ABORIGINAL SKIN-DRESSING. 571 



tent the women were dressing skins, either witli a pnraice-stone or with 

 the toothed instrument described before. They then pulled the skin 

 over a line in all directions to make it pliable." (Maximilian, p. 158.) 



Among tho Kiowa Indians those skins taken are mostly dressed for 

 lodges. They are first staked on a smooth spot of ground and water 

 put upon them, when they are ready for fleshing. This consists in re- 

 moving the flesh with an instrument made of a straight bar o( iron, 

 alHMit a foot in length, flattened at one end and filed to the edge. This 

 being grasped in the hand, and a succession of quick blows given, the 

 work slowly proceeds. The skin is then dried, after which the hair is 

 removed in a dry state, and the skin reduced to the proper thickness by 

 dressing down on the hair side. This is done with an instrument made 

 by firmly tying a flat piece of steel, filed to a beveled edge at one end 

 and with the corners rounded, to a large prong of a deer's horn. This 

 is so trimmed, in connection with the body of the horn, as to form an 

 elbow, and is used a little as a carpenter uses his adze. This work is 

 usually done in the cool of the morning. The brains of the animal, 

 having been properly taken care of for the purpose, are now soaked 

 and sqeezed by the hand until reduced to a paste and applied to both 

 sides of the skin, which is afterwards worked and rubbed until flexible. 



The preparation of robes is from winter skins, and differs from the 

 foregoing only in being dressed down on the flesh side, so as to leave 

 the wool and hair upon the robe, and is more thoroughly worked and 

 scoured by means of a sharp gritted stone. (Thomas 0. Battey. A 

 Quarter of a Century among the Indians, 1S75, pp. 187-18S.) 



The Pitt River Indians and the Modocs tan their leather by nearly 

 1 he same process. When an Indian wants buckskin for clothes, imme 

 diately after skinning a deer he cuts its head open, procures the brains, 

 spreads the skin on a smooth log with the bark off. The flesh side 

 of the skin being up, he rubs the brains over it and allows'it to 

 dry. This makes the hide not only grain easier, but half tans it. 

 The skin is then thrown into the stream, where it is allowed to re- 

 main three or four days. This raises the grain. It is then thrown 

 across a slick smooth piece of log about 10 or 12 inches in diameter. 

 One end of this stick is usually about 3 feet off of the ground and the 

 other end resting on the ground. The neck of the skin is now pulled 

 (> or 8 inches over the elevated end of the graining log, and the 

 stomach of the grainer pressed tightly against it. A flat stick is usually 

 placed between the stomach and the skin. This enables the workman 

 to hold the skin from slipping. He has what is known as a graining 

 knife. This knife is now made of iron, but was not long since made of 

 hard yew wood. It is from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch thick, 

 by L' to .'* inches wide. It is curved edgewise to fit the round surface 

 of the graining-log. The edge is perfectly square. There is a handle 

 at each end, and the knife is taken by each handle and pushed vigor- 

 ously down the skin. This is rather slow work; still, an Indian will 



