jl I WestV'Sfrica the r a lijl;! 'MM ^? fc THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES T>o/Kp West Africa the Elusive BY ALAN LETHBEIDGE Author of «' The New Bussia," ♦' The Soul of the Russian " Germany as it is to-day," &c. LONDON : JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD. OXFORD HOUSE 83-91, GREAT TITOHFIELD STREET, OXFORD STREET, W. 1. 1921 TO THE " GENTLEMEN UNAFRAID," WHO FORFEITED THEIR LIVES IN MAKING BRITISH WEST AFRICA, AND LIE AT REST, UNSUNG, AND FORGOTTEN IN ITS SWAMPS, JUNGLES AND DESERTS, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED. 1220135 PEEFACE. Books of travel may be divided into two categories : those which describe what their writers are meant to see, and consequently paint everything " coulem- de rose," and those which are framed on critical lines. The latter, if moderate and just, should be of practical benefit to the countries concerned, though, as a rule, their authors are not popular with all portions of the community. I have tried in this book on West Africa to balance the scales, and it has not been easy. When one is, so to speak, a semi-official guest, it seems to savour of in- gratitude to comment adversely on matters which attract one's attention. Yet what was the object of my mission ? I was sent by the Daily Telegrai^h, most certainly not for a pleasure trip, but to describe West Africa of to-day frankly and fearlessly, in order that this crowded old England might decide whether the rather neglected West African colonies had openings of which the coming generation might avail itself. Obviously, gilding the pill would be an outrage upon those who, troubling to read what was written, felt drawn to take the plunge only to discover the discrepancy between fiction and fact. This is the worst propaganda conceivable. The patent line of action to follow, therefore, is to point out where abuses exist and show how they might be remedied, and I do venture to suggest that the out- sider, although he be a mere layman, can sometimes grasp the flaw in a system, administrative or mercantile, more quickly than those actually concerned. Moreover, those in subordinate positions of Government depart- ments or trading firms have long since learnt the fact VI. PREFACE that the muzzling order is not confined to the canine world and prefer to take the road of least resistance rather than chance the loss of their livelihood through dismissal. Nominally, those having grievances are invited to ventilate them ; anyone with the slightest West Coast experience knows that to be an amiable legend. The recent dissatisfaction in Nigeria, it is admitted in a Government Report, portions of which I quote in due course, showed that the temper of the official world in that great colony had almost reached flash point. Had this condition been ignored there would have been serious trouble, and, as I write, there is still room and to spare for amelioration of the lot of the Nigerian Civil Servant. On the Gold Coast conditions are easier ; the average of prices is lower, since the railway is run on more economical lines than in Nigeria and transport charges are less. Liberia, the black man's Utopia, the paradise of the fanatical emancipationist, I have touched upon with the lightest of possible pens. That my remarks gave the maximum of offence and that the local paper described me as a " fit companion for gaol-birds," merely made me smile. This opera-bouffe republic is an ana- chronism in an era of advance when every corner of the world is needed for serious exploitation. If it continues to endure, it will be because of its wealth and the in- evitable international jealousy its occupation by any one Great Power would entail. So much by way of explana- tion of the pages which follow. I have certainly attempted to avoid wounding any one's feelings, for at all times my wife and I have received assistance, kindness and much consideration. My thanks must first be extended to Lord Burn- ham and the Daily Telegraph, who made the journey possible. Next I must mention His Excellency Governor Wilkinson of Sierra Leone and Mrs. Wilkinson, who, if report be true, are saying good-bye shortly to this flourishing little colony. Their loss will be very real, for, faced with truly desperate difficulties over native affairs, each in a separate manner has contributed to PREFACE Vll. the continuing economic prosperity of what was once " The White Man's Grave." Monsieur Crommelin, the Liberian Minister to the Court of St. James, gave me much friendly advice and counsel. General Guggisberg, during a trying tour to those not regularly accustomed to tropical travel, I grew to know well and learned to appreciate the value of his friendship. A progressive Governor in the broadest sense, the destinies of the Gold Coast are in safe hands. To Major F. N. Jackson, the Military Governor of British Togoland, and to Mrs. Jackson my wife and I owe a debt of gratitude we cannot adequately express. Sir Hugh Clifford, Governor of Nigeria, extended to us official hospitality, for which I thank him. To enumerate the names of all those who showed us sympathy in fair weather and foul would be impossible. They were legion, but I have not for- gotten them and never shall. Finally, I cannot close without grateful mention of two great organizations — Messrs. Elder Dempster and the Bank of British West Africa. Messrs. Elder Dempster come in for a good many kicks, and it gives me peculiar pleasure to record our personally happy experiences in their ships. Many circumstances militate against the satisfactory running of these vessels — climate, crews, black labour, difficulties of adequate storage and great length of voyage. So allowances should be made and complainants should remember that they are not the only folk with livers. The Bank of British West Africa has helped many a " Coaster " over a stile and continues the practice. Perhaps the knowledge that strict business does not recognize sentiment and that they break away from tradition to that extent is the best recommendation I can give them, not forgetting their habitual and never-failing courtesy. It is unlikely that I shall ever see the West Coast again, but with all its manifest faults it possesses a heart as warm as the sun which shines upon it and holds out a hand ready to shake that of a wayfarer. Let him respond ; he will never regret it. It is impossible for me to close this preface without acknowledging the tremendous help I have received from Vlll. PREFACE my wife in the preparation of this book. She accom- panied me during the whole of the nine months I was in West Africa, and the strain and fatigue must have been very great. But on her return she insisted on sharing the responsibilities of this volume, which if it contains anything of value is entirely due to her initiative. Alan Lethbridge. WEST AFKICA THE ELUSIVE. CHAPTER I. Why elusive ? The query is a very natural one, and the answer is equally easy : Elusive because, in this world of cramped spaces and increasing labour conges- tion, here lie vast territories which convey practically nothing to the average citizen, who, after all, is the motive power behind the British Empire. True, there is all the machinery of administration to be found there ; soldiers, police, law courts, and schools. There are banks and commercial undertakings of some magnitude. There are mines and factories. Yet development has been slow, very slow, crippled by that one fact that the general public cannot grasp what West Africa means, and might mean had it not been for so long " elusive." Every schoolboy is inoculated with the microbe of a superstitious dread of the " Coast." Grown men shake their heads solemnly when it is mentioned. Mothers and aunts roundly declare that their budding sons or nephews shall never seek a living in such a horrible place. Of course, this attitude is extreme. Every spot has its drawbacks and people have been known to die in Piccadilly. A leading London surgeon made a very true remark when we were wilting under a perfect fusillade of prophecies of the bad end to which we were hastening by going to the Coast. It was a farewell family party, and the lugubrity of comment was really very funny. The medical man listened quietly, and then dryly remarked, " Has it ever occurred to you, dear people, that half my practice is obtained by the indis- cretions of those who take liberties with themselves simply because they are at home? Place them in a 2 WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE land where they sense latent danger, and, ipso facto, they take every possible precaution, and quite probably their health may even improve." Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, in his story of the Dover Patrol, puts exactly the same thing in a different way. "However, as is frequently the case, the more awkward a piece of navi- gation the safer it really is, owing to the care and con- centration of attention at the moment which become necessary." And finally, what about the tight-rope walker who was asked how his father died ? " He was a tight-rope walker also,'' was his reply, " and he fell from his rope in a circus and was smashed up." "I wonder you care to follow in his steps ; you might come to the same end," said his questioner. " Maybe, but what happened to your father?" "Oh! he died in bed." "Did he, now? Well, I wonder you aren't afraid to follow in his steps and go to bed ! " This by way of introduction. Ships, like people, have individualities. A passenger steamer bound for New York is as far removed from a West African liner as chalk is from cheese. In the first case there is fusion — that is to say, fusion which will take place imperceptibly during and after the voyage. Its logical sequence is the curious conglomeration of peoples who make up the United States of to-day. Upon a West African liner, rightly or wrongly, there is no question of fusion. There are Government officials, there are traders, there are missionaries, and, above all, there are black men. If water and oil never assimilate, then, most assuredly, these equally diverse elements will never do so. There is a good deal to be said for each. The missionary may strike one as extreme in his point of view. The Government official has a different angle of vision from that of the missionary or of the trader. The black man stands aloof from all, and, truth to tell, one wonders whether he is not smiling perpetually at the affection displayed by the white man for his own white brothers. But there is one point of similarity amongst these conflicting elements, and that is a wholesome