Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-04-26
T|AE MAGIC Or INDIA.
Not a Bit More Wonderful Than
That Of tie Occident.
TRICKS OF HlNDoo WIZARDS.


There 10 None Of Them That .Ameri-
can or European conjursrs Cannot
Do 40 Well II Not Better The Truth
1 About the Famous Rope Trick.
Charles Bertram, the English conjur-
er, made three trips to India, where he
studied the tricks for which the Indian
jugglers have long been famous. He
came back with the opinion that trav-
elers had exaggerated their skill.
81 have no hesitation In saying. he
said to a friend on his last ylsit.to this
country. that after seeing 178 different
Hindoo conjurers, who were gathered
in various parts Of the country by the
different rajahs before whom l. per-
formed, there Is not a single trick
which the Indians perform that the
European or American magicians can
not do as well and even better. KIN,
...'They are clever at swallowing long
chains, which are made to clink in
their stomachs, and skillful at swallow
Ing swords, eating fire, chewing glass
ana encireling the body with redhot
chains, but they are. really no more.
adept at these things than the ordinary
freaks and human salamanders that
play the dime museum circuit.
'.As for the rope trick, the throwing
up Of rope into the air, up which
man or boy Chambers hand over hand
and is seen no more, all that can say
is-moonshine There lis no such trick.
During my tours Of the far east
asked for that special trick, and not a
single soul did find who could do it
or who had even seen it. 4 heard Of
men who had heard Of others who had
seen It, but / could get no direct evil
dence.
aaAll that could discover about it
from the Indians themselves was Voic-
ed by one man, who said to me in his
curious English: All in Imagination,
all In travellers tales. I've been all
over India looking for tricks, Would
not I have that Il could get it2'
There Il a rope trick that the Indian
jugglers do and which is very dex-!
rous. It consists In taking q coil Of
rope several feet long, tossing it into
the air and balancing II on the open
palm. The rope, however. has q, very.
thin wire running down the middle 80
% to enable 1t to remain stir for nine.
or ten seconds, during which 4 ii bal
sanced, and that Is how that trick Is
done, although great deal OF delicacy
- involved In throwing the rope up
with the exact amount Of force to
straighten ont the coils, for anything q
shade under or over would interfere
with the success OF the feat which at
its best Is only juggling interlude.
The other two great tricks of the
Hindoos are the basket trick and the
mango tree trick. In the fltst trick 4
boy Is put into q basket, a sword Is
passed through It In various directions,
and the boy is seemingly killed, while
later on he appears either from the
basket Of else Is discovered some dis
lance away. perhaps up q tree. d So
4 'The secret Is simple. The basket Is
peculiarly shaped, being much larger
ut the bottom than at the top. There is
plenty of room In the bottom sOf the
basket for wiry Hindoo lad to curl
round 1t, eelwise. The performer In
driving the sword through the basket
takes excellent care to miss the boy
although to the spectators 1t seems as
Il the sword penetrated every part Of
the basket. 5 ".
The mango trick is even more simple.
and the, reports Of travellers that they
had witnessed with their own eyes the
growth OF the tree Ii as absurd 40
their tales OF Hindoo lads who climb
up ropes and disappear la Jack and
the Beanstalk IN thin air. The mango
tree e really a small twis. not more
than eighteen inches high, which ID
deity introduced into a can OF dirt
while the latter 10 being covered with
cone made OF cloth and bamboo.
The most startling trick Isaw III the
far east was performed by a mendicant
In the Malay peninsula. While wait
Ing for the mango tree to grow he did
q few Hindoo hanky panky wrinkles.
i&gOkA - AkAlaS Ok1AA Va kOu&Su GULLOn
about the size Of q walnut and threw
II to q woman who formed one Or the,
party that were assisting him. The
jerk unraveled about three yards, and
she broke the end on and kept the BAN.
The conjurer placed the end which
he held into his mouth, and by deep
breath the cotton new into his mouth,
and he appeared to chew It. Then he
borrowed q penknife from me and with
the big blade made q motion as IL he
would stab himself In the throat. the,
woman preventing him with rather
artistic stimulation d horror and e.
oitement.
q Presently she turned her back, and
the man seized the opportunity TO-
plunge the knife into his abdomen.
That part Of the trick no did 60 realis-
Ideally that confess I felt rather faint.
He then pnt bis hand under the loose
linen shirt be was wearing. and began
TO draw ont the piece OF cotton.