Ivory trade

“ When one remembers that African ivory brings all the way from fifty dollars to five hundred dollars per hundredweight in the open market, and that the tusks of a full-grown elephant weigh anywhere from one hundred to five hundred pounds, it will be seen that the ivory-hunter's trade is a profitable though a hazardous one. Other ivory-hunters, instead of going after the elephants themselves, spend their time in journeying from village to village and bartering with the natives for the stores of ivory—some of them the produce of centuries—which most of them possess. ”

“ The fossil ivory trade has become such that many of the officers and the crews even of the visiting vessels, including the revenue cutters, engage in buying the ivory from the natives and cutting it up in their spare time into beads and other ornaments. A captain of a well-known boat who with his crew visited in the summer of 1926 a small island on which there is an extensive frozen refuse heap containing many bones and tools of the natives who once occupied the place, exclaimed, "Gad, there's $50,000 of ivory in sight." ”

“ It is said, that, in the time of Pliny, the supply of African ivory almost gave out, when, only two centuries earlier, it was so plentiful, that, according to Polybius, the finest tusks were used as door-posts on the confines of Ethiopia, and even for palisades about the fields.
The decay of the ivory trade commenced with the fall of Rome: no longer were the commonest articles made of ivory, and even the Roman ivory tablets (libri elephantini) fell into disuse. ”

“ Harold thought he would venture another question:—
“In what sort of goods do you trade?”
“Ivory. Some be white, an’ some be what your contrymans do call black.”
“Black!” exclaimed Harold, in surprise.
“Yees, black,” replied the trader. “White ivory do come from the elephant—hims tusk; Black Ivory do come,”—he smiled slightly at this point—“from the land everywheres. It bees our chef artikil of trade.” ”

“ The traders who search for mammoths' tusks around the Arctic coasts of Asia make every effort to send off, each year, at least fifty thousand pounds of fossil ivory to the west along the great caravan road. So great is the demand, however, that this quantity, added to that sent by the elephant-hunters, is not large enough to make ivory cheap in trade or in manufacture. ”

“ If the ivory thus brought back, with infinite toil and expenditure both of labour and life, produces so little when it is at last delivered at Khartoum why in the world do these traders continue to traffic in it? For 500,000 dollars can be a sum by no means equivalent to their trouble and outlay. In a word, the ivory-trade must be attended with other advantages, or it would no longer be worth the while of the traders to carry it on. But to return to our traveller. ”

“ The important part which ivory plays in the industrial arts not only for decorative, but also for domestic applications is hardly sufficiently recognized. Nothing is wasted of this valuable product. Hundreds of sacks full of cuttings and shavings, and scraps returned by manufacturers after they have used what they require for their particular trade, come to the mart. ”

“ It is called an ivory station, that means simply that elephant's tusks are the chief articles of trade. But little ivory comes to market, every Arab who is able sends bands of his people to different parts to trade: the land being free they cultivate patches of maize, dura, rice, beans, &c., and after one or two seasons, return with what ivory they may have secured. Ujiji is the only mart in the country, and it is chiefly for oil, grain, goats, salt, fish, beef, native produce of all sorts, and is held daily. ”

“ By far the greater proportion is the result of stores accumulated by natives, a good part coming from animals which have died a natural death. Not 20% is live ivory or recently killed; the remainder is known in the trade as dead ivory. ”

“ It was in quest of this Governor that Yoosoof bent his rapid steps. Besides all the advantages above enumerated, the town drove a small trade in ivory, ebony, indigo, orchella weed, gum copal, cocoa-nut oil, and other articles of native produce, and a very large (though secret) trade in human bodies and—we had almost written—souls, but the worthy people who dwelt there could not fetter souls, although they could, and very often did, set them free. ”

“ Industries and Trade.—The principal industry is the collection of caoutchouc (see Rubber) from the rubber vines, which exist in seemingly inexhaustible quantities. The value of the rubber exported, which in 1886 was only £6000, had risen in 1900 to £1,158,000. In 1907 the value was £1,758,000. When the state was founded elephant and hippopotamus ivory formed for some years the most important article of export. When Europeans first entered the Congo basin the natives were found to have large stores of “dead ivory” in their possession. ”

“ Ivory dust, which is produced in large quantities, is a most valuable gelatine, and as such extensively employed by straw-hat makers. The greatest consumption of ivory is undoubtedly in connection with the cutlery trade. For these purposes alone about 200 tons are annually used in Sheffield and Birmingham, and the ivory in nearly every instance is from India. The mode of manufacturing knife-handles is very simple and expeditious:—The teeth are first cut into slabs of the requisite thickness—then to the proper cross dimensions, by means of circular saws of different shapes. ”

“ In the afternoon they came to an encampment of ivory merchants, or rather to a village where several traders had a station for collecting their goods preparatory to starting for Gondokoro. The natives had brought in two or three dozen tusks of ivory, which were paid for in the usual currency of the country—beads, cloth, trinkets, and other "suc-suc," as goods for the African trade are called. ”

“ It is very popular even now, and a large amount of ivory is cut down in its manufacture; some are made of the curved tusks of hippopotami. The Banyamwezi have turned out good porters, and they do most of the carrying work of the trade to and from the East Coast; they are strong and trustworthy. One I saw carried six frasilahs, or 200 lbs., of ivory from Unyanyembé to the sea-coast. ”

“ If the export of gum and ivory to Europe should ever become a free-trade, merely subjected to duty, these two articles will yield a very considerable profit to those who may have the good fortune to benefit first by this alteration, and who take the trouble to repair to the spot. ”

