Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-11-02
IVORY

An ivory haft"d knife to the or
dinarN diner ont j. simply piece Of
tab" cutlery. useful at meals. bat
duyuil %! romance lie wonders not
~ the inloiuity tint made the steel
hnd fashion'd the hlad" with its
kechl cutting edge Seldom does
lr h"-ipw q tho, ,,ht on the bait. In
hi- eye It IL only knite handle, and
he dDcs rot allow IT'S antrr"dcnts to
Interfere with his appetite But
through "hht al experience this hit
81 IVORY. 80 smooth aud shining. has
pns''i' II once formed part of an
elephant tusk. and was probably
dug ont ~ the desert. or found in
some drn-" African forest. whilst the
l1canls ~ the VlIlturcs were fcasting
on the animals carcass. II was most
likely carried hunorcds Of miles over
n irackl'ss country, and through n
territory pcnpled hv hostile tribes
rendy to shed blood for its possession.
Like fame. ivory is frequently very
difficult Ia gci and when, by the
eScrcls" of strength. endurance;
waichfulncss and cunning the dusky
natives have brought il To the shore.
they desery" n substantial price for
the rreci, us load that has fatigued
their limbs and made their shoulders
Rche A tusk recently sold mt Liver.
pool weighed no less than one hun
dred .nd forty cne pounds, and it
can scarcely bc said that the Africans
yoke ~ easy aud his burden light
when he has to toll along. in tropical
bent, with an elephants tooth in his
grasp. But the obstacles to be over
come in getting the ivory TO n civilized
region nrc not entirely responsible
Tor the present high prices in tie
market The elephant is defunct in
Egypt, and tusks are only attainable
there 10y dredging in the sand; but
the lcyintLan OF the woods is by no
means extinct in Africa and India,
and would possibly yield an abun-
dance of ivory il the demand only
grew as slowly as his teeth. The
extensive use to which ivory is put is
really the secret Of the advance in its
value II - no longer looked upon
as n material ont OF which TO fashion
the beautiful cbessmen and ex-
quisitely carved figures that stand
m curiosities on quaint sideboards.
IL ~ utilized in making such n vast
number OF articles in daily use. from
the dainty ivory backed hair brush
To the most llliputian Of pocket
kni,cs. The from universally demand
cd billiard ball To the fox headed
scarf pin. that the price OF the ele-
pbants tusk must 70 up So dear
has ivory become, indeed, that one
doubts whether Solomon. with all his
wealth, would have vcntured, had he
lived IN these days To make "a great
throue OF ivory overland with the best
gold" At a recent Liverpool sale six
thousand dollars ton was the sum
obtained for tusks from Agola and
Gaboor, and Niger ivory is almost as
dear. In three years the price has
almost doubled. In 1879 il was pos
slble for brokers to buy at three
ihoueand do lars per ton, and since
then nearly nil kinds OF ivory have
risen one hundred per cent in value
Stocks are now very low in the ivory
warehouse throughout England, and
the iifiy tons offered in the Liverpool
market were eagerly purchased. only
bangles mud balls going a little
cheaper AT The July sales last year
there were seventy two and one half
tons offered East Indian. thirty
seven and one half tons; Egyptian,
six and three-qnarter tons; Cape, six
tons, West Coat Africa, sixteen and
three quarter tons; and sea morse
tusks etc. five and one half tens
Common and small tusks rose in
value fifteen dollars, and thirty dol
lars per one hundred weight on the
previous London p,ices; and even at
the Increased quotations various lots
OF exceilent Gaboon aud Cape ivory
were Withdrawn. the owners feeling
confident that they could obtain more
money. The average supply at the
July sales in London for the past
nineteen years has been one hundred
and thirty six tons. The largest
supply NJ nny one sale was two hun
drgl and three aud one quarter tons
IN tie third snle 81 1878, and the
smallest seventy two and one half
tonr II the summer sale in 1882
Nor - u probable that any very large
quantity of IVORY will ever again be
oilrrct ia ih" English markets. for n
sal" hHs been established at Ro,tcr-
dam. and in addition to the consign
menis disposed of there. many Of the
tust- come dir,ct g. hi, country.
where The material is often applied
to the most fantasia ,c and cxiravagant
purl SEE. Any mAn wishing TO be-
CONE u modern Crusus need only to
glvc az dreaming about the discovery
81 hi- pet philosophers stone. and
hnh substitute Tor Ivury.-IN. Y.
liorr.
woman who ~ one OF the heirs
of hn estate of two millions has been
arr ted IN New York for shoplifting
Be.unl this habit and n conrser one
of tuphng. her behavior is onite
proper Much moic 81, in fact. than
II rtLHi ~ Tia" nnn formerly her hus
bnud. who j. IL dealer IN h gambling
hon.
l. gAining bugs would he Il lively
aud suggestive name for telegraph