TUNIS SNAKE CHARMERS

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 205, 1 September 1886, Page 3

TUNIS SNAKE CHARMERS

Startling Scenes in tho Streets

of an African City.

A FEW days after my arrival in Tunis there came to the street in front of my hotel one of those famous serpent charmers which we read so much about, but so seldom, if ever, see. He waa a large, black Ethiopian, of a forbidding appearance, bare-headed, his burly limbs and body scarcely concealed by a dirty bournous. He had with him a rude tambourine or drum head, covered with the raw hide of some wild animal, and a black leather bag, the mysterious conten's of which were soon to be revealed to me. Seeing that I was watching him.with somo curiosity, he at once squatted down upon tho ground and commenced operations. Untying the bag, he pulled out a d >zen or moro venomouslooking snakes of different species, measuring from three to six and seven feet in length, which he threw down in the middle of the street, whero they lay for a moment in a torpid state as if bsnumbsd with cold. Throwing the bag at a distance, tho Ethiopian caught hia tambourine, and jumping to his feet commenced dancing in a circle around tho reptiles, at the same time beating hia rude instrument and singing a wild song—if it could be called a song —that would have done credit to a North American Indian. Tha snakes began at once to show signs of life by pricking up their heads and darting out their forked tongues in an angry manner. Several commenced gliding away in different directions as if to escape, but the negro, who still kept up his wild music and dancing, would keep them in circle by pushing them back with hia naked feet.

Seating himso'.f once more on the ground, in the midst of the crawling reptiles, he caught them in hia lap, and commenced playing with them as a chill would with so many kittens, letting them crawl over him, up his back and over hia shoulders. They would twine themselves around his legs and arms, and crane their ugly-looking heads around iuto his face as if to scan his featutea. Standing erect once more, with a quick movement he shook the snakes upon the ground, and, catching up two of the larga-t, made a turban of them around hia heal, tied two or three of the smaller ones around his neck for a cravat, and two savage looking fellows were wound around his body for a belt. Having proceeded thus far in adorning hia person, he finished his decorations by suspending a five or six foot •'ornament" from each side of his head by fastening its fangs into the lobes of his ears, and in a like manner suspended one from his nose and ono from his protruding tongue. The 6ight of the serpent charmer, like the mythological Medusa that guarded the gates of Heeperides, was not only disgusting but terrible to look upon. He was almost entirely enveloped with tho squirmingreptiles, whoreangry heads, with glistening eyes acd forked tongues, were standing out from his body in all directions. Throwing a piece of Tunisian c jin at the serpentcharmer's feet, I was about to turn away from the sickening spectacle when the man motioned me with his head, as much as to say, " Wait a moment." Unfastening the snakes, which were still clinging to his nose and tongue, he tossed one upon the ground and the head of the other ho inserted into hia huge, wide open mouth, as if ho waa in the act of swallowing it whole. This was more than my already trembling nerves could stand and 1 beat a hasty retreat, fully satisfied with what I had seen of snake-charming.

A few days after thia, however, while walking in the suburbs of the city with tho interpreter of the English legation, we came across a crowd of Araba and Bedouins who were witnessing EOme kind of a performance or show that was evidently of intense interest. Pushing our way through the crowd as best we could to see what the attraction wos, •we f jund another seance of snake-charming in process, this time presided over by two wild, weird-look-ing Bedouins, who, the interpreter informed me, were the most famous snakecharmers in the regency of Tunis. The ground in front of them was literally covered with snake?, of a larger and evidently of a fiercer species than thoao of the Ethiopian. Several of tbem, tbe interpreter informed me, were very venomous, and one of the Bedouins, in a wild, incoherent speech, was endeavouring to impress the fact upon his audience and also that their poisonous fangs had not been extracted. Picking up one of the largest and most savage looking, ho would hold it at arm's •length and tantalise it until it would spring back aud fasten its fangs into hia face or some part of hia body. Dropping it, ho would then draw out from under his bournous a small box of ointment and apply it tj the wound, which, ho claimed, removed all the poisonous effects. By the time ho had finished this part of tho entertainment the crowd of Arabs had largely increased, and had so far encroaehod upon the open space or ring where tho show was boing held that there was scarcely room for the snake charmers to move about. To make the crowd fall back one of the Bedouins adopted a quick and most effective remedy. Grasping the ugly fellow from the ground that had just been exhibiting its savage nature and venomous fangs, and which must have measured eight feet in length, ho commenced running around the ring and thrusting its angry head into the frightened faces of the spectators. The , snake was standing out in a horizontal line, and the Bedouin was holding it about two-thirds the distance from the head. As it c*me near the Arabs it would spring at them with its wide-open mouth and its eyes flashing fire in a most diabolcal manner. There was no hesitation in obeying the Bedouin's command to fall back. I never saw a crowd gathered around a street show expand so suddenly as this. One tall Arab, who was on his knees leaning forward intensely watching thepsrformance, not getting out of the way in time, was seized by the savage reptile, which fastened its fangs into the hood of his bournous, in close proximity to his nose. The poor fellow, thinking he had received his death wound, commenced howling and yelling in a manner that must have frightened the tigers in the distant jungles. Bttring the excitement that followed, and while tho two Bedouins were endeavouring to unfasten the fangs of tho serpent from the Arab's hood to which it was clinging with a death like grip, the other serpents on the ground commenced gliding quickly away in different directions, close at the heels of theponic-stricken Arabs who were running different ways, as if the poisonous serpents were in full chase, ready to fasten on their bare feet. About the same time the interpreter and myself were walking hastily away iv the direction of our hotel, fearing we should be late at dinner.