Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-28
ORIENTAL SOLOMON
RENDERS JUDGMENT

The Native Courts was in a grave
quandary. 1t has gone down one lane
OF of evidence and found that il ended
in a eul-de-sac and up another only II
find that il opened out into a trackless
Jungle. Wherefore the Court scratch
Cd it's head. And whether it was this
that gave birth to inspiration Of not
/ cannot tell (although like to think
it was, for indeed it is upon such little
things as these tnat our lives depend:
but anyhow light came, and Solomon
in all his wisdom might well have en-
We'd.
Z The case was a dispute as to the
ownership of young buffalo; have
tried more than one myself and know
that it might well have puzzled an
ahler and more legal mind than Arang
Kaya Museh's. Procedure is usually
a. follows: the plaintiff calls six I'M,
impeachable witnesses who swear i'm
perturbably that they have seen it
every day of its life and that owing
to its having wart under the left
ear it is undoubtedly the plaintiffs.
The defendant then produces half a
dozen equally yeraeious land no less
iEIperturbable) witnesses who have
known the buffalo even more intimate
ly and from a small scratch on the
off foreleg can swear positively that
it is land always has BEEN the de-
fendant's. And as / knew that the
evidence of all these excellent gentle
men never broke down in any parti-
cular / wondered little at the light
/ had seen dawning in dseh's eyes.
i had seen dawning in museh's eyes.
the case was going to end literally In
3 Solomon's judgment, for Museh
arose and commanded that the young
buffalo should be brought; And,
said he to the plaintiff and the defend.
ant, bring each of you the buffalo
that you say is the mother OF the
calf" and they, wondering, obeyed.
Museh the chief came to me in
great glee will all the triumph OF
genius in his smile and my question
WAS he going to cut the calf in
two?" put him into a higher good
humor still, for he regarded it q was
rather relieved to see) as very good
joke on my part. Museh, you see, has
never heard of Solomon.
Then the lady buffaloes arrived and
watched proceedings. The whole
Kapong had turned out by now ane
amid much shouting and laughs,r the
two mothers were tethered in front OF
the Court, about so yards apart, the
calf being placed half way between
Then | lealized that the old saw ''It's
a wise child that knows its own faith.
er" (if father, why not mother) had
The calf was let loose, ampled about
fcr little, and then made a Decline
for the plaintiffs buffalo. The test
was, however, that 1t should chium or
kiss its mother and we all held our
breath. "Belum lagi tentu,' said
Nrseh, 1T is not yet proved"
Now in the name of all that is art
/ would fain end my story here but
truth prods me on. I should like to
tell how the defendant was put to
shame, and theEsix veracious witness-
es run in for purjury, by the calf
knowing and kissing its own mother.
but that is just what It did not do.
The devil entered into the heat Of that
baby buffalo and he went systematic
ally from one mother to the othe7.
gamboling round each of them for
some half hour, much TO the excite
ment and delight of the spectators,
who took whole-hearted interest in
tie entertainment The Malay is a
patient being but | am not, and amid
shouts of "Belrm lagi tentu" and the
bleating of that baby kerbau whose
sould could not rise above the gal
lery. departed homeward to my tif-
I,orth Borneo Herald,
September End, 1912.