Skins, and their treatment.
The hunter of the fur-clad denizens of the forest and the field, who, for the love of sport and the obtainment of trophies of the chase, penetrates to little-known regions; and the hardy and keen trapper—who, with pack, traps, kit, and rifle, steers his own course to the most remote and untrodden solitudes—each require a somewhat different mode by which to fit their spoils when gathered for transport to either the cities of Europe or the trading port of the professional peltry dealers. It would be a hopeless task to attempt giving all the processes had recourse to by both classes of hunters, as many of them are kept scrupulously secret by their discoverers. Indians, too, profess to know more of skin-dressing than they care to divulge. We will, therefore, content ourselves by communicating to the reader such modes of skin-dressing as we have either practised ourselves, picked up from experienced and travelled comrades, or gleaned from the reports and experiences of practical explorers and slayers of large and small game in wild countries.
The character of the climate in which the hunter may be pursuing his vocation will determine the necessity for the immediate removal of the skins of the animals killed from the carcases, or the postponement of the operation until camp is reached and every assistance at hand. In dealing with the larger carnivora of tropical climates, too much expedition cannot be used in the performance of skinning operations. On no account, when by any possibility it can be avoided, should a dead and unskinned animal be exposed to the action of either wet or the sun’s rays. Immediately on being found to be perfectly dead the animal should be conveyed to a cool shady situation, and the hide at once removed. The purpose for which the skin is ultimately intended will influence the method to be observed in removing it from the body. If to be preserved for stuffing, much greater care is required than is usually bestowed on hides merely intended for camp use, or sale to purchasers of roughly dried skins.
Great alertness and firmness are also required on the part of the European hunter who is engaged in tiger shooting in India to prevent the native hunters and camp followers from burning off the whiskers of the slain beast, and stealing the claws. The whisker singeingceremony arises from superstition, and the greatest anxiety exists to possess tiger claws in order that they may be made use of as amulets. Keep, therefore, a very close watch on your tiger skins. When about to commence skinning a tiger, lion, leopard, or other of the largeFelidæ, choose a level spot of ground, lay the animal on the flat of its back, with all four legs in the air. Prepare four stout sharp pointed stakes and drive them into the ground at about six feet from the animal, placing a stake opposite each leg in a parallelogram. Now, with some pieces of spare rope, grass cord, raw hide thongs, or twisted creepers, fasten each paw to the head of a stake, and stretch the legs well out. With your skinning knife—which should be short in the blade, half round-pointed, and very long handled—commence your cut between the two centre lower teeth and carry it directly backwards along the centre of the belly to the vent, taking great care not to penetrate the abdominal cavity. A line down each leg from the paw joint to the centre line should now be cut; the hind legs should be first skinned by peeling off the hide completely round beneath the paw joints, which should be divided and the stumps thus formed fastened to the stake ropes; the skin can now be stripped and turned down over the thighs; a cut along the under side of the tail will enable the operator to skin that cleanly out, when it can be cut off at the root; the two fore legs may now be treated in the same manner as the hind, making the bare stumps fast and skinning down to the shoulder joints, and up the front of the neck and throat. The animal may now be turned on its belly and each leg stump hauled tightly out to the bottom of each stake; the skin is now turned up over the back, and stripped up as far as the attachment of the ears; great care must now be exercised in separating their roots from the head without cutting the skin; divide carefully round the eyes, lips, and corners of the mouth, and the skin will be free.
