Transcribe Hornaday, W. T. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1877-09-01)

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When T. comes we are going to move off into another locality, where elephants are more plentiful, and where we will be pretty sure to bag one. I am only trying for a skeleton, as a skin could never be got out of here to the roads.
	I enclose my list for Aug. and also expense A/C. Have kept 5 men the greater part of the month, but lately only 3 and 4. Have not been able to bag any sambur old enough for specimens this month. Am trying all the time. I have about 125 Rs. in cash remaining. Have written Lee Hedges & Co. to send any letters or money they may have rec’d for me, but have no reply yet. My expenses of late have been about $1. per day, everything included, so I am in no great hurry to leave. And yet I am really anxious to get that elephant and take the Str. of Sept 15th for Ceylon, but cannot hope to do it. This month I have lost 7 days by fever, which makes my working month (and 2nd quarter) end on Sept 2nd, and the 2nd of every month instead of the 26th. I have your letter of June 24th, and shall try to carry out all your wishes expressed therein. The “Herald” came also – many thanks, they (“heralds”) will be very acceptable I assure you. Please do not send this to Mr Jackson, as I wish to write him myself about the tiger. But you can send this to Mr Auten if you like. I can hardly see why you waited to ask me to describe Mr Rutledge before you wrote him regarding the Platymista. It is certainly a dead loss of time, for he expected you would write him at once. He is an Eurasian, to begin with, and is black as a man dare be: Is decidedly native in his tastes – wears rings in his ears, & a great mass of jewelry all over himself. Is very languid and listless in his manner of doing business, seems to not care a [kin] whether he sells to you or not. You must do all the talking & proposing, and simply lead him on. He can be pretty easily talked into a thing. De don’t like to take trouble himself, and hates to be bothered with a dead animal or a bad smell. He would not prepare the Platymista at his establishment, but would send them to

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When T. comes we are going to move off into another locality, where elephants are more plentiful, and where we will be pretty sure to bag one. I am only trying for a skeleton, as a skin could never be got out of here to the roads. I enclose my list for Aug. and also expense A/C. Have kept 5 men the greater part of the month, but lately only 3 and 4. Have not been able to bag any sambur old enough for specimens this month. Am trying all the time. I have about 125 Rs. in cash remaining. Have written Lee Hedges & Co. to send any letters or money they may have rec’d for me, but have no reply yet. My expenses of late have been about $1. per day, everything included, so I am in no great hurry to leave. And yet I am really anxious to get that elephant and take the Str. of Sept 15th for Ceylon, but cannot hope to do it. This month I have lost 7 days by fever, which makes my working month (and 2nd quarter) end on Sept 2nd, and the 2nd of every month instead of the 26th. I have your letter of June 24th, and shall try to carry out all your wishes expressed therein. The “Herald” came also – many thanks, they (“heralds”) will be very acceptable I assure you. Please do not send this to Mr Jackson, as I wish to write him myself about the tiger. But you can send this to Mr Auten if you like. I can hardly see why you waited to ask me to describe Mr Rutledge before you wrote him regarding the Platymista. It is certainly a dead loss of time, for he expected you would write him at once. He is an Eurasian, to begin with, and is black as a man dare be: Is decidedly native in his tastes – wears rings in his ears, & a great mass of jewelry all over himself. Is very languid and listless in his manner of doing business, seems to not care a [kin] whether he sells to you or not. You must do all the talking & proposing, and simply lead him on. He can be pretty easily talked into a thing. De don’t like to take trouble himself, and hates to be bothered with a dead animal or a bad smell. He would not prepare the Platymista at his establishment, but would send them to