Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-24
ApYTHoN LOOSE ON BOARD.
wild Scenes on the Steamship Denmark
When IA Huge snake Escaped.
New York Herald


New York Herald
There are two full-grown pythons, male
and female. on board the National-LIne
steamer Denmark, which arrived from
London Yesterday. Mr.. Python lies curled
up in q box some two feet square and about
eight inches deep lying on top OF some
boilers in the cooks galley. The heat has
not disturbed him in the least for he has
been engaged during the voyage in digest
ing a huge meal eaten just before he LETT
London. He sleptall the way over. and had
not awakened when the ship reached her
pier Yesterday. Mrs. Python, to the best
Of Captain Rigby's belief is somewhere in
the bilge of the ship between the inside
and outside plates. but whether dead or
alive nobody on board knows. She es-
caped from the box in which she was con-
fined on July It'll, three days after the Dem
mark left London, and for awhile there
was the liyeliest kind Of time on board
the steamer.
MRS PYTHON ESCAPES.
The boxes containing Mr.. aud Mrs. Py-
thou were originally placed in the engine
storerOom, on the lower deck just aft of
the engine-room. The slide at the top Of
Mrs. Pvthons box was carelessly left open
a couple of inches. Mrs. Python had not
made such q glutton of herself rs her mate
and swOke 10 find the opening and TO glide
through.
The chief engineer, on going TO the door
of the engine-rOOm. was suddenly con-
frontcd by the huge snake, which was four
teen feet long if an inch, and as bic around
as his arm. She had been attracted 10y the
heat. The engineer gave one look. Then
he made "a Decline for the opposite door.
An officer seeing his pale face asked what
the matter was, but he only caught one
word in reply. and that was " snakes" as
the engineer hurried away. The officer
hurried TO the engine-rOOm, and was Just
in time TO see the pythOn's tail disappear
ing through the grating below which was
the hold. Carpenter John Last and hre-
man grabbed the tail, but the snake was 50
oily that it slipped out of their fingers.
The python had twined itself around an
iron support and reached the hold.
The entire crew was by tins time alarmed
and every one was armed with some sort Of
a weapon.
HowLING MENAGERIE.
Besides the snakes there were over
score Of other animals, all consigned to
Frank J. Thompson, of the Central Park
menagerle, where the pythOns were going.
There were twenty monkeys IN cages, in
Guiding eight Of the dOg-faced variety,
two lemurs, an animal resembling weasel,
one opossum. a wildcat. and three bush
cats. The monkeys. on hearing the COM
motion over the python's escape, set up
great chattering the wildcat snarled, and
fOrty-three Spanish dOnkeys, in stalls on the
same deck forward, brayed so that they
could be heard three miles. Fourteen full
blOOded and trained fOX-hOunds confined
in two pens near the dOnkeys added their
deep bays TO the general din, and half a
dozen bull-terriers who were tied 10 stan
chiOns in the centre OF the deck joined the
chorus. For time il seemed as If pande-
mOniun had broken loose. Those on deck
heard the noise, but Captain Rugby kept
every man at his post. and the Denmark,
which was like a floating menagerie, with
her bowling, chattering, braylng cargo,
steamed steadily on her course.
AFTER THE PYTHON.
The engineer had returned to the engine
room. but he looked apprehensiyely at the
grating, afraid that Mrs. Python would de-
eide to return. Finally John Last. the car
penter, offered to search for the snake. The
fireman who had grasped the python's tail
in the engine-room offered TO 60 with him.
The others looked at the two men compass
siOnately as they descended into the hold,
and the engineer. Us he remembered the
reptiles gaping jaws, shuddered. Last
carried a bag TO put over Mrs. PythOn.s
head. They found the snake lazily crawl
ING through an opening between the
before, but pull as they would the python
was too much for them, and they saw the
end of her tail disappear through the
opening. She did not come ont again. II
the python * alive she is thought to be
cooled around one of the pipes IN the bllge.
The chances Of her surviving. however:
are very slight, as the bilge IS half full of
stagnant water and OIL
LEFT TO HER FATE.
Tho officers and crew breathed more
freely when it was learned where Mrs.
Python had secreted herself. and no fur
ther effort WAS made TO capture her. There
is no way of getting at her except 70 re-
move some of the plates, and this Will
probably be done to-day. The case con-
tanning Mr.. Python was taken to the cooks
galley and placed on top Of the boilers,
where he continued to suooze, unconscious
of the fate of his spouse.
The other animals intended for tlfe Park
will prove a valuable addition 20 the me-
nagerie. The wildcat is a big yellow crea-
ture, with fierce eyes, but wthal quite
tame. allowing even strangers 10 stroke its
forepaws, which it generally hangs outside
of the cage. The smaller monkeys were
confined in wooden boxes with wire netting
across the fronts of them. The bigger ones
had wooden Stats nailed across the cages.
Eighteen survived the voyage. One lit
tie monkey died about a week after leaving
port and its mother after sulking day or
two, was found dead IN its cage one morn
ing. Both bodies were thrown overheard.
The lemurs are very retiring and seldom
show themselves. The animals all come
from Jamrock's London menagerie. They
are in the best of health, the keeper says.
The fOx-hOunds are going TO a Long
Island kennel, and the bull-terriers have
been brought over for fighting purposes.