238 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



about at the bottom. He stirred it again and again, 

 and finally threw in a powder, probably potassium, for 

 instantly there was a bright violet flame. In a minute 

 or so he took the pot off the fire, tilted it up, when 

 out flopped three Chinese ducks of that flattened breed 

 one sees herded by millions on the banks of Chinese 

 rivers and as the birds attempted to waddle away the 

 shaman caught them, threw them back into the pot, 

 put on the lid, and looked round on the crowd with 

 a fierce stare. Once more the pot seemed to boil ; 

 again he took the lid off, and this time capsized the 

 water entirely out of it. He then carried the pot 

 round for the people to examine, and in the bottom 

 of it I saw two snakes wriggling about, which the 

 shaman ejected from the pot by shaking it from side 

 to side, catching them again immediately and putting 

 them into a bag, which he threw on the top of the 

 tiger's cage. I must remind the reader that all this 

 time the man was practically naked. His next trick 

 was that often seen in India, and needs no descrip- 

 tion : a boy tied up in a sack, the sack pierced in 

 every direction by a sword, the usual screams, and, 

 finally, the sack cut in two. The boy reappears un- 

 hurt, often up a tree a hundred yards away." 



A very interesting account of the mask dances of 

 the Karaya people of Brazil is given by Mr. >W. A. 

 Cook in his interesting book of travel through the 

 wilderness of Brazil. 1 He says : " Mask dances occupy 

 an important place in Karaya life. The prominent 

 role which these masquerades play among North 

 American races is well known ; but thus far surprisingly 

 little has been learned of similar customs that prevail 

 1 See Bibliography, 42. 



