They should
be dried as soon after killing as possible, in order that they may be
in the best condition to preserve the fur.
According to the old traditions and customs--the Mosaic law of the
Esquimaux, so to speak--no work of any kind, except the drying of them,
can be done upon new skins until the ice has formed sufficiently
thickly upon the salt water to permit the hunter to seek the seal at
his agloo or blow-hole. Until that time they are put carefully away in
the tent, and have to be carried from point to point in their nomadic
mode of life, or cached away where they will be presumably secure from
the ravages of dogs and wild animals. When the season for making the
new clothing arrives, that is, when the winter styles come out, then
the work begins. The skins are dressed by the men, because it is hard
work and beyond the power of most women, if they are required to be
nicely dressed. Only one skin is prepared at a time. There is generally
an old man at the head of each family of sons, or sons-in-law, or young
men whom he has brought up and taught to hunt. The entire stock of the
family is then spread out upon the ground some fine day, without regard
to individual claims as having secured them, and are apportioned out by
the patriarch--these for this son's outfit, these for his wife and
children, those for the other hunter and his family, and these extra
fine ones for the patriarch's own use and for his wives.
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