The National tribune., 1889-10-10
SAMOAN COMMERCE.
Enormous Profits Made by the RaDaeIous Traders
Wth the Natives.
[Snmonn Corrsspondencs.l

the South Sea Islands are the collection OF
cOpra, or dried cOcoanut, beche- de-mer, pearl
oysters and tortoise shell, fruit, ETC. The
wealth of these countries Is simply ncalcula-
BILE, but has been developed in very small de-
gree as yet, chiefly from the ignorance of the
world concerning their resources. Information
regarding the island trade is most difficult to
procure. 1t is practically controlled by few
New Zealand and Australian firms, who not
only will not give any assistance to inquiries,
but discourage in every possible way all in
vestigations which shall bring their operations
to the public view. The managers of these
firms lose no opportunity of declaring that they
are all going to the dogs, or at best merely hold
ing their own but have seen enough in their
warehouses and in the vast assortment of goods
which they carry for the native trade to con-
vince me that most of them are making huge
profits, and have other fear that knOwl-
edge of the Astounding wealth Of the South
Seas will call tho attention of capitalists the
world over to the vast field whose edges only
they are able to cultivate. This policy is hold
ing back this part of the world immensely, and
only the natural and spontaneous growths of
land and sea are gathered in islands where cot
ton, coffee, tea, sugar cane, aTT0wrOOt vanilla,
opium, tobacco, ginger, and an Infinite va
riety Of other articles could be grown in pro-
fusion side by side with the vegetables Of Eu-
rope. Very little ready money is used in trade
with the South Sea natives; better profits can
be made by exchanging for cOpra and other
commodities which they produce such articles
Of civilized manufacture as the natives de-
mand.
very decent return is thus made on the
capital invested by Auckland and Sydney mer-
chants as the following instances will show:
For copra, for example, from l to 3 cents per
pound is paid, not in money, but in goods at an
advance valuation over original cost of from
200 to 1000 per cent. Thus, cheap calicoes
costing from TO cents yard are retailed at
% cents. Shirts costing 81 dozen sell at $1.50
apiece, and small spOol5 of sewing cotton at %
cents An article in great demand by the ma
tives is Vandyke braids (so-calledl. which is
worth Ii cents per card of az yards and is sold
for $275. Strong perfumes, such as musk. ber-
gamot, etc, of which the natives are extTava-
gantly fond, and which, smeared over their
bodies with the rancid cOcoanut oil wherewith
they delight to anoint themselves, produces an
effect on civilized olfactores which must be ex-
perienced to be appTeciated-cost Sl.75 in cases
| Of dozen bottles. and are sold for dollar q
bottle TO the unsOphisticated abOrigines. To-
| bacco sells at dollar q pound, and ribbons,
beads feathers, etc. are sold at prices that are
regulated by the desire Of the savages TO pos
sess them. A trader, on going ashore at any
remote island. lin the larger and more fire.
| quonted places less primitive methods are en-
| plOyed) presents the picturesque appearance Of
| walking adj vertisement Of his wares. He puts
on his 'loudest" pair of trousers and scarlet
| shirt winds gaudy and cheap silk bandker-
| chief round his waist, covers his head with a
colored felt hat, bearing on its side a plated
| buckle and bunch Of gorgeOusly dyed feath-
| ers hangs beads and ribbons about his neck,
| and pours over his clothing hottie of violent
| smelling essence, aud is ready for business.
| On learning that articles such as these are
| to be acquired for few baskets Of cOpra or cal
| abashes of eocoanut oil, the simple islanders
| positively fall over each other in their haste to
secure such prizes before they are exhausted
| aud as the trader has the hold Of his schooner
| crammed with duplicates, he departs only
when he has stripped the town OF valuables
| worth thousands of dollars-all obtained for
a cheap lot Of stuff which is sure to be used up
| long before he can make a second visit. II
| the tribe Is warlike, enormous profits are made
/ by selling guns, swords, etc. A four-pound
| iron gun, which had been tossed into vessel
as ballast was sold not long ago to native
| King for $4,000 cocoanuts, worth even in the
island not less than $780, The value Of this
piece of ordnance may have been So for old
| iron. as il was honeycombed with rust and
much moro dangerous to the party behind il
than TO that in front. To make it effective hi,
| Majesty bought quantity Of guupowder at So
! pound and several lobster cans filed with scrap
| iron for projectiies at similar rates. nine
FOUNDER was sold TO another pOtentate fol
81 900, and number Of swords costing 90 cent
each in Melbourne were also acquired by hin
at the rate of $50 apiece.
Copra is produced at little or no expenss
beyond that of bare living. A square mile o
coeoanut trees, such as grow wild all over tht
coral isles of the Pacific, produces annually
| from 100000 to 100000 eoeOanuts, each o
| which, dry, is worth a cent on the ground
Thus so tons of copra, worth $1,000, can b
produced annually. Two white men can easily
Ill 4 81,
hire labor. cultivate the palms and assist thei
productiveness by cutting away and burning
the underbrush, ia 10 years their square mil
of property would bring them a steady incom
of SIS, 900 to 10000. 1t has been found NOR
profitable of late years to export the dried nu
than to make oil on the spot, as was formerl,
done. Less labor is required to express the OF
from the dried nut in Europe, the substance o
the nut is used for cattle feed instead Of bein
wasted, and better oil is produced. When W
consider the fact that a dozen large ships iron
Hamburg and Bremen may always be found il
the islands loading with this material alone
we may suppose that the trade has valu
which America might do well to consider.
There are many queer trades in the Sout
Seas, but the queerest of all, at first sight
that which has TO do with the gathering G
beche-de-mer Beche-de-mer is a Shiny, m
, promising-looking slug, about IS inches Ions
which is found on the bottom of sandy lagoon!
The bravery of the man who first swallowed
live oyster must DO matched by that of hiI
who ventured to utilize as food this hideOu
slug which. nevertheless, is worth $500 TO
, in China. IL is a venomOus thing in some II
) spects. Incautiously seized, il squirts out tn
, water which il constantly holds tits food bein
t animalcul@, obtained by sucking in and di,
charging sea wateT), drop of which in the ey
feels like red-hot needles, and touching 3
abrasion in the skin. produces painful and daI
gerous Inflammation. Large expeditions aI
continually ont all over the South Seas eollee
ing and curing this singular delicacy. AftG
being caught and disembOweled, il is placed i
underground ovens and steamed, after whiC
il loses its disgusting sliminess, aud has the al
pearance of an old piece of bacon Find. Ii
, then spread out on stages, under which fires
{ green wood are built to produce thick an
1 pungent smoke. IL is afterwards spread o
I sand ia the hot sun, and when properly cure
= Is as hard as nails. and rattles in the bags int
l which il is put like dried wainuts. The native
employed by traders in the gathering of becht
de-mer do not become suddenly and violentl
, rich, although, according TO their own notion
0 they are we'll paid Twenty-eight yards
/ cloth, worth from TO cents q yard,
\ 90 plugs of cheap tobacco, are ordinary RENT
. neration for months hard labor which, how
ever, the untutored savages rather enjoy tina
otherwise, since il keeps them in the open a
and sunlight, permits diving and tumbliu
I about in the placid waters OF cool lagoon