Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1816-10-16
MISCELLANY.

'o~''e p"NNsh"h " III Nto>SieV III Is trea
Use on sugar. OF tine combat between John
Reeder,and Three Fingered Jack, a uoto-
nous runaway, which took place on tile
18th January, 1881, near Mount Libanus
in st. Thomas in the East, will ne read, il
is presumed, with some interest, on &C.
count of his recent death. John Reeder
received the reward of one hundred mounds
offered by the proclamation of majors gene
raj John Dalling, Governor of this island,
and afterwards had an annual stipend of
twenty pounds, which was increased of late
years to thirty pounds, and paid under the
poll-tax law.
Formerly there was no regular method
OF treating the ya,us in the West Indies.
At was thought to be disorder that wonld
have its course, and if Uninterrupted. that il
would be dangerous. 1t was then the Gus.
tom, when the negro was attacked with it.
to separate him from the rest, and Sc nd
hun to some lonely place by the seaside,
to battle or into the mruntdins, to some
provision ground, or piaintain- walk, where
he could act as a watchnan, and maintain
himself, without any expense TO the estate
until he was well then he was brought
back TO the sagar-work.
But this rarely happened. A cold, damn
smoky hut, for his habitatun snakes and
lizards his companions crude, viscid food,
and bad water, his only support and shun
ned as leper he usually sunk from the
land of the living.
But some OF these abandoned exiles liy-
ed in spite of the common law of nature.
and survived general mutation of their
muscles, ligaments and ostreolngy be.
came also hideously white in their woolly
hair and skin with their limbs aud bodies
twisted and turned. By the force of the dis
temper, into shocking grotesque figure 8
resembling woody exca essences, or stunps
OF trees-or old Egyptian figures, thai
seem as ifthey had been made of the end,
OF the human and beginnings of the bruta!
form which figures are, by some ANTIGUA
fies, taken Tor gods, and by others for de-
Wis.
In their punishment, their huts often be-
came the receptacles of robbers and fuoi
tive neg oes and as they had no powe,
to resist any who chose to take shelter II,
their novels, they had nothing to lose. ant.
were forsaken by the world tigel would
hardly modest them. Their desperate
guests never did.
The host of the hut, as he grew more
mistapen. generally became subtle this
we Ob.e ge III England in crooked, scrophu
LOUIS persons as ii nature disliked PEOPLES
being both cunning aud strong.
May OF their hayward visitors were
deeply skilled in magic, and what we call
the black art, which they brought with
them from Africa and in return Tor their
accommodates, they us,raliy taught thei
la do,d the mysteries OF sieils. spells and
sol Gerry and illuminated him in all the
occult science ot OBJ
These ugly, 10 thsome creatures, thus
became orac rs OF woods and untreauen Ell
places and wee resOried to secretly, by
the gretched in mind, and by the maiici.
Gus for wicked purposes.
OBJ aud Gambling, are the only insfan-
ces, have been able TO discover, among the
natives ct the negro land in Africa, IN
which any effort at combining ideas mas e.
YER been demonstrated.
The science OF OH is very extensive.
O5t, Tor the purposes of bewitching peo-
PIE, or consuming them by lingering i'll
ness, Is made OF grave dirt, hair, teeth oi
sharks, and other creatures, blood, feathers
egg shells, images in wax, the hearts OF
birds, and some potent roots, weeds, and
bushes, OF which European. are at thu, time
Ignorant but which were known, for the
same purpose, tn the ancients.
Certain mixtures OF these ingredients
are burnt, or buried very deep in the
ground ;or hung up a chimney or lai,.
under the threshold OF the door Of the party
to suffer; with Incarnation songs or curses,
performed at midnIght, regarding the A. =
psct %! the moon. The party who want
10 do the mischief. is also sent to bury;py
groShds, or some secret place, whtci, spirits
are supposed to frequen to invoke his
dead parents to assist him in The curse.
a negro, who thinks himself bewitched
by OH, will apply TO an obi-man OF obi-lco-
man, for cure.
These m4gicians will interrOgate the pa
tient, as to the part must afflicted. This
part they will torture with pinching, draw
ing with guurds or clabashes, beating and
pressing. When the patient is nearly
exhausted with this rough magnetism. OBJ
brings out an old rusty Bail, or piece oil
Done, or an aSs,s tooth, or the iaw.b bone oil
a rat, or fragment Of quart bottle, from
the part and the patient is well the next
day.
The wrlnkled and most deformed Obiau
magicians are most venerated. This was
the case among the Egyptians and Chal.
deans.
In general, obi-men are more sagacious
than o6i.t0omeH in giving or taking away
diseases; and in the application OF prisons.
This Obi, or as It'll pronounced in The
English West Indies, 05enh, had its origin
IKE many customs among the Africans.
frouo tho Auc;o,f