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African Trickery.

  Mr. Moore told of his first experiences with the natives. It was not an easy matter, he claims, to cope with the trickery of the Africans. As ivory is sold by the pound, the natives are ever on the alert to increase the weight of the tusks. The ivory purchaser pointed out that increased weight can be obtained by inserting lead, stone, and other heavy materials in the inner parts of the tusk. The white man soon grows suspicious of these tricks and does not buy a tusk until it has been thoroughly examined.

  "Another stunt the natives like to try on the buyer is to soak the ivory in water and this almost immediately puts on excess weight. But they don't do it any more. We had a hard and fast policy never to buy a piece of ivory until it had remained in our quarters for at least a week under lock and key. By the end of this time the tusk is absolutely dry and we know exactly what we are buying.

Bargaining With Menelik.

  From Aden Mr. Moore travelled to Abyssinia and his experiences there are unique to say the least. Menelik King of Abyssinia (he used to be called the King of Ethiopia) owned large quantities of ivory and was ready to bargain with foreign buyers. Mr. Moore spent several months there inspecting and choosing from the king's supply. He did not trade directly with the king but through his agents who bargained as their master commanded.

Entertaining Bwana Tumbo

  Entertaining the late President Roosevelt was the highlight of Mr. Moore's stay in Mombasa to which he came from Abyssinia.

  "We were there to greet Mr. Roosevelt on the night he landed with his son. A dinner was given him at the Mombasa Club. It was a jolly affair .We sat up late and of course we had a lot of tell each other. The news we got from America was very meagre and we were overjoyed to get first hand news from home, especially when it came from such a reliable source. On the other hand, our guests were anxious to hear what we had to tell them about Africa. It wasn't hard for us to assure the members of the Roosevelt expedition that they would get all the excitement they wanted- and probably more than that."

  "The natives who worked for Mr. Roosevelt probably didn't know that he was "the big chief" of America and they probably didn't even know his name. But they had a name for him as soon as he arrived. He was known as Bwana Tumbo and in African that means 'the portly master' or 'the master with the large stomach.' They were a little kinder to me and merely called me Bwana Pembi. That means 'the ivory master."

  From Mombasa Mr. Moore journeyed over 600 miles into the interior buying ivory from the natives and from anyone who wanted to sell it. During this trip he encountered several interesting and well know African characters and also became acquainted with elephant-hunting customs about which more will be [[aid?]] later.

In Colorful Zanzibar.

  It was in Zanzibar that Mr. Moore spent a large part of his African trip. This city has been the subject of many colorful descriptions and is well known as one of the most interesting cities in the world.

  Richard Harding Davis writes most enthusiastically about Zanzibar.

  "In writing of Zanzibar I am embarrassed by the knowledge that I am not an unprejudiced witness. I fell in love with Zanzibar at first sight, and the more I saw of it the more I wanted to cable to my friends to have me made vice-consul to Zanzibar through all succeeding administrations."

  And Mr. Moore speaks of the city with equal enthusiasm.

  "It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Everything is white and you have the constant impression that it is an immaculate place. The sand on the beach is white; the city walls and buildings are white, the people themselves are garbed in white robes. But color is not lacking. The narrow streets seem to be fairly decked with all the bright and glowing colors of the Orient.

Where Idleness is Bliss.

  "I was particularly amused by the Indian merchants who are seen selling their wares from open bazaars and telling the passer by in no quiet tone what he has for sale. I was also attracted by the attitude the people took about work. If they work at all they work very hard. If they don't want to work they make no attempt to, and appear perfectly content in their idleness.

  "Because it was my business, I took pains to learn what I could about the history of trading in Zanzibar. It appears that several hundred years ago the Sultans of Zanzibar grew powerful and wealthy through exporting slaves and ivory from the mainland. These two industries were not separate ones but each was developed by the other and was dependent upon it. The procedure was simple. A slave-trader would first pay tribute to the Sultan and would then enter the interior and search out a local chief. With him he would bargain for so much ivory and so many men. Some means of transport was necessary to complete the bargain and so the chief, ever anxious to sell, would select a village which had not paid the taxes due him. He then told the trader to help himself to what he found there. A hideous night attack would follow. Women and children were slaughtered and all able-bodies males were taken prisoners. These men were chained together in a long line and with a huge elephant tusk on the shoulder, would be whipped back to Zanzibar."

  Mr. Moore continued to tell how the trading of slaves originated from these expeditions. When the trader arrived at his destination he found that he had a mass of black men on his hands. What to do with them? The idea suddenly presented itself to sell them as well as the ivory, and as time went on the slaves became as valuable as the ivory. This practice continues to this day in mild form and the government regulates both industries. Heavy punishments are meted out to traders who violate the rules set down by the government. Ivory House, headquarters in Zanzibar for Mr. Moore, has a colorful history. The cellar is known as the "godown" and here the ivory is held for inspection and evaluation. It is not uncommon to see $25,000 worth of ivory tusks piled up as carelessly as though they were logs in a woodshed.

