The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27

are put into the barrels of which I spoke
at the beginning. Each barrel viii hold
about fifty mink skins, or fourteen beaver
sklns-according to the size of the skin
dust.
The proprietor told me that the men
tramped batch Of skins for about two
hours.
Il should think it would hurt their feet. %
"Oh, nor he said. Butter is good for
the feet. None of my men have corns and
! believe it is due to the daily treatment
Now that I understand the meaning
OF their strange gyrations, the spectacle
of these men in barrels did not seem quite
so absurd. Their barrels We're buried in
saWdust, and were set in a a slant so
that the furs would turn over easier and
all be thoroughly dressed
In front Of each barrel was a basin of
mahogany sawdust, from which they Dip
ped occasional handfuls to sprinkle over
the furs inside. Another thing which was
placed within easy reach was a pail of
what | a first thought was buttermilk
because it left whittish substance upon
the mustaches of those who partook; but
l soon found that it was not buttermilk
but the stuff that goes by that name in
prohibition towns. Nearly all of these
men looked thin and wiry, and 1 won
dered If they had been selected for their
figures, or whether they had worked off
their avoirdupois by the constant tread
ing.
After the fur has been well "tramped''
it is taken out ana brushed over on the
inside with salt water, to dampen it
slightly so that it can be "heshed."
"F1eshing" is scraping the skin upon
great stationary knives until the surface
is perfectly smooth.
When this is done the skins are hung
up to dry after which they are put in the
Cleaner"
The cleaner is a big wooden drum with
pegs on the inside where the furs are
hung. The latter are well sprinkled with
mahogany sawdust; then the drum is
closed and reYOlVed by machinery until
the fur is thoroughly cleaned. 1t is then
taken out, shaken and taken to the cape
manufactory, where the fur dressers
work is done.
Have you any seal furs ?''' inquired
yes, but we are not dressing many
now You see the fur-cleaning season be-
gins about February. But 1 will show you
how we dress it"
] followed him into sort Of store-room
where he lifted a piece of burlap and
showed me pile of skins which looked as
II they might have come from the slaugh-
ter-house. The coarse, ugly-looking vel
lowish hair. stiffened with salt water, was
anything but attractive. But this, he
said, was sealskin.
when we get these SKINS he ex-
planned, they are first blubbered, that
IS, the under layer Of fat is removed
then put into very hot, soapy water, and
rubbed and soused until the salt is all
soaked out. After that they are partially
dried before fire. Then, before the skin
is thoroughly dry the men take it, and
" an a. A4AttG mat - not SAArD enough
TO cut, and a rubber thumb protector,
they pull out all the outer layer of hair.
leaving the soft, dOwny fur beneath, which
you women never tire Of
It takes one mdn whole day to re-
move the coarse hair Of a large seal. AZ
ter this the fur IS treated in much the
same way as other furs. OF course. all
seal is dyed, but then so are a great many
others"
AREN'T people often duped with irni-
tation furs?"
well. I should say sol Now. here is
the skin of a skunk which probably never
Travelled six miles from his underground
lodgings in New York state; but when we