Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/817

Rh each skin was pierced by a weapon; yet, viewed on the hairy side, not a hole is visible, circular pieces of skin being "let in." Great skill is shown in selecting these pieces, as the meerkat is extremely variable. A professional kaross-maker takes two pieces of fur, places them together, hairy sides in and edges just matching. He repeatedly passes the long needle between the two pieces, so as to press the hair downward and out of the way. He then bores a



few holes in a line with each other and passes a sinew fiber through them, casting a single hitch over each hole but leaving the thread loose. Two or three such holes being made and the thread passed through, he draws it tight so as to produce a sort of lock-stitch, perfectly safe and neat. Finally, he rubs down the seams so that the edges lie as if one piece. The gray jackal is more prized than the black; though not so beautiful, it is more rare. One kaross, five feet three inches deep by three feet wide, was made of several skins. The skin is darkest along the back. The maker has here selected skins and uses the darker ones for center and lets it fade away toward the edges to give the effect of one large skin. Not only so, but by careful cutting and piecing the effect was carried out. All the heads are set in a row along the upper edge. The lower edge is made from the skin of the paws—very dark, in a stripe four inches wide. In some karosses, two feet from the top and on the outer edges, are small wings or projections, one foot long by eight inches wide. These wrap around the shoulders and arms. The kaross reaches the knees in front and a foot lower behind and at the sides. The edge of the kaross is bound on the inside with membrane band to add to its strength. This is made from antelope-skin, rolled up and buried in the ground until partly putrefied; it is then split. The needles used are like skewers and eyeless. The thread is of sinews—the best of which are from the