The latter apply the
brands to their own nude bodies and to the bodies of their
comrades in front. A warrior will seize the flaming mass as if it
were a sponge, and, keeping close to the man he is pursuing, will
rub his back with it as if bathing him. The sufferer in turn
catches up with the man in front of him and bathes him in flame.
From time to time the dancers sponge their own backs with the
flaming brands. When a brand is so far consumed that it can no
longer be held it is dropped and the dancers disappear from the
corral. The spectators pick up the flaming bunches thus dropped
and bathe their own hands in the fire.
"No satisfactory explanation seems to be obtainable as to the
means by which the dancers in this extraordinary performance are
able to escape injury. Apparently they do not suffer from any
burns. Doubtless some protection is afforded by the earth that is
applied to their bodies."
Spontaneous combustion of the human body, although doubted by the
medical men of this day, has for many years been the subject of
much discussion; only a few years ago, among the writers on this
subject, there were as many credulous as there were skeptics.
There is, however, no reliable evidence to support the belief in
the spontaneous combustion of the body.
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