The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-06-10
GOVERNMENT SNAKES.
How they Affect Women and Men Who
View Them at the Smithsonian Insti.

View chem at the Smithsonian Insti.
tute.
/. 1T is remarkable how people will
take in wonderful snake STORIES" said
one of the attaches of the Smithsonian
Institute to the Times correspondent
few days since: "and yet many of the
most remarkable of the stories are
true" This conversation took place a.
I was being introduced to the snake
family that spend their lives so lazily
in the immense snake cage in the
Smithsonian. In this glass case are
snakes of nearly all kinds and dispo-
sitions: Some are exceedingly pleas
ant-lookiDg, while others will make an
ordinary person shudder to look at
them. These snakes are long and
short, thick and thin, and of all colors.
while some are apparently changing
their colors all OF the time. One Of
them has bulldog looking head, and
is nearly as thick as bologna sausage.
and not over couple of feet in length:
while another, whip snake, is not anv
thicker than a whip-cord, and is nearly
six feet in length. These snakes are
an interesting study to many; but the
writer would rather look at som ething
else. 81 am satisfied said the Smith
sonian snakeologist, "that more people
look at these snakes than anything else
in the museum. They appear to have
a special fascination for ladies. can't
understand the reason, but it is fact.
Ladies will hang around a snake case
and appear to be more interested than
in the contens of any other case. A
Bible man said to me the other day, in
explanation of this, that probably
Mother EYES association with snakes,
in allowing herself to be charmed into
eating the forbidden fruit, had some
thing to do with it. :Of course I do
not know whether this is so or not. but
you can see for yourse]t that the snake
case is an attraction" AS this talk was
going on, group of ladies were look
ing at the snakes as they crawled
about and tangled themselves in
an apparently inextricable knot. The
snake case is covered with glass.
50 they can not get out of it. "Even if
they did get out" said the Smithsonian
attache, in an assuring manner, "they
would do no harm, as we do not keep
any poisonous reptiles in the cage.
The janitors of the building handle
them in cleaning out the cage. At first
they were scared, but after assuring
selves that the snakes We're not poison
GUS they took more kindly to it. As
the snakes are such an attraction we
are forced to cater to that taste, and
consequently we are required to keep
up our stock. Snakes are peculiar,
They have way of swallowing each
other now and then that is surprising.
Four days ago, one of them swallowed
a snake that was larger than itself.
After being dead in him four days, it
began to throw off gases in consequence
of putrefaction, and the swallower was
forced to throw him up, otherwise it
would have killed him. Many of the
snakes, that are not over four feet in
length or over two inches around, can
and do swallow small chickens or frogs
alive. The larger ones swallow rabbits
and rats. Nearly all that they eat is
taken alive. After INDUCING in lunch
of this e<ind, they lay about in half
dead-iooking way for several months.
Then as the occasion arises they take
in another meal, which lasts them as
much longer. Now and then some of
the janitors when they come in contact
with a very gullible visitor to the
museum tells them the most wonder
full stories, and they are swallowed
easier than the snake swallows it meals.
"Don't you know" said the Smithso-
MAN boss snake charmer, growing en-
thusiastic, "that some ladies come here
regularly to look at these snakes and
miss one OF them as soon as it is gone.
We have irregular supply, so that as
soon as one dies or is eaten up, we put
another in its place, from the breeding
boxes that are kept in the cellar.
"The snake-gatherer goes about the
lagoons or bayous in Florida in skiH,
and as he sees his game swimming
about he just grabs them and puts
thom in his bag. It's very simple
thing to do. On, yes, there are plenty
of snakes that are not found in the wa
ter. They are found in the woods, in
clumps of trees, in hollows, or in decay
ed logs. They are caught in much the
same way. Now, every man will not
make snake collector any more than
every man will make an astronomer.
But there are plenty of men, and wo-
men, too, whose special delight is in
catching snakes. Here is a young fel-
low that goes by the name of 'tSnakey,"
and who is or was connected with FOrd's
Opera House in this city as property
man. He got his name for his success
in catching snakes; and he has nearly
always one or two in his pocket. There
is also another young man, his name is
Russell. about this city. He, too, al
ways-or nearly always-has snake
in his pocket"