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MAGIC STONES AND ELECTEIC GEMS 45
1887, the taimé of
the Kiowa has not been viewed by mortal eye since that time, not even
the custodian of the treasure having the privilege of opening the box,
except on the occasion of the ceremonial dance above mentioned.73 Whether
this stone has been rudely fashioned into its present shape, or whether
its natural form suggested its use as a simulacrum of some deity, has
not been determined; it is evidently not of meteoric origin as were
many of the curiously shaped stones venerated as images of the gods in
ancient times, in both Europe and Asia.
In
the rock of St. Gowan's chapel in Wales was a natural cavity upon which
the name of the Expanding Stone was bestowed by popular tradition,
because the strange fancy prevailed that this stone automatically
adapted itself to the size of anyone who entered the cavity. The legend
ran that once, during the Pagan persecutions, when a fugitive
Christian, hotly pursued, reached this rock it opened up of its own
accord so that he could slip into it, and then closed about him so as
to hide him effectually from his enemies. This Expanding Stone was
believed to manifest its magic power by bringing to pass the wish
expressed by anyone who entered it, provided he did not change his wish
while he turned around within it.74
The
natives of the French colony of New Caledonia in the southern Pacific,
attach special importance to the fortuitous shape of stones in using
them for talismans or amulets. According to their form such stones are
considered to procure favorable effects against famine, madness, or
death ; to induce sunshine or rain, or else to bring good luck in
fishing or in sailing, each special use being sug-
™
Dr. Walter Hough in " Handbook of American Indians north of Mexico,"
ed. by Frederick Webb Hodge, Smithsonian Inst. ; Bur. of Am. Ethn.,
Bull. 30 ; Washington, 1910, Pt. 2, p. 194.
"Wirt Sikes, "British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Myths, Legends and Traditions," London, 1880, p. 365.
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