Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-15
SQUEEZED BY AN ANACONDA.
a Trying Uomant for an Expert snake
Handler.
New York Times.

New York Times.
"It's the easiest thing in the world
when you do it properly" Hermann
Reiche, the dealer in wild snimsle, re-
marked yesterday morning to an employe
who was having some little difficulty in
transferring eight anncondas from the
rough wooden box in which they had
lust arrived at the Park Row establish
ment to g. lass case placed for their re-
ception in the front store just next to the
one occupied by Jess, the dancing baboon.
Three months ago child could have
handled the spotted beauties with i'm
punity, because then they would have
been fully under the influence Of the tor
pur which overcomes them in the winter
months, but which departs as soon as the
warmth Of summer begins to be felt. As
the seven snakes, which had not yet been
transferred, running from twelve to six
teen feet In length, lay coiled together in
a corner Of the box, they looked very
pretty and quite harmless. Occasionally
one of them would send muscular
thrill through his conVoluted organism
which would stir the whole mass little,
and now and then forked tongue would
dart out and disappear in an instant
Otherwise they looked absolutely
lethargic and perfectly free from guile.
So, when young Reiche proceeded to
show how easy 1t was to handle the
South American boa-constriCtor, when
| the proper method was pursued, it looked
as though the man engaged in the work
hardly needed the proffered instruction.
"You simply seize the snake st by the
neck, close by the head, thus" said
Mr.. Reiche, suiting the action to the
word, and causing the serpent mass to
shudder throughout it's entire extent.
''Then," he added, as he drew the snake
he had grasped out from the constructor
tangle of which it formed part, "when
its middle shows up, thus you grasp II
gently but firmly, thus, and lift it into
the glass case, thus"
The snake dropped softly into the case
lay as it fell, and so did FIVE others, each
of them bearing patient testimony to the
facility with which the biggest kind Of
snakes are handled, when properly
handled.
The seventh took upon himself to prove
the converse Of Mr.. Reicae's established
proposition. He wss not handled
properly. Mr.. Reiche made a careless
grab for his neck and caught it abou'
| three inches below the head instead Of
close to it. In an instant the reptile, tie
largest one of the lot, tossed torpor to
the winds and began very theoretically tc
dart his open jaws in the direction of hit
capto1's wrist with very unamiable in
tent. Mr.. Reiche lifted the writing
snakes head high in the air and seized i
by the middle. The snake resented
the action snd freed itself by {
mu:culsr action that was irresisti
bly, strong and sudden. In moment tht
snake WAS free from the box and began
tWiniDg its 1.-the form around young
Reiche's leg and!body. Reiche, who ii
we'll aware Of the crushing power of 8
constructors hug, called for help, snt
every employe OF the establishment was
at his side in an instant. They knew how
to act in the emergency, and in very
few moments they had uuWound the ana
coIda, despite its powerful struggles, ant
placed 1t in the glass case, where 1t a
oEce lapsed into condition of content
very strangely in contrast with its previ-
Gus excitement.
"Not so easy to handle anacondes cftel
ALL" the Instructed enploye remarked tc
mis- master, smiling.
"Yes, it Isl" sad Mr.. Reiche, wht
looked little pale and frankly acknowl-
edged he had had scare; "tbe trouble
was that handled that fellow wrongly
Always catch them close as possible Il
| the head"