22 ® 
Commer¬ 
cial 
History. 
weesel; 
the pit of the ftomach, the other to the back, 
drawing them tight together by cords placed at the 
ends*: fuch are the hardships our fellow creatures 
undergo, to fupply the wantonefs of luxury. 
The feafon of chace being finifhed, the hunters 
re-affemble, make a report to their leader of the 
number of fables each has taken •, make complaints 
of offenders againfl: their regulations; punifh de¬ 
linquents *, fhare the booty; then continue at the 
head quarters ’till the rivers are clear of ice; return 
home, and give to every church the dedicated furs. 
The following is the commercial hiftory of this 
fur trade, which Mr. J. R. Forfter was fo obliging 
as to tranflate for me, from Muller's Samlung Rufs. 
Gefchichte III, 495 to 515, being an abftradt from 
above 20 pages. 
“ Sable, Sobol in Rujjian ; Zobel in German: 
their price varies, from ll. to iol. flerling, and 
above : fine and middling fable ikins are without 
bellies, and the coarfe ones are with them: forty 
ikins make a colle&ion called Zimmer: the fined fa¬ 
bles are fold in pairs, perfectly fimilar, and are 
dearer than fingle ones of the fame goodnefs ; for 
the Ruffians want thofe in pairs for facing caps, 
cloaks, tippets, &c. the blacked are reputed the 
bed. Sables are in feafon from November to Fe¬ 
bruary ; for thofe caught at any other time of the 
year are fhort hair’d, and then called Nedofoboli: 
the hair of fables differs in length and quality: the 
* Belt's Travels, I. 245* 
