Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], September 15, 1907, Image 40

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
SHELL MONEY
O"^""\l'' the countless thousands who han
dle the dollars that come shining
_ from the different mints, very few
IMMUjB think of any other sort of money,
tOBBIt an( j know little or nothing of the
money-cowrie in use, not only in oilier lands,
but in our own.
The money-cowrie is the shell known as the
"cyprooe moneta." It is about half an inch in
length, and Is found along the sea shore in
shallow water. It belongs to the cypolida,
a family of molluaks, and for hundreds of
years has figured as money in various coun
tries.
The true home of the cowrie is the Indian
Ocean, where it is found in great quantities;
but it is to be gathered among the Maldive
Islands, along the Malabar coast and in the
crystal waters of Borneo. It exists in some
parts of Africa, and annually furnishes large
numbers' for ejtport trade.
The cowrie-shell is used as money in Siam,
where it takes six thousand pieces to equal a
shilling.
Thousands of tons of cowries are brought
yearly to England and are afterward export
ed for barter with the warlike tribes of
Africa. No African explorer sets out from
Zanzibar without many pounds of cowrie
m»ney. Not only this, but he must be par
ticular what kinds he takes, for one tribe
will not accept shells of a certain color, while
the very next nation visited might refuse to
look at any but those rejected by their
neighbors.
Stanley and his forerunners speak of the
t trouble encountered when it came to select
ing their supply of shell-money for the dark
tribes of Africa.
In the lands that border on the African
The Sirocco
(Copyright by James ElYereon.)
S' I OME years ago the writer hap
pened to be on board a ship which
was lying in the harbor of Algiers,
WHEW! a port which is formed by an
M6«t3l artificial breakwater, projected
some distance into the water of
a bight, or shallow bay, of the Barbary
coast.
It wag the month of June, and already
very hot, with light, variable winds.
Suddenly, in the night, the wind came out
from the southward and eastward, blowing
in strong blasts of from five to fifteen min
utes' duration, when the air seemed as dry
and parching as if it had come from a fiery
furnace.
It did, indeed, come from the far interior
of the Dark Continent, where it had been
heated by the fierce sun, reflected from the
arid soil and rocks, which no rain had cool
ed for months.
This most disagreeable wind was the si
rocoo, so much dreaded in those parts, not
only for'its disagreeable effect upon man and
beast, but upon the products of the soil, for
all vegetation seems to suffer from it, even
when there is irrigation.
The sirocco we speak of was a short one,
and lasted only about twenty-four hours;
but sometimes they continue for many days,
and the town Arabs, as well as foreign resi
dents, who have thick walled houses, gener
ally shut themselves up as much as possible
during its continuance in the lowest and
darkest rooms, while servants are kept busy
sprinkling water upon the tiled floors and
The Buck of
Broken Bend
CONTINUED FROM PAGE IfOOR
gusted because the hound had followed the
runway to the stream, but with no deer.
The boy waa feeling hopeless, and was be
ginning to believe in Grandmother Lafoun
tain's fancies, when he was again made alert
• by the report of Antoine's rifle.
As he glanced up the river from where
came the noise of the discharge, the buck
dashed into sight around the river's curve.
Pierre was hidden by the bushes, and he
waited until the deer reached a ppint in the
channel just opposite him before he fired.
The musket was very heavily loaded, and
it was a moment before the boy recovered
from the recoil and blinding smoke. When he
did, he saw the dead buck floating in one of
the' tranquil pool" in *. ne river's channel.
Antoine now came in sight, and the two
boys dragged the deer to the bank. Antoine
hastened to the camp, and returned with a
horse and sled, with which to carry their
prize to the shanty.
No larger deer was ever seen m that re
gion, and the great antlers were so especially
fine that Pierre had no trouble, during
the next summer, in disposing of them to a
The story of the "Buck of Broken Bend"
and his capture was long told, to, the great
satisfaction of Pierre and Antoino, but the
reputation for wisdom of Grandmother La
fountain was much damaged.
When the buck was brought to the lumbei
camp, Jules was greatly moved.
