Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1949-04-16

vited us to ride with him from
the city to the st. Paul River and
to cross the river on their boat
The company has it's main con-
struction camp about three miles
beyond the river. The manager
| showed us around the camp and
gave us permit to ride one of
the company's freight trucks to
Klay. l saw some of the CONNER
cial pioneering that is taking
place all over Liberia = bridge
building gangs, saw mill crews,
surveying parties, and great
earth moving machines cutting
roadways for motor roads and
railways.
At Klay, small native villege,
we met the Paramount Chief and
the District Commissioner and
made arrangementsh for a native
boy to accompany us the three
miles through the jungle to the
mission. This was my first intro
duction to an African jungle trail
AN unforgettable experience.
When person fresh from civil
ization passes along one of these
trails, one cannot help but realize
how close nature is to man. Some
of these trails have been travelled
by people on foot for hundreds of
years.
AS We walked along this trail,
Il thought of what this country
was like as years ago when DR..
Jones first came here. AS a mat
ter of fact, DR.. Jones says that
very little change has taken
place in thetrail itself and the
physical aspects of the Jungle
The three-foot bridges must be
replaced every two or three
years. Otherwise, the trail was
much as it had been for centur-
les. DR.. Jones still walks this trail
alone at night He usually carries
his faithful rifle with him. He
told me of night some years ago
when he was walking along, and
just before crossing the last
bridge to the mission, he sensed
that something was watrhing him
from the impenetrable sarkness
of the jongle. Within a moment,
he saw two eyes shining ABBOTT
twenty feet from him. He fired
one shot and killed one of the
largest leopards that he had ever
seen. DR.. Jones is still hale and
hearty at 70 years of age and can
walk as far and shoot as straight
as he did when he was boy in
Mississippi.
DR.. Jones was expecting us and
since we were returning to Mon
rovia that night, he showed us
around the place before dinner.
The campus is located on a high
plateau shaded by large oragne.
grapefruit and plum trees. The
main building is a large frame
structure built of native hand
sawn hardwood. This building
serves as the principals home,
mission dining hall, and dormi-
tory for small girls. Al lof the
other buildings on the campus
are of native mud construction
with matched roofs. One is i'm
pressed with the cleanliness and
neatness of the place, although
the buildings are simple almost to
the point of being primitive. DR..
Jones probably has the largest
grove of citrus fruit trees in Lii
IBERIA. The trees are mostly giant
grapefruit, oranges, lemons and
plums. He said that he had sew
eral tons of fruit that rotted en-
the ground last year because he
had no way to get them to market
His first trees are over 40 years
old. 1t is interesting to hear him
relate how he got his first start
of orange trees. A sailor was
counting a Liberian girl and gave
her three oranges from the Philip
pines. She gave him the seeds and
he brought them to the mission
and planted them. In late years
he has imported some grated
stocks. 1t will probably be a diff
ferent story in years to come
the manager of construction of