Year: 1879

Feats of Jugslery with the Most Poison
Gus of Serpents--The Famous Mad


Stone as an AntIdste for Snake Bites.


A letter from Bombay to the New
York San contains the following: l
promised to tell you something about
our first experience with the mad stone
as an antidote for cobra bite, and will.
A fortnight ago there wandered into our
present secluded compound juggler of
striking appearance indeed. He was
evidently Rajpoot, for his complexion
was swarthy, he wore his beard and
brushed 1t from the center of the chin
each way, after the Rajpoot fashion, and
his shining ebon hair hung in heavy
tresses to his shoulders. He had two
baskets of snakes and carried stout
staff in his right hand. A Hindoo gem
tleman, who happened to be calling at
the moment recognized him as the clev-
crest snake charmer in Bombay, so we
made him welcome, as you may believe.
His first care was to hand me to read
number of certificates from former pa
irons, testifying to his cleverness as a
snake catcher: among them, one from
a rich Parsee, who certified that the
bearer, Bichu Nath, had captured and
removed two cobras from his grounds at
Lenowlie. This looked well.


Bichu Nath, through an interpreter,
explained to us that he would first play
upon his CGgosddh, or pipe, and then
produce for us a cobra from any corner
or spot inside the bungalow or in the
garden we would indicate. So, throw
ing off the cotton wrap that he wore
over his shoulders and leaving upon his
person no other covering than his dbOti,
he took his gourd instrument of music
and began to play. Itwas Unexpectedly
sweet and smooth in tone, and really
seemed quite calculated to exercise an
attractive influence over a serpent. But
no wriggling ophidian came from his
hiding-place to twine about the charm
ers leg-principally, | suppose, for the
reason that we have none in our neigh
borhood. Bichu Nath looked hither and
thither, as though waiting for them, and
then shook his head to signify that the
service rendered to the Lenowlie Parsee
would not have to be repeated here. He
then turned his back to us, as if for de-
cency's sake, and unwound and held out
his dhOti to show that there was no
chance for him to hide anything about
his person had he so desired, and then,
readjusting the dhOti, grasped his long
staff and stole stealthily toward the spot
outside the bungalow where we had
told him to produce his first cobra. He
was at the moment most artistic figure,
with his swart, spare body, in which
the muscles were sharply defined; his
thick suit of glossy hair shaking in the
wind, and his outstretched hands clutch
ing the staff. He was repeating to him
self in half tones what seemed to be
1aeatrG111, and glided forward by long
strides, in a panther-like way, much as
an American Indian is supposed to do
when in the vicinity of an enemy. We
all left the veranda and followed him, |
close after his heels. so that l might
watch for tricks. When at the chosen
spot he made sudden stroke forward
with his stick, and the next instant there
was veritable cobra-di- -capello on the
ground, erect on its coil, with head ex-
tended, and Kissing at us. Our first
thought was to run, but as | saw the
mans naked foot and leg within foot
of the creatures fangs and he not dis
composed in the least, concluded that
the danger was more apparent than real,
so | did not bulge. By Il dcXtcrous
movement the charmer caught the rep
tile just under the head, and, slid 9 his
thumb up under his jaw, held it firm
and fast, though it wrapped its coils
about his naked arm and wrigglcd to
free itself.


He carried this snake to his baskets
and slipped itin; whereupon he returned
to our group and went through the same
performance again. This time he pro-
duced much larger and finer snake
than the other one, at the foot of q ban
ana tree, as requested.


We then adjourned to large room in
one of the bungalows, where the Rajpoot
appeared to makea cobra drop out of a
| towel that hung on nail: and, having
by this time satisfied our curiosity for
this branch of his art, he asked us to
bring q chicken, so that we might be
satisfied that the snakes had not had
their fangs drawn. While servant had
gone in search of the fowl, the man
grasped the last cobra, and, opening its
mouth by squeezing it under the lower
jaw, and pressing a splinter of wood
transversevely against the zygomatic
muscles, to prevent the jaws from clos
ing, showed us its large needle-pointed
fangs. Once when DR.. H. G. Trumbull,
the Hartford philologist and librarian,
was describing to me the feats of a snake
charmer at Cairo, Egypt, he affirmed
that the serpent's fangs had been drawn,
and the corners of its mouth sewn to-
gether. am now able to affirm that,
at least in this instance, the deadly rep
tile had not been so doctored.


Our cobra being replaced upon the ce-
ment floor of the room, and the chicken
given to the operator, the latter clutched
| it in his hands so as to make the wings
| N cl,to1l aud tancoI tho
! serpent into a rage. 1t rose upon its
coil, drew back, extended it's hood to the
widest extent, and Kissed like the draw
ing in and expelling of ones breath
through the closed teeth. 1t seemed
hardly willing to look at the poor fowl,
but fixed its gaze upon the Hindoo's
hand. Presently it lunged forward as
quick as flash, and struck at the hand
where it was unprotected by the birds
wings. The man never fiinched, and the
angry snake then struck the chicken
again and again. The charmer dropped
| it on thefoor, where it was again struck,
and then its enemy, as if satisfied, rose
again and resumed its kissing. The
chicken staggered about for few sec
onds, dropped, turned over on its back,
| kicked convulsively, and soon died. The
charmer pinched the back of his hand,
and squeezing out drop of blood,
showed us where one of the fangs had
pierced the skin. His GOODNESS at once
surprised me and excited my suspicious,
though we had just witnessed the end of
the fowl. He went to a small tin box
that he had placed conveniently near,
and turning over what appeared to be
some small dried roots, took out dark,
hard substance, about the size of vest
button, which he applied to his wound.
It's diameter, as / subsequently ascer-
tanned, was 1872 of an inch its thick
ness 3-l6 of an inch. Not, having any
weights small enough to weigh it by, I