Snakes were popular in sideshows during the early 1900s. In fact, there was the instance of a boy, Esau, who made a living biting the heads off of snakes until he was fatally bitten back on his tongue.
In the article below, from 1903, a woman was squeezed to death by a boa constrictor during her act. It was a gruesome, public death.
In Coils of Snake
Berlin, Oct. 23. —A young woman was squeezed to death by a boa constrictor at Voelklingen, Prussia, last night while giving a performance in a menagerie. The spectators thought at first that her screams and frantic struggles as the snake tightened its coils was a part of the show, and applauded and cried “Bravo” at the realism of her acting. Attendants, however, saw the woman’s danger and ran up and beat the snake and slashed it with knives. The woman was dead when released. [Source]
