﻿THE 
  GEOGRAPHY 
  OF 
  OUR 
  FOREIGN 
  TRADE 
  

  

  By 
  Frederick 
  Simpich 
  

  

  Author 
  of 
  "Where 
  Adam 
  and 
  Eve 
  Lived," 
  "Mystic 
  Nedjef, 
  the 
  Shia 
  Mecca," 
  "The 
  Rise 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  

   Arab 
  Nation," 
  "Along 
  Our 
  Side 
  of 
  the 
  Mexican 
  Border," 
  "Every-Day 
  L-ife 
  in 
  Afghanistan," 
  etc. 
  

  

  OCEAN 
  trade 
  began 
  on 
  that 
  event- 
  

   ful 
  day 
  when 
  restless, 
  primitive 
  

   man, 
  piling 
  his 
  surplus 
  grain 
  and 
  

   skins 
  into 
  his 
  baggala, 
  hoisted 
  his 
  clumsy 
  

   mat 
  sail 
  and 
  put 
  to 
  sea, 
  venturing 
  away 
  

   to 
  visit 
  and 
  barter 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  on 
  

   that 
  distant, 
  unknown 
  isle 
  whose 
  peaks 
  

   he 
  could 
  discern 
  on 
  clear 
  days 
  from 
  the 
  

   heights 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  coast 
  home. 
  

  

  What 
  a 
  picture 
  to 
  conjure 
  with 
  — 
  that 
  

   first 
  "sailing 
  day" 
  ! 
  

  

  How 
  fascinating 
  to 
  visualize 
  that 
  mud- 
  

   walled 
  village 
  sprawling 
  along 
  a 
  palm- 
  

   fringed 
  coast,*' 
  with 
  a 
  wailing 
  group 
  of 
  

   half-nude, 
  shapely 
  brown 
  women, 
  bizarre 
  

   in 
  jangling 
  anklets, 
  shell 
  beads, 
  and 
  ham- 
  

   mered 
  earrings, 
  calling 
  wildly 
  to 
  the 
  stars 
  

   to 
  save 
  their 
  men 
  from 
  the 
  perils 
  of 
  the 
  

   sea 
  ; 
  timid, 
  wondering 
  children 
  ; 
  bearded, 
  

   turbanned 
  old 
  croakers 
  of 
  the 
  tribe 
  sagely 
  

   predicting 
  calamity 
  for 
  the 
  foolhardy 
  

   voyageurs. 
  

  

  Then 
  followed 
  weeks 
  of 
  despair 
  among 
  

   the 
  wives, 
  and 
  finally 
  the 
  triumphal 
  re- 
  

   turn 
  of 
  the 
  sailors, 
  their 
  crude 
  craft 
  piled 
  

   high 
  with 
  strange, 
  delicious 
  new 
  foods 
  

   and 
  odd 
  woven 
  stuffs. 
  Perhaps 
  there 
  

   were 
  Bahrein 
  pearls, 
  amber, 
  and 
  beautiful 
  

   slave 
  girls 
  for 
  the 
  master's 
  harem, 
  and 
  

   thrilling 
  tales 
  to 
  tell 
  of 
  great 
  adventure, 
  

   new 
  gods 
  and 
  new 
  life 
  on 
  far 
  shores 
  — 
  

   the 
  beginnings 
  of 
  geography! 
  

  

  THE 
  SEA-TRADER 
  IS 
  THE 
  PRACTICAL 
  

   GEOGRAPHER 
  

  

  To 
  me, 
  sea-traders 
  have 
  always 
  seemed 
  

   such 
  practical 
  geographers. 
  

  

  Columbus 
  and 
  Magellan 
  were 
  the 
  kings 
  

   of 
  explorers, 
  of 
  course 
  ; 
  Drake 
  and 
  Haw- 
  

   kins 
  were 
  gentlemanly 
  pirates 
  ; 
  Peary 
  and 
  

   Scott 
  courageous 
  scientists, 
  whom 
  the 
  

   world 
  is 
  proud 
  to 
  honor. 
  

  

  But 
  the 
  sea-trader 
  ! 
  Whether 
  he 
  runs 
  

   his 
  own 
  foul 
  little 
  tramp 
  schooner 
  or 
  sits 
  

   in 
  New 
  York 
  or 
  London 
  and 
  directs 
  a 
  

   great 
  merchant 
  fleet, 
  he 
  must 
  know 
  not 
  

   only 
  his 
  map, 
  his 
  ports, 
  his 
  winds, 
  cur- 
  

   rents, 
  and 
  climates, 
  but 
  his 
  people, 
  their 
  

  

  * 
  Tradition 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  Phoenicians 
  or 
  the 
  

   tribes 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  shore 
  of 
  the 
  Persian 
  Gulf 
  

   were 
  probably 
  the 
  world's 
  first 
  sea-traders. 
  

