The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-10-19
1T is FAKtRs' PARADISE.
America and Its Way in Dealing With
the MAGICIAN.

the Magician.
America is the best country in the
world for a fakir." said All Wing to
reporter. He is a jolly Celestial in
notified yellow robe who has been selling
| things worth nothing at ten times their
value near the corner of Third and Su
perior Street, in Duluth, for a week or
more.
And he knows whereof he speaks, for
he had trod the Orient and Occident in
the successive roles Of mystic, juggler,
and fakir.
'All a fellow has to do here went on
the Chinaman. who speaks excellent Eng
lish. lis TO go out and get the money.
The people you relieve of their coin like
it, and nobody seems any the worse.
Ard, az that. they are the wisest people
in the world. Maybe that's the reason
they don't kick on the little things.
It's entirely different elsewhere. The
meanest people in the world for a fakir
to work are the Hindoos. and next the
Turks The Hindoo knows the game too
well, and. although the Turk is ignorant,
he doesn't want to let you know it. He
brings you to court for little cause. and
it is a serious thing TO go to court in
Turkey. as 1 will try to prove by an
actual happening to me in the land Of
the Sultan.
when I was boy. nearly 30 years
ago, 1 learned a few tricks Of juggling
and other styles of black art and
thought 1 was all right. I started to
make living in that line in Canton but
encountered the competition Of a whole
school of really good men, and people
laughed at me.
From my native land I passed, with
troupe of wandering jugglers, into India,
where we half-starved. Then we went on
to Arabia, and earned a precarious ex-
istence by following a pilgrim caravan
almost to Mecca. As we approached the
Holy City. the pilgrims got religion bad.
and were not looking for amusement.
Our band stranded. in the worst sense Of
the word. and everyone had to shift for
himself.
For several weeks Jared very badly
and square meals did not come with
much regularity. In fact. don't remem-
her having one In the whole time. Fin
ally I got work as a camel-tender, with
a caravan going north l did very we'll
rntil We reached another point of destina- /
ton when 1 was our OF job again.
a nomad doesn't care much for a Jug /
gler and fakir. and I worked through /
Palestine and up 10 the Bosphorus alive.
and that was all was near CONSTANT /
nopIe and the big European cities 70 the
west and l felt 1 had reached land
where could make a name FOR myself
But my troubles had Just begun
When came into the capital Of the great
Turk. I got busy 10 amuse people ar
cnce. set up nv stand on a back
street. and. after doing tricks. eating
chemical fire. and making a few fake
trees grow at my bidding. came down
10 active business
The Turks are all Mohammedans. and
deeply religious. I decided TO turn thar
feet to profit. and put glowing display
or relics-beads and shells from the Holy
City-on sale I explained as best could
the sacred things I was dealing it, and
soon was doing a rafting business. ! was
thinking out fairly good pun about Ma
homet and the profit when The change
came
a little squad Of Turkish soldiers came +
silently down the street. and one q them
stepped over and pointed ct me with his
swor3. I came near dropping dead. bur
10 keep ny feet. Two % the
men arrested me. pinsoneG my arms. and
marched ne along
Next morning I was taken before e
and sentenced learned after
hat I was tried for profaning their r.
ision. but AZ the time was sentenced
had TO knowledge q what cri-ns Z had
The magistrate r1rss have
.nown. however lie pronounced my J
icom and after striking me three simes
1ver the shoulders with q three-cornersd
whip turned me over 20 the guard
zas hurried from the city and AZ every {
stopping place between there and she
sreek border was severely beaten on the
-eet. when I was placed on Greek sou
was without shoes. hungry. ragEed and J
The E1a-d gave me rot a
,artilE look. and rode grimiy sUav
A number OF <nountaineers ] rrlet short
y after gave ne food but they had lit
le clothing FOR themselves ard none Tor
'she-s. After several DAYS I got dozn
o the plains and gave a few perform
noes. earning enough % ges a Ettls
Iothing. An old woman. however. &C
used ne OF 0ewitching her cattle. and