Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1850-08-31

1
gether. felt no pain. No doubt many
| of the audience felt more pain in seeing it
than / did in doing it. | wore Turkish
dress both in the streets and in the theatres.
| never saw ladies faint at my performance
no, there was no nonsense of that kind.
Gentlemen often pulled the sword and
knives by their handles out OF my mouth,
to convince themselves that it was real,
and it was real, though the people TO this
day generally believe it is not. Fve some
times seen people shudder at my perfor-
nance, but generally had loud applause.
I used to hold my head back with the
swords in my stomach for two or three
minutes. 1've had a guinea a day for
sword swallowing. This guinea day was
only for few days at fair times. l was
with old ''salt box" Brown, too, and swal-
lowed swords and coniured with him. l
swallowed swords with him thirty times a
day more than one each time-sometlmes
three or four had third of the profits ;
Brown had two-thirds. We divided after
all the expenses were paid. My third
might have been thirty shillings week,
but it wouldn't be half so much now, if |
could swallow tea-kettle now, the people
would scarcely look at me. Sometimes
indeed, great many times-say twenty
have brought up oysters out of my stom-
ach after eating them, just as I swallowed
them, on the end of the sword. At other
times there was blood on the end of the
blade. l always felt faint after the blood,
70 ol- ,r,, I
get at hand TO relieve me, which it did for
time. AT last I injured my health SO
much that l was obliged to 90 to the doc
tors. I used to eat well, and drink too.
When felt myself injured by the swal-
lowing had lost my appetite, and the doc
tor advised me to take honey and liquids,
tea, beer, and sometimes drop OF grog.-
At three months end, he told me il swal-
lowed swords it would be my death but
for all that | was forced to swallow swords
three or four years after this, not feeling
ony great suffering. I then thought l
would swallow a live snake. I'd never
heard of any one, Indian or anybody, swal-
loving a live snake. 1t came into my
head once by catching grass snake in the
fields in Norfolk. | said to myself as
held it by the neck, "There seems to be no
harm in this fellow; Pll try if can swal-
| low him.
! tried then and there, and did swallow
him. 1t felt cold and Shiny as it went
down. l didn't feel afraid, for kept tight
hold Of him by the tail and no one has
any right to be afraid of grass snake
When 1 brought the snake up again in
about three minutes, it seemed dead. After
that | introduced snake-swallowing into
my public performances, and did so for
about four years. have taken five shil-
lings, and as low as one shilling, when l
swallowed snakes in the streets OF London.
| catched my own snakes a few miles from
London, and killed very few through swal-
lowing on 'em. Six snakes, properly fed
on milk, lasted me a year. The snakes
never injured me and I shouldn't have
given it up, but the performance grew stale,
and the people would not give any thing
! for it. / have swallowed swords in the
streets thirty to forty times day, and
snakes as often, both in town and country.
thought once | couldn't have followed
any other sort of life you see I'd been so
long accustomed to public life besides, /
may have liked il far better than labor, as
most young men 90, but no labor can be
harder than mine has been.
If my father had been what he ought, he
might have checked my childish doings and
wishes. have tried other things though,
in the hope of bettering myself l have
tried shoemaking for five or SIX years, but
couldn't get living at it. wasn't COM
petent for it-that's two years ago-so now
Pm musician 10 a school of acrobats.-
Very many like me remain in the street busi-
ness, because they can't get out OF it, that's
the fact. Whilst / swallowed swords and
snakes | played the fre-eater. I did il
once or twice last week. ] eat hot
cinders from the CRATE (; at least | have put
them in my mouth. | only use a bit Of
chalk. chalk my palate, tongue and fin
gers; il hardens the skin of the tongue and
palate, but that's all. Fire eating affect!
the taste for time, or rather it prevents
one tasting anything particularly. Pvt
eaten fire for twenty years in the streets
and in public places. 1t hasn't brought
any money of late years. l wasn't alrait
when I first tried it by eating a Lighted
link-a small fambeau-I felt no inconve'
nience. The chalk did every thing tha
was right. You may stroke red hot po
ker with chalked hands and not be burnt
| make the same as the acrobats; perhap
| average 12s. week, and have wifi
and six children, the oldest under eleven
TO maintain out of that. Often we're obll
ged to live upon nothing. When ! wa
sliPpersnaking had from 3s Cd. to As.
: dozen, the grindery costing me Is. Cd.
leaving Is. for dozen. | could only
clear 6s. week by it; that's all | coul'
get out of the slop-shops. There's on
thing coming from sword swallowing tha
] ought TO mention. I'm satisfied tha
Ramo Samee and gave the doctors thei
notions about stomach pump.-Edinbur
ReUieW.
A VERY MODEST lady sent her very mod
est daughter Ia pretty young damsel ou
10 ort tInla