The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-01-24
GOLD. FURS AND FISH
ARE ALASkA'S ASSETS

Not Farming or Stock Raising
Country and Never Win be. Black
Fox skin Worth 50 900. Govern.
ment Railroad is Big Risk. Hall
Of Population of Alaska has Left
This Year.
! saw an Indian bring a fox skin
into an N. c. Co. store and get $3.50
for it, in trade.
Then | wondered if | hadn't better
remain in Alaska and start a fur
farm.
! After tho deal | talked with the
trader and asked him if ii was an
every day occurrence for these kind Of
furs to be brought in, and if it only
took ten minutes TO strike bargain :?
And he told me a lot about fox
furs that did not know.
He said the Indian had had this skin
for about three months and had been
to every trader, store or fur buyer
within 200 miles, driving bargain,
and had finally come back to him. The
skin was that Of a jet black fox, very
rare in Alaska, or anywhere else.
asked what price he would get for
the skin, and he replied that it was
about as big speculation as gold
prospecting; that its price might go
to $4,000 or S2500, or he might be glad
to get his $3.50 back. He explained
that the price Of it depended on
whether some millionaire's wife had
one like it and was hunting for its
match, or whether the war income tax
hit hubby so heavy that he wouldn't
stand for the buy. "We take big
chance for a big profit" he said, l
will send it outside for tanning and
making up and let it try for sucker.
If war wasn't on, the chance would be
a cinch.
The dead black fox skin is far more
valuable than the silver gray. The
silver gray can be bred with consid-
cradle certainty, but the full black fox
is freak, patch" an accident of
birth This rare animal is hybrid, a
mongrel, the product of breed
ing red and silver fox, but the
strange thing is there is no natural
control. A breeder may wait for
years for black fox and he may get
one in the first litter. But the chances
are long in favor if the wait, hence
the scarcity Of this fur.
And after the dealer had told me all
about fox farming, | concluded |
would rather take chances on hen
raising in the States-that this black
fox business was too much like the
iob the fellow in Mexico had-picking
blossoms from century plant.
| travelled many hundred miles with
4 government revenue officer, whose
business it was to see that every
saloon and joint that sold liquor came /,
through with its government license
o Uncle Sam. He said he travelled :
5000 miles every year in Alaska, but
hat the territory would soon be dry
md then he was going into the fur
'uying, which he had been doing as
ide line for some time, and he gave
ne these outside market prices on 7
Alaska furs: Silver fox, $500 to
1900; black fox, $500; red fox, $1S /
o SOS; white fox, 500. Then there
re the otter ,ermine, martin, wolf, y
Il varieties of bears, wolverine, lynx, U
eaxer, skunk, and so on. Martin are g
orbidden to be trapped in Alaska, and '
believe seals also, except the dog II
cal. These can be bought for one .
ollar apiece. The walrus grow to an v
normous size in Alaska, as large as c'
he largest OK and often weighs ton. y
What about farming, stock raising n
nd timber, are questions that have u
ften been asked of me, and New
ork newspaper sends me the follow 81
,g clipping, said to have been in an :"
rticle written by Frank Carpenter: d'
Men go up there to mine, or to p'
follow other more or less adven-
turous pursuits, and many Of sc
them remain to farm or raise VI
stock In many regions the plow OF
turns up more gold-and more al
easily--than does the pickax. The ye
government railroad is being pi
built not to bring out gold, but oe
coal and copper, and for miles nc
around it there are valleys which sc
have soil and claimate that com IN
pare favorably with many regions ri
in the United States proper. The 81
weather records for the past win Ke
ter show that the temperature y
averaged milder at the port Of H'
Seward than at New York, and it IL
is claimed they pick strawberries
in the rich Matanuska valley as In
carly as we do here in Oregon. po
If Frank Carpenter wrote the above ye