Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-04-25
DAMAJANTE's PERIL.

DAMAJANTE's PERIL.
The Snake CAGrner III Circus Nearly
Crushed by q Huge Python.
A thrilling incident happened in Fore
paughs circus, recently, while Nala Dam
ajante, the Hindoo snake-charmer was go
ing through her performance of handling
half dozen squirming pythons. It was
all in the tWinkling of an eye, and scarcely
dozen persons in the great audience were.
aware that Dana iante had for moment
been in deadly peril. She had finished the.
| wonderful act of walking about the raised
| platform with six snakes coiled like O.
living head-dress over her forehead, land had
taken the huge python, whose weight is nine
ty pounds and length twelve feet from its
box, and threw it across her shoulder. As
she had done with the other snakes, Dana
| iante grasped the powerful creature few
| inches back of the head. Although the air
was damp and chilly, the python appeared
possessed of more than usual activity. 1t
unwound its sinuous length from Dana
| iante's body and quickly coiled about the
upper part of her chest and throat. To
those nearest the performer, the muscles
of the snake could be distinctly seen work
| ing beneath the spotted skin. Suddenly
the reptile gave an angry hiss and darted
its quivering tonge,and almost at the same
moment the coil about the woman's throat
was frightened. Damajante's agent. who
was standing near the entrance to the
elephant house, appeared to know that
there was a possibility Of something
of the kind taking place, and was keep
ing keen eve on the performance. He
| ~ 49, low
the audience, and had got half way down
the race track, when Damajante, who had
already realized her great danger, succeed
ed in untwisting the tail end OF the snake
from her body. The middle and most
powerful part of the python was still
about her throat, and the pressure was in
creasing. She was very pale, but thor
oughly calm. The head of the python
kissing horribly, was grasped il her right
hand. Damajante,with remarkable nerve,
managed to free her left arm, land in anoth -
er instant had, with all the strength she
possessed in both hands, unwrapped the
writhing necklace from her throat. She
placed her dangerous pet back in its box,
bowed, and retired.
Speaking of her strange avocation
few moments later, Damajante said that it
was only during very warm weather, when
the snakes were viciously active, that she
feared their strength. "They are very sus-
ceptibIe to cold,' said the snake charmer,
after she had recovered her composure,
''and have to be kept in boxes arranged
with hot-water pans to the temperature up
to at least 100 degrees. Besides that they
are wrapped up in blankets. Did l ever
have anything like that happen before?
10 yes. Once in Berlin, about two years
ago, my largest snake nearly crushed me
to death. 1t took the united strength of
two men to remove him. Another time in
Riga the large python got his tail around
a pillar and threw me on my back.
In Madrid my arm was almost
twisted out of its socket. Some
times they bite me-look," and, extending
her hands, Damajante showed them to be
covered with small V-shaped scars. 'The
bite is not poisonous, but it is rather pain
full. 1 don't mind my hands so much,
but am on the watch to keep them from
striking at my eyes. You know the pecu-
liar way in which the python's teeth. are
set-curving backward in repose and
standing erect when angry-well, it would
be an easy matter to lose an eye. Some
years ago in Vienna, a snake charmer had
his eye plucked out of the socket IN an in
slant. L think the snakes know me. Ihave
possessed strange power over them, that I.
cannot account for myself, since girlhood.
Are they hardy? Well sir, I give them as
much attention as a mother does her child.
Regularly every Saturday night they are
| washed in luke-warm water and wrapped
in blankets. During warm weather [ feed
them every eight days. The smaller ones
eat live rabbits, and that big fellow is sat-
isfed with duck or two. have another
pet who is shedding his coat. Come, and
I'll show him to you. He's only baby;"
and, leading the way to the menagerie
tent, Damajante approached red box.
which she unlocked. From beneath the
TO DIS of double blanket she drew, with
some difficulty, one of the most monstrous
pythons ever seen in captivity. It meas
ured eighteen feet from head to tail, and
weighed certainly not less than 125,
pounds. It's scaly coat was peeling off in
patches, and its eyes were sightless. This
blindness, the snake charmer said, was
always present while the reptile was going
through the annual process of shedding it's
gaudy -hued coat. 'This fellow" contin-
ued Damajante, ''ls very strong, and L
have to use the greatest care in handling
him. lie is almost through now. and I
may possibly exhibit him in Philadelphia
before the circus moves"
The snake-charmer does not speak
English, and carried on the conversation.
partly in French. Her agent, who speaks
the strange language of her mother coun-
try, helped to Interpret when she stumbled
across too difficult sentence.
| The Door mas oHnt.
| San Franc SEQ Post.
Stage drivers among the Rockies and
Sierras learn to be as peremptory as they