Facts about Africa
We extract the following interesting facts from a recently
published communication of our esteemed brother Eli Ball, who
has recently returned from a visit of inspection to our missions in
Liberia.
The mission stations sustained by the Foreign Board of the
Southern Baptist Convention in the Republic of Liberia, and in the
Maryland Colony, in Africa, have already reached a point of
importance which begins to attract the attention of the friends of
missions in the south; and whatever tends to spread light among
our churches concerning Africa and her 100,000,000 benighted
inhabitants cannot fail to interest.
The Republic of Liberia and the Maryland Colony, have
purchased lands along the western coast of Africa for more than
500 miles. Within these limits there are four principal settlements:
Monrovia, Bassa, Sinou and Cape Palmas. There are several rivers
that flow into the ocean through the territory, and open channels of
commerce for the people. The soil is generally productive, and in
many places it is rich. The forests are clothed with never fading
verdure, and are thick with a great variety of undergrowth and lofty
trees, some rich in fruits and others valuable for timber. The shore
of the ocean, as far as I went, (about 250 miles) is one long bank of
sand, nearly straight, back of which, at the distance of a few yards,
is stretched the green thicket, which is spread over beautifully
undulating lands.
The natives inhabit the coast and the interior. They are
grouped together into tribes, as the Indians in America are. Each
tribe lives in a town, or in several small towns near together. The
towns consist of huts, without any reference to order, and placed so
near together, that there is scarcely room to pass between many of
them. The houses or huts in some towns are round, in others
generally square. When square, they are from 12 to 20 feet on a
side. They are constructed of poles, either round or split, and
either driven into the earth or placed on a trench dug for that
purpose. These upright timbers are fastened together with small
sticks of bamboo, transversely attached by some fibrous material.
The walls are usually from four to five feet high. They are
frequently plastered over with a composition of cow dung and
clay. The roof is made of poles or rafters brought together at the
top, forming a sharp point. The lower ends of the rafters are
