Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1890-03-29
EAST INDIAN JueaLERY.
The Most Wonderful b eat Ever Performe,
An Ordinary Travellers Tale.

Major Botail, of II. NJ. 319th Fusileers,
~ had little to do but lay off in my bung,
allow and drink shiklSaree flush, which
you know is an uncommonly fine thug
for hot day."
We nodded assent as we lighted our
cheroots all around, and were all atten.
ton. 1t was hot in the club-room, the
Major had on his usual three-quarter
jag, and we knew story was coming.
We were all gay young bankrupt officers
OF the line, and time was nothing to us
"With twenty or thirty shikkaree
fushes and an occasional brandy pun
kah," continued the Major, Il managed
to worry through the heat of the dav.
ard in the evening it was the cheese, as
the natives say, to visit each others
bungalows, have tifiin under the dowdy-
dow trees, play cricket with an incan-
descent ball-(never told you about
that?-my invention-will some day)
and play whist for l. o. US.
but our-or rather | would saw nv
chief recreation was in watching the
performances of the native jugglers
Begad, gentlemen, ! value my reputa-
ton too highly to attempt to describe
some of their feats, and | will content
myself with the relation of few simple
tricks | have witnessed. Cholmondeley,
believe this round is on you? No,
Henry, no water in mine.
'Well, sirs; one dayvlish hot after
noon in January as | was going to sleep
over an exciting leader in the Times.
rp-too my favorite rip-watty (grog-
miXer) came running to ME and cried.
in Il ndoostanee: 'Sliib, much come
welly slunium catchee. No iumpee
row-down
by this, understood that party of
expert jugglers were approaching, and
with my permission would give a per.
tormance on the panky-dan Cawn). /
ordered Tip-too 10 notify tho ladies'
and just as they assembled on the ram
bah tporch), the jugglers came in sight.
/ There were five of them. three men,
woman, and boy aged about ten.
Each wore long white kitmurgi, con-
/ fined at the waist by a belt made of
Indian swab. Their arms and legs were
bare, and the men wore immense tur-
bans. The leader was a wizened chap
Of ninety-old, who solaL2ly introduced
himself as Ram Bowlar.
after going through a few simple
tricks, such as growing a ten-foot tree
in tomato can, and carving the boy
| into bits (the old gentleman swallowing
the mead at one gulpl, the gang got
down to business.
Ram Bowiar asked me for an empty
whisky-bottle, and after considerable
search. one was found and handed to
him. Taking out Tie cork, with the
single turn of his wrist, he transformed
it into cricl1et-ball, while the bottle
slowly lengthsne1 into bat.
He tossed the ball to the boy, who
gave him roan1 arm slow. He hit it
into the air; up it vent, almost out of
sight, and in ten seconds came down as
a keg of pale ale, already tapped, with
a revenue stamp on the bung
Il was a little disappointed that il
wasn't b"andy, but after assuring my
self that the ale was genuine, | ordered
the ceremonies to proceed. The woman
then advanced, and, taking the boy by
the nose, held him out at arms length.
The two men then seized the boys legs
and sire tched him until he was nineteen
or NAV be twenty feet long, and about
as thin as my wrist. While they hell
him in that position. Ram Bowlar
wound his turban around the lad, from
end to end, stood him upright and, be-
CAD. gentlemen, it was telegraph pole,
with cross-arms and iusulators complete.
Hardly had our applause died away be-
fore the old fakir picked up the pole and
passed it slowly down his throat, and as
the last inch disappeared, the boy shot
up from the solid ground like Harlequin
in pantomime coming through stage
trap.
~ tossed the hoy shilling, as token
of my approval, and drew another pint
OF ale.
Has the sahib a lambolly (gun)Y
asked the Ram.
Il ordered gun to be given him,
loaded to prevent accidents. To my
horror, he snapped it across his knee,
and, before l could demonstrate, turned
the barrel into a rabbit and the stock
into a greyhound, and in two minutes
the dog had chased the rabbit out OF
sight in the Jungle He then unwound
his turban, gave it flip in the air, and
it curled back with my gun in its folds,
not only intact, but with my name and
address etched on the barrel
HAS the sahib ahundred-pOund note
about his clothes? asked the Ram, be-
fore the applause had died away.
Ono, sir, replied, promptly, pass
on to the next trick
"He seemed disappointed, and gave
one of his followers back-handed swat
in his agitation. Then for about ten
minutes the jugglers went through the
ordinary round of tricks, such as eating
cobras, dividing each other with swords,
and so on, and then, by the CLEAN IN
Rams eye. l knew they were going to
give us their last and best trick.
''If the sahib pleases, said the Ram,
Il would like to have some bills
81 was naturally amazed at the odd
req ueSU, .S-SS-
amazement, and, going to my desk,
returned with a bundle, about foot
high, of beastly bills from tailors, gro
GERS bakers, and so on, that had been
running for four or five years, together
with perhaps eighty or ninety miscel-
laneous small ones.
''The Ram drew circle on the ground,
placed the bundle in the middle, and
covered it with his turban, and then the
whole gang joined hands and waltzed
around for three minutes, warbling
native dudong (ditty).
'4At the expiration ot the time they
broke away, the Ram lifted his turban,
handed me the bills, and, dash me, gem