The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-06
TALL TRAVELLERS TALES.
MARVELLOUS YARNS OF ENPERI-
ENCEs AT LAND AND SEA.

What Came of Eating n Beon-Mys-
terry of a Snake-Charmer who Be
vvftched Mems >OuIs-Ghinamnn's
Queer ReVenRe-ONen settled
Dispute.
From the Philadelphia Record.
The moon was riding splendidly in
the clear southern sky, as our ship
swung at its anchor in a West Indian
port. Across the shining water there
came confused land noises, which. min
Cling with the clatter of the hosting
machinery, as it strained and groaned
at the task of lifting cargo aboard,
made sleep out of the question. The
passengers gathered around a group of
story-telIers on the upper deck and lis
tened 10 many marvellous yarns of eX-
periences on land and sea.
Loco Bean Caused Trouble.
The most remarkable thing that
ever happened to me- said the scien-
fist. stretching himself and lighting a
fresh cigar, was when | swallowed
loco bean in Haiti. The NoodOo priests
Of this island are the most clever ana
mysterious prisoners in the world
They are able to administer various
rarily paralyze or permanently destroy
any, or ALL of the five senses. Consid-
er the pr5dicament of the victim 10
whom strawberries are no more delec-
table than putty or another who can
not tell the difference between the
sweetest perfume and ammonia. IL
must he an awful shock for person
to suddenly find himself incapable OF
speech, or deprived Of the faculty of
hearing Imagine the state of nina
YOU would be i'm if You found you could
not distinguish between the touch OF
a fish and a cats back, or a hot plate
and a piece of ice. When told or the
astonishing results of their skill, | eX-
pressed myself in terms of unmistaka-
Bile skepticism. ! was too outspoken in
my opinion, as l soon found TO my soI-
row.
Instead of taking away my sight
or smell, or disturbing my other senses,
a loco bean was put in my food, and
for a few days / was the most per-
picked mortal on the globe. | am nat
urally a close observer. and the way |
began seem things was alarming. If
/ pinched myself once l did hundred
times to determine whether / was
awake or dreaming. When | went TO
bed one night the window shades were
white, but as | awoke the next morning
] noticed that they were blood red. My
servant had a mole about the size of
hazeI-nut on his chin, and ! was puz-
zled when | saw that ii commenced to
shift its position on his face. In the
morning it would be on the right side,
only to appear on the left during the
afternoon. After a pitcher of ice wa
ter had turned into a bottle of cheap
wine. and that while was in the room,
/ became thoroughly alarmed for my
sanity. One day / worked myself into
a dripping perspiration stropping my
razor because it would not cut, when,
10 and behold. I discovered that it had
become converted into a paper cutter.
Things went from bad to worse.
wore my dress suit to breakfast one
morning, and that same evening at
the dinner hour started for the dining
room in my bath robe. l actually be-
came afraid to look in my purse for
fear the gold sOvereigns l had would
turn into pennies even while ] looked
at them. Don't you think it would make
you feel foolish if you were certain
that you had put on patent feathers
before leaving home, to find yourself
sitting in the public square in loung-
ing slippers?
Saw His Exact Double.
THE climax to my trouble occurred
one evening when l was summoned by
the door bell to find some men carry
ing my PROSTATE form up the stairs
on stretcher. Imagine the situation!
] was standing in the door, yet there |
was on the stretcher. The injured man
had my voice and my clothes. He was
my exact double even to the size of
my bald spot and the scar on my wrist
AS / talked with him | found that he
knew things no mortal. other than my
self, was aware of. 1t was too much.
fra nj
as if l was pursued by shade And
old witch Of a doctor was called in,
who gave me a little pellet to swallow
My mind was cleared as quickly as it
had clouded. She had given me an an
tidote for the loco bean"
The Girl with the Snake.
"That reminds me-" said the dipIo-
mat glancing at the listeners sur
rounding the group, 'of a strange
thing that happened in the interior of
South America several years ago, while
/ was on duty in an out-of-the way
station in the heart of the Jungle. I
have heard of the astonishing things
the fakirs of India do with snakes,
but l never knew of anything quite so
wonderful as what l am about to re-
late There was a homely native girl
called Mama, who was remarkable for
two things. She was marvellous mus
ician and she had a pet snake that
traied around after her wherever she
went"
Mama was a mystery. Her parents
were unknown, and she made no
friends. She seldom spoke to anyone
and always moved off If an effort was
made 10 engage her in conversation.
She would be absent for days. and
sometimes weeks, without any one
knowing her whereabouts. An air of
stealth was about the silent creature
that caused dread, without taking in
TO consideration the snake, for the
sight of that big. ugly reptile, and the
very evident control she had over il.
was enough to give one the shivers
But man alive, the way that black
girl could play the flute WOULD charm
the devil She could initiate the songs
of angels as easy as / can light my
pipe. 1t was just like glory TO hear
that instrument Of hers talking to
the night. No matter what the topic
Of conversation was. all talk ceased
when Mama came a-serenading. You
could not hire her and you could not
coax her. When she got good and
ready to play she did it, and then
only"
Wen Supplied with sweethenrts.
The strange part OF it was that Ma
ma always had a white sweetheart. The
girl must have been possessed. be-
cause it was said Of her that she could
win any man she wanted, and, further