River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-08-28
Miracles of a Mohammedan shelkh

| A New York Sun correspondent whites
| from Damascus, giving the following &C
count of miracles performed by Mo.
llammedan sheikh or priest: Takino 4
handful ofskewers similar to those used Ion
cooking purposes, each about foot long,
he called the widest half-stripped dIsci-
pie to him, and opening his mouth, NUT
terlng the while with great apparent in
| tenity of concentration a prayer or invo-
cation, he with sudden Jerk forced the
point clean through the cheek so that it
could be seen projecting on the other side.
He repeated the process with the other
cheek, the man showing no sign of pain
and not a drop of blood flowing from the
wound. He then went to his son, who
calmly gazed at hlm with his large swim
ming eyes, opened his mouth and received
similar stab through the cheek without
the culver of an eyelid. ] was watching
him closely and could not observe the
slightest muscular con raction. The poin
was clearly projecting through the skin,
and deception was impossible, as the
was every opportunity afforded for the
closest inspection. Leaving the two VIC
tins with their mouths thus trussed.
as it were, the shiekh took square box,
which, when opened, was found to con-
tain several live scorpions of unusual
size. Taking up one OF these, as large
as an ordinary land crab, he handed il,
all wrggling, dartinglt tail in its efforts
to sting TO man who came for ard, and
calmly but rapidly dropped it into his
mouth and crdnched it with great appar-
ent relish, eating it completely up. Then
we saw much larger box, containing
serpcnts OF various sizes. These he turn
ed out upon the floor, dominating them
after the manner Of serpent charmers,
and allowing them to Irvine and curl
round him. In this. OF course, there was
nothing marvellous, nor indeed in " at
Immediately followed, though it was
sickening to behold Ora ing live
snake about two feet long out of the box,
he held 1t up hy the tail, when suddenly
a tall man afflicted apparently with St.
\ titus dance, with hair dishevcled, rush
ed forward with a loud cry, and with
foaming lips seized the snake with both
hands, tore it violently asunder, and
plunged its bloody and palpitating end
into his mouth. This seemed the signal
for general scramble. IN a moment
ing fragments with their teeth, and with
greediness devoured them in large mouth
fuls until not a particle ofsnake remained.
They then drew back with seeming re-
luctance, wiping their bloody lips with
their hands.
But the excitement seemed 10 have
produced sort of fit in the man who had
first seized the snake, from which the
shelkh restored him by clasping his head
Nth both hands and pressing it violently,
while he again concentrated himself on
lamentations, the veins starting out on bis
forehead with the intensity of his efforts
In few moments the dervish had become
comparatively calm though for the rest
of the time ] observed that he continued
to twitch and jerk convulsiveiy, ahile his
eyes rolled wildly.
Meantime the man and boy Who had
been pierced watched the proceedings
with the utmost unconcern. AS it WAS
difficult to believe that to remain with
one's cheeks skewcred did no. at all
events produce "A feeling Of discomfort,
and as they must have been standing for
at least "A quarter of an hour in the same
attitude, told the sheikh to pull out the
skewers. This he did, in each case pre-
ceding the sharp pull with which he eX-
tracted them by an earnest invocation.
When they ere drawn out the points
were bIoodIess, while, excepting that
there was an apparent indunation of the
check at the spots through which the
skewers had passed, there was no sign OF
what had happened.
A brazier full Of live charcoal was now
brought in, and famed into flame When
it was glowing with blue and lurd
light, the shelkh, calling suddenly on
Allah several times, jun red literally on
the blazing mass with his bare feet, and
stood there for nearly a minute. Then
getting down, the charcoal was again
famed into flame, and the men who had
eaten the scorpions and serpents, and who
had been skewered through the cheeks
rushed forward, plunged their hands into
e burning mass, and tossed the glow
ing embers into their mouths, crunching
them up With the greatest concern. Mean
time the smell of burned flesh became
unmistaE able, whicn somewhat initiates
against the theory that their flesh is inn
ervlous to fire, though am bound to
say one showed any signs of feeling
pain.