The Rich Hill tribune. (Rich Hill, Mo.) 1903-1911, 1903-04-02
HOW A FASHION ORIGINATED.
Story Of the 100000 Squirrel Skins
American Women Are Wearing.

a government 1uunu llselA WIN
tens Of millions Of soft, gray squirrel
skins on its hands. These it could
not get rid Of.
One day. says the New York World,
a famous dressmaker Of Paris heard
Of these skins and 8 brilliant idea
came TO him. twill make a market
for your SKINS he is said TO have
told the government, IF you will
make it worth my while"
Now the goyernment-which is
that of Russia, for this is a true story
was very anxious to turn its vast
stock Of skins into currency, and an
agreement they say, WIS made with
the Paris dressmaker.
That is how the squirrel-skin coat
fashion is said to have started and
why a certain maker Of coats for the
a%ristocraey Of the French capital has
developed much wealth in the past
few months.
The only gray squirrel skins in the
world that are soft enough and fine
enough to make beautiful garments
are those Of Russia. Only Russian
skins are used in the garments seen
in New York.
These skins pass as currency in ST.
IBERIA, and the peasants often pay
their taxes in them, the government
having accepted them from time I'M
memorial. In consequence vast
stores Of the skins are in the posses
sion Of the government. Ashley pro-
duce no income, the officials are con
stantly seeking some means Of dis
posing Of them.
The fashionable dressmaker found
his work easy. He made up some
beautiful coats Of the skins and in
luced a number Of his leading pa
irons to buy and wear them. lmme-
date success followed. The new
coats caught the fashionable fancy,
and the dressmaker was swamPed
with orders for the garments.
In an astonishngly short time the
fashion had spread 10 London, Ber-
lin and New York and thence
throughout the civilized world.
The Paris dressmaker reaped q
double reward-from the introduc-
ton Of the fashion and the sale ofthe
coats.
As many a. 5000 skins are used
in 8 single garment, but a very short
coat may be made Of $50, and 300is
generally used. There are from 10 10
80 days work for n man in a gar
ment.
The Siberian squirrel looks like
the American squirrel. A cheerful,
active, bustling animal, Il increases
with great rapidity and is trapped
with ease. The most common sortof
Of trap Is made in the fork of hollow
tree. Here a store Of nuts is set and
the section Of wood upon which the
squirrel must stand 10 reach the nuts
is set on a kind Of pivot, so that the
squirrels weight causes the bottom,
50 to speak, to fall out Of the tree fork
and the animal is suddenly dropped
down through the hollow trunk intoa
little chamber under the soil. lmme-
diately, then, the piyoted section Of
the wood springs back into place
again and the trap Is set for another
victim.
The darkest, handsomest and most
expensive Siberian squirrels are
found in the Sacamina district, near
the Arctic circle. They are very
scarce. A blouse Of them-a blouse
reaching only to the Waist-costs
$3.50. A coat--reaehing a little be-
low the hips-eOsts about $3.50. An
automobile coat coming 10 the knees,
costs $500. The next beet quality Of
skiHs come from the T'alutskik dis
tricL and theBext from the Yeneseih
district The cheapest skins % light
color, tinged with red) come FROM
Tobolsk and Kazan.
Squirrel skins are al dressed in
one place-in Weisscnfels, a town
that produces q chemical clay ands salt
to be- found nowhere else. This clay
alone viii cure the skins 10 4 proper
manner. Twenty Arms there are en-
gagged in this business. America inn
ported last year only 10000 squirrel
skins. These skins cost on an aver.
age ~ cents apiece, Tbisyesr Amer
Yea has imported, up 10 the present
time, 1000, 900 squirrel gkins. They
eptt op the average, 50 cents apiees