The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-04
ESKIMO JOE AND HIS FOX SKIN

ESKIMO JOE AND HIS FOX SKIN
 How a Silver Fox Lost His Valuable
 Pelt and It's shrewd Sale by the Hun
 ter.
 Many who visited the Columbian ex-
 position at Chicago in 1893 will remenl-
 Der "Joe," one of the Eskimo boys who
 drove the dog sledges in the Eskimo village" at the northwest corner of tho fair grounds. His native name was
 Nalook, or something like that. He
 was one of the brightest of the Eskimo
 boys at the fair, and took a very
 shrewd interest In all those who rode
 on his sledge. and particularly in what | he could get from them in the way of l fees.
 l He went home to Labrador when the
 exposition closed, the richer for his journey to this country bySone hundred
 dollars the richer, too, by large store of information, useful or otherwise, which he had gathered. Many of the
 Eskimos at the fair were very home
 sick; but in answer to questions by vis-
 itors Joe always said that he loved
 Chicago" and would like to live in this country.
 At that time Joe was little more than a half-grown boy, fourteen, or 1t may
 be sixteen; but that was seven years
 ago; and in February, last winter, lie
 made his appearance in New York
 again no longer little Joe" but a
 thick-set, swarthy young man of two
 and twenty. He brought with him a
 quantity of furs, among them a mar
 velously beautiful foxskin. Informa-
 tion concerning furs gained while here in 1893 had led him to conclude that ne could obtain three times as much for the skin in New York as was offered him by the fur trader at Hopedale, and he was sufficiently enterprising to re- sist the middleman and take his furs to a better market. Moreover, he was proud of the skin and of his skell as hunter in taking it, and he wished his old acquaintances, the Merican folks to know that he was still very much alive and that lie had captured the finest fox skin that ever had come from Labrador tAF
 He had journeyed all the way by Wa ter. touching at Halifax and Boston He had obtained the addresses of all the prominent furriers in the metropo- lis and he came to the Broadway store of one of these at about o'clock one afternoon, bearing his furs on his back In a bulky package
 With a shrewdness characteristic of him, Joe did not at first display his fine fox skin, but showed the minor furs. He proved we'll informed as to the val ue of these, and when offered the proo o- CT current price accepted 1t without bar gaining.
 Without remark he then spread out the magnificent fox skin on the counter, where, under the electric light, it glint ed like sheet of bright silver The buying clerk of the house opened his eyes wide at the sight glanced at Joe curiously, then called the senior mem- Der of the firm. In their entire experi- ence these dealers had never seen a larger, finer or more splendid skin. It was a true black, or "silver'' fox skin of well nigh perfect pelage and very large.
 The price of such exceptional furs is always arbitrary. After consultation the sum of s7oO was offered the young Eskimo for the skin. It was imagined l that this amount would astonish him, and that he would close with the offer | without demur Somewhat to their own Joe's broad, smiling face darkened. He shook his head and be- | gan to roll up the skin.
 The buying clerk then tried to sound | him little by asking what he deemed | It worth, but all Joe would say was | that he would show the skin to other | dealers and return if no higher sum were offered.
 At last promise was secured from | lim to return with the skin at 9 o'clock | he following morning, when it might | oe examined by sunlight This prom SC Joe kept, and the result of the next ] lays inspection was that the skin was bought at figure which the dealers are to mention--it was consider lbly more than $7OO. Moreover, wish- ng to encourage the young Eskimo to >ring his furs to New York in future he senior partner of the firm invited Toe to his house and entertained him as lis guest for several days.
 Joe's account of the capture of this liver fox was interesting. He was in pursuit of the creature for two months, laving first sighted it by moonlight on he shore of little lake sixty miles or nore inland. He was then hunting on he head waters of the George river, nd he had gone to this small lake on he "barrens'' that night to shoot med as, a. kind of duck which breeds here.
 The fox had also come to the lake for 1edvas. Joe caught sight of it creep ng through a low birch copse. Its fur parked like frost in the moonlight, nd the young Eskimo knew instantly hat 1t was valuable silver fox. He