Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-19
DAILY SHORT STORY
Fakir's Revenge.
copyright. 1903. by C. B. Lewis. ]

1870 Gunga Gee Of the province of Hy-
derabad was the most prominent. He
was a holy man and one who did
strange things Having caused the
death of his father by accident, he
blinded one of his own eyes. cut off a
finger from his left hand and q toe
from his right foot and vowed TO carry
out certain things.
In the line of jugglery Gunga Gee
could do wonderful things. and the
English were awed and the natives
made afraid. One day he gave an ex-
hibition in the suburbs of Hyderabad
and performed such wonderful feats
that General Ciuet, commander of the
military post, decided TO imprison him
and destroy his prestige. He was
charged with being a vagrant and
nuisance and dragged off to Jail, and
after he had been locked up for cou-
pie of days he was offered his liberty
if he would leave the province. He re-
fused Had was defiant.
In soi2e mysterious way word got
out that on a certain hour of a certain
day Gunga Gee would leave his prison
in spite of his guards, and when the
time arrived 10000 natives were gath
cred in the streets. General Cluet had
turned out four regiments of infantry
TO preserve order. At the Jail the fakir
was loaded with irons and put in the
strongest cell, and sixteen armed men
stood between him and liberty. Prompt
~ at the hour named the man APP
peared amid the mob in the street and
was at once hustled away. When his
h;
on the floor. He had passed out of the
cell and into the street like a spirit.
If the reader is inclined to doubt that
this thing happened he can find corrOb-
grafton in the civil and military rec
ords of Hyderabad. The matter deitied
the fal1ir In the estimation of the ma
tives, and the English became alarmed.
Charges were preferred against the
guards, the governor of the jail lost
his place, and it was pretended that
conspiracy was unearthcd. AS mat
ter of fact. however, the affair was n
perfect mystery and could not be eX-
planned in any other way than to credit
Gunga Gee with supernatural powers.
Notwithstanding that large reward
was offered, the fakir was not recap
tured He went into hiding somewhere,
and the excitement finally died out.
Three months after Gunga Gees es-
cape q grand military review was held
at Hyderabad. There were eight regi-
mentS in environments there, and many
high officials were present to witness
the maneuvers. General Cluet had
won his way by means of pull" rather
than by merit He was pompous, AFRO
CANT and tyrannical and was no favor
lite with officers or men. 1t was an oc-
casion for him to show off, and he
meant to make the most of 1t.
1t was estimated that there were To-
600 people massed on the grounds when
the trumpets sounded for the review to
begin. AS a preliminary the general
was to ride up and down along the
front of the regiments, followed by his
staff. He had just started out, while
the band struck up and the regiments
prepared to cheer, when a native ran
from the crowd and barred his way.
1t was Gunga Gee. He was recog
nized by thousands, and after one
great shout silence fell upon the null
titude. a dozen troopers rode to drive
the man back, but he motioned them
away and stood for a moment looking
the general in the eyes. Then he raised
his hand above his head and muttered
something. and the people witnessed a
thing unparalleled. The general de-
scended from his horse, unbuckled and
threw away his sword and went
through numerous antics. He stood on
his head, he rolled over and over, he
moved about on his hands and knees
and barked like a dog. He even kissed
the bare feet of the fakir.
The affair did not last above five min
utes, and you may wonder that it last
ed so long. The English seemed to be
dazed, and hundreds of men rubbed
their eyes as If to clear them. The ma
tives were silent as death. Here was
another marvellous exhibition of the
powers of God, and they watched ev-
cry motion and hardly breathed.
When the general who had impris-
Oned him had been degraded before all
that multitude Gunga Gee walked back
among his people and was swallowed
up in an instant, while the general
continued his antics and was jeered by
thousands. The spell was not broken
until his officers laid hands on him,
when he at once retired to his quarters
and another led the review. The affair
of course created a tremendous local
sensation. and for several days the IA
natical natives were ready for riot.
The generals humiliation was COM
plete. and military circles were a unit
in agreeing that his resignation must
be rendered to wipe out the disgrace.
In a month he was on his way home to
England, looked upon almost as pa
riah.
Could Gunga Gee have been found
the English would have wreaked
vengeance upon him. He was searched
for high and low, and the reward was
doubled and trebled, but he was never
again heard of. although he doubtless
lived for many years under some dis
guise. His power over the general was
no doubt some species of what we call
hypnOtism, but how he managed to