Every Day We Put In Soak Twenty-Five For Each
Man, Which, With Us, Made An Hundred And Fifty.
There they
lie forty-eight hours, when they are taken out, and rolled up,
in wheelbarrows, and thrown into the vats.
These vats contain brine,
made very strong; being sea-water, with great quantities of salt thrown
in. This pickles the hides, and in this they lie forty-eight hours;
the use of the sea-water, into which they are first put, being merely
to soften and clean them. From these vats, they are taken, and lie on
a platform twenty-four hours, and then are spread upon the ground,
and carefully stretched and staked out, so that they may dry smooth.
After they were staked, and while yet wet and soft, we used to go
upon them with our knives, and carefully cut off all the bad parts: -
the pieces of meat and fat, which would corrupt and infect the whole
if stowed away in a vessel for many months, the large flippers,
the ears, and all other parts which would prevent close stowage.
This was the most difficult part of our duty: as it required much
skill to take everything necessary off and not to cut or injure the hide.
It was also a long process, as six of us had to clean an hundred and
fifty, most of which required a great deal to be done to them, as the
Spaniards are very careless in skinning their cattle.
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