Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1876 — The Conjurers of Old. [ARTICLE]

The Conjurers of Old.

In 1015 a delegation of highly educated and distinguished men from the English East India Company visited the Emperor Jehangire. While on their mission they witnessed many most wonderful performances, almost causing them to discredit their senses, and far beyond any hint even of solution. A party of Bengalese conjurers and jugglefs, showing their art before the Emperor, were desired to produce upon the spot, and from seed, ten mulberry trees. They immediately planted ten seeds, which, in a few minutes, produced as many trees. The ground divided over the spot; when a seed was {d anted tiny leaves appeared at once, folowed by slender shoots, which rapidly gained elevation, putting out leaves and twigs and branches, finally spreading wide in the air, budding, blossoming and yielding fruit, which matured upon the spot, and was found to be excellent. And this before the beholder had turned away his eyes. Fig, almond, mango and walnut trees were at the same time, under like conditions, produced, yielding the fruit which belonged to each. Wonder succeeded wonder. The branches were filled with birds of beautiful plumage, flitting about amongthe leaves and singing sweet notes. The leaves turned to russet, fell from their places, branches and twigs withered, and finally the trees sank back into the earth,’out of which* they had all sprang within the hour. The same conjurers performed a series of marvels. One of them produced a chain fifty cubits in length. One end of this he threw into the air, when the chain rapidly ran out its whole length, and remained fixed in the air as if fastened against the sky. A dog was then placed upon the chain, wheq up he ran to the further end, and at once disappeared heavenward. A hog, a panther ana other large animals were successsively dispatched up this aerial pathway, and each in turn disappeared from the far end. Nor were they seen again; and finally the chain was withdrawn, and placed in a bag for convenient carriage. Another had a bow and about fifty steelpointed arrows. He shot an arrow into the air, when, lo! the arrow became fixed in space, at a considerable height. Another arid another arrow were sent off, each fixing itself in the shaft of the preceding, until all formed a chain of arrows in the air, excepting the last shot, which, striking the chain, brought the whole to the ground in detachments. They set up two common tents facing each other, and about a bowshot apart. These tents were critically examined by the spectators, as are the cabinets of the mediums, and pronounced empty. The tents were fastened to the ground all around, 'lhe lookers-on were then invited to choose what animals or birds they would have issued from these tents to engage in a battle. Khaun-e-Jahaun incredulously asked to see a fight between ostriches. In a few minutes an ostrich came out from each tent, rushed to combat with deadly earnestness, and from them the blood soon began to stream; but they were so nearly matched that neither*could win the victory, and they were at last separated by the conjurers and conveyed within the tents. After this, the varied demands of the spectators for birds or beasts were exactly complied with, always with the same results. They took a man and apparently severed limb from limb, actually at last cutting off his head, as it appeared. They scattered these members along the ground for a considerable distance, and allowed them to remain for some time. Gathering them together, they spread over these remains a sheet, under which one of the Judges crawled, and soon came out, followed by the man who had been dissevered, now sound in, every part. Neither was there to be found about the place any trace of the thing that had been done. A large caldron was set, and into it a quantity of rice thrown. Without the sign of "fire this rice soon began to boil, and out from the caldron was taken more than one hundred platters of cooked rice, with a stewed fowl at the top of each. This trick is performed on a smaller scale by the most ordinary fakirs of the present day.— Boston Herald.