Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-22
WANDERINGs OF A FAKIR.

|
wANDERINGs OF A FAKIR.
A Chinese Who Has Travelled Muchj
But Finds America an Easy Prop
Osition.
America is the best country in the
world for fakir," said All Wing to
reporter. All Is the jolly little Celestial
in mottled yellow robe who has been
selling things worth nothing at ten
times their value, near the corner Of
Third avenue west and Superior street
for a week or more.
| And he knows whereof he speaks, for
he has 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
English, "is to go out and get the mon
ey. The people you relieve Of their
coin like it, and nobody seems any the
worse. And, at that, they are the
wisest people in the world. Maybe
that's the reason they don't kick on lit
tie things.
Its entirely different elsewhere. The
meanest people in the world for fakir
to work are the Hindoos, and the next
the Turks. The Hindoo knows the
game too we'll, and, although the Turk
is ignorant, he doesn't want to let you
know it. He brings you to court for
/ t6 hi fv,ov
to go to court in Turkey, as will try
to prove by an actual happening to me
in the land Of the sultan.
when I was a boy, nearly forty
ago, learned few tricks Of Juggling
and other styles Of black art and
thought was all right. I started to
make living in that line in Canton,
but encountered the competition Of
whole school Of really good men, and
people laughed at me.
From my native land passed, with
a troupe Of wandering jugglers, into
India, where we half starved. Then we
went to Arabia, and earned a precari-
GUS existence by following pilgrim
caravan almost to Mecca. AS we ap-
preached 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 every
one had to shift for himself.
For several weeks I Jared very bad
ly, and square meals did not come with
much regularity. In fact, I don't re-
member having one in the whole time.
Finally I got work as a camel tender
with caravan going north. I did very
well until we reached their point Of des-
tination, when was out Of job again.
"a nomad doesn't care much for Jug
gler and fakir, and I worked through
Palestine and up to the Bosphorus,
alive and that was all. was near Con-
stantinople and the big European cities
to the west, and felt that at last I
had reached land where could make
a name for myself.
But my troubles had just begun.
When I came into the capital Of the
great Turk, got busy to amuse the
people at once. I set up my stand on
back street, and, after doing tricks.
eating chemical fire and making few
fakir's trees grow at my bidding, came
down to active business.
1.-THE Turks are all Mohammedans,
and deeply religious. decided to turn
that fact to profit, and put glowing
display Of relics-beans and shells from
the Holy City-on sale. I explained as
best 1 could the sacred things I was
dealing in, and soon was doing rat
tling business. I was thinking out
fairly good pun about Mohammed and
the profit when the change came.
"A little squad Of Turkish soldiers
came silently down the street, and one
Of them stepped over and pointed at
me with his sword. I came near drop
ping dead, but managed to keep my
feet. Two CT them arrested me, pin
ioned my arms and marched me along.
Next morning I was taken before
magistrate and sentenced. I learned.
later that I was tried for profaning
their religion, but at the time I was
sentenced had no knowledge of what
crime 1 had committed. The magis-
trate must have known, however. He
pronounced my doom, and after strik-
ing me three times over the shoulders
with a three cornered whip, turned me
over to the guard. I was hurried from
the city, and at every stopping place
between there and the Greek border Sc
yerely beaten on the feet. When 1 was
placed on Greek soil I was without
shoes, hungry, ragged and penniless.
The guard gave me not parting look,
and rode grimly away.
"A number of mountaineers 1 met
shortly after, gave me food, but they
had little clothing for themselves, and
none for others. After several days l
got down to the plains, and gave few
performances, earning enough to get
little clothing. An old woman, now
ever, accused me Of bewitching her
cattle. and made 1t so unpleasant that
I left the district by night. Indeed, mad
I waited until next morning, the peas
ants would have hanged me.
From Larissa I worked my way by
boat to Rome and thence to Mexico.
There the people were hospitabie
enough, but in the country districts
and smaller towns the Indians, who
compose most Of the population,
thought I was legitimate prey and
robbed me about twice week. The
church, too interfered, and came into
| the states.
THAT Is more than thirty years ago
and I do not care to leave. The Amer
lean Is all right. He doesn't take
things seriously unless they are worth