THE INDIAN SANDS
In its simplest form this trick consists in putting some silver sand
into a bowl of water and taking it out--perfectly dry. But the trick in
that form is hardly worth doing and certainly not worth the trouble
involved in its preparation.
An important additional effect is produced by using sands of three
colours--red, white, and blue. The white sand is not really white, but
the natural colour of the sand. In this case, not only does the conjurer
take out the sand perfectly dry, but he takes out the sand of the colour
named by the audience.
This is a trick which depends largely for its effect upon the
showmanship of the performer, for unless the audience are thoroughly
convinced that the bowl of water is what the conjurer says it is and
nothing more--an ordinary bowl nearly filled with ordinary water--and
unless the audience are further convinced of the fact that the sands of
different colours are poured into the bowl and are thoroughly stirred up
into the water they will not be properly surprised when the conjurer
comes to the climax of the trick.
Therefore, the conjurer should lead off by giving the bowl out for
examination. The bowl can be either of glass, metal, or china. The trick
is most effective, I think, when a glass bowl is used; it should be a
large flat bowl.
The different sands should be placed in bags, the red sand being in a
red bag, and so on.
If the conjurer uses a glass bowl he should have the water in a large
glass jug. He leads off by holding up the bowl for inspection; then he
gives it out for examination. If he is performing in a room he should
have a box or some kind of stand on the table, so that everyone can see
the bowl during the whole of the performance.
Having received the bowl back again the conjurer pours in the water, and
he should take note beforehand of the actual quantity required. If there
is too much water some of it may get splashed over the brim during the
performance of the trick, and if there is too little the trick is not
sufficiently effective; besides, with a little water the trick is more
difficult.
The conjurer then picks up the red bag and pours out the sand, a little
at a time, on to his other hand; he should take care to let the audience
see that he has nothing concealed in his hand at the beginning of the
trick, and in pouring out the sand he should work slowly so that the
audience see that he pours out nothing else but sand. While he is doing
this he should hold his hand over the bowl, because some of the sand
will drop off his hand into the water. There will naturally be quite a
little mound of sand on his hand when the bag is empty. He then tips the
sand into the bowl and stirs it slightly. The dye will colour the water.
He proceeds to empty the other two bags in the same way, taking great
care to let the audience see that the bags contain nothing but sand and
that he places nothing else in the water. At the end of these
proceedings the water will be thoroughly coloured.
The conjurer, having turned up his sleeves, dips his right hand into the
water, and stirs it up. Then, displaying his empty hand to the audience,
he dips it into the water and takes out a handful of the wet sands and
holds it up so that the audience can see it. He returns the "mud" to the
bowl and washes off any sand from his hands.
Once more he dips his hand into the bowl and takes it out closed.
Picking up a glass goblet with his other hand, he holds it under his
right hand from which dry red sand slowly trickles. When the hand is
empty he opens it, shows it to the audience, and puts the goblet down.
Then he washes his hands in the bowl, and repeats the performance with
the white sand and the blue, so that at the end of the trick the
audience can see the sands in the three goblets. At the conclusion of
the trick he can pour all the water with the sand "mud" into another
vessel and thus show once more that the bowl is not prepared in any way
for the trick.
This splendid effect is brought about by very simple means. Most
conjurers hold the opinion that the best tricks are simple; this one is
both simple and easy.
The principal secret consists in the preparation of small quantities of
the different sands. First of all a quantity of sand is dyed red and a
similar quantity is dyed blue, and both are left to dry. While they are
drying the conjurer can prepare the white sand.
[Illustration:
{bag of loose sand, with compressed sand of different colours in
different shapes}
Loose sand
Faked sand
_METHOD OF LOADING BAGS OF SAND WITH SAND BLOCKS._
_KEY SHAPES FOR FINDING COLOURS BY TOUCH._
Fig. 11]
Place a small quantity in an old frying-pan and put it over the fire
until it is thoroughly hot. Then drop in a small piece of tallow candle.
When the grease melts stir it well into the sand, so that every grain is
covered. Then take the sand off the fire and press it down into little
moulds.
