Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

;PELTS, BUCKSKIN, RAWHIDE 319the same or similar twisting motion, and by pulling,the fiber can be extended to a reasonablelength. [Dried sinews may readily be shredded bywetting, and, if necessary, by gentle hammering.]Cords or small ropes are made by twisting manyfibers together between two forked sticks fastenedin the ground, and, during the process, rubbingwith thin skins of the elk or deer to soften themthe largest cord I have seen made in this mannerwas one-fourth of an inch in diameter. To prepareit for sewing, the sinew is wet, and, at theneedle end, rolled on the knee with the palm ofthe hand to a fine, hard point, like that of a shoemaker'sbristle. As suggested, the sinews are madesufficiently fine for use in fixing the guiding feathers,and fastening the iron or flint heads of arrows,and in wrapping of clubs, etc. Formerly the awlused in sewing was of bone taken from the leg ofthe eagle ; this has been displaced by the commonsailor's needle ; the overstitch is that most commonlyemployed in aboriginal sewing."To join two slippery strands of sinew, lay theirends side by side, as in Fig. 108, and then withthis double strand tie a figure-of-eight knot (Fig.loi).Parchment.—It may sometime happen that onewishes to prepare a sheet of parchment on whichto write an important document; this can be donein the wilderness, if one can kill some animal thathas a gall-bladder. Make the parchment like ordinaryrawhide, from the thin skin of a medium-sizedanimal, say a fawn or a wildcat.Rub it down withThen geta flat piece of sandstone or pumice-stone.a smooth, water-worn pebble and with it rub everypart of one surface, (hair side) of the skin, makingit firm and smooth. Then give this a coat of galldiluted with water.The old-fashioned way of making ox-gall was asox and afterfollows: take the gall of a newly killedhaving allowed it to settle twelve or fifteen hours