Evening star., 1937-11-07
Smithsonian Personnel
ShOne in Science
Dinner in Honor of Member
Attracts Group Which
Has Unique Quality.

In the early days Of his connection
with the institution DR.. Stejneger
was assistant curator OF birds and
later became curator of reptiles, a
position formerly held by DR.. H. c.
Yarrow, as honorary curator. and
who had assisting him young man,
named Eddie Rheem, who had time,
when not too busily engrossed In his
work. to play tricks on some Of the
colored laborers in the building, one
of which might have turned out
quite seriously, and which did turn
out badly, to say the least.
1t happened in this way, so the
story goes: A certain colored helper.
named Chase. who had the habit
OF occasionally drinking too much,
was given by young Rheem upon one
occasion some alcohol out Of a snake
jar that had become discolored and
looked like whisky. The result was
that Chase soon had a case of jim-
jams and had to be taken home In
Joe Mace's wagon.
THIS snake department was q very
interesting place at this time
and even earlier, and some time be-
tween the years 1877 and 1880 none
other than the present editor of The
Star, Theodore w. Noyes, when per-
forming his duty as young reporter.
saw a number of things there which
he later pleasantly related at a Star
Club meeting, about 1898, upon which
occasion he said:
I have been racking my memory
to recollect, if possible, some assign
ment the story of which will crafty
the combative instinct (of my audi
ence IN the club. For man is a COM
bative, pugnacious animal. His fists
double naturally in infancy. And later
in life, next to contending himself,
he delights to see or to hear of the
contentious OF others.
THE nearest approach to a salts
factory response to this appeal which
my memory makes is the suggestion
of my description of a snake fight,
which made me the founder OF the
National Geological Park. AS long as
half the cost and maintenance Of this
park are saddled upon the District,
and nothing but local unpopularity
is to be gained by shouldering any
share Of responsibility for its exist
ence. I am extremely reticent upon
the latter phase of the subject, 80 far
as public utterances are concerned.
But 1t may be advisable to put the
facts OF my claim on record among
newspaper men, who will keep it Sc
cret until the matter now given to
them in confidence is released for pub
llcation. 1t all happened in this wise:
Il had written long, appreciative
chapter about the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition, which tickled almost everybody
connected with it, and had the free
dom of the whole establishment, and
ransacked the building and its annex
for items. A. Zeno Shindler was then
engaged in perfecting a plan of pro-
ducing accurate colored casts Of rep
tiles. Instead Of sketching the fading
colors OF a bottled specimen and cast
ing from the dead reptile. he pictured
the living snake in all its beauty, then
had cast made of the chloroformed
snake, and finally colored the cast in
exact imitation of the original, using
his sketch in colors or his revived
snakeship as the color model.
"ONCE a huge rattlesnake, being
imperfectly chloroformed for the
casting operation, revived In the
casters hand, and for q while was
monarch of all he surveyed in the
hastily vacated room. There were Or
dinarily number of snakes on hand,
waiting to have their casts taken, or
having successfully undergone the or
deal. They were kept in a basement
room under the Smithsonian, to which
the public had not access. The non-
poisonous were separated from the
poisonous varieties. and certain of the
employees, aided and abetted by my
self, were accustomed to make the
former fight. After a little expert
ence We handled them by the back
of the neck without difficulty or dan
ger. I was so much interested in one
battle fought by rounds, with human
seconds, between king snake and a
calico snake, in which the former
though smaller-was finally victorious,
that wrote it up for The Star, and
thoughtlessly stated the location Of
the reptile prizef1ght.
"A public interest in Smithsonian