BLACK MAGIC OF KENYA COLONY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18832, 21 March 1931, Page 9 (Supplement)

BLACK MAGIC OF KENYA COLONY

DEFEATING THE PLOTTERS The following is a true story of events which took place in Kenya Colony. The scene of action was a maize farm in the - Solai Valley; there were 600 acres of maize which had to be harvested quickly as the rainy season was approaching. A mixed gang of Kikuyu and Lumbwa natives were engaged on the harvest work and for the first week all went well. On the Monday of the second week the head man reported the complete cessation of work of all the Kikuyus. On further enquiries it transpired that two of the Lumbwa, having made unsuccessful love to two Kikuyu maidens, had proceeded to lay a curse on the girls, one of whom lay at death’s door and the other felt very poorly. The Kikuyus refused to work until the curse was lifted. Now as the Kikuyu formed the greater part of the gang, it was very important to get them back on the job quickly so It was up to the manager to get a snappy solution forthwith.

First he ascertained the names of the two cursers, then he stopped all work and had the whole gang up in front of his house in their tribal sections.

Having delivered a long harangue to the effect that his spirit was troubled by bad medicine in the affairs of the estate and that being a bit of a medicine man himself he brooked no rivals, he also stated that he felt the trouble lay in the Lumbwa section. He then caused all the Lumbwa (15 in all) to stand forward and gave each one a stone to hold. He then poured water on each stone explaining that his magic would cause the stone of the guilty man to smoke and crack. This caused considerable mirth until it was seen that the stones of the two cursers were definitely smoking. Carbide of calcium looks very like the local form of stone but acts very differently with water.

There was a distinct edging away from the guilty pair. A further test was applied each Lumbwa was given a pinch of salt which had to be dropped in a glass of water. White man's magic was to cause the water of the guilty man to boil. As each dropped in his safe relief appeared on their faces until the guilty ones, carefully kept till last, caused the water to boil over the glass, thanks to Eno’s “Fruit Salt.”

Terrific consternation was registered and the whole gang bolted except the two guilty men who dropped on their knees and confessed to the whole thing, offering to lay off the curse. In two days the girls recovered but the great thing was that all the Kikuyu returned to work next day. Since then there has been no rival magic worker on the estate.

KILTS OR BEACH PYJAMAS.

A writer in the Paris “Figaro” reports an entirely unexpected orientation in mens fashions on the Riviera. He has seen a kilt on the Cote d’Azur. At the moment, it appears that only one male visitor to the South of France is wearing the garment regularly, and he is a Parisian, not a Scotsman. He is so firmly convinced of the comfort of wearing kilts that he may well succeed in imposing his ideas on fashionable tailors in Paris. If this happens kilts may be more conspicuous between Hyeres and Mentone this winter than plus-fours. The Parisian who has inaugurated the kilt as the ideal garment for men on holiday—whether golfing, walking, fishing, or simply idling—was moved to do so by the present fashion in women’s beach pyjamas. His suit had been completely spoiled in a rain storm, and being unable to find a tailor who could make him another one quickly—because all the tailors in the South of France are busy making pyjamas for women—he made himself a kilt. Since, on account of the spread of beach pyjamas, men generally are not easily distinguishable at fashionable seaside resorts nowadays, the Parisian is also able to pride himself on the fact that he, certainly, can be confused with no member of the other sex. He is now exhorting his fellowmen to leave trousers to women, and adopt the kilt.

The Lone Star was a secret society, founded in Alabama, 1843, with the object of bringing the whole Western hemisphere into the United States.

An hour or so of complete relaxation daily, with the feet higher than the head, is recommended to women by an eminent woman doctor. This benefits the heart, helps to combat varicose veins, and also helps to keep the ankles slim.