tryinhard's post about possible uses for squirrel skins got me to thinking about the squirrel skin blanket I read about years ago. I don't think I remember all I know about exactly how it was done. Does anyone remember that magazine article? I believe it was in the Backwoodsman Magazine. Does anyone remember what issue it was in? Is Richie on here? Maybe we could get a reprint.
Squirrel Skin Blanket
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Sunkmanitu Tanka
45 Cal.
I do not know about squirrels but I do know there where tribes who made blankets out of rabit pelts... They cut them in a long strips starting from the side and following the contours of the hide. They twisted the strips and sort of weaved or twined them into a blanket ... Tribes that used these lived mostly in California (Diegueno - Kamia - Ipai - Kumeyaay)... That's about all I know of this... Hope it helps...
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i ran across an article in Backwoods Magazine some years ago, so i bought it, but i don't have a subscription... at any rate, i managed to loose the copy, so i contacted them and asked if they could sell me another copy, and they just mailed me one for free.
good folks.
good folks.
Yes, the Paiutes of the Great Basin made blankets of small mammal skins, but mostly rabbit. Margaret Wheat, in her book, "Survival Arts of the Primitive Paiutes," says a child's rabbit fur blanket took 40 skins, and a man's coat took 100. This is a great book to have, by the way, if you are interested in Great Basin history.
Seamus
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Try this link for good instructions on making a rabbit skin blanket.
http://www.primitiveways.com/rabbit_skin_blanket.html
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In a museum up here there's a parka made from ground squirrel hides. Can't speculate on how many hides went into it, but the results are enough to inspire.
Have to tell about a trapper friend who got into all kinds of trouble with his wife, the bookkeeper. His catch and sales of red foxes was way down from what she thought it should be, and she really gave him hell about it all year long. Come that following Christmas her gift came in a washing machine box. He'd taken over 100 pelts and had a furrier make a fox bedspread for their round king sized bed. Probably the most beautiful fur object I've ever seen, with the darker backs on each hide forming a sunburst from the center of the bed. She cried for days from joy and embarrassment, and he just smiled.
Have to tell about a trapper friend who got into all kinds of trouble with his wife, the bookkeeper. His catch and sales of red foxes was way down from what she thought it should be, and she really gave him hell about it all year long. Come that following Christmas her gift came in a washing machine box. He'd taken over 100 pelts and had a furrier make a fox bedspread for their round king sized bed. Probably the most beautiful fur object I've ever seen, with the darker backs on each hide forming a sunburst from the center of the bed. She cried for days from joy and embarrassment, and he just smiled.
Loxahatchee
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BrownBear said:
hotoSmile: Please!- Joined
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Don't I wish. Maybe someday when I can once again get into his particular part of the hinterlands.
For any non-trappers out there, believe or not there is actually a market for squirrel hides, you get about a dollar a piece and as I understand it you don't have to include the tail, which means you can ship the tails to Mepps for about $.35 a piece.
But I've never trapped squirrels. Can't image that. Hey yall, I'm a SQUIRREL TRAPPER :grin:
But I've never trapped squirrels. Can't image that. Hey yall, I'm a SQUIRREL TRAPPER :grin:
crockett said:
I've trapped squirrels. Shooting is easier.
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crockett said:
Long ago an old guy showed me what he called an "Indian bow snare" for squirrels. I'll have to look for an online description, because I sure can't describe it. In any case, it works to perfection and is easy to build. Bud of mine in another state lives among many houses and had a major squirrel problem. I showed him the snare, and in no time the neighbors started saying they never see squirrels much any more. :rotf: While I was visiting, we got 5 squirrels out of the same tree in a single morning. Fast as we could reset it, we'd get another.
Ah, here's a version. Scroll down the page to Figure 8-9, where they call their an Ojibwa bird pole. We make ours out of a 4-5' whippy limb, then just lean it up against the tree trunk with the baited trigger out away from the tree. Zing! Squirrel.
Rifleman1776 said:
Lot more fun too!
