562 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



As ilie season advances and the snow melts they begin to stretch 

 the skins upon the ground by means of the before-mentioned pegs. 

 The shins are not allowed to rest upon the ground, but are raised a few 

 inches to allow the air to circulate underneath. Skins dry very fast 

 when exposed in this manner. 



The first days of spring are always a busy time with the Eskimo 

 women. One thing is, they get more freshly-killed skins to prepare, 

 and then they generally have a surplus stock of the winter's catch, 

 which they could not take care of by the slow process of drying over 

 the lamps in the huts during winter. The skins of the young in the 

 white coats are dried in some considerable quantities, as it takes about 

 fifteen to make a single suit of clothes, and many of them have double 

 suits made from this material. They have no idea of any tan, and 

 prepare the skins by merely rubbing them with their skin-scrapers. 



We insert a sketch of a very old skin-scraper, such as are now found 

 only in the old graves (Plate lxx, Fig. 3). It is made of stone, with a 

 wooden handle, which is fastened to the stone by means of a strip of 

 whalebone. Another and a later pattern is made from the scapula of 

 the reindeer. A better idea of its manufacture can be got from the 

 sketch than by a description. Such scrapers are still in use, but serve 

 as a sort of auxiliary to one made from a tin can, resembling a little 

 scoop in shape and having a wooden handle. This is the style of scraper 

 made at the present day, and is by far the most effective instrument of 

 the three. The manner of using these scrapers is to take the skin 

 firmly in the left hand, to put the knee or foot upon the extreme 

 part of it, holding it securely, while the scraper is worked with the 

 right hand, pushing downward with some force. If the skins are 

 very dry when they begin they are somewhat softened by rubbing with 

 the hands, or even chewing the most stubborn parts. They continue 

 using these tools upon a hide till it gains the desired pliability. All 

 the work of stretching, drying, cleaning, washing, and softening the 

 skins falls on the women. 



" The skins of Phoca barbata are stretched on a frame like those of the 

 netstick, but not until the hair has been removed. The cutting of the 

 hair is one of the nastiest aud most disgusting sights one can imagine. 

 It generally falls to tlie lot of some old woman to do this. The skins are 

 allowed to lie and become somewhat putrid, a portion of the blubber 

 remaining on. The only tool used is the woman's knife before men- 

 tioned. When about to clean one of these skins the squaw takes off 

 her boots, stockings, and pantaloons, and tucking her feet under her 

 body, lays this dirty, bloody, greasy, stinking skin on her bare thigh, 

 the flesh side down. She then pushes the knife against the hair, cut- 

 ting or rather shaving it off. As her hand becomes too oily to hold on 

 to the skin, she puts her fingers into her mouth and thus cleans them. 

 When properly cleaned, it is dried in the manner already spoken of, ex- 

 cept that the back aud belly of the auimal are dried separately, as the 



