c.

Then they a

it and stretch it, tii in

rawhide dried it was like acu. -

round and strong and wouldn't get tary...
Then they’d rub a herb with a kind of pepper- |
mint smell all over it. They always used mittens |
made of soft calf skin, so no human smell would:
get on the. snare. When the mittens had been
handled many times, they would be soaked in
brine water to get the human smell out.”

Martin, wolf, wolverine, and lynx, however, :
were not snared in the same way. A trap was:
‘made from deadfall, which would fall on the!
animal's neck and kill it instantly. “There was;
nothing cruel about it; the animal didn’t know:
what hit him.’’ Wolverine were hard to catch. |
“You had to trick them. Their nose is very sen-
sitive. You always used skin mittens to set the
traps. You never touched a trap with bare hands. |
Your scent would freeze on the trap and never |

_ leave. A wolverine or wolf or lynx would pick it
up right away. Beaver castor, an oil, was the best
bait. We’d chop a hole in a tree, put the bait in
it, and the animal would come and rub all over
it for the smell. One day he’d make a mistake
and step in the trap.”

For moose and caribou they built a large V-
shaped fence. There was a pass through the.
fence. There was a pass through the fence where :
snares were set: ‘‘They’d gradually coax the!
moose.or caribou in, gradually so they wouldn't |
tear down the fence. When the animal was.
caught in the snares, they’d come close to it and |
cut it once in the neck, and it was over.’

‘For the bear, they would build a little cabin =
out of logs. The cabin would be open on one.
side. There was a big crossbar hanging above the .
front, and the snare would be attached to that, :
and there would be meat inside the house. As:
soon as the animal got in so far, a trigger in there
would offset everything, a heavy log would drop :
down from above and pull the bear up off the
ground and strangle him right away. They had to
do it that way, because the bear is an awful
fighter, and if you didn’t hang him up, he could
fight his way out of the trap. You could catch
grizzly bear that way, and black bear also.’’

Johnny stressed several times that nothing on
the animal was ever wasted. As soon as a caribou
was killed, for example, ‘“‘They would partly
skin him right away, then they would collect
all the blood. They would clean it by running it .
through nice clean mosses, and keep it in a bag. :
‘In the winter time it would freeze. They could
cut chunks off it and put them in the soup.’

and eaten.

WATSON LAKE

HARDWARE

Hardware Men's Wear
Electrical Paint and
Appliances Wallpaper

Sporting Goods
Box 189, Watson Lake
Phone 536-7939
Hours. Mons -Fri.-8:30-7.->Sat-.»3:30-

. “suit”.

Moose and caribou heads us also be boiled |

CROCHETERS

“TELEX 036-8-8532'1

wooden sticks with rounded ends, to stretch and

soften it. When it dried it was:soft as a cloth..

The moose or caribou hide was now taken
down, and. a narrow strip, including the holes,
was cut off all around the edge. This strip
could then be sewn around more delicate smal-
ler hides, such as gopher, so that the small
hide could be stretched without cutting holes
in it.

The hide was now sewn into a sack, open at
one end. A hole was dug in the ground, and
enough Jack Pine cones were put in to keep
coals slowly burning and smoking. The sack was

put in the hole, where it could be smoked to
any desired shade of yellow or brown. The hide.
’ was then turned inside out and smoked a little

on the inside as well. Finally, the sack could be

cut open and spread out to dry. The hide was:
used to make all the clothing worn by the In-.
dians: coats, shirts, pants, mittens, slippers, and_

moccasins.

An interesting note is that the same type of

hide - either moose or caribou - was used for an

_ entire outfit. The idea was to have a matching
As moose hide was thicker and heavier.

and also quite porous, it was used for winter
wear. The warmest hide for mukluks and mit-

tens came from a bull moose. The lighter, more .

airtight caribou hide made ideal outfits for
summer.

| asked Johnny how small animal skins were
used. ‘‘Blankets! Rabbit, squirrel, and ground-
hog skins were tanned, cut into rectangular
pieces, and sewn together. Rabbit skins were al-
ways saved, as they made very good blankets for
both winter and summer. Married people’’ - here
Johnny gave his nice smile - “always got bigger
‘blankets than single people. Rabbit skin was also
used for children’s mitts and moccasins, worn

fur side in.” .
eg re a es Be cn continued on page 11

WATSON LAKE HOTEL
036-7481

ATLAS TRAVEL . MICHAELS GIFT SHOP

; and
KNITTERS

Large selection of wool now available in Cassiar

VISIT

THE KNIT - PICKER

299 Carmacks St.
Ph. 778-7515

: HOURS
Monday - Friday

e4

“Saturdays ******

Before the hide was dry, it was beaten with 2

10: 00 am - 12:00 am oe Le

iustry Talk
ion H rie
ourable Grace Mc-
i Industry, (March
‘srable upsurge of
‘hether it was her
ow or her own con-
age seems to have
Jee (the northern
i) that this is an indus-
1e.
3 have realized that it is
1ajor growth industry. As
opportunities for northern
ities to make a living, or at
profitable sideline, to make
<0 Visit favourite beauty spots
pose.
ve discussed three new businesses
2ntly got started in the south of
. One was a guest farm, another an
‘aft shop specializing in ornamental
and the other a museum for aged farm
it. All these businessmen responded to
.4 of providing a service to the tourist.
zy realized that if the tourist had got this

. north, he would be looking for things to do
and a place to stay. The tourist is a special sort
of person: he is relaxed, looking for new experi-
ences and not willing to part with his money.

And if he does come north, the odds are he is
looking for a country-type experience. These
enterprises will provide it. In other words, the
seller’s goods are matching the buyer's needs.

This is all as it should be. Now, the Peace

- River-Alaska Highway Tourist Association has a
few offers to make.

The first is that if you are considering starting
any kind of tourist-oriented business, or if you
are expanding one, feel free to use us for advice ©
on anything from location to financing. We are
here to help you in any way we can.

Secondly, we are in the business of not keep-
ing secrets. So if you’ll tell us about your project
we will, when you’re ready, give you all the free
publicity we can. We have these columns, we _
make. up. features stories for distribution to the.
news media and we are of course plugged in to
Tourism. British Columbia’s promotional net-
work. Thus we can arrange not only provincial
but international coverage for you too.

So if you are starting a new business for tour-
ists, taking over an existing one, or if you would
just plain like some publicity for your present
business, just give us a call. Tell us who you are,
what you have to offer and where you are offer-
ing it. (And how much you're charging, of
course.) -

The Peace River-Alaska Highway Tourist
Association exists to serve you, whether or not
you are a member.

Let’s be hearing from you, because there are
a lot of tourists out there who want to hear
from us.

This series is sponsored by the Peace River-
Alaska Highway Tourist Association (PRAHTA).
Additional information may be out-obtained by
contacting PRAHTA, attention, Region “H”’

Tourist Co-ordinator, P.O. Box 6850, Fort St.
John, B.C. - V1J 4J3. Telephone 785-2544.

V& 5.
Janitorial
Service

Spring cleanup?

See us for all your Janitorial Needs!

FLOORS
STRIPPING

CARPETS
UPHOLSTERY
WAXING

Box 371
WATSON LAKE
Phone 536-7970

Have been in business for one year,
and interested in pee up Business