A Shannon Snake Story.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6443, 12 August 1892, Page 4

A Shannon Snake Story.

The Horowhenua Times of Tuosday contains full particulars of the extraordinary snake story. It is given as a narration of certain facts which reached the editor from Shanuoii, the authenticity of which he says he has no reason to doubt. It relates how a Mr Honry De Costa, a settler in that district, has a cow, which on several occasions lately was found dry at milking time. Mr De Costa was under the impression that the cow was milked by some unscrupulous neighbor, or one of the bushmen working nsar, so he brought her in and kept her a close prisoner tor two days. On the evening of the first day she yielded her milk .readily and plentifully, and Mr De Costa became more convinced than ever that some one who had no right to had milked the cow before. On the morning of the second days' imprisonment Mr De Costa, accompanied by his son, went down to the yard to feed the cow, and was almost thunderstruck to see a large snake coiled round the udder of the beast, quietly sucking her milk. For some moment Mr De Coata could not believe his eyes, the sight being such a novel one. However, when he saw tho snake slowly uncoil itself and wriggle out of the yard, he was forced to admit that ho suspected the bushmen wrongfully and that the snake was the real thief. The reptile, when killed, was found to be a death-adder (one of the most venomous of snakes), and measured Oft Sin in length. On examining the cow, her udder was found to be quite empty, the milkloving reptile having consumed the contents. How the snake found its way into the Shannon district is a mystery, and Mr DeCosta can only account for its presence in the following way :— About three months ago he arrived in New Zealand from Gippslatul, Victoria (where snakes are very plentiful) bringing with him several cases of furniture and farming implements packed in straw, and in all probability, tho reptile found its way into one of these, and thus crossed from Australia to New Zealand with the family. This is the third snake that has been killed in the North Island, one having been found on the Auckland racecourse some six years ago, and another in New Plymouth a couple of years later, snakes are known to be passionately fond of milk, but we doubt very much if such a novel way of procuring it has ever been known before.