Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-09-01
USES FOR DEERSKIN.
dudes Who Understnnd Thoroughly
How 20 Turn IL to Good Service.

How 90 Turn IL to Good Service.
Guides and the native hunters of the
Adirondack region have a variety Of
uses for the deer they kill. There are
still a good many hunters who know
| how to tan the deer's hide and few
who use as one of the tanning agents
liquid extracted from the brain of the
deer From the tanned skin many
articles of use are made. The thick
hide from the neck of an old buck Is
excellent for mOccasins. and the art OF
moccasn making still fingers here
among those whose ancestors learned
II from the Indians. The men and wO-
men of Professionalism extraction
are especially apt in household arts of
this sort. learned from the sayagcs.
Cheap as factory made gloves are, n
few women of the region still cut and
stitch buckskin gloves
Whole suits of buckskin are made by
expert women Of these parts. Such
suits were once much used by the
| thrashcrs, who Travelled from one
mountain farm to another to thrash
| the small oats crop Of the region. a
bucksl,in suit Is good for oxen years
of hard usage, and with care Will last
lifetime. 1t is remarkably warm and
| impcrvious to water
One rarely sees nowadays such
suit with the hair on. \ garment with
the hair on to he serviceable must be
a, % inc
| ing into the blue" as the hunters ex-
press it. for chen the hair is short,
smooth and tough. Later ii is long and
! brittle 1t Is necessary. too, If such
| suit is to be of uniform color that 1t
| be made frcm corresponding parts of
skins from deer of about the same age
and shot about the same time. Even If
the law did not stand In the way. 1t
would be difficult in these times 70
shoot in n single week enough deer
of the same age to yield the desired
quantity of hide of uniform color, so
decrskn suit with the hair on Is
rarely seen. one still does see, how
ever. moccaSins with hair inside and
out, and very soft. warm. inviting
slippers they make. Raccoon skin
now furnishes cheap fur garments In
| these parts. and winter residents buy
or hire overcOats Of cOonskln to brave
the January winds.
Raw deer hide Is used for many
purposes. 1t makes excellent thongs
! for tying articles Of one kind or
another, good whips and indestructible
shOestrings You may buy In these
parts rustic chairs with seats and
backs of woven rawhide. The green
skin is cut In thin strips stretched I'M
; til 1t Is almost translucent, and then
woven into seat. The result is a
/ comfortable, elastic chair Of almost
indestructible material. Deersklns
with the hair on are still used for car
pets and mats though here again, as
In the case Of the deerskin suits the
skin Is not serviceable unless the deer
be shot just at the right season. No
body Is more fastidlous than the
Adirondack guide In these little mat
tiers. If he cannot have his deerskln
coat or carpet just as it should be- he
will go without, though he Is In
different enough rs to store clothes and
ordinary household furniture.
Out of the marrow from the shank
bones OF the deer the guides make, by
laborous process. beautifully clear,
sweet oil, which will keep In good con-
ditlon for years. 1t Is much used by
jewelers. and watchmakers because Of
peculiar qualities that exactly fit their
needs. This oil is sufficiently scarce
and useful to sell for high price.
BuckhOrn walking sticks are much
commoner in New York than in the
AdrOndacks. and. indeed, the hunter
Of today finds little use for the antlers
save as trophies. A tiny bone of the
leg furnishes sharp and strong tooth
picks for the native hunter, and you
may occasionally see in the houses Of
guides stools the legs of which are
those Of the deer carefully cured with
the hide and skin. In beauty and use
fulness they fall far short of the ex-
cellent and durable furniture that
guides make from native everp~ III
timber.-New York Sun.