14 
WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
The Cambridge Elephant. 
In November, 1877, the writer was in the Ani- 
mally Hills of Southern India, under instructions 
from Prof. Ward to secure and preserve the entire 
skin of a full grown tusk elephant. Having re- 
ceived from the Governor of the Madras Presi- 
dency, as a special favor, a permit authorizing 
me to kill a suitable specimen, which was other- 
wise strictly forbidden by law, I provided myself 
with the preservatives and implements requisite 
for preparing and preserving the skin of an ele- 
phant, and attended by my native trackers and 
porters, pitched camp in the mountains most fre- 
quented by herds of wild elephants. In due 
time we found the fresh trail of a large herd 
which we followed rapidly one entire day, camp- 
ed beside it at night and pursued on the follow- 
ing day. The course taken by the elephants led 
us at times through grand open forests, across 
swamps of tall grass growing in mud, but finally 
it led for several miles along a steep mountain 
side covered with the thickest and thorniest un- 
derbrush the writer saw anywhere in Hindostan. 
Progress through it would have been exceedingly 
difficult but for the narrow lanes left clear by the 
passage of the elephants. Although the herd 
was overtaken early in the second day of the 
chase and several unsuccessful attempts were 
made to single out the largest tusker, it was con 
sidered too dangerous to persevere in such tangled 
and thick jungle with so many chances against 
the hunter, and we followed the herd closely until 
at last, after a long and wearisome chase, the ele- 
phants entered a tract of more open ground. The 
herd contained about forty elephants of all sizes, 
and in a short time a large tusker was discover- 
ed feeding quietly on a hillside with three or four 
females and young males, a short distance from 
the main herd. ' Stealing up to within eight 
paces of him I fired a shot at his head, which 
entered about six inches above the left eye, rang- 
ed downward through the brain, passed entirely 
through the head and entered the neck to the 
depth of ten inches, and laid the noble animal 
dead in his tracks without a struggle or a sound. 
His death was accomplished with a single spheri- 
cal zinc ball .from a No. 8 smooth-bore gun by 
six drachms of powder. 
Our elephant fell fairly upon his side wdiich 
was greatly in our favor, and after taking care- 
ful measurements of his body and limbs we pro- 
ceeded at once to remove the skin. 
Inasmuch as our specimen had fallen in a dense 
jungle several miles from any road, I decided 
that it was impracticable to remove the entire 
skin whole and we w r ould therefore divide it into 
three sections. Accordingly an incision was 
made from the top of the neck along the back to 
the tail, another divided the skin from the throat 
along the middle of the body underneath meeting 
the first incision at the tail, and a third cut sever- 
ed the head entirely from the body. Along the 
upper parts of the body and head the skin proper 
was about an inch in thickness and exceedingly 
tough. An incision was also made along the in- 
side of each leg from the sole of the foot to the 
abdominal opening. 
Beginning at the incision along the abdomen 
we detached the skin upward as far as possible, 
then going to the cut along the back we skinned 
down the side of the body until we reached the 
legs at elbow and knee. As soon as the legs were 
reached we cut them off at the joints, after wffiich 
one side of the skin was entirely free from the 
body. 
There being only six of us we were obliged to 
remove the entrails and vital organs and cut off 
several hundred pounds of flesh from the carcass 
before we could turn it over, and even then it re- 
quired nearly three hours hard work wdtk levers 
and props to accomplish that part of the task. 
After turning the body over and removing the 
skin from the other side we skinned the head and 
trunk. 
Having now removed the skin from the body, 
which was accomplished in two days, we were 
ready to apply the preservatives. There being 
no coating of hair on the animal we wrnre able to 
treat the skin on both sides, which was a great 
advantage. We first applied arsenical soap to 
the inside of [the skin, upon which we sprinkled 
salt plentifully, and rubbed it in with a flat stone, 
BULLETIN 
OF THE 
NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB 
A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, SEVENTH 
YEAR OF PUBLICATION. 
Though intended primarily as a medium of 
communication between working ornithologists, 
and consequently maintaining a high technical 
character, this Bulletin aims to be entertaining 
as well as instructive, and contains a fair portion 
of sufficiently popular matter to suit all those 
who are interested in birds. It is mainly devoted 
to the Ornithology of North America. Being a 
general 
MAGAZINE OF ORNITHOLOGY, 
its review department" promptly gives critical 
notes, not only of all American works and 
papers, but of the more important publications 
relating to Ornithology at large, while its depart- 
ment of General Notes is rich in the experiences 
of the working ornithologists of this country. 
Mr. J. A. Allen, Editor, 
Assisted by Prof. S. F. Baiiid and Dr. Elliott 
Coties. 
Terms. — $2.00 per year, including postage; 
strictly in advance. Back volumes at the same 
price. Single numbers 50 cents. Remittances 
by mail at the risk of the sender, unless sent by 
postal order, or draft on Boston or New York. 
Address Charles F. Bachelder, Cambridge, 
Mass. 
Foreign subscribers may obtain the Bulletin 
of J. Van Voorst & Co., Paternoster Row, 
London. 
MARSUPIALS. 
The first large lot of Australian specimens has 
just reached us and we are able to speak in more 
detail of some of the marsupials mentioned in 
our last. The skins of Mctcropus gigas deserve 
special mention as they are unusually large and 
fine. An idea maybe gathered of their size from 
the fact that they stand 4 feet high and upwards, 
and that the foot measures 16 inches in length. 
Of V. rufus we have only a few skins. This, 
the most beautiful of the Kangaroos, second in 
size only to the Great Kangaroo, has a coat of 
very thick and soft fur varying in color from 
pale red to a faint purple. 
