I 7 2 THE CHILDREN OF THE COLD. 



done by scraping- them with a peculiarly 

 shaped instrument which tears off all the 

 flesh that may have adhered, and scrapes 

 away the inner thick skin that makes the 

 hide so stiff and unpliable. When the 

 skins are thick and heavy, the men do 

 the work, for it is then very difficult ; but 

 otherwise the women, and very often the 

 little girls, scrape the skins and give the 

 finishing touches, and then make them 

 up into coats, dresses, stockings, slippers, 

 and all sorts of clothing. 



For cutting these reindeer skins into 

 shapes for garments, a very queer kind 

 of scissors is used. It is, in fact, a kind 

 of knife, and an odd knife at that. It 

 looks very much like the knife that is 

 used by saddlers and harness-makers ; 

 and when it is used in cutting, it is always 

 shoved away from the person using it. 



