The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1893-04-20
SNAKE CHARMING.
Ingenious Tricks Played by the PROBES
# sional Fakir or the Orient

Ingenious Tricks Played by the PROBES.
sional Fakir OF the Orient
II can tell you something interesting
about snakes in India" said Capt. w.
Tottenham, Of the India army. recent,
~. II have made a special study Of
snakes in that country. As q result I
got at the bottom of the great snake.
charmer frauds, and also, Think, made
an important discovery in connection
with the cure of venomous snake bites.
At least / never failed in nv experi-
ments. '& a
when was stationed at Kurmaul,
in the northwest provinces Of India, I
occupied the usual officers bungalow,
with huge garden around the build
ing. One day my servants complained
of the snakes in the garden and asked
if they might send for snake charmer.
OF course agreed. The usual profess
sional appeared and consented to the
usual terms-fifty cents head for each
snake caught. Then he set to work and
l followed and watched him closely.
''He went to the stable first and COM
menced blowing horn. Presently a
snake came crawling out of a hole and
made toward him. He suddenly
grabbed it by the neck and put it into
a basket. This was repeated three
times. Once he got a bite on the
knuckle. They were all cobras from
three to four feet long, and watched
for results He pulled pebble from
his pocket, mumbled some insinua-
tions over it, and then bound it over
! his rr,o,,r1 xr,hs IN ~,
only chuckled. Two things had struck
me forcibly. One was that cobras do
not climb of their own accord. They
are ground snakes. Again it struck
me that he seemed to know where to
60 for his snake each time. I ordered
him to catch some more, but he de-
'clared that was all. insisted on his
trying and he marched around blow
ing his horn. but no more snakes came
''Thcn l thought it time to turn the
tables. Ipaid him over the three ru-
PEGS and seized the basket with the
three snakes. He looked alarmed. !
He asked me what I was going to do.
told him that the snakes were mine
by right Of purchase and was going
to cut off their heads. He fell on his
knees and writhed at my feet as only a
Hindoo can, imploring me to have mercy
upon him. I consented to give him
back his snakes if he would make q
clean and open confession to me. He
did so. He said it was their custom in
the trade to go out at the proper season
and hunt mother cobra with her
brood
'They kill the mother and capture
the fifteen to twenty little hve-incl
snakes which constitute the brood.
They are too young to be harmful
Then they pull out the two eye
teeth, which are the fangs that
kill. Then they set to work tc
train the snakes. They feed them
on basin of milk, and blow
the horn When feeding time arrives
After three or four months the snake,
got to understanding the signal and
come from all parts of the room to feed
at the basin. BY this time they are
grown up to a decent size, and all ready
for business.
''The charmer goes round the night
before and plants his snakes in differ
ent places. Next day he approaches
the premises casually and offers to rid
the place of snakes at fifty cents q
head. Invariably his offer is accepted,
as you can understand. Then he goes
and blows his horn. The snakes, which
are all starving with hunger, promptly
come to the well-known call for food,
and then he catches and pouches them
No one wants snakes particularly, and
his humble supplication to take away
the snakes for tanning purposes is in
variably asseuted to by the good-na.
tured Anglo-Indian. In the course Of
week he makes good deal of money.
j-R1eko,,