stretching skins
There are two ways of stretching out skins for the purpose of first freeing them from every particle of fat and adhering matter. One is to lay them on the ground fur side downward, and then secure them by driving a number of sharp wooden pegs round the margins; the other is to cut one or two straight tough poles, lash their ends together, and make a hoop large enough to take in the skin, andallow of sufficient space to admit of its being tightly stretched out by being attached to the interior of the hoop by a rough system of lacing, as shown in the annexed illustration. A skin well secured in this way becomes as tense as a tambourine. The hoop can be set on its edge or inclined to facilitate the operation of fat trimming, which must be most strictly carried out, without cutting through the skin. A pair of strong broad pointed forceps much facilitate the operation. The point and edge of the skinning knife should be constantly touched up and renewed on a butcher’s steel or bit of Norway stone. On no account allow your native followers to attempt the treatment of your stretched skins, as they will most certainly ruin them by the caustic nature of the ingredients they employ. Many mixtures of substances suitable for skin preservation are recommended, and we possess a considerable number of them. The following, communicated to theFieldby a correspondent signing himself “I. F.,” is a thoroughly good one, and easy of preparation in any part of India. After trimming off all fatty matter, &c., apply the following mixture: powdered alum, one part; powdered turmeric (thehuldeeof the natives), four parts; powderedkadukainuts, eight parts; to be well mixed, and diluted with water until just fluid. Thekadukainuts are the fruit of a tree (Terminalia chebula) common all over India. Its vernacular names are, in Hindostanee “hurra;” in Tamil, “kadukai marum;” in Teloogoo, “karkai.” The dried nuts are commonly sold in the native bazaars. When no preparation for skin dressing is at hand, firewood ashes may with advantage be sprinkled over the skins. The American trappers make use of no preparation whatever, but merely expose the perfectly cleaned and trimmed skin to the action of the air. Traps, when set for animals, should be visited frequently, in order that the game taken may be perfectly fresh; tainted skins lose their hair, and become valueless for fur purposes. The smaller fur-bearing animals taken by the professional fur hunters of America, such as the fisher fox, raccoon, &c., are not skinned by being opened from end to end, but are treated in the following manner: incisions are made close to the hind paws; these are carried down to the borders of the vent; this is circled or cut round, and the tail opened and skinned out. An orifice will now exist large enough to admit of the skin being stripped from the animal, by turning it inside out, as the operation of skinning proceeds. Three modes are adopted for stretching skins so prepared: one is by what is called a board stretcher; this consists of three pieces of light tough wood, of the shape shown in the centre figure of the annexed illustration.stretching boardsThe two flat side pieces are first placed in the pouch or pocket, formed by reversing the surfaces of the skin; the centre stick is then passed down between the two sides, which are nicely rounded off at the edges and point by scraping with glass or a sharp knife. When properly fitted to the stretcher like a glove on a wooden cleaning hand, a tack or two or a few cuts in the edges of the board will serve to hold the skin fast until dry enough to pack away. A strong flexible rod may be made use of as a skin stretcher, as shown in the annexed cut.stretching with a flexible rodThe skins should be turned inside out before the bent twig is inserted; its own spring keeps the skin distended until dry, when it is removed and the skin packed; or a long lancet-shaped board, with a hole in it, may be used for stretching the skins of marmots, musk rats, &c. One of these is represented in the illustration representing stretching boards, andhas a hole in it to be used for suspending the skins whilst drying. Stretching boards must be made of sizes proportioned to the skins they are intended for. Never dry skins either by the fire or in the sun.
stretching boardsstretching with a flexible rod
stretching boards
stretching boards
stretching with a flexible rod
stretching with a flexible rod
A variety of methods are had recourse to for preparing the skins of animals useful to the traveller and explorer, by whom they can be employed either in a raw state, simply dried, or as leather. Raw hide, as it is called, is one of the most valuable and useful materials at the command of the traveller or hunter. It is to him a substitute for metal, rope, and twine, and with it breakages of the most extensive and apparently hopeless character can be effectually repaired. Lashings of raw hide for immediate use can be cut from the skin of an animal just killed. This, when tightly and evenly adjusted over a fractured object, contracts as it dries, and binds all firmly together. The hair may be removed from hides by soaking them in lime-water or placing them in the earth for a few days. Many of the African tribes prepare hides for use as garments, &c., by first pegging them out on the ground, trimming them clean, allowing them to dry slowly, and then braying their surfaces with a soft sand brick. Skins thus prepared wear well, so long as no water is allowed to reach them.
Skins may be “tawed,” as it is called, by placing them to steep in a strong solution of alum and common salt. Hides collected in large numbers for transmission to the home market are usually salted or pickled. Settlers and colonists may find this mode of preserving skins of value, so we give Mr. Danna’s account of the process, which will be found thoroughly practical, and can be relied on. Speaking of the treatment of hides brought to the sea side for shipment, he says: “The first thing is to put the hides to soak. This is done by carrying them down at low tide, and making them fast in small piles by ropes, and letting the tide come up and cover them. Every day we put twenty-five in soak for each man, which, with us, makes 150. There they lie forty-eight hours, when they are taken out and rolled up in wheelbarrows, and thrown into vats. These vats contain brine, made very strong, being sea-water with great quantities of salt thrown in. This pickles the hides, and in this they lie forty-eight hours; the use of the sea-water into which they are first put being merely to softenand clean them. From these vats they are taken to lie on a platform twenty-four hours, and are then spread upon the ground and carefully stretched and staked out, so that they may dry smooth. After they were staked, and while yet wet and soft, we used to go upon them with our knives and carefully cut off all the bad parts, the pieces of meat and fat which would otherwise corrupt and affect the whole if stowed away in a vessel for months, the large flippers, the ears, and all other parts that prevent close stowage. This was the most difficult part of our duty, as it required much skill to take off everything necessary, and not to cut nor injure the hides. It was also a long process, as six of us had to clean 150, most of which required a great deal to be done to them, as the Spaniards are very careless in skinning their cattle; then, too, as we cleaned them while they were staked out, we were obliged to kneel down upon them, which always gives beginners the back ache. The first day I was so slow and awkward that I only cleaned eight; at the end of a few days I doubled my number, and in a fortnight or three weeks could keep up with the others, and clean my proportion—twenty-five.” Skins of animals may be fitted for transport from the hunting grounds to a camp or depôt situated at a distance of several days’ journey, by pegging them tightly out; and then, when thoroughly freed from adhering fat, giving them a thorough sprinkling with wood ashes. Small quantities of leather may be made by sinking large native jars in the earth, partly filling them with tan, which is yielded by an almost endless number of trees and shrubs. Water, when added, extracts the tanning principle, and allows of its soaking freely into the pores of the skin under treatment. It is a good plan to make use of several jars arranged in a row; these should all contain strong bark or tan water, and as the skin becomes partly tanned in jar No. 1 it should, after being well squeezed and pressed, be passed to No. 2, and so on through the set.