“ The borders of the Arctic were, however, the favorite pasturage for these giants; and the store of ivory there may be said to be practically inexhaustible, though the trade in the tusks has been going on with the Jakuti and Tungusians from time immemorial.
The Siberian islands are a favorite locality for collectors, where the tusks have been found protruding from the sand in vast numbers. After Adams, the most valuable find was made by Dr. ”

“ This popular definition of good and inferior ivory is however, in point of fact, somewhat incorrect, since ivory obtained from the coast of Africa is often much inferior to that obtained from the Indian Archipelago. The best rule for determining the quality is probably that of its vicinity to the equator. The ivory brought from within the 10th degrees of north and south latitude is incomparably the finest in the market; it is at the same time the most transparent, which of itself is a valuable characteristic. ”

“ Clothes of all kinds are in great demand here, and would be accepted to any amount in exchange for ivory. Beads are extremely valuable, and would purchase ivory in large quantities, but the country would, in a few years, become overstocked. Clothes being perishable articles would always be in demand to supply those worn out; but beads, being imperishable, very soon glut the market. ”

“ Though long-lived—some have in captivity lived over one hundred and fifty years—they propagate very slowly, the most slowly of any known animal; the period of gestation is twenty-two months, and but one at a birth, and they are gradually disappearing before the hunter. One writer states that England's imports of African ivory alone average in one year 15,550 hundredweight, worth from £600,000 to £750,000, or between, three and four million dollars, and predicts the certain decrease of supply and consequent increase of value of ivory. ”

“ I believe the Chinese have alone successfully produced the famous concentric balls of ivory, for which they have been so long and justly famous. Nothing is wasted in the ivory-shop. Even the dust is collected, and sold to the New-York florists, who claim that its results upon roses and other choice flowers are astonishing. ”

“ Unless the trader knows his business, however, the simple-minded natives will sell him the so-called “dead” ivory from the bottom of the pile rather than the “live” ivory of elephants recently killed, which, because of its greater elasticity and better colour, commands a much higher price, and, I might add, forms but a small part of the supply. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of half a million pounds of ivory are shipped from Zanzibar each year to make the toilet-articles and billiard-balls and piano-keys of the world. ”

“ To our great disappointment we learnt that ivory was out of the question, as we were informed a Swahili caravan, [Pg 215] which had accompanied a white man from Kismayu, had been up some two months before, and had bought up all the available ivory. [14] We decided, therefore, to invest in sheep, and proceeded to open our bales of cloth, wire, and beads, in readiness for the market. I returned to the village at which George and I had camped with the safari on our arrival the preceding evening, taking with me half a dozen men and some cloth, wire, etc. ”

“ But the humane reader will not think the value of the flesh, the skin, and other less important products of inoffensive quadrupeds a satisfactory excuse for the ravages committed upon them by amateur sportsmen as well as by professional hunters. In 1861, it was computed that the supply of the English market with ivory cost the lives of 8,000 elephants. Others make the number much larger and it is said that half as much ivory is consumed in the United States as in Great Britain. ”

“ It is the demand for ivory that is causing the death of the elephant, and already ivory is much higher in price than it was years ago. Whenever man runs short of anything he is sure to invent a substitute Now, in the case of ivory a clever vegetable imitation has been placed on the market. ”

“ One-eye says it never paid to carry a tusk weighing less than sixty pounds. Some tusks weigh two hundred—some even more—took four men to carry some of 'em! Call it an average weight of one hundred pounds and be on the safe side."
"Yes, let's play safe," agreed Monty seriously.
"One hundred million pounds of ivory!" said Fred, with a smack of his lips and the air of a man who could see the whole of it. "The present market price of new ivory is over ten shillings a pound on the spot. That'll all be very old stuff, worth at least double. ”

“ Ivory as an Article of Manufacture.—There are several sorts of ivory, differing from each other in composition, durability, external appearance, and value. The principal sources from which ivory is derived are the western coast of Africa and Hindostan: Camaroo ivory is considered the best, on account of its colour and transparency. In some of the best tusks the transparency can be discovered even on the outside. The manufacturers have a process by which they make poor ivory transparent, but it lasts only for a short time. ”

“ Competition, which amongst the Arabs is usually somewhat unscrupulous, has driven the ivory merchant to regions far west of the Tanganyika, and geography will thrive upon the losses of commerce.
The process of elephant-hunting, the complicated division of the spoils, and the mode of transporting tusks to the coast, have already been described. A quantity of ivory, as has appeared, is wasted in bracelets, armlets, and other ornaments. This would not be the case were the imports better calculated to suit the tastes of the people. ”

“ Since the appearance of the folding-fan, various materials have been pressed into its service, including ivory, tortoise-shell, lacquer, mother of pearl, the various woods—especially sandalwood, the more precious metals, silk, skin, and paper.
No nation possesses a keener appreciation of ivory as a vehicle for artistic expression than the Chinese, whose carved balls in concentric spheres of open work are the wonder of western peoples. Ivory fans date from a very remote period, it is believed as early as 990 B.C., and are marvels of patient ingenuity. ”

“ The ivory is always sold by weight; and the buyers are often deceived, as the tusks are liable to contain cavities, or have the pulp loaded with metal by designing traders. The size of the tusk generally determines the price; the larger it [224] is, the more valuable, those below six or seven pounds being held at less than half the price per pound than those much larger. Many tusks are ruined through the ignorance of the natives. ”

“ For generations they have used ivory tusks as door-posts and supports to the eaves, until they had become perfectly rotten and worthless. But the advent of the Arabs soon taught them the value of the article. It has now risen considerably in price, though still fabulously cheap. At Zanzibar the value of ivory per frasilah of 35 lbs. weight is from $50 to $60, according to its quality. In Unyanyembe it is about $1-10 per pound, but in Manyuema, it may be purchased for from half a cent to 14 cent's worth of copper per pound of ivory. ”