Show gC gcoy vy ide show diverting chronicles of circus life by FRANCIS METCALFE 11 1 1 copyright hr W G chapman THE BITE OF A RATTLER AND THE SAD FATE OF BIG PETE like the pitcher which went to the well until it met the tate the trainer entered the lion s den once too often and what remained ot him was placed in an ambulance and taken to the hospital after the performance perform anco for the evening was over baltimore the bad lion who had suddenly devel aped a craving for human flesh had been dealt with by the proprietor of the menagerie in a manner which would spoil his appetite for many a day to come and mako him remember that cannot be mangled with two men eat at the table in front of the arena with the proprietor discuss ing the accident and listening to of former encounters which he related yes any man who follows this busl ness carries his life in his hands he said in answer to a question from the stranger within the gates you helped to care for poor bonavita tonight after baltimore finished with him you know what a lion s dawe can do I 1 ve seen em chewed up as bad as that and get over it but they never get quite the same again leave the business no it Is like the sea a man who takes to it keeps it up until the time comes when he recover but after a bad accident he usually takes another breed ot ani mals the worst sight I 1 ever saw was five years ago when one of our performing bears turned on its trainer and seized his arm he worried it as a terrier would a bone tor a good twin ty minutes before we could drive him off and the bear died from the pun ashment we gave him I 1 said that bear attack was the worst sight I 1 ever saw and it was but something happened here last year which impressed me more because it was 60 mysterious A friend of mine in florida chipped me a box of rat tiers which he wrote bad been at tended to and I 1 supposed that their poison fangs had been extracted they were delivered just before the performance started and I 1 ripped a board off the box and stuck my band in grabbing them one by one and throwing them into the den as it they ft ere garter ahe man who took care of the snakes was out on the ballyhoo walking around with the gander following him to advertise the show and when he came in he looked them over and found that each one had as pretty a pair ot fangs as you would wish to eee he told me about it and I 1 confess that it gave me a gone feeling in the pit of my stomach for I 1 remembered how I 1 had felt around for them in the with my bare bands the snake roan instead of getting back on the ballyhoo where he belonged stood around the snake cage watching the new rattlers and along came a couple of gazaros who corn fenced talking about them one of them was the wise guy who always knows about how the animals are doped they wont bite and all that other information which commenced explaining how the snakes were harmless because their teeth had been pulled and giving a lot of formation about them the snake man listened until he coulden couldn t stand it any longer and then be stuck his hand into the cige and grabbed one of the rat tiers by the neck fangs pulled eh says he and be made the rattler open his mouth and show a perfect pair of st ingers the wise guy took one look at them and led and the anaka man would it off all right only be was so busy calling a few choice names after him that he placed the snake back in the cage instead of throwing it in and the rattier struck him before he could draw hia hand out he had a clown makeup make up on so I 1 coulden couldn t tell whether he was pale or not when he came to mo a few minutes later and held out his hand but there was a queer ex pres slon on his face and I 1 knew that my apprehensions had not been groundless there were juet two little red dote no bigger than pin heads on the back of hie band you got it you sa s I 1 good and plenty aas he uly arm hurts me already we got busy right away and took him up to the hospital where bonavota Is now say he v as a very thin man and ou can see that im no light weight but by midnight the right side of his body and his right arm and leg were swollen to my size and in the morning all of the swollen part was black as a coal he was buffering terribly and I 1 tried to get hold of the arab snake doctor but coulden couldn t locate him so I 1 wired to rochester for rat ties nako pete he came down and a mighty interesting man he is but he coulden couldn t do anything which doc up at the hospital baan t done and it was five dais before my man was out of danger he was not a drinking man I 1 finished having drunkards around my show a good many years ago and the whisky took right hold of him and pulled him through doc kept squirt ing some red stuff into his arm but it was the redeye which saved him and that reminds me he beckoned to the waiter and each one ordered hie favorite antidote tor a possible snake bite it was growing late and the proprietor announced that he was going to show bis wife a good husband and said good night but the stranger wait ed for the story which be saw was trembling upon his companions lips and induced the sleepy waiter to bring a farewell dose of snakebite snake bite antidote the man was unknown to him by name but his personality prom ased to be interesting for his face spoke of good living the red of his complexion was evidently not entirely due to exposure to the sun and the lit tie sacs under the eyes indicated that he was apt to be the last of a convivial party to suggest breaking up he had listened to the proprietor e stories with the same bored expression which iloah might wear in hearing the experiences of a survivor of the day THE WISE GUY TOOK ONE LOOK AT THEM AND FLED ton flood and be looked regretfully at the vacant chair now that his turn had come snakes be exclaimed with a con snort what does the boss know about ema I 1 used to own the only snake that was worth having ever hear of big pete the stranger confessed his ignorance and the other settled back in his chair and lighted a fresh cigar III tell you about him then ou know that a snake 1 a queer proposition in a menagerie they get sore mouths canker the bakers fakers call it and won t eat and then it you ve got any investment in em you want to get it out mighty quick for they are no orchids I 1 was pretty well on my uppers after a bad season on the road when a guy named merritt came to me and said he could get a fine snake cheap and he we might make some money out of him by showing him at the county fairs what I 1 dian didn t know about snakes would have filled a book but when I 1 saw this