Mammoths in the landscape

An unusual hunting story by a Henry Tukeman appeared in McClure’s magazine in the fall of 1899. The account begins with a transcript of a letter addressed to ‘H. Tukeman, Esq.’ residing in Kent, England, from Horace P. Conradi. In the letter, Conradi – introduced as a recently deceased eccentric millionaire – releases Tukeman from his promise never to reveal how Conradi obtained an internationally famous specimen of mammoth, the taxidermized remains of which were then being exhibited at the Smithsonian. Thus begins a tale which over the last century has come to the attention most often of those interested in historical hoaxes. In many ways, in fact, the story seems to be just another one of those now predictable accounts of prehistoric megafauna surviving on uncharted islands and in hidden valleys. ¹