The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-20
SAFE HANDLING OF SNAKES
Experience and Advice ofan Expert in
the Practice

From the New York Evening Post.
Snakes are easy to handle said a man
at the snake-show holding one of the
shiny, scaly reptiles in both hands before
him. AT Lyric hall, No. 625 Sixth avenue,
an exhil lion of snakes is now going on,
and occasionally the keeper takes out one
of the harmless kind to show to the visi-
tors or to Irvine about the coat-collar of
some one who wishes to have that expert
ence.
"People have a general idea, continued
the exhibitor, that snakes are Shiny, dirty
creatures, and not fit to handle. AS a mat
ter of fact, nothing is more clean than
they are Look at this fellow" and he
held up the glistening coils in his hands.
every one of those scales is as clean as
bath tile. have handled snakes for
long time, and had them about in boxes
this way, but I have never known my
hands to be soiled by them.
Sometimes the cold weather makes them
a little lethargic. but 1t Is not that which
makes this snake lie quiet in my hands.
Any snake will be contented If you hold
him nationally and give him proper sup
port. Even the venomous kinds are likely
to remain harmless in your grasp, so long
as you hold them easily and calmly.
have seen a man hold whip-snake in one
place only around the neck, and the snake,
because ne was DelnS nunS, whipped Turl-
ously with his tail until could scarcely
see him. If the man had wrapped the
snake once or twice round his hands. and
supported the head comfortably with the
other, do not doubt that the same snake
would have been quiet in a minute.
1--WE do not make a practice of handling
the rattlers, although we sometimes have
to do so. Those two, which are two of the
biggest ever taken in Florida, came north
with cotton batting tied about their rattles,
so that the express companies would not
know what they were. There is a man
who has tanned RATHER so that he handles
him as often as he wishes fangs and all
complete. But that is risk to be avoided,
like looking down your rifie-barrel-snakes
are so quick when they do strike. I had
occasion to replace a black snake in it's
box recently, and it escaped six times be-
fore could take my hand from the box
and slam the lid.
There are several ways to handle venom
Gus snakes from distance, and If one of
the rattlers gets out. you should go at him
this way: Cut stick with the bark on IL
possible, in the shape of an ordinary golf
stick Approach the snake quietly, place
the bent end under his body Just behind the
head. and lift him gently off the ground
He will naturally curl around the stick and
then you can carry him to his box and
shake him into it. There is no danger in
this method, most of the snakes can
not strike more than three feet and a five
foot stick would put you well beyond
reach.
people come here and talk about sting
er=, as though the snakes had some mys-
terious weapon like the honey-bee or the
scorpion. Most persons think that the 1T
tie forked tongue which the snake darts out
is the deadly fang which they have heard
about. But putting out his tongue is one
of the snakes most innocent actions. You
see his bright eyes, which have no eyelids,
and consequently never shut but almost all
the other functions of the senses are per-
formed by his tongue. You can see that it
is a very delicate little tongue, and it re-
ceives most of the vibrations and sensations
which with us represent TASTE touch, hear
ing and SMELL