The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-04-27
ALASKAN FINANCIERS.
The Indians Generally Succeed in Not
Getting Left I'm
Bargain.

The Indians had plenty of money, for
they had earlier in the season sold meat
and dogs at exorbitant prices. In n
general way they knew its value, but
they priced silver very highly. When
they wanted to drive good bargain
they always specified that the price was
10 be paid in ''silyer 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-
unit of value and the Indians have not
yet learned how to place them.
One of the Indians named Bailey tried
to purchase rifle 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
Selllirk l traded a new pair of trousers
for 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 a
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
soemnly shaking his head said: NO
good!"
Then he laid down the trousers and
walked over to where the caribou skin
hung and made a motion to pull ii
down. Mac promptly interfered and
it looked as if there was going to be
fight then and there, for the Indian
seemed bent on repudiating the ex-
change. Thinking. however, he 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-
feet in the trousers. 1t was fiim-fiam
game, pure and simple, and we showed
that Indian the door in way that sur
prised him.
The Indians have one uniform bust
ness rule in their dealings with white
men. They raise their price when OPP
portunity offers, but they never come
down. Snowshoes at 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 mo sell um' raised the
price by fves to $40, and then the wom-
an told the other Indians that white
men give $40 for 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