Newspapers / The Morning Post (Raleigh, … / Oct. 15, 1905, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of The Morning Post (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
An Expert Talks on Snakes as They Are Popular Fallacies Regarding Ser pents ExplodedHypnotic Power Ml Nonsense From the Philadelphia The average person has a strange, undeflnable antipathy to snages, it amounts to more than antipathy, real lylt is a shivery, creepy loathing for which the senses supply no ad equate explanation, nor mere cour age an antidote. Scriptuarians "tell us that this instinctive emotion of hor hor at the sight of serpents was be queathed to man as a result of cer tain events in the Garden of Eden some years ago. However that may "be, the fact remains, pure .nd sim ple. Nor, Indeed, with few excep tions, are the various animal tribes exempt. Lions, tigers, panthers all give the "poison people" or, in fact, Brakes of any kind- a wide berth. Strange it Is. then, to talkto a man who fears not the reptiles of the .or der Ophldia; who. on the contrary, has a profound regard for them; who understands them better than they understand themselves; who loves to handle them, and who sees in their vermiculations the very poetry of mo tion, and in the markings of their skins nature's most beautiful and, lav ish display. Such a man is Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of the reptile house in the 'Bronx Zological Park, New York, who began tte study of snakes in boyhood, and who since has carrier his investigations into almost every country in the world. One suffers the destruction of sev eral serpentine illusions in a brief talk $?ith Mr. Ditmars. Things you read In childhood's nature books or of travel melt into sheer nonsense his calm first-hand knowledge and snake logic and it's hard to have illusions killeA But the curator of reptiles djres: it very nicely and gently and in exchange gives facts almost as inter esting. . As, for instance, when you question him as to stories concerning birds that have been so hypnotized by snakes as to walk down their throats, Mr. Ditmars srnl'es softly. ",' "Yes, yes. I know," he says, bland ly. "That is the common belief, but it is far from true. Snakes have no hypnotic power-none whatever. Here . lt is: You are walking across the street, and suddenly you look up and see r.n automobile bearing down upn you. You are tied to the spot with fricht. So it is with the poor little birJ suddenly confronted by his hun gry snakeship, lying in wait upon th? limb of a tree. See the bird is too frightened to fly.' But " .nd here is where the exchange comes in "some snakes will allow birds to roost on their backs without exhibiting any desire to have them anywhere else. .Take the Mississippi river wat?r snake which eats only frogs, for instance,' etc., etc. Mr. Ditmars talks while- he works among the glass houses of the rep- tile'-v There is something almost sna fcv about the movement of his arm I cs he thrusts it into a copperhead's c,ie to arrange interior decorations and conveniences. "I did a rare thing with him once," said Mr. Ditmars. "In a spirit of fol ly, I suppose you might call it, I held him in my hand while a photographer took a time exposure picture. In han dling poison snakes, you know;, you must lift them so as to have no pres sure anywhere. Snakes are all stupid, and if you gently insert your hand under them and lift them up, they cannot tell your hand from a stick. As long as they feel no restraint you may carry them about as you would a kitten. Eut let them feel so much as the pressure of a finger, and they strike, and you know you never can see a snake strike lightning Is not swifter. Well, that is the way I held this copperhead and oh, yes I for got to say that the hand must not tremble. When the picture was taken I dropped him quick, and for the first time I noticed that I was wet with perspiration from head to foot, I have not done that with a poison snake since. Why? Oh, because I am a married man now and have children to think of." Here the curator exhib ited the picture. He seemed very proud of lt; in fact, he did not hesi tate to admit that he was proud Mr. Ditmars approached the rear of a rattler's cage with a nice fresh rat. You could see the snake coil up to utrike, while a whirr like the buzzing of insects emanated from the rattles or his quivvering tail. "All right, Pete, be good," he said, thrusting in the rat and walking on. "Does he know you?" we asked. 