Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-14
lind THE SCENES WITH A SNAKE CHARMER
BY DAY ALLEN WILEY


length on the boards at is time these
were put into their box so they can go to
Sleep" An attendant rolled over wire
covered box, and the snakes were put into
it, the others following as fast as they were
dried and rubbed.
"How can l tell when they are sick?
Well, there are different ways. They move
more slowly, and their mouths are dis
colored. Sometimes the skin becomes
wrinkled and rough. If the skin is sleek
and shiny, snake is usually in pretty fair
condition, and think that rubbing is good
exercise for it. can tell by the way one
moves whether it is weak or not. Of course
rattlesnakes are not nearly SO strong in
their bodies as boas or pythons They
may bite you, it really does no harm; but
l have to look out when giving an act in
case put one round my body, as he might
take it into his head to tighten himself, and
he could crush in my ribs very easily. He is
strong enough to kill mule.
YES, l know many people think that rat
tlesnakes and Others we perform with
have their fangs drawn; but it is only oc-
casionally that this is done. 1t is not nee
essary to get drunk in case you are bitten,
and most professional snake handlers know
of an antidote that will prevent any harm.
got mine from East India, and, while I
have been bitten good many times, it has
never laid me up. In the first place, rat
tier cannot strike at you until he is in a
certain position. He must have his body
cooled so that he can throw his head far
not enough muscle in his head and neck
alone to do much. The Indians in the
Southwest know that they can pick up
wild snake in certain way and keep it
from hurting them. There is also way of
keeping it from coiling. They take a
feather and stroke it along the back. 1t
seems to affect the spine in such way that
it cannot coil, and the snake shrinks from
it. | initiate this motion with my hand. l
do not care to take any risks with new
snakes, and if | have to handle them pick
them up as the Indians do.
"Can they be trained? In sort of way
1t is natural for a snake to Irvine round
post or persons body, and this is the secret
OF the way we can pose with two or three
of them; but have their heads where can
watch the movement and grab them if one
should strike. You can take a pedestal
with two or three cross arms and hang a
snake upon it, and he will put himself nat
urally into some sort of pose, moving only
his head. Boas and pythons will pose bet
ter than the Others, as they have so much
more strength, and it is more natural for
them to coil round anything.
There is one difficult feat have tried.
1t is to coil two Of them together in such
way that the upper parts of their bodies
and heads will stick up in the air. The
only way to fix it is to twist them round
each other as you would two pieces of rope.
If they are coiled on each other, they can
support themselves straight up to height
Of two or three feet; but they do not like it
and will try to bite if they get chance.
mo, snakes do not like the cold weather.
They are very delicate, and can stand little
change. One of the best ways to keep them
from getting cold is to pour warm water
over them. Sometimes the water is too hot
and the parts of the skin that are badly
scalded peel off, leaving sore spots where they
have rubbed against the sides of the box.
Wild cOIIIFS