The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-02-24
ALASKAN FINANCIERs.
The Indians Generally Succeed In Not
Getting Left In
BarRain-

The Indians had plenty of money. for
they had earlier in the season sold meat
and dogs at exorbitant prices. In y
general way they knew its value, but
they prized silver very highly. When
they wanted to drive a good bargain
they always specified that the price was
to be paid in ''silver money" and SINH
larly they hated TO part with their
plunkers. They seemed relieved when
we accepted their gold pieces at par
and when they got silver money in
change they tried hard TO conceal their
satisfaction for fear We would find out
the mistake we had made in parting
with it.
There are very Few pennies in circula-
tion on the Yukon, the bit being the
unit of value, and the Indians have not
yet learned how TO place them.
One of the Indians named Bailey tried
to purchase a rife with six cents he had
in some way accumulated.
The Indians are suspicious in their
bargains and afraid OF being cheated
and in our desire to do the square thing
by them we suffered financially. In
stead of getting many times the value
of the article sold, the price received
for the better class of things, as rule,
was below the real value.
The Indians are honest in their way
but not moral. Early in our stay at
SelL-irE ,roJaJ q naxr mir ~ trouSerS
for a caribou skin, that we might sleep
the more comfortably at night. 1t took
the Indian nearly two hours TO COM
plete the bargain, and he had thumbed
over the trousers in the meanwhile till
they looked as If they had had a weeks
wear and discussed something like
hundred permutations and combina-
tions with all the other articles Of our
property he could see or imagine. He
got nothing to boot that way, however.
The next day an entirely different In
dian came to the cabin with the trous-
ers on his arm and very serious ex-.
preston on his face. He turned them
over and over and finally pointed out
some very minute flaws in the cloth and
solemnly shaking his head said; NO
goodl"
Then he laid down the trousers and
walked over to where the caribou skin
hung and made a motion TO pull il
down. Mac promptly interfered and
it looked as if there was going to be
fight theQ and there. for the Indian
seemed bent on repudiating the ex-
change. Thinking, however, be had
carried his bluff far enough, the In
dian suggested that Macs hat suited
him very well and intimated if he would
give him that he would overlook the de-
iect in the trousers. 1t was a fiim-fam
game, pure and simple, and we showed
that Indian the door in way that sur
prised him.
The Indians have one uniform busi-
ness rule in their dealings with white
men. They raise their price when op-
portunity offers, but they never come
down. Snowshoes al the Pelly are now
$40 a pair because white man with
more money than brains tried to buy
from an Indian woman pair which did
not belong to her.
He offered her ten dollars first. and
when she said NO sell um" raised the
price by fives to $40. and then the wom-
an told the other Indians that white
men give $40 Tor snowshoes and the
price has been that ever since.
We had previously bought two pairs
of snowshoes for S25. and the Indians
came around and tried 10 collect the
difference. When we refused TO pay
and turned them out. they seemed TO
think they had been cheated.-Forest
and Stream.