'You called him by name." "So. of course not. Snakes have no Intelligence. I might as well have spoken to a telegraph pole. Well no; I was not quite accurate in that state mentyou will see a form of intelli gence among the larger snakes, the rock pythons and the' boas. As a general thing they are gbod natured and docile, and are inclined to recog nize good treatment from bad, and I think grow to have a certain liking for the man who feeds them at feed ing time." - Nearby was a Cage containing d twenty-five foot python getting ready to crawl out of its skin. Mr. Dit mars remarked that this serpent was very goo.1 ratured, and proceeded to prove it by reaching in his hand and patting tha -.diamond-scaled head. And the python looked actually pleasant as though he expected something good to follow it. He will rite If he gets mad. and' " " " scis maa. ana his teeth would make a fearful tear, but their is no poison to fear. They butt quite hard with their heads. inese snaKes, enough not so hard as Public Ledger a strong man could: hit with his " exit all belief in Mr. Kipling's terri- ble Kaa, who used to butt down stone , walls. But the snake man ma aamn that this snake could crush a man to death if it caught him in its folds. "You might . call rattlesnakes the most recent snakes," said Mr. Dit mars. "Al poison snakes are of more recent . origin than non-poisonous snakes. They represent a certain pro cess of evolution, as I figure it out. Centuries hence, or aeons hence, rath er, most snakes will be poisonous. But, at the same time,, poison snakes have no intelligence at all. For that matter, I have nevr seen signs of affection in any snakes, eo docile that you coul tie them in knots do every- thing you - wished with them. But ! not snare me enxnusiasm or nis nosi. docility might mean anything other j There was something about the writh than intelligence. Serpents, in 1 fact, j lng reptiles, the thick foliage of their are the lowest in order of intelligence ; quarters, the heavy odors of bloom, of all reptiles. I rank them this way: ; that got on his nerves, and once when Tortoises, alligators and crocodiles, lizards, and then snakes. "You will , notice- curious things about big snakes which, as I have said, do give frequent evidence. This twenty-five foot Python, Jim, for ex ample, will eat only out of my hand I don't know why. Big snakes take just such a kink as this very frequent ly. .We lost a twenty-eight foot" Py thon recently because of this. He took the notion of refusing food unless it , -was handed to him. Snydor was ta- if T here explam. Hunting, such as ken ill, and I was on my vacation ; the people of Engiana and Ireland un last summer, and neither of us re- i derstand it by that term, is absolute turned until two weeks had elapsed. Jy non.existent in the land of the Mik We had neglected to tell the other ; ado Foxes, deer and hares are plen- Keepers aoout tms snae s pecuudu- ty, and as a result he refused to eat all the" time we were away. We re turned to find him starving. He died a few days later. "Snake charmers use these big snakes because," as a rule, the larger species do not much care what one does with them so long as they are well fed. Any person could handle them as well as the average charmer could. I have seen, very few charmers who used the genuine poison article. , ' oV Va wer rattlers all right, and they had their fangs, poison and all. He depended upon that deft, sticklike motion of the, hand when picking them up. He would slide his hand gently under them, and up they would go, as nicely as you please." Here Mr. Ditmars demonstrated with a little ring snake. "Now 'you would suppose that those snakes in time wolud have become used to him. But they never did. He had to be just as careful with them the first day as the hundredth day of their acquaintance. I sent Jack two Florida diamond backs, and he liked them so well that he sent to Florida for two more. ! "He was a erood. lierht-hearted fel- ow' Jack ffM'.ana J1 a last came have a sort of contempt for his rat- tiers. The last time I saw him was in i Boston,, and it was then that I noticed his increased insouciance. I spoke to him after the act was over, warning him that he was playing with death, and that they would get him if he were not careful. In fact, I advised him to give up