Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

:DRESSING GAME AND FISH 281skin from the hind legs, and cut off the feet, l^.encut off the fore feet. Skin to the neck; assist herea little with the knife; then skin to the ears; cutoff the butts of the ears; then skin till the blue o^the eyeballs shows, and cut; then to the nose tillthe teeth show, and cut It off. Thus you get nohair on the meat, and the w^hole thing is done inless than a minute, when you have gained deftness.In dressing mammals larger than squirrels beparticular to remove the scent glands. Even rabbitshave them. Cut directly between the fore legand body and you will find a small waxy " kernel "which is a gland. The degree to which thistaints the flesh depends a good deal on the season;but in most of the fur-bearers it is always objectionable.Dan Beard gives the following directions fordressing small animals" To prepare a musquash or any other small fur-bearinganimal for the table, first make a skinning stick of a forkedstick about as thick as your finger. Let the forks be aboutone inch to each branch, and the stick below long enoughto reach up between your knees when the sharpened lowerend is forced into the ground. If you squat on the groundthe stick should be about a foot and one-half long, butlonger if you sit on a camp stool, stump or stone. Hang themuskrat on the forks of the stick by thrusting the sharpenedends of the fork through the thin spot at the gambreljoints of the hind legs, that is, the parts which coriespondwith your own heels. Hung in this manner (with the oneand one-half foot stick), the nose of the animal will justclear the ground. First skin the game, then remove all theinternal organs, and, if it be a muskrat, not only removeall the musk glands, but cut into the inside of the forearmsand the fleshy part of the thighs, and take out a little whitesubstance you will find there which resembles a nerve.This done and the meat well washed, it may be cookedwith little fear of the food retaining a musky llavor."— {Field and Forest Handy Book.)To skin a 'coon: begin with the point of theknife in the center of one hind foot and slit upthe inside of the leg to the vent and dou'n theother leg in a like manner. Cut carefully aroundthe vent, then rip from it up to the chin. Strip