The Holbrook news., 1910-12-23
SKINS ARE STUFFED
RooseveIt's Trophies Are Being
 Prepared In Washington.
raxidermists Are at Work With the Specimens and Carpenters Are Erecting the Mounts In the
 National Museum.

Washington-In an obscure corner
 of the national museum, on the mall,
 in Washington, half a dozen men are
 preparing the skins of the animals
 killed by Theodore Roosevelt and his
 party in Africa. Carpenters are build
 ing the framework on which the hides
 of the mammals will be mounted and
 taxidermists are working with the
 skins under the supervision of govern
 ment naturalists.
 In the department given over to the
 study of comparative anatomy, where
 the skeletons of the largest animals
 are suspended from the ceiling, are two glass cases. In these are the
 trophies of the s25O,0OO Roosevelt
 hunt. The collection consists of the
 skins of a lion, cheetah, reed buck, mongoose, leopard, zebra, hyena, horse-tailed monkey, rhinoceros, Grants gazelle, Thompsons gazelle and field mice. In another case are the skulls of rhinoceros. giraffe. hip popotamus, wart hog, African buffalo and an antelope.
 Few of the hundreds of tourists that
 fASAI lAS I4uSSuL1 CdCA 0eJ pay much attention to the Roosevelt collection as it stands, the guards on duty say, and seldom does a sightseer ask where the Roosevelt collection may be found.
 Its a funny thing to me-" re- marked one of the curators of the museum, why those skins and skulls don't make more of a hit with the public. The exhibit is labeled, as you see, and the word Roosevelt in big letters on that placard wonder ought to be an attraction alone. But 1t is not"
 A number of the skins, those of hartbeests, elephants and hippos are still packed in hogsheads in which they were shipped from Africa. Brine is the principal preservative used and the skins are in such good condition, taxidermists say, that they may be kept indefinitely. As rapidly as the skin of one animal is stuffed it is set aside, in the rough, and work is begun on another. Inc finishing touches are left to the naturalist and his work is important.
 Perhaps you never thought much about it," said an employe at the museum, who is a student of natural history, but animals have a wonder ful lot of expression-facial expres- sion, I mean. They have their moods just as we do, and it is knack coupled with a certain artistic sense. to build up a skeleton, clothe 1t with a pelt and make it appear as it did in life Particularly Is this true of our larger wild animals, the very kind we are working with now in getting to- gether the Roosevelt collection.
 Lower classes of animal life are not so difficult to handle, birds and reptiles being comparatively easy to stuff and mount. It is in posing the | subjects that the real difficulty is en- countered. There are many details to | be looked after. For example, it is a good days work to select and fit the | right kind of glass eyes for just such | specimens are we are now working | with. It's not hard to pick out ele- | phant eyes from those of lion or an but it is a job to select the | right shade and size and it is not al | PA lO lOllOW mOQ6lS too closely. Of course, the general | contour of the specimen is the princi- pal thing to pay attention to. but | there are any number of little details 10 be looked after that makes the work tedious.
 The Asiatic elephant and the Afri- ,an elephant, while they are first cou- sins and in a general way look a good ieal alike. have distinguishing fea- .ures. Almost everyone knows that heir ears vary in size and shape and hat their eyes differ in shape and ,ften in color. It rests with the natur- llist 10 put the finishing touches to d specimen after the taxidermist has lone the rough work" |
 The larger animals that go to make ID the Roosevelt collection will have 'ibs of wood. By the first of the year, pecimens will be on display in the na- ional museum.