SNAKES FOUND ON ROADSIDE

Evening Star, Issue 22595, 12 March 1937, Page 13

SNAKES FOUND ON ROADSIDE

SEQUEL TO MOTOR SMASH ONLY " PROPERTIES " OF SHOWMAN [P»r United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, March 11. Three dead snakes were found near the roadside in Pokeno by a man working on a cutting that is being made for a new railway bridge. A motor car was wrecked at that spot the night before, and it is thought that its occupants were travelling showmen who had snakes which may possibly have been preserved in a bottle among their “ properties.” The three snakes are thought to he of the Australian death adder variety. Although the largest is only about 18in long, their discovery, and the rumour that they were alive when found, were quite sufficient to cause considerable anxiety among the residents of Pokeno who learned of the incident, and also to be responsible for an enthusiastic snake hunt by school children. The two smaller specimens are about 12in long. They all have black bodies with whitish undersides. When they were found to be dead the smell of the preservative was apparent. ' ; At about 8 o’clock on Tuesday night the proprietor of a Pokeno garage received a call to bring in a car which had been wrecked just by the cutting about a mile south of Pokeno._ The car had run off the road and collided with the bank of the cutting. Its bodywork and running gear had been badly smashed, hut the three occupants, who said they wished to get to Morrinsville as soon as possible, were unhurt. Two of the men obtained a ride in a truck that was going north, and the driver left later, after giving instructions for the repairing of the car. Some luggage that was brought into Pokeno included gear that has led to the opinion, that the men, who did not leave their names, were travelling showmen, and it is thought that the snakes were part of their equipment. There was so much broken glass about the scene of the accident, however, that it has not been possible to decide whether the snakes were in a bottle when the car crashed into the embankment. It was when the men who are engaged on the construction of the cutting started work yesterday that the snakes were found. They were about 20ft or 30ft from the roadway.