Thus writes Sir Samuel Baker on the subject of skin dressing: “My antelope skins are just completed, and are thoroughly tanned, each skin required a double handful of the ‘garra’ or fruit of theAcacia arabica. The process is simple. The skin being thoroughly wetted, the garra is pounded into a paste; this is rubbed into the hidewith a rough piece of sandstone until it becomes perfectly clean and free from impurities; it is then wrapped up with a quantity of the paste, and is deposited in a trough, and kept in the shade twenty-four hours—it should undergo a similar rubbing daily, and be kept in the trough to soak in the garra for four or five days. After this process it should be well rubbed with fat, if required to keep soft and pliable when wetted. If soaked with milk after tanning, the leather will become waterproof. The large tanned ox hides used by the Arabs as coverlets are perfectly waterproof, and are simply prepared with milk. These are made in Abyssinia, and can be purchased from ten piastres to a dollar each. The Arabs thoroughly appreciate the value of leather, as they are entirely dependant upon such material for coverlets, water sacks, travelling bags, &c. Thesac de voyageis a simple skin of either goat or sheep, drawn off the animal as a stocking is drawn from the leg. This is very neatly ornamented and arranged with loops which close the mouth, which is secured by a padlock. Very large sacks, capable of containing three hundred pounds of corn, are made in the same manner by drawing entire the skins of the larger antelopes; that of thetetelis considered the most valuable for this purpose. The hide of the wild ass is the finest of all leather, and is so close in the grain, that, before tanning, when dry and hardened in the sun, it resembles horn in transparency. I have made excellent mocassins with this skin, which are admirable if kept wetted.” Most of the water sacks we used in Central India were prepared by withdrawing all the body of the animal—antelope or goat—piecemeal through the orifice left by cutting off the head. The legs were then removed to the hoof joint, and the tubes so formed so fitted with thongs, that they could be tied fast or left open at the will of the owner; burying the skin in the earth for a day or two caused the hair to become loose enough to rub off in water. A charge of pounded pomegranate rind mixed with water was then introduced to the interior of the skin sack, and well shaken about several times during the day. This process was continued until the substance of the skin became converted into leather, and was perfectly free from the slightest tendency to taint. The neck orifice was then either sewn up with a thong, or left with a string round it, to be closed or left open as mightbe most convenient. Skins thus prepared we have found useful for an almost endless number of purposes.
The following directions for the manufacture of gazelle skingirbas, or water sacks, as practised by the Arabs, given by Sir Samuel Baker, will not fail to prove of interest and value to the reader: “The flaying process for this purpose is a delicate operation, as the knife must be so dexterously used that no false cut should injure the hide. The animal is hung up by the hind legs, an incision is then made along the inside of both thighs to the tail, and with some trouble the skin is drawn off the body towards the head, precisely as a stocking might be drawn from the leg; by this operation the skin forms a seamless bag, open at both ends. To form a girba, the skin must be buried in the earth for about twenty-four hours; it is then washed in water, and the hair is easily detached. Thus rendered clean, it is tanned by soaking for several days in a mixture of the bark of the mimosa and water, from this it is daily withdrawn and stretched out with pegs, upon the ground; it is then well scrubbed with a rough stone, and fresh mimosa bark, well bruised, with water is rubbed in by friction. About four days are sufficient to tan the skin of a gazelle, which is much valued for its toughness and durability. The aperture at the hind quarters is sewn together, and the opening of the neck is closed when required by tying. A good water-skin should be porous, to allow the water to exude sufficiently to moisten the exterior; thus the action of the air upon the exposed surface causes evaporation and imparts to the water within the skin a delicious coolness. The Arabs usually prepare their tanned skins with an empyreumatical oil, made from a variety of substances, the best of which is that from the sesame grain. This has a powerful smell and renders the water so disagreeable that few Europeans could drink it. This oil is black and much resembles tar in appearance, it has the effect of preserving the leather and of rendering it perfectly water tight. In desert travelling, each person should have his own private water skin slung upon his dromedary; for this purpose none is so good as a small sized gazelle skin that will contain about two gallons.”
