The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-08-28

fire died out OF the eyes of the cobra an
the vri2siinc body hung linn and still.
What was il? An incantatiun? Mesnler-
ism? Vino knows the secret of the stralS,
power over the serpent Kingdom which
lies in tne unfatiomabie eyes o. the Fin
doc:
1t was irexp!:cable. but the effec,
was plainly apparent and the imp bod:
which g moment before had been foui
f,,t of concentrated murder vas MACE
on III" floor. ~ DoS.ri"ss for harm % tis
toy snake which the :akirs sell along
the curb on Surf avenue.
And no% he banded it rs careless'v Is
if it were 4 piece uf rome. inspecting i,
thoroughly and giving little exclamation
II pleasure as he Doih. ed out tine perfect
markings ul the hack of the hood wheel
proved the value Of the specimen.
His two assistants. members Of Il lowe
caste. came Close TO him. now that the
cobra was harmless. and a few words u
the soft native dialect sent them off on
crranHs. one Of them soon returned
brinGins n bright coiored clotn bag. from
which Er2ndu drew a curious assortment
of the tools OF his trade.
Tiny silver boxes. as dainty "a thos.
which g.ace my ladv's dressing table ard
bearing the likeness Of serpents ard
ilaSeolat which looked "a If its polished
s~ur:dc" had been fingered by generations
Of snake ch1rr."rs. and many little par
GELS wrapped in bright colored hits OF silk
Ono OF them he opened and took out a
tube % bamboo with Il tunnel shaped end.
He polished il, breathing on it and rIb-
| pI'lp II ErlsRlt NltE Il sliN ne rlEPfCQlf1
TEMPTING THE APPETITE
When he removed the cover OF one OF
the silver boxes a pungent perfume red
olent OF the spices of the East came from
it. and taking a small portion OF the dark
colored paste which the box contained he
carefully anointed the smaller portion OF
the tube and the lips of the cobra. The
other HindoG had brought two eggs. which
Brandu broke into a glass and mixed thor
oughly with an aromatic gray powder
taken from another box.
a bird which can sing and won't sing
must be made to sing: a cobra which can
eat and won't eat must be made to cat;
and this Brandu demonstrated by Selling
the snake, slipping the tube in its throat
and pouring the Hindoo eggnog through II.
A simple proceeding this feeding Il cobra
when one knows how. but how many gen.
erations has 1t taken TO produce and
transmit the wonderful accuracy of touch.
the marvellous accuracy of hand and eve
which enables the snake charmer to rec
ognize the psychological moment and to
seize the snake at a disadvantage.
And then the strange power which al
most instantly converts the coiling mass
OF wickedness into something as
and inert as a wet dish cloth! Perhaps
one might learn It. might acquire the art
by many years of practice: but a single
mistake would be fatal. and the chances
Of living beyond the apprenticeship you'd
Mary other reptiles has Brandu under
his charge.
II they were placed in a straight line
they would be almost as long as his
name. Rattlers and copperheads. ana
condas and boa constructors. pythons and
karits. tiny snakes which kill their prey
with their venom and huge monsters
wh oh S"pcnd upon the crushing power of
their thick coIled bodies.
lie VIII DISCOURSE le4rHsdlv IN his quaint
broken Elgiish upon the Distinguishing
shape of a serpent's head. which indicates
whether 1t is venomous or not. but most
men are apt TO forget the teaching when
they get close TO them.
All. Sahib, my snakes be vayree good
snakes: they eat aimee time. aimee place.
he says. proudly. and to prove il the two
lesser Hindoos bring out q huge boy. He
unlocks II. raises the cover and lifts out
yards and yards OF snakes and places
them on Il carpet.
They wriggle about and crawl over one
IL they were stuffed. Poisonous: No;
these are the constructors. relatives OF Kaa
.the Mighty. They seem mildly curious.
dozen rabbits and puts them near them
there is something doing"
RAPIDLY APPROACH RABBIT.
Rapidly each one approaches a rabbit.
and the little furry beasts do not seem
alarmed. but sniff curiously at the fiat
noses placed against theirs.
Some of the snakes are Indifferent. but
one huge fellow has selected the largest
rabbit. and thei- faces are close together.
The rcd forked tongue of the serpent
darts in and out OF the great mouth.
tickling the rabbits nose 90 that It raises
its little forepaws 10 rub 1t.
Slowly. but surely. II yie1de TO the fas-
ciEation Of the snake. the large. trans
parent ears drop to tho side Of the head
and II crouciss lower and lower. The
quickly moving ong passes rapidly over
Its face and the snake confidently backs
away until the coil Of his body gives the
leverage which he desires.
distance accurately Judged and something
81 yots through the air which would put
the speed OF a lightning fash to Shame.
II is difficult to see what happens. and
probably the rabbit never knows. for the
little fu0y body describes a circle in the
air. and all that IS to be seen Is one small
paw. which, sticks out from the closely
The Jaws Of tho serpent have seized it
by the snout and thrown it back into It's
body. which wraps about IT TO crush II.
great coils loosen. and t%lerabbit. which is
now but a mass OF pulp within the skin.
Hes ready for ingestion and soon disap- |
pears.
All eyes have been fixed upon the big |
show: but stimulated by the example of
their larger brother the small fry have
grown hungry and the rabbits are being !
struck or embraced all over |
the carpet.
The procedure 1. the same in each case: |
every one of the 'vayree good snakes" is
Di "a INK w rhtt-l hlC dkS VI uIIEt 4
and no rabbit escapes.
The serpents do not swallow them: they
pull themselves over their prey as q glove
IL pulled over the finger.
The diameter of the snakes neck seems
smaller than that OF the animal to be
swallowed. but after the last bit Of the
rabbit d,sarDears in the snakes mouth
there is a sudden bulaing. and one can dis |
tinguish the progress of the rabbit to its
stomach by watching the movement OF the
body.
NOT FED IN PUBLIC.
Living animals cannot be fed TO snakes
In public; the society with the long name |
forbids it. But cruel as this rabbit mas
sacre seems when described. It is doubtful
II they suffer.
The domestic rabbit is certainly not
frightened, for it hops about among the
snakes as unconcernedly as If it were IN
n cabbage Patch. The actual killing is the |
of a fraction of a second. and from
the mesIneric condition they are in. |
whether produced by the eyes or some |
peculiar anaesthetic quality of the snakes |
they are practically unconscious |
when they arc struck. |
Do we realize when We squeeze the |
lemon over a crisp soft shell crab that the |
cook has plunged it alive into boiling fat? |
We scrupic to order a brOiled I've lob |
ster?
Thousands of wounded Wild abbits es-
cape from the hunters guns to die lin
gcring deaths in the bushes: innumcrable ,
birds elude the k~een-nosed re- |
trievers ana starve from their helpless !
ness. but We eat hare and quail on toast |
without interference If they be IN season.
So long as animals are kept in captivity
must be fed. and the blow of the |
AZ. the bullet from the hunters
gun. or the pull of the fisherman's line
H. 80. aUaZ1r. a~ -~1S-sf, I