The Tinder Horn
The tinder horn is made of an ordinary cow’s horn which can be secured from a local butcher. It first must be cleaned and scraped smooth before any design can be etched. Boiling in water softens the horn, thus enabling it to be cleaned and scraped more easily. A piece of broken glass serves as an excellent scraper, after which sand or emery paper can be used.
An etching tool can be made from an ordinary nail, by grinding a 3-cornered point on a grind stone.
The design should first be sketched in pencil, and then incised with the tool. The design is then inked with India ink and allowed to dry, the surplus ink being removed with a wet cloth, and the horn polished with chamois and talcum powder. The polishing brings out the real beauty of the horn.
The stopper is made of heavy cow-hide, and should fit tightly into the horn so no moisture can get at the tinder.
The Horn Cup
The horn cup is also cut from a cow’s horn, although the Indians in the western mountains sometimes used the horn of mountain sheep. The cup is cut out with a saw, and the edges filed and worked smooth and even all around.
Boiling the horn softens it so it can be smoothed more easily. The handle can then be soaked in a solution of building lime and water to make it pliable, so it can be bent into shape. It is washed and bound into place until it again hardens.
Follow the same directions for polishing and etching as for the Tinder Horn.
Totem Pole
Directly opposite the Chief’s throne, on the outer edge of the circle, should be the Totem Pole. This is always set up as soon as possible in all permanent camps. Its purpose is, ..text pokračuje
