A Liberian Journey

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Tues Sept 28^th When we arose – for a 630 breakfast as a change from 530 we spent a good part of the morning washing up. We shaved, brushed our teeth with extra care, manicured our nails and generally overhauled ourselves after the long flight. We wore clean clothes and we put clean sheets on our beds – all in all a very gratifying morning. In the meantime Dr. Strong was shown the quarter masters house – still under construction as a possible dwelling. The main trouble with the other place was twofold. First other people lived in the house and had to pass thru, around and over us to get to their rooms which inconvenienced us. And second it inconvenienced them. So we decided to take over the quartermasters house for our stay. Its present stage is ideally unfinished – the entire frame work is done and roof finished but they have not started to put mud on the walls. In consequences we have a house with a porch, a hall, and 3 rooms and a sitting room all divided by wooden bars like a cage. <Drawing of house, outside and inside> To complete it after our departure they will merely slap mud onto the wood net work and wall it in. But at present it is the best dwelling we have seen for our purposes. It is clean – being new. It is well ventilated and it has rooms which we can use primarily for sleeping while we sit either on the porch or in the ante room. We moved all our supplies over and took possession. We chatted with Mr. Taylor and Mr. Yausen about elephant – black guinea fowl etc.

There is a custom here which is very hard to overcome. The Gio people are believe that there is a bond of commission between the baboon (as chimpanzes are called in Liberia) and themselves. In consequence it is a criminal offence to shoot one for the man whose soul is in the baboon will die. The result the baboons go unmolested and multiple, some say (ie the Road comm at Ziche) that if they like you they may take you out and point out a baboon which is not taboo which you can get But don’t make a  mistake and shoot the wrong one.  Mr. Taylor says in some districts that they have the same system with elephants and he has to ask the chief to tell his men to come out of the elephants for he intends to shoot all. In fact he just received word that a man to the south had died that day as a result of an elephant killed to the north 2 weeks ago. As there has been a report of elephant 2 hrs north of here Hal and I are planning to go up there on a hunt.

There is also a chain gang here largely composed of leopard men. These men are a hard boiled looking bunch whose business is to “get their man” in such a way  as to make it look as if a leopard had done it. They form a widespread society of chiefs assassins. The govt has had trouble with them and are trying to stamp them out. In consequence after disturbances they grab a lot of suspected (?) natives from the region and give them sasswood – a poison which kills the guilty while the innocent throws it up foaming – These leopard men here confessed and so are in chains – (also) think the sasswood failed to kill them). They work round the compound getting wood cleaning the place – building houses etc. And they are a sorry spectacle. 

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