The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-14
A SNAKE CIIARMER.
An American Girl Who Handles
Big Reptiles For a Living,
An Employment Which Re-
qulreS Considerable Nerve.

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the stage. The following extract con-
cernIng her peculiar employment, Is
from an interpreter with New York
World reporter:
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 JcfTreys
opened the boxes and took of the dainty
white merino blankets and gray wolf
robes that wrapped up the snakes. She
lifted them up, fondIed them aud
handed them over for inspection as she
talked.
GLOW did become a snake charm
err" she repeated. "Why, that isn't
easy to tell. have always liked snakes.
I was born in New York, aud this city
has always been my home. l used to
love to watch the snakes in their glass
cage in Central Park when l was little
girl. They always had fascination for
me. l didn't want to pet them, you
know don't sec how any sane person
can care to do that-but l liked to be
around them and watch them. My pco-
pie are in the show business, and when l
grew up l went to work as a high wire
performer in the circus. l saw the fa-
nous Dana Atlanta, the Hindoo girl
who charmed snakes here some years
ago. She was tall and 1.-the and almo8 t
as slender as a snake. While perform
ing with her pets she almost seemed to
be a 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. l made up my
mind not to initiate her, but to get up a
snake act of my own. In the fall Of
1873 l 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 first! Yes, a little, l suppose, but
Pve nearly forgotten about that now.
When they were quite accustomed to
being handled l began to twine them
around mysef. Did I charm them2
No l don take any stock in the the
ories of o-called snake charmers.
find that you can get along very nicely
with snakes by merely han 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 peop'e 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 long, plump boa constructor. The
young man felt pale, but pretended to
like the sport The sensation was much
like that you enjoy when a proud young
mother hands you q 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 so
uncertain. Mistaking the young mans
hollow, mocking smile for a sign Of
real joy, Miss Jcffreys put forty-pound
anaconda into his left hand. He was a
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.
"It's simple enough, you see," said
Miss Jeffreys. "You just take hold of
them boldly and you'll get along very
nicely with snakes. l 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 I got him in 1888. How
often do they feei2 About once in
three weeks 1 feed the snakes in this
box. Three eat chickens, two eat rab-
bits, one eats pigeons, ard two eat
guinea pigs. have to experiment with
them till l fad out their taste That
never changes. Of course, they tako
their food alive. The snakes in that
other box are a 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 year or
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 ofIittIe scars.
They are from python and and anaconda
teeth mostly. That big one on the mid
die knuckle of the second finger on my
right hand was made by a 14-foot
python who weighed 100 pounds. I
was feeding my snakes a few months
ago, and the big python, in darting
after chicken that was getting away,
accidently closed his Jaws on nv hand.