one I 1 knew it was a bargain it was the blam edest biggest snake that ever gave a wriggle and the only reason its owners had not made a for tune was because it was never proper ly advertised I 1 used to know just how much he weighed and how long be was but my brain got so tiled fig aring up the money we made out of him that I 1 ve bad no memory for fig ures since well as I 1 said I 1 was pretty hard up but I 1 had this sparkler left for fall money and when I 1 saw that snake I 1 pushed it over my uncle counter he pointed to a large yellow diamond in his scarf and the stranger tried to make a mental calculation of the pawnbroker a valuation of it merritt managed to dig ap some mazuma and we chipped in fifty apiece and became the proud poe of big pete it I 1 had been wise to the business I 1 would have known there was something wrong to make him sell so cheap but we more than got our money back out of him the first week so we had no kick coming we were playing on velvet and had i pete besides it was such a cinch that merritt who looked after the anake while I 1 did the spieling spi eling and sold tick ets on the front commenced to get worried for tear we should loee him jim bays he to me one moning when business was a little dull I 1 believe there s something Bom ething phony about the blame snake he won t eat and I 1 ve tempted him with the best I 1 could get I 1 guess run down to the bowery and get one of those anake sharps to come up and have a look at bilm I 1 believe his teeth need filling I 1 knew he was stuck on a girl that was doing a turn in a music hall down that ay but business was dull I 1 let him go without raising a holler the next day he comes back with a jaw carpenter who claimed he knew all about snakes and when be gets through looking at petes mouth we felt pretty blue canker says he little may live a month well that put it up to us to get busy so I 1 did the spieling spi eling on the out side until my voice gaie out and ritt lied on the inside uncil he was black in the face telling about how many sheep old pete swallowed every week we had a lot of rabbits and doves with him in the cage bopping and flying around behind the thick glass front and they were real sociable with old fete who never bat led an eye at em at the end of the month he was looking pretty thin and we were afraid ha mojid peg out any day it was hard luck on us tor things ere coming our way and our bank rolls were getting good and plenty thick and they were all yellow boys from the case card to the wrapper our wads grew fatter as pete grew thinner and we were looking for some easy mark to unload him onto when one morning merritt comes running out just as I 1 was staving off a farmer who had heard him lie and brought around a flock of scabby sheep to sell to us for snake food jim he yells grabbing me by the shoulders and waltzing around like u whirling dervish we 11 make rockiefel Roc kefel ler look like thirty cents old pete ha swallowed every blame pigeon and rabbit in the chopi it seemed too good to be true but when I 1 went to have a look there was not a feather nor a piece of fur to be seen and old pete was examining all the corners of the cage to see that he haan hadn t overlooked a bet lie looked a whole lot better already and merritt and I 1 began to discuss what we should do with all our money but say there was one thing we forgot to reckon on the appetite he had been saving for about a year and although the money came in taster than ever most of it went out to the rabbit men and pigeon fanciers you know that when a snake lows an animal you can see the bulge in him for a long time but you coulden couldn t see any in old pete he was just the same size all the way from his nose to the tip of his tall for there was no space between the animals things began to look pretty serious for is for we had used up all the available small live stock in the BUI rounding country and the inhabitants got onto the fact that we were up against their game and raised the ante on us for what was left it s like tak ing candy from a child to sell a gold brick to a farmer but be everlastingly gets back at you it you have to buy any of his produce hungry joe and the man who invented the green goods game would be skinned to death they had to buy a dozen eggs from one of em and all the time old pete kept a constant procession of small animals moving down his throat regardless of expense and it the supply ran short he would look at merritt so reproach fully that it made him feel so bad he coulden couldn t deliver his lecture for sobs he worked the pathetic on him but it I 1 came around there was no only three grains of corn mother espres slon on hie face he would just rear ui on his tall and lambart that glass trying to get at me we had rented a etame building la a little town up the river and ceroi showing him oft in good form bus ness was rushing and we had the S 0 sign out all the time but snake food was getting scarcer than boiled lob during the cold snap last winter the bhoj had closed up for night and we were trying to make dents in the front of the tavern bar with our breast bones and laying in a stock of supplies in case old pete should bite us while we were discussing the best way to stimulate the rabbit breeding industry biff boom bang went the town bell and the barkeep commenced to peel off his coat and get into a red flannel shirt and a fireman helmet it was one of those towns where they hae a dude volunteer fire department which the boya all join tor the so bials in the winter and to look pretty on the annual parade day merritt and I 1 hurry any we knew that it would take some time for the chief who kept the town drug store to get into his ehley boots and select the bou to carry in the big end of his speaking trumpet pretty soon al was ready ever faithful hose corn pany number one which comprised the department came down the street all of the company shouting orders through trumpets at the two coons who were pulling the cart of course we went along to the fighting of the flames show but sayf the joke was on ue tor it was our theater which provided it there t anything left to burn and the hose company marched proudly back poor pete was nothing but a heap of ashes and merritt looked sorrowful jim says be lets copper the rabbit market before they get alaa did you have no insurance asked the stranger sympathetically not a blame cent replied his companion as he rose to go to bed but I 1 am making good money out of old pete yet I 1 had him stuffed and get a hundred a week from a dime mu beum tor him and they furnish the teed |