page_title: Siberian fur trade
section_title: Hunting and trading with natives
hierarchical_section_title: Siberian fur trade / Obtaining furs / Hunting and trading with natives
caption_attribution_description: English: Plate of Russian squirrel backs, Chinese work. 145 x 72 cm. Deutsch: Fehrücken-Tafel, chinesische Arbeit (Halbfertigprodukt). 145 x 72 cm groß. Français&#160;: Plaque de fourrures de petit-gris, œuvre chinoise, 145 x 72 cm.
context_page_description: The Siberian fur trade is an exchange concerned with the gathering, buying and selling of valuable animal furs that originate from Siberia. The Siberian fur trade expanded from localized trade, and Siberian fur is now traded around the world. The Siberian fur trade had a significant impact on the development of Siberia through exploration and colonization. The fur trade also precipitated a decline in the number of fur-bearing animals and resulted in Siberia being conquered by Russia.
context_section_description: Beyond the yasuk, the Russians had two principal ways of obtaining Siberian furs: through hunting the animals themselves or through trading. Promyshlenniki was the Russian name for the small groups of Russian traders and trappers who took part in the Siberian fur trade. They were free-men who used fur trapping as a way of making a living. They worked together as a group making traps, collecting food and drink, and building camps in the harsh climate. These groups would evenly split the fur caught between all the members of the group. Working in groups gave these trappers protection against harsh Siberian winters, against unexpected attacks, and other dangers they could encounter if they were alone. At the peak of the Siberia fur trade during the seventeenth century, over a thousand of these trappers and traders ventured into Siberia each year. Men were infected with "fur fever," wanting to strike it rich like the Stroganovs.
  The Siberian fur trade was composed of two main types of traders. Small groups of traders braved the dangers of Siberia's taiga wilderness to trade with natives themselves, but many more traders stayed in Russia and sent agents to work for them in Siberia. Both the independent traders and the agents of the traders in Russia would stay in Siberia typically anywhere from two to six years, depending on how far they wanted to travel, their luck at trading with natives and trapping the animals, and the harshness of the weather. The most commonly traded items included Russian-made goods such as metal wares and ironworks, hunting equipment and firearms, and food and drink supplies. For most of the natives, the hunting equipment and metal products were the most useful and coveted trade items. There was no oversight or rules for the traders who participated in the Siberian fur trade, especially in the first few centuries of fur trading. The native Siberians did not have much knowledge of the worth of their furs, and Russian traders commonly took advantage of this ignorance. For example, names would commonly pay for one copper kettle with the amount of sable pelts that would fit inside of the pot, a tiny fraction of the pelts' actual worth. Traders frequently used force and terror tactics to collect additional furs from the natives. For example, one report from Okhotosk told of a trader who kidnapped all the children from the local native Tungus so he could sell them back to their parents for a sable pelt apiece. In some cases, the traders would hold the native women and children as hostages and in doing so they would force the fathers, brothers, and husbands to bring them furs in return for their loved ones’ safety.
  The fur hunting expeditions into Siberia were mostly conducted in groups ranging from six to sixty men based at small winter peasant huts in the Siberian taiga. The groups baited pit traps with fish or meat to catch sable, and tracked other prey with nets and dogs. They would usually spend up to six or seven weeks at a time hunting. While hunting on land, they would usually use a dog team trained to smell and hunt animals, particularly sable. The dogs were trained not to kill the animals; hunters feared that the dogs would destroy the precious fur by tearing it to pieces. The hunters also occasionally used dogs to retrieve animals once they were killed. Hunters typically killed the animals themselves, doing their best not to damage the pelts in the process.
  Hunters utilized bows, traps, snares, and nets to catch and kill animals for their pelts. Hunters would also follow the footprints of the animals to their dwellings and catch the animals as they emerged. Water mammals, such as sea otters, were also hunted for their pelts. Hunters would balance on small kayaks and would throw spears to kill the water animals. This skill was commonly passed down from father to son and taught at a young age.
  Few Russian hunters were as skilled at the Siberian natives at killing animals without damage to the pelts, which made trading the superior method of acquiring these pelts. Hunting was also dangerous for the p
caption: Plate of squirrel fur backs
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