40 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA. 



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 have double suits made from 

 this material. They have no idea of any tan, and prepare the skins 

 merely by rubbing them with their skin-scraper^. 



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

 only in the old graves. It is made of stone, with a wooden handle, 

 which is fastened to the stone by means of a strip of whalebone. An- 

 other and later pattern is made from the scapula of a reindeer. A bet- 

 ter idea of its make can be got from the sketch than by a description. 

 Such scrapers are still in use, but serve as a sort of auxiliary to a scraper 

 made from a tin can, resembling a little scoop in shape, and having a 

 v/ooden 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 and 

 putting the knee or foot upon the lower 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 upon the women. 



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

 netsick, but not till the hair has been removed. The cutting of the hair 

 is one of the nastiest and most disgusting sights one can imagine. It gen- 

 erally falls to the lot of some old woman to do this. The skins are allowed 

 to lie and become somewhat putrid, a portion of 1 he blubber remaining on. 

 The only tool used is the woman's knife before mentioned. 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, cutting, 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, except that the back and belly 

 of the animal are dried separately, as the skin is different on those por- 