Snake skins can be converted into very useful and highly ornamental leather by tanning them. The Indians of North-westAmerica add greatly to the value and durability of their prepared skins by subjecting them to the smoking process. This is conducted by forming a miniature skin tent over a narrow deep hole dug in the earth; this, when filled with damp slow burning fuel, gives forth, when lighted, dense volumes of smoke, which, acting on the inner or flesh sides of the spread skins, imparts to them considerable power to resist damp and other deteriorating influences. Hides that are under the operation of dressing should never be allowed to become dry, as it is very difficult to restore perfect flexibility to them by the aid of water. Wet cow dung is the best material we know for preserving the moisture of the skins on which it is spread. Milk curds are made use of for the same purpose by the Tartar tribes. We have also seen ground oil seeds, converted into a paste with milk, used by some Indian hill tribes.
Parchment and catgut.
repairing a bladder
Parchment is a material which will be found useful for many purposes, such as labelling the species collected, &c.; almost any moderate-sized skin can be converted into this substance. The first step is to remove the hair from its follicles. This may be done by burying the skin in moist earth for two or three days; it should, when found seasoned, be spread, hair side out, on a barrel or round log, and well scraped, until quite clean. Four long tough peeled rods or wands should now be passed through a train of small slits, like button-holes, in the edges of the skin, all four borders of the trimmed skin being furnished with its spreading wand. The ends of the wands are now to be cut off flush with the border of the skin. A pole hoop like that figured at page 776 should now be prepared, and the stretched skin laced to its centre by cords or thongs passed inside the wand until it is as tight as a tambourine. Every particle of adhering membrane should be carefully cut away, and the skin rubbed down to the required substance with a flat-surfaced sandstone; pumice-stone, when it can be obtained, is excellent for the purpose. When the parchment has undergone preparation, and is removed from the pole hoop, it may be fitted for writing on by first thoroughly rubbing its surface with a perfectly smooth water-worn pebble, and then touching its surface lightly over with ox-gall. Catgut can be made from theintestines of almost any animal as follows: After carefully removing all impurities from the surfaces of the gut, place it in a pot of water for twenty-four hours; the outer sheath, or covering membrane, will more freely come away. Now double back a few inches of the end border of your gut tube, just as you would turn down the top border of a stocking, catching the bag thus formed between the finger and thumb; dip water up with it until the double fold is nearly full. The weight of this fluid will instantly cause the gut to become inverted, and bring its inner surface to the outside. This can now be easily freed from any adhering matter; and if the gut is intended for twisting, set up two stiff stout stakes in the earth, a little wider apart than the length of the gut under treatment. Cut a saw cut in the head of each stake. Now firmly lash each end of your gut to the notched ends of two narrow flat pieces of wood, fashioned like stout knife blades, and thin enough to enter the saw cuts in the stake heads. By alternately twisting these and fixing them in the saw cuts, to prevent their running back, the gut may be evenly and neatly twisted after the manner of a single strand cord. The twisted material thus formed becomes, when dry and after it has been rubbed smooth with a woollen rag and a little grease, excellent catgut, fit for drill bows, bowstrings, lathe bands, thread for sewing strong leather work, &c. Bladders should always be saved. They only require inflation with air and drying to preserve them.repairing a bladderHoles in hides, water-bags, or bladders, may be repaired by gathering up the lips of the orifice, pushing a sharp splinter or thorn through both lips, and then tying a string tightly behind the cross piece thus formed. The holes in large skins can be repaired by placing pebbles or stones, just too large to pass through, inside them. A few turns with a strip of raw hide behind the stone makes all secure and perfectly water-tight. A spherical bullet may be made use of in this manner to repair a thorn prick in a water-bag. A reference to the above illustration will serve to show how these repairs are effected. The horns of cattlecan be made use of for a number of useful purposes. Soaking in boiling water softens them sufficiently to enable the ingenious operator to fashion them into almost any shape. Bones should never be heedlessly cast away; sawn up they make excellent rings for dog harness or the head-lines of fishing-nets; stilets for splicing cord, meshes for netting, &c. Tendons of animals make excellent glue, and can be easily split up into sewing thread. The swimming bladders of fish, when dried, form excellent isinglas. Sole, shark, and dogfish skins, dried and mounted on handles, make very efficient rasps and files for woodwork. Eel-skins make most durable harness ties, and, twisted or plaited together, form very serviceable whips. Hides or skins can be cut into long strips for trail rope or lasso making by cutting them spirally with a sharp knife, just as a cobbler cuts out a leather boot-lace from a circular scrap of shoe leather. Hides and objects composed of either prepared hide or leather should be frequently treated with clean, well-softened grease, in order that they may retain their flexibility and toughness of texture. Hides used in covering the frames of “bull boats,” as they are called by the traders and trappers of the north-west, who often use them, require to be frequently beached, dried in the sun, and then greased, to render them sufficiently durable to encounter the deteriorating influences brought to bear on them during a long river or lake voyage.
