Letter from Brother Bowen
When brother Bowen last wrote, he was at Monrovia. He
will probably remain there until the fall, and then proceed by the
best route to the interior. He thus describes the country on the
coast, and the tribes of the interior: —
“Western Africa is hilly and undulating, much like
Virginia, for forty miles above Richmond. The streams are
numerous, rocky or sandy, and clear; prevailing rocks, amorphous
trap and iron ore; soil generally of second and third quality, rather
stubborn, owing to the presence of innumerable pimples. The
interior is good for corn; cotton is very inferior; sweet potatoes
bad; wild fruit abundant, but not often eatable. The whole land is
covered with a tangled thicket of bushes and vines. There is
abundance of timber, some heavy and desirable, some tough as
hickory, but I have seen no fine wood. Cam wood is scarce, so is
ivory.
“To natives and acclimated persons, Liberia is as healthy as
the southern States. But the settlements are in the very worst
locations, being near the juncture of salt and fresh water. There is
very little swamp in the country. If villages were built thirty or
forty miles back, and surrounded by plantations, I have no doubt
that the health of emigrants would be two or three hundred per
cent, better than it is. When the country is cleared and cultivated, I
believe the climate of Liberia will no longer be a terror.
“I was on Gebby island, in St. Paul’s river (see map to
Alexander’s History of African Colonization). All this region is a
noble, elevated country, almost free from palm trees, and with
various other indications of wealth. The stream east of the island
is about eight yards wide, the other about two hundred. The river
is full of rocks and rapids.
“I have not been long enough in the country to learn much
about the state of the churches. There is no ordained minister in
the Monrovia district.
“The principal native tribes in this section are the Golahs
(very extensive); the Veys (principally on the coast from this to
Gallenas); the Kroos, on the coast, and the Deys, who are now
weak. They are all barbarians, but by no means so stupid as we
have heard. In fact they are shrewd, and capable of great
