Page:A Chapter on Slavery.djvu/80

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66
A CHAPTER ON SLAVERY.

of Sierra Leone. The colony was aptly named LIBERIA, the land of the freed. The chief settlement received the name of MONROVIA, after President Monroe, then at the head of the United States Government. The soil and climate are described as most rich and delightful, and the scenery, in many parts, beautiful and picturesque even to grandeur. "A more fertile soil," says Mr. Freeman, "or a more productive country, I suspect it would be difficult to-find on the face of the earth. Its hills and plains are covered with a verdure that never fades; the productions of nature keep on in their growth through all seasons 'of the year; and even the natives of the country, almost without farming tools or skill, with very little labor, raise more grain and vegetables than they can consume, and often more than they can sell. Mr. Park, the traveler, says 'All the rich and valuable productions both of the East and West Indies might easily be naturalized, and brought to the utmost perfection in the tropical parts of this immense continent — It was not possible for me to behold the wonderful fertility of the soil, the vast herds of cattle proper both for labor and for food, and a variety of other circumstances favorable to colonization and agriculture, — and reflect, withal, on the means which presented themselves of a vast inland navigation, — without lamenting that a country so gifted and favored by nature should remain in its present savage and neglected state.’

"The colonists," continues the writer above named, "have all the domestic animals which are found in this country. They raise a great variety of vegetables and tropical fruits. Coffee grows spontaneously and