ABOARD THE INDRANI.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 884, 2 August 1910, Page 4

ABOARD THE INDRANI.

TUSSLE "WITH A PYTHON. ; : If anyone-were to , step quietly up behind the chief engineer of the luurani, now : lying at the.King's Whart, and utter the word'"Snakes" in a warning sta;;e whisper, that nominally matter of fact officer would probably streak lor the nearest cover withoutl'urther ado.- If he were then asked to explain this sudden access of wariness lie would tell tlie following story,of his experiences just belore the steamer berthed at' Charlestown, U.S.A.. last March. - . The Indrani tramps all over the world, and.carries queer cargo at times. On the run from Singapore to Charlestown there j were on board six pythons, a monkey almost largo and fierce enough to be classed las an ape, ami .two Siamese foxes. Thu pythons were berthed in ! the alleyway, which was fitted with steam-pipes in order that tlieiv snakeships should Hot suffer from cold.weather. Each snake had a separate box, and up to ■ within a few days of Charlestown none of the six eyiuced any more energy than was necessary to drink the water which was supplied daily. Then pile of the pythons - lilted.'the .top of his cage and- glidpcl forth. Hβ, sought the warmest corner of the alleyway, curled himself up, and was almost as comfortable as at home iu the tropics. His e'eapo from tlio cage : was not discovered until next drinkiiig-timc. To get the python back into the cage was the'task which the officers had on their hands. His siiakeship was obstinate. When the officers approached him in the alleyway he retreated,-, coiled himself into a knot, and when anyone ventured too near he launched himself forth with a movement as quick as a cat, and the officers beat a precipitate, .retreat. They wero not always quick enough in their movements, so that one man was sent flying from contact with the" python's head. The python had a habit of opening his mouth as he prepared to strike, so onu of tliu crnw had the brnjht idea of sticking a plank down the snake's throat, which lookoit nearly largo enough to take, a wholo lumber yard, especially to tlioso who wero nearest it. The plauk plan worked only to the point of getting it into the snake's mouth; at that point the python closed his jaws, ami' the wooden weapon quickly became his, for pull as they woulil tlio crow could not get it away. Chief Engineer. Deva:ies.undertook to fasten a rope round tlio. python's tail, so, that the crew could . pull tho reptile into the open. To accomplish his plan he had the snake harassed in front, while he worked from tho rear, lie succeeded in getting the noof« in place, escaping barely in. time- as the python turned to strike him. Then eight men held the rope and pulled, 'they might as well have tried to pull the siilc of the ship. The tug-of-war, so one-sided . in j numbers, likewise was "oiie"-sided in ejlect. So the snake was inuster of the situation when the Imlraui docked at Cliarlestown, and a snake charmer would haye earned a respectable fee had be stepped aboard.