The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-06-15
THE CONVENIENT TIGER.

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 THE CONVENIENT TIGER
 "A Hindoo Fakir's Performances and
 Mind Reading-Adventures of a Man
 Who Found Himself in an East In-
 dian Jungle With Bag of Rupees ss and Dishonest Servant-Good Work
 of the Tiger and Cheering Presence of the Fal1ir.
 T don't know that have ever met a full -blossomed yogi in all my years in India One has to come to America to find out the wonders and mysteries of theosophy," said J. c. Powton, form erly of her Majesty's East India civil service. But I have seen perform ances of Indian fakirs quite as mex plicable as anything I have heard of the Mahatmas. There was one in par ticular in which I was concerned--a matter of some twenty years ago. It had tragedy in 1t, and some things which neither you nor l can explain. You understand, no doubt, what an h. dian fakir is-a man of the Brahmini- cal faith who devotes his life to com munion with the Hindoo gods. Through prayer and contemplation and the lead ing of an asoetic life the fakir attains powers that seems miraculous to the Western mind.
 "The falxir that I am to tell you about came one afternoon to Archie Redvon's bungalow, near C7larpore, where I had been staying for a few days during a round of inspection. He was an old brown skinned man, with a long. in- tellectual face, and hair and beard snowy white. A waist cloth, turban, and sandals were all he wore and the rest of his visible belongings consisted of prayer mat, a hubble-b bubble, or native water pipe, and an earthen bowl from which he ate his food. He spread his mat in the middle of the compound, and began to take tinsel balls from somewhere-from the mat, it seemed although none could be seen upon it- and to throw them one by one up into the air. Each one, as he threw it, went sailing up, up, until 1t was out of sight, Rr1d none of them came down. Then he did the boy and ladder and the mango tree trick in a manner that show ed that he was a fakir of no common order.
 stThen he took hollow reed, fash- toned it into a sort of pipe, and went round in the compound and on the out side of the bungalow, playing a weird tune Presently cobra poked it's head out from a hole in the wall, it's body Followed, and the serpent came to the ground, and glided along after the fakfr. Soon another cobra crawled out Of the grass and followed the sound of the pipe When the fakir stayed his steps the snakes stopped, and as he played on the reed they reared their hooded heads from the ground and their bodies swayed to and fro as if they were keeping time with his pip- Ing. He called for a basket. A house servant brought him one,Aand the fakir, with his bare hands, took the snakes each by the neck and body, placed them in the basket, pressed their heads down and tied cloth above them.
 "This ended his performance. Red won gave him rupee, and I handed him five, for had never seen any thing to compare with what he had done He gravely took the coins, after the manner of the Brahmins, without thank or salaam. But as he dropped them somewhere in his waist cloth his eye fell on my servant Nagho, standing at my shoulder and he looked at him with strange intentness, then turned to me with a gaze as searching. Have you ever chanced to notice a Hindoo's eve-so sombre black, so keen to see and comprehend, and revealing no more than a pool of ink might the thought behind it. But I noted in the fakir's eve what seemed to me to be a,pfash of perception, of discovery, as his look rested on Nagho and then on me. Ii was the episode of a moment. He said nothing, but picked up his mat and pipe, putAthe basket and snakes on his shoulder, and went his way, taking the direction of Charpore, three miles away.
 ssOn the next day I had to go to Baghra to meet the deputy collector there. To save distance I decided to travel in pa1anquin over bullock trail to rough for carriage, instead of going twice as far round by the highway. I made my start in the mid dle of the afternoon, expecting to ar rive in Baghra in the early evening. IT my travelling satchel were notes an6 coin to the value of 1000 rupees, whict was taking to the deputy collector At the last hour Redvon showed some anxiety about my taking the route had chosen.
 "Once your start is made, don't waste time in getting through to Baghra, ht said. Beyond Charpore the road is through jungle all the way. There's z chance of dacoits-and then if youl palanquin bearers should run upor them or get a tiger scare, they would think nothing of setting down tht palanquin and leaving you in the jun gle. Of course, you have your revolver by you in working order?'