the rattlers and do his act with non-poisonous snakes. But he laughed. The next day, the very next day, " before a mattinee crowd Jack was showing off and making extra fillips with his hands one of the Florida fellows struck him. Right on the finger, it was. Jack liv ed a day, I think. It was the seconS time he had been bitten. . "No, I have never been bitten by a poison snake. Of course,. I've had hundreds of narrow escapes, but I always considered a miss as good as a mile, and never worried. I usually, when working among them, take care to keep out of striking distance, which is two feet, a third of their length. If I have to lift them, I Just shove a nerveless hand under them and move j them in the desired place. A nervous man has no business with snakes. "Contrary to general belief, snakes are hostile to man; that is, they do not seek battle with us. As a snake will invariably run from a man if he has time. A rattler will never go af ter a man; they strike when they are stepped on, or when they become so ',. frightened in the presence of man as to arouse their instincts of self-preservation; but neither rattlers no oth er snakes kill for the love of killing. As to rattling their tails to give warn- lng. I consider that sheer nonsense, however. All snakes quiver their tails j driven through the streets of Pekin, when excited, and the fact that one 4 a far wilder and fiercer breed than species has rattles, and thus give I anv wild pig I have come across in warning of their presence, does not ; Japan. The boars there are, howev argue that they rattle with design to ; er of a alr size, but never so tall on warn human beings. No " one really : tne ' leS8 nor with such fine tusks as knows what those rattles. are for. ' the Jungle sooar of India. To ride "I like rattlesnakes, there Is some- .. one of them down, as we do his broth thing husky and powerful and beauti- er of Indie, would- be an impossibility, ful about them that incites admira- for as it would be the case in hunt tion. They have a certain amount of ,n& PO' to- in this sport, the nature self-posession, too, and they do not of the country 'would be all against get nervous and ready to fly off at a"y one attempting to do so. the 'handle the first second see how ... . long Rattlesnake Jack handled them Consul Ruffin Asuncion, Paraguay, before they .finally struck him to reports that the government has I have no respect for the corbra," continued the curator, pointing to a hooded viper, standine almost rm it tan, us nat head swaying as though ' Ayolas. The work consists. of a cen in a. 'gentle wind. "They are as ner- tral custom-house, etc. A dredger, 10 vous as a stretched wire, and strike steam cranes and six stream launches at a puff Of Wind. I don't l:ko thorn ; will also rmrrViasprf - at nil vn t , , I TLy do not i-nr. U corbra- ! doos. ' ' tw h mes a rattler huskV buHd a attIers i ky. Corbras riiv 7 Ie" sna belong to a harm- less species of serpent life, and why nature endowed them with the most deadly poisonous attributes of all vi pers I can not fathom. "There are strange things to be no ted in the habits of these poison snakes that perhaps might be attri buted to that sixth sense which some scientists believes is possessed by pois onous snakes. One of them is a de sire to be alone. Poison snakes are not at all gregarious. Last month we had a fine prarie rattlesnake in that case there. Two more snakes were re ceived and I put them In with the pra rie fellow. None of the three would eat after that, and all took care to occupy separate corners. Finally I had to take ou the, new arrivals and place them by themselves. They be gan to eat then, but the rattler whose home had been Invaded . never ate &Ktt.iu, sumuig m wmw . uum n " umiu, eitfyer. The minute little " snakelets j come Into the world they are suprn- j ed, and Jimight add that they are as well provided with fangs at their birth and are as generally dangerous as their parents. "There is nothing to fear from' non poisonous snakes. I handle them as I would pieces of rope. But, then, I suppose I naturally take to snakes and consequently like them." Mr. Ditmars went on to explain the lavish colors with which nature has endowed them, but the visitor could the curator touched him on the snoui der he Jumped three feet from the floor. . WILD GAME IN JAPAN (Tokio Correspondent London Field) Men often ask me about the sport obtainable