Camp Life In The Woods And The Tricks Of Trapping And Trap Making Part 27

[Ill.u.s.tration]

In Canada and northward the toboggan is in very extensive use, both for purposes of traffic and amus.e.m.e.nt. It is quite commonly met with in the streets of various Canadian cities, and is especially appreciated by the youthful population, who are fond of coasting over the crust of snow. For this purpose there is no other sled like it, and a toboggan of the size we shall describe will easily accommodate two or three boys, and will glide over a crust of snow with great ease and rapidity. To the trapper it is especially valuable for all purposes of transportation. The flat bottom rests upon the surface of the snow, and the weight being thus distributed a load of two or three hundred pounds will often make but little impression and can be drawn with marvellous ease. Our ill.u.s.tration gives a very clear idea of the sled, and it can be made in the following way: the first requisite is a board about eight feet in length and sixteen or more inches in width. Such a board may be procured at any saw mill. Oak is the best wood for the purpose, although hickory, ba.s.swood or ash will do excellently. It should be planed or sawed to a thickness of about a third of an inch, and should be free from knots. If a single board of the required width is not easily found, two boards may be used, and secured side by side by three cleats, one at each end and the other in the middle, using wrought nails and clinching them deeply into the board on the under side. The single board is much to be preferred, if it can be had. The next requisites are seven or eight wooden cross-pieces of a length equivalent to the width of the board.

Four old broom-sticks, cut in the required lengths, will answer [Page 271]

this purpose perfectly, and if these are not at hand other sticks of similar dimensions should be used. Two side pieces are next needed. These should be about five feet in length, and in thickness exactly similar to the cross pieces. Next procure a few pairs of leather shoe-strings or some strips of tough calf skin. With these in readiness we may now commence the work of putting the parts together. Begin by laying the cross pieces at equal distances along the board; across these and near their ends lay the two side pieces, as seen in the ill.u.s.tration. By the aid of a gimlet or awl, four holes should now be made through the board, beneath the end of each cross piece, and also directly under the side piece. It is well to mark with a pencil, the various points for the holes, after which the sticks can be removed and the work much more easily performed.

The four holes should be about an inch apart, or so disposed as to mark the four corners of a square inch. It is also necessary to make other holes along the length of the cross pieces, as seen in the ill.u.s.tration. The line on these can also be marked with the pencil across the board, and the holes made afterwards. These should also be an inch apart, and only two in number at each point, one on each side of the stick. When all the holes are made the board should be turned over, in order to complete preparations on the other side. The object of these various holes is for the pa.s.sage of the leather shoe-strings for the purpose of securing the cross pieces firmly to the board. In order to prevent these loops from wearing off on the under side, small grooves should next be made connecting the holes beneath, thus allowing the leather string to sink into the wood, where it is securely protected from injury. A narrow chisel is the best tool for this purpose, the making of the grooves being much more easily and perfectly accomplished with this than with the jack-knife. When the under side is thus finished the board may be turned over and the cross pieces and sides again arranged in place as already described. Secure the pieces to the board by the leather strings through the various holes, always knotting on the upper surface, and taking care that the knots are firmly tied. The ends of all the cross pieces will require a double cross st.i.tch through the four holes beneath, in order to secure the side pieces as well. This is plainly shown in the small diagram (_a_). The front end of each side piece underneath should now be sharpened to a point, to allow for the bend at the front of the toboggan. The cross piece at this end should be secured to the under side of the board, so that as it bends over it will appear on the upper edge, as our ill.u.s.tration shows. The board should [Page 272]

next be bent with a graceful curve, and thus held in position by a rope or strip of leather at each extremity of the end cross piece and attached to the ends of the third cross piece, as seen in the engraving.

If the bending is difficult and there is danger of breaking the board, the application of boiling water will render it pliable. The draw strings should then be attached to the ends of the second cross piece, and our toboggan is now complete.

It may now be laden with two or three hundred pounds of merchandize and will be found to draw over the surface of the snow with perfect ease. For coasting over the crust there is nothing like it. Such a toboggan as we have described will easily accommodate three boys, the one at the stern being provided with a sharp stick for steering, and the front occupant holding firmly to the draw strings. The toboggan is easily made, and will do good service either for traffic or sport.

