164 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Ju It t 



•WHICH IS about 1,000 miles around the 

 Cape of Good Hope, up toward Mada- 

 gascar. One morning I received a note 

 from the port captain, asking me to 

 come down to the harbor with all possi- 

 ble dispatch, as a python had taken pos- 

 session of a German brig and I was 

 wanted to capture it. Taking one of my 

 keepers with me, I hurried down, and 

 found quite a crowd on the jetty, among 

 which was the crew of the brig. On in- 

 quiry I learned that there had been a 

 shower during the night, and in the 

 morning the mate had ordered one of 

 the men to go aloft and shake out the 

 sails, in order to dry them. He started 

 up, and on reaching the maintop tux'ned 

 and came down on the clean run. The 

 tar was instantly ordered to hades 

 and numerous other places, while the 

 valiant mate started aloft to attend to 

 matters on his own hook. No sooner did 

 his head get on a level with the top than 

 he came down at a gait which far ex- 

 celled that of the disobedient sailor. He 

 instajitly raised the alarm, and the en- 

 tire crew lost no time in getting en 

 shore and spreading the report that the 

 rigging was full of the biggest kind of 

 snakes. 



"With the assistance of the port cap- 

 tain's binoculars I had no difficulty in 

 making a critical examination of the 

 entire upper works of the vessel, which 

 was anchored about 100 yards from the 

 shore. The result was one large python, 

 coiled around the laps of the main and 

 topmast. Borrowing a sack, I miinaged, 

 after much persuasion, to get two of the 

 crew to pull myself and keeper off to the 

 brig, where they left us and turned 

 back to the jetty. I unrove the flag hal- 

 yards, made a nocse in one end of them 

 and hunted around until I found a stout 

 piece of reed some six cr eight feet in 

 length. Climbing up the shrouds, I 

 make my attack through the lubber 's hole 

 by pmichmg his snakeship v\ath the 

 reed, to the end cf which I had tied the 

 Doose. Ke put his head down through 

 the hole for the purpose of fighting me, 

 when he was instantly noosed around 

 the neck and the halyards made fast to 

 the ratlines. lu his violent efforts to ef- 

 fect a release he drew back with such 

 force as rapidly to choke himself into 

 insensibility. Calling to the keeper to 

 hold the mouth of the sack open, I 

 watched until I thought he was nearly 



at his last gasp, when 1 squirmed up 

 on the top, loosened his coils around the 

 masts, lowered him into the sack, when 

 the keeper immediately cut the noose. 

 By the time that I reached the deck he 

 had nearly recovered from his severe 

 wind stoppage. I gently opened the 

 mouth of the sack to have a good look 

 at him and discovered from his bloated 

 appearance that he had recently par- 

 taken of a hearty meal. On the arrival 

 of the crew on board it was discovered 

 that the captain's fox terrier was miss- 

 ing. I therefore concluded that the 

 python, in swimming across the harbor, 

 had struck the vessel's hawser, up which 

 lie had crawled on to the deck, swallow- 

 ed the dog and gone aloft to digest his 

 meal. ' ' — Bufi'alo Commercial. 



Not Enough Muses. 



The unmusical manager who protest- 

 ed when he found a performer in his 

 orchestra holding his bow during a rest, 

 saying to him, "I don't pay you to 

 rest!" was the same one who, on an- 

 other occasion, was superintending the 

 arrangement of some performers who 

 were representing allegorical characters. 



"Here in front," said the author of 

 the piece which was to be given, "we 

 will put the nine muses." 



"Nine muses!" exclaimed the great 

 manager contemptuously. "Nine muses 

 would look well in that great space, 

 wouldn't they? We will have 36 

 .2mses!"— Youth's Companion. 



"Have you any children?" asked the 

 janitor. 



"I have," replied the prospective 

 tenant. 



"Then you can't have the flat," said 

 the janitor decisively. 



"But you don't understand," protest- 

 ed the prospective tenant. "My youn- 

 gest child is 20 years old, married and 

 lives in New Yoa-k, and the Other two 

 are in St. Louis. " 



"That makes no difference, " returned 

 the janitor. "Orders are orders, and I 

 have orders not to rent this flat to any 

 one with children. " — Chicago Post. 



It is the old lesson— a worthy pur- 

 pose, patient energy for its accomplish- 

 ment, a resoluteness undaunted by diffi- 

 culties, and then success. — W. H. Pun- 

 shou. 



