In the Pampas, when the natives want a granary, they sew the legs of a
whole skin up, and fill it full of corn; it is then tied up to four stakes,
with the legs hanging downwards, so that it has the appearance of an
elephant hanging up; the top is again covered with hides, which prevent
the rats getting in. In stretching a skin to dry, wood is so scarce in
many parts of the Pampas, that the rib bones are carefully preserved to
supply its place, and used as pegs to fix it in the ground. When a
new-born infant is to be cradled, a square sheepskin is laced to a small
rude frame of wood, and suspended like a scale to a beam or
rail.--_Brand's Peru._
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