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131 by Algic or Ojibway indians but exhibits them sooner or later as the soil is turned over the scraper is made of a chip of flint or chirt. the sides are clipped off to prevent cutting the hand and to give a handle. the lower edge is straight and sharp and is used to scrape and cut the flesh from the skin in the process of dressing hides. scrapers of flint are quite common among collections of flint chips and show that these were abundantly used by the earlier indian [?] with the advent of the white man, came the use of iron and as with the white man an important succeeds another so with the indian the introduction of iron put a stop to the laborious chipping of flint. The scraper whether of brass or flint was used to remove the flesh and hair among the Dakota and early Ojibway now the Ojibway use an iron scraper of which later. The process is now among the Dakota to prepare these robes was to stretch the green hide upon the ground and cutting [?] in the edge to fasten it to the ground with pegs. in this condition the flesh is scraped off with the scraper. the skins of all animals contains more or less adhering flesh and fat and these are scraped off and the hides worked with the scraper to remove from it all superfluous flesh and or fat. The skin as it lays stretched on the ground is [?] from time to time and worked with the scraper. the heat of the plains and the moisture added causes a certain degree of fermentation in the skin this locks up the tissue and eliminates the fat and flesh when these have been removed the hide is left with the hair and enough of the tissue to hold it when this situation is realised the skin is smeared with the brains or other fatty parts of the animal and moistened with water and the grease rubbed in the rubbing is continued till the skin is soft and the robe finished. To prepare buckskin the method is similar to that to be described under the Ojibway method of curing skins. Buffalo robes are no longer to be preserved and the Dakota have fallen into the practice of dressing the skins of the beef cattle served out to them by the United States Government for food, but these are of course few and usually for between the [?] so the supply of robes is small and the [?] cattle having short hair the robe is of a poor quality it will keep out the wind however and that is really now its only use. The Ojibway have for many years 4 unclear words and now as a rule use robes the skin they use the smaller fur bearing animals and deer, Moose, Carito & Elk skin for the moccasins.