BAGFUL OF REPTILES

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 4

BAGFUL OF REPTILES

BOY SNAKE-CHARMER. FATHER STOPS EXHIBITION. A 12-year-old by named Arthur Bollard, was about to give a “snake-charm-ing exhibition”- at Lithgow,. New South Wales, to " number of juveniles, with four snakes and 50 lizards which he had captured, when his father intervened. The father emptied a bag of the reptiles. Two snakes were killed, but the others escaped. The boy is intensely interested in snake lore, and, when a visiting “snake charmer” visits Lithgow each Labour Day, he is a constant visitor at the sideshow. When the proprietor was in Lithgow recently, he received instructions regarding the capture of reptiles, and decided to launch-out on his own behalf. ■ . . ' . , With five young companions, Dollars searched gullies near the town, and captured four snakes, each of which he tied with a bootlace, and 50 lizards. The weather was dull and cold, and, as the reptiles were not alert, their capture was comparatively easy. The boys pinned the snakes to the ground with a fcrked stick, and then placed them m large confectionary tins. Then they obtained from a creek a number of frogs, with which to feed the snakes. Next morning, Bollard informed the neighbourhood that he was to ■ give a snake-charming exhibition, charging each person a penny for admission. His father heard of the proposal, and, hurrying to the recreation ground . with his wife, he found a number of children assembled to witness the “show.” Upending a bag, Mr. Bollard was amazed to discover the nature of its contents. His son ruefully watched his pets scattering tc the four corners of the recreation reserve, with his father in pursuit.