Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-02-18
TRICKS OF A sNAKE.cHARMER.
How the willy Hindoo Plays It on the
Unsuspectins Villagers.

al can tell you something interest
ING about snakes in India" said Capt.
w. Tottenham of the British Indian
army to a San Francisco Call reporter
81 have made special study of snakes
in that country. AS a result | got at
the bottom Of the great snake-charmer
frauds and also, | think, made an im-
portant discovery in connection with
the cure of yenomous snake bites. At
least | never failed in my expert
meuts.
when was stationed at Kurmaul,
in the northwest provinces of India, |
occupied the usual officers bungalow,
with large garden around the build
ing One day my servants complained
of the snakes in the garden and asked
if they might send for a snake-ch2rm-
er. OF course agreed.
"Ihe usual professional charmer APP
peared and / consented to the usual
texms 80 cents head for each snake
caught. Then he set TO work and |
followed and watched him closely.
He went into the stable first and
commenced blowing horn. Present
" snake came crawling out of p hole
and made toward him. He suddenly
grabued it by the neck and put it into
a basket. This was repeated tsrec
times. Once he got a bite ON the
knuckle. They were all cobras, from
three to four feet long, aud | watched
for results.
ale pulled a pebble from his pocket,
mumbled some incantations over it,
then bound it over his wound. which
ne showed me- / only chuckled. Two
things had struck me forciblv. One
was that cobras do not climb of their
own accord They are ground snakes.
Again it struck me that he seemed 10
know ..here to go for his snake each
time ! ordered him to eaten some
more. bat he declared that was all |
insisted on his trying round the com
pound, and so he marched round blow
Ing His horn, but no more snakes
came.
Then / thought it time to turn the
tables. paid him over the three
rupees and seized the ba.kc, with the
three g@.us. lie louNr5 alarmed.
som 81, ~, s%ord and b.u.N ol wood.
Hcu~acd me what %as going to DO,
| told .,lu the snakes were mine by
right of purchase and l was goi1g 10
cut of their heads.
He fell on his knees and writhed
ploring me 20 have mercy upon him.
consented to give him back his snakes
if he would make a confession to me.
He did so.
what do you suppose the rascal
told me? 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 live
tiye-inch snakes, which constitute the
brood. These are too young to be
harmful.
"Ihen they pull out the two eye
teeth, which are the fangs that kill.
"Then they set to work to train the
snakes. They feed them on a basin Of
milk and blow this horn when feeding
time arrives After three or four
months the snakes get to understand
the signal and come from all parts Of
the room to feed at the basin BY
this time they are grown up to
decent size aud all ready for bust
ness.
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 80 cents a head.
Inyariable 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 we'll
known call for food and then he catches
and pouches them.
"No one wants snakes, particularly,
and bis humble supplieations to take
away the snakes for tanning purposes
is iuyariable assenled to by the good
natured Anglo Indian. IN the course
Of a week he makes a good deal Of
money"