which pal
oil is made; the cacao or chocolate produc-
ing tree; rubber, the sole right to which was
given by the last legislature to an English
company for 920, 900 sterling, and other
valuable staples ara among the products.
| The schools are backward owing to the
absence Of qualified teachers and of build
ings and furniture and books. There is no
coin in the country other than copper l
cent and cent pieces. The paper currency
is not accepted outside of the Republic and
there is not full value on it even there. The
Liberiaas to blame? Yes and no. Ameri-
cans and the Philanthropic Colonization
society, which sent the colored peo-
pie from America to Liberia, knew that
they had neither experience in government
nor the advantages of education. They
have not the hardihood, pluck and push
that characterize the people Of colder eli
mates Literature, inventions and great
schemes of any description whatsoever are
not born in the tropies, Transplanted to
Liberia-a foreign soil, with every disad-
vantage of new country to overcome,
even to coutending with savage and heather
neighbors for bare existence-these immi-
grants ON the colonization society con-
tinue to come. They face first the
acclimatization fever; then, after the six
months provisions furnished by the society