in JaDan. and so with re- 8pect to thls lt may not come amiga tlf , enoutrh . b ut janan's natural fea- tures and the methods of agriculture followed -by Its farming classes are all, and . most uncompromisingly too, against It. Of candidates for the rifle Japan pos sesses quite a respectable number among them being three species of bears, a wolf, a species of stag, arbth er of antelope, and, if lt Is permissible for an old Anglo-Indian to jplace him in the same category, the wild boar, All are, however, scarce, and getting scarcer yearly, and it certainly would not pay any one to make j extensive preparations for going In search of any of them, for, though the Alno, that extremely hairy aboriginal of Ja pan, hunts them all most assiduously, he will render no assistance to a stranger to do liekwise, and as for the Japanese hunter, he Is the most pit iful of shigaris. And then again, the slightest devia tion by a foreigner off the beaten tracks of foreign travel in Japan Is more likely than not to lead to un pleasantness for him, for suspicion of foreigners and their motives is one of the leading and worst traits In the Japanese character. Not being sportsmen or travelers in the same sense and from the same motives as the English speaking people are, they cannot understand why any. one should spend his time In pursuit of objects which to them, at least bring no tangible results. " To travel they have no objection, but only do so to see places of Interest and with some very definite object in view, such as for the spying out of a foreign land or for the gaining of knowledge upon a special subject, but never for sport. To revert, however, to the wild game of Japan, lt is a pity indeed that matters are as described, for the bears of the land are unique, as ' well from the point of view of the enormous size, strength and fierceness of one species as from the diminutiveness of another. The first is a great "carnivo rous brute, a sort of grizzly, who makes nothing of . killing and carrying off a fourteen hand pony. Next to him comes a black beast very much like the sloth bear of India, and last of all a diminutive little brute scarce larger that a good sized spaniel, ex ceedingly shy and seldom seen. The wolves of Japan are scarce, cowardly and of little account, and found, now only in the extreme north ern parts of the empire. The stag is about the size of and in make and shape and habits, too, like the fallow deer of England and Scotland. The little Japanese antelope must be a very near relative indeed of the jun gle bakri of Indfa, possessing, as he does, the same general appearance and shy habits. The wild pig of Japan appears to be a domestic pig run wild, I have seen herds of Manchurian and Mongo- i lian swine, great black hairy beasts, ! of certain works In connection with ; the custom-houses of Asuncion, En- ' carnacion. del Pilar. TTnmaltn. ,ud ' ! Under the auspices, of the Univer- of Freiburg, Switzerland, a bu.i- ness academy for women 4ias been opened la tfeat city. THE SlORNIKG POST. SUNDAY. OCTOBER. ISt 1Q5 THe sf Atlantic Hotel, Norfolk, Va. Both American and European plan with popular Cafe and Rathskellor. Prices very reasonable. W. L. iSTARK, Manager. Hotel.;'. Guilford, Greensboro, N. C. Under New And Undergoing a Thorough Remodeling Cobb &. Fry, Proprietors, DRAUGHON'S Practical Business College JH!"tTa RALEIGH KNOXVILLE Incorpprated $300,000.00. Established 16 Years. Strongly endorsed by busi ness men. No vacation. Enter any time. We also teach BY MAIL. Call or send for Catalogue. POSITION. May deposit money for tuition in bank until course is com pleted and position is secured, or give notes and pay out of salary. In thor oughness and reputation D. P. B. C. is to other business colleges what Har vard and Yale are to academies. TRINITY COLLEGE Four Departments Collegiate, Graduate, Engineering and Law. Large library facilities. Well equipped laboratories in all de partments of science. Gymnasium furnished with best apparatus. Expenses very moderate. Aid for worthy students. Young men wishing to study Law should investigate the superior advantages offered 7 the Department of Law in Trinity College For catalogue and furth Information, address, D. W. NEWSOM, Registrar, V HALLIfiH Ff.C. zrx9 y Offl ce and Yards Foot of Jenkins St All Phones 43 CAPITAL CITY FUEL COMPANY WKOLASALE AN1 RETAIL DEALERS IN COAL and