THE GUN CHARMERS.
Among the more superstitiously inclined of the sporting Cingalese are gun-charmers, who allege that a gun may be charmed in different ways, and by different methods. An essential part of the process, however, appears to be the muttering of certain formulae.
A gun, the charmers say, may lie charmed in any of the following four ways : (1) So that it will wound the animal fired at, but will not kill outright ; (2) so that he who carries it shall find nothing worth shooting ; (3) so that it will not kill anything flying, but will kill animals that run ; and (4) so that it will not kill anything that runs, but will kill anything flying.
No gun can be charmed at all if the owner takes the precaution of rubbing some pork-fat on the barrel, or attaches a piece of the outer skin of the rat-snake to the stock in such a way that it cauuot fye seen.
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King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 382, 29 July 1911, Page 2
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160THE GUN CHARMERS. King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 382, 29 July 1911, Page 2
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