752 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



salt, and knickknacks in exchange for their palm-oil, nuts, and 

 ivory. The Europeans, of course, do not fail to make the bargains 

 profitable to themselves. The unit of values is the " kru," and 

 represents the quantity of goods which the man will receive for a 

 definite quantity of his products. It is a very indefinite standard ; 

 for a kru of salt is not worth as much as a kru of cloth, and thus 

 it varies according to the kind of goods in question. It may be 

 rated at about twenty marks German. There are also the " kek," 

 or the quarter-kru, and the " bar," or twentieth of a kru ; whence 

 apparently the kru may in the beginning have represented the 

 English pound. 



The exchange of his products keeps the Cameroons man very 

 busy. He usually spends the day at the factory in bargaining. 

 For the goods which he has actually brought for the satisfaction 

 of his immediate wants, he usually receives a ticket or " book " ; 

 and this little paper is the one thing in the world for which he 

 has a real respect, and by which he will swear. He can not read 

 it, but he has learned that on presenting it he will receive what 

 has been promised him. The mystery of this process seems to 

 him a real enchantment, and he regards it accordingly ; and the 

 awe with which it inspires him is extended to all writing. 



The objects offered in the factories are not produced by the 

 Cameroons man. He is too idle for that, and prefers to be a 

 middle-man. He buys the goods in " the bush," on such terms as 

 to give him a tremendous profit in the whole transaction. In fact, 

 he cheats the bushman, and because of it conceives a great con- 

 tempt for him, which he expresses by calling every one whom he 

 regards as dull a bushman. 



From time to time the Cameroons man leaves his home, pro- 

 visions his canoe, and, taking some of his wives with him, is rowed 

 by his slaves into the bush, where he has his appointed trading 

 posts and purveyors. When his boat or boats are filled, he re- 

 turns to the Cameroons in grand style, and celebrates the end of 

 his expedition with a feast. 



The Cameroons man is also a sportsman on the water. The 

 canoe is an exceedingly unstable craft when an inexperienced man 

 is trying to manage it, but the blacks handle it with great skill, 

 and, whether it be a large boat carrying many persons (some of 

 them have capacity for sixty), or built for himself alone, he pro- 

 pels it swiftly, safely, and accurately. A canoe skimming over 

 the water in the panoply of war offers an attractive sight. The 

 boats are handsomely painted in gay colors, and have artistic 

 figure-heads, chiefly representing birds or men, or creatures of 

 fancy. The crew sit on the sides and propel it by dexterous 

 manipulations of the paddles, which they hold with one hand at 

 the end of the handle, and the other close down by the blade ; and 