  

  politics, 
  their 
  products, 
  needs, 
  whims 
  and 
  

   manners, 
  their 
  language 
  and 
  their 
  preju- 
  

   dices. 
  

  

  How 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  once 
  blank 
  spaces 
  on 
  

   the 
  map 
  have 
  been 
  filled 
  in 
  for 
  us, 
  not 
  

   only 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  names 
  and 
  locations 
  of 
  

   towns, 
  mountains, 
  and 
  rivers, 
  but 
  also 
  as 
  

   regards 
  the 
  true 
  characteristics 
  of 
  a 
  peo- 
  

   ple, 
  by 
  the 
  world's 
  great 
  traders, 
  like 
  the 
  

   fur-buyers 
  and 
  the 
  tea 
  merchants 
  ! 
  How 
  

   intimately 
  many 
  a 
  Yankee 
  trade 
  scout 
  

   knows 
  his 
  world 
  map 
  !■ 
  

  

  THE 
  ROMANCE 
  OE 
  GEOGRAPHY 
  IN 
  THE 
  

   PURCHASE 
  OE 
  HAIR 
  

  

  In 
  Hamburg 
  recently 
  I 
  met 
  a 
  breezy 
  

   man 
  who 
  owns 
  a 
  brush 
  factory 
  in 
  Brook- 
  

   lyn. 
  

  

  "We 
  make 
  brushes 
  for 
  teeth, 
  type- 
  

   writers, 
  hats, 
  horses, 
  or 
  shoes, 
  or 
  to 
  paint 
  

   anything 
  from 
  a 
  miniature 
  to 
  a 
  barn," 
  he 
  

   told 
  me. 
  "I'm 
  off 
  now 
  to 
  Russia 
  to 
  look 
  

   for 
  pigs' 
  bristles 
  or 
  horses' 
  tails. 
  Get 
  in 
  ? 
  

   Of 
  course 
  ! 
  I'll 
  get 
  in 
  by 
  Riga 
  or 
  Odessa, 
  

   unless 
  the 
  Bolsheviks 
  drive 
  me 
  back. 
  If 
  

   they 
  do, 
  I'll 
  go 
  around 
  by 
  Vladivostok, 
  

   or 
  go 
  up 
  to 
  Peking 
  and 
  try 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  

   via 
  Kalgan 
  and 
  Urga. 
  

  

  "Last 
  week 
  I 
  had 
  to 
  hire 
  an 
  airplane 
  

   to 
  get 
  to 
  Warsaw, 
  and 
  maybe 
  I'll 
  have 
  

   to 
  do 
  it 
  again. 
  But 
  I'll 
  get 
  into 
  Russia 
  

   somehow. 
  

  

  "The 
  boys 
  in 
  our 
  New 
  York 
  office 
  call 
  

   me 
  the 
  Russian 
  Hair 
  Hound, 
  because 
  if 
  

   there's 
  any 
  good, 
  stiff 
  hair 
  flying 
  loose 
  

   anywhere 
  between 
  Baikal 
  and 
  the 
  Baltic, 
  

   I 
  always 
  manage 
  to 
  grab 
  it 
  and 
  bring 
  it 
  

   back 
  to 
  Brooklyn 
  to 
  make 
  brushes.'' 
  

  

  The 
  names 
  of 
  foreign 
  places 
  mean 
  more 
  

   to 
  such 
  a 
  man 
  than 
  mere 
  red 
  dots 
  and 
  

   circles 
  on 
  the 
  map. 
  Geography 
  to 
  him 
  is 
  

   more 
  than 
  the 
  science 
  of 
  places, 
  more 
  

   than 
  a 
  mere 
  answer 
  to 
  the 
  geographic 
  

   question, 
  "Where?" 
  

  

  THE 
  TRADER 
  KNOWS 
  HIS 
  WORLD 
  CUSTOMER 
  

  

  Men 
  like 
  the 
  "Hair 
  Hound" 
  — 
  and 
  there's 
  

   a 
  host 
  of 
  his 
  sort 
  among 
  our 
  modern 
  

   traders 
  and 
  exporters 
  — 
  can 
  do 
  more 
  than 
  

   "bound" 
  Burma 
  or 
  name 
  the 
  towns 
  in 
  

   Turkestan. 
  They 
  can 
  tell 
  vou 
  what, 
  and 
  

  

  89 
  

  

  