St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-02-25
THE ANACONDA'S BATH.
4 Strange Sight Witnessed In .
BoWery Museum.
NJ Snake .Hantor Discourse On 0oakoA
md Relates . Thrilling Expori-
eaco with the Creatures -
the llieelsslppL


bathP Imean one of the big twenty
foot anacondas that are the chief OBJ
jects Of horrible fascination in the
museums. Probably it hasn't occurred
20 most persons that snakes take
baths. but they do Cleanliness is 50
essential to their well-being. hideous
and disgusting monsters though they
are. in the estimation Of many nerv-
ous people. that II they miss their
bath By even few hours they die. I
saw three Of the biggest snakes ever
known In captivity given bath the
other day. 1t was in . Bowery mu-
scum. to which . leathsr-lungcd
and ragged young man ON the side
walk invites the passing throng
- come and sup their full Of
horrors. In . room upstairs there
was long glass case containing. per-
haps. six or eight anacondaA These
wsre lolling sleepily about with their
wicksd-looking eyes half shut and
their gioesy, mottled bodies tied mp in
bow-knols together. The hearse-voiced
gentleman in charge OF them descanted
volubly upon their life and habits. It
was . very common mistake to suppose
ehat snakes in captivity were kept
under the influence Of drugs. he said.
They were always sleepy after they had
been fed. and persons who had to
handle them took caro- that they were
ted often and regularly. That was why
snakes in museums were always seen to
Be enjoying . sort Of dignifed ease.
instead OF getting up and smashing
things to pieces. as they might do If
they could get their muscular bodies
around any thing. That was the
reason Why snake-charmers could ham
die their snakes with impunity. he said.
and then he wound up with encyclope-
die facts about the home of the ana
conda and its habits Of crushing cows
and horses into shapsless masses.
When the crowd had wandered of to
see the Circassian Princess with the
bleached hair and the rich Ulster ac-
cent the hoarse-voiced gentleman got
down from his perch. and carefully
shutting the doors Of his domain.
wanted to know II I wanted 70 see the
snakes take their baths. He said there
was not q particle of danger and it
was a very interesting sight and when
I had secured a safe line of retreat BY
getting part way downstairs I told
him to 90 ahead. Two assistants
brought in . big tub. bigger than .
Harlem wssh-tub. and put about three
feet of water in. They tried the tenn
perature several times with ther.
mometers. and when they had made 1t
at seventy degrees they told the chief
Of the lavstory that they were ready.
I'VE heat the water 70 seventy de-
Rrees % that it win b exactly tho
came - the temperature Of their cage" |"
said he You SEQ that the bottom Of
the cage is carefully lined with thick
aannel Under IL are . lot Of oil
lamps. which are kept always burning.
Their heat Is distributed by pipes all
over the bottom Of the cage. The
snakes are SO very sensitive to cold
that lowering the temperature ten de-
grees would kin thcm. That is why
snakes are the hardest Of all animals
% Be kept alive in captivity. It re-
Quires incessant watchfulness to see
that the temperature d Just right for
them" With that he beckoned to one
Of his assistants and approached the
cage. In one side Was little sliding
door. He Knocked that back noise
lessly and slowly advanced both hands
IN the cage.
One Of the biggest Of the snakes was
lying alone in the center. with its long
tail twisted about in curious fashion.
The chiefs right hand moved slowly
until it Was right over the head of the
creature. Then 1t made . sudden, de-
sosnt and clutched tho snake firmly
about the slender neck. JUS behind
where its ears would Be- If it had cara
The anaconda gave . squirm of indig-
nant surprise and reared up its tail as
tAo1Sh 1t was going to fight about it
Before it had time to make any trouble
tAs chiefs left hand grabbed it about
three feet from the tail Giving Z
aexterous twist he threw the loop be-
tween his hands over one arm. and
then he had his snakeship 1t hil
osrcy. The chat drew back Olowly.