The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-04-09
The skunk skin Traffic.

The odOr Of the skunk possesses dis
tlnctive property. which cannot be mis-
taken by any whose -cnse of smell is at
all diScriIinal!vc During the past few
months. those who have perambulated our
down town business streets have repeatedly
lad their O!iactOrirs greeted by this un-
mi,takeab.e perfume, and wondering
whence i originated. have al last traced it
to tEc warehouses OF our iliricIS \ few
inquiries might have explained the cause
Of th:@ ne.v accession To- the two-Ind-Jwenty
st~ucnc- Of the metropolis.
The traffic in -kun!. skins has suddenly
become a most important branch of tho
fur trade. and the skins Of an animal which
three years a.o We're de med of 10 value
whatever, are now in tie greatest demand.
They az collected for expectation alone.
The principal markets are Russia and Tur-
key. though some are sent 10 Germany,
where they are sold III large profit, a. tie
fur Of the genuine fisher. The black
-ilin- arc valued The most. and during the
past winter ti.e market price ha- been as
high as :: per SKIN while mo,ticd skins
brought Only 80 cents. The-c price-, how
eyer. nave recently deprecated coisid"la-
by, Oh account II the InIu"n-" cXpoTta-
ton. Upwards Of ,uuuJ oi these skins
have br-n shipped from this city alone
~ Maiden Lane have now on land about
$1,000 ready for shipment. The-e are de
tined iJr the Lcip>.r ~al.s-Leipsic being,
mex, 10 Novyorod, ~ HtI->ia. the mos; iIIi-
portaut iur ,5-gcye' in Europe. The first
int.mat.ou received IN this market of the
~aluc Of this new description OF fur came
from the iiudSon- Bay Company. which,
having shipped a few TO London at a ven
turc. found the returns 50 profitable that
they Immediately prosecuted the business
Oh an extensive scale. and now 60 large
has been the cyp"rtaJi0n that a clut in the
market i anticipated
The heaviest collections are made;n the
Middle and Eastern States, III some parts
Of winch the mania for capturing these
animals seems 10 hav" eIu1iled the West
eln Pixies Peak gold cXciIement-mcn,
women and children. turning ont en mas-e
for the purpose; and in mduy instances.
Iyg>aking thcis regular avocatiUns for the
sake of prospective gains from the hunt
Indeed. the experience ot the two pursuits
= somewhat similar: fortune being a. ca-
PRECIOUS towards the skunk catcher> a. the
gold iiL-'Ts: fyr sometimes a single AMI
NAL ! found in bulrow. and again dirt
plg-srs ot dozen or twenty are discovered
in a ~in1le nest though such Iemunelative
" lodc- are not common.
In addition To- the profits realized on the
sale of the tur~. our fur dealers also rc-
cciyc a cOnsiderabl sum for the ,dtoi these
animals. which. We are credibiy informed,
i being bought ior five cent, per pound ty
a prominent druggist III Broadway. who
expects soon to a-toni-h the world by the
Introduction ot a new and valuable ONT
mont, liaiment, or pomade, manufactured
from this rare material Farmer. and the
poultry eating public are also expected TO
derive no little benefit from this whc le>ale
slaughter of these dcpredator, Of the poul-
try house. since eggs and fowls will become
more abundant, and the price of these de-
sirable articles o. food, it i reasonable to
infer, proportionately diminished-N J.
Jy.A-aa! Of Commerce