364 DICK SANDS» THE BOY CAFTAIN. ' In shrilly squeàky voices, children werè crying aeveiîl vârieties oT native drinks; banana-wine^ pômbi^ whidi; -whatever it was» seemed to be in great demand ; mahfooi a kind 6Ï béer compounded of bananas, and meàd, € mixture of honey and water, fermented with malt. But the most prominent feature in the whole market wàs the trâiiic in stuflfs and ivory. The pièces could be counted by thbusands of the unbleached mcrikani from Salem* m Massachusetts, of the blue cotton, Jkanikif thirty-four inches wide, and of the checked soAari, blue and Uack with its scarlet border. More expensive than thèse were lots of silk diu/is, with red, green, or yellow g^undsi which are sold in lengths of three 3rards, at priées var^ng from seven dollars to eighty, when they are interwoven with gold The îvory had come from well-nîgh every part of Central Africà, and was destined for Khartoom, Zanzibar^ and Natal, many of the marchants dealing in this commodité exclusively. How vast a number of éléphants must be slaughtered to Supply this îvory may be îmagined when it is remembered that over 200 tons, that is, 1,125,000 Ibs., are exportée! annually to Europe. Of this, much the larger share goes lo England, where the Sheffield cutlery consumes about 382,500 Ibs. From the West Coast of Africa alone the produce is nearly 140 tons. The average weight of a pair of tusks is 28 Ibs., and the ordinary value of thèse in 1874 would be about 60/.; but hère in Kazonndé were some weighing no less than 165 Ibs.j of that soft, translucent quality which retains its whitenesâ far better than the ivory from other sources. As already mentîoned, slaves are not unfrequently used as current money amongst the African traders, but the natives themselves usually pay for their goods with Venetian glass beads, of which the chalk-white are called tatchokolos^ the black bubulus^ and the red sikun-- deretches. Strung in ten rows, or khetésy thèse beads ars twisted twice round the neck, forming what is c^led à foondo^ which is always reckoned .of considérable value;
