The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-02-01
Lyness, Snake Warming.

A python. sixteen feet long, and five
cobras and black snakes were brought to
the Central Park Menagerie on Saturday
afternoon. They had Just arrived from
Europe. No blankets had been pro
vided 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,
and so strongly knit together in COM
mon mass that it seemed impossible to
separate them. The big case 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 a puzzle.
"They'H have to be thawed out" said
Superintendent Conklin. f
Tobias Lyness is the Park Menagerie
engineer. He has charge of the great
furnaces that consume 800 tons Of coal
in a season. Tobias Lyness has been
many years in the employ of the Park.
He is an American, ad-shouldered,
muscular, curly haired, cool. Lyness
has no fear in him., He is no conlurer,
charnler or tanner. merely a brave en-.
gineer.
'Lyness, wish you would thaw out
these serpents for me-" said Superin-
tendent Gonklin who supposed they
were dead, .and when you have them
uncoiled, put them in bags where l can
find them and send them TO the taxider-
mist's on Monday
Albright 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 coil
of frozen, pYthons, cobras and black
snakes and dragged it close to the fire.
Lyness lighted his pipe and sat read
ing paper in frontof the furnace, wait.
ing for the serpents to thaw out. After
while, happening to look down, he saw
six great serpentS' heads, with lustfious
eyes and darting tongues. Lyness put
down his pipe and paper. As he did SO
the coil of serpents .quadrupled in size,
showing plainly enough that they were
reviving. -~z. a. SUI
Come here, Tom" shouted Lyness.
to Donohue, thenight Waterman. bring
that bex along and shutsup your dogs
We're going to have circus.''
Tom, Demo hue ran up, He looked
in through the engine room window and
said: 90 Wait till [ get the net, and we'll
haul them i'm
s" Net be darned,' p said Lyness.
The serpents kept wriggling and I'M
coiling themselves gradually. Finally
the python began Slipping from the
mass. Lyness stepped forward an d
caught the python near the head with
one hand, and lower down about the
body with the other. Then he PLAYED
with the snake. He choked him and
manipulated him. 4" I'll thaw him out
WELL he said, laughing. Finally he.
threw the snake into the box, which was
quickly closed. '@A
Lyness then turned his attention to
the other snakes, and thoroughly thawed
and boxed them all Then he and Tom
Donohue carried the box to the great
glass snake house, and dumped the new
eon1efs among the reptiles already there.
Ne Z. San.