Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-03-19
NATURALIST AND TAXIDERNlST.
PETS STUFFED and PRESERVED.

Street is the sign;
NATURALIST AND TAXinEiRHlST.:
PETS STUFFED AND PRESERVED.
In the window, huddled higgledy.
piggledy, are few sticky looking bot
tics, q bunch of feathers and tall,
pinched up kind of bird that seems to
have got into a trait-iacket and stuck
there. To inquire into the interesting
process of stuffing and preserving pets
reporter descended into the taxider-
mist's lair. There he found man as
sticky looking as the bottles in the win
dow, with noble cxpanse of brow that
had long shaken of the capillary yoke
and now presented an unrutllcd sur
face from the rim of the spectacles to
the nape of the neck There were not
great many specimens of the opera
tors art on exhibition, but such us were
looked rather moldy and uncomfort-
able, rs though they We're Disconnected
at being caught in odd postlirOs and
did not know how to get ont of them.
You stuff and preserve pets?" in
quired the reporter.
The taXidermist nodded. He did not
seem to possess much vocal ability, and
what he had he did not want to use.
"What kind of pets?"
The other looked about at the sticky
specimens and shrugged his shoulders.
Manifestly all creation was expressed
by the movement
you have no large animalsp" This
with glance at the archaeological ex-
hibits.
40, yes, said the taxidermst, now be.
| coming rs llucntaS he had been taciturn;
"big as horses. Not long ago | helped
to peserve and mount on platform
horse that was gcntlcman's favorite.
He had ridden him all through the
West, and Heaven knows where else.
Even in death he wanted to have the
noble creatures company And he has
him, very likely in his bedroom OF
study, or somewhere"
ais such work common
mo, not common drawled out the
taxidermst' "but occasional. 1t all
depends on peoples fancies. Now,
not every one cares about having the
skin of IA dog or horse about him, no
matter how much he liked it, It's too
much like starting Il cemetery in the
house. But some people do take such
notions-lucky for meas you know
some like to have their kindred buried
under their very noses"
'ls your work confined to stulling
and preparing del lnct pets?"
Fortunately it is not. If itwere I'd
have up hill work. But have the an
nounccment painted on my sign. 1t
helps business, if not for me, for some
one else
"How?"
"Why, it puts the notion in the heads
ofpeople who sec it. 1t is only neces-
sary in this world to mention thing as
proper and people will take to it. Now,
when some folks see that sign they'll
conclude that I'm kept busy preserving
pets, and if they have any that chance
TO die the idea of keeping the part of
them that admits of preservation will
occur to them"
Have many been so affected by ne
sign?'
"a good many have. Since l hare
been here | have had all sorts of Gun,
ous things to turn into post morten
ornaments. hear mostly from ladies
There are some old women who hav
had parrots and cats and the like about
them for years, and if harm comes t.
the creatures they often think of keep
ing the remains. Then there arr
sportsmen who have notable game they
want to keep. These aren't pets, Of
course. And they have favorite dogs,
too, that they like to have preserved.
Stuffed dogs are quite common now.
adays. The skins of nearly all that
make any sort ofa name for themselves
are kept by their owners. Fanciers
often have notable specimens of various
breeds preserved"
care your services often employed in
behalf of other than domestic animalsP"
"Of course. Strange beasts and birds
give the taxidermist most of his work.
The museums and menageries have
lot of that kind of business to give away.
And then there are private people who
have the oldest kind of pets. Not long
ago | prepared and mounted lot OF
snakes gentleman had brought home
from South America. He was real fond
of them, learned. Ihave had raccoons
and foxes and squirrels and even mice
to put in shape. No end of birds are
stuffed and used as ornaments, and en-
thusiastic sportsmen will bring bears
skin or a deer's head miles to be pre-
pared and used as trophy of the
chase. Sometimes have got an order
for an ornamental group and have had
to hunt about myself for animals to |
compose it-hunt about town, mean,
for am no hand to do execution"
The reporter looked at q bird the man |
was handling. 1t seemed ruffled and, |
like all else around, a sticky thing.
at doesn't look handsome" he haz.
arded.
NO." said the taxidermist, "a glue |
pot fell and spattered it."
The reporter looked at all the other
creatures in their rigid, uneasy pos
lures. They all had the same look and
feeling.
Mister" he said, as ne went out.
"Well, what is t?"
Didn't that glue pot fall in bird
foundryP"
1t certainly looked like tn. T.
Herald.