, 1873-07-20
THE OBEAHMAN's CURSE.

Driving AVny tho White 1uns
Kingston, Ja,nafca " I. tJans y, Correspondence @
tho Ne,o 1'ort Sun.
In this Island tho descendants Of tho original
Africans, ovon to tho Nth md sixth generation,
boliovo In and practice obenh. Latter1y tho Gov
ernmont has takon oognizanco Of 1t rs crime,
aud It ia now punishable with tho cat-o'-ninc-
tails and hard labor. Among ali olasses OF tho
colorod population obeah is praotiaod to somo
ertent, and thero arc many white residents ovon
who, though they regard 1t with dlsfayor, would
nevertheless fool worry uncomfortable Il told TINT
obeah had beon "sot" for thom. Tho profes-
atoual obehhman prnoricea with gront Becrosy;
yct ho makes a good thing OF 1t, and prospers
temporarily, his ollonts often paying him ubor-
ally for his services.
1havo converaod with several negroes who for
years. have had reputation % oboahmon. As D
rulo thoy GRO shrowd, obsoryant mon, retiring in
their habits, and of good character apart from
their profession. will try In this lottor to giyo
you some idea Of tho way In which they perform,
or-to uso the common term-aot ol,eah:
Lot 1t he supposed that negro by diligence
and tact haa acquired respectable standing in
his village. Ho has built q good houHo, has
neat, woll-a1rangod kitchen IN ono corner Of Ills
yard. md owns couple Of donkeyB, q mule, a
and othor small stock. a ne{ghbor becomes
brought down. Els chn1aoter stands too
high to accuBe him Of being q thtef. To set
fro 70 t his house G o, would sl 5o too dangerous,
entire settlement and tho ruin OF the inceudinry
himself. Tho obbahmnn Ia therefore resorted to
and paid Aberally. to bring evil On tho victim Of
his arts. Obeah Ia 'taet " for him. This ia done
For instance, 4 ho1s is dug in hfa fold, or in
tho small coiree,pntoh near his house., and into
thin ia put bottle containing some tll-Bmelling
liquid. The ncw1y turned earth attracts tho
mans attention, and on eoarehing be- finds tho
Is placed OF his door. Ho knows at oneo this is
oboah, aud boginn to be w1etohod. Ho tolls Ills
family, md thoy Join him in his mtsory, Tho
fact loaks out among tho neighbora, and they
tho yictin Of obeah coming, lest his shadow
should fall upon them nnd bring owl.
BY and BY the obeahed man grows sick from
frotting and anxiety. Then the ncighbors roll
their eyeB and raiao their, hnnda and exclai1n,
soon grow d. lin do" ldrasa viii soon grow
at bis door-that is, his family will bo e1tor1ni-
nated,)
Il tho obenhod man does not fret himself into
sickness, tho fret misfortune TINT bofalls him
should como years aftor. A common saying
among tho negroes is, ~ Obeah travel long"
Whero tho oboahman has d reputation to keep
up, ho will generally find means to SEQ that tho
daastor beiall tho victim, tho oboahman will.
either hinluolf or by his agents bring misfortune
on him. a favorito marc will DO found doad in
tho bush. A hord OF strny cattle will in tho
night time DO turned into tho doomed mans
field, and his growing produce will bo destroyed.
Or even in goEnc cases poison will be secretly
administered, and the victim driven. to horrible
end.
In tho Parish Of St. Thomas in tho East thoro
Ia tlroWu-up estate llnow1l nB Cool Spring.
EOnrR TIM OT}p1rn1 nr0r1irtnr militia I'm
property, and BOON number Of negroes squat
ted upon It. At first they occupied only tho
high land, but by and by thoy encroaohed on tho
ground noar the great house. This aroused the
attorney Of tho property, and ho rontol tho
great house at ohobp rasoin order to havo some
ono on tho spot to keep the nogrooe In check.
White mon, ono after an other ronted tho house.
But aa soon as they began to interfere with the
and for years ovory occupant OF tile house died
OF suddenly soon nftor his arrival on the estate.
Strange to say, though it was tho talk OF tho
ncighborhooa, no inquiry was ever made into tho
matter.
Messrs. Jamoson and Sertar, two well-known
young merchants Of this city, lived in q large
house just undor tho Long Mountain range lvo
milca from hero, for some thno. Their presence
on tho eatate was Objectionable to the negro
squattera, and they determined to got rid Of
them. Tho obeahmhn was roaortod to, and he
and Ills agents went to work to drive tho wLite
residents away. Tho house WAS an immouso
building With scores OF windows and m un-
usual number OF doors. Every night tho sleep
noises thronghoSt tho house. A amnl1 army of
men apparently rushed through tho corridors
and down the stairs. Horrible ahrioks and
walls ochoed through tho building. The young
men, On rising epa z. searching; could not as,
Sit up nll night. They sat until very late on tho
front stopR. About midnight ahower Of bricks
and atonos, hurled by invisible ASSISTANTS, oa,no
flying along tho passages, and the Watchors wero
glad to escape for their lives. They resigned
their lease and vacated tho premises.
An old man named Johnstono lived In ono Of
tho Port Royal Valleys. His house was built on
the slope Of gully, Tho back Of 1t resting On tho
lock, and tho front on pillura Ia or il fcet high
envy in tho neighborhood as his tlooks and hordB
increased, and everything ho put hiH hand to
psosperod. His neighbora laid their hoads
togother and went to tile obeahnaan.
lnan saw ohance to establish reputation, and
mako plenty OF money. He determined to ''set"
the obeah etfectually. One day Johnstone and
hia son went to town. In the afternoon there
WAS o heavy thunder storm in tho mountains,
and the rivers cane down. Johnstone dared not
return TINT night, as ho would not venture aoross
tho swollen streams. When he reached homo
next morning carly, he found his house in ruins.
Examination showed TINT the three wooden pill
lars in front lad boon Aawn almost through, so
that shove with q long pole would snap them,
Tho saving had no doubt boon done in tho
day time when Johnstono and his son
were known to bo absent. Tho long
polo had been uBed, and tho pillars snapped in
aud his Bon wozo fast asleep in tho front
part OF tho house. The truth about tho matter
did not come out for some time, and whom 1t bo-
gau to bo whispered tho obeahman dcoamped.
lIo was subsequently arrested for practising
oboah and rocoiyed logging and yoar's i'm
priaonmant. 1lo Is now more successful obcah-
man than ever.
will close this 1ettor with remarkable story
Of obeah. At tho Eloven Mile, Ct. David's, tlore
Ills living by cutting grass. His foot arc proclse-
ly like yamy, Tako o yam out OF tho ground aud
piaco # beside tho old mans foet, and you could
not tell the difference. Some time ago there
rauutltiQp Of nQnsaneIng HunecnAtural unMar