The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-10-16
SABLES NOW SCARCE.
Russia Has Forbidden Killing of More
Animals Until 1916.

~
season, owing to the fact that the
Russian government has forbidden
the killing of more animals until
1916. Mr.. Hibbard is on his way to
Europe with 900 skins collected by
his steamer on her last trip, says The
New York Times.
Our boat goes from Seattle to
! Unalaska and thence to Petropaviv-
osk. and then up the coast to Anidir
around to Kolushin Bay and thence
back to Nome," said Mr.. Hibbard at
the Astor yesterday. she takes
100000 worth of merchandise and
! between $4,000 and SIS, 900 in Rus
sian money for the purposes of trad
ing and bartering for furs, whalebone
and ivory. This year she made
specially of sables, and if the boat
had been more literally supplied with
money we could have got great deal
more, in spite of the scarcity of the
supply.
"Petropaviovsk is the center of the
sable industry in Siberia, traders and
hunters bringing their skins there to
sell or exchange. The London mar
ket is usually great deal better for
undressed skins than any in this
country, and Leipzig is good also. The
selling markets that are the best are
| Paris, Vienna and St. Petersburg. Yet
| if women knew it who buy their furs
over there, they might be able to do
a great deal better in this country.
Il know New York woman who
| purchased a sable coat in Paris that
cost her SIS 900. and presumably she
had to pay 35 per cent duty to get
it into this country. Her sister, who
lives in Seattle, wanted to get sim
| liar coat, and she asked me what
| thought it would cost. I told her I
| could save for her at least so per
cent. She gave the order, and there
was made up for her in this country
| coat that cost little under $1,000
and which was a far better garment
than the one her sister had paid
| $4,000 for in Paris.
"Of course, Americans are big
| buyers of furs. But the fur game is
funny. We have brought furs from
Seattle to New York and offered them
| to all the big dealers, who have alb
solutely refused to buy. Then we
| would ship them to the London sales,
and in many cases American buyers
would purchase our furs and bring
| them back here, though if they
bought them dressed they had to pay
| duty on them.
Silver foxes are rather scarce
this year, especially choice skins. l
sold two skins the other day for
$1,000 apiece which the retail GUS
toner will probably pay $4,000 apiece
for when they are made up.
after our boat gets back from
| Nome she makes a trip to Herschel
Island, at the mouth of the Macken-
| zie river. On her last trip she took
| a big cargo for the Stefansson party.
| She is the only craft that makes a
REGULAR annual trip up there, her
main purpose being Whaling. This
| time she is carrying a moving picture
camera with $1,000 feet of film and
is looking for the bowhead whale,
which is of considerable value be-
cause of the whalebone it yields. AS
against the 500 value of the sperm
whale, the bowhead is worth $4,000,
though its value has dwindled tre-
mendously, because women nowadays
wear so little whalebone in their cor
sets. Formerly bowhead was worth
$4,000. Last year in four months
we caught la phenomenal num-
ber.
The ice up there is closing in al
ready. We had news while back
that all the boats were frozen in and
would not get back this winter, but
I think ours will return. She carries
a crew of As men and was built for
bucking ice.
Business conditions in Seattle are
excellent. Everything is going ahead
fine. The big gold strike at Shush-
ana, Alaska, has drawn lots of peo-
pie through Seattle of late.
BY the way, owing to the govern
ment restrictions against the killing
of polar bears, those skins are get
ting scarcer. We had $50 skins come
in not long ago, which I imagine is
about half the worlds supply of the
skins this year. They have to come
from the Siberian side.
"Sealskins are showing marked
decline. They are going out of style
! oDd n,uSl5rat is taking their place