Liberian Studies Journal
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VOLUME XVII 1992 NUMBER 1 LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL i I 10°W 8°W LIBERIA -8 °N 8°N- MONSERRADO GRAND BASSA MARGIBI -6 °N RIVER J 6 °N- LIBERIA MILES 1 1 0 50 MARYLAND Geography Department 8 °W University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 1 1 Published by THE LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION, INC. PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor Cover map: compiled by William Kory, cartography work by Jodie Molnar; Geography Department, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor VOLUME XVII 1992 NUMBER 1 LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL Editor D. Elwood Dunn The University of the South Associate Editor Similih M. Cordor Kennesaw College Book Review Editor Alfred B. Konuwa Butte College EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Bertha B. Azango Lawrence B. Breitborde University of Liberia Beloit College Christopher Clapham Warren L. d'Azevedo Lancaster University University of Nevada Reno Henrique F. Tokpa Thomas E. Hayden Cuttington University College Society of African Missions Svend E. Holsoe J. Gus Liebenow University of Delaware Indiana University Corann Okorodudu Glassboro State College Edited at the Department of Political Science, The University of the South The Editors and Advisory Board gratefully acknowledge the contributions of The University of the South (particularly the Office of Print Services Staff) in the production of the Journal. PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor CONTENTS CUTTINGTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIBERIA: YEARS AT CAPE PALMAS, 1889-1901 by Richard A. Corby .......................................................................... 1 THE FORMATION OF LIBERIA'S BOUNDARIES, PART I: AGREEMENTS by Yekutiel Gershoni ........................................................................ 25 NATHANIEL VARNEY MASSAQUOI (1905 -1 %2): A BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY by Raymond J. Smyke ...................................................................... 46 THE BONG MINE VENTURE by Eugen P. Plotzki ........................................................................... 66 THE VOICE OF AMERICA IN LIBERIA: THE END OF THE ROAD by Patricia A. Holmes ....................................................................... 79 A SHORT ANALYSIS OF BAI T. MOORE's POETRY AND PROSE WRITINGS by Robert H. Brown ............................ ........................................... 94 I KNOW MONEY, I DON'T KNOW HUMAN BEINGS: A MANO HOUSE PALAVER by Peter Sevareid ............................................... ............................... 105 BOOK REVIEWS Allen, C. William, The African Interior Mission High School, by Robert H. Brown .................................. ............................... 120 Taryor, Sr., Nya Kwiawon, Liberia, Facing Mount Nimba: A Documentary History of the United Nimba Citizens' Council (UNICCO). by Martin Ford ........................................... ............................... 124 RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND THESES ............ ............................... 126 DOCUMENT ............................... 128 CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE . ............... ..........:.................... 176 A referee journal that emphasizes the social sciences and humanities, the LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL is a semiannual publication devoted to studies of Africa's oldest republic. The annual subscription rate is $30.00, $15.00 for students and $45.00 for institutions, and includes membership in the Liberian Studies Association, Inc. All manuscripts and related matters should be addressed to The Editor, Liberian Studies Journal, Department of Political Science, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37375. Subscriptions and other business matters should be directed to The Executive Secretary, Liberian Studies Association, P.O. Box 671, Bloomington, Illinois 61702-0671. The views expressed herein are those of the individual contributors and do not necessar- ily reflect those of the editor or the Liberian Studies Association, Inc. Copyright 1992 by the Liberian Studies Association, Inc. ISSN 0024 1989 PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor Cuttington University College, Liberia Years at Cape Palmas, 1889 -1901 Richard A. Corby In the 1990s there are two universities on the African continent which are general degree -granting institutions not controlled by an African govern- ment-the American University in Cairo in Egypt and Cuttington University College in Liberia. The latter had just celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1989 before the civil war now raging in Liberia forced it to close in mid -1990. Once before in its history Cuttington closed and remained so for twenty years, reopening in 1949 at its current site in Bong County, about seven miles west of Gbarnga. When it shut its doors in 1929 it was located in Maryland near Harper in the Cape Palmas region of the country. This paper discusses the origins and development of Cuttington University College from its founding in 1889 to 1901, the crucial first dozen years of its existence. Cuttington University College is affiliated with the Episcopal church of Liberia and the United States. American Episcopalians began their religious and educational efforts in Liberia in the 1830s and for many decades concentrated their work at Cape Mount on the northern Liberian coast and Cape Palmas in the south.' It was in the Cape Palmas area that schools which were the forerunners of Cuttington were established. The Reverend J. C. Duerr founded the Training School at Cavalla (see map) in 1865,2 a school which offered Latin, Greek, and Bible history along with the more general subjects in mathematics, science, English, and history. The Rever- end John G. Auer (later bishop) renamed the school the Hoffman Institute in 1867. The purpose was to produce teachers, catechists, and candidates for holy orders. By the late 1870s the Reverend M. P. Keda Valentine, an alumnus, was the principal of the school 3 He was a Grebo man, the largest ethnic group in the Cape Palmas region of Maryland County. At Mt. Vaughan (see map) James M. Thomson and his wife, Elizabeth, African- American missionaries, took charge of a mission school in 1835 which eventually became the High School, also "an institution for preparing Teachers and Ministers for the great work around them. "4 The Reverend Samuel David Ferguson, born in South Carolina, who emi- grated to Liberia with his family at six years of age, in 1884 was selected by the Protestant Episcopal church (now Episcopal church) to become the first African bishop of the church in Liberia and he served until 1916 5 Desiring to systematize the mission schools and fearing the periodic conflicts between factions of the Liberian Studies Journal, XVII, 1 (1992) 1 PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 2 RICHARD A. CORBY Grebo people of this southern part of Liberia, he withdrew the faculty and students of the Hoffman Institute at Cavalla and the High School at Mt. Vaughan to Harper and safety. The institute under the Reverend M. P. Keda Valentine and the High School in care of T. Gyibli Collins and P. B. Keda Neufville, occupied rented houses in Harper and continued to function as well as possible given the crowded conditions and inadequate supplies and equipment.6 Hoping to permanently reestablish the schools Bishop Ferguson in 1888 sought to buy about one hundred acres of land just four miles east of the city of Harper.? R. Fulton Cutting, treasurer of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS) in New York City, donated $5,000. As the bishop himself described the site for the school: The foundation of the building for the Hoffman Institute and High School was laid at Cuttington station last month. It is to be 3 houses in one for both divisions of the school and the teachers; total length 103 feet, width fifty-four feet.... All the stones for the walls are being quarried a short distance from the building site. Some of the lumber is likewise being sawn near by. The iron roofing and lime are coming from Hamburg; and we should have to get some material from America. As to the site of the building, it is a beautiful elevation, from which we have a commanding view all around. Looking west- ward, from the front, the Cape and Harper are to be seen, about 4 miles off, in a direct line; beyond which is the ocean, taking an arc of about 120° of the great circle of vision, from Rocktown on the right to Whole Graway on the left. .Looking northward and eastward the eyes fall with fascinating delight on beautiful green hills and forests, with here and there a cultivated tract. In the southward gaze the the Church of the Epiphany and Mission -house at Cavalla station are to be seen. ...It is alto- gether a most charming location.8 And so it was. The challenges were formidable, to clear the land of the many trees and underbrush and to construct the building. That such a substantial structure could be built using only local architects, builders, carpenters, masons, and laborers testifies to the sophisticated level which construction had devel- oped here in Maryland County. Ferguson also wrote that the students had built temporary mud houses to use until the school could move into the permanent building.9 This new building was to be called Epiphany Hall and would house the Hoffman Institute and High School at Cuttington Station (see picture). PDF compression, OCR,