Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-09-07
NEGRO SUPERSTITION.
A woman VOOdOOed-Has a Lizard
UndeF Her Skin, and BarINs Like n
bar
From the Washington star.

DAdef Aer StAlns ana BarS<s Like u
| Dog.
From the Washington Star.
For several days past there has been
considerable excitement about the upper
end of Seventh street, on account of the
singular proceedings of colored woman
in one of the tenement houses in Campbell
Barracks. The woman is Emily McClel-
Ian. She came originally from the interior
of Virginia, and from her intensely black
skin it is evident that she is purely Afri-
can, with no mixed blood in her veins.
She resides with her husband in the local
ity mentioned. This is the way the story
goes About two weeks ago, when she was
living in Wisewell Barracks, she had a
dispute with colored woman there about
a skirt, and the woman becoming enraged
at her, declared that she would conjure
her." and put spell on her, making her
bark like a dog. Shortly after Emily
Mcclellan moved to her present abode,
and at sunrise on Tuesday, the Goth ult.,
she was attacked with severe pains in the
stomach, and she was pct to bed when she
complained that she felt something gnaw-
ing its way from her stomach towards her
neck, and some of those present declared
that they saw something slowly crawling
up under the skin of the breast Of the ex
act shape of lizard.
The pain of the woman became intense,
aud she went into commissions, in which
she would bark like a dog, sometimes
growing, and at other times snarling as if
about to bite The lizard remains in the
neck only few moments it is said, and re-
turns to the body, and the woman from
sheer exhaustion falls asleep. After these
convulsions she is very weak and dizzy
and sometimes she is attacked in this way
two or three times a day, but generally
every afternoon about six o'clock. While
in these commissions the woman has been
visited by large numbers Of colored people,
and by many white persons residing in the
neighborhood, who corroborate these state
ments.
Our reporter visited the place in COM
pany with Lieut.. johnson, and found large
crowd collected about the doors Of the hab-
itation, watching every movement of the
woman with wonder. As we approached,
the husband of the woman met us and said,
Emily has Just throwed it out" "Throwed
what out" said we. To which he replied
that "she just give two snorts and cast a
wtu-r-r@u-m out of her nose," at the same
time handing US a four ounce phial, in the
bottom of which was a worm about the di
ameter Of a common earth worm, and an
inch and a half long, yellowish in color,
With horned head and ten feet.
While looking at this worm, several col
ored women, looking also at the bottle, ex-
claimed, Umph, dat's what it war the
poor woman will get well now;" but hard
" had they made the remark when, with
a shrek, she junped up and was caught by
two women to whose assistance the hus-
band went, and it required the united
strength of the three to hold her, she
gyrating in the most wonderful manner,
and at one time barking like a mastifi, and
again like fee. This was her condition
for about fifteen minutes and as on previ-
Gus occasions, she fell asleep from exhaus-
ton. The colored people about the place
believe firmly that she has been bewitched
or c0niured, and have no faith in the pre-
scTiption of the physicians, who have pre-
scribed for her bnt on the other hand they
believe has lse aniy oaFg ioF kel II IN Che
power Of an old colored "Obii' man TOO
old for work-who they keep in the place
to spell of the influence of any medi-
cine given her.