, 1872-11-07

family, aud b1asphemy- They obviously iack the
sobriety Of mind necessary to give accuracy 20
their statements or to render their cnar6es
worthyof serious 1efutatiou.
SNAKE-CHARNlNG In LONDON.
The eminent English zoologiat, Mr. Frank
Buckland. editor OF Land and Wafer, tells the
following story in his newspaper: "Snakes are
regarded with horror and repugnance BY the
generality OF mankind, and wonanklnd, and toF
this reason their habits and instincts have MOI
divided into poisonous and not poisonous. Asa
rule, poisonous snakes will get out Of q mans
way If not attacked or lnsulted. 40 not
recommend people trying to tame poison
GUS snakes, nor DO | ADVISE tnem 1o
glers, though, as has been often. shown,
these poisonous snakes are generally 'doctored
ag regards their fangs, before the exhibition
takes place. There is now gentleman in Lon
don Who has charming family Of PEI il
Mann. He is professor Of music, and lives IN
Cheyne Walk. Chelsea. Mr. Mann called on me
day or two since at my Office, and requested
me to give him assistance, as he had got into 3
bother with his neighbors about keeping h's
snakes.
ssAnxious to be Of service to this gentleman,
r called at the house. in order to examine bis
snakery. He placed in the middle Of the room
a large box, which Was carefully locked. he toia
me- the boz WAS always locked, Unless Is ne a o. h1a
them. The first ho produced from the box
was yery fine common British snake (Cotuoer
natrir). His snakes have all got names, and
this one's nane WAS Julia. julia had long ago
ceasfully. The next waa also q common British
snake. The ring around the neck was very
bright in this snake. She rejoices in the name
of Sylvia. Sylvia is very good at frogs; lately,
she ate nine frogs. seven large frogs, and two
small, at one meal, one after the other. Mr.
Mani has also two other common snakes, whose
names are Proteus and Beatrice, OF Hhe OF the
golden hair. This modern snake-charmer then
diyed his hand into the box, and brought out
an exceedingly lively broWn-colored s snake' 4;1ke
and it has the power Of moving the head very
quickly from side to side; the eye is also
remarkably brilliant. This snake was brought
from Jam1ach; it is called o Iacertine, and
comes from the coast Of Mogador, Northern A.
RIGA; it is perfectly harmless. Mr: Mann has
had the Lacertine about twenty months. It is q
pretty, elegant creature. 1t feeds on white
mice.
"h1r. Mann then showed me- the gem Of his
collection. It is remarkably handsome Bra. .
long, and weighing from twelve to fourteen
pounds. The name Of this snake is :Cleo,''
short for Cleopatra Continual handling and
petting has caused this snake to be-
fbe1e f6me 'ncs1 esn ''A be- A NO doabt she she knows
individuals. When placed on the table, Cleo
would not come to me- at all, but glided away to
her master, who was sitting at the opposite side
OF the table, and stretching her body from the
length on to him. She then glided up his
right side, and folded her coils round his neck,
placed her head close to her masters face. and
there she lay for some minutes, qulVerlng her
black forked tongue with evident pleasure. Mr.
- {1rn1 Ia nt,tf
lively, then came into the room. They iInme~
diately ran to the snake and commenced playing
with it, kissing it and pulling it, calling it
"Cleo; dear Cleo" Cleo was then made to
after her and picked her up, and the little
girl, picking her up, put her round her neck
like boa. II wonder If this Was the origin Of
the word boa p Cleo evidently enjoyed the
fun as much as the children. It was very curious
| to see these two children encircled in Cleo's
| ponderous folds, reminding me much Of the cell
ebrated statue Of the LAGOON, and it reconect
right, the marble children in the statue are rep
resented as about the same age and size as Mr.
| Mann's two children. Cleo ia particular favor
graph Of her, with Cleo coiled around her neck.
t T subsequently saw HRS. Mann in this attitude
| with her pet snake. Cleo has shed her skin
several times, and it is curious to remark that
| she shed her skin ten times in two years. Mr.
Mann has the Inst skin shed. It is quite perfect,
and as thin as tssue-paper and should think
! would make good pattern for fancy lace-Tork.
! "Cleo feeds principally on pigeons. Il q
| pigeon is put into her cage, and she is not hun
gry, she seems to make friends with the pigeon,
and will never attempt to eat it. Should, how
| ever, fresh pigeon be put into her cage, She
will devour it instantly. She feeds once fort
night, and two pigeons viii last her for that
| time. 1fr. Mann has observed that, when let
| loose Cleo always tries to climb upward, where
| IS the Larcertine always seeks the ground. Cleo
! most certainly knows her master and mistress.
| Once when they vent out Of town, Cleo was left
| behind. She pined and would not feed during
! their absence. When Mr.. and Mrs. Mann re-
turned, after six Weeks' absence, Cleo, on hear
ing her mistress voice, instantly rushed out Of
her box, coiled herself round her, and kissed her
face. She evidently recognized her kind frieDds
and protector.
'Mr. Mann has also another large Indian
python, but this enake is not very well, and has
private apartments to itself in leathern carpet
bag. The snake will feed out Of Mr. Mann's
hand, The common snake eats frogs only the
in guinea-pigs. Altogether, 7 was exceedingly
pleased with Mr. Mann's collection Of snakes
By his very successful Bnaae-taming he has
| opened up quite new chapter in natural his
tory, and has shown what pe1seyering kindness
I will do in tanning snakes, poor creatures, which
| have hitherto been thought to have little or Mt
intelligence"
He-Discoyery of The Open Polar Sen
CAPTAIN Nils johnson, who sailed in yacht o1
26 tons burden from Fromsoe, Norway, May 9
| with crew Of nine men, has just been heare
from through DR.. Peterman, OF Gotha, Germany
who makes public these interesting facts: Cap
tain johnson directed his course in June toward
the western half Of the open SEQ, reaching, il
the latter part Of the month, the middle OF the
| usual position OF the polar stream which beRrt
vast rnasses Of ice toward the Spitzenbergen ant