Page:"Round the world." - Letters from Japan, China, India, and Egypt (IA roundworldletter00fogg 0).pdf/217

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NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR.


Indian Conjurors—Making a Mango Tree Grow from the Seed—Hereditary Occupations in India—Snake Charmers—Bit by a Cobra—Shopping in Delhi—Shawl Store of Manick Chund—Indian Costumes—Observatory—Mausoleums—The Koontub Minar—Legend of the Iron Pillar—Humayoon’s Tomb—The Last of the Moguls—A Sam Patch Leap—Memorial of a Wicked Old King—One of the Results of Polygamy—“Laying a Dak”—The Horse Dak of India—Unique Style of Traveling—Tame Squirrels and Birds—The Mohun Pass—“Sudden Death” for Chickens—Drawn by Coolies—“Willing the Hours by Cheerful Discourse” of Man-Eating Tigers—Arrive at Deyra.

Doihi is famons for the skill ef her cou- jurors and snake eharmers; end Marrabbaa arranged for ae exhibition to come oft after our late dinner. There were yeb three hoars of daylight snd we ranged ourselves in a semicircle on the porch of the hotel—a smell end select audience of five persons— with en indefaite number of natives in the heekgreund, The chief performer, a thin, wiry native, with keen and restless black eyes, fquatted cn the stone pavement in front, flanked on elsker eide by his wife end tister. Their entira appsratus consisted of a few bowle, pipce, boxee and wicker beshketz, most rude in construction and not suggestive of any marvelous mechanism. Aud yes our conjarers went through with a most astonishing series of tricks, some of which would bifilzeven Hermann, the pres- tidigitateur, A constant fre of words was Kept up in Hindocstance between the per- formers, which seeged a sort of by-play, connected with tha various tricks, acd wie transiated by Barrabbas. Besides the ordi- nary performances, such ay swallowing swords, kniver, and nails, and afterward drawing a complete “old junk shop” from his reouth, smashing our watelies and barn- ing up our kandkerchiels, which were after- ward returned unburtte our pockets, the performer draak a mixture of three pow- ders—red, white and blue—in a glass of