The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-06-30
A FIathead Viper Comes Out
VictoriOu II a Fight With
Ted's Tomeat,
CLUBS And ASSEGlIS A la ZULU.
How He Gave His Teacher Mysteries.
Fate of the Haysnake That
Bit Him.

are met with often nowadays, but this
boy belongs in class ali by himself. His
name is Ted Finn and he lives on the
corner OF Shattuck avenue and Gilman
street in North Berkeley. That the town
has ever been BILE to hold him at all is
something note worthy.
Only Il years old, never drank anything
that intoxicates, and yet has had snakes
bushels of them, from The harmless little
garter snake with its rudimentary teeth
10 the huge king snake and the venomous-
tanged RATHER. That description fits the
lad exactly. lie has been the bette noir
OF his teachers existence, and If that
counts for anything, will be heard Of one
OF these days as a great naturalist. When
the boy was -eciting a lesson and a snake
would suddenly thrust its head out of his
pocket and coil round his arm the girls
would almost 90 into commissions, but in
time they got used to that.
The boy has had a mania for snakes
ever since he was able to toddIe about
His parents have eXpostulated with him
IN vain, and IL was not until the other
day, when one OF his king snakes wound
Itself round his wrist and com pressed it
TIL 1t was black and blue, that he was
forced to sell the whole lot of them to a
Sutter-stTeet ke-fancier for the sum of
81. He Immediately expended the money
Ior large bowie knife and q scabbard.
All MS love is q t present centered on that
wicked looking knife.
The boy is really a wonder. Not only
has he penchant iorithe shiny rep tiles
from which most people recoll in horror
and disgust but he is also a collector of
every Queer bird and small animal to be
found within a radius of miles. He is
also a hypnotjst, and finds his subjects in
The owls be is able to capture in
the holes OF trees at great danger to life
and limb. He has q bicycle, three or four
guns and a collection of warclubs that
would make the face OF an African war.
rior turn livid with envy.
come up he said yesterday, land I'll
show you al my pets. I've got some
things up there that Will surprise you.
used 10 have some gOphers and rabbits
and white owls and lot of other things,
but the cat ate most OF them.
MY rattlesnake did funny thing one
day. He laid an egg. Did you ever hear
CT any thing like that before? l never did
but l know IL is so, because l had that
snake where not even fly could get in o
save his life, anu one morning l went
there and found the egg. 1t had a soft
shell.
Il took one of my gopher snakes up to
the school where l go-the Whittier
Grammar SchOOl-anu had him wound
about my neck, when Miss Barrows-
that's the teacher-she said to me, Teddy,
give me that thing you've got around
your neck. You see, said the boy, with
a hearty laugh, 'she thought it was one OF
the girl ribbons, but when l uncoiled
that snakC and laid it in her hand I
thought she was going to faint When l
saw that she wasn't going to l concluded
that the best thing l could 90 was to get
out OF there, and did it in about three
seconds"
BY this time the boy had reached his
home and went round in the back yard
whore he keeps his pets in q glass cage. on
three sides Of which he has superim posed
q layer of woodwork. The cage is con.
structed in an ingenious manner, with
number of little apertures and dark
cOverts.
Now, watch here minute" said Ted.
and placing his cap over his hand he
reached back into a shady hole and drew
form large boot owl. "Ain't he a fine
fellow?' this with an admiring survey of
the owl. / call him Trilby because l can
hypnotic him"
Setting the owl down on the inner edge
of the box, the boy leaned ov, and gazed
q him steadily. The owl blinked at the
sJrOng light moment, then gaZed stead
lily in return and suddenly fell over back
ward. Ted placed him back in his hole.
"How's that for high?' he queried
trium phantly. I've got another little
fellow in there. Here be is FISHING q wee
horned owl from some mysterious recess)
II s a good-natured little cuss, but l can't
hypnotic him yet, because he amt got
old enough TO have good sense.
81 used TO have fat-headed viper that
was poisonous, and he would bite every
body but my chum, Ross Cooper, and me.
Well, one day l put my big cat in the
cage with him, and tie snake got so mad
he just swelled up like a balloon and shook
has tail Ike fun, and when the cat made
sneak for him l aw there was going TO be
some fun, and said: BE careful, Tom
you're going up against a regular Fitz-
simmons But Tom didn't get his dukes
Nd IN time, and when he went for the
snake, with his hair straight up, the snake
bit b m in the ear. My that cat lust
went into convuIsions on the spot he was
so scared. poured castor oil and lot of
things down him and he got well, but the
scar IS on his ear 10 this day. II l take
h. m near the cage now be nearly has a
tit"
Here he called for the cat. Tommy
Tommy |" and big, gray tomcat of the
species classified as midnight warbler
came bound ing from behind a box. Pick
ing the animal up, the boy began to stroke
him, and he purred, but when the youth
started to carry him toward the cage the
cat began to kick and squat, and finally
sprang TO the ground and disappeared
under the house with every hair on his
back In perpendicular position.
81 used to have white rats. and rabbits.
and turtles. and gophers, and lots OF other
things, but my bloomin' cat got away with
every one mat didn't get away itself. |
That cat eats so many things that his liver
lis nearly always out of order, and have |
ITO dose him all the time"
b Quiet and unassuming as the little fellow
az, and attentive as he is to all his pets. |
there is streak Of the savage in mis- ma. |
eure. He revealed that fact himself whiIa |
artlessly prattling away about how he |
managed to capture his owls.
Il had hay snake once" he said. "one /
of these fellows with blunt tails, bnt ons |
day tried TO open his mouth and he biz |