Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-01-08
INDIAN JUGGLER>' FEA lS.
Wonderful Jugglery and Snake Charming
Tricks shown Up.

| | landed at Calcutta and the time | en-
! barked at Bombay | had witnessed about
everything of note in the Juggling line
the country offered. The opinion form
ed after seeing all they could show me was,
| chat apart from their skill as snake charm
trs, the basket trick and one or two other
minor illusions, the ability of the entire
| fraternity is beneath contempt, says Prof.
! Hermann, the prestidigateur, In the San
| Francisco Examiner.
| | had heard great deal about the won
derful mango trick, in which the natives
were said to plant a mango seed IN the
earth whence it would be seen to sprout
and grow into a full-2lzed mango tree,
blossom and ripen fruit in the full view of
the spectators, and after that the fruit
| would be handed around to whoever cared
to taste of it. Stories to this effect had
been told by so many travellers of repute
that really expected to find some merit In
the trick At AIlahabad, Cawnpore, Luck
now, Delhi and Bombay saw native Jug
gers who did the trick, and each time
they performed it precisely as follows
The fakirs, usually FIVE or six in number,
would squat on the ground, and the spokes-
man would ask the spectators to select d
spot of earth on which they desired the
trick to be performed. This being done,
he would pick up the earth with small
pointed instrument, III order TO make d
soft spot; then quitting up skeleton
frame of tripod shape he would throw a
shawl or cloth without which the fakir
would be like a ship without a rudder)
over it, so as to make sort of tent.
One of the conjurors, wearing long
robe with side sleeves, would then produce
a mango-seed, and, placing both hands
and arms under the lmpovised tens, would
| plant the seed, his Lands and arms being
out of sight under the tent during the
| opera ion. His comrades would then pc,
! form some sluple tricks with cup, balls
etc, after which the tri pod would be re-
| moved and small sprout would be seen
on the side OF the mange-seed.
When the cover was again thrown over
| the tripod the fellow with the long sleeves
would once more put his arms under the
| tent so formed. After another interval of
| three or four minutes the cover would be
| again removed, and there would be seen a
| branch If the mango tree about two feet
In height, bearing few mangOes, some
green others ripe.
! The secret Of this trick is simple and so
! shallow that it requires little explanation.
! The man who placed his hands under the
cover first inserted the sprOut in tue seed
and the next time he drew from his amp,e
| sleeves branch cut from neignboring
mango t1ee and thrust the cut end into
the earth, which had previously been
| softened.
| have been repeatedly asked If | ever
| saw the trick performed of their throwing
ball OF Irvine in the air to form sort Of
Jack and the beanstalk, by which the jug
gler climbs out of sight, pulling the string
after him, aud that the pistol shut of q
companion juggIer brought the aerial
climber to The earth in fragments, which
soon appear together and become Ii living.
uninjured man again. As | said before,
| ] went from Que end Of India to the other,
and | tried in vain to find some one of
their ceIebra, ed eoniurors who would per-
form this trick. | offered fabulous sums
of money, to their ablest and most noted
fakirs, but none of them would attempt
it, and the only conclu>i ion / can arrive at
is that the people who claim to believe it
can be done must have their brains sreep-
ed in hasheesh. Most of the wonders at
tributed to Oriental iugglers have never
existed outside Of the imagination of those
who tell them.
| Their feats of understanding, how
ever, are marvellous, and in tricks they
utterly defy detection. When | was at
Allahabad fellow came into my room
with nothing Oh but a breech-clout and
| said: PLENTY Dig snakes here, Sahib;
Plenty big snake in room.
told him to go off, that had seen all
| his snake tricks and did not want to be
bothered, but he insisted upon it that
! there were plenty of snakes In the room
! so | told him to go ahead and call them out
| if there were any.
He stood up In the middle of the room
| and began to play on a sort Of flute he had
with him. Now, mind you, there was no
| furniture in the room but cot bed and
| two or three chairs. He had rot played
| two minutes before | saw the sheet ON TIE
bed rise up till it looked like a small tent,
and then an enormous cobra crawled
out and coiled itself on the floor with
J its head erect and its tongue darling out
In anger.
In an instant saw other snakes crawl.
ing fro,u all corners of theapartments and
they placed themselves alongside their
companion. The fakir, still playing Oh
his flute, led the way to the door and the
snakes followed him. He paused at the
threshold, and they reared their heads in
anger. Just as | was beginning to feel
nervous another fakir crypt up behind
them and cut their heads off with a sharp
sword, which he carried.
| Now have no other exclamation for
| this trick than that the snakes were train
| ed to wind themselves around the bodies
of the men underneath the breech clout
When they entered my ap rtment my at
tention was attracted to the spokesman,
not to his companion, and he might have
| placed the snakes In the room while was
watching the flute player This is my only
explanation.
| have often been asked if | did not
think that hypnotism could offer an expia-
nation of some of tie tricks done by Hin
| docs. Well, | do know that mesmer-
ism, which Is seally form of hypnotism,
as yet In its infancy, and that the future
will show wonderful results in this branch
of occultism. Ii seems incredible, how
ever, that one man should possess the
power Of bypnotizing 200 or 300 people,
as there are snmetimes around a fakir In
India. Hypnotism is profound subject,
and do not pretend to solve it. | can
only add tdat everything is in favor of the
Oriental fakir-his surroundings. the con-
dition of the people, who have already put
themselves in state Of awe and expecta-
tation, which condition could not exist
had these self same fakirs been compelled
to appear in one of our brightly illumin-
ated theaters with no opportunity for
score of assistants to aid them In their
work.-Prof. Hermann.
THE ERIE CANAL.