Morris tribune., 1898-03-23
THE REAL SNAKE CHARMER.
How He Differs From the Ordinary Ma
nipulator of Harmless Reptiles.

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How He Differs From the Ordinary Ma
nipulator of Harmless Reptiles.
The famous snake charmers of In
dia are divided into two classes
viz, the genuine and the imitation,
or the real charmer and the tricky
but clever manipulation of snakes.
The former actually charms the
venomous reptiles into temporary
docility and harmlessness, while the
latter merely handles those which
have been rendered harmless by the
extraction of their fangs
The real charmer seldom performs
in large town, because snakes are
not as numerous there as in the
smaller villages and the jungles.
One of this class carries his worldly
possessions in two bags hung on a
bamboo pole which rests on one of
his shoulders. His most important
and highly priced belongings, his
pipe, rude musical instrument
made Of a gourd and a section of
bamboo he carries in his hand.
Ii you are living in the mofussil,
OF rural district, and desire to ascer-
tain whether there are snakes har-
bored within the precincts Of your
garden, pay the charmer a rupee or
two and he is at your service. Care
fully dePositing his bags on the
ground, he sits down beside them,
crosslegged, closes his eyes and be-
gins to play a mournful melody
upon his pipe
To the occidental ear there is moth
Ing impressive or thrilling in the
performance, and you fail to detect
even g faint resemblance to har-
mouioUs arrangement Of tones such
aa YOU have heard in your native
lama Tt appears more like an IL
regular series OF melancholy means,
soulful waiIings and dismal shrieks, |
10, unlike the productions Of be-
glnner on the clarinet You listen
with some degree Of interest at first,
for the music, if it may be so called,
is decidedly novel; then you feel
rather bored and are gradually
drifting toward the conviction either
that you are being bunkoed out Of
YOU rupee or that there are no
snakes Oh the premises, when sud
denly you notice a movement in the
grass some distance from the player
and the head of a snake appears
above the blades, swaying to and
fro at least a foot or two from the
ground
II it is a cobra, the hood is expand s
2C and the eyes flash and sparkle like
electric lights Presently, perhaps,
another snake will appear in a diff
-ereut part Of the garden, followed
by another. and, if your place is
well supplied with the reptiles, there
nay be dozen OF them moving to-
ward the player in spagmodic leaps, \
while sWaying their heads and at g
east one-fourth OF their bodies clear \
# tie ground and keeping perfect 4
ime with the music, They seem to &
give themselves up entirely to the +
fascination Of the weird sounds and
@ lose all consciousness of every
hing else 1
A. long as the man plays, they re. n
main within two or three feet Of Q
llm while he sits with closed eyes, L
unconscious of their
presence. And still, he seems to =
Weld q mysterious power over T
hem, holding them at a safe dis
anoe from him, while they never y
ease to oscillate as if in supreme I
Suddenly he removes the p
'ipe from his lips and opens his eyes. b
slowly the snakes sink fat upon the T
ground, and then glide swiftly away
brough the grass, disappearing be-
ore you have sufficiently recovered j
rom your establishment to begin to C
hink Of killing them. The charmer G.
lever kills them; his religion for d
)id1 it.-Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune.