Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

TANNING SKINS^ZZpiece of wire, with which to trim the wicks whenthey smoke.A rush-light is made by soaking the pith ofrushes in melted tallow. When dry, a length ofthe rush is then placed in a split stick, or any kindof clip, and lighted.Candles.—Wherever deer, elk, or other animalswhose fat is tallow, are procurable, there is noexcuse but laziness for such vile illumination. Verysatisfactory candles can be made by the followingprocess, which is called ''dipping." For wicking,use cotton cord loosely unwound, or dry shreddedbark. Put your tallow in a kettle with some boilingwater. One part of hog's lard to three oftallow may improve the product. A mixture of tallowand beeswax is still better. Scald and skimtwice. Lay two poles sidewise and about a footapart on supports, so that they shall be about ashigh from the ground as the top of an ordinarychair; cut some sticks about 15 or 18 inches longfor candle rods; twist your wicking one way, theudouble it; slip the loop over the candle rod andtwist the other way, making a firm wick ;put aboutsix wicks on each rod, a couple of inches apart.Dip a row of wicks into the melted tallow, placethe rod across the two long poles, and thus dipeach row of wicks in turn. Each will have timeto cool and harden between the dips. If allowedto cool too fast they will crack: so work slowly.When the first dipping has hardened, repeat theprocess, and so on until the candles are of desiredthickness. Replenish the tallow as needed, takingit off the fire, of course, for each dip. Thisis the way our foremothers made candles beforethey got candle molds.For a candlestick, split the end of a stick forseveral inches, then again crosswise; open thesesegments by pushing" a flat, thin stick down each;insert candle, and remove wedges ; sharpen the otherend of the stick, and jab it into the ground where-