Fat, to treat.
Soap, to prepare.
In cutting up and trimming the carcases of large animals, considerable quantities of fat will be accumulated, provided that care is taken to prevent native fellows from appropriating it. Fat is useful for an immense number of purposes. Its value as fuel has already been explained in that portion of our work devoted to a consideration of lamps. The bones of nearly all large animals may be made to yield a considerable quantity of fatty matter by crushing them to fragments between two heavy stones; boiling the mass thus obtained in any suitable vessel, and then skinning off the eyes of grease as they appear on the surface with a large shell fastened to the end of a stick, or an ox horn fashioned into a scoop. When fat is to be stored up for use it should be first melted, and, after all fragments of membrane, &c., have been separated by a rough system of straining, poured into hide bags to cool. All blubber-bearing cetaceans yieldlarge quantities of oil, which is to be obtained by a process known amongst whalers as “trying out.” Convenient sized pieces of the blubber are thrown into large cauldrons, which are mainly heated by the waste chip or used-up material left as a residue when the oil runs forth. The livers of sharks and other large fish also yield oil freely by treatment in the kettle. Besides being useful for wheel lubricating, leather-dressing, candle-making, and a variety of other useful purposes, fat can, by proper treatment, be made available as the principal ingredient in the manufacture of soap.Soap, to prepare.Some care and management, however, are required to manufacture a really good and useful article. Sir Samuel Baker thus writes of his experiences in the matter: “Soap-boiling is not so easy as may be imagined. It requires not only much attention, but the quality is dependent upon the proper mixture of the alkalies. Sixty parts of potash and forty of lime are, I believe, the proportions for common soap. I had neither lime nor potash, but I shortly procured both. TheHegleck tree(Balanites egyptiaca) was extremely rich in potash; therefore I burned a large quantity, and made a strong ley with the ashes. This I concentrated by boiling. There was no limestone; but the river produced a plentiful supply of large oyster-shells, that, if burned, would yield excellent lime; accordingly, I constructed a kiln with the assistance of the white ants. The country was infested by these creatures, which erected their dwellings in all directions. There were cones from six to ten feet high, formed of clay, so thoroughly cemented by a glutinous preparation of the insects that it was harder than sun-baked brick. I selected an egg-shaped hill, and cut off the top exactly as we take off the slice from an egg. My Tookrooris then worked hard, and with a hoe and their lances they hollowed it out to the base, in spite of the attacks of the ants, which punished the legs of the intruders considerably. I made a draught hole from the outside base at right angles with the bottom of the hollow cone. My kiln was perfect. I loaded it with wood, upon which I piled about six bushels of oyster-shells, which I then covered with fuel, and kept it burning for twenty-four hours. This produced excellent lime, and I commenced my soap-boiling. We possessed an immense copper pot, of Egyptianmanufacture, in addition to a large and deep copper basin, called a ‘teshti.’ These would contain about ten gallons. The ley having been boiled down to great strength, I added a quantity of lime and the necessary fat. It required ten hours’ boiling, combined with careful management of the fire, as it would frequently ascend like foam, and overflow the edge of the utensils; however, at length having been constantly stirred, it turned to soap; before it became cold I formed it into cakes and balls with my hands, and the result of this manufacture was a weight of about forty pounds of most excellent soap of a very sporting description. We thus washed with rhinoceros soap; our lamp was trimmed with the oil of lions; our butter for cooking purposes was the fat of hippopotami, while our pomade was made from the marrow of buffaloes and antelopes, scented with the blossoms of mimosas. We were entirely independent, as our whole party had subsisted upon the produce of the rod and rifle.”
Sleeping-bags.
If the traveller contemplates the prosecution of explorations in cold and inhospitable regions, it will be well for him to preserve a number of sheep or goats’ skins, with the hair or wool on, which should be prepared for conversion into coverlets, sleeping-bags, mats, overcoats, &c. A variety of forms of sleeping-bags are in use in various parts of the world; some, as in the case of those used by the frontier guard between France and Spain, are so constructed as to be doubled up, strapped together, and converted into a sort of knapsack. The down of waterfowl, especially that of the eider duck, when stitched between any suitable fabric and quilted, forms a most powerful non-conductor of heat. A very useful and cheap form of sleeping-bag can be made by pasting a number of old newspapers together, giving them a coat of boiled linseed oil, and then stitching them between two sheets of any tough durable fabric. The person about to be measured for a sleeping bag should have the extreme breadth of the shoulders, width across hips, and height taken, adding eighteen inches to the head of the bag to form a flap. Cut out your two main bag pieces, or top and bottom, to the shape of two large sleeve boards such as tailors use, now cut out two long narrow slips, about twenty inches wide, and long enough to go the whole length of both sides and round the tapered rounded bottom of thebag, and up to the end-borders of the mouth, these strips are sewn in exactly as the leather is attached to the upper and lower boards of a pair of common bellows. Sleeping-bags should be made very strong, in order that they may be used to carry a variety of odd articles in.
