Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-12
INDIAN CONJURERs.


Making a Mango Tree Grow from the
seed-Hereditary Occupations I'm I'm
dia- snake-CharmersLB by Q Cobra
Shopping I'm DeIhi-ShawI store OF
Manick Chund-Indian Costumes.
Delhi is famous for the skill Of her conju-
rers and snake-charmers; and Barabbas ar
ranged for an exhibition to come of after
our late dinner. There were yet three
hours of daylight and we ranged ourselves
in a semi-circle on the porch Of the hotel
small and select audience OF i've persons
with an indefinite number Of natives IN
| the background. The chief performer,
| thin, wiry native, with keen and restless
black eyes, squatted ON the stone pavement
m front, flanked on either side by his wife
and sister. Their entire apparatus con-
sisted of few bowls, pipes, boxes and
wicker baskets, most rude in construction
and not suggestive of any marvellous
mechanism. And yet our conjurers went
through with a most astonishing series Of
tricks, some of which battle even Hermann,
the prestidigitateur. A constant fire Of
words was kept up in Hindoostan between
the performers, which seemed sort of by
play connected with the various tricks, and
was translated by Barabbas. Besides the
ordinary performances, such as swallowing
swords, knives and nails, and afterward
drawing complete ''old junk shop" from
his mouth, smashing our watches and burn
ing up our handkerchiefs, which were
afterward returned unhurt to our pocket,
the performer drank a mixture Of three
powders-red, white and blue-in glass of
water, and Immediately afterward produced
the three powders in a dry state, sepa
rately, from his mouth. The formula
often repeated was "ek-do teen, chottlon,"
Gone, two, three, look sharp, sister, a roll
ing up Of the eyes and pretended appeal to
Vishnu, SILVA and Buddha, when diff
cult Transformation was about to take
place. But the most wonderful thing was
making a mango tree grow from the seed,
which he planted in a pot Of earth
before our eyes-a trick which / think
has never been performed out of India.
These things and many others, showing
wonderful skill in the conjuring art, were
done in broad daylight, within few feet of
us, and in the absence of the usual mechan-
ical contrivances of stage exhibitions.
All occupations in the East are heredita-
ry-even "beggars" and 'robbers." In the
last census returns of the northwestern
Provinces, 1900 are set down as "hereditary
buffoons and conjurors," and j 100 are set
uOW IL do ollthC -1Iu AilOob Suul-
Gus of all, 6.372 are returned as "poets."
saw an exhibition of snake-charming in Be
mares, which had almost a tragedy in it.
The performer opened out his stock in front
of the Bungalow, where we were sitting,
consisting of boa constructor, ten or twelve
feet long, and as large round as my arm,
two lively cobrGs, the most deadly of snakes,
anda variety of scorpions He teased
ba oobrao until f1av raiSad f1aair hiqrin1r
heads two feet from the ground,
and with distended hoods and
quivering tongues, repeatedly struck at the
mans hand Not drawing it away quick
enough he was bitten by the snake on the
fore finger, and drop of blood appeared
on the wound. The man took from his
pocket a small black stone, looking like
bean, and pressed it for moment on the
wound TO which it adhered, and went on
with his exhibition. Then taking a small
bit of light colored wood, he held it towards
the cobras, and they instantly skunk back,
as if terrified and completely cowed
another piece of wood had the same effect
upon the scorpions. A rupee paid the shake
charmer, and secured for me the two bits
of wood and the little stone, which brought
away as mementoes.
Our hotel was literally beseiged by
host of itinerant vendors of the specialities
of Delhi. They tried to get across to us by
bribing Barrabas, who made a good thing
out of the ten to twenty per cent on all our
purchases, which of course came out of our
pockets. Most of these vendors are propri-
etOrs of shops in the Chandnee ChOwd, and
bring quantities of cashmere shawlS, Delhi
embroidery, paintings and jewelTy for your
inspection, some of which are very tempt
ing. Once admitted to your room, before
you have time to forbid them, these men
will have opened their bundles, and dis
played before your now longing eyes the
most exquisite fabrics of every color of the
rainbow, covered with the finest embroidery
| in gold silver thread and silk, If there
should be any ladies in your party you may
as well surrender at once, only
STIMULATING for enough to be left in your
purse for the expenses to Bombay; for the
beautiful opera cloaks, ravishing Cashmere
shawls, sandalwood earrings and miniature
paintings on ivory, gold and silver filagree
ornaments, with which you find yourself
surrounded, would tempt an anclorite or any
other hater of the pomps and vanities of life.
| The prices asked are of course very diff
ferent from what is gladly taken after
| half a hours bargaining; but it is a very
unsafe method of purchase, unless one
knows the actual value of the goods, for al
though you may get the article at half the
! price first demanded, you are by no means
! certain that you have made a good bar
gain.
There are one or two shops, however.
| where the prices asked are the fair market
value, and to these the traveller in search
of genuine articles should go direct. At
the shawl store of Manick Chund we were
shown up a narrow and steep flight of
steps to a small room, opening on one side
! to the court, and on the other to a narrow
balcony overlooking the street. Chairs
having been provided for us by the pro-
| prietOr and his assistants, he unlocked
! door leading into large closet, and brought
out bundle, like peddler's pack, tied up
! in white cloth. When united We found this
! contained about twenty cashmere shawls,
worth from five hundred to one thousand
| rupees each. These We're held up for our
| inspection, one after another, then pushed
| away, and another bundle brought out,
| exhibited to us and thrown aside in the
most careless manner. Bundles of ber-
houses and jackets of cashmere cloth and
| velvet, most beautifully embroidered in silk
| and gold, chOgGs, or loose dressing gowns
| lOT SeHtlennel, SIllOklig CdpS, LdDle EDNeTS,
| etc, until the floor was two feet deep in a
confused litter of the richest dry goods |
! ever saw. To my unsophisticated eyes these
ravishing camel's hair shawls are nothing
near so handsome as the limitations m de
in England and France. They are neither
smooth nor glossy, and suggested the idea
| of having been washed, but not ironed.
! But my judgment on dry goods had been
| laughed at so many times that had lost all
| confidence in it, and under the instruction
of the ladies of our party, who were familiar
with Stewards stock, | soon began to
admire them. They are not made of
| ''camels' hair" at all, but of wool of the
| Cashmere goat; each shawl being COM
| posed of many pieces, woven by different
families, perhaps, and the labor of months.
! They are sewed very nicely together, the
| skill of blending colOrs being something
| marvellous, and can be altered and changed
! in bOrdeas and centers, and washed and
| mussed up without damage. In the east
the wealthy natives do not wear them over
the shoulders, but male and female alike
tie them around their waist. In India,
dress serves the purpose of denOting rank.
| The peasant is clothed in cotton and the
| prince in cloth of gold; and even religion,
caste and occupation are distinguished by