The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1860-10-06
COUNCIL BLUFFS, SATURDAY, OCTOBER

/ OF these hats, he sets out for tho residenc,
Of dealer in the article, and generally ar.
rives in the evening. Nothing is more curl
Gus than to see the cunning Indian, hi.
| merchandise hid uader the folds Of hi,
poncho, advancing towards the house Of tn,
supposed purchaser, waiting without stir.
ing, and boxing at the door in silence
When the dealer examines has which Ii,
Indian has shown him, the latter askes ar
enormous price, which is in general thre.
times the valne Of he article, and when
after long discussion. he at last decides OF
concluding bargain, one sees him examin.
| ing with dis,rust the money which he ha.
received, and rubbing it in order to tr,
| whether it is"good. II the sellers Of th,
bats are to the nnmber OF two or three, h
who has concluded the bargain passes to ths
others the sum paid, in order that they may
also see that it is honest money. II ths
money pleases them, the 6rst man draw.
from his inexhaussib!e poncho, second, q
! third, twentieth hat, as a conjuror draws
every variety Of articles from hat and 70,
each Of the sspanamas" the same scene oI
distrust is renewed for the verifcation oi
| the money.
j We can easily understand the slowness
which results from this mode Of sale. Il is
difficult to buy more than twenty hats day,
even in giving the best price. Thus, in Of.
der to collect 2,o00 hats, representing d
value of 81 700, sojourn Of three or four
months in the country is required; and as
transactions with savagcs, such as those in
Lower Peru, are difficult, dealers are obliged
to carry about with them both the money
and the merchandise. Notwithstanding
these difficulties, the trade in hats is one OF
the surest and most lucrative in the land.
Moydbama exports every year ten or
eleven thousand hats. The province OF
Panama PROD uccs much more than Peru. 1t
is supposed that not less than sixty or eighty
thousand hats are annually exported from
the province Of Panama. If tho average
price OF a hat is reckoned at two piastcrs,
their expectation will represent value of
about 81 o,000. The greater part Of the
hats are exported from Lima. but Of late
years the expectation has likewise taken
place by way Of the Amazon.
Hitherto the high price of Panama hats
has hindercd their transportation INTO Eu-
rope, tut as the average price Of a hat has
fallen to about S., they are now within the
reach of nearly every one. The Panamas
are distinguished from all other hats, in
being a single piece, marvclously light, and
of incompatible elasticity. They can be
rolled up and put in the pocket without any
danger of being broken. In rainy weather
they become black, but they recover their
natural color when stepped in soapy
water.
What constitutes and maintains the repu-
tation of the Panama hat is that neither
heat nor insects, which deyour anything
under the torrid sun of the equator, can
effect the bombonnxa straw. Ia the long
run, nothing but humidity can destroy them.
They last eight times as long as Leghorn
hat. They are easily carried about They
can be folded and rolled by the dozen, like
the commonest kind of merchandise. In
short, the trade in Panama hats is the very
best in South America, and it would be
easy to establish in Algeria, in the West
Indies, and in Guina.
There has been an importation into
France Of Panama hats not more than two
years. The importation into England has
just begun: but it is sure greatly to extend.
London illustrated Neus.