The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-05
MOUNTING Tips HIDE.
Required "A Years Work TO Prepare
the Vicious Elephants skin.
From Harper's Weekly.

From Harper's Weekly.
Tip was vicious young elephant, ana
during his brief life OF twenty-three years
he killed several OF his keepers, and as a.
result he now stands upon wooden pedes-
tai in New Yorks Museum of Natural
History.
The preparation of the elephants tough
skin and the cleaning Of his bones took
nearly year before the actual work OF
mounting was started. As It Is Intended ia
mount Tips skeleton separately, exact re-
productions of his skull and a few of the
other large bones were carved in wood, to
be used IN modelling the form on which the
hide was to be mounted. All of the ffesa
OF course was destroyed and In its place
the museum workmen built up a dummy
OF his body, or manikin, as they call ii.
from measurements and photographs taxi
en- of him before his DEATH Building this
lay hgure and fitting the skin took six
weeks work, and the stuffed elephant
then stood over two months to allow the
hide to stretch and dry on its new body.
The first part in the difficult task os
mounting TIP was to build the manikin.
The workmen sawed out of heavy plauK-
ing nat piece about the general shape Of
by iron rods, in place Of legs bolted 10
the framework and to the Temporary
pedestal upon which the work was done.
The wooden skull and leg bones were
then screwed 10 the body. and Other.
pieces of wood the shape of
Tips sides were fastened In place like ribs
n pair Oh handsome ivory t11SkS taken
from some other real elephant were fitted
to the skull, while another long PLANK
was hung down between them for his
trunk. Tip was nine and one-half feet
high at the shoulder and eleven feet in,
length, so 1t was no easy task to reacn
all parts OF this great body. Great ladders
were built at each end of the manikfn
and ropes were rugged from the ceiling
over 1t, to haul up the heavy parts OF
the wooden animal they were creating.
Just as the carpenters build the walls
OF a house, these Workmen covered the
great ribs of their wooden elephant all
over with laths. They nailed them to the
framework, leaving his body hollow, and
then, for the first time, the manikin
began TO take on the shape Of a real ele-
plant.
Excelsior was next called into use. and
the lath-covered framework was COM
pletely enveloped in those thin shaYings
from wood so often used for packing china
and glass. Bunches of it were tackled to
the laths, and in some places IL was tied
up with string. while here and there a
little lump was glued to the framework.
The many photographs of Tip were got
out, and measuring tapes were used 10
get the exact size in all parts.
At last the great hide was brought up
from the cellar, where it had been soaked
for months in acids, and had been scrap
ed and pared down to about an inch in
thickness. If this tough skin We're kept
long in the open air 1t would have hard
ened so stiff that IL would have been linz
possible to mount it,
Ropes were fastened to one side OF
Tips skin, and 1t was hauled up against
the manikin and fitted around the body.
Then il was lowered back into the tub
again, and more excelsior added, where
the skin hung loose. or bits cut away to
make room for the clumsy dimples in
the elephants hide. This was repeated
over and over again, until the men We're
satisfied with the fit of the final covering
for their specimen. But, like good tall
ors, they were not easily satisfied and
the patient manikin had to have its new
coat tried on many, many times.
But it was finally finished, and the last
work on the manikin was then done. Here
and there a few final alterations were nee
essary. and then the body was sewed into
it's new coat forever.
Two large eyes of glass were then fas-
tened into the socket, and Tip was put
away to dry out.