Richland beacon., 1873-09-06
Trading-Life on the African Coast,


idea of trading-life in the Gaboon.
My friend 3 factory is house all ground
floor, built of palm vulgarly called
bamboo. Behind the veranda is
the parlor, and beyond that again the
store, which is deliciously cool and
dark, and fragrant with native spices,
placed therein to keepaway the moth. In
this deep cave-like recess may dlmly be
deserted strings of beads hanging down
from the rafters in festOOns, huge piles
of cotton cloth, chiefly roma and sa-
tin-stripe, crates of earthen-ware. bun
dies of American t. baccO in the leaf. as
smokers bought it in the Elizabethan
age, boxes of pipes, casks of COast-o'-
Guinea rum, barrels of coarse powder,
bags of fints, and Birmingham trade
guns, long as the ancient matchlUcks,
with shining barrels, and stocks painted
a bright red. At six o'clock the store
keeper opens the wide folding-doOrs,
and the natives thrOng in to make
small purchases, and imbibe their
morning dram. The clerk sits down to
his accounts. The factor examines his
books, or writes letters to his employ
=,
or superintends the sturdy Krumen as
they row to and fro from the ship to the
shore. Canoes come sailing down the
river with the land-breeze of the early
morn, bringing their petty cargoes of
produce from the bush, while others
are being filled with European goods
ready to start for the interior. Com
merce here is carried on by means of mid
dlemen. The Europeans purchase, the
bush tribes, produce, and the Mpongwe,
or cOast-peOple, mOnOpOlize the trade be-
tween the two. If the natives of the
interior come down TO the seaside, they
are not allowed to go on board ship, to
visit the factory, or in any way to traf-
fic directly with the white man. As a
rule, they remain quietly at home, and
are visited by some Mpongwe trader,
who, having obtained goods on credit
from factory, sails mp the river to
bush-village, where he is boarded and
lodged at the public expense. He
shows the vi layers his goods; not till
hey have seen them will they begin to
work. They then go into the forest !;
they cut ebony and camwood into bill
lets; they pluck the golden nuts of the
palm-tree, boil them, crush them, and
squeeze ont the oil collect beeswax !;
they bleed a creeping plant, the creamy
sap OF which dries into cakes of an in
feriOr India-rubber, or caoutchouc the
Inhabitants of other villages are some
times allowed to bring their contribu-
tions while elephants tusks, which de-
scend from the interior, bought and re-
bought from tribe, at length arrive in
to the hands of the Mpongwe. As
soon as his goods are bartered away,
he fills up his canoes, sails back to the
factory, and receives large commission
in cloth, rum and tObaccO-the money
of the GabOon. Followed by slaves
carrying his barrels and his bales, he
returns to his own hOui and is at once
surrounded by relat les and hostile
friends. He is treats4 to his face as if
he were rich man sSIdenly become de-
funct. Women dance in his honor, and
sing verses complimentary as epitaphs :;
a council of the next of kin is held for
the division.oi. .:is goods, over which
they quarrel bn io11Y, ard full display
is made of shS1 ms which with
MS are fen. Int - at the read
! ! !, !. ! |
ing Of. the charac-
pun 49, "stingv
felleT. epeople
suGn A0rO-
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