The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1863-08-14
Tho Rough side os IA Bear.

4 Tho Rough side os "a Bear.
H It's winter afternoon in London th,
air is alive with snow f; a lady and he
hrce daughters entered the shop of one o
the Chief furricrs Of Regent street.
stuffed tiger grins impotcnty at The door
tho shop windows are mantltd with eur,
III for an empress, which MS the thrice
driven snow, silver gray, zebra striped
barred, spotted, spangled. These ladic.
know not where they come from or VIE
obtained them: they buy capcs, gloves
pclsscs, all Of cur iur, and re- enter their
carriage clad like Luplond princcsscs.
This same afternoon, the hunter who
slew those subcs, those crmines, and
those gray squirrels, is far away in East
/ crn Siberia, tuiling in his dangerous trade
digging pitfalls toF bears, watching tho
gray squirrel, setting traps for the mortcn,
skimmlng over the snow plains on his
great snow shoes, or hogging tie rein.
deer that drew his slcdgc till hc maddeus
them 10 galop as the only chance that
he has OF escaping the snow whirlwind.
LIT us 20 TO the great Russian fair at
Novgorod. Elbowing Chinese, Turtars,
, o1agyars. Austrians and MuscOvitcs, we
are sure to find whole bands of fur hum
lers laden with their rellrics. A year or
two ago il was computed that, from the
district Of kircnsk alone, there was an.
nullly sent to this great market six hun
drcd mOrtcn skins, six thousand crmine
skins, one hundred aud fny bcurs' skins,
and Iour hundred skins OF thc"pctit gris''
or gray squirrel.
The fur hunter clothes himself in q
tunic of leather skin, brooches orrendccr
father, boots OF badger skin. and cap of
the lumbs-wool of Astracnn. In this
dress he can roll in snow, or wade
through icy water without suffering much
from the cold. His ancestors, who were
simpler and harder than himself, GUIDED
themselves norlhward by observing that
the side OF the tree that faces the north is
always the mossiest but the modern
hunter never ncglects to carry n smal!
compass in his pouch 10 lead him on
stralghtcr and surcr 10 the orm nc coun-
try. This brave minister of cur luxury
uses gun of very small calbcr. More
than three hundred of tho balls he fires
20 to the pound /; large ball would in.
Jure the erminc fur, and its use would al.
SO compel the hunters TO carry with them
n cumbrous load Of lead.
krcnsk, where most of the fur hunters
live, is a district on the shores of the Lc-
nD, in Eastern Siberia. When tho Cos.
sacks, riding eastward some two ccntu.
rics ago, discovered these tribce, they
were mere savOges, living on fish ard
reindccr's milk, aud clothed in sable
skins. They killed tho crminc with ar
rows, the ends of which were tipped with
wooden balls. They were in time con.
quercd and disE laced by the Sirians,a pco-
pie Of Finnish origin. Their huts arc
now constructed Of rquored logs, the in
tcrsticcs stuffed with moss and dry cloy.
Their dogs are trained TO hunt, to guard
their flocks, and to rock their children's
cradles.
The Sran's gun requires more powder
i1r the priming than for the charge, and
1t is of so small a cnlbrc that the report
Is no louder than the crack of whip and
does not scare the game. At thirty yards
or so the Sirian can hit n quarter rouble
piece but they seldom fire at moving
object, aud usually take advantage Of a
rest. Their guns are rfed, and they do
not cast their bullets, but hummcr them
out OF solid lead, using maIlet to force
them down the CREASED barrels.
The Srian women attach great value
to the paws Of the glutt on, an animal of
extreme ferocity thut preys on the elk
and reindeer, Its skin glossy black, and
its paws, which are white, are worn by
the women as ornaments for the head. !
These fetch great price in Sweden and
Norway.
But the glutton is cxccptonal-,hc gray
squirrel IL the great object of pursuit.
That beautiful little animal lyes ON pine
cones aud mushrooms, In hard seasons
he has to resort to the seeds of the fire, /
which often fill his eyes with resin, until
ut last II seals up his jaws and forces him
TO die Of hunger. In some seasons the
squirrels are found in the ravnes they !
are then caught in plank.traps, to which !
they are attracted by buits of salt or
smoked fish. At other times they are
only to be seen on the highest trees, and
arc by no means to he tempted down.
In dry wenthcr the squirrel flies from
branch to branch, gayly trusting to his !
Iushy tail to act as parachute aad break
his fall, but when the rain comes and
mats his hair, destroying It's buoyancy, he .
grows timid and hides In his nest.
Gray squirrels are extraordinary cum
ming In hiding, Lut the fur-hunter has
by which TO btflle them. The |
Sirians go in couples one places him !
self in ambuscade, while the other kicks !
.he tree with his foot The squirrel in
SANITY mounts and hides. Then the
econd hunter whistles the squirrel
stops and turns his head that moment
he cruel shot is fired, and down the groy- /
'kln drops upon the snow. Squirrels
ire, however, 50 numerous in Oriental
siberia that, in spite Of their lttle arti-
ices, no less than hundred are some.
ines secured by fur hunter in single
lay. They migrate through the fcrests,
moving from East To west, aud leaving no
race. They spring from bough to boUgh,
md Utmost without touching the ground,
rayerse the woods from Siberia TO Fin
aud. The Sirians say that squirrels,
Viien they want TO cross a river, form a 4
aft Of branches and birch-barb, their cx-
landed tails serving them for sails, Their
nemles arc the polecats and martens,
Who follow their nligrations with as cruel
perseverance, and os evil intentions as
olyae E.llaN "A