Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-11-30
What fur's Are.

"What We call FUR IN the trace. SAID
the expert, taking up q skin, sis this.
You see, by spreading open the hair Of
this seal there are two kinds of hair;
one, the fur that is short and lies close
ly to the skin, a1sl another the o~verhair
that is long and what we see at a first
glance of the animal. The difference
between the two is very great, the fur
being soft, downy, silky and sometimes
curly, while the overhair is coarse and
rigid. Each has a peculiar value for
many purposes, but particularly in felt
ing; the fine, upon treatment to hot
water, readily joins in q solid mass,
while the long hair can be woven and
spun. When the animal is alive the
uses of the two hairs are seen. The fine
u%nderhair keep out water and cold,
while the overhair prevents telling and
~entangling. In some cases one is cx-
tremely valuable alone, and in others
the combination is equally so.
"In former tines" continued the
dealer, ''the fur trade was controlled by
vast monopolies, but now isinthe hands
of private individuals. One of the
largest companies is the Alaska Com
pany, formed about fifteen years ago.
They have certain privileges and only
one hundred thousand animals are al
lowed to be taken a year. They also
pay a certain amount to the Govern
ment for all the seals taken ut the
Pribylov Islands, but beyond this and a
few restrictions in Russia the trade is
open to all under the given restrictions.
The old Hudson Bay Company, at least
in name, is still in existence, but has it's
principal Office in London, where, in
the months of January, September and
March OF each year, all their skins are
sold at public auction.
''The raw skin of an American fur
seal, sailed, is worth about eighteen
dollars, perhaps, more or less. The
largest are about three by six feet. But
the very best fur comes from the Ant
arctic waters. the Shetland Islands
principally. The fur is remarkably
fine and light and they are worth forty
dollars or fifty dollars a skin in first
hands.
'.New York gets the bulk Of Ameri-
can skins. and from there they are
shipped to London, Leipsic and various
cities. At the latter city they have
spring and autumn fairs, like our State
Fairs, where skins are bought and sold
in great numbers. At the great fairs
of Nijni-Novgorod, Kasan and Irbit, in
the Ural Mountains, there are great fur
sales, while the same is true of Kischia,
in Siberia. The great ccnters all have
their peculiarities. Thus staple furs, or
those made into hats, ETC., mainly FROM
the rabbit, come from Russia, France
and Germany; but the great fur-trade
center Of the world is London. All the
world-North and South America, Asia,
Africa-send their goods there. These
skins are all shipped dried, the meat
and fat having been carefully removed.
The fur seal pelt, however, is shipped
in salt. After furs are made up the
clippings are all sent to certain places
and made into hats, etc., OF various
kinds. Nothing is lost.
"In our country the sea-bear Of the
northern country is, of course. the most
valuable, and SO many are caught that
they are rapidly disappearing, though I
believe laws have been formed to pro-
tect them to some extent. Here is a
table that shows, according to Elliott,
the number of sea-bears taken in thir-
teen years, but since 1862 oycr half q
million of the animals have been killed
on Behring's Island alone. These all
relate to the same locality" Hete are
tho fU,,rac.