St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-03-01
FoNDL1NG SNAKES.
diamond Rattlerr Are Said to Make
Good Pets When Handled
Properly.

| "Oh! Arent L0ey uaIlluBs! NdJ
hold them a moment? I should just
love to; they are SO cute"
The speaker was d comely, matronly
looking woman, well, though some
what SLOWLY, dressed. She was one
of q motley crowd that stood before
an exhibition platform in dime mu-
scum. On the platform sat garisi'
young woman, who, on the show bills,
was 1.-THE peerless Circassian beauty.
She wore very short skirts, as real
Circassian beauties always do, and her
high-heeled satin slippers and crimson
silken bose were undoubtedly inn
ported from the wilds of Circassia.
Her hair stood up in great mass,
like the boil of a ripened dandelion.
It was probably a wig, but it was the
orthodox style of beauty for the dime
museum "Circash, says the New York
Sun.
At the feet of the beauty lay the
''darlings'' which had evoked the wom-
an visitors admiring exclamation.
They were not babies, but pair OF
big diamond-backedr attlers, the dead
lest of the rattlesnake tribe. Safely
Gagged in den of wire and glass, they
could do no harm, but at each of the
hourly exhibitions given in the mu-
scum the Circassian beauty would take
the venomous reptiles from their den,
fondle them and, as the museum
patrons expressed it, "do stunts" with
them. The beauty looked somewhat
suspiciously at the woman who had
made the request.
Don't" she exclaimed. They're
the most poisonous of all snakes and
their bite means almost certain death.
The managers would not allow you to
touch them and it might cost you your
life"
"Huh! I amt afraid" was the re-
ply. II was in the business before
you was born and handled snakes that
was deal trickier than rattlers. Wa
ter moccasins, black and putt adders
and venomous reptiles from all parts
of the world. Once" she added proud
~, II owned a cobra" The woman on
the platform incontinently surren-
dered and allowed the visitor to take
her pets, which the stranger fondled
as fond mother would baby.
| 100 wouldn't hurt mamma, would
oo?" she cooed as the ugly, fiat head
of the rattler lay against her cheek.
The snake darted out its forked
tongue, but it did not spring it's rat
ties. The glitter of its beady eyes
showed that it was fully conscious OF
what was taking place, but it evidently
enjoyed being caressed by the veteran.
"Even the most venomous snakes are
harmless as long as they are treat
ed right" said the woman. "They love
to be petted and stroked, just as a cat
does. If they are tormented, they are
likely to strike. Rattlers are the east
est of all snakes to handle, for they
won't bite without giving warning.
Nearly always they will coil for a
strike, and invariably they will spring
their rattles.
II was in the business nearly Is
years. In that time was bitten more
than a score of times, but it was al.
ways because of my own carelessness.
always kept antidotes at hand and
never suffered from bite more than
most persons would from the sting of
a bee. Snakes have always been one
of the best cards in museums and side
shows. In nine cases out of ten the
reptiles are handled by women. The
act proves more attractive to the pub
lie than when they are handled by men.
Besides, women take to snakes more
readily than men. Perhaps they in
herited that from old Mother Eve, "
and the speaker laughed at the sug-
gestion.