Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1855-10-31
The Juglers of India.

From the first of a series of articles entitled
s.Sketches of Inda,'' now publishing in the
Crayon, we extract the following =
One morning after / had passed some days
at Madras, went to the esgarden house" Of
one of my English friends, to see an exhibi-
tion by some Jugglers who had been sent for
the night before to come up from the Black
Town. The Jugglers of Madras are famous as
the best in India. They form cast by them
selves Their skill is the result of the prac-
tce of successive generations, and their art is
a hereditary one. II was about six O'Clock in
clear September morning, and our party con-
sisted of five or six spectators. Coffee having
been served, we took our seat on the veranda
glers, of whom there were Is or twenty, men,
women and children, ranged themselves be-
fore US on the grass ut the further side OF the
avenue, ten on twelve feet wide, that run be-
tween us and them. Behind them was green
field, where, at some distance. grew few trees
and lowering shrubs. There was nothing near
them that could afford hiding place or shelter.
The men wore nothing but the dhotes or tight
cloth about their loins two of them were We
ry old, with white boards lying upon their
dark skins. The women were clothed Ill the
common bright, loose dress of the lower class
es, and the children were quite naked. The
impliments OF their art, their musical instru-
ments. and the fiat, and circular baskets in
which were their snakes, for the Jugglers are
also snake charmers by profession, lay around
about upon the grass.
One of the young men began the exhibition
with some common tricks of slight of hand,
remarkable only from the fact that his dress
and the ground afforded him no aids. Then
another came forward and throwing four brass
balls into the air, kept them in constant mo-
tion now making them circle round his head
now throwing them in opposite directions I'M
der his arms and over his shoulders, now cha
sing one with another, never missing the in
stantaneous chance, with Incredible quickness
of eye and quickncss of hand, with incompre-
hensible delicacy making them wheel about
him as if they were the obedient servants of
his will. Such exquisite skill makes ones
own hands seem utterly clumsy and insufii-
cient All the while that this Juggler was
PLAYING 80 beautifully with the giittering brass
balls, one his companions beat upon dull
drum, while the others looked on, and now
and then, at some peculiarly successful or long
sustained light, broke out with murmur OF
encouraging applause. Then followed IN
quick succession other not less remarkable
feats OF strength, agility and skiIl-feats on
poles with swords with stones, with ribands
--feafs. indeed. of all sorts and all done with
an apparent ease that made them not less plea
sint than wonderful to see. The Juggiers
seemed suttle and 1.-THE as spirits,
Not tied or manacIcd with joint or limb
Nor founded on the brittle strength of bone
Like cum brous flesh.
But the most wonderful performance that
we saw this morning, was feat of pure jag
Cling. of which, have never been able to find
any solution. One of the old men came for
ward upon the graveled and hard trodden ave
nue., leading with him woman. He made
her kneel down, tied her arms behind her, and
biindfoldcd her eyes. Then bringing great
bag net made with open meshes of rope, he
put il over the woman, and laced up the mouth
fastening it with knotted intertwining cords
in such a way that it seemed an impossibility
for her to extricate herself from it. The man
then took a closely woven wicker basket that
narrowed toward the top, lifted the woman in
the net from the ground, and placed her in it,
though it was not without the cxertion of
some force that he could crowd her through
the narrow mouth. Having succeeded in get
ting her into the basket in which, from its
small size, she was necessarily in most
crampcd position, he put the cover upon it
and threw over it wide strip Of cloth, hiding
it completely. In a moment, placing his
hand under the cloth, he drew out the net
quite united, and disentangled. He then took
a long straight, sharp sword, muttered some
I words to himself while he sprnkled the dust
! upon the cloth, and put some upon his fore
head, then pulled off and threw aside the COW
/ ering, and plunged the sword suddenly into
I the basket. Prepared as in some degree we
were for this, and knowing that it was only a
deception, it was yet impossible to see ii
without cold creeping of horror. The quiet
J and energy with which he repeated his strokes
! driving the sword through and through the
I basket, while the other Jugglers looked on.
I apparently as much interested as ourselves.
/ were very dramatic and effective. Stopping
/ after he had riddled the basket, he again scat-
4 tered dust upon its top, lifted the lid, raised
I the basket from the ground, showed it to us
empty, and threw it away AT the same mo
/ ment we saw the woman approaching us from
! clump of trees at distance of at least fifty
/ or sixty feet.
Throughout the whole of this inexplicable
feat, the old man and the woman were quite
removed from the rest of IL cir party. The
! i,acEat cfood ~, ;tea1c On tho hard earth. auC