The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-13
HAD SNAKES IN EARNEST.
Burns Fought for His Life With the
Biggest Boa Constructor in Anne
From the New York Herald


RIGA.
From the New York Herald
There is a dingy, grimy, sawdusty cob
webby little store down in Roosevelt
street that beatssa gold cure establish
ment all to pieces.
The proprietor's name is Burns The
men who purvey strong drink in that To-
cality have no possible use for Mr.. Burns
professionally. Rone of their far gone
customers ever gets within hearing dis
lance of Burns he'll hear yells and boots
and things that brings horrible thoughts.
If by mistake he ever gets into Burns
during business hours settler and lemon
will be good enough for him for week
More blue monkeys, fiamingoes, and
hedgehogs, and wild eyed parrots, and
Iguan lizards, with spikes are there
than ever the widest jimjams could sum
mon.
Snakes7 There are snakes in Burns,
that look smart enough to read and
write. Snakes of all sorts of spots and
sizes and degrees of poisonness. Snakes
in boxes, in trunks, in bags and in wire
and glass cages.
THE OLD, ORIGINAL SNAKE.
MIR. Burns got from a White Star
steamer last Thursday. however, the
regular old papa snake, boa captured in
Africa and taken by a trader to London,
whence he journeyed here He is the
old, original snake, Burns says, that ran
the apple stand in the Garden of Eden.
Burns sells snakes to shows, and when
he tried to transfer the big boa down
stairs yesterday and got him into a box
in the store for shipment he found, to his
sorrow, that the snake was in training.
The reptile since his arrival has lain
quiet in wire Melted parlor up stairs
digesting a couple of rabbits which had
been fed to him alive. But when Burns
went up to move him at 10 o'clock yester-
day morning and opened the door he
pulled up the lid of his eye and looked to
see if it was his breakfast that had been
brought to him. Seeing that it was an
empty-handed man he oozed his shiny
twenty-five feet of personality around
and went to sleep again
Burns, who is powerful, being six feet
and two inches tall, grabbed the snake
tight with both hands by the neck The
whole long, scaly body was flashing like a
mad thing in a second. The fiat head was
writhing back and forth and the hideons
mouth, wide open, showed the double
rows of keen teeth. The eyes were like
great jet beads, His forl1ed tongue flew
in and out as he strained to get at the
hands which held him so tightly
Burns called for his son James and n
helper. They came running, and as the
big proprietor dragged out the mighty boa
each grabbed a section and held on with
might and main.
In line thus they started for the street.
The middle of the serpent, which young
Burns was carrying, is as big as the thick
part of a good sized mans leg, and the
young man had to put his arm around the
creature. Slowly they worked their way
down, the snake still struggling and
Burns, Sr. still throttling.
GOT NEW STRENGTH.
The snake seemed to take on new
strength when his captors strove to get
his powerful body into the open box
They wanted to put the tail in first and
hold it there by the lid until the head
could be forced in, and then the cover
would be dropped quickly and the lock
snapped.
The snake had different idea. He was
for freedom. and he dashed away The
hired man was told to release his hold, as
nearly half the snake was in the box He
did so and the tail flew out like shot,
nearly knocking him to the floor It
wound about young Burns and the whole
snake writhed in the effort to gather him
and his father in its folds. The Burnses
fought and hung on like men who knew
the need But for half an hour nearly
their great antagonist dashed himself
there amid the bird cages and boxes.
Burns senior ordered the store door
closed. The hired man did this and then
rushed into the skirmish again
With infinite difficulty he regained a
firm hold on the boa's tail and thrust it
into the big box and kept dragging the
thing further and further in They all
lr,l -, a.,
hands of the big proprietor got the neck
close to the Side of the box. The cover
was brought down as close as possible
The hired man secured a piece of board
and raised it. and as at a signal Burns
pulled his hands away the great boa got
blow in the face and jerked his head in
instantly.
BIGGEST IN THE COUNTRY.
He was Gagged. The hired man clapped
the bolt down and both the Burnses sat
down to rest. The older man could
scarcely open and shut his hands for ten
minutes, so severe had been the strain.
That's the biggest snake in the coin
try, said Burns to me afterward. II
didn't know at the time whether we were
going to get the best of him or not And
the best of it is, we've got to move him
again It's Job | don't care much for, |
can tell you. If help-and experienced
help-hadn'b been on hand to-day should
have been squeezed to death There
isn't man living, Sandow or anybody
else who can fight that snake single
handed.
We were nightly lucky to get away
without injury. Both my son and myself
have frequently been bitten by snakes,
but we don't do anything for it unless
they are of some peculiarly poisonous va
riety.