Morning journal and courier., 1888-11-09
EAST INDIAN HooDoorsm.

An American Eyewitness Accounts
 she Feasts of a Fak1r-A man Burned
 Alive and Coin Turned to Snakes.
 re. E. Romain, in the Cosmopolitan.l
 When heard that a juggler was present
 who could perform the wonderful burial
 trick, and that for small consideration he
 could be prevailed upon to do so, I could
 scarcely contain myself until morning, so
 anxious was I to witness this wonderful
 performance. The performer WAS Yogin.
 one of the sect who profess great sanc-
 tity, and are, moreover, adopts in mesmer- isn.
 Our juggler WAS provokingly slow and de-
 liberate, and if he had been about to bury
 his son in earnest he could not have displayed
 more gravity than he did. But it was use-
 less to hurry him. He was as imperturbable
 as e graven image. However, in due course of time he announced himself ready. The spectators formed circle around him, our
 party being accommodated with seats. In my innocence expected to see everybody quit his business for the time being to wit ness the wonderful spectacle. To my sur prise the greater part of the people present paid as little attention to our juggler as New York business man would pay to monkey
 and hsnd-organ. The few Malays present looked on with contempt. Our juggler wore a gaudy turban, red morocco shoes, and checked silk sarong, or petticoat, gathered with a gilt cord around the waist. A pair of gold bracelets ornameuted his dusky arms, but his hands were bare of rings, probably to give him free use of them, as the heavy rings commonly worn might oramp his fn- gers. A table was placed before him, and in q cotton bag he carried the few articles used in his tricks, but he had nothing partaking of the nature of apparatus. While two msn iT, for burial of his son, who sat on 6 stool near the old man contentedly chewing betelnut
 and gossiping with the bystanders, the old man was whetting the edge of an old scimi- tar. Finally producing what seemed to be the egg of baya or bottle -nested sparrow, he laid it on the table, and alongside of it 8
 brass pyramid about six inches high. Caus- ing the scimitar to describe few lightning like revolutions round his head, he brought it down with tremendous crash on the egg, but strange to say the shell was not broken. Repeating the revolutions he again brought down his sword, this time on the brass pyra- mid, and the latter fell in two, cleft from top to bottom. Pieces of paper wriggled across the ground to his feet as if imbued with life He may have had horsehsirs fastened to thsm,
 but we could not detect any. He had prom ised to perform the orange tree trick, and he redeemed his word. The seed was planted and the tree grew, blossomed and apparently bore fruit before our eyes. While the tree was in blossom he twisted up half @ dozen paper butterflies, and with two fans, one in each hand, compelled them to initiate the motions of butterfly to perfection. I have
 seen this trick many times, but never saw anything so exquisitely faithful to nature as this mans performance. He next produced twelve sparrow eggs, and throwing them up
 one after the other, finally kept them all going in the air. Then, as each egg drop ped into his hand he cast it from him and, mirable dictu the egg became liv- ing bird and flew away, singing as it went. do not know whether our juggler had @ patent on his remarkable incubator. I would have paid liberal amount for State right provided could have adapted it to chickens.
 One of his most surprising feats was per- formed on one of our party, 6 Scotchman named McFarlane. Placing in McFarlane's hands three pice-small copper coins equal to one tarthing in value-he requested the Scotchman to hold them as tightly as possi- ble, and not permit them to escape him. MeFarlane had great deal of confidence in | himself and very little in jugglers, and would have wagered a round sum that he could hold three pice for the balance of the way, { but in few moments the pice began to | swell and McFarlane declared he could feel them souirming. At last he dropped them, and behold, the coins had changed | to young cobra-di-capellos, each about six | inches long, and these disappeared from l our sight as mysteriously as they had ap- peared.
 | And now the professor announced that he would conclude his performance, as the grave was ready. He requested the crowd to ar
 range themselves around the trench. The
 boy, who seemed to enjoy the fun, was laid full length on his back, heavy sheet was
 spread over him, and the coolies commenced with great energy to shovel in the dirt. Gradually the trench filled up, and when ! the last shovelful was thrown in and the grave smoothed over, our juggler turned to our party and asked, with peculiar smile on his countenance, if they were satisfied.
 Being answered in the affirmative. he gave
 a low whistle, and the boy, whom we had seen but few moments before carefully
 buried, came walking quietly in from behind the spectators. have but one explanation \ to offer: we were mesmerized. The juggler differed in nothing from ordinary natives, except that he seemed more thoughtful and less excitable than most Hindoos. But I it is possible that these ascetic yogis to whom he belonged have, as they claim, the mas tery of certain natural forces unknown to
 science.