The evening times., 1898-09-05
FAT BACON.
Its Brief Career rs "a Currency mt
Santiago.

From the London Mail)
We did not deliberately set 10 work
and discover currency. 1t discovered
itself We found ourselves falling into
the habit of bargaining in bacon Fat. A
man possessing a cooking tin. the bottom
of which was covered with bacon grease
discovered that he had something which
he could exchange for almost anything
obtainable. Bacon fat was an article of
general consumption and general need.
II had the first qualification of currency
it was at the same time exceedingly
useful and exceedingly scarce. Bacon,
especially fat bacon. fried in a pan over
"A wood fire has the faculty of producing
plenty of grease. but then when you are
up ar the front hungry and exhausted
you want all the bacon fat your bacon
produces 10 make your bread chewable.
SO ii happened that after a bacon meal
a man or a mess found no more bacon fat
left than could be scraped off the tin
with a teaspoon And at the same time
bacon fat WAS urgently needed wren
anything else but bacon was to be cooked.
Fried in il bareback became a delicacy.
With its assistance canned beef could be
made into a superb entree. Bacon TAT
was precious. scarce and ediDle- II met
10 perfection these three essential quail
fications OF a perfect currency, and WITH
out any formal agreement or even DIS
cussion of the subject. bacon fat began
Ia become a regular medium of exchange.
1t answered uncon1monly well Tor day
or two hut then. when some brlsh
marching had to - done it began TO
manifest fatal defects. In not clhate
II was not portable A man who had
amassed a considerable fortune in bacon
grease wrapped it carefully up in dollar
bills and other bits of odd paper ana
slowed il carefully in his knapsack. Bur
when. after a severe midday march, he
next went 10 his hoard 70 gloat over H.
or 10 dissipate some of 1t in luxurious
cookery. or To take away some ot II lot
the purchase of tobacco. he found 10 his
horror that his wealth. instead of IN
creasing. had wholly or partly melted
away. -.
I, was there in his knapsack. no doubt
,s ,be condition of the other things
showed. but instead of being in one COM
pact easily handled pile. IL was so thiniy
snread over a large area that IL was
homeless TO endeavor to gather II TO-
gether again as capital Moreover, bacon
fat in a climate so variable as that OF
Cuba is perishable, and when there came
sudden and great variations in the sup
plv II finally dropped out of use as Il
regular medium.
Bacon fat has failed but the need tor
currency remained. Boot laces were
tried with some little success. but there
were not enough of them, nor was the
demand universal. Then. quietly and
gradually. but surely and irresistibly
the commodity which was to take its
proud place as the universal medium be-
gan TO push itself by the force of its
undeniable merit 20 the front. A man
desiring bacon offered hardtack,
matches or a boot lace. No deal. He
was urning away when the man he had
approached said eagerly: Got any
chewing?' Yes. the first merchant still
possessed small remnant of bar of
chewing tobacco. An immediate deal.
Then one began to hear men going
round Offering all kinds OF things in ex-
change for chewing tobacco. The valve
OF the thing as currency began to be
recognized.