CURING SKINS.

This department of the trapper's art is one of the most important and necessary, as affecting pecuniary profits. The value of a skin in the fur market depends entirely upon the care with which it is taken from the animal and afterward prepared, and without a knowledge on this subject the young trapper will in vain seek for high prices for his furs. Large quant.i.ties of valuable skins are sent to our markets annually by inexperienced amateur trappers, and in many cases rare and beautiful furs have been almost spoiled by want of care in skinning and curing. The rules are simple and easily followed, a little care being all that is necessary to insure most perfect success. In every case the skin should be removed shortly after death, or at least before it has become tainted with decay. Great pains should be taken in skinning. Avoid the adherence of flesh or fat to the skin, and guard against cutting through the hide, as a pierced skin is much injured in value. The parts about the eyes, legs and ears should be carefully removed. The various methods of skinning are described in our section on trapping, and in all cases the furs should be allowed to dry in a cool, airy place, free from the rays of the sun or the heat of a fire, and protected from rain.

Astringent preparations of various kinds are used by many trappers, but they are by no means necessary. The most common dressing consists of equal parts of rock salt and alum dissolved in water. Into this a sufficient amount of coa.r.s.e flour or wheat bran is stirred to give [Page 273]

the mixture the consistency of batter, after which it is spread thickly over the skin and allowed to dry.

It is afterwards sc.r.a.ped off, and in some cases a second application is made. This preparation is much used in dressing beaver, otter, mink and muskrat skins, but as many of our most successful and experienced trappers do without it, we fail to see the advantage of using it, as it is only an extra trouble. The simplest and surest way is to stretch the skin and to submit it to a gradual process of natural drying without any artificial heat or application of astringents to hasten the result.

A very common mode of stretching skins consists in tacking them to a board, with the fur inwards, and allowing them to dry as already described.

This method does very well for small skins, but for general purposes the "stretchers" are the only means by which a pelt may be properly cured and prepared.

STRETCHERS.

The board stretcher is the simplest form and is in most common use among trappers for the smaller animals. These stretchers are of two kinds, the plain and the wedged. The plain stretcher consists of a piece of board a quarter of an inch in thickness, about eighteen inches long and six inches in width. One end of this board is rounded off, as seen in our ill.u.s.tration, and the sides should also be whittled and smoothed to a blunt edge.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The board stretchers are used only for those skins which are taken off whole, that is, as described in the chapter on the otter. The skin should be drawn tightly over the blunt end of the board, and its edges either caught in notches cut in the edges of the square end or secured by a few tacks. This stretcher is particularly [Page 274]

adapted to the skins of muskrats, minks and animals of a like size.

They are known in New England as "s.h.i.+ngle stretchers," and are much to be recommended on account of their lightness and the ease with which they can be made and carried.

The wedge stretcher is rather more elaborate than the foregoing, and is said to be an improvement.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The first requisite is a board of about three-eighths of an inch in thickness, two feet or more in length, and three and a half inches at one end tapering to the width of two inches at the other. This end should now be rounded, and the edges of the board whittled off to a blunt edge, as already described in the foregoing, commencing near the centre of the board, and thinning to the edge, and finis.h.i.+ng with the notches at the square end. Now, by the aid of a rip-saw, sever the board through the middle lengthwise.

The wedge is the next thing to be constructed, and should consist of a piece of wood the thickness of the centre of the board and of the same length, tapering from an inch in width at one end to half an inch at the other.

To use the stretcher the two boards are inserted into the skin, (the latter with the fur side inward). The wedge is then inserted between the large ends of the boards and driven in sufficiently to stretch the pelt to its full capacity, securing it in the notches by slight cuts in the hide, or by a tack or two at the edge. It should then he hung in a cool, airy place, and the pelt left to "season."

