The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1861-03-28
Marvelou< Tents of an Indian Magician.-
A Hra,s Coin Changed into II Living

MarveIou~ Tents Of an Imdian Magician.-
A Hra,s Coin Changed into Living
Serpent.
The fort at Calcutta (writes an Eng
lish officer in Once a. Week. commonly
known as Fort William, is one of the
most splendid aud convenient military
establish,nc is to be found in any quar-,
of the globe. 1t is spacious aud some
what resembles the Tower of London, in
that it consists Of various streets and
squares adapted for different military
purposes On all sides it is guarded by
a hi yh aud strong, built rampant, which
is surrounded in its turn by broad and
de- !osse, over VII ch are placed draw
bridges leading to the principal gasrways
Arrived in Calcutta, a raw griffin, of
course | went TO inspect the lions, aud
among other things the fort.
The fort is often the scene o: animal
ed festivity, from the presence Of native
j"gglers, renowned for their surprising
skill and dex,e,ity. The performances Of
these strange people have been SO often
described that | shall only mention a
few, otherwise might tire the read"r
One of them struck me as being curious,
from its having strong resemblance to
the 'easts recorded in sacred history. as
having been performed by the mayicians
of Egypt, in the time of Moses, and in
the pres nee of Pharaoh Indeed, as t
is well known that the Hindoo tricks
have been handed down from the m' at
distant ages. frcm father to son. there is
l;t'le wonder that such similarity can
exist. The particular trick allud.d to is
the apparent conversion Of brass coin
iHto snake.
The jrg.ler gave me the coin to hold
and then seated himself about five yards
from me, on a small rug, from which he
never attempted to move during the
whole performance. showed the coin
to several persons WHO were close beside
me Gu form in front of the jug.ler. At
Il sign from him, not only grasped the
coin held firmly in my right hand. but
crossing that haud with equal tightness
with my left, | enclosed them both as
firmly US | could between my knees. OF
course WAS positively certain that the
small coin was within my double fists
The juysler then began short incanta
tion, accompanied Ivy a monotonous aud
discordant kind Of recita,ive. and repeat.
ing the words, Ram Sammu." during
some minutes He then suddenly stop
ped. aud still keeping his seat. made a
quick motion with his hand, as if throw
ing somethin. at me. giving at the same
time puff with his mouth. At that
instant | felt my hands suddenly di-t-nd
aud hrcom" partly open, Will" cxper-
fenced sensation rs if cold ball Of
d"n-h. or something equally soft, mast v
and dissyrecabic was now between my
palms.
l started to my feet in astorishment,
and openi". my hand found there no
coin; but, to my horror and alarm. (f"r
of all created things l detest and 'oa,he
the g-nu-,) | saw young snake, all
alivr-oh aud Of all snakes in the world.
coLro dt c"pell". folded or rather coil.
ed, roundly up. threw it instantly to
the ground, trembling with rage and
fear, as if already bi, by the deadly rep.
tile, which began immediately to crawl
along the ground, to the alarm and
amazement Of every one present. The
juggler now got up for the first time
since he sat down, aud. catching hold Of
the snake, displayed its length. which
was nearly two feet-two feet all but on
inch and half. He then took it eau
tiously by the tail, and. opening his own
mouth to its widest extent, let the head
OF the snake drop into it, and deliberate.
ly commenced to swallow the animal till
the end Of the tail only was visible, then.
making sudden gulp, the whole Of the
snake was apparently swallowed. After
this he came up to the spectators, and
opening his mouth wide permitted us ia
look into his throat, but no snake OF
snakes tail was visib!e--it was seeming
y down his throat altogether. During
the remainder Of the performances W
never saw this snake again, nor did the
man profess his ability 10 make it re
appear. But he performed another snak'
trick which surprised ~ very much. H,
took from bae another cobra di copeHo
and. walking into The center Of the room
ioclosed II in bic hsDds in . folded otste