The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-12

They Perform Wonderful Feats
That Astonish the
Superstitious. 5
BUT IT'S ALL u FRAUDULENT
Thep Have Nations Under Con-
troll and Use Them Ac-
cordingly.

| -
troll and Use Them Ac- Al.
cordingly
The two most Interesting ella sses among
the many Kinds Of priests, monks and
fesson ii, India, are the fakirs and
to devote their lives and their talents to
| the service of the gods. There are sew
eral kinds OF fakirs or religious rendi-i
cants in India, about 5000 in number.
most Of them being nomads. wandering
from city to city and temple to temple.
dependent entirely upon the charity Of
THE faithful #
They reward those who serve them
with various forms OF blessings; give
them advice concerning all the affairs Of
! life from the planting OF their crops to
the training OF their children. They,
claim supernatural powers to confer good
and invoke evil, and tho curse OF a. faklis
Isis the last misfortune that an honest
Hindu cares to bring upon himself, for
liz means a failure OF his harvests. the
deaf tn Of his cattle by disease. sickness
n his family and bad luck in everything
Hence these holy men. who are the
lSfamiliars OF the gods, nd are believed
Ito spend most OF their time communi-.
way about the affairs OF the world, are
able to command anything the people
have to 8 ve,S a nd nobod " would willing
pea asIss ss'1 s''auo9s s a'eu' 'nes1 M
These religi ous nendcan ts SO q lmost
naked lsually With thing but the
their loins, which q the police require
them to; wear; they plaster their. bodies
with mud. ashes and filth; they. clay.
| to- giyeEi { an frncouth appear Some
times they8wear9the heir hair In long braids3
hanging down their backs Tx the Queue!
sticking out ii every direction IKE the,
wool ofsthe8 gpickaninnes$ down SOUTH ss
n Some gof them have strings Of z beads
around their ne ks. others col ls. OF rope
usually ca rry& n thing but .a smal! y brass
bow. in initial ion .of Bud dha. which].ls Is
the only sproperty Il they possess on ca rth.5
youth full isciple. lied IL S,che boy
of from 10 to lis years Of age, who will
become a fakir himself unless thing
occurs. (. change his career.
tTh e& akIr himself never hegs; the gods
he worships are expected to take care
he, goes without il. Il IS q popula "a de-
7 have consid BILE personal exper fence
to- the contrary. have offered money
nuRo1 ns aRH e.
penny8as eagerly as any beg gerg you ever
saw, and II the coin you offer is smaller
than he expects &or desires he will show
his disapprovals In an }unmistalxa bic man
ss The larger Der OF faklrs are mere
lys religious ID tramps.s worthless, B useless
q n -
Fperstitions Of the people and "a ding more:
harm than good. Others are without
doubt earnest and sincere ascetics, who
fare and happiness Of their fel low men
by depriying themselves OF everything
that is necessary to- happiness. purifying
and obtaining spiritual Inspiration and
light by continuous meditation and
prayer 3i t58lss
MANY are clairvoyants and have the
in Which condition the soul II SUPPOSED
To- leave the bod and Visit the gods,
are remarka BILE and even startling. IT hey
cannot be explained. .i{s f5s
5Anong5 he sghig her class % e fak !rai are
many extraordinary 4, pro found &c hols
whose knowledge OF both the natural
81 was told by one 8of the highest offi-s
binary feat performed BY one OF these
Transferred t himself several hnndred
where there were no abroad 81 and never
took the trouble to explain how his jour
ney was accomp
The best onjurers nlagi ians and
them tell fortunes from the lines OF the
hand and from her q gns with extra
ordinary cura cy, Old .Sresid ents who
a aee as}onishn eohsass ms elass s.
Ii Only "a. few days ago a youn 4 " at
our hotel WAS cldenta!ly inf formed by
as1as temple ten that Sic
would soon receive news t hat would
change all her plans and alter, the course
eelyed q saplegram from England an
set the old resident started 4 on such
stories he Will keep telling them all night.
BILE and seemingly Impossible feats per-
tResa most sRs % snG
dakEs s1sss ays ss a fE'e
sack and locked up In box then ct
i have never found any one who
could explain how he escaped from
HIS prison. This trick was performed
daily in the Midway plaisance at
the I5 Worlds Fair at Chicago and
And IL is simple compared With so 5sr. Of
THE dongs Of these falirs,
They will take q mango, openn.it before
Siub'o OF earth, and a tree Viii grow and
bear fruit before your eyes within half
am hour Or what, Is even more won
derH WI c HER
sIsh into space, and then, a few minutes
after, will como smiling. around the near
est street corner. Or, II that9is not Won
rope, swhirl II around SthelrSleads, toss 1t
into the air, and IT Will stand upright
as liz fastened to some Invisible bar. 50
itapt and T firm that heavy man can
These are a few OF stbe wonderful
things IA kris perform a bostl The temples.
nv Nor 3Icisl