Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

270 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFThand will ache between thumb and forefinger; atomahawk would have been better.Skinning.—- This is your first buck, and youwish to save the head for mounting. For this theskin of the whole neck must be preserved, clearback to the shoulders. Cleanse away any bloodthat may have issued from the nose and mouth, andstuff some dry moss, or other absorbent, in thebeast's mouth. Stick your big knife into a logalongside; it is only to look at, for the present.Open your jack-knife, insert the point, edge up,where the neck joins the back, and cut the skin ina circle around the base of the neck, running fromthe withers dow^n over the front of the shoulderbladeto the brisket or point of the breast on eachside. Do not skin the head at present—you maynot have time for that. Insert the point of the1knife through the skin over the paunch, and, followingthe middle line of the chest, slit upwardto meet the cut around the neck. Then reverse,and continue the slit backward to the end of thetail, being careful not to perforate the walls of thebelly. Then slit along the inside of each leg fromthe hoof to the belly-slit. If you wish to save thefeet for mounting, be particular to rip the skin ina straight line up the under side of the leg, startingby inserting the point of the knife betweenthe heel-pads.Now comes a nice trick, that of severing theshanks. Nearly every inexperienced person startstoo high. Study the accompanying illustrationsFig. 115 — The Place to Use Your Knife. From Forestand Stream{)i these joints, noting where the arrow points,'*^hich is the place to use your knife. In a