The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-26
A PYTHON IS IN THE HOLD.
The Denmark Brings a Lively Cargo
Into Port.

From the NelU York sun.
The National line steamer Denmark,
which got into port at o'clock on Sunday
night from London, had a pretty COM
pete me agerie aboard, and bright and
| early yester day morning Capt. Rigby, her
commander, hurried ashore with first
class snake story in tow that
made a sens ton in shipping circles. Capt
Rigbv said that there was live and hungry
female python, IA feet long and Dig around
as his brawny arm. somewhere in the
steamships hold. His seamen told a rat
Ting story later on of fruitless chase after
the python. Charles Jamrich, the London
naturalist. put the python on board on
July 4, t Q day before the Denmark sailed
He shipped male python, also, and a lot
of other curiosities for the Central park
menagerie the same day.
The pythons were stored in a storeroom
on the port side of the engine-room, where
the Thermometer maintains nice and COM
Portable snake temperature of a tritie less
than 1907 The pythons were packed in
woodeA b Xes about eighteen inches square
and about foot high, with a sliding door
four inches wide in he side, through which
food could be given to them if they got I'D
any appetite during the voyage. The
snakes were gorg d before they were put
on toard, and fell asleep promptly. They
for their heroic meals to digest. For some
reason the female python woke up hungry
when the ship had been three days at sea
and went poki < ar lupd III its box hunting
for something appetizing: The sliding door
in the side had got unfastened so mellow and
the hungry python got it open by pressing
her head against the slide, anu squee zed
itself out, and started on tour of the store
room. There wasn't anything there she
MI at nd no xvl a1 n hIrr
crack under the storeroom door into the
eugine room.
1t vas $3.50 O'clock Sunday morning. and
Third Engineer Baxter was sitting near the
engine wrapped religious reveries, when
the reptiles mead and glistening eyes slid
out through the crack, under the door and
wriggled at him nervously. Baxter sprang
from his seat with his EYES bullying. He took
one more look, and then fed precoitat ely
to the upper deck. !. Helsq't a I'd drink
ing man, and his terrof sDread to some OF
the crew when he insisted that there was
big lake at large IN tie engine ROOM
A python isa't vefiofnOds,, but it can fight
like fury, and Baxter was in a
panic. MIR. Last, the ship carpenter,
who had been csPhgo for the shake,
dashed down the colnpanionwav with a
fireman to eaten the python. They saw
her slide down the grating near the engines
| mt the hold. They Uum0led down stairs
after her, and saw the end of her tail dis
appearing through hole in the bilge into
the space between the bottom of the ship
and the bilge planking. Carpenter Last
jumped for the tail AMI caught it, but the
skin was too oily for his grip to hold, and
the python slipped away They corkvd the
hold up, and determined to wait until the
vessel got to port to resume the hunt The
snake has been in swimming in the bilge
water ever since.
Capt. Rigby said yesterday that he would
begin the pYthon hunt some time to-day,
when enough of the miscellaneous cargo
had been removed to enable the carpenter
to lift the iron plates leading into the bilge.
An Eaglishman told the crew that if they
sent a couple of mo grel dogs into the bilge
they could easily catch the hungry python.
1t would chase the dogs and eat them. and
then be unable to resist capture because Of
its too hearty a meal.