Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-10-05
The COnjurer's Basket Trick.

We derive from Mr.. Frost's Lives
of the Conjurers a description written
by the Rev. Mr.. Caunter of the basket
tick common among the conjurers OF
India: A stout, ferocious looking fellow
stepped forward, with common wicker
basket of the country, which he begged
we should carefully examine. This we
accordingly did; it was of the slightest
texture, and admitted the light through
a thousand apertures. Under this fra,
gile covering he placed child about
eight years old. When she was proper
ly secured, the man, with lowering as
pect, asked her some question, which
she instantly answered, and, as the thing
was done within few feet from the
spot on which we were seated, the voice
appeared to come so distinctly from the
basket that felt at once satisfied there
was no deception.
They held a conversation for some
moments, when the juggler, almost with
scream of passion, threatened to kill
her. There was stern reality in the
whole scene which was perfectly dis
maying; it was acted to the life, but
terrible to see and hear. The child was
heard to beg for mercy, when the Jug
gler seized sword, placed his foot upon
the frail wicker covering under which
his supposed victim was so piteously
supplicating his forbearance, and, to my
absolute CONSERVATION and horror,
plunged it through. withdrawing it sew
eral times, and repeating the plunge
with all the blind ferocity of an excited
demon. By this time his countenance
exhibited an expression fearfully indica'
tive of the most frantic of human pas
sions. The shrieks of the child were so
real and distressing that they almost
curdled for a few moments the whole
mass OF my blood; my first impulse was
to rush upon the monster, and fell him
to the earth; but he was armed and l
defenseless. I looked at my compan-
ions-they appeared to be pale and par
alyzed with terror; and yet these feel
ings were somewhat neutrallzed by
the consciousness that the man could
not dare to commit deliberate murder
in the broad eye of day, and before so
many witnesses; still the whole thing
was appalling.
The blood ran in streams from the
basket; the child was heard to struggle
under it; her groans fell horribly upon
the ear; her struggles smote painfully
upon the heart. The former were
gradually subdued into faint moan,
and the latter into slight rustling
sound; we seemed to hear the last con-
vulsive gasp which was to see her inno-
cent soul free from the gored body,
when to our inexpressible astonishment
and relief, after muttering few cabalis-
tic words, the iuggler took up the bas-
ket; but no child was to be seen. The
spot was indeed dyed with blood; but
there were 10 mortal remains, and, after
few moments of undissembled Won
der, We perceived the little object Of our
alarm coming toward us from amongth
crowd. She advanced and saluted us,
holding out her hand for our donations,
which we bestowed with hearty good
will; she received them with a most
graceful salaam. and the party left US
we'll satisfied with our more than e1-
pected gratuity. What rendered the
deception the more extraordinary was
that the man stood aloof from the crowd
during the whole performance-there
was not person within several feet Of
him