Squirrel Gravy

After Dad got his knife sharp, he reached down and picked up one of the squirrels. He cut it across the back. Then he laid the knife down, and with both hands, he placed the ends of his fingers in the cut that he had made on the squirrel's back. With both hands he slowly began to pull the hide off of the squirrel.
When he had the hide off, he turned it over on its back and he cut it from its head down through its belly, to the tail. Then he reached in, pulled out the guts, and pitched them on the ground. I can remember the dogs. They would fight each other over the guts. Ernie and me liked to watch the dogs fight. To us that was fun, but Dad didn’t like it. Sometimes Dad would jump in and kick the dog that was acting the most piggish. That way the other dog could have some too.
After Dad got all the squirrels skinned, he put them in a pan of water and washed them off real good. Then he put them in the other pan of water and handed them to Mom. He said, "I want them cooked for dinner." Mom took the squirrels in the kitchen, put them in a big black kettle, filled it up with water along with some hog lard and salt, and set it on the wood cook stove to cook.
After the squirrels got tender, Mom got a bowl and put some flour and milk in it. She mixed it up. Then she poured it in the kettle on top of the squirrels and began to stir. She called it "squirrel gravy" and it was good.