St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-26
GREAT sHIPMENT OF FrRs.

AAOw SeAtSh luS are fEepaTcu uOE INC
Market.-Their Parasites.
In about two months fur dealers will get
out their last seasons stock of skins, which
have been carefully packed away during the
summer in camphor-woOd chests, or
sprinkled with tobacco, as preventative
against the rayages of moths and grubs, and
place them upon the market for sale. Seal
skins, from the fact of their value are al
most always considered in style, and many
limitations IN cloth and fur are made, which,
to the novice, appear equally as valuable
and look quite as dressy as the genuine ar
ticle.
The steamship st. Paul arrived at San
Francisco from Ounalaska, Alaska. yester-
day with so, 996 sealskins on board valued
at 81 200, 600. A dealer said this morning:
''They were shipped by the Alaska Seal
company, which, by the authority of the
United States government has entire con-
troll of the producing interests of Alaska.
The company is very strong one and has
about sixteen members, all capitalists The
contract was made by them during Andrew
JOhns0n's administration. They pay $50, :
600 per year for their lease and so for
every skin shipped. They are limited to
100, 600 skins per season, but no doubt there
are a great many more than that
shipped, Notwithstanding the presence of
government inspectors. From the valua-
ton given. the skins are supposed to be
worth $40 each; but they do not cost over
So at the highest. Indians and half breeds
are employed in hunting the seal. and are
paid principally in barter. The Alaska
company has its own stores, and charges
any price it wishes for the goods that the
hunters take in exchange for the sealskins.
Those skins will not reach the Eastern
trade for some time. At San Francisco
they will be repacked for shipment to En-
gland. where they are sold at auction.
Lamson & Co., in London, control the most
of the auction trade. The skins will be
made up there. as advantage is taken OF the
cheap labor.
Most of the wOrkmen engaged in dress
ing and making up furs in this country are
foreigners. There are but few Americans.
Scotch. English, Germans and Polish Jews
are the best workmen as they are educated
in the business from infancy.
The process of preparing the skins for
market is delicate one, requiring long ex-
perence The pelt is feshed down by hand
until very THU. else the skin would be stiff
when tanned. Rancid butter is largely used
in curing. and after it has been removed.
fine mahogany or rosewood sawdust is COW
cred over them. and then pressed into the
grain of the skin by being trod upon by
men. 1t is called the foot process.
From four to FIVE skins are required to
make long cloak. The genuine sealskins
are valued at from $50 to $50 apiece That.
with the necessary work and the silk lining,
makes good cloak worth about 5000.
There was many firms engaged in insur-
ing sealskin and fur garments during the
summer, The average charge is SIS, and
they guarantee to preserve garment
against fire and moths. The garments are
taken out many times each month and care
fully inspected and beaten to
knock out the yermin. These are
insects shaped like a grub which
only attack skins that have not been prop
erly cured. They will not touch the hair:
they leave that for the moths to eat, al
though if they get into store where there
are no uncured skins, they have been
known to attack ready-made cloaks.
There are many limitations of seal.
skin. Cats, muskrats, gray and black SPUR
rels, foxes and other fur-bearing animals
are brought into requisiton to deceive the
unskilled buyer. They are colored and the
fur is trimmed to represent that of the
seal.
''Only few Alaska sealskins, which are
the best, get into this market from San
Francisco. and those that do are Struggled
to the San Francisco buyers by the In
dams. New York Commercial Adyer-
tiSer.