Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

PELTS, BUCKSKIN, RAWHIDE 305skin. A beaver skin is slit open from chin to tail,but the legs are stripped out without slitting sothat the skin may be stretched to oval form.The lynx, wildcat, fox, otter, fisher, marten, mink,skunk, muskrat, and oppossum are skinned "cased,"without slitting the belly. The skin, being nowflesh side out, is dried on a stretcher as describedhereafter. The reason for "casing" is that thefurrier then can cut the pelt for himself to thebest advantage, matching the best parts with thosefiom other pelts, and making up separately thethin-furred or off-color parts.In skinning a small animal "cased" it may beconvenient to hang it up by the hind legs on awooden gambrel thrust through the heel tendons, oron wire gambrel hooks, suspended by a short cord sothat both hands can be used and the animal turnedfreely; but this is not necessary: if the beast is large,as a wolf or lynx, lay it on its back; if small, holdit on your knees.Beginning at a hind foot, slit the skin along backof leg to base of tail, cutting carefully around thevent; then similarly along the other leg. If thefeet are furred, skin them out with nails attached;if not, run the knife around the ankles. Peel theskin from the hind legs.Tails of muskrat, beaver, and oppossum, being"worthless, are chopped off where the fur ends, beforeskinning; those of other fur bearers are lefton, the bone being completely removed, of course,or the tail would spoil. Cut a green stick aboutan inch thick and seven or eight inches long. Splitit about half its length, work the skin loose fromroot of tail with finger and thumb until you canslip the split stick over the bone, then, pressing thesides of stick firmly so that the edges cannot slipover the skin, pull hard with it toward end of tailwhile your other hand pulls the body in the oppositedirection, thus stripping the tail skin off "asrlick as a whistle."