The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-26
SNAKES IN NEW YORK.
THE SNAKE ET-PREVAILING
SORTS AND PRICES.

ofTrade in Snakes-People Who Use
Snakes-Facts Obtained From Rival
Dealers.
Fron. the Ne,e Yorl; Sun.
The snake market is now fairly booming.
pv+bons are the most fashionable this sea-
SON hut there is still a good demand for
There are but few whip snakes
seen on the street, and the trade in diamond
snakes has almost entirely ended. Rattle
snakes and mocasSins are in favor with the
exnort trade. Most of the circus combi-
yations have procured their seasons sup
nlv. but prices still hold firm. The fashions
are much the same as last year. Pythons
and anacondas are brocaded in greenish yell
low on n dark ground. Rattlesnakes still
have the peculiar corncob tails and pitch
forl, tongues noted in former seasons. Per-
forming snakes are mostly the stock that
has been left over from last year. They are
worn without teeth.
These current notes on snake fashions
were picked up day or two ago in casual
conversation with a snake merchant. There
are only two expert snake dealers in the
United States, and they are both in this
ness rivals There are plenty of snake
catchers in the country, and there are
plenty of snake buyers in the city, but all
these are as laborers in theemploy of the two
GREAT snake men referred to. The buyers
ere ''river scalpers." They haunt every
vessel that comes into port. They are on
the lookout for live curiosities They will
buy parrots, monkeys, butterflies, horned
lizards, kangaroos, snakes; in short, any
sort of live trash they can get at bargain or
sell at profit As a rule, they dispose of
their snake purchases to one or other of the
two wholesale snake men.
This is the snake season." said the
snake man. Business is booming. Ihave
sold nearly 1000 snakes this season. Let
me show you some beauties"
The dirty looking mound in the glass
case was d heap of anacondas. When
stretched out they were about 10 feet long
bv or inches thick. To stretch them out
one has to poke them with a stick. An
anaconda smiles when he is properly pOked
with a stick. Sometimes he opens his
beak so wide you could up-end yard stick
in it,
"How much are they worthW
From $50 to 500 each. An 1S-foot one
is worth 5000. Small ones are worth about
$50 each"
This made the price about 81 to $40 a
foot. That is pretty high for anacondas.
The rival snake dealer quoted good anacon-
das at S. foot. But. he said, that was
wholesale; he wouldn't sell less than whole
snake.
What do you ask for pythons"
"Pythons are rather higher than anacon-
das, and they are more in demand this sea-
son. The reason is that pythons will stand
more wear and tear, especially rock pyth-
ono TbpNy faad haitian than ND
keep healthier. A python will eat almost
from the start. Send him out with circus
and he will eat as regularly as his meal time
comes around-that is, once a month or
So But the anacondas will sulk, and won't
eat for maybe six months"
The rival snake dealer rather ridiculed
the idea that pythons were better than
They all belonged to the great
family, he said, but the anacon-
da was the boa constructor proper Anacon-
das come from South America, pythons
from Africa. The rival snake dealer also
quoted pythons at extremely low prices.
But then he didn't happen to have any in
stock
Where do you get your pythonsW
Through our agency in Germany" re-
piled the man who had them. "They buy
them from the vessels coming from India
and South Africa, and ship them to us as
we oraer them. They had !, 800 pythons on
hand at one time in Hamburg; that was
three years ago."
"There is no trouble in getting all the
anacondas wanted. Agents in Vera Cruz
will procure them from hunters in the in
terror of Mexico in any quantity ordered.
There are any number of professional hun
ters and trappers who are in periodical
with the ports, and who
spend their time hunting or snaring what
ever is in most demand, whether birds,
beasts, snakes, or insects. Frequently the
sailors calling at these ports buy some of
the live truck as a speculation and sell it
when they get to New York. It is for these
that the river scalpers are constantly on the
lookout.
''When Barnum is in town" said the
snake man, 'these river pirates poster him
with everything they pick up. If it is only
a IS snake they viii rush off to Barnum
with it,
And does Barnum buy this truckW
NO. indeed. Hedoesn't buy one thing in
a thousand that's offered to him. If he
wants snakes he comes here to me and takes
the pick Of my stock. He has his own
agents buying for him, but it often happens
that he wants a renewal of stock. Fore
paugh likewise"
The rival snake dealer also supplies Bar
A4NAlA anu II lOIlduSu GdCh oSeLleu W JulIlh
1t great card to have sold some stuff to the
two big circus men.
"Anacondas and pythons are the only
kinds bought by the circus people. In fact,
these are about the only kinds of imported
snakes in the market. We don't have to
import rattlesnakes; we raise them our
selves. Sometimes we raise them, and are
sorry for it. 1t is mistake to raise rat
tiesnake on bluff. He may not know
much about poker, but if there is pot in
sight that he wants, it is better to let him
have it."
What are snakes used for; what are they
bought for. any wayp
"Circuses mostly" replied the snake
man. IF it wasn't for circuses and mu-
seums the trade would die out. A few are
wanted for public gardens like the Zoologi-
cal Gardens in London or the Royal Aqua
rum in Berlin, and few are wanted for
scientific purposes. But if it wasn't for the
clrcuses there would be no regular trade
whatevern
iveg"
Now that strikes the root Of the bust
ness. A snake that might live a dozen
years or more in public garden, or when
Wen cared for in one place, will not last
more than season with a circus. The cir
Gus people have to get new stock every year.
After travelling around all summer with a
circus snake is pretty nearly dead and is
good only for dime museum They are
spa mostly to museums, and one winter
finishes them"
The export trade in snakes is largely in
tne hands Of one dealer. He exports rat