CHAPTER XXXII.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
How to Tan Skins.
I give below several successful receipts for tanning skins and furs of all kinds, but if you have never tanned skins before I would advise you to make your first attempt on some skin of small value, writes an old hunter and trapper. Remove all flesh from a skin before putting thru the tanning process by laying it over what is called a fleshing beam and scraping with a dull knife; the fleshing beam is nothing more than a beam with edges rounded and a log peeled of the bark will answer the purpose very well.
First remove the hair from the hide by putting in 5 gallons of water, 2 gallons of slacked lime, 2 quarts of wood ashes and 3 ounces of soda. After the hair has become loose, try soaking in this mixture, remove it by scraping it off with a stick (be careful not to let it get on the hands, as it is very irritating to the skin). This receipt can be altered according to the number of hides you have to tan. The amount given here is enough for 2 or 3 hides (such as goat, dog and animals of that size.)
Next draw the lime from the skin by putting it in a bath composed of 5 gallons of water, 2 quarts of wheat bran, 4 ounces of acetic acid and 1/2 pound of salt. Finally put the skins in a mixture of 5 gallons of water, 1 pound of salt, 1 1/2 pounds of gambia, and 5 ounces of acetic acid. Leave the skins in each process about three days, take them out often and pull and work them.
When you think the skin is done, take it and put it on a stretcher like a coon stretcher, but of course altered to fit the skin you are tanning; stretch the skin tight but not too tight and put in the sun; at intervals of half an hour apply with a brush or rag mixtures number three until the skin will soak up no more.
Do this about three times and then put the skin in the shade or some cool place where there is a free circulation of air to dry. Lastly, when dry, oil flesh side of the skin lightly. This leather if tanned right is the best you can get, but the objections is that a trapper in the woods does not always have a drug store near to purchase the tanning material which is rather expensive, so I will give a few cheap methods also.
The way the Indians tan skins in the woods is to take the brains of the animal and rub the flesh side of the skin with them until it is rubbed in good; they then let them dry, working and pulling them until thoroughly dry. To tan mole, squirrel and such skins, draw the skin over a corn cob or board and place it in the sun, then apply sweet oil every 24 hours. After doing this about five times rub over with fine alum.