CH. x] A MONSTER TUSKER 249 
the spoor. If we had been only after ivory we should 
have followed him at once; but there was no telling 
how long a chase he might lead us ; and as we desired 
to save the skin of the 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 I 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 the wild bush-people who had done the tracking 
for us; and, as Cuninghame had predicted, the old 
Masai Dorobo, from pure delight, proceeded to have 
hysterics on the body of the dead elephant. The scene 
was repeated when Heller and the porters appeared half 
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 
quarry, 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 the 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 
