FUR AND FUR TRADE 



2351 



FUR- AND FUR TRADE 



.UR AND FUR TRADE. Ever since the 

 beginning of history the skins of certain ani- 

 mals have been eagerly sought, either for per- 

 sonal adornment or for use as protection 

 against the cold. The winter covering of ani- 

 mals living in northern latitudes provides the 

 choicest fur, and men willingly risk their lives, 

 year after year, spending the winter months 

 in the frozen wilderness to bring back to civili- 

 zation in the spring the results of their skill 

 as hunters and trappers. The animals chiefly 

 sought are the seal, beaver, badger, marten, 

 ermine, muskrat, fox, skunk, wolf, wolverine, 

 lynx, sable, mink, otter and bear. The trapper 

 does not in any way prepare the skins for mar- 

 ket; he stretches them over boards, dries them 

 in the cold air and delivers them in that con- 

 dition to the buyer. 



So great is the present demand for furs that 

 to meet the supply nearly 145,000,000 wild 

 animals are killed every year. The best furs 

 are obtained during the coldest weather in the 

 coldest regions of the earth. At such times 

 fur-bearing animals are provided with a thick 

 woolly covering beneath the long hairs of the 

 fur, and to this extra covering is due the value 

 of the pelt. Trading posts have been estab- 

 lished in all fur-bearing countries, with stores 

 from which trappers may purchase supplies. 

 At these posts huge quantities of skins are 

 collected, to be later sold by auction in the 

 world's great fur markets, the chief of which 

 are London, England; Leipzig, Germany, and 

 Nijhni Novgorod, Russia. 



Fur Trading Companies. The fur trade of 

 America has for more than two centuries been 

 of great importance. Early settlers established 

 a chain of trading posts extending from Hud- 

 son Bay to New Orleans. Bitter war was 

 waged between British and French companies, 

 in which the Indians often took sides. The 

 French were gradually forced from the Cana- 

 dian fur-trapping grounds. In 1760 Charles II 

 of England granted a monopoly to a company 

 founded under the name of the Hudson's Bay 

 Fur Trading Company. The monopoly was 

 confined at first to the regions around Hudson 

 Bay, but eventually the company extended its 



operations to every part of Canada. In 1869 

 the government of Canada paid to the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company the sum of $1,500,000 as 

 compensation for surrender of its monopoly 

 and territories held; since that time equal 

 privileges have been extended to all. The 

 principal rival of the Hudson's Bay corporation 

 is Revillon Freres, usually spoken of as the 

 "French Company," with many trading posts, 

 some standing almost side by side with those 

 of the Hudson's Bay Company. 



Alaska produces the greater part of the fur 

 supply of the United States. Until 1913 these 

 , furs were nearly all sent to London to be 

 dressed and cut, only a few finding their way 

 direct to American factories. Indeed, the 

 American market is still small, and most of 

 the furs sold in the stores of the great cities 

 have been sent first from Canada and Alaska 

 to London or Leipzig. The Alaskan seal fish- 

 eries are of great importance, but the number 

 of seals that may be killed each year is now 

 strictly regulated by the United States govern- 

 ment. Attempts are being made to develop 

 the fur market of Saint Louis, 'and in 1913 the 

 greater portion of the skins from Alaska were 

 sent there. The War of the Nations practically 

 closed the European markets for a time, and 

 gave an added impetus to American enter- 

 prise. 



Canadian Furs. The total value of the furs 

 annually produced in Canada is estimated at 

 about $2,000,000. Muskrats head the list, with 

 a total of nearly 1,000,000 skins valued at 

 $256,000. Martens and minks are valued at 

 over $220,000; beavers, $131,000; ermine, $22,- 

 000; wild foxes of all kinds, $185,000; otters, 

 $102,000; skunks, $17,515; fur seals, $5,000; 

 lynx, $114,756; wolves, $16,452; bears, $45,000. 



Fur Farming. A new and important indus- 

 try has been created in Canada in the breeding 

 of black foxes. This has extended from Prince 

 Edward Island, where it originated about 1900, 

 to Nova Scotia, Quebec and other eastern parts 

 of the Dominion. The fur of the black and 

 silver tip foxes occupies such a place among 

 furs as is held by diamonds among jewels. It 

 cannot be artificially duplicated, and it is so 



