The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-20
AFRICA as IT IS TODAY
THE DARK CONTINENT is BEING
GRADUALLY CHRISTIANIZED.
The Products and Prospects of Liberia
-~Mary Sharp's Observation-Disclosures
and the African Republic.
edward IAvies. in Boston Transcript.


acquired territory there. but because of the
extensive trade and commerce that exists
between the two countries, and also be-
cause the American people helped to estab-
lish the State of Liberia and contributed
$2,55S9S7 of their money to create homes
and comfort for 1900 free Africans, that
they dispatched to settle there. They of
Liberia have reason to look upon this state
with honest pride. The founding of Liberia
was an act worthy of this great Republic,
because 1t took the lead in publicly recog-
nizing and supporting the great work of
African civilization in the history of the
world and in promoting the extension of
commerce. This is of great import, in view
of it's interest in the future well-being of
the 1000 goo people of African descent now
in this land.
The Constitution of Liberia is modelled
like that of the United States. "All men
are born free and equal. and have an in
alienable right to life liberty and the pur-
suit Of happiness" The natives of Liberia
are robust healthy and long-lived. Gov
ernor Ashmon says zone acre of rich land
will produce $500 worth Of indigo; half an
acre can be made to grow half a ton of ar
row root. Two crops of corn, sweet pota-
toes and other vegetables may be raised
yearly"
The forests contain teak, mahogany, rose
wood hickory and several kinds of gum
trees, medicinal shrubs and a variety Of
useful palm trees, including the nut-bearing
palm, from which palm oil is made. Iron
abounds. Copper is found in the interior,
and gold is found in considerable quanti-
ties Fruits abound, including plantains.
bananas, oranges, soursop, twenty varieties
OF prunes, guava, pawpaw, pineapples,
grapes and tropical peach and cherry. Veg
etables abound, including sweet potatoes,
cassada, yams, cocoa, ground nuts, arrow
root, egg plant, ochre and variety of
beans: also peas, cucumbers and pumpkins.
Grains are found in Liberia. Indian corn,
coffee pepper of three varieties, equal to
cayenne, millet, quinia, corn, sugar corn,
grow luXuriantly. Cotton yields TWO crops
a year. While all this, and more is true,
still it is not wise for a great company of
Americans to go over there and think that
they can coloniZe that country ana prosper
unless there is a great amount of wisdom
exercised and a vast amount of money On
hand. Money would be of little good With
out wisdom and wisdom would be or llttie
avail without a sufficient supply or money.
For example, Bishop William Taylor took
out from different lands lightweight mis-
sionaries to Liberia and the kroo coast;
They were sustained by Bishop Taylor and,
his many friends. Most of the missionaries
have died or returned home. vast amount
farms and coffee trees, in building houses
and in importing machinery. Forty-hye
thousand coffee trees were planted, hut only
5000 of them are alive. Most of this eX-
pense has proved failure, as Bishop Hart
Zell shows.
BISHOP TURNER'S PLAN.
More recently Bishop Turner. who was
travelling in the South, originated a plan
for African colonization. This was formu-
lated and carried out by Mr.. Mcmillan,
white man of Birmingham, Ala, who
formed what was called the international
Emigration Society" 1t was claimed that
the President Of Liberia would give the
colonsts land and farming implements.
Each colonist was TO pay SAL passage money,
and was expected to have $500 in gold with
him to lay the foundation of his fortune
in Liberia. Two hundred of them left Sa-
vannah, Ca, in March, 1885. for Liberia,
and several small companies followed.
When they reached Liberia they found
that the twenty-five acres of land for each
adult, and ten acres for each child, that
was promised them, was in part OF the
country that was thirty-five miles from
any town and was incapable of growing
anything but coffee and it would take from
four to six years to grow this successfully.
So this was q failure Then each person
was to be provided with barrel of flour
and barrel of meat and a quantity of SUI
gar. and a complete set of farming imple-
ments. Instead of all this, the president OF
the society, ID. K Hammer, who accom-
panied the immigrants to Liberia, foFsook
them all when they landed. Some OF them
spent all the money they had and nearly
starved to death before they got money TO
return to America. These emigrants could
find no employment in Liberia that would
bring them money. The natives wore no
clothes and could live in that country for
little or nothing, Inc natives dld all the
work for starvation wages: This was the
sad outcome of the 1900 who We're to join
the colony TO build town in Liberia that
would soon be in a flourishing condition.
Starvation and the terrible African fever
thinned out their ranks and should teach
wisdom to all others.
Rev Melville Cox, from New England,
was the first Methodist missionary to Lii
IBERIA. He went out in 1888 In four months
the African fever laid him in the dust.
Rev Osgood Wright and wife, from Mas
sachusetts, have their names on the same
marble shaft. They landed in Liberia Jan.
4 Mrs. Wright died Feb. 4. Mr.. Wright
lived till the 2Sth of March of the same
year.
Mary Sharp has been quite successful
missionary in Liberia She has endured the
climate for a number of years, and has
taught many of the people the English lam
guage. She says: a people that know
English and can read the English Bible
may be Indifferent to the gospel, even
wicked, but can never go back to heatheal-
ism. Heather here are heather indeed,
not Confucanists nor Buddhists, but SIM
ply without any knowledge of God, the
Supreme One; no books. and very little ira
dition. Evil spirits, they think, surround
and follow them from their birth. Miss
church at Monrovia, so that it will hold
eight hundred persons Stone for the foun-
dation can easily be found, but the lumber
has to be sawed in the woods by the ma
tives with a cross-cut saw. Then the lum-
Der is carried to the river and put in
canoes and brought to MonrOvia. A little
at a time only can be brought, because the
canoes are only dugouts.
ENGLAND WATCHFUL.
England and the British Parliament will
keep their eyes on South Africa Many
think that the principal desire of man in
that region is that all South Africa should
be brought under English rule, that it
should become a great African Republic"
with Cecil Rhodes as it's president 1t is
remarkable that this great millionaire. Ce-
Gil Rhodes, was not in the procession in
London the other day It is also remarka-
BILE that about the very time that the Kaffir
King, Barney Barnato jumped overheard
from the British steamship Scot, on his
way from the Cape, Cecil Rhodes was
and would no doubt have burned TO DEATH
but that his room was broken open. These
are the two men who lave made their mil
lions in South Africa No wonder that
there was so much rivalry between Barnato
and Cecil Rhodes. The former had become
the richest man in South Africa, at the age
of forty. He had an extraordinary fnan-
cial genus. In other respec cts he was but
his millions, had an ambition 10 be at the
head OF an African umpire
We are told that when Hammond and the
rest of the jameson contingent were in
prison in Pretoria, Barnato went to the
prison with q check for $3.50 900 to pay the
fines of Hammond and Rhodes This was
TO aggravate Rhodes, who was able to pay
one hundred times that amount and not