dislike for the Coast, black men excepted. It has become a sort of cult. Nothing that the Coast WEST AFEICA THE ELUSIVE d can produce or will ever produce is aught but bad. We did hear one officer say that the pineapples in Sierra Leone were passable, while all agreed that the shooting up in the bush was " decent." But otherwise the Lamentations of Jeremiah paled into insignificance by comparison. Now destructive criticism is a very simple matter ; constructive criticism is not so easy. This mental attitude, so common amongst "Coasters," is largely induced by factors capable of alteration. The most important of these factors we propose to mention, and, we might add, in no spirit of malice, but merely be- cause our mission would have been useless were we not to comment with some freedom upon matters brought to our notice. No one will gainsay that, by and large, the influence of womanhood is a stabilizing feature in the make-up of manhood. More and more are men realizing that " it is not good for man to live alone," and even a poor specimen of her sex may have a civilizing influence. To emphasize the point, the very fact that a white man feels the responsibility of protecting his own women-folk in a strange land is all for his good. The time has arrived when a man of common sense values the com- panionship of a woman more than her looks, and, to the credit of the woman be it said, it is usually the man who is responsible for keeping her safe in England, even when accommodation is available on the Coast or up country. A great deal has been written about the iniquities, so-called, of those white men who, perforce, make their home or their living in West Africa. No one would suggest that they are plaster saints, and, to their everlasting credit, they would be the first, indivi- dually and collectively, to deny it. But undoubtedly the absence of feminine influence, of those little touches which mean so much and represent " home," must aggravate any tendency towards the common or garden vices to which human nature is ever liable. At the end of a full day's work in a comparatively lonely station, what is there to do ? And it must be pointed out that the white population living in what might be described as "towns" in West Africa is very small. Some may 4 WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE find solace in shooting, though that represents expense which many a youngster cannot afford. Sometimes there may be a tennis court, though this is rare. But it is impossible to shoot or to play tennis when it is dark. So what is there to do? The temptations are obvious. An enervating climate and loneliness will play the devil with anyone. The first essential needed to make of West Africa a country where life may be lived under normal conditions is proper accommodation; the second, sufficient salaries to encourage domestic life. Towards this consummation there are no insuperable difficulties. It is as easy to build a bungalow of a proper design, comfortable and commodious — most im- portant essentials in the tropics — in West Africa as in India. Encourage this practice, and the whole aspect of life on the Coast will be altered. Granted that the colonization of this portion of the globe will never be effectually achieved by white men, yet, by the intro- duction of such methods as have been outlined, there appears to us to be no particular reason why West Africa should bear a stigma which is not wholly justified. For too long has West Africa been regarded as a sort of refuge for the destitute, as a species of dustheap of the Empire. Yet I remember that the late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, when speaking at a Guildhall banquet, made a comment to the following effect : " As long as Great Britain can produce the type of men who are working to-day as administrators, soldiers or traders under the extremely disadvantageous conditions at present existing in West Africa, so long need we have no fear of the future of the British Empire." Those words probably had their little effect as a mental tonic upon the Coaster, whatever his calling, sweating and struggling, doing his best for the commonweal. And it has not been in vain. It would be useless to say that there are not pronounced antagonisms between class and class ; it would be ridiculous to state that the missionary and the trader, the soldier and the political officer always see eye to eye. They do not. And yet, such is the contrariness of nature, there has undoubtedly been born a species of freemasonry which binds these WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE 5 very different people together. It is rather reminiscent of the story told of an Irish soldier who heard a dis- paraging remark made about the late Queen Victoria at a wayside station in, let us say, County Mayo. Having knocked the offender down, and being asked for an explanation, he replied, "Faith, she's my Queen and I can say what I want about her, but it's not for the likes of you, ye spalpeen ! " Such is the spirit of the Coast. Las Palmas, capital of Grand Canary, may well be called the gateway to the West Coast. Were statistics available it would be interesting to know how many " Coasters," outward and homeward bound, pass through here in a year, while it might be saddening to discover