Frederick Starr

“ Now and then, one may witness, what I saw in December, 1895—a group of indian pilgrims from a distant town, singing and dancing to the Virgin, within the great church itself. And near the high altar, where thick glass plates are set into the floor, letting a dim light into the crypts below, one may see crowds of indians rubbing the smooth surface with their diseased parts to effect a cure. On the streets of the capital city, one daily sees bands of pure Otomis in rags and filth, bringing their loads of charcoal and of corn to market. ”

“ In coming to the shores of Africa, we indulged the pleasing hope that we should be permitted to exercise and improve those faculties which impart to man his dignity—to nourish in our hearts the flame of honorable ambition, to cherish and indulge those aspirations, which a Beneficent Creator hath implanted in every human heart, and to evince to all who despise, ridicule and oppress our race that we possess with them a common nature, are with them susceptible of equal refinement, and capable of equal advancement in all that adorns and dignifies man. ”

“ At the further side of the valley and to our left, in a mass of green, we saw smoke rising from the factories of Uruapan. Crossing one of the characteristic bridges of the district, with a pretty shingled roof—four-sloped like those of the houses—over it, and with benches at the sides, where passers can sit and rest, while looking at the dashing, gurgling, foaming, water below,—we followed a level road between blackberries, wild roses, and other shrubs, to Uruapan.
No town in Mexico is more beautiful. Perpetual spring reigns. ”

“ I can imagine nothing that would be more dangerous to Japanese control than a strong and vital Korean Buddhism that was hostile to Japan. On the other hand, I can think of nothing that would be a greater help to Japan than a Korean Buddhism developed among those people by their own priests and friendly to Japan. What Korean Buddhism is to be in the future depends upon its relation to the government now there. If Korean Buddhism accepts and coöperates with the Japanese control, it will become the mightiest factor that can be devised to make Japan’s hold on the peninsula secure. ”

“ We have no right to demand more from Liberia than we would expect from any white colony with everything in its favor; yet that is precisely what everybody does. We demand perfection. We forget that perfection is not yet attained in any country, among people of any color. It is unreasonable to demand it in a small African republic of black men. There is no fairness even in comparing Liberia with English and French colonies like Sierra Leone and Senegal. ”

“ We had not planned to stop at Acala, but after a hard ride over a dreary road and a ferrying across a wide and deep river in a great dugout canoe thirty feet or more in length—our animals swimming alongside—we found our beasts too tired for further progress. And it was a sad town. How strange, that beautifully clear and sparkling mountain water often produces actual misery among an ignorant population! ”

“ You have noticed that all were built of wood; you have observed the curious mode of timbering; you have studied the tangle of projecting timber ends under the roof—the decorative features applied to them, the carving and painting; red, green, black, white and blue, the gaudiest of colors are used upon them in a fashion which we could not conceive, and from which we would expect disharmony, though the real effect is charming. ”

“ We take it for granted that all white men are better than any red ones, or black ones, or yellow ones. Yet here we find a white race that has struggled and lost! It has proved inferior in life’s battle to the more active, energetic, progressive, yellow people, with which it has come in contact. It may be that the Ainu are but a little fragment of a once widespread Asiatic white race. ”

“ Liberia has had to stand alone; her population was largely ignorant persons, despised, recently emerged from slavery; she has had no interest of a mother country; she has had no capital with which to push development; she has had no means of protection against native tribes or crowding neighbors; she has had to train governors from her own population, who have had to learn the business of government through personal experience. When this marked difference in opportunity and material is realized, the wonder is that Liberia has been able to make any real achievement. ”

“ We crossed a fine marsh of salt water, quite like the lagoon at San Mateo del Mar, and were told that we were not far from the Juave town of San Dionisio. From here, the country, was, for a distance, an open plain. With the moonlight, the night was almost as bright as day; cold winds swept sheets of sand and dust over us. At one o'clock, we happened upon a cluster of six or eight carts, drawn up for rest, and the company of travellers were warming themselves at little fires, or cooking a late supper. ”

