The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-10
One CALLING WOMAN ISN'T IN
SHE HASN'T OVERCOME THE
DIFFICULTIES OF TAXIDERMY.
''Thank Heaveny' Says . Man VINO Has
But Women Are the Rest Customers
the Tt.xidermists Have and New York
Gets the Bulk OF Their Trade.

mar who II not q Daniel can walk through
the lions den unframed, where elephants
lose their appetite for peanuts, and a snake
charmer would be oft Of a job. The only
formidable inhabitant Of this regenerated
jungle is a man with hammer and saw and a
mouthful OF nails, and even he does not
seem very dangerous. This mans duties
are varied. The other day he eat astride
a wooden framework Of curious pattern.
into which he drove ten-penny nails with
vigorous blows.
This is the skeleton Of an elephant
he said in response to a query from a chance
caller. This is his backbone hat I'm
sitting on"
The visitor looked up wonderingly at
tho razor-edged vertebre on which the
mar balanced himself in evident discom-
fort. where is the rect Of him?' was
asked. -He isn't all backbone is he?"
"Oh. dear no." said the man. His skin
is soaking in a vat in there in the next room,
| those pillars and posts and crossbeams
| are the rest of his bones, and after a while
I'm going to complete his anatomy by
winding the framework round with cord
and padding it with ow. He'll be a re-
| markably fine specimen when | get his
| skin stretched into place. II is one OF the
best hides we ever handled, notwithstand-
ing a multitude of mistakes in the dress
ing. We got it only a few days ago. The
old fellow was a show elephant. He died
| on the road down In Texas and the manager
sent him up here to be stuffed. IL hs
pretty tough job, too. TIT people who
performed the autopsy were not at all COM
petent 10 sit in the capacity, OF coroner on
an elephant that IL destined 10 shine In .
museum, and they bungled the carving
fearfully
A elephant is not like a cat. There are
a dozen ways to skin puss, but only one 10
20 skin an elephant. The process is simple
as A b c il you only understand it.. That
condition, however, is necessary. A very
few strokes do the business. First, you
cut him along the back from the neck TO
the tail, then along the belly from the neck
to the tail. and then sever the head from
the body. After that all you have 10 do Is
TO make an incisi on on the inside of each
leg from the feet 10 the abdomen. and the
skin lust slips of the carcass like water on
a ducks back. But those Texas fellows
made a botch of it. They carved the cuticle
| OF this elephant into squares and tr1angles
and IL took all my ingenuity to piece It
together again. ~
the visitor, standing a little TO one side
and surveying the improv1sed skeleton
with a critical eye.
well" said the man, facetiously. "hs
had his growth. OF course. i don't claim
that ne was u IldltH lOl tiNt kN"h' ~ Wv
Museum Of Comparative Zoology at Cam
bridge, Mass, nor even for some elephants
in our own museums, but that Is nothing
10 his discredit. The Cambridge chap ia
the largest in The country, and Just be-
ca use this fellow did not come up to the
champion in bulk and stature is no sign
his lie was a failure. And he was fullX,
matured in point OF price, too; l shall
charge $500 just for mounting HIM and
10y the time the owner gets him back home
md sol nm I'm a permanent showroom he
will he worth 81 900 or 5000
Some dead elephants are worth more
than live once. i guess IL is that way with
all animals, even TO men. Take that group.
of Rocky Mountain goats, for instance. y
The man dismounted from his a"natonlcal
platform and led the way 10 the opposite
side Of the room, where several dusty
animals were posing for each other In
graceful and becoming attitudes. Alive,
those goats were not worth - a head' u"
continued, but the piece as II stands now
would easily bring $500. Group WORK
always comes high. II is much more
had men employed here who could achieve
excellent results so long as they confined
their endeavors to single pieces, but u !
let them try their hand at a collection they
were nIre TO spoil the whole effect. They
seemed totally unable to grasp the posi-
bilities Of any picture suggested 10 them.
1T takes a real artist 10 arrange a num-
her of stuffed animals IN such relation 70
| ,aagh other thAf the scene Will tpHNtN HAfdh-
ing to the observer. ] can count on the
fingers Of nv two hands the number of set
piess~ in the country that have lie ia them
and are really artistic. IN best OF these
IL a family Of orang-outanss VA a WASH
ington museum. That IL a mastr rpleoe oil
ths "a Kidermist's art and IL worth 5000
al the very lowest calculation Another
excellent achievement ia thls line lr a group
of uTang-outang- located an Ne" lork'
~ cour-e, these things are not Ia the market.
-. a n.asgaul "a AAaulfAga sInll1 ngf4a-Nl-
tate putting them up for sale the New YORK
specimen would be cheap at POI
Al tAXidrrmi-t tiAt il really com
Jeient doesn't have Ia spend mucl illne IA
| tlo~ing he own horn, bascause the tran"
viii h. out looking for I'm instead 81 hi-
having to drum up the trade ~ Tar ss
u~uAntity h. Conc-niot AtnenoA b~als Tie
World ~ tAlldsTmlc wofk Wien ~ comes
- quality ~" TAU 10, va" "hynin" a,A"iu-
ia. - a numlst Of foreign cnuos, but Siih
the ssosptlou q q few fap rlssiin"ns "A
! Continental mIssuus tl"y have no grounds
on Vhich 60 iaSr ihsiT elaine ~ super.
iunty for ons thIng ia" general run oi
I4p.l.au taAdsImN D. different from
Ann.noan 1lsr-. "a" sserag" s~l.IHsmah
cars- CO. ufs-riko ODDS tie borne ~ 10
victim siiis i.rr- b. ~ani- 10 vhHlH head,
ur. mlrr hkrly, th- ' iiuir ts-iN ~ ihr animal
ELAN lhs difference Iu puhllr iAsis Gale
tpr a constant rauprss ~ grisrfal rAiu "u
tlr iau ~ tlF Amruuau o.. Alirfiulsl
vlnrl H. demanded - thr i'f"Sn ""fEhAH
uuly ,ssaslunalf
'Arv iph 81 ulut-' $50 "a" illh ~
AmrnsaH uadF alusHiEh tHr laIf h.irs
lu tsr uuuufD b. tastHi uI hHis"ri"f
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ssB l.nE ffuu hlhalH sni uH' iha "a
had Iisll ready a. uffuHflNs Lea.
m.ululas lauis nsIar ana irpllsr ih"s
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o. laaIr Is aaE aII 90 IHlH z Htts
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