A MEMORABLE ELEPHANT HUNT. 203 



possible assistance and appliances at hand, but it is infinitely more 

 so in a rainy jungle. In fact, Professor Ward and I were about the 

 only persons who believed it possible to accomplish what I had un- 

 dertaken. For my part, all I asked then was that the fever would 

 keep away from me for about ten days. 



After a short rest, in which our previous fatigue was entirely 

 forgotten, we got out our knives and went to work. The elephant 

 lay fairly on his side, and the top of the carcass was just as high as 

 the top of my head ; — "a mountain of mummy." I decided that 

 it would be impracticable and unnecessary to remove the skin 

 entire, although we could have done it, had it been desirable. I 

 think it inadvisable to remove and handle an elephant skin entire, 

 even under the most favorable circumstances, and were I called 

 upon to skin an adult elephant in a menagerie, I should proceed 

 precisely as we did then. We decided to cut the skin in three 

 pieces, in such a way that when mounted none of the seams would 

 show, and to this end we slit it open straight .ilong the under side 

 of the animal, straight along the middle of the back, and cut off the 

 head, as the third jiiece, just at the crease in the neck. Dividing 

 the skin along the middle of the back was terrible work, it being 

 fully an inch and a half in thickness and indescribably tough. 

 Then I congratulated myself upon having thin-bladed knives of 

 the best shear steel, made especially for such work. 



Of course each leg was slit from the sole of the foot, straight up 

 the inside, to the opening along the breast and abdomen. When 

 the opening cuts had all been made, we began at the middle of the 

 back and skinned down the side which was uppermost, rolling the 

 heavy skin over as we went along. When we reached the hip and 

 the shoulder, we cut away a few cubic feet of flesh, cut off both the 

 legs, and worked on down to the cut along the abdomen. After 

 getting this half of the skin clear of the animal, we spread it out 

 upon the ground and skinned the two legs without much trouble. 



By the time we had accomplished this it was night, so we 

 washed in the stream at the foot of the hill, built a large camp- 

 fire, slung my hammock, ate our rice, and prepared to be comfort- 

 able. We camped just above the carcass, but quite near it, and 

 while the Mulcers sat around the blazing fire, piling on dry 

 bamboos and discussing the events of the day, I lay in my Ashantee 

 hammock, swinging gently to and fro, gazing up at the green 

 leaves dancing in the firelight. To be sure, I glanced occasionally 

 at the huge red and white carcass just below us within the circle o/ 



