REMINISCENCES FROM THE MELBOURNE ZOO. 
43 
day, even going so far as to call the beaten creature a coward. If so, 
the sting of the accusation must have lain in its truthfulness, for it hurt 
so badly that the black snake immediately resented the imputation and 
set about proving its falsity — as such cowards have a habit of doing under 
stress of smarting from ridicule. At all events the argument degen- 
erated into a brawl, and when the keepers came along they found the 
two erstwhile friends at death grips. The black attacked the brown 
ferociously, caught it and shook it as a terrier does a rat, and as soon 
as the brown felt the squeeze, he endeavored to save himself by coiling 
about his foe’s body. This was successful each time, and the strangling 
grip made the black let go. Then the black would watch his oppor- 
tunity to get another grip of his opponent’s neck and the whole process 
would begin over again. Once when the black made a fierce nip, the 
brown managed to shake himself free and wriggle away. The black 
followed him, darted his head to strike, and the brown one did the same. 
In an instant they seemed to be knotted up together in a death struggle, 
and it was impossible to tell in the whirling mass of snake which one 
was getting the worst of it. Whether it was at that moment the black 
inflicted serious injuries on his companion is not known, but from thence 
onwards it was evident that size and superior strength told in favor of 
the black snake. The keeper took a rake and separated the antagonists, 
throwing the brown one at the far end of the cage. A few minutes later 
they were seen in grips again, the black having the brown by the middle 
of the black and literally shaking the life out of it. Once again they 
were forcibly separated, and the brown, who appeared to have had quite 
enough for that time, crept under their water trough, where it was 
presumed he would remain until the storm was over and peace was 
restored. The black one coiled himself up as if he had completely got 
over his bad humor and was determined to have a nap. Some time 
later in the evening the black must have resumed the offensive, for next 
morning the brown snake was found dead in the centre of the cage with 
a very bad wound in the middle of the back, and other ugly hurts behind 
the neck and near the tail. No attempt had been made by the black 
snake to eat his vanquished foe. He was coiled up again at his ease, 
and he took no notice of the keepers when they abstracted the body of 
his victim. 
FEEDING SNAKES. 
Two fine pythons — those in our illustrations — were added to the Zoo 
collection recently, and on the night of their arrival two roosters were 
placed in their cage for their supper. Next morning the light one was 
