﻿344 
  

  

  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  

  

  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  hide 
  was 
  next 
  turned 
  skin 
  side 
  up 
  and 
  seraped 
  to 
  an 
  even 
  thickness 
  

   with 
  the 
  same 
  implement; 
  this 
  process 
  (fig. 
  71) 
  was 
  called 
  by 
  the 
  

   same 
  name 
  as 
  that 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  hair 
  was 
  removed. 
  After 
  this 
  the 
  

   skin 
  was 
  folded 
  in 
  an 
  oblong 
  shape 
  convenient 
  for 
  packing 
  and 
  was 
  

   taken 
  home 
  for 
  tanning. 
  Often 
  a 
  family 
  would 
  have 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   skins 
  to 
  prepare 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  when 
  on 
  the 
  hunt 
  and 
  the 
  women 
  would 
  

   be 
  kept 
  busy 
  day 
  and 
  night 
  if 
  the 
  hunters 
  were 
  successful. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  71. 
  Scraping 
  a 
  skin. 
  

  

  Not 
  only 
  did 
  the 
  skins 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  attended 
  to 
  at 
  once 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  

   save 
  them 
  but 
  the 
  meat 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  jerked 
  immediately, 
  otherwise 
  it 
  

   would 
  spoil 
  and 
  be 
  attacked 
  by 
  insects. 
  Jerking 
  (ica'ga) 
  was 
  done 
  by 
  

   cutting 
  the 
  flesh 
  in 
  very 
  thin 
  slices 
  and 
  hanging 
  these 
  on 
  frames, 
  so 
  

   that 
  the 
  wind 
  and 
  sun 
  could 
  dry 
  them 
  rapidly. 
  If 
  a 
  rain 
  set 
  in 
  just 
  

   after 
  a 
  hunt, 
  quantities 
  of 
  meat 
  and 
  pelts 
  were 
  apt 
  to 
  spoil, 
  owing 
  

   to 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  preserving 
  them 
  in 
  a 
  warm, 
  moist 
  atmosphere. 
  

  

  