are willing to ship for sea, are men who speak the English language. And consider here the bearing of this fact upon the increase of this speech throughout the country. They come from all that section of the coast which lies between Bassa and Beribi, and inland upwards of 60 miles, and offer themselves as seamen. Indeed, the desire for this service is almost a passion among them; boys in scores, run away from their parents for sea-service; I have seen here, in Harper, fully that number together, on a Steamer day; and notwithstanding the hindrances and the monopoly of the coastwise natives, the interior people run all risks to reach the coast to go to sea. The vessels in which they ship as sailors are English-speaking vessels. And in this way a multitude of them are acquiring the habitual use of English. On the coast, between Bassa and this point, there are many large towns where, among adults, it is almost as constantly employed as in our civilized communities.[1]
Notice here another fact: among all the industrial pursuits of our citizens, trading absorbs as much attention as any other pursuit. Scores of our youth, soon after leaving school, start with their cloth, guns, powder, and tobacco, for the factory, whether on the coast or in the country. Added to this is the other fact, that from Sierra Leone to the Equator, the master commercial influence is English. Liverpool and Bristol, Boston, Salem, and Baltimore rule this coast. The numerous factories which now
- ↑ "Three-fourths of the population of the Kru country speak imperfect, but intelligible English."—Western Africa, &c, p. 103. By Rev. J. L. Wilson, D.D.
