The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-21
FOUGHT A PYTHON ON DECK.
CAPT. GOLDING CHOPPED Up "a
FEET OF HIS ANIMAL CARGO.
Snake Got Into the DeckhOuse and Scared
the Other BeAsts-Teething Tiger
swapped for . Rare LeOpard-An
for the Bronx Park Collection.


The steamship Afridi, Capt. Thomas
Golding. arrived yesterday from Shanghai
and Singapore with a cargo Of teas, spices
and wild animals and the best snake story
that ever got by Quarantine.
The snake was a python, "a feet long
and a foot or more IN diameter. The
captain also brought a story of swapping
tigers with a ChiIlaman who didn't krow
whenshe had a good thing
The python was taken aboard at Singa-
pore, together with Bel gal tiger and a
lot more pets. On the second night out
from Shanghai the python knocked the
top of its box and squirmed into the tenn
porary wooden he use on the bridge deck
where most Of the animals were kept.
This WINS just after dark. The mate was
on the bridge and the animals made such
commotion that he called the captain
TO find out what was the matter, When
he unlocked the door every bird and beast
was screaming. but each seemed TO be in
its right place. As he stepped far, her
in a shaft Of moonlight showed him some
thing that looked like a coll of rope but
rustled a little. The coil frightened and
vicious head shot up from its centre. Capt.
Goldng promptly jumped through the
door of the animal house and slammed
it behind him. Then he aid the mate
held council of war. II had taken ten
men to put that python in his cage AT Sin
ga pore and while there were forty-ono
men In the crew, none Of them could be
spared.
Besides, this anlmal-carrying business
the captain explained yesterday. lis my
own personal venture. | do il for recrea-
ton and had no right 10 compel the crew
TO mix II up with the python.
he mate and | decided that we could
do the job ourselves. | knew that flash
from lantern would confuse the python
and cause II to turn the other way. So
] armed the mate with lantern and took
carpenters axe. Then we opened the
| door.
THE mate flashed the light full in his
| face and the snake dropped its head and
began TO uncoil slowly. | aimed for its
| middle and the axe went half through the
| body. But he was mighty lively python
| after that. 1t coiled again and did spring
| but shot past us through the door dragging
| the part that was almost on out into the
| deck.
Once on deck the snake dragged itself
along toward the bridge offering a fair
mark for our chopping. Al the second
blow IT coiled again, good and tight, in
spite Of the gashes In the body and back
|
light saved us again and got third whack.
| Even that didn't kill the snake. but il made
him almost helpless and | finally finished
him with two blows on the head
Although the English captain Of British
member of the New York Geological So
ciety and twice year brings rare animals
from the East for the big collection in
The Bronx. On the last trip he brought
the rhinoceros that In The RronN. He
int th.A 10.
-Four or five years ago he brought from
Singapore pair Of orang outauGs as pets
Director Hornaday Of the Geological
Society heard about it and then hunted
up Capt. Golding. He told him what they
hoped TO do in The Bronx and the captain
gave the society his orang-outangs.
The most valuabl" animal brought yNs-
terday is Manchurian leopard. the only
one in this country.
That's the beast l got by swapping
with wealthy Chinese gentleman Of Slang
hal said the captain ION the Wv up
the coast got Bengal tiger at Silgapore
II was cutting its second teeth and how ed
all night. l kept thinking that possibly
there would be chance to swap ~ Slang
hal. ] ran across Mr. Ching Chong, a
! wealthy young man with a private 2oologi.
, cal collection. He lad the NanChuriar
leopard and didn't seem TO value it. But
he thought my tiger was great So we
snapped and got a great bargain had
Peter, the leopard. is about a year old
Capt. Goldng scratches its back and pull.
its ears and the leopard seems TO like IT,
J. II the children were allowed 20 determine
the value of the beasts on the Arid the,
would give the blue ribbons 20 pair Of
Algerian donkeys. Although full grown
they are not more than three feet high
They are Of a beautiful silver gray, witt
a fine black line along the back and ovel
the shoulders
Tho collection also includes n snow whit,
animal from Kamchatka DR. Hornada,
hasn't made out vet what II is. Capt
Golding doesn't know For the want o.
a better name the Japanese who first owned
II called Il white fox.
Among the other animals on the Arid
were n japanese hear, n tapir. an anoa
II wontor lizard a bamboo rat. a small
pyti OF that II ade no trouble, a pair o
crown pigeons. a Java peacock, a loris anC
LOT NJ monkey.
A g hi on and two orang-outangs died a
sea