As sands of three different colours are to be used in the trick it
follows that the prepared sands must be put in moulds of three
different shapes, because the conjurer merely has to feel in the water
for the particular blocks of sand that he requires at each dip. The
white sand can be put into little round, flat moulds, about as large as
four halfpennies stuck together. When these little round blocks of
prepared sand are cool they will be perfectly hard and waterproof.
The red sand can be placed in small square moulds and the blue sand in
oval or round moulds; the shapes are immaterial so long as the conjurer
remembers them.
The bags can be of paper. To prepare for the trick, turn one of the bags
upside down and push the bottom of it inwards. Then place two or three
of the blocks of sand of the right colour in the cavity at the bottom of
the bag. Then turn the bag over and fill it with ordinary sand of the
same colour.
Prepare the other two bags in the same way. In picking up each bag from
the table, when you are going to do the trick, begin by lifting it about
an inch from the table with the left hand; then grasp it round the
middle with the right hand and hold the little finger under the bottom
of the bag to prevent the blocks of sand from falling away. The paper of
which the bags are made should be fairly stiff.
When all the sand from one of the bags has been poured out on to the
hand--naturally a good deal of it will fall into the bowl--the conjurer
turns his hand over and lets the sand drop into the bowl; at the same
time he merely has to take his right little finger away from the bottom
of the bag and the blocks fall into the water. They drop behind the
falling sand, and being of the same colour they are not noticed by the
audience.
If the conjurer does not care for this method of getting the prepared
blocks into the water he can have larger bags and have the prepared
blocks in them with the sand. In that case he dips his hand into a bag,
takes out a handful of sand, and lets it trickle back into the bag. He
does this once or twice; then he takes out a handful of sand and lets it
fall into the water, taking care to let the audience see that he puts in
nothing but sand. He repeats the action. Then, in taking another handful
of sand, he gets two or three of the blocks with it, lets some of the
sand fall into the water, brings his hand down close to the water,
releases the "blocks," brings his hand up again and releases the rest of
the sand from it. He can continue in this way until the bag is empty.
If the performer is on a stage there is very little likelihood of the
audience seeing the blocks even if they are dropped from a height with
the sand, but in a room, with the audience close to the table, it is as
well to take every precaution against the discovery of the secret.
As for the rest of the trick, the effect is produced entirely by
showmanship. In the hands of a capable performer the trick will cause a
sensation, but if it is presented in a slipshod careless way, so that
the audience are not thoroughly convinced at each stage of the trick
that there has been "no deception," then the trick will go for nothing.
For example, if the conjurer neglects to take out a handful of the wet
sand and show it to the audience, he misses a point. Of course, all that
the conjurer really has to do is to feel in the bowl for the particular
blocks of sand he requires. It is as well to have one or two more blocks
than are actually necessary. When the conjurer has taken out a handful
of the blocks he requires he merely has to crush them in his hand and
they fall in a shower of dry sand.
A hint to the drawing-room performer. After the performance see that the
water is poured away at once; otherwise, if some of the younger and more
inquisitive members of your audience come round behind your screen at
the close of the performance they will be sure to want to know how this
trick was done, and if they get a glimpse of the water they may possibly
notice grease floating on the surface!
Various other methods have been invented for keeping certain portions of
sand dry when other sand of similar colour is placed in water. Some
conjurers have done the sand up in little packets of grease-proof paper.
I have also heard of tiny air balloons being filled with sand. The great
drawback of any of these other methods is that when the conjurer is
letting the dry sand trickle away from his hand into the goblet he
cannot immediately let the audience see that he has nothing concealed in
his hand. He has to go at once to the bowl for the next handful and
leave the "fake," whatever it may be, in the bottom of the bowl. By
using the method I have described the conjurer gets the most convincing
effect, and if he prepares a large quantity of the different blocks of
sand at the same time the trick is really not troublesome. The exact
quantity of tallow required must be determined by experiment; it will
depend, of course, on the amount of sand which is being prepared.
The object of using goblets for the display of the dry sands is to
enable the members of the audience in the front rows of seats to see the
sands. When one is performing to an audience composed chiefly of
children the first two or three rows of seats are usually occupied by
very small children, and from their positions they cannot see the top of
the table. Raise the object which you are going to place on the table
and you bring it within the view of everyone.