The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1882-10-05
4 Serpent'a Squeeze.



In the summer of 1880 | oot a nasty
squeeze from big python in the Jardin
Zoologique of Antwerp. which laid me
up for several days. I had observed
this snake, female about fourteen feet
long, in one OF the dens, and from the
white effiorescence about her lips, knew
that she was suffering from carries Of the
jaw with liberation of the mucous
membrane, 50 fatal to snakes in con-
tinement; and having pointed this out
to M. Vekemann, the resident director,
l obtained his permission to make trial
of an ointment which | believed | had
found efficacious in the early stage of
the disease among my own snakes.
l came on the following morning,
armed with my ointment; but the lady
had betaken herself into a crevice of the
rocks, where one could scarcely catch
sight of her, much less get at her
There were other pythons in the cage,
some of them nearly twenty feet long,
some not more than five or six; but though
they projected theirheads and commence
ed to hiss, they did not attempt to at
tack; and the keeper, an intelligent
man who spoke French, said they would
not come ut us if we did not touch
them. A little one jumped harmlessly
at my leg as | stepped over him. For
three days the pythoness remained in
her rocky, or rather plastery, retreat;
but on the fourth | caught sight of her
at the very top of the cage, and at once
climbed up and brought her down. The
poor things mouth was in worse state
than / had anticipated, She came down
quietly enough, and though nervous,
was not spiteful, and allowed me to
handle her.
Now, as ill-luck would have it, the
regular keeper was absent on this par
ticular morning, and bis place was fill
ed for the time by another from some
other part of the gardens, who spoke
nothing but Flemish, of which tongue l
am as profoundly ignorant us he most
certainly was Of the creatures under his
temporary charge. went into the den
with him, taking it for granted, of
course, that he was accustomed to
snakes, and gave him the box of oint-
ment TO hold until was ready to use
it.
When had brought the pythoRess
fairly down to the floor, | grippcd her
hard by the neck. which had the effect
as | intended it to have, and as it al
ways has with snakes-of making her
open her mouth. pressed her head
away from me at the same time, to pre-
vent her catching hold of any part of
my clothing, in her efforts to bite. In
her fright and rage, she drew her body
up across my back, and twisted her tail
round and round my other arm. All
that now required of the keeper was,
by teasing or pinching her here and
there, or by unwinding the tai! when
necessary, to cause her to shift her coils
constantly, and prevent her resting long
enough on one spot to apply undue pres
sure. My face could protect for my
self with the left hand. This | con
cluded he understood, as q matter OF
course.
turned round to make a sign to him
to be ready and to give me the oint-
ment, when, judge of my dismay l
caught sight OF his sto!id face, with
sort of dull, impartial interest omit, look
ing at me through the glass in front
and the door closed on the outside! He
had got frightened by the noise of the
other pythons, and had quietly gone
out again.
gesture, when in the same instant the
serpent tigAtened on me so suddenly
and violently that | momentarily lost
consciousness. | then found myself
staggering about the den, fighting for
life. l expected to feel my ribs give way
every moment. yet my chief fear at the
same time was of falling through the
glass.
pushed the reptiles head away from
me with all my might, lest it should
cross my breast, and l can remember
catching sight OF myself, a mulberry
coiored figure, in the mirror. l knew,
too, that | WAS trampling about over the
other pythons, who, furious at the dis
turbance, were now darting about the
den above and all around me in every
direction; and | exerted every energy
to keep my feet, for had presence of
mind enough left to know that if went
down it would be all over with me.
The heat was sitting. | could bear
it no longer. The cage spun madly
round and round before my eyes, and
every thing seemed to flame and roar.
l let 90 the head. The snake twisted
sharply back over my right shoulder
close to my face, but did not bite me,
and slid off on to the ground. l just
recollect falling against the door with
outstretched hands, but nothing more
until | found myself sitting on the steps
outside, coughing violently, while the
phlegmatic keeper was putting a hot
key down my back, for some occult rea-
son. | brought up a little blood, and
drank q little brandy, after which |
soon got better; but [ was not well
enough to walk home, and the bruise in
my side did not fade for many a day. [
suppose the whole affair did not last
more than few seconds. but found it
quite long enough. Fortunately the
snake had only small part of her body
across my left side and back; had she
encircled me with whole coil | should
have been crushed like an egg-shell.
Curiously enough, my left arm was
quite paralyzed. and | did not fully re-
cover the use of it for a week. | did
not know it at the time, but she must
have pressed her tail under my armpit,
and so compressed the nerves. The ac-
cident was one OF the stupidest and
most preyentabt, in the world, and was
entirely owing to my taking the wrong
man into the. cage to assist me. ! may
add that went in some days later with
the proper keeper, and performed the
operation, not only without danger, but
without the least difficulty.