The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-13
WINDING UP SNAKES IN INDIA. |
How They Are Made Harmless and
Helpless Aitnr Being Capturcd.

"VhoSSiieS are always IN need oil
SNAKES, and as India abounds in these
reptiies, perhaps to a greater extent
than any other country in the world,
10 indla go the managers when their
STOCKS begin to run low. Snake hunt
ing III lndla unless one understands
the trade, Is a perilous business, for a
larger percentage of the Indian SER
pents are poisonous than in any other
part or the globe, and even a Hindoo
has no desire to die of snake-bite, nor
within the cushing folds of constric
tor Besides. however, the demands
from the menageries, the Indian gov
eminent pays a bounty on snake heads,
so there is a double incentive to In
dian snake hunters, and when there
are sufiicient orders on hand from the
menageries a hunt is organized.
Preparations are made by ascertain
ing from the natives a promising snake
district, which is usually a tract of
jungle with thick bamboo or grass
underground. In such lands snakes
are found by thousands. and, after a
promising patch is discovered, a be-
ginning is made by clearing or purn-
ing the underground from a strip en-
tife!y encircling the snake farm; the n
cleared on one side, and there is To-
Gated the snake trap, a netting extend
ed for 200 or 300 yards on each side of
the cleared tract. its wings gradually
contracting to lead the reptiles into a
cul de sac, from which there is no es-
cape. Several hundred natives are as
sembled, and on a day when the wind
is from the right quarter they surround
nI
signal, set fire to the jungle. After
the fire has fairly started the natives
are called behind the netting, as there
Is no need of their services on the 9TH
er sides. for every snake tenant of the
bush flees in the same direction toward
the fatal netting.
Behind 1t stand rows of men, armed
with clubs and sticks, ready to give
their snakeships a lively reception. As
the fire approaches the netting the
snakes come in crowds, by hundreds
sometimes by thousands. At the wings
the men are concentrated, with their
clubs. ready to kill those attempting
to escape, and as the main body of
the reptiles approaches the netting, the
wings are push d forward toward each
other, the stakes supporting the net
and the snakes are inclosed But
snakes can climb almost as well as
monkeys, and so the men at the wings
are kept busy killing those that en-
deavor to escape over the ropes. At
the cul de sac the netting extends
above as well as on the sides, and
the larger portion of the reptiles are
finally concentrated within this inclos-
no ic %
animation. for the snakes are of all
sizes, some of the venomous reptiles
of India not being more than six or
eight inches in length, and, as their
movements are very quick. the bare
footed beaters are kept lodging about
in a manner at once grotesque and
amusing, their anxiety to escape the
small serpents that go through the net
ting like a flash being even greater
than their eagerness to kill as many
snakes IS possible and thus receive a
larger share of the government boun-
ty. No snake is permitted to escape,
and after all the smaller reptiles which
can work their way through the
meshes of the net have been killed. at
tention is turned to the larger which
remain.
are loops which can be united and
then refastened and, after the slaugh-
ter of the little snakes has been fin
ished. the work of capturing the most
promising specimens begins. The sup
erintendent points at an anaconda that
will bring a good price, and, as the
animal thursts it's head against the
netting in frutless efforts to escape,
CT nj Npira h. IL
introduced the snake is lassoed imme-
diately back of the head, the wire is
tightened, and the future occupant of
a menagerie cage, Kissing and writh-
ing. is dragged through and seized by
dozen natives at once. Bundles of
bamboo, cut into proper lengths, have
already been prepared, three or four
men straighten the snake and lay him
on bamboo, sometimes placing three
or four smaller splnts around him,
and then lashing him securely down
with bamboo withes every inch of his
length. Generally the lashing is found
to be sufficient, and only when the SER
pent is very large and powerful are
the extra bamboos tied around him for
fear he might break the stick to which
he is fastened. This operation is not
carried on without an immense amount
of protest from the snake, which Kisses
in the most terrifying manner and
wriggles wildly in an effort to escape.
But Kissing and wriggling are all in
vain; the Hindpos lash him down, fin
ishing the operation by forcing his up
per jaw upon the lower and trying the
two together to the stick in such a
way that he cannot even hiss. After
all the best specimens have been Sc
lected and tied. the remainder are
killed, beheaded and the heads sent
to the nearest government station for
the bounty, and the captives are load
ed into carts for transportation to Bonn
bay, where they are disposed of to the
UNnrnnaan