The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-04
Siberian Furs.

The Russian sable inhabits the forest
clad mountains of Siberia, desolnte, cold,
inhospltablc region. The animal is hunted
during the winter and generally by cxiles.
There are various methods of taking the
sable. Great numbers are shot with small
bore rifles; others are trapped in steel
and fall traps, and many taken in nets
placed over their places of retreat, into
which they are tracked on the snow. Who
can picture to himself, without shuddcring,
the case Of the condemned sable hunter
lie leaves with heavy heart the last thinly
scattered habitatlons which border the path
less wilds; sky of clouds and darkness is
above, bleak mountains and gloomy forests
before him; the rcccsscs of the forests, the
deliles OF the mountains must be traversed,
for these are the haunts of tho sable. The
cold is below zero, but the fur will prove
the fin,r. Fatigue and cold exhaust him,
a snow storm oycrtakcs him, the waymarks 3
are lost or forgotten. Provision fails, and
too often he who promised to bis eXpcctant
ana anxious friends speedy return is seen
no more. Such is sable hunting in Siberia,
and such the hapless fate of many an exile,
who pcrishes in the pursuit of what only
adds to the luxurics and supcrfluitlcs of the
great and wealthy.
The fisher is very similar to the pine
Inartcn in all its habits, but much larger.
Its value or trade price in British Columbia
is from two dollars and fifty cents to three
dollars per skin. The fisher in full winter
fur makes far hnndsOmer mlff than the
sable.
The fur of the mink ls vastly inferior to
either tho fisher or marten, being harsh,
short and glossy. The habits of the ami
nal, too, arc entirely different. The mink
closely resembles the otter in it's mode of
life, frequenting streams inland, and rocks,
small islands and sheltered bays on the
scacoast. 1t swims with great case and
swiftness, captures fish, eats mollusks,
crabs and any marine animal that falls in
its way. On the inland rivers it dives for
and catches great numbers Of crayfish, that
abound in almost every stream cast and
west of the Cascades. Along the river
banks the little heaps of crayhsh shells di.
rcct the Indian to the whereabouts of the
mink, which Is generally caught with a
steel trap, baltcd with fish. The trade
price is about fifty cents per skin.
The crmine of Northwest America Is not
worth much. The far never grows long
or becomes white enough in winter. The
Indians use IL Tor ornamental purposes, and
often wear the skins as q charm, or medi-
cine, as they term it. The best crmlnc
comes from Siberia, Norway and Russia.
The raccoon ,s widely distributed
throughout North and Northwest America.
Crafty and artful, his life is entirely one
of brigandage. The fur is not very valua.
bic, being principally used in making car.
| riagc rugs and lining inferior cloalts and
coats on tho European continent. Abou,
5000 skins arc sent annually from the
Hudson Bay Company's territories. They
arc generally shot.
The three species Of foxes traded by tho
Hudson Bay Company are the red, the
cross, and the silver. The silver fox skinf
arc very valuable, a good skin fetching
readily from forty to fifty dollars; the rct
fox Is only worth about twentieth O.
! that sum.