The Republican journal., 1900-03-15
Ocean Peddlers.
Trading Vessels That Go to Out-of-the-Way
Corners of the World.

| Corners of the World.
The man with a pack on his back.
trudging from village to village and offer
ing for sale at cottage and farmhouse
miscellaneous collection Of wares, has
his counterpart in the ocean pedd er, rang
ing in size from schooner trading among
the islands Of the Pacific to steamer Of
one or two thousand tons burden.
The ocean peddler starts out from Ham
burg or San Francisco, the chief home
ports of the trade, with a definite object
in view. Sailing from the former city the
the course is generally laid either to the
coast of Africa or South America, having
in the hold a varied assortment of goods
likely to be marketable IN the regions
visited cotton fabrics. trinkets, arms.
ammunition, liquors, and all spare room
( filled up with coal.
AS the largest profits are often derived
from the sale of contraband goods, such
as munitions of war, to insurgent bodies,
and as detection by regular authorities
would lead to contiscation, several thou
sand rounds of cartridges are probably
done up in innocent looking cases stamp
ed Canned Beef and few stands of
discarded German army rifles in packages
labeled ''Glass, With Care.''
The captain of such vessel must pos
sess not only ability as a navigator, but an
expert knowledge of the requirements of
his trade in addition to plausible tongue
wherewith to barter and win over the good
will of an ill disposed official. If he d oes
not own an interest in the ship it is gener-
ally required that he shall in her cargo.
Trudging along over the ocean at a
seven or eight-kn gait, saving his coal
as much as possibl the peddler opens his
trade by casting anchor in, say, a South
or Central American port, when, having
| squared the commandante, he invites
merchants and others on board to inspect
| his stock Duty, of course, has to be paid
by the purchaser, but in certain cases that
difficulty is often overcome by the visitor
to the ship going ashore swollen out,
perhaps, TO three times his normal size by
as many new suits of clothing.
The greatest good fortune that can fall
in the way of all ocean peddler is for an
American or British man of war to put
into some out Of the-Way port in which
he is lying, short of coal. Then from his
spare stock he sells few hundred tons at
as hard a bargain as the necessity of the
purchaser permits him to drive.
On the Central American coast the ped
dler usually times his visit at about the
opening of the coffee season, that is, early
in the new year, SO that when he has sold
out his wares he is able to load up almost
to the water line with the principal export
of the country
That the ocean peddiing trade is not
without its dangers is illustrated by
story told by a mate Of one of those YES
sells. In order to preserve his respectable
| al
times stored in places likely to escape the
vigilant eye of the custom officers, and, in
the case in question, the mates bunk was
chosen as the safest repository for certain
packages of dynamite consigned to the
leaders of a Nicaraguan revolution. All
went well until the night before the ship
was due to arrive at her destination,
| when a thunder storm occurred = the
lightning played about the masts in an
alarming manner. The mate confessed
that the idea of turning in upon a bed of
dynamite under such circumstances was
not conducive to peaceful repose, even to
one accustomed to sleep through all man
! ner Of dangers, but with the reflection
that if flash found its way to his bunk
he would not be likely to be made aware Of
the fact he slumbered serenely through
his watch below, and next day delivered
the canned tomatoes safely to the con
signee.
The ocean peddling trade on the Pacific
has been shorn of much of its profit since
the inter island passenger traffic in natives,
who too often were carried as passengers
much against their will, to dive for pearls
on the great Australian bank, has been
| etfectualiy suppressed. Still consider
able trade is carried on in small articles
nj n af1y, old n1nthas twin
cts and an occasional case Of "dry goods, +"
which if seized, would turn out to be re-
markedly wet. New York Sun.