38 



If the snake is found asleep in the jungle, it 

 can often be captured without any trouble, if 

 approached quietly and seized suddenly. It is 

 easiest to catch a python after it has had a meal, as 

 it is less liable to strike or try to escape. 

 Beating Another method of catching these snakes is to 



cooUes^^^^^ set out in the evening, accompanied by some 

 coolies, and beat the land round the " Tank " in the 

 following manner : — The coolies should walk in an 

 oblique line, stretching from the tank to the jungle, 

 and should move parallel as much as possible with 

 both. Taking the space to be covered (between 

 tank and jungle) to be loo yards in width, the first 

 coolie should move alongside the tank, and a few 

 yards from it. The second coolie should be about 

 25 yards away (to the side) of the first coolie, and 

 about 5 yards behind him, the third coolie should 

 be 25 yards from the second, and five yards 

 behind him, the fourth coolie should be 25 yards 

 away from the third and five yards behind him, 

 and the fifth — the person who is to catch the 

 snake — should walk alongside the jungle. 



The first two men should make a certain 

 amount of noise, the other two should be com- 

 paratively quiet ; the man by the jungle should be 

 as silent as possible. 



Any snake that may be drinking water, or 

 catching frogs, by the side of the ** Tank," will, on 

 hearing the first man approach, make a fairly 

 straight line back to the jungle. The first man 

 will at that time be about eight yards from the 

 snake, and the man near the jungle will be twenty 

 yards behind the line of the first man. The snake 

 will probably retreat at a rate of from six to seven 

 miles an hour, or perhaps a little less, and as the 

 men will be walking at a pace of two miles an 

 hour, the snake will pass within a few feet of the 

 man near the jungle, who will attempt to catch or 



