Article

2006-12-02 -Short Attention Span Theater-

Snake king Ali Khan dies from cobra bite

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Posted by Steve White 2006-12-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 About 1962 or 63 our boy scout troop at Morrison (Taichung - near the AB) had the top snake guy from Taipei visit our clubhouse at the MAAG enlisted complex.

We could start by saying such shows are not appropriate. prior I had killed lots of nasty snakes - esp. white mambas after the show all of us were scared to death of the snakes..

This jerks idea of a snake show was to have about 8 cobras slithering in a circle surrounded by scared cub scouts and sadistic den mothers.

Then he would start skinning one and let the others aim for us. When one would get close he would set down the one he was skining and start in on the closests one. After all these were skined and he had cut out their gallbladders and poison sacs - putting them in various booze jars with strong spirits...
He started in on the bamboo snakes and mambas.

We used to stake out mambas for our cat but this guy made the cat look kind hearted and gentle...

The next week dad took me to see the largest live python they ever captured in Taiwan. (Damn thing really stared in my eyes for a long time).

At this point it was night lights on for a year.

Several weeks later a 100 ft step snake got the snake man while doing a show in his resturant.

Another side story like that.... we lived on a compound right across the street from the Taiwanese Airforce Hospital and pilots housing. We employed a "slow" guy to do minor lawn care and such on our campus (not mil). He loved snake meat and had watched the vendors do their thing so many times the poor fool thought he could do it to. He tied two white mambas to a stick. Started to skin one so the other bit him. Went to the other and the first bit him. Then he thought he better do something about it so he walked across the street to the ROC airforce hospital ER carrying the stick with the two snakes on it so they could give him the correct antivenom.

Talk about clearing out an ER!

he lived.

Posted by 3dc 2006-12-02 00:34|| 2006-12-02 00:34|| Front Page Top

#2 "Bah, it's nothing! I've been bitten before so many tiiiimmmmeees ... gak!

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2006-12-02 01:06|| 2006-12-02 01:06|| Front Page Top

#3 a 100 ft step snake got the snake man

Is that a Mamaba too? Sounds like something worse.

Posted by Shipman 2006-12-02 06:43|| 2006-12-02 06:43|| Front Page Top

#4 Worse in one sense. In the time it takes to walk 100 steps you are dead. (different kind of poison. Stops respiration. But if you can get on life support quickly or have mouth to mouth you stand a good chance.)

Posted by 3dc 2006-12-02 14:54|| 2006-12-02 14:54|| Front Page Top

#5 The king is dead. Long live...
the next guy crazy enough to do this shit.

Posted by tu3031 2006-12-02 15:01|| 2006-12-02 15:01|| Front Page Top

#6 When I lived in India as a kid, we used to get snake charmers through our village periodically who would charge money to get rid of snakes in your yard. Of course it's purely coincidental that they would show up right about the time people began reporting cobra sightings around town.

Posted by xbalanke 2006-12-02 16:34|| 2006-12-02 16:34|| Front Page Top

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