this same chief we procured some of our allies in the Sinou war, and his present visit, also, is in some way connected with aiding the Government in carrying out its purposes. Marmora was sent as a deputy by a number of chiefs in the interior, to confer with this Government in reference "to keeping the path open," to the interior, and to obtain the promise of the Government to assist him in procuring property that may be fraudulently brought away by his subjects, and also to provide that subjects committing other crimes be not allowed to escape justice. The chief is followed by a retinue exceeding one hundred; of which his band, composed of five horns, (four of ivory and one of wood,) two drums, and three cymbals, with several vocal singers to accompany the cymbals, forms a part. The chief is noble in appearance, although not as tall as many of his subjects. When visiting, either on business of State or privately, he is accompanied, not by his whole retinue, but only his principal officers, and his demeanor is in accordance with the dignity of his position. The last was a year for the visits of princes, and Liberia has had her share of the visits. THE DINNER.-To-day we were present at a dinner given by our fellowcitizen, Dr. S. F. McGill, at his residence; there were many gentlemen of high standing present; and it is easy to imagine our glad surprise when, on entering the reception room, we saw the Chief of whom we have just spoken, Marmora, present also. At the table there was a toast drank in honor of the Chief, who replied in English, in a very appropriate manner. The presence of the Chief seemed to have given the guests as much pleasure as the good things under which the table (and some of the guests afterwards) groaned. We were delighted with this feature of the dinner, and the attempt to pay honor to our princely visitor was suggested by a noble idea. The dinner was completed at 8 o'clock, and the company dispersed, all well pleased with the enjoyment of the day. THE "SARATOGA" AGAIN.-We are pleased to announce the appearance in our harbor of this man-of-war. It has been sixteen or seventeen years since we first saw this vessel here, on her mission of assisting to break up the slave trade on the west coast of Africa. The Commander, Captain Taylor, who visited Liberia in the Cyane about twenty years ago, is the same good-hearted gentleman that he then was, and appears to be a man of determined energy and zeal. His officers, also, appear to be of the right kind. We wish for this vessel also the good fortune of gathering her New Year's gift," in the capture of slavers. Officers of the U. S. Sloop of War Saratoga.--Commander, Alfred Taylor; First Lieutenant, J. J. Guthrie; Second Lieutenant, C. W. Hayes; Third Lieutenant, J. S. Skerrett; Fourth Lieutenant, F. M. Ramsay; Surgeon, R. W Jeffery; Assistant Surgeon, J. E. Lindsay; Paymaster, J. N. Carpenter; Master, H. H. Dalton; Marine Officer, 1st Lieut. H. B. Tyler; Midshipman, N. H. Farquhar; Carpenter, J. W. Stimson; Gunner, R. H. Cross; Sailmaker, G. W. Frankland; Boatswain, George Smith; Captain's Clerk, Benjamin R. Spekell; Paymaster's Clerk, F. G. Rowe; Master's Mates, Lewis Rogers, A. P. Matthews. Passengers, Lt. E. K. Owen, Lt. L. A. Beardslee. Also, from the same, dated February 6, 1861: PADEE EXPEDITION.-Agreeably to an act passed by the Legislature at its last session, authorizing the employment of an armed force to quell the rebellious movements of the Po River or Naffau Tribes, in Maryland County, a detachment from the First Regiment of 225 men, left this place on the 4th inst. under the command of Lieut. Col. Isaac Lawrence, for Harper, Maryland: this detachment will also be joined by 50 men from the Second Regiment at Bassa. The troops went down on board of the Government Schooner Quail, the Steamer Seth Grosvenor, and the Schooner Randall. His Excellency President Benson accompanied the troops. Capt. S. C. Fuller, of the Johnson Guard, and the Hon. J. T. Gibson, Superintendent of Maryland County, will be Aids to His Excellency. We wish for the expedition a highly successful issue. DEATH OF THE REV. E. P. RODGERS.-We have learned, with deep regret, of the death of the Rev. E. P. Rodgers, at Cape Palmas, about the 19th ult. Mr. Rodgers will be remembered as one of the three gentlemen who recently touched at this port, on board of Captain Alexander's vessel, on their way to prosecute the exploration in the Yoruba Country begun by Dr. Delany and Mr. Campbell, in behalf of the African Civilization Society. It was Mr. Rodgers who so agreeably entertained our townsfolks on the evening of the 12th of December, in the M. E. Church, by the rehearsal of his Poem-" A man's a man for a' that." Mr. Rodgers and his co-travelers were awaiting the arrival of the packet at Cape Palmas. During Mr. R.'s short stay at this place he expressed himself as deeply interested in our interest, and much attached to our people, who, evinced great pleasure in welcoming and introducing him among all. We had the pleasure of his company on several occasions, and twice at our office, and discovered in him an appreciableness of character and ability. We join our sympathies with his friends in his native land, in mourning his loss. THE M. C. STEVENS returned to this port on the 3d inst., from the leeward. After a stay of from three to four weeks, she will leave for the United States. DR. HALL, AND THE SINOU RIVER FALLS.