That purpose will presently be spoken of.
As soon as the fibre was nearly dry, the mallet was brought into requisition; and with this the mass was pounded upon the flat surface of the rock--until it became reduced to a complete state of "pulp." This pulp was once more put into the yak-skin--which had been gathered up around the edges so as to form a sort of concavity or rude vat--and again immersed under water--not of the boiling spring, but the cool water of the lake--until the bag became full.

The pulp was next stirred with a stick--which brought the coarse dirty parts to the surface.
These were skimmed off, and thrown away as refuse; and the process was repeated with fresh water--until the whole substance, which was of a mucilaginous character, was rendered pure, and soft to the touch.

The next and last operation was in fact the making of the paper; and was performed by Karl himself.

It was simple enough, though requiring a certain dexterity, or sleight of hand, to do it well.

It consisted in placing a quantity of the pulp upon the sieve before mentioned; and cradling the frame about--all the time held under water--until the substance became equally and uniformly spread over the whole surface.
The sieve was then taken out of the water--being raised gently and kept in a horizontal position--so as not to derange the even stratum of pulp that severed it.