Ruck sacks.
ruck sack
Whilst on the subject of bags, it will be well to mention a most convenient description of sack used by the Tyrolese chamois hunters for carrying food, dead game, ammunition, &c. It is best made of light tanned canvas or flax cloth. A square bag of the required size is made from either of these materials, the mouth of the bag is made to draw in the usual way and tie, but to the loop of the neck string are attached two leather shoulder straps, to the ends of which wooden toggles and stout line loops have been sewn. Each lower corner of the bag should have a wooden or cork ball the size of a billiard ball, securely stitched into it. When the bag is placed on the back with its burden in it, the shoulder straps are passed over the shoulders, under the arms, and down to the ball-furnished corners, over which the slip-knots and loops of the toggle strings are now secured. The above illustration will serve to explain the nature of the arrangement, anything can be conveniently carried in this contrivance, from a single partridge to a full grown chamois or roebuck. A sack of this kind carefully fitted and made, is very superior to an ordinary knapsack.
Ropes and twine of different sizes and lengths should always form part of the equipment of the traveller or explorer. These may be either home-made or manufactured from such suitable materials as may be obtainable in the regions travelled through. A great number of productions, vegetable and animal, are available for cord-making purposes; and not unfrequently it will be found in tropical regions that nature has herself formed the rope ready to the hand of him who will take the trouble to gather it. The rattan, which is a species of palm, although commonly and incorrectly called a cane, is a noteworthy example; it possesses extraordinary flexibility and toughness, is light, porous, covered with a waterproof glaze, and grows to a considerable length, often to the extent of 300ft. Rattans, when simply laid together, can be at once converted into ropes of almost any length and strength. Numbers of native suspension-bridges are supported by cables formed entirely from rattan. Warping ropes, used by the raftsmen of the Malay coast, are formed from this material; these curious ropes are not unfrequently the eighth of a mile in length, and possess immense strength. The “lianas,” “monkey ropes,” or parasitical creepers, too, which grow in such profusion in the tropical jungles, need little preparation to suit them for use as cordage. Willows and other tough flexible sticks or twigs are readily converted into rope by simply twisting them together; they should, however, be well soaked in water before twisting. An almost endless number of trees, shrubs, and plants yield fibre well calculated for cord or rope-making purposes. The bark of some of the mimosas is as tough as the finest hemp, and can be stripped from the trees in any quantity. Bast, or matting fibre, as it is called, is yielded by a number of trees,amongst which may be mentioned the linden or lime of our own country.useful purposes of outer barkFor some purposes bast strips may be used without twisting by merely soaking them in water, and then dividing them into ribbons of the required strength. The inner bark of the elm, when well soaked, becomes extremely tough, and twists well. The long flag-like leaves of thePhormium tenax, or New Zealand hemp, can be used as ties or lashings without any treatment or preparation; separated from the juices and leaf-pulp by maceration and scraping with a muscle-shell, the fibre is found to be beautifully fine, and adapted for either spinning or weaving.
useful purposes of outer bark
stripping bark for rope
When gathering bark for rope or twine making purposes it is always well to bear in mind that the outer or true bark, yielding little useful fibre, is, however, applicable to a variety of useful purposes, as the above illustration, representing a number of articles formed from outside bark, will show. The method by which large sheets of bark are stripped from forest trees is shown in the annexed illustration.
The so-called Manilla hemp is not the product of the hemp plant, but is produced by a vegetable so closely resembling a Banana tree that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Straw-ropes, to spin.
