The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-06-14

peared somewhat embarrassed and
awkward in his seal of justice. A
sheepish locking negro was giving in
his testimony. q rigmarole similar tc
that which followed.
A negro woman, Bette Hebron,
was hen worn: 1 went round dal
dat night, and dis man what died was
Il groanin' and u roilin' awful; and
says to 'em, "Cut q chip outen the top
Of dc door dar, and put one piece on
de lef and one on dc right, and
move his pillow and his bed outside
dc house, and he'll git easy by de hour
of twelve"-and he got easy and his
wife, here, Sary Glover, who pisen
him, dey say, says 10 me, HE AIM
goin' to do any body any more good;'
and she was
A RoARIN' AND A CUsSIN'
mighty cause she say dey 'cusc her OF
pisinin' him. And den I look around
and l find a bottle between Two board:
bottle Of pisen-and I take it of in
de night and run down to de river
with some more of us, and We flung
it in de river. I was a mind to keep il
Mt fust, but Il was skeered~it would
harm me-" .
Q. How do you know it was poi
son?
A. Case 1 find it in an onclean
place, OATS how l know.
@, Does finding it in an unclean
place make it poison?
A. Yes, it do case people who
gets pisin puts it in whar de human
eye can't see it, if dey kin: E
Q. What was in the bottle? .
A. Some curious looking stuff; like
brick dust, dead mems bonds andtin
ger nails, and somein else, all beat up
fine, and lock like brick dust /; and dat
woman dar, Sary, his wife, say, Gle
amt gwine to do nobody no more
good )" dat she saw a man II night
come and sprinkle some curious dust
in de yard, and she say, II AK him
what he doin'," and he say, "Nothin'
to harm you"
Q. But do you know if this woman
poisoned him
A. Oar, now, 1 don't know dat.
A second negro woman was called
and sworn
Mems, l am gwine to tell You de
troot. Dis here woman comes to me
one day and say her husband been sick
a long time, and l say is he? She
say yes, and he amt gwine to be much
use to anybody long. And she say a
man come one night and sprinkle dust
in de yard, and he say to her, faint
nothin' to harm you. And / say.
whyn't you take a brick and knock
dat nigger in de head? You know I
knock any niger in de head come
foolin round my husband dat way il
he be sick. And I found . bottle in
dc house wild
NINE NEW NAILS
in it, and a white looking nail, and
we taken dis bottle, we did, and car.
ried it down to de river and flung it
in, cas- we know de spirits can be
drowned. And 4 doctor be was dar,
A BLACK DOCTOR
he was, and he say, "Solnein wrong
here" And he sit down on a stool
and took de pillar out from under his
head and put it on his knee, and open
one end and commence pullin out de
feathers, just so, right slow. And ar
ter while he cum to some har, and he
nod his head and say, "Ah!' just so;
and it was black kinky har, just like
dat nigger's sittin' dare, and 1 believe
its her'n too And de doctor he say,
''Dat amt all !; somen else down here
and kept pulIin' de feathers out,
and he come to some more har again.
Bunch of white har dis time. And de
doctor he say, "Ah!' and he nod his
head agin. And he say, 'dat amt
And arter a while, away down
at de bottom, he found a curious look
in bunch of har and feathers, all roll
ed up wild q curious string, just de
SHAPE OF A COFFIN.
and de doctor he say, "Dar, now, see
dat !" and de doctor he pulled it and l
it, and, fore heaven! we
couldn't pull nary feather o. nary
har outen it ; and dat's de niger dar
what done it, and made her husband
crazy and pisened him
of the table, and the cigar. which he
had just lighted, out OF his mouth,
aud dismissed the case, with some very
sensible advice to his colored hearers,
and a wise admonition to beware Of
II e impositions of such rascality and
superstition. :