Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-15

machete, il then was immersed in the
| river, large stones being used to
weigh it down and hold it in place.
Forty-eight hours later the skin was
taken from the water and rubbed on
, both sides with wet ashes and smooth
stones. For the greater part of a
day and half the skin was rubbed in
this manner before it was entirely
free from hairs and to the entire
| satisfaction of Felipe, who then staked
it out in the sun to dry.
After two days of sun cure the
skin, stiff and dry, was cut into one
! long strip, about one-Quarter of an
| inch thick and about IA feet long.
This was accomplished by starting TO
cut along the edge and following in
| a spiral to the center of the skin. The
| long strip was then moistened and one
end of it was tied to an overhanging
| bough of a tree, while from the lower
end a stone weighing about 10 pounds
was hung.
With two days more of drying and
stretching and after a vigorous rub
| bling with the grease which had been
preserved from the tepezquintle,
Felipe declared that he now had a
.bowstring strong enough to shoot
an arrow. 1t could at least send a
shaft with considerable force to a dis
| lance of 10 PAGES, which, he asserted,
was all he required in order to be
able to get a deer or pig.
AS / had been placed in charge of
the "tannery," Felipe had been free
to hunt and explore, SO that our lar
der always was not only kept well sup
piled with meat. but also with pal
mitoes" and wild "yucas' roots. The
later, after boiling, proved to be a
excellent substitute for bread and po-
tatoes.
Felipe also had discovered a "gourd"
tree, and it's fruit provided us with
admirable vessels for our hreless
cooking and for preserving the ami
NAL grease which we carefully COL
lected. bees hive smoked out IN
the usual fashion supplied us with a
generous quantity OF honey, which,
although perhaps little insipid. was
gladly enough welcomed under the
circumstances.
During the heat of the day, when
hunting would have been futile because
jungle animals do not usually prowl at
that time, Felipe busted himself in camp
directing and assisting me in tanning.
Chiefly, however, he was engaged in
sharpening and hardening with fire the
ends of several of the "maquengue'
sticks which had been left over from
the making of the javelin. These sticks,
trife less than one-half an inch in
diameter, about feet long, sharpened
at one end and with a notch on the
other, were eventually to serve as ar
rows. When the bowstring was ready,
therefore, Felipe's javelin was quickly
converted into a bow. He was now
prepared to go after big game"
MINE days of patient labor had
~ been spent in preparing for this
1 bot a TNNVs rte
skill brought positive fruit-on the
following morning Felipe brought
into camp his first doe.
With this important event. our work
commenced in earnest. For five weeks
we cured skins until our hands were
raw and our muscles ached from the
constant rubbing. At night we could
not rest, becausce the smell attracted
the scavengers of the jungle and we
had to be constantly on the alert to
defend our property. But those five
weeks did eventually pass and we
| then had as our reward the cured
! skins of four deer and three pigs. And
| these, to us, represented the means of
getting back to civilization.
Three days later we were ready
to start on our 60-mile march for
Fagot's place. Our equipment con-
sisted of sandals; leggings up to the
knees securely bound around the legs
with thongs; sleeveless TUNES reach
ing midway down the thighs. These
TUNES were each made of two skins,
one for the front and the other for
! the back, laced with thongs on the
sides and shoulders, and. with a broad
strip of skin, belted closely to the
| waist. Our costumes, although I'M
comfortable and irritating both to our
skins and our sense of smell, yet
| afforded us ample protection against
| the roughness and wet of the bush.
| Two bows, fitted with strings made
| from deer skins; a dozen arrows; two
! gourds. for carrying water, each 1T