Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-13

The exhibitions OF JugSlery at tile Los
Angeles theater this week are the town
topic of discussion. Everyone has his
theory OF it, but no theory has been
found at all sufficient to explain the
facts. Anyone who has read OF the do
ings Of the far oriental iugglers knows
that the Steen tricks are easy, by COM
parison. Those who wish to know how
most OF the Steen work is done, have
only to read the memoirs Of the
great prestidigitator, Houdin. He
tells how nearly all this work
is done. The sole puzzle is to find out
how Steen communicates what he sees
and hears SO instantapeously to Mrs.
Steen, without doing or saying anything
the audience is able to get hold Of as
clue. There is no doubt that he SO COM
municates with her, and the only way
apparently is through the sense of hear
ing. She is fast blind16lded, and there
is no contact between them. An elec-
trical battery worked under the stage
to her is out of the question.
Some people imagine that the
speaking is done by the ventriloquist,
and not by Mrs. Steen. That is mis-
take 1.-THE tones are those of her voice,
and ventriloquism takes off all the char
acteristic features of all voices. Others
imagine that Steen communicates with
the ventriloquist and he with
Mrs. steen. Why eomplicate mat
ters by increasing the difficulties?
He communicates directly with her.
The figures on the board are given her
as fast as they are set down. The sums
n r.sx ho~ E<v,,~
all down. In the touching Of the figures
as the stick is moved. It may be they
have series OF combinations to do this
by, but SO complicated it is difficult to
detect. There are only ten characters
in figures, and only ten signs will be
necessary.
In describing objects like watches,
keys, fans and trinkets there are key
words in his conversation, one of which
means a double-case gold watch with
gold chain. II the watch has a silver
chain, before she gets to that point, he
says, 'and what is the chain?" That
means the chain is silver. If he asks no
question about the chain, she goes on
and says it is OF gold. As to the jewels
and numbers of the watch, either she
has confederate whose watch she
knows about, or she trusts to the fact
that not one person out of thousand
can tell of-hand what the number of
the watch is. In case OF photographs,
she can tell the relationship by the
order in which he asks: Is this man or
a woman? And is it his mother, sister,
sweetheart or cousin?
If any one has ever read OF the tricks
of far oriental jugglers he will not won
der at the tricks played by the Steens.
These people are the cleverest yet seen
in this part of the world. But their
tricks are tame as compared with those
Of India and China. When the Prince
of Wales visited India about 1873 or 1874
Colonel Russell, known in this country
as Bull-run Russell, who accompanied
him, wrote back to the London Times
the most marvellous accounts OF the
Hindoo jugglers. Here are a few of
them: In the open street at any spot
selected by II. X. H. man appears
with small boy bearing basket. The
boy crouches on the ground and the bas-
ket is placed over him. This is done in
the immediate presence Of the specta-
tors, who are within few feet of the
Basket. The man draws sword, and
thrusts in through the basket dozen
times in all directions. At each thrust
the boy cries out as if in great pain, but
weaker and weaker until he cries no
more. AS the sword is Withdrawn it
literally reeks with blood. The basket
is removed, and lo there is not trace
of the boy in it. As the spectators
wonder, he runs into the ring whole and
we'll, coming from the outside OF the
throng.
The man then coils long rope around
his arm. 1t is to all appearances a COM
eighteen inches apart. He begins
the same time uncoil from his arm. Up,
no it rises into the air until it stands
perfectly straight and as rigid as pole.
The man climbs up it using his toes on
the knots, and so he climbs quite out of
sight, and strangest of all rope and man
disappear before your eyes. While you
wonder what has become of him, here
he comes around the corner of the
street with his rope on his arm.
He next produces sack like those we
use for barley. It is full of some living,
writhing reptiles. 1t is tied at its
mouth. He whips it with rod, and by
degrees it becomes empty. He steps on
it, walks all over it, turns it inside out,
and there is nothing in it. He ties it up
again and lays it on the ground. From
all parts of his garments scores OF snakes
crawl out as he sings little song. On he
sings until the snakes disappear from
him and again inhabit the sack. Once
more he whips it with rod, until it is
empty. You examine it and there is
nothing there. You search the man
and the place, but fail to find snake.
Another queer circumstance is that if
you photograph the rope with the man
in the act Of climbing it before your
eyes, no impression is made on the
camera.
For the amusement of the prince of
Wales, q spot was selected in q field, he
picking out the place. Here before his
eyes a hole was dug, the bottom ce-
mented over, a ryot put there, the hole
covered with a cement roof, and the
earth replaced over this. The prince
set guard of British soldiers over the
place, who were duly relieved by others
for three days. At the end of this pc
riod the prince came there again. The
earth was removed, the cement broken
up, and the man taken out alive.
THE STONE MAN.