CH. x] A MONSTER TUSKER 249 



the spoor. If we had been only after ivory we should 

 liave followed liini at once ; but there was no telling 

 liow long a chase he might lead us ; and as we desired 

 to save the skin of tlie dead elephant entire, there was 

 no time whatever to spare. It is a formidable task, 

 occupying many days, to preserve an elephant for 

 mounting in a museum, and if the skin is to be properly 

 saved, it must be taken off' without an hour's unneces- 

 sary delay. 



So back we turned to where the dead tusker lay, and 

 I felt proud indeed as 1 stood by the immense bulk of 

 the slain monster and put my hand on the ivory. The 

 tusks weighed a hundred and thirty pounds the pair. 

 There was the usual scene of joyful excitement among 

 the gun-bearers — who had behaved excellently — and 

 among tlie wild busli-people who had done the tracking 

 for us ; and, as Cuninghame had predicted, the old 

 Masai Dorobo, from pure delight, proceeded to have 

 liysterics on the body of the dead elephant. The scene 

 was repeated when Heller and the porters appeared halt 

 an hour later. Then, chattering like monkeys, and as 

 happy as possible, all — porters, gun-bearers, and 'Ndorobo 

 alike — began the work of skinning and cutting up the 

 (juarry, under the leadership and supervision of Heller 

 and Cuninghame, and soon they were all splashed with 

 blood from head to foot. One of the trackers took off 

 his blanket and squatted stark naked inside the carcass 

 the better to use his knife. Each labourer rewarded 

 himself by cutting off strips of meat for his private 

 store, and hung them in red festoons from the branches 

 round about. There was no let up in tlie work until it 

 was stopped by darkness. 



Our tents were pitched in a small open glade a 

 hundred yards from the dead elephant. The night 