the number who have made this their final resting place. Time was when it was the popular thing, in order to avoid giving the Coast an unnecessarily bad name, hastily to ship off the very ill to Las Palmas, there to let them die or recover as fate ordained. At least, so legend has it. Things have altered now, since Elder Dempster maintain a certain number of direct sailings between Liverpool, Sierra Leone, and Lagos, which means a saving of some days if nothing else. A little practice in the gentle art of deduction and it is quite possible to differentiate between the outward bound " Coaster " and the homeward bound. The former is spick and span in beautiful new clothes, but usually is hard up, while the latter is badly in need of additions to his wardrobe, but is distinctly " flush." Those from the West Coast form a curious and transient community of their own in Grand Canary, seldom mixing with the tourists, who under normal conditions throng the island. Undoubtedly, time permitting, the best plan is to stay in the interior of the island, where, at Monte, is an excellent hotel, run by an Englishman, and greatly patronized by jaded " Coasters " who are trying to recover from the effects of the West African climate, which not only saps their vitality, but often upsets the nervous system. What could be a more delightful contrast to their usual environ- ment than semi-Alpine scenery, a garden brilliant with b WEST AFEICA THE ELUSIVE subtropical flowers and plants, cool and invigorating breezes from the hills, and — absolute quiet ? Getting to Monte is quite an experience. The road is steep and tortuous, and Spanish chauffeurs are not too reliable, though, to be sure, there is no speed limit on the island. Our car broke down just as it grew dusk, and since we were about six miles from our destination, and the driver conclusively proved himself no mechanic, the position did not appear promising. We had no Spanish, and he knew no English ; neither, for that matter, did those who were to prove friends in need. The inevitable " Ford " approached, stopped, and four men and a child simultaneously alighted. Then ensued a perfect pandemonium, everyone talked at once and gesticulated wildly. Our motor gave an excellent and prolonged imitation of a Maxim gun. In the intervals of this concert the family history of the owners of the "Ford" was given us in broken French by the only linguist of the party. One was an engineer, another a lawyer, another a widower and the father of an extremely shy " Carmencita," who viewed us with great suspicion. At last our car was pronounced by the engineer and his chauffeur to be capable of proceeding. We all shook hands and bowed solemnly. Our driver climbed into bis seat to the accompaniment of more farewells. There was more Maxim-gun noise, and — the car refused to move ! After that everything was begun all over again, and the skies grew dark. Finally, the engineer, by dint of the most vivid pantomime and a torrent of words, started our car himself, and we continued on our way with no lamps, up a winding road to Monte. It may seem that we have harped too much upon questions of health, but the fact is that this particular source of conversation is never long left untapped. There are the pessimists who regard this tour of service as their last, and there are optimists who aver that the Coast is " all right." One of those best qualified to speak with authority on the point told us that he had lived in Sierra Leone on and off for 20 odd j^ears. He had had blackwater fever eight times — that, surely, is a record — enteric twice, and had been actually carried WEST AFEICA THE ELUSIVE 7 on to the ocean steamer four times, so grave was his condition. Yet he looked as hearty and jolly as a sand- boy, and was returning in our ship with never a quake for the future. Moreover, he was accompanied by his wife, a fragile, charming woman, who had been with her husband most of those trying years. That speaks for itself. Pluck goes a long way towards good health, a deal farther than many realize. CHAPTEE II. Liberia is included in this volume for two reasons. Its unexplored riches, accounts of which reach England in vague whispers from sources reliable and otherwise, the tales of "big game," its agricultural productivity, all stimulate the imagination and the desire for gain or sport. Therefore, it is as well that the venturesome should realize the difference between this Black Republic and the Colonies which form its boundaries. Also, we were fortunate to witness at Monrovia the inauguration of the new President, a ceremony which takes place — as it does in America — every four years, and our description, slight though it may be, may give pause to those enthusiasts who seem to think that "all men were created equal," and that that equality includes mentality and the ability for self-government. Liberia is a curious little State. It is situated in a sort of backwater ; it is seemingly forgotten by the hurrying liners wending their way to British, French, or Spanish West African Colonies, as also by the giant ships trading to South African ports. Mails arrive rarely and irregularly,* and, in consequence thereof, trade and commerce must suffer. Now, granted that its geographical situation renders it rather difficult of access, granted