The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-07-21
Snake Charming in India.


The following story of snake charm
ing has been sent to us by corre-
spondent who is making sketching tour
through some of the States OF northwest
India:
One morning was strolling with o
friend in the vernanda where we saw
strange figure coming along the drive;
tallish man, in scarlet turban-only.
unlike the usual solid turban, it was
wound serpent wise about his head; a
kind OF loose, fiame-eolored shirt; a lon
cloth and the ordinary peaked shoe of
the Easterns. Across his shoulders he
carried a stout bamboo pole between
flve and six feet long, Mt either end of
which hung two bags of coarse woven
cloth, colored less vivid flame color.
AS he came up to us we saw he had
long black hair, twisted up like awom-
s, and secured at the left side by a
heavy. silver comb whose back was
chased in strange patterns and shaped
like curve in a snakes body. In his
ears were delicate earrings of silver, set
with small green and red and white
stones in hower-like shapes; on his
forehead was the red mark of the Hin
doc; across the bridge of the nose. be-
tween the eyes, there was black and
scarlet line drawn that looked like a fine
silk ribbon, and similar ribbon ran
from the outer corner of each eye to the
temple. His face gave you the impress
sion OF his having been alive since the
Hood; his eyes looked as if they could
not shut, yet he had not wrinkle, and
was evidently young. His hands were
beautifully shaped with delicate nails;
his feet were strong and shapelv. too.
My friend said: '..This man will show
you some fun for a few coppers. So
he was led up on to the veranda and
the play began. He opened his bags,
sat down on his launches. and proceed
ed to unpack. The bags contained each
large wicker, or rather bamboo lath
basket. and nondescript bundles of
many-colored cloth. The latter con-
tanned tin box full of live and lively
scorpions, some necklaces of strange
gray and red stone, pieces of wood sup
posed to be cures for scorpion bites,
round black substances like small shin
ing buttons-these are snake stones. and
if laid on cobra bite are suppose d to-
cure it.
The baskets contained also large
cobra apiece. He took out the two
cobras and laid them on the stone floor
of the veranda. l am not quite sure if
he showed us two or one at first, for he
has been here many times since. At
any rate. he took cobra out, let it
squirm about on the floor; then he pro-
duced from his bag weird pipe, made
of gourd and shaped something
like bagpipe. The lower part, below
the belly, is pierced with holes on which
the fingers play. With this pipe he be-
gan the most goblin rant that ever was
heard; the cobra ceased writhing about,
and gradually raised itself on its coils,
swelled out its hood, and slowly waved
its awful head to and fro in front of the
music, as if it saw the music. Sudden
ly the music made wild, leaping veil
and twas not;'' the cobra's head sank
down and his hood shrunk into nothing.
The demon snake man then re-.
marked, pointing to a big boy, a serv-
ant of my friend, 81 will bring cobra
out of that boys cap" The boy had
on a e-ftting, pork-pie cap. his head
was shaved and the rest of his clothing
consisted of a shirt. The man then
took his pipe and began to walk around
the boy; then on sudden the air was
rent by melody such as might soothe
the damned; it whirled around the boy
like visible thing, but the boy stood
firm. Suddenly again the music
stopped, and the man began to take off
his drapery. He appeared for moment
0,y .o| nd
OF a snake about him. He shook out
all his clothes-no snake. He wrapped
his loin cloth around him and began
again his devils dance and his soul-kill-
ing pipe. m
Not once from first to last did he ap.
preach his baskets or the cobra which
lay sleeping in the sun. He came up
to where sat and took small paint
rag of mine; he put it ON the boy head
and then shook it out and gave it back
to me. q told you the cap fitted tight
on the boys head, and his head was
shaved.) On went the whirl and yell,
and, as before, stopped suddenly with
heavensascending shrek. He stepped
up to the boy and with his naked hand
plucked out-where from? "a great
cobra, which he flung straight at me-
The brute struck me on the shoulder,
and went shnddering down my leg,
where it subsidized on the ground, hiss
ing heavily. | sat still and laughed.
He laid the new cobra by the old one,
put both in the basket. opened up all
his cloths and baskets and things-there
were two cobras now, and no more.
Then he took my paint rag, laid it
down against pillar of the veranda.
and went through the same music. When
the music was exhausted he walked to
the rag and plucked out third cobra,
which also greeted me in friendly
wise. There were three now; we saw
them all, but my friend said: This
won't do; he'll fill the place with
snakes. Pal MalJ Gag tie.
During the ten years ending in 1877,
l91, 500 acres of land in Charleston