Woodcraft

by Elmer Harry Kreps

Now when Mrs. Indian has secured enough skins to form the desired blanket she makes a square frame of poles, about the size the finished blanket is to be, and fastens around the inside a piece of heavy twine. Then sewing the end of a fur strip to the cord at one of the upper corners she weaves this strip across the end of the frame by looping it around the cord in a succession of simple loops, using her finger as a gauge to make the mesh a uniform size. When a gauge reaches the end of the strip she sews on another and weaves it as before. When she has made such a row of little loops all across the top of the frame she passes the fur strip around the side cord a few times and then starts another row backward, looping the strip into the row of loops already formed. Thus she weaves the strips of fur back and forth across the frame until the robe is finished. These simple loops will not slip after the fur has become dry. The entire blanket must be perfectly dry before it is removed from the frame, and it must never be allowed to become wet. The skins are not tanned, simply dried.

These blankets are usually wider at one end than at the other, so that there will be sufficient width to wrap around the shoulders of the user and yet no more material, bulk and weight than necessary. I find it most satisfactory to double the blanket lengthwise and loop a cord through the edges across the foot and a third of the way up the side, thus fastening the edges firmly together and making it somewhat like a sleeping bag. So made I do not get my feet uncovered at night, and yet it is easy to get into and out of it. These blankets, or robes as they are sometimes called, are so loosely woven that a man can put his fingers through anywhere, yet for their weight they are the warmest bedding I know of.

I believe an ordinary rabbit blanket will weigh about eight pounds. It appears bulky, for with fur on both sides it is quite thick, but it can be tied up into a fairly small package. I used to roll mine into a package measuring about 10 inches in diameter by 20 inches in length, and this could be placed in the bottom of a common packsack. There it formed a soft pad for the back and the heavy articles were thrown higher up in the pack, where the weight should be, if weight is ever really needed in a pack.

I fancy I hear somebody asking how this species of bedding is to be kept dry in rainy weather. If it is warm enough for rain a rabbit robe is not needed — that is the time to use the woolen blanket. It never rains during cold weather. In the north, where these fur blankets are needed and used, the weather turns cold in November, remaining so until March or April, and during this time it is considered remarkable if it ever becomes warm enough to rain. I have never had one of these blankets wet, except that nearly every morning the fur on the outside will be more or less wet, presumably from the moisture which it throws out to the surface. This is only on the outside fur and will soon dry off if the blanket is hung where the warmth from the fire can reach it.

The only fault I find with these fur blankets is that they are continually shedding the hair, and rabbit hair is apt to appear in the biscuits, and is certain to be sprinkled plentifully over the clothing. This is not so objectionable to outdoor men, but it prohibits the use of the article in the house.

Any trapper living in the northern forest should be able to make a rabbit skin blanket for his own use. A few days setting and tending snares will provide the necessary number of rabbits, and the weaving of the blanket may be done on a cold day or in the evenings. I have never made one, for I have been able to buy them from the Indians at prices ranging from $6.00 to $10.00 each, and that is cheaper than I could make one myself.

The camp bed that is generally unloaded on the unsuspecting tender foot is some form of sleeping bag. There may be good sleeping bags and it is possible that I am unduly prejudiced against this form of camp bed, for I have given only two styles a real tryout, but I can say emphatically that the kinds I used were no good. My first sleeping bag was made of heavy canvas, inside of which was a separate bag made of a blanket. It was very unsatisfactory, for in addition to being exceedingly stiff and inconvenient for handling, getting into and out of it, it was also a very poor protection against the cold.

The next investment along this line was one of the sheepskin-lined bags advertised so much about 10 or 15 years ago. It was made of heavy duck with a lining of sheepskin with the wool on. Inside of this was a blanket bag and this was also fitted with a removable drill sack, which could be washed. If weight and thickness were sure indications of warmth this should have been all right for the polar regions, for the complete outfit must have weighed 25 pounds. I found it very little warmer than the bag with the blanket lining, and I was not long in getting rid of it.

This is the extent of my experience with sleeping bags, but it is sufficient to turn me against the entire family. As I said before there may be good ones, but I am from Missouri. The plain, heavy, all-wool blanket for me as long as the weather is not bitterly cold, for when zero temperature comes I want a rabbit fur blanket if I am to do much camping out. These are good enough for me until I find something better, and I don't expect to find it. They have been with me under the most trying conditions and have proved their worth.

What is needed by the trapper, or by anybody who finds occasion to camp out, is something light with little bulk that will keep him as warm and comfortable as he can hope to be under the circumstances. This he finds in the articles recommended.