The Alaska sourdough., 1911-10-17
BUSTING THE FUR TRUST
By George Clover

ever having been on the grindstone, Moses was a man who would not inn press one as being director of frenzied finance, or manipulator on Wall street
 As inevitably as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Moses for the last five years could have been lcund in Sitka every year, and never later than the 18th of May did he ar rive in the village where for So many years he had been in attendance upon the auction sale of fur seal skins.
 Simply by the exercise of the pre- rogative, Moses began to count the skins as his own; but to his sur prise he found five new buyers in the field waiting for the day of the sale to arrive.
 It was intuition in Moses rather than the presentation, of cold, material fact which led him to believe that he was decidedly out of luck this season again st such combination of buyers which had been thrown into. the Sitka. fur market. '
 "What am going to do this .year.9' Moses confidently asked a'leading light in the commercial circle of the little village, .'I. am broke and these peo- pie have money: My credit is good with the Indians when there is no other cash in sight; but this year am lost"
 Moses was we'll known by reputation and record to the fur buyers then gath cred in Sitka, and until it was known that he was s'broke'' he had been an element of fear to that combination of manipulators. Now, without money, poor Moses became an outcast from their confidential circle; and in their meetings to form the combination Moses was ignored. Frankly admitting his poverty to the landlady of the Mill more, Moses was received as guest of the hotel by the kindhearted Mrs.
 
 pay when he got money.
 The fur buyers formed combine" to do the Indians, agreeing that at the sale, bidding should stop when the price of sixteen dollars a skin had been reached Into the secrets of the com bine Moses was ignominiously ignored.
 "It breaks my heart said Moses, ''to sec these men planning to buy the skins this year, while II am powerless to prevent it. For years I have been at this post when the furs were sold and now to be treated so it breaks my heart''
 As guarantee of faith in the fulfill ment of the articles of the combine, each buyer placed a cash forfeit of two thousand dollars in the hands of a local official. It was the day before the auction when Moses in a fit of frenzy went into one of the stores and managed to get the ear of the raw boned proprietor long enough to tell his tale of woe "Last year, said he, you were glad to see me in your store. Last year I had money, plenty of mon ey; but now you don t even know me. Nevertheless I am going to throw my self at you, put my pride in my pocket, and make myself humble-a thing I have never done before in my life. It is only that my wife and nine little children are starving in Seattle that l come into your store at all. l want seventy-fve dollars and here is my watch for it is worth one hundred and fifty of any body's money. Give me the money, but don't tell those Jews about it. Don t tell them l am broke, for if you do they will freeze me out tomorrow entirely. I know their com bination but I am going to the sale even if I am broke; and my face will be good with the Thlingets to beat 'em Now just loan me the seventy-fve dol lars to send off to my wife by this boat;
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