RALEIGH, N. C. Correspondence Solicited ' Steam Contracts Furnished from Yards or Mines T. J. BURKE, M anager The Merchants .'Journal:.:' Official Organ North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. Association of -W holesale Dealers.. Millers and Manufacturers of North and South Carolina. NORMAN H. JOHNSON. EDITOR. It has the largest bona fide circulation of any merchants patxsr nublishea In the south. Every merchant should -?ad it Association Xe'vs. Fashion Notes. Made Reports Hints for the rirt t lation. Vrade ITvils and Abuses, ws Notes Concerning mmM,., prises. Published in the intPrest nf an . . ,,...UL,a icm.cu ness Man's Journal. Sample Copy Sent on Request isuiiiiiR mt mm &, k RALEIGH. NORTH. CAROLINA. Worth Carolinians Favorite Resort in the Border City Recently Refurnished and Refitted Management SCHOLARSHIP FREE. To those who take Bookkeeping or Shorthand, we will give scholarship free in Pen manship, athematics, Business Spell ing, Business Letter ; Writing, Punc tuation, etc., the literary branches that will earn for you BREAD AND BUT TER. DURHAM, N. C. TO GUARD AGAINST OVERCHARGES AND DISAPPOINTMENT BUY SHEET IRON STOVES, SELF FEEDING STOVES, Smoke Consuming Stoves AND Paint Your House with S.W.P CSV Special features: Commercial Law tn fv.' nr a wi itici.iiatu3 jt inn !sni3Tn yrior xo-juiy jt, ?i.tu tne year A Busi WOOD NOW pp n NORTH OAROLINA jj FOB THE YEAR OF ouk uuou 190 6. ENNISS PUBLISHING CO. PINCK C. ENNISS, Manager. Raleigh, N. C. 68th CAPITAL $100,000.00 SURPLUS and PROFITS $80,000.00 DEPOSITS OVEfV ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS ' r- a STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Office of the Insurance Commissioner, Hartford. November 21, Vi. Hon. Morgan G. Eulkeley, president, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Ilirt--fcrd: ' Dear Sir: You will find enclosed herewith a copy of the report of the ex amination of your company that was recently made by this department In compliance with tha law providing: for such examinations. The work bVsa.i on the 19th day of April and ended October 24th; 1904. The result cf the er. amlantion is very gratifying to the department and fully confirms the p a'e. ment of the company as to its financial condition. Tne figures show the sur plus of the ' company as the result of this examination to be more than was claimed in the statement filed with this .department.. Ro larger surplus shown by the department's figures arises mainly from tie fact that you have charged yourselves with a special reserve liability f more than 52,000,000 above, thjat requited by the statutes. The- lnves'lsritt'. makes it quite apparent thatthe company is leading fairly with the r holders and complying with all the requirements of the law. 1 850 OXFORD OXFORD, N. C. Model Buildings With New Equipment Board, heat, lights, baths.-with-full Literary Tuition fori school' yT $147.50. Apply for handsomely illustrated Catalogue. ! " F, P. HOBGOOD. prpc" :mt xa mo an-arouna less powders and rn.-. - i-U r, f , . . " " ouuis uut ram ana water and teens use 3. - makes it a great wet-weather gun. It has Marlin accuracy, buoyancy and r,:... .vervinins in U. M. C, Standard crooda alwavA rfv MM3f n-- i - 4-,s ask for the best Cartridges and Loaded Shells, ITIIACA-KE.MING'Uo-i : KER SHORT GUNS. Your for sport. ' f ; HartWard Hardware Cb., RALEIGH, N. C. tat Send for Cataloguer; Lowest prices SPECIALr-Ithac& Field Gun. HammVrlMs T)ni;hTf-T'3rrPl MYzh J Guaranteed. 118.00. s 10. 12 and 16 gauge.any weight, legnth or choke. " READY. YEAR. COMMERCIAL AND FARMERS BANK OF RALEIGH N...G, Established 132 . Designated Depository of State ' and County funds. Accounts ,of Merchants, Corporations, Banbs and Individuals solicited. The most liberal treatment consist ent with conservative banking is offered to industrial and manufacturing. enterprises.- v l - J. J. THOMAS. President A. A. THOMPSON, Vice President B. S. JER MAN, Cashier H. W. JACKSON, Ass't CasMer SAFE DEPOSITE BOXES FOR RETj Respectfully yours, j THERON UPSON. IS . , ' Comrnis:3!?7? SEMINARY When They Fly 'Fast The Marlin 12 Gauge .ffi- lavonte. It is made for both b!ack and to take havy loads. . It has cne-C": icpcaier, ana nandies very Js t Gun moiis tioii Pcterc-Vincliester Shells i
The Morning Post (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 15, 1905, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75