The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-14
A cANNIBAL SNAKE.
He Enticed His Friends Into His Place
and Then Swallows Them.
From the Philadelphia Press.

and Then Swallows Them.
From the Philadelphia Press.
If a freight robber had opened an IN
misunderstanding wooden box that came
yesterday, addressed TO the Zoo, he
would probably have reproached himself
with having taken ''bracer'' too many.
# contained fifteen snakes, and the way
they wiggled and. squirmed when they
cot out reminded one of an all-day tray
eler who wanted to stretch his legs when
the train rolled in at his destination.
That Is, they all limbered themselves
M. except cemophora coccinea.
He got himself cordially disliked by re-
fusing to caper around, and ected like
resident of the Dahomey village on a
strike for higher wages. They were all
assigned to rooms in Keeper John
Thompson's glass-lined apartment house,
sudu those who mad roommates imme-
diately tried to make themselves agree
able.
phOra coccinea.
He curled himself up in one corner of
his compartment without even so much
as a nod to the two other snakes who had
hired the fat with him, and, pulling the
bedclothes over him, and leaving word
for ice water at O'Clock In the morning,
he went to sleep. His rocmmates put
their heads together and talked over the
situation. They were black snakes. and
first thought it was distinct snub on &C
count of race prejudice.
The cemophora coccinea is a very pa
trician snake. 1t parts its name in the
middle and rather prides itself on its
good looks. The black snakes, in a ieal-
Gus sort of way, spoke sneeringly of it as
''Only scarlet snake from Florida, and
there's no reason for its being so stuck
up"
ONE OF THE 400.
The truth is, its claims to a place in the
snake 400 have been firmly established
and it knew it. 1t is cousin by marriage
to the elaps-fulvius, who, everybody
knows has been in the blue book for sew
eral years, even though his family name
was the Harlequin snake beforehis great
grandfather came to this country There
has never been any positive proof that he
was a circus snake, although his name
savors of the sawdust. The scarlet snake
is a beautiful specimen of reptile. All
the women snakes are talking about him
as the handsomesJ fellow they ever saw
He wears beautiful rings and his clothes
fit him splendidlY.
For some time it seemed as though the
two other inmates OF the compartment
would fall upon him and avenge the snub
they received. As they were going to
carry out their plans word was received
from another snake that explained the
condition of the scarlet reptile.
From the story told it would seem that
the cemephora coccinea was deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked.
The alleged exclusiveness was due not to
snObbishness at all, but was simply the
result of banquet which "Cocky' had
attended a few days before and from
the effects of which he had not entirely
recovered
"Cocky," according to the other snake,
was no sort of an aristocrat. For all his
fine clothes. his cousin looked down upon
him with iil-cOncealed scOrn as a bad lot.
1t seems that he kept a hotel down in
Florida, and had Just been granted a
license. He burrowed as fine a snake
hole as there was in Florida, put out his
sign advertising beer and champagne,
and invited all his friends to stop. The
police began to hear queer stories about
Coccinea's place. 1t was alleged that
lots of snakes went there, and were never
seen again. So one day "COcky" refused
10 pay for police protection, and his place
was raided. 1t was found that "Cocky''
was in the habit of lying in wait at the
entrance Of his inn, and as soon as
another snake came in he would grab
him, rob him of his watch, and then
simply swallow him.
SWALLOWED HIS FELLOWS.
He was sentenced to exile and imprison-
ment for the rest of his life. That is how
the Zoo came to get him. His comatose
condition was the result of his trying ia
digest two snakes which he swallowed
too near together. They were on I'M
friendly terms, and took it as a personal
insult to be thus thrown together at din
ner, so they made it uncomfortable for
"Cocky" AS soon as the truth was
known an emetic was administered to the
snake and two large sized reptiles were
shortly added to the collection at the zoo.
Every effort was made to suppress the
news, so that the Florida snake authori-
ties might not make demands for the two
innocent snakes, which are now impris-
oned in the zoo with the others, and
doubtless there will be great surprise at
its publication among the authorities
there. t7t
The spirit of "Cocky'' seemed to be in
fictitious. Yesterday the Indigo snake, in
moment of abstraction, swallowed half
of Spilotes Corais Couperi, his roomma te
1t was explained that he thought his
friend was sparrow, but that eXplana-
ton seemed rather lame one. Keeper
Thompson had to take hold of the two
and pull them apart, feat which he &C
complished without much dificulty. Both
snakes are doing we'll