Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1900-11-08

Engineers account of m. Wonderful
Python and Monkeys Asleep ON
the Steamship IndravelIi. 2'T
New York Times.)

: .., (New York Times.)
Chief Engineer John DreR. Of the
British steamship Indravell, which ar
rived here from Singapore on Satur-
day. has a penchant for snakes, mon
keys, and wild animals generally. and.
according to his own account. must
have transformed that, vessel into q
verHables menagerie. No land-lubber as
yet has been permitted to see them.
but If the privilege was denied to those
whose c-rfosity' ir--peiled them to board
the InG2 avelli y-cst sz'day, 1t was for the
good and sufficient reason, advanced
with much urbanity by Engineer Drew,
that they were asleep.
The collection, Mr.. Drew says, In
cludes a python twenty-six feet long;
three taflless black IaYanese monkeys
which he has. named Mckinley, Bryan,
and Irishman; twenty-three other men-
keys, with tails but minus cognorne en- :,
ten squirrels, and Japanese poodle
1.-THE python" said he. yesterday lis
a wonder. and ! believe he IL the isrg-
est in captivity. Hs is from the jungles
Of the Straits settlements, and had only
been prisoner for three weeks when
secured him. He hasn't given me bit
of trouble. He's be-a asleep all the way
from Singapore to New York, ,except for
a few minutes on one or two nights,
when he reused himself sufficiently to
swallow some chickens, q duck, and a
rabbit. He swallows them alive. and
they go down very slowly, and the men
who have watched him say that 1t
takes two or three days for the food to
reach his digestive organs. He's SO
long, you know. He caught cold on deck
one day and lost his color, besides sufr
fenng from cataracts over his eyes as
a result of the. exposure, but few
days in the engine room fixed him up
all right. He is green, red, blue. white,
and several other colors. He Is really a
beautiful reptile. / wish You could see
him. ,-- ...--.... ...-.-~. -...-. g.. -.-
The monkeys, though, are the cream
Of the lot. They are all from Java, and
lively times on one or two occasions
have we had with them. If 1t hadn't
been for Irishman 1 don't know what
might have happened. Irishman IS the
funniest looking monkey that ever
lived, and at the same time the smart
est He is cross-eyed and some of the
men say that when he becomes sad or
homesick the tears instead of crossing
down his cheeks run down his back, but
he is all right, nevertheless. He's on
guard duty now or I'd bring him up.
His companions, you know, are wild as
yet, and his duty consists in looking
after them and seeing that none OF
them gets into mischief. He has great
respect for the Captain. Whenever he
happens to pass his way Irishman, like
q 'weH-drilled soldier, Immediately
stands at attention, and when the Cap
tain gets abreast he salutes him with
military precision. No member of the
Scots Guards could do the act better.
Mckinley and Bryan are fine monkeys,
too, being over four feet in height.
"One day when we were about SIX
days out Of Singapore the bottom of the
monkey cage fell out, and we had a
lively time. They climbed up into the
rigging, invaded the officers and men S
quarters, and for many hours every
body was climbing, running, and jump
ing trying to recapture them. One fell
into the funnel and was cremated, an
other got mixed up in a steam-pipe and
was scalded~to death, while two others
Jumped overheard. They were a vicious
lot, and many a scar was left on the
ships company as result Of the jail
breaking. Fortunately a monkeys bite
Is not dangerous or this story might
never have been told.
"As to the squirrels, they are Orient
al in species, and in color and size, and
length of tail, most beautiful; the poo
die is like all other pOOdles, except that
he's Japanese. An Orang-outang was
also among the original collection, but
he died a few days out of Colombo"