The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1893-11-09
THE MAN EATER.

the aittlc French possession on the
Coromandel coast She was touching
at the principal ports in the bay o.
Bengal for cargo and took in Pondi-
cherry more as a matter of form than
anything else. There was not much
freight to be picked up there in those
days but it was delightful place to
spend short time ashore.
Well, boys on that beautiful Sun
day afternoon. when we tumbled down
from alOft after giving the sails
good. snug harhor furl strange
sight awaited U.S. Just abaft the fore
mast were groups of natives with
their wares temptingly displayed in
baskets OF quaint form and design.
The tribes on that coast are all born
with commercial instincts and can
give points to Hebrew or a native OF
the Nutmeg state.
Then arose chorus wild and bar
baric; You buy banana. sahib; good
pomeloes, sahib; guavas sahib; man
goes-an fine. sweetn'
Under the longboat's leo couple of
snake charmers were busy with their
Wiles One had a wooden instrument
modelled after the general fashion of a
fageolet out of which he evolved a
weird and quaint melody in a minor
key. calculated to produce melan-
cholia- The snakes seemed to like it
for while he piped they danced. The
other fellow tied a big snake in fes-
toons around his neck. another around
his waist and oOked important all
the time salaaming and begging for
annas-though he wasn't above re-
ceiving pice-
On the other side. of the boat were
two jugglers who had set up an oppo-
sition Show. These were to my juve-
nile eyes fakirs OF high degree.
.Malum sahib " said one of them to
me- producing a large and luscious
mango from his basket you eat
/ ate it and it was delicious.
Give back stone sahib."
/ returned the kernel
He placed it on the deck and COW
cred it with a strip of cotton cloth
There was no deception. Then one
took hold of an instrument of torture
called tom-tom and began to beat it
while the other intoned weird chant
They sat on either side of the mango
kernel and the cotton cloth. which
was never touched by them.
While the tom-uom was 1Oudest and
the song shrillest l noticed the
cotton cloth rise up until it assumed
the shape of tent about nine inches
high. There was a wild finale and
then silence. The cotton cloth was
then drawn away and sprou,ing from
the kernel OF the mango which l had
just devoured was u beautiful young
tree OF symmetrical proportions end
beautiful verdure
You give rupee sahib?"
1t was Il capital trick and he got the
money.
The captain was eager TO get ashore
and see the Widow Dumauriet lie
was capital fellow and had always
treated me kindly ashore and aHoat.
l was only fourth mate but he was
good enough to invite me to ac-
company him
The widow Dumaurier kept hotel
there and Capt Kennedy the COM
mander OF the Cala5ar was rather
sweet upon her.
She was as good as she was beauti-
full but to save her soul from per-
ditIon she couldn't help mild flirta-
ton now and then. uut she always
brought you up with round turn if
anything resembling a grand passion
was suggested. Her heart was aloft
with poor Pierre TO whom she was
devoted-but still smiled bewitchiug
smiles at the civic officers of the gov
-ernment who used to desert their own
bungalows for the superior faScina-
tions OF the Hotel Dumaurier and SIP
their eau sucre or their absinthe on
its spacious yerandas.
Sea captains made the hotel their
headquarters and there was scarcely
one that put up there that the widow
had not promised to be sister to.
Somehow she continued to keep the
old salts in subsection and they were
found regularly at her table d'hote
basking in the brilliancy of her glances
like moths round the glare of faring
lamp.
Accordingly we got into one OF the
Masoolah boats, the surf being too
heavy to dream of landing by one OF
the ships boats. The rowers under
the promise of liberal gratuity bent
their backs to the oars and broke out
into song. (They seem quite unable
20 do anything without singing on. the
Coromandel coast The Calabar was
anchored about two miles out but it
didn't take long to reach the shore.
Tia surf was beating on the sandy
Ach with savass roar. Big comb
& q with snowy crests were topping
over. The fierce undertow hissed
Our boats skipper never turned hair
He shouted directions to his crew who
never stopped their song. and taking
advantage of a huge wave steered his
craft right on TO the beach The boat
vas borne along with resistless force