Upon arriving in Monrovia, Liberia on the S.S. Wadai Dr. Strong and company resided in the capital, settling permit and route issues, unpacking boxes, and meeting dignitaries whilst taking short trips to surrounding areas to collect specimens and photographs. By August 2, the entire company was headed up the Du river to Firestone Plantation No. 1, 2, and 3 before journeying farther inland, to towns and villages en route to Gbanga, which became the company's base camp for the coming weeks.

On September 1, 1926 Dr. Richard Strong arrived in Suah Koko, staying only one night before heading on to Gbanga and the Expedition’s base camp. On September 2, Loring Whitman and Dave Theiler arrived in Suah Koko, spending 2 nights in the town before leaving on September 4, 1926 to meet Dr. Strong in Gbanga. While the company’s stay in Suah Koko was short, Dr. Richard Strong and Loring Whitman’s diary entries provide their impressions of Chief Suah Koko and her chiefdom in 1926.