The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-05-12
LIVE ANACONDA.

With the commencement of the Lon
don season has arrived an illustrious Wis
itor from South America. He is n Of
the largest of the boaidp family known
to u generation. He is an anaconda
(EnWectes, murinus), which, as / translate
it, means the good swimming mouse OF
deer eater. This immense snake is now
safely housed in the geological gardens,
under the paternal care Of Holland, who
has for many years sc ably managed the
snakes, poisonous and non poisonous.
Our visitor arrived at Liverpool in a
large box. Intelligence was given to
Mr.. Bartlett, whoproceeded to Liverpool
to inspect him, a matter of considerable
difficulty. It will do to buy
siye snake of this kind without a war
ranty. Snakes are very liable to canker
in the mouth. The gums get swollen
and fabby and completely conceal the
teeth, SO that the beast cannot feed.
! Again, if snakes are injured in their cap
ture they frequently die If consequence.
1t was necessary to examine the snake
as to these two points. Having been
shut up for several months without food
and in the dark the anaconda wa not in
a good temper. When the lid was
opened Mr.. Bartlett caught him tight
round the neck with both hands; it was
not necessary to open the mouth, as the
savage snake did that soon enough of
himself in true anger. A moments in
spection showed he had no disease of the
gums. It vas with some difficulty that
Mr.. Bartlett got his head back into the
box without letting out more than a foot
or two of his body. The anaconda has
not poisonous teeth, but has great and
dangerous powers of crushing. The box
with the snake weighed over two hun
bred pounds. 1t was with much dodg-
ing hat the anaconda was conducted by
two keepers to his new quarters, where
he at once retreated into a bath of water,
from which, as yet, he has only
emerged once or twice. 1t is difficult
to give the exact length of the snake, as
he is not to be measured with as much
facility as a fathsm of rope. He is now
lying in three parallel folds in his bath
we know the length ofthe bath, and we cal
culate his length to be between eighteen
and twenty feet-a tremendous fell
low. It was impossible to get a tape
measure around him; but having
measured his diameter in his thickest
part, we concluded that ne is over two
feet round the body. At present he is
thin, and the skin fits him very loosely.
1t is hoped that he will Don begin to
feed. Mr.. Bartlett, with his usual inge-
nuity, has found out how to make Mr..
Anaconda feed. He covers his bath
over at night, and puts therein with the
snake a duck. The duck is always gone
in the morning, and the snake appears
Anaconda is decidedly nocturnal
and aquatic in his habits. Like our
own British snake, it is found in marshy,
damp places, and he feeds upon animals
come down to drink at night. Mr..
Bartlett has ascertained that the last
meal this snake had consisted of a young
peccary, the horny part of the hoofs hav-
ing been discovered in the stones at the
of the cage; there are also
the hairs of another animal which has to
be diagnosedby microscopes. This trop-
ical American snake is also called the
Aboma. The provincial name Ell traga
uambo or the deer %swalloWer. He never
interferes wlh men, although, of course,
he will take his ewn part if attacked. 1t
is greatly to be hoped that this magnif-
cent snake will, in time, get an appetite
and recover from his travel-worn appear
His companion in the cage is a
magnificent reticulated python ( UZar
caught at Penang. He has been
at the gardenssince August, 1876, and has
not eaten anything since he arrived. He
shed his skin On Sunday, February Is,
and is now most lovely to behold. 1t
would be impossible to describe the tints
Of the new skin "a splendid lacing of
bEsnze, blue, gold and black), except by
saying that they are quite as gorgeous as
the peacock's plumage. - Land and