SNAKE-CHARMERS AND FAKIRS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144146, 16 July 1913, Page 5

SNAKE-CHARMERS AND FAKIRS.

FEATS THAT PUZZLE EUROPEANS Sergeant H. S. Bishop, of the 4th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, who has been stationed at various parts in the North of India for five years and now in Sydney on furlough, has been telling a Sydney paper some of the curious things seen in India. “Wonderful are .the mystery-men of India/’ he remarked. “A'iEufopean in the Indian Railway Department whom I knew had a large number of iron under his- supervision, and one of those had the gifts of a snake-charmer. This mystic used to earn good money by ridding English houses of cobras ami other kinds of snakes. The way he did it was something to marvel at. I'll give you an example. ‘Sahib/ he said to his white boss one, day, ‘will you give me permission to go for two or i iirco hours to the bungalow of a mom-sahib (Englishwoman) half a mile away f The snake-charmer then explained that three khansoraahs (cooks) at this Englishman's place had left because of a cobra which haunted the place. The railway boss granted the , man leave, and ho wont to the cook’s hut at tho bungalow, in which he searched, and found a hole in the mud wall. He stood a couple of yards oif tho hole with Ids back to it. Then he took from his clothing a native reed instrument, such as the mystery-meu and fakirs use in India, and commenced playing some weird old Hindu tunes and chants. He. kept this up for about fifteen minutes, and then those who were watching from a safe distance saw him dive his left hand into tho mouth of the hole in the wall without looking round and draw out a 4ft. cobra. He laid the serpent on the floor and commenced chanting again. Tho cobra scuttled away down to the garden and into the Jungle. It never returned. “How did he know the snake was within reach without looking round to see? The native said he was born with the snake-gift, but I cannot explain, any more than I can account for other wonders 1 have seen. One of these fakirs astonished a knot of English soldiers, of whom I was ono, at an encampment one day. For a few coins ho offered to show us one of his star tricks. He took a thong of leather about oft. long and let ’ns handle it and pass it around. It was leather sure enough. Then the native formed us into a circle, and wo watched him throw the length of leather into the middle of it. He got his reed instrument to work—more chanting—and after about five' .minutes we saw a snake, which had been tho leather a few minutes before, give a wriggle and straighten up. It swayed to the strange chant, and when the music stopped came wriggling up to tho fakir, wdio caressed it ana put it inside his coat. How could 1 explain that ? Some of the officers said it was hypnotism. But that only shifts the mystery', because how do you explain tho hypnotism ?