in the wagon,
and this skin was thrown away.

They had now reached the pure flesh, which they separated in large
sheets from the ribs; and then the ribs were cut out, one by one, with
the axe. This trouble they would not have taken--as they did not want
the ribs--but they cut them away for another reason, namely, to enable
them to get at the valuable fat, which lies in enormous quantities
around the intestines. Of course for all cooking purposes, the fat
would be to them invaluable, and indeed almost necessary to render the
flesh itself eatable.

It is no easy matter to get at the fat in the inside of an elephant, as
the whole of the intestines have first to be removed. But Swartboy was
not to be deterred by a little trouble; so _climbing into the interior_
of the huge carcass, he commenced cutting and delving, and every now and
then passing a multitude of "inwards" out to the others, who carried
them off out of the way.

After a long spell of this work, the fat was secured, and carefully
packed in a piece of clean under-skin; and then the "butchering" was
finished.

Of course the four feet, which along with the trunk are considered the
"tit-bits," had already been separated at the fetlock joint; and stood
out upon the bank, for the future consideration of Swartboy.

The next thing to be done was to "cure" the meat. They had a stock of
suit--that precious, though, as lately discovered, _not_ indispensable
article. But the quantity--stowed away in a dry corner of the wagon--
was small, and would have gone but a short way in curing an elephant.

They had no idea of using it for such a purpose. Flesh can be preserved
without salt; and not only Swartboy, but Von Bloom himself, knew how to
preserve it. In all countries where salt is scarce, the process of
"jerking" meat is well understood, and consists simply in cutting it
into thin strips and hanging it out in the sun. A few days of bright
warm sunshine will "jerk" it sufficiently; and meat thus dried will keep
good for months. A slow fire will answer the purpose nearly as well;
and in the absence of sunshine, the fire is often resorted to.

Sun-dried meat in South Africa is called "biltongue." The Spaniards of
Mexico name it "tasajo," while those of Peru style it "charqui." In
English it is "jerked" meat.

Several hours were spent in cutting the elephant-beef into strips, and
then a number of forked poles were set up, others were laid horizontally
over