Year: 1878

John Jennings, of this city, says q
recent issue of the Reading (Pa.) Eagle,
has returned home with black African
boa constructor sixteen feet in length.
He is residing with his mother on Cedar
street, near Walnut. and the snaka is
stopping with him. Yesterday afternoon
Jennings exhibited the skin If the rep
tile that had been shed during the
course of the day. 1t was damp, fatty,
and in two parts, having been accident
ally torn. One piece was about twelve
feet long and the other six. The skin
was net work of square meshes, finely
wrought, and the lighter shades of it re-
sembled the thin, knit texture OF which
ladies' clouds " or nubias are made of.
Jennings rolled the clumsy substance
into ball, and was not at all alarmed
in handling it. It is not poisonous,
said he, and he put one end of it in his
mouth and bit into it.


The monster snake is kept in the Sec
ond story of the house in glass case.
Jennings is circus performer, and he
brought the reptile with him at the
close CT last seasons travelling through
the West and South. "When you buy
these snakes from snake dealers in New
York." said he, "you buy cat in the
bag. They arrive in this country in the
boxes they are packed in in Africa.
From the time the natives catch them
and box them until the retail customer
purchases them, the boxes are not un-
packed. On the outside of the boxes
are marks indicating the kind of snake
and its length. When it is bought the
dealer sells it for what he purchased it.
No guarantee is given that the snake is
alive, and there is no telling that the
snake does live until the box is un-
packed. When this snake of mine was
unpacked it jumped wildly from the box
and it was some time before we could
secure it. It still has it's teeth and
fangs. On the second joint of the mid
die of this hand the snake bit me, but
there is no danger. They do all their
execution by crushing. The muscles in
their body are very powerful.


It eats once in about every three
months. Then it sheds it's coat. Its
feeding time was this week. I gave it
live pigeons. All do is to put them in
the glass case. The snake watches its
chance and crushes the life out of the
pigeon against the sides of the glass.
This snake is modest in it's way, and
won't do much killing if anybody stands
near to watch. After the pigeon is
crushed the snake swallows it whole,
feathers and all. The snake gets into a
coil and has the pigeons feet pointing
toward its tail. The bird is swallowed
head first. From five to seven pigeons
make a meal. When the snake once
commences to swallow the pigeon it
won't stop, no matter how many people
are near it. After it has eaten enough
it will lie still for nearly three months,
scarcely ever moving. They have
good time of it in their own way. All
they want is plenty to eat at the proper
time, and the snake is all right. It
sheds it's coat with every meal, or, in
other words, gets new suit about four
times year. That's more than good
many get; and it don't cost the snake
anything. Just now its skin is as soft
and glossy as black velvet. When it
sheds it's coat sometimes help to take
the old skin off. When its feeding time
comes around it becomes lively and
angry. IT is as thick as stove pipe,
and weighs nearly one hundred pounds.
I will keep the snake here until we start
again on the road next season."