The Osceola times., 1884-11-01

juggler again took the sheet, and after
we had examined it. he spread it over
the basket, holding it tent-shaped, the
apex where his hand was being about
three feet from the ground. In min
ute he withdrew the sheet once more,
and behold, the woman was back in her
old position on her knees in the basket;
but the ropes and net had disappeared,
and she was now unbound. This trick
has few variations, one ofwhich is that
after the woman disappears the basket is
handed round to show its emptiness.
and some other trick is exhibited, IN
the middle of which the female perform
er reappears before the audience ere any
one can notice where she comes from.
A third juggler now made his salaam,
and began by performing the beautiful
mango-tree trick. He took an earthen-
ware pot, filed it with earth moistened
with little water and placed among
the earth mango seed which he had ex-
amined beforehand. This done. he
threw a sheet over the pot, and almost
Immediately removed it again, when We
Oeheld, to our astonishment, that the
seed had in the space of say half min
nte, become young mango tree. Again
the sheet was thrown over the pot, and
on being second time removed the
mango tree had doubled in size. The
same process was repeated third time,
and now the tree was covered with small
unripe msngoes. This time the juggler
plucked the tree up CT: Of The earth,
displaying the roots and the remains of
the original mango-stone from which
the tree was supposed to have sprung.
The snake trick, which was the next
item in the entertainment, is one which
has peculiar fascination for native on
lockers, for the fatal ravages of poison
Gus serpents in India for centuries have
produced horror ofsuch reptiles among
natives. Our juggler showed us a parch-
ed skin which had once belonged to a
large cobra. We examined it carefully,
and were quite sur, it was a serpent's
skin, and nothing more. He placed this
skin In circular straw basket about six
inches deep. The basket was likewise
examined, and we found ne doub bot
tom or any other peculiarly about it..
When he put the lid upon the basket it
contained nothing but the empty skin:
that we were equally well assured of.
The wonderful sheet before mentioned
was again brought into requisition, and
was spread over the basket containing
the dry skin. After the performance of
some mystic maneuvers in the air with
little wooden doll, the sheet was with
drawn, the lid removed, and out of the
basket arose huge Kissing cobra, his
hood spread in anger, and his forked
tongue darting in and out of his mouth.
Some native servants who were looking
on fled precipitately in all directions;
but the jugeler quickly took out an In
dian musical instrument not unlike a
miniature set of bagplpes-and began TO
play. A change came over the spirit of
the cobras spleen; his anger died away;
he stood up with half his body in per-
pendicular attitude, and presently be-
gan TO sway to and fro in sort Of ser
pent dance to the music. In a word he
was charmed, for understanding is a
reality and not fiction strange as it NAV
seem to the people of Britain.
The Government Of India offers a
money reward for every poisonous snake
killed In the country; and the result is
that there exists in India at the present
day class of rsen, called snake-charm-
ers, who earn their living by going
about IN search of serpents. They play
on the peculiar instrument before men
toned, and any serpents are within
hearing distance, it is irresistibly at
tracted to the musician. Serpents will
lefve the roots Of hedges, holes in walls,
come down trees, or forsake pad dy fields,
If they hear this strange music. They
erect themselves rtically before the
player, who at once seizes them bv the
throat, and puts them IN a large basket
or bag he carries with him for the rc
ception of unwise serpents* What be-
came OF the dry snake skin, we could
not tell; we never saw it again.
The next performer was an elderly
patrarchal-looking man, who exhibited
two trained tropical birds, the names OF
which | forget, These birds did some
really astonishing things, and their mas
ter, the patriarch, must be a man of in.
Unite patience. For instance, one act
ually loaded a small brass cannon set on
miniature gun carriage, pushed the
charge home with a small ramrod and
tired the piece OFT by applying lighted
match, held in its beak, to the touch
hole, displaying not the slightest fear at
the noise caused by the firing. The
other bird would, il its master threw any
small object into the air, seize the o..
ject in mld-air and bring it to the bind
trainer.
Number five and six-mau and boy
OF the troupe were circus-wallahs, and
gave native gymnastic entertainment;
which. as it did not materially differ
from British performance in the same
line, need not be detailed.
Number seven was jugglrr of iverse
accomplishments. He swallowed swords,
and put an iron nook into his nostril.
bringing it out OF his mouth. Neither
of these feats, however, though un-
doubtedly genuine, is pleasant To look
at. He blew fire and flames out of his
mouth without revealing the origin or
cause of the fire. and ap arently with.
out burning himself. lie took about
half dozen stones of the SIZE of, say a
hens egg, out OF his mouth; how they
got there, or how his mouth contained
them after they got there, was mys.
terry. He was talking just before he
began; but on being asked "A question in
the middle of this stone Performance.
he could not speak. After discharging
the big stones he wound up by disgorg.
ing about handful of old nails and
miscellaneous rubbish.