Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
SECRETS OF SNAKE CHARMING.
Fents which the Public Credit. Are
Only Tricks of the Trade


From the New York Times.
A few days ago there appeared in ono Of
the daily papers a wonderful story OF a
snake which was charmed by the strains OF
jew SHARP. The story was 10 the effect
tEat n countryman, meeting "A dangerous
reptile In a road, was hoIriifed at seeing
the creature prepare TO attack him. Being
an enthusiastic performer upon the Jews
harp, he Immediately struck up the tune
ST Patficks Day i'm the Morning" which
either paralyzed the serpent with asionish-
ntnt or sent series Of sentimental chilIs
down ITS undulatng vertehrae. At any rate,
il discarded all hostile Intentions and he
c" me notiunlesS, when the countryman
M rciiessly ground its head into the dust
MS - an example Of the many snake
SiCrieS' which appear constantly d, fore The
eyes of credulous humanity. II originates.
Ike all of its kind. from supprStitious
sources. Snakes are utterly devoid of any
sense Of appreciation Of music. They have
no ears, and. although they NAV distfu-
eulsh vibrations Of heavy sounds upon their
delicate scales, a voracious hungry serpent
is entirely ignorant of the presence Of n
chirping bird, providing it does not see or
scent It's prey. The familiar eN hihitious of
the East Indian falirs. during which the
deadly cobra is made to dance" to the
music OF tute, have lei many To believe
tiat tnese creatures are extremely Sens!-
i've 10 the sound of music. But exhibitions
OF TINS character are only tricks practicpd
by the clever Hindu, and the cobra in
stead of being in quiescont, charmed con-
G!Hoh' as 1t waves its body 10 aud fro. is
really in fit of intense anger
Not long ago large cobra was in the
possession of DIR. Joseph G. Thompson of
Rcsehark, 5. J.. an assistant surgeon in
the United States navy. This reptile. was
purchased by DIR. Thompson in South AZ
rca. II was then in the possession OF some
professional snake charmurs After "a had
ieit their hands Ii was made TO go through
20 sFa-R,
pdniment of the weird music Of the fakir.
The operation of making the cobra dance
Is very simple. The reptile has the char
acteriStlc habit Of clcVating the forward
part Of the body from the ground when
annoyed, spreading Its neck or hood. and
glarinE fiercely at the object Of its anger.
w men in tbs position its keen eyes watch
eagerly Tor chance to deliver deadly
hlcw, observing every movement OF the OBJ
1cct or person in front of il. If one moves
no matter how slightly, there is a corre-
spending nervous movement on the part Of
the snake. Here the entire secret Of the
sEake dance Is explained. When the Hindu
opens the snake baskets the cobras rise
ominously to their peculiar position of de-
tense He now commands the snakes 10
dance, at the same time beginning a lively
tune upon his flute and swaying his body
from side to side in time TO the music The
nervous cohras follow every motion OF the
supposed charmer, They are not dancing
To the music, but, intensely augered. are
seeking to revenge themselves upon their
human caDtOr.
The understanding act of the hesn1n
gled female with the giant boas and nv
thons at the circus is even more simple
The large snakes used in these exhibitions
are, in the first place. Of harmless nature.
Secondly, they are most inoffensiVe in their
habits. The lazy boa will lie for hours or
days, motionless in its cage, and when sud
denly awakened from long nap, is utterly
Indifferent to what IL going on around 1t
After few weeks in captivity, these huge
reptiles become very tame and seem TO
enjoy being handled by one familiar with
their movements rne chief requisites of n
snake charmer' are great ieIiberation AMI
sufficient nerve TO handle a ten-foot boa
or anaconda without the slightest hesita-
ticn. nervous movement is apt to annoy
the serpent. and cause Il to bite. while Z
treated gently and handled with movements
corresponding to its sluggish habits it
evinces the utmost good nature.
Accounts have been published Of large
snakes coiling themselves about the object
of their annoyance and demonstrating I'm
an exceedingly uncomfortable. 81 not dam
gerous, manner the power of their scaly
bodies. This characteristic is popularity
supposed to be commonly resorted to by
the boa constructor hut the idea is purely
erroneous and originates from an aversion
to the serpent race from which have sprun.
innumerable fallacies and supers.tions.