Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-07-02
THE TRADE in BIRDS.
CONDUCTED CHIEFLY ny SAILORS
on SPECULATION.
The Chances of Loss-The Manner Of
selling 20 City DeaIers-How They
Keep the Sailor con,ent-So Duties
CNew York Evening postl


ports sometimes wonder at the many
birds which dutter about the decks
Screaming parrots and the less noisy bu,
more brilliantly dressed birds of the
equatorial regions seem 10 be omnipres-
ent, They are under foot, in the rigging,
everywhere But the average voyager,
thinking only of his dlsembarking.. and
glad TO forget the, monotonous details
OF the trip pays no attention to the dis
position of these feathered passengers.
II he formulates any theories on the
subject, he reasons that the birds have
been taken aboard as pets, or 10 while
away the long hours when the sea refuses
10 be anything but commonplace.
The writer's attention was directed 10
this trade while travelling from Cape
Town to New York. The steamer stop
ped at Senegambia with the apparent
sole object OF taking on cargo of par
rots and other queer representatives of
the feather tribe together with a troop
! OF chattering monkeys, to afford the sail
| ors a jolly time on the home-stretch.
| However, as about dozen members of
the menagerie died daily, and were toss
| ed overheard, the good humor Of the sail
, ors did not seem TO improve. At the end
| of the voyage only two monkeys and
| twenty parrots were alive.
"It is a dead loss" said one of the sail
ors. IL expected TO make so this trip,
| and now | shall lose ! have only two
parrots left out of a dozen that had
| taken on board"
| This gave me an insight into the bust
ness. The officers and men were counting
| on little profit from the birds and mon
! keys. If II were only s. or $40 1t would
| help them to spend a merrier time on
| shore.
Since then I have learned more Of the
| mysteries Of this trade, and have even
| embarked in 1t myself in a small way
! while on trip from Brazil. The steamer
! had left Rio de Janeiro and stopped hve
| days at Pernambuco. During that time
| the deck was crowded daily with bird
| dealers OF every description. There were
| black negroes, sallow BraZlians, and
| nondescripts of every nationality, who
| came on board to sell birds of almost
| every known species. There were parrots,
| parrakeets. Sahiras patativas, Teches.
Sangue de boas, orioles, tiger birds,
| fnches canaries. cardinals, mocking-
| birds, cardinallagios, and curious little
| birds with bills as long as pipestems.
| The sailors used to have a great time
| bargaining with the bird-sellers. Tie lat
| ter insisted on getting from ten 10 thirty
! milreis for parrot and a milreis for the
| smallest bird. The pigeon English of the
| Brazilians was picturesque in the ex-
IRENE But there were other considera-
| tons besides the odditr of their language.
| They charged small prices for the birds,
i'm comparison with those which the birds
brought in New York. But small as were
| these prices, they represented great pro-
| fits. | knew the port thoroughly, and
warmed the sailors hearts by offering TO
| take them to place outside of the town
| where l knew all the bird-catchers from
| the country gathered and sold their stock
to the crafty dealers for almost nothing.
/ The boatswain and carpenter went with
| me. and | interpreted for them. They
| bought extensively for the whole crew,
| and made collection of monkeys and
parrots. canaries, and other birds for one
tenth the price they usually paid. The
officers also bought at the bird mart.
and even the Captain secured some pet
parrots. We had the jolliest selection
on board that l ever saw. There were
about two hundred parrots and monkeys
disputing the possession of the deck be-
tween them and an indefinite variety Of
birds in cages. At Santa Lucia the
negroes were anxious TO buy, and paid
as high as and IS shillings for parrots
and other flying creatures, because birds
are not numerous i'm Santa Lucia.
But the difficulties developed later. Our
chief care was TO get the birds safely to
New York. AS we reached the latitude
of New Orleans the mcnagerie began TO
thin. The officers had fair accommoda-
tons for their birds. but the sailors had
only such rude comforts as the forecastle
could offer them, and theirs were called
"steerage" parrots and monkeys. Before
we reached New York more than half the
steerage monkeys and birds died. The
sea always rolls heavily off Hatteras,
and as the steamer tossed about in the
waves many Polly dropped his mead
and wings and babe a sad adieu to this
world
After the steamer arrived in New York
l remained three days on board. on the
invitation of the captain, and then 1t was
that | saw the disposal of the menagerie.
Early i'm the morning l heard the steward
bargaining with two men of distinctly
German accent. They were bird-dealers,
one from Sixth avenue and the other
from Blocker street. They had kindly
smiles on their faces, and looked at each
bird affectonately, but they had an eye
to business nevertheless. They knew
when a parrot was a talking parrot and
when he was a 'crow"-the trade YER
nacular for a dumb bird
For a Grow the price is only 30 or 10
cents; for talking parrots, the range Is
from S. to So other birds bring about 81
or so cents a pair. a monkey is valued
according TO his appearance. Throughout
the day bird-dealers come 10 strike bar
gains over the sailors these dealers
generally have the advantage. AS long
as the birds remain on board the steamer
they are in danger of sudden death. for
some reason or other; either the air is
too cold and damp of a spray of salt
water is dashed over the sensitive little
creatures and kills them. Sailors know
this by bitter experience, and are. there
fore, glad TO sell at any little profit
Some dealers are more liberal than
others and offer a fair price without
much haggling. / saw one sailor who was
delighted with the deal he had made He
had two fine monkeys and eight parrots.
The whole lot, counting in four that he
had lost, had cost him Sc. and he got so
from kindly disposed old German |
Sailors generally do well when they deal !
directly with the keepers OF stores, who
are chiefly Germans. reasonable fellows, !
and content when they make fair profit |
There are some agents or mddlemen who |
go about from steamer TO steamer and |
buy for the. dealers. They naturally Of |
fer smaller price. whenever sailor |
wants 10 give a man very Gao name, |
he calls him shark: II Is the vilest and |
lowest epithet he can think Of l was not |
surprised. therefore when / heard a sail
or call one OF these men bird shark.