The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-01-13
Lyness' Snake Warming.

A python. sixteen feet long. and FIVE
eooras and black snakes were brought to
the Central Park Menagerie en- Saturday
afternoon. They had Just arrived from
Europe. No blankets had been pro-
vlded by the exporter. The serpents
had been merely tossed into a large
wooden box, with some loose hay at the
bottom and air holes at the top. During
the voyage out the hay got wet. and the
box became soaked. When the snakes
were landed they were found to be rigid,
ana SO strongly knit together ia com
mon mass that it seemed impossible to
separate them. The big c;ms was put
on the truck, and the truckman drove
the snakes to the park in the intense
cold of Saturday.
When Superintendent Conklin got the
consignment he was naturally indignant
at receiving CONCEALED serpents. How
to separate them seemed puzzle.
"They' Ii have to be thawed out" said
Superintendent Conklin.
Tobias Lyness is the Park Menagerie
engineer. He has charge of the great
furnaces that consume 800 tons of coal
in season. Tobias Lyness has been
many years in the employ of the Park.
He is an American, broad-sbouldered,
muscular, curly haired, cool. Lyness
has no fear in him. He is no coniurer,
charmer or tanner, merely brave en-
gineer.
"Lyne,s, l wish you would thaw out
these se'pents for me-" said Superin-
tendest Conklin who supposed they
were asad, land when you have them
uncoiled, put them in bags where l can
find them and send them to the taxider-
mist's on Monday"
" All right, sir replied Lyness, an /,
calling the menagerie hands, he said.
Dump those serpents in the engine
room"
Tobias Lyness had roaring fire in his
half-ton furnace. He raked down the
coal, put on the blast, and when the fire
was at white heat he threw open the
| furnace door. Then he seized the col
of frozen pythons, cobras and black
snakes and dragged it close to the fire.
Lyness lighted his pipe and sat read
ing paper in front of the furnace, wait
ing for the serpents to thaw out. After
a while, happening to look down, he saw
six great serpents' heads, with lustrious
eyes and darling tongues. Lyness put
down his pipe and paper. As he did Sc
the coil of serpents quadrupled in size
showing plainly enough that they were
reviving.
"Come here, Tom" shouted Lyness
to Donohue, the night Waterman. "Brine
that box along and shut up your dogs.
We're going to have a circus"
Tom Donohue ran up. He looked
in through the engine room window and
said: Wait till I get the net, and we L
haul them in"
=" Net be darned." said Lyness.
The serpents kept wriggling and un
coiling themselves gradually Finally
the python began slipping from tn,
mass. Lyness stepped forward ant
caught the python near the head will
one hand, and lower down about thu
body with the other. Then he played
with the snake. He choked him ant
manipulated him. "Pll thaw him on
WE'LL" he said, laughing. Finally h
threw the snake into the box, which wa;
quickly closed.
Lyness then turned his attention Il
the other snakes, and thoroughly thaweC
and boxed them all. Then he and Ton
Donohue carried the box to the grea
glass snake house, and dumped the new
comers among the reptiles already there
~ Y. Sun.