The small Wallaby ( Halmaturus fetidis), a 
very good Kangaroo for small collections, is 
represented by numerous skins and skeletons, 
and among others we have examples of Bennett's 
Kangaroo (//. ruficollis), the black Wallaby (B. 
ualabatus ), and the bright colored Rock Kan- 
garoo ( Petrogale xanthopus). Among the Rat 
Kangaroos we have Bettongia Graii, B. rufescens- 
and Hypsiprymnus murinus. The curious two- 
thumbed Koala or Monkey Bear ( Phascolarctos 
cinereus ), is present in skin and skeletal form, in- 
cluding one or two funny little cubs who, we are 
told, sit astride their mother’s neck in fine weather 
and hang below when it rains. The short-legged, 
surly looking Wombat ( Phascolomys ), contributes 
two skins and several lusty looking skeleton's. 
Of the so-called Opossums, or Phalangers, we 
possess as skins, skeletons and skulls, Phalangista 
canina, P. fuliginosa, P. vulpina and Pseudochirus 
Cooki. Dasyurus maculatus and D. viverrinus re- 
present the native “Cats” of the early set- 
tlers, the latter being remarkable for its two 
distinct phases of coloration, members of the 
same litter being respectively light gray and 
black, both marked with white spots. The pret- 
ty little Belideus ( B . sciureus), might from its 
form and color readily pass for an exaggerated 
Flying Squirrel while the tiny Acrobata pygmaea 
is the smallest representative of mammals pro- 
vided with an extension of the skin which serves 
the purpose of a parachute. Last and rarest of 
all are two skins of the Thylacinus , an animal 
already rare, which another decade will probably 
see entirely exterminated. 
Please oblige us by forioarding your subscription 
at earliest convenience. 
after which the outside was similarly treated, the 
skin folded up and allowed to lie for two days. 
At the end of that time it was opened out and 
half a day was spent in paring down the thick 
portions with our knives so that the preservatives 
could strike through the skin, rubbing it in as 
before, once more folded the skin and allowed it 
to lie three days. 
On the sixth day, finding that the fibres of the 
skin were hardening properly and the epidermis 
thoroughly set, we applied powdered alum only, 
and hung the skin over poles in the shade to dry. 
On the eighth day I set the men to work with 
knives paring down the skin and after they had 
worked two days it was not more than three- 
eighths of an inch in thickness. From first to 
last I estimate that not less than 700 ponnds of 
fibre was pared off the skin. After the thinning 
process we applied arsenical soap once more, and 
when the skin was folded carefully for the last 
time it was treated with pow r dered alum. 
Twenty days after the death of the elephant 
the skin was dry and hard and ready for ship- 
ment. It was packed in a single case and weigh- 
ed when boxed only 240 pounds. 
The skin was received at the establishment by 
steamer via London early in 1878, and in 18S0, 
Mr. J. F. D. Bailly and the writer received 
orders from Prof. Ward to mount it. 
After lying two months in the relaxing tanks, 
it was soft enough to be pared down thin, which 
process required the efforts of four men during 
an entire week. The next step was to construct 
a manikin of the proper size and shape, from the 
drawings and measurements of the animal and its 
skeleton. 
Having prepared a drawing of the outline our 
elephant should be given, four inch square 
bars of wrought iron twelve feet in length were 
heated and bent into shape for the legs, and all 
were firmly bolted to a four inch beam, 2 x 16 
feet, which was to serve as a back-bone for the 
attachment of ribs, pelvis and scapulae. On each 
side of the centre beam were nailed side boards 
cut in a semi-circular shape to the same general 
outline as the ribs of the skeleton when in posi- 
tion. These false ribs were set the entire length 
of the animal’s body, and to them were nailed 
long and supple laths until the entire body was 
covered with them. A wooden pelvis was con- 
structed and nailed in position, after which came 
the shoulder blades constructed in the same way. 
At each joint of the legs, a round piece of 
wood was fitted round the leg-iron, and laths 
were nailed on from one to the other until the 
proper shape of each leg was nearly as possible 
obtained, although of much smaller size than that 
of the living animal. 
With the real skull before us as a model we 
constructed another of wood of exactly the same 
size and shape as the original, into which the 
tusks were fitted. When completed the wooden 
skull was temporarily fastened in position on the 
end of the beam until the skin of the animal was 
tried upon the wooden manikin, and the exact 
position and pose of the head obtained. After 
bolting the skull firmly in position the wooden 
framework of the manikin was complete. The 
exact outline of the back and neck was obtained 
by fastening a two-inch plank edgewise upon the 
main beam and trimming down its upper edge. 
After completing the wooden framework, the 
whole was carefully covered with straw in small 
bundles fastened to the framework by means of 
staples and cords. After the first coating of straw 
had been fastened to the wood it was not difficult 
to attach successive layers to the first, and by 
this means the various muscles and prominences 
were made with exactitude. After several days 
work with the straw we had obtained the various 
proportions of our animal, and the next step was 
to place the skin over our model and secure it. 
Having soaked the skin in the arsenical bath to 
thoroughly poison it, it was placed in position 
over the manikin and the last stage of. the opera- 
tion entered upon by sewing the skin together 
along the back. The feet were then placed in 
position on the pedestal, stuffed out to the proper 
shape and size and one by one the legs were fin- 
ished by stuffing between the skin and the frame- 
work and sewing as we proceeded. The same 
process was followed throughout for the body, 
neck and legs, i. e ., that of stuffing between the 
