Dressing in this case really means undressing, taking their coats off and removing their insides. In order to prepare for broiling or baking any of the small fur-bearing animals, make yourself a skinning stick, using for the purpose a forked branch; the forks being about an inch in diameter, make the length of the stick to suit your convenience, that is, long enough to reach between the knees whether you are sitting on a camp stool or squatting on the ground, sharpen the lower end of the stick and thrust it into the ground, then take your coon, possum, squirrel or muskrat, and punch the pointed ends of the forked stick thru the thin place at the point which corresponds to your own heel, just as the stick in Fig. 155 is punched through the thin place behind the heels of the small animals there sketched. Thus hung the animal may be dressed with comfort to the workmen. If one is squatting, the nose of the animal should just clear the ground. First take off the fur coat. To do this you split the skin with a sharp knife, beginning at the center of the throat and cut to the base of the tail, being careful not to cut deep enough to penetrate the inside skin or sack which contains the intestines; when the base of the tail is reached, use your fingers to roll back the skin. If skinning for the pelt, follow directions given later, but do not destroy any skin as the hide is useful for many purposes around camp. After the coat is removed and all the internal organs taken out, remove the scent glands from such animals as have them, and make a cut in the forearms and the meaty parts of the thigh, and cut out the little white things which look like nerves, to be found there. This will prevent the flesh from having a strong or musky taste when it is cooked.