58 INDIANS OF THE PL UN8 



upturned flesh side of the hide are many fragments 

 of muscular tissue, fat, and strand- of connective 

 tissue, variously blackened by coagulated blood. The 

 first treatment is that of cleaning or fleshing. Shortly 

 after the staking out, the surface is gone over with a 

 fleshing tool by which the adhering flesh, etc. i- raked 

 and hacked away. This is an unpleasant and laborious 

 process requiring more brute strength than skill. 

 Should the hide become too dry and stiff to work well, 

 the surface is treated with warm water. After fleshing, 

 the hide is left to cure and bleach in the sun for some 

 days, though it may be occasionally saturated by 

 pouring warm water over its surface. The next thing 

 is to work the skin down to an even thickness by 

 scraping with an adze-like tool. The stakes are usually 

 pulled up and the hard stiff hide laid down under a 

 sun-shade or other shelter. Standing on the hide, 

 the woman leans over and with a sidewise movement 

 removes the surface in chips or shavings, the action 

 of the tool resembling that of a hand plane. After the 

 flesh side has received this treatment, the hide is 

 turned and the hair scraped away in the same manner. 

 This completes the rawhide process and the subse- 

 quent treatment is determined by the use to be made 

 of it. 



The soft-tan finish as given to buffalo and deer hides 

 lor robes, soft bags, etc., is the same in its initial stages 

 as the preceding. After Meshing and scraping, the 

 rawhide is laid upon the ground and the surface rubbed 

 over with an oily compound composed of brains and 



