"Milk to sell for beads or salt!" "Salt to
exchange for lance-heads!" "Coffee, coffee, going cheap for red beads!"
"Butter for five jenettos (red beads) [These were given to me by Speke
at Gondokoro] a lump!"
The butter was invariably packed in a plantain leaf, but frequently the
package was plastered with cow dung and clay, which, when dry, formed a
hard coating, and protected it from the air; this gave it a bad flavour,
and we returned it to the dealer as useless. A short time after, he
returned with fresh butter in a perfectly new green leaf, and we were
requested to taste it. Being about the size and shape of a cocoa-nut,
and wrapped carefully in a leaf with only the point exposed, I of course
tasted from that portion, and approving the flavour, the purchase was
completed. We were fairly cheated, as the butter dealer had packed the
old rejected butter in a fresh leaf, and had placed a small piece of
sweet butter on the top as a tasting point. They constantly attempted
this trick.
As retailers they took extraordinary pains to divide everything into
minimum packets, which they sold for a few beads, always declaring that
they had only one packet to dispose of, but immediately producing
another when that was sold. This method of dealing was exceedingly
troublesome, as it was difficult to obtain supplies in any quantity.
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