Tall Elephants. 53 



of the same day. Some years before, in 1904, I had shot a 

 fine 5o-pounder near the same village, and Maponda (a 

 woman chief) and her people remembered the fine feeds of 

 meat, so were very glad to see me come along again. The 

 vicinity of her village is in one of the best elephant localities 

 in Nyasaland, and I suppose over twenty large bulls have 

 been shot there by Europeans at different times. I know 

 that many skulls can be seen ; that is to say, if one happens 

 to pass where they are. The elephants in this district 

 are a lanky, tall type of animal, and the one I shot 

 in 1904 must have reached lift, or slightly more, and the 

 natives told me he was the tallest elephant they had 

 ever seen. He fell dead in a kneeling position against 

 a small tree, so I could not get his shoulder measurement. 

 Mr T. A. Barns (who shot the large elephant now in the 

 South Kensington Museum) has killed several in that 

 locality measuring close on lift., and the height of the 

 elephant mentioned, in the Natural History Museum, is 

 stated to have taped lift. 4in. when shot. An elephant or 

 giraffe skin, or, indeed, the skin of any large beast, can be 

 stretched a considerable amount w r hen being set up in a wet 

 condition, and it would be an easy matter for a taxidermist 

 to mount a I2it. elephant out of an I ift. skin. 



If a lion's skin is immersed in water for a day or two it 

 could be made to stretch quite a foot, although the width 

 measurement would likely decrease somewhat if the length 

 were increased. Thus, unless the hunter is a principled 

 man, he could add on several inches to the height of a 

 trophy without the most expert naturalist or taxidermist 

 being able to detect it, as skins intended for natural history 

 specimens are not pegged out, and they shrink considerably 

 in drying. I have no doubt that there are several speci- 

 mens in different museums which represent taller animals 

 than they were when alive. I believe it is possible to 

 stretch a game head by soaking it for a long time and then 

 hanging heavy weights to the tips of the horns. Of course, 

 no self-respecting sportsman or taxidermist would do this, 

 but a few trophy dealers in South Africa would likely be 