"I nm sorry, he exclaimed, that you did
not let me know what you were coing to do,
for I should liked to have been with you. For
I, too, had intended to guard the runway in
the woods, and not upon the river!"
BOYS AND GIRLS MAGAZINE SECTION
coast the money shells are fastened together
in strings that contain from forty to one hun
dred each, but in the interior they are doled
out one by one, the native closely watching
them as they change hands.
Barth, the traveler, mentions that in Muni
yona, the king's revenue was reckoned at
thirty million shells, and such was the grind
ing taxation imposed upon his subjects by
the monarch, that every man was forced to
pay annually one thousand shells for him
self and a -like amount for every slave in his
possession. You- can buy more in the heart
of the Dark Continent with a few cowries
than with a handful of gold.
In the Soudan there is scarcely any other
kind of money. It requires two thousand
cowrie-shells to weigh seven pounds, and their
value is but one dollar.
In the Sandwich Islands shell-money has
long been in use. There, the finer the cow
rie the higher its value, and the finest cannot
be indulged in by any person but a chief.
The shell is used as money, both strung and
unstrung.
In some localities so many cowries on a
string have a certain value above the same
number unstrung. Strung cowries remind
one of the pierced coins of the Chinese; but
with their soft tints and glowing colors when
polished, they are far more beautiful.
The famous wampum of the North Ameri
can Indians was their currency, or shell
money. It differed from the cowrie-money
of Africa and India, because it required a
good deal more skill to render it useful as a
means of exchange. The Indian's wampum
was beads made from shells. Its value, like
that of the cowrie in many countries today,
was determined by the color of the beads.
Wampum was manufactured from the dark
purple shells of the mussel, which abound on
upon mats hung over the doorways, to afford
a little moisture to the atmosphere of the
apartments. Some who have cellars or
vaults take to them as the most comforta
ble places.
Sever.il persons on board ship were awak
ened from sleep by the peculiar state of the
atmosphere, and actually supposed them-
Helveß in a high fever; but the most re
markable effect of the sirocco was in bring
ing from the interior a wonderful flight of
locusts, which continued for hours ; begin
ning in the early morning and lasting well
toward the sunset.
The immense quantity of these insects
was simply marvelous. We should call them
grasshoppers, such as ravage our Western
plains at times, and are recorded as doing
damage, from the earliest times, in the
On this occasion the furious hot blasts
brought them in such numbers that the wa
ter of the harbor was sown thick with
them, in some places several inches deep,
and the fish came in from sea in shoals and
devoured them until they could _ eat no
more, and yet they appeared as thick upon
the Rurfaee as ever.
The ship's rigging and desk were covered
with them, and it was really necessary to
be careful that the eyes were not injured as
they were driven in the faces of those whose
duty required them to be about.
Men were kept at work sweeping them up
and throwing them overboard by the buck
etful, and yet the white and carefully holy
stoned planks were stained and greased, be
cause it was impossible to avoid stepping on
them.
CoOn HuntWQ In Ye Olden Time
CONTINUED FItOM PAGB FIVE
heart almost ceased to beat, as, stretching out
flat almost motionless on the projecting limb,
I saw the dusky body and great head of an
enormous panther, or catamount, as the
country hunters call it.
I could scarcely believe my eyes — not one
of these dangerous animals having been
killed or seen in the neighborhood for years
— but there was no mistake about it.
The leaping flames shone upon the lithe
form and cruel green eyes of a veritable
"painter;" and, although a little awe-stricken
at our unexpected find, we were two happy
boys, for was not the government bounty
twenty dollars, the hide of the beast worth
an equal sum, and the glory to be gained by
it" capture something immeasureable by dol
lars and cents?
We didn't exactly attempt to cut down the
tree this time — not much; but I Bent Tom
off home post haste for my rifle aud ammu
nition, giving him strict charge to wake up
no one, and, as he valued his life, not to let a
soul know of our good luck.
While my comrade was gone, I kept up
a big fire and took precious good care that
Carlo and myself were always beyond the
reach of any possible spring the watchful
but yet motionless beast might make.
Only once in my life have I thought any
two Lours sb long as those which passed
while I stood .guard over that panther and
waited, for Tom— the "once" being a fearful
our west coasts, and in the course of time,
as the tribes traded with one another, the
shells found their way all over the country.