The bow stretcher is another contrivance very commonly used for small skins like the foregoing. When this is used the pelt should be skinned as described on page 185, the initial cut commencing at the lower jaw and extending down between the fore legs, all the feet being previously cut off. The bow may consist of a switch of any elastic wood such as hickory iron wood, elm or birch. It should be about three or more feet in length, and as large as a man's thumb at the b.u.t.t end. By bending it in the shape of the letter U it may easily be inserted in the skin, the latter being [Page 275]

fastened by catching the lip on each side into a sliver notch cut on each end of the bow, as our ill.u.s.tration indicates.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

For large animals, such as the deer, bear, beaver, the hoop stretcher is generally employed.

THE HOOP STRETCHER.

This consists of a hoop made from one or more flexible switches tied together so as to form a circle. In order to be adapted to this mode of stretching, the skin should be flat, _i. e._ taken off as described on page 172, the initial cut extending from the lower jaw to the vent. The size of the hoop required depends upon the dimensions of the skin. Lay the latter upon some flat surface and so gauge the hoop as that it shall surround the pelt on all sides; after which the latter should be secured or laced to the hoop with twine at the edges. All loose parts should be drawn up, and the skin should everywhere be stretched like a drum head. When this is accomplished it is the custom with many trappers to apply the preparation described on page 273, particularly where the skin is thick and fatty. But we are rather disposed to discourage the use of any preparation whatever, in any case, as they are by no means necessary.

In using the board stretchers the fur should always be on the inside, and when the hoop or bow is used it should be placed in such a position, that the air may circulate freely on both sides of the skin, which should not be removed until thoroughly dry.

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TANNING SKINS.

In case some of our readers might desire to tan fur skins for their own domestic purposes, the subjoined directions will be found to be reliable, and for all ordinary requirements, sufficiently adequate.

For tanning with the hair on, the skin should first be cleaned, every particle of loose fat or flesh, being removed, and the useless parts cut away. When this is done, it should be soaked for an hour or two in warm water. The following mixture should then be prepared: Take equal parts of borax, saltpetre, and sulphate of soda, and with them mix water sufficient to produce the consistency of thin batter.

This preparation should be painted thickly on the flesh side of the skin, after which these sides should be doubled together and the pelt left in an airy place.

A second mixture should next be prepared. This should consist of two parts sal soda; three parts borax; four parts castile or other hard soap: all to be melted together over a slow fire. At the end of twenty-four hours, after the application of the first mixture, the second should be applied in a similar manner, and the fur again folded and left for the same length of time. Next, make a mixture equal parts of salt and alum, dissolved in warm water and thickened with coa.r.s.e flour to the consistency of thin paste. Spread this thickly over the skin and allow it to dry, after which it should be sc.r.a.ped off with the bowl of a spoon. The skin should be tightly stretched during the operation, in order to prevent too great shrinkage. A single application of the last-named dressing, is generally sufficient for small skins; but a second or third treatment may be resorted to if required, to make the skin soft and pliable, after which it should be finished off with sand-paper and pumice stone. A skin may be thus dressed as soft as velvet, and the alum and salt will set the hair securely.

The above directions are excellent, for all general purposes, but we subjoin, in addition, a few other valuable hints and specific recipes in common use. Every trapper has his own peculiar hobby in regard to his tanning process, and the recipes are various and extensive. The above is one of the most reliable for general use.

A common mode of tanning mink and muskrat skins is given in the following:--

TO TAN MINK AND MUSKRAT SKINS.

Before tanning, the skin should always be thoroughly cleansed [Page 277]

in warm water, and all fat and superfluous flesh removed. It should then be immersed in a solution made of the following ingredients: Five gallons of cold soft water; five quarts wheat bran; one gill of salt; and one ounce of sulphuric acid. Allow the skins to soak in the liquid for four or five hours. If the hides have been previously salted, the salt should be excluded from the mixed solution. The skins are now ready for the tanning liquor, which is made in the following way: into five gallons of warm, soft water, stir one peck of wheat bran and allow the mixture to stand in a warm room until fermentation takes place. Then add three pints of salt, and stir until it is thoroughly dissolved. A pint of sulphuric acid should then be poured in gradually, after which the liquor is ready. Immerse the skins and allow them to soak for three or four hours. The process of "fles.h.i.+ng" is then to be resorted to. This consists in laying the skin, fur side down, over some smooth beam, and working over the flesh side with a blunt fles.h.i.+ng tool. An old chopping knife, or tin candlestick, forms an excellent subst.i.tute for the ordinary fles.h.i.+ng knife, and the process of rubbing should be continued until the skin becomes dry, after which it will be found to be soft and pliable. The skin of the muskrat is quite tender, and the fles.h.i.+ng should be carefully performed.

