THE FIRE-WALKERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 80, 29 December 1906, Page 6

THE FIRE-WALKERS.

College Boy Does the Trick.

■That fire-walking ibusinress at Christchurch by the wolly-headed, oilyskinned Fijiams is gradually, losing some of its mystery. After the second performance, which was hedged m wi-th a lot of religious : ceremony or some/ such unmitigated bunkum, an ordinary Fijian, who isn't a firewalker, followed the walkers into the oven and stopped there a short time. Then to the surprise of everyone, a young Wanganui College boy who was born m Fiji, who has been wearing boots these five years, boldly walked on to the' hot stones, going to the centre of the oven and back, feeling no ill-effects. This lad had never seen fire-walking done before, but he was assured by a Bega native .that anyone could do the bally trick,' so he had a cut m. His explanation is that it's not the stones that burn the feet, hut the charcoal from tho wood. That's why the firewalkets put their tootsies down gingerly, because they are afraid cf treading on the charcoal.' Standing on that would give them ginger with a vengeance. If all this is correct there isn't much left to wonder at. And to treat it as a religious ceremony -t. unadulterated bosh. Also, if these heathens pretend, that their God. or spirit, sees them safely over the hot and stony way why do they not confine their prayers to that joker instead of taking on the Christian God also. They allege they are devout Wesleyans, and have ' heen praying hai?d m tii'<» Wussleyan lane-

uage ever since they came to Christchurch. Also, they have been scoffing Wussleya-n tucker, and sinking Wussleyan tea, but whether they have been mu^-ring Wussleyan girleens or their mammas writer knoweth not.