whiskey jacks (Canada Jays) came, as they always seem to come at the
first sign of smoke, to pay us a visit and partake of the feast. They
are fluffy, heavily feathered little birds of gray, with wings and tail
of darker hue, and with a white spot on their forehead. They are not
unlike the blue jay in their calls and shrieks, though they have some
notes of their own that are of a quieter, softer tone. They are
friendly little beggars that will at times come so near that they may
occasionally be caught in one's hand; but while one likes to have them
about for the sake of their companionship, they will, uninvited, take a
share of anything that is good to eat. They are the most familiar
birds to be seen in the winter forest, and they have a remarkable way
of laying their eggs and nesting in the month of March when the weather
may register from twenty to forty below zero.

In the forest there are several different ways of skinning animals: one
is called "case skinning" and another is called "split skinning." To
case skin an animal such as ermine, fox, fisher, lynx, marten, mink,
otter, muskrat, rabbit, or skunk, the skin is cut down the inner side
of each hind leg until the two cuts meet just under the tail, and then
the pelt is peeled off by turning it inside out. To split skin an
animal such as wood-buffalo, moose, wapiti, caribou, deer, bear,
beaver, wolf, or wolverine, the skin is cut down the belly from throat
to tail and also on the inside of each leg to the centre cut, and then
the pelt is peeled off both ways toward the back. All split skins are
stretched on rectangular frames--all save beaver skins which are
stretched on oval frames. All case skins are stretched over
wedge-shaped boards of various sizes--all save muskrat skins which are
more often stretched over a hooped frame or a looped stick. So, of
course, our moose pelt was "split skinned," but there is still another
way to skin an animal that is too large for one man to turn over, and