-During the stay of the Stevens, upward bound, at Sinou, Dr. Hall paid two visits to the Sinou River Falls or Rapids; first as a visit of curiosity, and second, in order to be with and assist Superintendent Morris in selecting, laying out, and making general arrangements for the new settlement, designed to be made there by this Government, to which the recaptives now at Sinou are to be transferred. LOWER BUCHANAN.-Bishop Payne, writing of Lower Buchanan, (Fishtown, Bassa,) calls it the "Finest Port in Liberia," and regrets that it is "going rapidly to decay." We endorse both sentiments. CAPE PALMAS.-We extract the following from the "Cavalla Messenger" for November last: Business is brisk as yet here; the oil season is now coming on, and we look soon to see long lines of native caravans of rice and oil. If cotton could be one of our staples also, how soon would we command a large trade all along our coast! God speed the day when all our farmers will look to the raising of cotton in Liberia. We copy from the Herald of February 20th, the following notice of the death of Mrs. BENSON: "Yet mourn her not-the voice of wo Freed from the earth's corrupt control, Joy! for her disembodied soul Drinks at the fount of perfect bliss!" At 8 o'clock, A. M., 16th inst., at the Mansion House, after considerable illness, died Mrs. Nancy Benson, the wife of His Excellency President Benson. As soon as the news of her death was heard, the public offices were closed, and the doors draped in mourning. The flags in town and on the vessels in harbor were half-masted the rest of the day. The funeral ceremonies commenced on the 17th, (Sunday,) at 11 o'clock. Previous to that time, the flags in the town and the harbor were again half-masted. A large concourse of citizens were present, officers of Government, and foreign Consuls. The religious ceremonies at the Mansion were conducted by Revs. Thomas Fuller, B. R. Wilson, and G. W. Gibson; after which, the Mayor of the city, Hon. B. V. R. James, formed the procession in the following order: 1. The Clergy; 2. The Physicians; 3. The Foreign Consuls; 5. Pall-Bearers. CORPSE. Pail-Bearers. This long procession moved in solemn order to the grave-yard; and the corpse was deposited near where sleep many of the pioneers of Liberia-to remain there until the trumpet of the archangel shall summon it to arise, and put on a glorious immortality. The ladies of Monrovia showed their appreciation of the worth of this noble woman, in arranging the drapery of the house, of the corpse, and doing willingly whatever female hands could find to do: for which they have our sincere thanks, and through us, the thanks of the husband of the deceased. It was sad, when on the morning of the 16th inst., at the Mansion House, Mrs. NANCY BENSON departed this life. It was sad, because we were so reluctant to part with her; and because we knew not that death would have so soon deprived us of such a friend. Mrs. Benson, in her last illness, as in most other cases of extreme sickness, was not favored with the presence of her husband; public duty-an inexorable master-had called him away. When on the morning of the 5th inst., he embarked with the troops for the seat of war, there was something that rested heavily on his mind, though he hoped for Mrs. Benson's recovery, from the signs of her improvement that were then manifest. Mrs. Benson was in her fortieth year when she died; and for years she had been an acceptable member of the M. E. Church. From her earliest youth to the grave, she was endued with a calm, holy spirit. Nothing of frivolity, nothing of vanity, was seen in her whole life. Her being seemed formed not for this world; for in the midst of the bustle of life, in prosperity and in adversity, in sickness and in health, she seemed as one unmoved by the affairs of life, (only so far otherwise as God required,) seeking something that was not to be found in the hollow joys of earth. Do we speak too much? Let her bitterest enemies testify to the truth of what we have said. LECTURE. On the evening of the 15th instant, at the Representative Hall, Rev. Alexander Crummell lectured on "The English Language in Liberia." The subject was ably treated, and the discussion betrayed great depth of thought. After the lecture, it was resolved that the audience show their appreciation of the lecture by contributing an amount of money to be placed at the disposal of the lecturer. The sum of $32.42 was subscribed. We are happy to see this appreciation of literary merit; not because wisdom can be purchased with money, or because money is a fair equivalent for literary attainments; but