The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-08-15
FEATs OF A MOHAMMEDAN sHEIKH.

A correspondent of an English paper,
writing from Damascus, gives an ac-
count of some of the featS performed by l
a Mohammedan shiekh of that city, |
Russian AbOutOn, from which we SelecI |
the following:
Taking a handful of sl1ewers similar to /
those used for cooking purposes, each aoouta
foot long, he called the Widest halt'strlpped
desciple to him, and opening his mouth,
muttering the while with great apparent
intensity of concentration prayer or invo-
cation, he with a sudden jerk forced the
point clean through the cheeks so that 1t
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 drop of blood flowing from the wound,
He then went to his son, who calmly gazed
at him with his large swimming eyes, open
ed his mouth, and received n stab through
the cheek without the quiver of an eyelld.
1 was watching him cl osely and could not
observe the slightest muscular contraction
The point was clearly projecting through
the skin, and deception was Impossible, as
there was every opportunity afforded for the
closest inspection. Leaving the two VIC
TINS with their mouths thus trussed, as 1t
were, the sheikh took square Oox, wnlcn
when it was opened, was found to contain
several live scorpions of unusual size. TAX
ing up one of these as large as an ordinary
] land-crab, he handed it, all wriggliug. dart
: ing its tail in it's efforts TO sting, to man
/ who came forward, and he calmly but rapid
/ ly dropped it into his mouth and crunched
/ it, with great apparent relish, eating 1t COM
/ plefely up. Then he saw much larger box
! containing serpeuts OF various sizes. Ibese
he turned out upon the floor, dominating
/ them after the manner of serpent charmers,
and allowing them to twine and curl round
! him. Drawing live snake, about two feet
long, out of the box, he held 1t up oy the
tail, when suddenly tall man, afflicted ap-
pearently with st. Vitus' dance, with Ear
disheveled, rushed forward with loud cry
and with foaming liDs seized the snake VIVID
both hands, tore il violently asunder, anu
plunged its bloody and palpitatiug end into
his mouth. This seemed a signal for a gen.
eral scramble. In moment three or four
men were tearing the writhing fragments
with their teeth, and with eager greedlness
devoured them in large mouthfuls, until not
particle of the snake remained. They
then drew back with seeming reluctance
wiping their bloody lips with their hands:
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 ones cheek
skewered did not at all events produce 2
feeling of discomfort, and as they must have
been standing for at least a quarter of az
hour in the same attitude, told the sheikt
to pull out the skewers. This he did, il
each case preceding the sharp pull Will
which he extracted them by an earnest in
vocation. When they we're drawn out th'
points were b.oodless, while, excepting tina
there was apparent induration of the cheel
at the spots through which the skewers hat
passed there was no sign of what bad hap
pened.
"A brazier full of live charcoal was nov
brought in and famed into flame. When j
was glowing with blue and lurid ligh
the sheikh, calling suddenly on Allah sew
eral times jumped literally on the blazin
mass in his bare feet, and stood there nearl,
a minute Then getting down, the charcoa
was again famed into a fame and the nel
who had eaten the scorpions and serpent
x-1,g hoI haav ClrarunraA oh IA
cheeks rnshed forward plunged their hand
into the burning mass and tossed the glow
ing embers into their mouths, crunchin
them up with the greatest unconcern. Mean
time the smell of burned flesh became uI
mistakable, which somewhat initiate
against the theory that their flesh is impel
vious to fire, through l am bound to say n
one showed any signs of feeling pain.