INDIAN METHOD OF DRESSING SKINS. 3G5 



brains which Hogarth and Slowtrap had given me, 

 with what I had myself collected, returned to Slow- 

 trap's, and set to work in earnest with my skins. For 

 the benefit of those who may be interested in the sub- 

 ject, I will describe the Indian method of dressing 

 skins. They are laid in water to soak for a whole 

 night ; next morning they are taken out, placed on a 

 smooth board, and the hair scraped off. This done, 

 the brains are mixed with an equal quantity of water 

 in an iron pot, and rubbed well into the skins, one 

 brain being generally enough for one skin ; the brains 

 having previously been put in a coarse linen bag, 

 boiled for an hour, and then left to cool. As soon as cool 

 enough for the hand to bear it, they are rubbed through 

 the bag, giving the water a milky color, and leaving 

 only the fibrous parts in the bag. The skins are put 

 into the pot, and well kneaded, so that they may be 

 thoroughly saturated with the mixture ; then taken 

 out, well wrung, and hung up to dry. Before this, they 

 must be well rubbed and pulled across a sharp board 

 till they are dry, as white as .snow, and as soft as 

 velvet. Yet if they get wet they become as hard as a 

 stone ; to prevent this, all the glutinous substance must 

 be destroyed by smoke.- Therefore two of them are 

 sown together in a bag, a hole is made in the ground, 

 about sixteen inches deep and about eight indies wide, 

 in which a fire is lighted. As soon as it is in a bright 

 glow, rotten wood is laid on to make a thick smoke, 

 and the .skins are placed over it, mouth downwards, 

 till they are so thoroughly penetrated by it, that they 

 begin to turn brown on the outside. They are then 

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