356 
THE NEW AFRICA 
to the people, and it appeared that our sojourn at the lake was 
drawing to a close, for the oxen, now fully rested, were quite 
capable of drawing out the loads, acquired by barter, on the 
return journey through the sand to Mongwato. 
We had noticed a strong reluctance on Streinboom’s part to 
dispose of his goods to the natives for cash. He always preferred 
to trade in kind for cattle, ostrich feathers, ivory, hippo hide, 
etc. When, however, cash was brought, it seemed to us that he 
gave ridiculously little in return for the money, which we 
thought would, of course, have been a better commodity to 
transport to the centres whence he drew his supplies than the 
heavier material obtained in barter. However, as Stremboom 
was obliged to regulate his prices according to the demand 
made by natives for their stock in trade, he was anxious, on the 
one hand, not to formulate a too modest or regular fixed cash 
value for his article of barter. The natives, who had learnt the 
use of money in Kimberley, usually wished to have a price fixed 
on the articles they intended to purchase, which, for reasons 
already explained, was made unusually high, so they, to 
get level with these prices, also raised the cash value of their 
stock, etc., thus locally reduc¬ 
ing the current value of coin. 
But Stremboom, before deal¬ 
ing, was usually sharp enough 
to find out the value they 
fixed on their stock before 
betraying his own prices. 
It was owing to this cir¬ 
cumstance that we had been 
obliged to pay the compara¬ 
tively enormous price of seven pounds in cash for the one ox 
we purchased on our journey down from Indala’s, while later 
we were able to buy another for the ridiculously small equiva¬ 
lent of a five-pound bag of powder, costing not more than ten 
shillings on the coast. 