“ I must, however, say something about the old capital city of Kyong Ju. It had its period of glory, and its ruins are still impressive. Almost fifteen hundred years have passed since the black monk brought in the new religion. To-day there remains only a little town, but all the country around is sprinkled with the relics of the past. Here is the splendid grave of General Kim, twelve hundred years old. It is faced around with stone slabs, set firmly in place, twelve of them being carved with the animals of the 12 Eastern Zodiac. ”

“ Would we be able in any town of 12,000 people in the United States to find such a corps of men of competence? As a nation, with privileges and obligations, Liberia must not only maintain this national government, but it must keep order over its whole area and prevent its million bush natives from troubling its neighbors. It is on the plea that Liberia is incapable of maintaining order that France and Great Britain are constantly crowding upon her frontiers; it is a fact that to prevent aggression from outside she must maintain order within. ”

“ It was a full hour's climb to the summit, where we found a pretty brook tumbling over ledge after ledge into deep round basins of purest water. A long and rather gentle slope downward led to a valley filled with neat farm-houses and cleared patches. Our last ascent brought us to a mass of rounded hills, composed of brilliant clays—yellow, brown, pink, red and white. From among these hillocks Tlaxiaco, a magnificent picture, burst into view. It is compactly built; the flat-topped houses are white or blue-tinted; trees are sprinkled through the town ”

“ Is there not to be a foot of land in Africa, that the African, whether civilized or savage, can call his own? It has been asserted that the race is not capable of self-government, and the eyes of many are watching the progress of Liberia with a view to determining that question. We only ask, in all fairness, to be allowed just what any other people would require—free scope for operation. Do not wrest our territory from us and hamper us in our operations, and then stigmatize the race with incapacity, because we do not work miracles. ”

“ Our friend the padre never tired of telling how much more interesting Guatemala was than Mexico; he could not understand why any man of sense should waste his time in Mexico, a land so large that a dozen students could not begin to solve its problems, while Guatemala, full of interesting ruins and crowded with attractive Indians, was of such size that one man's lifetime could count for something. His tales of indian towns, life, dress, customs, kindled enthusiasm; but it was only after thinking over the Mixes, that I decided to make a journey to Guatemala. ”

“ If it is necessary for us as a nation to look for African adventure; if to give a strenuous President the feeling that he is ‘doing something’ we must meddle in the affairs of the Dark Continent, there is a district where we might intervene with more of reason and consistency and grace than we are doing by going to the Congo. We once established on African soil, whether wisely or not I do not intend to discuss, a free republic for the blacks. In Liberia we have an American enterprise, pure and simple. ”

“ On and on we plunged along the trail, until it began an ascent of a ridge, almost like a knife-edge, with steep slopes on both sides. When we had reached the summit of this ridge, we found the trail level, through a growth of oak trees which were loaded with bromelias and orchids. Though still dim, the light had brightened as we rose to higher levels. Graceful ferns and sprays of terrestrial orchids overhung our trail at every cutting or slope. ”

“ We were animated with the hope, that here we should be at liberty to train up our children in the way they should go—to inspire them, with the love of an honorable fame, to kindle within them, the flame of a lofty philanthropy, and to form strong within them, the principles of humanity, virtue and religion. ”

“ At one spot, there was a dainty basin of limestone into which a pretty veil of spring water fell gracefully. We crossed and recrossed the stream many times. Everywhere we were within sound of the creaking sugar-mills, and in sight of the ladling of boiled sap; everywhere we met arrieros driving animals loaded with little loaves of native sugar; everywhere the forest was broken with little patches of sugar-cane, growing on the slopes. ”