  Zanzibar is the principal ivory center of the world, but the firm which carries on almost all the ivory business there is the Arnold Cheney Co. of New York. This firm has traded with Africa and India for almost a century. In Ivory House every distinguished African explorer has been entertained and the stories its walls have heard of native wars, pirate ships, slave-dealers, the English occupation, the terrible marches through the jungles of the Congo, would make valuable and picturesque history. Ivory House has always held a semi-official position and the eagle of the Consulate has always been over its doorway.

In The Sultan's Palace.

  Mr. Moore vividly describes the interior of the Sultan's palace in Zanzibar. "I have never seen anything in America quite like it," he says.

 "Bright colors are everywhere and the walls are hung with silk draperies, tapestries and hand-painted curtains. The floors are covered with magnificent rugs from Persia and India and the reception room is crowded with treasures of ebony, ivory, lacquer work, gold and silver. The attendants themselves lend much color to the place for they stand about in gorgeous colored silks which are heavy and embroidered in gold.

Little News From Home.

  "For some time I almost forgot about America and what was going on there. I was the only American in Zanzibar with the exception of the American consul, and only on rare occasion did I meet anyone from home. The news we got from the outside world was also very scanty. There were no newspapers and the nearest thing to them was a daily bulletin which gave us a little news. But it was always wrong and we would often get excited over something we heard only to discover later that there was nothing to it.

  "But strangely enough we didn't care very much what was happening in America, England, or anywhere else except in our own neighborhood. Our lives were so crammed with our business and adventure that we were perfectly content to take what we had and make the best of it."

  During the years he was in there, Mr. Moore was the outstanding ivory buyer in Africa. He bought more ivory than anyone else in that time and was also responsible for bringing to America the two largest tusks purchased anywhere in that period. One weighed 164 pounds and the other 162 pounds.

  "Not all the ivory we bought was from animals killed at that time," he says. Often ivory came to us from elephants that had been dead a long time. The dead animals would be found in the jungles but in few instances it seems, had they died of a natural disease. Someone had killed them and had been unable to get the tusks while others had been wounded and had been unable to escape the killer before dying.

An Elephant Cemetery.

  "It's a strange thing, but as far back as there is any record of elephant hunting few have ever found an elephant that had died a natural death. Many have tried to explain why this has been so, but nothing very plausible has been suggested yet. There is a theory that has been advanced and ridiculous as it sounds there are many who believe it. The idea is that the elephants have a cemetery of their own, and when they are going to die they instinctively go there and pass away. But thus far it's the elephant's secret and he has let no one in on it. Should this fabulous grave-yard be found, the discoverer would become unbelievably rich." 

King Rogers.
To anyone who has been interested in ivory hunting and particularly with the illegitimate practices connected with it, the histories of two notorious outlaws are well known.  They are James Ward Rogers, an American known as King Rogers, and a native warrior, Tippoo Tib.

"I consider myself extremely fortunate in having known Rogers," r. Moore said.  "Of course he was an outlaw and wanted by the English government for poaching, but on the other hand he was a most interesting fellow and had an extraordinary personality. By the sheer force of this personality he was the self-appointed ruler of hundreds of men who made up a veritable army. He had scouts, spies, runners, skillful hunters and servants who obeyed his commands to the letter."

"How many elephants Rogers killed illegally is unknown. I do know that he killed them at will and with no though to the regulations. He seemed to go about his illicit trade absolutely fearless of being run down and imprisoned. Native chiefs who could have ordered his death and carried it out instantly did as Rogers bid them because they feared or believed him to be a superhuman creature whose ghost could torment them and sweep them from the face of the earth. 

"On one occasion he was captured by Belgian officials. He faced a long term in prison for he had been caught with more than a score of elephants killed illegitimately. But after bribing guards and planning a chance-taking escape, he evaded his captors and reached British territory in safety. 

"Finally the English sent out an expedition with the expressed purpose of putting an end to King Rogers. It took the six weeks of tortuous creeping along the Ugnada [[sic]] banks of the Nile before they found his hideaway. Shots were fired, Rogers was hit, and a British officer found him dying of the wound in the thick of the jungle.  He had made his last dash for escape and had lost.

A Savage Army.

"Almost more colorful is the story of Tippoo Tib, a massive black creature, who was the king of a vast region in Central Africa. At his command were thousands of armed warriors. It was a powerful army and horribly savage. They thought nothing of how many they killed or how they killed them. 

Anything to get ivory! I told you how the slave and ivory trade originated. This is what Tippoo Tib and his savages did--but they did it on a much larger scale and their atrocities were more horrible than any committed before or after that time. King Rogers was a notorious outlaw but he killed only in [[italics]]self-defense.[[/italics]] Tippoo Tib killed almost for the adventure of it."

"Had I come to Africa a few years earlier I would have known this man. He died two years before I arrived. My people, however, and the old-timers at Zanzibar knew him and told countless thrilling tales of the despotic ruler."

Mr. Moore has always had hopes of returning to Africa sometimes but that is now impossible. He is resting in his hillside home overlooking the Connecticut River and busies himself writing of his experiences.
  

Transcription Notes:
Ugnada for Uganda? Ugnada not found.