The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-06
CAUSED A WORLD or TROUBLE
WHEN A PROFESSIONAL SNAKE
HANDLER TRIED TO TRANS
FER HIM.
FINALLY TRAPPED IN A NET.
Showed Marvellous Strength and
Rapidity-HOw He Was
Secured.

An eAClleO Ildu with d pdlCA VI pleS-
ter on one cheek rushed into the Sun
Office yesterday and asked to see the
snake editor.
''They are having the greatest kind Of
a time down at Donald Burns animal
place on South street." the man de-
clared, trying to get a big snake into
a box. 1t is the biggest snake ever
brought to this country, and when
they tried to handle him he got away
from Burns and his men and came
near killing them"
A reporter was sent at once to see
how much of this story was true. Down
at Burns place, in South street, just
north of where the Brooklyn bridge
crosses that street, there was a large
gathering of people. The small office
part of the animal store, which is sep
arated from the rest by a big high and
strong ircn network partition, was full
of men whose interest seemed to be
concentrated upon a long and strong
new box which was in the inner room,
close to the partition.
Hes in therer' exclaimed one of the
men as the reported entered. The snake
that had caused the excitement was
evidently safely Gagged by that time, but
he was still a matter of local interest.
Donald Burns was inside of the parti..
ton with a number of his lusty assist
ants, end he was giving directions for
making a hole in one end of the box
and connecting stove with it to keep
the big snake warm.
ST hear you have been having trouble
with a snake" said the reporter.
Hush whispered Burns. 81 have
been keeping the thing quiet. How did
you hear of it? You know I don't want
it to get out that any animal, wild or
tame, ever got the better of me- 1 have
been handling animals and snakes ever
since 1 was a boy-elephants, lions,
tigers, wild cats, boas, rattlesnakes,
copperheads-and nothing ever got the
best of me before. 1t was awful. I tell
you. Look at thisi"
Mr.. Burns threw back the haAo which
held shut the lid of the smaller box
which stood beside the big new one and
opened the cover. Then he loosened
and raised an inside lid of glass which
covered the contents of the box. and
making a quick move, caught a big
snake by the neck, just back Of the
head.
Catch hold of him, boys" he cried
to his assistants, and three Of them
grasped different portions of the snake
as Burns drew it forth They stretched
it out until it's head and tail were prob
ably ten feet apart; but the snake did
not seem to like the operation, and
kept a good part of its length con-
cealed by pulling itself up in ringletted
kinks. PUT him backp' yelled Burns
The snake was perhaps six inches in
diameter at this thickest part of it's
body.
Hes pretty good-sized chap, isn't
he?" asked Burns. He's nearly twenty
feet long, but he's not marker to the
other one. You see I could handle
him"
Then Burns went over to the big
box and opened it cautiously This box
also had an inside set of lids filed in
with heavy plate glass.
There" exclaimed Burns, ''is a
snake that is a snake. He Is between
thirty and forty feet in length, weighs
around the biggest part of his body
Talk about handling him. He's the
only brute that ever got away from
Donald Burns. Look at him now"
Burns had opened the glass cover
The great python lay coiled at one end
of the box with his head resting COM
fortably upon the upper coil Of his
body. He made altogether pile about
as big around and as high as one of
the coils of hawser that are to be seen
on the decks Of a square-rigged ship.
The snakes little yellow, bead-like eyes
were alert, but he seemed not at all
anxious to move Burns advanced a
hand carefully toward the snakes
head, and suddenly darted it forward
and closed his powerful fingers about
the snakes head
The neck is slender compared with
the rest Of the body, but still it makes
a big handful. The moment the fingers
closed the snake began to stretch out
Its he@d, and it became APPARENT that
even a powerful man like Burns could
not hold it, Burns suddenly released
his hold. The snake poked out it's
forked tongue once or twice, and then
returned to It's former position
"He has been fed since we had the
tussIe with him." said Burns, cor I
couldn't even do that much with him.
I fed him a yearling calf and he swaI-
lowed it whole, after crushing every
bone in it's body. He is a rock python
from Southern Java. He was caught
in trap on May Ia and came here in
q trap. I am sorry that 1 let the Ital-
fans carry off the trap and break 1t
up. It was a curiosity in itself. 1t was
made of teak wood and bamboo. At
one side was a hole, and this had pieces
of pointed bamboo running in from
it like the wires in our rat traps. The
natives in Java put q goat into the
box for bait, and the snake went
through the hole after the goat. When
he got in he couldn't get out. He was
never taken out of the trap until /
took him out. He was sent to Singa-
pore, where my agent bought him, and
he was sent to me on the ship Ben
Ben--something or other. She got in
on Thursday at the foot of Market
street. They brought the trap down
here on a truck, and I got ten long
shoremen to help get it into the shop
and take the snake out. We took the
trap into the front part of the store,
behind the partition, and put it beside
the new box where the snake is now.
II opened the box and caught the
big fellow by the neck. Everybody