“ We wish that Liberia were a land of general education; that the whole population had a clear understanding of the duties of citizenship; that knowledge of public questions were general. Such conditions are ideal in a republic. We do not find them in Liberia; we do not find them here. Liberian politics is patterned on our own; its weaknesses are our weaknesses. It is easy for us to see its faults because we are an outside party; because we are rich and they are poor; because we are white and they are black. In Liberia there is a general desire to feed at the public trough ”

“ The road seemed endless, the ascent interminable; the town itself impressed us as exceptionally mean and squalid, and we stopped only long enough to eat a miserable dinner of eggs with chili and tortillas. The women here wore native dress. Several were clad as the Zapotec women from here to Tehuantepec, but a few were dressed in striking huipilis of native weaving, with embroidered patterns, and had their black hair done up in great rings around their heads, bright strips of cloth or ribbon being intermingled in the braiding. ”

“ Stones in the form of men! Self-sacrificing, vigorous, fearless, strong-hearted, self-supporting, brainy, brawny, God-fearing men? Men fitted for the sub-stratum of the great town in the great country where lynching is not known, and freedom reigns supreme! Where your son may be a beggar or a ruler—at his own election. ”

“ My impression was that there were several cases of deaf-mutism in the village. One man, whenever any of our party spoke to him, or in any way turned our attention to him, piously and vigorously crossed himself, grimaced and gesticulated as if in a fit. One man, who seemed exceptionally intelligent, after he had seen us make a plaster bust of one of his townfellows, stated with great delight, that it was an idol, representing Jesus Christ, and that we were going to use it in the church. Unlike any other indian town we have visited, there is not even the pretence of an open school in this place. ”

“ One of the most interesting men in Liberia to-day is Jeff Faulkner; he is active, enterprising, pushing, indefatigable; he is the only handy, all-around mechanician in Monrovia; he is absolutely one of the most useful men in the Republic; he is depended upon by the government in many a time of need; when “the Lark” goes to the bottom, Jeff Faulkner is the only man to raise her; he has a keen eye for business, and develops every opportunity; he has recently established an ice-factory, and his ice-cream parlor—a novelty in Liberia’s capital—is popular. ”

“ Goitre, deaf-mutism, and imbecility, all are fearfully common, and all are relatedly due to the drinking water.
To us, sitting at the door near dusk, a song was borne upon the evening breeze. Nearer and nearer it came, until we saw a group of twelve or fifteen persons, women in front, men and children behind, who sang as they walked. Some aided themselves with long staves; all carried burdens of clothing, food, utensils; all were wearied and footsore with the long journey, but full of joy and enthusiasm, as they were nearing their destination—a famous shrine. ”

“ That presidency should be a position demanding a man’s full time, and filling his whole horizon; it should be a position to which he willingly devotes a lifetime, and through which he may justly hope to gain a lasting reputation. It is true that great names in Liberia’s history have been associated with it; Roberts, Gibson, Blyden, Barclay, Dossen, and others have occupied it with credit to themselves, and no doubt with advantage to the school; but the position should be a position for men without other ambitions, men not in politics. ”

“ After supper, attracted by the noise and hubbub, we set out to see the plaza. Torches were flaring in every direction, and considerable business was being done at all the booths. Crowds of drunken people were squatting on the ground in all directions; at the town-house the band of music was playing the jarabe, and 40 or 50 persons were dancing this lively dance. Old and young, men and women, boys and girls, all were taking part; no one paid attention to any other person, but each seemed to be trying to prove himself the most agile of the party. ”

“ It is true that the United States has at no time shown the hearty interest in, and sympathy with Liberia which she should have. It is, however, true that, as a result of all the past, the civilized Liberians are to-day far more American in spirit than English. The Liberians are different in their bearing and manner from all other blacks upon the coast of West Africa. This is not merely a personal claim. Travelers, ever since the early days of colonization, are united in their statements: the Liberian is more independent—he is more a man—than the black man in any of the European colonies. ”

