The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1876-02-17
THE BASKET TRICK.
Horrors Of the Juggler's Art.

We derive from Mr.. Frost's Lives
of the Conjurers" description written
by the Rev. Mr.. Caunter of the basket
trick, common among the conjureIs of
India.
A stout ferocious looking fellow
stepped forward, with a common wick
er-basket of the country, which he
begged We would carefully examine.
This We accordingly did; it was Of the
slightest texture, and admitted the
light through a thousand apertures.
Under this fragile covering he placed
child about eight years old, an inter
esting little girl, habited in the only
garb which nature had provided for
her, perfect of frame and elastic Of
limb-a model for cherub, and scarce
" darker than a child of Southern
France. When she was properly Sc
cured, 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 sat
isfied there was no deception.
They held conversation for some
moments, when the juggler, almost
with scream of passion, threatened to
kill her. There was a stern reality in
the whole scene which was perfectly
dismaying; 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 a 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 distracting that they almost
curdled for 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 | defenseless. looked at my com
panions-they appeared to be pale and
paralysed with terror; and yet these
feelings were somewhat neutralized by
the consciousness that the man could
not dare to commit deliberate MUIR
der 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 grad
ually subdued into a faint moan, and
the latter into a slight rustling sound !;
we seemed to hear the last cOnvulsive
gasp which was to see her innocent soul
free from the gored body, when to our
inexpressible establishment and relief,
/ Ill lCI IL" Ne'DhlIollN NOlNi9y
the jungler took up the basket but no
child was to be seen. The spot was in
deed dyed with blood; but there was
no mortal remains, and, after a few
moments of undissembled wonder, we
perceived the little object of our alarm
coming towards us from among the
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 ex-
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.