A TRADERS LIFE ON THE CAMEROONS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2017, 11 June 1885, Page 4

A TRADERS LIFE ON THE CAMEROONS.

A cnKKi-M\>\i)h.\T of tlio Pall Mall (1 t/ette, who fm Home ycus has had the uuiugt'MUMit of n trading station on t he lianke of tin- Cunn'i «on>. Rivei, write* a» follow b of life in that p«i t of thu West Vfi icmiii roast : -Om factory here is a vetitable forties*. The sul»ati ucture is of stone and rises to a height of about ( idit feet from the gronnrl. This portion of the building is our inn in stoic room for valuables, inflammabl>'B, and exploiivcs ; and, as it may any moment ha\e to serve as a citadel, as it is window less. The door in of iron wood, biaced outside with iron and inside with heavy bnlks of timber ; and I fancy that it is substantial enough to resist a ball from a small fiold gun. On the top of the substructure is A strong wooden building ; the windows of which can be closed with thick shutters, and the roof of which is concreted, for coolness as well as for diyneas and general safety. Once a year I coat the whole house with fiie-proof paint; and you will understand that the precaution is a wUo one, when I tell you that I sleep over about half a ton of gunpowder, and that the natives are inclined to incendiarism. These fellows cause me never ceasing anxieties. We employ from fifty to n hundred of them, and they are a standing danger. lam obliged to be perpetually prowling about, by night as well ashy day, in order to ensure that nothing shall be stolen. It is necessary for me to chain tip any animal that I desire to keep. If I meiely tether it with a rope, it disappeais almost immediately, and I never sec it again. Yet even if the niggers would permit me to get an occasional undisturbed night's rest, the sandfl'es and other insects would keep me awake during the hours of darkness. There is absolutely no way of getting iid of these pest«, and they often wony me into temporary madness. There are snakes too I have almost forgotten to mention fever in the catalogue of the the many lesident evils ; but the fact is that fe\cr is so common that, practically, it beeom< s cluonie with most of the Europeans here. You can have it any number of tunes ; and, if it docs not stick to you indefinitely, it is liable to become periodic. A few minutes exposure to the evening mist brings it on. I think tint we should be le«s subject to it if we could live better ; bnt, since the place produces nothing edible save fi nit, we lmc to exist mainly upon si ips' provisions. The natives eat fish, but the local fish is poisonous to us. I have tried to crrow potatoes. The plni t tomes up, and the Inulms aic everything that one can wish ; but, al.n ! there are no tubers. I have also tried to grow i-orn. Again the plants cone up beautifully ; but there an 1 no etrx ; evei) thing runs to stiaw. I belie vr, hovvtvrr, that potatoes are now being successfully grown up in the lulls. The niggeif. here have all the ruder and roaisci vices. They work only w hen yon ovcilook them; and the labour of tm of them could be done bettei and moie speedily b) :i couple of whites. The other diy half a do/en of them struggled for live minutes to lift a barrel which two of m handled easily. And yet these niggers sometimes execute extraordinary feats; as when, for in stance, they have committed a robbeiy, and are imking o(F laden with booty. They ha\c little regard for the sanctity of human life, and will stab or shoot jou almost as soon as look at you. Trade has been very dull ever since the (iermnno came heie. Our saleable articles are cheap cottons, ruin, firearm", ammunition, gaudily-coloured coats and hats, kimes, Bcissois, brass rings, looking glnssep, boots, glass, pearls, and commoner heads, coral, earthenware, beer, sugar, tobacco, coal paints, and patent medicines. Cotton goods that on some paits of the coast are worth ten times their weight in gold, are here valueless Just now the people seem to like striped stuff in pieces of about si\ yards in length. The piace is divisible into six foi the purposes of barter. Most of om rum (which is of low strength, but not, I think, \ery unwholesome) comes from Marseilles and Hamburg 1 . Our powder, which is coarne grained and very inferior in quality, is packed in pat eels of 4 ! hs, lOlbs, and 141ba. The fue-arins which go to the natives are flint-locks ; and they arc specially nnde at Hiiminghnm for the trade. Their peculiarity consists in the mechanism being ctitiiely nude ot brass Steel heie rusts almost immudinttly, and of coutse the niggus have no idea of piopeily cleaning their weapons. A gun of this kind is worth about a gallon of rum, or twenty four yards of cotton, or fourteen pounds of powder. Its \ alne may be fo ir or fn c shillings. I do not permit a purchaser to fire the weapon w Inlo I am near him ; for I fancy tint the buisting chsigc is low, and the necessary dangers of my prst are so niuneious that I cannot nllord to expose myself to extra ones. I believe, how ever, that oui guns arc looked upon with particular favour by local connoisseurs. In exchange for these things we get ;:> psuin, rulphatc of mngniMn, suljihui, rock salt, it on, n«phalte, copper, lead, silver, and j:old dust among mineral pioducts ; and among animal pioducts, ivory, ostiich fca'lvjn, and hidmj the chief \ ego table pioducts boing manicc-ioot, coffee, cocoa, sugarcane, ginger, gtound nuts, pepper, palm oil, papyius shiubs, cocoa-fibre, and palm leaves. The three List are valuable for the tnanufiotuto of paper and rope. We also get indi.vinbber and gum copal. Trade is done chiefly by barter ; but we have some money transactions, and in these cases American gold coins are the medium of exchange. The business is in itself a very remunerative one ; but we occasionally suffer considerable losses, owing to the fact Hint we arc obliged to make advances to the native dealers. These fellows will go elsewhere if we do not humour them ; and, if we do humour them, they not unfreijiuntly got all they can out of us ami then dectmp. The Germans seem to be in high spirits about their new colony ; but, all things considered, I think that KngI,ut<] may be congratulated that she has been rclic\ed from the duty of holding and governing this fever stricken purgatoiy.