The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-05
LIVING WITH SNAKES.
How the Standings Keep the Great
ureS Alive.

From the London Sketch.
So Ions as human nature retains It's
instructive dislike to anything that creeps
or crawls, the practice OF keeping snakes
is not likely TO extend far beyond its pres
ent limits. Most people, probably, woull
fine it exceedingly difficult to name any
one addicted to this propensity DR.. Ar
thur Stradling, the subject of this sketch
declares 1t to be, in his case, hereditary.
His father was fond of snakes. and his
son. years of age, is devoted to them
and experiences absolutely no fear in
their presence. How far the child. who
figures in the illustration, will develop his
taste remains to be seen; of the father it
may be said that he has devoted the
leisure-enforced leisure it may have been.
soma of it. for the sake of the cause-of
a lifetime to the study of snakes. In
pursuit of his study which he himsel.
calls "ophiomania," he has visited every
snakc-infested country of the slobe-an
undertaking accomplished by no other
person. probably. with similar object;
Having in the tropics lived in constant
and close companionship with serpents, T.,
is not unnatural that at Watford hc
should be still surrounded by them.
You surmise that the place IS always
heated?" says the doctor Gas is burn
ing day and night. use naked unvel-
tilated gas for warmth, and, as you can
see. my reptiles are as healthy as can be
Indeed | pride myself upon the fact that
| rear and keep many delicate species
which invariably die i'm geological gar.
dens and other mena geries That lizard
without legs | have had for thirteen
years. You say you fancied you heard
the gas escaping? oh, no, that was one
of the snakes Kissing. He is in a mao
temper ct being disturbed. Just now
have a particularly good collection OF
Demonstrators. but rattlesnakcs are nv
first love- | am just now beginning to
adopt my method of examining universal
ly. Anything up to twelve or fourteen
feet 1 can manage single-handed. but in
dealing with stock above that length
invoke the assistance of my head keeper
my little boy.
AZ bag is of some service to restrain the
movements of the body and render IT
amenable TO control-I once got two ribs
broken while manipulating a West Afri
can pythOGcSS of sixteen feet. The pro
cess is not an elegant one: with half a
hundred weight of live, hot 5nakc-hesh
wreathing and writing and engirdling
one, one doesn't eXpend much effort in
keeping up appearance. With shirt sleeves
rolled up and stockinged feet, ! grasp the
creature just behind the head and sepa-
rate its jaws by gentle pressure with
silver spatua; it is more knack than
force, for all snakes are exceedingly SEN
sitive about the mouth-a light tap on the
muzzle will turn the fercest of them
Then the assistant pops the lump of meat,
dead rat, bird or whatever the morsel
may be, right in among the quiverng
triple rows of long, curved teeth-positive-
~ quivering and walking with the agi-
tation of anger on the mobile iaws-and |
push it down to the stomach, first with
ruler, and then by squeezing upon 1t with
my hands from the outside, a mechanical
suasion which requires to be maintained
for some little time, in order to insure that
the item Of aliment shall remain in statu
quo. In the intervals the youngster is not
idle and finds plenty of occupation in
shifting the reptiles coils and disengaging
various parts of nae from a too close en-
brace And so we fill the beast I'D until
he can hold no more. If we have nothing
but meat, a handful of feathers. einders
of some knotted string wound round the
Jumps supply the place of bones and fur
and as far as digestion and nutrition are
concerned; and under this regime of mine
which has now stood the test of ten years
my snakes thrive. and-in captivity, at
least-excel in health, beauty and strength
any of those that feed themselves have
much to learn yet, of course-perhaps
eventually, 1 shall cram all that come into
my hands without waiting to see whether
they are willing to help themselves or
not-but. anyhow. l have succeeded In
saving the lives of those which display
that singular disposition to suicide by
total abstinence manifested by the large
majority of them after capture"