Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-06
A Fight with a Monster Snake in the
Antwerp Zoo.
chambers Journal,

a \ AShO WAUA al U4OnSUCA CAAGAO AAA tAAV
Antwerp Zoo.
chambers Journal
In the summer of 1880 got nasty
squeeze from big python in the JAR
din Zoologiqne at Antwerp, which laid
me up for several days. Ihad observed
this snake, d female, about fourteen feet
long, In one of the Gens, and from the
white eff1orescence about her lips, knew
that she was suffering from carries Of the
jaw with liberation of the mucous mem
brane, so fatal to snakes in confinement;
and kaying pointed this out to tlr. Vek-
emann, the resident director, obtained
his permission to make trial of an ONT
ment which I believed had found eff
cacious in the early stage OF the disease
among my own snakes. The four reptile
dens in the lion house at Antwerp are
not SO commodious as those in the Lon
don Gardens. notably in the absence of
proper tanks, but are extremely ''pret-
ty"-lots of artificial rockwork framing
large miro: at the back, which has
very natural effect; so that what the
poor snakes lack in water they make up
for in looking glass. came on the fol-
lowing morning, armed with my oint-
ment; but the lady had betaken herself
into crevice of the rocks, where one
could scarcely catch sightof 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 their heads and commenced to
hiss. they did not attempt to attack; and
:oIo L..
spoke French-said they would not
come at 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 re-
treat; but on the fourth I caught sight
of her at the 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 ner-
vous. was not spiteful, and allowed me
to handle her.
THE TROUBLE BEGINS.
Now, as ill-luck would have it, the
regular keeper was absent Oh this par
ticular 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 ignorant as be most certain
ly was of the creatures under his charge.
l went into the den with him. taking it
for granted, of course, that he was &C.
customed to snakes, and gave him the
box of ointment to hold until was ready
to use it. When I had brought the
pythoness fairly down to the floor, I
gripped her hard by the neck. which
had the effect-which 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 effort
| to bite. In her fright and rage she drew
her body up across my back. and twis-
ted her tail round and round my other
arm. All that I now required of the
keeper was, by teasing or pinching
her here and there, or by unwinding her
tail when necessary, to cause her to shift
her coils constantly, and prevent her
resting long enough on one spot to APP
| ply undue pressure. Ny face I could
| protect for myself with the left hand.
This, I concluded, he understood, as a
matter of course. turned round to
make sign to him to be ready and give
to me the ointment, when, Judge of my
| dismay as I caught sight of his stolid
face, with sort of dull, impartial inter
est on it, looking at nue. 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.
I was about to make an impatient
gesture, when at that instant the
, serpent frightened on me so sudden
| ly and violently that momentarily lest
consciousness. 1 then found myself
STAGGERING ABOUT THE DEN,
fighting for life. I expected to feel my
ribs give way every moment, yet my
chief fear at the time was of falling
through the glass. Ipuslied the reptiles
head away from me with al, my might,
least it should cross my breast, and
can remember catching sight Of myself,
mulberry colored figure, i'll the mirror.
over the other pythons, who, furious al
the disturbance, were now darting about
the den above and all round me in every
direction; and I exerted every energy te
keep my feet, for I had presence o.
mind enough left to know that if I wen,
down it would be all over with me. The
heat was sitting. I could stand it NJ
longer; the cage spun madly round an6
round before my eyes, and everything
seemed to flame and roar. I let go the
head. The snake twisted sharply bach
over my right shoulder close to my face
but did not bite me, and slid off on the
ground. I just recollect falling agains'
the door with outstretched hands, bu
nothing more until I found myself sit
ting Oh the steps outside, coughing VIC
kently, while the phlegmatic keeper wa.
putting hot key down my back for some
occult reason.
| BROUGHT UP LITTLE BLOOD
and drank little brandy, after which !
soon got better; but 7 was not well
enough to walk home, and the bruise in
my side did not fade for many day.
suppose the whole affair did not last
more than few seconds, but found II
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 I should
have been crushed like an eggshell.
Curiously enough, my left arm was
quite paralyzed, and I did not fully re
| covor tho moo IF n for a xuooE did M,