Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-05-03
LEGENDS OF THE HUDSON.

LEGENDS OF THE HUDSON.
Irving mas not exhausted the romance
the Hudson. There are still hills and n,oi
bordering the noble stream. which in ,oo
gone Dy nave been the scenes of unrecord
legends as wild or fanciful as any of tho
winch have been already made familiar to II
hev. David Murdoch, in his Clutch Don,;
lie, has exhumed some of these .foroottor !
gends, and connecting them bv thread
narrative gives pleasing and at times o,
CHUNG picture of the days when Indian wa
iare troubled the quiet of the Hudson's shore
ana the war whoop Of the savage awoke tb
peaceful Dutch colonists to make fearful >,
siStance or to make fearful resistance or i,
meet dreadful death. There were slaves !;
lhose days along the Hudson. The tories an,
English officers endeavored to incite t,es
negroes TO instruction, and sometimes wifi
success On one OCCASION as a historian :
the Catskills records, the negroes met in .
WOODED dehle, there to practise some suner
stltous rites. They were led by negro W h,
hau Oeen imported in SLAYER from Guinea
anu VINO claimed to be the son of an African
King A cunning old negro woman. Dora
VINO mad gained great ascendancy over the
negroes by her claims to be sort of priestess
and her hunchback son, were also of tho MOI
w. They first shouted wild song, and then
commenced to dance.
THE FETISH CEREMONIES
oIF
mar naked as they were, their bodies gilt
.eilhg WIN OIL and vinegar, SO that the gloss
nisht remain, they stood out waiting for the
sign Which was given, when Jupgv thraw
some mixture into the fire that Sent ~,
greehlsh blaze, like what salt and birthstone
mnen burned with ALCOHOL will produce. Ten.
= MS STOOD aghast when he beheld them a n will
'nen green eyes glancing, their white laws
cnatterlng, and their limbs going like the leas
OF large toads in putrid pond, when the snn
is not and the trees shady
~ neighten the effect of her power Dora
poured upon her hands some liquid, and pro-
ceeded TO take up some Goals OF fire toss;n,,
them unframed from one hand IN he Chs
ana even putting out her tongue ms if sbe
could ire. Teuhis knee >sssS5
but her followers shouted "Gfee, gree, man."
giving her sacred honors. This was the word
by which the old witch had often frightened
Teuhis when he was a child, but this was the
tluiS lle iltu seen IFS IiledDlHR 10 De lea
flemish, and as connected with herself He
had once heard her, when in rage, utter a
mixture OF words, which he supposed 10 be
pagan curse, when gree, gree, was the burden
OF the rhyme, and Tom, the Dcmino's man.
had often been heard to say that Dora was a
gree gree priestess in Guinea. These things |
were current, but "witch" was the highest
title ever bestowed upon her among the
whites.
The dance over, there was a long, rough
box produced from recess in the rocks, and
laid down with great care. 1t was ornament.
ed with different coored cloths, not unlike the
quilts, or chair cushions found in old houses
OF wealth, where the ladies have time to be
ornamental as well as useful. On laying the
I. chest down on the ground, there ran through
the whole circle the sound, fetish fetish
Teuhis knew this word well from hearing Dora
repeat it in her prayer, in the same breath
with Heeren, Goden, Fetish; which he sup
posed was but the African word for God. He
now found the true meaning. This must be
some kind OF an idol ; and she was the acting
priestess. Uucovering the bFS she moved
round it in reckoning gait, snal ring her fin
gers, which was the signal for the whole com.
pany to follow with the same NOV, ment, and
the same sound.
Alter this, all stood still, when the voice of
Dora was heard calling out Unga Golal and
the deformed imp came forward, crawling on
his hands and knees, close up to the box.
ssking in loud whisper, at the opening of the
end OF the box. in the African tongue =
"Wlo shall be king oil the colored regi-
ment?"
When an answer came as if out of the in
side, loud enough to be heard through the
cave -
"Who should be captain but de king of Da-
honey and de prince Of Bungalore?"
Cufiee gave start, so well defined that it
was considered real and as no one but the in.
itiated understood the trick, and these did not
except three persons present, it was no won
der that all ran back in fear, when Dora open
ed the box and out sprang rattlesnake, with
Its hery tongue protruded from its mouth.
More horror still seized them when the hunch-
back, without the least hesitation, lifted the
reptile in his hands, twisting him round his
short neck, with the open jaws of the snake be-
fore his face, SO that the mouth of the human
monster was ready to speak in question OF re-
ply. Walking back into the iurthest recess of
the cave, he stepped upon shelf in the rock.
when he put his lips out, and his head at the
highest and calling in loud voice.
"Who be captain of de black regiment for
great king George?"
"Mongee Cutfee, prince of Dahomey."
his answer was in an entirely different voice;
and to those who saw the ugly snake, how it
wrlthed ana turned, putllng out lis tongue
fiercely, and many times, the reply evident
came from it; for Juggy had covered his own
mouth SO that his lips never moved. Besides,
the voice was neither that of a man nor wo-
man, but sound which any superstitous
mind would interpret as a fend's answer.
Teunis began to see through this trick and
its object, and was curious to ascertain, from
actual observation, how far Cuffees mind ac-
corded with the hint given. 1t was evident
that all eyes were fixed on him, expecting
soma demonstration, when he rose, bowling
himself all the way up TO the place where the
snake and his master stood and asked -
"Vat will de Fetish hab de king OF Dahomey
do first"
"Gib de big Elder 'Bel into the hans OBJ de
great Ingen dis night"
What deceived even Teuhis SO far was the
number OF times this was repeated. 1t seemed
as il it came out of the rocks behind and
from above, again and again, ten times over,
assuring him that, well as he knew the cum
ming dwarf, there was something more in the
powers he possessed than mere double voice.
Nor did he fully understand it till afterward,
going into the same recess, he spoke a few
words, which were echoed and Ie-echoed SO
often, that he bacame startled lest he had
Weakened up the African gree gree of his child.
do Rryr he ruoc ro-