Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1884-08-14
THE AFRICAN NEGRO,
Savages Who, Although Ignorant, Are Keen,
Crafty, and Shrewd In Making Bargain.

oaNdEcs VINO, Although ignorant, Are heen,
Crafty, and Shrewd In Making Bargain.
Though barbarous and ignorant the
negro in mis- own land, writes CORE
spondent of The Boston Bulletin in lii
IBERIA, is keen, crafty, and shrcwd at a
bargain; he is besides an invctcratC
thief, and the wit of the dealer is con-
stantly taxed to the utmost if he wishes
to get even reasonable return for the
goods he has brought so maLy miles
and through so many dangers to ex-
change for the crude products of the
country.
The ivory is bought by weight, the
value per pound is regulated by the
size Of the tusk, the larger ones
being worth much more in proportion
than the smaller, rs they can be util.
lied to so much better advantage in
the manufacture of large ornaments
for instance, billiard ball could not
be turned from small or even me.
dium-Sizcd tusk, rs the socket at the
base extends so farup the center as not
to leave solid piece large enough for
the purpose.
The natives, one and all possessed Il
laughablc popularity, They cndrayor.
ed to keep the articles they had
brought rs closely concealed rs posi-.
hle until they had selected such good,
as they deemed should he theirs in re-.
turn, and one may rest assured that
they seldom got on the wrong end
of the bargain.
When the pile Of brilliantly-colorcd
prints, beads, knifcS, and looking
glasses had assumed sufficient proper.
tiOns to satisfy the ayaricc Of the black,
it was amusing to see how he or She
would crawl over the side of THEN
canoe and from beneath the covering
of palm-lcaves cautiously draw forth
n usk of ivory or small carthcn jar
of palm-oil, and creeping back to the
counter with these things in their
hands, place them on the rude board,
and with the blandeSt of smiles reach
forth for the coveted goods.
But here they are at once met with
a check, and the smile instantly disap-
pears from their swarthy features, as
they wait for the trader to test the
quality and quantity of the oil and
weigh and examine the piece of ivory,
On general principles it is safe to
divide the pile which the savage has
selected into four parts, and, giving
him onc-fOurth return the balance to
the ships stores. Should the native
possess u dozen tuskS or have several
jars of oil to dispose of this same Sc
lection Of u pile and subsequent beat.
!ng down by the trader has to be sue
cessively gone through with. Like
their white sisters, the women of Afri-
co cause the dealer the most trouble;
not that they are more particular in
their choice than the men, but that
they have the same procliyity to beat
down and hagglc over the prices de.
and also, after their Scanty
store of produce is exhausted, when
they have no further means of purchas-
ing, they still continue to handle and
overhaul all the goods within their
reach; and it only remains for Il few
European ladies to visit Africa and
teach the dusky beauties the value of
a sample to take home to show Il
friend to render the life of trader
wholly miserable. Another trick which
prevailed mostly with the women. and
one which caused considerable
was their pettiShly
taking bacG piece of ivory
after it had been weighed and
through the medium of friend
again offer it for sale, thinking that
by chance larger amount would be
obtained for it. After the first day or
two, however, at the suggestion OF the
mate, every pcicc of ivory when pre-
scnted was indelibly marked upon the
inside of the cavity with its exact
weight, thus frustrating their little
game, and it had the effect of greatly
trade, for when u piece
was offered the second time we en-
refused to accept it unless
at Il great reduction on the previous
offer. The natives were not slow to
perceive that they were outwittcd,
and either accepted the first offer at
once or else took their irory to some
other trader. "Shop-lifting" pre-
vailed to quite an extent, though the
dusky maidens and swarthy bucks
wore no clothing in which to conceal
the pilfered goods, yet their ingenuity
devised many n scheme by which to
iespoil us of our wares.
They would crowd in dense black
mass against the counter, and watch
ing for n chance when they thought
our attention was directed elsewhere,
snatch IN article, and without chang
ing their positions hand it back from
one to another until it passed over the
rail into canoe.
How they settled the ownership of
these stolen treasures | never was able
to find out, but probably it was
claimed by the one into whose boat it
had been dropped; for certainly the
primary mover in this illegal transac-
ton would find it difficult TO trace the
article from hand to hand after il had
left him. Though frequently detected,
yet in taking account of our stock at
night we found that they must have
been many times successful, Judging
from the amount missing that could
not be satisfactorily accounted for.
When caught in the act of pilfering,
the natives seemed to consider it mo Q
of a joke than anything serious, and
heartily at our grave faces
and violent demonstrations of dis
pleasure.
On day, although the usual crowd
was on board, trade was exceedingly
quiet and all hands seemed to be de-
voting themselves to stealing. So
much did they trouble us that the cap
tain dispatched the interpreter and
several of the Kroo-boys to the chief
with complaint of the wrong doings
of his people. The messengers were
provided with goodly presnt where
with to propitiate his highness, and the
(0 had the desired effect, for
in short time large canoe filled
with blacks armed with short cudgels
(probably the native police) was seen
approaching the vessel.
As soon as they gained the deck a
lively scene ensued. They laid about
them most Justify with their batons of
bamboo, assailing innocent and guilty
alike, much after the style of an aver
age guardian of the peace in more
civilized countries; and soon the ship
was cleared, the officers of the king
alone remaining. hut whether we wore