Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-10-13

An Interview with Arab snaIke-C Charm
ers-Their Singular Proceedings and In-
difference TO Poison.
In recent volume entitled life in the
Desert occurs this remarkable chapter:
These performers consisted of seven BeAi-
Schnidad Arabs from Ainad, a town lying
l03 leagues to the east of March. Six of
them were playing upon flutes when we
came up, but on being requested by Aou
Bekrel-Braud to exhibit their serpents to us,
they consented with alacrity.
Having made their arrangements all seven
commenced by putting up their hands as if
holding books while they murmuredi in con-
cert a prayer addressed TO Sidna Aisser, the
patron of snake-charmers. This Invocation
finished, the six musicians took their flutes
and began to play-the chief charmer spin
ming with great velocity in a kind of wild
dance, round the palm-leaf basket covered
with goat-skin, in which the serpents were
placed.
Suddenly the dancer stopped, and, plung-
ing his hand into the basket, drew out of it
an asp, or buskd, which he whirled about,
twining and untwining it, until 1t looked
like band Of greenish yellow silk He then
wreathed the serpent round his head like q
tBrban, dancing all the time, while the rep
tile remained where he had placed it, appear
ing to accommodate itself to the movements
and will of the dancer.
The asp was then placed upon the ground,
from which it reared itself perpendicularly--
the position of attack taken by it when its
haunts are invaded-waving its body from
right to left, in time with the music of tho
flutes. r..
Then the dancer wheeling more and more
rapidly in diminishing circles, again plunged
his hand into the basket, and again drew
from it successively four horned vipers, or
Io[n n1,aaa 1..l L. 4
cile than the asp, kept themselves half coiled,
with their heads slanting forward, ready to
strike, as they followed, with cleaning eyes,
the motions Of the charmer, on whom they
darted, with open jaws, when he came
within reach, lanchiDg their bodies with
wonderful swiftness, while their tails ap-
peared as if fixed to the ground, and then
| again winding themselves into coils.
The dancer parried with his abbaye, these
assaults upon his bare legs, the viPers ap-
| pearing to impregnate the garment with
their venom. He then seized one Of them
behind the head dancing round and round,
and calling in loud voice upon his patron
saint
Opening the powerful, elastic jaws of the
reptile with stick, he showed us its fangs,
from which oozed whitish, oily substance.
Then he held his arm near the snake, which
struck him Immediately, upon which he re-
]
/ pain, calling all the time upon Sidna Aisser,
the reptile still continuing to strike, until be
| withdrew his arm and showed us the blood
/ trickling from it.
Replacing the viper on the ground, the
| charmer now applied his lips to the wound,
! squeezing it between his teeth and still keep
, ing up his dance, while the flutes went faster
and faster, until at length he stopped from
sheer exhaustion.
As l was confident that this man was an
arrant juggler, and that the poison had bees
extracted from the reptile, I asked him to lei
me handle it. .- .,
cart thou a serpent-charmerT asked the
Beni-Shiddad, "hast thou a faith implicit in
the power of Sidna AisserW
SNeither the one nor the other" re-
| piled |.
"Should the serpent strike thee, then thy
hour is come" rejoined he. "Bring hither
hen, or some other living animal, and
will prove the truth of my words"
Unfortunately for ITSELF a wretched cal
happened to be at hand. 1t was brought to
the charmer, who caused the viper to strike
it; Immediately after which poor puss fell
into convulsions, which lasted for few sec
then fell, stiff and dead, soon after which its
nose and eyes assumed blueish hue.
need scarcely add that this experiment
cured me of my frantic desire to play with
the hornedviper. ---
Of these facts l speak from ocular ex.
perience; but, although have investigated
the matter closely, have never yet met
with any person who could PROFOUND sat.
isfactory theory upon the subject. have
applied to the charmers themselves, and tc
the people about them, offering money in
exchange for their secret, but invariably
with the same result.
/ "If we die not from the bite of the ser.
pents," they would say, with an appearance
of imperturbable faith, sit is owing to the
protection Of Sidna Aisser." ..t-. g
Superstition alone can satisfy the Arab
for this curious fact of the snakO-charmers
To me, who am not given to the supernatural
it seems that these men must possess q
knowledge of certain herbs, the Juice o.
which neutralizes the effect Of the. venom
and that they hold this remedy in theii
mouths while sucking the wound, thus OBJ
tanning results usually produced by excelsior
and cauterization.