because this spirit of appreciation has been so long and so sadly wanting in Liberia; and because this want has tended, as much as any other cause, to stifle literary aspirations. WE beg to repeat our request, made in the last number, that our friends will endeavor to procure and send us natural curiosities of Africa, for the Museum in the Exhibition at London early next year. We repeat the request, because the object aimed at in forming the African Aid Society, and in procuring in the Exhibition a place for its African Museum, is one that deserves and demands the furtherance of every friend of the African Races. We hope Liberians will not be the last to manifest an interest in such matters. AFRICA. (From the Missionary Advocate.) Rev. Bishop BURNS writes from Cape Palmas under date of January 13, 1861. The Conference is in session there. He says: "Our Conference is progressing with great harmony and an unusual measure of the Divine presence. We have taken four preachers on trial (two are natives,) and one by letter, into full connection." The natives are Charles A. Pitman and John C. Lowrie. A British Nobleman distributing Bibles in Africa.-We quote from a letter in the Christian Instructor: “A most interesting fact is that a British nobleman, Lord Haddo, recently become the Earl of Aberdeen by the death of his father, the late prime minister of England, has been for some months personally engaged in this work. He is now up the Nile, accompanied by his wife, with a colporteur on his boat, and expecting to go as high up as Nubia, and perhaps to the White Nile. We have on our boat a box of Bibles, which the missionaries are sending to him as an additional supply. The pasha, in compliment to Lord Aberdeen's high position, furnishes him with one of his own boats, and with such a firman as of course gives him great facilities in carrying out his plans. Let us thank God that he puts it into the heart of such a man to be a Bible distributor among the poor ignorant children of Africa." From Bayard Taylor's Journey to Central Africa. THE COUNTRIES OF SOUDAN. "The land of the Shukorees and the Hallengas, lying on both sides of the Atbara, is called Belad el Takka. Dr. Reitz visited it during the summer of 1851, in company with the military expedition under Moussa Bey, and travelled for three or four weeks through regions where no European had been before him. "Leaving the town of Shendy, he travelled eastward for nine days over unbroken plains of grass, abounding with gazelles and hyenas, to a village called Goz Radjeb, on the Atbara River. This belongs to the Shukorees, against whom the expedition was in part directed. He then crossed the river, and travelled for two or three weeks through a broken mountain country, inhabited by the wandering races of the Hallengas and Hadendoas. The mountains, which were from two to three thousand feet in height, were crested with walls of naked porphyry rock, but their lower slopes were covered with grass and bushes, and peopled by myriads of apes. Between the ranges were many broad and beautiful valleys, some of which were inhabited. Here the vegetable and animal world was far richer than on the Nile. The Consul was obliged to follow the movements of the expedition, and therefore could not trace out any regular plan of exploration. After seeing just enough to whet his curiosity to penetrate further, Moussa Bey returned to Goz Radjeb. His route then followed the course of the Atbara, for a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, to the town of Sofie, on the Abyssinian frontier. The river, which is a clear and beautiful stream, has a narrow border of trees and underwood, and flows in a winding course through a region of low, grassy hills. By using the water for irrigation, the country, which is now entirely uncultivated, might be made very productive. The Shukorees possess immense herds of camels, and a hegin, or trained dromedary, which the Consul purchased from them, was one of the strongest and fleetest which I saw in Africa. "Near Sofie the savannas of grass give place to dense tropical forests, with a rank undergrowth which is often impenetrable. Here, in addition to the lion and leopard, which are common to all Soudan, the expedition saw large herds of the elephant and rhinoceros. The woods were filled with birds of brilliant plumage, and the vegetable world was rich and gorgeous beyond description. The Consul remained but a short time here, and then travelled westward to the town of Abou-Harass on the Blue Nile, visiting on the way a curious Osolated mountain, called Djebel Attesh. Near Abou-Harass are the ruins of an ancient Christian town, probably dating from the fourth or fifth century, about which time Christianity, previously planted in Abyssinia, began to advance northward towards Nubia. The Consul obtained from the Governor of Abou-Harass three iron crosses of a peculiar form, a number of beads which had belonged to a rosary, and a piece of incense-all of which were found in removing the |
