Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-07-05
wAsApYrHoN HYPNorrzED,

| tnat VIII rank next 10 the discovery OF
steam power itself.
WAS PYTHON HYPNOTrzEDs
The Rabbit David And the Serpent
Goliath.
From the N. Y. Tribune
One day while the writer was watching
the disgusting though fascinating opcr-
alton Of feeding large cobra In the zoo.
| logical gardens at Calcutta, the master OF
an East Indianman told him q remarkable
story Of a python In the old Jsrdin dos
Plantes, I'm Paris. The serpent was one
| OF the largest specimens of its species ever
captured and was valued at over 10000
francs. So muscular was 1t, so fierce and
rapid in its deadly coiling, that II required
| six men to hold II, even when the head
| had been properly secured, on the few oc-
| casions when 1t was necessary to change
| its quarters. The oldest animal trainers
and attendants had wholesome dread of
| the hideous python. None of them had
| forgotten the fiightfully rapid de ith of n
| rash ;circus " snake charmer" who several
| years before, when the python was younger
and considerably smaller, had boasted that
! he could subdue IL. The lid of the box in
which 1t was then kept, on being opened,
| disclosed the slug gish reptile closely coiled
| in a corner. The man was by means in
experienced, and he reached down with
the intention of grasping the python
secuTely dTOuUu tue uSch JuSt UUCk OI tnO
head. But he could not have known, or
knowing had forgotten, the lightning like
speed with which these serpents can move
when they so desire. II seemed to those
who looked on that the man had scarcely
touched the cool scales before the snake
had coiled itself about his arm, and a
second later the man was in his death
struggles. Every rib and nearly every
bone in his body was crushed. His death
must have been painless. 1t will seem
strange that the python was not killed then
and there. But 1t retreated to its q 20, the
lid of which was at once closed, and no one
having the temerity to attempt to kill 1t at
the moment, it lived for many years, and
became one of the greatest attractions of
the Jardin des Plantes.
ButiftIe python's life was spared on this
occasion, it was only that it might die the
still more ignominious death fate had in
store for It. Live rabbits were the
favorite food of the python. These were
fattened especially for its table, and only
the largest and most tempting were se-
that there is not only danger of overfeeding
snakes, but, in the case Of this particular
family, great care must be taken in the
selection of their food, as they are ex-
tremely susceptible to certain diseases.
The python had now attained length of
nearly twenty-three feet, and year by
year 1t had become more powerful and
viDdictive. Thirty thousand francs had
been offered for this snake, and it was
valued at much more than this sum, Many
thousand people had visited the dreaded
beast of the field" several interesting
treatises had been published about it, aud
the utmost care was taken in housing it
and providing for its comfort. A little
house, in which the natural environments
of its habitat were reproduced as nearly as
might be, had been constructed for its use.
The python, 1t might be said, was now in
the heyday of its fame.
One day a fine white rabbit, plump and
glossy, was placed in its cage. The snake,
coiled luxuriously upon an Eastern rug,
lazly lifted its head aud calmly inspected
the offering, as If to satisfy that II was in all
respects tit for its repast. The poor rabbit
was instantly overcome with horror. This
was not always the case for the rabbits, 1t
would seem, are generally either too
stupid or too ignorant to recognize in the
brightly. colored coils of the python a
deadly foe. AS a rule the rabbits h ad met
their end in comparative peace. No sooner
was this one placed on the floor ofthe cage,
however, than it uttered plaintive cries,
expressive of the utmost horror, and
hopped into corner. 1t then stood up on
its launches, in the manner of poodle
begging to its mistress, and began paving
the air with its fore legs Both the posture
and the action were unnatural in the rabbit
and were evidently only caused by terror.
The snake advanced slowly and
us STttelully CtIScu Hcth
thrust forward, its black, forked tongue
darting in and out of its mouth, until it's
head was within foot of tho rabbit The
latter beat the air still moro violently. 1t
was pitiful. The beautiful white rabbit,
its pink eyes starting from its head with
terror, seemed to be trying to shut out the
awful sight. The python was evidently
perplexed, and its perplexity turned to
fright. The cowardice of all large serpents
is well known. This one had never heard
a rabbit utter such cries, nor seen one act
in such a manner. After gazing at IL for a
few moments it slowly withdrew toward
the other side of the compartment, as If
unable to make up its mind to begin the
attack. The python, especially in its
| natural state, is said to suffer actuely, from
the pangs OF hunger, and in satisfying them
betrays extreme voracity. During the day
| it had shown the usual symptoms of re-
turning appetite, and its present conduct,
as it could not be laid to apathy, was, there.
| fore, all the more remarkable
As the snake retreated, the rabbit prob
| in another instant had bitten the python in
the neck just behind the head, its most
vulnerable spot. The rabbit then hoped
back to the further extremity of the cage.
| The python, so suddenly and unexpectedly
| attacked, had not tried to defend itself,
and could not be prevailed upon again to
approach its naturally timid foe. The
latter was taken from the cage, and, in
view of its heroic defence of its own life,
was allowed to live in happiness according
| to the ideas of rabbits, until its death from
| natural cause. Four DAYS afterward the
python died, not, the physicians said, from
| the immediate effects of the bite, but from
gangrene which developed in the wound.
| Some of these wise men even went so far
| as to assert (and it is to-day cited by others
| as signal instance of animal magnetism)
that the rabbits influence over the python
was the result of hypnotism.