STAY AT SAY 323 he means to take. A reduction of at least half, sometimes much more, is made.

Not knowing what attitude the Koyraberos might assume towards us in the future, our first care on our arrival at the site of Fort Archinard was to take advantage of their present good-will, and buy in a good store of cereals and animals.

We soon made up our minds what prices we would give, for the circumstances were exceptional, and we wanted rice or millet and sheep enough to last us for three months.

That once accomplished, we could afford to think of economy and fix our own prices. The currency employed was white cloth, and my private opinion is that certain commercial arrangements were agreed upon amongst the notables of Say, showing no mean intelligence on their part. They meant to buy up all our merchandise, whether cloth, copper, or beads.

This is what actually happened ; as we only gave one or two cubits of cloth for objects of little value, no real use could be made of them, so they were sold again to speculators, who bought them at a very low price from their needy owners, and then hid them away. Nothing more was seen of them during our stay, but when we were gone they meant to produce them, and ask extortionate prices for them.

Our average prices fluctuated in an extraordinary way. We presently superseded Suleyman, who was too much of a talker, and tried other men as buyers, but we really had not a single coolie who was a good djula ; at last in despair Baudry was obliged to take the task upon himself, and every morning he went to market to lay in a supply of provisions, buying grain and sheep, milk and butter. He was probably the only buyer who took no perquisites for himself.

We got to know personally all the frightful negresses