CLOTHING AND ITS PREPARATION. 



311 



inent, called the weubaja", which she moved towards her after the man- 

 ner of an adze. This instrument was formed from an elk horn, to the 

 lower end of which was fastened a piece of iron (in recent times) 

 called the wti'u-hi. 



When the hide was needed for a summer tent, leggings, or summer 

 clothing of any sort, the weubaja" was applied to the hairy side. 



The Weubuja 



il i The horn. (2.) The iron (side 

 view). (3) Sinew tied around the 

 iron. 



i'n.. 29. — Front view of the iron. 

 It is about 4 inches wide. 



When the hide was sufficiently smooth, grease was rubbed on it, and it 

 was laid out of doors to dry in the sun. This act of greasing the hide 

 was called " wawe<j'iq<J-i," because they sometimes used the brains of the 

 elk or buffalo for that purpose. Brains, we^iq<fi, seem to have their name 

 from this custom, or else from the primitive verb <['iq^i. Dougherty 

 stated that, in his day, they used to spread over the hide the brains or 

 liver of the animal, which had been carefully retained for that purpose 

 and the warm broth of the meat was also poured over it. Some persons 

 made two-thirds of the brain of an animal suffice for dressing its skin. 

 But Frank La Fleche says that the liver was not used for tanning pur- 

 poses, though the broth was so used when it was brackish. 



When the hide had been dried in the sun, it was soaked by sinking it 

 beneath the surface of any adjacent stream. This act lasted about two 

 days. Then the hide was dried again and subjected to the final opera- 

 tion, which was intended to make it sufficiently soft and pliant. A 

 twisted sinew, about as thick as one's finger, called the wefikinde, was 

 fastened at each end to a post or tree, about 5 feet from the ground. 

 The hide was put through this, and pulled back and forth. This act 

 was called wa^ikinde. 



On the commencement of this process, called ta n '<fe, the hides were 

 almost invariably divided longitudinally into two parts each, for the 

 convenience of the operator. When they were finished they were again 

 sewed together with awls and sinew. When the hides were small they 

 were not so divided before they were tanned. The skins of elk, deer, 

 and antelopes were dressed in a similar manner. 



