The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1885-12-15
The Romance of Commerce.

Ii is a curious feature Of the warfare Of
some African tribes that during hostiities their
women freely visit each others markets to
exchange their various products, and then re-
turn in safety to their own districts. They do
not permit a little blood spilling TO interfere
with the interests Of commerce. On 4 much
larger scale, the civilized world is exchanging
many thousands Of dollars worth of property
with certain great tribes that are fanatical en-
emes Of the Caucasian race, and among them
only halt dozen white men have dared to risk
their lives.
Some Of the finest ostrich feathers in the
civilized markets come from the upper Niger
region and are taken 10 Timbuctoo to be packed
for shipment across the Sahara desert. Sew
eral other large towns on the southern edge
of the Sahara compete with TimbuctoO in this
business, but the feathers from Timbuctoo are
considered the finest. 1t takes about two years
to bring these handsome plumes within reach
Of the ladies whom they adorn, and in their
| zigzag travels from the starting point to the
Mediterranean they pass through very little
country where white maD would be safe for
a minute.
A while ago the French talked of building a
/ railroad across the Sahara TO Timbuctoo. DR..
/ LEM, the German geologist, who, in the guise
vi q Dc lllt MN last Nllllc
/ visitor 10 this celebrated place believes the
scheme 10 lie impracticable. 1t would be vio-
lently opposed by the native tribes, who with
/ the and OF 10000 Camels, now monnpolize the
| extensive trade between Morocco and the up
per Niger These animals bear slowly across
the Sahara the feathers, ivory, and other pro-
ducts that pass by barter from one trader to
another until they fall at last into European
| hands.
If We should mark off on the map Of the
northern part of United States tract cor
responding in size with the Sahara, then the
great lakes would, roughly speaking, repre-
/ sent the pure sand wastes of the African des-
ert, and the other and larger part Of North
America would stand for the vast regions
where wells and cases abound, and where car
avans can find at nearly every camp little
| heritage for their camels. Caravans could moi
| safely cross the great sand lakes, but by shap-
/ ing their routes around them, or crossing the
narrow straits OF sand that join them, they pick
their way over the desert. Often our ostrich
feathers are bought, not with the products Of
/ Europe or Morocco, but with salt. Caravans
start empty handed from the Mediterranean
and load in the Sahara with salt, which has a
ready sale IN many an oasis, and in all the
/ lands on the southern edge of the desert.
| The travels Of many of the fine feathers in
| Broadway shop windows would make story
well worth hearing Kept for months in The
/ grass huts Of savage hunters, bought by the
dusky Niger River merchants with strings Of
cowrie shells, stored in the low mudwalled
warehouses Of Timbuctoo, packed away in
bales upon tue backs of camels, traversing
routes that are marked by the bones Of camelS
and line Of more or less widely separated
wells, sometimes stolen by the Saharan rob
Der bands that lie in wait for these travelling
merchants, they pass through many strange
vicissitudes before they reach the fair women
| patrons TO whose decoration all these remote
and savage agencies have labared TO contrib
ute. They nearly reach the sea before white
man can become their owner Even in Fex,
tic commercial metropolis of Morocco, the
! presence Of the white inidels Of the north in
spires only feelings OF bitter hatred, and the
Government Of Morocco refuses to let white
travellers 20 south Of the Atlas Mountains, on
the ground that 1t cannot protect them from
the violence OF the wild tribes within it's own
territories
These wares, brought in such remarkable
manner from the broad Soudan, strikingly
illustrate the fact that no walls Of religious
late or race prejudice can effectively bar the
way to any region of the world which the CON-
merces Of Christian nations choose to enter.
Nttr Fork Sm.