plit skinning." To
case skin an animal such as ermine, fox, fisher, lynx, marten, mink,
otter, muskrat, rabbit, or skunk, the skin is cut down the inner side
of each hind leg until the two cuts meet just under the tail, and then
the pelt is peeled off by turning it inside out. To split skin an
animal such as wood-buffalo, moose, wapiti, caribou, deer, bear,
beaver, wolf, or wolverine, the skin is cut down the belly from throat
to tail and also on the inside of each leg to the centre cut, and then
the pelt is peeled off both ways toward the back. All split skins are
stretched on rectangular frames--all save beaver skins which are
stretched on oval frames. All case skins are stretched over
wedge-shaped boards of various sizes--all save muskrat skins which are
more often stretched over a hooped frame or a looped stick. So, of
course, our moose pelt was "split skinned," but there is still another
way to skin an animal that is too large for one man to turn over, and
that is--in case the animal is lying on its belly--to split the skin
down the back and then peel it off both ways toward the belly.

If the skin is to be used as a robe, the hair is left on, and the
animal's brains are rubbed into the inner side of the pelt, after the
fat has been removed, and then the skin is left to dry. That softens
the pelt; but traders prefer skins to be sun-dried or cold-dried. If
the skin is to be used as leather, the hair is cut off with a knife,
and a deer's shin-bone is used as a dressing tool in scraping off the
fat; both sides of the skin are dressed to remove the outer surface.
It is easier to dress a skin in winter than in summer, but summer-made
leather wears better, for the reason that the roots of the hair run all
through a summer skin; whereas in winter the roots show only on the
outer side; that is why a fur-trader--when looking only at the inner
side--can tell whether a skin has been taken in winter or summer. In
dressing leather the inner side is rubbed well with brains which are
then allowed to soak in for three or four days; then the skin is soaked
in a vessel filled with water--but not in a river--for about two days
more; then it is stretched again and let dry, then scraped with a bone,
shell, or steel scraper--if it is a moose skin, only on one side, but
if it is a caribou skin, on both sides. The object of scraping is to
further soften the skin. After that, it is taken off the stretcher and
rubbed together betw