The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-06-04
FEATs OF H1NDoo JUGGLERs.

l was sitting on the veranda of a French
planters house, one afternoon, when two
men appeared. Their only apparel was
the lang-nti, or ordinary cotton cloth
about the loins. They had IL then hands
a basket such as grocers in Brooklyn have
potatoes il. This they brought to us,
and we examined it carefully aud satisfied
ourselves that it was entir, ly empty.
Then they sat down cross-legged in front
OF us, and placed the basket upside down
before them. Then they commenced,
II to play vigorously on en- instrument
like a fiji and the other to sing, meantime
apparently not touching the basket. After
the playing had continued for some min
utes the basket was removed and there
was an immense snake coiled up. He
was as big around as my arm and very
poisonous. AS the men continued play
ing be began to erect himself and looked
terribly vicious. Then one Of the men
took a small! stick and gently stroked his
back, when he Immediately began to sub
side, and in a few moments he was again
coiled up and the basket was plac. d over
him. Some more playing and the basket
was again lifted up and behold, the snake
was gone. We sat within a few feet Of
the ~jugglers, watched them closely, but
were unable to fathom the mystery. I
offered to pay the juggler if he would ex-
plain it, but he said lis father, his grand
father, and his great-grandfather, had all
earned their living by showing that same
trick and he could not divulge it. NV
theory is that the snake was concealed in
the langanti about the waist of one of the
performers and he had been trained to
pass and repass quickly from his place of
concealment 10 the basket. !,
| have seen jugglers fill pots with earth
then make plants grow u of the earth,
while I was looking at them. The plants
were from three to four inches long and
from ten 70 fifteen minutes were consumed
in their reaching their full size. Another
trick, which is very common but vel.
curious and amusing, may be described as
follows: A numbe- of jugglers sit cross
legged upon the ground, they have fans
in their hands, and by their sides are a
number of slips of thin paper of a variety
of colors. The latter they pick up and
quickly twist into shapes which resemble
butterflies, dragonf1ies, beetles and the
like. These they dexteriously throw into
the air and keep floating by tanning them.
Stakes are driven into the earth, from
which lines are strung, and upon these the
jugglers finally make their floating paper
insects light So skillful were they that
they compelled some to light on a string
drawn at a sharp angle, and they also
made some to light on the noses and ears
of the Spectators.
1 saw a mar take a joist so heavy that
it required four men to lift it, put it upon
a cushion placed upon his head, and make
it spin around till you could lot distil:-
guish what the object was. Still another
amusement was for a man to spread out
his hand horizontally upon a board while
another stood off some distance, take a
knife by the blade, and, throwing it, stick
the point into the board. always between
the fingers. This feat was performed
with great skill and accuracy.-h'ookZyn
| Eagle.