When the hide was dry the woman stretched it again on the ground, and proceeded to make it thinner and lighter by using another implement, called the wéubájan, which she moved towards her after the manner of an adze. This instrument was formed from an elk horn, to the lower end of which was fastened a piece of iron (in recent times) called the wé`u-hi.
Fig. 28.—The Weubajan.
(1.) The horn. (2.) The iron (side view). (3.) Sinew tied around the iron.
Fig. 29.—Front view of the iron.
It is about 4 inches wide.
When the hide was needed for a summer tent, leggings, or summer clothing of any sort, the wéubájan was applied to the hairy side. When the hide was sufficiently smooth, grease was rubbed on it, and it was laid out of doors to dry in the sun. This act of greasing the hide was called "wawé¢iq¢i," because they sometimes used the brains of the elk or buffalo for that purpose. Brains, wé¢iq¢i, seem to have their name from this custom, or else from the primitive verb ¢iq¢i. Dougherty stated that, in his day, they used to spread over the hide the brains or liver of the animal, which had been carefully retained for that purpose, and the warm broth of the meat was also poured over it. Some persons made two-thirds of the brain of an animal suffice for dressing its skin. But Frank La Flèche says that the liver was not used for tanning purposes, though the broth was so used when it was brackish.
When the hide had been dried in the sun, it was soaked by sinking it beneath the surface of any adjacent stream. This act lasted about two days. Then the hide was dried again and subjected to the final operation, which was intended to make it sufficiently soft and pliant. A twisted sinew, about as thick as one's finger, called the wé¢ikĭnde, was fastened at each end to a post or tree, about 5 feet from the ground. The hide was put through this, and pulled back and forth. This act was called wa¢íkĭnde.
On the commencement of this process, called tan´¢ě, the hides were almost invariably divided longitudinally into two parts each, for the convenience of the operator. When they were finished they were again sewed together with awls and sinew. When the hides were small they were not so divided before they were tanned. The skins of elk, deer, and antelopes were dressed in a similar manner.