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3 James L. Sims, 1858 Scenes in the Interior of Liberia: Being a Tour through the Countries of the Dey, Goulah, Pessah, Barlain, Kpellay, Suloany and King Boatswain’s Tribes, in 1858. By James L. Sims. I left the settlement of Upper Caldwell [Caldwell, 6⬚23'N, 10⬚46'W], on the St. Paul’s river early on the morning of the 8th of January, 1858, accompanied by twenty-seven natives, including prince Eda, a native of Barlain, and Gotorah my interpreter.1 The morning was a beautiful one, and as we wound our way along the narrow paths, birds of every plumage poured forth their sweetest notes, which were answered by the merry shouts of the natives, or a peal from their rude wooden horns. About ten o’clock, we arrived at a small collection of houses, known as Governor Tom’s town. Here, in a very few minutes after our arrival, Gotorah managed to get up a row. The Governor, it seemed, wanted us to pay a bar of tobacco for the privilege of passing through his town; but Gotorah without informing me of what was going on, refused to pay anything; whereupon the Governor came to me, followed Gotorah, who declared that “if I mind these people I would not have tobacco enough to put in my pipe when I got to Barlain.”2 The Governor intimated that Gotorah was officious; this was more than a Vey prince could swallow; so Gotorah 94 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPLORATION IN WEST AFRICA informed all present that the American man was under his care and protection , and to demonstrate his position, he drew the ramrod from his gun and applied it with such a vigor about the head and ears of Governor Tom, that his Excellency took to the bush, followed by an assurance from Gotorah of a severer chastisement if he again dared to make “‘Merica man” pay for passing through his miserable old town.3 We left Governor Tom’s town, (to the great satisfaction of all concerned,) for Tawn, where we arrived just at sun down. Tawn contained about one hundred houses. The inhabitants are a mixture of nearly every tribe to be found in Liberia. The agricultural resources of Tawn were not calculated to make a very favorable impression. Notwithstanding , the soil, judging from the quality of the few articles growing, was extremely fertile. Tawn is a kind of depot where people, going to the interior, generally pass their first night after leaving the settlements, as there are no more towns nearer than sixty or seventy miles. Having been informed of this, I ordered my goods to be stowed away, and a house provided for myself. This being done, I retired to reflect on my first day’s journey to the interior, and to dream of the future. Early next morning [Saturday, 9 January 1858] we were on the path; just at sun rise, we entered a dark gloomy forest; the path was hugged on both sides by an impenetrable jungle, led through dismal swamps, and over steep and rocky hills. So thick were the tangled vines and bushes over head, in some places, that the sun would be entirely obscured for hours at the time: on we went. Twelve o’clock came, and not a house nor a farm could be seen to relieve the monotony of the scene. Robinson Crusoe, on his lonely isle, never [p. 66] wished more sincerely for the sight of a sail than I did for an opening in the bush.4 About four o’clock, to my great joy, we reached a large open field, with a few fruit trees, and a stream of delicious water. To us, this place was a little paradise on earth. I felt like one just released from a long and weary bondage. After resting awhile, we again took the path. One hour’s walk brought us suddenly to the banks of the St. Paul’s; just at this point a solid bed of rock, extending all the way across the river, and nearly half a mile up, dissipates all hopes of the St. Paul’s ever becoming a highway to the interior.5 At sun down we came to a small river, tributary to the St. Paul’s— this we had to ford, which was not a very easy task, as some of the men had very heavy burdens; and the rocks at the bottom, on which we had to walk, were very slippery...

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