Adams] SHONTO I ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 183 



what more systematic accounting. Traders have tended to accept this 

 change grudingly at best, and the accomiting methods which they have 

 been driven to adopt are still those of the 19th century (see Carson, 

 1954). Keeping the books, such as they are, is likely to be regarded 

 as a headache which in theory should be mmecessary. It is probably 

 still true that most traders most of the time have only a very vague 

 idea as to whether they are making or losing money, and how much. 



The basic "books" of the modern trading post are the same as those 

 of the general merchant of the last century (Carson, 1954) : a cash 

 book to keep track of the amount of money actually on the premises, 

 a ledger in which debit and credit accounts are laboriously posted 

 from month to month, and a day sheet on which each day's trans- 

 actions are faithfully recorded. In the latter case it is no longer 

 necessary to enter cash sales, since the cash register tape nowadays 

 records and sums these automatically. 



Keeping these few books is still part of the nightly routine for 

 every trader. The modem store's accounting does not end here, 

 however. Day sheets and other books, together with receipts, invoices, 

 canceled checks, and all records are turned over to an accountmg firm 

 nowadays, and it is the latter rather than the trader which actually 

 keeps track of the business. The demands of modern business account- 

 ing are for the most part beyond the experience of traders even 

 today, and it is probable that few of them could operate without the 

 assistance of accounting firms. 



THE BUSINESS CYCLE 



It is inevitable that seasonality and cyclic repetition characterize 

 the economy of the trading post no less than that of the Navaho com- 

 mmiity which it serves (see "The Economic Cycle," pp. 141-145). 

 Since both live largely from hand to mouth, the condition of the one 

 necessarily reflects that of the other, and the trader's wholesale ac- 

 counts payable mirror his retail accounts receivable. The sketch of the 

 amiual economy of Shonto community given in an earlier chapter 

 (pp. 94-148) may therefore serve equally well to describe the annual 

 economy of Shonto Trading Post. AVlien Navahos are making money 

 the store is making money; similarly when Navahos are living on 

 credit the store is living on credit. 



Figures compiled in 1954 indicate that Shonto Trading Post actu- 

 ally shows an operating profit only during the 6 months from May 

 to October. During this period nearly 75 percent of the store's total 

 annual gross is received. From November to April, costs and accounts 

 receivable consistently exceed receipts from all sources. 



Above and beyond the repetitive annual cycle, trading posts are 

 highly sensitive to the larger cycles of inflation and depression which 

 affect retail trade everywhere. The number of variables affecting the 