It is to be regretted that the names given by early travellers and others to productions of this kind, should be only calculated to mislead, instead of being guides to their origin; the so-called China grass is not a grass, but is obtained from a plant closely resembling a nettle (Urtica tenacissima). The common stinging nettle of this country contains a fibre out of which very good twine can be made; straw, hay, rushes, and swamp grass, make good tough bands, which are useful for many purposes. The Esparto grass, as it is called, is a dry ground rush, and was used in very early ages for the manufacture of ropes, but is now extensively applied to paper-making purposes. Cocoa-nut husks, and the leaves of all the agave tribe, the yuccas, and most of the aloe-shaped plants, yield an abundance of fibre, as does the pine apple plant by soaking or maceration in water. Cotton, wild or cultivated, makes excellent cord. Smoked sea weed is used for lines by the British Columbian Indians. No one possessed of even ordinary powers of observation will fail in discovering a host of other fibre sources in travelling through tropical, or even temperate regions. A number of animal substances will also be found, which by the aid of ingenuity may be converted into thread and cordage. Fine strips of tendon scraped round and pointed make excellent sewing thread. Strips of raw hide, soaked, twisted or plaited, and greased, form ropes or cords of immense strength and considerable durability: to form long strands for these, see the directions given at page 784. The hair or wool of animals, and the web spun by the wild silkworms are also available for twisting or working up into cord. Many methods more or less simple are had recourse to in different parts of the world, for so combining and intertwining fibres and other materials that, united, they may resist breaking, strains, and deteriorating influences. The untutored savage, as he is called, proceeds to gather his fibre, prepare it, and by the aid of his open palm and naked thigh only (as shown at page 599), twists it into an even, compact, and beautifully wrought line of any length, free from knots or irregularities, a task which the highly educated white man, unless tutored by savages, would vainly attempt to perform. “Laying up” as it is called, is another simple method by which a two or three strand cord or rope can be made. Each separate strand, when equally divided and secured at one end, is taken by the finger and thumb, or the hand, according to the size of the work, twisted on itself and passed over to the off side of the operator; the near side strand is now treated in the same way, and so on, fibre being carefully joined inwith the fag end of each strand as it becomes too short for twisting: (videpages 598, 599.) No two strands should be suffered to remain the same length, in order that no two unions of fresh fibres should take place at the same spot. A common three-plait is an expeditious mode by which three strips of sheeting, or other fabric, may be converted into a rope. Four strand round plait is formed by making each pair of strands cross each other from right to left alternately, until the whole length required is completed; this form of plait is useful for whip thongs, and will run through the sheeve hole of a block. A single strand cord or twine may be twisted from loose fibre, by bending a winch handle in one end of a thick iron wire, and a hook in the other.Set up a stiff stake, waist high, in the earth, bore or burn a hole through it large enough to allow your wire to revolve freely in it, now split your post down to the hole, enter your wire and allow the cleft stake to retain the wire in the hole by its own spring; station some person to turn your winch handle, whilst you, with a goodly supply of fibre round your body, first hook on enough to form twine of the required size to the book of the wire, and then walk backwards as the thread increases in length; a forked stick set up here and there serves to support the sag or belly of the twine as it is formed. A little thin glue or size rubbed on with a rag prevents the strands from opening too freely. Threads thus made may be either laid up by hand or spun into cordage by the regular ropemaker’s wheel, a makeshift form of which may be easily extemporised by fitting a light flat hoop with a hub, a set of spokes, a wirehandle, and a set of hook-axled cotton reels. With such a contrivance as this ropes and cords of small size may be twisted; but, for the manufacture of ropes of large dimensions, such an arrangement as that represented in the illustration (p. 791) must be made use of. An examination of it will show that an implement, called atop, is made use of in order to keep the strands in their proper relative positions. This top is merely a conical block of wood, with a set of deep grooves, according to the number of strands to be twisted, cut in it longitudinally. Tops may be made of almost any size, to suit the character of cord in the course of production.Straw-ropes, to spin.Grass or straw ropes may be conveniently and expeditiously spun to almost any length by the aid of an apparatus made as follows: Take four narrow flat pieces of board, say four inches wide, an inch thick, and three feet long, make two equal-sided crosses of them by nailing them together; take care, however, that no nails are used in the true centres of the crosses, as a two-inch augur hole will have to be bored in each. At one foot from the end of each arm of the crosses bore an inch hole, and into these fit a rounded stick, four feet long, in such a way, that when pinned fast in the holes the whole arrangement may resemble a large-sized fishing reel without a handle. Now fashion a straight, smooth, one inch and a half stick in such a way as to leave a head like that of a large nail at one end and a point at the other. The pointed end must project about a foot beyond the hole in the inner cross when the stick is thrust through the centre hole in the crosses, and the head is brought in contact with the surface of the outer. To use this apparatus, bore a hole in a tree, insert the pointed end of the reel axle, or stick; the reel formed by the crosses and bars will now, if properly made, revolve freely if struck with the hand. Gather up a long lock of grass, hay, or straw, and attach it to one of the cross-arms. Throw the arrangement round by giving a circular swing to your straw, keep up the revolving motion, and keep adding fresh material to the end of your rope until it becomes too long to be easily managed; wind the surplus length round the bars of the reel, or drum, and twist on until you have made as much rope as you require. Short hay or straw bands are made by catching a loop of the material over the turned-up thumb in such a way that it may forma loop; keep turning the hand, and gathering fresh material from below until the band is completed. “Thumb bands” is the name usually given to short grass ropes thus made.
Hard rove ropes, to treat.
Large ropes are very liable when new to give considerable trouble by their disposition to kink. It is therefore often necessary to take the extra twist out of them by fastening one end high up in a conveniently grown tree, and suspending a spare waggon wheel from the other, as shown in the illustration (p. 791). The use of tar in the manufacture of rope tends to impair its strength, but adds to its power to resist deteriorating influences.
Weight of rope, to estimate.
