The bee., 1883-08-11
THE SEA OTTER TRADE.
Furs OF Great FIneness and Vnlue-FaI
Superior TO Sealskfn.

| ruTS oi UfcOt E1neneSS ana FnIue-E0l
Superior TO Sealskfn.
The San Francisco Examiner says
"The sea otter is an inhabitant of the
North Pacific ocean, and is found no.
where else in the world. Formerly
they were abundant along the coast
from lower California northward, as
well as among the Aleutian islands,
and from Kamskatka TO the Kurile
islands. Their fur is of the most ex-
quisite fineness and richness in both
| color and texture. The best skins are
of shining jet black. ard their elegance
of surface and Of body is not perhaps
surpassed by that Of any other fur
known. The majority Of the skins
show very rich dark brown, those of
a poorer quality becoming lighter. 1t
| is somewhat remarkable that this fur
has never become fashionable i'll our
cities. The richest and most expensive
sealSkin sacque ever seen cannot sus-
tain comparison whatever ill elegance
with what the same garment would
have been if made from prime skins of
the sea otter. And yet this charming
fur is allowed to 60 Amos exclusively
to the Chinese market.
The skins Of .carcely any other fur
bearing animal brings so high price
individually as do those of the sea
otter. A cargo of them was brought
into San Francisco, of which not one
was worth less than SIS, and they
ranged from that to $120. Those,
however, were of uncommon excel
lence; they usually bring from $40 to
so, and it would probably be fair to
average them at $50. When the
Pryhiloy islands were first discovered,
two sailors alone, named Lukannon
and Kaiekoy, killed in the first year
5000 sea otters; the first party which
reached Cooks inlet obtained 5000
skins; the first visit of Russians to the
gulf of Gahkulat, in 1894, yielded 1000.
The skins were then worth as much as
they are now, SO that the seasons work
of those two sailors first mentioned, on
the island of st. Paul, amounted to no
less sum certainly than $250,000.
Such wholesale slaughter could not
continue and the following year they
got less than 1000. A few years later
the sea otter abandoned St. Paul's
island and have not reappeared there
since All along the coast a similar
history is noticeable, and the sea otter
bids fair to become so nearly extermi-
mated that they will cease to afford a
profit to the hunter. Singular as it
may appear, the otter's skin is too
large for him. Take hold of any part
of his body to lift him and the skin
comes up loose in the hand as it does
on the neck of dog. The consequence
is that, although the entire length of
the animal, from the nose to the root
of the tail, is commonly but little over
three feet, yet when the skin is remov-
ed and stretched in drying it often
measures FIVE feet, and in some cases
nearly six.
The hunting of the otter is greatly
changed in the last twenty-five years.
Boats were formerly used from which
to shoot them, but it no longer pays.
Now men shoot them from the beach,
using no boats. This is done on the
coast of Washington Territory, between
Port Granville and Gray's Harbor, and
scarcely anywhere else at present.
From morning till night the hunter
walks the beach, ready for shot, but
even while he sees his game the chance
that he will secure it is not particularly
fattering. The first difficulty is that
of putting bullet through it at per-
haps 800 to 900 yards or even more.
1t is not a Creedmoor target, but a
little black spot in the midst of the
dark, leaden-colored sea, and is not
more than four inches across. Yet he
often hits it, though generally after
many failures. The very best marks
men average at least twenty-five shots
for every otter killed.