River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-11-23


squeeze from big python in the Jardin
Zoologique at 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 effioreseence about her lips
knew that she was suffering from carries
of the Jaw with liberation of the mu-
cous membrane, so fatal to snakes in
confinement; and having pointed this
out to NJ. Vekemann, the resident di-
rector, obtained his permission to
make trial of an ointment which I be-
ieyed I had found efficacious In the
early stage of the disease among my
own snakes. Now, as ill-luck would
have it, the regular keeper was absent
on this particular morning, and his
place was filed for the time by another
from some other part of the gardens
who spoke nothing but Flemish, OF
which tongue am as profoundly ignor-
ant as 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 ac-
customed to snakes, and gave him the
box of ointment to hold until l was
ready to use it. When I had brought
the pythoness fairly down to the door /
gripped her hard by the neck, which
had the effect, as / intended it to have,
and as it always has with snakes, of
making her open her mouth. I pressed
her head away from me at the same
time to prevent her catching hold of
any part Of my clothing in her efforts to
bite. In her fright and rage the drew
her body up across my back and twisted
the tail round and round my other arm.
All that I now required of the keeper
was, by teasing or pinching her here or
there, or by unwinding the tail when
!. necessary, to cause her to shift her
coils constantly and prevent her rest
ing long enough on one spot to APP
ply undue pressure. My face I could
protect for myself with the lett hand.
This I concluded he understood as a
matter of course. / turned round to
make sign to him to be ready to give
me the ointment, when Judge of my
dismay as I caught sight of his stolid
face, with q sort of dull, impartial in
terest ON it, looking at me through the
glass in front, and the door closed on
the outsidel He had got frightened by
the noise of the other pythons, and had
quietly gone out again. was about to
make an impatient gesture, when in that
same instant the serpent frightened on
me so suddenly and violently that !
momentarily lost consciousness. / then
found myself staggering about the den,
fighting for life. / expected to feel my
ribs giving way every moment, yet my
chief fear at the same time was of fall
ing through the glass. 1 pushed the
reptiles head away from me with all my
might. lest it should cross my breast
and / can remember catching sight OF
myself. mulberry-colored figure, in
the mirror. / knew, too, that I was
trsmping about over the other pythons,
who, furious ct the disturbance. were
now darting about the den above and
around me in every direction; and i
exerted every energy to keep my feet,
for had presence of mind enough left
to know that if I went down it would
be all over with me. The heet was
sitting. could bear it no longer; the
cage spun madly round and round be-
fore my eyes, and everything seemed to
fame and roar. let go the head. The
snake twisted sharply back over my
right shoulder close to my face, but did
not bite me, and slid off onto the
ground. / just recollect falling against
the door with outstretched hands, but
nothing more until 1 found myself sit
ting on the steps outside, coughing yio-
lently, while the phlegmatic keeper was
putting q hot key down my back for
some occult reason. I brought up q
little blood, and drank 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
day. 1 suppose the whole affair did
not last more than few seconds, but ]
found it quite long enough. Fortu-
nately the snake had only small part
of her bo,ly across my left side and
back; hal she encircled me with o
whole coli I should have been crushed
, like an egg-shell.-ChGmberss Journal