| | 1 | Author: | Ceasar, Samson | Add | | | Title: | Liberian letters: Samson Ceasar to Henry F. Westfall 1834 June 2  | | | | Published: | 1999 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | UVA-LIB-Liberianletters | | | | Description: | I embrace this oppertunity to inform you
that I am well hoping that these few lines will find you in and all yours in good helth it
affords me adegree of Comfort that I have the
oppertunity of conversing with you by
way of paper and ink I have been in Africa almost Six months and I have not kept my bed one
day at A time I had but A Slight tuch of the fever I have Chills now
and then and also the fever with them the
fever is not as hard in this Country as it is in the United States if you get it around here it is very hard to
heal but I thank god that I have had none yet
it is almost nedless for me to undertake
to dis crib
Africa to you I have Seen but
little of it but this I can Say the more I See and
the longer I Stay the better I
like it I am convinced in my owun own mind that all that is wanting is
industry and good management and then we Shall be independant and can enjoy the comforts of life I visited A Town by the name of
New Gorgia
it is Settled by the recaptured Africans by the name of
Ebose and
Congose
they had not been in the United
States long enough to learn to talk
English if you Could See their town and
their farms around it you would Say that any person that could not live in
A A
Africa
ort
to Starve I Seen three Crops all at
one time on one peace of ground their was corn rice and Cosider and they all
look as promising as I would wish to See them
Swete
potatos look as fine as any I ever Saw I must Say that I am afraid that our Country never
will improve as it
ort
untill
the people in the United States keep their Slaves
that they have raised like as dum as horses at home and Send those here who
will be A help to improve the Country
as for Virginia as far as my
knowledg extends I think She has Sent out the
most Stupid Set of people in the place while they have them their the cow hide is hardly ever
off of their backs and when they come here they feal So free that they walk about from morning till evening
with out doing one Stroke of work by those means they become to Sufer
people in the United States
ort
to have more regard for Liberia than to
Send Such people here Some think that every thing grows
by
in this Country with out labour but they are mistaken I must Correct an error that I made in William Jackson's
letter I Stated that every
thing grew almost
Spontanious in this Country I wish to be un derstood by
that expresion that we need not labour half
So hard here as in Some parts of the United
States yet we can not live with out work
their have com agrate many from
North Carlina
who are dregs in the place the most
enterprising men that we have here is from Baltimore and
Charleton
I can only Say that if the
Coulard man had the Same oppertunity with the White man he would not be one Step
behind him in no respect
the
their is not much Sickness in Liberia at this time god Still
preserves our lives
time would fail
m with me to tell all that I have
Seen and heard Since I left
Buchannon
I often think about you the thousands of miles apart we have had
Seet
intercourse together on Buchannon and
I feal in hopes if god Spares us we will See each
other in the flesh I am now living in
Call well
imploid to assist in giving out provis ion and Selling goods in the mean time I am studing grammer and the
arithmetic I want to get all the Learning
that I can for with out it we can do but little
both in temperl and Spirituel
matters your assistance to me will never
be forgotten by me while I move on the globe as it respects my religious
enjoy ments I think I enjoy my Self as well as I ever have Since god Spoke
peace to my Soul the more I See of the world the more I feal like Serving god as I n
no that I have but afew
days to live in the world I want to do all I can in god's service I feal that when
god calls me from this world that it Shall be from the walls of Zion I have been trying to Blow the gospel trump
ever since I landed in
Africa
I Still feal that god is with me god is reviveing his
work in
Caldwell
I feal as if the time was not far distant
till the Clangours of truth will be Sounded to
the last green verg on erth
when I look back to America
and See how the people in Buchannon Stood in my
way in trying to Serve god I fear that if they do not repent they will
be Sorry in the morning of the resurrection I can appeal to god and Say I love all my old neighbours I want you to give my best love to
your wife and tell her that I am Still trying to [illeg.]
tell her not to forget
me at athrone of grace Give my
love to all the family tell your boys to improve their time in
learning while young and when they grow up they will be glad that they
Spent their time in gaining knowledg tell
Betty likewise to get learning tell
Lydia that I expect She has all the learning She
can get unless She goes to
Germany
if She is not mared yet
[illeg.] tell her to write to me and I will try
and bring A German with me when I come to the
United States
I want you to give my love to your father and all his family both
at [illeg.]
and
abroad I have not time to mention [illeg.]
[illeg.]
names
tell them all that I am better contented than I
ever was Since I
blivd
that god called me to preach his gosple
their is a large field
opend
for me and I intend to labour for god untill he Calls me from the world and then I hope to go
whare the wicked Seas from trubling and the wared Soul be for ever at rest O Henry never sufer the vain and sorded things of this world to deprive you of the
immortle
crown
[illeg.] that awaits the faithful
at god's right hand Give my love to
Mr Haselden
tell him that the world has not got my hart yet I and
I hope by the help of god that it never will get the advantage of me
for their is nothing in it worthy of our affection give my love to all my
old neighbours and to all
inquireng friends I want you to write
as often as possible and let me no what is going on
in your Settlement how many have died and who they ware also how things are generaly
both in State and in Church in Short write
all that you think will be profitable to me
this is the fourth letter I have written [illeg.]
to you Since I landed in
Africa
I will write as often as I can
please to excuse bad writing and Spelling for I am Surrounded with
company
I want you to tell the people to direct
their letters to Mr Robert R Gurley in
Wash ington
for him to send to me and I think that I will get them by so doing you will oblige your
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