The most common clam of the southern
shores of New England is the Venus mcoen
aria, called in the Boston markets "quahog."
This shell often has an interior purple edge,
the rest being of a whitish hue.
The Indians of New England made "Hack
money" from the colored portion, and "white
money" from the other part. They called
the black beads "Buukanhoc," or blaok mon
ney, and the white ones "wampum," or white
money.
The dark shells had twice the value of the
white as currency, and, in consequence, were
more Hought after. In the course of time
shell money became a medium between whites
and Indians, and the humble salary of many
a Puritan minister was paid in wampum.
According to Governor Winthrop, the value
of wampum, or shell-money, was three to a
penny. The island of Conanicut, in Narra
ganset Bay, was sold to Coddington and
others, in 1C57, for one hundred pounds in
wampum. Before that date Connecticut re
ceived wampum in payment of taxes, and
Massachusetts made the shells a legal tender
at six a penny.
Of course, there was no wampum mints
in those days. Everybody was his own
money-maker. The Indian villages turned
out thousands of shell coins; men, women
and children were busy at all hours making
the money which seemed to have superseded
pounds, shillings and pence.
By-and-by the whites took a linnd at
money-making. They had better tools than
the Indians, but they did not bestow upon
their work that care which had given to the
wampum bead much of its value, conse
quently this odd currency deteriorated.
Op the beach, to the south of the bay, the
water washed them up upon the sand in
great wind-rows, extending for miles, and
birds, pigs and even dogs could plainly be
seen gorging themselves upon the insects,
without apparently reducing the quantity.
We know that in Africa and Arabia, as
well as other parts of the world, the natives
consider the locust rather a delicacy, after
they are toasted upon the fire, which en
ables them to strip off the wings and legs;
and, when we come to consider the matter,
there seema to be no reason why locusts
should not be good eating, when so cooked.
They are clean feeders^-much more so
than shrimps or crabs, which people eat so
readily, and which are regular scavengers,
eating any garbage or dead thing they may
find in the waters they inhabit.
The sirocco is called Khamsin in Egypt,
simoon in Syria and Arabia, and harmat
tan on the west African coast. In very
sandy parts of the Great Desert the sirocco
is frightfully destructive to the lives_ of men
or animals who may be caught in it.
A caravan of men and camels can, in
such a case, do nothing but crouch down,
the human beings covering their faces with
their garments, and the quadrupeds endeav
oring to hide their nostrils, bo as to avoid
inhaling the heated dust often with poor
success.
Not the worst part of it is that the dry,
hot wind causes the scant supply of water
to be sooner exhausted, cither by rapid
evaporation or by cracking the vessels of
skin in which this necessary of life is car
ried by such people.
night when I was lashed in the rigging of a
wrecked schooner, with the ice-cold waters
of Lake Michigan breaking over me.
At last, just as the first gray streaks of
dawn appeared in the .east, I heard Tom
coming; and when he placed the trusty rifle
in my hands, I felt, for the first time, that I
was master of the situation.
Yet we delayed for awhile, as the mixed
light of the flickering fire and advancing day
was too uncertain to shoot by, and I knew
enough of the cat tribe to take every pre
caution that my first bullet should kill our
formidable foe stone dead.
Half an hour of anxious suspense follow
ed; the rising sun dispelled the deep gloom of
the forest, and the crouching panther began
to stir a little.
His haunches were slightly drawn up, his
hind claws nervously tore the bark under
him, and he was evidently preparing either
for attack or escape. .
There was not another moment ¦to lose;
and, slowly raining my long rifle, I took care^
ful aim at a spot just below, and a little in
front of, his ear, and touched the trigupr.
A sharp report, a raising of the hair along
his back, a strong shudder of the whole
body, a sudden drooping of his head, a gen
eral relaxing of the muscles, and then, loos
ing his hold of the limb, the panther came
tumbling to the ground, dead as Julius
Caesar, while two boys and a half-crazy dog
awoke the echoes with their mingled e'houts
and howls of triumph.
