Su-ma, the eldest, has a wife and five
children. Cinque has a wife and three children. They all have
parents or wives, or brothers and sisters. What a meeting it
will be with these relations and friends, when they are descried
on the hills of Mendi! We were invited to visit other places,
but time did not allow of longer absence. I must not forget to
mention that the whole band of these Mendi are teetotallers. At
a tavern where we stopped, Ban-na took me aside, and with a
sorrowful countenance, said, 'This bad house--bar house--no
good.' But the steam boat is at the wharf, and I must close. The
collections in money, on this excursion of twelve days, is about
one thousand dollars, after deducting travelling expenses. More
money is needed to defray the expenses of the Mendians to their
native land, and to sustain their religious teachers. Very truly
yours,
"LEWIS TAPPAN."
But to conclude the narrative of these interesting Africans. After all
the trickery on the part of the U.S. government, it was finally decreed
by the Supreme Court, that the Mendians were free persons, and might go
whither they pleased.
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