ALASKA. 85 



bair, dull gray, brown, and grizzled. The best of these raw 

 skins arc worth only $5 to $10, but after dressing they bring 

 from $25 to $40 ; and it takes three of them to make a hid;^ 's 

 sack and boa. In order that it may be apparent that there 

 is reason for this great advance in price over the raw quota- 

 tion, I take great pleasure in submitting a descri[)tiou of the 

 process, kindly furnished me by a leading furrier i)ractically 

 an<l skillfully conversant with the subject, probably the only 

 person in the country long familiar with it. His communication 

 is as follows : 



"Albany, October 22, 1874. 



" Sir : The Alaska Commercial Company sold in London, De- 

 cember, 1873, about sixty tbousand skins taken from the islands 

 leased by our Government of the catch of 1873. The remain- 

 der of the catch, about forty thousand, were sold in March. 

 This company have made the collection of seal from these 

 islands much more valuable than they were before their lease, 

 by the care used by them in curing the skins, and taking them 

 only when iu season. We have worked this class of seal for 

 several years — when they were owned by the Eussiau Ameri- 

 can Fur Company, and during the first year they were owned 

 by our Government. 



•' When the skins are received by u»s iu the salt, we wash off 

 the salt, placing them upon a beam somewhat like a tanner's 

 beam, removing the fat from the flesh-side with a beaming- 

 knife, care being required that no cuts or uneven i)laces are 

 made in the pelt. The skins are next washed iu water and 

 placed upon the beam with the fur up, and the grease and 

 water removed by the knife. The skins are then dried by mod- 

 erate heat, being tacked out on frames to keep them smooth. 

 After being fully dried, they are soaked iu water and thoroughly 

 cleansed with soap and water. In some cases they can be un- 

 haired without this drying-process, and cleansed before drying. 

 After the cleansing-process they pass to the picker, who dries 

 the fur by stove-heat, the pelt being kept moist. When the 

 fur is dry he places the skin on a beam, and while it is warm 

 he removes the main coat of hair with a dull shoe-knife, grasp- 

 ing the hair with his thumb and knife, the thumb being pro- 

 tected by a rubber cob. The hair must be pulled out, not 

 broken. After a portion is removed the skin must be again 

 warmed at the stove, the pelt being kept moist. When the 

 outer hairs have been mostly removed, he uses a beaujing- 

 knife to work out the finer hairs, (which are shorter,) and the 



