Twenty Leaves Of Tobacco, For Instance,
Were Considered As A _Bar_ Of Tobacco; And A Gallon Of Spirits (Or Rather
Half Spirits And Half Water) As A _Bar_ Of Rum; A Bar Of One Commodity
Being Reckoned Equal In Value To A Bar Of Another Commodity.
As, however, it must unavoidably happen, that according to the plenty or
scarcity of goods at market, in proportion
To the demand, the relative
value would be subject to continual fluctuation, greater precision has
been found necessary; and at this time the current value of a single bar
of any kind is fixed by the whites at two shillings sterling. Thus a
slave, whose price is L. 15, is said to be worth 150 bars.
In transactions of this nature, it is obvious that the white trader has
infinitely the advantage over the African, whom, therefore, it is
difficult to satisfy; for, conscious of his own ignorance, he naturally
becomes exceedingly suspicious and wavering; and, indeed, so very
unsettled and jealous are the Negroes in their dealings with the whites,
that a bargain is never considered by the European as concluded until the
purchase money is paid, and the party has taken leave.
Having now brought together such general observations on the country and
its inhabitants, as occurred to me during my residence in the vicinage of
the Gambia, I shall detain the reader no longer with introductory matter,
but proceed, in the next chapter, to a regular detail of the incidents
which happened, and the reflections which arose in my mind, in the course
of my painful and perilous journey, from its commencement until my return
to the Gambia.
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