The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-04-19
A SNAKE CHARMER.
An American Girl Who Handles
Big Reptiles For a Living.
An Employment Which Re-
qulres Considerable Nerve.

The stage. The following extract con-
cerning her peculiar employment, is
from an interpreter with Now York
World reporters:
The fat men and the lean men lugged
back the red boxes to their resting
place, set them down with much rever-
ence and care in front of roaring fire
and then hurried away. Miss Jeffreys
opened the boxes and took off the dainty
white merino blankets and gray wolf
robes that wrapped up the snakes. She
liftod them up, fondled them and
handed them over for inspection as she
talked.
''How did I become a snake charm
.r3" she repeated. ''Why, that isn't
easy to tell. have always liked snakes.
| was born in New York, and this city
has always been my home. I used to
love to watch the snakes in their glass
cage in Central Park when was a little
girl. They always had fascination for
me. l didn't want to pet them, you
Snow-I don't see how any sane persoa
can care to do that-but I liked to be
around them and watch them. My peo-
pie are in the show business, and when
grew up went to work as high wire
performer in the circus. I saw the fa-
nous Dana Atlanta, the Hindoo girl
who charmed snakes here some years
ago. She was tall aud 1.-THE and almost
as slender as snake. Whilo perform
ing with her pets she almost seemed to
be snake. She moved and acted like
one. Seeing her act started me think
ing why an American girl couldn't do
something in that way. 1 made up my
mind not to initiate her, but to get up a
snake act of my own. In the fall Of
1878 bought four little anacondas-
they were only six feet long each-and
began to pr, ctlse with them. got
them used to having me around and to
Icing handled. Didn't it feel creepy
at firsta Yes, little, I suppose, but
I've nearly forgotten about that now.
When they were quite accustomed to
being handled l began to twine them
around myself. Did I charm them2
No. dom take any stock in the the
ories of So called snake charmers. l
find that you can get along very nicely
with snakes by merely haa ding them
| gently. You mustn't make any sudden
movements where they can see you, but
let your hands glide rather than 60
quickly towards them. If you always
remember that and never lose your
presence OF mind, you can handle snakes
safely enough.
MANY people believe that the snakes
are drugged before being handled in
the circus. That is not so. They are
quite as lively as ever, as you can see. "
So saying, Miss Jeffrey handed her Wis
itor a long, plump boa constructor The
young man felt pale, but pretended tc
like the sport The sensation was much
like that you enjoy when proud young
mother hands you three weeks old
baby and asks you if you don't think
the dear little boy is quite heavy for his
age. Boa constructors and babies are SC
uncertain. Mistaking tho young mans
hollow, mocking smile for sign ol
real joy, Miss Jeffrcys put forty pound
anaconda into his left hand. He was 9
cold, clammy cuss and wriggled unceas-
ingly. The snakes eyed each other
like roosters who want fight, and the
young man handed them back very sud
/ denly.
cts simple enough, you see," said
Miss Jeffreys. "You just take hold Of
them boldly and you'll get along very
nicely with snakes. I don't use rattle
snakes or cobras, because they are
poisonous. It's bad enough to risk
being hugged to death without running
the chance of being poisoned. The
anacondas and pythons grow very fast.
That long anaconda measures fully
fourteen feet. He was only six feet
long when l got him in 1888. How
often do they fecdl About once in
three weeks l feed the snakes in this
box. Three eat chickens, two eat rab.
bits, one eats pigeons, and two eai
guinea pigs. have to experiment with
them till | fad out their taste. That
never changes OF course, they take
their food alive. The snakes in that
other box are scrub lot. They come
from the South American coast. They
are roughly handled on their way north,
and most of them refuse to feed. They
simply pine away and die in a year OF
SO. The good feeders were born and
raised in Central Park under the care OF
Supt. Conklin.-
! ''Oh, yes. Iget bitten once in while.
You see my hands are full oflittle scars.
They are from python and and anaconda
teeth mostly. That Zig one on the mid
die knuckle of the second finger on my
right hand was mado by a 14-foot
| python who weighed 100 pounds.
was feeding my snakes a few months
ago, and the big python, in darting
after chicken that was getting away,
nccidently closed his jaws on my hand.
In an instant he had two coils around
my arm and was just about to crush me
10 death. | didn't want anybody tc
kill him, for he was worth $175, and,
of course, l was afraid of being killed,
and 1 felt very uncomfortable. Old
John Fulton picked up drum-stick
from the band stand aad pried open the
python's mouth. That ratified him and
no let 90. I've had other narrow es-