menageries

Another animal prison...

Awww... :(

A true yarn. I was ashore in Trincomalee once in the fifties and there, by the side of the road was a Fakir snake charmer with his snakes, his snake baskets, his 'for effect' flute and his staked out mongoose. All he had on was a skimpy loin cloth, a skimpier scraggly beard and boy did he look the part?..... straight down out of the hills! The snakes were cobras and of course I assumed that they had had the poison sacs removed, I mean, come on, who on earth would let a British sailor wear a fully armed cobra around his neck so he could have his picture taken with it? Yes, that's what I did, let him drape a snake around my neck while I passed my camera to a chum to get a picture. THEN things started to go not quite as planned. The snake was around my neck when it twisted its head around till it was arched and it was looking me right in the eyes, so close that I swear I got cross eyed looking at it. Then I saw that the snakes right eye was hanging right down out of the socket and dangling on it's 'cheek'.....the mongoose must have had a go at it. It was about then that my legs started to shake, my knees started to knock and I started to think of my mother and how much she would miss me! The Fakir must have realised what was going to happen because he suddenly grabbed the snakes tail and whipped it away from my face just as it struck! I had a beard and as the beasts fangs snapped shut in the beard as it was dragged clear it pulled a big chunk of my beard out with it.....that bloody hurt as well! Now I can tell you the following true facts, your knees DO knock, you DO go grey with fear and after something like this your chums DO have to lead you away and buy you a pint! Oh! and after all that my dingbat of a mate had'nt even got a picture, he could'nt figure out how to work the bloody camera! Did I go back and try again?..........Yeah.......riiiiggghhht!

@FrigateRN Cracker of a story!

Wow, look at that skin he's wearing. A serious warrior!

This is a really rare Photo. Amazing how they looked .

date?

wow! royal treatment! :D

this is very sad, the elephant is skinny, distressed and obviously underfeed.

The elephant is holding up its foot to have its shoe fitted. If it were distressed I doubt if the man would be too keen on having its foot resting in his knee. It is probably one of Bostock's famous elephants which all had long happy lives, and were very well fed.

Thw humans are sqauting uncomfortably, arduous labor to make an animals feet comfortsale. Wonder if they had decent wages and accomodations. Wonder if the humans were warm in winter and cool in summer tending to the animals.

Kate Feely and Tom Bartlett.