osper in their native land, or in the land of their ancestors, than
in the United States.

In company with an agent of this society, Stockton sailed for the west
coast of Africa in command of an armed schooner called the "Alligator;"
and when he arrived at his destination, he took upon himself nearly all
the difficult work of selecting territory suitable for the purposes
desired, of buying land from the savage natives, of making them
understand the character of the settlers who were coming to Africa and
of the powerful nation who intended to protect them. He made treaties of
commerce and friendship with the ignorant Africans, who, until he came,
scarcely knew what was meant by a treaty.

The performance of these complicated and difficult duties required a man
of courage and diplomatic ability, who could take things as they came,
and who was always ready to act promptly in sudden emergencies. Stockton
proved himself to be that man, and he established in the native land of
the negro a country to which the Africans who had once been slaves in
the United States might freely go, carrying with them all that they had
learned of civilization in this country, and where they might live
without fear of reenslavement by the warlike tribes, whose principal
business in life then was to capture their fellow-countrymen, and sell
them into slavery.

This new country, which was called Liberia, was at first a colony of the
United States. It grew and prospered, and in 1847 it became an
independent nation, and soon after was recognized as such by Great
Britain and the United States; and since then it has made treaties with
most of the European countries.

Thus was established the new nation of Liberia, and it is not likely
that there was a man in the United States who could have accomplished
this great work better than the fighting sailor from Princeton.

After having finished the Liberian business on land, Stockton did some
work at sea more in the line of a naval commander. While sailing along
the coast, the "Alligator" was sighted by a Portuguese war vessel, the
"Marianna Flora," who mistook her for a pirate, and determined to
capture her. But when the "Marianna" got near enough, and opened fire on
the supposed pirate, she found that the work she had undertaken was very
different from what she had expected. To speak figuratively, the
"Alligator" lashed her tail, opened her jaws, and began to fight with
such fury, that in twenty minut