Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

PELTS, BUCKSKIN, RAWHIDE 317small ones If four-stranded. Having removed thehair, stake the hides out on level ground, keepingthem well stretched and constantly wetted so asnot to harden; keep them pegged out two days.Cut up the hide In the manner of laces, the widthof the strip not exceeding one-half inch; wet eachstrip, when cut, and wrap it around a stick; thenfasten the strips to a tree and plait them to a uniformcircumference and tightness of twist. Keepthe strands and plaited portion wet; a Mexicanfills his mouth with water which he squirts overthe work and materials. When the rope Is finished,stretch It thoroughly, and then grease it. To preserveIts pliability, keep It continually greased.Catgut.—The catgut of commerce Is never madefrom cats, any more than chamois skin Is made fromchamois; but It can be made from the Intestines ofalmost any good-sized animal. Thoroughly cleansethe intestine from all Impurities, inside and out ;thisis more easily done while the gut is still warm fromthe animal. Wash it and then scrape it with ablunt knife to remove slime and grease; then steepit in running water for a day or two, so as to loosenboth the Inner and outer membranes, which arethen removed by scraping. To turn the gut Insideout, double back a few Inches of one end, invertthis, take the bag thus formed between finger andthumb and dip water up into it till the double foldis nearly full, when the weight of the water willcause the gut to become Inverted. The fibrous innermembrane is then soaked three or four hoursin water to which wood ashes have been added. Itis then washed free from lye and can either be splitInto thin fibers when It has dried or may be twistedInto a bowstring or similar cord. To twist It,plant two stout stakes In the ground, a little widerapart than the length of the gut; make a saw-cutIn the top of each stake; cut two narrow, flatpieces of wood Into the shape of knife-blades, thinenough to enter the saw-cuts, and notch on'^ end