The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-16
i. THE ELECTRIC CIGAR CO., =
Saint Paul, Minnesota,~

spread it upon the floor, and the performer
seated himself upon 1t. He directed his
gaze slowly upon each one OF. the audience
In turn, and then he said to Col. Liehtfoot:
win you hand to Col. Cooper the sover-
eign you have in your vest pocketY
eign as pocket-piece, but he wondered
how tho conjurer knew that. As he spoke
he felt in his pocket and u surprise camo
over his face. The sovereign was not there.
The performer smiled and asked Col. Coop
er to feel in his pocket. Cooper did so and
to his own establishment found Col. Light
foot's sovereign, which he returned to the
latter. Holding the coin in his hand, Col.
LiHhtfoot asked the performer how he man.
aged II.
"How did you manage to get that coin
from my pocket to Coopor's?"
~ did not. 1t has not been out Of your
own pocket
"'But here it Isl said Col. Lightfoot,
opening his hand. A look of blank amaze
ment came into his face, and the coin
which he had just taken in his land was
not there. The coniurer told him to feel in
his pocket and the sovereign was there.
Before we recovered from our surprise
the performer borrowed 4 marked ruree OF
Col. Montgomery and laid it upon the shawl.
He raised his foreinger and the rupee stood
upon its edge, and at a sign rolled half way
acrosg the room, and then stood still. AT
another sign it rolled back, and when oppo-
site the performer it spun rapidly, like q
top. for a moment and then disappeared.
when asked how he did it, the man
quietly replied that he had done absolutely
nothing, and that we only imagined we saw
the coin spin round. The marked coin was
found in Col. Mo~ntgomery's pocket.
''Then the basket trick WAS done. A bas-
ket four feet in diameter and three feet
bi~h ~v,,o AoLnr, ~-% - %kaI kSoy,JovxS 1Sxkln
box before our ewes. The cooks daughter
was called in and placed under the basket,
and the next we knew the conjuror
stood beside it with u spear in his land.
Nobody could tell where that spear
came from. The man jabbed the spear
down through the basket, the child
shrieked, and the blood flowed out upon
the floor. Several officers sprang forward
with drawn swords, terribly excited, but
the Hindoo calmly said: Nothing has
happened and tipped the basket over with
his bloody spear.
Nothing was under the basket. The
child came in through the door, and when
WAS seated upon the tloor and the basket,
spear and blood stains were gone.
"He then took a short bamboo stick in
his hand, threw the shawl over his arm 20
Rs to conceal the stick, and instantly he
seemed to be seated cross-legged in the air.
atOOAt lWo 1SCp uDOVO II 1OO1s suppOIbCu
by nothing but the cane under his hand.
Lieut.. Burns, an artillery man, stepped
quickly forward, seized the shawl and
twitched it away. No rod was there, and
the man was seated upon the floor, al
though no movement of his body had been
seen ~ anybody.
"Tl1cn lie placed n silk handkerchief upon
the floor, and instantly it seemed to be COW
cred with n swarm of insects-golden and
iridescent beetles, flies of brilliant hue-all
squirming and running about. | turned to
tho man next me and said: isn't that beau
tiful?'
"'Isn't what beautiful? 1 see nothing
he rejoined, and when 1 turned my head
again to look at the strange sight the haid-
kerchief was clean and no insects were thero
at I'll.
The man performed fourteen tricks in
all. and every one was as incomprehenaible
as those l have described. While he was
performing he never looked at the coins or
other objects, but kept his eyes upon oure,
%stantly. Ii a man started to leave tho room
tae Hinaco looked at him, and the man
would sit down, vi purpose gone from his
mind.
When it was oil over the Hindoo smil-
ingly Informed US that We had seen literal.
ly nothing, bnt had imagined the whole af-
fair, and we vi away thoroughly bewii-
6erea. l was so dazed that | even lost my
way back to the barracks. We talked it
over the next day, but could make nothing
of it. We even tore up the floors of the
anteroom to see If tho Hindoo had pre-
pared for the performance by concealing n
confederate under the door, but there was
nc SPACE between the boards and the
ground. Aiterward ] met the same man,
but no declared THAT / had never seen him,
md that he never was in Lucknow in his
lite.o