The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-06-24
MARVELS OF NECROMANCY.
ARE THEY MAGIC OR HPYNoTIsM,
Stories Told by n Defender of Lucknow
British Officers Bewildered and Dazsd
by an Indian Conjurer-Rema rkabIs
Eyes-OFsrrePs Experience.
If the tales told by Indiantravelers are

hind THE Boss" in Mark Twsin's Ar
thurian romance.
William j. O'Farrell of San Francisco,
says the San Francisco Examiner, is one
of the men who has seen the marvels Of
Hindoo conjuring. Mr.. O'Farrell served
in the British army for twenty-five years,
and during seventeen years was stationed
in India. He was color sergeant of the
Eighty-fourth regiment of Foot, and was
| in Lucknow during the memorable siege
in the time of the Sepoy rebellion. He
wears upon his breast Defense of Luck
now" medal, bearing his name and rank
upon the edge, and a silver medal given
for "long service and good conduct"
When his term expired he had attained
the rank of sergeant-major, and was SUI
perior barracks sergeant of the regiment.
Mr.. O'Farrell said: 81 don't intend to
contradict Hermann, because i have no
doubt that what he saw was done az be
SAYS, but he didn't see anything worth
while. have seen just such fakirs as he
| describes, and that is the only sort man
will see in a run through the country. A
man may live in India great many years
before he will see any of the great con-
iurers OF that mysterious country. | have
seen things that defy any sleight-of-hand
performer to dc or to explain by any theory
based upon the principles of his art, and
for the truth of what am about to tell, I
will refer to officers of high rank in the
British army-Gen. A. Herbert, now in
Victoria; Sir H. Havelock Allen, Gen.
Thomas Lightfoot and Gen. Barton-and
to Mr.. Donohoe, British consul to this city.
All of them were officers of junior rank
then, and they were present at the
exhibition that l saw. They made diary
entries at the time, and did the same,
and have my diary here.
"In April, 1852 one year after the siege,
was one of a large military force sta
toned at Lucknow. Lieut.. Burns of the
Royal artillery, an indefatigable searcher
people of India, one morning approached
his commanding otficer-a Col. Fielding,
since dead-and informed him that he
was present at most wonderful conjur-
ing performance the previous day, and
that the conjurer was willing, for lee OF
90 rupees, to perform in any of the officers
mess-rooms of the garrison. The colonel
gave his consent and invitations were sent
to the officers OF the other regiments.
Several of the higher non-commissioned
officers, including myself, were also per-
mitted to attend.
The coniurer came, attended BY one at
| tendant, but without any paraphernalia or
| baggage except one small, fiat box about
| ten inches long, Six inches wide and three
inches deep. The mans appearance was
striking. He was about thirty-five years
of age, tall, handsome and dignifed. His
face was oval and his color a deep, rich
brown. His attire was a flowing white
robe, white paamas and red morocco
slippers. When he entered the room he
bowed gracefully to the audience, and
then directed upon each person in turn
the penetrating gaze OF the most remark
able eyes l ever saw in q human face.
They were dark, lustrous and clear, and as
one looked into them they seemed to glow
with lambert flame and held ones atten-
ton irresistibly. When he looked at me
| could see nothing but those marvellous
eyes, and everything became dim and
confused.
"The man said nothing, but made q
slight sign to his attendant, who placed
the box upon the floor and took therefrom
a cashmere shawl about six feet by three
in size. Apparently the box contained
nothing else. The shawl was spread as a
carpet and the conjurer seated himself
upon it. In low, rich voice and In per-
feet English, he asked for the loan Of a
rupee. The coin was marked and handed
TO him by a Col. Montgomery, and the
coniurer laid it upon the shawl. He raised
the forefinger of his right hand, and the
coin turned on its edge. Waving his
hand to the right, the coin spun away in
that direction about twelve feet. At a
sign of the foreinger, the rupee stood
still on it's edge. A slight wave of the
hand, and it came spinning back, stop
ping opposite the man, still on its edge,
and then disappeared utterly.
"An artillery adjutsnt asked the psr-
former how he did the trick, and with q
slight smile the man replied: Il have real
ly done nothing But we saw you said
the adiutant You thought that you
did, said the conjurer, but the rupee is
now in the colonel's pocket and sure
enough it was. All this time his eyes
never ceased to range from face to face of
the audience.
THE next performance was the famous
tree trick that Prof. Hermann saw done
by some bungling fakir, such as have
often seen, and had 1 left India without
seeing the man of whom 1 speak, 1 would
have been of the same way OF thinking as
the professor. The conjurer called for a
chatty a wide-mouthed earthen pot, filed
with clay, and it was brought in from the
bungalow compound garden. He spread
a white silk handkerchief over il and then
paid no more attention to it, keeping his
| eyes upon ours. In a moment the hand
kerchief began to rise and swell out. and
when it was removed a beautifully de-
veloped tamarind tree in miniature was
displayed before our eyes. The handker-
chief was replaced and we saw it 60 down
just as we had seen it rise, and when the
covering was removed no sign of tree
was there.
1.-THE conjurer then took from his cum
merbund ball of white spun cotton. I'M
wound some dozen feet of it and cast the
end of the thread into the air. where it
foated without support. Presently cobra
appeared from the floor beside the man,
his head and neck elevated and gracefully
swaying from side to side, his forked
tongue darling in and out, and his hood
fully spread, showing the well-defined
spectacle mark on the back. The serpent
glided up the thread and balanced itself
near the end for nearly half minute. At
a sign from the man the serpent turned,
gracefully glided back, and when it
touched the floor it disappeared as if the
ground had swallowed it.
Lieut.. Burns who was as dazed and
bewildered as the rest of US, had attempted
once or twice to leave the room, but the
conjurer had caught his eye every time,
and the lieutenant's purpose seemed to
fade from his mind But after the cobra