Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1903 — Should Be Suppressed [ARTICLE]

Should Be Suppressed

The Snake Eating Stunt In Public Shows. The man who did the snake eating stant here last week, was for this plaoe a new featare in carnival attractions. Or instead of oarnival we might about as well say oannibal attractions. For a man who will willingly eat or at least bite raw snake meat, is so mnoh of a reptile himself that he is practically eating his own kind when he does it. It is a kind of performance that ought to be entirely prohibited by law and we believe it will be in this state' the next time the legislature meets. All the same it was an interesting feature, jast as anything horrible and unusual is always interesting to the genus homa, or the “man pack’* per Kipling. But beoaose people go to see horrible sights when they get a chance is no good reason why they should have the ohance. Hanging a man in public is a funotion that would draw a bigger crowd than a circus but the laws whioh prohibit suoh things in public are eminently wise. And a law which will prohibit snake eating in publio will be in its way, equally wise.

The fellow who was here wonld pick up a live snake, bull or rattler it was all the same, and evidently kill it with his hands* by doubling it over near the head, thus breaking its back. Then he would bite and tear at its neck with his teeth until the head was off. He would then bite out a small piece or two and seem to eat the .pieces, but probably the aotual eating was a pretense/ He would only kill about two fresh snakes a a day, and would use., the'same, saake for several of his exhibitions. He would also handle and sorap with live and angry rattlers fearlessly, and put their open mouths on his wrist, and seemingly be bitten by them. This part was probably a fake, aa no doubt the poison fangs were all oarefully extracted before hand.

The story the spoiler put up about his having been found wild in a den of snakes, in Australia, when a ohild, and being a nondescript in sax, and a Bushman in raoe, and all that, was humbug, pure and simple. When not doing his disgusting stunt he was a well dressed, nioe appearing young white man, and by all aooounta was a decided favorite among the rest of the Carnival show people He has been at the business a good while and was once with Kohl & Middleton's dime museum, in Chicago.