The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-02
SAFE HANDLING OF SNAKES.
Experience and Advice Of an Expert
In the Practice.

Snakes are easy 70 handle" said man
a. the snake show. holding one OF the shiny,
scaiy reptiles In both hands before him. At
Lyric hall No. Go Sixth avenue. an exhi-
biiion Of snakes IS now going on, and oc-
CaSionally the keeper takes out one OF the
harmless kind 10 show to the visitors or 10
Irvine about the coat collar of soma one who
wishes To- have that experience.
People have general idea" continued
the exhibitor. Chat snakes are siiny, dirty
creatures and not fit 10 handle. AS 4
matter u fact. nothing Is more clean than
trey are. Look at this fellow" and he
held up the glistening coils in his hands.
Every ore o. those scales Is az clean as A
bath tile. l have handled snakes for a long
time aud had them about In boxes his
way. bat have never known my hands TO
be s3ilcd by than.
Sometimes the cold weather makes them
a little IethSrsic, but II is not that which
makes this snake lie quiet In my hands
Any snake VIII he contented II YOU hold
him nationally ana give him proper sup
port. Even the veHCmous kinds are likely
~ remain harmless in your grasp. 81 long
as you hold them easily and calmly. have
seen ~ msa hold Il whip snake in one place
only around the neck. and the snake.
because he was being hung. whipped furi-
ously with his tall until could scarcely
see him. II the man hal wrapped the
snake once or twice around his hands ana
supported the head comfortably with the
other. DO not doubt that the same snake
would have been quiet IN a minute.
We 30 not make practice % handling
the rattlers, although we sometimes have
t. do so Those two. which are two of me
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 IL a man who
has tanned a RATHER - that he handles him
rs often as ne wishes. fangs and al COM
riete. But that is a risk 20 re avoided,
like looking down your rife tarrel-snakes
are ao quick when they 10 strike. I hai
occasion 10 replace black snake Fl lis
bcx recently and Il escaped six times besY
| caulA take my hand from the box aui
slam the Id
There are everai ways 10 handle ven
omous ST axes from a distance ard IL oue
- he rat:lers gets Ont you shouif & a.
him this way: CT a stick with the hayk
tr T. possible in RE shape - an ordinary
ro,t Stick Approach the snake guietiy.
place TIE bent en1 under ria holy Just
behind the head ana ~. him gently of me
ground He VIII naturally curt around the
stick and then you car carry him - his
box and shake him into II. There IS ~
larger f3 his method rs most 4 the
snakes canuo, strike more than three fec'
aud & fre-F3o- stick would pax sou well
beyond hls reach
People cone here and talk about sting
ers' a. though the snakes RAD some u1va-
FERROUS xeau.cr IKE the houcY bee ~ ne
e~arnfor Ms. persons thtnk .bat tre iiitIe
t5-kef t.rgfse N,lCh tie snake 1arta ouf
81 TIE deadly faug which they have heard
about T3u. pG;tiaE agt - tongue b ore
- the snakes most :ano est actions. Yoa
see als bright eyes which have 70 eyelias.
ana rtnse 1;tertfY never Aagt, hus aln1c<T
All 'ae ether functions = he san@ss a-e
performed by his tongue YOU car see :hat
T. Is a v4-v 9aNra.e li'tte tongue an H
receives rnast ~ the s;hTa,'71s sus sensa-
sons svnseh ~l.h a. repra~sn. 'asfe. touch
hearing ana smelling New York Post.