HISTORY: James H. DEPUTIE, Letter from Liberia, Mifflin County, PA

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Jeannette L. Molson JLMolson@aol.com February 25, 2005, 5:18 pm

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_______________________________________________ 

Marshall, Liberia, Jan. 7th 1855

My Dear Cousin:-
	I take this opportunity of writing a few lines, to let you know that we 
are all well at present, and hope that these few lines may find you in the same 
state of health. Times are very hard here; we have not seen flour for three 
months, nor meat - nothing but rice, and very little of that.  We have to work 
hard, to do anything like a business at the mill.  Things do not work well; I 
think Mr. Nesbit gave you a very fair account of Liberia - I tell you, it is 
hard times.  Mother, and all of us, but father, want to go back to the States.  
Chickens are selling at twenty-five cents a piece; eggs, thirty-seven and a 
half cents per dozen; rice, two dollars per bushel.  When Mr. Nesbit writes his 
pamphlet, I wish you would please send one to me; I would like to see what he 
says about this country.  Emigrants to this country never get over the fever; 
those that have been here twenty years, still have the fever; the children of 
colonists born here, are not healthy.  I never came as near being starved, as I 
have since we have been here; we can get nothing but dry rice and cassada.  If 
you were here one day, you would be satisfied to return again to the States, as 
soon as possible.  The city of Monrovia has not one pavement in it; the streets 
are grown up with weeds, leaving nothing but a narrow path to walk in, and it 
is dangerous to go out at night, for fear of snakes.  They have one vessel of 
war here, the schooner Lark, six guns; Commodore Cooper, is the commander, and 
when any one commits any crime, he is  tied up at the whipping-post, whipped; 
and they imprison him on the Lark, and repeat the dose of whipping every day, 
till the term of his imprisonment is out.  They once met a slaver, and hailed 
him to stop; he accordingly laid to, and told Capt. Cooper, if he came near; he 
would present him with a cannon ball.  Capt. Cooper made all haste back to 
Monrovia, to ask the President if he should fight.  That is a sample of their 
spunk.****Tell grandmother that we are all very glad that she did not come out 
with us, as we did not want her to suffer with us.  No more at present; but 
remain,
Sincerely, your Cousin,	
				JAMES H. DEPUTIE

To Hannibal Molson.
[Extracted from Liberian Dreams, by Wilson Jeremiah Moses]


Additional Comments:
This letter was written by the first cousin of Hannibal C. Molson of 
Lewistown.  James Deputie's grandmother, Mary Ann (Anderson) Molson, lived in 
Lewistown until her death in 1870.

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