Harvard Medical African Expedition (1926–1927)

While investigating tropical medicine, maladies, and wildlife along with general exploration was indeed the prime purpose of the Harvard Expedition, Dr. Strong noted two underlying political and economic reasons for the venture as well: However, it was the geographical element that overlaid the entire venture as Liberian interior was all but entirely unknown to the West - meaning the Dr. Strong and his company had to make the maps as they journeyed; for the current ones, they found, were grossly inaccurate: "The greater part of the country has not been surveyed from a geographical standpoint, and most of the prominent features are inaccurately placed on the various maps obtainable ...

Then, with such logistical concerns settled by the beginning of August and after making brief ventures to collect specimens in the adjacent countryside, they proceeded up the Du river to the first three Firestone Plantations before journeying into the hinterlands that, effectively, were not wholly under the control of the central government.

[1][6] Spending a few nights in her domain, the Westerners describe Chief Suah Koko as, despite her age and near blindness, displaying "surprising intelligence in her conversation and [that she is] apparently feared, respected, and obeyed in her community."

"[6] A charge that the chief managed quite well, for Dr. Strong notes in his book that "her province was apparently well governed, and all the promises which she made while we in the community, and in response to our requests, chiefly relating to the sales of food, to transportation, and the examination of her people were kept.

[6] Harvard Medical African Expedition was a success with countless specimens collected and the customs of tribes such as Suah Koko's and those of the Gbanga and beyond Liberia in the Congo recorded.

Furthermore, the photography endeavors of Loring Whitman yielded many photos ranging from local wildlife to the everyday dress and activities of the tribes, to the flesh-eating and twisting diseases whose study was the primary purpose of the venture - all, and the details of which, are printed, explained, and analyzed in Dr. Strong's two-volume The African Republic of Liberia and the Belgian Congo: Based on the Observations Made and Material Collected during the Harvard African Expedition, 1926-1927.