River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-11-30
The Conjurers Of Old.

bears closer resemblance, in meth
DDS and manipulations, to the we'll
known conjurer of history than any
other representative of the magic art.
How far short he still remains of the
performances of his prototypes is illus
trated below. In 1915 a delegation of
highly educated and distinguished
men from the English East India Com
pany visited the Emperor Jehangire.
While on their mission they witnessed
many most wonderful performances,
almost causing them to discredit their
senses, and far beyond any hint even
of solution. A party of Bengalese con-
iurers and jugglers, showing their art
before the Emperor, We're desired to
produce upon the spot, and from seed,
ten mulberry trees. The Immediately
planted ten seeds, which, in a few
minutes produced as many trees. The
ground divided over the spot, when a
seed was planted, tiny leaves appeared,
at once followed by slender shoots,
which rapidly gained elevation, put
ting out leaves and twigS and branches.
finally spreading wide in the air, bud
ding, poisoning and yielding fruit,
which matured upon the spot, and was
found to be excellent. And this be-
fore the beholder had turned away his
eyes. Fig, almond, mango, and wal
nut trees were at the same time under
like conditions produced, yielding the
fruit which belonged to each. Won
der succeeded wonder. The branches
were filled with birds of beautiful
plumage, fitting about among the
leaves and singing sweet notes. The
leaves turned to russell, fell from their
places, branches and twigs withered,
and finally the trees sank back into
the earth, out of which they had all
sprang within the hour.
The same conjurers performed Sc
ries of marvels. One of them produc-
ed chain fifty cubits in length. One
end of this he threw into the air, when
the chain rapidly ran out its whole
length, and remained fixed in the air
as if fastened against the sky. A dog
was then placed upon the chain, when
up he ran to the further end, and at
once disappeared heavenward. A hog,
panther, and other large animals
were successfully despatched up this
aerial pathway, and each in turn dis
appeared from the far end. Nor were
they seen again and finally the chain
was withdrawn, and placed in bag
for convenient carriage.
Another had bow and about fifty
steel pointed arrows. lie shot an ar
row into the air, when, 10 I! the arrow
became fixed in space, at conSldera-
BILE height. Another and another ar
row was sent off, each fixing itself in
the shaft of the preceding, until all
formed a chain of arrows in the air,
excepting the last shot, which, strik-
ing the chain, brought the whole to the
ground in attachments.
They set up two common tents fac
ing each other, and about bOwshot
apart. These tents were critically ex-
amined by the spectators, as are the
cabinets of the mediums, and pro-
nounced empty. The tents were fast
ened to the ground all around. The
lookers-On were then invited to choose
what animals or birds they would have
issue from these tents to engage in a
battle. Khaun e-Jahaun, incredulOus-
ly asked TO see fight between ostrich
es. In few minutes an ostrich came
out from each tent, rushed to combat
with deadly earnestness, and from
them the blood soon began to stream
but they were so nearly matched that
neither could win the victory, and
they were at last separated by the con-
iurers and conveyed within the tents.
After this the varied demands of the
spectators for birds or beasts were ex-
actly complied with, always with the
same results.
They took man and apparently
severed limb from limb, actually at
last cutting off his head, as it appeared.
They scattered these members along
the ground for a considerable distance,
and allowed them to remain some time.
Gathering them together, they spread
over these remains sheet, under
which one of the jugglers crawled, and
soon came out followed by tie man who
had been discovered, now sound in
every part. Neither was there to be
found about the place any trace of the
thing that had been done.
A large cauldron was set, and into
it a quantity of rice thrown. Without
the sign of fire this rice soon began TO
boil, and from the cauldron was taken
more than one hundred platters of
cooked rice, with stewed fowl at the
top of each. This trick is performed
on a smaller scale by the'mOst ordinary
fakirs of the present day.
But space fails to give opportunity
for illustrating. from the records of
the past, how the miserably tame
performances-by comparison-of the
mediums of the present day were paled
and overshadOwed by those OF the
other days and more adroit peoples.
There is not wonderful feature in any
of the so-called phenomena or mani
festations which was not, nay, which
is not now more than duplicated by
other skillful performers, whose con-
nection with earth, and earth alone is