Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1850-12-14
.Wl9seala1Ico,,S S1atfer.
SNAKES AND SNAKE c,tARmERs.

lLIecent number of Bentley's Miscellany
cont ai,ls an account of the method of Snake
Char nj ug practiced in the East, which we
find Sc Interesting that we give our readers
the sub Stance OF it. ,- ...Ia.0Iasl
THE S N4AKE CHARMERS IN LONDON
At the present time there are at the Lon
doa Zoolt zeal Gardens two Arabs, who
| are eminently skilled in what is termed
"Snake Cha.rnling.". In this country, hap
1 pily tor ourselves, we have but little practi-
cal acquaintance with venomous serpents,
and there is nc, scope for the development
! for native skill i'll the art referred to The
visit therefore, of these strangers is inter-
estng, as afTordI,1g an opportunity of be-
holding feats which have hitherto been
known 10 US .oniy by descriptions. We
propose, therefore, to give some account OF
their proceedings. +. ~.
| Visitors 10 the Geological Garden will
remark on the right hand side, after they
have i,assed. through ,ie tunnel, and as
cended the sloEe beyono, neat wooden
building in the Swiss style This is the
reptile house, and while our readers are
bending their steps towards It we will de-
crbe the performance Of the Serpent Char
mers.y tfH t.ff NN .\tfH ! !
The names Of these are Jubar- About Hal
lab, and Mohammed- Abou-Merwan an. The
former is an old man, much distinguished
| in bis native country for his skill. When
the French had occupied Egypt, he col
lected serpents for the nataraliSts, and was
sent Tor to Cairo to perform before Genera.
Bonaparte. He described TO us the Cen
!. eral, as a middle sized mar, very pale with
handsome features, and most keen eye
+ Napoleon watched his proceedings with
I. great interest, made many inquiries, and
dismissed him with handsome buck
> sheesh.' Jubar is usually dressed in .
coarse, loose bornoose of loose brown serge
y with red cap on his head. The gift, OF
. . craft of serpent charming, descends in cer
!. tain families from generation to generation
:, and Mohammed, small active lad, is th'
old mans son-in-aw, although not number
. ing sixteen years. He is quite an Adoni
as to dress, wearing smart, richly embro'd
cred, dark green jacket, carrled-hnssa
fashion-over his right shoulder: whit
loose vest, full white irowsers, tied at tn
knee, scarlet stockings and fez or red car
os with blue tassel of extra proportion o
vs. his head { in his right ear is ring, so larg
,re that it might pass for curtain ring. ,.
NJ WHAT THE SNAKES ARE MADE TO Do
'~s' I'D Precisely as the clock strikes four, one
o. the Keepers places on the platform woo(
: en- box containing the serpents, and the Ia
Mohammed proceeds to tuck ibis amp
- sleeves as far up as possible, TO. leave Il
n arms bare. Heithen taxes off his clo'
jacket, and opening the box draws out
md large Cobra di Capello, Of dark copp
nv, color which be holds at arms length /
ant the tail, and after allowing it to writ
~ about in the air, for some time, he piac
Ia the serpent on the floor, still holding it
esi- described. By this time the cobra h
me- raised bis head indignant at the cruel tre'
s. s.. ment he is receiving. Mohammed tn
pinches and leases hun in every way
each pinch the cobra strikes at him,
III with great activity the blow is avoided.
TH. Having thus teased the snake for sol
3 time, Mohamned rises and placing his f
!, upon the tail, irritates him with stick.
~ The cobra writhes and strikes sometimes
~ the stick, sometimes al his tormentor's le
w, and again at his hands, all which is avoid
with the utmost nonchalence. . After 1
lapse Of about ten minutes, Mohamu
,,,, coils the cobra on the floor and leaves
while he goes to the box and draws out
other far 6ercer cobra. While Mohamu