“ Keeping in the road, the traveller is little likely to be troubled by them; but walking through grass, or among leafy plants, is dangerous. Having climbed a portion of our great ascent, we found ourselves at Agua Bendita. It was not as beautiful as on the occasion of my other visit; the projecting ledge of rock had little water dripping, and in the round catch-basins, which formerly were filled with fresh, clear water, there was scarcely any; on account of the unusual dryness, the ferns were wilted, and there was little of that beauty and freshness which so delighted me before. ”

“ I regret to say that a college has been lately established in Liberia, the presidency of which has been conferred on President Roberts. I regret it, because it will involve an outlay that might be better used for common schools. It will send out, for years at least, men imperfectly learned, with the idea that they are scholars, and create a false standard of education. The present state of society has no demand for such a thing, the high schools already in operation being sufficient to supply teachers and professional men, and these are sufficiently patronized. ”

“ When we reached the town, my heart sank; a church with handsome dome and modern tower, a planted plaza with central fountain, buildings, of two stories with gaudy fronts and portales, surrounding three sides of the square, augured better for comfort while we were in the place, than for work on Totonacs. We rode up to the municipio, where we found the presidente, a rather stylish young fellow, who was interested in our work and helpful. The town controls fourteen thousand persons, and its name is derived from that of a large ahuacate, the Aztec name of which is pahuatl. ”

“ For that at Bromley, Clay-Ashland and Kru chapel I have only words of praise. My own opinion is that Liberia’s greatest asset is the native. He exists in a score of independent tribes and counts a million souls. If the little black republic is to hold its own, if it is to remain a nation among nations, if it is to lead the way to African redemption, [235] there must be a mutual realization by Liberians and Natives of their common interest, and a hearty co-operation. The burden is too heavy for the Liberian alone. ”

“ The teacher, who is himself a mestizo and despises the poor indians in his charge, was loud in his complaints. He vigorously declared that what these people needed was a second Cortez, that they had never been properly conquered, and, with the chief of police, he started out for the new conquest. After an hour or more of waiting, we saw them reappear with Florencito. But humanity is ever loath to admit defeat. As he passed us, he grumbled that he saw no good reason for such a fuss, as he had simply gone to eat his breakfast. ”

“ When Bishop Lee preached the sermon at the consecration of Bishop Ferguson, he used the following strong terms: “To the millions of this race among ourselves, as well as to those beyond the sea, we should count ourselves debtors. If any branch of the evangelistic work of our Church has peculiar and sacred claims to general support, it seems to me to be our African Mission as well as our home Mission among our colored people. With glad and ready hearts should we enter this open door. With free and unclosed hands should we pour our gifts into the Lord’s treasury. ”

“ The one slope, cold and damp, was densely forested with trees, loaded with air-plants and orchids. The other slope, warmer and drier, was far less heavily grown, and in large part, with pines. Among the plants noticed by the roadside was a species of pinguicula which was very common on damp clay-cuttings. Its leaves form a close, flat rosette upon the ground, from which a slender stalk rises, with a a single crimson flower. When we reached the final descent to the town, we caught the full force of the cold, mist-laden wind, which struck our faces and made us shiver. ”

“ No being can develop muscle for another. Liberia, if she is to prosper, must develop energy, force, independence; she needs help but must work out her own salvation. Exercise to be valuable must not be a death struggle; we must protect her from her foes, but we must insist upon her self-development. There are, however, still many things that we can do for the Republic without reducing her to a condition of dependency and pauperization. ”

“ We have hesitated long about undertaking this discussion of Liberian politics. We are almost certain to be misunderstood, no matter what we say or how we say it. In Liberia they will feel that we lack sympathy, that we drag forth their weaknesses and expose them to public scorn; in this country they will fail to see that the weak points of Liberian politics are common to all republics, that they are as flagrant among ourselves as in Liberia; in foreign lands—should our book be read in such—what we say will be taken as justification for continued aggression and interference. ”