The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-16
AUSTRALIAN MAGIC.
How a Clever ImpOStOT Deluded a
Whole Band.
Used a Slight knowledge of the Sea-
sons and a Few Deft Tricks of
Sleight-of-Hand.
From the New York Press.


In common with all savages, the abo-
rhymes of Australia have a goodly num-
Der of wizards among them, who pretend
to communicate with the spirits of the
dead, and to gain valuable information
from them.
These impostors claim to be able to
produce death or sickness at will among
their enemies, or those of their tribe, and
there seems to be little reason to doubt
them, for they are known to possess no
mean degree of skill in the preparation
and use of certain crude poisons, made
principally from vegetable substances.
So, too, they claim to cure all diseas es,
although, naturally, their aclaims to this
power are much less easily upheld. 1t is
much easier to make a well man sick
with drugs than to make a sick man
well, as any OF our own physicians can
testify,
The power over the "devil-devil," or
evil power of the spirit world, however,
they lay most stress upon, and this they
are most successful in proving to the sat
lsfaction of their dupes. 1t is so easy TO
pro to influence spirits, or TO bring
things about in a future state, of which
nothing is known. that they are safe-in
claiming anything that the gullibility Of
their followers will enable them to
swallow.
USE OF MAGIC
To uphold these preposterous claims
they have very naturally had constant re-
course TO such forms of magic or double
dealing as have occurred to their be-
nlghted intellects. Whatever may be
said of their low rank in the human scale,
III must be admitted that they are, keen
and constant observers of the things of
nature about them. An instance which
had the opportunity of witnessing while
in Western Australia convinced me of
their cunning in this respect.
A long and disastrous drought, which
had almost ruined the small tribe on
whose borders | was encamped, had re-
suited in their demanding of the tribe
wizard that the much-needed rain be pro-
duced, and that forthwith.
The first act of this charlatan was to
call the people together, and, during a
sort OF pow-wow, to perform a few feats
of simple magic, such as any tvro in the
sleigh t-of-hand arts could surpass. Then
he assembled into the highest tree in the
vicinity, where he remained for some
time in contemplation of the SKY.
l was informed that he was working
wonders at that great height-he was
quite 200 feet from the ground-which
would soon result in refreshing showers
being sent by the devil devil, who kept
back the needed rains at the solicitation
of the wizards of the nearby, envious
tribes. My field glass disclosed the fact,
however, that he was sitting aloft in the
most comfortable manner he could com
mand, straining his eyes toward the hori-
zon, whence his study of past seasons had
taught him the first storms of the rainy
season, then overdue, always came.
GREAT sHREWDNEss
This farce was kept up for several
days. Every morning he climbed to his
lofty perch and stayed there long enough
to assure himself that no rain was likely
to appear that day, after which he re.
turned to the earth with tale of the an
ger of the evil spirit and with demands
for tribute wherewith TO appease him.
Very shrewdly he chose only such art
icles of tribute as would enable him to
live in idleness for some weeks to come
After several DAYS, but not until my
barometer had foretold an approaching
storm, he remained one morning but a
short time in the tree. He returned to
the ground with all the airs of a con-
quering hero.
though ridiculous, performance Tying
a cloth tightly about his head, he went
through serious Of contortions, during
which he carried around a large gourd or
calabash. He took much care to show
that this was empty and then, with
much ceremony, marched to a nearly fall
len tree, holding it upside down. Here,
in the sight of all his dupes, he placed it
on the stump, and, removing the cloth
from his head, began to wiring it out as
though it was full of water. AS thought
the whole performance was simply
meant to typify the tribes desire for
water, had not watched him as closely
as / should have done had I been pre-
pared for his next act. Turning sud
denly, with the gourd in his hand, he
tipped it slightly, and from it poured
clear, Hmpid water. Then he marched
triumphantly among his people, exhibit
ing it, and proving to the satisfaction of
all that it was purer water than they had
seen for weeks.
This performance was greeted with
shouts of delight. 1t was taken as a sure
sign that the ''deyil-devil'' had releuted
and granted this much water as a sign of
the blessing soon to follow.
Among the cries the tribes word for
grass or green was frequently uttered.
Responding to this, the wizard put down
the gourd, and, without any further prep
aratiou. began to extract handfulsof grass
from his forehead, his back and his
thighs. This was very neatly executed
trick of ''palming'' small balls of grass,
ready prepared, from the folds of his lOin
cloth, so that he might seem to have
gotten them from his skin in various
parts of his body.
IT WAS A WORKER.
With this performance my opinion of
the impostor went up very considerably.
l well knew that he could not have gotten
this grass, a marsh growing kind without
tramp of at least seven miles each v ay.
Moreover, as the trip must have been
taken at night, while his tribe slept. and
when every one else of his people would
have feared to be about alone, the courage
and endurance shown in maintaining his
ascendancy over his dupes was remark
able.
This last show of his power, which by
his people was received with much awe,
was followed by an immediate return to
the tree top, where he could be seen ges-
ticulating wildly, and be heard uttering
the most unearthly yells.
Fortunately for his powers of endur-
ance, he did not long have to maintain
this exhausting labor. He had hardly
been in the tree more than ten or fifteen
minutes before clouds began to gather over
the tree tops, and soon the big drops,
which were the welcome forerunners of
the coming rain. began 10 fall.
Thus, by two simple straightforward
tricks. cunning use OF his knowledge of
the rainy season and of rain clouds, and
the use of his tree observatory, he was
al g. IT..