New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-18
\ Prophet In louisiana.

! That faith, hope. love may flourish there.
Till tor my cross the crown l wear.
} Prophet In louisiana.
( Acorsespondent of the New York World.
| who writes from Baptistes has discovered
. decrepit old negro, paralyzed in his lower
| extremities. an inordinate consumer of
! absynthe, who speaks excellent English
when rational but in frances butsts into
| prophecy delivered in patois.
| The first specimen given is this:
J Kan zozo te va danit.
Ho war la peste Out r0Ulo
1out Ia cote Caddo.
Qui coupe peuple viees
tite que capav bOulet
Coupe la vie dezots.
! Which may be roughly interpreted 20 mean:
| 'When the birds were leaving their nests !
! saw the plague which yolled along ala the
| borders OF CaGdo which cut off the people
quick, quickly as can the bullet Gu. short
/ tie lives of Others"
This is supposed 70 clearly predict the
| epidemic at Shreveport.
When the correspondent heard Of this
| phenomenon he had removed to Mississippi,
and it required three days drive to find
/ him. At the plantation Of Mr.. Tolliter Du-
pre- he discovered the objec: Of bis search.
Ssntse, as the prophet is called. was living
there and Mr.. Dupre gave the followin &
| particulars of his history: He was native
! Of Martinique. fine looking, vivacious and
| intelligent. and had considerable education
| for q man Of his class and complexion. His
| idea was to teach school in st. Landry. but
as that was not practicable Dupre made
| him hi. plantation clerk. and he served in
that capacity until Dupre went into the
| Confederate service, losing leg at the bat,
| tia Of Pleasant Hill. Santee dritted
| off with this federal army. and did
not return to- Cpelousas until 1866,
when he came back as subordinate
agen: of the Freedmen. Bureau.
Hi, superior instructedness and capacity
gave him the greatest influence. He became
| assistan: editor OF a Radical paper there.
/ and was in consequence very obnoxious to
the whites-in fact, became marked man.
! In the terrible St. Landry political riots OF
! September %. 1863 he was target for the
| bullets Of the CreOles and other white people
of the town, and was very badly shot. re.
ceiyins three wounds. One bullet had
struch him in the region Of the spine some.
where. and. producing paralysis. had made
him cripple for life. so that he could not
rise higher than his elbows. and was forced
| to keep always recumbent position. When
! wounded he was carried back to the planta'
ton. and Mr.. Dupre had him cared for and
nursed and provided him witt. the best
surgical skill.
After Santee was cured. as far as he could
be cured. he would not leave the planta.
ton. AS he was really very much attached
to Mr.. Dupre. and was miserable Grip.
pie, dead from the waist down. epileptlc.
and sometimes cataleptic. Mr.. Dupre kept
him there until. in 1870. the plantation was
sold under a mortgage. Then Mr.. Dupre
removed to Bayou Tortue. and Santee went
to St. Tammany.
Mr.. Dupre further said that some of his
predictions were wonderful.
An interview followed in little cabin,
where several were interviewing the
prophet, who was attentively waited on by
the brethren and sisters, and who drank
three full tumblers OF absynthe during the
seance. One prophecy is given as follows,
but the fulfllnent is not related.
A common field negro came in, humbly
bowling and full of awe. Somebody had
stolen his mule, and he wanted information
of the theft. "Pay.' cried Santee sharply,
The man handed bank-note to the quad
| room, who gave him some change from a
| drawer. Come in two days; you will find
your mule hitched to the corner of the
palings out there" The negro withdrew,
his eyes rolling wildly. Santee made brief
note with his pencil in a little book that was
under his pillow, and closed his eyes again.
After drinking the absynthe, he said:
Il cannot help it: the pain would kill
me and wretched object as l am, do not
care to die. o Christi live; am not an
| initiated. can not creep so sar as snail
along these walls, but it is not a void after
all is said. My eyes can rove and fetch me
to that picture there-brethren, don't look
at it. You are not Saint Anthonys. can
think, and make my thoughts active for
better or for worse. Celise, Jim Blades has
that mule. Don't let me forget to send to
him to fetch it,"
The last worda of the prophet are thus
related:
And then SaBtee began to talk, his voice
rising and falling like the rush and the cal
of storm, now and then full of eloquence,
| sometimes the mere gbberish of raving
maniac. What he said can not pretend to
repeat. Even if ! had come prepared to
take 1t down in shorthand ! should have
failed, for his expressions changed too rap.
Idly to be caught and fixed. He discOursed
with fierce rapidity, at first, of the life that
he clung to. the chill misery ard cold OBJ.
struction of death; he spoke of the country
and his race, and its future, in language
that showed he had thought much, but NOR
bldly and disjointedly; he wandered off to
the Pope and the Emperor, to Cuba and
Washington, to Grant and Sumner. As he
continued, his speech grew more fierce,
more rapid, more disjointed and wild, until
he put me in mind OF what l have read of
the SamOied Shamans in the moment of
possession. He stopped short, then sud
denly his voice rose to a shrek, his utter.
ance became rhythmic, and he gave out
rhymed words In accompaniment to the
woman's chant; which was more rapid now,
but still low and sweet. wish I could
have caught the words, but he spoke with
such vehemance, and the patois was 80 cor.
rupt that found it impossible to under.
stand him. Mr.. Dupre told me afterwards
that the final verse that he screamed out
was something like
Pos mo pour to pour zocs
a.. Plus grant malheus
VIM per Ia pote
Talheule, talheur?
Other predictions are given. and anon 9
them these: