00 INDIANS OF l Hi. PLAINS 



heal may aid in its further distribution. When quite 

 dry, the hide is saturated with warm water and for a 

 time kept rolled up in a bundle. In this state, it 

 usually shrinks and requires a greal deal of stretching 



to get it hack to its approximate former size. This 

 i> accomplished by pulling with the hand- and feet, 

 two persons being required to handle a large -kin. 

 After this, come the rubbing and drying processes. 

 The surface is vigorously rubbed with a rough-edged 

 stone until it presents a clean-grained appearand-. 

 The skin is further dried and whitened by sawing back 

 and forth through a loop of twisted sinew or thong 

 tied to the under side of an inclined tipi pole. This 

 friction develops considerable heat, thereby drying 

 and softening the texture. As this and the preceding 

 rubbing are parts of the same process their chronological 

 relation is not absolute, but the usual order was as 

 given above. The skin is then ready for use. 



Skins with the hair on are treated in the same manner 

 as above, except that the adze-tool is not applied to the 

 hair side. A large buffalo robe was no light object 

 and was handled with some difficulty, especially in the 

 stretching, in consequence of which they were some- 

 times split down the middle and afterward- sewed 

 together again. 



Among some of the Milage tribes, it seems to have 

 been customary to stretch the skin on a four-sided frame 

 and place it upright as shown in the exhibit for the 

 Thompson Indiatis south side of the Jesup North 

 Pacific Hall). The exact distribution of this trait i- not 