that the war has hit it mercilessly, owing to tonnage sunk and consequent paucity of vessels, yet the fault of this seclusion cannot be said to rest solely, or even mainly, upon these two factors. Ever since 1848, when Liberia was recognized for the first time in history as an independent republic — let it be noted that this recognition came first from Great Britain, secondly * Thanks to the enterprise of Messrs. Elder Dempster, this has recently been much improved. WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE 9 from France, and finally (fourteen years later) from America — it appears to have been the policy of her Government to discourage all outside enterprise. Instead of choosing as a motto "Advance Liberia!" they apparently adopted the old parrot cry, "Liberia for the Liberians." This, no doubt, is a very pleasant- sounding phrase, very gratifying to the self-satisfied Liberian citizen — though an outsider w^ould at first be under the delusion that to discover such an individual would be an impossible task. But a little investigation soon show^s that most of the Liberians — be they frock- coated or barefooted — come under this head. Thus^ during the seventy-two years of her independence^ Liberia has been content to sleep instead of watching closely the march of events, whatever these might be — social, economic, scientific, or international. Vast areas of her territory remain unmapped and even unexplored. There are no roads, no railways, no internal telegraphic communication, no steamboats on her rivers, no system- atization of her agriculture, no practical exploitation of her undeniable mineral wealth ; truly she has remained a hermit Eepublic. Offers of outside aid have been accepted — on paper. Attempts have been made to open up trade in the interior ; the Liberian Legislature promptly passed ordinances forbidding any foreigner to possess real estate except at certain specified locations on the coast. In 1908 the Liberian Frontier Force was to be reorganized ; at the request of the then President, Barclay — in the opinion of many the most astute President Liberia has yet had — Major Mackay Cadell and two other ofiicers of the British Army were appointed for this purpose. That they carried out their task extremely well, that they were beloved by their soldiers, recruited from the actual native tribes, such as the Mandingoes and Vais, that they instilled discipline and esprit cle corps into the Force has been asserted to us by the late Commandant, Major Anderson, a coloured officer from the United States Army, whose time of service in Liberia has now expired. Their success, however, apparently irritated the Legislature, and was the cause of their undoing, and they were forced to resign. 10 WEST AFEICA THE ELUSIVE The finances of the Republic were in a very pre- carious condition; money must be had at all costs, or national bankruptcy, internal rebellion, and rioting would result. Yet the Liberian of the governing class, with a superb indifference to common-sense finance, refused to allow the thesis that the creditor has an unquestionable right to demand some form of monetary security upon cash advanced to a borrower. After interminable argument, the Customs was pledged, and €ven to-day this fact is a very real thorn in the flesh of the so-called Liberian patriot. At length the time has arrived when a change must be made. Liberia has only two alternatives. Either she continues her career of stagnation and indifference, in which case she will undoubtedly merit her then unavoidable fate of obliteration from the list of inde- pendent States, or she may advance and develop along normal lines, guided by friendly and sympathetic help from the great outside world, in which case there is every possible reason why she should become an immensely rich, thriving, and prosperous country, with a teeming, happy population, the Utopia of those coloured philanthropists who, without ulterior motives, have fought for the betterment of the native races. This is the legacy which has been bequeathed to the new President, the Hon. Charles King, to whom the eyes of the world will now turn. What of him, then ? Let us first describe him at home as we originally saw him. President King is a man of marked individuality. Of medium height and spare frame, he has whiskers of the Prince Consort type, which probably make him look older than his years. His experiences in Paris at the Peace Conference and his subsequent visits to England and America, have without doubt robbed him of any illusions he might have originally possessed. He is outspoken, surprisingly outspoken, for, as a rule, the man of colour plus education is on the defensive, as though he were trying to peer behind one's eyes and read what lies beyond. Gifted with a keen sense of humour, he could smile without bitterness at the idiosyncrasies of his fellow-countrymen, and also at the WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE 11 very manifest intrigues which took place daily amongst the pseudo-international diplomats who suddenly arrived at Monrovia in remarkable quantities. So much for the man. The President's wife is a woman of really rare charm. Although a native-born Liberian she was educated at Washington, and combines with a most musical speaking voice and spontaneous