The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-02-27
TAxIDKRMY.
tBm Nye, in New York Msrcuryl

tBiIl Nye, in New York Msreury.l This name is from two Greek words which signify arrangement and skin. so that the ancient Greeks no doaht Te- garded taxidermy as the original skin- game ot the period. Taxidcrmy did nos flourish in America prior to the year IS23 At that time an Enslishman named Scudder establishei a museum and gen. eral repository for upholstered beAsts>
 Since then the art has advanced quite rapidly. To properly tsxiderm requires a 6ne taste and close study of the sub ject itself in hf., akin to the requirements necessary in order to succeed aS a scnlp- tor. lhave seen taxidermed animals that would not tpol anybody. recall at this time especially mountain hon, stuffed after death by party who had not made the matter a subject of close study. This lion was represented in a crouching atti- tude, with open jaws and red gums, AS time passed on and year succeeded year, this lion continued to crouch. His tail became less rampant and dropped like a hired man on hot day. His gums be came jess fiery rcd and his reddish skin hung over his bones in a loose and dis. traugtt manner, like an old buffAlo robe thrown over the knees of a vincssry old maid. Spiders spun their webs across his dull, white fangs. Mice made their nests in his abdominal cavity. His glass eye became hopelessly strabismussed, and the moths left him bald headed on the stomach. He was a sad commen- tary on the extremely transitoEv nature of all things terrestial and the hollowness oi the stuffed beast
 l also had stuffed bird for long time. which showed the cunning of the stuff CT to great degree. It afforded me great deal of unalloyed pleasure, because l liked to get old hunters to look at it and tell me what kind of bird it was. They did not generally agree. A bitter and acrimonious fight grew out of discus sion h relation to this bird. A man from Vinegar Hill named Lyons and a party called Soiled Murphy (since de- ceased) were in my office one morning MT Lyons as 6 witness. and Mv. Muf- ply in hts great speciality as drunk and disorderly. We had just disposed of the case, and 1 had just stepped down from the bench, intending to take of the judi- cial ermine and put some more coal in the stove, when the attention of Soiied Murphy was attracted to the bird. He allowed thatit was common "hell-diveY with an abnormal head" while Lyons claimed that it was king6sher.
 The bird had a ducks body, the head of common eagle and the feet of a sage hen. These parts had been ad- Justed with great care and the ttii loaded with lead somehow, SO that the powerful head would not tip the bird up behind With this rara avis, to use foreign term, 1 loved to amuse and instruct old hunt CTS, who had been hunting all their lives for a free drink, and hear them tell how they had killed hundreds of these birds over on the Poudre in an early day, or over near Elk mountain when the coun- try was new.
 So Lyons claimed that he had killed millions of these fowls, and Soiled Mur. phy, who was known as the tomato car said that before the Union Pacific rail toad got into that section, these bird. swarmed around Huton's lakes and livec cn horned toads.
 The feeling got more and more part san tal Mr Lyons made pass at Soilod Murphy with large rcd cuspidore ths had been presented to me by Valentino B .ker, dea e ID abandoned furniture and mines. Mir. Murphy then welted Lyons over the head with the judicial scales He then adrcitly caught a lump of bi.u. minous coal with his co1ute nance and tell to the floor with lev cry of pain. called in an outside party as wit ness, and in the afternoon both men wefs convicted of assault and battery. Soiled Murphy asked for change of venue os the ground that ! was prejudiced. l told him that did not allow anything what ever to prejudice me, and went on with the case.
 This great taxidermic masterpiece lef to other assaults Afterwards, ali of whScl proved remunerative in small way. M, successor claimed that the bird was [ part of the perquisites of the office, and st l had to turn 1t over with the docket. | alse had stuffed weasei from Cam mins City that attracted great deal 0 attention, both in this country aad |, Europe. It looked some like c wease and some like an equestrian sausage witl hair on it.