The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-10-03

| This policy IS holding Dack llls part VI
the world immensely, and only the nat
ural and spontaneous growths of land and
sea are gathered in islands, where cotton,
coffee, tea, sugar cane, arrowroot, vanilla,
opium, tobacco, ginger and an infinite
variety of other articles could be grown in
profusion side by side with the vegetables
of Europe Very little ready money Is
used in trade with the South Sea natives;
better profits can be made my exchanging
for copra and other commodities which
they produce such articles of civilized
manufacture as the natives demand.
TRADING WITH THE NATIVES.
A very decent return is thus made on
the capital invested by Auckland and sgd
ney merchants, as the following instances
will show: For copra, for example, from
one to three cents per pound is paid, not
in money, but in goods at an advance val
uation over original cost of from 200 to
1000 per cent. Thus, cheap calicoes, cost
ing from seven to eight cents yard are
retailed at % cents. Shirts costing 81 a
dozen sell at s1.5O apiece, and small spools
of sewing cotton at % cents An article
in great demand by the natives is Vandyko
braid (so-called), which is worth IA cents
per card of ~ yards, and is sold for s2.75.
Strong perfumes, such as musk, bergamot,
&C., of which the natives are extravagantly
fond, and which, smeared over their bodies
with the rancid cocoanut oil wherewlth
they delight to anoint themselves, produces
an effection civilized olfactories which must
be experienced to be appreciated-eost ST.
10 in cases of dozen bottles, and are sold
for 81 bottle to the unsophisicated abo-
rigines Tobacco sells at dollar pound
and ribbons, beads, feathers, Ne, are sold
at prices that are regulated by the desire OF
the savage to possess them. A trader, on
going ashore at any remote island, Gin the
larger and more frequented places less prim-
tive methods are employed } presents the
picturesque appearance of walking adver-
tisement of his wares. He puts on his
"loudest" pair of trousers and scarlet
shirt, winds gaudy aud cheap silk hand.
kerchief round his waist, covers his head
with colored felt hat, bearing on its side
a plated buckle and bunch of gorgeously
dyed feathers, hangs beads and ribbons
about his neck, and pours over his clothing
a bottle of understanding essence, and is
ready for business.
On learning that articles such as thest
are to be acquired for few baskets oil
copra or calabashes of cocoanut oil, the
simple islanders positively fall over each
other in their haste to secure such prizes
before they are exhausted; and, as the
trader has the hold of his schooner crammeC
with duplicates, he departs only when h'
has stripped the town of valuables worth
thousands of dollars-all obtained for ;
cheap lot of stuff which is sure to be useC
up long before he can make a second visit
IF the tribe is warlike, enormous profits arr
made by selling guns, swords, etc. A
four-pound iron gun, which had been tossed
into vessel as ballast, was sold not Ions
ago to a native king for 80, 600 cocoanuts
worth even in the island not less than $500
The value of this piece of ordinance ma.
have been S5 for old iron, as it was honey
combed with rust and much more danger
Gus to the party behind it than to that il
front. To make it effective his malest'
: bought quantity of gunpowder at 50 ;
pound, and several lobster cans filled witt
scrap iron for projectiles Mt similar rates
A nine-pounder was sold to another poten
tate for $1,000, and number Of sword
costing 90 cents each in Melbourne wer
also acquired by him at the rate of S2'
apiece.
And yet, in the face of such figures
which | might multiply indefinitely, tn
; Auckland and Sydney firms who send on
these vessels will lay their hands on thei
hearts, roll up their eyes, and lament tha
there is no profit in the trade of the Soutl
Sea Islands. Those apochryphal person
who 'swant the earth would feel at HON
with the stockholders of these concerns
To say that the profits above mentioned ar
modest in view of some that are acquired
might seem extravagant, yet such is tn
case The alleged "gin'' which is much il
favor among the degraded natives of tn
Kingswill group is retailed in these island
at S2.2a case of fifteen quart hotties, ant
in taste and smell resembles the methy latet
spirit made from the gum tree in the Aus
tralian charcoal factories The secret o
its manufacture is unknown; but its sal
undoubtedly represents a profit of incredi
BILE dimensions.
CoPRA.
Copra is produced at little or no expens
beyond that of bare living. A square mil
of cocoanut trees, such as grow wild all owe
the coral isles of the Pacific, produces an
nually from 100000 to 400, 900 cocoanuts
each of which, dry, is worth cent on tn
ground Thus 80 tons of copra, wortl
$1,000, can be produced annually. Tw,
white men can easily perform all the re
quired work, and if they hire labor, cult
vate the palms and assist their productive
ness by cutting away aud burning the un
derbrush, in ten years their square mile o
property would bring them steady incom
of S15, 900 to $4,000. 1t has been faunC
more profitable of late years to export the
dried nut than to make oil on the spot, a.
was formerly done. Less labor is require,
to express the oil from the dried nut il
Europe, the substance of the nut is usec
for cattle feed instead of being wasted, ant
better oil is produced When we conside
the fact that dozen large ships from Ham
burg and Bremen may always be found il
the islands loading with this material alona
we may suppose that the trade has valu
which America might do well to consider
GATHERING THE BEoHE-nE-MER.
There are many queer trades in the SoutI
Seas, but the queerest of all, at first sight
is that which has to do with the gathering
of beehe-de.mer Beohe-de-me is a Shiny
unpromising- looking slug, about eighteel
inches long, which is found on the bottom
of sandy lagoons. The bravery of the maj
who first swallowed live oyster must b
matched by that of him who ventured t
utilize as food this hideous slug, which
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