American Historical Ephemera & Photography, including African Americana

4 pages, 7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in. Accompanied by postally used cover stamped "SHIP", and "5" in blue, and addressed to William M. Merrick, Washington, DC.

Likely a Liberian colonist, Cox writes to his "very dear friend," informing him of a trip to a different part of the country taken nearly a year ago.

In part: "I was at wibo last november which lies on the Cavalla river eighty miles from its mouth it is indeed a buetiful [sic] section of Country...The wibo tribe is at war with one of their nihabering [sic] tribes called tobo and during my stay at wibo they taken four of their enemies of which they made a great feast one of the men was brought to a town called sudica within six miles of the place where I staid [sic] the night before the feast they kept up a great drumming & firering [sic] guns...when the poor man was brought forth to be massacred. They led him out of the town tied round the wast [sic] with a cord or country rope amids [sic] thousands of savage spectaters [sic] whose dredful [sic] war hoops [sic] could have been heard for many miles around."

He continues: "The place of execution was just out side of one of the princible [sic] gates on the south side of the town where was to be sum [sic] ever nescessary [sic] preparration [sic] for to cook the poor victim before killing him they made him sing his war song and rehearst [sic] his feats of war and also those of the great men of his tribe. After this was done they died his hands ever one that willed could come up cut him beat him with clubs spit on him and chose what part of him they were going eat after they got through [indecipherable] he was led a way to an old log on which they make him lay his hand and a man appointed for that purpose severed it from his boddy [sic] they give his head & intrals [sic] to the children the solders [sic] took the body and cook it and after it was done bouth [sic] men and women were invited to come and eat."

William Matthews Merrick (1818-1889) served as Judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from 1855 until the court was abolished in 1863. He later served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia from 1886 until his death in 1889.