smile the ability to say the right thing at the right time and in exactly the right way. The keynote of their home life was evidently simplicity. Though the President-elect, as he was when we first saw him, was garbed in the conventional frock coat and white waistcoat of the upper- class Liberian, the room in which we were received might well have belonged to one of his humbler country- men. Two or three easy chairs, an upright piano, and a few framed photographs ; nothing here to support the tales of extravagance which one had heard of other new- comers to the Executive Mansion. After the customary greetings, we were told that, as far as he knew, we were the first representatives of a great daily newspaper ever especially to visit the Eepublic, that he fully realized the value of publicity, particularly to a small State like Liberia, and that he hoped that since this attention had once been extended it might continue, and that the Daily Telegraph would, in the future, voice Liberia's needs. We then made some comments of a trivial nature upon Monrovia. " It is pretty," he said, "but, of course, it is merely a jumble of bungalows and houses put down without method in the bush. I must have roads, proper roads, and that is one of the first things I am going to see to ; that and the building of a new capital on modern and up-to-date lines, right away up country." This was an eye-opener, indeed, for us. Certainly here was advance, and no mistake. "You see," continued the President-elect, "this is a ridiculous situation for the capital of a country like Liberia, with great depth of hinterland. Up country we have many different tribes speaking different languages. They seldom or never come to Monrovia, partially, no doubt, because they cannot spare the time 12 WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE to make a tedious journey, of, maybe, fourteen or fifteen days in order to pay their respects, while obtaining no commensurate advantage. Hence we never get to know each other, and, as you will readily understand, bad feeling may thereupon ensue, leading ultimately to acts of violence and aggression necessitating the employ- ment of armed force to restore peace. If we are going to develop, as develop we must, we must wake up to facts, move the capital, as I say, and as a start, until we can have a railway, make a really good motor road." " You are evidently a behever in motor transport," was our comment. " Certainly. If an army in the field can be fed by such means, then undoubtedly, as a start, and pending the completion of a railway, which must take time, and also costs a great deal of money, here is a solution. Get started ! That is the whole point. " Then the question of finance. Liberia is enormously rich. She has rubber, timber in the upper regions, piassava (our chief export), palm oil and kernels, ginger, rice and coffee, and Calabar beans. Not so bad a list, is it ? Oh ! and then — yes — I had forgotten ivory. Even in 1917, when everybody's energies had been employed in a different direction, we exported nearly two tons weight." Here we interrupted : " But Sir Alfred Sharp, in a recent speech, said he had been miles through a Liberian forest and had never seen any game." " Then he must have gone to the wrong locations,, since ivory does not grow upon trees," was the dry reply. "And as a matter of fact, in the north-easterly portion of the Republic, which is seldom if ever visited by Europeans, there are plenty of elephants and many other wild animals besides." " Gold? " we queried. "An industry requiring development. Chiefly from alluvial washings, we managed to export, in 1917, about £6,500 of the raw article. And, considering that we have no modern apparatus nor appliances and no skilled engineers, that speaks for itself." We then turned to the question of immigration. WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE 13 " There are three classes of people we do not want," said Mr. King, with a rather grim smile : " first and foremost, we don't want coloured politicians. We have plenty of them here. Secondly, we have no need of unskilled labour. Of that also we have plenty. Thirdly, it is quite useless for anybody to come here with a view of settling down, unless possessed of a certain amount of capital. Monrovia itself is congested, and if people come out they must be in a position to build their own houses and stock their own stores, and wait patiently until, the country having finally awakened, as it certainly will if I have anything to do with it, they see their profits assured. " Similarly, we must have steamers for the produce of the agriculturists ; we must arouse interest, by one means or another, in our mineral deposits ; in fact, we must awake a healthy curiosity as to what can be done in Liberia with competent aid, and then I feel assured that the future of this country, of which I am the chosen leader, is safe." With that our interview came to an end, Mrs. King in her soft voice adding, as we descended the stairs, that she looked forward particularly to seeing us at the cere- mony of the inauguration, and they both assured us of their keen regret that we were obliged to leave the country so soon after that event. Like a good many other places, Monrovia is distinctly attractive when viewed from a