It often becomes requisite, when loading waggons, packing animals, or loading boats, sledges, canoes or rafts, to be enabled to form some estimate of the weight about to be placed in them, and there are few aids to travel more difficult to weigh than rope, on account of its bulk and peculiar form of construction. It is well therefore to have recourse to a rough and ready system of calculation to arrive at the required information. The strength of ropes should also be approximately known before applying them.
Robinson gives the following simple rules for calculating the strength of ropes of the ordinary form of construction, and also their weights. Multiply the circumference of the rope in inches by itself, and the fifth part of the product will express the number of tons the rope will carry. For example, if the rope be six inches in circumference, 6 × 6 = 36, the fifth of which is 7-1/5, the number of tons which such a rope will sustain. To find the weight of shroud or hawser laid rope, multiply the circumference in inches by itself; then multiply the product by the length of the rope in fathoms, and divide by 420, the product will be the weight in cwts. Example—to find the weight of a six-inch hawser laid rope 120 fathoms long; 6 × 6 = 36 × 120 = 4320, which, divided by 420, gives the weight of the rope 10cwt. 1 qr. 4lb. To find the weight of cable-laid cordage, multiply its circumference in inches by itself, and divide by 4; the product will be the weight in cwts. of a cable 120 fathoms long, from which the weight of any other length may be readily reduced.Example—required the weight of a twelve-inch cable 120 fathoms long; 12 × 12 = 144, divide by 4, and the product, 36, is the weight in cwts.
Knots A-K
Knots and Hitches.
Knots 1-11
To render ropes and cords available for the variety of purposes to which they are applied by the traveller, knots, hitches, splices, &c., must be had recourse to. These are so numerous in form and mode of construction, that to describe half that are known to practical riggers and sailors would require a goodly volume. We shall, therefore, content ourselves by describing some of the most useful and generally available. It is impossible to teach the art of knot-tying by written directions; we therefore give a sketch of each mentioned. It will be well for the student who wishes to acquire a knowledge of the manner in which they are formed to provide himself with a moderately stout piece of cord, and, by following out the lines of turn, twist, and direction, given in the diagrams, and repeating the operation, he will soon acquire proficiency. A, in the accompanying full-page illustration, represents a pair of hitches, which can be caused to run firmly and freely home by hauling on the standing end, or converted into a useful loop by passing a few turns of stopping round both ends. B is a fisherman’s bend, useful for an almost endless number of purposes. When the two knots in the short ends are pulled home, they run together by pulling the two main or free ends. C is a reef knot, used for knotting the reef points of sails or uniting the ends of ropes or cordage. D shows a mode by which the end of a rope may be quickly fastened to a ring. E and F are lark knots, used for fastening the painters of boats or canoes; it is only necessary, in case of sudden attack or alarm, to pull out the stop stick to instantly free the painter without untying. G is a bowline knot, which is applicable to any purpose where it is requisite to have a loop which will not run home. H is a hawser bend, which can be expeditiously made use of for joining the ends of large ropes. I is a knot commonly made use of for securing a hawser to a mooring post. J is an arrangement known as a toggle and loops, useful for a great number of purposes; the toggle, acting as a button, can be secured or released with great facility. K is a Carrick bend, useful for uniting tow ropes or large hawsers to each other. The “seizing ” or stopping, represented assecuring the short ends in some of these knots, may be composed of rope, yarn, or stout twine. A. sheathing, or “parcelling,” composed of old canvas, or some other stout material, should always be placed round ropes which are subjected to friction against quay walls or rocks, in order to protect them from chafe. The annexed illustration also represents a number of useful knots, and modes of applying ropes and cords.Knots 1-11Fig. 1 represents a timber hitch, which will be found most useful for taking a firm hold by cord on a round spar or pole. Fig. 2 is another method by which a rope can be secured round an upright post. Fig. 3 shows a sling, useful for raising or lowering packs, bales, or boxes. Fig. 4 is known as a harness loop; several of these can be tied in a drag rope, in order that men may make use of them as shoulder collars to draw by. Fig. 5 is a twisted or tail timber hitch, adapted for securing a log or piece of round timber for lowering or raising. Fig. 6 shows how to make a loop in the end of a pack or box lashing; the knot, running home, secures the loop, and prevents its drawing close. Fig. 7 is a sheepshank, used for shortening a long rope, and thus rendering cutting unnecessary. Fig. 8 is a loop-slip, used for uniting two looped ends securely. Fig. 9 is a weaver’s or netter’s knot, much used by those who repair or make nets for fishing. Fig. 10 is a Tom Fool’s knot, very useful for forming handles to jarsand pots; the mouth of the vessel is placed in the centre of the knot, the two free ends tied fast, and the two loops left for the hand to grasp. Fig. 11 is a brooch knot, used for forming the loop in rope for casting horses. (Vide“Veterinary Surgery.”)