Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1816-10-18

ground or nuHS U 800
,,ader the threshold Of the door OF mel
80 rfv 10 suffer: with incantatlons. songs
r. ' curses. performed at midnight, regard 4
;;ng the aspects of the moon. The party
Who wants to do the mischief,is alse sent
10 barying grounds, or some secret place
which spirits are supposed to frequent.
|toinvoke his dead parents to ASSIST nun
lin the curse. -. /.
a negro who thinks himself pewitched
|by Obi, will apply to an Gilman, OF o0'
|acoman, for cure.
These magicians will interrogate the
patient as to the part of the body most al
| aicted This part they will torture witl'
Ipinchipg and drawing with goards OF
ca bashes, beating and pressing when
| the patient is nearly exhausted wlthstms
rough nagnatising, OBJ brings out an old q
lrusty nail, or piece OF bone, or an ASS :
tooth, orthe jaw bone Of a rat, or rag
ment Of a quart bottle, from the part
and THE patient is well the next day.
The most wrinkled and most deiormed
Obian magicians are most yenerated.
This wa, he case among the Egyptians
and Chaldeans
I In general. Obi-men are more sagacl-
15ous than Obi-uomen in giving or taking
away diseases and in the applications
fof poisons. 1t is in their department 70
blind pigs and poultry, and lame cat
tile.
/ 1t is the province of the 0bi-pomen to
dispose of the passions, They sell iou'
winds for incDns.ant mariners dreams
land phantasis for jealousy; We atom anu
pain in the heart, for perfidious lore anu
for the perturbeJ impatient, and wretch
led at the tardy acts OF time, to turn 10
prophetic fury to future page IN the BOOK
of fate, and amazed the ravlshed sense
/; of the tempest tossed current:
| Laws have been made in the West
Indies to punish the Obian practice with
death but they have had no effect. Laws
constructed in the West Indies. can ne
yer suppress The effect Of ideas, the origin
| of which is in the centre OF Africa.
I | saw the Obi of the famous negro
Three Fingered Jack, the terror,of jana
Eica in 1880 and 1881. The Maroons
who slew biu brought it to me.
His OH consisted OF the end-of goats
horn filed with compound Of grave dirt
ashes, the blood of black cat, and hu-
man fat !: all mixed into kind of a
paste. A bIsck cats FOOT dried toad.
| a pig fail, slip Of parchment, OF kids
lskin with characters marked in blood
on it, were also in his Obian bag.
These, with a keen sabre, and two
leuns. like. Robson Crusoe, were all ms
OBI, with which, and his courage in de-
cendiag into the plains, and plunderrg
to supply his wants, and his skill in re-
treating into difficult fatnesses, Gem
manding the only access to them, where
none dared to follow him, he terrified
| the inhabitants and set the civil power.
and the neighboring militia OF that Is
land at defiance for two years.
lie had neither accomplices nor associ-
were few runaway ne !:
groes in the woods near mount LibaRus,
the place Of his retreat, but he had cross
ed hcirfereheads with some of the ma
gic in his horn, and they could not betray
him. But he trusted MOI one. lie scorll-
ed assistance. He assembled above Spar
tacus. He robbed alone, fought al his
battles alone and always killed his pur
isuers.
BY this magic he was not only the
|dread of the negroes, but there were
lmany white people, who believed lie was
possessed Of some supernatural power.
[ In hot climates females marry very
Young and often with great DISPARITY OF
ee. Here Jack was The author Of many
troubles : for seye: ] matches proved UNI
ihappy.
g Give Dig an i'll name, and hang
Ihim.''
Clamors rose on clamor against the
cruel sofcerer and every conJagai ms
Ihap was laid at the dqor OF Jack $ ma!lilc
lspell Of tyisg TIE point on the Wedding
sday.
iiod knows poor Jack had sins enough
| of his own 10 carry, without leading hin.
with the sins of others. He would soon-
Ter have made dsedeaH cauldrou for IL.
whole island. than disturb one lady1s
happiness. lie had many opportunities !:
ani though he bad mortal hatred Is
!White men, he was never known " hurt
IA child, or abuse oman
But even Jack himself was born to
die.
Allured BY the rewards offered by CO.
vernon Baking. in a proclamation, dated
the 18th of December, 1880. and by q re
.;n,, ..,l.,nl, folInuad II of fhp llnrlsn