St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-07-29
BAT TEE WITH HUGE
PYTHON IN A STORE
DEADLY CONFLICT AMID BIRDS
AND ANIMALS.
ZIG SNAKE SEEKS A MEAL
Escapes from Cage at Midnight and
Proprietor and Animal Keeper
Have hard Fight Return
ing It 20 Its Den.

Chicago.-Amid a discoYdant choru:
OF screeching monkeys, shrieking par
rots, frightened canaries, squealins
guinea pigs and chattering song birds
IN the semi-darkness of single ligh1
at midnight in the bird store of e. C.
Vehle, on State street, the proprietor
and Cy De Vry, animal keeper at Lin
coin park, battled three-quarters of ar
hour with two giant pythons, in mo.
mentary danger of being crushed tc
death by the ferocious reptiles.
It was as weird fight as ever took
place in Chicago and ended fortunate
~ for the two men, who succeeded in
getting the snakes back into their den
and found themselves uninjured. Then
1t was discovered that the larger of the
two pythons had swallowed two valu-
able ringtail monkeys and had killed
II Java sparrows.
The two reptiles, one 10 feet long
and the other 16 feet in length, and
each as large Of girth as a stovepipe,
were received from the Philadelphia
house of the Vehle concern early in
the week. They were part of a recent
importation Of reptiles from India.
The snakes were confined in a strong
box, five feet square and two feet high,
covered with wire netting. When the
store was closed at night the lid
was left open SO that the reptiles could
get air, the only bar to their getting
out being the net, the frame of which
could easily be displaced.
Mr.. Vehle and his wife went to a
theater and after the performance
went past the store to see whether ev-
erything was all right, for in the place
there are nearly 1900 birds and other
small animals. AS Mr.. Vehle and his
wife neared the store they heard ter
rife commotion, in which every one of
the, 1000 little tenants of the cages
seemed to be taking part.
Mr.. Vehle glanced through the win
dow and in the dim light could see two
great squirming forms threshing and
here and there across the
floor. A veritable inferno it was, with
thousands of voices sounding terror
and panic. Mr.. Vehle realizing that
the big snakes had escaped, quickly
unlocked the door, telling his wife to
wait outside. When he entered the
smaller of the pythons was just making
Tor cage of monkeys that had been
knocked Off a balcony, and he grasped
he reptile.
With quick movement the snake
,ried to form coil around his legs,
out he prevented it by jumping to one
side, not loosing his hold on the
snakes neck. Dragging and lifting,
he python the while squirming and
seeking to get its huge form around |
lin, Vehle fought toward the box, the
let cover of which lay on the floor.
Mrs. Vehle outside>could see the bat
lie, and in fear watched the struggle !
# her husband, He shouted to her to
telephone to Cy De Vry at Lincoln
ark to come down Immediately, and
he ran to phone near by.
Meanwhile Mr.. Vehle was struggling I
With the python, only a few feet away
rom its den. A great cage Of Java
irds that had been knocked off high
helf by the snakes lay on the floor.
nd cage Of ringtail monkeys also
ay near by, one side of it broken open
nd the two animals missing. The
and cries of the birds and
aonkeys continued. and above the +