weigh the furs

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Detalles

Categoría: Detras del pesaje

Publicado en Viernes, 04 Noviembre 2011 22:19

Impactos: 2859

 

All the dangers of a trapper's life were faced in order to get the hides of the beaver.  Trappers sold their furs to the fur company by the pound. There were two basic ways a trapper sold his furs.  One way was at the annual "rendezvous" in the mountains.  Another way was to sell them at a fort, such as Fort William on the Laramie." A clerk would weigh the furs using a tool called a "steelyard" which told him how much the "plews" weigh.  The price may have been three to four dollars a pound on average.  The clerk calculated how much value in beaver plews you had.  The value would be recorded in a book which held his "account".  Trappers almost never saw money in the west.  His profit was kept on the books until he either used it in trade, or "cashed-out".