efforts, set about to do this work for
himself, ignorant of the extent of his task, and relying upon Curly for
advice as to the procedure.

Curly sat on his horse and looked on with contempt as Franklin flung
down the raw skin upon the ground.

"You've shore tackled a bigger job than you know anything about, Cap,"
said he, "and, besides that, it ain't a job fittin' fer a man to do.
You ought to git some squaw to do that for you."

"But, you see, there aren't any squaws around," said Franklin, smiling.
"If you'll tell me just how the Indians do it I'll try to see how good
a job I can make of it."

Curly shifted his leg in his saddle and his cud in his mouth, and
pushing his hat back on his forehead, assumed the position of
superintendent.

"Well, it'll take you a long time," said he, "but I 'low it ain't no
use tellin' you not to begin, fer you'll just spile a good hide anyhow.
First thing you do, you stretch yer hide out on the ground, fur side
down, and hold it there with about six hundred pegs stuck down around
the edges. It'll take you a week to do that. Then you take a knife
and scrape all the meat off the hide. That sounds easy, but it'll take
about another week. Then you git you a little hoe, made out of a piece
of steel, and you dig, and dig, and dig at that hide till you git some
more meat off, and begin to shave it down, thin like. You got to git
all the grease out of it, an' you got to make all the horny places
soft. Time you git it dug down right it'll take you about a year, I
reckon, and then you ain't done. You got to git brains--buffalo brains
is best--and smear all over it, and let 'em dry in. Then you got to
take your hide up and rub it till it's plum soft. That'll take you a
couple of weeks, I reckon. Then you kin smoke it, if you have got any
place to smoke it, an' that'll take you a week, it you don't burn it
up. Sometimes you kin whiten a hide by rubbin' it with white clay, if
you can git any clay. That might take you a few days longer. Oh, yes,
I reckon you kin git the hide tanned if you live long enough. You'd
ought to put up a sign, 'Captain Franklin, Attorney at Law, an' Hide
Tanner.'"

Franklin laughed heartily at Curly's sarcasm. "There's one thing sure,
Curly," said he; "if I ever get this thing done I shall have to do the
work myself, for no one ever knew you to do any work but ride a horse.
Now, I think I can tan this hide, and do it in less than a year, and in
less t