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B J Laubscher – Where Mystery dwells

Some examples of my experience of Solomon Daba's psychic powers as recorded in my book Sex, Custom and Psychopathology will reveal his amazing spontaneous ability to enter into what I consider is the astral mental dimensionality. I quote:

“I explained to Solomon Daba that I could not accept the numerous claims of supernormal powers made by him and his followers unless I could verify them for myself. He agreed to submit himself to any test I might wish to carry out. I therefore decided to bury an article on my next visit and test his powers for myself.

Now Solomon Daba lives about sixty miles away from Queenstown. On leaving for his kraal, I buried in the ground a little cheap purse, wrapped in brown paper. Over the spot I placed a flat brown stone and on top of this a flat grey stone. Not a soul was in sight during this operation of burying the purse, nor did I, from the first moment the idea came to my mind, divulge my intention to anyone. From the moment I bought the purse, it was not seen by anyone, nor had anyone but myself any knowledge of the nature of the article to be used for this test. I left my assistant, Van der Merwe, in the car and went into the bush to bury the article. On leaving the spot, I travelled at an average speed of about thirty-five miles an hour. I mention this to obviate the possible explanation that he was informed by runners before my arrival.

"Shortly after my arrival I requested a seance dance and told him I had prepared a test. During the dance, Solomon Daba described in minute detail the article, the nature of the locality in which it was buried, the brown paper in which it was wrapped as well as the colour of the stones. During the dance I never once gave any information to show that he was on the right track. It will be assumed that he was reading my mind telepathically. I have no objection to this assumption. All I wish to add is that he accomplished a remarkable feat and displayed supernormal mental abilities. This is only one of many experiments in which Solomon Daba acquitted himself very well.

"A few months ago two cows were stolen, belonging to Mr. Victor, a charge nurse in the hospital. Shortly after this, I required Solomon Daba's assistance in elucidating a few points on witch-craft and due to pressure of work in the hospital I could not find time to travel 120 miles there and back. So I requested him to come and see me at my expense. On such occasions, when I foot the bill, Solomon Daba takes a childish delight in travelling in hired motor cars. As a rule he occupies the rear seat alone and in state, with his monkey-skin headdress. Late in the afternoon, towards the close of our lengthy discussion on witchcraft, Mr. Victor entered my office. It suddenly occurred to me that this would be an ideal opportunity to test Solomon Daba's psychic powers.

I informed him that I was going to test his psychic powers and merely added that Mr. Victor had lost some cows and asked him to describe the cows and give their present whereabouts. He said he would try, and there upon shut his eyes and sat quite still for a while. On opening his eyes he said, 'I see the cows and I know where they are and how they have been stolen,' and then proceeded as follows :

'There were two cows, both black and white, and the younger of the two was going to calve; in fact she has calved because there are three cattle now. The younger of the two cows has a peculiar mark on its left side, the hair has grown in the opposite direction in the form of a crown or whorl. There was a little white boy about six years old who was very fond of this cow. He always fed her with bits of grass and corn stalks. Late one evening the cows were driven away from the field by a native man who works in this hospital. He kept them at his house in the location that night and the following morning early he hired a native boy to drive these cows to a friend's place near Lady Frere (30 miles away).

This boy left with the cows while it was still dark and drove them to the kraal near Lady Frere. He crossed the railway line this side of Essex and took a little-known track across the veld.'

"I, of course, could not verify his descriptions of the cows, never having seen them, but I doubted his statement about the little white boy since I was well aware that Victor had no such child. As instructed, none of the members of the staff present said a word.

"After Solomon Daba left, Mr. Victor corroborated his description of the cows to the minutest detail; even the doings of the little boy turned out to be correct-this was a neighbour's child. As the matter was already in the hands of the police nothing further was done. The suspected man went off sick a few days ago and while at his home sent a native boy with a note to the ward.

Mr. Victor, having in mind what Solomon Daba told him, asked this native boy whether he drove some cows for X to Lady Frere some time ago. The boy, in my presence and that of other members of the staff and the police, admitted driving the cows and gave a description tallying in every detail with what Solomon Daba had said."