The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-02-01
1HE IRISH TAEDlKD! 81 RDA y. FEBRU AIRY n

CON panY 81 she, hot assem- n 4
moved. down gu the place of COM The
lzrraal was built on the top of hi-lll and a1
below lit the land s1oped gent e 1 tne
banks Of q river about Il alf e mile away.
On the other side Of tho bank was ii the ;l1
piece of land that was, the natives sas ,,,|
flowed Of the lightning & Here Is me l1'1
nagicians took up their stand While tne
spectators grouped themselves on the
hillside about two hundred yards 8 away,
which was, ] tho,lglh It, "a ther too near p 70
be pleasant When We had sat ' there for
awhile my curiosity oyercaIE1e 8 me me, ana ~ !
asked leave 81 the chief to go down ana az
inspect the arena. He said I mig ut doEso
at my own risk told him t ma !.
the fire from above would ~ .@ not 7
hurt white men, and went ana
found that it was bed OF Iron 'a'L
ore, thinly covered with grass, which 4. OF
course accounted for It's attracting the le
lightning from the storms as they trav-
eled along the line OF the river. AZ
each end Of this iron-stone area were
placed the combatants, lndabarz I'M q o.
facing the east, and his rival tho Wes6,
and before each there burned 9 little
fire made Of some scented root. Alore-
over, they wore dressed In all the
paraphernalia of their craft, snake skins,
fish bladders, and know not what be-
sides, while round their necks hung cir
clets Of baboons' teeth and bones from
human hands. First I went to the
western end where the chiefs son
stood. He was pointing with his assegai
towards the advancing storm, and IN
voking it in voice OF great excite
ment.
'.Corne, fire, and lick up Indaba-
zimbi!
ssHear me, Storm Devil, and lick In
daba-zimbi with your red tongue!
ssSpit on him with your rain!
ssWhirl him away in your breath!
'sMake him as nothing - melt the
marrow in his bones!
ssRun into his heart and burn away
the lies!
ssShow all the people who is the true
Witch Finder!
ssLet me not be put to shame in the
eyes of this white manw
Thus he spoke, or rather chanted, and
all the while rubbed his broad chest
for he was very fine nan-with some
filthy compound of medicine at naontl
After awhile, getting tired Of his song,
I walked across the iron stone to where
Indaba-zimbi sat by his fro. He was not
chanting at all, but his performance was
much more impressive. It consisted in
staring at the eastern sky, which was
perfectly clear of:cloud, and every now
and again reckoning at it with his
finger, then turning round to point with
the assegai towards his rival. Forawhile
I looked at him in silence. He was a
curious, wizened man, apparently over
fifty years Of age, with thin hands that
looked as tough as wire. His nose was
much sharper than is usual among these
races, and he had a queer habit of hold
ing his head sideways like bird when
he spoke, which, in addition to the
humor that lurked in his eye, gave him
most comical appearance. Another
StEdAS6 tAAuS9 dUouo uAAA Wsso oAAe"o Az
had single white lock Of hair among
his black wool. At last spoke to him:
s'Indaba-zirnbi, my FRIEND" I said,
ssyou may be a good witeh-doctor, but
you are certainly fool. 1t is n good
reckoning at the blue sky while your
enemy is getting start with the storm. y
ssYou may be clever, but don't think
you know every thing, white man." the
old fellow answered, in a high cracked
voice, and with something like grin.
''They call you Irontongue," I went
on; ssyou had better use it or the Storm
Devil won't hear YOU
s'The fire from above runs down iron, .
he answered, $50 I keep my tongue quiet.
oh, yes, let him curse away. I'll put
him out presently. Look now, white
man"
looked, and in the eastern sky there
grew cloud. AT first it was small, but
very black, but it gathered with extra
ordinary rapidity.
This was odd enough, but as l had
seen the same thing happen before II
ibid not particularly astonish me. 1t is
lby no means unusual in Africa for two