bear skin.

"Ho, man!" called Strongarm, "come on!"

"Sit and rest, father," Burr said.

The old man sat down on the root of a tree. Burr brought him bison
meat and wild honey and a horn of water.

"Eat, you are tired and hungry."

The old man ate all he wanted. Then he began to talk. He told about
his wife, and the work at the stone yard and the gravel bed, and of the
men who had come from far away to buy his axes.

The boys stood by and listened.

After some time Burr looked at the bag on the old man's shoulder.

"Have you a new ax in there for me?" she asked with a little laugh.

Smiles came about the old man's mouth, and he slowly pulled four
beautiful chipped axes from his bag. One ax was big and heavy. That
was for Strongarm. He handed it to him. Another ax was small and
light. That was Burr's. She put out her hand for it. There were two
little axes. These the boys snatched with shouts of joy.

The axes were wide at the sharp end and narrow at the head, and you
could see where every chip had come off.