How I Found Livingstone Travels, Adventures And Discoveries In Central Africa Including Four Months Residence With Dr. Livingstone By Sir Henry M. Stanley
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It Is Only About Four Years Since That The First Arab
Returned From Manyuema, With Such Wealth Of Ivory, And Reports
About The Fabulous Quantities Found There, That Ever Since The
Old Beaten Tracks Of Karagwah, Uganda, Ufipa, And Marungu Have
Been Comparatively Deserted.
The people of Manyuema, ignorant
of the value of the precious article, reared their huts upon
ivory stanchions.
Ivory pillars were common sights in Manyuema,
and, hearing of these, one can no longer, wonder at the ivory
palace of Solomon. 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. The Arabs, however, have the knack of
spoiling markets by their rapacity and cruelty. With muskets,
a small party of Arabs is invincible against such people as
those of Manyuema, who, until lately, never heard the sound of
a gun. The discharge of a musket inspires mortal terror in them,
and it is almost impossible to induce them to face the muzzle
of a gun. They believe that the Arabs have stolen the lightning,
and that against such people the bow and arrow can have little
effect.
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