THE FIJI FIREWALKERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 79, 22 December 1906, Page 6

THE FIJI FIREWALKERS.

Polk Flare Up and Cry "Fake." uu iire walking trick at the Zibish n is a delusion and a snare, and a ••ha-.e" so, far as the general public .a i:oncernod because they see notlvi.g of it, and if they do see anyil_ n'v it is over m less th.m a minute or so, and they leave with a sense of disaproinLiiieuii m their hearts, and a sense of loneliness m, their pockets. For four bob and two bob is a rank imposition, and the cove who imposed those prices and thus swindled the public should be had up for false pretences. It was a most farcical proceeding all through, and is as much a "religious performance" as is that of a party praying to a paralysed porpoise, or singing psalms to a bottled blowfly. These fire walkers, who don't walk on fire at all, but on hot stones like a cat on hot bricks, are protected, by a god, or a spirit, or Some Invisible nersoh who is alleged to hftve taught them the trick centuries ago or thereabouts, and told' them not to give the secret away to

' THE DESPISED WHITE MAN if ever he came to their islands- with a tomahawk and revolver on blood turdlinfc expeditions . The (queer thing about this great spirit of theirs is that he can only protect them for a few seconds while they are gingerly stenning over the heated oven ; why he "doesn't grant them . power to stay much longer, amd give the public something for their money, or why he doesn't permit them to He down for a nap there is unfathomable. The stones, and the wood, and presumably the match that lit the fire, all came from Bega, as if Maoriland hasn't plehty of those commodities at its disposal; it is a slur on, bur quarrying and forestry", industries. The crowd also brought their ' spirit with them, because it seems thart; they asked him m private (according to' piie veracious chronicler) if they could take common white people over the tjhinps you ■

HIT CHINAMEN WITH. The spirit's reply was m tlie negative, so no pale-faces strolled along with the nigs. . The scientists, too, who rolled up to see the pop show were given a place of vantage, but they were barred from giving their report to the press until after the fire walkers left the colony. Thousands of people waited for hours ror the show : the Fijians who don't walk, but who rfierely scoff bananas and try to look pleasant, were to have given

A SONG AND DANCE AC V T , to fill m time, but the fire-walkers represented that this wouldn't be m accordance with the solemnity of their reiic-iqus performance. So this bunkum was listened to tiy the gent m charge, and people had to moon round or look at each other aad yawn fbr m incredible time. Eventually the cauldron was cleared of its wooden lumber' and levelled, and later on a dozen bedizened darkies emerged from '.heir concealment and walked the stones for about 25 Seconds, and were 'dvint?'- sacred masawe leaves' tuoke*) on the oven bpfoite the_ crowd had tumbled to what w.aip happening. A large number of men nwhed to the pit before tire rite, was fin-ished*-knockine: the scientists head oyer heels, collaring Tuyt stones that they couldn't handle, and behaving like

MANIACS ON A MUSIC EXCUR-

SION. It 1 was a wonder indeed that some weren't knocked into the pit and then the-" might have got am indication ol what the mythical bottomless pit was like. However, as nothing of the sort 1 •>'■ ened there \ras no baked . meat, arid no i inquest :rende»red necessary. There was no mistake about the stones being torrid, and the walkers' feet un-, singed, but the crowd were very sceptical about the feat, and described its so-called religiosity as infernal bunkum. It was a. 'new kind of new religion to ifcem,' and the "collection" was too Trie:. A curious thing about the business its that the performers can't give another show on the day following : th-roe days must elapse before they can appear again.