HOW TO TAN THE SKINS OF BEAVER, OTTER, RACc.o.o.n, AND MARTEN.

These should be stretched on a board and smeared with a mixture composed of three ounces each, of salt and alum; three gills of water, and one drachm of sulphuric acid. This should be thickened with wheat bran or flour, and should be allowed to dry on the skin, after which it should be sc.r.a.ped off with a spoon. Next, take the skin from the board, roll it with the fur inside, and draw it quickly backward and forward, over a smooth peg, or through an iron ring.

The skin should then be unfolded and rolled again the opposite way, and the operation repeated until the pelt is quite soft and flexible. This is a good way of softening all kinds of skins, and the above preparation will be found excellent for all ordinary purposes. The muskrat skin may be treated in the same manner as the above, if desired, and the process directed on the muskrat skin may also be applied to the pelts of the other animals.

To remove the fur for a simple tanned skin, the hide should be immersed in a liquid composed of--soft water, five gallons; slaked lime, four quarts; and wood ashes, four quarts. Allow [Page 278]

the skin to soak for a couple of days, after which the fur will readily slip off.

Another method--take equal parts wood ashes and slaked lime, and add water to the consistency of batter. Spread this over the inside of the skin, roll it up, and place it in a pail, covering it with water. Here let it remain from one to five days, or until the hair will shed easily, after which it should be finished with the fles.h.i.+ng knife and velveted with sand paper.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE HISTORY OF FURS AND THE FUR TRADE.

In all cold climates, man has availed himself liberally of the warm covering with which nature has clothed the animals around him; but the wealth of the most favored nations has drawn to them the most beautiful furs, in whatever part of the world they are procured. Skins of animals were among the first materials used for clothing. Before Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, they were furnished with coats of skins. The ancient a.s.syrians used the soft skins of animals to cover the couches or the ground in their tents, and the Israelites employed badger's skins and ram's skins, as ornamental hangings for the Tabernacle. The ancient heroes of the Greeks and Romans, are represented as being clothed in skins. aeneas, wearing for an outer garment, that of the lion, and Alcestes being formidably clad in that of the Libyan Bear.

Herodotus speaks of those living near the Caspian Sea wearing seal skins, and Caesar mentions that the skin of the reindeer formed in part the clothing of the Germans. In the early period, furs appear to have const.i.tuted the entire riches of the Northern countries, and they were almost the only exports. Taxes were paid on them, and they were the medium of exchange. So it was also in our own Western territories in the latter part of the last century, and is to the present day, to a great extent, among the Indians. In the eleventh century, furs had become fas.h.i.+onable throughout Europe, and the art of dyeing them, was practiced in the twelfth. In the history of the Crusades, frequent mention is made of the magnificent displays by the European Princes, of their dresses of costly furs, before the Court at Constantinople. But Richard I. of England, and Philip II. of France, in order to check the growing extravagance in their use, resolved that the choicer furs, ermine and sable amongst the number, should be omitted from their kingly wardrobes.

Louis IX. followed their example in the next century, but not [Page 279]

until his extravagance had grown to such a pitch, that _seven hundred and forty-six_ ermines were required for the _lining_ of one of his _surcoats_. In the times, the use of the choicer furs, as those of the sable, ermine, gris, and Hungarian squirrel, was restricted to the royal families and the n.o.bility, to whom they served as distinctive marks and badges of rank. These privileged persons applied them lavishly to their own use, and the fas.h.i.+on extended to the princes of other less civilized nations. Their royal use soon extended to Tartary, and the tents of the Khan were bedecked with the most rich and costly furs. In the following century, furs were commonly worn in England until their use was prohibited by Edward III., to all persons whose purse would not warrant a yearly expenditure of 100.