Why, the burghers of "New Amsterdam.,
eager to get rich suddenly, flooded their pa:
of the country with wampum of their ow
make. Nearly every house became a mint, t
to speak, but the experience did not las
They attempted to widen their money-marki
by carrying the shells to New England, b.l
they found: the Puritans well supplied, a»i
they were soon poor, with heaps of' she?
money on hand. To such an extent did tt
whites carry on the manufacture of wampui
that both Massachusetts and Oonnecticii
had to legislate against "bad, false and i*>
finished wampum.
Such was shell-money in the early days t
the eastern colonies. On the west coai
shells were used as money long before tl
arrival of the first white man.
The wampum of the Pacific was ma<
from tusk'shells, which are still found .
enormous quantities .on Vancouver's IslaU
The "hi-a-qua," or tusk-shell, was strung S
the squaws, who did their work well, ai
the value of the shells depended on t*
length of the string. As late as 1810 thj<
were the circulating medium of the Vanco
ver country.
It is amusing to read that there were she}
money aristocrats among the several trib«
The maiden whose father was the proud pr
sessor of a few strings of beads, er tul
shells, was the envied belle of the villa,
and the suitor who expected success with 1
courtship was expected to be rich in tut
shells.
Of late years shell-money has disappear*
from the financial markets of our oy
country, but in Africa, India and other lan
it remains one of the great purchasing po'
rs. and nothing but persistent intercour
with civilized people will ever cause it
disappear.
The wells, too, are often filled up by tl
sand, and if the suffering people mahage i
last to reach such spots, they hart> som
times not sufficient strength to diw^mt tl
sand, and then to wait while the* precioi
fluid slowly trickles in.
As for the hormatlan, which general!
blows from the east, out upon the Atlant
from the Great Desert, it is wonderful ha
far its effects are felt — not as to strengfc
for the hot air seems to rise into upper r
gions, but because it carries a fine dust t
far.
I was once on board a vessel which was S
sea, between the Canary and Cape Veres
Islands, and at least one hundred and twei
ty miles from the coast of the Desert, whe^
with a light easterly breeze, the decks ate
rigging were fairly powdered with a fin#
reddish dust, which must have come trtni
the source we have mentioned.
It is a remarkable thing that the smell r
vegetation, and of the earth itself, is, und< I
certain conditions, carried seaward by tl I
wind much farther than people who ha
not experienced it would suppose.
The writer recalls that once, on approacS
ing the coast of Java, after having bee!
seventy-two days nt sea without sight A
land, a gentle evening land breeze brouga
off to us the grateful odor of flowemy
shrubs and of the damp earth at a distant
of six or eight miles.
Dogs, and other animals which have be«
on board ship during long passages, ofti I
become excited, and look and sniff in tfl
direction of land which is not far off befqf
it can be made out by_ human eyes, oft!
anxiously watching for it.
Funny Fellows
for a Little Laugh
—First Boy— "Let's put our money togethe '
and go to the circus."
Second Boy— "All right. How much htLvi i
you got?
First Boy— "Nothing. How much have
you? r
Second Boy— "Same as you. I say let'
crawl under the tent."
• • •
—Ben— "My father's been to Europe am
your s hasn t.
Tim— "He don't want to go, and neither d\r
I. Ive seen all I want of Europe."
Ben (in surprise)— " When did you see Ku4
rone?"
Tim— "ln the geography."
—A cheap substitute.— Wife— "Well, what do
you think Johnny wants now?"
Husband— "l've no idea."
Wife— "He wants me to tease you into buy' 1
ing him a bicycle."
Husband (who has tried bicycling himself)-/ 1
"Nonsense! He can't have one. Tell him 6 }
go up into the attic and fall down two flightVA
of stairs. It will be about the same thinrfN
and save me a hundred dollars."
* ' /
— First young lady (examining directory in)
drug store) — "I cannot find the name in thif
directdry, Ethel."
Second young lady— "No » What shall we.
do t"
First young lady— "Let us go to another]
drug store and examine their directory."
—Father— "Didn't I tell you I would whip)
you if I caught you in the water again?"
. Son— "Yes, sir; and that's the reason I hurj
ried out when I saw you coming." '. .