Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-15

Of people. And IL II simple compared with
some Of the dotngs OF these fakirs.
They VIII take mango, open 1t before
you, remove the seeds. plant them In tub
Qf earth, and tree will grow and be r
fruit before your eyes within half an hour.
or, what 10 even more wonderful. they viii
climb an invisible rope in the open air as
high as q house. vanish into space. and
then, few minutes after. will come smii-
Ing around the nearest street corner. Or II
that is not wonderful enough, they Will
take an ordinary rope, whisl il around tn In
heads. toss it into the air, and it will stand
upright, as If fastened to some invisible
bar, SO taut and firm that a heavy man
can climb 1t.
fakirs perform about the temples and no.
body has even been able to discover how
they do 1t. People who begin an inquiry
usually abandon it and declare that tire
tricks are not done at all, that the specta-
tors are simply hypnotized and imagine
that they have seen what they afterward
describe This explanation is en- ir iy
plausible 1t Is the only safe one that can
pc given, and 1t Is confir med by other mani
festations Of hypnotic power that Won wou d
not oeileve If should describe them ia
KITS nave hypnotized people 1 know and
nave mace them witness events and spec
.acIes winch they afterward learned wers
transporting at the very moment. five and
SIX thousand miles away. For example a
young gentleman, relating his experience
ueclareo that under the power of one OF
olne In a London church and wrote home
an account of 1t that was so accurate in ira
DETAILS that his family Were CONVINCED thai
n,,. n I come all the way from India WITH
secretly. "o ateehoeo IL
,iy Oh the snake charmers OF WHOM,
wrote you the other day are fal,irs dawn,ed
nio,7s uS wnose specialties are snakes. and
poa1 Ialnous Deileve that the deitfes they
worship protect them from the venom Of
.xe requires Sometimes you can see one
Va tnese snake charmers at a tempIe deIih-
ON Icy sS permit one of his pets to sting him
n tne arm and show you the blood
moving. Taking a little black Stone from
ms pocKet he will rub 1t over the wound
ana then rub 1t upon the head of the snake
a anen ne WIN rub the wound again and
ase .. !he mead of the snake. all the time
muttering prayers, making passes with his
hands, bowling his body to the ground and
gong through other forms of worshin and
WI, wtlI assure you that the bite of the snake
mas peen made harmless by the perform
ance. Peo IA
Remarkable Contortionists.
nave never seen more remarkable con-
tortion1sts than the fakirs who can be
round about temples in Benares. and fire.
quehtiy elsewhere. They are usually very
lean men, almost skeletons As they wear
no ciothlng, one can always count the mus
cies and bones through the skin. but their
i.u s ana sineWs are remarkably strong
.,iiN SoPpie. Iney twist themselves into
the most extraordinary shapes The pro-
1essionai contortfonists seen upon the
vaudeville stage cannot compare with these
rengious mendfcants, who give their exhf-
pl.ioHs IN the open air, or in the porticoes
OF the temples in honor of some god
DOING these things by long and tedi-
Gus training under the instruction of older
1ak1rs, who are equally accomplished. and
eney are actually considered worship just
as much as an organ voluntary the sing
ing of hymn, display of pulpit elo-
quence in one Of our churches The more
wonderful their feats, the more acceptable
to their gods, and they go from city to
city through all India and from temple to
temple. twisting their bodies into unnatural
Shapes and postures under the impression
that they Will thereby attain a higher de-
gree Of holiness and exalt themselves in
the favor of heaven. They do not give ex-
hlbit1ons for money. They cannot be hired
for any price to appear upon public stage
Dramatic agents in London and elsewhere
have frequently tempted them with for
tunes, but they cannot be persuaded to dis
play their gifts for gain, or violate their
caste and the traditions of their profess
sion.
There are no more Thugs. I wrote you
the other day how they had been sup
pressed but there is fearful sect of fakirs
devoted to silva and to Bhairava, the god
of lunacy, which associates with evil spir-
its, ghoulS and vampires, and practices hid
e0us rites of blood, lust and gluttony They
tear their flesh with their finger nails slash
themselves with knives and occasionally
engage in frantic dance from which they
die of exhaustion.