distance, but this attract- tion diminishes in the same ratio as the distance de- creases. Seen from a steamer, one has the impression of a green, hilly promontory, dotted with red-roofed bungalows. One's first disillusionment comes with the landing, which is made in surf boats owing to a dangerous bar which must be crossed to reach the town, and which annually takes a heavy toll of life and property. For the benefit of the uninitiated, it may be explained that the average surf-boat is from six to seven feet deep, struts, to give additional strength, taking the place of seats. Hand luggage and passengers are literally thrown in without discrimination, and one stands, very possibly, on one's kitbag while steadying 14 WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE oneself by clutching at the shoulder of one's next-door neighbour, while the thermometer registers 110 in the distant shade. The Customs House is typical of the Liberia of to- day. It is an edifice composed of corrugated iron and kerosene tins ; it is also the playground of all the small Monrovians, and it is only the fact that but few travellers arrive at one time which prevents the loss of luggage. Needless to say, lodgings are practically non-existent, with the exception of one hotel, so-called, the advertise- ment for which, taken from a native paper, really must be quoted in full : " Faukner's Hotel and Ice Cream Parlor. Ice Cream, Cakes and Candies, Cold Drinks. You Owe It To Yourself To Satisfy That Thirst. So Don't Forget To Drop In At Faukner's. Boarders and Lodgers Received At Fairly Reasonable Rates." The latter part of the advertisement is certainly naive. Be it said that Mr. Faukner is the Mayor of Monrovia. He is an enterprising negro from North Carolina, and has latterly become a Liberian for business purposes. His idea of a fairly reasonable price is anything from a pound to thirty shillings a day for food and accommo- dation which one would hesitate to offer to a steerage passenger. A gentleman of resource, this ! He runs an ice plant, and in this thirsty land people will part with almost anything in exchange for this precious substance ; hence his profits are gigantic. His "Hotel and Ice- Cream Parlor" were formerly German property, which being estreated, had been handed over to him free of rent and all charges on the understanding that he should keep it in repair.* When the whole Liberian navy sank at its moorings — in other words, the septuagenarian gunboat Lark, a gift from the British Admiralty in the middle of the last century — it was Mr. Faukner whose mechanical skill was consulted. If a ship runs short of coal Mr. Faukner will supply unlimited wood — at a price. Naturally, he arranges the official and municipal * In justice to Liberia this statement is open to question ; at the same time I have not equivalent evidence to contradict it " in toto." —The Author. WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE !& banquets, and since he is always present at both, one may be certain that the menu will be suitable to the occasion. He has something to do with the post office and is a police court magistrate. In fact, this remark- able man, starting from nothing, has made himself the Eockefeller of Liberia. The fascinations of the ubiquitous Mr. Faukner (who always greeted us warmly,, in spite of the fact that we did not patronize his " Hotel and Ice-Cream Parlor ") have caused this digression. We were fortunate in finding accommodation with Messrs. Elder Dempster's agent. Captain Beard, who was the possessor of an airy bungalow looking down over the mountain paths and empty tins which represent the streets of Monrovia. The only creature in Monrovia who enjoyed the tins was Cuthbert, Captain Beard's fox- terrier. Cuthbert was a very original person and no account of Monrovia would be complete without him. To begin with, he had selected his own name : no " Spot," or " Dash," or " Jack " for him. He heard the name of Cuthbert one day, liked it and answered to it ever after. His fondness for tins grew a little wearisome at times, for he demanded that they be thrown for him and he would then start in pursuit with shrieks of joy which never ceased until he had retrieved the identical tin from its resting place and brought it back, panting,, to the verandah. Tins were his obsession. On one occasion we were invited out to tea, Cuthbert accom- panying us. "There are no tins here," said his master, "and we may enjoy a little peace." Hardly were the words out of his mouth when we beheld Cuthbert, his eyes pleadingly searching for a likely victim, his long undocked tail wagging, and one slender paw placed on a tin so antique that it made it& presence known of its own accord. Where he had found it no one could say. He was an excellent dog in every other respect, devoted to his owner and a good guard,, and we trust that when he goes with the other good dogs to the Dog Star he will find plenty of tins to make him happy. Our "boys," fresh from Sierra Leone, did not enjoy 16 WEST AFRICA THE ELUSIVE Monrovia with its unfamiliar population and its scarcity of food. One came to us with a very lugubrious face and announced " Plenty bad place this ; I go chase chop, I no catch urn." In spite of the fact that they both adopted the latest Liberian fashion in hair cutting