The Press., 1913-04-16
A PYTHON
Fearful Plight of a Man Trapped
 In the Big Snakes Den.
EXCITING BATTLE FOR LIFE.
PIueky and Successful Struggle to Es- cape the Embrace of the Writhing Monster, Which Would Have Crush cd It's Victim Like an Egsshell. '

cape the Embrace of the Writhin9
 Monster, Which Would Have Crush
 cd It's Victim Like an EgeshslI.
 Few men after having been roughly squeezed by python have lived to tell of their sensations while in the em- brace of the big snake. An English man employed in the London zoologt- cal gardens was. however. one of the fortunate few.
 The Rritisher while in Antwerp vts- ited the Jardin ZoologiQue. where he observed that big python-a female about fourteen feet in length-was sui fering from carries of the jaw. with ul- ceration of the mucous membrane, condition often fatal to snakes in con fnement.
 Having pointed this out to the resi- dent director. the Englishman obtained permission to make trial of an Oint- ment that he had found eff1caciOus in the early stage of the disease among his own snakes.
 Now, as i'll luck would have 1t. the regular keeper was absent on this par ticular occasion. and his place was tiIl- ed for the time by another from some other department of the institution. This man spoke nothing but Flemish. a tongue of which the BritOn was ig- norant
 The Englishman went into the py- thon's den with this attendant, taking 1t for granted, of course, that the man was accustomed to snakes and hand R1R oR 1R~ ko til the RritOn should be ready to use it.
 When the Englishman had brought the python fairly down to the floor he gripped her hard by the neck, which action had the effect, as he intended 1t to Nave and which 1t always has with snakes, of making her open her mouth While holding her thus he pressed her head away from him at the same time to prevent her catching hold of any portion of his clothing in her efforts to overcome him.
 In her fright and rage she drew her body up across the Britisher's back and twisted her tail round and round his other arm. All that the Englishman now required of the keeper was, by teasing or pinching her here and there or by unwinding the tail when necessa- ry. to cause her to shift her coils con- stantly and prevent her resting long enough on one spot to apply undue pressure.
 The Englishman turned to make a sign to the Fleming to be ready to hand him the ointment. To the foreigners dismay the Fleming's face, with a sort of full, impartial interest, looked at him through the glass in front, the door closed on the outside! He had become frightened by the python and had quiet Iy departed.
 At the same instant that the British CT turned the serpent frightened on him so suddenly and violently that he mo- mentarily lost consciousness. Then he found himself staggering about the den fighting for life. He expected his ribs to give way every moment, yet his chief fear at the time was of falling through the glass.
 He pushed the reptiles head away from him with all his strength lest it should cross his breast, and he can re- member catching sight of himself, a mulberry colored figure. in the mirror. All the time that he fought he knew that he was trampling over the other pythons. who. furious at the disturb ance. were now darting about the den. above and all around him in every di rectiOn.
 The Britisher exerted every energy to keep his feet. for he had retained suf- ticient presence of mind to realize that were he to go down all would be over with him. The heat was stihing. He felt that he could endure 1t no longer ~ The cage spun madly round before his eyes, and he let go the snakes head.
 The big serpent now twisted sharply over his right shoulder close to his face and slid off to the ground.
 The EngIishman remembers falling. against the door with outstretched hands, but nothing more until he found himself sitting on the steps outside coughing violently, while the phleg- matic keeper was for some occult req son putting hot key down his back
 Fortunately the snake had only a small part of her body across the Eng lishman's left side and back Had she encircled him with a complete coil he would have been crushed like an egg shell.-Harper's Weekly. :